It's getting close to time for Memorial Day, and time for my annual trip to Oklahoma for some time w/friends, niche wines and good foods.
Because of this I'll be too busy w/work, packing, planning and getting stuff together to worry about blogging and what-not until at least June, maybe longer than that considering how busy I'll be when I get back.
So until then: Hang in there Houston. Be back in a bit.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Weekend Update (05/23/10)
Yup.
Metro wants to settle their open records lawsuit. No comment from the group that actually brought the suit in the first place.
Rest in Peace Jose Lima. One of the most colorful Astros ever. His career was pretty much eighty-sixed by the advent of band-box stadiums such as (then) Enron Field.
Can you imagine if a Republican group was working to disenfranchise the elderly? The InterLeft would be breaking out in hives.
Bill White: "Let's keep politics out of eduction." Well, politics with which he disagrees that is. HIS politics (like making this a political talking point in his campaign) are A-OK. (Funny how that works isn't it?*)
Maybe it's just me, but I can't side with folks who are angry about the potential of having to purchase flood insurance when they live on the coast in an area where Hurricanes can (and do) occur.
And finally...
Educated guesses held up as factual proof of case.
*Those who try to say that education isn't about politics, or that they want to remove politics from education, are lying. What they want is for their political view to be featured over those with which they disagree. "Freedom from politics" would be to not teach. Science and history are political after all, especially the former.
Metro wants to settle their open records lawsuit. No comment from the group that actually brought the suit in the first place.
Rest in Peace Jose Lima. One of the most colorful Astros ever. His career was pretty much eighty-sixed by the advent of band-box stadiums such as (then) Enron Field.
Can you imagine if a Republican group was working to disenfranchise the elderly? The InterLeft would be breaking out in hives.
Bill White: "Let's keep politics out of eduction." Well, politics with which he disagrees that is. HIS politics (like making this a political talking point in his campaign) are A-OK. (Funny how that works isn't it?*)
Maybe it's just me, but I can't side with folks who are angry about the potential of having to purchase flood insurance when they live on the coast in an area where Hurricanes can (and do) occur.
And finally...
Educated guesses held up as factual proof of case.
*Those who try to say that education isn't about politics, or that they want to remove politics from education, are lying. What they want is for their political view to be featured over those with which they disagree. "Freedom from politics" would be to not teach. Science and history are political after all, especially the former.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Chipping Away
First it was the death penalty....
Interesting quote in today's Rick Casey column at ChronBlog...
What interested me about this quote is how it relates to another argument....the argument against the death penalty.
Just a couple of years ago the battle cry was "Offer life without parole as a sentencing option in place of the death penalty!" That drum-beat continued until the bill (correctly, in my opinion) passed resulting in a decrease in death penalty punishments.
Now the goal posts get moved further down the field.
It's ironic that many of the same who are calling for reduced sentencing options for violent offenders (including murderers it should be noted) are, at the same time, calling for increased penalties for so-called "soft" crimes. That's backwards.
The over-criminalization of America is something that's best been covered by better bloggers than I. It's an issue that I strongly agree with as we sit and watch the "Land of the Free" morph into the "Land of the incarcerated". The idea that a big, sweeping government solution is the key to almost any problem has resulted in the waste of one Trillion dollars, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct and the crazy idea that thought could be enough to put people in prison.
Doesn't that seem backward to you?
Interesting quote in today's Rick Casey column at ChronBlog...
“I was not a big supporter of life without parole,” Bradley testified. “I think even people who commit some of the most horrible crimes need an incentive to behave (in prison) and to rehabilitate and develop over a long period of time. I think that applies even greater when that person is a juvenile.”The context of this quote is in relation to the latest SCOTUS ruling barring life without parole sentences to juveniles who committed a crime other than murder.
What interested me about this quote is how it relates to another argument....the argument against the death penalty.
Just a couple of years ago the battle cry was "Offer life without parole as a sentencing option in place of the death penalty!" That drum-beat continued until the bill (correctly, in my opinion) passed resulting in a decrease in death penalty punishments.
Now the goal posts get moved further down the field.
It's ironic that many of the same who are calling for reduced sentencing options for violent offenders (including murderers it should be noted) are, at the same time, calling for increased penalties for so-called "soft" crimes. That's backwards.
The over-criminalization of America is something that's best been covered by better bloggers than I. It's an issue that I strongly agree with as we sit and watch the "Land of the Free" morph into the "Land of the incarcerated". The idea that a big, sweeping government solution is the key to almost any problem has resulted in the waste of one Trillion dollars, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct and the crazy idea that thought could be enough to put people in prison.
Doesn't that seem backward to you?
Problem solved
I'm unclear why people are saying this issue is a "potential problem" for the Army....
(Texas man faked way into Army, Danny Robbins, AP via Yahoo! News)
Just turn him over to the boys at Lejeune and let them deal with him.
End of problem.
(Texas man faked way into Army, Danny Robbins, AP via Yahoo! News)
Jesse Bernard Johnston III, 26, joined the Army Reserve in February as a sergeant and was assigned to the Corps Support Airplane Company based at the Fort Worth Naval Air Station. But he wasn't qualified to hold that rank, according to military records obtained by the AP. The records show that Johnston's only military experience was attending part of a 12-week Marine officer candidate course for college students in 2004.So, the guy went around claiming he was a Marine when he really wasn't?
Just turn him over to the boys at Lejeune and let them deal with him.
End of problem.
The Noise Machine (05/21/10)
Put the needle on the record......
This just in: People feel they are discriminated against more than other people feel they discriminate. In related news water is wet.
185 abandoned homes on the block, 185 abandoned homes. You tear one down, oh what a sound, 184 abandoned homes on the block.
Dewhurst's pet program is going to survive. Despite not accomplishing much of anything and generally just being bad public policy. Or, perhaps, because of that. (And the fact that he needs something to put on a campaign commercial.) Had the Democrats nominated a credible candidate there'd be an option come election day. Sadly, they did not.
Out! Out! Damned Cisneros!
Appropriate for Houston: On Bike to work day the big, politician photo-op friendly event isn't even people biking from HOME to WORK....
(Bike to Work, ChronBlog Caucasian Think Tank, Chronblog)
I'm not sure if the actual SBOE meetings or the InterLeft and media reaction to them have been more entertaining. (One thing I am sure of: In a battle of wits against both sides it's a tie for last.)
And finally....
Rick Perry vs. World is underwhelmed by Bill White's latest TV ad. One data point backing Evan's analysis is the relative Internet silence surrounding said ad. When the InterLeft goes underground you know they're not happy. (I'm sure most progressives want an attack ad. I don't think that's a wise move against Perry, who can parry and counter with the best of them. White needs to try and define himself. I don't see this channel-switcher getting the job done.)
This just in: People feel they are discriminated against more than other people feel they discriminate. In related news water is wet.
185 abandoned homes on the block, 185 abandoned homes. You tear one down, oh what a sound, 184 abandoned homes on the block.
Dewhurst's pet program is going to survive. Despite not accomplishing much of anything and generally just being bad public policy. Or, perhaps, because of that. (And the fact that he needs something to put on a campaign commercial.) Had the Democrats nominated a credible candidate there'd be an option come election day. Sadly, they did not.
Out! Out! Damned Cisneros!
Appropriate for Houston: On Bike to work day the big, politician photo-op friendly event isn't even people biking from HOME to WORK....
(Bike to Work, ChronBlog Caucasian Think Tank, Chronblog)
This morning, hundreds of bicycle riders are headed from Memorial Park to City Hall for festivities to mark Bike to Work DayThe idea of the event was supposed to entice people to ditch their cars and ride their bikes into work. In Houston, most people at this rally probably drove to Memorial Park, untethered their bike and then rode to City Hall. Which, of course, means that some of them probably took a day off work for "bike to work" day. The irony of this is wasted on the CCTT of course, who instead use this rather benign event to do Bill White another solid. (They're nothing if not predictable...predictably bad.)
I'm not sure if the actual SBOE meetings or the InterLeft and media reaction to them have been more entertaining. (One thing I am sure of: In a battle of wits against both sides it's a tie for last.)
And finally....
Rick Perry vs. World is underwhelmed by Bill White's latest TV ad. One data point backing Evan's analysis is the relative Internet silence surrounding said ad. When the InterLeft goes underground you know they're not happy. (I'm sure most progressives want an attack ad. I don't think that's a wise move against Perry, who can parry and counter with the best of them. White needs to try and define himself. I don't see this channel-switcher getting the job done.)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Noise Machine (05/20/10)
Just a spoonful of sugar......
Political wonks rejoice! The term-limits panel is expected to release their results soon. Meaning that Houston will be told it's in their best interest to try and keep sub-par public officials around even longer. Yay!
Get shorn, save the planet. If I don't see the entirety of the Houston Sierra Club walking around bald over the next few days I call bollocks.
Vote por favor por nosotros. (Entonces podemos no hacer caso de usted por los cuatro años próximos.)
Political wonks rejoice! Metro has released it's 2009 (clean, mind you) Audit. Just in case your social calendar is free for the next several weeks and you want to do the work of analytical accountants pro-bono.
An Austin Democrat that won't raise taxes? Ah..no. It's an Austin Democrat that won't raise taxes unless the State spends more on his policy priorities. Nothing new to see here. (That's like a Republican that won't call for cuts unless they cut the things they deem need to be cut.)
What pro-Democratic article in Texas is written without mention of the coming demographic change? Not one written by theBill White Texas Tribune that's for sure. (One that quotes a Democratic activists and references a speech by a Democratic activist/pollster to boot.)
Tom Kirkendall asks: Is freedom possible without wealth? Short answer: No. (Any excuse to link to a post with a clip from the HBO mini-series John Adams is good by me.)
Is the "Man" using Hispanic culture to keep the Hispanics down? Or is the situation more nuanced than that? (To be fair, L'il Red does just about all that she can with this topic, before being timed out in the intellectual depth department. Not a bad column all things considered.)
The best watchdog reporting in Houston is consistently being cranked out by Texas Watchdog. Need proof? Go read today's Lynn Walsh story onHISD's troubles accounting for Project Clear.
And finally.....
Bob Dunn asks: What's so great about technology anyway? Go give it a read.
Political wonks rejoice! The term-limits panel is expected to release their results soon. Meaning that Houston will be told it's in their best interest to try and keep sub-par public officials around even longer. Yay!
Get shorn, save the planet. If I don't see the entirety of the Houston Sierra Club walking around bald over the next few days I call bollocks.
Vote por favor por nosotros. (Entonces podemos no hacer caso de usted por los cuatro años próximos.)
Political wonks rejoice! Metro has released it's 2009 (clean, mind you) Audit. Just in case your social calendar is free for the next several weeks and you want to do the work of analytical accountants pro-bono.
An Austin Democrat that won't raise taxes? Ah..no. It's an Austin Democrat that won't raise taxes unless the State spends more on his policy priorities. Nothing new to see here. (That's like a Republican that won't call for cuts unless they cut the things they deem need to be cut.)
What pro-Democratic article in Texas is written without mention of the coming demographic change? Not one written by the
Tom Kirkendall asks: Is freedom possible without wealth? Short answer: No. (Any excuse to link to a post with a clip from the HBO mini-series John Adams is good by me.)
Is the "Man" using Hispanic culture to keep the Hispanics down? Or is the situation more nuanced than that? (To be fair, L'il Red does just about all that she can with this topic, before being timed out in the intellectual depth department. Not a bad column all things considered.)
The best watchdog reporting in Houston is consistently being cranked out by Texas Watchdog. Need proof? Go read today's Lynn Walsh story onHISD's troubles accounting for Project Clear.
And finally.....
Bob Dunn asks: What's so great about technology anyway? Go give it a read.
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