Border Crackdown Is Smuggler's Dream

Recently, the United States has tightened security on its southern border. More Border Patrol agents have been assigned to the border, along with hundreds of National Guard troops. Fences cover some parts of the border, and new electronic equipment and cameras have been installed.

But what is the result of the border crackdown? In terms of keeping undocumented immigrants out of the United States, it's not very effective. The immigrants keep coming, and will do so as long as there are jobs to be had in this country.

But it has been a real financial boon for one group -- the smugglers. That's right. The biggest effect of the border crackdown has been to help the criminals who profit from smuggling people into this country. These smugglers charge around $1500 for each person they help to enter the U.S., and their business has never been better.

A Mexican-government funded research institution, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, has been conducting surveys about the border crossings for years. They interviewed those who had been caught by Border Patrol and kicked out, and those who had been successful but returned to Mexico. Their survey was analyzed by the Associated Press.

The AP learned that while the illegal immigrants keep coming, the number who hire a smuggler to get them across has increased as border security increased. Here are the percentages of those who hired a smuggler:

2000..........16%
2003..........20%
2005..........47%

The money we are spending to stop illegal immigration is not keeping people from entering our country illegally. But it has increased the business of smugglers by threefold. Surely, this is not the desired result!

The fact remains that as long as there are jobs for the immigrants in this country, they will keep coming. If we really want to stem the flow of undocumented workers, we must crack down on the employers -- not the border.

Until then, we are just fattening the wallets of the smugglers.

Is Texas Going Democratic ?

Are the political winds in Texas blowing back toward the Democrats? If a new poll is correct, that is exactly what is happening.

An Austin Democratic poll says that when 1053 Texans were asked which party cares more about "people like me", 46% said Democrats and 35% said Republicans. I know some of you are saying that's what you would expect from a Democratic poll, but just two years ago this same poll showed Republicans leading when the same question was asked.

Even more significant is the fact that more people are now identifying themselves as Democrats. Here is what the poll showed on the question of party identity for 2004, 2005 and 2006:

PARTY..2004......2005.......2006
Dem......33.9%.....37.2%.....45.1%
Rep.......54.7%.....49.2%.....42.6%
Ind........10.2%.....10.5%.....06.4%

Pollster Jeff Montgomery pointed out that this was a poll of adults, and not specifically a poll of voters. He says, "Clearly, Texas is still a Republican state. But this is the first time people have even shown much interest in calling themselves Democrats."

Cal Jillson, SMU political science professor, was more pointed in his observations on the poll. He says, "There is an attitude change nationally that is affecting Texas. People are increasingly concerned with the results they see from the Republican majority. In Austin, those numbers are playing themselves out in the hanging of Tom Craddick. Republicans have begun to panic that the unease in the public is going to be taken out of their hide."

Texas was a bit slow in joining the new political shift, but it is starting to happen. Too bad it couldn't have happened before last November's elections. I suspect that some of Texas' slowness to join the national shift is because many in the state view Bush as a Texan.

It looks like amid his nearly total incompetence, Bush has been able to accomplish one thing. It took him six years, but he is well on his way to destroying the Republican party -- even in Texas.

Saddam's Execution Changes Nothing

Saddam Hussein is dead. He was executed yesterday by the current puppet government in Iraq. I am not sorry to see him go. He was a criminal responsible for the deaths of many innocent people.

Bush called the execution a "milestone" in history. If so, then it was a small milestone. The Saddam era was already over. It ended the day he was pulled from his hiding place, a hole in the ground, by U.S. troops. That is why his execution will change nothing in Iraq.

The current civil war in Iraq was not about Saddam. It is about who gets to control Iraq once we leave. The current government will not exercise control over Iraq after our soldiers leave. They cannot even control the country with our help.

Control will fall to one of two groups -- the Shiites [backed by Iran] or the Sunnis [backed by Saudi Arabia]. For a short time after the fall of Saddam's government, it was us against the insurgents. But that time has long passed.

It is now a civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites, with our soldiers in the middle and hated by both sides. The only thing our troops are accomplishing is to prolong the civil war.

It is time to bring our troops home -- immediately.

Looks Like Perry Didn't Fix School Funding

In the last legislative session, Rick Perry shoved through a new school funding plan. He claimed that the plan would not only fix the hated "Robin Hood" school financing [where richer school districts give up a share of their revenue to help poorer districts], but would also significantly reduce property taxes.

We learned right away that there would be no real property tax savings for citizens of Texas. When the local taxing entities learned they could not raise the tax rate, they simply raised the appraisal value of taxable property. The result was that Texans saw no property tax relief.

Now, it looks like the almost universally hated "Robin Hood" school financing plan is alive and well also. Although Perry's plan was not supposed to do away with "Robin Hood" altogether, it was supposed to make huge cuts in the amount of money the richer districts have to return to the state. Now it looks like even that is not going to happen. There are some cuts, but they are not nearly as large as promised by the governor.

There are four school districts in Tarrant county that have been having to pay out money for poorer districts. Here's what their savings are going to look like:

* Northwest ISD payments will be 3.1% less than last year.

* Carroll ISD will be 7.8% less than last year.

* Grapevine-Colleyville ISD will be 10% less than last year.

* HEB ISD is the only district that will see a drop of a significant percentage. Their payment will be 79% less than last year. But HEB's payments were never anywhere near as large as those of the other school districts. They've always been much nearer the break-even point.

So it looks like the governor's much-touted plan is a failure on all counts. He has not solved school financing, and he has not cut taxes. All he's done is piss off a lot of smokers and businessmen by imposing new taxes -- but the problems he was supposed to solve are still there.

Sheehan Arrested Near Bush's "Ranch"

Cindy Sheehan is still being a thorn in Bush's side. Thursday she and four others were arrested for "obstructing a highway passageway" by Texas Department of Public Safety officers.

They had laid down in the road near Bush's "ranch" and refused to move when asked by the officers. They blocked the road for 20 minutes, causing a traffic backup. Bush's evil alter-ego [Cheney] was caught in the backup.

Sheehan told the Waco newspaper that they were protesting the idea that Bush was fixing to send even more troops to die in the Iraq war. Of course, she is right. That is exactly what Bush is going to do -- increase the troop level in Iraq.

Bush claims that he is still trying to determine the future course in Iraq, but he's lying. You don't need a crystal ball to know that he'll be increasing the troop levels. It's the only thing his personality will allow him to do.

He cannot just stay the course and do nothing. The members of his own party would not allow that to happen. So he has only three choices -- withdraw, ask Syria and Iran to help, or increase troop levels.

His own ego will not allow him to do the right thing and withdraw. That would be tantamount to admitting that he was wrong, and he's never been able to do that.

He also can't ask Syria and Iran for help -- that would also be admitting that he's been wrong. So he's left with only one course of action that his personality will allow him to take -- increase the troop levels in the forlorn hope that it will help.

But it won't help. The only thing it will do is provide more American targets for both sides in the Iraqi civil war. Bush has gotten our soldiers into a real mess, and his inability to admit he screwed up will get a lot more of them killed.

Nothing will change until he is booted from office. It's time to start the impeachment proceedings.

Euless Denies Religious Freedom To Resident

Normally, you read only good things about city government in Euless [Texas] on this blog, but I'm afraid they have dropped the ball on this one. A federal lawsuit has been filed against the city for denying religious freedom to some of it's citizens.

Jose Merced, a Santeria priest since 1979 and president of Templo Yoruba Omo Orisha Texas, has filed the lawsuit claiming that city officials will not allow the religious sacrifice of chickens and sometimes goats. Merced says the sacrifices are neccessary in the Santeria religion to initiate new members, consecrate sacred shells and conduct healing rituals. He says the animals are killed humanely and the meat is eaten.

Euless police have stopped Merced from conducting the sacrifices without a city permit. Yet, when he has tried to get a permit from the city it is always denied.

Merced wrote in an affidavit to the lawsuit, "We do not want to break the law, and yet we are entitled to practice our religion. Santeria cannot continue to function, much less exist, without animal sacrifice."

I believe the city is wrong on this issue. The Supreme Court decided in a Florida case in 1993 that animal sacrifice is a form of religious worship that is protected by the United States Constitution. Merced and other followers of Santeria have the right to practice their religion without interference from city officials, even though the rituals may involve the sacrificing of animals.

According to Merced, the rituals are performed indoors and people outside would not be able to see or hear them. The city should just give Merced his permit and ask him to keep the rituals low-key so neighbors are not disturbed. In light of the 1993 Supreme Court decision, it would just be a waste of time and taxpayers' money to try and fight the religion in court.

State Pays 31 Cents To Collect 25 Cents In Tolls

The Texas Department of Transportation [TxDOT] looks silly again today, but considering their actions over the last couple of years, they're probably used to that now.

Last month, they started collecting tolls on the new toll road just north of the DFW metroplex -- Texas 121. The new toll road does not have collection booths. If you don't have a toll tag, the system just takes a picture of your license plate and then mails you a bill. I guess this might work out for people who drive a good distance, but what about those who drive only a short distance on the toll road?

Recently, 72-year old Don Ferguson received his bill from TxDOT for using the toll road -- it was a bill for 25 cents. The problem with this is that it cost the state 30.8 cents to mail the bill, and Mr. Ferguson is not the only person this has happened to. Several people have complained of receiving a 25 cent bill in a metered envelope costing 30.8 cents to mail, including TxDOT spokesman Mark Ball. When these people pay their fee, the state of Texas will have lost nearly 6 cents on each transaction.

Just think, what if most drivers on Texas 121 go only a short distance? Could the state actually lose more in postage than it collects in fees? Even worse, is this the level of competence we can expect on other toll roads being planned?

Does Israel Really Want Peace With Palestinians ?

I have to wonder if Israel really wants peace with the Palestinian people. Israel tries to present itself as the innocent party in the Mideast conflict, even as it is making plans to violate international law.

Israel announced recently that it will be building a new settlement on the West Bank. The approximately 30 houses to be built in the Jordan Valley will be resided in by former Gaza Strip settlers.

This is not only a violation of international law -- it is also a violation of the 2003 Roadmap for Peace. In fact, this violation is so egregious that even the Bush administration sees it as wrong and destined to provoke the Palestinians.

United States State Department spokesman Gonzo Gallegos said, "The establishment of a new settlement or the expansion of an existing settlement would violate Israel's obligations under the roadmap. The U.S. calls on Israel to meet it's roadmap obligations and avoid taking steps that could be viewed as predetermining the outcome of final-status negotiations [with the Palestinians]."

The European Union has also expressed it's "deep concerns" with the Israeli announcement.

Israel has also said it might release millions of dollars collected in taxes for the Palestinians. Why have they been keeping this money in the first place? This is not their money -- it belongs to the Palestinians, and the Israelis had no right to withhold it.

If Israel wants the world to view them as the innocent party in the Mideast conflict, then they must stop breaking the rules themselves. They cannot accuse the Palestinians of failing to live up to their obligations, if they are unwilling to live up to their own obligations.

Cowboys Seem To Be Headed Downhill

A couple of weeks ago, I had such high hopes for the Dallas Cowboys. After installing Tony Romo at quarterback, they began to play better and were climbing that mountain to playoff success. But in the last three weeks, they've been sliding back downhill.

Three games ago, the Cowboys had their heads handed to them by the New Orleans Saints. Last week, they were barely able to beat the Atlanta Falcons [a team that is going nowhere this year]. Then, on Christmas day, the Philadelphia Eagles gave them a sound thrashing. The score in the Eagles game was only 23-7, but the game was not as close as the score might indicate. The Eagles controlled the game from start to finish.

I had hoped that the beating the Cowboys took from the Saints was an anomaly, but after the last couple of weeks I can no longer think that. This is simply not as good a team as I had thought it was -- how very depressing.

The Cowboys will still be in the playoffs -- mostly due to the poor play of some other teams. But I seriously doubt they will go very far in the playoffs [although I hope I'm wrong]. The offense is hit-and-miss at best, and the defense just doesn't seem to know what to do with a playoff-caliber team.

I'm not yet ready to hit the panic button, but my hand is hovering over it! If they don't improve their play quickly, we're just a couple of weeks away from talking about next year's draft.

Small-Businesses In Favor Of Raising Minimum Wage

The Republicans main argument for refusing to raise the minimum wage in the United States has been that it would hurt small businesses. I never thought this was a valid argument, and now it looks like most small businesses agree.

Discover Financial Services LLC recently conducted a survey of small businesses, including those businesses with five or fewer employees. They found that 70% of small businesses approve of raising the minimum wage, and say it will have no effect on their labor costs.

Democrats promised during the last election campaign season that they would raise the minimum wage if elected. Since voters gave them control of both the House and the Senate, it is time for them to make good on their promise. Raising the minimum wage should be their first order of business when the new Congress convenes in January.

Polls have shown that a huge majority of people in this country favor raising the minimum wage. Now that small businesses are also on board with a raise to $7.25 an hour, that leaves only a few die-hard right-wing Republicans opposing it.

Personally, I would like to see it raised even higher than $7.25 an hour, but I'll take what I can get. It's a lot better than $5.15 an hour.

Pipeline Rupture Dumps Oil Into The Gulf

It looks like the oil companies are trying to create an Exxon Valdez type disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, but in this part of the world we don't even need a ship to do it. That's because we have oil pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico.

Yesterday, the Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline experienced a rupture in their High Island Pipeline System, and dumped at least 21,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The company is currently trying to limit the spill and suck the remaining oil out of the pipeline.

We are lucky this time. The tides seem to be carrying the oil away from shore, and maybe it can be cleaned up before it does too much damage [except to sea life in the area, of course]. This ought to give Texans and the residents of the other Gulf states cause to rethink Gulf drilling.

Congress has recently tryed to open more vast tracts of the Gulf to the oil companies for new drilling. It was the lame duck Republican Congress and they couldn't seem to tie their own shoes, but that doesn't mean the oil companies won't keep trying to get this done.

Do we really want more drilling in the Gulf of Mexico? I can assure you that any clean-up for an oil disaster will be born by the American people and not by the oil companies. Look at Exxon. They have still not paid a penny for the Alaskan clean-up, even though it happened years ago, and there's a court judgement ordering them to pay. Recently, they got the judgement cut in half, and it'll probably be years before we see any money from that half, if at all.

The oil companies don't care about the enviornment or the American people. The only thing they care about is getting into your pocketbook for more and more money to create ever bigger windfall profits for themselves.

So I ask again, do we really want more drilling and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico? I say no, at least until the oil companies show they will be better stewards of the enviornment they are affecting [and Exxon pays what it owes].

Another Lawsuit For Farmers Branch

A couple of months ago, the city of Farmers Branch [just north of Dallas] passed some bigoted ordinances that were like a slap in the face to over 37% of its population -- Hispanics. The ordinances make it a crime for landlords to rent to undocumented immigrants, make English the official language of the city and directs it's police department to enforce federal immigration laws.

Of course, the bigoted ordinances totally ignore some realities about the state of Texas. Not only were Hispanics in Texas for hundreds of years before white settlers came, but many Hispanics fought with the rebels who won Texas' independence from Mexico. You just need to look at the names of many Texas counties and cities to see the large number of Hispanic heroes in the state.

Hispanics have always been a valuable part of the population, history and culture of Texas, and they always will be. The ethnic bigotry shown by the Farmers Branch city council cannot change that fact.

The ordinances are bigoted because while they are aimed at a specific portion of our population, they really do not address the one issue which could really have a dramatic effect on illegal immigration -- the employers who take advantage of undocumented workers so they won't have to pay a decent wage.

It won't matter how many ordinances are passed or fences are built, the illegal immigration will continue as long as there are jobs for them to fill. All these ordinances will accomplish is to make life harder for all Hispanics -- even those who are citizens and legal residents.

It also is going to cost the citizens of Farmers Branch thousands of dollars to defend the silly ordinances in court. There has already been one lawsuit filed by a real estate broker and Farmers Branch resident, saying the city council violated the state's open meetings law in passing the ordinances.

Last Friday, three apartment houses joined together and filed another lawsuit against the city. They are asking a federal court to declare the rental ordinance to be unconstitutional. They are also asking the court to stop the ordinance from going into effect on January 12th.

A petition has been submitted to the city council with 1400 signatures demanding a vote on repealing the ordinances. Only 726 signatures were needed for the election to be held -- probably next May.

The ACLU and several Hispanic organizations are also considering lawsuits. Some may consider this as "piling on". I say the more the merrier. The city has embarrassed themselves, the Metroplex and the entire state of Texas. They must either withdraw the ordinances or pay the price for their bigotry.


UPDATE -- Well, that didn't take long! Today, the ACLU and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund have filed suit against the city of Farmers Branch. The plaintiffs are a couple of landlords, some Hispanic citizens, and some children who are U.S. citizens, but fear the ordinances will force them to seperate from their parents.

This makes three lawsuits and a repeal petition now. Looks like Farmers Branch bought themselves a lot of trouble with their bigoted ordinances.

The "Godfather Of Soul" Dies

The legendary James Brown, the Godfather of Soul Music, died at 1:45am today in an Atlanta hospital. He had been admitted to the hospital suffering from pneumonia, but it is not known what caused his death.

Born in 1933, Brown went from reform school to being one of the world's most respected and honored entertainers. His songs included:

"Please, Please, Please" [1956-his first hit]

"Out of Sight"

"Sex Machine"

"I Got You (I Feel Good)"

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" [1965 Grammy winner]

"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud"

"Living in America" [1987 Grammy winner]

The great James Brown also won a Grammy in 1992 for lifetime achievement, and was one of the initial inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I grew up with his music and loved it, and to this day I refuse to say his name without preceding it with another word such as "legendary" or "great". I will miss him, but his music will always live with me. Rest in peace JB, you've earned it.

Happy Holidays !

All of us here at jobsanger wish you a very happy solstice season, whatever your religion or lack thereof.

Bend Over Texans -- Full Deregulation Is Near

I'd warn you to grab your wallets and hang on tight, but that won't do any good. You might as well just bend over, because you're fixing to get screwed and there's nothing you can do about it. On January 1st, the electric producers in Texas will be fully deregulated.

That means they will no longer have to get approval of the Public Utilities Commission to raise your electric rates. We already have some of the highest electric rates in the nation, and that's with the companies having to get approval from the PUC. What do you think will happen now that they can charge whatever they want without asking anyone for permission?

I still can't believe the dunderheads in our Texas legislature actually thought deregulation would bring lower prices. Here in North Texas, TXU has a virtual monopoly in electric production. That means they can keep the wholesale price of electricity abnormally high for it's competitors.

Since the competitors must buy their electricity from TXU and resell it to consumers, this gives TXU not only a monopoly in electric production, but also a monopoly in the sale of electricity. All our mentally-challenged legislators have done is give a monopoly the right to set it's own prices. And it's pretty much the same in other parts of Texas.

I know there are some legislators making noise about doing something about our high electric rates, but you'd be making a mistake to hold your breath waiting for this to happen. For one thing, legislators have already said that re-regulation is "off-the-table". For another, electric companies will flood Austin with more lobbyists than there are legislators. If you really think our brain-dead legislators will bring down electric rates, I've got a few bridges I'll sell you real cheap.

Anything as important to modern life as electricity should be controlled, if not actually owned, by the government. Yes, I know that is a socialistic idea. But it is also the only way to keep electric rates down to reasonable levels. The only alternative is to allow a monopoly to charge whatever it wants.

TXU made over a billion dollars in profit last year. Just imagine what that profit figure is going to be for 2007!

So bend over and grab your ankles Texans -- I doubt if they'll even bother to break out the lube.

Ex-Cowboy To Give Kidney To His Teammate

This is a story about true friendship. With all the bad news in the world today, it is good to see a story that highlights the good done by one human for another.

Ron Springs and Everson Walls were teammates on the Dallas Cowboys [and both are respected and loved by many Cowboy fans, including me]. During their stay with the Cowboys, they became very close friends. That friendship grew over the years and came to include their wives and children. The families have vacationed together, and Springs even spoke at the funeral of Wall's father-in-law.

But in recent years, Ron Springs has had some medical difficulties. He has diabetes, and has had to have his right foot and some toes on his left foot amputated. The disease has also attacked and destroyed his kidney. For the last two years, he has had to have dialysis treatment three times a week. The disease has also put him in a wheel chair.

But all that will soon change. Everson Walls is donating one of his kidneys to his friend. The transplant will allow Springs to return to a normal life, abandoning the wheel chair and the painful dialysis treatments. The operation will be performed next March.

Springs says, "This man has got to love me in order to give up something. He's taking some risk. It's something you can't explain, but something I will always think about every day for the rest of my life. It's like getting a new battery in a car. I'll be able to be back to basically almost 100% normal."

Walls counters, "A piece of me is going to be inside him and hopefully giving him a lot more life than he would've had otherwise. To me, friendship is unconditional."

Friendship is unconditional -- what beautiful words! And what a wonderful example of friendship these two men show the rest of us. I wish them both a speedy recovery from their coming operations, and a long and bountiful life. They deserve it.

"Grandma" Gives State Jobs To 7 Campaign Aides

It looks like the time-honored and ethically-questionable practice of political patronage is alive and well in Texas. Candidates winning state-wide office often reward some of their campaign aides with lucrative state jobs [and you know these aren't entry-level positions].

The tradition continues this year among the winners --

* Governor Rick Perry has hired 5 of his campaign aides to fill state jobs.
* Incoming State Comptroller Susan Combs has rewarded 2 of her campaign staff with state jobs.
* Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has hired 2 of his campaign staff.
* Attorney General Greg Abbott has found a state job for 1 member of his campaign staff.

But you know the practice is getting out of hand, when the losers in the November election also start handing out state jobs to their staff. One Tough Grandma, Carole Strayhorn, was defeated in last November's election. But that did not stop her from hiring 7 members of her campaign staff to be state employees.

The 7 staff members hired by Strayhorn will be making a combined salary of $40,000 a month. If my math is correct, that's an average salary of over $5,700 a month for each employee. And you, the taxpayer, get to pay for Strayhorn's largesse. Aren't you proud?

Tom "Smitty" Smith, head of Public Citizen's Texas branch, is not so proud. He says, "This is outrageous. The outgoing comptroller shouldn't be hiring new employees, especially from her campaign. This is a time when she needs to be winding down her activities as the comptroller rather than padding the payroll."

I agree with Mr. Smith. It's bad enough that we taxpayers must pay to reward campaign staffers of the winners. For us to have to also reward campaign staffers of the losers is just plain ridiculous!

Is The Texas House Speaker's Race Still Open ?

Right after the election, most people thought Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick [R-Midland] was a shoo-in for re-election to his post in the House. Speaker Craddick bragged of having over 100 signed pledge cards of support from members of the Texas House. Only one House member, Rep. Sefronia Thompson [D-Houston], has made it known publicly that she is running against Craddick, and most people think she has no chance to unseat him.

But now the dynamic of the Speaker's race seems to be changing a bit. Many members are not saying who they will vote for, and those pledge cards are not binding on the House members. It looks like many members want to wait and see if enough support comes together for a candidate that could unseat Craddick.

It's understandable that members would not want to make their opposition public yet. Craddick is known for punishing House members who oppose him. A member who votes against him could lose a choice committee seat, or find that a bill he introduced has no chance of coming up for a vote. That is how he got the signed pledge cards in the first place.

But there are now murmurs of opposition, and some names of other possible contenders are coming out -- names such as Rep. Robert Talton [R-Pasadena] or Rep. Brian McCall [R-Plano].

Perhaps most interesting is a proposal by Rep. Tommy Merritt [R-Longview]. Merritt wants to change the rules, and allow House members to choose a Speaker by secret ballot. This is an excellent idea and should be done.

If the Speaker was chosen by secret ballot, then members could vote for the best candidate instead of the one they fear. But Craddick will fight the secret ballot -- he knows he would be defeated in a heartbeat if he could no longer threaten the other House members.

I still think Craddick is the probable winner, especially with the system that is in place. But I hope for a better outcome.

Texas Population Growth Leads The Nation

The United States Census Bureau released new data yesterday showing that Texas gained more people in the last year than any other state. Florida and California used to be the fastest-growth states, but Texas has overtaken them in both total population growth and in percentage of population growth.

Between July of 2005 and July of 2006, Texas gained 579,275 new people. Approximately 120,000 to 160,000 of the new Texans are a result of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. But even if you subtract the Hurricane Katrina immigrants, Texas still leads the nation in population growth. Here are the figures:

TOTAL POPULATION GROWTH
1. Texas...............579,275
2. Florida...............321,697
3. California...............303,402
4. Georgia...............231,388
5. Arizona...............213,311

GROWTH PERCENTAGE
1. Arizona...............3.6%
2. Nevada...............3.5%
3. Idaho...............2.6%
4. Georgia...............2.5%
5. Texas...............2.5%

HOW THE INCREASE IS HAPPENING
Natural [births minus deaths].....235,558
Domestic immigration.....218,745
International immigration.....125,770

I don't have any problem with our new citizens, but I do wonder if Texas has the water resources to sustain this kind of growth. Because of global warming, our droughts are occurring more often and lasting longer. Many of our aquifers have a water level that is dropping.

It is urgent with this kind of population growth, that our officials in Austin address the water issue. If we put it off any longer, we won't be able to sustain the population we have, let alone the huge population increases.

Texas now has 23.5 million people. By 2010, there will be 25 million Texans.

Ex-Cop Makes Video To Help Marijuana Users

Barry Cooper used to be a drug-enforcement officer for police departments in Gladewater, Big Sandy, and for the Permian Basin Drug Task Force. He made over 800 drug arrests, seized more than 50 vehicles, and confiscated over $500,000 in cash and assets.

Cooper was an excellent officer -- some believe he was as good as they come. His ex-boss on the drug task force says, "He was even better than he says he was. He was probably the best narcotics officer in the state and maybe the country during his time with the task force."

But Cooper has become disillusioned with the failed War on Drugs. He has made a new video titled Never Get Busted Again. Cooper says the video will show drug users how to:

- "conceal their stash"
- "avoid narcotics profiling"
- "fool canines every time"

Cooper now favors the legalization of marijuana, and believes the War on Drugs is simply wasting our resources and filling our prisons with non-violent offenders. He told the Tyler Morning Telegraph, "My main motivation in all of this is to teach Americans their civil liberties and what drives me in this is injustice and unfairness in our system."

Cooper is creating a web site to promote his video which he says should be up by next Tuesday [sorry, I don't have the URL], and is ready to start selling the video. He also plans to buy space in at least one national publication to promote the video.

Barry Cooper is right. The War on Drugs has been a miserable failure. It is draining the resources of our country without so much as putting a dent in drug production and sales. It has created new and dangerous gangs, who are willing to kill for control of the lucrative new black-market [just as prohibition did in the 1920's].

The huge amounts of money the black-market in drugs generates is a corrupting influence on law enforcement, and distracts them from their primary job of protecting the people. It is filling our prisons with non-violent offenders, and forcing the early release of many violent criminals because of overcrowding. The War on Drugs has made our country a more dangerous place for everyone.

I applaud Barry Cooper for the brave stand he has taken. It is time to legalize marijuana, tax the hell out of it to ease the burden on ordinary citizens, and remove the lucrative profits from the hands of the criminal element.

The War on Drugs is an abject failure. Let's admit it and move on.

Rep. Burnam Wants To Limit Use Of Tasers

Well, there goes Rep. Lon Burnam [D-Fort Worth] again -- making far too much sense to be a Texas legislator. Burnam has filed House Bill 418, which would limit the use of Tasers by law enforcement officers here in Texas.

Tasers are being used far too often these days. In 2002, Austin police used a Taser only 3 times, but in 2004, they used a Taser 265 times. Houston police have used a Taser 892 times in the last two years. Tasers are not only being used too often, but they are being used in situations in which they are not warranted.

Rep. Burnam's bill would limit Taser use to those situations in which "deadly force" is justified, as defined by the Penal Code. Rep. Burnam says:

"The number of incidents in which officers use Tasers on unarmed people is truly alarming. There are currently 16 documented deaths due to Taser use by police in Texas. There is a perception out there that Tasers are safe and generally harmless. That perception is dead wrong. Tasers have proven to be lethal and that's why they should only be used in situations in which deadly force is justified.

All my bill says is that if you're going to shoot someone with 50,000 volts, it should only be done when the officer is in grave danger. If a suspect is unarmed or does not present a deadly threat to the officer, they should not be tased.

Tasers are being used on minorities with impunity. It needs to stop."

Women File Suit Against UTA Over "Religion"

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this morning, and attorneys from the Liberty Legal Institute, the University of Texas at Arlington has fired two women for praying at their work location after work hours.

The Liberty Legal Institute is a right-wing fundamentalist organization dedicated to trying to force fundamentalist christianity into our schools, workplaces and other public venues. I would expect their attorneys to tell only the part of the story that fits the needs of their clients, as many attorneys do. But I am disappointed in the reporting of the Star-Telegram.

Do they really believe that these two women were terminated for having an innocuous prayer after work? I certainly don't. I can't believe that UTA would fire anyone simply for praying with a co-worker. There has to be more to this story, and the newspaper should have dug deeper and gotten both sides before they even printed this story.

Going into the reader's comments section of the story, we are able to learn a little more. It seems these women weren't simply praying. They were making a public display of their religion, harassing employees [probably repeatedly], and even admitted themselves that they performed an "exorcism" on another worker's cubicle, spreading oil in it and claiming he was demon-possessed. This kind of behavior is over the line.

You do have the right to pray unobtrusively at or after work. But you do not have the right to harrass co-workers who do not agree with you. You also don't have the right to enter a co-workers space without permission to spread oil around. I'll bet these women were repeatedly warned to stop bothering their co-workers by trying to force their religious beliefs on them.

You have the right to pray. You do not have the right to try to force your religious views on your co-workers.

Migrant workers finally getting paid

I haven't mentioned it before (though jobsanger has), but I love the Southern Poverty Law Center. The wonderful people in this organization work tirelessly to help those who need it the most, in this case, forestry workers who were cheated out of money they had earned by their employers.

These workers, here as part of the HB-2 "guest worker" program, "were paid less than minimum wage, didn't receive overtime pay and worked upward of 70 hours a week planting trees."

"The abuses were not limited to violations of federal wage and hour laws. The company also threatened workers in an attempt to intimidate them into withdrawing from the suit, which was given class-action certification in February."

Some of these workers had to pay several thousand dollars to secure these jobs to begin with. This is sickening. How do their employers sleep at night?

As many as 300 migrant workers will now (once the court approves it) receive a settlement of $200,000, after getting help from the SPLC's Immigrant Justice Project. The SPLC will not keep one penny of this money (they work entirely off of donations, never keeping money from settlements won in the cases they take on - another reason I love this organization).

I'm happy to see these workers finally get some justice. As someone who makes only pennies above this country's pitiful minimum wage, I understand how hard it can be to get the bills paid. I can't possibly imagine what it feels like to be cheated out of money earned in a foreign land, where I'd be a lot less likely to know that country's wage laws. I'm glad that these workers found help in such an admirable organization.

SPLC, I raise my glass to you! Cheers!

Snakes are not my friends

A couple of years ago, my best friend Red, my cousin J, an old friend C, and I were walking through a small wooded area in the wee hours of the morning (trying to find a short cut home that ultimately got us lost), when C went into absolute freak out mode. He screamed at the top of his lungs, repeatedly smacked his face and arms, and shortly thereafter began to remove his clothes. Red, J, and I just stood there watching him with amused looks on our faces.

We had all been walking in a single file line down a trail, with C bringing up the rear, so it didn't occur to us that he, being the tallest of us all, had found a spider web that the three of us were lucky enough to miss. C is terrified of spiders after being bitten by a brown recluse many years ago, so every time he comes into contact with anything that might be a spider web, he is convinced that he is being attacked by the nasty little fiddlers again.

It took a half hour for him to be convinced that he wasn't dying, but there was no way in hell he was going through the rest of the wooded area not crouched to the point that he was shorter than us.

That is how I act when anywhere in the vicinity of snakes. I cease to be human. I spent quite a few years living in the country and was told many times how to act when I come into contact with snakes, but my few encounters with them have proven that the advice is useless. This doesn't apply only to poisonous snakes either. My step-father loves to tell the story of my meeting with a grass snake that was no longer than his foot. That little fucker made me afraid of our own back yard for months. I didn't care that it couldn't kill me. It was a snake, and that was all I needed to know.

This is why I have absolutely no desire to see "Snakes on a Plane". This is also why I will never likely visit the Everglades - at least willingly.

Apparently,there are quite a few Burmese pythons roaming around out there. They are not native to the area, but due to some Americans love of exotic pets, they have been able to call the Everglades home for a few years now. It seems that some people like the idea of owning a Burmese python until they realize that they can grow to over 20 feet long and get to over 200 pounds.

Eek! Little facts like that make it not matter that they don't have fangs! They actually have the ability to wrestle around with an alligator and not lose. The article talks about a dead python found with a six foot gator's legs and tail protruding from it's split open guts. The python was only 13 feet itself!

That tells me that I could easily be swallowed by one! There's an idea I'd rather not entertain!

It is thought that these not-so-little buggers were released into the wild by people who bought them when they were babies, only to realize that they don't stay babies forever. Now they are multiplying. The article interviews a man whose job it is to remove as many as possible from the Everglades. He has removed over 150 this year alone.

I really can't get too mad at people who own wierd pets. I myself have 3 hermit crabs. However, my babies will not get any bigger than my hand, and the worse pain they can give is to make me feel like I didn't wear green on St Patty's Day. Burmese pythons, on the other hand, can eat you. Why on earth would someone want to call one a pet?! And if someone absolutely has to have one, why not take it back to the pet store when their mind is changed?

I see no need to give those of us who are already terrified of snakes a new one to watch out for!

Going Out Of Town

Just wanted to warn my few readers that I'm being sent out of town on business for the next three to four days. I don't know if I'll have access to a computer, so the blogging may be spotty or even not at all, but that can't be helped.

Things should be back to normal on Thursday or Friday. I'm sorry for the inconvience.

Dallas Cowboys Win -- Quincy Carter Loses

The Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons last night 38-28, but it was not easy. The game was a real dogfight between two teams who both needed the win.

The Cowboys jumped out to a first quarter lead of 14-0, but the momentum switched to the Falcons in the second quarter. The defense didn't seem to know how to stop the Falcons in the second quarter. I think the Cowboys were lucky to go into halftime tied with the Falcons at 21-21.

Once again the Cowboys' weakness in coverage of passes by the safeties was exposed, as the Falcons burned them with several long passes last night. Roy Williams, know for his hard hitting and tackling, is not a great cover safety. On the other side, rookie Pat Watkins may someday be a good cover safety, but he is not there yet.

When the third quarter started, the Falcons scored again and it looked like their momentum would continue. But the defense of the Cowboys finally started shutting them down. They were not to score again in the game.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Cowboys, even though the game was still in doubt until they scored their final touchdown with less than 3 minutes left in the game. I hope the final two games are not as tough as this one turned out to be.

Last September 1st, I predicted the Cowboys would finish the season at 11-5. I'm usually very bad at predicting these sort of things, and after the first few games of the season, I was beginning to think I had been far too optimistic. But now they are 9-5. The final two games are against the Eagles and the Lions, and both are very winnable [and both are home games]. I may have accidently been right this time.

***************

On a sadder note, Quincy Carter was arrested a couple of days ago on a class B charge of possessing less that 2 ounces of marijuana in Irving, Texas.

He sat in jail for 12 hours without being bailed out, even though the bond was only $500. I don't guess he has any friends left on the Cowboys -- at least none who would post a small bond for him.

Finally, newspaper columnist and radio personality Randy Galloway, who has been very critical of Carter in the past, called a bondsman and said he would be responsible for the bail. In the end, Cowboy Bail Bonds in Garland posted the $500 and waived the fee.

New Plant To Produce Gas From Cow Patties

There are over 13 million head of cattle in the state of Texas. Each cow will produce about a ton of manure a year. Instead of being a waste product, some are now considering this 13 million tons of manure, or cow patties as we call them here in Texas, to be a valuable resource in the search for clean and renewable energy.

This is not such a crazy idea. For thousands of years, animal dung has been burned as a fuel to cook and to heat homes with, especially in under-developed parts of the world. Now this old idea is being given a modern twist. There are thousands of plants in Europe that produce "biogas" [methane] from animal dung, and use this biogas to produce electric power.

Now this idea has finally come to Texas, where we have an abundance of the natural resource needed -- cow patties.

Microgy Inc., a Colorado-based energy company, is building a plant in Stephenville to convert cow patties into natural gas, which will then be sold to gas-burning power plants. They already have a contract to sell the gas produced in Stephenville to the Lower Colorado River Authority in Austin.

The plant will process about 10,000 pounds of manure a day, and produce enough gas provide electric power for 6,000 homes. The best part is that this power will be produced without adding to the pollution problems in Texas.

Of course, this is just a drop in the bucket when you consider the enormous power needs of Texas. But you have to start somewhere, and Microgy would like to build more of the biogas-producing plants.

Biogas plants will never produce enough gas for all of Texas' energy needs, but combined with other clean forms of energy, such as wind-powered generators, it could be a significant factor in the energy equation.

To me, this makes a lot more sense than just continuing to build coal-burning and pollution-producing power plants. A recent poll shows that a large majority of Texans agree.

Texas has a problem with meeting EPA clean air standards. It is time for us to consider new and innovative ideas such as biogas.

Sometimes Santa's Elves Ride Motorcycles

I'm not a christian, so I have no use for the religious aspects of Christmas. But I love the idea of a secular Santa Claus delivering toys to the good boys and girls all over the world. Of course, as an adult, I know that Santa can't do the job alone. He needs the help of good people everywhere.

Each year about this time, a few thousand of Santa's best elves climb aboard their motorcycles and deliver an amazing amount of toys for the children of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

For the last 21 years now, Bikers from all over the area gather for the annual Big Texas Toy Run. Because of the good weather, this year's toy run may include as many as 50,000 motorcycles. On Sunday participants will gather in Dallas, Fort Worth and Grapevine, and at 1:00pm they will all head for the Arlington Convention Center to deliver their toys.

They will be coming down I-30 from Dallas and Fort Worth, and down Hwy. 360 from Grapevine. Let me tell you, it is an impressive thing to see.

Event chairman Nick Taddonio says, "We've got a lot of people from out of state coming, folks who said, 'This is the biggest one in the country so what the heck, let's go.' That's good for the kids."
The toys will be given to the kids in Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County and several other charities.

I'd like to give a big pre-run "thank you" to the Biker elves. You guys and gals are doing a wonderful thing. And if any of you readers of this blog have a bike and are feeling a bit elvish, join the fun. You'll be glad you did.

Diabetes Reversed In Mice By Researchers

U.S. and Canadian researchers believe they have made a breakthrough in researching the cause and possible cure of diabetes. They have known for quite a while now that sufferers of diabetes have damaged nerve ends in the pancreas. It has been thought that the damage was the result of the diabetes, but these researchers think the damaged nerve ends may actually be the cause of the disease.

They believe the defective nerve endings may attract proteins from the body's immune system which attack the pancreas and destroy it's ability to produce insulin, thus causing diabetes.

The researchers have taken mice with type-1 diabetes [also known as juvenile diabetes], and injected a peptide into the defective nerve endings. According to Dr. Hans Michael Dosch of the University of Toronto, the mice were cured of their diabetes "overnight". He said, "It is very effective in reversing diabetes."

Dosch said the nerve endings in the diabetic mice were not secreting enough of the peptides to keep the insulin flowing. According to the researchers, injecting the peptides lowered the body's resistance to insulin, allowing it to carry glucose to the cells.

The next step is for researchers to study people whose family history shows them to be at high risk for type-1 diabetes. If they are found to have the defective nerve endings, then tests will be conducted on the at-risk group and on diabetics. The study and testing will take several years.

The procedure may also be of help to those with type-2 diabetes [also known as adult-onset diabetes], but the reaction in mice so far has not been as strong as with the type-1 diabetic mice.

Rep. Burnam Files Bill To Investigate Deregulation

I do love Rep. Lon Burnam [D-Fort Worth]. When the people of Texas are getting screwed and most politicians are too busy trying to cover their butts to care about it, Burnam is not afraid to step forward to fight for the citizens of Texas. Now he has done it again.

Before electric rates were deregulated in 2002, the rates in Texas were at or below the national average. Since deregulation, the electric rates in Texas have increased by over 80%. Frankly, the power companies have taken advantage of deregulation to fleece Texans and give themselves huge windfall profits.

When arguing for deregulation, the power companies along with Republicans, kept saying that deregulation would result in savings for Texas consumers. This was obviously a lie. Electric rates have never been higher.

Today, Rep. Burnam filed House Bill 395. This bill would require the Public Utility Commission to present alternatives to the present system, if electric prices are not at or below the national average in the summer of 2008. The PUC report would be due on the first day of the 2009 legislative session.

Rep. Burnam says:

"My constituents, like millions of others across the state, are paying significantly more under deregulation, regardless of whether they have switched to a new provider. Electric deregulation in Texas has been incredibly one-sided; big companies are making billion dollar profits while households are paying record high electricity prices. While we need real reforms to the electric market now, it is essential we explore alternatives for the longer term. This bill would direct the PUC to do exactly that.

The Legislature needs to act now to protect consumers. I talked to a doctor just today who told me he's never had so many patients report that they are choosing between medication and electricity than he has this year. This bill helps prepare Texas to change direction if we continue down this road of ever increasing prices."

Hunger & Homelessness Rise In U.S. In 2006

We have more proof of the abject failure of the Bush administration. Most people know of the failures in foreign policy, but Bush and his cohorts are also failing in their domestic policies.

The U.S. Council of Mayors has just released a report that shows this failure in stark terms. The report says that both homelessness and hunger have risen in this country in the last year, as they have been doing since Bush took office in 2000.

Here are some of the findings of the Mayors' report:

- requests for food have risen by 7% in the last year
- requests for shelter have risen by 9% in the last year
- requests for shelter by families with children rose by 5%
- children make up a quarter of those in homeless shelters
- families often have to split up & stay in different shelters
- 23% of food requests went unfulfilled
- more than a third of adults asking for food aid are employed

The Bush administration was quick to point out that food requests were actually down in a few cities like Cleveland. What they don't tell you is that the demand for food subsidies in up by 29% in Cleveland since 2000, the year that Bush took office. Food subsidies and food stamps now make up 60% of the budget of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This is a shameful situation. The Bush economic policies have helped only the rich, who are making larger profits than ever. But the poor and working class are losing ground every day, and the middle class is now being put in jeopardy. Many middle class families are only a paycheck or two away from disaster.

Bush seems to think that whatever is good for his rich buddies is good for all Americans. The above-stated figures show that to be a big fat lie! The Bush economic policies have been an unmitigated disaster for most Americans.

When you combine Bush's domestic policies with his foreign policy failures, we can see that Bush is truly the worst president ever.

TTRS Is Considering A Risky Investment

"They should not gamble with the money they are charged with protecting not only for the retired teachers of this state, but for all of those active teachers who are contributing to the fund with every paycheck." These are the words of Linda Bridges, president of the Texas Federation of Teachers. She is talking about a risky investment being considered by the Texas Teacher Retirement System [TTRS].

The TTRS is discussing at this time whether to sink part of its multi-billion dollar portfolio into the Emerging Technology Fund, established in 2005 by Governor Perry to make investment capital available to companies in Texas who are trying to get a foothold in the high-technology market.

I'm all for the TTRS making good safe investments to grow the retirement fund established for teachers. But this sounds more like gambling than the making of a sane investment for teachers' retirement. Especially in light of a TTRS staff memo that states, "The historical returns for venture capital investments possess substantial volatility. It is not uncommon for an early-stage venture capital fund to have nine losses for every home run investment."

This means they are considering an investment that has a 90% chance of failure. What the hell are these guys thinking? The TTRS is charged with growing and PROTECTING the teacher retirement fund, not gambling it away with high-risk investments [even in a fund created by the governor of Texas].

I have no problem with the Emerging Technology Fund. In fact, it is probably a good idea that could help Texas gain a larger share of companies in the high-tech marketplace. But it is far too risky to fund it with money earmarked for teacher retirement. And while I'm on this subject, it is also too risky a venture for the retirement fund of state employees.

There is the possibility of enormous profits from investing in high-tech firms, but it must be done with money that we can afford to lose, since the chance of failure is far greater than the chance for big profits. We cannot afford to deplete the retirement funds of teachers. This would endanger the future of our Texas teachers, and therefore our schools.

The TTRS should not even be considering this kind of investment.

City, County & State Want New Toll Lanes On I-35W

Anyone who lives in or near Tarrant county knows that Interstate 35W north of downtown has been inadequate for the traffic it carries for several years now. It only has two lanes, and it needs to have at least two more [making a total of four lanes going each way].

When Tarrant county got a huge multi-million dollar bond proposal passed earlier this year, they said part of the money would be to "fix I-35W". I thought at the time this meant they would widen the freeway, and I'm sure a lot of others thought the same. After all, that is the "fix" that is needed. But we were wrong. Evidently the money was just for repairs and not for widening the freeway. I still think they were misleading when trying to get the bond proposal passed.

Now they are doing something even worse. Fort Worth and Tarrant county officials have joined with state officials to push a proposal that would widen I-35W and Loop 820 with new TOLL LANES! It's not bad enough that these officials support that boondoggle called the Trans-Texas Corridor, now they want to build new toll lanes inside the county.

It seems like these officials never pass up an opportunity to squeeze another dollar out of their constituents. What do they have against poor and working folks? Do they just not like us, or just can't be bothered with thinking about us?

I'm sure these officials have plenty of money to throw around and spend on taking a toll road. After all, you pretty much have to be well-off to even run for political office these days. But there are lots of working people who really can't afford the extra expense of taking a toll road to work and back. They're still going to be crammed into the two existing lanes, while the rich speed by in the new toll lanes.

The working people pay most of the taxes, and they deserve to have a decent way to get to and from work. But it seems that everything the city, county and state does nowdays is geared toward helping the rich. Widening I-35W and Loop 820 is badly needed, but it is ridiculous and unfair to do it by adding toll lanes.

If we need to raise the gas tax a little to pay for new and improved roads, then we should do it. That would be a lot cheaper for most people than toll roads. This is just a bad idea, and it should be stopped before it gets any further.

Petition Submitted For Vote On Anti-Immigrant Ordinance

A few weeks ago, the city of Farmers Branch passed an anti-immigrant ordinance targeted at the Hispanics living in the city. The ordinance has come under fire from Hispanic and civil rights groups, and at least one lawsuit has been filed to overturn the ordinance.

Residents of Farmers Branch have also been trying another way to get rid of the ordinance. They have been collecting signatures on a petition calling for a vote by the citizens on whether to overturn the ordinance or not.

The anti-ordinance citizens needed 700 signatures to force the city council to call the election. The group has now turned in the petition to the city council. The petition has over 1400 signatures. Now the city has 15 days to verify that at least 700 of the signatues are from registered voters living in the city.

Of course some of the ordinance supporters are claiming that many illegal immigrants may have signed the petition. But William Brewer, a petition organizer, answered that charge saying, "That was all a bunch of silliness. The petition was signed by registered voters."

According to City Attorney Matthew Boyle, if the petition is found to have 700 valid signatures, the city council will have to choose between repealing the ordinance or scheduling a city-wide vote for May 12th.

I seriously doubt the city council will repeal the ordinance, so it looks like the voters will get their chance to speak on the matter next May. I hope the decent citizens of Farmers Branch will overturn this bigoted ordinance. The city council has given their city a lot of bad publicity by passing it, and set them up to spend thousands of dollars trying to defend this obnoxious ordinance.

It's up to the voters now. The election next May will tell the nation just what kind of city Farmers Branch is -- bigoted or progressive and accepting. It will be interesting to see what choice they make.

Business Leaders To Fight TXU's New Coal Plants

Things don't seem to be going all that well for TXU these days. They already had several enviornmental groups and several Texas mayors, including the mayors of Dallas and Houston, opposing their building of 11 new coal-powered plants. Now there is another group coming out in opposition to the coal-powered plants.

The Dallas Morning News tells us today, that a group composed of at least 20 of the most powerful business leaders in the North Texas area, have formed a PAC called Texas Business for Clean Air. The PAC was formed to oppose the building of TXU's 11 new coal-fired power plants, at least with the technology TXU is currently planning to use. These businessmen think that more pollution in an area that is already failing to meet EPA standards, could hurt economic development by boosting health care costs and making the area unattractive to workers.

David Litman, chief executive of Consumer Club Inc., said, "We are not against TXU. We are all for companies making money. But you've passed off some of your costs on the public in terms of dirty air, in terms of kids showing up at Children's Hospital. We think the plan TXU is proposing is irresponsible and is being crammed down our throats. We intend to lobby the legislature, and we intend to use whatever prestige and influence we have."

In the recent past, it has been easy for lawmakers, especially Republicans, to ignore activists and enviornmental groups. But this is a group they cannot ignore. These are powerful men. These are some of the men who fund political campaigns. They have access and will be at least listened to.

TXU needs to take another look at its current plan for the 11 new plants. There is better technology available. They would be better served to take the money they are spending on lobbyists and court costs, and invest it in cleaner technology for the new plants. Think of the good will and good public relations they could build by being a leader in the use of clean technology, rather than the polluter they are now perceived as being.

As Garrett Boone, chairman of The Container Store, said, "There's a myth out there that clean air and business are somehow at odds. This really is going to affect more than Texas. What TXU does could be a pattern nationwide."

Here are the leaders endorsing Texas Business for Clean Air:

Trammel S. Crow, founder, Crow Collection of Asian Art
Garrett Boone, chairman, The Container Store
David Litman, chief executive, Consumer Club Inc.
Wick Allison, publisher, D Magazine
Dick Bartlett, vice chairman, Mary Kay Inc.
Randy Best, chairman, Best & Associates
Stephen Butt, senior vice president, Central Market
Hal Brierley, chairman, Brierley & Partners
Edwin Cox, chairman, Edwin L. Cox Co.
Steve Durham, co-chairman, American Strategic Alliances
Roger Enrico, chairman, Dreamworks Animation
Howard Hallam, president, Ben E. Keith
Bill Hutchinson, chief executive, Dunhill Partners
Tom Lardner, Bright Sun
Aubrey McClendon, chairman, Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Liener Temerlin, Temerlin Consulting
Jay Wagley, managing director, CBRE Melody
Sam Wyly, founder, Ranger Capital

Another Republican Congressman Is In Trouble

Rep. Gary Miller [R-California] coasted to victory unopposed last November in the heavily Republican 42nd District. He will be returning to the U.S. House of Representatives for his fifth term as a congressman.

But now it looks like the people of California's 42nd District may be sending a corrupt politician back to Washington. Four of Miller's ex-aides are saying that Miller used his government position for personal gain, and they have e-mails, handwritten notes and letters on Miller's congressional letterhead to prove it.

One of the former aides said, "There was never a clear line in the office between what was congressional business and what was just business. The expectation was that you would do both."

Here are some of the things he is accused of doing:

* While Miller was asking the Monrovia City Council to purchase 165 acres from him for $12 million, he asked his aides to find a way to place one of the councilmen on the National Park System Advisory Board. He ignored his staff when they told him this would look like bribery, and told them the sooner they could get it done the better. The City Council bought the land, and the councilman in question voted for the purchase.

* Miller routinely had his staff handle his personal errands such as helping his kids with their schoolwork, searching for rock concert tickets, sending flowers to friends and family, helping his son enroll in college, and checking on his stock prices. This is a clear violation of federal law. Gary Ruskin, director of the Congressional Accountability Project, said, "We taxpayers trust that our members of Congress will not turn their staff into butlers. That's not what they're paid for. It's a misuse of funds and an abuse of power."

* Miller allocated funds for street improvements near a development he co-owned, and in the same bill, he closed down an airport used by private pilots and emergency medical personnel. This opened the land up for development by the Lewis Operating Corporation, one of Miller's largest contributors.

* Lewis Operating Corp. also helped Miller hide $10 million in real estate profits from capital gains taxes. A complaint has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service over this one by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

* Miller has collected $25,000 a year in each of the last three elections, by using his own real estate office as his campaign headquarters. This is another violation of federal law, since no real campaign activity took place there.

You'd think after the troubles of DeLay, Cunningham, Ney, and Abramoff, the Republicans would pull back a little from the corruption. But not this guy. Miller must think he's bulletproof. Either that, or he's been playing fast and loose with the rules so long he doesn't know how to be honest anymore.

How do the Republicans keep coming up with these losers?

EPA To Fix Discrepancy In M.P.G. Figures

Did you ever wonder why you would buy a vehicle that the EPA said gets 25 miles per gallon, but the best you could get driving it was about 21 miles per gallon [or less]? I think we've all had this experience.

The EPA itself admits that in normal driving conditions, most cars will get 8-12% fewer miles per gallon than the EPA estimate on the price sticker. Edmunds.com, an auto information website, believes the figure is closer to 14%.

That's because the EPA has not been testing cars under normal driving conditions. The current EPA test, which has been the same since 1984, does very little stop-and-go driving, does not include rapid acceleration, does not turn on the air conditioner, and tests in a 70 degree enviornment. There is no way the normal driver can meet all of these conditions.

Fortunately, the EPA is preparing itself to test cars and light trucks under more normal conditions. This will start with the 2008 models that will come out next year. Surprisingly enough, both enviormental groups and carmakers agree that the new testing will be better for everyone, especially the consumer.

The new EPA test will do more high-speed driving, use the air conditioner part of the time, include rapid acceleration, use more stop-and-go driving, and test partly in 20 degree cold. This new test should produce a more realistic mpg number, one that the consumer can actually attain in normal driving.

I have to wonder if Bush knows about the new test. It's not like his administration to do something that makes sense, and will actually help the consumer. I hope no one tells him about it. We could use a little truth in the marketplace.

A Hide Tanning In House District 23

Congratulations must go out to Ciro Rodriguez in House District 23 this morning, because he is now Texas' newest member of the U.S. House of Representatives. And he did it convincingly.

I have to admit that I thought this one would be a squeaker, and the Democrats would be lucky to win by a point or two. But Rodriguez had other plans -- like getting over 54% of the total vote! He took Bonilla to the woodshed and gave him an old-fashioned whuppin'. District 23 is no longer red, or even a shade of purple -- it's now a very nice shade of blue.

Thank you South Texas, and congratulations to U.S. Representative Ciro Rodriguez. It was a wonderful night. Let's hope it was a harbinger of many future Democratic victories.

New Rules For Death Penalty Attorneys

Eleven years ago, a state law was passed requiring that the Appeals Courts make sure that inmates on Death Row receive adequate representation during the appeals process. Recently, the Austin American-Statesman discovered that sub-par attorneys were still being allowed to represent Death Row clients.

According to an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this morning:

"The newspaper [Austin American-Statesman] found examples of habeas lawyers who copied from previous appeals, regardless of the case's facts, or ignored important case details. In one case, a lawyer submitted a writ with sections copied verbatim from his client's letters from death row."

On Monday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals finally moved to rectify this situation. They adopted new rules that said a majority of the judges on the Court could remove an attorney from the Court's approved list of habeas attorneys. The attorney's could be removed for:

* Exhibiting Substandard proficiency
* Unprofessional or unethical behavior
* Being found to have provided poor representation in any criminal case

There is also a State Bar of Texas task force organized last month. They may well make recommendations for further action. Judge Cathy Cochran said, "We recognize the need to have at least somewhat more specific rules...to remove attorneys who are not fulfilling their obligation to their clients. We're only partway there. We are hoping the task force comes up with more specific recommendations. In the meantime, at least we have something in place."

I am glad the Court finally took some action. Whether a person agrees with the death penalty or not, I think we can all agree that Death Row inmates should have adequate representation. If the state of Texas is going to execute people, then they are obligated to make sure it is done fairly, and that the inmate has decent representation.

This is a good first step.

Olmert Admits Israel Has Nuclear Weapons

Most people who keep up with world affairs have believed for years now that Israel possesses nuclear weapons. They are routinely included on lists of countries that have the nuclear bomb. But Israeli officials have always refused to confirm or deny their possession of these weapons.

However, it looks like Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert blundered on Monday during a visit to Germany, and admitted the obvious -- that Israel is a nuclear power.

In an interview on German television, Olmert was asked if Israel's alleged nuclear program weakened the case against Iran's nuclear program. He replied, "Iran, openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?"

Of course, the Israeli government was quick to deny that Olmert had actually admitted that Israel had nuclear weapons. Olmert's own spokesman said Olmert did not mean to say that Israel had, or aspired to have nuclear weapons. But the cat is now out of the bag.

Olmert may not have intended to admit the fact, but his words are very clear. The world's assumption for the last few years is true -- Israel does have nuclear weapons.

Although I have believed for a while now that Israel does have the nuclear bomb, it does not make me feel any better to have Olmert verify it, especially since Israel is known for its unilateral actions in defiance of U.N. resolutions and world opinion.

It would be better if no country had nuclear weapons in the Middle East, but that time has long since passed. Israel has nuclear weapons, and Iran is not far from having them.

The situation was bad enough when only the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France and China had the nuclear bomb. It got worse when India and Pakistan became nuclear powers. But the doomsday clock moves very close to midnight, when the warring nations of the Middle East become nuclear powers.

We live in very dangerous times.

Louisiana Embarrasses Democrats Everywhere

This last weekend, the citizens of the 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana re-elected Rep. William Jefferson to another term in the U.S. House of Representatives. They did this in spite of allegations of bribery and corruption. After all, the FBI found $90,000 hidden in Jefferson's home freezer -- and he has yet to satisfactorily explain why it was there.

Making matters worse, it was not even a close election. Jefferson was re-elected with 57% of the total vote. Evidently the citizens of the 2nd Congressional District don't care if their congressman is corrupt or not.

Now some Democratic leaders in Louisiana are asking that Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi [D-California] put Jefferson back on the powerful Ways & Means Committee. He was removed when the cash was found in his freezer, and it was learned that federal officials are investigating him for corruption.

This puts the national Democratic party in a quandry. They were given control of the House and Senate by the electorate, largely because the public was sick and tired of the corruption in Washington. Now one of their own, who most people believe is guilty of corruption, has been sent back to Washington. This does not inspire confidence that the Democrats will be able to clean up corruption in Washington.

As for putting him back on the powerful House Ways & Means Committee, I don't see how that could possibly happen. This is the committee that controls the purse-strings in Washington. They might as well put him on the Ethics Committee. It wouldn't look any worse than letting him return to Ways & Means. In fact, I don't see how Pelosi could put him on any committee of any importance.

This is just the kind of thing the Democrats did not need to happen. You can bet the Republicans will use Jefferson as the poster-boy of Democratic corruption from now through the next election. And you couldn't blame the Republicans if they did. They were able to dump their most corrupt politicians, but the Democrats returned theirs to Congress.

Thanks Louisiana! You just may have helped the Republicans return to power.

Just How Stupid Are La Vega School Administrators ?

In the last few years since the advent of "zero tolerance", we have seen school officials across the state and across the country make some pretty ridiculous decisions. But the decision made last week by the La Vega School District administrators may be the worst yet. The La Vega School District is just outside Waco.

The mentally-challenged administrators of the La Vega district have suspended a four-year-old child for "inappropriate physical behavior interpreted as sexual contact and/or sexual harassment". They say that while he was hugging a teacher's aide he "rubbed his face in the chest of the female employee".

The first question that popped into my mind was how many four-year-olds even know what "sexual harassment and/or sexual contact" means? I think the answer is probably NONE.

So we are left with the fact that these brain-dead administrators have punished a four-year-old for something he doesn't have the sophistication to understand, and didn't know was inappropriate [if it even was inappropriate for a child that age]. This black mark on the child's "permanent record" was certainly undeserved.

The child's father was upset and said his child doesn't understand why he was punished. [Neither do I!] The father filed a complaint with the district. How did the district answer his complaint? They changed the offense to "inappropriate physical contact". Give me a break! This answer is clearly inadequate.

Ever since the right-wing fundamentalists started taking over school boards across the country, we have seen more and more ridiculous actions of this nature. It's time to hit them where it hurts -- in the pocketbook. This father needs to get the greediest lawyer he can find and turn him loose.

Cowboys Take A Beating From The Saints

Well, this game was just awful. The New Orleans Saints gave the Cowboys a 42-17 beating, and it could have been even worse if Coach Payton hadn't shown a little mercy and had his quarterback "take the knee" instead of trying to score on the last drive.

The Saints racked up 535 offensive yards. This is the third most numbers of yards given up by a Cowboys defense in their entire history as a franchise in the NFL.

Quite frankly, it looked like the Cowboys just gave up in the fourth quarter. Every now and then in the NFL, a good team has one of those days when they just can't seem to do anything right [kind of an out-of-control anamoly]. I hope that's what this was.

The Cowboys are still 8-5, and in good position to make the playoffs. But they need to bear down and make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again. They have three very winnable games left on the schedule. Now they just need to make sure they win all three. Failure to do that will make what was looking like a great season into a very disappointing one.

The Atlanta Falcons are next. It is truly a "must win" game now.

Should The "N-Word" Be Banned ?

A couple of weeks ago, comedian Michael Richards lashed out at some Black customers of the Laugh Factory by repeatedly using the work "nigger" to demean them. The incident justifiably caused an uproar across the nation.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, both of whom I respect and support, have called for everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, to cease using the word. Since Richard's outburst in his club, Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada has banned use of the word by comedians appearing in his club.

But the Black owner of the Comedy Union, also in Los Angeles, has stepped forward to defend free speech. Enss Mitchell is welcoming comics who use the word. He says, "Someone had to stand up for comics and freedom of speech has to rule the day. No matter if you agree or disagree with what someone says, you have to allow them the opportunity to say it....I just wanted to make the point that it's a slippery slope when anyone wants to start banning a word."

Personally, I don't like the word and don't use it in my daily life. It has racist connotations and it would please me if no one ever chose to use the word again. But Mr. Mitchell is right. It must be a personal choice whether to use any word such as this or not. Banning the word does put us on the slippery slope of possibly losing our most important freedom -- the freedom of speech.

It is easy to protect speech that we like. It is much harder to protect speech that offends us. But if we ban speech that offends us, soon we'll be banning ideas that offend us -- then we'll no longer be free. It is an absolute must for a free country to have free speech.

I agree with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton that we as citizens should each choose not to use this word, but it would be wrong to ban the word.

After all, if you are never offended by the speech of another, then you don't live in a free country.

Laura's Red Dress & A missed Opportunity

.At last Sunday night's Kennedy Center Honors, Laura Bush wore the red dress pictured above. The dress is an $8500 Oscar de la Renta creation picked especially for the occasion. Everything was fine until three other women showed up wearing the exact same dress

Mrs. Bush must have been horrified, because according to accounts, she unobtrusively left the occasion and returned later wearing a different dress. Of course, she had every right to react as she did, but it did show that she's as poor a politician as her husband.

By changing the dress, she made it seem as if she thought herself too important to be seen in the same dress as others. This has made her a laughingstock in much of the media and many blogs. I have to wonder how someone more politically astute would have handled the situation.

Couldn't she have presented herself [and therefore her husband] in a little better light, if she had done something different? Let's say that instead of changing the dress, she got together with the other three women, and the four posed together for the media. Then she could have made some joke about it such as "I'm really glad these ladies got my memo about the uniform of the day."

It would have removed the embarrassment of the other three ladies, and shown Americans that she can take a joke -- even about herself. It would have given the impression that she's one of the people, rather than appearing to be above the common people. Most importantly, it would have had people laughing with her instead of at her. It would have created a bit more good will for both Bushs.

The really good politicians know that an embarrassing situation is also an opportunity to show their humanity and garner some good will. That could have been done in this situation, but it wasn't.

Saudi Arabia Sending Millions To Iraqi Insurgents

Have we already chosen a side in the Iraqi civil war? It certainly looks like it, when you consider our government's different treatment for those countries funding the factions fighting in Iraq.

The Bush administration is coming down hard on countries like Iran and Syria, saying they are funding the Iraqi Shiite factions. Bush accuses these countries of trying to foment violence between Shiites and Sunnis, in the hope of helping to establish a Shiite government in Iraq.

But are we coming down as hard on the countries that fund the Sunni insurgents in Iraq? Not at all.

The Iraq Study Group tells us that millions of dollars are being given to Sunni insurgents by sources in Saudi Arabia. The money is given to Sunni clerics, who then funnel the money to the Iraqi insurgents. The Study Group says large boxes of money are being smuggled into Iraq by truckers and bus drivers from Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi government denies that this is happening, but isn't that what we would expect them to say? Just last week, Nawaf Obaid, who headed a security group close to the Saudi government, said Saudi Arabia would use its money and oil to support Sunnis and thwart Iranian efforts to dominate Iraq. Obaid was fired for letting the cat out of the bag, but that doesn't alter the truth of his statement.

But the Bush administration is doing nothing to punish the Saudis for supporting the insurgents who are killing our American soldiers. That is because the Bush family has many friends and business associates in the Saudi royal family. Remember, the Saudis were allowed to fly out of America immediately after the 9/11 disaster. The Bush administration allowed them to fly even though everyone else, including American citizens, were grounded.

If Bush is going to allow the Saudis to fund one side in the Iraqi civil war, and cannot keep the Iranians from funding the other side, he needs to immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq. They are stuck in the middle with no friends on either side.

But Bush will not withdraw our troops, because it would involve his having to admit he made a mistake [something his personality will not allow him to do]. Bush started this whole mess, but don't hold your breath waiting for him to fix it.

Texas Leads The Nation In Uninsured People

* Texas has highest percentage of uninsured at 25.1% of its population [5.6 million people].
* Seventy-nine percent of uninsured Texans work or have a working family member.
* Between 76 percent and 82 percent of the uninsured in Texas are U.S. citizens.
* Sixty-eight percent of nonpoor uninsured Texans are white, non-Hispanic individuals.
* Some 2,500 uninsured Texans die prematurely each year.
* One million uninsured Texans do not receive adequate care for chronic diseases.

The figures above were taken from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and they don't paint a very pretty picture of Texas. To put it bluntly, Texas ranks LAST in healthcare coverage among the 50 states. This is not only ridiculous, but it's created a huge burden on our existing healthcare network, especially emergency rooms.

Last week, University of Texas System Regents met in Dallas to discuss the healthcare problem and possible solutions. Dr. Kenneth Shine, UT System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs, said, "Simply throwing more money at the problem is not going to solve it. We have to change the way we provide care."

On Friday, they released their recommendations. They believe Texas should add more community-based outpatient centers to relieve the burden on overcrowded emergency rooms. They say this would also reduce the cost of caring for non-emergency patients.

They also want the state to provide more wellness care. They said it is cheaper to keep a patient healthy, than to treat him/her once they are sick. But our current system pays doctors for procedures to treat the sick, not for care to keep them well.

They recommend imposing a 3% quality-assurance fee on all hospitals and free-standing surgery centers, to pay for this additional healthcare. Currently, 35 other states are levying these kind of fees.

I don't doubt that these recommendations would be an improvement to our current abysmal system of healthcare, but I still have the feeling that this would be like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. It simply doesn't go far enough.

Why don't we bite the bullet and create a single-payer universal healthcare system that would cover all our citizens with healthcare insurance. We could pay for this coverage by:

* Levy the 3% fee on all hospitals and surgery centers, but also extend to fee to doctors visits and other healthcare procedures.

* Put a 3% fee on all worker's salaries. The current medicare tax could be eliminated, since everyone would be covered under the new system.

* Lower capital gains taxes to 3-5% and put all the funds raised into healthcare.

* Charge all businesses a 3-5% healthcare fee. This would not only bring in funds from businesses not currently offering healthcare insurance, but it would lower healthcare costs for the businesses that currently offer coverage for their employees.

I believe this would provide the funds neccessary to cover all citizens with healthcare insurance. Maybe there's a better way to fund it -- that could be debated. But however we pay for it, we must institute universal healthcare coverage here. It is long overdue.

A Stupid Bumper Sticker

This post is not about some earth-shattering political event. It's about a bumper sticker I saw on the way to work yesterday morning. Now I'm not usually upset about this kind of thing. I've seen hundreds of stupid bumper stickers and they usually just cause me to shake my head and forget about them ten minutes later.

For some unknown reason this one really incensed me. Here is what the offending sticker said:

IRRITATE A LIBERAL
Work Hard - Succeed - Be Happy

Since when would someone working hard, succeeding, and being happy irritate anyone, especially a liberal. Isn't this a pretty good description of the American Dream? Far from irritating any liberal [or leftist], most liberals I know would be happy to see anyone do this.

In fact, liberals would like to see everyone in America be able to do this, and not just Georgie's rich friends, as we have had for the last few years.

Obviously, this bumper sticker is the result of the Bill O'Reilly/Rush Limbaugh mindset. This mindset dictates that a "conservative" should never agree with a liberal on anything. If a liberal believes something, then it must be evil and must be opposed by conservatives. And if there's something that a conservative really believes in, then the lie must be advanced that no liberal could possibly agree with it. It is this kind of thinking that has so sharply divided our country.

There are many things that liberals and conservatives disagree on, but there are also many things that both sides can agree on. I can't believe that any American would not want people to work hard, succeed, and be happy -- no matter what their political persuasion!

We used to have the ability to disagree in this country, and still be able to work out a compromise that the majority of people could accept. But the O'Reilly/Limbaugh mindset, accepted by many right-wingers, is destroying the ability to compromise with the opposition. Anything not done their way is evil and must be stopped.

Don't get me wrong, I love my left-wing beliefs and I'm willing to fight for them. But that doesn't mean that conservatives are evil and can never have a good idea. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't make them un-American -- it just means we still live in a free country.

71% Unhappy With Bush's Handling Of Iraq War

For the last few days, all the news media have been talking about is the new report from the Iraq Study Group. The Group, made up of both Democrats and Republicans, made a bipartisan finding that we are not winning in Iraq and cannot win using current tactics. They have recommended a change in the way we're fighting the war, and want to start withdrawing trrops by Spring of 2008.

Now there is a new AP-Ipsos poll, that shows the huge majority of the American people agree with them. According to the poll, a whopping 71% of the population are dissatisfied with the way Bush is handling the war. This is the highest percentage to date that believe this. Only 27% of Americans approve of Bush's handling of the war [down from 31% in November].

Even more telling, only 9% of Americans believe a clear-cut victory can be achieved in Iraq. 87% believe there will have to be some sort of compromise settlement.

Obviously, this cuts the legs out from under Bush's declaration that we will stay in Iraq until we achieve victory. With his own Iraq Study Group and the huge majority of the American people unhappy with his handling of the war, a person might think that Bush would change direction on Iraq.

But anyone who believes that just doesn't know much about Bush. This is not a man who can admit he made a mistake. His messianic zeal will compel him to "stay the course". Of course, he will no longer call it that, but that is what he will do.

The only way the troops will be withdrawn before a new president is installed, is if Bush is impeached. Bush is convinced it is his god-given mission to force an American-style democracy on Iraq, whether they want it or not. I don't think he would change if 99% of Americans wanted him to do so.

Come on Democrats, let's get this impeachment started -- the sooner the better.

Bush Tells Iran/Syria: Surrender, Then We'll Talk

It looks like Bush is posturing again -- saying something he really doesn't mean so he'll look good to the media. That's all I can figure after looking at his preconditions for involving Iran and Syria in regional peace talks.

For Iran, Bush says he will be willing to talk to them if they just give up all of their nuclear ambitions. This is an impossible condition for the Iranians. It is tantamount to saying that if they surrender to all our demands, we'll be happy to talk with them. This is not a willingness to negotiate -- it's a demand for unconditional surrender.

If we actually sit down with the Iranians and really negotiate with no preconditions, we might actually get what we want. But to demand they meet our conditions before we'll even talk with them will accomplish nothing.

Our demands for Syria are similar. Bush is demanding that Syria stop involving itself in Lebanon [that is stop supporting Hamas]. That is the same as Syria demanding we stop supporting Israel before they'll talk to us. Both are ridiculous demands. But once again, if we sit down and talk with no preconditions, we might actually get what we want. However, demands will do nothing but continue the hard feelings.

We need Iran and Syria to help us disengage from Iraq. They don't want an unstable Iraq, because it borders their own countries. As for us, we just want cheap oil. If we really want out of Iraq without looking like we lost, we must sit down with the Iranians and Syrians and talk. But these talks will never take place with Bush's preconditions.

Bush would like for the media and the public to think he is now willing to negotiate, but that is just not true. He is actually demanding the same things he has been demanding for quite a while. He doesn't really want to talk -- he just wants us to think he wants to. The only thing he really wants to do is "stay the course", and that's what he'll do as long as he's in office, regardless of how many U.S. soldiers are killed in the Iraqi civil war.

If he's not really willing to negotiate, then we need to get out of Iraq immediately. Any chance of victory was lost long ago.

Wal-Mart Settles Lawsuit Over Insurance

Is there any bottom to the depths to which Wal-Mart will go to squeeze another dollar out of its employees and customers? There doesn't seem to be. We now learn that Wal-Mart was buying life insurance policies on many of its employees without their knowledge -- of course, the beneficiary of all the policies was Wal-Mart.

The families of 73 deceased former employees in Oklahoma discovered this, and they were not happy about it. They sued to recover the insurance benefits they believed that Wal-Mart had wrongfully received. The lawsuit claimed that Wal-Mart did not have an "insurable interest in the lives of its rank-and-file employees".

Wal-Mart tried to get the case dismissed by saying that corporate-owned life insurance policies were a common and well-intentioned product in the corporate world. U.S. Chief District Judge Claire Eagan in Tulsa, disagreed and refused to dismiss the lawsuit. Wal-Mart has now settled the case, and will pay the entire $5.1 million it received from the policies of the Oklahoma employees, to their families and lawyers.

Wal-Mart is claiming that it has discontinued the practice of insuring employees without their knowlege. Oklahoma families have taken care of the practice in their state, but how much money has Wal-Mart collected by doing the same thing in the other 49 states. I suspect that the $5.1 million was just a drop in the bucket. If they collected $5.1 million in Oklahoma, you can imagine how much they collected in larger states like Texas, California, and New York.

Maybe it's time for some smart and greedy lawyers to look into this thing in the other states. Wal-Mart may not think anything is wrong with this practice, but I do. I suspect a jury would also.

Perry Comes To His Senses On Border Wall

Did you think Governor Rick Perry was in favor of building a wall between the United States and Mexico? After listening to his campaign rhetoric [or should I say campaign lies?], I certainly did.

"Border security" seemed to be the main theme of his re-election campaign. As R. G. Ratcliffe of the Houston Chronicle said, "Perry ran millions of dollars of television advertising portraying the border as an open zone of human and drug smuggling and as a potential pathway for terrorists....The campaign was widely seen as an effort to appeal to a Republican voting base angry at the federal government for failing to act to halt illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America."

But the pandering to the bigoted Republican base was just another example of Perry's lies and misrepresentations during the campaign. Now that he has been re-elected, he is changing his tune.

Listen to what Perry told a meeting of border mayors on Wednesday, "Now, strategic fencing in certain urban areas to direct the flow of traffic does make sense, but building a wall on the entire border is a preposterous idea. The only thing a wall would possibly accomplish is to help the ladder business. Good neighbors do not foster fear and engage in devisive appeals. They seek solutions." Doesn't sound like the same Rick Perry that we heard on the campaign trail, does it?

Perry is now also saying that he doesn't like the idea of doing away with "birthright citizenship". He said Rep. Berman's bill to strip citizenship from those born in the country whose parents are illegal immigrants, is devisive.

I like the things Perry is now saying, but how can we trust him after hearing him saying [or inferring] just the opposite only a couple of months ago? Perry is revealing himself as a two-faced political operative, who will say or do anything to gain a political advantage.

For the next four years, we have to wonder about anything he says. He has shown us that he plays fast and loose with the truth.

Stop Chipping Away At My Freedom !

Many of us over here on the liberal side of the blogosphere are angry with the right-wingers for trying to take away many of our freedoms. They want to eavesdrop on our conversations, check up on what we are reading, and even intrude into our bedrooms, without just cause or a court order. We are right to resent these things.

But many of us want to ignore it when the left-wing tries to take away our freedoms. And they are trying to do it, just in a different way.

Look at what we used to call "free speech". Back in the early sixties, the left-wing got a jump-start on its resurgence by championing the cause of free speech -- perhaps the most important of our rights. Without free speech, there can be no real freedom.

But modern liberals seem to have forgotten that. The minute they got a little power, they invented the concept of "politically correct speech". Political correctness is not free speech -- it is not even close to free speech.

It is easy to allow speech that we agree with or approve of. The real test of free speech comes when we hear speech that offends or angers us -- even hateful speech. If we cannot allow this kind of speech, then we are not truly free.

Then came the war on cigarettes. They decided that tobacco wasn't good for us [doesn't matter if it's true or not], so they began to attack the tobacco companies and smokers. They have already gotten the cigarette companies to cough up billions of dollars. Now they are starting to ban smokers from workplaces -- even those areas outside where no second-hand smoke can possibly get to their delicate lungs.

Some cities are even trying to ban smoking in a person's own car or home. I can understand people not wanting my second-hand smoke, but when I am alone or only with other smokers, I should have the freedom to do as I wish. The liberal desire to save me from myself should not trump my desire to make my own choices, whether those choices are good for me or not.

Now the misguided liberals are going to tell us what we can eat and what we can't. Once again they are trying to save us from ourselves. It has started in New York, but you can bet it'll spread pretty soon. They want to make us eat healthy whether we want to or not. Today they tell us we can't get resturant food cooked the way we like it, because it's not good for our health.

I could put up with making resturants put up warnings [like the warnings on a pack of cigarettes], but they want to go further. Since I might not make the choice they want me to make, they have decided that I should not be able to choose at all, and a resturant should not be able to choose how it prepares its food.

This is just wrong in a country that is supposed to believe in freedom. The few freedoms that the right-wingers leave me, the left-wingers want to take away. I feel like I'm being attacked from both sides.

The sad thing is that both sides think they're doing something good. The conservatives say they are protecting my safety, and the liberals say they are protecting my health. I think both sides should just BUTT OUT OF MY LIFE!!!!

I still wish to make my own choices, even if you don't approve.

Bloggers back Truitt Down On Libel Bill

On November 13th, Rep. Vicki Truitt of Keller introduced a bill for the next Texas legislative session. The bill seemed to be a direct shot at bloggers, making them subject to libel laws [which they already are], but stripping them of protections normally given to other media outlets.

Bloggers were quick to respond. They began to slam Truitt and her ridiculous bill. Among the blogs slamming the bill were:

Capitol Annex
PinkDome
McBlogger
Dallas Progress
In the Pink Texas
Bay Area Houston
Brains and Eggs
The Agency Blog
Dallas Blog

Rep. Truitt has now backed down and will withdraw the bill. She now says all she meant to do was prevent people such as angry spouses from posting personal material that could result in someone identity being stolen. She said her bill was not aimed at bloggers.

Truitt said she will introduce a new bill aimed at preventing identity theft, without being so broad as to be viewed as an attack on bloggers.

Way to go guys! That was a bill that needed to be shot down, and you guys did it. Whatever she meant for the bill to do, it could easily have been used as an attack tool on the blogs the way it was written.

I couldn't be prouder of my fellow bloggers today.

Are We Being Poisoned By Household Products ?

In our modern society, each of us comes into contact with hundreds of chemicals each day -- most of them in commonly used household products. Most of us know that it's prudent to watch how we use such chemicals as pesticides, but now there are scientists who believe that many things we have long viewed as safe, such as non-stick cookware, spill-resistant carpet, and flame retardant materials, may actually be poisoning us slowly.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is planning a massive study to find out if we are being affected by the chemicals we routinely come in contact with. This study could cost as much as $2.5 billion and would take place over several years. They plan to follow more than 100,000 children [including children in 7 Texas counties] from birth to age 21.

The researchers would take blood samples from all the children periodally, and test the samples for chemicals. Dr. Leo Trasande, from the Center for Children's Health and the Enviornment at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, says, "This study is really our best hope to unlock the puzzle when it comes to the impact of chemicals on people's lives."

Many of these common chemicals were tested and declared safe for short-term use, but no one knows what effect they may have over a period of many years. This is especially true for children. Because they are still growing and developing, children are more easily affected by chemicals that an adult might be able to tolerate.

Dr. Trasande says, "They're [children] the ones that are most sensitive for so many reasons. Their organ systems are just developing. They ingest more and absorb more of many enviornmental chemicals, pound for pound. And we have a chronic disease epidemic among American children, currently, that is likely to be at least in part the result of the widespread enviornmental chemicals. Childhood cancers, asthma, developmental disabilities and birth defects affect an increasing number of American children. Unfortunately, children are canaries in the coal mines."

The federal government has already spent millions to develop and set parameters for the massive testing program. The actual program is slated to start next year. That is, it was slated to start next year until until President Bush cut the funds needed from his 2007 budget.

Bush is able to find the money to cut taxes for his rich buddies, and wage an unneccessary war in Iraq, but he can't seem to find the money to protect our children! Has this guy ever made a decision that made any sense?

Fortunately, with the Democrats running the House and Senate, maybe the $69 million needed for the program in 2007 can be restored. I certainly hope so.

We put our children, and ourselves, in contact with many chemicals every day. It is time to find out what the long-term effect of these chemicals are on our bodies and our health.

First Lawsuit Filed Against Farmers Branch

Last month, Farmers Branch passed some new ordinances targeted at Hispanics. The ordinances made English the official language, created fines for landlords who rented to illegal immigrants, and created new property maintenance laws. I think we all knew then that it was just a matter of time before the ordinances were attacked in court.

On Monday, the first lawsuit was filed. Guillermo Ramos, a resident of Farmers Branch and owner of a real estate business there, said the ordinances were passed after the city council has met in a closed session. He believes this was a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Ramos also claims that the new property maintenance rule "is unmistakably and improperly directed toward a definable ethnic group -- Hispanics -- in Farmers Branch." Ramos stated further that his business "like other businesses in Farmers Branch will suffer from the negative impacts likely to result from the ordinances."

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund [MALDEF] and the ACLU are also considering lawsuits against Farmers Branch. MALDEF has already filed suit against a California city [Escondido] that passed similar ordinances. The city better have packed away lots of money after passing the bigoted ordinances, because they'll need it to fight all the lawsuits.

There is also a petition collecting signatures to force a referendum on the ordinances in Farmers Branch. The petition needs to be signed by 700 registered voters. William Brewer, a partner in Ramos' real estate business, says "We're already there. We'll get two or three times the number we need."

Looks like Farmers Branch has opened a hornet's nest. If the referendum doesn't get the ordinances dumped, the lawsuits probably will. I certainly hope so. These councilmen may have the right in a free country to be bigots, but they don't have the right to put their bigotry into law so that it affects everyone.

Bush Suffers Two More Defeats

George Bush has just suffered two more defeats in his efforts to spread his right-wing doctrine. The first is in Venezuela, where they had a presidential election yesterday.

President Hugo Chavez has been a thorn in Bush's side for several years now. On Sunday, Chavez was re-elected to a new term by a large margin. With 80% of the vote counted, Chavez had 61% of the vote. His opponent, Manuel Rosales, had only 38%.

This just reinforces Latin America's move to the left. In addition to Venezuela, five other Latin American countries [Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia] have elected leftist presidents in the last year.

I think the Bush administration was hoping that with the waning of Castro in Cuba, the U.S. could once again exert a strong influence on all of the Americas. But it is not working out that way. With such a strong victory, Chavez is poised to replace Castro as the leading voice of an increasingly leftist Latin America.

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The other defeat for the Bush doctrine involved our ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. Bush had been unable to get Bolton's appointment to the job approved by the last Congress, so he waited until they recessed and then appointed Bolton.

I think he hoped at the time that a new Congress would be more amenable to his wishes. But that hope was smashed by Bush's utter failure in managing the Iraq war, and the rampant corruption in the Republican party. When the Democrats took over both the Senate and the House, Bolton's chances of keeping the job sank like a rock.

Today, the White House announced that Bolton would be stepping down from the job in a few days. He submitted his resignation to Bush last friday.

Maybe now we can get a U.N. ambassador more acceptable to the American people and to the other nations in the U.N..

Over 11,000 Texas Kindergarteners Not Promoted

I must admit, this story surprised me. It had never even occurred to me that a child would not be passed on to the first grade from kindergarten. Of course when I started school, there was no such thing as kindergarten [and no, dinosaurs did not roam the earth at that time -- that came later].

According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News, Texas schools held back 11,684 from graduating kindergarten last year. That is 3.7% of all Texas kindergarteners. The reason they were held back is because they did not do well on a standardized test [the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI)].

Once again I am surprised. When did we start giving kindergarten kids a standardized test? I thought kindergarten was to acclimate a child to going to school and getting him/her used to being in a classroom with a teacher and other students. That way, they would be ready to learn when they entered the first grade. Anything else they learned was simply a bonus that would help them later.

It's bad enough that students in the upper grades are just being taught to test well on the TAKS test, instead of being truly educated in a way that teaches them to think rationally. Now many schools and teachers want to begin "teaching the test" in kindergarten. This is just wrong.

Some of our state "experts" in education believe a test in kindergarten is a predictor of later success in reading . I disagree. I don't believe a standardized test in kindergarten is an indicator of anything. For Pete's sake, these are 5-YEAR-OLDS! If anything, our classrooms at that age need to be less standardized. Children are different, and learn in different ways and at different times.

We need to discontinue the practice of "failing" kindergarten students. To tell a child at the age of 5 that he/she is not as smart or accomplished as their classmates, is to set a child up to be a failure. Is this really what we want to do?

I am beginning to understand why our schools are failing.

Euless Needs Water-Rescue Team

Although many cities surrounding it have been having problems governing themselves, Euless residents have been lucky. Our mayor and city council have quietly gone about the business of improving the city without all the infighting that seems so prominent in other cities.

They haven't passed bigoted ordinances like Farmers Branch, designed to target its non-white citizens. In fact, Euless is a virtual cornucopia of racial and ethnic groups, and we like it that way.

They haven't tried to shut down the library or other government services, like its next-door neighbor Bedford, a city that seems to be constantly in need of a recall election.

I haven't blogged a whole lot about Euless, because quite frankly, except to give the city government a pat on the back for their honesty and common sense, there hasn't been a lot that needed to be said. But sooner or later, I guess every city goes a bit astray.

Only six years ago, the only waterways in Euless were a few tiny creeks. Now Euless has four city ponds [one of the many improvements being made by city government]. Last week, several people were seen boating in some of the city ponds. Now the city council has banned swimming, boating or floating in any of the new city ponds.

Why did they do this? According to Ray MacDonald, Parks & Community Services Director, it is because the city has no water-rescue team. The nearest water-rescue team is several miles away in Grapevine.

Surely the city council didn't build the ponds just to look at [or maybe they did]. You would think they should know that if a pond exists, someone is going to make use of it sooner or later. That's just the way people are. Building the ponds without expecting them to be used shows an uncharacteristic lack of forethought on the part of the city.

It looks like it is time to train a few of our firemen and create a water-rescue team. Even if they keep the ban, someday a child will need rescuing from one of the ponds. Children do not always act in ways adults consider to be reasonable.

The city council, in its desire to improve and beautify the city, has created a hazard. Banning the use of the ponds does not make the hazard go away. I appreciate the council's efforts to improve the city, but if they're going to create water facilities, they've also got to plan for the use or misuse of those facilities.

Euless now has ponds. It also needs a water-rescue team.

FEMA Still Providing Poor Service To Citizens

We all know about the pitifully inadequate response FEMA initially made when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and virtually destroyed New Orleans. Most of us thought that after the public humiliation FEMA suffered over this, they would get their act together and actually start helping the victims. But has this happened?

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2.6 million households applied for disaster assistance. The 18-month mandated cut-off for aid is fast approaching, and so far, only about 4700 families have gotten the full disaster assistance capped at $26,200. This is less than 1/4 of 1% of the households that applied.

This is an astoundingly small number, especially since those who applied tended to be poorer, less-insured and have a higher jobless rate than most Americans.

I have to agree with Sheila Crowley of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, when she says, "I cannot name another circumstance when so many public servants have worked so hard to provide such dehumanizing and shoddy service to citizens who were entitled to basic help and deserved fundamental respect." The coalition is pushing for the government to extend the 18-month cut-off period.

There are many reasons why FEMA's service has been so inadequate. FEMA has an antiquated computer system. FEMA has required applicants to provide proof of house payments, even though that proof was washed away in the flood. FEMA has required applicants to meet with officials in New Orleans, even though they may have been evacuated to locations hundreds of miles away.

FEMA seems to have an endless list of excuses for why they have failed. But they have still failed in their obligations, and continue to fail even today.

Personally, I think their biggest failure is due to their attitude. FEMA director R. David Paulison said, "No good deed goes unpunished. We felt like we did a good job."

A good job of doing what? It certainly wasn't [and isn't] a good job of helping Katrina and Rita victims. This guy seems to be carrying on a tradition of incompetence established by "Brownie" right after the disaster hit.

And listen to this bit of nonsense by Bush apologist Ronald D. Utt of the Heritage Foundation. He said, "From a human suffering point of view, I think it's good news [that most households have been dropped from consideration], a lot of people have simply found it easier to stay where they are, which are probably places of greater opportunity than New Orleans."

He assumes that because people cannot afford to return due to the abysmal failures of FEMA, that they must not want to go home. What a dunce! This reminds me of Barbara Bush remarking that the children evacuated from New Orleans must be having a good time. Do any of these right-wingers even try to understand?

The Bush administration has screwed up the disaster relief from the very start. It is starting to look like they simply don't want to help these people.

Judge Says Guantanamo Policies Deny Justice

"It is often said that 'justice delayed is justice denied.' Nothing could be closer to the truth with reference to the Guantanamo Bay cases," U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler of Washington D.C., wrote in a ruling Friday, spurning the Pentagon's attempt to deny Bisher Al Rawi, another Afghan man held at Guantanamo, from representing his friend Al Razak.

Al Rawi would represent his friend with the help of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has aided several hundred Guantanamo detainees, and New York lawyer Alan Sussman.

Al Razak's legal filings say he is not a member of the Taliban, al-Qaida or any terrorist group, but has been kept in isolation, repeatedly interrogated and severely beaten, put in cages without privacy, shackled with heavy chains and irons, exposed to extreme temperatures, sexually humiliated and subjected to violent behavior and psychological abuse.

Kessler wrote that Al Razak has been cut off from family, friends and indeed all of the outside world for more than three years, can't speak English, doesn't know the criminal justice system, lacks access to a law library and has no criminal charges filed against him.

"He has every reason to distrust his captors and keepers. He has every reason to rely on the friendship of other detainees, who speak his language and suffer the same disabilities. He has every reason to challenge his detainment," Kessler wrote. "He cannot communicate with his attorney, nor does he even know at present that he has an attorney. He has no expectation of release, ever."


The paragraphs above, from an AP article in the Houston Chronicle, details the kind of treatment given detainees held by our military at the Guantanamo Base detention facilities. There the detainees are tortured, humiliated, and denied the right to be represented by an attorney.

George Bush is quick to tell us how he believes in freedom and justice, but his actions tell a different story. The freedom and justice he talks about are only for his rich friends.

He showed us in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that he does not care about the less fortunate citizens in the United States. The treatment shown the Guantanamo detainees tells us he is unwilling to grant even the most basic human rights to those he considers his enemies.

For a country that has always prided itself on being a beacon for freedom, justice and human rights, Bush's actions are a profound embarrassment.

The idea of basic human rights for everyone is something he simply does not believe in. To him, human rights are something he doles out to those that he feels deserves them. I don't think it's ever occurred to him that if rights are denied to one person, they are endangered for everyone.

Speaker-elect of the House Nancy Pelosi made a serious mistake when she said a couple of weeks ago the impeachment is "off the table". Bush's dastardly actions make the impeachable offenses of Nixon and Clinton look like child's play. Bush's impeachment should not only be "on the table", but those proceedings should start immediately upon the convening of the new Congress.

If the Guantanamo detainees have committed crimes against the United States, then they should be tried and convicted in a court of law. But no one, not even the enemies of our country, should ever be tortured, humiliated or denied the right to be represented by an attorney in a fair and impartial trial.

Justice is either for everyone, or it is for no one. I would have thought even a moron could understand that concept. But evidently Bush doesn't.

Protesters Barred From Native American Funeral

The sick and pathetic cretins from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas are still at it. They have been going to the funerals of American soldiers and protesting. They say that the soldiers are dying because God is angry that America tolerates homosexuals.

But they will not be protesting at the funeral of Cpl. Nathan Goodiron, of the North Dakota National Guard.

Cpl. Goodiron is a Native American from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. On the reservation, he was known as Young Eagle. He was killed in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day by a grenade thrown at the vehicle he was riding in.

On friday, tribal leaders from the Three Affiliated Tribes passed a resolution barring the church members from protesting on reservation land. Tribal police have been instructed to not allow the protesters onto the reservation.

Tribal chairman Marcus Wells Jr. said, "We will not tolerate any harassment that is intended to provoke ill feelings and violence. We recognize and respect the right to free speech and the public's right to assemble, but we want everyone to know that the Three Affiliated Tribes, as a sovereign tribal government, has the right to regulate any person or persons who harass or show disrespectful conduct toward our members, within our boundaries."

I have always been a supporter of free speech -- even hate speech as conducted by this venemous church. But their behavior at the funeral of our American soldiers is over the line. Free speech has never been absolute. You can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater, and you shouldn't be allowed to protest at the funerals of our brave American soldiers.

I have been against the war in Iraq since before Bush ordered the invasion, but I would never dream of protesting at a soldier's funeral. There is such a thing as common decency. These "christians" should know that.

I have to wonder if they are really Baptists. Is the Westboro Baptist Church a member of any Baptist Convention? If not, I would think a lawsuit would be in order to prevent them from calling themselves Baptists. After all, they are damaging and smearing the reputations of decent Baptists everywhere.

First Lawsuits Filed To Stop New Coal-Fired Plants

There have been voices of opposition to the building of new coal-fired power plants by TXU, but the plants were still sailing through Governor Perry's "fast track" program for approval. Now the first roadblock has been thrown up.

Ironically, one of the men trying to stop the building of the new plants is a wealthy backer of President Bush and Governor Perry. Dallas resident and Republican oilman, Albert Huddleston, has joined forces with musician and co-founder of the country-rock band The Eagles, Don Henley, to try and stop construction of the first two coal-fired plants. These two plants are to be built in Robertson County.

The two men are financially backing a lawsuit filed in a Waco federal court on friday by two groups -- Cleancoalition and Robertson County: Our Land, Our Lives. The lawsuit claims the building of the two Robertson County power plants would violate the Clean Air Act by refusing to consider other methods of fueling the power generators.

Instead of the coal-fired plants, which would pour tons of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into our air, they want TXU to use a newer and cleaner method of producing electricity. The new method turns coal into a gas, which is then burned to generate the needed power.

TXU claims the method is an unproven technology. The problem with that argument is that such a plant is already in operation producing 260 megawatts for Tampa, Florida. The technology is not unproven, but it is more expensive. TXU just wants to build their new plants cheaply, with little regard for Texas' air quality.

As Huddleston says, "New, more effective technologies exist, and they are required to be used under the Clean Air Act. We can, and should, do better than we are doing today."

TXU and other power companies have been overcharging Texans for electricity to the tune of about $60 million. That is bad enough. To produce more pollution when Texas is already failing to meet federal clean air standards is totally unacceptable.

It is time for TXU to do the right thing. They must use the cleanest technology available, not the cheapest. They must show some social responsibility and help Texas to move toward cleaner and healthier air.

This lawsuit is just the first volley fired in a long battle to stop the dirty coal-powered plants. Opposition to the plants is growing. It could turn out to be a long and expensive process to get the plants approved.

TXU would be better served to save the millions in legal costs and just build the plants with the new and cleaner technology.

Corruption Is Rampant In Iraq On Both Sides

I'm beginning to see why no one in charge wants to end the Iraq war and bring our soldiers home. There's just far too much money to be made by those willing to lie, cheat and steal [and that seems to be a lot of people on both sides of the conflict]. It is estimated that $4 billion a year is lost to corruption in Iraq. Personally, I think it's probably even more than that.

Consider the following facts quoted from an article in the U.K. newspaper, The Guardian:

A US government report has concluded that oil smuggling abetted by corrupt Iraqi officials is netting insurgents $100m a year, helping to make them financially self-sustaining.

...nearly $9bn in Iraqi oil revenues could not be accounted for. The cash was flown into the country in shrink-wrapped bundles on military transport planes and handed over by the ton to Iraqi ministries by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) run by Paul Bremer, a veteran diplomat. The money was meant to demonstrate the invaders' good intentions and boost the Iraqi economy, which Mr Bremer later insisted had been "dead in the water". But it also fuelled a cycle of corruption left over from Saddam Hussein's rule.
"We know it got to the Iraqis, but we don't know how it was used," Mr Bowen later told Congress.

In the Hillah region a defence department contract employee and two lieutenant colonels were found to have steered $8m in contracts to a US contractor in return for bribes. The Pentagon contract employee, Robert Stein, pleaded guilty earlier this year, admitting he and his co-conspirators received more than $1m in cash, help with laundering the funds, jewellery, cars and sex with prostitutes. Stein also admitted that they simply stole $2m from the construction fund, accounting for the money with receipts from fictitious construction companies.

Kellogg, Brown and Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former company) was awarded an oil industry repair contract in February 2004 but "direct project activity" did not begin until November 19. In that time KBR's overhead costs were nearly $53m. In fact more than half the company's $300m project costs from 2004-06 went on overheads, the audit found.

KBR was found to have overcharged the US military about $60m for fuel deliveries, but that did not stop it winning more government contracts.

A California company, Parsons, had its contract terminated this year after it was found to have finished only six of more than 140 primary healthcare centres it was supposed to build, after two years work and $500m spent. However, the contract was ended "for convenience", meaning Parsons was paid in full. In a police college Parsons built for $75m in Baghdad the plumbing was so bad that urine and excrement rained down from the toilets on to the police cadets.

And the corruption goes on and on, filling the pockets of corrupt Iraqi and American officials, dishonest American corporations, and even the insurgents who are killing more of our soldiers each day.

Why would any of these entities want the war to end? It is virtually a "gold mine" with an endless vein of the richest ore. And where is this seemingly endless supply of ill-gotten gains coming from? From the American taxpayers, of course!

We can't seem to find the money to properly outfit our troops with the equipment they need, but we can throw billions down the bottomless hole that is Iraq.

The Republicans weren't willing to investigate this mess and fix it. Fortunately, the Democrats have now taken over the House and Senate. As soon as they are sworn in, the Democratic majority needs to start investigating and issuing subpoenas.

The criminals, whether individuals or corporations, must be brought to justice for their corrupt actions.

Bill Filed To Lower Texas Auto Emissions

The state of Texas is under a federal mandate to clean up the air by 2010. Officials have pretty much admitted that Texas, the nation's leading producer of greenhouse gases, is not going to meet that deadline, and is planning to ask the EPA for an extension.

If Texas doesn't do something soon to convince the federal government that we are seriously trying to clean up the air here, we may lose federal highway funds, and could have restrictions placed on the kinds of new businesses that could move into our state.

It's obvious now that we're not going to get any help from the power plants, since they're planning to build at least 17 new coal-burning power plants. These plants will make our production of greenhouse gases even worse [although they claim to control some other pollutants better].

So it looks like the cleanup will fall to the ordinary citizen as usual. While the new power plants produce vast amounts of greenhouse gases, it looks like Texas motorists will be paying more to drive.

Senator Rodney Ellis [D-Houston] is introducing a new bill that would require 2009 model and later cars to meet more stringent emission guidelines, possibly adding hundreds of dollars to the cost of a car. The bill will require autos sold in Texas to meet the same strict emissions standards as California and 11 other states. The bill is co-sponsored by State Rep. Mark Strama [D-Austin].

Senator Ellis says the clean car program could cut greenhouse gases in Texas by 18% by 2020, and Strama adds, "We don't want to stand here 16 years from now wishing we had done this."

I am not opposed to this bill. We probably should have done it several years ago. But I am opposed to making Texas motorists responsible for all the clean-up. It's time to demand that industry do their part too. The new power plants that TXU and others want to build here in Texas should be forced to use the cleanest technology available, including the controlling of greenhouse gases.

Texas needs to clean up and stop the production of greenhouse gases. But the clean-up should be a shared burden. Motorists must do their part, but so should industry.

Internet Child Sex Stings Upheld By Appeals Court

Back in August of 2005, Jan P. Helder Jr, was convicted by a jury of trying to initiate sexual contact with someone he believed to be a 14 year old girl. The crime was committed online.

But in a stunningly ridiculous move, the trial judge [U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple] overturned the verdict and released Helder. The judge said that since Helder was actually communicating online with a Platte County [Missouri] undercover officer, and not an actual 14 year old girl, he could not be convicted of trying to have sex with an underage person.

What the hell was this judge thinking? If it had been a 14 year old, this pervert would have gotten away with child rape. Computer undercover officers are our best weapon against child molestors.

Fortunately, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis refused to allow this travesty of justice. They recently reinstated the jury's guilty verdict and sent the case back to Judge Whipple for sentencing. The appeals court said the real issue was that Helder thought he was seducing a 14 year old.

The 43 year old Helder has now been sentenced to 5 years in prison with no parole.

But I still have to wonder about Judge Whipple. Did he sleep thru law school or what? This is like saying someone who tried to hire an undercover officer to commit a murder, could not be convicted of attempted murder because the officer was not a real hitman.

Is Whipple really competent enough to be a U.S. District Judge?

Dollar Falling Against Foreign Currency

The dollar seems to be in a free-fall against foreign currencies. It would now take $1.97 to equal one English pound. This is the lowest value for the dollar against the pound in 14 years. Many currency experts expect the dollars slide to continue, and expect to see the $2 pound very soon.

The dollar is also sliding against the Euro. It now takes $1.36 to equal one Euro [the currency used by the European Union]. This is bad news for Americans traveling abroad. Everything they buy will cost more dollars than it used to. It is also bad news for foreign products in America such as TVs, autos, electronic equipment,etc. All of these products will be costing more dollars.

But strangely enough, this could also be good for some segments of our economy. With the dollar so weak, it should encourage more foreigners to visit America and buy more American products. Foreign travelers will be able to purchase more, because to them the American products will be cheaper than they were before.

It could also have a beneficial effect on our trade deficit. Since the falling dollar makes American products cheaper and foreign products more expensive, it should help to close the enormous gap in our trade deficit with other countries.

But while it can have some beneficial effects, in the long run it will hurt our country. With the huge government deficit created by the Bush administration, we depend on the investment of wealthy foreigners. If the dollar is not stabilized, these investors will be frightened off and find other places for their money.

It is not good to have either too weak or too strong a dollar. It needs to be stabilized against other currencies. No one wants to invest in a country with an unstable currency.