Chupacabra Report

-Not a top ten list, just news that gets my goat:

-A Chronicle editorial today notes that my congressman has been “Grammstanding” again with NASA funding. Tom DeLay used to pull this too..

“Republicans who had supported the NASA provision, including Rep. Pete Olson, whose Houston district includes the Johnson Space Center, then voted against the overall bill. Nevertheless, after the bill passed largely on party lines and was signed by the president, Olson hailed Congress' commitment to manned spaceflight. His maneuver to have his constituent cake while maintaining a partisan posture was similar to that of Florida Republican Rep. Bill Posey. He inserted earmarks for hundreds of millions of federal dollars for projects in his state, and then joined a party-line Republican vote against the appropriation.”

-AP reports that international pirate Rupert Murdoch is trying to shake down cable customers for the right to see his NFL broadcasts. I wonder how some Fox fans to whom football is a second religion will feel about forking over another dollar a month to help Rupert try to take over the world.

- Mark Stavrakis of Friendswood writes the Chron:

“Regarding the article titled “Despite recession, crime keeps falling” (Page A3, Tuesday): Of the many reasons for the falling crime the author and the “experts” stated, a very obvious reason that failed to be mentioned was that over the last 20 years at least 39 states have passed concealed carry laws enabling law-abiding citizens to defend themselves, and many people are utilizing this right.

“While all the other reasons stated in the article surely contributed, when criminals know their job has become a lot more hazardous many decide not to take the chance. Every day hundreds of crimes are thwarted by the mere presence of a gun without even using it. In the article it seems this reason was glaringly omitted by design.”

-That may be so, but it also brings us stories such as:

Police: Homeowner kills suspect during tool theft
By DALE LEZON, Houston Chronicle

“A homeowner shot and killed a man and then wounded a woman who were reportedly trying to steal tools from his pickup early Thursday at a home in northwest Houston, police said.

“The homeowner also accidentally wounded himself.

“The shooting occurred outside a house in the 1600 block of Ansbury about 2 a.m., police said.

“The man and woman, whose names have not been released, were rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where the man died. The woman's condition is unknown.

“The homeowner, whose name has not been released, also was taken to Ben Taub because he shot himself in the foot during the confrontation.”

-In a note that should give pause to those who would eliminate the ‘wall’ between church and state, AP reporter Nasser Karimi wrties on the prospect of Iran prosecuting opposition leaders:

“State prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei said the opposition leaders could be accused of supporting people who defy God by protesting against the government on Sunday. He said the leaders may face charges of "supporting apostates," or those who go against God. His comments were published in the state-owned Iran newspaper."

-Bloomberg News reported last week that Senators McCain and Cantwell, along with Rep. Maurice Hinchley in the House, are sponsoring a bill to reinstate depression-era Glass-Steagall banking regulations repealed ten years ago by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. This would be a good one to write your representatives about, it just might save your retirement account sometime.