tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186477862024-03-07T15:21:51.646-08:00Zippidy Doo DaI'm not stupid, I'm from Texas!liquiddaddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05052878226984765328noreply@blogger.comBlogger1405125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-7979351819384124862016-03-16T16:08:00.002-07:002016-03-16T16:08:33.181-07:00This is a test of the Chupacabra Alert SystemThis is only a test. In the event of an actual emergency, you will be on your own.Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-7210626229225012852014-07-12T09:11:00.000-07:002014-07-12T09:11:38.695-07:00Quiz Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5C3DWS-URIT_QajkOvc0BBUa3s1abx8iFa-FNTT3CDuO-P_QVAOYNg-VQPaKbfoGjNxmVD8BhmaU9pZ0u3g2beTUGIPrFjaMr4XmMhsKJZ43q4Qde7kc2c6VDUsB2InugKOw/s1600/Davies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_370259="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5C3DWS-URIT_QajkOvc0BBUa3s1abx8iFa-FNTT3CDuO-P_QVAOYNg-VQPaKbfoGjNxmVD8BhmaU9pZ0u3g2beTUGIPrFjaMr4XmMhsKJZ43q4Qde7kc2c6VDUsB2InugKOw/s1600/Davies.jpg" wua="true" /></a></div>
Can you identify the Kinks song from these bits of Ray Davies’ excellent lyrics?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
1: “Telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty”<br />
<br />
A) Demon Alcohol<br />
<br />
B) Dead End Street<br />
<br />
C) Hatred<br />
<br />
D) Sunny Afternoon<br />
<br />
2: “I got no ambition, I’m just disillusioned”<br />
<br />
A) Till the End of the Day<br />
<br />
B) David Watts<br />
<br />
C) Wonderboy<br />
<br />
D) Twentieth Century Man<br />
<br />
3: “He’d end up blowing all his wages for the week”<br />
<br />
A) Sitting on My Sofa<br />
<br />
B) Dedicated Follower of Fashion<br />
<br />
C) Come Dancing<br />
<br />
D) Who’ll Be the Next in Line<br />
<br />
4: “What you need is a change, find a job, get a chick”<br />
<br />
A) Holiday Romance<br />
<br />
B) See My Friends<br />
<br />
C) Mr Pleasant<br />
<br />
D) Permanent Wave<br />
<br />
5: “People so busy, male me feel dizzy, taxi lights shine so bright”<br />
<br />
A) Till the End of the Day<br />
<br />
B) King Kong<br />
<br />
C) Waterloo Sunset<br />
<br />
D) Jack the Idiot Dunce<br />
<br />
6: “I Don’t Want to Die in a Nuclear War”<br />
<br />
A) Superman<br />
<br />
B) Apeman<br />
<br />
C) No More Looking Back<br />
<br />
D) Black Messiah<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
7: “Waves hit the shore but the people recover and come back for more”<br />
<br />
A) Complicated Life<br />
<br />
B) Death of a Clown<br />
<br />
C) Autumn Almanac<br />
<br />
D) Life Goes On<br />
<br />
8:“Where are all the people going, round and round till they reach the end”<br />
<br />
A) Dandy<br />
<br />
B) Do It Again<br />
<br />
C) Sleepwalker<br />
<br />
D) Misfits<br />
<br />
9: “Cause He’s Liable to Turn and Bite”<br />
<br />
A) Tired of Waiting for You<br />
<br />
B) Set Me Free<br />
<br />
C) Sitting in My Hotel<br />
<br />
D) Celluloid Heroes<br />
<br />
10: “I’m Not the World’s Most Masculine Man”<br />
<br />
A) This Is Where I Belong<br />
<br />
B) Shangri-La<br />
<br />
C) Lola<br />
<br />
D) Victoria<br />
<br />
Answers: 1-D, 2-D, 3-C, 4-D, 5-C, 6-B, 7-D, 8-B, 9-D, 10-C<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<br /> </h3>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-68555471447934396372014-06-13T06:09:00.001-07:002014-06-13T06:09:34.198-07:00We have nothing to fear but triskaidekaphobia. Or; it's bad luck to be superstitious.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRemRdqmmct0et7DjmeY5RbabAyX6o-4EvNJm7LyAWHx4mxe6Z3cwNGZtB1r61RxpkKK6NWYRjd5Vq7Or62dQ0Lihm4hAOspyHThzvWDgyszUhWnty7v-e9l_EU0a5RGo12d-1/s320/bad+goat.png" /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRemRdqmmct0et7DjmeY5RbabAyX6o-4EvNJm7LyAWHx4mxe6Z3cwNGZtB1r61RxpkKK6NWYRjd5Vq7Or62dQ0Lihm4hAOspyHThzvWDgyszUhWnty7v-e9l_EU0a5RGo12d-1/s1600/bad+goat.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-80039261283389544872014-06-07T09:17:00.001-07:002014-06-07T09:17:19.386-07:00Chupacabra Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkjd4v5wrENiAOowGqbA7oQisejcJlkBXJilb3ojjaoWTLCNjPH7wG-OVOBUETO5-fmh7W3prWsUre4wBzMsfP0lWyBE0AEp0Iqn9kZ1k4wtLIvFasbSfq93_MxEzwjJBrQ2e/s1600/armed+goat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkjd4v5wrENiAOowGqbA7oQisejcJlkBXJilb3ojjaoWTLCNjPH7wG-OVOBUETO5-fmh7W3prWsUre4wBzMsfP0lWyBE0AEp0Iqn9kZ1k4wtLIvFasbSfq93_MxEzwjJBrQ2e/s1600/armed+goat.png" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">News that
Gets My Goat<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Been a lot
of news coverage of open carry activists this week, especially after the NRA
asked them to tone it down because they were scaring people by carrying their
mini 14s and shotguns into stores and restaurants. Actually, I was disappointed
to hear that they are prohibited from packing at the GOP Convention at the Fort
Worth Convention Center. I thought it would be fitting if the tory wingnuts who
have done so much to advance our rights under the Second Amendment had to take
their chances with armed delegates preforming inadvertent ‘drop tests’ with
their handguns while they fall all over themselves applauding Greg Abbott,
Danny Goeb and Rafael “Ted” Cruz.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-The
Chronicle followed the Primary Election with their usual editorial deploring
the low voter turnout. Here’s some: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The
numbers are pathetic. In a state with more than 26 million residents, the
combined turnout in last Tuesday's runoffs was 951,461 voters. That's lower
than the March 4 primary number of 1.8 million, lower than the 1.3 million
turnout in the last primary runoffs in July 2012. All three of those numbers
pale in contrast to the number of registered voters in this state - 13.6
million, according to the Secretary of State's office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Dan Patrick, the Houston state senator on the verge of
taking charge of arguably the most powerful elective office in Texas, won his
lieutenant governor's race Tuesday with 65 percent of the votes cast. Those 65
percent account for a paltry 3.5 percent of registered Texas voters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What the dismal numbers mean, of course, is that a small
percentage of the voting-eligible population exerts an outsized influence on
how we educate our children, how we spend our tax money, how we invest in our
future. A large majority of Texans allows someone else to make those decisions
for them” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fact is, Texas is not really a “red state,” it is merely
a non-voting state; much like how it is not really a job-creating state, it’s
just that it has a high birthrate, which makes for a lot of service jobs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Last week, Dallas suburb Farmers Branch Texas spent $1.4
million to finally put to rest their ill-conceived city ordinance banning home
rentals to illegal immigrants. This from the Dallas Morning News:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“More than seven years after beginning a divisive attempt
to ban immigrants in the U.S. illegally from rental housing, a united City
Council decided to cut its losses Tuesday — paying $1.4 million to the lawyers
who fought the effort.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Farmers Branch previously had spent more than $6 million
defending the ordinance, which was never enforced.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The legal battles galvanized many Hispanics to fight
back, twice filing Voting Rights Act lawsuits.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In 2012, a federal judge sided with the 10 Hispanic
plaintiffs in the second suit and established single-member council districts
in the city. That resulted in the election of the first Mexican-American on the
council.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In addition to the millions of dollars it spent on
expenses related to the illegal immigration lawsuits, the city spent about
$850,000 to fight the two voting rights suits.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">This city of 29,000 residents, with an annual budget of
$90 million, has approved three property tax hikes in these past seven years. </span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-30848949588546946512014-05-14T15:30:00.002-07:002014-05-14T15:30:44.036-07:00Chupacabra Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9GsN6vNQb6zPd5QhMRfSWpFHhQMZLHWPr8tr4t9jWbiuKe6mnlEZ4owFY2lm1LNlpJMZYc6RE3R8nKF_2dXbM_vY-eoGxSp1tqoShi2Ed1ObmfjhxQafWY5RihWStzBJGRWg_/s1600/goats.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9GsN6vNQb6zPd5QhMRfSWpFHhQMZLHWPr8tr4t9jWbiuKe6mnlEZ4owFY2lm1LNlpJMZYc6RE3R8nKF_2dXbM_vY-eoGxSp1tqoShi2Ed1ObmfjhxQafWY5RihWStzBJGRWg_/s1600/goats.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-I was
pleased to read that the Federal Elections Commission is still on the case of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congressloon Steve Stockman. The Chronicle
reported this week that the FEC informed Stockman that "Since the
candidate is not seeking office and will not participate in the general
election, any contribution received for the general election must be returned
to the donors," the FEC's letter reads. "Although the Commission may
take further legal action, your prompt action to refund these contributions
will be taken into consideration."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"Please
note, you will not receive an additional notice from the Commission on this
matter," the letter read. "Adequate responses must be received by the
Commission on or before" June 13 "to be taken into consideration in
determining whether … action will be initiated."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hah! Just deserts
for this career grifter; hit him in the pocketbook. I wonder if he invested
his campaign cash in Bitcoins last year before they fell 60% in value?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-I just read
about Grover Norquist’s Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, a movement to name
something after Ronald Reagan in every county in the nation. Nevada Republican
Joe Heck introduced a bill in Congress to name Frenchman’s Peak, east of Las
Vegas, after the 40<sup>th</sup> President. Oregon Democrat Pete DeFazio
introduced an amendment to name Yucca Mountain after Reagan, as Reagan
supported establishing a nuclear waste depository there. This inspired Democrat
Jared Huffman of California to go them both one better and re-name the earth “Planet
Reagan.” <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-25900426377914708222014-04-11T12:18:00.000-07:002014-04-11T12:18:00.662-07:00Chupacabra Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeRiQnqp0Q9FY-o-H-F03nrta889e3lzXYxnViMiMqLHX9AU9_6007sdTj2W2JP9DmfWM8PgMh-73dK4DXZ3MLfMa0nTPZrJZmF-KYat0IulfiXPH_3QNoa_MA049_qiwQT08/s1600/goat+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeRiQnqp0Q9FY-o-H-F03nrta889e3lzXYxnViMiMqLHX9AU9_6007sdTj2W2JP9DmfWM8PgMh-73dK4DXZ3MLfMa0nTPZrJZmF-KYat0IulfiXPH_3QNoa_MA049_qiwQT08/s1600/goat+A.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">News that
Gets My Goat:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had CSPAN
on for wallpaper the other day and noticed that the House General Speeches was
all the Texas GOP delegation so I had to turn on the sound and see what crazy
shit they were saying. I listened to Pete Olson stammering for a while and
gathered that Kent Hance was retiring from his position as Chancellor of Texas
Tech. This was an occasion for all the other Tories to stand up and say that
Hance is ‘a wonderful human being, a great humanitarian and a personal friend
of mine.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I remember
him a little differently.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hance was an
attorney and law professor from Lubbock who, after serving in the Texas Senate,
ran for Congress in the 19<sup>th</sup> district in 1978. This race earned his
historical footnote as the only person to beat George W. Bush in an election.
He did this in part by plastering phony invitations to a ‘George Bush for Congress’
beer blast on the windshields of churchgoers in bone-dry west Texas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Congressman
Hance established a solid conservative voting record and joined the Boll Weevil
Democrats faction that crossed the aisle to enact the Reagan tax cuts. In 1985
Hance switched parties to become a Republican. It was about this time that some
wealthy donor took Hance and fellow party-jumper Phil Gramm to a Super bowl
game. Hearing the crowd roar, Gramm told Hance “If we can lower taxes and end
the deficit, they’ll cheer for us like that.” Needless to say, this didn’t
happen. That would be akin to saying ‘If we lose enough weight on the beer and
cheeseburger diet, we could fly.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hance gave
up his seat to make unsuccessful races to be U.S. Senator and Texas Governor,
and served on the Texas Railroad Commission (that regulates the oil business in
Texas.) After his 1990 loss to Clayton Williams, (who lost to Ann Richards
after making a rape joke to reporters) Hance “sought opportunities in the
private sector” and he found them as a lobbyist for GOP moneybags Lonnie
Pilgrim, oilfield mfr. N.L. Industries, and swiftboater Harold Simmons’ Waste Control
Specialties, who won approval to build two nuclear waste dumps in West Texas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 2004
Hance became legal counsel to the Alabama Coushatta Tribe, who the year before paid
$18 million for lobbying services to Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, a gravy
train that flowed to Tom DeLay, Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, and now Kent
Hance. I avidly followed this scandal at the time and never saw Kent Hance’s
name come up, and must say that he was never indicted, prosecuted or convicted
of any wrongdoing. For all I know, the tribe hired Hance to get Abramoff’s hand
out of their pocket.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 2006 the Board
of Regents of Texas Tech University appointed him Chancellor. Hance donated
$1.75 million to build a chapel there that now bears his name. He achieved his
goal of raising $1 billion for the University, and will retire as Chancellor this
year. The University has already named him Chancellor-Emeritus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-71100168733658081502014-03-20T07:42:00.000-07:002014-03-20T07:42:00.742-07:00Chupacabra Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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News that Gets My Goat<br />
<br />
<br />
-For my morning schadenfreude today I see a Chronicle headline saying Appeals court agrees to review DeLay’s overturned conviction. This news was welcome to me, as I’ve been perplexed recently to read that DeLay has a new job as columnist and radio personality for the Washington (Moonie) Times, and that he gave $1,000 to an otherwise-credible candidate to be my representative in Austin. <br />
<br />
DeLay was convicted in 2010 of money laundering and conspiracy for a scheme to illegally spend corporate money in Texas political campaigns. This conviction was overturned in 2013 by two Republican judges on a three-judge-panel, who ruled that “the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain DeLay’s convictions.” <br />
<br />
DeLay’s attorney, Brian Wice, said that he looked forward to arguing again that the conviction should be overturned. No doubt. For a defense attorney, Tom DeLay is a gift that keeps on giving. <br />
<br />
-President Obama’s nominee for the post of Surgeon General is tied up in the Senate, of course. The issue here is that the NRA found him referring to shootings as a public health problem. Personally, in this country where there are more gun deaths every year than fatal car accidents, I would say that he ought to be disqualified should he not recognize this fact, which is endorsed by physician and hospital groups nationwide. But if the NRA’s against it, so goes the Congress. This would be like Detroit automakers opposing a nominee for advocating a seatbelt requirement.<br />
<br />
-NPR had a story today about an unpublished theory from Albert Einstein. This “lost theory” offers a model of a universe expanding after the big bang. Researchers at Hebrew University in Jerusalem found a mistake in Einstein’s calculations, a minus sign that should have been a plus. Astrophysicist Mario Livio, author of “Brilliant Blunders” a book about mistakes made by great scientists said “About 20% of Einstein’s papers contain various mistakes of various degrees. You try to think in unconventional ways and when you do that, guess what? Sometimes you encounter mistakes.” No doubt people lobbying Texas’ State Board of Education will be combing through the work of Isaac Newton now, looking for grounds to finally repeal the law of gravity. <br />
<br />
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-34602433208838679742014-03-14T09:24:00.002-07:002014-03-14T09:24:44.747-07:00Bartcop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4nAzsmZGiMwGeuSg8kIVY0bGKv-ASF2w-EkTECRN3CFL6CyUZ3Sdx0dOulruiyJzeul7ORoIMce9ithNlHf-ZdgX9GpwfONyixrIMG1hSuExfUK3TIeQTMJKyjvBFRw87S25/s1600/Bart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4nAzsmZGiMwGeuSg8kIVY0bGKv-ASF2w-EkTECRN3CFL6CyUZ3Sdx0dOulruiyJzeul7ORoIMce9ithNlHf-ZdgX9GpwfONyixrIMG1hSuExfUK3TIeQTMJKyjvBFRw87S25/s1600/Bart.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I opened </span><a href="http://www.bartcop.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Bartcop</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> today hoping to see a new post and
instead learned that he had died last week. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bartcop was the
pen name of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartcop"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Terry Coppage of Tulsa
Oklahoma</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, (which place Bart described as ground zero for stupidity in
America.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the
first political bloggers, Bart opened up shop in 1996, at the height of the
right-wing-conspiracy to undo the election of Bill Clinton by smear campaign
and witch-hunt. His site was lush with photoshop fun, political cartoons and
pages of eye candy called “Bartcop Hotties.” For years he ended every post with
a picture of Shirley Manson from Garbage. But Bart was always “swinging the
hammer” at greed, bad government, bought media and religious insanity. A
redneck progressive, Bart was an avid supporter of the U S Armed Forces and was
frequently outraged at their misuse and neglect by chickenhawks eager to send
them into harm’s way. Bart was big on gun rights, but not opposed to all gun
control, saying that on a scale of 1 to 10, with David Koresh at 10, he’d be a
three. He drew outrage from many when he questioned our unquestioned support of
Israel, suggesting that the country be re-located to Oklahoma. He would banter
with his most rabid critics, posting long email exchanges he posted as “Monkeymail.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a sample
of the Bart point-of-view that attracted thousands of readers, this from “Bart’s
Laws:”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Bart's
Law #1</span></b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don't <b>EVER</b>
tell the truth in a political campaign. <br />
People <b>want</b> to be lied to. <br />
They don't care if you're the best, most qualified candidate in history,
they're going to vote for <br />
a candidate who stars in a fuzzy video of him playing with the family dog while
his pearl-necklaced <br />
wife and your 2.3 small children watch in awe while the voice-over dude
explains that this guy <br />
has whatever-state-you-live-in family values. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you doubt
me, ask President Mondale about telling the truth. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Bart's
Law #2</span></b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Any</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> time a person or entity makes a
"mistake" that puts extra money (or power) in their pocket, <br />
expect them to make that "mistake" <b>again</b> and <b>again</b> and <b>again</b>.
That's why refineries have fires now and then, <br />
because a fire allows them to scream <b>"unexpected shortage"</b> so
they can gouge us on the price of gas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Bart was a
must-read for so many, often an eye-opener and what good fun! For years I would
re-post items found on Bartcop on my own blog and on Faceplant, and it was
always a thrill when he would post one of my comments, or send me message telling
me that I had the correct answer to one of his “History Mysteries.” Koresh, </span><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/09/1283300/-Remarks-on-the-Death-of-Terry-Coppage-aka-Bartcop"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">he’ll
be missed</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-43573161680990574492014-03-13T08:05:00.002-07:002014-03-13T08:05:31.122-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJirjyCeVhFMha_rVqk2ss4CwA4iRJ4qxShfvYhLQH7pyRSaVLrBGoqdt_a5-0Fu-15tkjPZGRbS8IP7TyKDtMaoo_ZMB7YVPVUPVfiazx4eg0PHjhnGBNTr8ZRMBqXQVdRl56/s1600/Stockman.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJirjyCeVhFMha_rVqk2ss4CwA4iRJ4qxShfvYhLQH7pyRSaVLrBGoqdt_a5-0Fu-15tkjPZGRbS8IP7TyKDtMaoo_ZMB7YVPVUPVfiazx4eg0PHjhnGBNTr8ZRMBqXQVdRl56/s1600/Stockman.png" height="320" width="285" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How did I
miss this? It's my Congressman Steve Stockman's mug shot from 1977, when he was
arrested for illegally possessing valium. The Cornyn campaign dug this up and </span><a href="http://www.juanitajean.com/2014/03/03/id-be-willing-to-do-it-but-now-im-scared/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Juanita
Jean was scared to post it</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> because Stockman threatened legal action. Stockman
gave up his re-election campaign to run in the Republican Senate primary, where
he was trounced. He has since threatened to run for office again in the future.
Well, this isn’t a very good picture, but we can always hope to get a new one. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-64112203832249496412014-03-07T13:22:00.001-08:002014-03-07T13:22:50.709-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43qBvxw9Veca2-SFCSI5nIDKc6m5g7WLtII3JScp2BUgBnFdprTV02a1Hdvs3wWYzCX5FM7yYtsLcr9XtW5RSY1gYS6UE6hIY530k7Bn98Luyv6o9TSduQF8NyHr7OJPqtRbw/s1600/crmlu140305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43qBvxw9Veca2-SFCSI5nIDKc6m5g7WLtII3JScp2BUgBnFdprTV02a1Hdvs3wWYzCX5FM7yYtsLcr9XtW5RSY1gYS6UE6hIY530k7Bn98Luyv6o9TSduQF8NyHr7OJPqtRbw/s1600/crmlu140305.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-60752109984977093022014-02-27T13:59:00.000-08:002014-02-27T14:10:27.494-08:00Dave Camp's Tax Plan<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlRzZ3OxBT0JFncgAHL8_YmmfogN1IjjDyyqrifZrXuY_5J11cohpG3y7HKM156g4Z4-ftzUL619nGlHZmgOdTebR0xgVTFwkas1fAtIKdiF4zNgUQm0OGfiaNcUlrO1fmz6A/s1600/dave+camps+tax+plan.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlRzZ3OxBT0JFncgAHL8_YmmfogN1IjjDyyqrifZrXuY_5J11cohpG3y7HKM156g4Z4-ftzUL619nGlHZmgOdTebR0xgVTFwkas1fAtIKdiF4zNgUQm0OGfiaNcUlrO1fmz6A/s320/dave+camps+tax+plan.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
Just saw an article from NYT’s Stephan Ohlemacher about Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp’s tax overhaul plan and to my eye it has a lot to recommend itself. As Ohlemacher says;
<br />
“In theory, the unhappiness at both ends of the political spectrum could mean that Camp has hit all the right notes..”<br />
-I always figure that if you have both sides pissed-off you’re getting somewhere.
Being a Republican plan, of course, it starts with tax cuts. Seven tax brackets become two, with a 10% levy on incomes starting at twenty-some thousand, somewhere becoming 25%, and then add a surcharge on incomes over $425,000 (or $450,000 for married households.) The corporate tax rate would fall from 35% to 25%.
So where does the money then come from? Sacred cows.<br />
“Taxes paid to state and local governments would no longer be deductible.”
-That’s scary to folks in high-tax states, but sounds good to me in Texas, with no state income tax to deduct.<br />
“The earned income credit for low-wage workers would be converted to a more limited deduction on payroll taxes.”<br />
-Well, the EITC, a popular program since the 1970s, is designed to help low-wage workers get by. A payroll tax cut could do the same. There is the question of this being corporate welfare for low-paying employers like WalMart, the biggest welfare queen ever.<br />
“Deductions of mortgage interest in the future would be capped at $500,000 of debt, half the current cap.”<br />
-There is also to be, I believe, no more mortgage interest deduction for second homes. Real estate professionals will be screaming bloody murder about this, and there probably ought to be some relief for poor devils of modest means living in high-dollar housing markets, but this has largely been a deduction for the well-heeled. I don’t want to help pay for somebody else’s McMansion.<br />
“Under the Camp plan, private equity and hedge fund managers would be prevented from classifying much of their income as lower-taxed capital gains for tax purposes, closing what Democrats have criticized as the "carried interest loophole."<br />
-Be still my heart! This is the provision that gave Mitt Romney a tax rate lower than mine.
<br />
“Camp even embraced an idea that has taken hold in the most progressive parts of the Democratic Party, a tax on transactions by the biggest banks.”<br />
- I love this idea. The ‘economic sector’ has been growing larger in recent decades through a frenzy of mergers and acquisitions, plus such innovations as “outsourcing,” “offshoring” and “dead peasant policies.” A modest transaction tax could raise boatloads of money while acting as a break on such plagues as automated trading and churning of accounts. I can’t believe I’m seeing it in a GOP proposal.
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-40854957581436500662014-02-26T14:06:00.001-08:002014-02-26T14:06:48.329-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0CjaPC6rkpyADkx7RN1upySzCrXYaXQekopXV8c741a9Gb3lwYAfEJyPgetfJqdEO6epKyCeyYdv9yvmBU6ZmmnjnXtkwgLGFwzB1Zb12K8CnAyDqwggjIFzjdacCEUdenzQp/s1600/dollarcoin.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0CjaPC6rkpyADkx7RN1upySzCrXYaXQekopXV8c741a9Gb3lwYAfEJyPgetfJqdEO6epKyCeyYdv9yvmBU6ZmmnjnXtkwgLGFwzB1Zb12K8CnAyDqwggjIFzjdacCEUdenzQp/s320/dollarcoin.jpg" /></a>
"U.S. Government to Release New Dollar Coins"
"Since the 1950's, "In God We Trust" has been our National Motto, and has been inscribed on the front of all coins and the back of all paper currency.
This new coin came out this month. The U.S. Mint hopes the redesigned $1 coin will win acceptance with consumers. It does not have "In God We Trust" on it. Here's another way of phasing God out of America. You guessed it
'IN GOD WE TRUST' IS GONE!!!
"Who originally put 'In God We Trust' onto our currency?
My bet is that it was one of the Presidents on these coins.All our U.S. Government has done is Dishonor them, and disgust me!!! If ever there was a reason to boycott something, THIS IS IT!!!!
DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW DOLLAR COINS AS CHANGE
Together we can force them out of circulation. Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/dollarcoin.asp#dI4I80Q2CFeliSfu.99"
-Dear Flanders,
I find it funny when people send these things with links to snopes or some other site that actually debunks the message sent. This is one of those. If you read the links you’ll see that the motto is inscribed on the edge of the coins. Is that not good enough? I imagine it will still provoke litigation from some atheist attorney somewhere.
Snopes does note that the motto was added to currency in the 1950’s. This period of our history is also known as the “red scare,” not one of our best times in many ways. I guess the idea was that the motto would gird us against Godless communism. I’m grateful that God didn’t let us incinerate ourselves in this cause.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the gospel story about coins with Caesar’s picture on them. Re-reading Matthew 20: 21, I have to wonder if we’re making a mistake putting “God” on our currency, as many of us seem to worship money itself.
-Charly Hoarse
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-46054720607681403232014-02-20T10:08:00.002-08:002014-02-20T10:08:35.946-08:00Chupacabra Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" closure_lm_941992="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-tGEuriTzA5XwNy7pfE6Y0BajJSE3-m1Y19gquTqnF3WHOzRifzA8wTM5-RMXQeDd32PjVAjz8kLnpnDFBtAiPHrfv7KY3pQlHxMSzBOHKEEDdyt1fd_lGrrqmSd_oUzd3q_/s1600/abbott+and+nugent.jpg" hta="true" /></div>
I can tell that newspaper circulation is down in Houston when I go to the Tel-Wink diner for breakfast and there are no copies loose on the counter to read.<br />
<br />
<br />
But I am still a subscriber. I get news from the comic section and great comedy from the news. It’s such fun to look at the front page headlines and see that Steve Stockman, my useless congressman, is in hot water again, or that his opponent in the GOP primary for the US Senate, incumbent John Cornyn, is polling less than 50% against a field of unknown wackos. <br />
<br />
This week I’ve been delighted to see that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has drawn criticism for including Ted Nugent in campaign events. Abbott probably thought nothing of it, as Governor Rick Perry often shared the stage with Nugent. ‘Ted the Head’ would shred the national anthem, call Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi bitches and offer to let them “suck on my machine gun.” Congressman Stockman took Nugent as a guest to President Obama’s State of the Union Address. But this week it was front page news when Abbott did it. Good.<br />
<br />
Chronicle columnist Bill King weighed in today on the Outlook page:<br />
<br />
“Abbott may have made just the fatal mistake we did not expect. For reasons beyond comprehension, Abbott decided to campaign with rock star-turned-political wacko, Ted Nugent.<br />
<br />
“Nugent, a Detroit guitarist, became famous in the 1970s and reinvented himself as a far - and I do mean far - right-wing activist in the 1990s. He is legendary for outlandish comments and behavior.<br />
<br />
“He has admitted that he frequently slept with under-age girls while on tour, a felony in Texas. Although he frequently invokes fallen American military servicemen in his political rants, he also admitted to an elaborate scheme to dodge the draft and the Vietnam War.” <br />
<br />
“According to him, President Obama is a "subhuman mongrel" and a "piece of s---." He referred to Hillary Clinton as a "bitch" and worse. He has said he would shoot those crossing the border illegally, that it might have been better if the South won the Civil War, that feminists are "fat pigs" and he sees nothing wrong with using the N-word.<br />
<br />
“After their appearance this week, Abbott meekly denied knowing about some of Nugent's more outrageous comments and attempted to parse his association with Nugent based only on his support of the Second Amendment.<br />
<br />
“But that is simply not going to wash. The media have exploded with stories about the joint appearance, and each one has chronicled some of Nugent's most despicable comments or positions. Now Abbott is stained with Nugent and has provided Davis with material for powerful negative campaign ads.”<br />
<br />
“I have heard from a number of women, who, although they are lifelong Republicans, intend to quietly go into the polling booth and vote for Davis. I suspect quite a few more will do so after hearing about Abbott's appearance with Nugent.”<br />
<br />Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-58156088235350901892014-02-15T10:03:00.000-08:002014-02-15T10:03:09.557-08:00Chupacabra Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxtKr26rwXwPm0csDuq_M1nMq449wTMLYNQ9GynenjETlJNBcuIZyGLpP1G8cquVyHXPLU6GXsB6R37I9w8lNyz6BLjONFpJ0J8R8JvUIjGmbbtWgA5pnOtAPHmO9Y0d3HghB/s1600/goat+at+work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxtKr26rwXwPm0csDuq_M1nMq449wTMLYNQ9GynenjETlJNBcuIZyGLpP1G8cquVyHXPLU6GXsB6R37I9w8lNyz6BLjONFpJ0J8R8JvUIjGmbbtWgA5pnOtAPHmO9Y0d3HghB/s1600/goat+at+work.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe not a
key economic indicator, but the San Antonio Express News reports that </span><a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Goats-appetites-key-in-fire-prevention-test-5237367.php"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">unemployment
is down among goats</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">VICTORIA
— Goats soon could dot the Texas landscape as fire prevention experts try new
ways to tamp down highly flammable brush, a key component in the outbreak and
spread of wildfires.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">City officials in Victoria started an experiment this
week to see if four-legged barnyard animals could beat two-legged landscapers
in clearing the city's Riverside Park.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The 25 to 30 Boer-Spanish goats, which started work
Monday, are up by 5 a.m. and loaded into a truck at 6 a.m. By 7 a.m., they are
hard at work munching their way through sometimes poisonous scrub that has
closed off portions of Riverside Park for the past decade.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The city is paying $1,200 a week for the goats to dine
on the park's brush.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Hmmm, $1200 divided by 28 goats by forty hours, that
makes goat wages just over a dollar an hour. Probably more than I get committing
music, but then, maybe goats can sight-read. I have long schemed to rent out
goats as lawnmowers, but had no clue how to stop them from eating gardens,
shrubs and satellite dishes. I’ll be keen to hear how this experiment pans out.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-89050271185095202132014-01-31T08:04:00.000-08:002014-01-31T12:57:54.749-08:00Chupacabra Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6FSQBzUoOQ8M8ObFuH6eIQtkd664fRf8zDJyh-p-MtkQOM8VrQN0_1PvBTOJwOSHA6eEpzJJM9wcab-Tc3vryCT_RH4420EnpYJceqbR4-G32ZLjL7XHZUQuOCPOwCfuD6Gx/s1600/a+goat+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6FSQBzUoOQ8M8ObFuH6eIQtkd664fRf8zDJyh-p-MtkQOM8VrQN0_1PvBTOJwOSHA6eEpzJJM9wcab-Tc3vryCT_RH4420EnpYJceqbR4-G32ZLjL7XHZUQuOCPOwCfuD6Gx/s1600/a+goat+face.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">News that
Gets My Goat<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I found </span><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-economy-flails-debtors-prisons-thrive/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">this
story</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in a comment string on </span><a href="http://www.juanitajean.com/2014/01/30/the-hell-you-say/#comments"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Juanita
Jean’s World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. The reader was commenting on
Danny Goeb’s (can’t help myself, that’s State Senator and Lieutenant Governor
candidate Dan Patrick’s original name) answer to questions about his
bankruptcy; “We don’t have debtor’s prisons in America.” And good thing for
him, that; he may be a darling of the Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse crowd, but
Patrick and those who have done business with him are certainly no strangers to
the courtroom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyways, the
CBS story reports that “Thousands of Americans are sent to jail not for
committing a crime, but because they can't afford to pay for traffic tickets,
medical bills and court fees. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“If that
sounds like a debtors' prison, a legal relic which was abolished in this
country in the 1830s, that's because it is. And courts and judges in states
across the land are violating the Constitution by incarcerating people for
being unable to pay such debts.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The story
goes on to tell of folks around the country ending up behind bars because ‘they
ain’t got that do-re-mi,’ and tells of some possible remedies; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“poor
defendants should be exempt from court fees and fines, while repayment plans
should be set according to people's ability to repay a debt. States also must
have clear written standards for determining a person's ability to pay. Fees
for public defenders should be eliminated.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And what can
we ourselves do about this? Notice the four mentions in the article of the American
Civil Liberties Union defending poor defendants up against the law. Annual
membership in the </span><a href="https://www.aclu.org/secure/join-aclu-texas"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Texas
A.C.L.U.</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> begins at $35 per year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-24048831581115700892014-01-04T19:49:00.000-08:002014-01-04T20:10:06.117-08:00Chupacabra Report: News that Gets My Goat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi6bMo0FdXAb3dd9iPkBfrmDR1o0PRuPJ-mx4vr_ZVtw9F_Ktxo_Y-J2zqO-dm4Pf-R-xdpNunJ3O7iz-dBi1m1-2YsLr9RAwMjb07B8wu92f3C4Gz3wbc_jCTTR0HbGXNo9W/s1600/fresh+goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi6bMo0FdXAb3dd9iPkBfrmDR1o0PRuPJ-mx4vr_ZVtw9F_Ktxo_Y-J2zqO-dm4Pf-R-xdpNunJ3O7iz-dBi1m1-2YsLr9RAwMjb07B8wu92f3C4Gz3wbc_jCTTR0HbGXNo9W/s1600/fresh+goat.jpg" /></a></div>
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Brainstorm! </div>
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Congressman Steve Stockman is the gift that just keeps on giving. He was in The Chronicle today saying that he'll take Bitcoin contributions to his Senate campaign. He wishes. The only $867 dollar contribution I could see would be if he could get himself incarcerated again, I could see paying my share for his room and board at the pen. I'm certain that the Stockman campaign would also accept contributions of MREs and canned water; and if anybody has a garage where they could stay, they had to leave the last place they were in. </div>
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I know what I'd like to do for the campaign. Taking their lead, I could paste-up some slanderous shit and stick copies under the wiper blades of all the folks at Stockman's church on Sunday. I could have him saying something about how Bitcoins allow him to take contributions from the underground economy, foreign interests, the Mob, Commies, aliens.. -Where does he go to church anyways? I should call John Cornyn's people, they might pay me; it would be like inheriting some of Bob Perry's money. </div>
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Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-17225120026944113922014-01-01T14:47:00.001-08:002014-01-01T15:28:25.042-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxDjE5H4u-D231lPfQv_w8brwPsnyUKBdWWxu_spPCZEQp4O0ud_xWrtcrnAY78Or0pG7fAJc_mVDVRDunIqF8TZrR9bfbpMX5aqW0_AkXzXj9i5RAEhyphenhyphenKSMLbdNX8U4j4GHc/s1600/1453314_603709589700486_1882807327_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxDjE5H4u-D231lPfQv_w8brwPsnyUKBdWWxu_spPCZEQp4O0ud_xWrtcrnAY78Or0pG7fAJc_mVDVRDunIqF8TZrR9bfbpMX5aqW0_AkXzXj9i5RAEhyphenhyphenKSMLbdNX8U4j4GHc/s400/1453314_603709589700486_1882807327_n.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Western New
York State Assemblyman David DePietro shared this and I thought I would share
it too. David is an avid supporter of gun rights, and his efforts have earned
him quite a following in rural upstate New York, where anti-SAFE Act signs are
a common sight along the picturesque country roads. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">David
comments "2014....This is where we start. No more digging our heels in the
sand! We go on the offensive, we take our State back! We take out every
liberal, socialist in this years election." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Bothers
me to see him say "We take out every liberal, socialist in this years
election." I maintain that this country can't fly on just one wing. Good
ideas (and bad ones) can come from any quarter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> But it
sounds like this could be a fun event. I love to go out in the country and
shoot guns. I just have to wonder, what could go wrong? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think I
might stay inside that afternoon; maybe inside the bathtub.</span></span></div>
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Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-21561660771183635752013-12-31T12:47:00.000-08:002013-12-31T12:47:08.553-08:00Congressman Steve Stockman In the News<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBF2holPbpPNvTMaQNttGQ23YkylEC3O-_KfbXiPGatbIKrus4563k4sR1Bzba2Agq_hCoAdEAM92IY4ftxC5xHEessNF6UVTj9LzznYV57WwuQ0T5iqTKDPbJzrAJ3ZZT6jp/s1600/stockman+and+founders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_477614="null" gua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBF2holPbpPNvTMaQNttGQ23YkylEC3O-_KfbXiPGatbIKrus4563k4sR1Bzba2Agq_hCoAdEAM92IY4ftxC5xHEessNF6UVTj9LzznYV57WwuQ0T5iqTKDPbJzrAJ3ZZT6jp/s1600/stockman+and+founders.jpg" /></a></div>
My congressman, Steve Stockman has been in the news again. Recent stories have spotlighted his missing or inaccurate campaign finance reports and failure to account for personal income in recent years. The latest story is about FEC investigation of $10,000 in campaign contributions from Indian casino backers. Last week it was about an old lady donating three dilapidated houses in Niagara Falls, New York to a supposedly non-profit foundation run by Stockman staffers; the lady thought they were connected to the Right to Life foundation but the check went to Stockman’s P.O. box in Webster Texas.<br />
<br />
<br />
This story is starting to resemble the old Tom DeLay organization, with a large cast of as-yet-unindicted staffers and associates mixed up with shell corporations, phony non-profits and now, Indian tribes. There's Donny Ferguson, Communication Director and 2012 Campaign Manager, staffer Luther Bradley Lewis, fired staffer (straw donor relative) and 2013 Campaign Treasurer Jason Posey, Friends of Steve Stockman Treasurer and landlord John Hart (his mother donated the houses,) longtime associate and manager at sometimes-nonprofit Ross Center Jeff Van Fleet, fired staffer Thomas Dodd (son of straw donor Jane Dodd,) and Dennis Hayes, longtime Stockman associate and board member at The Ross Center. <br />
<br />
This thing is fixing to blow. No wonder Stockman folded his re-election campaign and instead is running against incumbent senator and caveman John Cornyn; he needs a bunch of new voters who’ve never heard of him. Watch for him next on Dancing with the Stars.<br />
<br />Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-45152374454226472652013-12-24T15:33:00.001-08:002013-12-26T06:05:04.511-08:00Merry Christmas, I think..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY2V0iqaEryXn0mQdr-CqtUJkwbxS2ukKwpWYuABrYYRnwIVv2bU6ajYLfo_0qWMZKQ0d3x1dHFwFVPaqT64BpDBSG-L2ZYK7Pyybih_fD4EAjDKZqAYzyMxG29JeWWZe7LdV/s1600/Stockman%2520Christmas%2520Card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY2V0iqaEryXn0mQdr-CqtUJkwbxS2ukKwpWYuABrYYRnwIVv2bU6ajYLfo_0qWMZKQ0d3x1dHFwFVPaqT64BpDBSG-L2ZYK7Pyybih_fD4EAjDKZqAYzyMxG29JeWWZe7LdV/s320/Stockman%2520Christmas%2520Card.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Juanita Jean today has </span><a href="http://www.juanitajean.com/2013/12/23/and-a-very-christ-like-christmas-to-you-too-rick/#comments"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Rick
Perry’s Christmas card</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> today, and it’s muy macho. Not the family picture,
which could pass for typical except for the Nixonian figure lurking on the
right, but the Bible verse, the first two lines from the 144<sup>th</sup>
Psalm:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Praise be
to the Lord my Rock,<br />
who trains my hands for war,<br />
my fingers for battle.<br />
<sup>“ </sup>He is my loving God and my fortress,<br />
my stronghold and my deliverer,<br />
“my shield, in whom I take refuge,<br />
who subdues peoples under me.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Scary huh?
I’m figuring this is some dog-whistle code speak to his end-timer constituency,
the folks who want to insure that Israel has a surplus of handbaskets so that we
can all go to hell, and soon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t know
why he stopped there; it gets even better:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Lord, what
are human beings that you care for them,<br />
mere mortals that you think of them?<br />
<sup>“ </sup>They are like a breath;<br />
their days are like a fleeting shadow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<sup><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“ </span></span></sup><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Part your heavens, Lord, and come
down;<br />
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.<br />
<sup>“</sup>Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;<br />
shoot your arrows and rout them.<br />
<sup>“ </sup>Reach down your hand from on high;<br />
deliver me and rescue me<br />
“from the mighty waters,<br />
from the hands of foreigners<br />
<sup>“ </sup>whose mouths are full of lies,<br />
whose right hands are deceitful.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-See? Looks
like a perfect message for this fear-monger’s flock of xenophobes, fearful that
they’ll be “left below.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All this
sent me back to my inbox to see what Steve Stockman’s Christmas card looks
like. His Bible verse is from Isaiah 9:6:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Unto us a
child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulders.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-This is truncated;
he left out the best part:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And his
name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-But back to
Congressman Stockman. Is he trying to say that the government is on his
shoulders? More likely the voter’s boot is gonna be on his ass again. Already
something to look forward to next year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy
Christmas everybody!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nz-KaGuuFyszKSQbx-yIIKb9dlbDGPxUWtPIEzUr1OROa3WoSxTau_IjMQIDTa8iw6-jeyTo1Yi7bDCX0g9ShrbrOW_vzLDItd6ZXdjh4KF2e10YhOvmvmRT7lt0n74jfPny/s1600/merry+goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nz-KaGuuFyszKSQbx-yIIKb9dlbDGPxUWtPIEzUr1OROa3WoSxTau_IjMQIDTa8iw6-jeyTo1Yi7bDCX0g9ShrbrOW_vzLDItd6ZXdjh4KF2e10YhOvmvmRT7lt0n74jfPny/s320/merry+goat.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-55739842922624280902013-12-11T08:12:00.002-08:002013-12-12T10:12:09.988-08:00Stockman for Senate!*#?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlU86iNzfigMhq8y0-SMJRJCQLLVC2CDbdPLyS2Ch5tpjVNvQUNEVm4MtkYBt-FuM6Do8ou30grF3BuHw4YwJ6ROThz-H1MAcHqxU3cprucmWebdyf1gkJDfC4elo8PspAG6jH/s1600/images-3+copy+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlU86iNzfigMhq8y0-SMJRJCQLLVC2CDbdPLyS2Ch5tpjVNvQUNEVm4MtkYBt-FuM6Do8ou30grF3BuHw4YwJ6ROThz-H1MAcHqxU3cprucmWebdyf1gkJDfC4elo8PspAG6jH/s1600/images-3+copy+2.jpeg" /></a></div>
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In what must have been a surprise to all but the little voices in his head, Steve Stockman, Republican Representative from Texas' 36th District, withdrew his candidacy for re-election and instead filed to challenge Senator John Cornyn in the March Primary election.</div>
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This move, no doubt, has incited panic in Stockman's supporters, who know that Representative Stockman is the only thing standing between them and President Obama's plot to seize their guns, gay-marry and abort them.</div>
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The second-time one-term Congressman, a back-bencher's back-bencher, must have been convinced that with recent press coverage of his ethical and financial problems, re-election is not an option, if it ever was, and that he must resort to his standard practice of skulking into office.</div>
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Stockman's last minute filing puts him into a crowded field of unknown loons who hope to outflank Paleo-Conservative incumbent John Cornyn on the extreme-far-out fringe of the right wing, as Ted Cruz did to establishment Republican plutocrat David Dewhurst in 2012. This is a popular move this year, with six of twenty-four Texas Republicans facing tea-party primary challengers in their otherwise-safe districts. The Chronicle reports that the tea party Conservative Senate Fund tried to recruit Congressman Louis Gohmert to primary Cornyn, but that Gohmert declined. Get that?, Gohmert's not 'that crazy.' Conservative Senate Fund's Matt Hoskins said: "Cornyn has voted to increase the debt, raise taxes, bail out Wall Street banks, and fund Obamacare. He's become part of the problem in Washington." Yeah, I'll go with the 'problem' part but Cornyn a liberal? The American Conservative Union calls him the second-most conservative Senate member. The Club for Growth gives him an 87% score on his voting record, and after Cruz's election he has swung even further to the right, voting against Republican Chuck Hegel's appointment as Defense Secretary and against disaster aid after Hurricane Sandy.</div>
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Stockman's m.o. is the stealth election. He came out of nowhere in 1994 to defeat long-serving Jack Brooks of Beaumont after East Texans were angered by his vote for the assault weapons ban, only to be turned-out after one term, probably because even his East Texas constituents were creeped-out to his association with the Michigan Militia after the Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people, including nineteen children. In 2011 he managed a second-place finish in a crowded field seeking the newly created 36th District seat, and won the Republican nomination, which was tantamount to election in the Republican-drawn district, with votes from right-wing latahs who remembered his name but forgot why they remembered it.</div>
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Could Stockman catch tea-party lightning in a bottle like Rafael Ernesto Cruz did? Hardly. Cruz got an ivy league law degree, married a Goldman Sachs executive, and worked for right-wing Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He ran for an open seat with money from South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund, the Club for Growth, and Goldman Sachs. Cornyn has headed the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, which doles out money to Senate candidates nationwide, and has $7 million in his own war chest. Stockman reportedly has $30,000 in his, (if you can trust his numbers, the FEC is probably looking into that now.) He is so broke, he's had campaign volunteers living in an old motorcycle shop, (now condemned) eating MREs and sleeping in sleeping bags, and has had to fire two staffers for writing him phony checks in the name of 'straw donors.'</div>
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Stockman may not have a prayer in this race, but he probably knows that. He may be taking a cue from Newt Gingrich, who showed that being a losing candidate can still generate good cash flow. As blogger Charles Kuffner said of Stockman: "Once a grifter, always a grifter." For once, I wish Mr. <span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/normal Helvetica;">Stockman</span> success in his latest endeavor, I hope Republicans nominate him for the Senate race. It could be a boon for Democrats, like having Caribou Barbie at the top of the ticket. <span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 39px/normal Helvetica;"> </span></div>
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Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-255054030202467432013-12-05T13:26:00.001-08:002013-12-05T13:26:56.142-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUmuc8SmBLrdIk69n1qiQ_7hX4HA1Wv9SWceEGHGvCZ0XuMtQHdEKhFZVN5JcMxWNQr6k1dSNDYvsdTQOiWINHewgXaN-mV_RezN5HP1lAHjwi4KAyuXlYh8HR17K1PGU0yxp/s1600/imagesCAIY0OQ7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUmuc8SmBLrdIk69n1qiQ_7hX4HA1Wv9SWceEGHGvCZ0XuMtQHdEKhFZVN5JcMxWNQr6k1dSNDYvsdTQOiWINHewgXaN-mV_RezN5HP1lAHjwi4KAyuXlYh8HR17K1PGU0yxp/s1600/imagesCAIY0OQ7.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, after
three front-page stories in the past six weeks, the Houston Chronicle has spent
a </span><a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Steve-Stockman-s-antics-5035749.php"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">lead
editorial</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> on Steve Stockman, Republican from Texas’ 36<sup>th</sup>
district. I’m thrilled to have somebody shining some light on this cockroach,
but I suspect that the Chronicle is doing it because they’re ashamed of only
endorsing Democratic candidate Max Martin a week before the election, when half
of the votes were already in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now they’re
on Stockman like white on hockey. He “seems to spend most of his time and
energy crafting absurd anti-Obama tweets and news releases.” –But that’s what passes
for mainstream Republicanism these days in Texas; witness Rick Perry, Greg Abbott
or most any member of the GOP Congressional delegation. Why do you think Glenn
Beck and Ted Nugent moved here? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The rap on
Stockman, other than that he’s a lunatic who thinks he can make hay by wrapping
himself in a flag while clutching a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other,
is that while he has called himself an accountant since even before he took a
degree; he has been unable to prepare and produce satisfactory financial
disclosure and campaign finance reports that we require of our congressvarmints.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The good
news is that if, as Phil Gramm said, “ready money is the mother’s milk of
politics,” Stockman’s cow has gone dry. Hopefully this bad publicity will make
him toxic to even paleoconservative moneybags. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-83701728572186491202013-11-22T14:04:00.000-08:002013-11-22T14:55:38.180-08:00President Kennedy Assassinated!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltQ9q9Th3BKNkI66QbeFE3SzIzGkTe1hLuGRb91Q2Fe9eSySCOPveOJ9VBpP5dyYm7fJ0nheaRjpF5AEYP_n0RdY88ASPKF5VQqX5PA4zHB6Z2zB0QxpyBfJmyea3AZ_l6BDr/s1600/Marilyn-Monroe-And-John-Kennedy-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_lm_680012="null" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltQ9q9Th3BKNkI66QbeFE3SzIzGkTe1hLuGRb91Q2Fe9eSySCOPveOJ9VBpP5dyYm7fJ0nheaRjpF5AEYP_n0RdY88ASPKF5VQqX5PA4zHB6Z2zB0QxpyBfJmyea3AZ_l6BDr/s320/Marilyn-Monroe-And-John-Kennedy-a.jpg" width="320" wta="true" /></a></div>
Well, had enough of the hagiography already? Between the idiot media and the family PR machine it’s enough to make even a history buff ready to hurl. The City of Dallas, with the co-operation of the Kennedy family, has thousands of visitors attending it’s first-ever memorial in Dealey Plaza and is thrilled to finally be shedding that old label “the city of hate” (I prefer JFK’s appellation; “nut country.”) It is nice to see David Brinkley on the tube again; reminds me of his parting shot on Clinton in 1996 and his hilarious World War II memoir “Washington Goes to War.” <br />
<br />
<br />
But as long as we’re looking at him and hearing about him, we might as well think about who he was and what he meant to us. Like the rest of us, Kennedy was a walking bundle of contradictions.<br />
<br />
The Senator Kennedy who ran for re-election in 1958 flogging a non-existent “missile gap” signed, as President, a treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water. This, at the height of the cold war, when mushroom clouds were a tourist attraction in Nevada and nuclear fallout was raining down on upstate New York.<br />
<br />
This elected plutocrat, whose father famously told him not to buy one more vote than was needed because “I’m not paying for a landslide,” may have been the first “trickle-down economist.” Remember “a rising tide lifts all boats?” Funny though, the Revenue Act of 1964 ultimately passed under LBJ lowered top income tax rates from 91% to 70%, and corporate rates from 52% to 48%. How many of today’s tax protesters could get their minds around rates like that. In those days corporate taxes were twice the share of revenue they are today; goes to show who’s running the country now that corporations are ‘people’ and money is ‘speech.’ Contrary to predictions, tax revenue as percent of GDP actually increased after these cuts, and unemployment fell. Unfortunately, tax cutters in decades since then have had no such success. A funny note from one of the bios on PBS; Kennedy said that he first learned of the Great Depression studying history, that he was unaware of it growing up in the 1930’s.<br />
<br />
The Cold Warrior who went along with the Bay of Pigs invasion, Operation Mongoose and other horrors found another way when the Joint Chiefs advised that he respond to Soviet missiles in Cuba with a nuclear first strike on Russia and China (why China? –‘because we could.’)<br />
<br />
And then there’s Vietnam. Biographer Richard Reeves quotes Kennedy saying in 1963: “We don’t have a prayer of staying in Vietnam. Those people hate us. They are going to throw our asses out of there at any point. But I can’t give up that territory to the communists and get the American people to re-elect me.” Lyndon Johnson continued this hopeless escalation because to end it would have been bad politics. So did maybe a million people die because of the illusions and ambitions of the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations? -And people call the assassination a tragedy.<br />
<br />
And last, there are the foibles. Not just talking Marilyn here, or the college girls the Secret Service snuck into the White House swimming pool; Kennedy had affairs with a Soviet spy and a Mafia mistress. His staff and the press may have covered for him, but J. Edgar Hoover had his number. This may be a product of wealth and privilege, or his upbringing; Joseph Kennedy was linked to silent movie star Gloria Swanson. Maybe the fact that JFK grew up almost dead had something to do with it. By the time he turned forty years old he had been administered last rites three times. Who can say. It is scary to think that this sex-addicted risk-taker, gravely ill, nearly crippled and injected with all manner of steroids, speed and painkillers was at times charged with the fate of the free world. <br />
<br />Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-5583099948387201052013-11-16T14:41:00.001-08:002013-11-16T14:41:18.326-08:00News from Congressman Stockman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjteBgLCXAaSwIroQalWVtHeT2r_F7uAunAV5y1kU4A-KrpjqLgNiQIhu3c3ya2dFK0694mfoYxpod-4VXADC-LCl__MRMpJfMwi_-pNeuHFZxELLldt5tQwVg6kM3rS362srse/s1600/loons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjteBgLCXAaSwIroQalWVtHeT2r_F7uAunAV5y1kU4A-KrpjqLgNiQIhu3c3ya2dFK0694mfoYxpod-4VXADC-LCl__MRMpJfMwi_-pNeuHFZxELLldt5tQwVg6kM3rS362srse/s1600/loons.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My
Congressloon, Steve Stockman has been on the front page of The Chronicle twice
this month. The other week it was because he fired two campaign workers, one
his campaign treasurer, after the Federal Campaign Commission found that they
had made illegal campaign contributions in the name of straw donors. They may
have done this out of desperation, as his campaign fund is over $100,000 in
debt. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Stockman
spokesman Donny Ferguson told the Chronicle Thursday that staffers Jason Posey
and Thomas Dodd had been terminated. Posey had worked with Stockman since the
mid-1990s, and was his 2013 campaign treasurer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In April
2013, Posey filed a report that falsely attributed three donations totaling
$7,500 to a relative, Donnie Posey, in Mississippi, and another three, also
totaling $7,500, to Dodd's mother. Then last month, Posey filed an amended
report disclosing that he and Dodd actually had made the contributions
originally attributed to their respective relatives, FEC records show.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Under
federal law, it's illegal to attribute contributions to "straw
donors" - people other than the actual donors - or to knowingly file
federal campaign reports with false information.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today the
story is that Webster Texas’ Fire Marshall and city building officials ordered
Stockman’s office closed and the electricity shut off for violating fire code
and safety regulations. Stockman has used the steel building as a campaign headquarters
since 2012 and bragged that campaign workers were sleeping on the floor and
eating MREs three times a day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Last month
he sent me an e-mail claiming that staffers in his D.C. office voted
unanimously Tuesday to reject enrollment in the District of Columbia</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">’</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">s Obamacare exchange.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">”</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Everyone in our office voted to
reject enrollment. </span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">We will
not use taxpayer money to bail out a program that subsidizes abortion, said
Stockman of the D.C. exchange. Obamacare is a failing Ponzi scheme that can
only work if it overcharges young people and denies care to older people.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So Stockman
has staffers with no health insurance, and staffers who are sleeping on the
floor in an old motorcycle shop. They’re working for a guy who fudged his
resume and used to live in his car. Stockman’s guest at the State of the Union
Address was loon Ted Nugent, who beshat himself and took speed on the way to
his draft physical (but now is a foremost chickenhawk and gun nut.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boy, I glad
that I don’t work for this guy. Actually, I’m perplexed to think that he
supposedly works for me. This guy is an embarrassment, and is ripe to get
bumped-off by Michael Cole, a schoolteacher from Orange who is running against
him in the 36<sup>th</sup> Congressional District next year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-50687595474190210182013-11-14T15:19:00.001-08:002013-11-14T15:19:41.990-08:00George Pelecanos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGp_3tWyhIdRLljByUjqxF_JDtNnog19d1QYYEwcWJBmELNg7MBKgPtE2c1bsssqFWKfXuLitev_ec43jMX-w4uJRP6GP73uh5XwHv5p1b06H7jE6Emmnta0Yvnvbg6Mmq3hu/s1600/george.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGp_3tWyhIdRLljByUjqxF_JDtNnog19d1QYYEwcWJBmELNg7MBKgPtE2c1bsssqFWKfXuLitev_ec43jMX-w4uJRP6GP73uh5XwHv5p1b06H7jE6Emmnta0Yvnvbg6Mmq3hu/s1600/george.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I got to see
George Pelecanos at a Murder by the Book event a couple of weeks ago and it’s
about time that I wrote about it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pelecanos is
a hero of mine because he has writing and producing credits on the two best television
series I know; those being The Wire and Tremé. Looking at his Wiki page, I see
that he has written least twenty novels, which is happy news for me because
that means that I’ve missed a few. His books are set in and around Washington
D.C, featuring bartender/private investigator Nick Stefanos, black P.I. Derek
Strange, owner of Strange Investigations, who wears a Leatherman tool, a Buck
knife and a Maglight on his belt (his friends make cracks about this, calling
him Batman,) and now his latest, Spero Lucas, an Iraq vet
Marine-turned-investigator. Pelecanos is out on a book tour behind The Double,
the second Spero Lucas novel, says a third book is on the way, and that he
hopes to sell Spero to television. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He spoke of
his latest collaboration with David Simon, The Deuce, a tale of mobbed-up Times
Square in the bad old days before it got Disneyfied, that they are going to
produce for HBO. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He said that
HBO was kind to give them a third season contract for Tremé, even for just six
episodes, because the ratings just weren’t there. They had planned to end the
series with the post-Katrina Saints in the Super Bowl. He loved making the
series, lived in the warehouse district and “walked everywhere;” he wants to
live there now. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pelecanos
wasn’t seven feet tall, as I had imagined him. He was a trim, fifty-something
guy, friendly and well-spoken. Asked about taking-up or retiring characters, he
paid homage to the greats: ‘nobody can write twenty-seven good books with the
same character, unless you’re John D. McDonald. And if you haven’t read him,
you should.’ He added that James Lee Burke was still going strong with twenty
Dave Robicheaux novels. And Burke, like Elmore Leonard, was a sweet guy and a
real gentleman. (Oh, gosh; this guy has met James Lee Burke and Elmore Leonard
both! Well, at least now I’ve met George Pelecanos.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the
Q&A I got to comment that he was in Houston, and had lived in both D.C. and
New Orleans, so was no stranger to humidity, so I found it interesting that so
many of his characters drove big Detroit V-8 cars without air conditioning. He
said that he liked American cars, owned Jeeps, and had just bought a “Bullitt”
model Mustang, “a good car, and the same price as an Accord or a Camry.” He
said that he had always been a MoPar guy, and “was no fan of air conditioning.”
He grew up working in his father’s Greek diner, listening to the music his
black co-workers tuned into on the radio; so his experience in race relations
and bar-and-grill culture is come by honestly. He spoke wistfully of the days
when pop hits on the radio could come from any of several genres, when ‘everybody
played everything.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hung
around through the book signing and he spoke to me again, the last guy there. I
said that I could about tell which episodes of The Wire he wrote because he
always touched on the local cuisine and name-checked his favorite restaurants.
He confessed to being a foodie, and when I asked where they were feeding him
dinner in Houston (hoping I might get to take him to Valhalla for a beer on our
way to Pappadeaux,) he told me that he was staying at Hotel Zaza and was to
have dinner at the restaurant there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I’m
charged now. I’ve just re-read The Cut, and now my copy of The Double is in.
Next I’ll likely take a break from my review of the works of Ed McBain and Dutch
Leonard and read the Pelecanos novels that I’ve managed to miss. He’s not only
a great writer, but ‘a sweet guy and a real gentleman.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18647786.post-18118807995789598602013-11-07T14:40:00.002-08:002013-11-07T14:41:34.587-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVuL80aj7sNQJxYl-BF5SrHYEjIcklVre_dhiZQVL0GaDCcdKE2b7UAHUI0RM9xbNz-934nigj2BsoERBzssqmjkMkthyn2ke263298I7XLWNCS9vM8JK1bY4gIX4NJpwvnjG/s1600/Dierker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVuL80aj7sNQJxYl-BF5SrHYEjIcklVre_dhiZQVL0GaDCcdKE2b7UAHUI0RM9xbNz-934nigj2BsoERBzssqmjkMkthyn2ke263298I7XLWNCS9vM8JK1bY4gIX4NJpwvnjG/s1600/Dierker.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">An
interesting </span><a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texans/article/Medical-episode-can-make-coach-or-manager-rethink-4962166.php"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">column</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
in the sports pages of todays Chronicle from former Astro and Astros
broadcaster and manager Larry Dierker. He was writing about Texans coach Gary Kubiak
collapsing on the field at Reliant Stadium in the middle of last Sundays football
game. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dierker has
been called upon to comment on this because fourteen years ago, while managing
a Houston Astros game he suffered a grand mal seizure and was carried off the
field to undergo emergency surgery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dierker was
a pitching phenom, a star broadcaster, and a fine manager. He is a student of
the game, and has written good books about it. I can recommend his first, “This
Ain’t Brain Surgery” as interesting, informative and flat-out funny. Here’s a
bit of his column today, which addresses much more than sports:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In my view
there is something very disturbing.. Sports fans are losing their minds. What
bothers me as an insider looking out is the societal outrage in sports. It’s not
just in Houston and, indeed, not just in sports.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Julia B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17772033454739878992noreply@blogger.com0