Only In Texas

Things like this are part of the reason I love living in Texas.

Hats Help Uncover Cowboys' Stories

It was sometime back in the late 1980s that Stewart Martin, owner of Ben's Western Wear on Front Street (in Cotulla), hung the first beat-up old cowboy hat in a place of honor, high up on the wall among the pale trophy-buck mounts.

No one now recalls which hat was first, but it proved to be a good idea. Customers would remark on the cowboy who had worn that hat, the horses he had ridden and the work he had done. And other hats soon followed.

“Stewart was real proud of the hats. His theory was that everyone's hat was important to them. His goal was to write a story every month about a person whose hat was hanging on the wall, but he passed away in November of 2006,” said his widow, Jill, who runs the store.

“He was a people person. He used to tell me, ‘I maybe didn't make a lot of money in my life, but I can measure my wealth in my friends.'”

Now there are more than 400 hats on the walls, mostly battered Stetsons and Resistols, each with a name tag. An additional 100 hats are waiting in storage because of a lack of space. And if all their stories were told, it would make a nice history of this part of South Texas.

A few hat stories did get written. One of the favorites was provided by Scott Reese, a rancher from Encinal, who donated an old chewed-up gray Resistol. In 1975, Reese had given it to his ranch foreman, Mario Rodriguez.

“Mario wore it every day and made repairs on the hat as needed. On one occasion, while he was plowing a field, a gasket blew out on an old Ford tractor. With South Texas ingenuity, he cut a piece of felt out of the back of his trusty old hat and used it for the gasket,” Martin wrote.

“The repair was done over 15 years ago, and it still works today,” he concluded.

Among the many hats are a handful donated by politicians, country music stars, Texas Rangers and other celebrities, including one by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who once hunted around here.

Hats bearing the names of George Strait, Rick Perry and Nolan Ryan are on the wall above the Jockey underwear display. And Dolph Briscoe's cracked old straw lid is right above the Carhartt work jackets.

I used to go hunting on a lease near Briscoe's ranch in Uvalde. We'd see him in town once in a while. He looked like any other rancher, not like a governor of Texas. And certainly not like Captain Perfect-Hair, pretty boy Rick Perry.

And while a few other names are recognizable to anyone who spent a few years roaming South Texas, most of the hats belonged to ordinary working men known only to their families, friends and fellow cowpokes.

“Most of these guys worked on ranches all their lives. These are the real cowboys from the old days. You can tell by the way their hats are all creased and sweaty and wore out,” said Carlos Gonzalez Jr., 55, who has worked here for two decades.

His son, who was a pretty fair roper, has his hat on the wall.

Some of the hats are probably 50 to 60 years old. And while Jill Martin says she has a good idea of where most of them came from, sometimes she doesn't know much about all their owners.

“We have never turned a hat down. I wonder about some of them. I'm not vouching for their character, they've just got their hats hanging up here,” she joked.

One of the oddest is one painted orange on the top, and not as an expression of humor.

“That one belonged to Bob Davis. It was his hunting hat. And he didn't want to get shot,” Martin said.

Business was slow Friday afternoon, and customer Darrell Burnett, 47, of Van Alstyne took his time looking through the hat collection, finding names of cowboys he had known of in North Texas and elsewhere.

“There's Jim Wright of the American Quarter Horse Association. He was a field inspector for 50 years. Harry Thompson, a PRC bull rider. And Phil Lyne, the greatest cowboy ever,” he said.

“A lot of history. It's just cool,” he said.

Elsa Ayala, who has worked at Ben's for 30 years, said people still come back to show friends and family members a favorite hat. Sometimes they ask that it be lifted down from the wall so they can take their picture with it.

But then the hat always goes back to its place of honor.

“Stewart always said that anyone is more than welcome to take a hat back, anytime, but no one ever has,” she said.

My first - and only - custom cowboy hat was made for me by Manny Gammage of Texas Hatters, back when I lived in Austin. It's a great hat, but unfortunately my head has grown since then, so it doesn't fit right anymore. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to seeing if it can be stretched (the hat, not my head).

For My Aggie Friends

Back in 2002 when R. C. Slocum was fired as the Aggies head football coach I told anyone who would listen that A&M was making a big mistake. Much like my wife, everyone ignored me. Today I am officially saying "I told you so."

For those of you whose memory might be a little cloudy, here's the details of RC's tenure as head coach (from here).

In December 1988, R.C. Slocum was named head coach at Texas A&M. During his 14 years as head coach, Slocum led the Aggies to a record of 123–47–2, making him the winningest coach in Texas A&M history.

During his career, Slocum never had a losing season and won four conference championships, including the Big 12 title in 1998. Additionally, he led the Aggies to become the first school in the Southwest Conference history to post three consecutive perfect conference seasons.

Slocum reached 100 wins faster than any other active coach. He has the best winning percentage in SWC history, one spot ahead of the legendary coach Darrell Royal. Slocum helped make A&M's Kyle Field  become one of the hardest places for opponents to play, losing only 12 games at home in 14 years. For over a year, A&M held the longest home-winning streak in the nation, losing in 1989 and not again until late in 1995. In the 1990s, A&M lost only four times at Kyle Field.

Slocum was named SWC Coach of the Year three times during his tenure as head coach. His "Wrecking Crew" defense led the SWC in four statistical categories from 1991 through 1993 and led the nation in total defense in 1991.

Slocum was well known for being unwilling to bend the rules. He inherited an Aggie football program under severe NCAA sanctions, and cleaned it up quickly. He was quoted in 2002 as saying "I wouldn't trade winning another game or two for my reputation as a person. I've said from day one I'm going to do things the way I think they should be done. There were those who said, `If you don't cheat, you're pretty naive. You can't win that way.' Well, we're going to find out. That's the way we're going to do it. I can walk away and look myself in the mirror and say, 'We did it the right way.'”

The critics of Slocum cited his below .500 bowl record. Slocum went only 3–8 in bowls, and 0–4 in major bowls (The 1999 Sugar Bowl and the 1992, 1993 and 1994 Cotton Bowl Classics, which were then considered major).

Slocum continually pressed Texas A&M to update the athletic facilities so that the university could compete with rivals Texas and Oklahoma in football recruiting. Officials finally listened to his pleas and began a large facility expansion project. This was too late to save Slocum. He was fired in 2002 after a 6–6 season, which included a win over number-one-ranked Oklahoma. He was succeeded by Dennis Franchione as head coach.

Not to pick on Sherman, who most agree is a good guy and understands what A&M is all about, but, well, let's see what the Aggie school paper has to say.

In over two years, Sherman is 13-18 - the worst start to a coaching career since A&M began allowing women into the University. Sherman is now 3-15 against teams with winning records.

Those wins?

Texas Tech, Iowa State and Louisiana Tech. Sherman's biggest home win was over an eventual 7-6 Iowa State team on a forgettable Halloween afternoon. Sherman is 5-13 in conference play. Sherman's teams have lost 12 consecutive games on television.

And, with the rough part of the schedule still to come, Sherman is on the verge of his third consecutive losing season.

Fun fact: the last Aggie coach to have three consecutive losing seasons and keep his job was Jim Meyers in 1960.

So who's next for A&M? Well, it's too late for them to get Tommy Tuberville, who IMO would have been a great fit. The only logical choice now is Mike Leach... 

(you have to be an Aggie fan to get this)

Obama Myths Busted

President Barack Obama will appear on an episode of "Mythbusters," a television show that uses science to determine the truth behind urban legends.

Gee, what a set-up line.

Unfortunately, I'm short of time this morning, so I'll have to use a little trick I do in class whenever I don't feel like lecturing.

"Students, we're going to do an in-class exercise. I want you all to form small groups and discuss today's topic, and then make a brief presentation of your conclusions at the end of class."

The same trick is handy for whenever I don't have the time or inclination to write a complete post.

So, dear readers, your assignment is to think up your own jokes about obama and debunking myths.

Ready, begin...

Back In The Hole

Life underground may be safer for one of the rescued Chilean miners. We already knew that Johnny Barrios had both a wife and a mistress waiting for him when he poked his two-timing head above ground. Now it turns out he had not one but two mistresses.

The married Don Juan of the trapped Chilean miners dug himself into a deeper hole when it was revealed that he had not one, but two mistresses.

Susana Valenzuela, Johnny Barrios' mistress who greeted him after his rescue on Wednesday, reportedly said her man was also romancing a 25-year-old woman. But Valenzuela, 52, squashed the relationship between Barrios and the younger woman.

When the younger paramour visited him at the hospital treating the rescued miners, Valenzuela barred her entry, according to Columbia radio station La FM.

The Latin Lothario's wife, Marta Salinas, refused to show up when her hubby was hoisted up.

"If he wants to see me or talk to me he can come find me," Salinas told the Daily Mail of London at the time. "Otherwise we can talk through our lawyers." 

Who does this guy think he is, Tiger Woods?

Usually I take the guy's side, but I'm with the wife on this one.

In related news, Mining Reality Show "Coal" Headed to Spike TV.

Spike TV has reportedly picked up a reality show about the harsh world of coal mining.

"Coal," which will be produced by the same team that brought forth "Deadliest Catch," will be a docuseries chronicling the lives of coal miners in West Virginia, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

It'll never match my favorite reality TV series about people struggling to survive and prosper in a dank, muck-filled environment (no, it's not about politicians...)

Sunday Funnies

The Morning After...

Marty wakes up at home with a huge hangover. He forces himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins and a glass of water on the side table.

He sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed.

Marty looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotless, clean. So is the rest of the house.

He takes the aspirins and notices a note on the table "Honey, breakfast is on the stove. I left early to go shopping. Love you."

So he goes to the kitchen and sure enough there is a hot breakfast and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating.

Marty asks, "Son, what happened last night?"

His son says, "Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and delirious. Broke some furniture, puked in the hallway, and gave yourself a black eye when you stumbled into the door."

Confused, Marty asks, "So, why is everything in order and so clean, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me?"

His son replies, "Oh that! Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you said, "Lady, leave me alone, I'm married."

RHIP III

As a former U.S. Army junior enlisted man, I never tire of tweaking the NCOs and officers that made my life miserable way back when.

Of course, looking back on it now I realize that, for the most part, they weren't that bad. They were trying their best to deal with a bunch of 18-20 year old kids. Now that I teach that same age range I can sympathize with them somewhat.

Still, I do enjoy a little payback every now and then, as evidenced by here, here, and below.

Al was a recent retiree. He was hired as a greeter at WalMart.

He was a really good worker, exceptionally tidy, clean-shaven, sharp minded and a real credit to the company. The only problem was he just couldn't seem to get to work on time. Every day he was 5, 10, even 15 minutes late.

One day the boss called Al into the office for a talk.

"Al, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang up job. But being late so often is quite bothersome."

"I know boss, and I'm working on it."

''Well, good. That's what I like to hear. It's odd, though, your coming in late. I know you're retired from the military. What did they say if you came in late back then?"

''They said, 'Good morning, General, can I get you some coffee?'"

Friday Follies Happy Hour

Delbert McClinton is a Texas classic and a Texas icon. He ain't Nashville smooth or polished, but by God he's ours.

Pop open a cold Shiner, lean back, and enjoy.

Fog Of War

Goodness knows I have no fondness for much of the nonsense that goes on in military units. At the same time I acknowledge that this is based on my limited personal experience from 40+ years ago. Today's military is a much different beast from the one I was a part of in the Viet Nam era.

I have the utmost respect for those individuals who choose to place themselves at the sharp end of the spear. In this particular case I'm speaking of the U.S. Navy Seals who were involved in attempt to rescue British hostage Linda Norgrove from terrorists.

Yes, an error - a tragic, tragic error - was made. And yes, there was some confusion in reporting the events. But unless you've been there and experienced the fog of war, the pressure to make an instantaneous life or death decision, then don't second-guess the people in that situation. Have the decency to withhold judgment until all the facts are known, and then temper any judgment with the realization that it's easy to play back the video in super slow motion, but when you have split seconds to make a decision it's a totally different situation.

Here's some excerpts from a pretty detailed account of the rescue operation. (Here's a second account.)

The only realistic option was for the US special forces to descend on the target compound out of the night sky, sliding down ropes, guns blazing. Far away, in the taskforce headquarters, the operation was being watched on six big screens, each showing a live feed from a different source — the drones, the helicopters and even the Seals' helmet cameras. It was not the sharp green clarity as portrayed Hollywood films – sometimes a feed would be lost as an aircraft made a turn for example – but the unfolding action was clear enough.

Sliding down ropes from a helicopter into a hostile encampment. Senior officers watching on video screens far, far away. This is not a Hollywood movie. This is real-time real life. If you hesitate you're quite likely dead.

In the first few violent minutes, the plan seemed to be working. The six abductors holding Norgrove stumbled out of their huts into the central compound and were shot and killed. What the Seals did not see however, was one of the insurgents dragging Linda Norgrove out of a hut with him.

She managed to break away and lay down, hunched up in the foetal position – the safest thing to do given the hail of gunfire around her – but on that moonless night, the Seals did not spot her, even with their night vision goggles.

Fog of war...

To the horror of the senior officers watching back at headquarters, the six big screens were lit up by a blast that seemed to come from the vicinity of Norgrove and the insurgent closest to her, and soon afterward word came from the returning helicopters that Norgrove was mortally wounded. The operation had failed.

The immediate assumption was that the blast had come from a suicide bomb, as it is not unusual for insurgents to slip into suicide vests if there is a risk of attack.

Late on Sunday, however, the taskforce commander acted on a hunch and asked to see the video of the assault stored on the computer hard drive at its headquarters. Running through it again, he spotted one Seal, standing on the roof of one of the huts, toss something underhand into the compound. Four seconds later the screen went bright from the explosion. He called the team in and asked who had thrown a grenade. One man stepped forward.

Let's not lose focus here. An unarmed civilian aid worker was kidnapped by terrorists. Based on history and intelligence intercepts her fate was dismal at best, fatal most likely. The best option to save her was a military strike. Limited time and geographical constraints dictated who would make that effort. Would it have been better to have stood down and done nothing, accepting that Ms. Norgrove would most likely be killed or moved to a location where rescue would have been impossible.

By late last week it was clear, according to sources, that Norgrove's life was in very grave danger. One group of local elders was calling for her execution, talking of killing her like "the Russian" some years before, an apparent reference to the long war with the Soviet army, in which captured soldiers were often slaughtered in horrifying ways.

The other option her captors were debating was shipping Norgrove to North Waziristan, the tribal territory in western Pakistan, which is almost entirely outside the control of government forces, and where it would be virtually impossible to keep track of the British woman and her abductors.

I'm not condoning any failure to follow orders or procedures. But I'm also not second-guessing the people who slid down those ropes into God-knows-what. Imagine leaning out of a helicopter and staring down into the darkness, knowing that armed men are waiting for you down there. And then leaning forward even more and falling into the great unknown.

We should thank those people, not pillory them.

If I'm ever in the position that Linda Norgrove was in, I'd much rather take my chances with a rescue attempt than abandon myself to the tender mercies [*snort*] of a gaggle of raghead camel-fuckers.

An Asshole And An Idiot

Eugene Robinson is a columnist for the Washington Post. He's also an asshole and an idiot.

I won't go into his asshole-ery. Just browse some of his past columns and you'll figure that out for yourself. But I will make a few brief comments on his idiocy. His most recent column addresses the 'exhaustion vs. enthusiasm' gap between democraps and repubs. (Remember Velma Hart? She's the lady who was an obama supporter, but who has grown "exhausted" trying to defend him since he took office. She's the poster child for the exhausted democraps.)

In his column, Robinson discusses how obama changes his message depending on which segment of his supporters he's addressing.

For progressives who have criticized his administration from the left, (obama) has a stern lecture that might be paraphrased like this: "Come on, people, give us a break. Have you noticed that we don't exactly have a liberal majority in Congress?"

Excuse me? When he took office his party had firm control of the house and a supermajority in the senate. There was absolutely nothing to stop him and his cronies from ramming their liberal agendas down this country's throat, and boy did they take advantage of that. Stimulus bills, obamacare, cash for clunkers ... the list goes on. He and his ilk are now experiencing the backlash from those ill-conceived, foolish, and failed initiatives.

For centrist Democrats who might have wanted him to spend more time on jobs and less on health care, Obama's message is essentially apocalyptic ... "You're right, things aren't as great as we'd like. But just imagine the disaster if the Republicans take control of Capitol Hill."

Yeah, I'd hate to go back to those days.

January 3rd, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress. At the time:

• The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77

• The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%

• The unemployment rate was 4.6%

If you don't believe it, go look it up.

With African Americans, his appeal has been simpler and more direct: "I need you."

The president's overall approval rating, according to the latest Gallup survey, is a middling 46 percent -- not great, but roughly comparable to that of Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton at this stage of their presidencies. His approval among African Americans, by contrast, is a stratospheric 87 percent.

This despite the fact that black people have suffered disproportionately from the subprime mortgage meltdown, the tidal wave of foreclosures and evictions, the worst recession in decades and the agonizingly slow "jobless" recovery that economists say we're experiencing -- problems that have their roots in prior administrations, but that many other Americans seem prepared to blame on Obama and the Democrats.

Oh, right, back to the old "It's all Bush's fault" theme.

The national unemployment rate is 9.6 percent. For African Americans, it's a punishing 16.1 percent -- yet African Americans remain the president's most enthusiastic and loyal constituency.

There are two reasons. For at least two generations, black Americans have been faithful supporters of the Democratic Party in general. And specifically, their high regard for Obama has to be because he is the first African American president of a nation that not long ago consigned black people to second-class citizenship.

Of course. When whites don't support obama it's racist. When blacks do support him, it's justified.

I'm so tired of all this crap. obama is inexperienced, incompetent, and incapable of understanding the Constitution and basic economic principles. His own party is fleeing from him like Europeans from toxic sludge. Yet it's all the fault of Bush and a bunch of us right-wing racist obstructionists.

Can't we all just get along...?


How liberals perceive getting along.

How Texans perceive getting along.

How men perceive getting along (click to embiggen).

Getting along in reality.

That Didn't Take Long

I've been holding off posting this until all the Chilean miners were rescued so I didn't jinx them. At this point in time there are still several rescue workers waiting to be brought up, but I think it's safe now. At least I hope so. I'd hate to have to live with any negative consequences.

This country, and in fact the entire world, has demonstrated an amazing capacity for untimely and inappropriate jokes during times of stress and tragedy. There are some who would argue that humor is a coping mechanism (count me in that camp), but still, there is a fine line that must be walked. I don't think any of the following cross that line, but even if they do, so what?

• When will they get those poor, desperate men out of the hole they’re in? But hey… enough about the Dallas Cowboys.

• “Chilean miners haven’t seen sunlight in over 70 days” – Big deal. They should try experiencing a British summer.

• I watched CNN as the miners were brought up ‘Juan by Juan.’

• It’s a shame my wife isn’t trapped down that mine with those Chilean miners. They’d have dug themselves out by now.

• I don't know who's screwed more minors, that Chilean mining company or the Catholic Church.

• Upon receiving a pitch for a movie script about the story of the Chilean miners, director/rapist Roman Polanski said, "Okay, you had me with minors."

• When the first miner came out I was upset to notice that it was sunny and he saw his shadow. That means six extra weeks of winter.

If any of the miners take offense to these, I will not debate, argue, or fight with them. I refuse to sink to their level...

And You Think You've Got Problems At Work

Man Survives Mile-Plus Trip Through Sewer

A worker who descended into a city sewage system on Tuesday became unhooked from his safety line and was pushed through a 27-inch-wide pipe for over a mile before his calls for help were heard and he was rescued.

Daniel Collins, of Collins, Mo., was listed in critical condition Tuesday night at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City.

South Metropolitan Fire District Chief Randy Adams said Collins was being treated for hypothermia and had been administered antibiotics because he may have swallowed sewage.

Collins disappeared shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday after descending into the sewage system in the town of Raymore. Adams said crews frantically searched manholes along a 1.5-mile route near a golf course.

After about 90 minutes, firefighter and paramedic Antonio Smith heard Collins calling out, "Guys, I'm down here. Can you help me?"

Smith was lowered into the sewer chamber and found Collins about 12 feet down. Collins appeared to have some bruises but was able to speak, Smith told KMBC-TV.

"It was a miracle to find him in that condition," Smith said.

He said that he put Collins over his shoulder, and crews topside helped lift him out. Firefighters covered Collins with coats while waiting for an air ambulance.

Adams said Collins "was not totally coherent. He was basically in and out, and he was very weak."

Collins was tethered when he descended into the sewer and was still wearing the harness when he was found. It was unclear how he became unhooked, which allowed him to be pushed through the pipe by rushing water.

I often complain that I have to put up with a lot of crap in my job, but at least it's figurative, not literal. The only two jobs more disgusting than this guy's are lawyer and politician.

Choose Wisely

While walking down the street one day a senator was hit by a car and died.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the senator.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from the higher ups. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose  where to spend eternity."

"Really? I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and the finest champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy. He's having a good time dancing and telling jokes.

They are all having such a good time that before the Senator realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him, "Now it's time to visit heaven."

The next 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a nice relaxed time. Before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I never would have expected this. I mean, heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell...

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulders.

"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil smiles at him and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning, Today, you voted..."

Choose wisely on November 2, 2010.

(Thanks and H/T to Bots.)

End of an Error

In honor of FOD - it's never to early to plan ahead...

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

The city of San Antonio, in conjunction with the downtown business community, has opened a facility for the homeless called Haven for Hope.

It's stated intent is "to reintegrate San Antonio’s homeless population back into the community through a structured transformation process." This includes providing food, shelter, and "a wide array of social services to combat the root causes of homelessness in a convenient central location."

Sounds like a good thing, right? Government and business uniting in a common cause to address a pressing social need. That should make liberals, conservatives, and even libertarians happy. Hallelujah! Cue the rainbows and chorus of angels.

However, since Haven for Hope opened there have been a few small problems.

There are many in the homeless population who say they are reluctant to use the services or stay in the dorms.

"Haven for Hope is built like a jail, it's operated like a jail and so it's the last thing these people want to do is return to that type of environment," said (homeless person) Edward Rodriguez.

The food offered by the shelter is less appealing than what the homeless can obtain on the streets.

When Haven for Hope opened its gates to the homeless this year, officials cast the lure of food as the center's primary enticement. 

Their philosophy: Eliminate feeding in the streets, and the homeless would seek meals at Haven's Prospects Courtyard.

But that approach in some cases has proved less than alluring, officials say.

More than three months after opening, the facility is operating at less than 50% capacity. One reason given by the homeless is that they can eat better on the streets.

(Assistant City Manager) Zanoni said he has grown concerned about complaints among the homeless in the streets about the cold food in the courtyard and that he encouraged Haven to change its policy.

“The homeless went from three, four hot meals a day (on the streets) to one bologna sandwich,” he said. “That's not going to cut it.”

Concerns about security inside the shelter are surfacing.

The Haven for Hope has been operating for months on the near west side of downtown. Now, reports are surfacing that life inside the mega-homeless shelter can be dangerous.

Haven for Hope has its share of the mentally ill, those in withdrawal and others with a multitude of problems. And some said this population tends to be violent at the shelter.

"They're not helping you,” said John Humphrey, a homeless man who left the shelter. “And it's a dangerous place to be in my opinion."

Let's review. The food is worse than the homeless can get on the streets, it's more dangerous than the streets, and it's run like a prison. What's not to like?

Granted, some of these problems might be attributed to the newness of the facility. A period of appraisal and adjustment is not uncommon nor unexpected in new ventures. That's why new ships have shake-down cruises.

In this case, however, there seem to be more systemic issues prowling under the surface.

Existing charities are being squeezed out or pushed aside.

The efforts to help more people in need could actually lead to fewer people being helped. The expansion of SAMM Ministries to Haven for Hope has made their costs so high, they say they can't afford it.

SAMMinistries is an interfaith ministry dedicated to providing shelter and care to the homeless of San Antonio. Until Haven for Hope opened, SAMM was the largest provider of food, shelter, and social services to the homeless in San Antonio. As a reward, SAMM is now being marginalized by the government/business mega-shelter.

Next came the food police.

Robert Smith sat on the porch of Catholic Worker House on Wednesday morning, hungry and sipping a cup of coffee.

The nonprofit, close to downtown, had been a reliable source of free, hot meals for hungry people for 25 years until the city's health department showed up in August and warned it to shut down because it lacked a licensed kitchen.

Metro Health officials paid a visit Tuesday evening to those handing out food under U.S. 281 at Ninth and Austin streets ... a popular feeding spot at which hundreds of the homeless and the merely hungry gather throughout the week for free, hot meals.

“They told me next time we serve a meal, we must have a permit, and it cannot be home cooking,” said Red Simpson, director of operations for Church Under the Bridge.

A city ordinance prohibits the distribution of food not prepared in a licensed kitchen.

Another ordinance requires anyone who sells or gives away food on downtown streets to possess a “special event” permit. But requiring such a permit now is akin to shutting an operation down — the city makes only 27 of them available at a given time, and all are currently in use, said Melody Woosley, assistant director of city initiatives.

“In order to get one, somebody would have to give one up,” Woosley said.

City officials for months have been fine-tuning a plan to relocate the homeless population to the new Haven for Hope campus, in part by moving clothing and feeding programs there. But officials deny that Tuesday's warning or the city's August visit to the Catholic Worker House is related to that effort.

Yeah, right. We're from the government and we're here to help.

Jim Grossnickle-Batterton, house coordinator for Catholic Worker House, is suspicious.

About two months before the health department showed up, he said, the number of visitors to the nonprofit more than doubled, rising from about 60 to 140 a day.

The increase occurred around the same time Haven for Hope opened.

“Most of the folks were coming from Haven,” Grossnickle-Batterton said. “They were tired of the cold food over there in the courtyard. So it obviously made us a much bigger target.”

“The city has found a way to decide where people can be by food availability,” he said. “I think that using food in general to make people do anything is just really bad.”

Perhaps the best capsule summary of the situation can be found here.

David is on the streets in San Antonio, Texas. He works day labor jobs to survive. It didn't used to be so bad in town, but then Haven for Hope opened, he says.

Close to 80 local organizations collaborate to provide services at the massive Haven For Hope shelter. I only spent a little time there. Although the facility is impressive, their solution seems more like institutionalizing homelessness.

I don't mean to belittle the individuals and organizations involved with Haven for Hope that are truly motivated by the desire to help the homeless. But in the back of my mind lurks a teeny tiny suspicion. 

The majority of the homeless population was/is centered on downtown San Antonio. The new facility is located on the western outskirts of downtown. Could the underlying purpose of the new facility be to move the homeless presence away from downtown, with its tourist attractions (the Alamo, the Riverwalk, etc.) and businesses to a more remote location?

Naw, government never has ulterior motives ... does it ...?

Sunday Funnies

A man staggers into an emergency room with two black eyes and a five iron wrapped tightly around his throat. Naturally, the doctor asks him what happened.

“Well, I was having a quiet round of golf with my wife when she sliced her ball into a pasture of cows. We went to look for it and while I was rooting around I noticed one of the cows had something white at its rear end. I walked over and lifted up the tail and sure enough, there was my wife’s golf ball… stuck right in the middle of the cow’s butt. “That’s when I made my mistake.”

“What did you do?” asks the doctor.

“Well, I lifted the tail and yelled to my wife, ‘Hey, this looks like yours!’”

Ethical Freeloading

I seem to recall the days when food stamps and similar government programs (anyone remember surplus cheese, peanut butter, and crackers?) were intended as a safety net to ensure that no one starved. Somehow they have morphed into give-aways where recipients can use our tax dollars to purchase all sorts of items that have little or no relation to basic nutrition. In fact, there is no resemblance between America's grossly obese freeloaders waddling down the aisles of stores filled with all manner of edibles, and those emaciated stick-figures from third-world hellholes that are literally starving to death.

We have now reached the point where some people object to even the mildest of restrictions being placed on government give-away programs.

Is it Ethical to Ban Food Stamp Users From Buying Soda?

In another move aimed at improving New Yorkers' health by regulation, mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced  a proposal to bar food stamp users from buying sodas with city funds. The proposed two-year ban, which is currently under consideration by the Department of Agriculture, is intended to combat obesity and diabetes. The mayor, who already banned trans-fats from restaurants and lobbied against excessive salt in foods, says the "initiative will give New York families more money to spend on foods and drinks that provide real nourishment." Though 57 percent of the city's adults are overweight or obese, the plan has met with skepticism from critics who it see as a paternalistic gesture.

I share the paternalistic concern to some extent, in that I don't think the government has any right to restrict what vendors sell or consumers purchase, as long as there is full disclosure of the contents. But it's one thing to be concerned about government interference with a private transaction between two consenting entities. It's another thing altogether to place reasonable restrictions on people receiving governmental largess.

Is This Really the Best Way? Time's Meredith Melnick details the opposition to the ban: "Not everyone agrees that restriction is the best solution. Advocates for the urban poor suggest that such a move would patronize and alienate an already stigmatized population. In 2004, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) rejected a similar Minnesota proposal to bar people from buying candy and soda with food stamps, because it perpetuated the stereotype that food stamp-users make bad food choices."

GMAFB.

We can't prevent food stamps from being used to buy candy and soda because it might hurt someone's feelings? What a crock of shit. And the fact that those porkers do in fact use food stamps for that purpose is not 'perpetuating a stereotype,' but rather confirming the notion that they do make bad food choices.

If people in a public program continually and demonstrably make poor choices, then it's time to limit those choices.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but for God's sake whatever happened to common sense?

Why Europe (And America) Still Doesn't Get Islam

I'm in the middle of a book by Ralph Peters: The War After Armageddon . It's an interesting fictional look at how a future all-out war between Christians and Muslims might unfold. The characters are well-developed, the action sequences are realistic, and the underlying premise is thought-provoking. If you like this type of novel I highly recommend it.

But that's beside the point. What caught my eye in the novel was this statement:

"After fourteen centuries of warfare between (Christianity) and Islam ... haven't we had sufficient proof that we can't co-exist?"

I happened to read that passage shortly after I read a column by Daniel Greenfield (from a suggestion by BMEWS).

Like an old car starting up on a cold winter's day, European governments have been slowly waking up to the realization that all those jolly Islamic people might be a problem after all. Unfortunately they don't understand the dimensions of the problem. To them the riots, the bombings and the murders are only part of a culture clash, with challenges no different than any other minority group. That is why they prefer to focus on schools and burqas, while ignoring the violence. The thinking is that this is still a cultural problem that can be corrected with 3 drops of educational indoctrination, and 6 drops of enforced integration for the natives whose discriminatory attitudes are just making things worse. The problem is that their model is wrong.

The Islamic problem is not merely a clash of cultures, but also a clash of civilizations. Had it been merely a clash of cultures, Europe would only be in the same boat as America. Troubled, but not immediately fatal. Instead Europe is facing a clash of civilizations. The cultural and religious dimensions of the conflict underlie a larger perception on the Muslim side, that they are fighting to expand the borders of the Muslim East, rather than trying to be accepted in the Christian West.

Here comes the money shot.

The problem is that Muslims believe that their way of life is morally superior, and that any system or institution that does not follow those laws, is invalid. Furthermore they believe that they have a duty to impose their laws on others in the name of their religion or honor.

That's the problem in a nutshell. I have no problem tolerating other people with different opinions or beliefs, as long as they don't interfere with me or mine.

Want to pray five times a day? No problem, as long as your wailing screechy call to worship doesn't drown out my Willie Nelson.

Want to fast during Ramadan? No problem, as long as you don't close What-A-Burger.

Don't want to drink alcohol or caffeine? No problem, as long as you don't keep me from my morning eye-opener or my evening nightcap.

Don't want to eat pork? No problem, but don't get between me and my bacon.

Unfortunately, Islamists don't see it that way. And therein lies the problem.

Most minorities will adapt to a host country, one way or another. However a minority that expects to be a majority, that sees itself as the vanguard of a moral, religious and national force reclaiming territory in the hands of immoral infidels for Allah-- is not going to adapt. Instead it will expect the natives to adapt to it. 

That brings us back to those fourteen centuries of conflict between them and us. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. 

Please go read Greenfield's column. He explains this in much more depth. And then go read Peter's book. At first you'll think "No way this could happen," but once you start to really think about it you'll begin to feel just a touch unsettled...

Dedicated To CharlieDelta

CD, this one's for you...

For those of you that don't get it, go here and read the comments.

Crime and Punishment

I've posted before about the absurdity of blindly following rules without applying a little judgment and common sense. It seems no one is listening.

Seven-year-old Samuel Burgos was expelled from school for one year, with the possibility that it might stretch to two years, for bringing a clear plastic, spring-action toy gun to school.

He never threatened anyone with it. He never even took it out of his book bag ("Samuel said that he was playing army with his friends one weekend, and he decided to hide the toy gun from his brother, so he placed it in his school bag. He went to school on Monday and said that he forgot he had the toy with him").

Samuel, now 8, has been out of school for almost a year. His parents have home-schooled him since he was expelled...

"He has been deprived of an education. My son made a mistake, and they kept him out a year," said Samuel's mother, Karen Burgos.

And it may be longer than that before Samuel is permitted to rejoin his classmates. A hearing will be held this month as his family fights his expulsion. Because the school board's order has not yet been finalized, his punishment could be extended into next year.

"I miss my friends," Samuel said.

Samuel spends his days playing baseball and practicing his studies with his parents. He should be in third grade now, but he's already missed most of second grade and may find himself two years behind by the time this matter is resolved.

"This is a 7-year-old child," said Kathy Christie of the Education Commission of the States. "This is a case where it was not brandished. It's a plastic gun. ... It just seems a long time to penalize a young man like that, a long time to take him out of that educational experience."

During their son's expulsion, Samuel's parents were offered the chance to send their son to an alternative school. The school, for "at risk" kids, has about 200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

"We said this is not an option, this is unacceptable," Samuel's father said. "I cannot, as a concerned parent, send my child, to a correctional school...

It should be noted that this took place in Broward County, Fla., which is a democrap stronghold.

It's also the same county where voters couldn't figure out the infamous butterfly ballot.




Pretty friggin' complicated, isn't it?

I guess the powers-that-be in Broward County find it easier to blindly follow rules and regulations ("Ve vere chust following orders, mein herr") then to take into consideration the impact on seven-year-old kids.

If Samuel didn't have any issues before this, it's much more likely he'll have a few afterward.

To repeat: there is nothing so uncommon as common sense.

A Graveyard Of Good Ideas

The U.S. Congress is where good ideas go to die. A large part of the problem is the arcane rules under which it operates - especially the Senate.

Those who hold the Senate in low esteem can get a sympathetic ear from some of the chamber's newest members. These lawmakers also are fed up with the Senate's ways and would like to change them.

"A graveyard of good ideas" is how freshman Democratic Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico sees his new workplace. "Out of whack with the way the rest of the world is," says another Democratic freshman, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado. "Just defies common sense" is the impression of Sen. Claire McCaskill, a first-term Democrat from Missouri, in describing the filibuster-plagued institution.

Actually, I'm okay with the filibuster rules. Anything that serves as an impediment to passing more hare-brained legislation is a good thing.

What I do object to, however, are the bizarre rules that enable those bozos to run the place like their own little fiefdom. Three examples: holds, earmarks, and amending bills.

Holds are a parliamentary procedure that allows one or more Senators to prevent a motion from reaching a vote on the Senate floor. This can be done in secret, thus hiding the identity of the senator who placed the hold. Cowards who lack the courage of their convictions...

Earmarks are a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees. Congresscritters use earmarks to facilitate gorging themselves at the public trough by funneling pork-laden funds and projects back to their home districts in order to get themselves reelected.

As for amending a bill, it should be a simple process. If the amendment is related to the bill, allow debate and a vote. If it's not - for example, Harry Reid's egregiously political amendment tying the Dream Act (immigration reform)  to the recent defense appropriations bill - then it shouldn't be allowed. In short, no omnibus bills.

One of the basic functions of Congress is to produce annual funding bills that keep the government operating.  These bills, known as appropriations bills, fund the respective sectors of the federal government – for example, one bill funds the Justice Department, another funds the Interior Department, and so on.

But by the end of last year, the Democrat-led Congress failed to approve nine of the total 12 appropriations bills.  Subsequently, the government has operated under a temporary measure, known as a “continuing resolution,” until Congress approved the remaining funding bills.

Instead of taking up these appropriations bills individually, the Democrat majority bundled the remaining ones into a massive, pork-laden $410 billion “omnibus” spending bill.  Like the previous year, this bill was unveiled just as the temporary continuing resolution was about to expire.  In other words, it was presented on a “take it or leave it” basis: approve this bill, or risk the government shutting down.

This political threat pressured members to approve a bloated spending bill quickly, leading to wasteful spending.  An omnibus bill corrupts the appropriations process, which was designed to ensure that individual spending bills could be carefully scrutinized and amended.  Bad bills can be opposed, good bills supported.  With an omnibus package, good provisions are coupled together with bad ones, and legislators are forced into an “all or nothing” position.

Kicking out the incumbents - ALL the incumbents - is a good start. But that should be coupled with meaningful reform of the rules under which congress swindles fleeces operates. Otherwise we end up with the same old mess.

One Down, One To Go

Following up on a previous post:

A paroled burglar was convicted Tuesday of murdering a woman and her two daughters during a night of terror inside the family's home in a well-to-do Connecticut town.

Steven Hayes, 47, was convicted of capital felony, murder, sexual assault and other counts by a jury that heard eight days of gruesome testimony. The verdict triggers the trial's second phase, beginning Oct. 18, in which the same jurors will decide if Hayes should be executed or face life in prison.

Jurors, who saw photos of the victims, charred beds, rope, ripped clothing and ransacked rooms, wept at times during the eight days of testimony.

A medical examiner described a painful and panic-stricken smoke inhalation death likely suffered by Michaela. Seventeen-year-old Hayley's injuries suggested she was burned as she tried to flee.

Hayes' co-defendant, another ex-con named Joshua Komisarjevsky, faces trial next year and also could be sentenced to death.

If there was ever a case where the death penalty is justified, this is it. "Hayes, still reeking of gasoline, gave an emotionless confession to police..."

He should be 'reeking of gasoline' the day they strap him into the electric chair. With luck there'll be one little spark that will put him through the same torment he inflicted on his innocent, helpless victims.

Jesus would forgive him, but Jesus is perfect.

I ain't.

Rot in Hell.

Smoke This

On Sep. 29 the Cincinnati reds clinched their first playoff berth in fifteen years. They celebrated by drinking champagne and smoking cigars.

In their own locker room.

Where no members of the public were present.

Of course, the celebration was televised. And that led to this.

The Cincinnati Health Department will investigate the Cincinnati Reds for violations of the state smoking ban after people complained players smoked cigars indoors while celebrating their National League Central Division title Tuesday night.

Five people called a statewide smoking ban complaint hotline ... Those complaints were sent to the city health department today for investigation. (Reds owner Bob ) Castellini will get a letter soon notifying him of the alleged violation.

Oh my aching butt.

These guys were smoking victory cigars to celebrate a championship - a ritual that occurs, at least in Cincinnati, once every 15 years. They were in an isolated location, where no one from the public was present, or even allowed. And some whiny little wimps finked on them to the feds city health department.

The get-a-life losers didn't even have the balls to sign their names. The protests were all filed anonymously.

How does a bunch of happy ballplayers lighting up stogies in their own locker room affect someone watching it from miles away on their television? Whatever happened to Mind Your Own Business?

Just another example of the government overreaching into areas where they don't belong.

If we're not harming anyone just leave us the hell alone.

Why is that such a difficult concept for liberals and the government to understand?

Almost Right

I have mixed feelings about Thomas Friedman. One the one hand, I think he's an excellent observer of geopolitical trends. His early works, especially the books From Beirut to Jerusalem, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, and The World is Flat did a wonderful job of examining and explaining social and economic factors that have shaped today's world. Where he fails, IMO, is in interpreting those trends. Case in point:

In a recent column he is quite perceptive in identifying the factors driving the public's unhappiness with the current state of the Union. He also pinpoints the underlying problem that manifests itself in that unhappiness.

The issues that upset the (Tea Party) movement — debt and bloated government — are actually symptoms of our real problem, not causes. They are symptoms of a country in a state of incremental decline and losing its competitive edge, because our politics has become just another form of sports entertainment, our Congress a forum for legalized bribery and our main lawmaking institutions divided by toxic partisanship to the point of paralysis.

However, Friedman then goes off-track by miscasting and denigrating the Tea Party movement.

There are actually two Tea Party movements in America today: one you’ve read about that is not that important and one you’ve not read about that could become really important if the right politician understood how to tap into it.

The Tea Party that has gotten all the attention, the amorphous, self-generated protest against the growth in government and the deficit, is what I’d actually call the “Tea Kettle movement” — because all it’s doing is letting off steam.

The Tea Kettle movement can’t have a positive impact on the country because it has both misdiagnosed America’s main problem and hasn’t even offered a credible solution for the problem it has identified. How can you take a movement seriously that says it wants to cut government spending by billions of dollars but won’t identify the specific defense programs, Social Security, Medicare or other services it’s ready to cut — let alone explain how this will make us more competitive and grow the economy?

IMO he oversimplifies and underestimates the Tea Party movement, viewing it through liberal-colored glasses. However, he goes on to partially redeem himself by prescribing a solution for what ails this country.

The important Tea Party movement ... understands this at a gut level and is looking for a leader with three characteristics. First, a patriot: a leader who is more interested in fighting for his country than his party. Second, a leader who persuades Americans that he or she actually has a plan not just to cut taxes or pump stimulus, but to do something much larger — to make America successful, thriving and respected again. And third, someone with the ability to lead in the face of uncertainty and not simply whine about how tough things are — a leader who believes his job is not to read the polls but to change the polls.

Democratic Pollster Stan Greenberg told me that when he does focus groups today this is what he hears: “People think the country is in trouble and that countries like China have a strategy for success and we don’t. They will follow someone who convinces them that they have a plan to make America great again. That is what they want to hear. It cuts across Republicans and Democrats.”

To me, that is a plan that starts by asking: what is America’s core competency and strategic advantage, and how do we nurture it? Answer: It is our ability to attract, develop and unleash creative talent. That means men and women who invent, build and sell more goods and services that make people’s lives more productive, healthy, comfortable, secure and entertained than any other country.

Leadership today is about how the U.S. government attracts and educates more of that talent and then enacts the laws, regulations and budgets that empower that talent to take its products and services to scale, sell them around the world — and create good jobs here in the process. Without that, we can’t afford the health care or defense we need.

Or that eliminates the laws, regulations and budgets that prevent the country from moving forward.

This is the plan the real Tea Party wants from its president. To implement it would require us to actually raise some taxes — on, say, gasoline — and cut others — like payroll taxes and corporate taxes. It would require us to overhaul our immigration laws so we can better control our borders, let in more knowledge workers and retain those skilled foreigners going to college here. And it would require us to reduce some services — like Social Security — while expanding others, like education and research for a 21st-century economy.

In other words, it will require a very smart, subtle and focused plan to use our now diminishing resources in the most efficient way possible to get back to our core competency. That is the only long-term solution to our problem — to grow our way out of debt with American workers who are more empowered and educated to compete.

Any Tea Party that says the simple answer is just shrinking government and slashing taxes might be able to tip the midterm elections in its direction. But it can’t tip America in the right direction. There is a Tea Party for that, but it’s still waiting for a leader.

Interestingly, this mirrors in part an earlier post by Col. Nick Rowe.

What we (the Tea Party) need in 2012, though, is someone who is legendary - a strong business or military leader with youth, charisma, and vitality.

They both make a lot of sense to me. The open question is who fits that job description. So far I haven't seen anyone, with the possible exception of N.J. governor Chris Christie, who comes close.

Any suggestions?

Rot In Hell

If ever anyone deserved the death penalty, it's these two.

Yes, they are innocent until proven guilty. Yes, we should ensure all their rights are protected. Yada yada yada.

If the allegations are true, they should meet their fate in a timely manner that is consistent with the suffering their victims experienced. Not vengeance, just justice.

(Note: the following account is a composite I created based on news stories from here and here.)

Two Connecticut men charged with killing a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 house invasion inflicted unimaginable terror on a model family that had enjoyed their final pleasant summer day together, prosecutors told a jury during closing arguments Friday.

The killings took place in the New Haven suburb of Cheshire early July 23, 2007. The home of William Petit, his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and two daughters was invaded in the middle of the night by Steven Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, prosecutors say.

(State Attorney Micheal) Dearington said it all began on a classic summer day in which the Petit family went to church. Dr. Petit went off to play golf with his father, and his wife and daughters had gone to the supermarket, which is where authorities say the two defendants saw the family as a potential robbery target and followed them home.

After dinner, the girls chatted and laughed together and watched "Army Wives." Hayley had been accepted into Dartmouth and both girls were active raising money to fight multiple sclerosis which their mother, a nurse, suffered, Dearington noted.

Connecticut State Police Detective Anthony Buglione, who interviewed Hayes after the crime, has testified the duo broke into the home and beat Petit with a baseball bat and tied him up in the basement.

According to the testimony, the two men then went upstairs and found Hawke-Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit asleep in the master bedroom. After tying Hawke-Petit to her bed, they led the girl to her room, tied her to her bed and put a pillowcase over her head, Hayes told Buglione.

They then found 17-year-old Hayley Petit in her room and did the same, he said.

After finding a bank account that contained $20,000 to $30,000, they decided to have the mother go to the bank in the morning and withdraw money from her account, Buglione testified.

Hayes is accused of taking Hawke-Petit to the bank while Komisarjevsky allegedly stayed behind. When Hayes and Hawke-Petit returned with the money, the two men allegedly set the home on fire and fled.

Prosecutor Gary Nicholson said it was impossible to recreate the fear the two girls, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley Petit, felt when the men tied them to their beds and poured gasoline on or around them before setting their Cheshire house on fire.

"Hayley and Michaela Petit knew that the end was near," Nicholson said. "They knew they were about to die."

Inside the home, authorities said, Hawke-Petit, 48, was found raped and strangled. Her two daughters, one of whom had been sexually assaulted, had died of smoke inhalation. Petit, the sole survivor, escaped to a neighbor's home.

Words fail me. I can't imagine what went through the minds of Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela as they laid there tied up with pillow cases over their heads. Add in rape, and being doused in gasoline, and their terror becomes unimaginable.

Rather than go into a long rant, I'll keep it simple. If Hayes and Komisarjevsky are truly guilty of what they're charged with, then I hope they rot in Hell for all eternity. After, of course, spending several years in prison getting raped by assorted gang and biker types, and then burned to death.

More On The Falcon Lake Shooting

Follow-up to an earlier post about an American boater shot and killed by suspected Mexican drug cartel members...

I don't know what's going on with the San Antonio Express-News and their on-line reporting of the man shot by Mexican thugs while jet-skiing on a Texas-Mexico lake, but I'm beginning to wonder. It's either incompetence (quite likely, based on the website's general lack of reliable search engine, inconsistent and unreliable archives, and general all-round clunkiness) or pandering to Mexican interests. I suspect a combination of the two.

In any event, it's disappointing to say the least when I get a more complete account of the incident from a British outlet - the Daily Mail Online - than I do from the nearest 'major' newspaper. Two examples:

In the 10/2/10 print version of the Express-News there is a paragraph in the story that quotes a Mexican government representative as denying any knowledge of the incident: "We inform you that we do not have any information related to the incident. We don't have any comments to add. Have a nice day" (p. 11A).

In the 10/3/10 print edition the story states "American authorities are having to rely on Mexican police, who said they were unable to search as their boat's engine was missing" (p. 3B).

Neither of these statements appear in the stories on the paper's website.

Both of them expose the Mexican authorities as bungling clowns

• No information. "Have a nice day"??? When investigating a murder???
•  'Sorry, señor, but our boat, it has no motor. Maybe mañana'.

Of course, comparing the Mexican authorities to bungling clowns is unfair to the clowns. At least they're trying.

For the most part, I think the San Antonio paper is okay - not great, but not bad. But they do tend to tiptoe around anything that might embarrass or offend Mexico and Mexicans. That's unfair to responsible journalists everywhere (that is, if there are any responsible ones left), unfair to the paper's readers, and ultimately unfair to Mexico and Mexicans themselves. Hiding or sugarcoating the truth doesn't help anyone.

In a related vein, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and osama-oops-I mean-obama, the two government officials most directly responsible for protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens, stated ... well, actually they haven't said anything about this. Their silence tells us everything we need to know about them. I'd include them in the 'bungling clowns' category, but again, I don't want to insult the clowns...

UPDATE:

More Smuggling Tunnels Discovered

On Thursday (Sept. 30), the Border Patrol was filling an underground tunnel that had been discovered right under the immigration  checkpoint in Nogales. But even before the concrete was poured to make that tunnel inoperative, another subterranean passageway was discovered a block away.

Over the last four years, at least 51 unauthorized tunnels, or more than one a month, have been found in the two border cities. Some are short, narrow passageways that require those navigating them to slither. Others are long, sophisticated underground thoroughfares strung with electric cables and ventilation hoses.

One high-end tunnel found in 2005 farther west in Calexico, Calif., originated in the master bedroom of a Mexican home and extended to a garage on the American side. It had a phone line and air conditioning, and the authorities estimated that dozens of truckloads of dirt had to be removed to build it.

Grenade attack in Mexico injures 14, including 8 minors.

According to witnesses, gunmen in two vehicles stopped near the building, and one person stepped out, took some steps, and threw the grenade in an area where families were walking by. 

It was the fourth grenade attack in Monterrey this weekend.

Friday, three grenade explosions were reported in Monterrey: one in front of the justice center, one at a prison and another near the U.S. consulate there.

Mexico drug violence claims 34 lives in two days.

Yet another wave of killing blamed on drug rings in Mexico has claimed 34 lives in two days, authorities have said.

The killings took place between Friday and Saturday overwhelmingly in Mexico's north, close to the lucrative US drug market.

Okay, I'll stop now. You're probably as tired of reading about this as I am of posting about it. It's just so tragic...

Sunday Funnies

It was a late Saturday night...

The wife and I were sitting around the breakfast table one lazy Sunday morning.

I said to her, “If I were to die suddenly, I want you to immediately sell all my stuff.”

“Now why would you want me to do something like that?” she asked.

“I figure that you would eventually remarry and I don’t want some asshole using my stuff.”

She looked at me and said: “What makes you think I’d marry another asshole?”

Begone You Rogues

When I left the corporate world and went back to school to become a professor, I toyed with the idea of getting my Ph.D. in history rather than business. Then I found out what the salary differential was between the two disciplines and quickly beat feet back to the business school. But I retained my fondness for history.

One of the benefits of living in the San Antonio area is that T. R. Fehrenbach has a weekly column in the local rag. T. R. is an acclaimed historian and author. In addition to a number of works on Texas history, he also penned Greatness to Spare: The Heroic Sacrifices of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence, the mostly unknown story of what happened to the Declaration's signers.

When they said "We pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" they weren't kidding. Many were pursued and captured by the British. Others either had their land seized and property destroyed by the English, or donated it all to the Continental Army. Several had family members imprisoned or killed. We certainly don't see that type of dedication among today's politicians.

Anyway, in last Sunday's paper Fehrenbach drew a parallel between Oliver Cromwell's dissolution of the English "Long Parliament" (it was elected in 1640 and kept itself in place until 1653) and the current U.S. congress.

Sit back and enjoy.

On 20 April 1653 Oliver Cromwell dissolved the English “Long Parliament” (elected in 1640) with a short, oft-quoted speech:

“It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.

“Is there a single virtue now remaining among you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man among you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?

“Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defiled this sacred place, and turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress'd ... In the name of God, go!”

The future Lord Protector was backed up by a platoon of musketeers; the members went.

Later revolutionary settlements provided for fixed parliamentary terms and regular elections, a practice carried over to our Congress in the Constitution. Which leads me to the 1st Congress of the United States, arguably our best.

This body faced a massive task, to flesh out the bare bones of the Constitution with a working government. Like George Washington, it had to go where no man had gone before. On the whole it did a world-class job, most of which still stands. Better yet, 40 percent of the 1st Congress quit. It served one term and went home.

Perks were few then; Washington, D.C., was not yet built; and the idea of paying elected officials pensions would have made voters take down the rifle from over the fireplace.

The professional politician was a 19th-century invention. As the Founders designed, creating large districts that made it difficult for men lacking names or deep pockets, many members were country gentlemen. Their fortunes, friends, and interests were back in the states, the real nation.

As to whether current congresses resemble Cromwell's Long Parliament depends on the philosophy of the beholder; however, my mind is drawn to a popular contemporary broadside depicting Cromwell's rout of the House, in which he declares:

“Begone, you rogues! Ye have sat long enough.”

True enough then, truer than ever now.

Iraq South

I work several days a week on the Texas-Mexico border. I have a concealed carry license, and I go armed whenever and wherever it's legal. I also have a boat, and usually take a marine (stainless steel) shotgun when I go boating. But I doubt if either would do me much good if I came up against two boatloads of gunmen armed with black rifles.

Gunmen presumed to be Mexican drug operatives opened fire on Thursday on a couple riding water skis on the binational Falcon Lake reservoir, possibly killing the husband and sending the woman fleeing frantically to the U.S. side, authorities said.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez said the couple had crossed to the Mexican side when they came under a spray of bullets by two boatloads of men. The man, 30, was shot in the head and his wife said she fears he is dead.

“They saw them approaching and started revving it up back to the U.S. side,” Gonzalez told the Associated Press. “The guys just started shooting at them from behind.”

The shooting follows reports in May that boaters in the famed bass fishing oasis were at risk of being shaken down by “pirates” lurking on the Mexican side.

The 60-mile-long Rio Grande reservoir is shared by the United States and Mexico, and, due to its location along sparsely populated Starr and Zapata counties, it is believed to be a favorite location for trafficking drugs.

Thursday’s reported shooting comes during what may be the most deadly and prolonged streak of Mexican drug cartel violence in memory.

In May, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported several incidents of pirates shaking down U.S. boaters. The robbers in at least one case posed as Mexican federal law enforcement, searching fishing boats for guns and drugs and then demanding cash at gunpoint.

The DPS issued a statement warning people not to cross to the Mexican side of the lake. Boaters were encouraged to file a float plan with family members.

“The robbers are believed to be members of a drug trafficking organization or members of an enforcer group linked to a drug trafficking organization who are ... using AK-47s or AR-15 rifles to threaten their victims,” it said. “They appear to be using local Mexican fishermen to operate the boats to get close to American fishermen.”

Has it really come to the point where we need the U.S. Navy to patrol the Rio Grande River and associated lakes? Unfortunately, it looks like that's the case. This is what those bozos in congress don't understand. It is literally a war zone along the border.

So far most - most, but by no means all - of the violence has been confined to the Mexican side. However, it's starting to flow northward. And the cartels' tactics are starting to become more and more like the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan: car bombs, beheadings, wanton disregard for women and children, targeting law enforcement and first responders, and more. In fact, there are indications that islamic terrorists are entering the U.S. by crossing the Mexican border.

This is one of my hot buttons. I grew up in South Texas, and in my younger days worked and played on both sides of the border. But even though I spend a few days every week in a border city, I haven't gone across in a number of years. It's just not worth it. And that's tragic. There is - or was - some excellent places to have drinks and dinner over there that are suffering economically.

So what to do? Unfortunately, there are no simple answers to a complex situation.

And this leaves the United States with a strategic problem. There is some talk in Mexico City and Washington of the Americans becoming involved in suppression of the smuggling within Mexico ... This is certainly something the Mexicans would be attracted to. But it is unclear that the Americans would be any more successful than the Mexicans. What is clear is that any U.S. intervention would turn Mexican drug traffickers into patriots fighting yet another Yankee incursion. Recall that Pershing never caught Pancho Villa, but he did help turn Villa into a national hero in Mexico.

The United States has a number of choices. It could accept the status quo. It could figure out how to reduce drug demand in the United States while keeping drugs illegal. It could legalize drugs, thereby driving their price down and ending the motivation for smuggling. And it could move into Mexico in a bid to impose its will against a government, banking system and police and military force that benefit from the drug trade.

The United States does not know how to reduce demand for drugs. The United States is not prepared to legalize drugs. This means the choice lies between the status quo and a complex and uncertain (to say the least) intervention. We suspect the United States will attempt some limited variety of the latter, while in effect following the current strategy and living with the problem.

If I were king, the first thing I would do is strengthen border security, if only in self-defense. Then I would take a long hard look at legalizing marijuana. The mob shootouts in Chicago pretty much ended after Prohibition was repealed. Of course, that led to a culture of corruption in that city that ultimately resulted in one barack hussein obaba being elected President. So maybe I should rethink that...

(Sorry for the lengthy post, but like I said, this is one of my hot buttons.)