Thursday, February 28, 2008

But, Why Was He There?

The man was genuinely upset that he got arrested for trespassing. He went home with a man that he picked up at a Montrose (Houston) area bar. The home was way out west in the County. He stayed overnight and was still there come evening time when asked to leave. Instead of leaving, he threatened the residents. When police arrived he shouted at them and made another threat in front of the officers! When escorted to a waiting police car he argued over and over that he was straight. He said he was married with two daughters and he did nothing wrong. The officers did not pass judgement when the man claimed he was being solicited for sex. He was asked since he is spending a lot of breath on his straight claims, why was he at this guy's home to begin with? He couldn't answer that question. Instead, he went to screaming and cursing. The nerve of some people.

FBISD and Press Give Different Accounts On Fight

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5575104.html
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Yesterday a fight broke out at Thurgood Marshall High School. All that is really known is that several fights broke out. One student was sent to the hospital complaining of back pain. The Fort Bend ISD said only eight students were involved. However, read the comments section (or the peanut gallery as I call it) and quite a few people state that it involved way more than eight students. The chronicle did have one humorous line though;
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"School district police were assisted by officers Missouri City and Stafford."
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I wonder what agency officers Mo City and Stafford work for. I know, I know, just semantics.
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However, Fort Bend Now has a story on the same incident. Some interesting statements in this story. It claims there was a reporter inside the school who was escorted off the campus. The story quotes anonymous teachers and students who claim about 200 students were involved in about 18 different fights around the campus. They accuse the FBISD administration of "white washing" the whole incident.
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Who do we believe?

Monday, February 25, 2008

Crap Graffiti



I was eating breakfast in this Houston Whataburger on Gessner Rd. when I happened to notice this "graffiti" written on a toilet. Some little piece of crap gang banger wrote this (I shudder to think with what) to show everyone that he and his gang "own" that territory. All in all, whoever did this is a worthless mole on the butt of society.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Forewarned by Garmin


While coming down the South Sam Houston Tollway I drove up on this officer clearing up an accident where a car went into the retaining wall. I'm guessing he lost control due to the wet roadway and hit the wall. My GPS gave me a notice about a mile back. I'm impressed!

My Take on Diary of the Dead


I'm a nerd! Because I like zombie movies so much I made the nearly 30 mile drive to see Diary of the Dead off of the South Sam Houston Tollway and IH-45. That theatre was one of only two in the Houston area that was showing it. I have to say it didn't disappoint. It had all of the classic George Romero zombie movie elements;
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*Creepy plot where the dead suddenly return to life
*Gruesome scenarios
*Group of characters who seem to put their own ambitions/egos ahead of surviving as a group
*People making stupid decisions that get them chomped
*Jabs at society and humanity
*Using current issues/events as part of the blot
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I gather Romero, like John Carpenter, make some good horror movies, but have less-than favorable views of governmental figures. There are scenes with a squad of guys presumably to be military stealing from the main characters at gunpoint. There is another scene where a police officer murders a defenseless old couple after making a dumb decision that got him chomped (when the old man says "don't open that door" it's probably a good idea to stop and ask why instead of screaming at him and going through the door anyway).
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While a distrust of government is a healthy thing (to an extent of course) I have to disagree with Romero's dim view of humanity. When disasters strike, of course you're going to have instances of theft, mayhem, murder, etc. However not on the scale as Romero films portray it. You also have a lot of people coming together to help each other and defend each other. I also feel people would work more together to survive.
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One thing about Romero movie that always boggles my mind. Is how the characters seem to follow their own ambitions/egos that lead to dumb choices that gets them chomped. I've always watched these kinds of movies from a view of "what would I do and not get chomped." For example, the lead character is obsessed with filming for "truth" (part of the government-media-complex rant). However, someone gets attacked by a zombie while the camera man films it instead of helping. In one scene, the party is casually walking out of a hospital after having shot four zombies already. The main character films a zombie walking up behind the party and chomping one of the guys. Haven't these people ever heard of a rear guard?
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Throughout the film, the party has to stop to upload/download their video. While the TV filters the zombie epidemic, bloggers and other internet information sources are telling the story as it progresses. I took this to mean the internet is the new information media that cannot be filtered or controlled by any government. Kind of like HAM radio operators broadcasting on September 11, 2001. I can certainly buy that.
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The only other spoiler I will include is because of the nature of the film (documentary-type like the Blair Witch Project) there is a lot of camera shake. That makes me dizzy. I had to look at the floor often times because the sudden, jerky, camera movement was making me dizzy. Otherwise I recommend this movie to any horror lover.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Karma from Kroger


I love crab legs. So everytime I'm in Kroger, I walk by the seafood counter and see if the crab legs are on sale. Well, I checked the prices at this Kroger in Fort Bend County and saw crab legs are on sale. So, I asked for about three pounds. I guess-timated the price in my head. When the clerk rang them up the total was just less than $15, I knew that couldn't be right. I thought about it for a moment, then alerted the clerk. He put in the wrong code. When he corrected his error the price was what I thought it should be. He was grateful. After all, had I not mentioned this to him, I would have gotten cheap crab legs, but when they did their inventory and realized the seafood department lost money, he would be in trouble. I couldn't do it. Plus, I'm afraid of bad karma. Not that I believe "what goes around comes around" in every case because if that were true, then I could name several people who are on top after stepping on a lot of people to get there and nothing has happened to them. Nonetheless, I just want my slate clean. Well, as clean as I can keep it. I'm not perfect.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Bloody Valentine

***The information contained in this post was a story related to me***


In Houston, a man will have to live with the consequences of a rash decision. Instead of spending his money on his woman for valentine's day, he decided to spend it all on marijuana. His woman wasn't too happy and gave him an earful. He couldn't handle the pressure, so he got a gun and shot himself in the head. Police arrived and examined the weapon, removing some brain matter. The officer leaves the room momentarily and returns to find the brain matter missing. While trying to figure out what happened, he then notices the family dog with a satiated look on its face and wagging its tail. Only someone with a dark sense of humor could find that funny. Oh, the man did survive by the way, but he won't be normal again. Well, that is if he was normal to begin with.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Spending the Day With St. Luke

Last week was not full of good news. My mother-in-law received some news that no woman wants to hear after a mamogram. They found something. So, they did a biopsy and we all had to wait about five days for the results. Of course my wife was being driven to the point of a nervous breakdown. The waiting is always pure hell. I don't know if the wait is really necessary or part of some morbid fetish experienced by the people who do the testing. Anyway, the results came back, one was malignant. Fortunately, they caught it early and could remove both of them that week. So, Friday, we're up early at 7 preparing for a trip to the Houston Medical Center (St. Luke's Hospital). I manage only one cup of coffee to last me until we get a chance to eat. We braved the Friday morning Houston traffic to the medical center. By the time we arrived at the hospital, we had to park on the roof of the parking garage. I always hated driving to and through the medical center. Too much activity, too many people trying to get to where they are going. Half of them are not paying attention. The other half focused on their issues or their loved ones. We find my wife's mother in the OR. They take her to the surgery room where my wife and her dad, under a lot of pressure say goodbye to her for the time being. I'm remaining optimistic because (so far) all the news has been good. The procedure was said to take an hour, since there was nothing more for us to do, it was time to get something to eat.



St. Lukes has a McDonalds built into the hospital. Too bad I don't own that McDonalds, I could probably retire. I was looking forward to one of their greasy breakfasts to hold me over, however I didn't realize it was already 11:00 and they were on the lunch menu. When faced with the unpleasant reality of having to order a McDonalds hamburger for breakfast I weighed my options. I could either (1) go Michael Douglas in Falling Down or (2) just get a small burger and coke and live with it. I decided option 1 wouldn't really be a good idea and decided to go with option 2. Besides, I'd be hungry again in about two hours (and I was right).



Then, back to the waiting room. Most people brought their own books. I brought my playstation portable. Everyone hates waiting but that's just a fact of life. Those without books or electronic entertainment systems had only their thoughts and the never-ending traffic of humanity to entertain them. On that day, and probably any given day, there are probably about a hundred different stories. All stories of fear, anxiety, pessimism, optimism, faith, hope, and love. People of faith prayed to God for a positive outcome (and for understanding and strength if there is to be a negative outcome). One job I don't think I'd want is that of nurse liason. This person has to relay news (good and bad) to anxiously waiting family members. Well, my father-in-law had requested a private room for his wife with the intention of staying the night. Well, he got the request and signed it. However, about a dozen others did the same thing. I never knew that a private room cost so much. A hospital stay, private room for one night was roughly $800 to $900. That's a month's rent or house note to most people. Anyway, the hospital ran out of private rooms. The liason nurse got an earfull from a lot of angry family members. People were still in the surgery wing, waiting for a room to be taken to so they can recover. One woman had been waiting since about 10:30am. Well, people had to settle for semi-private rooms and then their families had to run to the admissions desk to get the private room charge taken off the bill because the hospital surely wouldn't have. A little over an hour later we got good news that my mother-in-law came through and the surgery went great. She was still sick from the anesthetic gas. This upset my father-in-law because he had told them that a certain drug doesn't work on her. However, the hospital still used it for whatever reason (I'm thinking that was the only thing that would work for her) while hoping another drug would counter the nauseous side effects afterward. This didn't satisfy him and he had an exhange with the hospital staff. I'm thinking that this clash of personalities, duties, and experience can only result in problems like this. My father-in-law gets adamant about certain things and will not back down. The hospital has their job to do and is not trying to harm their patients. However things will happen, mistakes will be made, and they do realize they are dealing with human beings and family members so it is not in their best interests to mess around. Fortunately a room became available and she was taken there. From there she was able to finally eat something and the nausea had worn off.




After a while later my wife and I left, both tired and hungry. I snapped this picture from the rooftop as we were leaving. Although it was a gloomy day, it turned out well. My mother-in-law is now home resting up and my wife is so relieved. While we're happy with the turn out, the same dramatic stories start replay themselves all over the medical center, same bat time-same bat channel.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Obama/Che 08

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56293

Houston's FOX affiliate station captured this image at the office of a volunteer for Democratic Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama's. While this isn't an official Obama office, many will find this disturbing. Let's consider Obama's past two headline grabbers.

He refused to lear an American Flag lapel pin. Okay, fine, so be it! You don't have to wear a lapel pin to show you're a loyal American. However, as someone who wants to garner votes to become the next President of the United States, he may be conscious of his image and a harmless item such as lapel pin can only help. After all, would you show up to a $1 million-a-year job interview wearing baggy shorts, fishnet shirt, and a gold-tooth grill in your mouth?


While the national anthem was playing he stood with his hands down by his waist. Once again. If you are running for the highest office in the nation what harm does it do to place your hand over your heart while the national anthem is playing?

Some people are probably sighing and saying "big deal!" I'm no strategist, or image consultant, or even a campaign manager. However, I don't want a man who wants to be MY president being associated with a executioner like Che. No, he's not the romantic revolutionary that Hollywood tries to portray him. No, he's not the cool icon that high college students like to wear on their chests. No, he's not the "Mr. Everyday People" that Zach de la Rocha (rage against the machine) wants you to think he is. This is the real Che!




Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Candidate's Presence Called Into Question...By The Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5534237.html


While at a rally between the group U.S. Border Watch and advocates for illegal immigrants, Harris County Sheriff's Lt. Luis Guthrie was seen with his badge and gun in plain view. Okay. To some people it's unethical and gives the appearance of impropiety. To others, they really don't give a damn.
Okay, he's running for Pct. 4 Constable.
Okay, he's been endorsed by the Border Watch Group.
Okay, he shakes some hands.


"We were very disturbed that a sheriff's lieutenant was openly consorting with known racists," said David Smith, a member of the Progressive Workers Organization."


Okay, first of all, any group that has the terms 'progressive' and/or 'workers' usually are Marxist/Communist organizations. Not to sound like a throw back to the 1980s, however even today some people feel that communism is the answer. Never mind that it hasn't worked. Never mind that millions of people have been murdered under communist regimes. Never mind that communism imprisons and tortures people with different opinions (anyone else find it ironic that a man who believes in Marxism would take advantage of the freedoms of speech afforded by this country knowing damn well if their ilk were in charge the jails would be overflowing with political prisoners). Never mind that communism forces atheism (the religion of communism) upon its people.

Second of all, I love how these people who cannot engage in an honest debate will resort to tricks. The best trick is the use of the R word. That's 'racist' by the way. By calling anyone who opposes your viewpoint racist, you try to intimidate them. Of course most news outlets help out by spreading the R word. They also confuse the issue. They think the majority are too stupid to know the difference between illegal immigration, and legal immigration. People do not have a problem with legal immigration. They are fed up with illegal immigrants. Groups like LULAC and this progressive Marxist group believe illegal immigrants should freely come across the border and be entitled to benefits (name me one communist country that treats their illegal immigrants so well). So, they've worked up the notion that if you oppose illegal immigration, then you oppose all immigration, and therefore you're racist. That's designed to brow beat people into silent submission.


"I was talking to the Border Watch people and the were very friendly," Guthrie said. "The other side was screaming obscenities and saying that I was a racist. ... When I went over there to talk to them, several tried to surround me. I guess they thought they were going to intimidate me."


Why am I not surprised? Go watch some youtube videos of these groups. You'll find the ones who like to throw the R word around are usually the most intolerant, foul-mouthed, and violent people. Of course they were trying to intimidate him. Like I said, they cannot hold a civil, honest dialogue.


"Smith, a government professor and avowed Marxist at the College of the Mainland, said his group and others engaged in the protest might explore other avenues of complaint against Guthrie."


I was right! The guy is a Marxist and a loon! Of course he will look for other avenues of complaint against Guthrie. People like Smith are hypocrits. As I stated earlier, they believe in the Bill of Rights as it pertains to themsevles. However, if they ruled, then the Bill of Rights would end up in a fireplace. So, for now, people like Mr. Smith have to resort to intimidation and pressure to silence people they don't like.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Republican Candidates Already Pandering

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5520648.html



I'm not surprised. When you face a image crises the standard operating procedure calls for pandering. That is what the Republican DA candidates in Harris County are doing.


"....candidate and defense lawyer Jim Leitner said he would suspend for three months the right of prosecutors to block potential jurors because of their backgrounds or beliefs."

---I bet no defense lawyer has ever used race when considering picking their juries. Defense attorneys do the same damn thing. Attorneys go for jurors that they feel will be more favorable to their arguments and try to strike those who they think will disagree. For example. Let's say a man is being prosecuted for rape. The prosecutor will look for mostly women or anyone with a 'feminist' mentality. Defense attorneys will look for 'good ole boys' mentality. Let me use another example. Let us say we have a defense attorney who has a black client, and wants to play the race card in his defense. That defense attorney will try to strike as many white jurors as he can (I know many of you are gasping, but it does happen all the time). Pandering.


"Siegler said that, at the risk of riling police officers, she would make their crime reports more accessible to defense attorneys before each trial."

---Say what? All police officers know that their report will be read by a defense attorney eventually. Defense attorneys know this too. How is she planning on doing this? Having police officers call a defense attorney as well as DA intake to file charges? What damn difference does this make? She's pandering.



"Lykos said that as a felony court judge, she saw prosecutors eliminate potential jurors from a trial solely because of their race. "

---Back to my first point, I know she's seen defense attorneys do the same thing. If she says otherwise, she is lying or was asleep during voire dire. Pandering.



"Leitner, saying he was trained as a prosecutor in the late 1970s to try to keep minorities off juries..."

---Why not? Many people like to relive the past to justify their ignorance of the present.



"I think you would find, after you did that, that you are getting the same kind of jury verdicts (as before)," he said. " ... They can make the right decisions no matter what walk of life they come from."


Then the article says, "Leitner, who is white, guaranteed that his top assistant DA would come from a minority group.

---So, Leitner has already said he will discriminate in picking his top assistant DA. Of course this kind of discrimination is allowed by the status quo of double standards we are forced to abide by. He says juries can make the right decision "from all walks of life" however he feels a top assistant from the majority group cannot make the right decision. Again, pandering.



Now, why are they all pandering?
---"They spoke in a meeting with the editorial board of the Houston Chronicle."


Ding! Ding! Ding! That's why! Because it is this kind of nonsense the chronicle expects to hear. When these people hit the campaign trail, let's see if the answers remain consistent, or stay the same. Also, I would like to know if Democratic Candidate Bradford will have to meet with the chronicle editorial board and asked about his lack of trial experience (other than his own indictment for perjury-which was dismissed). Or will they ask about the fiascos that occurred while he was chief of HPD? I doubt it. I can save the chronicle the time and go ahead and write out his endorsement letter.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

It's Official, Marijuana Is Bad For You


Willie Nelson doubts the tragedy that took place on September 11, 2001. He said, "I saw those towers fall and I've seen an implosion in Las Vegas, there's too much similarities between the two. And I saw the building fall that didn't get hit by nothing," the singer-songwriter said. "So, how naive are we, you know, what do they think we'll go for?"

I guess all that pot finally got to old Willie's brain. I wonder what stupid answer he would give when asked to explain all the news footage.

A Possible Development in the Horn Case

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5515904.html


Everyone in the Houston metroplex knows about the Joe Horn case. Click the link for a reminder, or for anyone who hasn't. In this story, Rafaela Davila pleaded guilty for her role in a home invasion and received a 40-year prison term. During her punishment hearing, she named one of the burglars killed by Joe Horn as her accomplice. If this is true, will Quanell feel stupid for making a public sympathy appeal for a career burglar? This is what Davila and her now-dead accomplice (allegedly) did;


".....Davila rang the doorbell of a home in the Sugar Lakes subdivision. When the woman who lived there answered, Davila mumbled something and the woman opened the door.
Three men, who apparently had been hiding nearby, rushed into the house, Hartman said.
One of the men put a gun to the victim's head. The woman was tied up and left on a bed while the men ransacked the home, taking about $100,000 in jewelry and other valuables."



So how can Quanell be concerned about people when this is the kind of person he marches for?

Skies Over Lewisville



Kiki Curry sent this photograph taken in Lewisville, TX, on Jan. 24, 2008, to a radio talk show. She found these cloud patterns unusual. Take from it what you will.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Foggy Sunday Morning

***Yeah, I know this was last week, but nothing says I have to be punctual***

Last Sunday morning a fog drifted through southeast Texas. This is as far as I could see driving by the Westpark Tollway at 8 in the morning.

Friday, February 1, 2008

An Illegal Immigration Post

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5504455.html


Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt testified about not wanting his officers enforcing immigration laws with ICE. His primary argument was that it would consume too many hours and resources and other calls would suffer. In a way I would have to say he is right. HPD's manpower shortage has been an issue for years. People are always complaining about calling HPD and waiting hours for an officer to show up. I want to also point out that HPD did change its initial policy of "don't ask don't tell." Of course it took a police officer getting murdered to bring on the change. I can understand the manpower argument. Remember, ICE's job is to enforce the immigration laws (though they need a lot of help). After the murder of HPD Officer Rodney Johnson, the man who aided his killer was arrested for hiring illegal immigrants. We will have to say if this is the start of a real trend or just a result of this one incident. As anyone who lives (or lived) here knows HPD doesn't actually have to go around enforcing immigration laws. Police officers come into contact everyday with illegal immigrants arrested for traffic (and higher) offenses and now do note on their jail paperwork if the prisoner is a citizen or not. At that point it is ICE's job to come in and handle the illegal. However, if too many are arrested, ICE may say "no mas."



In a probably-related article, Corpus Christi announces that they will start towing uninsured vehicles. Here in Harris County, many uninsured vehicles are driven by illegal immigrants. Some agencies allow their officers to tow these vehicles, others don't. Generally, the uninsured is given a ticket and allowed to drive off.