Category: Orphans

There is nothing more scary in the great state of Texas than its Legislature. And they’re almost back. In fact, Texas lawmakers are already pre-filing for the 81st Session which begins in January and trotting out products guaranteed to make you scratch your head a time or two, or perhaps leave the state, such as:

County Tax Cops?

House Bill 115 filed by Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, relates “to the authority of a county tax assessor-collector to commission certain employees as peace officers.” This bill would add to the already long list of state and local agencies that can employ their own police force such as school and hospital districts to include county tax assessors-collectors.

These commissioned cops would act as “enforcement” officers if such a division is so sanctioned by that county’s governing commission. What is left out and I don’t know the answer to this is will these peace officers have power to arrest those who don’t pay their property taxes? Whoa! That would go over like a lead balloon. Thank goodness this would require approval by voters to amend the state constitution. Maybe I’m just missing something.

Illegals: Stay in the designated areas

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, filed House Bill 254 today which would restrict illegal immigrants to so-called “sanctuary cities.” These are cities, as defined by Berman’s legislation, which “do not discriminate or deny municipal services on the basis of a person’s immigration status and are treated equally regardless of immigration status.” Hmmm. Yeah, that ought to work. He also filed HB 255 today which would prohibit illegal immigrants from public colleges and universities. But wait, there’s more …

Not only does Berman want to make life difficult for illegal immigrants he wants to make it hard for Texas residents to help out friends or family down South. HB 263, part of Berman’s serial pre-filing today would require money transmission companies to charge a fee of 8 percent of the amount sent for “personal, family, or household purpose” from Texas to Mexico, Central or South America. Those who are legally in the United States could apply, under such a law, to seek a refund of this fee from the state upon submitting proof they are lawfully entitled to be in this country. The fee collected by the state would go to a fund for indigent health care, which is at least shows a little sense but not an overabundance.

Now if you think that’s all for our Tyler friend who, wants to make life difficult for illegal immigrants and give back all those great power-washing and dishwashing jobs to Ah-mer-cuns, think again. Berman’s House Joint Resolution 27 proposes a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of Texas and that all official governmental acts be taken in English. Oh and he encourages shooting illegal immigrants as well. House Concurrent Resolution 13 would ask the U.S. President, who will be named Barack Obama, to pardon convicted rogue Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who shot an illegal alien drug dealer and tried to cover up the incident.

These are just a few of the wonderful proposals from our esteemed state legislators. Many, many more bills will come. No one is safe be them legal or illegal.

UT Austin Head Coach Mack Brown has dubbed Facebook “dangerous” after a Longhorn player was kicked off the team for using a racial slur against Barack Obama on the popular social networking site.

Buck Burnette, a Longhorns center from Wimberley, Texas, was booted from the team on Nov. 5 following his use of an election-night racial remark regarding the president-elect on Facebook. Brown told the team afterward that they need to be careful with sites such as My Space and Facebook.

“We have told them that we would rather they not have them, and we’ve told them that they need to obviously not put anything on there that their mom wouldn’t want to see,” Brown said in a Houston Chronicle article on Burnette’s expulsion.

“Gee Coach, we didn’t know that.”

Not answered in the article was whether Facebook precipitated the Longhorns’ drop from first place in national football polls after their Nov. 1 loss to Texas Tech. Interestingly enough, Tech head coach Mike Leach has a My Space page. When the Chronicle article was published it said Leach has “2,372 friends.” A check of his page today shows he has 2,543 friends. More interesting, though not totally out the realm of imagination, Leach has a law degree. I guess that is probably good degree to have these days for a football coach what with the sometimes lawlessness of some college and pro players.

All kidding aside, Brown has a point. College students who might still be a bit wet behind the ears do need to watch what they put online. But for folks who have to rely on PR to help build their fan and financial base, such as football coaches, such networkings make sense.

Our local higher ed school, Lamar University, is in the process of putting a football team back together and its new coach has a Facebook page. Ray Woodard, a former Denver Bronco who has coached at the high school, junior college and NFL Europe levels, faces a big challenge fielding a NCAA I-AA team which will likely compete in the Southland Conference in 2011. As of today, Ray had 115 friends on Facebook but I’m sure he will have plenty more over time.

I didn’t see Buck Burnette’s page on Facebook when I looked today. There was a page called “Identity Theft — Buck Burnette’s Middle Name.” One post noted that while Burnette has the right to freedom of speech, the UT football team has the right to say:

“Buck Burnette, you are a ignominy, and do not accurately represent the University of Texas, get the f**k off our team you petulant, obtuse, ignorant racist.” 🙂

Oh, in case you are wondering the ** in “f**k” are mine and not those of the person quoted from the Facebook page. But then, you get my drift.

Since no one has come up with a solid name for the current economic crisis just yet, I thought I’d put my $0.02 in and call it “The ’08 Funk.” Or something. It’s definitely funky in more ways than one on Galveston island, which continues to pick up the pieces from Hurricane Ike in September.

The Funk has hit close to home delivering a double-whammy on Ike-wrecked Galveston as the University of Texas Board of Regents yesterday approved laying off 3,800 employees at the island’s University of Texas Medical Branch. Most of these layoffs at the facility, which includes the UT Medical School, will come from John Sealy Hospital. The hospital has gained nationwide recognition over the years for its burn unit. In addition to being Galveston’s largest employer, UTMB also has become the de facto indigent facility for a great deal of Texas.

Since the hospital will continue to focus on activities which make money that will likely mean its serving as the major medical provider for the Texas prison system will not be altered, even though some indigents might have to do without. That’s a great incentive for staying well, but perhaps not for staying out of prison.

Every day the news just seems to get better and better.

Yesterday I filled my Tacoma up for $22 and some change. The gas price at the Beaumont Kroger with my 3-cent discount was at a welcome $1.949 per gallon for unleaded. I say welcome. I mean more welcome than $4 a gallon for no lead a few months back.

Oil prices are just about at the point where oil company execs months ago said they should be, at around $60 or so a barrel. Should the prices continue to fall or even stabilize one might expect to see prices decline on other retail items which depend on petro for its delivery. And that would be, in the words of my favorite felon Martha Stewart: “A good thing.” Right? Well, a resounding “maybe.”

The expected deflation of prices from cheaper gasoline taken into context with the rest of the economy is something that makes me a bit nervous. Apparently I am no lone stranger. A CNN/Research Corp. poll in October found 60 percent of Americans believe a depression will be the eventual outcome of this current fiscal downturn.

That giant retailers such as Circuit City are dropping like flies and unemployment continues inching upward gives one additional cause for anxiety over the state of the economy and what will happen. That is even though the linked article above says depression will not likely happen.

A week ago I attended an annual reunion of retired and former firefighters I worked with in the late 1970s and early 80s while attending college. I remarked to one of my former colleagues that I didn’t really follow much of what was happening with the economy then. I had every reason not to care. I drew a salary that in today’s dollars is the equivalent of what I make today on my part-time job (which actually pays me more than I made working my last full-time job). In addition to the full-time job as a fireman, I was receiving a monthly check under the old GI Bill. That provided an extra $300-something a month. Back then a semester hour cost something ridiculous like $4 an hour. When I enrolled for the semester, I was normally able to pay my tuition and buy my books and then the rest of the monthly checks were gravy.

In short, I was doing good back in my college days and didn’t notice the recession that was taking place. But I pay attention to it today because it affects me in several different ways including my work which requires me to pay attention to such matters. Sometimes it seems like the sky is falling and it concerns me that if it falls far enough perhaps we might bottom out into a depression. But we may not.

I just hope that the good news at the gas pump is really what it appears — good news.

My old saying replacement of the late Adm. Stockdale with W.C. Fields is more symbolic than necessity although necessity is the first cousin of fancy. Well, perhaps it is more like a half-brother or something.

As one might notice, I took advantage of this rainy Veterans Day afternoon to do some cosmetic work on the old blogsite. I have kept this thing in the ‘sphere for more than three and a half years now and figured it could use a little makeover. I still may touch up a few things but I will see how it goes.

This day closes on my great 16 days off of what we in the “gummit” call “leave.” It has been fun and I will have to do it again — soon.