Check out this great story by WFAA reporter Brad Wright, "deconstructing" Gov. Perry’s claims about that magical $2,000 tax cut we’re all going to get.
Sounds like there is a bit more property tax frustration up in Dallas than their legislative delegation likes to let on.
The kind of frustration that just needs the right spark to emerge and really shake things up.
Sure hope something like that comes along soon.
Helen Thomas — no shocker here — got a little mean with Tony Snow yesterday. Tony Snow — no shocker here — illustrated that he’s not only smarter than Ms. Thomas, but more likeable as well:
Miss Thomas: Why did the president pick a man who is so contemptible of the public servants in Washington to be his domestic adviser, saying, ‘People in Washington are morally repugnant, cheating, shifty human beings.’ Why did he …
Mr. Snow: You meant contemptuous as opposed to contemptible, I think.
Miss Thomas: Pure contempt.
Mr. Snow: I’m not sure it’s pure contempt. I know Karl Zinsmeister pretty well, and he is somebody who expresses himself with a certain amount of piquancy. You’re perhaps familiar with that, aren’t you, Helen?
Heh.
Who knew?
… Many people consider [Blue Bell ice cream] the best in the country. So many people think so that Blue Bell, though sold in only 16 states, mostly in the South, and sold for a premium price, ranks No. 3 in sales nationally, trailing only Dreyer’s (known as Edy’s in some areas) and Breyers, ahead of the more widely available Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s.
[Hat-tip: New York Times]
Attention Blue Bell executives and/or marketing department staff– LST stands ready to completely sell-out in terms of product-placement in exchange for free product.
Americans’ government obligations are five times what people owe for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other personal debt. The $57.8 trillion liability is the amount that government needs now, stashed away and earning interest, to generate enough cash to pay future obligations. The obligations are valued in today’s dollars and come due as early as in a few days, when Treasury bills mature, to as long as 75 years for Social Security and Medicare.Like an unpaid credit card bill, the balance grows every year — about $25,000 per household annually.
Taxpayer liabilities grew 20% in the past two years, 13% above the inflation rate.
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my daughters and their children cause this debt is going to be handed down to them.
The typical week at most local churches?
Maybe. But, it’s also the locker room of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team.
No copies of Playboy or Penthouse are in the clubhouse of baseball’s Colorado Rockies. There’s not even a Maxim. The only reading materials are daily newspapers, sports and car magazines and the Bible. — Bob Nightengale/USA Today/31 May 2006
Considering how much "foolin’ around" goes on in professional sports today (e.g., road trips, Kobe Bryant, strip clubs), I think that having a Christian-based clubhouse is an appealing idea. However, look for secular groups to claim that the Rockies are forcing Christianity on their players. And, should any of the players actually be caught reading a Maxim, the media will force that player to wear a "scarlet H" on their uniform — for hypocrite!
In Atlanta, five teenagers attempted to rob 36-year-old Thomas Autry at gunpoint. Autry is an ex-Marine former Marine. Autry managed to kick the shotgun out of one of the robber’s hands, two of them jumped him and tried to beat him up with brass knuckles, he managed to stab two of them with his pocket knife, one fatally. The other three have been arrested. Autry is not facing charges in the altercation.
That is how I and many others would describe a majority of Senators, who are willing to throw away any vestige of soveriegnty with their amnesty plans. But a number of concerned citizens have found an excellent way of making sure they get the message that we are mad as hell and not going to take their hot air any more. When they send out campaign materials wanting donations, send them BRICKS!
Update: Commenter Crazybobster points us to a website doing just that.
In the Netherlands, Pedophiles are forming thier own political party with the goal of making pedophilia legal……. And these are the Europeans that the Democrats want us to emulate?
seen at Right Wing News
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Christians United for Israel– Learn more from Pastor John Hagee about this unique opportunity for you to stand with the Jewish People and invoke God’s blessings on America; | 210-477-4714 | website |
Dawn Wolf Design– LST’s full-service graphic designer of choice. Talented, professional, competitively priced; a generous LST volunteer, we could not recommend her more highly. | 713-781-8900 | website |
Adams Insurance– Over 50 years serving Houston business’ and families. Offering commercial, bonds, benefits, personal, risk management and life insurance services. | 713-869-8346 | website |
TaxProtest.Net– Are you paying too much property tax? Professionals can prepare and file your protest for free; pay only a percentage if they save you money! | 281-466-1599 | website |
Breaking news from Newsday.com:
Roger Clemens is making yet another comeback with the Houston Astros, Newsday has learned. An announcement is expected as soon as today.
Clemens, 43, has signed a one-year deal that is believed to be worth about $3.5 million per month, which will probably equate to about $10.5 million for the season, depending on when exactly he returns to action.
Is it true? Can there be real pitching once again at Minute Maid Park? Not so fast, reports the Houston Comical:
Roger Clemens may very well be ready to announce he’ll play this season, but Astros owner Drayton McLane and general manager Tim Purpura were still waiting today. [snip]
…McLane and Purpura said they were surprised because they were still waiting for an answer from Clemens’ agents, Randy and Alan Hendricks.
"We’ve been standing by," McLane said. "Tim or I have talked to him every two or three days. They haven’t given us a decision. They haven’t said a word to us about it. That’s complete news to me. We haven’t finalized the deal yet nor has he told us. Boy that’s total news to us."
Hopefully it’s only a breakdown in communications somewhere in the Astros main office. (Like that’s never happened before.)
Maybe Papa Clemens can whoop those young’uns in the Houston bullpen back into some semblance of shape, and breathe a little life back into the club.
Less government is a good thing:
Tuesday, The Harris County Tax office has taken over property tax collections for the Houston Independent School District.
The HISD Board of Trustees passed a unanimous resolution requiring the Tax Assessor-Collector under state law to collect property taxes for 2006 and future years.
The HISD tax office closed May 26.
The Harris County Tax office should be contacted for all HISD tax matters.
Kudos to the HISD trustees for removing a redundancy of local government. It never made much sense for HISD to have a separate bureaucracy for issuing bills and collecting taxes, when Paul Bettencourt’s office does the job quite well. He might not be the best-looking tax collector around, but Bettencourt runs a pretty tight ship, and I’m confident this will result in significant cost savings.
Now all the trustees need to do is cut the tax rate to reflect the savings.
Don’t faint. The federal government is actually repealing a federal excise tax.
(lightreading.com) The federal excise tax on long distance calling will be repealed and the IRS will refund three years worth of the taxes to consumers and businesses, the U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday. The tax has been around since 1898, when it was levied to help pay for the Spanish American War.
That is outstanding news, but wait has Hell frozen over too? Not only is the IRS refunding 3 years worth of taxes, the refund will include interest. The refunds will be issued when 2006 taxes are filed in 2007. The total amount to be refunded is expected to be about $13 billion. However, the tax on local service remains in place but that too may change.
Thursday’s repeal applies only to taxes paid on long distance services. But Treasury Secretary John Snow also issued a call to Congress to “terminate the remainder of this antique tax by repealing the excise tax on local service as well."
Do not be deceived. This benevolence on the part of the federal government was coerced.
No less than 16 lawsuits had been filed during the last five years by consumers and businesses calling for the repeal of the tax. IRS attorneys had been defending them for some time. Ultimately, five Federal Appeals courts issued statements to the Treasury Department saying that the tax should be stopped.
"The Federal Appeals courts have spoken across the board," Snow said in the statement. "It’s time to ‘disconnect’ this tax and put it on the permanent ‘do not call’ list."
This is a good day.
1. The Federal Government has recognized that the Spanish American War is over
2. A tax is going away
3. A refund, with interest, will be paid
4. We can look forward to a lower phone bill
5. Even though it took legal action to accomplish, the voice of the people has been heard.
Now if I can find my car keys life will be perfect.
Former Senator Lloyd Bentsen died last week. His obituary in the New York Times was written by Times reporter David Rosenbaum. What’s a bit spooky about this is that Rosenbaum himself died five months before Bentsen.
The dead rising from their graves and writing for the New York Times is more than a bit spooky. Will this "newsroom of the damned" epidemic spread to other media outlets? Will undead journalists claw their way out of dank crypts to terrorize the public, feast on the brains of the living, and write columns?
Memo to the average homeowner– Don’t spend that $2,000 Gov. Perry is promising you.
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt projects an average savings of a miniscule $23 next year, less than $2 a month, or about the tax increase on two packs of cigarettes. The next year, Bettencourt predicts an average savings of another $268.
To reach these figures, Bettencourt factors in two real-world factors that Perry does not. The first is that this year’s average appraisal is up nearly 7 percent, which will eat up part of the tax savings. He figures next year’s average will rise another 7 percent.
Bettencourt also expects school districts to raise their tax rates 4 cents the first year. It is a reasonable expectation. The new law not only allows districts to enact that raise, it encourages them to do so.
Under the law, that amount of raise is not covered by "Robin Hood." Property-rich school districts can raise their rates that much without sending money off to poorer districts.
And if poorer districts raise their rates that much, the state will match the raise with state funds. Most boards will take advantage of this provision, especially since any hike above that will require approval by the voters.
So the bottom line is this– Only the sort of people who appear on Rick Perry’s campaign contributor lists are likely to get the $2,000 he promises. The average homeowner should listen to Bettencourt.
To read more of my thoughts about how Gov. Perry is a sucka-sellout and Paul Bettencourt is a wise and discerning man whose judgement on tax policy should always be accepted, please click here.
PREVIOUSLY: We need less taxes and more responsibility
If one need proof that I was correct about Memorial Day being hijacked, you need look only to a headline in the New Orleans Times Picayune today: "A SEPARATE GRIEF: Memorial Day takes on new meaning: remembering the victims of Hurricane Katrina."
Soliders only receive one mention in the entire piece — "Memorial Day is meant for soldiers. But in New Orleans on Monday, a city grieved for the dead of the storm."
It is proper and fitting for those New Orleanians who lost family, friends, and loved ones to mourn their passing. Memorial services are wholly appropriate. But I feel it is highly disrespectful to try and hijack Memorial Day for any other purpose besides honoring soldiers who gave their lives, especially when we’ve seen nearly 2,500 die over the past few years in Iraq.
This is the equivalent of going to a friend’s funeral, and using the opportunity to eulogize your mother who died recently, because you’re still broken up about it. It’s completely out of place, and you shouldn’t be surprised if people resent the act in spite of your own heartfelt loss.
Look at what I read in the Chronicle yesterday:
They could have just shut up.
That’s what’s interesting. The thing had been said, the controversy had flared and faded, bygones were becoming bygones. They could have moved on, left well enough alone. Instead, they declare themselves “not ready to make nice … not ready to back down … still mad as hell.”
That’s the refrain of Not Ready to Make Nice, the first single from the newly released album by the Dixie Chicks, their first in four years.
All of this sounds like a sycophantic press release, but no, it’s actually from a column by Leonard Pitts entitled “Dixie Chicks: A Profile in Courage” that ran Sunday in the Houston Chronicle.
I admit, I’ve been angry at the Dixie Chicks since they said that they were ashamed that the president was from Texas — while they were in Europe. You see, there’s nothing that quite says “screw you” to country fans like insulting a Republican president overseas during a time when the nation to clearly building towards an armed conflict. It wasn’t a matter of what their opinion was, strictly speaking. It was a matter of expressing it in a manner that showed that the Dixie Chicks looked down their nose at country fans and would prefer accolades from left-wing Europeans and hipsters on the West Coast.
It wasn’t the first time the Chicks had given this impression, either. Natalie Maines had previously insulted one of Toby Keith’s songs for making country sound “ignorant” because it stated that the US would put its collective boot in the ass of Islamic terrorists. Maines mischaracterized the song as an attack on Muslims generally — to which Keith responded by promulgating posters with Maines appearing chummy with the likes of Saddam Hussein. Maines got the last word, wearing a t-shirt with the acronym “F.U.T.K.” (You can guess what that stood for).
But the Chick’s indiscretion’s don’t end there. Previously, the Chicks did a nude photo shoot for PETA, an organization which has funded ecoterrorism. When their publicist found out, he tried to cover it up. The Chicks ultimately offered $10,000 to PETA (which would fund A LOT of ecoterror) to keep the whole thing hush-hush. At the same time, the Chicks denied any connection to PETA, even though they’d already done the shoot. The whole thing fell through, however, when the photographer who took the shots placed them on his website. I’m sure it took a great deal of courage for the Chicks to lie to the American public about choosing to be a front for PETA.
Leo Pitts, whose columns are the pitts, tries to act as if the Chicks are somehow courageous for shifting towards the pop scene and abandoning their country roots. He neglects to mention that this was the easiest route for the Chicks to take. They’d burned bridges with the country community by making their music political in a way that alienated the country audience, leaving them with the options of rebuilding those bridges or moving to another genre. They took the path of least resistance, and it wasn’t remotely brave. “Brave” would have been to stand their ground, and let their music speak for itself. Clearly, they didn’t take that path.
In the May 28th Daily Mail published in the UK, is an article about how mothers (in the UK) are aborting babies for "not being perfect". In other words, babies were aborted for: club feet, webbed toes/fingers or extra digits according to the article.
The article mentions that, "abortion is increasingly being used to satisfy couples’ desire for the ‘perfect baby’".
The article also mentions that, "Doctors were recently told they can screen IVF embryos to try to week out inherited cancers".
If this does not send a chill up your spine, you are living in "denial" and I don’t mean the one in Egypt.
If you are a SF affectionado, then this may have a familiar ring. That ring would be a movie titled Gattaca……….
Gattaca was a movie that showed a society that had brought "discrimination down to a science". Through genetic engineering, children are perfect. If a child was conceived "in love" as in the way we conceive naturally most children, they are consigned to the lower class of society and to never venture further than their genetics. In other words, the human spirit, the drive to succeed is given no credence, no significance; your genes become what you are, in essence your resume.
The upper classes are formed by those with perfect genes; the lower classes are those with "regular" or imperfect genes.
While we are a way away from that, we are on that road…………
"Imperfection" in a child is not only not desired, it is destroyed in some instances.
If you want an idea of what this drive for "perfection" can produce, I highly recommend this movie.
By the way, the Nazis used to call it Eugenics.
Good morning!
It is a Monday feeling/Tuesday morning……… which means if you had yesterday off, it will be a short week.
Have a great a great week!
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Christians United for Israel– Learn more from Pastor John Hagee about this unique opportunity for you to stand with the Jewish People and invoke God’s blessings on America; | 210-477-4714 | website |
Dawn Wolf Design– LST’s full-service graphic designer of choice. Talented, professional, competitively priced; a generous LST volunteer, we could not recommend her more highly. | 713-781-8900 | website |
Adams Insurance– Over 50 years serving Houston business’ and families. Offering commercial, bonds, benefits, personal, risk management and life insurance services. | 713-869-8346 | website |
TaxProtest.Net– Are you paying too much property tax? Professionals can prepare and file your protest for free; pay only a percentage if they save you money! | 281-466-1599 | website |
Excerpt from the Vacaville (CA) Reporter
Memorial Day will be different this year at the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery, where Casey Sheehan, a soldier from Vacaville, lies buried.
Until this week, more than two years after his death in Iraq, Casey’s grave has been marked only by a small plaque. On Thursday, it received a headstone.
The elegant marble slab is thick and emblazoned with a cross and delicate thickets of trees on both sides.
"Our Casey," reads an inscription on the front. "Ever faithful, kind, and gentle, good son, beloved brother, brave soldier, dear friend, you loved your family and lived your life serving others to the end."
Read the rest here at the Vacaville Reporter.
Memorial Day is designed to honor those men and women of the armed forces who died while serving our country. Sadly, the people of Levees.org here in New Orleans want to use this day to feed their own political agenda, which I find sickening:
Join us on Memorial Day Morning:
WHERE: Old Hammond Highway Bridge over the 17th Street Canal
WHEN: May 29, at 9:45 am - the moment the 17th St. Canal breached
WHY: The 30 minute ceremony will highlight the federal government’s central role in causing the metro New Orleans Flood. We will remember the 1577 men and women whose lives were lost and we will focus attention to this American Tragedy.
On this Memorial Day, we will encourage the citizens of New Orleans and South Louisiana to pay homage to the men and women here who gave their lives defending America. When the rest of the nation needed us, we were there. Now we need the rest of the nation to help rebuild New Orleans and South Louisiana.
The ceremony will cap a 7-day campaign urging citizens drape their flooded homes with a flag sending a message to the nation that we are Americans, too.
In a ceremonial gesture of closure, we will stand at the Canal wall and drop 1577 flowers into the Water of the Canal. The timing coincides with the recorded moment that the Canal breached and inundated Central New Orleans.
This will be a major press event and the most important event of the year. Please come. Please bring family and friends.
Sandy Rosenthal
Founder, Levees.Org
www.levees.org
Sadly, Senator David Vitter and Rep. Bobby Jindal are supporters of Levees.org. For hijacking Memorial Day, I don’t think they have any business supporting this group any longer. This stunt is way out of line.
I also won’t get too deeply into this issue, but when Congress decided to fund the building of levees in the 1920’s, they clearly wrote into the legislation that they would bear no legal responsibility for them. People who stayed behind knew that they were doing so at their own risk. What happened was indeed tragic, but the drumbeat of blaming the feds and expecting ever more billions as contrition is simply wrong.
LTC Daniel Edward Holland (43), beloved husband, father, son, and brother, died May 18th, 2006 while serving his country in Iraq.
Daniel was an Army veterinarian, assigned to South Plains District Veterinary Command at Ft. Hood, TX, attached to the 352nd Civil Affairs Command at Fort Bragg, NC, further attached to the 4th Infantry Division as the Chief of the Public Health and Functional Specialty Teams for Civil Affairs. He and three other soldiers along with an Iraqi interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb near Baghdad while on a humanitarian mission to aid the people of Iraq.
Daniel is survived by his wife Sheryl, son Garrett, and daughter Rachel of Boerne, TX, parents Col. (Ret.) and Mrs. Herbert S. Holland, Jr., of San Antonio, parents-in-law Bancker and Lana Cade of Boerne, brothers and sisters (and their spouses): Col. (Ret.) Robert F. Holland (Carol) of Houston, Mark M. Holland (Josie) of Houston, Patricia Nixon (Thomas) of Oklahoma City, David W. Holland (MaryAnn) of New Braunfels, Mary K. Ralya (Steven) of Brenham, TX, Major (Ret.) John R. Holland (Rita) of Minneapolis, Claire Nieswiadomy (Michael) of Denton, TX, Catherine Ochoa (Joseph) of New Braunfels, and Elizabeth Blute (Peter) of Houston, sister-in-law Kellie Robinson of Boerne, and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Daniel was born in Munich, Germany on April 5th, 1963, the youngest of 10 children, into a military family, moving several times. His father retired in Marlow, Oklahoma and Daniel became a farm boy at the age of 11, where he began to develop his love for the country life. He graduated from Marlow High School in 1981, where he was selected to give the commencement address, entered Oklahoma State University on an ROTC scholarship, transferring after three years into OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. His dreams were realized when he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army in 1984 and when he received a DVM degree in 1988. He and Sheryl Patton were married in August 1985 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Daniel had many interests, but his favorite times were spent with his wife and his “munchkins”, helping them develop their love of animals and the outdoor life. One of his recent pleasures was taking his son on his first hunting trip. The joy of seeing his daughter win Grand Champion hog at the County Fair was indescribable. He, Rachel and Garrett spent hours reading, playing games, and tending to their animals. Other interests included hunting, fishing, country and western music and dancing, trips to Las Vegas, sports, and travel, to more than 40 countries. Dan was a devout Catholic. He loved living in Texas, which allowed frequent visits with family.
LTC Holland’s 21-year career in the military included tours in Germany, Bosnia, Honduras, and Haiti, where he was able to use his Masters Degree in Public Health. His love for animals and his compassion for people of all nations were profound.
For this reason the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The Christian Veterinary Mission www.christianvetmission.org (206-546-7569) or any fund that supports wounded soldiers.
LTC Holland’s military decorations include four awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal, and he was proud to have earned the Expert Field Medical Badge and Parachutist Badge. He will be awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.
Daniel will be buried with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Wednesday May 31, following a noon funeral Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in New Braunfels, TX. There will be visitation from 5:00-6:30pm Tuesday evening, May 30, followed immediately by a Rosary service at Zoeller Funeral Home in New Braunfels.
Daniel will be remembered for his warm and outgoing personality, his love of God and family, his dedicated service to our great country, and the way he always made people laugh when it came time to say goodbye, because he’d smile and say “Glad you got to see me!”
He will be greatly missed.
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Christians United for Israel– Learn more from Pastor John Hagee about this unique opportunity for you to stand with the Jewish People and invoke God’s blessings on America; | 210-477-4714 | website |
Dawn Wolf Design– LST’s full-service graphic designer of choice. Talented, professional, competitively priced; a generous LST volunteer, we could not recommend her more highly. | 713-781-8900 | website |
Adams Insurance– Over 50 years serving Houston business’ and families. Offering commercial, bonds, benefits, personal, risk management and life insurance services. | 713-869-8346 | website |
TaxProtest.Net– Are you paying too much property tax? Professionals can prepare and file your protest for free; pay only a percentage if they save you money! | 281-466-1599 | website |
Last week, there was concern over possible death-row suffering during lethal injections. Now, a Nebraska judge has sentenced a sexual predator to probation instead of prison. Why? Because the judge felt he was too short to survive prison.
LINCOLN, Neb. — A judge’s decision to sentence a 5-foot-1 man to probation instead of prison for sexually assaulting a child has angered crime victim advocates who say the punishment sends the wrong message.
But supporters of short people say it’s about time someone recognizes the unique challenges they face.
Cheyenne County District Judge Kristine Cecava issued the sentence Tuesday. She told Richard W. Thompson that his crimes deserved a long prison sentence but that he was too small to survive in a state prison. – Read the AP Report at the Houston Chronicle for more including a picture.
Unique challenges? Seems like he had no problems climbing on top of a child!
Life can certainly be cruel to all types of people–short, fat, skinny, the handicapped, you name it! It can also be cruel to victims, especially when they seem to have lost all rights in our judicial system.
Have a great holiday weekend!
I found this fascinating story during my early morning Drudge surfing:
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says he has leg-pressed 2,000 pounds, but some say he’d be in a pretty tough spot if he tried.
The "700 Club" host’s feat of strength is recounted on the Web site of his Christian Broadcasting Network, in a posting headlined "How Pat Robertson Leg Pressed 2,000 Pounds." – AP-Report
It might be nice for Pat Robertson to try and get the teachings of Jesus in the mainstream media every once in a while–instead of seemingly implausible stories about his prophetic capabilities and amazing strength. Then again, the media would probably yawn and just wait for Pat’s next "open mouth, insert incredibly strong foot" episode.
Just remember: I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. — Philippians 4:13
No word whether Barry Bonds has contacted Pat Robertson about his age-defying protein shake.
