Illegal immigrants, doing jobs Americans won’t do:

A Central Texas woman was recuperating at a Temple hospital after she reported being run off a rural road, kidnapped and then raped and beaten by her abductors, authorities said.

The 18-year-old woman was in stable condition Thursday following surgery. She had walked and crawled a half-mile to find help after her abductors left her for dead along a highway early Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The woman told investigators that the men forced her into their car, and then drove around rural county roads while they sexually assaulted, stabbed and beat her, Wilson said.

Wilson said both men are apparently in the United States illegally and will be held without bond on immigration charges. Hernandez is from Honduras, and Martinez is from Mexico, Wilson said.

Sweet:

Despite pressure from union leaders and district administrators, the Houston school board voted 6-3 Thursday to reject a budget that would have raised the property tax rate by 4 cents to repair buildings, buy new computers and increase funding to schools.

The majority of the board members said they didn’t want to burden property owners with the extra taxes.

Of course, some school boards still Don’t Get It:

Others, including Humble, jumped at the chance to receive matching state money.

"Though I certainly can understand wanting to explore the option of a lower tax rate, it would cause us to make cuts that would dramatically impact students and learning," said Humble Superintendent Guy Sconzo, whose board agreed Thursday to a budget predicated on the full 4-cent increase.

Predictably, the educrats bitch and moan:

"They made an irresponsible vote," said Andy Dewey, vice president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. "The board did not show that they were friends of teachers or students tonight."

Andy, the board doesn’t work for teachers. It doesn’t work for students. It works for the taxpayers.

A former judge in Oklahoma has been convicted of exposing himself on numerous occasions in court, even using a penis pump during arguments:

A Creek County jury late Thursday convicted a former judge who was accused of exposing himself by using a sexual device while he presided over court cases.

The panel deliberated more than five hours before returning a guilty verdict against Donald Thompson on all four counts of indecent exposure. The jury had requested a dinner break around 6:30 p.m. and sent a note to the judge at 8:49 p.m. that a decision had been reached.

Jurors recommended one year in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count against the judge, 59, who served more than 20 years on the bench in eastern Oklahoma before his retirement in 2004.

A year of hard time? That sounds pretty stiff.

After Baylor University allegedly refused tenure to an assistant professor because he was a "tad" too conservative, I had been left without a "right-wing nutjob" Texas university for my children. I may have found the place–University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

In a move that will have every liberal in America screaming "censure," a dean of library services has slammed the mailbox door in the face of the New York Times.

The dean of library services at the University of the Incarnate Word has canceled the library’s subscription to the New York Times to protest articles exposing a secret government program that monitors international financial transactions in the hunt for terrorists.

"Since no one elected the New York Times to determine national security policy, the only action I know to register protest for their irresponsible action (treason?) is to withdraw support of their operations by canceling our subscription as many others are doing," Mendell D. Morgan Jr. wrote Wednesday in an e-mail to library staffers. "If enough do, perhaps they will get the point."

- Read the San Antonio Express News for more.

Dean Morgan — I salute you!

[Cross-posted at The Pine Blog]

OK OK Here it is.

It is a get-a-way Friday for the Fourth of July.  Yeah Yeah I know the Fourth is not till next Tuesday, but who cares?  Right.

——————–

Learn more about CLOUT’s historic lawsuit to enforce Texas’…

… constitutional limits on runaway government spending; download a copy of the lawsuit; make a donation to support their efforts. | website

——————–

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 |

Click here for text ad rates and information.

A tale of two words:

Buffett:

Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is an American investor, businessman and philanthropist.

buffet:

1. A large sideboard with drawers and cupboards.
2. a. A counter or table from which meals or refreshments are served.

b. A restaurant having such a counter.
3. A meal at which guests serve themselves from various dishes displayed on a table or sideboard.

Why do I bring this up? Because I don’t want my readers to make the same mistake that the editors of the Chronicle made — misspelling the name of the world’s second richest man. Seven times.

This just in–

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee’s Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee, made the following statement Thursday regarding the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on terrorist detainees and Guantanamo Bay:

"This is a blockbuster decision, and it will take some time to determine the consequences of what the Court said today. But they’ve opened the door to a legislative remedy, and as Congress plays a key role in this debate, we’ll work with the administration to reach a solution.

"We’re not talking about simple criminals-these detainees include the most violent terrorists in the world. And let’s not forget who we’re talking about in this particular case: Hamdan was captured in Afghanistan and is charged with delivering weapons and ammunition to al
Qaeda, providing logistical support to bin Laden’s bodyguards and participating in weapons training.

"The Court does not call into question the U.S. government’s power to detain terrorists while hostilities continue.  This is critically important because we can’t allow terrorists to simply return home and restart their war plans. Guantanamo will remain open so long as it is in the national security interests of the United States."

As we’ve noted previously, in an attempt to get elected officials on the record as to where they stand regarding the taxpayer watchdog group’s lawsuit to enforce the spending limitations of  the Texas constitution, CLOUT has launched "Operation Accountability."

You can get a copy of the lawsuit, an executive summary, or read responses to frequently asked questions by clicking on the previous links.

CLOUT member and LST reader Jay Hafemeister has forwaded us this email he received from Sen. Williams on June 29th, which we reproduce below in full:

Dear Mr. Hafemeister:

I support the constitutional spending caps contained in the Texas Constitution. I serve on the Senate Finance Committee, and am very cognizant of the caps and discussed this isue frequently with the Senate leadership and members of the Senate Finance Committee during the special session just concluded. As a member of the legislative branch, it is inappropriate for me to comment on the merits of this lawsuit while it is pending before the court.

Thank you for contacting my office and please feel free to do so at any time.

Sincerely,

Tommy Williams
State Senator, District 4

CLOUT is encouraging its members to continue to contact Sen. Williams and politely communicate your position on their lawsuit to him directly.

Here’s the contact info for Sen. Williams:

Austin Office:
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0104
(512) 463-6373 fax

District Offices:
2825 IH-10 East - Suite 100
Beaumont, TX 77702
(409) 896-2350
(409) 896-2454 fax

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 5819
Beaumont, Texas 77726-5819

2441 High Timbers - Suite 400
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 364-9426
(281) 364-9473 fax

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 8069
The Woodlands, Texas 77387-8069

As we’ve noted previously, in an attempt to get elected officials on the record as to where they stand regarding the taxpayer watchdog group’s lawsuit to enforce the spending limitations of  the Texas constitution, CLOUT has launched "Operation Accountability."

You can get a copy of the lawsuit, an executive summary, or read responses to frequently asked questions by clicking on the previous links.

CLOUT member and LST reader Steven Daniel kindly forwaded us this email he received from Rep. Taylor’s office on June 26th, which we reproduce below in full [emphasis in bold added by LST]:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Daniel,

Thank you for contacting Rep. Taylor regarding the CLOUT lawsuit claiming the state  violated the constitutional spending limit during the recent legislative special session in May of this year.  Rep. Taylor is aware of the lawsuit and its claims.

During the special session, many legislative and budget experts from the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker and Legislative Budget Board office’s provided fiscal details to all Legislator’s.  Rep. Taylor does not believe the Legislature’s actions violate the constitutional spending cap and therefore believes the court will find the case without merit.

To provide you with a historical aspect of the constitutional spending cap amendment, passed in 1978 and known as the Texas Tax Relief Act, I’ve attached the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) Policy Brief for you.  The TPPF is a well respected conservative think tank that works diligently to promote free market principles, lower taxes and less government.

Rep. Taylor believes property taxes are at an all time high and recent legislative action will help curb skyrocketing property taxes for all Texas homeowners.  As a conservative, he has consistently supported legislative measures to reduce the current 10% appraisal cap.

Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Rep. Taylor’s office again.

Thank you,

Cari L. Christman
Chief of Staff
Representative Larry Taylor

Thank you Steve, and thank you Ms. Christman and Rep. Taylor.

If anyone from Rep. Taylor’s office wishes to update this statement further, they can contact CLOUT directly at clouttexas-at-gmail.com, or us at lsteditors-at-gmail.com

CLOUT is encouraging its members to continue to contact Rep. Taylor and politely communicate your position on their lawsuit to him directly.

Here’s the contact info for Rep. Taylor:

Austin Office:
Room EXT E2.714
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
(512) 463-0729
(512) 474-2398 Fax

District Office:
174 Calder Road, Ste 116
League City, TX 77573
(281) 338-0924
(281) 554-9240 Fax

Surprise surprise! The Chronicle has weighed in on the Supreme Court ruling on Texas’ redistricting plan, and they don’t seem to like it much at all:

Frequent redrawing of district lines makes voters unfamiliar with their representatives and their challengers. Districts drawn to maximize the chances of one party over the other tend to lack geographic coherency. To entrench a sitting majority or to gain one, communities and common interests are split. When bipartisan electorates lose the chance to re-elect popular incumbents of the minority party, the public interest and the seniority of the state’s delegation suffer.

This isn’t just wrong; it’s stupid. First of all, the districts drawn prior to DeLay’s redistricting plan were “drawn to maximize the chances of one party” — the Democratic Party. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was the swing vote in this case, noted this fact in his opinion. If it weren’t for the Democratic gerrymander of 1992, this case probably wouldn’t have come out as it did.

Secondly, “bipartisan electorates” did not “lose the chance to re-elect popular incumbents of the minority party.” The electorates were not, first of all, bi-partisan, being the result of a Democratic gerrymander. And in any event, electorates surely could have re-elected incumbents if they wanted to. The electorate had simply shifted to better reflect the demographics of the state, and if that flipped out some incumbents, that’s too bad for those incumbents. However, it’s good for democracy.

While some members of the Texas congressional delegation believe this state is free of ethnic discrimination, the high court found that the Legislature’s redrawing of District 23 in 2003 violated the rights of Hispanic voters. The court, dominated by conservative Republicans, recognized 7-2 that discrimination against Hispanic voters is not a thing of the distant past.

“[D]ominated by conservative Republicans?” The court is split with four liberals, four conservatives, and one left-leaning moderate, Anthony Kennedy. That’s hardly domination.

Furthermore, the plan didn’t “discriminate” against Hispanic voters. It discriminated against Democratic voters who happened to be Hispanic, thereby diluting Hispanic voting power. While forbidden under the Voting Rights Act, this is hardly the racist coup the Chronicle makes it out to be.

The cost of victory weighs most heavily on the person who was the driving force behind Texas’ redistricting. To force the issue, former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay needed a Republican majority in the Texas House. His efforts to achieve that end led to his indictment. The indictment cost DeLay the post of U.S. House majority leader, which had made him the third most powerful official in Washington. DeLay, facing defeat at the polls, resigned his House seat in June.

Yes, I’m sure the Chronicle weeps for Tom DeLay.

In any event, the link between the redistricting battle and DeLay’s woes is extremely tenuous. Throwing this out in the editorial was plainly bad judgment. By this logic, anything DeLay did to help secure a Republican majority was inexorably linked to redistricting. And besides, I think anyone with half a brain recognizes that Travis County D.A. Ronnie Earle is on a mindless crusade to get DeLay on trumped up charges, as evinced by the fact the Democratic Party has also committed the acts DeLay is accused of, yet remains unprosecuted.

If Wednesday’s court decision was a victory for Texas, another such victory, and we are undone.

Whine on, Chron. Whine on.

——————–

Learn more about CLOUT’s historic lawsuit to enforce Texas’…

… constitutional limits on runaway government spending; download a copy of the lawsuit; make a donation to support their efforts. | website

——————–

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 |

Click here for text ad rates and information.

Our host, David Benzion has gratiously allowed all of us here to utilize this medium for political (and other) discourse, and for that I would first like to thank him and Matt Bramanti who recommended me to David for the invitation to join the "staff" here at LST for the opportunity to vent my spleen here on occasion. I and all of my fellow contributors esentially serve at his pleasure. I say all this because I am stepping out of the "party line" so to speak here and David has been gratious enough to support my posting of a contrasting viewpoint. He has stated publically on several occasions here on Lone Star Times that he is in favor to the abolishment of the position of Harris County Treasurer. I respectfully disagree. I would like to state why I feel that is a very bad idea and why I think David and others who have been very vocal about abolishing the office should reconsider their position.

With the exception of those who espouse anarchy or totalitarianism, most all of us can agree that openness and transparency in government, especially state and local government, where there are no national security issues to deal with, is a Good Thing. We, the taxpaying public, must know what government is doing with our funds and in our name in order to judge the appropriateness of those actions. After all, what you don’t know CAN hurt you.

This is not about Orlando Sanchez, Vs. Mr Garcia. This is not about Republican vs Democrat either. It is about accountability. No other office in the County government is in a position to adequately monitor or audit spending by the County Commissioners. This was the very purpose for which this office was enshrined. The County Auditor is not an elected office and is answerable to the county commissioners, not to the taxpayers, therefore the office cannot be objective or independent. Over the years, the commissioners have taken away more and more authority from the treasurer, and have taken that authority as thier own so that they can operate in virtual secrecy, spending taxpayer moinies with impunity with no one to watch over thier shoulders. These have usually been couched as "money saving measures" and have been implemented little by little as time went on. The office no longer issues checks and no longer has auditing authority. The office as been emasculated. The commissioner’s removal of those functions I believe to be unconstitutional, or at the very least wrong. In recent years, the sitting treasurers have been spineless and ineffective and have allowed this office to be emasculated and marginalized. They have been nothing more than human rubber stamps. In my opinion, the question should not be "should the office continue to exist?", the question should instead be "shouldn’t we restore the office to it’s original intent and power?".

How many culverts and paved driveways have commissioner’s court approved for political cronies and friends? How many no bid contracts have been let to friends or contributors? Do you know? Do I? No we do not, and we do not because the commissioners do not want us to know. I seem to vaguely recall a former county commissioner getting in trouble for that sort of thing and ultimately leaving office under a cloud to avoid indictment a decade or two ago, and if memory serves, not long after was when the power of the treasurer’s office started to erode. I think the two can be causally linked.

Two months? That should be long enough:

GSFP and Code Pink are sponsoring a hunger strike for peace which begins July 04, called Troops Home Fast Some of us like Dick Gregory and Diane Wilson will be fasting until the troops come home from Iraq, and some, like me, will be fasting for a specified time. My fast will begin on 7/04 and end on the last day of Camp Casey: 09/02.

We are announcing the fast from Washington, DC on 07/04 and having our last supper on 07/03 in Lafayette Park.

If you can join us in DC on the 3rd and 4th, or fast in solidarity with us on that day, or any other time, please let me know.

Also, Jodie Evans is throwing me a birthday party at Bus Boys and poets on the 3rd of July from 9pm to 11pm….our last food will be before midnight that day….please come to my party, if you can!!!

Love and peace soon,
Cindy

Let’s hope she sticks to it, unlike her ideological ally. The message was posted on Michael Moore’s website. What are the odds Moore will join the hunger strike?

Someone had to say it, so who better to say it than the Holy Father?

The Pope has demanded an end to electric guitars and modern music in church and a return to traditional choirs.

The Catholic Church has been experimenting with new ways of holding Mass to try to attract more people. The recital of Mass set to guitars has grown in popularity in Italy; in Spain it has been set to flamenco music; and in the United States the Electric Prunes produced a “psychedelic” album called Mass in F Minor.

However, the use of guitars and tambourines has irritated the Pope, who loves classical music. “It is possible to modernise holy music,” the Pope said, at a concert conducted by Domenico Bartolucci the director of music at the Sistine Chapel. “But it should not happen outside the traditional path of Gregorian chants or sacred polyphonic choral music.”

Chant on!

That’s how Slampo puts it, and I think he’s right.

[Hat-tip: Laurence]

Operation Now-We’re-Really-Pissed-Off enters its second day:

Less than 24h after the IDF entered Gaza in the biggest operation since disengagement last summer, Defense Minister Amir Peretz gave the green light on Wednesday evening for the second part of the IDF Gaza incursion. The IDF was poised to enter northern Gaza.

Israeli aircraft struck a Hamas training camp in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Wednesday afternoon, witnesses said.

The two missiles fell about 200 meters apart, one in an empty training camp for Hamas, witnesses said. The other rocket hit an empty field nearby, and witnesses said they saw militants running away from the missile. Ambulances had no immediate reports of injuries.

Haaretz reports that the Israeli Air Force might be flexing its muscles a bit:

IAF warplanes fly over palace of Syrian President Assad

The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld all but one of the changes made back in 2003 to Texas’ congressional districting map.

By a 5-4 vote, the court said the 23rd District in Southwest Texas, represented by Republican Henry Bonilla, was unconstitutional because its design violated the rights of some Hispanic voters. Reshaping the district, a task that apparently now is assigned to federal court in Texas, would force a change in at least one other neighboring district.

But the high court ruling preserved the other districts in the Houston area and elsewhere that were created by the Texas Legislature in 2003. This includes a Dallas-area district whose constitutionality was challenged by black voters.

The "one other neighboring district" that will likely require changes is the 25th District, represented by Democrat Lloyd Doggett of Austin and which currently stretches from Austin to the Mexican border.

I found it interesting that the Houston Chronicle and the Austin-American Statesman seemed to look at the court’s decision in two very different lights, as reflected by their headlines:

Chronicle: Most of Texas’ redistricting map upheld
Statesman: Supreme Court throws out part of Texas congressional map

Both papers seemed to agree on one point, though: that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was the evil engineer behind the malevolent redistricting act. The Austin reporter spent almost a quarter of his article on the charges against DeLay, and seemed almost gleeful in his subtle reminder that the redistricting move "indirectly led to [DeLay’s] political demise."

DNC chairman and noted schizophrenic Howard Dean had this to say yesterday. Try to follow along as we take a hellish trip through the mind of a madman:

"The problem is when we hit that ’60s spot again, which I am optimistic we’re about to hit, we have to make sure that we don’t make the same mistakes,"

"I’m not asking to go back to the ’60s"

Um, okay. Please continue, Mr. Crazy Guy:

we did give things away for free, and that’s a huge mistake because that does create a culture of dependence, and that’s not good for anybody, either,

"If you look at how we did public housing, we essentially created ghettoes for poor people"

"They helped a lot more people than they hurt."

Uh, right. Back to the maniacal lunatic’s unhinged prattle:

Dean explained that he was "looking to go back to the same moral principles of the ’50s and ’60s."

That was a time that stressed "everybody’s in it together," he said.

Yeah, when I think of the 1960s, the first phrase that pops into my head is "national unity." More from the sick babblings of a deranged nutcase:

"This is a moral nation, and we want it to be a moral nation again."

It’s getting pretty bad in ol’ Howie’s mind if he can’t string together one sentence without contradicting himself.

By the way, here’s a bunch of remixes of the notorious Dean Scream.

Yesterday’s post (Shame. On YOU, baby, not me) generated several comments I wanted to respond to on the front-page, especially in light of today’s Houston Chronicle coverage of Orlando Sanchez’ GOP nomination to be Harris County Treasurer.

gregg aka T-BONE asks:

What’s wrong with Sanchez other than he is a Republican trying to run in a Democrat controlled city?

There is nothing "wrong" with Sanchez… or at least, nothing wrong with him that isn’t also wrong with most people, myself included.

I’ve never met him; seems like a nice guy, wouldn’t mind being his bud. And he’s just out looking for the easiest way available to do well by himself. Good for him, I don’t begrudge Orlando that impulse; if he isn’t going to look out for Orlando, who is?

But my job is to decide if I want to help pay for it. I don’t.

RhymesWithRight proposes:

Or, David, we could consider abolishing the Assessor Collector’s office and rolling those responsibilities into the Treasurer’s office.

Or does that arrow hit a little close to home for those of you affiliated with KSEV/LST?

Nice shot– I like a commenter with moxie. Although I should note that the box in the upper-right-hand corner of LST clearly states that we are "Nominally Independent of AM 700 KSEV." Perhaps, in light of yesterday’s programming, I need to upgrade that to "Functionally Independent."

As I noted yesterday in comments:

I am in favor of abolishing government-funded jobs whenever possible, and making certain that whatever taxpayer-supported positions remain are occupied by qualified, competent individuals.

As far as I’m concerned, let’s go ahead and roll-up the Assessor’s, Treasurer’s, Commissioner’s and Mayor’s office into one big ball and elect Paul Bettencourt King.

Rob Booth roughs me up slightly with this query:

Did one of the candidates running advocate abolishing the office?

If so, then you have an argument. If they could vote for none of the above, then ok.

However, I’m happy that my precinct chair did his (volunteer) job and showed up and voted.

Actually, one of the candidates running is advocating abolition of the office… his name is Richard Garcia, and he’s a Democrat.

Think about how hard it is to get a bureaucrat off the government payroll… to get the tax-and-spenders to admit that there is something– anything– the government does that isn’t necessary and could be consolidated and/or abolished.

So here they are, finally admitting it– and yes, I know that their motives aren’t pure, that they’re just trying to screw with Republicans, that they’d never be saying these things if they were confident that a Democrat would win– and here go a bunch of self-professed conservatives out to argue about how essential this position is, what a vital role it plays and how the office must be filled.

Bull.

About the only aspect of this argument I’m sympathetic to is the "philosophical" one– i.e., that the treasurer could, in theory, fulfill a watchdog role and provide oversight on county spending. Perhaps if a brilliant, tough-as-nails number cruncher with a proven track-record of accomplishment were up for the job, I could be persuaded.

———-
between
———-

As far as I’m concerned, the Harris County GOP should have figured out a way to call the Democrat’s bluff. Get Garcia on record supporting abolishment of the office, refuse to nominate ANYONE, and then work cooperatively with Treasurer Garcia to eliminate his job.

Instead, we get this:

Sanchez said Tuesday that eliminating the post would kill the immediate prospect of a Hispanic for the first time holding a countywide elected administrative office.

Well… so freakin’ what? I hadn’t realized that charting new territory in the racial spoils-system of county government had surpassed "eliminating waste" and "reducing the burden on taxpayers" as priorities for the Harris County GOP.

This one, however, takes the empanada:

"It is interesting that up to Mr. Cato’s death, they were supporting Mr. Cato and obviously keeping the office. After Mr. Cato died, they adopted a resolution to abolish the office," said Sanchez.

"It makes you wonder, especially since I could become the first Hispanic and the first immigrant elected countywide."

[Emphasis in bold added by LST]

Way to play the race card, Orlando. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would be proud.

Disgusting. Blech. Boo.

DISGUSTERVATION: blogHouston

Yikes:

A woman received a severed human finger in the mail along with a threatening letter from her ex-boyfriend that said, "This is my last chance to touch you," police said.

Corpus Christi Police Capt. John Houston said police were not sure which finger was removed or how but that it appeared to have been washed before it was mailed Friday.

The 32-year-old woman filed for an emergency protective order from her boyfriend last week.

Police didn’t release the name of the 34-year-old ex-boyfriend, who has not been found.

At least now they’ve got his fingerprint.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)

Nice to know our Republicans are taking on the Really Big Issues:

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don’t pay.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote Wednesday morning on the pimp tax. The bill also calls for more jail time for sex workers.

If passed, the provision will authorize at least $2 million toward the establishment of an office in the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit to prosecute unlawful sex workers for violations of tax laws.

Usurping a state function AND expanding the IRS? What a deal!

Maybe soccer isn’t so bad after all:

The Saved Sect website, which calls on Muslims to work to establish an Islamic state in Britain, has attacked "football fever," saying that soccer has "captivated the masses, dedicating their time and effort towards it."

Comparing the allegiance of soccer fans to Islam and jihad, the organization said: "Football is the deen (religion) by which people live their lives by and are willing to die for. Their jihad is to fight against those who are arch rivals against their team. Their da’wah (call, invitation) is to publicize, defend and justify their team, inviting others to support them in this."

Claiming that soccer plants the seeds of nationalism, and is therefore part of a "colonial crusader scheme" to divide Muslims and cause them to stray from the vision of a unified Islamic identity, the website told readers: "The sad fact of the matter is that many Muslims have fallen for this new religion and they too carry the national flag.

I’m glad my religion isn’t threatened by a bunch of Euro types kicking a ball.

The Chron continues it’s assault on Christianity today with a column from Ana Veciana-Suarez, praising the recent election of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as head of the Episcopal Church in Nevada:

When asked to reconcile her view on homosexuality with specific passages in the Bible, the new church leader pointed out that the Bible was written for a different time and a different people.

"The Bible has a great deal to teach us about how to live as human beings. The Bible does not have so much to teach us about what sorts of food to eat, what sorts of clothes to wear — there are rules in the Bible about those that we don’t observe today."

Jefferts Schori’s position should not come as a surprise. Three years ago, she voted for the ordination of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson. That election sparked anger in other Anglican congregations.

Say what you want about the good bishop, but she certainly votes — and speaks — her conscience. She seems to intuitively know the difference between faith and religion, between what is of God and what is of men, between values emblazoned in your heart and doctrine written for a tome.

Faith has infused Jefferts Schori with the strength and courage to stand up for what she believes. Too bad religious dogma threatens to tear her church apart.

To anyone with a passing understanding of Christianity, this is total nonsense. It is true that modern Christians