On Sunday, March 11, 2007, the Southeast Chapter of the Patriot Guard was thrilled to welcome Pvt. Brian Gilmore back to U.S. soil and escort him to his home in League City, TX.

It was a beautiful day on the coast as a friend and I rode to the gathering point at the Sheraton Hotel on JFK Blvd. It is always an incredible sight to turn into the parking lot and see all the bikes that have come out to support our troops. This was my first Welcome Home ride and it was great to see laughter and cheers rather than sadness and tears.

At the gathering, SE PGR captain JohnnyD displayed a flag donated to the chapter by a soldier currently serving in Iraq. The flag was accompanied by a certificate of authenticity verifying that it had flown in battle in Iraq on a Blackhawk helicopter and was given to the SE PGR in appreciation of their efforts on behalf of soldiers.

After the safety briefing, the mother of Pvt. Gilmore told us how much she appreciated us coming out to greet her son. She was truly thrilled that we were there. Also attending were the parents of Pfc. Nathaniel Given, for whom the guard rode on January 6, 2007. Gosh, that must have been hard for them to attend a welcome home ride when their son didn’t make it back. They were given the honor of leading the escort on their Harley. Truly cool.

At the airport, we staged in the far left lane directly in front of Terminal D. There was a little delay, so we had plenty of time to walk around and check out the bikes. My friend and I started in the middle, going opposite directions and counted the bikes. There were 110 total, 107 bikes and 3 trikes. In addition, we had the usual escort truck and this time the honor car that carried Pvt. Gilmore. What a sight! Everyone at the airport took notice, which was the intention. We need to honor our soldiers, especially when there is so much dissension about the task they have been given.

The ride to League City was 48 miles and took about an hour and a half. It is an awesome sight to see an escort of this length. People were gawking at us the entire route. Pulling into the neighborhood, the streets were lined with neighbors and flags lined Pvt. Gilmore’s home. A short reception was held and then the ride was over. Very, very good day. Hoorah!

Life is tough in the diplomatic corps, with all those meetings, jetting around the globe, and state functions. Oh, and the bondage. The bondage is rough too.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli ambassador to El Salvador has been recalled after he was found drunk, naked and bound in sexual bondage gear in his yard, an official said Monday.

Two weeks ago, El Salvador police found Raphael naked outside his residence, tied up, gagged and drunk, Israeli media reported. He was wearing several sex toys at the time, the media said.

“Mummmbmbmbbb. Mummbmbmbmmmumb. Mmmmbubbubmbmbmb!”

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that he could identify himself to police only after a rubber ball had been removed from his mouth.

“I said, I’m the Israeli ambassador and we were just re-enacting some scenes from Pulp Fiction and things got out of hand. Could have happened to anyone.”

Butch: You okay?

Marsellus: Naw man. I’m pretty f—in’ far from okay.

Butch: What now?

Marsellus: What now? Let me tell you what now. I’ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin’ n—–s, who’ll go to work on the homes here with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin’, hillbilly boy? I ain’t through with you by a damn sight. I’ma get medieval on your a**.

We here at Lone Star Times tend to slam on the Chronicle folks when they screw up. So I think it’s only fair to commend them when they do a good job.

Last Friday, our beloved hometown rag had an online story about a guy who stole a Rolex from a jewelry store. Accompanying the story was an embedded YouTube-like video player, which played a surveillance video purporting to show the crime. It’s a cool concept, and I hope to see it used more often.

The problem was that the figure on the security footage didn’t match the description of the suspect. Someone goofed and put up the wrong video. I emailed James Campbell, the Chron’s reader representative, and asked for a correction. Here’s how the Chron corrected it:

Because of incorrect information from Crime Stoppers of Houston, surveillance video and a still image on chron.com made available with an earlier version of a story on a theft at a Galleria jewelry story showed images of a person not associated with the crime. The video and image have been removed from the site.

In this correction, the Chron explained what went wrong, linked to the original story, and corrected the problem. The story itself has been updated with an editor’s note explaining the mistake and the removal of the video. It’s how a correction should work.

Of course, an editor should have caught the mistake before the story went up, but I guess you have to crawl before you can walk.

In the U.S., our large cities are, for the most part, run by liberal Democrats who think that their primary job in life is to be politically correct. Thus we have the very strange concept of cities operating and funding “work sites” where illegal aliens gather looking for work. This is, in effect, local government aiding and abetting criminals that are breaking federal laws.

And when a local government emboldens criminals, is it any wonder that crime increases? In this case the crime of illegally entering our country. And being assisted by their home country governments, as noted in this article about a day labor site in Garland.

Recently, the Mexican Consulate in Dallas launched a know-your-rights campaign at day labor sites after a teenage worker at one site was picked up by a man pretending to be an employer and was subsequently turned over to immigration authorities.

That worker has already been deported. Hoorah! That was a risky undertaking by the man that turned him in but it shows the lengths to which Americans will go in their effort to stem the tide of illegal immigration. Why is it important to stop the tidal wave?

“Contractors who request Hispanics are messing me up,” said one black worker, one of a handful still there at noon with no job offers. He gave his name only as Alex.

Patrick Orsburn, a blond and blue-eyed construction worker who carries a carpenter’s belt loaded with tools, agreed.

“It is the employers who show favoritism,” he said. “And that is because the Mexicans will work cheap.”

This is a prime example of why we need an organized, systematic way to allow workers into our economy. While some industries do have a shortage of workers, others do not and the oversupply into those markets leads to wage decreases for American citizens.

In a scene reminiscent of the marches last year that saw illegal’s waving Mexican flags on U.S. streets, the illegal’s at this taxpayer funded site had their own message for American citizens. Do these sites help or hurt in the effort to stop the invasion? What do you think these guys think?

Concealed Handgun License Training– New licenses $100 (classes approximately every other week), recertification $80 (done weekly). Price includes all range fee, fingerprinting, notary work and photographs. Basic training available for persons who want a license but have little or no experience with a firearm. Ask about special group classes. Contact Austin Arrington 281-948-8373.

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