As you probably know by now, between President Bush’s promises of money and the absence of backbone in a number of squishy Republicans, the amnesty bill may hit the Senate floor next week with enough votes to pass.

As Michelle Malkin says:

It’s do or die time, people.

The GOP elites have chosen. If you have an objection, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Malkin has listed the 15 GOP senators being pressured by Bush, McCain and Flim Flam Graham to flip and support the bill. Both Texas senators are on the list.

It’s back to the phones folks.

The 87-year-old wife of the famed evangelist dies at home:

“Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team,” Billy Graham said in a statement. “No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

“I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together. We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.”

Amen.

Dumb.

The former school superintendent who placed a hidden camera in a women’s restroom at a school administration building must serve 30 days in jail and register as a sex offender as terms of his probation.

Dan Doyen, 46… admitted that he placed a video camera disguised as an air freshener in a private restroom used by women employees in an effort to obtain nude images of them.

Dumber.

Doyen also admitted that he used a school district credit card to pay for the $299 camera.

Hat-tip: AP

According to the Chronicle, with but a signature from Gov. Perry, Big Brother will extend his tentacles into even more of your motoring life:

A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would give counties the same power as cities to operate red-light cameras and issue citations to motorists.

Montgomery County is already on board, and Sugar Land and Humble have joined the ranks of cities installing the cameras - for safety reasons, not revenue, of course. Don’t believe me? Well, surely this will convince you:

The bill was authored by Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas. His spokesman, Steven Polunsky, said the legislation was intended to ensure cities would operate red-light camera systems for traffic safety, not revenue.

There you have it. The bill’s author says the cameras are for safety, not revenue. What? You don’t believe him? Why not (aside from the fact that he is a so-called Republican introducing nanny state legislation)?

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid the politicians think we are. They are truly integrity-challenged.

If it’s all about safety, then here’s a real challenge: Issue citations to violators but don’t impose fines. Fear of losing one’s license is a far more effective deterrent than a fine. And, since it’s not about the money, the cities and counties should be happy with deterring red light runners, not picking their pockets.

(I wonder how many red light accidents have been caused by motorists looking to see if there is a camera at the interesection rather than watching traffic.)

At least one county official does not appear to be convinced that the cameras are only about security:

Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack said cameras might deter some people from running red lights and improve safety.

“But you want to have compliance without trying to gouge people,” Radack said. “It’s as if the city of Houston has figured out a way to extract money from people’s pockets.”

Imagine that. The City of Houston and our power hungry Mayor trying to fleece us.

Though generally incompetent and inefficient, Government is very good at one thing: Separating us from our money.

(For the Chronicle’s map of the existing red lights in Houston, and information on the number of tickets issued at each, see here.)

If that story annoys you, then take a deep breath. Big Brother is about to approach Teddy Kennedy size. TXDOT is preparing to spend millions of your tax dollars to install cameras on highways that would catch people speeding.

In yet another example of a bureaucratic weasel insulting our intelligence, TXDOT says not to worry, because no tickets are being issued at this time.

Unlike with red light cameras, people caught breaking the rules by a speed camera would not get a ticket. But TXDOT would send them a letter letting them know they did get caught.

A TXDOT spokesman cautions the study is just a test.

“We want to evaluate the technology, analyze it a little bit. And that’s all we are doing at this point,” he said.

Whew, that’s a relief. I guess there’s nothing to worry about after all. Except this:

But if counties jump onboard as well, Houston drivers could wind up getting tickets from the cameras – not letters – and have to pay them.

Cameras at our intersections. Cameras on our highways and tollroads. Cities, counties and TXDOT dotting the landscape with cameras.

So don’t laugh when I say you will soon hear of cameras looking into your yard. It’s all about safety, you know. Too bad our “representatives” - including the Republicans - are not as concerned with our civil liberties.

My, this slope is getting slippery.

UPDATE:

Texas Monthly’s list of Best and Worst Legislators was just released. Senator John Carona (see above) was chosen as one of the Best.

America’s good buddy, Hugo Chavez, Dear Leader of Venezuela, is up to his friendly old tricks again. After a busy day jailing dissidents and shutting down pesky opposition press, there is still time for some shopping. In fact, President Bush’s energetic leadership has undermined the South American strongman to such an extent that he now has a number of Russian diesel submarines on his South American Express card.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected to finalise a deal on buying up to nine Russian submarines during a visit here later this month, a Russian newspaper reported on Thursday.

Caracas has already ordered five 636-type diesel submarines and four of a new model of diesel submarine, the 677E Amur, the Kommersant broadsheet said, quoting unnamed sources in the ship-building and arms export sectors.

Chavez is no fool, however, and he has wisely taken advantage of bulk discounts.

Since 2005 Caracas has spent 3.4 billion dollars (2.6 billion euros) on arms from Russia, including 24 fighter planes, 35 military helicopters, air defence systems and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles, the paper said.

Venezuela wants the submarines in order to overcome a possible US naval blockade, the paper said.

But would Bush’s good friend, Vladimir Putin, do such a thing as arm potential adversaries of the United States?

Between 2004 and 2006 Russia supplied eight of the 636 submarines to China and is now building two such submarines for Algeria, Kommersant added.

How fortunate that we have such good friends in the world, and strong, energetic, and dynamic leaders in Washington to protect us from all of these people who obviously have our best interests at heart.

Looks like GW’s lunch with the senators is paying dividends after all.

Key Republican and Democratic senators are reaching for a deal to resurrect their stalled immigration compromise by requiring that some $4 billion be spent on border security and workplace enforcement.

With the tentative package, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “should have what he needs to move forward,” said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona. “This is just to let him know that it can be done.”

It shouldn’t surprise anyone, politicians do what politicians do - throw money at each other. Eventually, enough money is thrown around to change votes. Look who is for border security.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the lead Democratic negotiator, said he supported the bid to provide mandatory funding for border security and enforcement.

“You give the assurance that when this is signed, that there are going to be the resources to do the kind of security protections that are in this legislation,” Kennedy said.

Yeah. Just as soon as they pull that car out of the water, Senator. But the bill remains and always will remain about amnesty.

The mandatory security funding is part of a plan to attract more Republican support for the measure, which grants legal status to millions of unlawful immigrants.

And lest anyone think that Sen. Hutchison is not running for governor of Texas in 2010, she’s making certain her name is on the amnesty bill, courting the Hispanic vote.

As part of the tentative deal, the Senate would vote on a proposal by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to require all illegal immigrant household heads to return to their countries of origin before obtaining legal status

The question is, do you trust your elected representatives to follow through and stop the flood of people that will one day be on welfare?

On August 3rd, 1949, President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day. (h/t to LST member Smacktle)

 

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag.. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

UPDATE: LST member Jerry H. sent in a link about the National Anthem that fits in quite well with Flag Day. I either never knew or had forgotten that The Star Spangled Banner contains four verses and tells a story. Author Isaac Asimov related the story of the anthem, I’ve quoted a portion below. For the complete story, click here.

If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested, to a large extent, on the success or failure of the Central prong.

The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay, toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the Fort.

On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland, and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release. The British Captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of Tuesday, September 13, 1814, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.

As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting, and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the Fort was resisting, and the American flag was still flying. But, toward morning, the bombardment ceased, and a dreaded silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered, and the British flag flew above it; or the bombardment had failed, and the American flag still flew.

As dawn began to brighten the Eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the Fort, tyring to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other, over and over, “Can you see the flag?”

Surprise, surprise. Who’d a thunk it? HPD Chief Harold “Never Alert” Hurtt rejects the idea that an outsider needs to be looking over his shoulder whilst trying to straighten out the disaster otherwise known as the HPD crime lab.

During a meeting today with the Houston Chronicle editorial board, Hurtt said he feels “very strongly” that what “needs to be accomplished can be done without a special master.” He added that Mayor Bill White and the Stakeholders Committee, which oversaw the hiring of Bromwich, agree with his opinion.

Yes, that would be the same Mayor White that tried to kick retarded people to the curb so that his donors could make an extra buck or two.

The $5.3 million Bromwich probe is the only comprehensive investigation of problems at the crime lab, which have unfolded over the past 4 1/2 years, casting doubt on thousands of convictions and unsettling the criminal justice system in Houston and beyond.

So let me understand this correctly. The same clowns that paid $5.3 MILLION for a report are now saying that they are going to freaking ingore the recommendations in the report? Is that what I’m reading here? Lest I think that these are trivial issues, I’m reminded of what they are.

Bromwich’s investigation has included the review of evidence from 3,500 cases analyzed by HPD analysts. Investigators also have highlighted historic problems and uncovered practices that contribute to the crime lab’s troubles. They include:

• Years-long poor management and a lack of support from the rest of HPD that allowed poorly trained analysts to perform questionable work with little scrutiny.
• Analysts who created false documentation for tests that never were performed, a practice known as drylabbing, the gravest formed of scientific misconduct.
• Analysts who went unpunished even after major problems in their work, such as drylabbing, came to light.
• The failure to report evidence that would benefit suspects in crimes.
• Analysts who tailored reports.

Folks, people are in JAIL today because of this incompetence. Some have, mercifully, been released, see Grits for details. It is incredible to me that an out of town police chief and a mayor that thinks retarded people should live on the streets are now saying that no one needs to review their work. Un-freaking-believable.

This isn’t a conservative vs. liberal argument. This is about what is right. If you live in Houston, call the mayor’s office or your council person. If you don’t, well, at least vote against Bill White when he runs for governor.

(h/t Fasternu426; click pic for story)

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