Since September 11, 2001, thousands of members, 36,920 to be exact, have become naturalized citizens and 109 of those valiant men and women sacrificed their lives to become Americans.  Their citizenship, sadly, was granted posthumously after being killed in combat.  Since the Revolutionary War, this nation has been blessed with immigrants coming to the aid of their future countrymen, men joining the fight for freedom and liberty for a nation in which they had not been formally granted the rights of a citizen.  Today, there are 20, 429 members of the U.S. military who are not naturalized citizens and over 7,000 have pending citizenship applications.  James Pinkerton writes for the Houston Chronicle:

There was a U.S. Army corporal from the Philippines who endured mortar attacks in Afghanistan. The immigrant from Mexico who earned a Purple Heart during two tours in Iraq with the Marines. A Navy medic from Nigeria training to treat Marines wounded in combat.

”Today’s a pretty special day for me,” said Jesus ”Jessie” Eduardo Martinez, the 30-year-old Marine veteran raised in Houston. “It’s a long road with a great culmination.”

On Wednesday, Martinez finally fulfilled his dream of becoming a U.S. citizen after waiting for almost four years since he applied. In that time, he received shrapnel wounds and suffers from hearing loss from a skirmish in the battle for Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004.

He was one of a handful of service members among 2,708 immigrants from 112 countries who took the citizenship oath administered by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston.

and the words of a new American:

One other new citizen at Wednesday’s ceremony was Anthony I. Ozoemena, a Houston resident who joined the U.S. Navy as a medic in January 2007.

The 31-year-old Nigerian native, who wants to become a registered nurse, looks forward to voting in this year’s presidential election.

He had not settled on a candidate, but said the three leading contenders offer opportunities for change.

”I would like to vote and express myself as a citizen of this country,” said Ozoemena.

God bless them all. They make it the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Something big happened 172 years ago today, and it was prefigured by the last letter of Lt. Col. William B. Travis:

Commandancy of the Alamo
Bexar, Feby. 24th 1836

To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world –

Fellow citizens & compatriots — I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna — I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man — The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken — I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls — I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch — The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country –

Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.

After a 12-day siege, the fort fell to the Mexican assault and its defenders passed into immortality.

Remember the Alamo!

Try doing a little housework.

Joshua Coleman, a San Francisco-area psychologist and author of “The Lazy Husband: How to Get Men to Do More Parenting and Housework,” said equitable sharing of housework can lead to a happier marriage and more frequent sex.

Back in a bit. I’ve got dishes to wash.

LONESTARTIMES.COM EDITORIAL NOTE

In the Republican primary for Harris Co. District Attorney, LST has until now offered no “endorsement” in large part because many of the contributing editors were uncertain about who they supported.

We did however point our readers to a local blog that struck us a particularly well-informed, called “Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center,” written by the pseudonymous “A Harris County Lawyer”. We figured readers could take a look at it themselves, read the perspective of the author, and come to their own conclusions.

As time has passed, and especially now that the race is in a run-off, our opinions have congealed (to various degrees of intensity–some very strongly, others moderately) that Kelly Siegler is the best choice for Harris County DA.

And rather than try to explain our thinking on our own, we decided to extend an invitation to “AHCL” to guest-blog on LST explaining why they believe Kelly Siegler is the best choice for Harris Co. DA.

The first installment is below.

————————-

An older lawyer once described the job of a prosecutor as “the slow alienation of your community”. I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but now it’s disturbingly clear. The position of District Attorney is a job that it’s almost amazing that anyone would want. No voting citizen ever wants to deal with the D.A.’s office as a person accused, and they certainly have no desire to deal with the D.A.’s office in the capacity of a victim.

The bottom line is that people who become prosecutors do answer a calling (one of the few things that I agree with Chuck Rosenthal) and that calling is to inherit other people’s problems and try to seek justice.

Kelly Siegler has done that job for 22 years, and she’s earned a reputation locally, statewide, and nationally as one of the country’s most talented prosecutors (if not the most talented prosecutor). Prior to her announcement that she would run for public office, the media embraced and celebrated her. After Rosenthal’s down-fall and her announcement, they prefer to vilify her.

Allow me to offer the following parable–

A pilot named Chuck was 7 hours into a Trans-Atlantic flight, piloting a 747. The ride had been incredibly bumpy with lots of turbulence, and many of the passengers on the 747 had lost faith in Chuck’s ability to pilot.

Suddenly, after an extremely rough patch of turbulence, Chuck was incapacitated.

Panic-stricken, the flight attendant, Jared, asked if any of the passengers knew how to fly a plane. Three passengers raised their hands (a fourth one named Doug, was in the restroom for the purposes of this story).

The first passenger, Kelly, said “I’ve been flying planes for 22 years, and I’m considered to be the best pilot in the country.” The passengers mumbled about themselves. A reporter in First Class told everyone he had heard that she had referred to the people on Aisle Three as “screwballs and nuts”, and also noted that when she went through flight school she had used the word “Jew” as a verb. Someone also pointed out that she must be a close friend of Pilot Chuck.

The second passenger, Jim, said “I’ve been flying planes for a long time, too, although it’s been quite some time since I’ve flown a 747. I think most people would consider me a good pilot. And to prove what a good pilot I am, I will fly blindfolded for at least 3 hours.” The passengers again mumble about themselves, and wonder why on earth a good pilot would think that flying blindfolded for 3 hours would somehow help them.

The third passenger, Pat Lykos, stands up and flashes her smile. “Friends,” she says. “I have never flown a plane in my life, but I’ve watched them take off and land hundreds of times! As a matter of fact, I think that we need to change things! And even though I’ve never flown a plane, and I have no idea how to do so, I think that all of you have a right to a plane that will land the way you want it to. You don’t have to return your seats to the upright position! You don’t have to put up your trays! You don’t even have to fasten your seatbelts!” The plane erupts with wild applause.

And Pilot Pat Lykos promptly crashes the plane into the ocean.

Pat Lykos is a former District Court judge from Harris County, who gave up her bench to run an unsuccessful campaign for Texas Attorney General in 1994. Failing in that, she became a visiting judge, and had another unsuccessful run for District Attorney in 2000. When Lykos was on the bench of her own court, she had a reputation for being mean to the point of cruelty to her staff, the prosecutors, the defense bar, and witnesses.

The bigger issue for why Pat Lykos shouldn’t be elected District Attorney is that she just isn’t qualified. Although Lykos likes to refer to herself as a “litigator”, she is intentionally trying to mislead the voters into thinking that she’s a trial lawyer. She’s not, and she never has been. Lykos has never prosecuted a single criminal case. A rookie prosecutor who has worked at the D.A.’s office for a month will have more trial experience than her. She would be running an office of trial lawyers and would be in the odd position of being unable to offer them any practical advice on how to do their job.

Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great politician, but sometimes having the best thing to say isn’t the sign of the best candidate.

At the end of the day, despite all of the actions of Chuck Rosenthal, Harris County does actually have a District Attorney’s Office it can be proud of. Well over 200 prosecutors work long hours and meet with attorneys, experts, and victims. I’m biased, but I think the Office contains some of the most talented prosecutors in the nation.

The most talented among them is Kelly Siegler, and she’s the one that the prosecutors all want to lead them.

And even more importantly, she’s the one who will do the best job pursuing justice, defending the property and protecting the lives of the “passengers in the plane”–the law-abiding citizens of of Harris County.

Remember the millions that the mayor blackmailed from the retarded? Houston City Council voted to spend it to purchase land for a stadium to be built for a bunch of guys running around in shorts kicking a ball.

The City Council voted Wednesday to spend $15.5 million to purchase five downtown blocks being eyed for a Houston Dynamo soccer stadium. The council also approved a land swap to obtain an additional block.

As he has since the land deal first was announced, Mayor Bill White would not confirm that the six-block rectangle definitely would be used for a professional soccer stadium. If a deal with the team owners fails to materialize, the city could seek other private development for the site, White said.

Shouldn’t “private development” handle their own deals? Why in heck should a bunch of elected officials take money from poor people and give it to Oscar De La Hoya?

Anschutz Entertainment Group operates the team but shares ownership with boxing star Oscar De La Hoya and Brener International Group.

What, he didn’t make enough money from his last fight? So now the taxpayers of Houston have to subsidize him? Ridiculous.

The area has undergone some loft-style residential development. Many residents and bar owners said recently that they looked forward to more economic activity in the area.

So, get your arses out there and make it happen! But I guess that is no longer the American way, at least for the socialists on the Houston City Council. Nope, no hard work necessary. We’ll just take from the retarded and give it to the bar owners. What a system.

And remember the mayor saying that he didn’t want public funds used to build the stadium? Look again.

White has proposed that TIRZ monies could be used to secure bonds to pay off the purchase of the land. TIRZ monies also could be used to help pay for the stadium’s construction, which could run $70 million to $90 million. The administration also is considering a tax or fee on ticket or concession sales at the stadium.

Like we couldn’t see that coming.

City Controller Annise Parker has criticized the deal as “backward public policy.”

No kidding. Who would have ever thought that Annise Parker would end up being the most sane person in city government?

The downtown business district has “no other way to grow,” Lovell added. “The only way to go is east.”

Unbelievable. Have these people even heard of free enterprise and capitalism? No way to grow east unless city council takes money from people in other parts of the city? Hint - if this was economically viable, Oscar and his partners would put their money down, build a business and make a tidy profit. That’s the way our system is supposed to work.

But heck, why should I blame Oscar? The dupes at City Hall are the ones stealing from the poor in the guise of “helping” the area grow. Hey, maybe there will be a few peanut tossing jobs created! Do soccer fans eat peanuts?

 

Greed - it’s what makes the world go round.

——————–

——————–

Get paid to tell us what you think– Register to participate in one of our focus groups; earn money telling us what you think about politics, your community and consumer goods. Click here to learn more and sign-up!

——————–

——————–

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. | 713-984-9200 | website

——————–