Common Sense

I am such a jerk

It didn't occur to me until just now that my friend Audrey Garza lived in New Orleans. She and her husband moved there this summer and I haven't heard from her since July, so it didn't click until tonight that she was in any danger.

Now, I'm kicking myself, though I'm not sure what difference it makes. Maybe if I had thought of it before the hurricane hit, I would have gotten in touch with her and I would know they were getting out safely. But there is not a whole lot that I could have done to help them from here, and just because I talked to them before the storm wouldn't mean I would know how they are now.

Still, I would like to know they are OK. I'll have to try and get in touch with her mom to find out.

This can't be true

I just want to assume that this crap is made up, but the realist in me says it probably is genuine:

From: Columbia Christians for Life Subject: Hurricane Katrina satellite image looks like 6-week fetus To: Columbia Christians for Life

Satellite picture of Hurricane Katrina at NOAA.com looks like a 6-week unborn human child as it comes ashore the Gulf Coast, vicinity states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida at 12:32 PM, Monday, August 29, 2005

Hurricane "Katrina" (reportedly means "Pure" in Russian) - satellite image - Monday, 29 Aug 05, 12:32 PM (EDT) - coming ashore Gulf Coast - satellite image looks like 6-week fetus check out NOAA website: www.noaa.gov/

The image of the hurricane above with its eye already ashore at 12:32 PM Monday, August 29 looks like a fetus (unborn human baby) facing to the left (west) in the womb, in the early weeks of gestation (approx. 6 weeks). Even the orange color of the image is reminiscent of a commonly used pro-life picture of early prenatal development (see sign with picture of 8-week pre-born human child below). In this picture, and in another picture in today's on-line edition of USA Today*, this hurricane looks like an unborn human child.

Louisiana has 10 child-murder-by-abortion centers - FIVE are in New Orleans
www.ldi.org ('Find an Abortion Clinic [sic]')

Baby-murder state # 1 - California (125 abortion centers) - land of earthquakes, forest fires, and mudslides
Baby-murder state # 2 - New York (78 abortion centers) - 9-11 Ground Zero
Baby-murder state # 3 - Florida (73 abortion centers) - Hurricanes Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne in 2004; and now, Hurricane Katrina in 2005

God's message: REPENT AMERICA !

This makes about as much sense as the theory that the gay bars on Bourbon St. are to blame. There are some gay bars in Austin; does that mean that a hurricane is going to flood 6th St.? These jerks are using a national tragedy to promote their agenda which isn't helping anybody get food, water or shelter right now.

And it looks like a hurricane to me.

Pack up your troubles

Cindy Sheehan has packed up and moved on. She has left the sleepy little burg of Crawford to continue her protest in greener pastures.

Tonight, she was in Austin (I don't remember when or where, sorry) and then she's on to the home office of Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

I'm going to give you some free PR advice Cindy. Gratis; no payment necessary. Instead of camping outside some strip mall office and never talking to even a Tom DeLay aide, I suggest you and the rest of the bus go to the Houston Food Bank and volunteer your services. I know they need people and I can't help but believe this will garner some good press. It's a win-win situation.

If you just do the same thing you did here, you're not going to get much headway. The press likes new news and you're fast becoming old news. Do some good and help some people and the message will get out.

Like I said, free advice.

Working in a coal plant

One of the biggest local stories right now is a proposed coal-fired power plant near the town of Riesel. The argument is between local residents allied with environmentalists and local residents allied with the coal industry. One side says that the plant will pollute the other says we should give millions in tax abatements to build this plant because it will mean jobs.

Right now, I can tell you they are both wrong.

First off, screw the environment. There, I said it. The truth is that the biggest concern of environmentalists in this instance has been air quality and I just don't see this plant as being a problem. In terms of local air, at least. This isn't a canyon and we're not surrounded by mountains. There's not going to be a layer of smog over Greater Waco if this plant gets built. The thing that should be a bigger concern would be mercury poisoning the local water and fish. The water is already fucked anyway and I wouldn't eat a fish caught within a 100 miles of here. What is this plant going to do, make the fish even more deadly?

And the people clamoring to get jobs at all costs, even at the expense of the local water and food, are just fools. It is that kind of thinking that got us problems with environmental issues in the first place.

No. The reason to oppose this plant is because it is a stupid idea.

I'll tell you why, too. Because coal is non-renewable. And as we're learning with oil, things get expensive when they get rare, and coal is at or near its peak. That means it is all downhill from here. Can you really say you would build a business that you know will eventually be prohibitively expensive to run?

Seriously, with coal and oil, the longer your business is around, the closer it is to being out of business. That is just a stupid way of going about things. With coal, we have what, maybe 50 years until we're out, if that? Why spend all that money to build a power plant you know is going to have to be replaced in the next few decades.

The thing that makes the most economic sense is to build something that produces electricity using renewable resources. Everyday, electricity from wind and solar farms gets closer to the customer's grasp. Why not get on the bandwagon early so we can get the party started?

Someone has some balls, and we salute them

The assistant FDA commisioner for women's health, Susan Wood, has just resigned in protest. Her problem isn't just that the "morning-after pill" hasn't been made more widely available without a prescription. It's that the consensus among the medical professionals is that it should be more available, but it has been held up because religious groups putting pressure on the White House.

So the scientific review process of the FDA is controlled by religious groups. Doesn't that scare anyone else?

I'm not going to argue that what these people believe will happen has no evidence to back it up. I'm just saying, science is under attack on all sides. Morals and religion should not play a part in this particular process. I say leave it up to the marketing department at Pfizer or Merck to deal with who does and does not like the drug. The FDA should just be worried about whether it works and if it is safe for us to take. Period, end of sentence.

I don't got gas

Look like I won't be going anywhere anytime soon. According to Atrios, CNN has been reporting that gas now costs $4.99 a gallon in some areas. Prices are going to go up until the SPR is tapped and that oil is refined and in circulation.

I'm actually pretty lucky. My area usually doesn't have much of a problem with gas prices. We stay behind the curve of the rest of the country. While capacity is down and prices are up because the Gulf coast was hit, Texas was not hit and we have refineries and we have ports so we'll be reasonably all right.

Still, I don't relish the idea of paying for the gas to go to work this week with half my paycheck.

I want to take a moment to say something to the "Starbucks costs $40 a gallon and they don't complain" crowd. One, we do say something. Starbucks is freaking expensive and I only go there when I have the spare cash and a taste for some choco-flavored coffee.

And I don't buy 30 gallons of coffee a week. Because of inefficiency with the internal-combustion engine, not only do I need something that costs more every day because it is non-renewable, but I need a lot of it. Every trip to Austin and every commute to work requires multiple gallons of gasoline. So I spend way more on gas than I do on coffee.

It's Hupp day

Ordinarily, that would just be one of my many typos. But today is special since we are all about Rep. Suzanna Hupp.

Not only have I and Pink Dome written about her, uh, illustrious career, so has the Pink Lady. And so has the Waco Tribune-Herald. In a remarkable bit of coincidence, Thad mentioned Hupp in today's Cindy Sheehan story. God, it would seem, is not without a sense of humor.

Anywho, remarking on her public service, I would have to say that she's worse than the people I would hope would be in the Lege, better than many of the people that are in the Lege, and at least she showed up and tried to get something done. And hey, she did get the conceal-carry laws to her liking. What was the last thing you accomplished, getting the bagel out of the toaster without killing yourself?

Houston Food Bank needs your help

Chris Bell just sent out an email asking for donations to the Houston Food Bank. Houston is where many refugees of Hurricane Katrina have fled to and I know they need all the help they can get right now.

The Houston Food Bank will be working directly with the Red Cross as the point organization distributing food, water, and emergency supplies to area shelters. Each dollar you contribute to the Houston Food Bank will provide $25 worth of food to disaster victims.

In addition to financial contributions, food banks across the state are in desperate need of volunteers to help sort and distribute food donations. You can find details about volunteering at your local food bank on our website:

I know that many of my readers are not in the Houston area, but I would encourage you to contribute as much as you can. Simple things like food and water at a time like this can really mean the difference between life and death.

I'm back!

Things are done. I'm back, ready to post.

Ah, yes. Much better

A good, hot shower really helps get the nerves back in place. A hot cup of Earl Grey would probably help more, but I just don't have the time.

I've really got to get my oil changed today. I'm very overdue and I just know I'm killing my car. I love my ar and don't want to do that, so today is the day.

I'm really surprised at the amount of comment I've gotten in regards to my post on the latest Pew poll. I could say I planned on getting people excited so they could begin the discussion and eventually help resolve the problem with a real world solution instead of my bludgeon approach, but I would be lying. Still, whatever gets things started.

I have a few posts planned for tonight that I want to get through, but I also want to write the column I promised you nice people. I write it with the foreknowledge that there is zero chance it will run, but I promised you (sort of) and my word is my bond. Unless you want to email the editorial board and demand they hire me as a columnist. You know, if that's what you want to do.

The world needs things to get done and they aren't going to do themselves (that sounds really dirty) so I'm off for a few hours.