Liberal Media Favors the Wrong Candidate in this Race

Yesterday I felt like a hot knife in butter all day.

Only a train blocking the road kept me from Pearland last night, but it didn’t matter. Only 400 people have voted in Pearland after a week of early voting. My strength over the years is in the area of the district that is having the highest turnout. It happens to be home to our church family and thousands of our friends who have voted for me for years.

Everyone I have been meeting is SO ready for a change in Congress -- and pledged their vote.

Many remember me from past campaigns. They know I have been challenging Goliath and his arrogance and corruption long before the indictments started coming in and the new people jumped in.

For years, conservative radio would give Mr. DeLay free airtime and leave me off during a primary (it just happened again this week on the Gray show). How American is that?

Now I see the same thing from the liberal media. I was the only candidate other than Mr. Campbell who gave a talk taped by NPR. Yet I received not a sound bite. So the left and right have found some common ground –neither side believes in giving equal time. That doesn’t sound like American democracy to me. I’m happy for conservative GOP primary voters to know that the liberal media is behind Mr. Campbell! LOL.

But none of that matters to me because only one thing does – the voters. Newspapers don’t vote, people do. People vote for someone who earns their vote. You can’t buy them. DeLay spent $1,100 per vote in 2004. I spent $2 for each of mine.

Voters tell me that they just don’t know who the other candidates are. They certainly don’t care who NPR, the New York Times or Washington Post think is the favored candidate.

The voters are telling me they don’t want ANYONE with prior Washington experience elected this time.

Remember that old movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” ? I always like Jimmy Stewart. We could use another Mr. Smith shaking up DC, even if he has a funny Norwegian name and has never been to Norway or Washington…

Major Endorsement - From Teachers for Mike

Yesterday I got a call from a teacher group in District 22 - advising me that I officially had their endorsement in the GOP primary. What an honor.

There are over 5,000 teachers in Ft. Bend county alone, enough to win this primary outright.

Here is part of our campaign press release going out today:

“Teachers are our future. They were hurt when the incumbent cut their pensions in 2004. That hurts teachers and that hurts our children. And that hurts our future as a country.

I have been an Adjunct Professor. We are in a global economy and need a first class education system to compete in the 21st century. I will work hard for teachers as well as veterans, small business, the elderly, and our kids.

I am honored to have the endorsement of the teachers of this district.”
– Mike Fjetland

The Bottom line: Without teachers, we have NO FUTURE as a country or world leader. When you hurt them, you hurt our future prosperity.

Mr. DeLay cut their pensions the same time he allowed himself a fat pay raise. I would give the teachers their pensions back and stop Congress pay raises until the budget gets back to being sane and fiscally fit. Stop spending billions on bridges to no where.

America needs to become "Fjiscally Fjit" in Viking speak. I'm back out there, finishing what I started on this mission to get Congress away from the corrupt and working for our future.

Low Turnout – Favors the Grass Roots Guy

Reports are that the turnout is LOW – Pearland box has only had 400 voters after a week of early voting!

This is good news for me. Low turnouts favor a challenger who already has a proven grass roots base, as I have from three prior election cycles.

It is bad news for the new challengers because they don’t have a base. I talked to a friend running for office in Brazoria County today. He said that people were seeing my opponents’ signs and were asking him “Who are those people?” Does that sound like they will be getting those votes?

The media doesn’t understand that you just can’t buy votes in a primary with signs and ads—that may work in a general election but not a primary. People want to know who they are voting for. The media assume money equals votes but it is grass roots work that produces primary votes –years of time meeting people and shaking hands. I’ve seen challengers drop millions and lose out to grass roots with less money (Ref: Wareing vs. Culbertson in District 7).

P.S. A major new endorsement will be announced tomorrow (Feb. 28). Standby or check our Press Room. It comes from a group who were hammered by the incumbent. They are part of a group with over 10,000 voters in the district. That is enough to win this outright without a run off.

Year of the Dog, the Underdog and the Dark Horse

Saturday, February 25, 2006

It happened again yesterday. My wife and I were at a cemetery in Rosenberg attending a friend’s funeral. As we were preparing to leave a church member came up with his two boys and said:

“My kids are saying that you are going to win this election.”

Amazing. That was twice in two days kids have said that. My wife’s statement about the “Weekly Reader” poll – where kids have been right about who will be the next President for decades – rang in my mind. Perhaps they have the advantage of being able to judge things without personal interest interfering with their judgment !

All I need to win is for my voters from either the 2002 or 2004 election to get just 2 of their friends to vote for me -- and I win this outright without a run off with a 22 year incumbent.

This is the Chinese year of the Dog. It could also be the year of the dark horse and the underdog. That certainly describes me.

Who's Winning?

I was visiting some seniors yesterday. A couple came up to me and said:

"We are not voting for Mr. DeLay this year. Instead, we are voting for you because the other guy (meaning Mr. Campbell) has too much political time in Washington already. We want you because you haven't been tainted by it already."

Amazing. I have met a lot of people like that –people who used to vote for the incumbent but have said they won’t do it this time.

Then this happened:

When I drove home to get Laura before the last candidate forum, several kids I didn’t know were in front of our driveway, doing whatever kids do. As I pulled up I rolled down the window and said: “Who’s winning?” meaning which one of them had won whatever game they were up to.

A girl of about 9 or 10 was sitting on the curb and immediate shot back: “You are.”

I liked that kid. It reminded Laura of the “Weekly Reader” poll, where kids pick the next President and are usually right.

We’ll see if they are right this time. I know this. If every person who voted for me in the last three elections get only 2 friends to vote for me, I win this one without even a runoff. I ask they get at least 5!

NPR Forum - DeLay No Show - Slap at GOP Ladies

The NPR Forum

We had a GOP ladies candidate forum at a beautiful setting in the Southern National Bank of Sugar Land last night, which was covered by NPR for its national radio network (to be broadcast Monday, Feb 27 on its morning edition), using tape from the event.

Mr. DeLay did not show and did not bother sending a representative -- a dinner in Dallas outside his district was so important that it required him and his entire staff, instead of at least sending his very capable stand-in Chris Holman to the ladies forum in the district. DeLay had the moderator read a letter to the candidates and ladies groups from him!

What a total disregard and slap at the ladies, in my opinion. As Congressman, I would have appeared personally to the ladies in the district and sent my rep to Senator Kay’s dinner in Dallas. DeLay missed a great group.

Only Mr. Campbell and I came. The format allowed, for the first time, each candidate to ask the other candidates one question. Is that why DeLay wouldn’t come? We both agreed that DeLay is finished. I’ve been saying it a lot longer because the problems have been evident for years. The Scotland trip, Abramoff, etc all occurred since 2000!

I have been reaching out to the people of the since 2000 to make this long overdue change. The budget is a mess, security was zilch before 9 11, lobby money still fuels his campaign and buys our representatives vote -- things remain the same! 22 years is too long in any office. I thank the ladies who held the forum, and NPR for covering the most important election in 2006 (as someone has called it).

Despite that, no Houston TV and radio media were present last night -- just NPR, doing the public a tremendous service. Tune in Monday for information you aren't getting locally. The local TV/radio media are missing the news event of the century in the making. My wife said she saw the looks on people’s faces last night –they are finally realizing DeLay’s days are over. The other candidates for other offices waiting to speak could hear it in the room. Ask them.The only issue now is to which candidate to turn.

DeLay himself must have realized it Friday night when his presentation fell flat in front of a group representing thousands of voters.

I ask you to get out and vote for the one candidate who has been out there challenging corruption at its peak, instead of waiting until DeLay was weak…Mike Fjetland. No late tackle hits here. I’ve been part of the process to take down this corruption for a long time.

Do you vote for the ones who waited to join the fray late? -- or the one who has been battling it with determination and commitment and with district people for the last 3 elections in which I was kicked off the ballot, had highway signs stolen and was shut out from the media by Mr. DeLay?

Yes, I am the underdog here, but I'm also the only one who has worked like a dog for the district for years, challenging the incumbent when he blocked transit upgrades and veterans benefits and teachers pensions. Who has been the most reliable in fighting for you and clean, honest government? Why are they just getting into it now, when it has been evident for a long time? I challenged wrong when it was at its peak, not waiting for when he was weak.

Who do you want in office now? Ask yourself --then go vote and get your friends to do the same. Thank you!

Meeting Miss Texas USA

Campaigning does have its advantages, aside from long hours. Last night I got to meet "Miss Texas USA" Lauren Lanning at a Masonic Lodge, which even included dinner. I didn't expect either. I can tell you that Texas will definitely win the “Miss USA” crown this year. Her mom was with her. I thought they were sisters. We witnessed a Mason get a 50-year award. He came with his wife of 69 years. It was great.Early voting starts today. I ask for your vote. I’ve spent many years in this district talking to people, getting ready for this time. I’ve fought for teachers and vets, commuter rail, small business and justice and fairness.

The other challengers have never run before and have no proven voter base. I have a base of 5,000 plus from prior elections, which guarantees me a run off spot at the least in the primary.

Last night it expanded by at least one to include Miss Texas USA, who lives in the Friendswood part of the district. She and her mom certainly get my vote.

Please tell your friends to vote today for a 21st Century rep with integrity, a local focus and the global skills we need in DC.

2 Forums - 2 DeLay’s - No Torture

February 18, 2006

Yesterday we had two candidate forums. A clear sign of trouble for the incumbent is that he personally appeared at both. The second forum was his very first step inside the Arab Community center in Stafford in the 5 plus years of its existence.

The noon forum was the “Spirit of Freedom” which is Mrs. DeLay’s ladies group. I was not worried about the votes since a TV station wanted to shoot tape of my presentation so I wrote my talk for the TV audience. The only two candidates in person there was Mr. DeLay and yours truly. He knew it was his crowd; I knew the next forum would be bigger -- and would be my crowd...

DeLay said he believed in the primary process but he didn’t tell them he had me bumped from the primary ballot in 2002 when I turned in signatures instead of paying an expensive filing fee. I didn’t mention it to the ladies – it’s water under the bridge. Let’s move on to the future.

The second forum was last night at the Arab Community Center. It was great. My wife Laura and I had a wonderful time. We saw a lot of old friends and made new ones. It’s too bad the TV cameras weren’t there because I felt a real surge of energy in the room as I talked about American values like justice, fairness and equality.

I talked about one Arab American man who applied for citizenship after 11 years of marriage – and the INS took his passport, checkbook and photo of him with Mayor Bill White! What? A terrorist is going to have his photo taken with the Mayor? Another candidate said that his 15-year-old son is on the no-fly list. We read about two year olds are having the same problem with airport security and no one has shoes. Homeland Security under the incumbent is not making sense.

I learned that it was Mr. DeLay’s first time at ACC. I’d been there every time as a candidate since 2000, as well as Jewish Temples, Indian temples, Chinese, Vietnamese Hispanic and African American churches, etc and some churches that I am not sure what they were. The community center has always been full of normal Americans with family values who believe in the American way and our Constitution - even more so than some of our politicians!

One question was raised about torture. I said that America must improve its global image. We are a nation based on courts and laws, not flying people to countries to be tortured. Even Mr. DeLay deserves a day in court rather than being dragged to a foreign country and tortured (don’t even think it). If our court system is good enough for him, indicted on a felony, then it is good enough for everyone else in the world.

The Arm Wrestling Challenge

A couple members of the media I talked to yesterday caught the humor in the idea of adding an old fashioned Olympic challenge to this election. One laughed and asked: "Are you in training?"

Sure. But come to think of it, DeLay would go into an arm wrestling tie breaker with an advantage - he has lots of practice strong arming lobbyists!

But pocketing plump lobby checks doesn't generate a lot of muscle tone, so my five years of grass roots "working out" and "training" in the district should be enough to pin him in the deciding match. :0).

Mr. DeLay needs to be pinned down to the truth when he tells his own constituents two different stories on whether he is "best friends" or a stranger to a man he took several international trips with to exclusive resorts in Scotland and the Marianna Islands. His own words prove he plays loose with the truth as well as the people's money. His cuts in teachers' pensions and vet's benefits while allowing “bridges to nowhere” are acts he pinned all by himself.

Hurting teachers hurts our children and our country's future. I would not send vets to war in Iraq than vote 'no' to $50 million in improving artificial limbs for the injured coming back. What about the other challengers in this contest?

One question. WHERE were they the last 5 years when all DeLay’s lobby trips, money laundering, etc was taking place? I was out here fighting corrupt politics and working for the regular people in the district instead of making the big bucks for Fortune 500 companies. I was working to earn votes, not buy them.

What is their real agenda? Mine has been public for 5 years. All are claiming to be more right than the others--all splitting up that vote. I am the only declared moderate with a proven base.

Voters have the power and growing desire to strong arm some change on March 7 - if not then they will allow corruption and deceit to masquerade as honesty and integrity in Washington. So if we can’t have a mature TV debate to educate voters, perhaps the American way is that we have a TV arm-wrestling match instead!

Maybe We Should Just Have an Old Fashioned Olympic Duel

With the sniping going on in Congressional candidate press releases and candidate forums (not me of course), and since the winter games are going on, I propose that consider settling this contest in Olympic style – with a twist.

I propose 3 events.

My three would be (1) Golf, (2) Flying mock air combat from that fighter place in Galveston –which uses lasers not bullets, and (3) arm wrestling.

The winner of 2 of 3 against DeLay wins. It would shake out like this.

I’ll lose the golf match because I have been in 55 plus countries and have never played golf in any of them, so DeLay will win that one, especially if it was held in Scotland. Ummm.

As a pilot and former Captain in the Civil Air Patrol on homeland security patrols, I will blitz DeLay in the air to air combat with the Galveston flight. He’ll be in flames (like our Homeland security status) before he can toss his cookies in a loop.

So it would boil down to the arm wrestling. I can feel the surge of energy I would have at that moment, grabbing him by the arm while thinking about his cutting funding for missing limbs of our Iraq vets and teacher pensions guarantees -- while approving the bridge to nowhere.

I’ll pin him on those without even thinking about the confusing prescription rug plan he devised that cheats grandma if she tries to change it.

But it won’t happen. Mr. DeLay is afraid of a TV Debate, not to mention arm wrestling and air duels (but not golf).

Someone has said, rightly I think, that this is the most important election this year.

Should not people know where everyone stands? What is better than like in a democracy than an unscripted TV Debate for the most important election of the year…..?

Nothing but the Truth...?

So which DeLay statement is true –that Abramoff is a “close friend” of DeLay’s or that DeLay “didn’t know Abramoff” as he now claims.

Mr. DeLay has said both, meaning one of them is false. He started with: "Jack Abramoff is a close friend of mine" on national TV. Did you see it?

Then after Abramoff pleads guilty, DeLay sends out an 8-page letter to his constituents, saying he "didn't know Abramoff."

EIGHT pages? A lot of trees had to die to make his case. Ummm.

So, which statement is true Tom?

How can anyone believe DeLay’s answer to any question when one of these statements is obviously a bold lie (what else?) since the statements were both made by him and are contradictory?

In his own words, DeLay has proved that truth is optional in his office.

Chronicle Claims "GOP Voters Like DeLay" But the Math says it's under 50%

Saturday, February 11, 2006

The Chronicle Sunday article on this election claims: “GOP voters still Like DeLay” http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3653114.html but do the math.

The Chron poll showed nearly 50% of the voters were UNDECIDED. It also gave the three challengers about 10%. If half are undecided and another 10% already want someone else, that puts DeLay at 40%! That is below 51% needed for an outright win. That is not strong support --it is called a run off! Consider that he got 80% in 2002. So anything below that is a loss for him.

It means that as the undecided voters split their votes, DeLay will end up with even less than 40% on March 7. My advisors estimate his actual base is about 35%, mostly in Sugar Land, the venue observed by the Chronicle. If DeLay does somehow win March 7 or the run off, the seat will go to Democrat Nick Lampson -- who is already outpolling DeLay in a 60% GOP district!

The Chronicle article takes a shot at me, saying “the most he’s ever received in prior elections is 20%.” That’s good!

Fact – That 20% equals 5,000 more votes than the two new challengers have ever received against DeLay –in a district that changed boundaries three times and could change again since the US Supreme Court is hearing it on March 1! The other two challengers start with zero base since they have no prior history in this district. I have spent five (5) years and several pair of shoes in face time. That personal loyalty by people who always vote -- but don’t show up in the Chron's random poll of a few people. So I go into this election with at least 5,000 voters I can count (the second largest to DeLay's) versus zero for the other challengers. They are trying to buy the votes that I have been earning. They do have the bigger budgets, but mine comes from local people, not national or personal special interests. Bottom Line: This race is still wide open.

That also means that I’m probably the closest to DeLay for the No. 2 run off spot with my base from the last three elections. It would not take much to surpass DeLay when 40% are still undecided! The other challengers may try to buy votes this time, but I have worked to earn my votes. I thank everyone who has voted for me since 2000.

The Chronicle says they “see no groundswell” for me. They should have been with me last week in a church when I was talking to a couple people, and was suddenly surrounded by people -- all talking at once -- excited to see this Congress candidate. It happened in several places. It didn’t happen at the Sugar Land chamber but that is a small part of the district that covers four counties. Some of those people would vote for DeLay no matter what.

The Chronicle also flogged me for “talking too long to a constituent.” I can live with that. I am there to listen to them regardless of how long it takes. I try to talk to everyone.

The real question is who is best to take his place? I still say we need a global Congress rep with experience and integrity to deal with an increasingly dangerous, global world.

Churches go Green on Global Warming

WASHINGTON (Feb. 9) - A group of 85 evangelical Christian leaders on Wednesday backed legislation opposed by the White House to cut carbon dioxide emissions, kicking off a campaign to mobilize religious conservatives to combat global warming.

I join them in their mission. Without cutting emissions we jeopardize our entire global environment. Did those who think we can ignore melting ice caps which planet they plan to move to when this one is a wreck? Right. This isn’t like moving to the other side of the tracks if your neighborhood goes bad. If the planet overheats, we all lose. So I agree with these church leaders in their quest.

On the campaign trail, we had a candidate forum in Needville last night – No DeLay, although he appeared in Sugar Land on Monday. I guess Needville doesn't rank with him, but it does with me. We discovered the best seafood restaurant next to the KC Hall. When we went inside, we found several other candidates gobbling away. LOL.

During the forum a couple of the Congress candidates snarled at Mr. DeLay’s rep and vice versa – I was having too much fun to snarl at anyone. The questions were excellent – on the runaway budget and prescription drugs. Since I now qualify for senior coffee at Krogers, I told them these were issues that interested me greatly…:0)

An editor contacted me today, asking me about DeLay’s 8 page letter claiming he and Jack Abramoff “weren’t friends” despite two international trips to exotic resorts and Jack pulling out the credit card to pick up Congressman’s expenses.

All I can say about that is this. If you believe that strangers do that kind of thing, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you…!

What Power? First Ellington, Now Transport Setback for Houston area under DeLay

News just reported that Houston Metro won't get its $324 million this year for rail expansion to new lines, like Ft Bend and Clear Lake.

This is on top of losing Ellington Field, a blow to our homeland security.

This happened under DeLay’s watch. He’s been a Congressman on the public payroll for 22 years and we can’t get a measly $300 million for helping our overcrowded roads by expanding our commuter rail transportation?

Unfortunately, he’s been working to kill rail for years. I heard him tell a Rose Rich chamber group that the Dallas rail system was a total failure. Never mind that it was a total lie. Now he is ignoring to death as we commuters sit stuck in traffic for hours.

Ellington Field was shut down despite DeLay being its Congressman. It’s F-16’s are leaving. As a terrorism expert who was on TV on 9 11, I believe we are a prime target.

That is not power. That is pitiful. We could do better with Mary Poppins in his seat, not to mention any of the challengers. It wouldn’t take much to do better.

Consider this. DeLay claimed “surprised” by 9 11 – 8 years after the first World Trade Center bombing when the Defendants declared in their trial that “they would try again.”

I guess he was too focused on lobbyists in DC to see it coming.

Those same lobbyists didn't want commuter rail. That is why you and I are stuck in traffic today and for years to come....Welcome to the land of traffic Delays and bridges to nowhere....Calling Mary Poppins! TOMORROW: The churches go green (on Global Warming) and I'm with them...

DeLay shows for Candidate Forum - Need for a Real Debate

Since 2000, I have seen Mr. DeLay appear at a candidate forum a total of three times - once when I filed in 2000, once at the Clear Lake debate in 2004 -- and last Tuesday in Ft Bend at a chamber forum. It means he smells trouble in the Bayou City. Polls say that if the election were held today, he’d lose to the Democrat.

The trouble with a candidate forum is that everyone says how wonderful we each are in 2 minutes and there is little the public gets about where we are on the issues and our vision for the future. All I recall DeLay saying in his 2 minutes was how much he hated Democrats. That is a thin platformto stand on. I didn’t hear his vision for dealing with border security, runway spending, $18 billion in pork barrel earmarks, etc.
This election needs to be about our candidates’ vision for the future. Only a real debate between us before March 7 will give the public that knowledge. All the public is getting now is signs, mailings and emails saying how wonderful we each are. That is ok but not really useful to the public.

For example, if I had been in Congress the last six years, we would have already finished the Ft Bend commuter rail extension from Rosenberg to the southern terminus of Houston’s rail line. That would take 50,000 cars off the road as people went to the Medical Center and downtown. On weekends Houstonians could enjoy “day trips” at the antique shops and restaurants in historic downtown Rosenberg and Richmond. It would boost the economy and give Houston another part of history to enjoy. I’ve fought for this improvement since running for this seat in 2000.

In those six years I did not see the other two challengers out there fighting for it. They were making the big bucks certainly, and they can use them in this race, while I was out there taking a pay cut by running for office to fight for better transportation and other services for the district at a time when DeLay was diverting hundreds of millions of our federal dollars to other cities. And it took these new candidates to 2006 to get riled up about these things?

I’ve been fighting for the vets all these years as well. One vet told me how he heard Mr DeLay claim he'd close every VA hospital in the country if it were up to him. I disagree with that view. I would have voted for the vets instead of voting down $50 million for prosthesis research for our veterans returning from Iraq with missing arms and legs, as DeLay did recently. I would have voted for the vets and against the bridge to nowhere. He did the opposite.

On the teacher front, I was with them in 2004 when they got hammered on their pensions by Mr. DeLay. I would reverse what he did to teachers. By cutting their pensions he cost us to lose years of talent and our best and brightest, who were forced to retire early. I was out there with the teachers in 2004 as a candidate, fighting for them. Where were my competitors?

The public needs to know this. One lady said to me yesterday: “This is one of the most important elections of our time.” She’s right.

So why not serve the public by having a debate to talk about all these things that will impact all of us? What do YOU think?

Iran's Nuke Quest Nuke - What a Congress Rep Needs to Know

Iran is on course to build a nuclear weapon. The key question for the U.S. is how to handle this dangerous situation.

I was supposed to be in Iran in 1978 on a project for a Fortune 500 company. It was a naval base being built on the Persian Gulf. I avoided being a refugee and potential hostage when I turned down that assignment and took a job with another Houston company as an international attorney. I ended doing oil deals in places like Cairo, Egypt and negotiating pollution control technology in Beijing, China instead of being put on a barge and fleeing one step ahead of the 1978 Iranian revolutionaries. The new Iranian President is one of them.

Iran is an example of what happens when a radical religious agenda takes over from a secular government. The fanatics have sidelined the moderates in Iran. We’ve had enough extremists in our own government. All they do is get us into trouble.

The key is to help Iran reach a more tolerant, moderate government. You can’t do that with a war. Iraq should be a lesson in how our assumptions don't match reality in these situations.

Iran's facilities are underground. Iran already has missiles that can hit Israel and radioactive material that could be used as a dirty bomb in a warhead. The payback from a military strike would be deadly to our allies. It will take global diplomacy and strong pressure to resolve the Iran situation. The U.S. should call a summit and involve NATO, Russia and China. I spent the day of 9 11 on TV as a terrorism expert. We don’t need any more of them.

On the campaign front, I had some incredible experiences over the weekend. I went into one place yesterday and was talking to a couple people. Before I knew it, a dozen people had surrounded me –all of them taking excitedly about the election. The desire for change was so thick you could almost cut it with a knife.

I leaned against the wall, and listened.

Voters need to be thinking about which replacement representative is best equipped to deal with the looming local and global issues facing us – from teachers and vets getting better treatment to dealing with Iran’s fanatic government on a quest for nuclear weapons.

The skills we need in Congress for these global situations are not acquired by playing golf at expensive resorts in Scotland…If a representative doesn’t have those skills now, he or she won’t have the time to get them on the job to avoid making some big mistakes in dealing with these complex global issues that affect our security. That knowledge could have avoided a lot of mistakes made with Iraq.

Showing Respect - In Defense of All Religions

How would Christians react if someone portrayed Jesus as Mohammad was in a recent cartoon in Europe? That's right, they would be rightfully outraged. It is time that people realize that we need to treat ALL religions with respect. That is what America is supposed to be about and that is what our representatives are supposed to do - treat them equally and with respect. If a terrorist hijacks a religion, it is not the religions fault, it is the terrorists fault. Last week I went to a Mosque in Ft. Bend and I heard a message of peace, and of the importance of being honest and good. It could have been the sermon in my church. I have heard many like this in Houston Mosques since 2000. I have attended Jewish temples, Indian temples, and many others in this diverse district. All deserve respect. The cartoon was really religious racism, and that is wrong.

The Election of HAMAS and its Impact on America

HAMAS and Homeland Security

A Congress rep should be thinking how global events affect our future, because they do.

So the election of HAMAS deserves comment. If it increases terrorism, then it directly impacts our Homeland Security (and future terrorism acts here or abroad). Our mission is to find a way to diminish that threat. There is a way to do that.

I recommend everyone read Fareed Zakaria’s column in Newsweek’s Feb. 6 edition –he describes how dictators in the Middle East have destroyed opposition groups, how that lead to the rise of HAMAS and what we need to do to “fix it.”

“Fixing it” means promoting secular, progressive groups in the Middle East that provide an alternative to hard-line religious radicalism that fueled HAMAS. Unlike Arafat and his Fatah, HAMAS actually built hospitals and provided services that the corrupt Fatah officials never tried to do. But they will have to accept Israel’s right to exist. Our government can play a role in the process of moderating Middle East politics.

President Bush, as Mr. Zakaria points out, has said that democracy promotion is a “growth industry.” We can help by funding those groups to help bring electoral diversity and more moderation to the Middle East.

I have talked about this issue with both Muslim friends and Jewish friends. Everyone has much at stake because it impacts all of us regardless of religion or where we live.

We must be proactive to avoid future 9 11’s (not to mention budget crisis) instead of ignoring the obvious signs as our Congress did the 1990’s.

Coretta Scott King -- message for the world

Remembering Coretta Scott King

We have lost another visionary leader. Many people do not know that Coretta Scott King was the strength and encourage behind Martin Luther King’s message of social change by non-violence. She often filled in at speeches when he could not be there.

As a child she had to walk five miles to school -- while white kids passed by riding in buses. How could an American society treat people so differently? We must not let it happen again. The world will miss her drive for justice and activism for equal rights for all people. That is what this country is about.

On TV this morning I saw Sen. Frist announce that a Museum of African American history will be built in the Washington mall. I endorse this long overdue project.

We really need to apply MLK’s message on a global scale – social change without violence and terrorism.

Compare Al Qaida’s bombings and kidnappings to what MLK achieved with only the sound of his voice, when he declared people judge others “by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.” Our own peace corps and Habitat for Humanity have built far more goodwill worldwide than any weapon we have produced or used.

In my travels in over 50 countries I have learned that no one has a monopoly on good or bad. I have seen mostly good, and some bad, in all places.

That is the message we should remember on his sad day with the loss of Coretta Scott King.

Remembering Challenger

Remembering Challenger

It was 20 years ago that Challenger blew up in 1986. I still remember it as vividly as I recall what I was doing when President Kennedy was shot and on the day of 9 11. I sat in front of the TV nearly all day, watching it, hoping all of them somehow escaped in the crew module, knowing it wasn't likely.

At the Bay Area GOP candidate forum a few nights ago I heard the incumbent’s representative say how DeLay had “saved” NASA by adding $1.1 billion to its budget recently. What he didn’t say was that it was DeLay who has continually cut NASA’s budget over the years, usually right after beating me in a primary. Is that commitment?

Do you want to trust him again?

Funding for NASA in the budget is NOT going up – for the next 5 years it will be flat. Any Congress rep can manage to do that. Twenty five years ago I went to China on pollution control technology negotiations and was nearly run down by millions of bicycles. Now, even China has put people in space and preparing its own space missions. India, Japan and others are not far behind. Meanwhile, our astronauts wait years for a mission. What a sad waste of valuable, high tech talent. They should be flying not waiting.

We can do better to honor our fallen space heroes. Our Congress has done little to give our space program a replacement Shuttle before the old ones failed. Our astronaut's have not been getting the funds needed to be a space pioneer as the world’ largest superpower. Barbara Morgan, our backup "teacher in space" has had to wait 20 years since Challenger's loss.

At the present rate, others will pass our achievements unless Congress energizes NASA and encourages private space entrepreneurs. These losses could have been avoided with a little vision in Congress, etc.

In memory of the astronauts lost on Challenger and Columbia, I think we can do much better. As a pilot and space enthusiast for decades, I will make it a key focus if elected to represent District 22.

How? I’d cut all of the $13 billion in pork projects such as the “bridge to nowhere” and transfer at least half of it to NASA and other programs we need.

NASA is too important to be left struggling with minimal budgets in the 21st Century. It is a key asset in District 22 and deserves far better than it has fared the last 20 years under the incumbent.

Bulgaria MP's and a Buzz of District Voters

Yesterday the whole day was a whirl of handshaking and meeting the voters of District 22. The Bay Area Transportation Group was buzzing with smiling faces for breakfast. What a great, passionate group of proactive and concerned citizens!
In the afternoon I met with a delegation of newly elected Parliament members from Bulgaria - who are here to see how U.S. democracy works. I introduced them to historic Richmond with its old world charm. While Bulgaria has been free of communist rule for quite some time, these delegates were from the Parliament just formed in May 2005. They have at least a dozen parties to our two primary parties. All but one of the new Bulgarian Congress are women - there was only one man in the group today. All of them seemed very intelligent and dedicated. We discussed the need for economic development in Bulgaria and discussed the potential for tourism, high tech, and the need for health care workers for their aging population. Naturally, they were curious about elected officials, indictments, and what to expect from recent scandals. However, question closest to their hearts was about the international kidnapping > negotiations I was involved in the Middle East. It turns out Bulgaria has 6 people being held in Libya. I offered what comfort and insight I could and promised to help in any way possible. Their democracy seems vibrant, young at heart, and refreshingly idealistic. Sometimes it is hard to keep hope alive in a democracy. The Bulgarian delegates’ enthusiasm was contagious. I shall carry it with me for some time. I was proud to represent Texas and District 22 in such a positive light. You can be sure we made a good impression and bolstered our international relations with this coalition partner. The IIE does such a fantastic job of arranging these visits. This is truly growing democracy around the world.

Sharon and the Future of the Middle East

The news about Israel's Prime Minister Sharon having a major stroke could not come at a more delicate time.

Sharon has been the guiding figure in a major transformation in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Without him, the future of the Middle East peace process is uncertain at best. Now, even Palestinians worry about the future without Mr. Sharon, as broadcast on Houston TV last night.

We hope that his legacy will carry through the peace process if he is unable to return to work. I have spent time in the Middle East since I was a young negotiator in the late 1970's. I was in Cairo, Egypt, in 1979 when the first visit by an American President established the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country (Egypt). In fact, my room was used for the Presidential delegation (I went to private home). I was privileged to give up my residence for such a historic event.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Sharon, the Middle East, and the world. All of whom deserve peace and stability.

Face Time

I am always surprised when I am the only candidate to show up at a GOP event. I guess everyone else is too busy to meet with local leadership. For me, keeping in touch with the people is best done face to face.

Last night I went to the Harris County GOP party for the close of nominations and the Galveston County GOP party. I saw none of the other three candidates.

Someone said that the incumbent had sent a “representative” to Galveston, apparently not willing to go himself. Personally, I Galveston even more last night when I saw their BBQ table – all Harris County served was fancy cheese and crackers.

People I met are concerned about cronyism and the image of the party

Today I was the only GOP Congress candidate who bothered to turn up at the City of Houston swearing in ceremony for Houston’s first woman-majority council that is about equally split between GOP and Democrats.

But I did bump into Democrat Rep. Al Green --as I was going up the line shaking hands with the new council, I noticed that he was coming down the line from the other end. We met in the middle. Then we both kept going. It was good for a laugh.

We need a return to the bipartisan working relationship to resolve community problems and issues that Judge Eckels and Mayor White demonstrated as true leaders during Katrina…

Congress Failed Before the Levees Did

My wife and I spent a couple days after Christmas surveying the destruction in New Orleans. It broke her heart to see it.

TV does not show you the real devastation - it reminded me of World War II scenes of destroyed cities.

For blocks the homes are wrecked. Not a soul can be seen for miles. One or two diehards are trying, but they are doing it in toxic laden ghost suburbs like Chalmette. The photo was taken at the levee break in the Lakeview subdivision. On the left is where they are repairing one of the breaks.

The houses are filled with mold. Now they stand like dry timber on soil contaminated by chemicals that poured in with the flood waters.

At one levee I found out from the repair crew that there was not one break, but seven.

Legislation authorizing levee upgrades have sat in Congress, ignored, for YEARS. Once again, the lack of foresight by our leadership has resulted in billions in losses. Had the levees not failed, New Orleans would not have flooded - it has lost 80% of its population. It will cost FEMA billions without addressing the levee problem. I saw little construction or clean up activity. You would think that our billions of tax payer dollars would result in a little more organized activity on the ground.

Why does this concern District 22? Because DeLay was Majority Leader and could have acted on it before disaster struck. New Orleans is critical to America because it is the terminal for offshore oil from the Gulf of Mexico that drives America. It is a major coffee and sugar import port. The Mississippi River is our main north-south river of commerce moving grain from the Midwest. New Orleans is the southern terminal. If it didn't exist, we would have had to create it because of its strategic importance to our national economy.

Keep in mind that Mr. DeLay has been sitting in office for over 20 years with the power to protect the Gulf Coast yet he failed to pass the necessary legislation. Texas, while hard hit by Rita, was spared a major hit to Galveston. Maybe next time we won't be so lucky. As long as DeLay is in power, we certainly won't be more prepared.

I ordered a half Muffaleta at the Napoleon restaurant. The waiter returned and said they only had gumbo and one quarter Muffaleta left- supplies are still sporadic in the region. I took it and was grateful to have a taste of the city I love so much.

DeLay's Struggle for signatures

News reports that Mr. DeLay filed by submitting “nearly 1000” signatures in lieu of paying the filing fee. Their spin: “"We wanted to show people the kind of support we have," DeLay said.

I watched DeLay’s people hit on people for signatures at events all summer – and all they came up with is 1,000? In 2002, I filed 750 names for the GOP ballot – I started in mid-December and got them in two weeks!

Then, to please DeLay, the party removed me from the 2002 GOP ballot, claiming I did not have the required 500. I had to stop campaigning and go to court to get back on. I spent the campaign season in limbo. We won the case and I was reinstated. By then the primary season was nearly over. So the 20% of the vote I got in 2002 was without benefit of campaigning or a mail out.

As I watched DeLay’s people circulating the petition, I saw few people signing. When I was asking people for signatures, I was getting 9 signatures for every 10 requests. Even my volunteers were getting over 50%. If DeLay had the same success rate he would have turned in over 10,000 signatures not less than 1000!

Bottom line: DeLay’s “strength” in the GOP is not as strong as the spin.
###

2006 Campaign Official

On December 9, 2005, I filed for District 22's GOP primary to once again challenge Tom DeLay, who now is under indictment. There is talk of more charges coming out of a federal probe of Mr. Abramoff. Anything is possible.

The US Supreme Court has decided to hear the Texas redistricting case. If it throws it out, this primary could be void and we could end up having to do this all over again in a special election.

That means chaos on the GOP side. You could have DeLay convicted, a special election, and a dozen GOP candidates splitting up the vote versus one Democrat (Nick Lampson).

2006 promises to be a wild ride. My focus is on issues of concern to the people in District 22. It always has been. My prior campaigns made Mr. DeLay focus more on his district. I have seen three (3) different boundary configurations, and run in each.

That could come in handy if we end up on a Special Election in a new district - where my 5 years of name recognition counts.

We are calling this campaign "Operation Restore Honor." Why? It is evident that we need more, not less, ethics in Washington. We need a return to "Fjiscal Fjitness" to put it another way.

"The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves..."

POSITIVE QUOTE OF THE DAY -----

"The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." -- Helen Keller

How true Helen.

And I think it also thirsts for genuine leadership.

Leadership is not all about money and power or overuse of power. People want leadership that is about people

All people, not just some of the people. Leadership is certainly NOT politicians who sell their favors.

We just had a Congressman resign for taking a $2.5 MILLION bribe! He was a Republican. The Republican Ex-Majority Leader is under indictment for a felony.

You don’t get a felony indictment for jaywalking. Bribery is a serious offense. Abuse of power is wrong. The GOP needs some new people.

My focus is on restoring honor to Congress.

In the last week much has been happening. Pledges are pouring in. Donations are rolling in. THANK YOU!

Spread the word.

We shall continue this campaign for all the "tiny pushes of each honest worker" and American.

We are calling it: "Operation Restore Honor"....

Michael
P.S. It’s not about being a hero. It is about helping people. It is about doing the right thing as an honorable Congressman represents our country and all the people in it regardless of religion, color, etc.

My goal is to be a statesman, not a monarch.

To do this, I need your donation TODAY. Do it for justice, honor and America.

"Don't DeLay" Donate Today at www.MikeFjetland.com

Bio Engineering - Bugs that make drugs

If you want a eye-popping peek at the future, then read this article on bio engineering.

It will sound like science fiction, but it's not. Some of it sounds totally bizarre, but it is already happening.

Scientists in Israel have made the world's smallest computer by engineering DNA to carry out mathematical functions. Other researchers are engineering the E. coli bug with genes from the wormwood plant and yeast to create a new malaria drug.

The worry is that there is no control on this system that could also produce something harmful - a bio disaster could be the result along with new malaria drugs, etc. It is not on Congress' radar because it is so new.

Scientists are creating new life forms with vast and unknown impact. This is something Congress should be looking at now before there is a disaster by "gene hackers" using these "Mail order genes." They could be used for anything by anyone in the world.

Congress should be proactive, not just reactive. Preparing in advance to avoid pandemics like Avian flu and future bio terrors should be a central part of Congress and our leadership.

It certainly is my focus. Our future depends on what we do now to prepare for these and the other rapid changes sweeping this brave new world.

I'm off to deliver food to the less fortunate today. Thank God for this country and our unique system.

Congressman For Sale

If you want to see who is buying our representative, then read Craig Hines column today in the Houston Chronicle.

He talks about the lobbyists who showed up and ponied up $2,100 apiece to DeLay's campaign fund a few blocks from the people's Congress.

That is efficient - Mr. deLay doesn't have to go far from his office to grab the fat checks and run to the bank before signing back in at Congress to do whatever the lobby wants him to do - not what the people of his district need or want.

"Congressman for Sale" should be a sign hanging outside his door. It could not get any more apparent than watching this DC money grab go on. It's almost like open Prostitution. It is Legalized bribery and vote buying...

What kind of American values is this Mr. DeLay?

I will represent the people of this district who have real concerns from prescription drugs to pensions, not the lobbyists.

New Website

The Website has been upgraded and modified.

Check it out at:

www.MikeFjetland.com

Admission of Guilt

It is Veteran's Day - and I salute all vets for their service to this country.

In today's Washington Post is a blockbuster. Apparently Mr DeLay admitted in front of prosecutor Ronnie Earle (after agreeing to a stenographer recording it) that he knew about the illegal $190,000 BEFORE it happened, and approved it.

In law, that is called an "Admission against interest."

Yikes. That is serious.

That means his seat could become vacate after the primary next March, if he is re-elected and then convicted based on his own admission and other evidence...

GOP, We Have A Problem

GOP, we have a problem - an image problem.

The election yesterday resulted in Democrats taking two Governor spots --Virginia and New Jersey-- and does not bode well for the GOP in 2006.

Anyone who says otherwise is whistling past the cemetery.

The former House majority leader is under indictment. The Vice President's Chief of Staff is under indictment on a separate matter. Spending has gone nuts. The proposed cuts miss the fat and cripple our future.

As the election showed yesterday, either we make the change or the people will. If the GOP does not change out these characters, the public will do it for them --by picking Democrats instead of Republicans.

The next opportunity to do that is in the District 22 primary next March.

What if the district GOP primary voters elect an indicted Congressman next March, who gets convicted before the general election? That will be great for the Democrat in the race.

Even if he is not convicted (DeLay's lawyer got off a guy who shot and chopped up his neighbor), the damage has been done.

"Where there is smoke, there's fire." The incumbent has already rolled up several reprimands and become a national negative symbol for the party.

The incumbent's skeleton pile is becoming a mountain. This cannot be a good thing for the district, the party or America...

Congress Deficit - Send in an Accountant

If you want to read a good article on the "new math" used by Congress in its budget games, read this article in the Chronicle. "Spending like drunken sailors" comes to mind. Congress could use some accountants to challenge the voodoo math when they take our social security money and count it as "surplus." They didn't teach me that in accounting class at UT. They don't teach that in accounting at A&M either. Congress needs to put those funds in a lock box then deal with the reality of what is left. But, like sailors hitting town after months at sea, it won't happen until we change the players. The debt will leave a huge burden on your kids and grandkids. And finally this. DeLay's cuts are in all the wrong places - if he continues "business as usual" we will create a permanent underclass -- and his policies will end up bring the "Paris riot burnings" here. That is what happens when politicians create an atmosphere where people don't have opportunity to move up.

DeLay blames Minority for Budget Bloat - Go Figure

Check this out in today's Houston Chronicle:

"In a speech to a group of conservative academics and policy experts, DeLay blamed the runaway spending of recent years on minority Democrats."

What? And check this quote:

"When he took questions, the first came from a senior official at the American Conservative Union, who asked DeLay, "How large does the Republican majority in the House and Senate need to be before Republicans act like the fiscal conservative I thought we were?"

Very good question.

Take responsibility Mr. DeLay - the bloat in the budget is what you made as majority leader. Quit blaming the minority for your $24 billion pork barrel 'bridge to nowhere."

It has been on your watch that we have the highest deficits on record - nearly $500 billion/year. Don't blame others for the mess you created.

And $24 billion in highway pork is just the tip of the bloat...This quote from the article sums it up best:

"The Club for Growth, a conservative group that funds like-minded candidates for Congress, has turned the highway legislation into a bumper sticker for the GOP's fiscal failings. "Too many Congressional Republicans have veered away from the limited government agenda that got them elected to the majority in Congress. They have approved pork-barrel highway bills worse than the Democrats used to give us," says one appeal to supporters."

Defense Fund and Kinky

The nice thing about not having a defense fund is that I don't have to worry about reporting donations to it -- or failing to report all of it.

Not a lot of people are rolling in so much dough that they would actually miss reporting $20,000 of it but it happened (see the highlighted story).

I had a conversation with a self described conservative Republican woman at dinner the other night - after I overheard her mention "Kinky" to her dinner companion (who turned out to be her husband).

When I dropped by their table and introduced myself on the way out, she explained that she had been at the packed Ft Bend Chamber luncheon where Kinky Friedman, independent candidate for Texas Governor, spoke. It was a packed house. He made a big impression.

She said every conservative in the county was there - many trying desperately not to laugh at Kinky's witty remarks (after stifling a laugh she said they'd look around the room to see if anyone saw them trying not to laugh).

She said Kinky made a good impression and had a shot at getting the 45,000 signatures, even from conservative Republicans. Even many conservatives are not impressed with our present leadership. Very interesting.

Mr. Friedman did say things, quoted in the Ft. Bend Herald, which I agree with -- such as: "We need to put teachers back in charge of the educational system. We need to have people in charge who have actually seen the inside of a classroom."

"Friedman said a border policy with Mexico is an issue which needs to be addressed as 'New Mexico and Arizona have declared a state of emergency on their borders, but Gov. Perry says all is well with our borders.' "

Very interesting. Before I left the lady said she knew my name, and had voted for me when I ran before. That made my day.

George Will on K Street Conservatism

No one can accuse George Will of being a liberal.

In his column in the October 17, 2005 edition of Newsweek he made some interesting points. Will said: "DeLay, who neither knows nor cares any more about limited government than a camel knows or cares about calculus, probably will never return to the House leadership, and might even be voted out of the House in 13 months." (my italics)

He goes on to say:

"Furthermore, in 2004 DeLay won with an under whelming 55%, running nine points behind President Bush in his district."

Finally, he says: "...some Republicans think 'big government is good government if it's our government.' Since 2000 the numbered of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled, from 16,342 to 34,785. They have not been attracted to the seat of government, like flies to honey, for the purpose of limiting government."

Mr. Will makes perfect sense.

Our present wild spending and episodes of K Street lobbyists writing bills in Mr. DeLay's office diminishes our future, leaving less prosperity for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. This activity also diminishes Congress.

Instead of being an independent branch of government Congress has become one selling favors for donations. There is a word for that.

We have to change directions and start doing what is right for the people who aren't big donors or lobbyists. Congress is supposed to be serving people, not PACS. That is one of the things that drove me to challenge the incumbent previously. That has not changed.

On Houston 740 am radio Saturday, a commentator, interviewing Pat Buchanan said that perhaps "the GOP should spend a few years in the wilderness (out of office) because of this out-of-control budget situation….”

Pat Buchanan responded by saying that instead of replacing the Republicans with Democrats:

“What the GOP needs is fresh faces.” Mr. Buchanan also has a good point.

Either the GOP replaces its faces in office (the ones under a cloud) or, as George Will points out, it will be Democrat faces getting elected to replace the GOP DeLay’s, etc. as the public decides that they have had enough of Congress dining with lobbyists over wine and golf in expensive Scotland resorts while spending trillions for bridges to no where.

Congress: Votes NO on Viagra; YES on Pay raise

It took running up a trillion dollar deficit before Congress finally voted to stop funding Viagra as part of Medicare/Medicade. Duh.

But with the same huge deficit hole Congress is still giving itself a pay raise:

"the raise from $162,100 to $165,200 appears certain, because the House has voted to accept it; it takes actions by both chambers to block congressional pay raises. A yes vote was to block a congressional pay raise."

Give the Senate credit for voting it down. The House, supposedly run by conservatives still continues to spend money like mad and continues to give itself pay raises when it has lost control of the budget and spending.

We need to put Congress on the same social security plan as the rest of us (instead of their elaborate six figure pension plans). Their inflated pensions and pay raises that cannot be justified when they are cutting spending for kids, freezing benefits for military vets, etc. at the same time. That isn't right.

Cutting payments for something optional like Viagra was a rare moment of sanity coming from Congress. Now let's take an axe to the $24 billion in pork in the last highway bill (with the bridge to no where) and cut the rest of the fat on our bloated budget--like an unnecessary pay raise for the Congress that created the budget mess in the first place.

Astros Prove the Impossible is Possible – The Mug Shot

It took 44 years. But the Astros won their first-ever World Series slot last night. I took my portable TV to a bible study class, which wrapped about the 6th inning. It proves that things that may seem impossible are indeed possible.

The news covered up Mr. DeLay’s historic trip today -- a mug shot and fingerprints as part of the felony indictment for money laundering.

TD has hired an attorney who recently got an acquittal for a guy who shot and chopped up his neighbor (Mr. Durst). That’s serious. It was avoidable.

The claim that Earle’s case is “just political” falls apart when you look at the facts. According to DeGeurin, Earle gave DeLay the option of pleading out on a misdemeanor. If he had taken that plea offer, DeLay would still be majority leader.

It was a “slap on the hand” offer. If it was a vendetta, there would have been no misdemeanor offers. Mr. D should have taken it. It’s too late now.

After three recent reprimands Mr. D has received, people would not have been shocked or surprised by a misdemeanor (unfortunately). He would be in power now; instead of unplugged from it. He’d be on easy street. It was his call.

My condolences to Mr. DeLay’s family.

I attended a great briefing on Houston homeland security upgrades this week. More on that later. Go all the way Astros...

Pakistan needs American Relief - Saddam's Trial and a Plea Bargain Offer

I got a message from a person who went to Pakistan and saw the immense earthquake damage - Entire Mountain cities destroyed. The death toll is 50 times Katrina - over 50,000.

He says: "present top priority is given to medicines and other items like tents." So if you can help, please do. In Houston call the Pakistan Center via Tasleem Siddiqui. He will be available at the Pakistan House but you have to him to set up the timings: Cell 281-236-7597. . Drop your donations there at Dairy Ashford and Bissonnet. Floods, hurricanes and earthquakes are killing far more than Al Qaeda.

Meanwhile, Saddam’s trial is starting up. He is another guy who spent over 20 years in power and loved to squeeze the little people -- to death. Saddam shows the danger of having “one party” States where your guy never pays a price for stepping over the line.

Today's Chronicle had an interesting tidbit –Before the indictment Mr. DeLay had been offered a plea bargain by Ronnie Earle. DeLay could have pled guilty to a misdemeanor (yep, a slap on the hand) and he would have been able to retain his job as majority leader. DeLay turned it down, according to his lawyer, Dick DeGeurin. Now he faces a felony and had to step down as majority leader. After 3 ethical reprimands, what the heck is a misdemeanor? It would have saved him millions in legal fees and bad press and he could have kept his job. Duh.

I have to wonder about his decision making. DeLay had no where to go but down and he passed on a safe deal.

Don’t forget the “DC RULE” – Once you lose power, you never get it back (e.g. LBJ, Nixon, Jim Wright, etc.)

That’s the cool thing about American democracy -- and keeps it fresh. And it gives a chance to those of us on the bottom who have no where to go but up.

America remains a dictator-free zone because we prosecute people regardless of party affiliation when they “play the ethical edge” even if they have Saddam-like powers. Iraq and countless other places could use the same judicial checks and balances.

P.S. Don’t you love those Astros! After 45 years they are at the front door of their first World Series! Don't let that distraction or donor fatigue keep you from helping our many neighbors who need it.

A World of Hurt

If you pay attention to the world you might have noticed that we are experiencing a world of hurt. While some of us were caught in the Katrina and Rita disasters, Hurricane Stan blew the Hades out of Guatemala, an earthquake killed over 40,000 in Pakistan and even New Hampshire and Rhode Island are flooding and washing away people.

All this since the Boxing Day Tsunami last Christmas killed an estimated 300,000 or so and lead to the Bush-Clinton Fund.

And this year we have actually hit the end of the alphabet on hurricane names - Wilma (?) is forming.

Obviously we need to do a better job paying attention and addressing mother nature's terrorism - hurricanes and flooding have killed vastly more people than Al Qaeda. It will take a combination of public and private efforts to deal with these threats to the global economy and peoples' lives.

The billions lost in our own economy are staggering. Multiple that globally and it is in the trillions.

But we could turn these disasters into global economic generators – new homes, new construction, new schools for kids in places like New Orleans and Pakistan. New jobs and better opportunities can be the result of these upheavals.

For over 20 years of the incumbent’s watch, we have not had an organized system for dealing with these issues in an organized, global/local/regional approach.

I will insist on it.

Avian Flu - Are we prepared?

I have always felt that a good representative made efforts to avoid disasters instead of merely reacting after each one. The Titanic could have used someone telling the Captain to slow down in iceberg country.

Today we face the possibility, along with terrorism and high gas prices, of something worse than either 9 11 or paying $3 a gallon for gas --a new flu virus from Asia that could be a worldwide Pandemic. The last one in 1918 killed millions. Much more should be done nationally and internationally to minimize the potential destructive power of this invisible killer.

My concern is that our rep is so focused on his own legal troubles (as one should must when charged with a felony) that he is less able to pay attention to, or deal with, these critical issues before they become critical.

We all know what happened after the side of the Titanic was gashed one watertight compartment too many. Ironically, the ship would have survived had the crew turned it TOWARDS the iceberg instead of away (so the berg merely sliced the side like a long, fatal knife cut). A front end collision would have damaged fewer compartments, and the damaged Titanic would have remained floating, instead of floundering.

We need to tackle this virus head on.

We don't need to flounder in a global world of events when something is happening 12,000 miles away which can forever change our tomorrows in a negative way. We do not have a vaccine or the international controls necessary to avoid this biological creature potentially more dangerous then Al Qaeda.

Need for International Emergency Plans

First we had Katrina, then Rita and now Pakistan's worst natural disaster in their history. Instead of standing on rooftops, people are standing on mountaintops next to collapsed homes, waiting for aid.

I published a piece about the need for local/national/international emergency aid today at my Global American group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalAmerican/

Preparing for the Next Disaster

A reader makes a good point.

I did downplay the potential disaster of another hurricane evacuation. Or any evacuation caused by a natural disaster or terrorism. I was trying not to scare everyone, although the same disaster could happen again.

We have major chokepoints in adjacent counties that are overwhelmed by 2.7 million people fleeing a Cat 5 storm from the Texas coast.

Our population will DOUBLE in the next 20 years. How will our evacuation handle even more people? it won't, not without changes.

One great idea I heard today from an Indo-American friend was using high speed rail between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas as an evacuation tool to move elderly and countless others out of harm's way. It was tried between Houston and San Antonio on an Amtrak line during RITA, and worked.

However, because of lobbyist’s influences on our Congressman, our commuter rail system is now a decade behind Dallas, Atlanta, etc. We

Adding commuter and high speed rail should be considered as part of our improved evacuation plans after the lessons of RITA.

Where There's Smoke There's Fire

I am back from checking on the post-Rita disaster photo mission being conducted by the Civil Air Patrol for the Texas office of Emergency Operations - a first of its kind that has heads spinning with its success. In 7 days we have flown 125 sorties, photographing damage from overturned boats leaking fuel to trees in houses.

I picked up the Chronicle, and saw yet another story on yet more ethics probes of our incumbent representative. According to the article, it could be DC based scandals that finish off the incumbent and not the Texas indictment. I doubt he'll have much time for focusing on the district. Not when he's facing up to two years in jail. "Where there's Smoke, there's usually a fire."

Last week the incumbent's attorney had to contradict his own client, saying that the incumbent was wrong when he claimed he didn't get a chance to tell the grand jury his side of the story. It doesn't look good to get indicted and then get caught telling a fib the same week!

I have to sign off this to work on an article on Homeland Security implications for the Houston area I discovered the past few days working with CAP. We have bottlenecks in our regional evacuation system that makes future hurricane or terrorism evacuations even more dangerous.

P.S. I fell in love with the red, white, blue of the new USAF Aux 8 seat, single engine GA-8 aptly call the "Air Van." It looks like something the "Jetsons" could use for a flying SUV. We use them for photo missions and ferrying people and cargo. I can't wait to fly one.

Major Changes in the Wind, Like a Fall Breeze

Major changes are in the wind.

Mr. DeLay stands indicted. The trail back to the dirty money is so clear that little kids could trace it --sequentially numbered checks in blank sent back days after delivering the illegal money. Dumb! DeLay’s team should be in the running for TV’s “America’s Dumbest Criminals.”
Fact: DeLay is no longer majority leader.

Therefore he is no more effective than a freshman Congressman. In fact, he's less effective than a freshman because he is now focused only on his own hide instead of our community.

And he won't be able to shake the fact you don't get a felony indictment for jaywalking. Or that in the jungle of DC you don't get the power back once you lose it. I cannot endorse criminal activity -- whether it is by a Democrat or Republican.

Those who back DeLay from here on out are backing a person charged with a high crime not a misdemeanor. The law was clear and so was the intent to avoid it. DeLay is now in the same category as Al Capone. He put himself there, not the Democrats.

Mr. Earle as a Democrat has charged four times more Democrats with high crimes than Republicans, and unlike DeLay, he has been bipartisan in approach.

I started on this mission because of his negative use of power and activities like this.

We can all debate policy decisions but money laundering to skirt a 100-year law is pretty serious. It wasn’t a simple accounting error. It wasn’t because he was forced into it. It shows how corrupt power has made Mr. DeLay.

It is time for it to end.

My mission from day one in 2000 has been to replace the Congressional face of this district --from DeLay’s arrogant, corrupt, overly partisan, negative persona to mine.

Mine is focused on cooperation, respect and finding common ground and common sense solutions in this global economy.

I invite all readers and potential supporters to say goodbye to the ways of DeLay and be a part of my 21st Century diversity team –the only team headed by someone with the global skills our country needs after the avoidable blunders made in Iraq, FEMA, Katrina, Pork barrel highway bills, runaway deficits, etc.

For more info, please call my coordinator/press secretary Jason Kniss and introduce yourself. His cell # is (281) 630-4917. Or email him at: Jasontheaggie@yahoo.com Or email me at: GlobalAmerican2020@yahoo.com Or call me at Cell 713 213 5080.

P.S> On my first try after announcment of DeLay's indictment, I received a pledge for $50,000. We expect that to mushroom as word spreads.

Standby for some major announcements ahead...

Fall has always been my time of the year...

AOL Poll re Indictment

I came across this American Online poll (approx. 134,000 people voting) after the indictment of Mr. DeLay was announced yesterday:

What is your overall impression of Tom DeLay?

Negative
74%

Positive
16%

Neutral
10%

This is a national poll and shows some serious problems for the party's image. I have to leave to finish helping with the hurricane damage assessment work being done by the US Air Force Auxiliary and will comment further later...

Change Bankruptcy Law for Victims of Natural Disasters

This will be quick because I have to fly on a US Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol or "CAP") mission later today to do hurricane damage assessment. It's volunteer duty. Sometimes we joke that CAP stands for "Come and pay." The way it is set up in Texas, pilots end up fronting the cost of gas on search and rescue missions until it is reimbursed (weeks later). Other states issue credit cards to avoid that situation.

I saw a NY Times article on the effect the new bankruptcy law that takes effect in October will have on hurricane victims. The law was intended to punish those who run up debt without the intent of paying it. However, it will also punish even the honest folks who were victims of Hurricanes like Katrina and Rita.

If I were the representative I would vote to amend the law to carve out an exception in cases of natural disasters like we have witnessed. I have seen no indication that our representative has any intention of doing so.

Whatever happened to justice and fairness?

Residents caught in "Red Tape Trap"

I spoke today with a friend, who is a special needs patient and formerly lived in Port Arthur with his elderly mother. Port Arthur is now uninhabitable and lacks electricity, water, and other utilities. It may be a month before they have those services restored.

I was advised that after applying for FEMA, he attempted to apply for Texas unemployment compensation. They told him that they couldn't help him. Why?

"Because the President has not signed any paperwork," they said (even though the President has already declared our state a disaster zone). Apparently, without a signed piece of paper they are not prepared to help anyone who has lost their livelihood and their home.

Further, he has attempted to contact the US Postal Service to redirect his mail. All he has been able to get is a recording. So his bills and correspondence are piling up somewhere and everyone is left in the dark.

Before it was FEMA. Now Texas bureaucrats are failing the public.

Lessons from Katrina and Rita

The best article I've seen on what we need to learn from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are in a column today by Houston's Rick Casey.

I totally agree with his comments. They should be required reading for our public officials, federal, state and local.

I have been hearing stories about people who were "losing it" during Houston's evacuation. At one gas station the attendant's became alarmed and turned off the system. That prompted a man threw a brick threw the window. Things were getting out of control and a friend of mine went around to calm people down. The only pump left operating took credit cards only, but some people didn't have credit cards. They offered him $100 if he would use his credit card to buy $60 worth of gas. To his credit, he helped but only charged the actual cost.

Check out this article on how ill prepared the U.S. is if we have a major terrorist attack or natural disaster.

Houston Dodged a Bullet - But Gas Shortage Remains

Hurricane Rita hit at the Sabine River, near the Louisiana border. A mere 100 miles separated us from total disaster and 130 mph winds.

We had high winds here on the western edge of the storm; the “clean side,” so I can only imagine how fierce it was in Port Arthur that took the hit on the “dirty side” along with western Louisiana. Rita even broke a levee in New Orleans, re-flooding parts of the city.

We dodged a bullet. We lost power for only 7 hours and that was enough “camping out” for me. Many people ran out of gas on the road and had to take shelter anywhere they could. Some slept in their cars. Confusion continues and people are streaming back into town although the Mayor has requested they “stay put” to keep the highways clear for emergency responders and clear power lines, debris, etc.

And a huge problem became evident in Rita’s wake.

Here we live in a major gas refining area -- and yet we have no gasoline in the city. It could be days before supplies come in. The lack of gas stranded thousands of people for hundreds of miles around Houston.

Clearly the State emergency plan has some serious defects, despite all the post 9 11 planning.

Nearly 3 million people evacuated. We could see the same traffic jams coming back that existed when they left the city. Residents of Port Arthur may not have anything to go back to. This isn’t over yet…

Like a Bad Movie

The moment of truth has come. No choice now but to stay – there is no gasoline available anywhere. I met people sitting at gas stations, waiting for a tanker, with their belongings and family stuffed in their cars.

The past two days the air has been still and hot – 100 degrees, and the sky was clear as we secured the house.

Today the temperature is much cooler and the wind has started to swirl. There is change in the air.

Yesterday the cars blocked all highways going north and west. People were running out of gas and sleeping in their cars. Stores were closing and the open ones had long lines. It felt like the set of some kind of bad movie.

Today the streets and freeways are empty; the stores are boarded up. A bus with elderly evacuees caught fire and killed over 20 as their oxygen bottles exploded.

We haven’t had national news in three days; it has just been local hurricane coverage 24/7. I have to read the papers online to know what is going on other than the storm.

Now Rita is licking the coast. She moves in tonight. The pine trees in the front yard a already swaying. I was worried about a friend in Port Arthur who is in a wheelchair and lives with his mother. Now it appears Port Arthur will be destroyed in the storm surge. I heard late today that they are in Arlington.

By this time tomorrow it will be blowing and we’ll have no power. Will try to do another update early morning if possible. If not, it will be sometime later…

Rita is 24 hours out - "Camping Out" time

Hurricane Rita is about 24 hours out. It is now a Category 4 after hitting Cat 5 about 3 a.m. The good news is that the storm has shifted to the East, moving us out of the dangerous “dirty” side. But we still face 70-90 mph winds.

I just found out from a friend who knows someone at Centerpoint Energy that controls our power grid. They plan to pull the plug on electric power when the storm hits – to avoid transformers blowing out, etc. So we are going to be without power for some time, days or weeks.

So our representative who thought Katrina survivors were “having fun camping out” at the Astrodome (see earlier "Camping Out" blog entry) may get to personally get a taste of how much “fun” it is not to have A/C or take a shower for days on end. I doubt he’ll put up with it long before bailing out of town.

A funny note. We decided to stay put and moved all our yard stuff inside on advice from the weather guys to avoid them from becoming flying missiles. That included moving in the dog house. Guess who took it? I discovered Minou (“Me New”) our 10-pound cat lounging inside. Henri, our 100-pound dog that fears nothing --and likes that house-- has not dared enter. Come to think of it he does fear one thing, and she is only 1/10th his size. He's found that she has a mean left hook.

It proves the adage that “it's not the size of the cat in the fight but the size of the fight in the cat!”

I will try to make one more entry before we lose electricity and start having “fun.”

Here Comes Rita

We have gone through two weeks plus of action due to Hurricane Katrina, and now here comes Hurricane Rita, aiming for the Texas coast.

So with all the troubles in Iraq and the devastation of Katrina, what do I get in the mail yesterday -- a letter from our incumbent representative, wanting money! What? Yep. Four pages!

Does he mention Katrina or Iraq? No. The biggest evil he cites in four pages is MoveOn.org -- not FEMA's fumbling and stumbling and still too slow response (they still haven't done squat for Mississippi, etc).

It’s over a year before the next November election and Tom's busy focusing on...bashing potential opponents instead of kicking some bureaucratic butt.

Houston is flooded with evacuees who have lost everything, straining our resources and wearing out volunteers -- and Mr. DeLay wants you to run out and send HIM a check for his campaign (and knock on doors, volunteer, etc.)!

Once again I question his priorities.

Time for a change folks.

A Little Miracle in Katrina’s Aftermath

Yesterday I was part of a small miracle involving a mom and a disabled daughter who had lost it all in New Orleans.

A few days ago I was helping as a volunteer at the Sugar Land Resource center based in the old city hall building. In the hallway near the front door, I happened across a lady with a disabled 10-year-old daughter who was about to leave. She said she had no place to stay that night -- and would have ended up sleeping in a car. In the organized chaos, she had somehow slipped through the system. She was out of gas and out of work.

I got her to some of our people who were going to get her a $10 gas card and a place for the night. But that was not the miracle.

Yesterday I was driving my dogs back from getting shots at the vet when I got a message on my cell phone from the United Cerebral Palsy in Houston offering to help this lady find housing. I did not know how they knew about her or me; I had only mentioned the lady’s plight as one line in an email to my church that would be helping prepare meals at a shelter.

That was great news but I didn’t even know her name or where she was. Our system had a stack of 500 or more names of people needing housing, none sorted by disability or special needs.

Then the miracle happened. As I went about my volunteer duties yesterday, I happened across another volunteer and mentioned my quandary. To my surprise the volunteer said that she remembered the lady since she had been the one who drove the woman to get a gas card and to the local Red Cross Shelter at a church.

I called the shelter, and they remembered her and the child! They checked. She was still there. I gave them the contact information.

So, the little miracle is that I was able to link a woman and her disabled daughter to someone who could help. It might not be much, helping two people out of the hundreds of thousands of evacuees living in Texas, but combined with the efforts of countless other volunteers and organizations, it made a difference in someone’s life.

That made the long days of volunteering even more worthwhile.

DeLay's associates indicted

I was out most of the day helping the Ft Bend Relief efforts for the evacuees.

When I got back I found out that DeLay's associates were indicted today--the last possible day before the statute of limitations expired.

Tomorrow I will be back trying to help Ft. Bend manage this huge influx of people who lost everything they had.

FEMA - Does It Again

Texas is facing nearly $500 million in extra costs to educate the Louisiana children displaced by Katrina. FEMA says that it will pay for computers and buildings, but NOT textbooks or teachers. I guess they expect kids to just sit there without book or let Texas pay for them.

This makes no sense. This is a FEDERAL responsibility. We have 30,000 children enrolled and it is expected that could rise to 60,000. To pay for buildings but not the extra teachers needed to give these kids an education is another example of the feds dumping an unfunded mandate on the state.

Texas has stepped up to the plate to help the evacuees and done a great job.

Now the feds need to do their job and help pay Texas for the extra costs instead of dumping on Texas taxpayers.

And check out this observation by George Will: "passed a transportation bill whose 6,371 pork projects cost $24 billion, about 10 times more than the price of the levee New Orleans needed. Louisiana's congressional delegation larded the bill with $540,580,200 worth of earmarks, one-fifth the price of a capable levee."

Camping Out?

Incredible. I read this story in the Chronicle in which our senior Congressman, who was touring the shelter set up in Reliant Park, met a couple boys from New Orleans and said: "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?''

What is so "fun" about losing your home and all your possessions? What is so "fun" about your parents now being unemployed? I have been to the dome and saw a lot of people sleeping on cots. Nobody was having "fun." They were killing time, trying to put their lives back together again.

As a volunteer, I have met hundreds of evacuees the past week coming into Hurricane Relief shelters. They needed medical help, financial help, etc. They ranged from the working poor to Vietnamese business owners and whites who had lived in the New Orleans garden district. All were polite and kind, but no one was having "fun."

I wonder if it would be "Fun" if Mr. DeLay was sleeping on one of those cots after losing his job, his home -- and had to rely on a $2,000 FEMA handout to rebuild?

After all, it was Mr. DeLay who approved cutting the Army Corps budget requests for New Orleans levee enhancement, decade after decade, that would have avoided this hundred billion dollar disaster. The money for levees ended up going for a bridge in Alaska to serve 50 people.

Long Days Checking Relief Centers

Yesterday I spent the entire day helping Sugar Land set up its Hurricane Relief Center in the old city hall building on Julie Rivers Street. It is proving to be the perfect facility to handle this type of emergency. We have filled it head to toe with people.

Today, I was at the Astrodome, the Toyota Center, and the GR Brown convention center before heading back to the Sugar Land center until 8 pm.

During the course of the day I ended up meeting Mayor Bill White, County Judge Eckels, Bill Cosby, etc.

The dome was peaceful and operating smoothly; people were sleeping on cots, reading, being helped at stations. I was at the press briefing given by Mayor White and Judge Eckels. It did have some leaks in the basement from 40 year old pipes but it was cool inside and food was being provided.

In comparison, the GRB looked like a First Class hotel with air mattresses instead of cots. Mr. Cosby appeared there. I took his photo with a cell phone. The Toyota center had banks of laptops for people needing jobs or resume help. Mr. Alexander really knows how to do things first class.

People streamed into Sugar Land’s center all day. We got computers up and running and people were working their buns off all day. These are the countless thousands who came over to stay with friends and relatives and now have no home to go to.

The center feels like a war room in a way, but it is helping people instead of killing them. It’s intense because misinformation between the county and feds kept happening. The County was sending people over for food stamps which the Center was not issuing, but we worked them out one at a time. Not a lot of folks are getting much sleep.

I published a detail report on the trip to Baton Rouge in the Global American series,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalAmerican/
article # 103.

On the Louisiana Front Line

I got back here 24 hours ago – 1:30 a.m. after a run to Baton Rouge with relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina (I feel like I have jet lag I should not have taken a nap this afternoon because I'm awake now).

A Sugar Land lady was kind enough to donate supplies to fill my van. I figured the supplies piling up here wouldn't reach there for some time and I wanted to check it out and get the goods as close to the scene as possible.

Interstate I 10 runs from Houston to New Orleans, right to the point where it goes underwater. The road was in good shape - no downed trees or sign of damage.

But I heard enough on Louisiana radio to make your hair stand on end - stories about people trying to help who were turned away during the critical hours of need. I'll address those in a separate Global American series article.

I delviered my load to a church in Baton Rouge whic is the staging area just outside New Orleans. From their reaction you would have thought I'd delivered an 18-wheeler full of goods. U.S. Marshall's were sleeping on the floor and going out on 4 hour shifts to provide protection.

A guy came in with a 64 year old lady he'd brought in from New Orleans. I offered to bring her to Houston but they were looking for something there.

On the way back I encountered a group of evacuees at the Texas rest stop just inside the border at midnight - they were in a group of yellow school buses and were being fed by volunteers at that hour! A pickup was full of rescued dogs taking a break. Everyone looked tired. Despite the crowd it was very quiet.

The overhead highway signs down the road said: "Houston closed to evacuees. Divert ot Ft Chaffee Arkansas." My God, I thought. That's another 9 or more hours on the road in unairconditioned school buses. Houston has 250,000 of them and so they are being spread out.

I'll be going back to try to do some more.

The Next 24 -36 hours Critical to New Orleans Relief - My Convoy

As the President said, New Orleans is our No. 1 natural disaster - and the next 24 to 36 hours are the most critical yet. People are starting to die and need to be "out of there."

The National Guard have arrived in force today, thank god. But they will have their hands full maintaining order and finishing rescuing trapped people. Due to the delays, they still need help.

Many will die in the next 24 to 36 hours without water or help. Even the National Guard will need help with this American Tsunami, at least in the short term.

Americans who believe in private enterprise and charity are needed to assist me on a life-savig mission.

I am organizing a private convoy to take water and food to the New Orleans area, and bring people back, with me as driver and my van as Vehicle No. 1. People are getting out so there must be a way in.

It may remain a convoy of one but when people are losing their lives every bit helps. I cannot sit home and think of my schedule or go to soccer games when passengers from the Titanic are splashing in the ocean and drowning. Vast potential loss of life is at stake. The safety margin is now gone. Mothers are reported on TV walking around with dead babies in their arms.

24 hours is an eternity if it were you in that situation. I’ve been in similar situations in 3rd world countries.

If she makes good on her pledge, I've got a lady willing to sponsor my personal convoy and I thank her very much. She is even supplying the cargo. I am looking for more donations to add more drivers and vehicles and supplies. We need to help evacuate as many people as possible --and get them water – in the next couple days.

The idea to is drop water and food and pick up people and bring them back. Repeat as often as necessary until its done. Please spread the word.

Donations to my legal site are 100% dedicated to Katrina Relief:
http://elegal.bravehost.com/

Donations to my Congress Exploratory site are 10%. I challenge all politicians, office holders and candidates to match it. The real winner will be Americans who need help.

Bringing in the Big Guns

I got a call yesterday telling me about something interesting on the net. According to George Strong's site, http://www.politics.com/, Mr. Cheney is coming to Texas for Tom DeLay's September fundraiser for a special reason --because of Mike Fjetland.

What? I thought I'd heard wrong too, until I checked the site:

http://political.com/gossip-arc/latest.html

Fascinating. If Cheney is required to bring his guns to the OK Corral, someone is worried.

What do they know that requires bringing in the big guns?

Do they expect more ethical skeletons to fall out of DeLay's closet? Mr. DeLay knocked a GOP Congressman off the veterans committee because Chris fought cuts in Vet benefits. DeLay allowed cuts in the Army Corps of Engineers which begged for money to beef up New Orlean's levees to handle a storm like Katrina. Now millions are paying the price.

If so, do they really want Mr. DeLay as the image of the GOP in 2008?

Making a Bad Situation Worse in New Orleans?

Someone in New Orleans today made a decision that makes the situation dramatically worse -- and more dangerous.

The bus convoy that is supposed to bring 20,000 people in the Superdome to our Houston Astrodome has been stopped -- because of an alleged sniper shooting at a military helicopter. Someone has set up a riot.

How does keeping people off buses who suffering from what the President has called an “unprecedented American disaster” make it less likely someone will shoot at a helicopter?

This is not an airlift. It is a BUS convoy so this decision makes no sense. Those taking shelter in the Superdome have little or no food or water and no working toilets. Try that here for a few hours and see how people react. If a shot was fired, and it probably was, it shows the need for FASTER action, not stopping it.

To whoever is in charge: Get that bus convoy rolling and get those people out of there before it does become a domestic reminder of the chaos in Iraq.

I felt just a little of the New Orleans residents pain this morning. I woke this morning at 5, sweating. There was no power. The AC was off. It turned out a transformer had blown out. It was before sunrise and it was already uncomfortable in our powerless house. Put yourself in their position – go cut your power and live like that for DAYS in mid-90's humidity without power, running water, hot food, etc. --and then tell me stopping this convoy makes sense.

Luckily, Centerpoint had us with lights in less than 2 hours (and coffee pot going) versus an estimated 2 months or more for New Orleans.

Someone has made a bonehead decision to keep thousands of desperate people stranded. Keep that up and there will be real gunfire and chaos.

Who is running this show? Homeland Security? Someone needs to exercise some common sense before things really get out of hand in this national disaster...