From Drought to Flooding - and random thoughts

We needed rain, it was so dry. Now TV is reporting that people’s homes are flooding in some areas around Houston after a couple days of rain. It has rained steadily all day.

We enter Hurricane Season tomorrow, so this is a good time to make sure your family has an evacuation plan and supplies “just in case” we get another Rita or worse. Hey, we live on the coast so we have to be ready for hurricanes every year – they are the earth’s mechanism to transfer the heat build up near the equator. The hotter we get, the more intense they will be. But it sure beats worrying about earthquakes, which aren’t so visible. We just need to make sure we can get through a Category 4 or 5 if it hits us like Katrina hit New Orleans. Roofs blow off at 110 mph and Rita hit 160 before slowing down last year.

Are we prepared? For some things we are more prepared than in the past, but others remain totally unprepared. Our hurricane response will be better (unless we are the ones who get hit and sustain major damage), but the latest list issued by the Homeland Security Dept on a likely terrorist attack -- includes Houston. It wouldn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out why.

But even a non-terrorist act could show how unprepared we are. For example, we live within the shadow of the South Texas Nuclear Plant, yet we have no system in place to deal with a radiation leak if there was just a mechanical failure (like Three Mile Island). Mechanical failure, in fact, is more likely than a terrorist attack on the plant. Ironically, Nuclear power offers one of the few sources of new power that avoids the global warming impact of coal plants.

As a former farmer, I still enjoy rain, especially after a long dry spell. There are worse things in the world.

We could really be building a bold new system to produce alternative fuels with less pollution to break our oil addiction and reduce security threats if our leaders made it a priority like the first moon shot. Our national and local security depend on it…Energy independence is as much a part of our security as border control...

Death Brings Both Aisles Together

Today my wife and I went to Sen. Bentsen’s funeral, which proved to be a bipartisan affair. It was hard to walk without bumping into someone who didn’t need a name tag – Mayor White (D) stood next to Governor Perry (R) -- I even noticed Perry whisper something in White’s ear. Two feet away, I bumped into Sen. Cornyn (R). On the other side of the dessert tray I found myself face to face with Hillary Clinton (D). Former Prez Bill sat outside on the porch as family and friends surrounded Mrs. Bentsen.

I started to leave, rounded a corner and ran into the press. One of them quipped: “Now everyone is here except Steve Stockman.” LOL. I said that I’d been surprised that Mr. DeLay had come. Instead of flapping my lips to the cameras, I let Kay Bailey (R) and Luci Baines Johnson (D) give two of the best statements I have ever heard. Kay Bailey said Bentsen was “the last of an era” and she longed for the return of civilized bi-partisan statesmanship that he represented. Luci Baines gave a tribute from the heart. Both were impressive.

A return to statesmanship is what we should start picking for office.

As we left a reporter came running out and asked my wife for her name. Apparently they took a photo of her talking with a former Presidential candidate. Well, that should be interesting if it's published...

Sen. Bentsen and Jack Cato – you are two good men --statesmen giants that will be greatly missed.

On Memorial Day - and The Death of Common Sense

I arrived at the Sugar Land Memorial Day event today just at 10 a.m. --in time to see people sitting on very expensive indoor chairs on the plaza (but under no cover). The weather folks said it would be at least a 50% chance of rain and as I drove over there I noticed a very black cloud building up to the Northwest of Sugar Land. So when I walked into SL Square I was surprised to see that there wasn’t a tent over the expensive chairs in the middle section (or why someone hadn’t rented plastic chairs since this was a Veteran’s Memorial not a fancy schmanzy River oaks graduation ceremony). I had left my expensive PDA in the car –just in case.

Within minutes those beautiful chairs were being abandoned as a sudden downpour opened up -- on the citizens, dignitaries, the Congressman and some wannabe replacement Congressmen who stood like statues in their thousand dollar suits on the marble platform, above the crowd and in the rain -- getting totally soaked as the rain fell. I had just witnessed the death of common sense. It was not an inspiring moment.

I watched from under one of the side tents, wearing a (dry) red-and-white shirt with a fold-up umbrella in my back pocket. The tent had a waterfall cascading over its side --and was suddenly more than full.

The whole event reminded me of the recent column by Dr. Rich Lucas on “The Death of Common Sense.” In front of me was the leadership in charge of protecting us and planning ahead for our nation and city – getting soaking wet because no one planned for rain. Worse, only after getting completely wet did they move undercover and suspend the program while workers appeared and pulled tarps over the (already wet) expensive speakers, and piled up the (already soaked) chairs. The people who had abandoned the chairs watched as they huddled under the awnings of stores on the edge of the square. It reminded me how vulnerable they are in other ways, since no one has even prepared them for disasters such as a leak at the South Texas Nuclear plant, despite the fact we lie within its radiation kill zone.

Constable Nehls had already presented the disabled veteran --that was the important part-- so instead of staying to hear the wet Congressman, I dodged the rain and went into the Sharper Image on the corner of the square to check out the gadgets –maybe I’d spot something that will come in handy, like the Pocket TV I bought there a year ago and used for updates during the last storm when power went out at our house for several hours. It worked great and comes in handy for news broadcasts when I’m stuck in traffic.

A lady came in and said, “Tom DeLay is speaking but no one can hear him.” I couldn’t help but think how ironic that was. Do I want a wet Congressman who is under indictment giving me advice on security? Ummmm.

Perhaps you should ask all the ordinary folks who were there today -- who found their comfortable seats were an illusion. They trusted their leadership and yet they ended up wet and huddled next to a building in the rain. Should they follow anyone who would stand in the rain in an expensive suit? If they do, then it's time for that "Twilight Zone" music...

What we really need right now is a resurrection of Dr. Lucas’ Mr. Common Sense --in our government, schools, businesses, in the way we live, period! We need leaders who prepare for future rains – someone who is fiscally responsible, ethically straight, has the common sense to either put up a tent or get out of the rain and won’t leave the people without a roof in the next storm…Know anyone?

Now for Something Completely Different

Now for Something Completely Different

If you’ve read the Brazos River site about the candidate forum to replace Tom DeLay in CD 22 you get the feeling that it was a scene from the clone wars – lots of candidates looking the same and saying the same. “The Clones” said pretty much the same thing. It’s time someone told the public some honest truth for a change. Now for something completely different (i.e. Time for a reality check).

Immigration: All the candidates favored throwing out the 12 million folks cutting our grass and working those nasty jobs in meatpacking plants, while making them felons. Well I suggest we see how many of you Americans are going to rush in and lug 200 lb sides of beef in meatpackig plants or cut the grass or build the homes you live in before we do that.

Sure, throw these low paid rascals out so we could end up with overgrown yards and become vegetarians out of necessity because there is no beef! None of them are coming in as CEO of Enron or Wal Mart. I think we can have guest workers without necessarily making everyone a citizen. I know this: the Berlin Wall never worked and never will this one. The solution is getting countries to grow their economies instead of dumping people on us. Until that happens, the problem remains the same, wall or no wall.

None of the candidates wanted to have a commuter rail in Ft. Bend – even though it would take 50,000 to 100,000 cars off the roads everyday—and we are about to DOUBLE in population the next 20 years. Duh! Roads aren’t exactly cost effective either but we need them, and rail. A line to Richmond Rosenberg would also open up their historic downtowns to Houston daytripers on weekends.

No one said that spending has gone UP 25% under a GOP majority in Congress. How conservative is that?

I didn’t attend – my wife insisted I take her to the ballet instead. Maybe that wasn’t a bad idea.

Mr. DeLay has set it up such a mess that his seat could easily switch to a Democrat—especially with Steve Stockman pulling GOP votes and even being a potential player in the end when a plurality vote is possible. Isn’t that ironic?

It’s clear that whoever gets the GOP nod may find all they end up with is a mummy’s curse “YOU lost the seat!” Then he/she is politically dead and two years from now will be the real race.

Who wants to be the one to lose this for the GOP? Please step forward. The only way to win this for the GOP is to give some honestly better answers then those offered last Thursday night…only then does the GOP have a chance...I am offering a DVD to Precinct Chairs which documents my warnings about 9 11 before 9 11...we need honesty and expertise more than a politician right now.

Vets deserve better than this

Reports are that the 26 million Veterans name that were stolen from a laptop will cost hundreds of millions of dollars as their data is sold and used for credit scams.

Yet the entire incident could have been avoided with one or two simple software programs on the market that would have automatically destroyed the data on a stolen laptop -- or would have notified the sender the location of the device (just do a Google search for "Laptop Security Software" to get a list of options).

What is amazing is that the VA and others like it did not have something as simple as this simple, inexpensive "off the shelf" software as standard equipment on their computers to avoid exactly this kind of disaster. With just a little bit of security thinking by our government, a thief would end up only with a blank hard drive instead of 26 million veterans names at risk. Duh!

Enron Verdict - Justice

There is a Chinese saying that you have to "kill a chicken to scare the monkeys." The conviction of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling shows that the American justice is still alive and well, especially when the wealthy get convicted despite spending millions in legal fees. They are the "chickens" and their conviction sends a messge to other crooked CEO's. The collapse of Enron destroyed a lot of people and their financial security. One of them goes to my church with his wife. They have zero retirement despite decades working for Enron. So Kenny Boy and Jeffy Boy got exactly what they deserved. The same system needs to convict some of our crooked Congress reps (both Democrat and Republican) to scare the monkeys.

Immigration Flaws

I was talking to an employer about immigration. He said that if you call social security to try to verify an employee can legally work here - forget it. They can't tell you if someone is legal or not. We have computers that can tell if your credit card is working, but there is no such computer to verify someone's social security number. Without the ability to have employers screening for illegals, there is no way the situation can improve. Having the National Guard at the border has no impact on 12 million illegals already living here. I suggest the government computerize the system so social security numbers can be verified by employers. Right now, employers are told to "have a copy of their drivers license and social security number in a file" and that is considered "good enough."

Brazil’s Example – Breaking an Addiction

The U.S. dependence on imported oil and “too little too late” energy policy has left us vulnerable to future oil shocks. Even the President has said “we have an oil addiction.” We give billions of dollars away each year, much of it to countries which are not shining examples of democracy, from Venezuela to Saudi Arabia.

But Brazil is an example how to break that addiction. They don’t import any oil. How? By running cars using 100% ethanol produced from sugar cane.

So why don’t we do the same? We are taking tiny baby steps when we need giant leaps forward in alternative energy. Time is not on our side. India and China are growing rapidly and consuming what used to be surplus oil stocks. We have the capacity to grow our own fuel. American farmers have the ability to produce the feedstock – from corn to sugar cane and even the President’s straw grass.

Congress could, and should, require manufacturers to build what Brazil calls “flex cars” – cars that will run on gas, 100% ethanol or both.

So what are we waiting for? As JFK once said: “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” The time generate alternative energy supplies is NOW, before the rain starts falling on our heads –and our SUV’s sit stalled on the side of the road during the next shortage.

No Intelligence on Iran - Same Song, Different Verse

Want to know why we should have someone with global experience in Congress? Read this. Our CIA doesn’t have a clue what is going on in Iran – and Congress has done nothing to put human assets on the ground or require them. We have this insane idea that taking photos with satellites tells us what we need to know. We don’t even have more than a handfull of people who understand or speak Persian in the CIA (Iran is not an Arabic country).

So what was Congress doing about it?

Some were taking trips to Scotland with lobbyists… Most believed the bad intelligence on Iraq that led to major mistakes that is still costing American soldiers lives. Doesn’t that make you feel safer? It’s about time Congress funded real human intelligence – satellites won’t cut it. Neither will another Congress rep who is clueless on these issues.

Immigration Solution is Outside Our Borders

The only real solution to immigration is to get countries like Mexico to breath life into their economies so people don't have to leave to feed their families. The pyramid economy (where only a few rich are at the top and everyone else fights for the crumbs left below) doesn't work - and we get the aftermath. It is in our best interest to solve this problem at its root, by encouraging countries to grow from the bottom up, because all the walls in the world won't keep out people desperate to feed their kids.

Fjetland, Norway

I received an email from my brother, who discovered on Google Earth that there is a town in Norway named "Fjetland." No kidding.

Elections and Fairness

Elections and Fairness

I just found out that my name has been dropped from the list of potential candidates to replace Tom DeLay on the GOP ballot. They are sending out 18,000 “ballots” to vote on a replacement and my name will not appear.

Not that I thought I had a snowflake’s chance of getting picked, but it is the principle of the thing that bothers me. Apparently some blogger wrote that I was no longer interested and apparently the County Chair (Thode) dropped me based on that – it was certainly not based on any email or letter or phone call to him from me.

This happened once before when I ran in 2002 – my name was dropped from the primary ballot when I challenged Mr. DeLay. I had to sue to get back on. I won, but by that time the election was upon us. I got 20% with no campaigning, no ads or TV. Mr. Campbell had to spend six figures this time to beat that percentage, but not by much.

The only thing I’ve said since DeLay announced his resignation was that if there was a Special Election then they could count me out. I wanted no part of a dozen candidates running in a Special Election. But the Governor has declared that there isn’t going to be a Special Election, despite the fact that the U.S. Constitution calls for it. Apparently it is to be followed only when it guarantees the result you want, and not otherwise.

So, we set yet another great example for the people of Iraq how (not) to run a democracy.

Perhaps I should just find a job with a corporation – even the lowest corporate ethics would be a major step up from what I’ve found in politics so far.

White House Gets Interested in Better Gas Mileage

I feel vindicated. Finally, the White House is suddenly interested in conservation and higher gas mileage standards. It took $3/gallon gas to wake them up. Better late than never...

The Gas "Boycott" Won't Work - Try something that will

People are sending around an email encouraging motorists to boycott buying gas for a day as a “protest.”

Get real folks – like it is really going to make a difference if you don’t fill up your SUV for a day!

If you really are concerned about gas prices then do the following:
Buy a hybrid vehicle (or a car that gets better mileage than your current one)
Ride a bus/vanpool to work
Write Congress to boost fuel mileage standards for autos by 50%

We Americans waste so much energy, yet we put little effort into conservation. We need to wake up because oil is a finite resource. The sooner we develop alternative fuels and find clever ways to use less of it, the better. We don't need a phony war on gas or an ineffective boycott.

Technology on the Run - Just Say No to "Surfing While Driving"

Technology is amazing.

I recently bought a Treo 700 – basically a pocket PC and phone combination, and I love it. Instead of dragging a laptop around and finding a place with a “hotspot” now I can pull this device out of my pocket at a café –check my calendar, check email or go online to see what is happening in the world. It works anywhere, anytime. I also switched to Verizon after too many dropped calls on my other service, which shall remain nameless.

I wish I had this device sooner. I missed some appointments before, including an important campaign radio interview because I was on the run and forgot to write down an Outlook calendar event to the book I keep in my car.

Now I just plug in the phone and it syncs automatically with Outlook so I am updated. And it works both ways. If I add an event on the phone calendar, it updates the desktop calendar when I plug it in--automatically.

Technology is our future. Now, if it would only help me locate gasoline that costs about $2 a gallon! For that, we need some technology to double our cars’ gas mileage! That may take awhile, but I believe technology can make it happen.

What we have sure beats the technology we had 20 years ago…I just have to remember not to “surf while driving”….!

Girls Deserve Better Than This

I was just reading that in India about 10 million girl fetuses were aborted in the past two decades. Sonograms are used to determine the sex of a child – if it is a girl it is often aborted. The government has tried to stop it but it is an old habit

China, with its “one child” policy has the same problem – and a girl shortage as a result.

This is a disturbing situation. These two countries constitute nearly 40% of the world’s total population and will play major roles in our lifetimes. I have been to China and India, many times. They both have changed dramatically in the past 20 years, but this is something that has NOT changed for the better.

It is time to stop killing babies that someone thinks is the “wrong” sex. The practice is as wrong as the wife burnings in India. I’d like to see our policymakers make this one of the issues in our future relations with these important countries…

Emergency Planning - Pick One, NOT a Committee

I have to agree with Gov. Perry, who said that our area needs to pick ONE person to be in charge to manage future catastrophes that may strike the region, such as another hurricane.

I can’t imagine having another Hurricane Katrina or Rita coming our way and having to get a 15-person committee to make a decision! Have you ever seen a committee of 15 decide ANYTHING in a TIMELY manner? The storm would be here and gone before that happened.

We need to pick 1 person to be in charge to manage any future disasters – anyone, that is, other than Michael Brown (former FEMA director). We don’t need someone worrying about how his shirt looks on TV when a CAT 4 hurricane is blowing through…

Texas Blackouts - Record heat means trouble

Record heat yesterday – and it is only mid-April! Over 100 degrees in parts of the State – and rolling blackouts in Texas! How strange is that? Gas prices are surging.

Since the election ended, my legal practice has really taken off. Houston is part of a boom in real estate. Our area is expected to double in size the next 20 years, so opportunity is knocking (no pun intended) all over the place. One man bought a house in the Woodlands for $200,000 and excitedly told his friends that back in Connecticut the same house would be $1 million! Yep, more Yankees will be moving south!

I say bring them on. Except now the “Yankees” are from all over the world. Most Houston real estate is being financed from foreign sources – without it the boom would be a bust. This record heat spells trouble - we could have another mean hurricane season. We lost a month or more of business last year with the Katrina/Rita scenario. It was 100 years ago today that an earthquake struck San Francisco. At least you can see a hurricane coming and get the heck out of the way (as long as 2 million people don't try it at the same time).

OK, a word about politics. I got an email a couple days ago from a Ft. Bend precinct chair regarding the replacement of Rep. DeLay when he resigns (in June?). Apparently they are getting hit from a lot of wannabe Congressmen/women who want to jump to the front of the line to be “the chosen one.” It should be an interesting fight. Too bad the people don't get to make the pick as envisioned by our founding fathers...

International Justice - Building Democracy a Nail at a Time

Some of the commentators seem to think I should "move on."

They clearly don’t know my real objective is more than about one guy (i.e., DeLay. It is all about International Justice. Don't forget I have been an international negotiator worldwide. I've seen a lot of injustice globally, not just in District 22.

Mr. DeLay just happened to be my local corrupt official that needed to be challenged long before now. He is but one part of our government system that needs replacement and improvement. The improvements need to be more than domestic. They need to be global.

For example, little (i.e., nothing) has been done about the international criminal rings that promise poor, attractive women fake jobs in Europe or the U.S. that force them to become prostitutes in foreign lands. The U.S. is part of that system. Human trafficking is a major part of illegal immigration.

It’s not about me moving on; it’s about some folks out there catching up. I didn’t see anyone else challenging DeLay at his peak, only when he was weak.

DeLay is history but the world remains a mess. Complain at me if you will but we do need a new rep who knows it instead of another clueless Congressman whose knowledge of the world comes from travel brochures. There is much yet to do to make it a better place, domestically and internationally…. The question now is replacing DeLay with a candidate with the skills needed in a world of terrorism and global economics.

I’ve been involved in these issues for decades. That is why I will continue “moving on” and raising these issues, whether I am a candidate or not. I am glad to have the Johnny-come-lately’s showing up, all anxiously wanting to be the new Congress candidate...it shows that the fear of DeLay is gone.

P.S. For the commentators who didn’t appreciate the symbolism in my recent fence story, I say simply this: we need more fence building, not bridge burning in our government. I found that each nail I drove into each plank made the fence stronger. The difference one nail at a time can make in mending a fence is amazing. I am just one of those nails fighting to strengthen our democratic fences, locally and globally.

Repairing fences -- and democracy

I spent the weekend replacing boards in the backyard fence, preparing for the hurricane season. Without more nails, and a few replacement boards, it was in serious danger of falling down. It took a lot of pounding, and my hands turned black, but now it is a solid fence again.

As I hammered, it occurred to me that under DeLay democracy has become as rickety as my backyard fence before the repair.

I thought about how Mr. DeLay stated in TIME and a Washington Post article that he deliberately set it up to keep any one of us who challenged him off the list of replacement names as the GOP candidate on the ballot. In other words, any of us who played by rules and ran against him is on the “blacklist.”

Is this “democracy”?

When an incumbent can punish those who played by the rules—and pick his replacement-- how is that a good example of democracy to show the Iraqis?

This is not about me – it is about the American democratic process. There are two other candidates who are also on that same blacklist. Is this fair?

Is democracy’s fence falling down? It is strong when incumbents can manipulate the process ? I guess the Iraqis only need look at District 22 to decide how to play the game? Let's hope not.

Think about it.