Houblog

From The American Thinker:

There is a point in tournament poker where one player doesn’t have the chips to play out the next raise, but they have great cards, so they call “all in.” At that point, nobody can raise them and the hand gets played out — either to a game changing win or a total loss for the person who made the call. It appears Sarah Palin decided she and her family could no longer deal with the thousand cuts, so she is “all in.”

One of the best articles I’ve seen on the surprise story of the weekend; I recommend reading it in full.

Meanwhile, if I have any readers left out there on RSS, I suppose I owe you a bit of an explanation.

Since the beginning of the year, I have been working on a new project. Bloggers can’t save the world, the country, or even Houston. It’s going to take people working hard and making things happen. Tea parties are only a start, and there are some things that I just can’t do as “Ubu Roi.”

I hate letting the blog lie fallow, and I may be back here from time to time — the city is in bad shape right now, as anyone who reads blogHOUSTON should know, but our elected “leaders”, especially the Mayor, continue to dig the hole deeper. In another six years, at this pace, Houston is going to be a Left Coast basket case. We’re spending our savings down, and borrowing to pay the house note and groceries, while adding a new plasma-screen TV, and that’s just not sustainable. There will be a reckoning, and it’s going to be ugly.

Nonetheless, I’ve been called on to take a bigger role in my public ID, so this blog is going to have to remain a very small part of my activity in the future. I’ll write when I can, that’s all I can promise.

It’s a truism that big news that the city government doesn’t want you to hear will always break late on a Friday afternoon. Once again, it’s been proven.

Richard Vacar, who led the Houston Airport System for more than 11 years through several multi-billion-dollar expansion projects, abruptly left the post today, according to an announcement from Mayor Bill White’s office.

It was unclear whether Vacar was fired or left voluntarily. The announcement from the mayor’s office said he had retired.

Hey, he retired so fast, his own staff didn’t know. That happens all the time, right? Seriously, he was definitely shown the door, and the mayor obviously didn’t care if it hit him in the butt on the way out. Special inside knowledge? Nah, just the total abrogation of protocol.

Rorschach suggested that it might be the news leak over the new runway while the Lege is still in session, considering eminent domain bills. I don’t think I buy it.

This has all the hallmarks of MBW in full-blown rage mode. Now Vacar may have wanted the extra runway, and we know he’s the tool of Yellow Cab and the entire airline industry. (Or should I have stopped at “tool”?) But unless there’s a hell of a lot more to this.. as in “Bill, get us this runway and we’ll make damn sure you’re the next jr.Senator from Texas,” I just don’t see White going bonkers over this. In fact, I don’t see him even trying to make that deal unless he thinks such an obvious screw of the public (and our already broken budget) would look good right before he runs for office.

So did he catch Vacar eating babies for breakfast, or what?

Is the real problem that someone has proof that Vacar is as corrupt as we’ve always felt he was?

And is it just me, or is the Chron burying this story under swine flu and knee surgery infections at Methodist hospital?

We already seceded.

Just on the odd chance that anyone has managed to run across my blog without seeing any of the majors today, you need to get your butt over to Michelle Malkin’s place.

Reading this blog has problably resulted in your being designated as an extremeist.

The proof isn’t in this article.

According to police, they were driving a white Pontiac Grand Prix when they fired gunshots at the driver of a truck. Then they exited the freeway at West Gulf Bank.

The truck driver stopped on the West Gulf Bank overpass and got a rifle from his back seat for protection, police said. As he looked over the side of the freeway to see the license plate of the Pontiac, he saw the car’s driver’s side window open and feared the suspects would shoot at him again.

He fired several shots at the Pontiac, hitting the passenger who was sitting in the front seat and another man who was in the back seat.

The front-seat passenger, 17, was taken to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead.

It’s not that the guy said “Screw this, I’m shooting back!” It’s not that three punks got more than they bargained for. It’s not even the comments. Nope, it’s the ratings of the comments.

CPP wrote:
Gang punks shoot at Bubba & Bubba returns fire: end of story!
4/9/2009 11:13:07 AM

Recommend: (945 thumbs up) (18 thumbs down)

Yeowch!!!!!! I mean, damn.

Posting at Houblog:

HB 1388 passed the Senate today. That’s the GIVE act, aka “The Obama Youth Act of 2009.” It will:

“combine the best practices of civilian service with the best aspects of military service,” while establishing “campuses” that serve as “operational headquarters,” complete with “superintendents” and “uniforms” for all participants. It allows for the elimination of all age restrictions in order to involve Americans at all stages of life. And it calls for creation of “a permanent cadre” in a “National Community Civilian Corps.”
But that’s not all. The bill also calls for “youth engagement zones” in which “service learning” is “a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.” This updated form of voluntary community service is also to be “integrated into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula” at all levels of schooling.

(DC Examiner Editorial, emphasis added)

So in other words, it doesn’t matter whether your kid enrolls in it or not, they’re still going to get the indoctrination force-fed to them.

Republican senators voting AYE: 22. NAY: 19. That’s right, more than half the Senate’s GOP voted FOR this bill.

Read the rest of this entry »

Controller Anise Parker attempts to quell fears over the city’s shaky finances, by talking about how it’s borrowing money from itself!

City investments and debt on solid ground
As anyone with any investments knows, this is not your ordinary financial market. The city has an investment portfolio but also uses debt financing to pay for public works projects and other infrastructure improvements. The ongoing turmoil on Wall Street and within the banking industry requires innovation and quick action on both sides of the ledger.

“I want to assure Houstonians that we are exploring every possible option and taking utmost care with your tax dollars during these difficult times,” Houston City Controller Annise Parker said.

When financing public projects, the city commonly borrows using short-term instruments then watches the market for the best opportunity to convert to long-term fixed-rate financing. Last fall, when the credit markets all but dried up and several banks either failed or were struggling, Mayor White and the city controller announced they would pursue various financing alternatives to keep interest rates on city debt as low as possible.

The controller noted that financing through other governmental entities is one alternative that has been employed successfully. For example, she said the city has purchased the debt of (loaned money to) city governmental partners at Metro and Harris County. Likewise, Harris County and Metro have purchased city debt.

City invests in own debt

Parker said the city’s own investment portfolio holds about $229 million in city debt, made possible because the city maintains segregated funds. Interest rates in the municipal bond market have varied widely. By investing in its own debt, the controller said the city earns 1.5-2%. An earlier purchase of $30 million of Metro debt yielded about 4%, and investment in Harris County Flood Control debt returned 6.25-8%. In comparison, more traditional financing options are yielding less than 1%.

Read the rest of this entry »

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit makes the following observation:

THE RACE TO find alien earths. In science fiction stories, you often see references to “forerunner races” who settled the Galaxy before humans emerged. But what if we’re the forerunner race?

Oh great. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about. Now I gotta worry not just whether we’re screwing up my country, but the entire galaxy.

Got the following emails at work in relation to the attack by a virus on the city’s computers. This looks a bit more widespread than “16 computers” as they were claiming to the Chronicle.

PWE Employees,

The City of Houston network is currently experiencing connectivity issues with the following departments/divisions due to a virus outbreak:

* 311 Call Center
* Municipal Courts (Court View Connection)
* Jail Processing Units
* Legal Department
* Parking Management

These departments and divisions have been quarantined and/or isolated by our Information Technology Department who is working diligently to eradicate this problem.

We are asking all PWE users to contact our helpdesk at 713.xxx.xxx, if you experience any problems with your system or if you receive any messages regarding a “Microsoft Installation.” Please do not access Microsoft website for any updates at this time until we receive an “all clear” from Information Technology Department.

If you have a laptop, please ensure your system has the latest updates before your connect to the network.

Thank you for your continued support.

PWE Information Technology Department

The first thing I notice is that the media haven’t said anything about the 311 system. That’s the main call-taking system for non-emergency services. If 311 is compromised, is 911 safe? One hopes they use better security at the HEC, but then, it is the HEC, which has never seemed all that technically savvy.

The second thing I notice is, how do these idiots expect anyone to update their laptop BEFORE connecting to the city’s network? They have to connect to the network to get online! Oh, right, connect to your own network at home and compromise it. Sure. Look, any laptop, anywhere, at any time, is an infection vector because they’re not connected to the network at the time you’re trying to clean it. Since many viruses will spike the update features or spoof AV programs, the odds of an infection never making it back into the network from a hiding place on someone’s laptop are close to nil.

The second email I received Friday said this:

PWE Employees,

Due to the recent virus outbreak that has occurred in various areas in the City; the PWE IT staff is working diligently to ensure the safety of our user community. We are in the process of deploying the necessary security updates to your computer.

We are asking you to shut down your computer before leaving for the day. If you see the option to install updates and shut down please do so.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the help desk at 713-xxx-xxxx.

Thank you for your continued support.

PWE Information Technology

I don’t envy our IT people their job right now… I’ve been fighting an unrelated (I think) virus infestation for the last few days, which I wasn’t able to solve until I junked the major commercial solutions and went to Brand X online. (Specifically: AVG antivirus, and I returned to Zone Alarm for my firewall. Screw you Norton, you couldn’t solve it, and left dozens of tracking cookies you were supposed to remove.)

It will be interesting to see if the city can get the problem solved by Monday.

A little birdie just forwarded me this letter from Bill King, ex-candidate for Houston Mayor. Emphasis added.

As most of you know, I have been considering a candidacy for mayor of
Houston for sometime. I have recently decided that I will not be a
candidate for mayor or any other office in 2009.

There are several reasons for my decision, some personal and some
political. Most prominent among these, I believe that my candidacy
would likely result in an election that would emphasize partisan and
other divides. It is my belief that such an election would not be
healthy for the City or, frankly, particularly favorable to my
candidacy.

The City is in for some very difficult times over the next several
years, especially as it relates its finances. The multiple challenges
of crime, crumbling infrastructure, crushing pension debts, falling oil
prices and the aftermath of Ike will all weigh heavily. This is hardly
a time that we can afford to be divided along partisan or other lines.

As I have attempted to become informed on issues facing the City, I have
become increasing concerned, and in some respects, even alarmed at the
problems we are facing with regard to our municipal finances. I believe
we have made unsustainable commitments that will financially hobble
future generations and that it is imperative that we have a candid and
realistic discussion of these critical issues.

Before Hurricane Rita while I was still the mayor of Kemah, I began
raising the alarm that we were not prepared to evacuate the region in
the event of a major storm. Because I held an elected office, many
discounted my warnings as political posturing. As a result, little was
done and 150 died in the Rita evacuation. I fear that if I begin a
discussion of the financial challenges facing our city as a candidate,
there will be similar reaction. Perhaps if no political agenda can be
attributed to my views, there will be a less skeptical reception.

I want to express my profound appreciation to all of you that have
encouraged me to consider a candidacy. The mere fact that so many of my
fellow Houstonians have expressed their belief that I am capable of such
a leadership position has been a great honor.

I hope that you will stay tuned. We have some important issues to
tackle.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is the critical time to be divided among partisan lines: the party of “Fixing It” vs. the party of “Continuing to Ignore It” The second is a disaster in the making.

Our elected officials have continued to ignore citizens at all levels and from all walks of life who are unhappy with the way the City of Houston is being mismanaged. On the Democratic side, we are looking at a solid slate of “go along and get along” pols, none of which will rock the boat to tackle serious issues; every one of them is hoping only to push the collapse back beyond their term. How do I know this?

Because if they saw a need to fix anything, they’d be out there in public making their point. Instead they’re feeding us baby food. Bland, mostly tasteless, and thoroughly uncontroversial, it goes down easy and turns into crap in the end.

The problem is there’s only so many candidates out there that are viable. I’m sure as hell not. I can’t do much but work in the background and act as a cheerleader. (Those of you who know me, please scrub that imaginary picture of me carrying pompoms and dressed in a short skirt right out of your brain. Now.) We can support, but we can’t lead. We need a standard bearer to rally behind, and yet another has chosen to leave the field. In an era when we need Pattons, we get another Milton M. Milquetoast. Merely quitting wasn’t bad enough; he had to spout nonsense about not dividing people, and avoiding being accused of partisanship.

Final word: If you’re going to be held hostage to what your opponents say about you, forget ever being an effective politician.

Carolyn Feibel reports at the Chronicle’s Politics blog, that the city quietly added $60 million to its debt obligation last Friday, in order to pay its obligations on HPD pensions. Amazingly, this was reported as if it were good news.

The city refinanced a portion of its pension obligation - $400 million of it, to be exact. Previously, the city had issued a $300 million promissory note to the Municipal Employees Pension System in 2004, using the Hilton Americas-Houston as collateral. That lowered the unfunded liability left over from the Brown administration. On paper, that is. But the White administration deferred both payments and interest, so the eventual obligation grew to $341 million.

Now, the city has refinanced that old obligation, and paid off the $341 million owed to the municipal pension fund. The old obligation would have cost 8.5 percent interest if the city had stuck with it. The new bond issued Wednesday is worth $400 million, with a 6.29 percent interest rate. The extra millions will be used to pump cash into the police pension, as well.

This article is pitched as good news, but what it really says is that the Cits just borrowed an additional $59 million to finance the police pension fund and $41 million just to pay the deferred interest on the previous $300 million debt. The last sentence of the quote makes it obvious that the first sentence is misleading. Worse, the math doesn’t add up. Here’s what happened, if we cut out all the smoke and mirrors.

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it’s simple really. I was hacked. Badly. The stuff over at Bridgebunnies was nothing compared to this mess. (Although I shouldn’t say that… I’ve still got to fix that one.) It took me the better part of three days and a lot of help from the host to resolve the issue. Hosting Matters finally had to nuke it down to the roots, completely eliminating the files and databases, then restoring it from backups. Then I had to go digging, and found the files that compromised my security, which as it happened, one was older than the backup — it may have been here for as much as a year. After that, I finally upgraded, changed my password, and deleted about 75 bogus users. If you find that you can’t comment, when you used to be able to, that’s why. I’ve closed registrations for a while too. I’ll reopen them eventually, but not just yet. Got a few other security holes to plug first, and then I want to restore the appearance — or maybe improve it.

Edit: and any pictures I had up are gone for the time being, until I get around to restoring them.

I hate site hackers….

There’s a category I have for quoting in full, something that someone else wrote. It’s called “Word!” Never more appropriate than today:

Mr. Obama,

Given the uproar about the simple question asked you by Joe the plumber, and the persecution that has been heaped on him because he dared to question you, I find myself motivated to say a few things to you myself. While Joe aspires to start a business someday, I already have started not one, but 4 businesses. But first, let me introduce myself. You can call me “Cory the well driller”. I am a 54 year old high school graduate. I didn’t go to college like you, I was too ready to go “conquer the world” when I finished high school. 25 years ago at age 29, I started my own water well drilling business at a time when the economy here in East Texas was in a tailspin from the crash of the early 80’s oil boom. I didn’t get any help from the government, nor did I look for any. I borrowed what I could from my sister, my uncle, and even the pawn shop and managed to scrape together a homemade drill rig and a few tools to do my first job. My businesses did not start not a result of privilege. It is the result of my personal drive, personal ambition, self discipline, self reliance, and a determination to treat my customers fairly. From the very start my business provided one other (than myself) East Texan a full time job. I couldn’t afford a backhoe the first few years (something every well drilling business had), so I and my helper had to dig the mud pits that are necessary for each and every job with hand shovels. I had to use my 10 year old, 1/2 ton pickup truck for my water tank truck (normally a job for at least a 2 ton truck).

Read the rest of this entry »

Tom Bazan had a neat suggestion for an editorial cartoon, so I took his suggestion and ran with it. This isn’t exactly what he asked for, but I like it. The result:

If you want to take your own shot at captioning this picture, here it is (click on it for the link to the full size, or just use the thumbnail):

Obama on Coal:

You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money.

If we elect this dunce, we deserve what we get.