Mattsapundit

Here’s another example of your tax dollars at “work,” but hopefully not for long:

The Houston City Council postponed funding for a cable public-access channel Wednesday amid debate about whether it would be censorship for the city to limit programming that one councilwoman labeled “obscene.”

The decision delays about $800,000 for the channel — a public forum allowing anyone to host a show — until a council committee holds a hearing within two weeks.

At issue, Councilwoman Addie Wiseman said, is what she described as a profanity-laced comedy routine that aired during a recent early-morning broadcast on the channel, called Houston MediaSource.

For the record, public-access television is bad. I mean really, really bad. How bad, you ask? So bad that even people who make their living on it refuse to watch it:

Shows aren’t viewed before they air, said Patti Garlinghouse, the channel’s executive director, because the purpose is to promote and encourage free speech.

Garlinghouse said she doesn’t know whether any programming includes nudity.

She said she doesn’t watch because it’s not her job to judge the content.

Yep. Public-access television sucks.

Except for this show.

Matt Bramanti | June 30, 2005 at 2:34 pm
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I usually laugh whenever I see a copy of Weekly World News. It’s full of ridiculous stories — the 100-pound baby, UFO abductions of Elvis, and of course, Bat Boy. But this isn’t funny at all:

It was an ugly story, purportedly about the 10 ugliest people in the world.

One of the listings was Phoenix police Officer Jason Schechterle, who was tragically burned and disfigured four years ago when a taxicab rammed into his police cruiser.

On Monday, at a Phoenix City Hall news conference, the parent company of the supermarket tabloid that ran the story offered up an apology and a “significant” donation to the charity of Schechterle’s choice to avoid a lawsuit.

Let’s hear from the paper’s spokesman, who apparently said the following with a straight face:

“American Media stands for quality journalism,” Zakim said.

Uh-huh.

Matt Bramanti | June 28, 2005 at 5:46 pm
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What goes around comes around:

Could a hotel be built on the land owned by Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter? A new ruling by the Supreme Court which was supported by Justice Souter himself itself might allow it. A private developer is seeking to use this very law to build a hotel on Souter’s land.

Justice Souter’s vote in the “Kelo vs. City of New London” decision allows city governments to take land from one private owner and give it to another if the government will generate greater tax revenue or other economic benefits when the land is developed by the new owner.

On Monday June 27, Logan Darrow Clements, faxed a request to Chip Meany the code enforcement officer of the Towne of Weare, New Hampshire seeking to start the application process to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road. This is the present location of Mr. Souter’s home.

Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, points out that the City of Weare will certainly gain greater tax revenue and economic benefits with a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road than allowing Mr. Souter to own the land.

The proposed development, called “The Lost Liberty Hotel” will feature the “Just Desserts Café” and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon’s Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged.”

Heh. Also, take a look at the fax Mr. Clements sent to the City of Weare.

Matt Bramanti | June 28, 2005 at 1:04 pm
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He hates me too.

Are you a Republican? If so, Howard Dean hates you. Now your chest can proclaim that message! A website called HowardDeanHatesMe.com is selling t-shirts and bumper stickers emblazoned with the message. Why? I’ll let the proprietor explain:

If you’re a Republican, that means Howard hates you. If you’re a Democrat, it means you have a party leader who is alienating people right and left, and flushing political discourse right down the toilet.

Hutus HATE Tutsis. Nazis HATE Jews. Sunnis HATE Shiites. If Democrats now hate Republicans, we’re in big trouble.

If you’re offended that Howard hates you, you should buy some of this stuff and let the world know how you feel. If you’re offended that your party’s leadership has sunk to this level, you should call Howard and give him a piece of your mind (he could use it).

This should not be confused with ex-XFL player Rod “He Hate Me” Smart. That guy’s a Renaissance genius compared to Howard Dean.

Matt Bramanti | June 27, 2005 at 3:43 pm
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Yet again, the Chronicle’s fetish for light rail colors its news reporting. Here’s the headline:

Houston rides high in rail, bus contest

Here’s the story:

Light rail train operators and maintenance crews from the Metropolitan Transit Authority took sixth place in a June 7 competition in Pittsburgh with those from 13 other cities.

Not bad, considering Metro has had less than two years experience with rail transit.

Forgive me if I don’t consider a 6th place finish to be “riding high.” I would characterize that result as “middling,” “mediocre,” or “about average.” And what’s with that “not bad” line, rationalizing Metro’s middling performance? Could we leave editorial judgements on the editorial page?

It sounds like the contest — at least the bus portion — was interesting:

In the agency’s bus “Roadeo,” which includes fine maneuvering, parking and an obstacle course, plus diagnosing and repairing mechanical problems, Metro’s Charlie Kennedy again topped the bus operator competition. Kennedy, who drives the 137 Northshore Express, won the Best Operator in North America title in Las Vegas in 2002.

Congratulations to Mr. Kennedy. Hopefully Metro won’t cut your route.

Matt Bramanti | June 27, 2005 at 3:05 pm
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Our beloved hometown rag today has a story on PhotoBlocker, a spray that supposedly renders license plates invisible to red light cameras:

But before Phantom Plate Inc. can start counting its money in Houston, it may face a battle in the City Council or the Legislature.Houston Police Department Lt. Robert Manzo said the city may want to consider an ordinance or a state law against PhotoBlocker.

“So people are already gearing up to defeat the system, huh?” Manzo asked. “We’re not happy to hear this product is available and already being marketed to Houston before the cameras are even installed. This is obviously going to be a concern, and it may be something we have to address with the Legislature.”

The gloss, which is unnoticeable to the naked eye, renders photographs useless in identifying plate numbers.

The product, offered only on the Internet, is legal here and sells for $29.99 for a can containing enough spray to cover four license plates for life.

As we’ve seen many times — like this, this, this and this — the Chron often fails to get a story’s basic facts right. The Photoblocker story is just another example. First of all, the Chronicle might want to learn about the product before parroting PhotoBlocker’s marketing claims. Atlanta’s NBC affiliate found that those claims might be overblown:

The company that reviews the pictures taken from the cameras says they haven’t seen any cases yet where a license plate has been illegible because of glare, possibly because Gwinnett County’s cameras use laser technology and do not employ a flash.

Second, the product is not available only on the Internet. Photoblocker’s site reveals that the company sells its products on-line, via mail-order, over the phone, and through a network of dealers.

Third, use of this product already appears to be illegal under the Texas Transportation Code, Section 502.409:

§ 502.409. WRONG, FICTITIOUS, ALTERED, OR OBSCURED LICENSE PLATE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person attaches to or displays on a motor vehicle a number plate or registration insignia that:

(7) has a coating, covering, or protective material that:

(A) distorts angular visibility or detectability;

In five minutes, this unpaid blogger turned up the facts. Why can’t a multi-million-dollar enterprise like the Chronicle, with its professional journalists and editorial hierarchy, do the same thing?

Matt Bramanti | June 27, 2005 at 2:46 pm
Posted to Crime, Humor, Media, Stupidity

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Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the pinnacle of Western civilization:

When rap artist Tupac Shakur was murdered nearly a decade ago, his mother vowed to keep his memory alive.

Shakur-Davis’ dream became a reality this month with the opening of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation Center for the Arts on Memorial Drive in DeKalb County. The grand opening of the visitor center and peace garden is the first phase of an anticipated $11 million project that eventually will include a performing arts theater, museum, art gallery, community meeting space and classrooms.

Such a wonderful tribute to a man whose poetry included poignant lines like “F*** the world.”

The adjacent 6-acre peace garden is the centerpiece of the arts center, according to Maxie. A bronze statue of Tupac will be installed there in September.

A peace garden? Are you kidding me? The guy — a convicted rapist — had “THUG LIFE” and an AK-47 tattooed on his stomach. His mom, who is opening the center, was a violent Black Panther activist who was imprisoned for her attempts to set off a race war.

[Hat-tip: Lauren]

Matt Bramanti | June 23, 2005 at 11:47 pm
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Gov. Rick Perry’s recent “Adios, mofo” gaffe is the gift that keeps on giving. Former ChronicallyBiased contributor Phil Magness reports that Democrat consultant Kelly Fero registered “AdiosMoFo.com” yesterday. No word yet on what the site’s content will be, but Fero is expected to work for the state Democrat party or Chris Bell in the upcoming campaign.

A quick WHOIS search confirms that Fero, who did a little Dumpster diving for Ann Richards, owns the site.

Meanwhile, at least two stores on CafePress are hawking “Adios, MoFo” gear.

Matt Bramanti | June 23, 2005 at 2:03 pm
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Straight out of 70’s TV:

Researchers have developed artificial arms that can be moved as it if they were real limbs, simply by thinking about making them move, according to Local 6 News.

When Jesse Sullivan’s brain tells his arm to do something, it’s done in seconds.

The world’s first bionic man, Jesse Sullivan, 54, accidentally touched live wires while working as a utility lineman in Tennessee. He suffered severe burns, causing him to lose his arms.

Sullivan’s hand rotates 360 degrees, according to the report.

A hand that rotates all the way around? In my book, that’s better than he was before. How much were the devices? You guessed it:

By the time it’s perfected, the cost of manufacturing the bionic arm is expected to be about $6 million, according to the report.

Sweet.

Matt Bramanti | June 23, 2005 at 1:46 pm
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A coalition of Muslims enters the banking industry.

Apparently prodded by criticism that they’re great at destruction but not so adept at building things, the world’s Muslim countries are going into business:

Muslim bankers and regulators announced plans Wednesday to set up a global Islamic bank by next year that could rival Western lenders and to chart a 10-year blueprint to bolster growth in the Islamic financial sector.

Wow, that’s pretty ambitious. Just how will this bank come to dominate the global financial sphere?

Officials have said the bank will operate in keeping with Islamic laws, which means no interest would be paid or charged on deposits and loans.

Oh.

In a similar vein, I’m pleased to announce the formation of Bramanti Motors. We’re gonna make cars and give them away. All I have to is find someone to hook me up with a million tons of free steel.

Matt Bramanti | June 22, 2005 at 4:54 pm
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From Channel 13’s Ted Oberg:

Governor Rick Perry had some parting words for an Eyewitness News reporter that may raise your eyebrows.

It was an innocent enough interview about the special session beginning in Austin. But the way it ended is where the questions begin.

Our questions were not recorded on tape, but in saying goodbye I told the governor, “Try as I may, Governor, I guess I can’t win this one.”

Eleven seconds after he said goodbye, the camera crew was getting ready for the next interview with another station. That’s when Gov. Perry repeated what he thought I’d said, and added a few words of his own with his microphone on and tape still rolling.

“Try as I may, Governor, I’m not going to wait that long,” Gov. Perry said. “Adios, Mofo.”

This is the kind of thing I want the Governor to say. But I want him to say it to David Dewhurst.

[Hat-tip: IFOC]

Matt Bramanti | June 21, 2005 at 7:25 pm
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A sincere “thank you” goes out to Harris County Commissioners Court:

Citing moderate drought conditions that are expected to become severe by July 4, Harris County Commissioners approved rules today prohibiting burning of garbage, limbs and leaves — but not banning cookouts — for 90 days or until dry conditions ease.

Harris County residents, however, can still enjoy fireworks. Under state law, the deadline to impose fireworks bans was June 15 to give sufficient notice to firework suppliers and the public.

Excellent. Fireworks are just plain fun. There’s no better way to celebrate the birth of our nation than by blowing up Chinese stuff.

Unfortunately, for those of us within Houston’s city limits, fireworks are illegal:

All fireworks are banned in Houston. It is illegal to discharge fireworks or to have fireworks in your possession.

Keep ‘em inside, kids. Also unfortunately, Houston’s Bravest can’t spell worth a lick:

There are inspectors and investigators from the Fire Marshal’s office who patrol the City 10 days before (starting June 24) the Forth of July

Yikes. Now let’s hear from someone who basically has the coolest job in the world:

”There are still a lot of fireworks that go in the air and are still legal to use,” said Russ Rhea, spokesman for the Texas Pyrotechnic Association, the state’s largest fireworks association, representing 500 retail outlets.

There’s a Texas Pyrotechnic Association? Where do I sign up?

Matt Bramanti | June 21, 2005 at 6:39 pm
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Unsurprisingly, Michael Schiavo buried his wife yesterday without informing her parents. Unsurprisingly, he buried her in Florida despite his earlier claims that she would lie in her family’s plot in Pennsylvania. What is surprising is the inscription on her grave. It reads like a macabre press release by Michael’s scumbag lawyer:

But the woman’s parents criticized Michael Schiavo for not notifying them about the burial beforehand and by inscribing “I kept my promise” on the bronze marker. Michael Schiavo had said he promised his wife he would not keep her alive artificially — a critical element of the acrimonious legal battle over her end-of-life wishes.

On the grave marker, Michael Schiavo also listed Feb. 25, 1990, as the date his wife “Departed this Earth.” On that date, Terri Schiavo collapsed and fell into what most doctors said was an irreversible vegetative state.

Schiavo actually died March 31, nearly two weeks after her feeding tube was removed by court order. The grave marker lists that date as when Schiavo was “at peace.”

There’s no word yet on whether Michael brought his mistress and illegitimate children to the funeral.

Matt Bramanti | June 21, 2005 at 6:11 pm
Posted to National, Scumbags

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Jack Kilby died yesterday:

Nobel laureate Jack Kilby, whose invention of the integrated circuit ushered in the electronics age and made possible the microprocessor, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 81.Kilby died Monday, according to Texas Instruments Inc., where he worked for many years.

Before the integrated circuit, electronic devices relied on bulky and fragile circuitry, including glass vacuum tubes. In the late 1950s, there was considerable interest — especially in the military — in making devices smaller.

Kilby’s fingernail-size integrated circuit, a forerunner of the microchip used in today’s computers, replaced the bulky and unreliable switches and tubes.

Just think of the impact that the integrated circuit has had on our daily lives. I was awakened this morning by an electronic clock radio, shaved with an chip-equipped electric razor, had a cup of coffee from a microprocessor-controlled coffee pot, set my electronic thermostat, got in my chip-laden car, and drove to work, where I used a fax machine, computer, PDA and cell phone, all made possible and cost-effective because of integrated circuits.

In case you’re not yet convinced of Kilby’s enormous contribution to society, just think where you’d have to get your news if it wasn’t for the integrated circuit.

Matt Bramanti | June 21, 2005 at 5:53 pm
Posted to Business, Science, Texas, Uncategorized

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Wire services are reporting that Sen. Dick Durbin has apologized for his remarks likening U.S. troops to Nazis and gulag guards. Judge for yourself whether he goes far enough:

Under fire from Republicans and some fellow Democrats, Sen. Dick Durbin apologized Tuesday for comparing American interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to Nazis and other historically infamous figures.

“Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line,” the Illinois Democrat said. “To them I extend my heartfelt apologies.”

During his apology, which Durbin delivered while looking directly into a TV camera broadcasting the proceedings, the senator said: “I made reference to Nazis, to Soviets, and other repressive regimes. Mr. President, I’ve come to understand that’s a very poor choice of words.”

He also reached out directly to Holocaust survivors, adding: “I’m sorry if anything that I said caused any offense or pain to those who have such bitter memories of the Holocaust, the greatest moral tragedy of our time. Nothing, nothing should ever be said to demean or diminish that moral tragedy.”

“If” it offended people? There’s no if about it, Dick.

Matt Bramanti | June 21, 2005 at 5:16 pm
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LST reader “Mike” responded today to my earlier post regarding the Pope’s affirmation of the Catholic Church’s stance against procured abortion. Here is Mike’s comment, unabridged:

I don’t know about you Matt, but I would think that protecting a large number of priests – that molested a large number of children who trusted them – and allowing them to continue to work in new areas (where the people of those churches were not made aware of their past crimes) would also constitute “moral surrender”.

This issue should be deemed as significant to their leadership as more political orientated ones.

Mike

Mike is basically suggesting that the Church should worry about major issues like sexual abuse, while ignoring relatively minor ones, like the legally sanctioned slaughter of innocents.

Let’s look at some basic facts. You might want to whip out your calculator and follow along.

The John Jay study found that 10,667 minors accused 4,392 clergy (about 4 percent of the total number of clergy) of molesting children from 1950 to 2002. Three-fourths of those alleged molestations took place from 1960 to 1984, meaning that the prevalence of such behavior has plummeted in the last 20 years. Ten percent of those priests received no disciplinary action, and 6 percent were returned to ministry. This means that about 6/10 of 1 percent of U.S. priests molested children and got away with it.

As we all know, the Church in the United States has been the center of the worldwide scandal, and there are 44,000 priests (Source: EWTN) and about 71 million Catholics in the United States (Source: CIA World Factbook). Worldwide, the Church has about 404,000 priests (Source: Diocese of Phoenix). So we’re talking about roughly 7/100 of 1 percent of priests. While the bulk of these molestations were going on in the United States, Joseph Ratzinger was a professor and an archbishop in Germany.

What should he have done, Mike?

Meanwhile, from Roe v. Wade in 1973 to 2000, about 100 million live births were recorded in the United States (Source: CDC). During that same time frame, 40 million abortions were carried out in the United States (Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute). Approximately 46 million children are aborted worldwide, every year. (Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization).

How can the Church ignore that?

Matt Bramanti | June 21, 2005 at 4:38 pm
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The Vatican has released a book of speeches by Pope Benedict XVI, given when he was still a cardinal. He rejects the view that the Church and society should accept abortion as a given, suggesting that such a position would be tantamount to moral surrender:

In one section of the book, the Pope asks rhetorically why the Church should not accept that abortion is legal in many countries.

“Why don’t we resign ourselves to the fact that we lost that battle and dedicate our energies instead to projects where we can find greater social consensus?” he writes.

Because this, he says, would be a superficial and hypocritical solution.

“Recognizing the sacred nature of human life and its inviolability without any exceptions is not a small problem or something that can be considered part of the pluralism of opinions in modern society,” he writes.

“There is no such thing as ’small murders’. Respect for every single life is an essential condition for anything worthy of being called social life.”

That pretty much sums it up.

Matt Bramanti | June 21, 2005 at 11:08 am
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This is absolutely sickening:

A sexual predator accused of molesting two San Jose boys documented in chilling detail more than 36,000 purported sex acts with young boys for three decades in seven states, Brazil and Mexico, police said Thursday in what may be the worst case of abuse they have ever seen.

The logs were found on 1,360 pages in seven spiral notebooks that police seized last month at the San Jose home of Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller, 63, who has been charged with seven felony counts of molestation involving two 12-year-old San Jose boys.

In San Jose, police also seized binders containing thousands of pornographic photographs of children, several computers and a 6-foot-tall computer server, which is being analyzed by a forensic lab in Menlo Park.

While investigators said they hadn’t confirmed that the coded entries — which included the letters “F” and “X” after some names — are sexual acts, some page headings, written in a loopy cursive, categorize boys according to graphically specific sex acts.

Headings include “Boys under 12,” “Blond Boys,” “Cute Boys,” “Boys who say no,” and boys by specific sex act, Cornfield said.

How could he get away with this for so long?

Matt Bramanti | June 17, 2005 at 2:44 pm
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A piece by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman runs in today’s Chronicle, claiming that 500-mile-per-gallon cars are just over the horizon:

Imagine, though, if the government encouraged, through tax policy and other incentives, every automaker to offer plug-in hybrids? We would quickly move down the innovation curve and end up with better and cheaper plug-ins for all.

Then add to that flexible-fuel cars, which have a special chip and fuel line that enable them to burn alcohol (ethanol or methanol), gasoline or any mixture of the two. Some 4 million U.S. cars already come equipped this way, including from GM. It costs only about $100 a car to make it flex-fuel ready. Brazil hopes to have all its new cars flex-fuel ready by 2008.

As Luft notes, if you combined a plug-in hybrid system with a flex-fuel system that burns 80 percent alcohol and 20 percent gasoline, you could end up stretching each gallon of gasoline up to 500 miles.

The extra miles, of course, come from simply replacing gasoline with alcohol. It’s not as though each gallon of fuel will get you 500 miles down the road.

Here’s an analogy: you’re running a lemonade stand. Someone tells you, “I can give you 10 gallons of lemonade out of that one lemon.” Wow, that’d be cool. How do we do it? “Just squeeze the lemon into a big tub, and add 10 gallons of Country Time Lemonade.”

Yeah, thanks, Tom.

Government mandates in favor of alcohol-based fuels would become a massive subsidy to farmers, who already make their livelihood largely on the taxpayers’ nickel.

Matt Bramanti | June 17, 2005 at 1:06 pm
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Everyone’s been talking about Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) comments. Here they are:

When you read some of the graphic descriptions of what has occurred here—I almost hesitate to put them in the RECORD, and yet they have to be added to this debate. Let me read to you what one FBI agent saw. And I quote from his report:

“One a couple of occasions, i entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food, or water.

Hey Dick, he’s chained to the floor. What does he need a chair for?

On another occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold.

Wait a damn minute. We’re AIR CONDITIONING these violent extremist scumbags?

On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees.

That’s more like it.

On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room

To Dick, that’s torture. Sounds like high school gym class to me.

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime—Pol Pot or others—that had no concern for human beings.

Who knew Soviets, Nazis and Khmer Rouge had rap music and air conditioning?

Matt Bramanti | June 16, 2005 at 4:53 pm
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