Sleepless in Midland

Helping the new mayor avoid conflicts of interest

There's at least a 50% chance that Wes Perry may be elected mayor of Midland, Texas, on 11/6/07.  And he has already put us on notice at his website that he and his companies own a  substantial interest in downtown real estate.    So if we vote him into office it's going to be hard to complain if/when he wants to use our tax dollars to add value to his property.

He allegedly sought advice from the city attorney about whether some of his past votes as a city council member would have put him in a conflict of interest situation.  But there's an easy out.  Here's an item the city attorney may have scrutinized before giving him the pass.  It's the Texas Attorney General's 2006 Texas Conflicts of Interest Laws Made Easy (pdf).  Excerpt:

11. What is the test for conflict of interest regarding real property?
State law provides a two-part test for ascertaining whether a local official has a conflict of interest regarding real property that would prevent the official from participating on that item.28 To determine whether a conflict exists that would prevent that official’s participation, one should follow the following two-step analysis

1) Step One (Substantial Interest Analysis): First, the official must determine if the official has a $2,500 or more legal or equitable interest in real property that would be affected by the local entity’s action. If the official has such an interest or a close relative of the official has such an interest,29 the official must consider the second part of the test for determining if a conflict of interest exists.

2) Step Two (Special Economic Effect Analysis): The official must determine whether the action that the local unit is considering would have a special economic effect on the value of the property that is distinguishable from its general effect on the public.30 If it is determined that the official has a substantial interest in the real property and it is likely that the action would have a special economic effect that is distinguishable from its effect on the general public,31 a conflict of interest would exist. If a conflict of interest exists, the official is prevented from discussing or voting on an issue involving that business entity.32

The fact that an action would affect property close to an official’s own property does not in itself establish a conflict of interest that would prevent an official from voting on that item. The official must consider whether the proposed governmental action would have a special economic effect on the value of her own property that is distinguishable from its effect on the general public.33 For example, if a zoning, variance or platting request would have a special economic effect on a city official’s own property or the real property of a close relative of the official, the official could not participate in the discussion or vote on that matter.

So here's the bumper sticker:

"It is unlikely that my action would have a special economic effect that is distinguishable from its effect on the general public."

Thought Crimes 2.0 - Sight Crimes

A Texas Attorney General's news release, picked up by local media, tells us that a paramedic from Seminole has been arrested for something that was on his computer: child pornography images.

We are supposed to assume that by possessing such images the possessor has actually caused harm to some child, the theory being that the possessors created the demand which created the supply.  But still, they seem to be shooting somewhat short of the mark.  Perhaps finding the real villains in the picture is just too difficult, so they are taking the easiest route to try to look good to the public.

But here's a quote from the A.G.'s news release that deserves our attention:

Attorney General Abbott has earned a national reputation for aggressively arresting and prosecuting child predators. Since 2003, the Cyber Crimes Unit and Fugitive Unit have arrested more than 600 sex predators. Prosecutors also have obtained more than 70 child pornography convictions.

They arrested 600 and obtained 70 convictions.  Maybe the other 530 are awaiting trial, but taking the numbers as they were given to us, that's less than a 12% conviction rate.  So is the person identified with name and photo in the aforementioned news release going to be one of the 70 or one of the 530?  Real damage to that individual has already been done, so if he's in the 530 where does he go to get his reputation, life savings, job and family back?  Furthermore, if some dork looking at pictures on his computer is a "predator," what is the person called who actually grabs up a kid and commits some heinous act?   "A really, really, really bad predator?"

The wild child in you

Draw your own wild child self portrait here.

Via  Beancounter

Driving Mr. Giuliani

The things a guy has to do to run for president.  He's got to venture deep into flyover country, convince people he cares, and tap them for cash.    Rudy Giuliani is scheduled to hit town for a fund raising lunch on Friday (10/26/07).  It's invitation only, did you get yours?  I didn't, but here's a hand-me-down: Invitation.pdf

Not just anyone can attend.  The cover charge is actually a campaign contribution, and certain restrictions apply, as follows (emphasis added by me):

Contributions are not tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes. The maximum an individual may contribute is $4,600 ($9,200 per couple). Contributions by corporations, foreign nationals, non-green cardholders, and federal government contractors are prohibited.

Now I'm confused.  Just who are those prohibited "non-green cardholders?"  My Sam's Club card is half green, so I might be half eligible.  But with a cover charge of $250 per person I think I might know which green card they mean.  Hint:  Don't leave home without it.

They summoned volunteers with SUVs to drive Mr. Giuliani and his entourage from the airport to the engagement.  But as you might imagine, not just any driver would do.  There's a vetting process starting with a five page questionnaire a volunteer has to fill out and fire off before being allowed to sign on.  And here's another qualification some of the prospective volunteers might not have learned about until after they had done the paper work.  If your SUV was manufactured by a foreign company then you have wasted your time.  An odd requirement to be sure, considering how prevalent Toyota SUVs are on the road these days.  But a candidate has to do what he thinks prospective voters want him to do, and if it seems odd to some, it might be just the ticket for others.  In the meantime, look for the union label.

Bomb protection - Truck bed liner on building walls

In this part of the world pickup truck owners probably think of  Rhino when they want a truck bed liner.  But Line-X makes a similar product that some say is better because it's sprayed on hot.

So here comes a novel usage.  Popular Mechanics reports that Line-X's product, Paxcon, might help buildings withstand bomb blasts.  Excerpt:

Derived from Line-X’s bed liners, Paxcon can be sprayed on existing structures. It is designed to reduce or eliminate damage caused by fragmentation, or possibly delay a building’s collapse until it can be evacuated. Paxcon is being applied to commercial and government buildings around the world.

Let us spray.

Mayoral debate on KMID

Sunday evening KMID broadcast a debate between Stephanie Sparkman and Wes Perry, the two Midland mayoral candidates in the upcoming election.  And moderator Mel Hudman was kind enough to issue an invitation to bloggers to submit questions.

My question leapt back to the Menchaca affair and recalled that one of the excuses for entering into that settlement agreement was that the council member didn't want to spend the time it would take to submit to a deposition.  Now there were plenty of reasons for entering into that agreement.  And some might even suspect that a deposition might have uncovered some uncomfortable information.  But my question was about that time issue.  Specifically, how much time would the candidate be willing to spend on city business over and above the time it takes to attend the city council meetings?

Little did I know that was a "family values" question.  Shows how naive I was.  But thanks for the opportunity, Mel.

What happened to Fox News Watch?

There's an entertaining weekly tv show that takes a hard and sometimes humorous look at the way the week's news was covered by the usual news sources.  It's Fox News Watch which airs Saturdays at 5:30pm Central on Fox News Channel.

The show is hosted by Eric Burns, and the panel is balanced and fair with a couple of conservatives, Jim Pinkerton and Cal Thomas, and a couple of liberals, Jane Hall and Neal Gabler.  But I've often wondered whether someone off screen is egging Neal Gabler on, because sometimes he comes across as such an extremist that he's almost a parody of that political point of view.

So yesterday's show didn't air at the appointed time.  My tape showed some live show, and my fear was that Fox News Watch had been canceled.  But now it appears possible that just that one episode was taken off the air.  As for why that might have happened, apparently Neal Gabler went just a little too far.  In Does Neal Gabler Want Bill Kristol Killed in Iraq? Newsbusters.org provided a clue.  The answer to the question in Newsbusters' title is probably no, but Mr. Gabler's animus certainly is on display.  Watch 32 seconds of it on youtube and decide for yourself.

So if a show purporting to analyze news coverage makes news itself due to panelist extremism, shouldn't that be a topic for the type of analysis the show provides?

Dogs love it!

Dressing up in human costumes, that is, because you just know they want to be more like us, the silly things.  The canine costume party at the dog park this evening ended with three winners.

First place went to Koda, the flower dog.  Second place went to Shadow, the cop  dog.  And third place went to a world champion wrestler dog.

By the way, if you guessed that Koda, the black lab look-a-like, is a mix, you would have guessed correctly.  She a mix of a whole bunch of breeds, and the owners could tell you exactly which breed was dominant as they have proof in the form of a DNA test.  There's a company that for $65 will analyze doggie DNA from a swab sample from his/her mouth.  The results will tell what breed is primary, secondary and tertiary in your dog.  More about this when the information becomes available.

Correction:  The spelling of Koda's name has been corrected, above.

Update:  Koda's owners, Bobby and Elaine Cowley report that the DNA test revealed the following breeds:

Primary:  There is no primary breed as her DNA does not contain 50% of any single breed.

Secondary:  A breed that is easily recognizable in Koda but which make up less than a majority of her DNA is Chow Chow.

In the Mix: Breeds that have the least amount of influence on Koda's composition but which appeared at measurable amounts were Labrador Retriever, Collie and Shetland Sheep Dog.

The company providing the Canine Heritage Breed Test was MetaMorphix, Inc. which at this time can identify 38 breeds.  But the Cowley's reported that they were told that the company expects to be able to identify 100 breeds after the first of the year.  The website shows the current price to be $79.95 per dog.

Oh those darn political dynasties

We've got the Bush - Bush presidential dynasty.  Then there's the Clinton - Clinton political dynasty.  And now we learn that Dick Cheney and Barack Obama are cousins.  Sigh.  Maybe there's a political gene.

But at least we get to vote on them.

It's NOT a ray gun!

Here's an interesting new device, Raytheon's Silent Guardian.  Writer Michael Hanlon in the Dailymail says "I am told not to call it a ray-gun ..." so he proceeds to call it precisely that as he plays the role of target for a table top model.

The production model is too large for household use and is better on a large group.  However it can target a specific individual and has a range of over 250 meters.   From the Product Data Sheet (PDF):

The system’s antenna emits a focused beam of millimeter wave energy. The beam travels at the speed of light and penetrates the skin to a depth of 1/64 of an inch, producing an intolerable heating sensation that causes the targeted individuals to instinctively flee or take cover. The sensation ceases immediately when an individual moves out of the beam or the operator steers the beam away. Silent Guardian does not cause injury because of the shallow penetration depth of the millimeter wave.

Ouch!

Via Coolest-Gadgets and Information Week.

A knock at the door, a smiling face, a politician wanting votes

In one respect we've got to admire politicians.  They suffer all forms of verbal abuse, smiling the whole time.  But then they get elected, and they get an enormous power over us.

This past weekend one of the mayoral candidates was in my neighborhood ringing doorbells and handing out flyers.

I wish I had known in advance as I could have had some questions ready.  As it was, the only thing I could think of to ask about was the economic development tax.  (Sigh, if only Jessica had been there!)  Anyway, if Wes Perry has his way that tax isn't going away anytime soon.

But something I have to respect about Wes Perry is that he isn't ashamed to admit that he and the companies he controls are major downtown property owners.  This google map is linked at his site and shows properties in which he owns an interest, all of it downtown except the residence.  I appreciate the honesty, and given that the interest of the taxpayers and those who expect to profit from downtown property ownership might collide, if they haven't already, then voters will certainly want to factor this potential conflict into their analysis of the candidates.

The Right Tool for the Job

Yesterday my tool of choice was a spear, a pole with a nail driven into one end.  Instructions are simple:  Aim at trash, thrust, lift, place trash in bag.

It was the Keep Midland Beautiful trash pickup, and people all over town were out there cleaning up our city.  I spent about 3.5 hours at a rather large park, but this time there were some others who came along and helped out.  (I had the whole park to myself last time.)

Speaking of spears, here's a story someone told me about a trash pickup.  They were doing a beach cleanup, and many of the volunteers were given trash spears.   My friend had the job of holding the bag while the others put their trash into it.   So she holds the bag open for one of the volunteers, and the volunteer jabbed her spear into it...  You're way ahead of me, and you are right.  It was Tetanus shot time.  Some people shouldn't be trusted with sharp objects.

Next time I'm going to be armed with one of those store bought grabbers.

Make a face

Here's a neat little Flash exercise.  It's a face building tool called FlashFace.

We've all seen those sketches of crime suspects, and one has to wonder what the capture rate is with suspect sketches.  See how good you would be at building a face.  I'm not very good.  Here's the face I was trying to copy.

Via Cowboy Blob's.

Laura Bush: "The time for a free Burma is now."

First Lady Laura Bush has written an editorial about the situation in Burma which was published in the Wall Street Journal today, 10/10/07.  Excerpt:

Millions have also been stunned by the junta's shameful response: nonviolent demonstrators struck down with batons, tear gas, smoke grenades and bullets; civilians, including children, seized at random; innocent men and women slain.

The generals' reign of fear has subdued the protests--for now. But while the streets of Burma may be eerily quiet, the hearts of the Burmese people are not: 2007 is not 1988, when the regime's last major anti-democracy crackdown killed 3,000 and left the junta intact. Today, people everywhere know about the regime's atrocities. They are disgusted by the junta's abuses of human rights. This swelling outrage presents the generals with an urgent choice: Be part of Burma's peaceful transition to democracy, or get out of the way for a government of the Burmese people's choosing.

Read the whole thing at Stop the Terror in Burma.

Looks just like my house

Actually, no.  It doesn't look anything at all like my house.  This palace is still under construction, so we can get a glimpse of the back yard before the wall goes up.  There are some nice residences in Midland, but this is a house you can look at and say, "Now that's a nice house!"

What?  Only a three car garage?

Main Stream Media and Israel's Stealthy Attack on Syria

The Syrian target of the Israeli jets may have been a nuclear facility, and reportedly the U.S. pressured Israel for a delay.  Why?  Maybe the U.S. wasn't ready to demonstrate the ability to slip in and out undetected.  Here's speculation at:  Washington Monthly.

But I have to wonder how much politics played in the U.S. position.  There has been no end to the criticism by the Democrat Presidential candidates of Mr. Bush and everything he does.  It's such a knee jerk response that many of us don't take them seriously any more.  But just think for a moment.  What kind of reaction would there have been, domestically and internationally, if the U.S. had been responsible for that attack on the Syrian facility?

The main steam media would go berserk. Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann would scream themselves hoarse.  But it was almost a nonevent.  So thank you Israel.  Thanks not only for sparing us from the Syrian threat, but also from the msm assault on our senses.

Attention old movie fans

Gary Ott has a great old movie quiz at his MR-T column.

Separation of church and street

The Midland City Council voted 6 to 1 recently to ignore the wishes of neighbors and give away a portion of a city street to a church.  See City to close part of "M" Street to allow church growth. But there's something missing from the article:  Do any of those who voted for this proposal regularly attend that church?

As someone who used North "N" Street before the same church engulfed it, locked it up, and shut out all traffic, including pedestrian, I hate to see our local Council members give away yet another one.  Not only are the neighbors opposed to it, it sets a very bad precedent.  All forms of entities -- churches, mosques, businesses -- will want to absorb adjoining streets.

Here's a proposal.  If they really wanted to serve the community the Council wouldn't be awarding public land to a church but instead study ways to make better use the church property.  The church pays no property taxes and might serve the community as a whole better if it moved the facility outside the city limits.  The city could take over the church property through eminent domain as they were recently planning to do to downtown business owners.  Once obtained, the land could accommodate a modest convention center more appropriate for a city this size than the $60 Million monster described in that Feasibility Analysis (PDF).

As or the church and it's members, they'll understand when its pointed out to them that they are merely having done unto them what they would do unto us.

But why throw land at a church?  I don't remember this from Sunday school, do you go to hell for saying "no" to a Catholic priest?

Anyway, if the church's land grab goes through, here's a sign we might expect to see:  "Forgive us our trespasses, but you, no trespassing."