Sleepless in Midland

Browsing the Texas Open Records rulings

The Texas Attorney General's Open Records rulings are on line, and browsing through them provides an educational and entertaining way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

If a governmental body in Texas receives an Open Records request and wishes to withhold the information then it has ten business days within which to request a ruling from the Attorney General. And given the number of rulings, one is tempted to assume that every Open Records request submitted to any governmental body in Texas gets appealed to the AG for a ruling.

Go to the Texas Atty General's website, plug a key word into the search engine, and browse through the rulings for a study of what is being requested and how the Assistant AG's handled it. The reader doesn't get to see the results of the request but merely the ruling on whether or not the government body needs to supply it and the legal basis of the ruling. What follows is a sampling, but not a treatise. Each letter applies only to that particular request, but hopefully, there's some consistency. Here goes.

August 27, 1997 -- The Midland County District Attorney received a request from ABC News 20/20 for: "any and all copies of documents pertaining to the rape and/or sexual assault of civilians by law enforcement officers in the state of Texas." Link-PDF. The AG ruled that some of the info could be withheld and some couldn't. The addendum to this letter provides a list of they type of information from a criminal report that is available to the public. (Was there a 20/20 show utilizing this information? I must have missed it.)

January 29, 2008 -- The Abilene Assistant City Attorney received a request from the Abilene Reporter-News for the release of information regarding a sexual-assault offense report, and the Texas Assistant Attorney General letter ruling states that information tending to identify the sexual assault victim is private and must be withheld. Link-PDF.

March 27, 2008 -- Abilene again. This request was for the release of information regarding a specific undescribed incident apparently involving a police officer. The Assistant Attorney General noted that Abilene is a civil service city under Chapter 143 of the Local Government Code and distinguished personnel files, which are not subject to disclosure, from civil service files which are. See section 143.089(a) for a description of information required to be put in the civil service file, for example, investigatory material in a case resulting in disciplinary action. However, in this case the AAG ruled that the certain information could be withheld because of a pending criminal investigation but basic information must be released. Link- PDF. (See the next letter about a request for police officer personnel files in a non-civil service city.)

May 12, 2008 -- This letter regards a request for personnel files of two Midland police officers. The AAG relied on Government Code Section 552.022 and stated that the city may not withhold performance evaluations, completed reports, and completed investigations excepting certain personal information considered confidential by law, e.g., medical, illness, handicap, financial and criminal history. But another exception applied to certain information related to litigation pended in the federal court case of Ofelia Cano et. al v. the City of Midland, et al. Link. (That lawsuit alleges damages resulting from the violation of several Constitutional Amendments during a traffic stop and subsequent incarceration.)

September 6, 2007 -- This is in regard to a request from Lulu Corona of the Permian Basin League of United Latin American Citizens to the Midland Police Department for information related to allegations of police brutality or harassment between January 1, 1987 and May 31, 2007. The letter from the AAG specifies that certain information may be withheld, specifically, motor vehicle record information, medical records, information obtained from a polygraph examination, and information in regard to common law privacy. The remaining information must be released. Link. (This was a big news item at the time. Maybe the information would cast a bad light on the police department. On the other hand, maybe the public would look at it and decide the police department is doing a good job. But why has this information never been made public?  See next letter.)

September 11, 2007 -- A Midland Reporter-Telegram reporter directed a request to the City of Midland for the following: (1) complaints filed against officers of the Midland Police Department for any kind of harassment; (2) suspects killed in officer-involved shootings; (3) complaints filed against officers of the department for police brutality; and (4) the number of people who have died while in custody of officers from the department. The AAG replied noting that the City's request to the AG was not made within the time required by Gov't Code § 552.301, and therefore there is a presumption that everything is public information unless there is a compelling reason to withhold it. And in this instance other law made confidential information regarding drivers' licenses and vehicle registration. Everything else was to be released. Link. (Did the MR-T publish this? I don't remember it. Hmmm, I wonder what kind of ruling the AAG would provide in response to an open record request to the city for a copy of the information submitted to the MR-T pursuant to that open record request. Or for that matter, perhaps an open records request could be submitted directly to the Midland Reporter-Telegram. After all, it is the "Official Newspaper" of the city of Midland -- it's codified! See chapter 9 in the City Code.)

July 16, 2001 -- Former tv reporter Melissa Hendrix made a request to the Ector County Sheriff for " for records relating to an internal investigation conducted by the West Texas Narcotics Enforcement Task Force on three of its officers." The AAG noted that a ruling was not sought within the statutory time period, and therefore the information would be subject to release without a compelling reason. In this case the compelling reason was that other law enforcement agencies were investigating, and the release of the information might interfere with the prosecution of a crime. Link.

January 22, 2008 -- The Lubbock Police Department received a request for a red light camera video, and the AAG ruled that it must be released as the Transportation Code did not make it confidential. Link.

June 5, 2007 -- Eddie Garcia of CBS 7 made a request to the Midland Police Department for information regarding "an internal affairs investigation involving a department officer and the inappropriate use of a dashboard video camera." (Could this be that infamous video of the overweight man pushing a car while trying to hold up his pants?) The internal investigation file had already been released, and the issue concerned the video. The AAG noted that there was a legitimate public interest in the video because it was created by a department officer using department resources, and it was the subject of a department investigation and therefore it couldn't be withheld because of common law privacy even though it could be embarrassing to the person in the video.  However, the video showed the license plate number of the vehicle which is protected by other statutes. The MPD lacked the capability to block out the plate number on the video, and therefore the video could not be released. Link. (Pssst. You can see the video on Youtube here and here!)

Had enough? This could go on forever, so I'll turn it over to you to do your own searches. Have fun!

Shredding that junk mail

My little shredder is fine for a few sheets at at time, but my junk mail quickly transforms from a short stack to a pile, and the shredder really groans when it gets overloaded. The Midland Association for Retarded Citizens, Inc. (MARC) used to run a great little shop which employed some of it's clients and took in paper for shredding at a very reasonable fee. But the landlady raised the rent, and the shop closed.

But, here's an opportunity for those of us who don't like spending money to get some shredding done without stressing the shredder or the pocket book. It's Midland Shred Day on Saturday, July 5, 2008:

Once again, both events are at no cost, but there will be a maximum amount allowed per person. Individuals with material for shredding can ONLY bring the equivalent amount of two “LETTER” sized boxes. This size box is equal to the boxes of paper you buy at the office supply store [approximately: 1.3 cubic feet]

Hmmm. There's a limit per person. And is that 1.3 cubic feet the measure of one box or two boxes? Well, the paper I buy comes in a plastic wrapper so let's go with that number.

The cube root of 1.3 is 1.0913929. So that pile of paper would be roughly 1'1" by 1'1" by 1'1".

But here's another way to measure. It's SensibleUnits.com (found at LifeHacker.com). So we plug in 1.3 cubic feet and hit "units." And what do we learn? 1.3 cubic feet = 9.72 gallons (US), 8.1 gallons (imperial), or 7.97 beer gallons. All clear now?

Skeletons in the closet, slave traders in the family tree

(Scroll down for a post show update.)

A very thoughtful and well written email arrived the other day from Michael, an intern at POV, politely asking for a plug for an upcoming show. It's supposed to air on 6/24/08 on PBS, and it's titled Traces of the Trade - A Story From the Deep North .

The show is about a woman who discovered that one of her ancestors was a slave trader, and Michael said he addressed me because of an opinion I expressed here a while back about slavery reparations.

It looks to be an interesting program.

Post show update --

Katrina Browne pulled the people together to make this show. She is a descendant of the DeWolf family of Bristol, Rhode Island, and she determined through her research that the DeWolf family was the largest slave trading family in U.S. history having caused the forced immigration of 10,000 Africans to the Americas.

She tracked down 200 DeWolf descendants and contacted them about accompanying her to retrace the slave trade route with a trip from Rhode Island, to Ghana, to Cuba, then back to Rhode Island and allow themselves to be filmed for this documentary. She received 60 replies, and nine agreed to participate.

One traveler said in advance of the trip that he feared that the trip wouldn't mean a lot to him, but in the next breath said that he also feared that it would mean a lot to him. His second fear came true. They all anticipated an emotional experience, and they got it as they toured places where the slave facilities in Ghana and Cuba once existed.

There was some background about the business model of the slave trade, and it was interesting to learn that the American slave traders purchased the slaves in Ghana using tobacco, rum, hats, handkerchiefs, bread and mackerel as currency for exchange. There wasn't much made of the fact that Africans actually sold the slaves to the American slave traders, but one of the Americans did ask a Ghanan historian about the possibility that slavery actually started in Africa. He explained helpfully:

You see first of all, we should acknowledge the fact that slavery is not peculiar to Africa. Every civilization, Mesopotamia through China, India, Ancient Greece Rome, has known slavery. Secondly, remember that those who participated in the slave trade from the Africa point of view were not ordinary people as the European records indicate. They were the kings, principal men, wealthy people.

Viewers are left to wonder if the descendants of those kings, principal men and wealthy people are as guilt ridden about their ancestors' deeds as are our ten Americans.

Once the trip was over the ten upper middle class, ivy league educated, progressive Americans met to explore their feelings and try to figure out what should be done. Slavery reparations is the solution they settled on.

Many of us white folks who recently watched the clips of Jeremiah Wright preaching fire, brimstone, and damnation of America were stunned to realize that the attitude we witnessed and the sense that there was something owed was quite common in the black community. How wrong we were to think that the race issue had ended with equal rights.

But, there's something very wrong with reparations. It's punitive, and although there are people who would never be satisfied with anything less than punishment, there are many more people who might be subjected to this punishment who don't feel any of the blame and guilt felt by the people in the film. And it would merely shift the feeling of unfairness from one set of people to another.

So what do we do? The issue doesn't have an easy answer. But any resolution has to be voluntary and not forced, otherwise we would be making the same mistake twice. Those so inclined can and should make reparations -- set up a trust, fund it, and go to work.  But it should be voluntary.  Each of us, whether black, white or other is going to have to work it out his/her own way. And hopefully, if it isn't already so, there will be no place in the US where people are judged by the color of their skin.

Addendum. Previously on these pages: Slavery Reparations on 1/30/04 and subsequently: How firm is Mr. Obama's stand against slavery reparations? Does it matter? on 10/28/08

Juneteenth Parade 2008

Midland residents put on a wonderful parade yesterday in celebration of Juneteenth. I took 547 photos and narrowed it down to 104 to put on display. If you were in the parade, then you are probably in here. Click Juneteenth parade 2008 to see them.

Man, I love that parade. To see some photos taken at the 2007 parade click here.

"Black Gold" - it was a want ad for West Texas roughnecks

Sure, it looked a little muddy, but it was good clean mud, right?

I liked it, and I was surprised that I liked it. I anticipated another "American Chopper" style family spat-fest. But the "Black Gold" premier was a realistic presentation of get-the-job-done life on a drilling rig.

I don't know how popular the show was, but it sure did touch me. It's confession time: I was a teenage worm. Maybe I was 20, I don't remember. But I worked as a drilling rig roughneck for six months some decades ago. And although the workers get paid a hell of a lot more today, the job hasn't changed a bit. And that's what really surprised me.

The first episode of "Black Gold" made the job look very dirty with mud splashing everywhere. But that was probably exaggerated for effect. While I was working on the rig we would get drenched every once in a while, but it was something we really tried to avoid. And there was a shroud we could put up to deflect the mud if we knew in advance it might spray.

It could be dangerous. There's a lot of powerful equipment on a rig, and a lot of heavy metal hangs, spins, and gyrates above. And a guy could get hurt if he isn't careful. I remember one time we were tripping for a bit, and there was a very loud noise up above. The other, more experienced, floor hand ran for dear life, but I just stood there like an idiot wondering what the heck happened. Fortunately, nothing happened, and the other floor hand sheepishly walked back to his station. But I learned a big lesson from that guy: Hear an unexpected noise from above, run like a madman.

Another time we were putting a new joint in the rat hole, and I took a little spill. The process involves hoisting a length of pipe up to the rig floor and lowering it into a hole which holds the pipe until it's time to add it to the drill stem. The low man on the totem pole -- that would be me -- got to straddle the pipe and grab it as it went from horizontal to to vertical in order to guide it into the rat hole. Well, we had just mopped the deck, and it was still wet. So your humble blogger straddled the pipe and grabbed it to complete the process. And my feet went right out from under me. To break my fall I would have had to let go of the pipe. But if I had done that there could have been a catastrophe, so I held onto that pipe and hit the floor right on my rear. I stood up, got my footing, then placed the pipe in the rat hole. There was no "thank you," no "atta boy," no "good job, kid," I had merely done what was expected of me. Of course, we should have taken into consideration the wet floor, and that's where the job of a experienced driller comes in.

In the "Black Gold" premier one of the drillers was presented as a a thoughtful, experienced individual who tried hard to protect his workers. And they said the workers really liked him and wanted to work for him. I can believe that. I'm not sure how common people like that are, but at a work site like that, that's the kind of driller you want.

I would love to watch the entire series, however nothing but the first episode appeared on the TNT schedule, so I'll just try to catch a rerun sometime.

Updated 6-22-08: There are a couple of local blog reviews of "Black Gold." Jeff writing at Archaeotexture offers insightful criticism about the production aspects of the tv show, the writing, the camera crew, etc., with minimal comment about the accuracy of the content.

Meanwhile, Jimmy at Sticky Doorknobs quotes extensively from a friend who confessed that he/she never actually worked on a drilling rig but who nonetheless attempts to offer details on rig work and worker drinking habits.

Is information from people who have worked as a roughneck that hard to come by? Well, I worked as a roughneck, but surely my work history is not that unique. How about you? Do you work on a drilling rig or have you ever worked on a drilling rig? If so, I would love to hear from you.

Updated: Watched the second episode. See Black Gold 102.

A long time coming

If you live to be 100 you might earn one of these.

A group of volunteers recently threw an ice cream party for the residents of a long term care facility. And one of the residents was kind enough to let me photograph this plaque. (The name has been obscured for display here.)

So there's something to look forward to.

By the way, if you want to feel young again go visit a nursing home.

Good news for basic cable subscribers - "Black Gold" to be rebroadcast on TNT

This is great news. Those of us who don't get truTV are in luck! The Black Gold series - real life experiences of West Texas roughnecks on a drilling rig - is scheduled for re-showing on TNT.

The first episode premiers on truTV on 6/18/08 at 9pm Central and is scheduled for re-showing on TNT on 6/19/08 at 9 pm Central. (Via comments by dskolfield at oaoa.com.)

1st Update: Watched the first episode. See "Black Gold" - It was a want ad for West Texas roughnecks.

2nd Update: Watched the second episode. See Black Gold 102.

Arson at the Texas Governor's Mansion - a coincidence?

It's either an interesting coincidence or a clue. According to the Dallas Morning News, the fire at the Texas Governor's Mansion was caused by arson. Link:

State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado said Monday that investigators aren't ready to release video surveillance footage from the night of the fire.

But he said it shows a white man who appears to be in his 20s scaling a barricade wall and hurling an incendiary device onto the mansion's front porch.

The device erupts into a fireball.

Surely the State Fire Marshal has considered the similarity between that fire in Austin and the arson fire at the former home of George H. W. Bush in Odessa last December. See Who would do such a thing?, infra.

A fire at a house of historic value. A possible political motive. An accelerant on the front porch. A lot of coincidences.

What to do with those pre-ban tomatoes

That salmonella outbreak has store owners skittish about selling tomatoes, and there were probably tons of the things taken off the shelves. What happened to them? Did they go to the hog farms? What a waste.

So what does a frugal shopper do with those tomatoes bought before the ban? Soak, slice, dice, spice and simmer.

First, give them a thorough washing with tap water. And if that's not enough, soak them in a vinegar bath. Given enough time vinegar will eat up a pocket knife, so surely it will kill a few tiny little bacteria. For some suggestions on what to do with the leftover vinegar, see 62-little-known-uses-of-vinegar.

Anyway, on to the chopping block. Slice up some jalapeños for some additional protection against the bacteria, and you can never go wrong with garlic sliced Goodfellas style.

Put it all in a pan, throw in your favorite spices, and cook over low heat until it's bubbling and saucy. There you have it: Rehabilitated Tomatoes!

Pour the sauce over some pasta and serve with a glass of wine. There's probably not enough alcohol in the wine to kill any germs that survived all of that, but it couldn't hurt. What you see here is the above described tomato sauce over fusilli and served with steamed broccoli and salmon loaf. Yummy yet healthy.

Now if only those local growers will start harvesting and selling those delicious home grown tomatoes!

Added later. I should mention that I did the cooking and eating several days ago, and aside from needing a power nap, there have been no side effects. So either it worked, or the tomatoes weren't infected.  Also, on this same general topic, Eric's method of tomato sterilization might be a bit of overkill.

How about some ear plugs made out of this stuff?

Some Spanish scientists have worked up a blue print for a material that will deflect sound. See Experts unveil 'cloak of silence'. (Via techdirt.)

The Spanish team who conducted the new work believe the key to a practical device are so-called "sonic crystals".

These artificial composites - also known as "meta-materials" - can be engineered to produce specific acoustical effects. "Unlike ordinary materials, their acoustic properties are determined by their internal structure," explained Professor Pendry.

These would be used to channel any sound around an object, like water flowing around a rock in a stream.

"The idea of acoustic cloaking is to deviate the sounds waves around the object that has to be cloaked," said Jose Sanchez-Dehesa of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, one of the researchers behind the new work.

No more noisy cars, no more barking dogs. Ah, the peace and quiet!

Animal photos faked

I ran across a this CBC article titled Cruel Camera - Fakery in Wildlife Documentaries about how many documentary wildlife scenes are faked . (Via Skepchick.)

Our old friend Bear Grylls gets mentioned for trucking in "wild mustangs" for him to try and capture in one of his adventures. Regular readers may remember Mr. Grylls getting the grill on these pages. See The Wild Won and Bear Grylls up to his old tricks, inside.

Anyway, back to the CBC article, it contains this sentence: "Sir David Attenborough is accused of staging a confrontation between himself and a cobra in a South African desert for his new BBC series, Life in Cold Blood." It's hard to get a wild animal to do what you want it to do, much less a reptile, so it's little wonder that the filmmakers try to make it happen anyway. But hey, is this a closed shop or can anyone get in on this? Let's see what we can find in the old scrapbook.

For starters here's the wrong way to approach a deadly diamondback. He crept up on the snake, slowly, slowly, hoping to get as close as possible without getting bitten. The snake was coiled and ready.  And as the guy moved his hand closer and closer his heart was pounding.  He held his breath. Then SNAP!

The picture was taken. We needn't have worried about a bite as the snake was a freeze dried specimen purchased just moments earlier and set out in that dusty parking lot for the scene you see here.

This next set shows a boa constrictor about to tighten his deadly grip, strangle and then swallow a human whole. But the outcome has a twist. It's just a sight gag, but it fits, sorta.