Sleepless in Midland

Beavis and Butthead would love F*cking, Austria

They've been off the scene for years -- maybe working on their college degrees.

But sometimes you see something and think that would be right down B&B's alley. And that's the thought this news item triggers.

It's about F*cking, Austria. The residents there are p*ssed at the Brits. Why? Because drunken Brits find the phone number of a F*cking resident and call in the wee hours to make a lame name joke.

Via Metro.co.uk via newslite.tv.

Beavis and Butthead would love it.

Death of the Walkman

There was a time in every city's history when the citizens using the sidewalks, parks and bus stops had their ears assaulted by the noise coming from a Ghetto-blaster as it quaked the earth for 30 yards from the epicenter. Those noise makers seemed to be everywhere, and the fellows who carried them liked to make a deep impression on the eardrums of the innocent bystanders they encountered.

Then alone came the Sony Walkman, the music got personalized, and the cities were peaceful again. The Walkman deserved a Nobel Peace Price for the music it provided for the user and the harmony it brought to the busy sidewalks those long years ago.

But the Walkman's time has passed as we learn that it is going out of production -- according to NY1.com.

Ah, but not so fast. Blogs.WSJ.com says it's being outsourced to China. So it's not out with a bang, or even a whimper, but with a squeaky little noise leaking from an earphone.

The descendant of the Walkman is the MP3 player. And the descendant of the Ghetto-blaster is the car with a speaker system that could knock down the walls of Jericho.

Long line at ballot box suggests big voter turnout

The line was long at the Midland County, Texas, annex building today on this last day of early voting. But the line moved quickly, and at around 3:00 pm a voter could get in, vote, and be out in 20 minutes. Thank goodness there was a simple ballot this time.

The election office adjoins the tax office, so voters were entertained by the delightful Halloween costumes the County employees wore. Could the tax office have chosen a more appropriate theme than pirates?

Can't find your phone?

Here's a site that says it can help. Plug the phone number in the blank, and presumably, it will cause the phone to ring. Tough luck if the phone is turned off.

It's I Can't Find My Phone and is yet another example of human adaptation to their machines.

Via Carpe Diem.

A mistake anyone could have made

The morning paper had a notice about an award recently given to Texas District 11 Representative Mike Conaway. To wit:

Conaway gets award

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy presented Congressman Mike Conaway with the 2010 William H. Van Rensselaer Public Service Award during its annual meeting Tuesday. ...

Conaway, a CPA, has been a vocal opponent to reducing the national debt, the release says. ...

Emphasis added.

The NASBA press release actually said he was:

... a vocal proponent in reducing the national debt.

With so many born again fiscal conservatives among the ranks of Republican Representatives it was an easy mistake to make.

Hey boys and ghouls, it's almost Halloween!

Halloween really brings out the creativity in people. The photo below shows my all time favorite Halloween yard decoration. This was back in the fall of 2008, and that prescient homeowner was preparing us for a fright that came true.

[Photo note. The watermark, "Steal this photo" is a reference that the radicals who nurtured Barack Obama will surely recognize. A liberal blogger appropriated this photo and used it on his own blog after I posted it in '08. So if he's still dropping by maybe the watermark will remind him how childish and unrealistic Abbie Hoffman's message was that it was immoral not to steal from the capitalist pigs. It's never to late to learn.]

Moving right along, wanna see some really awful homemade costumes? Check out these doozies.

On the other hand, the vintage photos at My Parents Loved Halloween are kinda sweet.

And finally, some genuine creativity. Check out Ray Villafane's carved pumpkins and prepare to be dazzled. (Thanks G.R.)

Prepare for Halloween!

Juan Williams sacked by NPR

Sometimes a story gets so much coverage that a blogger's 2¢ gets so devalued it isn't worth the effort. But that's never stopped us before.

As everyone knows by now, Juan Williams got fired from NPR for statements he made not on NPR but on Fox News Channel. Anyone who has watched him on Fox will recall that he had been saying for the longest time that other liberals have questioned why he appeared on Fox. And now, when he says NPR sacked him because they hate Fox so much, that sounds very credible.

One doesn't have to look far to find disparaging remarks about Fox News. But check out this remarkable statement from the NPR ombudsman:

Instead, this latest incident with Williams centers around a collision of values: NPR's values emphasizing fact-based, objective journalism versus the tendency in some parts of the news media, notably Fox News, to promote only one side of the ideological spectrum.

(Emphasis added.)

Fox News, and I'm only focusing on the news programs, doesn't let liberals get away with things they might have been able to to say without question on MSNBC or some of the other networks. And there's the problem with Fox.

The ombudsman continues:

The issue also is whether someone on NPR's payroll should be allowed to say something in one venue that NPR would not allow on its air. NPR’s ethics code says they cannot.

Well, he should have been able to say the same thing on NPR without regard to politically incorrectness. But let's look at that ethics code:

code: 10. In appearing on TV or other media including electronic Web-based forums, NPR journalists should not express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist. They should not participate in shows electronic forums, or blogs that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis.

Ah ha! Williams' crime wasn't what he said but that he said it on a forum that encourages punditry, in this case, The O'Reilly Factor. Why didn't they just say that? Could it be that a strict construction would rope in too many other NPR pundits?

Meanwhile, NPR execs won't have to worry about the next pledge drive now that they have such a well healed benefactor as George Soros.

Added later: Mr. Williams is probably lucky he only got fired. Elsewhere people face criminal charges for expressing fear of Muslims, e.g., Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in Austria and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands.

Those crazy Brits -- top 50 funniest British jokes

The marketing research firm OnePoll gets people to volunteer to take surveys in exchange for a tiny payment. And apparently they've got lots of willing survey takers.

For one recent survey they collected 1,000 jokes and got 36,000 people to vote on them. The 50 jokes that got the most votes made the final list. Here's a sample:

45. I tried water polo but my horse drowned.

41. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly. But when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it.

40. I said to this train driver "I want to go to Paris". He said "Eurostar?" I said, "I've been on telly but I'm no Dean Martin".

23. A priest, a rabbi and a vicar walk into a bar. The barman says, "Is this some kind of joke?"

22. Slept like a log last night........ Woke up in the fireplace.

18. My therapist says I have a preoccupation with vengeance. We'll see about that.

5. I said to the Gym instructor "Can you teach me to do the splits?" He said, "How flexible are you?" I said, "I can't make Tuesdays."

If by now you are dying to see the whole list, check it out at DailyMail.co.uk.

Tea Party Voter Rally

Yesterday the Odessa Tea Party held a Voter Rally in the hanger at the CAF Museum giving several candidates the opportunity to address some of their potential voters.

They announced that the Odessa Tea Party, Inc., has a 501(c)(4) exemption, and that means they can lobby, but they can't participation in political campaigns. So in full compliance with the IRS regs, they invited a long list of candidates but didn't endorse a single one.

OTP president Elizabeth Wooldridge read the list of the invitees so that the attendees could consider which candidates refused to visit. But the ones who showed up got a nice welcome and the full appreciation of the crowd.

Cowboy poet and story teller Dennis Gaines served as the master of ceremonies and made sure there was not a dull moment between speeches. Each speaker was expected to talk no longer than 15 minutes, but Mr. Gaines cautioned that sometimes trying to take a microphone away from a politician is harder then getting a Baptist preacher away from an all-you-can-eat buffet. With that hanging over them, the speakers stuck to the schedule.

 Warren Chisum, representative from District 88 in the Texas House, was first up. His photo is on the right.  He stunned the audience when he announced that the state of Texas has over 300,000 employees, but he recently threw his hat in the ring for Speaker of the House and hopes the house can become more fiscally responsible. However, families and children are his primary issue, and he's very proud of HB 480 which, if passed and signed into law, would a require a couple with children seeking a divorce to take a crisis marriage education course.

Jeff Gonzales spoke on behalf of Charlie Garza who is running for the District 1 spot on the contentious Texas State Board of Education. "We not only drink tea, we breathe fire," Mr. Gonzales said as he beat the drum for Mr. Garza. But he was candid about the chances when challenging a 21 year incumbent and hoped they would lose by only a small margin.

  Kathie Glass is running for Texas Governor as a Libertarian and made a very impressive appearance. Where has she been all this time? She could have stolen the show if Perry and White had shown up, and maybe that's why they stayed away. Her objectives are these:

Secure the borders with the Texas State Guard;
Resist unconstitutional mandates from Washington;
Cut the budget in half to what it was 10 years ago;
End taxpayer funded services for non-citizens; and
Death to the Trans Texas Corridor.

When asked, Ms. Glass said she favors the right of Texas voters to put initiatives on the ballot. Texas politicians have been very resistant to giving up any power to the voters, and since she's the only candidate for governor who would support that, she gets my vote.

Railroad Commission candidate David Porter provided a short history lesson about the Texas Railroad Commission which was started in 1890 as an agency to regulate the railroads. Then in 1919 it was given jurisdiction over oil and gas, and today it covers not only oil and gas but pipelines, LP gas, coal and uranium. Mr. Porter's goal, if elected, is to do a better job of managing the funds the agency is given.

The always entertaining Jason Moore, Captain Watchdog, and self acclaimed "filthy stinking capitalist," made an appearance and kept the audience laughing as he nicknamed various politicians and their projects. For example, the "Golden Plaque Syndrome" afflicts politicians with an insatiable desire for plaques honoring them on structures the taxpayers had to buy. "Taxpayer Towers" is the new Midland Memorial Hospital structure, the plan for which was expanded recently to use up some extra money. Then there's the "Oil Patch Opera House" theater currently under construction near the airport.

  Texas is number one! But unfortunately, the category is the percent of tax per property value Texans pay. He proposes a law requiring that a bond proposal must get favorable votes from a minimum of 25% of registered voters or it fails.

The hot button issue in Odessa right now is a bond proposal to fund an Odessa College expansion. It's not "anti education," he says, to ask, "Why now?"

Jon Roland is running for Texas Attorney General as a Libertarian. He said people hear him speak and say they wish Republicans were more like libertarians. And he says they say they wish Republicans would nominate libertarians. He says the primary system would need to be reformed before that could happen, but there is not enough demand from the voters. To get reform people need to write it out exactly what they want and keep a close eye on those they expect will implement it. "We are led by people who marginally know what they are doing."

Chris Younts -- Mr. Younts ran in the Republican primary last March for the position of U.S. Representative for Texas District 11 against the incumbent Mike Conaway. Voters had an opportunity to send a message to Washington that they didn't want the big government that was being foisted on us. And it isn't just Democrats, both parties want big government. But when District 11 Republican votes were counted, voters gave Mr. Conaway the message that they want more of the same. If big government is the problem, Mr. Younts said, District 11 voters can find the problem by looking in the mirror.

Mr. Younts is a former firefighter and is currently a business man and rancher. He's familiar with hunting dogs, and he made an analogy. Pointers among hunting dogs are very common. What's uncommon is a dog that will actually go out and retrieve. What we've got now in Washington are pointers who point to the hot issue of the moment. But we need retrieves who are willing to do the work. Our politicians are so gun shy, he said, that they don't even want to come out of the kennel.

Mr. Younts said that when he was a firefighter they would roll up to a burning house, and invariably there would be people standing outside, and one might be spraying at the house with a water hose. The firefighters would push the people aside, break down the door, go in and put out the fire. That's what is needed now, someone willing to go in and put out the fire. Instead, Republicans are demonstrating the lack of backbone by downplaying the once urgent drive to repeal Obamacare. At the end of the day, we just can't spend more than we bring in.

After his speech he was asked if he would run for office again. Mr. Younts gave his head a half shake and said, "I really like my life the way it is." So I guess that's a "no." Too bad.

Dennis Gaines finished off the day with a long and engaging speech about how our elected officials, who should perceive public service as a privilege, have betrayed us. He can direct a string of pejorative adjectives at Washington that will sting your ears and make you laugh. But the Tea Party movement demonstrates an awakening of the mighty, he said. Mr. Gaines quoted a Texas Ranger, "No man in the wrong can stand up to a man in the right who just keeps on a-comin."

There's hope. And maybe there will be change.

Here's a gutsy gal

She's Marisol Valles Garcia, the 20 year old student who just took the job of police chief in the small town of Praxedis G. Guerrero*, Mexico. If this works out there should be a TV show: Marisol, Mexican Ranger.

The Mayor, who seems to be very much in charge of the police force, said she was the best qualified of the 20 applicants. This is from the El Paso Times which also tells us she is a student studing criminology at a Juárez university and that most of the cops don't carry guns. So the message to the cartels is "Hey, we mean you no harm." Apparently, their goal is merely to provide the routine police services a small town might need but not get crosswise with the drug lords.

It's Mexico, and we've all heard stories about police corruption long before the cartels started mowing down rival gang members and innocent bystanders alike. The pay was low, and the off-the-book payments were how they made a living, or so the legend goes.

If Senorita Garcia can clean that up, then she's off to a very good start.

*The town of Praxedis G. Guerrero was named after a leader in the Mexican Revolution who was killed in 1910. Source. The population could be somewhere between 3,400 and 10,000, depending on the source.

Hillary, tear down that anti-gun wall

Let those M1s come to the U.S.

Democrats this season are desperately trying to hang on to any votes their constituent groups might be able to supply. And that might explain why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in conjunction with the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, banned the sale of surplus M1 Garand and M1 Carbine rifles from South Korea to qualified buyers in the United States even though President Obama had signed off on it. Having it both ways, maybe?

John Cornyn and 15 other senators sent them a letter asking for a reversal of this decision, calling it a "backdoor gun ban." As the letter states, those old guns are collectors' items, and the BATF even classifies them as curios or relics. "Essentially, the sale of these historic rifles—each a piece of America’s proud history—pose no greater risk than the sale of any other firearm legally sold in the United States."

Yes, they helped defeat Nazism, and they could still be formidable weapons. But modern guns are much more versatile, and the real bad guys, from drug warriors to jihadist, prefer the gun some call the most important weapon ever, the AK-47.

Surely Hillary is simply engaging in election year posturing and can ultimately be expected to show more respect to citizens and their constitutional rights. After all, she might even run for president again some day.

Elsewhere on this topic, TexasInsider.org, AmmoLand.com and GeeksWithGuns.com.

Now that's a provocative ad

The morning paper today contained the advertisement you see on the right -- "Black Genocide in 21st Century America." At the bottom it says "Paid for by Midland Catholics for Life," so there's a big clue about where it might be going.

The ad is for a free presentation of the movie MAAFA 21. See trailer at Youtube and part 1 here. Apparently the movie makes a connection between abortion and early attempts by some to control the African American population.

Race, eugenics, abortion -- now that should inspire calm discussions.  No hot buttons there.

Missile defense

Imagine that you're a sailor swabbing the deck of an Aegis class destroyer, and without warning missiles start shooting off the foredeck. It could scare a person.

This American Thinker piece titled The unintended consequences of missile defense quotes an American Spectator article (not currently on line) which describes in surprising detail the Aegis missile defense system on board 30 or so vessels currently in service.

The commander turns on the system then steps aside. The "SPY 1B" radar system watches for a threatening missile launch, and when one is detected the computer program goes to work calculating the trajectory and launching one or more SM-3 missiles. And by all accounts, it works. It really makes one to wonder at the partisan opposition the program inspired when Ronald Reagan initiated it decades ago.

The unintended consequence noted in the American Thinker piece is the absence of the certainty of a massive retaliation that would have followed a missile attack during the cold war. The author is concerned that the current president would refrain from a devastating response should Iran shoot a missile at us. But that might not be such a bad thing. A targeted response involving a few carefully aimed cruise missiles aimed at key leaders would be better for us all.  Whether the current president would authorize that is another matter altogether.

TEA Party On!

It's time for the voters of this great country to send a message to the government: "Stop spending!"

A very important election will take place in exactly two weeks.  Can you feel the excitement?

It's voter rally time at the CAF Museum Hangar - Map - on Saturday, October 23, 2010, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, thanks to the fine folks of the Odessa Tea Party.

Bring a chair if you want to sit.

The lady needs a proof reader

Sometimes a typo is obvious to the reader, but sometimes it can change the meaning drastically. To wit, from Tim Blair:

Amanda Hess sets the record straight:

This blog post originally stated that one in three black men who have sex with me is HIV positive. In fact, the statistic applies to black men who have sex with men.

Big difference.

Meanwhile, linked in the comments is a Washington Post article titled Study puts HIV rate among gay men at 1 in 5. Damn. Would same sex marriage put a crimp on that?

Unique business cards

Most of the business cards we see are the standard black ink on white paper stock. But someone wanting to stand out might get really creative.

My favorite, above, split right down the middle.  Check out other unique cards at 20 Awesomely Creative Business Card Designs.

Stewart Doreen, Editor, Midland Reporter-Telegram

Congratulations to Stewart Doreen in his new post as editor at the Midland Reporter-Telegram. I had to look up "editor" to see just what that job might entail, and it's more than just proof reading and spell checking. It's a job at an even higher level than the managing editor job he just vacated.

We don't know whether anyone else was in contention for the editor's job, but Stewart had a a lot going for him. He was the first local news person to recognize the potential of blogging, and he even did some blogging of his own for a while. So from the Sleepless in Midland perspective, Stewart had to be the front runner.

He said he takes the newspaper's role of government watchdog very seriously, and that's an attitude we should all appreciate. A good politician can turn on the charm and sweep lesser newspaper people off their feet. And besides, those politicians are always good story sources. An entity in the business of selling stories wouldn't want to offend a good source. So we want to wish him the strength to resist those temptations.

As watchdogs of the watchdogs, bloggers want to help them get it right. Let's start with those newspaper editorials telling us how to vote. For example, in 2008 they told us to vote for Choc Harris. They took it offline, but here's my reaction from back then. The Constable is still awaiting trial.

More recently they told us to vote to reelect Mike Conaway, because he brings home the pork -- sigh, such a quaint notion from days gone by. It didn't die with Robert Byrd. (That editorial evades the search engines, too.)

Today's editorial (also not online) reluctantly endorses Rick Perry for Texas Governor hoping we've forgotten that the editorial page was in a quagmire of indecision during the Republican Primary when it might have mattered.

But nevermind.  Let's look ahead.  Stewart set the goal for the new job himself -- to be as good as his predecessors: ... it is our goal to live up to the standard of news reporting set by [previous editors]. That's too easy, Stewart. You can be better.

Meanwhile, the roster on page 2 of the newspaper shows some personnel changes with two old hands missing from the list, Ruth and Bob Campbell. Man, that new editor is tough.

Make a Difference Day

Today was the Keep Midland Beautiful annual fall cleanup, and people were out all over town picking up other people's trash. Here's a big hats-off to all of them.

I was out there picking up trash at my usual spot and noticed a new entry in the trash heap of human leavings. "Joose," a flavored malt liquor which is 9.9% alcohol. Parteee!

Most of us learned early on to pick up our own trash, but picking up other people's trash is a little bit harder. The slobs should have cleaned up their own mess. But that's the tragedy of the commons, and that problem has been around longer than we have.

That's where KMB has done such a good job of inspiring citizens to get out and pick up. Oh, we can't forget the free hot dogs. Once again the chef had prepared a batch of blackened hot dogs. Dark and crunchy on the outside, rich and fatty on the inside. Scrumptious! Add some relish and mustard, toss in a bag of chips, and you've got yourself a fine meal.  Bring your own Joose.

A hoarder's paradise

It's the Texas Size Garage Sale that takes place once a year for three days in Midland, Texas. The first day is over, but it continues Saturday and Sunday (10/16 & 10/17/2010.

As an amateur hoarder I can certify that this is a fantastic event. It took three trips to the vehicle and set me back about $50. But I came away with a TV set, a VCR, a Yamaha electric percussion instrument, a Garrity 3 cell flashlight, a pair of Northwest Territory boots with Thinsulate insulation, two winter jackets, a pair of Silencio hearing protectors, a hard hat, a CAF Airsho cap, a walking stick, various tools, and a DVD of "RKO 281." I could have done better, but they chased customers out at 3 pm.

There's an online test that a well meaning friend sent last year, and it declared me to be "hoarder". I was so self conscious about it I was almost afraid to watch Hoarders on A&E. But the people on that show are hard core accumulators who have buried their living space in junk. It's a good lesson for amateur hoarders on setting limits. Like the song says, you've got to know when to hold 'em, you've got to know when to throw 'em.

Rattlesnakes not rattling?

There's something quaint about a rattlesnake's rattle. The little guy is sending a message. "You chaps are invading my personal space, and I would very much appreciate it if we could part company without hurting each other. Deal?"

Maybe there are others killers in nature that provide a personal warning, but not many.

So all of this is leading up to an interesting phenomenon that some people are observing. A rancher friend forwarded an email with the subject: "Rattlers not Rattling this year---important information." What followed were reports about several encounters with rattlesnakes where the snakes didn't rattle. The theory is that they've learned that the noise they make is as likely to bring them harm as it is to scare away a predator. If it's true, it's not exactly evolution, but it's an interesting environmental adaption. Anyway, here it is reproduced with permission and slight editing:

Subject: Rattlers not Rattling this year---important information
We killed 2 rattle snakes at our dove lease 5 miles South of Midland City limit and the snakes DID NOT rattle. In fact one snake literally went over xxxxxxxxxx,s boots while he was dove hunting. ERAM

I will confirm I have killed a couple of snakes at the lake and Ibex this year and let others go and not one rattled. I poked at one in the Fandangle with a stick before I killed him and despite striking repeatedly at the stick he never made a sound. I thought something was wrong with him before he nearly knocked the stick out of my hand.

Subject: Rattlers not rattling!
My fellow friends and family,
We have killed 57 rattlesnakes on two separate ranches this year. Twenty-four (24) at South Bend & thirty-three (3) at Murray , since mid-May. Not one has buzzed! We provoked one fair sized boy with a stick and he coiled & struck at the stick a couple of times before he buzzed up and rattled. The purpose of this explanation is that I have been hearing the same from fellow ranchers and hunters in regards to the lack of warning with rattlesnakes.

I had lunch with a friend today and he offered a theory about the fact that these dudes aren't rattling anymore. He raised pigs for years and reported that when he would hear a rattlesnake buzzing in the sow pen, the sows would bee line to it and fight over the snake. For the uninformed, pigs love to eat rattlesnakes. Therefore, the theory is they are ceasing to rattle to avoid detection, since there are plenty of pigs roaming the countryside. I have a neighbor ranching lady who was bitten 3 weeks ago, twice by the same snake without any warning ... She spent 5 days in ICU, after 22 vials of anti-venom she is back at the ranch and still may lose her foot or worse yet her lower leg.

The days of perceived warnings are over. Keep your boots on and use a light when out and about. As you all know, one can pop up just about anywhere! You may wish to forward this to anyone that would be interested.

So there you have it. Thanks, JB.

Injustice of the day -- Streaker may not get the money

This is so unfair. Here we are in a serious recession, jobless people are in dire straits, and some rich guy offers a million dollar prize from his inherited fortune for someone to steak naked in front of the President Obama with "battlecam.com" written on his body and to shout those same words six times.

So far so good until Juan James Rodriguez stepped up to the plate and performed a million dollar streak at a campaign rally in Philadelphia. So now the guy who issued the challenge, Alki David, seems to be trying to weasel out of paying because he can't confirm whether Obama saw it. Source and excerpt:

We're waiting to hear from the president to see if he, in fact, saw Juan Rodriguez during the streaking challenge.

Mr. David probably got more publicity for his website than he could have bought with his million dollars, but even if he didn't he should honor his offer rather than offering less the full amount.

And what about Obama? Can't he step forward and help out Mr. Rodriguez? Help the little guy, hurt the rich guy, that should be win/win in Obama's world.

Parking meters for collecting change for panhandlers -- Orlando

It's a big city plague -- panhandlers badgering people for spare change, usually downtown, and often near a public facility like a courthouse or library. Minimal eye contact, a stern look, and a shake of the head used to be enough to deter them, but now, who knows?

Most kind hearts will feel some compassion the first time or two and hand fork over some currency. But they soon learn an important lesson: rewarding behavior increases said behavior. And regardless of how generous a person is, handing out money can become tedious, not to mention expensive.

Back when I was a big city dweller I experimented with lots of things from standing in line and buying some sympathetic beggar a Big Mac to telling them to bug off. Some of those characters were quite sympathetic, too. But as we all know, story tellers gets better with practice, and there's no way of knowing how much effort went into crafting those stories into moneymakers.

So it's interesting to read about this experiment in Orlando, found at Carpe Diem.

They are planning to put up parking meters, called "homeless meters," which are set off from the street and painted some color to distinguish them from real parking meters. Anyone with spare change can deposit it into the meters giving them a ready made excuse to deliver to any panhandler. "I gave at the meter."

But here's where it gets complicated. The money is collected by the city then turned over to a non-profit group which is supposed to use it to help the homeless. So there are basically two middlemen, and presumably the last one determines where to spend the money.

At least it gives the people with spare change another choice in the matter, give directly to the panhandler or give to a middleman. Then again, deterrence is always an option. Give them that stern look, a head shake and a "bug off." Your wording may vary.  But the object is to let them know they are dealing with a first class A-hole.

Post Script: Some hobo history at Overheard in New York:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have spent all my money on alcohol and marijuana and drugs... But now, I have learned my lesson. I want to spend all your money on alcohol and marijuana and drugs... and viagra."

Get the government off the post office's back

The U.S. Postal Service gets a lot of flak from people wanting to use it as example of a big government program that can't do its job. But that's wrong. The post office generally gets the mail delivered in a reasonable amount of time and for a reasonable cost.

But their problem is that the government has its thumb on it. They recently tried to raise the price of first class postage from $0.44 to $0.46, but the Postal Regulatory Commission said "nope." So they are going to be faced with a difficult situation given that the U.S.P.S. is required by law to make a huge payment to the Retiree Health Benefit Fund.

What's the solution? Postmaster General John E. Potter has some ideas. From letters to the editor to a statement at USPS.com, he's been very public about it, to wit:

Specifically: 1) enable us to alter frequency of delivery consistent with use of the mail; 2) allow us to close unprofitable post offices; 3) restructure our obligation under a 2006 law to prefund retiree health benefits, an obligation not applicable to any other private or government entity; 4) permit us to create and offer products and services beyond mail; 5) assure that arbitrators consider the financial health of the Postal Service when agreement cannot be reached with our labor unions; and 6) resolve overfunding of our pension systems. Legislation has been introduced in Congress to address these issues.

Notice that half of his suggestions pertain to the service while half pertain to the union and retirees.

If the USPS is an example of what the government can't do right, then removing the government's thumb might let it thrive.

MFD Open House

Yesterday the Midland, Texas, Fire Department held its annual open house, and while the crowd was light, the weather was ideal. The firefighters put on wonderful demonstrations of some of the things they train to do.

One event had firefighters competing with each other in a challenge in which they wore full bunker gear, and that's where the mild temperature really paid off. They demonstrated a rescue of another firefighter dangling from a rope. And Fire Marshal David Hickman gave a very entertaining fire safety lesson to the kiddos. Those lessons have paid big dividends over the years.

Anyway, here are a few photos.

The foam party is usually the highlight for youngsters, but this blogger left too early.  Sorry.

Halloween tatts

Free stick-on tattoos were available today at the Midland Fire Department Open House.

A Battoo and a Cattoo.

Did you hear the one about the robot bartender?

Guy goes into a bar, there’s a robot bartender.

The robot says, “What will you have?”

The guy says, “Martini.”

The robot brings back the best martini ever and says to the man, “What’s your IQ.

The guy says, “168.”

The robot then proceeds to talk about physics, space exploration and medical technology.

The guy leaves, but he is curious… So he goes back into the bar.

The robot bartender says, “What will you have?”

The guy says, “Martini.”

Again, the robot makes a great martini gives it to the man and says, “What’s your IQ?”

The guy says, “100.”

The robot then starts to talk about Nascar, Budweiser and John Deere tractors.

The guy leaves, but finds it very interesting, so he thinks he will try it one more time.

He goes back into the bar.

The robot says, “What will you have?”

The guy says, “Martini,” and the robot brings him another great martini.

The robot then says, “What’s your IQ?”

The guy says, “Uh, about 50.”

The robot leans in real close and says, “So, are you still happy you voted for Obama?”

Source.

Fire Prevention Week

"Only you can prevent house fires," that's what Smokey would say to urban dwellers as most fires occur in the home.

MFD Fire Marshal David Hickman and the fire department of Midland, Texas, are encouraging everyone to learn about fire safety during Fire Prevention Week.  And the MFD held its annual Fire Prevention Poster contest the other day with the theme, "Smoke Alarms: A sound you can live with".

The categories ranged from Kindergarten to 12th grade, and the poster you see on the right was the 9-12th grade1st place winner created by Rubi Sosa of Midland High School.

Fire Inspector James Howard told a heartwarming story of how he spoke with a little girl who helped save her family and the family home by calling 911 and getting everyone out of the house at the first sign of fire. Inspector Howard asked where she learned to do that, and she said, "You taught us when you came to our school." Fire safety education pays off.

The posters will be on display at Midland Park Mall thru Saturday, October 9th.

Fire Safety Week will come to an end when the MFD will conducts an open house on October 9 from noon til 4pm. Among the activities will be the popular "Foam Party." That's when the fire hose is turned on over the lawn, and the kids have a blast!

Airsho teaser

Midlanders were treated to a flyover from history this morning as a small flock of warbirds flew over the city reminding us that the CAF Airsho takes place at MAF this weekend.

It isn't often one gets to see Fifi, the only remaining flyable B29 Superfortress, flying with a P51 Mustang escort these days. But there they were in full historic splender.

What a thrill it is to see those old planes. And the sound? There's nothing that could ever match the noisy rumble of a big old internal combustion airplane engine. If you've seen "Casablanca" you'll remember the final scene as Rick and Ilsa said their good-byes. Then the powerful engine on the DC3 fired up to drive home the unseen force that was bigger than both of them. What a sound.

Today in scandal history -- Wilber Mills and Fanne Foxe

Annabella Battistella, AKA "Fanne Foxe" and "the Argentine Firecracker," was working as a stripper at a club in Washington D.C. at the time. And on October 7, 1974, she was a passenger in a car driven by Representative Wilber Mills, D-Arkansas who got pulled over by the U.S. Park Police. The Argentine Firecracker jumped out of the car and into the Tidal Basin causing a scandal that titillated news junkies across the country. Mills was reelected that November but didn't run again. Source: Washington Examiner.

But those were the bad old days. Today we have House Minority Leader, John Boehner, who is very much aware how eager some are to spread rumors, making liberated women angry over his advice to Republican representatives to knock off the partying with female lobbyists. How times have changed. Oh wait, maybe they haven't.

Piercing earmarks

There are a host of reasons why earmarks are bad. One reason is that the congressperson or senator who wanted one may have to vote for a bad bill in order for it to get into law. Another is the backroom deals -- the secret agreements to support other earmarks -- needed in order to garner support to get the earmark passed into law.

Here's one more. The entity benefiting from the earmark might be selling a shoddy product to the U.S. Marc Thiessen tells us in Killer Earmarks that while earmarks cost us $19.6 billion last year, the real cost is much higher. He cites a case from 2006 in which Rep. David Wu, D - Oregon, got a $2 million earmark for InSport, a company in his district, to provide polyester t-shirts for the military. The only problem was that in intense heat the t-shirts could melt and bind to the skin causing disfiguring burns.

Wu stuck another million dollar earmark into a bill so the company could work on a heat resistant t-shirt.

Thiessen ends with this worthwhile bit of advice for our lawmakers:

Decisions on what company produces t-shirts for the Marines—as well as what company produces the weapons systems they use—should be made through a merit-based, competitive process, not the whims of members of Congress.

Maybe if enough people express their disapproval by voting out earmarking lawmakers that advice could get implemented.