Finally, the playoffs begin!
April 18, 2009 by OpinionHead
Filed under Sports Discussions
This year, the Houston Rockets are playing the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, all I can say is thank God it is not the Utah Jazz! I am not knocking the Blazers, they are a great team, what I am saying is, I am tired of the Jazz! It seems like Utah and Houston are always battling in the first round, and, unfortunately, Houston usually loses!
Anyone that watches much basketball, knows that there are just some teams that beat certain teams, even if that team is better. Look at the Houston Oilers vs the Dallas Cowboys, even when Dallas was kicking but and taking names way back when, the Oilers, who may have only won 2 or 3 games the whole season, always seemed to beat Dallas in the Texas Bowl or whatever it is called, I don’t remember, but you get my point.
This year, that Utah curse (excuse) or whatever you want to call it, will not be the reason Houston doesn’t get out of the first round! I have to say, I like Houston’s chances against Portland, I mean, how long has it benn since Portland was even in the playoffs?
This year is going to be a battle in Texas, with the Sant Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks meeting up in the first round, this is going to be awesome! I have to say, I believe tha the Rockets took a dive against Dallas in the 4th quarter of that last game, just to have a better chance against Portland in the first round, what do you think?
What about Tracy McGrady? Won’t it be a bit awkward if Houston wins the finals? With T-Mac, they coudn’t even get out of the first round, with him sitting at home, they are doing great. I would be willing to bet that if Houston wins, they will trade T-Mac for someone that is not such a crybaby, seems like he always has some sort of booboo that keeps him complaining and making excuses for a poor performance, but hey, that is just my opinion.
I have to admit, when they traded off Steve Francis, I almost disowned the Rockets! He was an important part of the “Team”, no, he may not have been the best point guard, but, he was a team player and gave it everything he had, each and every game! My personal view on “Teams” is that you don’t just get rid of someone like you were trading off bubble gum cards! A Team is just that, the more cohesiveness you have, the more confidence you have, and the players aren’t afraid to play hard and make a mistake, it is that that has kept San Antonio ruling the NBA for years, after all, look what happened to the Lakers when they got rid of Shaq!
Anybody disagree? Post a comment and tell me about it!
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Email from Congressman Michael McCaul 4-17-09
April 18, 2009 by OpinionHead
Filed under News
April 17, 2009
Dear Friends,
This week, millions of hard-working Americans filed their taxes and joined together to protest our nation’s tax burden, a reminder of just how much of their hard-earned money goes to Washington.
During these challenging economic times, our nation’s families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. As a result, Americans are paying higher taxes to offset out-of-control government spending. The American people know we can’t spend and tax our way back to a growing economy.
In order to create and maintain long-term economic growth, Congress must put politics aside and protect the American taxpayer.
I continue to support a budget that provides $1.2 trillion in tax relief. It also includes provisions to end bailouts, reduce non-defense discretionary spending, and tackle health entitlements, reducing the national debt by more than $6 trillion.
BORDER SECURITY
When I return to Washington next week I will be introducing legislation to increase funding and resources to secure the border, combat violence from Mexican drug cartels, and better enforce existing immigration laws. I will be touring a part of the border early next week to get a first-hand account of the situation.
DISTRICT EVENTS
I’m going back to Washington energized by so many people who participated in events across the country and in the 10th District this week. Together we are sending a resounding message to the Obama administration that we will not tolerate record spending, debt and higher taxes.
IN THE NEWS
Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/04/16/0416teaparties.html
Katy Times
http://www.katytimes.com/articles/2009/04/16/news/doc49e4e9b47353b860920458.txt
Banner Press
http://www.brenhambanner.com/articles/2009/04/15/news/news01.txt
Tomball Potpourri http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/04/15/tomball_magnolia_potpourri/news/po_as_mccaul_tea_party_4_22.txt
Sealy News
http://www.sealynews.com/articles/2009/04/17/news/news01.txt
See VIDEO from this week’s district events at
http://www.youtube.com/michaeltmccaul
It’s been great to see many of you across the district the last couple weeks.
With best regards,
Michael T. McCaul
Member of Congress
** If you would like to register to receive the McCaul Minute click here
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Email from Senator John Cornyn 4-16-09
April 16, 2009 by OpinionHead
Filed under News
Update from U.S. Senator John Cornyn
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
With so many complex issues facing our nation, I was grateful for the opportunity to return to Texas to meet with people across the state and listen to their concerns about what is happening in Washington, how these issues affect them and what common-sense ideas they have for how best to address them.
Just before recess, the Senate passed President Obama’s budget without any bipartisan support. Along with all of my Republican colleagues, I voted against the budget that spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much. The budget represents a missed opportunity for Congress to put policies in place that will encourage economic recovery, foster opportunities for Texans and all Americans, and prevent future generations from inheriting insurmountable debt.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the President’s budget is his proposal to limit the deduction for charitable contributions, which could cost charities and non-profit organizations nationwide anywhere from $4 billion to $9 billion annually. Last week I hosted a roundtable in Austin, where I met with representatives from local non-profit organizations at Meals on Wheels and More to hear their concerns about the President’s proposal. While I worked with both Senate Democrats and Republicans to reject the President’s proposal during the budget debate earlier this month, this does not mean Congress will not consider the President’s proposal in the future. Given today’s economic climate and with so many Americans hurting and in need of assistance, we should instead encourage charitable giving.
The economic downturn has led to greater demand for charitable services and placed a strain of many of these organizations already operating on limited resources. Homeless shelters across the state have seen a marked increase in the number of people seeking help. This week in Fort Worth, I am meeting with Mayor Mike Moncrief and other local officials who have been successful in reducing homelessness in their community. I hope to learn the keys to their success and share that with other cities and communities throughout Texas.
While Americans participate in the annual practice of filling out their federal taxes, I’m looking forward to meeting with the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission Chair and Vice-Chair at the State Capitol in Austin to discuss our shared goal of stamping out government waste. I will be announcing introduction of my legislation to help save more of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. In Congress, I’ve been working to create a Federal Sunset Commission, based on the successful Texas model, that would improve government accountability and help ensure our tax dollars are spent efficiently. Congress moved a step closer to establishing this important body when the Senate recently passed an amendment I sponsored that lays the groundwork for a Federal Sunset Commission to eliminate government waste and increase oversight of ineffective programs.
On Friday I am joining Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at Fort Sam Houston to visit our nation’s wounded warriors receiving medical care at the Warrior and Family Support Center. These brave soldiers and their families have sacrificed so much for our nation, and I look forward to thanking them for their exemplary service. The Warrior and Family Support Center plays a vital role in treating both the visible and invisible injuries that our soldiers face as a result of their service, and we must continue to ensure the needs of our servicemen and women are adequately met as they recover from their injuries and return home. I recently reintroduced legislation that would authorize construction of a VA hospital for veterans in the Rio Grande Valley, who currently have to drive hours out of their way to receive medical treatment. Service members and veterans in Texas and across our nation have earned access to the high-quality medical treatment through their enormous sacrifices for our nation.
For more information on these and other topics, go directly to my Web site. To view floor speeches, interviews and other video messages from me, please visit my YouTube Channel. To receive additional updates, please select the issues that interest you listed on the right. It’s an honor to serve you in the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator John Cornyn
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Do You Remember where you were on September 11, 2001?
March 31, 2009 by OpinionHead
Filed under Opinions and Attitudes
Do you remember where you were? I know that I do, I have a very vivid memory of that day, at least the first part of it, after news of the attacks happening, it all kind of becomes a blur! Glenn Beck remembers too, follow this link to listen, it brings back a lot of memories for me, maybe it will for you too.
That day started like every day during that time, I had just stopped and picked up donuts for the guys, and was sitting at a red-light, waiting to pull in to the parking lot, when my cell phone rang. It was my girlfriend, and she was freaking out a bit, trying to tell me that an airplane had just hit the World Trade Center, honestly, I started to laugh! As bad as that sounds, it was that I thought she was just playing a joke on me, but, no sooner than I had started to laugh, and she started screaming! I mean screaming like the world had just ended! I never did laugh.
At this point, everything was still unknown, when she first called, it sounded like a plane crash or something benign like that, you know, just an accident, even as bad as that would have been, it just didn;t sound like a big deal, until she screamed! I have to tell you, I had just put my truck into park at that time, thank God, but when she screamed, I knew it was no joke! That was when the second plane had hit.
I got out of my pickup, forgetting the donuts, and was headed into the carpet store, as she was hearing the details of what had happened, and was telling me, I know I must have looked like a mess to everyone inside, that were waiting on the donuts, and as I sterted to tell them what had happened, they had the same reaction that I did at first, they thought I was joking. Someone got my keys and went out to my truck to get the donuts, while I was trying to find a radio station to hear what was happening.
I had to get the installers loaded up so they could get to work, and I did, still on the cell phone with my girlfriend and still telling everyone what had happened, and still, no one believed me! Once the Installers were gone, I finally got the little radio to work and was listening to it, but there was nothing but music, about this time, my cell phone battery went dead.
Here I was, feeling like I was the only person in the city of Houston that knew, at this time there was a truck pulling up outside our back door, it was a utility repair truck, the guy jumps out and asks me if I had heard what happened, to be honest, I actually felt relieved that I wasn’t alone in my knowledge. There we were, listening to the radio in his truck, and one by one, others started walking up, listening with us, no one said a word! We were all in shock! Soon after, there was the report about the Pentagon, and then, the plane that had been missing, crashed, and the order for all planes to get out of the sky came.
The carpet store is basically accross the street from the airport, at the North end, which is past the runways, the sky was almost black with aircraft! It was like something from a movie, but that didn’t take long, and the skys were empty. That sound, that we had all taken for granted of the planes coming and going, was gone, everything was silent, and it stayed that way…………..after that it is a blur.
One thing I do remember, is the people, there was this strange bond we all had, we had all just experienced something that we would never forget.
Over the next few days, the news had very little crime to report, it was as if crime just stopped. There was but one thing, America, someone had just attacked us, and everyone was mad!
Within just a few days, the “Proud to be an American” stuff started hitting the stores, and I bought a can koozie, that stated that, and “United We Stand”, with the date of September 11, 2001 on it, I still have it. I still remember!
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What will Obamas Socialist Plans Cost Us? Cap and Trade?
March 30, 2009 by OpinionHead
Filed under Political Rants
When Obama talks, people listen, or do they? So often, when Obamas lips are flapping, all he is doing is emitting hot air (talk about greenhouse gases)! Now we all know about his teleprompter, isn’t it time to start “hearing” what he is actually saying?
This video is perfect for what I am trying to say, why, because there is no video, it is just audio and a still picture! Why is this so perfect, you may be wondering, because you can read and listen at the same time!
If you notice, this was recorded way before he became President, he mentions that this could come up in the “general elections”, and basically was saying “hey, I can say whatever I want, I can tell you that your light bill is going to skyrocket, I can tell you that, because I can sell it” , if you weren’t paying attention then, maybe you will now!
Now to the issues:
What is “Cap and Trade”? This is a term used to define one of those “Green” beliefs, that you put a cap, a limit, on the “greenhouse gas” emissions and trade by pushing a green agenda through, that will ultimately result in using less of what ever it was that they put the cap on!
Sticking with electricity production as the bad guy, the one that needs to be capped, what Obama wants to do, is make the power producers spend a ton of cash, or, go deep in debt, to create a “greener” method for this production, in other words, “lets make them (energy producers) spend so much, and pass on that debt, that Americans will go broke just trying to pay their light bill”! Hey, what population is going to rise up and defend itself from big government spending, and a dictatorial take over, if they can’t even pay their light bill?
The good news is, inthe long run, after all of the poor and old people have died off from exposure to heat and cold, the younger generations that survive, will be used to paying over 50 cents a KW (kilowatt) for electricity, and will have developed new technology that uses less energy! Can you see where this is headed?
Obama is not even considering the “now” all he is doing is planning for the society that may or may not survive!
I know this sounds a bit crazy, right now, but wait a few years, if it even takes that long. Think about this, what are you currently paying for a KW of electricity? Think about this one real good, remember when gas prices went from 15 cents a gallon to a dollar? I do! That was when I was a kid cutting grass, I got paid a quarter, bought a gallon of gas, a candy bar, and a soda! Then, I got my first truck, paid 35 cents a gallon to fill it up, the first time, the second time it was 75 cents a gallon, and the third was over a dollar! That is the way electricity will be!
Once Obama gets his “cap and trade” plans shoved down our throats, like he did, porkulus, and the other stuff, it will not take long! We all now that it costs money to produce electricity. It is a simple matter of converting one form of energy into another, be it coal, natural gas, or nuclear ( the clean one), which ever, that fuel and the technology to process it, is where the big changes will come.
What was it, about six years ago, I paid (In Houston, Texas) about 10 cents a KW (once all of the taxes and fees were added), to about 15 cents, that is when I moved up here to the sticks. A buddy of mine, in Houston, tells me that he is paying over 20 cents a KW now. Here, things went from about 6 or 7 cents per KW to over 10 cents per KW, during that same time. So, what happens next? Have you ever looked at a utility, phone, lights, gas, cable, what ever bill? See all of those little taxes and fees?
Once this “Cap and Trade” crap becomes a reality, that list of fees and taxes will definitely change, not to mention the rates themselves!
Follow this link, and you will see a list of “green” terms, one of them I will Illustrate as an example of how insane these “green” or “global warming” Al Gore freaks are!
blacksurfing
Blacksurfing is surfing search engine results using an inverted palette, with white text on a black body. Shifting a high traffic website, like Google, from a white background to a black background can save substantial energy. An all-white web page uses about 74 watts to display on a CRT monitor as compared to an all-black page that uses only 59 watts. See Blackle, an energy-saving search engine that uses Google’s custom search. The efficacy of this practice is hotly debated, so be sure to consult Mark Ontkush’s post on the topic before you suggest using it. (ecoIron)
Once we allow the government to take over our lives, and control everything, it will be too late! This article is about just one of the many things that our government wants to do to us, “for our own good” because we are too stupid to see that we are being put under the control of a “socialist” system, at best, and I would hate to even think of what the worst could be, but, I can say this, there are a lot of similarities of what is happenning now, and what happened when Adolf Hitler took over, and he was a very popular guy too! So, take action now, visit the912project.com and get involved, We the People are not alone, we can do something about this!
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All Star Weekend: Who decided?
February 13, 2009 by OpinionHead
Filed under Sports Discussions
Are you an NBA fan? I am, I love watching the Houston Rockets and the All Star Weekend is always good. So, yes, I am a fan, but, do all of these players deserve to be there? Are there not players that get “left out” that should be there? Well, I am sure that everybody knows of a player that they feel should be there, but isn’t, so, why are they not there? Who decided?
First you have to look at what it is all about, Money! No, it is not about the game of basketball, it is all about Money! I don’t remember when it starts, but you and me and everybody else gets to vote for their favorite players, if the player is not on the list, well, too bad, but why are there only select players and not every player? I am sure that it is just to keep it simple, too many choices would make a big mess, so to speak. With a limited selection, it narrows down the finalists from the very first vote, and, after all, the fans are stupid, dumb, clueless, or whatever it is that Charles Barkley says, and I have to admit, I agree with him.
If you take the fact that the fans are “clueless”, and add that to “how do we make more money” mix all that up with “hype”, what do you get? Think about it, the commercials during the NBA games are already promoting the finals, the all-star games, and everything else that those with the money want you to focus on, and what is that you ask? They want you to spend your money! We buy jersies, T-shirts, tickets, and the biggie, Season Tickets, because of the hype! I have to also say this, the only reason I am even watching TNT is because of the All-Star Weekend, since Charles Barkley isn’t there, the regular show has gone to heck and I won’t watch it! I have tried, but first off, it has become the East Coast NBA channel, only the select few from the West are even shown, I guess thats ok if you aren’t a fan of the West. Second, Barkley was funny, entertaining to say the least, the way the show is now, somebody better rescue that poor white guy, he sticks out like a sore thumb, he has lost control of the show, get him out of there, he is not just too old, but he is too white, to hang out with everybody else, he just doesn’t fit in, I mean it is either that or find a couple of ex-players that are other than black. Nothing against the black guys, don’t get me wrong, they just need to be a bit more diverse, the guys on there now just get to carried away with themselves, Barkley somehow kept them all in check.
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The Rockets win a big one!
December 16, 2008 by OpinionHead
Filed under Sports Discussions
Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
Finally, the Big 3 were all on the court together and all 3 were playing well! Who are the Big 3? That would be T-Mac, Yao Ming, and Ron Artest, all three came together in the second half to win the game over the Denver Nuggets, 108-96.
As usual, the officiating was very inconsistant, all anybody wants is consistancy, if you call it one way at one end of the court, call it the same way at the other end! This was one time that the Rockets beat both teams they were playing against!
Actually, the really bad stuff was only in the first and second quarters, then the second half the officials magically started making better calls! Hmm, that is when the Rockets came back and won, amazing!
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