Today was a good day. Made the two hour trek to Waco for their monthly USPSA shoot, and had a great day at the range. Even walked away with a box of precision bullets for winning my class. They make great bullets (shameless plug) and you can find out more at their website at http://www.precisionbullets.com/ .
After the match, headed south to Crawford, picked up lunch at Subway, where I ran into two fellow shooters and we sat around and chatted about the match and about my plans to go visit the demonstration. Both were what I would politely call extremely irate with the demonstrators.
The first thing you see as you enter Crawford from the north is the Crawford Peace House. It’s a hovel on the side of the road, and it was packed. More on this later. As I crossed into Crawford proper, the first thing I noticed was the number of pro Bush and pro troops signage. From what I could see, the folks in Crawford are barely tolerating the demonstration, but thankful for the money that it is infusing into their little town.
To get to the Western White House, I turned off the main road, down a very twisty country road. As soon as I left the main road, I immediately noticed two Sheriff’s cruisers - the first of many that I would see.
I made my way further and further into the countryside, and noticed there were large numbers of folks leaving, and I was the only one headed in. I figured that was either really good, or really bad. From what I would later gather, there was a shift change of the anti’s. Finally, I reached the site of the demonstration and noticed 4 Sheriff’s cruisers, with the Sheriffs out directing traffic and being very visible. I stopped and asked them which way to parking and they pointed the way.
To the right side of the road were the pro-Bushies. There were maybe a dozen, holding signs and trying to stay out of the heat, which was significant. On the left side of the road were the anti’s. Tents, cars, and a somber line of crosses make up their demonstration. As I drove past both camps, it was humorous to feel the eyes of both camps as each side tried to size up which side I belonged to.
Just past the Pro-Bushies was the media tent, fairly vacant - with only what I took to be a college RTF crew in residence. There were only 2 large media trucks - one was labeled CNN, and based out of Dallas and the other was not marked. Whether it was a CNN truck or some other media outlet was not clear. Still, I found it interesting that CNN was the only major news outlet that I could identify.
That says something all by itself.
Parked the Z, grabbed some water, and hiked a short walk back to the camp. As I had not yet identified myself with one camp or the other, I wandered through the anti’s camp, observing as I went along. Three things have since struck me as key:
1. Everyone was very well behaved. No one was misbehaving. At the anti’s check in table, there were clear instructions telling everyone to behave and to respect and appreciate everyone’s point of view even if you disagreed with it. This pretty much sums up their whole view on life. I would be interested to see how they would interact with a terrorist intent on making them the next demonstration of Islamic strength. One of the first signs I noticed said “No solitary confinement of psychiatric prisoners. Guantanimo kills.” I’m still trying to figure that one out. Frankly, what I think is that they were recycling a poster from another demonstration and added on the “Gitmo kills” piece to fit in with this demonstration. That would follow the trend that the anti’s were professionals posing as spontaneous hippies.
2. The anti’s were very well organized. This was a professional job. I base this on the fact that a good portion of my job is to organize large civic events and I can recognize good organization when I see it. And this event WAS organized. Contrary to what is reported on the news, this is not a spontaneous event. There were porta potties. Water. Food. First Aid. Shuttles in the form of maybe ½ a dozen rented 15 passenger vans and a smattering of personal cars. All of which costs money. Someone’s footing the bill for all of that, and it would be interesting to know who.
After a while I noticed that there were many many more cars than people. On the way home, as I drove by the Crawford Peace House, I found out why. I would say that there were more people at the CPH than were at the demonstration itself. If I were to guess, I would have to say, grand total (anti’s and Pro-Bushies together) there were less than 100 people at the demonstration. Again, as I mentioned before, it gave me the impression that the anti’s were changing shifts - organized.
3. The event was not so much a demonstration as it is a Grateful Dead concert. Every stereotype that you can think of when you think of hippies and anti-war activists was present. It was almost comical. We joke here about long haired, maggot infested, Birkenstock wearing, stinky liberals. Well, I’m here to tell you fellas, stereotypes don’t come from nowhere. It was almost as if I had been transported back to 1972 and in fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see some of the same folks back then. (I would have to say that the bulk of the protestors were in their mid to late 40s and older with a smattering of college age folks.) Tie dies, long unkempt pony tails and sandals were the uniform of the day.
Having bathed in the last week, I felt decidedly out of place.
The environmentalists were also in full swing - everywhere you looked, hanging from practically every tent pole were signs directing me where to recycle my plastic, paper, and glass. The vegans were out, selling their soy products - and one older couple was even grilling a couple of soy burgers for the afternoon meal. Yum yum. You had the mandatory acoustic guitar player strumming along and singing anti-war songs all of which seemed to revolve around the opinion that we’re paying too much for our oil blah blah blah.
Hell, I thought when I first got there that I had stepped into a Partridge Family rerun as the first libby vehicle I saw was an old school bus, painted dark blue and light blue with anti war flags flying from a couple of the windows and camping gear stuffed inside. One of the flags criticized Raytheon, showing a picture of an Arab holding a little girl’s shattered body - and stating that Raytheon only builds things that kill people. Nice. You’ve just gotta love the tact. The other banner, which was a popular one for the anti’s, was one that had a fist wrapped around a carrot, with the words “food not war”. Good plan. See if Zarqawi would be willing to spend his time slicing potatoes instead of hacking off heads. Again, the flags weren’t homemade - professional custom job.
Another wonderful sign on display was a handmade job stating something along the lines of “Peace is not a goal. The Path to Peace is Peace.” Uh huh, sure. Let’s all just go hold hands and hope that the terrorists leave us alone. I wonder if they really think that if we just left Arabia and its environs that the terror mongers would be content to leave us alone.
Perhaps the quote of the day came to me from a mother/son combo. The kid was probably 9-10 years old, and his hand written sign said “Where’s the WMD’s, George?” He looked down and after reading his sign, asked his mom “What’s a WMD, mom?” I’m sure we’ll see his picture somewhere.
After cycling through the anti’s camp, I crossed the street and started talking to the pro-Bushie contingent. Almost immediately, one of the Sheriffs politely asked me to which side did I belong. After explaining to her that I was a pro Bushie, she told me that I couldn’t go back across the street and cycle back through the anti’s camp. Nice. So much for freedom of speech.
I understand why they were keeping the two camps separate, but it would have been nice to been able to go back and forth as you wished.
Among the pro Bushie’s were several veterans, and most interesting to me, a survivor of 9/11 - Earl C. Johnson. He was on the 51st floor of the WTC when the planes hit, and he’s working on a book telling his story on 9/11, titled Stairwell to Heaven. Earl was totally flabbergasted with the anti’s not understanding that the war on terror is directly connected to 9/11.
The vets I spoke to were, if anything, frustrated with the lack of news coverage they were getting. They implored me to help get the word out on-line that contrary to what the anti’s were putting out, the pro-Bushies had been given some land on a nearby ranch for camping and hanging out and told me to let our readers know that there was a place to stay and they would be welcome. They also informed me that a large contingent of pro-Bushies, in the form of a motorcycle ride with the American Legion out of Dallas had been turned away and was not allowed to enter the demonstration area. Your guess as to why would be as good as mine.
While I was visiting with the pro Bushies, an anti wearing (what else) a blue tie dye with a peace symbol in the middle walked to the edge of his side of the road and applauded us for exercising our 1st amendment rights, and that even though he didn’t agree with us, he was proud that we had taken the time and the effort to get out and counter protest their protest. One of the young troops next to me said “well, gee, you’re welcome. I risked my life overseas so you could come out and protest me. THANK YOU for your support.”
Classic.
It was at that point that I voiced my opinion that while the anti’s had every right to speak their mind, that what they’re doing was coming very close to aiding and abetting the enemy. Anyone who thinks that the terror mongers aren’t gaining strength from the images of the protestors is kidding themselves. Does anyone remember Vietnam? Does anyone remember that the Vietnamese leaders themselves talk about the anti war movement giving them encouragement? Speaking of Vietnam, another of the posters said “Iraq = Arabic for Vietnam.”
As I walked back to my car, I couldn’t help but notice the sheer professionalism of the protestors. I wonder how many of them do this for a living? As I mentioned earlier, this was not a spontaneous event. This was well organized and well managed. Frankly, those of us on the right could learn quite a bit from them when it comes to organizing demonstrations. I also couldn’t help but wonder if the explanation for the smaller number of pro-Bushie’s is that we actually have jobs and a life with responsibilities while the anti’s flit from one Grateful Dead concert to another?
20 August 2005
19 August 2005
John R. Lott Jr. on Gun Control on National Review Online
I'm aghast! John Lott states, in rather convincing fashion, that banning guns increases crime! I'm so totally surprised!
Using the examples of England and Austrailia, and how violent crime rose rapidly after they banned many forms of gun ownership, Lott points out to our dainty neighbors to the north that instead of blaming the United States for its gun crime, maybe Canada should take a good hard look at its own policies.
Check out Michael Bane's blog, entertaining read on this topic as well....
Using the examples of England and Austrailia, and how violent crime rose rapidly after they banned many forms of gun ownership, Lott points out to our dainty neighbors to the north that instead of blaming the United States for its gun crime, maybe Canada should take a good hard look at its own policies.
Check out Michael Bane's blog, entertaining read on this topic as well....
18 August 2005
Welcome to AnnCoulter.com
I love Ann. I'm thinking that if the Catfish was stuck on a deserted island with Ann and Michele, it would be simply wonderful. Ahh, a boy can dream, can't he??
As usual, Ann cuts straight to the chase:
"We're sorry about Ms. Sheehan's son, but the entire nation was attacked on 9/11. This isn't about her personal loss. America has been under relentless attack from Islamic terrorists for 20 years, culminating in a devastating attack on U.S. soil on 9/11. It's not going to stop unless we fight back, annihilate Muslim fanatics, destroy their bases, eliminate their sponsors and end all their hope. A lot more mothers will be grieving if our military policy is: No one gets hurt!"
Gads, another personal attack against a "sniff" grieving mother...
As usual, Ann cuts straight to the chase:
"We're sorry about Ms. Sheehan's son, but the entire nation was attacked on 9/11. This isn't about her personal loss. America has been under relentless attack from Islamic terrorists for 20 years, culminating in a devastating attack on U.S. soil on 9/11. It's not going to stop unless we fight back, annihilate Muslim fanatics, destroy their bases, eliminate their sponsors and end all their hope. A lot more mothers will be grieving if our military policy is: No one gets hurt!"
Gads, another personal attack against a "sniff" grieving mother...
Senators Attest to Alaska Climate Change - Yahoo! News
I'll ask again:
What ended the last ice age?? Considering there was no internal combustion engine aruond at that time, I'm just curious.
And, I think this means that we join DC's blogs against McCain, the media's darling maverick republican. In Name Only.
What ended the last ice age?? Considering there was no internal combustion engine aruond at that time, I'm just curious.
And, I think this means that we join DC's blogs against McCain, the media's darling maverick republican. In Name Only.
The Blog | Cindy Sheehan: Memo to Drudge, et al: It's Not About Me, It's About the War | The Huffington Post
Memo to Cindy:
You're a moron. (and that dear readers was a personal attack) How many of you have heard that she has a PR person, hired by one of the Ben and Jerry's moguls to co-ordinate all the on-air activity? Yeah, right, it's not about you. Whatever.
I love it. For today's liberals, if you report what they have said in the past and in the present, and report on the vast inconsistencies in their mindless arguments, report about the lunatic fringe groups with whom they associate with and report on who's paying the bills, then you're attacking them because you don't have an argument.
Does Cindy even remember why she's hanging out in the ditch across from the President's vacation?
PS
that shotgun was not fired at you Cindy. If the shotgun was fired at you, I doubt very much you'd be online whining.
PPS
the notes to Cindy are classic, simply classic.
You're a moron. (and that dear readers was a personal attack) How many of you have heard that she has a PR person, hired by one of the Ben and Jerry's moguls to co-ordinate all the on-air activity? Yeah, right, it's not about you. Whatever.
I love it. For today's liberals, if you report what they have said in the past and in the present, and report on the vast inconsistencies in their mindless arguments, report about the lunatic fringe groups with whom they associate with and report on who's paying the bills, then you're attacking them because you don't have an argument.
Does Cindy even remember why she's hanging out in the ditch across from the President's vacation?
PS
that shotgun was not fired at you Cindy. If the shotgun was fired at you, I doubt very much you'd be online whining.
PPS
the notes to Cindy are classic, simply classic.
An Islamic Caliphate in Seven Easy Steps
On one hand, this is some spooky stuff. On the other hand, if the terror mongers really think that they can control the West and the United States and in effect, take over the place - they obviously haven't been to Texas.
Read it all.
Read it all.
AMERICAN DRUMSLINGER
This guy makes me laugh.
Then you started running spelling bees. Spelling bees? Excuse me? If I'm seeing 3rd grade Asians on ESPN they'd better be fucking 9-dan black belts in Tae Kwon Do. Competition or no, L'il Jimmy Chang has no place reciting the letters that make up the word "perfunctory" on a station that would be FAR better served committing that timeslot to highlighting the historical and sociological importance of Dock Ellis pitching a no-hitter on LSD in 1970.Genius.
Cindy Unleashed
From Drudge. Note the eloquence and intelligence of this caring, compassionate mom, who uses words as her paintbrush on a palette of glowing warmth, caring and substance.
Remember, the shiny side of the foil goes on the outside, Cindy.
"They’re a bunch of fucking hypocrites! And we need to, we just need to rise up..." Sheehan said of the Bush administration.And this jewel:
"We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dog shit in Washington, we will impeach all those people."Ah, Cindy Sheehan, the voice of the people. And, she apparently has some inside info about the war in Iraq:
"We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now."Cool.
Remember, the shiny side of the foil goes on the outside, Cindy.
17 August 2005
Michelle Malkin puts an ass whipping on Air America
Read it all. Michelle puts a total ass whipping on the losers at Con Air America.
I remember a day when reporters did more than just spew talking points, and they actually went out and chased down stories.
The MSM silence on this is deafening.
I remember a day when reporters did more than just spew talking points, and they actually went out and chased down stories.
The MSM silence on this is deafening.
Dallas Morning News | Dallas housing inquiry widens
This is a sad sad state of affairs. Note to the FBI: if you're going to attempt to prosecute any criminal activity, make sure that at least one of them is not black. Apparently, if you go after a group of people, and they're all black, then it must be a rascist move on the part of the FBI. When can we get to the point in our society when we are judged by our actions and not the color of our skin? Perhaps maybe when the race mongers are out of business??
I can't even begin to describe how crazy this is. Why is it that we can't have an investigation into potential criminal activity without the black population crying foul? Why is it that a black councilman can say something like this: "They're going to make the Los Angeles riots look like a picnic...." and not suffer the consequences of inciting a riot?
We all know damn well if a white councilman had said something along those lines, the black community would be in an uproar. I'm listening to the news right now, and the Dallas City Council is in full CYA mode, and refused to fire the individual at the center of the controversy who by all the accounts I have read and heard should have been canned a long time ago.
What a crock.
Here's the story for those who don't want to register:
Dallas housing inquiry widens
Fantroy sees conspiracy as FBI subpoena targets more black city officials
09:25 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 17, 2005
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
A federal investigation into low-income tax-credit housing projects in Dallas has widened to include four more city officials and several city departments, after FBI agents served an overarching subpoena to the city attorney's office.
In addition to Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, council member James Fantroy and City Plan Commissioner D'Angelo Lee – whose offices were searched by federal agents in June – the subpoena named council members Leo Chaney and Maxine Thornton-Reese and plan commissioners Carol Brandon and Melvin Traylor, city officials close to the investigation said.
And some black leaders – outraged that the seven city officials named in the subpoena are black – went on the offensive Tuesday, calling the investigation a conspiracy on the part of Mayor Laura Miller and Dallas' white business elite.
Also Online
En español: Amplian pesquisa del FBI en cabildo
"They're going to make the Los Angeles riots look like a picnic," Mr. Fantroy said. "Why is this all just black folks? Why is it when it comes to us, we're guilty the minute there are accusations?"
The FBI declined to comment on Mr. Fantroy's comments. But Ms. Miller said Tuesday that the idea she ordered an FBI investigation is ridiculous.
"I certainly did not," she said. "I've never talked to the FBI ever since I've been mayor."
And Ms. Miller, who came under fire on Friday when she scheduled a vote for today's City Council briefing to remove Mr. Lee from the Plan Commission, said she won't back away simply because a few names have been added to the investigation.
"I am concerned that if the City Council doesn't take the lead in cleaning up the mess here ... people will look at City Hall and think everyone is corrupt," she said. "I've been very clear my goal is to get a plan commissioner who is unethical off the Plan Commission."
The subpoena served last week requested information from "city records" and mentioned "particular people and specific events" relating to the investigation, said Special Agent Lori Bailey, spokeswoman for the FBI.
Subpoena subjects
Sources on the receiving end of the subpoena said it named Mr. Fantroy, Mr. Hill and Mr. Hill's Plan Commission appointee, Mr. Lee, in addition to Southwest Housing – a development company owned by Brian Potashnik that works primarily in tax-credit projects – and Odyssey Residential Holdings, run by his rival and former associate, James R. "Bill" Fisher. Mr. Chaney, Dr. Thornton-Reese, Ms. Brandon and Mr. Traylor were also named.
"Nothing was served on anyone individually," said Agent Bailey, adding that she is barred from discussing details of the records request. "This was a general subpoena served on the city's custodian of records."
The Potashnik family, in addition to giving at least $25,000 to Ms. Miller's campaign since 2002, has also contributed $6,000 to Mr. Chaney since 2003, campaign finance reports show. Mr. Fisher and his family contributed $3,000 to Dr. Thornton-Reese in March 2005, records show.
Sources close to the investigation said the subpoena requested documents and tapes on at least five Southwest Housing tax-credit projects approved since 2000: Rosemont at Scyene in Mr. Hill's district; Rosemont at Laureland on the border of Mr. Hill and Mr. Fantroy's district; Cherrycrest Villas and Fairway Crossing in Mr. Chaney's district; and Rosemont at Arlington Park, which is in council member Pauline Medrano's district. Ms. Medrano is not named in the subpoena, nor is her predecessor in District 2, John Loza. All the projects were new construction except for Fairway Crossing, which is a rehabilitation.
Employees in the city secretary's office and in the housing, development services and economic development departments were ordered Monday to start collecting the requested information, including tapes, documents and e-mail messages, a city official said. They have been asked to give the information to the city attorney's office by Friday.
Ms. Brandon, who is Mr. Fantroy's appointee to the plan commission, said she didn't know anything about the subpoena until a reporter called her Tuesday morning. As far as she knows, she said, she's only had to vote on two tax-credit housing projects in her district, and hasn't done anything wrong.
Former DISD employee
Mr. Traylor, a former Dallas school district educator who went to work for Southwest Housing in 2003, two months after Mr. Chaney appointed him to the Plan Commission, could not be reached for comment. He is the manager of education programs at 21 Southwest housing projects in Texas and one in Colorado. In that position, he coordinates after-school tutoring programs at apartment complexes.
Mr. Chaney and Dr. Thornton-Reese said they were caught off-guard by the news that their names appeared in the subpoena. Dr. Thornton-Reese said she hasn't done anything questionable and noted that it doesn't seem like a coincidence that all the city officials named in the subpoena are black.
"Isn't that strange?" Dr. Thornton-Reese said rhetorically. "Blacks have been targeted before."
Mr. Fantroy took a stronger stance. He said the FBI investigation's focus on black officials is retaliation for the May defeat of the strong-mayor referendum – a measure that was championed by the mayor and beaten largely by unprecedented voter turnout in the southern sector.
And he said that if "the big boys" – referring to top elected officials and white business leaders – told the FBI to "pack up and get out of here," they would do it.
"What are they saying? That we can't be honest?" Mr. Fantroy said. "They're trying to set an example. Why don't the racism stop?"
Mr. Fantroy's sentiment rings true throughout the southern sector, political analyst Rufus Shaw said. Dallas blacks have gotten to a point where they "don't believe anything the Justice Department says, the FBI says, the white media says," Mr. Shaw said.
And even if there's no conspiracy in the FBI investigation, Mr. Shaw said, the perception of it is so strong that those who are guilty will become martyrs.
"We're in siege mode," he said. "I don't think you can get 10 African-American leaders to disagree with what Fantroy said."
The coming debate
Council members agreed Tuesday that developments in the FBI investigation would color today's debate about removing Mr. Lee from the Plan Commission.
Mr. Lee did not return phone calls on Tuesday. But City Secretary Shirley Acy said she hadn't received a resignation letter from him, and a spokeswoman for the family said Mr. Lee had not made up his mind on whether to resign.
Ms. Miller said she's not sure what he has left to decide.
"He needs to quietly resign and go away," she said.
But District 3 council member Ed Oakley said the FBI investigation is so preliminary and the cast of characters so big that it's inappropriate for the City Council to decide who should stay and who should go.
"All of it has been allegations," he said. "What's the next step? Are we going to remove four members from the City Council? Are we going to remove the other plan commissioners too?"
Council member Mitchell Rasansky said any plan commissioners being investigated by the FBI "probably need to do some soul searching and resign." But he stopped short of asking his colleagues on the City Council to step down, differentiating between elected officials and an "advisory body."
If council members "are indicted, they need to resign," he said. "But if I was subpoenaed and under investigation, I would give deep consideration to resigning."
Staff writers Dave Levinthal, Tim Wyatt, Scott Parks and Holly Hacker contributed to this report.
I can't even begin to describe how crazy this is. Why is it that we can't have an investigation into potential criminal activity without the black population crying foul? Why is it that a black councilman can say something like this: "They're going to make the Los Angeles riots look like a picnic...." and not suffer the consequences of inciting a riot?
We all know damn well if a white councilman had said something along those lines, the black community would be in an uproar. I'm listening to the news right now, and the Dallas City Council is in full CYA mode, and refused to fire the individual at the center of the controversy who by all the accounts I have read and heard should have been canned a long time ago.
What a crock.
Here's the story for those who don't want to register:
Dallas housing inquiry widens
Fantroy sees conspiracy as FBI subpoena targets more black city officials
09:25 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 17, 2005
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
A federal investigation into low-income tax-credit housing projects in Dallas has widened to include four more city officials and several city departments, after FBI agents served an overarching subpoena to the city attorney's office.
In addition to Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, council member James Fantroy and City Plan Commissioner D'Angelo Lee – whose offices were searched by federal agents in June – the subpoena named council members Leo Chaney and Maxine Thornton-Reese and plan commissioners Carol Brandon and Melvin Traylor, city officials close to the investigation said.
And some black leaders – outraged that the seven city officials named in the subpoena are black – went on the offensive Tuesday, calling the investigation a conspiracy on the part of Mayor Laura Miller and Dallas' white business elite.
Also Online
En español: Amplian pesquisa del FBI en cabildo
"They're going to make the Los Angeles riots look like a picnic," Mr. Fantroy said. "Why is this all just black folks? Why is it when it comes to us, we're guilty the minute there are accusations?"
The FBI declined to comment on Mr. Fantroy's comments. But Ms. Miller said Tuesday that the idea she ordered an FBI investigation is ridiculous.
"I certainly did not," she said. "I've never talked to the FBI ever since I've been mayor."
And Ms. Miller, who came under fire on Friday when she scheduled a vote for today's City Council briefing to remove Mr. Lee from the Plan Commission, said she won't back away simply because a few names have been added to the investigation.
"I am concerned that if the City Council doesn't take the lead in cleaning up the mess here ... people will look at City Hall and think everyone is corrupt," she said. "I've been very clear my goal is to get a plan commissioner who is unethical off the Plan Commission."
The subpoena served last week requested information from "city records" and mentioned "particular people and specific events" relating to the investigation, said Special Agent Lori Bailey, spokeswoman for the FBI.
Subpoena subjects
Sources on the receiving end of the subpoena said it named Mr. Fantroy, Mr. Hill and Mr. Hill's Plan Commission appointee, Mr. Lee, in addition to Southwest Housing – a development company owned by Brian Potashnik that works primarily in tax-credit projects – and Odyssey Residential Holdings, run by his rival and former associate, James R. "Bill" Fisher. Mr. Chaney, Dr. Thornton-Reese, Ms. Brandon and Mr. Traylor were also named.
"Nothing was served on anyone individually," said Agent Bailey, adding that she is barred from discussing details of the records request. "This was a general subpoena served on the city's custodian of records."
The Potashnik family, in addition to giving at least $25,000 to Ms. Miller's campaign since 2002, has also contributed $6,000 to Mr. Chaney since 2003, campaign finance reports show. Mr. Fisher and his family contributed $3,000 to Dr. Thornton-Reese in March 2005, records show.
Sources close to the investigation said the subpoena requested documents and tapes on at least five Southwest Housing tax-credit projects approved since 2000: Rosemont at Scyene in Mr. Hill's district; Rosemont at Laureland on the border of Mr. Hill and Mr. Fantroy's district; Cherrycrest Villas and Fairway Crossing in Mr. Chaney's district; and Rosemont at Arlington Park, which is in council member Pauline Medrano's district. Ms. Medrano is not named in the subpoena, nor is her predecessor in District 2, John Loza. All the projects were new construction except for Fairway Crossing, which is a rehabilitation.
Employees in the city secretary's office and in the housing, development services and economic development departments were ordered Monday to start collecting the requested information, including tapes, documents and e-mail messages, a city official said. They have been asked to give the information to the city attorney's office by Friday.
Ms. Brandon, who is Mr. Fantroy's appointee to the plan commission, said she didn't know anything about the subpoena until a reporter called her Tuesday morning. As far as she knows, she said, she's only had to vote on two tax-credit housing projects in her district, and hasn't done anything wrong.
Former DISD employee
Mr. Traylor, a former Dallas school district educator who went to work for Southwest Housing in 2003, two months after Mr. Chaney appointed him to the Plan Commission, could not be reached for comment. He is the manager of education programs at 21 Southwest housing projects in Texas and one in Colorado. In that position, he coordinates after-school tutoring programs at apartment complexes.
Mr. Chaney and Dr. Thornton-Reese said they were caught off-guard by the news that their names appeared in the subpoena. Dr. Thornton-Reese said she hasn't done anything questionable and noted that it doesn't seem like a coincidence that all the city officials named in the subpoena are black.
"Isn't that strange?" Dr. Thornton-Reese said rhetorically. "Blacks have been targeted before."
Mr. Fantroy took a stronger stance. He said the FBI investigation's focus on black officials is retaliation for the May defeat of the strong-mayor referendum – a measure that was championed by the mayor and beaten largely by unprecedented voter turnout in the southern sector.
And he said that if "the big boys" – referring to top elected officials and white business leaders – told the FBI to "pack up and get out of here," they would do it.
"What are they saying? That we can't be honest?" Mr. Fantroy said. "They're trying to set an example. Why don't the racism stop?"
Mr. Fantroy's sentiment rings true throughout the southern sector, political analyst Rufus Shaw said. Dallas blacks have gotten to a point where they "don't believe anything the Justice Department says, the FBI says, the white media says," Mr. Shaw said.
And even if there's no conspiracy in the FBI investigation, Mr. Shaw said, the perception of it is so strong that those who are guilty will become martyrs.
"We're in siege mode," he said. "I don't think you can get 10 African-American leaders to disagree with what Fantroy said."
The coming debate
Council members agreed Tuesday that developments in the FBI investigation would color today's debate about removing Mr. Lee from the Plan Commission.
Mr. Lee did not return phone calls on Tuesday. But City Secretary Shirley Acy said she hadn't received a resignation letter from him, and a spokeswoman for the family said Mr. Lee had not made up his mind on whether to resign.
Ms. Miller said she's not sure what he has left to decide.
"He needs to quietly resign and go away," she said.
But District 3 council member Ed Oakley said the FBI investigation is so preliminary and the cast of characters so big that it's inappropriate for the City Council to decide who should stay and who should go.
"All of it has been allegations," he said. "What's the next step? Are we going to remove four members from the City Council? Are we going to remove the other plan commissioners too?"
Council member Mitchell Rasansky said any plan commissioners being investigated by the FBI "probably need to do some soul searching and resign." But he stopped short of asking his colleagues on the City Council to step down, differentiating between elected officials and an "advisory body."
If council members "are indicted, they need to resign," he said. "But if I was subpoenaed and under investigation, I would give deep consideration to resigning."
Staff writers Dave Levinthal, Tim Wyatt, Scott Parks and Holly Hacker contributed to this report.
Playgirl's hunks? The hairy, chubby & poor!
This explains why Catfish and I are chick magnets.
Forget waxed chests and rock-hard abs. A new survey finds ladies like their
men scruffy, a wee bit chubby - and definitely not a metrosexual.
FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Report: Passenger May Have Attempted to Save Flight
FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Report: Passenger May Have Attempted to Save Flight
This is really something. Can you imagine, rushing into the cockpit, moving the pilot and copilot out of the way, taking control of the aircraft and making a spectacular landing to save everyone! You would be doing shaving cream and beer commercials before the end of the week.
Except.....
Here in the U.S. we have that really cool flight compartment door. You know, the one that was installed after 9/11 that can withstand a hand grenade, RPG, or all of the kicking and screaming passengers onboard as the plane they're flying in slams into the ground at 600mph. You see they have secured the door during all flight operations, so your first response after taking care of yourself had better be to save a fight attendant. They can get into the cockpit and then you can save the day.
If this was a pressurization leak at 37,000 feet, you had better grab that oxygen mask fast, you only have a few seconds before you're asleep. And then remember, ANY landing you can walk away from is a good one.
It's been a tough week for aviation, and for all of those families that have lost someone, God Speed.
This is really something. Can you imagine, rushing into the cockpit, moving the pilot and copilot out of the way, taking control of the aircraft and making a spectacular landing to save everyone! You would be doing shaving cream and beer commercials before the end of the week.
Except.....
Here in the U.S. we have that really cool flight compartment door. You know, the one that was installed after 9/11 that can withstand a hand grenade, RPG, or all of the kicking and screaming passengers onboard as the plane they're flying in slams into the ground at 600mph. You see they have secured the door during all flight operations, so your first response after taking care of yourself had better be to save a fight attendant. They can get into the cockpit and then you can save the day.
If this was a pressurization leak at 37,000 feet, you had better grab that oxygen mask fast, you only have a few seconds before you're asleep. And then remember, ANY landing you can walk away from is a good one.
It's been a tough week for aviation, and for all of those families that have lost someone, God Speed.
16 August 2005
Back and brewing: Family members resurrect Griesedieck Brothers Beer
My grandfather used to just crack UP over the Schlitz (or some other beer company) commercials from the 70's that featured Papa Joe Griesedieck's recipe, and how Schlitz (or whoever that was) was using that recipe. In case you didn't realize, that's prounounced "greasy dick." My grandfather was easily amused.
Acting like a Dem will doom Pirro
It's a pity that New York can't field a real Republican to face off against Hillary. Pirro's campaign slogan should be, "I don't suck as much as Hillary." That's about as good as this race is. No winners in New York...
15 August 2005
28 Years Gone
It was 28 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting on the edge of my parents bed watching Gilligan's Island when it was interrupted by a news bulletin that announce "The King is dead". I was young, but I realized the magnitude of the loss of this cultural icon. It wasn't until my later years I learned to truly appreciate his music. I embraced the power of "E" and extolled his greatness. My motorcycle roadrace endurance team was named "Takin' Care of Business" and we had "TCB" and the lightening bolt my race bikes. I've toured Graceland and gone through his jet, the Lisa Marie. I've sang Elvis songs until my voice was gone. I've seen Johnny Harrah, the worlds greatest Elvis Impersonator 5 times. He starred in the Elvis documentary titled "This is Elvis". It's as close to the real thing as I could get. I still have the Velvet Elvis that I bought at the big flea market in Sweetwater during the annual Rattle Snake Roundup. It graced the walls of my bachelor pad, for oh so many years. Today It hangs over our clothes dryer in the garage. That's as close as my wife would let it get to the inside of our house.
Elvis died on the toilet. Some think that is embarrassing or even disgraceful, but I disagree. Elvis was the coolest man to ever live. I think He probably knew that your body voids all waste when you die, so knowing it was his time, he went and sat on the toilet.
I'll be wearing a black arm band today, and I'll be listening to Elvis CD's, and when I sit on the toilet, I'll hold a kind thought for E. I hope you will too.
Thank you Elvis, Thank you very much.
Big D
Officer Tackles Suspect After Taser Gun Fails
What do you do when your Taser doesn't work? If you're the Houston PD, you administer a good old-fashioned beatdown, of course. I warms my heart to see the police taking the time to show they care about crime.
14 August 2005
Cindy Sheehan is a Nut
Hey, don't take my word for it. She's doing a fine job herself.
Go home, lady.
My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial.Looks like the political gloves are coming off. About time. Now we can all see the political puppetry going on here. Looks like Ms. Sheehan is being manipulated and aided by every left-wing nutjob cause in America, and she's buying it hook, line, and sinker.
Go home, lady.
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