CSPAN Rep Paul Kanjorski Reviews the Bailout Situation

Texas Tea

"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot." - Governor Rick Perry

I don't really want to talk about Governor Perry's secession remarks at Austin's City Hall. I want to turn off the TV and let the dog ruin the remote control.

I was in this great zen-like state, working on some projects that showed how local folks are dealing with the political climate. But, damnit Rick, look what you made me go and do.

I'm with you Rick. Call the boys up in DC, tell them to pack the Chevy and get on down here, let's do our own thing.

Next Rick, call the good folks at the twenty-five military installations here in the Republic and tell them to scoot. Ask them nicely though, I don't want to hurt your pride, but they might out gun you.

Those federal highways were always a bother too.

Oh, and about the border crisis, call up ICE, the DEA, the FBI and the BATF and tell them to take the day off, the Texas Rangers got this one.

Listen folks, I love Texas.

Screw you, I LOVE Texas more than you. Look it up. But allowing Texans to think that we can cut and run, even in jest, is irresponsible.You don't point a gun unless you want to pull the trigger, and you, the governor of Texas, do not bring up the "S" word unless you mean it.

The proposition for secession was premised on the idea that the federal government was abusing the tax payer by using treasury funds to bail out the banks. Purist free market capitalists favor letting the banks fail because they have the faith that a "market correction" will somehow right the ship. The problem is that the American banking system is so big and so intertwined with the global banking market that allowing a collapse would devastate the global economy. In this case, inaction by the federal government would be catastrophic.

For an informative explanation of the scenario, watch this video.

The federal government and more specifically Mr. Obama should certainly be held accountable for the decisions that come out of Washington, but I think the rage you see at some grass-roots functions is misguided. I'm sorry folks, but ideology and rhetoric alone won't right the ship. That's aimed at Mr. Perry and Mr. Obama, equally.

I drove by the AIG building on Allen Parkway a few days ago and saw one protester voicing her opinion regarding the bonuses AIG wanted to give their executives. I have yet to see a protest or rally focused on holding the TARP backed banks accountable for their decisions even though banks like Citi and Bank of America have dramatically raised their interest rates on consumer revolving credit accounts.

Personally, the Republican party breaks my heart with desperate and ill-conceived ways to seek a prodigal return of their base. It isn't working. The GOP is rapidly becoming the Democrats of the past eight years- relentlessly complaining and villainizing those in power without publicizing plausible solutions. The solution isn't more sensationalism, it is showing the American public that Republican ideals of self-reliance and hard work are the true path.

However, even those most American of ideals alone, are insufficient. There is simply no way around government intervention and regulation, those days are far gone... for the moment.

Just because we haven't found all the right solutions is not a cause for panic. I know times are hard, I've had to tighten my belt too.

But Governor Perry, sir, and you my brothers and sisters should heed this advice: splintering into a million factions and allowing ourselves to be drawn and quartered by the extreme right OR left will only impede our return to greatness.

Now is the time to become informed, to invest in our personal and collective growth, to draw from all ideas and to build- starting in our local communities until we reach DC. Buy local goods, expand or sharpen your skill set. I know it is a hard time to go back to school but Americans have forgotten that the libraries are still free, and many times they offer seminars on job hunting or have free classes of all kinds.

Here's how we get out of this mess, from the bottom up:

1. Stop talking and do something

2. Do more.

3. Keep going

I appreciate the Tea Party participants for their willingness to voice their opinions, but we have to build from the bottom up, and not tear from the top down all-the-while remembering that we are first and foremost Americans in citizenship, even if we are principally Texans, heart and soul.

Happy Easter, Happy Passover

Easter: when all you sickos stuff your faces with marshmallow Peeps and us sophisticated types sneak Cadbury Eggs and judge you. Of course, I joke. Happy Easter and Happy Passover!

I loved Easter when I was a kid. We used to go to my aunt and uncle's house in Porter. The kids would go on an egg hunt and the adults would look forward to the four hour dinner event. The grandparents, aunts and uncles would all bring their own specialties: chiles rellenos, tamales, tortas, ham, stuffing and whatever else we incorporated into our Mexican-American palate that year.

I could never figure out why the adults would always get the kids Easter outfits because we were going to spend all day hunting eggs, chasing lizards and stuffing our faces with chocolate and Mexican food.

In fact, one year my mother and my older sisters bought me a little Lacoste shirt and pants set. They doted over me and cooed at how cute I was (let's face it, I'm irresistible to this day). Thirty minutes later, I ditched the shirt, found a pair of scissors and cut off the Lacoste alligator because I wanted to play with it. Maybe you guys should have held me back a grade.

These days my aunts and uncles all have grand kids of their own and we don't make it out to Porter anymore. I actually missed Mass today and instead of a home-cooked family dinner, I think we're going to the Cheesecake factory tonight. We don't celebrate Easter the same way, but it's still a great day for family to come together- any way we can.

Christmas in Springtime

Easter is a "movable" holiday. It doesn't have a fixed date on the calendar. One year, when I was six or seven, I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law in New York. That year, Easter fell on my birthday.

It was my first solo plane ride, and my first trip to New York. We climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty. We watched fathers and sons play with remote-controlled boats in a Central Park pond. I finally got to see how tall a brontasaurus was at the Museum of Natural History and most importantly of all, we visited FAO Schwartz.

You remember the scene in Big where Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia danced to "Heart and Soul" on that roll out piano? That's the place.

Legos. Mountains of colorful, stackable geometric bliss. The store had a "Lego Land" with endless blocks that visiting children could play with. I walked into a Lego castle and pushed around a Lego truck. I threw hand fulls of blocks in the air, just to listen to their clatter. I didn't share because no one would make me and most importantly, I didn't have to pick anything up when I was done.

It was glorious.

As I was building the most awesome Lego robot New York had ever seen, a glimmer of red shot out from a display, in between passing customers. I couldn't make it out at first, but the color reminded me of something. My robot needed a respite from his conquest of Lego Land, so I got up and investigated.

It was a red, remote-controlled boat, like the ones those kids had in Central Park. My Lego robot didn't have a working water cannon that you could fire from your remote control pad. Stupid robot.

I stood in front of the display and told my sister and brother-in-law that I had found what I wanted for my birthday. They looked at it and somberly told me that it was too expensive but not to worry because I never knew what the Easter bunny might bring. Did he know I was in New York?

I left the store, hiding my disappointment and we went back to their Manhattan apartment for the night.

The next morning, my sister gently woke me up as my brother-in-law walked in the front door in his running clothes. I got up, washed my face and sat down at the table, waiting for breakfast.

"Josh, will you get the paper? It's probably at the front door. I guess Steve forgot to get it when he walked in", my sister said.

I walked to the door, stretched up to unlatch the chain and stepped outside. Instead of the Times, there was a bright green Easter basket, like the ones you find at the grocery store. And next to the basket, was a shiny red boat, with a card and a bow.

"Happy birthday, Josh", the card said. "It was hard to find you all the way up here in New York. Have a very special birthday!", signed- The Easter Bunny.

My heart jolted the sleep from my body and I smiled. I stood there for a second, thinking- that rabbit can't be this good. And if he was that good, then why hadn't he hooked me up like this before!?!

In that New York moment, I grew up, just a little. I realized how much my family loved me and that all those Christmas mornings and Easter Sundays my parents and siblings must have gone out of their way to make magic happen.

That was the last year for the fantastic trinity: the rabbit, the jolly fat man, and the tooth fairy. Well, at least for me.

Even though I don't get together with my extended family as much as I used to, and even though I'm so far removed from Easter baskets and little red boats, Easter is a very special holiday.

Now, though, I look forward to having kids, so I can create the same magic for them that my family did for me.

I wish you all a happy Easter season. Enjoy this time with loved ones, celebrate the spring and make some memories with the ones you love.

Truly Gone and Back Again

This month marked the fourth anniversary of my return from Iraq. I don't talk about it much, but as the years pass, I find myself able to process my experiences a little more each day.

The first hurdle that I faced in re-entering my life was the anger I felt. I couldn't help but ask in vain why I had gone through what I had. I needed to feel that the sacrifices I made and the greater ones I witnessed served a purpose.

My four years at home have allowed me some convalescence but I read a story in the Houston Chronicle that revived the rage I thought time had relieved me of.

The picture at the top of this post is of Marcus Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL and author of Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10.

Luttrell served in Afghanistan as part of Operation Redwing, a mission designed to capture Ahmad Shah, a member of the Taliban and leader of the insurgent "Mountain Tigers." Luttrell was the only member of his SEAL team, the lead component of Operation Redwing.

Luttrell talks about not sleeping well because of his need to remain alert throughout the night. When the sun goes down, Lutrell's hyper-vigilance takes over and he performes the same security checks that his training taught him.

Petty Officer Luttrell returned home in 2006 and received a bouncing yellow Lab that he named "Dasy"- an acronym for the names of his fallen SEALs. The dog was given with the hopes of easing the transition home and helping Luttrell to cope with the loss of his comrades.

On April 1st, the hyper-vigilance that fed Luttrell's insomnia forced him to witness another tragedy. A shot broke the stillness that Luttrell failed to trust. He moved without forcing a thought, sweeping the house and checking on his mother. Slipping outside, Marcus found Dasy, now four years old, dead from a gunshot wound. The thirty-three year old, recently released from his latest surgery, stalked through his property with a pistol.

He spotted Dasy's killers twenty-five yards away. They were four young men in a parked sedan. Luttrell circled the car unseen, raised his pistol and trained in on one of them and... never pulled the trigger.

Instead, he jumped in his four-door truck and chased the men through three counties at speeds reaching a hundred miles per hour. While at the wheel, Marcus called 911 and urged the operator to dispatch police. Eventually, the men were caught and two of them now face charges of animal cruelty. *

The sadness of Lutrell's losses, home and abroad, are staggering. What is truly remarkable about this story however is Luttrell's restraint. I cannot imagine a jury in Texas that would not have sided with Luttrell had he pulled the trigger. But he didn't. And now that the killer's have been apprehended and investigated, Luttrell has moved away.

Luttrell said in his interview with the Chronicle that the attack on Dasy pushed him to a place where he doesn’t want to be.

“I was trying to talk myself out of being who I am,” he said. “Talking to myself about not doing the one thing I am good at.” *

For many veterans, the journey back is just that, a journey with no destination. The wounds are dressed with loose sutures and home is a place infrequently occasioned because inevitably, minds wander back to the sand.

I hope that Marcus finds the strength to start the journey home again.



* from Survivor of war loses dog to random violence, Houston Chronicle April 9, 2006.

Harold and Kumar Head to Washington.... Well, Kumar Anyway

Kal Penn, who you know from such movies as Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle,Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, House, and 24, has left acting to work for the Obama Administration.

Penn will serve as associate director in the White House Office of Public Liason. The 31 year-old former actor will be an ambassador to the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.

Kal Penn, who was born in New Jersey as Kalpen Suresh Modi, mentioned in Nirali Magazine that he shortened his name, “Almost as a joke to prove friends wrong, and half as an attempt to see if what I was told would work (that anglicized names appeal more to a white-dominated industry), I put ‘Kal Penn’ on my resume and photos."

If you've seen any of Penn's movies, you know that he was usually typecast as a pseudo-intellectual pothead. Penn played more conservative roles in television, appearing in House and 24. The actor's final episode of House, his most recent reocurring role, came as a shock to those who regularly watch the highly rated program. Penn's character, Kutner, committed suicide in this week's episode.

It's interesting that President Obama would choose someone who will undoubtedly be an easy target for adversaries of the current administration. Even fictional potheads make easy targets for anti-Obama pundits. C'mon Rush, give Kal a break- he was on 24 and I KNOW you love you some Jack Bauer.

This was a rock star move for a rock star president who today ended his world tour. Penn is a popular figure among college kids and twenty-somethings whose broad appeal will likely help to keep America's youth tuned in to politics.

For more on Penn, check out nydailynews.com.

Flip THIS, House!!!

My parents are Real Estate investors. I grew up spending a lot of after-school afternoons on a work-site or at Home Depot picking up construction materials.

I never thought that many other people would find residential investment as interesting as I do, but a few years ago I was shocked to find that there were several television shows dedicated to flipping. For instance, Dana and I watch Flip This House every Saturday morning.

Flip This House is a really entertaining show with a catchy intro and several charismatic investors as the main characters. It makes for great Saturday morning TV.

You have to watch it the same way you used to watched Heman or Thundercats- with a big bowl of diabetes causing cereal (I vote for Count Chocula) and understanding that you're getting a half hour or so of entertainment and not a credible reference for your life plan. Using the show as a template for your investing success, might land you in some trouble.

Just look at some of the flipping crews from the show:

First, the producers of FTH were sued by Trademark Properties - the original flip team on the show. Apparently, Richard Davis, the founder of Trademark Properties, sued A&E on the premise that A&E stole his idea for the show. Davis won a $4 million award and now has his own show on TLC.

Next, if you were wondering why Sam Leccima suddenly disappeared from the show... yep, you guessed it- legal trouble. "Smooth talkin' Sam" might be in the biggest mess, as he faced an investigation from the Georgia Attorney General.

Finally, arguably the most notable character from from FTH, Armando Montelongo, as well as his brother David, have apparently had their own financial and legal trouble. You might recognize Armando from his radio or television ads. He now has his own website as well.

I don't know what to think of Armando. My gut tells me he's an honest guy but that his aggressive approach to the business might cause him to be stretched too thin. His management style is about as subtle as his haircut. How can you wear that much gel in the Texas heat?

Remiiiiiiiind you of anyone?







Here's my advice: If you're interested in Real Estate investment, go to a place like Champions School of Real Estate. There are other schools out there that offer the same type of courses but I've had really good experience with Champions. They offer classes on investing, construction, appraisal and other topics that investors need to be familiar with before they put both feet into the fire.

It is an incredible time to invest, if you have the money. But before you get out there, do your homework and be able to tell what's real, and what's not.

Oh, if you thought this post was going to be about House, the show- I KNOW.... what was up with that?

BTW, Rescue Me comes back on tonight. If you like Dennis Leary, you'll love this show. If you don't like Leary, but you like smart ass NY firemen, (hey, your thing, whatever) watch the show anyway.

You're Screwed When

You know you're screwed when you're writing about writing. Worse yet, when you're reading about writing.

I keep reading that writers become better writers when they read and write. Get me off this pinche ride.

I don't know if I'm undertaking a noble venture or if I just bought into a Madoff security but I do see why the best authors were drunken misanthropes, or drunken hermits, or drunken borderline suicidal types. Coping.

Which reminds me, I'm meeting Mark at Baker Street at 6. You're welcome to join, all five of you.

My favorite authors were either a) inspired by God or b) cast away from their communities because they were labeled as communists or c) remarkably witty. God's been especially active in my life as of late, I'm a moderate Independent suburbanite and well, I'm witty. I'M WITTY DAMN YOU. Where does this leave me? Unpublished?

I'm suspect that listening to NPR and losing myself deep in thought just aren't going to provide the sustenance I need to produce. This is where you come in you sexy beast, you.

Give me your queries, let me know what you think about sitting in traffic or before you go to bed. If you find that you would label your thoughts NSFW, do me a favor and write me an email instead of posting here.

What news stories interest you? What frustrates you? What's the best restaurant you've been to lately or the best band you've seen? What did you avoid doing today that you know you should have done?

I'm finding that I enjoy writing human interest pieces and sports stories the most. I feel that everyone should have their story told and sports offers too many universal lessons to be ignored.

I'm obviously rambling today, but if this strikes a chord with anyone, please send me an email or post a comment to the blog.