More Toll Road Stupidity

More toll road stupidity in Houston: Signs point toward more toll roads

I hate the HOV lane system. First, they eat up two actual lanes, which could otherwise be used by everyone. Second, when I have used them (a pretty rare occurrence over the years) I invariably get stuck behind some moron - usually a Metro bus - who can't seem to find the gas pedal. And when there's an accident - forget getting OUT of one.

Maybe they make sense in other parts of the country, but Houston is SO spread out and so disorganized (in terms of where people work vs. where they live). I would be willing to bet the vast majority do NOT work downtown - except the city's politicians, of course.

So, not only have the taxpayers had to give up miles of previously-funded freeway, NOW Metro wants to charge us again for them??? Grrr...

Anti-Semitism: History's Oldest Hatred

We will be discussing anti-semitism in one of my classes soon, so this article is appropriate: History's oldest hatred

Anti-semitism is an ancient derangement, the oldest of hatreds, so it is strange that it lacks a more meaningful name. The misnomer "anti-Semitism" - a term coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr, who wanted a scientific-sounding euphemism for Judenhass, or Jew-hatred - is particularly inane, since hostility to Jews has never had anything to do with Semites or being Semitic.

Here's a little expansion on Marr from Wikipedia:

The term "anti-Semitic" (or "anti-Semite") usually refers to Jews only. It was coined in 1879 by German journalist Wilhelm Marr in a pamphlet called, "The Victory of Germandom over Jewry". Using ideas of race and nationalism, Marr argued that Jews had become the first major power in the West. He accused them of being liberals, a people without roots who had Judaized Germans beyond salvation. In 1879 Marr founded the "League for Anti-Semitism".

What's interesting to me is that semitic peoples (again from the same Wikipedia page) include Arabs. More on that in a minute; right now, back to the article:

Perhaps there is no good name for a virus as mutable as anti-Semitism. "The Jews have been objects of hatred in pagan, religious, and secular societies," write Joseph Telushkin and Dennis Prager in "Why the Jews?," their classic study of anti-Semitism. "Fascists have accused them of being Communists, and Communists have branded them capitalists. Jews who live in non-Jewish societies have been accused of having dual loyalties, while Jews who live in the Jewish state have been condemned as 'racists.' Poor Jews are bullied, and rich Jews are resented. Jews have been branded as both rootless cosmopolitans and ethnic chauvinists. Jews who assimilate have been called a 'fifth column,' while those who stay together spark hatred for remaining separate."

Anti-semitism is indeed a very mutable virus. In the Arab world, it has mutated into Anti-Americanism as well; one only has to check out the political cartoons to see this. But every now and then (and I wish I could find a link) you hear someone try to link anti-semitism to racial hatred of Palestinians. Technically, I suppose that's correct. Semantically, though, it isn't. Linking Judenhass - and the deaths of millions of Jews throughout history - with a mess of the Arab leadership's own making is, in effect, an effort to hijack history.

Rushing to Judgement: One Historian's View

This article struck me as particularly apropos, especially since one of my professors goes out of the way to label W as the "worst president ever" any chance possible: Was George W. Bush the Worst President?. One example:

Elected by seven million votes thanks to the electorate's loathing for Wilson, Warren G. Harding confessed to reporters that he was not up to the job. He told one newsman that he wanted to make the U.S. tariff higher than the Rocky Mountains to help Europe's industries recover from World War I. The appalled reporter realized the president had one of the biggest issues of the era exactly backward.

Harding had a concealed box at the Gayety Burlesque Theater where he spent many afternoons and nights. In the leftover hours he concentrated on poker and trysts with a blonde named Nan Britton -- reputedly in a closet off the Oval Office -- while his appointees looted the federal government.

Meanwhile, the man-who-is-not-my-president has committed some serious blunders in just his first month. Never mind a series of broken campaign promises, including one to allow five days of public comment before signing bills such as Porkzilla.

And he's just warming up. But wait, am I rushing to judgment here? Moi?

TxDOT's lost it's mind, too

So TxDOT, in it's infinite wisdom, has decided that $700 million of the porkulus cash should go to.....

....drumroll.....

....toll road projects!

In addition to $181 million for the Grand Parkway, TxDOT’s list includes an additional $50 million for four new ramps connecting the Eastex Freeway and Beltway 8.

The other toll road projects slated for stimulus funds are: $36 million for Texas 550 in Cameron County; $42.5 million for a toll road in Smith County; $144.9 million for Fort Worth’s Southwest Parkway; and $250 million for toll lanes along the Dallas-Fort Worth Connector.

Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack, whose precinct includes Segment E of the Grand Parkway, said the segment satisfies the federal stimulus mandate as a “shovel-ready” project. The Harris County Toll Road Authority would add $16.6 million to the project.

Now - what's wrong with this picture? We, the taxpayers, pay once to build the damned things, then pay again to use them!

Toll roads are an evil that Texas taxpayers would be well off without. This latest boneheaded decision by TxDOT just reinforces that opinion. Yes, I use the Hardy and the Beltway. No, I don't know how much taxpayer money went into initial construction, if any. I also don't know when they were supposed to have been paid off, but in a dim corner of what passes for my mind is a remembrance of a promise long, long past - that, once they WERE paid off, the tolls would be lifted. That sure hasn't happened, now, has it? 249 around Tomball is eventually going to be made into a toll road, too. And I know that a lot of taxpayer money has already gone into that.

Personally, I would prefer that Texas not take a dime of Generational Theft Act money, but it looks like Perry doesn't have the cojones to refuse it. At least we shouldn't spend it on projects to suck even more money from taxpayers!

I can't read fast enough!!!

I'm drowning in books, HALP! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think reading would become such a chore. I've always loved to read, and spent many a summer as a young 'un down at the local library, nose-down into history books. Mostly WW2, back then.

Now, however, I can't seem to read fast enough. Seven books for next week's classes! Plus the list of supplemental reads for term papers just keeps getting longer and longer. How do people make it out of their first year of grad school alive?

Who was to blame for city debt payment idea?

Just a followup on my last post: the idea was firmly rejected by Council. Furthermore, we have an answer as to who was to blame for city debt payment idea:

Juan Chavez, a staffer in the Dept. of Housing & Community Affairs, basically thought up the idea, he told me. But White said it was based on a "similar program" at local Amegy Bank, which supposedly involved grants from the federal government...

There is a bigger picture here: White said he may have pressured housing staffers to find innovative ways to get more people into homes in the city's Houston Hope neighborhoods...The Houston Hope program is one of his pet projects, and good numbers could presumably be a talking point in the Senate race.

"There was impatience expressed by me on what we could do within those areas that had been blighted in order to make those areas more attractive for those people who may want to move there," White said. He also said he has a sense of "urgency" about this particular program and its importance for the city and those neighborhoods' rejuvenation.

Just, ya know, to keep you informed.

City Hall has Lost Its Mind

Who the hell came up with this brainstorm? Houston may pay credit card bills for some homebuyers

Houston taxpayers could start footing the bill to help first-time homebuyers pay off debts and improve their credit scores, under a proposal before City Council this week.

The “Credit Score Enhancement Program” will give up to $3,000 in grants to individuals who are trying to qualify for mortgages through the city’s homebuyers assistance program. City officials say some applicants fall short of eligibility by only 10 or 20 points on their credit scores, and paying off some debt balances can quickly improve their numbers.

The $444,000 for the program is leftover money from a $1.5 million appropriation the city made for emergency home and roof repairs after Hurricane Ike.

If said individuals can't come up with their own money to handle their credit card debt, they have no business buying a house. End of story.

It's as if nobody in City Council was paying attention when the mortgage meltdown started!

Hello, here's a novel idea - take that leftover money and GIVE IT BACK TO THE TAXPAYERS!!! Or at least put it back in the general fund. Or better yet, SAVE IT for the next time we get rocked by a hurricane. Anything, other than give it away to pay other people's bills.

And the Dome will come Tumbling Down

This saddens me greatly, but I can't say it's unexpected. Just the title shows what side the Chron is on: Broken-down Astrodome may have seen its last rodeo. "Broken-down"? When I last drove by it, the old lady of indoor stadiums still looked pretty good to me. Funny how they can blow a few fire-code violations into sounding like it's a death trap.

The trouble began about a year ago, when dome officials could not produce a valid certificate of occupancy during their annual fire inspection, senior fire inspector Joe Leggio said. The county ultimately had to apply for a new certificate, which triggered an inspection by city building code officials.

That inspection and a follow-up inspection by the city fire marshal’s office identified about 30 problems, including malfunctioning sprinkler and fire alarm systems. Those violations are considered life threatening, so the fire marshal could have ordered the building shut down. Instead, the county voluntarily relocated the three dozen employees of the management company that runs Reliant Park who had offices there and agreed not to host any public events.

The sprinkler system has since been fixed, and the county has a contract to replace the problematic fire alarm panel, said Loston, whose group manages the Reliant Park complex for the county.

Addressing many of the other violations — which include roof leaks, problems with restroom ventilation, and the size and location of handrails — would mean restoring the building to a condition where it could hold NFL games and rock concerts just like any other stadium, Loston said. Such events are not necessarily in the Astrodome’s future.

[County Commissioner Steve] Radack said he does not think a rarely used building should have to meet the same standards as a stadium in its prime.

I agree with Radack. Since there is no firm plan for the stadium yet, why should it have to go through what are probably expensive upgrades? Unless (yes dear, this is my paranoia kicking in) the city has Other Intentions - such as demolishing it.

The Dome is Doomed. And that's a damned shame. You watch, it will be leveled in the dead of night, like some of our other historic buildings have been.