On the heels of my previous post about the wildlife in Houston, I got a head’s up (in the form of a suggestion) about a contest that the TWRC would really, really, double really like to win. From the TWRC:

“The top 4 national organizations which bring in the most individual donations (by donation count not total dollars raised) are awarded $50,000 each for their organization. We have been running in the top 10 nationally (were in 3rd place at one time), and are now in 6th place. This challenge ends January 31. For us to win $50,000 in this event would bring quite a bit of attention to Texas, Houston, and to wildlife rehabilitation. We are in the process of looking to expand our facility so that we can rehab more on site, and enlarge our Baby Bird Program.

They have a donation page on their website where you can also grab the code and put the badge on your own blog.

Picture originally uploaded by boregasmic

7′6″ Rockets center Yao Ming married long-time girlfriend, Ye Li, in Shanghai on Monday. Ye Li is 6′2″ and plays for the Chinese national team…geez, can you imagine how super-tall their babies will be?? More pictures of the wedding can be found at JustJared.

“A decade after Republic of Texas separatist Richard McLaren drew the attention of the nation to a far West Texas mountainside — not to mention about 300 state troopers — the prospect of growing old behind bars hasn’t altered his beliefs in the least.

In fact, the man who calls himself “Hostage No. 802782″ at a Panhandle state prison unit is surer than ever that Texas remains a sovereign nation.

“We didn’t start it,” McLaren said of the weeklong standoff that ended May 3, 1997, and left one of his followers dead. “We’re just the (keepers) of the 1836 constitution.”"

With all this immigration talk going around and La Raza trying to claim Texas as part of Mexico it’s hard to filter everything out and take a step back to study history. I can already predict a lot of people talking sh** about this but just keep in mind that because “the books” these days say otherwise it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the law. Omissions are obviously present and we should all be hearing this guy out. I don’t know how everyone else feels but I would be damn proud to support Texas Sovereignty. This would immediately free us from all the federal government restrictions and controls we currently live under. I’m still undecided and not sure what to believe here but rest assured that I will continue to investigate.

If you are interested, please take the time to read the following article…
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Man arrested for traveling with his gun in the car tackles the system!

Locked & Unloaded: The NRA, ACLU & HPD
(As told to Richard Connelly)

Keith Patton of Katy has become an unlikely hero of both the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, and you’d think that’s not easy to do.

In Patton’s case, though, it actually was easy enough to do, if not to endure. He bought a gun in February and was taking it home when he was pulled over for allegedly speeding and changing lanes without a signal.

Just to be on the safe side, he told the officer he had an unloaded gun in his car. No ammunition anywhere, just an unloaded .357 Magnum.

The result: 27 hours in jail and about $2,100 in fees and attorney’s costs.

“I actually thought it was somewhat comical,” he says of the arrest. “I started laughing and I said, ‘Are you arresting me?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, you think this is funny?’ And I said, ‘Well, I do, kind of. I just told you where I was coming from. I don’t even have any ammunition in the car — what the hell are you arresting me for?’”
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So I’ve been really upset at the immigration situation lately and I think it should take priority over this unjust Iraq war. Especially if Bush REALLY IS concerned about the health of our Nation. I’m not racist. I am a fair person. Unfortunately things have gotten out of hand and now I am furious over illegals here. I don’t want my country to be a third world nation filled with sweatshops making inferior products for other countries around the world. That’s what’s going to happen if we give these people blanket amnesty. Don’t even get me started on the effects it will have on our economy (taxes) and benefits. Want to be an American citizen? Then follow the process and pay your dues. Otherwise I think you need to get the F*** out of here and go start a revolution in your own country. The La Raza movement is funded by the Bush family via Allen & Co. in Dallas. They want civil war on our streets and are making it happen. (Problem(Mexicans Want U.S. Land)-Reaction(Protests & Debates)-Solution(Amnesty & North American Union)). Anyway, Instead of detailing why I’m so upset about this stuff I’ll let Lou Dobbs do it for me. If you’re interested in hearing more about this I’d recommend watching some of his YouTube videos.

The Bush administration and the leadership of the Democratic Party are preparing to take another legislative leap at imposing a massive illegal alien amnesty on American citizens.

And the mainstream media is complicit in advancing this thinly veiled blanket amnesty. Instead of asking and answering important questions about why our immigration laws aren’t being enforced and why we’re permitting pervasive document fraud, the national media seems hell-bent on trying to obfuscate the issue, shamelessly playing with language, equating legal immigration with illegal immigration while obviously trying to preserve the illusion of objectivity.
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Retro club, originally uploaded by LillaKat*.

Next month is Houston’s 2nd Annual Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), sponsored locally by Da Camera of Houston and held throughout the nation with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s support.

The month-long event will be kicked off with a free concert at the Miller Outdoor Theater on Sunday April 1.

3:00 PM Project Grad’s City Jazz Kidz
4:00 PM HSPVA Big Band
5:00 PM Young Sounds of Houston
6:00 PM Bill Charlap, piano with University of Houston Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Noe Marmolejo

I really dig this JAM concept, as it encourages music lovers and jazz aficionados to ‘Move Beyond the Concert Hall’ and celebrate the jazz scene all over town. Keep an eye on ArtsHound for more April JAM details.

The annual Westheimer Block Party is coming up Saturday March 24 and the Free Press has announced this year’s lineup:

Penny Royal, Satin Hooks, Scattered Pages, Cee Plus and the House of Bad Knives, Thee Armada, Generic Tribe, Arthur Yoria, Medicine Show, the Dimes, Free Radicals, Muzak John, .belville, Nosaprise, Stadium, Umbrella Man, Flowers to Hide, Honeysuckle, 9Volt, Guy Schwartz, Brains for Dinner, Guns of Detroit, Ninja Stars, National Electric, Police State America, the Krinkles, Million Year Dance, SkyBlue72, Doo Doo Butter, Novice, Mic Skills, the Jane Frequency, Standing Souls, Generation Landslide, Cartwheels in Central Park, Deep Above Surface, the Riff Tiffs, Poison Apple Martini and Organ Failure.

WBP promises 40+ bands, live guerilla arts, come and zine fest, boys, girls, food, booze and police repression spread across Numbers, La Strada, Mango’s and Helios. Sounds like riot… er, a good time. So, get out there and support local music, the Montrose and Houston life in general.

The Texas Copperheads have a new home. After a great season (11-4) at the Merrill Center in Katy with the National Indoor Football League (NIFL), the Copperheads made the move to a new venue (The Berry Center) (located off Barker Cypress Road) and a new league, the af2. The af2 is the developmental league for the Arena Football League (AFL.)

Head coach Bryan Blake has really beefed up the front office by adding former Houston Oilers head coach Ed Biles as Assistant Coach, former AFL all-time leading passer Todd Hammell as Offensive Coordinator, and three-time championship winning GM Gary Saunders.

The Copperheads kick off the 2007 home season on Friday, April 6th against the Florida Firecats. To get your 2007 Texas Copperheads season tickets or reserve a group outing in 2007, please contact the Copperheads office at (281) 392-5592 or visit www.texascopperheads.com.

Friendswood City Councilmen Chris Peden and John LeCour want to make the English the city’s official language. Thats not really uncommon these days, plenty of politicians are pushing for that in city, state and country. What is unique about their proposal is the blatant idiocy in their reasoning. They say that making English the official language:

1. Will help border security
2. Is similar to the city’s ordinance prohibiting sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places where children gather

According to the Chron:

City Councilman Chris Peden said the proposed measure would be a safeguard for Friendswood and compared it to the city’s ordinance prohibiting sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places where children gather.

How, in any way, does specifying an official language compare to protecting children from sex offenders? Well, it doesnt. So, that means that you’re likening the people who speak the language to someone you have to protect your children from. That is just plain racism.

The slightly less insidious but equally stupid John LeCour says: “(Our borders) need to be controlled, and maybe it’s something we can start here, a movement here that the state and the federal government should see that the citizens are serious”

Yes sir, language secures borders. All this time we thought it was the lack of policing and promise of opportunities here that allowed people to enter the country. No! It was just the fact that they’re allowed to speak Spanish to city officials that brings ‘em in.

At least they’re putting it up to citizen vote and not just taking matters into their own hands.

Ok, so you know my opinion… whats yours? Do you think this would help national security or Friendswood city services?

You hear about it sometimes: A guy in New York, a college kid in LA, someone somewhere was caught giving aid to terrorists. But Tuesday afternoon, two students were arrested right here in Houston for giving support and planing to fight with the Taliban. I know we’re really friendly and helpful here in Houston, but thats a little much don’t you think?

According to the Chron article: Kobie Diallo Williams has pled guilty to to “conspiracy to assist a terrorist group”. Which, if I remember right, is gonna land you in jail for a bit. The other guy, a Pakistani national here on an expired student visa, is in the for the same thing and some federal wepons charges. Basically, the guys were giving money to someone who said they were giving it to the Taliban. And they were taking gun courses so they could eventually go fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.

While their plans weren’t very scary on their own, it is kind of a reminder that this kinda stuff can happen here. We live in the only city in the US with all major terrorist targets and, whatever your political/ideological views may be, there are those who’d like to do away with us. So, moral of the story? I guess just keep your eye’s peeled.

What other people are saying around town: IFOC, LST, blogHouston.