Sugar Land

Sec. 42.05. DISRUPTING MEETING OR PROCESSION. (a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, procession, or gathering, he obstructs or interferes with the meeting, procession, or gathering by physical action or verbal utterance.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.

Sec. 42.02. RIOT. (a) For the purpose of this section, "riot" means the assemblage of seven or more persons resulting in conduct which:

(1) creates an immediate danger of damage to property or injury to persons;

Where will the former President of the United States spend his first 4th of July after leaving office? Woodward, Oklahoma.

But this isn’t a reward for loyal Oklahoma Republicans who still stand by “W”. It is a paid gig.

"Let's defend the sanctity of marriage between one man, one woman, and one woman in Argentina." -Imaginary quote from Gov. Mark Sanford

OK, I made that up. He didn't really say that at his press conference. In fact, I couldn't tell you what he actually said because it was darn near incomprehensible. Something about apologizing to his wife, his four boys, his staff, his state, his friend at the gym, his father-in-law, oh and by the way I had an affair in Argentina and lied about where I've been for the past five days.

However, I take no pleasure in watching (another) Republican officeholder fall from grace on the issue of marital fidelity. It's sad. The only silver lining is that the most recent Republican adulterers have been swinging with women, instead of other men. That's the kind of change that the GOP can be proud of.

In 2006, banks and credit card companies convinced Congress to "reform" the bankruptcy system. Lawyers complained that the reforms would have unintended consequences, but no one listened. Journalists wrote about the sharp tilt toward credit card companies and away from consumers, but no one listened. Now, a Harvard study reveals that the people who need a fully-functioning bankruptcy system the most are sick people.

Everyone I know has already been or is about to go see the new Star Trek movie, but I can't help thinking about the original television series from the 1960s and how it showed us the way forward with its multi-racial, multi-national crew. It's easy to remember the bad fight scenes (Capt. Kirk throwing rocks at the lizard monster comes to mind) and the often silly dialogue, but I like to remember how in 1966, the show improbably cast a black woman as an officer (Lt. Uhura), an Asian as the pilot of the spacecraft

A local "Tea Party" is scheduled for April 15th in Sugar Land, organized by a Republican Party Precinct Chair in Sugar Land. In a newspaper ad last week, the organizers urged people to bring tea bags to the Sugar Land Town Square if they have "had enough of entitlement programs, political correctness, taxation, regulations, bailouts, and handouts?"

Political correctness? Regulations? Republicans must like toxins in milk, pesticides in Chinese leather couches, tainted drywall, and salmonella in peanut and pistachio products. This MSNBC excerpt nicely sums up how the Tea Party movement seems to be against everything and for nothing.

Republicans may have forgotten that their formula of "taxcut, borrow and spend" government got us into this mess, but we haven't. Republicans may have forgotten that the bailouts of AIG and the banking industry were Bush administration actions, but we haven't.

There is a delicious irony in seeing Republicans protesting against themselves.

     Congressman Pete Olson, (R-Sugar Land), was taken to the George Washington University Hospital after a fainting episode at the House gym and treated for heart problems by doctors who inserted a pacemaker into his chest. The press release is here.

      Thank goodness that Pete Olson has good health insurance. Too bad the rest of us don’t.

     Pete may not know this yet, but he has now joined the ranks of the uninsurable. When he leaves Congress, no health insurance company will touch him, or if one does write him a policy, it will cost a small fortune and the heart will be excluded as a “pre-existing condition”.

Now that the movie "W" has opened in theaters and George W. Bush has one foot out the door, it's time to write his legacy. I'll go first, then you try your hand at it. Are you ready?

George W. Bush, conservative Republican: deficit-financed tax cuts for the wealthy, two deficit-financed wars, and the deficit-financed nationalization of the banking system after a near collapse of the economy. (Oh, and did I mention that Osama bin Ladin is still free?)

Valleé Ross is the Salutorian for the Class of 2008 at Lamar Consolidated High School.

She is the daughter of Marie Maltbie of Sugar Land. Valleé graduated with a grade point average of 110.440 and plans to attend the University of Texas in Austin.

While at Lamar she earned academic honors in Human Geography, World History, U.S. History, Economics, Biology, English and Spanish. Valleé is an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honors and earned the National Honor Society Shining Star Award.

Not long ago, if the local Republican Party or any of the local clubs needed some funds, they would call a few highrollers and schedule a banquet at a swanky hotel. Everyone would dress up, Jeeves would bring around the car, and then Mr. and Mrs. Republican would enjoy a night of carping and sniping at fellow Republicans while pretending to like them. In the process, they would all open their checkbooks and, like honey from the rock, the money would flow to the local Republican Party. That was then, this is now.

My, how times have changed.