Guests for today, Seton Motley, Communications Director for the Media Research Center just after 6am, hurricane update from Don in Rockport at 6:35, and Mayor Henry Garrett at 7. Let's get to work!
Can you really declare a disaster, before a disaster happens? The County Commissioners think so. Isn't this going to be embarassing when all we end up with is some gusting wind and heavy thunderstorms? Nueces County Declares Disaster in anticipation of Dolly. I wonder if I can cash in my life insurance in anticipation of my death? (I'll ask the Judge, he will be calling in after 8am.) The weather forecast is looking better for us. Looks like maybe 50 mile a hour wind gusts, as long as the storm goes to Brownsville, if it goes further south, even milder. Of course we will get heavy rain, 4 to 6 inches. Hopefully a lot of that will fall in the watershed.
What do you think about the comments that are posted on the Caller-Times website? After the story there is a box where you can, if you register, (you get a number) post almost anything within reason. Here are a couple of the rules.. 1.Keep it clean.Comments that are obscene, vulgar, lewd or sexually-oriented will get the ax. Creative spelling of such terms also will be banned. 2.Don't threaten to hurt or kill anyone.
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Poll: What I want to know is do you read the comments regularly?
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I was talking to some folks a couple of weeks ago and they had never heard about the comments on-line. After I explained what was going on, they told me they would check the site out. This is what one person said, "I was horrified at how personal the attacks on other commenter's, and at the grammar and I don't want to talk about the spelling, I'm glad my kids don't go to CCISD" How in the heck did CCISD get sucked into this? Are we supposing that all the people who comment are local graduates?
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Poll: Have you left a comment on Caller.com?
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Poll: Do you think it's a good idea?
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It was mascot day at Whataburger Field Sunday, all the local mascots were in attendance.
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Poll: Do you think that Captain Rocco Montesano was really in the Lt. Lex
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In most states -- including Texas -- you can take the commercial driver's license test in Spanish. South Texas College of Law Professor Gerald Treece says it's reasonable for the federal government to require truckers to be able to speak to law enforcement. "The federal government, in regulating commerce among the states, does have the authority to impose what are called 'reasonable rules' to be certain that the people carrying the cargo across state lines are carrying legitimate cargo."
There could be a lot of English as second language drivers. Gary Steinberg is with the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Drivers, sales workers and truck drivers; 17% of them are Hispanic or Latino."
Texas DPS says the feds have told them not to enforce the law, because troopers here can handle Spanish speaking drivers. But more than 25,000 such tickets were handed out nationwide last year.
Professor Treece says it may be a revenue generator for states. "Local governments sticking their nose in and trying to enforce a fine for something that's a federal offense; it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, actually."
The feds say they want the states to step up enforcement.
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Poll: Should Spanish-speaking truck drivers learn English?
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In case you didn't see this, it's McCain's rejected NYTimes op-ed piece.
SUPER BOWL RINGS HAVE WRONG SCORE _ A story in the July 11 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette previewed a weeklong eBay auction for some Super Bowl rings that a former Steelers front office employee was having as part of a bankruptcy say. The story showed photos of two rings from Super Bowls 9 and 10. It was the photos of the Super Bowl 9 ring that caught the attention of one Post-Gazette reader, who noticed that a game score on the ring was wrong. The score of the Steelers' first-round playoff game against Buffalo, engraved on the side of the ring, was wrong. The final score of the game was Steelers 32, Bills 14. The ring says Steelers 32, Bills 6. A check with Jostens, the Minneapolis-based jeweler that produced the rings, proved that while the Steelers' original design had the accurate score, the ring molds -- which the company keeps in a large vault -- show the wrong score. And no one ever noticed or corrected it. It's estimated that 70 Super Bowl 9 rings were made and handed out to players, coaches and front-office workers.
I got it here. Several more News logos that are funny, but true.
FLORIDA MAN WINS MCDONALD'S CONTEST _ A Boynton Beach, Florida, man who left his corporate job to become a full-time music producer has been crowned the winner of a McDonald's chant contest. Jason Harper's remix of the Big Mac chant "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese...," won the most votes in an online contest hosted by McDonald's on MySpace.
TUESDAY
Tuesday 07-22-2008 8:53pm CT
700 PM CDT TUE JUL 22 2008
...DOLLY CONTINUES NORTHWESTWARD...
A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE COAST OF TEXAS FROM
BROWNSVILLE TO CORPUS CHRISTI...AND FOR THE NORTHEAST COAST OF
MEXICO FROM RIO SAN FERNANDO NORTHWARD TO THE BORDER BETWEEN MEXICO
AND THE UNITED STATES. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY
SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NORTH OF CORPUS
CHRISTI TO SAN LUIS PASS.
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM LA
PESCA TO SOUTH OF RIO SAN FERNANDO.
FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.
AT 700 PM CDT...0000Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE DOLLY WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 24.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 95.7 WEST OR ABOUT 130 MILES...
205 KM...EAST-SOUTHEAST OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS.
DOLLY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 11 MPH...18 KM/HR...AND
THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE UNTIL LANDFALL OF THE CENTER OF
DOLLY ALONG THE COAST OF NORTHEASTERN MEXICO OR EXTREME SOUTHERN
TEXAS NEAR MIDDAY WEDNESDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. DOLLY IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON
SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST BEFORE LANDFALL.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES...30 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 160
MILES...260 KM. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS SHOULD BEGIN TO REACH
THE COASTS OF NORTHEASTERN MEXICO AND SOUTHERN TEXAS LATER TONIGHT.
THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE JUST REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE
UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT WAS 982 MB...29.00 INCHES.
DOLLY IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 10
INCHES...WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES...OVER MUCH OF SOUTH
TEXAS AND NORTHEASTERN MEXICO OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 4 TO 6 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE
LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE
EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE NORTH OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL.
A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE LOWER AND MIDDLE
TEXAS COASTS.
REPEATING THE 700 PM CDT POSITION...24.9 N...95.7 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 11 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH.
Don from Rockport's suggested hurricane tracker: BoatUS.com
The Caller Times is running this poll: Do you FEEL the drinking water supplied by the City of Corpus Christi is safe? I, on the other hand, what to know what you think.
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Poll: Do you Think the drinking water supplied by the City of Corpus Christi is safe?
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The Bible is the best selling book of all time, in any language.Aside from its religious doctrine, it has contributed more phrases to the English language than any writing other than Shakespeare.It is not only a religious text, it is arguably the best literature in history.Why WOULDN’T our schools be using it as a textbook?
Twenty-five Texas schools were just given the freedom to drop bureaucratic teaching guidelines for their elective Bible study courses.The 2009 – 10 school year will now offer these classes with no obligation to follow state implemented standards in place for fear of teachers pushing personal religious beliefs or agendas ***************
Beijingers breathed easier on Sunday as traffic restrictions and factory closures came into effect in a last ditch attempt to turn the often smoggy Chinese capital into a pollution-free venue for next month's Olympics
On a sunny but still slightly hazy day, the flow of cars was lighter than usual for a Sunday on the city's wide roads, as vehicles with odd license plates were banned from the streets for the day. Tomorrow even-numbered cars must stay in the garage.
"Its great -- today there are far fewer cars on the road and the air quality is so nice. This is good for the children," said 20-year old Wang Yanna, out for a weekend stroll with her toddler nephew near a busy intersection.
The city's chronic pollution has been one of the biggest headaches for Games organizers, who are banking on traffic restrictions and last-minute industrial cut-backs to bring blue skies and easy breathing for athletes during the Games.
Under the new rules cars are banned on alternate days depending on their license plate number and most official cars have been impounded. Only taxis and Olympic vehicles are exempt.
The government hopes to take around 60 percent of the city's 3.3 million cars off the roads, the official Xinhua agency reported, and reduce emissions by two-thirds over the two months until the end of the Paralympic Games in mid-September. Read the rest of the article...
Meanwhile, Bejing will use 'green' fireworks to further contribute to cleaning up the air...read bout it here
AND the city has ordered over 40 million pots of flowers...
A U.S. appeals court on Monday overturned a decision to fine CBS Corp television stations $550,000 for airing a brief breast flash by pop singer Janet Jackson during the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said the U.S. Federal Communications Commission "arbitrarily and capriciously departed from its prior policy" that exempted fleeting broadcast material from actionable indecency violations.
The Army on Friday was holding an exercise involving shooting live pigs and treating the gunshot wounds in training it says is critical to saving soldiers' lives but which has sparked outcry from animal-rights activists.
What a great turn out last night for Glenn Beck! SOLD OUT! I played doorman and met a lot of you, didn't get there until 6:20, so if I missed greeting you I apologize. I had to stop by the Chamber Mixer at the Ortiz Center. Thank you for attending, thank you for all the kind things you said about my morning show, I was overwhelmed. Young people, middle aged people, groups of guys in their early to late 20's, 18 year olds, 12 year olds with their parents, saying "hey we listen to you every morning". I am so grateful to each of you. I saw some old friends and met some new ones. One of the young men who was with a group came up to me and said, "I didn't know so many good looking women listened to talk radio". He was right. By the way, we had 60 people sign up for Beck tickets online, there were more than 60 who showed up Thursday morning at Z-Tech Way Out Weber. You are the best! Again, thank you for the turn out. Let's get to work........
Fort-Worth based Trademark Property Company has acquired Padre Staples Mall and will change the mall’s name to La Palmera.
Terry Montesi founding partner of Trademark will be our guest in the 8 O'clock hour.
City Councilman Mike Hummell is in the box, he was cooking burgers last night for 8 kids when we talked, we'll get Hummell's vision for the Bayfront, his update on Island projects, (water capital improvement program) and some literature that was handed out at the Court House last week. I brought this up Monday, Blake and I went on a fact finding mission to the court house, and the folks were gone, but I did see them on the news after I talked about them being there. Got an interesting e-mail about it. Lago, E-mail. I went to the courthouse to renew my vehicle registration the day after you were talking about people handing out questionable literature at the courthouse ordinarily I would not have paid any attention to them nor taken their pamphlets but since you brought it up I thought what the heck, so I took it. I read it while I was sitting in line waiting for my number to be called. If people downtown are upset about the Roxy they should drive a couple of blocks and really get offended. How can you hand out material about sex, abortion, masturbation, and a few blocks over have people whining about latex painted body parts? I really enjoy your show, you have great guests, and are somehow able to get them to open up and talk. Thanks for everything, JT.
Did it surprise you to hear that it's not illegal for some registered sex offenders to visit parks where children play? It sure surprised me. I thought it was a condition of their release from prison. Why is it not illegal? Seems we don't have an ordinance that restricts sex offenders who have finished their probation or parole from visiting parks and playgrounds. We have to pass an ordinance? I was talking to a lawyer about this, he said you have to be careful about stepping on sex offenders constitutional rights. Excuse me? You ever get the feeling that the constitution should be used less as a shield for the guilty and more as a sword for the victim?
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Poll: DO YOU WANT THE ORDINANCE?
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Do you think any international court should play any role in Texas justice?
The United Nations' highest court has ordered the stay of execution for five inmates on death row in Texas. The International Court of Justice is seeking a review of the cases.
Mexico asked the world court to intervene in the case. The ICJ responded by calling on the United States to "take all measures necessary" to prevent the executions of the inmates. The order includes the case of Jose Medellin, who was convicted for taking part in the gang rape and murder of two girls in Houston 15 years ago.
"This world court thing, I have no idea where in the hell that came from," says Adolpho Pena, the father of one of the victims. "They don't have any business intervening in this right now. The guy's already got his execution date. It's time to rock and roll."
UPDATE. TEXAS SAYS SHUT UP AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!
Texas will go ahead with the scheduled Aug. 5 execution of Houston rapist-killer Jose Medellin despite Wednesday's United Nations world court order for a stay, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry said.
Gov. Perry got this one right. I agree with Adolpho Pena, "time to rock and roll". In case you have forgotten the horror that Mr. Medellin inflicted on 14 year old Elizabeth Pena and 16 year old Jennifer Ertman, Here it is.
GLOBAL WARMING? REALLY? A top Democrat told high school students gathered at the U.S. Capitol Thursday that climate change caused Hurricane Katrina and the conflict in Darfur, which led to the “black hawk down” battle between U.S. troops and Somali rebels.
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House (Select) Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee, also equated the drive for global warming legislation with the drive for women’s suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Whew! The rest.
Article in the Caller yesterday about education and how to solve the drop out problem........... The plan is to talk to dropouts. JoAnn Hooks, the city's education director, has asked Council members and volunteers to hit the streets September 6th to knock on doors of more than 500 CCISD students whose records show they are recent dropouts or have not yet registered for school. If no one is home, the information will be left on doors. I hope this works. From personal experience talking to teenagers about something that has become a personal embarrasment is..a long up hill battle. Are they going to be told that there are steps they can take which, within 2 years, will have them working towards a bright future. Will they be told that there are training classes they can take that will actually pay them an above average wage while they learn? Will they be shown a different path for success, like the Craft Training Center, which translates into 50k to 100k a year job or will they just be coaxed back into a system in which they have no interest? From the news paper article I get this. " talk with students about the importance of graduating, find out why they dropped out, offer mentoring or tutoring and any other help to get them back in school". Here's my answer. They don't like school haven't in several years, see no light at the end of that tunnel, because they have "been there done that", and study habits are hard to suddenly develope at 15 or 16. However, if you dangle a better life, a pay check twice what anyone in their family has ever brought home, a job with benefits, a Real Plan on how you go about achieving that from start here get this certificate, you will go to work at this company, well which would you choose? Story with comments
Sports should count for more credits? Texas high school athletes could receive twice as much credit toward graduation for playing sports under a proposal before the state Board of Education.
A controversial billboard bearing a photo of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a warning not to vote for a Democrat has sparked outrage in Orlando, Fla.
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Poll: Do you think it's wrong to use 9/11 for political gain?
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Next to a photo of the Twin Towers burning, the billboard reads "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." Beneath the message is the name of a Web site that markets $5 CDs of a song, "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat," by Mike Meehan of St. Cloud.
"It should be taken down," William Carter, who lives near one of the three billboards, told ABCNews.com. He said he feels that while it is entirely within Meehan's rights to express such an opinion, recalling a devastating time in our nation's history for personal gain "is just wrong."
But Meehan said he is only selling the CDs to cover the cost of getting his message out.
"I'm holding the entire Democratic Party responsible for the attacks on 9/11," said Meehan, who wrote, sang, produced and recorded the song. He said people should not vote for Democrats because they are too focused on solving the problems in the economy when they should be focused on the war on terrorism. Read the rest... THE REPUBLICAN SONG
Bring us your poor, your AIDS sufferers.The ban on foreigners with HIV entering the US could soon be lifted. Senators John Kerry and Gordon Smith are working on repealing this ban that has been in place since 1987.That’s what we need, more people with AIDS in our healthcare system.We can IMPORT them.Somebody I asked about it suggested that people probably come here with AIDS now anyway, they just don’t disclose it.He suggested, “Isn’t it better for us to know who has it rather than running the risk of people hiding it?”
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday 07-16-2008 6:07am CT
What's in a name? From the Caller-Times: "Until Tuesday afternoon, the Web site of the Fort Worth-based company whose purchase of Padre Staples Mall has been pending showed that the company plans to change the mall’s name to La Palmera. After phone calls and emails to company officials about the name change went unanswered Tuesday, a description of the company’s Corpus Christi mall plans disappeared from the Web site’s list of new projects."
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Poll: Do you have a problem with the name change?
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Poll: How many of you still say Circle K?
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City Councilman Mike McCutcheon says don't play the race card. The exchange was during public comment over city street paving projects. The suggestion was that some places get more attantion than others. attention=dollars. One of neighborhood's in question is bordered by Mansheim and Sunnybrook, the other is the Lindale neighborhood, between Alameda and Swantner, both in district 2. Both are only getting half their streets done. Priorities are being given to major thoroughfares and feeder streets. Council approved the first reading of the budget. 103 million in bonds for streets.
A whistle-blower lawsuit filed by the city's former chief building inspector has been thrown out, but he is still suing for wrongful termination.
Nozzle rage, Attack of the Pump
First lady Anita Perry announced a fund Tuesday to accept private donations towards the restoration of the arson-ravaged, 152-year-old Governor’s Mansion.
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Poll: Will you donate?
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Poll: Should students be allowed to carry guns on college campuses, or will that just add to the confusion during a school shooting?
Do We Pay Attention To The Facts Anymore? Thomas Sowell ponders the question. Economic proposals from politicians, especially Obama, have been tried before and failed. Why does that not matter? Because it sounds good? Facts are obsolete.
IMPORTANT FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS NFIB QUESTIONNAIRE
(Copy and paste to your notepad, print it out, fill it in and fax it to the number at the bottom of the page, if you have any questions email joemack@fencinginc.com) The State Legislature has charged the State Comptroller’s office to form a Business Tax Advisory Committee to conduct a biennial study of the effects of the revised franchise tax on businesses in Texas. I have been appointed by Susan Combs to be on that committee and I need your input to report to the Committee. Thousands of businesses have now realized the extent this tax has affected their business. Now is the opportunity to voice your opinion. Your name will not be used unless you give us permission.
I have chosen to utilize my membership in the National Federation of Independent Business to collect this information. NFIB has formed an ever-growing Texas Business Tax Coalition to lead the charge in amending or repealing this tax. I look forward to hearing from you by July 18, 2008.
Please complete the following questionnaire and fax it to the number indicated at the bottom of this form.
Thank you,
Joe Mack Hilliard
Name: ______________________
Business: ____________________
Email: ____________________
Contact phone: _____________
:
What type of industry does your business fall into?
Retail/Wholesale
Transportation
Manufacturing
Construction
Food Service
Medical/Health Service
Professional Services/Consulting
Other____________
How many people do you employ?
1-5
6-15
16-30
31-50
51-100
100 or more
How much did your business gross in 2007?
I’d rather not say
Under $1 million
Between $1 million and $3 million
Between $3 million and $5 million
Between $5 million and $10 million
More than $10 million
Did you pay the old state franchise tax? __________
Have you calculated your new gross receipts-based tax? ___________
Did your tax bill increase over your old franchise tax? ________
If yes, by how much?
Less than 100%
Increased 100-200%
Increased 200-300%
Increased 300-500%
Increased 500-1,000%
Increased more than 1,000%
Do you own the property where your business is located?
Did you see a property tax decrease?
If yes, was it enough to offset the increase in your business tax?
If you had an option, would you choose to pay the new Margins Tax (0.5 or 1.0 percent of gross receipt minus stated deductions) or would you choose to pay the old franchise tax (4.5 percent of “earned surplus)?
NFIB/Texas is pursuing six key reforms that will make the new margins tax more palatable for the small business owner. Please indicate the TOP THREE reforms that would most benefit your business:
Exempt small businesses from state tax liability that are losing money or are marginally profitable;
Raise the small-business exemption from $300,000 to a minimum of $1 million;
Require a super-majority vote of the Legislature before the margins tax rate can be increased;
Lower the margins tax rate by 50 percent for businesses with under $20 million in gross receipts;
Allow deductions in their cost of employment for all contract labor used by Texas firms; and
Limit the tax increase under the margins tax for small businesses to no more than 100 percent increase over their normal historic high under the state’s old franchise tax.
What areas of your business plan will the new Margins Tax hit the hardest:
1. Hiring
2. Giving raises
3. Buying new equipment
4. Renovating facilities
5. Expanding marketing
6. Taking on new lines of business
7. Other __________________
How much money did you spend in complying with this tax? ____________
Please fax the completed questionnaire to: NFIB - Fax No. 512-478-6422
TUESDAY
Tuesday 07-15-2008 6:55am CT
Council votes on $654.5 million dollar budget. We keep the same tax rate but the increase in property tax and fee increases manages to get more money out of taxpayers. Here's one cost cutting idea. $5 thousand dollars for an annual citizen survey. Great work. 5 Grand? That's all?
Padre Staples press conference Thursday, I told you last week about the closing. Sunrise Mall gets a chance to refinance. What can they do with this thing?
Glenn Beck will be with us this morning. What's your kwh? Mine went from .18 last month to .21 this month. Adjustable rates. Nice.
O.K. Obama and his wife are outraged about the New Yorker cover picture, what ever that means. If they have a good reason to be mad what about this....
© 2008