We are expecting a 40 degree temperature swing in a matter of hours as a front moves through town.

Finally, it's time to bring out the blankets.

And with temperatures today and this weekend expected to dip into near freezing numbers, talk turns to protecting the plants, pipes and, of course, people.

At the city of Houston Parks and Recreation Department, horticulturist Dee Howell and her staff spent much of Wednesday covering delicate potted plants outside the department's greenhouse.

"I would be worried if I had a lot of tropical plants," she said.

The cold front likely will reach Houston by noon, said Paul Lewis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in League City.

Expect temperatures to drop from a high of 71 to a low of 33 tonight, along with a 70 percent chance of rain. Lewis said the storm will move very quickly, with 15 mph to 20 mph northwest winds. Winds may reach 30 mph in nearby coastal areas. Temperatures could dip to freezing about dawn Friday.

But balmier temperatures should be back in a few days.

Posted by: Greg at 10:59 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 202 words, total size 1 kb.

That is, of course, the essential argument of todayÂ’s whining, self-serving editorial over the failure of the Supreme Court to quash a subpoena of phone records in a probe of yet another nation security leak that aided terrorists who seek to destroy the United States.

A journalistÂ’s ability to protect the identity of confidential sources has been further eroded by the Supreme CourtÂ’s refusal this week to stop a prosecutor from reviewing the telephone records of two New York Times reporters. This is the latest legal blow to the diminishing right of journalists to shield informants who often provide information of great interest and importance but who might be punished if their identities were known.

Yeah, that’s right – folks who engage in criminal leaking of juicy information that the NY Times wants to publish on Page One because it helps the enemies of America. That’s right – the NY Times argues that journalists ought to have the right to obstruct justice.

The case arose from a Chicago grand jury investigation into who told the two reporters, Judith Miller and Philip Shenon, about actions the government planned to take against two Islamic charities in late 2001. The government contends that the reporters, in performing the normal journalistic practice of calling the charities for comment, effectively tipped them off to impending raids and asset seizures, undermining the effort.

Yes, it is true that the reporters may not have done anything criminal, but it would certainly appear that their sources did. That is why the information on the sources is necessary – it is essential to punishing criminal wrong-doing by the sources.

Rather than drag the reporters into court, where they could have protected their sources by refusing to testify, the prosecutor subpoenaed their phone records for 11 days in 2001. A trial court prohibited the government from obtaining the records from the phone companies, but a divided appeals court reversed that decision. Now the Supreme Court, in refusing to intervene, has effectively allowed the prosecutor to search through the records in hopes he can pinpoint the source of the leak.

Indeed, precisely because the reporters would have obstructed justice and jailed for contempt it is necessary for the prosecutors to obtain the phone records. If the reporters would recognize that they are subject to precisely the same laws that apply to the rest of Americans, such a subpoena would not be necessary. Bu reporters seem to believe that they are different, endowed by rights above those of ordinary Americans, and so the subpoena is the only way to get the records. The entire thing could be settled by an offer to reveal the sources to the investigators in the case – but the NY Times views itself and its employees as more important than the criminal justice system.

This is a bad outcome for the press and for the public. The phone records reveal the identities of lots of sources having nothing to do with the leaks. The appeals courtÂ’s disingenuous suggestion that The Times might redact irrelevant records would simply have helped point to possible leakers.

Again, that is the choice of the New York Times and its employees – revealing the sources directly would avoid this undesirable outcome, and sustain the rule of law over the rule of the media.

The public will be ill served if this case reduces the willingness of officials to reveal important but sensitive information. The privilege granted to journalists to protect their sources needs to be bolstered with a strong federal shield law that would preserve the public interest in newsgathering and dissemination of information.

Actually, the public will be well-served if the case reduces the willingness of unscrupulous officials to reveal important sensitive information that undermine the Crusade Against Jihadi Terrorism and other national security matters. There should be no special privileges granted journalists, no shield laws and no right to obstruct justice. AmericaÂ’s security depends upon it.

Posted by: Greg at 10:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 678 words, total size 4 kb.

Not to mention the low prices and much sought after jobs they bring with them.

The City Council here voted late Tuesday to ban certain giant retail stores, dealing a blow to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s potential to expand in the nation's eighth-largest city.

The measure, approved on a 5-3 vote, prohibits stores of more than 90,000 square feet that use 10 percent of space to sell groceries and other merchandise that is not subject to sales tax. It takes aim at Wal-Mart Supercenter stores, which average 185,000 square feet and sell groceries.

Mayor Jerry Sanders will veto the ban if the Council reaffirms it on a second vote, which will likely happen in January, said mayoral spokesman Fred Sainz. The Council can override his veto with five votes.

"What the Council did tonight was social engineering, not good public policy," Sainz said.

Supporters of the ban argued that Wal-Mart puts smaller competitors out of business, pays workers poorly, and contributes to traffic congestion and pollution. Opponents said the mega-retailer provides jobs and low prices and that a ban would limit consumer choice.

Wal-Mart will likely challenge this in court, but i don't think they should. Rather, the retailer should announce that it will no longer hire employees who live in zip codes within the city limits of San Diego -- and any other community that passes such an ordinance. After all, if San Diego doesn't want Wal-Mart, why should Walmart pump money into the city's economy?

Posted by: Greg at 11:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 260 words, total size 2 kb.

Come on, folks, its a matter of civic pride for us here in Houston -- get out and vote our local rag the worst paper in the United States!

The folks from PowerLine tell all about their poll -- and list this reason for the Chronicle's nomination.

The Houston Chronicle: A reader who worked for the Chronicle for “quite a while”: “Its main problem is not even its liberalism, which it suffers from, but its vapidity. On top of that, the editor from Hearst Corp. is trying to teach Houstonians how to be proper liberals. The fact that no one ever hears about the newspaper at America’s fourth largest city should tell you a lot.”

Vote here.

Posted by: Greg at 01:48 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 131 words, total size 1 kb.

The Powys County Council in the UK, for this humdinger of a regulatory decision.

A SPICY sausage known as the Welsh Dragon will have to be renamed after trading standardsÂ’ officers warned the manufacturers that they could face prosecution because it does not contain dragon.

The sausages will now have to be labelled Welsh Dragon Pork Sausages to avoid any confusion among customers.

Jon Carthew, 45, who makes the sausages, said yesterday that he had not received any complaints about the absence of real dragon meat. He said: “I don’t think any of our customers believe that we use dragon meat in our sausages. We use the word because the dragon is synonymous with Wales.”

His company, the Black Mountains Smokery at Crickhowell, in Powys, turns out 200,000 sausages a year, including the Welsh Dragon, which is made with chili, leak and pork. A Powys County Council spokesman said: “The product was not sufficiently precise to inform a purchaser of the true nature of the food.”

In-frickin'-credible! Consumers might not realize they were not eating actual dragon meat? I don't know how any other government agency in any part of the world could possibly top this one.

Posted by: Greg at 11:40 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 213 words, total size 1 kb.

1) A quick reminder of why we need to support Israel – it is the only place in the world (with the exception of the US) where anti-Semitism is not the rule. Even places like England are cesspools of Jew-hatred – and always have been.

2) Of course, it could be worse – at least they are not reenacting Kristallnacht style destruction of Jewish institutions, like they are in France.

3) And speaking of Kristallnacht, will the world ever learn the lesson of that evil night? Or will we continue to allow Jew-hatred to be taught unchallenged by Muslim governments and schools around the world – and by “anti-Zionist” professors in the rest of the world.

4) Which leads us, of course, to the issue of terrorism. In the UK, they are tracking two hundred plots and hundreds of plotters. Care to guess the religion of the overwhelming majority of the terrorists?

5) Illegals can get away with murder in this country – if they are taken into custody by immigration authorities, they may be deported without ever facing charges for the death they cause. If they are not taken into custody by immigration authorities, they often get bail and skip town. We need a new solution – no bail for illegals, and all costs of imprisonment should be reimbursed to the state or federal government from their homeland’s foreign aid allotment.

6) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has the genes for this comment about the election results – “I'm Dan Rostenkowski." If he carries his father’s genes for dishonesty and corruption, he might just live up to down to the level set by the original Rosty.

7) To all those who voted Democrat this week – did you feel a draft in the polling place? If so, it was just John Murtha and Charles Rangel killing the all-volunteer military and taking you or your children into military service against their will. Did you know that’s what you would get? If it passes, I hope the president lets it become law without his signature – just so the American people recognize how the Democrats are all about taking away freedom of choice.

8) Speaking of Democrats, Evan Bayh recognizes that his party has no mandate for a liberal agenda.

9) Here’s a congresswoman I think the world of – and hope there is a place for her in the leadership of the GOP. After all, anyone who stands up to the terrorist apologists of CAIR clearly has her head screwed on right.

10) Here’s an interesting First Amendment conundrum – can a school ban on drug paraphernalia and images trump the right of students to wear shirts promoting a ballot initiative favoring medical marijuana?

11) Look at who sees the Democrat victory as a sign America is in retreat – al-Qaeda. Rumsfeld is “fleeing the battlefield” and they plan on blowing up the White House.

Posted by: Greg at 12:16 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 488 words, total size 4 kb.

1

http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=653

Here is but one example of why the Moslem world's animus to America will justly continue to burgeon if it doesn't modify its support of Israeli barbarism.

Posted by: Ken Hoop at Sat Nov 11 08:12:47 2006 (Cs2j3)

2 Fuck the Muslim world, KKKen -- and death to every last jihadi terrorist.

And their supporters.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sat Nov 11 12:58:24 2006 (kv6gl)

3 Living, as I do, in England (in the UK) I find it hard to see a cesspool of Jew-hatred.

I see far too much criticism of Israel acting in self-defence, and a stupid conceptualization of what proportionate response means by many. But the phrase you have used (together with the laughably imbalanced article you have referenced) is not appropriate. Britain, like any entity composed of many individuals, is not monolithic. There have been substantial periods when Britain has been a good friend to the Jewish diaspora/Israel. There have been substantial periods when, driven by the Arabists in the Foreign Office, Britain has treated the Jewish diaspora/Israel (I make the distinction to recognise the distinction between pre-and post 194 very badly.
Nevertheless Gutmann's description of Britain as second only to the Nazis in responsibility for the Holocaust is one of the most disgusting and biased mis-characterisations of the British I have ever had the misfortune to read.

Now if you want to accuse the intellectuals in the Labour party of anti-semitism, be my guest.

Posted by: Canker at Sun Nov 12 04:17:11 2006 (bgLkg)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

1) A quick reminder of why we need to support Israel – it is the only place in the world (with the exception of the US) where anti-Semitism is not the rule. Even places like England are cesspools of Jew-hatred – and always have been.

2) Of course, it could be worse – at least they are not reenacting Kristallnacht style destruction of Jewish institutions, like they are in France.

3) And speaking of Kristallnacht, will the world ever learn the lesson of that evil night? Or will we continue to allow Jew-hatred to be taught unchallenged by Muslim governments and schools around the world – and by “anti-Zionist” professors in the rest of the world.

4) Which leads us, of course, to the issue of terrorism. In the UK, they are tracking two hundred plots and hundreds of plotters. Care to guess the religion of the overwhelming majority of the terrorists?

5) Illegals can get away with murder in this country – if they are taken into custody by immigration authorities, they may be deported without ever facing charges for the death they cause. If they are not taken into custody by immigration authorities, they often get bail and skip town. We need a new solution – no bail for illegals, and all costs of imprisonment should be reimbursed to the state or federal government from their homeland’s foreign aid allotment.

6) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has the genes for this comment about the election results – “I'm Dan Rostenkowski." If he carries his father’s genes for dishonesty and corruption, he might just live up to down to the level set by the original Rosty.

7) To all those who voted Democrat this week – did you feel a draft in the polling place? If so, it was just John Murtha and Charles Rangel killing the all-volunteer military and taking you or your children into military service against their will. Did you know that’s what you would get? If it passes, I hope the president lets it become law without his signature – just so the American people recognize how the Democrats are all about taking away freedom of choice.

Speaking of Democrats, Evan Bayh recognizes that his party has no mandate for a liberal agenda.

9) Here’s a congresswoman I think the world of – and hope there is a place for her in the leadership of the GOP. After all, anyone who stands up to the terrorist apologists of CAIR clearly has her head screwed on right.

10) Here’s an interesting First Amendment conundrum – can a school ban on drug paraphernalia and images trump the right of students to wear shirts promoting a ballot initiative favoring medical marijuana?

11) Look at who sees the Democrat victory as a sign America is in retreat – al-Qaeda. Rumsfeld is “fleeing the battlefield” and they plan on blowing up the White House.

Posted by: Greg at 12:16 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 492 words, total size 4 kb.

1

http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=653

Here is but one example of why the Moslem world's animus to America will justly continue to burgeon if it doesn't modify its support of Israeli barbarism.

Posted by: Ken Hoop at Sat Nov 11 08:12:47 2006 (Cs2j3)

2 Fuck the Muslim world, KKKen -- and death to every last jihadi terrorist. And their supporters.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sat Nov 11 12:58:24 2006 (kv6gl)

3 Living, as I do, in England (in the UK) I find it hard to see a cesspool of Jew-hatred. I see far too much criticism of Israel acting in self-defence, and a stupid conceptualization of what proportionate response means by many. But the phrase you have used (together with the laughably imbalanced article you have referenced) is not appropriate. Britain, like any entity composed of many individuals, is not monolithic. There have been substantial periods when Britain has been a good friend to the Jewish diaspora/Israel. There have been substantial periods when, driven by the Arabists in the Foreign Office, Britain has treated the Jewish diaspora/Israel (I make the distinction to recognise the distinction between pre-and post 194 very badly. Nevertheless Gutmann's description of Britain as second only to the Nazis in responsibility for the Holocaust is one of the most disgusting and biased mis-characterisations of the British I have ever had the misfortune to read. Now if you want to accuse the intellectuals in the Labour party of anti-semitism, be my guest.

Posted by: Canker at Sun Nov 12 04:17:11 2006 (bgLkg)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

1) China and Russia are going to collaborate on future space ventures. Plans include robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. America is planning manned missions. Are we seeing the beginning of a new space race? Is there any possibility of international cooperation between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the new Russo-Chinese consortium? After all, space exploration ought to be about advances for all mankind, not individual nations.

2) Democrats back-stabbed Joe Lieberman – but he remains loyal to them. Proof positive that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.

3) A controversial speaker is invited to campus. The administration condemns the invitation. Students attempt to assault the speaker to prevent the speech. Welcome to the wonderful world of left-wing collegiate academia at Ball State University – where everyone is encouraged to be diverse in precisely the same way.

4) How did the Democrats do it? By running to the right, and winning with conservative candidates. Meet the Blue Dogs.

5) Even Bill Clinton agrees – this election does not represent a fundamental shift to the Left in American politics.

6) Given that observation, who will control the agenda – the far-left bomb-throwers, or the more conservative candidates who made the victory possible? We will find out once the Democrats outline their policy proposals.

7) Maybe the outcome of this leadership election will be the sign. Hoyer or Murtha – moderate or liberal?

8) They shipped their Jew to Hitler, so why should we be surprised that the French are itching to fire on the Israelis? The “peacekeepers” have let the terrorists rearm, so maybe the time has come for Israel to recognize that the UN forces are not a neutral broker – and to treat those forces accordingly.

9) Speaking of which, the UN is seriously concerned about the death of Palestinian civilians as Israel tries to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, they are not at all concerned about the Qassam rockets that Hamas has been launching from civilian neighborhoods into various areas of Israel. After all – dead Jews don’t matter to the international community today, any more than they did in the 1930s and 1940s.

10) Sad news at CBS – Ed Bradley, long a mainstay of 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News, has died at age 65 of leukemia. Rest in peace, Ed – and may your name be found written in the Book of Life.

Posted by: Greg at 01:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 408 words, total size 3 kb.

1) China and Russia are going to collaborate on future space ventures. Plans include robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. America is planning manned missions. Are we seeing the beginning of a new space race? Is there any possibility of international cooperation between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the new Russo-Chinese consortium? After all, space exploration ought to be about advances for all mankind, not individual nations.

2) Democrats back-stabbed Joe Lieberman – but he remains loyal to them. Proof positive that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.

3) A controversial speaker is invited to campus. The administration condemns the invitation. Students attempt to assault the speaker to prevent the speech. Welcome to the wonderful world of left-wing collegiate academia at Ball State University – where everyone is encouraged to be diverse in precisely the same way.

4) How did the Democrats do it? By running to the right, and winning with conservative candidates. Meet the Blue Dogs.

5) Even Bill Clinton agrees – this election does not represent a fundamental shift to the Left in American politics.

6) Given that observation, who will control the agenda – the far-left bomb-throwers, or the more conservative candidates who made the victory possible? We will find out once the Democrats outline their policy proposals.

7) Maybe the outcome of this leadership election will be the sign. Hoyer or Murtha – moderate or liberal?

They shipped their Jew to Hitler, so why should we be surprised that the French are itching to fire on the Israelis? The “peacekeepers” have let the terrorists rearm, so maybe the time has come for Israel to recognize that the UN forces are not a neutral broker – and to treat those forces accordingly.

9) Speaking of which, the UN is seriously concerned about the death of Palestinian civilians as Israel tries to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, they are not at all concerned about the Qassam rockets that Hamas has been launching from civilian neighborhoods into various areas of Israel. After all – dead Jews don’t matter to the international community today, any more than they did in the 1930s and 1940s.

10) Sad news at CBS – Ed Bradley, long a mainstay of 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News, has died at age 65 of leukemia. Rest in peace, Ed – and may your name be found written in the Book of Life.

Posted by: Greg at 01:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 412 words, total size 3 kb.

1) Shooting the guy in the head was the stupidest thing Jerry Rose had ever done – before he confessed to the murder as a part of a game of truth or dare.

2) It seems that American isn’t the only country where the Left would rather ignore Islamic extremism rather than risk someone thinking an un-PC thought about Islam.

3) How much voter fraud will there be in St. Louis this year?

4) This is unprofessional, and the principal in question should be fired. No educator should be trying to use his or her job to influence the political views and voting patterns of students or their parents. That is why I have fought so hard to keep this blog anonymous – I view it as a professional responsibility.

5) Looks like the people of West Virginia will send a Klansman back to the US Senate – Democrat Senator Robert Byrd.

6) British doctors proclaim that Hitler was right – Disabled children should be killed.

7) The poll margins are closing, favoring the GOP – turnout tomorrow will be the key. We can win if we show up and vote GOP.

8) In another oppressive move, Iran’s president has closed down newspapers and broadcast outlets critical of the government and its policies. So much for human rights.

9) If you want to talk about absolute moral authority on the war in Iraq, maybe it is best found among the men and women serving our country over there – and they say “Fight on!” So shut up, John Murtha, John Kerry, and Cindy Sheehan!

Posted by: Greg at 01:20 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 268 words, total size 2 kb.

1) Shooting the guy in the head was the stupidest thing Jerry Rose had ever done – before he confessed to the murder as a part of a game of truth or dare.

2) It seems that American isnÂ’t the only country where the Left would rather ignore Islamic extremism rather than risk someone thinking an un-PC thought about Islam.

3) How much voter fraud will there be in St. Louis this year?

4) This is unprofessional, and the principal in question should be fired. No educator should be trying to use his or her job to influence the political views and voting patterns of students or their parents. That is why I have fought so hard to keep this blog anonymous – I view it as a professional responsibility.

5) Looks like the people of West Virginia will send a Klansman back to the US Senate – Democrat Senator Robert Byrd.

6) British doctors proclaim that Hitler was right – Disabled children should be killed.

7) The poll margins are closing, favoring the GOP – turnout tomorrow will be the key. We can win if we show up and vote GOP.

In another oppressive move, IranÂ’s president has closed down newspapers and broadcast outlets critical of the government and its policies. So much for human rights.

9) If you want to talk about absolute moral authority on the war in Iraq, maybe it is best found among the men and women serving our country over there – and they say “Fight on!” So shut up, John Murtha, John Kerry, and Cindy Sheehan!

Posted by: Greg at 01:20 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 272 words, total size 2 kb.