Churchill's argument was this"I have heard it said that the government had no mandate such a doctrine is wholly inadmissible. The responsibility for the public safety is absolute and requires no mandate!" And there is the essence of what this is. What, on the eternal list of priorities, precedes health?…
Currently (on Thu 5:53AM CDT from Pearland Regional Airport) Mostly Cloudy Temp: 82° (Heat Index 90°) Dewpoint: 77° Wind: S 6 MPH And so starts my morning here before the sun even rises...Come on...Feels like 90° and the sun hasn't even broached the horizon! This should be a glorious day to follow the…
Did I read this right? A heat index of 109... Today the high temperature will reach the low 90s, which is about 5 degrees above normal for this time of year. Coupled with high humidity — readings were over 90 percent this morning — it could feel like it's between…
We were awakened by the rolling artillery thunder of an advancing front...Weather not war, but just as shattering to a good sleep. The percussive sounds and flashes of lighning came booming through just before daylight. Our bedroom would fill with light. Almost immediately the the walls would reverberate with the…
A day isn’t just a standard measure, all the same size so each fits on a calendar page. A day is a period of light, an astronomical event. I felt that on the road that Kansas dawn. The broad swath of the sun’s light rolls upward from the darkness, morning…
Watch it online now...But do it quick. They will only be online till Oct 9th. Episode 1 Episode One: "The Scripture of Nature" (1851–1890) The astonishing beauty of Yosemite Valley and the geyser wonderland of Yellowstone give birth to the radical idea of creating national parks for the enjoyment of…
Walking out to the mailbox today I spotted this guy growing at the base of one of our live oaks. I don't know what caused the strange pattern of growth, but it is definitely different. Another thing I noticed as I wandered down the drive is the first batch of…
You may not need your sweaters, but mild fall temperatures are forecast to be nearly 10 degrees below normal today in the Houston area as light rain and clouds from a weak cool front help to keep mercury readings down. Temperatures should climb as the area dries out under sunny…
Rain chances increase to 70 percent Tuesday as the front approaches. The high will be near 84 degrees and the low will be near 69 degrees. South winds will be 5 mph to 10 mph. Winds shift to the north late Wednesday and the high temperature dips to the upper…
Compare this... "We're winning the argument," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared inside the hotel ballroom. "We know that most Americans are common-sense conservatives and that most of the people running our government in Washington are not. . . . We've been calling their agenda what it is. The…
DALLAS — Recent storms in Texas brought some long-awaited relief to the nation's most drought-stricken state, but the brutal dry spell is far from over as it drags into its third year. About 16 percent of the state — all in the southern and central parts of Texas — is…
The insurance industry, of course, loves the Baucus plan. Need we say more? via Paul Krugman - Baucus and the Threshold - NYTimes.com.
I grew up with a strong support for the power of technology...But the abuses perpetrated in the name of technological advancement of agriculture in the past few decades have left a foul taste in my mouth. It appears I share that distaste wit Verlyn Klinkenborg... There is no disputing the…
The past few mornings have felt nice...Low to mid 70's to start with and a lot of clouds to keep the heat down in the afternoon. Not a lot of rain (as usual) in our particular neck of the woods, though a lot has fallen in the region in the…
Something I keep pushing in the healthcare reform debate...Agriculture is key to real reform. Recently a team of designers from M.I.T. and Columbia was asked by the foundation of the insurer UnitedHealthcare to develop an innovative systems approach to tackling childhood obesity in America. Their conclusion surprised the designers as…
This is not Sword of Truth I was wandering around on Netflix the other day and discovered this series. It was available to view online. Since I was a fan of the original Terry Goodkind books it seemed like a good match for a rainy afternoon of grandfather duty... Boy,…
Here it is, the first week of September is almost done. The weather has teased us on a number of occasions in the past few weeks...But we are still dry and the temperature passes 90° on an almost daily basis. Even the dogs are still spending most of the day…
I keep reading how this reform is dead. We have Texas Republicans in Congress claiming if the Dems pass a plan they will be back in power and repeal it. Yet, the only alternative they seem to have to offer is Health Savings Plans...Call me stupid, but exactly where do…
Nicholas Kristof, writing in his column, had what I think is probably the best definition I have ever seen of the state of our agriculture... I think I figured out the central problem with modern industrial agriculture. It’s not just that it produces unhealthy food, mishandles waste and overuses antibiotics…
This morning feels different outside. For the first time in a long while the outside temperature almost matches the inside temperature. Walking out on the back stoop, for the first time since spring, you are not slapped in the face with the heat. While the coffee brewed, I reintroduced myself…
A second blogger being sued by the mother of the late Anna Nicole Smith is set to spend a weekend behind bars for failing to do what a local judge asked. Teresa Stephens, accused in a civil lawsuit of defaming Smith's mother, was arrested Thursday in the Fort Worth area…
Not many people would knowingly pay more than $35 for a cup of coffee. But far too many people are getting saddled — with no warning — with outsized bills for minor purchases, under a euphemistically labeled “overdraft protection program” that most major banks have adopted over the last 10…
After months of days on end with no rain hitting the ground at our home here south of Houston I was beginning to despair. But the last week has finally seen a small amount of precipitation. We went a couple of weeks with a weekly shower before this week when…
...the public — struggling with the worst economic downturn since the 1930s — is looking on with great anxiety and confusion. If the drug companies and the insurance industry are smiling, it can only mean that the public interest is being left behind. Bob Herbert said it today, I've been…
A good book is a good book whatever the weather or temperature. But summer brings with it the illusion of more free time, and just about now — when the demise of August makes free time seem even more illusory — I can’t help looking around for the book I…
Cheney's disappointment with the former president surfaced recently in one of the informal conversations he is holding to discuss the book with authors, diplomats, policy experts and past colleagues. If there is anything that could improve the historical reputation of George W. Bush, this could be it...Dick Cheney is voicing…
I realized yesterday about noon that it was exactly six months since my birthday. Since this was an auspicious anniversary being as how it marked fifty-five point five years on the planet, I decided to honor the day with half a birthday road trip... I learned something from this short…
I have been incredibly blessed to be able to combine this love of calloused hands with dramatic and verbal skills. And that is why I promote direct marketing. Too often parents whose children express an interest in farming squelch it because they envision dirt, dust, poverty, and hermit living. But…
I was sitting here contemplating the books piled on my reading shelf the other day and noticed an remarkable thing has happened...What once was predominantly fiction has become almost entirely not. Now bear in mind, my reading shelf is actually the two shelves on the bakers rack above the microwave…
It is mid day here in southeast Texas. The temperature is pushing 90°. The clouds outside my kitchen window are growing black and rumbling with a bit of thunder. In other words, we are back on the "normal" side of a normal Houston~Galveston summer. That doesn't mean it is in…
