Monthly Archives: July 2014

Worst President Ever??

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lincolnPolitics can get pretty rough. Take for example, these comments about a US president:

The administration “has been disgrace from the very beginning to everyone who has anything to do with bringing it to power.” 

The nation needs “a president with brains; one who can make a plan and carry it out.”

Are they talking about Obama, Clinton, or Bush? No, the comments were directed towards Abraham Lincoln. What makes it even worst is that the comments were made by people from his own party while he was up for re-election!

It’s a good reminder for us that America always seems to be in turmoil. The Comprise of 1840 almost tore the country apart and the civil war certainly made it difficult to be an American. In today’s 24-7, social media world where controversies and crisis seem to be the norm, it’s helpful to step back and provide perspective.

For the record, it seems that Honest Abe ended up being remembered fondly with a large monument which can be found in our nation’s capital and a large head carved into Mount Rushmore. Now, I’m not sure Bush or Obama will ever reach that kind of status, but it does help one pause and ponder what history will finally say about our current presidents.

Damn That Traffic Jam

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Houstonians might not agree on everything (see Houston City Council passes equal rights ordinance), but one thing everyone can agree upon is our traffic is the worst, or is it?

INRIX, a company which provides a variety of Internet services and mobile applications pertaining to road traffic and driver services in North America and Europe doesn’t even put Houston in the top ten of worst cities. According to their analysis, Houston ranks 20th as the most congested metro in North America. In 2013, Houstonians wasted 27.2 hours in congestion.

Our friends in Austin like to brag about how much better it is live in hippie heaven than H-Town, but they ranked fourth with a whopping 42.1 hours wasted in congested traffic. Dallas barely made the list coming in at 25th with 22 hours lost in traffic (think their light-rail system has something to do with that?).

In case you’re wondering, Honolulu was ranked as having the worst traffic in an American city followed by Los Angles, San Francisco, Austin and New York.  People living in tropical paradise lost over 60 hours of their life in 2013 battling traffic.

If it makes you feel better (although one wonders why it would), the country with the worst traffic was Belgium followed by the Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy. Italy also boosts having the worst traffic congestion in the world in Milano.

The data reveals it’s a catch-22 when it comes to traffic headaches and the economy.  The better the economy; the worse the traffic is. So next time you’re stuck on highway 290, be sure to count your blessings that you don’t live in Honolulu, or even Austin.

Would You Care To Run That By Me Again?

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Money launderingOnce again, I am scratching my head over politics. This time it is over the debate going on in Austin on how much, if any, regulation is placed on facilities that store chemicals like the one in West, Texas.

I understand the argument (but don’t buy into it) that the proposed regulations would overburden the facilities with complexities and cost. It’s an age old consideration that is hard to prove either way, but puts everyone on notice that we could damage the economy.

What I don’t buy is Attorney General Greg Abbot’s stance that the exact location and what is stored should not be made public to safeguard against terroristic threats.

Here’s where the disconnect comes in; he says that anyone is free to inquire with chemical companies on what is stored at their premises and receive an answer within 10 days.

Can you imagine parents walking into a storage plant and asking them if their child’s school is in the “blast zone” (and how would you know if the parents were terrorists)? It is also not clear what, if any punishment would be handed out if the company fails to respond within the allotted time.

To no one’s surprise, candidate Abbot has received several healthy contributions from the infamous Koch brothers, which of course leads to people speculating that they are helping to influence the discussion (not that there is anything wrong with that since no party is immune to being bought).

More than a year has passed since fifteen people were killed, more than 160 injured, and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West, Texas. I do understand the need to discuss sensible solutions to complex issues, but knocking on the door at my local storage facility to see what kinds of chemcials they keep and how much doesn’t seem to be one of them.