Prominent Early Texans Take Their Own Lives
Prominent Early Texans Take Their Own Lives Mary Rusk, wife of Texas
Meet the Jetsons: Part 2
Meet the Jetsons: Part 2 My last column described many technological advances that first caught our attention as the fantastic creations of writers of books, movies, comic strips, and TV shows. Back when a computer took up a huge room and required a staff of trained technicians to operate, movies allowed us to imagine an era when smaller screens would be available for the average man or woman, when artificial intelligence would assist humans in their endeavors (and help them keep up with friends on Facebook, buy stuff on eBay, become involved in online dating, play poker, do day trading, blog, enter chat rooms, etc.) So here we are with our laptops and WiFi
The Return Of… Irrational Fear
The Return Of… Irrational Fear Ooohh
The Name Game
The Name Game We all know people who have unusual names. Some of them are intended to be “cute,” like Justin Thyme or Madison S. Garden. You might wince when you hear names like these, but others might think they
Computer Acting Up? Back-hand It With An Antistatic Wrist Strap
Computer Acting Up? Back-hand It With An Antistatic Wrist Strap Today, we will be covering basic troubleshooting techniques for your computer. By the end of this column, you will know how to identify a problem within your system, and then determine whether you can: a) Fix it yourself, or b) Save yourself the trouble by taking your computer somewhere and shooting it. To begin with, most of us have absolutely no idea how a computer works. This is illustrated by the fact that, when there
U.S. Citizens No Longer In Control
U.S. Citizens No Longer In Control
It is only reasonable that an American citizen would believe that the people of the United States have the ultimate authority over the nation
Property Tax Appraisal Time Again: Hunting Season Opens On Homeowners
Property Tax Appraisal Time Again:
It happens every April and May throughout Texas
Texas homeowners become irate that their property taxes continue to sky-rocket!
What Homeowners Can Do Legally To Get Proposed Appraisal Values Decreased
These days it
Ninja Mortgages, Pirate Teens, Aggie Logic
Ninja Mortgages, Pirate Teens, Aggie Logic When President Ronald Reagan famously quipped, “Trust… but verifiy,” he upheld a basic principal of science. Verification. If one cannot test and re-test a scientific experiment to check if it
Armadillos Don
Armadillos Don
IMF Forcasts Sour World Economy
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Fear In Mexico
MEXICO CITY
Homeland Security
CRAWFORD
Supreme Court Limits Vehicle Searches
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Cornyn Pouts As Franken Sits Tight
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Bush
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Obama Breaks International Torture Law: U.N. Investigator
UNITED NATIONS – To not prosecute CIA officers who tortured people under the Bush administration is illegal under international law, according to the United Nation
ACLU: Crawford Protesters Win Free Speech Case
AUSTIN, Texas
Don’t Mess With Texas, Mr. Simmons! — Billionaire Propagandist Gives A Dump In West Texas
Billionaire Propagandist Gives A Dump In West Texas DALLAS, Texas He messed with Sen. John Kerry in 2004 and won. He messed with then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008 but lost. Now, he is messing with Texas again! But will Harold Simmons win this time round? Well, it looks like the Dallas billionaire is well on his way. Simmons is specifically taking advantage of a law passed by the Texas Legislature he successfully lobbied in 2003 that gives the green light for private corporations to move and store radioactive waste in Texas. His Waste Control Specialists LLC is estimated to generate billions of dollars in profit dumping low-level nuclear waste from across the United States on a 1,338-acre site in the rural West Texas county of Andrews. Over the next 30 years, Simmons could dump enough waste to half the volume of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington. Taking dumps isn’t anything new for the 77-year-old from Golden, Texas. He developed his fortune by selling off his chain of 100 pharmacy stores to the Eckerd Corporation for $50 million. From 1973 onward, he acquired companies by controlling interest in their equity and then borrowing money from banks to purchase the business. His skill at applying this “leveraged buyout” concept earned him the nickname “The Ice Man” in the 1980s and the repuation as one of the fathers of modern predatory capitalism. Simmons is also a major Republican donor. He came with cash to the legal defense President Ronald Reagan’s aides involved in the Iran-Contra Scandal, Oliver North and John Poindexter. Currently, he is said to be Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s third largest campaign contributor. He has contributed also to Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Attorney General Greg Abbott. He does have a few Democrats in his pocket, such as Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Waco) whom House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recommended as then-presidential candidate Obama’s pick for a vice president running mate. Simmons is more recently infamous for financing to the tune of $4 million the Swift Boat propaganda campaign against Sen. Kerry during the 2004 presidential run. His $3 million spent to derail Sen. Obama’s presidential bid last fall were ultimately wasted; Simmons’ presidential pony Sen. John McCain lost. “Even Fox [News] has refused to show his ads (sort of),” noted the Down With Tyranny blog last summer. “When Jesus talked about camels getting through the eyes of a needle he had Harold Simmons in mind. In South Africa Satan gave them Mark Scott-Crossley; in Texas, the Angel of Darkness cursed us with Harold Clark Simmons.” And it’s not like Simmons has no money to burn. Actually, half of his money ($3 billion) has burned during this latest financial crisis, according to Forbes. In 2007, Simmons was Dallas’ “new leader in the battle of the billionaires,” The Dallas Morning News reported. His net worth $7.4 billion exceeded Electronic Data Systems Corp. founder H. Ross Perot ($4.4 billion) and owner of the Omni Hotels chain Robert Rowling ($6.4 billion) that year. Now, all the billionaires in Dallas are hurting. Simmons now has a $3.9 billion purse, though this still makes him one of the 50 richest men in America. “That’s accurate,” Simmons told The News. “I’m just amazed it’s sunk so low. The market’s not really regarding values anymore, it’s more in a panic situation.” Simmons is optimistic about his businesses returning to normal in the coming year. Yet, as his empire becomes healthier, it becomes more hazardous to our health. For example,
