Humans Causing Sixth Great Extinction On Earth
SYDNEY, Australia – Blame humans. That
County Seat Elections Often A Matter Of Life And Death
County Seat Elections Often A Matter Of Life And Death None of the four candidates for the Dallas County seat received a majority mandate on Aug. 4, 1850, but Little D (pop. 163) beat Hord
Barter System
Barter System I was thinking that in these difficult economic times, it might be a good idea to reinstitute the barter economy that existed in times past. Zack
Texas Insurance Firms Spike Premiums Again
Texas Insurance Firms Spike Premiums Again Home insurance premiums in Texas are another natural disaster. We need to ask ourselves, “Why do Texans continue to pay the highest home insurance premiums in the nation?” Five years ago with Gov. Rick Perry, then Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Commissioner Jose Montemayor, and legislators “looking the other way,” lax insurance legislation permitted the industry to double the premiums paid by Texas homeowners. Bear in mind that Gov. Perry will have a tough battle for reelection in 2010 from fellow Republican, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Texans now have some “clout” to demand the governor do something before the election. In 2004 and during the previous several years, the insurance industry had been experiencing a hard market and was losing revenue; we were told it was caused by excessive claims due to storms, winds, flooding, hail, and mold. The industry collectively had called upon the state informally to help with correcting the market, but few listened to its pleas. As in many previous years of hard markets, the insurance industry elected to act independently on the problem without waiting any longer for government interaction on its behalf. Virtually overnight, it then over-corrected the market by doubling home insurance premiums. Texas homeowners are still paying those doubled premiums. In some instances, the industry decreased the coverage and still increased the premiums significantly. Initially, the reaction of homeowners was disbelief and then anger. Many contacted the offices of the governor, TDI, and various legislators. They were told publicly by Gov. Perry and his appointee Comm. Montemayor that by the next year, the insurance industry would refund up to 14 percent of the increased premiums. To date, that has never occurred. Homeowners must have forgotten the promises made by Perry, Montemayor and current TDI Commissioner Mike Geeslin. So, now it
When It Comes To Looking Ahead, Look No Further Than Your Behind
When It Comes To Looking Ahead, Look No Further Than Your Behind You should be aware that the idea of promoting an important issue through a week of “National Awareness” has gotten plain silly. There was a time when, in order to command the attention of our entire country for a whole week, you actually needed to have an issue that was important
America
America
Wall Street Hold
Wall Street Hold
Hats For My Panthers
Hats For My Panthers As Uncle Hugh used to say, “A hat ought to do more than keep the sun off your head. The right hat can keep you from being recognized by the wrong people.” As I disembarked at my Houston Street hotel in Fort Worth, I realized that I had once threatened a wino on the very spot where I was handing a prim concierge my car keys. I used to drive a beer truck and deliver to a string of wino bars, to which noun the modifier “seedy” would have been gracious. Patronage would have been like drinking in a bus station toilet. As I loaded their succor onto my dolly, the benighted wretches employed the cleverest to the most desperate ruses to get at my wares. Holding onto the goods required cunning, alertness, and a tire tool. I recalled these brutal moments from my misspent youth as I was trying to explain to Tuan Nay-than my perceptions of Fort Worth. Were Fort Worth moved 50 miles or more West of its present location, it would be Austin or Corpus. Not the Capital nor the bureaucratic repository of learning and avarice, not the beach nor the oil business salaries, but a city with a reputation for being a pretty good place to live. But alas, Fort Worth suffers from neither being a suburb of, nor independent from the meanest, coldest, greediest place on earth: Dallas, Texas. Fort Worth has always struggled for its own identity; certainly it has one, but it is overshadowed by its neighbor, which would, as it has, sold its own heart by the pound. For example, back in the
Britons Believe Afghan War
LONDON, England – The Afghan War is “unwinnable,” and troops ought to withdraw immediately, according to over half of Britons in a new poll. Since 2001, 191 British troops have been killed in Afghanistan. Of the 90,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, around 9,150 are British. However, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, wants to keep troops there. In fact, Miliband continues to think that the “moderate” Taliban can be reasoned with, despite the fact that the terrorist group is the de facto wing of the Pakistan
Change Foreign Policy To Finance Healthcare: Ron Paul
ATLANTA, Ga. – Has Ron Paul gone hippie? When it comes to financing public health care, the Libertarian-leaning Republican from Texas comes close. Paul recently told CNN
And The First H1N1 Shots Go To…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pregnant women ought to receive the first vaccinations against the H1N1 virus, according to a government advisory board. Next are healthcare workers and children six months and older, followed by parents and infant handers, adults with unhealthy immune systems, and college aged youths and young adults. So says the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel whose advice the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention usually accepts. Clinical trials on the contriversial vaccine are expected to begin in August with dispursement of 120 million doses by late October. St. Louis University reported that 700 people have expressed interest in participating in the trial. The Associated Press reported that six percent of the deaths related to the H1N1 virus in the U.S. were pregnant women, though this group is only one percent of the population.
Holy Condoms
DALLAS, Texas
