The Texas 18th District Blog

A Perfect Storm

 by Thomas Sowell

Some elections are routine, some are important and some are historic. If Senator John McCain wins this election, it will probably go down in history as routine. But if Senator Barack Obama wins, it is more likely to be historic– and catastrophic.

Once the election is over, the glittering generalities of rhetoric and style will mean nothing. Everything will depend on performance in facing huge challenges, domestic and foreign.

Performance is where Barack Obama has nothing to show for his political career, either in Illinois or in Washington.

***

Sheila Jackson Lee and Ties to Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) link here

Our law enforcement agencies and the FBI have been torn by this failure to define an ideological enemy. At the same time that the FBI is testifying at the Holy Land Foundation trial as to how the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic supremacist goals, other parts of the FBI have been told to invite CAIR to provide training for the FBI on their views of Islam. CAIR also has provided “training” and guidance to DHS, TSA, Customs, and other law enforcement agencies. CAIR also attends meetings with an influential advisory panel on homeland security. The Investigative Project of Terrorism reports that “several members of Congress maintain close ties with CAIR” (Jim McDermott, Keith Ellison, Sheila Jackson Lee, Bill Pascrell, Dennis Kucinich). Such congressional representatives have no concerns about CAIR’s founder and Executive Director Nihad Awad as a documented supporter of the Hamas Islamic supremacist terrorist group. The American mainstream media frequently contacts CAIR to provide comments on news stories without providing context as to who and what they are - providing further public legitimacy for them. America has similar challenges with other groups associated with Islamic supremacism such as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). CAIR and ISNA are unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation terror finance trial. The President of ISNA not only spoke at a national political party’s presidential convention, she also is on the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project team calling for engagement with the Muslim Brotherhood.

American Voters know which politicians failed us in the Mortgage Meltdown!

You don’t normally hear of democrats praising Bush.  Recently though they have been giving him the credit for making mortgage money available to low income borrowers.  He is amazingly being credited with telling federal agencies to include welfare payments and food stamps as income so people with no job and no work history can qualify for morgages.  When running for office in 2000 Bush declared himself a “compassionate conservative”.  Who knew his compassion went so far?  I, a real conservative (though not extreme), am still wondering what a compassionate conservative is.  I along with many other conservatives have asked myself over the last 7 years why does Bush do some of the things he does?  I think Bush has done many good things but some make me scratch my head and wonder.

Well as usual Thomas Sowell clears a lot of it up.  Even though Bush’s generosity with loose lending to people who should be living in apartments is the assigned cause of our current problems he alone is not the only generous, compassionate person.

Read What Thomas Sowell has to say

Here is a very important article by Star Parker

“Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing, and launched an urban Christian magazine”.  Her bio

“As our presidential candidates drone on about our current financial crisis being caused by greedy Wall Street CEOs, a study just released by Canada’s Fraser Institute points to what the real problems are in the United States.

This is an annual compendium called Economic Freedom of the World, which the Fraser Institute produces, in cooperation with an international network of free-market think tanks.

Of central interest here is the fact that there is a direct correlation between the extent to which a country is economically free and how prosperous it is. The more economic freedom, the more prosperity. The less economic freedom, the less prosperity. ”

Be sure to read the full article as her conclusion supports what Thomas Sowell has been saying.

Read Star Parker here and add her to your reference list

Nota Bene:  Sheila Jackson-Lee, our representative in congress holds the exact opposite view of our freedom and economics as Sowell and Parker.

It is my understanding that many of Sheila Jackson Lee’s constituents are upset with her lack of standing up for them as Metro tears down their homes. I received the following open letter and petition asking SLJ to step down from the subcommittee on Transportation under Homeland Security.

One more example of how this is going to be SJL’s last year in Congress!

I hope we can help with a SJL surprise retirement party come November 5, 2008!!!:

To: The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee

From: Constituents of the 18th District & Other Discontent Voters

Date: June 10, 2008

Subj: Request for Your Recusal from Federal Transportation Committee

We the people, YOUR CONSTITUENTS, of the 18th Congressional District who put our trust  in your political abilities to champion the welfare of those you represent,  have to ask that you recuse yourself from Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security (Subcommittee on Transportation). We are sorely disappointed with your performance at this juncture with respect to transportation. As a woman, a mother and member of (1) Children’s Caucus; (2) Human Rights; (3) Labor & Working Families; (4) Missing & Exploited Children; (5) Urban Caucus; (6) Victim’s Rights; (7) Children & Families Task Force; (8) Faith & Values in Politics, we find it unconscionable that you would support, yet push for funding, which would destroy predominant minority neighborhoods and place children in eminent danger of Light Rail.

Surely you are not blind to the adult statistics of Light Rail in Houston, therefore how can you look in the mirror as a woman who gave birth to children of your own, yet care nothing for the lives of other young children? How can you so willingly wish to see the destruction of neighborhoods of those who voted you into office and entrusted you with our welfare? How can you represent “Faith & Values in Politics” when your current behavior (pushing for funding of corridors running on streets) that were not in the contract/referendum of 2003?

What does this teach our young political hopefuls? It speaks loudly stating that contracts mean nothing, they are to be broken when it is to serve the well-off. After your October ‘07 Town Hall Meeting, we actually BELIEVED you were going to “champion” saving our children, homes, neighborhoods, businesses and that you were, as you stated, “going to stay in contact with us”. We believed in you so much so, that we began a “Thank You Letter” campaign, which was circulating, and being readied for mailing to you. We no longer feel this way about you.

We then were disappointed with your statements made at the groundbreaking ceremony on Beekman @ Griggs where you stated, “some will just have to sacrifice”. You and our Mayor White seem to be reading from the same script as you have both “echoed” this same sentiment when it relates to the children, homes, neighborhoods, businesses of: MacGregor Place, MacGregor Trails (both bordered/threatened by MLK SE alignment; (2) University (Wheeler, parts of which are not now, nor ever have been supported by bus service, yet is being touted as “will improve riders hip”—all threatened by destruction as witnessed by Downtown Houston which has yet to recover to an economic engine.  How is this possible when none has been needed there to date? (3) Richmond (placing all homeowners/businesses out as witnessed by what happened on Main; (4) Northside — more schools, ergo more children at risk; (5) Harrisburg (the most Historical Hispanic area within the city) putting children, homes and businesses in peril.

Why is it the ‘03 Referendum (streets named thereupon in the contract) is not being honored? It is what was presented to the VOTERS, and IT is what passed. METRO is supposed to be about smart, rapid transit, not the destruction of neighborhoods nor redevelopment of it to a dense, younger tax base of residents that are yet to be discovered. Why don’t  you concentrate on METRO moving working people in from the outlying areas such as Spring, Katy, Pearland, Conroe, Kingwood—actual commuter rail; i.e. Dallas? This is a worthy goal to ease traffic off Houston freeways, outlying highways and stop focusing on displacing (”by sacrifice”, to use your words) homeowners, businesses and the inevitable injury of life lost of a child and/or parent.

Our faith in your political abilities is rapidly declining. We no longer respect your actions at this time, therefore; have no need for your representation of us since you are not listening to your constituency. Our support of you, our current Mayor, and any other elected officials in future political actions will no longer be available to you if you don’t exercise your influence to STOP LIGHT RAIL FROM DECIMATING HOME OWNERS, NEIGHBORHOODS, BUSINESSES along all current proposed routes (which were NOT on the ‘03 “CONTRACT WITH THE CITIZENS).

Sincerely,18th District Constituents* & Other Discontent Voters

  cc:
  Mary Peters, Secretary of Transportation
  Sherry Little, FTA Administrator/DC HQ
  Amber Ontiveros, FTA Civil Rights Officer/DC HQ
  Representative Daniel Lungren, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Eleanor Norton, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Gus Bilirakis, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Paul Broun, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Virginia Brown-Waite, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Yvette Clarke, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Peter DeFazio, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Peter King, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Edward Markey, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Ed Perlmutter, Transportation Committee Member
  Representative Bennie Thompson, Transportation Committee Member
  State Senator Rodney Ellis
  Representative Al Green
  Representative Sylvester Turner
  Representative Harold Dutton
  Representative Garnet Coleman
  Mayor Bill White