Rick Perry basks in California sun while Good Ol' Texas f-f-freeezes

Thanky kindly Texas taxpayers for paying for my trip. Thanky!

Well, as temperatures broke record lows all around the Lone Star state, Governor Rick Perry has been basking in the California Warmth. He left since Wednesday and wasn't expected back until Sunday evening.
By mere coincidence, that's when temperatures throughout the state will be returning to near normal. Perry was one of hundreds of GOP celebrities that attended the 100th anniversary of Ronald Regan's birth. I had seen an article online referring to Perry's California vacation as a California Dreamin' experience. I took the liberty of expanding on it and put together a few lines commemorating Perry's trip.

Sung to the tune of California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas

All the leaves are brown
and the sky is grey
Can't go out for a walk
On this winter's day

But Perry's safe and warm
Somewhere around L.A.
California dreaming
at least for a few days

Stopped by at a Church's
I passed along the way
Well I felt like I would freeze
and I began to pray

Here we are freezing in the cold
while Rick Perry's away
California Dreaming
The good ol' GOP way

"Benavides Born" competed at last week's Sundance film festival

Corina Calderon stars as Luz in Benavides Born

One of the most striking things about Benavides Born, actress Amanda Rivas says, is the film's authenticity.

"Everything is so recognizable. The characters are so real. You see it and you think, 'I know these people.' You're like, 'There's my abuela,' " says Rivas, part of the film's supporting cast.

Benavides Born, a film directed and co-written by New York-based director Amy Wendel, was shot early last year in South Texas. It is one of 16 films competing for the Grand Jury Prize, the top honor at this year's Sundance Film Festival, which begins Thursday. (Unfortunately, Benavides Born was not a winner ).

Benavides Born tells the story of a close-knit Mexican-American community that rallies around one of its own as she attempts to win a college scholarship for power lifting.

"This is so exciting for us; to get the film exposed to a larger audience is just great," says Wendel, who co-wrote the film's screenplay with her husband and business partner, Daniel Meisel.

AZ law forbidding ethnic studies facing lawsuit

From Technorati.com

In late December, 2010, Arizona SB 2281 went into effect. The new law bans ethnic studies, thus putting an end to the study of cultural diversity in Arizona.  One of those classes is the Mexican American Studies Class in Tucson, which has provided great insight to both minority and non-minority students.

 

In response to the new law, a protest group has been set up by the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Mexian American Studies Community Advisory Board. According to organizers, Mexican American Studies class informs and motivates students.

 

However, newly elected Arizona Schools Superintendent John Huppenthal told the TUSD to halt classes or it would lose $15 million dollars in annual state funds. The threat breaks Huppenthal's promise to "Direct More Money Into the Classroom...too many of our education dollars are wasted on administrative bloat. More money needs to go directly to the classroom to support teachers." he says on his web page.

According to the new law, the school has 60 days to comply.   Conservative voices say the SB 2281 is designed to promote unity and non-discriminatory practices.  Specifically, the law makes a class illegal if: 1. It promotes the overthrow of the United States; 2. Promotes resentment toward a race or class of people; 3. (Is) designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group; 4. Advocates ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

County proves it fails at process control

Can you believe those that occupy these seats, combined,  make close to $500,000

 Even with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs fully focused on the CAA situation at Webb County, the commissioners still managed to mess things up again. It seemed like they had finally found their new chief but, as Pro8news reported almost as an afterthought, "the job offer is contingent on passing a background check and drug test". Talking about putting the cart before the horse. Shouldn't these types of screenings be among the first a candidate should be able to pass? How many of the 14 applicants would have been left standing if the first two questions were regarding any past run-ins with the law and/or drug use? Anyway, the Director-elect did not make the grade.

Since the Webb CAA scandal broke, we've been hearing about the lack of proper monitoring and overall poor quality control. Now, even the process of hiring someone to lead the CAA back to respectability has proven sloppy at best. The Webb county commissioners seem to be afflicted with a bad case of  "manitas de estomago", in regards to what happens to just about everything they touch.

Word has it that the commissioner's court will now have to re-interview all of the original applicants- save one. Since the rest of the final fiver were looked over really good and not selected, I don't know if they will be part of the entire group again. It's hard to predict with our current court what to expect. It will be interesting to see if, since the process will start anew, if the 3-person management team will be called up to handle the process this time around.

Sarah Palin finds new ways to be a Yukon Gold Digger

A you-betcha shout out to all you tea partiers for being dumb kind enough to buy my books

More proof that the Palins are full of themselves. It appears that both Sarah & Bristol Palin think that it's a good idea to have the phrase "marca registrada" next to each of their names. See what you've done John McCain? Too late now, they're all over the place. It's like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. 

From PoliticsDaily.com
by Suzy Parker

Sarah Palin is more than just a former mayor, governor, vice presidential candidate and political force. She has catapulted over most politicians to a status of entertainment icon. She has become a brand -- and she's trying to protect it by trademarking her name.

The Palin brand is so valuable, that other family members are in on it. Sarah Palin's 20-year-old daughter, Bristol, is a well-compensated spokeswomen on sexual abstinence for the Candies Foundation has become a reality star in her own right on "Dancing with the Stars" and may land a job as a radio show host in Arizona.

And these savvy women are taking all the prudent steps a brand holder does to protect an asset. In the last several months, Politics Daily has learned that the Palin family lawyer, Alaska attorney Thomas Van Flein, has filed applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to trademark "Sarah Palin®" and "Bristol Palin®."

LISD's Budget Information Portal Survey now active

LISD wants your opinion on how to reduce costs. The Survey Says!!

As promised by Superintendent Nelson, LISD's website now includes the following survey. The district said it is encouraging input from employees, parents and the taxpaying public as to what recommendations they might have for helping to reduce costs and hopefully save jobs.  The following questions, which are directly mostly at teachers, are now posted on the LISD website. Incidentally, the second budget workshop which was scheduled for today, February 3rd at 1130am was instead cancelled. No word yet on when the next meeting will take place.


1: What measures would you recommend the district implement to reduce costs? 

2: What measures could your school/department implement to reduce costs?  

3: Would you be interested in early retirement if the school district offered an incentive?  

4: Are you considering early retirement at the end of this school year?  

5: Are you considering resigning from the school district any time this school year?

6: Do you have any additional comments or concerns?

It's 10pm, Do you know where your ice scrapers are?

crihko crihko crihko crihko : Sorry, that's the best sound effect I could come up with

Somewhere on your dashboard, there's probably a button for something called a defroster. Of course, in Laredo, it's possible you might not have used it in years, if at all. Well, it's pretty certain you're finally going to get a chance to use it. I say this because as of 10pm tonight, there's already a thin sheet of ice encasing our cars' windshields.

On Pro8news, they are recommending that you get up a bit earlier, turn on your car & defroster and wait for the ice to melt. Of course, if you don't like waiting, then take a look around the house; you might have a combination squeegee/ice scraper that you didn't even know about. If you do, you'll get to work out those biceps as you get that ice off your windshield. You might as well enjoy it, it's the closest we've come to experiencing snow in a few years.