Sunday, April 03, 2011
Saturday, April 02, 2011
House Mouse, Senate Mouse
Weiner has been destroying for a few weeks now. Here he is speaking at the Congressional Correspondents dinner.
His Fox New interviews are instant classics.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Final Four activities today
And tomorrow and Sunday, for that matter. Thanks to the Chron for all of this. (For those of us who don't have -- or don't want -- tickets to the games but still want to play around in the vicinity.)
Friday
Bracket Town
Where: George R. Brown Convention Center
Time: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tickets: $10 for 12-plus; $6 for 3-11, 55-plus; 2-under free
Tip-Off Tailgate
Where: Reliant Stadium Blue Lot
Time: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: The Tailgate allows fans headed to the stadium a place to buy food and beverage and listen to live music.
Final Four team practices
Where: Reliant Stadium
Time: noon-4 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: Watch the four teams participate in their last practice session before Saturday's games. I went to the regional version of this last year and spent about an hour watching the last half of Baylor's and the first half of Duke's practice and warm-ups. It can get a little boring, but if it's as close as you can afford to get to the court, it's well worth attending.
The Big Dance Concert Series
Where: Discovery Green
Time: 4-10:30 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: A block party and concert series sponsored by the NCAA. The day's headliner is Sublime with Rome.
College All-Star Game
Where: Reliant Stadium
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: Two teams of college seniors battle immediately following the open practices for the Final Four teams.
Saturday
Bracket Town
Where: George R. Brown Convention Center
Time: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Tickets: $10 for 12-plus; $6 for 3-11, 55-plus; 2-under free
The Big Dance Concert Series
Where: Discovery Green
Time: 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: The day's headliner is Kings of Leon, scheduled for 3 p.m. and lasting one hour. Expect this show to go off on time, because the basketball games -- and the watch party there on a big screen in the park -- begin at 5:07.
Sunday
Bracket Town
Where: George R. Brown Convention Center
Time: noon-8 p.m.
Tickets: $10 for 12-plus; $6 for 3-11, 55-plus; 2-under free
The Big Dance Concert Series
Where: Discovery Green
Time: 3-10 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: Tonight's (8:45 p.m.) headliner is Kenny Chesney, but I prefer Uncle Kracker at 5:30 and Pat Green at 7.
Update:
Friday
Bracket Town
Where: George R. Brown Convention Center
Time: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tickets: $10 for 12-plus; $6 for 3-11, 55-plus; 2-under free
Tip-Off Tailgate
Where: Reliant Stadium Blue Lot
Time: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: The Tailgate allows fans headed to the stadium a place to buy food and beverage and listen to live music.
Final Four team practices
Where: Reliant Stadium
Time: noon-4 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: Watch the four teams participate in their last practice session before Saturday's games. I went to the regional version of this last year and spent about an hour watching the last half of Baylor's and the first half of Duke's practice and warm-ups. It can get a little boring, but if it's as close as you can afford to get to the court, it's well worth attending.
The Big Dance Concert Series
Where: Discovery Green
Time: 4-10:30 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: A block party and concert series sponsored by the NCAA. The day's headliner is Sublime with Rome.
College All-Star Game
Where: Reliant Stadium
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: Two teams of college seniors battle immediately following the open practices for the Final Four teams.
Saturday
Bracket Town
Where: George R. Brown Convention Center
Time: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Tickets: $10 for 12-plus; $6 for 3-11, 55-plus; 2-under free
The Big Dance Concert Series
Where: Discovery Green
Time: 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: The day's headliner is Kings of Leon, scheduled for 3 p.m. and lasting one hour. Expect this show to go off on time, because the basketball games -- and the watch party there on a big screen in the park -- begin at 5:07.
Sunday
Bracket Town
Where: George R. Brown Convention Center
Time: noon-8 p.m.
Tickets: $10 for 12-plus; $6 for 3-11, 55-plus; 2-under free
The Big Dance Concert Series
Where: Discovery Green
Time: 3-10 p.m.
Tickets: Open to the public
What to know: Tonight's (8:45 p.m.) headliner is Kenny Chesney, but I prefer Uncle Kracker at 5:30 and Pat Green at 7.
Update:
Every year when I arrive at the Final Four city, I try to get the flavor of the place on the bus ride from the airport to the hotel. One of my observations after arriving in Houston is that it's a good city to get sick in. There seems to be a hospital or medical center on every block. Maybe that's why there are so many gun and weapon stores: people feel that if they accidentally shoot themselves, it's no big deal. There's a gun wound specialist just around the corner.
I saw a great billboard on the way to the hotel. It was an ad for a lawyer whose phone number is 713 - WASN'T ME. I'm not kidding. After seeing this, I kept hoping the next billboard would be from the prosecutor's office with the phone number 1-800-OH YES IT WAS. Unfortunately, the second billboard didn't pop up. It shouldn't have surprised me. I mean, what are the odds that those two billboards would be on the same street? I can't do the math and answer that question, but I'm pretty sure the odds of that happening are a lot smaller than the odds of seeing these four teams play this weekend.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
The SHO/Final Four Wrangle
The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for another sports-related tourist infusion as it brings you this week's blog roundup.
If the goal of the 81st Texas Legislature and Governor Rick Perry is to stifle job creation in Texas for the next two years, then Off the Kuff says they're knocking it out of the park.
Letters From Texas rolls its collective eyes about the word games played by the Republicans in charge as they announce their Senate subcommittee to find "non-tax revenue." Earth to Republicans: if we used to own it, but now the government owns it, it's a tax.
Musings looks ahead to 2021 in Connecting the Dots: Killing Education, Killing Unions, Funding the Tea Partiers. Give it a look. The videos are worth the price of admission by themselves!
WCNews at Eye On Williamson has something to say about the austerity budget: House Appropriations passes budget - tea party blamed for cuts.
In the latest post regarding the poll he's conducting on the mortgage interest tax deduction, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs explains why he has never owned a home.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme warns that Republicans are near their goal of killing public education for K-12 and at the university level.
Neil at Texas Liberal apologized for ever having voted for Houston city councilmember C.O. Bradford for any public office. Neil feels that voting for Mr. Bradford was one of the worst ballot box mistakes he has ever made.
refinish69 at Doing My Part for the Left is ever amazed by the stupidity of the Texas Lege. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Case in point is Rep. David Simpson's Don't Touch My Junk Bill.
This week, McBlogger takes a look at what austerity will do to Texas.
And PDiddie adds: as a type 2 diabetic for almost ten years, this was the most interesting thing I read in the past week.
If the goal of the 81st Texas Legislature and Governor Rick Perry is to stifle job creation in Texas for the next two years, then Off the Kuff says they're knocking it out of the park.
Letters From Texas rolls its collective eyes about the word games played by the Republicans in charge as they announce their Senate subcommittee to find "non-tax revenue." Earth to Republicans: if we used to own it, but now the government owns it, it's a tax.
Musings looks ahead to 2021 in Connecting the Dots: Killing Education, Killing Unions, Funding the Tea Partiers. Give it a look. The videos are worth the price of admission by themselves!
WCNews at Eye On Williamson has something to say about the austerity budget: House Appropriations passes budget - tea party blamed for cuts.
In the latest post regarding the poll he's conducting on the mortgage interest tax deduction, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs explains why he has never owned a home.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme warns that Republicans are near their goal of killing public education for K-12 and at the university level.
Neil at Texas Liberal apologized for ever having voted for Houston city councilmember C.O. Bradford for any public office. Neil feels that voting for Mr. Bradford was one of the worst ballot box mistakes he has ever made.
refinish69 at Doing My Part for the Left is ever amazed by the stupidity of the Texas Lege. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Case in point is Rep. David Simpson's Don't Touch My Junk Bill.
This week, McBlogger takes a look at what austerity will do to Texas.
And PDiddie adds: as a type 2 diabetic for almost ten years, this was the most interesting thing I read in the past week.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
"Hundreds of thousands of job cuts" in Texas
The only question is how Rick Perry will attempt to blame President Obama for it.
"How about if we blame it on the Great Collapse of 2008?"
"But I thought Rick Perry said Texas was doing great. Back during the campaign season. How about if we say it just won't be that bad, like Dewhurst has been saying?"
Vertigo-inducing spin. My question: how's that voting-a-straight-Republican-ticket-for-the-past-sixteen-years thing workin' out for ya?
Deep reductions in a House committee's budget proposal would cost Texas hundreds of thousands of jobs through the next two years, according to an analysis released Thursday.
"I've been trying to say this for over a year. I've been trying to say how our economy was bad, and how our shortfall was going to be affecting Texas, and nobody seemed to believe me. But I think reality is probably setting in on that," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie. "I really didn't realize the extent of the total employment. It's pretty shocking."
"How about if we blame it on the Great Collapse of 2008?"
The Legislative Budget Board's "dynamic economic impact" analysis of the Appropriations-approved budget proposal predicts 271,746 fewer jobs in 2012, and 335,244 fewer in 2013, compared to what total employment would be if revenues and spending remained stable. That includes government and private-sector jobs.
The analysis cautions that the estimate "does not imply the state will lose that many jobs from our current employment level upon enactment" of House Bill 1, as approved by the Appropriations Committee this week.
Instead, it shows Texas would have fewer jobs compared to a scenario in which state spending remained constant relative to the current budget.
Bad economy blamed
"Since available revenue for the 2012-13 biennium is predicted to fall well below that amount, in large part due to the national economic recession, many of these job losses can be attributed to the steep downturn of the Texas economy during the past several years," the LBB analysis said.
"But I thought Rick Perry said Texas was doing great. Back during the campaign season. How about if we say it just won't be that bad, like Dewhurst has been saying?"
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said the state needs to address the structural budget deficit caused by the 2006 school finance plan, but disputed the LBB's job loss estimates.
"We have a trillion-dollar economy in Texas. There's 9.5 million people employed in Texas. I don't think by any stretch of the imagination the budget that we pass is going to cost many - it may result in hundreds of job losses, but I would really doubt if it would be thousands," he said. "Most economic analysts would say that if you raise taxes to increase government spending, you'll cost jobs."
Travis Tullos, regional economist with Austin-based consulting firm TXP, described the LBB's prediction as a "worst-case scenario, generally speaking."
"If you were to increase taxes sufficient to cover that deficit - whatever that ends up being - that would be more deleterious to the economy than going ahead with a more conservative budget," Tullos said.
Vertigo-inducing spin. My question: how's that voting-a-straight-Republican-ticket-for-the-past-sixteen-years thing workin' out for ya?
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