Harris County Grand Jury on Target

Bad guys, beware!
In Harris County, Texas, you could be shot for theft.
The County Grand Jury here refused to indict a man for fatally shooting a pair of thugs who were robbing his neighbor’s house.

Call me hard-hearted, but I really don’t have a problem with this. The Supreme Court recently upheld our right to bear arms. The local community—as represented by the Grand Jurists—not only agree, but approve of their use in protecting life and property.

Interestingly, the man in the center of the maelstrom, Joe Horn, regrets what he did.
As he should; the taking of a human life should never be considered lightly.

Also interesting to note that the pair who were shot were in this country illegally.

So, settlers take note: The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave is also populated by people who are armed and prepared to defend themselves and their neighbors. I think the Harris County Grand Jury sent a strong message to the creeps, thugs, robbers, thieves and other such parasitic scum that feed off the rest of us: Even if the cops don’t catch you, the guy next door might.

I remember as a child visiting a Volkswagen repair shop with my father that was run by a German immigrant named Schmidt. Spoke with a thick, thick, German accent, but he was a pretty good mechanic.

I recall being shocked to see a sign posted in the back of his work shop plainly stating that "anyone removing parts from shop will be shot."

To an 8-year old, this was heavy stuff, and I imagined he had a whole arsenal of Germann Lugers and machine guns at the ready.

Maybe the guy was just fed up with theft in his neighborhood.
Probably the best crime deterrent there could be.
These days, I wouldn't mind having Joe Horn as a neighbor...or Herr Schmidt.

Exxon vs Chacon: A Tale of Two Perspectives

The Supreme Court this week chisled-away most of the punative damages awarded claimants against Exxon in its ill-fated Exxon Valdez oil spill. Lobotomized is a more apt description to the 80% reduction from $2.5-billion to $500-million in damages.

Basically, the Supremes decided Exxon shouldn't have to pay above and beyond the $507.5-million it had already expended to compensate victims of the spill in Alaska. Under the original judgement, plaintiffs would have received about $75,000 apiece, which now shrinks to about $15,000 each.

Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but still hardly enough for most fishermen to offset the losses they incurred, regardless of how long ago (18-years!)

Exxon's gotta love it: The new amount is equal to about 4-day's worth of profits, based on the $10.9-billion the company booked last quarter.

Meanwhile, down at the ball park in Houston, the Astro's needed a little something to liven-up their 36-42 season. Enter Shawn Chacon, a pitcher the team signed to a one-year, $2-million contract during Spring Training.

So far this season, his record has been about as exciting as a revised Exxon damages payout--and come to think of it, his performance has been worth about as much, with an 0-3 record in the past four starts and a 9.35 ERA.

Yesterday, in the Astro's lunchroom, Chacon was summoned to the principal's office. Actually, it was a calling onto the carpet in General Manager Ed Wade's office (remember, the dude's banking $2-mil this year for suiting up with the team.)
Chacon didn't want to be bothered.

Let's think about this: His performance is on par with an Oreck 12-pound upright, he's getting paid good money, so what response should he have had?
The response Chacon gave Wade was a pair of hands around the GM's neck, and throwing his boss to the ground.
Class act.

Chacon's name is already being stencilled into the Book of Names that Are Also Verbs (remember Sprewell, Lewinski, Crapper, etc?)

Chacon has told his agent he'd like to be released from the team or traded.
I would imagine the former is going to happen before the latter; for $2-mil, I'd expect any team manager would demand a bit more respect and decorum.

Psst--Mr. Wade.
For half Chacon's contract, I'll play for you, sit in the bull pen all season long, if you want.
Call my people.
Better yet, just call me.

-------------------------------------------------
CODA: Shawn Chacon's originally from Alaska.
Mebbe he was just miffed about that Supreme Court decision...

Back on the Radio

It's been said, you can never go home.
I don't know who said it, or how far afield they'd roamed, but there is a bit of truth to the statement. You can never go home, expecting things to have remained the same since you were last there.
That's for sure.

I moved away from home for the first time in 1977.
It was Labor Day weekend, and I rented a U-Haul truck to schlep all my worldly belongings--including my car--from Houston to Tulsa.

On subsequent visits home, there were subtle and not-so-subtle changes: Someone else was living in my bedroom, for starters.

It happens on the job, too.
I love running into folks I used to work with.
But it's just not the same.
I was up at the old stomping grounds today.
Someone else was in my office.

Tomorrow I will begin hosting a one-hour Radio show from 7-8am on CNN 650 (KIKK-AM/Houston)
That's an old stomping ground, too.
Used to be BusinessRadio650 a few years back.
Used to be a lot of other things before that.

Since I've been away, CBS Radio has made some wonderful improvements to the facility. Like adding real studios for talk hosts, a separate studio for the producer, and an upgraded studio for producing snappy promos and commercials.

It's going to be fun broadcasting from a new room at a familiar place.
And I can watch my son collaborate with his team across the hall at SportsRadio610.

Sometimes when you go home, things change for the better.