Give Me The Cage Anytime!

Typical caged conditions of border crossers, minus crying babies, as depicted by the media.

In this country, people who love tennis are forced against their will to play inside a cage.  Conditions can be brutal in the Texas humidity and heat and often debris must be cleared from the cage in order to use the facility.

I worked inside a cage for almost 40 years in the Chemical Plant industry and they wouldn't let me leave when I wanted and rarely fed us and acted like they were expecting something in return! When they did feed us, you would think it was amazing by the way they acted, but a lot of times we had to stand in lines and stuff -  just terrible. Showers were available, but they kept me busy enough I never really had time to take one. It was awful.

The reality is the "cages" on the border look nothing like what people envision when the slanted news coverage appears.

Bamboo Cage used to hold prisoners.

 

Beer Drinkers Throw Harder

 Who knew that people who drink and drive can throw an empty beer can like a professional athlete?
There has been an alarming trend on Blue Heron Parkway when it comes to litter. I feel it is my obligation to report the facts on this bizarre mystery.

The beer drinkers are throwing their cans and bottles further than the Monster drink and Red Bull crowd. Mind-boggling comes to my... mind to attempt to explain this phenomenon.

Have they secretly infused Michelob Ultra-lite with caffeine and not told anyone? I mean it has become apparent there is an issue with the once powerful sports drinks.

I used to find the littered cans 30 or more feet from the road and the beer cans were 20 feet closer. In the last two weeks I've found more and more cans of "powerfully explosive powered" sports drink close to curb, as if the poor athletic wannabe barely had the energy to drop it beside their moving hooptie.

Now it appears if you really want to throw that empty can a long ways, you have to switch to beer. Hollywood has proven over and over again that people who drink alcohol are full of energy. If you are going to litter, you might as well throw it like Randy Johnson.

 Disclaimer: In no way am I advocating littering, throwing any kind of litter out of a car or truck, or soiling the good name of Randy Johnson.

MAGA is what we really want

If you think constantly bashing the President of the United States is benefiting you and the people around you... try it at work with and around your bosses. Never say anything to agree with them and constantly run them down behind their back and see, just see if your life and those around you prospers. It won't and you will be unhappier and folks will avoid you. No one wants to hear it.
 
Making America great again (MAGA) has NOTHING to do with restoring the bad things this country has went through. Its about placing America ahead and before any other country. Plain and simple, so when you hear folks lie to you and say it is a racist saying, simply walk away from that ignorant and decidedly racist person.
 
If we are all not working to better the state of affairs for America's future, we are working against it.
.

Trump is our President

I love this President! Of course, I would like him to talk less, but if he wants to talk, go for it. He is more candid and honest when talking to the American people than any other president in my lifetime. YMMV Notice how quiet the Democrats have been about the border and Trump’s harsh treatment toward people entering the country illegally? There is a reason and a shameful one at that.

They are quiet because more illegals have entered the country under Trump than Obama and Obama deported far more. Of course they won’t admit this or apologize because they don’t care anything about anything except retaining power. The country could fall into a chasm and as long as they held the reins, they would yell, “giddy up horsey”.

After 2 years, Obama was turning gray-headed and looked tired. Trump looks like he’s barely warmed up. The presidents before him played politics. Trump looks world leaders in the eye and tells them it is quid pro quo or we cut off their allowance. No other president has done this that I know of. 

Henry Kissinger said world leaders are all off-balance around Trump because unlike other presidents, he looks you in the eye when he threatens to stab you in the chest and they know he will do it. It is no secret they laughed in Obama’s face, but they sure as the Dickens aren’t laughing now, are they?

Understand that for the first time in our lifetime we have a president who has the guts and backbone to break tradition. Understand that a global economy like we have had under Clinton, Bush, & Obama is a thing of our past. If it doesn’t set right on our stomach, we have no stomach for global equality. I for one do not want to see American standards lowered to salve over any Third World country.

The tariff issue will balance out (1-5 years) and we will see prices rise as the Chinese have to compete with the rest of the world for our money. We will also see higher quality American-made products that can now compete. In other words, stay the course. Vote Trump 2020

.

Why we should read the Dew Point

Here is why looking at the humidity outside to understand how yucky it feels is misleading. We should be watching the dew point temperature to tell how sticky it feels to our skin.

The humidity can be high and the dew point low and it feels great and vice versa. Look at our current weather here. It is only 75 and should feel great, but our dew point is 73 AND our humidity is 95%. This makes it feel sopping wet outside even with our 8mph southeasterly wind.

Billings, Montana where my BIL  works, it is 56 degrees and has a humidity rating of 88%. It should feel cool and damp, right? Maybe even cold for us Gulf Coast Texans.

Wrong. It has a dew point of 53 degrees and with a 6 mph wind, it feels downright dry, cool, and pleasant. Montana folks would swim in this weather if the rivers and lakes weren't about 35 degrees. In fact, Montana folks fish in the water instead of swimming in it.
.

Democratic leadership in 2019

If Bill and Hillary had a press conference and admitted everything bad they and the Democratic Party did since he became President through to this date, the Democrats would acknowledge it was indeed the Clinton’s but deny they were telling the truth.
If Jesus the Christ and almighty God was to announce that there was no collusion between Russia and Trump, the Democratic leadership would acknowledge it was indeed the Messiah, but he “is misremembering” what actually happened and be very smug about it to boot.

If Mother Teresa were to come back from the grave with a warning about wholesale abortion she would be discounted as mentally feeble by the Democratic leadership, which is suffering from the same issue. If a Socialist Democrat’s own mother came out for contraceptive by abortion, they would agree with her.

There are now over 20 Democrats running for President in 2020 and soon, they will begin debating and throwing mud on each other. It will probably be ugly, but highly entertaining. I believe DT will be our next elected President by a land slide that crushes the Democrats hope of turning our Republic into Venezuela.
.

Baytown Texas Takes on the #TrashTag Challenge

 

This is SH-146 at Tabb's Bay in 1974. We were a dirty and smelly Tri-city town with a lot of growth in our future.

We used to be viewed as just another stinky oil town. That is no longer the case. Baytown is actually cleaner than many cities surrounding Houston, but we can do better by educating the masses and actually going outside and removing debris from our town.

I've started a grass-root effort here on Facebook to address educating the public AND getting them involved in litter abatement and I am going to pursue this over the next year with great passion.  

Baytown Trashy People

We already have over 100 like-minded members and it is a vision where all members are accountable to contribute effort to remove litter on a daily basis.

Possibly quarterly we will tackle a large project and have a potluck meal afterward. There will be no galas, no scholarships awarded, just people actually working to make our city very clean. There will also be no kings, or queens and no $65 a plate to raise money at this event... just people working.

I took this photo in the parking lot of Food Town on N. Main in Baytown.

It is the goal for this group of volunteers to be heavily represented by the Baytown Sun and any TV news station we can entice to cover it. I want Baytown to shine and I do believe it will have an almost magical effect on our perception of the city.

It is important that we document through photography and placing the photos on our individual pages to encourage others to help. There is also an opportunity to shame litterers into stopping. People who litter look just like us, our family, and our friends. They need to be educated to stop throwing trash out the window of their cars and truck.

Here is today’s photo of #TrashTag (add this to your photo when you post it to FB) and the difference ONE person can make: 

The idea is each person works every day to remove litter. Small amounts add up quickly.

The #TrashTag movement is an international effort for the average person to make a positive impact on the litter problem.

.

Is Keep Baytown Beautiful really doing anything?

BB's take: Keep Baytown Beautiful just had a great big "Gala" and handed out awards all over the place, with lots of high fives and back-slapping celebrating all kinds of accomplishments unrelated to making Baytown beautiful. "The Baytown Sun was awarded as Media of the year." Boy, I feel our city is more beautiful than ever and that award exemplifies making Baytown more beautiful, now doesn't it?

It was a major success according to the fact-based Baytown Sun. Baytown is surely cleaner and nicer than it was last year, right?

I went to their website, but it is down. You mean they had a great big event and their web site ain't workin'? I was looking for a great big list of all their projects and accomplishments (as they are not listed in the newspaper column) so I could applaud the organization.

I'll have to wait until an expert fixes the website to see what they have done, because frankly, I'm not really feeling it. Sure, I participate in the yearly Keep Texas Trash-off like many, but we need a monthly clean-up event that involves the whole city, like #TrashTag efforts going on across the planet.

One productive year from now at the next gala, they first need to interview 10 random people off the street and ask them in front of everyone in attendance to explain how Baytown is more beautiful than it was last year. If the average denizen of Baytown does not perceive that improvements have been made, this organization has not done their job.

It is what it is folks. Boots on the ground is what this city needs. It needs the average citizen educated and involved. It will take an entire city to shift their perception and become proactive. To John and Joan Q. Smith, hosting big shindigs with lots of awards is just more bureaucrats awarding each other and passing smoke for real work. When I see EVIDENCE of KBB's efforts on a regular basis, then and only then will I think the organization’s leadership is paying more than lip service to the community.  #KeepBaytownBeautiful

Reminicing the Vietnam War

 

I arrived in a C-130 out of Clark AFB in July 1972 and left in May 1974. I was the lone human passenger and an E-3. I came from Malmstrom AFB and was a tool issue supply clerk with supply point experience in Minuteman Missiles (SAC). It was so cold in that plane I liked to have froze solid in my 1505 short-sleeved tropical uniform and the crew chief neglected me. 

 

1505 tropical uniform

To this day I would like to kick his arse.  Especially when by the time we actually landed, it was about a hundred degrees inside the cargo compartment of the plane.

Tent city was still going strong and I elected to move into a hootch from the open bay barrack that I stayed in the 1st week. That was awful with no fan and lizards all over the walls and ceilings combined with the National Geographic/Vietnam War in full swing with aircraft blasting the skies on afterburner. We had F-4 Phantom jets and when they took off in pairs it was so loud my ears would ring and all conversation would stop until it was over.

The point is I came when the base reopened and it was wild and woolly in the extreme. 19 bars opened up on the strip and a good number that were off limits. My buddy and roommate Tim Wheeler told me that in all the years he was in the AF, he remembers this time as the best.

There is a tale to be told in the middle and we all have them, but I was also there when most of the G.I’s and working girls left and many of the bars and stores closed and it was a quiet and very sad time. Takhli AFB and Bahn Takhli will always be a major part of my coming of age experience and like many, I cherish the memory and forget how many long hours I worked.

Just like when I arrived, I caught the freedom jet and I was the lone passenger leaving Takhli. I think this is one of the reasons so many airmen didn’t experience the “spitting” and derogatory remarks of protestors. Many of us came back one at a time and we made very small imprints on agitators. I have always claimed and believe I would have knocked the teeth out of anyone who spit on me because I was in uniform.

I would be interested in your initial response when you arrived. I remember the jungle humid mildew smell when the door opened on that C-130 and the thought that I would have to spend a year in this jungle hell-hole. So my initial thought was very sad and very negative. it changed very shortly when the world class adventure began.

Freedom bird back to the States (not mine)

Education on marijuana is every voters responsibility!

BB's take: Get educated. You can't expect the news channels to tell you anything other than the network's opinion:

Some drugs are too dangerous to be legal. Marijuana isn’t one of them.

Some 24 million Americans said in 2018 that they used marijuana in the past month — twice the number who abuse prescriptions and 12 times the number who use cocaine. Of the 70,000 fatal overdoses in America in 2017, nearly 50,000 were tied to opioids, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Deaths tied to pot are so rare the National Center for Health Statistics doesn’t track them.

It’s absurd that the federal government considers pot a Schedule 1 narcotic — a regressive stance that damages thousands of lives and squanders millions in law enforcement dollars.

   

I've recently wrote Governor Abbot and Dan Patrick and remarked that I would not support them if they kept denying the wish of the Texan voters (70% are for decriminalization on some level) concerning decriminalization of pot. Both have made it clear they will not support decriminalization or changing the marijuana laws in Texas. 

 

 No doubt the current pot that is available on the street is unregulated and supplied by the cartels and just like in the 70's, there is no gauge to determine what exactly a person is buying, making it possibly Russian roulette. Legalization and regulation would make this drug so much safer its obvious to me that this is the direction we should go.

 

 Marijuana should not be a politically partisan issue. It is a health issue and concerns everyone. You may be 100% against legalizing pot and then you find that it is the only medicine that actually works for you. Now you are a believer. Do your homework. No one can answer if this is for you or not, but you.

.

Money for nothing, chicks for free

If the government promises free... free anything... it means they will raise your taxes to pay for it. They have no huge pile of money in reserve. They borrow money and give it to foreign countries, so how exactly are they going to give you something free? There are no free lunches folks. The Democratic Party is real big on offering carrots, but understand that in order to give you something, they have to take something away and that is a huge chunk of your income. The Democrats have ALWAYS raised your taxes. Remember that when you vote in 2020.

Anytime our government promises to give me something for nothing, I envision them as a used car salesman. Why do they want to give me anything when our whole system is set up to pay? Think about it.

"Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it

You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain't workin', that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free

Now that ain't workin', that's the way you do it
Lemme tell ya, them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb

 Somewhere in a politician's life they make the conscientious decision to sell out to the system. Those that don't, get no protection from their colleagues. Those that do, get richer and become the real issue and problem. They are so caught up in the world of politics that they forget the people who voted them into office and like a unsupervised kid at a family reunion, they eat, and eat, and eat and if you don't get your share; tough noogies baby.

To them it is a dog eat dog world and you better grab everything you can while you can, cause they sure as heck are.
.

Distracted Drivers Need Remedial Training!

In response to a friend complaining about traffic congestion on Garth road, I offer this vision:
BB's take: I can get on Garth at SH-146 clear down by Park Street and drive almost all the way to I-10 usually without triggering a light change. Sometimes I catch the red light near Home Depot, but then when it turns green, I can go all the way to I-10, so my experience is not the same as yours with one giant exception.

The dead-heads driving all around me appear to be on some sort of mind-numbing Quaalude-ish drug that delays their reaction to... everything. They will get me stuck at the green light 3 cars back while each of them check their phone and this is the prime reason traffic is congested IMO.
Bump in rush hour traffic and you might as well walk.

Adding more lanes or removing traffic lights will have no impact on traffic congestion until people quit driving while distracted. Road rage should become a legal sport where cars are tagged with a sign that reads "Look at me. I need remedial training!" or "Honk if you love distracted driving!".

Redefining public education in Baytown, Texas

If you could make major changes in how our public schools educate our kids, what direction would you take? I'll go first:

1. Aptitude tests every 3 years (3rd, 6th, & 9th grade) with counselors helping the children recognize their strengths.

2. No more state testing as is currently in place.

3. Reading, writing, and arithmetic heavily stressed first, followed by science, history, & geography.

4. Wood/metal/drafting classes & Home economics for both sexes as mandatory.

5. Turn one of our 3 high schools into a full fledged vocational/technical school with first rate instructors. Students will graduate as 1st class apprentice/entry level journeymen/women in whatever discipline they chose with OJT work programs taking up the 2nd half of the school day.

6. Institute community service for infractions over fining the parents (fist-fights, etc).

7. Extend recess in grade schools for over-active children instead of punishments and color-coded behavior reports.

8. Schools could become competitive based on what disciplines they offer.

Note: I realize these suggestions might not be doable, but I would like folks to explain why they are not and what they would do to make our schools better.

White Supremecy and Joe Biden's Shaky Future

Concerning White Supremacy as being reported by the media: The news media has taken the position to viciously goad "white men" ultimately making all of us into racist demons. If white men respond on any level other than agreement, it is labelled as White Supremacy by politicians and the news media.

The absolute racist thing going on is white people denouncing all white people like we are all alike. "You people!" is not tolerated on any level of the PC spectrum, so why does the news media ignore it?

Why are old white men being grouped together by the Left? Mark my words, it will be old white women next. Don't believe the hyperbolic nonsense.

All that I've written so far is what is being "reported" on a daily basis by the news publishers. It is all baloney. Don't take the bait folks. Look at your friends, we are all different colors and customs and yet, we are friends.

Judge others by their code of conduct, not by their skin color, religion, or culture. If they are peaceful and law-abiding, then we should be good neighbors. There are those among us who delight in spreading discord. Ignore all this stupid rhetoric the talking heads spread and go with your gut. Live in harmony.


Concerning Jo Biden's future announcement to run for President of the United States:  Just an observation here and I may be wrong, but it looks like Joe Biden is going to be systematically removed as a viable candidate by his own party even before he formerly announces he's running. Take note that I'm not saying if he is guilty or not and it may be too early to be obvious. Let's wait and see who else screams foul and I'm sure we won't have to wait long. My take on it is it must have been okay with every Democrat while he was VP, so what's the issue now?

The sad thing is, Joe Biden is a conservative/moderate Democrat and would probably make a good president. However, the current hard Left bent of his party are going to make him look like a Republican to those who want to steer the Democratic party into hard core socialism. I figure Joe will seek out a female for his VP, preferably one who is not openly white, as this would appear to be racist. His safest bet right now is Kamala Harris. She is most likely less than 15% black heritage, but it is enough for her to be the 1st black female VP!

Joe will have a hard time shaking his "old white man" image, regardless of how many female minority candidates he embraces. Then there is all the stuff he said working for Obama that is just not hardcore left enough now warranted by the outspoken stump-standers in the Democratic Party. 

Speaker Pelosi is like a tenderfoot trying to steer a 4 mule team wagon smelling water for the first time in 2 years. She has lost all semblance of strategy and is reactionary toward the fresh-women congress-women who are microphone hungry. Poor Nancy is one step behind every announcement they make, desperately trying to plaster over unplanned holes.

With all the Democratic politicians announcing their candidacy and claiming to have a better plan for the future of the country , it will be interesting to watch them systematically rip each other to pieces to prove they are the golden child.
.