Confirmation...

Over the past week, several folks have questioned my lack of comment on the John Roberts' confirmation hearings. Well, I guess I'll stop the silence.

As you may have guessed, I was glued to C-Span. I watched these hearings at home, streamed them on my desktop at work, and watched the reruns at night. For geeks like me, this was a true World Series. And I took great joy in seeing it.

Watching Sen. Kennedy question this brilliant judge, well, I have to admit that I could not help but imagine a manatee and a tiger playing tag. Take your own guess as to which was which as Kennedy clearly was reading staff written questions and had no idea what the questions (let alone their answers) meant.

But anyone watching could clearly see that Roberts is a great legal mind. One of the greatest of his generation. Further, he is a gentleman and a man of high moral character, as has been testified to time and time again by a host of witnesses.

So why then was I not outraged by the grilling he received from Democratic members of the committee? Why was I not shocked and appalled at the prevailing winds of disrespect spewed forth by these liberal blow-hards? Why should I be?

Such hearing are primarily pageantry. Certainly most senators knew exactly how they'd vote before the hearing had begun. I doubt any of the undecided were concerned with the questions and answers themselves, but rather will opt to vote as the polls suggest.

This is a fine and beautiful and still educational pageant that offers a great deal of insight into the man who will surely become our next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Yet it is predictable in its tone. The beauty is in the execution. Maybe rather than a sport, we should compare it to a play. And the actors here were superb. So to me, this was a thing of joy and beauty.

God Bless America.

An Open Letter to Our Republican Representatives

Like all Texans, and all Americans, my heart aches for the losses
dealt by Katrina. Certainly we must do a great deal to assist in
rebuilding this area and supporting nature's victims as they find
their feet. I watched the President's speech from New Orleans, and
echo his sentiments. Likewise, I support the general concept of the
plans he laid forth.

As always, we who you represent, rely on you to assure that these
plans are carried out in a fiscally responsible, transparent,
accountable, and prudent fashion. Should the authorizing legislation
NOT guarantee sufficient results in these areas, I pray you will find
the moral clarity to correct that situation.

Further, I must urge you, find a fiscally prudent method to pay
for such reforms and relief efforts. That method clearly should be
reduced spending in other areas.
Across the board, non-defense cuts are an obvious option, as is
delaying new programs, or simply wiping a few from the slate entirely.
But I'd also warn you not to over-look recent mistakes.

I'll remind you that the Republican Party is made of a variety of
conservatives. Social, fiscal, foreign policy: yet, we all unite under
one tent: fiscal. Truth is half the Democrats out here in the real
world join us on those principals. Here in our own households we have
to live within our needs, and even less as we try to save for rainy
days. We feel you in Washington should do the same.

Of course I say this to reassure you that the recent universal
failing, in the form of a pork-laden Transportation Bill, has not been
missed here in the trenches. Frankly, we were shocked and outraged. It
is not unusual to see those with only a casual interest in politics
feeling disgusted and distrustful of politicians. But to see these
same feelings of abandonment from within the ranks of the party loyal…
I am truly ashamed and disheartened.

Perhaps this is one of the silver linings we might find from
Katrina, an opportunity for you to step back and right recent wrongs.
To repeal this self-indulgent legislation, strip out the pork and free
up those funds for disaster relief.

Knowing full well that such action may not completely cover
costs, I feel without such a gesture, credibility within the party
will be inevitably lost. This is a vital first step in growing the
confidence of our Republican brethren as we approach mid-term
elections. Our faithful need to know you remain with us. We need to
know that we are electing accurate representation.

God speed and God bless,

Austin Moore

A blog without ideas...

Haven't posted much lately. Been busy. Been brain dead. Been a long week. I'll try harder next week...

In Tribute to a Passing Great...

"O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
- Star-Spangled Banner v.4, Francis Scott Key, 1814

Farewell, Justice Rehnquist. We shall miss you.

Northgate, Nerds, and Nincompoop Legislatures...

Okay, so just a quick post of outrage.

So I'm a nerd. And the other day while flipping channels, I stumbled across a rebroadcast of our city council discussing the drinking ban in the Northgate promenade. Yes, I stopped and watched, for a good while I watched. I am a nerd.

Now here's the quick deal about Northgate and the promenade...

Northgate is the main bar district in College Station. Oh, we have restaurants and a few retail shops there as well, but its known for its beer. Ever heard of the Dixie Chicken? Its there. So a few years ago, in order to move drunks off the sidewalks in front of Northgate (one of the busiest streets in town), as well as for economic development and to just make the place look pretty... our city council spent $18 million dollars...still not sure how they did that...creating the Northgate promenade. This is a nice little place behind the bars with brick pavers and benches and whatnot. And its nice. They did a nice job building it even if they over-spent by about 17..5 million

Point was, on a nice night, you could walk out with your beer or drink of choice and sit with your friends in the night air and be safe and joyful. Now, some dipwads started bringing their own booze and blah blah blah, the police claim there was an escalation of crime and so on. Now, I dunno. I'll accept their word.

But how does the city respond, and this is where I get ticked off, by banning drinking in the promenade. Great, they just created an $18 million dollar park that no one would visit unless they were drinking, and they ban drinking there. Brilliant.

But to their credit, its not all their fault. The state regulation on liquor licenses is so bought and paid for by lobbyists, and thus SO complex that the city really didn't have much choice anyhow. It seems there every bar could agree to pay for licensing part of the promenade, so long as they barricaded between these. However, the state is okay with that barricade being cheap orange construction fence, of course...

Basically, its ridiculous. I'm pissed at the city council for wasting $18 million dollars without bothering to even look into legality, I'm pissed at the legislature for making such ridiculous laws, and I'm pissed because writing all of this is making me mighty thirsty for a Killian's, and its only 8:43 am.

Sooner-Loser...

I just got my new Lexus RX400H, but returned to the dealer the next day, because I couldn't figure out how the radio worked. The salesman explained that the radio was voice activated.

"Watch this," he said. "Nelson!"

The radio replied "Ricky or Willie?"

"Willie!" he said... and "On the Road Again" came from the speakers.

I drove away happy, and for the next few days, every time I'd say "Beethoven" I'd get beautiful classical music, and if I said "Beatles" I'd get one of their awesome songs.

One day, a couple ran a red light, and nearly creamed my new car, but I swerved in time to avoid them. I yelled A**HOLES!" and....

"Boomer Sooner" blared out of my speakers.

GO POKES!!