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fun @ the woodlands mall!

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At long last... My Texans Win!

It has been a terrible fall. We have had a car accident, hurricane, and terrible losses for our hometown football team. Especially the last two weeks - very close loses to the Colts & Jags, our divisional opponents.

Today was a rocky outing against the Dolphins. But, Matt Schaub won it on the final play of the game by running it in from the three yard line. A one-point win! Finally the Texans do it.





Is there anything better than a weekend where the Cowboys lose and Texans win? :)

Oh yeah, and the Nittany Lions are #3 in the nation. Another great win for JoePA's squad in Wisconsin. And I actually got to watch the game on ESPN.

Friday Night Breaking News

Friday is the night when most political news breaks. It is because most Americans are not watching. So someone that gets news put out on them on a Friday night thinks the damage control can be easier to deal with in the short term.

Last night saw two pretty big developments:

McCain booed for calling Obama 'decent'
Republican candidate's supporters showing anger at rallies

"If you want a fight, we will fight," McCain said. "But we will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments." When people booed, he cut them off.

"I don't mean that has to reduce your ferocity," he said. "I just mean to say you have to be respectful."

On Friday, McCain rejected the bait.

"I don't trust Obama," a woman said. "I have read about him. He's an Arab."

McCain shook his head in disagreement, and said:

"No, ma'am. He's a decent, family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with (him) on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about."

He had drawn boos with his comment: "I have to tell you, he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."

The anti-Obama taunts and jeers are noticeably louder when McCain appears with Palin, a big draw for GOP social conservatives. She accused Obama this week of "palling around with terrorists" because of his past, loose association with a 1960s radical. If less directly, McCain, too, has sought to exploit Obama's Chicago neighborhood ties to William Ayers, while trying simultaneously to steer voters' attention to his plans for the financial crisis.

Also this...
Ethics Probe: Palin Abused Power

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report to a bipartisan panel that looked into the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.

Neither story really helps McCain very much. The first shows him being quite erratic. And he is confusing his own people. First you ask the insinuating question: "Who is Barack Obama?" And when your own people start chanting Terrorist! - you look away. They sent their VP candidate out there to fire up crowds and it worked. People took it negatively though on the whole. McCain is down by 10% points in most nationwide polls today. So now he grows a spine and tells them to stop and that Obama is a decent man.

One side of me says, "Whew, finally the John McCain I had some respect for." And another side of me says, "Is he just doing this because the polling numbers are down?"

As for Palin... haven't we had enough of "Way to go Brownie!" and the cronyism and abuses of power of the last 8 years? Launching personal vendettas from your elected office is no way to lead. Should someone be asking the question: "Who is Sarah Palin?"

The Obama Campaign has released their own version of "Who is Barack Obama?" It's a 14 minute video clip that shows the Obamas behind the scenes at the national convention. Quite an inside look at just how "dangerous" and "radical" this all-american family is!

fun @ chilis.... wow, my steak burritto. sooooo hot & good!

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@ dinner 4 norma's bday. chuy's mexican in humble. brand new.

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Sad, sad, sad... "Sidewalk to nowhere."

This is video from a McCain line waiting to get into his rally in PA. I'm from Pennsylvania and this just made me feel sick. It is sad that people can act like this. I feel like this campaign is just descending into madness. Why all the hatred?


Why all the hatred? Could it be that McCain/Palin believe it is their only way to win? It's really sick to play on people's fears. If there isn't a strong odor of racism in this video clip... then I have no idea what it is.

I wish people in America could see the look in some of my African-American student's eyes right now. A black man is ahead in the polls and has a chance to become president of the United States of America. Do you know how much good that is going to do for their self confidence and for their community?

I am not someone who thinks that the glass is half empty. This is an opportunity for America. It certainly should not be viewed in any other way.

Oh yeah, do these McCain supporters know that they have probably lost 1/2 their retirements in the stock market in the past week? Maybe there are more important issues than shady character allegations? Maybe that's why Obama is in the lead?

Open House

Tonight was Open House @ school. I had a total of 25 parents. That is less than one of my 6 classes of parents. Ouch. It's a shame, but I wonder how much the hurricane had to do with that? Everyone is still getting back into the groove and many may be working extra hours to compensate for time off from work.

I do love having the chance to meet and greet parents. We do it through a bell schedule and end up with only 10 minutes with each group of parents. So it is a limited look at how the class functions. What I basically do is pull up my website and give them a quick look at how it works. That way when they are at home or at the office they can pull up the website and see how things are going. My Website Here

This year has been great at school though. I love my classes. I love my schedule. It is amazing to work with so many great kids every day. I am really a lucky, lucky guy!

Aidan's First Karate Tournament!

Aidan had a wonderful time today. All the hard work he has put in all summer and fall went towards competing today. He did his forms - steps, kicks and punches. And then he got to do sparing. He lost his match, but he was going up against a SIX year old. Aidan is 3 (he'll be 4 at the end of the month). But, I was so proud of him. He landed two punches! Amazing. I thought for sure he might run out of the ring against a kid almost twice his size. Aidan made us proud!

Check out all of the pictures here: Karate Tournament Pictures







Aidan scores to the chest with a punch! Way to go big man.

Debate Truth Squad

CNN Truth Squad:


Afghanistan Surge? Palin wrong. Wrong commander in the field, wrong facts on his comments.

Obama can't admit the surge worked? He has done that in the past few weeks (guess that wasn't in the newspapers she reads?).

Healthcare? McCain wants to deregulate health care. You can buy across state lines. CNN says Biden misrepresented McCain's claims... but didn't he say he wanted to treat health care more like the banking industry?

Interesting. Biden went through many, many more details in his analysis of foreign policy, economics, health care, etc... yet he didn't make these kinds of misrepresentations of his opponents. It is frustrating to watch a debate like that. I thought the moderator did a horrible job of keeping them on the question and redirecting any questions to take advantage of learning more about their positions. But, it looks like the American people understand what they were watching...


Taxes? Mrs. Palin misrepresented Obama's position on taxes. Period. There is no other way to explain it.

538 - Good News for Obama

On the 538 Polling Site: www.fivethirtyeight.com it looks like Barrack Obama is doing pretty well.



Also the site Electoral-vote.com is a great one. Shows exactly how this thing breaks down.

I really wish we would just do a popular vote. It would take all the mystery out of this thing. And we might actually see a presidential candidate come to Houston for a change! (other than during primary/caucus season)

Really interesting to look at this graph: Click Here for graph of events/polling It shows that just after McCain uttered last Monday that the economy was "fundamentally strong" he has sunk. It's quite dramatic. And an interesting history of the past year.

Who will win? Who knows. But, it is fun to watch.

Congressional Bailout Hugging

Who better to explain just what is going on in DC? The Daily Show: