kagua's Blog

Michael Gonzalez and his wife were traveling on a Texas highway at 100 MPH to take their dying teacup poodle, Missy, to a vet. They were pulled over for speeding and delayed by 15 minutes by a rookie cop who replied,after being informed of the situation, "It's just a dog; you can get another one. relax." Missy died in the car during the ticketing of Gonzalez. Was he right or wrong? I, for one, would go to the ends of the earth to save Zoe's life. She is such a part of the family. I told Brittany that she has really brought us all together because she plays such a part in all of our lives. She does nothing wrong, she's affectionate and amusing, and we all love her dearly.

Deportation of Illegal immigrants. This is a follow-up to an earlier blog I had written about ICE's policy to allow illegals to turn themselves in without fear of prosecution. According to news reports, only one person has turned himself in since the inception of the program which began August 5th. The pilot program, currently taking place in Charlotte, NC, Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, and Santa Ana, CA, ends on August 22nd. A costly media blitz that went nowhere.

Hopefully, I am satisfying Obama's issuance of a statement that we should all be bilingual by attempting to address the topic and using a Spanish heading. I make no claims as to the accuracy of spelling or structure as I am an old bird and my ability to be bilingual is what I have learned from watching Sesame Street when my kids were younger.

I took French in college to bypass the norm, but eked by with a "C."

Has anyone noticed a decrease in the level of good customer service lately? I have been having problems with my Internet and Embarq sent me a new modem. After adhering to the directions to replace it, I was still experiencing problems with my connection.  I had to call them and the CSR sounded so indifferent to my issue. Maybe it was b/c I had had to call them on a regular basis prior to the replacement of said modem and had been labeled, but I am paying dearly for a service that has a monopoly in the area.

It just seems that everwhere I go, CSR's, retail workers, and service personnel are disinterested and do not have the customer's best interests at heart anymore. When I worked, I had such a work ethic and bent over backwards to ensure that my clients received optimum care. I do not see this work ethic in todays workers. Most are lazy, disorganized, and indifferent. Does anyone view this as a widespread problem or is it just me?

The CDC has issued a report stating that the average time of an emergency room wait has increased in time from 36 minutes in 1997 to an hour's  wait today. This includes people having symptoms of a heart attack.  I would like to know what ER's they know of where the wait is only an hour?  The last time I was in the ER at Kinqwood Hospital, I waited for over 3 hours. Prior to that, I was in their ER for around 5 hours, after checking in for chest pain. My BP was elevated and I take heart meds. Kingwood Hospital is repeatedly on a list as being one of the better hospitals in the area. What I'd like to know is has anyone actually been to the ER or taken a family member to one, where the wait has only been an hour?

Apparently, The Texas legislature has voted to decrease the penalty for possessing up to four ounces of marijuana from an arrest and trip to jail to a written citation. So far, Travis and Colorado Counties have implemented the law and Dallas County is preparing to do so. In Harris County, Sheriff Tommy Thomas opposes the law, stating that the offenders probably won't show up for court, resulting in an arrest warrant anyway and candidate Adrian Garcia states it sends the wrong message. District Attorney candidates, Dem Clarence Bradford and Republican Pat Lykos are not totally opposed, but haven't yet committed to a stance on the issue. Bradford believes it will free up the jails for serious offenders while Lykos believes that a person's life shouldn't be ruined by a small amount of pot. Personally, I believe pot should be decriminalized altogether, but writing citations instead of hauling people off to jail for a county sentence of six months to a year, with a possible fine is a step in the right direction. It is no secret that county jails in Texas (especially Harris) are overcrowded and poorly maintained. Most of the people that I know who partake are responsible and hard-working and use marijuana as an alternative to drinking in order to relax.

The Chron this morning ran a story in which it stated that ICE has developed a "strategy" in which illegal immigrants may now voluntarily turn themselves in to avoid becoming victims of roundups and face jail time while waiting to be deported. Illegals will be given the opportunity to walk into ICE and arrange to be processed for a return ticket home without having to face prosecution. In my opinion, that is just another burden on American taxpayers, as the government will be footing the bill for their expenses and transportation as they await their transfer to their homeland. Julie Myers, director of ICE indicated that illegals would rather go home than languish in prison, awaiting deportation. I find that to be a ridiculous notion as the Border Control is already overburdened with the cost and time it takes to capture these scofflaws. Maybe this is part of a Republican strategy to capture the Hispanic vote in November?

This morning, I was the recipient of a Nigerian scam letter in my e-mail. It was poorly written and full of misspelled words. Of course I will not respond to it, but does anyone know how these people get one's e-mail address? Also, is there some type of legal entity that I can forward this letter to? It unnerves me to have received something like this. Several months ago, I got one, deleted it, and that was the end of it. I want to DO something to prevent this from happening again.

There was a blog written a few days ago about how someone was aggravated by the number of panhandlers at intersections. At the corner of 59 and FM 1314 in Porter, there are always young teens holding up signs advertising a car wash or asking for money to support whatever project their school district feels it does not have enough money to support. I know this happens all over the place. There has been so much emphasis on how irresponsibly people drive on this blog, that I was wondering why any parent would allow their child to participate in such a dangerous activity. I know PBmom is currently investigating the state of school districts financial status' in Texas. Are these school districts really that broke that children have to stand on street corners and beg?

Brittany received a citation for speeding for exiting the freeway at 50 MPH into a 40 MPH zone. This was in Humble between Townsend Blvd. and Deerbrook Mall. I went to court with her in Humble and the judge stated that the law in Texas gives the court the right to extend the basic fine another $25 a month for every month one requests a payment plan to pay the ticket. Brittany chose to pay the fine over a period of two months, thereby raising the fine another $50. I'm not paying it, although it would be less expensive all the way around just to attempt (operative word) to have her repay me. She has no job, although it appears that she is diligently attempting to find work. I know most people do speed; she was unfortunate to get caught. I told her when she approaches the exit and knows the speed is going to drop anywhere from 20 to 40 MPH, she needs to begin to slow down far in advance of the exit. I suppose what I am trying to get at is that people who do drive at unsafe speeds need to realize that their elitist attitude to get there ASAP makes it difficult for people who actually drive the speed limit. It is so frustrating trying to maintain a safe speed and have someone bear down and tailgate you. This happens to me all the time. Does anyone think that it's possible that people would adhere if the 55 MPH limit was once again imposed on freeways?

Area law enforcement has stated that a suspected drunk driver will be mandated to submit an on-the-spot blood alcohol level as a deterrent to the crop of drunken fools that continue to ride our streets and highways. I have friends insisting that this is an invasion of their privacy. I think it is a good idea. I admit I had my share of drunk-driving when I was young and stupid, but I don't even drink anymore. I have heard so many state, "I drive better when I'm drunk." Malarkey! Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and affects thinking, coordination, and body organs. Too many people, innocent and not have died because of being drunk behind the wheel.

It doesn't seem like this topic will ever go away, does it? Horn did an interview with the Chron and appears truly remorseful. His life has changed since the incident and he is isolative and afraid. I believe him. he is not a natural born killer. He feels he made a mistake. Put it into perspective: Two illegals, one who had already been deported for a drug crime are in the commission of a crime. An officer even testified that one of them was charging Horn.Now the so-called widow is crying all over TV. She probably has a houseful of stolen goods. After all, wasn't it discovered that these two illegals were part of a gang of burglars that had been stealing for months? Quannell is riling her up to seek some type of legal recourse for the death of Torres. The case is over, justice has been done and it's time to move on.

There have been so many cases of horrific child abuse in the news lately. Last night, I watched a movie on Showtime called "An American Crime." It was based on a true story of a case in Indiana in 1965 in which carnival workers left their two daughters in the care of a mentally unbalanced woman with several children of her own. One of the girls managed to raise the ire of the woman, Gertrude Barczenski. This woman beat this girl, burned her with cigarettes, and even involved her own and several neighborhood children in the torture of this poor child. She (the girl) eventually died and Barczenski was brought to trial, convicted of murder and served twenty years of a life term. In this case, I do not feel the punishment fit the crime. I have never understood what compells people to abuse children. Even when kids act out, there is no reason to hurt and torture them. A potty-training accident from a three-year-old reslulted in the death of that child. Baby Grace purportedly "disobeyed" that step-father. What is wrong with these people? Then, why would an adult attempt to sexually gratify himself with a toddler (or any child, for that matter)?

I was talking to my husband about some of my ventures as a teen and I disclosed to him that my friends and I used to hitchhike all across the East coast. We had no fear which is consistent with an adolescent mind-set, but in those days, we had little reason to fear. Then again, maybe we did, b/c issues such as child abuse did not surface like they do now. Point is, nothing ever happened to us. People would put us up in their homes, feed us, and some would even go as far as to take us to our desired locations without any expectations. Every summer, my friend and I, also coincidentally named Karen, would take off for parts unknown. We always returned home, safe and sound.  I cannot imagine anyone doing that in these times.

Anyhow, I appreciate the fact that Fox News offers the public a service like Predator Check. It is gratifying to know that someone in the community attempts to make a difference by putting that information out there to keep viewers aware and give us the opportunity to put these sickos behind bars.

There is controversy abuzz about the existence of a purportedly secret team of sheriff's deputies who spied on the Ibarra brothers after they sued the department for civil rights violations. No records were kept and Tommy Thomas is mum on the topic. Is it entirely possible that the Harris County Sheriff's Department could employ a group of men unknown to the public to carry out their dirty work? I think so!

I, for one, cannot wait to see Randy Wallace's piece on the New Caney ISD. That is a close-mouthed bunch if I ever saw one. When my daughter was in 9th grade there, she was fondled on the bus by an older male student (she graduated last year). I reported it to the high school principal, who in turn, directed me to one of the assistant principals, Mrs. Fovarg (spelling?). Anyhow, campus police were called in and after speaking with the boy, nothing was done for lack of evidence. My daughter was terrified of this boy; I had to drive her to school and pick her up until he graduated. I also spoke with Cindee Reynolds about this. She is (or was) the executive assistant to Rick Cowan, who was the superintendent at the time. I did not know at the time that I could have pursued this matter through other legal outlets, such as the Montgomery County Sheriff's office. They essentially swept it under the rug.  My daughter really suffered emotionally because of this and I had to take her to counseling. She also swallowed some of my medication, in addition to what I considered a case of PTSD.

I was not surprised to see the short vignette in which Fox 26 News was threatened and asked to leave on the morning newscast. That is typical of their mind-set.

Zoe has been scratching frequently and after checking her for fleas and finding none, I became concerned. I use K9-Advantix so I did not think that would be the problem. The areas she scratches are her back near her tail and her neck. I saw white flakes in those areas and assumed it to be dry skin, so I started giving her fish oil capsules. I then began wondering if she had mange. I always associated mange with balding, dirty dogs. After doing an Internet search, I found there is a type of mange called Cheyletiollis in which the symptoms (may) include scratching and evidence of white flakes resembling dandruff to the affected areas. Needless to say, she is on her way to the vet. She plays with one of my neighbors dogs and although they are outside dogs, I have never noticed anything amiss in their coats. I bathe her weekly and her shampoo costs more than mine! I wanted to bring her to the picnic, but I will have to forego that because until a diagnosis is confirmed (she can't see the vet until Monday), I do not want her to possibly infect other dogs. Poor Zoe!