View Full Version : Local news from Houston, TX
Being a Native Texan, I worry about the state of affairs in Houston when I hear this:
From KPRC, Channel 2 in Houston today - two headlines:
- 3 Teens Die Trying To Beat Train
HOUSTON -- Three teens died late Wednesday after their car went through railroad crossing arms, collided with an Amtrak train and caught fire, deputies said.
Harris County sheriff's deputies said the driver tried to cross in front of a passenger train along Beaumont Highway at C.E. King Parkway at about 11 p.m.
Investigators said the engineer sounded the train's horn and applied its emergency brakes, but was not able to avoid hitting the car.
"The three occupants in the vehicle, two Hispanic males and one Hispanic female, were found to have no signs of life here on the scene," Lt. Daryl Coleman said.
Deputies said none of the teens was carrying any identification. The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office planned to conduct autopsies to identify them and determine if any of them were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Witnesses told detectives that the driver went to extreme measures to try to beat the train.
"According to witnesses, as well as the engineer on the train, the driver of the vehicle disregarded the railroad warnings and went through the railroad arms," Coleman said.
Blinking lights at the track also warned that a train was on the way.
The train hit the passenger side of the car and pushed it about 2,000 feet down the tracks before the car caught fire.
and this one - lucky kid:
- Teen Shot After Shooting At Deputy
HOUSTON -- A teenager was shot after he opened fire on a deputy constable on Thursday, officials told KPRC Local 2.
A Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constable said he saw two teenagers walking down Briar Creek Boulevard at about 6:45 a.m.
The teens appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, investigators said.
One of the teens pulled a gun while the deputy patted him down, officials said.
"That's when the suspect began to run away from him," Capt. Steve Whitton said. "When the officer grabbed his arm the guy pointed a weapon at him. He drew the weapon and pointed it at the officer."
Investigators said the teen fired shots at the officer.
Detectives said the deputy fired one shot at the teenager, who managed to hide from deputies for more than an hour.
The teen was found in the back yard of a home nearby, officials said. He had been shot in the buttocks. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Deputies said the teen, whose name was not released, could face charges of attempted murder of a peace officer.
The second teen was taken into custody without incident.
Investigators are working to determine how many shots the teen fired.
The deputy was not injured.
The three played chicken with a train and lost. Sounds like a lack of education, discipline and judgment.
The kid drew down on an LE Officer, just what did he think was going to happen? Looks like the same three problem as with the train.
The Reaper
08-23-2007, 13:13
Darwin was right.
At least about the driver, and the wannabe gunfighter.:rolleyes:
Another reason not to let your kids hang out with stupid people.
TR
Sir, you are right to be concerned. Similar incidents occur in San Antonio with some frequency.
SFS0AVN mentioned a lack of education, and there is strong evidence that he's correct. For example:
In Texas, more than 6 million adults -- half of the adult population -- are functionally illiterate.
This is a quotation from a State Senator's web page (LINK (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist13/pr97/p022697a.htm).) Granted, the information is a decade old; however, I see no indication that matters have improved.
Along with the Darwin awards, please include this school teacher from Bandera, caught with cocaine in her desk at the school. LINK (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA082307.2B.exteacher.indicted.2e7821f.html)
Interesting times we live in.
82ndtrooper
08-23-2007, 14:26
This is not isolated only to the state Texas or for that matter anywhere in the United States.
Columbine was the first time that our eyes were opened, at least on a national scale, to the outcomes of teenagers who have developed personality disorders as a result of bad parenting, peer unaproval, single parented homes, drug experimentation or drug addiction, and many causes to rich in the concept of the decline of simple family values, religion, and lessons in morality.
We were once a docile community, little in the way of crime, drugs and or any real violence. Now we have a gang war over our turf. Just Sunday night, the night before school started we experienced our first sight of gang related graffiti art on the back of the garages of my town home complex. This has got all the retired folk scared to death. We found bottles of vodka, drug paraphernalia, and of course the "La Style" gang art on the back of the garages between buildings #24 and 25 of town home community.
We have an awful lot of roofing, plumbing, painting and other such business that require hard labor in this county. After all it's Kentucky and many do in fact make a living with single pick up truck and some tools stuffed in the back. Now what was once an opportunity for young students in college to take a part time job in the summer is now going to Mexican illegals. Cheap labor and not without the crime that one would expect from a surge in illegals suddenly living into what was once a highly religious, southern Baptist and Catholic community. We are almost 100% white caucasion and now that complexion is changing rapidly.
We now have an epidemic of herion use in the county high school and other schools, private, that are within the county. Crime is increasing each year, and violent crime is also on the rise. There's is a correlation between drug use and crime and illegal immigrants and crime. Whether some want to believe it or not. There is in fact a "Cause and effect" relationship.
One liberal neighbor actually asked me about shotguns for home defense just this week. I suppose being anti gun is all good when you live in the Hamptons of the New York, but when it's creeping into your back yard, then a gun doesn't seem so unreasonable.:rolleyes:
Team Sergeant
08-23-2007, 14:56
Sir, you are right to be concerned. Similar incidents occur in San Antonio with some frequency.
SFS0AVN mentioned a lack of education, and there is strong evidence that he's correct. For example:
In Texas, more than 6 million adults -- half of the adult population -- are functionally illiterate.
This is a quotation from a State Senator's web page (LINK (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist13/pr97/p022697a.htm).) Granted, the information is a decade old; however, I see no indication that matters have improved.
Along with the Darwin awards, please include this school teacher from Bandera, caught with cocaine in her desk at the school. LINK (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA082307.2B.exteacher.indicted.2e7821f.html)
Interesting times we live in.
nmap,
I just read something the other day (cannot remember the source) that stated 1/4 of all the illegals live in Texas. IMO that might account for a large number of the "functionally illiterate".
(I did a college paper on the South Carolina "functionally illiterate", a sad state of affairs.)
TS
Darwin was right.
At least about the driver, and the wannabe gunfighter.:rolleyes:
Another reason not to let your kids hang out with stupid people.
TR
Darwinism is another way of saying the gene pool just got chlorinated.
We have a problem here in Florida too. This past month we had one Deputy shot in the face by a guy who was "scared of going to jail for running a red light". Another Deputy was shot and killed while investigating a suspicious car at a Walgreens, and one more shot and killed while he was just driving down the road.
All this and the higher crime rates, and now they're talking about cutting the force. Gotta love the politicians....
nmap,
I just read something the other day (cannot remember the source) that stated 1/4 of all the illegals live in Texas. IMO that might account for a large number of the "functionally illiterate".
(I did a college paper on the South Carolina "functionally illiterate", a sad state of affairs.)
TS
Thank you, Sir. The numbers don’t surprise me. We’re getting a massive influx that shows no sign of abating.
The problem is, we have a large (and entirely legal) population of Hispanics with poor skills – they’re simply not prepared for the job market. Still worse, these households seem to be falling behind in education. The local community college (ACCD) has developed programs that reach out to local residents as early as the third grade, based on studies that suggest the patterns have to be modified by age 9 to be effective.
One paper mentions:
The most significant challenge facing the Latino community is the low educational achievement level among Latinos. Over the last 2 decades, the Latino-White high school completion gap has persisted around 30 percentage points. Gaps in school completion rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students remain after controlling for social class, language proficiency, and immigrant status. In mathematics, science, and reading, the South places below national averages, Latinos lag behind Whites, and Southern Latinos lag even further behind. The dropout rate for Hispanics is 2.5 times the rate for Blacks and 3.5 times the rate for Whites.
LINK (http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED456961&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED456961)
The consequences of further arrivals of cheap labor, combined with an existing pool of unskilled workers, are predictable. Increased crime seems to be a likely outcome. If my views about the fallout of Mexico’s declining oil production turn out to be true, the problem will get quite a lot worse.
Sir, if you were inclined to do so, and it wasn’t too much trouble, I would very much like to read your paper on functional illiteracy. One of my interests is the transition of education from traditional classrooms to an online format; but the large numbers of functionally illiterate people in our society could render that problematic. I need to develop a deeper understanding of the problem of illiteracy.
Team Sergeant
08-31-2007, 10:37
Sir, if you were inclined to do so, and it wasn’t too much trouble, I would very much like to read your paper on functional illiteracy. One of my interests is the transition of education from traditional classrooms to an online format; but the large numbers of functionally illiterate people in our society could render that problematic. I need to develop a deeper understanding of the problem of illiteracy.
nmap,
I didn't keep a copy of that paper on functional illiteracy in South Carolina, but this video drives home the point of that paper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQa7brnDapA
nmap,
I didn't keep a copy of that paper on functional illiteracy in South Carolina, but this video drives home the point of that paper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQa7brnDapA
She is the perfect wife candidate. She Will not bore you when she talks (You will have a hard time not laughing), she will have no Idea when you say I am going over XXXX that it is around the block to a bar (she has no map) and if you put her in front of a mirror she is entertained talking to her self. What more can yo ask for. Oh She is not bad looking. Well Better look at Mom first to see what she will look like in 5 years. :munchin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQa7brnDapAI must of watched that video at least a dozen times.
I'm still confused about her answer.:munchin
Stay safe.
Surgicalcric
08-31-2007, 13:18
...I'm still confused about her answer...
So is she. :D
Crip
nmap,
I didn't keep a copy of that paper on functional illiteracy in South Carolina, but this video drives home the point of that paper:
Thank you, Sir.
The answers given by the young lady are good for a laugh...but then I reflect on the implications of her ability to vote. In essence, she participates in setting national policy, both foreign and domestic. As you suggest, she is not alone.
One consequence, which seems likely to play out over the next 6 months to 1 year will be the mortgage issue. A variety of adjustable rate contracts will reset to higher rates through January. After the increased payments hit, some time will pass before default and subsequent foreclosure. All of that has implications for the economy, as well as the upcoming elections.
Would the person in the video understand a mortgage contract? I think not. Would she howl for a bailout when it went sour? I'd suppose she would.
Perhaps I'll run around the barnyard squawking for a bit. :)
Again, thank you, Sir. I believe I'll forward the video to a few friends.
Dave
Not just Iraq, but "The Iraq." Kinda like The Ohio State University.
Team Sergeant
09-02-2007, 11:16
Thank you, Sir.
The answers given by the young lady are good for a laugh...but then I reflect on the implications of her ability to vote. In essence, she participates in setting national policy, both foreign and domestic. As you suggest, she is not alone.
One consequence, which seems likely to play out over the next 6 months to 1 year will be the mortgage issue. A variety of adjustable rate contracts will reset to higher rates through January. After the increased payments hit, some time will pass before default and subsequent foreclosure. All of that has implications for the economy, as well as the upcoming elections.
Would the person in the video understand a mortgage contract? I think not. Would she howl for a bailout when it went sour? I'd suppose she would.
Perhaps I'll run around the barnyard squawking for a bit. :)
Again, thank you, Sir. I believe I'll forward the video to a few friends.
Dave
She and those like her are the very reason the President is addressing the "predatory lending laws" this week. I guess we have a duty to protect the stupid from those that would separate them from their money.....
"A fool and their money are soon parted."
"There's a sucker born every minute."
It will never end.
Team Sergeant
Monsoon65
09-02-2007, 15:23
Not just Iraq, but "The Iraq." Kinda like The Ohio State University.
And she mentioned South Africa, too. I think she was trying to shoehorn as many buzzwords as she could in her speech. I'm surprised she didn't mention Global Warming, too.
After that got spread all over the internet, I'm willing to bet she's at home right now with big circular indentation in her forehead from the rifle barrel she had pressed against it.
After that got spread all over the internet, I'm willing to bet she's at home right now with big circular indentation in her forehead from the rifle barrel she had pressed against it.
She might not be distressed in any way. Perhaps she is more representative of the norm than we might prefer.
LINK (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20381678/)
Poll: One in four adults read no books last year
One in four adults read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and older people were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices.