I love a good suit. I'm usually a little too particular to buy one from Men's Wearhouse, but this sounded like a good deal and I thought I'd pass it along.

Here are some tips when buying a suit:
1. Do not buy a double-breasted suit. These don't even look good on David Letterman
2. What suits are must haves? Navy blue, Black pinstripe (not chalk stripe), Charcoal Grey, and then you can expand into patterns like houndstooth, glenplaid, and I wish you people in Texas knew what seersucker was.
3. Always have your suit altered! Have the jacket taken in. It should not hang on you like a cloak. Eliminate the pleats. Some tailors will bitch at you for this, but a flat front suit is very high-end looking. Also, get rid of those damn cuffs. Ugh, that's so gross. Request a very slight break, too much and it looks like you shrunk.

Happy shopping! And, if you are too good for Men's Wearhouse (I totally understand), I hear Brooks Brothers is having a sale!

The vote was 60 Ayes, 39 Nays and 1 Not Voting. Who was the one? Senator John McCain. As usual, who were the 39 Nays comprised of? Our very own, Cornyn (R-TX), Nay & Hutchison (R-TX), Nay both cozied up next to Larry "Wide Stance" Craig to vote Nay on the hate crimes bill.

President Clinton makes me laugh. I find it hilarious that you can just get on the news and it cause controversy because you tell the truth. Listen to how angry he gets just telling the truth about the GOP.

Hey Rick" Your new digs may not be constitutional. . No problem-- how about considering this place?

Personally, we'd support a constitutional amendment to get him out of town.

Wonder if this is marketing opportunity for PD? We could all contribute to buy PD a pink Oreck Vacuum or some pink Frango mints. PD may want to post a registry!

We'll begin our annual Breast Cancer Awareness campaign on Monday. We strongly encourage everyone to "Think Pink" and not just in October.

A federal judge has ruled that provisions of the Patriot Act are unconstitutional, claiming they are a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. I don't know why, but it just sounds so quaint to hear judges talking about the Bill of Rights. When is the last time there was an administration that was consistently accused of violating our rights granted by the constitution?

It's just so...Patrick Henry.

Governor Perry is moving in.

Here's Jenna Bush's interview with Glamour Magazine. I made it to page 3 before I gave up.

Seriously. There has been another one of those bizarre amoeba deaths in Arizona. It's the same thing that people here in Texas have died from. Have you heard about this? It's some amoeba that attaches itself to the olfactory nerve and kills you within two weeks. That is so messed up. Let's all panic and not ever go in the water again.

Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs convicted. Sentencing hearing set for November 20th. Still creepy. FWST

From In Fact Daily...

Democrats seek top post . . . Three candidates are currently running for Travis County Democratic Party Chair. Fidel Acevedo, Andy Brown and Rosie Mendoza have said they want to lead the rambunctious Democrats through the 2008 election. Mark Nathan is consulting for Brown; Mendoza, who also serves as Sen. Kirk Watson’s campaign treasurer, has hired Alfred Stanley. David Butts, a friend of Brown’s, said the contest could cost each of the candidates upwards of $30,000. Bearing in mind this is a job that involves LOTS of fundraising, maybe it’s good practice

Do you ever feel like the airline industry is being held together with bubble gum? Yesterday's radar and communications outage at the Memphis Center only highlights the antiquated systems used by air traffic controllers. Flight delays and an airline's response to them are so awful that the congress is reviewing legislation to create a passenger bill of rights! Customer service is laughable, airport security a joke and prices are continuing to go up. On top of all that, the airlines aren't hiring flight attendants because they have laid so many off that they can bring them back and not hire new people. You know what that means? The flight attends are old. I mean rickety old, too.

I hate to say it, but maybe congress does need to get involved. The FAA needs more funding and a mandate to upgrade equipment and the industry as a whole needs a swift kick in the ass.

George Herbert Walker Bush's pool boy from his compound in Maine talked about his experiences working for the uber-rich in Maine.

Razsa recalls one day when former first lady Barbara Bush was on her way over, and it looked like there wouldn't be time to bring the pool's temperature up to her desired 82 degrees in time. The family's caretaker was in a panic, he says.

"He kept shouting, 'Barbara will go crazy! Barbara will go crazy!'"

Mormon leader Warren Jeffs has been charged with rape by accomplice (in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl to her 19-year-old cousin) and deliberations for his trial resumed Tuesday after a juror was replaced. Jeffs, the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints led the church, which moved into a large complex in Eldorado, TX (approx. 145 southwest of Abilene) in 2002.

According to the FWST, Jeffs could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

Check out some pictures from the Mormon complex named Yearn for Zion.

Ex-church members say he reigns with an iron fist, demanding perfect obedience from followers.

That kind of shit creeps me out. Kind of like the Movementarians.

The LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (not related to global -- but yes to other types of warming) -- ought to be real recruitment tool for some colleges -- just not in Iran, since that country is NOT gay!!

Texas schools on the list include: Texas State in San Marcos and UT (Austin and San Antonio). Notably absent was A&M. We hear it's kind of like Iran there.

I have two things for this category.
First--Bill O'Reilly's comments about eating in a restaurant owned by black people:

Bill O’Reilly reported that he “had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful,” adding: “I couldn’t get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia’s restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it’s run by blacks, primarily black patronship.”

Later, during a discussion with National Public Radio senior correspondent and Fox News contributor Juan Williams about the effect of rap on culture, O’Reilly asserted: “There wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s who was screaming, ‘M-Fer, I want more iced tea.’ You know, I mean, everybody was — it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn’t any kind of craziness at all.”

Some dude from West Virginia sent a text message to a phone number he thought belonged to his friend. The message was the idiot asking his friend if he wanted to buy some reefer. The text was received by a state trooper who set up a bust. That really sucks for that guy. (Chron)

Lesson to be learned: Don't make any drug deals over text messages. Buy your drugs from Mexico...or the Capitol Extension.

The Park Cities People believes that George and Laura will call Highland Park or University Park home after they leave the White House.

Larry Kilgore is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. His website first contains a test to see if you are a good Christian. The home page also includes an auto-playing YouTube video that I had to shut down when it started out with Operation Rescue. The web site also contains a photograph of a mass grave of Jews.

Kilgore got 50,000 votes last time he ran. Here are some of his platform issues:

Judges will execute those convicted of bestiality (Ex. 22:19; Lev. 20:15-16); those convicted of incest including with in-laws (Lev. 11-12, 14-15, 17, 19-21); of homosexual acts (Lev. 18:22, 29; 20:13); of child molestation; of kidnapping or rape (Ex. 21:15-16; Deut. 22:25-27; 24:7); and of adultery with a married woman (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22; Ex. 20:14). Judges will flog those convicted of fornication; of public use of vulgar sexual and excretory language; of sexually suggestive dress or behavior; of intoxication; and of possession of pornography. Judges will flog more severely those convicted of transvestism; of public nudity; and of distributing pornography. And judges will flog more severely still those convicted of prostitution; of producing pornography for any use; and of sexual acts in public places.

The latest candidate to catch my attention is Alan Steinberg. A 25 year-old from Sugarland, Texas, home of previous douche, Tom DeLay. Alan even has a MySpace page. He's so social networking, this guy!

Why is he a douche? This is why, on his bio this sentence confirms all you need to know about Alan. Opportunist, douche. From his bio:

2001 was a decisive year for Alan; a witness to the tragic Houston flood during the summer and later to the horrors of 9/11, Alan decided to focus his efforts on the issues of homeland security and emergency management.

Second, tragic flood? In Sugarland? Really? Were you out there in a skiff rescuing poor people from their roof?

Lastly, I know a lot of people that were affected by 9/11. For kids like Alan, it was the first dramatic event to happen in their lifetimes. A lot of them ran off and joined the military. I'm not sure how many of them thought, HEY! This would be a good time to get into the whole Emergency Management thing, that will be an awesome career move. It sure is a growing industry, Alan, so we'll give you that.

Witness, my ass.

This guy is either totally nuts or so out of touch with his country that he doesn't know what he's working with. I can see it now --- Iran will become the new sanctuary for homophobic members of the Moral Majority.

In other news, his comedy bit was a huge success. He'll be here all week!

What better way to continue reminding people of the above than to hold a big ol' party for Giuliani and aim to collect $9.11 per person. I mean, shit, they're not even trying to be subtle about it anymore.

A supporter of Rudy Giuliani's is throwing a party that aims to raise $9.11 per person for the Republican's presidential campaign.

Abraham Sofaer is having a fundraiser at his Palo Alto, Calif., home on Wednesday, when Giuliani backers across the country are participating in the campaign's national house party night.

But Sofaer said he had nothing to do with the "$9.11 for Rudy" theme.

"There are some young people who came up with it," Sofaer said when reached by telephone Monday evening. He referred other questions to Giuliani's campaign.

Does this creep you out?

The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry on their journeys and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials.

Reading that the government is tracking where you go, who you stay with when you get there, what you take along to read and what personal items you took on the trip sounds to me like the Russia I grew up with in the cold war. We were scared shitless of Russia and and how oppressed their people were. Remember being afraid they'd send a nuclear bomb over and we'd all be forced into farm labor by Communists?

I'll be glad to send the government the title of the book I'm reading right now. It's called "You're an Asshole."

I stumbled upon great public transportation blogger, M1EK's blog about automobile drivers paying for new roads and road improvements. Exactly how are we collecting money to pay for new roads in the ever-urbanizing city limits of Austin? There was a national study on Streetsblog, which I didn't bother to read. I'm more interested in an analysis of where our road money comes from within the city limits of Austin.

Someone break that shit down for us.

The U.S. says that nearly 90 percent of all cocaine entering the U.S. comes through Mexico. First, is this number based on cocaine seized? Estimated cocaine in the U.S. or just a number some government official pulled out of his ass before doing a booty bump?

Every time I read a story about the drug trafficking in Mexico to the United States, the report paints a picture of lawlessness, corruption and incompetence. What I don't understand is why the feds are turning a blind eye to our drug addicted neighbor. Maybe it's time for an intervention.

Blogs are such an influence in mainstream media, political campaigns and foreign policy that even the State Department has a "Digital Outreach Team" posting comments on blogs visited by Arabs. I found this fascinating that the government has embraced the New Media Frontier with such enthusiasm.

Look at me....applauding the feds. I must be off my meds.

Last night I was flipping channels and came upon Scott Pelley's interview of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 60 Minutes. I don't know what I expected, but I have to admit I was disappointed in the interview. Pelley's reports are usually of a better quality. Some of Pelley's comments and questions in this interview were just laughable, such as his question to Ahmadinejad, "What trait do you admire in President Bush?", his calling Bush "a religious man" (ha!), and his reading Iran's President some comments from Bush:

I asked President Bush what he would say to you if he were sitting in this chair. And he told me, quote, speaking to you, that you've made terrible choices for your people. You've isolated your nation. You've taken a nation of proud and honorable people and made your country the pariah of the world. These are President Bush's words to you. What's your reply to the president?

I'm not saying I agree with Ahmadinejad or his politics, but he threw some great barbs at Bush.

I think Mr. Bush, if he wants his party to win the next election, there are cheaper ways and ways to go about this. I can very well give him a few ideas so that the people vote for him. He should respect the American people. They should not bug the telephone conversations of their citizens. They should not kill the sons and daughters of the American nation. They should not squander the taxpayers' money and give them to weapons companies. And also help the people, the victims of Katrina. People will vote for them if they do these things. But if they insist on what they are saying right now, this will not help them.

Was the interview supposed to make Ahmadinejad appear well-spoken and Pelley look ridiculous? If so, mission accomplished. The whole interview is online. Maybe the parts not shown on tv are deeper and more objective, but from what I saw, I kinda doubt it. Did any of y'all see the interview? What did you think?

60 Minutes: Ahmadinejad Interview

An event to open the UT Center for something about politics invited speakers to discuss the future of Texas politics. Mutually Assured Destruction was the overall conclusion. The well-qualified political consultants in Texas outlined the growth of the Hispanic population as key to future electoral gains in Texas (and the nation). As the fastest growing minority, the voting patterns of the Hispanic population provides a guidemap for political election predicting.

Hispanics account for 50% of the country's population growth between 2000 and 2004, but only accounted for 1/10th of the growth in votes cast. In Texas, Hispanics account for nearly 30% of the voter turnout.

The Republican Party has discovered that if they can garner 20% of the Hispanic vote, they'll win the election. The Democrats have discovered they like queso and margaritas.

When I worked in another industry, we hired a lot of people. The hiring process was pretty regimented and included full background checks and drug screens. There is one story where I learned to ask a new interview question I would previously never had cross my mind.

One night, an employee called me at home. This particular level of employee had two levels of management between her and me, so I was wondering what was so serious that she felt it was ok to call her boss' boss' boss. As she rambled on I imagined the ass-shredding I was going to give her immediate supervisor. When I got past my confusion of how and why she thought it would be ok to call me and ramble on the phone at night, I cut her off. I asked her if there was something related to work that she needed to share with me. I assured her that our policy is not to retaliate against anyone bringing something to our attention.

She paused, and said, "I don't want to lose my job. I like my job." Again, I assured her that our company policy protects employees, thinking I was about to get some dirty news about something, I listened intently for her reply. She said, "I killed someone and I was thinking that since it didn't show up in my background checks I should be able to keep my job, right? I like this job."

That's right. We'd hired a murderer. Murderess, excuse me. Her supervisors did receive a call that night. I put those managers on a conference call with human resources and by midnight we had gotten over the shock and fired the murderer. I never let those two managers live that down, either. Anytime they questioned my hiring skills all I had to do was say, "Uhm, I'm not the one that hired a murderer."

I don't know how that conviction and jail time got through our background checks, but it did. It reminds me that just because there are systems in place to prevent things, like hiring a murderer, sometimes people mysteriously get through.

The story in today's Statesman about the nurses aides reminded me of this story. As an employer, we relied on the tools available to us: Drug screening, background criminal checks, references and state licensing status. None gave us any indication that we'd hired a murderer.

What if this employee had done something to an external constituent? Hell, what if she had tried to murder me! Our company's name would be in the headlines and we would have all been blamed for hiring a murderer and our statements to the press about following all the rules would have sounded like lame excuses.

Hillary has declared, "I am not a lesbian.". Looking for a balanced ticket? This one ought to do it!!

The YouTube genius that put this video together must have spent hours pouring over their complicated MSPaint program.

The New York Times has a fascinating article on the growing profitability of nursing homes and the declining level of care by clinical staff. As the population ages, more and more business will develop methods for generating revenue off of the goods and services provided to this large population. That is just a fact of business (and a good business model).

Nursing homes have long been the target of both regulatory agencies and sue-happy lawyers. This deadly combination brought many skilled nursing facilities to the brink of bankruptcy. In the past few years, large private investment firms began acquiring these facilities and breaking up the management, leaseholder, license-holder, clinical management, vendor management and non-clinical management into differently held companies. This structure makes it nearly impossible to determine liability for "level of care" issues.

While this structure increases profitability and therefore ensures the continued operation of skilled nursing facilities, the impact on level of care in these facilities is left open to determination.

There is a thin line between increasing profitability in what essentially is a business, after all, and crossing that line into providing sub-standard care. Being in health care for many years, I have seen this line up close and personal. I used to be confident that those that crossed that line were few and far between and gave the rest of the industry a black eye. Now, I'm not so sure.

I support legislation that requires a transparency in ownership of these facilities and direct responsibility for clinical care to be tied to revenue centers in these businesses. For regulators to issue fines for violations and they have no impact on the way a business does business defeats the purpose of regulatory agencies.

Someone draft up some legislation for next session and call me in to help review and comment. I'm serious.

I haven't said anything about the Jena, Louisiana mess. Mainly because it's absolutely unbelievable to me that people would tolerate anything like hanging nooses from a tree, much less celebrate it. There are few things I hate more than an ignorant, racist small-town hick. What kind of people teach their kids that it is ok to hang a noose from a tree or tie one to the back of your truck and drive slowly through town or create a web site with the addresses of black people and direct people to go "deliver justice?" What kind of justice, pray tell?

This is exactly the reason that we have to have 'hate crime' legislation. Groups like the American Family Association wrap their opposition around false claims that hate crimes legislation will criminalize their religious beliefs about homosexuality. (Watch YouTube's collection of congressmen speaking about the legislation.)

Absolutely false. Hate crimes are crimes committed against a person for no reason other than the criminal's hatred towards that person. Why a Christian wouldn't want to be protected by these same laws is beyond me. Especially since some Christians think there is constant persecution against them.