Number One. Would any other number smell as sweet?

Athletes, news organizations and dodge ball players all jockey in their own way for the glorious title of Number One. The first marathoner to cross the finish line, the one who broke the story first and the one who was chosen first for the team headed by the popular kid. And, the winner enjoys the sweet smell of success bestowed by that solitary number.

Well, El Paso gets to celebrate a sweet-smelling first by being listed in an online article on the Forbes magazine website as the #1 mid-sized city for jobs. Woo hoo, we're number one! We're number one! Better than being up there on the the sweatiest city or fattest city lists.

But, is that number one ranking so sweet-smelling after all? Let's read more of what the article's author, Joe Kotkin, has to say. He notes, "the importance of the war effort in stimulating local economies" then later on states, "fossil fuels pay the bills and create strong economies." 

Actually, fossil fuel and war are intimately related. War activities require great quantities of fuel for tanks, planes, trucks, helicopters, Humvees and other means of military transport, as well as daily military base operations. And creating access to fossil fuels in other lands keeps war going, though our government formally de-emphasizes this.

Now back to El Paso. Currently, Ft. Bliss is in the midst of a multi-year, massive expansion (to support current and future war efforts), accompanied by major highway construction projects (fossil fuel paying the bills at work here) to support that expansion. Both have contributed to the creation and maintenance of jobs during the recent recession. 

But, eventually the expansion and highway construction will end. The construction and highway workers, engineers and administrative staff will be left looking for scarce jobs here, or moving elsewhere for work. And, El Paso will end up sliding down in the jobs ranking. 

So, despite war being touted as a sweet-smelling job creation factor, it ultimately ends up having a stench that will never go away, even after all the jobs do.

Happy Women's History Month

Our friends in the Texas Senate have decided to kick off women's history month by holding a hearing on SB 257 "Relating to the issuance of "Choose Life" license plates and the creation of the Choose Life account in the general revenue fund."

"Choose life." Two little words. But neither means what you think it means.

Choose. That means that we use the money in our new "Choose Life" account to fund organizations that are anti-choice and often even opposed to contraceptives.

Life. That means we would deceive those who are pregnant in attempt to shame them into carrying to term a pregnancy they don't want. Because life is all about senators telling you what to do with your internal organs.

Liberal bloggers wrong on Amazon in Texas

Bay Area Houston: Amazon.com says screw RickPerry.com

Amazon.com is closing an operations center in Irving due to an “unfavorable regulatory climate” (i.e. one that actually expects them to pay sales tax on their Texas sales).

In their hate of all things Republican, the liberal blog-o-sphere in Texas has come down on the wrong side of this issue. It is Amazon.com that eliminated thousands of Texas jobs by driving out many independent book and music sellers. And those were jobs in companies that actually paid the sales tax that our state so dearly needs. But, now that they can no longer cheat, Amazon is leaving. Good riddance!

Let's all do our part to save good jobs by shopping at local, independent retailers and paying in cash whenever possible.

On public transit

I recently attended a public meeting regarding a fare increase proposed by our local bus system, Sun Metro. After the presentation about Sun Metro's request to collect more fares from passengers, the presenter was quizzed for several minutes about why Sun Metro wasn't trying to get more money from passengers (that makes sense somewhere, you'll just have to trust me on that one).

The questioner expressed concerned that the buses were always empty. The snickers and mild derision from the rest of the audience, most of whom depend upon the bus for transportation, should have been enough to clue our fair activist that he was wrong and was heading down a path that, while well-worn, terminates in a dead end.  But he persisted and probably walked away from the meeting just as mad as he was when he got there. You can explain things to people, but you can't understand it for them.

The road that I take to work every day is nearly empty at 6 a.m. If the government designed the road just to meet the demand at 6 a.m. there would be gridlock the rest of the day. My bed is empty two thirds of the time. I could save a lot of money by designing a bedroom that handled average demand, but I wouldn’t be very comfortable at night.

Yes, local taxes pay 75% of Sun Metro’s costs; there is a social benefit in having public transit. Sun Metro gets the veterans who use a wheelchair to their doctors' appointments. Sun Metro gets the poor people looking for work to their job interviews. Sun Metro brings customers to the struggling business owner. And, if by some unfortunate circumstance you become unable to drive, Sun Metro is there, assuring that you will still be able to get to where you need to go.

If you are ever unable to drive, you will not complain that Sun Metro buses are too empty or run too frequently. While you and I can leave our house at 8:30 to get to a 9:00 appointment, that veteran in a wheelchair has to leave at 6:30. That poor person looking for work finds many jobs unavailable because the bus service doesn’t start soon enough or run late enough. Riders on many popular routes often find they have to stand because all the seats are taken; riders who use a wheelchair or ride a bike have to wait for the next bus.

Yes, there are going to be empty buses. Sun Metro didn't design this car-dependent city that is difficult to serve efficiently using buses; until recently, they didn't even have a seat at the table. Public transit is an absolutely essential social service that needs to be improved, not decimated by the unrealistic expectations that it run at 100% capacity 100% of the time or that it be entirely self-sufficient.

Gays and morality

During its budget sessions last year, the El Paso City Council approved a measure to extend a subsidized medical insurance benefit to the partners of those city employees living in a committed relationship that is not recognized by the state as marriage. There was widespread objection, especially to the notion that same-sex couples, who are not permitted to marry in Texas, would receive the same benefits as their married counterparts. Those who opposed the measure quickly gathered the signatures required to force the council to reconsider its action, and--after the council ignored the petition--gathered the signatures required to bring the measure to the voters in the November election asking voters to rescind these benefits.

The debate has filled the opinion pages of the El Paso Times with most published letters to the editor being supportive of the referendum to rescind health benefits.  A recent op-ed piece from Fr. Michael Rodriguez, priest of San Juan Bautista Parish in East-Central El Paso, mostly opposing homosexuals and even those who support them, has, judging from the comments, received a broad reading even outside of El Paso. Today's letters to the editor publishes for the third time a list of "Ten more reasons to reject the homosexual agenda."

Comments on today's editorial suggest that the Times is not publishing some articles opposing the referendum or supporting equal rights for homosexuals in general. Here is mine:

Referendum is immoral

The measure seeking to strip benefits from the committed partners of city employees is immoral. To pay someone less for doing the same work based solely on the gender of their life partner is morally wrong because it violates basic principles of fairness and justice. The same catechism used to condemn homosexuals also recognizes cheating workers as a sin which cries out to heaven.

To use scripture to condemn homosexuality while ignoring other biblical teachings such as the prohibition of interest or the approval of slavery is morally wrong because it is inconsistent. Accusing homosexuals of destroying the fabric of society or of causing AIDS is morally wrong because it is untrue. Comparing a committed homosexual relationship to the crime of pedophilia is morally wrong because it is not only untrue, but downright malicious.

Like heterosexual relationships, same sex relationships bring great joy to the lives of some people. They are a source of emotional growth. They promote personal and societal stability. In short, committed homosexual relationships are moral.

The city does not give benefits to the spouses of married employees to support someone's view of marriage. They do so, because married employees are likely to be happier, healthier, and more productive than those not in a committed relationship. They do so to attract the very best employees. It is a moral imperative that all city employees in committed relationships receive the same benefits regardless of the gender of their partner.

Why I admire Rick Perry

Let's say I got up and said, "Look at Bill White, he won't release tax returns from his childhood jobs.  I'm not debating him; he's obviously hiding something, that big scardy cat.  Besides he's a left of liberal trial lawyer.  That's not the kind of business owner we need in this state; imagine holding businesses accountable for their mistakes acts of God.  Scorn the thought.  And it's not the government’s job to hold business accountable either. Yeah, we may have some of the dirtiest air in the country, but we're getting better; the EPA just needs to stay out.

"You should know as governor I’ve protected Texans from the evil government intrusion into their lives. Things like forcing girls to get vaccines against sexually transmitted viruses. Can you believe the governor would have the audacity to even suggest that your pure, righteous daughters are having sex? And then would bypass the legislature and the will of the people?  Shameless.  Oh, did I do that?  That darned liberal media.  Well let’s move on.  I kept my Trans-Texas Corridor proposal from being implemented so the government couldn't steal the land of hard-working Texans. And I'm calling for cuts to the business tax that I created.

"And, oh, I shooted a coyote.  LOOK OUT FOR THE BOMBS!"

People would say, "Oh, how cute. A second grader is running for governor."  Rick Perry does it and gets pegged as presidential material.