Down Town Biking

As one of the most bike friendly cities in the United States I would not have thought that you could be "pulled over" let alone arrested for riding a bike on the sidewalk downtown. As I was riding around Town Lake (or "Lady Bird" if you accept the new name) I decided to take a detour down Congress Avenue to grab a bite to eat. I was waiting at a crosswalk as I winessed someone being handcuffed and his friend getting a stern talking to, both on bicycles. Since I am a curious man I waited for the second gentleman to cross over and he had the courtesy of telling us that his friend was going to jail for none other than biking on the sidewalk. I went ahead and looked this up. This is not the first time it has happened. After a chat with Google I came up with this:

 (Ord. 020418-39)

A person may not ride a bicycle on  a sidewalk on the following streets:

(1)     100-1100 blocks of Congress Avenue;
(2)     1900-2500 blocks of Guadalupe Street;
(3)     100-1100 blocks of Brazos Street;
(4)     200-1100 blocks of Colorado Street;
(5)     from the 200 block of West 2nd to the 300 block of East 2nd Street;
(6)     from the 900 block of West 5th to the 800 block of East 5th Street;
(7)     from the 700 block of East 6th Street to the 1000 block of West 6th Street;
(8)     from the 100 block of West 8th Street to the 200 block of East 8th Street;
(9)     from the 100 block of West 9th Street to the 200 block of East 9th Street;
(10)     from the 200 block of West 11th Street to the 200 block of East 11th Street; and
(11)     from the 200 block of West 15th Street to the 200 block of East 15th Street.

I hope you have a note pad handy...

I promply waited until the light stopped traffic on congress and took a right onto Congress Avenue and made a B-line for the safety of the lake. I didnt have a road bike as we were explorign trails, so my speed is limited. About 10 seconds later I had a Capital Metro bus on my back tire. I'm sorry but if I fall then I get a 20 ton bus in all of about half a second.

This law is absolutely absurd. It makes it unsafe for cyclist. I took a good hour out of my day trying to think of an advantage for this law. All I could come up with is that it makes it SLIGHTLY safer for pedestrians. So have fun biking downtown. I know I never will again.

Is Perry Really On the Chopping Block?

Rodolfo Gonzalez believes so. By no means am I a fan of Rick Perry. He is arrogant, foolish, and is a crusader against public education. However if there is one thing I am sure of is that Bill White is not the answer for Texas. In his political speeches he does not flat out state this but he hints that cutting funding isn't the full answer for the upcoming budget shortfalls. If we do not cut budgets then what do we do? Raise taxes. Do you know what a majority of economists say (so therefore I agree with)? Raising taxes in an austere fiscal environment is a BAD idea. Should we allow Texas to lose its supposed "first place" among state economies during this recession? No.

Lets tackle another argument that Mr. Gonzalez makes. Perry has no defining moment for his political career. Are you serious? He rebukes himself. He states "The Texas economy might be the nation's best, but that's largely a result of an approach in place before Perry took office in December 2000." That is a big stretch saying the policies put in place before Perry is what helped the Texas economy tread water (or so to speak) eight years later during the "Great Recession." I may be a fool but I think keeping money in the pockets of Texas residents is probably the best course of action.

There may be "plenty" of selling points for Bill White. I believe Mr. Gonzalez is selling us a lemon. I believe democrats do make excellent mayors and that Bill White did great things for Houston, however he is not the answer for Texas and we will not rally around him.

***I do not in any way shape or form endorse Rick Perry, I will never support him, however when comparing Perry and White, Perry is the better choice. I will not be voting for either candidate this election.***

TAKE THAT ACADEMIA!!!

Apparently our education board is composed by religious fundamentalists. The education board that regulates much of what is taught in our public schools is filled with crusaders. This article from The Austin Chronicle explains how our board members hire their own lynch men to conduct studies on what experts tend to believe are accurate books. Apparently they forgot about the separation of church and state. This is important because it is a good example of the social regulation by ultra conservatives. I believe in God. I would still like to learn what is generally considered academically accurate. Follow the link bellow for more information.

Taking Politics Back to School