Back in the saddle

Every once in a while, it’s nice to take a break and get away from the daily routine and from politics. Last week, I got way away from both and ended up hitched!

Well, truth is I was already hitched but I took my bride of 32 years to Las Vegas and got Elvis to officiate our vow renewal ceremony on our anniversary. That was fun, fun, fun.

When I made it back to civilization, I scanned through the news and found a few stories that were interesting.

Abortionist no-billed by grand jury

Dr. Douglas Karpen was no-billed by a grand jury in Judge Mary Lou Keel’s court this week. Lots of stuff to talk about on this one, so I’ll write about it after Christmas. Click here to see the no-bill on Capital Murder and click here to see the no-bill on Prohibited Practices by a Physician.  Interesting to note that Judge Susan “Runaway Grand Jury” Brown signed both of those but her name was scratched out and Judge Denise Collins signed them. Also remember what I said here about attorney Chip B. Lewis and his influence on then Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson (and now on Devon Anderson) – I think you’ll find a future post on his effectiveness since the Andersons took over very interesting. And you’ll probably be inclined to hire him if you get into trouble. I would.

And about that “two-month grand jury presentation” that leads Brian Rogers’ article in the Houston Chronicle – laughable. Someone needs to ask where the presenting prosecutor was after Thanksgiving. The old saying is that a prosecutor could get a ham sandwich indicted if they wanted to. Well, DA Anderson can’t get a man indicted after seeing pictures and eyewitness testimony like this (warning, not for the faint of heart). Could it be that the DA didn’t want the doctor indicted because of her personal views? Hang on for more.

Judge Denise Pratt no-billed by grand jury

I’m happy for Denise because like I’ve said many times, she’s a great person. But it is almost impossible to believe that the grand jury didn’t think that she backdated those documents. Oh well, like above, ham sandwich and all.

But being a great person doesn’t make her a great judge. In fact, if you talk to attorneys that practice in her court, she’s a horrible judge. I wrote about one case but there are many more and by the end of the primary season, you’ll know about many of them. She has four opponents in that primary and I know three of them would improve that court on day one. And one of them, Donna Detamore, is tough as nails and won’t pull any punches. It will be interesting watching the big two slates, who pays for their endorsements, and how voters react. The bottom line is that should Pratt somehow survive the primary, the Harris County Democrats will have a foil just as good as when we had Judge Kevin Fine to attack. And that would suck for other, good, Republican judges.

The big quack

Heck, even in Vegas we couldn’t escape this one. Seems like Phil Robertson upset a whole bunch of people by speaking his mind. After reading about this for days, I’ve decided that very few people actually read the original article in GQ magazine because if they had, their opinions might be a bit different. Heck, even megachurch (and megarich) pastor Joel Osteen says that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin. Must be the beard that set off the firestorm. Nah, I think it was professional whiners like GLAAD that have the ear of the entertainment industry that caused it. You know, the “tolerant” crowd. Well, tolerant if they like what you have to say anyway.

HCRP precinct chairs

So Christopher Busby finally infiltrated the Harris County Republican Party and is a precinct chair elect. Good for him. The only thing that the self-righteous members of the Vacancy Committee managed to do was to prevent him from organizing his precinct for the last year and a half. I was impressed that he didn’t go after them in his letter but instead focused on our common goals: promote conservative values, small government, and a free market. Good for him.

Guess who else is a precinct chair elect? Little ol’ me. I’ll be able to attend the Vacancy Committee meetings now and won’t have to rely upon someone else taking notes. Should be fun.

I suppose that’s enough for now. If you’re really bored or just want a laugh, you can see a video of me getting hitched by clicking here!