National Weather Service Zone – TXZ173
URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
747 AM CDT SAT MAY 26 2007HEAVY RAIN THREAT CONTINUES FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE HILL COUNTRY.
AN UPPER-LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS NUMEROUS
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS TODAY AND
TONIGHT. THE HEAVY RAINS THAT OCCURRED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY HAVE
LEFT RIVERS SWOLLEN AND SOILS SATURATED. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT…WITH
ISOLATED HIGHER TOTALS OF AROUND 6 INCHES POSSIBLE. THIS HEAVY
RAINFALL EVENT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY…AND A
FEW AREAS COULD RECEIVE 15 INCHES OF RAIN OVER A 5 DAY PERIOD.
Romney: I’m not intolerant of gays
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday that his opposition to same-sex marriage should not be interpreted as intolerance of gays, who served in his administration when he was Massachusetts governor.
Just like supporting segregation in the 1950s wouldn’t have indicated that you were intolerant of black people either, right? Separate but equal is not equal at all. When does he tell everyone that some of his best friends are gay? Or was this it? 
h/t Demin
Dear Steve:
Thank you for contacting me again regarding H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Act of 2007. It is good to hear from you again, and I appreciate your taking the time to share these important thoughts with me.
As you may know, H.R. 1592 prohibits specified offenses involving actual or perceived race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. I abhor bigotry in all its forms and support a strong criminal justice system. In order to stop senseless crime and violence, I believe we must enact a strong anti-crime package which truly addresses the problem of our nation’s crime rate. I voted against H.R. 1592 because it provides additional rights or protections to certain groups of people. I believe all acts of crime and violence deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We must make punishments severe enough to deter criminals from committing crimes in the first place, and ensure that those who commit a crime serve the sentence they are given.
Again, thank you for contacting me on this important issue. If I may be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me in the future.
Sincerely,
John Carter
Member of Congress
See, it’s OK that the existing hate crimes law provides additional rights or protections to certain groups of people, including people like Mr. Carter, but Mr. Carter doesn’t want to expand those groups to include anyone else.
One in six hate crimes are motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation, and yet today’s federal laws don’t include any protections for these Americans. Americans overwhelmingly approve of legislation to prevent hate violence. In fact, three in four (or 68%) support expanding hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity and giving local law enforcement the tools and resources they need to investigate and prosecute these tragic acts of bigotry.
I had to travel to San Jose this week to help out with some of the Extreme Blue lab set-up prep going on there. Specifically, I had imaged their laptops in Austin, 32 of them, and was coming to help out with the customization and final configuration tasks. I made my flight arrangements in enough time to get a 7 day advance fare, but I really wasn’t sure how much time I would need to be there, and booked my return assuming the worst case scenario. I requested Executive Platinum First Class upgrades on both flights, and managed to actually get upgrade confirmations on both.
As it turns out, we finished up way earlier than I expected, and so I called AA on Thursday afternoon to change my return flight to Friday morning. At that point, there were only middle seats left on the plane, and I was disappointed (hello understatement), but went with it. Nhut kept an eye out on the open seating assignments on aa.com and at some point during the afternoon Thursday found an open aisle seat, and moved me there. When I woke up early Friday morning to get ready to go to the airport, I saw a message from Nhut saying “Mr. Lucky Upgrade”. As I was still blurry-eyed, I started to log into aa.com to check, and asked Nhut if AA had assigned a seat… “No”, he says, “but I did.” 
So, I headed off to the airport knowing that I wouldn’t need to check my bag to avoid a stuffed overhead luggage compartment in coach, and there would be some food service, a movie and sleep on the return trip to Austin.
After I dropped off my rental car in San Jose, I walked over to wait for the shuttle bus to the terminal. There were several people in front of me waiting for the bus, so I queued up to wait. Fortunately the bus came along pretty quickly, and everybody kind of shuffled on to the bus. I slapped my carry-on bag up on the shelf and grabbed a seat in the back of the bus. Just as I was parking my butt in the chair a woman exclaimed in an exasperated tone: “I guess there are no gentlemen on this bus!”. It seems she was traveling with more luggage than she could physically handle. As a frequent traveler, you get used to the every person for himself kind of road warrior attitude, and you tend not to notice these things as you look out for yourself. I felt guilty for not noticing, and not offering to help, but also annoyed at the mean nature of her comment directed at everyone around her. On trips where Nhut and I travel with an over sized and overstuffed snowboard bag for example, I will either drop off Nhut and the big bag at the terminal before returning the rental car, or just carry it myself. I’m thinking, OK, maybe a rookie traveler? I mean, at some point you learn to travel with what you can handle, or be prepared to make other arrangements. Looking around the bus, everyone else had the usual carry-on sized bags and briefcases that they all handled by themselves. Anyway, she did eventually manage to lift her full sized suitcase, briefcase and purse onto the bus by herself, and alienate herself from everyone else on the bus in short order, and we were on our way.
good riddance, a welcome relief or deliverance from something: He’s gone, and good riddance!
I was at the dentist yesterday, stuck in front of a TV with MSNBC news running for a couple hours yesterday, and they were talking about gas prices, currently at ~$2.79 locally, with the national average being ~$3.00, and the expectation of ~$4.00 per gallon in the not too distant future.
So I was looking at the possibility of bike and ride, since the new light rail in Austin will go into service some time in 2008. CapMetro had some details on the new car configurations, which will include bike racks and WiFi. There’s a stop close to home at Lakeline, and it looks like it will be only two stops to work. And I found out from one of my coworkers that there’s a decent sized locker room here with showers so I can clean up after biking in to the office.
Rush Limbaugh billboard near I-83 defaced
Official: ‘It looks like they took globs of paint and threw it on his face’
By Nicole Fuller
Sun Reporter
Originally published May 10, 2007, 4:02 PM EDT
Apparently, somebody in Baltimore isn’t a fan of Rush Limbaugh.
A large billboard advertising local air times for the conservative radio talk-show host has been defaced.
h/t to Ian
Dear Mr. Dale:
Thank you for contacting me about efforts to enact a new federal law designed to prevent and prosecute criminal acts motivated by hate. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.
Clearly, it is inexcusable and intolerable to target any individual or group for violence, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual preference. I believe anyone found guilty of a violent criminal act deserves to be punished through vigorous enforcement of the law. In fact, current law—including Texas law—already allows the courts to consider motivation during the penalty phase of a trial and subjects the accused to increased penalties. As such, I do not believe a new federal law is warranted.
I appreciate having the opportunity to represent the interests of Texans in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
In a hard-won victory, hate crimes legislation has passed the House of Representatives. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate – where the radical right, terrified of this legislation, has stepped up their attacks.
It is essential that the Senate passes this bill with a broad enough majority to discourage a presidential veto. Tell your Senators to support the Matthew Shepard Act.
…and why it really does matter.
I read this over at Pam’s House Blend this morning, and it reminded me, because I had a conversation with a friend recently about being out, why it really is important to be out every day.
As I’ve said many times here at the little coffeehouse, the most radical, powerful bit of activism that we can do as LGBT citizens is to come out of the closet, live openly. The power to effect change and acceptance is to let your friends, family, work colleagues and people see that our lives are as normal and mundane as theirs, and that there is nothing to fear by expanding their world view to include a more diverse view of people. We’re doctors, teachers, service workers, mechanics, postal mail carriers — everyday people who want nothing more than to live without the fear of being fired or discriminated against, to be able to make a legal commitment to a partner that heterosexual couples take for granted when they marry, to enrich the life of a child by adopting or fostering, and to serve openly in the military, among other rights and privileges that are denied to us. Ken in MS shared this wonderful story of how it’s the small encounters, the cultivation of relationships and open discussion can change hearts and minds.
Read the rest.
CBSNews.com Turns Off Comments on Obama Stories
Posted by Brian Montopoli
Today CBSNews.com informed its staff via email that they should no longer enable comments on stories about presidential candidate Barack Obama. The reason for the new policy, according to the email, is that stories about Obama have been attracting too many racist comments.
“It’s very simple,” Mike Sims, director of News and Operations for CBSNews.com, told me. “We have our Rules of Engagement. They prohibit personal attacks, especially racist attacks. Stories about Obama have been problematic, and we won’t tolerate it.”
House passes expanded hate crimes bill
By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Just hours after the White House issued a veto threat Thursday, the House voted to add gender and sexual orientation to the categories covered by federal hate crimes law.
The House legislation, passed 237-180, also makes it easier for federal law enforcement to take part in or assist local prosecutions involving bias-motivated attacks. Similar legislation is also moving through the Senate, setting the stage for another veto showdown with
President Bush.
