Houston Loses in Overtime - Kubiak Looks Vulnerable

Texans Mascot Descending From Closed Roof
It was a crazy night in Houston for ESPN's Monday Night Football. It began with the Texans mascot emerging from the ceiling of Reliant Stadium and travesing down a thin rope and into the stands. When it was all said and done the Baltimore Ravens survived a furious comeback effort by the Houston Texans. Houston managed to score 21 unanswered points in the second half after falling behind 28-7. It was a strange game that saw Baltimore dominate early, so much so that the normally supportive Houston fans roundly booed the home team.
Baltimore Inside Houston Territory

When the Ravens returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown many of the formerly Houston faithful took to the exits. In the end it was another night of frustration for the Texan franchise as quarterback Matt Schaub threw a game ending interception that was returned for a Ravens touchdown by Josh Wilson. There is widespread speculation that Texan owner Robert McNair will fire is Head Coach Gary Kubiak at the end of the season.

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Gov-elect demands resignations from Richardson's appointees

From KOB-TV.com - By: Gadi Schwartz, KOB Eyewitness News 4; Taryn Bianchin, KOB.com - It was supposed to be a meeting with answers for scores of political appointees about to lose their jobs. Instead, many of Governor Bill Richardson’s employees left the state personnel offices even more confused about what will happen once Governor-elect Susana Martinez takes office. During the special Monday morning meeting in Santa Fe several mixed signals seemed to come from government officials as they gave presentations and fielded questions. The 70 or so political appointees who showed up were instructed on how to apply for unemployment benefits and then told they may not be eligible. After the presentation, a Workforce Solutions attorney addressed the appointees telling them they might not be eligible for unemployment benefits because of restrictions given to those who resign. Appointees could also be denied unemployment based on a state law that specifically exuded “policy makers” or policy “advisors” from collecting benefits. After the meeting in Santa Fe several exempt employees who did not want to be named expressed frustration at the lack of direction. The latest figures from the Legislative Finance Committee show about 375 “GOVEX” employees on state payroll, down from a peak of 511 in 2009. After a press conference on Monday afternoon, KOB asked Governor Elect Susana Martinez whether political appointees should be able to collect unemployment. “No, I don’t agree that exempt employees--political appointments--should ever file for unemployment, particularly when another administration takes office,” said Martinez. Martinez added that appointees who do not turn in their resignations will be fired. “They work at the will of the governor and should simply vacate their position,” she said. Read more
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Judge voids part of Obamacare

From the Washington Times - By Jerry Seper- In a major setback for the Obama administration, a federal judge in Northern Virginia struck down as unconstitutional a key provision of the landmark health care law, saying that forcing all Americans to buy health insurance "exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power." "At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance — of crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage — it's about an individual's right to choose to participate," U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Alexandria said in a 42-page opinion. Judge Hudson concluded that Congress lacked the power under the commerce clause "to compel an individual to involuntarily engage in a private commercial transaction," warning that the "unchecked expansion of congressional power" as suggested by the law "would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers." There are other pending challenges to the health care law, which has been upheld by two other trial court judges. The Supreme Court is therefore likely to decide the law's ultimate fate — a process that could take up to two years. Judge Hudson's ruling was broadly critical of the health care act, signed into law in March and known as the Affordable Care Act. However, the ruling applies only to the mandate that Americans must buy health insurance and those provisions that hinge on it. The law as a whole was not struck down, and the judge declined to grant an injunction that would have suspended the law immediately. Read more
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Cartels are as big a threat in U.S. as terrorism

From NM Politics.net - by Heath Haussamen - When I pause to think about it, it seems surreal that I live in the United States, and I also live 45 miles from one of the biggest war zones in the world. And yet, it’s true. That reality – the drug war that has plunged Mexico into chaos – is as big a threat in the United States as terrorism, one border security expert is arguing. From a recent column by Sylvia Longmire for CNN:
“Mexican drug cartels are arguably as dangerous and deadly as terrorists, and they were operating far inside our borders well before 9/11. “…According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Drug Intelligence Center, members of Mexican cartels are operating in more than 270 U.S. cities and thousands of smaller communities. … This is the real and current major threat to our national security – tens of thousands of violent Mexican cartel members who are living and operating under our noses in our cities, communities and public lands.”
Longmire is a former special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations who also worked for years as an intelligence analyst and border security expert for the California Emergency Management Agency. Read more
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A word from Charlie

There were probably many, many times this year when
I may have...
Disturbed You,
Troubled You,
Pestered You,
Irritated You,
Bugged You,
Or got on your Nerves!!
So today, I just wanted to tell you
Suck it up Cupcake
Cause there AIN'T NO CHANGES Planned for 2011!!
(Thanks and a tip of the hat to Charlie for this)

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