on the road

Minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.

What happens when gasoline, which is in Houston now $2.59 to $3.00, hits the same price as the minimum wage? Some people drive 20 to 40 miles round trip to work an eight hour day. If they burn 2 gallons--which in Houston traffic is rather easy to do--then they have lost at least $10.00 to get to work an home from a job were they earn $40.00 before taxes a day.

There are reports suggesting that we will hit $5.00 a gallon next year. Once Big Oil can get that price will they back down? Are the prices at the pump going to justify continuing American administration of the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular? And drilling in the Arctic?

Starting September 1st, anyone in Texas may carry a gun in their car. Most people have understood this to mean, in the past, that if a person was traveling across county lines alone they could carry a gun for protection in their cars. Well there was some confusion about what this means.

Texas lawmakers cleared up the confusion in their last session by defining "traveling" as "driving a private motor vehicle." That is going to be so helpful.

Since 1871, carrying a handgun has been illegal in Texas unless the owner had a permit or could prove they were traveling across county lines. Remember that Harris County is bigger than the entire state of Vermont. We have an airport--DFW--that is bigger than the island of Manhattan.

This means starting September 1, anyone can drive around with a handgun in their car without a permit. That is as long as they are at least 21 and meet other criteria like not being a gang member. What the hell does that mean? Like if they are affiliated with a gang that engages in criminal activities? Isn't that guilt by association? What if a gang member doesn't have a criminal record? If a gun goes off in a gang member's hand at a four way stop sign and the victim is dead, did anyone really hear it? The gun must also be out of sight. No you may not wave it in your rear view if the jackass behinds you honks because the light changed. But that means that if the cops stop you and ask you if you have a weapon and you don't say yes, they are going to be really mad when they find it. And if you say yes, they are going to draw their weapons.

"Some law enforcement officials say they fear the law may lead to more gun violence." Really? I can't imagine why? Could it mean that cops will assume that everyone has a gun at a stop? Now if you have a permit, it comes up on the cop's computer that you have a license to carry. It would be foolish and deadly for police to think now that you are not armed. Will he or she approach cars with their weapons drawn. I will cry and vomit from fear if that is the case.