Marksmu

I laughed so hard when I read this - because I was actually telling people at work about this discussion, and I said I cant wait for someone to say that. It was very predictable. But no - he was not a REAL conservative b/c he completely disregarded CONSERVATIVE views. You cant say one thing and do another. Conservatives are by definition for responsible spending in government, and smaller government. GW, spent like a democrat, and actually enlarged the government. Conservatives are for controlled immigration, and GW was willing to grant amnesty to the people who are bankrupting our society by using resources without contributing to the pot. Rush, Hannity, & Laura just happen to call him out on it. They are not the leaders of the conservative party - they are a more radical voice willing to cross their own party line to point something out. None if it matters anyway - the new "stimulus" bill has just bankrputed this country for good. Now its just a matter of time till the Messiah tells us that the government needs money, and they "nationalize" 401K programs and you lose your retirement completly, but much like Social Security, they will "promise" you can have it all back with interest later. You dont know best what to do with YOUR money - they do.

modify the document make comments, changes, circles....make it your own....google Fair Use and stay within the copyright rules of it. Fair use will give you a decent amount of leeway. My two cents - and not a legal opinion.

I Can not argue that Bush was not a major setback - but I will argue that Bush was NOT a conservative. Bush was a very moderate, if not liberal republican. Though still technically a republican he broke ranks over several MAJOR issues which made him NOT a conservative. Not the least of which were immigration and fiscal responsibility, welfare, healthcare, etc. About all he got right were conservative appointees to the Supreme Court and Taxes.

The fairness doctrine was designed for one reason - to stifle speech that the liberals could not control. They find a way to couch it in an otherwise legitimate way by declaring the frequencies in the air as limited. It is exactly the same way that the government has used the commerce clause to regulate just about anything that they want to. Its a JOKE to actually believe the Fairness Doctrine is ANYTHING other than an attempt to quiet the conservative media b/c the conservative media has a strangle hold on talk radio. Its sad to say but liberals can not succeed with talk radio b/c most of their positions are not defensible when met with common sense. They are ideological points. Wouldn't it be butterflies and rainbows if we all had free health care? SURE it would, but the quality would get so terrible, you would not want to use it. Wouldn't it be nice if we all made plenty of money?? Sure it would but then there would NO incentive to work. Time and Time again - liberal talk fails b/c they will not let the opposing side call in and argue with them - b/c the opposing side is smarter and can make points the liberal host can not refute. What makes peopel listen to conservative talk radio is that it is normally common sense, its normally not what is heard on the TV, in Print, or on the "legitimate news sites" and they allow both sides to make their statements. Its great when the liberals call in to talk b/c they say one thing, they are refuted with a common sense, and correct answer, and then when asked to respond, they say your just a racist, or repeat the original statement. Liberal radio will not ever work b/c they cannot defend their positions on the air. Period. The fairness doctrine is designed to stop further progression of the conservative movement. Anyone who says otherwise is either a fool, or not being genuine. Period.

First, I dont follow editors posts - In fact I just found the off topic, and way off topic threads. I usually hover in the heights, and home improvement sections. But since the election I am worked up. I will not defend profiteers who took jobs offshore. I cant stand that aspect of this country and I cant stand the Fat cats who make insane salaries. Nobody is worth tens of millions/yr if your in a publicly traded company that must answer to stock holders. Privately held companies can do what they want in my opinion b.c they only hurt themselves when they lose. But at the same time a line worker at a GM plant does not deserve $25-$50/hr plus benefits, and a month off...thats insane. The unions are the reasons jobs were taken offshore. They never even looked over seas till the workers demanded that which the market wont bear. At a time when a company is failing the UAW proved that it didnt care about the hand that fed it. They refused to accept no raise, or increase in benefits. They force the hand. They are unreasonable and useless in todays world of attorneys and the ease of getting into court. In my opinion - and its just my opinion - the government does not do anything better than the free market. The people who ruined these companies should all be prosecuted for their crimes, and rest assured they committed crimes. That would correct the market problems. People broke the law, and inflated numbers to raise stock prices at the expense of the companies all b/c they wanted to cash out options....A precedent of jail time for former millionaires will solve the problem going forward. It wont give back to those who lost, but the market corrects itself. But universal health care does not work - it has never worked anywhere. Many countries have tried it, and all have failed. Canada's health care is a joke. Its another tax on those who work to benefit those who dont. I have a massive problem looking at my paycheck and realising that I pay more in taxes for programs I dont want or care about than many of my friends make. If Im going to have to pay rediuclous taxes, I should get to choose where my taxes go. Support the government run initiatives that I actually care about. Parks, wildlife, homeless animals, etc...not to some poor mom, who gets pregnant over and over again to increase her welfare check, and put out thugs who just propogate the problem. My two cents - actually a long rant, but I am sick of taxes and lazy people taking from me. In my mind Its stealing. I dont consume more health care, more roads, more bridges, more military, more of anything,...but I pay 10-50X more than those who do.

Editor - I cant help but guess which side of the political spectrum your views lie. I venture to guess that you voted for the messiah. - That aside - the left leaning side of the country is overwhelming - Starting in junior high, continuing with high school, college, law school, graduate school, you name it - nearly all the staff are heavily liberal. Then you get to the Newspapers & Magazines - all the "News" (in quotes b/c their bias is a joke) are also very left leaning. Then you move to the Television - ONLY fox news reports the other perspective, and it infuriates a huge portion of the nation. Is Fox biased to the Right? Yes - is it as far Right, as CNN/MSNBC or the others are LEFT - Not a chance. Then you get to the RADIO. The only medium in which Conservatives have a voice - and you want to implement restrictions?! Are you kidding me? If you dont like it - change the channel - its what 50% of the nation has to do in every other form of media. You didnt specifically call out talk radio - but it is the only conservative leaning media, so it can be extrapolated. The Government should not regulate speech in any way shape of form. Regulation by government ensures ONE Thing - more Government, more control thereby securing that one parties continuous rein of power. Let us not forget - we are a capitalist society, even if you dont like it - the Government does not make ANY money - they spend ours. I for one, work to hard to give the government anything more than I have to. The more regulation the more money I lose to the government. I saw a report that for the first time in this great nations history the government now employs more people than the entire manufacturing industry. That means in plain dumb english more people are now being completely supported by fewer people. Sure the service industry (doctors, lawyers, resteraunt staff) still exist, but they too are living off of one thing - manufacturing - the ability to sell a product. So the entire country is now living off of a minority. Great. bottom line - Regulation in any form that affects SPEECH is bad.

Quanell X is a racist. I hope he gets his A $ $ reamed by the union lawyers! There is no place left for a leach like him in this area. A no talent, dumb, clown.

yes - I much prefer to be on the holding side of the Shotgun as well...A crackhead with a 9 could miss you from 5 feet...with a 20ga - its not so easy to miss...though I will say, when I point my 10 ga at him, his gun is going to look awful small all of a sudden. Next on my list is teachin the wife how to shoot....may have to get her a 410 - she about fell over when I tried to teach her to shoot the 12ga...She surely wouldnt shoot it twice. Its a good thing the dad ran....putting even 20-30 yards between you and a 20 ga is the difference between fatal, and just painful.

First, glad everyone is safe! That sounds terrifying. I am so thankful I have a gated house that I keep the gate locked on! My wife thinks Im crazy because I ALWAYS lock the door to our house, even behind the gate - but this just shows you cant be too careful. On another note - while walking my dog this morning (6:30am) I heard a gun shot. Sounded like it came from the heights blvd/19th st area....I was on 12th and ashland at the time, and it was in the distance... Just be careful everyone! Glad everybody is alright!

I actually like Dry Creek - I usually get decent service - I dont think its overpriced, and I get to bring my own booze, which is usually 2/3 of my bills everywhere anyway.... Onion Creek - is awful - I hate the Austin mentality of "you wait on me b/c I serve you" Its almost as if they get off on not giving good service, or just standing behind the bar talking while you are not getting served. Worse yet is Cedar Creek - The evening male bartender who is all tatted up will serve every girl at the bar before a guy regardless of how long you have been waiting....the waitresses are so slow and dumb, I dont think I have ever gotten my food in less than 40 minutes, and by that time I have had to get up to get my own drink from the bar 3 times because they never come back... Someone really needs to teach the Creek's some service. - The atmosphere is great, the food is ok, but the service is terrible....Dry Creek excepted again.

I am personally neither for or against this project - It would be strange, and possibly ugly, but I have a big problem with people thinking they get to control the private property of another person. It would be a much more aesthetically pleasing thing to have a smaller building on that site, but if the site is unrestricted, and the developer bought it because of that reason - just because you dont like it, does not mean you should get to put a stop to it. Its not yours! Any single person who wanted to keep the area the way it is, could go buy everything they want to preserve. But in my opinion, if you cant afford to buy it, you dont get a say on what happens with it. If you dont like it, you have two options. 1) deal with it, 2) move....apparently now people think there is a 3rd option - complain and sue, and make it such a hassle to do anything, that nothing gets done. People who take that route, should have to post a bond to reimburse the builder for his lost income as a result of their apparent dislike. I actually feel sorry for developers who have to deal with people who think they get to tell them how to build on their own property.

When I was out looking, I first looked at the smaller bungalows - I would have been fine with them - even greatly preferred the yard, but the wife wanted a big closet. She would not budge on this issue. The older homes dont have the closet. So we started looking for new builds and I could not find what I wanted - a nice home, on a large lot with a real Yard. So then I started trying to buy a house not worth renovating to build something we wanted - but we quickly found we could not compete with the builders speed - often buying a house before it was even listed on HAR through standing arangements with money hungry realtors. We ended up having to pay substantially more than we initially wanted to get the big yard and the large closets - I am in one of those homes that does tower over my neighbors - in fact my first floor is above the roof of the home next door...but my house does not stand out on my street...its set back properly, its built more than the minimum setbacks on the sides, and though its taller and larger - I do not feel it has changed the character of the street at all, its McMansion look is quite stunning, especially when fully lit up. The smaller homes are still scattered throughout the area and it does not look one bit funny to me to see a big house next to a small one. In fact I find it attractive. I like the diversity of the homes - to me as long as its not a developer throwing up the same house every 3 lots it looks great! In this area you can still describe your house to somebody trying to get there and they can find it without having to read only numbers - I just hope the heights doesnt become a place you cant find houses without the numbers. I despise the suberbs for this very reason. I love the areas with new homes as much as I love the areas of all small old homes. Personally, I prefer the large ones - alot prefer the small ones - to this end nobody will ever be happy. So Im just happy with what I have, and if others are not - its their problem.

I think pretty much its the builders that are tearing the houses down....most individuals who purchase, are remodeling unless the house cannot be salvaged. The house I remodeled cost me nearly 2x as much as initially budgeted to modernize.....the whole house first had to be leveled....that destroyed the sheetrock, and the plumbing....so out it all comes ..then when you get to the studs, you find the termite damage, the leaking drain damage, and the rotten floor, subfloor, and joists that you didnt think looked that bad before you closed....so then you have to fix that....then you realize the wiring is old, and the city wont let you fix the plumbing without modernizing the wiring too, which brings a whole new set of contractors and inspections.... What started out as a lets just replace a few things became a complete remodel from the studs up & down....at some point (which I didnt hit) its cheaper to recreate it than to continue to try to fix it. I will say though, I havent seen a new build from a spec builder that was done correctly...After fixing this smaller house, and dealing with my own builders problems on my newer house, I feel like I know virtually every code, and the correct/incorrect way of building ways, and its sad to say that I havent seen a spec home built correctly yet, and Ive walked through many that are asking $750K+. They throw them up, and then they leak water everywhere, and the drywall starts cracking, and as you said, 3 years later its a piece of junk sitting where an older house used to be. And I do see the value in the history - the heights has a lot of history - and some more accurate recreations would be great to see. I for one like the old one story homes with the extremly high ceilings... I dont like seeing the same house on every block anymore than I did in the suberbs. I am just adamantly against someone else telling me what I have to do with my property. I hate deed restrictions with a passion, which is one of the reasons I moved to the Heights area. Setbacks are great, minimum lot sizes, etc - but deed restrctions are awful.

Came from reading all the comments and replies together... first comment: Tanith: "Even though some large homes are being built around here, everybody seems to embrace the openness and casualness of the Heights. In one day, I'll run into more neighbors while walking the dog than I would in 6 months over there. I'm about a 5 min bike ride from Onion Creek and I'll see more fellow cyclists in those 5 minutes than I would in a full day in West U." CWRM4 "A distinction needs to be made between Woodland Heights (and to some extent Norhill) and the Houston Heights. Your comments apply to Woodland Heights"...." The Houston Heights (west of Studewood, with the exception of 6th - 7th west of Michaux), with the McVictorian explosion, is turning into West U for DINKS (or couples with kids headed to private-school)." Cant help but read CWRM4's comment to say that everything West of Studewood, is dry, sterile, McVic owners who dont socialize with others...implies a bunch of rich DINKS are just destroying the character of the heights...which is offensive to many.

Again CWRM4 I have to agree to disagree with you.... Everything you said about the prevailing lot sizes is very true and astutely observed.....but I do not think the Heights will be West U, and I don't think the Woodlands Heights area has better people in it than other areas of the Heights. That is just something Woodland Heights people like to think about themselves. I know all my neighbors, and I am on the other side of the tracks as well...Also, one of the most out and about streets I have ever seen in the Heights is the 1400 block of Ashland, its got more neighbors socializing than I have ever seen. One house in particular seems to have a party every day with their neighbors. I think the Heights is improving drastically....and it will only be a short while till the schools follow. As the young realize the suburbs schools are not great anymore, the price of gas stays high, and the property taxes remain out of control, the only way inner city has to go is up. Schools will get better as more educated people (who may currently be dinks) move into the area. And I happen to be a DINK, from the suburbs, not moving when I have kids, which I plan on having soon.

I apologize about the politically biased section of my rant, and the agressiveness of it...it was likely inappropriate given the current topic.... BUT, the Heights is changing, mostly for the better (the subdiving of the lots & the townhomes are exceptions to this)...the area is beautiful and convenient, and most of the people are great...but there is this group of individuals who attempt to fight property owners from doing what they want with their own property tooth and nail. Having gone through it myself, and won the battle, its nothing but a roadblock that costs money to improve an area. I love many of the new homes who attempt to recreate the old look on the exterior, but very few people want to live in a period house that has been fixed because they have so many problems. Having restored an older "period" home with modern amenities, and having built from the ground up after knocking a mess down....its much easier and cheaper to start from scratch...but there is a group of people who think they are special because they can get in your way, cost you money, and slow down your plans, because its not what they want...and that is what infuriates me. If you don't own it, and are not willing to pay for it, you don't get a say in how it comes out period. If anyone thinks the McMansion line is anything but a slam against new building then they are crazy....the people who use the term McMansion, are often the same people who are getting in the way. I think this house is gorgeous, the exteriors and interiors are wonderful, the garage area is wonderful, and the lot is wonderful, though the entire thing is overpriced, especially given its location so near to main. I apologize for the aggressiveness of the previous rant, but Im so sick of hearing people whine about "McMansions" simply b/c its not their taste, especially when their "taste" is in the minority.

I find it hilarious that any house with modern amenities you call dime a dozen, McVic - That house is beautiful, inside and out. I would guess that less than a half of a half of A percent of people looking to buy a house, especially in the 1 Mil + range, want to buy an old house that is "Period" - Period means no air conditioning, period means old and lots of maintenance. Its infuriating to hear you snobs thinking your better than everyone else, becuase you bought a dump, and fixed it up using old stuff. Most people dont want old things- the heights will never be the same as it was 2,5,10,25, 50, or even 100 years ago. Get over it. Your not special because your house is old looking and has old looking stuff inside. I see hundreds of "Period" homes everyday that need to be torn down. Im so sick of all the hippy snobs thinking they are special b/c they live in an old house. Your not special - only you and your hippy obama loving friends think you are. So go hang around in your tiny circles of snobs, who think they are better than everyone else becuase their house is old, and they drive priuses and let people do what they want without you complaining about it. I think most people who complain about the current direction of the heights (with the exception of the subdiving of lots & townhomes those are valid complaints) are just upset because the welfare you have been living on is not going to cover all your new property taxes as the area becomes nice again. Ya - I hear this stuff all the time, so its infuriating to me.

I know they are doing it now, but I wonder if they intend to put curbs on it or anything else to put a stop to this? just seems like a bad idea to me...unless you own one of the houses that are affected, in which case your probably livid about it anyways.

So I live on Waverly St, one block over from the Nicholson Hike and Bike trail, and I just have to ask if anyone knows....what is going to happen to all those folks whose garage front to Nicholson? I mean they dont own the land the trail is on, and surely the city is not going to allow them to be backing a car out onto a hiking or biking trail to get back to the street? I can see lawsuits now...I was riding my bike down the city owned trail, and some homeowner just backed out of their driveway and bam. So do these people just lose use of their garages? I came close to buying houses on Nicholson, but did not for this EXACT reason. Does anyone know how they will handle this?

Ive used nearly all of them in Houston, Pearland, Heights, Galveston, and at a ranch in Chambers County. If you want it done right, and you want it done right away, I would go with Windrose Land Services, I find them to be by far the best, and usually more competitive in pricing.

Would have been a great idea 100 years ago when they laid out the city, but now in a large majority of places, West U, Heights, Riveroak, Timbergrove, Tanglewood, and all other neighborhoods that I cant even think of, there are no easements on these peoples property, and they will not be happy to give one up. I for one HATED more than anything the waste of a 10' easement at my old house in Pearland. YOu cant do anything in it, and workers come and go freely through your BACK yard. Personally I am happier being without power the .000000001% of the time, than having to constantly worry somebody from the utility is going to be in my back yard, cut my lock off my gate and let my dog out, as he runs from her. You cant take a system that had above ground power and convert it to underground power, without an easement, which personally Im not willing to give on. It hasnt been that long, and almost never happens, so its just time to grin and bear it, b/c it sucks to not have control over your OWN property b/c some utility says that you cant. Thats my opinion.

Man I just did this EXACT same thing, and by exact, I mean, everything on your list, except instead of the closet, I took out a wall to open up a kitchen and living room....at any rate, 30 days is just TOO short. You would think this would be a short list and that each thing would go smoothly and in all likelihood in one day each item, but it wont. I thought it would, and it didnt. The city is full of morons who will not understand what your doing on your permitting, at some point, a contractor wont show up, and that will push the other 10 contractors behind them out a few days....then a storm will come and work will stop for some unknown reason, then something you never thought possible will go wrong, then while your fixing that, something else you never thought posssible will go wrong, and 90 days later you will be finishing up the paint, and the tenants will hate you, that is if you still have them wanting to move in. I did it all without a general, and just used a bunch of subs, but it was alot of work, and in the end only yourself to blame for the shortcomings. But I wish you good luck...if you lists of people to call or not call in terms of subs, I have both. Good ones, and people to not bother wasting your time on. HOpefully you dont need electrical done (though it sounds like you will for your closet conversion) Good luck though, I did this one time on a house, and now that its over, I dont think Ill try again until I forget how long it took.

Deleted all of this, b/c it was health code. Not deed restrictions.

At this point, selling is no longer an option. His problems are now known he has had an engineer look at them, had the builder look at them, and he has documented it. He goes to sell the place he is requried to disclose the problems to any potential buyer. Nobody in the world is going to buy into a foundation problem. But maybe he just doesnt say anything, that will work right? No way, the new owner will eventually find all the same things this guy did, and when they goto the builder to get the warranty work, the builder will say, Im telling you the same thing I told the guy who you bought it from, sod off. So, now the buyer knows, he sues for fraud, wins, your stuck with the house back, and a big ole punitive damages award. Thats not a good idea. I attempted to get the builder to buy back my place, but even a builder wont get near owning a place that really just needs to be knocked down and rebuilt. He is left with few options. And starting to cover his rear now, is one of the only options he has left.

Sounds like its time to get started with your TRCC complaint. Do that as SOON as possible. Your builder will not do anything until you contact the TRCC, and as a lawyer fighting this fight for my own home. you should start that process as soon as possible. The TRCC is awful, but the faster you start the process the faster you can get something to happen. If you need any direction on this PM me, I have been in a constant battle with my builder for just about a year now. We are just now starting to get out from under the TRCC blanket of wait forever. You cannot do anything to your builder till you do the TRCC complaint process. Mark on your calendar every day that you ever said anything to your builder. Keep all of their responses. Do NOT do anything over the phone. Make them reply to everything in writing. Copy yourself on every mail between you and them and save them all, and where the code says do it certified mail, do it certified mail, and keep copies. If you have a real foundation problem like it sounds your house can become worthless and you have very little recourse. Your new home warranty is not worth the paper its printed on. You need to dot your I's and cross your T's or the builder will win this fight. As it stands outright, you already have the odds stacked against you. Try to prepare yourself now, while the builder isnt expecting it. They will say alot of things in email that would never say by letter or in person, and those can be great pieces of evidence in your suit if you end up having to file one. Just be very careful, and concede nothing. Your in a bad spot, and its very hard to get out of it...you will need a lawyer eventually if it gets bad enough (I dont do this or know anyone so I cant recommend any, I only know this from my own house experiences that I am still going through) Good Luck, you will need it.