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A vote for a third-party candidate affects the race only in a state that is closely contested, or a state that has proportional allocation of electors.

Montana is indeed closely contested. Polls in Louisiana show a solid margin for Sen. McCain.

In any case, I am not advocating that anyone vote for Dr. Paul for president at this time. I just thought it was remarkable that he had been put on the ticket by supporters after he dropped out of the race.

- Jim

The NOAA facility on Fort Crockett Boulevard is still there and people are still working there. It's funny how you can drive past something hundreds of times and not see it.

- Jim

Thanks. That confirms my recollection of the facility being at 47th and U. I will have to go by and see if it is still there. I haven't been out of the house for two days. Working at home has its down side.

- Jim

There used to be an NOAA facility on Fort Crockett Boulevard or Avenue U when Texas A & M used that property (which used to be federal property). I think NOAA moved out when Texas A & M transferred it to Galveston College. I still saw a lot of NAOO vehicles before Ike, and I assumed they were based on Pelican Island.

The NOAA office on the mainland is on FM 646 just north of I-45 in Dickinson. AFAICT, that is in the 14th district, but it's gerrymandered like crazy around there.

There are other federally funded projects on Galveston Island. UTMB, which is one of the top medical research in the world, gets some federal research funding. The level 4 biohazard lab there is a prime example. It would be nice to find a cure for hemorrhagic (Ebola, etc.) fever before it escapes Africa.

- Jim

The Annoyed Man wrote:... it is very difficult for me to take someone's declamations against pork barrel spending very seriously if the person making those declamations isn't above getting some of his own pork.

I'm reasonably confident that Dr. Paul would tell you that the funds that go to his district are not pork. Of course, every congressman and senator would say that.

I honestly don't see any of it as pork.

When the interstate was built, the Democrats controlled Congress and were doling out interstates as personal favors. So Galveston Island got one. It carries its maximum capacity at times, so I guess we need it. The causeway from the mainland to the island was old enough to be considered in dangerous condition, and now we're getting a replacement that cost more than $100 million.

The Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers are aspects of core functions of the federal government, national defense and promoting interstate and international commerce.

You could question whether NOAA should exist, but it does, and an island in the ocean is an obvious location for some of its facilities.

When I look at the range of politicians who are in the pocket of this or that lobby, who are hypocrites ("pro family" and divorced multiple times), and outright criminals, I have a lot more admiration for Dr. Paul.

I don't agree with him about everything, not by a long shot.

The bottom line is that he has been voted into office 10 times (IIRC), and it's difficult to find anyone to run against him.

- Jim

p.s.: I was obviously typing this while the previous two messages were posted.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Please understand that I don't write this to slam him, but Ron Paul isn't ideologically pure either. He apparently has had a record in the past of voting against bills which are pork laden, when A) those bills are going to pass handily anyway; and B) when some of that pork is for his district. That way, he can claim ideological purity, and bring home the bacon at the same time. At least, that is what I've read. So if what I've read is true, then how did pork for Paul's district get onto the bill in the first place?

I don't want to drag out this discussion forever, but I do respect Dr. Paul for the most part. I voted for him three times this year.

Pork is what you call the money that goes to someone else's district.

The taxpayers of Galveston and Brazoria counties deserve to get some return on the money that they send to Washington. Most of the discretionary federal funds that come here are for coastal issues like the Coast Guard, NOAA, and the Army Corps of Engineers (which is the only agency allowed to perform work on navigable waterways), and the interstate highways.

BTW, there's only one interstate in the district, and Jack Brooks put it there 40 years ago.

I don't know whether or how Dr. Paul gets line items into the budget. The House of Representatives has been controlled by the Democrats for several years now.

- Jim

Third parties in Montana and Louisiana have nominated Dr. Ron Paul for president in those states, and he is on the ballot.

http://www.ronpaul.com/2008-10-20/vote- ... d-montana/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He is unopposed in his House district (14th) and is my Congressman.

I have no opinion about these nominations. I just found out about them and thought the issue was interesting.

- Jim