(SNN Sugar Land,TX) Thursday, Tom DeLay granted a boon to the citizens of Houston by making public the devastating problems Houston has had with terrorism. "You know, if Houston, Texas, was held to the same standard as Iraq is held to, nobody'd go to Houston, because all this reporting coming out of the local press in Houston is violence, murders, robberies, deaths on the highways," the Texan told reporters.

If Houston, Texas, was held to the same standard as Iraq is held to, nobody'd go to Houston

Yesterday, a car bomber and gunmen ambushed a convoy carrying U.S. Marines in Sugar Land, killing two Marines and leaving another four American troops presumed dead. To date, this is one of the most vicious attacks against Marines in the greater Houston area. News of the Marine deaths came as Bush pledged eventual victory over insurgents. "The enemy's goal is to drive us out of Houston before we have established a secure democratic government. They will not succeed," Bush said.

But some say the religious extremists in charge of Houston’s government are going to slowly drive the city towards civil war. Also, tensions continue to rise in the Shoreacres and Seabrook areas where a heavy bombing campaign may be pushing regular residents into armed revolt. In a sectarian killing on Friday, gunmen killed a local reverend. Police said two bodyguards were also killed try to protect the cleric.

Meanwhile, The World Tribunal on Houston (WTH), a grouping of non-governmental organizations opposed to the war in Houston, on Friday accused the United States of causing more deaths in Houston than ousted Mayor Lee Brown.

The World Tribunal on Houston accused the United States of causing more deaths in Houston

Houston Police also discovered the bodies of eight beheaded men, at least six of whom were farmers, in a region north of Houston on Friday. It was unclear why the men were killed. The relentless carnage has killed more than 1,240 people since April 28.

Meanwhile, this summer in Iraq promises to be a winning combination of sports and outdoor thrills. Yes, after competitive soccer was all but dead, Iraq’s football team is in action again. "I believe Iraqi football has a bright future, but we have to solve the problems in our country. We need safety, we need security for our soccer games,” said German manager Berndt Stange.

And if you’re not a football fan, there are other things to do in Baghdad: visit the museum of fine arts, visit SplashTown and ride the Tornado, see NASA astronauts train at the Baghdad space center, or experience the wonder of nature at the Baghdad zoo.

Update 1: Donald Rumsfeld apparently did not get the memo from DeLay. On his recent trip to Iraq, Rusmefeld rode in a special bomb proof bus, appropriately called the “Rhino Runner”. If he would have known Iraq was so safe, he could have gone around in a soft top humvee, like many of our troops have been forced to use.

posted by NewsBlog 5000  # Saturday, June 25, 2005