I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as ours was. We enjoyed family and good food and a restful day. With Christmas coming, I'm sure you won't have any more time to read this blog than I will to write it, so I'm taking the few days left in November and the month of December to rest my typing fingers and reflect on what the season is all about.
May you all have a very merry Christmas, and may 2012 hold God's richest blessings for you and your family. And in the new year may God grant us Christian leadership who will guide our country back to a position of strength and honor.
And with that -- so long until January 2, 2012!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
It's called personal responsibility.
Colleen McCain Nelson is complaining about the lack of response from the City of Dallas on an illegal dumping site. She toured a South Dallas neighborhood with the mayor, and a bunch of trash he had earlier reported was still there. They stopped to talk to two of the neighborhood residents.
The two residents were men standing out in the driveway drinking beer. When Mayor Rawlins introduced himself, it became apparent that neither of them spoke English. Not to worry - Mayor Rawlins had a translator with him. "What's the best thing about your neighborhood," he asked. "There's nothing good here," was the reply.
The trash in question was pictured. It would easily have fit in one of the two pickups in the driveway in the photo. If there were trash dumped across from my house, and the city had not picked it up when I reported it, I'd try to contact the owner of the property. If that failed, I'd back my truck up there and haul it to the dump myself. Maybe if those two guys busy drinking beer had that attitude, there might be something good about their neighborhood. But that would require a little personal responsibility and pride in one's surroundings.
"On tour with mayor." The Dallas Morning News; November 18, 2011; p. 25A.
The two residents were men standing out in the driveway drinking beer. When Mayor Rawlins introduced himself, it became apparent that neither of them spoke English. Not to worry - Mayor Rawlins had a translator with him. "What's the best thing about your neighborhood," he asked. "There's nothing good here," was the reply.
The trash in question was pictured. It would easily have fit in one of the two pickups in the driveway in the photo. If there were trash dumped across from my house, and the city had not picked it up when I reported it, I'd try to contact the owner of the property. If that failed, I'd back my truck up there and haul it to the dump myself. Maybe if those two guys busy drinking beer had that attitude, there might be something good about their neighborhood. But that would require a little personal responsibility and pride in one's surroundings.
"On tour with mayor." The Dallas Morning News; November 18, 2011; p. 25A.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thank goodness for Obamacare!
Since Obamacare has passed, how many of you have noticed how affordable your healthcare is getting to be? Our premiums continue to rise and our benefits continue to decrease. We are now paying co-pays on drugs that previously were 100% covered.
According to the newspaper, we're not the only ones experiencing these benefits of Obamacare. A new study shows that co-payments for brand-name drugs will increase by 40% on average next year, and generic brands will average nearly 30% more.
Thank goodness for Obamacare!
"Co-pays climb for prescription drugs." The Dallas Morning News; November 17, 2011; p. 7A.
According to the newspaper, we're not the only ones experiencing these benefits of Obamacare. A new study shows that co-payments for brand-name drugs will increase by 40% on average next year, and generic brands will average nearly 30% more.
Thank goodness for Obamacare!
"Co-pays climb for prescription drugs." The Dallas Morning News; November 17, 2011; p. 7A.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Granny should have had better sense.
The media seems incensed that Dorli Rainey, age 84, was hit with pepper spray during an Occupy Seattle protest. But I think Granny should have had better sense.
Dorli was on a downtown bus when she heard the helicopters overhead guiding the police as they moved a bunch of protesters who were blocking the streets. She said she thought to herself, "Oh, boy, I'd better go show solidarity with New York." I think Dorli would have been better served if she'd shown solid reasoning instead of solidarity.
Mayor Mike McGinn says Rainey is a well-known local activist. Un-PC translation: We know this nut. Police said officers used pepper spray only against those who refused a lawful order to disperse. If Dorli wasn't willing to take the consequences of "solidarity," she should have stayed on the bus.
"Pepper spray victim becomes icon." The Dallas Morning News; November 17, 2011; p. 7A.
Dorli was on a downtown bus when she heard the helicopters overhead guiding the police as they moved a bunch of protesters who were blocking the streets. She said she thought to herself, "Oh, boy, I'd better go show solidarity with New York." I think Dorli would have been better served if she'd shown solid reasoning instead of solidarity.
Mayor Mike McGinn says Rainey is a well-known local activist. Un-PC translation: We know this nut. Police said officers used pepper spray only against those who refused a lawful order to disperse. If Dorli wasn't willing to take the consequences of "solidarity," she should have stayed on the bus.
"Pepper spray victim becomes icon." The Dallas Morning News; November 17, 2011; p. 7A.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Huh?
I thought newpaper publishers were supposed to be good communicators. If that's the case, publisher J. D. Davidson is certainly in the wrong profession. How's this for convoluted:
"When is the least anyone can do ever enough to save a child?"
This gobbledy-gook headlines Davidson's editorial about Joe Paterno. He says Paterno has a "gravely" voice. Does that mean he's a very serious guy, or does Davidson mean a "gravelly" voice?
When is the least any publisher can proofread ever enough to sound half-way intelligent?
"When is the least anyone can do ever enough to save a child?" The Paris News; November 13, 2011; p. 4A.
"When is the least anyone can do ever enough to save a child?"
This gobbledy-gook headlines Davidson's editorial about Joe Paterno. He says Paterno has a "gravely" voice. Does that mean he's a very serious guy, or does Davidson mean a "gravelly" voice?
When is the least any publisher can proofread ever enough to sound half-way intelligent?
"When is the least anyone can do ever enough to save a child?" The Paris News; November 13, 2011; p. 4A.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
From each according to his means . . .
I saw this scary quote in the newspaper last week: "It makes us wonder whether the extraordinary amount of resources we spend on retirees and their health care should be at least partially reallocated to those who are hurting worse than them." Harry Holzer, Labor economist at Georgetown University.
We better start reining in the socialist movement in America, and we need to start with the White House.
"Talking Points." The Dallas Morning News; November 13, 2011; p. 1P.
We better start reining in the socialist movement in America, and we need to start with the White House.
"Talking Points." The Dallas Morning News; November 13, 2011; p. 1P.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Did you hear about . . .?
I wonder how many of you have heard about the hate crimes that occurred a week ago in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Midwood is inhabited primarily by Orthodox Jews. Last Friday night, vandals scrawled swastikas on park benches and torched cars by igniting gasoline soaked rags underneath them. State Assemblyman Dov Hikind said he had not seen such violence in 29 years of representing the area.
I found out about these crimes because I generally read the newspaper cover to cover every day. It was reported in a news brief column on page 7A two days after it happened. Now, I wonder how many of you would have heard about it had it occurred in a black or gay neighborhood? And I wonder if it would have been two days after it happened before it was briefly mentioned on page 7A. What do you think?
"Residents of Orthodox area protest vandalism." The Dallas Morning News; November 14, 2011; p. 7A.
I found out about these crimes because I generally read the newspaper cover to cover every day. It was reported in a news brief column on page 7A two days after it happened. Now, I wonder how many of you would have heard about it had it occurred in a black or gay neighborhood? And I wonder if it would have been two days after it happened before it was briefly mentioned on page 7A. What do you think?
"Residents of Orthodox area protest vandalism." The Dallas Morning News; November 14, 2011; p. 7A.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
John, Paul, George, or Ringo?
Paris News classified ad in yesterday's paper:
"FOUND: 2 male sm. dogs, part Beatle in the Powderly area. Call 903-732-4292 lv.mes."
"FOUND: 2 male sm. dogs, part Beatle in the Powderly area. Call 903-732-4292 lv.mes."
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Hide-and-Seek and Vandalism
Maybe it's just me, but this whole story sounds fishy. Josiah Watts is 10 years old. He and a bunch of other kids were playing in the neighbor's yard when they broke two sprinkler heads and damaged several foundation shrubs.
The homeowner who suffered the losses says she had previously told one of the children it was OK to play in her yard, but when she came home that day, there were approximately 10 children in her yard who all scattered when they saw her coming. Josiah admits he was in the shrubbery where the damage occurred and says it was one of his friends who broke the sprinkler heads and threw them up on the roof of the house.
The homeowner called the police and said she wanted $1500 restitution. Josiah's parents refuse to pay, because they say Josiah is not responsible. They say Josiah has been traumatized by all this, that he's lost weight and can't sleep. They've spent $2500 in wages and legal fees trying to get out of paying the $1500 they owe this woman. If they're that worried about the effect on their son, why did they allow his name to be printed in the newspaper, and why didn't they just pay the $1500 and end the situation? Josiah is guilty, because even if Josiah didn't do the actual damage, he knows who did, and he evidently is not telling. It's the old guilt by association thing -- the guy who drives the getaway car is just as guilty of bank robbery as the guy who pointed the gun.
But Josiah's parents say there is an ulterior motive. They're a mixed race couple, and it's all because Josiah is half black. No, it's all because Josiah is a little vandal.
"Game of hide-and-seek turns into legal nightmare." The Dallas Morning News; November 11, 2011; p. 1B.
The homeowner who suffered the losses says she had previously told one of the children it was OK to play in her yard, but when she came home that day, there were approximately 10 children in her yard who all scattered when they saw her coming. Josiah admits he was in the shrubbery where the damage occurred and says it was one of his friends who broke the sprinkler heads and threw them up on the roof of the house.
The homeowner called the police and said she wanted $1500 restitution. Josiah's parents refuse to pay, because they say Josiah is not responsible. They say Josiah has been traumatized by all this, that he's lost weight and can't sleep. They've spent $2500 in wages and legal fees trying to get out of paying the $1500 they owe this woman. If they're that worried about the effect on their son, why did they allow his name to be printed in the newspaper, and why didn't they just pay the $1500 and end the situation? Josiah is guilty, because even if Josiah didn't do the actual damage, he knows who did, and he evidently is not telling. It's the old guilt by association thing -- the guy who drives the getaway car is just as guilty of bank robbery as the guy who pointed the gun.
But Josiah's parents say there is an ulterior motive. They're a mixed race couple, and it's all because Josiah is half black. No, it's all because Josiah is a little vandal.
"Game of hide-and-seek turns into legal nightmare." The Dallas Morning News; November 11, 2011; p. 1B.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Little Miranda has a lot to learn.
Miranda Gavitt is a Junior High School student. In the cause of discouraging bullying, she says that we need to pass laws to make repeating a rumor a crime. Let's give Miranda the benefit of the doubt and say that she's not yet studied the U.S. Constitution in school, so she doesn't know about the Bill of Rights that says the government can't tell us what we may and may not say.
Because of her age, I guess little Miranda doesn't yet know that life is not fair. We must develop thick skins to stand up to all the personal affronts we'll suffer through the years. Miranda says if we'd just pass the rumor law, we could put a stop to bullying. Despite Miranda's optimism, no law can stop one kid calling another names or otherwise making fun of him. If it were that simple, we wouldn't have murders, bank robberies, rapes, fraud, or any of the hundreds of other things that are against the law. I've never heard of any legislation that has successfully eliminated the evil it outlaws.
Just a word of advice, Miranda. You may want to outlaw someone else's right to call you names, but what about your right to say someone is a bully when you report him to the teacher? What if he doesn't consider himself a bully, and feels that you are bullying him by calling him that? Does that mean you are guilty of breaking the law you espouse? Be careful what you wish for.
". . .and a rumor crackdown." The Dallas Morning News; November 11, 2011; p. 18A.
Because of her age, I guess little Miranda doesn't yet know that life is not fair. We must develop thick skins to stand up to all the personal affronts we'll suffer through the years. Miranda says if we'd just pass the rumor law, we could put a stop to bullying. Despite Miranda's optimism, no law can stop one kid calling another names or otherwise making fun of him. If it were that simple, we wouldn't have murders, bank robberies, rapes, fraud, or any of the hundreds of other things that are against the law. I've never heard of any legislation that has successfully eliminated the evil it outlaws.
Just a word of advice, Miranda. You may want to outlaw someone else's right to call you names, but what about your right to say someone is a bully when you report him to the teacher? What if he doesn't consider himself a bully, and feels that you are bullying him by calling him that? Does that mean you are guilty of breaking the law you espouse? Be careful what you wish for.
". . .and a rumor crackdown." The Dallas Morning News; November 11, 2011; p. 18A.
Monday, November 14, 2011
More Gaps
It seems the newspaper recently is really emphasizing all the "gaps" in income, wealth, etc. The articles usually leave out key ideas. For example, in examining the gap in wealth between older Americans and younger ones, they left out the major factor of a difference in mindset. Older Americans tend to be the ones who have worked hard, put off buying luxuries, bought houses they could afford, and planned for their retirement. Younger Americans tend to be "live in the moment" types -- I want that new car with all the bells and whistles, and I don't want to wait until I've saved up a sizable downpayment. A two-bedroom house in a modest neighborhood just isn't big enough. I want the four-bedroom one with the pool outside.
Now we have the maternity leave gap. Lower-educated mothers are nearly four times more likely than college graduates to be denied paid maternity benefits according to the Census Bureau. That's the widest gap over the past 50 years bemoans the Associated Press. Could that be because lower-educated mothers didn't sacrifice to do well in school and, therefore, can't get the kinds of good-paying jobs with benefits that those who stuck it out and graduated college can? Yet that factor is never discussed in this article.
"For working families where the norm now is for both mom and dad to work, not having some kind of paycheck coming in while they take time to take care of a child can be a real financial burden," says Lynda Laughlin, a family demographer at the Census Bureau. If it's that much of a burden, perhaps they should consider delaying having children.
"There's a longer-term trend of widening U.S. income inequality caused by slow wage growth at the middle- and lower-income levels. Women with higher birth rates in the U.S. are on average younger and less educated and typically Hispanic, and they are more likely to toil in lower-wage positions." To sum up, Kathleen Gerson, a professor of sociology at New York University, says, "The irony is that the people with the most children are now the least likely to have the supports they need." Could it be that low-income people aren't low-income because they don't have supports, but that they're low-income because they refuse to control their hormones and stop having children they can't afford?
Of course, all this is part of the liberal agenda to place more burdens upon businesses. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires businesses to allow unpaid time off for the births and care of children. I told Mr. Essie May when that passed that it was just step one. The next thing, I predicted, was that businesses would be forced to provide paid time off. Looks like Essie may have predicted correctly on that one.
"Access to maternity leave levels off." The Dallas Morning News; November 11, 2011; p. 7A.
Now we have the maternity leave gap. Lower-educated mothers are nearly four times more likely than college graduates to be denied paid maternity benefits according to the Census Bureau. That's the widest gap over the past 50 years bemoans the Associated Press. Could that be because lower-educated mothers didn't sacrifice to do well in school and, therefore, can't get the kinds of good-paying jobs with benefits that those who stuck it out and graduated college can? Yet that factor is never discussed in this article.
"For working families where the norm now is for both mom and dad to work, not having some kind of paycheck coming in while they take time to take care of a child can be a real financial burden," says Lynda Laughlin, a family demographer at the Census Bureau. If it's that much of a burden, perhaps they should consider delaying having children.
"There's a longer-term trend of widening U.S. income inequality caused by slow wage growth at the middle- and lower-income levels. Women with higher birth rates in the U.S. are on average younger and less educated and typically Hispanic, and they are more likely to toil in lower-wage positions." To sum up, Kathleen Gerson, a professor of sociology at New York University, says, "The irony is that the people with the most children are now the least likely to have the supports they need." Could it be that low-income people aren't low-income because they don't have supports, but that they're low-income because they refuse to control their hormones and stop having children they can't afford?
Of course, all this is part of the liberal agenda to place more burdens upon businesses. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires businesses to allow unpaid time off for the births and care of children. I told Mr. Essie May when that passed that it was just step one. The next thing, I predicted, was that businesses would be forced to provide paid time off. Looks like Essie may have predicted correctly on that one.
"Access to maternity leave levels off." The Dallas Morning News; November 11, 2011; p. 7A.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
How Unfair!
We are just so unfair in this country! Maribel Arellano of Irving thinks we're so unfair that she's suing.
Maribel has been in this country illegally for 21 years. Authorities found out she was here when she was stopped for a traffic violation in 2008. Since she was not legal, I feel confident in saying she didn't have a drivers license, so she shouldn't have been driving, either. She is fighting her deportation order.
But what really has Maribel steamed is that she must wear an electronic monitoring device. She said she is humiliated by the device. I guess Maribel and I have different sets of values, but what I'd find humiliating is that I was caught living in a country where I had no business to be. She says wearing the monitor is cruel and unusual punishment. If that's the case, why doesn't she go back to Mexico where the government is known for its compassion and justice?
I don't understand why an illegal is given standing to sue our government anyway. That's absurd. If they don't like the way our government operates, we'll gladly show them the border. But here's the icing on this particular cake -- Maribel has borne seven children in the 21 years she's been here. The reporter doesn't say, but would you like to take bets on who pays to support those children? Now that, amigos, is what's unfair!
"Federal suit targets ankle monitors." The Dallas Morning News; November 10, 2011; p. 1B.
Maribel has been in this country illegally for 21 years. Authorities found out she was here when she was stopped for a traffic violation in 2008. Since she was not legal, I feel confident in saying she didn't have a drivers license, so she shouldn't have been driving, either. She is fighting her deportation order.
But what really has Maribel steamed is that she must wear an electronic monitoring device. She said she is humiliated by the device. I guess Maribel and I have different sets of values, but what I'd find humiliating is that I was caught living in a country where I had no business to be. She says wearing the monitor is cruel and unusual punishment. If that's the case, why doesn't she go back to Mexico where the government is known for its compassion and justice?
I don't understand why an illegal is given standing to sue our government anyway. That's absurd. If they don't like the way our government operates, we'll gladly show them the border. But here's the icing on this particular cake -- Maribel has borne seven children in the 21 years she's been here. The reporter doesn't say, but would you like to take bets on who pays to support those children? Now that, amigos, is what's unfair!
"Federal suit targets ankle monitors." The Dallas Morning News; November 10, 2011; p. 1B.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
I was curious.
One of the organizers of the Occupy Dallas protesters is Kooper Caraway. He was quoted as saying, "I would like an end to all U.S. foreign wars. I would like the immediate end of all deportations of people who come here to work. I would like an immediate end to privatized university systems and all public universities be nationalized so tuition would be free or taxpayer-funded."
Sounds like Kooper is a bit naive, but I was curious, so I decided to find out a little about him. He's 20 years old, and he ran for mayor of Mt. Pleasant this past year (He lost -- he garnered 17 votes to his opponent's almost 500). He claims to be a Libertarian, yet he wants to take away choice (no private universities) and he wants to turn our public universities over to federal control and take my money to pay someone else's tuition. That doesn't sound at all like Libertarian philosophy to me. I don't think Ron Paul would agree with him on those points, either.
Kooper wants to protect Mt. Pleasant residents from banks and big corporations. He doesn't say how he wants to do that, but it's plain that he thinks these poor ignorant hicks who live there aren't capable of conducting their own business affairs. I found a clip where Kooper was leading some sort of protest rally in Dallas. Kooper is not a black man, yet the inflections in his voice and his hand gestures made me think of the drug dealer in the 'hood. He mostly repeated himself over and over in the 2 minute video, railing against the "white-ist agenda." Again, these things don't sound very libertarian to me.
Another interesting thing I found -- or rather didn't find. I can't find a driver's license under the name of Kooper Caraway or Cooper Caraway. And despite him having been on the ballot in a Mt. Pleasant City election, I couldn't find a voter registration record for him. I wonder if Kooper Caraway is his real name, and if it is, why can't I find these documents? Wouldn't it be interesting if the news media did a little digging into Kooper's background?
At any rate, I'm pretty sure even Kooper doesn't know what he is -- a silly socialist who's not half as smart as he thinks.
"Talking Points." The Dallas Morning News; October 16, 2011; p. 1P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxXqT8dnOsY
Sounds like Kooper is a bit naive, but I was curious, so I decided to find out a little about him. He's 20 years old, and he ran for mayor of Mt. Pleasant this past year (He lost -- he garnered 17 votes to his opponent's almost 500). He claims to be a Libertarian, yet he wants to take away choice (no private universities) and he wants to turn our public universities over to federal control and take my money to pay someone else's tuition. That doesn't sound at all like Libertarian philosophy to me. I don't think Ron Paul would agree with him on those points, either.
Kooper wants to protect Mt. Pleasant residents from banks and big corporations. He doesn't say how he wants to do that, but it's plain that he thinks these poor ignorant hicks who live there aren't capable of conducting their own business affairs. I found a clip where Kooper was leading some sort of protest rally in Dallas. Kooper is not a black man, yet the inflections in his voice and his hand gestures made me think of the drug dealer in the 'hood. He mostly repeated himself over and over in the 2 minute video, railing against the "white-ist agenda." Again, these things don't sound very libertarian to me.
Another interesting thing I found -- or rather didn't find. I can't find a driver's license under the name of Kooper Caraway or Cooper Caraway. And despite him having been on the ballot in a Mt. Pleasant City election, I couldn't find a voter registration record for him. I wonder if Kooper Caraway is his real name, and if it is, why can't I find these documents? Wouldn't it be interesting if the news media did a little digging into Kooper's background?
At any rate, I'm pretty sure even Kooper doesn't know what he is -- a silly socialist who's not half as smart as he thinks.
"Talking Points." The Dallas Morning News; October 16, 2011; p. 1P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxXqT8dnOsY
Friday, November 11, 2011
Guess What?
Little Jasmen Gonzalez was abducted from her relatives' apartment in Carrollton and raped and murdered allegedly by Jose Sifuentes, her cousin by marriage. Guess what? Jose is in this country illegally. No word on how many of the other family members are also illegals. I guess it really doesn't matter -- ICE wouldn't deport them anyway.
"Friend of victim's family investigated." The Dallas Morning News; November 1, 2011; p. 1B.
"Friend of victim's family investigated." The Dallas Morning News; November 1, 2011; p. 1B.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Backward Philosophies
It seems today as if most people have backward philosophies. I've posted before on the change in the sentencing laws for crack cocaine violations. Until recently, crack cocaine possession and/or distribution garnered the offender a more severe sentence than a similar violation with powder cocaine. So instead of increasing the sentences for powder cocaine, they decreased the sentences for crack.
As these new guidelines are implemented retroactively, thousands of drug offenders will be released before their sentences are served. Jim Wade, the federal public defender says, "We're trying to make sure you don't serve one more day than necessary." Society would be better off if his philosophy instead were, "We're trying to make sure you don't serve one day less than you deserve."
"Change in crack sentencing to free thousands." The Dallas Morning News; November 2, 2011; p. 6A.
As these new guidelines are implemented retroactively, thousands of drug offenders will be released before their sentences are served. Jim Wade, the federal public defender says, "We're trying to make sure you don't serve one more day than necessary." Society would be better off if his philosophy instead were, "We're trying to make sure you don't serve one day less than you deserve."
"Change in crack sentencing to free thousands." The Dallas Morning News; November 2, 2011; p. 6A.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Smart move, but for whom?
Emily Worland is 24 years old. She is a graduate of SMU with degrees in economics and public policy. She is a high school teacher and is engaged to be married. She has decided that the smart thing for her to do is to move back in with her parents.
She says it sounds traumatic and depressing, but she loves it. I wonder if her parents feel the same? Perhaps they find it traumatic and depressing to have an adult child living with them. Maybe they were looking forward to being empty nesters.
Emily says she has nothing to be ashamed and embarrassed about. She says she just made the decision to save her money and not amass insane debt. Maybe her parents had made the decision to sock more retirement money away once their children were grown, but I guess Emily's plan to save her money threw a monkey wrench into Mom and Dad's retirement plans.
Emily says Dad makes her lunch every day, Mom folds her clothes and feeds her dog, and most of her bills are paid. Well duh! Who wouldn't want to live like that? Do you suppose Dad gets tired of getting up every morning to fix a lunch? Has Emily considered getting up and fixing breakfast for her dad? And do you suppose that if Mom wanted a dog to feed, she'd have gotten her own? Has Emily considered doing the laundry for her mom and dad? Do you suppose Mom and Dad enjoy paying the bills for a daughter they've already put through school? Has Emily thought about paying the utility bills for her parents? But Emily says more parents should embrace and welcome this lifestyle.
Her reasons include "increased productivity" -- she's able to save for a down payment on a house, so she and her fiance will begin married life with equity, not debt (couldn't we all if we had someone to mooch off of); "respect and friendship" -- she gets to know her parents, and they get to know her (if they didn't get to know each other in 18 years, I don't think they will now); "a sense of camaraderie" -- Emily's generation's sense of entitlement and tendency to live beyond their means is a product of leaving home too soon (If what Emily has isn't a sense of entitlement, I guess I just don't know the meaning of the term!).
So, Emily encourages her peers, be smart and go home! Being part of the generation Emily is taking advantage of, I encourage my peers to be smart, kick their spoiled little heinies out, and go take a cruise on their inheritance money.
"Smartest move: Go back home." The Dallas Morning News; October 15, 2011; p. 19A.
She says it sounds traumatic and depressing, but she loves it. I wonder if her parents feel the same? Perhaps they find it traumatic and depressing to have an adult child living with them. Maybe they were looking forward to being empty nesters.
Emily says she has nothing to be ashamed and embarrassed about. She says she just made the decision to save her money and not amass insane debt. Maybe her parents had made the decision to sock more retirement money away once their children were grown, but I guess Emily's plan to save her money threw a monkey wrench into Mom and Dad's retirement plans.
Emily says Dad makes her lunch every day, Mom folds her clothes and feeds her dog, and most of her bills are paid. Well duh! Who wouldn't want to live like that? Do you suppose Dad gets tired of getting up every morning to fix a lunch? Has Emily considered getting up and fixing breakfast for her dad? And do you suppose that if Mom wanted a dog to feed, she'd have gotten her own? Has Emily considered doing the laundry for her mom and dad? Do you suppose Mom and Dad enjoy paying the bills for a daughter they've already put through school? Has Emily thought about paying the utility bills for her parents? But Emily says more parents should embrace and welcome this lifestyle.
Her reasons include "increased productivity" -- she's able to save for a down payment on a house, so she and her fiance will begin married life with equity, not debt (couldn't we all if we had someone to mooch off of); "respect and friendship" -- she gets to know her parents, and they get to know her (if they didn't get to know each other in 18 years, I don't think they will now); "a sense of camaraderie" -- Emily's generation's sense of entitlement and tendency to live beyond their means is a product of leaving home too soon (If what Emily has isn't a sense of entitlement, I guess I just don't know the meaning of the term!).
So, Emily encourages her peers, be smart and go home! Being part of the generation Emily is taking advantage of, I encourage my peers to be smart, kick their spoiled little heinies out, and go take a cruise on their inheritance money.
"Smartest move: Go back home." The Dallas Morning News; October 15, 2011; p. 19A.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
How do they know?
The Creek Point Apartments in McKinney, a section 8 housing project, has a rule -- children under the age of 18 are not allowed outside without a parent. I'm sure that rule was not implemented on a whim. The complex management says the rule was implemented after problems with vandalism. The Apartment complex is now being sued because Robert and Zinia Guerrero were fined $50 when their son was spotted running around the complex without adult supervision.
Robert says, "I have no idea who was doing what, but what I can tell you is that my kids were not out there doing things they were not supposed to." How does he know if he wasn't with them? At any rate, his son was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing -- the complex rules say he can't be out without supervision. If the taxpayers are subsidizing Robert's rent, then they have a right to set the ground rules. If Robert doesn't like the rules, he can pay his own rent and live just as he chooses.
"I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would have to hang out with a 13-year-old in a parking lot when I had other things to do," Robert says. Well, Robert, a 13-year-old has no business hanging out in a parking lot. If he doesn't have anything more constructive than that to do, you need to put him to work doing some chores. As my Grandma used to say, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop."
"Family challenges fine for unsupervised teen." The Dallas Morning News; October 19, 2011; p. 1B.
Robert says, "I have no idea who was doing what, but what I can tell you is that my kids were not out there doing things they were not supposed to." How does he know if he wasn't with them? At any rate, his son was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing -- the complex rules say he can't be out without supervision. If the taxpayers are subsidizing Robert's rent, then they have a right to set the ground rules. If Robert doesn't like the rules, he can pay his own rent and live just as he chooses.
"I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would have to hang out with a 13-year-old in a parking lot when I had other things to do," Robert says. Well, Robert, a 13-year-old has no business hanging out in a parking lot. If he doesn't have anything more constructive than that to do, you need to put him to work doing some chores. As my Grandma used to say, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop."
"Family challenges fine for unsupervised teen." The Dallas Morning News; October 19, 2011; p. 1B.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Available Jobs
All you people who have been drawing welfare for years because, you claim, you can't find a job -- there are jobs available. Farmers in Alabama can't find people to harvest their crops since they got rid of the illegals.
Potato farmer Keith Smith said American workers show up late, work slower, and are ready to call it a day after lunch. He said many of them quit after a single day. Yes, the hours are long and the pay isn't high and the work is hard. But it's a job.
We need to provide a way for those on welfare to take these jobs, and if they refuse to work, cut off their handouts. Getting illegals off our payrolls and getting lazy Americans off their heinies is the best way to cut government spending and boost our economy.
"Illegal-immigration law leaves farmers in lurch." The Dallas Morning News; October 21, 2011; p. 6A.
Potato farmer Keith Smith said American workers show up late, work slower, and are ready to call it a day after lunch. He said many of them quit after a single day. Yes, the hours are long and the pay isn't high and the work is hard. But it's a job.
We need to provide a way for those on welfare to take these jobs, and if they refuse to work, cut off their handouts. Getting illegals off our payrolls and getting lazy Americans off their heinies is the best way to cut government spending and boost our economy.
"Illegal-immigration law leaves farmers in lurch." The Dallas Morning News; October 21, 2011; p. 6A.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Poor Mason
I saw one of the saddest things I've read in a long time in a recent editorial section of The Dallas Morning News.
Mason Crumpacker is a very cute 9-year-old girl. She was the subject of a Q&A feature. Mason had attended an atheist convention, and it was this that brought her to the attention of editorial writer Tod Robberson.
Mason has been brainwashed by her parents into believing she is a "free-thinker" when it is obvious she is anything but that. At the convention, she asked Christopher Hitchens for his recommendation on what books she should read. Hitchens is a champion of the New Atheism movement, and the author of a book entitled God is Not Great. Mason says he is a brilliant man, but when asked if there was anything he had said or written that she disagreed with, she said, "I haven't read Christopher Hitchens. I'm 9." How can little Mason think that Hitchens is a brilliant man if she doesn't even know what he has written? Mommy and Daddy told her what to think - that's how.
When asked why she went to the convention, little Mason didn't say, "Because Mommy and Daddy dragged me here." She said she wanted to "boost her intellectual curiosity." But, Mason, as you say, you're only 9. You should be concerned about friends and sleepovers and Barbies and bicycles and Harry Potter and Disney films when you're not in school or doing homework.
Mason says the Bible doesn't make sense -- what proof is there that Adam and Eve existed? I wonder if she, herself, has studied the Bible as much as she has Hitchens' works? Yet she does believe in evolution. She thinks it makes sense that a group of "microscopic cells [she doesn't say what proves where the microscopic cells came from], formatted into bigger cells, which created the first fish, who slowly evolved into lizards . . ." and so on. Oh yeah, Mason, I can see how that makes much more sense than that a Creator God made the cells and fish and lizards and all the other things on the earth. When Mason finished her rote lesson in evolution, she turned to her parents and asked how she did. It's quite obvious that Mason didn't develop this mindset by her own free-thinking.
Mason says that people are entitled to their own beliefs. She says she is a Pastafarian -- that she believes there is a flying spaghetti monster. I don't know if she was trying to be clever and cute or if that's something she really believes. Mason says that children can learn right from wrong without religion because they have their parents to guide them along the way. "And if their parents were raised right, they could have an open mind, have fun and be safe." But what if the parents weren't "raised right"? What if all the children have parents like Mason's? What if the parents are wrong about what's right?
My prayer is that Mason will evolve into a true free thinker and learn the truth that will make her free indeed.
"Posing the big questions." The Dallas Morning News; October 30, 2011; p. 5P.
Mason Crumpacker is a very cute 9-year-old girl. She was the subject of a Q&A feature. Mason had attended an atheist convention, and it was this that brought her to the attention of editorial writer Tod Robberson.
Mason has been brainwashed by her parents into believing she is a "free-thinker" when it is obvious she is anything but that. At the convention, she asked Christopher Hitchens for his recommendation on what books she should read. Hitchens is a champion of the New Atheism movement, and the author of a book entitled God is Not Great. Mason says he is a brilliant man, but when asked if there was anything he had said or written that she disagreed with, she said, "I haven't read Christopher Hitchens. I'm 9." How can little Mason think that Hitchens is a brilliant man if she doesn't even know what he has written? Mommy and Daddy told her what to think - that's how.
When asked why she went to the convention, little Mason didn't say, "Because Mommy and Daddy dragged me here." She said she wanted to "boost her intellectual curiosity." But, Mason, as you say, you're only 9. You should be concerned about friends and sleepovers and Barbies and bicycles and Harry Potter and Disney films when you're not in school or doing homework.
Mason says the Bible doesn't make sense -- what proof is there that Adam and Eve existed? I wonder if she, herself, has studied the Bible as much as she has Hitchens' works? Yet she does believe in evolution. She thinks it makes sense that a group of "microscopic cells [she doesn't say what proves where the microscopic cells came from], formatted into bigger cells, which created the first fish, who slowly evolved into lizards . . ." and so on. Oh yeah, Mason, I can see how that makes much more sense than that a Creator God made the cells and fish and lizards and all the other things on the earth. When Mason finished her rote lesson in evolution, she turned to her parents and asked how she did. It's quite obvious that Mason didn't develop this mindset by her own free-thinking.
Mason says that people are entitled to their own beliefs. She says she is a Pastafarian -- that she believes there is a flying spaghetti monster. I don't know if she was trying to be clever and cute or if that's something she really believes. Mason says that children can learn right from wrong without religion because they have their parents to guide them along the way. "And if their parents were raised right, they could have an open mind, have fun and be safe." But what if the parents weren't "raised right"? What if all the children have parents like Mason's? What if the parents are wrong about what's right?
My prayer is that Mason will evolve into a true free thinker and learn the truth that will make her free indeed.
"Posing the big questions." The Dallas Morning News; October 30, 2011; p. 5P.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Let's Fix It
Lynn Wolfe of Plano says that the new voter ID laws are not designed to fix a problem. She says they're designed to fix elections. Hmmmm - maybe Lynn has forgotten that ACORN registered the entire Dallas Cowboys starting line-up to vote in Nevada. Maybe Lynn has forgotten that dead people registered to vote from beyond the grave in Chicago and other places. Or that in Philadelphia, at least 1,500 fraudulent registrations were filed. Or that some people who registered, strange as it seems, didn't spell their own names correctly.
And let's face it -- anyone who doesn't have some form of picture ID in today's society is a little suspicious anyway.
It seems to me that Lynn really doesn't mind fixed elections as long as it's the Democrats who have the fix in.
"Voter ID law's impact." The Dallas Morning News; October 31, 2011; p. 10A.
And let's face it -- anyone who doesn't have some form of picture ID in today's society is a little suspicious anyway.
It seems to me that Lynn really doesn't mind fixed elections as long as it's the Democrats who have the fix in.
"Voter ID law's impact." The Dallas Morning News; October 31, 2011; p. 10A.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Astonishing Stupidity
Tim Fisk of Richardson thinks the Republican candidates for the Presidential nomination are too harsh on illegal aliens. He wonders "when was the last time any of them exercised the bedrock American virtue of self-reliance and mowed their own lawns?"
I fail to see what one has to do with the other, but there is certainly nothing wrong with paying someone else to do one's chores as long as he's in this country legally. I wonder if Tim exercised the bedrock American virtue of self-reliance and built his own car? I wonder if Tim exercises the bedrock American virtue of self-reliance and repairs his own air conditioning? I wonder if Tim exercised the bedrock American virtue of self-reliance and built his own house brick by brick? I wonder if Tim exercises the bedrock virtue of self-reliance and cans the food he grows in his garden and butchers the cows and pigs and chickens he raises?
The only other response I can think of for Tim is "astonishing stupidity!"
"Any do-it-yourselfers?" The Dallas Morning News; October 23, 2011; p. 3P.
I fail to see what one has to do with the other, but there is certainly nothing wrong with paying someone else to do one's chores as long as he's in this country legally. I wonder if Tim exercised the bedrock American virtue of self-reliance and built his own car? I wonder if Tim exercises the bedrock American virtue of self-reliance and repairs his own air conditioning? I wonder if Tim exercised the bedrock American virtue of self-reliance and built his own house brick by brick? I wonder if Tim exercises the bedrock virtue of self-reliance and cans the food he grows in his garden and butchers the cows and pigs and chickens he raises?
The only other response I can think of for Tim is "astonishing stupidity!"
"Any do-it-yourselfers?" The Dallas Morning News; October 23, 2011; p. 3P.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
So Many Bible Scholars
Sam Madden says that he doesn't see where "Jesus would have harsh words for a Mormon, Buddhist, Muslim, etc., as long as they were actually living their life by God's commandments."
My goodness, Sam, what Bible are you reading?
How about this: "Depart from me ye that work iniquity, for I never knew you"?
How about this: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves"?
How about this: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ"?
Or this: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction"?
How about this: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved"?
How about this: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast"?
So, Sam, the upshot is that if a religion claims any way to heaven other than faith in Jesus Christ, it is a false religion, and it behooves us to call it what it is, just as Jesus and his apostles did.
"Jesus harsh on actions only." The Dallas Morning News; October 23, 2011; p. 2P.
My goodness, Sam, what Bible are you reading?
How about this: "Depart from me ye that work iniquity, for I never knew you"?
How about this: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves"?
How about this: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ"?
Or this: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction"?
How about this: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved"?
How about this: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast"?
So, Sam, the upshot is that if a religion claims any way to heaven other than faith in Jesus Christ, it is a false religion, and it behooves us to call it what it is, just as Jesus and his apostles did.
"Jesus harsh on actions only." The Dallas Morning News; October 23, 2011; p. 2P.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Unclear on the Concept
Obama has come up with another "more of the same" plan to help people who owe more on their homes than they're worth.
Economists say that some people could save perhaps as much as $3000 a year under the plan. But they're pessimistic about the plan working as a spur to the economy. They say that homeowners who are eligible and who choose to refinance through the government program could opt to sock away their savings or pay down debt rather than spend.
Imagine something so irresponsible as digging yourself out of debt rather than digging your hole deeper!
"Obama unveils refinance changes." The Dallas Morning News; October 25, 2011; p. 1A.
Economists say that some people could save perhaps as much as $3000 a year under the plan. But they're pessimistic about the plan working as a spur to the economy. They say that homeowners who are eligible and who choose to refinance through the government program could opt to sock away their savings or pay down debt rather than spend.
Imagine something so irresponsible as digging yourself out of debt rather than digging your hole deeper!
"Obama unveils refinance changes." The Dallas Morning News; October 25, 2011; p. 1A.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Unreasonable? I don't think so.
Florida has a new law requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test before receiving benefits, but a federal judge has blocked it. She says it violates the Constitutional ban on unreasonable search and seizure. I don't think so.
If any suit needs to be filed here, it needs to be on behalf of the taxpayers who are having their wages unreasonably seized and given to others. Luis Lebron is the 35-year-old single father who filed the lawsuit. He should be grateful that the state is willing to consider giving an able-bodied adult man a handout. Instead, he ungratefully takes that "you owe it to me" attitude so prevalent today and refuses something as simple as giving a urine sample. Well, Luis, if you don't want to give the sample, that's your privilege, and it's the privilege of the taxpayers to refuse to support your lazy lifestyle.
Unfortunately, I foresee that Luis will win his case.
"Florida drug test rule for welfare blocked." The Dallas Morning News; October 25, 2011; p. 4A.
If any suit needs to be filed here, it needs to be on behalf of the taxpayers who are having their wages unreasonably seized and given to others. Luis Lebron is the 35-year-old single father who filed the lawsuit. He should be grateful that the state is willing to consider giving an able-bodied adult man a handout. Instead, he ungratefully takes that "you owe it to me" attitude so prevalent today and refuses something as simple as giving a urine sample. Well, Luis, if you don't want to give the sample, that's your privilege, and it's the privilege of the taxpayers to refuse to support your lazy lifestyle.
Unfortunately, I foresee that Luis will win his case.
"Florida drug test rule for welfare blocked." The Dallas Morning News; October 25, 2011; p. 4A.
Monday, October 31, 2011
All Hail The Obamas!
Cynthia Papa of Fredericksburg says she wants to "recognize and credit the president, Michelle Obama, and the entire Obama administration for bringing recognition to the obesity epidemic." I guess Cynthia was one of the few people on the planet who didn't know, until Michelle told her, that being overweight wasn't good for you.
Cynthia encourages us to "look around, people." She wants us to see all the changes for which the Obamas are responsible in the food industry:
Perhaps I'd credit the Obamas with a bit more sincerity on health issues if the President didn't have a cigarette habit. That's what we call "Gag at a gnat and swallow a Camel."
"Obamas lead on health issues." The Dallas Morning News; October 24, 2011; p. 10A.
Cynthia encourages us to "look around, people." She wants us to see all the changes for which the Obamas are responsible in the food industry:
- Manufacturers are packaging in smaller portions now. Do you suppose that's a cost-cutting measure rather than a response to Michelle's edicts? Personally, I don't like paying for 1/2 gallon of ice cream but carrying home only 3 pints.
- Fast-food restaurants have expanded healthier choices. Again, do you suppose that's because there's a market for "healthier" food? I do find it amusing when I see someone order a "healthy" salad then drench it with 1/2 cup of dressing.
- The U.S. Government has re-established the food chart. In case you didn't know Cynthia, the food chart never went away. Michelle has just revamped it. It's still the same principle -- eat a variety of healthy foods including lots of whole grains, and limit sugars, starches, and fats. But since you didn't know obesity was not good for you until Michelle told you, I suppose you didn't know anything about nutrition, either.
Perhaps I'd credit the Obamas with a bit more sincerity on health issues if the President didn't have a cigarette habit. That's what we call "Gag at a gnat and swallow a Camel."
"Obamas lead on health issues." The Dallas Morning News; October 24, 2011; p. 10A.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Occupy Update
One hundred and thirty Occupy Chicago protesters had to add to their name. They are now members of Occupy Chicago Jail after they refused to leave a city park when it closed.
Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York -- the ones protesting greed -- may have to change their name to Occupy Occupy Wall Street. It seems they don't want to share their food with the part of the 99% even lower on the social scale than themselves. They're perturbed that homeless people have been showing up to partake of their food.
“We need to limit the amount of food we’re putting out” to curb the influx of derelicts, said Rafael Moreno, a kitchen volunteer. So for three days, they'll serve nothing but brown rice instead of the usual organic chicken and vegetables, spaghetti bolognese, and roasted beet and sheep’s-milk-cheese salad. Now that really sounds like a menu for the downtrodden, doesn't it?
So, my conclusion is that these people want equity in the sense of increasing their own wealth by taking from those who have more, but not in the sense of sharing what they have with those less fortunate than they are. There's a word for that. It's called hypocrisy.
"Chicago protesters defy order to leave city park." The Dallas Morning News; October 24, 2011; p. 4A.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/zuccotti_hell_kitchen_i5biNyYYhpa8MSYIL9xSDL#ixzz1cChymrg7
Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York -- the ones protesting greed -- may have to change their name to Occupy Occupy Wall Street. It seems they don't want to share their food with the part of the 99% even lower on the social scale than themselves. They're perturbed that homeless people have been showing up to partake of their food.
“We need to limit the amount of food we’re putting out” to curb the influx of derelicts, said Rafael Moreno, a kitchen volunteer. So for three days, they'll serve nothing but brown rice instead of the usual organic chicken and vegetables, spaghetti bolognese, and roasted beet and sheep’s-milk-cheese salad. Now that really sounds like a menu for the downtrodden, doesn't it?
So, my conclusion is that these people want equity in the sense of increasing their own wealth by taking from those who have more, but not in the sense of sharing what they have with those less fortunate than they are. There's a word for that. It's called hypocrisy.
"Chicago protesters defy order to leave city park." The Dallas Morning News; October 24, 2011; p. 4A.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/zuccotti_hell_kitchen_i5biNyYYhpa8MSYIL9xSDL#ixzz1cChymrg7
Saturday, October 29, 2011
When will they learn - you just can't help some people?
Richard Antwine, 49 years old, committed suicide last November in Dallas. Reporter Kim Horner and the do-gooders of the city say this is evidence that we must do more to help the homeless. But let's look at Richard and the services he was offered.
The reporter admits that the taxpayers spend millions each year in sheltering, incarcerating and treating the mentally ill. Richard was a crack cocaine and alcohol abuser. Miss Horner excuses this as a "common way of trying to relieve the symptoms of depression." Hmmmm - could it be that she has the cause and effect backward?
Anyway, Richard was jailed in 2009 for missing a meeting with his parole officer -- his lawyer says it was because he was in Terrell State Hospital at the time. He was released after a month in jail. Antwine insisted he wanted to do the right things, but he violated parole again by giving a false address and using drugs, and he was jailed again in July 2009.
When he was released in April 2010, he was sent to a halfway house. He stayed out past curfew in July, violating the terms of his parole, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He disappeared from the halfway house after picking up his disability check. Yes, hardworking taxpayer, we bought drugs and alcohol for Richard while he was violating his parole.
The claim is that we failed this man, yet the mental health clinic that would serve his needs has no record of him seeking help. That's probably because the clinic was housed in the same building as his parole officer -- someone he surely did not want to run into.
It seems this man was offered everything he needed -- psychiatric help, a place to stay, money to live on. Neither you nor I nor the system failed this man. Some people just can't be helped.
"Shut out by the revolving door." The Dallas Morning News; November 23, 2010; p. 1A.
The reporter admits that the taxpayers spend millions each year in sheltering, incarcerating and treating the mentally ill. Richard was a crack cocaine and alcohol abuser. Miss Horner excuses this as a "common way of trying to relieve the symptoms of depression." Hmmmm - could it be that she has the cause and effect backward?
Anyway, Richard was jailed in 2009 for missing a meeting with his parole officer -- his lawyer says it was because he was in Terrell State Hospital at the time. He was released after a month in jail. Antwine insisted he wanted to do the right things, but he violated parole again by giving a false address and using drugs, and he was jailed again in July 2009.
When he was released in April 2010, he was sent to a halfway house. He stayed out past curfew in July, violating the terms of his parole, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He disappeared from the halfway house after picking up his disability check. Yes, hardworking taxpayer, we bought drugs and alcohol for Richard while he was violating his parole.
The claim is that we failed this man, yet the mental health clinic that would serve his needs has no record of him seeking help. That's probably because the clinic was housed in the same building as his parole officer -- someone he surely did not want to run into.
It seems this man was offered everything he needed -- psychiatric help, a place to stay, money to live on. Neither you nor I nor the system failed this man. Some people just can't be helped.
"Shut out by the revolving door." The Dallas Morning News; November 23, 2010; p. 1A.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Will God remember?
Frank Kameny died October 12. If you don't recognize his name, you are not alone. I didn't know who he was, either. His obituary says he was a gay rights pioneer. He's "famous" for being queer and getting fired from a government position because of it in 1957.
In an AP interview in 2009, Kameny said he wanted to be remembered most for coming up with the slogan "Gay is Good." I feel sure that, on October 12, 2011, God remembered.
"Gay-rights pioneer fought for, witnessed changes in society." The Dallas Morning News; October 13, 2011; p. 8B.
In an AP interview in 2009, Kameny said he wanted to be remembered most for coming up with the slogan "Gay is Good." I feel sure that, on October 12, 2011, God remembered.
"Gay-rights pioneer fought for, witnessed changes in society." The Dallas Morning News; October 13, 2011; p. 8B.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Look what I found on page 9.
Buried way over on page 9 of the newspaper, I found this little tidbit. Steve Spinner is an Energy Department adviser and a former fundraiser for Obama. His wife's law firm represents Solyndra. In an email pushing for the Department to approve the loan for Solyndra, he says, "How hard is this? I have the Office of the Vice President and White House breathing down my neck on this. They are getting itchy to get involved."
Funny. Now they're getting itchy to get uninvolved.
Incidentally, if this were President George W. Bush and one of his fundraisers, do you think it would have been on page 9?
"Ex-Obama fundraiser urged loan." The Dallas Morning News; October 8, 2011; p. 9A.
Funny. Now they're getting itchy to get uninvolved.
Incidentally, if this were President George W. Bush and one of his fundraisers, do you think it would have been on page 9?
"Ex-Obama fundraiser urged loan." The Dallas Morning News; October 8, 2011; p. 9A.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Presbyterians pound another nail in our coffin.
Presbyterians recently ordained their first openly gay minister, Scott Anderson. Anderson was a Presbyterian minister from 1983 to 1990 when he told his congregation about his sexual proclivity. He said a couple in the church learned he was gay and "tried to use that against him." Perhaps they weren't trying to do anything "against him." Perhaps they were just taking a moral stand.
The church constitution did have a requirement that clergy live "in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." But that old fuddy-duddy rule was eliminated last year because of the trend in society toward accepting same sex relationships. Maybe they should be less concerned about what society accepts and more concerned about what God accepts.
"Presbyterians to ordain their first openly gay minister." The Dallas Morning News; October 8, 2011; p. 6A.
The church constitution did have a requirement that clergy live "in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." But that old fuddy-duddy rule was eliminated last year because of the trend in society toward accepting same sex relationships. Maybe they should be less concerned about what society accepts and more concerned about what God accepts.
"Presbyterians to ordain their first openly gay minister." The Dallas Morning News; October 8, 2011; p. 6A.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Maybe she jumped.
An Oklahoma woman has been sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison for murdering her baby. The 10-day-old child was found drowned in a washing machine. The mother pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and child neglect. She says she put the baby in the bassinet and has no idea how she got into the machine. Gosh, maybe she climbed out of the bassinet, toddled over to the machine, and jumped in.
"Woman sentenced in daughter's death." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 3A.
"Woman sentenced in daughter's death." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 3A.
Friday, October 21, 2011
The Liberal Spin
The Democrats never cease to amuse me with their spin. Of course, they are in adamant opposition to the laws requiring voter ID. In Texas, they say, there are more than 600,000 voters who will be affected by this legislation, because they have no drivers license and no state ID card. Those people will be disenfranchised.
No, they won't. They can easily get a state issued ID card -- if they're legal, that is. And therein lies the rub. I'm thinking that a large proportion of that 600,000 should never have been enfranchised in the first place. And that's evidence that we desperately needed this legislation.
"600,000 voters may lack needed ID." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 3A.
No, they won't. They can easily get a state issued ID card -- if they're legal, that is. And therein lies the rub. I'm thinking that a large proportion of that 600,000 should never have been enfranchised in the first place. And that's evidence that we desperately needed this legislation.
"600,000 voters may lack needed ID." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 3A.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Occupy Idiots
By now, surely you've heard the reports of the idiots "occupying" Wall Street and Main Streets across the country. You've heard the stories of this genteel, intelligent crowd defecating on police cars, fornicating in public, running around with no clothes on, relieving themselves wherever they want, and piling up trash in public parks while they chant about corruption and inequality.
I have a few questions for the crowd. In one photo, a woman has her two school-age children at the protest with her on a Thursday afternoon. Why weren't those children in school? One of them holds a sign that says, "Big business is stealing my future." I don't think she has much of a future if her mother pulled her out of school for something this ridiculous. It's the mother who's stealing her future. The other child holds a sign that says, "How will I pay my debt?" I don't know -- go to school and learn, then get a job? You certainly won't pay it by standing around on a street corner holding stupid signs.
The newspaper reports that the top 1% "captured" more than half of all family income growth between 1993 and 2008. Even if that number is true, which I kind of doubt, who did they "capture" it from? Do you suppose it's money they earned by hard work, innovation, risk-taking, and wise investment? Surely that could have had nothing to do with it!
One protestor said her daughter "deserved as good an education as the wealthier communities." Why? My neighbor has nicer things than I do, and he can afford to send his kids to private school. Does that mean I deserve those things too?
One protestor had a large tattoo of Che Guevara on his chest. Che was the Argentianian Marxist who played a large role in the Cuban Revolution with Fidel Castro. He believed that economic inequalities were an intrinsic result of capitalism, and the only remedy was world revolution. Che was eventually executed when he tried to foment a revolution in Bolivia. Just the sort you want your children to look up to.
Some of the protestors are people complaining about having to repay student loans. I realize that it cost a huge amount of money to go to school now, but I have to wonder how many of these people made the best use of their time? Benjamin Vail is 29, and he graduated in 2008. That means he was 26 when he graduated. If it took him 8 years to graduate, that could be why he owes more than $60,000. Did he not realize when he took that money that he would be expected to repay it? At least his wife learned basic math in college. She said, "With my $40,000, we now have $100,000 in student debt." And she's surprised about that?
Martha O'Brien complains about CEO's making $15 million or $20 million a year. As long as the government isn't bailing out their companies, I don't care. It's no skin off my nose. Martha says they could be spending that money on keeping jobs in the U.S. They could, but it's their money. How would Martha like it if I told her how to spend her money?
Other protestors claim they want jobs. If that's the case, why are you here instead of out pounding the pavement? Yet I heard one man say he took time off to come for the protest and another say that he quit his job to come protest. Now that makes a lot of sense -- quit your job so you can go protest because there are no jobs.
And the biggest question of all is, do you really believe you're changing things by standing around out here griping because some people have more money than you do? If you really want to do something, go home and get a job. If you can't find a paying one, take a volunteer one until you can find something else. Many a volunteer job has turned into a paying one. But I forget, that would require that you take some personal responsibility, and you all seem to be out of that.
"Hundreds march in Occupy Dallas." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 1A.
I have a few questions for the crowd. In one photo, a woman has her two school-age children at the protest with her on a Thursday afternoon. Why weren't those children in school? One of them holds a sign that says, "Big business is stealing my future." I don't think she has much of a future if her mother pulled her out of school for something this ridiculous. It's the mother who's stealing her future. The other child holds a sign that says, "How will I pay my debt?" I don't know -- go to school and learn, then get a job? You certainly won't pay it by standing around on a street corner holding stupid signs.
The newspaper reports that the top 1% "captured" more than half of all family income growth between 1993 and 2008. Even if that number is true, which I kind of doubt, who did they "capture" it from? Do you suppose it's money they earned by hard work, innovation, risk-taking, and wise investment? Surely that could have had nothing to do with it!
One protestor said her daughter "deserved as good an education as the wealthier communities." Why? My neighbor has nicer things than I do, and he can afford to send his kids to private school. Does that mean I deserve those things too?
One protestor had a large tattoo of Che Guevara on his chest. Che was the Argentianian Marxist who played a large role in the Cuban Revolution with Fidel Castro. He believed that economic inequalities were an intrinsic result of capitalism, and the only remedy was world revolution. Che was eventually executed when he tried to foment a revolution in Bolivia. Just the sort you want your children to look up to.
Some of the protestors are people complaining about having to repay student loans. I realize that it cost a huge amount of money to go to school now, but I have to wonder how many of these people made the best use of their time? Benjamin Vail is 29, and he graduated in 2008. That means he was 26 when he graduated. If it took him 8 years to graduate, that could be why he owes more than $60,000. Did he not realize when he took that money that he would be expected to repay it? At least his wife learned basic math in college. She said, "With my $40,000, we now have $100,000 in student debt." And she's surprised about that?
Martha O'Brien complains about CEO's making $15 million or $20 million a year. As long as the government isn't bailing out their companies, I don't care. It's no skin off my nose. Martha says they could be spending that money on keeping jobs in the U.S. They could, but it's their money. How would Martha like it if I told her how to spend her money?
Other protestors claim they want jobs. If that's the case, why are you here instead of out pounding the pavement? Yet I heard one man say he took time off to come for the protest and another say that he quit his job to come protest. Now that makes a lot of sense -- quit your job so you can go protest because there are no jobs.
And the biggest question of all is, do you really believe you're changing things by standing around out here griping because some people have more money than you do? If you really want to do something, go home and get a job. If you can't find a paying one, take a volunteer one until you can find something else. Many a volunteer job has turned into a paying one. But I forget, that would require that you take some personal responsibility, and you all seem to be out of that.
"Hundreds march in Occupy Dallas." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 1A.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
If you ignore it, it will go away.
A couple of years ago, a government panel told women they no longer need those pesky mammograms. Now that same panel is telling men they no longer need PSA tests. Of course, this is all a lead-up to when Obamacare has completely taken over the health care system. If they've already told us we don't need these lifesaving screenings, then they can logically say they're not going to pay for them.
The panel's conclusion is that, "Unfortunately, the evidence now shows that this test does not save men's lives." That is, of course, except for the ones who have early stage prostate cancer. "This test cannot tell the difference between cancers that will and will not affect a man during his natural lifetime." So, do you want to take a chance that yours is one that won't affect you? Or do you want to be treated and get rid of it?
The panel admits that there is little doubt that the test helps identify the presence of cancerous cells in the prostate. But, it says, a vast majority of men with such cells never suffer ill effects, and anyway, there is no proven benefit to earlier treatment of such an invasive disease. That sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. I wonder how many men on that panel get PSA testing? How many of those men do you think would say, if the test were positive, "I'm not worried. The vast majority of men don't have any ill effects, and there's no evidence that if I get treated it will help."
The panel threw out some statistics. From 1986 to 2005, a million men had surgery, radiation therapy, or both after high PSA. Five thousand of them died soon after the surgery. That amounts to about 1/2%. So 99.5% survived the surgery. That sounds like pretty good odds. Ten thousand to seventy thousand suffered "serious" complications such as blood in the semen, impotence, and/or incontinence. I question the large discrepancy in that number. They couldn't narrow it down any closer than 60,000? That sounds like sloppy work or incompetence or trying to make the evidence fit the theory. At any rate, let's give the panel the benefit of the doubt and say there were 70,000 with serious complications. That's 7.4% of the survivors. That means 92.6% of the survivors had no complications. If you take the whole pool you began with, 88% survived the treatment with no serious complications. That's still pretty good odds. I guess men think differently than women, but I'd rather be impotent and incontinent than dead.
So ladies and gentlemen, I don't care what the panel says -- go get your mammograms and PSA's!
"Avoid prostate cancer test, panel advises." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 1A.
The panel's conclusion is that, "Unfortunately, the evidence now shows that this test does not save men's lives." That is, of course, except for the ones who have early stage prostate cancer. "This test cannot tell the difference between cancers that will and will not affect a man during his natural lifetime." So, do you want to take a chance that yours is one that won't affect you? Or do you want to be treated and get rid of it?
The panel admits that there is little doubt that the test helps identify the presence of cancerous cells in the prostate. But, it says, a vast majority of men with such cells never suffer ill effects, and anyway, there is no proven benefit to earlier treatment of such an invasive disease. That sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. I wonder how many men on that panel get PSA testing? How many of those men do you think would say, if the test were positive, "I'm not worried. The vast majority of men don't have any ill effects, and there's no evidence that if I get treated it will help."
The panel threw out some statistics. From 1986 to 2005, a million men had surgery, radiation therapy, or both after high PSA. Five thousand of them died soon after the surgery. That amounts to about 1/2%. So 99.5% survived the surgery. That sounds like pretty good odds. Ten thousand to seventy thousand suffered "serious" complications such as blood in the semen, impotence, and/or incontinence. I question the large discrepancy in that number. They couldn't narrow it down any closer than 60,000? That sounds like sloppy work or incompetence or trying to make the evidence fit the theory. At any rate, let's give the panel the benefit of the doubt and say there were 70,000 with serious complications. That's 7.4% of the survivors. That means 92.6% of the survivors had no complications. If you take the whole pool you began with, 88% survived the treatment with no serious complications. That's still pretty good odds. I guess men think differently than women, but I'd rather be impotent and incontinent than dead.
So ladies and gentlemen, I don't care what the panel says -- go get your mammograms and PSA's!
"Avoid prostate cancer test, panel advises." The Dallas Morning News; October 7, 2011; p. 1A.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Will they not say you are mad?
What would you think if you went to church, and there was a heavy metal band on the stage? The bass player has a blond mohawk. He bangs his head as he pounds his bass. Another band member "growls" into the microphone. That's church at St. John's United Methodist in Corpus Christi. The pastor and band say they started this service because they wanted a "church scene where everyone can feel welcome." I don't know about you, but I'd be extremely uncomfortable there. It puts me in mind of the Apostle Paul when he was admonishing the church about having a decent and orderly service. He said that if everyone did what they wanted, and "there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?"
The heavy metal band says people don't go to church because they are judged. Translation: I don't like for my sin to be pointed out. They say that's not what church is supposed to be. But if the church doesn't talk about sin, how will anyone realize he needs a Savior?
Taylor Anne Burnham said she enjoys the spiritual experience she gets from the service and the music. I question whether the experience is all that spiritual. "It's life-changing to be here," she said. Yeah, I've heard that before, too. I knew of a music minister in our town who went on several mission trips, claiming each was a "life-changing" experience. Mr. Essie May and I used to kind of snicker, saying that man had had more "changes" than a baby with diarrhea. Evidently, though, the changes weren't enough. He left town after having an extra-marital affair with a married member of the church. Now he's leading the music at another church. Maybe he can invite the headbangers to perform there.
"Let us bang our heads in prayer." The Dallas Morning News; October 9, 2011; p. 3A.
The heavy metal band says people don't go to church because they are judged. Translation: I don't like for my sin to be pointed out. They say that's not what church is supposed to be. But if the church doesn't talk about sin, how will anyone realize he needs a Savior?
Taylor Anne Burnham said she enjoys the spiritual experience she gets from the service and the music. I question whether the experience is all that spiritual. "It's life-changing to be here," she said. Yeah, I've heard that before, too. I knew of a music minister in our town who went on several mission trips, claiming each was a "life-changing" experience. Mr. Essie May and I used to kind of snicker, saying that man had had more "changes" than a baby with diarrhea. Evidently, though, the changes weren't enough. He left town after having an extra-marital affair with a married member of the church. Now he's leading the music at another church. Maybe he can invite the headbangers to perform there.
"Let us bang our heads in prayer." The Dallas Morning News; October 9, 2011; p. 3A.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Is it discrimination, or is it that blacks happen to be committing the crimes?
There was an interesting article in the newspaper recently about FBI Agent Don Sherman who is in charge of the John Wiley Price investigation. The headline insinuates that his investigations are based on race, yet the article seems to affirm the exact opposite. By all accounts from those who know him well, he is an extremely fair man.
Juanita Wallace of the NAACP doesn't see it that way. She says, "Their [the FBI] primary interest is diluting the political strength of certain people, specifically the blacks and minorities. Just because the FBI is going after you does not mean you're guilty." That's very interesting, Juanita, given that the FBI is an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the head of the U.S. Department of Justice is Eric Holder. And the last time I looked, Eric Holder was black. Are you saying, Juanita, that Mr. Holder is a racist?
The author of the article states that "many are troubled that nearly all the elected municipal officials prosecuted for corruption have been black." Has it occurred to "many" that maybe the black ones are being prosecuted because they're the ones that are corrupt? It's not nice to prosecute innocent white people just because there's evidence that a bunch of black ones are committing crimes.
The attorney for John Wiley Price's executive assistant, Dapheny Fain, said, "He presumes criminal conduct and then goes about trying to find it." Perhaps there's a reason he presumes criminal conduct. If you see a group of county employees driving $75,000 cars and living high on the hog, and that same group of employees' names and the names of their relatives and friends keep popping up on the owner lists and boards of companies that are getting lucrative county contracts, I'd say there's probably something rotten in Dallas County. Don Sherman would be shirking his responsibility to the citizens of the United States if he turned his head the other way.
"Agent reviled and revered." The Dallas Morning News; October 9, 2011; p. 1A.
Juanita Wallace of the NAACP doesn't see it that way. She says, "Their [the FBI] primary interest is diluting the political strength of certain people, specifically the blacks and minorities. Just because the FBI is going after you does not mean you're guilty." That's very interesting, Juanita, given that the FBI is an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the head of the U.S. Department of Justice is Eric Holder. And the last time I looked, Eric Holder was black. Are you saying, Juanita, that Mr. Holder is a racist?
The author of the article states that "many are troubled that nearly all the elected municipal officials prosecuted for corruption have been black." Has it occurred to "many" that maybe the black ones are being prosecuted because they're the ones that are corrupt? It's not nice to prosecute innocent white people just because there's evidence that a bunch of black ones are committing crimes.
The attorney for John Wiley Price's executive assistant, Dapheny Fain, said, "He presumes criminal conduct and then goes about trying to find it." Perhaps there's a reason he presumes criminal conduct. If you see a group of county employees driving $75,000 cars and living high on the hog, and that same group of employees' names and the names of their relatives and friends keep popping up on the owner lists and boards of companies that are getting lucrative county contracts, I'd say there's probably something rotten in Dallas County. Don Sherman would be shirking his responsibility to the citizens of the United States if he turned his head the other way.
"Agent reviled and revered." The Dallas Morning News; October 9, 2011; p. 1A.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
This is what a jobs bill should look like!
Hooray for the Texas legislature and Governor Rick Perry. It will now be easier for bakers to get started in a business.
People who want to sell their pies, cakes, cookies, and other baked goods may now legally operate out of their home kitchens if they sell less than $50,000 annually. The only regulations they must abide by are that the food must be labelled with the name and address of the baker, and it must carry the warning that it has not been inspected.
Professional bakeries are crying foul. No regulation means possibly contaminated food, they say. But if the food is marked with the disclaimer that it has not been inspected, the customer knows that's a possibility. And as one home baker said, "A license doesn't make a clean kitchen. And the lack of license doesn't make a dirty kitchen." Besides, most of these bakers sell their wares by word of mouth. If a friend of mine says, "I know this lady who bakes delicious cakes for sale," I'll probably go buy one. But if the baker I've never met before comes up to me and tells me she sells cakes, I probably won't buy one.
Another complaint of the professionals is that the home bakers don't have to spend the money for professional equipment, and they, therefore, have an unfair advantage over them. But the home bakers can produce only so much -- hardly enough to put a professionally equipped bakery out of business.
If a home baker doesn't have seed money for all the bells and whistles that are required for a professional set-up, she can now bake from home and save the money she needs to expand. And when she does, she will employ other people. Are you listening, Obama? Because THAT'S a true jobs bill!
"Law is icing on cake for home bakers." The Dallas Morning News; October 10, 2011; p. 1A.
People who want to sell their pies, cakes, cookies, and other baked goods may now legally operate out of their home kitchens if they sell less than $50,000 annually. The only regulations they must abide by are that the food must be labelled with the name and address of the baker, and it must carry the warning that it has not been inspected.
Professional bakeries are crying foul. No regulation means possibly contaminated food, they say. But if the food is marked with the disclaimer that it has not been inspected, the customer knows that's a possibility. And as one home baker said, "A license doesn't make a clean kitchen. And the lack of license doesn't make a dirty kitchen." Besides, most of these bakers sell their wares by word of mouth. If a friend of mine says, "I know this lady who bakes delicious cakes for sale," I'll probably go buy one. But if the baker I've never met before comes up to me and tells me she sells cakes, I probably won't buy one.
Another complaint of the professionals is that the home bakers don't have to spend the money for professional equipment, and they, therefore, have an unfair advantage over them. But the home bakers can produce only so much -- hardly enough to put a professionally equipped bakery out of business.
If a home baker doesn't have seed money for all the bells and whistles that are required for a professional set-up, she can now bake from home and save the money she needs to expand. And when she does, she will employ other people. Are you listening, Obama? Because THAT'S a true jobs bill!
"Law is icing on cake for home bakers." The Dallas Morning News; October 10, 2011; p. 1A.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
You must hire this person.
Hidden in Obama's jobs bill is another job killer. This job killer would ban companies with 15 or more employees from refusing to consider or offer a job to someone who is unemployed. Doesn't matter if they're qualified for the job or not, if they're unemployed and you don't hire them, they can sue. So what will I, as a business owner do? To protect myself, I'll just not advertise any jobs or hire anybody else until that inane provision is dropped.
"Unemployed fighting job discrimination." The Dallas Morning News; October 10, 2011; p. 4D.
"Unemployed fighting job discrimination." The Dallas Morning News; October 10, 2011; p. 4D.
Friday, October 14, 2011
A Case for the Death Penalty
Thomas Creighton Shrader was obsessed with his girlfriend. She broke up with him in 1974, but he refused to believe the relationship was over. In July 1975, he showed up at her mother's West Virginia house demanding that his ex-girlfriend get in his car. When she refused, he drove away, but returned with a high-powered rifle. He shot the lock off a door, entered the house and shot Howard William "Rusty" Adams Jr., a family friend visiting while on leave from the military. Prosecutors believe Shrader mistakenly thought Adams was the new boyfriend. Shrader then shot the mother as she and her daughter tried to flee. Both Adams and the mother died from their wounds.
Shrader pleaded guilty in January 1976 to both slayings and to unlawful wounding. He was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole. He escaped from prison less than 6 months later. The ex-girlfriend and her family were forced to flee as the lunatic eluded capture and stalked her. He was later captured and pleaded guilty to escape. His punishment? A big old year added to his life sentence.
Even in prison, he kept up his harassment of the ex-girlfriend, suing her for refusing to marry him. She and her husband finally left West Virginia to escape. He continued to write to her family members trying to find out where she was. After all this, the lunatics on the West Virginia parole board let him out in 1993.
Somehow, he found his ex-girlfriend in 2008 and resumed the letter writing and phone calls. The ex-girlfriend's husband believes there were multiple attempts to find them beforehand -- for example, someone had tried to get his military records, and someone had called making inquiries about their children.The recurrent theme in the 2008 and 2009 letters was that everything that had happened was her fault, and if she came back to him, he'd forgive her and everything would be OK. He knew her children's names, and he told her in one letter, "In the name of Jesus I claim you and your soul in future lives.You have been running from me since July 1975. By that I mean running away from seeing me and being with me to actually confront your real and true feelings for me . . .Running won't do you any good this time. It's time to face the piper." Shrader's attorney claims the letter may be "distasteful," but it's not threatening. Really? From a man who's already killed your mother and friend and stalked you for more than 30 years?
Not to worry, West Virginia will revoke his parole and he'll have to serve out that life sentence. Not quite. He's been sentenced to 19 years in the federal penitentiary for interstate stalking. No mention of what West Virginia intends to do on the old murder convictions. Would you feel safe if you were the ex-girlfriend, her husband, or her children? If you answered that question honestly, then you have to be in favor of the death penalty. Nothing short of that will insure that family's security.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1221460679/Family-seeks-peace-after-killer-stalker-sentenced
Shrader pleaded guilty in January 1976 to both slayings and to unlawful wounding. He was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole. He escaped from prison less than 6 months later. The ex-girlfriend and her family were forced to flee as the lunatic eluded capture and stalked her. He was later captured and pleaded guilty to escape. His punishment? A big old year added to his life sentence.
Even in prison, he kept up his harassment of the ex-girlfriend, suing her for refusing to marry him. She and her husband finally left West Virginia to escape. He continued to write to her family members trying to find out where she was. After all this, the lunatics on the West Virginia parole board let him out in 1993.
Somehow, he found his ex-girlfriend in 2008 and resumed the letter writing and phone calls. The ex-girlfriend's husband believes there were multiple attempts to find them beforehand -- for example, someone had tried to get his military records, and someone had called making inquiries about their children.The recurrent theme in the 2008 and 2009 letters was that everything that had happened was her fault, and if she came back to him, he'd forgive her and everything would be OK. He knew her children's names, and he told her in one letter, "In the name of Jesus I claim you and your soul in future lives.You have been running from me since July 1975. By that I mean running away from seeing me and being with me to actually confront your real and true feelings for me . . .Running won't do you any good this time. It's time to face the piper." Shrader's attorney claims the letter may be "distasteful," but it's not threatening. Really? From a man who's already killed your mother and friend and stalked you for more than 30 years?
Not to worry, West Virginia will revoke his parole and he'll have to serve out that life sentence. Not quite. He's been sentenced to 19 years in the federal penitentiary for interstate stalking. No mention of what West Virginia intends to do on the old murder convictions. Would you feel safe if you were the ex-girlfriend, her husband, or her children? If you answered that question honestly, then you have to be in favor of the death penalty. Nothing short of that will insure that family's security.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1221460679/Family-seeks-peace-after-killer-stalker-sentenced
Thursday, October 13, 2011
We just want tolerance.
Remember when the gays said all they wanted was tolerance? They're pretty much "tolerated" in this country, and now they want us to "recognize and honor" them. According to Nathaniel Batchelder of Oklahoma City, his niece is "happily mothering her newborn baby with her married (female) partner in London." I don't know whether the partner is married to his niece or to somebody else. He says they're not challenged by "anti-gay hysteria," and that America is slowly growing up to recognize and honor gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender people. Which brings up a question: when is this country going to fall to its knees and repent of its anti-morality hysteria?
"A kiss is just a kiss." The Dallas Morning News; October 6, 2011; p. 12A.
"A kiss is just a kiss." The Dallas Morning News; October 6, 2011; p. 12A.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
What fools these mortals be!
Jabraylon Bables had a short and troubled life and endured a death that is heartbreaking to contemplate. Jabraylon was 16 months old when his mother's boyfriend, convicted felon Carlnelus Delaney Simmons, dropped him into a pot of boiling water. Jabraylon's father, Byron Bables, is also a convicted felon.
This was not Carlnelus's first murder. He killed a man in 1994 during a fight outside a South Dallas bar. He was sentenced to 15 years, and was released in 2007. In 2009, he was charged with dealing PCP from his apartment. Jabraylon's mother (and I use the term loosely) knew Simmons was a convicted murderer and a drug dealer, but she left her sons with him anyway. "That was way before he knew me," she says. "He treated Jabraylon like he was his," she claims. If that's how he treats his own children, I do hope their mother has better sense than Jabraylon's does!
Jabraylon's mother makes the case for forced sterilization. Even when confronted with the evidence and with her critically injured child, Jabraylon's mother said Simmons was a "good person." Lord, what fools these mortals be!
"Toddler dies 5 weeks after being scalded." The Dallas Morning News; December 14, 2010; p. 1B.
This was not Carlnelus's first murder. He killed a man in 1994 during a fight outside a South Dallas bar. He was sentenced to 15 years, and was released in 2007. In 2009, he was charged with dealing PCP from his apartment. Jabraylon's mother (and I use the term loosely) knew Simmons was a convicted murderer and a drug dealer, but she left her sons with him anyway. "That was way before he knew me," she says. "He treated Jabraylon like he was his," she claims. If that's how he treats his own children, I do hope their mother has better sense than Jabraylon's does!
Jabraylon's mother makes the case for forced sterilization. Even when confronted with the evidence and with her critically injured child, Jabraylon's mother said Simmons was a "good person." Lord, what fools these mortals be!
"Toddler dies 5 weeks after being scalded." The Dallas Morning News; December 14, 2010; p. 1B.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Why You Don't Have a Job?
The nutcases protesting on Wall Street have no clue what they're protesting. A reporter the other day asked one young man, "What are you doing here?" He adamantly replied, "We're here to see capitalism replaced by a more just and equitable economic system!" "What would you replace capitalism with?" asked the reporter. The response was a total deer in the headlights look. The young man glanced to his right and his left for an answer from his fellow seekers of economic justice. They were all looking to someone else for the answer, too.
A laid-off truck driver from Kansas City, Steven Harris, was camped out by the Federal Reserve Building there. When asked why he was there, he said, "I've felt this way for a long time. I've really just kind of been waiting for a movement to come along that I thought would last and have some resonation (sic) within the community." He's just "been waiting" for a movement? He's unemployed, presumably with plenty of time on his hands -- if he felt that strongly, why didn't he start one? Maybe we've hit on why he doesn't have a job -- he's just "been waiting."
"Wall Street protests spread." The Dallas Morning News; October 4, 2011; p. 7A.
A laid-off truck driver from Kansas City, Steven Harris, was camped out by the Federal Reserve Building there. When asked why he was there, he said, "I've felt this way for a long time. I've really just kind of been waiting for a movement to come along that I thought would last and have some resonation (sic) within the community." He's just "been waiting" for a movement? He's unemployed, presumably with plenty of time on his hands -- if he felt that strongly, why didn't he start one? Maybe we've hit on why he doesn't have a job -- he's just "been waiting."
"Wall Street protests spread." The Dallas Morning News; October 4, 2011; p. 7A.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Wrong Solution
Diane Harper says after many years of uncertainty, she now opposes the death penalty on economic grounds. The example she provides is Randy Steven Kraft.
Kraft was apprehended in California in 1983 with a dead Marine in his car and a coded list that indicated he had killed at least 66 other men. Remains of many of those have been found. He was convicted in at least some of those murders and sentenced to death.
He still sits on death row, appealing his convictions. Harper says it cost the taxpayers over $2 million for his original trial. All his appeals over the years have compounded that amount. Her solution is to abolish the death penalty and sentence him to life without the possibility of parole, thereby saving the taxpayer the money expended on appeals. According to her theory, then, we should never have tried him in the first place, because it cost too much.
I have a better solution. There is no doubt the man is guilty -- rarely is the murderer caught with the body in his car and with a document listing his other victims. Let's limit appeals to evidence which logically contradicts the verdict. Get rid of all the nit-picking technicality appeals. Carry through the execution swiftly. Dead men cost the taxpayers nothing.
"Crime cases persuaded me." The Dallas Morning News; December 15, 2010; p. 20A.
Kraft was apprehended in California in 1983 with a dead Marine in his car and a coded list that indicated he had killed at least 66 other men. Remains of many of those have been found. He was convicted in at least some of those murders and sentenced to death.
He still sits on death row, appealing his convictions. Harper says it cost the taxpayers over $2 million for his original trial. All his appeals over the years have compounded that amount. Her solution is to abolish the death penalty and sentence him to life without the possibility of parole, thereby saving the taxpayer the money expended on appeals. According to her theory, then, we should never have tried him in the first place, because it cost too much.
I have a better solution. There is no doubt the man is guilty -- rarely is the murderer caught with the body in his car and with a document listing his other victims. Let's limit appeals to evidence which logically contradicts the verdict. Get rid of all the nit-picking technicality appeals. Carry through the execution swiftly. Dead men cost the taxpayers nothing.
"Crime cases persuaded me." The Dallas Morning News; December 15, 2010; p. 20A.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Ethical?
Would you sell one of your children, knowing that you would probably never see him or know what happened to him or know anything about the family he lives with? How about three or four of your children? How about a dozen? How about 150?
That's the ethical question of the day. As children of sperm donors try to find out about their pasts, they are discovering they have dozens of half brothers and sisters. Those who conceive by anonymous donors have only a father's code number to give to their children . Many of these children have reached adulthood and have a natural curiosity about where they came from. In their searches, they are encountering many other people with the same code numbers. In one case, 150 children have this family connection. There may be many others -- when a woman has conceived through donor sperm, she doesn't have to report it. In fact, it's estimated that only 20% to 40% volunteer the information.
Which raises all sorts of other questions. What if two of these children, not realizing they are brother and sister, meet and fall in love? It's not beyond the realm of possibility -- many children of the same donor live in the same general area. What if the sperm donor has some sort of quirky or defective gene that has been passed along to all these children? Will we see strange epidemics begin to crop up?
One donor says that it is "unfair and reprehensible" that labs are allowed to use sperm from a single donor so freely. I don't know that I find it any more reprehensible than selling one's potential children to the lab in the first place.
"From one sperm donor, 150 children." The Dallas Morning News; October 2, 2011; p. 7A.
That's the ethical question of the day. As children of sperm donors try to find out about their pasts, they are discovering they have dozens of half brothers and sisters. Those who conceive by anonymous donors have only a father's code number to give to their children . Many of these children have reached adulthood and have a natural curiosity about where they came from. In their searches, they are encountering many other people with the same code numbers. In one case, 150 children have this family connection. There may be many others -- when a woman has conceived through donor sperm, she doesn't have to report it. In fact, it's estimated that only 20% to 40% volunteer the information.
Which raises all sorts of other questions. What if two of these children, not realizing they are brother and sister, meet and fall in love? It's not beyond the realm of possibility -- many children of the same donor live in the same general area. What if the sperm donor has some sort of quirky or defective gene that has been passed along to all these children? Will we see strange epidemics begin to crop up?
One donor says that it is "unfair and reprehensible" that labs are allowed to use sperm from a single donor so freely. I don't know that I find it any more reprehensible than selling one's potential children to the lab in the first place.
"From one sperm donor, 150 children." The Dallas Morning News; October 2, 2011; p. 7A.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Is there a link?
"Don't ask, don't tell" is history, and gays can serve openly in the military. We've trained all the military personnel to be sensitive. And now the Defense Department has issued a new rule: military chaplains are "allowed" to officiate same-sex marriages. I don't expect it to be long before that ruling is changed to military chaplains "must" officiate same-sex marriages. Remember -- all they want is tolerance.
Interestingly, the page opposite the one carrying this article had the headline: "Americans' income dips for first time since '09." Coincidence? I think not. I don't understand why our officials are so blind that they don't see that our country started its downhill slide when we started catering to perversion.
"Same-sex weddings approved." The Dallas Morning News; October 1, 2011; p. 8A.
Interestingly, the page opposite the one carrying this article had the headline: "Americans' income dips for first time since '09." Coincidence? I think not. I don't understand why our officials are so blind that they don't see that our country started its downhill slide when we started catering to perversion.
"Same-sex weddings approved." The Dallas Morning News; October 1, 2011; p. 8A.
Friday, October 7, 2011
I don't fear being deported.
A group of Dallas ISD parents are upset and complaining. The charge is that their children are being mistreated at Ebby Halliday Elementary School, a predominately hispanic school. Whether or not their allegations have any merit, I don't know. But one thing did catch my eye.
Debbie Martinez is a parent and the spokeswoman for the group. She says that many of the parents have not spoken out before because they fear deportation. Hmmm -- if you're in this country legally, why would you fear deportation? If you're in this country illegally, and you don't like the education your children are receiving for free, then why don't you go back to where you came from?
"Parents at elementary allege kids mistreated." The Dallas Morning News; September 30, 2011; p. 1B.
Debbie Martinez is a parent and the spokeswoman for the group. She says that many of the parents have not spoken out before because they fear deportation. Hmmm -- if you're in this country legally, why would you fear deportation? If you're in this country illegally, and you don't like the education your children are receiving for free, then why don't you go back to where you came from?
"Parents at elementary allege kids mistreated." The Dallas Morning News; September 30, 2011; p. 1B.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
An absurd tradition bites the dust.
Death row inmates are probably not real happy with Lawrence Brewer. Lawrence is the heartless, demented, idiot who dragged a man to death in Jasper, Texas. For the last meal before his execution, Lawrence ordered:
For once, I agree with a Democrat. When Senator John Whitmire found out about the menu, he said, "Enough is enough. . . I have always questioned why you would take the worst criminal we have and cater to him or her. Brewer commits the most heinous crime you can imagine, and you let him choose not one, but multiple things. It's just nuts." He informed the TDCJ in no uncertain terms that they could voluntarily end the practice, or he would see that legislation was passed to do so.
So when Lawrence Brewer deservedly bit the dust, so did this ridiculous tradition.
"Murder's over-the-top order ends tradition of last meal." The Dallas Morning News; September 23, 2011; p. 1A.
- 2 chicken fried steaks with gravy and onions
- a triple meat bacon cheeseburger with sides
- a cheese omelet
- a large bowl of fried okra with ketchup
- a pound of barbecue with a half a loaf of bread
- 3 fajitas with fixings
- a meat lovers pizza
- 3 root beers
- a pint of vanilla ice cream
- peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts
For once, I agree with a Democrat. When Senator John Whitmire found out about the menu, he said, "Enough is enough. . . I have always questioned why you would take the worst criminal we have and cater to him or her. Brewer commits the most heinous crime you can imagine, and you let him choose not one, but multiple things. It's just nuts." He informed the TDCJ in no uncertain terms that they could voluntarily end the practice, or he would see that legislation was passed to do so.
So when Lawrence Brewer deservedly bit the dust, so did this ridiculous tradition.
"Murder's over-the-top order ends tradition of last meal." The Dallas Morning News; September 23, 2011; p. 1A.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
WIST
I'm joining the texting language bandwagon. I'm adding to LOL, and ROFL, BTW, CU LTR, and all the others. My contribution is WIST -- wish I'd said that.
WIST: "As a conservative, I would gladly be more compassionate in giving to others if they used my tax dollars as a safety net rather than a hammock." -- Allen Barseth, Plano TX
IWY -- I'm with ya, Allen!
Paris News funny for the day: In a photo caption, Driekavious Furtch "kicks away while repelling down a climbing wall." I don't know about you, but I am repelled by proofreaders who don't know the difference in "repelling" and "rappelling."
WIST: "As a conservative, I would gladly be more compassionate in giving to others if they used my tax dollars as a safety net rather than a hammock." -- Allen Barseth, Plano TX
IWY -- I'm with ya, Allen!
Paris News funny for the day: In a photo caption, Driekavious Furtch "kicks away while repelling down a climbing wall." I don't know about you, but I am repelled by proofreaders who don't know the difference in "repelling" and "rappelling."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Streets of San Francisco
Did you know that it is legal to wander around the streets of San Francisco in your birthday suit? They had a naked rally there last month. A few dozen men walked around the neighborhood with no clothes. Some of them held signs that read, "Get your hate off my body." How stupid can one be? Had I been there, I'd have held up my own sign: "When you get your ugly body out of my sight." The rally was the lead-in event to the annual Folsom Street Fair, the world's largest leather and fetish event -- a really fun place to take the family!
A City Supervisor has proposed legislation that would require clothing in restaurants. It would also require those who choose to wear no clothes to carry a towel to place between their bare bottoms and any public seats. I kid you not, the Supervisor's name is Scott Wiener.
Heather Flynn was heading to a nearby theater to see The Little Mermaid when she stumbled upon all the naked men. She was accompanied by her 7-year-old daughter.
This is a good example of what happens when you let gays control things. And they call Las Vegas Sin City!
"Nudists take their cause to the streets." The Dallas Morning News; September 25, 2011; p. 2A.
A City Supervisor has proposed legislation that would require clothing in restaurants. It would also require those who choose to wear no clothes to carry a towel to place between their bare bottoms and any public seats. I kid you not, the Supervisor's name is Scott Wiener.
Heather Flynn was heading to a nearby theater to see The Little Mermaid when she stumbled upon all the naked men. She was accompanied by her 7-year-old daughter.
This is a good example of what happens when you let gays control things. And they call Las Vegas Sin City!
"Nudists take their cause to the streets." The Dallas Morning News; September 25, 2011; p. 2A.
Monday, October 3, 2011
We haven't worked in 2 years -- let's have a baby!
I wrote a few days ago about being "poor" in America. Here's a "poor" family -- and until they smarten up, I see little chance that their financial situation will improve.
Kris and Jim Fallon live in Palatine, Illinois. Neither has had a job in over two years. They've lost their house and their car. Kris cries and says, "It's like there is no way out." Oh -- did I mention they have a 4-month old baby? As long as they keep making stupid decisions like that, she's right -- there is no way out!
Incidentally, the article doesn't say, but who do you suppose paid for birthing that baby?
"Faces of poverty." The Dallas Morning News; September 19, 2011; p. 15A.
Kris and Jim Fallon live in Palatine, Illinois. Neither has had a job in over two years. They've lost their house and their car. Kris cries and says, "It's like there is no way out." Oh -- did I mention they have a 4-month old baby? As long as they keep making stupid decisions like that, she's right -- there is no way out!
Incidentally, the article doesn't say, but who do you suppose paid for birthing that baby?
"Faces of poverty." The Dallas Morning News; September 19, 2011; p. 15A.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
If you get a dinner invitation from Anastacia . . . BEWARE!
Anastacia Marx de Salcedo is a food writer. When I read this essay, I couldn't believe my eyes! I question what makes this woman think she can intelligently write about food.
Anastacia says she was making a large pot of shrimp gumbo to serve for a friend's going-away party. After she added 5 pounds of kielbasa to her 10 quarts of bubbling chicken stock, she noticed a "gray, bubbly and slightly fetid" layer of scum. But she was busy, so she just kept on about her chores. When she was ready to add the shrimp, she says she did "what any desperate hostess would do under the circumstances." She ladled off the stinky scum, added the shrimp, and served the toxic mess to her guests while she, herself, did not partake of the "completely putrid" concoction. She's just lucky none of those guests ended up going away permanently!
She says she noticed that most of the guests left their gumbo half-eaten or untouched. Gosh! I wonder why!
I guess I've just never been that desperate, and I certainly hope none of my friends have been. I'd have run down to the deli and had them put me together a sandwich tray and a fruit and veggie tray, bought a cake at the bakery, and apologized to my guests that my planned meal had gone awry. I would think this story was completely made up, but I know someone who was invited to a friend's house for supper one day. As the hostess served them the roast, they noticed she wasn't having any. When they asked her why she wasn't eating, she said something to the effect that, "Oh, I think that meat is spoiled."
The moral of this story: If the hostess isn't eating it, I'm not, either!
"I served putrid gumbo, and no one got sick." The Dallas Morning News; August 21, 2011; p. 4P.
Anastacia says she was making a large pot of shrimp gumbo to serve for a friend's going-away party. After she added 5 pounds of kielbasa to her 10 quarts of bubbling chicken stock, she noticed a "gray, bubbly and slightly fetid" layer of scum. But she was busy, so she just kept on about her chores. When she was ready to add the shrimp, she says she did "what any desperate hostess would do under the circumstances." She ladled off the stinky scum, added the shrimp, and served the toxic mess to her guests while she, herself, did not partake of the "completely putrid" concoction. She's just lucky none of those guests ended up going away permanently!
She says she noticed that most of the guests left their gumbo half-eaten or untouched. Gosh! I wonder why!
I guess I've just never been that desperate, and I certainly hope none of my friends have been. I'd have run down to the deli and had them put me together a sandwich tray and a fruit and veggie tray, bought a cake at the bakery, and apologized to my guests that my planned meal had gone awry. I would think this story was completely made up, but I know someone who was invited to a friend's house for supper one day. As the hostess served them the roast, they noticed she wasn't having any. When they asked her why she wasn't eating, she said something to the effect that, "Oh, I think that meat is spoiled."
The moral of this story: If the hostess isn't eating it, I'm not, either!
"I served putrid gumbo, and no one got sick." The Dallas Morning News; August 21, 2011; p. 4P.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
I plead the Fifth.
I see where Solyndra executives asserted their Fifth Amendment rights at the Congressional hearing on the possible shenanigans between them and the Obama Administration. Isn't pleading the Fifth just another way of saying, "I'm guilty as sin, but under the law, I don't have to tell you I am"?
Here's a prediction -- the trail will lead to the White House, and we'll being hearing the Fifth Amendment a lot.
And on another note -- more than $700 million went to another green power company this past week. One of the big guys in that company is Ronald Pelosi. That name ring any bells? He's the brother-in-law of Nancy Pelosi.
"Solyndar execs to take Fifth in probe of loan." The Dallas Morning News; September 21, 2011; p. 6A.
Here's a prediction -- the trail will lead to the White House, and we'll being hearing the Fifth Amendment a lot.
And on another note -- more than $700 million went to another green power company this past week. One of the big guys in that company is Ronald Pelosi. That name ring any bells? He's the brother-in-law of Nancy Pelosi.
"Solyndar execs to take Fifth in probe of loan." The Dallas Morning News; September 21, 2011; p. 6A.
Friday, September 30, 2011
You get one free rape.
Sometimes, you wonder what our legislators could be thinking. One of the new laws that took effect this month in Texas allows a juvenile charged for the first time with dating-related violence (assault, rape, etc.), to take a class and avoid any criminal record.
That translates to one free rape. Or more -- if a juvenile takes the class, and avoids a criminal record, then when he commits his second offense, there's no record of that first offense, so he can just take the class all over again.
Naomi Gonzalez is the Representative who came up with this stupidity. I wonder how she would feel if her daughter were attacked and the assailant got away with it? On the other hand, I wonder if she has a son who might be guilty of such an offense? I can't think of any other reason a person would want to give a rapist another chance.
"Budgets may block teen effort." The Dallas Morning News; September 2, 2011; p. 4A.
That translates to one free rape. Or more -- if a juvenile takes the class, and avoids a criminal record, then when he commits his second offense, there's no record of that first offense, so he can just take the class all over again.
Naomi Gonzalez is the Representative who came up with this stupidity. I wonder how she would feel if her daughter were attacked and the assailant got away with it? On the other hand, I wonder if she has a son who might be guilty of such an offense? I can't think of any other reason a person would want to give a rapist another chance.
"Budgets may block teen effort." The Dallas Morning News; September 2, 2011; p. 4A.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Essie Mae Jeopardy
Essie Mae loves Jeopardy, so I thought we'd have a little game here:
"I'll take Geography for $100, Essie."
"The black students in this district feel isolated because they don't speak the predominant language, Spanish."
BUZZ!
"What is Mexico City?"
"I'm sorry, that's incorrect."
BUZZ!
"What is Juarez?"
"I'm sorry, that's incorrect."
BUZZ!
"What is Havana?"
"Ohhhhh, no. The correct question is: What is Irving, Texas -- What is Irving, Texas?"
Scary, isn't it?
"Black students feel isolated, report says." The Dallas Morning News; August 29, 2011; p. 1B.
"I'll take Geography for $100, Essie."
"The black students in this district feel isolated because they don't speak the predominant language, Spanish."
BUZZ!
"What is Mexico City?"
"I'm sorry, that's incorrect."
BUZZ!
"What is Juarez?"
"I'm sorry, that's incorrect."
BUZZ!
"What is Havana?"
"Ohhhhh, no. The correct question is: What is Irving, Texas -- What is Irving, Texas?"
Scary, isn't it?
"Black students feel isolated, report says." The Dallas Morning News; August 29, 2011; p. 1B.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Did Jesus drive?
Illegal immigrants in New Mexico are protesting the legislature's consideration of repealing the law that allows illegals to get drivers licenses. A group of them recently gathered outside Governor Martinez's office chanting, "Jesus was an immigrant." (I wonder where ICE was while this protest was in progress).
I'm not sure in what sense they mean Jesus was an immigrant. His mother and earthly father were from Nazareth, and that's where He grew up. Maybe they mean He came from heaven. At any rate, He wasn't illegal. And as Mr. Essie May points out, "He didn't have a drivers license, either."
"New Mexico may restrict licenses." The Dallas Morning News; September 7, 2011; p. 3A.
I'm not sure in what sense they mean Jesus was an immigrant. His mother and earthly father were from Nazareth, and that's where He grew up. Maybe they mean He came from heaven. At any rate, He wasn't illegal. And as Mr. Essie May points out, "He didn't have a drivers license, either."
"New Mexico may restrict licenses." The Dallas Morning News; September 7, 2011; p. 3A.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Is this what our armed forces personnel should be learning?
All the gays are excited because they can now serve openly in the military. Here are some other reasons why I'm anything but excited about it.
The military now holds sensitivity training to teach our armed forces to be nice to the homos. One mother of a gay serviceman said that after the training, the "harsh remarks" stopped. I question the ability of a man to serve when he is so "sensitive" he can't handle "harsh remarks." What's he going to do if he's captured and the enemy tortures him?
More than 2 million military folks have now taken courses on how to deal with witnessing same-sex partners kissing after a deployed ship comes home. I wonder how long they sat in that class? I don't care what their reactions to perversion are. What I want them to be able to do is defend my country! There are only so many hours in the day. What relevant training do you suppose was left out so we could make them "more sensitive"? On the other hand, how many hours do you suppose were devoted to teaching gays how to be sensitive to the feelings of those who find their public displays of affection offensive? If I were a betting woman, I'd put a bunch of money on zero!
In San Diego, 200 active-duty personnel made up the nation's first military contingent to participate in a gay pride parade. The Marine Corp Times proclaimed on the cover, "We're Gay. Get Over it." I'll say it again, friends: We are in deep doo-doo!
"Gay service members prepare for ban's end." The Dallas Morning News; September 11, 2011; p. 8A.
The military now holds sensitivity training to teach our armed forces to be nice to the homos. One mother of a gay serviceman said that after the training, the "harsh remarks" stopped. I question the ability of a man to serve when he is so "sensitive" he can't handle "harsh remarks." What's he going to do if he's captured and the enemy tortures him?
More than 2 million military folks have now taken courses on how to deal with witnessing same-sex partners kissing after a deployed ship comes home. I wonder how long they sat in that class? I don't care what their reactions to perversion are. What I want them to be able to do is defend my country! There are only so many hours in the day. What relevant training do you suppose was left out so we could make them "more sensitive"? On the other hand, how many hours do you suppose were devoted to teaching gays how to be sensitive to the feelings of those who find their public displays of affection offensive? If I were a betting woman, I'd put a bunch of money on zero!
In San Diego, 200 active-duty personnel made up the nation's first military contingent to participate in a gay pride parade. The Marine Corp Times proclaimed on the cover, "We're Gay. Get Over it." I'll say it again, friends: We are in deep doo-doo!
"Gay service members prepare for ban's end." The Dallas Morning News; September 11, 2011; p. 8A.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Day of Pffft
The Day of Rage kind of turned into the Day of pfffft. A bunch of nut cases decided to descend on Wall Street to protest a "financial system that favors the rich and powerful at the expense of ordinary citizens." They expected maybe 100,000 protestors. Estimates aren't in yet, but observers say there were hundreds -- maybe 1,000 -- there.
One protestor said, "You need a scorecard to keep track of all the things that corporations have done that are bad for this country." Maybe he's talking about providing thousands of jobs? Maybe he's talking about innovations that make our lives easier? Maybe he's talking about medicines that keep us alive and funtioning? Maybe he's talking about the food on the grocery store shelves? Who knows?
Another man, 23-year-old Micah Chamberlain, is a line cook from Columbus, Ohio. He held up a sign that said, "End the oligarchy." I have my doubts that he even knows what that word means. At any rate, he said he had hitchhiked to New York. I question the wisdom of taking off work to go somewhere when you can't even afford to get yourself there. At any rate, Micah says that "1 percent of the people have 99 percent of the money." I don't know where Micah got his figures, but the latest I could find showed that the top 1 percent had just over 34% of the wealth. Maybe the reason they got wealthy was because they worked instead of making fools of themselves on Wall Street.
"'Day of Rage' mostly stymied." The Dallas Morning News; September 18, 2011; p. 6A.
One protestor said, "You need a scorecard to keep track of all the things that corporations have done that are bad for this country." Maybe he's talking about providing thousands of jobs? Maybe he's talking about innovations that make our lives easier? Maybe he's talking about medicines that keep us alive and funtioning? Maybe he's talking about the food on the grocery store shelves? Who knows?
Another man, 23-year-old Micah Chamberlain, is a line cook from Columbus, Ohio. He held up a sign that said, "End the oligarchy." I have my doubts that he even knows what that word means. At any rate, he said he had hitchhiked to New York. I question the wisdom of taking off work to go somewhere when you can't even afford to get yourself there. At any rate, Micah says that "1 percent of the people have 99 percent of the money." I don't know where Micah got his figures, but the latest I could find showed that the top 1 percent had just over 34% of the wealth. Maybe the reason they got wealthy was because they worked instead of making fools of themselves on Wall Street.
"'Day of Rage' mostly stymied." The Dallas Morning News; September 18, 2011; p. 6A.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Can you hear me now?
I have a neighbor who has a motorcyle. He's taken off the muffler or whatever it is they do to make it LOUD. EARTHQUAKE LOUD. I just hate it when he's up and down the street in our otherwise quiet and peaceful neighborhood.
Randal Dean of Dallas says there's a reason for the motorcyclist to make his machine loud. It's so other drivers will hear him coming. I have a better suggestion. Paint the darn thing in bright neon colors, then other drivers will see you coming and you won't damage the hearing of every person within a five-mile radius.
"Noise serves purpose for bikers." The Dallas Morning News; September 14, 2011; p. 14A.
Randal Dean of Dallas says there's a reason for the motorcyclist to make his machine loud. It's so other drivers will hear him coming. I have a better suggestion. Paint the darn thing in bright neon colors, then other drivers will see you coming and you won't damage the hearing of every person within a five-mile radius.
"Noise serves purpose for bikers." The Dallas Morning News; September 14, 2011; p. 14A.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
They call this poverty?
People are wringing their hands over the number of people below the poverty level in the U.S. But how many people have you seen or do you know who honestly don't know where the next meal is coming from or where they'll sleep tonight? Can you name one?
Here are some statistics about America's poorest:
80 percent of poor households have air conditioning. In 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
92 percent of poor households have a microwave.
Nearly three-fourths have a car or truck, and 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.
Nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite TV.
Two-thirds have at least one DVD player, and 70 percent have a VCR.
Half have a personal computer, and one in seven have two or more computers.
More than half of poor families with children have a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
43 percent have Internet access.
One-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV.
One-fourth have a digital video recorder system, such as a TiVo.
96 percent of poor parents stated that their children were never hungry at any time during the year because they could not afford food.
83 percent of poor families reported having enough food to eat.
82 percent of poor adults reported never being hungry at any time in the prior year due to lack of money for food.
A poor child is more likely to have cable TV, a computer, a wide-screen plasma TV, an Xbox, or a TiVo in the home than to be hungry.
Doesn't quite fit my definition of poverty.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/09/Understanding-Poverty-in-the-United-States-Surprising-Facts-About-Americas-Poor
Here are some statistics about America's poorest:
80 percent of poor households have air conditioning. In 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
92 percent of poor households have a microwave.
Nearly three-fourths have a car or truck, and 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.
Nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite TV.
Two-thirds have at least one DVD player, and 70 percent have a VCR.
Half have a personal computer, and one in seven have two or more computers.
More than half of poor families with children have a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
43 percent have Internet access.
One-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV.
One-fourth have a digital video recorder system, such as a TiVo.
96 percent of poor parents stated that their children were never hungry at any time during the year because they could not afford food.
83 percent of poor families reported having enough food to eat.
82 percent of poor adults reported never being hungry at any time in the prior year due to lack of money for food.
A poor child is more likely to have cable TV, a computer, a wide-screen plasma TV, an Xbox, or a TiVo in the home than to be hungry.
Doesn't quite fit my definition of poverty.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/09/Understanding-Poverty-in-the-United-States-Surprising-Facts-About-Americas-Poor
Friday, September 23, 2011
I'll give you a hint.
Texas' poverty rate rose 9% in 2009 and 2010 while the national rate increased only 6%. Experts say they can't explain that.
Wanto el hinto?
Rio Grande border, Mexico, illegals.
Comprende?
"Texas poverty up nearly 9%." The Dallas Morning News; September 14, 2011; p. 2A.
Wanto el hinto?
Rio Grande border, Mexico, illegals.
Comprende?
"Texas poverty up nearly 9%." The Dallas Morning News; September 14, 2011; p. 2A.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Aww, Herman, say it ain't so!
I really like Herman Cain and a lot of the things he has to say. We seemed to be on the same page on most issues. But I found out something this week that has made me change my attitude a bit.
One of Herman's top advisers, Scott Toomey, is a homosexual and former treasurer of the Madison Pride Board. There are some allegations of misconduct against him stemming from when he held that position. Madison Pride said in 2008 that its board removed Toomey as treasurer after learning bills related to its 2007 event had not been paid and discovering other "financial discrepancies" that it said Toomey had failed to report. Toomey moved to Florida and "went underground" after the scandal. Toomey's promotional company also has been accused in court of not paying vendors. Toomey filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and reported more than $20,000 in pending legal judgments against him from companies and a credit union, court records show.
Having someone with such a shady background as a top adviser shows a distinct lack of judgment. In response to a question in Iowa on June 6, Cain said he would have no problem appointing gay staff members to work in the White House as long as they were qualified. Having someone who is proud of his sin as a top adviser shows a distinct lack of moral fiber. And that's a deal breaker for me!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/14/herman-cain-2012-gay-adviser_n_961497.html
One of Herman's top advisers, Scott Toomey, is a homosexual and former treasurer of the Madison Pride Board. There are some allegations of misconduct against him stemming from when he held that position. Madison Pride said in 2008 that its board removed Toomey as treasurer after learning bills related to its 2007 event had not been paid and discovering other "financial discrepancies" that it said Toomey had failed to report. Toomey moved to Florida and "went underground" after the scandal. Toomey's promotional company also has been accused in court of not paying vendors. Toomey filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and reported more than $20,000 in pending legal judgments against him from companies and a credit union, court records show.
Having someone with such a shady background as a top adviser shows a distinct lack of judgment. In response to a question in Iowa on June 6, Cain said he would have no problem appointing gay staff members to work in the White House as long as they were qualified. Having someone who is proud of his sin as a top adviser shows a distinct lack of moral fiber. And that's a deal breaker for me!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/14/herman-cain-2012-gay-adviser_n_961497.html
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Government regulation affects young bakers.
Government regulation is affecting young bakers all over America. Hasbro has been forced to redesign the iconic Easy-Bake Oven. And this redesign comes with a whopping 67% price increase.
The Easy-Bake bakes with an incandescent bulb -- you know -- those bulbs the government says we have to phase out and replace with compact flourescents. The problem, of course, is that compact flourescents don't get hot enough to bake anything.
So little girls will now be baking in a monstrosity that looks more like a purple portable stereo than an oven. Personally, I wouldn't give $29.99 for it, much less the updated price of $49.99. That may be the view of a lot of parents -- in which case, Hasbro will have to come up with some new toy or lay off workers. Your government dollars at work!
"After a no-light-bulb moment, designers tinker with Easy-Bake." The Dallas Morning News; September 15, 2011; p. 9A.
The Easy-Bake bakes with an incandescent bulb -- you know -- those bulbs the government says we have to phase out and replace with compact flourescents. The problem, of course, is that compact flourescents don't get hot enough to bake anything.
So little girls will now be baking in a monstrosity that looks more like a purple portable stereo than an oven. Personally, I wouldn't give $29.99 for it, much less the updated price of $49.99. That may be the view of a lot of parents -- in which case, Hasbro will have to come up with some new toy or lay off workers. Your government dollars at work!
"After a no-light-bulb moment, designers tinker with Easy-Bake." The Dallas Morning News; September 15, 2011; p. 9A.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Different Solutions to the Problem
The City of Dallas has been setting up checkpoints to check drivers licenses, insurance, inspections, registrations, and outstanding warrants. Marisol Gonzalez thinks it's horrible! You see, Marisol happened to get stopped at the checkpoint set up on Woodmeadow Parkway. She was arrested on outstanding warrants.
Marisol's solution to this problem is that "I don't even go on that road anymore. I go all the way around." Gosh, Marisol, my solution to the problem would be to take care of business so that I don't have outstanding warrants. Then I wouldn't care where the checkpoints are, and I wouldn't find it "stressful every time I drive."
"Checkpoints put drivers on the spot." The Dallas Morning News; September 15, 2011; p. 1B.
Marisol's solution to this problem is that "I don't even go on that road anymore. I go all the way around." Gosh, Marisol, my solution to the problem would be to take care of business so that I don't have outstanding warrants. Then I wouldn't care where the checkpoints are, and I wouldn't find it "stressful every time I drive."
"Checkpoints put drivers on the spot." The Dallas Morning News; September 15, 2011; p. 1B.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Racist?
A bunch of City of Irving employees have filed complaints with the EEOC claiming discrimination. Their chief gripe? Some of the employees in their department called two of the city council members idiots. The two council members singled out for idiot status happen to be black.
So beware -- if a black man is an idiot, you can't say it. Incidentally, the two council members say they don't think race has anything to do with their designation. If it doesn't bother them, why should it bother anybody else?
"Irving employees file bias, retaliation claims." The Dallas Morning News; September 15, 2011; p. 1B.
So beware -- if a black man is an idiot, you can't say it. Incidentally, the two council members say they don't think race has anything to do with their designation. If it doesn't bother them, why should it bother anybody else?
"Irving employees file bias, retaliation claims." The Dallas Morning News; September 15, 2011; p. 1B.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Let's think about that.
Some people see racists behind every tree. Patricia Turner is a professor of African-American studies at the University of California Davis. She wrote an essay about the movie, The Help.
If you've not seen it, I highly recommend it. It has a message told with both pathos and humor. The acting is Oscar quality. And if you grew up in the 1960's, you'll enjoy the cars, the fashions, and the home decor.
But Patricia thinks The Help is dangerous. The message she took away from the movie was that the white women portrayed in it were bad; therefore they were racists. The problem with that, she says, is "To suggest that bad people were racists implies that good people were not."
Patricia may know a thing or two about "African-American studies," but she's terribly short on logic and accurate perception. There were at least a half dozen (maybe more) women with any character development at all in The Help. Only one or two of those were truly "bad" women -- Hilly and the state DAR lady. The others were products of their environment -- some were strong, some were not. The weaker ones succumbed to peer pressure. But it was obvious that each experienced guilt and remorse for the things she said and did. A "bad" person has no guilt or remorse.
Now to her giant leap into illogical logic . . . people will assume that if bad people are racists, good people are not. That's as absurd as saying "White people are good so black people are not." Obviously, there are good white people and bad white people just as there are good black people and bad black people. There are bad people who are racists and bad people who are not. There are good people who are not racists and good people who are. And most importantly, just in case she doesn't know it, there are just as many black people who are racists as there are white people -- maybe even more.
"'Good people' were racists, too." The Dallas Morning News; August 31, 2011; p. 15A.
If you've not seen it, I highly recommend it. It has a message told with both pathos and humor. The acting is Oscar quality. And if you grew up in the 1960's, you'll enjoy the cars, the fashions, and the home decor.
But Patricia thinks The Help is dangerous. The message she took away from the movie was that the white women portrayed in it were bad; therefore they were racists. The problem with that, she says, is "To suggest that bad people were racists implies that good people were not."
Patricia may know a thing or two about "African-American studies," but she's terribly short on logic and accurate perception. There were at least a half dozen (maybe more) women with any character development at all in The Help. Only one or two of those were truly "bad" women -- Hilly and the state DAR lady. The others were products of their environment -- some were strong, some were not. The weaker ones succumbed to peer pressure. But it was obvious that each experienced guilt and remorse for the things she said and did. A "bad" person has no guilt or remorse.
Now to her giant leap into illogical logic . . . people will assume that if bad people are racists, good people are not. That's as absurd as saying "White people are good so black people are not." Obviously, there are good white people and bad white people just as there are good black people and bad black people. There are bad people who are racists and bad people who are not. There are good people who are not racists and good people who are. And most importantly, just in case she doesn't know it, there are just as many black people who are racists as there are white people -- maybe even more.
"'Good people' were racists, too." The Dallas Morning News; August 31, 2011; p. 15A.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Should I have to pay for a smoker's habit?
Dallas County, in trying to get a handle on rising insurance costs, has come up with a plan. Each smoker covered by the County's insurance policies will pay $50 per month more than employees and dependents who don't smoke. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a surcharge for smoking or a discount for not smoking.
Critics of the plan say it is "lifestyle discrimination." The American Cancer Society says, "Premium discounts for healthy behavior amount to penalties for people who are less healthy." I don't look at it that way. I don't smoke. The smokers in my insurance pool increase my premiums. Why should I have to pay for their bad habits?
From another perspective, if smokers can afford $5 a pack for cigarettes, many of them buying more than one pack a day, surely they can afford a paltry $50 a month added to their insurance premiums. You can be sure that it will cost the insurance company a lot more than $600 a year when they develop cancer, heart disease, emphysema, bad sinuses, or any of the other maladies caused by tobacco.
And the final point here? No one has to pay the extra $50 per month. They just have to decide whether they'd rather smoke or get cheaper insurance.
"Where there's smoke." The Dallas Morning News; September 10, 2011; p. 1B.
Critics of the plan say it is "lifestyle discrimination." The American Cancer Society says, "Premium discounts for healthy behavior amount to penalties for people who are less healthy." I don't look at it that way. I don't smoke. The smokers in my insurance pool increase my premiums. Why should I have to pay for their bad habits?
From another perspective, if smokers can afford $5 a pack for cigarettes, many of them buying more than one pack a day, surely they can afford a paltry $50 a month added to their insurance premiums. You can be sure that it will cost the insurance company a lot more than $600 a year when they develop cancer, heart disease, emphysema, bad sinuses, or any of the other maladies caused by tobacco.
And the final point here? No one has to pay the extra $50 per month. They just have to decide whether they'd rather smoke or get cheaper insurance.
"Where there's smoke." The Dallas Morning News; September 10, 2011; p. 1B.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
We need to teach our kids to have thick skins.
I have never understood the mentality of bullying. Why does one person, seemingly unprovoked in any way, feel the need to degrade, harass, or assault another person? Yet this behavior is fairly common across all age groups. It's nothing new -- it's been going on since the world began. And, unfortunately, as long as this earth is populated by human beings, it will continue.
All kinds of programs "addressing the problem" have come and gone, yet "the problem" remains. Parents can assuage the impact, however, by teaching their children to have thick skins against verbal assaults and to have quick fists against physical ones. A bully mentality is not open to reason. One can't use logic and a plea for empathy with them, because they're not logical and they're not feeling.
They verbally bully to gain attention, but if the victim ignores the jabs, all the fun is taken away, and they will eventually grow bored and find another victim. Physical assault is another matter. The bully never expects his weaker victim to fight back -- and how many bullies have you known who picked on a victim phsyically stronger than themselves? Go to the authorities -- school, law enforcement, or civil suit. When a bully puts his hands on his victim, he has crossed the line from bullying to criminal assault. If the authorities do nothing, put your kid in some good self-defense classes. When he knocks the whey out of the bully, you can rest assured he won't be bothered again. "Let us reason together" rarely works, but Mr. Fist often does.
All kinds of programs "addressing the problem" have come and gone, yet "the problem" remains. Parents can assuage the impact, however, by teaching their children to have thick skins against verbal assaults and to have quick fists against physical ones. A bully mentality is not open to reason. One can't use logic and a plea for empathy with them, because they're not logical and they're not feeling.
They verbally bully to gain attention, but if the victim ignores the jabs, all the fun is taken away, and they will eventually grow bored and find another victim. Physical assault is another matter. The bully never expects his weaker victim to fight back -- and how many bullies have you known who picked on a victim phsyically stronger than themselves? Go to the authorities -- school, law enforcement, or civil suit. When a bully puts his hands on his victim, he has crossed the line from bullying to criminal assault. If the authorities do nothing, put your kid in some good self-defense classes. When he knocks the whey out of the bully, you can rest assured he won't be bothered again. "Let us reason together" rarely works, but Mr. Fist often does.
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