I'm OK, You're OK (if you agree with me).

Did you know psychiatrists are now forbidden to tell a homosexual that he can change? The American Psychological Association, in a 2009 resolution, said mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight because there is no solid proof that such a change is likely. 

So, you're OK, but if I recognize that homosexuality is a sin, I'm not. Remember, homosexuals only wanted toleration.

"Law center: Stop trying to make gays straight." The Dallas Morning News; May 24, 2012; p. 8A.

If you build it, they will come.

Remember the movie, The Field of Dreams? "If you build it, they will come." 

A few hobos set up an encampment under an overpass in Amarillo. Faith City Ministries began to donate to the group. Guess what? More and more hobos showed up. Now there's a problem with people demanding services and harassing donors. They've also been stealing and getting drunk. 

That's what happened with LBJ's War on Poverty. You provide programs for a few people who need them, and lo and behold, you get a mob with their hands out. The poverty rate when LBJ's war began was 10.5%.  Now it's 15.1%. We've grown a couple of generations who think taking a government handout is the norm, and now they're all "occupying" and demanding their "rights" to more and more largesse. I don't think what we're doing is working. Do you?

"Amarillo tent city prompts talk of ban." The Dallas Morning News; May 24, 2012; p. 3A.

Another Reason to Eliminate Food Stamps

Did you know that if a person loses his Lone Star Card, he gets another just by telling them he lost it? Did you know he can do that over and over and over again? Many of these "lost" cards have ended up on eBay, Craigslist, and other internet sites. Not to mention that I'm sure many of them end up paying for drugs, alcohol, or just being given to friends and relatives. These frauds and others in the food stamp program are costing the taxpayers $750 million a year. I'm sure that's a conservative number, because that's just the fraud they know about. About 2000 grocery stores were sanctioned for illegal activity in 2011, but 800 of them were allowed to stay in the program. Why?

Many recipients seek four or more replacement cards a year, but USDA officials said that doesn't necessarily indicate a high rate of fraud. Really? However, they've decided to "get tough." They're proposing a new rule which would demand "formal explanations" from people who get more than three replacement cards a year. Does anybody besides me think this is the dumbest thing you've ever heard? What's wrong with, "You lose it, tough crunchies, we don't do replacement cards!" 

"USDA targets food stamp fraud." The Dallas Morning News; May 25, 2012; p. 1A.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Sallie Henry of Frisco enlightens us with her Bible knowledge. She says that society has a responsibility to care for its indigent -- that it's all over the Bible and she's quite certain also in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Koran.

She says that the disciples went to "Pete" in the Book of Acts and said, "Look, Pete, we're out here doing the Lord's work and our widows and orphans are not being taken care of." So "Pete" told them to gather up some men and take care of it. We're not doing that, she says. "Our elected leadership seems to have forgotten that a society is judged not on the greatness of its leaders, the riches it acquires or the cities it builds, but on how it treats its most vulnerable members."

Oh, Sallie, Ye do err! God never mandated that elected officials or society should take care of the widows and orphans. The passage you reference is about the church. It is the church's responsibility to care for those who are "widows indeed." That being said, we are not responsible for those who refuse to work. "If any would not work, neither should he eat." 


So if all the bleeding heart liberals will get their noses out of redistributing wealth, the churches can assume the task that is theirs and take care of the truly needy. 

"Are we helping the poor?" The Dallas Morning News; May 25, 2012; p. 24A.

But what about people who are sensitive to noise?

The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act was passed into law and signed by Obama in 2011. Written largely to protect blind pedestrians, the act requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to set a minimum noise level that hybrid and electric cars have to meet.


Never mind that we have no record of any auto-pedestrian accidents caused by blind people not hearing the cars. They've just "heard stories" of blind people having their feet run over or their canes broken says Chris Danielson of the National Federation of the Blind. “Our position was, let’s get out in front of this before it’s [a] situation where people are being injured,” says Danielsen.


The law mandates the sound be constant when the car is at low speeds. Don't we have enough noise pollution already? Noise pollution is certainly annoying, but does it actually cause any real harm? Several studies have shown that urban noise can have adverse effects on bird populations, causing them to change their songs and otherwise alter their behavior. Now researchers have learned that man-made noise can also have a ripple effect on plants as well. The EPA says that noise pollution adversely affects the lives of millions of people. Studies have shown that there are direct links between noise and health. Problems related to noise include stress related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption, and lost productivity.


So now we'll have one government agency mandating what another government agency deems a health hazard. Are we catering to the blind at the expense of those who have sensitivity to noise pollution? I think I'll sue on behalf of those people. Won't that be a dilemma for Obama and all those other PC politicians in Washington?


Our downtown traffic lights have a noisy signal for the blind. I can't imagine having a shop on the corner and having to listen to that din all day long. And I'm told that those signals are there because one person complained. So every person who shops or has a business downtown is inconvenienced for one person. I don't know who it was that complained, but perhaps he should heed the philosophy of a very wise Vulcan: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." SPOCK, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot/2011/01/new-law-mandates-more-noise-from-hybrid-and-electric-cars-6890.html

http://www.epa.gov/air/noise.html

Definitive proof? I think not.

On Feb. 4, 1983, Corpus Christi convenience store clerk Wanda Lopez was stabbed to death with an 8-inch buck knife. The police found Carlos DeLuna, a paroled repeat felon, hiding under a truck a few blocks away, and several witnesses told police he looked like the killer. DeLuna always maintained that he didn't do it, but waited until right before his trial to pin the blame on Carlos Hernandez. The lead prosecutor dismissed DeLuna's claim. DeLuna was executed in 1989.

A study by a Columbia University project now says it has definitive proof that Carlos DeLuna was innocent. My initial impressions were if he was innocent, why was he hiding and how did he know anything was even going on. So what is the definitive proof we're given 29 years after the fact?

Detectives overlooked or ignored a discarded cigarette butt, discarded chewing gum, a comb and shoe prints "probably" left by the killer. Probably, but maybe not. Remember, DNA testing was not being done in 1983, so a piece of chewing gum and a cigarette butt would have been of little evidentiary value. That's not proof. DeLuna was identified by an "uncertain" witness at the crime scene. Proof? Maybe not proof that he did it, but certainly not proof that he didn't. After all, the witness thought it more likely he was the one he had seen than that he wasn't. There was no blood found on DeLuna. The presence of blood would prove that he was at the scene, but the absence of blood is not proof that he wasn't. 

Carlos Hernandez did exist -- in fact, there are more than 600 people named Carlos Hernandez in the southern tier of border states alone. Saying it was that other Carlos -- Carlos Hernandez who did it -- is akin to saying that it was that other John -- John Smith who did it. However, at least one Carlos Hernandez was a really bad man with a fondness for buck knives. And he claimed that he did kill the woman. Hernandez died in prison in 1999, so do you suppose he had read reports of the DeLuna trial and just decided to make himself more intimidating to the other inmates? And anyway, if Carlos DeLuna was not involved in this slaying, how did he know Carlos Hernandez did it? Definitive proof of DeLuna's innocence? Far from it.

If they want to convince me an innocent man was executed, they'll have to do better than pulling up a decades old case with highly questionable exculpatory "evidence" and a dead alleged perpetrator.

http://theweek.com/article/index/228025/the-carlos-deluna-case-definitive-proof-that-texas-executed-an-innocent-man

It's certainly not my responsibility!

A group of high school boys in Prosper, Texas, have been charged with sex crimes against some 15- and 16-year-old girls. The boys have a club called Team Snapbackk. They are accused of drugging the girls and forcing them to perform sexual acts.

The father of one of the boys involved in the club but not charged (he says the girl he was having sex with consented) doesn't deny his son's participation. However, it's not his fault his kid is a degenerate. "I think the [Prosper] schools are a lot more lax than they should be," he said. Imagine the ignorance and old-fashioned mores of anyone thinking it was a parent's responsibility to teach his 16-year-old kid to keep his private part in his pants! The next thing you know, we'll be expecting parents to teach their kids that there are consequences for their actions!

"Boys had sex club, lawyer says." The Dallas Morning News; May 16, 2012; p. 1A.

The devil made me do it.

There is a continuing problem along the U.S. border with Mexico. Law enforcement and local government officials on the U.S. side are selling out to the Mexican drug cartels. In Columbus, New Mexico, a town of 2000, the mayor, the police chief, a city trustee and nine others were arrested. All have pleaded guilty to gun-smuggling to the Mexicans. Over the last year and a half, nine other border town lawmen have been charged with allowing guns and drugs to cross the border between Laredo and Brownsville. 

Javier Lozano, the municipal judge in Columbus, says drug cartels are corrupting Americans. I disagree. The Americans were already corrupt -- the Mexicans were just the first ones to come up with their price.

"Easy money tempting officials on U.S. side." The Dallas Morning News; May 16, 2012; p. 3A.

Those Silly French Folks!

Those goofball French are at it again. But what can you expect from a country that elects a socialist as president (am I hitting a little too close to home)?

French paratrooper Abel Chennouf was shot and killed earlier this year as he conducted a transaction at an ATM machine in France. His girlfriend, Caroline Monet, was pregnant. Even though Abel is dead, he will still marry Caroline. The French laws allow posthumous marriages. 

"It's a really moving ceremony, with an empty chair representing the dead spouse," said Caroline's lawyer. My take on it? There's probably a big government handout for spouses, and therein lies the motive for this charade. If he had wanted to marry her, he would have done it before or as soon as he found out she was pregnant. It's too late now -- death has already parted them. 

Which makes me wonder, how do they word the part of the vow that says, "Till death do us part"? "Even though death did us part"?And since she's marrying a dead man, will she have to divorce the dead man if she wants to marry someone else? And just what is her marital status? Her husband didn't die, so she's not a widow. She married a man who was already dead. 

Caroline's lawyer says he hopes that the ceremony will "let the child have a father." What kind of stupid statement is that? The child was still conceived out of wedlock, and his father is still dead! 

I can see this catching on in the U.S. After all, our socialist president says that we shouldn't forbid men to marry men or women to marry women. He came to this conclusion after listening to the wise counsel of his children. So aren't we being equally discriminatory against the dead if we don't allow them to marry? Who are we to say who they can love and who they can't? We could just license funeral directors to also perform marriages, and before they close the lid for the last time, they can instruct the corpse to kiss the bride. I think the whole world has lost its mind!

"Girlfriend of slain soldier to wed him posthumously." The Dallas Morning News; March 25, 2012; p. 16A.

Duh --- where does the worm go?

Paul Crowder of Forrest City, Arkansas, caught a state-record bass in Lake Dunn near Wynne, Arkansas. It weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces, and beat a record set in 1976. 

Alas, when the game warden checked, old Paul had bought his fishing license three hours AFTER he caught the fish. No state record for Paul -- just a fine for fishing without a license. And I bet they didn't even let him keep the fish!

"No fishing license, so no record fish." The Dallas Morning News; March 25, 2012; p. 17C.

And the point is proven.

Teenagers in Dallas aren't happy with North Park Mall. The mall has instituted new rules -- no one under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian after 6 p.m.; no underwear showing, and other clothes must adequately cover important body parts; no spoken foul language or obscenities on clothing; no conduct of a sexual nature -- reasonable rules pertaining to common sense and decency. If parents had been taking more responsibility, it's most likely the mall wouldn't have had problems with the teenagers hanging around there at night.

At any rate, I think the point has been proven by the reactions of some of the teens and parents:

Cynthia Pineda says, "It's a dumb rule. They shiesty with their store." Perhaps Cynthia would be better served to spend more time in English class than hanging out at the mall. North Park is doing her a favor.

Austin Tran says, "It's a bit like tyranny." No, Austin, it's not at all like tyranny. Now that you can't spend time being a nuisance at the mall, you'll have a chance to study what real tyranny is -- you might start with Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Kim Jong Il, Adolph Hitler, Fidel Castro, Ayatollah Khameini -- just to name a few. North Park is doing Austin a favor.

Maria Sosa is a parent. She likes the rules. "It helps parents because it puts more responsibility on us. As a parent, I want to be able to monitor where my child is and how he's dressed." And you can't do that, Maria, unless North Park makes the rules? No wonder we have kids like Cynthia and Austin.

"Teens bridle at mall constraints." The Dallas Morning News; May 13, 2012; p. 1A.

A funny from The Paris News: ". . .the Trail de Paris is also a great place for cyclists to enjoy an afternoon stroll." Hmmmm -- I'd think they'd rather ride their bikes.

WHAT AN INTERESTING POINT.

Tom Cooper of Richardson makes an interesting point. Beginning in 2013, Social Security and other government benefits will be paid electronically either through direct deposit or a debit card -- both of which require a photo ID.


Isn't it strange that the government doesn't find this discriminatory and a burden on the poor, but it is discriminatory and a burden on the poor to present a photo ID to vote? Tom wonders what he's missing here. So do I.

"All comes down to photo ID." The Dallas Morning News; April 20, 2012; p. 10A.

It's really simple.

"Is Mitt Romney conservative enough? My answer is simple: Compared to Barack Obama?" Newt Gingrich.

Another Reason Not to Vote for Obama

Obama's aides say he has done more for the cause of gay rights than any president before him. Gay rights leaders "fervently want Obama re-elected." They say that he has ". . .done more for our community than anyone who has ever held his office."  That should be enough said.

"Gay groups ask more of Obama." The Dallas Morning News; May 5, 2012; p. 10A.

You can't say that!

Our first graders can read about how Tommy has two daddies and that one family arrangement is just as good as another, but they can't say "sexy."

D'Avonte Meadows was suspended from Sable Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado for sexual harassment. D'Avonte is 6 years old. What did he do that was so awful?

He quoted a line from a song to one of his classmates: "I'm sexy and I know it." I don't know what we expect when companies bombard us with sex to sell their products, sit-coms are a continuous chain of sexual situations, music is full of sex, and even Disney movie characters spout off double entendres. This little boy is simply parroting what he daily hears. If we don't want our kids to talk about being sexy, perhaps we should begin to clean up our act in this country.

Does anybody, anywhere, have any common sense left?

"School suspends boy, 6, for 'sexy' comment." The Dallas Morning News; May 5, 2012; p. 7A.

Essie Award Time

Remember, the Essie is awarded for sheer stupidity. 

This Essie goes to triple recipients: Violet D'Mello and her husband and an unnamed parent/guardian. Violet and her husband went to a game preserve in South Africa for her 60th birthday. They were invited to "pet the cheetahs." They were assured they were tame -- but a wild animal is always a wild animal. At any rate, Violet and her husband petted the cheetahs. Then one of the cheetahs grabbed a little 8-year-old girl, and Violet tried to rescue the girl. Of course, the cheetahs turned on her, inflicting some pretty severe but not life-threatening injuries. Violet gets the Essie for assuming a wild animal wouldn't attack. But what about her husband? What do you suppose Mr. D'Mello was doing while Violet was being attacked? Did he yell for help? Did he grab a stick and try to beat off the beasts? No, he kept his camera going to record the moment for posterity. He gets the Essie for getting the film no matter what. And the unnamed parent/guardian of the little girl takes the cake. Sheer stupidity!

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/cheetah-mauls-woman-60th-birthday-trip-133156169--abc-news-topstories.html

IRVING ISD WORSHIPS THE SWAMI.

I came across a photo in the newspaper recently that I found very disturbing. It is of a woman bowing before an icon of Swami Vivekananda at a celebration to mark his 150th birthday. Why is it disturbing? Because it took place at Singley Academy, a high school in the Irving ISD. Where is the ACLU????

"Celebration for a swami in Irving." The Dallas Morning News; April 19, 2012; p. 6B.

AWWW - THEY'RE JUST PLAYING!

Todd Gitlin, Columbia University professor of journalism and author of Occupy Nation: The Roots, The Spirit and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street, said on the Fox News Channel that the Occupy Wall Street movement was "out of hibernation" in its May Day protests. He said these were "fun-loving" and "playful people." 


I suppose he was talking about the black-clad protesters in Seattle, Washington, who smashed windows and ran through traffic. Or maybe he was referring to the crowd in Oakland, California, where police had to resort to tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse them as they converged on officers attempting an arrest. Possibly he could mean the protesters who tried to force businesses to shut down for not observing calls for a "general strike." 


Gives a whole new meaning to fun-loving, doesn't it?


http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-friends-panel-explodes-over-pro-occupy-wall-street-professors-claim-these-are-playful-people/

SURPRISE!

Obama announced yesterday that he supports same-sex marriage. As if we hadn't already figured that out. He said that he "evolved" to this place based on conversations with his own staff members, openly gay and lesbian service members, and conversations with his wife and daughters. Anybody else notice who's missing from that list? He obviously didn't ask God what He thought about it.

YOU GOT IT, CHARLES!

Charles King of Euless writes a facetious letter to the editor condemning Dr. Robert Jeffress for endorsing Mitt Romney after he said that Mormonism was a cult. 


"How can Jeffress be true in his convictions if he is willing to compromise his beliefs just to defeat President Obama? Is this where the GOP has gone -- they don't care who it is as long as the current president is defeated?"


You got it, Charles!


I can answer your question about Dr. Jeffress being true to his convictions -- faced with a non-Christian man with strong moral values or one who professes to be a Christian but doesn't give any evidence that he really is, the choice is easy. Given the unemployment rates, Obamacare, $4 gasoline, a Justice Department that refuses to enforce the law, an EPA official bent on crucifying oil companies, a President who negotiates with terrorists, a First Lady who was never proud of her country until it elected her husband, a President who supports gay marriage but hides behind his flunkies actually saying it, and Obama's contention that he can be more "flexible" when he doesn't have to run again, the choice is easy! Obama's first term will be nothing compared to what he'll do if he's allowed a second!

"Endorsing a cult member?" The Dallas Morning News; April 20, 2012; p. 10A.

I disagree.

E. J. Dionne bemoans the growing "income inequality" in America. Perhaps there is a "growing income inequality" because more and more people are opting to sit on their tails and let Uncle Sam (that's you and me) support them through Section 8, food stamps, Medicaid, free cell phones, earned income tax credit, and dozens of other giveaway programs. You see, they don't count all that as income, so it makes things look unequal when, in reality, they have just as much if not more than the poor guy whose money they're taking. 


Dionne says that conservatives don't confront the contradiction in their theories. He says they want to restore the glory days of the 1950s family, but they don't want to acknowledge that it was the high wages of unionized workers that underwrote that lifestyle. I disagree. The average 1950s family was headed by a father and a mother. The average 21st century family is not. The average 1950s family had a strong work ethic and didn't expect handouts. The average 21st century family has no work ethic and an entitlement attitude. The average 1950s family paid its basic living expenses first, then saved its money to buy new things like televisions, dishwashers, air conditioners, and other new conveniences. The average 21st century family gets the frills first, often going into debt they can't pay; then they let someone else pay for the basics. 


No, I don't see income inequality as the problem. The problem is laziness, instant gratification, and lack of pride in a job well-done.

"The issue is economic equality, not social values, says E. J. Dionne." The Dallas Morning News; April 20, 2012; p. 17A.

WIST

From my "wish I'd said that" file:  "Apparently, I'm supposed to be more outraged by what Mitt Romney does with his money than by what Barack Obama does with mine." Allen Shaffer, Plano, Texas.

And That's Why!!

There were two articles on the front page of the newspaper recently. 

The first detailed the Taliban suicide bomb attack that occurred just as Obama was leaving Afghanistan. And that is why our government shouldn't be "negotiating" with terrorists!

The second told about the investigation and arrests in $452 million in Medicare scams. What's really sad is that this amount accounts for only 1/2 to 3/4 of one percent of the total estimated fraud of $60 to $90 billion PER YEAR.  And that is why our government shouldn't be in the health care business!

"Taliban: Attack a message to Obama" and "$452M in scams exposed." The Dallas Morning News; May 3, 2012; p. 1A.

Turn about is fair play.

The environmentalists are all upset because EPA Administrator Al Armendariz has resigned in the wake of his comments about crucifying oil companies. If you recall, he likened EPA enforcement to the Romans who intimidated their conquered villages by executing the first five people they saw there as an example of their intention to strictly govern.

I say to the environmentalists, turn about is fair play. What we do is, we crucify the first five EPA officials who shoot off their mouths about crucifixions. That ought to nip the problem in the bud.

"Resignation caps weeks of setbacks." The Dallas Morning News; May 1, 2012; p. 1A.

And we're supposed to believe she's really smart????

I read this quote before I knew who said it, and I thought it must be from someone who was barely literate. See what you think:

"One of the things you learn about yourself as you get older are what are your strengths and what are your interests. And for me, it's other stuff that is not being the president." 


What brilliant mind said that? Michelle Obama.

I think our First Lady needs to review how to diagram a sentence. "One of the things you learn . . . are"? "Other stuff that is not being the president"? Come to think of it, maybe she has a point -- I think her husband is better at "other stuff that is not being president", too.

But how do they know?

I've written before about the new energy efficient light bulbs our government had a contest to invent. The winner -- in fact, the only contestant -- was Philips Lighting. The lights, which are designed to replace 60 watt incandescent bulbs, are a real bargain! They cost only $60 each despite the contest rules that the bulbs not exceed $22 each.


Philips insists this is still a great deal, because the lights will last 20 years. But think about this: since they've only been invented in the last 5 years, no one has yet burned one for 20 years. How do they know they will last that long?


"Rebates to ease the sticker shock of new $60 light bulb." The Dallas Morning News; April 29, 2012; p. 3D. 

We Demmand!

This is a 2010 photo of a protest that was held across the border from El Paso. The protesters are upset at a Border Patrol agent who shot a 15-year-old Mexican national. The teenager was throwing rocks at the agents.

What caught my attention was the protest sign. I think if I'm going to protest, I'll at least check my spelling.