Who's really going to destroy Medicare?

Obama and the Democrat Party have consistently made the allegation that Romney/Ryan will destroy Medicare. But who will really destroy it?

Steven Rattner was a counselor to Obama's Treasury Secretary. He was Obama's "Car Czar" who engineered the GM bailouts. Granted, he doesn't speak for Obama, but you have to wonder how close his thoughts are to those of the administration.

Rattner believes that people in the last year of life are not entitled to the same medical care that others might receive. I'd like to know who decides one is "in the last year of life." He says that Medicare must be rationed -- that we need death panels. He proposes limiting Medicare spending per beneficiary. He says other countries have systems for rationing care, and so should we. He says Obama's "Independent Payment Advisory Board" (death panel) should be allowed to put an explicit value on a treatment's ability to extend life. In other words, if a treatment that could extend my life costs $50,000, but the board has decided I'm worth only $48,000, I won't get the treatment.

In a related letter to the editor, Matt Jaremko of Dallas says that we don't have to provide expensive treatments for the elderly. He says we can use psychotherapy and medical marijuana. I guess the doctors can say, "Smoke a joint and call me in the morning." He also suggests that a tax on revenues be collected from providers. He says that will keep them from ordering expensive treatment and tests. What he means is that it will make treatment and tests unavailable to the vast majority of elderly Americans.

And that, my friends, is why government should never have been, and should not now be, in the health care business at all!

"Medicare death panels? No, but . . ." The Dallas Morning News; September 18, 2012; p. 13A.
"Sensitive end-of-life solutions." The Dallas Morning News; September 20, 2012; p. 16A.

I don't remember. Do you?

William Mercer of Richardson is upset with us for denouncing the radical Muslims who have led the terrorist attacks on our embassies in the Middle East the past few weeks. He says we have selective memories:

"Recall when U.S. Christians stormed theaters against a film called The Last Temptation of Christ?"

Actually, William, I don't remember that. How many ambassadors were killed then? How many flags were burned? How many grenades were launched? How many theaters were destroyed? How many radicals looted the buildings while shouting "Death to America"? Maybe if you refresh our memories a bit, we might recall it.

"Romney is no diplomat." The Dallas Morning News; September 18, 2012; p. 12A.

Eat hearty -- avoid execution!

Ronald Post shot and killed a hotel clerk in Ohio almost 30 years ago. He was sentenced to death. His execution date has been set for January 16, 2013. But --- not so fast! say Post's attorneys.

It would be cruel and unusual punishment to execute Post, because he weighs more than 480 pounds. They claim that he won't fit on the execution gurney and that his weight will make it hard for the executioner to find a vein. 

I got to thinking about this. I wonder how he came to weigh 480 pounds while he's in prison. Do they give the prisoners all they want to eat? Why haven't they restricted this man's diet? Why are the taxpayers paying for all that food? 

If the judge finds in his favor, and I were the warden at the prison, within the year, he would be down to a weight that wouldn't pose a "risk" to his execution! If I were a legislator, I would introduce alternative methods of execution -- such as a putting a little strychnine on his burgers and a big dose of arsenic in his ice cream! Those require no gurney and no needles. As my mama always said, "More than one way to skin a cat!"

"Hefty inmate cites execution risk." The Dallas Morning News; September 18, 2012; p. 5A.

It's never enough.

Latinos are upset. The Obama Administration has decreed that all those illegals he said could stay here cannot draw medical benefits through Obamacare. According to the newspaper, this "decision -- disclosed last month, to little notice -- has infuriated many advocates for Hispanics and immigrants. They say the restrictions are at odds with Obama's recent praise of the young immigrants."

Wonder why Obama didn't have a press conference on that one? Thought he could slip it by all the Mexicans?

At any rate, we tell them we won't ask for their ID's, and that's not enough. We tell them they can stay here with no penalty, and that's not enough. Now we must provide all their health care, too. And it won't be long until that's not enough, either.

"Health rules upset Latinos." The Dallas Morning News; September 18, 2012; p. 1A.

Some people don't know where the heck they are!

Randy Wood of Russellville, Alabama, doesn't like the Dallas taxi cabs. He complained that his driver evidently took the long way around and charged him $40. He says he hopes everybody who visits Dallas isn't treated this way.

In the first place, Randy wasn't even in Dallas. He was at Cowboys Stadium. I thought $40 sounded pretty reasonable for a cab from Arlington to Dallas, so I looked up online how much a cab fare from Cowboys Stadium to downtown Dallas would be -- around $50. 

Sounds to me like Randy got a bargain but is just too ignorant to realize it. I guess he doesn't get out of Russellville, population less than 9000, very much. 

"We visitors were treated poorly." The Dallas Morning News; September 6, 2012; p. 14A.

How long does it take to cure a crazy person?

Do you think that a woman who is so crazy that she cuts off her baby's arms with a kitchen knife can be cured in less than four years?

In 2004, Dena Schlosser said God told her to cut off her baby's arms, so she did. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She was released in 2008. She was re-committed in 2010. She was last seen working at Wal-Mart in Terrell. Psychiatrists say she is "not a risk." I guess not as long as you don't let her stock the kitchen knife shelves. Wal-Mart says she is no longer employed there.

Paris News funny: The police activity column is headlined "Probe continues of injured man." Misplaced modifiers notwithstanding, I bet that hurt!

"Woman who killed baby in '04 fired from Wal-Mart." The Dallas Morning News; August 7, 2012; p. 3B.

What is a pedophile?

Steve Blow and I disagree on the definition of a pedophile. I say that a man who is 32 years old and having an affair with a 13 year old is a pedophile. When that man runs off with the child when she is 15, I say he's a pedophile. 

That's what Chuck Adair, a youth minister did. Bethany Brooks, who was in his youth group said, "We pretty much all idolized him.” 

But, she said that sometimes Adair made her and others uncomfortable when he had girls sit on his lap or gave hugs “that were not just friendly youth minister hugs.” One of the other girls in the group said that Adair had names for her breasts: “Bip” and “Bop.” As a teenager, she thought it was funny. As a middle-aged mother, she finds it disturbing. I, too, find it disturbing. 

Yes, I say that Chuck Adair is a pedophile. But Steve Blow says, ". . .not to minimize his transgression, but Adair was never a pedophile." Yeah, right, Steve. And neither is Jerry Sandusky. I have to wonder if you would change your mind if he named your daughter's breasts or ran away with your teenager.

"How welcoming should a church be." The Dallas Morning News; August 5, 2012; p. 1B.

Where's their IT guy?

The IRS says that fraud is costing the taxpayers billions of dollars -- in fact, at least five billion in 2011. The IRS fears that the problem could "undermine public trust in the U.S. tax system." That's a good one! 

I know that some fraud is inevitable, but you'd think that it wouldn't be too hard to add some computer software to stop a lot of it. For example, would it be too hard to cross-reference the Social Security number with the Social Security death index? It seems much of that fraud was from people claiming the identities of dead people. Would it be too hard to flag more than a couple of checks going to the same address? One address in Lansing, Michigan received 2,137 refunds amounting to more than $3.3 million. Would it be too hard to flag refunds going into the same bank account? Again, this happened when hundreds of refunds went into the same account. 

The IRS says it needs third-party information to check these things out. No, it doesn't. It has access to Social Security records already. What third party information does it need to flag multiple checks it generates going to the same address or bank account? 

If their IT guys can't set that up, then maybe they need some new ones.

"Identity thieves costing IRS billions." The Dallas Morning News; August 3, 2012; p. 6a.

Here's the difference.

Ellen Raff says she is "astounded at the ire coming from right-leaning politicos" because gay people and gay-lovers have chosen to boycott Chick-fil-A because of the moral stance of its owner. She says these same people rejoiced over boycotting the Dixie Chicks.

First of all, Ellen is mistaken that morally upright people were upset over gays boycotting Chick-Fil-A. We don't care where gay people eat. What we were upset about was government, in the guise of Rahm Emanual and his cohort mayors, saying that Chick-Fil-A couldn't do business in their cities. If, as individuals, they don't want to eat there, that's their business. But they have absolutely no right to preclude Chick-Fil-A from doing business in their cities because its owner is a Godly man.

Second of all, there is a difference in the stands that were taken. People who paid a price to go see the Dixie Chicks in concert were subjected to a political diatribe instead of the music they paid to hear. When people walk into Chick-Fil-A, they don't get sermons on homosexuality -- they get chicken sandwiches. 

Ellen says she doesn't get our logic. Perhaps that's because she is unfamiliar with what logic is.

"Free speech has consequences." The Dallas Morning News; August 6, 2012; p. 10A.

How's your yard sale going?

I'm sure all the people who read my blog are busy with their Obama Yard Sales today, so you may not see this. I just wondered how much you've made to send to the Obama campaign. Send me some reports after you sell out!

For those of you who might have missed it, this is the weekend for Obama's national yard sale. Everyone is supposed to have a yard sale and send the proceeds to Obama's campaign. Don't have any junk of your own to sell? That's OK. According to the training video, with typical Democrat rationalization, you can go take some of your neighbor's junk and sell it. After all, he should be patriotic and contribute his fair share. Doesn't matter that he worked and paid for his own stuff. He should be happy that you came and took it. And if he's not -- well, he's just out of touch with the middle class!

http://michellemalkin.com/2012/09/15/yard-sale-obama/

Somebody has to pay for it.

Veronica de Lafuente was a delegate to the Democratic Convention. She loves Obamacare because it has raided Medicare and sent the money to Medicaid. She says she secured world-class care for her dad when he was diagnosed with cancer. She's very proud of herself, because she did this without taking a hit to her parents' retirement nest egg by enrolling them in a state program that allows seniors to buy into Medicaid. 

What Veronica and others don't seem to understand is that in avoiding a hit to their own retirement nest eggs, they're sending the hit to mine. Somebody has to pay for Medicaid. If her father was able to pay for his own care, why is it that, in addition to my own medical expenses, I must foot the bill for his?

"Health law believer, defender." The Dallas Morning News; September 7, 2012; p. 15A.

I don't think Leonard can be pleased.

Leonard Pitts says he's tired of black voters being used like hardware by the left and the right. He says what black voters need is for the left and the right to approach them with agendas tailored to their concerns. 

Then he spells out some of those concerns. 1) Investment in the inner city -- well, Leonard, if people who lived in the inner city kept their apartments clean and got up and went to work everyday, they would see a whole lot more return on their own investment than they do on the handouts "invested" by our government. 2) Ending the mass incarceration of young black men -- well, Leonard, if young black men quit selling drugs, joining gangs, and killing each other, there would be far fewer of them incarcerated. 3) Fixing schools -- well, Leonard, if black students behaved themselves properly and cracked a book every now and then and didn't paint graffiti on all the school property, the school would probably be in fair shape anyway.

Leonard says there's one thing more aggravating than politicians who don't talk about race, and that's politicians who do. Just what do you want, man?!!

"Race is the real elephant in the room." The Dallas Morning News; September 4, 2012; p. 13A.

Essie Award Time

It's time for an Essie -- the award given on the basis of sheer stupidity. This one goes to Damian Aspinall, and I don't think you'll have to ask why after you've seen the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u46IH8-cjFw

And that tells you where the Democratic party is!

In watching parts of the Democratic Convention, I wondered how anyone who calls himself a Christian could be reconciled to being a Democrat. This is the party that resoundingly voted to take God and support of Israel out of its platform. Even though they voted to do it, the chairman "heard" it differently, and the God and support of Israel went in anyway. Obama's own party gets a taste of his autocratic ways.

My thoughts were corroborated by something that didn't happen at the Convention. A federal judge in Massachusetts has ruled that the state must pay for a prisoner to have a sex change operation. In hailing this decision as one of enlightenment and progress, Kathy Padilla, who is really a man, said, "Now there are transgender delegates at the Democratic National Convention." Meghan Barr, the reporter who wrote this story says, "[Transgender men and women] have made great strides in recent years toward being treated like ordinary people." Mara Keisling, a transgender rights activist, said that due to "insufficient cultural competency . . . There are still people who believe that being a transgender person is a choice, or exotic or bad." Guess I'm culturally incompetent! She says that the bright side is that those people are becoming fewer and fewer all the time. And she's right -- isn't that a sad commentary on our society?

Yes, we've made great strides all right -- let's let men marry men and women marry women and women change themselves into men who marry other men and just whatever other sexual perversion strikes you. Because, after all, they're all just like you and me. Yeah, right!

Republican Senator Scott Brown called the judge's ruling an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars. "We have many big challenges facing us as a nation, but nowhere among those issues would I include providing sex change surgery to convicted murderers." Amen, Scott!

"Ruling is milestone in transgender visibility." The Dallas Morning News; September 6, 2012; p. 7A.

And just what would you consider morally unfit?

In the controversy over the Boy Scouts and gays, I had to chuckle over a letter to the editor. Thomas Miller of Flint, Texas, chastises the Boy Scouts for not upholding the Constitution. He feels they are not abiding by it since they exclude gays. Well, Thomas, I guess you're not abiding by it, either, because according to the Constitution, the Supreme Court decides these things, and they said in Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, that the Boy Scouts are on a firm footing in their stand.

Thomas says, "If a Scout leader is gay, purple or Wiccan, as long as he or she is a morally fit person . . . they should be permitted to participate . . ." He considers a Wiccan to be morally fit? He considers homosexuals to be morally fit? And with that, Thomas, you have just made a very convincing argument for the Boy Scout side of the issue!

"Return to teaching self-reliance." The Dallas Morning News; June 29, 2012; p. 22A.

How much is a burger-flipper worth?

John Williamson of Plano is outraged. He recently saw a sign at a fast food restaurant advertising for help. Wages ranged up to $10 an hour for team leaders (whatever that is) and up to $8 an hour for cashiers and cooks. 

John says he can't believe that the restaurant is actually bragging about these "insanely low wages." Well, John, just how much do you think a burger-flipper is worth?  How much do you think we should pay the kid who hands you your order at the drive-thru? How much more are you willing to pay for a burger and fries so they can increase those "insanely low wages"?

John falls into that group of people who can't think beyond the noses on their faces. You see, John, people have to start somewhere. Most of the people who work at McDonald's or Burger King are high school or college students. They don't plan on making Wendy's a career. I'd say the pay-rates advertised are pretty good for someone with no experience and an incomplete education. John says these are "unlivable wages." I'm not so sure about that, either. If a  person worked full-time at the $10 rate, he'd make $20,800. The poverty guideline for a single person is less than $12,000. Would the person have to live frugally. He certainly would, but he could live on it. Even if he made $8 an hour, he'd earn $16,640 -- well above the poverty guideline.

Are those wages insane for college graduates and/or people who have years of experience? You bet -- but barring another four years of Obama, those people aren't going to be applying for those jobs anyway.

"A Labor Day bad joke." The Dallas Morning News; September 3, 2012; p. 181A.

Another Reason Not to Vote for Obama.

I've mentioned this before in another post, but here's some updated information.

If you want a new car, you better buy one quickly if you don't want to pay the several thousand dollars extra that Obama regulations are going to add to the price in a few years. Rules for fuel economy have just been finalized, and they stipulate that cars and trucks must average 54.5 miles per gallon to be phased in from 2017 to 2025. Sounds great, doesn't it? But to meet this standard, auto makers will have to add expensive technology and/or reduce the size and weight of vehicles. The administration's argument is that the added cost of the car will be offset with the savings from fuel. I guess that could be true when we're paying almost $4 a gallon! Economists, however, doubt that the increased cost will be realized over the life of the vehicle. 

Personally, my safety is of paramount importance. I don't want to drive a tiny aluminum can on the freeways around Dallas! I like the protection afforded me by my mid-size sedan. Of course, all the traffic there will probably be slower anyway -- smaller engines will also be used to effect the fuel savings. And you'll have to continually restart your car when you get into those bumper to bumper traffic jams -- circuits will temporarily shut off your engine when you idle. And for all this, you get to pay more! Obama -- gotta love him!

By the way, Congress has nothing to do with this. These requirements do not need Congressional approval -- Messiah Obama gets all the credit for this one. That being the case, I suppose the good news is that President Romney can reverse it without Congressional approval. 

"Feds finalize rules to double fuel economy by 2025." The Dallas Morning News; August 29, 2012; p. 1D.

I bow only to Sharia -- except when it suits me not to.

John Walker Lindh was born in America to a Catholic mother and a father who left his family for a homosexual affair. He was sent to alternative school when he was a teenager where he was indoctrinated with Middle Eastern philosophy and culture. He liked hip-hop music and often posed as a black rapper. He called himself Mujahid. He went to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban, and that's where he was arrested. You may recognize his name as the "American taliban."

Lindh says he doesn't recognize any law but the Shariah of Islam. Yet he's suing the U.S. in U.S. courts. He wants to be able to pray with other terrorists in the federal prison in Terre Haute where he is incarcerated. If he doesn't recognize the authority of U.S. courts, then why is he using them? If I were the judge, I'd toss that one out and tell Lindh to put that in his Sharia pipe and smoke it!

"American Taliban fighter slams prison prayer rule." The Dallas Morning News; August 28, 2012; p. 5A.

Unclear on the Concept of a Bail Bond

I guess I have a basic misunderstanding of how a bail bond works. I always thought that the bondsman put up a percentage of the bail to insure the charging jurisdiction that the offender wouldn't flee, then if the bailee didn't show up at the appointed date, the bondsman forfeited the rest of the money to the state/county or whatever.

Evidently, it doesn't work that way for illegals. It seems that judges routinely dismiss payment from bondsmen if the illegal doesn't show up. According to Keven Krause and Ed Timms, staff writers for The Dallas Morning News, bondsmen frequently have been forgiven the bonds when their clients didn't show up for court. 

For example, Act Quick Bail Bonds avoided forfeiture of a $10,000 bond on Samuel Ojeda when Act Quick told the judge Senor Ojeda was in Mexico. Senor Ojeda was charged with felony indecency with a child, and he remains a fugitive -- probably in the U.S. where he is still a danger to our children. Act Quick also avoided a $15,000 forfeiture by arguing that the defendant, Alessandro Limongi, was in the Philippines, and the judge could extradite him if he wanted to. If I were the judge, I'd make Act Quick pay AND extradite. Act Quick insures the defendant will show up -- not that they'll tell you where he is so you can go get him!

"Illegally in, off hook for debt." The Dallas Morning News; September 2, 2012; p. 1A.

No Mas Pantalones!

Obama Spokesman Jay Carney says Obama didn't watch Paul Ryan's GOP convention speech, and he was pretty sure he didn't intend to watch Mitt Romney's.

Reminds me of the Progressive Insurance TV commercial -- "No mas pantalones!"

"Spokesman: Obama 'aware,' not watching." The Dallas Morning News; August 31, 2012; p. 19A.

Should black gang rapists be arrested?

In 2010, an 11-year-old Cleveland, Texas, girl was repeatedly raped by as many as 20 men and boys. The crimes became known because one of the idiots video-recorded one of the assaults, and one of the little girl's classmates saw it and told a teacher. 

So, there is no doubt the assaults occurred and no doubt about who did it. Yet the newspaper reports that the case was complicated by "a belief among many in the predominantly black neighborhood where several of the suspects live that the arrests were racially motivated. All of the suspects are black, while the girl is Hispanic."

I guess I don't understand the complaint. Are they saying that black men should be allowed to rape little Hispanic girls?

"Missing man gets 99 years in sex assault." The Dallas Morning News; August 31, 2012; p. 3A. 

I don't think Richard has been listening.

Richard Huff of Keithville, Louisiana, is worried about Romney and Ryan taking away his father's Social Security and Medicare. He says that if the GOP has its way, his parents will be returned to the "poverty want of their youth." But something about Richard's lament is off.

Romney and Ryan have both said that their plans will not affect anyone 55 years of age or older. So that means anyone born before 1958 will still have the same Social Security and Medicare plan available today. Either Richard hasn't heard this and, therefore, isn't educated enough to comment on the issue; or Richard doesn't know just how old his father is. You see, Richard says his father is a WWII veteran. I'd like to know how a WWII veteran was born at least 13 years after the war ended.

Another angle for Richard to consider is that Social Security and Medicare cannot be sustained as they currently operate. That means that under Obama's non-plan for reform, his father IS in danger of losing his benefits. 

Think about it like this, Richard. What if your father's house and your house next door are in the path of a raging wildfire? The Republican fire official says to your father, "We can save your house if we use your barn as a firebreak, and that will probably save your son's house as well. But if we don't burn that barn, both houses will definitely be lost." The Democrat fire expert comes along and says, "He wants to take away your barn! You didn't build it (current Obama philosophy), but he wants to take your barn! You worked hard to build that barn, and you and your son deserve to keep it." Which option would you choose?

If Social Security and Medicare are not reformed, nobody's house will be saved. Jo Anne Barnhart, Commissioner of Social Security, said, ". . .doing nothing will have serious consequences for our children and grandchildren." The GAO says, "It is estimated that once the Social Security trust fund balances are exhausted in 2037, annual revenue will be insufficient to pay benefits in full on a timely basis, thereby making program changes an important priority."

"Don't kill 1900s' best legacies." The Dallas Morning News; September 1, 2012; p. 20A.

Parole is a joke.

Parole in this state is a joke. In an article about the failure of sex offenders to register as ordered, the reporter used Michael Gilbert as an example.

I'm not going to go into the issue of his having failed to register as a sex offender or his attempts to convince authorities he was dead by killing a man and burning the body in his car. My issue for this post is parole.

Gilbert was convicted in 1987 for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison. He was paroled before he had been in prison half that time. And he violated his parole -- four times between 1992 and 2003. 

Parole is a joke! But not a very funny one. Just ask the dead guy in the trunk of Gilbert's burning car.

An added note -- I looked Mr. Gilbert up to see what his status is now. He's in Tarrant County jail on the murder charge. But what really caught my eye was his stated occupation: "care giver" for AB Enterprises. Wouldn't you feel good knowing he was taking care of Grandma? 

And one more added note -- there are a bunch of do-gooders out there who think sex offender registration is awful. One of those is Mary Sue Molnar, director of Texas Voices for Reason and Justice. When she was asked if she knew of any sex offenders trying to manipulate the rules, she said absolutely not: ". . .everybody is trying to do what they're supposed to do." Wow! If it was that easy, we wouldn't need any prisons, would we? We could just say, "Now be nice, and don't rape any more little girls." Problem solved!

"Shading a dirty identity." The Dallas Morning News; August 27, 2012; p. 1A.

You can will your money to whomever you wish . . . as long as you don't leave out gay people.

Have you noticed that gays no longer use the "we just want tolerance" thing? How long has it been since you've heard one of them say that? Now they demand to have whatever it is they want.

I always thought that it was an individual's prerogative to leave his estate to whomever he wished. "Not so," say gay judges. Robert Mandelbaum is a criminal court judge in Manhattan. He and his "spouse," another man he "married," have a 2-year-old son by a surrogate mother. Mandelbaum's late father was a wealthy man, but Mandelbaum doesn't like his father's will. 

According to the stipulations of the will, unless Mandelbaum is married to the mother of his child, the child inherits nothing. Mandelbaum is contesting the will on the grounds that his father is trying to force him into a sham marriage. I don't often use texting abbreviations; however, this one calls for a very large LOL! A marriage to a man is not a sham, but a marriage to a woman is? At any rate, his father is not "forcing" him into anything -- if he doesn't want to marry the child's mother, he certainly doesn't have to. He just has to decide whether he's that mercenary or not.

If that argument doesn't stick, Mandelbaum has another -- his partner could be considered the child's "mother." 

Countering Mandelbaum's so-called grounds, Joshua Rubenstein, a Manhattan estate lawyer, said, " . . . it's your property, and you can do whatever you want with it." At least you could up until the homos started asking for tolerance.

On another note, I wonder just what kind of idiot the surrogate mother is. What kind of woman has a child and gives it to a couple of perverts?

"Will cuts out boy unless gay dad marries his mom." The Dallas Morning News; August 25, 2012, p. 8A.

More Evidence That the World is Nuts

Remember the guy who killed 77 people in Norway last year? The law in Norway prevents them from sentencing this demon to more than 21 years in prison.

In the event he is declared insane, he will be the sole patient in a half-million-dollar facility built just for him. He will have 17 people to wait on him. 

If he is declared mentally fit, he will remain in the facility he now calls home. He has at his disposal a private bedroom, exercise room, and study; computer, television, and newspapers. The goal, say prison officials, is to integrate him with the general prison population where he will also have access to an education, a library, a gym, and leisure activities. 

Hmmmm - Mr. Essie and I are due a vacation. Maybe I'll send for one of Norway's penal system travel brochures.

"How to house a killer?" The Dallas Morning News; August 23, 2012; p. 11A.

YUMMY!

Soon to be former First Lady Michelle Obama recently hosted a bunch of kids at a White House "state dinner." She wanted to show them that eating nutritious foods was "fun."

They were served cabbage sloppy Joes and baked zucchini fries. YUM! I'm sure they all begged for second helpings.

By the way, I notice she still hasn't asked Congress to limit food stamp purchases to healthy foods. Hypocrite!

"Young chefs get a spot at the table for 'state dinner.'" The Dallas Morning News; August 21, 2012; p. 6A.

We're just too conservative!

Did you know that if you consider it perverted and immoral for a teacher to film herself having an orgy with five students, you're too conservative?

That's what Brittni Colleps's attorney says. Brittni is the married English teacher who was recently convicted of having sex with five of her 18-year-old students. One of them filmed the episode on his cellphone. Lex Johnston, the defense attorney, said, "Tarrant County is too conservative." 

One of Brittni's friends testified for her in the punishment phase of her trial. "There will be three children without a mother," she told the jury. There were already three children without a decent mother. Her husband asked for probation because "it's not my or my kids' fault." I suppose Jack the Ripper's mother could have made the same argument. Johnston says that the jury will probably regret what they did, and that "it sent a message to the United States." I can't imagine the jury regretting finding her guilty, but I certainly hope it sent a message to the U.S.!

"Ex-teacher gets 5 years in sex case." The Dallas Morning News; August 18, 2012; p. 1B.

Page 6?

Suppose a Tea Party member walked into a Gay and Lesbian Action Committee headquarters, yelled out, "I don't like your politics," and shot a security guard. Do you think it would be the lead story on the 6 o'clock news? Do you think it would make the front page of the newspaper? Do you think the gays and lesbians would be out protesting all the "haters"?

Now, suppose a gay/lesbian activist walked into the Family Research Council headquarters, yelled out, "I don't like your politics," and shot a security guard. I can tell you where you'd find that story. Page 6 of The Dallas Morning News next to the news briefs. I can't tell you what the gays and lesbians think about it, though. They've all been strangely quiet.

"Gunman wounds guard." The Dallas Morning News; August 16, 2012; p. 6A.

You bet we do, Michelle!

At a recent campaign stop, Michelle Obama said, "We all know who my husband is, don't we? And we all know what he stands for."

You bet we do, Michelle! And that's why we've got to get him the heck out of the White House!

If you love Mexico so much, go compete for them.

Leo Manzano ran in the Olympic 1500 meter race for the United States. He won the silver medal. Receiving his award, he held a Mexican flag along with the U.S. flag.

Esther Cepeda says she knew as soon as that happened "the haters" would come out.  She says Manzano's action was just ethnic pride no different than celebrating Oktoberfest or St. Patrick's Day.

I beg to differ. People who celebrate Oktoberfest or St. Patrick's Day aren't representing the U.S. in international competition when they do so. If you represent the U.S., then you should do so whole-heartedly. Manzano needs to decide whether he's a Mexican or an American. If he runs with "U.S.A." on his uniform, then he needs to represent the United States. 

Esther asks if anyone would be freaking out if a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ireland hoisted an Irish flag along with the Stars and Stripes. You bet! It's the same thing. She says that the fact of the matter is that parts of America don't yet see Hispanics as "one of us." It seems to me he's the one who doesn't see himself as "one of us." If he acted like an American, he would most likely be accepted as an American. And therein lies the difference in European immigrants and Mexican immigrants. The vast majority of Irish immigrants assimilate. They truly become Americans. Doesn't seem to be that way with Mexicans. They don't want to learn English, and they hoist that Mexican flag every chance they get. I can't figure out why, if they love Mexico so much, they don't go back there.

"Flags flap much ado about nada." The Dallas Morning News; August 14, 2012; p. 11A.