Will you put your money where your mouth is, Mr. Combs?

September 15, I wrote about John Combs who thinks Dr. Jeffress of First Baptist, Dallas, should do more to fund social services. What was lacking in Mr. Combs's diatribe was any mention at all of all the benevolent services provided by First Baptist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, and other denominations and denominational organizations.

I think it interesting that Mr. Combs has not written a letter to the editor about another article that was in the newspaper. Thirty-five Texas Baptist Men left Texas on the 23rd of this month to assist those who have suffered the devastating floods in Colorado. They plan to go door to door to see what needs there are, then they will call for their "mudout" crews who will bring in machinery to start rebuilding. All these men are volunteers, and some of the services they will provide include rebuilding houses and removing damaged drywall and carpeting. They'll return home when "the job is done."

So, Mr. Combs, maybe you're not able to go to Colorado to help. I understand that. But certainly you'll be whipping out the checkbook to aid in this endeavor. And let's not offer a piddling amount, either. As you, yourself, said -- your fellow worshippers wouldn't want to "be embarrassed by your lack of compassion."

"Baptist group to assist Colorado flood recovery." The Dallas Morning News; September 24, 2013; p. 2B.

Will she be charged?

Dallas Morning News columnist James Ragland lost his column space a couple of years ago after an altercation with his wife that spilled over to their church. He was charged with domestic violence, and the newspaper reassigned him.

I hadn't heard anything else about the case in all this time, but I noticed a week or so ago that he had a byline in the paper. As it turns out, his wife refuses to testify against him, so the charge has been dropped.

In April 2012, Shannon Morley-Ragland told prosecutors that Ragland "did not grab the phone from her hands, did not push her down, did not throw the phone at her and that she was not scared of the defendant." According to her original statement to the police, he did grab the phone from her hands, he did push her down, he did throw the phone at her, and she was afraid of him.

So, I wonder when they'll be filing charges against her for making a false statement to police and wasting their time, the prosecutor's time, and taxpayer money.

"Domestic violence case against News reporter dismissed." The Dallas Morning News; September 25, 2013; p. 1B.

Tune in for another episode of "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum."

There is no common sense anymore. We can't execute Steven Staley because he won't take his anti-psychotic drugs. And we can't make him take his drugs. This has nothing to do with how sane he was when he killed the manager of a Steak & Ale restaurant after terrorizing the employees during a robbery there.

So now, I guess pretty much any death row inmate can get around his sentence by claiming to be psychotic and refusing to take his drugs. John Stickels, Staley's attorney, said, "It's time for us to recognize that it's not civilized to forcibly medicate someone to execute them." 

To John Stickels I say, "It's time for us to realize that it's not civilized to not carry out the sentence of a man who terrorizes thirty people, robs them, then kidnaps one and shoots him in the head." And don't tell me he didn't know what he was doing! And don't tell me he doesn't understand what he's doing now. Of course he does, and it's a slap in the face to his victim's family that we let him get away with it!

But on the off-chance that Staley really is psychotic and doesn't know what he's doing, he should be spending 24 hours a day in a straight-jacket in a padded room. After all, if he's not restrained, who knows what danger from this crazy man the guards are being subjected to.

"Court: No forced competency drugs." The Dallas Morning News; September 12, 2013; p. 1A.

Hinky?

I have mentioned before the term law enforcement uses when a story just doesn't quite have the ring of truth to it -- hinky.

And that's what I think of this story. See what you think.

A 15-year-old girl called the police one night and said six robbers broke into her house at 11:50 p.m. They hit and kicked her, tased her, and beat her with a pistol and belt. They left in two cars, taking two televisions -- one of them a 65 inch set.

After such a vicious beating, she did not require an ambulance ride to the hospital. Depending on what kind of car it was, do you suppose they found it difficult to inconspicuously get that big TV into the back seat? It's more than 5 feet across and a yard high.

Don't know -- sounds hinky to me!

"Teen reports beating, robbery in her home." The Dallas Morning News; September 13, 2013; p. 2B.

Jesus is weeping!

What kind of grandmother would take her grandchildren to a parade that "celebrates freedom of sexuality"? What kind of a grandmother would take her grandchildren to a parade whose participants have to be reminded that lewd acts and taking off one's clothes in public are against the law?

There was a picture of the gay pride parade recently held in Dallas with two "grandmothers" (after doing a little internet research, I don't think this is a paternal and a maternal grandmother -- rather I think it's a grandmother and her "other") putting beads around the neck of their 14-month-old grandson.

One mother said it was important for her children to see "this side of life." Really? I wonder if she also takes them to porno theaters and strip bars. Does she troll the streets with them in the red light districts so they can see the prostitutes and johns? Does she take them down to the hood to watch the drug deals go down? Maybe she takes them to the local jail to visit with the murderers and rapists so they can see "that side of life."

Also reported was Marcia Moore who "sat with her two young children . . . surrounded by families with children and dogs and couples not wearing much." One poor, mixed up teenager said, "You're not worried about what everyone's thinking of you because everyone looks more outrageous than you." Honey, if you're concerned about what others think, why do you call attention to yourself by dressing (or undressing, as the case may be) outrageously? You're kind of like the person with tattoos covering every inch of skin who is offended when people stare. Well, duh! If you don't want people to look at them, why do you get them?

Truly, I say, Jesus is weeping!

"A rainbow of revelry." The Dallas Morning News; September 16, 2013; p. 1B.

What did your niece do, Kristen?

Kristen Lester is horrified. She says her niece is attending Mississippi State University and she recently encountered racism there. The niece told Kristen that an African American student rushed her sorority, but some of the "upper-level" people refused to accept her because of her race.

Kristen says she can't believe this practice still goes on. She says something needs to be done, because the pledge class of her niece's sorority is all white.

Well, Kristen, you neglected to tell us what action your niece took to "do something" about it. Did she resign from the sorority? I doubt it since you didn't say she did. Did she raise her voice in protest? I doubt it since you didn't say she did. It seems to me that the only thing she did was call you and tell you about it. If she's that upset, and something needs to be done, why isn't she doing it?

"Sorority racism endemic." The Dallas Morning News; September 19, 2013; p. 12A.

Awwwww!

The newpaper had one of those "awwww!" stories the other day. It was about the baby cheetahs recently acquired by the Dallas Zoo. I'm not sure what the purpose of all this is -- probably some kind of study on how to stop bullying -- but I think they're doing something that's not only stupid but cruel.

The little cheetahs are eight weeks old. And anybody who doesn't think they are adorable doesn't have a heart! They are the cutest little things. They are raising them with a lab puppy in the hopes that the puppy's "mellowness" will "rub off" on the cheetahs. Are they daft?

No matter how cute they are now, the cheetahs are wild animals with wild animal instincts. The staff says they aren't dangerous to the dog. Well, they're not now, but give them a few months or a year! Cheetahs knock their prey to the ground and kill with a suffocating bite to the neck. We'll see how much of that lab "mellowness" they've absorbed when Mother Nature's personality traits take hold!

But let's say that their little experiment does work, and the puppy and the cheetahs remain bosom pals. Doesn't that skew the puppy's understanding of dangerous animals? Will he realize that other big cats won't like him the way that his little buddies do? What if he sees a cougar at the zoo and decides to go make friends with him? And what about the cheetahs? Why do we want to make them more mellow? How will that play out if they put them into a habitat with cats who haven't been mellowed out?

Zoo officials say that, no, the cheetahs won't eat the dog. They view themselves as a family unit. Maybe they do, but the cheetahs are wild animals, and someday, instead of little brother, they may see dinner. I can't help but think of that fruitcake up in Alaska who lived with the bears until they ate him a few years ago. And of all the folks who've had sweet little pit bulls who, for some inexplicable reason, decide to turn on them one day. You'd think people who are supposed to be animal experts would know better.

"2 species in the spotlight." The Dallas Morning News; September 19, 2013; p. 1B.

We just want to be tolerated.

Why would anyone want to donate blood when doing so puts those who might receive that blood at risk? I can think of no reason except to make a selfish, political statement.

Gay men are lobbying to donate their blood despite the fact that they account for only 2% of the population but more than 61% of all new HIV infections. The biased article I read starts off: "The U.S. gay rights movement has achieved many victories in recent years . . . Yet one vestige of an earlier, more wary era remains firmly in place: the nationwide ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men. . . the ban is a source of frustration to many gay activists. . ."

So we are not talking about service to our fellow man here -- we are talking about a "gay rights victory."

Last June, the American Medical Association voted to oppose the ban on donations. I wonder how many of those doctors would be willing for their loved ones to receive one of those donations? When I see the needle pouring it into their veins, I might change my opinion. More than 80 members of Congress are trying to get the ban overturned. Again, I wonder how many of them will line up to say, "Let me or my children be the first to receive a donation."


The FDA says HIV tests currently in use are highly accurate, but still cannot detect HIV 100% of the time. It is estimated that the HIV risk from a unit of blood has been reduced to about 1 per 2 million in the USA, but even current HIV testing methods cannot detect all infections. For this reason, a person could test negative, even when they are actually HIV positive and infectious. Therefore, blood donors are not only tested but are also asked questions about behaviors that increase their risk of HIV infection. You put all the gay men into the blood pool, and the risk is certain to rise from the 1 per 2 million.

But even if the risk remained the same, what if you're the one in 2 million who gets the contaminated blood? While you are wasting away from AIDS, you can feel really good knowing that some queer somewhere won the gay rights victory to donate his poisoned blood.

"Gays fight to donate blood." The Dallas Morning News; September 16, 2013;  p. 4A.

It would be nice if the teacher taught them to read and write.

Duncanville ISD has instituted a new curriculum -- rather a new anti-curriculum. It was used last year in third grade and has been implemented this year in fourth grade. It's called project-based learning.

The children get in groups and teach each other with an emphasis on problem-solving. The "teacher," now referred to as a "facilitator," starts the day off with a YouTube video. On the day the reporter was in the classroom, the video kicked off a three-week project on "civic engagement."

The facilitator says it's not up to her to "feed them information." I guess that's what we used to call "teaching." She says, "They're totally taking charge of their own learning."

I have problems with that. If I'm a third or fourth grader, what if the other children in my group aren't as interested in the "project" as I am? Will they bring me down to their level? I think it unlikely that I'll be able to pull them up to mine. Does my grade depend on what the group does?

Shouldn't third and fourth graders be learning the basics -- reading, writing, and arithmetic with a little history and geography thrown in? In the civic engagement project, they were supposed to be learning about voting. I have to wonder if they're also being told in those lessons how to vote -- not the mechanics of registering and going to the polls, but are they being indoctrinated with the "facilitator's" ideology?

I guess I'm just woefully behind the times, but I think we turned out better educated people when we stuck with the tried and true methods.

"Divide and conquer." The Dallas Morning News; September 17, 2013; p. 1B.

On what basis?

Entitlement attitude. I am so tired of it. What happened to rugged individualism? It's now a given that people who have failed to properly prepare themselves for life or who can't get jobs in the field they want to work in think it's everybody else's fault and that the government is responsible for bailing them out or taking them by the hand to find them a job. 

Annette Guerra is one of those people. She graduated from nursing school a year ago. She says the job market is tight in nursing, and employers are picking job candidates with experience. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

"Employment of registered nurses is expected to grow 26 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations."

Demand for nurses varies by geographic region, but I did a quick Google search and found lots of opportunities. In North Carolina, for example:

"One group of job seekers has continued to see healthy demand for their services: newly minted nurses." "'It’s not a matter of getting a job, it’s getting the job they want,' said Helen Ayres, program director for the associate degree nursing program at Durham Technical Community College. 'I am not aware of anybody who has not been able to get a job if they have looked.'"

And in Rhode Island:

"Labor market studies show a need for 4,300 nurses in Rhode Island by 2020," said Alaina Johnson, the executive director of the UNAP RIH Education Fund. "At the rate we're producing, it's going to be hard to meet that demand."

And in Texas:

Texas still has a serious shortage of registered nurses. According to projections from the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies, demand for full-time registered nurses in Texas exceeds supply by 22,000. In fact, in our local newspaper, there were five different ads for nurses in the classifieds last Sunday.

 

Back to Annette: she "gets by" doing "odds and ends" jobs. Instead of getting out there and pounding the pavement looking for jobs in nursing or in other fields. If I were in her shoes, I'd be burning up the internet with resumes. Annette says, "For those trying to get ahead, there should be some help from government . . ." On what basis, Annette? Why do I owe you? Are you not a big enough girl to take care of yourself? If you can't or won't take care of yourself, do I really want you taking care of me when I'm sick?

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Registered-nurses.htm
"Rich-poor job gap widens." The Dallas Morning News; September 17, 2012; p. 1A.
 http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/08/1985627/demand-for-new-nurses-remains.html
 http://www.wpri.com/news/local/providence/rhode-island-nurse-residency-program-launch
http://www.tha.org/HealthCareProviders/Advocacy/NursingCoalition/CoalitionFactSheet.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Back to Annette: she "gets by" doing "odds and ends" jobs. Instead of getting out there and pounding the pavement looking for jobs in other fields and burning up the internet with resumes, Annette says, "For those trying to get ahead, there should be some help from government . . ." On what basis, Annette? Why do I owe you?

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Registered-nurses.htm

"Rich-poor job gap widens." The Dallas Morning News; September 17, 2012; p. 1A.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/08/1985627/demand-for-new-nurses-remains.html

http://www.wpri.com/news/local/providence/rhode-island-nurse-residency-program-launch

How do you know he doesn't?

John Combs of Garland takes issue with Dr. Robert Jeffress' stand on abortion. John says Dr. Jeffress should use his influence to fund social services. I wonder how Mr. Combs knows how much Dr. Jeffress contributes to the needy? I know FBC Dallas and the Southern Baptist Convention contribute to the needy through numerous agencies -- children's homes, soup kitchens, crisis pregnancy centers, hospitals, schools, disaster relief -- to name a few. I challenge Mr. Combs to tell us how much he contributes to charity.

Mr. Combs says Christians need to check their "Obama hatred" at the door. Mr. Combs is such a nice guy, I guess, that if we dare to disagree with him or the President with whom he is obviously enamored, it naturally follows that we must hate him. He says Christians should practice the love and caring for their fellow man that the Lord commands. How does he know we don't? Again, I point out all the benevolent services provided by Southern Baptists -- and I haven't even mentioned all the ones provided by Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and others.

Mr. Combs uses the old trick that liberals tend to use a lot -- they add two and two and jump all the way to five then state their erroneous conclusions as fact. Here's how it works -- Dr. Jeffress opposes abortion; therefore, Dr. Jeffress does not do anything to help the needy. Many Christians don't believe government funds should go to Planned Parenthood; therefore, they hate Barack Obama. They do that with other issues as well. If we say homosexuality is wrong, then we hate and mistreat all homosexuals.

Mr. Combs says he is embarrassed by the lack of compassion shown by his fellow worshippers. Perhaps Mr. Combs should save his embarrassment for himself -- I'm sure he'll be using it in the great by and by when he answers for his judgmental opinions and his less than honest letters to the editor.

"Check your compassion." The Dallas Morning News; September 10, 2013; p. 10A.

I think Miss Manners flubs it . . . again!

In a recent Miss Manners column, a bride-to-be expressed frustration that so many people asked her if this was her first marriage. I can't imagine people doing that, but she wanted to know what her answer should be without having to tell them she had, indeed, been married before.

Miss Manners said her reply should be, "Well, I don't make a habit of it."

I think the better answer is, "I prefer to think of it as my last."

There she is, your ideal . . .

We've come a long way baby! Remember when Bert Parks sang to the newly crowned Miss America  -- "There she is, Miss America. There she is, your ideal." There's another line in there about her being the queen of femininity.

Well take a gander at this year's contestant from Kansas --

 

I had to enlarge the photo, so it's kind of blurred, but that's the Serenity Prayer tattooed on her side. She has another tattoo on her shoulder. Yeah -- just the sort of ideal I'd want any little girl of mine to aspire to! And I always did think tattoos were just sooooo feminine! Bert Parks is spinning in his grave!

 

Miss Kansas says she had the prayer inked onto her body to remind her of her past, etc., etc. -- a bunch of saccharine drivel. Think about it -- does she twist her head around exorcist style and read it upside down every day? Seems to me it would have been better to have it tattooed upside down on her stomach, then she could just look down and read it right side up. Or have it tattooed right side up and in reverse, then she could just look in the mirror.

 

I predicted yesterday that Miss Iowa would win the competition, but she may be a little un-pc compared to Miss Kansas. Tough decision for the judges!

Do those who look different look differently?

We've all seen the video of the poor beauty pageant contestant from South Carolina who spouted the gibberish about "soma people don't have maps and our U.S. Americans should help people in South Africa and Iraq and such as . . ." when asked about why Americans couldn't find the U.S. on a map. Pitiful!

Any young woman who enters a beauty pageant should spend a little time learning to articulate her thoughts -- that is, if she has any. The downfall of many of these girls is that they bend over backwards to try to appear intelligent, and in doing so, some of them expose how terribly ignorant they truly are. Miss South Carolina would have been better off if she'd honestly said, "Heck if I know!" The judges would probably have given her points for a quick wit.

Nicole Kelly is representing Iowa in the Miss America Pageant. She was born without her left forearm. She is a very attractive young woman, but she's fallen into the same trap that many newscasters, preachers, and other public speakers have fallen into -- they over-correct their English. The biggest offense in this category is "Between you and I . . ." and "She told him and I . . ." Don't be afraid to use "me." It is a legitimate word! The other big offense in this category is adding an adverbial "ly" to an adjective. I guess people think that makes them sound like scholars. 

Miss Iowa says, ". . .I have the intelligence, I have the ability and all the things that Miss America needs to have." But I question how intelligent she is when she goes on to say, "I'm proud to represent those who look differently." Oh -- do you suppose she and those she represents don't use their eyes in the same way you and I use ours? To her credit, Miss Iowa did use the word correctly in an earlier statement: "I'm not here because I look different." My guess is she instinctively uttered the earlier statement without thinking about it, and her instincts were on target.

By the way, my prediction is that Miss Iowa will win the pageant. It would be so un-pc if she didn't.

"Miss America contestant refuses to let herself be defined by disability." The Dallas Morning News; September 10, 2013; p. 4A.

Note to Eva Dickey of The Paris News: I read your column on 9/11. FYI - smoke billows - cows bellow.

We should have elected her . . .

Sarah Palin has a very astute perspective on the Syria situation:

"I say until we know what we’re doing, until we have a commander-in-chief who knows what he’s doing, well, let these radical Islamic countries. . .where both sides are slaughtering each other as they scream. . ., ‘Allah Akbar,’ I say until we have someone who knows what they’re doing, I say let Allah sort it out."

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/06/15/Palin-on-Syria-Let-Allah-Sort-It-Out

What makes him different from Assad?

I read the other day about how the North Korean idiot Kim Jong Un had his former girlfriend and about 12 others executed by machine gun in front of their families. Then the families were sent to prison camps for their association with the "criminals." Her crime was dancing and, according to the state, pornography. However, no pornographic video has surfaced. And one other thing -- it wasn't specific about whether or not she had a Bible, but some of those executed with her had Bibles in their possession. Mr. Un doesn't look kindly on that.  

At any rate, I wondered when I heard that what Dennis Rodman thought about his buddy after that. And lo and behold, in last week's newspaper, Rodman is back in North Korea to see his "awesome" pal and "hang out and have a good time."

My question is this: Are the people this man executed with machine guns (on most likely trumped up charges) any less dead than the Syrians who were gassed? Why are we upset about Syria (and we should be), but there's not been one word said about Kim Jong Un's recent atrocities? What makes him different from Assad?

Since the freakish Dennis Rodman likes Mr. Un so well, I suggest we not let him back in the U.S. and he can just live in North Korea and play basketball with this "awesome guy" all the time. But my advice to Mr. Rodman is to be careful -- remember, Mr. Un, who is so thrilled to have you as his buddy, once professed love for the woman he just murdered.

"Rodman back in North Korea to visit Kim." The Dallas Morning News; September 4, 2013; p. 12A.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Jong+girlfriend+executed+machine+North+Korea+allegedly+making/8848218/story.html

In Your Face

There is an organization that travels around taking pictures of illegal aliens and putting up giant posters of the photos in public places. It's called Inside Out, and it recently came through North Texas. According to a spokesman, the project is visiting cities across the U.S. to "help put faces to the 11 million immigrants who are in the country illegally." Sounds to me like they're giving us the in your face treatment.

As the great philosopher Sonny Bono said when asked his opinion of illegal aliens -- "Well, they're illegal."

"Faces of immigration." The Dallas Morning News; September 4, 2013; p. 1b.

 

I find that when I become frustrated by the stupidity and evil of the world, it helps if I find something sweet and innocent to think on . . . What could be more sweet and innocent than this?

 

 

 

 



The name your mother gave you . . .

The media has gone stark-raving mad. Of course, they didn't have too far to go to get there. The standard journalistic (and I use the term loosely) rule now is to call people whatever they wish to be called and to use whichever gender pronouns they prefer.

Thus, there is an article in the newspaper about Chelsea Manning seeking a presidential pardon for her crimes. Chelsea is the name that Bradley Manning now wishes to go by.

The newspaper does identify her by stating, "Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., for her conviction July 30 . . ." She was not convicted -- he was!

Bradley Manning is still the same person who betrayed his country and received that sentence. He was not then Chelsea, and he is not now Chelsea. He has not legally changed his name. I haven't personally checked, but I assume he still has male genitalia.

So what will the media do when someone decides they wish to go by the name, "Obama Stinks"? Do you think they will comply? I doubt it. The rule should be to use legal names only. The rule should be masculine personal pronouns for those with male genitalia and feminine pronouns for those with female genitalia. Ah, but that's too logical and un-pc for these days.

"Manning seeks presidential pardon." The Dallas Morning News; September 5, 2013; p. 6A.

From the ITIMTU* File

"Man, can you believe they have me speaking tomorrow, 50 years to the day of the greatest speech ever given. That's like following Jesus."

~ Barack Obama on speaking at the 50th Anniversary MLK celebration.

 

*I think I may throw up.