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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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