Gosh she must be old!

Teresa Hawthorne is a state district judge in Dallas County. She doesn't believe in the death penalty and has ruled it unconstitutional. She says, "My decision is not an act of unabashed judicial activism. I remember when women and blacks could not vote. I remember when so-called witches were burned."
Gosh! If she's that old, that's one flattering photo! Black men have been able to vote since the close of the Civil War. Women of all colors have been guaranteed voting rights since 1920. And to my knowledge, witches haven't been burned in this country in 300 years. I want to know what kind of beauty cream this woman is using!

"Judge: Death penalty unlawful." The Dallas Morning News; December 25, 2011; p. 1B.

Their rights?

Let me preface this by saying that I wouldn't wish what happened to this woman on my very worst enemy. This was a horrific accident, and I sincerely sympathize with her for the pain and suffering she has endured.

Now for the rest of the story. Isabel Molina is from Honduras. She is living in the U.S. illegally. Ten years ago, she was working as a short order cook somewhere in the Dallas area. One of her brilliant co-workers had tried to clean the greasy floor of their mobile kitchen with gasoline. The gasoline caught fire, and Isabel was severely burned. Of course, I'm sure the good old U.S. taxpayers footed her medical bills. She still has scars, but she has recently received a settlement from a lawsuit she filed, and she said she hopes to use that money for surgery to cover the scars. She didn't say anything about repaying the American taxpayers with it. 

Molina says she knows "many people are hateful toward illegal immigrants." She wants to inspire other immigrants not to let that bring them down. "Immigrants need to stand up for themselves. . .we have to fight for our rights and respect." Rights and respect for people who had no compunction about breaking the law to come here, to break the law by working here without paying taxes, to receive free care at the expense of legal citizens when they are injured or become sick, and then to use our legal system to receive recompense for their injuries?
I do hope that when Molina dies, she will leave me her gall.

"10 years after fire, a victory." The Dallas Morning News; February 13, 2012; p. 1A.

How did we come to this?

Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, defends his boss's mandate that women be given free contraceptives. He says it's vital for women no matter where they work to have access to free preventive care, including birth control.

A few points, Mr. Carney:

• It is highly questionable for the government to mandate Mr. X to buy something to give to Ms. Y -- I'll go even further -- it's unconstitutional.
• Women, no matter where they work, do have access to contraceptives. No one is preventing them from going to any doctor they choose for birth control drugs or dropping by any drug store to pick up some condoms.
• Free care? Where did you come up with that? In case you don't know, nothing is free. Somebody has to pay for it. What gives any person the "right" to have services and goods provided free of charge to them?

How did we come to this level of government control?

"White House opposes bill setting birth control limits." The Dallas Morning News; February 14, 2012; p. 7A.

Maybe it was reasonable after all.

North Carolina's highest court is hearing a case involving a teenager who was searched for drugs at an alternative school. Flag #1 - alternative school -- this girl must not be an angel to begin with.

The school had received a tip that students were smuggling drugs into the facility. The principal of the school knew that the preferred place to hide drugs was in the underwear. So she ordered that students be searched by a minimally invasive procedure -- the students were not touched by anyone, and no body parts were exposed. The students were brought one by one to a classroom with three adults present. The girls were asked to pull their shirts away from their bodies, place their hands under their shirts, and pull out the bottoms of their bras with their thumbs so that anything hidden there would fall out.

The girl who filed the suit says that the search was unreasonable and she was humiliated and frightened by it. I guess she was. She had Percocet and drug paraphernalia on her. Maybe the search wasn't so unreasonable after all.

"State high court hears 'bra-lift' case." The Dallas Morning News; February 14, 2012; p. 7A.

I'm not falling for it.

Essie May suspects that on her recent trip to Dallas, Michelle Obama and her entourage pulled a fast one on DISD students. They made a big deal out of a top chef competition, pairing celebrities with students to form three teams. The idea was to see which team could come up with the best-tasting, most nutritious dish. The First Lady (that thought still nauseates me -- pardon me while I gag) led students in chants to cheer on their favorite teams.

When a buzzer sounded the end of the contest, Obama "huddled with other judges to determine the winner." She said it was a tough call, so all three teams won. Now how many of you think they hadn't decided before the thing even began that all the teams would win? But we mustn't damage self-esteem or chance offending some little tyke whose mom and dad will vote for Obama.

Obama said she came to Dallas because they are leading the way in nutritious school lunches. Dora Rivas, DISD's glorified lunchroom lady, said they've made changes to menus such as eliminating nachos and adding hummus plates and black bean burgers. Gosh that sounds yummy! Bet the kids think so, too.

I still contend that Michelle Obama is just blowing smoke until she lobbies to limit food stamp purchases to things like hummus and black beans. I've emailed her and told her so, but surprisingly, I haven't received a response. Wonder why?

"Commander in Chef." The Dallas Morning News; February 8, 2012; p. 1A.

Just what do they want????

I wrote a few days ago about the racism being displayed in a Dallas neighborhood -- blacks are picketing outside a Korean-American owned convenience store, blocking the path of customers and demanding that the Koreans leave their area.

February 11, the mayor had a big confab in Dallas with some black "leaders" and Asian-Americans. The blacks say that Italians, Indians, Arabs and other ethnicities have moved businesses into black communities to "steal opportunities" from them. As I recall the story, it was the black guy who was stealing from the store owner. I'd like to know exactly what "opportunities" the Korean is stealing. Just because he opened a store doesn't mean that a black person can't do likewise. In our small city, I must pass half a dozen or more convenience stores anytime I make a shopping trip. And they all seem to be doing quite well. And mind you, these black "leaders" are the same ones who gripe and complain because businesses don't locate in their areas because of the high crime rate and the slim possibility of the location being profitable.

So, if you do start a business there, you're stealing. If you don't start a business there, you're a racist. Just what, exactly, do these people want?

"Mayor tries to temper dispute." The Dallas Morning News; February 12, 2012; p. 1B.

But let's hear the rest of the story.

Michelle Obama made a much-publicized trip to Dallas in February to tell them what a good job they're doing in providing nutritious lunches and to take advantage of a bunch of campaign photo ops. The quarter-page size photo on the front page of the Metro section of The Dallas Morning News shows her serving herself salad at an Olive Garden and is headlined "Practicing what she preaches." But let's hear the rest of the story . . . I'll just wager that that salad was accompanied by half-a-dozen breadsticks, a big old plate of spaghetti and meatballs coated in parmesan cheese, and a tira misu for dessert.

"Praticing what she preaches." The Dallas Morning News; February 10, 2012; p. 1B.