But can he teach them English?

The North Lamar High School coach was recently quoted in The Paris News regarding UIL realignments: "Some of the blogs seem to feel like us and Paris could go East, but you never know . . ." What an embarrassment! Maybe him could go have a few tutoring sessions with the English teacher.

"UIL to release district realignments Monday." The Paris News; January 31, 2010; p. 1C.

It sounds good, but it's a lie.

After Massachusetts voters sent their message to the Democrats, the newspaper headline read "Obama to seek spending freeze." But it's an outright lie. The freeze would take effect in October. However, when you read the article, you see that what Obama calls a freeze is not what you and I call a freeze. "Administration officials . . . are working with Congress on roughly $150 billion in additional stimulus spending . . ." And how much is he predicting his "freeze" to save? $15 billion. If my elementary math is correct, that puts us $135 billion further into the hole. Mr. Essie May wouldn't let me get away with that kind of spending freeze!

"Obama to seek spending freeze." The Dallas Morning News; January 26, 2010; p. 2A.

It works!

Guess what? We have a study that shows that abstinence based sex education works better than handing out condoms. The study showed that only one-third of 6th and 7th graders in abstinence based education had sex in the following two years compared to half of the students who learned how to use condoms and other contraceptives.

"I think we've written off abstinence-only education without looking closely at the nature of the evidence," said John B. Jemmott III, who headed the study. Of course it's been written off -- it's not politically correct to teach morals in this country.

"Abstinence approach works, study finds." The Dallas Morning News; February 2, 2010; p. 4A.

Subliminal message? You decide.

I like to play golf solitaire on the Pogo game site. If you're not familiar with Pogo, it's a website with dozens of computer games that you can play for free.

Golf solitaire is a card game. It has the sound effects of a golf course -- you can hear the birds singing, the golf balls being hit, yells of "Fore," and people talking in the background. As I was playing one day, I thought to myself, "That voice sounds like Obama's." I didn't pay too much more attention until I heard the voice say, "Listen to Obama." At least that's what I think it's saying. It's kind of muffled, and I can't be sure. I mentioned this to a couple of family members, and they agreed with me.

I'd like to know what you think. Go to www.pogo.com and play a couple of games. You may have to play awhile before the sound effects roll around to this voice. Am I paranoid, or is Pogo sending subliminal messages?

The gods must be crazy!

Census Bureau officials are encouraging people who live in the colonias to make sure they are counted in the census. The only problem I see with that is that most of the people in the colonias are illegals. That will skew congressional representation, state school fund distribution, and a whole host of other things.

When the Bureau Director visited the San Carlos Colonia on Monday to reassure the residents that "you can trust us," one of the residents said, "When they saw the uniforms of the Sheriff's Department? Some got scared." Why did they get scared? Because they're illegal!

According to the newspaper, that anxiety is to blame for these people refusing to participate in the census. They should be participating in the Mexican census -- not the U.S. census! Doesn't anyone around here have any sense?

Representative Henry Cuellar said his district lost more then $55 million because the last census was undercounted. If he means by illegals, I don't consider that undercounting. Why should we spend $55 million on people who shouldn't even be here? He assured the colonia residents that citizenship status was not a question on the census form. Well it darn well should be! "This is where the greatest needs are," Cuellar said. But they're ILLEGAL!

"U.S. to poor: Stand up, be counted." The Dallas Morning News; February 2, 2010; p. 3A.

Kudos to Madeline!

Sitting in the doctor's office one day, I picked up the proverbial ancient magazine. It was four or five years old. There was an article in it that really struck me.

Madeline Smith was 11 years old at the printing date of the magazine. She lived in Austin, Texas. That year, she had made -- yes, made -- ten coats to be distributed by the Coats for Kids charity in Austin. Her mother says that she had taken sewing lessons when they lived in Houston. When the family moved to Austin, she asked Madeline if there was anything she needed. "A sewing teacher," was Madeline's reply. So they found one. The teacher was involved in Coats for Kids, and when Madeline saw her making a coat, she asked if she could make one, too. And the teacher showed her how to do it.

Would you wear a coat sewn by an 11-year-old girl? If they were sewn by Madeline, I certainly would. Some of her creations were pictured in the magazine, and this little girl is one talented seamstress! How refreshing to hear about a child who isn't glued to the computer, the cellphone, and the television. Madeline says she wants to study fashion design in college and design her own line of clothes. I just bet she'll do it!

What's the Difference?

Jacquielynn Floyd wrote a column about the Haiti earthquake. She brought up that Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, only a week or so after the disaster, had resumed bringing its passengers to its beach on the northern side of the island. "How do you snooze in a rope hammock while, on the far side of those emerald mountains, tens of thousands of desperate human beings are still trying to extract their dead from wreckage?"

I have a bit of a different take on it. Are those people snoozing in hammocks in Haiti any less heartless than she for snoozing comfortably in front of her warm fireplace? Would they be better people if they stayed on the ship? And what about those Haitians who work on that beach? They make a fair amount of money from these heartless tourists. Why should we make their suffering worse by drying up their source of income? It appears to me that these tourists are helping in some small way by taking their business there.

It's like this -- unless you've made some great sacrifice to help the Haitians, don't judge other people for what they've done or not done for them.

"Cruise ship stops in Haiti bring bad PR, good deeds." The Dallas Morning News; January 22, 1010; p. 1A.