As I watch "It's a Wonderful Life" for the umpteenth time...

I know that it is a wonderful life.

It's snowing outside on Christmas Eve.

I hope my sons can make it up here in the morning in spite of the road conditions.

I am missing the SMU bowl game.

I like the series "West Wing" in spite of the liberal politics of President Bartlet and his staff. The show is very entertaining, and if you know nothing about me know this: I like to be entertained.

I have quite a job in front of me getting this place ready for the carpet layers on Tuesday.

Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby tap dancing their way through Texas

It looks like we are having a white Christmas. Have I seen one of these in Texas since I lived here. We had them in Oklahoma City from time to time (we moved to Texas when I was 16). I told my wife that I thought this had happened before, but I'm not sure when.
Anyone remember a white Christmas in North Texas?

Where is my Writers' Group?

I miss you all.

(edit: PS-Ann, I published your comment and replied to it in the same comment chain. I gave a short answer, but it was probably not enough to be clear.)

Racism in the Denton DA Office makes TV news

I just finished watching CSI Miami and I am considering turning off the TV when I see the news teaser about a North Texas District Attorney's Office. The victim appeared genuinely wounded and upset. Listening to the story, it appeared that First Assistant Jamie Beck was trying to insinuate that it didn't really happem although, according to the newspaper, they have admitted that it happened and they sent Piel to Sensitivity (Diversity) Training.

And the Annual December fade begins...

The Cowboys did everything they could to try to lose to the Giants, today, and they were successful in giving away the game to the score of 31 to 17. They will never get any better with this head coach. Also the offense leaves too much to be desired. I have little faith in Jason Garrett as any kind of a head coach in the future. I may boycott them the rest of the season.

Trouble in Denton County?

Denton County Lawsuit over racial discrimination/harrassment in the DA's Office

A lawyer in the Denton County District Attorney’s Office has filed a racial discrimination suit against the county, the district attorney’s office and three lawyers in the office, alleging that their actions created a hostile work environment.

Denton attorney Bill Trantham, who represents lawyer Nadiya Williams-Boldware, filed the suit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman.

The suit alleges that lawyer Cary Piel made racially insulting remarks in Williams-Boldware’s presence; that his wife, Susan Piel, Williams-Boldware’s supervisor in the misdemeanor crimes section of the office, did not protect Williams-Boldware; and that Ryan Calvert, Susan Piel’s brother, later made remarks that harassed Williams-Boldware and contributed to a hostile work environment.
According to the lawsuit, Piel made the remarks April 2 while discussing a case he was prosecuting involving a black woman who was accused of drunkenly driving her car through a cemetery, destroying numerous gravestones. Police video showed that she fought with arresting officers and made racially insulting remarks to them.

According to the suit, Piel said he was enraged by what he saw on the tape. He said it made him “understand why people hung people from trees,” and that it made him “want to go home and put on his white, pointy hat.”

[First Assistant District Attorney Jamie] Beck said Cary Piel was disciplined for the remarks and that was documented in his personnel file. She said he was ordered to attend sensitivity classes, which he did.
“This needed to be addressed, and we did,” she said. “He needed to be disciplined, and he was. It was inappropriate, and we weren’t going to let it go. Had he bowed up in any way about the discipline or the class, he would have been terminated.” (Edit by KH: If you read the entire article, you see that the DA admits that the remarks were made and that the situation exists; however, they are saying that this is all about the reelection bid by DA Johnson. The effort to downplay this behavior is amazing to me.)

Trantham said Williams-Boldware has not received a proper apology.
“He didn’t mean it,” he said of the apology that Cary Piel gave. “He is a virulent racist.”
The suit alleges that after Piel took the course she overheard him make a reference to a “boombox” and state that if he was not careful he would have to take another sensitivity class.
The suit alleges that Williams-Boldware delivered a memo to Johnson, the district attorney, stating her allegations against Piel and that Johnson asked her to not give the memo to the county human resources department. She did go to the human resources department, according to the suit, but felt that she was not treated correctly there.
Beck denied that Johnson asked Williams-Boldware to not take the memo to the human resources office. Beck said that in deciding how to discipline Piel, the district attorney worked closely with the human resources department, asking for advice so it would be handled correctly.
The county took no further action against Piel. But Williams-Boldware was notified that Rentz also would be required to attend a sensitivity course.
At an office birthday party for Williams-Boldware, Calvert made the comment that he’d better leave or he’d be “going to one of those classes,” according to the suit. He was not disciplined.

On a gray, cloudy day...

One of the kids thought it was cute to make it look like Santa was taking a "break" in the flower pot on the front porch. Okay, I have to admit, it's kind of funny.

I guess I won't be auditioning for a part in "Cyrano" at the Denton Community Theater. I am told that we already have plans in concrete for Valentine's Day weekend which is when that play will be staged. There will be other opportunities. I had fun doing "Mockingbird".

We did have a trial this week. I had to do it without my usual trial partner because she was out sick on Tuesday. We tried a 39 years old female drug abuser. She had two prior felony convictions, both for drug possession. In the past, she had received probation which was revoked within 5 months for violations. She was sentenced to a 7 year sentence but paroled after 1 year and committed a new possession offense while on parole. She then received another prison sentence, and now she was caught in Wise County with almost 5 grams of methamphetamine hidden in a false bottom can. At some point, we simply have to decide that enough is enough. With her record, the range of punishment available to the jury was 25 years to 99 years or life. The jury gave her 35 years.

I was not really pulling for Texas or Nebraska last night. I was really impressed with the defense Nebraska put up. That had to be the most prepared defense I can recall seeing recently. And talk about some clutch field goal kicking on both sides. I am looking forward to the Texas/Alabama game. That should be fun.

We almost have the house decorated for Christmas, as much as we do anyway.

Tomorrow is "Pearl Harbor Day", the day that lives in infamy. We defeated that enemy. Now we have to make Al Quaeda pay for 9/11, and get them finished off.

Really people! Every time the subject of Sarah Palin comes up within my earshot, I hear that she is stupid. Let the left wing mainstream media propoganda go. She is at least as intelligent as the Obamination. How come I never hear them talking about Joe "Bonehead" Biden, your current VP. That guy makes gaff after gaff, but people want to tell me that Sarah is not fit to lead us? Please. Have you read her book yet?

Should I or Should I Not?

Auditions for "Cyrano DeBergerac", will be held December 20, 21 starting at 7 pm at the Campus Theatre, located at 214 W. Hickory Street in downtown Denton. The Denton Community Theatre production is directed by Brad Speck.

This romantic tale, set in the 1600's, tells of the brilliant soldier and poet, Cyrano DeBergerac who, despite his intelligence and skill, believes that he can never be loved because of his exceptionally large nose. He uses his talent with words to help the handsome but tongue-tied fellow soldier, Christian, woo the beautiful Roxanne. Although Cyrano secretly loves her, he only wants to see her happy. This classic work has something for everyone – romance, dramatic sword fights, and a bit of humor as well.

Auditions are open – no appointments. A prepared monologue is recommended but not required. There will also be cold readings from the script. This production is using the Brian Hooker translation of the script. Stage combat/movement ability will also be assessed at the audition. Resumes and headshots are encouraged, but not required. If you are unable to attend either of the audition days, please contact Director, Brad Speck, at 940-566-8661 or email him at bradleyspeck@hotmail.com.

Performances are February 5, 6, 12, 13 at 7:30 pm & February 7, 14 at 2 pm.

This is a large cast with 28 men's roles and 13 women's roles available – late teens and older. Many roles are small “juicy” parts which will require less rehearsal time – often only two to three days per week for the first three weeks. There will be 5 weeks of rehearsal total – first read through is January 2, 2010.

For more information, please call (940) 382-7014 or email thedctteam@campustheatre.com [thedctteam@campustheatre dot com]

I have successfully auditioned before. It is pretty time consuming as far as rehearsal time and several performances. I have not worked with Brad Speck yet. This might be a fun play. I never have prepared a monologue before, but I have been to some stage acting seminars so I know what they mean by a "monologue" for the purposes of an audition.

Snow? This does not look like global warming to me.

I get up and I am standing around in my kitchen when my dog comes in from outside with snow all over him. These are the pictures I got when my wife drove off to her job. Apparently, Slidel schools have already closed, but no one else is. I wish it would snow for Christmas. We used to get those snowy Christmas days in Oklahoma City when I was a kid.

Wow, has it really been a month since my last entry. One of my "many" readers suggested that I have rested long enough. I agree.

I finally obtained my own Iphone, and I wonder how I lived this long without it. I will probably figure it out when I get my first bill. I do expect it to be more than I was paying Sprint, but then, I am getting more services and better coverage. With Sprint, when I went into Target, their signal was blocked so I was roaming if I had to call home for any reason (or else I had to go outside). I am eager to get back out to St. George and see if I have coverage there. I was always on roaming with Sprint. This is like walking around with a PC in your pocket.

I have also started a Netflix account. I have also decided that this is a good thing.

Just so you'll know: I bought a copy of Sarah Palin's book. I just couldn't resist. The book signing tour goes through Plano at Legacy Books on December 4 from 11 am to 2 (just in case any of you were wondering). I am not certain how to get a ticket. Apparently, a ticket costs that price of one of her books. I suppose you could get a one at Legacy Books in Plano.

I have been reading the Denton Wretched-Chronicle lately. I have a series of things I wanted to point out. That is coming. I am constantly surprised at the normative and subjective paragraphs that they try to pass off as "news" or information.

Don't try to disguise your editorial opinion as news, but I guess that is where we are now, right?

Carpet in Living Room replaced with wood.

We finally got the wood floors put in downstairs. We saved ourselves about $2000 doing it ourselves. I am trying to decide if the pain in my legs is worth it, but after all, I think it is. It turned out quite nicely, don't you think?

Putting in the wood floors...

Unfinished dining room
unfinished living room

I have been working all weekend on these floors. I call the upper one "unfininshed dining room" and the other one is "unfinished living room". If the great impressionists can get away with unfinished works, then why can't I? Just kidding. Is it really worth $2000 to let someone else do this for me? Not to me although I am sore from head to toe from all of the bending, stooping, and lifting. However, I do have a new miter saw and a new jigsaw out of the deal. I think it will be worth it when we are done. Already, I can tell how good it will look when complete. But home improvement can definitely be a butt whoopin'.

No more Deadwood

I want to go back in time, strap on a gun, get a cool hat, and live in Deadwood.

What is the Obamination up to, now?

http://www.globalclimatescam.com/?p=572

I got this in an email. Is he ceding our American Sovereignty? I knew this day would come.

A show I have greatly enjoyed.

I have been getting the discs of this series from the Netflix, and I doubt that I have enjoyed a television show more than this. It is way too bad that it was cancelled before season 4 started. I could watch this series as long as they want to make it. I have never been a big fan of Timothy Oliphant as I just saw him as a bit player, usually the bad guy in a movie, but he is great in this show. And Ian McShane is as good an actor as I have ever seen. I wish it went on, but I guess it doesn't. I hear they are making a 2 hour movie just to bring some kind of closure to the story, but it won't be as good. It is definitely the best western I have ever seen, and maybe the best series ever. I would have to think about that.
Don't watch it around the kids as it is full of realism, i.e., bad language (alot) and other adult situations. I have been truly entertained.

Aesop's Fables re-written by Obama

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

Two Different Versions!
Two Different Morals!

OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!


MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, “It's Not Easy Being Green.”
Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the group singing, “We shall overcome.” Rev. Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper’s sake.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Thursday

I got a gizmo from my kids that will play my ipod over a radio freqency in the car. Wow.

Also, there has been a praying mantis visiting me in the cigar lounge. I will try to get a picture of him (her?).

Football season has started. I am watching the Pittsburg/Tennessee game. I do love football season.

My daughter is still learning how to drive. I have been letting her drive me around. This has to be taking years off of my life.

Today

I forgot that this was only Wednesday. I got home and started looking for the football game (the Thursday night game), but it was not on (since this clearly is not Thursday night). I love football season. Of course, it is always better when the Cowboys have a good season. Alas, I am skeptical of their chances for the playoffs.

No football, but Roger Federer is playing a US Open match this evening. The guy is amazing. He is playing the Swede, Robin Soderling, and is, so far, having his way.

It was this time last week that Sugar went down and we had to get her to a vet in the middle of the night.

Last week, I told another attorney that Oklahoma could very easily lose that game against BYU. Those Mormon boys are never a walk over.

Today was a long day at work. Some of the guys talked me into going to the new Chinese buffet in Decatur for lunch. I won't be doing that too often. I am miserable in the afternoon when I eat too much lunch.

I did not listen to the Obama speech this evening. I have listened to several previous speeches. He is always the same. He is full of slogans and platitudes. He is all flash and no substance. He is in such a rush to cram this socialism down our throats. We have to get him out in 2012.

I really hate it when people tell me that Sarah Palin is stupid. This is what the main stream media wants you to believe, so they believe it.

I have some new books that I really want to read, but I also need to finish the one that I am writing. Don't you hate it when you get confused over which task to do, so you do neither? I hate it when that happens.

I have waited 10 years for this...

Boondock Saints: All Saints Day trailer (link).

If you haven't seen the first one, you really need to.

You're welcome.

This was a good dog.

Sugar came to live with us in 2001 when we adopted her from the Humane Society. We found her after someone had poisoned our dogs that same year. She filled the void left by that senseless act. She was rescued when some moron dumped her and her sister on the UNT Campus. Everyone thought she was a German Shepherd mix, but really she was mostly Scottish Kelpie. She was the best watch dog I have ever seen. She was good to her family, and I think she had a good life with us.
Sugar died on September 3, 2009. She was about 10 years old. We loved her and she loved us. We will miss her terribly.

Goodbye, Nahale Kai

Allison's sand castle.
Nahale Kai from the beach.

Nahale Kai from the street.

We have to head out of here in the morning. I always love this vacation place.

(Edit: the weather turned nice and the surf calmed down right after the guys came to pick up the kayak. Oh well...)

Weather is worse today

This is such a drag. We are stuck inside on the last day of vacation. If it would at least stop raining, we could get out and do something. Maybe it will clear off before too long. All in all, I can't complain. It has been a great vacation.

Pelicans

I got a couple of shots of pelicans gliding along beside the car when we were on the long bridge last night on our way to dinner in town.

Weather Underground WunderMap

Weather Underground WunderMap

Looks like the weather finally caught up with us.

It looks like the bad weather finally caught up with us. Here is my lonely little kayak sitting by the boardwalk. No kayaking today. There are storms all around and two foot waves. It's a little too much for a novice kayaker in a 10 foot boat.

It is just going to be a gray day. It's raining now, but if that stops, we can at least go for a walk on the beach.

At least we were treated to a rainbow last night at dinner. We ate at Veranda's in Applachicola, and we had a nice outside table.

Interesting Politics here in Florida.

I am not quite sure what to make of this news item.
Did they not interview this guy before they hired him?
Did they have no idea about his methods or agenda?
Let me get this straight.
The county hires a doctor to run their county health department.
He goes on a healthy eating campaign with negative ads against certain businesses.
A county commissioner and two attorneys own one of these businesses.
So they run the doctor out of the job.
Who has the best interest of the local citizenry at heart?
The doctor who promotes healthy eating?
Or the lawyers and commissioner promoting their own business interests?
Hmmm.

This morning so far

I've been out in the kayak twice this morning, but it is getting too hot to sit out there now. I will be back out later. Hopefully, I can talk someone into taking some photos.
It was a little shaky at first. I haven't been on one in a year. The tandem we used last year was a little wider and more stable. This single is smaller and takes some getting used to, but I think I have it.
I scared up a couple of flying fish while paddling around. We saw the dolphins, but they were pretty far out, and I couldn't catch them.

(Edit: We are on St. George Island, Florida. I guess I didn't make that clear. This is probably my favorite vacation spot in the world.)

And finally, there is Harry A's

We went here after dinner for a drink and some dessert. We had a treat. The "Sauce Boss" was playing. He plays blues and rock while a huge pot of gumbo cooks, then he treats everyone there to a really good bowl of gumbo. On the days that he does not have a club gig, he performs at a homeless shelter while he cooks the gumbo for them. Good show. Lots of good guitar music, and the gumbo was excellent. I need a new Harry A's t-shirt. The one from last year is about worn out.
Kayaking tomorrow...

I couldn't resist

We spotted a shrimp boat with our name on it. Okay, it said "J. Henry" which is actually by brother's first initial, but still. I had to take a picture with it.

"Shrimp gumbo, Shrimp creole, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp..."

Taking Care of Business of Vacation

Okay, we had to take care of a little business. Since we arrived after 7:00 pm on Sunday, we had to go settle the rest of the bill for the rental of the house. They want half up front and the rest when we arrive. Then I went about the business of getting chairs and a beach umbrella for the sun bunnies to have out on the beach. They love the sit at the water's edge and read. Of course, they both got too much sun for the first day. I hope they take it easy. The weather calls for a 50 percent chance of rain tomorrow slimming down to 20 percent.

By the way, they delivered my kayak while I was at dinner this evening. I am looking forward to using it tomorrow.

A great place to eat in Appalachicola. A little pricey, but the seafood of excellent.

We're here!

We finally made it.

The second day drive seemed interminable.

Let this be a lesson to me: drive further on the first day when I actually feel like driving longer.

Or maybe fly next time.

We'll see.

Here are a few Monday morning photos to start. This is the view from the deck of our house. Not bad, huh.

We are headed out for supplies, i.e., beer, wine, etc.

The weather is supposed to be somewhat rainy all week, but that will not deter me from the kayak (kaiak?).

Anyway, I hope you don't have to read about me being lost in the gulf.

At least this year we don't have a hurricane threat breathing down our necks the way Fay was last year.

Where is the clubhouse?

I got a kick out of the editorial letters printed in Sunday's DRC. If these guys have an organization, I want to join. They are all good, even Underwood's letter makes sense, which is rare for him.

DRC Editorial Board goes too far this time.

And the Denton Wretched Chronicle tries to manipulate the outcome of a criminal trial. Note that the editorial fails to point out that the current District Attorney only got that case indicted after the DRC concocted a 5 page propoganda campaign to force the DA into action on this thing. Knowing Paul, he was probably waiting to see if the Lozano problem would go away all by itself.

Hell freezes over

We have finally seen that Hell can indeed "freeze over". Susan Estrich and Ann Coulter agree on the futility of the last Obaminable scheme, i.e., socialized medicine. Can you believe that? This most current nonsense from the administration is so crazy that even the liberal minions aren't buying it.
Here's a thought:
Instead of setting up a Canadian medical system in this country, why not get control of all of the junk science malpractice suits? Why not give doctors protection so they don't have to practice expensive defensive medicine all of the time?

Crimea River

I went through the Capital Murder track, today at the seminar. Not alot there for a prosecutor. It seemed to be about 8 hours of discussion of mitigating evidence. Too bad the murder victim didn't get to present his/her mitigating evidence before he/she was executed.

Hail storm today

We just had a fairly ferocious hail storm here in South Denton. It shredded the leaves off of my oak tree pretty well and beat my flower bed down a bit. I think everything will recover.

You said it, brother Ted

In his role as the guard captain of a Florida prison camp in the movie Cool Hand Luke, one of actor Strother Martin's more famous lines was: "Some men you just can't reach..."
There have always been psychotics intoxicated on power and evil. Such is the case for international kooks Kim Jong-Il of North Korea and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. These men can't be reached with diplomacy, logic or reason.
It's incredibly naive and arrogant of the Obama blowhards to believe they can "talk" and reason through pragmatism with rabid kooks. Believing so is kookier than the kooks themselves.
As someone who believes in giving kooks enough rope to hang themselves, the right course of action would be to sever all communications with rogue, whacky regimes until they prove to the world they no longer have rabies. In the meantime, America should walk loudly, proudly, and carry an oil-soaked 2x4 wrapped with rusty barbed wire and always be ready to swat international kooks upside the head.
The reason international terrorpunks Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong-Il have launched missiles and threatened to wipe nations off of the map is because neither of these terrorthugs respects the Obama administration. These nuclear thugnuts believe President Obama is nothing more than an inexperienced windbag politician with no idea of how the levers of American power can be used to move the world. And, unfortunately, in that they are right.
In her most powerful and compelling response yet to Kim Jong–Il’s string of missile launches and underground nuclear weapons tests, Secretary of State Clinton sternly stated the United States is considering placing North Korea back on the list of terrorist states. The International Den of Thieves & Scoundrels, more commonly known as the United Nations, is considering placing more sanctions on North Korea. Rumor has it that when he heard this news, Kim Jong-Il muttered: ho-hum.
While continuing to develop nuclear power, which President Obama now amazingly says Iran has a right to do, newly re-elected President Ahmadinejad has routinely threatened to wipe Israel off the map.
With President Obama going around the world apologizing and blaming America instead of standing up for America, we should expect kooks like Kim Jung Ill-In-The-Head and The Nuclear Nightmare, Ahmadinejad, to continue to poke their crazy, nuclear-tipped fingers into the chest of America.
Nuts, kooks, whackjobs and evil regimes respond best when America acts from a position of strength. President Reagan proved that when he forced the Evil Empire to tear down the wall. American might -- not hollow words -- works. Windbag politicians are transparent, shallow and weak.
International kooks need to know they will be dealt with like a rabid dog should they ever try to bite. That's because some men you just can't reach.
"Some Psychos Can't be Reached" by Ted Nugent

Why do you suppose they would not want an audit?

U.S. Senate blocked a bill last week to audit the Federal Reserve.
Rep. Ron Paul and more than half of his colleagues in the House co-sponsored the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, HR 1207, which they hope to have hearings on soon. On the Senate side, Sens. Jim DeMint, Mike Crapo and David Vitter co-sponsored S 604, companion legislation introduced by Bernie Sanders. But it was stopped cold before even being introduced on the floor on "procedural grounds."
America is in the worst economic situation since the Great Depression; the value of the dollar is tanking on the world market; and the Federal Reserve wields the greatest power to control it, with virtually no accountability -- let alone that the American people and even Congress have virtually no knowledge of what those inside are doing day to day.
There are two primary problems with the Federal Reserve. First, its very existence is a sheer contradiction of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. As Ron Paul explained last week: "Our Founding Fathers never intended for a single entity such as the Federal Reserve to have this much power. In fact, there is no authority in the Constitution for the federal government to create a central bank, to enact legal tender laws, or to print paper money. The Tenth Amendment is quite clear that 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Secondly, the Federal Reserve is flat-out bad for the economy in the long run because it creates false fronts or temporary escalations in the free market, which eventually cycle around and lead to downturns or more need for other Fed fixes.
The fact is the Federal Reserve is one of the best examples of government control run amok and its oppression over its people. It rules by dangling carrots, cheap rates and loans before the American public, which in turn oppresses people by their inability to resist further debt. The Fed is the dealer in greed and debt, and its drugs are easy money and credit. Under the Federal Reserve System, Americans and our economy have to return to the Federal Reserve for repeated fixes like a drug addict. Otherwise everything goes into the tank.
If we can get the flow of the Federal Reserve under control, others drawing from its wells will become more manageable and accountable. Its open market operations and dealings with central banks and foreign powers at the very least must have oversight.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are going to fight to prevent the passing of any legislation that regulates the Federal Reserve, because they are in cahoots with the White House and also don't want the trade secrets of the Federal Reserve revealed nor its power restricted. It is being used right now by the Obama administration and the Democratic majority in Congress for political expedience and special interests.
Henry Ford was probably right when he said, "It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."

Now that's comedy

Oscar Mayer Weinermobile
A house
Racine, Wisconsin
Now that's what I call "comedy".

What do you get when you mate the Weinermobile with a house?

I am watching Tom Watson win the British Open and reading that Tiger did not even make the cut...unbelievable. Watson is still playing great golf today.

I am glad to get some tough assignments behind me.
We finished a tough case against a couple of very tough attorneys last week. We were happy with the result.
We finished an important appellate brief this week.
It feels good to get some tough jobs done.

I get to sit in the Advanced Criminal Law Seminar in Dallas next week. I have to get those CLE hours done.

This is not the first time that I have heard this.

Are we going Japanese in America. It appears that what we are doing here has been tried in other countries and has failed in the past.

Father's Day

This is my Father's Day present from my wife. I wasn't expecting it. I have to say that this is one of the coolest things I have ever used. I had to find a place way down in south Arlington this morning, and this Garmin Nuvi 205 led me right to it. I feel like I can go anywhere now. I guess I tend to be a little behind the curve when it comes to technology. A person could spend a fortune on this stuff. But I didn't expect the feeling of freedom you get from feeling like you can so easily navigate anywhere in the country, or I guess, the world now. Very Cool.

Media attempt to mislead the public

With the Fourth of July approaching, it is well worth remembering why the founding fathers gave the press special privileges.
They wanted journalists who were not puppets of the government. They wanted journalists to report honestly—to give the folks accurate, unbiased information so they could make informed decisions about who should hold power.
Many of the founders like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams didn't much like the press, but they well understood that, for a democratic Republic to work, voters need honest information.
Unfortunately, the vision of a free and honest press is fast disappearing in America. Let me give you yet another vivid example. This week a poll by the New York Times asked, "Would you be willing to pay higher taxes so that all Americans have health insurance... ?"57% said they were willing, 37% not willing, and 6% said "no opinion."
So, according to the Times, overwhelmingly, Americans want government-financed health care. That's what the poll says, right?
But if you read all the way down to the bottom of the poll, you see another question. "Who did you vote for [in the presidential election]?"48% said Obama; just 25% answered McCain. The rest, 19%, did not vote. Wow, that's almost two to one for Obama.But the popular vote tally in the election last November was 53% for Barack Obama, and 46% for John McCain. Wait a minute. That's a lot closer than two to one. So apparently the New York Times skewed the polling by offering the questions to mostly Obama voters. I'm shocked they supported higher taxes for federal health care, aren't you?
This kind of dishonesty is not uncommon in the media. The Times says its poll is "scientific." Sure it is—scientifically stacking the deck.
I believe very few people read the entire poll before digesting the health care headline. The result is a flawed perception of what the American public really wants. The folks may, indeed, support Uncle Sam paying some heavy medical bills, but this poll is not a reflection of anything other than a New York Times deception.By the way, CBS News also had its name on that poll.
As soon as the pollsters learned most the respondents were Obama people, they should have thrown the results out. But the Times ardently favors national health care and a huge federal government. So the con played out.The most frustrating part about this is that nothing can be done. The Times has an ombudsman, but he's a joke, and no outside agency has any power over the paper. It can pretty much do what it wants, and does.
It is true that the Times and some other media outlets, most on the committed left, are on the brink of bankruptcy. The liberal papers say the Internet is to blame, and that's partly true.
But the folks are beginning to understand that the informational fix is in.
What good is "all the news that's fit to print" if the news is bogus?

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Just a couple of explanations for rising energy prices in the midst of our down market economy:
1. Cap and Trade Legislation, and
2. Hedge fund speculators.

amendments protecting you the consumer were offered during the committee debate: one prevented cap and trade from forcing gas prices above $5. Another suspended the legislation if the average retail electricity rates jumped more than 10% above 2009 numbers. Neither amendment passed.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wanted to let you know how much Waxman-Markey will cost you each time you fill up their gas tank, pay an electric bill, or buy groceries. If her amendment had passed, the cost of following Waxman-Markey would be visible on every food label, gas pump, utility bill, or other manufactured product label. The so-called "blue dog democrats" voted against this. (Taken from article by Elisabeth Meinecke)

. . . .

Why would gas prices rise in the midst of a deep recession and high unemployment? It makes no sense! On the supply side, gasoline and oil inventories at historical highs, and on the demand side, fewer goods are being transported by trucks, trains and airplanes. So what gives? Why are energy prices suddenly going back up in the midst of a glut?

There are two important points to be made about the role of the futures markets in determining the pricing of basic commodities.

First, it is true that speculators can push commodities far beyond their fundamental long-term value. We saw that when oil prices rose to $147 a barrel a year ago. That’s when speculators are labeled the bad guys. But don’t forget that it was also speculators who pushed the oil prices down to $34 a barrel in January -- far below their fundamental long-term value.

Second, futures markets are not only for speculators, but for hedgers. These are producers who sell and lock into higher prices in order to protect their profits against the possibility of prices coming back down (and they need those higher profits to find new reserves). And they are customers who buy commodity contracts to protect themselves from the possibility of having to pay higher prices down the road. In reality, blaming the speculators for the high price of energy is really attacking the messenger instead of the ultimate culprit. Speculators are looking into the future, and what they see is a very different supply and demand situation for energy. That is, they see a coming shortage in crude oil and a sharp rise in the dollar demand for energy. Let me explain.

On the supply side, speculators see surpluses turning into shortages. OPEC and major oil producers are cutting production. In the long run, most of the cheap oil deposits have already been found. New oil deposits have been discovered off the coasts of South America, Africa and elsewhere, but the new reserves are in inhospitable and inaccessible places, such as the deep waters off Africa and Brazil, or the frozen oceans of the Arctic. And deep-water exploration is extremely expensive compared to land-based exploration. Deep-water extraction isn’t profitable unless oil prices exceed $75 to $80 a barrel, compared to $25 to $30 a barrel for some land-based deposits. In addition, governments everywhere are over-regulating the oil & gas market, either by outright nationalization (OPEC nations) or restricting drilling in new oil fields for environmental reasons (Alaska). The Obama administration wants to impose huge new taxes on traditional oil & gas markets (cap & trade).

On the demand side, speculators see more consumption of energy products as the global economy recovers and emerging markets expand (China, India, Latin America). They also see a new round of inflation coming, as reflected in a weak dollar. To fight the current depression, governments everywhere have adopted “easy money” policies, pumping trillions of new dollars into the economy, and aggressively running massive deficits -- deficits funded with depreciating dollars. Don’t forget that the price of oil is quoted in dollars, and as the dollar weakens, the price of oil inevitably goes up.

A King Dollar policy -- a stronger dollar -- and deregulating the energy markets, would be the best remedies for stabilizing energy prices. But neither one is going to happen, so you better get used to higher gasoline prices. They are inevitable.
(Taken from "Who's to Blame for Rising Gas Prices" by Mark Skousen 06-15-09)

Please go into the light!

Photo without the flash

Photo with a flash

This is weird, I know, but I had to show you all this. I have described it to some of my friends, but it is even hard for me to believe.

I like to have a cigar in my garage with the door up on nicer evenings. In the summertime, when I turn on the garage light, I am barraged(?) (baraged?) by june bugs. They don't hurt anything, but they just bang into me and the walls generally being a nuisance to a relaxing time.

I got this great bug light at Lowe's in Decatur, mainly to keep the mosquitoes off of me in the evening, but it really seems to keep the june bugs occupied. I usually set it on the driveway outside of the garage door. The spots on the driveway are the june bugs gathered around my light. There were quite a few last night, but this was not biggest gathering of them that I have ever witnessed.

The funny thing is that they will not fly into the light; they simply appear to gather around it and love it. They don't come into the garage to bother me; they just sit around the light in a june bug euphoric stupor.

According to MensHealth magazine, about 75% of men find a bug light to be a good form of entertainment. Well, you can count me among them. With a beer, a good cigar, and my bug light, I am set for an hour or so.

Good stuff.

I like this, too.

This is pretty cool, too.

My Father's Day Gift.

I think I have found my Father's Day present.
This is a riot. I think the buttons even make the sounds from the show.
...only $2700.00!

This morning's DRC.

My latest letter appeared in the paper today. Mine was actually first this time. Good stuff.

Gas Prices continue upward

May 29, 2009
June 4, 2009

I had to buy gas today. We are slowly closing in on $3 per gallon. I know the left will say they don't remember this, but I remember numerous attacks on President Bush blaming him for the price of gas when it hit $4 per gallon at the end of his administration. There was much hue and cry over that.

Now we are creeping back up. OPEC has cut the flow of oil to our country when the price went back down. We are not producing more of our own to support our country. The Obamination has put more and more pressure on us to drive smaller cars, and this manipulation of gasoline prices is just another device of the current regime...I mean administration to force us in their direction. They are slowly reducing your freedoms by reducing your choices. Why don't you all see that? Make no mistake, this is an artificial manipulation of oil and gas prices by OPEC, and our government is perfectly happy having us dependent on this.

We need to get this Obama guy out of the Whitehouse in the next election.

Whoops, I did it again.

Okay, I admit it. I read Leonard Pitts' column in the paper yesterday and fired off a letter to the editor. I can't help it. He was so obvious this time.
He was advocating reducing and softening our measures to protect ourselves. He says that another attack on American soil is inevitable, so we shouldn't try so hard to stop it.
It made me wonder how much our enemies pay these pundits to write such nonsense.
He is a current version of "Tokyo Rose". Does he not care that his words are demoralizing to Americans, especially those fighting for our freedom and those who fought for our freedom in the past.
If he didn't want people to recognize his treasonous tendencies, he should have written the column better.

Writing Seminar at North Branch Library

Thanks to one of my writing friends for this. I think I will try to make some of this. The book is close to conclusion. Picking an ending from several possible scenarios is tough.

South Loop 288: why are the barriers still there?

Here are a couple of pictures I took this evening in going by the Golden Triangle Mall in Denton on South Loop 288. This is the place where the never ending road construction has been occurring. I probably shouldn't complain because it has gotten easier to get through there now. However, I can't help but notice the continued eyesore of the orange barriers and barrels that line both sides of the center median from I-35 all the way to Spencer Road. I was wondering why those were still there as the construction appears to be complete. Even the street painting appears to be complete. Anyone got any answers? Why don't they take that stuff away and open up all of the lanes?

In the news...

I was interviewed for a column in the Star-Telegram about hot checks. I believe it was in the Friday paper. I tried to set the guy straight on what is Theft by Check and what is not. I hope I succeeded a little. He didn't put in everything I told him, but we talked for quite a while. It looks like the Brazos County District Attorney backed me up on it.

Aren't all crimes "hate crimes"?

New Federal Hate Crime Bill passed by House and going to Senate.

Did Fox miss that call?

I searched some more and found this article, and then I found another article, and yet a third article which share the same theme. Apparently, the Fox attempt to blame this on the obamination were incorrect. Apparently, this came from the pseudo-democrat branch of the Bush administration. And moreover, it was $400,000 instead of $4 million (I thought I might have heard the figure incorrectly). It was some study sanctioned by the National Insititute of Health to determine how HIV is spread through the bar scene. That's what I get for not looking further into the issue.

Did I hear correctly about government waste?

Did I hear correctly on Fox News Radio this morning that the federal government gave some group $4 million to study the alcohol consumption habits of gays in bars in Argentina?
I heard it on the radio, but I can't find the story online.
Anyone else hear about that?
Is that a good use of our tax money?

These guys are too dangerous to release!

Congress rejects funding for release of Gitmo prisoners because the obamination has no discernible for disposition of the prisoners. Could even the democrats in Congress be seeing the light about the obamination?

Let's see:

1. We don't want to keep them in the prison set up for them on foreign soil because obama made the lame, uninformed promise to close the prison.

2. We can't release the middle eastern prisoners back to their own countries because they would go right back to the battle field against our guys.

3. We can't release the European islamic terrorists to their European countries because their European countries don't want them.

4. We can't put them in continental U.S. prisons because we can't guarantee their security and it would invite terrorist attacks on U.S. soil to try break them out.

5. We can't release the Chinese islamic terrorists to China because the Chinese government woule likely have them promptly killed.

Maybe the obamination should realize that this was a bad promise and one from which he should refrain from keeping.

No, No, No

Oh my, this is bit frightening to me. We have a very good Congressman representing us right now. We do not need this guy anywhere near the Congress.

Mayoral Race in Jacksboro?

We saw this sign on the way out of Jacksboro yesterday. We have met Dr. Jamal before. Very nice guy. I wonder who is running against him.