tim_lebsack

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson

2012-02-13T09:01:00.000-06:00

Five questions with Gary Johnson - Washington Times.

Most of this art came from HERE

DISD School Consolidations

2012-02-03T16:10:00.002-06:00

Due to incompetence at all levels of government, Dallas Independent School District is closing eleven schools. Below are these school's performance ratings as judged by the Texas Education Agency.

1 of the 11 condemned schools is rated Unacceptable

4 are Acceptable

4 are Recognized

2 are Exemplary

City Park Elementary School

CITY PARK EL                      Recognized

Julia C. Frazier Elementary School

JULIA C FRAZIER ELEMENTARY SCH    Academically Acceptable

Phillis Wheatley Elementary School

PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SC    Recognized

N.W. Harllee Elementary School

N W HARLLEE EL                    Academically Acceptable

Arlington Park Elementary School

ARLINGTON PARK COMMUNITY LEARN    Recognized

James W. Fannin Elementary School

JAMES W FANNIN EL                 Academically Acceptable

James B. Bonham Elementary School

JAMES B BONHAM EL                 Exemplary

Oran M. Roberts Elementary School

ORAN M ROBERTS ELEMENTARY SCHO    Recognized

D.A. Hulcy Middle School

D A HULCY MIDDLE                  Academically Unacceptable

H.S. Thompson Elementary School

H S THOMPSON LEARNING CENTER      Exemplary

Pearl C. Anderson Middle School

PEARL C ANDERSON MIDDLE LEARNI    Academically Acceptable

 ==============================================

==============================================

Question:

Why did DISD not choose for closure schools from the list below?

BRYAN ADAMS H S Academically Unacceptable

A MACEO SMITH H S                 Academically Unacceptable

JUSTIN F KIMBALL H S              Academically Unacceptable    
LINCOLN HUMANITIES/COMMUNICATI    Academically Unacceptable

L G PINKSTON HIGH SCHOOL          Academically Unacceptable                            
FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT H S          Academically Unacceptable

W W SAMUELL H S                   Academically Unacceptable

SEAGOVILLE H S                    Academically Unacceptable

H GRADY SPRUCE H S                Academically Unacceptable                  
WOODROW WILSON H S                Academically Unacceptable

DAVID W CARTER HIGH SCHOOL        Academically Unacceptable

NORTH DALLAS HIGH SCHOOL          Academically Unacceptable

EMMETT J CONRAD H S               Academically Unacceptable                             
JAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL         Academically Unacceptable                     
T W BROWNE MIDDLE                 Academically Unacceptable                                                        
EDWARD H CARY MIDDLE              Academically Unacceptable

E B COMSTOCK MIDDLE               Academically Unacceptable                                                         
FRED F FLORENCE MIDDLE            Academically Unacceptable                                                         
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES HUMANITI    Academically Unacceptable                                                             
JOHN B HOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL         Academically Unacceptable                                                           
J L LONG MIDDLE                   Academically Unacceptable                                                         
BOUDE STOREY MIDDLE SCHOOL        Academically Unacceptable                                                          
MAYNARD H JACKSON MIDDLE          Academically Unacceptable                                                          
D A HULCY MIDDLE                  Academically Unacceptable                                                          
SAM TASBY MIDDLE                  Academically Unacceptable                                                            
ANNIE WEBB BLANTON EL SCHOOL      Academically Unacceptable                                                          
S S CONNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL      Academically Unacceptable                                                        
H I HOLLAND EL AT LISBON          Academically Unacceptable                                                      
THOMAS L MARSALIS ELEMENTARY S    Academically Unacceptable                                                           
ROGER Q MILLS EL                  Academically Unacceptable                                           
J W RAY LEARNING CENTER           Academically Unacceptable                                        
LEE A MCSHAN JR EL                Academically Unacceptable                                           
JOHN LESLIE PATTON JR ACADEMIC    Academically Unacceptable

the answer is here.

Friday by Heinlein

2012-01-31T11:19:00.000-06:00

Novel : Friday by Robert A. Heinlein

Catholics vs. Libertarians

2012-01-06T09:15:00.001-06:00

Why are we fighting against each other ?

6 Myths Catholics Tell About Libertarians

By Norman Horn

Maybe I should read some St. Augustus. I like this story told by Horn via Raico and Chomsky.

In the "The City of God" St. Augustine tells the story of a pirate captured by Alexander the Great. The Emperor angrily demanded of him, "How dare you molest the seas?" To which the pirate replied, "How dare you molest the whole world? Because I do it with a small boat, I am called a pirate and a thief. You, with a great navy, molest the world and are called an emperor." St. Augustine thought the pirate's answer was "elegant and excellent."

I Will Fear No Evil by Robert A. Heinlein

2012-01-05T13:10:00.004-06:00

Coulda used a few re-writes.

Dedicated To ...

2011-12-16T13:33:00.000-06:00

.... the late Mel McDaniel.

Sammy Kershaw's version (channeling "The Man Show")

Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein

2011-12-14T10:34:00.001-06:00

Glory Road @ Amazon.comI was twenty-one but couldn’t figure out which party to vote against.

I object to conscription the way a lobster objects to boiling water.

One of my neighbors had a terrible asthma that lasted till his twenty-sixth birthday. No fake--he was allergic to draft boards.

I wanted the world to be what they had promised me it was going to be--instead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it is.

“Ever play water polo, Rufo?”
“I invented it.”

A hundred feet below the reception committee had gathered.
It looked like an asparagus patch. Of bayonets.

“Darling, there is black-widow blood in every woman.”

“Rufo, were you really at Omaha Beach?”
“Hell, yes, Boss. I did all of Eisenhower’s thinking.”

For the one thing that stood out as this empirical way of running an empire grew up was that the answer to most problems was: Don’t do anything.

“It is the incidence of heroes that counts, not the pattern of zeros.”

“You know I would never draw against you.”
“I know no such thing,” he said querulously. “There’s always that first time. Scoundrels are predictable, but you’re a man of honor and that frightens me.”

Monday Morning Rants

2011-11-21T08:44:00.000-06:00

Recognize?

It's a screw driver tip designed to be inserted into an electric driver - 25mm long (much too short), anodized (pretty, shiny color) aluminum (soft), comes as a bonus when you purchase a box of deck screws. Guaranteed to endure for at least half of a two by six. If you've ever had the pleasure of using one of these, You now know why men gather armies and start wars.

"You cannot be serious"

Did I just buy a box of instant coffee for the Keurig?

This Will Go On Your Permanent Record

2011-10-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

Has Barry been a bad boy?
What is Barry writing on the board?
What is that paper in his hand?

Dallas City Hall - This One Is Easy

2011-10-10T16:08:00.002-05:00

I was voting upstairs and came across this crowd as I left the building.

Look at the pics and guess where this is.....

Scroll down for the answer.

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While Moving

2011-10-10T14:41:00.002-05:00

We had some BIG bugs at the old house.

UHaul has not convinced me that the Smart Car is suitable to tow a trailer.

My maternal grandparents had a telephone shelf in the hallway of their house in Titus County, Texas. I'm really proud that 555 and I have a telephone shelf in our Dallas County house.

We have a tree in the front yard.

555 bought a clock at Three Dollar Admiral, batteries not included. It was hung on a nail and lasted two full nights before it became a part of the Yard Sale Inventory. Ticking keeps me awake at night. We'll acquire for ourselves one of those modern 'silent' clocks.

A stump in the backyard near the Pet Sematary makes a fine perch for the charcoal chimney. I'll slowly burn the stump away and allow Ma Natures vegetation to hide the grave site. Chill out, it's not like I'm gonna exhume the little fella.

Scam Alert

2011-10-07T12:37:00.001-05:00

This is a scam.

Beware

=============================

Subject: Horrible vacation!!! I need your help!!!
From: Xxxxx Xxxxxx
To: You@isp

This message may be coming to you as a surprise but all I need right now is your help.

Few days back I made an unannounced vacation trip to Xxxxxx, XX with my family . Everything was fine until last night when we got mugged on our way back to the hotel. They made away with all our cash,credit cards and cell phones but thank God we still have our lives and passports; it's such a horrible experience.

Another shocking thing is that the hotel manager has been unhelpful to us for unknown reasons...he has restricted us from some services and believe me, I'm writing you from a local library.

We reported to the police and after writing down some statements that's the last we heard from them.

I need your help,I need you to loan me some money to settle our bills here so we can get back home tomorrow. I'll refund the money as soon as we get back. All I need is $1650.

Let me know if you can get me the money then I tell you how to get it to me.

Thanks

Xxxxxxxxx

Drug Crazy - Mike Gray

2011-10-04T13:36:00.002-05:00

Drug Crazy

How We Got INTO THIS MESS & How We Can GET OUT

- Mike Gray

Random House, New York, 1998

Drug Crazy : How We Got into This Mess and How We Can Get Out

By erecting an artificial barrier between alcohol producers and consumers, the government had created a potential bonanza that can only be likened to the Gold Rush.

As historian Andrew Sinclair put it, “National prohibition transferred $2 billion a year from the hands of brewers, distillers, and shareholders to the hands of murderers, crooks, and illiterates.”

“We had not realized that the moment restrictive legislation made these drugs difficult to secure legitimately, the drugs would also be made profitable to illicit traffickers.”

Since the speakeasy had no liquor license to lose, there was no need to check ID.

In a vote they didn’t bother to record, on a matter of little interest, a handful of congressmen forwarded a bill that would one day help fill the nation’s prisons to the roof beams.

The drug agency, responding instantly to this shift in the wind, cut the number of junkies to 150,000 in the next report, and the administration was able to take credit for the overnight cure of some 400,000 addicts.

It would be tough to come up with a better system for teaching hatred of the law.

Peruvian officials estimated they were losing half a million acres of rain forest a year to these ad hoc plantations.

After a seventy-year battle against illegal narcotics, it was now possible to walk out the front door of the White House and do a drug deal across the street.

If the drug lords are spending tens of millions a week on their friends in government south of the border, how much are they spending in the North?

Lee Brown, first drug czar of the Clinton administration, was speaking to a Los Angeles town hall meeting about the disaster in Holland when a gentleman in the audience stood up and introduced himself as the consul general of the Netherlands and politely refuted everything Brown had just said.

The hardest drug to get say the kids, is not reefer, but alcohol.

There are no beer pushers hanging around the playground. You can’t make a living at it.

Prior to the Harrison Narcotics Act, if people wanted drugs they at least had to go to the drugstore. Now they can get anything they want from the neighbor’s kid.

Drug Crazy : How We Got into This Mess and How We Can Get Out

Goin' To The Fair !!

2011-09-29T12:55:00.004-05:00

555 and I are going to the Fair.

We've called off work, purchased tickets at Kroger, including DART passes, and are ready to judge goats, sample the shows and eat some junk food. This is the band playing on the Main Stage.

Get More: Hanson, Top 20 Countdown, Give A Little, Free Music Videos

Tipi (also tepee and teepee)

2011-09-14T16:15:00.002-05:00

Don's house, front view


In Don's back yard	This was a fun project.

That's Don making some final adjustments.

We spent about three hours on a Sunday erecting the tipi in his back yard. Passers by will be snapping pictures for weeks and every kid in the neighborhood wants to play inside.

While Moonlighting As A Security Guard...

2011-09-14T14:28:00.001-05:00

July 2011
Walmart Neigborhood Market
2305 North Central Expy between Lemmon and Hall, Dallas.

Nissan SUV parked on the sidewalk, specifically the wheelchair ramp.

This House Was Not For Sale

2011-09-13T15:07:00.002-05:00

555 and I came across some interesting things while house hunting.

9/11 Dinner and A New Holy Day Is Born

2011-09-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

555 and Tim have decided to do this every 9/11 - Feast to proclaim prosperity, blessedness and joy, the character opposites of the murderers.

Saturday, September 10 2011
555 arrived home from work and said "We're going to Meat Mania at Kroger." I was behind the wheel with the car running when she finally caught up to me.
I typically purchase chicken or ground beef because these steaks are like ten bucks each (She had just gotten paid). Tomorrows dinner was going to be special.

Sunday, September 11 2011
The tenth anniversary of the Twin Towers attacks - We decided to celebrate life in opposition to those who celebrate death.

555 would be home in an hour so it was time to get to work.
I started by marinating the steaks in a mixture of pineapple juice and fig squeezin's (I reserved the pineapple chunks and simmered figs for the cake below), liquid smoke, and Worcestershire sauce - 80 minutes total, turning them every 20 minutes. I didn't use the vinegar in the upper left of the pic.


I baked a cake from a boxed mix that has been on my shelf for over a year. Recently, I've eliminated many carbohydrate sources from my diet but decided to pull this relic from the pantry as party(Freudian slip) of the celebration menu. I texted 555 asking if the cake mix would cook properly in her Pampered Chef pan. She wasn't sure. The pan looks rather poor but I'm told it develops that patina naturally from use. (I'm gonna give it a good scrubbing later.)

This was the result. The recipe said 25+ minutes at 350F. I lowered the temperature 25 degrees at the 15 minute mark and pulled it from the oven at 35 minutes. 555 demonstrated the toothpick poke for me.

This is a fig/pineapple upside down cake from a Betty Crocker Carrot Cake mix. You're seeing caramelized brown sugar with butter. It tasted GREAT. Making this cake was fun. I like power tools in the kitchen.

After marinating the meat got patted down with a mixture of powdered garlic, ground white pepper and salt. Preheat the propane grill on high then ten minutes per side on low.

Steak, cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes, poblano pepper, carrots - All from the grill. Because of its size I microwaved the sweet tater about 3/4's done before moving it to the grill.

This was the table setting. 555 (you can see her hands) likes her A1. My schools says "Don't add any extraneous flavors to the meat after cooking".

We had ample supplies of canned beer, merlot by the mug, water in fruit jars and the Union Pacific lidless tankard containing my personal coconut water based electrolyte replacement beverage.

Join us next 9/11.

We'll be eating expensive steaks and celebrating not death but LIFE.

New House Foundation Repair

2011-09-12T14:34:00.004-05:00

Our pre-purchase inspector found a small gray water leak in drainage pipes beneath the master bath sink. Moisture had damaged some load bearing wood between the piers and the floor. We took a credit on closing costs and moved in a few weeks later.

555 took a snow day to oversee the repair. The crew arrived early, worked like ~~slaves~~ adult, family men being paid a fair wage and were very grateful that 555 provided pitchers of ice water. It was one of the hottest days of the 2011 summer. They replaced damaged joists and sills and also replaced all of the original wooden shims with modern steel shims.

The men entered the crawl space through an interior closet manhole. This vent was opened to pass tools, shims, lumber and electrical cords. Several plants were temporarily moved. I'm pleasantly surprised that they've re-established themselves. These guys were pros.

These bags are filled with trash removed from the crawl space - old shims, wet wood, old concrete castings and other debris. A clean crawl space makes a safe and happy house. My front lawn took a beating that day.


555 asked a worker to hold a piece of the damaged wood for a picture. Now I'm wishing we'd saved this relic - I would tell people I'd smuggled it from Mount Ararat.

THANK YOU,

Alpha Foundation Repair !!!

The American Power Pyramid

2011-09-12T13:24:00.003-05:00

Mayor Rawlings, Your Opinion, Please ??

2011-08-26T07:40:00.002-05:00

Mayor Rawlings -

Is the Dallas City Marshall going to do this to Texans ??

Saved By Postcard

2011-08-23T10:26:00.002-05:00

555 and I just moved into our newly purchased house in a neighborhood several miles from our previous house.

As we drove away from the old residence, we stopped at the mail box one last time.

The Real Animal House by Chris "Pinto" Miller

2011-08-18T15:02:00.019-05:00

The Real Animal House: The Awesomely Depraved Saga of the Fraternity That Inspired the Movie

"THE MOST IMPORTANT THING when you go to college," Ace Kendall declared, "the single most important thing" -- he paused for effect -- is never, ever to join a fraternity."

The Smiths, in the ramshackle house on the corner, made the characters in Li'l Abner seem urbane sophisticates.

John Landis talks about Animal House the movie.

One thing about Dartmouth -- it was very Dartmouth.Despite all the dumb, virginal comedies Doris was making at this time, she was still, by my standards, a sexy woman. I knew this because I wanted to lick her thighs.

I knew what an alternate universe was. Apparently, I'd just walked into one.

Isaac leaned forward. "You should really think about this. They're the worst house on campus. The girls from Colby Junior get warned not to go there.""They're sick," said Brad. "They're an animal house."

If he'd had three holes in his ass instead of one, you could have rolled a strike with him.

It was a rare Dartmouth man who could have told you the name of the governor of New Hampshire, or knew diddly-squat about what passed for politics there. It was like an American base in a Third World country.

The Amherst AD's had outraged him, too. They had no soul. They kept telling them what not to do. He himself believed in green lights, all the way. Do any damn thing you wanted and, assuming you weren't hurting someone, be left the fuck alone!

The beer would take you sooo high. And then, like the waters of Old Faithful, down you'd inevitably come. It dissuaded one of God's existence. Ingmar Bergman was right.

Rhesus Monkey's eyes were slits worthy of Ming the Merciless.

The scene in the basement of the AD house at 2:00 a.m. was very Hieronymus Bosch.

Bags, whose politics resembled Himmler's, thought unions akin to roach nests and peace only a boring pause between wars.

Pinto ran out to greet them. Actual Negroes in Hanover! They sure were black. Pinto was swooning with negritude.

To no one's surprise, AD wound up on probation for an indefinite period. The brothers sank into stoic gloom.

It was like the Oscars; comedy got no respect.

Another example is Elvis Presley, whose music never recovered from the move he made from Sun Records to RCA, where they mainstreamed him and cut off his balls.

Chris Miller

Ruger Pepper Spray

2011-08-11T10:12:00.001-05:00

http://shopruger.com/Pepper-Spray/products/584/

My Favorite Window Sign

2011-07-28T15:16:00.000-05:00

Juice Newton - Sunshine

2011-07-27T16:03:00.004-05:00

Find more songs like Sunshine at Myspace Music

Sunshine go away today, I don't feel much like dancing
Some man's gone he's tried to run my life, he don't know what he's asking
When he tells me I better get in line, I can't hear what he's saying
When I grow up, I'm gonna make it mine, these ain't dues I been payin'

How much does it cost?
I'll buy it!
The time is all we've lost
I'll try it!
He can't even run his own life,
I'll be damned if he'll run mine--sunshine...

Sunshine, go away today, I don't feel much like dancin'
Some man's gone he's tried to run my life, he don't know what he's asking
Working starts to make me wonder where fruits of what I do are going
When he says in love and war all is fair, but he's got cards he ain't showing

How much does it cost?
I'll buy it!
The time is all we've lost--I'll try it!
He can't even run his own life,
I'll be damned if he'll run mine--sunshine...

Sunshine, come on back another day,
I promise you I'll be singing
This old world, she's gonna turn around,
brand new bells 'il be ringing

Name Your ( John Wiley) Price

2011-07-19T08:43:00.003-05:00

Tim,

Driving around today...almost ran off the road when I saw this statue of Dallas' most famous County Commissioner in HAWAII !

Don A.

Sent from my iPhone

Fight Club

2011-07-14T16:16:00.002-05:00

Fight Club

from the book:

Fight club is not football on television. You aren’t watching a bunch of men you don’t know halfway around the world beating on each other live by satellite with a two-minute delay, commercials pitching beer every ten minutes, and a pause now for station identification. After you’ve been to fight club, watching football on television is watching pornography when you could be having great sex.

According to my boss, there are fewer and fewer gentlemen in business and more thugs.

I tell Tyler, Marla Singer doesn’t need a lover, she needs a case worker.

Until today, it really pissed me off that I’d become this totally centered Zen Master and nobody had noticed.

The blood, is it mine?
Yeah, I say. Some of it.
This is a wrong answer.

She doesn’t say a thing about her collagen trust fund.

I said to the medical student, you must not see a lot of birthmarks around here.

Even a week after fight club, you’ve got no problem driving inside the speed limit. Maybe you’ve been passing black shit, internal injuries, for two days, but you are so cool. Other cars drive around you. Cars tailgate. You get the finger from other drivers. Total strangers hate you. It’s absolutely nothing personal. After fight club, you’re so relaxed, you just cannot care. You don’t even turn the radio on.

“What you have to consider,” he says, “is the possibility that God doesn’t like you. Could be, God hates us. This is not the worst thing that can happen.”
How Tyler saw it was that getting God’s attention for being bad was better than getting no attention at all. Maybe because God’s hate is better than His indifference.

My wish right now is for me to die. I am nothing in the world compared to Tyler.
I am helpless.
I am stupid, and all I do is want and need things.
My tiny life. My little shit job. My Swedish furniture. I never, no, never told anyone this, but before I met Tyler, I was planning to buy a dog and name it “Entourage.”

The tears were really coming now, and one fat stripe rolled along the barrel of the gun and down the loop around the trigger to burst flat against my index finger. Raymond Hessel closed both eyes so I pressed the gun hard against his temple so he would always feel it pressing right there and I was beside him and this was his life and he could be dead at any moment.
This wasn’t a cheap gun, and I wondered if salt might fuck it up.

I call Marla from my Seattle motel room to ask if we’ve ever done it.
   You know.
   Long distance, Marla says, “What?”
   Slept together.
   “What!”
   Have I ever, you know, had sex with her?
   “Christ!”
   Well?
   “Well?” she says.
   Have we ever had sex?
   “You are such a piece of shit.”
   Have we had sex?
   “I could kill you!”
   Is that a yes or a no?
“I knew this would happen,” Marla says. “You’re such a flake. You love me. You ignore me. You save my life, then you cook my mother into soap.”

You sit on the shag carpet at opposite sides of the meditation circle and try to summon up your power animal while Marla glares at you with her black eye. You close your eyes and meditate to the palace of the seven doors, and you can still feel Marla’s glare. You cradle your inner child.
Marla glares.
Then it’s time to hug.
Open your eyes.
We should all choose a partner.
Marla crosses the room in three quick steps and slaps me hard across the face.
Share yourself completely.

from the movie:

[after vigorous sex with Tyler Durden]
Marla Singer: My God. I haven't been fucked like that since grade school.

=

the great pains I've always taken never to be too strict

2011-07-14T11:27:00.000-05:00

The Word of the Day for July 14 is:

lenient \LEEN-yunt\ adjective
1 : exerting a soothing or easing influence : relieving pain or stress
2 : of mild and tolerant disposition; especially : indulgent

Examples:
The judge decided to be lenient because it was a first offense, but warned that the defendant would not be so lucky a second time.

"Portugal agreed yesterday to accept an international aid plan of $116 billion that the country's caretaker prime minister, Jose Socrates, suggested would involve more lenient conditions than those imposed on Greece and Ireland in return for similar bailouts." -- From an article by Raphael Minder in the Boston Globe, May 4, 2011

Did you know?
"Lenient" is a word with a soothing history. It derives from the Latin verb "lenire," meaning "to soothe" or "to soften" (itself from "lenis," meaning "soft or mild"). The first, now archaic, sense of "lenient" referred to something soothing that relieved pain and stress. That meaning was shared by "lenitive," an earlier derivative of "lenire" that was commonly used with "electuary" ("lenitive electuary" being a medicated paste prepared with honey or another sweet and used by veterinarians to alleviate pain in the mouth). Linguists also borrowed "lenis" to describe speech sounds that are softened -- for instance, the "t" sound in "gutter" is lenis. By way of comparison, the "t" sound in "toe" is fortis.

[Murron is tied to a post about to be executed]

http://www.executedtoday.com/images/Murron_MacClannough_execution.jpg

Magistrate:All of you know full well, the great pains I've always taken never to be too strict, too rigid with the application of our laws, and as a consequence, have we not learned to live together in relative peace and harmony, huh? And this day's lawlessness is how you repay my leniency. Well you leave me with little choice. An assault on the king's soldiers is the same as an assault on the king himself.
[slits Murron's throat]
Magistrate:Now, let this scrapper come to me.

http://media.cinemasquid.com/blu-ray/titles/braveheart/9307/screenshot-med-12.jpg

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

2011-05-24T13:31:00.007-05:00

I've copied and pasted the text of an email sent to me.

See this link for formal debunking.

My comments are below in red italics. I skip the debunking and proceed to the guts of the issue.

===

Very important

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

Texas adopted the 26th Amendment on April 27, 1971. I was 9 years old and don't recall whether "The people demanded it" or not. It sounds like a good idea but I disagree with allowing anyone under 21 to vote.

Hitting the 18th birthday doesn't make one a voter. This is a responsibility I've too often seen teenagers treat unfairly. A few more years of exploring humanity and its implications is usually necessary to vote wisely.

Q: Lebsack, We 18-year-olds can drink alcohol and fight wars - You don't think we should vote?

A: Darn tootin', Bucky, you're too young.

Children have been drinking heavily and defending themselves against aggression since we walked out of the Garden - this doesn't mean they're smart enough to vote. I say Let's give the squirts a few more years of seasoning to learn to make wise decisions ....and about the drinking age (We don't really enforce the drinking age, we enforce age modified alcohol sales/possession plus we've got laws against drunkenness... make that public drunkenness.) - it should be repealed - whether a child drinks should be a parental responsibility. I disapprove of ever giving more power to the state.

Your argument about war fighting is silly. The United States typically sends immatures to fight wars but that doesn't make it right.

Anyone of any age has the right to defend themselves and their freedom against foreign aggression but you're not referring to self-defense. You're talking about joining the military for lack of any better option then being sent to fight a synthetic war. This is both another issue for another day and it doesn't translate to a privilege to vote for public policy/public officials.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land... all because of public pressure.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below..
A. Two Six-year Senate terms

Disagree -

One Six-year Senate term... plus the 17th Amendment should be repealed.

The founders meant for the Representatives to represent the people.

The founders meant for the Senators to represent the states.

Representatives should be elected by majority vote.
Senators were originally chosen by any method that state chose - voting, appointment, rock/paper/scissors (method is not important) - they went to the Senate to cast votes not according to their own desire but as INSTRUCTED by their state. Since the states sent them to Washington DC the state could easily recall them if they failed their duty. Often the governor or state legislature chose the senators. Same story, if the governor or state legislators failed their duty they could be recalled.
It's not so easy today with Senators being elected by popular vote for multiple terms.
Little term/ little damage.
Lots of terms/ lots of damage.

B. Six Two-year House terms

Disagree - two two-year terms max.

Plus - No Representative should be eligible to ever be in the Senate and vice-versa.

C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
You're just asking for trouble.

2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

I'll leave this up to the individual states which should decide for themselves how to compensate those they send to the U.S. Congress.

The federal government should pay them NOTHING. The states send them to D.C. - let the states pay them.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

see item #2 above
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

copy/paste
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

control C/control V
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
Do you really want to make this happen?

See item #2 above.

Let each individual state provide for their own Congress persons while they are in D.C.

Salary
Staff
Housing
Junkets
Office
Research
all of it
The federal government supplies Congress with a roof ONLY - the U.S. Capitol building.
Talk about a cost cutting measure - turn in some faulty accounting to the folks back home and you're looking for a new job - as it should be.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time. THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!! If you agree with the above, pass it on. If not, just delete it.
Please keep it going.

=====

Where Would You Choose To Live ??

2011-05-23T15:11:00.008-05:00

Loading...
http://drhurd.com/index.php/Daily-Dose-of-Reason/Politics-Government/Why-Obama-and-People-Like-Him-Hate-Israel.html

Hank Rearden Voice Mail

2011-04-12T12:07:00.000-05:00

Plastic - Worth It's Weight In Petroleum

2011-04-08T14:51:00.001-05:00

Plas-tastic !!

Fruit, vegetables, meat, grains -

All safely stored and transported in plastic containers.

All harvested with machinery using plastic parts.

All fresh, clean, nutritious.

Lacking plastic, our food supply would be much smaller and much weaker.

People would die, like they have been for the entire history of mankind.
Plastic - One more tool to clean our food, extend our lives, make life better.

Mike Rawlings Wants To Be Dallas Boss of Schools

2011-04-07T15:21:00.002-05:00

I received an advertisement by post encouraging me to vote Mike Rawlings for Dallas Mayor.

Four pages, folded, full bleed color, card stock - very well printed.

Too bad that the content is sloppily written and poorly reasoned.

Maybe the people of Dallas are stupid.


It got a bit wrinkled from being stuffed into a fanny pack and transported by bicycle.

The complete document can be found on Scribd.com

I've pasted much of it below with comments.

======================

"A good Mayor can’t sit back and be silent on education. It’s an issue that touches us all, and impacts our children, our economy and our future as a city." Mike Rawlings

Our children ?? No.

I don't have children and I don't accept responsibility for educating the children of others, much to their relief.

My parents were both teachers, and my son will start teaching next year, so for me, education is personal.

I'm happy for your parents, not quite so thrilled for your son.

Education IS personal - so personal that

THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD STAY OUT OF IT.

It changed my life, and it can change the lives of so many of our Dallas families if we can just get it right.

"Just get it right"? You don't sound very confident.

"Ay, there's the rub." You won't get it right... but don't feel bad... you cannot get it right. You're making yourself a volunteer, an un-asked for volunteer.

The education industry is not the responsibility of the Mayor. If you want Hinojosa's job, apply for it.

Some people think that reducing crime will grow our city. Well, our crime has gone down over the past few years Kunkle agrees and people are still moving to the suburbs. I think they are leaving for better schools.

Ya think??

Our parents shouldn’t be forced to choose between sending their children to an academically unacceptable school or moving to the suburbs.

Agreed, Mr. Rawlings, which is why you should allow (how sad that we must beg) parents to educate their children, not the government.

I doubt you'll ever go logically forward with your own statement.

Fact is, we cannot be a great city without great public schools, You know this isn't true, even more so than I and stronger schools will build stronger neighborhoods.

That’s why, as Mayor, I will implement a comprehensive and sustainable plan to help improve our public schools. We must be accountable as leaders, and as a community, for helping educate our schoolchildren – because it’s an issue that touches us all.

I thought you wanted to be Mayor of Dallas? Oh, I see, your method of getting elected is a straw man - promote solutions to issues over which you have no authority. It's certainly easier than tackling a problem head on.

Wait, maybe I'm not seeing through you as well as I thought. Do you plan to Obama DISD ??, to just run it without mandate or authority of any kind? Keeping reading, kids.

The only way to fix the school system is to remove government from the school system.

Injecting yourself into the mix as Mayor will not work.

We'll wait and see. Let's come back later and see if the graduates of DISD's 2021 high schools are better educated than the graduates of DISD's 2011 high schools.

A sustainable plan to help public schools.

Impacting policy.
As Mayor, Mike will create an Urban Mayors Task Force, calling on the Mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio to lobby Washington and Austin for ~~public~~ government school funding in our urban areas that need help the most.

Why not call on the Mayors of Mesquite, Flower Mound, Venus and Melissa? Because Big Mayors demand big money.

"Throw more money at the problem and we'll solve it."
Where does that money comes from? Who are you asking to fund Dallas schools? These people.
Is this the way you ran Pizza Hut?

These areas represent more than 50% of the state’s population, and already use their collective firepower interesting metaphor to lobby for critical transportation dollars – we should be doing the same for our schools.
These transportation dollars of which you speak are not used well in urban areas. They're used to build highways that destroy urban areas.

Organizing an Education Army.
Mike will use the Mayor’s office as a bully pulpit to recruit and engage a volunteer force to support our schools. We can start by engaging the more than 300,000 seniors living in Dallas DISD cannot do this without the help of the Mayor's office?, many of whom are looking for volunteer activities We certainly cannot afford to pay them and a way to give back they TOOK nothing to the community. From staffing reading programs, to initiating PTA chapters in schools that don’t have them organized Why haven't the parents done this?, to helping with tutoring and mentoring – the manpower is out there The Teacher's Union may have something to say about this to help, and Mike will lead to identify, organize and put it to work for schools. Are you going to fix the streets?

Leveraging private resources. DISD does this already. Even childless individuals know this as 'school taxes'.
As Mayor, Mike will create an umbrella group – one point of entry and dispatch read this as "I'll be the boss, I'll control the coffers." – for the dozens of non-profit groups that want to help education but are currently sittin' in the shade relaxing due to lack of real leadership. By organizing and leveraging these private and non-profit resources, we can provide the funding and human capital for big advances – like working to promote neighborhood and parental involvement Parent's are not currently involved?, providing new technologies for the classroom that may be cut in the upcoming state budget You've heard about that?, and helping support arts and athletics that suffer from Dallas ISD cuts.
DISD's current management is incompetent, huh?

Improving communications.
As Mayor, Mike will initiate regular meetings and exchanges between City and Dallas ISD leadership to communicate and collaborate on how best to leverage resources.
How can I put this gently?
There is a reason the citizens have chosen to keep separate the governing of the City and of the Schools. One example is consolidating Dallas ISD Police and the Dallas Police to improve effciency and put more dollars into classrooms. Like the governance, the people of Dallas choose to not have the Dallas Police Department roaming the campuses. If and when it is needed, they'll let you know. And, Mike will work to hold all parties accountable to a measurable metric of success that demonstrates progress and rebuilds faith in our public school system.

Who has the right plan to help our schools?

Mike Rawlings
see above

David Kunkle

No plan for education.

I agree. Education planning should done by the parents directing the DISD Board of Trustees. They have hired a Superintendent Of Schools and other staff as they deem necessary.

Ron Natinsky

Will “push us all to find innovative partnerships,”and will participate in existing programs. Will also “promote worldwide our educational assets and push for new ones.”

Mike Rawlings is not worried about RN's chances.

Dr. Michael Hinojosa

Of course not, what does he know about education?

=========================
=========================

Mr. Rawlings -

Good luck with the campaign and your potential term as Mayor of Dallas.

I certainly hope you prioritize and learn that unearned money is wrong.

Hubless Rear Wheel Bicycle

2011-04-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

Motivational Poster

2011-04-05T14:53:00.001-05:00

HT: DrHurd.com

You've Got Pets !!

2011-04-05T11:38:00.001-05:00

Product Endorsement

2011-04-01T16:48:00.000-05:00

This is the Braun, a gift from a former g'friend several years ago.

Get one - A Braun shaver.

They are outstanding.

Kitchen Remodel

2011-04-01T14:19:00.013-05:00

You can't have it all, at least not in my current rental.

My rental house has a stove/oven, natch, and I've acquired a clothers dryer.

Here's the difficulty:
The only 220V outlet is in the kitchen and I have not enough room for both appliances. Sophie has to make a choice.

Solution:

I've moved the landlord's stove/oven to the back porch beneath a blanket ie., it's in storage, not in use.

The new clothes dryer has replaced the stove in the kitchen.

Now I'll be able to dry clothes at home after washing at the Rent-A-River.

Cooking will proceed with the microwaves, bread ma-cheen, toaster ovens, convection oven, rice cooker, electric griddle, crock pot and a small 110V electric burner(npi).

I've also got the propane grill and the smoker outdoors.

That's my home-made cutting board and kitchen towels on top of the dryer. I've got more work-space!!

The crock pot and the bottom of the counter-top convection oven can be seen in the upper right.

Thanks, Roy, for helping with the heavy moving. Grab yourself a beer.

The electric beer cooler is in the other room behind the desk and the filing cabinet. Push the chair out of your way.

Paying For Defense

2011-04-01T10:36:00.001-05:00

I like this. This man is protecting his property.

Dallas Taxi

2011-03-31T16:42:00.002-05:00

Spectacular Cab

24"

Now you know one of the reasons that transportation in Dallas is expensive.

Another is the monopoly held by the City Council.

The Question is : Revenue from WHERE ???

2011-03-31T13:15:00.001-05:00

Bill Whittle video of a post by Iowahawk

Washington, Madison, Morrisette - Ironic

2011-03-24T11:46:00.000-05:00

"Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice."
— George Washington

http://www.seasideequity.com/images/dollar.bmp

"Paper money is unjust; to creditors, if a legal tender; to debtors, if not legal tender, by increasing the difficulty of getting specie. It is unconstitutional, for it affects the rights of property as much as taking away equal value in land. It is pernicious, destroying confidence between individuals; discouraging commerce; enriching sharpers; vitiating morals; reversing the end of government; and conspiring with the examples of other states to disgrace republican governments in the eyes of mankind." -- James Madison

http://www.oldcurrencyvalues.com/images/-5_000_dollar_bill.jpg

Westboro Baptist Church

2011-03-22T10:40:00.001-05:00

Question From The Dallas Morning News

2011-03-21T16:37:00.002-05:00

Sounding Off - a question from the Dallas Morning News

=================

Monday, March 21, 2011 4:19 PM

From: "Landauer, Michael" <michael.landauer@dallasnews.com>
To: "Landauer, Michael" <michael.landauer@dallasnews.com>
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2011 4:05 PM
Subject: Re: Sounding Off (Central)

HB 916 would abolish corporal punishment in schools.

This week's question:

Should the Texas Legislature forbid paddling in all public schools?

Important Note: Thank you for being part of the Sounding Off mailing list. Your response is due at 12 p.m. on Thursday to be considered for publication on Sunday. To respond, reply directly to this e-mail. Do not create a new e-mail or alter the subject line in any way. Doing so makes it impossible for our system to properly sort your response. Please limit your responses to two or three sentences and sign your response with your name and city (or neighborhood/part of town, if in Dallas).

Wondering why you never get published? There are two common reasons why someone is routinely passed over. It's usually because they do not include their name and city. We don't need your full address and contact information, as we do with a letter to the editor. But we do need your name and city (or neighborhood, if you live in Dallas). The other common reason is length. We're looking for sharp, concise responses, especially ones that are unexpected. Short responses are more likely to be chosen.

Michael Landauer

Assistant Editorial Page Editor for Reader Engagement

The Dallas Morning News

============================

my response

============================

Re: Sounding Off (Central)

That would not be prudent.

If students are going to be trapped like animals, it will at times be necessary to treat them like animals.

Tim Lebsack

Dallas

Identify This

2011-03-21T16:14:00.012-05:00

It is a spring, around 9 inches long, smaller around than a pencil.

Sorry for the poor photograph. I was attempting to show that the steel wire stays in contact with itself throughout the winding.


Now for the real hints. This is the primary component of a piece of machinery. Probably greater than 50% of American households possess this machine or something that performs the same duty. I'm told that few Europeans would own a tool that performs this function. When not removed from the tool, this spring is not straight but twisted into a shape resembling a hybrid blending of symbols @ & %.

Usual stakes, a pint of barley pop to the winner.

Good Luck !!

Visiting Mount Rushmore Soon

2011-03-21T12:03:00.004-05:00

http://www.nps.gov/moru//images/20071203125112.JPG

“Any people, anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right, a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world.” – Abraham Lincoln

Visiting Mount Rushmore Soon

Family Reunion 2011.

A few of A. Lincoln's characteristics.

Opposed racial equality.

Supported the legal rights of slaveholders.

Defended a slaveholder against his runaway slave.

Proposed strengthening the Fugitive Slave law.

Opposed black citizenship in Illinois or their right to immigrate to that state.

Failed to peacefully emancipate the slaves as was accomplished in most other places.

Lincoln's war was the only "war of emancipation" in the 19th century.

Nullified emancipation of slaves in Missouri and Georgia early in the war.

Sent troops into New York City to quell draft riots related to his emancipation proclamation, resulting in 300 to 1,000 deaths.

Started a war that took the lives of 670,000 soldiers and civilians.

Was an enemy of free market capitalism.

Refused to see Napoleon III of France who offered to mediate the dispute.

Illegally declared martial law.

Illegally blockaded ports.

Illegally imprisoned thousands of Northern citizens.

Tolerated the arrest of ministers who refused to pray for Lincoln.

Placed Kansas and Kentucky under martial law.

Laying the groundwork for the establishment of conscription and income taxation as permanent institutions.

Rigged elections in Maryland and elsewhere in the North.

Prevented opposition newspapers from being delivered by the post office.

Executed those who refused to take a loyalty oath.

Burned and plundered Southern cites.

Unlawfully quartered troops in private homes.

Allowed an unjust mass execution of Sioux Indians in Minnesota.

Waged war on civilians by bombing, destruction of homes, and confiscation of food and farm equipment.

Used civilians as hostages.

Ending slavery by means that created turbulence that continues to this day.

Read a more comprehensive list here.

Lincoln Unmasked

The Real Lincoln

What Would You Do With A Pile Of Canadian Maple ??

2011-03-21T10:31:00.000-05:00

This is what they do with Canadian Maple in Dresden.

HT: Richard Forsythe