OPINION

I'm still sorting, but here's a snapshot of today's e-mail:

Lots of election letters, both for and against the candidates recommended on our Sunday pages. Look for these on our editorial and community opinions pages. And yes, there are two separate elections, to answer one writer, and you have to choose to vote.

Health care -- a few, both for and against.

Several letters on the pilot who crashed into the IRS offices in Austin. Most of them decried the act. Several criticized the linkage of the Austin case with the Tea Party movement.

Stephanie Mueller's column on the property tax drew letters on both sides.

Thank goodness we don't have a flood of letters on the same subject today. We did have a good, solid commentary on local and national issues.

Debra Medina is probably the most-discussed person in the news. Specifically, readers discussed whether her comments on 9/11 hurt or helped her. One reader pledged his vote, even though he didn't agree with her on 9/11.

I didn't keep a formal count, but I did notice a good many letters about the weather.

This morning, I came in to about double our usual volume of letters. Sometimes we get 2,000 letters when we get hung up in a loop with our auto-reply answering someone else's autoreply, but this wasn't that many.

It turned out that a good chunk of the extra letters were advocating that Congress "finish the job" on health care. We always get a good deal of personal testimonials about how people are affected by the health care system -- on both sides.

Is Apple's new tablet overhyped? After all, the L.A. Times story on our Web site opens like so: "Not since biblical times has the arrival of a tablet been greeted with such anticipation." Check the Technology blog for updates as Apple unveils its new product.

Is the excitement over the top? No, I submit, although I am a gadget freak at heart, and that should be taken into consideration. (But no, please, don't take my dead-tree books away!)

It's from Apple. You need to use an Apple product to understand.

This morning, look what came up with the library system's opening page:

This is a model in the Paris fashion show. My eye was drawn to this photo because of its bizarre nature, at least in my humble opinion. But then, fashion is always ahead of me, anyway.

When I pulled it up to get a better look, I couldn't help thinking of this, although, fellow geezers, she WAS before my time:

Yep, it's actress Carmen Miranda.

We received more letters about the Supreme Court ruling on corporations' political contributions over the weekend. So far, I can't remember any that support the ruling. It's unusual to have such volume of letters that agree on anything.

Other hot topics include the election in Massachusetts, health care and Fox News. We also received a few letters telling us that the Mesquite ISD/Pugh family dispute over hair length was over-covered in the media. E-mail to letters@dallasnews.com or fill out the form here.

Generally, the volume of letters is picking up over the past couple of weeks. Good. Keep those letters coming.

Since the convention industry is meeting in Dallas this week (yes, a convention for convention planners), we asked our Sounding Off list members what should be a part of their meetings -- what's to see, to know, to experience about North Texas. What they told us is on the next screen.

But, in the meantime, if you'd like to join in the fun, please send your full contact information to communityopinions@dallasnews.com. Or comment here.

After a recent brush on this blog with about a half-dozen Texas Tech fans madder than hornets, I found Jeffrey Zaslow's story in today's Wall Street Journal particularly interesting.

Zaslow begins by describing a segment of society that says "harsh and harmful" things about each other. "Encouraged by the snarkiness in pop culture today, they seem more sarcastic than past generations," he writes.

Furthermore, we no longer shed those "snarky" comments as we age or move to new schools or jobs. With the Internet, this gossip follows us wherever we go.

After wading through lots of spam, I can report that we have hotly worded letters on:

1. The Mike Leach firing at Texas Tech
2. Health care
3. Airline security
4. The new year

Read on for details ...

Issues on letter writers' minds today include:

1. Terror on the airplane in Detroit.
2. Texan of the year
3. A letter by Bennie Haynes that chastises The Dallas Morning News for publishing the offer for a free Nobel Peace Prize with an oil change. Readers chastised Mr. Haynes for saying the offer is "a knock on our president."

Everyone's soured on the health care bill, if our inbox is any indication. We've seen considerable opposition to the proposal, even as it appears likely that the measure will pass.

The second hot topic of the weekend/Monday morning is Taylor Pugh's hairstyle. Many wrote to discuss whether he should get a haircut to conform with Mesquite ISD's requirements. This despite as a couple of letter writers who chastised The Dallas Morning News for making hay of an unfortunate situation ... or giving Taylor's parents more than 15 minutes of fame.

Hot topics in the inbox this morning include:

-- Health care
-- Southwest Center Mall
-- Still, the BCS playoff proposal
-- Iran
-- A military draft
-- The economy
-- Climate change

It's high school football playoff time. Fall is in the air, Thanksgiving is around the corner and letter writers' minds are on -- Jerry Jones?

Yes, letter writers are incensed that Jones doesn't display a permanent flag at Cowboys Stadium. It seems that event organizers are responsible for providing a flag, and the high school playoff games have so far been flagless.

Our writers' best lines included:

This week, a preview of a letter that responds to the Saturday letter Sharon labeled "Best 'letter to the editor' from our weekend pages."

As of this moment, Sharon's entry has collected more than 40 comments. But only one letter to the editor debated the comparison of today's terrorism with the actions of the Ku Klux Klan in earlier time.

This morning we were flooded with e-mails about today's story on the woman who received a ticket during a traffic stop for not be able to speak English.

Whew! What an outpouring of anger from readers who thought it was the driver who should feel humiliated for not learning English. We did receive a few letters from readers who defended the woman.They noted that it is not a traffic offense for automobile drivers to be unable to speak English.

Many of these letter writers did not submit their addresses. Many did not submit names, either. We can't publish those letters in the newspaper. But that's OK -- there are many more to pick from.

Good morning, and welcome to the world of angry, upset and -- yes, even mellow -- people.

We heard from DART riders to the fair who fought the crowds on Texas-OU weekend. Most of them were angry voices, but not all. Here are some excerpts:

This week, we collected opinions on whom we trust, whether in City Hall, Austin or Washington, D.C.

I didn't make an extensive study of it, but I did notice that a couple of names came up multiple times and not necessarily from people who are represented by the politician in question. These officeholders and retired pols included: (drum roll, please)

1. Laura Miller
2. Florence Shapiro

Continue to see more comments from our Voices columnists and other Sounding Off respondents.

This week, we are only publishing two Leading Questions. (Send your brief rhetorical questions to lq@dallasnews.com.)

Both just happen to be on the Nobel Peace Prize, probably the most written-about topic this week:

It was obvious that President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize would be the subject of much of our mail this morning. Even so, I underestimated the response. I believe both those who favor the president being awarded the prize and those who disagreed with it weighed in evenly, if you count those who wrote that Hitler could be awarded the prize next. If you don't, those who favor the award had the edge.

Here are some snippets, chosen at random, from the letters we received:

Leading Questions returns this week after a few weeks' hiatus.

This week, we present a collection of the partisan and the political, plus a question that may have been on your mind:

Update: Last month, Community Voice Casey Cavalier wrote about a University of Texas at Arlington Student Congress resolution. This resolution, while not binding on UTA's administration, would have recommended stuffing the paper version of the UTA newspaper, The Shorthorn, permanently in the recycle bin.

Tuesday, the Student Congress Community Affairs committee took that idea out of the resolution. So it looks like The Shorthorn dodged the bullet after all.

Whew! Sorting the letters this morning was challenging -- the sheer volume was overwhelming.

Stay with me, and I'll give a rundown of the hot topics. Hint: I don't know why it surprised me, but David Letterman and Roman Polanski were two.

For once, people who sent us letters over the weekend are not zeroing in on any one subject. That is, unless you count several irate letters directed at the Rod Dreher and Mark Davis columns yesterday. My advice: Read 'em and write.

Over on the letters side of the blog, there is some stimulating discussion on Big Oil and gasoline prices. Mark Rubin, executive director of the Society of Petroleum Engineers in Richardson wrote one of the letters in the package, and he has been online in the comments section defending his point of view.

In other letters ...

We asked our Sounding Off list members:

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' latest epic work -- The National Parks: America's Best Idea -- debuts on PBS tonight. Are public parks still relevant in an age of unlimited entertainment options?

You can comment on this question here on the blog. Or if you'd like to answer a weekly question via e-mail for possible publication, send an e-mail to communityopinions@dallasnews.com. Send your full contact information.

And now, read on for a peek at what our readers said about national parks.

This morning, our electronic mailbox was stuffed with letters about the "Patriots or Pinheads? Tea party movement must contain its extremes" editorial published on Thursday -- as well as many about the new Cowboys stadium.

Many readers responding to the editorial on the tea party protest in Washington criticized what they felt was a minimizing of the movement, as did several who responded to the Wednesday Viewpoints column "Tea parties vs. the polls -- Protesters' anger not reflected in recent numbers, says Ezra Klein."

The mantra during August (and really the entire summer) for letters has been "health care." Government programs acceptable. Government programs unacceptable. Tort reform. Insurance reform. Personal stories.

Finally, it appears that health care letters are on the wane. Maybe it's that people have written everything there is to write about the subject. Or maybe our letter writers are busy with preparations for the first week of school. Oh, don't get me wrong. There are plenty of health care letters today. It's just that it doesn't dominate the conversation as much.

What did? Read on.

Letters to the editor are pouring in on both sides of the health care issue today. We're taking a lot of heat for the editorial this morning -- but others are congratulating us on it.

Many, many writers are relating their personal health care problems -- spending $50K for joint replacements (including insurance premiums), working just for the health insurance, being on public assistance after spending everything on health care (that last from two writers).

Others are saying that the town hall meetings here held by Rep. Pete Sessions wasn't as bad as our letter writer wrote on Monday. Several physicians wrote in, mostly to oppose the proposed legislation.

Whew! Back to the inbox.

Over on the letters side of the blog, bicyclists and non-bicyclists are going after it. As a reformed quasi-serious cyclist (how's that for qualifications), I have to say: No matter how you slice it, bicyclists do have a right to ride -- on the road. That's the law.

This whole thing started because Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a bill that would have made driving within three feet of bicyclists against the law. Cyclists counted on Perry to support the bill because he is one of them. You'll recall that he broke his collarbone while riding in Austin, and he has ridden in Wichita Falls' Hotter 'n Hell bicycle rally.

Tempers are flaring over whether bicyclists run stop signs or drivers don't yield. There are rude drivers and rude bicyclists. Which side of the road do you travel on?

I'd like to open up a discussion on something other than health care.

This morning's story, "HOV cheaters on Central ticketed," brought forth three e-mails from readers who cheered the enforcement effort. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," wrote one. No one wrote to say the officers had been unfair or that the enforcement was a bad idea.

Now, as a regular HOV user in the south (Interstate 35E going north most mornings), I would like to see a continuing effort to enforce the speed limit and two-passenger rule there.

Like most people with a weight problem, I have a keen interest in news about food -- what's good for you, what will help you lose those pounds and what beats what, nutritionally.

So the news that Parkland hospital is replacing its McDonald's outlet with an Urban Taco and a UFood Grill caught my eye.

The print version of our story (page 5D today) compared the numbers for UFood Grill and McDonald's. Did the UFood Grill's offerings win, nutritionally? I would say so, but there were some surprises.

All those people who said speculators drove the price of oil up in the last big spike are apparently right. Late last night, The Wall Street Journal reported:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission plans to issue a report next month suggesting speculators played a significant role in driving wild swings in oil prices.

This was a total about-face for them, and it confirms what many people believed. (And many of our letter writers.) Today, they're vindicated.

People who e-mailed us letters over the weekend and this morning were passionate about:

• the series of stories and editorials about where President Barack Obama was born
• John Cornyn's announced "no" vote on Sonia Sotomayor
• the editorial published Sunday headlined "A Vote for Greater Good -- Gates pushes Congress to right place in killing F-22"
• the controversy over Harvard president Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s arrest in Cambridge, Mass., and Obama's comments
• health care, health care, health care
• the HOV lanes around town
• Mark Cuban
• Mercedes Olivera's Saturday column on Voter ID

Friends of the library groups all over the city and its suburbs are helping libraries, in varying degrees, to buy additional materials, support programs, even purchasing furniture and landscaping for the building in these hard times.

I've never heard about a Friends group that is not actively seeking donations and volunteer labor to help with book sales, an important source of revenue. The Dallas Friends Web site is one place to begin.

After sorting the e-mail this morning, I have to conclude: Health care, health care, health care.

We received around 30 letters about President Barack Obama's health care initiative. After skimming them, I have to conclude that most are counseling Congress to wait and further consider the proposals, while others point out flaws they perceive in the plan. We have fewer people this week describing problems they have had with our current health care system.

Other hot topics include:

I appreciate the letters we're getting on preventing wrong-way driving on the Dallas North Tollway. But writers should know why we're not running the ones about the tire spikes that puncture tires on cars that are going the wrong way. You know, SMU had those (do they still?) to prevent you from entering a parking lot the wrong way.

We reported last month that these tire strips won't work for the Tollway:

Permanent spikes are not designed to stop vehicles traveling at highway speeds; drivers can lose control of vehicles that cross them. They could also restrict access for emergency vehicles.

Just so you'll know.

When I came in to work this morning, I was expecting to find lots of letters about Sarah Palin inspired by the story we ran this morning.

But the cupboard was bare. I'd guess people have been inundated with comments on Palin -- we've had quite a few on letters here and here. Or maybe, like me, a lot of people out there are still a little sleepy this morning.

We did receive several on Dick Cheney and secrecy working off the stories over the weekend and today.

McNamara's death on Monday inspired a couple of local letter writers to examine his admission of guilt in the Vietnam War.

From Don Hopper of Flint:

Heaven forbid that any criticism should fall upon the shoulders of President Kennedy, whose assassination elevated him to the status of "Saint" by the American press. It his idea to send in "advisors", in the form of the Green Berets, ignoring the fact that the French lost a multi decade war in Indo China (Viet Nam). Regular troops were added and multiplied by Johnson. Neither had the good sense to get out before it got completely out of hand.

First there was the story that the British were getting rid of that "i before e" spelling rhyme that all of us Boomers learned. Of course, that was before Schoolhouse Rock, and it was all we had, pitiful as it was.

The British figured that it was irrelevant and confusing (according to NPR).

Then the letter writers rolled up their sleeves and fired off two missives on the subject.

This weekend and this morning, the dominant themes in letters to the editor in our inbox included:

• Cap and trade bill


• The proposed renaming of Young Street as Cesar Chavez Street


• The story on Sunday: "Guns, and faith, on full display -- Louisville churchgoers bring unloaded weapons to celebrate 2nd Amendment."


• Michael Jackson's death

Amazing. Chicken news shows up on the radar (again): Mariana Greene reports on the East Dallas blog that North Haven Gardens has been told that their newly hatched chicken supply businesses must go.

North Haven noticed the growing number of city dwellers raising chickens and planned to become a one-stop source for chicken supplies, including a hen exchange.

But, Mariana reports that the city got a zoning complaint, and the store is backing off its most ambitious plans. General manager Leslie Halleck says she is going to work with the city, although the nursery did get the necessary permits beforehand.

The weekend's e-mail included:

• several observations on the evolving situation in Iraq
• around 10 letters about health care ... I haven't sorted the pro-public health care from the con, but there are good presentations on both sides.
• a couple on streetcars in downtown Dallas, a subject which several letter writers address last week, too

About those streetcars:

How can I not blog this from Ed Matza of Plano?

Why does a letter selected for print in The Dallas Morning News letters-to-the-editor page require a photo illustrating the letter's main point? The picture of a citrus fruit display added nothing to the author's message of "Reform starts with food policy" in Monday's edition; and, it occupied approximately 12 column inches displacing the potential selection of a brilliant, incisive commentary such as this one you're reading now.

Should you decide to illustrate this letter, if chosen for print, show a picture of an old grumpy geezer holding the DMN; that's me.

Please see here for the letter in question and a photo of carrots instead of citrus. Is that an improvement?

Thank you, Susan Chizeck. You really made my day.

You see, Ms. Chizeck wrote in to say that $80 million for streetcars seems excessive. Not only that, once developed, the system would be fairly rigid, what with the tracks and all.

Ms. Chizeck suggests that we bring back Hop-a-Buses downtown. Who, besides me, remembers the Hop-a-Bus?

This morning, I found the following in our weekend mailbox:

-- Much discussion about the David Letterman "joke" (editorial comment intended) about Sarah Palin's daughter. (This appeared on page 8A of Saturday's paper.) If memory serves, everyone agrees that his comment was in exceptionally poor taste. Most people found no redeeming virtue in Letterman's remarks at all. Some replied that it was not the only joke in poor taste by an apparently partisan observer of the political scene. One writer observed that by allowing her daughter to appear on the cover of People magazine (and I'm not sure that story was sanctioned by the Palin family), Ms. Palin gave up her daughter's rights to privacy. My guess is that she is a public figure, like it or not. However, we can still be steamed about the remark, and readers surely are.

I love reading about what to read. Sometimes I think I even like the subject better than actually reading a book. So I thought I'd take a moment on this summer Friday afternoon and write about some of the lists that are out there.

You can go to two extremes when recommending summer reading or, of course, take the middle way. You can go for the beach book -- fluffy reads that don't require a lot of concentration -- or you can tackle the heavyweights. I love to read Cynthia Crossen in The Wall Street Journal. Today, she offers suggestions on what reading groups should read. She writes: "A few summers ago, I tackled 'War and Peace' and was rewarded not only with a great piece of literature but also pride that I'd broken out of the beach-book ghetto."

OK, blog reader Scot Walker challenges me on whether Rush Limbaugh actually called for a boycott of GM: "You fell for a hoax. Try being objective."

So I went back to the Internet and did some more research. Here's what The Detroit News reported:

"Nobody wants to support an Obama company," Rush Limbaugh told his audience Friday, citing a poll showing that 17 percent of Americans backed a boycott of GM.

"Every dollar spent with GM is a dollar spent against free enterprise," conservative talker Hugh Hewitt wrote online last week.

The popular, controversial Limbaugh didn't outright call for a boycott, but said he understood why people would want to avoid GM vehicles. "They don't want to patronize Obama. They don't want to do anything to make Obama's policies work."

Barack Obama took his wife out for dinner and a Broadway show in May. Here we are eight days into June, and the letter writers are still dissecting whether it was a reasonable expense.

This weekend alone, I counted 10 letters discussing the concept of the Obama date night. They were overwhelmingly in favor of the president being allowed some time off with his wife. This was many more letters than we received about the president's D-Day speech.

Maybe what started it all was "Movie date broke the bank" by Jo Kirkbride in the Sunday letters stack.

Thanks to Bill Holston of Dallas for raising my consciousness of the 20th anniversary tomorrow of the violent end of the Tiananmen Square gathering of Chinese dissidents. We also had a story on page 11A about the Chinese shutting down access to social networking sites in anticipation of the anniversary.

Mr. Holston writes:

Maybe it's just because I've been reading the inbox for the Letters to the Editor, but I have the sense that we are becoming (for lack of a better word) meaner and less tolerant of others' perspectives.

Or maybe the Letters is a place that it's OK to vent in a frustrating time.

Do you find people in general are less tolerant than years ago? More aggressive in traffic? Quicker to pick a fight?

The e-mail I received was a clear plea:

hi from galveston island..the students of gisd did a video on hurricane ike..see it at ikedocumentary.com they want to go to festivals and need your support..many lost everything..plz go to oprah.com and suggest she have the students on her show...we need you guys...show your support..afterall , we all are texas even us in the gulf of mexico..thanks

So, I went to ikedocumentary.com to see the trailer for this film that premieres this week in Galveston.

This week, we asked our Sounding Off contributors to name a place to live they would recommend to a newcomer -- not their own town.

We got some duplication (Fort Worth), but there was some interesting reasoning behind the Sounding Off respondents' choices. Maybe there's an idea there for a weekday or weekend jaunt for you.

As a young copyeditor, I once asked, while working on a State Fair Auto Show special section, "Who makes Chrysler?"

Now I know: It's Fiat.

In a change of pace, since Jim Mitchell has already covered the serious part of this news, I ask those who have owned a Fiat to recount their memories of the car. And I'll take memories (even current) from Chrysler owners too.

You won't find this as a letter to the editor entry, but I had to post it. This short letter came in from out of state, I'm guessing from the postal markings on the envelope. It was unsigned.

Sirs,
Secession is a great idea for Texas. Kindly take Oklahoma with you. Bye, bye.

P.S. Thank you, God!

This morning's Metro story about the expanded smoking ban segued into the question of what to do with "the declining" Southwest Center Mall in southwest Dallas. The mall is located at the intersection of State Highway 67 and Interstate 20.

The City Council authorized $120,000 to study what to do with the mall, including "access issues from Interstate 20."

Part of the problem lies with the abandonment of the mall concept. But the bleeding goes deeper, with so many of the mall's merchants moving to Cedar Hill's Uptown Village.

And another thing: I was pleased to see Marcus Martin's op-ed column today about the virtues of a college education.

Often, we see headlines and columns that say or infer: "Is a college education really necessary?" and "College is not for everyone."

Maybe college is not for everyone. I don't dispute that. But in my own experience, a college education can be worth even the hyper-expensive cost, even for student who appears to be incapable of college, and here's why:

A while back, I got an e-mail urging me to vote in the May election for a homestead exemption cap for seniors.

Last week, the Texas secretary of state released a statement saying that no constitutional amendments are on the May ballot -- and to disregard all e-mails to that effect.

Here's the text of the e-mail I received:

I can't believe that there are no comments on this letter, at least as of now: "Disorder is no defense," by Lucia Aguirre.

Ms. Aguirre makes a couple of statements that seem comment-worthy to me:

• "I disagree that a mere case of depression is reason enough to take the life of an innocent child who cannot defend itself." To be sure, she does add: "There are plenty of treatments and medications that help fight this struggle that so many endure." I guess the term "mere depression" that got my attention, but perhaps it was just a case of unfortunate wording.


• "If a woman is so mentally unstable that she feels the need to mutilate herself and her children, then she needs psychiatric help and thorough evaluation by a professional."

Lots of comments this morning about Don Mathis' letter, "Another route to fewer divorces." He suggests that state Rep. Warren Chisum's proposal to require a course before a couple could divorce be modified so that more men get custody.

"Most of the poor-me-I-have-to-pay-child-support stories I've heard come from losers (male and female) who were failed partners and parents in the first place," writes allen_girl, and some agreed. The conversation includes comments on when divorce is a necessary evil. "Seriously, the vast majority of divorces today are result because one side or the other doesn't want to work through issues, and I'm not talking about physical abuse, infidelity etc.," writes Peterk.

I type this to encourage you to add your comments, either here or on the letters portion of the blog. Or write an old-fashioned e-mail to the editor here.

Now he's done it: George Stephanopoulos (the spelling bain of Letters to the Editor writers) has interviewed John McCain via Twitter.

What is Twitter, you ask? It is a Web site that asks for a brief update on what you're doing or thinking. The defining characteristic of Twitter is that it only allows you 140 characters -- perfect for the brief attention span of the Web and an obvious candidate for a mobile phone app -- to "tweet" on your current thoughts. You can follow other people and get updates from them -- and other people can follow you.

So, anyway, back to our story -- George Stephanopoulos interviewed John McCain on Twitter. It was sound-bite answers to sound-bite questions.

The question today is: Would you read a Twitterview? Is this the coming thing -- or has it, as The Christian Science Monitor asked -- jumped the shark? Are you on Twitter? Why or why not?

Here's our uplifting Sounding Off question to set the tone for the rest of your weekend:

Everywhere you turn, there's bad economic news. But what gives you hope?

People on our Sounding Off list offered varied evidence that, in the midst of what seems to be an endless stream of bad news on the nation's economy, there is hope for recovery.

Click on to receive some of their responses.

This week, we asked our Sounding Off respondents if they would support a 7-cent fee on plastic shopping bags if it would discourage their use and promote recycling programs.

It just so happens that state Rep. Rafael Anchía has made such a proposal. We found opinion split on the question, with many saying that they already eschewed plastic bags and supply their own cloth bags. Or mean to, anyway -- although, as in my case, these good intentions are sometimes thwarted by forgetfulness.

Many who didn't like the idea were mostly against new tax proposals in general, feeling that this one might set a precedent. Still others proposed ways to achieve the same goals without adding a tax.

Whether you drive on them or not, HOV lanes seem to draw controversy. We asked our Sounding Off respondents what they would change to make HOV lanes more effective at improving traffic and cleaning the air.

Many of them thought we shouldn't have HOV lanes at all -- that we should open up those lanes to everyone, either during non-rush hours or all the time. Some were concerned that there isn't enough enforcement on HOV lanes.

Some of the answers may surprise you. Keep reading to check them out.

What's that Sen. Everett Dirksen said? (And I'm old enough to remember this firsthand.) "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money."

I'm guessing most of us have sticker shock over the price tag of the housing bailout, for one thing. And for another, those of us who've been faithfully paying the mortgage, who have bought an affordable (for us) house, have a right to be indignant, seems to me. If that's how you feel, please feel free to vent here.

Another point, though, before I release you: How beneficial is it for all of us, for the responsible ones who have been lucky enough to get and keep a job (sometimes we get one and not the other, you know), to live on a street where neighboring houses feature see-through windows and those little foreclosure notices stuck on the window? Frankly, I see a lot of merit in this argument.

People are talking about the letter by Linda Jackson of Grand Prairie, which is the second one in the print letters stack this morning.

Ms. Jackson comments on the Viewpoints column about Michelle Obama's wardrobe. Ms. Jackson says she doesn't care what Ms. Obama wears. The economy's going to the dogs, and we're worried about what's in Michelle Obama's closet, Ms. Jackson points out.

I don't care what Michelle Obama wears either, but then I've never been one to follow fashion anyway. But people apparently care enough to comment. Drop down past the letter to see the comments they've added to the conversation.

Then gaze upon this photo, which shows thousands of would-be job applicants who waited to apply for one of 35 firefighter positions in Miami. The Wall Street Journal reports in a cutline to a similar photo that some stood in line overnight.

Yes. At long last, the revival of the high-speed train concept for Texas. And what a luxury it would be to ride quickly to Austin (or Houston). Maybe you would even pass the choked corridors of Interstate 35 or Interstate 45.

Michael Lindenberger reports this morning that state Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, sees a need for changes in the regional rail plan before it will get a hearing.

Some of the questions Carona foresees involve how we're going to pay for this thing. And how to vote on that -- regionally or by city. Some possibilities for financing include:

• a higher gas tax


• a hike in property taxes


• new vehicle registration fees

So, given this, I wonder how many favor an expansion of rail to the suburbs ... and more topically, how would we pay for it?

In this week's Sounding Off, we asked: "What do you expect to change in your life as a result of President Barack Obama's first 100 days in office?"

Many of our volunteer Voices columnists and respondents on the Sounding Off mailing list expect great things, whether they are measurable achievements, like creating jobs, or intangibles, like creating hope. Many others say they expect nothing at all.

Keep reading to see what they wrote -- and to log your own comments as well.

We asked our Voices columnists and our Sounding Off respondents to name what they hope the Texas Legislature will accomplish this year.

Some themes emerged, from health care to job growth to enhancing education. Please read the rest of the blog entry to see the details and respond with your own push for our Lege.

Driving is on my mind on this rainy, cold day. I'm grateful we dodged the ice, but still ...

As we're driving these days, my husband and I often see cars veer across the center stripe. We see people driving slowly, then speeding up as they take their phones from their ears. I have heard people in the media (uh-oh) quote research studies (double uh-oh) that show that people on cellphones are as distracted as those who have been drinking. And I gave up talking on the cellphone while driving only after three incidents: two near-misses (one with a DART bus) and once finding myself in the oncoming lane of traffic after hanging up.

Today, we publish what our Voices volunteer columnists would like to see in the New Year, and what they'd like to leave behind.

Some of their responses are continued after the jump ...

This being my third tour of duty at the News, I worked with Paul Crume. I remember him slapping his knee at some joke over on the news desk.

Every year, we publish his column on angels, and, while maybe some are tired of the tradition, I enjoy it. It's a link to the past at the News.

I'd be curious how many read it, and what those of you who did thought of it. Oh yes, this undated photo shows Frank McGrath and Paul Crume (left to right).

Today, we are publishing Christmas wishes for the community as our special holiday Sounding Off.

So what's your wish? We have suggestions for bike trails, public transit for Arlington, a town square for Plano and improved DART train cars. That's not counting lofty ideals like peace and the elimination of a need for charities.

Here are some of the wishes our Voices expressed:

... picker-up of cow patties.

Yes. This photo, by freelancer Brandon Thibodeaux, shows some of High Island's cattle population grazing on the High Island Cardinals' field after Hurricane Ike hit. Seems like the football field is a high spot on town, which sits atop a salt dome and is already higher than the neighboring communities.

Well, this is a no-brainer: The automaker bailout is a must for Topic of the Day. I apologize for the duplication of commentary, but I guess I have a different take. And the awesome power of the Topic of the Day passed to me today.

It's up to President George W. Bush now to provide funding for the Big Three, since the Senate took a pass.

My question: How important is the principle of the thing? We all know that the auto workers have generous benefits and pay. We all know that they have a reputation for building car/truck/SUV behemoths. (Although, in fairness, we bought into that as a society, and the foreign automakers were turning them out too.) Quality issues bother some. Yes, we all have bailout fatigue.

My caveat: I drive a Chevy Malibu and like it. I live in a neighborhood with at least several auto workers whom I know of. Our house value will probably be hit hard if GM goes down. I think the United Auto Workers should blink and accept lower pay and benefits. I think we should prop up the auto industry financially, and, if we don't, I think we will see Japan do that for their auto manufacturers eventually.

Another caveat: The editorial board is on the record as opposing an automaker bailout.

And now for something completely different -- something worthy of Mike Hashimoto, I hope.

The question of the day is: How much sense does it make to have a Final Four matchup in a stadium that will allow 93,000 fans to watch it? That would "shatter the NCAA's attendance record," which was in the Louisiana Superdome with 64,959 fans attending.

And our story's sidebar this morning mentions that the Cowboys would like to host tennis. Tennis! Who would be able to see the ball? We'll all be watching on TV.

The following Community Opinions columns, which will run in the newspaper tomorrow, have been posted in the Op-Ed section online:

David Perdue: My post-election wish list
In the past few years, things have changed rapidly here in Arlington. A thriving old town-type shopping village, natural gas derricks, hotels, highways, thousands of SUVs built at the GM assembly plant and the new Dallas Cowboys stadium all have reflected the progress. Just recently, campaign yard signs became the newest sign of the times in my neighborhood, though Obama signs were as scarce as dandelions on Wimbledon's Yard of the Month.

Abdul Dosunmub: The case for civic engagement
In 1955, a young minister hitched his wagon to politics.

In a speech before the Montgomery Improvement Association that year, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "We are here this evening for serious business. We are here in a general sense because first and foremost we are American citizens, and we are determined to apply our citizenship to the fullness of its meaning. We are here because of our love for democracy, because of our deep-seated belief that democracy transformed from thin paper to thick action is the greatest form of government on earth."

David McClure: The power of failure
Has anyone seen Tommy E.? We sure could use him now. I miss him in the halls at school as well as on the field during football practice. The lessons of Tommy E. are long lost in the world we live in today.

You see, Tommy E. was a great failure. That is, he failed in a great way.

Emily Schneider: A day in February
We constantly want. Whether it's the new iPod or Playstation, Jimmy Choos or a Jaguar convertible, we somehow always have our eye set on something we do not have. It can be big or small, expensive or cheap, but if we want it, that's what we'll focus on until we get it.

Nellsyn Elizabeth Hill: Lessons from my cat
My bed was calling to me. It had been an exhausting summer weekend full of birthday parties and my first beauty pageant. I kicked off my shoes, let Kitty - my cat - in from the backyard, and trudged up the stairs.

Today, we report that House Republicans are planning strategy sessions this week at the Lost Pines Resort & Spa near Austin.

Nothing wrong with that. However, the Republicans are seeking "unlimited corporate and personal contributions" to finance these sessions.

The following columns and editorials will be published in Saturday's paper and are available now online:

Editorial: DISD bangs the drum for veterans
Veterans, of course, are the focus of any Veterans Day event. But the drums and the trumpets and the tubas and the drums - they give the day a powerful beat, a strong and steady pulse. The wreath ceremonies, the roll calls, the flyovers - they are all vital parts of a day set aside to express our gratitude to those who have protected our nation. But these tributes would be lacking without the bands.

Hits and Misses
Global meltdown, but maybe some local relief

Clay Boatright: For people with developmental disabilities, 2008 is 1964
It is startling to see your life depicted on a television show, especially when that show is a top-rated crime drama. This week's episode of Law & Order , titled "Challenged," showcased the challenges facing millions of American families, including mine.

Froma Harrop: America's a land of ideas, not ethnicities
I'm delighted that Barack Obama has been elected president and that foreigners are delighted, too. But I never viewed eliciting delight from non-Americans a reason for choosing a president, including one of color.

Eugene Robinson: Awkward encounters with stereotypes will make us all better
Barack Obama's election victory may have been good for the country, but it's been awful for comedians. Just ask poor Don Rickles.

Sharon Astyk: Helping our children through this financial crisis
There are a lot of worried parents these days. Jobs and savings are disappearing, and people are struggling to get by. Worried adults mean a lot of scared and stressed-out children as they pick up on their concerns. This is, unfortunately, a normal consequence of hard times, and even the best of parents transmit their fears to their kids. So how do we give them a measure of security and stability?

Over in the Op-Ed section, you'll find the weekend offerings of our Community Voices -- and an introduction of new voices for 2008-09:

They're raising their voices
Introducing the Community Voices volunteer columnists: They will be regular contributors of columns on this page and featured contributors to Thursday's weekly Sounding Off feature.

Lynn Sipiora: Homeless in Collin County
Homelessness is on the rise, and homeless families are the fastest growing number in the homeless population. Single moms, single dads and intact families show up at our door every day after spending weeks on a relative's couch or living in their cars.

Ellen Raff: JFK: The way he was
In today's culture of celebrity, there are no unsullied heroes. The antics of entertainers are reported alongside those of our political leaders, and they all make the rounds of the same late-night talk shows. It is through this prism that we look back at one of our most glamorous and charismatic presidents, John F. Kennedy.

The following columns from our Community, Teacher and Student Voices are now posted in the Op-Ed section:

Liz Fleskes: Obama's classroom challenge
It's not easy being new. This is the cold, hard fact that faces Barack Obama, a fact that he has in common with many new teachers.

Erin Goldman: California gay marriage vote negates fundamental freedom
The day after the election, I woke up invincible; Barack Obama was elected to serve as the president of the United States of America. The voting population looked past the color of the man's skin and voted for him based upon merit.

Davia Madariaga: An election to remember
Call me a cockeyed optimist, but I have hope. No, I'm not about to bash John McCain or praise Barack Obama, but I am about to talk about our future - our children. They are simply amazing. In a good way.

Ron Miller: Robertson Park right for Rowlett
In a recent Rowlett City Council meeting, Mayor John Harper said the city would be in a position to purchase a portion of Robertson Park from Dallas by the end of this calendar year. That is good. Mayor Harper further said that Rowlett would not purchase anything it couldn't afford. That, too, is good.

Melissa Flandreau: My brilliant career
As evidenced by "Trapped on the Moon," a short story I wrote in third grade, I've always liked writing. Although some might consider my friend Emily rescuing me with her own spaceship a deus ex machina, at the very least, my 8-year-old self had a flair for the creative.

The following Sunday columns are now posted:

Lynne Sipiora: Homeless in Collin County
Ms. Sipiora is director of the only homeless shelter in Collin County. This week, she describes one of her soon-to-be former clients, in the first of a series of profiles for our Community Opinions pages.

Margaret Lucyk: Hearing more than the accent
Ms. Lucyk, a bilingual education teacher in the Irving ISD, urges us to open up to the ways of other cultures.

Alfonso Correa: My source of hope
I could see the future on election night, writes Mr. Correa. An English teacher, he describes the outcome through his students' words.

Michael Hopkovitz: A world-class infrastructure
We could have this, if the city began to think ahead, writes Mr. Hopkovitz: Imagine the parks, libraries and other projects we could build for the price of the Calatrava bridges and the city hotel.

Darrin Swartz-Larson: A year of living 'changerously'
As a Community Voice columnist, Mr. Swartz-Larson chronicled daily life in Collin County. He moved to California -- and sometimes this is a good thing. Sometimes.

Murli Melwani: Not a sport for aristocrats in N. Texas
Once, as a boy, Mr. Melwani enjoyed watching polo in India. Recently, he watched a match at the Las Colinas Polo Club. It's a "spectator's delight of a sport," he notes.

Victor Medina: Isn't there a better way to honor César Chávez?
Why honor César Chávez with a street, when some other monument would further the cause he stood for so much more? asks Mr. Medina.

Pardon me. I feel like I am interrupting this eloquent conversation about the future of our country with something a little too mundane. But I couldn't help myself.

I have to weigh in on the letter from David Island of Plano about the makeshift camp that Texas Tech students set up last week on a parking lot to await distribution of tickets for the UT-Texas Tech game.

When we asked our Sounding Off respondents to name a down-ballot race that they hoped would get their neighbors' attention, we found that many were interested in the bond issue for Parkland Hospital. Others mentioned a specific candidate. Still others wanted to promote their favorite party.

So, without further ado, let's leap into the fray.

Howard Kurtz, who covers media for The Washington Post, offers this observation today:

If, as a former McCain strategist put it to Politico, "the cake is baked" for his man's defeat, it's fair to ask whether the media have provided the flour, the frosting and the candles.

Our Community Opinions columnists are writing about reading -- and voting and the DISD layoffs. Recently, we heard from Mary Beth Miles, Justin P. Nichols, Duane Green and Laurie Dodic Steinberg.

I'm working the Thursday letters to the editor, and I just got a feeling of déjà vu. We have gotten so many letters that express disappointment in the DISD. What strikes me as significant is how many are coming from formerly loyal parents and volunteers who say the same thing: This is the last straw for them.

After checking around a bit, I found the letter that reminded me of the one I'm editing now: "I have been a loyal DISD supporter for 30 years," wrote Pam Meyercord of Dallas. She goes on, like other letter writers, to mention her children who graduated from DISD.

Ms. Meyercord goes on to call for DISD to be divided into smaller districts.

Last weekend, my husband and I drove to Galveston for a first check on my parents' house on the bay. We are so thankful it was, for the most part, unscathed. The neighbors were not so lucky. We noted several houses that simply had disappeared, and others with damage that surely is not repairable.

In fact, Galveston obviously was hit hard by Ike, which should be no surprise after all the news coverage. What we probably don't think about much in Dallas is how much debris remains and the human cost that still is being paid.

The story that caught my eye this morning was about the 1960s-era levees (sound familiar?) that protect Texas City and its many chemical plants.

Texas City has had its share of disasters, as students of Texas history know: A fertilizer explosion in the harbor killed 567 in April 1947. This was before I was born, but I have heard my parents talk about it since I was a small child.

The story says:

"There certainly can and will be storms that may come along that will overtop those levees," said Col. David C. Weston, the corps' Galveston district commander.

After the success of the levees against Ike, though, Texas officials may hit the snooze button.

Good morning on a day when, at least right now, the stock market seems to be recovering slightly and Barack Obama apparently is pulling away from the margin of error on national polls.

A poll that shows voters favoring Mr. Obama is The Rasmussen Reports' tally. The explanation:

Obama is viewed favorably by 58% of voters, McCain by 52% (see trends). Obama is viewed Very Favorably by 39% of voters and Very Unfavorably by 28%. For McCain, those numbers are 24% Very Favorable and 26% Very Unfavorable.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows a similar result.

Questions to consider: Do you believe in polls? Do you think their results match the mood of the country right now?

Cutline from Getty Images: NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 06: Reporters stand on a flatbed truck as Republican presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain's campaign plane pulls up to the tarmac in Nashville, Tenn.

Here's a different way to look at the bailout: We get Barron's at our house every Saturday, and usually I just glance at the cover and go on to something less taxing. This week, however, the banner headline held a glimmer of hope: "How taxpayers can profit on the bailout." On the Web site, the magazine's teaser is: "Despite the public outcry over the bailout bill, taxpayers and the Treasury are likely to come out ahead." Check it out.

As time goes by, analysts are getting better at explaining this credit mess, and ABC News has even reduced it to a 2-minute, 26-second cartoon.

Jerry Weller, a Republican from Illinois, is the only congressman in the country who did not vote on the bailout plan. His office did not return calls today, according to various media reports. The biggest issue to come along in recent memory, and he didn't even take a stand.

The letters team has been reading an outcry against bailing out the economy. Many want to know why the government doesn't just divvy up the bailout funds and give every man, woman and child a handout instead.

This has been challenging for me, because my arithmetic skills are not the strongest. But even I have to wonder about the math of solutions proposed by the public. One reader suggests that we give $1 million to each legal resident of the U.S., which, he figures, couldn't cost any more than $300 million. Along similar lines, another says $3 million apiece would run, oh, about $900 million.

This morning's banner headline would make the headline course I'm taking via the Internet proud:

Proposal implodes
after day of chaos

I think it's safe to say that most of us are scrambling to make sense of the news and to find fall guys, and people are flooding congressional offices with calls in opposition to the bailout. One source for a quick bite of information on the Web on why "the credit markets have seized up" is a blog post by Lee Brodie on the CNBC Web site.

I also liked Jim Landers' story on mortgages in The Dallas Morning News, which explains, among other things, what a piggyback mortgage is.

An Ohio farmer has carved Sarah Palin's likeness into his 16-acre cornfield.

POTUS '08 on XM Radio reported last night that McCain has suggested that the first debate be moved to Oct. 2. Funny thing: The vice presidential debate is scheduled then. Could it be that after meeting with Henry Kissinger and two heads of state yesterday, Sarah Palin still isn't ready? See Politico for confirmation.

Since I left work yesterday, two notable things happened:

1. Last night, as the garage door was closing, a man appeared. He asked if we could give him some gasoline.
2. A story this morning reports a rise in enrollment at local community colleges. After teaching from 2000 to 2006 at North Lake College, with a watchful eye on enrollment each semester, I think I recognize a recession.

... because T. Boone Pickens' funds are down about a billion. Pickens, author of the ironically named The First Billion is the Hardest and alternative energy proponent, apparently failed to foresee the slide in energy stocks.

Today's paper includes a story that there will be gas shortages locally because of Hurricane Ike. Of course, my first reaction was to go out and buy some. Of course, if everybody does that, we'll have even worse shortages, and the story points that out.

You can draw comparisons between gas shortage panic and runs on banks: Both are inspired by the psychology of mass hysteria. Everyone who's seen It's a Wonderful Life knows that Jimmy Stewart had to jawbone his way out of a run on his family's bank. It worked, and he didn't even have a government bailout.