OPINION

We lost our power at 9 a.m. Thursday until noon. Then, over four hours, we lost it two more times. Then, at about 9 p.m. Thursday, it went out yet again until 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

The burning question for all of us was when we could expect our power to come back on. Isn't there an app for that?

Re: "Examining evolution," by Vincent P. Cirillo, Friday Letters.

Cirillo believes that the "theory" of evolution should be taught in the science classroom because it is based on scientific fact. He claims creationism has no scientific basis.

He should understand there is significantly more science to bolster the theory of creationism than the theory of evolution. I would recommend The Wonder of the World by Roy Abraham Varghese to those who don't believe there is hard science to support this theory.

On the other hand, some believe they evolved from a lower form of life, while others believe they were created by a higher form of life.

Can't both be right? It would explain everything.

Re: "The great slob-down of America -- We've been casualized, and it's not a pretty sight, bemoans Froma Harrop," Saturday Viewpoints.

I thought that I was the only one who wanted to send President Barack Obama a tie. Harrop was on target citing George Washington's Rules Of Civility & Behavior in Company and Conversation. It does start at the top.

Let's restore some dignity to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I hope her column will be read there, and Obama will wear the tie I am going to buy at the mall and mail to him.

Along with the estimated three billion people watching the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, I learned of the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luger. I was saddened as I heard about his rising talent, the impact on his teammates and the Olympic community, and his age (21).

After 9/11, The New York Times ran 200-word profiles on every single one of the World Trade Center victims. After reading just one, I couldn't face reading a second.

In Haiti, every single earthquake victim had dreams, friends, family, a story and a name. We'll never hear about them.

But it's worth pausing to imagine the tragedy of Kumaritashvili times 230,000 and counting. I can't get my head around that kind of number. I can't get my heart around it either.

All of the people who complained about Oncor's tree trimming probably wish the company had done a better job in their now-out-of-power neighborhoods.

As long as I can remember, mail has always been delivered, and I am 75 years old.

When I was a little girl living in a rural Texas town, and winter weather was much more severe than now, the mail was always delivered. I now live in DeSoto, and when the big 2010 snow hit, we did not receive mail for two days.

Yet, on a recent evening, I saw a television news clip about a florist who had made extraordinary efforts to get Valentine's flowers sent. Roses can be delivered, but our U.S. Postal Service can't deliver the mail.

What's wrong with this country?

Re: "Don't flash pricey jewelry," by Tye Thomas, Sunday Letters.

I pondered for a bit on the insistence that the lady who was robbed of her lovely ring had it coming for wearing such a bauble to the store -- or anywhere at all, one assumes.

How dare we have possessions, items that might be coveted by another, homes that we can pay for, a car that someone else may desire. To wear jewelry or nice clothes is insensitive in the extreme, and such a person has no right to peace or safety.

It would be interesting to know if the gentleman feels the same way about his own belongings or those of his family.

Apparently the 100,000 fans who came to Dallas-Fort Worth for the All-Star game this weekend must not know that we are in a recession. They had lots of money to spend.

Another thought. When all is said and done, what will the game's carbon footprint have been?

Re: "Snow or no, NBA event means buckets of money -- Weather's damper on estimated $152 million bonanza not clear yet," Saturday news story.

Time and time again, professional sporting events are purported to contribute millions of dollars to a local economy. This story quotes Mavericks president Terdema Ussery, who states that the All-Star game in Dallas will have a great effect because "it has to." The argument that an event simply has to have a great economic effect is not evidence that it will.

According to authors Robert Baade and Victor Matheson, the primary shortcoming of economic impact analysis is not with the spending information for those in Dallas this weekend, but with the lack of information on the spending behavior of those local residents who are crowded out of their favorite activities.

As a test, did you try to get a reservation at your favorite restaurant this weekend? I wonder if a visitor to the Dallas area got your seat. If the visitor can go to a favorite restaurant, but not the local resident who otherwise would, how can one claim any additional economic impact?

As a Ph.D. student at UTD, I wrote a dissertation, "A Game of Millions: Professional Sports Facilities and the Media's Influence on the Agenda Setting Process," which addresses the media's position as a supplier of incomplete economic information.

The following guest blog post is written by Murli Melwani, a published writer and a semi-retired businessman who lives in Plano. His e-mail address is murli@unigain.net.

Have you wondered why even affluent Americans have become medical tourists? According to the Deloitte Center for Health Care Solutions, 750,000 Americans travelled abroad for medical care in 2007. The Center projects that the figure will cross 1.6 million by 2012.

American dollars are turning the path green all the way from Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, through South Africa, India, Malaysia, Thailand, right up to Taiwan and the Philippines.

It's not simply because treatment in these countries costs anywhere from 80% to 30% less than in the U.S. Nor is it that the quality of the care and treatment meets American standards. Medical facilities abroad see to it that these standards are maintained. To take one example, the accreditation standards in India are controlled by the Indian Healthcare Federation, the Indian Medical Tourism Council and the Federal Ministry of Health. Some Indian hospitals also have international accreditation by the Joint Commission International, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the British Standards Institute, or are affiliated with healthcare organizations and insurance companies in the US.

The results of the Danny Defenbaugh-led investigation into Precinct 5 Constable Jaime Cortes are front-page news today, and if you missed reading the article don't miss it here.

If you live in Dallas County, your tax dollars are funding this guy. Let me be clear, yes, these are accusations. But the evidence in the 92-page report looks pretty damning. I don't have time to even catalogue all the problems:

-- accepting bribes from a towing company.
-- mistreating employees.
-- forcing employes to contribute money to his campaign and work security details for free.
-- ordering employees who were out of favor to do off-duty work.

Then there's the whole preferential treatment to a deputy with whom he was romantically involved.

I spend a lot of time on the tollway. In the last few days, I've rediscovered I-35, and wish I hadn't. Randy Lee Lofis' story and the accompanying picture of potholes in the southbound lane of I-35 are on target.

In at least one of the lanes from about LBJ to the Loop 12 split, there's a pothole. And these aren't small -- some up to about 6 feet in length or width.and maybe 2 or 3 inches deep. No fun hitting these at 50 mph plus or watching as cars swerve to avoid hitting these moon craters.

I know there are a bazillion potholes out there -- the words of TX DOT spokesman Mark Pettit -- but surely I-35 through the heart of Dallas is a priority. I mean, it's embarrassing and dangerous.

Hey, I don't like the feeling that the bottom of my car is falling out when I hit one of these monsters. But here's another example of how bad things are around town.

1. We make clear how outrageous and indefensible the thinking of at least two of the gubernatorial candidates is - Medina and Shami. This is a particularly important message this week as this is the first week of early voting for this and other offices. It should remind us all of the importance of looking past the "sex appeal" of a protest candidate and really thinking carefully about how we cast our votes. We seek to build on some of the themes within the Weisberg Points column from Sunday about how we all dislike government (or the establishment) in the abstract, and yet we expect government to solve our problems for us. Here are two candidates who seemed to spring from that sort of thinking and thus are appealing to some voters. But be sure to look behind the curtain. Mike writing on behalf of the board.

2. We make recommendations in two local congressional GOP primaries, one the seat currently held by Republican Michael Burgess and the other currently held by Republican Ralph Hall. Rodger and Jim writing on behalf of the board.

Please join the discussion by adding your comments below.

The Republican primary for the 4th congressional district, currently held by GOP Rep. Ralph Hall, contains some real characters. And I don't mean that in a flattering sense. At least two of these characters have lied in big ways about their backgrounds, and that's troubling. It just goes to show that voters owe it to themselves to know their candidates before casting a ballot.

First, let's briefly look at candidate Steve Clark, who told us in his candidate questionnaire that he had never been arrested. Oops. It turns out that, in fact, he was arrested in 1986 and charged with assaulting his ex-wife. Odd that he would forget that little detail.

Now let's look at Jerry Ray (Tea) Hall, aka "Dr." Jerry Hall (no relation to Ralph Hall). When you look at his candidate questionnaire, he claims to have built a "successful" business that apparently experienced some un-success at some point, and he said he was "forced" to sell it. He doesn't name the company. But some curious eager-beavers down in Panama, where Hall used to live, have really done their homework. The best work on this is being done by Don Winner at Panama-Guide.com, an online newspaper/chat room. Panama is a very small place, and there's no such thing as a secret there.

Here's one of the Big Concerns: Jerry Hall lists himself on the Board of Advisors of the International Association of Mediators and Arbitrators as "Jerry Hall, Ph.D." He claims to be a graduate of the "Harvard School of Law negotiations." I'll attach his full resume on the following page, but some of his claims are quite inventive. Mysteriously, nowhere in the background he filed with The Dallas Morning News does he claim to be a Ph.D or a graduate of Harvard Law School. It's also noteworthy that Hall is listed as owner of the IAMA's Web site, and the IAMA's address also is one of Hall's listed Houston addresses. So any mistakes on that site go straight to Hall's doorstep.

While we're on the subject of addresses: I can't find any evidence that Hall actually lives in District 4 or anywhere in Rockwall. The only address listed anywhere for him in Rockwall is a post office box. I tried to call Hall on the home phone he listed for us. The conversation started off fine, but when I got to these questions, he interrupted me with, "Hello? Hello? I can't hear you. I'm on a cellphone out in the country and the signal's going in and out." Then he hung up.

Debra Medina's idea of replacing local property taxes with a higher statewide sales tax is intriguing, and it got me to thinking: What's my favorite tax?

We have favorite colors, favorite movies, favorite bands. But does anyone have a favorite tax? Or do we just hate all taxes? Maybe we just have a least-hated tax. Well, whatever you call it, mine is the motor fuels tax in Texas. Here's why: