OPINION

Congratulations to Taylor Swift and her Grammy Album of the Year win. And she won without strutting around in cartoon-freakish costumes, zombie-like makeup, a see-through costume, hanging upside down from the rafters, having most of her song lyrics bleeped or setting herself on fire for special effects. She revealed just enough -- of her talented singing and song-writing abilities!

Oh, and Dallas' own DISD Arts Magnet graduate, presenter Nora Jones, added such class and elegance to the show in her lovely dress and with her graceful demeanor.

It made me proud of both of these young women.

Re: "I'm even more loyal to Toyota," by Barry Gold, Saturday Letters.

There have been allegations about a Toyota accelerator problem for years. Toyota did nothing until mounting public pressure, because of the tragic deaths and injuries of motorists, forced them to acknowledge the problem. The smug Japanese do not play by the same rules as American car companies: being disclose, disclose, disclose.

During the 1970s, when the northern rust belt desperately needed new business, Japanese car manufacturers chose to build new plants in non-union rural areas of the country, using local American tax incentives, instead of Detroit. Just good business? Good for Tokyo, perhaps.

I'm not a fan of the bland vanilla air-conditioned boxes that the Japanese force on us. And no, I've never lived in Detroit, worked for a car company or in a union shop. But I am a car guy, and I'm a native of a very non-union place, Dallas.

The Japanese are trying to save face now with these drastic measures, because it's the only thing they can do. It's not out of the goodness of Toyota's heart, but to save itself the agony of future lawsuits by American consumers who drive its product.

Re: "Now maybe we'll buy U.S. cars," by Frederick B. Austin, Saturday Letters.

The first night we brought home our brand new Plymouth back in the '80s, we had trouble. The next morning it wouldn't start, so it had to be towed in. We had to have that car in the shop several times.

Next we tried a '98 Chevy Malibu -- it was in the shop numerous times. Our daughter has an '02 Ford Focus -- I can't count the times it's been in the shop, even for repeat problems.

Then we got smart, and in '02, we bought a Toyota Highlander. In the past eight years, we have never had it in the shop for a repair.

I don't think all Americans have been fortunate enough to have Austin's experience with American-made cars.

I trust Toyota -- even more so after the past couple of days.

Re: "City saw fewer crimes in 2009 -- Figures don't include some that federal guidelines say should be counted," Friday news story.

I read with interest and thankfulness that the crime rate has gone down in Dallas. Also, of interest were all the reasons given for the drop.

I wonder if there had been any thought to comparing the rate of crime reduction to the rate of citizens obtaining permits to carry concealed weapons.

It's ironic that one rate is dropping and one is rising.

Re: "Obama seeks $200 million for trial host cities' security -- As New York balks, possible sites include Virginia, Illinois," and, "Democrats oppose using their states for 9/11 legal proceedings," Sunday news stories.

I have a novel idea on where to hold the trials. It would be safe in a modern facility away from potential danger.

How about using the prison at Guantánamo where the prisoners reside? It's state of the art with no transportation logistics to worry about.

Sounds reasonable to me. What's happened to common sense?

President Barack Obama has all the fancy buzzwords and technology to capture the hearts of the young Americans in this country: Creative marketing, e-mail blasts, teleprompter speeches, and clean-cut image. But his image, ideals and rhetoric are not what make this country great.

Americans are starting to ask the hard questions. Review the talking points, and ask if yourself if you believe that Obama will take those crafty talking points and establish them into real, reasonable actions that follow the law of this land and benefit the American people.

Ask yourself: Are you a drone? Can you be sold on a few flashy feel-good talking points? Or do you want sound, supported well-thought-out ideas that reflect the voice of Americans and follow the Constitution? You are an American. Establish your own beliefs.

President Barack Obama's second-year agenda is something Republicans and Democrats must work on together to pass, moving America forward. Small businesses need loans from community banks, since large banks seem to have no intention of letting go of their record profits.

Innovation is also being developed in the heartland despite the stalemate of the last year in Congress. We, the folks living outside the beltway, like the president, are tired of the logjam and want real work done on Capitol Hill.

Health care reform isn't dead despite what the pundits and politicians might think and want. It can't be; there is too much at stake for people like me.

Want the real pulse of America? Leave Washington, D.C., as Obama often does for his town hall meetings and you'll find out. He is more in touch with us than Congress or the Washington media.

... and House GOP session

Re: "Obama faces GOP foes head-on -- President clashes with Hensarling, urges unity at rare event," Saturday news story.

Much as I appreciated our president's message in his State of the Union address, I learned so much more from his question and answer session with the GOP House members during their retreat.

There was solid information in response to polite, real questions from that Republican audience. I hope we can have more of that kind of exchange, because President Barack Obama made his case on many points, showed flexibility and calmed the hateful rhetoric we citizens can't tolerate.

... was a good first step

Looks like we are well on our way to political productivity. The president is now talking to Republicans.

Next stop, listening.

. In Texas, justices of the peace and county constables have enormous authority. Among other things, they can put you in jail. And there aren't a lot of prying eyes to make sure that everything is on the up-and-up.

Over on the Southern Dallas opinion blog, I offer reasons the DMN this morning broke with our recent history and recommended candidates in one JP and two Dallas County constable races.

The Atlantic's James Fallows has an interesting take on why bipartisanship can't work. He starts with this anecdote:

I got this note from someone with many decades' experience in national politics, about a discussion between two Congressmen over details of the stimulus bill:

"GOP member: 'I'd like this in the bill.'

"Dem member response: 'If we put it in, will you vote for the bill?'

"GOP member: 'You know I can't vote for the bill.'

"Dem member: 'Then why should we put it in the bill?'

Bipartisanship is a grand goal and part of a democratic ideal. But it simply does not work when one party refuses to play along -- in this case, when the party in the minority votes against bills in a monolithic bloc. We can exhort the Democrats all we want to foster cooperation, but after Massachusetts, Republicans smell blood; they'll be even less inclined to engage in any give-and-take when they've been so effective at no-no-no.

As a side note, I loved the point Doris Kearns Goodwin made about filibusters to Jon Stewart last week. (More at the jump.)

Greetings from Lviv, Ukraine.

On Friday I sat down with a group of academics and leaders of non-profit organizations to talk about the upcoming national elections.

This country faces immense challenges right now, including rampant corruption. But as we discussed such topics, the only time anyone in the room got upset or seemed truly frustrated was when I brought up the issue of visas.

We make it extremely hard for Ukrainians to come to the U.S., they said.

The same sentiment was echoed by a group of Ukrainians students I spoke with - they all want to come to the U.S. to complete masters programs and possibly to live and work. They are educated, driven and smart. And we have closed the door to them.

Here are the editorials that we're working on for tomorrow. Please feel free to share in the Comments section how we can make these essays as persuasive to you as possible....

TERROR - We explain why the feds are honor bound to have to pick up the cost of trying the terror defendants, regardless of where the trials are actually held. It's a shame the administration didn't work all of this out before proposing, rather precipitously, NYC as the locale. Tod Robberson writing on behalf of the Editorial Board.

QUESTIONNAIRES - Our questionnaires went up online this morning - more than 90 percent of the 130-plus candidates in nearly 50 North Texas races responded. Check out the candidates' answers and be sure to vote accordingly. Early voting starts Feb. 16. Jim Mitchell writing on behalf of the Editorial Board.

FAMILY254 - We recommend in this local court....Mike Hashimoto writing on behalf of the Editorial Board.

DIST363 - We recommend in this court... Michael writing on behalf of the Editorial Board.

A slew of letters were in the inbox this morning. Besides the fact that I have won a substantial prize in pounds from Microsoft, I learned that health care and the State of the Union address are very much on our letter writers' minds.

We received a number of letters supporting President Barack Obama's health care and jobs initiatives. On the other side, there were letters on the national debt.

A few letters addressed the Toyota recall. We'll be running some of those, too, in the near future.