OPINION

I see Iran as the biggest threat to world peace. It reminds me, in a way, of the movie The Lord of the Rings. In this case the "great eye" is looking directly toward our ally in Israel.
It is time to pull out of Iraq. No matter how long we stay there, it will have a civil war. No matter who wins, I would guess that the U.S. will not be held in much esteem.
Iran defies NATO, makes inane statements and, given time, will inflict catastrophes the likes of which have never been seen.
There is a saying that with genius, madness will prevail. Iran is very dangerous. As a proud Vietnam veteran, I see that the wars we are fighting now are unwinnable. It is not like the world wars. There are no uniforms to distinguish friend from foe.
If more action is not taken to get Iran under control, then God bless us all.

Re: "Dubai's ties to Iran must be scrutinized -- Killing of Hamas operative is dredging up some investigation-worthy details, says Frida Ghitis," Sunday Points.
Isn't it more important for Western nations to be glad that a known terrorist has been silenced than to be upset that some of their passports were stolen or abridged?
The real message from Ghitis' column is that none of our presidents since the early 1970s has had the ability or courage to stand up to the oil lobby and Congress and persuade the people of our country that we must have an energy-independence effort, as determined as the Manhattan Project or the space program.
Until we come to grips with that reality, we will have to continue to blink when dealing with the Muslim oil-producing nations.

Re: "Give Kids Their Summer -- Moving school start dates is a slippery slope," Thursday Editorials.
Local school calendars should be the responsibility of local school districts weighing the needs and desires of their local communities.
The typical school calendar is 180 days. Moving the school start date later only pushed the school end date later. That's logical. Given state mandates and the educational needs of our students, school districts need more flexibility to best serve the academic needs and success of our students.
Most districts would be able to better serve their students if they were given one more week of August, just five school days, with which to work while structuring their calendars. Local concerns in my district, Richardson ISD, include balancing the number of instructional days between the fall and spring semesters, which is especially important for single-semester courses like economics, and allowing for professional development days during the school year to address current student needs and adjust instruction accordingly.
Let local communities decide what is best for their local students.

Re: "Why do we need a zoo?" by Gary Noe, Wednesday Letters.
There are many reasons we need the Dallas Zoo. It strengthens our community, and it gives the children and families of Dallas County a place to learn about and see animals of all varieties. Likewise, I'm glad the Fort Worth Zoo is there for the children and families of Tarrant County. We need both.
Both properly care for the animals in their care, and both are world-class.

Here's why we need separation
Re: "Religious-freedom lesson is rejected -- Republicans question precedents affirming church-state separation, don't want issue in curriculum," Friday news story.
The Republican theocrats on the State Board of Education have scored another triumph in their campaign against the Constitution's Establishment Clause.
Their primitive fear that revealing to schoolchildren the actual history about the Constitution's protective measures regarding state religion is inexcusable and egregiously arrogant.
Their actions alone make obvious the case for separation of church and state.

Teaching with socialist bent
The State Board of Education is vigorously debating the future curricula of Texas public school students.
Will history textbooks include the likes of Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony and César Chávez?
Will students learn social studies or socialist studies?

Re: "Trash pickup woes," by Jon Pitt, Wednesday Letters.
All right, whiny crybabies. I know you don't think it's possible, but you will live through the change of your trash being picked up in the front rather than the alley.
I felt somewhat the same way years ago, when the city informed us that we would no longer use garbage cans but would use bins; further, we would no longer have trash pick-up in our alleys but in our front yards.
After three or four weeks, I realized what a blessing the change was. I didn't need tacky, dented, smelly cans any longer; I had one big bin, and it was easy to tilt and roll, even when it was full.
My trash and recycle bins both park out of sight. Our front lawns and easement are uncluttered and clean. And the nicest thing is that I no longer have to trek across the back yard.
Give it all a chance, and see if you don't learn to like the change.

Re: "As bag fees hit max, new charges take off -- Companies expanding items for sale to add on to billions gained," Wednesday news story.
Let's see if we can help the airlines in their search for new fees to offset losses. How about $1 to use the lavatory, as many railroad and bus stations used to do for use of selected stalls? Maybe $1.50 if you ring for an attendant. Replace the seats with canvas bottoms, and charge $3 for a cushion. A coin slot for overhead reading lights would be a big money-maker. Oops, let's not forget salt, pepper, creamer, sugar and sweeteners. The list is endless.
Or we could just raise the price of a ticket to cover all this stuff and cut the accounting staff.

Instead of the airlines charging for checked baggage, they should charge passengers for carry-on luggage larger than a briefcase or purse. More people would check their baggage, since it would be free, and it would allow airport security personnel more time to inspect the contents efficiently.

Security lines at checkpoints would move faster, planes would board and deplane faster, and the chance of a passenger boarding a plane with contraband would be significantly decreased. Is this rocket science?

Re: "A golden evening -- 'The Hurt Locker' wins for best picture and director; Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges take acting prizes," Monday GuideDaily.

I watched the Hollywood Olympics, a.k.a. the Academy Awards. When it was over, I had more questions than answers. To me, the Best Picture Oscar should go to the movie that everyone flocked to see.

Instead, it went to a movie I didn't see, and I don't know a single soul who did.

I felt so sorry for poor James Cameron, who directed Avatar. He seemed inconsolable. I am sure he cried all the way to the bank.

The current argument from Democrats on why they can use the reconciliation process to pass health care legislation seems to be that Republicans used it before.

Either they want to be as wrong as Republicans -- and they would need to apologize to their children -- or it's a good reason to do something because everyone else is doing it.

Either way, it doesn't look good.

Re: "Some say costs upgraded, too -- High bills shock 'smart meter' users; Oncor cites weather, other factors," Saturday news story.

My electric bill more than doubled, just as everyone else has complained about. Oncor reread my meter. Of course, there was nothing wrong with it. I e-mailed the Public Utility Commission, just as many others have.

What did we get? Excuses: the winter weather, the PUC is investigating and Oncor is installing old meters to compare with the new digital meters. We all know deep down that nothing will be done.

My next electric bill went down slightly. But there was a note from my supplier revealing that the bills had gone up because the PUC granted Oncor an increase in the rates per kilowatt-hour, and Oncor passed it on to the suppliers.

The PUC is appointed by Gov. Rick Perry. They, like Perry, care nothing about the customers. Let us have someone who does not think he owns the state, owns the office and owns the government. Elect someone who respects taxpayers and voters. And someone who will protect customers from the electric company and the PUC.

Re: "Elliot Dlin -- Dallas Holocaust Museum director," last Friday Obituary.

Elliot Dlin was so much more than the director for the Dallas Holocaust Museum. He was a teacher, a role model and community leader. He saw his task in life as one to educate people about the dangers of prejudice and hatred, as evidenced in the horrors of the Holocaust.

In the few years that I knew Elly, I came to love his vast knowledge, his sense of humor and his commitment to the Jewish people. He possessed an academic approach to history that he combined with fervor to make certain that people never forgot what happened some 70 years ago.

Elly was equally at ease with scholarly intellectuals, political leaders or young schoolchildren. He helped transform the Dallas Holocaust Museum into a world-class facility, while transforming people's ways of thinking.

His death is more than just a loss to the Dallas Holocaust Museum; it is a loss to Dallas and to the world. Shalom, my friend -- I will miss you.

Re: "Pitts is out of touch," by Bob and Lu Ann Brigman, Sunday Letters.

I was dismayed and appalled at the letter in which the writers claim that most people in this country want to "keep America following the God-given Constitution."

If God had given us the Constitution, it would have been perfect, and amendments would not have been necessary.

The Constitution, adopted in 1787, counted slaves as three-fifths of a person. Did God make mistakes and not find it necessary to ratify the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery until 1865, the 14th Amendment counting African-Americans as whole persons until 1868, the 15th Amendment giving African-American men the right to vote until 1870 and the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote until 1920?

Does this really sound like something that was handed down from the mountain by God himself or something that was written to the best of the ability of white, privileged men?

To claim the Constitution was "God-given" is not only racist and sexist, but blasphemous as well.

Re: "Time and again, failing to make grades -- 10 Dallas ISD high schools get lowest rating in federal system," Sunday news story.

Despite voluminous research on the impact of poverty and related social conditions on school performance, the No Child Left Behind Act mandates "equality of outcomes" without significant investment in "equality of opportunity" for all students.

To cite only one of many studies, the Education Testing Service charted 14 measures of inequality that affect school success in 2003. Of these, most were in social conditions in the home and community, rather than in the classroom, such as low birth weight, hunger and malnutrition, exposure to industrial pollution and student mobility (e.g., evictions).

All children can learn at high levels, and there are good schools in even the most hard-pressed communities. Still, it is naïve to pretend that our schools can thrive when they are surrounded by the social dislocations of poverty.

Dedicated educators will continue to work their hearts out to help all students, but as a society, we must address the frankly degrading conditions so many of our children endure.

Re: "Secession would pay for itself," by James Reid, Saturday Letters.

Let's set aside the fact that secession is not an option. A Texas Republic would need an army, navy and air force. Big infrastructure costs there. A postal system would be nice.

And, golly, wouldn't it be nice to have an air traffic control system and personnel? Environmental protection regulations would be nice, but not necessarily in the equation -- just more government meddling in private enterprise.

Well, you see where this is going. If you don't, you are likely a Texas secessionist. Contact me if you need a simple four-function calculator to do the math.

There are seniors living alone and going hungry in our own neighborhoods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that last year, the number of Americans who lacked access to a reliable supply of food jumped to a record 49 million, the highest since the government began tracking hunger.

A large number of those going without enough to eat are our elderly neighbors. Nearly 9 percent of Texans ages 60 to 90 were at risk of hunger from 2001 to 2007, according to the Meals On Wheels Association of America.

Senior hunger is a problem that needs community action. At the same time, though, Meals On Wheels is having difficulties recruiting volunteer drivers.

The Meals On Wheels Association of America has designated the month of March for taking action to support senior nutrition programs. Individuals and groups are being asked to take the Pledge to End Senior Hunger.

Together, we can end senior hunger.

Anyone keeping score knows breakfast is for champions, and thanks to schools across the state, more young Texans can be winners. As we celebrate National School Breakfast Week from March 8 through 12, I commend Texas schools that emphasize the importance of eating a healthy breakfast and staying active. Research shows that a healthy breakfast helps students perform better; it also reduces their chances of being obese.

At the Texas Department of Agriculture, we administer school meal funding and promote nutrition and exercise through a statewide campaign called "Texans Bring It!" (www.TexansBringIt.com) The campaign promotes the three E's of healthy living -- education, exercise and eating right -- by asking students to bring added value to their lives by trading junk food for healthy snacks and exercise.

According to Trust for America's Health, Texas ranks 20th in childhood obesity, with 32 percent of children ages 10 to 17 considered obese.

Research shows that children who are overweight at age 12 have a 75 percent chance of being overweight as adults. Experts predict that obesity's annual cost to Texans related to health care, absenteeism, decreased productivity and disability will quadruple to as much as $39 billion by 2040. That requires businesses and taxpayers to pick up the tab for poor eating choices.

Curbing this trend should be a priority for all Texans.

I am a busy internal medicine doctor practicing in Dallas County. I want to express my dismay over the complete inadequacy of Congress to fix even a relatively simple problem like the mathematical error that determines Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors. The formula, called the SGR, is flawed -- the indices chosen are not consistent with inflation -- and have resulted in mandated cuts for each of the last five years.

Each year, Congress has passed a one-year Band-Aid repeal of the cuts. These repeals only freeze rates. Reimbursement has not been adjusted for inflation for five years.

On March 1, the 21 percent cut required by the SGR went into effect as the Senate argued over pay-as-you-go. On March 2, the Senate passed a 31-day repeal. The Senate had a chance to permanently fix this issue with SB 1776, but this bill was voted down 53 to 47, with negative votes by our Texas senators.

We need senators who are not either always against or always for the president, but who work and compromise to get things done. Someone who is not always running for his next term or office, but who is more worried about helping our country.

Re: "Exodus -- Families and businesses alike flee the embattled city of Juárez for safer, greener pastures in the U.S.," Sunday news story.

The excellent, depressing report by Alfredo Corchado outlines yet another unintended consequence of our wonderful drug war.

As a police officer who worked the trenches of the drug war spanning three decades, I saw it cause more pain, suffering and death than the drugs themselves.

Would someone explain to me why, with the government budget out of control and the postal service in such dire straits that it is trying to reduce delivery to five days and raise postage rates, it is necessary to send a letter from the government to each address to tell them that a census form is coming in a week?

What a waste of money and trees, and an insult to Americans' intelligence. Whoever is responsible for this crazy idea should be fired or voted out of office pronto.

Re: "Districts seek to set own start dates -- School officials, parents say state's requirement creates too many problems with year's calendar," Sunday news story.

If it is not this complaint about the school calendar, it is teachers complaining about their salaries and parents complaining about their kids being treated unfairly or not watched over carefully enough. These two groups need to grow up and learn to deal with it.

Teachers work 187 days, have summers off and get more money than some of us who work all year with two weeks' vacation. People are tired of hearing teachers always complain about something. Life is tough for everyone.

Parents, stop whining because school dates might interfere with your plans for vacations and the amount of time you want off with your kids at certain times of the year. Parents and their kids do not need to be catered to. Handle the rules, and teach your children to follow them. We have enough problems without these whining parents and their kids.

Re: "Foster on his way out, but trouble isn't," by Jacquielynn Floyd, Friday Metro column.

Dallas County Judge Jim Foster had two big flaws. He was inexperienced, and he opposed Commissioner John Wiley Price on issues, such as the investigation of the constables.

The intelligent, charismatic Price has long given valuable service to Dallas County, but he is also reputed to be a bully, and it is said that power corrupts. Perhaps Price himself should have voted for Foster in order to save Dallas County and his own soul from the corrupting force of absolute power.

In the runoff for county judge, I am voting for Larry Duncan. He is experienced but so underfunded I'm sure he is not being bought for any commissioner or constable. I hope he has the courage of Jim Foster.

Re: "Gun-toters are different," by Mary Grimaldo, Wednesday Letters.

Maybe Grimaldo has never been robbed at gunpoint. If she thinks people like me who have been robbed are just insecure, paranoid people who feel it necessary to carry a gun and have more problems than they are aware of, she must be living in another world.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "An unarmed person may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed person."

Had someone had a gun at McDonald's in 1984, when 21 people were shot and killed in San Ysidro, Calif., maybe some lives would have been saved.

I'll be spending more time at Starbucks.

Re: "Blame it on curiosity -- Open pen was too much for gorilla to ignore, but response was by the book; previous incidents have spurred multiple changes," Sunday news story.

Dallas really shouldn't have a zoo, regardless of who's running it -- the public or private sector.

Four gorilla escapes in 11 years -- while all the rest of the zoos in the world had a combined total of 12 escapes for the same period.

Couple that with the recent fiasco involving whether we should ship our last elephant off to Mexico or increase the size of our elephant habitat, and I'm not convinced that the zoo has the ability or resources to commit to the stewardship needed to properly care for the animals.

If it's good enough to drive to Tarrant County to watch the Cowboys and Rangers play, it ought to be good enough to drive to Tarrant County to see one of the most comprehensive collections of animals housed in one of the finest zoo facilities in the world -- the Fort Worth Zoo.

Re: "Dog parks for play, but some desert animals there -- Number of abandoned pooches alarms those who take them home," Sunday news story.

I read this report with distress, both that dogs are being abandoned -- there's far too much of this in our communities -- and for the police statement that we do not have any laws against dumping.

Texas Penal Code Section 42.092 (b) (4) makes it a Class A misdemeanor to abandon a non-livestock animal. Punishment for a misdemeanor includes a fine of $4,000, one year in jail or both.

While most citizens would never abandon their pets, we need to educate people, especially our children, on responsible pet ownership to stop this. But, in the meantime, we need to enforce the laws that are on our books against those who abuse our four-legged companions.

We actually looked forward to the once-a-week trash pickup on the front curb. We had more recyclables than trash and had to go out back to unlock the gate and haul the trash can to the alley once or twice a week.

However, we were surprised when, on our first pickup day, the recyclables had been picked up but not the trash. We called the hotline number on our flier and were told the trash would be picked up within 24 hours. It was picked up a week later.

We also found out that the trash would not be picked up if the recycling and trash bins were too close together or there was an obstacle above the trash bin that would not allow the truck's hydraulic arms to raise to 15 feet (it was under a big tree) because the workers will not get out of the truck to move the bins.

The irony is that we never had any problems like this when the bins were in the alley.

As anyone who has dealt with Child Protective Services knows, the program is sadly underfunded and consequently understaffed.

The lack of federal and state funding for Child Protective Services puts children in immediate danger. Insufficient funding makes it difficult to hire, retain and train staff. Many caseworkers have a much heavier case load than is recommended by the Child Welfare League. Children often slip through the cracks, not because of a lack of concern but because of impossible amounts of work for caseworkers.

It is time for the public to get involved. We have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

We all need to become involved in supporting increased funding for Child Protective Services. Not only will this allow the Department of Family and Protective Services to hire and equip staff members to care for children, but it will also provide more preventive programs to stop child abuse before it happens.

Re: "Stray dog ends mother, kids' stay with Interfaith Housing program," Sunday Problem Solver.

Though I realize the Interfaith Housing group has a business to run, I am appalled that they would turn an act of kindness and compassion on the part of Stephanie Jones as the reason to evict her. For a woman of so little means to have a heart for an abandoned, and hungry, stray dog is a wonderful thing.

The Interfaith group should have encouraged her to call the animal shelter, or should have done so themselves, to arrange to have the dog taken into their custody. That would have been the responsible and Christian thing to do for both the woman and the dog -- both of whom are God's creatures.

We and our readers treasure the letters that remind us that there are things about life in North Texas worth savoring. You know, the kind of letters that point to events and people who are making a positive change in the lives of others. The ones that trumpet simple acts that have profound meaning. That tell positive stories our readers haven't heard before.

That's why we publish Three Cheers, a collection of positive letters that offer more reason for hope than despair. This feature runs on Mondays and includes the three best examples of letters that inspire readers to think and act positively.

Consider this your invitation to share your own timely, positive letter. Send it to "Three Cheers" at letters@dallasnews.com. And maybe you'll see it spotlighted on Monday ...

Re: "What's next for Texas?" Sunday Letters.

The answer is more growth and prosperity from Gov. Rick Perry.

There was no positive letter about Perry in the section. That notwithstanding, the electorate will have continued solid leadership in Austin by keeping Perry in office.

Re: "Want to improve our democracy? Three local writers offer their ideas -- Make 'none of the above' an option in every race, urges Chuck Bloom," Saturday Viewpoints.

No one is obliged or even authorized to offer the public a candidate or list of candidates of which they approve, so there should never be a ballot line that says "none of the above."

Candidates are on the ballot because they got off their stumps and filed for office. If you don't like who filed, go down and file yourself. Don't bellyache because you failed at what is totally your responsibility.

Here's a salute to all candidates, even those I detest, who bothered to file and run for office. They ran a campaign and risked public rejection and criticism in order to be a part of our wonderful, if flawed, political system.

Re: "Want to improve our democracy? Three local writers offer their ideas -- Forget your political troubles and just buy a kitten, says Edward Baca," Saturday Viewpoints.

When people are thinking about making a kitty part of their families, please consider adopting a shelter cat rather than buying one from a breeder. There are none more deserving of love and care than those who have been abandoned.

Re: "Improving E-Verify -- Recent study offers two lessons in strengthening the program, says Marc Rosenblum," Friday Viewpoints.

Rosenblum says that "with millions of unauthorized immigrants and businesses invested in existing labor markets, there are simply too many factors working against E-Verify for it to succeed without moving more employers and workers into the legal system." Is he suggesting that we "move" these employers and workers by legalizing the currently illegal? If so, this is the wrong attitude to take.

We need an effective screening and verification tool, but having one is not dependent on reforming or changing other parts of our immigration system. Employment eligibility screening is a function of enforcement, and it's perfectly reasonable and practical to change enforcement methods without changing our laws concerning who can legally work in our nation. Let's not change laws to fit poor current conditions. Let's use our laws to improve our conditions.

If Gov. Rick Perry and these other non-patriots do not want the federal government's tax burden, they should take action.

Perry should get corporations and small businesses in Texas to get out of their contracts. This would make the case against the federal government stronger.

This would be great for me, as I am in the moving industry. We would have all of our trucks full -- on the way out of Texas.

Re: "Trashing up the street," by Jerry Waite, Friday Letters.

Waite claims that placing trash carts in the front of his house will have the appearance of a slum when seen by visitors.

Around the corner from where I live, there are several streets where million-dollar-plus homes have the Gleneagles Country Club's golf course as their back yards, requiring the occupants to place their garbage by the front curb for pickup.

Come on up and live with your contemporaries, where curbside garbage is a badge of affluence.

Re: "Solutions are up to us," by Richard C. Daubenspeck, Saturday Letters, and, "Church ends silence on welcoming gays -- Royal Lane Baptist changes Web site, risks losing affiliation with convention," Saturday news story.

Daubenspeck's so-called solutions were no solution at all. How does taking your child out of public school improve public schools, which affect our lives in far more ways than educating our own children? Turning off a TV station or radio station that broadcasts propaganda may spare you but does nothing to prevent the spread of incorrect and damaging information.

We have a broader duty. It includes both "walking the walk" and "talking the talk." You must act -- and not only in your own interest.

But you must exercise your opportunities to speak. The Metro article describing the Royal Lane Baptist Church's -- specifically, Bruce Lowe's -- conclusions, and the actions that ensued are an eloquent and important demonstration.

Re: "Some want to toss out garbage pickup changes -- Residents of Peninsula say taking it to the curb just isn't going to cut it," Friday news story.

Before I was laid off by the city of Dallas in September, I was a safety officer. The Dallas Morning News article piqued my interest because one of my primary duties was to go out and investigate accidents, injuries and collisions between Dallas sanitation trucks and private property.

As a Dallas taxpayer and homeowner, I was always appalled at the hundreds of thousands of dollars the sanitation department spends each year -- and hides in its budget -- on damage to fences, private property, gas meters, downed telephone poles and wires, and electric meters pulled off homes by large sanitation trucks and, many times, the resulting injury to employees.

This is all because citizens insist that we continue to pick up garbage in alleys that where never designed for 8-foot-wide trucks, which need more clearance to pick up and dump large garbage pails.

If the city really wants to save about a quarter-million dollars a year, when you factor in workers' compensation claims, I'm sure ending alley pickup of garbage would be a great place to start in this next budget cycle.

I want to commend the North Texas Tollway Authority's customer service team. They are terrific.

I say this based on the last two times I received a violation notice in the mail. Both times it happened, and we were really at fault. But we had a plausible explanation for our errors.

Because I called and explained the situation, the extremely helpful telephone support staff not only eliminated about $1,200 in administrative fees, but they were also able to redirect the fines to the person who actually should have paid the fees.

This collects fees for the authority and straightens out an issue in its accounting systems.
While some complain about the size of the administrative fees, I believe that without the eye-opening dollar amounts, most people would just ignore the violation notice, continuing to be scofflaws who cost all of us money.

Based on what I read in this paper, my experience is unique, but I encourage everyone to ignore the negative news stories, and, if you get a violation notice, call the friendly operators at NTTA.

Now that the Irving school board has made a decision on a sole final candidate for IISD superintendent, I make this suggestion. Offer a contract with set performance benchmarks. At this point, the IISD cannot accept incremental achievement; we need drastic changes to provide a quality education for all our children so that, at a minimum, we achieve recognized status as a school district.

IISD has a few schools that have reached recognized status, but not nearly enough, not to mention exemplary and blue ribbon.

Dana Bedden, the finalist for the job, achieved small gains in his limited time in the Richmond County School District. This is not acceptable or fair to the students and taxpayers of Irving. School board president Jerry Christian said the Bedden would have to learn quickly about the Hispanic population. That sounds like on-the-job training at the expense of the students.
If Bedden negotiates a contract, I will pray that he meets all of our expectations.

Why can't our so-called expert educators understand when the best time in a child's life is to educate and train them to be good students? You know when, and so do I.

Apparently, one has to get a master's degree or doctorate to learn how to forget at what point in life a child is the most trainable.

Pre-school is when the training should start. All the way through elementary school, children should be required to stay with their grade-level peers.

A 6-year-old will not have emotional scars from being retained to be able to attain grade level. Retaining a 16-year-old might leave emotional and social scars that will ruin the child's life or at least damage that life. Retain a 6- or 7-year-old child, and they are just relieved to not have to face struggling with new learning material.

Of course the parents have a lot to do with how a child faces being retained. That can also be taught in elementary school. Teaching children in elementary school that there are punishments for not learning and rewards for learning will stay with them all of their lives.

So why don't our "expert" educators tout that method? I guess we really do hire the wrong people to lead our schools.

I was optimistic and open-minded regarding the new One Day Trash/Recycling program until Thursday, when I put out my trash and recycling bins. After I got up at 5 a.m. to put them out, the sanitation department came by around 10 a.m. to pick up the trash. All my neighbors had carefully put their new rolling trash cans on the sidewalk for easy pickup, but, to everyone's shock, we all came home to trash cans in the middle of the street or lying on their sides.

How disappointing and "trashy" it looked. Not to mention that the recycling trucks never came on Thursday, but we all watched in horror as the regular sanitation trucks picked up the recycling bins and emptied them into the regular trash truck.

If you would like to encourage citizens to participate in the One Day Trash/Recycling Program, don't mix the trash and recycle material, and please put the bins back on the sidewalk. Thank you.

Re: "Foster on his way out, but trouble isn't," by Jacquielynn Floyd, Friday Metro column.

There are many who do not like Jim Foster and feel he was unable to handle the job from Day One. I was one of them. I retired from Dallas County, and I worked closely with people who held these offices in the past. I wasn't too happy when Craig Watkins came on the scene, either, but I was pleased that he was able to get so many cases reversed for people who were incarcerated by mistake. I have been waiting and watching for Watkins to prosecute Constables Derick Evans and Jaime Cortes.

The commissioners should not have had to hire Danny Defenbaugh. The majority of the commissioners acted, and, even though they cannot prosecute, they can make it difficult for the constables through budget cuts, etc. If this has to be done, the employees are the ones who will get hurt.

I hope that Foster will put as much of his time as he can from now until the end of the year, when his term will end, trying to bring this to a conclusion. In the meantime, I hope that the public will let Watkins know they are not happy with how he is handling this situation.

People will not forget when he comes up for re-election himself.

1 Still a patriot at heart -- This spring, my husband, Lt. Col. Wesley D. Kilmer, is retiring after nearly 34 years of service in the Air Force Reserve. Most of that time was spent in the field of aeromedical evacuation at the 433rd at Lackland Air Force Base and at the 932nd at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

These remarkable folks take care of the wounded in battle, move them to a place of safety and then to a facility to allow for medical attention.

For the past three years, my husband has been a squadron commander. Doing that job seemed to me much like being in labor for childbirth -- it is a dramatic, huge undertaking: at once exhilarating and painful, but the pain serves a purpose, and it is the only way to get the job done.

Retiring from the Air Force Reserve also parallels childbirth: Ultimate separation is inevitable, and afterward, life will never be the same.

Like most reservists, my husband's military service was in addition to a full-time career.

During all my time as an Air Force wife, no one has ever asked me what I think. But this is what I think: As he prepares to add a parenthetical "Ret." to his name and rank, my husband is no longer an active reservist, but he is still a patriot. And he remains the commander of my heart.

2 SLANT 45 appeals to kids -- Community service is a tremendous way for kids and adults to acknowledge their good fortune and give back to nature or others in need.

The new SLANT 45 program (Service Learning Adventures in North Texas) allows kids to help those who are less fortunate -- and still enjoy themselves.

Elementary school-age children have been entertained and taught culture as they visit retirement homes and are involved in homeless shelter activities as well.

Including children at an early age encourages them to perform similar actions in the future.

In addition to the fun activities SLANT includes, it contains a large football influence as well. Former Dallas Cowboys star Daryl Johnston leads the program, and hopefully he will include a large number of youth, who are expected to acquire 45,000 hours of community service.

This program, sponsored by the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, will also appeal to adults wanting their kids to participate and allow kids to enjoy themselves even more as they offer their time and efforts to the North Texas community.

3 Letter carrier is special -- We have had the same letter carrier for many years and found out recently that he would be transferred to another area. His name is Richard Brown.

He came to our door the other day to give us a hug and say goodbye. We told him to stop by any time, so we wouldn't lose track of him.

I've told him many times how caring a person he is. Lots of times, he would bring the mail up to the door.

All of our neighbors have grown to love this good man, and we shall miss him.

Re: "Why Bunning put the brakes on," by Michael H. Sebastian, Wednesday Letters.

In his attempt to uphold Sen. Jim Bunning as a paragon of virtue, Sebastian neglected to mention a bit of history about the pay-as-you-go legislation. This was legislation that came into being during the Clinton administration.

It's why the Bush administration started off with a trillon-dollar surplus. In 2002, the Bush administration overturned the Pay-Go provisions so they could start their six-year spree of unfunded spending.

President Barack Obama, as Sebastian rightly mentioned, signed another Pay-Go bill earlier this year. What Sebastian neglected to mention is that Bunning and every one of his fellow Republican senators voted against it.

For the Republicans now to uphold the provisions of the Pay-Go bill to simply suit their own political agenda is totally disingenuous. But then, that's the Republicans for you.

Debt wasn't the reason

No one disputes the fact that the national debt is out of control. But to assume concern for the size of that debt was the reason behind Sen. Jim Bunning's actions is laughable, considering his voting history.

He had no problem voting for spending bills that weren't paid for as long as Republicans were the ones spending money we didn't have.

He voted for the George W. Bush tax cuts in 2001 and again in 2003. He voted to fund two wars without raising any taxes or even including the costs in the budget. He voted for the Medicare prescription drug benefit and has voted for other bills to extend unemployment benefits -- all without any cost offsets.

As for the Pay-Go rule Democrats were finally able to enact over Republican objections -- Bunning voted against it.

Now he would have us believe that he's the pillar of fiscal responsibility; that he alone stands between the Democratic Party and financial ruin.

Based on his voting record and the poisonous political environment in Washington, his actions clearly had more to do with the Republican "just vote no" strategy than any sudden conversion to fiscal sanity.

The fact that he would choose to block a bill that was so important to the lives of so many people only underscores his true motive and the disdain that the Republican Party has for the most vulnerable among us.

Are soup kitchens next?

Sen. Jim Bunning's playing games with the unemployed is a shame. Some Republicans have even said that the unemployed don't want to find work. Who would rather try to live on an unemployment check than have a job? What's next, soup kitchens like they had during the Great Depression?

Bunning and the other members of his party squandered the surplus left by Bill Clinton; now they are blaming a president who has been in office barely over a year.

Bunning's not the real story

Bashing Sen Jim Bunning to me was not the story. The story was the bill, and we are out of money.

Why is extending unemployment compensation, more highway construction, Medicare payments to doctors, satellite TV for rural folks in one bill?

Why does Congress put all this together? I think it is to hide the pork and special pay-offs to special interests.

If the Senate cannot find $10 billion in pork to eliminate to fund this and instead resorts to borrowing $10 billion, they are sorry stewards of the American pocketbook. But we already knew that.

The general consensus was that Bill White had a better chance of beating Rick Perry in the general election than of beating Kay Bailey Hutchison. I have been wondering: How many Democrats voted in the Republican primary to make it easier for White to win the governorship?

I was a Republican before moving to Texas. White has my vote come November.

Since Perry has been governor so long, I feel justified in laying our dismal educational system directly at his doorstep. His idea that our highways are his personal property to sell as he sees fit, to raise money for highways and who knows how many other expenditures, ranks right up there as well.

Let's get some fresh faces

Haven't you heard: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got"?

The voters of Texas had a chance to put someone on the ballot who would be good for Texas, but they chose to vote for the "safe," conservative candidate instead of the iconic Kinky Friedman who had some great ideas for the position of agriculture commissioner. And Rick Perry?

Again? Really?

Promises, promises

Here we go again: a politician going back on his or her word. As sure as I sit here at this keyboard, I know that Kay Bailey Hutchison is not going to resign her seat in the U.S. Senate, even though she was soundly defeated for the Republican gubernatorial nomination by Rick Perry.

They should pass a law that before you can throw your hat in the ring for an elected office, you have to resign your present elected office. This would include local races like school board, city, county, state or federal offices.

As we all know, Hutchison said that she would resign her seat in the Senate to run against Perry for governor of Texas.

Just to be clear, I don't want it to seem like I'm picking on a Republican, I'm sure that some Democrats have done the same thing, only with more class.

Is unity plea for real?

After all the bad-mouthing and horrible things that Kay Bailey Hutchison said about Rick Perry, she's now asking people to support him in the general election. These politicians must think the electorate is as stupid as they are hypocritical.

Voter anger will be felt

Kay Bailey Hutchison felt the wrath of the voters in Texas primarily because of her association with Congress. This was no fluke -- those up for re-election on both sides of the aisle should fear the voter wrath come November.

After watching Kay Bailey Hutchison concede on news and reading The Dallas Morning News coverage after the election, it looked to me like she got egg on her face and didn't know whether to cry or wind her watch.

White's better for teachers

Re: "A road map for the governor's race -- As the next leg begins, here are three elements to consider, says William McKenzie," Wednesday Viewpoints.

McKenzie states that what we don't know is where Bill White falls in his party's educational divide.

What we do know is that Rick Perry is no friend to teachers or retired teachers. He vetoed legislation passed unanimously by both houses of the Texas Legislature that would have allowed a retired educator to sit on the Teacher Retirement System board. He espouses vouchers and charter schools that would take money from public schools. White is a better friend.

Crown Perry now

After watching the recent primary ads and hoopla in the governor's race, I've come to the conclusion that we should just declare Rick Perry the czar -- or president for life -- of Texas.

It would obviously save money for the large-cap corporations, money that could be better spent on national races. Perry's leadership should serve us well in the future years, if we ever secede from the union -- or not.

If White's centrist, I'll vote for him

Despite his affiliation with the Democratic Party, Bill White appears to be reasonably centrist, with measured tones and logical thinking. After all, I don't think anyone can be mayor in Houston as long as he was by being a Berkeley, Calif.-style leftist.

As long as he doesn't veer too far to the left, he's got my vote for governor of Texas

How about these mandates?

Re: "Primaries are over: Let the barbs begin -- Perry says don't mess with Texas; White says quit messing up Texas," Thursday news story.

Gov. Rick Perry campaigned against "one size fits all" Washington mandates and in favor of local control.

So, he must support Chicago's law banning handguns over the heavy-handed rule of Washington-based activist judges. After all, if Texans know what's best for Texans, Chicagoans must know what's best for Chicagoans. He must be against Washington's grab of authority over marriage, a power not granted to the federal government in the Constitution. He must want to see the Defense of Marriage Act repealed.

Or, maybe mandates from Washington are OK for ideas he's in favor of.

Re: "How's electricity deregulation working? Opinions all over the grid from industry, consumer advocates, public officials," last Sunday Business.

The last time I had to select a new provider, I went to the trouble of going online and selecting the lowest rate per kilowatt-hour available at the time. I wound up with a minimum two-year contract calling for 13.6442 cents per kwh plus 1.3558 extra for transmission distribution and base charges, plus a $275 charge if I elected to change providers before the expiration of the contract. All that adds up to 15 cents per kwh.

The legislation that requires an electrical provider that needs some additional power to have to pay a wholesale price based on the least efficient and the most expensive power plant in the Texas grid system is absurd and non-competitive.

Why do my relatives who live in the Lubbock area, which is not in the Texas grid system, only pay a total wrap rate of 9.2 cents per kwh?

There are a lot of questions about why the residents of a large part of Texas have to pay more for electricity than they paid before deregulation and the establishment of the Texas electrical grid control system.

Competition lowers prices

It is the wholesale generators in the Texas market -- not consumers, as was the case in the old regulated market -- who assume the investment risk of building new power plants. Competition has attracted $48 billion in new investment in efficient, diverse and clean new electric generation in Texas that has reduced emissions and, more important, driven prices down for consumers. Another $28 billion is planned.

The article's assertion that some generators "such as coal or nuclear power" made a "big profit" when natural gas prices rose in 2008 ignores the fact that wind, solar, coal, lignite and nuclear plants are far more expensive to build than natural gas plants.

In only 5 percent of the wholesale market are generators paid based on the operating costs of the type of power plant producing the next increment of electricity -- in Texas, that's often natural gas. This system allows non-gas generators to recover some of the higher costs to build their plants and encourages future fuel diversity -- as correctly noted by Public Utility Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman.

Drawbacks to rate-shopping

To get the lowest price on electricity, I must shop the Power to Choose Web site, then agree and sign a contract for a set price and time.

Since most of the electricity pricing is tied to the producers' raw fuels to make the electricity, if the market price falls, I can't capitalize on that until my contract expires. And maybe then, the price has risen.

Advertising tells me that "you can lock in your price." Wrong. Just this last year, my provider raised my price, even though we had a contract. There's a loophole that allows them to renege on the contract, but I don't have that same option when the price goes down.

Deregulation does not serve the consumer in Texas. Also, I must regularly check the prices, so that I can make wise choices when the time comes.

I have a life, and I don't want to spend it shopping for electricity.

The problem is deregulation

Deregulation is bad for all businesses. What has caused all of our woes in the banking industry is deregulation. Texas had a better banking system before it was deregulated.

The same is true with utilities. You do not know whom to call, and all you get is poor service. There is not a decrease in pricing.

The only people who like deregulation are the people at the top, who make all the money.

What benefits?

Deregulation in Texas has been a total disaster for the homeowner. Residential rates have skyrocketed, thanks to the natural gas pricing provisions passed by the Texas Legislature. Texas has gone from having some of the lowest electricity rates in the U.S. to having some of the highest since deregulation was implemented.

It has not been a good deal for many commercial users in the deregulated areas. Many of our customers actively look for locations in regulated areas, e.g. Austin and San Antonio, because the electricity rates in the municipally owned power company-served areas and rural electric co-op served areas are significantly lower.

I work with many intelligent people, but less than a quarter of them have any understanding of their options for choosing a different retail electric provider to save money.

Until the confusion is eliminated, the average homeowner will never realize the savings touted by all the believers.

Solving Texas' problems
Re: "Retired teachers are hurting," by Betty Bailey, Thursday Letters, and "Passing the Problem -- State must close loophole on inappropriate teachers," Thursday Editorials.
As a retired educator, I agree with every word written by Bailey. We haven't had a cost-of-living increase since Gov. Rick Perry took office. Do we really need to wait another four years?
The editorial "Passing the Problem" shows another reason we need change in Texas -- big change.
I could go on, but I feel that the people of Texas are smart enough to know when they have had enough of all the problems that need attention.

Other retirees are hurting
If Betty Bailey thinks teachers have it so bad, she should be a Dallas County retiree. I have been retired for more than 20 years with no cost-of-living raises.
It is a disgrace that a government entity would treat its retirees in such a matter.

Frisco's stake in the arts center
Re: "Plano mayor: Arts hall deal may die without Frisco -- He says his city can't afford to pay any more if neighbor drops out," Thursday news story.
The value of the assets of the Arts of Collin County Commission project is more than $42 million in cash, pledges, construction costs to date, land, etc. This investment will be written off as a loss if the project dies. Frisco's share is more than $13 million. Frisco citizens should urge their city leaders to consider the implications before they vote Monday on the arts hall "re-vote."
The three-city agreement, which contemplated at least a seven-year process, was entered into in 2004 -- after the voters of all three cities had approved bond elections. We just began the sixth year of this project. The first four phases are now delivered -- at a tremendous $17 million savings.
It's now time for the three city councils to vote on approving the contracts that are set to expire at the end of March. The construction period is 30 months, which allows the cities flexibility on selling the bonds.
The only consideration should be: Is it time to proceed as a business decision, balancing these cost savings and huge investment at stake with the other challenges of the city?
Moving forward is the right business decision and the right thing to do by the voters.

Pitts, Kirk and the race card
Re: "Race's role in the Tea Party -- Leonard Pitts analyzes the contention that racism is the whole raison d'etre of the movement," Thursday Viewpoints, and "Kirk not a bit amused by talk of secession -- Comparing it to 'Jim Crow,' trade official asks how state would replace U.S. funds," Thursday news story.
Readers of The Dallas Morning News took a side trip on the absurd train Thursday, with Ron Kirk and Pitts both playing the race card.
Kirk practically calls Gov. Rick Perry a racist for "flirting with secession," because surely this is not just about states' rights, but about Perry wanting to return to "the Jim Crow South."
And Pitts, holding hands with Keith Olbermann, is walking around turning over every tax and deficit rock, and finding a KKK -- errr, Tea Party member. Surely the Tea Party is not concerned about higher taxes and a bigger deficit; it just doesn't want a black president.
These are serious times that require serious people and mature discussions. Claims like these only serve to undermine real claims of racism and the people themselves.
I'll never think of Kirk or Pitts in the same way, nor should you. Let's use the race card at the right time as a tool in our fight against racism, because clearly, this card can be overplayed.

Two can play at name-calling
If Leonard Pitts purports that those who oppose President Barack Obama's policies are racists (however nuanced they may be), I am now certain of three things -- I oppose Obama's policies, I am not a racist, and Pitts is an idiot.
Wait. You say I've resorted to name-calling? Name-calling does nothing to further the debate about the actual substance of the policies? Name-calling effectively shuts down debate?
Tell that to the man who just called me a racist.

Don't fear the new order
I was inspired by Leonard Pitts' column, which pinpoints a major cause of the current political dissension in the U.S.: We are witness to the birth cries of a new America.
There is a great deal of fear on the part of white Americans of European descent at the prospect that we will eventually be in the minority. We cannot escape this reality.
But America will become greater yet if we continue to incorporate the strengths of diverse cultures: E pluribus unum.

Pitts is out of touch
Leonard Pitts' column that implies that the Tea Party's goal is racism only shows how out of touch the liberal government and liberal journalists are with what most people in this country want, which is to keep America following the God-given Constitution.
And stop spending money we don't have and expanding government. Let us run our own lives.
Tea Party people represent every race from both parties. These people do not want America to become another Europe.
What progressives want is the old America under British rule. People with Pitts' attitude are the very ones who keep race in the forefront of every issue.
I have been to many Tea Parties, and I have yet to hear a remark that supports his views.
He's the one who lives in the past.

Re: "How much longer? Recovering 8.4 million lost jobs is years away, experts say," Thursday news story.
The solution to U.S. unemployment is easy. Enforce the requirement for employers to hire U.S. citizens or legal workers. Put import restrictions on foreign goods that used to be made in the U.S. Boom, 8.4 million new jobs.
It may put a burden on Mexico, Japan and China, but our government's job is to protect U.S. workers. Let their governments handle their problems.
We cannot police the world nor employ the world, not in a deep recession. Is there anyone bold enough to do the obvious?

Re: "Kirk not a bit amused by talk of secession -- Comparing it to 'Jim Crow,' trade official asks how state would replace U.S. funds," Thursday news story.
Not that I'm advocating seceding from the U.S., but Ron Kirk of all people should know where the state of Texas would get the money for current programs if Texas seceded from the union.
Instead of sending billions of dollars to Washington, all that money would stay in the Republic of Texas and would undoubtedly be used much more efficiently than sending it to Washington and then getting some of it back.

Re: "A road map for the governor's race -- As the next leg begins, here are three elements to consider, says William McKenzie," Wednesday Viewpoints.
With all due respect to McKenzie, Texas does not "need better roads," either to "keep ahead economically" or prepare ourselves for the future in any other way.
Texas needs a better transportation system. The inclusion of roadways in such a system may be self-evident; but, to be ultimately successful, that system cannot be auto-centric.
Trains must be a part of the mix, both for freight and passengers. A logical, conservative series of investments in off-the-shelf technology and existing infrastructure could help us redevelop a network of rail-based alternatives, offering solutions with the ability to handle at least 10 percent of the intercity traveler's needs within the next decade.
"Better roads" alone will lead us to a future of ever-increasing and unrelenting energy, environmental and logistical problems. Such an approach would force us to trade tomorrow's quality of life for a bit of temporary "convenience" today.
I do not wish that on my children.

Re: "Looking for the political middle," by Annabelle Brown, Thursday Letters.
Brown's letter about the lack of a two-party system in Collin County is indicative of the thinking of too many people these days.
If she doesn't like the dearth of members of the Democratic Party, she should become active and work to build a Democratic base. If you don't like Fox News, don't watch. If you don't like organized religions, don't go to church. If you don't like school rules, homeschool or enroll your children in a private school. If you don't like eating in a restaurant that allows small children, go to one that doesn't allow them or eat later in the evening. If you don't like the attitude of store sales personnel, shop elsewhere.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and has every right to work in supporting it, but they should offer something other than complaints.

Re: "Fire destroys hangouts but not Greenville spirit -- Blaze that tore through four bars, restaurants won't ruin neighborhood's annual St. Patrick's party, organizers say," Wednesday news story.
Isn't Lower Greenville the area where all of the neighbors were complaining about the parking problems and drunks urinating on their lawns?
Now would be an appropriate time for the city to make sure that any restored establishment would provide sufficient parking so that the homeowners would no longer be imposed upon.

Re: "Get ready for big cuts, departments told -- Police and fire services aren't exempt; property tax hike batted around," Tuesday news story.
Perhaps a more enlightened approach than budget cuts would be to examine the best practices well-managed Seattle has implemented in its parking revenues, which has allowed Seattle to provide full library services to its heavy-reading residents.
Seattle almost doubled its street parking revenue when it replaced its coin-only meters with modern equipment that eliminates free use of a just-vacated parking space.
Its modules accept debit and credit cards as well as coins, and they issue adhesive slips of paper to mount on the inside of parked cars showing the paid parking expiration time.
Business users tend to buy the maximum time available, as their credit cards are used to purchase documented parking and their meeting times are frequently unpredictable.
Dallas city management needs to implement best practices benchmarking instead of continually cutting critical quality-of-life essentials if it wants to attract top corporation relocations and those young families in the "creative class."

Re: "Taxing Injustice -- IRS shouldn't get cut of exoneree payments," Feb. 24 Editorials.
This editorial called for congressional action to "create a fair system of compensation for those wrongfully sent to prison."
I have re-introduced, along with Democratic Rep. John Larson, the "Wrongful Convictions Tax Relief Act," which would prohibit the IRS from taxing compensation awarded to those who have been wrongfully convicted of a crime and subsequently exonerated.
These innocent people have suffered enough and should not have to suffer the financial injustice of paying the IRS taxes on their restitution awards. After all, such awards are meant to redress the terrible miscarriage of justice experienced by exonerees and not serve as a new source of tax dollars for the IRS.
No restitution will ever make a wrongfully convicted individual whole. Yet we can at least make sure that exonerees get to keep their awards free of tax by exempting from federal tax, for up to 15 years, their first $50,000 in earnings as the Wrongful Convictions Tax Relief Act proposes to do. Exonerees deserve no less.
As a nation of laws, it is critical to the integrity of our justice system that we fully acknowledge and redress these miscarriages of justice. And while Texas, through the Timothy Cole Act, and other states are doing the right thing, the Wrongful Convictions Tax Relief Act represents a bipartisan effort to ensure that the federal government does its part for those who have been wronged by our justice system.

Re: "Let's face country's challenges with civility -- Solutions are attainable if we'll listen to each other, say Andrea Weinstein and Steve Gutow," Feb. 23 Viewpoints.

Some events contain enough evil for many lifetimes. President John F. Kennedy's death was that telling experience for me. I do not doubt that Kennedy was shot by a lone monster. But he was really killed for being the target of hate generated by movements that many of us once hoped were extinct. Unfortunately, they are not. The present target is President Barack Obama.

This column suggests that the authors don't appreciate our experience. Perhaps they are not old enough. They call for civility. No one in public life has shown himself more civil than Obama.

Weinstein and Gutow suggest that there are two sides to every story. In too many cases, that means one is right, and the other is wrong. If I say 2 plus 5 equals 9, and you say, no, 2 plus 5 equals 7, it is inappropriate to compromise and say that 2 plus 5 must equal 8.

Weinstein and Gutow are reasonable and intelligent, but the side making most of the noise is not. They should be careful with their reasonableness.

Re: "Home lawsuit shifts again," Wednesday news story.

Conservative Republicans have sung the praises of tort reform for years. Supported by millions of dollars from supporters like Bob Perry, even the Texas Supreme Court is entirely in the debt of tort reformers. The McDonald's hot-coffee lawsuit, although an anomaly that was corrected, cast a tort reform spell on otherwise reasonable people.

Now a tiny light shines through in the case of Bob and Jane Cull. After 10 years, numerous hearings and challenges at every turn, they have finally prevailed to the tune of $58 million awarded by a jury in Fort Worth. But the fat lady has not sung yet. Billionaire Perry pledges to tie up the case for at least another decade.

Should we support reform? Yes, for all the rest of us Bobs and Janes. Like that Fort Worth jury, we need to let justice prevail over wealth and political privilege.

Re: "Hatred's not new for IRS -- Plane attack was an extreme example of venom aimed at workers," Wednesday news story.

People feel anger toward the IRS because the tax code is so big and keeps getting bigger; because it is incomprehensible and continues to become more convoluted; because it incorporates social engineering into what should be a simple tax-gathering process; because it is used by Congress to reward friends and contributors and punish enemies. Congress is the culprit. Congress makes the laws; the IRS merely tries to implement them.

If the brainpower consumed to create this grotesque monstrosity that is our tax code -- and on finding ways to thwart it -- had been channeled into efforts to benefit mankind, we would have a cure for both cancer and the common cold.

I do not understand the big deal surrounding Dallas' new once-a-week trash pickup.

I have had once-a-week pickup, with the addition of recycling pickup a few years ago, for more than 30 years here in Forney. We also have on-call bulk pickup.

It works for us!

Have you driven down a street with trash carts and bags out in front? It is ugly.

We have had our garbage picked up by the truck going down the paved alley for more than 55 years. Now the city wants us to put our garbage in front of the house, which will look bad and be unreasonable because I would have to move the cart more than half a block in the street.

Apparently the people controlling garbage pickup are not interested in the look of the city. They want us to invite visitors to a city that has the appearance of slums. Those who are responsible should be fired and run out of the city; the sooner, the better.

Re: "Hard times ahead for states," by Sanford G. Thatcher, Saturday Letters.

Thatcher claims that conservatives and Republicans will have problems overcoming internal struggles to pass bipartisan legislation if they can regain control of Congress, which may result in many states becoming economic disasters such as California.

He believes that Republicans have only one goal: to oppose whatever Democrats and President Barack Obama want to accomplish.

Indeed. It appears that Democrats and the president are obsessed with the horrific legislation they are trying to dump on our nation, causing it to follow a destructive path economically.

Conservatives and Republicans have been trying for the past year to stop them and offer alternative solutions. However, it must be pointed out that many independents have joined the ranks of opposing Obama and the Democrats.

Any internecine struggling going on is with liberals and Democrats. Not to worry, with the upcoming November elections, many Democrats and liberals in Congress will be given opportunities to find employment elsewhere, so their struggling days will be over.

Let's see. The U.S. Postal Service is virtually broke, Freddie is back at the trough begging for more money, Social Security is almost broke, Amtrak is losing money, Medicare and Medicaid are in dire straits, etc.

And we want the federal government to run our health care? Have we lost our minds?

Re: "Strapped post office may end Saturday delivery -- Rate hike also weighed as mail volume falls, $7 billion loss projected," Wednesday news story.

Mail delivery should be a government function, not a private-sector business. It is a service that those of us in business use on a daily basis, and we rely on it to communicate with clients when electronic delivery is not appropriate.

I don't care about Saturday delivery, as that is usually junk mail, but this is one of the few cases where the government should step in and provide funding for reliable delivery.

To gain a majority, the GOP must pick up at least nine Senate seats. This would give the GOP a majority, but not the 60-vote super-majority.

Gridlock will continue, as Democrats can give as good as they've gotten. Then the Republicans will change Senate rules by invoking the nuclear option to eliminate the need for 60 votes.

Although all seats in the House are up for grabs, the likelihood of picking up almost 80 seats is uncertain. So agreement between the House and Senate is still unlikely.

The only remaining option is for every Senate bill to passed through the reconciliation procedure.

The GOP should be ashamed of: Dick Cheney's personal vendetta against the president (imagine a similar circumstance under George W. Bush); allowing the harsh, disrespectful and perhaps unpatriotic claims from the fringe without disowning them; and an animus against the president that might be based in racism. I am white, and I grew up in Mississippi. I've seen it and once lived it.

While the GOP may have some gains, it is unlikely to result in significant change. We may be witnessing the end of democracy in America.

There is a lot of political rhetoric today about job creation.

As a businessman for more than 50 years, I can tell you that there are only three reasons to hire a new employee:

-- To start a new business.

-- To replace an employee who leaves.

-- To add a new employee because your business is growing, and you need more employees to handle the workload.

The only way for the government to help create new jobs is to put more money into the hands of consumers to spend. This will create new business and new jobs.

Re: "Get ready for big cuts, departments told -- Police and fire services aren't exempt; property tax hike batted around," Tuesday news story.

I haven't had a raise in several years, and we've reduced our prices to stay competitive.

We work more hours for the same pay and receive about the same benefits, and I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a good-paying job.

If our market share continues to erode, we will all likely take across-the-board pay cuts to avoid laying anyone off.

I propose that the city of Dallas consider at least $2 of pay cuts for every $1 of property tax increases. Then, I would gladly pay my share of the increase.

The reason sales tax revenues are down is that Joe Taxpayer doesn't have as much money to spare as in years past, and certainly cannot sustain continued property tax increases to support services the city is unwilling to downsize in a down economy.

To the leaders of our great city: Please operate our city services like we manage our private businesses. You can't keep raising prices; it simply isn't a sustainable business plan.

Retiring Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky was right to block extending unemployment payments again to those whose benefits are expiring.

But his rationale that the extension would violate the recently enacted pay-as-you-go rule in the Senate was off the mark. The right reason to cut off benefits is that they have always been intended to be temporary, not a complete bridge to the next job.

They only provide a portion of working wages, usually for up to six months.

I have spent a career in human resource management, and it has been my experience that too many people who become unemployed have learned to put off a serious job search until they are approaching the expiration of their unemployment checks.

Six months has historically been more than enough time to find another job. Sure, people make the required employment inquiries to qualify for their state benefits, but they don't get serious until the last few months.

However, in this economy, they needed to hit the ground running. The bad habit of government facilitating being unemployed is backfiring and must be stopped.

We must support putting people to work, not to allowing them to be unemployed.

Re: "1 man's move idles 2,000, cuts aid," Tuesday news story.

Congress passes a pay-as-you-go bill, then turns around and submits an unemployment extension with no funding.

I, too, have collected unemployment benefits. But once, just once, I would like to see members of Congress live up to what they say.

Sen. Jim Bunning is right. Extend the benefits, but find the money elsewhere.

Texas retired teachers have had no cost-of-living raise since 2001, and we are hurting while active teachers continue to get raises.

Due to inflation over these nine years, retirees have seen a minimum 22 percent reduction in their spending power.

I doubt any other group of professionals has endured such a penalty.

In Texas, there no longer seems to be a two-party system, especially not in Collin County. There does seem to be two parts of the Republican Party, but neither expresses my views in any way.

I am, in a sense, along with many others, being disenfranchised. I know I could write in a name, but that will not accomplish what is needed.

So for another four years, I will probably be stuck with the same governor, member of Congress and others whom I have voted against before. Yes, I could vote on the Republican ticket, but Republicans do not offer the alternative I crave.

Plus, I do not want to be solicited by tons of Republican advertisements and contribution requests when I do not support the agenda, so I don't want my voter card stamped that way.

Where is the middle-of-the-road party? Where are the conservative Democrats? Where are some Republicans who are willing to work for the good of the country instead of their own agenda? Not on this ballot for sure.

My job as an outside sales rep requires that I drive the streets of Dallas daily. I am utterly amazed at the condition of these streets. This should be an absolute embarrassment.

I do not want to hear about budget cuts. I want to know where all the federal and state money is going. I want to hear that our license registration money is allocated for these streets.

These roads are not going to fix themselves. With the ever-increasing traffic, we do not need cutbacks. This problem affects everyone, except those who are wealthy enough to fly to work in a helicopter. Even then, you have to drive these streets to get to the heliport.

Where are our city officials and state Legislature when we need them?

They must have run into one of our deeper potholes en route. No doubt they were coming to discuss how to make the Trinity River bottom like that of San Antonio's River Walk.

Let me solve that problem. Just fill the potholes with water, and you have some instant water attractions.

Re: "Get ready for big cuts, departments told -- Police and fire services aren't exempt; property tax hike batted around," Tuesday news story.

That any city would consider a property tax increase -- or any other tax increase -- while the economy continues to falter is astounding.

Have officials not made the connection? The "steep decline in sales tax revenues" means that there's been an equally steep decline in sales and services. Citizens have less money, not more.

There are fewer wage-earners per household now. Family income is down. Hours have been curtailed. Self-employed people wait anxiously for the phone to ring. Folks on commission are hurting. Contract workers and casual laborers are idle. Investments aren't producing. Drivers think twice about using a toll road.

How can a city presume to ask for more in taxes? Raising taxes in this climate does not produce more money. Raising taxes just forces everyday folks to shift money away from the pressing obligations they already have. The increased tax burden becomes an additional facet of the problem, not a solution.

Re: "Officers in crashes are often unbuckled -- Many in Texas cite need to get out of car quickly, control violent prisoners," Sunday news story.

Police departments might want to try out the seat belts and shoulder harnesses used in military aircraft.

Shoulder harness straps come over each shoulder and buckle into the seat belt mid-body at the seat belt release point. Seat belts are released, along with the shoulder harnesses, mid-body with one hand and with one rapid motion. The occupant is freed.

Military aircraft seat belts and shoulder harnesses even work underwater. I know from experience.

Normally, I don't get into the Winter Olympics, but I really did this year, watching every night. I even watched curling and ice dancing -- in front of other people.

After the final ceremonies, I tried to determine why I had this newfound interest in an event that I had largely ignored over the years. I could come to only one conclusion -- it was the weather.

It's hard to get jazzed up about the frigid Winter Olympics when you just finished washing your car in 70-plus-degree weather wearing jeans, a T-shirt and flip-flops. The transition is just too much.

This year, however, it was different. Our weather on some days didn't look too much different than the weather at the Winter Olympics. The fantasy was complete!

If you voted in the primary elections, the election worker didn't offer you a Libertarian Party or Green Party ballot.

Why? The Texas Election Code prohibits us from holding a primary if our gubernatorial candidate in the previous election cycle did not garner a large enough percentage of the vote.

But in the minds of many voters, the primary process is what legitimizes a party.

This is one of several ways that Democrats and Republicans rig the laws to keep us marginalized and to ensure that voters do not perceive that they have another choice.

It seems that Democrats and Republicans are afraid to compete in a truly free marketplace of ideas.

Re: "Starbucks stuck in crossfire of gun-toting and gun-control groups -- Some protest chain's acceptance of those testing open-carry laws," Monday news story.

The insecure, paranoid people who feel it necessary to parade around with their guns on display have more problems than they are aware of.

Whenever possible, I will avoid places these people frequent. Normal people do not need deadly weapons on their person to feel confident and secure.

Re: "1 man's move idles 2,000, cuts aid," Tuesday news story.

Democrats pounced on Republican Sen. Jim Bunning and his party for "obstructionist politics," and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was quoted as saying, "I am keenly disappointed that political games are putting a stop to important construction projects."

What the article does not make clear is that, after massive deficit spending, Democrats have resurrected pay-go, the rule that every spending bill in Congress must be matched by an off-setting cut or tax to pay for the spending.

This rule was signed by President Barack Obama on Feb.12. This is the first spending bill to come before the Senate after pay-go was signed into law, and the Senate majority tried to have this spending exempted from its own rule.

Bunning is trying to put a finger into the dyke to stem the flood of red ink, which the Senate majority cannot seem to do.

Democrats term this "political games" and "obstructionist."

Re: "Three sentenced in 'betrayal of our city' -- Ex-Mayor Pro Tem Hill gets 18 years -- Wife Farrington Hill gets nine years -- Lee, former planning official, gets 14 years -- Bribery, extortion plot involved $5 million in contracts, kickbacks," Saturday news story.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn has given the people of Dallas justice and the beginning of closure on a terrible time in our city's history.

The headline, "betrayal of our city," says it all. Lynn has given us back our trust in the judicial process by holding those guilty accountable.

Our current city officials should stand proud that the black eye on Dallas is being removed by a judge who is protecting our public interest.

Re: "Tea Party logic hurts debate," by Charles Elliott, Friday Letters.

Elliott's letter read like a script by the left-wing media and its followers.

He pretty well implied that the people who are in the Tea Party movement are uninformed and not very intelligent and that big government is really good for the American people and economy. Actually, the opposite is true.

I don't believe people on the left are stupid, ignorant or even uninformed. They are simply purpose-driven and desire a socialist-type big government, where the government makes the decisions for Americans and controls our lives.

I doubt if they really think out the consequences.

More than ever, the majority of people are well-informed, with no thanks to the left-wing, mainstream media, and are very capable of making good decisions about the direction this great country should go in.

Re: "All I want is the truth in our public political discourse," by Steve Blow, Sunday Metro column.

Blow's column belongs on the front page, above the fold. If there is one thing this country really needs, it is for its politicians to speak with honesty. We, the public, should be reminded every day to demand that our elected officials and the people who speak for them are not to lie or tell only partial truths.

If we do not demand the truth, we deserve to be considered as ignorant as our current representatives seem to think we are.

The truth seems so little to ask.

... and check it out

One sentence in Steve Blow's Sunday column should be emblazoned on every computer: "If you can't confirm it, don't send it." The number of rumors, half-truths and outright lies being circulated over the Internet is alarming. How can intelligent people read such outlandish statements without questioning their accuracy?

If these stories were printed in any legitimate publication, the authors would be facing hefty lawsuits. It is time to take Blow's advice and check out questionable stories on Snopes .com or FactCheck.org. Blindly propagating lies is just plain wrong.

I watched with awe as the Canadian Women's hockey team (and the crowd) sang their national anthem with feeling and energy on awards night, something I haven't seen with the USA's gold medal winners.

I wondered how many of our children even know the words any more.

How about a summit on jobs?

There are some 15 million out of work, and Washington is talking about health care. If people don't have jobs, more than likely they don't have health care. Now I don't need a summit to figure that out.

Re: "A Made-for-TV Cure -- Can Dems, GOP agree on reform prescription?" Thursday Editorials.

A line in this editorial that should have been in bold and all caps was: "But both parties owe it to Americans to show up with a willingness to compromise."

Our government, both federal and state, has come to a standstill on all major issues. Voters are left with nothing more than talking points from politicians only concerned with re-election.

Congress should engrave the following quote by Edmond Burke at every seat in both chambers: "All government -- indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act -- is founded on compromise and barter."

If you sell a product, such as an automobile, to U.S. consumers and cannot fix a major problem plaguing that unit, which, according to the company's U.S. president, it cannot guarantee will solve it, then you should not be in business here.

As much as a car costs, it should have the same odds as playing a slot machine as to whether it works properly.

Toyota cannot, and should not, gamble with people's lives just to be No. 1.

Re: "Democrats' proposals aren't the norm -- No-kill shelters across state seen as part of being good conservators to animals," Thursday news story.

For those thinking Kinky Friedman's idea to provide no-kill shelters throughout Texas is a fruitless endeavor, let me set you straight. Huts for Mutts in Hamilton is just such a shelter, and through our tireless volunteer work the past six years, we have lowered the euthanasia rate nearly 75 percent in Hamilton and Coryell counties. We encourage responsible pet ownership and offer free and low-cost spay-neuter events. We educate.

The tax dollars saved by those communities run well into the $100,000 mark, so Friedman's idea is not only rooted in compassion but has great fiscal merit as well.

Re: "35E crawls to dubious title -- 5 sections of Stemmons are among region's most congested," Thursday news story.

The fact that Interstate 35E interchanges are ranked as the area's most congested should not come as a surprise.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has been saying that under the surface there are huge problems brewing in Texas. I am amazed the Texas Department of Transportation representative would admit that there is no funding.

Gov. Rick Perry has had 10 years to lead this state and provide for the future, and the TxDot team is under his appointees. What other bombshells are ticking away?

Three Cheers is a weekly collection of upbeat letters that inspire readers to think and act positively. Share your own timely story or observation by sending it to "Three Cheers" at letters@dallasnews.com.

1 Recyclers go the extra mile -- To the guys who have the thankless job of collecting our recycling every week: I have seen you back your truck up to our driveway, when you noticed we had forgotten to put our bin by the curb.

Not once have you done this, but every time we are late putting it out. You don't have to do it since, technically, our bin is not where it is supposed to be.

But you do it anyway, even though I can't ever seem to catch you to say thanks.

So, thank you, guys! Your conscientiousness to do your job well and your common courtesy has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

2 Appreciation for service -- It has always been my practice when seeing those in uniform to shake their hands and thank them for their service to our country. Recently, my wife and I were having dinner at a local restaurant in North Dallas. Seated near us were a soldier and his wife who appeared to be just finishing their meal.

I went over and thanked him for his service. They both smiled and said thank you.

During our brief conversation, his wife, with a tear in her eye, said that he was being deployed to Afghanistan. I asked how he felt about it. He hesitated a few seconds and said, "It's God's job to forgive Osama bin Laden - I'm going over there to help arrange the meeting."

With that, I told them that I'd be honored to buy their dinner.

3 A letter carrier's kindness -- Our neighborhood's most neighborly person doesn't even live here. He is Val Garcia, our letter carrier, and he cares for every family in remarkable ways.

Last month, an elderly neighbor died, and Val worried that his widow would have trouble navigating her steep stairs to get the mail. Val told her to put a box on her front porch, and he would go up the stairs and place the mail in the box every day.

Now she can look forward to getting the mail every day without worrying about falling. Three cheers for this random act of kindness.

Looks like a one-party effort
Re: "Health care debate over, Obama says -- Unity is elusive, but he's ready to revive stalled legislation," Friday news story.
One thing is clear: Democrats must pass health care reform and expect no GOP help.
All along, the GOP has said, "Scrap the bills, then we can talk," along with other obstructionist methods. I have some news for you, Republicans: They aren't going to scrap their bills when this is the furthest any administration and Congress has gotten in trying to pass health care reform.
I heard some great things where there was some agreement. One of them wasn't when Sen. Max Baucus said, "Our differences aren't that far apart." Apparently he hasn't been listening to Fox News and Rush Limbaugh champion the Republican Party saying "no" to everything in this debate.
Let's get real here. Democrats must pass health care reform or face a repeat of 1994, when they embarrassingly lost Congress and didn't regain control for 12 years.

Health care plan won't fly
Can anyone explain to the voters why President Barack Obama and his Washington cronies insist on ramming this deathcare plan down our throats when the majority of people clearly do not want it? Can you explain to us why, on the first day of the health care summit, Obama danced around questions posed to him by Republicans without answering?
Read our lips: Kill the bill. No bipartisanship; no negotiating. Stop playing games, and let it go. It's not going to fly in America.

Body language says it all
President Barack Obama is a true leader in command of the issues and language. He sincerely wants to fix a broken system and help those in the greatest need.
The other clarity is Republican leaders have no interest in substantive reform. Their desire to "start with a clean sheet" and take an incremental approach is no different than the delay, delay and more delay tactics used by Southern segregationists to prevent access to equal education.
The Republican strategy of obstruction was personified by the angry twins Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner. Their folded hands and pursed lips said more than any constructive comments from others in their party.

Please, some mutual respect
How is it that when John McCain brought out points that affect health care, he is accused of "resorting back to the campaign" by President Barack Obama?
Things such as "special deals" or bribery for a few states to get their leaders' votes, meeting behind behind closed doors for more special, secret deals with unions and health care officials, and the president putting our money where his mouth is are all part of why the American people are revolting. They want a shorter, simpler bill with time for the leaders and the public to read it before it is voted on.
And why does the president expect -- rightly so -- that he should be addressed as Mr. President, yet he speaks condescendingly to the senator as John?
It will be bipartisan when he does not have everything all done and wants to have a summit on it. That is putting the cart before the horse.

I am appalled at Texans who are going to the polls without doing any research into the candidates they elect. Their intellectual laziness will affect us all.

Look, for instance, at the mandatory teacher health plan that Gov. Rick Perry passed during his first year in office. It costs Texans billions per year and provides virtually no savings for teachers over individual insurance plans, even though we are a 500,000-person group. It's an oligopoly.

Kay Bailey Hutchison has done good things. But what about when, in effect, she voted for no-bid contracts under H.R. 2892? And, we know about the big George W. Bush bailout. She's helped D.C. become the money-eating monster it is.

Medina supports individual rights

What does 9/11 have to do with the Texas governor's race? How does Debra Medina drop in the polls after the Glenn Beck setup?

Texans are foolish enough to believe that her answer to the 9/11 question wasn't quite what it seemed to be. To take an issue nearly 10 years in the past and use that to smear a candidate's personal stand when she offered no information that would lead anyone but the media in the direction it went is unbelievable.

Wake up, Texans. Medina is the only candidate supporting the return of the Constitution. With laws like the Patriot Act, the Real ID Act and all of the executive orders passed during the last two years, we have lost our basic rights guaranteed us as citizens.

She is the one candidate who supports a person's rights and is prepared to restore these rights set up in our Constitution and fought for by the Founding Fathers.

This is America, and it is our constitutional duty to question all of the government's actions and to hold them in check when these activities begin to turn on Americans.

Perry's 'strings' could lift schools

Texas is 46th in the nation in public education.

But Gov. Rick Perry will not accept education funds from Washington because "there are strings attached." But maybe those strings could help pull Texas schools up.

Voodoo economics makes comeback

Recent articles in The Dallas Morning News discuss plans for cutbacks in various government agencies because of a forecast of a $19 billion shortfall in the state budget.

The cutbacks would include already-lean areas such as education, public health, etc.

Yet, in one of his ads for re-election, Rick Perry claims that, under his leadership, Texas has "billions in reserve." Is this more of the economics voodoo that we've heard in the past?

Enough with the attack ads

Enough, enough already!

I can no longer stand to listen to Rick Perry or Kay Bailey Hutchison radio ads. After their relentless assaults, I now change the station as soon as one airs.

If we are to believe the content of these ads, we have to wonder why we ever voted for either of these two despicable people for any office. Their ads say both are horrible people who have cheated their constituents and have accomplished nothing in office.

I am sure, though, as soon as one of them is eliminated, the losing candidate will throw total support behind the winning candidate. How can they suddenly support someone they savaged so viciously just the week before?

I am disgusted with both of these two candidates and will never vote for either of them for any office.

I would like to ask Gov. Rick Perry how we Texans would pay for all the federal government provides if we were to secede.

There would be no, Medicare, no Medicaid for the poor, no disaster relief, no unemployment benefits.

There would be no money for roads, hospitals, no money for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport or Love Field and the airlines, and no money for schools.

If the Tea Party cry is "Tax Enough, Already," do people not see if Texas were able to secede, our taxes would have to be raised to pay for everything the federal government pays for.

I honestly believe that this governor is playing politics and is not being honest with the people from Texas when he talks about secession.

Medina proving lone, brave voice

Debra Medina has my vote in her race for governor. Whatever Glenn Beck and all other neo-conservatives may think of her, at least she is honest.

She did not tell people only what they wanted to hear. She wasn't being politically correct. That is something truly lacking in American politics today.

Re: "A bite-sized portion of immigration reform -- Clayton McCleskey says U.S. doesn't need to bite off more than it can chew," last Sunday Points.

McCleskey claims that companies do not fire a worker from Dallas and then recruit someone from New Delhi to do the same job. Yes, they do, and I have firsthand experience to prove it. Companies do it so they can pay half the going rate.

The biggest outrage is reserved for Daniel Griswold's claim that on average, every H-1B worker creates five jobs in the U.S. The deceit implicit in this Big Lie is that those five jobs are high-paying technical positions.

Please, show some common sense There is nothing special about H-1B workers. The vast majority of them come here through huge foreign job shops simply to fill U.S. positions at low cost. They don't magically create companies while they are here any more than local workers do.

H-1B runaround

I suggest Clayton McCleskey speak with some American-born high-tech workers who are employed by companies that sponsor H-1B visas for a number of their immigrant workers so that he can find a more balanced opinion.

These companies are required to publish job openings for positions to give non-H-1B workers a chance at them. But it is no secret that companies already have an H-1B worker they want to place in that position. Then when a number of people do apply, they are all turned down on some false premise.

There is no shortage of high-tech workers in this country; there is simply a shortage of honest companies actually looking to hire them.

The cap-and-trade charade

Re: "Obama's green bargain -- Last year, he was extolling renewables. Now, he's talking about nuclear plants. Kate Sheppard asks: What happened?" last Sunday Points.

In this instance, legislators need only pass the president's cap-and-trade proposal and then President Barack Obama will presumably begin the process of developing more nuclear plants and new offshore drilling for oil and gas. The problem is that, at its core, cap-and-trade is no more than a hidden tax on consumers.

Up front, the cap on certain emissions will increase the production cost for conventional energy, which will be passed on to us as we drive our cars and heat our homes. In turn, we are promised that we will eventually receive more energy from oil, natural gas and nuclear sources, thus creating new jobs and reducing dependence on foreign oil.

The kicker is that it will take a very long time to get through the permitting, environmental studies and other government clearances before anything can get started. In fact, that long time very likely will be an eternity.

Women get away with it

Re: "Reading between the sheets -- What do adulterous women tell us about politics and ourselves? Lisa Belkin gains some insight," last Sunday Points.

Belkin wonders why women don't seem to self-destruct with as much fanfare as men.

When a man does something despicable, he deserves to be punished. And, generally, he is. But when a woman is guilty of the same behavior, we feel sympathy for her instead. We ask, "What could have happened to that poor woman to make her do that?"

Even when the women involved are Ph.D.s or NASA astronauts, we are content to let them off the hook with a slap on the wrist, or at worst, put them in a mental hospital.

When O.J. went free, when the officers who beat Rodney King went free, there was an explosion of outrage. When Lisa Nowak got away with attempted murder and Lorena Bobbit was set free, hardly anyone noticed.

And Belkin is puzzled over why a much younger woman would want to sleep with one of the most powerful men on earth. Surely she knows that having the dirt on a senator or a sports god is solid gold in the Girl World.

It's not "complexity" that we're more ready to accept in a man, it's accountability.

Drop that hyphen

Re: "Race, reclassified -- It's time to stop calling blacks 'African-Americans,' says John McWhorter," last Sunday Points.

I am of Irish decent and don't use "Irish American" because my family was born in America. We are Americans.

The way the blacks in Africa are treated, I can't believe anyone would want to be associated with that kind of treatment, or be "proud" in any way.

Just be a very proud American who happens to be black. And, as your equal, I'll be a proud American who happens to be white.

We are in a different world now, in a different time, thank God, and we all need to group together as one to better our America. No more labels mean no more segregation.

Breaking point ahead?

Re: "Talking Points," last Sunday Points.

The quotes from Tea Party activist Pam Stout and Austin airplane terrorist Joseph Stack had a surprising, chilling effect on me because they both had a similar tone: one that approves of violence to settle a grievance and blames the other party to justify their potential or actual violent acts.

Stack obviously felt that flying his airplane into an IRS building was his only remaining choice. Stout and her allies seem to be reaching that point when she says "sometimes you are not given a choice."

Ms. Stout and her fellow Tea Party activists have an alternative: fire their governor, representative, senator, etc., and do it regularly. If not, I fear that we're one Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh segment from today's Tea Party activist becoming tomorrow's domestic terrorist.

Keith Jones, Lewisville

Re: "A change of climate for 'science' -- Questionable global warming industry is justifiably under fire, says George Will," Monday Viewpoints.

Of the opinion offered, the only part I could agree with was that the entire debate has become political rather than an attempt to seek factual, substantial information. In an attempt to help address that, allow me to offer this:

Climate change can happen much more swiftly than most of us believe. Rather than thousands of years, dramatic shifts in climate can occur in a few years. Every Ice Age has been proceeded by a period of warming (accompanied by a rise in greenhouse gases) prior to an abrupt shift to a colder, drier climate.

There is no consensus as to what can cause a shift from warm to cold, but there is considerable consensus that such vacillations have occurred with regularity for several hundred thousand years, and we are overdue for the next shift to cold.

As a society, we should be considering how to deal with a radical shift in climate before it comes instead of waiting to see if it comes. If we start shifting to a colder, drier climate, feeding people is going to get awfully hard even here in the U.S.

An automatic response

It's interesting how the eloquent George Will can wax on about "global warming," yet never once uses the word "pollution." It must be like the inability of most Republicans to say the word "taxes" without saying "lower" first.

Perry forgets Scout roots

Gov. Rick Perry is an Eagle Scout. Boy Scouts teach Scouts to leave a place cleaner than when they found it.

Apparently, Perry has forgotten the lessons he learned in Boy Scouts. He can begin to move back to the Scouting ideals by dropping the state's frivolous lawsuit again the Environmental Protection Agency over the EPA's CO2 emissions findings.

Perry should be working on ways to improve Texas' air quality. He shouldn't be wasting Texas tax dollars on frivolous lawsuits that will leave Texas air dirtier than when he came into office.

Bad science, results

Re: "I don't see a conspiracy," by Tina Sanchez, last Sunday Letters.

Sanchez doesn't understand that making Environmental Protection Agency policy using tainted data and bad science will create bad results. Perhaps she is confusing climate warming issues with pollution when she blames CO2 and other greenhouse gases for polluting our streams and rivers, instead of the chemical and organic runoff from farms, factories and lawns.

She should remember that the fabrication of solar collectors and wind turbines creates toxic pollutants and are also energy-intensive. There are no magic bullets; we must rely on rational choices, based on best science and practice.

Onerous regulations created from bad science and propaganda will raise the cost of energy for the consumer and the price of everything we make, ship or buy many times over. It will impact the poor most of all -- in jobs, in household expenses, in opportunity.

Instead, we should focus our resources on cleaning the air and water from the real pollutants and recognize the bad policy created around greenhouse gases as so much hot air to be defeated for our common good.

I support the state's efforts to defeat bad EPA policy.

This is the problem ...
Re: "DART ridership plunges -- Revenue also falls, which could delay rail projects downtown and in Irving," Wednesday news story.
I have a collection of materials on the DART issue going back to 1983.
DART promised to have a rail line completed and funded from Carrollton through Addison to Plano by the year 2000.
It promised to have a rail line to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport completed and funded by the year 2010. It promised 160 miles of rail and 81 rail stops by the year 2010.
In March 1985, DART produced a graphic showing sales taxes exceeding projections, leading the general public to believe DART had made promises based on conservative estimates.
DART was behind in meeting its promises as early as March 1985, when DART reported that it recovered only 35 percent of its operating expenses at the farebox.
The farebox recovery ratio has declined ever since then.
Adlene Harrison, an early supporter of DART, said that for DART to be viable, it had to generate from 40 to 55 percent of its total revenues from the farebox. That percentage is around 12 percent now.
DART's current financial situation is no surprise.

... and this is the solution
The solution to DART's plunging ridership is found in one of every four cars you see on our roads and streets.
The municipalities served by DART should aggressively enforce the state's financial responsibility law that requires automobile drivers to carry minimum automobile liability insurance.
These people obviously have enough cash for gasoline and other operating costs -- except insurance premiums.
They are the ideal candidates for filling DART buses and trains with paying riders For every scofflaw converted to a DART rider, I rest easier, knowing my family is safer.

I have just received another of the ongoing mailings between Texas House District 101 candidates Greg Noschese and Cindy Burkett. If you are on their mailing lists, you know exactly what I mean. It has now reached the level of comedy.
There is an alternative, and I submit an excellent one -- former state Rep. Thomas Latham. He's already served a term in the Legislature, already knows the ropes that a new representative will have to learn, already has built ties and bonds with other legislators that a new representative will not have.
Latham was one of only two first-term Republican legislators who refused to bow to then-Speaker Tom Craddick's "vote how I tell you" whip.
I have no doubt that despite their current back-and-forth comedy routine, Burkett and Noschese would eventually grow into the job. Latham already has.

I have had the privilege to see the positive effect Angela Tucker has demonstrated in the Collin County judicial system. She is dedicated to giving her best to her clients and giving her best for her community. She is a godly woman, a wonderful wife and mother, and, when she is elected, Collin County will be the beneficiary of the best legal mind available to meet the needs and demands of Collin County.

About four years ago, as a family law attorney, I was involved in an emergency case with a high risk of harm to a child in Rockwall County. At 4:45 on a Friday afternoon, the judge called Cathy Penn up from the district attorney's office to meet with me.
Penn handled protective orders, child protection cases, juvenile cases and the justice of the peace courts among her other duties for the Rockwall DA. Penn had the knowledge and experience needed in a crisis.
Since then, Penn has been appointed as presiding judge for the city of Rockwall.
Not only is Penn the only candidate for JP Pcts. 2 and 3 who is a licensed attorney, she also has the knowledge, experience and compassion necessary for this office.

State Rep. Burt Solomons has listened to the people of our community and brought home great results. I have known him for many years, and I can tell you that he still cares as passionately today about the rights of the people living in his district as he ever has.
Solomons continues to be a champion of private property rights in our area, and I applaud him for his active involvement in property tax appraisal reform.

I have known Jim Truitt since 1990, when Jim was elected mayor of Richland Hills. Since that time, Truitt has held leadership positions in many political, civic and charitable organizations.
Truitt's business experience also makes him well-qualified to be Tarrant County clerk. He has owned his own business for more than 25 years. Before that, he was in charge of productivity improvement at a large corporation that employed hundreds and had a multi-million-dollar annual budget.

Chance Oliver represents the best of Denton County in the race for judge of Denton County Court at Law No. 1. Once elected as presiding judge of Denton County's only designated juvenile court, Oliver would devote his entire body and soul toward making our county strong, safe and productive.
I've watched Oliver interact with youth at my children's school and in our community, and he seeks to know children by name. Chance exudes professionalism, strong moral character, a deep-seated knowledge of the legal system and wisdom.
Oliver would bring years of legal expertise and deep community involvement with various groups, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, to the juvenile court. As a husband and father of four, Chance also would bring a unique perspective to the judge's role, having worked as a prison guard for the Texas Department of Corrections and a substitute teacher in special and general education classrooms earlier in his career.
Possessing book and street smarts, Chance earned his undergraduate and law degrees before attending the Experiencia Language School in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he completed a bilingual studies program.

FOR JOHN ROACH
Judge John Roach is intelligent, kind, compassionate and earnest in his efforts to be a good judge. He is careful about applying the law with a faithful commitment to truth.
We have known Roach for years and are impressed with the manner in which he conducts himself in difficult situations. While we practice mainly in federal court, we know many attorneys who go before Roach, and they attest to his fairness and integrity.