It has been a long, hot, dry spell in the North of Texas. Not just for a week, or a month, but we've all watched as stock ponds have shrivelled up to nothing, and as the "river" than runs across the highway has become little more than a series of marshes and puddles that have been interconnected, only to share commonality when the rain falls heavily and they flow again. This has happened gradually over decades, and the area's pretty much as dry as a desert. It was this tinderbox that caused the ...

Link Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill which would have allowed parents to continue to request jury trials to determine whether or not their parental rights would be terminated. Because of Napolitano's decision, the determinations will be made by judges, wtihout the rights that parents should Constitutionally be afforded. The fact that Governor Napolitano is allowed to make such a decision shows one of the glaring errors in the way our laws are so often made. You see, The ...

As November nears, and I familiarize myself with the five candidates for governor in the state of Texas, I can't say that I'm overly pleased with the choices. It appears that "more of the same" will win the day, and it is increasingly possible that the incredibly incompetent Rick Perry may win the day, something that means only that Texans will lose. I haven't spoken with Democratic candidate Chris Bell, but I'm hoping to catch his ear when he makes a campaign stop in Amarillo this weekend (h...

From the "Lifestyles of the Smug & Sanctimonious" Department: Well, I wish I was ahead of the game on this one, but I'm not. Such is the burden one must bear when one's internet access is limited. But as I read across the forums, I picked up moderateman's article ( Link ) about the Hollywood stars "fasting" againt the war. And so I realized the best response to their self righteous idiocy of a 24 hour fast is 24 hours of conspicuous consumerism. Pig out in support of our troops, and o...

In my time out here in the Texas Panhandle, I have spent a highly inordinate amount of time at the WalMart Tire and Lube "Express". With every encounter, I'm forced to add another reason to the list of reasons they piss me off. On our trip last week to my hometown, I noticed that my rear tire was wearing down to the steel. Not having the resources to fix it as well as the offending front tire, we kept hoping it would hold up, and our faith was duly rewarded. I had to stay home on Sunday becau...

As I was reading a pice on the recent SCOTUS decision by Bahu (I can never spell his last name right, so I won't even try), I was inclined to reflect on what it is I like about certain liberal bloggers. Bahu falls into that category of a blogger who will challenge the argument rather than the opponent in a discussion, and while we have found ourselves on opposite sides of many discussions, there's never an anger or bitterness in it...because the argument never degenerated into personal attacks. ...

It's been suggested that our blogs should focus on the upcoming Independence Day. Sounds good, and it's definitely patriotic. But the truth is, our "Independence" is not something I feel very much like celebrating at this point. Because I'm beginning to question its existence. "Independence" is a jingoistic term that we toss about because it is so critical to the founding of the nation, but we so rarely stop to think about what it means. But every day, with every new vote of Congress, we seem...

Link I probably should have titled this "News from the Terminally Stupid". Every day I'm forced to add a lot of items to the list of things that make me think that we as a race and a society are proving DEVOLUTION, rather than evolution, and this offering is among the latest. Toy makers are experimenting with heavier teddy bears because they think that carting around a heavier teddy bear will help combat child obesity by forcing children to exert more energy carting it around. In my person...

Once again, the nazi left is out in force. With their armbands wrapped securely around their arm, they are demanding that Britney Spears' husband's selection of a pit bull for a family pet is somehow endangering the pop singer's child. Though unstated, the implication is pretty clear: The state should nobly swoop in dressed in full "Superman" regalia, and remove this child from its mother's arms because, of course, the state always knows best and the state would never do anything to harm a child...

Link Looks like the fears of a Supreme Court composed of Bush cheerleaders are greatly exaggerated. In a 5-3 decision (With Chief Justice John Roberts sidelined over a conflict of interest), the court ruled that the detention of combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the proposed military tribunals are unConstitutional. This means the "have it both ways" policy of an administration that wants to treat these detainees as neither citizens of Iraq deserving of a fair trial nor prisoners of w...

(DISCLAIMER: This totally fictional, totally made up story is made up of fictional characters not at all based on reality. I wouldn't want anyone crying to their mommies). Once upon a time, in the kingdom of smogolonia, people started writing smogs. These smogs shared their viewpoints of the world from various perspectives. There were mommy smogs, political smogs, relationship smogs....smogs about every topic. If you could think of something, someone out there was smogging about it. In thi...

I'm about to lose my Google AdSense account. And I'm actually very bitter about it. Why? Well, I'll give you the text of the email I received from them to explain why: It has come to our attention that invalid clicks or impressions have been generated on the Google ads on your site(s) through users of third-party programs paid or provided with other incentives to visit your site. Such programs may include, but are not limited to auto-surf, pay-to-surf, pay-to-read, or pay-to-click sites....

It was almost three years ago when I began working to learn about Child Protective Services and the abuses they've perpetrated against innocent civilians in the guise of protecting the children. I read the stories, and was shocked and appalled that these things could happen in America, of all places, in the "land of the free". Now, it doesn't shock me anymore. Because, although the names change, the stories never do. Every day's logon to my email sees several more stories, telling their tale,...

It was just another hot Texas day. I was in line at the WalMart Supercenter (you know the one that stretches all the way back to layaway because they don't want to open another checkout? We've all been there). After the interminable Bataan death march to the front of the store, I was now second in line, unwittingly being updated on Britney Spears' prenatal bliss and eroding marriage and the updated exploits of Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie as they attempt to adopt their 437th child from a small v...