Needs first

So, Rick Perry wants to start thinking about returning money to Texans because the state has taken more than it needs. Wow.
The truth is, Texas is so far from meeting its needs that the situation he describes could not possibly occur in his lifetime.
Before anyone thinks about returning some of the money, first we must move Texas away from being at or near the top in the amounts of several pollutants released into our air, teen and pre-term births, and poverty and food insecurity rates, as well as being at or near the bottom in most healthcare categories, high school graduation and SAT scores, pre-natal care, home ownership, retirement plan participation, homeowners insurance affordability, credit scores and internet access. Oh, and the state needs to restore the cuts they made several years ago to higher education and employee retirement funding. Not to mention eliminating Perry's own misguided women's 'health' plan.
Many, many goals to meet before this tax cut comes along.
Put it out of your mind, Rick.

I want my P.O.

How do you know the post office reorganization is a bad thing?
 Answer: Darrell Issa is in favor of it.
I am hoping that this is one government cut that really blows up in the conservatives faces, because a large part of their base - old white people - USES this part of government. I have heard folks of that type say that government could be cut many places, but not there.
Personally, this time I agree. Not only because I support government jobs, but because I too use this service and look forward to it everyday.
Contrary to what many people think, this financial problem is NOT caused by email, online bill pay, etc. It is caused by Congress and Congress could easily fix it. Just change the extreme rules they set up for this and only this agency and most of the red ink would disappear.
We have already had our free TV service destroyed, and roads are being tolled everywhere you look. The American public needs to stand up to this under the radar assault on the services we use every day. SPEAK UP!!!!!!

Alternatives

Just yesterday I was at a town hall with my state representative. When I asked a question about our water future, he informed me that our aquifer is possibly the most productive in Texas right now. As such, it is highly desired by many areas around the state without such a resource. People in this area are understandably concerned about whether enough of  'our' water will be left for us when the more populous and growing parts of the state really set their sights on it.
Texas as a whole must start thinking seriously and maturely about water. Our antiquated laws are not good enough in the 21st century. We must explore all alternatives to maintain our supplies.
One place we most certainly have not looked up to now is at our energy production. Besides all the other negative aspects to coal production and use (land destruction, pollution and toxins), it uses more water than cleaner types of energy provision. Right here in the LCRA region there is a coal plant which uses 13 milliion gallons of water EVERY DAY. In an area where the lakes are shrinking and there are battles among the people living up and down the river over who can have how much water, it seems clear we cannot afford this anymore. To continue this facility, by federal environmental statutes, the LCRA will soon have to spend millions to stop the pollution which it has been raining down on local residents. Is it really worth it when Texas is a prime source of wind and solar energy?
Even our Republican U.S. representative is actively promoting Texas wind power. 
And at a time when everyone is concerned with health care costs, can we afford the costs that this plant and others like it foist off on us, thereby hiding their true toll? If we added all these hidden costs, how competitive would 'alternative energy' be?
Perhaps this would cost jobs, but there are solutions to that. Like mandatory training programs for the laid-off workers to enable them to find new, better jobs. (A small cost for the savings that will come and for the dangerous work we have asked them to do for us.)
The point is - There are alternatives to coal power. There are alternatives to fights over limited water supplies in growing areas. There are alternatives to dirty, low wage jobs. There are alternatives to hidden costs that fool us into thinking something is cheaper when it isn't.

There is no alternative to water.

Guns II

I am encouraged to see a consensus growing around an all of the above approach to America's gun violence problem. With all proper respect to Mr. LaPierre, I could support armed security in schools ALONG WITH bans on assault weapons and high capacity clips, and a national list of the mentally ill ALONG WITH vastly better treatment and assistance for them, and controls on simulated violence in children's lives ALONG WITH prevention of REAL violence in their lives.
It is REALLY time to stop taking sides and consider each others' solutions.

Connecticut

I'm pleased to see that the idea of a multi-prong approach to this and other tragedies seems to be acquiring the state of consensus.
IMO, the most important aspect is the treatment of the mentally ill. If they have any sense (and that's debatable) the NRA will be all over that. But anyone who gets on that bandwagon (yes, I mean you Bob McDonnell) will have to realize that it will cost MONEY. And A LOT OF IT, if we are to do it right. And that means TAXES, because the government will definitely have to be part of it. Republicans are already on record as being willing for people to lose their houses and starve in the streets to prevent a tax hike. Are they willing to see 6 year old shot again and again for it?

union primer

It seems to me it is time to re-educate the population about just what a union is.
The right to work crowd has done a good job of promoting their version of 'freedom', but if anyone examines it closely, it just doesn't work. Here are a few facts that explain why.
Fact 1. The workplace is an inherently unbalanced power situation. The boss has much more power than the worker by virtue of the power to fire.
Fact 2. The only way the worker can try to even up that balance is to combine with other workers and gain the threat of strikes, slowdowns, etc. These combinations of workers are called unions.
Fact 3. The only way unions have power is through at least majority, if not overwhelming, membership. A walkout by 5% of the work force is not likely to have much impact. 50 or 60% on the other hand ...
Fact 4. Management has and has used many tactics to prevent the unions from gaining strong membership. Campaigns of falsehoods, veiled threats, mandatory 'education' meetings, etc. are rampant. Most of the time we don't hear about them, but this last election brought some of that to light.
This brings us to our present situation. Closed shops may seem unfair, but in the real world, they are necessary to give the union some hope of competing with the dominant power of the employer. I heard one pundit comment on unions proving themselves effective and then gaining membership. Sounds reasonable until you realize unions can't be effective until they have membership. Early members have to join now, get the benefits later, after the membership has grown enough to force the employer to deal. Just a sad fact of the real world.
These are the facts. Maybe now you know why union members are so upset at gaining the 'freedom' of right to work (for less).

Philosophy

So, now, in this season of great signicance to Christians, Bill O'Reilly says Christianity is a philosophy, not a religion.
If I put any credence to his statements, it would be good news for me. I have always liked the philosophy of Christianity. It's the religion that bothers me. I can't get behind their ideas on creation, salvation, or condemnation.
My own evolving beliefs have come to be a mash-up of science (the age & creation of the earth and the emergence of homo sapiens, Native American (the Great Spirit, without any characteristics that make it more prone to some segment of humanity), Celtic ( worship that is the celebration of the rhythm and life of the earth and our connection to it), and eastern (reincarnation).
And recently I have come to a whole new understanding of Christianity, through the medium of film. First I saw Religulous, Bill Mahers film, wherein I learned that the story of the savior was borrowed, as were many of the Christian legends, from other religions that had gone before. That left me wondering if possibly there had not even been a Jesus, something I had never questioned before. And if that was so, where did all those beautiful teachings come from?
I found the answer in another film later that told the story of the Essenes, whose
'philosophy' matched those teachings rather closely.
So it is possible that there are no Christians, because there was no Jesus Christ. Maybe we are all just Essenes and it is a philosophy after all.
Check it out, Bill, you may be right!