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Is there some good news?
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By
JIM STREET Ed
& Pub From time to
time on this page, we have left politics and the like aside to talk about more
important issues like “easy open” boxes that never open where they are
designed, the ubiquitous pickle that shows up everywhere whether you order it
or not or sports commentators who think their dulcet tones are more important
than the game on the field. But we just
haven’t had time with the flurry of world events these days. One would
think that, with a conservative viewpoint, writing editorials would be about
the easiest thing in the world right now. But there are problems. It’s never
a question of what we can write about so much as which crazy idea we should
try to cover this week. OPINION Even more
frustrating is fitting it all into about 750 words so it will all stay on
Page 2. It doesn’t always work and often spills over onto a “jump” page, meaning
the reader has to turn to another page to continue reading. And still, we
have had to leave out things we considered important. But there may
be some good news these days, or at least the hope of good news. The government
decided this week it would accept help from 12 other nations in the Gulf oil
spill cleanup. And it only took 71 days to do it. It’s just in
time for Hurricane Alex, which has interrupted activities for a time. Oh
well. And last week,
President Obama went to Canada for the G-8 and G-20 meetings with world
economic leaders. He tried to argue that we need more “stimulus” funds to get
out of the worldwide recession but he was rebuked and who told us to cut the
borrowing was very interesting indeed. Great Britain,
Germany and France have led their countries to Keynesian socialism but it was
Great Britain, Germany and France that were now telling the US it’s time to
stop all the borrowing. Apparently
they are learning, as just about any family knows, that you can’t borrow your
way out of debt. You can keep paying credit card bills with another credit
card only so long before you find yourself in over your head. After the
summit, it sounded like good news. But was it? Obama touted the deficit
reduction as if it were his idea. He said he was only doing what he said he
would do. Is that like
his other promises like putting the healthcare debate on C-SPAN or not
raising taxes on the middle class? And was the
“compromise” language approved at the conference strong enough or did it just
give Obama cover to keep right on spending like the proverbial drunken
sailor? Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper, who is hosting the summit, said Sunday it is
"imperative that we get our fiscal house in order." The
deficit-cutting goal would mean cutting the red ink in half within three
years and getting the total debt stabilized by 2016. Whether that’s enough to
make a difference is another story. And that would
mean a very sharp turn to the right for Obama if he does follow through. How
likely is that? But the really
good news is that the rest of the world is beginning to catch on, even if we
are not. Polls show
most Americans are not on board with the huge deficits and statist programs
the Obama Administration has advanced in his year and a half in office. “Tea Party”
demonstrations have sprung up around the country, including one in Alpine
tomorrow, and they have been credited with several election victories that
portend bad news to purveyors of European-style socialism for the US. I am, as they say,
“cautiously optimistic” we can send some of these “tax and spend” liberals
home this November. And there is
another issue that interests me that really is good news. I have long
wondered why so many minorities clung to liberals and Democrats when clearly
they were better off with a conservative government. But we are
starting to see more minorities come around to a conservative point of view. Tim Scott of
South Carolina is one case in point. He could become the first black
Republican elected to Congress from the Deep South in more than a century
after his primary victory over Paul Thurmond last week. Thurmond is
the son of former Sen. Strom Thurmond, one
of the early leaders of the segregation movement. But Scott says the color of
his skin is not an issue. “Our people
are more concerned about the issues than anything else,” the New York Times
quoted him as telling a supporter. Little by
little, minorities are finding more friendly waters from conservatives than
the liberals have offered. The latter
have claimed to be for minorities but their policies have only worked to keep
minorities repressed. The concept of
personal freedom, limited government and lower taxes works for everyone,
including minorities. They are much
better off than with the liberal idea of higher taxes and keeping everyone in
a dependent state. The Tea
Parties have been accused of being “racist” because not many blacks have been
seen at Tea Party rallies. It’s not that
they are not welcome. It’s just that not many have gotten the word. Welcome to the
“right” way, minorities. And keep the
good news coming. Tenth
Amendment protects liberty By
TED CRUZ AND
SCOT BRISTER Special
to the News Leader This past
year, the federal government has marched further and faster than ever toward
control of the economy and our everyday lives. This would dismay
our founding fathers, whose vision of a carefully-limited federal government
animated the Constitution. The most
explicit statement of limited government in the US Constitution is the Tenth
Amendment. OPINION “The powers
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,” it
reads in full. Thus, any
power that the Constitution does not affirmatively give the federal
government, it does not have. The Tenth
Amendment embodied a revolutionary concept. Written just a
few years after we had won our independence from Britain, the Constitution
fundamentally changed the relationship between people and government. For millennia,
the source of power and authority had always been kings and government and
rights were seen as gifts by grace from the monarch. The
Constitution inverted that understanding with sovereignty beginning in the
American people – beginning with “We the People” – and power given to government
only to a limited degree. Indeed, that
was the genius of the Constitution – limiting government to protect the
liberty of the people. Because the
framers recognized that unchecked government can strip the people of their
freedoms, they designed a constitution to prevent that from happening. James Madison,
the Constitution’s primary author, summed it up. “If men were
angels, no government would be necessary,” he said. “If angels were to govern
men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.
“In framing a
government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty
lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed
and in the next place oblige it to control itself,” Madison said. Because men
are not angels, the Constitution was designed to create an effective national
government while preventing the government from overreaching. Thus, the
Constitution “split the atom of sovereignty,” as the Supreme Court has put
it, separating governmental power between the legislature, the executive and
the judiciary and between the federal government and the 50 states. History had
taught the framers that those in government almost always try to get more power
and the magic of dividing governmental power into many separate parts is that
each part fights hard against the others to prevent them from expanding their
power. As a result,
government power overall is limited and our freedom is protected. Keeping as
much governmental power at the state and local level yields two additional
benefits. It makes
government more accountable – it is much easier to express your views to your
local city councilmember than it is to the US Treasury secretary – and it
allows the states to adopt differing policies reflecting their distinct
views. Thus, the
states can be laboratories of democracy, reflecting the values and priorities
of their individual citizens. No one would
expect California, Texas, New York and Massachusetts to adopt the identical
policies – the views of their citizens are considerably different. And the people
can vote with their feet as reflected in the fact that more than 1,000 people
move to Texas every day, no doubt seeking a more hospitable economic climate.
We would not
presume to impose the values of Texans on the citizens of Massachusetts. Yet when the
federal government forces a single policy on the entire nation, the result is
that everyone must live under a one-size-fits-all national plan. Once
centralized in Washington, that national program inevitably grows and grows,
far removed from citizen control. That is why we
are working with the Texas Public Policy Foundation to establish the Center
for Tenth Amendment Studies. Through
research, education and outreach, we intend to build a bulwark for restoring
the balance between federal power, the states and the American people. Hundreds of
thousands of Americans at Tea Parties across the nation are re-reading the
Constitution and showing a profound interest in the Tenth Amendment – and
with good reason. If the Tenth
Amendment is respected – if the Constitution’s limits on the federal
government are given force – then government power will be restrained. Governmental
leaders will be accountable. And our liberty will be preserved. Ted Cruz and Scott Brister are senior fellows at
the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a non-profit, free-market research
institute based in Austin. Cruz is Texas’ former solicitor general and has
personally presented the most oral arguments before the US Supreme Court of
any attorney in Texas. Brister served six years as a justice of the Texas
Supreme Court during which time he authored 122 opinions for the court. Aiden
Mathew Rodriguez ODESSA – Aiden
Mathew Rodriguez was born at Odessa Regional Medical Center here June 20 to
Jaime Rodriguez and Erin Corbett. He weighed in
at six pounds, 14.8 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. Aiden was
welcomed by his big brother Javi. Maternal
grandparents are William Corbett and Carol Carlisle. Paternal grandparents
are Jaime and Delores Rodriguez. Windmills
made in Texas San Angelo is
home to the Aermotor Windmill Company. “They’re built
right here and we ship them all over the world,” said Bob Bracher, president
and part owner of Aermotor. “We ship to about 25 different countries and
every state in the union.” When I toured
the factory, shipments were getting ready to ship to Russia and Africa. Bob
said Russia had ordered a bunch of them because they’re building up their
cattle. Several of
them are going to Nigeria where clean water is in short supply. The company
has 30 employees who turn out thousands of windmills a year. “We build six
different sizes of windmills,” Bob said. “The diameter of the wheel is the
way we classify them. They’re six feet, eight, 10, 12, 14 and 16. The 16s
will pump to a thousand feet. The most
popular is the eight-foot windmill, which fully installed sells for $7,500. “It’ll go down
175 feet,” Bob said. He said
Aermotor is the only windmill company in Texas and one of only two such
enterprises in the United States. “We’re the
last one that is a full-service line but there is one in Nebraska named
Dempster and we compete against some knock-off windmills made in Mexico,
Argentina and China,” he said. “Our company was started in 1888 in Chicago
and operated there for years and then somebody decided to move it to
Argentina. “They got
kicked out of the country and the Argentineans took their patents and
products and started making windmills,” Bob said. “They moved back to the
United States and in 1983 made some changes to make the units more efficient.
They were in a few states before coming to San Angelo in 1986. We’ve been
here ever since.” Bob knows windmills.
He grew up on a ranch and still ranches near Fort McKavett. He has five
windmills on his property. Many parts for the windmills are made at the
factory in San Angelo. “They’re made
right here,” He said. “Everything we use is made in the USA by American
workers. We don’t use anything foreign. We don’t even use foreign bolts.
We’re a true American company.” Windmills are
strong symbols of independence. Bob said some people think the railroads
settled the west but actually it was the windmills because the rail-roads had
to have windmills to run the trains. The windmills
also gave ranchers and farmers the ability to establish agricultural
pursuits. Once a windmill is installed, it stays there for a long time. Some of Bob’s
customers in the panhandle use Aermotor windmills that are 100 years old. For
some, the windmill is nostalgic. “A lot of
people grew up on a farm or remember seeing a windmill on their grandfather’s
farm,” Bob said. “They’ll come in and buy a windmill and put it up, sometimes
to pump water, sometimes just to see it and listen to it creak.” Our
Beautiful Vegetable Garden Our family
decided to plant a bigger garden this year. It started off
with my wife wanting me to till that old hard ground. She started bringing in
mulch material for me to till in and I did not think she was ever going to
stop. I finally got
all the material tilled in, then started the watering. She and my
daughter were looking at different seed catalogues. Then went to town and
bought some plants and ordered some seeds through the mail. This was
followed by planting and more watering. Shortly came the problem of weeding
and finally a top mulch. Now we have
fresh squash daily, green beans, tomatoes – my favorite – and other kinds of
fresh vegetables. We just sit
back and admire it and enjoy the produce form it. That garden
reminds me of something in the Christian life. There is no such thing as an
instant garden and there is also no such thing as instant Christian maturity.
Both take a
lot of time and hard work and constant care. But there is a reward involved. When we make
an effort to remove the things from our lives that are not pleasing to God
and put in the things that He approves of, there will be a harvest of good
things (Colossians 1:10, Romans 7:4, John 15:8, 1 Corinthians 3:7,) a life
filled with love, joy and peace. See you in
Church next Sunday. Brother J Constellations
that didn't
make the cut The practice of
inventing constellations, those imaginary patterns among the stars, predates
recorded history and has been done by people around the world. In AD 140,
astronomer Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria, in his book “The Almagest,” he
listed 48 constellations which came to be the accepted list throughout the
Mediterranean region for the next 1,500 years. During the
16th to the 18th centuries, as Europeans began exploring the Southern
Hemisphere, they saw new and unfamiliar regions of the night sky and invented
new constellations. New ones were
also being created in the northern sky and with no official body to rule on
such matters, it didn't take long for the situation to get out of hand. The lack of
uniformity among the catalogs and sky-globes muddied the waters for
astronomers. To clarify
things, in 1930 the International Astronomical Union set forth boundaries for
88 official constellations, keeping most of the traditional constellations
and some of the newer ones. For most of
those rejected, we would probably say, "Good riddance." Several were
named for kings but who wants a sky full of monarchs? Two honored astronomers
Charles Messier and William Herschel but how can you select just two? Several
rejects were animals – a cat, flamingo, fly, night owl, reindeer and thrush –
but the night sky is already full of animals. Other rejects
recognized technological inventions – a balloon, electric machine, printing
office, sun dial and quadrant. While these
were important devices in their day, would we really want laptop computers,
microwave ovens, digital cameras and cell phones in our contemporary night
sky? Given the
abundance of constellations and lore devoted to war, killing and such, I
would welcome some depicting positive values such as Scepter, the Hand of Justice,
which was rejected. And how about
others honoring love, compassion, acceptance, liberty, freedom and
responsibility? One omitted
constellation my gay friends would surely have wanted kept was Antinous, the
young lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 76-138.) His death at
age 19 so bereaved the emperor that he created a constellation in his honor. Situated on
the back of Aquila the Eagle, Antinous was lifted into the heavens by the
great bird. He appeared in
some astronomical catalogs and globes as recently as the 1700s but didn't
make the final cut. Unfortunately,
we'll never know of many star patterns invented by other cultures. Surely there
were tigers, elephants and wildebeests in African skies, monkeys and
crocodiles looking down on Central and South American, buffaloes stampeding
across the skies of North America and kangaroos bouncing over Australia.
Friday, July
2, the midpoint of the year 2010. Saturday
morning, July 3 the Moon is above Jupiter. Sunday, July
4, the Moon is at third quarter. Tuesday, July
6, Earth is at aphelion, farthest from the Sun in its elliptical orbit, at
94.5 million miles which is 3.4 percent more distant than we were at
perihelion on Jan. 4. Thursday
morning, July 8, the crescent Moon is below the Pleiades low in the east
northeast with the orange star Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus the bull,
below. Early evening
Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10, brilliant Venus is within two moonwidths
of Leo's brightest star Regulus low in the west after dark. Sunday, July
11, the new Moon passing between Earth and Sun produces a total solar eclipse
that won't be visible from our hemisphere. Monday
evening, July 12, the thin crescent Moon is to the lower left of Mercury very
low in the west northwest at dusk. Wednesday
evening, July 14, the crescent Moon is to the lower left of Venus in the
west. Thursday
evening, July 15, the crescent Moon is to the lower left of Mars and below
Saturn in the west. Friday
evening, July 16, the crescent Moon to the left, Mars to the right and Saturn
on top form a triangle in the west. Saturday
evening, July 17, the crescent Moon is below the Virgo's bright star Spica in
the southwest.
Evenings,
Saturn to the upper left, Mars in the middle and brilliant Venus to the lower
right are aligned in the west. Mornings,
bright Jupiter is in the southeast. Stargazer appears every other week, space
permitting. Paul Derrick is an amateur astronomer who lives in Waco. Contact
him at 918 N. 30th, Waco, 76707, (254) 753-6920 or paulderrickwaco@aol.com. See the Stargazer Web site at stargazerpaul.com. Movie Reviews : Ed Layton ‘Robin
Hood’ reviewed If you’re looking
for the romantic tale of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, Friar Tuck and Little
John with the wonderful Maid Marion, her soft yet remote affections drawing
at Robin’s emotions, don’t go see this movie. Legend is a
solidly formed series of myths that have emanated from the oral stories that
were repeated for hundreds of years by a specific ethnic or social group of
people. Robin Hood is
such a legend. It
started at the end of the Crusades and the fall of the Roman Empire in
the 1200s and 1300s. Robin was a
sole adventurer for 300 years, robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Friar Tuck,
Little John and Maid Marion entered into the story more than 300 years later
as writers continued to expand on the legend with enthusiastic literary
license. Enter Ridley
Scott, director of “Gladiator,” with screenwriter Brian Helgeland, deciding
to create a story of Robin Hood’s humble beginning before the legend. A
prequel, if you will. Robin Hood’s
legend is tampered with, where legend becomes further fictionalized and
passed off as authentic. This is a movie
that will dazzle with battles, blood and gore. Robin’s
character, played by Russell Crowe, is not the affable, likeable man played
by Errol Flynn in 1938 or Kevin Costner’s 1999 portrayal. This Robin
Hood is a serious, brooding, battle-weary veteran of the Crusades who wants
nothing more than rest and distance from battle. The story
really begins when a dying knight makes Robin promise to return his sword,
illicitly taken from his father, to go to war as a young man. Robin agrees
to this dying man’s request and thus the plot develops. Robin, a
yeoman archer well below knight status, and his men don the uniforms of
deceased knights and return to a hero’s welcome in England. In his quest
to return the sword, he meets Maid Marion Loxley, the dead knight’s widow,
and father-in-law Sir Walter Loxley, to whom the sword belongs. So, in this
story, Maid Marion, played by the forever anemic looking but stunning beauty
Cate Blanchette, is of lower nobility, unfortunately downgrading her from the
original legend. The story
continues and Robin is asked by the old Sir Walter Loxley, played by the very
capable Max von Sydow, to take his son’s place in the family as his son who
has returned from King Richard’s wars. Robin is
amused and Maid Marion scoffs at the idea but both acquiesce for the sake of
the family and the lands. The feudal
Lords of England have been taxed to their limit and a rebellion is stirring
only to be averted as the nation unites to repel an invasion by King Philip
of France. This brings
you to the final climax of the movie and you’ll have to go see it to find out
what happens. Two pleasures
for me, not to mention the fair Cate Blanchette, in this movie was Yes, I liked
the movie. Yes, I recommend it. Yes, go see it. Ed’s rating is three
out of four stars. ««« “Robin Hood”
came in at $37.1 million, which is a very respectable showing against a power
house like “Iron Man,” which takes the weekend with $53 million The next
highest movie was “Letters to Juliet” bringing in $13.9 million. “Letters” is a
very sweet chick flick that will do OK dollar wise, But “Iron Man” and “Robin
Hood” will dominate the money until “Prince of Persia” debuts on the 27th
with Jake Gyllenhaal. “Sex and the
City 2” also will come out that weekend but it will fizzle at the box office. ‘Clash of the Titans’ "Release the Kraken." Zeus (Liem Neeson) orders Hades
to punish the rebellion by men against the gods. Hades has an agenda of his own, go become leader of all the gods and reign hell on man. To the rescue comes Perseus, played by Sam Worthington, the heroic Jake Sully from “Avatar.” Perseus is the unknowing illegitimate son of Zeus. The action begins when
Perseus begins his quest to defeat the Kraken
and send Hades back to the depths of darkness. There are great action scenes that will have you white knuckling the
armrest of your theater seat. Sam Worthington as Perseus gives a visual feast of action scenes throughout the movie. Medusa, played
by an unknown, Natalie Vadianova, will strongly
repulse and captivate simultaneously with her head of undulating snakes. The computer graphics are superb and border on the quality we saw in
Avatar. A PG-13 with no nudity and no vulgar language, the plot may have
been weak but, then again, this is a mythological story. So far,
grossing in at $125-plus million, I'm sure we'll see more
mythology movies. Who knows what Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon or Aphrodite will be up to
next? If you like action movies, go ahead, see or rent this one. You won't
be disappointed. Ed's rating is three and a half stars. «««1/2 ‘Date
Night’ funny “Date Night”
is a very funny, if not hilarious, movie. Rated PG 13, I was a little
uncomfortable with the numerous sexual innuendos and double-entendres. There was no
nudity and negligible foul language, which, I'm supposing makes the
sexual dialog more acceptable. I can only say
I wouldn't take my 13-year-old daughter to this movie. I felt it should
be PG-17. Having said
that, as an adult, I enjoyed the movie. Phil and
Claire played by Steve Carell (The Office, The Forty Year Old Virgin) and Tina
Fey (Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin impersonator) depict an ordinary couple
from the New Jersey "burbs" who become involved in a case of
mistaken identity. The premise is
formulaic but this movie makes it work. The mistaken identity results
from them stealing a restaurant reservation. The adventure
begins while they're enjoying their dinner, thinking they've been busted when
two thugs approach them and ask them to step outside. Well, that’s
not quite what happens. They end up being chased by mob thugs and corrupt
police. The ensuing
chase and evasion scenes become the hilarious mainstay of the movie. You will laugh
at the mishaps and turn-arounds that occur. There is an
obligatory car chase that has a new twist and will leave you holding your stomach
in uncontrollable, raucous laughter. The Hollywood
staple, Mark Walberg (Four Brothers), makes a surprise appearance as a by-
chance person who reluctantly assists them out of their potentially fatal
situation. I enjoyed the
Phil and Claire characters. Steve Carell and Tina Fey work well together and
played out the mayhem superbly. I'm
recommending this movie as a PG-17. I give it three and a half stars
out of four. Enjoy. «««1/2 Sorry
to miss Fourth To the Editor, Happy Fourth
of July to our dear Terrell County friends. We wish we could celebrate with
you and visit with our friends who are in attendance at the Fourth activities
there. We have
settled in this big city, making new friends and learning how to get around
for short distances in very heavy traffic from our new home. We are living
in a very nice senior citizen facility which is very quiet for a big
city apartment. We are very
close to very satisfactory medical facilities and have received the
information from the new doctors with whom we have gotten acquainted that we
are doing very well physically. We miss all
our friends very much and will always remember the 63 years that we lived
there and the friends with whom we shared our mutual friendship and love. We live
fairly close to our son-in-law and daughter and have been extremely
inspired by some of the new friends in the complex in which we
live. May God's
blessings be numerous and beneficial to you, our friends there. Albert and Zee Gilbreath Houston |
|
Troy
William Druse SANDERSON – A
graveside service for Troy William Druse will be at 10 a.m. Saturday. July
10, at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Druse died May
28 in Rockport (News Leader, June 4, Page 1.) Afterward, everyone
is invited to the Fellowship Hall at First Baptist Church of
Sanderson. Arrangements were by Memorial Funeral Home of Fort
Stockton. A 1938
graduate of Sanderson High School, Druse attended Texas Christian University
in Fort Worth and served the US Army Air Corp during World War II. After the war,
he worked at Sanderson State Bank and in the insurance business. Druse was a
volunteer fireman and served as assistant chief, a member of the volunteer
ambulance squad and was involved with the county medical center. He was a
member of the American Legion and the Masonic Lodge and a member of First
Baptist Church of Sanderson. |