Letters from our Readers - October

More on Proposition 12

Much of the rhetoric related to Proposition 12, funded by lawyers, has been directed against physicians. The claims have been that doctors are incompetent, money hungry and uncaring individuals. Most physicians, accustomed to being viewed under a magnifying glass, have done little to defend themselves.
During my quarter century of service as a paramedic I have found physicians to be dedicated individuals willing to work long hours. The emergency department physicians I have worked with have always been very competent professionals working under difficult conditions.
Our physicians need a pat on the back for their hard work.

Jim Becka
Splendora, TX

Scrooge lives on

Ebenezer Scrooge must be alive and well … and running the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). For only a bitter cold-hearted money-grubbing old man like Scrooge could think that financially hurting a working single mother with a twelve-year-old daughter is a good idea.
Presently, the entertainment industry is being transformed by a new distribution system: peer-to-peer (p2p) networking. Currently demonized by the RIAA, p2p is the future of entertainment. For example, it will eventually enable us to watch television programs when WE want to watch them and not when a middleman (i.e., TV network) says we can.
The only thing the RIAA’s lawsuits will do is force the next evolutionary step of p2p programs: user anonymity. And if Congress outlaws US companies from developing this, it will have foolishly turned over the entire p2p industry to foreign companies who will. 
What the entertainment industry needs to do is find a new business model that will enable them to profit from p2p. I have proposed one in a recent white paper (http://www.nonesuch.org/p2prevolution.pdf)
It might not be “the” solution, but it definitely points in the right direction. Financially crippling working single mothers of twelve-year-old girls does not.

Scott Jensen
Madison, WI

Thanks for the Support

I am sure most of you have read that the charges against me have been dismissed in the alleged violation of the Open Meetings Act. I am thankful the District Attorney has chosen to do this because I believe it is a victory not only for myself but for the taxpayers of this county as well. I can assure each and every citizen I would never violate this Act because I swore to uphold the laws of this State and this Nation. I hope in the future that certain members of this board don't “use” our judicial system for their political vendettas.
Furthermore, I want to thank all of the people who prayed for me and supported me. I believe things happen for a reason. And even though this has been a terrible ordeal for my family, and me I found out just how much support I have even from citizens I didn't even know. I also want to thank everyone who sent flowers and congratulatory notes to me. It has made me realize that the service I do on this board is appreciated and is worth the effort in spite of the adversity. Thanks to everyone for all the support.

Nicol Huff
MCHD Board Member

Law Enforcement should be Tops

In response to this commentary written by Guy Williams I believe law enforcement should be a top priority to the citizens of Montgomery County. The citizens should be informed of all the facts, and attempt to educate themselves on the reasons for this decreasing budget. Therefore I am in agreement with the opening paragraph, we, (citizens of this county), should understand the "costs' issues." I have also accepted the invitation to "get involved" with my community. As I read this commentary many concerns and questions arose about the descending budget for law enforcement in our county. I do not believe that anyone, including the county commissioners, would unecessarally cut this budget without justifiable reasons. Obviously the cut is due avoidable expendatures and the quality of our law enforcement community. In researching this theory I located facts to support it. According to an article the Conroe Courier in January of 93', after the sheriff took office, he immediately terminated 22 employees, for "alledgedly providing information to an investigator of the F.B.I." According to these employees the information contained evidence of civil rights violations against citizens. Fifteen of these employees filed a law suit and were awarded $161,000.00 from the county. Could this expense have been avoided? 
Yes, the entire situation could have been handled differently. The basis of their complaint is against what the citizens expect from out law enforcement community. In May of 93', the grand jury "no billed" 25 of 46 drug related cases presented to them by Montgomery County Sheriff's Dept. More than half of these cases failed to recieve indictments due to "missing evidence" and unreliable informats. The sheriff placed the blame on the District Attorney. Also in May of 93' the Sheriff's Department Training Academy reported that machine guns were missing. These weapons were purchased from a grant provided by Houston-Galveston Area Counsel. Mr. Williams states in this commenary, "One of the most important jobs that elected officials undertake is to set priorities for spending the money that is generated by our tax dollars." It doesn't appear that much has changed since thse incidents in 1993. Recently we have learned that citizens are missing money, presciption medications, and jewelry while incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail. With the Sheriff's Department facing a "$102 million plus" budget, I wonder how much of this could be spent appropriately and not on avoidable and unnecessary law suits. Ealier this year the sheriff was ordered by a judge, stemming from another law suit, to relieve his position from the Board of Bail Bonding Companies in Montgomery County due to conflict of interest. I'm sure the expense of his legal councel was not paid for out of his own pocket. Also earlier this year our J.P.'s, (Justice of the Peace), were denied a salary increase by the county commissions, the request went before a greivance board, this panel included Mr. Williams also. This brings up another statement by Mr. Williams in this commentary, "We are concerned with the amount of taxes and the value we get for our tax dollars." With the amount of infractions and the longevity of them, is it valuable to have our sheriff worried about bonding companies or if the J.P.'s are getting get a pay raise? In Mr. Williams' commentary, as he has done in the past, attempts to blame others, (the county commissioners), for the problems which lie in his own back yard. Our law enforcement should be a top priority to all the citizens in Montgomery County. 

Michael Aikins 

Favors for Sale or Rent 

As regular readers of this column (certifiable masochists in the view of some) know, I have long been bathroom-sick of the way our government at all levels is run by self-serving politicians, special interests and the lobbyists/influence mongers who operate the whorehouses of power.
I refer not exclusively to any political party, nor only to those currently running the show. There is more than enough sleaze to taint every partisan banner, and those drooling hungrily outside the gates of control offer little promise of improvement. 
I exclude only those few truly dedicated public servants found here and there from local precincts to the District of Calumny, our political Hall of Chumpions.
Hooray, by the way, for these rare Don Quixotes who genuinely honor the trust that goes along with positions of authority. Although they may flunk Politics 101 and are unlikely to survive until pensiondom come, they are true heros, unsung because they sing the wrong tunes.
You may not, as the old saying goes, be able to buck City Hall, but if you have enough bucks and put them in the right pockets, you might not have to, so favorable will be the Hallmarks therefrom.
Please don't ask me to believe that the gazillions of dollars shelled out to both candidates and incumbents, as well as to PACs, hacks and partisan causes are anything more than ill-concealed bribes, given at best to win access to influential ears and at worst to effect donor-favorable legislation and/or lavish banquets of pork.
Trot out all the euphemisms you'd like, but money makes the political world go 'round, and them as ain't got it or can't get it can neither ascend to power nor long remain there these days.
Worse still, those who catch the electoral brass ring must thereafter devote a substantial portion of their time (they and God alone knowing how much) to raising new money to stay in office and ward off the "outs" working equally hard to get in.
Worst of all, the "ins" are joined at the hip (pocket) to their benefactors, for whom they must deliver satisfactory results or face their backers' departing backs as they defect to more accommodating pols.
At its visceral level, our government is based on bribery and payback, although the participants are no more likely to identify with either word than to find a shred of value in the utterances of their political adversaries, or a speck of soil on their own snow-white wings.
(That's another of my rant-inducing peeves, but not the subject of this particular tirade.)
While their rhetoric is focused on the best interests of "the people," their ears are attuned to the lobbyists who swarm around them like flies on horse-poo (an inelegant simile, perhaps, but not entirely inapplicable).
These influence peddlers claim to serve the worthy cause of "clarifying" proposed and existing legislative matters for the elected officials, who are presumably too busy to do so for themselves, despite the support of their full-time staffs. Such impartial guidance is not to be found this side of a used car lot or singles bar!
The likelihood of ridding public life of quid pro quo in campaign financing in the cloak-and-dagger-rooms of government is about on a par with stamping out simulated copulation on television, which has also become embedded in our national structure. 
Bribery is not only an evil thing, but a cancer that is growing out of control, and our so-called campaign finance reform movement is no more realistic a solution than that of the fictional Dutch boy whose finger in the dike saved Holland from becoming a second Atlantis.
What is needed is recognition by the public and admission by the practitioners that the present system stinks something awful, and can't be sprayed away by platitudes, half-measures and spin-doctoring.
Could public affairs be run without indecent tidal waves of tainted cash and highly-paid influence peddlers? And could our elected officials be freed from the harlotry imposed on them by the harsh reality of political life?
I may be wrong (difficult as that is to contemplate), but I'm pretty sure that's more like what those grand old men in Philadelphia had in mind a little over two centuries ago than is the dirty business that has evolved.
What can we, the aforementioned "people," do? Well, to create a little bit of heaven, we'll just have to raise a lot of hell.
History has proven that the thing most dreaded by politicians is an informed and energized electorate.
And recent events - like the "no call" uprising, 50 million strong - proved that government of the people can also be by and for them, unless the hen house is left to the foxes.
Your move, brethren and sistren!

Joe Klock, Sr. 
Key Largo, FL

Darwinism is Dead

I am austounded that you would let an article like Mr. Kaul's appear without the even slightest hint of fact checking. In the case of Darwin, his theory has been all but destroyed by the scientific community. Despite Mr. Kaul's statement of 3-1 support Darwin, actually that is wrong.
There is a book, only 76 pages, by James Perloff (ISBN # 0-9668160-1-3) "The Case Against Darwinism" which debunks Darwin factually. Such a great intelectual as Mr. Kaul should read this book, may take him 2 hours at the most and just by facts, no religion involved, blow his support of Darwin right out the window. 
This book has been used by school boards across the country to have both Darwin and creationism taught in schools. Even the most biased have to admit after reading this book that Darwinism is dead.
I have enclosed my teaching notes of this book for your and Mr. Kaul's reading in case you are to busy to read the book.

Jim Beirnes

(Editors Note: Kaul's article is not published as an article, but as an opinion.)

Response to Anti-Evolutionists

I am president of Texas Citizens for Science. We are trying to stop creationists and anti-evolutionists on the State Board of Education
(SBOE) from fulfilling their goal of putting scientifically-accurate biology textbooks on the non-conforming adoption list, thus limiting their sale in Texas, if they refuse to add the bogus "weaknesses" demanded by out-of-state creationists. The SBOE members are being egged on by representatives of the Discovery Institute, an organization that promotes intelligent design (ID) creationism. Contrary to your claim that these individuals are not creationists, they all push ID to justify their belief in a supernatural God whom they identify with the intelligent designer. 
True, an intelligent designer could be a super-human extraterrestrial alien, but no one has ever seriously suggested that in a scientific context. Furthermore, ID is not an evolutionary process, so all ID supporters are anti-evolutionists. 
The Discovery Institute has misled you and is misleading others with their mendacious rhetoric. Students are today presented with valid scientific criticisms of Darwinism. Darwin knew nothing of modern genetics and evolutionary processes other than mutation, natural selection, and genetic variability; modern biology textbooks all contain this information, which are true weaknesses and criticisms of Darwinism. On origin of life problems, Darwin was again ignorant; scientists know much more today, but there is no leading theory, so textbooks present a variety of hypotheses, which is the correct thing to do.
What the DI anti-evolutionists really object to is the presentation of modern evolutionary theory, which today is very strong and has achieved overwhelming scientific consensus. There are no "scientifically valid criticisms" of this theory at the level it is presented in high school biology textbooks. Such introductory textbooks contain only reliable information about evolution, not controversial topics that are being studied and debated by research scientists. The DI creationists disingenuously try to suggest that legitimate scientific arguments about evolutionary details makes modern evolution a "theory in crisis," which is just not true; evolution has never been stronger. They say it is important to "teach the controversy," when in fact the real controversy requires many years of advanced study to comprehend and engage with. 
The true aim of the DI is to focus only on evolution and try to get their bogus "weaknesses" and criticisms incorporated into the text, thus signaling students and teachers that evolution is controversial and somehow disreputable. Their goal is to weaken science by weakening the presentation of evolution in biology textbooks. Hundreds of Texas scientists, including all Texas members of the National Academy of Science and all of the state's Nobel Laureates, have now signed statements repudiating the efforts of the DI and those members of the SBOE who are trying to weaken the biology books. These individuals can see through the DI smokescreen of disingenuous rhetoric and marketing tactics, including their misleading Zogby poll that purports to show broad public support for their goals. 
The occurrence of evolution by the mechanisms and processes we identify in modern evolutionary theory is as substantiated and reliable as anything we know in science. This knowledge must be transmitted to students, so they an understand how the universe and their own bodies work. There is still much to learn about evolution, since nature is subtle and scientists are not omniscient, but at least we know enough to recognize pseudoscience when we see it. If the DI fellows spent half as much time actually doing some scientific research as they do with their publicity and political efforts, perhaps they would come up with some legitimate revisions to evolutionary theory.

Steven Schafersman, Ph.D.
President, Texas Citizens for Science

Texas Biology Textbooks under Review

The recent furor and sudden interests in Evolution and Intelligent Design were spawned by the fact that the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is currently reviewing Biology textbooks for conforming and non-conforming lists at their November meeting. In light of the fact that this cyclic process occurs only every six to eight years for biology textbooks, any revisions and errors will probably remain in the system for a minimum of about seven years, and probably well beyond ten years. The underlying intent of all of the banter is get the textbook publishers to, at a minimum, update the next round of Biology textbooks, removing scientifically disproved information, fraudulent experimental evidence and misleading diagrams, and to point out the actual acknowledged strengths and weaknesses of included hypotheses and theorems, as required by TEA’s Texans Essential Knowledge Skills (TEKS) 112.43 (b)(3)(a) which states…
“The student is expected to analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information.”
The intent is NOT to remove evolution from the textbooks altogether, but to apply the same rules to the evolutionary concept that are applied to all other areas of science, and to open discussion as to it’s “strengths and weaknesses” as well as to other viable hypotheses and theories. 
The topic of evolution is the subject of much discord in Texas and across the nation. Although most textbooks and general science seem to teach and accept this “theory” as established “fact”, in actuality, there exist many, many weaknesses that bear investigation, pointed out by biological, chemical, physical, mathematic and evolutionary scientists (including Darwin himself). These weaknesses actually reduce the evolutionary premise to “hypothesis”, based on the commonly accepted scientific method. Additionally, there are substantial evidences in favor of an alternate premise, that all life was created, completely formed and functional, by some sort of “Intelligent Designer”. (Note that the apparent lack of presence of a designer does not disprove its existence. For example, in forensic science, the lack of presence of a murderer does not disprove that a murder was committed.) In light of the apparent strengths and weaknesses of both issues, it would seem to be insanity to throw one out, in favor of the other.
Consequently, this is a request to every parent that desires that their children be taught how to analyze data and situations and “HOW” to think, not “WHAT” to think, to contact all of the Texas SBOE members, their local school board members, science and biology teachers, and textbook review committee members, to request that the appropriate updates be made to our biology textbooks immediately.
Texas State Board of Education Board Members:
SBOE District 1 Rene Nuñez, 1521 Upson, El Paso, TX 79902. TEL: (915) 584-5644 FAX same (Please call first) 
SBOE District 2 Mary Helen Berlanga, Sec., 2727 Morgan Avenue, Corpus Christi, TX 78405. TEL: (361) 882-8284 FAX: (361) 881-1028 
SBOE District 3 Joe J. Bernal, Ph.D., 6410 Laurelhill Drive San Antonio, TX 78229. TEL: (210) 342-8026 FAX: (210) 342-2182 JJBernal@swbell.net
SBOE District 4 Alma A. Allen, Ed.D., 3717 Cork Drive Houston, TX 77047. TEL: (713) 734-1542 FAX: (713) 734-1547 aaaallen@flash.net 
SBOE District 5 Dan Montgomery, 205 West Travis Fredericksburg, TX 78624. TEL: (830) 997-9759 FAX: (830) 997-8092 jdm@danmontgomery.org
SBOE District 6 Terri Leo, 23516 Twin Oaks Dr., RR#5 Spring, TX 77389. TEL: (281) 257-0836 FAX: same (Please call first) 
SBOE District 7 David Bradley, 2165 North Street Beaumont, TX 77701. TEL: (409) 835-3808 FAX: (409) 833-5134 
SBOE District 8 Linda Bauer, 19 E. Wedgewood Glen The Woodlands, TX 77381. TEL: (281) 292-6526 FAX: same (Please call first) 
SBOE District 9 Don McLeroy, 3707 Tanglewood Bryan, TX 77802. TEL: (979) 255-2538 FAX: (979) 846-1174
SBOE District 10 Cynthia A. Thornton, Vice Chair, P.O. Box 321 Round Top, TX 78954. TEL: (979) 249-3099 FAX: (979) 249-2190
SBOE District 11 Patricia "Pat" Hardy, 900 N. Elm Weatherford, TX 76086. TEL: (817) 598-2968 FAX: (817) 598-2833 
SBOE District 12 Geraldine Miller, Chair, 1100 Providence Tower West 5001, Spring Valley Road, Dallas, TX 75244-3910. TEL: (972) 419-4000 FAX: (214) 522-8560 
SBOE District 13 Mavis B. Knight, P.O. Box 763337 Dallas, TX 75376-3337. TEL: (214) 333-9575 FAX: (214) 339-9242 
SBOE District 14 Gail Lowe, 11 Chris Ave. Lampasas, TX 76550. TEL: (512) 556-6262 FAX: (512) 556-3278
SBOE District 15 Bob Craig, P.O. Box 1979 Lubbock, TX 79408-1979. TEL: (806) 744-3232 FAX: (806) 744-2211 
For more information on this topic, please checkout the following links…
Evolutionist Quotes refuting principles of evolution: http://www.strengthsandweaknesses.org/evol_quotes.htm
Essential weaknesses of evolution
http://www.strengthsandweaknesses.org/essential_weaknesses.htm
Naturalistic weaknesses of evolution
http://www.strengthsandweaknesses.org/naturalistic_weaknesses__in_evol.htm
Resources and book reviews:
http://www.strengthsandweaknesses.org/reviews.htm

Stephen Chauvin
The Woodlands, TX

Readjusting our Priorities

While many of us are preoccupied with "intelligent design" and redistricting, we are ignoring the fact that 25% of Texans are medically uninsured and that 40% of the population of East Montgomery County makes under the 200% federal poverty guidelines that define them as working poor. 
The above subjects are important and need debate and deserve our attention, but it seems that we have lost sight of the forest for the trees due to partisan politics and political agendas. I have not seen one letter to the editor in recent weeks responding to the proclamation that Texas ranks last in the nation in taking care of its citizens health care needs. And the statistics were taken before the legislature cut Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIPS), so the numbers in fact underestimate the problems that we will have in the near future. 
It is important and necessary to care both about our children's educational needs and to provide them with health insurance so that they can go to the doctor and not miss school work due to illnesses that could have been avoided. Roughly a quarter of our children have no health insurance and tragically many receive no immunizations. 
Let's get our focus back on caring for the people who cannot afford to care for themselves and have health care needs that are devastating to them and to the entire community both medically and economically. These people are our neighbors, not some people living on a deserted island that we can ignore. What we are doing in the area of health care is clearly not working, and has in fact been counterproductive. It is time for public debate, education, and focusing on solutions. 
I would love to see the same public outcry about health care that we are seeing about other important issues. Let's get on track everyone and keep our eye on the ball. It is time to focus on the sad reality that if we don't take care of each other, nothing else matters. The real charity must come from having faith and HEART. 
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 

Steven Farber, MD 
Chairman, HEART

Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival 

Enjoyed your article on the Cajun Catfish Festival. Nice to see so much “musical ink” devoted to live entertainment.
I had not heard that KPFT was increasing the amount of music in its mix.

Don Schwarzkopf

Conroe Student Is Hero 

When a Conroe ISD student saved his friend's life as she was having a life-threatening asthma attack, most called him a Good Samaritan. In fact, if he were a Boy Scout he would be getting a Lifesaving Award. 
But the Conroe ISD called him a criminal. And the expulsion they handed him was a travesty of the highest order. 
The school officials involved are the true criminals here. Under state law, students with asthma have the unconditional right to possess life-saving inhalers at school, and self-medicate at any time without answering to anyone. 
The school clearly violated this law by expelling a student for doing what the law says he can do. I doesn't matter whether an emergency existed or not, and one absolutely did. 
Apparently these families involved had little or no legal counsel, and let the District run roughshod over their legal rights, to the detriment of their kids. They could have, and should have, sued the school district into bankruptcy. 

James Alderman 
Carrollton, TX

The New Oxymoron

Conservatism is having a rough time of it these days. First, there's the new oxymoron -- Rush Limbaugh. While everyone should wish Rush well with his drug addiction to OxyContin, he has hypocritically preached zero-tolerance for drug offenders over the airwaves for years while illegally consuming opiates and twice trying to dry out with 30-day impatient treatments.
I can just hear Rush's liberal alter ego spouting: Would we want Rush flying airplanes or driving an automobile in his condition? Should Rush be allowed to talk "on the air" to children and other pliable minds in his drugged condition? Should Rush be sent "up the river" for ingesting pain pills without a prescription? If it's "up the river" for poor, black and brown folk who transgress our drug laws, then why not "up the river" for rich, white folk who illegally consume drugs in the heroin-family (opiates)?
In all fairness, what's good for the daughter of Florida's governor Jeb Bush is good for the gander: Treatment and multiple second chances for the privileged.
Equal treatment under the law is a liberal bent or conservative bias, depending on whose weakness is on parade and whose head is on the block. Is it liberal or conservative to think that all people should be treated alike? That addiction is an illness? That drug abuse should be treated by docs and hospitals rather than cops and prisons? It all depends on whose OxyContin is being gored.
Then there's conservative, family-value moralist, educator and retired drug czar William Bennett. He has little known weakness for drugs. Ah, but give him Rudyard Kipling's challenge of risking all one's winnings on one turn of pitch-and toss ("If") and Bennett's a goner. The old drug czar's addiction and weakness is gambling. But he is apparently wealthy enough to afford his "consensual sin," so where's the rub. "Oh ye of little capital," loosen up.
And at the titular head of America's conservative camp is that Yale University, member of the Skull and Bones (a secret society for the rich and privileged), president George W. Bush of Texas. Texas is America's leading death-penalty state, a distinction abhorred universally by civil libertarians around the world. But many people from Brownsville, Texas say to get tough with drug criminals, "Off with their heads." And maybe they are right. Pres. Bush's Office of National Drug Control Policy says that every drug purchase aids terrorism (in this time of war).
Ergo, but for his station in life (260 some stations), things would be looking mighty bleak for the big talker, Rush "Swing 'em High" Limbaugh. But liberals will be fighting for him, saying something like: "Rush, your sins are forgiven. Go in peace and sin no more. And should you fall again, each time (when it comes to drugs), we'll give you one more last chance."

James E. Gierach
Oak Lawn, Illinois 

I listen to Rush

I have a confession to make. I listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. But I am not a “dittohead.” I don't think Rush is always right and I don't condone what he said on ESPN. I don't get my daily marching orders from him. And he certainly does not tell me how to think. 
I also listen to KPFT 90.5 FM (Pacifica) and read The Bulletin. But I am not a “left-wing liberal.” I voted for George Dubya, but I question our continued involvement in the war in Iraq. In fact, as of right now, I am apolitical and may never (GASP!!!) vote in another election again. I have stickers on my truck supporting the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, but I am not an “environmental whacko.” I also shop at Hot Topic but I am too old to be considered Goth.
I say all this for a reason. How are you going to stereotype me? What label are you going to put on me? To classify me as a “dittohead” because I listen to Rush or a “left-wing liberal”
because I listen to KPFT and read The Bulletin are both incorrect assumptions. I listen to Rush because I want to know what he is saying and then make up my mind. I don't want to get it second hand, not even from The Bulletin. I listen to KPFT and read The Bulletin because I receive alternative news that I do NOT hear on the mainline news programs. But just to be fair, I also watch the news on ABC, Fox as well as Bill O'Reilly's program.
I think it is ironic that not too long ago The Bulletin criticized members of the RLC for stereotyping the staff of the Montgomery County Library System as purveyors of smut and pornography. Now The Bulletin is doing the same thing by stereotyping all listeners of Rush as “dittoheads” who blindly follow his every command because he supposedly has told them what to think. It is ludicrous and very unfair. Please don't do that. Just as the American Library Association does not send me a list of required books that I need to buy for the West Branch Library, I don't get marching orders from Rush Limbaugh.
Now, can someone please tell me where I can get my tongue pierced for my 50th birthday?

Ken McKee
Montgomery, Texas 

Rush to Judgment 

From reading your editorial it is obvious you do not know your material. It is even more obvious that you do not know what Rush said. I am sending you a link so that you can actually hear and read what was said. Next time it might be helpful to get all the FACTS before you write your column. http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/
home/today.guest.html 
By the way, although I listen to Rush I do not always agree with him like you seem to think. 

Deborah Lapinskas 

(Editor's Note: We checked the web site as you suggested. After searching through all the orchestrated articles on the great one, comments on loony liberals, hate-inspired parodies on anyone that may have ever disagreed with the great one in any way, and other self serving media hype, we gave up.)

More on Rush

While your take on Rush Limbaugh’s drug use is on target, you should remember that Limbaugh is a radio personality. He is more or less a shock jock. While he and Howard Stern have little in common in many ways, they both seek to attract and keep an audience. Limbaugh’s notoriety has always been excessive especially when you consider the Frontline episode, “Rush Limbaugh’s America,” and Al Franken’s book. He has always been an infomercial for the conservative movement. Nothing more and nothing less.
The most comical thing about Limbaugh has been his busts when it came to doing TV. Before the ESPN blowup, his TV show eventually went under. A telling moment on that show came when he made a wife beating joke in connection to the OJ case. His own TV studio audience booed him. I knew then that he would not be long on the tube. For Rush haters, they should be praying he continues doing TV for years to come.
Should Rush go to jail? number If he cooperates with the authorities, he should get the same opportunity that all snitches do. He talks, he walks. Then the tabloids can really tee off on him. That would be a far more fitting punishment for Rush.

Darrell Grudziecki
Conroe, Texas

Author of the Rush Story, and the editor that printed it.... 

You disgust me. 
You would not know where your freedom comes from if it sat on your liberal face. 
Left wing liberals like you are the reason our culture is such a lying, cheating, f--king mess. 
This is for Rush, Prez. Bush and my son, PFC 82nd Airborne in Iraq (protecting your rights to be a leftist "no good for nothing" prick) 
GO PORK YOURSELF
Print this you scum bag.... 
I hate you people. 

Matt Walsh

(Editor's Note : You too can become this eloquent and intelligent from years of listening to the one sided verbiage of hate that Rush provides. Check the local listings on the web site listed above to truly be at peace with yourself and you need to group people into a category so you can vent all your problems and frustrations on people you don't know. Years past this may have been African Americans, Hispanics, Jews, Spics, Whaps, or even the Irish. Rush just found the new group to pick on (The Liberals). Then he has continued to use the easy motivators of hate and fear long enough to make it popular to spit out these terms with more venom then racists in the past would have used against the minorities mentioned above.)

Rush to Judgment 

After reading your article "Rush to Judgment", three things are painfully obvious. First, you didn't hear the comment on ESPN. Second, you have never listened to Rush Limbaugh. And 3rd, you, the liberal media, hate Conservatives and everything they stand for. 
The commit on ESPN was Donovan McNabb is over rated and the liberal media has put black quarterbacks in the spotlight. As far as Donavan McNabb as an over rated Quarterback, Bill Parcels once said, "your only as good as your record." and I think if you look at the record of the Philadelphia Eagles, it speaks for itself. Only time will tell if Donovan McNabb is over rated. 
I think if you have ever listened to Rush Limbaugh without your previous conceived "Judgment". You would have determined that he is very conservative. He is an entertainer. He has a very clear view of his opinion and what has made this Country strong. You can agree or disagree. That's called freedom. 
And 3rd, as for as your bios liberal media. If you had two interesting stories, one about a conservative and one about a liberal. It is very clear your would choose to, as you say, "tend to offer a different perspective and have the audacity to pose questions about what goes on in this country and why", as long as it pertains to the conservative and some how find a way to sugar coat the story about the liberal. I do commend you for having the guts to say you are Montgomery County's most liberal media. I wish all media had the courage to say the same. 
As far as Rush, the painkillers, and Conservative values. My mother once told me, "The reason they put erasers on pencils is because we all make mistakes. Just don't use all the eraser before you use up the pencil". I am sure you are right that his fans will forgive him. Just like the fans of Jesse Jackson forgave him. As long as this Country is free we can choose what opinion we believe, and you should thank God every day for what you have. 

Mark Shanks

Evolved by Design

After reading last week’s article, “Evolved by Design”, I decided to shed some light on the opinion of the butt of this argument, the students (or at least one). Even though I have the influence of my Christian family, the church, the school and Conroe itself (Which seems to be a family-oriented, Christian-based community), I still try to be open-minded about things. To me Intelligent Design or creationism seems pretty vague - therefore it’s easy to accept, while the theory of evolution is more complex. I do believe in Christ and the Bible, but I am not about to close my mind to other possibilities, especially those that may not rule out the idea of God completely, but might add to the understanding of Him. I know I am young and haven’t been able to form untainted opinions of my own but I try very hard to consider both sides. Whish, by the way, Mr. Williams, do affect (and will affect) me very much. What I can’t understand is why we only have to learn one side. Evolution presents some good points but it hasn’t been proven true. And as for creationists, why would you want your child to be ignorant of their opponent’s argument? I believe they should include both sides of this “debate” in textbooks, and as students (we) develop, they can make up their own minds on what they believe. To print only one view would be hurtful to both sides. Speaking as a youth, I hope you will consider my point. Thank you.

Concerned Student (Sophmore)
Conroe, Texas

Wounded US Soldiers Charged For Food During Hospitalization

Imagine this. You're one of the many brave Americans who puts your life on the line to fight the war on terror. You're wounded in action. Your medical care is free. But much to your surprise, when you get your hospital discharge, you also get a bill for your hospital meals! 
NBC's NIGHTLY NEWS reports: Daily dangers in Iraq, GI's being sniped at, wounded and killed, persisting, the casualties mounting. Marine Reserve Staff Sergeant Bill Murwin, a victim, knows as well as anyone the suddenness and pain of earning a purple heart." Murwin: "We were getting stoned, and a young man threw a hand grenade into my vehicle." 
"Murwin foot had to be amputated at an Army hospital in Germany. Then came weeks of therapy at a Navy hospital in Washington. Here he was shocked he would lose his food allowance. And once home in Nevada, stunned again by a notice to pay the Army for the meals in Germany. That's right. Sergeant Murwin, about to be released from the Bethesda Navy Hospital, like many of the 1,300 wounded in Iraq, received a food bill, $8.10 a day." 
All GIs "sent to war get a meal allowance of $8.10 a day, even though they're being fed free, if not well, in a war zone. But once hospitalized, the GI has to eat institutional food and reimburse the $8.10. That's the law." 
"I've given my life to the marines corps for the last 13 years. And you guys are going to ask me to pay for a month's worth of food? There's something wrong with that." Francis: "Florida's Bill Young, who learned of Murwin's $210 food bill and paid it, moved in Congress today to change the law." Rep. Young: "I paid his bill because I wanted to make a statement. I wanted the leadership of the military hospitals to know that I am serious about this."

Paul Gebolys 

Article on Roy Head

It is good to hear that Roy Head is alive and well. I suspect that I am the only individual on the east coast who had the good fortune to secure just about all of the Roy Head albums mentioned in your article before graduating from high school. The first Roy album which I obtained I bought in a box of records that I paid ten dollars for - the Peacock "Treat Her Right" what a treat. 
What the cover of "Lonesome Prisoner" lacked in appeal, the contents more than made up for. The title cut by the Great Tony Joe White was a great start. Cuts like "Don't Bury Me in the Rain" and "Crawling King Snake'" have left lasting impressions on me in spite of my lack of access to a phonograph for decades.
His later "It Ain't The Size of The Wave" would have merited cover by Conway Twitty, Billy "Crash" Craddock, or Ronnie McDowell, but record producers are not always so sharp.
I would put Roy among the likes of Tony Joe, Dan Penn, Marvin Rainwater, Buddy Knox and Link Wray; and that's high on my list.
As I approach the age where I will soon qualify for membership in AARP, I look back at the lesson that I learned in one of Roy's later titles - "The Same People You Meet Moving Up are the Same People You Meet Moving Down.

Pere

Happy Halloween

It was the week before Halloween and we didn't know where to go- until one of the crowd said, "the answer to this problem is something that I know!" 
"And what could that be," Is what the crowd screamed right away- "the answers are all listed In The Bulletin that I picked up at the store why just the other day!" 
Happy Halloween!!!!!! 

Mary Elizabeth Rumsey 
Porter, Texas

Iron Curtain Surrounds Schools and Libraries

The liberal and socialist left in this country has been very successful in making words and phrases like “tolerance” and “celebrate diversity” popular standards for modern culture. But in practice, the secular humanists in charge of liberal institutions promoting liberal indoctrination turn out to be very “intolerant” toward “diversity” of thought. They allow no opinions that challenge their dogma. If you doubt that statement simply note the huge resistance to exposing the myriad problems of evolutionism in classrooms - from Jr High schools through University programs. And note the huge resistance toward introducing morality in policies for public library children’s book selection, or for introducing abstinence programs in schools. The humanist leftists, through systematic intellectual intimidation and control, censor and prevent the full consideration of scientific evidence, history, and first principles of moral tradition.
With over 80% of the American populace in poll after poll favoring a full hearing of creation science alongside evolutionism, and with guidelines from Congress (2002 - No Child Left Behind legislation) stipulating the teaching of all the evidence or lack thereof regarding evolution, the leftists fight tooth and nail against any diversity for their preferred dogma. And they fight to undermine the moral tradition of over 95% of the country.
The Montgomery County head librarian, Jerilyn Williams, has recently promoted workshops at Montgomery County and neighboring county libraries titled “Dealing with Materials Challenges”, advertising to librarians, “practice ways to defend materials receiving ‘Requests for Reconsideration”. The goal, you see, is not to invite and support the interests of tax-paying parents who fund the library management. The goal is to promote the amoral philosophy of the American Library Association (ALA) and to introduce many morally aberrant young people’s books in the name of “diversity”. This ALA philosophy is exemplified by their recent lawsuit against the federal government (barely defeated at the U.S. Supreme Court level) on behalf of unfiltered internet access allowing pornography to flood library computers.
These pro-evolution-dogma and pro-pornography-positions are in consort with secular humanist (atheist) philosophy/religion, stated in the several official Humanist Manifestos from 1934 on.
Humanist thinking controls the ALA, the National Education Association (NEA), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and liberal academia, including law schools where lawyers and judges who rule in favor of ACLU anti-God lawsuits are educated.
The humanist liberal left is against evolution alternatives in the public arena as it is also against sexual and moral constraints, because the two go hand in hand. Evolved amoebas have no reason to exercise sexual restraint and no reason to believe in or be accountable to God. And self-justification for sexual freedom hardens people against their Maker. It is time that the Christian leaders of this country wake up to what is happening all around us with the sexualizing and the secularizing of our culture today, and lead in a direction against cultural control by the atheist minority.
In the 20th Century we fought to bring down the Iron Curtain of Communism in Europe. In the 21st Century we must fight to bring down the Iron Curtain of Secular Humanism in America. Otherwise we will be overrun and completely controlled, like the old Soviet satellite countries, by atheist philosophy. 
At our own peril do we take freedom for granted.

Mark Cadwallader
Conroe, Texas

Rush to Judgment 

I am continually amazed at the liberal mindset. With nothing of substance to offer, they spew hatred, vitriol, and overstatements follow as night the day. You offer all this while casting accusations of the same at anyone who dares to disagree with you. 
I am not a "dittohead", but with Limbaugh as with other people and organizations, I recognize truth when I hear it and support any with the courage to fly in the face of political correctness despite the potential personal consequences. 
Why do I have the nagging suspicion that were the statement to have been made about President Bush by some "leading" intellectual, i.e., Jesse Jackson, your commentary would have been laudatory, despite his well-known despicable character? Ahh, there's the rub. 
Should you have difficulty understanding what I've said here, please refer to a dictionary of the English language. That is, incidentally, what you should have done prior to representing yourself (selves) as a journalist(s). Please hire an editor. 

F. C. Beavers 

Nicol Huff’s Speech in it’s Entirety regarding attorneys fees

Thank You Mr. Chairman. I am requesting that $2500 be paid to Ms. Curry and $900 reimbursed to me along with $5,000 to be paid to my attorney Dexter Patterson for fees incurred in the State of Texas versus Nicol Huff and Starlett Curry. There are Attorney General Opinions that the board can pay these fees. Ms. Curry and I were obviously acting as board members in the performance of our duties when the charges were brought against us.
I believe each of us on this board need to realize that our families can be the target of this type of harassment, where a member of the board with a political vendetta can put our families' financial future at risk. Not to mention the emotional turmoil that goes along with this type of “witch hunt”.
If this is not stopped each and every one of us is at risk. Let me give you some examples of what I'm talking about. This is an email from Bill Leigh to Eric Yollick and carbon copied to a quorum of the board. In it, it is obvious Mr. Yollick has discussed a pending issue and is trying to persuade Mr. Leigh on that issue. Then Mr. Leigh tries to persuade Mr. Yollick with his thoughts and by sending it to a quorum of the board he is therefore trying to persuade us as well. Remember, Ms. Curry and I were indicted for trying to persuade Mr. Bourgeois to fire Mr. Disbennett. And that was in numbers less than a quorum. And here was our persuasion tactic. We showed him this picture that was found on a website that Mr. Disbennett accessed. For those of you who cannot see it, it is a picture of a woman with her mouth on the man's genitals.
The first indictment against me was conspiring with myself. I was accused of knowing how 4 of us were going to vote that night. Then I was indicted again for trying to persuade Mr. Bourgeois to vote a certain way. If I already knew I had the votes to pass the item, I ask you, “Why would I bother with Frances Bourgeois?”
Here are more examples of how we can all be a target. Mr. Bourgeois tried to persuade me to vote for paying Disbennett's moving expenses. He also told me that Mr. Leigh and Mr. Witt wanted to stop the funding for the East County clinic when they were first on the board, but he told them no. Three of you discussing a pending issue and trying to persuade. And Mr. Thomas you told me that Mr. Yollick tried to persuade you to remove an agenda item on the agenda but you refused. The two of you were obviously discussing a pending issue before the board in numbers less than a quorum. And Mr. Leigh, Monte West told me that when you first got on this board you went to him and tried to solicit his vote to make you chairman of the board.
In Mr. Leigh's complaint to the DA he states and I quote, “Any verbal exchange between a majority of the members concerning any issue within their jurisdiction constitutes a 'deliberation'. When a majority of a public decsionmaking body is considering a pending issue, there can be no 'informal' discussion. There is either formal consideration of a matter in compliance with the Open Meetings Act or an illegal meeting.”
Mr. Leigh, yesterday you send out this “informal” memo discussing why you refuse to pay my attorney to a quorum of this board, a pending issue, mind you, therefore violating your own version of the Open Meetings Act.
In this memo, you refer to me as a common criminal. In it you state the law on pre-trial diversion. Yes I was offered something similar to that but I refused it. My charges were completely dropped on September 23, 2003 and signed by the Judge. Obviously there are other forms of pre-trial diversions that you are not familiar with. I would have to be re-indicted by a grand jury for this case to proceed according to my attorney. There is no future trial or continuance in this case, as you would like to portray in this memo of yours. You also state I “copped a plea”. No Mr. Leigh, I am innocent and I told the DA, I would not say I'm guilty because I do not LIE! In this memo you say a public official has a duty to know, obey and avoid even the appearance of violating this Act, yet in this email, you ask us to come to a budget meeting that's not open to the public. I then email you and tell you I refuse because it is an illegal meeting. Then you disagree with me so I send you the attorney general's opinion stating that it is illegal. It is obvious you don't know the Open Meetings ACT. You also talk about my reference to the Grand Jury indictment being harassing, but when you have people like David Witt who lied to the Grand Jury by saying things such as “
Greg Hudson, the district legal counsel, told me that Nicol had asked him to write a contract for Jim Hamilton prior to the meeting and that Nicol had said that he had been contacted and agreed to terms already” or “Ann Ham worked for Nicol's husband”, some might call it aggravated perjury but in a political circus I call it harassment. And that was just his written testimony. I wasn't afforded what most “common criminals” (as you refer to me as) are afforded and that is a transcript of what was said in the grand jury. You know why? Because, lo and behold, the tape recorder wasn't working. Isn't it amazing that this would happen to only me and Ms. Curry in Montgomery County?
Every single one of us is open to this type of harassment. Without protections, the only people who will serve on this board are rich attorneys. That is not the American way. I ask that you pay these fees so that everyone feels they can serve on this board without putting their families' finances at risk.
Mr. Leigh, in your memo you state that you felt as a public official and an officer of the court it was your duty to present these facts to the DA. Well, Mr. Leigh, writing this memo and your previous emails, you are blatantly violating your own version of what I call the Montgomery County Open Meetings Act. So if you believe what you wrote in your complaint to the DA, you are a common criminal. If you don't believe what wrote then you are just a lying politician. You can't have it both ways. The constable is right over there Mr. Leigh so you may turn yourself in right now since it is your duty as an officer of the court and a public official.
I so move to pay these fees and put an end to these shenanigans once and for all.

Nicol Huff
MCHD Board Member

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