November 2, 2010: ELECTION DAY!!!

Tomorrow is Election Day. I am hoping for a complete and total defeat of any candidate who is OF the party of The Big ZERO!

Let us hope the true conservatives and Tea Party candidates do well.

I remind everyone to get out and vote.

The most important political office is that of the private citizen. - Louis Brandeis

Red State Update: Murfreesboro vs. Muslims

A proposed Islamic center and mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has become a hot-button political issue and made national headlines.Construction vehicles used to break ground for the mosque were vandalized and one was set afire.

A day later, the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office investigated a report about shots fired at the site. A candlelight vigil was later held In response to the mosque violence. Jackie and Dunlap finally have remained strangely silent on these events in their hometown... until now. It's Red State Update vs. Murfreesboro vs. Muslims.



"I don't like any religion that don't lets me smoke weed and get laid, but they still religions. - Dunlap

Three Storms Possibly Headed for TEXAS

It looks like we have 3 more storms lined up, possibly headed for Texas.

I have the boards and clips sitting on the back porch and the generators are ready to go.

The cost of living near the Texas Gulf Coast.

"Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night! - Margo Channing, as played by Bette Davis in "All About Eve." "

T.S. Hermine To Hit South Of Texas-Mexico Border

Tropical Storm Hermine is strengthening and headed toward the northwestern Gulf coast on Monday.

She will probably make landfall around midnight just south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

It looks like the Houston region will not get a direct hit, but we are going to get some major rain in the 24-36 hours.

Southeast Texas will see some rain from the outer bands of Hermine, and the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the greater Houston area.

Widespread totals of 1 to 3 inches of rain are likely, with up to 8 inches in isolated areas.

There is a small chance of tornadoes along and just inland from the Gulf, and tides along the upper coast will be 2 to 2.5 feet above normal, peaking tonight or early tomorrow.

In any case, we will be HIGH but certainly NOT DRY!!!

"The Good Lord willing and the river don't rise." - unknown

White House Says Obama Is Christian

The White House insisted on Thursday that President Barack HUSSEIN Obama (aka Little Barry Soetoro, Oprah's Love Child, The Boy Wonder, BO, The Big ZERO, P Bo) is a Christian who prays daily.

You can read the article here.

So we are suppose to believe that statement because his lackies say it is true.

I THINK NOT!

"Let's not play games. What I was suggesting – you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that that has not come." - Barach HUSSEIN Obama (aka Little Barry Soetoro, Oprah's Love Child, The Boy Wonder, BO, The Big ZERO, P Bo)

Criminal Aliens Are Dying In The Desert

It is being reported that deaths of "criminal aliens" (my words, not theirs) crossing into the United States in July is soaring due to high temperatures. Many of the bodies are being found in the desert southwest of Tucson.

You can read the article by clicking here.

Just like any normal human being, I feel for anyone who has died; by any means.

However I cannot escape the fact that if these people had not been committing a criminal act by sneaking into our country, they would not be dead.

It is beyond me who others cannot see this fact? CRIMINAL ARE CRIMINALS!!

"The American people do not want people thumbing their nose at the law. It undercuts the very fabric of our society and the system of civil justice and of criminal justice as well." - Ernest Istook

Lowlife 21-Year-Old KILLS A Kitten For Unplugging His Video Game

I just saw this on a link on the Drudge Report. It was linked to "The Smoking Gun."

Read below what as posted on their site.

A Virginia man allegedly killed a kitten after the animal somehow disconnected a video game while he was playing it Monday night, police charge. Bruce Walston, 21, is facing an animal cruelty charge for allegedly killing his girlfriend's black kitten by throwing it against a wall in their apartment, according to the below Staunton Police Department report. Walston was arrested after his girlfriend, Bessie Hess, called cops about the incident, which occurred in front of her children. Walston told cops that he was "arguing with Bessie over the cats disconnecting his video game at which time he picked up the kitten and threw it against the wall." When police arrived at the couple's home, the dead pet "was laying on the front porch." Walston, pictured in the mug shot at right, was charged with animal cruelty and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. He was booked into the Middle River Regional Jail, where he is being held without bond.

This guy is 21 years old and he get pissed off because a cat unplugs his video game.
I personally do not like cats (and they don't like em), but I would NEVER injure or kill a defenseless animal.

Just look at his photo. he seems like a low educated, gang banger, want-a-be!!

If I can find an e mail address, phone number, or street address for this guy, I will post it for everyone can contact this guy and tell him what they think about him.

WHAT A PIECE OF LOWLIFE GARBAGE!!!

Steve Wynn On The Craziness in Washington DC

No matter what you think about Steve Wynn, he does make a great deal of sense in this clip.

Listen and learn.

PS: There is a short 30-second commercial at the beginning fo the clip.

"Washington is unpredictable these days. No one has any idea what’s next…the uncertainty of the business climate in America is frightening, frightening to everybody, and it’s delaying the recovery." - Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts

Israeli Defense Forces Board Ships Headed For Gaza

All HELL is breaking loose in the Middle East as Israel boards ships headed for the Gaza Strip "supposedly" carrying relief supplies.

It is apparent that it will take weeks, if not months, to sort out the facts. One things I do know is true and has a major impact on the event.

Gaza is under the control of Israel and foreign ships aren't allowed to visit Gaza without approval from the Israeli government

Israeli forces commanded the ship to stop. They refused. Commandos then boarded the ship.

In my mind, if you are ordered to stop and refuse, then you get what you deserve.

You just know that the people on the ships wanted to force a violent incident, so they could become the victim in the eyes of the world.

White House spokesman William Burton released the following statement:

"The United States deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained, and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy."

It seems that The Current Temporary Resident of the White House (aka Barack HUSSEIN Obama, Little Barry Soetoro, Oprah's Love Child, The Boy Wonder, BO, The Big ZERO, P Bo. The Cult Leader) is going to play the middle of the road (for now).

Do not be surprised when he comes out denouncing Israel.

Reminder That We Live In The Greatest Country In The World

I just found this posted on "The Joe Pags Show" webpage on KPRC 950 AM "Radio Mojo" in Houston.

Feel free to pass this along to anyone who needs a reminder that we live in the greatest country in the world

It is a graet piece.

HELLO! I AM BACK!

I AM BACK!!!

As always during the early part of the second semester, I get bogged down with various duties at school and my blogging is placed on the back burner.

I will be back to blogging on a regular basis and hope to comment on my readers personal blogs as much as time allows.

Thanks and take care.

Security Should NEVER Take A Backseat to Religion

I just read a story, via "Drudge Report" about two women who refused to be body scanned before they boarded a flight to Pakistan.

I say KUDOS for the British for holding the line.

If these two women, who just happen to be Muslim, do not want to follow the rules, they can walk or take a slow boat to Paskistan.

My safety and security should NEVER take a back seat to someone's religion.

You can read the article here.

"Two female passengers who were booked to fly out of Terminal Two refused to be scanned for medical and religious reasons. In accordance with the government directive on scanners, they were not permitted to fly. Body scanning is a big change for customers who are selected under the new rules and we are aware that privacy concerns are on our customers’ minds, which is why we have put strict procedures to reassure them that their privacy will be protected.” - A Spokeswoman for Manchester International Airport

The Magnificent Seven: Trailer 1

It has been 50 years since "The Magnificent Seven" came out.

A great movie of which any TRUE American will never be too tired to watch.

[Villagers tell Chris they collected everything of value in their village to hire gunmen]
Chris Adams: I have been offered a lot for my work, but never everything.

The Magnificent Seven

This is one of the BEST themes for a movie. They do not make them like this anymore.

You can practically HEAR America in the making.

"Americans can always be counted upon to do the right thing - after all other possibilities have been exhausted." - attributed to Winston Churchill

Anti-Fur Wackos: KISS MY BUTT!!!

Yes, I have been away for a while. I had some duties at school and just needed to take a break from blogging.

Well, I am back, and will try to at least post once a week, but I would guess that I might be able to post a bit more frequently.

The Winter Olympic Games began Saturday night in Vancouver. I have been a big fan of the Olympics for as far back as I can remember.

I noticed in the news today that US Figure Skating team member Johnny Weir is taking heat for his decision to wear fur as a part of his skating costume.

Weir was criticized by animal-rights activists after he donned a costume at the nationals championships with white fox fur on the shoulder. He said after the event that he would wear faux fur in the Games, but has since changed his mind.

Weir was quoted:

"I felt very threatened. "I'm not allowed to say how everything got through, but my agent got letters and faxes and e-mails. I got letters at the ice rink, somebody found my phone number. All these crazy fur people. Security-wise, to stay in a hotel would be very difficult. There have been threats against me. I didn't want to get hurt. I'm just an easy person to pick on because I like fur. It's easy to put your case against an athlete who is going to the Olympics. It's a very good, easy thing for these activists. It's a very scary thing. I'm a figure skater, I'm not some huge politician who gets these things all the time. It was not because I was pressured to change it, but because I don't like faux fur. I didn't change the costume, I'm just switching back to another costume."

As far as he or anyone wearing fur: I could not care less. I wish I amade enough money to buy My Lovely Bride all the fur she desires.

After all, if God did not put animals on earth to benefit and serve humans, what is their purpose?

Hang in there Johnny. There are some "Fur Lovers" here in Texas that support you 100%.

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls: Number 3

Number 3 on my list of "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls" comes from the third movie in the James Bond saga. It was also the third performance for Sean Connery as Bond and this Bond Girl had the absolute best name of any Bond Girls, before or after.

Number 3 on my list is:

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger"

Concerned about censors, the film's producers thought about changing her name to "Kitty Galore", but kept the original name when British newspapers began to refer to Honor Blackman as "Pussy" in the lead up to production. She is the oldest actress to play a Bond Girl. Blackman (age 39) was older than Sean Connery (age 34) when filming Goldfinger.

Pussy is first seen after Bond wakes up in Goldfinger's private jet after previously having been knocked out with a tranquilizer gun. Her stunning blonde-framed visage leaning over him being the first thing he sees as he lies on a couch regaining consciousness. The dialog between them will be the quote at the end of this post.

Pussy further explains simply that the nature of her employment for Goldfinger is that she's "a damn good pilot", intending to negate any notion of any more intimate relationship, and then tells Bond "you can turn off the charm. I'm immune."

In fact Pussy is the leader of Pussy Galore's Flying Circus, a group of professional women aviators in connection with Goldfinger's "Operation: Grand Slam" (played in certain scenes by stuntmen in blonde wigs). Pussy is seen later using judo on Bond after catching him eavesdropping on Goldfinger's plan.

Later on, in what is one the surface one of the most audacious assertion of Bond's machismo of the entire series of films in the genre, Bond not only seduces the previously "immune" Pussy, but seemingly as the result of this encounter alone she promptly turns from her heretofore hard-hearted criminal ways to the side of goodness and righteousness.

Secretly turning against Goldfinger, she switches the deadly nerve gas to be used on Fort Knox with a harmless replacement as well as alerting the Central Intelligence Agency of her employer's scheme.

The film also contains another explanation as well, however: the film character's unwillingness to commit mass murder. The plot, as detailed to Galore and her crew by Goldfinger, had been to put the soldiers at Fort Knox to sleep, and Galore is not told that "Delta-9" gas kills rather than anesthetizes, until Bond tells her this crucial fact.

This seems to have no impact at the time, but Bond "jokes" later that he must have appealed to her "maternal instincts." Her group's plan had in fact been called Operation Rock-A-Bye Baby.

After Bond foils Goldfinger's plan, the now fugitive millionaire forces Pussy to participate in hijacking the President's private plane carrying Bond to the White House. Bond defeats Goldfinger and saves Galore from the crashing plane and they make love in an unknown region under a parachute.

She was independent, tough, and was a good match for Bond. She was also very hot for her age. As far as her name, what can one say.....I do believe it was true.

James Bond: Who are you?
Pussy Galore: My name is Pussy Galore.
James Bond: I must be dreaming.

Ronald Reagan on Socialism & Liberalism

I found this piece while suring the met on the day after Christmas (2009).

Ronald Reagan made sense even back them. We sure could use his wisdom today.

Below is a brief discurption which sets up the clip.

Back in 1927, an American socialist, Norman Thomas, six times candidate for president on the Socialist Party ticket, said the American people would never vote for socialism. But he said under the name of liberalism the American people would adopt every fragment of the socialist program.

There are many ways in which our government has invaded the free precincts of private citizens, method of earning a living; our government is in business to the extent of owning more than 19,000 businesses covering 47 different lines of activity. This amounts to 1/5th of the total industrial capacity of the United States.

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls: Number 4

Number 4 on my list of "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls" comes from the tenth movie in the James Bond saga. It was the third performance for Roger Moore as Bond and this Bond Girl really left an impression on this writer when I first saw the movie as a senior in college.

Number 4 on by list is:

Barbara Bach as Major Anya Amasova (aka Agent XXX) in “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

The role of Anya Amasova brings the feminine touch and talent to the action. Bach is attractive, classy, stylish, intelligent, confident, very sexy, and absolutely wonderful.

The prevailing notion, among some, has always been that "Bond Girl" equals "Bimbo," which is not true at all. Most of the women Bond encounters are highly skilled professionals in whatever role they have.

She plays the role as smart, sexy, capable, and resourceful, Add these to the fact that it takes her almost the whole movie to actually fall in love with Bond. What will power!

Bach, who would soon be Mrs. Ringo Starr, was a few day shy of 30 when the movie was released. She married Ringo about a year and a half later.

She is a great selection for number 4 on my list.

(Speaking of her marriage to Ringo Starr) “I was never that much of a Beatles fan, which made it easier. I just treated him like anyone else. As time went on, however, I was touched by his generosity. He is so patient and understanding. - Barbara Bach

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls: Number 5

Number 5 on my list of "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls" comes from the Sean Connery era. The movie was the seventh installment in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Sean Connery as Bond. She was also the first American actress to paly a Bond girl. Number 5 on my list is:


Jill St. John as Tiffany Case in "Diamonds Are Forever."

In the film it is stated that she was named after her (accidental) birthplace, Tiffany & Co., where her parents were going through a choice of wedding bands, to which Bond dryly jokes that she was lucky that it hadn't happened at Van Cleef & Arpels.

Tiffany, often wise-cracking, is also somewhat ditzy, slightly naive, and more money-grubbing. While she starts out as a diamond smuggler, she unwittingly begins working for Bond's arch nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his terrorist organization, SPECTRE.

Bond arranges a partnership with her in disguise, but this time it is to investigate her role in Blofeld's latest criminal scheme. She initially believes that he is "Peter Franks" and together, they are going to make millions. However, she gets caught up in much more than she bargained for when the real Peter Franks arrives on her doorstep. From the moment she and Bond find Plenty O'Toole soaking in Tiffany's swimming pool, drowned mistakenly instead of her, Tiffany helps Bond follow the path of the smuggled diamonds until the trail leads to Blofeld.

By the end of the film, Tiffany has helped Bond defeat Blofeld, and the two go on a romantic cruise together. They are briefly interrupted by an assassination attempt by Blofeld's henchmen, Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd, but Bond foils it, and the two sail off into the sunset.

The thing that strikes me about Tiffany is the constant revealing of her body in those bikinis. WOW...Jill St. John had a HOT BODY. Add that to the fact that she has an IQ of 162. A little know fact is that she began studies at UCLA at the age of 14, leaving after two years when she signed with Universal Pictures. She has a body and beauty with brains to match.

She can help me steal diamonds any day.

[Tiffany Case opens the door almost nude]
James Bond: That's quite a nice little nothing you're almost wearing. I approve.
Tiffany Case: I don't dress for the hired help. Let's see your passport, Franks.
[Bond gives her his passport. She looks it over]
Tiffany Case: Occupation: Transport Consultant? It's a little cute isn't it? I'll finish dressing.
James Bond: Oh, please don't, not on my account.

Mt. Mayon Volcano Getting Ready to Erupt!

I did not know that a volcano was getting ready to erupt until I checked my news feeds this morning.

This is video shot of Mt. Mayon in The Philippines, on December 25, 2009 (yesterday) from along the national road near Busay Bridge, Municipality of Daraga, Province of Albay, Republic of the Philippines. I found it on YouTube.

One of the things I wish to do before I die is to see volcano eruption live.

"Mayon volcano is still in a high state of unrest and in the coming days it could still have an explosive eruption," he warned in a radio interview. The number of (volcanic) quakes have lessened but now the quakes are of a different variety. What is becoming clear is that it (the volcano) is getting clogged. That is when the lava is rising but cannot get out." - Ed Laguerta, head of the Philippines government's volcanology team monitoring Mayon.

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls (Redux: Number 6)

Number 6 on my list of "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls" was first posted on Saturday, November 22, 2008.

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I have not posted a new addition to Texas Truth's "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls" since early September. So here I go with my next installment.

Number 6 on my list comes from the Roger Moore as James Bond era. She was sexy, smart, and deadly to boot. Number 6 on my list is:

Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock in "For Your Eyes Only."

She has the beautiful looks, great body, gorgeous eyes and the most seductive voice(like at the end when she says to Bond, as her gown falls, "For your eyes only darling.").

She plays the part of the Electra (from Greek mythology) wonderfully, and she can use a cross bow as well! And what can one say about her hair? TREMENDOUS!!!!




Melina: [as Bond begins to open up her light blue robe] For your eyes only, darling...
[her robe falls to the ground, leaving her completely naked]

A Holiday Tradition: "White Christmas"

My Lovely Bride and I are sitting in our respective recliners, in our living room; continuing a "ritual we have participated in since our first Christmas together. We are watching "White Christmas." In fact, we always watch the movie once between Thanksgiving and the week of Christmas and once on Christmas Eve.

We have many traditions in our marriage and I have discussed some of them in previous posts. But this post will be about one of the most "elegant" parts of the movie.

When Rosemary Clooney leaves the inn in Vermont to work at the Carousel Club in New York, she is wearing the dress pictured in the photo at the right when she performs in New York.

That dress was a knockout on Rosemary, and she was in no way petite. Years ago in an interview, Virginia Mayo said that film people really used to care about their films, and were careful in what the actresses wore, but not now.

Mayo said they went through extensive wardrobe tests and would say things like, and I'm quoting Virginia, "take that dress off her, and put something on that flatters her." Rosemary was probably very difficult to design costumes for, so they obviously took a lot of time and effort in her wardrobe.

It's one of the most beautiful, seductive and curvaceous gowns I have ever seen, and looked fantastic on her. And Clooney wasn't exactly a small girl! I wish Hollywood today would take a cue or two from the old pros and get some style!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls (Redux: Number 7)

Here is Number 7 on my list of "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls." It was dated Friday, September 5, 2008.

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Number 7 on my list of the The Hottest Bond Girls is again from the Pierce Brosnan era of James Bond. The movie was from 1999. It was again one in the bottom 50% of James Bond films, but this actress just oozed sexuality along with having a great name.

Number 7 on my list is:

Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones in "The World Is Not Enough."

Richards put a new twist in the role as a Bond Girl. She was a bit too young-looking (28 years old), too glamorous and didn't present herself as serious minded enough to make us believe that she was a nerdy, anal-retentive, yet underneath it all, beautiful scientist-type. But in the reality of things, who gives a crap?

I like how they hinted at a past when Bond asked her what she was doing in Kazakhstan, and she replied, "Avoiding those kinds of question." But really, the writers should have better explored her relationship with Bond.

In closing, she had a great body and another perfect name for a Bond Girl. Add that to the fact that I loved her in "Wild Things," along with Neve Campbell, and she makes my top 10 list regardless of what anyone else thinks.

PS: Charlie Sheen is a giant mook for letting her get away. He has been named on my list of "Famous (or Infamous) Mooks" for a while. His decision to divorce her makes him a "Super Mook."

James Bond: [in bed with Jones] I was wrong about you.
Dr. Christmas Jones: Yeah, how so?
James Bond: I thought Christmas only comes once a year.

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls (Redux: Number 8)

This is number 8 on my list of "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls." It was dated Sunday, August 31, 2008.

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Number 8 on my list of the The Hottest Bond Girls comes from the Pierce Brosnan era of James Bond. The movie was from 2002. It was not one of the best Bond movies. In fact, it was probably in the bottom 50%, but the actress made viewers notice HER instead of the sub-par plot.

Number 8 on my list is:

Halle Berry as Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson in "Die Another Day."



Just look at her body. David Justice is an idiot for letting her get away. By the way, she was 32 years old when she filmed the movie.

Here is a small piece of trivia: She received an injury on the set of Die Another Day. Halle was injured on location in Cadiz, Spain while shooting an action sequence that involved Pierce Brosnan firing on a helicopter being flown by Rick Yune.

"Switch them off, or I'll be half the girl I used to be!" - Halle Berry as Jinx from the scene in the movie "Die Another Day" when the lasers are threatening to cut her in

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls (Redux: Number 9)

Here is number 9 on my list of "The Hottest Bond Girls." The original post was dated Saturday, August 16, 2008.

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Number 9 on my list of the 10 Hottest Bond Girls is from the Roger Moore era of James Bond films.

This movie came out in 1973 when I was a freshman in college. It was the first film I remember seeing the actress in and was overcome by her beauty. With the help of very little makeup, her naturally beauty was quite evident. And those eyes!!! Oh my gosh, those eyes. They could see into a man's soul and know everything; past, present, and future, about said man.

The actress was 22 years old when she made this film and her innocence, coupled with the sexiness of the character, is a natural fit for number 9 on my list. She was an excellent choice as "THE" Bond girl for Moore's debut as 007.

Jane Seymour as Solitaire in "Live and Let Die"



[Bond has just explained the first two Lover's Lessons to Solitaire]
Solitaire: Is there time before we leave, for Lesson number 3?
James Bond: [undressing] Of course. There's no sense going out half-cocked.

The 10 Hottest Bond Girls (Redux: Number 10)

16 months ago, I started a list entitled "The 10 Hottest Bond Girls." In that list, I got up to number 6 on the list and then got sidetracked.

Well, a few days ago, I was cleaning up my desk and found the list. I was surprised to find it, as I had previous thought that it has disappeared in the great beyond or filed away, permanently in "File 13."

In any case, I will resume the list in today and continue it in the next few days (or weeks). I will post numbers 6 through 10, beginning with number 10.

So here is a blast from my blogging past; dated Saturday, November 22, 2008.

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As may of my fellow bloggers know, I am a movie buff. I love old movies (and even some of the newer ones).

One of my favorite movie genres is James Bond. I try never to miss a James Bond movie when they come on. Now that I have a DVR, I record them in case I have other commitments when they air.

I am going to start a 10-part list with his blog post. My list will entail, in my opinion, the 10 hottest Bond girls. I do not want to hear anything about this post as being sexist. My Lovely Bride has issued her official Stamp of Approval for the posts.


Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight in "The Man with the Golden Gun"

She has those eyes. The eyes that can only come from seeing the world as an adventure. She has a petite figure and a well proportioned body. Her character was adventurous, inquisitive, impulsive, a bit naive, and last of all sexy. In addition, who can forget her bikini on Scaramanga's island? She is a great start for number 10 on my list. Britt Ekland was 32 years old whent he moive was made in 1974. "The Man with the Golden Gun" was Moore's second movie as 007.

[Mary Goodnight, a prisoner on Francisco Scaramanga's island, appears in a bikini]
Francisco Scaramanga: Ah, here's Miss Goodnight now.
Goodnight: James!
James Bond: Aren't we a little overdressed, Goodnight?

Pass The Students Through The System; Get Them To Graduate

Now that the holiday break is here; I do not have to worry about my insomnia. Therefore, I am up, surfing the web and looking for information that catches my eyes.

The Houston Chronicle has a story about students attending school during their holiday break to regain credits for classes they did not previously pass.

You can read the article by clicking here.

After I read the piece, my usual "bull shit" detector kicked in and brought many thoughts to mind.

First off, this is nothing more than a "feel good program" to push students through the system so they (schools AND students) can say they graduated.

A student gets 1/2 credit for attend a class for a mire 32 hours when the student who follows the rules, regulations, and requirements has to attend class for 60-90 hours to receive the same 1/2 credit.

Using thinking like this, a student could get ALL their high school credits in a mire 156 days. YES, getting students through school is a fine objective, but at what cost to the overall program? They are required to attend 1/3 to 1/2 of the required course time.

This has been brought about by the "free good" policies that are running wide in the schools of today. So these students get their credits and graduate, but what are they going to do with their HS diploma; probably nothing. Until the real reason for their failure (lack of effort, truancy, lack of motivation, gang-banging, etc) is actually addressed, this is nothing but a Band-Aid for the problem.

What the schools need to do is hold the student's (and their parents') feet to the fire and make them attend and pass school. Tie their grades to their parents' taxes, public assistance and many of 100s of ways to hold them accountable would be a better use of the facilities and money. When will people learn when people do not value a product, the product has little value.

So these students graduate on time? BIG DEAL! The administrators are covering their asses for state accreditation purposes and to keep their graduation rates high.
If they really wanted to help these students, they would make sure they attended school to learn the material the first time around. Parents must be involved in the equation, but when most of their parents are low educated and/or lack the skills and/or caring to MAKE their children pass, this does nothing but dump a large number of uneducated people into the work force to fight for the number of jobs that are becoming less and less available.

A better program would be to have these students in a trade/vocational program so they can learn a skill in order to survive in the real world.

I expect much more of these "feel good" programs with our Current Temporary Resident of the White House in power.

"Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants." - John W. Gardner

This Is How An Alma Mater Should Sound!

This is, IMHO, the BEST school song in existence. It is how an alma mater should sound.



The eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the live long day.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
You cannot get away.
Do not think you can escape them,
At night, or early in the morn'.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
Till Gabriel blows his horn!

McLintock!

1/2 day of school tomorrow and I am sitting here wathcing "McClinock!" on the Encore Western Channel.

It does not get better than this.

"I know, I know. I'm gonna use good judgement. I haven't lost my temper in forty years, but pilgrim you caused a lot of trouble this morning, might have got somebody killed... and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth. But I won't, I won't. The HELL I won't!" George Washington McLintock as played by John Wayne

Ignorance and the General (Uneducated) Public

School has kept me pretty busy this past couple of weeks. As I sit on my comfortable couch, in my nice (paid off) home in Texas; I just realized that I only have 1/2 a day of teaching this year. We are on an "early out" schedule and as soon as the student are out the door, I will be right behind them.

Some teachers will blow off the 1/2 of classes and allow the students to have the ever popular "free day." I learned many years ago, school should be a preparation for life, and in life, there is no such thing as a "free day." My students will have an assignment and if they choose not to do it, or they choose not to show up for class; it was affect their grade.

Too many educators and parents take the easy way out when it comes to the youth of today. I refuse to do that. It is going to be "my way or the highway" when I have the responsibility that has been trusted to be as an educator.

The ignorance of some people in the world sometimes amaze me. How uneducated and "low class" they are when they feel that they are "entitled" to an opinion on anything and everything, no matter how little education, knowledge, or just plain common sense they have.

Previously, I posted to this forum a short piece on Clint Eastwood and his latest movie, "Invictus." I made some general and specific statements about the movie.

When I read the comments that were posted on that particular piece, the following was posted a comment from "Anonymous."

"You're truly an imbecile. Stop listening to the McCarthyist right wing corporate media. Obama is no socialist and you obviously have no idea what socialism is. Jack ass."

I think this guy is the "Pot calling the Kettle BLACK."

What a MOOK!!!!! One just knows this guy is one of the idiots who is waiting for his free ride, a welfare check, or any one of the numerous things that PBo promised them for their votes and has yet to make good on.

"Ignorance is Bliss." - Thomas Gray