DALLAS —  A federal judge has dismissed the claims of a parent who wanted to remove the words “under God” from the Texas pledge of allegiance recited each morning by public schoolchildren.

You can read the whole article here.

I can understand why the suit would have merit if kids were required to recite the pledge.  But when they are given the option to simply remain silent…this ruling is a good middle ground.  At least for me.

I know, I know..separation of church and state and all that.  But this is Texas, damnit!  We do the right thing down here.  Just so we remember, Article 6 of the Bill of Rights says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

I’m just sayin’.  It’s getting a bit ridiculous, all these anti-religion lawsuits.  If they want to change things, they should put it to a national vote and try to get 2/3 of the voting public to agree with them instead of wasting the state’s time and money on these suits.  I’d rather my tax dollars go toward something else.

1.  Tonight while The Boy and I were at the store picking up a few things, there was a guy behind us in line whistling some annoying random tunes loud enough for everyone to hear.

2.  For me, whistling in public is akin to scratching one’s fingernails on a chalkboard.

3.  Yes, it’s THAT annoying, and it usually triggers a headache for me almost immediately.  Also, it’s as annoying as singing along to your iPod for all those around you to “enjoy”.  Or, as annoying as a bee or mosquito buzzing around your head but you can’t quite tell where it is so you can’t kill it and stop the noise.

4.  I think it’s as rude to whistle in public as it is to talk loudly on a cell phone.

5.  And it’s almost as rude as standing WAY too close to the person in front of you.  Almost…but not quite.

6.  If you whistle in public, I would ask that you please consider those around you and save it for your drive home.  Your choice in random whistling tunes just might not be the favorites of all those around you.

1.  Geithner is getting the bonus money back from AIG.  Good call…finally.  Read about it here.

2.  Yard work sucks.

3.  Spring Break rocks.  Not getting up at seven to take The Boy to school is always good in my book.

4.  I wish more ex-presidents handled things the way 43 does.

Bush said he wants Obama to succeed and said it’s important that he has that support.

Read more here.

5.  Tommy’s been gone for 10 days at training.  It’s been a lonely St. Patrick’s Day.

6.  A quote I received via email today:

The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money. – Margaret Thatcher

True dat.  Peaches out.

1.  Tommy is at training for a month.  I have trouble sleeping when he’s on trips.  I have even more trouble when he’s away at training.

2.  North Korea, China, and Iran.

3.  The lack of focus in this new administration on the economy and the fact they don’t seem to be too worried about hiring people to fill the Department of the Treasury.  I guess funding stem cell research with money we don’t have is more important?

4.  That former guest of Gitmo (circa 2007) that is now an operational leader for the Taliban.

5.  Our new people at the State Department and how they are treating Great Britain and downplaying human rights issues.

6.  The fact that it is getting really windy outside and our neighbor’s fence is falling apart with many sections and boards currently hitting each other, back and forth, that sound ready to fly through the windows on one side of our house at any moment.

How about y’all?  Sleeping well lately?  Without the aid of alcohol or other substances to calm the nerves our current situations on amany fronts cause?  If so, I applaud you.  I am not that worry-free these days….

They’re here to work and they are willing to work and I’m sure they do good work.  But…it’s really, really, really, really scary when they surround your vehicle and attempt to open the doors.  This leaves a woman alone with any sense no choice but to leave the store and seek their home improvement supplies elsewhere….which in turn causes the business where this happens to lose sales.

The Home Depot is not pleased. Blaming the job seekers for causing accidents and driving away customers, the world’s largest home improvement retailer has been working to discourage them from rushing vehicles in the driveways and trespassing in the parking lot…….the sheriff’s office receives calls from customers who are frightened or annoyed after being surrounded by job seekers. General contractors and builders often send their wives in trucks to pick up supplies at the store, he said, and the women are sometimes startled when well-meaning workers surround the truck and try to open the doors.

You can read more about it here.

Here’s a suggestion…it’s just a suggestion and I know it’s silly.  But if they are here illegally and are likely undocumented…why not check their I.D.’s and deport them if they are not citizens?  It doesn’t seem like such a difficult thing to fix.  This is the problem with laws in certain cities that don’t allow the cops to at least find out if someone is here illegally or not.  Personal safety and business revenues both suffer in this case.

How much has to happen before they at least start checking I.D.’s in the interest of public safety?  Does a toddler have to get trampled when a worker opens the door and the vehicle is rushed?  Is that what has to happen before we start to figure out sanctuary cities have to go?

If you have not experienced this, I can understand why you might think it’s not that big of a deal and they are just trying to make a buck.  Once you have….you just might change your mind.  In the interest of your own safety if nothing else.

I’m just sayin’…it’s not fun to be accosted when you are only trying to buy blue tape from Home Depot.  It’s getting out of hand.

As the spending continues and the stock market plummets beyond belief, I’ve been wondering if there are any elected officials in the democratic party who think maybe they’ve gone just a bit too far.  And it appears there might be more than one democrat who agree the spending has gone off the deep end.

Democratic Reps. Jim Matheson of Utah and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona have joined a quiet revolt in the House that could slow some of President Obama’s fast-moving priorities.

The two are among 49 Democrats from congressional districts that backed Republican Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential race and whose support for the Democratic majority’s progressive agenda is increasingly not assured.

A dozen of them were among 20 House Democrats who voted against the $410 billion discretionary fiscal 2009 spending package (HR 1105) on Feb. 25. Another group later forced House leaders to sideline a contentious bill (HR 1106) to allow bankruptcy judges to modify home loans.

You can read more about it here.

And in case you missed it….there are 122 projects which were paid for in the stimulus package but have now been given more money in the new omnibus bill due Friday for signing.  You can read all about them here.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of ACORN receiving almost four billion more in our tax money when they only seek to fix elections with much of their funding.  Maybe it’s just me….

You know….at this point I don’t even care if the democrats bucking the system are standing up to put the brakes on spending only to save their own seats.  Any help we can get to stop the bleeding is a boon.

Gird your loins, people.   Who knows what will be introduced next?

1.  I’m not a big fan of the fact the budget projects spending 1.75 trillion dollars above the rosy-scenario tax dollars expected.

2.  Technically, 5% growth is an indication of inflation…the new budget counts on this number as a “positive” result of the massive program spending involved.  What?  Really?

3.  Everyone should plan on their gas and home heating and cooling bills to increase with this new budget, as energy producers will be taxed heavily. What happens when cost goes up for energy producers?  That cost gets passed on to us.  This is the middle class tax increase Obama does not talk about when he ’s promoting his plan.

4.  If we’re all supposed to begin showing responsiblity for our own fiscal health and not borrow money we can’t repay or buy  houses we can’t afford, why is the government exempt from participating in this new era of fiscal responsibility?  Didn’t massive government spending contribute to the mess we are now in?  Where is the change?

5.  This might not apply to the new budget…but a general comment…is there anyone out there who likes the idea of having to pay for their mortgage plus the mortgage of somebody else who borrowed irresponsibly?  Besides the people who will benefit from the hard work of others to pay for their own mistakes?  Because let’s face it…there will be many who intentionally made the wrong choices who will now be rewarded with a bailut from the rest of us.

6.  If you knew your taxes would increase substantially in 18 months, would you begin to cut back on spending, downsize, and do everything in your power to NOT be in that top bracket?  Probably.  Is that what a lot of businesses are doing right now?  More than likely.  Where will the growth come when people are downsizing their businesses and employing fewer people?  Not of it makes sense.

Yes, I’m frustrated.  No, I do not think any of this will work.  Yet…have you noticed…..I have not made any personal attacks on the President or his very young budget team which does not seem to recall the lessons of the Carter years.  There is a way to disagree without name-calling.  I’m a big fan of doing it this way vs. the hate speech we’ve heard for the past eight years.

P.S.  I’m preparing a lock-box for my wallet and expecting retroactive tax increases down the road if the makeup of Congress does not change in 2010.  It’s gonna be a very rough ride as our country increasingly becomes a debtor nation beholden to some countries that don’t necessarily have our best interest at heart.