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Any time anything passes in the Senate by a vote of 96-0 I'm suspicious. Those numbers are usually reserved for meaningless proclamations declaring 'National Be Kind to Puppies and Kitties Day.' But such a vote took place yesterday on Sen. Bernie Sanders' amendment to audit the Federal Reserve. Sanders' original amendment would have required the Fed to submit to regular audits, but the watered-down version passed yesterday is for a one-time audit with a specific...

I'm addicted to a show on the Discovery Channel called Deadliest Catch and hadn't thought about why until I was explaining my fascination to friends. This program is as far away from my reality as anything could be, or so I thought. It centers around the crab fishing industry on the Bering Sea and the men who risk their lives every season in what is thought to be the deadliest occupation in the world. As I...

The forecast for today is.......who cares?...

The recent controversy over the Arizona law has created an interesting spillover effect in the sports world. Those that know me know I am a huge baseball fan and a historian. Allow me to talk about history for a moment as it pertains to social issues. In short, sports has been on the forefront of social change and that has been a good thing for our country. Most of you are familiar with the Jackie...

Welcome to the most difficult issue out there on the American landscape. Health care was brutal but it really is no more brutal than immigration because immigration affects so many other issues (including health care). I am literally a man divided on this issue. Part of me sees the economic impact of immigration. Even that is a mixed bag. In education, we are educating thousands of extra students because of the immigration situation. Yet, they...

Probably by now most everyone has heard the ridiculous statement by Sue Lowden, Senatorial candidate from Nevada, about "the olden days" when our grandparents would pay for their medical care with chickens or by offering to paint the doctor's house. The DSCC has even launched a Chickens for Checkups page on their web site where messages can be sent to Mrs. Lowden asking her what the appropriate barter might be for a variety of ailments....

This is the FDA. You are surrounded. Put down the salt shaker and come out with your hands up.   Sound like something out of a Monty Python sketch? It could be closer to reality than you think. Right now it's only processed foods and restaurant meals but we know about the camel's nose getting under the tent: "The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each...

There's just no pleasing some people. President Obama proposes to open up much of the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the North coast of Alaska to offshore oil and gas drilling and what is the response of Rep. John Boehner (R-Darque Tan)? It's not enough: "President Barack Obama's plan to allow expanded offshore oil and gas exploration won rebuke from the top House Republican on Wednesday. House Minority Leader John Boehner...

My fellow native Texans and fellow southerners, are you tired of being harassed, discriminated against, maligned, ridiculed, and otherwise mistreated because of your southern ancestry? Are you tired of being told, "you talk funny?" Ever had those Yankee carpetbaggers in your neighborhood shake their heads when you proudly fly the Stars and Bars on Jefferson Davis' birthday? Well, we don't have to take it any more. Just declare yourself a Confederate Southern American on your...

As I watch our society, our political landscape, and the immediate world around me I realize we are missing one key ingredient: shame. Part of the problem has been that the adults in our lives (and sometimes us) have misunderstood the term. Parenting is hard and as we know everything starts with parenting. It was a lot easier to pass around advice before I had a kid, but now that I do I realize the...