Saturday, June 30, 2007

"Roots of New World farming get deeper"

"Cultivation in the Americas began almost as early a sin Mideast."

By Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press, via San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Friday, June 29, 2007.

"WASHINGTON -- Agricultural was taking root in South America almost as early as the first farmers were breaking ground in the Middle East, new research indicates.

"Evidence that squash was being grown nearly 10,000 years ago, in what is now Peru, is being reported in today's edition of the journal Science.

"A team led by anthropologist Tom Dillehay of Vanderbilt University also uncovered remains of peanuts from 7,600 years ago and cotton dated to 5,500 years ago in the floors and hearths of sites in the Nanchoc Valley of Northern Peru."

TOM DILLEHAY:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dillehay

"People made different choices in how to procure their food as plant and animal availability was changing, an din many places farming was a very good choice." Quote from DOLORES PIPERNO, curator of archaeobotany at the Smithsonian.

DOLORES PIPERNO:

www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/archaeobio/piperno.htm

Good read !!

"Scientists get reading on tale of the cat "

By David Brown, WASHINGTON POST, via San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Friday, June 29, 2007.

"WASHINGTON -- Your hunch is correct.

"Your cat decided to live with you, not the other way around.

"Don't take this feline diffidence personally.

"It runs in the family.

"And it goes back about 12,000 years.

"Also, the story begins in the Fertile Crescent, not Egypt as commonly believed.

"Those are among the conclusions of a genetic study of the origins of the domestic cat, being published today in the journal Science."

Friday, June 29, 2007

Gabriel Garcia Moreno dictador ilustrado del Ecuador.

Por Julían B. Ruiz Rivera. Ediciones Anaya, S.A. 1988.

Página 76.

"Sus relaciones con las mujeres no fueron las de un típico costeño, pues García Moreno no fue muy propenso a alternar.

"Por el afán de desprestigiarlo se le inventaron amantes, y de atender a estas versiones habría matado a su propia esposa para contraer matrimonio con una sobrina de ella, Mariana del Alcázar.

"La decisión de casarse con una niña de quince años sin el consentimiento de sus padres entra dentro del temperamento algo excéntrico del guayaquilero."

Gabriel Garcia Moreno (1821 - 1875 )

Por Pilar Ponce. Historia 16 Quorum. Impreso agosto 1987.

Página 100.

"No había permanecido aún seis meses viudo cuando se casó con Mariana Alcázar.

"Mientras el novio - padre - tío tenía cuarenta y cinco años, la novia acababa de cumplir los veintinueve.

"Las relaciones con su nueva esposa fueron sin duda alguna muy diferentes a las mantenidas en su primera experiencia."

Happy Fourth of July to all United States Veterans !!

"Soldier revisits Fort Clark"

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 28, 2007.

www.thebrackettnews.com

"L.B. Breland, formerly private First Class Breland, recently returned to Fort Clark Springs, the place where his military service begin.

"Breland, part of the 122nd Cavalry Regiment in 1940, toured the Fort with his wife Connie and two daughters.

"He pointed to places where buildings, now long gone, stood full of calvarymen.

"Just a teenager when he enlisted into the military, Breland recalls spending two years on horseback riding the rugged country between Fort Clark and Del Rio.

"Breland continued serving his country. He tells of how, when he had turned nineteen, he was pinned down in the Pacific Islands during World War II.

"Breland donated some of his paperwork to the Fort's museum and said he plans to continue visiting the area."

Today's Catholic Calendar:

Feast Day of St Peter and St. Paul

In Brackettville, Texas, St. Mary Magdalene's mass turnout at 0700: 10 total, with Fr. Quang, Deacon Joe, a Reader plus 7 other sleepy folks!

Mass had both Gloria and the Creed.

Fr. Quang Van gave a fairly lengthy summary of both Apostles' life activities.

"Police chief selected as gay pride grand marshal"

"[San Antonio Chief of Police] McManus is the first cop to assume the role in the Gay Pride SA Festival and Parade."

San Antonio EXPRESS -NEWS front page, Thursday, June 28, 2007.

"Hummm .. so what' s in all this for him ?" (heh, heh!)

Thursday, June 28, 2007

"Moms And Martyrs"

"More and more Palestinian women are signing up to become suicide bombers.

"But are they really choosing to die?"

By TIM MCGIRK, Jerusalem. Time, May 14, 2007.

"IN LATE MARCH, A MACABRE MUSIC video appeared on a a television show for Palestinian children.

"Duha, 4, as pale as a porcelain doll, is sitting on a bed, watching her mom dress before leaving home.

Mommy, what are you carrying in your arms instead of me?

"[T]he girl sings.

"The next day, Duha gets the answer on the evening news.

"It turns out her mother was carrying explosives and had blown herself up, killing four Israelis.

"The final scene shows the girl wistfully rummaging through her dead mother's bedside table.

"She finds a hidden stick of dynamite and picks it up.

"The implicit message is that someday Duha will follow her mother into blazing martyrdom."

Whopee!

Right?

Seriously folks, it's a sad and fascinating read...

"The anti - free speech police strike again in Oakland."

George Will. San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Monday, June 25, 2007. [Usual free -wheeling adaptation!]

"Marriage is the foundation of the natural family and sustains family values.

"That sentence is inflammatory, perhaps even a hate crime.

"At least it is in Oakland, California.

"Some African - American Christian women working for Oakland's government organized the Good News Employee Association, or GNEA, which they announced with a flier describing their group as a forum for people of Faith to express their views on the contemporary issues of the day.

With respect for the Natural Family, Marriage and Family Values.

"The only cited disruption was one lesbian's compaint that the flier made her fell targeted and excluded.

"So anyone has the power to be a censor just by saying someone's speech has hurt his or her feelings.

"Congress is trying to enact yet another hate crime law that would authorize enhanced punishments for crimes committed because of, among other things, sexual orientation.

"A coalition of African - American clergy, the High Impact Leadership Coalition, opposes this, fearing it might be used to muzzle the church.

"The clergy argue that in our litigation prone society the legislation would result in lawsuits having a chilling effect on speech and religious liberty.

"As the Oakland case demonstrates, that, too, is predictable."

"If women go to the fields, they're raped..."

"War in Congo staggers on, as does very painful death."

NICHOLAS KRISTOF, NY Times. San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Wednesday, June 27, 2007.

"JOMBA, Congo -- If you think you face tough choices, imagine that you were living here in eastern Congo.

If women to the fields, they're raped, said Shabain Katuija, a local man.

If they don't go to the fields, they starve.

"So why don't men go to the fields instead?

"Oliver Sbasoro, a villager here, explained:

They rape the women, but it's worse for the men, because they kill them or kidnap them to make them slaves.

"On this win a trip journey through Central Africa with a teacher and a student, we're visiting the forgotton war inside Congo.

"The death toll has already reached 4 million, making this the most lethal conflict since World War II."

For anyone lucky enough to know the NY Times' secret handshake, you can read more here, according to the EXPRESS - NEWS:

nytimes.com/twofortheroad

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

"A RETURN TO THE LATIN MASS"

US News & World Report, June 25, 2007.

By Eric Ferkenhoff.

"Clashes with congregants may erupt as a growing number of young priests push for revival of pre - Vatican II customs.

"Nearly two generations of Catholics have grown up in a post - Vatican II world, worshipping in a church that celebrates mass in their local languages and, at least to some extent, embraces modern customs as much as it once rejected them."

Good reading !!

"Improving Black Graduation Rates"

¡Ora, UTEP! ¡Ora, MEChA!

¡Ora, DESTINO!

Hooray for UTEP's Black Students Association !

So, why does UTEP's grad rates fall through the floor??!!

Is UTEP against the human race, period ??

US News and World Report, June 4, 2007.

"The nationwide graduation rate for black students rose 4 percentage points to 43 percent between 2003 and 2006, but that figure is a full 20 percentage points lower than the average graduation rates for white students, according to a recent report in the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education."

SOME RANDOM GRADUATION RATES FOR BLACK STUDENTS IN 2006:

Cal Tech: 83%

"So, what's with UTEP ??!!"

Yale University: 92%

"So, what's with UTEP's dismal record ??!! With Any Ethnic group ??"

U.C. -- Los Angeles: 73%

"So, why does UTEP score so bad ??"

"With a degree - completion rate of 4% in four years, and of only 27% if extended to six years?"

"If this is not a criminal case of massive, institutional fraud, if UTEP's own statistics don't prove it to be the academic equivalent of an ENRON of Texas - style continuing criminal enterprise, then just why are UTEP's grad rates so bad?"

¡Hola, UTEP's John "Danny" Olivas !!

¡ Ora, UTEP ! ¡ Adelante, DESTINO ! ¡ Ora, MEChA !

UTEP Alumni walking once again on Planet Earth!

See current UTEP PROSPECTOR ....

www.utep.edu/prospector

"Olivas completes space task"

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Gabriel Garcia Moreno: dictador ilustrado del Ecuador. Julian B. Ruiz Rivera.

Gabriel Garcia Moreno. Pilar Ponce.

Courtesy of interlibrary loan from UTEP, via Kinney County Public Library.

Both look like good reading, to be sure...

Wow! ¡Guau!

What a set - back for greedy American Catholic clergy !!

¡ Adelante DESTINO !

"Vatican reverses Kennedy - sought annulment.."

"Joseph II's first wife had blasted the church, family's influence."

ASSOCIATED PRESS. Thursday, June 21, 2007.

"BOSTON -- The Vatican reversed the annulment of former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy II's first marriage, a union that lasted 12 years and produced two sons.

"Sheila Rauch on Wednesday confirmed a report of Time magazine's Web site that her appeal to of the annulment to Rome has succeeded.

"She said:

I'm very grateful that the marriage was validated."

Yes, indeed!

Given the long, unsavoury role played by so-called "Prominent American Catholics" -- often times little more than glorified male hookers and psychophants, whether political (the Kennedy clan) or religious (John Cardinal Law, among others) -- here in America in cases like this, maybe good 'ole Pope Benedict XVI has decided it's time to teach them a thing or two!!

No harm in hoping ...

"Army deserters fill drug cartels' ranks."

"Better pay makes the violent work appealing to many ex - soldiers."

By Marion Lloyd, Houston Chronicle. In San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Monday June 25, 2007.

As the author tells us:

"[M]ore than 150,000 Mexicna soldiers have deserted," in only 8 years!

One security analyst based in Mexico City named Georgina Sanchez is quoted as saying:

"Even if just 5 percent of those join the cartels, that's an army of hit men.

"And it's a bigger army than many in the world."

You bet! Let's see: 5 percent of 150,000 makes for 7,500 hit men, right?

Hey! You're talking roughly seven (7) Light Infantry Battalions, plus!

As for Mexican Army base pay for peons, we're told this:

"Until receiving a raise this year, rank - and - file soldiers made $330 a month, less than many [Mexican] police officers."

Mission Church of St. Blaise site of funeral services...

"Miss Maria I. Cruz of Spofford passed away June 12, 2007, in Uvalde at the age of 78,

"Funeral services were held on Thursday, June 14, 2007 at 2 p.m. St. Blaise Catholic Church in Spofford, Texas.

"Internment was in the Spofford Cemetary.

"[St. Mary Magdalene pastor] Fr. Quang Van officiated."

RIP Maria !

"Eternal rest grant unto her, Oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.

"May the souls of Thy servant Maria and of all the other faithful departed, through the Mercy of God,

"Rest in Peace,

"AMEN!"

"Duncan -- 4.0 GPA last three semesters..."

"Mr. Levi Duncan graduated from Brackett High School in 2002 and is now attenidng [the] University of Texas at Arlington.

"Mr. Duncan will soon be graduating with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering."

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 21, 2007.

Monday, June 25, 2007

"Child sex offender arrested by KCSO !! "

"Kinney County Sheriff deputies arrested Wallee James Kielhorn for failure to register as a sex offender in the stte of Texas on June 15.

"Kielhorn, 52, a resident of Fort Clark RV Park, was convicted of a sexual offense against a female child in Rhode Island in 1988, but upon his arrival to Kinney County, reportedly failed to register as a sex offender with local law enforcement.

"Kielhorn, relatively unknown to the locals, made his presence known when he was arrested on May 26, for public intoxication and removed from the Fort Clark Swim Park."

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 21, 2007.

"Hobbs Graduates from Texas A & M "

"Jared William Hobbs, 2003 graduate of Brackett High School, was awarded his Bachelor of Science, specializing in Ag Leadership and Development from Texas A & M University on May 12, 2007."

Way to go, Jared !!

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 21, 2007.

"Brackett High's C.C. getting head start in Business Administration !!"

"Brackett High junior C.C. is set on finishing her last year of high school and graduating in 2008.

"By successfully seeking summer employment with the Brackettville Housing Authority, she is already learning some of the fundamentals that will help her in her future college career as a major in Business."

Go C.C. !!

"BP checkpoint in Kinney County seizes large amounts of narcotics..."

"CBP Border Patrol seizes nearly $3 million in cocaine near Cline, Texas, Friday.

"Cocaine is valued at $2,961,600.

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Del Rio Sector seized 905 pounds of marijuana at the Border Patrol checkpoint near Cline, Texas, Wednesday.

"Agents disocvered the drugs in the bed of a tractor - trailer full of gravel traveling east on Highway 90."

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

"Fernandez to take part in UT Austin's summer Introduction to Engineering Program"

"Brackett High School junior, Ms. Doolie Fernandez, has been selected to participate in the MITE: Introduction to Engineering 2007 program at the University of [Texas] Austin this month.

"As an officer in the BHS Mathematics' Club, Ms. Fernandez will share her experiences with other high school students next fall."

Brackett News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

"Smith awarded Super S Scholarship "

"Super S. Foods, a Texas family owned and operated chain of supermarkets, has awarded $49,000 in academic scholarships throughout Central and South Texas.

"Each individual recipient received a $1,000 scholarship [sic.] that can be utilized to continue their education in various colleges and universities this fall.

"Congratulations to Brackett High School's Natasha Smith, recepient of the $1,000 Super S Foods scholarship award."


Go, Ms. Smith !!

William Jackson Cook and Hanna Case, too !

"Other winners from the area were: Rocksprings High School, William Jackson Cook and Uvalde High School, Hanna Case."

Brackett News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

"So, what happens ??"

"When doctors don't wash their hands?"

More from Dr. Atul Gawande's book. Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance, page 14 - 15.

"Each year, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control, two million Americans acquire an infection while they are in the hospital.

"Ninety thousand die of that infection.

"The hardest part of the infection - control team's job, Yokoe says, is not coping with the vareity of ocntagions they encounter or the panic that sometimes occurs among patients and staff.

"Instead, their geatest difficulty is getting clinicians like me to do the one thing that consistently halts the spread of infections: wash our hands."

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Dr. Atul Gawande: himself a MPO guy!!

Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Peformance. New York: Metropolitan Books Henry Holt and Company, 2007.

"Better is a mesmeriizng book with fascinations on every page, told with mastery, insight , compassion, and humility by a surgeon who doesn't flinch from taboo subjects or self - examination."

DIANE ACKERMAN, author of An Alchemy of Mind.

Hooray for UTEP'S Medical Professionals Organization !!

Unique in my experience at UTEP, the MPO has received more than one lump sum cash amount of $100.00 from yours truly at their semi - annual cookies and goodies fund raisers !

Remember:

"Lay your $$$.$$ on the UTEP MPO !"

Why?

'Cause these guys are really on their way to someplace good..."

"GUIDED BY THE STARS"

Q: "Hey, Bono, don't young folks care about the issues?"

Ans: "Don't sweat it, dude; I'll take care of it."

By THEODORE DALRYMPLE / Los Angeles Times. San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Sunday, June 17, 2007. Yours truly's free - wheeling adaptation, of course!

"The cult of celebrity is not new, but it is increasing in its scope and effect.

"At one time, people wanted simply to gawk at the famous, and possibly dress like them.

"Now, many take their moral and political opinions from them.

"Entertainers are the popes of our age, with de facto -- though as yet not de jure -- powers to call down anethemas on -- or beatify -- whomever they choose.

"Nothing could illustrate it better than the Web site of Rosie O'Donnell, the comedian and lesbian activist and, until recently, chief attraction on The View, who pronounces on so many subjects and whose utterances appear to be taken seriously by many.

"The most interesting, or revealing, question asked is:

"What kind of anti - depressant medication do you use?"

As the author had commented earlier in his article:

"When I was still in medical practice, more than a few patients used to ask me for pills to prevent them from thinking.

"The cult of celebrity trivializes everything it touches.

"But the I ask myself:

"Was there ever a time in human history when people judged serious matters by serious criteria?

"If so, when was it, and when did it change?"

"Theodore Dalrymple is the author of Our Culture, What's Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses."

UTEP's Danny Olivas: Class of 1989 !

Still in out there in orbit !!

See:

www.utep.edu/prospector

Monday, June 18, 2007

"Ganaderos reciben apoyos ..."

Zócalo, Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila. Sábado 2 de junio de 2007.

In Coahuila State, Mexico, the Mexican Federal Government shells out roughly from $3 million to $8 million.

The idea seems to be that this will encourage Mexican cattle ranchers build better fences and encourage them likewise to plant crops of cattle feed.

ENRIQUE GONZALEZ CORREA:

"La Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación, hizo entrega de los apoyos a los productores ganaderos de la región norte de Coahuila, con un ainversión en el orden de los 43 millones de pesos.

"Villarreal Dávila, aseguró que se bien este recurso no se entregó en su oportunidad, afortunadamente Coahuila, es uno de los primeros estados que logra obtener los 93 millones de pesos, para que sean pagados a los productores que participaron en el programa ganadero.

"En cuanto a los apoyos que enterga el Gobierno Federal, dijo que uno de los objetivos es compremeter a los productores a que realicen acciones que mejoren los hatos ganaderos de Coahuila, tanto en cercos como en siembra de alimento ganadero."

"A look at abuse in Protestant churches"

It seems like there's roughly 260+ allegations of child sexual abuse reported yearly...

Surprise ! Surprise ! (Heh, heh! )

Source: The Associated Press, Thu Jun 14, 3:58 PM ET

"A look at reports of sex abuse of minors from three companies that together insure the majority of U.S. Protestant churches.

"Church Mutual Insurance Co.

"Reports of sex abuse of minors: Company has received an average of about 100 reports year alleging child sex abuse over the past decade."

Chose not to report total amount in claims paid out!

"GuideOne Insurance Co.

"Reports on sex abuse of minors: Company has received an average of about 160 reports of child sex abuse a year for the past two decades.

"Total amount in claims paid: Over the last five years, GuideOne has averaged approximately $4 million per year in child sex abuse and sexual misconduct settlements, excluding attorney fees.

"Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.

"Reports on sex abuse of minors: Company has received an average of 73 reports of BOTH child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct each year for the past 15 years.

"Total amount in cliams paid: Total of approximately $7.8 million has been paid out in cliams for sexual misconduct and child sex abuse over the past 15 years."

Wow! "Cause, In all fairness to our non - Catholic Christian friends and neighbors, all of this is a long, long, way from the $1.5 billion dollar pay out the so-called American Catholic Church has cursed itself with!

From my own knee - jerk perspective, the American Catholic Church child sexual abuse fiasco just might be a good illustration of what happens when:

"The corruption of the Best becomes the Worst !"

Saturday, June 16, 2007

¡Ora, UTEP! ¡Ora, MEChA! ¡Adelante, DESTINO !

"Summer One is better than half over!"

"Do Real Men Go To Mass?"

"In his explosive new book, The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity -- now avilable in paper back and hard cover -- Leon Podles, Ph.D. explains why men view Christianity as a threat to their masuclinity.

"The Church Impotent is the only book to argue that Western churches have become women's clubs, that the emasculation of Christianity is dangerous, and that a masucline presence must be restored."

"Save 30% by ordering from www.spencepublishing.com

"Or save 10% by calling 1 - 888 - 773 - 6782.

"Also available from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com

"S.M. Hutchens, Ph.D, Senior Editor of Touchstone: A journal of Mere Christinaity:

"Leon Podles' new book, The Church Impotent, identifies and exposes the forces and ideas bidding to denature Christ and His Church through emasculation.

"The book is scholarly but not pedant, firm but not shrill, a potent reminder for an increasingly confused age that an altered Church is no church at all.

"John M. Haas, Ph.D, S.T.L, President The International Institure for Culture:

"The Church Impotent is extremely well researched and is lucidly and compellingly written.

"Its many astute observations about the contemporary Church should be thoughtfully meditated upon by the shepherds of the Church in our day -- for the sake of the Bride of Christ herself."

Hey! Sounds like an interesting book, no??

"Alamo Village still active movie set."

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

"Virginia Shahan and Village stand the test of time."

"Virginia Shahan, owner of the Alamo Village, recently celebrated what would have been John Wayne's one hundreth birthday with a cake and lots of good stories.

"The celebration not only paid homage to the late actor, but proved that one Kinney County man's dream could stand the test of time.

"Shahan's late husband, Happy, built a replica of Texas' historical icon, the Alamo, for John Wayne's movie of the same name in 1959.

"Since the completion of the movie, The Alamo, hundreds of other movies and music videos have been filmed there."

As a recent example, we see in the caption of an accompanying photo:

"Producer and leading man, Eric Braeden, recently completed filming The Man Who Came Back at Alamo Village."

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY !!

"Marine Muniz: BHS Graduate Jaime Israel Muniz...."

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 7, 2007.

"BHS Graduate Jaime Israel Muniz, son of Corina Hernandez, is the only student in this year's class to enter into the armed forces.

"Muniz will leave for training June 17."

Thursday, June 14, 2007

"Longtime Brackettville rancher dies at 89 ..."

The Brackett News, Thursday, June 7, 2007.

JAMES F. BADER

November 25, 1917 -- May 29, 2007.

World War II:

"He served as a navigator in the 8th Airforce based in England during WW II.

"After completing 25 bombing missions over Germany and German - occupied territories, he remained in England as the Wing Navigator.

"He attained the rank of Major and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.

"He was a lifelong member of St. Mary Magdalene's Catholic Church where he served on the parish council and was charter member of the local Knights of Columbus council."

Our condolences to his son JIM BADER, our Deacon, and all his other family memebers.

From the old Roman Prayers:

"Eternal rest grant unto him, Oh Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him,
May the souls of Thy servant James,
And the souls all the other faithfully departed,
Through the mercy of God,
Rest in peace, AMEN."

At Last! A "Fehrenbach Link!"


http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/columnists/trfehrenbach/stories/MYSA061007.03H.fehrenbach.2248147.html

Fehrenbach Rocks !!

Just click on the above, or read the excerpt below !!

"T.R. Fehrenbach: No personal sin in the New Morality"

Excerpted and Adapted from: San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Saturday, June 9, 2007.

"This is a tale not of two cities or two nations, but of two moralities.

"Once upon a time, there were moral and immoral people in the land.

"There was one morality for all, and those who didn't observe it, however defiant, knew they were being bad.

"That's not quite true today.

"The creation of a newer morality has abolished personal sin and guilt.

"The Old Morality, which I shall call the traditional Judeo - Christian, might be summarized by Chapter 20 of the Second Book of Moses, as the Ten Commandments.

"These Ten Commandments are not purely Hebrew or Christian; most human societies -- Asian, Indo - Eurpopean, Greek or Roman -- adopted something similar.

"The Hebrews were unique only in their monotheism, not in jealous gods.

"However, until very recently anyone who broke the Commandments, however willingly, usually considered himself or herself unrighteous or wrong.

"They [the Ten Commandments] were the gold standard of social conduct.

"Which takes us to the New Morality, which goes more or less like this:

"The moral person must be concerned for the economically challenged and socially marginalized -- that is, the plight of the poor and problems of minorities, as well as dangers to the environment.

"If one is moral in this way, much must be forgiven.

"Theology is irrelevant; sexual mores immaterial.

"The New Morality is a form of religious tinkering and will no doubt spark a counterreformation.

"I have no problem with the social Gospel, which is inherent in Christianity.

"Except that it is absolutely no excuse to discard the old Commandments."

Friday, June 08, 2007

Latest UTEP "Prospector!"

www.studentaffairs.utep.edu/prospector

Yea, UTEP!

SUMMER SCHOOL IN FULL SWING !!

Good reading online with new UTEP Prospector issue:

www.studentaffairs.utep.edu/prospector

Folks learn about "making it" on $3.20 a day!

One of UTEP's finest blast off for outer space -- drug and alcohol free!

San Antonio, Texas:

"Lawyer Roberts gets 5 years for extortion "

"He had blackmailed two men who had been his wife's lovers. "

"Ted H. Roberts, covicted of extorting money from his wife's lovers, holds an unlit cigar in the courtroom while awaiting sentencing at the Cadena - Reeves Justice Center."

Classic "Pimp 'n ho Case " nears sordid end !

Adapted from Mario Robbins, EXPRESS - NEWS STAFF WRITER, Tuesday, June 5, 2007.

"The lawyer stood silently, searching for words to address the ruinous events that led him to court Monday: his wife's infidelities, the way he'd sought revenge against her lovers and how that had resulted in his prosecution.

"This was Ted H. Roberts' chance to speak.

"In a moment, the judge would send the 50 - year - old to five years in prison."

But! It seems our main man was in denial, as here is what he tells us:

"It is incredible to me after I sought protection from the law that ... I face sentencing without having committed a crime."

Whopee! (heh, heh!)

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Dr. Jerome Groopman One - Blog - Reader Fan Club!!


Adapted from How Doctors Think, Chapter 6:


"The Uncertainty of the Expert"


"Dr. James Lock is the chief of cardiology at Boston's Children's Hospital.


"Lock explained that for lower - middle - class people, becoming a doctor was the way to go.


"He was suspended from school in the second grade and expelled in the sixth.


"The psychiatrist seemed to recognize Lock's potential despite his subpar performance."


The shrink recommended he be placed in the eight grade, and as our author continues:


"I suggested that these days the psychiatrist may have diagnosed him with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin.


"Lock was a National Merit Scholar, and at the age of fifteen he went to college at Case Western Reserve, then on to medical school at Stanford."


Dr. Lock's personal boyhood hero was, would you believe? One Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle. As Dr. Groopman says:


"Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born in 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland, into a struggling Irish - Catholic family.


"Wealthy relatives provided for his education at a Jesuit boarding school in England, which he loathed.


"Although many members of the family were artists, Conan Doyle chose medicine, and returned from England to Edinburgh for his studies.


"Like his hero [Sherlock] Holmes, James Lock ponders the nature and interpretation of available evidence and tries to imagine a better future.


"Lock spoke about physical genius, the kind of genius displayed by stellar athletes who can anticipate exactly where the ball is headed.


"Growing up, Lock idolized baseball players who could connect with a breaking curve ball and hit it out of the park ..."

"Prostitutes, guns cash all parts of Valley case"

Donna High and PSJA Make the Headlines !!

"7 charged in steering of school contracts"

Adapted from: Lynn Brezosky, Associated Press / San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Wednesday, June 6, 2007.

"MCALLEN -- Seven Rio Grande Valley residents have been indicted in a federal corruption investigation that accuses school officials of steering lucrative contracts to certain firms in exchange for bribes that included trips, prostitutes, guns and more than $600,000 in cash.

"Arturo Guajardo, superintendent of the Pharr - San Juan -- Alamo Independent School District, turned himself in Tuesday."

GO PSJA: THREE SIBLINGS WENT THERE !

"Also included in the 22 - count indictment is George Hernandez, who owns a contracting business and is president of the Donna Independent School District."

GO DONNA HIGH SCHOOL: ME AND ONE BROTHER WENT THERE!

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

HOW DOCTORS THINK !!

Author's dedication: FOR MY MOTHER - Ayshet chayil -- "a woman of valor"

Dr. Jerome Groopman's book a fascinating read .

Still working on reading it, thanks to Kinney County Library's Inter - library Loan Department and Laredo Community College Library ...


Dr. Tony Dajer, M.D. !!

"Medical errors made headlines in 1999 when an Institute of Medicine report revealed that these mistakes cause 98,000 deaths a year."

( "DISCOVER: Science, Technology, and The Future," May, 2007)

Laptops for all highschoolers and middle schoolers??

EXPRESS - NEWS Reporter Michelle Koidin Jaffe does bang - up job in Tuesday's paper (June 5, 2007)

PROS:

One: Laptops mean "better preparing students for life after graduation."

Two: Laptops are also good for "narrowing the gap between rich and poor."

Three: Laptops are good for "even spurring [students to] another level of thinking."

Four: Using a laptop also "takes students to a higher level of critical analysis."

CONS:

One: "[M]isuse of laptops by some students."

Two: "[A]nd the refusal of some parents to agree in advance to pay for lost or damaged computers."

Humm ... well ... o.k.... !!

Maxed Out !!

"Documentary shows plight of Americans burdened by debt "

By: Sanford Nowlin, San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS Business Writer, Tuesday, June 5, 2007. [Adapted]

"Maxed Out, a film on DVD hitting store shelves this month, takes a look at Americans' debt problems -- and how much of the blame for them lies with the nation's lending industry.

"Maxed Out starts on a lighter note as an upbeat Las Vegas real estate agent walks through a 10,000 - square - foot house she's having built and admits she'll be in trouble if interest rates rise.

"But it doesn't take long for the real - life stories to turn grim.

"[Director] Scurlock interviews a pair of women whose children committed suicide in college after slipping into credit - card debt, and he visits a retiree holding a yard sale before her home goes into foreclosure.

"The film points out that more U.S. citizens will file bankruptcy this year than graduate from college, get divorced or diagnosed with cancer.

"U.S. consumers now owe more than $2.4 trillion to banks, credit - card companies and other lenders, according to the Federal Reserve."

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Emilio Gutierrez overcomes older brothers' lousy example !!

Adapted from John Tedesco, staff writer, San Antonio EXPRESS - NEWS, Monday, June 4, 2007.

"One of his big brothers was executed in Huntsville for killing an Air Force captain during a carjacking.

"Two other big brothers are in prison.

"Yet on a suny Sunday afternoon, clean - cut Emilio Gutierrez, 18, smiled bashfully before the television cameras and accepted a plaque at City Hall for feeding the homeless and volunteering to help AIDS patients.

"How Gutierrez turned out so different from his older brothers is an age old mystery:

"Why do some siblings turn out like Cain, and others like Abel?

"In Gutierrez's case, the idea of following his big brothers' footsteps seemed to horrify him, not tempt him.

He used to cry when he was little, 'I don't want to be like my brothers, I don't want to be like my brothers,' recalled his older sister, Margarita Greening."

And as for a future career, well, here's what we're told:

"Gutierrez has always wanted to go into law enforcement.

I got that from my brothers, he said."

Discover magazine, May, 2007, has good book reviews by and about the world of the M.D. !!

"AMERICAN HEALTH CARE IS AMONG THE WORST IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD: HOW CAN WE DO BETTER ?"

As our higglety - pigglety compilation of what reviewer Dr. Tony Dajer tells us explains:

"As an intern 20 years ago, I memorized elaborate protocols on how to dose patients with estrogen and progesterone.

"It never occured to me to question the underlying data, which it turns out rested on a few observational studies and slick marketing.

"It's likely we doctors caused hundreds of thousands of cases of breast cancer -- all the while scratching our heads over its rising incidence.

"How did that happen?

"Well, treating menopause with natural hormones seemed like a good idea."

A little earlier he commented:

"Our health system ranks 37th worldwide.

"Yet we American doctors still fancy ourselves the best - trained anywhere, our care second to none.

"Why the disconnect?

"Because we refuse to acknowledge the power of money, that's why....."

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Felicidades a: La Licenciada Violeta Sanchez Mena y el Licenciado Gabriel Angel Gonzalez .

Two outstanding UTEP Grads, Class of 2007 !!

Violeta: we fellow members of UTEP's MEChA know how hard you worked for that B.A. in History, and now you have it. Way to go!

Gabriel: it wasn't easy to take over the job formerly held by el Don Ingeniero Edgar Carrette Rocha at Copy Todo, but you did it, and picked up your B.S. degree in chemistry, too!

¡ "REVIENTAN" NARCOBODEGA !


"Decomisan 128 Kilos de mariguana, 2 vehículos e implementos."


"Ejército y AFI efectúan cateo encontrando básculas, prensas, cinta y otros objetos para empaquetar droga, en la colonia Aeropuerto; no informan del dueño de la droga ni de la finca."


Héctor Sifuentes -- Zócalo / Ciudad Acuña. Sábado 2 de junio de 2007.

Friday, June 01, 2007

"UT official is ousted for dealings with lender"

"Probe said relationship with a student loan company raised red flags."

¡Ora, MEChA ! ¡ Ora, UTEP ! ¡ Adelante DESTINO !

By: Liz Austin Peterson, Associated Press / San Antonio
EXPRESS - NEWS, May 15, 2007.

"AUSTIN -- The University of Texas at Austin fired its financial aid director Monday after determining his ownership of stock in a loan company violated university rules.

We found an almost complete lack of awareness related to basic ethics and conflicts - of - interest principles, [UT System General Counsel Barry] Burgdorf added."

Congratulations to the Graduating B'ville High Class of 2007 !!

Today's Their Big Day !!

Congratulations to Señor Victor Anthony Sanchez Robledo, who was among the fourty-nine 8th Graders who graduated yesterday, and all his friends and classmates.

"Cattle Raisers elect New Officers."

Ranchers Exchange, May 2007, volume 15, No. 3.

Your Source For Texas Livestock News !!

"New officers were elected March 26 during the closing session of [the] Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association's 130th annual convention in Fort Worth.

"Jon Means of Van Horn, Texas, was elected president..."

They were speaking Aramaic !!

San Antonio EXPRESS-NEWS special, "Breaching America," Wednesday, May 23, 2007.

"Attorney Paul Hajjar, a Lebanese American hired as a defense interpreter for the proceedings, recalled overhearing the Iraqis talking among themselves in a dialect that was not Arabic.

"He recognized it as a contemporary derivative of the ancient Aramaic language dating to the days of Jesus Christ.

"It is spoken only by Middle East Christians.

"Hajjar asked Piuz [one of three Iraqis who had crossed the Rio Grande six miles east of Los Indios, up river from Brownsville, Texas and who had then told the Border Patrol they wanted "political asylum."] about the language.

"Just then, the Iraqi broke out with a heartfelt rendition of the Lord's Prayer in Aramic, loudly enough for all to hear.

"The display wouldn't help the group.

"It wasn't included in the report that would go to the judge.

"And the FBI still hadn't shown up."