Post Scripts: A few thoughts on this and that

Kathy and I experienced our second taste of a chilly Texas winter this past week when the temperature slid a few degrees below freezing in San Marcos. Farther north, from Austin into Oklahoma, the temperature slid well below 32 degrees and Interstate 35 became ice-coated from Austin north into Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. In that 24 hour or so period, Austin reported 400 auto accidents, most of them occurring on the numerous "fly-overs" that carry traffic from one direction to another.

We missed going to church for the first time (except for trips back to Missouri) since we moved here four years ago. It was rather slick in some areas and since Kathy is having quite some difficulty in getting around, we feared she might hit a slick patch and add to her medical miseries.

You football fans surely noticed that the University of Texas Longhorns won the Super Bowl. What you don’t know is how sports-minded Texas is. The educational system is not particularly well funded but the sports programs are. Let me make it clear the UT athletic program totally supports itself and does not use any general revenue from the state. University of Texas supporters were so pleased with the Rose Bowl victory they gave Coach Mack Brown a raise. He now makes $2,550,000 a year. National Championships command a big paycheck in Texas where teachers’ salaries are not particularly high.

By the way, Coach Brown also received a $225,000 bonus under his contract – this mere pittance for the Rose Bowel victory. I almost forgot this: Coach Brown will also receive a $100,000 bonus for the Longhorns victorious season and winning the Big 12 championship undefeated.

Getting back to scholarships, I would be remiss if I did not mention the president of the university here is paid $525,000 for his effort in directing the progress of one of America’s largest educational institutions. It appears he is underpaid. They should shove a football in his hands.

Now, on another subject, I think all the talk about another tax cut for the wealthy should be put on the back burner for good. It offers a whopping $1.35 trillion tax cut over the next 10 years, aimed of course, at the very wealthy. I don’t hate rich people, but I believe it would be a sin to cut their taxes. Over the past five years we’ve given billions in tax cuts to the rich which they don’t need, or particularly deserve, as our national debt climbs to new, dangerous heights.

Our children and grandchildren will be paying for this president’s folly – record budget deficits and the quite unnecessary Iraq and Afghanistan war which is costing taxpayers $7 BILLION a month. Even worse, neither the Department of Defense or Congress knows how much the war is actually costing but their guess is a mere $311 billion!

Here’s a thought. Why not give the money wasted on the wealthy to assist wounded veterans of the Iraq war? It is my understanding the Veterans Administration is facing a $1 billion shortfall in the veterans’ healthcare system already, and that figure will explode as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars continue.