I think I'm finally coming to terms with it.  I'm rolling the word around in my mouth, trying it out:

meh - tro - sex - u - al

No, I'm usually not bigoted about a person's proclivities.  I could care less about other peoples' personal lives unless they are unsafe and endanger others.  Choice of personal expression is entirely that -- personal.

Now here I am, confronted by a small man-child who is asking me about stickers and special paint pens to decorate one's nails.  He's asked before to have his nails painted (yes, I know, you too, Harald!) and I've kindly obligated with a neutral hue that wouldn't cause him problems.

The stickers and paint pens give me pause, though.  I don't think I can do it.

I will help him spike his hair or slick it down, buff his skin and apply moisturizers, smooch his little lips to attest to their softness after an application of lip balm.

But no stickers on the nails of my little metrosexual.

7:38:05 PM    comment []

Read this letter to the editor in the Houston Chronicle today and thought, WHAT THE F*CK???

Did I read this wrong or is the federal government turning its back on revenue that could pay down this horrific deficit?

Bush confused on oil profits

After the report on the Department of the Interior's decision to suspend the collection of royalty payments on oil and gas extracted from deep formations in the Gulf of Mexico, I decided to sit back and listen to the sounds of outrage from taxpayers [see Jan. 24 Chronicle article, "Feds add incentives to find natural gas"]. I also expected to hear from Republicans who are so outraged by the Bush administration's excessive spending proclivities. But the silence has been deafening.

The entrepreneurs President Bush always praises so highly are supposedly those who make their fortunes (or lose their shirts) by putting their money at risk in hopes of making a profit (without depending on government handouts). The greater the risks, the greater the profits they expect. In Bush's mythology, these are independent and courageous and rightly claim the entire profit.

In reality, they are now allowed to take risks with other people's money, taxpayers' money, and still claim the entire profit. They are legitimately allowed to write off drilling costs for either producing wells or dry holes.

Other than that, they should not receive any public funding unless there is a substantial payback from any profit, over and above the royalties to be paid for oil or gas produced from government-owned leases.

A giveaway of $1.5 billion is not acceptable public policy.

Bush and the oil company financial officers have confused profit with loot.

Alexander D. Bell, Temple

Go ahead, tell me I'm nuts about how bad the deficit is; but when inflation starts to heat up and the prime rate goes up correspondingly, I'll be crazy-right.

The only thing that held this economy together over the last two years was new housing starts, driven by record-low interest rates.  That will dry right up if inflation jumps AND the Fed Reserve boosts rates to slow down the economy at the same time.

Add the increase in rates due to increased demand (more borrowing by the U.S.) and it'll get ugly.

In the mean time, somebody thinks we can afford to subsidize petrochemical companies -- and there's no oversight on this, either.  What else is being given away that we don't know about?

Vote for checks and balances, people; vote for a second party -- at least.

2:09:14 PM    comment []