It's A Clear-cut Case Of Open & Shut

Regarding: "Report: UT chief broke no rules" (Friday Front Page), I can only say: what nonsense.  The report - commissioned by regents to determine whether University of Texas president Bill Powers peddled college admissions to alumni and politicians for donations and political favors - is so fraught with contradictions, rationalizations and tortured conclusions as to be laughable.  

 

The Kroll consulting firm admits that under Powers "up to 300 applicants per year" that otherwise would not qualify for admission were given special consideration, "mostly at the request of legislators or regents", but excuses the behavior by concluding that "colleges and universities across the country must weigh and balance competing factors, which sometimes include relationships with donors, legislators and others.”  

The report also states that Powers and his chief of staff, Nancy Brazzil "misled the inquiry", and "failed to speak with the candor and forthrightness expected of people in their respective positions of trust and leadership".  All that aside, the Kroll report grandly concludes that Powers "broke no rules."  And yet, as the article points out, "Texas law prohibits legacy admissions".  

President Powers can "weigh and balance" until the cows come home; it doesn't change the fact that if he granted even one favor, he broke the law.  As to his prevarications, his actions by any other name are perjury.  Luckily for Powers, this investigation was not a legal proceeding, but that is a technicality that should give him no comfort.

Ironically, the Kroll report - so obsessed with excusing Powers' behavior - provides all the justification needed for a formal criminal investigation.  It also exonerates regent Wallace Hall, the whistle-blower who brought Powers' wrong-doing to light, and the attempts by establishment goons to criminalize Hall's activities on behalf of Texas should themselves be the subject of the same investigation. 

Pete Smith

Houston, TX

The Green Thing

Classic from  the Internet:

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.  The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

The older lady said that she was right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain:
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then.
We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.

Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.
Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a r azor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the"green thing." We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart ass young person.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smartass who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

Dear Democrats: Volume 3

Dear Democrat Party: Well, it's been another four days, and once again I am obliged to respond to the continuing flood of awesome personalized e-mails that you send to me.  So once again, I figured I would catch up with you all at once.  Here goes:

Dear DNC HQ: You say this is the "Last Call" to meet POTUS, but I feel like you are playing with me.  Relationships are built on trust, DNC HQ, even those between regular folks like me, and inanimate objects like buildings.  I've half a mind to call Barack personally.

Dear Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Every time you write, I feel like I am ready to take our relationship to the next level, but what do you do?  You talk politics.  Yes, I'm excited to hear that the Dems have picked Philadelphia for the convention, but relationships require a little intimacy.  I need you to try harder, DWS.

Dear Barack: Thanks very much for the personal invite!  I look forward to the opportunity for you to thank me in person, particularly after all of the advice I've provided you over the years, but how will I get to DC?  Flights to DC don't grow on trees.

Dear DNC HQ: Do I know you or what?  Must say I'm a little disappointed you didn't offer me the flight last time, and I'm sorry I had to drag POTUS into this.  Please set me up First Class with just a carry-on; next Thursday is open.

Dear Debbie Wasserman Schultz: You know what you can do for me you temptress, and it's not setting up a flight.  Already got that taken care of.  I'm in town next Thursday to meet with Barack.  Clear your calendar.

Dear DNC HQ: Now we're talking.  Please book me into the Watergate; I'm big on irony, ha ha! Also, since you're springing for the hotel, change my airplane reservation to include checked baggage.  Looks like this is the time DWS and I are finally going to get it on.

Dear DNC War Room: "War Room" is a little intense, don't you think?  Not exactly a politically correct term for the Party obsessed with political correctness.  As to the Impeachment talk you flog all the time, 'fess up: that's more than just a little wishful thinking now, isn't it?

Dear Emily Gottschalk-Marconi: The only thing sexier than a Democrat woman with plaited hair from the Queens is a Democrat woman rocking the Axis Powers with a hyphen.  You and I need to get to know each other better.  I would dump DWS in a minute if you cursed at me in Italian mit a German accent.

Dear Joe: You are so forceful and decisive in this e-mail.  What happened to the eternally Goofy equivocator we have come to know and love?

Dear Lawrence: Don't even bother showing me Al Franken in a video unless it's a German Scheisse with Jon Stewart.  Will also settle for him getting Punked, literally.

Dear Eric and Meg: Lists, cards, membership: It all sounds very tempting, but if I did join the Democrat Party, what next?  Would you still write?  Would you still fill me Inbox with strident messages?  See, you Democrats have commitment issues; don't deny it, just ask Debbie Wasserman Schultz, once again a no-show.  So disappointing.

LTE: Tip Creep On The Move

Regarding "As payment options rise, so does tip creep" (Sunday Nation), many thanks for this timely article.  May it be the first of many to shine a much needed spotlight on an Entitlement culture that is so out of control that it is now fashionable to not only impose on the legendary good will and generosity of the American people, but to be obnoxious about it to boot. 

Given that culture, it is no surprise that we are overwhelmed with demands for tips at every turn, nor that technology is being employed to get ever deeper in our pockets.  It is also completely not a surprise that coffee shops would lead the charge in making a tip up to 100% of the price of the product the norm.  These are the places, after all, that take fifteen cents worth of ingredients, heat them up, and then increase the price twenty fold.  The folks that run these places who are promoting Tip Creep clearly failed their Ethics class in high school, or more likely never had one in the first place.  

As for Tippers, a bit of advice: If you walk up to a counter and stand in line, there is no need to tip, ever.  Tipping a Barista makes as much sense as tipping the cashier at your local hardware store.  If you sit down at a table and people actually serve you, it is OK, but not mandatory to tip, in whatever amount you want.  

This is a war that must be won, and the only way we as consumers bring the Tip Creeps to their knees is by using the same tactics they use.  If an establishment is rude enough to demand a tip or to insist on a certain rate, ask them to explain exactly what service was provided that deserves a tip?  If the answer is not satisfactory, ask to speak to a manager and insist on an explanation.   

Tip Creep is all about merchants lining their own pockets, period, so if the restaurant or establishment serving you doesn't like your tipping practices, take your business - and your money - to a place that does.  

Pete Smith

Houston, TX

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http://www.chron.com/opinion/letters/article/Saturday-letters-Tip-creep-on-the-move-6067418.php

Gratuities

Regarding "As payment options rise, so does tip creep" (Page A18, Feb. 1), many thanks for this timely article. May it be the first of many to shine a much-needed spotlight on an entitlement culture that is so out of control that it is now fashionable to not only impose on the good will and generosity of the American people, but to be obnoxious about it, to boot.

Given that culture, it is no surprise that we are overwhelmed with demands for tips at every turn, nor that technology is being deployed to get ever deeper in our pockets. It is also completely not a surprise that coffee shops would lead the charge in making a tip up to 100 percent of the price of the product the norm. These are the places, after all, that take 15 cents' worth of ingredients, heat them up and then increase the price 20-fold.

As for tippers, a bit of advice: If you walk up to a counter and stand in line, there is no need to tip, ever. Tipping a barista makes as much sense as tipping the cashier at your local hardware store. If you sit down at a table and people actually serve you, it is OK, but not mandatory to tip, in whatever amount you want.

The only way we as consumers bring the Tip Creeps to their knees is by using the same tactics they use. If an establishment is rude enough to demand a tip or to insist on a certain rate, ask them to explain exactly what service was provided that deserves a tip. If the answer is not satisfactory, ask to speak to a manager and insist on an explanation.

Tip Creep is all about merchants lining their own pockets, period, so if the restaurant or establishment serving you doesn't like your tipping practices, take your business - and your money - to a place that does.

Pete Smith, Houston