Intimate Piercings and the TSA.

What is going on at our airports, not just Love Field and D/FW, but airports around the nation?  The story we did about the woman with nipple piercings being forced to remove them before getting on a Southwest flight from Lubbock to Dallas Love Field is getting a lot of attention, and some of it pretty angry.

A viewer upset that we gave so much attention to this story wrote me an email that puts this event in perspective.   He suggests the nipple piercing is just a symptom of a larger problem.   Remember what security screenings were like before 9-11?   He wrote, “Poorly paid people who could barely speak English manned the security check points.”   Then, after the terrorist attacks, he points out “the TSA was born and we got well educated, motivated and purposeful inspectors who speak English keeping watch at security screening stations.” 

Here is the perspective, again from my angry viewer “I cringe when I see (who is manning) our front line, and last line of defense at our airports.   Where did the qualified, intelligent ones that we saw immediately after 9-11 go?   Why has security been dumbed down?  Budgets?  Bureaucracy?  Incompetence?”

I travel quite a bit, and I can tell you common sense is in short supply at most of the TSA security check points.   Forcing a woman to remove breast piercings should be an obvious foul, but is it not similarly obvious that you don’t need to confiscate 2 ounces of perfume or mouthwash because they are in an 8 ounce container?   My angry viewer asks if the TSA screeners can’t get that basic concept, “I worry about how good our defenses (at the airports) really are.”

Hello!  Congressional oversight people, are you listening and watching?   You travel too, you see this too!   Time to do something about it.   Oh, the TSA tried today, apologizing to the woman for embarrassing her about her piercings.   But, the TSA’s proposed solution next time, “give a woman a chance to resolve questions about her piercings with a visual check.”   Oh boy, what a can of worms that will open.

With friends like that, who needs an opponent.

No body, no body, knows the Clinton’s better than Dick Morris.   The political guru helped get William Jefferson Clinton get into the White House and is now doing what he can to keep Hilary Rodham Clinton out of the Oval Office.

Morris hit the airwaves today, weighing in on Senator Clinton’s campaign boast about being threatened by snipers arriving for her visit to Bosnia back in 1996.   Not only did Morris say that didn’t happen, he said he personally knows Senator Clinton has been fabricating stories about herself and her experience for a long time.    Every cable channel is now jammed with chatter about Clinton’s exaggeration and questioning her general truthfulness and trustworthiness.

It is a long time until the Democratic Convention in Denver.   This may be a long summer.

Puttin’ on the Pink

I was honored to serve as Master of Ceremonies for the Puttin’ on the Pink luncheon for the Harris Methodist Health Foundation and Kupferle Health Board today.

Over 1200 women gathered at the Fort Worth Convention Center for the noon soirée and fashion show to raise money that provides cancer screenings and vital medical services to more than 32-thousand underserved women in Tarrant County.

We did a 3 minute challenge before fashion models took the runway, and these generous patrons stuffed table envelopes with $78 thousand dollars! The total raised for the luncheon will eclipse $250 thousand!

We got to see 16 cancer survivors model some smart outfits before the professionals got on the runway. What an inspiration.

Pat Bilardi, Sheri Jones, Tamara Reese and Jan Strimple, along with their army of volunteers, put on a well tuned event, and one that clearly demonstrated people in Tarrant County get the mission of helping women obtain cancer screenings they need, regardless of their financial ability.

The generosity of north Texans never ceases to amaze me.

Misrepresentation, a fib or misspeak?

Boy, did I miss out on some good stories on vacation last week. But, this story just won’t go away and I think it speaks volumes about character and credibility.

Senator Hilary Clinton says it is no big deal. The “it” is a campaign boast that she he had to dodge sniper fire when she was visiting Bosnia in 1996 as first lady. She offered up that story to help prove her foreign policy credentials and worthiness to serve as Commander in chief. But, we now know from both pictures, videos, reporter accounts of the visit and recollections of those traveling with her on the trip, Senator Clinton misrepresented the truth, some might call it a fib, Senator Clinton chooses to say she misspoke.

We now know there was no sniper fire, she and daughter Chelsea are clearly seen greeting a crowd at the airport immediately after getting off the plane. They did not duck and run and go inside anywhere for a reception to avoid danger, as Senator Clinton described in vivid detail several times before the real story came out.

She says it is no big deal. She just misspoke. Really! Telling the truth ought to be a very big deal, especially when you are running a campaign for President, and especially when you accuse others of lying or misrepresenting the truth for political gain. The Washington Post called “it” a “4 Pinnochio” whopper. Go check out YouTube for videos of her “misspeak” on the campaign trail and a report from her trip to Bosnia in 1996.

Is this mess-up any more a campaign ender for Clinton than Senator Barack Obama’s exposed cozy 20 year relationship with controversial Chicago pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the man who used his church pulpit to spew anti-American venom? Obama said first he was not in church when Wright delivered those sermons laced with cursing and damnation of the United States Government. Then, a day later Obama reversed himself, admitting he knew what Rev. Wright said, but didn’t agree with him on everything.

What a tangled web we weave.

No Joy in Nokia Parking

I have been on spring break with my little girls this past week.   We love the snow and usually go skiing over spring break, but some of mommy’s employees at her store decided to take off spring break too.  Since she pays the bills, we had to stay at home this year.    But, no fear, there are lots of things to do here in north Texas.

We went to see River Dance at the Nokia center in Grand Prairie two nights ago.   A great show, and a great theater.   Great, except for that darn parking sticker they put on my car’s window.    Have you ever parked at Nokia?   You pay your $15 to the attendant and without a bat of an eye she slaps at bright green/yellow  numbered “paid” sticker on your windshield.

At first I thought, this is a pretty good idea.   But, after the performance I formed a different opinion.    After putting my sound asleep 6 year old in her car seat, I tried to pull the parking sticker off of my windshield, to no avail.   That sticker was stuck and good.    After I got everyone in the house, I went back out the garage and had to resort to a razor blade to get that sticker off, and then it left goo behind.

I finally coaxed the goo off with Windex and all is right with the world again.   But, man!   I guess when you pay $15 for parking at Nokia they want you to remember the experience.    I vote to go back to that receipt in the window trick.   Much easier to get rid of after the show.

Suicide by Murder. Stop!

Death is almost always sad, it is sometimes tragic, but it is a certainty on this earth. Once your are born you will die at some time in the future. But, dying should not be a function of your choosing, in fact suicide is an illegal act in most civilized places and it is immoral for most religions.

I just don’t get the events of this week, Rufus and Lynn Shaw engaging in what Dallas police are calling a double suicide, and then the mother who tossed her two young children off the Jim Miller bridge over I-30 and then jumping into rush hour traffic herself.

I get that the Shaws were dealing with his cancer and her mounting legal troubles after stepping down as Dart chairman. I get that the mother had just had an argument with a boy friend and was emotionally wrought. But my friends, I cannot for the life of me understand why there is anything so awful in this life to kill yourself, or your spouse or your children. Sorry, I don’t get that, and I don’t accept how some people are trying to explain away what these people did.

Where do people get off thinking they can end their troubles and leave the world a better place by checking out of life before their appointed time by God? Think of what a mess the Shaw’s have made of their son’s life. He now must live with their deaths, live the memory of their phone call to him telling him they were committing suicide. Royce West will have to cope with the phone message he got from his good friends before they took their lives. They may have been facing some pretty daunting times, but how does that qualify for killing yourself?

The same goes for the woman who tossed her children off the bridge and then jumped in what police say appears to be a double murder suicide attempt, letting the fall and rush hour traffic do the deed. I don’t get how her personal problems with a boy friend qualifies for trying to kill your kids or yourself.

From my point of view, suicide is a cop out, a failure to face your own responsibilities. You may go to jail, you may go broke, you may face a tough time dealing with all kinds of personal problems, but deal with it, that’s what human beings do.

I would love for anyone contemplating suicide to go and visit some of my friends with Muscular Dystrophy. These youngsters who can’t walk, can’t do most things for themselves, who are confined to wheel chairs for the remainder of their lives seemingly always have smiles on their faces and joy in their voice. Stack their challenges of daily life against anything you’ve got, and you will realize you don’t have it so bad.

We have a Dallas connection.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer apparently likes Dallas girls.   According to the York Times, investigators say Governor Spitzer was a big time repeat customer of a high price prostitution service, spending up to $80 grand over an extended period of time.   One of the places investigators say Governor Spitzer enjoyed the services is Dallas.

He has apologized, is now holed up in his Manhattan apartment, but is still Governor.   The question is for how long?   Some suggest he may be offering his resignation in exchange for a plea deal with federal prosecutors.   But there is no hint from Spitzer that he is about to quit.

There is a hint of what the New York lawmakers want.   Some legislators say they are preparing Articles of Impeachment if the governor does not step down and soon.

Now with a Dallas connection, we have a stake in the story.

He wins Mississippi. But, is Obama in trouble?

NBC News projects Senator Barack Obama will win the Mississippi Democratic Primary over Senator Hillary Clinton tonight.   But, the exit polls being tracked by MSNBC may a barometer of trouble for Obama.

Yes he won the popular vote and 33 delegates from Mississippi, but the difficulties for Obama are in the details of that vote.   MSNBC’s exit polls show a racially charged vote, Obama winning 90 per cent of the black vote but only one third of the white vote.  That pattern carried him to victories in 4 other southern state primaries.    He leads in delegate count and popular vote count, but he problem, according to the “experts,” Obama is winning states that often vote Republican in the November election.   Those same “experts” suggest unless Obama starts winning a bigger percentage of the white vote he won’t carry those same states in the general election.

However, remember how many time the “experts, pollsters and pundits” have been wrong this election cycle.    Could they be wrong this time?   This has to be the most unpredictable political season ever.   I love it.

PS.   From the “no surprise department,” Senator John McCain won the Mississippi GOP primary.    Just making sure I don’t slide our Republican readers.

Can’t have it both ways.

I don’t mean to ignore the Republican Presidential side of things, but the Democrats are so much more entertaining right now. This dance between Senators Obama and Clinton is quite interesting. He’s ahead in both popular vote and delegate count, yet all the talk by the Clinton campaign over the weekend was the possibility of a “dream” ticket, with Clinton leading the ticket and Obama joining up as a Vice Presidential candidate.

Don’t you find it interesting how the candidate in second place has the chutzpah to discuss, in public, putting the leading candidate in the race on a ticket with her in the top spot? How can that be just a week after the Texas Primary?  Remember here in Texas Senator Clinton questioned Obama’s readiness to “answer” the trouble phone at the White House in the middle of the night. Isn’t the “threshold” test of being vice President the same as President, the ability to be Commander in Chief? One week he is not ready to be President, the next he is perfectly qualified to be her Veep. I would suggest you can’t have it both ways. Either he is qualified to be a heart beat away from the Presidency, meaning he is ready to step in and be Commander in Chief, or he is not.

Are we having fun yet? Oh yea, Senator McCain is busy in New York raising money tomorrow from GOP supporters. He too is thinking about a Vice Presidential running mate. Maybe that will process will become fun soon too. Stay tuned.

Snow business, take 2!

Fluffy snow flakes to give us some relief from politics.   I know how the snow, sleet and freezing rain can make getting around pretty dicey, but it sure was pretty today.    Driving to work early this afternoon, getting my windshield pelted by giant, and I mean giant snow flakes, gave me a minute to slow down and enjoy the beauty of this gift from mother nature.

It was a joy showing many of those photographs you sent us on isee@nbc5i.com, pretty neat looking snowmen and snow angels (my personal favorite).   Go see the thousands of pictures sent in by our views on the home page of NBC5i.com, click Video on the left hand side and then click isee.  I never imagined an entire newscast, much less an entire news day this close to the Texas Presidential Primary, when the only story of interest was the snow.

I hope you got had an opportunity to enjoy the winter wonderland as much as I did today, because it will all be gone by mid-day tomorrow (according to Chief Meteorologist David Finfrock).    Sorry kids, one day of winter at a time is apparently all mother nature can give us this year.