I've been a parent for 13 years now, and just recently discovered a trick that I wish I had known before. We're trying a new type of discipline in my household, basically listing out all the chores and responsibilities that the kids have, and when they must be done each day. There are morning things, after-school things, after dinner things, and before bed things. They have to do what they have to do, and they can't do anything else until it's done. Oddly the one thing that seems to really get them are the before-bedtime chores. We're making them straighten up the living room, put away clothes, tidy up the bathroom, and keep the dining room table clean. If they don't get it right, they don't go to bed until they're done. I've been a real hard-ass about it, which turns out to be a lot of work. But there's nothing like telling them they can't go to bed yet to make them really, really want to go to bed. So far, it's only ever delayed bedtime by 20 minutes or so, but the house is staying remarkably tidy.

Saturday night, we'll be covering roller derby again. "Silence of the Jams" will be a double-header, featuring Hooligans versus the Muertas. We'll try to have video up on Sunday.

I continue to get emails from a lot of people regarding candidates in the Republican primary election, and wanting me to look into something about them. I've received them, I want you to know, and I'm looking into them. But I'm about to travel on business, and I'm low on time. Hopefully I'll be able to get one or two more fact checks / investigations done prior to election day.

Councilman TJ Gilmore has thoughts on the Lewisville City Council meeting from May 7th.

I mentioned this on Facebook, but forgot to post it on Tuesday: LISD selected a new principal for Lewisville High School, Jeff Kajs.

Flower Mound Leader has an article about Vernell Gregg's departure from the LISD Board.

Farmer Pride Daily has the recap from Monday's LISD Board meeting.

Plano ISD increased salaries for its teachers by 3%.

From the "you've got to be kidding me" department: George W. Bush plans on publishing a book on economic growth. In other news, I'll be publishing a book on how to be an NFL quarterback and fashion supermodel.


This sounds promising: a harmless virus that kills breast cancer.

A letter from Mark Zuckerberg

"Iz your eyes hungry .. for the literate?  Because these books are hungry ... for the reading.
Well, now cuz from the Lewisville Library you could pick up a book and read it for real low cheap!
Sign your kids up for free, for real low cheap!"

The Manila Envelope

During election season, the Lewisville Texan Journal receives email messages, Facebook messages, phone calls, and the occasional anonymous manila envelope on a regular basis. People hear things or find things about candidates and elected officials that they want looked into.

One such manila envelope showed up on my doorstep in March, and it contained printouts of emails that seemed to paint a picture of Constable Raburn's office that was less than flattering. You had prominently in the packet, an email from one of Raburn's deputies that referred to President Obama using a highly offensive racial slur, and a memo regarding the same deputy who left her loaded service weapon in the ladies room there in the government building where Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Becky Kerbow, Raburn, and County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell work. The emails also seemed to show a flawed working relationship with Kerbow. Then there was a memo from a seemingly agitated Raburn apparently trying to regain some control and discipline in his office.

Just a few today:

Nothing new about this type of voter fraud. But the hypocrisy is still stunning.

Gay rights in America

Lewisville company runs to federal court to sue Weight Watchers because Weight Watchers disputes their competing marketing claims.

Our article on Pat Fallon's residence got picked up by D Magazine's Frontburner blog.

WFAA has a photo, apparently taken last year by a student, showing the Hedrick Middle School coach who resigned last week lifting a student up by his armpits.

Facebook founder renounces his citizenship to avoid taxes. People ought to have to leave their assets behind when they do that. At any rate, don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.

Note: Parallel Development is a column by contributing writer Brandon Cooper about Lewisville’s rich (yet often untold) history and how it relates to the issues we’re facing today. This entry is the final part of a four part series. The first part is here. The second part is here. The third part is here.

Quote:

Will Durst - Raging Moderate

A thousand rainbows of congratulations to Barack Obama for bursting out of his own personal policy closet and fabulously proclaiming he believes "same sex couples should be able to get married." Sir! Welcome to the third year of the second decade of the 21st century, sir! You also might want to check out some of the strides we've been making in communications.

The president went on to explain he was slow in using his powers for good because it had taken a while for those thoughts to go Darwinian. Sadly, he stopped short of endorsing transmutation and neglected to hail Hugh Jackman as the best entertainer on the face of the PLANET!

What we witnessed was no eon eating, natural selection-type evolution; this native political animal spontaneously grew flippers and walked on dry land, prodded only by a nudge from the Biden fossil. Come to think of it, maybe flippers aren't the only body parts BHO grew.

You might even call it a chrysalis, with a caterpillar emerging from its cautious cocoon to sprout wings and fly to a lonely position atop the moral high ground previously inhabited by such disparate denizens as Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank and, unaccountably, Dick Cheney. Facing extinction.

As predictable as a brush-back pitch following a grand slam, Republicans began to howl from eight different vantages. One right-wing rag claimed he "Buckled" on the issue. Others called him the First Waffler. Might be difficult to hide Mitt Romney's 8000 waffles behind this big one of Obama's, but they'll give it the old prep-school try.