One week ago today I did something I had not done in awhile and that was blog throughout the day instead of just doing  five-six posts in the morning. That went well so again  today I am going to do the same. I hope these posts bless you, encourage you, and in some cases convict and change you. 

Students at nine of the worst-performing middle and high schools in HISD would get paid $60 a month to attend class on Saturdays as part of Superintendent Terry Grier's effort to boost achievement.

His reform plan for those campuses, detailed to the school board Thursday, also includes replacing most of the principals, ousting ineffective teachers, extending the school year and day, and offering a double dose of math and English to students below grade level.

School districts nationwide have experimented with paying students for good grades and doling out prizes for perfect attendance, but paying them to show up for tutoring is less chartered territory.

“So many of the students in these particular schools have to work to support themselves and/or their families,” Grier said, explaining that the idea is to treat Saturday tutoring like their job.

Students behind academically would be asked to attend two Saturday sessions a month for three hours each. They would earn $30 a day, plus free breakfast and lunch.

(Billy's Thought's>> This is crazy. How about going to school so you don't get a whipping from your parents, or get grounded and fail in life. This plan from Texas will do nothing to help kids be successful in life. You can read more about it Houston schools plan would pay kids $60 a month to take Saturday classes.)

John Wooden, the UCLA basketball coach who became an icon of American sports while guiding the Bruins to an unprecedented 10 national championships in the 1960s and '70s and remained in the spotlight during retirement with his "Pyramid of Success" motivational program, has died. He was 99.

Wooden died Friday evening of natural causes at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, the university announced. He had been hospitalized since last week for dehydration. (Beloved Beloved coach John Wooden dies   ) 

Though the stern, dignified Midwesterner's fame extended beyond the sports world, it was Wooden's achievements during 27 seasons at UCLA that put him in the company of such legendary coaches as the Green Bay Packers' Vince Lombardi and Notre Dame's Knute Rockne.

(Billy's Thought's: Believe it or not somebody on the left has admitted poverty is not the cause of crime. Richard Cohen liberal columnist for the Washington Post, has an epiphany.  I am posting some of the column below.)

This is a good news, bad news column. The good news is that crime is again down across the nation -- in big cities, small cities, flourishing cities and cities that are not for the timid. Surprisingly, this has happened in the teeth of the Great Recession, meaning that those disposed to attribute criminality to poverty -- my view at one time -- have some strenuous rethinking to do. It could be, as conservatives have insisted all along, that crime is committed by criminals. For liberals, this is bad news indeed.Whatever the reasons, it now seems fairly clear that something akin to culture and not economics is the root cause of crime. By and large everyday people do not go into a life of crime because they have been laid off or their home is worth less than their mortgage. They do something else, but whatever it is, it does not generally entail packing heat. Once this becomes an accepted truth, criminals will lose what status they still retain as victims.

(Billy's Thoughts>>> If  poverty is to blame for crime why do we have more crime now than we did during the great depression? It is nice to see someone on the left admit their side is wrong on this issue.)

After Reggie retired from the NFL he was given as a job by CBS. However then CBS discovered Reggie had spoken out against the homosexual lifestyle. Reggie didn’t preach hate but just what the Bible says. Reggie hated the sin but loved the sinner. 

Then I think of Franklin Graham who has been attacked the last few years for teaching the truth about radical Islam. It cost him a speech that had been planned at the pentagon. You think the leaders of the pentagon would understand the dangers of radical Islam but they don’t.

To find out more of my thoughts on the above statements watch a video I posted yesterday 6-6 Stand for Right or Please Men..

 

Pressured by an aging population and the need to rein in budget deficits, Canada's provinces are taking tough measures to curb healthcare costs, a trend that could erode the principles of the popular state-funded system.

Ontario, Canada's most populous province, kicked off a fierce battle with drug companies and pharmacies when it said earlier this year it would halve generic drug prices and eliminate "incentive fees" to generic drug manufacturers. ( a failed system,)

British Columbia is replacing block grants to hospitals with fee-for-procedure payments and Quebec has a new flat health tax and a proposal for payments on each medical visit -- an idea that critics say is an illegal user fee.

And a few provinces are also experimenting with private funding for procedures such as hip, knee and cataract surgery.

It's likely just a start as the provinces, responsible for delivering healthcare, cope with the demands of a retiring baby-boom generation. Official figures show that senior citizens will make up 25 percent of the population by 2036.

"There's got to be some change to the status quo whether it happens in three years or 10 years," said Derek Burleton, senior economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.

(Billy's Thoughts>>> We were told by Obama and  others who support government healthcare that we just need to follow the example of  Canada. It looks like having government healthcare might not end up saving us money. Obamacare is going  to cost us big and not only far as the checks go but the road we headed  down with it. Lets keep hoping and praying this law is taken off of the books ASAP.)

In yet another move to help the self-esteem  of young players  an Ottawa children’s soccer league has introduced a rule that says any team that wins a game by more than five goals  will lose by default.

This is nuts. I don't like to see any team get whipped up by another but kids and even us adults can learn a lot when we come up short. This will be teaching the kids  everybody in life will look out for you which isn't correct at all. Also don't we want young people to  give their best effect if it be in a sports contest or doing their school work. 

Kevin Cappon said he first heard about the rule on May 20 — right after he had scored his team’s last allowable goal. His team then tossed the ball around for fear of losing the game.

This is nuts we need to forget about hurting feelings and encourage young people to give their best if they are up by ten goals or down by ten goals. If you like you can read more on this issue can't win by more than five goals.

 

In a move that has surprised some, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has removed Attorney General Terry Goddard from defending the state's new illegal immigration law.

 

The state could face legal action from the feds, but just before the long Memorial Day weekend, Governor Brewer utilized a provision in the law that allows private attorneys to defend the state, and she announced that her legal team will do so against lawsuits challenging the measure.

Paul Senseman, chief spokesperson for the governor, believes that since Goddard has stated his opposition to the law, his removal better positions the state to defend it.

Billy's Thoughts>> If the AG didn't believe in the law what choice did the governor have. She did the right thing just like the state did the right thing with passing this law. Read more of the above story Arizona AG won't defend new law

Disney is about to host its annual "gay day" at its facility in Orlando.

 

"This Saturday, June 5, there will be approximately 15 [thousand to] 20,000 reveling homosexual, lesbian, [and] transgender people in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando," reports David Caton, founder of the Florida Family Association (FFA). "I want to encourage people who have any plans of attending the Magic Kingdom on that date to avoid it. It is a very distasteful event," he adds.

 

Saturday's observance falls in the midst of Orlando's annual weeklong "Gay Days" celebration that boasts of attracting more than 150,000 "gay and lesbian travelers." Websites report that homosexuals wear red that day at Walt Disney World to identify themselves to others. Caton says that over the years, he has witnessed 2,000 to 3,000 people who have left the park after learning it was packed that day with homosexuals. The event is always staged on the first Saturday of June, and he explains that activists have a reason for that.

(Billy's Thoughts>>> What should people of faith do about this. First off keep your family away from this park on Saturday. Let Disney know how you feel it is not the same company as when it was founded. You might also go to the park this Saturday and in the name of the love of Jesus share the truth with these souls who are caught in  this sin. You can read more about this issue 'Gay day' a Mayday for families.)

An Indiana school bus driver and her school district are targeted by a lawsuit alleging harassment directed at a Christian student.

 

 

In November 2008, a Christian at Carmel High School was engaged in a conversation with school bus driver Betty Campbell on homosexuality and homosexual marriage when the driver berated the girl, Rachael Zimmer, for her Christian-based stance. When the girl's father complained, he was told that the driver's behavior fell within the scope of her employment. The Zimmer family has now sued Carmel Clay Schools. ( School bus becomes a 'bully' pulpit )

Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana tells OneNewsNow that the driver is known to be a lesbian.
 
"And I believe [she] may have actually come back on the school bus route later on," says Clark, "and even talked to the girl and some of her friends where she called the girl a 'stupid little bigot' for her views, and lectured her...about gay rights and same-sex marriage."
 
More damaging information has surfaced since the family filed the lawsuit.

(Billy's Thoughts>>I wonder what would have happen if the bus driver had been giving a hard time to a student who was gay. If  you have to think about it you must  have been sleeping in a cave for the last twenty years. She would have been fired soon after it. However this can be used as a  teaching tool to show this girl people will attack you because of your faith. The school district should do something about this driver but instead of going to court after the fact why don't we stop these attacks before they happen by not putting our children in the government schools.)

Many people still remember the story of the four U.S. Army chaplains who served on a troop ship during World War II. When the Dorchester was torpedoed, the four chaplains gave up their lifejackets, linked arms, and went down with the ship, praying and singing hymns.

We remember these army chaplains for their bravery and sacrifice. But unless something is done, today’s military chaplains may have a different legacy: being smeared as bigots, and drummed out of military service.

Last month, over 30 retired Army, Navy, and Air Force chaplains sent a letter to President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and other political leaders.

With bills pending in Congress to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the chaplains write: “We are deeply concerned that these changes would threaten the religious liberty of chaplains and Service members. Put simply, if the government normalizes homosexual behavior in the armed forces, many (if not most) chaplains will confront a profoundly difficult moral choice: whether they are to obey God or to obey men.”

Forcing chaplains to make this choice will have two consequences—both undesirable: First, knowing they risk discipline and damaging their careers if they don’t embrace the normalization of homosexuality, chaplains will feel pressured to water down or even abandon key elements of their denomination’s faith and practice. Second, as the former chaplains wrote, “chaplains might have their ability to freely share their religious beliefs challenged and torn away” in everyday situations.

For example, chaplains administer a marriage support program called Strong Bonds, helping couples endure the stresses of military life. Should homosexual conduct be normalized, same-sex couples may sign up for Strong Bonds. But, as the letter states clearly, the beliefs of many chaplains “would not allow them to support relationships that are both harmful and sinful.”

So the chaplains will either deny their religious beliefs or face “the potentially career-ending consequences of a discrimination complaint when they deny the request.”

Now, I was moved when I read the chaplains’ letter.

(Billy's Thoughts>> The above is part of the Breakpoint radio commentary that Chuck Colson did yesterday. Good for these Chaplains for standing for  Bible based moral truth. You can read all of what Colson said  or listen to it Forcing Chaplains to Submit.)