Tell It To Tim's Blog

When do we, as parents, cross the line from rewarding our children to bribery?

That's what we're asking in an upcoming story and I need your help.  Your thoughts?  Is it bribery to reward good grades?  What about with the little ones? Bribery for not whining at the grocery store? 

When you demand good behavior, is the response, "what's in it for me?"  Or, as a parent, do you use the "stick" instead of the "carrot?" 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic.

Share your stories here and if you think your opinions are newsworthy, send me an e-mail : telltim@kdfwfox4.com. 

TX-DOT says it's running out of money for highway construction projects across the state. The problem, the legislature has allowed money from the gasoline tax to be diverted to other uses.

There's a $6 billion backlog of projects that it cannot afford to pay for.  In recent years, it's delayed many repair and construction projects. 

In November, Texas voters will be asked to allow the state to borrow more money, as most states already do, to fun projects.

One possible solution: building more toll roads.  In the last session of the legislature, however, a freeze was put on new tollroad projects. 

The problem is especially bad in major urban areas where construction costs are higher and the traffic is growing worse by the day.

Like all of us who are on a family budget, the state faces choices: either cut spending (leaving us in gridlock) or raise more money (with higher taxes or tolls!)  No easy choices, I'm afraid!

I'm amused by the story that later this year a new tattoo ink will be available in this country. It's semi-permanent.  The maker says it can be removed with one laser treatment, instead of as many as 10 now required to remove a traditional tattoo.  Those treatments, I hear, are excruciatingly painful.

Personally, I'm not a tattoo guy. I can think of much better ways to spend my money.  But if you are, you are in good company. An estimated 36% of Americans, between 18 and 29 get them. Many regret it when that "forever" relationship ends.

Some tattoo parlors say they will not carry the new ink. They consider it heresy.  They say getting "inked" should be painful and permanent. 

Now, along comes another idea for those with commitment issues: temporary tattoos you can create at home and "test drive" before you make a decision.  The maker of this product says it will wash off with baby oil. 

Heresy?  Maybe. Then again maybe Angelina wishes she'd taken a "test drive" before having Billy Bob Thornton's name inked on her arm.

Texas is one of 28 states that does not share information on mentally ill people with the FBI.  We do not report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check system when someone is judged mentally ill.

Thus, someone who has been committed to a mental hospital or who is under the care of a psychiatrist for serious mental disorders, is not automatically disqualified from buying a gun.

The system is hardly perfect (Virginia is one of the states that DOES share the information with the feds. The Virginia Tech killer slipped through a legal loophole.)

Participation in the system is voluntary for the states. There is legislation pending in Congress that would, if passed and signed by the President, make it mandatory. The NRA even backs this bill.

In the meantime, some governors have issued executive orders requiring the information be shared with the FBI.  If you have an opinion, here's how to contact Governor Rick Perry:

Citizen's Opinion Hotline: (800) 252-9600
Mailing Address :

Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428

And here's the link to the e-mail form to send him a note.

Beth and I are childless - for a week. Our oldest is a camp counselor and #2 is at that camp this week. In a few months he will be a high school senior.  Looming on the horizon: empty nest-hood, the next stage of marriage.

For so long (20 years) our lives have been focused on kids.  Now, we realize, it's time to start focusing on each other again!  I'm looking forward to it. 

Okay, don't get me wrong, I'm not looking forward to our two wonderful children leaving.  I AM excited about a new phase in our relationship.

I found no shortage of advice for us on the web, like this article from WebMD.  The "experts" say to plan for it, talk about it and enjoy it.  If you've been there and done that, what's your advice?

Right.  And I'm no longer a cynic.  The professional celebrity told Barbara Walters that she's found God behind bars and is ready to make a difference in the world. (Remember right before she went in the first time that she wanted to be a "role model" for young people.

Did she get preferential treatment? You bet.  Was it all planned from the start?  I betcha it was. Remember who her first two visitors were in jail (in Round One?)  Her lawyer and her PSYCHIATRIST.   Nice one-two punch when they go to the sheriff and ask that she be sent home early.

She told Babs, "I feel as if I'm a different person. I used to act dumb. That act is no longer cute. Now, I would like to make a difference. God has given me this new chance. Even though I in jail I feel God has released me."

I'll admit that jailhouse conversions are sometimes genuine. But now comes news that her father is shopping around a "Paris Gets Out of Jail Party" in Las Vegas.  He wants to be paid by the casino that sponsors it.  Nice.

Good luck, Paris.  We'll hang on your every word.

Some smart-aleck (maybe it was me) once said, 'no man, woman, child or dog is safe when the Texas Legislature is in session.'

Mercifully, they've gone home.

Here, courtesy of the Associated Press, is a look at what passed and what failed to pass in Austin.

The debate over immigration reform is going on in the U.S. Senate, with many Americans seeming to tell Congress, "just do something!"

One survey (CBS News/New York Times) says 62% of Americans believe illegal immigrants who have lived and worked here for at least 2 years should be given a chance at legal status.

But another survey (Rasmussen Reports) says far more of us oppose than favor the plan (48% against - 26% in favor).

The fact is that many of us are not clear about the proposals in Congress.   

Here is a pretty good explanation from McClatchy Newspapers on the provisions of the bill.  The White House refuses to call the "path to citizenship" an amnesty proposal.  Many critics say that's exactly what it is.

What almost everyone agrees on: the border should be strengthened to stop (or at least slow) future illegal immigration and that employers should face serious penalties for employing illegal immigrants.  The tough question is what to do with the millions of people here already. 

So we'll pose the question to you:

Should illegal immigrants who have no criminal records and good work history be allowed to work toward legalization and citizenship?  Under the proposal they would be required to pay fines (but not back taxes).  

Oh, and by the way, have you bothered to let your Senators and Member of Congress how you feel?

Down the road in Austin, the Texas legislature is trying to decide whether to cut your taxes.  There are a couple of choices on the table: property taxes or gasoline taxes.

Here's the deal: there's a budget surplus for the next two years, but only so much to go around.  The House of Representatives will vote on a 3 month suspension of the gas tax.  It would save you 20 cents a gallon every time you fill 'er up.

But that would eat up a portion of the money earmarked for "permanent" property tax relief. 

By the way, the state is expected to have a surplus of about $4 BILLION dollars a year after all is said and done. 

Whaddya think? Gas tax cut or property tax cut?  And what to do with that $4 Billion?  Spend it to improve health care, reduce college tuition, improve education or give it back to you?

Queen Elizabeth wraps up her American tour this week with a white-tie State Dinner, hosted by the President and Mrs. Bush.  Tomorrow night, she hosts a dinner at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The President, according to many reports, had to be talked into the first white-tie event of his term in office by the First Lady.

There are some curious (and even funny) requirements for such a visit.  The guests (including the President and First Lady) are getting a lesson in royal protocol.

• The Queen should be addressed as, "Your Majesty."
• When the Queen begins eating, so may everyone else.
• When she's finished, the meal is over.
• One should not reach out and touch Her Majesty.
• If she reaches out to shake your hand, it is acceptable.
• Women may, but need not, curtsey.
• Gentlemen are not expected (at least in this country) to bow.

A few other fun facts, for you:

• The elder President Bush, who hosted the Queen on her last visit to the United States, is not invited tonight.  He and Barbara Bush will be at a dinner tomorrow night at the British Embassy.
• Her full title: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
• At public events, Her Majesty is known to move her handbag to another arm to signal to aides that she is bored with the conversation and needs to be rescued and introduced to someone else.

Must be nice.

Governor Rick Perry says Texans who hold concealed handgun permits should be allowed to bring them virtually everywhere.

The current law prohibits carrying weapons, even with a permit, in certain places like schools, sporting events, hospitals, churches, bars, polling places and courthouses.

The governor's reasoning:

• The bad guys don't pay attention to the law and will bring their weapons anywhere anytime.
• Texas who do have a permit have undergone extensive criminal background checks and must pass a firearms proficiency test.
• Good people who are armed might be able to stop a bad guy, or at least hold him off until the police arrive.

Mr. Perry is quoted in the Dallas Morning News as saying, "A person ought to be able to carry their weapon with them anywhere in the state if they are licensed and they have gone through the training. The idea that you're going to exempt them from a particular place is nonsense."

After the original concealed carry law passed in Texas years ago, one of the sponsors of the legislation gave me some interesting background on the places where guns are prohibited.  The CEO of a well-known Fort Worth hospital lobbied against the right for Texans to carry weapons into hospitals unless they get written permission from the hospital administrator.  He wanted his wife to be able to carry a gun when she volunteered at the hospital, but did not want anyone else to have that same privilege.

Predictably, people in favor of more gun control are outraged.  They say the current law would also not stop someone with a history of mental illness, like the Virgina Tech killer, from buying a gun in Texas. 

Don't look for a logical explanation to this tragedy.  There won't be one.  Yet we will all try to make some "sense" of the actions of a deranged man.

In the coming days and weeks, there will be the inevitable "angles" that we look for in the news business: "can it happen here?" and "what do you say to your kids?"

In a way that's our coping mechanism. It's our job as journalists to explain complex situations to you. This one defies explanation.

And I have no doubt there will be angry accusations that the university could have done more to protect the students.  That's true, without a doubt.  But the school would have to create a police-state to do that.

Inevitably, there will be lawsuits against the school, the gun-maker and anyone in sight with the deep financial pockets to make it worth the time of the lawyers.  Again, for the families, it's an effort to find someone to blame and to somehow make sense of it all.

Our own daughter called from college today where she and her friends were watching coverage of the story on the news.  There were few facts but much speculation. 

She wanted something to help her understand it.  I could give her little, execept to tell her that it could have happened anywhere: a courthouse, an office building, a factory or on a public bus. I'm afraid that was not much comfort to either of us.

At her school, the dorms were all "locked down."  That means, in theory, that if you don't live in the dorm or are not a guest of someone who does, you cannot get inside. We all know that won't last long. 

Like so many things we will hear and read and say over the coming days, it's a way for us to try to gain control of a situation that seems out of our control.

There are angry demands for the firing of radio host Don Imus, whose show is also seen on MSNBC.  Imus is known for stretching the limits of propriety, but this time stepped over the line.  He, in an exchange with one of his sidekicks referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team in offensive and racist terms.

He says it was an effort to be funny. Clearly, it was not.

He's since apologized.

One of those demanding Imus either resign or be fired is the Rev. Jesse Jackson.  But Jackson, too, has a history.  In 1984, he made remarks that insulted New York and Jewish people.  The Washington Post recalls that Jackson at first denied making the comments, then apologized, but never distanced himself from the hateful remarks of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Your thoughts?  Forgive? Forget? Does an incident like this one cause you to examine your own heart?

What a wild night of storms across North Texas last night!  And in some areas, there was a serious threat of tornadoes.

Unfortunately that threat was miles away from my home - and I, too, watched the wall-to-wall coverage of weather that interrupted one of my favorite shows: "House."

What's a TV station to do?  We cover an enormous area from the Red River ... almost to Waco and from East Texas to waaay west of Weatherford.

We've got to make a tough call on coverage.  We have to ask how many people are affected by the storm. In this case, it was a lot of people in Arlington, Mansfield and other heavily populated areas.

Was it relevant to me? Not this time. But next time, it might be. And if I have to miss the exciting conclusion of House, I'll get by.  Somehow I suspect the patient lived and that Dr. House is still a curmudgeon.  I'll catch it on the re-run.

Democratic Presidential candidate, John Edwards, says his campaign for the White House will continue, even after his wife was again diagnosed with cancer.  Her first diagnosis of breast cancer was 3 years ago and she was treated.