When Abstinence Isn't Enough, Try Asceticism

With the recent death of Andy Rooney, his long-running commentary on "60 Minutes" also comes to an end. If you are of a certain age, you might remember what segment filled the last few minutes of each week's show before Andy took over. It was called Point-Counterpoint.

I was reminded of Point-Counterpoint when browsing my usual news sources today. The subject is sex education in schools. The two commentaries are from Unfair Park's Rob Wilonsky and from my favorite crunchy conservative, The American Conservative's Rod Dreher.

After the jump, two different world views.

Open Meetings Act, Not So Bad After All

I've long had a grudge against the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA). Not with the intent behind the act -- open meetings -- but with the unintended consequences of the act. Two clauses of the act, each fine by itself, work together to suppress open discussion.

• Meeting agendas must be posted 72 hours in advance
  
• Public officials may not discuss subjects not on the agenda
  

After the jump, the harm these rules cause and a possible solution.
 

Coterie "Great Steakout"

From 2011 11 Coterie Steakout

"Coterie" is an organization of Richardson-area friends who get together three times a year for dinner and entertainment. The theme and activity for each occasion varies. The November 2011 Coterie party was a "Great Steakout" dinner party at Hoffbrau Steakhouse in Dallas.

For a slide show of the evening, click here.

Autumn in the Steger Garden (2011)

From Flowers

More photos after the jump.

Shooting the OWS Messenger

Today's dialog is about how the conversation about income inequality started by the Occupy Wall Street protest movement has morphed into a conversation about the shortcomings of the protesters themselves. As is often the case, my dialog is prompted by the writings of my favorite crunchy conservative, Rod Dreher, on his blog at The American Conservative.

After the jump, my dialog with Rod Dreher.