Letters to the Dolphin

Archived in the category: Letters to the Dolphin
Posted by Joyce Rhyne on 20 Apr 11 - 1 Comment

Letter to the Editor:
In an interesting column, “Obama’s HHS Bigger Than LBJ’s Gov’t” Terence Jeffrey points out that the 2011 budget for Dept. of Health and Human Services will be $909.7 Billion. In 1965 the entire Federal budget was $118.228 Billion, corrected for inflation would be $822.6 Billion in 2010 dollars. HHS will spend about $87.1 Billion more than the entire Federal Gov’t did in 1965.

In 1935, when FDR started Social Security, Federal spending was 8.6% of the Gross Domestic Product. In 1965, when LBJ started Medicare and Medicaid, Federal spending was 17.2% of GDP.

In 2003, George W. Bush expanded Medicare with the prescription drug benefit, Federal spending was 19.7% of GDP. This year Federal spending will be 25.3% of GDP.

I believe that the GDP is growing at less than rate of inflation, so in real terms it is shrinking. With this administration’s anti-industrial, anti-business, and anti-oil production attitude, this trend may increase dangerously. Coupled with our growing trade deficit, a $3.819 Trillion budget with a $1.645 annual deficit, and a Federal debt over $14.3 Trillion the US dollar may lose its status as the World Reserve Currency and huge inflation will result. If we return to Jimmy Carter era interest rates the economies of many states will collapse. The Federal Gov’t and most states will be bankrupt, and no one will buy our Treasury notes. This is what some people want to cause a revolution that will bring about a socialist totalitarian gov’t. The Cloward-Pivens Strategy.

Meanwhile the Beltway Buffoons whine about cutting Federal subsidies for Planned Parenthood, the National Endowment for the Arts, National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, all Liberal favorites and unConstitutionally funded. Let the Libs support their charities and not the taxpayers. We need to de-fund the Czars, Obamacare, and drastically reduce EPA, Dept of Energy, Dept of Education, OSHA, and many other anti-business agencies. We must reindustrialize, start producing what we consume, and put Americans back to work.

Bill Brayshaw, Seadrift

My two cents worth by G.B.

Right on, Mrs. Albrecht. Keep on telling it like it is. It’s alright for our Governor to spend 10,000 dollars of the tax payers money for a rented mansion with a private chef and another $45,000 for lawn care, but to spend the rainy day fund on our public schools. No way.

If the people of Texas keep on voting as they have soon there will no more Public Schools.

But again that might not be a bad thing because at a private school the students can be disciplined.

The way I see it way too many of students show up at school without HAVING BEEN TAUGHT MANNERS AND RESPECT for authority at home.. All our teachers can do is call the police to come take away those that are disruptive.

A good many of our school districts employ private police officers to take care of those matters. Now there will be no more money for that and the good teachers are moving on to better richer districts.

Come on parents help our schools produce better students like they do in other countries.

G.B. Robertson


The Dolphin welcomes letters from our readers on any subject that is of general interest to our audience. Letters should be 300 words or less (with exceptions at the Dolphin’s discretion). Letters reflect the opinion of the writer, and not that of Dolphin Talk staff, and we retain the right to determine suitability for publication. It is the policy of this newspaper to promote area interests: therefore, complaints against local businesses should be directed elsewhere. Letters must be signed and include day and evening phone numbers, which will not be published. Your name will be withheld upon request, but anonymous material will not be considered for publication.

Letters to the Dolphin:
Dolphin Talk P.O. Box 777
Port O’Connor, TX 77982
dolphin1@tisd.net

St. Patrick’s Selling Egg Rolls

Archived in the category: Announcements, Events, General Info
Posted by Joyce Rhyne on 20 Apr 11 - 0 Comments

Please help St. Patrick’s Church in Seadrift raise the funds needed to build a new hall. Members will be selling egg rolls and rice on the fourth Sunday of each month through July. The next sale is on Sunday, April 24th at 11:00 at the church.

The Country Opry – May 3

Archived in the category: Announcements, Events, General Info
Posted by Joyce Rhyne on 20 Apr 11 - 0 Comments

The Heritage Center, 2104 W. Austin, Port Lavaca, TX. and Sterling Griffith will present The Country Opry Tuesday, May 3, 2011. Show starts 7:00 p.m. Admission – $4.00 donation. Fried Chicken dinner will be served from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. for $6.00 donation. Proceeds benefit the Calhoun County Senior Citizens. For information call (361) 552-3350.

Parade of Homes

Archived in the category: Announcements, Events, General Info
Posted by Joyce Rhyne on 20 Apr 11 - 0 Comments

The Builders Association of Victoria and Presenting Sponsor Victoria Advocate’s Annual Parade of Homes will be held May 7 – 22.

The scattered site Parade will feature 14 sensational homes built by some of the area’s top builders.

A parade magazine including a location map will be given to parade attendees. The map and home addresses will also appear in the Victoria Advocate pull-out section prior to the Parade.

Advance tickets may be purchased until May 6 for $8 at both Sherwin-Williams locations, Hall Lighting & Design Center, the UPS Store and the Builders Association.

During the Parade, tickets may be purchased at any of the participating homes.

Admission for the entire tour is $10 for adults and $5 for children not in arms.

Homes will be open from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Saturdays, May 7th, 14th, & 21st and Wednesdays, May 11 & 18; and on Sundays, May 8th, 15th, & 22rd from 1:00 – 6 p.m.

Participating builders are: B.J. Davis Builder, Inc., Blanton Builders Inc, David Hurst Construction, Designer Homes by Rex Horst, DM Custom Homes LLC, Havenbrook Homes by Greg Leach, Palm Tree Resort Properties, LLC, Prokop Custom Homes, Rokyta Custom Homes, LLC, and WP Construction.

Drawings donated by Sherwin-Williams, Hall Lighting & Design Center, and the UPS Store will be given away to some lucky attendees.

For additional information, please call the Builders Association at (361) 578-7711 or visit the website at www.vctbuilders.org.

Among the homes featured will be:

Prokop Custom Homes
661 Bayside Drive
Seadrift, Texas

Prokop Custom Homes
#3 Sanguin
Port O’Connor, Texas

What’s Rockin’ at the Port O’Connor Library By Shirley & Sue

Archived in the category: General Info, Organizations
Posted by Joyce Rhyne on 20 Apr 11 - 0 Comments

As I write this, I remember that we are now experiencing the Ides of March — now April 15th, Income Tax Day. Yeah, this year we have three extra days, the 18th, as there is a celebration-holiday in Washington D.C. While shelving books and acknowledging the grim day is approaching, I found Confessions Of A Tax Collector, as written by Richard Yancey. The subtitle is One Man’s Tour of Duty Inside the IRS. Picking it up as a lark, I found the book completely fascinating, and now rejoice that the methods used in 1991 and later are no longer being used by the IRS. Interesting reading but somewhat scary too as the 4th Protocol for a collector of the IRS is “Seize, seize, seize”. Luckily that requirement has changed, and, supposedly, the agents are really good people! But hope I never have to find out.

Joy Fielding’s latest, Now You See Her, is set in Ireland and primarily the area around Cork. She has really outdone herself this time; the plot details the incredible changes that a mother goes through following the disappearance of her adult daughter. Despite the physical evidence that the daughter has committed suicide, the mother refuses to believe this and starts upon a search to find her. She accosts any woman with a slightly similar appearance to her daughter, and this leads her into a strange entanglement in Ireland. The description of Cork, both the new area and the old, is beautifully done; makes me want to find a plane and head to Cork, and search for the remnants of my ancestor’s family. Ms. Fielding’s plots are composed of twist after twist; to the point that the reader remains astonished when the ending is reached. Excellent and compelling reading; you do not want to put the book down and go to sleep.

But the book I liked the best out of these three is So Help Me God as written by Larry Thompson. Possibly because this is a legal thriller and the courtroom scenes are fascinating at least to me. Or possibly because I knew the author as I had worked at the firm of which he was managing partner. Being familiar with legalese and the drafting of various legal documents, it was “a trip” to see how the author was able to translate his background into a work of fiction complete with character development and plot and subplot. The book is easy to read, somewhat informative, but with the essence of the plot concerning the doctrines of the Pro Life and Pro Choice movements, it really holds your attention. An extra, Larry’s brother was Tommy Thompson, a very accomplished author. I do hope that this will be not only a one book experiment by Larry; he has found another calling.

Hey, kids, mark your calendars for Saturday, May 7th at the Library; the children’s librarian from Port Lavaca will be here to show a movie beginning at 10:00 a.m. Either Gulliver’s Travels or The Green Hornet will be shown.

A note of gratitude to the person who gave us some DVDs for our collection; with the cut in budget for our Library, the purchase of DVDs has ended. We do appreciate your thoughtfulness.

“When an old person dies, a Library burns down.”

Karin Gillespie

Untitled Document