And the truth shall set you free!

John McCain slipped on - not in - some straight talk while aboard his "straight talk express."  

Now Senator McCain, tell us something we don't know.

LSU Ag Center Hopes to Turn Used Vegetable Oil into Bio-Diesel Fuel

Posted: Feb 28, 2008 06:40 PM

Updated: Feb 28, 2008 07:21 PM

Photo by: WAFB-TV

Cheaper gas sounds good, doesn't it? Well, the LSU Ag Center may have it figured out.

They're hoping to crank up a machine called the Bio-Pro 190 next week to make bio-diesel fuel.

Right now, they're collecting used vegetable oil from one of the LSU cafeterias.

The oil will cycle through the machine, and in about 24 hours, they can have 50 gallons of bio-diesel.

"It's a big savings. We can make it for about $1.50 a gallon on some used oil. Long way to $3.50 having to pay right now with diesel prices," says Dr. Bill Carney.

Farmers plan to use the fuel to run their tractors, but Dr. Carney says it can run in cars, too.

We'll keep you updated on their progress.

Lubbock Infant Can Read at 17 Months Old

2/27/08 Lubbock Infant Can Read at 17 Months Old Posted: Feb 27, 2008 11:21 PM A month ago, when I got an e-mail from a Lubbock mom who told me her 16-month-old baby could read, I didn't really take it seriously - especially when she told me it was her first baby.  But after a few weeks and a few more e-mails, I decided to meet her and see for myself. Elizabeth Barrett is now 17 months old. She looks and acts like most babies her age, but  her mom Katy says, "She can read sentences. She can read more words than we can count."  So we watched as Elizabeth pulled out her favorite book, climbed in her favorite reading chair, and looked at pictures. Katy, a speech pathologist who is married to Michael, another speech pathologist, told me that most people don't believe their infant is a reader. "The joke is that since we see kids with language problems, we think anybody with normal language skills is a genius. But as time goes on, it's harder to deny that she's exceptional," said Katy. Aside from reading books every day, play-time means mom writes down a word on paper and Elizabeth figures it out. When we asked to see what Elizabeth could do, Katy wrote excited on a piece of paper and said, "Elizabeth, what does this say?"  Elizabeth said "excited" and waved her hand over her chest. Katy explained that Elizabeth not only read the word, but signed it as well. Katy is convinced that sign language helped launch her daughter's reading skills, partly by watching shows like "Signing Times" on public television. "What's this word?' she asked.  "Bear", answered Elizabeth." Yes, it said bear. But we still weren't convinced. So I asked if I could try it. I wrote down the word ball. "Ok, Elizabeth. What's this word?" I asked. "Ball", she said. That's when I nearly fell over. Next my cameraman, Brandon wanted to try, so he wrote down the word banana. "What's this word, Elizabeth," he asked her.  "Banana", she said. Indeed, it was banana. That's when Brandon fell back and said, "I am very impressed!" So we played "stump the baby". I picked up a magazine, opened it somewhere in the middle and randomly pointed to a picture of a plate and the three words underneath it. "What does this say?" I asked her. Elizabeth said, "How to eat." And she was right. So we kept at it. "What's this word?"  "Family", she said. "Can you read this one?"  "Good", she answered. "Ok, what's this?"  "Night", she said. Every time, she was right. It was obvious, Elizabeth talks like she's 1, but she reads like she's 7. So what does her doctor think? Dr. Steve Stripling, Elizabeth's pediatrician, says at 14 months he saw her sight read the word avocado. "I was floored", he told me. The Barretts say they weren't trying to impress the doctor when they showed him what Elizabeth could do. It was more important for them to know that she didn't have some condition, like autism. Dr. Stripling told me, "Elizabeth does not appear to be autistic at all. It looks like this child is going to be completely normal and, likely, will be a great resource for humanity, being as smart as she is." What a relief to the Barretts that they can quiz Elizabeth on dozens of words but still enjoy playing, laughing, watching TV, and many other activities. I listened to Elizabeth read words like happy, puppy, penguin, vegetable, and kangaroo. That was impressive enough, but apparently, she's inherited her parent's love of music as well. When her mom wrote down Led Zeppelin, Buddy Holly, and the Beatles, she said those words too. Again, Katy reminded me that it's not bragging rights, but a call for help, that brings this family to NewsChannel 11 for this story.  Dr. Stripling also told me he is very glad they are showing people what Elizabeth can do. The reason? When the parents contact major medical centers for advice on how to challenge their little girl, nobody calls or writes back. Because they don't believe what she can do. Dr. Stripling says since seeing is believing, maybe the right people will contact them after seeing this story. Katy told me, "We just want to know what to do with her next.  We want her to be challenged. We don't want to hold her back," Katy said. Just for fun, I scribbled one more thing on a piece of paper and held it up for Elizabeth to read. "Tonight Show", she said. That's what it said, and I have a feeling that's exactly where you might see Elizabeth the next time she's on TV. "Signing Time" is distributed by American Public Television. It airs on KTXT, Channel 5, at 8:30 on Sunday mornings. For more information on the program, (click here).

WAFB News, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Stop the presses: Supreme Court Justice listens to oral arguments

 Ladies and Gentlemen, a new day has dawned! News outlets are reporting that a Supreme Court Justice actually listens to oral arguments presented by both sides and does not ask questions. This has gone on for two years!

 In a risky move, Justice ClarenceThomas made the earth shattering statement “I still believe that, if somebody else is talking, somebody should be listening.”

 We can not permit such radical idealism to sit on the Supreme Court. We expect our judges to get up there and ask questions.  We expect our judges to wow us with their self- importance. We expect these former professors of law to prattle on endlessly, interrupting lawyers in mid-speech during the course of the dog and pony show. We expect these superior legal minds to dazzle us with their brilliance for our entertainment (and theirs). There is no room for “listening” in our government-especially in our justice system.

 That Thomas has been a rebel from day one. He has the audacity to actually base his well thought out rulings on the Constitution of the United States of America. He has the audacity to reject the court of world opinion, while refusing to bend, twist and distort the Constitution to his will. He has the audacity to base his opinion on the evidence presented. This is an absolute outrage!

 It is easy to laugh and mock and ridicule but these attacks on Justice Thomas are very offensive to me.  There are those in the media that detest Thomas and his constitutional roots and therefore search diligently for some perceived offense.  Some members of the media go so far as to assault his southern heritage.

 Sure he’s says that he gets the information he needs from all of the other judges as they ask their questions. But we know that’s not true. We know it is because he is not smart enough to think of those questions himself. After all, he’s a black boy from the South.  You know they ain’t got no learnin’.

 Obviously I am being sarcastic. Clarence Thomas is one of the greatest minds to ever grace that bench. I have watched over the course of years as certain sects of society attempt to deride and derail him in their efforts to diminish his great accomplishments. Why? Because he’s on the wrong side of the political spectrum.

 Look at the most recent articles vilifying his silence on the bench: “Georgia born,”  “struggled to master standard English,” “spoke Geechee a dialect of former slaves.”  It’s a good thing there are no photos of him dressed in tribal garb.

 We find all the key elements one expects to discover when attempting to trivialize the importance, prominence and legacy of one of the most remarkable men to sit on that stage; All in their effort to push their own agenda which is to remove the constitution from the bench and this country.

 It is obvious. It is vile. It is disgusting. It is transparent. One does not meet your agenda then set out to destroy. Set up to minimize the impact or the importance. This says more about “you” than it does Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 

 How great it would be if certain media outlets took a page from his book; Shut up and listen.  You just might learn something – such as report the news as it is as opposed to creating it.