Page 4 • INDEPENDENT • JUNE 27, 2018
MIKE’S MONOLOGUE
GUEST COLUMN
Competition or cooperation By MICHAEL GRANTO One of the benefits of having the job I had several decades ago was travel to far places. My area included Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Most men in my position had areas that covered parts of states, not parts of the globe. And while most men in my position could get in their car and be in their area in a matter of minutes, my area was reachable only by air travel, involving over-water flights of 13 to 17 hours. Because of the expense of simply getting to the area two things had to happen: the planning of activities for my visit would have to be thorough, and the visits would have to be long enough to get things done, which meant three to five weeks. I recall once that I had my airline ticket for my upcoming trip on my desk, when another area manager paid me a visit. He glanced at the ticket, and exclaimed in wonderment, “This is your airfare?” When I replied it was, he said the cost of my flights was more than his annual travel budget. That trip happened to be the trip on which we were to open the first unit in South Korea, and it was combined with several other activities. Once the opening was taken care of, my Korean counterparts extended me an invitation to visit a Korean re-enactment village, where re-enactors portray Korean village life as it was several hundred years
Granto ago. Everyone wore authentic period costumes, and what technology they displayed was from several hundred years ago. The blacksmiths interested me the most. I am used to seeing blacksmiths portrayed in American westerns as big, brawny guys with massive chests and arms, and usually a massive belly to go with them. Koreans just do not come built like that, but lack of brawn did not deter them from producing some fine examples of the blacksmith’s art. After wandering around for a while, we came to a circle of people observing some activity. In the center of the circle was a board, more like a plank, a dozen or more feet long, about a foot and a half wide, and three inches thick. The board rested on a bundle of straw enclosed in some kind of woven jacketing. The bundle was maybe three feet wide, and was about a foot in diameter. I saw a two people approach the plank, and one got on each end. Then they started to bounce. The plank acted more or less like a see-saw, rocking on the bundle of straw.The people seemed to jump higher and higher for a while, then one or the other would tumble.
My Korean counterpart asked if I’d like to try it. I got the feeling that I really couldn’t say “No,” American honor at stake and all that, but it seemed that since the idea was to tumble the other person off the plank, some of the fairly large amount of excess weight I carried might be put to good use. Several clumsy attempts later, I figured I had done enough damage to American honor for one day. Neither I nor my plank counterpart got more than three feet off the ground before one of us tumbled off. Koreans are too polite to laugh in the face of a guest, but it seemed to me they were embarrassed for me. Several minutes later, wandering back through the plank area, I looked that way again. What I saw astonished me. There were two guys on the plank, and their feet were nine or ten feet over my head at the top of their bounce as they bounced up and down on the plank. What I had looked at as a competition to unseat my adversary was actually an exercise in cooperation with my team mate. Somewhere in there was a lesson for me. (Granto is a United States Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, awarded the Purple Heart. For over 24 years, he worked for the University of Miami Medical Campus Security Department, and retired in 2014. He moved to Missouri City, with his wife to be closer to her daughter. He can be reached at mikegranto@hotmail.com.)
Texas Supreme Court says plastic grocery bag ban is illegal By MARK LISHERON The Texas Supreme Court Friday morning upheld an appeals court ruling that the ban on plastic grocery bags in Laredo is illegal. By extension, the ruling invalidates similar bans in Austin and a handful of other Texas cities. In his ruling, Chief Justice Nathan Hecht agreed with the conclusion reached by the state’s Fourth Court of Appeals in August of 2016, that Laredo’s bag ban violated the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act. “The Texas Constitution states that city ordinances cannot conflict with state law,” Hecht wrote. “The Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (“the Act”) provides that “[a] local government … may not adopt an ordinance … to … prohibit or restrict, for solid waste management purposes, the sale or use of a container or package in a manner not authorized by state law.” Austin’s ban on plastic grocery bags has been in effect since March of 2013. Fort Stockton, Freer, Laguna Vista, South Padre Island and Sunset Valley are also among the cities with bag bans in effect. However, the bans have been in retreat since the Laredo Merchants Association sued in March 2015. Dallas repealed its bag ban in June of that year. Port Aransas followed in September of 2016. The city of Kermit rescinded its ban in June of 2017. In May of 2017, when Brownsville repealed its bag ban, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton dropped a lawsuit against the city for violating state law. On Friday, Paxton applauded the Supreme Court’s decision on the Laredo bag ban. “Municipalities violate the law when they unlawfully pass the burden of solid waste management to citizens and retailers through illegal bag bans,” Paxton said in a written statement. “I hope that Laredo, Austin, and any other jurisdictions that have enacted illegal bag bans
will take note and voluntarily bring their ordinances into compliance with state law. Should they decline to do so, I expect the ruling will be used to invalidate any other illegal bag bans statewide.” “This ruling sends the unambiguous message to all local jurisdictions in Texas that they do not get to simply ignore laws they don’t agree with.” The Texas Monitor contacted the offices of Austin Mayor Steve Adler and the members of the City Council Friday requesting comment on the Supreme Court ruling. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said she had not seen the text of the ruling, but said she “fervently hoped the regulation could stay in place.” She thought that city attorneys would be studying the ruling to see if Austin could maintain the bag ban. Short of maintaining the ban, Tovo said she hoped local retailers, who have been good partners in enforcing the ban, would electively choose not to offer the thin plastic bags to customers again. “It’s clear that since 2012 people have adjusted to it and it seems we’ve had very good results,” Tovo said. “What a difference the bag ban has
Is viewing pornography cheating? By SANDRA MORENO Sadly, the sensitive subject of pornography is a very real issue for many men and women. This problem has only gotten worse since the latest technology makes it easily available at your fingertips. How can a person who is addicted to pornography be truly in love with his partner in life? Viewing erotic videos and photos is an ugly habit to have. Doing this may satisfy your mind and body, but, if you’re in a relationship, the feeling of betrayal can be devastating for your other half. Of course, that’s if he or she is aware that you’re doing this. Why have a partner in life if you need to use other methods to satisfy your personal needs? If your chosen mate isn’t enough excitement for you, why are you with that person? Take a moment and think about that. This type of lifestyle can be harmful to your relationship. This is definitely a form of infidelity. You’re looking at other people hardly dressed or not dressed at all doing sinful acts. Here’s a scenario; a man hides the fact that he looks at pornography on his phone from his wife. Hiding this is the first clue that it’s wrong. He meets his needs by this type of fantasy world and many times doesn’t even yearn for his wife. While other times, he’s dependent on this material to get in the mood to be
about 2.5 times by a misreading of a national Keep America Beautiful waste study. Three years after passage, a study commissioned by the city concluded that the ban predictably led shoppers to replace the thin-gauge banned bags with thicker, less biodegradable bags. “While most citizen’s [sic] find the bag ordinance to be beneficially [sic] to the environment,” the report’s author, Aaron Waters, wrote, “at least in terms of the reduction of litter, the results do not indicate a clear success.” Hecht’s decision acknowledged the fight over plastic bag bans were part of a larger political struggle, the “roving, roiling debate over local control of public affairs.” The fight has been carried out on several fronts, including ridesharing, short term rentals, fracking in Denton, and, currently, mandatory paid sick leave ordinances in Austin and under discussion in San Antonio and Dallas. made here.” “Both sides of the debate and Council member Ellen Troxthe many amici curiae who have clair said in an email, “I’m weighed in assert public-policy glad to hear of the court’s arguments raising economic, ruling and hope it means that environmental, and uniformity we will have one less regulaconcerns,” Hecht wrote. “But tion in Austin soon as well. those arguments are not ours to This is yet another example of resolve. “The wisdom or expegovernment micro-managing diency of the law is the Legisour lives with detrimental lature’s prerogative, not ours.” unintended consequences. A “We must take statutes as City of Austin report cited that they are written, and the one the bag ban led to an increase before us is written quite clearly. in reusable plastic bags in the Its limitation on local control recycling stream, higher cost encompasses the ordinance. We to consumers, and unforeseen affi rm the judgment of the court expenses to retailers.” of appeals.” The Austin City Council Hecht said the Laredo Mervoted unanimously to enact chants Association argued in its the ban and dedicated 2 millawsuit that the city’s bag ordilion taxpayer dollars for public nance ignored Section 361.0961 education about the ban proof the Texas Solid Waste Disgram in March of 2012. The posal Act and so violated the council had been motivated by Texas Constitution. estimates that Austin consumThat section “expressly preers were using 263 million cludes a local government from plastic bags a year at a cost ‘prohibiting or restricting the of $850,000 a year to remove sale or use of a container or them from the waste stream. package’ if the restraint is for “The bags litter our rivers ‘solid waste management purand streams. They are harmful poses’ and the “manner” of to our wildlife — and because regulation is ‘not authorized by most of them aren’t biodegradable — they are around state law.’” “The Ordinance has a solid forever,” then-Mayor Lee waste management purpose Leffingwell said at the time. and eff ect; and the City is not However, Texas Watchdog empowered by state law to proreported at the time that those hibit the sale or use of plastic numbers had been inflated by
Moreno intimate with his wife. Unfortunately, this means that his wife doesn’t arouse him. Well, after looking at some of the most beautiful young women on the internet, how can he find his wife attractive? Take for example, when a man cheats, he will find many faults in his wife because in his mind the other woman is perfect and exciting to him. Well, watching pornography is kind of the same. These images of women are altered to perfection. A wife cannot compete with something that is not real. For the wife, this is betrayal and can truly feel like her husband is cheating. The wife is left feeling unattractive and many times will lose her self esteem which can lead to depression. Usually, the wife is busy and tired because she’s juggling a job,
and paper bags,” Hecht wrote. George Kelemen, president of the Texas Retailers Association said he was “very very pleased” with a victory over a patchwork of regulations that were burdensome for businesses. On a basic level, retailers won’t have to spend more for packaging that is just another cost burden to the consumer.” Kelemen said his organiza-
kids, cooking, cleaning, and so much more. So, in this real world we live in, the wife cannot be in full makeup and sexy lingerie waiting to make her husband’s fantasies come true, unless it’s carefully planned, which, if you’re busy people, is few and far between. Men, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot? What if your wife was satisfying her needs by looking at naked men on the internet? Would that be okay with you? What if she became dependent on this material in order to get her in the mood to be intimate with you? You wouldn’t like that at all. So before you say that there’s nothing wrong with watching other women online and in magazines, picture your wife viewing men in the same manner. Remember, she has needs, too. In a relationship, you should only seek each other for lust, love and companionship. Do not allow pornography in your home. If you’re a married man or in a serious relationship and you’re guilty of this habit, do the right thing and stop. You may find your woman attractive once again and live happily ever after. Moreno is Author, Writer, Journalist & Motivational Speaker. She can be reached at thewivesofmachismo@gmail.com.
tion is committed to increasing its sponsorship of recycling programs at its retail outlets and education programs like the one in Dallas public schools started after the city rolled back its bag ban. Mark Lisheron can be reached at mlisheron@texasmonitor.org.
CITATION BY PUBLICATION VELMA AND JESUS BALTAZAR’S JOINT APPLICATION FOR APPOINTMENT OF PERMANENT CO-GUARDIANS OF THE PERSON THE STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF ELLIS COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 1
§ GUARDIANSHIP OF ALYSSA B. CANALS, A MINOR § § CAUSE# 18-G-1021
To: ELDA CANALS GALVAN, WHOSE WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN By publication of this Citation in any publication in the County of Fort Bend for one issue prior to the return day hereof, ALL PERSONS LISTED ABOVE, WHOSE WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN, you are hereby cited to be and appear before The County Court at Law No.1 of Ellis County Texas by filing with the County Clerk of Ellis County, a written contest or answer to this Velma and Jesus Baltazar’s Joint Application for Appointment of Permanent Co-Guardians of the Person filed by Velma Canals Baltazar and Jesus R. Baltazar on May 9, 2018, with regard to the matter of Guardianship of Alyssa Bianca Canals, a Minor, Cause # 18-G-1 021. This Application may be acted on by the Court at any call of the docket on or after 10:00 A.M. on the first Monday following the expiration of ten days from date of publication of this citation. If you are interested in this case you are cited to appear before this Honorable Court by filing a written contest or answer to this application with the County Clerk of Ellis County at 109 S. Jackson in the City of Waxahachie, Texas. To ensure its consideration you or your attorney must file any objection, intervention, or response in writing with the County Clerk of Ellis County, Texas on or before the above-noted date and time. Velma Canals Baltazar and Jesus R. Baltazar pray that the Court hear evidence sufficient regarding this Velma and Jesus Baltazar’s Joint Application for Appointment of Permanent Co-Guardians of the Person in the Guardianship of Alyssa Bianca Canals, a Minor, Cause# 18-G-1 021. If this citation is not served within 90 days after date of its issuance, it shall be returned unserved. Issued and given under by hand and the official seal of the County Court at Law of Ellis County, Texas at the office of the Ellis County Clerk in Waxahachie, Texas, on the 14th day of June, 2018. Cindy Polley Clerk of the County Court at Law Ellis County, Texas By: Sheryl Ground Deputy Clerk
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