Republicans in District 22 are now between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The Texas Democrats have filed a lawsuit that seeks to keep last week's retired Congressman Tom DeLay on the ballot in the November General Election. Even if the Dems are successful, any delay on the DeLay issue is going to hurt the Republican candidate who, once chosen by the panel of four executive District 22 representatives, has to raise money, shake hands and kiss babies before the primary if there is any hope of success at the polls.

I would say the Democrats have done a great job of squelching the efforts to get another Republican in Washington, when in actuality Tom DeLay has actually done the job and the Democrats have walked through the door he left wide open.

Shame on Tom. He ran for office, won the primary and then slithered out of the mess on his belly, leaving behind the skin he shed and a big mess for his constituents and party members to deal with.

Despite all the problems he had in recent years, I liked the guy. And, I would have thought he would have gone out in style if he ever went out.

I was wrong.

After over a year of controversy, conversation, chaos and confusion, in 2004 Fort Bend County Commissioners passed a lighting ordinance that was aimed primarily at protecting the George Observatory from “light pollution.” The ordinance was also supposed to reduce the risk of accidents, protect owls and other nocturnal creatures (burglars not included) and clean up the skies of Fort Bend County so future generations could gaze at skies and wish upon a star. Yeah right!

Instead, the ordinance has been back on the drawing board several times and it has prompted countless agenda items focusing on granting a variance and now, once again, the legal department is looking at whether the county overstepped its bounds and the whole thing might have to be set aside.

Let’s hope that this trip we get it right, pass the thing with amendments that are fair to all involved, protect the sky and allow Wal-Mart to shine brightly forever more.

The Fort Bend Bar Association members have done a valuable service to the community by establishing the Legal Line after forming Fort Bend Lawyers Care, a non-profit organization made up of local attorneys willing to give up their free time and some money to provide legal help to people in the county who simply can’t afford to pay an attorney for simple procedures.

Hats off to them. One of my friends, who happens to be an attorney, said attorneys try to help the community despite the reputation they have, generally speaking, of being somewhat less than nice people.

In other words, despite all the prevailing lawyer jokes and the stigma attached to the profession, they aren’t all scoundrels and are pretty good folks to associate with. Now, did I tell you the one about...I think I need help, no, I know I need help.

I need a person that is computer literate. No, I need a person who is more than just literate. I have a computer that randomly decided, on its own, that I cannot read the Fort Bend Star.

I can look at every other paper in the universe on my computer, but not the Star. Go figure! Since we have archive files that I really need to do background on some of my stories, this has become somewhat of a source of aggravation, to say the least.

I have tried everything recommended by professionals who ultimately scratch their head and say, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” So, if there is someone out there that knows how a computer can rule and all commands are ignored, please e-mail me.