Weekend Edition

To be a parent is to be constantly reminded that almost everything you thought you were doing right for your children will one day turn out to be wrong.

The wisdom on whether your baby should be put to sleep on his back or stomach, whether fevers should be treated or left to run their course, seems to change every few years. Parents used to think nothing of letting their children bounce around like pingpong balls in the back of a car. Now, children are strapped in the back like astronauts waiting for blast off.

The latest revised revelation may be: Training wheels don't help a child learn how to ride a bicycle. In fact, training wheels might postpone their progress by teaching children to pedal, rather than keep their balance.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Time now for your letters.

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME MUSIC)

SIMON: First, a correction from last week, when we followed up on Wade Goodwyn's story about a miscarriage of justice in Texas. Michael Morton was accused of murdering his wife in 1986, convicted a year later and put in prison. DNA evidence cleared him just last year. Mr. Morton is pursuing a case against the prosecutor for withholding exculpatory evidence from his trial, not DNA evidence, as we mistakenly said. The Texas Supreme Court has appointed a court of inquiry to investigate.

Most Americans give politicians low marks for sincerity and see every decision they reach as a cold, poll-driven calculation. Often enough, it is. Politicians, after all, have asked pollsters where they should spend their summer vacations.

Yet when pundits and interest groups urge politicians to change their minds and they do, they're assailed for flip-flopping.

Both President Obama and Mitt Romney have faced that charge several times, on several issues, including the president's new support for gay marriage, and Romney's current opposition to abortion. Journalists always have to be skeptical. But I wonder if it's too easy to automatically see political calculation as the only force that changes a politician's mind or heart.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. is always a work in progress. Although it's more than a century old, and is being repaired from damage caused by last year's earthquake, it always makes room for new statues and carvings of people who inspire.

REVEREND DR. FRANCIS WADE: May God bless the eyes of all who see the likeness we dedicate this evening.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

From Wisconsin, we head over to Indiana, where this week, six-term Republican Senator Richard Lugar lost by a landslide to State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who was supported by the Tea Party.

Now, Senator Lugar was known for working with senators on the other side of the aisle to pass legislation. That may not be the political flavor of the month in his party or his state.

For more, we're joined now by Brian Howey, a political analyst, pollster and author of the Howey Politics Indiana newsletter. He joins us from Nashville, Indiana.

Mr. Howey, thanks so much for being with us.

BRIAN HOWEY: Oh, it's a pleasure. Thanks.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Are you calling 911 or you just glad to sit down? Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a study this week that shows that 38 percent of the calls received by New York's emergency services are mistakes - mobile phones that dial 911 when a user jostles a phone in their purse or pocket. The popular term for such calls is pocket or butt calls.

But it's a serious problem. That's about 4 million calls a year, which can tie up emergency services. In fact, the report was released only after a lawsuit was filed by the New York firefighters union, which wants to show how the proliferation of cell phones has increased and complicated their workload.