It's the hair gel, I'm pretty sure, oozing down the hair shafts into the follicles and thence to the brain. I first noticed the phenomenon when I tried to get high school cheerleaders to form shapes for pictures. However, Gov. Good Hair's recent actions of turning away federal unemployment insurance dollars indicates a critical condition. His shunning federal money in the face of a predicted 300,000 more Texans losing their jobs indicates to me that the situation with his mousse-induced brain damage has reached crisis proportions. He might require chelation.

That might seem a rude assessment, but it's the kindest excuse I could come up with for his heartless approach to the lot of fellow Texans, the people he has sworn to serve. Actual, hard figures from the Texas Workforce Commission show 109,000 Texans have lost their jobs since January. Although the unemployment figure is pegged at a couple of fractions over 8 percent, the real number of unemployed and underemployed Texans is much higher.

Unemployment rates do not count those who have been out of work so long that they no longer qualify for unemployment benefits. They also do not count those who simply gave up looking for work, or took part time jobs, or have two, low-paying jobs to replace one that actually paid their bills or who are trying to look for work for the first time. Spouses who have stayed with children, and newly graduated folks also don't count in the rate.

The federal money would replenish the state unemployment insurance fund which is about to be depleted.

Perry has based his rejection of the money on the premise that accepting the money would obligate the state to fund the program at a higher level in the future and that obligation could not be repealed without federal penalty. Not so, said the U.S. Department of Labor. Add to that the fact that without federal dollars to plump up the Texas fund, Texas employers likely will see their unemployment rates at least doubling next January.

At its best, Perry's stance is hard-hearted and poor policy in a state which will have increasingly more people willing to work but unable to find jobs; in a state with one of the weakest social safety nets in the country. At its worst, it is a venal and cynical political move to score points with state's farthest right voters. Perry faces a slightly more moderate Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in next year's Republican Primary. What could be worse than using the poorest and most innocent victims of the state and nation's current economic crisis as political pawns.

I hope it's just a hair-brained condition not shared by members of the Legislature who can overrule his stance. But in Texas, the governor can veto such legislation after the session ends and only the governor can call a special session and controls its agenda.