Should there be white people in a school if there are no white people in the community?

 

 

Melinda Henneberger bemoans the continuing segregation in our society. She says, ". . .we may think we no longer need to engineer experiences that bring kids of different races together. . ." Her conclusion is that we do.

 

Melinda is upset that Mountain Brook School in Alabama is all white and Fairfield School is all black. Could that possibly be because Mountain Brook, Alabama, is 98.8% white and .3% black while Fairfield, Alabama, is 90.23% black and 8.9% white? Melinda conveniently left that little fact out of her argument. Would she like to force those kids to go to a school outside their own districts just so she'll like the color mix?

 

Melinda doesn't seem to realize that you can make people go to school together or work together, but you can't make them socialize when they're uncomfortable with each other. And that goes both ways in the racial spectrum. If Melinda were truly as colorblind as she thinks she is, she wouldn't be worried about how many black kids are in school x or how many white kids are in school y. She'd only be concerned that the kids in school x and school y were getting both getting quality educations.

 

"Ugly truths persist." The Dallas Morning News; June 17, 2013; p. 11A.

 



In Memory

 

 This post is written in memory of Boyd and Doris Haynes.

 

I didn't know Boyd and Doris Haynes, but they tragically left this life together to unite with their heavenly family on July 13, 2011. Boyd was born April 8, 1924, in El Reno, Oklahoma, to Clyde and Hazel Haynes. Doris was born exactly one year later, April 8, 1925, to John and Myrtle Mae Keef in Union City, Oklahoma.

They were united in holy matrimony on March 20, 1943, in Oakland, California, and later that year Boyd entered the U.S. Army serving during World War II in Germany. After the war ended, they returned to their home state and lived in the Oklahoma City area for the remainder of their lives.

Boyd and Doris owned and operated B&B Hearing Aid Service for many years before retiring in the 1980s. They were charter members of the Willow Creek Golf & Country Club and active in the South Oklahoma City community until health issues restricted their involvement.

The Haynes Family tremendously enjoyed golf which sometimes included family tournaments. Besides golf, Boyd enjoyed making wooden patio chairs and other woodworking projects. But the family really relied upon him for “fixing things” in his garage. When a small appliance or item was broken, family members easily responded, “It’s okay because ‘Dad’ or ‘Granddad’ or ‘Pampa’ will fix it!”

Doris, also known as “Mother”, “Grandmother” and “Great” was known for her baking skills. She loved giving birthday dinners for her family which would always include their favorite birthday cake or pie. And if you were lucky enough to be a recipient of her famous cookies, chocolate sheet cake, peanut brittle, coconut bon-bons, or any other of her numerous treats, then you were special. But then, that was just Doris…she made everyone feel special when you were around her. When weather prohibited golf with her golf buddies, the ladies settled for a weekly game of “tripoly”.

As Terry stated, “Mother and Dad were the greatest parents and grandparents in the world.” Their legacies will live on in each of us, and their presence on earth will be deeply missed.

 

Boyd and Doris were murdered. Tristan Owen, a neighbor boy who was high on drugs, threw two molotov cocktails and set their house on fire. They were scheduled to move into assisted living the following day. Tristan has been sentenced to six years in prison. I don't think that's justice.

 

"Teen gets 6 years in deaths of couple." The Dallas Morning News; June 17, 2013; p. 3A.

http://www.vondelsmithmortuary.com/book-of-memories/819598/Haynes-Boyd/obituary.php

Who was Tony's English teacher?

Tony Torres makes fun of Midge Douglas who is impatient with the lack of English skills of the employees of stores and salons she patronizes. Tony says most people who are monolinguals are paranoid and xenophobic.  

 

Tony says, "Douglas apparently prefers having her nails done at Vietnamese nail salons instead to having them done at a 'regular' nail salon." "Instead to"? Who taught you English, Tony?

 

"Fluent in paranoia." The Dallas Morning News; June 14, 2013; p. 24A.

Profiling?

The George Zimmerman trial is big news right now. I don't know whether George Zimmerman was a trigger happy vigilante or not. He may be guilty as sin. I do know that Trayvon Martin was not the angel his family portrays him to be.

 

At any rate, I find it amusing that the charge of profiling is front and center in this case. Rev. Gerald Britt (I don't really know what gives him any expertise in this area) says that the recording of Zimmerman's 911 call "profiles Martin." I guess that's a matter of perception, but Zimmerman did not specify a race until prodded by the dispatcher.

 

Now let's look at the other side of this "profiling" thing. Have you noticed that anytime a white person kills a black person, the "community organizers" come out in full force claiming racism? Isn't that profiling? If you're white, you must be a racist?

 

Kind of like the pot calling the kettle . . . oh well, I don't want to be accused of profiling here, so I'll just let you finish the thought.

 

"Denials aside, Martin case is about race." The Dallas Morning News; April 9, 2012; p. 11a.

Wouldn't it be better to change the behavior?

 

Some of these high dollar government studies just boggle the mind. When any junior high student could come up with the answer without spending any money, our government spends millions on useless studies and usually comes up with the wrong answer.

 

U.S. health officials are now recommending that doctors give to people who shoot heroin, methamphetamines or other illegal drugs a daily dose of an AIDS drug. They've already made the recommendation for gay men.

 

So you and I must pay for a bunch of druggies and perverts to have their fun without facing any consequences themselves. So we keep them from getting AIDS -- they inject heroin and meth long enough, they'll die from that anyway. Shouldn't we just save the money? Wouldn't the best solution be for them to stop doing drugs and having gross sex?

 

"Drug can protect addicts." The Dallas Morning News; June 13, 2013; p. 6A.

I guess that's a matter of opinion.

 

Misha McLamb says she's not a loser. She's been homeless in Washington, D.C., but the last I could find of her she was in  government-funded transitional housing.

 

Misha is a Navy vet -- an aircraft specialist. She says she drank heavily while in the Navy. Doesn't that inspire you with confidence? How would you like to be one of the pilots flying a plane she worked on?

 

She continued to drink when she left the Navy. She lost her job, and spent nights in her car until she lent it to a "friend's boyfriend" who wrecked it. She moved to a homeless shelter where her insulin needles were stolen.

 

Poor judgment, poor decisions, and an alcohol addiction despite being diabetic. She had a good job in the Navy until she left to come home to care for her daughter -- which didn't last very long, because the daughter was taken away from her.  Misha says, "Some people just have bad circumstances with no resources. . . they owe me."

 

Misha and I disagree on what constitutes a loser.

 

"Homeless female veterans increasing." The Dallas Morning News; April 9, 2012; p. 7A.

Why Photo ID is a Good Idea

 

At least sixteen counties in Texas have more registered voters on their rolls than there are qualified citizens of voting age. The over counts range from 100 to more than 3,000. And we wonder how Obama was elected!

 

"Texas voter rolls show discrepancies." The Dallas Morning News; April 9, 2012; p. 3A.