October 31, 2004
The World of Disney
Thoughts about my vacation to Disney World.
- It was draining on the wallet. But it is an interesting thing to behold.
- Going during the time I did, it has a more international flare: many families were from the U.K. and Japan on "holiday."
- Under the section of TMI, the restroom facilities were VERY clean. When I'm in public for a long time, I often alter my eating habits so that I don't have to use the restroom for other than #1. With Disney World, it wasn't an issue.
- The Epcot Center is nothing but a great big advertisement for things other than Disney. For some reason, I can understand Disney selling Disney, but I couldn't understand Disney advertising GM, who paid Disney to advertise for GM.
- Kids who are tired, become "bad" kids. Kids, who are bad AND tired are on their own level. A few times, the wife and/or I wanted to scream, "Smack the kid then give him/her a nap!"
- Women, with low/no waist pants/mini-skirts/mirco-mini-skirts, a size or more too small, with "dunlap disease" is NOT a good sight.
- Tatooes on kids, even the "fake/temporary" ones are a no no. What the HELL are parents thinking?
- Disney has taken customer service to a level of true art form. You are PAYING for the customer service and the temporary suspension of reality, but you don't mind because you are customer serviced to death.
I often tell people around me that the lack of customer service on the day to day level is in indicator on the "fall" of the U.S. society. In fact, I now NEVER go to a drive thru because it is a certainty that your order will be messed up, and never in your favor. With Disney, there is a glimer of hope.
How's that for a non-political post?
NACME
The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.
Our Mission:
To provide leadership and support for the national effort to increase the representation of successful African American, American Indian and Latino women and men in engineering and technology, math- and science-based careers.
Our Purposes:
Our goal is diversity with equity, our metric is parity in the workforce and our methodology is the formation of partnerships with those corporations, educational institutions, foundations and governmental bodies that share a commitment to these aims. NACME and its partners will foster research-based changes in policies and practices that ensure equal opportunities for the preparation and participation of all Americans in science, engineering and technology.
They helped in funding for me to complete college. Please provide your support. I do. Although I don't see my name in the annual report for donors. :-|
October 30, 2004
Security
Your security is not in the hands of [Democratic presidential nominee John] Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Any nation that does not attack us will not be attacked.
Now, to the folks who said that Kerry is what the terrorists want, how do you now respond? Will you at least admit that your comments were, at best, asinine?
Do you remember the "Shoe Bomber"? Do you remember that this happened after 9/11? Do you remember the anthrax deaths? Do you remember that this happened after 9/11?
Do you feel stupid now or what?!?!?!
The U.S. Population Has Been Duped Rant
Sigh, I had a nice rant going and didn't save it, so this is take two.
The U.S. population has been duped by the ruling political elite. And the U.S. is worse off for it.
Some people at my job are making snide comments to each other because of opposing political views. While vacationing in Florida, "friends of the family" commented about the anger still residing over the previous Florida mess. And with respect to some people, the anger isn't generated by Democrats, it's generated by a real belief that their votes were not counted. And some for durn good reason.
Meanwhile, a "friend of the family" told us about people shouting at each other over the current political battle. Or, a boss a work saying that if Kerry is elected, all bonuses will stop right away. Hmmmmmm.....
Meanwhile the safe political elite are sitting back laughing their butts off. Those who are not safe are campaigning like their lives depend on it, which to an extent, it does. They want to stay a part of the political elite power grid. (Or is that greed?)
And the "K Street" lobby is laughing, safe in knowing that no matter who wins, they have enough contacts to still be at the political elite power grid control board.
The sad part is, Blacks have allowed themselves to be duped into being a part of this mess.
Look, here's something I found while surfing. BAMPAC is trying to be a player. Now look at this page from their annual expense report.
Administrative expenses are more than 6 times the amount that they have made in direct contributions. Before I give to charity, I check out their expense report to make sure it's being spent wisely. I wouldn't give BAMPAC a dime!
With the political elite Black pols calling other Black pols sellout, who benefits? With political elite Black pols calling other Black pols race hustlers or saying the Black population is on a plantation, who benefits?
The Patriot Act was passed without members of congress reading it. Look, that's not from Micheal Moore, members of congress said it at first. Now they are claiming otherwise.
Baah baah baah, American sheep.
Al Sharpton
Point to consider: look at the comments Sharpton has made during is run for the Dem. presidential nomination.
If you look at the comments, and drop the hate of the man, you will find that he has probably done more to damage Black ties to Democrats than any Black Republican could have done.
October 26, 2004
Eminem's newest
I know my man S-Train doesn't care much for Detroit. But I know he has respect for its musical history, from Motown to the Detroit Emeralds to the Floaters to the P-Funk All-Stars to Rhythm is Rhythm to Reese and Santonio to Eminem. Seeing Mathers' latest all I can say is: what.
Well...no. I can say more.
Detroit. What.
Saginaw. What.
Inkster. What.
Pontiac. What.
River Rouge. What.
Ecorse. What.
WHAT!
Africana.com and Bush's Make-Believe Worlde
This week's edition of The Black Slate deals with a couple of surface issues. The first is a poll saying that more blacks are voting for Bush this year than in 2000, a lot more if surveys are to be believed. The second is a poll examining the level of knowledge Bush supporters have about his efforts in Iraq.
But it really boils down to a number of conversations I've been having with people close to me.
In some ways those of us able to read my words either on Africana.com (soon to be Black Voices), or here on Vision Circle, are blessed. We don't have to think about politics necessarily if we don't want to. We may have strong preferences one way or another--but these preferences at a national level just tweak our lives a bit. I remember when a radio show host was giving Ben Wallace the business for having an Afro and not being "political."
Hell...we fought so you COULD wear an Afro without being "political." Do we really want to revisit that?
But I wonder whether it is absurd to ask people to make decisions based on reasoning that can be verified and more importantly DISPROVEN. 72% of Bush supporters appear to live in a world where WMD's not only exist...they were actually found.
What??
Now like I said yesterday, I'm seguing away from this. If I can get another column off Monday urging people to go to swing states and protect black people's vote--whatever their party affiliation--I might have one more election oriented column in me. I suspect we might have to wait a month or so, so there might be one more.
October 25, 2004
Moving Forward--the Big Questions
I'm going to write about the election a few more times depending on how many months it takes for us to ferret out the winner. And tomorrow's Africana.com column will deal with Bush's African American support base as well as the growing ignorance of Bush supporters in general. But let's be clear. Even though I do believe that this election is the most important one I've participated in--Bush won't get sixty Senators to override a filibuster.
It's time we begin to segue into the next phase. Getting back to the local issues that I think merit a real republican black/democratic black/leftist black/ black nationalist dialogue. Education is a biggie.
ANd today my wife has made the tentative decision to homeschool our kids, a decision I support. I say tentative because there are some details to work out.
But while I'm with Darkstar on vouchers, I do not understand how black parents with resources can do anything other than pull their kids out of urban public schools.
My daughter came home the other day and showed me her homework. She's learning decimals and greater than/less than symbols. I'm looking over the homework and see the following equation: 1 < 1.00
I tell her...that's not right. She says, "the teacher told me it was."
You mean the teacher who spells questionnaire with one 'n' rather than two?
But wait it gets worse. My son's first grade class (30 deep) does not have recess or gym.
Do any of you have boys? Do you know what type of impact this has on their ability to learn?
No Child Left Behind is a crock. Period. But as of right now there is no constituency willing to put the federal funding behind education we would put behind a national disaster area. And as powerful as black children are, as capable as they are of producing beauty out of chaos (see graffiti, hip-hop, house, techno, jazz, the blues, etc. etc. etc.), we're talking about a disaster area here. And in the wake of community organizing efforts that have yet to truly come up with innovative solutions...you've got to take radical INDIVIDUAL steps to make sure your children are taken care of.
I've been meaning to set up a blog for my wife. This might be the perfect time to begin.
October 22, 2004
Political Punks
Quite a few times I've said that I considered the political Black leadership in congress, The CBC, to be political punks who lack any knowledge of using their power.
The Black Commentator NAILS this one.
Techno-Babble
SAT Glitch Leaves Anxious Students Waiting
Thousands Unable to Get Results After College Board Web Site Crashes
Hundreds of thousands of students waiting for their SAT results were left in agony today after the Web site for the organization that owns the test crashed because of too much traffic.
Kristin Carnahan, a spokeswoman for the College Board, said that technicians were working on the problem and hoped to get it fixed later today or during the weekend. Failing that, she said, students and colleges would receive the results by regular mail toward the end of the month.
More than a half a million would-be college applicants took the Oct. 9 test, one of the last of the old-style SAT tests before a radical overhaul planned for next spring. Most of the test-takers are high school seniors who have taken the test several times before, but want to improve their scores in order to get into the college of their choice.
The state of California has warned residents that their personal data may have been stolen from computers at the University of California, Berkeley, after a database used by researchers there was compromised by hackers.
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) issued a media advisory on Tuesday, saying that the agency was working with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate an intrusion on a computer at Berkeley that contained personal information on around 1.4 million recipients and providers of In Home Supportive Services (IHSS), which provides home-care services to low-income elderly and disabled Californians. Names, addresses, telephone and Social Security numbers, as well as the birth dates for IHSS participants, could have been stolen by the malicious hackers, according to Carlos Ramos, assistant secretary at CDSS.
Bush and Blacks
Instead of pointing out the news articles, I'm just going to point to the place where I first read it.
October 21, 2004
Kids Day (Kids say the damndest things)
Here at Vision Circle, we're all about the kids. So today I thought I'd honor that.
My daughter was at school today...and was told that George W. Bush was going to visit. He ended up not showing up...but upon hearing about the visit one of my daughter's 5th grade classmates had this to say:
I hope if he comes and something horrible happens, he doesn't just sit there forever like he did in that classroom in Florida.
October 20, 2004
Understanding Institutional Racism
Scott, a member of the Conservative Brotherhood, posted this entry titled Understanding Institutional Racism
This hits it on the head.
After turning 65, my father wasted no time retiring. He'd purchased our house back in 1952 for $20,000 thanks to a 3 percent mortgage made possible by the Veterans Administration. Now he was considering an offer of $300,000. With the money they'd get a place in the Berkshires and winter in Florida.
Ten years later, my colleague, Cornelius, sold the house he grew up in. Cornelius' folks had also purchased a place in the early '50s in Chester, just outside Philadelphia. A few years ago, after Cornelius' father died, his mother wanted to move back to Virginia. Cornelius sold the house in 2000; he received all of $29,500.
That $270,500 gap reveals a microcosm of race in America. My family is white and Cornelius' is black.
A few of the people I used to work with got help from their parents when purchasing a house. I had no help. I wouldn't have taken it any way, but seeing that most American's home makes up the major portion of their net worth, is it any wonder why there is a wealth gap?
Crackheads are citizens too
Turns out that an idiot working for the NAACP's voter registration program in Ohio paid a crackhead in crack to fill out registration forms. See here for the picture.
Now I had a friend who used to move people for a living. Whenever he needed extra help, he turned to people that just so HAPPENED to have addictions.
He found they were the best workers. Diligent, hard-working, and would follow directions readily.
I wouldn't do it...but like Chris Rock says, I can understand.
But this is a different enterprise I think. I wonder if she paid him before, or after?
....
I've been trying to get a handle on the belief that Democrats engage in more voter fraud than their Republican counterparts. To my knowledge we just don't have the same type of observable data on the Democratic end as we do from the Republican end. Folks ripping up Democratic registration forms. Folks punishing black voters for felons committed in 2010.
Now let's think a bit more about this story.
Homeboy is registering voters. Supposedly. He's on crack, and is paid in crack. What are the odds that the voters he supposedly registers are going to be real voters? What are the odds that the fake voters are even real people? The volunteer that hired him should not only be arrested, but should be slapped for incompetence.
This story is the type of spin I'm betting accompanies the crackhead story. Yep. The reason the DNC is going to steal the election is because they are paying crackheads to register imaginary voters who will then vote at the wrong polls...and have their votes counted anyway
Yep. That's the ticket.
October 19, 2004
Bush will double black vote
I said a couple of years ago, and sometime this year that I thought that Bush would be lucky to get 9%. I don't think that anymore. I believe Bush should do better than he did last time out, better than his father, better than Reagan. In fact I don't recall Ford's numbers, but I would be surprised if he did worse than Ford.
In talking to my relatives I've found a lot more support than I expected to find...and this has changed my opinion. The root of their support is spiritual. I don't think they support his policy on Iraq. I don't think they support his ideas about the economy. But the idea that Bush is religious, strong in his convictions, and does not waver in the face of adversity, is very attractive to some black voters.
Of course this could all change if the Republicans use heavy handed tactics to suppress the black vote. But if they just use SOFT tactics, I'm thinking he's going to get more black votes than we've seen in some time. Very bad news for me...but hopefully the end result is more dialogue about these issues over time.
October 18, 2004
More On Group Think?
For example, I cannot overstate the fear and awe of the Third Triumverate – which is to say, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity – that pervades every conservative publishing house, because any one of these three men can make or break a book intended for a conservative audience. As I was told by one publisher: "You may not care about the consequences of taking on O'Reilly or Hannity, but we have to be careful." This is not moral cowardice on the part of the publishers, it is simply the market reality with which they must deal. It is also why most conservative commentators are eventually forced to decide if certain individuals are to be considered off-limits or not.
October 17, 2004
More Silly Season B.S.
The Sinclair situation has me rolling my eyes and asking myself how stupid do the political elite think the U.S. is? Then I listen to talk radio and I think that they are still over-estimating the I.Q. of the general public.
Sinclair can do it's "documentary."
Fine.
The GOP says what the Dems wanted to do was censorship.
OK.
Now, look at what the GOP has said they want to do in Congress after the elections. They want to hold hearings over CBS and Dan Rather with the fake memo.
The difference is, what?
The political elite is playing us all for chumps. And it's a damn shame that Blacks are falling into the "right vs. left" garbage.
My name is "DarkStar" and I have approved of this message.
October 16, 2004
You've got to be kidding right?
It is clear that a number of people actually believe in the rhetoric that accompanied the war. But as I ask time and time again for a single hypotheses that was proferred by the administration before the war and PROVEN after the war, I'm met with blank stares. This is troubling to me, because it indicates a type of fervor that cannot be disproven--which places it in the same category as religion. Some of the assertions/hypotheses:
*Saddam had nuclear weapons almost ready
*We would be greeted as liberators
*Victory would be swift
*The total cost shouldn't come even close to 50 billion
*We're going to be in and out
*Democracy should be straightforward to install
*Terrorism will decrease
*THe number of terrorists RECRUITED will decrease
Michael Powell supports public interest?
The Sinclair Broadcasting Group has recently decided to air a 42 minute long critique of Senator Kerry's service record. In response to questions about the propiety of such a move Michael Powell, (son of Colin Powell and Chairman of the FCC) had this to say:
"As a broadcaster, Sinclair does have a duty to the public interest," FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell told The Washington Post by e-mail. "We will, as always, review any complaints we receive that properly fall in our jurisdiction."
Funny. Because I distinctly recall him having something very different to say about the "public interest." I guess we know what his biases are.
November 2 cannot come soon enough.
October 15, 2004
KIMBERLY ELISE
The wife and I saw "Woman Thou Art Loosed, the Movie".
The writing was just "ok" but the acting by Kimberly Elise was POWERFUL!
She deserves a nomination for her acting.
Sister girl came with it!
No Child Left Behind
It's often said that when the government enacts policies, there is no thought given to the possible outcomes.
Well, this is one that people stated would happen.
"People are calling constantly who want to take their kids out of [nearby elementary schools] to come to Anne Beers," Fears said. "They say, 'You have to take me because of No Child Left Behind.' I say, 'Yes, but tell me what this child is going to bring to the table.' Because we got this infusion of NCLB students, and it drastically changed the climate in our school."
"With No Child Left Behind, we have students coming here who don't necessarily fit in because they don't have the same kind of parents," said Beers guidance counselor Kaye Henson. "That has worked to our detriment. We see a lot of parents now who have problems themselves, who are not educated."
The transfer into Beers of children who are fleeing schools tagged as failures threatens his achievements, Fears said. So Fears -- like other principals in the same boat -- tries to screen those students. "Let me see the report cards, the SAT-9 scores," he tells parents of those who want in. "What do you do with your child at home? If you aren't reading to your child, you can't come to Anne Beers."
Fears is required to accept students who live in his school's home area, but he has leeway in selecting children from outside those boundaries. One result is a sad new game in which principals who have worked hard to get a handle on discipline problems and build up academic expectations find themselves fending off transfers generated by No Child Left Behind.
October 14, 2004
Score One For The Men
This is A GOOD THING.
Dads 'by default' hail new law
By Cheryl Wetzstein
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published October 5, 2004
Bert Riddick plans to go to a California court this year to try, once again, to escape a child-support order for a girl he has never met and says he has proof he didn't father.
This time, the law likely will back him up.
Last week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to allow men to challenge the paternity of children for whom they owe support.
"I don't feel there's any way for the system to fight it anymore," said Mr. Riddick of Carson, Calif., who has been protesting his child-support order for more than a decade.
The new law, sponsored by California Assembly member Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Democrat, was cheered by opponents of "paternity fraud."
A friend of mine got caught up in this kind of mess.
It's nasty.
Score one for the men.
The backwardness of English-Only programs
I'm actually surprised it took this long but researchers have found that people who know more than one language have more gray matter in the language section of the brain. Questions:
1. Is this a zero-sum game? That is, is gray matter LOST in other places? Sounds like a stupid question...but it should at least be considered.
2. What constitutes a second language? There are a number of different dialects of Chinese, and I am pretty sure that a number of them have different pictographic systems as well. In other words, if we were to go to China, hear someone speak Mandarin (and see the pictographs), and then hear someone speak Pinghua (and see the pictographs), I am sure that we would think of them as two different LANGUAGES rather than two different dialects.
If John McWhorter would keep his head out of grown folks' business, he'd be the perfect person to talk about this. And it does relate to the question of whether Ebonics constitutes a language. If we could employ the same methods on an inter-racial group here, we could find this answer out.
From what it appears, it seems like this article makes the best case to scrap most English-Only programs. What's the joke?
What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Tri-lingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bi-lingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one langauge? American.
October 12, 2004
The Black Slate
Today's version of The Black Slate deals with a question Gwen Ifill asked during the Vice-Presidential debate about rates of HIV/AIDS among African American women. I'd originally written something totally different, but I scrapped it. I'm not sure if I got the ending right but this version is much better.
I'll be reviewing Cornel West's DEMOCRACY MATTERS this Sunday in the Washington Post.
October 11, 2004
Random Comments
Camera Cell Phones
The mortal enemy of players/playettes of the world.
"So, you were out last night with another woman!"
"Wasn't me"
"Then who is THIS?"
[ insert stupid busted look here ]
Mental Illness
You have no idea of the living hell that families of the mentally ill go through, if you are not in their shoes.
It's. Not. Pretty.
Pandering
Democrats pander to Blacks by going to Black churches. Then watch the outcry of pandering.
Bush goes to Florida and panders to "Cubans" by denouncing Castro. He even speaks some Spanish when addressing "Hispanic" groups. Then watch the silence on his pandering.
HBCU Battle of the Bands
Based on the new song by Beyonce and 'em, also known as Destiny's Child, I wonder if HBCUs and the "Battle of the Bands" that happen at HBCU football games may help save "Black music."
SOA
Service oriented architecture is the latest craze in computing. I wonder why it's such a "novel" concept. I've always thought that software for the "enterprise" should be designed in this way.
Web Services
Highly over-rated. It seems useful for a limited set of consumer oriented applications and for a limited set of B-to-B applications. But for the enterprise as a whole, it's over-rated.
So is XML. It's useful in places. But what do I know?
"Bob" Must Die
Inside joke.
More Silly Season Comments
OK, this one really gets me.
The terrorists are more likely cheering for Kerry to win!
Folks, if the translation of bin Laden rantings is correct, he's trying to get the world into a fight. He's trying to pit his version of Islam against the U.S. and her allies. He wants to rid the world of the "U.S. perversion of world culture".
Well, if that is what bin Laden wants, hasn't he essentially received his wish?
Further more, if Kerry wins and the U.S. pulls out, then again he wins because he wanted the U.S. out of the region. The terrorists who are in Iraq would be able to declare victory.
So, if I'm not mistaken, it doesn't matter. Bin Laden will get his way either way.
Maybe this entry should be titled Responding to Fear Mongering.
October 09, 2004
Clarence Thomas and the PR Campaign
Lester did a nice job with this entry on Clarence Thomas.
It reminded me of the mini-riot I started when I mentioned the public relations campaign happening on behalf of Clarence Thomas. One of the things I stated is if you are against Clarence Thomas, it's not enough to blast Thomas personally, you have to address the legal issues involved with his rulings and the logical arguments against his rulings. This also includes going against his non-legal political beliefs.
I did a Google on the Usenet archives and found some things.
Wanna see it?
Well here it is...
From: DarkStar
Subject: Clarence Thomas, Again
Date: 1999/03/15
So, last time I stated there was a P.R. campaign that is ongoing to
change Thomas' image. I even said I thought that he was winning this
P.R. campaign. I still believe it. If you saw Sunday's "Lead Story" on B.E.T., maybe you caught a glimpse of what I was saying when I said there is a P.R. campaign in progress.
If you remember, I said that Armstrong Williams was a part of this
campaign. He is an occasional panelist on "Lead Story" and he was there on this weekend's show. The topic of minority representation in the Supreme Court's clerks position came up and Williams was ready.
Williams stated that Thomas as agreed with the position of the NAACP
that "non-traditional sources" for finding clerks has to be looked at
and developed. Williams also stated that Thomas has been doing just
that, and in the next session, Thomas will have a minority clerk from a "non-traditional source."
Some months ago, I had stated that part of the flare-up involving Thomas being allowed to speak at certain places was having the effect of making the press sympathetic to the belief that Thomas is not being allowed to speak because he is not thinking "as Blacks should think" and that the only reason their is Black opposition to Thomas is his stance on affirmative action. I stated that if the demonstrations against Thomas continues, there is a chance that Black organizations who are opposed to Thomas will start to loose credibility and be further marginalized in the minds of "majority America" and some Blacks.
The last time this issue was raised, one of the comments I made was that if Thomas is giving speeches, and one of the things he mentions in his speeches are his memories of growing up in segregated America, the opposition saying that Thomas has "forgotten where he came from" starts to loose some credibility. I said this because, logically, if he remembers segregated America, and he can relate to how it has formed the opinions that he holds today, saying that Thomas has "forgotten where he came from," seems not to make any sense. Again, it seems to actually marginalize the opposition of Thomas and, maybe, lend credibility to the argument that opposition to Thomas is based on affirmative action.
So now let me bring it home.
If Thomas is shown as recruting Blacks at "non-traditional sources" for clerk positions, it gives him credibility on the position of "outreach, not quotas." It also gives him credibility in that he "agrees" with the NAACP position of there not being enough minority representation in the clerk positions, and that he is actually "doing something about it."
Again, to me, this helps to marginalize his opposition.
Now, if anyone else remembers, I mentioned that there is a effort
underway to recast the legacy of Thurgood Marshall. I had stated that
people are already misrepresenting the comments of Marshall during the Brown v Board of Education trial. Well, guess what? Here is what is coming from the Thomas P.R. camp:
"Marshall had only one Black law clerk during his tenure. Thomas has had one Black law clerk. And, he is about to get another. Thomas is already doing more than Marshall did."
You may not like my assessment. You may disagree with what I wrote, but that won't change what is happening.
I notice in the Google Usenet archives that Lester and I have an exchange on the matter.
http://www.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&selm=jssjmtoahf6tbn8puf1n1sr05i7gkbppks%404ax.com&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dclarence%2Bthomas%2Bimage%2Bgroup:soc.culture.african.american.moderated%2Bauthor:darkstar%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26selm%3Djssjmtoahf6tbn8puf1n1sr05i7gkbppks%25404ax.com%26rnum%3D3
Finally, here's more of something I wrote in another Usenet thread:
http://www.google.com/groups?q=g:thl282665161d&dq=&hl=en&lr=&selm=pnbujtcqg917kb8er84i64fg92pe5ccaag%404ax.com&rnum=1
Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2001 15:43:31 CST
From: DarkStar
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american.moderated
Subject: I Told You So! Clarence Thomas
Organization: Internet Junkies Anonymous
...
Well, that's enough. But I need to say this:
I said Thomas was winning, and I still believe he is.
Look at the provided quotes.
When he talks to kids who tour the Supreme Court, those kids are going to tell their parents what happened. Even if you are against his idealogy, how can you tell your kid he's totally wrong when he's
encouraging kids to do well and school because that is the key to the
future? For white kids, when they tell their parents, it will be
another nail to say, "Those bad Blacks don't like success..." blah
blah blah, yada yada yada.
When he takes time to talk to Black kids/teens who have drug problems, those who make it through will *ALWAYS* remember his encouraging words.
He talks to Black *COLLEGE STUDENTS* and encourages them to succeed.
Does anyone honestly believe that these efforts, which are heartfelt,
won't start to bear fruit in about 5-10 years?
If you read the article, you read how closely he guards his privacy.
You also read that he "punishes" friends and family for talking to the media. So, when I first mentioned the public relations campaign, think about this: Do you believe a THREE part series, with quotes taken from friends and family, could happen without him giving the "OK"?
The Debate and Dred Scott
Last night's debate was actually held on my yard. From the camera angles I saw afterwards it appears that a few of the pundits set up shop near my office. (Then again, because the yard is so small, it is ALL near my office.) Now I wasn't there, because I'm here in Baltimore.
But I bring all that up (along with the point that I saw a few of my students on tv) to address a strange comment Bush brought up regarding Dred Scott. Some were wondering why in the hell Bush would bring up Dred Scott as a way to talk about what type of judges he would appoint? Not only was his understanding of the case off (to say the least), the entire spiel didn't really fit.
It isn't that deep. Dred Scott was decided in Saint Louis. The building in which the case was heard still stands downtown. Washington University digitized the proceedings of that case and dozens of others (with some interesting results I might add). I believe this was Bush's attempt to bring the local context into the debate.
Whether he succceeded is another question entirely.
The Secret Life of Clarence Thomas
Every now and again someone writes a story about the hidden life of Clarence Thomas. I remember having a talk with one of my boys who happens to be a federal prosecutor. "We've got to bring Thomas in," he said, referring to a speech Thomas had given to the National Bar Association. "We can't just isolate him."
Because online subscription is required, here's a snippet:
This is the Clarence Thomas rarely seen -- the maneuvering mentor and political adviser, a justice who's far more engaged in official Washington than he lets on. From his oak-paneled suite on the court's first floor, Thomas keeps tabs on the capital's gossip, dispenses advice to his understudies, chats up commentators -- he goes to Baltimore Orioles games with George Will -- and even phones senators to lobby for Democratic judicial nominees. Few ever know. According to several black judges interviewed by The Washington Post, Thomas has intervened or offered help on behalf of several stalled African American judicial nominees.
The last time we heard this narrative, it was about Thomas coming to speak to grade school kids.
I'm glad that Thomas is engaged in the lives of people he cares about. He may have inhuman policy preferences, but he is still human. But this is just part and parcel of a long line of stories designed to remake Thomas' image. And I don't buy it. I don't give a rat's ass who Thomas "mentored in private." I don't care what happened "behind closed doors."
Why?
Because as a social scientist I can't measure it. I can't see it happening (or not happening), and I can't use it to even theorize about possible effects because there are none.
And as someone who loves black people, I don't see much change in the rate of brutality incidents in jail as a result of Thomas' actions. I don't see much of a positive change in Affirmative Action policies as a result of Thomas' actions.
A few people getting gigs doesn't change his rulings, and the logic behind his rulings. He can be as compassionate as the day is long. If the symbolic politics kick doesn't (and shouldn't) work for Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton, why should it work for him?
So what.
October 08, 2004
Player calls journalist a Tom...sparks fly
Thanks again to Dr. Robert Brown.
ABOUT 1,800 miles from here, a black baseball player called a black reporter an Uncle Tom, invoking the deepest culture cut one African-American can inflict on another.Milton Bradley, the Dodgers' right fielder, called the veteran baseball reporter Jason Reid of The Los Angeles Times an Uncle Tom in front of his peers Wednesday. Reid had asked Bradley about being booed by St. Louis fans, and Bradley took offense to the question.
The slight was so deep and personal that Reid had to be restrained.
More here.
Now let's be clear. I don't think I'm saying anything controversial here when I say that Toms exist. People don't always apply the term accurately, but it operates as a convenient informational shortcut that I think is right most of the time. With that said, I don't know whether homeboy in question is a Tom. But I do know that one problem with the article is that it conflates race and class. It is naturally assumed here that black means not just black, but black and working class/poor. Which leaves a number of brothers and sisters who don't know jack about poverty in the lurch.
Robin Hood was a good guy but...
The New York Times has an interesting article about Texas' "Robin Hood" style education policy which attempts to equalize state spending on education. I believe that spending more on public education is a good idea because in the long run it benefits everyone. better educated kids lead to better paid adults, leads to healthier adults, leads to higher levels of production, leads to an increase in small business development, etc.
But in this case it didn't work out that way. Here is the academic paper. And below is the abstract.
School finance schemes control the allocation of $370 billion a year in the United States, but their economics are poorly understood. We examine an illuminating example: Texas' "Robin Hood" scheme, which was enacted in 1994, allocates about $30 billion a year, and is currently collapsing and likely to be abandoned. We show that the collapse was predictable. Robin Hood's design causes substantial negative capitalization, shrinking its own tax base. It relies only slightly on relatively efficient (pseudo lump sum) redistibution and heavily on high marginal tax rates. Although Robin Hood reduced the spending gap between Texas' property-poor and property-rich districts by $500 per pupil, it destroyed about $27,000 per pupil in property wealth. The magnitude of this loss is important: if the state had efficiently confiscated the same wealth and invested it, it would generate sufficient annual income to make all Texas schools spend at a high level. The Robin Hood scheme is stringent but not bizarre: other states' systems share its features to some degree. We provide estimates of the effects of school finance system parameters, which policy makers could use to design systems that are more efficient and stable.
And this is published at around the same time it is revealed that the gap between wealthy and not-so-wealthy schools is growing.
Remember Bubba?
It's been a full twenty years since the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, fueled by Parrish, Whitaker, Trammell, Gibson, Herndon, Morris, and a blazing 9-0 start.
While we celebrated part of the city burned. And the picture that most accurately captured the experience was of a young white boy standing in front of a burning car smiling for the camera.
In the twenty years since the Free Press was able to hunt Bubba down. This is his story.
As the debates come to a head tonight in Saint Louis (on my yard, though I won't be there), I wonder who Bubba would've voted for? My gut tells me Bush. Though I can't see anything in Bush's policies that would've done anything for Bubba besides make him feel manly.
October 07, 2004
Howard Receives Gift Valued at $71 Million
University to Upgrade Tech Offerings
(Reg. required)
By Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 6, 2004; Page B08
Howard University has been selected to receive nearly $71 million worth of engineering software and related computer technology to help prepare its students for jobs in the automotive and engineering fields.
The gift, the largest in-kind contribution in the university's history, was announced yesterday by Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education, a corporate alliance formed in 1999 by General Motors Corp., EDS, Sun Microsystems Inc. and UGS to enhance engineering, science and art education for potential employees.
"This is a tremendous vote of confidence in the university and in our ability to make good use of this program," H. Patrick Swygert, Howard's president, said yesterday in a telephone interview.
October 06, 2004
Any questions?
I saw this when I was moderating a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus' Legislative Weekend. This is next to the newest conference center in the Eastern Corridor. When I came back to DC for my fellowship orientation I damn near missed the Metro trying to capture the shot.
"Group Think", Part II
Let me say from the start, I don't agree with saying someone who is Black, isn't "really Black" for some silly reason or another. That really makes no sense to me. But it also is asinine to say Blacks are prone to "group think." The fact is, if you take any amount of time to provide some thought to the idea, you realize "group think" is the standard of every society that is not in anarchy.
Think about the phrase "community standards". The people within the community, in some way, work to maintain the standard. When people step outside of those standards, the community works in some way to bring them back in, denounce them, or shun them. That's what the "not Black" charge is about.
When people use "group think" and apply it towards the Black community ( is it ever not applied to the Black community? ), it is always given a negative context. Then any "debate" from that point on is defending against "the negative" which is always harder.
Let's flip things just a little bit.
When J.C. Watts refused to back the anti-affirmative action package being developed in The House of Representatives, Wes Pruden, an editor at The Washington Times, wrote a column which stated, literally, that J.C. Watts knows why the Republicans need him to head the effort. Thus, he should get in line. When Watts refused to "get in line," Ken Hamblin used a segment of his radio talk show to denounce J.C. Watts.
As a side note: Did anyone else notice that for a short time, there were references to J.C. Watts being a pastor?
Then there is the saga concerning friends Shelby Steele and Glenn Loury. Those two, along with others, formed the now defunct Center for New Black Leadership. But guess what happened when there was a disagreement over Prop. 209:
http://phuakl.tripod.com/eTHOUGHT/Loury.html
A few days later, Steele phoned him. ''Where do you stand on race?'' Loury says Steele asked him. ''It's as if you're a racial loyalist here. I thought we all agreed.''''No, Shelby and I didn't agree,'' Loury says now. ''I was always aware that, whatever I thought about race, I'm still black. Shelby's position. . . . '' Loury starts to laugh. ''I was about to say, Shelby's position was that we had to completely transcend race, though I can imagine saying those words, too. But my heart wasn't in them, whereas he really meant it. How could it have been otherwise? His mother was a white woman. His wife is a white woman. When he looked at his own children's racial identity and wondered about an oppressive world that would say to those children, 'Choose sides' -- a dilemma I'd never faced -- Shelby's angle of vision was really quite different from my own. So in all honesty, it was I who betrayed him, not he who betrayed me.'' The two men have not spoken since that conversation.
What about the recent events of the current political season? Alan Keyes has mentioned his support for reparations for Blacks. After that, there was a mini-firestorm of opposition to Keyes for supporting such an idea.
"How dare he support reparations! He's gone off of the deep end!"
And then there is Clarence Thomas, who is known to surround himself with people who are similar in views to his.
Does it matter that the examples I used all involved Black people? Does it matter that the examples I used all involved "conservative Black" people?
I say it doesn't.
Let's be real!
The whining about "group think" isn't that people are thinking similarly, it's really about people thinking AGAINST what you are thinking and you don't like it.
The "group think" charge nothing more than a means of harassing people into thinking along your line of thinking, or at least not vocalizing opposition to your line of thinking.
And isn't that the complaint about "group think"?
I'll post more about this in a broader context. For now, I have real life concerns to take care of.
October 05, 2004
Rumsfeld
Rumsfeld Says He Was Misunderstood on Iraq-Al Qaeda
Tue Oct 5, 2004 05:54 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday he was misunderstood when he stated hours earlier that he knew of no strong, hard evidence" linking Saddam Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda.
Flip flop?
"Group Think"
Collective thought, aka group think.
What a concept.
At a GOP convention, Colin Powell said he supported affirmative action and he was booed. No group think there.
Better yet, let a white person agree with Blacks on issues and sooner or later, someone will accuse that white person of being a "guilty white liberal."
So tell me why those who call people "guilty white liberals" are NOT taking part in group think. Aren't they assuming that all whites should think alike?
And if conservatives believe that Blacks don't need Black leaders, why are conservatives trying to pass off people like Jesse Lee Peterson as a Black leader?
Identifying as a "Black conservative". That's not "group think"?
Isn't it interesting that "Black conservatives" seem to have a scream of "victimology" when stating certain things? What's not "group thinking" on the misuse of such a silly phrase?
The Burden of Acting White
OK, so now this article has set off a round of posts by people. I'll say it's about damn time.
I've been arguing for some time now, that based on some readings I've made, the "acting white" charge may be over blown. Note, I'm not saying it doesn't happen. And, to be sure, one charge is one charge too much. But from my experience, when it happened to me, it came from someone who was not performing well. I saw it as an obvious case of envy. That's a lot different from it being a "Black culture thang."
LaShawn, Booker Rising, LKSpence, and Ambra make comments on this report about "Acting White". Not that anyone cares, but I've been talking about this for a bit. I've done it on email lists and on USENET.
Here's a sample of my USENET efforts. I'm quoting a study:
Most important, the study found that black students who belonged in academic honor societies were more likely than other black students to perceive themselves as "popular." At predominantly black schools, students in honor societies were more popular than students who had not been so honored. Cook and Ludwig conclude that the evidence "is not compelling" that nationwide black students who aspire to educational pursuits are ridiculed by their peers.
If there are stronger antiacademic norms among black adults, black parents would be expected to have reduced involvement with their children's schools relative to white parents. Our analysis of the NELS data finds that, on average, African American parents are at least as involved in their children's educations as white parents of similar means.The NELS 10th graders reported the frequency of different interactions
between their parents and school. As seen in Table 5, African American
parents are more likely to telephone their child's teacher, a
difference that increases once family socioeconomic status is
controlled. A greater propensity for African American parents to
contact school staff by telephone would, of course, be of limited
vallue if phone calls were a substitute for, rather than a complements
to, other forms of involvement in their child's schooling. But
analysis of the NELS datasuggests that African American parents are at
least as involved as white parents in other ways, as well. The results
shown in Talbe 5 indicated that almost 65 percent of African American
parents were reported by their children as having attended at least
one schoo meeting in the 1990 fall semester, vs about 56 percent for
white parents. Once family SES is controlled, this difference
increases to almost 14 percentage-point advantage in favor of African
American parents. Similar results are found in Table 5 for aprental
attendance at school events.
Again, I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I am saying that before people jump on the bash Black culture band wagon, get an idea of what you're speaking about. Is it "culture" or one on one envy?
And why doesn't the "sterotype threat" idea get more examination? After all, people swooned when George W. Bush used "bigotry of low expectations" and it's the same thing under a different name.
Finally, solid research on "acting white"
Dr. Robert Brown sent me this.
The kicker:
Race-related pressure to avoid or disparage academic challenges did not exist at the elementary grades, the research showed. Rather, researchers found that adolescents in North Carolina harbor a general sentiment against high academic achievement, regardless of race. Researchers documented race-related oppositional attitudes at only one of 11 schools where they interviewed students."Our explanation for this finding centers on the extent to which 'rich' white students were overrepresented in rigorous courses and programs, a situation that breeds animosity and resentment among the many toward the privileged few," Darity said.
The research suggests that animosity toward high-achieving students - regardless of race - grows over time and develops from a general concern among elementary-age students about arrogance to a more focused concern among adolescents about academic inequities between status groups.
There are a few other people working on this subject. A sister at Harvard is working fervently on a book coming out with Oxford soon...but this is good work. Makes sense, appears to be using sound methodology. Got to get my hands on the article though.
October 04, 2004
The Price of Hiphop
I saw the hiphop documentary on VH1. Though I think they may have overplayed the scenes of desolation--but they always do when it comes to hiphop. But overall i thought they got it right with the little bit of time they had. What stood out to me though were three images--DJ AJ's grill, DMC's throat, and Mike D.
What's the Arabic word for Liberator?
The crux of the matter:
In 2002, only six undergraduates in the entire United States earned degrees in Arabic language.
As a result over 100,000 hours of "terrorist related" tapes from the Arab world have yet to be translated. I've already noted that the vast majority of soldiers in Iraq don't speak the language. How can we possibly be viewed as anything other than occupiers if we don't even know how to say "freedom" in Arabic? This astounds me.
October 03, 2004
Black Farmer: The Promised Land
This appeared in The Washington Post. It's a story about a Black farmer who is part of the FDA discrimination case.
This story has a lot woven into it. It's a good read.
It has what, I think, most Blacks know about and do every day: persevere. Here's a man, facing some serious odds and family troubles, but still he keeps going.
At first, I thought he just over extended himself. And, in fact, he did. But he kept on going. His drive is what is familiar to me.
Some may say, "This is an example of not letting discrimination stand in your way." To that I say, most Blacks do that and by saying what you did, you demonstrate how LITTLE you think of Blacks, in general.
October 02, 2004
The Burden of Acting White
I number of times, I've referenced a study called "The Burden of Acting White" by Phillip Cook and Jens Ludwig.
I scanned it in and placed it on a personal website that I have. But I now see it's the Brookings Institution, so I'll point the link there.
The hat tip goes to Faheem (http://blackintrospection.blogspot.com) for the link. I've never been able to find it via Google.
More later. I have to live the real life...
Who will frito workers vote for?
When I was growing up in and outside of Detroit, we used to drive past a Frito Lay plant going up and down I-94. I could literally smell the chips as I drove by. No more.
Now even though Allen Park was on the way to the city, in all my years I'd only met one person from there. Allen Park has got to be well over 70% white unless I really miss my mark. Working class, blue-collar town. Probably heavily catholic, and mostly ethnic white.
Of course for me it is easy to see why they lost their jobs, and who they should vote for in this election. While the President takes more credit (and more blame) for the economy than he probably should, his policies do have an effect. But what happens when the local context is so shaped by racial segregation? We know the answer to this one.
I would be surprised if Kerry gets more than 40% here. But I may be underestimating the power of the unions there.
October 01, 2004
Another Wiley moment.
Read this piece on Bonds.
Then read this one.
(Real quick. Yes I'm a political scientist. Yes I can talk about the debate. But it is pretty clear to me that one candidate looked like he had a firm grasp of the issues. And another candidate was more interested in projecting strength and focusing on platitudes. If you don't know which one is which...then maybe you shouldn't be voting.)
So back to Bonds.
In both cases the columnists are grappling with a historical fact. Bonds isn't loved by the press corps. At all. And he won't ever be...until he's dead. Then people will probably come out of the woodworks praising his gruff shell that hid a heart of gold.
But look at the very different pieces.
Damn I don't want to just attribute it to race, because that perspective ignores Wiley's greatness, and it diminishes Bayless' marked LACK of greatness. If it was all just a matter of race, then Bayless Ric Bucher and the rest of them can just hang it up because they'll never get the black bodies they routinely find themselves writing about. And in their stead we'd hire every black head with skills at NBA Live.
BUT....
Just look at the pieces. You tell ME why in the hell the greatest baseball player that probably ever lived should have to kiss the ass of a Jim Rome just BECAUSE.
Man I wish Ralph were still here.