MLK DAY: Is Our Children Learning?

Nobody loves MLK more than I.
In fact, I've always regarded him as the greatest American hero.
Standing up to oppression, employing Gandhi-style passive resistance tactics and leading his people to the promised land like an American Moses. He was truly a great man.
Does this mean we should take the day off? Absolutely not.

MLK stood for hard work, a sound education, and character building. None of these things can be achieved when we play hookie.
Instead, students and workers are forced to focus on yet another day off --after a slew of days off-- all-the-while drowning in consumerism just like they did during the holiday season.
It's deplorable, destructive and wrong.

In Texas, schools are closed for over two weeks during Christmas and New Years. Parents, single moms, single dads, caregivers, whatever... are forced to deal with the hurdles of watching their children AND expected to work full time too. (Most Texas Businesses Don't Take Off) Then, we finally get a break when school resumes so our children can get back on track. You see, when you have kids you MUST have a schedule. Routine is everything to keep your child balanced and your sanity intact. Taking another day off for shopping at the mall or spending cash at the arcades and bowling alley may not be what the masses need right now.

Of all the states that take MLK Day off, Texas deserves it the least. With the highest dropout rate in the nation, the greatest number of teen pregnancies, the lowest test scores, the most uninsured kids, the most children living in poverty, the leader in child hunger, the highest reported child deaths, Texas is the worst state to live in as a child. Not to mention Texas' revisionist history books that are infecting the schools like a disease.

Perhaps Texas school children should take the day to learn something. They should strive to stay on track at school, and learn some real history about MLK. They could invite local leaders to speak, hold workshops on equal rights, learn the truth about LBJ and the 1960's, go to a museum... I mean my God, there's so much more to do than go to a movie and shop. The possibilities are endless.

If you want to celebrate MLK then do it at school, at work, in your actions within your community. How about a day off in February instead? (That's Black History Month) Why January?? Why is it that right after the holidays we require another day off??? Keep your goofy parade. No child ever learned anything from a parade except that maybe they are afraid of large crowds...and they should be.

Going Viral In Texas

It's been a weird week in my hometown of Big D. Perhaps this week its should be called Big E.
I like it, I was compelled to comment about it. Ebola. Its right up the Lane. In my family hospital. Across from my favorite diner. Down the street from my child's school. Where I work and live has become it's infected playground. Why here? What happened? When will we learn?

The Satellite trucks are lining Skillman Ave. Anderson Cooper is here in the village. People are freaked out by our very own NBC News 5... They don't just break the news...They MAKE the news...

While this is a tragedy that angers me and scares me (it doesn't scare me) It does afford me with the opportunity to see how our betters react in a crisis. Our "leadership."
So far other than Dallas Mayor, Mike Rawlings, there hasn't been any Texas leader who's acted in a professionally human manner.
Rick Perry is MIA. I mean seriously. This guy is terrible.
The goobernatorial candidates are far, far, far away... Employing their supersecret "hide from the public til the election" campaign strategy. I completely expect it out of Mr Abbott. He doesn't give a damn about those people or anybody else who isn't feeding his war chest. Wendy Davis will come around when she's forced to, but she really doesn't have to. She will carry Dallas County handily and why risk getting infected? Stay in the valley and get those folks registered I say. That's where your votes are anyway...
But the other band of freaks we call the Texas GOP...With them... The silence is deafening.

Where are our leaders???

Jed Hensnarling. Ted Cruz. John Corndog. John Carter. Pete Sessions. On and On and On...
Hell, George W. Bush lives right across the road. Do you know where he is? Ice fishing with Rick Perry and Vladamir Putin. He don't care!

I Tell U What:
Not only will you hear from these petulant children, stringently screaming if there's a crisis that they can pin on Obama. (Might I remind you that the Texas GOP has waged a war against this President and obstructed Congress for 6 years now). They've demonized the minority of democrats here in Texas, slammed and attacked the president in such a disrespectful manner it makes me think my home state is now run by carpetbaggers. --Southern gentlemen are a dying breed.-- And these cretins today in Austin do it with the twinkle in their eye of small child who's just one-upped you. So innocent in their evil it hurts.

Hey TEXAS, here's an idea! Let's fight against decent healthcare and education for our citizens in the name of states rights and party lines, then, when healthcare fails, education fails, fertilizer explosions, and droughts happen we will blame the federal government for not taking care of us properly.
It's what I like to call a "Win Win."
It's the kind of professional hypocrisy Ive come to expect from this Rovian bunch of political hacks. These Teabagger Saints. These dastardly cowards of the gerrymandered districts they represent.
You see...I remember such things.
Personally, It stupefies me that so many have so short a memory... or rather... so selective of one...

Bottom line: If you don't approve of the CDC or the president... That's okay.
In the words of Rick Perry..."Secede."
Otherwise spare us the talk talk.
It's an election year and nobody cares. Nobody shows up at the polls in midterms. However, if you're registered and paying attention... Ebola has handed Texans the biggest reason to date as to why the state of Texas needs NEW leadership. Go Viral Texas! GO VOTE WENDY DAVIS and straight ticket democrat! Early voting begins in 5 days. Don't delay. Unless you're quarantined of course.

Operation Snowball

Living in Texas as a progressive can be frustrating at its best. Being a 4th or 5th generation Texan who remembers when Texas was truly a 'Great State' can be downright debilitating. Today's Texas boasts a 'Fake Great State' mentality that hides itself behind big business and even bigger money; none of which helps the people much. Our once beloved state has become a haven of right-winged extremists armed to the teeth as they wait in line for their anti-depressants at the local drug store. A lunatic fringe of self righteous indignation whereby chest pounding, self-made, trust fund babies can scream "get a job you lazy poor people!" Where those born into privilege can hide out and spew their "I pulled myself up by my bootstraps," horse manure. In layman's terms, Texas is a joke.


Don't believe me? Just take a look at our governor...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) raised eyebrows Wednesday at an event in San Francisco when he drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism.

An audience member asked Perry about the Texas Republican Party's recent endorsement of "reparative therapy" for gays during the governor's appearance before the Commonwealth Club of California, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Perry responded that he didn't know whether the therapy worked.
Perry was then asked whether he believes homosexuality is a disorder.
"Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that," he responded, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle. "I may have the genetic coding that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way."
That response "drew a murmur of disbelief" from an audience that included many Perry supporters, according to the Chronicle.
Perry made a similar comparison in his 2008 book "On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For." He wrote that even if homosexuality, though it may be genetic, was still an "active choice" akin to an alcoholic choosing to drink.

I never though I'd say this, but I'm starting to miss Kay Bailey Hutchison. Enter newly-crowned American citizen, Ted Cruz:

“Eric Cantor is a good man, but last night, voters in Virginia made D.C. listen loud and clear. This election should be a reminder to all in Congress — Republicans and Democrats alike — that the conservative base is alive and well, and the American people will hold us all accountable. Each of us needs to do what we said we would do and tell the truth,” Cruz said.

 'Tell the truth Ted' they call him.

Yes, because nothing screams of the TRUTH like Ted Cruz...
Let me help you out there Teddy Boy, Eric Cantor is NOT a good man. That's a blatant lie. He IS a first class obstructionist who lost his seat because the voters in his party's primary felt like he wasn't doing enough to stop the evil black Muslim.  You know, Ted... He didn't HATE enough. You should have taught him how to HATE better, Ted... But I digress...

I could go on all day giving examples of Texas' ineptitude, but the bottom line question is: How does a sane person live in Texas?

We play along and we don't worry about it because it just doesn't matter anymore. Texas is woefully lost, and it always will be. We scream of hope and change in the form of Wendy Davis; who is bright, and clean, and articulate... but will never serve. She'll never serve because she's great. She's waaaaaaay too great. Too great for a not-so-great state.

You see, making fun of the Texas GOP and their platform is like bullying a kid with Downs. It's too easy and makes you feel horrible afterwards. That's why I voted in this year's Republican Primary.
I called it, Operation Snowball.

 The state’s Republican Party has adopted into its 2014 platform a passage endorsing the practice, which, as marketed by the rapidly shrinking “ex-gay” movement, seeks to “convert” homosexuals into heterosexuals. The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and a host of other professional bodies have condemned reparative therapy as damaging to the health of those people unfortunate enough to be subjected to its quack treatment regimens, which range from repeatedly beating a pillow with a tennis racket to “prolonged hugs” intended to let the recipient “feel the strength of another man”—in a totally non-sexual manner, of course.

 I voted for every Tea Party extremist I could find on the ballot. Why? I want to see how far down the rabbit hole Texas can go. I'm tired of picking on these afflicted, lost souls. There's no business in it for me. Maybe one of them will hook me up with some good old-fashioned Crony Capitalism? Lord knows I could use it.

Wendy Davis Gets It

Standing for something these days gets you noticed.
Wendy Davis is a lady who stands her ground and fights like hell for what she wants.
SO it's no wonder she's getting noticed by some wealthy, out-of-state fans.
Compared to her opponent, she's definitely got the edge when it comes to bringing in high dough from places OTHER than Texas.

Padner,
Let me tell u what,
That's just peachy with me.:)

Kevin Diaz @ the Houston Chronicle breaks it all down here:

 Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Republican nominee, has far outraised Davis so far. But in a sign of her national profile, Davis has raised three times the amount of money from outside Texas.

According to a Houston Chronicle analysis, Davis’ $3.8 million in out-of-state contributions amount to about a quarter of her near $15 million take so far. That’s in stark contrast to Abbott, who has hauled in about $1.2 million out-of-state, or just 5 percent of his $22 million total.

Republicans cry foul about outside liberal forces in the Davis campaign, while Democrats complain about the outsized influence of entrenched Texas business interests that comprise Abbott’s top financial backers.
In fact, a close look at the money chase, and the people behind it, lays bare the cross-currents of geography, money and politics playing out across the nation as it suddenly sees Davis – and Texas – in play.

Democrats say Davis doesn’t need to win to put Texas back on the national political map. She just needs to do well enough to put a lighter hue on the state’s deep red image. It’s that image that has given legs to Davis’ story of defiance against new GOP abortion restrictions.

 I'd like to invite you to click the link above and read further about Greg Abbott's backers. It's enough to keep you awake at night wondering what the hell it's all about? Why the hell are we even here?

As for Wendy, she's alive, and wide awake to her situation it seems.
I see in her, a one-woman-show, a transformed national image of what it means to be from Texas. To be a strong lady from Texas. Yes Texas, the original progressive state. 

Melees Ya Flight 370

We'll Never Know The Truth

The morning I woke up to the news of the plane's "disappearance," I knew we'd never know the truth.
You see, without evidence -or sometimes even with evidence- we're all left to rely on the systematic, sardonic, Pravda-like devices of our worldly, corporate conservative, media masters.

I call bullshit.

Now the media is focusing on 'pilot suicide' as the determining factor in the crash.

Still no plane.

However, the "Masters" are investigating the pilots houses and tossing them for clues.
Clues we may never fully understand, but will be fed to us thru feeding tubes in some sort of soylent green-type milk.

CNN has created a virtual world in which one can put themselves on board the doomed flight.

Still no plane.

Stay tuned!
You'll hear words like:

Suicide.
Radical.
Political.
Deliberate.
Skilled.
Authorities.


Here are some words you won't hear:

Boeing.
Stolen Passports.
Terrorists.
Shoe Bombs.
Rescue.
Safety.
Systems Failure.
Military Radar.

STILL NO PLANE.

My heart and my sincere well wishes are with the families of those gone missing and the innocent who SEEM to have perished.

Either way, I can't help but feel of twinge of James Bond villainy going on here.

Wouldn't it be cool if they were all rescued form a giant volcano fortress?

Yeah, that would be pretty neat.

Early Voting For Big D

Alright folks, here we go with some Big D early voting totals in the Party Primary Election.
With two days left for early voting, the results are less than stellar; especially when you consider how much some of you bitch and moan about government.

Total number of registered voters in Dallas: 1,174,398 (that's pretty good)
Total number of early votes for R Primary: 31,817
Total number of early votes for D Primary: 22,699 (these numbers are down due to Voter ID laws)
Total Early Votes: 54,516 out of almost 2 MILLION voters.
We still need to get to election day, but these numbers stink.

Those of you who don't vote, I'd kindly like to invite y'all to STFU...

Remember, if you don't vote, The Big Bad Obama is coming for you.
So bend over and spread them wide, you apathetic chattel.

Ted Cruz Crushes Mexican Kingpin

In case you missed it...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's most wanted man, drug cartel kingpin Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, was captured on Saturday with help from U.S. agencies in a major victory for the government in a long, brutal drugs war.
Guzman, known as "El Chapo" (Shorty) in Spanish, has long run Mexico's infamous Sinaloa Cartel. Over the past decade, he has emerged as one of the world's most powerful organized crime bosses.

Texan Ted Cruz knows that his borders have been threatened by murderous drug cartels like this scum for far too long...
Today was a monumental step towards a secure border, and a terrific achievement for both Mexican and US authorities alike...

Texan Ted Cruz don't give a hoot.

He still hate Obama.
He still hate the Fed.
He still play on fears of border insecurity.

Sometimes I ask myself,

What will please Texan Ted Cruz???

*Cut to Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin covered in Reddi-Whip and sucking each others toes*

Okay, Okay, I got it now...

They like to fuck...us over.