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3/19/8 are never
going to let us grow up!
(items in blue are 3/21/8
additions)
The past several days have been very
thought-provoking. We had a Black power couple check out in a tragically
permanent manner but may have left a legacy that will bring down the ODB's house
of cards (see
The Shaws' Shady Dealings
by Jim Schutze, DallasObserver.com, 3/18/8). We have a presidential
candidate with a White mother and a Black mentor/preacher who has had his race
card trumped. We have a third-rate ambulance chaser with perpetual
political ambitions making a joke of himself, as usual. And, who is better
for any of this?
Being an aging Baby Boomer is tough enough, but each day the news has a touch of
d??vu. The old "the more things change ..." comes to mind. The
problem is, things aren't changing, and things are not staying the same --
things are getting worse. Things related to race relations, that is.
In the 80's, we had council members Diane Ragsdale and Al Lipscomb. Old Al
played the race card whenever he found it convenient or expedient. I knew
Diane Ragsdale, and more often than not, she was on the right side of most
issues. She was available to White community leaders, and was a solid vote
for neighborhood issues. Still, she will always be remembered for that
horrible day when she lost control and screamed at a White woman, repeatedly
calling the woman a racist. Three police officers were killed within a few
days, beginning with a Black officer working part-time as a security guard at an
apartment complex. The last officer murdered was a White officer killed by
a street bum outside the McDonald Downtown, who executed the officer in front of
a bunch of thugs who encouraged him to shoot. To say tensions were high
would not begin to describe the times.
This little history lesson was to compare the difference between Diane Ragsdale
and Al Lipscomb. Al Lipscomb played the race card almost every week, but
only to further the plans of his ODB keepers. He always supported
developers and turned every zoning case into a racial issue. If a group
opposed a zoning case, they were branded as racists who were trying to keep poor
people down and jobless. Outrageous stuff so farfetched, it was hard to
make a response. Diane seldom joined him in that game.
The ODB loved and used Al Lipscomb. He was more than happy to play the
Joker for them. He was more than happy to sell out Dallas citizens and
businesses if it was what his keepers wanted. Al Lipscomb was a
professional racist, who never intended to do anything but maintain the status
quo and benefit himself.
I disagree with some of Jim Schutze's premise in
The Shaws' Shady Dealings.
He doesn't say the Mayor directed any contracts to Willis Johnson or Lynn
Flint-Shaw for distribution. He really can't say that because no Dallas
Mayor has the power to do that. Lynn Flint-Shaw campaigned hard to keep
our "Weak Mayor/Council Manager" system. Of course, the Mayor can pressure
the City Manager, who can pressure her Dept. Heads, who can pressure their
subordinates, etc., etc., etc. Somewhere down that food chain, someone is
going to leak to the press. There are already rumors that Dept. Heads are
being pressured to find "consulting" work for an Hispanic individual whose
success rate is hardly laudable.
Jim Schutze did not find it objectionable that Councilwoman Angela Hunt would
lead the charge to remove an aviator like Jan Collmer from the DFW Board to be
replaced by lawyer Forrest Smith because Forrest Smith was expected to get more
vendor contracts for minority applicants. Forrest Smith has no aviation
experience. Jan Collmer has years of aviation and DFW experience. He
was always been color blind in voting for/against vendor leases and construction
contracts at DFW. No one can say otherwise. Yet, Councilwoman Hunt
wanted him gone for political reasons, not for merit. What is the difference in
assigning vendor leases at DFW Airport to minorities on a racial quota basis,
not on a merit basis to Lynn's "Inner Circle" scheme to get contracts assigned
to her preferred contractors? Neither system is fair.
Neither Mayor Leppert or Councilwoman Hunt look good in this, but neither is
worse than the other. Both acted politically -- they are politicians.
Bad and corrupt stuff always happens when you try to force "fair" and "equal"
and "quotas". Government contracts should be based solely on experience
and cost. If a contractor's bid is low, but his experience or reputation
is inadequate, then he/she is probably not going to finish the project at the
price in the bid. Will we ever get back to merit and experience and cost
effective in handing out government projects? Not likely.
I will be opposing the DISD 2008 Bond Package because our current Superintendent
and Board of Trustees have proved themselves to be unreliable in handling our
tax dollars. This and the Trinity Project are just a giant treasure hunt
for a bunch of connected construction companies to make millions and/or
billions, when you and I as property owners are stuck with high property taxes
and low quality city services.
Dallas is not alone in having a handful of race-baiters boost their own standing
by keeping friction between different racial groups. Race-baiters would be
up an anonymous creek without a log if they did not have a deck of race cards to
play.
If you live in a fringe neighborhood, you have a day labor gathering nearby.
The NE corner of Royal and Dennis is one of those gathering places. You
must be ready to hit your brakes because the car in front of you might just stop
in the middle of the street to negotiate with a mob of day laborers, who run
into the street from both sides. Lewisville has tried to deal with a
similar problem:
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LEWISVILLE ? Traffic problems caused by day laborers who go onto the street seeking employment have forced police officials to use plainclothes officers to try to halt the practice, authorities say.
But the undercover operation ? now in its sixth month ? has caused anxiety among some workers who fear that the police effort may actually be an attempt to catch illegal immigrants.
"This is supposed to be a humanitarian country, a land of union and freedom," said Jos?Rodr?uez, who gathers with dozens of other laborers each day at Huffines Plaza in hopes of being hired by passing contractors. "But you go out in fear, and you don't know if you'll make it back home. That's not freedom."
Police say they are simply concerned about safety, not illegal immigration. They say laborers block traffic at Interstate 35E and State Highway 121 when they rush out into the street to meet would-be employers.
"Some [laborers] are not happy with the operation," Lewisville police Capt. Kevin Deaver said Tuesday. "We would hope they would realize that we're also doing this for their safety.
"We're not enforcing immigration, we're just contacting the ones that are breaking the city ordinance and the state law," he added. "Whenever they're in the plaza, we never have contact with them."
... Those who can't provide identification are arrested, Capt. Deaver said. Of the 10 who have been arrested, seven claimed Mexico and three claimed Guatemala as their countries of origin, he said.
Capt. Deaver said none of the people arrested or cited in the operations has been transferred to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
... Dallas lawyer Domingo Garc? said he and others are considering suing the city for racial profiling. He said they will find out if the law that prohibits job searching in the streets targets Hispanics.
"That law is unconstitutional," Mr. Garc? said. ...
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Thursday night, NBC5 ran the
same story, but poor old Domingo got replaced by Carlos Quintanilla, who also
said it was "unconstitutional" for Lewisville PD to arrest people for running
out into traffic. I have no idea what Carlos Quintanilla does for a
living, but I am very confident neither he nor Domingo Garcia are constitutional
lawyers.
If people suddenly started to get along and behave like grownups in a color
blind world, what would Domingo or Carlos do with themselves?
It's not just local yokels like the constitutional twins who have a financial
and power stake in keeping racial conflict on the front burner. We have a
presidential candidate whose campaign is in trouble because his minister and
former campaign consultant has a nasty and racist mouth. If you have not
heard the preacher's comments, you need to listen to them for yourself. If
you have heard the comments and say they were taken out of context, you need to
listen to yourself. Until very recently, the stuff being played on TV and
radio could be purchased from Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church. The preacher
was proud of his messages. You tell me where in all that stuff is there an
opportunity for racial reconciliation? Rev. Wright is another professional
racist.
So, where do Lynn and Rufus Shaw fit into all this professional racism? I
don't think they do. Rufus was as quick to cut up a Black public figure as
anyone else. They may have been racial opportunists.
Mostly, they were two Black people who wanted a piece of the city pie
and were willing to trade on their minority status to get their slice.
As her pictures indicate, Lynn had a very "White" complexion, even to her
freckles. So, Lynn probably had as much "White" heritage as "Black".
My family background is mostly Dutch/German, but my maternal grandmother had
Cherokee ancestors in her family tree. Most of my maternal cousins and
relatives are tall and blonde, but a few of us are short like my grandmother -
doesn't make me Cherokee.
Barak Obama's mother was White, and his White grandmother took care of him.
So, why is he considered Black?
Tiger Woods has so many different heritages working in him he's a walking United
Nations. His father was mixed heritage and his mother is Asian. So,
why is he considered Black and not Asian? He just goes out and does what
he does better than anyone, with no excuses and with lots of hard work. He
is married to a beautiful blonde, and they have a baby girl. That baby is
less Black than she is everything else, so what is she?
Why are we still labeling people like this in 2008? Why do we have Black
and Hispanic and Asian Chambers of Commerce? Why do we have racial quotas
on our city boards and commissions?
Wednesday, a friend was sworn in as a new US citizen. I hired him away
from the city a few years ago, and he is a great asset to our firm.
Sitting there during the procedure, I looked around the room. The majority
of the new citizens were Hispanic, but their complexions and appearances were
dramatically varied. Everyone was so happy. I got all mushy and had
to fight back some tears. I was proud of my friend, proud to be there and
proud of this country.
We must get away from the professional racists who would keep us divided.
They use the race card to lower expectations. The professional racists
don't believe in equality. They don't believe everyone can obey our laws
and conduct themselves as responsible adults.
The professional racists think we should condone bad behavior and not expect
correction.
A few years ago, Bill Cosby was absolutely crucified for asking Black mothers
and fathers to be parents and telling Black young people they should be speaking
English without trash vulgarity. This was from a man whose son was
murdered by a White thug. He wanted results, not excuses.
Professional racists do not believe that people of color can behave responsibly.
Professional racists want to maintain a victim mentality among people of color.
I may be crazy, but I think the days are numbered for the professional racists.
The rest of us are tired of their act.
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