"Email shows plan in Huntsville City Council" District 1 Race

Alabama Political Reporter has obtained an email in which members of a special interest group appear to openly discuss how they hope to influence the Huntsville City Council in return for their organization’s campaign donations.

The author of the email writes, “If Devyn wins, that balance of power will definitely shift, and our mayor/council leadership teams in both Huntsville and Madison could be the strongest in years. We need to all be very active in making that happen by reaching out to everyone we know in Huntsville District 1.”

Mission Accomplished

EYE pray for the residents of District 1.  Did they got rid of one misrepresentative, only to gain another one?   This is yet another example of those who don't live in District 1 deciding who represents those who do.

RedEye, tiptoeing away from the computer to go pray for District 1.....

This is what #WhitePrivilege looks like in one picture

 

Huntsville is now fair game for all protesters, anywhere and anytime... Let's call it the Dale Jackson Precedent. #ShutItDownHSV
— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) December 9, 2014

Mad because Oakwood University students organized a peaceful demonstration because they want to be treated like human beings, local radio host Dale Jackson (pictured above taking a selfie), decided to mock the absurdity of die- protest orchestrated by America’s grievance industry, with a one man protest, enabled by the City of Huntsville, the Huntsville Police Department, the media, and indirectly, Huntsville/Madison County taxpayers.

The right way to protest according to Dale Jackson

“There is a right way to protest and a wrong way to protest. Laying down in the middle of the road is the wrong way and shame on the politicians who are afraid to stand up and tell them ‘no.'”
That is the point Huntsville conservative talk radio personality Dale Jackson says he wanted to get across on Monday when he staged a one-man protest, lying down in the middle of the street blocking traffic on one of Huntsville’s busiest thoroughfares as local residents tried to make their way home from work.
The genesis of Jackson’s idea came when word started to spread on social media that several Huntsville residents were planning a demonstration they had dubbed “Shut it Down Huntsville.” Their plan to was to start in the parking lot of the Oakwood University Church and march up University Drive, “blocking all traffic in protest.”
The protest mirrored many others taking place around the country in the wake of the Michael Brown and Eric Garner deaths and subsequent grand jury decisions.

Let's backup. Their plan was to start in the parking lot of the Oakwood University Church and march up University Drive, “blocking all traffic in protest.” When Dale Jackson got wind of this, he and his posse cranked up a  they don't have a permit whine on social media.

RT @61Webhead: @TheDaleJackson @RedEyesPage did these protesters obtain a permit to block off University Dr? // DJ: Af 4PM? On Friday? No.
— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) December 5, 2014

The social media whine was picked up by the mainstream media, which resulted in Oakwood students being urged to not break traffic laws by the University President, and the city councilman who represents the district.

Huntsville City Councilman Will Culver said Huntsville police hope to prevent a planned Friday afternoon protest march from spilling into busy University Drive.
Culver, whose council district includes University Drive as well as Oakwood University where the 4:30 p.m. march is starting, said Huntsville Police Chief Lewis Morris has identified "a few areas where people can stand alongside University Drive and peacefully protest."

Did you get that last sentence?  An area was identified where people can stand alongside (not to be confused with in the middle of) University Drive.

 The police had hoped the protestors would be satisfied staging their "die in" - four and a half minutes laying in the road to simulate the four and a half hours Michael Brown's body lay in the street in Ferguson, Mo. - on less busy Wynn Drive.

There's just one hitch, no one could see the die-in  on "less busy Wynn Drive" which kind of defeats the purpose of the protest.

But when protestors asked if they could have four and a half minutes to lie down on University, Police Chief Lewis Morris said yes. Police had the people and equipment in place to stop traffic, it would only take a few minutes, and it would avoid unnecessary confrontation.

Some have made an issue of the protestors not having a permit to do what they did. Morris pointed out that he signs the permits, he was on the scene, and he decided to grant the protestors' request. It wasn't on paper, but it was within his authority to make a spot decision.

Morris could have refused. He could have been indignant and stuck to the letter of the law.
Instead, he was smart, thoughtful and tolerant.

Which goes to show no good deed goes unpunished.  Under the guise of concern for law enforcement,  Dale Jackson forced HPD to provide him with a seven police car escort and block off busy streets during rush hour for a tax payer funded PR stunt.

Oh well, at least he didn't use the official Alabama State Seal on a memo telling democrats to vote the day after the election again.

Note to future protestors, the next time you want to protest, go to city hall and request a permit. They will be more than happy to oblige you.  If not, remind them of the Dale Jackson precedent pictured above.

Snertly sums it up:

While #ShutItDownHSV was performed to draw attention to Ferguson and similar issues, Dale Jackson's stunt is just to draw attention to Dale Jackson.
I'm glad Mr Jackson got his 120 seconds in the lime light, but it's absurd for him to equate laying alone on a public road stroking his ego with a social protest and demonstration involving over a hundred people..

BOO!

- Elisa Ferrell took the District 3 seat on the Huntsville school board Tuesday night with 54 percent, or 2,668, of the votes, completing the changes that will usher in a 60 percent new school board next month.
The longtime PTA mom and volunteer beat out tax accountant Anson Knowles, who earned 46 percent (2,260 votes), to replace Jennie Robinson as south Huntsville's board representative. Robinson on Tuesday won the District 3 seat on the Huntsville City Council.
Ferrell will be sworn in on Nov. 3 along with Beth Wilder, who will replace David Blair in District 2, and Walker McGinnis, who will replace Topper Birney in District 4.

 

After electing Jennie Robinson to the Huntsville City school board three times, south Huntsville is now sending her to the Huntsville city council.
Robinson defeated Walt Hennessee on Tuesday night to win the runoff for the District 3 seat on the city council.
Another difference-maker in the campaign, Hennessee said, was a mailing Robinson sent out to residents in south Huntsville linking him with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Parker Griffith.
The mailing recited Hennessee's history in working on past Griffith campaigns and that Griffith made a $2,000 campaign contribution to Hennessee, according to Hennessee.
"The big thing, the 800-pound gorilla, was the two peas in a pod mailing that went out that basically said that Parker Griffith was the one who showed me how to manipulate data and deceive the public," Hennessee said. "When I saw that in the mail, that was like a kick in the stomach. I would never do anything like that. For somebody to even think that I would was just disgusting.

North Huntsville students and taxpayers may as well bend over and prepare for the high heel pumps.......

#hsvboe Standing in the front door by going around to the back door.

Former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace standing in the front door of the University of Alabama June 11, 1963

There is an old saying  "If you can't get in through the front door then go around to the back door", which is exactly what Huntsville City Schools is doing, under the capable control and command of retired Colonel, turned superintendent,    Dr. Casey WARdynski in his continued quest to stand in the front door of the Huntsville City Schools.

After his presentation, the Board of Education authorized Wardynski to file the Motion for Approval of his plan. The City of Huntsville is therefore fighting the Department of Justice in court over which plan should be adopted. This motion will be decided by the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Northeastern Division. You may download the motion here.
There was no discussion of how much this litigation might cost during the board meeting. And they answered no questions from the members of the public attending Thursday’s meeting.  Our litigation happy superintendent and board are taking us into more legal action.

Remember back in June when  U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala dropped the hammer on Huntsville City Schools, saying she could find no evidence they weren't operating a dual school system?

The judge ruled late today in Huntsville's months-long desegregation dispute, clearing the way for federal attorneys to roll up their sleeves, dig deeper and and stay longer.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala didn't approve the city's plan to redraw school zones.
And she didn't approve the Justice Department's plan.
Instead, she appointed Chief Magistrate Judge John Ott to oversee months of mediation between the two as they examine all aspects of racial disparities across Huntsville City Schools.
She also called for appointment of a Special Master to oversee the court's ongoing fact-finding in the case.

Key words:
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala didn't approve the city's plan to redraw school zones.
And she didn't approve the Justice Department's plan.

So how does HCS go around to the back door?  They rename existing schools after schools that haven't been built yet, and Viola!  Back door open.

The go-to phrases at Ronald E. McNair Junior High's first open house Thursday night was "Team McNair" and "Go Wildcats."

More than 200 parents, students, faculty and staff attended the event for the newly formed school, which combines students from Davis Hills and Ed White middle schools. The school will be located on the Davis Hills campus until the new facility on Pulaski Pike opens in 2016.

All vestiges of Davis Hills are gone, from its name to its color scheme to its mascot. In its place is the McNair Wildcat, prominently displayed throughout the school, and the new school colors of royal blue, black and white.

My sources tell me the facility on Pulaski Pike, you know, the site located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry,  has some ahem issues and it's become the Jemison/McNair Mud project.

THE LAND on Pulaski is>> A MARSH LAND DEVELOPMENT. The dirt is in piles as a future barrier, but the graded soil will not dry! It's going to cost an additional $4 Million Dollars to correct the foundational process of that development. It would have been better to buy a few homes near JOJ and expand the property requirement (acreage wise) and build a whole new school on the existing property then to spend undue dollars on the base of this project.

In the meantime the media keeps praising failure and calling it a success.

As they have repeatedly demonstrated, the Editorial Board of The Huntsville Times knows who they need to suck up to in this town, truth be damned.
On Thursday, September 11, 2014, the editorial board published an opinion entitled, “Transition from Textbooks to Digital Tools, as Led by Huntsville Schools, is Proper Path,” which joined in the chorus started by Dr. Wardynski, supported by Education Secretary Arne Duncan (in town on Tuesday on the public dime for meetings that excluded the public), that the only way forward in education is to continue down the failed pathway of the district’s 1:1 Digital Initiative.

 Some of us tried to tell some of y'all this superintendent would turn this process into a fraud and a farce.

In light of the blatant disregard Dr. Wardynski has for parents, students and citizens concerning transparency as evident in the comments made by Federal Judge Haikala: "The Court strongly suspects that the district has chosen not to share many of the reasons for the choices that it made as it shaped its student assignment plan."
In light of the hostile working environment that Dr. Wardynski has created which has resulted in at least 735 people choosing to leave employment with the district since August 2011;
In light of the declining standards of education that we are seeing in our finest schools as the district transitions to teaching nearly exclusively mathematics and English Language Arts;
We the undersigned respectfully request that the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education request the resignation of Dr. Casey Wardynski as superintendent effective immediately.

Can you hear us now?

#hsvboe

"Environmental Expert" tells parents the air is safe at site for the new north Huntsville middle/high school, go back to sleep

Let's recap:

The city of Huntsville is standing by their assertion the air is "safe to breathe" at the location of the new, illegally named, Ronald McNair Middle / Mae Jemison High School despite it's close proximity to an active rock quarry.

Mayor Tommy Battle and the city's air quality chief, Danny Shea, both say the amount of particulate matter in the air on Pulaski Pike is far below levels considered potentially harmful by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The city has an air quality monitoring station next door to the school site; Shea said it measures airborne particulate matter every six days.
The EPA threshold for particulate matter is 150 micrograms per cubic meter.
Shea said 46 micrograms is the highest reading detected by the city on Pulaski Pike in the past five years. The average particulate concentration was 14.8 micrograms in 2009; 17.8 micrograms in 2010; 16.3 micrograms in 2011; 14.9 micrograms in 2012; and 13.5 micrograms in 2013.
The levels are similar at Huntsville's other air quality monitoring stations on Airport Road, South Memorial Parkway and Madison Street downtown.
In a May 27 letter to the mayor, Shea said the city's measurements "demonstrate the absence of substantial adverse air quality impacts from quarry operations at the proposed school site."

That's strange because the current President of the Huntsville City Council was among a very vocal and prominent group of people who protested Vulcan Materials operating an active rock quarry less than two miles from schools in Gurley, Hampton Cove and McMullen Cove in Gurley Mountain.

Other elected officials speaking against the quarry were Mark Russell, president of Huntsville City Council, Madison County District 3 Commissioner Eddie Sisk, state Sen. Paul Sanford, state Sen. Shadrack McGill, state Rep. Wayne Johnson, Gurley Mayor Rob Sentell, Gurley Councilman Robert Wren.
Their concerns addressed environmental quality of Flint River and Hayes Nature Preserve, unsafe traffic with trucks crossing Norfolk Southern Railroad along a curve, heavy trucks sharing roads with school buses, air quality at two nearby schools and a lack of local governmental control of the quarry operation.

The group has asked the city to earmark $250,000 for a health risk assessment study  A study that should have been conducted before the land was purchased, and ground broken.  The  Huntsville City Council voted to spend 3 million dollars to land Alabama's first Cabela's outdoor superstore, and 47 k to hire a firm out of LasVegas to conduct a feasibility study for high speed Internet service,  the least they can do is invest in a health risk assessment before the school is built to make it will be safe for students, faculty, and staff to occupy.  The city is asking concerned citizens to trust the expert,concerned citizens are asking for verification in return for their trust.

"TRUST BUT VERIFY was #Reagan's position w/Former USSR on Nuclear Arms;Why cant US Citizens demand same w/ their Govt?"

" There can be no public discourse"

The problem we all live with — by Norman Rockwell (1894–1978), depicting an incident in the American Civil Rights struggle of the early 1960s, when Ruby Bridges entered first grade on the first day of court-ordered desegregation of New Orleans, Louisiana, public schools (November 14, 1960). Originally published in Look magazine.

 Looks like Colonel Casey Wardynski and the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education have taken a play out of the Chris Christie playbook in their quest for "unitary status".   Despite the fact the Feds said there is no need for secrecy, the #hsvboe is doing all it can to make sure there is no public discourse,  and in their infinite wisdom, the  media is helping them.  We the peeps never know what's going on until the deed is done and they think there is not a darn thing we can do about it.

Case in point, who knew the location of the new J.O.Johnson Middle and High School is .06 miles from an active Rock Quarry?  Meanwhile residents on the other side of the Mountain voiced outrage and desperation at a public meeting last month, saying they feared the blasting, increased heavy truck traffic and defacing of the mountain would damage homes, worsen air pollution, endanger lives and lower property values.
State Rep. Wayne Johnson, R-Ryland, is trying to get a bill passed by the Legislature that would prevent a quarry from operating within five miles of a school in Madison County.

So, if State Representative Wayne Johnson was trying to get a bill passed by the Legislature that would prevent a quarry from operating within five miles of a school in Madison County, why would the Huntsville City Schools Boardof Education, with the approval of  Mark Russell,president of the Huntsville City Council and other elected officials, approve the building of a new school .06 miles from an active quarry?

Other elected officials speaking against the quarry were Mark Russell, president of Huntsville City Council, Madison County District 3 Commissioner Eddie Sisk, state Sen. Paul Sanford, state Sen. Shadrack McGill, state Rep. Wayne Johnson, Gurley Mayor Rob Sentell, Gurley Councilman Robert Wren.
Their concerns addressed environmental quality of Flint River and Hayes Nature Preserve, unsafe traffic with trucks crossing Norfolk Southern Railroad along a curve, heavy trucks sharing roads with school buses, air quality at two nearby schools and a lack of local governmental control of the quarry operation.

What about the air quality at the new J.O. Johnson High School?  What about the blasting?  Would you want your children/grand children attending a school that was located .06 miles from an active rock quarry? The Rock Quarry was there first, it can't be moved, why build a new school that may or not be safe for students, teachers, administrator, and support personnel,  in it's back yard?

What Dr. Robert Bullard, Environmental Justice Movement founder said:

No other community, rich or poor, urban or suburban, black, brown, red, yellow or white should be allowed to become an "environmental sacrifice zone."

Today's Must Reads

ALABAMA CONFIDENTIAL

The miss-education of black/brown/poor students in Huntsville,AL continues

Update~It's Friday the 13th for those of you who get a kick out of that type of stuff

 

 Fri Nov 13, 2009 at 09:24:18 AM CST

  

I don't care if it's Friday the 13th, 2013 or Friday the 13, 2009,  I will always remember Friday the 13th as the unlucky  day my posting privileges were revoked at Left in Alabama,  and the lucky day I was forced to start my own blog.  It wasn't the first time I first time I was banned/booted/censored, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  Para quoting the great poet Langston Hughes  I swear to the Lord I just can't see why Freedom of Speech means everybody but me.

Speaking of Freedom of Speech, here is your laugh out loud for the day...Talk radio host Dale Jackson has the nerve to scold Huntsville City Councilman Will Culver for "attempting to to chill free speech."

Let's recap gist, emphasis mine.

Conservative talk radio host Dale Jackson came to Thursday’s Huntsville City Council meeting with a stern message for Councilman Will Culver.
During a council meeting on Aug. 22, Culver said he may sue Jackson for alleging that Calhoun Community College hired Culver in 2010 for political reasons. Culver, a former Huntsville police officer and chief city magistrate, spent about two years at Calhoun as a criminal justice instructor.
Jackson said a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case, New York Times v. Sullivan, “raises the bar very high” for a public figure to successfully sue a citizen or journalist for libel.
“Asking you questions is allowed, and it should be encouraged,” said Jackson. “You should not be attempting to chill free speech. It’s very important. People have died for that right.”
Jackson said legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant is the only public figure from the state in the last 50 years to successfully sue someone for defamation.
“You guys are public officials; don’t (threaten lawsuits) to people,” he said. “It should never happen again.”

That's right (pun intended), Dale Jackson,  the same person who was not a journalist before he was a journalist, who screens callers for his radio show, and censors African American comments on his blog has the nerve to scold the African American City Councilman about Freedom of Speech.  Oh, OK.   Psst Dale!  Your 15 minutes of fame are up, you may sit all the way down now.

People in the Rocket City are celebrating the largely unsung hero's who integrated the public schools 50 years ago.  And that's fine, but if you walk into any Rocket City School 50 years later the student population will look like it did 50 years ago.  Symbolism is nice, but substance is better.

Speaking of symbolism and substance,  why is everyone is acting like they are surprised the University  Greek system has a little race problem, and that bad old habits of the past are not the same bad old habits of the present?

UA's student newspaper The Crimson White broke the story yesterday, reporting that while students at several sororities wanted to recruit a black student, alumnae and advisers overruled them. 
Alumnae from one sorority threatened to pull funding if they admitted the girl, who students called a stellar candidate with a 4.3 high school GPA and close familial ties to the University. 

Left in Alabama's resident Sorority Girl says it's not segregation by the schools, but by the students themselves.

 AKA... (4.00 / 1)

...is a black sorority.  And while there were member who were hassling the poor black girl who joined our white sorority, I can't say for certain (and in fact I doubt) that this was behavior that was encouraged by the chapter itself.  I can certainly say that the national AKA organization does not condone such.
That's why this isn't going to be easy to crack down on.  The University of Alabama when it was integrated had previously had an official policy of discrimination.  The Greek organizations have no such policy and in fact are very diverse in some chapters (though this is rare).  Plus, there's not exactly a stack of complaints from people who have wanted to cross over into other organizations and feel that they were discriminated against.  And even if there were, you'd have to still be able to show that there were not other factors (GPA, conduct, etc.) that contributed to not being accepted.
Affirmative action scenarios are insulting to all parties and are in fact a polar opposite of the very purpose of the Greek system-- which is to be grouped with similar interests.  If you're bringing in a black girl who plays no sports into a white sorority filled with jocks just because she's black, it's going to be miserable for everyone.
I know there have been issues of racism among some members of sororities and fraternities.  Perhaps it would be best to start there.  I know that those are not actions of the organization itself, but that student is just as much a representative of that organization (as well as the school and any other club he/she belongs to) if he's hanging out of the frat house and yelling racial slurs.  That behavior should be reprimanded by both the school and the fraternity.  And if it is not, then we can safely assume that there's a problem, and the group in question can be addressed by the school.  If it is addressed by the organization involved, I don't see any reason to penalize the group than I would denounce all Muslims because of a terrorist who yelled "God is great!" before he blew himself up.  I know that Alpha Delta Pi had conduct codes and a system set up for dealing with such issues.  And I'm willing to bet that most of the others do as well.

WRONG then. WRONG now. The last paragraph hits the nail on it's head. The purpose of the Greek System for African American is public service, not wanna be jocks and debutantes.  Black Greeks can cite examples of recruiting whites. Can white Greek organizations do the same? NO.  Now if  you're black and can play sports and add to their trophy case that's another story.....

"Alabama is now No. 1 in the country and it is hypocritical to cheer the boys on on Saturday afternoon and lock the sisters out of the sorority on Monday," Jackson said in an interview Friday afternoon. "The school should come down hard on those sororities."

Speaking of the bad habits from the past being the same bad habits of the present, remember when some  people (not to be confused with all) said they were withdrawing their financial support from the Alabama Democratic Party as long as Joe Reed had power?

I'm just saying....

"For those of you who are tired of hearing about racism, imagine how much more tired we are constantly experiencing it." - Barbara Smith

But what if it is hidden racism?

Fist Dap What Would Jack Do

Republicans have been fighting public school integration since before former Governor George C. Wallaces' infamous stand in the school house door.  They are still fighting to keep them there Negroes  and Hispanics out of their schools, today, tomorrow, and probably forever,  if  people of good will continue let them.

 In modern America we believe racism to be the property of the uniquely villainous and morally deformed, the ideology of trolls, gorgons and orcs. We believe this even when we are actually being racist.

My post, The Truth about the ALGOP School Flex Bill, and nothing but the truth , generated the following response  from a member of  Pam's List serve  which I believe illustrates this point.  Emphasis mine with names redacted.

I have a problem with calling a school a failing school. When we say a school is failing, we are saying the teachers are failing, the Principal is failing, the parents are failing,  and the community is failing. If this is the case, any student transferring to a Successful school from a failing school will eventually result into a failing school. Let me say this, I transferred my son and daughter from Xxxxxx High school to  Xxxxxxxxxx High, not to avoid a failing school. The Principal and the teachers at Butler were great teachers. I met them at every PTA meeting.

I transferred my kids from Xxxxx High to remove my kids from the students attending Xxxxx High, not the staff. What was failing at Butler High was the parenting of a majority of the students. I attended school in the 1960's, through some of the worst times for blacks to get an education, but a majority of blacks back then were committed to get an education regardless of racism. 

It is my opinion that today, parenting is failing not only education in the United States, parents are failing their children. It is my opinion, and please don't get angry, that if all the students at a failing school were bussed to a non-failing school, and the students from the non-failing school were bussed to the failing school, leaving all staff at both schools in place, the failing schools would be reversed!

No teacher can educate a student! Teachers provide an educational environment for learning, and they provide the proper instruction. If the parents and students are not committed to an education, it will not happen! Regardless of the racist Republicans and their racist attitudes, if blacks, whites, poor blacks, and poor whites commit themselves to an education, it will happen!

Alabama will always have racist, Alabama will always have Republicans that wish the negro was still cooking in their kitchens and plowing their fields with no hope of wealth or education. What parents today have to do is, regardless of which school their children attend, commit themselves to their children's education, involve themselves in their children's educational endeavors, and commit their children to learn how to read, and write, and to learn arithmetic in grade school. They must commit their children to the joys of learning! 

If a child today can't read in the 8th grade it is not the teachers fault. Parents must stop looking for someone to blame. The blame starts at home. The blame starts at home. When the next PTA meeting occurs, go to one of those failing schools and count the parents attending. I have, and it is a sad sight! I feel sorry for the kids whose parents are failing them. Successful public schools are the result of involved parents. They use the same books, they have the same quality teachers and they are supervised under the same superintendent. In the 18 years my children attended school, never, ever, have I had to say a teacher was poorly educated! Not once!

The difference between my children and others was that there was study time in our home during the week, and With limited TV and play time. I removed my son from the basketball team at Huntsville High because he was too tired from practice to study. Today he is Xx. Xxxxxx (name redacted) with a PhD from Xxxxxx. 

Yes, racism exist, but lets not pull the race card as a trump card so quickly.

My solution: take any failing school and institute a program to get more parental involvement in the children's classwork and homework. Make it a law that some guardian is required at PTA meetings from 1st through 8th grade. Make it a law that if a child is not bringing in homework, a Child Development Agency is notified to visit the child's home.  Do this and watch this failing school turn into a oasis of education and learning!

Racism can only exist where there is fertile soil for it to grow and to flourish!  But even racism can't overcome the personal commitment to get an education!

No!  No!  No! Racism not only exists but is perpetuated because we would rather pretend it doesn't.

 Its long past time for us to redefine racism based not on the intent of the sender but on the experience of the receiver. As someone said during a blog conversation I participated in on this topic long ago...if I accidentally dropped an anvil on your toe, the fact that I didn't mean to doesn't make it hurt any less.

So where is the hidden racism in the response above?  Let's start with this;

I transferred my kids from Xxxxxx High to remove my kids from the students attending Xxxxxx High, not the staff. What was failing at Xxxxxx High was the parenting of a majority of the students.

What proof does the writer have to support this assertion other than  media enabled stereotypes that black parents are not actively involved in their child education?  Are they are dysfunctional  just because they are black?

 Hidden racism #2

It is my opinion that today, parenting is failing not only education in the United States, parents are failing their children. It is my opinion, and please don't get angry, that if all the students at a failing school were bussed to a non-failing school, and the students from the non-failing school were bussed to the failing school, leaving all staff at both schools in place, the failing schools would be reversed!

 It's easy to accuse and blame some anonymous parents than address the real reason Alabama schools are failing. I have a problem with blaming tax payers, because that's what parents are, for the failure of the school system just because they are  convenient scapegoats.   If the ALGOP really cared about students attending failing schools they would try and fix them instead of bankrupting them.

Hidden racism #3

If a child today can't read in the 8th grade it is not the teachers fault. Parents must stop looking for someone to blame. The blame starts at home. When the next PTA meeting occurs, go to one of those failing schools and count the parents attending. I have, and it is a sad sight! I feel sorry for the kids whose parents are failing them. Successful public schools are the result of involved parents. They use the same books, they have the same quality teachers and they are supervised under the same superintendent. In the 18 years my children attended school, never, ever, have I had to say a teacher was poorly educated! Not once!

 Oh, really?  So if a parent sends their child to school every day to learn how to read and their child can't read it's their fault because they don't go to PTA meeting?  I didn't now they trained parents how to teach  at PTA meetings.  I didn't know parents decided to replace text books with IPads and laptops at PTA meetings.  I didn't know parents hired and fired Superintendents/principals/ teachers/ support personnel or granted tenure.   Snark  If parents are going to teach their children everything at home what do we need schools for?  The teachers may not be poorly educated, but what if the parents are?  Should their child also be doomed to a life of ignorance and poverty?

Hidden racism #4

My solution: take any failing school and institute a program to get more parental involvement in the children's classwork and homework. Make it a law that some guardian is required at PTA meetings from 1st through 8th grade. Make it a law that if a child is not bringing in homework, a Child Development Agency is notified to visit the child's home.  Do this and watch this failing school turn into a oasis of education and learning!


The government can't require parents to attend PTA meetings, or home visits by Child Development Agencies because a child is not bringing in homework.  What if parents have to work or have other obligations?  If children aren't turning in their home work teachers should stop assigning it, or make them do it at school.  In my day we had study hall with trained teachers to assist us if necessary.  Students aren't failing classwork, they are failing homework.  Again, if they are going to do all the work at home why do we need schools.  How about the government requiring principals and teachers to make home visits?

Hidden racism #5

Alabama will always have racist, Alabama will always have Republicans that wish the negro was still cooking in their kitchens and plowing their fields with no hope of wealth or education.

 True, but when this point is made by non whites  we are accused of playing the "race card".

In the less critical sense, the phrase is commonly used in two contexts. In the first, and more common context, it alleges that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage.^[1] An example of this use of the term occurred during the O. J. Simpson murder trial, when critics accused the defense of "playing the race card"^[2] in presenting Mark Fuhrman's past (e.g., his recorded use of the word "nigger" in addition to his being accused of tampering with murder evidence in prior cases, as well as his use of the Fifth Amendment to avoid potential self-incrimination upon questioning) as a reason to draw his credibility as a witness into question.
In the second context, it refers to someone exploiting prejudice against another race for political or some other advantage. The use of the southern strategy by a political candidate is said by some to be a version of playing the race card, such as when former Senator Jesse Helms, during his 1990 North Carolina Senate campaign, ran an ad showing a black man taking a white man's job, intended as a criticism of the idea of racial quotas. The ad was interpreted by many people as trying to play to racist fears among white voters.

Contrary to popular belief, black parents realize the value of an education, and black children want to learn.   Silence helps the oppressor oppress the oppressed.

 The idea that racism lives in the heart of particularly evil individuals, as opposed to the heart of a democratic society, is reinforcing to anyone who might, from time to time, find their tongue sprinting ahead of their discretion.

"It's pretty obvious the Ala-repubs are trying to re-segregate the schools without calling it that."  The question is, are good people going continue to let then get away with it?

There are plenty of valid criticisms to make about last week's hijacking of the legislative process by Republicans to pass the Alabama Accountability Act. Wouldn't take much work, either. But leave it to Moore to get that simple task wrong, too.
Moore, after the Republicans passed the Accountability Act over Democratic and other objections, said this, as reported by AL.com's Kim Chandler: "Welcome to the new confederacy where a bunch of white men are now going to take over black schools."
Criticize Republican sleaziness or secrecy or deception or betrayal. But Moore's statement crosses the line, and it was intercepted by Alabama Republican Party senior vice-chairman George Williams, the highest ranking African-American in the state GOP.
"I am astonished at Rep. Moore for making such a racist statement about our leaders in Montgomery," Williams, from Bay Minette, said in a GOP press release. "I am an African-American, Vietnam War Vet, a leader in the Alabama Republican Party, and I support this legislation. Does that mean I am part of the 'new confederacy'?"

No Mister "highest ranking African-American in the state GOP" (who knew?), it means you are part of the problem.

 America lives under the interesting premise that a racist can't be black. That's like believing that a man can't hate his sibling, or that a woman can't advocate for a man to beat his wife (as Whoopi did to Oprah in "The Color Purple"). The truth is that racism is typically most effective when you put a black face on it, and Herman Cain has volunteered to become the cute little political puppet which allows white America to say the things that they are afraid to say.

 The journey is not about labeling the racism "out there." Its about being open to how it has been hard-wired into our own brains. We need not fear exposing it. The only way it is perpetuated is if we pretend its not there.

The hidden racism is eating away at the future of our country.  It's time to call it out and end it once and for all.
RedEye

Huntsville Sitty School Daze Redux

Chapman  students show off WiFi on school Buses

In case you haven't noticed I haven't posted anything new in several days.  Contrary to popular belief I do have a real life off line, and this is one of those times when my real life and my blog life collided and my real life won, as it should be.  I have no illusions as to my influence in this great big world of ours, I am humbled when I check in to find you are still reading, and I'm amazed by what you are reading.   Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support and encouragement.

Thanks to the *cough* non traditional media I have been keeping up with the disgrace known as the Huntsville City School system.  I am shocked and ashamed by the actions of those in positions of power who place profits over the well being and safety of children.   We really have to question the priorities of those who have no problem providing free Wi Fi to the disadvantaged but are against them having access to quality affordable health care, but I digress.

It is the duty of the public school system to provide a safe, orderly environment that is conducive to learning.

It is the duty of the mainstream media to inform the public when elected public officials  actions, or in this case, non actions, betray the public trust, not cover for, and enable them.

Compare and contrast this headline from today's The Huntsville Times,

Protest held outside Huntsville school's central office over alleged assault at Butler High School

With this headline from the February 4, 2012 edition of the The Huntsville Times

Huntsville superintendent:  Fight at Lee High School was gang initiation

Note the Butler High School incident is "alleged" while the fight at Lee High school is stated as "fact".

Righty's getting it wrong to the rescue!  This is the mentality those elected to represent ALL citizens pander too.

 And herein lies the problem with that

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

RedEye Around AmeriBama

What's that you say? There are poor people in Birmingham, Alabama?  I am shocked!  Shocked I tell you.  Not.

We've got to pray just to make it today... the Freedom from Religion Foundation is challenging the Huntsville City Council's prayer tradition.  Now we wait and see if elected city leaders waste public money to fight the challenge.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D CD7) introduced a bi-partisan resolution commemorating the Historic Selma to Montgomery Marches of 1965.   Psst Terri...bi-partisan my Donkey...the locals are getting the fire hoses and the dogs ready.

Those silly, white, republican men believe the Alabama "cooch jabbin act of 2012" actually   protects life and respects women."  So, who is going to protect and respect life and women from republican men?

A federal judges has issued a restraining order against the republican, Alabama Secretary of State regarding absentee ballots.  And they claim they are worried about black voter fraud?  Thanks to the Help America Vote Act, Morgan County is getting i-pads for voting precincts.  Yep, that ought to help Americans vote.  Snark


Attention Huntsville City School Board of Mis-education...you might want to rethink that "Wilderness Program"  as an Alternative School Policy.  Here is what I see happening...assigning non certified  TFA teachers to Title 1 (predominately black) schools without training in class room management or Federal  Law= a lot of black/brown/poor/special education students sent off to God knows where.


RIP Andrew Breitbart 

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