There is nothing more dangerous than arrogance in action~ redux

Watch Congressman Darrell Issa (r.CA) treat Congressman Elijah Cummings(D. GA)  like 12 Years A Slave. 




I'm not holding my breath waiting for John Boehner (r. OH) to do the right (pun intended) thing, but the Congressional Black Caucus calls for the removal of Issa for treating Cummings like a "Boy".

“Mr. Issa not only violated House Rules 9 and 23, he also violated the rules of the committee he chairs. According to Oversight & Government Reform Committee Rule 9 and House Rule 11, each member is allowed five minutes to question a witness during a Congressional hearing. Mr. Issa blatantly disregarded this rule when he adjourned the hearing and denied committee members the opportunity to speak in the middle of the customary five minutes afforded to Ranking Member Cummings. Mr. Issa is a disgrace and should not be allowed to continue in a leadership role.”

Mr. Issa, Let My People Speak!

 Once upon a time, there were no black people in Congress. Once upon a time, a black man would never raise his voice at a white man. Once upon a time, when a white man told a black man to do something, the black man would say, "Yes sir boss." Those days are gone.

Even nowadays, many black politicians are afraid to perceived as "the angry black man" or "the angry black woman".  Many lower their voices and moderate their speech patterns, expressions and mannerisms to appease hyper-sensitive white voters. Thank God that Rep. Elijah Cummings is not that kind of black politician.

I commend the brother for continuing to speak out.   I commend the brother for standing up to that no good, witch hunting bully Rep. Darrell Issa.  Rep. Cummings, your constituents and the African Americans are proud of you sir.

Inflammatory Rhetoric Begets Inflammatory Rhetoric~ Update

State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery

Newsflash!!  Alabama House Republicans pass the keep poor/black WOMEN from having access to a safe legal abortion bill while the Alabama Senate passes bill allowing free, lifetime permit to carry pistols in vehicles.

Fresh after giving conservatives/ republicans a Wedgie because he dared call  out United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas,  Alabama State Rep. Alvin Holmes strikes again!

A debate Tuesday over a bill to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected turned to race after Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Indian Springs, compared her bill to Brown vs. the Board of Education.

But during the debate, Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, said that his Republican colleagues would support abortion if their daughters were impregnated by black men.

Media enabled weapon of mass distraction from the real issue here we come! Yee Haw!
It's easier to talk about what Alvin Holmes said instead of what Alvin Holmes was talking about which is Alabama State Rep. Mary (Fetus are Organs) McClurkin's bill to end access to safe legal abortions for poor women in Alabama.

On Tuesday, a panel of Alabama lawmakers advanced four stringent anti-abortion bills that would prevent women in the state from exercising their reproductive rights. The proposed legislation would ban abortions after just six weeks; force women to wait 48 hours before getting an abortion; make it more difficult for minors to end an unwanted pregnancy; and impose more emotional trauma on women who choose to have an abortion after discovering lethal fetal abnormalities.

Note I said the bill to end access to safe, legal  abortions for poor women in Alabama.  Women like Mary Sue, not so much.

If Alabama chooses to expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act, the state could gain about $1 billion in new tax revenue, according to a pair of University of Alabama at Birmingham health care economists in a study released today.
In the most likely scenario, some 300,000 more state residents would be covered under an expansion, according to David Becker and Michael Morrisey at the UAB School of Public Health.
UAB, which has the largest hospital in the state and one of the largest public hospitals in the country, released the report this morning saying the research was a "win-win" for the state and Medicaid-eligible patients.
"Across the first seven years of Medicaid expansion, the net budgetary effect is positive throughout," Becker said in a UAB press release. "In a very real sense, the state makes money while expanding coverage to nearly 300,000 Alabamians."

So here's the deal, a bunch of people, who if they choose, have access to a safe legal abortion are trying to keep black/ poor WOMEN from having access to a safe legal abortion.  These same people are anti access to affordable health care because Obama,  anti access to quality public schools because Obama,  and anti welfare just because.

But let's talk about what Alvin Holmes said out of context so we won't have to talk about the substance of what Alvin Holmes said.

Mission Accomplished.

There is nothing more dangerous than arrogance in action

 Casey WARdynski doing the job he was hired to do.

Huntsville, AL Superintendent is a Jerk


"I wasn't there but we had people there."
Translation:  I couldn't be bothered to go so I sent my spies.

"Don't put me on the agenda if I say I'm not coming?  Pretty clear?"
Translation:  F U

"This is a very important matter it's about 50 years in coming."
Translation:  We have make our schools look like they did 50 years ago.

"I am not going to talk about rezoning  Until then it's in the hands of our  lawyers."
Translation:  MY lawyer that the people pay for.

"Our job is not to satisfy the media."
Translation:  We can use the media when it suits our purpose.
 
"You are not the voice of the people that's my board member.  Laurie McCaulley was elected, David Blair were elected, they are the voice of the people. You're just a company.  Who elected you?" 
Translation:  Laurie McCaulley and David Blair were elected to misrepresent the people.  They represent me.

"My job as Superintendent is to lead the district." 

"What part of that didn't you understand?"

"We're done, I'm not going to debate with you."

Mark McCarter "claims" he writes columns on news and sports for The Huntsville Times and al.com.

Columnist Mark McCarter

Here we go again.  In a blatant show of white privilege Mark McCarter uses the power of the press to marginalize and minimize legitimate concerns of people of color.  And yes, I'm going there.

What do I mean by white privilege you ask?

White privilege refers to any advantage, opportunity, benefit, head start, or general protection from negative societal mistreatment, which persons deemed white will typically enjoy, but which others will generally not enjoy. These benefits can be material (such as greater opportunity in the labor market, or greater net worth, due to a history in which whites had the ability to accumulate wealth to a greater extent than persons of color), social (such as presumptions of competence, creditworthiness, law-abidingness, intelligence, etc.) or psychological (such as not having to worry about triggering negative stereotypes, rarely having to feel out of place, not having to worry about racial profiling, etc.).

Mark McCarter missed the mark (pun intended) again with his latest attempt to defend the indefensible actions of  HCS Superintendent Casey Wardynski, the Board of (mis) Education, and their ongoing assault on north Huntsville's J.O. Johnson High School community.

Let's recap
 
The black coach who built the Johnson Jaguar championship basketball team was transferred so the white coach could come out of retirement and bask in his glory, and,  the parents who dared speak  up against the firing (which even McCarter admitted smells more fishy than a boat-load of rotting tuna) are called protesters, like that's a bad thing. 

This story shouldn't be all about the coach, either. But it's impossible to tell it without him as the central figure.
Doss came out of a short-lived retirement, having left Butler, where he won five titles between 2004-2011. The key, Doss said, was "Dr. Wardynski had the confidence in me to be able to do this."
Senior guard Lionel Love, who had those team-high 18 points, confessed that "we were upset (at the change). But at the same time, we knew we had to keep pushing forward and accomplish our goals. And we knew Coach Doss had a great record."

 The most disappointing and disturbing fact in all of this is McCarters' attempt to use the words of   the chief protesters son to undermine the initial concerns, which remain unanswered.  Why was Maurice Ford demoted? Was it so that "The Great White Hope" could come out of retirement and lead this predominately black team(who had already proven themselves) to victory and enhance his profile ? 

I am not a lawyer but I watch a lot of Law and Order on TeeVee, one of the things I learned is always look for motive,  means, and opportunity.   What was the motive behind the firing of Ford and the hiring of Doss?  Who had the means to fire Ford and hire Doss?  Who had the opportunity to fire Ford and hire Doss?  I will give you a hint, their name starts with the letter W.

McCarter also used the power of the press  to discredit those who continue to protest the illegal name change and potential building of the new north Huntsville High School less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.

The bitter irony in this defeat is that it comes the morning after still another protest.
Groundbreaking was held Friday for the new Jemison High that will replace Johnson in August 2016. Many Johnson alums and supporters have been irate that the Johnson name will not be carried over to the new campus, and several protesters gathered to claim they were "not included" in the decision process. But it's disingenuous to suggest they haven't been heard.

No, it is disingenuous to suggest those with questions and concerns have been heard Mr. Mark McCarter, Sir.  As a matter of fact, those who make the rules are breaking the rules right under your nose. If you've been reading this blog, or The Geek Pavaler's blog, you would know that in their haste to treat the taxpayers of District 1 like second class citizens, the HCS BOE violated it's own naming policy.

There is one thing on which we can agree, it's not about the name on the outside of a building, it's how the name got on the building.   

New Rules, hand pick a committee giving the appearance of diverse viewpoints, while stacking the deck with people  in favor of your point of view,  hope the people won't notice because after all, they are Johnson grads nod nod wink wink.  

It is also about the BOE  purchasing land to build a new $65 million dollar school in an area where people aren't building $65,000 dollar homes because of it's proximity to an active rock quarry.

These are facts you may want to consider the next time to you claim to write a column on news and sports for The Huntsville Times and al.com. There is a rumor circulating that most of the assertions  in your article are factually incorrect. The next time you claim to write for The Huntsville Times and al.com you might want to attack the message instead of the protesters, I mean, the messengers.

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to go make some protest signs singing If I Had a Hammer.....

The views expressed on this blog are mine and mine alone.  

"It's in north Huntsville, who cares?"

 

 School busses in the parking lot of the elementary school in Gurley Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 in Gurley, Ala. Gurley Mountain, located in northeast Madison County, is the center of a controversy between the surrounding communities and the mining company.

"It's in north Huntsville, who cares?"  If you ever want to get the real flavor about what's happening in Huntsville, Al  all you have to do is read some of the comments on AL.com.

 Allowing blacks to get away with things like this is like negotiating with terrorists. Once you give in even one time they know you will give in and they will NEVER stop begging at the public trough and costing our country/State/City money with their endless pursuit of "free" (to them) stuff from our government (us) by playing the race card and crying "discrimination" and "racism" when it doesn't exist. Someone should educate these people that begging is not an honorable career.

HCS, enabled by the media, gave taxpayers in north Huntsville the middle finger before a standing-room-only groundbreaking ceremony inside a tent, when they broke ground on 2 black schools, illegally renamed for two black astronauts, less then half a mile from an active rock quarry, to the tune of $65 million of their tax dollars.

There is just one problem with this little standing room only....narrative....the facts don't fit.  First,  the standing room only crowd included three bus loads of students from Ed White and Davis Hills Middle Schools (the buses served double duty to block the view of protesters and the rock quarry), the Butler High School JROTC, and some band members from J.O. Johnson High School.  The rest were invited guest, the media, and assorted dignitaries, most of whom do not live, work, or send their children to school in District One. Noticeably absent were the Mayor, the City Council member who represents the district and the Madison County Commissioner who represents the district.  The name of the state rep was called, but I can't confirm her face was in the place.  If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.

Decatur-born astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison flew in from Chicago for the ceremony and challenged the schools' future students to make a difference in their city, their state, their world. Jemison became the first black woman in space when she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in September 1992.
Children are born with an "innate energy and drive," she said, but it can be dampened by adults.
"Adults started telling you what you couldn't do," Jemison told a group of students from the four schools that will feed into the new campuses: Johnson High, Butler High, Davis Hills Middle and Ed White Middle. "We started lowering your expectations of this world that was around you. Ignore them.

"Know that you can achieve so many things."

Now you would think Huntsville City Schools leaders would want said students to hear this inspirational message wouldn't you?  You would think Wardysnski would want personally escort Dr. Mae Jemison on a tour of the schools that were be renamed in her honor.  You would think she would sign autographs and take pictures with students on the last day of Black History Month.  Yet none of this happened.  It's like she flew in to give the taxpayers in north Huntsville the middle finger(at their expense) and flew out. But that's OK, it's north Huntsville, who cares. Sigh

Psst Dr. Mae Jemison, the "adults" inside that tent with you are the ones telling parents and children what they can't do.  They are the ones lowering their expectations and ignoring them.  

As Wardynski spoke, about 20 sign-waving protesters stood across Pulaski Pike. Michelle Watkins said the group is upset that Johnson High alumni and supporters were not consulted about the name or location of the new high school. Many wanted to keep the J.O. Johnson name.

How long are elected officials and the media going to continue to ignore the valid concerns citizens have about the relocation of the new $65 million dollar school?  

Other parents contend the Jemison and McNair campus may be exposed to dangerous levels of airborne dust from a rock quarry located about half a mile away.
Danny Shea, the city's natural resources director, has said airborne fine particulate matter is actually lower at the city's Pulaski Pike measuring station near the quarry than some other spots in town.

I am not a rocket scientist, but you tell me how airborne fine particulate matter can be lower less than half a mile from an active rock quarry than at some other spots in town? 

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.

How long are the citizens in north Huntsville going to continued to be undervalued, under estimated, and marginalized?

Is this how those in positions of power and influence  really feel about the taxpayers in north Huntsville?

 I have never in my life heard a group gripe and complain more about issues that mean nothing at all than North Hsv blacks. They are merging the two schools. How about they call it Butler? You people sit around looking for something to complain about so you can cry racism and keep the false perception that blacks are the victims (rather than the perpetrators) of racism in an effort to keep your special status and benefits from the government. You are a bunch of entitled cry babies with cry baby do nothing leaders. I would think you would be more concerned about the high levels of violent crime, single parents, and unemployment in your community. But what do you decide to march about? The name of a crappy high school? Get a clue people.

It's not just north Huntsville.  Today's Must Read
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Gets More Protection Than Mobile's Drinking Supply for 25,000

Please stay tuned for the next post about Plains Pipeline Company.  Next time, I'll discuss their assault on Mobile's Historic Africatown Community and the Mobile County Training School.

How long?  Not long.