Okay, I know what you are thinking, is she really going to try and combine Texas High School Football, Presidential Politics and the creative grammar of Lewis Carrol, author of Alice in Wonderland into one blog entry? Well, for those like me, Democrats living in Texas during the Bush Administration, I can tell you that waking up and feeling as though we've gone Through the Looking Glass, is a normal state of affairs, and, that being said, this blog is completely reasonable.
First, let us explore Westlake. Westlake High School is the only high school serving Eanes Independent School District, a district created to serve a collection of extremely wealthy neighborhoods, which, like the high school itself, have Austin addresses. Part of Ausitn, not part of Austin Independent School District. If you check out the school's website, you will see the breakdown of the student body, of which only 5.7 % is Hispanic (We are in Austin, people--there are a lot of Hispanics in this city) and a mere 0.8% is black (This is not a typo). The area is also heavily Republican. Heavily Republican--this in the only county in Texas that Bush did NOT carry in 2004.
Westlake's wealth and resources are reflected in their college-style and sized stadium, and in its local, and often state, dominance in many sports and academic competitions. Especially, Westlake does not lose district football games. Last year, Austin High, for the first time in history, won.
Austin High School, where, as a disclaimer, I teach, is the oldest publicly-funded, continually operating high school west of the Mississippi. It is an urban high school that serves both the richest and the poorest neighborhoods in the Austin Independent School District. The Bush daughters studied at Austin High School, while their dad was governor. In this same school, study many of the kids whose parents clean and repair the government buildings of the state's capital. We are racially diverse. We are not perfect, and we recognize that the economic divide of our student population, sometimes makes social mixing difficult, but we are banding together to create unity with a community seminar program that brings diverse groups together to work towards common goals. My Ballet Folklorico group will perform at the Pep Rally on October 12th and next week's homecoming rally will include the Step Team's annual performance.
During the past week at Austin High, students from every class and color, were gearing up for the Westlake game. "Beat Westlake" t-shirts sold like hotcakes. The tickets for the visitors' side of Westlake stadium sold out. Kids bought camouflage shirts and painted their faces for battle. We would prove that last year was no fluke. We would prove that Austin High should be respected--that Austin should be respected--that everyone should be respected. We arrived at Westlake to find all the parking lots for "reserved parking only"--reserved for Westlake. We parked as far as a half a mile from the stadium and walked over to fill the stands. We were loud. We were really loud. Westlake would not hear their plays that night. The band would play the Austin fight song again and again. We would scream. We would clap. We would stamp our feet. We would do everything to support our kids on the field--who looked like us: white, brown, black, rich, poor. We yelled through all the announcements over the public address system about the all the college games that would be played on Saturday by the former Westlake players. We would stomp our feet as the public address system announced, "Hear this, Austin, Westlake first down!" I am serious.
Final score: Austin High School Maroons: 27, Westlake High School Chaparells: 24. Hear this Westlake, thank you for uniting our school. Thank you for the opportunity to fight to show the World that we are one. United we Stand--'Loyal Forever'--Austin High.
Meanwhile, this week, at Morgan State University, a historically black school in Baltimore, some of the Republican candidates met for a debate broadcast on PBS. Some of the Republican candidates--the front-runners, Romney, Giuliani, Thompson and McCain stayed away--scheduling issues. No one bought it as a legitimate excuse--not even that dim-witted Bush guy. On Meet the Press this morning Pat Buchanan pointed out that African-Americans make up 13% of the US population and 10% of the nation's voting population--and only 10% of those votes go to Republicans. Not worth showing up, he said. But what about the PBS audience? What about reaching out to the whole of the American population? What about expanding the base? What about introducing yourself to the entire population that you hope to eventually govern? Stupider and stupider. Have you learned nothing from Katrina? Do you have a soul? Look at Westlake. Look at Austin High.
Or don't. Let us take this election. And like I say thank you to Westlake for helping to united my school and all the wonderful, talented, very different people in it, I will say, thank you, Republican front-runners for helping to unite my party and all the wonderful, talented, very different people in it.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
The Senate approves Biden's Plan for Iraq: Go Joe!
Well, not just Biden supporters, but all sensible Americans, should be celebrating this week's passage by the Senate of Senator Biden's amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill, which outlined his Federalism Plan, a workable, political solution to the situation in Iraq. For a more detailed look at the plan, please check out www.joebiden.com.
The plan was first outlined in May 2006 by Senator Biden and Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, but it took until this week for it to finally garner wide, bi-partisan support. The passage of this amendment signals the first time that Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together and united behind a plan to bring a sustainable, positive outcome to Iraq. The amendment passed 75-23, with the support of half the Senate Republicans, including many members of the Republican leadership.
For those of us supporting Joe's campaign, we are happy that this has lead to positive press for our candidate, who is not well-known nationally, and to more endorsements by key Democrats in Iowa, but as Americans, we should all be glad that what has seemed by many of us to be a evil spell of divisiveness, may finally have been broken, at least when it come to this war--a war that continues to cost lives, treasure and America's standing around the world.
If this makes you take another look at Joe Biden--I am happy about that, too. There is a push by his campaign to raise money to get his message on Iraq and the passage of this amendment out to the voters in Iowa, and your contribution will be very welcomed. Once again, I direct you to www.joebiden.com. But even if you are staunchly behind another candidate, I hope you will celebrate and support this chance at a lasting peace in Iraq.
Go Joe!
The plan was first outlined in May 2006 by Senator Biden and Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, but it took until this week for it to finally garner wide, bi-partisan support. The passage of this amendment signals the first time that Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together and united behind a plan to bring a sustainable, positive outcome to Iraq. The amendment passed 75-23, with the support of half the Senate Republicans, including many members of the Republican leadership.
For those of us supporting Joe's campaign, we are happy that this has lead to positive press for our candidate, who is not well-known nationally, and to more endorsements by key Democrats in Iowa, but as Americans, we should all be glad that what has seemed by many of us to be a evil spell of divisiveness, may finally have been broken, at least when it come to this war--a war that continues to cost lives, treasure and America's standing around the world.
If this makes you take another look at Joe Biden--I am happy about that, too. There is a push by his campaign to raise money to get his message on Iraq and the passage of this amendment out to the voters in Iowa, and your contribution will be very welcomed. Once again, I direct you to www.joebiden.com. But even if you are staunchly behind another candidate, I hope you will celebrate and support this chance at a lasting peace in Iraq.
Go Joe!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Checking in on the Biden Campaign: Go Joe!
Okay, faithful readers, by now you must have figured out I am a big supporter of Joe Biden for President. I have been crazy busy with school and dance performances for the Mexican Independence holiday (they went very well, thanks for asking), so I have been a bit remiss in updating you on the best prepared, most straight-talking, most thoughtful, most real candidate for the Democratic nomination. As the news media continues to focus in on the "top three" or sometimes only the "top-two" candidates, Joe continues to make the rounds to the political talk shows and Iowa campaign stops--unnoticed by most of the national population--though a recent poll of likely Florida Democratic Primary voters conducted by Inside Advantage/Majority Opinion has him as ahead of Edwards--Biden is at 9%, Edwards at 8%. Not bad for almost no organization in the state, yet.
It is up to people like me to spread help the word--to however few or many we--can about the candidate and his campaign. And, though his fund-raising goals are small by the standards of Clinton or Obama, he is meeting them. Just a couple of weeks ago Joe's team set out to raise $200,000 to keep ads on the air in Iowa. They made it and raised the goal to $250,000. They surpassed that goal, too. They have recently kicked off another effort, so if you want to contribute, please go to www.joebiden.com and pledge some green!
I have been falling to sleep each night with a few more pages of Biden's autobiography, Promises to Keep. This guy has come from behind on a shoestring before. Back in the early 1970s, he came out of nowhere to capture his Senate seat from a well-established Republican. He was only 29 years old, but turned 30 in time to be sworn into office. Way back in 1972, he was already running on a platform that included the need for affordable health care. Clinton does not have a monopoly on this issue. Trust me.
And, let's face it. Joe has a real plan for Iraq. Obama has even said he agrees with Joe, but Joe, having already worked at bringing peace to a sectarian civil war by helping to divide and salvage the populations of the former Yugoslavia, is the one who came up with the plan. He is so well-versed on so many important--critical really--issues of the day.
Check him out. This guy is the real deal. Go Joe!
It is up to people like me to spread help the word--to however few or many we--can about the candidate and his campaign. And, though his fund-raising goals are small by the standards of Clinton or Obama, he is meeting them. Just a couple of weeks ago Joe's team set out to raise $200,000 to keep ads on the air in Iowa. They made it and raised the goal to $250,000. They surpassed that goal, too. They have recently kicked off another effort, so if you want to contribute, please go to www.joebiden.com and pledge some green!
I have been falling to sleep each night with a few more pages of Biden's autobiography, Promises to Keep. This guy has come from behind on a shoestring before. Back in the early 1970s, he came out of nowhere to capture his Senate seat from a well-established Republican. He was only 29 years old, but turned 30 in time to be sworn into office. Way back in 1972, he was already running on a platform that included the need for affordable health care. Clinton does not have a monopoly on this issue. Trust me.
And, let's face it. Joe has a real plan for Iraq. Obama has even said he agrees with Joe, but Joe, having already worked at bringing peace to a sectarian civil war by helping to divide and salvage the populations of the former Yugoslavia, is the one who came up with the plan. He is so well-versed on so many important--critical really--issues of the day.
Check him out. This guy is the real deal. Go Joe!
Chavez watch continues--next stop--school.
The New York Times reported this week that Chavez, president of Venezuela and self-appointed head of socialism in Latin America is making his next move--one that seems designed to add to the longevity of his socialist evolution or revolution or cult of personality or what have you. His brother, Secretary Chavez, head of the Education Ministry, is rolling out a new curriculum that all schools in the country must adopt. Inspections will take place to insure compliance. New textbooks are in production. El presidente claims that he is not indoctrinating, but rather teaching cooperative principals and critical thinking.
Needless to say many parents of private school students are not pleased with the plan. Especially since Chavez has announced that any private school not complying with the new directives will be taken over by the State. According to Brazil's O Globo, Chavez thinks that the private schools, which cater to Venezuela's middle and upper class students have helped to destroy the values of the society and have been themselves indoctrinating the nation's youth with capitalist principals for decades.
Needless to say, the exact contents of this curriculum would be incredibly interesting to peruse and consider. Not having been educated in Venezuela myself--in a public or private setting, I have no first hand experience with the current "capitalist" model to make a fair comparison. President Chavez, however, is a product of this model.and he seems to have escaped the capitalist brain washers.Interesting....
Needless to say many parents of private school students are not pleased with the plan. Especially since Chavez has announced that any private school not complying with the new directives will be taken over by the State. According to Brazil's O Globo, Chavez thinks that the private schools, which cater to Venezuela's middle and upper class students have helped to destroy the values of the society and have been themselves indoctrinating the nation's youth with capitalist principals for decades.
Needless to say, the exact contents of this curriculum would be incredibly interesting to peruse and consider. Not having been educated in Venezuela myself--in a public or private setting, I have no first hand experience with the current "capitalist" model to make a fair comparison. President Chavez, however, is a product of this model.and he seems to have escaped the capitalist brain washers.Interesting....
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Despite Chavez and the gang, there are signs of strengthening Democracy in South America
I continue to urge Americans and our government to keep an eye on Chavez, who this week has been, with the approval of neighboring President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, has been assisting with negotiations with FARC (Forzas Armandas Revoluncionarias de Colombia), a drug dealing, terrorist, revolutionary group that the US has been trying to help Colombia eradicate for decades. If Chavez makes progress here, it will certainly strengthen his standing even further in the region--uh oh.
But, in the meantime, there are signs of strengthening Democracy further south on the continent. In Brazil, two high ranking members of President Lula da Silva's Workers' Party (PT, in Brazil) will face the courts. As a fan of Lula, as the president is known in his country, it might shock some that I am pleased that both Delubio Soares, the treasurer of the PT and Jose Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva, Lula's Chief of Staff, are both facing corruption charges. The word came down this week from Brazil's Supreme Court and it is big news. And, I would argue, it is a sign of health in Brazil's democracy. Unlike in Venezuela, Brazil's highest levels of the Judiciary are not under the thumb of the executive branch. And, unlike in the not too distant past, high ranking members of the ruling party are going to have to face the music.
I was studying in Brazil during the 1992-1993 national protests to remove then President Fernando Color de Melo, from power. President Color had been the first president in a long while to be democratically elected in South America's largest country. His election had been a source of pride in Brazil, but massive corruption in his government, caused the people to call for his impeachment. Massive protests all over the country--some with as many as a million people at a time spilled into the streets. I remember my father warning me to stay far away from the rallies (which were pretty hard to avoid if I wanted to get home through the center of Sao Paulo), because there was such a history of violence in Latin American politics. But I was there and I saw people painting their faces green and yellow and dancing samba and singing songs--in a very new, but very Brazilian, style of protest. And I wasn't afraid. I was happy. I was excited. I was in the middle of history. It was a very good sign for democracy in Brazil. Power passed to the vice president and everyone talked about the fact that this new president, known by his first name, Itamar, was not married, but had a younger girlfriend. And on things went. It was fantastic. No bullets.
But, even though Color was peacefully removed from office, even though the corruption was wide-spread and on a large scale, no one went to court. Now, times are changing and for the good. O Globo news agency in Brazil quotes Lula as saying, "Ninguem tem mais etica e moral que o PT." (Nobody has more ethics and morals than the Workers' Party". And from following Brazilian politics for a couple of decades, I'd say he may be correct. Corruption in Brazil, and much of Latin America, is and has been endemic for five centuries. It came with the governing systems that the Spanish and Portuguese imposed on the region and it has grown, mutated and survived ever since. Seeing corruption cases in the courts is a good thing. We must hope and watch to be sure that this crack-down on corruption continues regardless of which party is in power. The signs are good.
At the same time that Brazilians are watching to see how their officials do in court, their neighbors to the south, the Argentines, are waiting to see if their most famous soccer star, Diego Maradona, will go to jail. Almost as amazing as official corruption charges in Brazil, is the thought of a soccer god like Maradona facing jail time in Argentina. O Globo reports on its website that when Maradona returns to Argentina (he is currently out of the country), he will have to spend some time in jail for a traffic accident last year that injured innocent by-standers. The soccer legend and tv personality, who has skirted the law for decades, mostly in regards to his well-publicized cocaine use, is finally going to have to face some real consequences--like an actual human being.
It is worth noting, that while the Diego Maradona story was big news on the main page of O Globo's site, while I scrolled through the entirety of Buenos Aires' El Clarin yesterday, and never saw a mention of the soccer star's fate. It may be that Brazil, long a major soccer rival to Argentina, may be taking a bit of pleasure in the star's plight. But, Argentina, let me say that there is a bright side to this story. No one is above the law in a democracy, and the up side of seeing your hero in jail, is that it represents democracy and equality in action. Democracy is not all celebrations. Democracy is hard. Both rivals, Brazil and Argentina, two countries, close to my heart, may be learning this lesson together.
Still, we must be vigilant. The struggle of democracy is not yet won. Chavez and the gang must be watched very carefully. In addition, another southern neighbor, Chile, had protests turn violent last week. During protests calling for higher pensions, and better education, housing and health care, more than 50 demonstrators and 18 police were injured after police fired tear gas into the crowd and starting swinging clubs to break up the rallies. Senator Alejandro Navarro, of President Michelle Bachelet's Socialist Party was clubbed in the head by police during the ma lay.
We also need to keep an eye on Peru, whose government is facing strong criticism after it failed to react quickly to the needs of its coastal communities, flattened in the earthquake just a couple of weeks ago. The complete failure of its communications systems meant that officials in Lima had no idea of the extent of the damage in the initial hours after the tragedy. The damage to the already limited road network, held up the rescue effort even further. We need to support this young democracy, to be sure that it survives and thrives.
But this week, I am happy to report, that there are some healthy signs to our south.
But, in the meantime, there are signs of strengthening Democracy further south on the continent. In Brazil, two high ranking members of President Lula da Silva's Workers' Party (PT, in Brazil) will face the courts. As a fan of Lula, as the president is known in his country, it might shock some that I am pleased that both Delubio Soares, the treasurer of the PT and Jose Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva, Lula's Chief of Staff, are both facing corruption charges. The word came down this week from Brazil's Supreme Court and it is big news. And, I would argue, it is a sign of health in Brazil's democracy. Unlike in Venezuela, Brazil's highest levels of the Judiciary are not under the thumb of the executive branch. And, unlike in the not too distant past, high ranking members of the ruling party are going to have to face the music.
I was studying in Brazil during the 1992-1993 national protests to remove then President Fernando Color de Melo, from power. President Color had been the first president in a long while to be democratically elected in South America's largest country. His election had been a source of pride in Brazil, but massive corruption in his government, caused the people to call for his impeachment. Massive protests all over the country--some with as many as a million people at a time spilled into the streets. I remember my father warning me to stay far away from the rallies (which were pretty hard to avoid if I wanted to get home through the center of Sao Paulo), because there was such a history of violence in Latin American politics. But I was there and I saw people painting their faces green and yellow and dancing samba and singing songs--in a very new, but very Brazilian, style of protest. And I wasn't afraid. I was happy. I was excited. I was in the middle of history. It was a very good sign for democracy in Brazil. Power passed to the vice president and everyone talked about the fact that this new president, known by his first name, Itamar, was not married, but had a younger girlfriend. And on things went. It was fantastic. No bullets.
But, even though Color was peacefully removed from office, even though the corruption was wide-spread and on a large scale, no one went to court. Now, times are changing and for the good. O Globo news agency in Brazil quotes Lula as saying, "Ninguem tem mais etica e moral que o PT." (Nobody has more ethics and morals than the Workers' Party". And from following Brazilian politics for a couple of decades, I'd say he may be correct. Corruption in Brazil, and much of Latin America, is and has been endemic for five centuries. It came with the governing systems that the Spanish and Portuguese imposed on the region and it has grown, mutated and survived ever since. Seeing corruption cases in the courts is a good thing. We must hope and watch to be sure that this crack-down on corruption continues regardless of which party is in power. The signs are good.
At the same time that Brazilians are watching to see how their officials do in court, their neighbors to the south, the Argentines, are waiting to see if their most famous soccer star, Diego Maradona, will go to jail. Almost as amazing as official corruption charges in Brazil, is the thought of a soccer god like Maradona facing jail time in Argentina. O Globo reports on its website that when Maradona returns to Argentina (he is currently out of the country), he will have to spend some time in jail for a traffic accident last year that injured innocent by-standers. The soccer legend and tv personality, who has skirted the law for decades, mostly in regards to his well-publicized cocaine use, is finally going to have to face some real consequences--like an actual human being.
It is worth noting, that while the Diego Maradona story was big news on the main page of O Globo's site, while I scrolled through the entirety of Buenos Aires' El Clarin yesterday, and never saw a mention of the soccer star's fate. It may be that Brazil, long a major soccer rival to Argentina, may be taking a bit of pleasure in the star's plight. But, Argentina, let me say that there is a bright side to this story. No one is above the law in a democracy, and the up side of seeing your hero in jail, is that it represents democracy and equality in action. Democracy is not all celebrations. Democracy is hard. Both rivals, Brazil and Argentina, two countries, close to my heart, may be learning this lesson together.
Still, we must be vigilant. The struggle of democracy is not yet won. Chavez and the gang must be watched very carefully. In addition, another southern neighbor, Chile, had protests turn violent last week. During protests calling for higher pensions, and better education, housing and health care, more than 50 demonstrators and 18 police were injured after police fired tear gas into the crowd and starting swinging clubs to break up the rallies. Senator Alejandro Navarro, of President Michelle Bachelet's Socialist Party was clubbed in the head by police during the ma lay.
We also need to keep an eye on Peru, whose government is facing strong criticism after it failed to react quickly to the needs of its coastal communities, flattened in the earthquake just a couple of weeks ago. The complete failure of its communications systems meant that officials in Lima had no idea of the extent of the damage in the initial hours after the tragedy. The damage to the already limited road network, held up the rescue effort even further. We need to support this young democracy, to be sure that it survives and thrives.
But this week, I am happy to report, that there are some healthy signs to our south.
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