The Associated Press is reporting that Barack Obama will officially name at least four more members of his administration on Monday. According to the AP, Obama will announce the following appointments that will be subject to Senate confirmation:
Susan Rice -Ambassador to the U.N.
Eric Holder - Attorney General
Gov. Janet Napolitano - Homeland Security
Hillary Clinton – Secretary of State
DALLAS, Texas, (Nov. 25, 2008) —
The company will relocate their container yard operations from an existing facility near the
“We are pleased to work with Bridge Terminal Transport to provide them with a perfect location for its
Construction is currently underway and expected to be fully operation by February 2009. The project will also create 15 full-time jobs. BTT was represented in the real estate transaction by Bob Hagewood of Stream Realty Partners, LP.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In anticipation of World AIDS Day on Monday, December 1, the Global AIDS Alliance is calling on the incoming Obama Administration to intensify the US effort against HIV/AIDS, both at home and abroad, and to resist “AIDS fatigue.”
Over 100 global health advocacy organizations have signed a memo to US President-Elect Obama, laying out practical and immediate steps he should take on HIV/AIDS and related issues. The memo is online:
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/page/-/GAR_Transition_Recommendations.do c
Carol Bergman, Acting Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance, stated:
“We are looking forward to the President-elect’s new budget for Global AIDS and hope that he will reject recent proposals that would diminish the stature of the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator.
Expanding resources for Global AIDS in the FY 2010 budget will be critical to achieving President-elect Obama’s commitment to provide $50 billion over five years in the fight against the pandemic. The new budget provides an opportunity for the President-elect to signal his commitment to multilateralism by providing $2.7 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
In recent years, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), which is situated in the State Department, has demonstrated success in getting urgently needed funds out to those on the ground that need it most. The Obama Administration should reject proposals that might undermine the effectiveness of the US response to AIDS. While a Cabinet-level Department could bring important focus to development issues, simply moving OGAC under the current structure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would not achieve reform.
HIV/AIDS kills approximately 5,500 people each day, mostly in Africa, leaving terrible suffering in its wake and undermining economic progress in dozens of countries. Fortunately, the world is becoming much smarter about how to fight the disease. Evidence shows that comprehensive prevention works, access to treatment is saving millions of lives, and innovative ways to approach prevention and treatment hold the promise of an even more effective response.
Obama comes into office having made a number of specific commitments, including on HIV prevention. He, along with Vice President-Elect Joe Biden and Senator Hillary Clinton, the likely next US Secretary of State, signed a pledge on this issue:
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/index.php/c4_site/interior/2008_candidat e_pledges/
Now is not the time to slow down the flow of resources, since a strong investment is not only quite affordable but will also help forestall an even worse AIDS crisis in the future. President-elect Obama rightly wants to focus on global challenges that threaten our common humanity, and delivering on our promises in the fight against AIDS will be a critical initial test of that important vision.”
Source: Global AIDS Alliance
CONTACT: Carol Bergman of Global AIDS Alliance, +1-202-789-0432, ext.
210, Mobile: +1-301-775-3629
Web Site: http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/
It’s reported that President-elect Obama has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain in his role for at least a year in the next administration. It’s the first time a Secretary of Defense has been held over by a President of a different party than the one he was appointed by. The former CIA Director and Texas A&M President has spent the last two years cleaning up the mess left by Donald Rumsfeld.
Back in 2006, I asked the President of the Texas A&M Black Former Student Network how he thought Gates would handle his new post. “ I think he’ll do great.,” Robinson said. “It’s probably one of the brightest moves the Bush Administration has made.” Ken was right on in his assessment.
Gates is pragmatic to the letter, and he will smoothly transition from working for the “War President” to one who wants to end the War in Iraq. This is another good call by Obama who should have few problems with Senate conformation of his appointees.
At the beginning of last season, I wrote than Southlake Carroll would not win the 2007 State Championship. I didn’t feel the need to go back over it because it should have been obvious to everyone that the Dragons wouldn’t win it all this year.
I can say the Dragons proved me wrong…in a way. I had them losing in the first round, but they were able to make it all the way to round two. On the broadcast then announcers tried to blame Hurricane Ike and make excuses. To his credit, coach Hal Wasson would have none of that.
Next year, there very few varsity players will have ties to the championship years. The players and staff will have to forge their own identity and can’t rely on the Dragon mystique to win football games.
I’m going to run my Southlake Carroll will not win the state title post again for two reasons. Number one, because it’s one of my favorite posts that I’ve ever written. And number two, this post isn’t about Southlake, it’s about Texas High School Football and how important coaching is.
Take my native Paris for instance. In the 1980′s, the Paris Wildcats were one of the more dominant football teams in the state. The football team won multiple district titles and a State Championship in 1988.
After the 1990 season, coach Allen Wilson left Paris for Tyler’s John Tyler High, and the Wildcats have never been the same. The team had not won another district title until this year and has not one a playoff game in 20 years. Anyway, on with the Southlake post.
I am a longtime observer of Texas Schoolboy football. Some of my earliest memories as a fan are of running outside barefoot on Saturday mornings to retrieve the newspaper in order to check the statewide scores. I was 7 years old at the time.
Over the years, I’ve tracked a number of football dynasties. Any discussion of Texas High School dynasties without mentioning the great Southlake-Carroll.
The Dragons actually started their historic run started in 1988 when they won the 3A state title. The team has won 7 championships in all, two more 3A titles (1992, 1993) and 4 of 5 years since moving to Class 5A (2002, 2004, 2005,2006). During those 5 seasons, Carroll accrued 79 wins and only 1 loss.
The reason for all the success: coaches Todd Dodge and Bob Ledbetter. Ledbetter led the Dragons to statewide prominence with the first 3 titles. Dodge led Carroll to national prominence with the school’s most recent success. In between the two, Tom Rapp compiled a 29-17-1 as the Southlake coach without a state finals appearance.
So in a nutshell, it’s all about the coaching in high school football, and Carroll has had some great ones. Now many make the argument that one high school in such a large school district is a major reason for the team’s success. I accept that, but you still have to play the games. Plano experienced some of those growing pains when Plano West came on the scene.
Hal Wasson has a tough job, though his team from last year returns 8 offensive starters. Those 8 starters include Dodge’s son Riley at quarterback and Tre Newton at tailback. But none of that guarantees success in Texas.
The man standing on the sideline with the headset has to have confidence from everyone in the stadium. From the quarterback to the punter, the special teams coach to the trainer, the popcorn vendor to the pep squad sponsor.
Todd Dodge could have told the Southlake faithful they were playing the season with 10 players on the field and they would have bought it. Not only that, but he obviously saw things in a way that no one else (in high school OU would say) did. Wasson will probably call the same plays, but not in the exact same sequence and not in the exact same situation.
Here are some programs who dominated Texas Football but have not been able sustain it.
Since 1965 Permian has won 6 state title and been runners-up 5 more times. Coach Gene Mayfield led Mojo to 3 championship games, winning one in ‘65. Between 1973 & 1985, John Wilkins led Permian to 6 finals appearances. They won state titles in 1980 & 1984. Permian won district titles every year in the ’80’s with the exception of 1986 OP won two titles after Wilkins but the last three coaches have won 0 . Last year the Panthers made their first playoff appearance since 1998.
West Orange-Stark
West Orange-Stark was synonymous with success in the 1980’s. The Mustangs won state 4A titles in 1986 and 1987 and lost in the state finals to Paris at Kyle Field in 1988. They also made a state finals appearance in 2000.
Overall, Stark made the state playoffs 14 times from 1985-2000. Coach Dan Hooks led WOS through the glory years, and has compiled 250-62-2 record in 27 seasons there.
In the 1990’s the words John Tyler meant that somebody was in for a game of smash mouth football. Coach Allen Wilson left Paris 2 seasons after winning state in Class 4A and took 4 cutback, 7 cutback, and scat to Tyler.
Wilson brought a new attitude to the Lions, and created Cujo, John Tyler’s playoff persona. John Tyler won a state title in 1994 and made a finals appearance in 2000.
Wilson left J.T. after 11 seasons in 2002 to become head coach at Dallas Carter. The Lions have not made it past the area round of the playoffs since his departure.
Stephenville
Stephenville did not make the playoffs in football from 1952-1989. Coach Art Briles got them to the playoffs from 1989 until his departure after the ‘99 season.
Coach Briles led the Yellow Jackets to all four of their state titles (1993, 1994, 1998, 1999) before heading to the University of Houston. Stephenville has continued to make the playoffs (except in ‘03) but has not seen the level of success that they did under Briles.
There have been similar scenarios at Plano, Paris, Daingerfield, and others, but the exception in my book is Celina (though some may argue LaMarque). Celina compiled 2A state titles in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 under legendary coach G.A. Moore. Moore left Celina for Pilot Point in ‘01, but the Bobcats kept rolling under assistant Butch Ford. They captured another state title in ‘05 and are now a 3A power.
Had one of Dodge’s assistants taken the job, I would probably give them the nod to win it all this year. But Todd loaded up the fellas and took them out to Denton to try to revolutionize the college game. Wasson’s staff has their work cut out whether it’s this year or next. Many a high school program has lost their glory, never to return after changing coaches.
If Carroll does re…I mean 4-peat, it would not surprise me, but I’m not counting on it. And I have made a promise to go to my first Southlake game this year. Do you have to wear a sports coat?
When my wife and I moved to Dallas, I told her I was going to solve the JFK Assassination conspiracy. I had become a conspiracy buff watching Oliver Stone’s JFK throughout college.
In our early days in town, we’d head down to Dealey Plaza a couple of times a year. I would take a look up at the 6th floor window, over at the grassy knoll, and never come to any conclusion.
On Saturday, the 45th Anniversary of Dallas’ darkest hour, I had planned to go downtown town and finally come to terms with Lee Harvey Oswald being the lone shooter and acting alone in killing President Kennedy. The trip didn’t go as I planned.
Right before I left home, I came across a timeline of the events on November 22, 1963 at JDTippet.com named after Officer J.D. Tippett who was murdered by Oswald. The site referenced two places I wasn’t familiar with, and a familiar place that I hadn’t visited. These locations were all in Oak Cliff not far from where I live.
The first was 1026 N. Beckley, the rooming house where Oswald was living at the time of the assassination. The second was the site of the murder of Officer Tippett at Tenth and Patton. Then there was the Texas Theater, a place I’ve often passed but never visited.
See a YouTube of my day retracing Oswald’s steps here.
Here’s another good YouTube offering on Tippet’s murder.
I took the steps out of order, choosing to drive through 10th and Patton first. I wasn’t exactly sure where it was but had a general idea. According to the JDTippet site and a call that they have from a recording made on the day of the assassination, Tippett’s car was parked at 404 E. 10th. There were some empty lots, including the one on the southeast corner, but Jefferson was clearly visible from the spot.
Then I went to the corner of Jefferson and Crawford which is where Oswald supposedly took off his jacket and threw it under the car. There’s an old gas station on the North East Corner, but I’m not sure if it’s the same Texaco from this particular event.
From there I went to the Texas Theater. I took some pictures and a video outside and then decided to see if there was anyone inside doing tours for the anniversary. The marquee said that Oliver Stone’s JFK would be featured at the theater that night.
When I went to the door I found that it was open. There was a table set up in the foyer with a popcorn machine and a blue cooler sitting on the floor. I expected to hear some talking and ask if I could roam around. After about a minute of silence I opted for a self guided tour.
Admittedly the silent theater was a little intimidating under the circumstances. What seemed like a little movie house from outside became enormous in the scope of history and solitude. Turning into the lower hall there were a sea of red seats. One chair had a JFK Movie poster taped to the back. Knowing that Oswald was sitting on the third row from the back that day, I recognized it as the seat of infamy.
After snapping a few photos I left, but decided to shoot one more video. In the YouTube above, I walk into the theater as Oswald may have done that fateful day. I couldn’t bring myself to sit in that 5th seat.
I’ll say this before I retire for the evening with my story only half told. After about 5 hours on the case Saturday, I’m moving back towards the conspiracy side.
Why in the world would Oswald be traveling by foot in this part of the city after killing a U.S. President? To get from 1026 N. Beckley to 10th and Patton (I’m getting way ahead of myself in the narrative, but watch the YouTube) takes 15 minutes according to Google. 1026 N. Beckley is where Oswald was rooming and went in after the assassination to get his jacket.
In the JDTippet.com timeline, Oswald leaves his rooming house at 12:59 p.m. and shoots Tippett at 1:14 p.m. No time to spare.
Tuesday – An hour at 1026 North Buckley
Howard Witt of the Chicago Tribune reporst on a rise in hate incidents across the U.S. since the election of Barack Obama. To read Witt’s entire story click here. Below are some of the highlights.
When people ask me if I’m going to the Obama Inauguration, I usually tell that the next time I go to D.C. will most likely be for the dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial. As a member of Alpha Phi Alpha this is a project that is near and dear because our Fraternity kicked off this massive undertaking while I was an undergraduate at Texas A&M (Potent Pi Omicron Chapter).
On Thursday, the leadership of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. announced that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has provided a $12.5 million letter of credit through their Wal-Mart Foundation to the project. The funds will expedite the beginning of physical construction of the memorial. The foundation’s contributed a $1 million donation in 2005.
Harry E. Johnson is President and CEO of the MLK Memorial Foundation and former General President of Alpha Phi Alpha. “”Wal-Mart’s partnership demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to the community and to the causes important to its associates and customers,” Johnson says. “The company’s continued support helps to uphold the ideals of hope, democracy, justice and love for which Dr. King stood.”
To date, the Memorial Foundation has raised $100 million towards its fundraising goal of $120 million.
A Memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be built on the National Mall, situated adjacent to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Congress passed Joint Resolutions in 1996 authorizing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a Memorial honoring Dr. King to be built in Washington, D.C.
Source: PR Newswire
I was alerted by email this week that Outside.in has named Dallas South one of the Top 5 Blogs in town. According to the message, they analyzed data from over 4,000 blogs that provide feeds to the Outside.in site. Based on variables that included total number of posts, location of posts, and links from other sites in the community identified Dallas South as a top blog in the Dallas area.
Here’s their Top 5 in Dallas
They also list 5 up and coming blogs in Dallas.
The Black Blogosphere has taken issue with Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union 2009 symposium blog contest. The issue was brought to our attention by (who else) our fellow Texan Gina McCauley at What About Our Daughters. In her original post titled Black Bloggers Second Class Citizens Gina is one of the first to make us aware of Tavis’ intent.
Ironically on the day that we announce the second gathering of Black new media content creators in Chicago next June, Tavis Smiley made an announcement of his own. Y’all Tavis is getting with this century and in his own “special” way acknowledging the growing influence of Black bloggers.
Tavis is holding a “contest” to RANDOMLY select the next “Web Star”- His words not mine.
Gina then goes on to detail all that’s wrong with this contest; so does Black Web 2.0, so does Jack and Jill Politics, so does Global Grind. I agree with Jill Tubman who posts “The truth is that Tavis should be begging us to sit on stage with him not the other way around.”
Any one who clicks the link above can see how condescending this contest is to grown folks, but here are a few problems in bullet point form:
What’s up with the “one special blogger stuff”? I mean it sounds like an offer to 8 years olds. And is the blogger special because they are deemed so by this contest?
This might be good for someone who just started a blog or someone who is star struck. But for the serious Web Journalist or online activists that’s not a selling point.
Here’s the kicker for me, contest rule #1.
So that means Three (3) posts of interests to African-Americans makes you “one special blogger.” Wow. I would have thought 300 posts as a minimum for such and honor.
Then it really gets weird.
Now “one special blogger” is selected randomly? What’s so special about that?
Tavis Smiley, unbeknown to him, has been a distant mentor to me over the years. After reading his book Doing What’s Right, I began to refer to my work in the community as advocacy and took a number of pointers from Tavis on engaging people.
But somewhere along the way Tavis has lost the pulse of the people. It’s evident in how he reacted to Barack Obama skipping The State of the Black Union last year. That became Smiley’s line in the sand and he threw rocks at Obama’s Presidential Bid the rest of the way.
When listeners of the Tom Joyner Show became upset with Tavis, he picked up his ball and went home.
Tavis loves Black People, but I’m not sure if he understands black people. He understands our problems as a people, and he has his own ideas on how those problems should be solved. But does he really understand black people?
He obviously doesn’t understand Black Bloggers, because the rules and language of this contest is a slap in the face for people who lead the way in the Shaquanda Cotton, Don Imus, and Jena 6 issues of 2007 and made great strides in 2008 during the Presidential Election.
The only thing that makes any of us special is the fact that people choose to visit our sites from time to time. What makes Dallas South special is our readers, not a contest. Who’s to say that appearing on CSPAN at 2 a.m. won’t make somebody’s career. I guess it’s possible. But this brother will wait for another opportunity to become that one special blogger.
note: check out Gina’s post about the response she received from Tavis’ office.
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