Not Without A Fight

They will not go down easily. Not without a fight. Many parents have started their own "liberty libraries" to ensure their children have access to literature that has stood the test of time...to science...to mathematics. All those things no longer taught in schools. Things that have been replaced by divisive racist dogma promulgated by profiteering charlatans. 

Then it got serious. Organized. Focused on the real, underlying problem: the United States sucks at education. Free to Learn is not satisfied with merely expunging racist fascists from our classrooms, but all manner of political indoctrination. They also are working towards injecting learning and academic accomplishment in hopes that we might do better than come in 22nd internationally. They seem concerned that if we continue the status quo, let alone spiral down into a learning-free zone of indoctrination our children will not be able to compete against global rivals. 

So maybe The Woke have given rise to a great awakening. One can hope.

Vile Racist

Racism is alive and well and was recently on display in Savannah when a pastor held a political rally and banned white journalists from attending. It would be easy, too easy, so observe that were "white" substituted for "black" and vice versa that there would be hell to pay. Al Sharpton would descend and the ACLU would find some way to enhance their public presence.

But that isn't the real problem nor the worst of it.

If this pastor were a card carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan he could not have said or done anything more racist and more demeaning to African-Americans than what he did and what he said. It wasn't that he excluded white journalist but that he admitted any and all black journalists. What does that say about his views of the black community and black journalists? Basically he is saying they are incapable of any thought or belief that the Black Elite has not put in their empty heads. In his world view his fellow African-Americans are mindless drones and he bases this on little but the color of their skin. He is saying that all black journalists are all the same and will bow to his point of view and do his bidding because they are incapable of independent reasoning. And that is racism most vile.

Law Of Southern Discourse

Back in the days of analog modems, online chat rooms and bang path email addresses there was Godwin's Law. Even then, when only the brighter among us had internet access, online discourse degenerated and according to Godwin, ultimately ending with someone, or someone's argument,  being somehow related to Nazis or Hitler. Or both.

My how times have changed.

Internet speeds are faster and technology more pervasive driving online conversations from "flame-on" to "flame-out" in the blink of an eye. And, as the Greatest Generation fades into graves and from the memory of those whose freedoms they secured the currency of "you're a Nazi" has faded with them. Godwin's Law has been replaced with the Law of Southern Discourse (LSD).

The LSD could be viewed as a derivative form of  Godwin's with "Nazi" replaced by "Racist" but using the same tactic to recover from, by ending, a losing rhetorical engagement. LSD is, as everything seems to be these days, most closely associated with political issues and what is more political than matters of our public schools. This area of discourse is particularly susceptible due to historical issues around segregation and white flight, the hidden politics of what is allegedly a non-partisan government bureaucracy and the fact that parents' children are in play. Monetization of the Civil Rights Movement left society without a platform for intelligent discourse with the vacuum filled by shouting and hashtag hysterics.

The LSD differs from Godwin's largely in degree...severity of execution. LSD-ers a enormously self-righteous, entitled, immune to logic and allergic to facts. They are lightening quick to overreaction, vehement in their condemnation and severe in their demands for complete annihilation of those with whom they, often without material justification, take umbrage. They are interweb vigilantes acting as judge, jury and executioners in the virtual world, summarily, seemingly arbitrarily, executing those who meet with their displeasure.

They're like Nazis.

Forced Pregnancy

The zygote known as Cliffside is not only the product of compulsory copulation but now has gone just a bit too incestuous for comfort. But let us set aside talk of the hillbilly soap opera for now and focus on the more important and terribly inconvenient fact exposed by this knee-shaker.

This city cannot pay its own way.

The wrangling over Northlake Mall and the surrounding businesses demonstrates very clearly that the citizens of this proposed City of Cliffside cannot or will not pay for their precious little city and its promise of "local control." This is neither new nor surprising. But because the fight over the authority to redistribute business wealth to resident/voters is between two prospective cities and is not city vs county the issue is naked, stark and in plain view.

Cities are parasites pure and simple. They take money from businesses to support the political power structures housed in their city halls and if you are unconvinced spend a few moments and ponder the newly formed partnership between Brookhaven and the Pink Pony. The folks behind citihood stampedes have always known this but this time around we have two cities, Cliffside and Tucker, conjoined at Northlake and any attempt to separate the two will result in the death of at least one.

The real problem is this situation exposes the lies underpinning the successful citihood movements. How can it be that this economic engine is absolutely necessary for city viability yet at the same time taking it away from the county has no negative impact? That was the gist of the argument around Perimeter Center when Dunwoody was formed. It begs the question: if the county can do just fine after all the business centers are gobbled up into cities then why can't the cities do just fine without gobbling up these centers in the first place? The lie is exposed and the liars are exposed as liars of the most odious sort.

Where power grab and prevarication intersect it is not uncommon to find hypocrisy. Such is the case here. Though "local control" is the banner they rally around the real force behind citihood is money. In DeKalb's denser, richer northern areas the prevalent perception is "we send all our money south and  don't get anything in return" which can be viewed as selfishness or a reluctance to contribute to the greater good but is nonetheless used to fan the flames of anger and rebellion. Effectively.

Then they turn around and do exactly the same thing to businesses that they have just successfully accused the county of doing to them. Take their money, spend it elsewhere while giving them no effective representation when spending decisions are made. To bring it closer to home, how, EXACTLY, does the Cheesecake Factory benefit from road paving in a cloistered subdivision like Redfield? Yet that is what they and many other businesses in Perimeter Center are paying for.

And there are racial overtones. After all this is DeKalb and in DeKalb "North" is code for "white" and "South" means "black." And we cannot pass this off on the ignorant inbred racism of Southern Whites as many of those in the north are also Northern Transplants and where they come from liberalism flourishes because it is not challenged. Ironically, even with self-segregation it takes only a few short years before they are ready to trade in their membership in the Knights of Columbus for a chance at becoming Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. So while it is politically incorrect (and ineffective) for these folks to openly discuss their views on race it is interesting to observe they carry a racism that is more raw and closer to the surface than anyone who lays claim to being Southern by the Grace of God.

It is not that forming these cities will not hurt anyone, it just won't hurt anyone these folks care about.

Are City Schools On The Pogrom?

Since before the City of Dunwoody was formed there have been various rumblings about racial motivations behind actions in the Wold. This has resulted in one court case that was dismissed pretty much out of hand and a more recent federal case that appears to be moving forward. While the latter is not specifically charging racism events including the Parks Bond Referendum have made it clear that race plays a significant role in how the City deals with PIB apartments that are home to a significant minority population.

It was during the Bond discussions that individuals highly placed in the Dunwoody power structure let it be known that a significant problem in some schools were the children from the PIB apartments and that replacing those apartments with baseball diamonds would address that problem. Since then the City has been relentless in nurturing the perception that there are many problems with the minority population in that area.

Now that we're looking forward to either a Dunwoody Charter Cluster or Dunwoody City Schools will this City be able to cast off the mantle of racism they've so willingly shouldered? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Given that the impending breakaway is from a DeKalb system with its almost exclusively black power structure in order to create a system controlled by whites charges of racism are sure to surface. Given this City's track record on diversity and inclusion it seems increasingly likely that failure of these initiatives is the price Dunwoody will pay for a debt already incurred.

The Beat Goes On, The Beat Goes On

Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La da da de de, la da da de da...

In a concerted effort to ensure that the melanin endowed know upon which side of the city limits they belong our Boys In Blue (or at least one) has offered an object lesson to one of Dunwoody's small business owners with a traffic stop for equipment violations that escalated into a failed drug bust. So just how does a non-moving violation of such substance that it is later dismissed become a street art performance of a scene from the movie "Crash"?

It's hard to say. What the officer should have done is finish the paperwork on the non-moving violation and send the man on his way. Sadly this is not what happened.

One version claims that the officer looked at the guy and immediately concluded that he's a drug offender and asked to search his vehicle--a request that was denied. This resulted in what is said to be an illegal detention until an "indicate on cue" dog* was fielded by a neighboring police force and successfully sniffed out an empty cashew container.**

Perhaps that's true. Perhaps this officer is the product of the harsh life he faces in keeping Dunwoody's mean streets clean. In an effort to limit perceived damage to the reputation of the force some now say he's a 'roid-ragin' rogue and his home should be checked for HGH and the like. Of course that would require a SWAT team since we know he's armed. But perhaps he's no singular rogue cop.

Others say this is just part of the Department's concerted effort to troll for seizable assets. Today's lengthy and laborious process for contesting a seizure means that almost all property taken is effectively taken permanently and without reasonable due process. If cops want it then it's theirs. All they need to do is find a spliff. Doesn't really matter how it got there.

Still others claim this is just another face of the racial purification effort ongoing in The Wold. Simple case of DWB***---a most serious offense in and to Dunwoody. Given that the "offense" occurred so close to the current target of other City purification efforts there might be substance to this assertion. Catch 'em coming in and show 'em the way out.

Of course this officer's Brothers In Blue stand firmly behind him and have exonerated him of any wrong doing. No surprises there. The unwilling party in this street side improv drama is less than pleased and has filed suit claiming his rights were violated---an assertion with which the proverbial "Reasonable Man" would probably agree. If it goes to court we'll find out how effective the Police Departments tactics are at aiding and abetting City Hall's racial cleansing agenda.

Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce
Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss
The cars keep a going faster all the time
Bums still cry, "Hey buddy, have you got a dime?"

And the beat goes on, yes, the beat goes on
And the beat goes on, and the beat goes on
The beat goes on and the beat goes on
The beat goes...

*They're not really "drug dogs" anymore, if ever they were.
**There is damn little a dog won't do for cashew.
***Black or brown, it doesn't matter.

What Would Lenny Do?

Those not living under a rock or imprisoned in Guantanamo have probably heard the latest earth shattering news on the Civil Rights front. No, not from the Supreme Court and not about Mandela. Turns out that a sixty six year old woman born and raised in the Jim Crow South has confessed to having, at some time in her life, actually uttered the Voldemort of Vulgarity -- the Derogatory Derivative of the Word "Negro". And it wasn't like someone put a gun to her head to get her to say it.

Now this News That's Too Old To Be New stirs up much emotion and greed, and on occasion a thought or two. Ponder if you will...

"What Would Lenny Do?"

Classic Lenny would book the Apollo Theatre and take the stage spewing that most Derogatory Derivative of the Word "Negro" until it had lost all its power to offend or he was reduced to a pale grease spot by an angry mob the likes of which are more commonly associated with Detroit winning the NBA championship.

That might be Classic Lenny, but Lenny, while not aligned with his times, was acutely aware of the times in which he lived. It is more likely that Modern Lenny would simply hop on the MARTA and armed with a smart phone take videos of those very people so quick to claim offense but who spew forth that very word as if an eighth grader filling verbal blanks and empty spaces with "like" or "you know". He would sample these into a hip-hop, beat-box satirical video sure to go viral on YouTube.

It is this unfettered non-offending use juxtaposed with oh so public claims of offense when used by others that makes this word both transcend racism and at the same time become the perfect embodiment of racism--new as well as old. And it defies logic even within the black community as it presents a conundrum so corrosive that it tears down many of the gains made by the Civil Rights movement. Even Oprah and Chris Rock cannot agree with one adamantly imposing a total ban and the other observing the futility of the ban whilst noting the ironic humour associated with allowable use vs suicidal utterance. This word no longer stands for just the racial hatred of the old South, but now represents a modern racial divisiveness that thrives on a new hatred which has rendered honest discussions of race in America nothing more than a bloodied mine field littered with the corpses of those who tried while the remaining generals of the Civil Rights movement laugh from the sidelines.

They have won their battle with one word their sword of victory. But they have slain with the edge not the point yielding a brutal and vulgar victory that may yet ring hollow because at the end of the day Paula Deen is being persecuted because of the money in her bank account and she is being judged not on her character but by the color of her skin. That is the very definition of racism.

Down. Doubled. Redoubled

In recent match-ups Atlanta has consistently placed last amongst regional competition. The fundamental problem is that "Team Atlanta" will bid and play only in spades. To be fair, if distribution points necessary to open include a void in spades, TA might open a club but if any spades are found across the table, then spades it is.

It gets worse. Whenever a competitor sees 150 points in spade honors in their hand and they double the inevitable spade contract, TA never "corrects to lower suit" but instead will often re-double. It is as if TA believe they are playing poker where bluffing can be a successful tactic. It is unclear if they even understand the significance of "all the cards have been dealt".

It would be nice to report that TA's card play is far superior to their bidding, but given they have narrowed their opportunities to spade contracts which they have often overbid and consequently are doomed from the outset, it is difficult to assess their skills. How does one measure the merits of down two versus down three? Doubled. Re-doubled.

This is not the first time Team Atlanta has exhibited single suit mania, but in the past, when it was diamonds, the same mania afflicted all teams in the region. This created a level playing field, where all competitors were equally stupid. As it became clear this approach could not long endure all the other teams learned to make the best bid for the cards they were dealt and became quite skilled at bringing those contracts home. TA on the other hand simply switched from diamonds to spades, continuing a process doomed to failure.

Increasingly many of the best competitions are invitational and unless Team Atlanta abandons their spades only strategy they risk becoming so non-competitive that they will be dropped from the list. They must become adept at bidding and winning non-spade contracts and aspire to one day compete in the more lucrative and difficult no-trump bids. Team Atlanta is already far behind their competition and each delay is another step towards unrecoverable failure.