Monday, December 31, 2007

2008

Dallas is a city that struggles to get it together and 2007 was not different from the previous years. There have been some interesting factors in Dallas this year and they will truly be something to watch in 2008.

1. Downtown: While millions of TIF (Tax Increment Financing) dollars have been poured into downtown, there is still little life in the heart of the city (Main Street,Commerce St. and Elm Street). All you find are non-affordable apartments and townhouses being constructed and virtually no retail. There are restaurants, but as soon as the TIF money goes, they go out of business or move. It will be interesting to see how Mayor Leppert will make a difference in Retail Downtown.
2. DART: The fact that DART is 1 billion over budget on the Orange Line and nobody understands why DART is in this mess is amazing. Let's see if Mayor Leppert,Dwaine (Dwayne,Dewayne) Caraway, Tennell Adkins and Jerry Allen will make a public statement since there is the possibility of rail lines in Dallas being delayed to keep Irving quiet.
3. DISD: As I wrote a month ago, DISD is not deserving of the publics trust for a new bond program. There are too many holes in the system and they are not being plugged. Where is Mayor Leppert on this? Do you suggest that we have a new superintendent?
4. Trinity: Mayor Leppert made the public many promises on the Trinity vote and we are going to hold him accountable along with all of the council members who supported the Trinity Toll Road.
5. Southern Dallas Development: I have noticed that some people are not using southern sector as much as they have in the past and are now talking about southern Dallas development, and that is where I have an interest. I want to see southern Dallas developed so that jobs will be in the are and so that Dallas can grow its tax base.
6. Dallas Housing Authority: Mayor Leppert made it public that his intent was to do something different with Ann Lott if she could not fix the accounting problems at Dallas Housing Authority. Why? His pension for the camera showed itself during this time.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Thought of the Week

The truth about injustice always sounds outrageous.

James H. Cove

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

My Dear Aunt Freda

The old saying. "You have to get it right everyday" is most prevalent in my mind today. Yesterday was as usual as it could be for Christmas, I was about the business of sharing in the joy of the birth of Jesus with my family and friends and started the day out with a friend of over 30 years who has found himself in a state of depression and can not seem to work his way out. We talked for over two hours, which delayed me from my Christmas ritual,about his current state of mind and how I wanted to assure him that I am here for him. We ended the conversation with a God bless you and keep you and I will talk with you later.

I loaded my car with the presents that I would be delivering from house to house and started on my journey of celebration. My first stop was at Aunt Freda's house where she and her daughter had prepared the meal. This was unusual because for the last few years, I have been the one who cooked for Aunt Freda. Her daughter was here visiting from Kansas City for the holidays and wanted to help her mother prepare a meal. All went very well, the meal was good and God knows there was a lot of laughter and fellowship.

It was time to open the presents, and I had purchased a pair of Christmas Pajamas for Aunt Freda. She could not wait to put them on. After she put the Pajamas on, we starting taking pictures for our memories and that was a hoot because Aunt Freda was styling and posing for the camera. Then I had to leave to continue on my journey, Aunt Freda was not happy because she wanted me to stay longer. I hugged and kissed her and went on my way.

This morning around 10:00 a.m. Aunt Freda's daughter called to tell me that the paramedics were there and could not revive Aunt Freda and they were headed to Methodist Hospital. I left in a flash to meet them , and when I got there the family was in a room and she could not be revived. She is now at peace.

"YOU HAVE TO GET IT RIGHT EVERYDAY!"

Friday, December 21, 2007

Black Santa Claus wishes you a MERRY CHRISTMAS

I would like to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAN and a HAPPY NEW YEAR

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

The Montgomery Bus Boycott worked because Blacks were unified, organized and they kept their hard earned wages in the black community. It worked because the whites took a hard hit when blacks took their dollars away from them. It worked then and it can work today. Just like back then, you had a few scary, uncle Tom Negroes, who tried to discouraged it, but, the overwhelming majority of brave, strong, God-fearing, intelligent Blacks, said, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” When will the divided, scary Negroes of today declare the same thing? As you can see, every generation has their token Negro that the whites use to discourage progress. It did not work then, and we should not allow a few Uncle Toms who are trying to line their own pockets in the name of the Black community (Southern Dallas)to deter us from doing what is right. We should stand up and move aside brainwashed, ignorant Negroes like them,and keep on pushing forward for the ultimate goal of helping our people and getting respect BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!!!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Mayor Tom Leppert's Begging Ban

My business has been located in downtown Dallas since 1981 and I personally know some of the homeless people who have been on and off the streets for years. As most people know, there are many different reasons that people are homeless. Some of the reasons can be drug addiction, alcoholics, working poor, mental illness and recently moved to town. All of the people that are homeless do not panhandle.

While I do not believe in being an enabler for bad behavior,I will continue to do what I have been doing over the past 25 years to help where I want to help. I want to directly help the people that I choose to help by buying them meals, bottle water, soda and personal hygiene items. I have no interest in giving an organization money to go to administrative staff and other operational cost. No one, that includes Mayor Leppert, can tell me that I can not spend my money on who I want to spend it on. This is America.

Mayor Leppert/DART 900 Million Dollar Fiasco

Mayor Leppert is a person who seems to be out looking for the camera for any photo opportunity that he can find and it strikes me as curious that we have not heard a word from him on the DART situation. He was all over the camera's making sure that Ann Lott, President of DHA, understood his position about management of the public's money, and if she did not get her act together, she would be history. DHA, after being audited, was found to have not adequately accounted for about 3.5 million dollars.

We now have a situation where DART is trying to figure out how the current buildout schedule can be meet with the cost that have been allocated to projects. DART has declared that the agency will not have all of the funds that will be needed to stay on current schedule with the Orange Line (Irving) and the extension to Rowlett. DART says that the projections for construction has gone up and that is why the 900 million dollar shortage is shown. Remember the Orange Line is only 20% designed and therefore you can not have a true cost.

I say baloney. If you really want to see where the problem started, look at the contracts that were let in the last 2 years in Project Management. Consider the fact that one contractor has over 1 billion dollars in contacts for construction with little competition. Consider that the chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee was Councilman Jerry Allen and there were numerous changes to the financial plan under his leadership and those adjustment affect the the 20 year financial plan. The 20 year Financial Plan was not sent out to the member cities this year with the Budget as has been done in previous years. There are many 3rd tier relationships that are not being bid by DART. A million hear and a million there, and you soon will have some real money in question.

The public has not heard a peep out of Mayor Leppert, Dwaine(Dwayne,Dewayne) Caraway or Tennell Adkins about this matter which could ultimately affect downtown Dallas,West Dallas,The Cotton Belt, and all of the southern sector extensions that were worked on to ensure that DART did not only relegate Buses to our neighborhoods (Southern Dallas). Mayor Leppert, Dwaine(Dwayne,Dewayne)Caraway and Tennell Adkins seem to be calling the shots with the Dallas appointees on the DART board and I would expect them to be the first on the Dallas City Council to ensure that Dallas will get all that has been promised to Dallas in the same timeframe that was projected by DART. Dallas pays in 55% of all the sales tax revenue to DART and that means if you put the other 12 member cities sales tax revenue together, they do not equal what Dallas is paying to DART. Where are the mayors Negroes on this issue? I can't hear you!!!!!!

DISD/Magnet School Principals

Thanks to the current administration for not changing the title of principal to dean at the magnet schools and also for raising the slaries. Sometimes I think it is hard to get this administration to move in the right direction.

I am concerned that the salary range and title was not apart of the recruitment for the new principals. Seems like current principals would have been more attracted to the position if they had known that the pay was more. Why would DISD settle for assistant principals from other districts to fill these most important positions? Makes no sense to me.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

DISD-Bond Program

More bad news from DISD regarding the audit. The preliminary indication is that 100
million dollars will have to be reallocated and that the district's end of the year balance in its general operating fund would have to be reduced to $117.7 million from 135.8 million. A million here and a million there soon adds up to real money.

This district wants to go to the public for more bond money to improve schools, but the public should be asking many questions about the previous bond and how it benefited the district overall. How many new schools were built in traditional African American neighborhoods? How many new schools have low enrollments of students? Why was the schools not included in the previous bond not put at the top of the list for the new bond?

Voters should be leery of what is about to come out of DISD for more bond money and probably higher taxes.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Sheriff Lupe Valdez

The idea of having a Christmas diner for all of the employees in the Sheriff's department was good, but spending taxpayer money to fund it is not. What was the sheriff thinking about? To make matters even worse, one of the commissioners would have to vote on a contact for her family's firm to cater the food. Now that's really a bad idea. Thank God Commissioner Dickey had the good sense not to be involved in such an obvious wrong way to spend taxpayer money.

Sheriff Valdez, good jester, wrong funding source.

Ann Lott/Dallas Housing Authority

Months ago when Laura Miller was attempting to oust Dallas Housing Authority President Ann Lott, many citizens rushed to her defense at a board meeting and spoke openly about what they believed was an attempt by then Mayor Laura Miller to take Ms. Lott out of her position as president. I believe that Willis Johnson spent a great deal of time on his talk show allowing people to speak of the situation and he also encouraged the listening audience to attend the board meeting.

When then Mayor Laura Miller began to meddle in the DHA's affairs, she not only was called into question, but her board chairman appointee resigned. Mayor Miller then appointed Betty Culbreath as chairman to get the situation under control. What's the difference between Mayor Miller and Mayor Tom Leppert? Maybe its the Negroes that are with Mayor Leppert.

It was very interesting to watch new Mayor Tom Leppert Perform for the camera and talk about the accounting errors of approximately 3.5 million that must be accounted for in the voucher program or returned to HUD. Ms. Lott indicated that there are computer problems and that they will be fixed. There was not any indication that any money was taken. Mayor Leppert, who does not have a vote, said that if there were not changes within six months that something would change. He virtually implied that Ms. Lott would loose her position.

I believe that Ann Lott will do just as she said and will make sure that all of the problems will be fixed,but my questions is what's with this mayor?

Monday, December 17, 2007

Dallas iMedia Spotlight on "Best of 2007" Programming and First Pledge Drive

Dallas iMedia Network celebrates its "Best of 2007" programming December 17 to December 21 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on iMedia's anchor cable channel 95. In conjunction with the special programming, Dallas iMedia will spotlight iMedia services made available to the public, showcase 'I am iMedia" promos by individuals in the community, and present its first pledge drive encouraging year-end giving to support the nonprofit community media organization. iMedia promotes local issues, people and events through information and entertainment programming important to area residents.

Tune in and call in during pledge drive week. Enjoy great programming on Dallas iMedia channels 95, 96 and 99, and give your tax-deductible gift to help iMedia continue to serve our community. Any and all donations are appreciated. Call 214-631-5571 to make your support donation Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Information is also available at www.dallasimedia.net with an on-line giving link.


The "Best of 2007" program line-up will include:



Monday, 12-17 7:00 pm "Booker TV, " Booker T. Washington Arts Magnet student production, and other youth programming

Tuesday, 12-18 6:00 pm "Hoy en America"

Wednesday, 12-19 7:00 pm "100 Years of Thanksgiving Together"

Thursday, 12-20 7:00 pm "Nonprofit Notes: SPCA of Texas"

Friday, 12-21 7:00 pm "Carter Albrecht Memorial Concert"



Complete daily schedules are available at www.dallasimedia.net.



Dallas iMedia Network is the public access television system and interactive voice for the people and businesses of greater Dallas.

Texan of the Year Nominations




Thanks to State Rep. Helen Giddings for her nomination of Everson Walls for Texan of the year. He would be my choice because of the unselfishness of his action to donate a kidney to his longtime friend and former Dallas Cowboys teammate Ron Springs. While this act was recent, Everson has been known to be active in the community for years.

State Senator Royce West was also nominated for his work in the Senate, and that should be applauded, but my heart goes out to someone who gives up an organ to save another humans life. This is really important because of the race. Many African Americans do not understand the value of organ donations and this act has helped the community to have a better understanding.

Thought of the Week

It is better to attempt great things and fail than to attempt small things and win.

Friday, December 14, 2007

I Am So Proud




For the last ten years I have been a judge for the EWI (Executive Women's International)scholarships. The most rewarding experience is to meet young people who are talented and gifted. Tania Foster is one that I can not forget. In her interview, she talked about the charity that she had started,Dallas is Love, and how she worked to send gift cards to soldiers.

This week Tania and her charity, Dallas is Love, were spotlighted in Jet magazine.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

DISD Trustee Carla Ranger

Once again Trustee Ranger stands up for what she believes and is not pushed into making a decision that she is not ready to make. The extension of the contract for superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa until 2012 was a real questionable move. After making all of the hoopla about Dr. Hinojosa's admission last week that he would not meet all the reform goals he set for 2010 to improve student performance the school board voted 5 to 1 to extend his contract. It was revealed that students met just 35 percent of targets for improving Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills passing rates and measures of college readiness such as SAT scores. To my amazement, that is down 50% from what they met last year.

The Road to Broad seems to be the road to nowhere and the students will be the ones who will suffer the most. Have most of the thinking people moved out of Dallas? We are having a difficult time getting the right people elected to office.

Thank you Carla Ranger.

State President SCLC/Peter Johnson

James Ragland's article today in the Dallas Morning News "Agree with his policies or not, mayor's been effective so far" really got my attention. The first thing that I thought was successful at what? The Trinity River vote was not an overwhelming demand from the public. Some citizens took a good look at who was voted in as mayor and began to wish for Ed Oakley and his politcial allies on the council are basically Dwaine(Dewayne,Dwayne) Caraway, Tennell Adkins, Jerry Allen and Dave Neumann. All of those council members are freshmen and could be tossed out of office in 2 years (we hope).

Dwaine (Dwayne,Dewayne) Caraway is just pitiful, he was sucking up with every word. I miss Dr. Thornton-Reese, atleast she was independent.

What I loved the most was the comments from Peter Johnson about Mayor Leppert. He started out with "In the civil rights movement, we had what we called SWAB-smart -ass white boys who know more about black people than we know." "In the best sense of the word, that's what he is." Mr. Johnson went on to say that "He is new." "He's a typical rich, North Dallas white man who has lots of money. He's been successful, and he thinks he knows what we need." But Mr. Ragland went on to say that what Mr. Johnson is most concerned with, as he explained it to him, is Dallas patronizing history of accommodation. "We have seen in the past where a mayor... surrounds himself with a chosen few black gatekeepers, and everyone else has to go through them."

I would like to thank Peter Johnson for standing up for our community.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

DISD Bond/Willis Johnson

Word is surfacing that Dr. Michael Hinojosa is going to hire Willis Johnson to run the Southern Sector campaign for the new bond program for DISD. Watch out black people, you will will be sold out again for a few dollars.

As a former member of the Bond committee, I will not be advocating for new bond money for DISD. In the last bond program the new schools were not built in predominately African American communities and schools like Kimball, Carter, T.L. Marsalis,Atwell, Adell Turner,etc. did not get the full attention that should have been afforded them. Our children deserve the same facilities, access to technology and all amenities as all children in the district.

Texas Southern University/Richard Knight,Jr.

Former Dallas city manager Richard Knight Jr. has been tapped by Gov. Rick Perry to serve on the Texas Southern University governing board. Knight served as the city manager from 1986 to 1990 and now is the managing partner of Pegasus Texas Holdings LLC,

The appointment completes TSU's nine-member board, which was remade after a series of management and financial missteps at the state's largest historically black university. The previous board resigned.

Knight will join state NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, investment manager Sam Bryant, management consultant Richard Holland, former state Rep. Glenn Lewis, Choice Energy president Javier Loya, former Dell Computer Corp. executive Richard Salwen, former Dallas school board member Curtistene Smith McCowan and Tracye McDaniel, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Partnership, on the board.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Magnet schools in DISD

Student and teachers have every right to question DISD in regards to any changes at the magnet schools. It has gotten to the point that trusting what the superintendent says is very difficult, because Dallas Achieves is making the calls not the school board.

We have two of the nations top schools in our magnet program and it would make absolutely no sense to tamper with something that has been very successful for DISD and the community. If its not broke, why fix it?

We wonder why students are leaving the district, maybe because the changes are so radical that it easier to not fight the system, but to to leave. Please do not tinker with success!!!!!

DART's Bus Purchase

The thought of DART's board of directors considering the purchase of 525 new buses at this time should tell the public that something is going wrong at DART. The purchase of new buses could be over 150 million dollars and I am not sure that purchase would include spare parts, additional tires, etc.

With last weeks news of the capitol budget being at least 900 million short, and that there could be delays to the LRT (Light Rail) buildout (Irving, Rowlett and the 2030 Long Range Plan), there should be a serious look at all capital expenditures to ensure that there is not an additional cost to the agency that could push the LRT Buildout further out. The bus purchase and light rail buildout is all part of the 20 year financial plan for DART and should be looked at overall, not as individual items of the budget.

Thought of the Week

A sense of shame is not a bad moral compass.

Colin Powell

Friday, December 7, 2007

I am a Christian by Maya Angelou

"A woman ' s heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find he r. "

When I say... "I am a Christian" I ' m not shouting "I ' m clean livin ' "
I ' m whispering "I was lost, Now I ' m found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I don ' t speak of this with pride.
I ' m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I ' m not trying to be strong.
I ' m professing that I ' m weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I ' m not bragging of success.
I ' m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I ' m not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I ' m not holier than thou,
I ' m just a simple sinner Who received God ' s good grace, somehow!

May God continue bless you so abundantly that you look for others to bless as well...

Don't Move DISD Goal Posts/Small minds can't hamper a worthy quest

If I remember correctly, more than one DISD Board member questioned the ability to reach the goals that were set for the students in the "Road to Broad" process. Of course the trend line is not positive because the goal post was set beyond the 100yard line.

Surely the Dallas Morning News editorial board understands the concept of setting realistic goals so that the students,teachers, parents and community can buy into to the overall mission of achievement for the students. If the goal post is set too far away, the students soon get tired of trying to score and leave school. That's called a dropout.

It is irresponsible of the Dallas Morning News editorial board to declare that Trustee Dr. Lew Blackburn does not believe that the children of DISD can reach higher goals because he did not agree with Dr. Hinojosa and Dallas Achieves unrealistic goals. There is nothing in his long record of serving as a Trustee of DISD that indicates he does not believe in growth and development of children.

If I had to put my money on the editorial board's or Dr. Lew Blackburn's knowledge and understanding of educating urban children, it would be a hands down choice of Dr. Lew Blackburn.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

More Bad News From DART

As I mentioned to many people that called me about the DART over budget, this is just the beginning. The City of Dallas,Mayor Leppert, Dwaine (Dewayne,Dwayne)Caraway, Tennell Adkins had better wake up and get involved in the process of reprogramming the projects and the budget at DART. When you know and understand how much of the additional Rail was to be in the city of Dallas,who pays into DART approimately 55% of the sales tax revenue, and now that service can be lost or moved out to a point where it is irrelevant. The extensions to the Univ. of North Texas, Inland Port,Westmoreland and Redbird Lane, West Dallas and the Cotton Belt all may be moved out for years or taken off the project list completely.

This short fall did not just happen, and while the agency is putting a spin on the reason for the short fall,the most inexperienced person should be able to see that designing the Orange line to Irving is not where the shortfall started. It is only
20% designed. Look at the current lines under construction and see if they are over budget and how that impacted the current budget. All of the current expenditures have been sanctioned by the Project Management Committee and then by the board. If one would just listen to the committee tapes you would hear the explanations that were given to the board for the higher cost,and you would have an idea of why the agency is where it is today.

Mayor Leppert,Dwaine (Dewayne,Dwayne) Caraway, Tennell Adkins, Willis Johnson, Jerry Allen, Ron Natinsky, Sheffie Kadane, Elba Garcia and Dave Newman need to tell the citizens of Dallas how they plan to handle what is about to happen to Dallas citizens with the Light rail buildout, BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)and HOV lanes. I think that it is going to ultimately be devastating to Dallas, Irving, Rowlett, Addison and Farmers Branch.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Everson Walls

A good man. What can we say about a man who was a class act when he donated a kidney to a former Dallas Cowboy teammate, Ron Springs. He deserves all of the accolades that are bestowed upon him. While this is not his only contribution to mankind, this is truly one of his most unselfish gifts.

The tribute to honor Mr. Walls is at 7 p.m. Friday at the Belo Mansion, 3200 Ross Avenue.

DART's Shortfall

How can the Orange Line to Irving be the 900 million shortfall? That line is not under construction. Irving has every right to be concerned and the other 12 member cities should take a good look at the cost overruns on the current construction which comes out of the Project Management Committee.

Dallas Transportation committee should be wondering about the second alignment to Downtown and also the connection to Love Field and the trolley system for downtown. The real story was not told today in the Dallas Morning News. The spin doctors are at work, but the public should insist on more information. DART is a public agency getting public dollars for operation.

Mayor's Party at Perot pad

Thank you James Ragland for getting it. Some people do not understand that we are suppose to have "Open Government". Maybe the like of understanding is the limited involvement in the community and being appointed or serving on boards and commissions. It is easy to say that there was nothing to the meeting, but one should understand that Perot Jr. will be coming back again asking for taxpayers money and what will the mayor say when Perot Jr. says " I worked with you, so now you should work with me." As we all know, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

I do not believe calling it a Christmas party removed the responsibilities of the council persons or the mayor, and they did not leave their titles or duties behind for the event. You are an elected official 24/7.

Some people need to get more experience under their belts before thinking that they have all of the answers. When I was younger, I use to think that I had all the answers and could not understand why some of the older people would act the way that they did. I now know that it comes from experience.

Government should be transparent, and the "Christmas party" at Perot Jr's condominium that was closed to the media was not transparent.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Leppert/Perot

Councilman Mitchel Rasansky better be careful that he doses not get on the bad side of Mayor Tom Leppert by speaking out about the mayor's party that was thrown at Ross Perot Jr.'s condominium in W Dallas Victory Hotel & Residence. Who is he to question Tom Leppert?

There is no way that you could have all of the council members invited and "no business talk" would take place. Remember this is the mayor who played wild and loose with the truth on the Trinity vote.

Most may not recall that Eddie Reaves, who work for Perot,Jr., was nominated to replace me on the DART board. The spin doctors had him removed from Perot Systems website and said he no longer worked for Perot Systems so that he could get on the DART board. When the city council found out, they rejected the notion of putting Eddie Reaves on the DART board and that is how the city has the unfortunate experience of Jerry Christian serving on the DART board. It should also be noted that Willis Johnson, the mayors head Negro, was the one who bought the name of Eddie Reaves to Dwaine (Dewayne/Dwayne) Caraway for nomination to the DART board, and that Willis Johnson's son works for Perot, Jr.

Councilwoman Pauline Medrano is being cautious, as she should be about this new administration. She too had better be careful because these are bad people who go after you with meanness.

The Allen Group,Dallas Logistics Hub,should watch what is going to happen with their investment in the Southern Sector and make sure that the Dallas Mayor is not to cozy with to Perot, Jr. who has openly stated that the Dallas Logistics Hub is a threat to the development at the Alliance Airport. Southern Dallas needs the 60,000 jobs that have been projected by The Allen Group.

Monday, December 3, 2007

R.C. Hickman

Mr. R.C. Hickman was seen around town with his camera taking pictures at most events. He was always a kind man with a nice smile and conversation about his work. To many of us, he was a historian and did the work through his camera lens.


See some of his work: http://www.cah.utexas.edu/exhibits/hickman/home/hickman_home.htm

We will miss you Mr. Hickman

Bank Loans in Southern Dallas

What is new about banks not lending money in Souhtern Dallas? Maybe there are some new people on the scene who can not remember 15 to 20 years ago when Robert Pitre posted banners outside of his car lot on Harwood and Grand that indicated that banks were not making loans in Southern Dallas. Maybe they cannot remember when banks were protested for not lending in South Dallas. Forgive me, these Negroes do not protest. Maybe some of the people who are writing and talking about the disparity now were not here when others made the same claims or just maybe they think they have a better handle on things and the bankers will listen to them.

Clearly there must be an investment in Southern Dallas for the city of Dallas to grow, because the city can not grow North. There will be investors in Southern Dallas, but they will not all be African Americans. Southern Dallas is racially diverse and the expectation is that all will participate in the growth.

Thought of the Week

Man cannot live by profit alone.


James Bladwin

5 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELL PHONE COULD DO

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for surv ival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST: Emergency The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobiles is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile; network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

SECOND: Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to dr ive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk). Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!"

THIRD: Hidden Battery Power Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

FOURTH: How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone? To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #. A 15- digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones. And...

FIFTH: Free Directory Service for Cells Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial:
(800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

Pass it on to your family and friends.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Negro Politics

Peter Johnson went on Wednesday November 28, 2007 to speak to the city council about lead in toys. Peter and Ronald Wright went to California to visit with manufacturers on this issue. He was approached by Willis Johnson before speaking and asked what did he need? He simply stated what his reason was for coming before the council. Peter then was called by Dwaine (Dewayne,Dwayne) Caraway to come up front before he spoke (private conversation) and Caraway assured him that he was going to say nice things about his work.

These Negroes are trying to keep African American citizens from coming to city hall to express themselves on issues of concern. I think the name for that is gatekeeper. Our community is in trouble!!!!