It's Juneteenth ya'll...

Yeah, I'm late. I decided to commemorate all my emancipated liberties and whatnot by sitting on my hindparts reading a book and sipping tea. Thank you President Lincoln, appreciate ya! 

For those that don't know: Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.

Since it's Saturday as well, here's a little video shout out. See what you think of this guy, Canton Jones, he's a contemporary gospel artist and his song Hello Sunshine talks about that feeling after you've come through the storm... kinda like Juneteenth. (see what I did there?) Enjoy...

So raise up your summer cocktail of choice and reflect on the fact that you are most likely not picking cotton, chained to a fence post or plotting your escape to the north. Sorry, I watched some of Roots last night...

Texas Fight? Confessions of an Absentee Alumni

Yeah, yeah - I went to the University of Texas. But rarely will you find me throwing up the longhorn sign or repping the place. My plan involved Stanford but BougieDad opened the mail detailing my full scholarship to Texas and that was that. Texas was exactly what I expected: huge, packed, and a little impersonal. Sure, the education was top-notch but I always felt like I had to figure it all out on my own. In short, I wanted a wee bit more coddling before getting drop-kicked into the cold cruel world. UT- Austin does not coddle. Well, I survived. I finally sort of joined the Alumni association (on Linked In at least) this year. Anyway, once a year I trot out some Longhorn gear and represent.

Today is Texas-OU weekend. It's a 104-year tradition, matching Texas and Oklahoma in a football game called the Red River classic. A whole bunch of folks roll into town, drink a lot, spend tons of money, watch a football game and party some more. I sipped wine, fell asleep early, got up and put on my burnt orange polo shirt. The game is quite sad. At any rate, in honor of my alma mater - Go Horns?!

Dear South Carolina, Keep it Up! Thanks. Love, Texas

No one is happier to see right wing nuttiness run amuck in South Carolina than Texans (maybe Alaskans?). Someone PLEASE take the attention off of our foolishness and shine the spotlight on someone else's buffoonery. Hate it when I have to apologize for my home state. Lord knows, they have done plenty to make me shamed lately (not ashamed, shamed). Thankfully over the course of the summer, South Carolina has stepped up to the plate for me. Good looking out, guys! Keep the crazy coming!

The brilliant folks over at Jack & Jill Politics agree. Last week, they wrote an article on why perhaps South Carolina should secede from the union. Basically, you've got your Mark Sanford nonsense. Not just the creep, creep, creepin': old boy was trying to reject the Obama Dollar$ (Recovery Funds) until his state rose up against him. The junior senator, Jim DeMint, is the brilliant wing nut who said denying Obama on the health care issue would "be his Waterloo." And then of course, there is everyone's new favorite: Joe "You Lie!" Wilson. By the way, his overall lack of repentance is a level of wrong that must be addressed by Congress. There are rules of protocol and etiquette for a reason. Moving on...

Yahoo! agrees; asking the question: What's the matter with South Carolina?

Members of both parties have expressed dismay at the kind of attention Wilson's comment brought to South Carolina - a new embarrassment, some said, on top of an already distressing summer, thanks to the sex scandal that extinguished Sanford's rising star. The state GOP's increasingly caustic tone, some Democrats said, was particularly troubling due to South Carolina's troubled racial history.

South Carolina actually has quite the history of not feeling "the diversity" (Think Strom Thurmond). I would stop and fact check, but aren't they still flying a version of their flag (stupid flag by the way, it's a tree and a moon??!) with the confederate stripes on it? Dixie is not so post-racial, ya'll. Come with us towards the Barack New World Order.

Oh, honorable mention to Alaska, Caribou Barbie and her husband (for now) Todd for leading the nutty, secession talk there as well. I don't suppose you're worried about seceding with Russia in your back yard waiting to take over? Wouldn't that make ya'll the socialists (or communists)? Give a whole new meaning to the term "red state." We see you, Alaska. Keep keepin' on, Texas looks better every day.

So from the Lone Star State to the Palmetto State, we salute you sirs and appreciate an opportunity to come out with something bigger (and dumber)... and you know we will. Sigh, does OneChele need to plan a move back to Cali just to get some sanity (now that's ironic)?

What do you think? Should we just cut off everything south of the Mason-Dixon line and north of Canada? Won't you miss us when we're gone?!

Not so post-racial… Chick-fil-A, Bentley and a racist

Thanks BougieMom for pointing out this bit of local buffoonery…

So apparently getting some Chick-fil-A is so crucial that Bentley-driving folks had to get all scrappy in the drive thru lane. (Sigh) The story from The Dallas Morning News:

Southlake police look for black Bentley after road-rage attack at Chick-fil-A

02:47 PM CDT on Monday, August 17, 2009 By LAURENCE ILIFF / The Dallas Morning News

Southlake police were still searching today for the owner of a late-model Bentley whose passengers were involved in a weekend road-rage incident that injured a woman at a fast-food restaurant.

Police have the vehicle's registration information and expect their investigation to move forward today, said Lt. Ben Brown.

Witnesses said confrontation began with an angry exchange of words in the drive-through lane of a Chick-fil-A in the 2300 block of Southlake Boulevard. There were at least two and possibly three men in the black Bentley.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the woman was punched after one of the men slapped her and she slapped him back.

According to the paper, she and her husband found their way blocked by the Bentley as they were trying to leave after making a purchase at the drive-through window.

The husband honked his horn. The driver got out of the Bentley, and the woman got out on the passenger side of her vehicle. A shouting match ensued, and the other men got out of the Bentley and joined in the fracas, the paper said.

One of the men slapped the woman, who slapped him back. She was then knocked to the ground and punched.

The Star-Telegram said the woman's husband tried to get out of his vehicle, but the Bentley driver blocked his way.

As employees and customers tried to intervene, the Bentley sped off.

The woman was bleeding, witnesses said, but did not require hospitalization.

Now first of all, etiquette FAIL! Do not get out of your car at the drive-thru and do NOT engage in stupid slap fights in the parking lot. But my favorite part of the entire tale is that the first comment I see attached to this story reads as follows:

Posted by You Are Wrong less than one minute ago

$1000 says the Bentley occupants are black

What? I read it again. Then I scanned the article again. Okay, we're assuming a black Bentley at a Chick-fil-A equals blackness. Maybe so, but I didn't like the tone. I was curious so I then did a search for all of commenter You Are Wrong's pearls of wisdom over the past few days:

Comment on: Southlake police look for black Bentley after road-rage attack at Chick-fil-A
Posted 8/17/2009 5:18 PM CDT on dallasnews.com
$1000 says the Bentley occupants are black

Comment on: Southlake police look for black Bentley after road-rage attack at Chick-fil-A
Posted 8/17/2009 4:25 PM CDT on dallasnews.com
@MeInBigD - what part of "85% (or more) of the rapes, robberies, and murders in this area are committed by blacks and latinos" are you having trouble understanding?Don't like the facts...

Comment on: Grand Prairie man arrested after bicyclist found partially lodged in back seat
Posted 8/17/2009 3:54 PM CDT on dallasnews.com
a drunk driving mexican? no effin way! how extremely unusual and rare!I am shocked! FLABBERGASTED!!!!

Comment on: Southlake police look for black Bentley after road-rage attack at Chick-fil-A
Posted 8/17/2009 3:47 PM CDT on dallasnews.com
"I think I have figured out why this forum--and crime stories in particular--always devolves into a racial attack."Maybe it is because blacks and latinos commit at least 85% (or more)... more >

Comment on: Southlake police look for black Bentley after road-rage attack at Chick-fil-A
Posted 8/17/2009 3:46 PM CDT on dallasnews.com
they are obviously black

Comment on: Dallas man fatally stabbed in alley
Posted 8/15/2009 5:33 PM CDT on dallasnews.com
so was he black or mexican? so was his killer black or mexican?

Does anyone else see the same pattern I do? So I sent in my complaint to dallasnews.com and received an automated reply: Thank you for bringing your concern to our attention. Please allow us the next 48 hours to review this user's account. Thank you for reading dallasnews.com.

Note: The Dallas Moring News (owned by Belo Corporation) has long been accused of covert racism (sometimes overt). Dallas used to have two newspapers, the conservative Morning News and the more liberal Times Herald. The Times Herald folded years ago leaving us not of the right wing at a severe deficit for "fair and unbiased" reporting. Not necessarily bearing on this article, just giving you some background.

Not satisfied I emailed the writer of the piece and questioned if any one moderates the comments. I got a read receipt back but no reply. When I went back out to the article I noticed that the comments had been removed and in their place was an asterisk reading: This user profile has been removed by dallasnews.com. One down, umpteenth more to go. Unfortunately, there are many more comments just like this out there. Getting one ignorant racist's profile pulled is a small (hollow) victory that left me feeling like I was trying to empty the ocean with a thimble.

What is it going to take for America to truly embrace a "post-racial" doctrine? And what in the world do you think they were beefing about at Chick-fil-A?

Tough times in Texas, ya’ll

I'm a Texan, born and raised. I don't apologize for it, no matter how many times people expect me to. So what if we hand out the death penalty for jay-walking and hit 100° in May? So what if religion and football sometimes get confused? It's where I'm from and there's no place like home, right?

When they elected GWB to the governorship, I fled to California and did not return for close to ten years. (Actually the two events were not related, but I like to act like they are.) California and Texas have a lot of similarities: they are both huge in population and land mass; the NoCal vs SoCal feud is a carbon copy to the Dallas folks vs. Houston folks battle; and both tend to act that their state is actually a nation unto its self.

However, California was brutally expensive and had a state income tax that was no joke. 1200 square feet in California equals 3000 square feet in the Texas yet the salaries are pretty similar. So I'm back home in Texas. "Why did you go back?" I'm asked repeatedly by my East and West Coast friends. Family and finance were my motivating factors. Most days I'm happy to be back, however; my fellow Texans are making it hard.

Exhibit A: GWB. Nuff said. The fact that he now lives less than 12 miles away from my house makes me a little itchy in the middle of the night sometimes.

Exhibit B: Rick Perry. More concerned with his hair products and political aspirations then the actual health and welfare of his constituents. We've already had to "go override" on him twice for the stimulus dollars. Can you say re-election year, Rick? I know I can.

Exhibit C: John Cornyn – made a complete idiot of himself at the Sotomayor hearings. He should be ashamed… but he's not. Did he really think offending a Hispanic while representing the largest BORDER STATE in the union was a good idea?

Exhibit D: Our sports teams. With the exception of the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Stars, Texas has consistently presented the world with high expectations, overhype and under performance for the last decade. I present to you the Rockets, the Astros, the Texans, the Rangers, the Mavericks and last not least, the Cowboys. And DON'T get me started on the owners. I mean it.

Exhibit E: This mess going on in Azle, Texas. Yes, someone actually posted a "No Hispanics Allowed" sign in public.

Exhibit F: This OTHER mess going on in Paris, Texas. Bad enough ya'll still dragging (literally) bruhs up and down the street. You drop the charges and don't expect a protest? The Nation of Islam and New Black Panthers battling Neo-Nazis and the KKK in the streets. I'm so proud.

I could go on, but that's enough for now. It's been a long time since our glory days of J.R. Ewing, Cowboys' SuperBowl wins and Ann Richards (who didn't love Ann?). The best thing I can say about Texas right now is that the cost of living is still great, the ratio of shops & restaurants per capita in the Dallas Area is still the highest in the nation and of course, I'm here.

Hey, if you don't mind overt racism and love a great steak, come on down! I'll buy the first round of mango margaritas! Comment as you like! ;-)