What’s the Deal With Ron Washington

The news is breaking that Texas Rangers’ manager Ron Washington has either admitted to using cocaine, tested positive for cocaine use or both, depending on what source you read.  Either way, it appears evident that Ron Washington used cocaine while serving as the leader of this ball club.

As a lifelong Rangers’ fan, I am OUTRAGED!

Just as this team is turning the corner and entering a season with serious hopes of contending for a division title, this news drops.  I firmly believe that a person’s rights end at his or her nose, but when you are the leader of a professional sports team–a person who is responsible for making critical decisions that affect the course of the season–your free pass to engage in recreational drug use is revoked. Your decision making skills affect far too many people.

I could spend the next month pointing out in-game situations from Washington’s tenure here that may have directly been affected by his recreational drug use, but that will accomplish nothing. The Rangers’ fan base needs to take action. We need to let the team, specifically the new ownership group know, that we will not support this team if they continue to support Ron Washington.

Simply put, Ron Washington must be fired NOW!

I want to hear from the Rangers fan base. How do you feel?

The Faulty Logic of Republicans on Education

Recently, I penned a piece exposing the Democrat’s faulty logic in continuing to press forward with health care reform in the face of widespread opposition. In that piece, I made it clear that Democratic politicians are not alone in their use of faulty logic to promote a personal agenda. Indeed, Republicans are just as guilty of the charge. Consider the faulty logic displayed by the Bush administration in the build-up for the invasion of Iraq. Even many “third party” and independent candidates build their political platform on a foundation of faulty logic. Perhaps that’s why so many rational people find the world of politics so disgusting; it’s a world void of logic.

It seems that some elected officials make the mistake of assuming that we live in a democracy, when in actuality the United State is a constitutional republic. Other politicians profess to understand the distinction, yet continue to govern as though in a simple democracy.  On Friday, Republican members of the Texas State Board of Education voted to adopt new social studies and history curriculum that would, among other things, refer to the United States government as a “constitutional republic” instead of a “democracy”. Ironically, they relied solely on a democratic principle–the simple majority–to ram through the curriculum’s most controversial elements.

At the heart of the “Texas Textbook War,” is the attempt on the behalf of cultural conservatives to inject their beliefs into the textbooks. This includes their belief that the United States was founded on “Judeo-Christian values,” studies of the role of conservative political action committees during the 20th Century, and an ultra-conservative interpretation of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960′s. While there is definitely a time and place to debate these ideas in the classroom, they would be taught as fact if the current curriculum survives a final vote in May.

Not surprisingly, the attempt to radically alter the way history and social studies are taught in Texas’ classrooms has generated intense opposition from Democrats and many Republicans. Earlier this month, two of the board’s most outspoken cultural conservatives, most notably Dr. Don McLeroy, lost Republican primary elections to opponents who oppose this curriculum. McLaren remains defiant in the face of defeat, and vowed to push through the curriculum before relinquishing his seat, a maneuver that would make Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama smile.

The biggest difference between a democracy and a constitutional republic is the allocation of protections of the minority from the “tyranny of the majority.” The Constitution serves as the primary guarantor of the rights of the minority, but Republicans on the SBOE seem to reject that notion as well. On Thursday, they blocked a measure introduced by a Democrat that would have taught the importance of “separation of church and state” as contained in the First Amendment.  While Republicans claim to support the idea that we live in a constitutional republic, their actions indicate they favor a simple democracy when the results further their agenda.

Students should be taught the difference between a “democracy” and a “constitutional republic.” The nuances between the two forms of government seem to baffle even the most astute politicians. Elected officials have the responsibility to ensure balance exists between competing ideas in the classroom, but must understand that one extremist stance does not balance out another extremist stance. Perhaps educators can use the examples of Democrats on health care reform and Republicans on textbook adoptions as examples of the dangers of simple democracy and to teach the protections provided by a constitutional republic.   Until then, we the people must remain resolute in combating faulty logic wherever it may occur in the realm of politics. Our freedom and liberty, not to mention our children’s future, depend on it.

Texas Textbook Wars Part II

Just when you thought the Texas Textbook Wars could not get any more absurd,  Republicans on the SBOE blocked a measure yesterday that would have taught students the importance of the First Amendment. 

Really?

This proves my theory that these zealots are not interested in democracy, but rather in living in either a theocracy or an idiocracy.

Do evangelicals not realize that “separation of church and state” actually protects them? If there were no “separation of church and state,” and Christianity was allowed to be taught as truth in the classroom, there would be nothing in place to stop a more progressive brand of Christianity being taught–one that might challenge their kids to question their parent’s narrow interpretation of Christianity.

Also, not only does the First Amendment guarantee the ”separation of church and state”, but also the “separation of state and church.” In other words, it prevents the Federal government from coming into your church and telling you what you may preach and how you may preach it.

Many of the early immigrants to this country came escaping countries with state sponsored churches. Why would we want to revert to the practices of England?

You ask me, there is a lot of value for both conservatives and progressives, Democrats and Republicans, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, etc. in the “separation of church and state.”

I said it during the Bush years and I’ll say it again, Christian extremists are scared to death of the First Amendment, not only because of “separation of church and state”, but also because of the guarantee of “freedom of speech.” In the end, that is what this argument is about.

Texas Textbook War

As a five year old kid, I remember riding around in the family station wagon, listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA. Along with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Culture Club’s Colour By Numbers, Springsteen’s landmark album was one of the first I remember listening to, beginning to end, over and over again.  As a child, I thought of Springsteen as some American super hero, a contemporary to Ronald Reagan, fighting the Cold War with his music. “Born in the USA” meant nothing more than those words. It wasn’t until I reexamined that song in college that I discovered the song’s true meaning. At that point, a thought came to me, a true patriot may not necessarily agree with Springsteen’s political message, but at least recognizes the song represented a reality for many American heroes.

Many conservatives approach American history in similarly naive fashion that I approached Born in the USA as child, hearing only “USA! USA! USA!”–refusing to dig deeper into the legends surrounding our nation and its founding. No where has this been more evident than in Texas’ State Board of Education’s recent hearings on selecting new textbooks. Due to Texas’ large size, decisions made by our SBOE play a large role in determining textbooks used in classrooms across the United States and the story has captured the nation’s attention, with cable networks devoting entire shows, spreading misinformation and depicting Texas as a state held hostage by religious radicals.

Sadly, this narrow mindset is not limited to politicians. Indeed, this disease has spread to the administrators in school districts throughout the state. In college, a friend of mine applied for job as a history teacher at a school district in rural East Texas. During the interview, the principal told my friend that, if hired, he was to teach “…the United States has never been wrong in any armed conflict” and “…that the United States has made no mistakes as a nation.”

I love this country and I vote Republican more often than I do Democrat, but the audacity of these religious zealots and cultural conservatives who have hijacked the Republican Party sickens me. We can only hope that voters sent a message to some of these ideologues in the recent primaries when they sent Dr. Don McLeroy, the Rapture Right’s vocal leader on the SBOE, packing, choosing instead Thomas Ratliff, a man with a strong pedigree in the traditional wing of the Republican Party. Unfortunately, McLeroy has promised to not go quietly into that good night, choosing instead to take an approach not too different from the Congressional Democrats’ approach on health care reform, attempting to jam an unpopular agenda down the throat of the people.

While I firmly believe the United Sates is the “greatest” nation in the world, we are not without faults. In order to learn from our nation’s mistakes–and as a nation we have plenty–we must study those mistakes. In addition to ignoring causes cultural conservatives find repulsive, the SBOE seems to gloss over many of the dark shadows creeping in our nation’s and state’s past, unlike Mr. Springsteen.

Is there bias involved with the publishing of a textbook? Yes, there is no such thing as unbiased writing.  Every author, no matter how good their intentions, has a belief system and this belief system will seep through their writing.  In order to ensure balance, more power should be placed in the hands of local schools districts, administrators and teachers to supplement textbooks with ancillary materials. In this age of hyper technology, where schools are wired for Internet access, it’s easier than ever to find scholarly material to serve as a counterpoint to any material presented in a textbook.

One final observation, I’ve read a lot of quotes from the extreme right-wingers on the SBOE stating their desire to see an emphasis on this nation’s “Judeo-Christian values” in social studies textbooks. Let’s be clear, what these people really mean to say is that they want an emphasis on the values of the evangelical Christian church.  These people think they can just capriciously add the term “Judeo” in front of Christian and be considered progressive. Don’t be fooled, these people are not friends to the Jewish community. They only use the term “Judeo” to seem open to other faiths. In reality, their world is big enough for only one faith road, a road they seek to force us all travel, whether we want to or not.

By the Numbers–2010 Texas Primaries

In addition to being Texas Independence Day, Tuesday was also Election Day in the great state of Texas. While you can go to any website and get an in depth analysis into what Rick Perry’s victory may mean in the world of American politics, I thought I would share my unique perspective on some numbers that jumped out at me from Tuesday’s election.

• 10 – Number of years since I voted in the Republican Primary. I last voted in the Republican Primary during the 2000 Presidential Election. No, I did not vote for George W. Bush.

• 362 – Number of people who voted in the Republican Primary in my precinct. Living in a heavily Republican neighborhood, I imagine the numbers in the Democratic primary were much lower. It really is disappointing that so many people refuse to exercise their right to vote, especially on a day with such significance as Texas Independence Day.

• 50 – There’s a 50% chance that I’ll cross the aisle in the general election and vote for Bill White, the Democratic nominee for governor.

• 62 – The number of races on my precincts ballot, one of the most expansive ballots in my memory.

• 7 – Number of contested races on the ballot.

• .74% – Margin separating Geraldine “Tincy” Miller and George M. Clayton for the District 12 Representative on the State Board of Education, one of several pivotal races for the State Board of Education.  Clayton represents a change from the Taliban like forces that have made a mockery of our education system.

• 5 – Proposition 5 on the Republican Primary ballot asked whether the Republican Party should adopt a position favoring legislation requiring a doctor to show a patient a sonogram prior to performing a “medically unnecessary abortion.” I’ve remained consistent in my opinion that there is too much government in health care. I have been a vocal opponent of health care reform and have attacked all efforts to inject government in areas best served and controlled by private enterprise. I’m amazed at the hypocrisy of members the Republican Party–the party of limited government–who attacked Democratic attempts at  health care reform as an example of an overreaching government, yet feel we need legislation forcing doctors to perform a sonogram on a woman seeking an abortion. This proposition violates the two principles I hold dear–free enterprise & privacy.

Going to California

Stephanie and I are currently in the planning stages of honeymoon. At first, we decided a trip to Napa & Sonoma would be nice, so we went to our local bookstore and bought a couple of books on traveling in the region. After reading the books and conducting some exhaustive Internet research, we decided that the region might be a little stuffy for our tastes, so we looked south on the map, down the California coastline and decided on Santa Barbara, a region that appears to offer a little more than fine wine and gourmet food. Yesterday, we purchased a couple of travel books on Santa Barbara and I couldn’t help but to notice a common theme throughout these books and the ones I purchased on Napa/Sonoma–California is fragile.

Electrical shortages, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, tar on the beaches and the overwhelming fear that one more molecule of carbon dioxide may forever destroy their eco-system were all discussed in detail in the books I read. It reminded me of the first time I heard the term “eco-anxiety,” anxiety brought on by the fear that one is bringing on the end of the world by their lifestyle.  Indeed, buried within the words in these books was the admission by the author that they played some role (and the allegation that we the reader played a role) in causing all of these problems plaguing California, including the earthquakes.

The real anxiety is the anxiety created in the mind of the reader by the authors. If I get a rental car that is not a hybrid, will the locals try to drag us through the city streets and place us in the stocks for the rest of the natives to throw rotten (organic) vegetables at us. If I take a 10 minute shower, will a gestapo like agent show up our hotel door demanding to know why our water usage is twice that of the average California resident. If we choose to use the air conditioner, instead of opening our windows, will we be verbally assaulted? If we use more than one square of toilet paper, will Sheryl Crow and Laurie David show up to protest?

I am looking forward to our trip out West. Santa Barbara seems like a wonderful place to visit and I know it will make a great honeymoon location; however, I don’t think there could be a place in the continental United States more drastically different than my native Texas than coastal California.

Texans love their land as well, but we don’t fear it and we don’t let it control our lives. While residents of Santa Barbara continue to fight oil companies drilling off their coast line, Texans understand the positive impact drilling can have on an economy and understand the minimal impact it has on the local environment. Indeed, drilling continues to this day on Caddo Lake, one of the most biologically diverse wetlands in the United States.

Texans learn to live with the whims of Mother Nature as well. While earthquakes are uncommon (legend holds Caddo Lake was formed by an earthquake), we live in the middle of “tornado alley” and face nature’s wrecking ball every spring. We accept it as part of living in this part of the country and we don’t blame the personal habits of other people for these natural disasters. Before the threat of power outages became a reality in Texas, we began addressing the problem and discussing our options. We managed all of this and still have one of the best state economies in the United States.

When we invite tourists to our great state, we remind them to be good stewards and “don’t mess with Texas,” but we do so without fear or intimidation. Perhaps authors writing about California travel should adopt the same philosophy.

What’s the matter in East Texas?

My good friend, Brian Cuban, recently penned an article for his blog regarding the “death of small town America.” In the piece, Cuban opens with details of his recent trip to celebrate Thanksgiving in East Texas and laments the condition of one specific town, Atlanta, Texas, but extends the content of his post to small towns all over our country, where the downtown area is full of vacant buildings and the economy is dead.

Cuban contends that Wal-Mart is to blame for the demise of Atlanta and other small towns all across the land. While Wal-Mart definitely played in a role in the death of small town America, other factors contributed and deserve a full and open discussion.

In full disclosure, my family’s roots in the Atlanta area go back through at least the mid point of the nineteenth century.  Though I don’t live there now, this area will always be “home.”  I know the land and the people and understand all too well the political and economic forces that make the community, and others like it, tick.

What’s happened in Atlanta in has been going on for centuries.

Consider the fact that immediately following the Civil War, as most of the state lay barren and uninhabited, the bustling river port of Jefferson (@ 30 miles south of Atlanta) had a population of around 30,000. This might not sound like a lot by today’s standards, but in the 1860′s and 1870′s only Houston and Austin had a larger population in the state. Legend has it that railroad tycoon, Jay Gould, cursed the city for their refusal to allow him to put his railroad through the town. Historians will tell you it was the Corps of Engineers ability to finally remove the Great Raft from the Red River, resulting in dropping water levels in Big Cypress Bayou making it no longer navigable, that brought around the eventual demise of Jefferson. Whatever the case may be, Jefferson now has a population of around 2,000 and an economy that’s not much better than Atlanta’s. It’s worth noting, there is no Wal-Mart in Jefferson.

Brian and I had Thanksgiving in Kilgore, Texas, an East Texas city with a similar history to Jefferson. In the 1930′s, oil was discovered in Kilgore and other East Texas communities like New London and Joinerville. Soon boom towns sprung up all over the area. The population and economy in the area soared. At one time, over 1,200 oil wells pumped inside the city limits of Kilgore alone.  While oil still means a lot to the economy in Kilgore, the boom long subsided and downtown Kilgore continues to struggle. I lived in Kilgore for a couple of years and residents continually refused to build a Super Wal-Mart for fear of what it would do to the local economy. Finally, after I moved in 2002, Kilgore gave in and they now have a Super Wal-Mart. The economy seems to be as stagnant as it was  before, but no worse than the pre-Supe Wal-Mart days.

The reason that these East Texas communities continue to struggle is not because a large corporation chose to build a discount super store, but rather the absence of real capital.  In the 1860′s and 1870′s, Jeffersonians made the most of their capital–their bustling river port. Once it dried up, many of the investors that contributed to the growth of the city left, leaving those who could not afford to leave to rot in the economic decay. Similarly, the discovery of oil led to an influx of capital from every major oil company in the world into the East Texas region. Once the oil became harder to find, the investors began to pull out, leaving behind a work force largely unqualified to do anything else except work in the oil fields.

The problem becomes worse when people in my generation leave to get an education, establish themselves professionally and then don’t return to the area. It’s similar to the cause of urban decay, where the “have’s” escape to the suburbs, leaving the “have not’s” in the urban core.

In spite of all this, the people of East Texas are persistent as the native pine trees, roots planted firmly in the ground, capable of withstanding all that life may throw their way. Neither the Corps of Engineers, nor “big oil”, nor Wal-Mart will destroy these towns. It would help if the Federal government got off the backs of these good people and loosen regulations on the two industries that this region depends on more than any others–timber and oil–but it’s not in the East Texan’s nature to complain, but rather to deal with life deals them. Just like they have in the past, East Texans will survive this current economic storm and come out better for the most part than their urban counterparts.

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Now playing: Graham Nash/David Crosby – Immigration Man
via FoxyTunes

Top 5 Sports Moments from Weekend

I realize that I’ve been on a top 5 kick lately, but it’s just the mood I’m in. Let’s keep it rolling with the Top 5 moments from a busy sports weekend:

1.) SMU Becomes Bowl Eligible – For whatever reason, I’ve been a SMU fan from my earliest days. I have never attended school there and they haven’t had the on field success that elicits t-shirt fans, but I’m a fan of the Pony Express. I went to several SMU games as a kid, pre-death penalty, and I was at the first post-death penalty game, a win over UConn. To see this team rise from the depths, become bowl eligible and sit in the driver seats for the Conference USA title is great indeed.

2.) TCU Sends a Message – There are two legitimate national title contenders in Texas–the one in Austin everyone expected and then the one in Fort Worth that’s been battling for national respect for a decade.  While it will still take a miracle for TCU to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game, if they run the table and win their BCS bowl game they will provide yet another example of how the BCS is the biggest fraud in all of sports.

3.) Mavs Continue to Play Strong – In spite of a recent rash of injuries and illnesses, the Dallas Mavericks continue to play as well as anyone in the NBA. Over the weekend, they took games at Minnesota and Detroit and tonight won on a last second, OT buzzer beater in Milwaukee. While this may not be the Lakers, Celtics & Cavaliers, three straight road wins is always a feat in the NBA. Plus, the Mavs got these 3 wins without Josh Howard, Tim Thomas, Erick Dampier and Shaw Marion.

4.) Colts beat the Patriots – I’ve always said, every time the Patriots win, somewhere a little puppy dies. To see the look of failure and utter dejection on the face of Bill Belichick walking off the field last night actually helped ease the pain of the Cowboys loss (see #5).

5.) Wade Phillips is one step closer to being fired – In the “desperately-seeking-a-rainbow-after-the-storm” category, the Cowboys loss to Green Bay on Sunday means this franchise is one step closer to ridding itself of its final obstacle in the race to win a Super Bowl–Wade Phillips. I’m convinced that if this team does not make it to the NFC Championship game this year, Jerry Jones will fire Wade. While I will always support fellow Texans, Wade is just not the right fit in Dallas. In keeping with the “support my fellow Texans” theme, I’m also glad that the Packers win ensures that their GM, and former Atlanta Rabbit great, Ted Thompson’s job is safe for at least another week.

Texas High School Football Playoffs: A Broken System

Driving around my neighborhood tonight, I noticed yellow ribbons everywhere–on fences, stop signs and in front of houses. While I do live in fiercely patriotic community, these ribbons are not part of a military salute, but rather part of a unique Texas high school football tradition. This week marks the start of the Texas high school football playoffs, one of the most exciting events in all of sports. During the playoffs, the Highland Park community places yellow ribbons around town to show their solidarity with their local team (HPHS’s school color are navy and yellow).  It’s one Highland Park tradition that reminds me of home.

As a kid growing up in rural East Texas, high school football meant the world to me. The performance of our local football team defined our community. Making the playoffs sent a message to surrounding communities that we excelled in something uniquely Texan and served as a rallying point for everyone in town. I still remember the first playoff game I attended. In 1983,my Atlanta Rabbits took on the Carthage Bulldogs at Longview’s Lobo Stadium. My Rabbits lost that night, but this brief glimpse into this spectacular new world engendered an insatiable appetite for the game. Years passed before our next playoff appearance and the mystique surrounding them grew.  Then in 1990, the Rabbits entered a new era, one punctuated by an appearance in the state championship game in 1994.

Part of what made the playoffs so exciting was the selective nature of the system. Eleven man football in the state was broken into five classifications based on school enrollment. Each classification consisted of approximately 200 schools, divided into districts. Prior to the mid 80′s, only one school from each district–the district champion–advanced to the playoffs for a five week tournament. In the mid 80′s, the UIL, the state’s governing board for sports, decided to expand the playoff format and take the district champion and runner-up to compete in a 64 team field, stretched over six weeks.

In both scenarios, only the best teams advanced to the post-season and at the end of the year, each classification crowned one champion. This changed in 1998 when the UIL created two divisions within each classification (2A-5A, 1A would not adopt the policy until 2006)–a large school division with 32 teams and a small school division with 64 teams. The top 3 teams from each classification advanced to the playoffs, with the school with the largest enrollment going in the big school division and the other two teams advancing through the small school division (5A adopted this system in 1990 & 4A in 1996, but 1998 was the first season for 3A and 2A).

Under this new system, teams with sub-.500 records began earning playoff spots and each classification crowned TWO state champions. A team could finish in third place in a district and advance to win a state title. To say the least, the playoffs became watered down and state titles lost some of their luster.

For example, in 2003, the Atlanta Rabbits won the 3A Division II state championship, 34-0 over Marlin,  in one of the most dominating performances in a state championship game in Texas history and earning my alma mater their first state title in football. I watched from the stands that day and celebrated with my friends after the game, but something about the title felt cheap. Indeed, the weekend before, Gainesville High School had won the 3A Division I state title. We’ll never know if Atlanta or Gainesville had the better team (although Atlanta has won every meeting with Gainesville) and in my mind the championship will always feel like a co-championship. In some ways, I’m more impressed with our state finals appearance in 1994, a 36-15 loss.

Now the UIL has watered the system down even more, taking four teams from each district–two for each division–in 4A & 5A.  That means that at least half of the district makes the playoffs in most cases, 128 total teams in those two classifications.

What kind of champions do you get in this kind of system?

Let’s look at the two state champions in 4A from last season. Austin Lake Travis won the Class 4A Division I (big school) title with a 16-0 record. Led by quarterback Garrett Gilbert (now Colt McCoy’s back-up at UT), the Cavaliers won the District 25-4A state title, winning their 16 games by an average of 33 points per game. In the state championship game, they defeated the Longview Lobos, 48-23, capping off one of the most dominating seasons in Texas football history.

The Sulphur Springs Wildcats won the Class 4A Division II state title. For a full recap on their “unusual” path to the state title, I invite you to check out a piece we published in July. Suffice it to say, they took the road less traveled, finishing third in a district that featured Longview (see above paragraph). Longview defeated Sulphur Springs in district play 32-13. Yet Longview loses in a state title game and the Wildcats hoist a trophy at the end of the season. Sulphur Springs gave up an average of 30.6 points a game, only held one team to under 20 points the entire season and gave up 30+ points seven times. Clearly Lake Travis was the best team in Class 4A, but they will forever be remembered as a “co-champion.”

The UIL must do something about the high school football playoff system. I suggest creating a 6A division for the large high schools surrounding the state’s major metropolitan areas and adjust the other classifications accordingly. Return to a single champion format for each classification, with a 64 or 32 team field playoff. If this current trend continues, Texas football’s legacy stands to be tarnished.