Thursday, February 03, 2005

Ghettoized

Some memorial…

The word ghetto has a couple of major, both negative, connotations.  The etymology of the word stems, at least according to Merriam-Webster, from the Italians, specifically the Venetians, who coined the word as a name for an island where they isolated the Jews.  The more familiar vernacular use of the word is, typically, associated with a run down area, at least in my experience, and has been used for years as a term for areas where the poorer Blacks have resided.  Basically it’s a negative word.

Be that as it may, it is the first word that came into my mind this evening when I read the following.

“The memorial where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is buried needs $11.6 million in repairs, according to a National Park Service report.”

The second thing I thought, after reading the above, was judas frickin priest you could build a fine new building for that amount of dough.  But where is that dough to come from?

“Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who fought for civil rights alongside King in the 1960s, told the newspaper in Thursday’s editions that he would be willing to seek federal assistance for the center.”

Coerced from the pockets of Americans.  Is that a fitting tribute to King, a man who would have encouraged individuals to stand on their own?  And who will be bold enough to take a stand against this, and suffer the recriminations and charges of racism for pointing out that the center is a non-profit, and has over 650,000 visitors streaming through it each year, and should stand or fail on its own?

It won’t be Denny’s, Denny’s has already been roped and hog tied as an advertiser at The King Center website, which is quite possibly part of their penance for alleged past discriminatory deeds at their restaurants.

And how did the center arrive at such a state?  It seems that the superintendent doesn’t have a clue.

“I was surprised at the extent of the problems,” said Frank Catroppa, superintendent of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.”

One last question.  I wonder whose pockets are lined with all the donated dollars that have come to the Center?

“Memorial to MLK Jr. needs repairs”

Posted by John Venlet on 02/03 at 07:25 PM
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We Are The State, You’ll Do It Our Way

Let’s make it more expensive…

Whenever the State shoves it nose into where it doesn’t belong, the cost of whatever the State is interfering with increases exponentially.  Daycare will be no exception.  The reasoning behind the State of Michigan’s interfering in daycare.

“Michigan parents and those everywhere have become more and more dependent on child care,” Jim Sinnamon, director of the Division of Day Care Licensing, said Tuesday. “Our plan is to improve quality and care through these new regulations We can’t just be satisfied with making sure a place has a roof and calling it a child care center.”

The State, pricing you out of the market.

“State proposes new rules for day care”

Posted by John Venlet on 02/03 at 07:09 AM
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Brilliant, Just Brilliant

The U.N. has spoken, it must be so…

The following headline was taken from USA Today.

“U.N.: Tsunami worst-ever tourism catastrophe”

I wonder how much the U.N. spent in crafting that pronouncement?

Posted by John Venlet on 02/03 at 06:41 AM
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A New Political Term?

Maximalism…

In an op-ed, in The New York Times, Stephen Sestanovich waxes on regarding Condoleezza Rice’s upcoming swing through the European continent.  Purportedly, the tete-a-tetes with various European heads of state will be to “mend fences,” but if the term, “maximalism,” referenced above, is part of the so called fence mending process, the Europeans may find the fence mended so well, they’ll end up stepping on each others’ toes as they jostle to suck up to Secretary of State Rice and beg for access to the gate.

“Not Much Kinder and Gentler”

Posted by John Venlet on 02/03 at 06:29 AM
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