Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Trinity River Project: Let's Build Up, Not Tear Down

The Wall Street Journal, Saturday December 13, 2008, ran, "A Street Named by Public Desire Causes Political Gridlock in Dallas," by Ana Campoy. The article describes how the City of Dallas wanted to rename Industrial Blvd as part of the Trinity River Project. The plan is to build an attractive bridge over the Trinity River, create a park, and develop adjacent commercial property. You can see illustrations on the website of the Trinity River Corridor Project.

But someone made the mistake of saying, "let's have a public vote on a new name." They wanted a name related to the Trinity River Project, but they failed to specify that requirement and were blind-sided by a Hispanic agitator who wanted the street named after Cesar Chavez, who has no connection to Dallas.

With low interest in voting for renaming a street, the agitator worked hard and got 52% of the vote for renaming the street after Chavez. This name had nothing to do with the Trinity River Project and made a mockery of the plan to put it to a popular vote. The Dallas City Council had to step in and pick Riverfront Boulevard for the new name. The Wall Street Journal reported the agitators started bad-mouthing the Anglo community.

It's a shame to see some members of the Dallas Hispanic community working to embarrass Dallas and stir up racism.

The core idea of the Trinity River Project is great. Dallas needs some signature public works that serve as visual symbols of the city. New York City is loaded with visual symbols that appear frequently in movies; Dallas needs some.

As I mention in my Texas Ascendant blog, the Dallas metroplex needs to strive for greatness. We all need to work together to build up Dallas and Texas.

Robert Canright

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Mexico's Economic Bust of 1994, America's Bust of 2008

Here is a link to an article by Edward S. Herman, Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School, entitled, "Neoliberalism and Bottom-Line Morality." At the bottom of this article you will read how Robert Rubin and Larry Summers helped crash the Mexican economy in 1994. Wall Street speculators had some big bets go bad and they forced the Mexican government to bail them out. Robert Rubin, then Secretary of the Treasury under Clinton, and Henry Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush, both came from Goldman Sachs. Who really runs America, our puppet government or Goldman Sachs, the puppetmaster?

Rubin and Clinton hurt the Mexican middle-class in 1994. Now Paulson and Bush are going to stick it to the American middle-class.

The threat to Mexican Americans is not from Americans who are tired of the tidal wave of illegal aliens, the threat to Mexican Americans is fromWall Street.

All regular Americans, including Mexican Americans, are hurt when Wall Street speculators crash the nation's economy. Only the Wall Street speculators, bailed out by our hard earned tax money, benefit from the Washington bailout.

Mexican Americans need to focus on the real issues of ecomonics and education, and not be misled by those wanting us to focus on immigration issues.

Robert Canright

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Involved Hispanic Parents

The Dallas Morning News, Sunday Nov. 16, 2008, page B1, the Metro Section in that Sunday's paper had a good article by Stella M. Chavez: "Teaching Parents, Too".

The article emphasized how children improve their school experience when their parents are involved. The author gave a nice example of a dad sitting at the same table as his daughter, both of them reading. The child's reading experience, her focus and interest, improved because her dad joined her. The article did not say she needed his help. He read books in Spanish, one being on the history of the Roman empire.

It was a great article. All children benefit when their parents are involved. The article also described how some bi-lingual parents helped Spanish-only parents understand the school system.

It was a well done article. I'm sorry the paper did not index it on their website (I cannot provide a link for you).

Robert

Monday, August 18, 2008

Language and Success

David Hall, who ran for the Plano ISD school board in 2008, was recently sharing his concern about the education of children not proficient in English. Here is a link to what he said in his blog recently: Focus on English.

In our discussion, I suggested to him that parents take more control over their children's education. If Hispanic parents speak only Spanish, then their children are at a disadvantage. All Hispanic adults in America should learn English and then help their children learn English. It is a mistake to create a Spanish-only subculture and try to hid in a Spanish-only part of town.

Governments and businesses that put writing into Spanish for you are doing you no favor. Like the Mexican-American men who go back to Mexico for a bride that speaks only Spanish, and then keeps her speaking Spanish only, so everyone that wants Hispanics to speak only Spanish are using the Spanish language as a tool for subjugation. Spanish-only is a source of weakness. Some Mexican-American men want their wives in subjugation and the language becomes a mechanism for control, to have power over the wife.

Spanish together with English is a powerful combination. Husbands should encourage their wives to learn English and to teach it to their children.

Rather than protesting the actions of the American government to control its borders, the Hispanic community should make learning English a priority. Look at how successful the Chinese and Indians are in America. That is because they learn English and pursue education. It's hard for a child to excel in education when that child cannot speak English.

My last post mentioned the deaths in Mexico from drug wars. Today's Wall Street Journal had an Op-Ed piece by Mary Anastasia O'Grady, "Mexico Pays the Price of Prohibition," where she mentions the killings in Mexico.

The Hispanic community needs to be strongly against drugs. Children who are successful in school and applying themselves in their eduction will be less inclined to be dopers.

Robert

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Illegal Drugs are Killing Mexicans

On May 25, 2008, the Dallas Morning News ran an article, "Border Violence," by Alfredo Corchado, describing how 14 people were massacred in Juarez.

The New York Times, on Saturday May 31, 2008, ran an article, "Drug Massacre Leaves a Mexican Town Terrorized" by James C. McKinley, Jr.

The Sunday New York Times, June 1, 2008, ran an article in the Week in Review section, "What the Mexicans Might Learn From the Italians," by Ralph Blumenthal, describing how the FBI and the Italians worked together to break a large drug ring. The author, Blumenthal, described the successful cooperation and expressed hope the US and Mexico could be more successful working together.

Mexican citizens are dying from drug violence, but what we hear discussed most in the DFW metroplex by Hispanics quoted in the local news are shallow, self-serving carping about alleged racism. The racism card is a phony issue. People are dying in Mexico, that is a real issue.

Hispanics need to avoid being manipulated by shallow politicians and focus on real issues.

Robert

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Illegal Drugs Should Worry Hispanics

The Dallas Morning News ran an article, "Many Worried Juarez'Bloody Drug War Spilling into U.S." by Alfredo Corchado on the front page, February 28, 2008.

The article says 72 people have died in Juarez because of the drug war, and the murderers are crossing the border and killing in El Paso.

Illegal drugs are killing too many people in Mexico for Hispanics to be uninterested. It is more than life and death for people, it is a threat to the sovereignty of Mexico. The drug lords are trying to carve out independent fiefdoms beyond the reach of Mexican law and government.

A fence along the Mexican border and tighter security would reduce drug trafficking, save lives, and help the Mexican government regain control of the border towns.

The people who oppose a fence along the border do not have the best interests of Mexico in mind.

Besides the drug war in Mexico, Mexican-American children in Dallas are dying of drug overdoses. Hispanics should be fighting drugs, not fighting efforts to curtail illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration is a red-herring, a distraction from the important issues facing the Mexican-American community.

Robert

Monday, February 11, 2008

Calderon Shows Backbone

The New York Times, January 22, 2008, ran an article, "Mexico Hits Drug Gangs with Full Fury of War," by James C. McKinley, Jr.

President Felipe Calderon tackles the drug lords at the American border. Vincente Fox did something significant just by winning the Presidential election from an opposition party. But that's about all President Fox did. He didn't create jobs for Mexicans, he just gave them directions on how to steal their way into America.

I hope President Calderon succeeds in establishing the rule of law in Northern Mexico. I hope he improves education and job opportunities.

I worry that Mexican politicians want the Mexican people to remain poor and ignorant so they are easier to control.

Robert

Monday, January 21, 2008

Vikram Pandit, Why not an Hispanic?

Now that Citigroup finally got rid of Charles Prince, they replace him with Vikram Pandit, who is from India. Have you noticed that there are many Indians on Wall Street? And a lot of Chinese are very successful, but you do not see Hispanics being so successful. You can drive from Mexico to Wall Street. You cannot say that about India, but they make it here, and make it here legally. We have hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, but America is not getting highly educated Mexicans. Why? Are there no highly educated Mexicans? Or are there no educated Mexicans with the drive of the uneducated? What's the problem?

This failure of Mexicans to compete for the top jobs in America is what Mexican-Americans should worry about, not helping illegal aliens stay here. There are problems in Mexico, but that is not talked about. There are only complaints against America. It's not right.

Robert