My AT posts from last week

My AT posts from last week:

Monday:   Finland PM and the party

Tuesday:  Mexico needs to get very serious about violence

Wednesday:  Russia promoting motherhood and more babies

Thursday:  Talk of recession

Friday:  15 dead journalists in Mexico

Saturday:  Business owners vs local government

Sunday:   Dr. King's speech 1963

...and other stories...

Sunday’s video: My AT posts from last week

Sunday's video:      

My AT posts from last week.............

My AT posts from last week:

Monday:   Finland PM and the party

Tuesday:  Mexico needs to get very serious about violence

Wednesday:  Russia promoting motherhood and more babies

Thursday:  Talk of recession

Friday:  15 dead journalists in Mexico

Saturday:  Business owners vs local government

Sunday:   Dr. King's speech 1963

...and other stories...

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

                             

Race before it went woke

(My new American Thinker post)

On this day in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. touched a nerve with the following words:

"I have a dream....that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.  I have a dream today."

We remember it today as the "I Have a Dream" speech delivered before 250,000 people at the March on Washington.  

A year later, we passed the Civil Rights Act and other legislation intended to eliminate discrimination based on race.  

Our family landed in the U.S. in the fall of 1964.  I can still remember my late father speaking in glowing terms about how the U.S. corrected its mistakes and brought everyone into the fold.   He would say something like "what other in the country has done anything like that?"

That was then, and this is now.  Have we made progress on race relations?  The easy answer is 'yes' but there is something in the air today that makes me wonder.    

For example, look at Brown University:   

Brown University has expanded eligibility for a teacher training class after initially restricting enrollment exclusively to racial and ethnic minorities.

The "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction" teacher training course at the Rhode Island-based Ivy League school had initially been restricted to "BIPOC" students. BIPOC is an acronym for black, indigenous, and people of color.

Translation: Whites can apply.   

Second, let's look at what's happening at American Express, a company that has apparently gone woke:   

A former American Express employee on Tuesday sued the credit card company, alleging that he was fired because he is white and objected to the company's "racially discriminatory" policies, Fox Business reports.

Brian Netzel, who lost his job in 2020 after 10 years at American Express, filed a class-action complaint against the credit card giant. He said he and other white employees faced discrimination because of the company's "diversity" efforts.     

American Express poured billions of dollars into "antiracism" policies in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in 2020. Earlier this month, the company pledged to devote an additional $3 billion to a "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan."

According to Netzel's lawsuit, American Express's implementation of these "antiracism" policies "gave preferential treatment to individuals for being black and unambiguously signaled to white employees that their race was an impediment to getting ahead in the company."

Executives were given monetary incentives to "decrease the percentage of white employees in their departments."

Once upon a time, we used to say that two wrongs don't make a right.  Honestly, I would not be surprised if we see more of these lawsuits in other companies.  I've heard about these "diversity training" programs and it's woke all the way.

Where are we so many years since Dr. King told us to focus on character rather than race?   We are focusing too much on race and that is wrong and poisonous.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Happy # 79 to the great Lou Piniella

We remember Lou Piniella who was born in Tampa on this day in 1943.

Lou was the kind of guy that you wanted on your side and specially at the plate when the tying or winning run was at second base.   Piniella broke with Baltimore in 1964, traded to Cleveland in 1966 and was Rookie of the Year with the 1969 expansion Kansas City Royals:  .282, 11 HR & 68 RBI.

In 1974, Lou became a Yankee and was an integral part of those winning teams:  .295 over a 11 years and one of the toughest outs in the AL.

After playing, he managed Cincinnati to the 1990 World Series and took Seattle to the ALCS twice.

Frankly, I always cheered for whatever team he was playing for or managing.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Happy # 86 Tony Gonzalez

Andrés Antonio González was born on August 28, 1936, in Central Cunagua. or about 250 miles from La Habana or Havana.   He later attended school in Ciego de Avila and we remember him as Tony or “El haitiano”.

In 1960, Tony broke with Cincinnati and Philadelphia hitting .274 in 117 games. He spent the rest of the 1960’s hitting .295 in 1,118 games.   In the early 1970’s, Tony bounced around with Atlanta, San Diego, California (now LA Angels) and back to Cincinnati for  his last year.

By any standard, he had a very good major league career:  .286 average & 1,485 hits in 1,559 games.   Great numbers!

In 1985, Tony was inducted into The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in Miami.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Happy # 72 Ron Guidry

We say happy birthday to Ron Guidry, also known as "Louisiana Lightning".    He was born in Louisiana on this day in 1950.

Ron broke with the Yankees in 1975 and became a regular member of the rotation in 1977:   16-7 with 2.82 ERA for the World Series champs.

In 1978, Guidry had one of the biggest pitching seasons in major league history:  25-3 with a 1.74 ERA and another World Series ring.

Overall, Guidry won 170 games with a remarkable 3.29 career ERA.     He was also 5-2 in the post season and awesome to watch!

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.