“From a Black Hole: Transformed to a New Life,” by Mayor Don Warren (reported by J.D. Meyer)

Don Warren–Mayor of Tyler, Texas—delivered a speech at the Reformation House of Prayer (RHOP) entitled, “From a Black Hole: Transformed to a New Life,” on August 16, 2021. https://allevents.in/tyler/mayor-don-warren-from-a-blackhole-transformed-to-a-new-life/200021473028259 Mayor Warren described how becoming Christian enabled him to switch careers and regain success, including moving all the way in City of Tyler government. He used to have bad dreams that he’d go to a black hole during the 1986 oil industry crisis. Mr. Warren got into debt and got separated from his wife. So, he started a seafood restaurant that he ran for ten months. Then he asked for Christ’s help, got a divorce, and a new house. He was single for five months. He started playing the piano professionally as LOMOC (Little Ol’ Me Oil Company). Don married his second wife in 1994 after dating only six weeks. He worked 12 hours per day. Then he quit his job and golfed and watched movies for a year. He took a test at Green Acres Baptist Church, the largest church in all of East Texas, and it revealed he showed mercy. 

Now Don turned his interest to the City of Tyler. He worked with a homeless organization, as well as a planning and zoning program with the city government. Mayor Warren was Councilman Warren first. Don helped raise $1.2 M for the renovation of Bergfeld Park, which included a new playground, amphitheater, and tennis court. He led “For All Tyler,” the development of Affordable Housing in Downtown and North Tyler. Tyler had a very cold winter snap in mid-February 2021. Some churches were made into warming centers. A generator on a Brookshire’s Grocery Store got a nursing home turned back on after the electric grid failure.  

Mayor Warren turned his talk to more religious issues. All city council meetings begin with prayer for “In God We Trust.” It keeps things in check. Don Warren gave lists of bad and good words. Bad words include ego, power, disconnected, disingenuous, boastful, angry, and resentment. Sadly, Don’s father was a politician turned drunk, who broke his neck and got divorced. Here are the good words: compassionate, content, accessible, connected, relationships, caring, authentic, prayerful, humility, patience, listen, positive. Here are prayer points for city leaders. God, Family, City. To deal with conflict and realize we can’t make everyone happy. Patience means one is a good listener before speaking. Authenticity means to be ourselves, not chameleons. Finally, for positivity, don’t let others bring us down.  I’ve known Mayor Don Warren since he was a councilman, and I gave him the nickname, Ubiquitous since you see him all the time in Tyler.

Stop Asian Hate

To protest the Anti-Asian movement, I wore the following to Stanley’s Famous Bar-B-Q on Saturday afternoon: (1) my new red Sriracha hot sauce T-shirt, (2) a black bandanna with yin-yang symbols, and (3) my old maroon half-length kimono with the dragon on the back. …..I became a fan of Japanese culture in 3rd grade. I began studying Neo-Confucianism for my M.S. nearly 40 years ago. I taught South Vietnamese refugees ESOL in the late 90s–still have a full-sized flag. It looks like the Cefco logo!

Here’s my response to the CNN special: “Afraid: Fear in America’s Communities of Color.” Y’all hang in there. Multicultural White folks can relate to your grief. I’m happy to be a member of two private Confucian (Ru) groups (related thesis in 1984). My teaching audience was usually Black or Mexican-American. Tejano, soul, and melodic heavy metal rock! #StopAsianHate.

MLK Presentation in Tyler 2013: Fred McClure, Keynote Speaker, Reported by J.D. Meyer

MLK Presentation in Tyler 2013: Fred McClure, Keynote Speaker,
Reported by J.D. Meyer

Tyler celebrated the 27th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Community Program at the Immaculate Conception Catholic cathedral. The event is sponsored by the Tyler Together Race Relations Forum (TTRRF). The invocation by Max Lafser of Tyler Unity included a Bible verse that indicated where we’ve been in the past doesn’t necessarily have a bearing on the future. The local unit of the Korean War veterans presented the colors. The whole audience sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the lyrics were provided in the program. Father Anthony McLaughlin did the welcome. He noted that racism is an inherent evil–meaning it’s everywhere–and the Catholic Church is determined to work against racism. Mayor Barbara Bass was the next speaker, and she shared her reflections on Dr. King. Mayor Bass observed that Dr. King “lived his faith every day.” God called MLK for a special purpose even if it meant risking his life. The movement has grown beyond the borders of the US. The mayor concluded by asking us to grow each day as a community.

Jeff Williams of Exclusivity Marketing delivered the “Occasion for Gathering.” First, Mr. Williams thanked the crowd for coming to the event because MLK Day is a holiday, and we could have gone anywhere or stayed home. He noted that we live in a time of more division than unity. There can be resistance to changing the status quo whether it was the Civil War, women’s vote, or the Civil Rights Movement. You can see further when you’re higher in the elevator. Mr. Williams reflected that Lyndon B. Johnson knew how to get things done. When LBJ met MLK, Blacks were routinely denied the right to vote but paid taxes and died in war. MLK told LBJ, “There’s always the right time to do the right thing.” LBJ asked Dr. King to help him put enough pressure to do the right thing. Mr. Williams reminded us that both Johnson and King were southerners. Johnson was from Texas, and King was from Georgia. As a member of Tyler Together, Mr. Williams wants to know your perspective, what matters to you, and to meet you, so TTRRF can help build a better community. He proclaimed that we can’t afford to lose brain power in the community.

Steve Russell of Empowering Texas Youth introduced the keynote speaker, Fred McClure. They have been friends since high school through belonging to Future Farmers of America (FFA) in neighboring cities. Fred McClure graduated from Nacogdoches High School where he also played football and was a pianist for the band. Mr. McClure earned a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M in 1976 where he became that university’s first African-American student body president. I should add that Texas A&M had fewer than 5% Black enrollment in that era. On the other hand, agricultural economics was Texas A&M’s most popular major back then. After getting a law degree from Baylor, McClure became an advisor to President Ronald Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, and Texas Senator John Tower. Mr. McClure became a member of the Texas A&M Board of Regents in 1995 and later joined the board of directors for the 12th Man Foundation. Now Mr. McClure is the director of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation at Texas A&M http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/.

KUPAS COLUMN: Confucius Chinese New Year and Jokowi’s Promise? By Kris Tan, MA. Indonesian Young Confucians Founder (GEMAKU) …Translated from Indonesian with Google Translate

Found and Posted by Kris Tan

This paper is written using a question mark, so that those who read it can conclude their own memermai this paper with their respective perspectives, can be negative or positive, depending on which angle to look.

This year the Matakin Chinese New Year will be held on February 2, 2020 in Jakarta. During his reign, President Jokowi was never willing to attend though.
This is a matter of the Matakin National Imlek (Supreme Council of Confucian Religion) which is always held from year to year after the reformation. The Imlek held by Matakin nationally is always attended by the President of Indonesia from year to year, starting with an Indonesian Confucian hero named Abdurahman Wahid (Gus Dur) who declared the Chinese New Year as a facultative holiday for celebrating Confucians.

Then it was inaugurated as a national holiday by President Megawati and of course Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who during his ten years of government was always present in the Matakin National Imlek with all gradual concrete improvements for Confucians, starting with equality of civil rights and religious rights for Confucians.

In Jokowi’s time? Even though the president for all the people of Indonesia never even wanted to attend the Matakin National Lunar New Year. What’s wrong? Why is the reason too? Until now nobody knows? What is wrong with Indonesian Confucians to President Jokowi? Also no one can answer that.

Jokowi’s attitude by never wanting to attend the National Imlek Matakin several times was also shown by his insensitive and “indifferent” attitude.
Promise Joni vs Promise Jokowi

For example, on February 25, 2018, he preferred to watch the film Dilan in the cinema rather than attending the National Imlek Matakin on the same day. Though he had promised to Matakin to be present at the Matakin National Lunar New Year at that time. What a promise he made a false promise to Confucians.

No one is forbidding him to watch the film Dilan, but it would be wise if he could arrange the time to watch it so that it would not clash with the Matakin National Lunar program which ideally must be attended by him as a president of all the people of Indonesia without exception the Chinese New Year Confucians.

Maybe President Jokowi needs to watch Janji Joni film besides Dilan. Janji Joni tells the story of Joni (Nicholas Saputra), an introduction to roll film who has never been late in delivering inter-cinema roll films. Joni, who has worked as a delivery for generations, is determined to be on time and reliable.

President Jokowi must be like Joni who can be relied on by all Indonesian people even though there are only a few. Because he is the president of all Indonesian people without exception.

The words of a leader are like gold, but gold has never existed until now. How is it possible for a great leader to easily make promises but never keep them.

He proved the proof of being present at the National Christmas, National Vesak, strangely why even though during his reign he was not even willing to attend the Matakin National Lunar New Year?

Isn’t President Jokowi one of the most “cool” presidents on earth? He can suddenly suddenly set his own time to go to the mall whenever he wants, he can also suddenly suddenly ride a motorcycle on the highway with the time he wants? Ideally in the writer’s logic, if the president wants to attend the Matakin National Lunar New Year then it is not a big problem for him to set the time.

It’s just that it seems that he has never been willing and wants to attend the Matakin National Chinese New Year for reasons that only President Jokowi and God knows.

Chinese New Year for Confucians is something sacred and holy, Chinese New Year is a moment of self-purification and self-improvement, praying to God and ancestors, although for some Chinese who are no longer adherents of Confucius, the Chinese New Year is only like an ordinary celebration and family gathering.

This is the same when Christmas is also just an ordinary holiday for Japanese people who celebrate winter there, Japanese people are generally Shinto but they celebrate Christmas as an ordinary holiday without sacred religious rituals especially sacred.

In Indonesia the history of the Chinese New Year and Confucius certainly cannot be compared to the history of the Chinese New Year in China or other parts of the world. In Indonesia from the era of President Sukarno, the Chinese New Year holiday is clearly a valuable appreciation for the Confucians of Indonesia as a sacred and holy religious holiday.

Chinese New Year is one of the facultative holidays besides Khong Hu Cu and Cheng Beng’s Day of Birth & Death as outlined in Government Decree No.02 / OEM / 1946, regarding Chinese holidays, because according to Gus Dur before the issuance of Inpres 14/1967 all Chinese people were adherents Confucius.

The presence of a president of the Republic of Indonesia for the Chinese New Year celebration National Matakin becomes very important and meaningful because it is a symbol of the state which must always be present in every religious momentum of all its people.

The absence of the president at the Chinese New Year Confucian community is an ironic and sad ambiguous attitude. This can be considered as a president’s discriminatory attitude towards his people who happen to be also the most “minority” in Indonesia.

The Confucius people always send letters to the president to attend the Matakin National Lunar New Year, always trying to have an audience with President Jokowi in various ways, but what power is always ignored, always never received, always ignored. But what might President Jokowi never seem to want to listen to the Confucians longing for his presence.

Sad indeed, but yes that’s the attitude of President Jokowi towards Confucians, side by side and tends to hurt the Confucians who long for his presence.

However, like the “Punguk missed Bulan” the Confucians always look forward to President Jokowi in their midst to celebrate the sacredness of the Chinese New Year with gratitude and the best prayers for our beloved Indonesia.

Hopefully President Jokowi reads this article. While praying and thankful, Confucians hope Jokowi keeps his promise.

 

 

H-2A & H-2B: Temporary Agriculture Workers & Non-Agriculture Workers.

Visas: (1) Industries, (2) Construction, (3) Restaurants, (4) Lodging, (5) Golf, (6) Marine Salvage, (7) Landscapes, (8) Nurseries, (9) Agriculture, (10) Amusement Parks, (11) Shrimping http://www.fewaglobalorg

1. https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-workers U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. Who May Qualify for H-2A Classification? (1) H-2A Program Process, (2) H-2A Eligible Countries List, (3) Period of Stay, (4) Family of H-2A Workers, (5) Employment-Related Notifications to USCIS, (6) Fee-Related Notifications to USCIS, (7) Inquiring About a Pending H-2A Petition.

2. http://www.fewaglobal.org/services Federation of Employers and Workers of America. Employers must show there aren’t enough U.S. workers & having temporary workers won’t hurt current conditions of existing American workers. Housing is required for H-2A Agriculture Workers, not H-2B Non-Agriculture Workers. Over half of agriculture workers are H-2A.

3. https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/archive/doc/migration/H-2A_Fact_Sheet8.6.pdf Center for Global Development. H-2A Program for Temporary Workers. It’s possible to extend H-2A employers and extend visas.

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-2A_visa The Wikipedia article on H-2A temporary agriculture workers. It includes a history of the program.

5. https://maslabor.com/h2a-overview/ mas H-2A: The H-2A Labor Specialists. “The H-2A program allows employers to hire foreign workers for tough-to-fill seasonal jobs. It is the only legal, non-immigrant foreign worker visa program available to agricultural employers and is critical to American agriculture and the U.S. economy. H-2A workers typically come from rural communities (predominantly in Mexico and Central America), go home after each work season, and return to the same U.S. employer year after year.”………” We offer labor solutions for agricultural employers in more states, with a greater diversity of crops, than any other H-2A service provider…”

Emmett J. Scott Bio (1873-1957) by Anthony Neal Emmel

“A native of Houston, Texas, Emmett J. Scott garnered a reputation as Booker T. Washington’s chief aide. He was also the highest ranking African-American in the Woodrow Wilson’s Administration. The son of ex-slaves, Scott was born in 1873. In 1887, he entered Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, eventually leaving school in his third year. Soon he worked at the Houston Post, first as a sexton, and later as a copyboy and journalist. In 1893 Scott, along with Charles N. Love and Jack Tibbit, formed the Texas Freeman, Houston’s first African American newspaper. Scott also worked for Galveston, Texas, politician and labor leader, Norris W. Cuney.

Scott caught the attention of Booker T. Washington, who hired him in 1897. For the next eighteen years, Scott served Washington as a confidant, personal secretary, speech writer, and ghostwriter; in 1912, he became Tuskegee’s treasurer-secretary. Scott advocated Washington’s philosophy of constructive accommodation over immediate social integration. Scott and New York Age editor T. Thomas Fortune helped Washington found the National Negro Business League (NNBL) in 1900.

In 1917, two years after Washington’s death, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Scott special advisor of black affairs to Secretary of War, Newton Baker. Scott wrote reports on conditions facing African- Americans during the period, which were published as “The American Negro in the World War” (1919) and “Negro Migration during the First World War” (1920). From 1919 to 1932, Scott was the business manager and secretary treasurer of Howard University, retiring from the college in 1938. During World War II, Scott worked for the Sun Shipbuilding Company of Chester, Pennsylvania, and helped the company create Yard No. 4 for black laborers. Scott was married and had five children, all of whom graduated from college. He and his wife also raised his five younger sisters, who also earned their degrees. Scott died in Washington, D.C., in 1957 at the age of 84.”

https://blackpast.org/aah/scott-emmett-j-1873-1957

NO BORDER WALL, (2nd Edition) by J.D. Meyer

More Flooding & Less Ecotourism—a Major Income Source for Rio Grande Valley. Ruin for Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Bipartisan Support!

1. https://www.npr.org/2017/04/25/525383494/trump-s-proposed-u-s-mexico-border-wall-may-violate-1970-treaty Mexico Worries That a New Border Wall Will Worsen Flooding “Mexican engineers believe construction of the border barrier may violate a 47-year-old treaty governing the shared waters of the Rio Grande. If Mexico protests, the fate of the wall could end up in an international court.”… “A concrete wall that blocks trans-border water movement is a total obstruction.”…. “To protest the border wall, Mexican officials on the Boundary and Water Commission would first lodge a formal complaint with their counterpart across the river in El Paso. If they don’t resolve the dispute, the matter goes to the State Department and its Mexican equivalent, and finally, to arbitration before a world court.”

2. https://www.mystatesman.com/news/state–regional/new-map-details-trump-texas-border-wall-plan-renewing-flood-concerns/PZxH0kZJAb1X8c5JtGL2nO/ New map details Trump’s Texas border wall plan, renewing flood concerns “…the U.S. Border Patrol has plans to build 32 miles of barrier in Starr County, where flooding concerns helped kill off similar plans half a decade ago….In addition to addressing concerns over flooding, the Homeland Security Department will face potentially lengthy battles with private landowners. While some areas sit on federal land, including the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, the proposed wall route cuts through the land of dozens of private owners.”

3. https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-border-wall-texas-wildlife-refuge-breaking/ Trump Administration Preparing Texas Wildlife Refuge for First Border Wall Segment. If the levee wall is constructed, it will essentially destroy the refuge, a federal official told the Observer. “…first piece of President Trump’s border wall through the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in South Texas. The federally owned 2,088-acre refuge, often called the “crown jewel of the national wildlife refuge system.”

4. https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Rio-Grande-Valley-s-eco-tourists-wary-of-12384823.php Rio Grande Valley’s ecotourists wary of Trump’s border wall plans “More than 165,000 nature tourists visit the region each year, infusing $463 million into the local economy and sustaining 6,600 jobs, according to a 2011 Texas A&M University study.”

5. https://www.mystatesman.com/news/national-govt–politics/why-private-property-owners-may-the-biggest-obstacle-trump-wall/WL4uZXLWYCGKwByV7goFqM/ Why private property owners may be the biggest obstacle to Trump’s wall. “Trump’s wall will have to cross miles of roadless mountains, traverse expansive deserts and parallel a serpentine river. But the biggest hurdle to building a coast-to-coast border barrier may not be the terrain but its inhabitants, especially those in Texas, where property rights are second to none. ………. “The power of eminent domain is established in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides that citizens cannot “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

6. https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/opinions/border-wall-cartels-trump-opinion-driver/index.html Trump’s Mexico wall would be a gift to the drug cartels “According to a 2015 report by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, 95% of drugs coming into the US were entering via container ships and other vessels…..In addition to drones and submarines, drug dealers and human traffickers rely on the trucking industry to move drugs and people via the 52 legal crossing points along the US border.”

7. https://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/23/us/drug-super-tunnel-tijuana-san-diego/index.html Feds raid drug ‘super tunnel’ with railway on U.S.-Mexico border “The tunnel is the tenth large-scale drug smuggling tunnel discovered in the San Diego area since 2006. In all, authorities have found more than 75 cross-border smuggling tunnels, mostly in California and Arizona, prosecutors said.”

8. https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2017/apr/26/ron-kind/yes-experiencing-net-outflow-illegal-undocumented-/ “Yes, we are experiencing a net outflow of illegal, undocumented workers from America back to Mexico,” U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, said Feb. 16, 2017 on Wisconsin Public Radio. “To build a wall now would be locking them in this country.” “…peak of 6.9 million in 2007. But the number began dropping in 2008.”

9. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/07/25/world/science-health-world/crime-biodiversity-2700-scientists-warn-trumps-u-s-mexico-wall-may-doom-1000-threatened-species/#.W6T1TrhZieo ‘Crime against biodiversity’: 2700 scientists warn Trump’s U.S.-Mexico wall may doom 1,000 threatened species. “More than 2,700 global scientists signed on to the letter by lead author Robert Peters of Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation group….When populations of animals are fragmented, they have a harder time finding mates, food, water and safe habitat, and face higher risks of extinction.” Some of the endangered species: Peninsular Bighorn sheep, Mexican gray wolf, Sonoran pronghorn antelope, jaguars, & ocelots.

10. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/27/14412672/will-hurd-border-wall Why the Texan Republican who represents the border doesn’t want a wall The congressional district of Will Hurd (R-TX) “contains the largest swathe of the US-Mexico border of anyone in Congress.” It “stretches from the suburbs of San Antonio to the outskirts of El Paso.” Some of the border area includes Big Bend National Park and Lake Amistad. Hurd asserted on CNN that a border wall would be unnecessary, too expensive, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Furthermore, building the wall would include seizing private citizens’ land through eminent domain–a practice considered unconstitutional by many conservatives. “The un-walled area in particular has almost no border crossings since it’s in the middle of nowhere,” according to The Economist.

11. https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/320820-cornyn-border-wall-makes-absolutely-no-sense-in-some-areas Cornyn: Border wall ‘makes absolutely no sense’ in some areas Texas Senator, John Cornyn asserted, “There’s parts of our border which it makes absolutely no sense…”But what is helpful [is] to have fencing, for example, is places like San Diego, it’s a large urban area.” “Cornyn added that he thought border security needed to include a mixture of personnel, technology and infrastructure.” Cornyn conducted this interview after taking five GOP lawmakers on a trip to the border.

12. http://braceroarchive.org/about Bracero History Archive This program is at UT-El Paso, and it examines the history of the braceros (1942-1964). The braceros were temporary workers from Mexico–often agriculture. The braceros enabled the USA to fight in World War II and the Korean War.

Why Trade Deficits Can Be Good, But Tariffs Can Be Terrible, by J.D. Meyer

1. https://www.investopedia.com/news/why-deficits-are-flawed-measures-unfair-trade “Why Deficits are Flawed Measures of Unfair Trade,” by Michael Kolakowski. The USA consumes more than it produces, and it doesn’t save.

2. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/trade-deficit-effects. “In Praise of Trade Deficits,” by Michael Schmidt. “Increasing trade deficits can be a sign of strong GDP. They will not create a drag on GDP, and any potential downward pressure on the local currency is actually a benefit to that country.”

3. http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/economy/what-is-a-trade-deficit/index.html “Trade Deficit Isn’t Always a Bad Thing,” by Christine Romans “The money that flows to other countries doesn’t simply disappear. It becomes cash that in many cases has to be reinvested. And where does it go? Back to the United States, parked in Treasury bonds, stocks, real estate, factories and other investments. America imports goods, and other countries export capital in return.
The last time the United States ran a trade surplus, Gerald Ford was president and the country was in the middle of a recession.”

4. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/canada-is-slapping-tariffs-on-dollar128-billion-of-us-goods-%E2%80%94-here-are-the-states-that-stand-to-lose-the-most/ar-AAy7gKv “Canada is slapping tariffs on $12.8 billion of US goods — here are the states that stand to lose the most,” by Bob Bryan. “Canada is slapping tariffs on $12.8 billion of US goods — here are the states that stand to lose the most.” Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas.

5. http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-tariffs-make-no-sense-treating-friends-enemies-senators-warn-953086 “Trump’s Tariffs ‘Make No Sense’ and Treat Friends Like Enemies, Senators Warn,” By Damien Sharkov. “Those set to suffer the most from the new tariffs will be Canada, Mexico and the European Union, who exported $23 billion worth of steel and aluminum to the U.S. last year.”

6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2018/06/11/evidence-that-new-tariffs-not-immigrants-costing-jobs/#1ffcfdc8313f “Evidence That New Tariffs, Not Immigrants, Are Costing Jobs,” by Stuart Anderson. “Sixteen jobs would be lost for every steel/aluminum job gained;…One reason for this result is that nearly 40 times more people in America work in jobs that use steel and aluminum than in jobs connected to producing steel and aluminum. “American workers making steel/aluminum: 170,000. American workers consuming steel/aluminum: 6.5 million,” notes trade attorney Scott Lincicome.”

7. http://fortune.com/2018/06/09/donald-trump-trade-deficit-terrified-g7-speech/ “Why American Businesses Should Be ‘Terrified’ After President Trump’s Comments on Trade,” by David Z. Morris. “In fact, the U.S. has a global surplus in service exports – Americans sell more to other countries than they buy from them. Once they’re added back to the tally, the overall U.S. trade deficit drops to $566 billion – 30% lower than Trump’s number….In reality, the U.S. has a trade surplus with Canada.”

8. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-12/the-1-4-trillion-u-s-surplus-that-trump-s-not-talking-about “The $1.4 Trillion U.S. ‘Surplus’ That Trump’s Not Talking About,” by Bloomberg News “For China, the image of a massive trade deficit with the U.S. “is at odds with the fact that Chinese consumers own more iPhones and buy more General Motors cars than U.S. consumers,” wrote Zhang in the report. “These cars and phones are sold to China not through U.S. exports but through Chinese subsidiaries of multinational enterprises.”…”The U.S. also ran sales surpluses with nations including Mexico and Canada but had deficits with Japan and Germany last year, Zhang wrote.”

SOL 18: March for Our Lives—Tyler, TX—My Statement, by J.D. Meyer

Tyler, Texas was one of the hundreds of cities which had a March for Our Lives event on Saturday March 24th from 10-Noon. It was held on the Downtown Square, just like the Dreamers event on March 6th. It was estimated that 200 people attended the event; all ages were represented, and lots of folks had signs.

Tyler is in Smith County–a city of 105K, roughly 100 miles east of Dallas. Politically, Tyler is known for always voting Republican but having a low voter turnout. Economically, Tyler is classified as an “Eds and Meds” Economy with two large hospitals and three colleges. There are lots of restaurants and hotels too. A quarter-million people work in Tyler during the day; then just over half go home to some small town.

Anne McCrady was the host of the event. She is locally famous for the annual Art of Peace event in Fall–as well as poetry and activism in general. We heard from Reverend Stuart Baskin, a Presbyterian minister–who gave a stirring speech at a Martin Luther King celebration several years ago. The 2010 MLK Community Celebration fulfilled Dr. King’s prediction that one day the sons of the slave master and slave would sit at the table of brotherhood together. The other keynote speaker that day was Wallace Jefferson–the first African-American Chief Justice in Texas. Reverend Baskin’s great, great grandfather once owned Judge Jefferson’s great, great grandfather! http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?no=385940&rel_no=1 I told him about my account of his talk that I’d had published in South Korea. His daughter remembered me as her substitute teacher at a nearby high school. Then it was time to “pass the mic around.” Here’s my take, to borrow an expression from Fareed Zakaria.

“I’m a former teacher too. Assault rifles should be for the military, not civilians. And not many military need assault rifles either–except the infantry and some others. You don’t need an assault rifle if you’re taking care of a helicopter.
We should be embarrassed at being the most dangerous advanced country. It’s not enough to be safer than Honduras.
And finally, when we closed our eyes and thought of a shooting victim, I remembered a favorite student and got misty-eyed. Not all gang violence is Crips vs. Bloods. It can be Intra-Crip violence. Thank you.”

Mrs. McCrady and I happened to attend the same church today, and she congratulated me for my talk. I visited with her husband, Dr. Mike McCrady before the service. It turns out Dr. McCrady knows my pulmonologist, Dr. Luis Destarac. This has been a good weekend.

SOL18: Recent Highlights: Supporting the Dreamers, Pulmonologist Visit Followed by Long Walk, and Reaction to Resilience Talk, by JD Meyer

After writing a lengthy description of the first part of the Transportation Works Conference in Waco on Thursday, March 1st, I’ve missed doing blogs since then.

This afternoon, I went to a DACA Dreamers event downtown and held up a beautiful sign for the cause that had a picture of a big butterfly. Apparently, butterflies are symbols for the cause since they don’t have to worry about national boundaries. I’d gone shopping at La Michoacana on my way there, and bought two jars of pickled nopalitos (cactus), spicy tamarind candy, granola, and more. A photographer took a picture of my groceries and outfit—a red T-shirt with a Maya pyramid, a cap with a flag of Mexico, and a long-sleeved shirt with a Mexican design. She talked into her fancy cell phone too. Watch for me on a Mexican TV station! I met the principal of one of one of Tyler’s two high schools at the event–quite a pleasant surprise.

Yesterday, I read and commented on three SOL blogs. One was about how multicultural education is needed to reflect the composition of your class. Another was a response to the prompt, “If you really knew me, then…” The other was about a mom taking care of her baby.

Earlier that day, I got a pulmonology exam and showed improvement since October. Since I moved in February and started going to three committee meetings instead of one for my favorite non-profit, I’ve missed pulmonology rehabilitation meetings, so I was told to go get a new evaluation. Not only had I improved in the past four or five months, but I’m better than when I first started going to a pulmonologist in 2012! I brought a backpack full of folders and binders on my research of asthma and COPD: original articles, journal articles, drug descriptions, and illness descriptions from the hospital emergency room.

Ironically, I missed my bus transfer on the way home, so I took a less direct bus (straight south) and walked several blocks to the southeast in one hour and 12 minutes! I finally used a $25 gift card to buy a book at a store on the way—something on urban studies. Aren’t we supposed to be vague and not try to sell the book nor the store? On my walk, I found some artificial flowers too—white, yellow, and red. I wash out fancy beverage cans and convert them into industrial art vases.

I heard a fine talk on resilience on Sunday at church. References were made to plants by the speaker, a biology professor. That got me thinking about the concept. Resilience is the opposite of being fragile or showing withdrawn shame and a lack of assertiveness. I feel more resilient since my move across town.