A Welcome Warning to SXSW Participants

Dear SXSW Participants:  In this post Harold Cook offers a double-edged welcome to the participants of Austin's annual SXSW event.  Many native Austinites will agree with Mr. Cook's slant that the event is becoming increasingly more about drinking and partying than what it was originally created to do and that is educating and showcasing people on the arts, primarily independent films.  Since none of the visiting hoard will be doing much reading between their trips to the closest beer bong set-up, I would say that Harold Cook's writings will fall upon deaf ears and serve merely as a comic relief for those forced to endure the festivities that will take place in their neighborhoods.

However, Harold might be looking at this the wrong way.  Imagine all the revenue that will be generated after the Austin Police Department has finished issuing all the parking, public intoxication and noise complaint tickets.  Maybe they can get enough to save the local schools from closing, but then how would the city pay to put on this equally beneficial event next year?

Love the post, love the sarcasm, it's just missing one thing.  In bold print across the bottom it should read:

Thanks for visiting, just don't forget to LEAVE!

Who is more prejudice?

Pitts: The South lost - get over it already

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and Mr. L Pitts from the Miami Herald sure is voicing his. Right away you can hear his condemnation for the southern communities. The author flies off the handle with his own racial prejudices as he makes up his own version of the past. He begins by generalizing everyone in the South as back-wood, racists that are clinging to ideals that are held by only a select few. Perhaps Mr. Pitts should take a current history class so that he may learn the real reasons for the Civil War. The south was not fighting solely for slavery, they were trying to protect their way of life. Given that this posting is originally from the Miami Herald one could easily gather that Mr. Pitts has no clue about his audience nor their geographical location. Maybe he took the stance that he did on this issue so as to create a "buzz" about it and draw more readers. If you ask me, it sounds like a better way to be flooded by all sorts of hate mail from it's readers. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a renowned leader in the Confederate Army and history shows that he was not found guilty of any "war crimes" nor was he involved in the mentioned KKK organization. A congressional committee was convened on both matters and found no evidence against Forrest. So, for Pitts to claim such lies is nothing short of slander and he should be charged with such. This era in our Nation's history is covered with inhumane acts and practices, but to denounce a great man solely on the fact that he fought for the south is just as much of an injustice.

Judge: Dallas man should be free after 25 years

Judge: Dallas man should be free after 25 years

This is one of several cases that have surfaced out of the Dallas County judicial system. The reason that Dallas County is leading in the Nation for over-turning convictions due to recent advances in DNA technology, is because the District Attorney's Office as well as the local law enforcement agencies were very adamant in keeping DNA evidence from years past. The Great State of Texas is setting the bar for other states in how we prosecute our criminals. We don't only offer these newly-aquitted citizens and hardy "sorry" and a pat on the shoulder, they are also compensated up to $80,000 a year for time spent wrong-fully imprisoned. What does the justice system think these individuals would have been doing had they not gone to prison? Become doctors? CEOs a company? Sounds like an overly apologetic attempt to me, but what do I know I've had to work all my life.

Just kicking things off

Here's my first post just to kick things off.  It should be fairly interesting to see how this whole thing goes.  Follow me to watch the magic or to see the fiery crash at the end!