The Political Whore

The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference concludes tonight in Tampa. We’ve highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing communities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Rowlett, Texas:

Rowlett, Texas
ROCK

Seeing an influx of juvenile offenses in 2003, Rowlett Municipal Judge Belinda Loveland created Reaching Our Community’s Kids (ROCK).  ROCK is an after-school mentoring program teaching life skills to at-risk boys and girls, providing them with the training and encouragement necessary to succeed in school and stay out of the juvenile justice system, while advocating the benefits of living substance free. “Our goal each week is to provide students the tools to make healthy choices in their everyday life,” Judge Loveland said. “We are here to support them and counsel them with any problems they encounter along their journey to success.” In Rowlett, community support for ROCK stems from Rowlett Lions Club, Rotary Club, Police Department, Fire Department, School District, business leaders and neighbors all working together to make a difference in the life of a child. ROCK has a direct impact on approximately 150 of Rowlett’s boys and girls annually. But what makes this program so successful is the promise of positive ‘peer pressure’ emulating from the participants into the community as a whole.

Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City tonight at the  conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.

By Lorna Bracewell
PoHo contributor

In a recent blog posting, Nadine Smith, Equality Florida’s executive director, issued a formidable challenge to GLBT people everywhere: If you want equality, sacrifice for it. With the bus boycotts and lunch counter sit-ins of the black civil rights movement as her inspiration, Smith asks “What can we (GLBT people) do that demonstrates not only the rhetoric of equality but the personal sacrifice that will awaken the conscience of a nation?”

Smith answers this question with a simple suggestion:

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By Lorna Bracewell
PoHo contributor

In a presidential proclamation issued on Monday, President Barack Obama officially recognized the month of June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The president’s call for equality and his acknowledgment of the many contributions LGBT people have made to America’s culture, society and politics despite being culturally, socially and politically marginalized are truly moving. However, I can’t help feeling slightly ambivalent about the whole thing. Here’s why:

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Hey, PoHo blog peeps, will you be our valentine?

• America loves Obama!
• But Ohio still loves Hillary!
• Huckabee loves the Cayman Islands!
• Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson love the economy in ‘08!
• Space station astronauts love their firearms!
• Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia loves torture!
• Jane Fonda loves the C-word!
• Developers, Apple fanboys and me love the upcoming iPhone/iPod Touch developer’s kit!

The latest scourge on college campuses: Google addiction.

• Glad that 2007 is behind us: GM.
• The Senate completely ignores the rights of American citizens and passes telecom immunity.
• The Oracle of Omaha to the rescue.
• Two CBS reporters are missing and believed kidnapped in Iraq.
• Now that the writers strike is over, what about the viewers?
• Even Jesus pisses off his parents every now and again.
• Is America addicted to porn? If you’re reading this page after spankin’ it to PornTube.com, you already know.
• Stop the presses! “Healthy Lifestyle is Secret to Longer Life.” So, no more mainlining lard while on a crack binge?