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This blog was the first in the nation created by an editorial board to give readers a behind-the-scenes view of the discussion that goes into crafting the newspaper’s daily editorials. It includes updates on the work of the editorial staff and debates on general news issues. We welcome and read all letters from readers. Letters are selected for publication based on their clarity and brevity. They also are chosen to represent a diverse set of views on as many issues as possible. February 2010
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Tea partiers need to pitch a bigger tent What will our world look like when corporations can buy candidates? How do we protect our daughters? Cell Phone ban: Will it really save our lives? Sick? Whatever you do, don't stay home from school ... How would the U.S. respond to an attack on Israel? Categories
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February 11, 2010
The following is a guest blog from Kristina A. Kiik, a third-year law student at SMU Dedman School of Law and a Community Voices volunteer columnist. Her e-mail address is kkiik@mail.smu.edu. In 2004, at the age of 21, Kiik was one of the youngest people ever to cast a vote in the Electoral College. The Republican Party needs to stop drinking the tea and wake up and smell the coffee. Wait. That's wrong. It's not the actions of my own political party that trouble me. It's the Tea Party activists who love our country and want to make the American dream a reality. I have no problem with this end. Like all Americans, I work for a better tomorrow, too. But as a twenty-something center-right moderate, I have serious concerns with the Tea Party's means of achieving this shared goal. By marginalizing themselves as a political alternative, the Tea Party is beginning to alienate its closest ally, the well-established, big-tent Republican Party. This decision undermines the prospects of electing conservatives in to office. Worse, it has the potential to prolong the viability of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda.
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The entry "Tea partiers need to pitch a bigger tent" has no entry tags. January 23, 2010
This blog post is written by Tony Laws of Oak Cliff, who works in marketing and promotion and is a Community Voices volunteer columnist. His e-mail address is anthonyplaws@yahoo.com.
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The entry "What will our world look like when corporations can buy candidates?" has no entry tags. January 22, 2010
This blog post is written by Destiny DeLaRosa of Richardson, a stay-at-home mom and blogger. She is also a Community Voices volunteer columnist. Her e-mail address is destinydelaro@gmail.com. I have two daughters. The weight of this truth in no way escapes me. My husband and I both are utterly terrified by this basic fact. It's not that we aren't worried about our son; it's just different with him. He is different. We will be facing a whole different set of issues and decisions as our daughters come of age, and being the type A individual I am, I have already started planning ahead for those delicate teen years. At what age will we allow them to wear make-up? Drive? D-d-d-d-date?
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The entry "How do we protect our daughters?" has no entry tags. January 19, 2010
The following blog post is written by Sandy Kulkarni, a chemistry teacher at Allen High School and a Teacher Voices volunteer columnist. Her e-mail address is sandy.kulkarni108@gmail.com. Allen has spent time discussing a lot about Cell Phones usage while driving. Some experts said that texting while driving could be as dangerous as having alcohol in the blood. Then came the "Cell Phone ban". I felt safer when I saw those signs specially in school zones. But last week, I saw someone driving in the parallel lane trying to put her make-up on. I just could not believe my own eyes.
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The entry "Cell Phone ban: Will it really save our lives?" has no entry tags. January 11, 2010
This blog post is written by Tony Laws of Oak Cliff, who works in marketing and promotion and is a Community Voices volunteer columnist. His e-mail address is anthonyplaws@yahoo.com. For lack of something better to do, like help fix America's sad State of Unfairs, here come members of the GOP who would make an issue of the statement by Harry Reid describing how President Obama presented himself, physically and verbally, upon being asked as much by some reporters. To paraphrase, Reid said that Obama was a light-skinned Black man that spoke with no discernable Black dialect or colloquialisms. In other words, he was a "Black man that didn't talk like he was back on the block, in the 'hood."
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The entry "Obama can talk to everyone" has no entry tags. November 23, 2009
When I was little, I watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It made high school look cool. It made apathy acceptable. It made missing school look, well, cool.
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The entry "Sick? Whatever you do, don't stay home from school ... " has no entry tags. October 5, 2009
The following is a guest blog from Michael Hopkovitz. A resident of Dallas, Hopkovitz volunteers with several Jewish nonprofit groups and is a Community Voices volunteer columnist. His e-mail address is mikespolitics @att.net. With the revelation of the obvious, that Iran has the know-how to build a nuclear bomb, along with their ongoing testing of medium range missiles that are a regional threat, there can be no illusion anymore about Iran's intentions. Absent military action that would take away their nuclear development facilities, they will become a nuclear power.
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The entry "How would the U.S. respond to an attack on Israel?" has no entry tags. September 29, 2009
The Dallas Morning News is accepting applications for Community Voices, a panel of volunteer columnists who will be regular contributors to the Opinions page inside the Metro section. Voices volunteers write opinion columns every four to six weeks and are the "stars" of the weekly Sounding Off feature that appears on Sundays, in which the Voices and other readers respond to a question of the week. To get an idea of what kinds of topics Voices write about, visit dallasnews.com/voices. Apply in four easy steps: 1. Write a little about yourself and put together a list of current and previous civic involvements. How would others in the community describe you? What is unique about your background and experience? Why should we choose you?
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The entry "Raise Your Voice" has no entry tags. September 22, 2009
One of our Voices columnists, Nancy Ruder, has a nice guest blog post today on the Education Front about efforts in Plano to reach out to students on their own turf: Let's think beyond language and race to help school district families. Two education items snagged my attention this week. The first was Matthew Haag's report of Plano's new mobile classroom, a $300,000 Winnebago. The second was Faith Davis Johnson's column about her experience as a "bad student" in a Spanish immersion program. Both items received online comments that can be boiled down to the one "Bukowski" posted on Ms. Johnson's op-ed: "Learn English or go home." I wonder what language "Bukowski's" ancestors spoke when they arrived in the United States. Mine spoke Bohemian and German. Fortunately, the importance of education for their children was impressed upon them, despite their struggles to make a living in a new land. Luckily, they became proficient in English within a few generations. Read more and comment. September 17, 2009
The following is a guest blog by Victor Medina of Oak Cliff, a freelance travel and sports writer and a Community Voices volunteer columnist. His e-mail address is vic@ victormedina.com.
Let me see if I have this right: some foolish senator yells at President Obama, and I'm supposed to be highly offended, filled with outrage over such a public diss. While the outburst was certainly rude, after years of watching many in the media give a voice to some of the most vile, unfair, and disrespectful criticism of President Bush, I'm all out of outrage.
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The entry "Respect for president goes both ways (guest blog)" has no entry tags. September 8, 2009
The following guest blog post is by Susan Dodia of Plano, a project management consultant who is working on her master's degree in dispute resolution and conflict management at SMU. Her e-mail address is sdodia@email.com..
You don't have to look far to come up with myriad examples of how low the public discourse has sunk and how polarized we are as a nation. Whether it's President Obama's speech to schoolchildren today, the healthcare debate, the proposal to make the Disney Streets in Northwest Dallas a conservation district or a conflict at home or at work, we are no longer able to exchange differing ideas in a calm and respectful manner. The master narrative seems to have been lifted from an episode of Real Housewives of Anywhere, USA. We take pride in being snarky and rude. We feel victorious when we make a point that the other side simply can't respond to, instead of feeling shame for the complete failure of communication we have achieved.
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The entry "Resolving conflicts in a world of 'polarization entrepreneurs' " has no entry tags. August 10, 2009
The following is a guest blog post from one of our Voices columnists. Become a fan of the Voices on Facebook.)
I'm surprised no one has called out DISD school board member Ron Price over his proposal to name two new DISD schools after Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor. This isn't about honoring a sitting President or a Supreme Court justice - we all know this is nothing more than political grandstanding. Most new DISD schools are named for worthy local community leaders. Have we run out of those? There are plenty of former Presidents who don't have a DISD school named for them. Why isn't Price pushing for a Bill Clinton or George Bush Elementary School? This shouldn't be about the politics of either Obama or Sotomayor, but Price is making it so. He's trying to make a statement and challenging someone to dare oppose him. Perhaps he's trying to earn some political points - I'm sure he's already dreaming of that photo op the next time the President comes to town. He claims the school should be named after someone the kids there actually know. That statement speaks volumes of the state of education in DISD under his "leadership." Thank God this isn't happening a month ago, or he would have suggested Michael Jackson Elementary School (hey, he's all the rage again with kids). If I thought Price was actually motivated by unselfish reasons, this wouldn't be an issue. This is as much about him as it is the President and Justice Sotomayor. He wants the credit. He's jumping the gun. Obama deserves to have a school named after him, after he leaves office. Sotomayor might deserve one someday, if she rises to Thurgood Marshall levels. Until then, perhaps Mr. Price should name a school after someone who has already earned it.
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The entry "Playing politics with school names (Guest blog post) " has no entry tags. August 7, 2009
The following is a guest blog post from one of our Voices columnists. Become a fan of the Voices on Facebook.) Nancy L. Ruder of Plano is a preschool teacher and a Community Voices volunteer columnist. Her e-mail address is nancy.ruder@tx.rr.com.
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The entry "Will the convention center hotel lack personality? (Guest blog)" has no entry tags. August 4, 2009
The following is a guest blog post written by one of our Community Voices volunteer columnists: Today, President Obama has invited all 60 Democratic Senators to the White House for lunch to discuss extending the "Cash for Clunkers" bill, but healthcare is expected to be on the menu as well. Healthcare reform, one of Obama's big issues during the election season, is stalled in Congress.
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The entry "Health care reform should include food reform (Guest blog)" has no entry tags. August 3, 2009
Keven really enjoyed the Mayborn conference this year, and I really hope to go next year. It sounds liek a great experience for us writer-types. I really enjoyed this column by Laurie Lindemeier, one of our Community Voices, so I thought I would post it here. My heart's in my throat as I stand outside a room and wait to do a 15-minute book pitch to a literary agent at the Mayborn Nonfiction Writer's Conference in Grapevine. As I wait, a gentleman with white hair and suspenders asks me what my book is about. Seizing the opportunity, I spiel off my pitch. "Sounds very interesting." He boosts my confidence. The door opens. Stand up straight. Look the agent in the eye. All the world's a stage. Be smooth, confident.
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The entry "The plot thickens (a guest blog)" has no entry tags. July 27, 2009
What's the use in rattling a decorative saber?
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The entry "Idle threats to Iran won't help" has no entry tags. July 21, 2009
This blog post is written by Eric Van Steenburg of Lakewood, one of our Voices volunteers, regular columnists on our Community Opinions pages. Become a fan of the Voices on Facebook.)
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The entry "Is Dallas a CAN'T-DO city?" has no entry tags. July 15, 2009
This blog post is written by Nancy L. Ruder of Plano, one of our Voices volunteers, regular columnists on our Community Opinions pages. Become a fan of the Voices on Facebook.)
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The entry "Power failure in the Garden of Good and Evil " has no entry tags. May 18, 2009
Here's a look at some recent Voices columns that told me something I didn't know and made a point about how something could be done better.
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The entry "Some of my favorite recent Voices columns" has no entry tags. |