Want RISD Elections to be Nonpartisan? Say Something.

Call out political parties who insist on turning our local elections into partisan affairs.

You know how I feel about keeping local city and school elections nonpartisan. I have always wanted state and national political parties to stay out of local elections. I have called out both Democrats and Republicans when I feel they are crossing the line.

Let's Talk: Lawsuits

Source: Adam Maida / The Atlantic.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker raised a concern about how a complaint they submitted is being handled.

Somebody Somewhere (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Somebody Somewhere (TV 2022): Breakout hit for Bridget Everett. Sitcom about a woman in a midlife crisis who returns home to Manhattan, Kansas. Show doesn't make the residents there the butt of the jokes. Instead, it's sweet, sensitive, and real. And sometimes funny, too. B+

All the Old Knives (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

All the Old Knives (2022): Spy thriller that lacks thrills. No gun fights, no car chases, no explosions. Still, it offers a satisfying, if implausible, mystery as Chris Pine searches for the mole inside the CIA and suspects his old flame, Thandiwe Newton. C+

CRT, Book Bans and Me: Annotated

Source: Wilshire Baptist Church.

Wilshire Baptist Church hosted a panel discussion April 19 on "CRT, Book Bans and Me." It was moderated by George Mason, senior pastor. Panelists were Rev. Charlie Johnson, Founder & ED for Pastors for Texas Children, Casey Boland, US History Teacher at LHHS, and Dr. Jeannie Stone, Richardson ISD Superintendent 2017-2021. After listening to too many members of the public excoriate school leaders at too many school board meetings, for me this panel discussion was like a welcome palate cleanser. It was like, as George Mason put it, "a return to the old days of civility."

You can read a straight news story about the discussion in Baptist News Global. Or watch a replay of the whole panel discussion. All I intend to do here is randomly annotate a few of the panelists' comments with thoughts that occurred to me as I listened.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022): An Asian-American woman with a strained family life and a failing laundromat has a midlife crisis. Then at an IRS audit she gets sucked into the multiverse. Another problem or her salvation? Weird, wonderful and an hour too long. B-

WAIW: Stop and Smell the Roses

Stop and Smell the Roses.

Where Am I Wednesday?

Fifty points to the first person to locate this photo.

Blocked on Twitter

I didn't use the candidates' responsiveness to voters' questions and feedback as a factor in The Wheel's 2022 Voters Guide. But if I had...

The Wheel's 2022 Voters Guide

Early voting for the 2022 Richardson ISD school board election starts Monday, April 25. So, too, for the Dallas College school board election, a new field for The Wheel to cover. RISD is electing trustees in three single-member districts (if you don't live in one of those districts, no RISD race will be on your ballot). Dallas College is electing trustees in two single-member districts, one of which includes [most of] RISD. Use Vote411.org to see your personalized ballot and to read how the candidates answered a questionnaire by the League of Women Voters.

There are some great candidates running. There are also some who are a risk to equity/diversity/inclusion, to social-emotional learning, to anti-racism policies, to prudent public health measures, and ultimately to effective education, which can't happen without supporting a safe and healthy environment for learning the three Rs. Use The Wheel's Voters Guide to learn one person's opinion about which candidates are which.

POTD: Temple of Hatshepsut

From 2019 11 22 Valley of the Kings

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Hatshepsut on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Luxor, Egypt. Hatshepsut (c. 1507—1458 BCE) was one of the few female pharaohs of ancient Egypt, ruling the country for twenty years. The architecture of this mortuary temple is unlike any other ancient building in Egypt, to my knowledge. It's as impressive from afar as it is from up close.