RISD Eight Day Finance Reports Tell a Story

From: source unknown

Campaign finance reports are available for review on the Richardson ISD website under "Election Filings". Earlier, I reviewed reports from the first three months of 2022. Now, eight days out from the election, reports for the last month are available. The new reports tell much the same story as the earlier ones, but with a few interesting updates that caught my eye.

Let's Talk: Graphic Sex in Novels

Source: What Girls are Made Of, by Elana K. Arnold.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker raised a concern about a book she says is in the school libraries of Berkner High School, Richardson High School, and Richardson West Junior High School. After warning audience members that they might want to leave the room, she read a long passage from the book. Or maybe it just seemed long. It was explicit. It was embarrassing.

The Northman (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Northman (2022): Based on Viking myth. Amleth seeks to avenge death of his father by his uncle. Sound familiar? Substitute Hamlet and you know the key plot points. Full of savagery, blood and gore. Authentic looking throughout, but I never got invested in the characters. B-

The closest movie I can think of that has a similar look and feel, although it's an entirely different period and story, is 2019's The Lighthouse, also directed by Robert Eggers. These movies tend to make an impression that sticks with you.

WAIW: "To Those Who Exercise It"

Where Am I Wednesday!

Where Am I Wednesday?

Fifty points to the first person to locate this photo.

The answer is after the jump.

Let's Talk: Seven Dirty Words

Source: Lost in the Sun, by Lisa Graff.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker raised a concern about a book her third grade daughter found in her school library.

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.