To "only" finish in the nation's top four ... The making of life-long champions.

UT Softball fell short of a national title this year, and "only" finished as one of the top four teams in the nation. ... They were a joy to watch as they marched to the College World Series. I watched them play at home in the Regionals and Super Regionals, and then on ESPN as they played in Oklahoma City at the College World Series. Through all the watching and rooting, I was consistently struck that the experiences these women were living is exactly how life-long champions are made.

Longhorns celebrate the no-hitter the sent
them to the College World Series.

The playoff system for NCAA softball and baseball is rigorous, grueling and fair. Once the UT Women made it to Oklahoma City, that meant that they were one of the top 8 teams in the country. From there it's a double elimination tournament, where fighting back through the elimination bracket is really tough. They beat Arizona State in the Championship Bracket, got beaten by a powerful Oklahoma, then in the Elimination Bracket beat Florida, before losing to Tennessee. In short, the softball team went 2-2 at the World Series, finishing strong amidst the best competition in the country. 

Pitcher Blaire Luna, who went 31-7 on
the season, pitched 288 pitches in one day,
pitching against both Florida and Tennessee.

I have been watching athletes and athletics for a long time. I know what quit looks like and I know what fight-to-the-end looks like. This team's run was long, exhausting and impressive. I couldn't be prouder ... and more importantly, I bet that Coach Connie and her crew feel the same way. 

Watching these student athletes play, I saw the same drive, persistence and work ethic demanded of anyone who wants to work and thrive in a  top-notch organization. Oh, and one more thing: the team GPA is 3.08, which is well above the university-wide average. Not bad at all.

These student athletes show the best of UT and the best of UT Athletics.

What a pleasure.

Lots of Ph.D's are smart, but apparently the degree itself is no guarantee.

The Heritage Foundation recently produced yet another important sounding report, this one using dubious chains of logic to argue, among other things, how costly immigrants are to the American public. But the report turned into a minor disaster for Heritage when it turned out that one of the report authors wrote his doctoral dissertation on the intellectual deficits of Hispanics. Since "Hispanic" is a government created category, not a biological one, the argument, in the context of doctoral work, is monumentally stupid. Whatever committee approved the line of research and then the dissertation should be closely scrutinized, as should the accredited university that granted old dude his credentials. 

Then we find out that the dissertation came from Harvard. Sigh.

Here's the story of the dissertation of Dr. Jason Richwine. Academia takes a well-deserved hit on this one. We are producing far too many immodest little emperors who lack proper clothing.

The Harvard Dissertation That Became Too Racist For Heritage

An interracial family in public? Someone call the cops

So here's a story from the "just-keep-moving, nothing-racial-to-see-here" front ... 

A white Dad had to deal with the police at his door when he got home from Walmart. Some people were evidently concerned that his darker-than-him kids weren't his and that he was a kidnapper. Some folks like to say, "well, better than safe than sorry," but these actions accumulate in the minds of kids and some folks are more often than others forced to deal with them.

How many times do we subject kids and families to such "minor inconveniences" before they leave a lasting impression? The indignity of law enforcement officers asking a 4 year old if that is really his mom or dad is real. Public Safety folks have a tough job to be sure, but when suspicion is really about race, not behavior, umm, sorry folks, that is racism.... It's not mean-spirited to be sure, but what else do you call?

Oops, there I did it, I used that horrible, scary word. But the reality is that many, many of us lead with a racial lens. And many, if not most, straight out refuse to admit it. But whatever folks want to call it, we threaten to damage kids and family's with constant, (and quite frankly, annoying) fear-induced, racial behavior.

An interracial family in public ... now that's suspicious

From school to fast food, observing everyday thieves and cheaters

This has been a day for watching or dealing with cheating. Aside from the unpleasantry of failing students caught cheating, I just watched a college kid come into a Taco Cabana and sneakily stuff a bag with tons of plastic ware type stuff from the condiments bar. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't been so blatantly (& badly, obviously) trying to mask and hide his activity - slyly filling up a cup w/pico and then grabbing stuff and shoving it in his bag, then doing it again ... and again. After watching the sad spectacle for a minute I got up to ask him if he really was so broke that he had to steal this cheap fast-food crap-ware, but he left as I got up to chat. Hell, I'd lend him a $5 just to end the embarrassing spectacle. I really should have gotten up more quickly. It would be interesting if he showed up in one of my classes. I would absolutely find a way to bring this back around to his attention. Cool thing about teaching 600 students a year is that a *whole lot of them* cross your path before its all said and done. Ah, college kids... Glad I was never one.

Tragedy upon tragedy: Seeking relief through fighting with each other

So many children murdered. What an awful, awful reality. ... And then to complicate it, so much of the immediate conversation has already turned into a debate about gun control versus gun access. This at first caused me a little emotional whiplash ... but then I almost got sucked in. Social and news media are inviting me (all of us really) into the arena of argumentation. ... There are those among us who will look at the tragedy and say we need gun access for self-protection. There are others who will say we need gun control. And the debate will be heated. As a collective, we will seek catharsis and relief from the horror of the murder of children by deeply and passionately engaging this debate, sure that we are right, and at some point possibly even questioning the sanity or intelligence of those with an opposing view. ... But you know what? I am pretty much sick of this sort of reaction. That is, I am sick of us (the collective "us," me included) dealing with our confusion and angst by taking the "side" that feels right in our gut, defending and promoting it all costs, and then, eventually, demonizing those who have now been constructed as the "other side." We did it during the election, and we do it in all manner of policy debates. ... Tonight, rather than go that predictable route, I think that I am just going to focus on hugging my kids a little tighter. I'll see where it goes from there.

1968 Words from Mormon leader Hugh Brown on political division in the country

Some would have you limit your reading to those whose political alignments, social networks or faith traditions fit the orthodoxy of their tribe. For them I offer a shrug of indifference to their admonitions and maintain a raised eye brow of scrutiny for whatever they have to say on any topic of consequence.

That said, I've discovered and will be reading more about and from Mormon apostle Hugh Brown. His was a cool head in a time of even greater national division than we have today. Check out these words from this Mormon Church leader, apparently offered in May 1968:

"I would like you to be reassured that the leaders of both major political parties in this land are men of integrity and unquestioned patriotism. Beware of those who feel obliged to prove their own patriotism by calling into question the loyalty of others. Be skeptical of those who attempt to demonstrate their love of country by demeaning its institutions. Know that men of both major political parties who bear the nation’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches are men of unquestioned loyalty and we should stand by and support them, and this refers not only to one party but to all. Strive to develop a maturity of mind and emotion and a depth of spirit which enables you to differ with others on matters of politics without calling into question the integrity of those with whom you differ. Allow within the bounds of your definition of religious orthodoxy variation of political belief. Do not have the temerity to dogmatize on issues where the Lord has seen fit to be silent."

Some of those words are hard for me to swallow. But they strike my ear as capturing wisdom for the ages and I choose to consider them carefully.

Here is a blog entry from Mormon Heretic on the topic and another from Latter-Day Common Sense.

Putting racist tweets in context

Hundreds of young people (and some not so young) are learning hard lessons after their ugly cathartic releases following the re-election of President Obama. While some express shock at these comments (many are eye-popping ugly), I am pleased that ugly comments seem to number only in the thousands, and that the truly ugly ones (the ones that get you on federal watch lists or merit Secret Service visits) only number in the hundreds. I am an "N of 1" and yet have received my share of threats and racist taunts over the years. Some have been real doozies. Thus, when I see that nationwide the open racist remarks were in the hundreds, I am relieved. ... Many of those who were spewing venom on election night appear to be intellectually challenged, rather young (or perhaps both). For instance, a 22 year-old expressed surprise following her tweet calling President Obama the N* word and expressing her thought that maybe he'd be assassinated this time. In follow up social media posts she exclaimed that she didn't understand the big deal. Others who were outed were high school students tweeting or posting from accounts that featured family pictures, their sports teams and church affiliations. Their punishments began coming quickly as several in organizations with codes of conduct were kicked off of teams, fired from jobs or otherwise reprimanded. I view all this and see it as part of our ongoing development. I am not the slightest bit surprised at ugly sentiments and I feel that with kids in relationship with one other across lines of difference, things are still getting better and better (although there are millions who choose to live in cocoons and millions who harbor racial [or gendered or xenophobic or homophobic] resentments). So I note all of this, and while I do fear the possibility of an uptick in violence by racists against minorities, I see this as the dying gasps of an ideology that is being forced further and further to the margins.