Does It Ever Stop?!?

DNA Discoverer: Blacks Less Intelligent Than Whites
Paul Wagenseil, FoxNews Thursday, October 18, 2007

James D. Watson, 79, co-discoverer of the DNA helix and winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in medicine, He recognized that the prevailing belief was that all human groups are equal, but that "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true."

Acknowledging that the issue was a "hot potato," the lifelong Democrat and avowed secular humanist nonetheless said his beliefs were not an excuse to discriminate against blacks.

"There are many people of color who are very talented," said Watson, "but don't promote them when they haven't succeeded at the lower level."

He told the interviewer, a former student of his, that he had recently inaugurated a DNA learning center near Harlem, and would like to have more black researchers at his lab, "but there's no one to recruit."

Uh... maybe it's just me but I think the next article seems to make complete sense in terms of sequence...

Controversial DNA scientist retires
MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer Thu Oct 25, 11:45 AM ET

James Watson, famous for DNA research but widely condemned for recent comments about intelligence levels among blacks, retired Thursday from his post at a prestigious research institution.

Watson shared a Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins in 1962 for co-discovering the structure of the DNA molecule. He is one of America's most prominent scientists.

In his statement Thursday, Watson said that because of his age, his retirement was "more than overdue. The circumstances in which this transfer is occurring, however, are not those which I could ever have anticipated or desired."

…. A profile quoted him as saying that he's "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really."

Excuse me... but I must admit that I for one, am not disappointed that such a "brilliant" man as Dr. Watson is obviously shown to be not so "brilliant" after all.

Is this what happens when you begin to drink your own intellectual "Kool-Aid"?

This is the sort of thing that never ceases to catch me off-guard... perhaps I should be more cynical but I am not... so when a "scientist" jumps out of his lab with "ground-breaking" news like this I don't know about anybody else but it's more than hurtful, it makes me angry.

Nothing like having your kids hear about how they are "intellectually inferior" or how they can't/won't succeed at a "lower level" (whatever that means).

Anyway, any thoughts are welcome... you can post them right to my blog for everyone to read, that would be awesome!

Twenty Years and counting....

This past weekend I had the opportunity to celebrate a very unusual anniversary celebration.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law have served for the past 20 years as Senior Pastor of a church in the town of Peru, Indiana which incidentally is also known as Circus City, USA!

They have done an incredible job in the face of some serious odds.

The biggest of course being the fact that the statistical average tenure for ministers at any one church here in the United States is less than four years... what an incredible testament to both that church and to my wife's parents!

In a really weird way, we were celebrating and remembering both their twenty years there and how much of our life as a couple and family has been shared with that same church. For example, that same church has witnessed their Senior pastor and his wife's son graduate from High school, the marriage of their oldest daughter and then that same son's marriage, they have witnessed us move to Canada, our return to the US, a move to Indiana and then a move back to Illinois, they have also witnessed the arrival of their six grandchildren and more than likely will then watch as the oldest of the grandchildren graduates from High school and heads off to a Christian college with plans to enter the ministry and serve the church just like his grandfather!

It has by no means been an easy twenty years, I know my father-in-law (just like all of us) can be a handful and (as you can probably gather from last week's post) churches can be filled with "prickly" people as well but all things considered (and that is a lot) this pretty cool!

I guess the thing that has amazed me recently is that this church of around 200 people, recently purchased, completely renovated and updated a Civil War era firehouse in their town. The Firehouse has quickly become the place locally for catered wedding receptions, retirement parties, birthday parties and just like we did last weekend, anniversary celebrations. On top of all that the second floor of the building is a Student pastor's dream space with pool tales, video games and flat screen TV's. The entire building is a WiFi zone as well!

So while I shared my frustrations last week( So You Think You Can Lead A Church Huh?), let me also say that there are quite a few churches that do allow their leaders to lead and quite a few leaders (like my father-in-law) who when all is said and done, lead quite well.

Black History *yawn* Month?!?

Maybe i'm wrong about this but i remember when Black History month was a big deal. i recall getting totally excited about having a whole month in school where the decorations, teachers visual aids and special assemblies focused on the contributions that black people had made to our country. i remember reading about...

• Harriet Tubman
• Charles Drew
• Booker T. Washington
• Marcus Garvey
• Rosa Parks
• Frederick Douglass
• Jesse Owens
• Crispus Attucks
• Phillis Wheatley
• Sojourner Truth
• Malcolm X
• Sidney Poitier
• Marian Anderson
• George Washington Carver
• Matthew Henson
• Benjamin Banneker
• W. E. B. Du Bois
• Duke Ellington
• Jackie Robinson
• Althea Gibson
• Muhammad Ali

... just to name a few.

i think the thing i loved most about learning about all of these figures was that i could be just like them. That if i wanted to, i could become almost anything i made my mind up to be. The promise of almost unlimited opportunity was for me a driving force growing up. Knowing that my own family was well acquainted with the ugliness of racism and still managed to find ways over and around it made me "swell" with a certain sort of pride. That sense of pride would grow and my determination to achieve would increase every February in light of Black History month.

Maybe some would say that we shouldn't have a month, not even a week or a day that highlights the achievements or accomplishments of "one particular" group of people. i don't know, maybe we should have even more! I mean why not?!? This doesn't have to be a political thing at all... maybe this could be about what it was all about for me as a kid... how awesome it was to know that i might possibly one day make a real difference like so many of those in the list above!

i am willing to admit that we live in a time of pretty rough political waters (perhaps even poisoned waters) and the subject of Black History month itself has perhaps become yet another victim of hyper-political sensitivity, hyper-political correctness or misguided multi-culturalism. Maybe.

That said, it would be great to be assured that there are other little kids (particularly little black boys) out there getting the same message i did when i was kid... that no matter what the odds... you can achieve, you can make a difference!

Man, i love Black History month!