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                                                           Behind the scenes...sometimes I explain a few things...

One of my digital heroes is Craig of craigslist.    He not only runs an award winning community site  connecting people around the world, but he supports social justice through networking sites.  But his star shines brightest when he blogs about the role of truth and the press.

 "Democracy requires an active press, asking tough questions, and speaking truth to power. When that fails, we get ineffective government. "  is a quote from Craig I am fond of.

The role of the citizen journalist is that of facing power with truth. This is an interesting time as corporate media becomes less and less the source of information, only a gatekeeper of the information it wants to be let out.   
                                     
The enormous ramifications of the Dallas Morning News and the Bar in collusion should have every citizen enraged at how they are manipulated. Instead, the judges stay home, the Dallas Morning News puts on its , "Duh, who me?" face and pretends all is well.

I'm intrigued with the role people can play in making transparent some of the hidden agendas.  Rankin is a prime example. Litigants from years ago have called and told me they always thought they were alone in how she abused them.  Their fear of her was tremendous.  They told stories of how she tortured them in ways I found inexplicable except to come to believe Ms Rankin is perhaps very ill.  Many lawyers working behind the scenes in the Rosenthal case read her decision or the transcript of the case and not one could believe this was a sitting Judge. She sounded like a lunatic.  This website and Ms.  Rosenthal's  dynamic fight to bring the story to the media made a huge difference in the lives of people she targeted.   They found out they were not alone, and they were validated.   Whatever evil Rankin, Fowler and others did I am powerless to change,  and seeing the media turn away from the community it should honor with the truth, helped me decide to face the power with the truth and let the tide of events take its course.



                                                Dallas Morning News is Owned By BELO Corporation,
                                                                    Apparently so is The Dallas Bar


                                            bye bye baby, goodbye...I watched you walking on by,
                                            you don't know me any more,
                                            I am not the lover you once knew...
                                            I am Truth and you are the lie,
                                            bye bye baby good-bye

                                                All the news that's fit to be bought....Dallas Morning News Election Blackout.

“Belo is very pleased to be an active participant in the Dallas Bar’s campaign,” said Marian Spitzberg, Senior Vice President of Belo and Trustee of the Dallas Bar Foundation.

                        ."No man can serve two masters...or else he will  hold to the one and despise the other." Matthew 6:24  


February 1, 2002 Dallas Bar Association Headnotes .........Belo Foundation Issues Million Dollar Challenge

.........purposes of the Foundation,” Mighell                                              
said. “We have outgrown the facility and
need this addition in order to take the
Foundation to the next level in serving
our community’s legal education needs.”


This current test of the DBA membership
matches a similar one made nearly 25
years ago when Dallas Bar Association
President Waller M. Collie, Jr. challenged
the DBA with “the most ambitious
project the Dallas Bar has ever undertaken.”
He was referring to the proposed
acquisition and renovation of the Belo
Mansion as the new Dallas Bar headquarters.
In only 11 months, the 3,000 members
raised nearly $2,000,000 for the project.

The Belo Mansion is named after
Colonel Alfred Horatio Belo, a decorated
Civil War hero from North Carolina
who came to Texas in 1865 and originally
went to work for The Galveston News,
which he owned by 1876. When he moved
to Dallas to start a sister paper with
George Bannerman Dealey of The Dallas
Morning News,  Colonel Belo became
one of the most influential business and
civic leaders in the history of Dallas.

Between 1890 and 1900, Colonel Belo
and his wife built their home on the corner
of Ross Avenue and Pearl Street. The
family left Dallas in 1922, marking the end
of the Belo family’s occupancy of the mansion.
The residence was then used as a funeral
home, and in 1977 Colonel Belo’s
family agreed to sell the property to the
Dallas Bar Foundation.

Since then, the Belo Mansion has
served as a hub of activity for the DBA
and the community. It is the gathering
place for the lawyers of Dallas.  Now it is
impossible to imagine the Dallas Bar
without the Belo Mansion. (damn right, I see Bar, Belo, Bar, Belo, all night long)

But with over 9,000 members, the
Dallas Bar has outgrown the original
mansion and an expansion is essential to
fulfill the Association’s mission. The new
addition will offer outstanding opportunities
for the DBA to serve both its own
membership and the community at large.
General Chair Rob Roby said the proposed
addition will provide the Dallas Bar
with facilities desperately needed and
room to continue its growth into the future.

“The new pavilion will add more than
20,000 square feet of meeting, reception,
and office space,” Roby said. “The building
will have at least four floors of underground
parking and outdoor dining on a
terrace overlooking the Nasher Sculpture
Center and the Arts District. The ballroom
will seat over 700 for bar and community
functions.”  (am I invited?)

Established in 1952, The Belo Foundation
distributes grants throughout the
year to qualified organizations in the Dallas/
Fort Worth area and other cities in
which Belo has operating companies. (Belo has sooo many friends)

 The
Foundation makes community service
grants year-round to qualified organizations.
“Belo is very pleased to be an active
participant in the Dallas Bar’s campaign,” (and likewise, my dear)
said Marian Spitzberg, Senior Vice President
of Belo and Trustee of the Dallas
Bar Foundation. “The Belo Mansion obviously
has an important place in our company’s
history, being the home of the
founder of our company. Also of importance
to Belo is the vital role the Dallas
Bar has played through its pro bono programs
in serving the legal needs of the underprivileged
and underrepresented in
our community. We want to help the Dallas
Bar to continue to perform this critical
function.”   (when do you think it might start?)


“The Belo Foundation has been a valued
friend of the Dallas Bar’s efforts to
preserve and honor the Belo Manison, (sic)
former home of the Belo family,” said
Nancy A. Thomas, DBA President.  “We
are grateful for this gift and the Foundation’s
continued support.”

Sue Cady is the Communications
Director of the Dallas Bar Association
his expertise in design and construction
to recent House Committee projects
such as the design and replacement of
the front sign and construction of the
new front door at Belo.
When the current DBA leadership
launched the Mansion Expansion campaign,
it was obvious that Nick’s services
were needed. He has worked with
the architects on how to meld the old
and the new structures, and he will play
a vital role in renovating the mansion
during the construction process.
“It’s hard to imagine the Belo Mansion
without Nick LaBranche,” said
DBA President Nancy A. Thomas.
“He’s a fine gentleman and a man with
good solid judgment. Nick knows every
inch of the Belo Mansion and takes care
of it as if it were his own home. We
couldn’t get by without him.”
For his years of service to the Dallas
Bar Association and his commitment to
the expansion project, Nick LaBranche
has been chosen as this month’s Belo
Hero II. Thank you, Nick LaBranche, for
all you do!
“After Nick agreed to help with the
project, he carried through with a quiet
competence that invoked confidence in
every step,” said DBA member Jerry
Jordan, who was also involved in the initial
renovation project.
Nick’s extensive background includes
estimating and managing some of
the most prestigious building projects in
the city, such as the Cumberland Hill
School, and numerous building renovations
on the SMU campus including
restoring and remodeling Dallas Hall,
building the tennis complex, the
Olympic pool, diving well, and managing
the construction of the Dedman Center
All-Sports Facility. He has also been very
instrumental in construction projects at
Old City Park, the historic Wilson Block,
and the Dallas Arboretum’s DeGolyer
gardens restoration. The list of his accomplishments
goes on and on.
In addition to daily attention to Belo,
Nick also serves as an integral member
of the DBA House Committee, lending
HN
many generous firms in Dallas supporting
this important project,” Thompson said.
David Wood, Culinaire Vice President
of Sales and Marketing, said the
Belo Mansion project is exciting news to
the special events industry.
“A freestanding ballroom of this magnitude,
with ample parking and a convenient
downtown location, is certain to be
the future site of many galas and upscale
social functions,” Wood said.
Rob Roby, General Chair of the expansion
project, said he appreciates the
support Culinaire International has
shown.
“By stepping forward with this gift,
Culinaire has cemented their alliance
with the Dallas Bar Association and explicitly
stated their support of our expansion
project,” Roby said. “We are very
grateful.”
“We are so pleased with the remarkable
support we have received,” said
Nancy A. Thomas, 2002 DBA President
and Construction Chair of the project.
“We appreciate Culinaire coming forward
and pledging their support.”
“We need everyone’s help to make
this dream a reality,” said Mark A.
Shank, Fundraising Chair and Immediate
Past President of the Association.
“Culinaire’s gift gets us one step closer.”
For questions or to contribute to the
campaign, contact Shank at 214/939-5420
or Roby at 214/698-4100.
“No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right;
a single experiment can prove me wrong.”
Albert Einstein
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Dallas, Texas 75226
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