City councilwoman, Defense Attorney, and part-time Super Hero Jolanda Jones, along with Houston Mayor Bill White (who after everything he's done through Hurricane Ike is a Super Hero in my book, too) are hosting the Houston Survivor Challenge on Saturday, October 25th.
The event is giving the opportunity to 20 local contestants to compete against real contestants from the TV show "Survivor" in "Survivor-esque" challenges designed to test your mental and physical talents. For those folks who don't quite have the guts to actual compete (which would probably describe me!), the event will give you a chance to cheer on your favorite contestants from the show.
For more details, CLICK HERE.
The deadline to apply is October 15th, 2008.
Showing posts with label Jolanda Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jolanda Jones. Show all posts
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Jolanda Jones to the Rescue
I was driving along the Westpark Tollroad this afternoon, when I noticed that there were numerous pylons along the raised exit that merges it into Highway 59. I figured there had probably been an accident over the weekend, but didn't give it much thought otherwise.
Imagine my surprise this evening when I was watching Fox 26 and saw this story explaining what had happened there.
A few days ago, I wrote that my friend, Jolanda was a conflict addict. At the time, I didn't realize that the Conflict Addiction included running into a burning car!
A lot of us wonder what we would do if faced with a situation like the one Jolanda and her son were faced with over the weekend. I know we would all like to think we would have done the same thing. But, I guess until we have a burning car with someone trapped in it sitting right in front of us, we will never know how we would perform.
I know that Jolanda gets a lot of flack for the things she says and the things she does, but on this day, her actions spoke a lot louder than her words.
Way to go, Jolanda!
Imagine my surprise this evening when I was watching Fox 26 and saw this story explaining what had happened there.
A few days ago, I wrote that my friend, Jolanda was a conflict addict. At the time, I didn't realize that the Conflict Addiction included running into a burning car!
A lot of us wonder what we would do if faced with a situation like the one Jolanda and her son were faced with over the weekend. I know we would all like to think we would have done the same thing. But, I guess until we have a burning car with someone trapped in it sitting right in front of us, we will never know how we would perform.
I know that Jolanda gets a lot of flack for the things she says and the things she does, but on this day, her actions spoke a lot louder than her words.
Way to go, Jolanda!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Jolanda Jones' Run In with HPD
All the local news outlets are reporting on Houston City Councilwoman and Defense Attorney Jolanda Jones being under investigation for Interference with the Duties of a Public Servant.
Now, Jolanda is a friend of mine, and I genuinely admire her strength and perseverance with all she's gone through to achieve what she has in life. She has an impressive background. An athlete. An Olympian. A person who put herself through law school. A single mother to a truly impressive son.
But Jolanda is someone who, ever since I've known her, thrived on conflict.
There's something to be said for never backing away from a fight. However, going and creating a fight where there isn't one, just for the sake of getting attention is another matter. Jolanda goes beyond being brave.
She's more of a Conflict-Addict.
I understand that to be in politics, there's usually no such thing as "bad publicity", and perhaps jumping in the middle of a standard arrest will play well with her constituents. However, it does absolutely nothing for her reputation as a disagreeable publicity hound. What it does is stir up further conflict between the community and the Houston Police Department, when there was no indication that the HPD officers were doing anything improper.
It's drumming up a conflict for the sake of the conflict, in other words. It's what politicians do. Not what leaders do.
Come on, Jolanda. You've got the credentials to be a real leader.
Don't be a politician.
Now, Jolanda is a friend of mine, and I genuinely admire her strength and perseverance with all she's gone through to achieve what she has in life. She has an impressive background. An athlete. An Olympian. A person who put herself through law school. A single mother to a truly impressive son.
But Jolanda is someone who, ever since I've known her, thrived on conflict.
There's something to be said for never backing away from a fight. However, going and creating a fight where there isn't one, just for the sake of getting attention is another matter. Jolanda goes beyond being brave.
She's more of a Conflict-Addict.
I understand that to be in politics, there's usually no such thing as "bad publicity", and perhaps jumping in the middle of a standard arrest will play well with her constituents. However, it does absolutely nothing for her reputation as a disagreeable publicity hound. What it does is stir up further conflict between the community and the Houston Police Department, when there was no indication that the HPD officers were doing anything improper.
It's drumming up a conflict for the sake of the conflict, in other words. It's what politicians do. Not what leaders do.
Come on, Jolanda. You've got the credentials to be a real leader.
Don't be a politician.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
How Did I miss This?
After a brief period of sulking over the Packers game, I decided to sit down and read the rest of today's Chronicle.
Somehow, I had managed to miss the large photograph of Chuck Rosenthal and the corresponding article by Jolanda Jones. In addition, I had also missed the opinion piece written by Pat McCann.
Jolanda's article pretty much just reiterates what the media has been saying for two weeks: that the District Attorney's Office is racist. She cites different sentences for different people and states that the Office sentences Defendants harder if the Defendant is African-American. As her example, she cites a case involving Farrah Fawcett's son. I vaguely recall when that case was working its way through the 176th, but I don't recall its end result. She describes him having gotten pre-trial diversion, a rarely used type of probation that (if successfully completed) functions like a complete dismissal of a case. It requires both the District Attorney's Office's approval, as well as the Court's. I'm surprised that Brian Rains granted it in his court, given how much he dislikes probation in any form.
I do strongly dispute that I've ever seen someone getting higher recommendations on punishment based solely on their race. That's ridiculous. There are a lot of different factors that go into sentencing recommendations and race is NOT one of them. A persons' criminal history and the nature of the offense are the two primary factors. A victim's feelings regarding the offense is a secondary, although very important, factor in sentencing. In the case of Fawcett's son, I do recall that the victim of the forgery case was his grandfather, who wanted his grandson to learn a lesson, but not go to prison.
Although I think there are a lot of issues to be addressed within the District Attorney's Office, I'm downright angry at Jolanda's assertion that the Office sentences based solely on race.
As to Pat McCann's article, I think that this well-reasoned and well-written article shows why he has done such a good job of our Harris County Criminal Law ers Association. Mark Bennett is taking over in May, but he's got some big shoes to fill.
And no, the author of this blog is not Pat McCann.
This particular post is always running a little long, so I'm going to address Pat's list of questions in a separate blog.
Somehow, I had managed to miss the large photograph of Chuck Rosenthal and the corresponding article by Jolanda Jones. In addition, I had also missed the opinion piece written by Pat McCann.
Jolanda's article pretty much just reiterates what the media has been saying for two weeks: that the District Attorney's Office is racist. She cites different sentences for different people and states that the Office sentences Defendants harder if the Defendant is African-American. As her example, she cites a case involving Farrah Fawcett's son. I vaguely recall when that case was working its way through the 176th, but I don't recall its end result. She describes him having gotten pre-trial diversion, a rarely used type of probation that (if successfully completed) functions like a complete dismissal of a case. It requires both the District Attorney's Office's approval, as well as the Court's. I'm surprised that Brian Rains granted it in his court, given how much he dislikes probation in any form.
I do strongly dispute that I've ever seen someone getting higher recommendations on punishment based solely on their race. That's ridiculous. There are a lot of different factors that go into sentencing recommendations and race is NOT one of them. A persons' criminal history and the nature of the offense are the two primary factors. A victim's feelings regarding the offense is a secondary, although very important, factor in sentencing. In the case of Fawcett's son, I do recall that the victim of the forgery case was his grandfather, who wanted his grandson to learn a lesson, but not go to prison.
Although I think there are a lot of issues to be addressed within the District Attorney's Office, I'm downright angry at Jolanda's assertion that the Office sentences based solely on race.
As to Pat McCann's article, I think that this well-reasoned and well-written article shows why he has done such a good job of our Harris County Criminal Law ers Association. Mark Bennett is taking over in May, but he's got some big shoes to fill.
And no, the author of this blog is not Pat McCann.
This particular post is always running a little long, so I'm going to address Pat's list of questions in a separate blog.
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