- Yeah, it’s real fun to be the guy who “defends” a convicted sex offender. This is going to make me real popular. But I’m just a little troubled that this guy is facing 10 years not because the law regards what he did as a danger to children, but rather because of a technicality. “John Joseph Stuart…faces a felony registration-violation charge that could send him back to prison for up to 10 years. Stuart, 32, wouldn’t have had any trouble with police if he had disclosed his job at the SAT and ACT Prep Center, which he co-owns with his wife, Frances Stuart.” If a sex offender is an imminent threat he shouldn’t be let out at all, but the sex offender registration laws go way overboard and do almost nothing but make the state pols who pass them sound tough on crime. They’re ineffective mainly because 95 percent of child sex abuse victims know the perpetrator, i.e. Uncle Don, not the stranger in the trench coat with a pack of Smarties on the end of a fishing line.
- Conflicting reports on how the Richardson city council race for Place 4 is getting a little ugly, which means it’s suddenly interesting to me. In a race pitting a more hardcore conservative against an Establishment country club type Republican, I hear it two ways. Ed Cognoski — the classic example of the guy who can’t believe McGovern lost since “everyone I know voted for him” but who’s been following the races in his ‘burb closely — says the unfortunately named Tom Bache-Wiig is acting all douche-baggy. A trusted friend who is also following the race tells me it’s the other way around: “The ‘Richardson Coalition’ PAC sent a mailer with some really shitty remarks about Tom Bache-Wiig. The RC supports Gary Slagel, the former mayor, and class-A elite jackass. TBW is a true conservative, and quite frankly, his mere appearance in the race scare the country club set to death.” Is this Richardson’s version of Huckabee vs. McCain?
- Yes, the media is the problem in everyone panicking over swine flu. I’m looking at you, Ms. Anchorwoman.
- OK, this is ridiculous. This is what the city of Dallas is resorting to make ends meet. And yet they want to build a half a billion dollar People’s Hotel.
- Good. Because I don’t care what you think about illegal immigration, national security, the need for a border fence, the environmental impact, or any other issue except this: the government needs to respect private property rights. Period. Full Stop.
- Finally, from a dear friend Down Under:
Re: The Richardson Place 4 Race…
He shoots, he scores. That’s exactly what’s going down in the suburban rumble. I just can’t vote for Gary Slagel or Diane Wardrup, and here’s why:
Slagel was mayor while most of the retail corridors (Araphaho, Belt Line, Promenade and Spring Valley) DIED. Sure, we got the telecom corridor, but with all the eggs in that economic basket, we’ve yet to see any real tax advantages for homeowners…
Wardrup is another animal all together. I’m told she’s a lovely person with an admirable dedication to non-profits. Her answer as to “why” her in this election cycle (at the forum at the mosque) was (and I’m paraphrasing here), I’ve done x, y, z…this is owed to me. Sorry.
Bache-Wiig (and yes, it’s one heckuva name) brings something unique to the table. Thirty years in media, and PR. Place 4 is screaming for a candidate that serves a wider base than the Canyon Creek Country Club.
I for one bristled at good old Ed’s combination brush off/theology lesson…The Richardson Coalition’s mailer that went out was nothing more than the politics of personal destruction in action. Yuck.
Trey…care to weigh in on how many media jobs you’ve had in the last few years?
Hey, I can certainly understand how McGovern lost. I just can’t figure out how Nixon won!
As for the “shitty” remarks about Bache-Wiig in the Richardson Coalition mailer, this is the entirety of what they said:
“Mr. Bache-Wiig is new to the scene. We have only his resume and brief discussions by which to judge him. His resume indicates he has had fourteen jobs in the last twenty eight years.”
As I said, not flattering, but nothing overtly negative either. Bache-Wiig flipped his over it.
@ Amanda
I’ve lost track. In the media today, if you don’t have multiple irons in the fire you’re a sitting duck. And as often as not in the media world today — (by which I mean in about half the cases since there are plenty of tenured, high-caliber editors, writers and PR types who have found the right niche and a rewarding employer) — if you stay in one job for a long period of time, you’re just a clock-punching back bencher.
Gosh, Ed, it’s not like he joined a commune or anything.
Flipped? Really? Let’s throw down some more charged language. That moves us forward…*sarcasm*
Care to comment on CONTENT? Or just more of the same RC style tripe?
Trey Garrison, something you said caught my attention. You say Tom Bache-Wiig is a “more hard core conservative.” Can you cite some sources for that assessment? I’ve been following the race and Tom Bache-Wiig hasn’t presented himself that way in public. He himself cites his business experience, knowledge of budgets, etc., much like the other candidates. What makes him “more hard core conservative.”
P.S. to amanda, sorry for the Wiig-flipping remark. It was flippant.
Mental note to self: Sarcasm by candidates, OK. Flippant remarks by bloggers, not.
Simply how he’s been described to me, Ed. Today is the first I’ve ever heard of him. Richardson is flyover country to me.
@ Ed… Words have meaning. When you used language like “flipping out” (in describing TBW), “baggage” (in describing my viewpoint on your blog), and “piety” it means something.
If I’d thrown my hat in the ring and had my professional experience characterized in the same way TBW did…I’d respond in kind. When you deal with nasty people, it’s my “baggage” that you can’t always be nice.
Amanda, I chose those three words deliberately. Reviewing them after your response, I have to say I still find them to be appropriate, maybe even more so.
@ Ed…it must be fun to start a blog and invite comment, but hide behind an anonymous name. As an award-winning writer, I don’t have that luxury. I call ‘em like I see ‘em.
I hold elected officials at any level, any position accountable. I’m holding Gary Slagel accountable. Period.
Cute little blog you’ve got. Maybe someday you can get some traction.
I would vote for a candidate just because he’s named Bache-Wiig. Because you can be pretty damn sure he’s not hiding behind a pseudonym. In these days of anonymous assholes popping wise, it’s refreshing to see a person of character.
–”Daniel”
@ Daniel…*swoon* or “*swoon*” Not sure anymore…Ed is policing language and feelings now…
Really, Amanda? Congratulations! What award did you win and what did you win it for?
Ed,
Sarcasm is just dandy in the world blogging, no problem there.
Here is the problem, on your blog you portrayed Tom Bache-Wigg to be a person lacking in character, yet your only evidence is that he stood up for himself against what was an obvious degrading remark mailed by the RC. I’m not going to debate on the language used in the mailing, it was slanted, period. It made him sound as if he hasn’t been able to hold a steady job over the last twenty eight years. You endorsed that remark from the RC by slanting Tom Bache-Wiig’s response.
I said this on your blog and I’ll say it here. You attacked someone who you self admittedly know little about. You mocked Tom Bache-Wiig’s approach of being a servant-leader because he stood up for himself and you implied that a servant-leader shouldn’t do so, if he does he’s just being temperamental. Again, let’s be blunt and honest. What is the issue with Tom Bache-Wiig, give us some actual reasons you deem it necessary to slander his character. I second Amanda’s comment, where’s the CONTENT?
* So the CHILD PREDATOR / SEX OFFENDER failed to report that he was working at a place with with children nearby? “That business – the target of consumer-fraud complaints from around the country – shares a parking lot with a day-care center and is around the corner from a middle school.” I understand it is a murky issue, but would you encourage an alcoholic to work between a bar and a liqour store? The high recitivism rate for sex offenders is also something to consider. My personal solution involves etching the word “PERV” with acid on the foreheads of every child predator. I think this would help children identify them and serve as adequate punishment for a first offense.
* Pooh – awesome!
@El Rey…good points. The seemingly petty rules are meant to protect the weakest. I understand “paying the debt,” but it seems to be a problem that can’t be “fixed.”
@ Don, to answer your question, I received the Katie Award from the Dallas Press Club for Magazine Writer of the year.
Sorry for the delay in response, my phone doesn’t always update comments on blogs.
amanda: “I hold elected officials at any level, any position accountable. IÂ’m holding Gary Slagel accountable. Period.”
Good.