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Reason #312 No One Takes the New York Times Seriously

April 5, 2010 By Trey Garrison 3 Comments

Just, damn.

In a Q&A with U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul, the New York Times interviewer actually nags Paul.

NYT: But in light of your distrust of the federal government, where are you on an issue like seat belts? Federal legislation requiring people to wear seat belts could obviously save lives.
Paul: I think the federal government shouldn’t be involved. I don’t want to live in a nanny state where people are telling me where I can go and what I can do.

NYT: You shouldn’t trivialize issues of health and safety by calling them nanny issues.
Paul: The question is, do you want to live in a nanny state where the government tells you what you can eat, where you can smoke, where you can live, what you can do, or would you rather have some freedom, and freedom means that things aren’t perfect?

Filed Under Meddlesome Scolds, Media, Media Driven Panics, Novelty Cake Toppers

More Guns = Less Crime

April 5, 2010 By Trey Garrison 7 Comments

21095You know how when people like me advocate that more people carry guns in public, up pop the Chicken Littles who claim the streets will turn into something like out of the Old West?

The truth is, you could only hope that would be the case.

How many murders do you suppose these old western towns saw a year? Let’s say the bloodiest, gun-slingingest of the famous cattle towns with the cowboys doing quick-draws at high noon every other day. A hundred? More?

How about five? That was the most murders any old-west town saw in any one year. Ever. Most towns averaged about 1.5 murders a year, and not all of those were shooting. You were way more likely to be murdered in Baltimore in 2008 than you were in Tombstone in 1881, the year of the famous gunfight at the OK Corral (body count: three) and the town’s most violent year ever.

Filed Under Cracked, Guns, Media Driven Panics

So Much for Nuance and Diversity, Huh?

February 15, 2010 By Trey Garrison 19 Comments

There’s a world of difference between 1) saying there are still questions about everything that happened on and leading up to 9/11 — even 9/11 commissioners have said this, and discussed how various branches of government played CYA — and 2) saying 9/11 was a U.S. government plot.

However, partisan hacks and shallow-minded editorial writers, both looking for an easy way to dismiss anyone who has different ideas on other issues (what happened to valuing diversity?) either actively blur the distinction or they let the distinction get blurred.

I don’t think I’m going to form my opinion of someone based on one group trying to slap a buzzword label on them, especially when they categorically reject the label.

That’s my 2 cents.

Filed Under Media Driven Panics

On Debra Medina’s Supposed Trutherism

February 14, 2010 By Trey Garrison 48 Comments

From the desk of John Jay Myers

I have known Debra Medina for several years now, if one week ago you would have asked me “What is Debra Medina’s opinion on 9/11 truthers?” I would have said “hmmm, I have no idea, I imagine she knows nothing about it.” I wouldn’t even think it would be something on her agenda to even consider.

I think Thursday proved that to be true.
In my opinion her answer was pretty bad, but… not because she believes 9/11 was an inside job, which she doesn’t, but because she really doesn’t know anything about the conspiracy theories.

Filed Under Media Driven Panics

They Destroy What They Don’t Understand

January 27, 2010 By Trey Garrison 39 Comments

I will never understand what goes on in the mind of a gun control freak.001-0801121510-gun_control

Example: A criminal fires a gun outside the Texas capitol, so therefore the first thing we should do is ban law-abiding people with concealed handgun licenses from carrying inside the capitol building and put up metal detectors.

WTF?

Filed Under Guns, Media Driven Panics

The Death of The Suburbs Has Been Greatly Exaggerated. Again.

July 7, 2009 By Trey Garrison 12 Comments

10sub6001

Every time gas prices tick up or there’s some horribly written feature about how cool urban life is becoming in Dallas, the urban yokels crow about the death of the suburbs and how everyone — everyone! — will soon be living in prole-style density and walking to their creative, carbon-neutral jobs. The McMansions will be sitting empty and it’s DART cards for everyone.

The suburbanites are giving up their quiet streets and cookie-cutter houses and functioning schools and marching like war refugees back to the city center to enjoy overpriced bridges by overhyped architects, People’s Hotels, and loft living like we’re all back in college. Hallelujah, praise the Prius, and pass the Hope and Change bumper stickers!

The only problem? It’s not true.

510q7emw6pl_sl500Despite the gleeful yokel wishes, the people of The DFW are not, in fact, moving back to the city core and away from the safe, quiet, people-stay-off-my-lawns suburbs. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Have a look yourself.

  • From 2007 to 2008, the city of Dallas lost 18,847 people.
  • From 2007 to 2008, the ‘Burbs gained 62,022 people.
  • From 2000 to 2008, Dallas lost about 250,000 people, while the ‘Burbs gained more than 500,000.

Bottom line:

Spin can change perceptions, but not reality. People are not moving from the suburbs to the core cities. The reverse continues to be true, even in the worst of times.

I love Dallas — Dallas itself, not just The DFW — but propaganda about the death of the suburbs isn’t going to fix what’s wrong with it.

Filed Under Fort Awesome, Media Driven Panics, Urban Uber Alles?

Monday Roundup: Can I Borrow Your Towel? Just Hit a Water Buffalo

June 1, 2009 By Trey Garrison 3 Comments
  • When most Democrats, Republicans, the media, and right-thinking people are behind something big, expensive and grand — like they are the commuter rail scheme (or the hotel, or the Trinity Parkway) — you just know it’s probably a bad idea. I’m just going to sit here maturely and sup upon the bitter disappointment from everyone who wants to tax drivers for the benefit of a single digit percentage who feel good about themselves for taking public transportation. Muhahaha.

Filed Under Culture, FAIL, Friendly Police State, Immigration, Liberty, Media, Media Driven Panics, Novelty Cake Toppers

Feherty Falls Victim to Ye Olde Double Standard

May 11, 2009 By Trey Garrison 8 Comments

As Tim reports, David Feherty is in danger of losing his CBS gig because of a joke he wrote in the print product in the magazine where yours truly is one of the contributing editors.

Ahem.

But this video clip below is OK, where even Mr. Obama guffawed, I guess since the target was on the right side of the binary line.

(I guffawed, too. Sykes and Feherty were funny. So the Always Indignant on both sides can suck it.)

Filed Under D Magazine, FAIL, Media Driven Panics

Thursday Roundup: You’re Soaking In It

May 7, 2009 By Trey Garrison 5 Comments
  • City council candidate John Jay Myers has the quote of the (yester)day regarding the latest foot-stamping, holding my breath ad from the astroturfers at RIP Dallas: “We want! we want! we want!” They sound like spoiled children. Go out and do, and stop trying to force me to buy you a hotel.” As Wick Allison notes today – it’s just a piss-poor deal for a dead-end industry..
  • If you doubt that government, by its very nature, is a bit of a shady enterprise — a protection racket where some are more equal than others — then take a gander at this.

Filed Under City Owned Boondoggle, Media Driven Panics, Politics, The DFW, Zombies

Proposed Daytime Curfew — Who Are You Kidding?

May 6, 2009 By Trey Garrison 10 Comments

I’ve mentioned the proposed Dallas daytime curfew for those under 18 during school hours. Even though police already have the power to take truants into custody, this new curfew would criminalize them and — big surprise here — slap a $500 fine on parents. I’m sure it has nothing to do with Dallas’ budget crisis. Anyway, here’s more on the issue from the Citizens Against a Daytime Curfew. Take it away, Laurel Allen.

——————————————————————————–

Is the proposed daytime curfew necessary?

According to the Texas Education Code, police are already fully empowered to take any child seen in public during school hours into custody in order to determine if they are a juvenile in need of supervision, or if there is probable cause that they are in violation of the compulsory school attendance law under Section 25 of the code. In the process of making that determination, they have the ability to intervene in a manner that requires the involvement of the child’s parent or guardian, the courts or juvenile board, and the school district.

JUMP FOR MORE.

[Read more...]

Filed Under Liberty, Media Driven Panics, Politics, The DFW
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