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Friday Roundup: If This Lasts More than Four Hours…

May 8, 2009 By Trey Garrison 9 Comments
  • Today’s DMN Opinion home has a roundup of all the recent op-eds for and against glorious People’s Hotel. Notice the pro-hotel folks don’t make a business case for the hotel, and in fact Mayor Leppert spends most of his op-ed attacking Harlan Crow. Pretty telling.
  • Southlake resident Phillip Jones, president of the Dallas CVB, released a list of four organizations that have “committed” to having their conventions if the People’s Hotel is built. But none have signed any contracts, and none have put down a deposit, which is the bar other CVB’s require to consider a convention booked.

Filed Under Capitalist Superheroes, City Owned Boondoggle, Creepy Guys in the Park, Novelty Cake Toppers, Politics, The DFW

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

Wednesday Roundup: Taste the Creamy Filling

May 6, 2009 By Trey Garrison 2 Comments
  • The corporate mandated pot-stirring from Belo for the People’s Hotel is bad enough — read any of Steve Blow’s bought and paid for house advertorials? — but is it so bad that writers aren’t putting their bylines on their assigned hit pieces?
  • DUI checkpoints a-comin’ unless they get derailed. “Your papers, citizen.”
  • Coinciding with the posting of my Star Trek movie review, there’s this bit of awesome — the instruction manual for the USS Enterprise.
  • Yes, but what about the local anchors now that the Great Hamthrax Panic is over? Won’t someone think of them?
  • ph2009050403123Finally, U.S. Rep Pete Sessions, R-Oh God It’s Dallas, has been partying it up at Tao in Las Vegas. Here’s the billboard for one of the GOP venues — “Always a Happy Ending.” (h/t Ed Cognoski.)

Filed Under City Owned Boondoggle, Fort Awesome, Humor, Media Driven Panics, Novelty Cake Toppers, Politics, The DFW

Tuesday Roundup: Star Trek is Back

May 5, 2009 By Trey Garrison 6 Comments
  • …And my review will be up tomorrow.
  • New anti-hotel ad is good but there’s overreach where they quote Councilman Jerry Allen who said, “That’s an element of risk that’s out there. … Of course, by that time, I’ll be off council. So I cannot be held accountable.”
  • William McKenzie raises a lot of good points about the state of public schools in Texas, but the bottom line for me seems to be we should just return full control of schools to local school boards and let what happens, happen.

Filed Under City Owned Boondoggle, DISD, Police, The DFW

Friday Roundup: I’m Going to the Special Hell for Item One

May 1, 2009 By Trey Garrison 17 Comments
  • 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?
  • 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:

    • 1

Filed Under Creepy Guys in the Park, Culture, FAIL, Humor, Liberty, Media Driven Panics, Politics, Swine Flu, The DFW, The Market, Zombies

Thursday Roundup: Does This Look Like a ‘Q’ to You?

April 30, 2009 By Trey Garrison 5 Comments
  • There’s no part of this story about Ryan v Margolin that I don’t love. Keep. It. Coming.
  • Meanwhile, Bud Kennedy shows that the Guv is really going after the mouth-breathing crowd. I mean, yeah, I believe it’s been 100 days/100 epic fails, but are we really going to continue hearing this “Obama’s not a citizen!” stuff for the next four years? This is the right-wing’s version of the water-headed left-wing’s “the 2000 election was stolen!” whine.
  • Seriously though, if you are really worried about the swine flu epidemic, your risk factors, and possible symptoms, here’s a web site that will help you self diagnose — http://doihaveswineflu.org/
  • And in two bits of Twitter news, first, if you’re not following the anchors and reporters from all three of the primary local network news stations, plus NBC, then you’re missing dozens OF cheery “morning” updates!!!! LOL :) that … well, it’s like getting a new blog post from Jane McGarry every 10 minutes. Or having Steve Blow text you.
  • Also, I’m getting love tweets.12

Filed Under City Owned Boondoggle, Creepy Guys in the Park, Humor, Media, Police, Politics, The DFW, Zombies

Wednesday Roundup: Vandelay! Say Vandelay!

April 29, 2009 By Trey Garrison 11 Comments
  • Props to the Dallas Morning News and Austin Statesman for backing better compensation for wrongful convictions. Next up should be criminal charges for prosecutors who withhold exculpatory evidence or otherwise knowingly prosecute an innocent.

Filed Under Capitalist Superheroes, FAIL, Guns, Liberty, Politics, The DFW

Bad Day for the Hotel; Worse Day for Jerry Allen

April 28, 2009 By Trey Garrison 6 Comments

Really, Dallas? This is the cream of the leadership crop? Really? Councilman Jerry Allen, take it away:

That’s an element of risk that’s out there [with the city-owned hotel]…Of course, by that time, I’ll be off council. So I cannot be held accountable.

Jesus and dinosaurs, air atoms, JFK’s speech in 1972 and so, so much more as Sam Merten pulls back the curtain on one of the many wizards running Dallas. Take a look-see.

Filed Under Creepy Guys in the Park, Politics, The DFW

Shawn Williams on CNN Any Minute Now

April 28, 2009 By Trey Garrison Leave a Comment

…for a blogger’s round table. May be delayed by the breaking (and unsurprising) story of lifelong rent-seeker, opportunist and leech Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Bag, doing his quisling thing and changing his affiliation from the Republicrat party to become a Demoplican.

Shawn just texted me he’s due to go on any minute now. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Clip’s on his site here.

Filed Under Media, The DFW
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