Back from Vacay — Need Patience and Your Input

Back from a week on the beach, but I’m playing catchup on all the real-world work, so please bear with me.

Also, I may be modifying the format here before long since doing a daily roundup gets to be more a chore sometimes, rather than the fun it’s meant to be. I notice, too, I get more response from the random, entirely self-generated content — my rants and what all — than the skewed, Archie Bunkeresque take on the daily news in Dallas that is not at all a blatant ripoff of Leading Off at my main publication. I get so burned out I rarely even Twitter like I used to, and that’s less than 140 characters. Meanwhile, I forget to do off-the-cuff essays in response to crap like the backpage commentary from Sunday’s Points section from that depressing Frog essayist who needs a good kick in the ass. I suppose him being French is punishment enough, though.

Still — there are some days I enjoy the roundup, so I’m still trying to figure out the right balance and how to avoid this becoming a grind, while giving you a reason to come back everyday without tapping all my energies I need for the stuff that pays the bills and writes the wrongs. (Catch that one? Gotta use that sometime.)

So– call to action. Talk to me. I’d love your input on what you like most, what would keep you coming back, what generates the most interesting discussion, and so on, while I continue catching up on my to-do list in my day job as Clark Kent.

No Posting Today

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Tuesday Roundup: And Now, Here’s Ollie Williams…

  • If you ever had doubts that local schools should be run strictly by locals, look no further than the federal Title 1 rules. It appears the one bright spot in DISD — its magnet schools — because are safe from cuts but how smart is it that the district can’t, by federal fiat, pump extra funds into schools that need it beyond a 10 percent median?
  • This news will be heartening to more than a few in my network.
  • The Dallas City Council will be voting on its latest revenue enhancer — a daytime curfew for juveniles — which has the added benefit of making kids feel like they only have liberties at the sufferance of their civil masters. Want reasons why it’s a bad idea? Look no further than your friendly neighborhood blog.

RIP Dallas Challenges Me Debate. I Accept. Then, Radio Silence.

The head punchline of the joke that is RIP Dallas, “Grim,” challenged me to a debate via Twitter. I accepted, stipulating that they set up the venue, we work out a contract on the details (moderation, rebroadcast rights, editing, etc.) and that they pay me an honorarium for my time. And then…nothing. What gives?

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Note to Self: Roundup Headlines

Cute headlines for the Morning Roundup written at 2 a.m. and based on semi-obscure 70s songs look pretty gay by 8 a.m.

Wednesday Roundup: I Have Blue Eyes and Blue Jeans

My column on the People’s Hotel is in today’s Dallas Morning News. Give it a spin. Personal note: I love the venue, but I hate the 630 word limit. But I’m a long writer. For instance, I wish I could have gotten into how the pro-hotel folks are keeping critical information from voters — the revised feasibility study they’re holding back and the lawsuit against the Texas attorney general to prevent the release of documents. How can you not think they’re trying to hoodwink the very people they want to put on the hook for half a billion dollars. What do you think of leadership that wants people to vote on something without having all the relevant facts? Pretty damning.

The Lege to ban tanning beds for those under 16 years, 6 months. How long til they ban going outside in the sun?

Go Betty Culbreath. Love ya, darlin’. You, too, Angela.

I hope like hell these people are serious and not just talking out their kiesters, but I have my doubts. Still, hope — like the Dude — abides.

Programming Note: Rawlins on KERA Thursday and Saturday

From our friend Rawlins Gilliland...

I know I know I know

It’s KERA Pledge Drive time…..The last before next October!

I will be on-air from 4-7 on Thursday and again on Saturday from 2:30-4:30.

Call in with any amount while I’m on the air so I don’t look like a loser. I know. I hate to ask for anyone to donate money…but to listen to me on-air. But hey…

Definitely worth your time and your pledge. Tune in.

Tuesday Roundup: It’s All About Me

Shocker: A revised feasibility study for the People’s Hotel won’t be completed before the May 9 referendum. Coupled with the city’s lawsuit against the Texas AG to keep records from the public’s prying eyes, who isn’t wondering what else the comisars aren’t telling us? Shades of the Trinity referendum.

BONUS: Check Wednesday’s Dallas Morning News for my column on the People’s Hotel.

Want a solid — if biased — look at the Richardson City Council races? Peruse Ed Cognoski, a guy who also just loves taking delightfully cranky potshots at yours truly whenever he gets a chance.

Crime is, in fact, down in Dallas. Let’s celebrate with a Detroit-style riot.

It will be a crying shame if they can’t find a home for the Jetson’s style Siegel’s sign that’s coming down. End of an era and all that.

Not a single one-armed bandit or armed robbery quip. I’m deeply disappointed, Fox Four. No Fugitive joke? Nothing? Bah.

Programming Note: Trey on the Frosty Woolridge Show Tonight

I will be a full-hour guest (target?) on the Frosty Woolridge “The Micro Effect” radio show tonight at 7 p.m.

Woolridge is an extreme population alarmist and environmental doom-and-gloomer, from what I gather, but with some unexpected positions outside the usual green weenie norm. And he’s a hardcore immigration restrictionist. So you just know I’ll fit right in and there won’t be any verbal fisticuffs. Also, if you pull my right leg it plays Jingle Bells.

Don’t know if any local stations carry the program, but you can listen online here.

New Feature: Good Cop/Bad Cop

I need your tips about good and bad stories regarding North Texas area police. Cops don’t get enough credit when they do great things, and they don’t get enough scrutiny from the dwindling number of journalists out there.

Here’s how: I will protect your anonymity. Email your tips to me through trey@treygarrison.com, and use a yahoo or other type account. Give me as much detail as you can where it doesn’t compromise your anonymity, if you need to protect it. Names, dates, specifics, and any evidence you have ranging from documents to video or audio recordings. And although I call it “Good Cop/Bad Cop” I’m not limiting my scope to sworn officers; I’m trawling for information on any public employee or elected official who does right or wrong in the course of their duties.

Finally, maintain the account you use to provide the tip. I’ll need a way to get in touch with you. Thank you for your time, and again, your anonymity is assured.