Articles for October, 2008
Friday Afternoon Random Question: Animal Politics!
Sick of all the dirty campaigning and so on, the two presidential candidates come up with an unorthodox strategy to determine a winner: each will be allowed to choose an animal, train it for one month, and then pit it against his opponent’s beast in a no-holds-barred, winner-takes-all battle. (Just assume for our purposes that, somehow, PETA is on board with this.) UPDATE: Should have noted: no weapons allowed.
You are a presidential candidate. What (real — not imaginary, not mythical, not something out of a book or movie, not extinct) animal would you choose? And state your case.
Me? I’m leaning toward bull hippo. Super strong, perpetually bad mood, faster and more agile than it appears.
Why Zac Crain Can’t Rent An Apartment in Farmers Branch
Because, according to this headline, his fisherman’s-wharf beard would exclude him. Also, if you read into the story, ugly cars can keep you from a two-bed-one-bath dream shack as well. IJS, Zac.
Answer To Marty Cortland: I’m More Pro-Obama Than Ever
Our former columnist raises the question, which I am compelled to answer:
Just curious: do you have the same level of conviction in your endorsement that you had when you made it, or has it lessened (or increased)? I would also be curious if you would phrase your endorsement the same way or would you make different arguments or emphasize different policies? And has Obama done anything to disappoint you since you made your endorsement? (And for the record and to be fair, although I will be voting for McCain for pocketbook reasons, he has done nothing but disappoint me since the date of your endorsement.)
Two major events have occurred since I wrote my endorsement: (1) McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin, and (2) the financial collapse. My thoughts on both after the jump:
Dallas Earthquake!
Forgive us for not yet mentioning the earthquake and aftershocks that hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area last night. I’m still not convinced it’s not part of some new, Halloween Fools’ Day tradition. Or… [dum dum dum] is it Barnett Shale related?
Friday Fun: Cat Bowling
Happy Halloween-y Friday. A co-workering FrontBurnervian suggested Cat Bowling for the Friday Fun on Halloween, ’cause there’s a witch involved and some pumkins and other Halloween-related iconography. Or maybe she’s a dog person. Either way, here’s it is. Enjoy. (Note: One should not try to recreate this Flash Friday game with real cats—like you could get 10 of them to stand closely together in a triangle at the end of an alley, anyway.)
Eruptions From The Fever Swamps
I’ve gotten a lot of reactions, pro and con, from my endorsement of Barack Obama, most of which on both sides have been thoughtful and cogent. But as the election draws nearer, I am hearing from more people like Paul J. Henry of Colville, WA:
Wick, you are an idiot. Obama is a slick talking Muslim terrorist. He has promised to destroy SDI, eliminate our nuclear arsenal and destroy our economy by raising taxes and increase government spending. You should look for another job.
(Paul, haven’t you noticed? There are no other jobs.)
DMN Kicked Off Obama Press Corps Plane
To make room for network reporters? Or, as Drudge would have it, because it endorsed McCain? My question is different. Why is the News spending scarce resources covering a very well-covered national campaign in the first place? Do its news editors still hold pretentions of being a national or regional newspaper? Boys, I got news for you worse than being shuffled off an airplane: those days are long gone. Every dime you don’t put into local coverage is a dime you might as well have tossed down the drain.
Leading Off (10/31/08): Halloween Edition
1. DISD adopted a new ethics policy for board members, amid catcalls suggesting it isn’t stringent enough. (Trustees can’t have a “substantial interest” in a business contracted by the district.) What did the catcalls sound like? Boo!
2. TexasWatchdog.org reports that there could be 6,000 dead people on the Dallas County voter rolls, but the Morning News quotes an election official saying the report is questionable. My take? Beware the undead!
3. The Dallas Mavericks lost their opener to the Houston Rockets, who were led by Ron Artest’s 29 and (pictured) the Chinese Frankenstein’s 30 points.
When a Headline Tells the Wrong Story: Piling on DISD
Donald Keith Johnson was arrested at 2 a.m. today for smoking crack while driving. Bad move. You might expect a headline such as: “Man Smokes Crack While Driving.” Or: “Crack Smoker Busted Behind Wheel.” I’m partial to the second, actually. But the DMN went with this headline: “Dallas Teacher Accused of Smoking Crack While Driving.” Because, yes, the guy is a DISD teacher. Or was.
Here’s the thing, though. If, say, an employee of Exxon Mobil were caught doing the same thing, the headline wouldn’t read “Exxon Engineer Accused of Smoking Crack While Driving.” Johnson wasn’t smoking crack at school. He wasn’t caught high at school. I’d argue that his occupation is part of the story and it deserves mention, perhaps even in the lead. But not in the headline.
Again, this is one of the reasons why, if you get your news from the newspaper, you have a more negative impression of the school district than people who get their news from other sources. Remember that study I told you about back in April?
Esquire Makes Local Political Endorsements
Yes, I find it strange, too. But here you have it: Esquire — that renown renowned political magazine (?) – makes its suggestions on how you should vote.
Jeez Lady; Didn’t Your Ma Teach You To Cover Your Mouth?
At a time when everyone’s being urged to stay healthy with a flu shot, a woman we’ll call Coughin’ Karen is doing everything she can to make you sick. A sixty-something housewife sort in slacks and a sweater, this grey-haired menace struck yesterday at the Bed Bath & Beyond store off Park Lane and North Central Expressway. For 20 minutes she threaded the aisles with a shopping cart, coughing and spitting and hacking so loud that everyone in the big store could hear her–and, here’s the rub, never once covering her mouth. Think of all the folks–from the patrons to the cashiers–that she might have infected, then all the family members they infected in turn. I mean, if they’re serious about this Holy War thing, Osama bin Laden and his boyz could learn a thing or two from Coughin’ Karen.
Quick Goes Weekly, Local Folks Impressed
Got a sneak peak last night at the new weekly edition of Quick, which I believe hits boxes today. Passed it around the bar to some young folks. Showed the ladies at home. Passed it around the office today. The consensus was: “Nice.” Everyone agreed the focus on events, nightlife, youth culture, and entertainment is appropriate. Everyone liked the three pages of drink specials. Everyone loved that Gordon Keith, Ben and Skin, and Alibaster were still columnists. Everyone liked the idea of a dating and sex column. Really, not too many complaints. In fact, Ol’ Man Allison nearly spit his coffee. “I LOVE it!” he declared. He also wanted me to mention that earlier this year we had serious internal talks about producing something just like this. We decided that if we did it, the DMN would throw its resources behind a similar product and bury us with money and greater circulation. Looks like we were right.
Highland Park Teaches Kids How to Ride With a Drunk
Merritt Patterson has a story that would be funny if it weren’t true: her second-grader was taught in school how to ride in a car with a drunk driver. In response to the mom who was was recently arrested in the carpool line for DWI? Perhaps.
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