Leading Off (03/18/09)

1. A federal report expresses the same concerns over the Trinity River toll road that have been there for years: “How to pay for the multibillion-dollar road, and how to convince the [U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers] that it won’t pose a threat to property and people should the Trinity River flood,” as the Dallas Morning News puts it. “There are certainly challenges ahead,” says Trinity River Corridor project coordinator Rebecca Dugger, “but we all have our heads down and are moving forward.” She then noted that she was anxiously waiting the jimmy kick that Jim Schutze will deliver later today.

2. The U.S. Senate will vote about 1 p.m. today on Ron Kirk’s nomination as U.S. Trade Representative. Informed sources report his right-hand woman, Carol Reed, will be celebrating with martini in hand by 1:13.

3. Administrative Judge C. Victor Lander is in hot water for writing the following in his Dallas Weekly column about Dallas DA Craig Watkins:

“Black folks have been cleaning up white folks’ messes for hundreds of years, so why should we expect any different now?”

To which I say: duh.

32 comments

  1. By “we all have our heads down,” did Ms. Dugger mean buried in the sand?

    @ 8:12 am on March 18, 2009
  2. Amen, Judge Lander. Just look at the mess left for Obama.

    @ 8:24 am on March 18, 2009
  3. “And officials at all levels said again that the decision about whether and where to build the toll road will be made by federal highway officials, not by state or local leaders.”

    Hopefully our Federal officials are brighter than our local government and will quickly realize between the levees is idiotic and move on to a viable plan.

    @ 8:31 am on March 18, 2009
  4. Is D’s editorial position still in favor of the proposed toll road?

    @ 8:38 am on March 18, 2009
  5. 1. Our city leaders often forget the name for that area between the levies – The Trinity River Floodway.

    2. I have little understanding how a man with so little experience can be elevated to so high an office. Oh wait, never mind…

    3. The City Council put him there, but they don’t have what it takes to remove him. Maybe our problem shouldn’t be with Judge Lander?

    @ 8:43 am on March 18, 2009
  6. There is no way a white man can get a fair trial in the Dallas Municipal Courts. Judge Lander, noted Afro-radical racist, proves it.

    I think someone needs to call up Barry Scheck at the Innocence Project and get the ball rolling on DNA testing for every white man ever convicted for speeding in Dallas since Judge Lander, noted Afro-radical racist, took office.

    Only fair. Right? His comments create a moral hazard for the whole city.

    @ 9:01 am on March 18, 2009
  7. It sounds like the Feds (who are less beholden to the unholy backroom politics of Dallas), may ultimately just take matters into their own hands and tell the City to put the tollroad down either Industrial or a double-decked I-35 (both of which now appear to be less expensive and risky options anyway).

    @ 9:07 am on March 18, 2009
  8. “Black folks have been cleaning up white folks’ messes for hundreds of years, so why should we expect any different now?”

    Oh yes. Where would the civilized world be without the constant diligence of the black man?

    @ 9:23 am on March 18, 2009
  9. “Carol Reed, will be celebrating with martini in hand by 1:13″?

    Hell, that would be her 4th drink of the day.

    @ 9:27 am on March 18, 2009
  10. Some fear Dallas is rapidly becoming a southern version of Detroit, but a better analogy might be Lake Woebegon, quaint, viscerally impacted with its own obtuse stool. Or tollway.

    Where all the women are ______, all the men are ______, and all the children are ______.

    @ 9:31 am on March 18, 2009
  11. Jimmy kick: A blunt or excessive force delivered by a leg thrust to the male lower abdominal section.

    Breaking news re Rebecca Dugger?

    @ 9:35 am on March 18, 2009
  12. Where would the civilized world be without the constant diligence of the black man?

    Slaves built the White House, Turd. Deal with it.

    @ 9:41 am on March 18, 2009
  13. Of course, one may always look to Detroit to see where the civilized … oh never mind.

    @ 10:22 am on March 18, 2009
  14. And the Jews built the pyramids, but somehow they still get attributed to the Egyptians.

    @ 10:38 am on March 18, 2009
  15. And man invented the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That’s what kind of man I am. You’re just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It’s science.

    @ 11:17 am on March 18, 2009
  16. Ahh, nothing like watching a bunch of self loathing, guilt ridden white liberals flogging themselves to brighten my day.

    @ 11:21 am on March 18, 2009
  17. I’m no guilt-ridden white liberal — if anything, I’m deeply outraged that the criminal justice system is so intractably stacked against white Christian males. I was doomed at birth! Hey, how come no one feels sorry for me?

    Simultaneously, I consider ethnic minorities to be congenital whiners.

    @ 11:47 am on March 18, 2009
  18. I’m no guilt-ridden white liberal

    Your lack of self-awareness is impressive.

    @ 11:59 am on March 18, 2009
  19. Mr. President,

    Considering I’m the one who’s not offended by the judge’s utterly mild dig at white people — it’s not like he called us “blue-eyed devils” or advocated some kind of riot — and you are offended, I think it’s safe to say that one of us most certainly does have some racial issues.

    Whether out of guilt or fear, I don’t presume to know, nor do I care.

    @ 12:05 pm on March 18, 2009
  20. @suzanne, I would love to know that answer also.

    @ 12:26 pm on March 18, 2009
  21. Suzanne and Chris: Wick is composing a post in response to Suzanne’s question. It’s a good one.

    @ 12:28 pm on March 18, 2009
  22. and you are offended,/i>

    Really? I thought i was just laughing at the usual ingratiation white liberals engage in when a member of the African American community puts them in their place. Silly me, well, i’m sure you know my intention better than myself.

    @ 12:42 pm on March 18, 2009
  23. I’m sure my failure at html is somehow whiteys fault.

    @ 12:43 pm on March 18, 2009
  24. At last, a point of agreement: I’m sure I do, too.

    @ 12:48 pm on March 18, 2009
  25. Of course you do, how could it possibly be any other way?

    @ 1:11 pm on March 18, 2009
  26. @Eric

    Cool. Thanks for the response. I’m looking forward to a level-headed commentary to this divisive issue.

    Here’s my two cents. I think the toll road is killing support for the entire Trinity project, and that would be a shame.

    I’d have a lot of respect for Mayor Tom if he’d admit he was wrong.

    @ 1:24 pm on March 18, 2009
  27. Exactly, BO. Just as you “know” I’m a “liberal.”

    How could it be any other way? Right?

    @ 1:46 pm on March 18, 2009
  28. Oh, how could i possibly have forgotten. You’re the one who makes comments disparaging conservatives and their beliefs while every once in a while throwing a little insult towards the left, allowing you to make your snarky comments while escaping criticism from either side. Such a brave soul.

    @ 2:06 pm on March 18, 2009
  29. So, like, what’s so wrong with what Daniel’s doing, Mr. President? Everybody knows it’s more important than to be popular than anything else.

    I’m just, like, happy that each of you has achieved that most important success in your own chosen field of endeavor. Daniel has become the most popular on Front Burner and you, Mr. President, have become the most popular in politics.

    Yay!

    @ 2:19 pm on March 18, 2009
  30. Why thank you, sir, thank you — but I can’t claim to be half as brave as you, going deep into enemy territory — D Magazine and environs — to take on the liberals. Such fortitude!

    @ 2:23 pm on March 18, 2009
  31. Why can’t we just make fun of everyone’s race all the time? You know, for the sake of comedy. The stereotypes for all the races are hilarious and should be embraced, not demonized.

    @ 2:27 pm on March 18, 2009
  32. @ 6:39 pm on March 18, 2009