Articles for September, 2009
Betty Culbreath Has Bought Herself a Gun
A few days ago, I drew your attention to an op-ed written by D Magazine contributing editor Trey Garrison about President Barack Obama’s speech today to the kiddos. The upshot: Trey isn’t a fan of the notion. Over the weekend, Betty Culbreath, the former director of Dallas County Health and Human Services and a current DFW Airport board member, sent Trey a note and copied me on it. You can jump to read the entire note. It’s interesting for several reasons. But I’ll point you to one passage in particular, in which Culbreath writes:
You angry White men are so full of hate for this one Black man that all of you are losing your minds. I purchased a gun a few days ago because as much as you hate [Obama], with Perry putting fuel on the fire, you people will start killing Black folk like back in the Klan days and I want to be ready.
I don’t know what to say about that. It’s just so, er, bizarre. I should mention that I think Trey is insane — in a good way, mostly. But his op-ed was anti-government. It really had nothing to do with race. Nonetheless here’s what Culbreath wrote to Trey:
Top 10 Football Teams in Republic of Rick Perry
Remember back in April when Gov. Rick Perry made those veiled comments about seceding from the Union? I did. So, we put together a list of what the Top 10 teams in the country Republic would like if we were, you know, independent and all that. And besides, I’m looking for additional pollsters to keep this going all year. And cheap comments.
FrontBurner Turns Comments Back On, Rejoicing Heard Throughout the Land
Okay, people. Here’s the deal. Comments are back — with one major change. All comments on FrontBurner (for the time being) will be moderated before they are published. An actual human editor with real eyeballs will review your prose before others can read it. Please be patient. We’ll review your submission in as timely a manner as possible. But if it takes a bit before your comment appears on the site, just know that we still have a magazine to put out. These things take time. What will get published and what won’t? We’ll have formal, detailed guidelines for you before long. For now, read our general policy after the jump.
Greenway Parks Residents Question Men in Trees, Ctd.
A tree-loving FBvian who had five live oaks “butchered” here by Oncor last spring–and later moved to the Northeast–has a few observations about the company:
1.) Oncor would not have notified us in advance if I had not been home when they knocked on my door. I told them that my husband needed to be home to supervise the work and they left. They sent another crew several weeks later and had their “arborists” on site. The trees they “pruned” looked horrible and they damaged $2000 worth of other landscaping which they did reimburse us for.
2.) The crew that did the work was from IOWA!!! Do they know the growth patterns etc. of TEXAS live oaks????
3.) Since the last time we were butchered a few years ago the rules had changed from trimming to a 5 yr growth to a 10 year growth. When asked if that meant they would not be back for 10 years, I could not get an answer. Is trimming for 10 yrs of growth healthy to the tree or even safe in the case of lopsided trees???
4.) One of the first things that I noticed after our move was the beautiful trees alongside the roads–apparently coexisting with the power lines. While some are trimmed a short distance away from the power lines, I have yet to see one tree cut in the severe V pattern or the half-tree pattern that is common in Oncor’s wake. This is an area that gets actual snow and ice.
5.) I do not understand Oncor’s motives since by their own statistics most power outages are not caused by unruly limbs. My favorite was a couple of years ago when virtually all of N. Dallas was blacked out due to a squirrel. I never saw Oncor trying to rid my property of squirrels (I would have paid them extra for that).
There really has to some way to stop Oncor from ruining the trees of Dallas.
Lead Battle: Morning News vs. Preston Hollow People
In this corner we have Preston Hollow People’s August 21 story about the fight over creating a conservation district in the Disney Streets:
There will be no happy ending for many residents of the Disney Streets.
And over here we have the Sept. 6 story in The Dallas Morning News on the same subject:
The Disney Streets are not, just now, the happiest place on earth.
Both writers employed similar ideas. I’m going to call it a draw.
Breaking Down President Obama’s Speech
You can go here for a full text of the President’s remarks to schoolchildren this morning. After the jump, I hit the (SOCIALIST!) highlights.
Why You Shouldn’t Trust Those Emails
Rawlins Gilliland took a moment last week to investigate supposed quotes from Thomas Jefferson in an email he received.
Leading Off (09/07/09)
1. Breaking news: being poor may cause you to feel a little blue. According to an article in today’s Dallas Morning News: “Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine questioned 250 homeowners going through foreclosure in Philadelphia and found that 47 percent showed symptoms of depression.” If you’re unemployed and worried about money, maybe you should go after one of those “research” jobs. Seems easy enough.
2. Speaking of lack of coin, if you’re not a regular, you might be unprepared for the extra monies required when you take the North Texas Tollway. (I suspect if you have a toll tag, it doesn’t smart as much, but when you’re reaching under the seat to frantically find a wayward quarter, it leaves a mark.) Now some people are calling for a boycott to protest the rate hike, which could be bad news for the Toll Authority, as a number of drivers have already stopped using the high-cost highway.
3. And with regard to scrambling for loose change under the seat of your car, sometimes when you’re broke, you have to let other people cover the bill. That’s the lesson I’m taking from the Dallas DA’s office, which as decided that, in most cases, the local law enforcement agency should pick up the tab for crime lab tests. It’s not unusual, and it’s not particularly controversial. It just got me thinking about calling my parents to offer them the opportunity to pick up the costs for some clothing. Happy Labor Day!
Name the Biggest Pop Culture Moments in Dallas History
We’re working on something here, and we could use your help. We’re trying to identify the biggest pop culture moments in Dallas history. We’re gonna do something fun with them online once we’ve got our list nailed down. We’ve already got about 50. Examples:
– On March 21, 1980, the Dallas episode “A House Divided” aired, launching the ad campaign “Who shot J.R.?”
– Last month, at the Buick Open, David Feherty farted on national television and made Tiger laugh.
– On October 19, 1991, Nirvana played Trees and Kurt Cobain got into a fight with a member of the audience.
– On November 10, 1975, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders appeared on Monday Night Football and changed the world.
– On August 4, 1993, Nolan Ryan punched the ever living crap out of Robin Ventura’s head.
See where we’re headed? What moment springs to your mind? If your moment makes the cut, you will receive due credit. Comments are open. Thanks in advance for being awesome.
Greenway Parks Residents Question Men in Trees
People around here sure take their trees seriously. The latest uproar over Oncor efforts to keep its power lines branch-free came this week in Dallas’ Greenway Parks area (pictured). Homeowners there say contract trimmers showed up suddenly and proceeded to butcher everything in sight. So, some residents are asking, how come they can’t be notified of such pruning in advance–and then be given the option of hiring their own trimmers to do the work more “sensitively”? Oncor spokeswoman Jeamy Molina says everybody gets five days’ advance warning, including a full explanation of the process to come. And it’s not safe for anyone but Oncor’s experts, she adds, to prune trees within 10 feet of power lines.
What To Do in Dallas This Labor Day Weekend
Staying in town? Looking for something to do? Never fear. Our girls-about-town Kyle Kearbey and Sarah Eveans did the legwork for you.
Leading Off, Ctd: James Glassman To Run Bush Policy Institute
This is great news for Dallas. Jim Glassman is the kind of public intellectual who will contribute not only to the Bush program but to the city. Jim happens to be a former magazine guy (New Republic, Atlantic), which makes him an A#1 kind of guy. He’s also author of a book (Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting from the Coming Rise in the Stock Market) that was as spectacularly wrong as most of the major politicies of the Bush White House (Medicare drugs, deficit spending, Iraq, torture). But who among us has not made that kind of miscall? During the 1992 primaries, I argued the Democrats ought to drop Bill Clinton, who was in the midst of the Gennifer Flowers scandal, and adopt Ross Perot. So, Jim, if you don’t bring up mine, I won’t bring up yours. Welcome to Dallas.
Home |
Masthead |
News from D |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Subscribe |
Advertise |
Privacy Policy |
Customer Service |
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index