Articles for December 21st, 2010
The Christmas Ties of Jerry Merwin, Ctd.
This Christmas tie was given to our old friend Jerry Merwin, security manager at St. Paul Place, a couple of years ago by a former assistant property manager for the building. She told Jerry that while she liked buying ties for men, she could never buy them for her husband, because he doesn’t wear ties. Jerry, on the other hand, wears one every day.
How Dallas’ Economy Depends on Deficit Spending
In the print version of FrontBurner this month, I write about the exhorbitant cost of the nation’s military spending and how much of that spending props up our local economy. My example is the F-35. The Pentagon has ordered 2,500 of the new aircraft at a cost of $90 million each (in its basic form; in its more extravagent form, it could cost as much as $200 million each). If the new Congress gets serious about cutting the deficit, the F-35 is a very good candidate for the first round of cutting. But if that happens — and it won’t — it would cost Dallas thousands of jobs and send our local economy spiralling into a second recession. I use that example to show how entrenched military spending, and the empire it supports, has become in the civilian economy.
Financial analyst Mike Shedlock posts today on “Why the USA Is Broke,” incorporating a number of recent articles about how out-of-control military spending has become. His post is also a lead item on BusinessInsider. But what neither he nor the authorities he quotes addresses is this interlocking relationshp between the economies of 435 Congressional districts and the Pentagon. The costs of empire may break our backs, but even if we know it and want to reduce it, I do not see how it can be done. Certainly the Democrats have not done anything but rubber-stamp Pentagon spending. Does anyone expect the GOP to cut it?
Jones: No Schedule for Stadium Naming Rights
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says there’s no timetable yet for signing a naming-rights deal for Cowboys Stadium. Jones, who’d been mum on the subject, was reacting to press speculation that a corporate agreement worth as much as $400 million would be in place before Super Bowl XLV in February.
“It takes two to tango on that,” Jones said today at a holiday luncheon at the new stadium in Arlington. “I don’t have a timetable yet. I really don’t. We will get it done; there will be a [deal]. But for now it’s Cowboys Stadium.”
According to Google, Dallas Has Peaked
The new ngram tool from Google is the perfect Christmas time-sucker. As you probably already know, Google is busily digitalizing every book ever published. This tool allows you to enter names or phrases to see how many times over the years it has been mentioned in ten percent of the books — a good sampling — of the books they have done. I ngram’ed Dallas.
I started with 1842 when Dallas was founded. But George Mifflin Dallas was elected Vice President in 1844 with James Polk, so the early references are undoubtedly about him. I imagine the Mexican War led to a lot of books. The reason for the spike after 1963 is obvious — lots and lots of JFK books, both histories and conspiracy theories. Why Dallas would top out around 1995 and start a precipitous decline is mystifying, considering the books about GWB, but there it is. Somebody needs to do something about that.
Thanks to Census, Texas Gets Four More Seats in Congress
The population in Texas grew by more than 20% since the last decade, which means it gets four more seats in addition to the 32 it already has.
Let the redistricting begin. Ardmore Holiday Inn, you’re on notice.
Are the Rangers Really the Losers in the Free Agency Roulette?
That’s what Anthony Andro says. But isn’t it a little early to decide who the losers are? For instance, did the Phillies get Cliff Lee against the Yankees, or Cliff Lee against the Giants?
Listen, I know the Rangers need an ace. They also need more consistently hot bats. But what got the Rangers as far as the playoffs wasn’t Cliff Lee, but the lineup they still have – with the exception of Molina and possibly Guerrero. The Rangers have something the Red Sox and the Yankees do not – a solid, reliable farm system that regularly supplies the team with promising young talent. That is, if you will, the Rangers “thing,” just like spending ungodly amounts of money is the Yankees’.
And as if we all need reminding – the last time the Rangers deviated from that, they ended up paying Alex Rodriguez to play for the Yankees.
I’d be more interested, I suppose, in an analysis of the free agent wars a few months into the season.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Dec. 21
The forecast high for today is 80 degrees Fahrenheit. These are the days that remind us why we’re willing to endure months of broiling summer heat. But weather like this shouldn’t be welcome mere days before Christmas. It spoils the mood.
Today you must do your best to escape the repressively comfortable temperatures and run for the cold. Yes, the Gaylord Texan’s ICE Exhibit continues so that you can witness the wonder of 2 million tons of ice having been used to sculpt the Peanuts gang.
Honestly, I don’t feel much like driving over to Grapevine either. That leaves your other option — heading to the American Airlines Center to watch some big guys skate around on ice when the Montreal Canadiens take on your Dallas Stars. Since my knowledge of hockey is limited (I still can’t quite grasp what “icing” is), I’ve decided to crowd-source commentary on tonight’s game.
I think Twitter user Adambath put it best:
Wow, #DallasStars have moved up to 4th in the league behind Philly, Detroit and Pittsburgh. That’s quite awesome.
That’s quite awesome, indeed.
Check out other, likely warmer, things to do in Dallas here.
Leading Off. Kind Of. (12/21/10)
1. There was a lunar eclipse last night. Tim went but he didn’t take any pictures. Justin Terveen went, and since Unfair Park is his personal Flickr account, his photos are there.
2. No link here, just an observation: if you are last-minute Christmas shopping, the mall may be a better bet than Target.
3. With their win last night, the Mavs swept the season series from the Miami Heat. Key player: Jason Eugene Terry. Related: I had a dream where I went over to JET’s house to watch a movie last night. Something in black and white, not sure.
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