Articles for October 5th, 2011
Myers: Make War on Terror More Efficient
Gen. Richard B. Myers, who led the U.S. into war in Iraq and Afghanistan, thinks the 
government ought to be better organized to fight “the war on violent extremism.” Speaking at the Belo Mansion in Dallas today, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the secretary of defense, for example, has no authority over the state department, or the justice department. That means that “we don’t have anybody in charge,” Myers said. “It can’t be the president,” because he has too many other things on his plate.
The country’s founders “didn’t want our government to be very efficient,” Myers said. “So they ought to be very happy right now.”
The retired Air Force general (pictured above, in middle) also said that Iran is a serious threat to funnel nuclear weapons to terrorist groups like Hezbollah. And he warned that, unless it’s resolved, the U.S. fiscal crisis could greatly diminish the country’s status as a world power: “We may not need to be the world’s policeman, but we have to play a significant leadership role if we want the world to be a better place.” Myers was speaking at a luncheon benefiting MediSend International, a Dallas-based group that sends medical supplies and biomedical repair equipment to developing countries including Haiti, Uganda and Kazakhstan.
State Fair of Texas Picture of the Day: Oct. 5
photo by Jason Janik
Sorry to hear that the Women’s Museum at Fair Park is closing, (even if we sometimes questioned its choices).
On a positive note, Fair Park itself was given a nice distinction today, called one of the country’s great public spaces.
But what matters most, in enjoying that gem of a place – as the photo above reminds us – is being able to wander around on a gorgeous, sunny day, corn dog in hand.
See our daily State Fair guide and get going.
Sporting News Ranks Dallas-Fort Worth Tops For Sports, Dubs Our Region ‘the Metroflex’
Here at D Magazine, we would prefer “North Flexas.”
The distinction comes because the Sporting News named Dallas-Fort Worth the top sports city in the nation for the past year. How could they have determined otherwise, what with the Dallas Mavericks championship, last year’s Rangers run to the World Series, TCU’s last season, and even FC Dallas very nearly winning a soccer championship of some sort. (The less said about the Cowboys the better.)
We were only No. 5 on last year’s list.
Two Days, Two “Occupy Dallas” Protests, Two Very Different Groups
This is America coming together. But not really. Tomorrow, there will be an “Occupy Dallas” protest at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, starting at 9 a.m. It’s a spin-off the “Occupy Wall Street” protest ongoing in New York, the rallying cry being: “We are the 99 percent,” as in, not the richest one percent of the population.
But wait, there’s more. Friday, at 6 p.m., there will be another protest at the same place. This one is organized by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and has much more of a Tea-Party tone. They will protest against the Federal government, in favor of “sovereignty and sound monetary policy.” It is, very specifically, not a protest of Wall Street, or a call to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
Which one will be bigger? Well, the Thursday protest has a Facebook page with more than 5,000 “likes” and more than 600 people saying they’ll attend. But Alex Jones has a lot of followers. And his isn’t during regular work hours (even with high unemployment, most people still have jobs). As a conservative friend of mine who plans to attend Friday’s demonstration joked, “I don’t want to protest with a bunch of unemployed hippies!”
Yes, it would be more interesting if these two groups were in the same spot at the same time. It’s not exactly disparate groups coming together. It’s actually two very different parts America coming at separate times. And anybody who’s been in a relationship knows that’s not ideal.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Oct. 5
The fact that Troy Aikman is a good-looking man has not escaped our collective journalistic notice. As far as I can tell, Nancy’s the only person brave enough around here to come forward with a dissenting opinion.
So. Aikman fans, Aikman stalkers, and legitimate runners with an extra $250 to spare, it’s your lucky day. Instead of lurking at the Highland Park Village Mi Cocina, take a nice jog around Katy Trail for a good cause. Aikman is once again the honorary chair of the Friends of Katy Trail‘s Annual Support Campaign, and he’s fulfilling those duties by leading a one mile fun run. If you donate $250 (or more) to the trail, you can join in. It kicks off at the American Airlines Center and ends up at the Katy Trail Ice House, where complimentary booze awaits. Register online until 3 p.m., but if you get inspired later, you can also register at the event before the start. And look, I know it’s a lot of money to splash out mid-week. But if you love running on the trail and you’d like to help keep it clean, it’ll be worth it.
In addition to the Meddlesome Moth’s weekly Wednesday rare beer tapping (Real Ale Brewing Co.’s Barrel Aged Empire), they’re hosting a five-course luau-inspired dinner out on their patio. No flame throwers, but it’s still shaping up to be a really nice night to sacrifice an entire suckling pig, meet the founder of Maui Brewing Co., and pour out three Hawaiian beers that have never been tasted in Texas. There are just a few seats left, so if this sounds like something you can get behind, call over now.
I told you yesterday that today’s your chance to get into the State Fair for cheap. Three cans of food and two dollars. Do I really have to force you to get out there? For more to do tonight, go here.
DJs, Dancing, Live Theater, Art, Movies, Food, and More: FrontRow Live Kicks Off on November 3
Do you like great music? Great art? Short films? Live theater? Break dancing? Live screen printing? Tattoos? Great food? Wait. Free beer? Everyone likes free beer, right?
Well then, you won’t want to miss what is sure to be one of the most exciting, entertaining, and unique events to hit Dallas this year: FrontRow Live at the Dallas Contempoary on November 3 from 8 p.m. to midnight, brought to you by Chevy.
Headlined by Grammy Award-winning producers and DJ duo Play-N-Skillz, the event we’re calling the “one night high-brow, low-brow blowout” will feature three DJs, a live theater performance to kick off the evening, screen-printing by The Public Trust’s Brian Gibb, a pop-up screening room featuring short films, a pop-up coffee shop provided by The Pearl Cup, food trucks, free beer provided by Michelob Ultra, and more. And here’s the best part: it is all FREE!
You want details? You want free tickets right now? Then get over to our FrontRow Live page.
Leading Off (10/5/11)
President Obama Made a Stop in North Texas. Skip to about 1:13 of this video to watch Kimberly Russell, a laid-off DISD social studies teacher, introduce President Obama. Though she was laid off in May and faces a dire job economy, she looks genuinely happy. I like her spunk. Obama spoke about his jobs plan at Eastfield College in Mesquite yesterday. He said his plan would give 280,000 teachers (like Russell) their jobs back.
Rangers Advance to AL Championship Series. I’m going to be honest with you. I haven’t watched a single inning of Rangers baseball since the World Series. I keep meaning to. I’ll mark it on my calendar. I get all my work done. I get my run out of the way. And then, it happens. I realize that–just like Zac–I’m not able to watch it. (But unlike Zac, I do have a TV. I just don’t have cable. But I have a few channels. But I can’t watch them because the TV’s built-in remote doesn’t work, and we lost the original remote. And for some reason, the universal remotes we buy don’t work. So we’re stuck on one channel, which just so happens to be the History Channel. It isn’t the worst channel to be stuck on, but it doesn’t offer sports.) So I keep missing the games. I’m sure I’ll start bandwagoning and watching and rooting soon. But, apparently, I’ll always love the Cowboys more. (Also, I haven’t watched a single snap in a Cowboys game, either. Same reason.)
Young Girl Fights Cancer, Gives Bears. Autumn Swank is 11 years old and is fighting brain cancer. She received a teddy bear in her hospital room one day. She liked the way the gift made her feel, and so she decided to pay it forward. She collects teddy bears and hands them out to kids (and adults) who need them. Check out the story and then help her out by giving her a bear or two.
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