Articles for December 11th, 2012

Former Texas GOP Head Cathie Adams: ‘Barack Hussein Obama Has Got to Have a Teleprompter Because He Fried His Brain on Drugs’

According to Wikipedia, “Cathie L. Adams (born 1950) is a homemaker from Dallas, Texas, who is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.” There are many, many strange things on Wikipedia. That intro is, somehow, not the strangest thing that will likely soon appear on that page.

According to Right Wing Watch, a week before the presidential election, Adams spoke at the Lakeview Church of the Nazarene, in Tyler, next to Ted Cruz. The evening was billed as a “call to action” in a posting that included the phrase “Now is the time for Amnericans to remember the roots of our greatness.” Sic.

Some of the best quotes from the speech:

Who is a Marxist in our White House?  Of course, it’s Barack Hussein Obama.  And I don’t know why we’re not calling him what he is as a Marxist.  It’s as if, when the wall fell that communism died; it didn’t.  Today, it is green on the outside and red on the inside. It is as red as ever and Barack Obama is implementing his green agenda, which is Marxism, and that is exactly why our economy is hurting as badly as it is and why twenty three million people are still out of work. That is exactly what is happening.

Folks, we have a rule of law, we have a Constitution and those things must be upheld. We cannot think that, well, if what their trying to do, for example, right now on a ballot in Colorado is legalize marijuana. And if we legalize it, will we empty out our jails and will we be safe for ever more? No. I’m telling you, Barack Hussein Obama has got to have a teleprompter because he fried his brain on drugs.

Adams now runs the Texas Eagle Forum, which, if its tagline wasn’t “progress through preservation of traditional values,” I’d think was the coolest name ever.

posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 4:11pm | filed under Abnormal Psychology, boom!, Competence, Entertainment, Highly Focused Pranks, Hold On To Your Effin Hat, Politics, Racists and Misogynists | 6 Comments »

Rick Perry Hits All the Abortion Buzzwords

Governor Rick Perry prior to last year’s signing of House Bill 15, which requires a woman to have a sonogram before an abortion. Source: Governor’s office

I don’t pretend that I understand the entire abortion debate, or even a fraction of it. There are better, more-interested journalists out there to speak on women’s health issues, and I’m sure one of them at the Observer will be along shortly to discuss Governor Perry’s remarks, given at Houston’s Source Pregnancy Center earlier today.

I’ve included them in full after the jump so you can interpret for yourselves, but they include the phrases “prohibits abortion without the mother first having a sonogram,” “the point a baby can feel the pain of being killed,” and “protect life if they can show there is a compelling state interest.” If you had those expressions in the office pool, please pick up your prize.

Actual disclaimer from the Perry camp’s press email: “*Note – Gov. Perry frequently departs from prepared remarks.”
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posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 3:07pm | filed under Health & Medicine, Politics | 6 Comments »

DeMarcus Cousins Punches O.J. Mayo in the Groin, Says He Didn’t Punch O.J. Mayo in the Groin

Spotted this last night:

Some choice quotes from O.J. Mayo, via ESPN:

“Man, I was so pissed,” Mayo said after his 19-point, seven-rebound performance in the rout. “It’s just, where does that come in in the game, you know what I mean? He’s a talented player, has a chance to be an All-Star. But you do stuff like that, it takes you down a class.”

“That guy has some mental issues, man,” Mayo said. “He’s a talented player. He has an opportunity to be the face of that organization, but I don’t think he wants it. …

“He’s immature, man. Big maturity problem. Hopefully, he’ll grow up out of it and become great. He definitely has the talent to.”

When O.J. Mayo is smacking your maturity, it’s time to step it up. For the record, Cousins said he was just pushing off. With a closed fist. Into the groin.

posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 2:11pm | filed under Defiance, Fitness, Highly Focused Pranks, Petty Feuds, Sports | (0) Comments »

Dallas ISD Loses Out on ‘Race to the Top’ Funds

Dallas ISD has not been granted the nearly $30 million it sought in federal Race to the Top funds, jeopardizing the district’s plans for improvement in some of its poorer neighborhoods, the U.S. Department of Education announced this afternoon.

District officials had planned to use the money for more comprehensive teacher and principal evaluation systems, better classroom technology, and improved recruitment and retention of teachers. Most of these goals would’ve been applied to the district’s lesser-performing schools, mostly in south and west Dallas.

The Department of Education announced 16 winners today: Carson City, Nev., Guilford County, N.C., New Haven Unified, Calif., Charleston County, S.C.; Galt Joint Union Elementary District, Calif., Green River Regional Education Cooperative, Ky.; Iredell-Statesville, N.C.; Lindsay Unified, Calif.; Metropolitan School District of Warren Township in Indianapolis; Middletown City, N.Y.; Puget Sound Education Service District, Wash.; St. Vrain Valley, Colo.; and Miami-Dade, Fla.

IDEA public schools and the Harmony Science Academy consortia in Texas also took home cash. There were 61 finalists, including other major cities that were left out: New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston.

posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 1:23pm | filed under Education | 1 Comment »

How Do Dallas-Area School Districts Stack Up Against the Rest of the World?

In a word: fine. They stack up fine. Yesterday, the George W. Bush Institute released its Global Report Card, which compares math and reading scores internationally. Every school district in the United States is accounted for, then compared to a list of 25 developed countries, mostly in Europe. The scores are from 2009, so recent improvements aren’t taken into account.

Dallas-area districts vary greatly, as is the case with most major metropolitan areas (play around with the New York and Chicago maps to see that statement in action).

After the jump I’ve broken down every Dallas County school district, and select districts from Tarrant, Denton, Collin, and Rockwall counties. The best performing districts are (not surprisingly) Coppell, Highland Park, and Carroll. Lovejoy ISD slides into the top four as well, which is surprising to me because it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of Lovejoy ISD and its 1,300 students.

The worst performing districts: Fort Worth, DeSoto, Dallas. Bringing up the bottom (by a wide margin) is Lancaster ISD.

Jump for 34 districts worth of data goodness:

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posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 12:42pm | filed under Charts, Civics, Competence, Education, Local News | 4 Comments »

Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Dec. 11

Black Nativity.

I don’t want to brag. But I saw The Hobbit last night. And have since exchanged a flurry of the nerdiest texts messages and emails I’ve probably ever sent or received. I’ll say this, though. Ten years after The Fellowship of the Ring, I’m still enjoying Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth and listening to Robyn on the way home.

Tonight, TeCo Theatrical Productions starts performances of Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity, a twist on the story you perhaps know. My favorite version is probably my grandfather’s version of the song “We Three Kings” that has them all smoking smelly cigars, but I digress. Hughes, celebrated poet and playwright of the Harlem Renaissance, infused his retelling with gospel songs and folk spirituals. The show has already sold out the Thursday and Saturday dates of its one-weekend run, so perhaps this is one you might want to get in on early. For some reason, I’ve been craving an Eno’s pie–I really dig that cracker crust–and one of their infused spirits. Happily, the restaurant isn’t far from the Bishop Arts Theater Center.

Also this evening, Bloc Party has a show at the House of Blues with local favorites, Burning Hotels. I’ve never been Bloc Party’s number one fan (not for any particular reason–I like the band well enough, and I love “I Still Remember”), but I have a friend who really, really loves them, and he once skipped a concert to pick me up at the airport my freshman year of college when I got homesick and wanted to surprise my parents. I’ll always appreciate that. You can still get tickets online, if you enjoy their particular brand of trebly guitar, a style they’ve reverted back to after dabbling in smooth electronics.

For more to do tonight, go here.

posted by Liz Johnstone | December 11th, 2012 11:46am | filed under Things to Do in Dallas | (0) Comments »

Dallas Bike Ordinance Returns to Council

New rules for cyclists and drivers will return to Dallas City Council tomorrow, after the measure was delayed months ago. The stipulations passed the council’s public safety and quality of life committees yesterday, KERA reports, and includes the following stipulations:

- The maximum fine for violating the shared-lane rules is reduced to $300 unless there’s bodily injury; then it’s the original $500.
- The requirement that a driver or cyclist knowingly violate the rules, so-called mental culpability, has been removed. Tickets can be issued if the action is deemed reckless.
- Drivers and bicyclists must obey all the rules. There was concern that the original rules were weighted in favor of cyclists.
- A distance requirement between car and bike was rejected by Dallas police. They say there’s really not a way to enforce it.

Heads to the full council tomorrow. Before jumping to the full memorandum, read Tim’s piece from our December issue about why Dallas hates cyclists:

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posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 11:41am | filed under Awesome Things, Competence, Politics | (0) Comments »

Chris Jones of Esquire Gives Mike Mooney Some Love

Chris Jones was asked to pick his best stories of 2012 by Longreads. He led off with this bit about Mike Mooney, despite Mike’s noted wrongheadedness about his ability to take down a giraffe with his bare hands:

Favorite new writer discovery of 2012

I’m always scared of making lists like this, because a year is a long time, and I read a lot, and invariably I’ll forget writers and pieces that I liked very much. But this category is easy for me: Michael J. Mooney. He wrote back-to-back stories for D Magazine this summer that are so different but the same in that they both knocked me on my ass. First he wrote about a brutal rape in “When Lois Pearson Started Fighting Back.” (It is a difficult read, but the ending is more than worth it.) And then he wrote the most amazing bowling story ever in “The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever.” Plus, he’s a straight-up good dude. Love this guy so much.

posted by Zac Crain | December 11th, 2012 11:16am | filed under Appreciation, Lists of things, Media | 4 Comments »

Dallas Gets Its Own Saul Goodman

According to the Morning News:

A Dallas criminal defense lawyer has agreed in federal court documents to plead guilty to a money laundering charge for helping a drug dealer hide large amounts of ill-gotten cash.

Patrick Robert Simon’s plea has to be approved by a federal judge before it becomes official. If that happens, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, according to court documents.

Simons was paid $6,000 by the dealer and an undercover agent to create a bogus company that would be used to launder the money. Simon then offered a few options for how the drug dealer could get $100,000 in cash to Simon, with the dealer eventually settling on an attorney trust account which would cut checks to the dealer’s family while he was in prison.

Breaking Bad returns for the second half of its final season this summer.

posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 9:44am | filed under Appreciation, Business, Crime, gambling, How-To, Law | (0) Comments »

Fiscal Cliff Could Cost Texas’ Health and Human Services System $142 Million, Affect 327K Clients

As the fiscal cliff conversation heats up (three weeks to go!), its financial impact on Texas’ programs is starting to come into focus.

That includes an estimated $142 million reduction for Health and Human Services, a drop that will affect more than 300,000 clients statewide, HHS budget and fiscal policy director David Kinsey told the House Interim Committee yesterday. Affected programs include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC), family violence prevention and service, and nutrition services for the aging and disabled. The short presentation after the jump lays out a few more details.

HHS isn’t the only department bracing. Burnt Orange Report wrote this morning that Texas public schools “stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, with Title I aid for the economically disadvantaged and IDEA funding for students with disabilities taking the biggest hit.” Nationally, education dollars could take a $4 million hit.

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posted by Bradford Pearson | December 11th, 2012 9:12am | filed under Charts, Civics, Economy, Health & Medicine | (0) Comments »

Leading Off (12/11/12)

Dallas City Auditor Says Problems Haven’t Been Fixed. City auditor Craig Kinton was told that most of his recommendations had been followed, but an audit released yesterday (paywall) shows that the auditor’s audit has been mostly for naught. City manager Mary Suhm doesn’t seem to think the situation is too fraught. “I don’t always agree with his tabulations about what’s done or not done, and we don’t always agree with all the recommendations,” she said. “Sometimes it’s too much money for protecting against too little risk.”

DISD Audit Finds That Hiring Rules Were Broken. Now, this is a preliminary audit (paywall), but it is an audit nonetheless, and it found that superintendent Mike Miles broke rules as he assembled his team leadership team. The document is still a draft and awaiting response from administrators before it is made final, but it’s safe to assume that this audit will offer no plaudits.

Dwayne Goodrich Knows What It Feels Like To Kill Someone. Josh Brent isn’t the only Cowboy who has killed someone with a car. George Riba tracked down Goodrich to get his perspective on the matter.

posted by Tim Rogers | December 11th, 2012 6:32am | filed under Local News | (0) Comments »