Texas in particular come off looking compartively great. Dallas-Fort Worth has the second-biggest gain in jobs during the last year (among the nation’s 100 biggest markets), the fourth-most gain in the last five years, and the fifth-most in the last 10 years. (Houston finishes No. 1 on all three lists.)  Of course, the picture is slightly different if you rank cities by their percentage gains in jobs, with DFW ranked 10th, 8th, and 27th looked at that way.

Only 13 of the top 100 U.S. metropolitan areas have showed a gain over the last five years. Six of them are in Texas.

Portlandia is ranked No. 52.

Dallas Economy Underperforms State Average: This story about the Dallas Fed’s report on the Texas economy is behind the paywall, but this scribd.com link should get you to the meat. The takeaway, Houston boasts the state’s strongest economy, thanks to a healthy energy market, while DFW (Dallas/ Fort Worth-Arlington) has underperformed the state average over the past five years.

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Second Best: That’s right, according to some guy at CNBC, the Super Bowl-bound Patriots have better cheerleaders than the team that introduced the sideline gimmick. What’s wrong with our ladies? Well, not allowing the cheerleaders to have their own social media accounts doesn’t help.

Here’s a handy interactive map the Times provided to figure out how you place.

Today he spoke of a recent conversation with a European Central Bank official, who pointed out that the U.S. debt burden is even bigger than Europe’s:

“We don’t want to be in a situation like Greece. We are headed that way, if we are not careful,” Fisher said. ”We are headed in the wrong direction, and if we don’t bring it under control, we are going to have social unrest.”

Translation? Despite those slightly-maybe improving unemployment numbers today, hold on to your effin’ hat?

The market’s reaction was predictable. Say what you will about Italy and Greece, but their parliaments have faced the music and acted.

What’s to be done? Nothing.

Absent Congress, the automatic cuts will go into effect. The Bush tax cuts will disappear. The combined fiscal result will be a huge reduction in the deficit.

Now we get the pure enjoyment of watching both sides scramble to undo the consequences of their intransigence. It is America’s Zen moment. Inaction equals action, whether either side likes it or not. We may come to thank Jeb Hensarling after all.

The Museum of Nature & Science hosted a special event this morning to announce a $6 million donation from the Moody Foundation, marking the last amount needed to reach the museum’s $185-million goal.

The Perot Museum of Nature & Science is being built on a 4.7-acre at 1155 Broom St. It will now feature a Moody Family Children’s Museum and Robert and Anne Moody forum for children to come together and reflect upon what they learned in their time at the museum.

Franci Moody Dahlberg, trustee and executive director for the Moody Foundation, presented the donation and said she was “delighted” to be a part of the project.

After the donation was announced, a banner was let down saying the Perot Museum of Nature & Science: $185 million and counting.

“We didn’t really know we were going to get that ($185 million),” Forrest Hoglund says. “We’re going to build on this.”

The latter part of the sentence proved to be important as Hoglund noted the $185 million will allow the museum to be built, but to reach a world-class level they will still be seeking donations.

Serial Rapist Targets Alumnae of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority: A serial rapist is acting out a real life horror movie script, targeting middle aged former members of the DFW chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. His four victims all belonged to said sorority, and they say the perpetrator had “personal knowledge about them.”

Michael Irvin Ejected From Celina ISD Football Game: Ivin’s son was playing for Prestonwood Christian Academy, and Irvin was playing the role of the obnoxious sports dad, tossing about enough f-bombs to get himself ejected from the stadium.

Fan Tosses Pujols’ Third Home Run Ball Back To Field: This story makes me proud of Texas Rangers fans: Season ticket holder Jordan Hartsell caught the ball that Albert Pujols’ smacked into the stands for his third home run Saturday night. Hartsell picked up the historic artifact and tossed it back out onto the field. The baseball gods will be pleased.

Odds that this will happen?

What’s The Most Important Thing to Happen to the Texas Economy: Economist Ray Perryman runs down the top ten things that impacted the growth of Texas’ economy, including some obvious factors, like DFW Airport and the high tech industry, and some not as much, such as the oil embargo and air conditioning.

Rangers Rained Out, First Pitch Today at 3:19 p.m.: Game two of the American League Championship Series was postponed yesterday due to rain, even though Arlington didn’t actually see a drop Sunday night, prompting some to question whether or not The X-Factor had anything to do with the dubious decision to push off the game. The postponement screws Rangers fans who can’t skip work today to catch the game, which was a boon to quick-actors on the secondary ticket market, but those wild deals seem to have dried up. As for today’s weather? Looks like a 10 percent chance, but better yet, Rangers baseball can stand up ratings-wise to the double feature of Judge Joe Brown and Judge Judy, the shows which normally occupy the Monday afternoon slot.

Is AMR Going Bankrupt? American Airlines’ parent company has only posted two profitable years in the last decade, its stock is at a one-year low, and Moody’s has just downgraded AMR’s stock outlook to “negative,” according to this report in the Star-Telegram. Some industry watchers believe the company is running out of cash, and when the “b-word” was raised during an investor conference, AMR’s treasurer “didn’t completely dismiss the possibility.”

Finally It’s Official: A&M Joins S.E.C: Yesterday, Texas A&M University announced that it will join NCAA’s Southeastern Conference beginning on July 1, 2012. Teams like Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas and others will begin massacring the Aggies on the football field beginning in the 2012-2013 season.