Buzz

Be like Ross
Improbable though it may seem, Buzz is pondering the possibility that Ross Perot is--as he has long assured us--smarter than the rest of us. Sure, it's been easy for the past few years to dismiss Perot as a ranting jug-eared lunatic. But new evidence of Perot's latent wisdom has surfaced.

Consider this: Before he sold his company, Electronic Data Systems, Perot enforced a dress code for his employees that bordered on obsessive. Women wearing pants were sent home to change. Men had to wear ties, jackets, and white shirts. (Perot did relent and eventually allow men to wear colored shirts.) All in all, EDS employees were expected to look like little Ross clones. And what happened? The company made money by the ton.

Since Perot sold EDS, however, the standards have loosened. The New York Times reported last week that a select group of about 200 EDS techno-geeks has been granted release from the Perot rules. They are actually allowed to work away from the company's main gulag and wear any clothes they want.

And what happened? Earnings are down, the company stock price has plummeted, and analysts are warning investors to stay away from EDS.

Someone send Buzz a tie. Maybe something from the Jerry Garcia collection.

Blumer blather
Buzz likes Donna Blumer. The city coucilwoman from North Dallas strikes us as a non-threatening sort. Buzz figures a benign presence on the council is better than, say, members who solicit bribes, set up fake minority companies, and trade votes for favors.

But Blumer has got Buzz's dander up.
Last week, Blumer bemoaned the fate of her district, which includes most of the wealthiest parts of Dallas. She told The Dallas Morning News that her homies are being neglected. Too much attention--and money--is going to southern Dallas, she said. Helping out the poor is fine, she allowed, but City Hall "should also be focused on who is paying the bills." Specifically, Blumer cited all those terrible potholes on North Dallas streets.

Buzz is gonna go check again, but last time we looked, there was no evidence that any great amount of the city's resources--or wealth--is being transferred south of the Trinity.

There is, for example, the small matter of the largest illegal dump in Texas, a filthy and noxious health hazard that the city allowed to operate and now doesn't want to spend a dime to clean up. We do, however, apparently still have enough money to subsidize a classical music radio station.

Sorry, Donna. Tell your folks they'll just have to fork over a few extra bucks to have the Lexus realigned from time to time.

Double threat
Buzz could not possibly make this up. This caption ran last week in the Greenville Herald-Banner beneath a picture of Deion Sanders:

"Dallas Cowboy defensive back and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Deion Sanders does not expect a bulging dick in his back to slow him down on the football field."

Ouch. Poor Deion. Most Cowboys just have to worry about keeping it in their pants.

--David Pasztor