"The Quiet Man," by Matt Pulle, December 11
Roll Them Bones
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Holy crap, Batman. The leaders at City Hall have done more damage to our fair city than what the Joker, Riddler and King Tut combined caused to Gotham City! Once again I pick up the Dallas Observer and find yet another article on the incompetence of our so-called leaders. Hats off to the Dallas Observer for exposing the treachery in our fine city. What makes it a great city is not the leaders in that funny-looking building downtown but the citizens who get up every day, punch the clock and provide an honest service to the community. They even do it for less money than what our hard-earned tax dollars are paying the schleps downtown.
I now understand the strange things that I see when I pass City Hall. On one occasion, I saw smoke coming from the building. That was money burning a hole in the pockets of our leaders. I could also hear a large machine churning vigorously in the basement. This was the sound of a vacuum that was sucking all the tax money out of our pockets. We might as well hire plumbers to run the city. They could just flush the money down the toilet.
Matt, I appreciate the in-depth coverage of [DISD Superintendent Michael] Hinojosa's dastardly deeds. However, in part of the story, it almost sounded like a hooray for Hinojosa for the good he is doing for our kids. We must remember that he did screw up big time and maybe he did do some good, but he did blow the budget. There are fine individuals out there that can do good for the kids as well as balance the budget. Hinojosa even stated that school finance is not complicated. It is obvious that it is difficult for him. It sounds like he is in the wrong job. It is the hard work of the teachers that made Hinojosa look good. All he did was make the suggestions.
It seems like we always get the scrapings at the bottom of the barrel to run Dallas. We the taxpayers should be able to decide who runs our city. The numb-nuts we have to choose from at election time are just not cutting it.
Between this issue, the stupid pretty bridge and the convention center hotel, we are in for some real problems. Maybe signs saying "This City Runs With Integrity and Competence" should be mounted above each door at City Hall to remind the higher-ups that they serve us and not themselves. Keep throwing us these bones, Observer, no matter how disgusting they are. We have a right to know.
Pauley G., Irving
"The Cowboy Who Killed Those Kids," by Richie Whitt, December 18
Both Sides Now
Great article on a sad subject. There are two sides to the story, and the writer is giving the other side we haven't heard yet. If reading this makes someone stop and realize their reckless driving may someday have major repercussions, then all the better. We've all made bad decisions at one time or another and [Dwayne] Goodrich is paying the highest price, as well as the victims' families. Goodrich is not playing the innocent game; he knows his crime and seems to want to make something good come out of something so horrific.
Stacy, via dallasobserver.com
Thanks to Richie for a well-rounded article. Anything less than Goodrich's suicide won't be enough for some people. In the article he came off as genuinely contrite, and why would he be otherwise? I don't agree the system let him down, though. I think anyone who feels he should be let out of prison sooner rather than later ignores the key time period of this story, a period not discussed in the article—that time between when Goodrich and his friend returned to the scene and came back home, and when the police arrived. Anything less than a quick call to the police looks like a cover-up, as if time was being taken to sober up or see if the Cowboys lawyers could think of something to make it all go away. This is what readers, victims' families, juries, everyone thinks about as well. How did the defendant act immediately afterward? Like a good Samaritan or a criminal? That time period will likely be repaid to society between now and 2011. I truly hope his life afterward will be positive.
Dan, via dallasobserver.com
