Government and Politics

So Long, Suhm

As the city manager rides off into the sunset, let's get a strong mayor in the saddle.

Thanks a Bunch, IRS. Now We Gotta Respect the Tea Party -- a Little Bit.

Wow. I take it all back, Tea Party. You cool. In fact, I'm jealous. Targeted by the IRS. There was a time when that would have been my dream come true. I remember back in the day when my hippie friends started getting their FBI files under the Freedom of Information Act. I was always afraid to as ... More >>

Obama, Bloomberg Groups Are Teaming Up for Dallas Gun Control Rally This Weekend

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the advocacy group funded and founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is struggling to stoke the kind of grass-roots passion for gun regulation that has made its arch-nemesis, the NRA, such a political force. Organizing For America, the post-electoral version o ... More >>

Congressman Steve Stockman to Gunmakers: Come Check Out Texas

U.S. Representative Steve Stockman is not a subtle man. We could go so far as to say he has a flair for the dramatic. He is, after all, the man who brought Ted Nugent as his plus-one to the State of the Union address, and compared the Earth to a sort of fuel-filled water balloon. And even further ba ... More >>

In Wake of Medrano Family Voter Fraud Case, Herschel Weisfeld Wants Federal Oversight of May City Council Election

It didn't take long for the District 2 City Council race to turn into a mud-slinging match, even if the mud has come from only one side. The first volley came last month from Herschel Weisfeld, who seized on Adam Medrano's refusal to discuss his sexual orientation to question his opponent's openness ... More >>

Metroplex Atheists Square Off Against Rowlett's Mayor. The Mayor Says He'll Pray for Them.

This week in godlessness brings us to Rowlett, where Mayor Todd Gottel is feeling pretty good. He'll be running unopposed soon for his second term as mayor and third term on the City Council. The rest of the time, he owns a "sales and marketing" company, per the city of Rowlett's website, is a preci ... More >>

Ted Cruz Takes It As A Compliment When You Call Him a Crazy Wacko Bird

They called him crazy. And "crazy-pants," and "unhinged," and, at times, a "gay-hating conspiracy theorist." But when you call freshman Tea Party-darling Senator Ted Cruz any of those names, just understand that whilst you are merely boring, petty glue, he is rubber. Proudly crazy rubber. At a sp ... More >>

There's a Push for Term Limits in Austin, and It's Being Led by a Longtime Perry Ally

Right now, there's a push underway in the Texas legislature to impose term limits on the state's elected officials. A bill, filed by Representative Lyle Larson, a San Antonio Republican, is currently being mulled by a House committee. A similar proposal by Tyler Republican Kevin Eltife is being cons ... More >>

Morning News Praises Angela Hunt on Drilling! While God's Passing Out Miracles, Maybe We Can Get a Strong Mayor.

In the very wee hours as my eye first opened to the light of this day, I thought I heard a rushing of wings aloft. I caught my breath. Was this ...? And then distinctly as if from the next room, I heard the oinking of pigs. Only later with coffee in hand and the daily newspaper on my knees did I co ... More >>

A Republican State Senator is Pushing For an Increase in the Texas' Gas Tax

Texas' 20-cent-per-gallon gas tax hasn't changed since 1991. That's despite the erosion of the tax's purchasing power -- the Wall Street Journal estimates that the gas tax buys half as much concrete, steel, and other materials as they did 20 years ago -- and a glaring need -- the state comptroller's ... More >>

Russian Government Accuses a Texas Mother of Drugging and Murdering Her Adopted Son

In December Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a measure banning the adoption of Russian children to American families. The move was widely considered, and tacitly acknowledged as, a retaliation against a new U.S. law targeting accused Russian human rights abusers. Russian officials portrayed ... More >>

A North Texas Lawmaker Wants to Exempt "Made in Texas" Guns From Federal Law

According to statistics kept by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, there are several dozen licensed gun manufacturers in the state of Texas. Most of those are small-scale operations, individuals or mom-and-pop-style shops that produce one or two pistols or rifles in a year. A ... More >>

A Majority of Texans Favor an Assault Weapons Ban, But Their Politicians Don't

Texas, the Second Amendment bastion of sport shooters, concealed carriers and Stand-Your-Grounders, also favors a ban on assault weapons by a surprising margin -- 49 percent to 41 percent, according to Public Policy Polling. Texans oppose arming school teachers (56 percent to 31 percent), but also ... More >>

State Rep. Eric Johnson Filed a Bill Yesterday to Overturn the State's Voter ID Law

Texas' voter ID law wasn't in effect for last November's election thanks to an order by a federal appeals court, but it remains on the books of the state's election code. (A refresher: Anyone who shows up to vote must present a photo ID. Handgun permits are okay; school IDs are not. Otherwise, they ... More >>

Louis Gohmert Really Wishes Sandy Hook's Principal Had a High-Powered Assault Rifle

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson was among the first to opine that the 20 children murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary on Friday were a testament to the need for more guns in schools, not fewer. That other pundits and politicians would deploy the same argument in the days that followed, casting even ... More >>

Texas Finally Realizes Where Babies Come From, May Restore Family Planning Money

Last legislative session, your lawmakers in the Texas Legislature cut $73.6 million from the state's family planning budget, a move which, impressively, has somehow resulted in far fewer patients being served, for more money per patient. Don't ask us how they managed that one. As Emily Ramshaw writ ... More >>

Rick Perry and State Senator Jane Nelson Want Texas to Drug Test Welfare Recipients

It's the most wonderful time of the year: There's still some very stale, deeply discounted Halloween candy kicking around the aisles at CVS, Christmas music has suddenly overtaken your dentist's office, and Texas legislators have begun pre-filing bills for the upcoming legislative session. The ses ... More >>

European Election Monitors Find U.S. Elections Are Expensive, "Unduly Politicized," Other Shockingly Obvious Conclusions

At the end of October, highly watchable Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott threatened to press charges against any "U.N. poll watchers" who might "interfere with Texas elections." Not to be outdone, state officials in Pennsylvania and Iowa also started threatening to arrest people. Those "poll wa ... More >>

City of Plano Pushes Back on Farmers' Market Fight

Kari Gates grows seasonal fruits and vegetables over several acres of land at Spring Creek Organic Farms in West Plano. She drives her produce to several markets around the region, including Greenling. But, more recently she's exploring her options closer to home, particularly Fairview Farms near U. ... More >>

The 10 Most Corrupt Tax Loopholes

If Mitt Romney won't tell you which need to be closed, we will

Vote Fraud: A Little Bit is Good for Democracy, Even When the GOP Does It

Latest twist in the great imaginary vote fraud epidemic of 2012: Now Republicans are nabbed doing exactly the same stuff they have accused Democrats of doing. In a piece in this morning's New York Times we get a peek at voter hanky-panky, GOP-style. An operative named Nathan Sproul, who has receive ... More >>

How Mayor Rawlings Saved Face, Kept Some Black Friends and Screwed Some Hispanic Ones in the Process

Oh, wouldn't you know it? Leave it to me to get all gooh-gooh-eyed and sweety-feets about things. Then cruel reality comes crashing in. It's because I'm just too innocent of heart. Just yesterday, I had my zither out singing softly to you about how the mayor had done the right thing in the municipa ... More >>

As Minority Council Members Play the Race Card, the Mayor Goes All In on Court Reform

Maybe it is like watching them make sausage, but at least you have to give them a tip of the hat when they get the sausage right. The mayor and the Dallas City Council put themselves through a bruising debate yesterday on municipal court reform and in the end came up with the right answer, mostly. ... More >>

City Hall's Cuts of 911 Put Us All at Risk From Crime and Lawsuits

The 911 problem itself is bad enough, but the mayor and the police chief are about to drive me crazy. At our house we record the news and watch it right before going to bed. It's worse than chips and spicy salsa. Night after night we are subjected to these horror stories on TV about people perishin ... More >>

Dallas ICE Agent Sues ICE, Homeland Security Over Obama's Deportation Deferral

Ten ICE agents, including one from the Dallas office, are suing ICE and Homeland Security in a Dallas federal court over a directive from President Barack Obama that would defer in some cases the deportation of undocumented immigrants brought here as children. Dallas enforcement and removal officer ... More >>

Why Do Mexicans Rape So Much?

And why do they always yell "Cu-le-ro" at bands they love?

City to Pay State $400,000 For Not Taxing Golf Course Green Fees

If you've played a round of golf at one of Dallas' half dozen municipal golf courses, you may have skipped out on the state-mandated 8.25 percent sales tax on your green fee. The city contracts with independent golf pros who collect green fees but haven't traditionally collected sales tax. It's a lo ... More >>

Judge Blocks Texas' New Voter Registration Laws, Calls Registration Drives "Vital"

A U.S. District Court judge in Galveston yesterday blocked five parts of Texas' new voter registration laws, all of which were aimed at curtailing large voter registration drives. Voting for America and Project Vote, two affiliated national projects that hire canvassers to register new voters, had ... More >>

Looks Like the Tea Party's Gonna Elect Cruz Fair and Square. So, Let's Change the Game.

Texas will elect it's next senator today. Odds are, you won't vote for him. In fact, a good number of you, even if you're registered to vote, can't vote in the truly decisive race going down Tuesday, because you were dumb enough to vote in the Democratic primary in May. Suckers. So, let's all clap ... More >>

Tomorrow's Gas Drilling Hearing is Getting Pissy Before it Even Starts

A friend of Unfair Park passed along an interesting email exchange between some members of the Gas Drillng Task Force in advance of tomorrow's throwdown public hearing. Seems that some are none too happy that Councliman Scott Griggs chose task force member Terry Welch to speak in favor of tighter dr ... More >>

Your Property Taxes Are Probably Going Up. So Is Community College Tuition.

Dallas, both city and county, has held the line on property taxes in recent years despite dwindling revenues and shrinking budgets. Still, your property tax bill is probably going to increase after September 1, when Dallas County Community College District's new budget goes into effect. DCCCD spoke ... More >>

In Farmers Branch Immigration Fight, Competing Readings of Supreme Court's Arizona Ruling

Opposing counsel in a six-year legal battle over a proposed Farmers Branch immigration ordinance are trading letters to the judge, arguing, naturally, that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona's immigration law supports their side. Last month, the high court struck down every provision of Ari ... More >>

Report: Voter ID Laws Have Caused Thousands of Legal Votes to Get Tossed

What timing. Just as the trial of Texas' voter ID law kicks off in D.C., a new analysis by the Associated Press has found that such laws in other states have led to hundreds of ballots being rejected, both in 2008's general election and in the primaries this year. The Associated Press looked a ... More >>

What the Supreme Court's Ruling On Arizona's Immigration Law Means for Farmers Branch

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down much of Arizona's illegal immigration law Monday morning, leaving its most controversial, show-me-your-papers provision standing, and that only provisionally. Experts say the decision provides a road map to federal courts evaluating immigration laws enacted in plac ... More >>

Dallas is All Like, 'Voting, Why Bother?'

Turns out, the people of Dallas don't care much for voting -- Dallas County ranked fourth in the state (out of 254 counties) for the fewest ballots cast among voting-age people. Even Harris County had a slightly better turnout, which unfortunately means the Asshole of the Universe, has us beat at so ... More >>

Farmers Branch Has Spent Five Years and Millions of Dollars Trying to Keep Out Mexicans. Is It Time for a Truce?

A Guide to How Obama's New Immigration Policy Will Work, And a Word of Caution

President Barack Obama announced Friday afternoon that the Department of Homeland Security will no longer attempt to deport young undocumented immigrants brought here as children, signaling a compassionate shift in an immigration policy whose hallmark was aggressive enforcement and record-shattering ... More >>

Welcome Back, Jim Crow

New laws in dozens of states could take out Barack Obama this fall.

America's War on Brown People Has Gone Too Far

A hostile Supreme Court. A feckless Obama administration. America's war on Mexicans has gone too far.

As Dallas Considers Fracking in Parkland and Floodplains, the Usual Suspects Speak Out

It was Dallas city council member Tennell Atkins who, during yesterday's discussion of the city's still-far-off gas-drilling regulations, posed the million-dollar question. "Do you think that it's safe to drill in the city of Dallas?" he asked task force chair Lois Finkelman. Finkelman was noncommi ... More >>

The Trinity River Toll Road is Now an (Almost) Unstoppable Force

With Mayor Mike Rawlings' support, only deep pockets can thwart the $2 billion river-ride.

Class Wafare? Fine, Let's Get This Party Started.

The Republican presidential candidates all agree on one thing -- the same mantra between all their lines. They all want us to believe that the extreme polarity of rich and poor in this country is an expression of natural law. The super-rich just have to get super-richer. Everybody else, sadly, must ... More >>

How To Not Get Deported

So, you're an undocumented immigrant. Your great hope is to stick around, make a living and, some day, become naturalized. Unfortunately, our immigration laws are a tangled morass of inscrutability, insensible to the realities of a globalized world. You may have watched last week's Republican deba ... More >>

Sure, You're Invited to a 2012 Bond Program Town Hall. Just Don't Expect to Get Much.

​Last month, you'll no doubt recall, City Manager Mary Suhm told the city council that 2012 bond program, which we'll vote on in the fall, will be a fraction of a shadow of a hint of its mammoth '06 predecessor, which appears to be the gift that keeps on giving. 'Round $450 to $550 million, she sa ... More >>

Before Mayor Mike's Meeting With LGBT Leaders, A Rally Outside City Hall Last Night

Mayor Mike Rawlings has a closed-door, no-press-allowed meeting this morning with 25 LGBT community leaders to discuss something that's become, say, a small issue for him in the last week: his refusal to sign the "Mayors For Freedom To Marry" Pledge. Earlier this week Rawlings also elected to back ... More >>

Beating Up Babes in Toyland

Perry and Tea Party make a blue Christmas for needy kids.

Ethics Reform: You've Got to Know What Needs Changing Before You Can Change It

Ethics: They're hidden somewhere in City Hall, and it's a tough case to crack.​Since becoming Mayor, Mike Rawlings has been consistently passionate about a few key things: South Dallas, DISD, pizza, economic development, Halloween, ethics reform -- not necessarily in that order. On Rawlings's ... More >>

Fear and Fracking in Southlake

In one of America's wealthiest suburbs, an unlikely band of drilling opponents helped drive away the world's biggest energy companies. Did they save the town or ruin it?

Mayor Mike Rawlings Last Night: "Everything I Look At, I Ask, 'Is It Right for Southern Dallas?'"

Last night, Mayor Mike Rawlings hosted a community forum at Cedar Crest Golf Course, billed in the invitation as an "update on the City of Dallas." Backed by council members Dwaine Caraway and Tennell Atkins and a large supporting cast of other city officials, he tried to reassure the crowd: City Ha ... More >>

An Offended Occupy Dallas Responds to City's Demands; Last Arrestee Due Out of Jail Today

Photo by Chris Howell​At the end of business yesterday City Hall sent that memo from City Manager Mary Suhm and that letter from First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers. Both said more or less the same thing: Occupy Dallas has till 5 p.m. Saturday to clean up its mess behind Dallas City Hall, o ... More >>