Dead Men Writing

Say it ain’t so. It’s so, ain’t it? Picked up my Dallas Morning News this morning – Went into the driveway and physically picked it up. I’m a dinosaur, ridicule away. – pulled out SportsDay and had a bright idea. For Halloween I will dress as a newspaper. Nothing scarier…

Obama’s Leading in Early Voting

That is, he’s leading in the Dallas Independent School District’s Mock Election 2008, taking place today all over the district in grades K-12. (The boy said this morning he was going to vote for Boba Fett.) And with a scant 9 percent of the vote in, it’s Barack Obama by…

Some Former Cowboys’ Fear Factor

Always a delight to dial up ESPN.com to find a piece by Frank Luksa, who’s been spending the last little while dipping into the Dallas Cowboys Bag of Memories on behalf of the Worldwide Leader. Fine by me, as today he corrals some of Tom Landry’s men to find out…

Your ’08-09 Dallas Mavericks: Still Good. Still Not Good Enough.

Make-or-break year for him. And his team. Don’t believe it. The Mavericks, overnight, did not grow old and tired and shitty. Everywhere you surf entering tonight’s opener against the Houston Rockets – especially here – you hear how Dallas will be lucky to win 45ish games and lucky to make…

Texas Watchdog Sees Dead People … Voting in Dallas County

A story in two parts today: “Dead voters cast ballots in Dallas County,” in which Melvin Porter dies in January 2007, only to vote in the March 4, 2008, Democratic primary. And this follow: “Polling place books may hold clues in mystery of Dallas County’s dead voters,” in which Danny…

How Stressed Are You, Dallas?

Forbes today directs our attention to the 2008 Stress in America Survey, released earlier this month by the American Psychological Association. Good thing too, as the survey has its very own report for Dallas, in which “267 adults aged 18+ who reside in Dallas” insist, like, they’re not terribly stressed…

The King and I

Debbie Downer body language. Broken pinkie. Disappointing results. The SI Jinx at work? I’d like to call out Sports Illustrated’s Peter King for turning tail on your Dallas Cowboys. Way I remember it, once upon a time King picked the Cowboys to make it to this season’s Super Bowl. (Of…

Carla Ranger, a DISD Trustee You Can Trust to Speak Her Mind

DISD school board trustee Carla Ranger Yesterday, school board trustee Carla Ranger was insisting you can’t trust Dallas Independent School District’s leadership. Today, in advance of the board of trustee’s vote on their own ethics policy amendment, Ranger again insists it doesn’t mean squat: “The proposed Dallas ISD Ethics policy…

Do You Think Tom Hicks Feels Just a Little Left Out?

Yours for eight bucks on eBay. Mighty nice of the NBA to send out this media release moments ago regarding a 5 p.m. press conference today: WHAT: Major NBA Announcement WHO: David Stern, NBA Commissioner Mark Cuban, Owner, Dallas Mavericks Jerry Jones, Owner, Dallas Cowboys WHEN: Thursday, October 30; 5:00…

The Top 10 Most Memorable Openers in Dallas Mavericks’ History

The Three J’s put on quite a show to start the ’94 season. After that, um, basically nothing. Tonight’s lid-lifter at American Airlines Center between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets has a plethora of sub-plots that could possibly escalate into season-long themes: Rick Carlisle’s arrival. Avery Johnson’s departure. Jason…

How Tim Rogers Ruined My Day

As Observer editor Mark Donald, fellow staff writer Megan Feldman and I exited our car and headed to the elevators in the parking garage at the Belo Mansion yesterday afternoon, we bumped into staffers from D Magazine. It was my first opportunity to meet Adam McGill and Zac Crain, and…

A Thankless Job|The Smell Test|High Cotton

“Confederacy of Jerks” by Jim Schutze, October 23 A Thankless Job As someone who has run both city council and school board elections, it wouldn’t take a lot of money to elect a new school board. City council races generally cost north of $100,000. In a school board race, we…

Removal from Denton State School Becomes a Hollow Victory

The boy is home now. He sits in a wheelchair in the corner of his family’s home in Richardson. His hands are limp, his head rolls from side to side, and he has trouble making eye contact. His name is Haseeb Chishty and he is 34 years old. For the…

The Cowboys’ Goals at Mid-season Are a Little Less Super

When—not if—the Dallas Cowboys lose to the Giants in New Jersey on Sunday, the NFC East race will slip officially out of their reach. At 5-4 and trailing the defending Super Bowl champs by three games with seven to play, owner Jerry Jones will attempt to shrug it off and…

Polygamy and Me

Evening falls on the Concho Valley. Along the highway, which is dotted with rusty oil derricks and gnarled mesquite, spring grasses peek out from the rocky soil. It’s April 3, 2008, and few here know what is about to happen. Up on Rudd Road, a man steps from his bullet-riddled…

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Early Vote

Until this election cycle, I never gave much thought to early voting. Considered it my civic duty to schlep my son and daughter to the polls on Election Day, queue up in long lines with elderly citizens in exercise suits and teach my kids something about the democratic process so…

“Like There’s No Good Economy Ever Coming Back.”

Craig Hodges Hellacious last few minutes of trading there — way up, then way down. And for a local perspective on the way-ups and way-downs of the stock market, one need look no further than 2905 Maple Avenue, where Hodges Capital Management is managing some billion dollars in assets, which…

Peter King Doesn’t Think Much of Your Dallas Cowboys in New SI

This photo comes from the Web site DallasSucks.com. I will fight you. In this week’s Sports Illustrated Peter King dissects the Dallas Cowboys’ woes, and far as he’s concerned, last week’s win over Tampa Bay was just postponing the “inevitable disappointment” that comes with realizing your Super Bowl-bound team just…