Let Me Sum Up
If you build a nice golf course in southern Dallas, will the rich white peoplecome?
Mayor Mike Rawlings thinks a new AT&T-sponsored golf complex in the middle ofSouth Dallas might nab the HP Byron Nelson Championship.Courtesy photo
The Perot Museum may be counting on spill-over from the Children's MedicalCenter Holiday Parade during its opening weekend.Photo by Jerry McClure
The Perot Museum will be teeming with kids this weekend.Photo by Jerry McClure
Using last week’s no-Wi-Fi-Friday format, let’s try to continue the end-of-the-week fun. Here then is my Friday Five: a list of the five stories that have me most tickled going into the weekend.
1. The proposed golf complex in southern Dallas. Dallas Observer editor Joe Tone tweeted this morning, “Developing a poor neighborhood by building a semi-private golf course is the most Dallasy idea possible.” Hard to argue.
I was with some golfers last night, and they reacted with equal disdain at the idea of an AT&T-sponsored course mentioned in this story. The thing they guffawed at the hardest was Mayor Rawlings’ suggestion that the golf complex might nab the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Not that it was in southern Dallas, but that other courses that would want such a prize (e.g., Craig Ranch) would just say, “Sure, no problem, take it.”
It just sounded less than the slam dunk Hizzoner made it sound. Then someone re-raised with 9-2 off-suit, and we got back to poker.
2. A stampede of kids at the Perot Museum opening. There’s a lot of anticipation about the Perot Museum officially opening its doors tomorrow at 10 am. I do like the idea, suggested in this preview, that they chose a questionable opening weekend date because the Children’s Medical Center Holiday Parade (also at 10 am) may bring a ton of families and walk-up business.
It won’t happen, but I can still dream of a ticket sell-out and a few thousand sugar-addled kids at the door, organizing a protest on their iPhones, chanting “We want our dinos!” Fella can dream.
3. The daily #Benghazi update from the Twitter feed of @MikeHashimoto. Already this morning, there are links to two stories about the unanswered questions and who knew what when and other nutjob conspiracy rants. It’s been that way for months. It’s one reason I love the lib-con DMN editorial writer: You will not get him off-message. He’d make a great spokesman.
4. Former Dallasite Bruce Bartlett’s tour de force piece this week in The American Conservative. Bartlett writes long and well about his disillusionment with — and banishment from — the modern GOP. It’s a fascinating read, echoing sentiments from other intelligent local Republicans (e.g., Wick Allison) wondering how the party has managed to delude and marginalize itself. The comments are particularly fun, proving just how right Bartlett is. A must-read.
5. I am the worst predictor of things ever. I wrote earlier this week that DISD president Mike Miles should make an announcement (once the school board put the ball back in his court, which it did yesterday) that the mandated 45 extra minutes will be stricken from teachers’ schedule. Yeah, he didn’t do that. But he did offer a compromise! Aaaaaand, he got booed. What’re you gonna do? I can only put the breadcrumbs out there. I can’t eat them for you.
Retweets
But is giving to charity really what Christmas is about?
War on Christmas bellringers: An extravagantly decorated Arlington neighborhood bullies away the Salvation Army star-telegram.com/2012/11/29/444…
— Bud Kennedy (@budkennedy) November 30, 2012
I’d feel better about this list if Pittsburgh and Knoxville weren’t the other two.
N.Texas one of only three U.S. metro areas to fully recover from Great Recession, per Brookings Institution dallasnews.com/business/headl…
— Christopher Wynn (@christopherwynn) November 30, 2012
Oh, do you think so, doctor?
#BlackBerry likely to lose top spot in enterprise market bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/mo… via @dallasbiznews
— Dallas Biz Journal (@DallasBizNews) November 30, 2012
Be sure to use that movie line today. A classic. Have a great weekend.
