City Politics Fever! Catch it!

Being a mayor is like racing a go-cart. You have to know your limitations.

One would think a relocation from a small town (for the lack of a better term) to a large metropolitan area, changes would be abound. In the big city, people do things differently than the small towns. It's a complete paradigm shift from closed-minded focus on a few menial facts to a large swath of complicated issues. With that thought ringing some truth, and the complexity of pleasing "approximately 1.2 million people" and 507,000 registered voters, the one-and-done bickering of the cosmetic issues do not raze my political curiosity anymore.

In the big city, my love/loathe/aggravation of local politics has been restored. Bless their crooked hearts, no matter what city you land in, the players try so hard to be relevant yet all of the other government constructs (state and federal) just make it a trickle-down action or a springboard to advance political stature. But they try. And sometimes they succeed. Cory Booker has made a second job out of finding common-sense improvements while every year upping the stakes for bigger, faster and stronger actions. Then again, I don't see either of the runoff candidates rolling out a night patrol in South Dallas.

It's down to two as David Kunkle and Mike Rawlings race to facilitate the wacky looking building that was used in Robocop. Lest we remember, it's Texas politics. And even though Dallas is 193 miles from the fracas--nay, fustercluck--of Austin, it is still Texas politics. The fun part about Texas politics is that you have to peel off the initial, shrink-wrapped layer to find out what the angle is. And yes, there is ALWAYS an angle.

Mike Rawlings had a $1.47 million layer to comb through...that's a lot of shrink-wrap. Along with being on the board of the Dallas Parks and Recreation department and Ace Cash Express and as a former CEO of Pizza Hut, it looks like his angle in to lure a Fortune 100 company to downtown, claim it as "business growth" and leave to serve as the that company's CEO or chairman. Or I could be wrong. He could be the agent of change that relocates the Rangers to South Dallas and boost their economy urging other neighborhoods to reconnect with South Dallas. At that point, he will vie for VP of player personnel. I'm sorry, I have my doubts with a guy that is a tad bit on the Kingfish side of politics.

David Kunkle is the former police chief during a down slope in crime within Dallas. Name recognition was his game as about 2/3 of the men in the city only really know of him through a poorly-planned interview on the Little Ticket. His name alone got him second place in the first mayoral election as he spent little to nothing on advertising. Seriously, his campaign banner looked like something out of a Microsoft Office template. But, the singular message of great neighborhoods equal a great city could push him over the top or push him to the wayside. His angle is that he is so bored that maintaining a city and 14 different egos every other Wednesday sounds more exciting that collecting a police pension. I'm sorry but I have my doubts about how one man can unify neighborhoods as distinctive as their citizens.

To continue the Debbie-Downerism, the city is broke. Just like the state is broke. Just like the US has raised the debt ceiling because they are in the red. How can you push pie-in-the-sky dreams when you can't afford the ready-made pie crust? Until a city representative (other than the City Manager) can come to grips with that reality, the rest of the talk is cheap. On the neighborhood front: you can't build great neighborhoods without fixing the street lights and paving the roads. On the business front: you can't lure a huge company to take over an empty skyscraper with the temptation of tax breaks. It's a chicken v. egg argument that I don't think either of these guys have come to grip.

And don't get me started on the "education" angle. Part of the $1.47 million within the Rawlings camp was devoted to television. It's a great message but when you see it next door to this commercial, it makes you cringe that some promises might be broken. At least Kunkle didn't burn money he didn't have to blow smoke up a lovely woman's skirt.

So, here we are again. I am stressing out about local politics with the writing on the walls. It's like I'm in Corpus again. But comparing Dr. Seuss with Homer is just not fair. Whomever the 13% (or less) of the registered voters select, I will be along for the ride...as I always am. And I wish the best for the victor. It's a monumental challenge. If my cynicism is killed by the new mayor's resolve and (more importantly) fulfillment of goals, then I will be the same citizen thankful that I had the right to vote. There's nothing wrong with the capability of being proven wrong.

Lessons Learned, my three things.
1) Priorities, people...
2) I mean, c'mon! Priorities, people!
3) Every time I think about work and the job I do, I always have this movie in my head..."Good for you, it's a growth industry."

The one cool thing about Dallas right now is that it is getting an awesome economic shot in the arm from the Mavs' deep dive into the playoffs. I have never been a Mavs fan, but the more money we can snake from those casino-loving sod dwellers north of the Red River, the happier I am. Mavs in seven! Talk later.

A Brave[r] New World

From Sunday morning to late night, nothing changed too drastically in the neighborhood...did it? (courtesy of Google Earth)

I will be honest (stupid phrase), I was going to attempt to write about the NFL draft. The Draft, seriously, was at the frontal lobe of my brain. An exercise so futile with unrealistic trajectories that gives one last polish of an ego that no 20-year-old can live up to...because he will soon get rocked by professionals that have been doing this football thing much longer than they have been getting kickbacks from alumni. Yeah, that was going to be brutal. Plus, it's all moot because there won't be an NFL season anyway. So, there.

No, I was saved (?...for lack of a better term) by a late-night presidential address. At 21:27 CDT, The Lovely sent me a text...

"Pres Obama is expected to make an important announcement shortly[.]"

Now, it's very difficult while I am at work for anyone to get the jump on me news-wise because we have a news feed (local and national) within the office and closed circuit television all around campus. So, when news breaks at work, we know. But The Lovely totally got the jump on me. That is rare.

Naturally, I kick it over to the national feed with CNN. Wolf Blitzer can probably tie a half-Windsor in his sleep. John King looked like he had a couple of cocktails before he rolled into the office. Ed Henry was hoarse from howling laughter at the Correspondent's Dinner the night before. They seemed like they didn't know what the hell was going on. Until someone--and I wonder who or what office--leaked the headline.

Osama bin Laden is dead.

Now, when it comes to news, there are very few times I react. The 2000 and 2008 election results solicited a reaction. But elections do that. And I wasn't in front of a feed during 9/11 because, interestingly enough, I was at work as well. I fortunately did not see that insanity when that was rolling live. Unfortunately, technology was matured enough to see replays and stuff you did not want to show on broadcasts.

But, at around 22:00 local, the haggard John King repeated: "bin Laden is dead...bin Laden is dead." Then it took about 40 minutes for POTUS to rally up an 11-minute speech that glossed the highlights like SportsCenter did with Celtics/Heat Game 1 of the East Semis.

It was a "where were you" moment when at the same time in Philadelphia, the crowd started checking their phones and read the same thing I heard, chanting following. With @KeithOlbermann tracking sources, @MrChuckD pissed off at the execution and @DonaldGlover tracking idiot celebrities not knowing what was happening, this was an event.

But that's exactly what it was...an event. Singular.

What now?

Granted, I am enjoying the news orgy where information is flying the moment it sees a clearing. From Navy leadership quarterbacking the op being a Texas Ex to recovered hard drives, computers and external media devices to Jon Stewart basking in the news as the Republican leadership invokes empty statements, this is a singular event that was anticipated but never predicted. That's why we have to be grown-ups and segregate the event to the strategy and the policy.

So, the head of the snake has been removed. Congratulations, you've made it. Now, what about the 21st century version of Vietnam? What about the millions of billions of dollars going to the failed state that harbored the head of the snake? What about Guantanamo? What about the shadow Guantanamo in Bagram? Hell, we haven't completely pulled out of Iraq? And don't get me started on air travel. The reasons are falling to the wayside as you have one singular event.

As everything is in the world we live in, it's complicated. We received intelligence from prisoners held at US-owned overseas locales. The argument of instability will be raised with Pakistan because Kashmir, Waziristan and Mumbai will tear that country a new orifice without support. And of course, some floppy argument about spreading democracy to Afghanistan via occupation will be thrown around, even though al Qaeda has flared out to other locations...but the Egypt, Tunisia and Syria counterargument will be ready for the parry-reposite.

I know it was welcome news for a grand amount of people. This symbolizes closure. It closes a loop--a story arch--if you will. But we are now two days separated from the pop of the story and the drop of the jaw. If this is going to be a braver new world for the States, we are going to have to put on our big boy pants and make some decision. By the way, the meter is running.

Lessons Learned, my three things.
1) You know, as much bagging I do on Microsoft products, at least they are doing something right...or not wrong, as illustrated by the PlayStation Network hack.
2) Come on people, let's quit being naïve. Before the GPS technology was installed, it was still A PHONE! Has no one heard of triangulation? No one cares about your location unless you are cheating on a spouse or if you are a criminal.
3) I can probably go another thirty years before another time waste like this. Thanks for all the useless information, American media.

If petrol would drop about 20 cents and schools can be funded without firing teachers and compromising quality...now that's a news cycle that is on a roll. A guy can dream, can't he? I will try to find a softball for next time. Until then, talk later.