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Thursday, October 31, 2002
Here’s an idea Mr. Caboose, come out in tomorrow’s paper and say that you really do want a ruling from the AG’s office, you were just floating a trial balloon to see if the County would want out of the brilliant legal trap that you’ve led them into. If they had taken the bait, you could have pounced, forcing them to increase funding for the museum. So, let’s see what you’ve accomplished. The County is mad because you’ve impugned the integrity of the commissioners. The AG is furious because you’ve spent $25,000.00 to tarnish his image with local voters. The museum is understandably upset because they’ve had to send out disclaimer letters to all of their donors disavowing any connection with your organization. The money guys have got to be pissed – they’re out $25k and soon their names will be on the front page of the MRT which wouldn’t really be a problem except that if they were nuts enough to listen to you, then think of all the calls they’ll be getting from multi-level marketers & home siding salesmen not to mention the letters they’ll receive from those deposed Nigerian statesmen who only need $100 thousand in order to collect $100 million being held for them in strictest confidence in their homeland. Hey, nice work!
Monday, October 28, 2002
John Cornyn almost certainly will win next week. Mr. Cahoon has seen to it that the Museum will not have as friendly an ear on this case as perhaps they should. Can anyone out there explain what he was thinking by running these ads? Apparently the Midland Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce are having some difficulty luring someone to Midland to become the staff head of the MDC. Let me offer a suggestion: Re-publish the job notice....this time offering way too much money when measured against the benefit that will be derived from this person being employed by the MDC and also be sure to throw in even more taxpayer funded "incentives" that completely ignore market realities to sweeten the pot further. This way we can make sure that we get someone. The MDC and the Chamber should have no philosophical problem with this. After all, this is exactly what we expect the new MDC head to do for other prospective Midland companies, isn't it?
Sunday, October 27, 2002
Mr. Cahoon ponders the imponderables: "Lesseenow....we have gotten ourselves into a rhubarb with the County Commissioners over our 30-year lease of the Turner Museum. We have handled negotiations in such a way so that instead of resolving the dispute locally it will have to be decided in Austin by the Attorney General. We have made sure to impugn the integrity of the entire Commisioner's Court so we are guaranteed hostile landlords.....even if the AG rules in our favor. OK. What else can we do to help the Museum's cause? I've got it!!! We, as way-too-thinly veiled "individuals" will take out ads advocating for the defeat of the guy who is to decide whether the Museum or the Commisioner's Court is right in this case! All bases covered. There are now no more stupid things left for us to do. Another submittal from Chey the Dog:"Regarding the membership of the new group "Midland Quality of Life"--most certainly you want to see the list, and you will right after Frank Cahoon releases the voluminous CFR membership list (of which the website says he is also a member).
Thursday, October 24, 2002
Cahoon has lost his mind. What was this supposed to accomplish? Does Cahoon think that the voting public across the whole state is so concerned about this ruling that should he rule one way or the other on the day before the election that this will sway anyone's vote? No, this was all about Mr. Cahoon. Look at me! Look at me! I am the Museum's Savior! Ignatius: I have to say that you are more than just a bit short-sighted. You are still trapped in the old thinking that would rank control of the U.S. Senate and all of the things that would go along with that i.e. judicial nominations that actually generate hearings on the nominee, Senate committee chairmanships, etc. over and above whether or not the Museum gets to continue with the sweetheart deal they have from the county. If we need reminding that “all politics is local” look no further than our own Frank Cahoon and his “Big Time Republicans” who have spent $5,000.00 on a radio ad to show how mad they are at John Cornyn over the museum deal. Never mind that Cornyn is the best candidate for United States Senate, he’s messing with OUR ART, you hear me? ART! Hey, if these guys take down Cornyn they ought to take their show on the road: get after President Bush for his under-funding of NPR and later the City of New York for removing a sculpture of a crucifix dunked in urine. I can see Frank sharing the podium with Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister defending rock lyrics and ridiculing Jesse Helms. I would have written sooner but I’m busy organizing a Mapplethorp exhibit for next month in Midland center. Anybody got Frank’s phone number?
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Is it just me.....or is the Sports Section of the MR-T getting better? I can't remember better Big XII football coverage. Pliny: I agree with most of Gary Willis' letter in the paper.....but his idea that we could be paying less in taxes to MISD if we, uh, just paid more in taxes to the State of Texas so they could in turn fund the local schools is pretty odd. I hadn't previously known that the City Council was looking for the biggest tax sinkhole imaginable to throw money in to but they have found it here.
Sunday, October 20, 2002
In his column, Gary Willis treats us to several economic gems. First he announces that if the MISD staff were paid what they are “truly worth” our taxes would double. Really? If Gary knows of a school district paying twice what MISD does, I hope he keeps it to himself, otherwise we will see an exodus like none since Moses. Next he tells us that the voters were wrong to reject the recent bond proposal; they should trust in their elected officials because of their superior knowledge about the issues involved. Gary, Midland voters recently “trusted” their elected officials about the cost of the Sports Complex and received an $11,000,000 colonic in return. The task for those of us who supported the bond was to convince prospective voters why they should want to spend their hard earned money on school improvements. We failed at that task; end of story. Finally he tells us that the State of Texas is the true villain by not supplying more money so that local property taxpayers are not so heavily burdened. Mr. Willis has again forgotten his economics. The only significant source of revenue for any public works project, local, state or federal, is the tax paying public. The citizens of Midland will not get a free ride if the state decides to fund at a greater level. It is likely that Midland taxpayers will pay more not less under such a scheme. After the Irish voters, last year, rejected the EU’s plans for expansion, there was great angst among European bureaucrats that mere voters could derail their plans for a Mega-European nation. The bureaucrats ordered the Irish government to hold new elections and deliverer the desired yes vote. That election was held yesterday, and it looks like the Irish voters have given the demanded yes vote, but the Reporter Telegram did not print a single line about any of it. Not one. In their defense, they had other major stories to cover, such as a story about Oprah visiting a small town in Louisiana and one about John Madden’s return to Kearney Nebraska.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
I knew that the Longhorn faithful were taking the loss to Oklahoma pretty hard....but take a look at this web site. Note to anyone who thinks that they may want to come to the University of Texas to be on the coaching staff: First, make sure you register and own the domain name www.yournameheresucks.com.
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Jessica's Well gets a mention and a link from the biggest blog site on the planet! WooHoo! This is kinda like having a rock star come stay at your house or something. Our visitor/hit count went through the roof.
Monday, October 14, 2002
A series of bombs are set off outside a night club on the other side of the planet. Here are two links that help bring this home. One is the MR-T article on Midlander Jake Young who, at this writing, was still missing. The other link is to Australian blogger Tim Blair. There were at least a score of Aussies killed with even more injured. Tim's blog site is loaded with comments and condolences coming from around the world.......and no small amount of anger and resolve. My favorite is from George S. of Seattle who writes:"You know something? I believe these Islamofascist bastards just permanently welded together the iron balls of the two ballsiest peoples on the planet."Indeed. It goes without saying now that the Nobel Peace prize is a joke. It was probably a joke even before the great peace-loving PLO leader Yasir Arafat got one of his own to place on his fireplace mantle.....see, right up there between the heads of the two Palestinian dissidents! But just when I thought that I had mined all of the irony, disgust, and, of course, humor that can be gotten from Jimmy Carter receiving this "prestigious" award I had to begin all over again when the thought hit me: "Jeez Louise, who came in second?" In the October 13th set of Letters, Mr. John Butts praises the virtues of the old grey heads that voted down the school bond issue. I have a different take from Mr. Butts. Following World War II, and entire generation (Tom Brokaw calls them the greatest generation) baptized by a depression and tempered by war came came home to build a country. Probably due to witnessing, first hand, much misery, death, and destruction this early in their lives an inordinate number of them became builders of things.....not just of physical structures but of America itself. It was that kind of outlook that made possible the construction of schools in Midland in the 1950's. You knew it was coming and now it is here. The loud screaming about how the school district needs to cut its budget has now been overtaken by the loud screaming of those whose kids will be affected by cuts in the budget. Nothing changes. Nothing ever will. Drastic cutbacks need to be made.....to all of those areas that don't affect me or my kid, of course. The most wonderful case in point is a recent letter from Ms. Karen Gilliland (sorry, can't find the link). The district just takes a hard glance at possible cuts in some sports programs and the world almost comes to an end for her. She very carefully and factually lays out what the costs and benefits are of varsity sports.....convicingly, too. She then goes on to describe how the two field houses for the varsity football teams were conceived, organized, funded, and built. Impressive work.
Friday, October 11, 2002
So this is what the "prestigious" Nobel Peace Prize has come down to?"It should be interpreted as a criticism of the line that the current administration has taken," Gunnar Berge, chairman of the Nobel committee, said in Norwegian. "It's a kick in the leg to all that follow the same line as the United States."Congratulations, Jimmuh, take your place up there next to Chairman Arafat.
Thursday, October 10, 2002
Earlier in these series of posts we had high school football coaches talking of "hallowed ground" when discussing Texas Tech's decision to play a college football game on a Friday night. Boys, this is what hallowed ground looks like, OK?"The chaplain said, looking my stepmom in the eyes like this was the first time he'd ever said the words, that the men and women buried here had agreed to lay down their lives for their country and each other, and that THIS, not rank, or social status, or length in service, is what entitled them to be buried in America's most sacred ground.Read the whole letter here. Five minutes of "Team" coverage is nothing to us veterans of the great Alpine Earthquake of '95. Literally days of coverage on an earthquake that registered only on the Andy Richter scale and killed, at last count, exactly three place settings of fine china. I can't remember.....didn't they bring in one of those German Shephards to sniff around and make sure a missing fork wasn't trapped under the cupboard? Our own Congressman Lamar Smith has introduced legislation that basically presumes guilt on the part of both concert goers and concert promoters when it comes to drug use and drug paraphenalia. Instapundit Glenn Reynold comments on the RAVE Act here. This is the second time that Congressman Smith has attempted to run rough-shod over the idea of presumed innocence. The first is his siding with the big media conglomerates and the RIAA on the so-called "anti-piracy" law that would allow these media conglomerates to unilaterally hack your computer searching for pirated or copywrited material. Sure, let's give the loon-f******-crazy Ted Turner access to our hard drives, shall we? Gee thanks, Lamar. Contact Lamar Smith (R-AOLTimeWarner) here.
Wednesday, October 09, 2002
“Team Coverage” on channel 9 news means, “we have so little news that the same story will be covered by two reporters to show our viewers just how important the story is.” I just saw 5 minutes of West Nile rehash that the other stations dispensed with in 1 & ½ minutes. First, a reporter told (for two minutes) how humans can avoid the virus, then for the horse’s perspective, Crystal Crews droned on for two more minutes. I expected a third reporter to appear to present the mosquito’s side of the story, but I guess that they ran out of “team.” It has been all downhill since he was ousted as President of Nicaragua. Admin: With every publication of a letter from Mr. Cahoon, my sympathies lean more towards Judge Morrow. Mr. Cahoon has obviously made the choice to try the case "in the court of public opinion" rather than with the Attorney General. If the Museum's case is a lock, why these letters? And if the Museum's case isn't a lock......well.....poking their landlord in the eye every other week is probably not a good idea. This video comes complete with a miniture stadium featuring removable goalposts on each end that can be torn down and rammed into the visitor's seating area!
Tuesday, October 08, 2002
Letters from this Sunday can all be summed up with one sentence: Cut administrative salaries so we can fund maintenance. Great. Very thoughtful. OK. Fire every top level administrator.....the whole bunch. What does it get you in real dollars per year? One-and-a-half million bucks. Tops. Now we have no administrators and the same maintenance problems. And with all of an extra $1.5 million to devote to a bunch of forty year old facilities they are still going to deteriorate at a rate faster than they can be maintained. But, hey, we sure showed those administrators, didn't we? I am sure that Reverend Porterfield is a nice man and a dedicated clergyman....but the hospital probably didn't just decide to restrict him to his own flock out of the blue. Let's face it. Someone complained. Perhaps it was a member of another faith or another church. Perhaps it was an athiest. The benefit of the doubt needs to be with the patients on whether people strange to them have unfettered access to their hospital rooms. In the latest Letters To The Editor Mr. Frank Cahoon decides that thirty days without a letter in the paper from Mr. Frank Cahoon is quite enough.....even if zero new ground is covered. Whatever the other responsibilities are of the MR-T employee that is charged with creating the Online Poll questions it is time to relieve him of them so he can devote a bit more time to the poll questions. Today's question is probably my all time favorite:"Is your home heating system ready for winter?"Even self-selecting (read statistically invalid) polls should have questions that are at least interesting....shouldn't they? Sparing no resources in the war against terror, the American citizenry now has a chance to volunteer for "Operation Show Every Nickel You've Got". What, exactly, was the consumer feedback from the GM dealers that caused them to manufacture these behemoths? "Gee, I need a Suburban......but, frankly.....I am looking to spend a whole lot more money, okay?"
Friday, October 04, 2002
Good news here. The Grand Jury has chosen to not indict the youngsters involved in the accidental burning of their friend. In Texas we already have the Lottery to tax stupidity....there is no need to criminalize it. In any event I think that this whole episode carries with it plenty of its own punishment. This from today's Laurels and Darts....always a favorite:"* Dart: The Midland County Courthouse air conditioning unit, which sputtered out earlier this week leaving everybody there downright miserable.Sigh. This column isn't about Midland, Texas politics or media. It is actually about Senator Paul Wellstone (D-United Nations) and his opposition to "unilateral" military action by the U.S. in Iraq. But it is Lileks. And Lileks rules.
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
Rah-Rah-Type cheerleading from the Chamber of Commerce I have no trouble with. That is what chambers are born and bred to do and the local chamber is really pretty good at that ("The Sunny Smile of Texas" slogan notwithstanding). The chamber's only fault that I can see is that it equates local chamber activity with local economic activity and that there could not possibly be the latter without the former. No, my problem is with the way the local paper prints anything the chamber sends over to them as if they were the chamber's in-house news organ. Mr. Site Admin.: You, sir & Ms. Stevenson need to lighten up on the chamber. A little rah-rah from these people does no harm. And we’ve seen what happens when the paper starts its muckraker act, and nobody wants that. But, if criticize you must, (and knowing you, criticize you will) why not ask them about their “hold-up” program where a cop pulls over an out of state license plate and offers the car’s occupants a Hobbesian choice: either spend one night in Midland or risk angering the gendarme and the shameless boosters, all neatly coiffed and shiny in their yellow coated glory. I think if the money from this campaign was diverted to a homeless fund then we could take that guy & his dog off the streets, and advertise: Midland, Texas, Big Stadium, Shoddy Schools, No Homeless! Not One! Admin: You can begin to see why Bruce Partain left for Nacogdoches. What Chamber needs a communications director when you have the staff of the local paper working for you? The Midland, Texas blog world known to me just increased by 50% with Yellow Bug News.
Tuesday, October 01, 2002
Big Indian....uh, Native American (jeez, at this point who isn't a native American?) pow wow in Odessa."On hand were representatives of eighteen tribes from all over the United States. Besides dancers and sinfers, the event also featured vendors, silversmiths, and activities for children."Funny....absolutely no mention of the seminars on Blackjack Dealing and Slot Machine Repair. More hero worship of the Chamber by the Reporter-Telegram here. Both Chambers actually.......Midland's and Odessa's. Such wonderful meetings they have!"The two Convention and Visitor Bureaus already work hand-in-hand and their representatives point to the recent success of bringing the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Games of Texas to the area which had an impressive economic impact of $2.8 million in direct visitor spending."Another Hot-Off-The-Press-Release scoop by our local independent press. "Just fax it on over, Marvin, we'll print it." |
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