OPINION

I don't know if readers feel this way, but I often have the sense of playing catchup in terms of what's going on in Washington. The Big Story is replaced by the next Big Story replaced by the next Big Story.

Last week, the Big Story (interesting that the initials for that would be the BS) was the stimulus package's one-year anniversary. Now everyone's rushed on to create -- and report -- sound bites leading up to the health care summit.

But before I move on, I hope to engage my colleagues on what the stimulus did and didn't do.

Amid all the "stimulus didn't create a single job" criticism last week, a number of reports did note that most economic analysts continue to agree that the stimulus preserved or created 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs and is expected, ultimately, to add a total of roughly 2.5 million (some sources say 3.5 million) by the time the spending ultimately plays out. But, grimly, unemployment is still a crisis and, the NYT reported today on some reasons why that stubborn number likely will remain high and what that means for our country:

First and most important among our weekend lineup -- Sunday inside the Points section you will find an expanded Editorial Page that wraps up every single race we've made a recommendation in for the March 2 primaries.

Tomorrow we're writing off what must have been terrifying for people working in that Austin IRS building -- the suicide pilot. We write: Some times crazy people do crazy things. Those isolated, unexpected outbursts of violence are the ones that are the most difficult to stop and difficult to fathom. We're all just left searching for answers that just aren't there. But here's one message we can take away from the suicide pilot in Austin: please don't let anyone make him a hero. Tod writing on behalf of the board.

Monday we comment on the aftermath of the recent report about Constable Cortes: If nothing else, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins now has a 92-page bound document that could provide fascinating bedtime reading. Nominally, it's the first report from Danny Defenbaugh, a former FBI special agent, on transgressions by Precinct 5 Constable Jaime Cortes.In reality, it's a road map. As Watkins is quick to point out, if anyone is going to investigate allegations that county constables broke the law, it's going to be him and his office. By statute, that's his call, and he won't be pushed into anything by any county commissioners or outside critics. No special prosecutors or Attorney General's Office busybodies need apply. So get to work, Mr. DA. Mike writing on behalf of the board.

Also Monday we revisit Gov. Perry's decision to sue the EPA and explain why this may be good politics but bad policy -- and bad in many, many ways for Texas. There's no head room here, folks. This tactic has been tried and found not to be true. There are climate change issues at play here and Texas is the leading producer....don't fall for the false choice.... It's not a question of clean air and no jobs. Clean air brings different jobs. Jim writing on behalf of the board.

Our editorial plans for tomorrow's page:

1. We are surprised by the poll results released over last weekend indicating that voters felt the least onerous way to balance the state's budget is to cut highway funding. Setting aside for a minute the false choice this question presents (much of the highway funding is essentially uncut-able by legislators due to its sourcing), we paint a picture of what Texas - particularly North Texas - would look like without highway funding. We'd like to think this indicates a preference for transit funding - a policy option we think would go a long way toward helping resolve congestion and air quality issues - but we think it more likely a reflection of voter skepticism of all transportation-related spending. Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

2. Our final two candidate recommendations for the March 2 primaries -- Democratic primary for Precinct 4 Dallas County commissioner and Republican primary for the congressional seat currently held by Pete Sessions. Colleen and Bill writing on behalf of the board.

Feel free to join the debate with comments below.

The results of the Danny Defenbaugh-led investigation into Precinct 5 Constable Jaime Cortes are front-page news today, and if you missed reading the article don't miss it here.

If you live in Dallas County, your tax dollars are funding this guy. Let me be clear, yes, these are accusations. But the evidence in the 92-page report looks pretty damning. I don't have time to even catalogue all the problems:

-- accepting bribes from a towing company.
-- mistreating employees.
-- forcing employes to contribute money to his campaign and work security details for free.
-- ordering employees who were out of favor to do off-duty work.

Then there's the whole preferential treatment to a deputy with whom he was romantically involved.

1. We make clear how outrageous and indefensible the thinking of at least two of the gubernatorial candidates is - Medina and Shami. This is a particularly important message this week as this is the first week of early voting for this and other offices. It should remind us all of the importance of looking past the "sex appeal" of a protest candidate and really thinking carefully about how we cast our votes. We seek to build on some of the themes within the Weisberg Points column from Sunday about how we all dislike government (or the establishment) in the abstract, and yet we expect government to solve our problems for us. Here are two candidates who seemed to spring from that sort of thinking and thus are appealing to some voters. But be sure to look behind the curtain. Mike writing on behalf of the board.

2. We make recommendations in two local congressional GOP primaries, one the seat currently held by Republican Michael Burgess and the other currently held by Republican Ralph Hall. Rodger and Jim writing on behalf of the board.

Please join the discussion by adding your comments below.

Michael noted in this morning's staff meeting that some anti-climate-change doubters are pointing fingers at the record D.C. snowfall (maybe the Dallas snow as well?) as a sign that the global warming issue is all a bunch of hooey.

I suppose that finger-pointing is out there, but we'd be better served to lend our editorial voice to what might need to be done as a result of the sloppy work in the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chage report of 2007.

At the end of November, we editorialized about "science climate researchers' stunning lack of integrity," as evidenced by a trove e-mails that a computer hacker stole from scientists. (Sorry, I've spent 15 minutes looking for the link and have finally given up.) And we've touched on errors in the 2007 report.

But this issue is gaining steam again because two GOP senators are citing the
errors (here's a good Washington Post takeout documenting/detailing those mistakes) as further reason to block mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Just last week, one of the senators, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, said the U.S. should halt any action on climate until it verifies the panel's scientific conclusions.

Here is some of what we are writing for the next few days. Feel free to offer your point of view in comments below:

1. Sunday we'll tell readers who we like best in the GOP and Democratic primaries for governor. Colleen and Bill writing on behalf of the board.

2. Tomorrow, we'll write off the NBA All-Star festivities, encouraging stakeholders to watch carefully for how this "dress rehearsal" for next year's Super Bowl goes and whether anything can be improved. Jim writing on behalf of the board.

3. Monday we explain why it's important for Municipal Management District board members to be required to adhere to some sort of ethics guidelines. We get that they're all volunteers and so to expect them to conform to stricter City Hall standards is unrealistic. But the answer is NOT to exempt them altogether from ethics requirements. Colleen writing on behalf of the board.

4. Also coming Monday -- more recommendations for the March 2 primaries.

1. BANKS -- After months of talking about financial reform, the Obama administration is floating the idea of erecting a firewall between taxpayers and the extravagant financial betters who nearly decimated the global economy. Our opinion is that financial institutions have to take risks to compete, but when institutions take risks and lose, the entire global economic system shouldn't become a casualty of recklessness, nor should taxpayers have to sprint to the rescue. The horrific combination of lax oversight and rogue financial risk-taking nearly destroyed the American financial system. Never again, should taxpayers have to cover someone else's bad bet. Jim writing on behalf of the board.

2. WILSON -- Former Democratic congressman Charlie Wilson, who passed away Wednesday, was living proof of the color of Texas politicians of days gone by. How could a guy who relished his swashbuckling ways also be such a consequential legislator? He certainly became the latter when he famously helped arm rebels in Afghanistan so they could fight the Soviets who invaded their land in 1979. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

3. We make our recommendation in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

1. We note the many shortcomings of deputy constable Howard Watson and note that, even worse is the fact that management - or the troubling and pervasive lack of it - allowed him to get hired and promoted in the first place. And not surprisingly, Watson is a lieutenant in Constable Jaime Cortes' Precinct 5 office. We appreciate the county judge calling Tuesday for the Sheriff's Department to step in and fill the void on doing detailed background checks. But the best long-term solution is for voters to get rid of Cortes in the March primary; we detail Cortes' other shortcomings. We also note that state law requires the background check and we suggest that going forward no background check means no paycheck. Colleen writing on behalf of the board.

2. We make recommendations in the Supreme Court Place 9 GOP primary and in Collin County judge race. Bill and Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

Feel free to join the debate in the comments section below on these editorials we are planning for tomorrow's page:

1. HEALTH - We offer qualified praise for Obama's pledge to hold a half-day bipartisan summit to discuss health care. We praise it because such conversation is always useful, and judging from the constructive nature of Obama's talk with the congressional GOP caucus a couple of weeks ago, we expect this forum to be constructive as well. It's too bad, though, that this sort of reaching out in a public, formal way didn't occur earlier in the process. We fear that not a lot is likely to be gained in a practical sense, at least with regard to the current legislation, because in the area of its greatest weakness - cost containment, affordability - the Democrats seem unduly dug in against a key reform that organized labor has opposed. We make clear there's plenty of room for compromise on both sides - Republicans haven't been as constructive as they could have been - but when you look at cost containment, it's the Dems, as the party in charge, where something's gotta give. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

2. We make recommendations in the Democratic primary for Land Commissioner and in the Republican primary to replace Plano legislative institution Brian McCall. Tod and Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

Among the best reads in recent days on our Viewpoints page was this essay by North Dallas resident/West Dallas worker Barbara B. Johnson. Some of Johnson's points are based on the 2006 book The Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine. Read these excerpts and see what you think:

Studies show that, as a group, affluent teens are less likely to feel close to their parents than children in poverty. Levine stresses the importance of parental warmth, which she calls the single closest thing to a silver bullet against psychological impairment. Ironically, well-meaning, affluent parents whose greatest wish is for the success of their children are unconsciously depriving them of the most important thing they need to be successful: warmth and acceptance.

In my conversations with friends in my affluent, North Dallas world, I constantly hear of external motivations being offered to children, for example, a car for being on the honor roll or an iPhone for a 10-year-old who gets good marks.

In my conversations with the families in West Dallas, I see that such external motivations are not available. Their children are forced to look within themselves for motivation.

I am not naïve enough to suggest that all children in West Dallas will be more successful than their counterparts to the north. But we need to be attuned to the dangers of depriving our children of internal strength by indulging them externally, not internally.

Among the topics we'll be tackling on our upcoming weekend pages ... feel free to chime in with your own point of view in the comments section:

1. MILITARY -- We support the Obama administration's effort to end the 16-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law, arguing that no one should be punished or denied the opportunity to serve the country based on sexual orientation. We recognize that within the ranks of the military as well as in Congress there are serious reservations about this. We address those reservations with a clear admonition to the military that it must maintain discipline across the ranks regarding overt expressions of individual preference, whatever the issue. Whether it's politics, religion or sexual orientation, it is the service member's obligation to keep the military's and the nation's interests first, and it is the command's obligation to halt any drift toward a free-for-all atmosphere of individual expression. We argue that this change in law can be done without altering the military's overall approach to how it has traditionally regulated all personal issues involving its recruits. Tod writing on behalf of the board.

2. TRAFFIC -- Pegged to a recent DMN investigative piece, we explain why the surcharge program has proven to be a disastrous example of bad public policy. Our reasons include: imposing fines based on Treasury needs, administering fines by mail after the fact rather than from the bench and enlisting the DPS (which hates the program) to oversee it. We urge the Legislature to kill this program or drastically overhaul it in 2011. Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

3. JUAREZ -- The murders of 16 young people at a teen's birthday party in Juarez strikes us as a pivotal moment for the Mexican government, which needs to find better tactics for fighting the drug chaos and carnage. We repeat our assessment of this violence moving from criminals on criminals to outright terrorism, a theme that the Mexican press is beginning to pick up on. We also note that while there are calls for the Mexican people to stand up and protest, that seems a no-win for residents against this level of violence. In a country where there's a 95 percent chance that a person won't be convicted of any wrongdoing, the government has to step up its efforts and take charge. Everyone seems largely stuck in "shock mode," which is helping no one. Tod writing on behalf of the board.

4. 10 DROPS -- Coming Monday, the latest in our "10 Drops in a Bucket" monthly series in which we shine a spotlight on specific quality-of-life problems in southern Dallas.

1. WATKINS -- Pegged to a news story last week regarding DA Craig Watkins trying to stop an independent investigation into allegations of wrongdoing against constables by submitting secret grand jury testimony in a civil case, we note that legal scholars interviewed in the article suggested he may have broken the law. We've talked to the DA and he feels otherwise. Yet we maintain that he has repeatedly tried to throw off this investigation, and this is a new wrinkle that can't be overlooked. Colleen writing on behalf of the board.

2. Our next two election recommendations -- both of them GOP legislative primaries in Denton County. Bill and Tod writing on behalf of the board.

1. Hodge -- This editorial is linked to this developing story. Terri Hodges' admission today to lying in connection with the City Hall corruption case is the latest, sad news for southern Dallas in regard to the "pay to play" culture their representatives engage in. But the Hodge plea deal and decision to not seek re-election is ALSO excellent news for Hodges southern Dallas district, where residents deserve new leadership -- as opposed to "do-nothin'" leadership. And Eric Johnson can provide just that. We draw from our recommendation of Johnson, published last week. We note that if Johnson does not win in the primary (there is no opponent in the fall), precinct chairs will select a Hodge replacement in Austin. We urge voters to make this decision -- not let it be decided by smoky back-room politics.

2. We make recommendations in the Republican primary for congressional district 24 and in the Republican primary for Texas Senate, District 2.

1. The Obama budget: We comment on Obama's budget proposal this week. If jobs are really the president's top priority, the administration needs to think more carefully about how to effectively jump start their creation. For example, we urge the administration to cut payroll taxes - their rate - at least for a few months to be really effective. We explain why this is important and more meaningful. We laud the plan to offer small businesses certain tax credits, but we urge the administration to find a way to make its proposed hiring tax-credit have longer-term benefits. On the spending side, we concur with the administration's proposed treatment of the space program, bank fees (if strategically imposed), spending freezes, allowing tax cuts for high earners to expire, etc. We respect many of these programs and lament the need to cut/eliminate them - i.e. space - but recognize that serious fiscal discipline is required to get this country back on track. Indeed, for credibility purposes and to be effective long-term, Obama needs to get even more serious in getting Congress to rein in entitlement spending. Mike writing on behalf of the board.

2. State board of education races: We make recommendations in two contests. Colleen and Bill writing on behalf of the board.

CNN is covering the Q&A between President Obama and House Republicans after his speech to the GOP House retreat.

Lots of interesting things here ... Good substantive questions. Some bridge-building even. Of course, it's just words, but it really is at least alluding to the reset that so many of us are hoping for.

Go here for the live feed.

UPDATE: Before too many commenters pile on, let me clarify what I found refreshing. As long as the Democrats stand on one side of Capitol Hill and call the GOP the party of no ... and as long as the Republicans stand on the other and call Obama and Co. socialists, this county is going nowhere. And when I read some commenters' points, I think that's what some folks are satisfied with.

Today, the GOP representatives got to ask some point-blank questions of the president; ditto for the president. It did get raw and angry at times. But I think the honesty on both sides could be helpful -- I still believe that Obama has to roll his sleeves up and get in there to break through this "Party of No/White House Socialists" logjam.

Additionally, watching most of the even live ... then reading the short news reports of it on websites across the country, reminds me of what a big role the media plays in this quagmire. Reporters pounce on the most ugly moments and a lot of the context is missing for folks who didn't see the actual event.

1. For tomorrow's editorial page, we'll be writing live off tonight's GOP gubernatorial debate, plus blogging live. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

2. Sunday we will offer up commentary off two key appeals-court decisions in January that led to mistrials because of lax oversight by judges during the jury-selection process. Judges must understand their responsibility for ensuring the proper application of the law begins long before the trial actually gets under way. Tod writing on behalf of the board.

3. Also on Sunday, we remind the state's leadership that if Texas had wanted serious high-speed rail money from Washington, then Texas needed to show that it was serious about it first. Pity, but neither appeared to be the case. We offer up some lessons from states that have done a good job on this issue. Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

4. One JP race and two constable races have been in the news of late, so we look at whose running against the three much-criticized incumbents in those races. Jim writing on behalf of the board.

1. President Barack Obama wanted to use his State of the Union speech to show he wasn't going away, and he succeeded in doing that with an assertive speech that overnight polls showed many Americans liked. The Democrat didn't offer many Bill Clinton-like backtracks, but he did offer some interesting and conciliatory ways to move forward. They represent an area where the two parties can come together and get used to working with each other. It isn't that the lion and lamb are going to lie down together, especially when it comes to health care, but there is no reason they can't start working now on some common ideas that would benefit Americans who are worried about their country's future. And not just worried, but frustrated as all get out at the inability of both parties to resolve some problems that come right into their living rooms every day. We'll cast this forward by addressing some areas where bipartisan work is possible -- parts of the job bill, spending freeze, education, trade agreements. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

2. We make recommendations in the race involving incumbent Martin Hoffman and attorney David Diaz in the Democratic primary for Civil District, 68th. We also recommend in the Democratic primary for the 134th, which involves David Kelton, Baltasar Cruz and Dale Tillery. Colleen and Michael writing on behalf of the board.

1. We advance tonight's State of the Union address, recognizing Obama's shift in focus to the economy and the deficit and suggest that this will put him more in tune with the mood of the people. We characterize his latest move -- the spending freeze -- as the most recent in a series of small steps that nibbles at the concerns of voters. We also think the overall shift is good because if he's sincere about it, Obama will realize that something simply must be done to make the health care reform package more affordable - a principle we've been hammering home incessantly of late. Jim writing on behalf of the board.

(Early notice to blog readers -- we'll be blogging during the speech tomorrow night.)

2. We recommend in two races: Family Court 256 and Criminal District Court 291.

Two letters to the editor of particular note over the weekend:

"School Windows Need Repair"

I have a file that goes back five years containing correspondence I have written to DISD trustees and the superintendent before and after the 2008 bonds for the schools were approved.

The panes are falling out of the windows at J.L. Long Middle School and other schools.

We voters approved the bonds nearly two years ago, but I am unable to get a reply from anyone as to when the work to maintain the schools will begin. What is the money being used for?

DISD has wasted millions of taxpayers' money, and the heating and air-conditioning bills must be out of sight. Why are they allowed to neglect the maintenance of schools, when the children and teachers are sitting in cold classrooms? Who is in charge?

Signed: Frances James, Dallas

I'm curious about whether anyone else has first-hand experience of disrepair at your neighborhood schools. Things break, for sure, but the idea of children sitting in cold classrooms because no one can be dispatched to fix this stuff is concerning. I'm checking with DISD about this particular letter.

Update: Jon Dahlander forwarded this response regarding the broken windows and (unrelated to this post) affirmation of the district's Adamson HS plans:

Saturday's Dallas Morning News contained two letters that referred to the 2008 Dallas ISD Bond Program.

The first letter made the assertion that Dallas ISD plans to tear down the existing Adamson High School. As the district has stated on numerous occasions, there are no plans to do so.

The second letter raised concerns that school renovations promised during the 2008 Bond Program, particularly at Long Middle School, have yet to be made. At its board meeting this week, trustees are set to approve contracts with several different vendors to begin Phase I of renovations at approximately 19 schools, so construction is about to begin with the bond program. Long Middle School is slated to receive approximately $3.7 million in upgrades and renovations, including new windows, during Phase II of the bond program, which is currently in the design stage. It should also be noted that if a window is broken in a classroom, the district's maintenance department responds immediately to repair it.

For more information about the 2008 bond program, including timelines and renovations, please click here.

Sincerely,
Jon Dahlander
Dallas ISD Communications

The second letter that caught my attention is after the jump.

Fifty years ago, Feb. 1, 1960, four black men walked into this Woolworth's in Greensboro, N.C. They were asked to be served and were told no. Asked to leave, they refused. Not only did this refusal begin a movement by the younger generation to help combat racism throughout the South, it also estabilshed the sit-in as a peaceful method of demonstration.

The Rev. James Lawson was working with the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Nashville at the time, mentoring young black students who would become leaders in the civil rights movement. That work led MLK to call him "the leading non-violence theorist in the world."

Rev. Lawson (pictured above) will be in Dallas this weekend to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins. Events include "An Evening with Rev. James Lawson," set for Monday night, which will feature a keynote speech by the civil rights leader, performances by the students of St. Phillips Academy and music and dramatic reading of words and voices from the 1960s by local artists.

Much to blog on this week that I haven't had time to get to. But I do have time to spotlight a few meaty blogs posted by another "Bridging Dallas' North-South Gap" team member, Tod Robberson, on some extremely important southern Dallas topics:

1. Our newspaper told readers earlier this week in a recommendation editorial why southern Dallas deserves better than Terri Hodge. Many, many of Hodge's constituents feel that she really knows them and understands their issues. But I would respectfully submit that Eric Johnson can do a lot of good for that district. If Hodge were to go to jail, that would be awful for residents. I simply encourage all voters in this race to give Johnson a good look.

2. Tod also wrote on a criminal justice issue of vital interest to all of us -- but particularly to those in southern Dallas -- especially those familiar with the way juries have been selected in major Dallas-area cases over the years. Take a look here.

3. Then there was the long-awaited showdown on the International Inland Port project, courtesy of a panel discussion sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Scheduled to attend were Dallas County commissioner John Wiley Price and Richard Allen, principal developer of the port. But guess what -- neither Price nor Allen showed up. Check here for the complete story -- plus some troubling news for the Inland Port project itself.

4. Finally, this post links to an investigative piece by local writer Laray Polk in D Magazine on new problems for long-troubled Cadillac Heights.

Lots of editorial fodder in all of those. Stay tuned for more commentary on these issues.

CONSUL -- Tomorrow we are writing off of our recent interview with the new Mexican consul general to the North Texas area, expressing support for his interest in helping Mexican residents of Dallas and beyond create a better public image for themselves. The behavior of a few is affecting perceptions of the community as a whole, and we welcome efforts aimed at changing all that. Tod writing on behalf of the board.

OBAMA -- On our Sunday page, pegged to his Wednesday State of the Union address, we assess the first year of President Obama's administration and tell our readers what we'll be looking for in year two. The past year, in which so very much transpired, offers too many examples of Obama following -- as opposed to leading -- his party in Congress and too many examples of the president not following through on his promises. We offer specifics in both categories. Obama has occasionally shown that he can make the hard decision and push back against his own party -- for instance, regarding Afghanistan troop levels and education reform here at home. But too often, he's let Pelosi, Reid and Co. set the domestic and spending agenda. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

AVERITT -- As we wrote back in November, most of us can't fathom Texas' water woes. Sure, we might feel a pinch during droughts, but every time we turn on the tap, water spills out. Why get all bothered about the water supply decades into the future? No one knows this dilemma better than state Sen. Kip Averitt. The Waco Republican has pushed the Legislature to tackle substantive water issues, including creating a way to finance the 50-year water plan. That's why we are so sorry to learn that he has decided, for health reasons, to leave the Legislature. We wish him the best and look to who will fill his shoes -- and why that's so important. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

INTERIM -- We detail what's in the Dewhurst interim charges: There's lots of good news about transportation and other DMN AOEs, such as water and job creation in economically distressed areas. Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

DISTRICT 102 -- We make our recommendation in the Republican primary for Texas House District 102, Geoff Bailey vs. Stefani Carter. Jim writing on behalf of the board.

Comments on these two topics? Chime in here.

President Obama is only one year into his very young presidency, so I think it's way too early to know what kind of leader he will turn out to be. So why have I been so dissatisfied, especially in regard to the health care debate?

Pretty much for the same reason I was disappointed in the Clinton and Bush presidencies -- whether it's the system or how Washington has perverted the system, it seems increasingly impossible to get things done. I didn't vote for Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid for president and, shockingly, I believed that Obama's mandate gave him the clout to tell them what to do. Too often, it's seemed the other way around.

But it goes deeper than that. I had this ridiculously hopeful idea that after all the "pulverizing" of the past eight years (thanks for the word, Bill), Obama might force his party to do the right thing -- simply because it's the right thing.

The Washington Post had a powerful editorial this morning that offered a concrete example of what I'm talking about.

1. Senate -- We're still talking about the details of this one (see Editorial Board Sounds Off later today for individual points of view), but our general theme is the message this election sends to the White House and Congress -- and specifics out of Washington that we hope will change as a result of Republican Scott Brown's victory. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

2. House100 -- We make our recommendation in the Terry Hodge-Eric Johnson House District 100 Democratic primary. Colleen writing on behalf of the board.

1. Despite comments/images to the contrary, Haiti isn't descending into chaos, but rather its citizens are reacting as some do after any major natural disaster. Efforts are being made to break the supply bottlenecks but given the extent of the devastation it is unlikely that those supplies will get through before Haitians turn to increasingly desperate measures to feed themselves. We explain that the problem stems from the logistical impossibility of getting supplies into Port-au-Prince due to the devastation. While aid workers do everything they can to work around this bottleneck, we encourage the U.S. government to think about the weeks ahead and focus on a strategy to use the dock facilities at a nearby island and in "mini ports" elsewhere on the island, which could be made operational by the Corps of Engineers in only a few weeks. This is just one of several ideas we share here. Tod writing on behalf of the board.

2. We make a recommendation in the Loretta Haldenwang-Kim Limberg Democratic primary for HD 105 in Irving (where Repub Linda Harper Brown is the incumbent). Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

We'll be writing an editorial for tomorrow's page out of tonight's big showdown between Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina as they all seek to move into the Governor's Mansion. Here's what we wrote yesterday in anticipation of the debate -- focusing on our hopes for getting past the "pulverization" and into the substance.

Be sure to join us tonight as we blog live during the debate.

Also on tomorrow's page will be the Editorial Board's take on China's last couple of appearances in headlines -- neither of them good. Wal-Mart and a few other U.S. retailers recently removed certain Chinese-made jewelry from shelves over worries that some items contained cadmium, a toxic heavy metal known to cause lung and brain damage. A few days later, Google, the world's largest internet search engine, threatened to end operations in China to protest suspected Chinese-launched cyber attacks last year against Google, other U.S. technology companies and human rights supporters. U.S. businesses have a valuable role to play in pressuring China do to the right things, and in stepping away from China if it persists in doing the wrong things. China's communist leaders pine for international business respect, but first they must earn it.

1. The first big debate of the season is Thursday, with Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina squaring off. We outline what this newspaper hopes to see and hear, urging the candidates to get substantive and really inform readers about their plans, priorities and prevarications. We want them to get past the pulverization strategies. Colleen writing on behalf of the board.

2. We think the Lewisville council member who wants to extend E-verify to city contractors has the right idea. There are details to be worked out and we expect that a lot of that will take place at an early February retreat. But barring someone raising a prickly issue that can't be resolved, we explain, this is a good move and consistent with our call for comprehensive immigration reform. Mike writing on behalf of the board.

Getting this post onto the blog has been on my to-do list since the holidays. Apologies for not getting it up sooner:

Syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman, who's been writing columns at the Boston Globe since 1976, said goodbye to the job on Jan. 1 with this ode to "letting myself go." Just days before, Kathleen Parker had written her own ode -- this one to Ellen Goodman.

Parker noted that while her politics/beliefs and Goodman's are often miles apart, Goodman's trailblazing work -- coinciding with the movement that liberated women -- opened doors to other journalists such as Parker ... and hundreds of other women, including one teenager growing up in Hewitt, Texas.

I got into journalism just a few years after Goodman wrote that first 1976 column, and in an college opinion writing class -- and in my hometown newspaper -- I discovered the novelty of an actual female byline on the somber and weighty op/ed pages.

Thirty-five years later, while the number of female columnists has grown (not enough), Goodman's columns still regularly have stood out for their feminine, "the way we live" touch and their refreshing "outside the Beltway" approach.

Among the editorials we are working on for tomorrow through Monday:

EPA: To the surprise of no one, the Environmental Protection Agency announced tougher ozone limits this week. The move to tighten pollution standards had long been anticipated as evidence mounted, illustrating the serious health risks associated with smog exposure. In Texas, a state with notoriously dirty air, the appropriate response from leaders would be to get to work. Significant changes must be made to comply with federal rules -- not to mention protect the people who live here. But instead of getting started, too many state leaders just got angry. They seemed shocked -- shocked! -- that the EPA would dare abide by the science showing the significant consequences of allowing a less stringent standard. Colleen writing on behalf of the board.

CHINA: China was supposed to be the country of the last decade, but understandably got displaced by Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. We explain why it will be the Decade To Come - highlighting several specific issues, including global warming and the US debt it holds - and why North Texans should care about this. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

HOMICIDES: Almost any way you slice it, 2009 was a remarkable year for Dallas residents surviving 365 days without falling victim to homicidal violence. The murder rate of 13 per 100,000 residents was the lowest in more than five decades. The raw number of 166 is the fewest since 1967, when 133 people were murdered in a much smaller, much different Dallas. These figures indicate a stronger, safer Dallas. Certainly, Dallas police and city officials are due much credit. But remember that we started this with "almost." For this newspaper, the "almost" is the city patrol division map that shows more than half of those 166 murders taking place in two of the seven sectors: Southeast and South Central. Those two swaths make up about two-thirds of the area broadly defined as southern Dallas, where we're in the third year of a campaign to raise living standards to more closely match the more prosperous northern half. Anyone who wishes for a wholly functioning Dallas cannot ignore the obvious. A person is two, three or even four times more likely to be killed in Southeast or South Central than anywhere else in the city. Anyone who cares even a little could not find that acceptable. Mike writing on behalf of the board.

Please respond here if you would like to add to our discussion. (And, Go Cowboys!)

Our print readers are familiar with the "10 drops in the bucket" concept -- a list that Colleen McCain Nelson has overseen and updated monthly for more than two years now. It's just one of the ways that our editorial department is trying to "bridge Dallas' North-South gap," a crusade that, in its third year, we are more committed to than ever. (Speaking of which, I hope you saw this editorial from Sunday, also written by Colleen on behalf of the entire board, which includes specifics of what we're battling hardest in southern Dallas in 2010.

I asked Colleen yesterday about what progress we've made with the current "10 drops" and she said things are somewhat logjammed at present, but she sees some breaks coming. For more details, see tomorrow's page. And comment below if you have additional thoughts on this.

By the way, we've got an interesting conversation continuing from yesterday regarding two southern Dallas patrol divisioons and the homicide numbers there. I note that one writer drew a parallel similar to one I made yesterday in the staff meeting. This blogger wrote:

I live in a VERY modest neighborhood in the Southeast division and we had 2 murders this year. Had absolutely nothing to do with the "soft bigotry of low expectations" -- simply, drugs and gangs. Unless we deal with that realistically, we will face the prospect of the fate of Juarez creeping north with 2600 people who were murdered there this last year.

(Emphasis mine.)

Can't keep your mind on anything but the Big Game tomorrow night? Spend the work day going here for your burnt orange fix or here for your new Longhorns customized plates. (Proceeds from plate sales benefit the state's higher education scholarship program and the general revenue fund of the state of Texas.)

And to my colleagues, who predict massive defeat for The Horns, at least my team made it to Pasadena.

The headlines proclaim good news: Dallas murder numbers lowest since 1967. It's the map that breaks down those 166 deaths by patrol division that offers troubling details.

Here's the breakdown: The south central and southeast patrol divisions account for more than half those 166 deaths, 47 and 45 respectively. This report to city hall in November, while not covering the full year, offers more details, for instance, on motives, although those aren't broken down by division. (See Page Six.)

Good news for southwest, which at 18 deaths, reflected the low numbers on the northern side of the city.

We're researching an editorial for weekend publication that looks at the higher numbers and makes an attempt to offer solutions. Is there anything more the police, City Hall, residents or other stakeholders can do to get the numbers in south central and southeast down as much -- or more -- than those in the rest of the city?

Have any of the rest of you squirmed and winced during the onslaught of commercials on Fox for the new game show "Our Little Genius"? Since I'm not much of a TV watcher beyond sporting events, perhaps I am just out of touch with this culture. But every time the commercial aired for the series -- which will premiere next Wednesday -- it took me straight to thoughts of "what messages are we sending?"

You can read here -- a report that also provides many links to other points of view -- and decide for yourself whether the show, which gives children 6 to 12 a chance "to put their incredible knowledge to the test and win life-changing money for their families" either:

a. As its producers contend, simply shines light on academics -- something that rarely earns the spotlight in our celebrity- and sports-obsessed culture.
or
b. As some psychologists and behavioral experts contend, this is an unhealthy amount of pressure and a potential "self-esteem nosedive" for kids who already are likely to have some social issues.

I'll be curious as to whether our board decides to tackle this one. Based on what I've read, this is where I stand:

The editorial board voiced this opinion after the release of myriad security breaches related to the would-be Christmas bomber. Our bottom line: Inconvenience the terrorists, not the passengers.

Since then, our staff discussions on what next to say have generally bogged down due to confusion over exactly what the new rules are, who they apply to and whether they work. The answers to all those questions seem to change daily.

For instance, after much hysteria over "why are we not using scanning machines," the TSA acknowledged this week that no technology being used anywhere in the world can comprehensively scan every passenger. We are years away from such a system. So the TSA's latest best solution is to use super scrutiny -- including full-body patdowns -- for people flying into the U.S. from 14 mostly Muslim countries. Although other passengers will be randomly checked, this is the closest the TSA's ever gone to racial or ethnic profiling.

It's less clear whether citizens of those 14 countries -- even if they are flying from, say, Britain -- are subject to the full-body searches. Some reports say yes, others say no. As one editorial staff member pointed out, if all a would-be terrorist has to do is depart from an airport outside of those 14 countries to escape scrutiny, that's not much of a security system.

But who knows? Does anybody know what the rules are? And, most important, are the people charged with overseeing the security screening sure they are using the right rules? After reviewing all the news stories today, the whole system sorta sounds like a worldwide ad lib performance.

4 p.m. update: President Obama just spoke about the situation in remarks that David Gergen described as "the most angry" he's ever heard the president. "Smoldering" was Gergen's other characterization of the remarks. His message: The intelligence community knew an attack was imminent within the U.S., had the information to prevent the attack and failed to connect the dots. Just like it failed to connect the dots before 9/11.

We'll kick off the first day of 2010 with editorials on two critical issues -- health care reform and downtown Dallas development:

1. We restate specifically what provisions we believe need to be in Congress' reform package in order for it to both expand access and control costs. We will build directly off our earlier editorials on this point -- especially our two-day series in October, see here and here -- in refreshing our readers' minds about what components we consider most important. Pegged to conference committee negotiations. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

2. We praise City Hall's recent announcement of a crackdown on vacant buildings downtown and explain why this issue is important to the economic wellbeing of the entire city. Jim writing on behalf of the board.

Join in the debate here in the comments section as your last 2009 civic engagement, and we'll see you back here with more topics next week -- i.e. next year.

Politico, in a report labeled exclusive, has just posted an article that fleshes out details behind what President Obama yesterday labeled a "mix of human and systemic failures."

Yipes.

Or as Maureen Dowd put it: "If we can't catch a Nigerian with a powerful explosive powder in his oddly feminine-looking underpants and a syringe full of acid, a man whose own father had alerted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, a traveler whose ticket was paid for in cash and who didn't check bags, whose visa renewal had been denied by the British, who had studied Arabic in Al Qaeda sanctuary Yemen, whose name was on a counterterrorism watch list, who can we catch?"

Amid the flood of end-of-year/end-of-decade stories have come several pieces that hinted at good news: Have the economic problems of the past 18-24 months scared us into letting go of our credit-card-crazy ways and becoming a nation of savers? The Washington Post cites both statistics and anecdotal examples indicating that "the recession has caused a seismic shift in the consumer culture, converting die-hard spenders into savers." The article continues:

The savings rate in October reached 4.4. percent, up from 0.8 percent in April 2008. Some economists say they think savings will return to the 7 to 8 percent levels recorded before 1990.

Even teenagers are "getting it," according to another Christmas week story in the Post, which noted that sales are down sharply in recent months at nearly every major retail chain catering to teenagers. A firm conducting teen focus groups across the country, in hopes of better understanding today's teenage retailing market, says teens may be coming to grips with economic reality -- and the reasons go beyond their own difficulty finding part-time jobs.

Monday, DMN writer Pamela Yip explained how the recession affects even younger children -- and how the economic downturn can be turned around to teach money lessons that will help mold those youngsters into financially responsible adults.

Here's hoping that the good start on savings -- and the good intentions -- are more than New Year's resolutions.

DMN reporter Tanya Eiserer writes in today's newspaper about a new tool that Dallas police are using to shut down drug houses -- and those who inhabit them.

In addition to detailing why stealing electric power goes hand in hand with operating a drug operation -- and what police and Oncor are doing about it -- the story makes note of the grim fact that Dallas police don't even know how many drug houses exist within city limts. They estimate "in the hundreds."

To read more and comment.

While other folks who are fated to work this holiday week are probably thinking about the chance of icy roads on the commute home, here's what we're focusing on ...

1. We cite a new study that shows Texas is getting worse relative to other states when it comes to dealing with urban congestion and we use that to buttress our commentary re the latest news story about NTTA's worries about all roads in North Texas being tolled. We explain that "being tolled" can mean managed lanes, which really aren't so bad and we applaud. That said, we laud a couple of things Dewhurst embraced in our recent meeting with him to deal with this mounting problem - including re-examining the state's funding emphasis on farm-to-market roads over urban centers and an interesting TIF idea. Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

2. We laud the city's crackdown on overly eager "booters" in Deep Ellum's unattended parking lots. But we note it's really just a first step. The city needs to provide more protection for consumers from these outfits. We suggest the receipt strategy that seems to work well in other cities and other countries - as well as in the Arts District here in Dallas. Colleen writing.

Send comments our way if you have a strong opinion on either of these!

The Washington Post reported Sunday that Mexico has begun a sweeping review of the military's occupation of Ciudad Juarez. Bottom line: senior officals have concluded that the U.S.-backed deployment of thousands of soldiers against drug traffickers has failed to control the violence and crime.

Much ink has been spilled on this topic in recent weeks, including this recent column from Alvaro Vargas Llosa, which we published last week on Viewpoints and which features the same kind of grim details as yesterday's Post story contained.

The drug cartels have managed to overwhelm even the military in Juarez, even after President Felipe Calderon sent in 10,000 soldiers and federal agents to bolster the local police (who this month received German-made assault rifles that fire up to 750 rounds a minute).

There's no satisfactory answer as to why the military has failed to stem the violence -- thus the review by the government of its current offensive.

Tomorrow's editorials will include one looking forward from the Copenhagen talks. We're pleased to see the US at the table, but we are disappointed that the summit fell so short in securing real, document-able progress toward addressing the earth's warming. Specifically, we are disappointed by the lack of any binding agreements. Rod is writing this one on behalf of the board.

Rodger, who is our Texan of the Year leader again this year, trades his project editing role for a writing assignment as the countdown continues.

Please feel free to respond in the comments space here with ideas for these editorials -- or ideas about other issues we might tackle in coming days.

Did you see this news article from the Friday newspaper (and the 239 comments that accompanied it) regarding sale of the T-shirt pictured here? This is a variation on a shirt that caused a similar uproar at Valley View mall some years back; it was "Welcome to Oak Cliff."

I don't blame the Southeast Chamber, business owners and neighbors for their reaction. But I couldn't help but agree more with this letter writer, who noted that perhaps a better response would be to do something about the crime there. Just as crime drove us out of our lovely Pleasant Mound home (just north of Pleasant Grove) in 1989, violence drove this letter writer and his family to Kaufman.

Read more and comment.

These are just a few of the topics our Editorial Board is writing about this weekend.

Colleen McCain Nelson, on behalf of the board, is encouraging the Mesquite 4-year-old's parents to find a Supercuts. Bill McKenzie is crafting two big ones -- where the district goes with the info about low-performing schools AND "best practices" related to the troubling federal deficit.

You will find those, plus a lot more, in the Saturday, Sunday and Monday editions.

Please feel free to let us know via the comments section here any suggestions you have or what important other topics you think we're overlooking.

These are the topics of our two editorials for tomorrow's newspaper:

It makes no sense to us that government traffic data is paid for by taxpayers and yet unavailable to taxpayers and so we call for reform. Apparently, the government has outsourced the development of key traffic data, and that by itself would be fine, except that it's been outsourced to a private company called traffic.com which then makes it unavailable to the public except for a specific fee. This seems an almost Orwellian distortion of using taxpayer dollars. We explain.

My lips are sealed on who tomorrow's TOY finalist is (but a hint -- Colleen is writing). That person will join John Carona, Colt McCoy (my personal favorite) and Arts District patrons in our countdown list.

Feel free to offer your thoughts in the comments section below.

Speaking of Zhu Zhu Hamsters, which are being heralded as the Must-Have children's gift this year (the one pictured here is named "Chunk") ... Sunday's Points section had two holiday-related consumer spending pieces that held my attention. One focusing on the folly of sustaining an economy through retail sales and the second an interview with the author of "Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays."

Even with the economy in a slide for well over a year, I don't see much slowing in the "wanting cool gifts" and "searching for those cool gifts" out on the streets of North Texas. Not to mention the tsunami of advertising on TV, radio, the Web and billboards.

I'm not a traditional churchgoer, but I think we've turned "Jesus' birthday" -- or for many, the celebration of family and fellowship -- into just another giant birthday party for our children, even our adult children. The first of the two Points articles that I linked to above notes: "Our children have been raised with a sense of entitlement: Not providing a PlayStation3 is tantamount to child abuse. We talk to our kids about nutrition, safety and the environment, but we ignore our responsibility to teach them about money and how it works."

Ouch. Guilty as charged.

Which is why I found this conspiracy group so fascinating.

I don't know about you, but the mere sight of this in my rear view mirror puts my heart in my throat -- even when I'm not doing anything wrong. Then when that officer tells me to keep my hands where he can see them AND hand over my license and registration, I'm usually shaking too badly to dig them out. Nothing against them; police are just intimidating. Even the nicest ones. They hold a lot of power in their hands.

Which brings me to this sad story. Flashing lights behind me, police uniform, I'm told to get out of the car. Would I have had the presence of mind to ask for ID or would I comply, as this woman did? Some good tips in the article for what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation.

By the way, while the story said "in the Pleasant Grove area," the intersection of Jim Miller and Samuell is just a tad south of Interstate 30 and in the Everglade Park/Buckner Terrace neighborhoods.

I'm not big into the foodie/restaurant trends so this idea of "guerrilla restaurants" is new to me. But the one planned for Oak Cliff has two unusual twists that I haven't run across while researching similar ventures in other cities.

Read more and comment.

Back in 2007, we wrote this editorial in support of the "castle doctrine bill" working its way through the Texas Legislature.

We were brash in our claim of what it would not do:

It would not give Texans the right to sit on their front porch and squeeze off rounds, vigilante-style, at a neighbor who offended them. It would not allow them to fire from their pickups at anyone who cuts them off in traffic.

No, we promised, the law would be limited to this:

What the castle law would do is remove the requirement that crime victims fearing for their safety on their own property "retreat" before responding with deadly force ... It's the burglar rummaging through your jewelry, the predator creeping toward your child's bedroom, the carjacker grabbing for your keys, the robber demanding that you empty your cash register.

I recall that we were definitely a split board on this one, and records indicate we didn't track the bill's progress after that initial editorial.

So two years later, we revisit the castle law because of this news story -- in which a couple of guys apparently have been able to use the castle law as cover to get away with killing two other guys they've had a feud with -- two victims who not only weren't armed but weren't even on the shooters' property.

Dallas PD says it best: "We didn't anticipate [the castle law being used as a defense]. The actions were so aggressive and the threats weren't present because the victims had no weapons."

Simply put, prosecutors think the new law offers so many variables and loopholes that they can't even get a conviction in the case described above. So we're writing about the castle law again ... and needless to say, we don't like it so much this time.

Writer and editor Tyra Damm, who is a part-time staff member of this department and Frisco resident, was eager to talk with Washington Post writer Hank Stuever, who has been much in the news with the release of his new book Tinsel, a portrayal of Frisco residents during the holidays. Rod Dreher has blogged on Tinsel here and here, so I was interested in what a journalist who calls Frisco home would have to say about the book.

Based on a lot of what I had read about Tinsel -- as opposed to reading the book itself -- I was prepared not to like it. Taking shots at the suburbs is just so easy, and because some of my friends call Frisco home, I'm sure I was in my overprotective mode.

But now that I've read Tyra's column on Tinsel and Stuever from today's edition of Briefing I've decided to give the book a chance. This excerpt from Tyra's column sums up her reaction to the book:

There are details that make me, a warily proud Frisco resident, cringe.

But ...

MAMMOGRAMS -- There are many dangers inherent in the release of new recommendations against routine annual mammography testing for women in their 40s. The most profound one is that women will become complacent about the dangers of breast cancer. Another is the possibility of new barriers that could prevent women from getting tests they badly need. Another is the misconception that the guidelines are some final and binding word from government-sponsored research. And finally, there is the insidious suggestion that the guidelines are part of a plot to push the health-reform agenda now before Congress. With dissenting health experts furious about the new recommendations, it's important to focus on one thing no one disputes: Mammograms are a valuable tool, and early cancer detection saves lives. The new guidelines, issued Monday by the independent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, try to find a balance between routine, annual tests for every woman in her 40s and the drawbacks of universal testing.

TARP -- We make the argument for why Congress should allow the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Bush administration's $700 billion plan to bail out Wall Street, to expire at the end of this year. The federal government has to begin to remove unprecedented financial guarantees, which last year had taxpayers on the hook for an astounding $4.3 trillion, or about 30 percent of the nation's $14 trillion economy. And that was just from a handful of programs. This wasn't cash out of the Treasury, but that doesn't make these promises to foot the bill less dangerous. As long as these commitments remain in place, credit markets will not return to normal and the economic recovery will not be felt on Main Street.

Even Obama fans can appreciate this funny video from the Onion News Network. Thanks to Politico's Ben Smith for bringing it to my attention.

(Posting later than usual because of blog-server issues)

Tomorrow's editorial page will go something like this:

1. The patience of many Americans is wearing thin as President Obama continues to ruminate over military options for Afghanistan. Troop morale is suffering over the lack of a clearly defined mission and strategy for carrying it out. Taliban insurgents are using every passing day to consolidate their gains. The time has come for the president to accept that his options are limited, unpalatable, and that they aren't going to improve with the further passage of time. We call on Obama to make up his mind, announce his decision and execute it with the sense of urgency that Afghanistan's deteriorating situation dictates.

2. A proposed 10-cent increase in the motor fuels tax is back on the table, placed there unapologetically by Sen. John Carona of Dallas, chairman of the Senate's transportation committee. A boost in the gas tax is overdue to help expand and improve the state's transportation system, though many thoughtful politicians in Austin will admit it only privately. Getting their open support is the key, and we applaud plans by Carona and his nemesis in the House, Joe Picket, to hold joint hearings to make the case for transportation dollars.

I found the photo at right from a package accompanying a news article about the growing number of people who fill their carts at the grocery store, then abandon them because they fear they are spending too much money.

That's just one of the phenomena out of the economic crisis. A report released yesterday shows that the number of Americans who lack enough food is at the highest level since the government has been keeping track and nearly 50 million people, including almost one child in every four, struggled last year to get enough to eat.

Locally, Central Dallas Ministries reports that its food pantry has already handed out 1.4 million pounds of groceries through the end of October this year -- compared to 609,000 pounds for ALL of 2008.

Thank goodness, Texas did the right thing last week (something we had editorialized for) and eased its every-six-months review of food stamps eligibility.

We started a discussion in this morning's staff meeting about what we would like to see in the next Dallas Police chief, now that David Kunkle has announced he will leave in the spring. Not to be flippant, but a Kunkle Clone would suit many of us. In a city divided on so many issues, one that many -- if not most -- can agree on is that David Kunkle has done a fine job.

At Wednesday's staff meeting we'll resume our discussion. So between now and then, I'm interested in what our readers think should be on the qualifications list. Not necessarily names of specific candidates, but what traits you would want in our next chief.

I took time this evening to read the comments on this news story Rudy Bush wrote about the search and found that several readers offered interesting ideas. I've listed those below.

From our Saturday letters to the editor stack:

Too many people see Islam as the religion of terrorists, while forgetting our own country's history of the Ku Klux Klan. This group roamed freely throughout the South for decades. Their symbol was a burning cross. All of them considered themselves to be Christians, yet they committed unspeakable acts against fellow Americans.

The percentage of Christian Klansmen vis-à-vis southern Christians is about the same percentage as Muslim terrorists to worldwide Islamists: less than 1 percent.

Arby Mason, Dallas

I'm a big Downtown Dallas booster, but the news that University of North Texas System has relocated its Board of Regents, Chancellor Lee Jackson, the general counsel and "some other departments" from Denton to Downtown Dallas strikes me as very odd. I couldn't help but sympathize with Denton Mayor Mark Burroughs, who said "The heart of the Eagle [the school mascot] has just been moved to Dallas."

Chancellor Jackson said a Dallas location is more convenient for business meetings.

Well, Houston is probably more convenient than College Station, but I doubt you'll see the Texas A&M University System moving there.

And while I appreciate the need for "raising UNT's visibility in the heart of the Dallas business community," I question whether you really need to move back to what was the chancellor's old stomping grounds to get that important work done.

It may feel to the higher-ups like a central, neutral location to serve all UNT campuses, but it comes across as a snub to Denton.

I posted a detailed report out of yesterday's Unify South Dallas meeting over on our Southern Dallas blog. A commenter this morning urges more readers to respond, saying "I would hate to think that people only respond to negative stories about South Dallas."

His comment prompted me to post the link above on this general Editorial blog in hopes that even more of our readers will take a look and join the discussion over on our Southern Dallas blog.

Good to see news that North Texas school districts are rethinking what they can and should be teaching regarding sex education. More ISDs are considering "abstinence-plus" curriculum that includes discussion of comprehensive methods of prevention.

Likewise, it's good news to see the Obama administration seek to, in effect, exchange $145 million in funding for abstinence education programs for $164 million on teen preghancy prevention programs that could include talk about contraception. (Unfortunately, the Senate Finance committee restored $50 million of the abstinence funding.) The news story indicates that because many districts needed/wanted the federal funds, that's what had led to so many abstinence-only programs.

More frustrating was the idea in the news article that "most parents think their local districts are teaching more" than they actually are on sex education. It's certainly not the schools that are responsible for Texas having the country's third-highest teen birth rate. How about if parents start by taking responsibility for teaching an effective message at home rather than relying on the schools (again) to do this work. Our public schools would do a lot better job educating our children if they didn't have to also take such a huge role as babysitters and life teachers.

You probably feel it too. Hammered by the news of the Fort Hood rampage, grieving for mostly still-nameless victims caught in the crossfire. But wait, now somebody's shooting folks in Orlando. You want to just get back in bed and pull the covers over your head.

Instead, I recommend you read this.

It's unfortunate timing that DMN sports writer Kevin Sherrington's column was scheduled on a day when desperate news may well have overshadowed his gripping story about heroism, values and sportsmanship among two groups of young Texas women, their families and their fans.

Yes, our world is full of nuts with guns. (Jack Floyd's column says it best.) Meanwhile, let us also not forget about the good folks who rarely make the CNN and Fox 24-7 news cycles. The Texas teens whom Kevin writes about are truly front page news.

We're just a few hours away from learning the results in the DISD trustee races on the ballot today. For my money, the most intriguing one involves the open seat in District 9, a contest that has sparked a lot of commentary and news coverage regarding "racial balance" on the DISD board.

There are four candidates in the race -- one of them Bernadette Nutall, whom our board recommended, and one Sally Cain, the lone white candidate. We noted in our editorial that our decision between Nutall and Cain (both pictured above) was a close one.

District 9 looks like this. The vast majority of it is located south of Interstate 30 and the enrollment of its 39 campuses last school year breaks down like this: 55 percent Hispanic, 39 percent black and less than 5 percent white. As our recent news story pointed out:

Blacks still make up the largest share of the voting-age population in the district, according to the most recent precinct-level census data from 2000. Some officials say that data doesn't reflect more recent migration of blacks into cities south of Dallas and the influx of whites into new downtown developments.

In late 2006, Dallas ISD had to redraw voting boundary lines after absorbing the now-closed Wilmer-Hutchins school district. District 9 inherited a chunk of predominantly white precincts, including a handful in downtown and Uptown.

In our editorial recommendation of Nutall, we didn't cite race as a factor in our decision making, and in a perfect world it wouldn't be. We agreed as a group that a win by Cain would neither be a positive or a negative at this point but that she would need to prove she can represent this diverse district effectively.

So what do I think about that?

I wish I was more certain about our Editorial Board's position on the way forward in Afghanistan. I have a lot of respect for both the experience (Tod, for instance, has spend considerable time covering the fighting there) and the research done by the multiple board members who argued for this position.

After the board discussion, I had hoped I would be swayed by the "weighing the consequences" section, excerpted here:

No one can predict whether McChrystal's plan will work. But it's reasonable to expect an Afghan implosion if U.S. troops withdraw, giving both the Taliban and al-Qaeda a claim of victory and an enormous boost in recruiting power, setting back U.S. anti-terrorism efforts years, if not decades.

Little would remain to block radical elements from sweeping through Afghanistan and Pakistan. They could easily reignite the conflict in Kashmir between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India. A nuclear conflagration is not unthinkable under this scenario, with al-Qaeda moving ever closer to accessing Pakistan's nuclear weaponry.

Leaving U.S. troops at current levels allows the Taliban to continue exploiting Afghanistan's deteriorating conditions. Corruption and massive vote tampering by President Hamid Karzai are adding to Afghan disaffection and hopelessness. The longer Obama waits, the worse it gets.

But 10 days after that editorial published, I'm still "wiggly" on this one. Here's why:

OK, you readers who think we need to be serious all the time on the blog, this one's not for you ...

But for those who are curious about what in the heck is pictured in this blog post and who want a pre-weekend chuckle (and missed page 5A of today's DMN), check out this story. (Sorry, I tried to find the DMN link but couldn't.)

Rod and I have a special bond because we are the two staff members who have crazy-a** family (or at least will admit to it). As far as I know, neither any of my Central Texas relatives or Rod's Louisiana kin have tried this particular stunt. Not yet anyway.

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the headlines about Wall Street fat cats getting a tad less Fancy (Financial) Feast. Yes, the Treasury Department's decision to force seven companies that got billions in federal bailout dollars to halve their executives' pay was a step in the right direction.

Even though President Obama didn't seem to have a direct hand in this decision (see this odd report), he summed it up nicely: "It does offend our values when executives of big financial firms that are struggling pay themselves huge bonuses even as they rely on extraordinary assistance to stay afloat."

But no, it's not enough for me. And this Bob Herbert column gets at why. Here's an excerpt:

The gamblers and con artists of the financial sector, the very same clowns who did so much to bring the economy down in the first place, are howling self-righteously over the prospect of regulations aimed at curbing the worst aspects of their excessively risky behavior and preventing them from causing yet another economic meltdown.

For all the "get tough" talk out of the White House in early 2009, I don't see any serious efforts at lasting, meaningful financial reform that will stop the fat cats from doing it all over again. Sure, cut the pay of the worst offenders. But without changes to the overall system, the gambling will be back up and running in no time.

If National Journal had asked me to guess which syndicated columnist is most influential with both Democrats and Republicans, I would have gotten the right answer: David Brooks, pictured at right. (Good to know I've learned something after five years of reading these columns daily!)

The Brooks answer is among the findings of a recent poll that surveyed 375 congressional and political insiders as part of its regular Inside Washington feature. There's a lot interesting stuff for political columnist junkies to sift through. (Thomas Friedman scored the most overall "Democratic" points and Charles Krauthammer scored the most among Republicans.)

Keven and I talked at lunch today about why Brooks scored equally among both Dems and Republicans. We agree that one reason is that he is perceived to be more about conservative thinking than about the Republican Party. It also probably isn't coincidence that he's The New York Times "designated" conservative -- so more liberals likely see him than see some of the other columnists.

Whatever the reason, Brooks and Kathleen Parker remain among my must-read columnists. (Just realized that Parker's bio page has a quote from me at the top! Way cool.)

Checking the White Rock Marathon website this morning for registration updates, I was struck by the irony of this headline: "Ride DART on Race Morning."

Click the link and you go here, where you will read that "riding DART Rail to the American Airlines Center" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (in red type, no less). I'll spare you all the other promotional details urging runners to ride DART ... well, except for this. Need help figuring out which train to take? "Call DART. They're the experts and are more than happy to help!!!

Well, but maybe not. (Those exclamation marks were not mine.)

The December 13 race will include a crowd of 20,000 runners, their families and other supporters, and a portion of the race volunteers and officials. No doubt, some percentage of them will drive. But those who think they'll just follow the oh-so-easy directions on the website and take the Red or Blue line to the West End then easily switch to the Green line that gets them to Victory -- or take the Green line all the way -- well, I would refer those folks here. (If you don't want to take time to click on the link, just consider the headline: "DART knew limits of Green Line for Texas-OU but promoted it anyway.")

I had considered using DART to the marathon because parking on race day is, without doubt, a hard-to-secure prize. But forget that. 'll be driving. The only thing I can think of that would be worse than missing the kickoff of the Texas-ou game would be missing the starting gun for a race you had trained 18 weeks to compete in....

For more commentary on the DART mess of last weekend, read the DMN Transportation blog, where Rodger Jones and Michael Lindenberger have offered up some post-fiasco suggestions.

I don't claim to be an expert on every bit of the nitty-gritty of these ethics proposals that Mayor Leppert is pushing council members to support. (Here's the latest from our City Hall blog.)

But it doesn't take an expert to see that many council members raised what amounted to outlandish arguments and scenarios in their attempts to dilute these common-sense rules. A few of the suggestions were constructive -- and our editorial board isn't wedded to the necessity of following every Leppert proposal exactly as presented. However, the intent of the ethics package is a very good thing for the city's residents, and it's disappointing to think the rules might be turned into mush.

UPDATE: Why does this issue particularly matter to southern Dallas getting a fair shake at economic development? Read here. With so much going for the southern half of our city and so much accessible wide-open space that would make great business opportunities/provide much-needed jobs, the ethics debate touches on one perception/reality that needs to change.

Some provocative reading on Viewpoints on tomorrow's page and last Friday's edition. Rodger Jones and Bill Mckenzie both tackle the Willingham story -- Bill writing on Perry's perplexing ways and Rodger on why everyone needs to take a breath before rushing to judgment on Willingham. A few days ago, conservative Lynn Woolley issued a warning of sorts to both Perry and Hutchison: clear up the distracting issues or expect other candidates to step in and challenge you in the primary.

This is the kind of commentary that I most enjoy offering up to readers, as all three shed light not just heat on their subject and, even better, each offer a counter-intuitive twist.

Concern over redundancy is no stumbling block for the syndicated columnists when it comes to President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. It's difficult to find a column on the wire on any other subject. Among the latest: Trudy Rubin and Georgie Anne Geyer and Eugene Robinson and Richard Cohen and Ross Douthat and Tom Friedman. Now today's comments by four of the five members of the Nobel committee who made the decision to give Obama the award are sure to stir up another wave of columns.

But the column I haven't seen -- and hope to -- is one celebrating the fact that 11 American citizens (some of them with dual nationality) were among the 13 Nobel winners. (Pictured here are the latest winners, Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson, who received the Economic Sciences prize. FYI: A record five women were honored this year.) Americans won the awards for physiology/medicine, physics and chemistry as well as the economic sciences and peace prizes.

I'm not bannering this out of patriotic fervor. Rather, it speaks to the fact that for all the hand wringing about our education system and our complacency in the global marketplace of ideas, there's a lot of high wattage brain power at work. These winners represent a diversity of ages, interests and educations. The key is to make sure we keep the intellectual pipeline flowing.

(Wonder if any of these winners would be interested in serving our country in D.C.? Nah, probably too smart for that.)

Over on the Southern Dallas/Closing the Gap blog, we have several topics posted that seem of particular interest to all our readers:

Tod has an insightful comparison of the school redistricting fight going on in Plano and how this "east-west" gap mirrors the challenges we face in Dallas.

I have an entry wrapping up various business developments around the Southwest Center Mall -- neither of which is winning many fans thus far.

Much to debate on both topics.

Thanks to Bill Holston for sending me this Ruth Pennebaker article from the Texas Observer.

It's a good assessment of "women's place" in a state where Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama in last year's primary but university faculty tenured positions are still predominantly male.

Pennebaker writes of the void after the deaths of the feminist version of Mount Rushmore -- Molly Ivins and (shown here) Ann Richards and Barbara Jordan. But her bigger point is how the younger generation of women in our state may succeed where we 50-somethings and older fell short. And how, despite the distasteful "old school" reaction that many of those women have to the term "feminists," they are continuing to show us the way.

One thing that the financial times has meant for most of us Americans is "doing more with less" on the job. Exhibit A is that I'm just getting around to posting this article, despite planning to do it hours ago. Sorry, other work got in the way.

Some sad facts, some not so bad when you get right down to it. (I can vouch for the statistic about "people are stuck in traffic longer despite the fact that stats also show carpools are on the rise.)

Among the "sad" stats (for Texas at least):

-- More people are getting high school diplomas. Only two states, Texas and Mississippi, had at least 1 in 5 adults without high school diplomas. This is down from 17 states in 2000 and 37 in 1990.

Among the not-so-bad (but just inching along):

-- Women's average pay still lagged men's, but the gap has been narrowing. Women with full-time jobs made 77.9 percent of men's pay, up from 77.5 percent in 2007 and about 64 percent in 2000.

I want to quickly call attention to Bill's excellent post from early this morning regarding Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during the Obama speech last night. Bill didn't vote for Obama -- as he puts it "I feared the impact his policies could have on the national debt. I see no sign yet of that worry being overblown."

That makes Bill's post all the more powerful:

When conservative Republican Rep. Joe Wilson called Barack Obama a liar in the middle of the president's congressional address last night, the Louisianan was not only breaking House protocol, he was legitimizing loathing of the president by right wing followers who look to their leaders for their cues.

Bill also writes about Wilson's apology:

I believe in repentance, but, folks, the damage had been done. We have only so much fabric that can hold us together as a nation. When our leaders start calling each other names, there's no guarantee that fabric doesn't unravel fast.

I can't say it any better than that. We've turned into the "just say no" nation, and I' don't know whether I am more frightened or sickened by a wave that shows no sign of slowing.

Authorities would not allow me to use my camera yesterday, so this photo is the closest I can find to offering readers a sense of what the line at DFW's Terminal D looked like at 4:45 p.m. as travelers waited to clear immigration/customs.

To be clear, this was just the line for U.S. citizens; foreign visitors had their own, equally long, line. Out of boredom, I counted more than 200 people ahead of me -- and all the while, at least half of the immigration "intake" booths sat empty.

Then there was a second long wait as both foreign and resident travelers came together for clearance through "baggage control." This line was particularly poorly managed, with new lines forming out of nowhere and, thus, some travelers getting priority over others who had been in line for quite a while. Regrettably, this situation imploded when a man and woman (who sounded very Texan) screamed a few obscenities at those in the new queue and hollered for them to "get back on the boat where you came from."

A charming lot, aren't we?

Over on the Southern Dallas/Bridging the Gap blog, I've posted about the demolition of abandoned houses in South Dallas this week (first reported by CBS 11 yesterday afternoon).

This is an issue of interest to all of Dallas -- and beyond. Not only is this one more small, but significant, step toward a better southern Dallas (and the accompanying economic development) but the bulldozing is aimed at dilapidated houses on both sides of Interstate 30. Here's hoping that if your street is pockmarked with such a structure that it's on the teardown list.

I've posted an item on our southern Dallas ("Bridging the Gap") blog this morning that highlights a potentially cool Dallas-Fort Worth transportation partnership ... or, sadly, a potential dog-pile on stimulus funds. Check out the details here and let me know what your point of view is on the proposed Oak Cliff trolley project. (The photo here is from the Dallas Public Library, circa 1956, the year the city phased out its street car system.)

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Interesting comment from a Dallas resident as we were comparing notes this week on the biggest local news stories:

This resident contends that the cutback in city funding for parks probably won't be that big a deal for many because not that many folks use the parks to begin with. He challenged me to drive around and count how many people are actually in the various parks, especially in the southern half of our city. His assessment is that this is not a matter of the parks being lacking in amenities -- but rather that parks just are not a big draw for residents. Particularly from about May to September.

What do others think about this contention and/or what do you see in your own neighborhoods? Is our editorial board highly overrating parks as a quality-of-life issue?

DMN Environmental Writer Randy Loftis wrote on page one Sunday about the PCBs that have poisoned the Trinity River. With the article ran G. J. McCarthy's photo (shown here) of what must be the bravest man in North Texas -- Gerardo Leyba of Irving, who took a dip in the Trinity near the Sylvan Avenue overpass.

Actually, the bravest man in North Texas might be the one who foolishly decides to eat a fish caught in the river. (Note: fishing is officially banned on the Trinity.)

The Sunday news package included these key facts: PCBs persist in the environment, sometimes for 70 years or longer, and build up in the fat tissues of fish, wildlife and people. Eating contaminated fish or shellfish is the main way people can be exposed. The best solution for the Trinity seems to be, as Randy wrote, "just waiting for nature to fix the problem [possibly for decades] ... before the most basic interaction between people and a river is restored."

The picture painted by this news story sure didn't blend with all those beautiful schematics of people frolicking around (and, at least at one point, sailing on) those Trinity Park water features. Wonder which will come first: A completed Trinity Park or a non-poisonous Trinity?

FYI, earlier today Jim Mitchell wrote over on our southern Dallas blog about the potential economic impact for West Dallas of trying to interest developers in "shoreline" along a toxic river.

A number of advocates have been offered up of late for our national park system, which is suffering declining visitor numbers. (At right is one of my favorites, Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, where Clay and I spent many happy nights star-gazing atop gigantic boulders with our two sons.)

Author and NYT contributor Timothy Egan suggested over the weekend that Michelle Obama add a national parks revival to her portfolio of good work. Our own Bill McKenzie, just back from vacation in several national parks, wants the GOP to reclaim the parks as its issue. I suspect our own boss here in Editorial, Keven Willey, wouldn't turn down the job of doing most anything 24-7 to help the National Park Service.

At our staff meeting this morning, we debated two big Sunday stories dealing with terrorism issues. "Cheney linked to secrecy" and "AG considers torture inquiry." Put those kinds of headlines together and they lead to this second-day story.

The not-unanimous-but-close decision by our editorial board was that we need more information before we decide whether or not a criminal prosecutor -- or another investigative approach -- is warranted. I went back into our files this afternoon to locate our most recent editorial on the topic. We wrote this one pegged to the release in April of Justice Department memos detailing the Bush White House's legal justifications for torture. Here's an excerpt:

Mike Hashimoto has put together a sizzling set of opinions over on our Opinion Home Page. Under the line "Bold headlines and the women making them," the page leads with a package around Todd Purdum's snarling piece about Sarah Palin in Vanity Fair. I most agree with Bonnie Erbe's response to Purdum's screed. All of these pieces are worth a read!

Keven earlier posted a fun piece on Palin claiming she can outrun Obama. (OK, I'll say it here -- I bet I can outrun Palin at 26.2 miles. Maybe she'd like to register for the White Rock Marathon and take me up on this offer.)

Are any of the rest of you suffering from yet another bout of Trinity Fatigue Syndrome?

From the beginning, this project has had so many "cooks in the kitchen" (all of them with mysterious second-reference designations such as FHWA) that one never knows exactly who's stirring the pot on any given week. Today's front page story is the latest example (no fault of Michael Lindenberger; his job is to report it). Back in February, the Corps of Engineers said the levee system is unacceptable. Not long after that news came out, we read of the city's expensive, but necessary, plans for testing-evaluating the levees. So we're already in a massive holding pattern.

UPDATE: See an "expert" assessment when you jump.

Thank you, American Beverage Institute, which describes itself as an association of restaurants committed to the responsible serving of adult beverages. This group has twice alerted me (probably to its dismay, when its spokesman finishes reading this post) to the fact that the under-construction federal transportation bill includes a provision that would force every state to punish all first-time DUI offenders with an in-car breathalyzer, even if they were just one sip over the legal limit.

The beverage folks initially had caught my attention with a strategically persuasive argument -- pointing out that a one-size-fits-all punishment (in this case the ignition interlock system) is not the best way to go and ties judges' hands. But the ABI quickly alienated me with the remark about "just one sip over the legal limit."

They are aghast -- aghast, mind you -- that "a 120-lb woman can reach the legal limit of 0.08 after two 6-ounce glasses of wine over a two hour period." (So I guess we need a law saying that slender women should be allowed to drive when legally drunk because we can't possibly have a good time unless we can drink a minimum of two glasses of wine in a two-hour period.)

Under the category of "what we're debating in the office today:"

Sometimes it's the biggest stuff we disagree about -- and other times it's the smallest. It all makes for never-routine days around here. You never know what's going to be the sticky issue -- or where your colleagues will line up on it.

I'll share only my part in this one and let others in the office offer their perspective as they wish. When the news came on CNN that Fawcett had died this morning, I sent a note out to staff members, asking what we should do on the editorial page in regard to her passing. While I felt this was not a black-or-white easy call, I felt it needed to be given careful consideration, particularly in light of the fact that we already have a "hit" scheduled in our Saturday Hits and Misses column to Ed McMahon, who passed earlier this week.

Read on to see where we ended up.

Earlier today I suggested that we offer a "hit" to Jenny Sanford, Gov. Mark Sanford's wife, for having the good sense to not show up and "stand by her man" when he did his "I am sorry" bit. We decided not to, partly because we wondered whether she had, in fact, lied when she said she didn't know where her husband was. (They are shown here together back in February at a White House dinner.)

Well, apparently she didn't lie. They separated several weeks ago and she requested he not contact her. She released a statement this afternoon that McClatchy News posted with this summary:

Jenny Stanford says she continues to love her husband, but that she asked him to leave their home two weeks ago because "I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect and my basic sense of right and wrong."

She also said that she had no idea that her husband had gone to Argentina. She said that during the separation "it was agreed that Mark would not contact us." She said she had known about the affair for some time and that she and her husband had been in counseling. The counseling had reached a point where a separation was necessary.

Her statement is so right-on, particularly in regard to her sons, that I'm posting it in its entirety after the jump:

Checked our City Hall blog and couldn't find anything on this, but Unfair Park has enough details to make this look pretty close to a real deal. Did I miss something while on vacation or is this, indeed, a new development?

According to Unfair Park:

As you'll no doubt recall, after the whole Ross Avenue fiasco, Mayor Tom Leppert said he'd put together a task force to research other streets the city might be able to name for the farm worker and labor leader. Street-name histories were considered; so too were the number of businesses impacted and the amount of historic properties along the street. [Mayor's chief of staff Chris] Heinbaugh doesn't recall exactly how many streets were considered; Carolyn Horner, a planner for the city and the person through whom name changes go, says it was about 22 or 23.

Heinbaugh says he didn't know Young Street had been officially chosen -- and it hasn't, not technically. But Horner tells Unfair Park that Young Street was the one with which the city council was most satisfied. About three months ago, she says, letters were sent to residents and business owners along Young asking for their response.

"We got less than 10 percent back," Horner says. "That information was passed on to the city council, and they went with Young."

Unfair Park also quotes a source saying this might come to pass before July 4 ... Guess we'll need to find a place in our department's already stretched-thin operating budget for new stationery and business cards.

This story has been quite the buzz on the East Coast this week. South Carolina's Republican governor is one of the likely presidential candidates in 2012. He seems to have an odd habit of simply dropping out. As of Monday, his wife said she didn't have a clue where he was ... today he promises to return from points unknown tomorrow.

Maybe this is his way of saying "government needs to just get out of the way." But even spun that way, I don't think these headlines will help his chances in 2012.

Gov. Perry (shown here after signing the eminent domain bill into law last week) spent some of Friday vetoing other legislation.

We debated this latest legislative development in our morning staff meeting for publication on tomorrow's editorial page. Word is that some legislators are perplexed by Perry not giving them any earlier heads-up that he had issues with their bills. My reading of the laundry list of vetoes is that anything that remotely resembled "nanny-ism" (or at least nanny-ism not to Perry's liking) got chopped.

Among those bills he didn't like -- requiring TV manufacturers to recycle old TVs, giving CPS more authority to enter a child's home or remove a child from school in suspected child abuse cases, requiring drivers to give bikes, motorcyclists, pedestrians and other "vulnerable road users" at least a three-foot berth when passing them.

Bill Holston wears a lot of hats around town. He's a lawyer who also does a lot of pro bono work on behalf of refugees, a frequent writer in area publications (including ours), an avid blog reader, commenter and commentator. A busy man indeed.

Like me, Bill's No. 1 job is being the parent of two boys. Additionally, my family roots are in Alabama, as are some of Bill's so we've enjoyed talking about the similarities in the way our southern parents raised us up ... and how that's affected how we've raised our own children.

So as a Father's Day gift of sorts to all our readers, I'm sharing this KERA commentary that Bill wrote and sent me this morning. Here's a highlight (although it's much better to hear Bill read it.)

Although it wasn't the intent of this post by a DMN sports editor to start a debate about what's news and what's not, I find the discussion in the comments section (for the most part) of this post to be far more interesting than the news that maybe Dirk is petitioning for custody of (maybe his) child.

I'll write more on my point of view when I get off print deadline, but I think this debate -- which we journalists are keenly interested in -- is of equal interest to our readers. My overall view on this is that it's very good news indeed that readers want us to be The Dallas Morning News, not TMZ (or whatever that site's initials are).

Every so often, I believe a True Angel walks among us. And the one I know is Tyra Damm. She would be quick to tell you that, no, it's her husband, Steve, who is the angel. We'll get to that later.

Tyra's name is familiar to blog readers because she worked in Editorial in 2004-05 before switching to free-lance work to be at home with her fabulous children. Among her work (in addition to working as a part-time copy editor for Editorial) is a regular column-writing spot in Briefing, and her column today about "having her identity stolen" last week deserves attention on this blog for several reasons.

Tyra is in and out of medical facilities a lot these last many months, and she's written more checks to more health-care outfits than most of us can imagine. It appears that one such check fell into the wrong hands and a thief built a fake driver's license and medical badge that allowed her to impersonate Tyra at local branches of Tyra's bank. It's a reminder to all of us how identity theft is virtually impossible to stop. But, more important, you can keep the crook from waltzing in to the bank to withdraw your money if you have a password set for all your in-person dealings.

Tyra's column offers more details on this. Seems like advice all of us would be wise to follow.

Now about that angel thing ...

I'm seeking information and points of view out of yesterday's public hearing on recommended changes to Dallas' Landscape and Tree Preservation regulations. The only news story I've been able to locate is here on Unfair Park. Alexa Schirtzinger offers a thorough report that is a good starting point for debate.

Schirtzinger quotes Sandy Grayson, of Save Open Space, as saying that while the proposed changes are moving in the right direction, she believes there are still too many carrots and not enough sticks for developers. Here's the key quote: "And I think that's good, but I think that if you don't use any effective sticks, you get what happened in Pleasant Grove or Buckner Terrace. You get what happened on Mountain Creek Parkway, where the developer clear-cut and he left a moonscape where there once was a beautiful wooded area."

These changes will affect how Dallas neighborhoods beautify in the next decade. As Lorlee Bartos pointed out, southern Dallas has some of the city's best and prolific tree cover. Development there needs to be sustainable development, green development, that goes hand and hand with conservation.

More information, plus how to respond privately to the Dallas Urban Forest Advisory Committee's team member, is here.

Texas may legitimately boast that it has gone a long way toward cleaning up its highway trash problem, but my just-completed vacation reminded me that we must be near the bottom of the heap in another kind of roadside litter. Let's call it the Just Plain Uglies. And you'd think that if our southeastern neighbors could prevent it, so could we.

My travels by car last week took me all the way across Louisiana, Mississippi and into Alabama and Tennessee. While we spent considerable time off the interstates, we traversed the states at various times on the federal highways. And are they ever lovely. Trees, trees and more trees ... and well-maintained grassland galore. It was the same thing when we drove from Dallas to Maine several summers ago.

Crossing the state line into Texas and for the remainder of our trip into the Temple-Belton area, the "scenery" was so awful it made my head hurt. I know Mother Nature is often unkind to our state in terms of soil and water, but geez, too bad our road planners missed the meeting that allowed our southeastern neighbors' interstates to resemble oasis-land.

I about spit my cinammon oatmeal across the room this morning as a result of ACLU spokesman Jose Medina's quotes in this story.

First, the good news. Hurrah for Flower Mound police trying new tactics to slow underage drinking. An example from Wendy Hundley's article: Police suspected drinking going on in a neighborhood home and got a search warrent giving them authority to force their way into the house. Sure enough, they were able to issue a number of citations. (Parents were out of town and 17-year-old son had been told "no friends here while we're gone." Yeah, right.)

So enter Mr. ACLU, who feels compeled to say "We don't encourage kids to drink if they're underage. At the same time, prevention is better than criminalizing kids. I would hope that Flower Mound would encourage prevention as part of this effort."

Hello? Based on my experiences as a parent, a journalist and a volunteer at Lou Sterrett , a dose of "criminalizing" the very illegal act of drinking underage is worth a shot. This is a consistent refrain of mine, but it bears saying again. Underage drinking -- often in residences -- is an epidemic that starts a spiral that can end here, here or even here.

As regular readers know, The Boss (Keven, not Bruce) is all about Our State Parks and her quest to see them all. No offense to the Lone Star State's beauty, but I've always been more about the national parks. So I paid particular attention to this news story yesterday.

The weekends you can get into the national parks for free are June 20-21, July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16. (Daily entrance fees range from $3 to $25.) A total of 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees; the nation's 244 other parks are free. The waiver applies to entrance fees and does not affect charges for camping, reservations, tours or concessions.

We discussed this as a possible "hit" at our staff meeting, but it ended up on the cutting room floor due to More Important News. Best line from that discussion was from Nicole: "I already checked the dates and thank goodness my national park trip isn't any of those weekends." But if you aren't scared to brave larger-than-usual crowds, these could be the weekends for you.

The two pictures above are from two of my favorite national parks. (Too bad I don't have access to my photos at home, which do much more justice to the park pictured at right.) Anybody have a guess on which they are?

Our hour with the mayor focused solely on the Trinity levee issue. (I'll send some of the non-Trinity questions to Chris Heinbaugh and see if he can get us answers.) Meanwhile, here are Mayor Leppert's answers to some of the questions posed by readers earlier today:

1. He says we will not build the Trinity toll road if it cannot be built without jeopardizing the integrity of the levees. His team pointed out that even if the city tried, The Corps would say no.

2. Regarding how "we got so far and spent so much without knowing the levees are inadequate:" The mayor did a good job of explaining that the issue with the levees is completely separate from the Trinity toll road. IE, The Corps changes post-Katrina have led to a lot of inspections. At one point, The Corps said the levees were A-OK, then it changed its mind. But the bottom line here is that the issue of studying the levees ($29 million) and whatever costs are involved in bringing them up to new regulations isn't linked to the Trinity project. This is work that has to be done in order to ensure that the 2/3rds or so of downtown within the flood plain remains safe.

This afternoon Mayor Leppert, along with city manager Mary Suhm and assistants Jill Jordan and Ramon Miguez, will be in our offices to discuss the latest Trinity developments.

Yesterday Tod raised the issue of "why southern Dalas should care" about this development on the new blog we've created to bring additional attention to our "Bridging Dallas' North-South Gap" efforts.

As we prepare to question city leadership, what would readers like to see us ask ... and what would other board members (particularly those who won't be able to attend) like to see the questioning include?