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This blog was the first in the nation created by an editorial board to give readers a behind-the-scenes view of the discussion that goes into crafting the newspaper’s daily editorials. It includes updates on the work of the editorial staff and debates on general news issues. We welcome and read all letters from readers. Letters are selected for publication based on their clarity and brevity. They also are chosen to represent a diverse set of views on as many issues as possible. February 2010
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A frightening letter on terror Don't vote for an admitted cheat Good things come to those who wait, especially the Arts of Collin County Categories
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February 22, 2010
Re: "Deficit panel may stress toll to come -- Obama's commission will discuss unpopular solutions to crisis," Friday news story. James Reid, Dallas
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Re: "Legitimate grievances," by Bret McCormick, Monday Letters. Joan Strop-Adams, Plano
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The entry "A frightening letter on terror" has no entry tags.
Every day in The Dallas Morning News, we are fed a steady diet of Rick Perry vs. Kay Bailey Hutchison vs. Debra Medina. Patricia Quested, Dallas
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Re: "Trains as part of the equation," by Dian and Don Malouf, Thursday Letters. Gregory Motte, Dallas
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Re: "Losing power helped me plug in to simpler life -- Just think back to how people used to live, says Kathleen Krumnow," Saturday Viewpoints. Melissa Degenhart, Dallas
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Re: "Calls still urging votes for Hodge -- Disgraced incumbent has exited race, but Ragsdale says public needs choices," Saturday news story. Earl Daigle, Farmers Branch
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Flaws in climate story Stephen Boone, Garland
Decline in fact-based debate ... Betty G. Withers, Dallas
... proves to be widespread Mike McCurdy, Coppell
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For years, I have followed efforts to build a shared arts hall in Collin County. I was disappointed when the McKinney bond election years ago failed at the polls. That left only three cities to participate. Really, the effort never seemed to get on track, though not anyone's fault. It just always seemed that the cities needed a fourth major partner.
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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:
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The entry "Rewind to last wek's B(ig) S(tory) in D.C." has no entry tags.
We're working on editorials now for tomorrow's page having to do with how Texas can best deal with its looming budget deficit and what seem to be the Obama administration's stepped up emphasis on the virtues of nuclear energy. (As an aside, a key essay in yesterday's Points section provides a great back drop for our editorial regarding nuclear energy. I'd link to it here, but Foreign Policy magazine doesn't allow us to do so. Check out the essay in the pulp product, back of the Points section: It's worth the effort.) Read on in the extended section for more detail about these two editorials and which Editorial Board member is crafting each. And please use the comments section to share your thoughts.....
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The entry "Texas state budget and nuclear energy - Topics of the Day" has no entry tags.
Quite a flurry of print activity this weekend on our Dallas County constables, boosted by the confluence of the Danny Defenbaugh's report release early in the week and early voting beginning the next day. Kevin Krause and Ed Timms had the Page One lead Sunday with a look at County Judge Jim Foster's quest to oust Constable Jaime Cortes through a fairly rare civil removal process. The same day, Gromer Jeffers had the Metro cover lead with a look at how the constable saga is affecting two Democratic primaries, county judge (with Foster running for re-election) and county commissioner Precinct 4 (with Elba Garcia, ironically the wife of Cortes' lawyer, the front-runner). We followed with an editorial in today's paper taking District Attorney Craig Watkins to task for, in effect, dragging his feet on a criminal investigation that forced the Foster-led commissioners' civil investigation, which led to the Defenbaugh report, which can yield no criminal charges before voters determine Cortes' fate in the primary, which is the real election since the Republicans have no candidate. That's a lot of words to plow through, but taken collectively, they give you a fairly complete picture of the political mess this has become.
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The entry "Lots of words to chew over on Dallas County's constable mess" is tagged: Craig Watkins , Dallas County constables
I'm still sorting, but here's a snapshot of today's e-mail: Lots of election letters, both for and against the candidates recommended on our Sunday pages. Look for these on our editorial and community opinions pages. And yes, there are two separate elections, to answer one writer, and you have to choose to vote. Health care -- a few, both for and against. Several letters on the pilot who crashed into the IRS offices in Austin. Most of them decried the act. Several criticized the linkage of the Austin case with the Tea Party movement. Stephanie Mueller's column on the property tax drew letters on both sides.
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The entry "Out of the inbox" is tagged: Out of the inbox
The candidates for governor have been less than forthcoming about how they would correct Texas' budget shortfall next year. Perhaps they are lacking in details because the state can't get out of its $10 billion to $15 billion budget hole without real pain. As the list of cuts that rolled out of state agencies last week showed, we can't get there without reducing spending on colleges, hospitals, prisons and schools. I don't dispute the need for those cuts, which total about $2.1 billion. Maybe some items on that list don't belong there, but by and large those reductions are the type we must endure. The Legislative Budget Board, which consists of the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker and other members, would be right to approve those they can constitutionally before the 2011 session begins. That way, we can get on with reducing the deficit. But those cuts aren't nearly enough to balance the budget. We must find savings elsewhere. As interim committees work on this problem, they should pursue this strategy:
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The entry "Austin needs a three-legged stool to balance Texas' budget" is tagged: 2010 campaign , Texas budget |