Whitt’s End: 4.1.11

Whether you’ve reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End: Plaaaaaay baaalllllll! My prediction: Your Texas Rangers will finish second to the Anaheim Angels in the AL West and miss the playoffs. Hey, repeatin’ ain’t easy. For most teams in baseball losing…

Do Legal Mexican Immigrants Really Sympathize with Illegals?

Dear Readers: Rather than me punk ustedes with a prank, I give you the cruelest joke of all—ex-congressman and eternal Know Nothing Tom Tancredo! In return for his graciously allowing us to debate in Denver last year, I’ve allowed him to answer two questions of my choosing, with no editorial…

Mayor Dwaine Caraway still doesn’t get how he abused the system.

You needed to be there. Last week, moments after Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway lost his attempt to suppress an embarrassing police voice recording, he strode out into the courthouse corridor loaded for bear. A large crowd of press had been waiting, meek as scolded third-graders in the principal’s outer office…

And Why Do You Want to Be Dallas Mayor?

Who says the four Dallas mayoral candidates haven’t distinguished themselves from one another? Last night at that forum at Thomas Jefferson High School, the first question they had to answer (and the best question of the night) was why they wanted to be mayor. Dallas city council member and entrepreneur…

Meet Dancer Summer Amshoff

Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans, where we meet some of the people behind the local music scene — those who aren’t necessarily members of local bands, but more the people who make the scene move.The thing with beautiful “rock chicks” that dance onstage is that most of them stop far…

Does Texas Need a Debacle?

Two experiences over the weekend have given me hope. One was watching a documentary on the catastrophic 1911 Triangle Waist Factory Fire in New York, and the other was a seminar I attended on the state budget crisis. Debacles can be good for us. The documentary made an argument that…

They’re From the Business Community and Here to Help You. Yeah, Right.

The Reverend Gerald Britt Jr. of Central Dallas Ministries (now called “CitySquare” for some unfathomable reason) had an op-ed in The Dallas Morning News yesterday that made my heart ache. Britt, a good guy deeply dedicated to southern Dallas, recited all the recent population numbers that show an immense outflow…

Whitt’s End: 3.25.11

Whether you’ve reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End: *Like me, do you think the Texas Rangers are kinda getting caught with their pants on the ground with their pitching staff exposed? The time to go get a reliable closer…

Will the “Real” Mexicans Please Stand Up?

Dear Mexican: I often pick up the Albuquerque Alibi to read your babosadas. Now, let me get this straight: You appear to be a bright guy who claims to have the Mexican people all figured out, right? To you, we are all 5 feet 6 inches tall, medium-complexioned and we…

The 30 Best One-Hit Wonders of ’90s Hip-Hop

 “Jump Around” was more than just a flash-in-the-pan radio hit — it’s been included on pretty much every “best hip-hop songs of all time” list. And who could disagree? It was a hell of a song. Plus, due to its constant usage in every sports arena on the planet, the song…

Welcome to Fun City U.S.A.

We had a nice little chat here yesterday, didn’t we, about South by Southwest in Austin and all the attention Austin got and all the attention Dallas didn’t? I thought it sparked some really interesting comments about what is and isn’t and ought to be in our fair city. The…

SMU Advances in the CBI While the Final Four Comes to SMU. Wait, What?

Last night the SMU Mustangs quietly tip-toed into the semifinals of something called the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) with a seven-point win at Northern Iowa. It’s not exactly March Madness – more like March Mediocrity – but considering the Mustangs and head coach Matt Doherty haven’t had a lot of success they’ll take it…

Dallas, a Polka City in a Rock and Roll World

A couple weeks ago in my guise as Jim Schutze, really cool hipster (instead of crazy old man with gun), I wrote a post for DC9 At Night about Michael Seman, a research associate and doctoral candidate at University of North Texas’ Center for Economic Development and Research, who is…