Tom Leppert prepares for a mayoral forum. We are so kidding. Or…are we? I attended mayoral forum other night at Paul Quinn College, where about 100 students and faculty gathered to hear the candidate posse tell their stories. I had been away from the forum scene for a while, and…
Dear Readers, The Reconquista has arrived! On May 1, Ask a Mexican! comes out in book form gracias to the literary madmen at Scribner. Expect more of the same, but más: more essays, more illustrations from Mark Dancey (the gabacho who created this column’s logo) and more questions. Below is…
Personal unsolicited note of political advice from Jim Schutze to city council candidate Jill Kotvis. Below please find short list of translations from PublicSpeak to reality: PublicSpeak: “This campaign intends to stick to the issues, and we urge our opponent to do the same.” … means in reality: “Guilty as…
Of all the campaign literature piling up on our mail table at home, the most surprising piece came in a couple days ago from TrinityVote, the folks who want a referendum next fall to take the proposed toll road out of the river park downtown. It wasn’t the top but…
My speech a couple days ago at the Lakewood branch of the Dallas Public Library was a huge success. Fans camped out all night so they could be sure of getting in. There were the typical tailgate parties and lewd shenanigans in the parking lot, and then they embarrassed the…
Woonerfs have appeared to me, and now I understand the universe. Even more amazing, for the first time I understand Ed Oakley. Sort of. Ed Oakley. Dallas City Council member. Candidate for mayor. Chairman of the Trinity River committee. Mr. Woonerful. Let me say this about that: At least symbolically,…
Dear Mexican, Have you seen the e-mail flying around, allegedly from country rock star Charlie Daniels? What’s your reaction? —The Mexicans Went Down to Georgia Dear Gabacho, I love it. For ustedes readers who don’t know what we’re talking about: In April 2006, one-hit has-been Charlie Daniels posted an essay…
Always kind of putting yourself out there, aren’t you, Robert? I think it may be worth noting that I was actually a member of the group at the Pontiac Young Men’s Vocational Academy (where I studied journalism and wood-turning), who invented cheerleading. I’m the guy on the far right. That…
Dear Mexican, I lived here illegally for the first half of my life, so I’m very offended when I hear anti-immigrant comments. I especially can’t stand “Illegals don’t pay taxes, so they shouldn’t be here.” When my father applied for residency during the amnesty in the 1980s, part of the…
We need to get a few things out of the way right here at the top. Please tell me that I am thin-skinned. Thank you. Now I would like you to tell me this is all just sour grapes. Great. And finally, please tell me I’m just jealous. Hey, that…
Dear Mexican, What do Mexicans think about President Bush’s grandfather having a hand in getting the guy that robbed Pancho Villa’s head out of jail? —Kruising Klassily in Kennebunkport Dear KKK, Ah, Villa’s stolen skull. No macabre Mexican legend is more mired in intrigue, distortions and looniness. Here are the…
One of the things you hope you get to see every once in a while in a democracy—at least catch glimpses of—is democracy. Those of us who are over 21 and have attended a county fair or two know better than to expect to find it just lying around on…
Next month, the American Institute of Architects is going to give its Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design to the Dallas Trinity River Corridor Project for its having a “Balanced Vision Plan.” This raises the question whether urban design expert Alex Krieger and transportation planner William Eager should receive…
I just looked at FrontBurner and their take on my column and the Trinity River project. Wow. Wick’s really got the hammer down over there if he’s got even Rod Davis toting the note on this crap. Rod, you are the new Steve Blow. I gather from the breathless quality…
Dear Mexican, Why should Mexican nationals have more of a right to stay in this country than Chinese, Somalis or others who can’t cross an open land border and must thus wait on the bureaucracy like everybody else? —700 Miles Isn’t Long Enough Dear Gabacho, ‘Cause this land once belonged…
It’s true: Nothing brings out the courage or the imagination in this town like the Trinity River project, our gigantic multibillion-dollar plan to build a magnificent park in the center of the city. But there’s also nothing else quite like it for bringing out the groveling, the up-sucking and under-knuckling…
You know, of course, that they don’t let you talk about the really good questions from listeners when you’re on a talk show. I was on Think on KERA-FM (90.1) at noon today with Krys Boyd. She’s real smart. Dave Levinthal of The Dallas Morning News and I were talking…
Robert, as you know, I will be appearing on the KERA-FM (90.1) radio program, Think About It, I believe it’s called, at noon today with Dave Levinthal of The Dallas Morning News to discuss important issues in the mayor’s race. I wanted to tell you and share with our blog…
I just got back from the big annual luncheon put on by Trinity Commons Foundation, the private lobby group pushing for the toll road along the river, where the featured speaker was our mayor, Laura Miller. And…wow! She’s upset. Miller devoted her whole speech to a finger-wagging attack on city…
Dear Readers, Muchas, muchas responses to my March 8 column asking whether I should keep this column’s gold-toothed, mustachioed, sombrero-wearing fat Mexican logo and what should I name him. The overwhelming majority of ustedes support amnesty for the wab, but a few folks also made articulate arguments in favor of…
Ask a Mexican! Naming Debate In no particular order, sense or rhythm… I’ve been around a long time, managed to laugh at Speedy Gonzalez and José Jimenez, could have cared less about the Frito Bandito and couldn’t understand the flap over the Taco Bell chihuahua, even though it was led…
Dear Mexican, I am perplexed. I just saw a middle-aged wab (complete with a bright-red, lipstick-accentuated mustache) wearing tight pink stretch pants with the phrase “Pink Taco” emblazoned across her misshapen buttocks. In my experience, Mexicans of the Mexico-born variety seem to wear a lot of clothes with odd/tacky slogans…
