Cooperate With The Census

In the next week or so, every household will receive a census form in the mail. You can take the anti-government Tea Party position that the census asks too many questions and intrudes on our privacy and refuse to fill it out. Or you can take the practical approach and cooperate because it's in your self interest to do so. The census is used to determine everything from who represents you in Congress to how much federal money your state and county receive. Besides, not completing the census is against the law.

After the jump, my own argument for cooperating with the census.

Sex Education Could Get Interesting in RISD

Jennifer Najera Hague

Monday was the last day to file to run for any of the three seats on the Richardson ISD (RISD) school board up for election May 8. And all three seats drew multiple candidates. Three of the candidates look like they could make the election one to watch.

After the jump, a first look at our potential new trustees.

OTBR: Underneath a Prickly Pear Cactus

Latitude: 32.826301° N
Longitude: 111.248299° W

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

David Smith Gives A Tea Party And Nobody Comes

David Smith

Pete Sessions easily won re-nomination for his Texas Congressional District 32 seat in Tuesday's GOP primary with over 83% of the vote. Fifty points if you can name the opponent he defeated. ... Time's up. It was David Smith.

David Smith is a blogger for the Dallas County Republican Examiner. He's up with a post-mortem of his campaign. He calls it a wrap-up but he can't quite bring himself to admit it's really over: "Well, it began here, it ends here--or perhaps I should say, it continues here!"

After the jump, what Smith has to say about his loss.

"Keep parents as far from the schools as possible"

That philosophy may soon be represented on the State Board of Education (SBOE). Two seats on the SBOE changed hands Tuesday as a result of the GOP primary election. In District 12, which includes north Dallas, Richardson and Plano, the challenger George Clayton beat long-time SBOE member, social conservative Geraldine "Tincy" Miller. In District 12, which includes northern Collin County and counties east of Dallas all the way down to Bryan, challenger Thomas Ratliff beat former SBOE chairman, young-Earth Creationist Don McLeroy.

Tincy Miller has been on the SBOE since 1984. She is a social conservative whose viewpoints have gradually come to be considered moderate as the SBOE has veered farther and farther right. Don McLeroy is leader of the far-right conservative faction on the SBOE who favored science standards that discredit evolution and social studies standards that promote his belief of America as a Christian nation.

After the jump, some lessons from the election results.

Races I've Been Watching

It's primary election night in Texas. I've been watching a few races. The polls are still open, but some of the results appear clear already.

After the jump, my last prognostications before the results are announced.

Only God Can Make A Tree

Heights Park

Well, God and Richardson City Council member Amir Omar. Omar revealed his long-teased secret project at Monday night's Richardson City Council meeting. "'Tree the Town' is a progressive tree planting initiative with the goal of adding 50,000 trees to Richardson."

You might think planting trees is a no-brainer. After the jump, let's look at the spectrum of reactions.

Early Spring In The Steger Garden (2010)

From Flowers

Striking A Blow Against Ill-Informed Pedantry

Steve Blow of The Dallas Morning News writes about Bryan Garner, Dallas resident and author of many books on grammar and linguistics. (If you can state the distinction between those two words, you're more of a language expert than I am.)

After the jump, how Garner the grammar man puts down Steve Blow's "ill-informed pedantry."

Amir Omar, Public Policy Tease

This week, Richardson City Council member Amir Omar has been teasing those who follow his Twitter feed with promises of great things for Richardson soon to be revealed.

"7 days till the presentation of the signature project I've been teasing! Hundreds of hrs of work finally revealed!"

"Just landed my 3rd Corp Sponsor for the project I've been working on! March 1st council meeting it will all be made public!"

After the jump, why I'm not holding my breath.