Of Balanced Budgets and Bankruptcies

This was Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in December, extolling the fiscal responsibility of the states in comparison to the federal government:

"A balanced budget amendment is a good idea, but certainly not a new one. All but one of the 50 states already have some form of a balanced budget amendment in their state constitutions, and we can draw from the experience of the states in drafting an amendment appropriate for the federal government."
-- Senator John Cornyn, December 1, 2010

This was Senator Cornyn this week, explaining what he thinks is needed to rescue those same states:

"Senate Republican leaders said on Tuesday they were considering introducing legislation to allow financially stressed U.S. states to declare bankruptcy ... 'We're exploring that as a responsible option,' Senator John Cornyn, who sits on both the Budget and Finance committees, told reporters."
-- Reuters

After the jump, tying Cornyn's ideas together.

Giving Children a Chance at an Education Costs Money

"If we take these steps -- if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they're born until the last job they take ... America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world."
-- President Barack Obama, January 25, 2011

Texas will be lucky if we don't dash expectations for every child over the next two years. The state legislature has proposed a budget that slashes expenditures on pre-kindergarten, elementary, secondary and college education. The impact on the Richardson school district (RISD) alone could be as high as $54 million.

Despite the gloomy news from Austin, locally the RISD is doing what it can to continue to provide the superior education that the RISD has been known for. That means, despite the pressure on funding for continuing operations coming from the state, the RISD is planning to continue investing in capital projects.

After the jump, news about the upcoming RISD bond election.

SOTU: Breaking the Back of this Recession

"These steps we've taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession, but to win the future, we'll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making."
-- President Barack Obama, January 25, 2011

What "breaking the back of this recession" looks like in graphic form:

Brick Row Hits Brick Wall

Brick Row

 

"I will admit: it is fun to watch a city council rake a developer over the coals"
-- RT @imccanntx on Twitter

The city council is Richardson's. The developer is David Gleeson, representative for Richardson's Brick Row development. The fun is, perhaps, a guilty pleasure that Richardson may pay for later.

The city council turned down a request by the developers to change the mix of residential units in Brick Row, eliminating condos that won't sell and increasing the number of apartments that have a better chance of attracting tenants. Ian McCann has the details in The Dallas Morning News Richardson blog.

After the jump, looking at this from different angles.

Lookout, Bush Station, The Rule Is Changing

"The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday -- but never jam today."
--The White Queen, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

Just like the White Queen, politicians have a way of insisting on one set of behaviors yesterday, and maybe tomorrow, but not necessarily today. Washington politicians are particularly adept at this.

For example, take the scripted GOP talking point all through 2009 and early 2010 that the Democrats were wrong to "waste time" on health care reform when the sick economy was what needed the country's full attention. So, what does the GOP do as their first priority when they take control of Congress? Well, waste time with a symbolic vote to repeal health care reform, of course. Jam yesterday and jam tomorrow, but not today. That even they realized how hypocritical it was is evidenced by them putting "job-killing" into the title of the bill, "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act."

After the jump, changing the menu in Richardson depending on what day it is.

Halas Trophy in Hand, Lombardi Trophy in Sight

from Green Bay Press Gazette

Does anyone have an extra ticket or two to give away? It doesn't hurt to ask, right?!? That's how I got to see the Ice Bowl game for the 1967 NFL championship.

That Super Bowl XLV is being played in Arlington is only one local connection to the game. Another one, even closer to home, my Richardson school district home, is that Lake Highlands High School grad and Green Bay Packers rookie Marshall Newhouse is headed to the Super Bowl. The Advocate has the story.

Judging by the graphic above from the Green Bay Press Gazette, the mood in Green Bay is ebullient. Meanwhile, the mood in Chicago is black. Here, for example, is ESPNChicago.com's Michael Wilbon:

"Perhaps never has there been more despair in Chicago over quarterback incompetence than in the wake of the loss to the Packers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. Forbidding the mention of the name Jay Cutler may be the best way to cope with winter. Only a Bears quarterback could stink out the joint and then get worse while sitting on the sideline."

Ouch.

Website Redesign and Pay Wall at TDMN

Jeffrey Weiss of The Dallas Morning News asked readers for their opinion of the newspaper's website redesign. That's easy. The old site was cluttered and navigation a nightmare. The new look is cleaner and more consistent throughout. That's good.

There are still some rough edges. Most annoying: headlines that serve as links to stories don't have dates associated with them. It's impossible to tell if a story is an hour old or several months old. For example, the fourth headline in "Top Stories" for Richardson Berkner sports is "Richardson Berkner 37, Samuell 6." It turns out that's a football score from last November. Hardly a "top story" anymore. A date would help readers know that.

After the jump, why website design is largely irrelevant anyway and the more important issue, the new pay wall at The Dallas Morning News.

Shutting the Door to the City on a Hill

In his farewell address to the nation on January 11, 1989, President Ronald Reagan turned one last time to an image he frequently referred to over his long career in public office:

"I've spoken of the 'shining city [upon a hill]' all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still."

I was reminded of President Reagan's farewell address when reading about the draconian state budget proposed by Rep. Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie), Chairman of the Texas House Appropriations Committee.

After the jump, how we've lost sight of Reagan's vision.

"We have billions in surplus."

"We have billions in surplus."
-- Governor Rick Perry, February 8th, 2010 in a TV advertisement

"Public education in Texas faces massive cuts"
-- Headline, January 19, 2011, in The Austin American Statesman.

After the jump, wrapping my head around the contradiction.

What Happened at the Big Public Hearing?

The big public hearing over the rezoning request for the vacant land surrounding the Bush Turnpike Station in Richardson was held last night. It was the biggest thing to hit the Richardson city council since Channel 8 accused the council of trying to set up a red light district in Richardson.

After the jump, the reason for the question mark at the end of the headline.