CashAmerica and Pete Sessions - Update

Last January, I blogged that Congressman Pete Sessions' biggest campaign contributor was CashAmerica, "a big payday lender, a practice sometimes accused of offering short-term loans with exorbitant fees and usurious interest rates to people who can least afford it."

After the jump, look who else is noticing.

Skyline 42, Lake Highlands 6

From 2012 10 05 Skyline vs LHHS

The Dallas Skyline Raiders defeated the Lake Highlands Wildcats 42-6 Friday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Skyline is now 2-0 in district 9-5A and Lake Highlands drops to 1-1.

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: Leaving Australia Behind

Time it was and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you

Source: Paul Simon, Bookends.

I have a photograph. Lots of photographs.

After the jump, a last look at Australia.

After Direct Election of Mayor, What Next?

The November ballot in Richardson will let voters decide whether to change Richardson's city charter to institute direct election of the mayor. Barring an unforeseen big bucks "Vote No" campaign, I expect the amendment to pass.

After the jump, what to expect next.

First Presidential Debate

My quick impressions.

President Obama was hesitant, thinking on his feet instead of rattling off rehearsed lines. He didn't do a good job of defending his signature domestic achievements: guiding the economy through the worse recession since the Great Depression, financial reform to insure against a repeat, and health care reform to extend coverage to tens of millions of Americans and improve coverage for all. Obama missed many opportunities to point out that Romney's promises sound good, but there is nothing behind his "plans."

After the jump, my impressions of Romney and my overall winner.

Repeat Tweets: Are You Better Off?

Repeat tweets from September, 2012:

• 2012 09 01 - All aboard: "A private consortium has expressed interest in financing the entire 62-mile Cotton Belt Corridor project." http://t.co/C3sqJnFl
  
• 2012 09 01 - Headline: "Texas High School Claims Title in Football's Megascreen Wars." Thank you, RISD for not playing this game. http://t.co/nwkh8IJo
  
• 2012 09 01 - My Week with Marilyn (2011): Captures MM's loneliness but not her magnetism. Makes Laurence Olivier look like a hack. Still, touching. B-
  
• 2012 09 01 - Headline: "Cardinal Carlo Martini says Church '200 years behind'" I think he's being generous to the Church. http://t.co/LLqtFtRT
  
• 2012 09 03 - Tort reform supporter Texas Comptroller Susan Combs: "Sue, baby, sue. I want to say let’s just keep suing those guys." http://t.co/JX4aHWh3
  
• 2012 09 03 - RT Eric Cantor: "Today [Labor Day], we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success." WTF?
  
• 2012 09 03 - ...Marigold Hotel (2011): Retirees seek new start in India. All-star ensemble cast. Exotic location. Everything is all right in the end. A-
  
• 2012 09 04 - Are you better off than you were four years ago? "Absolutely. Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive." -- VP Joe Biden
  
• 2012 09 04 - Are you better off than you were four years ago? "We’re better off. Obama pursued an all-of-the-above [energy] strategy." -- Duke Energy CEO
  
• 2012 09 04 - Are you better off than you were four years ago? Yes, "government guarantees health care for virtually all its citizens." -- Timothy Noah
  
• 2012 09 04 - Are you better off than you were four years ago? Yes, we put out the fire, we're rebuilding, & we won't let the arsonists back -- Dean Baker
  
• 2012 09 05 - Are you better off than you were four years ago? "Our country was on the verge of a financial meltdown of global proportion." - Nancy Pelosi
  
• 2012 09 05 - Are you better off than you were four years ago? "Did the Mavs have a title 4 years ago? No. Do they now? Yes. Next question." -- Mark Cuban
  
• 2012 09 06 - Are you better off now than four years ago? "Ask Osama bin Laden if he's better off now than he was four years ago." -- Wayne Slater
  
• 2012 09 06 - "Are we better off than when he took office, with an economy in free fall, losing 750,000 jobs a month? The answer is yes!" -- Bill Clinton
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Review: Bring Up the Bodies

Amazon

From The Bring Up The Bodies, by Hilary Mantel

'Jane,' he says, 'if the time comes when you wish to disburden your conscience, do not go to a priest, come to me. The priest will give you a penance, but I will give you a reward.'"

After the jump, my review.

Yes, Budget Cuts Hurt Schools

In June, this was the attitude of Rodger Jones (editorial writer for The Dallas Morning News and Richardson resident) towards the state budget cuts for public schools:

Like lots of people who care about education, I surely thought the sky was falling last year, when the Legislature was getting ready to cut education just like any other area of spending.

But what about the kids? I gasped. They're not sacrosanct? Austin would treat schools just like another program -- belt-tightening and everything?

I had visions of massive layoffs, classes doubled up, kids sharing desks, teachers teaching in the dark.

Source: Rodger Jones, The Dallas Morning News.

Those horror stories didn't come true, right? All's cool in school, right? After the jump, clearing up cloudy vision.

QE3

Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher gave a speech in Richardson on Friday at the University of Texas at Dallas about the Federal Reserve's latest attempt to boost the economy by buying bonds, called "QE3":

Fisher also said he was worried about "what it will look like" if the bond-buying program does boost the economy and rates start to rise, forcing the Fed to incur losses on its multitrillion-dollar portfolio of bonds.

Source: The Economic Times.

After the jump, I'll translate for you.

S2L77: Around the World in 800 Days

I always knew that you would
take yourself far from home
as soon as, as far as, you could go.

Source: Natalie Merchant, "Gun Shy".

The lyrics are sung by an older sister describing her coming-of-age brother, but they could have described me. I grew up in Wisconsin. I love the state. Nevertheless, within a month or two of graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1974, I had in hand a plane ticket for a flight across the Pacific Ocean to Melbourne, Australia, about as far away from home as it's possible to go without leaving the planet. It's a big world out there and I wanted to experience some of it. My stay in Australia lasted two years.

After the jump, my slow way home.