the big d

I love Dallas, but this is silly:







Having lived there for 18 years, the last two of which I was pretty well-informed on the various wheelings and dealings, I know that Dallas has all the problems of a big city, none of which can be solved by exclamation points. Shall we enumerate and give it a try anyway?

• A heavily polluted Trinity River cutting through the center of the city that remains undeveloped despite ten years and billions of dollars spent on planning!
• Said Trinity also acts as a de facto segregation line, cutting off low-income and minority residents in South Dallas from the wealth and services of the Park Cities!
• The failure to return a storied NFL franchise to the actual City of Dallas, despite an existing stadium that could be easily refurbished!
• A series of corrupt and unaccountable school superintendents who have driven an already low-performing district into the ground for the last eight or so years!
• The continued northward expansion of the suburbs, as more and more citizens flee the central city and downtown literally empties of life!
• The blight of the historic Deep Ellum arts district due to money-grubbing landlords that don't understand what made it so cool in the first place!
• A statutorily useless mayor who made the jump from investigative journalist/gadfly to the pocket of American Airlines luxury box billionaires!

Is it working yet?! Laura Miller is frothing at the mouth! Tom Hicks and the DBC are straining at their chains! Forward! Forward!! FORWARD!