Veterans Park, Fry's, Sweet Tomatoes and Strawberries

Isn't it about Day 12 of the Swine Flu Siege? Everywhere I go there are kids. It's time for them to go back to school. Then again we are almost at the time of year when school here lets out for the summer, so the respite would be brief.

I have a slightly sore throat and an odd burning sensation. I'm not much of a hypochondriac, but I'm almost certain my immune system is battling something.

I needed to get a web cam today. That meant going to Fry's Electronics in Arlington. That easily turned into going on a hike around Veterans Park on the way.

There were a lot of those aforementioned kids running around in Veterans Park. Veterans Park is in Arlington. Has Arlington closed its schools too? I don't know.

Today the Veteran statue at the memorial in Veterans Park, in addition to his regular guard duty, was also protecting wildflowers, helping to enforce a sign asking people to please STAY OFF WILDFLOWERS. Sadly, there did not appear to be too many wildflowers to stay off of, with no real need for a guard.

I don't like shopping, unless I already know exactly what I want. This was not the case with the web cam. Too many choices of varying levels of quality. I ended up with an HP web cam.

After Fry's it was around lunch time. Since I was in the neighborhood, a visit to Sweet Tomatoes seemed to make sense. Despite previously saying that until this flu crisis abates I was going to stay out of buffet lines.

But, I came prepared. I had my mask, I had several pairs of surgical gloves, I had my hand sanitizer. I'm almost 100% I did not pick up a virus while picking up stuff to eat in the buffet line.

Speaking of eating, it had been awhile since I'd been to Sweet Tomatoes. It seemed particularly good today. Strawberry is the theme for the month. There was a strawberry salad, strawberry buttermilk muffin,, strawberry mouse (is that how you spell that? It does not look right), strawberry cobbler and I'm probably forgetting a strawberry thing or two.

Glen Bucy Takes On Fort Worth's Good Ol' Boy Network

A 27 year old Fort Worth native named Glen Bucy has had enough of Fort Worth's Good Ol' Boy Network and the wrong direction he feels it has Fort Worth heading.

And so Glen Bucy is taking on Jungus Jordan, trying to take his city council seat away, and thus removing one member of Fort Worth's Ruling Junta.

Wikipedia has an article about Good Ol' Boy Networks. Below is part of that article...

Good ol' boy describes a system of social networking and perceptions alleged to exist prevalently among certain communities and social strata in the United States. Although the term originated in the South, these networks can be found throughout the U.S. and the rest of the Western world. It is typically taken to refer to informal legal, judicial, social, religious, business, and political associations among white males ("good ol' boys"); however, in modern times can be composed of either or both sexes. In some areas, the good ol' boy network is said to still exert considerable influence over many aspects of local government, business, and law enforcement. Usage of the term can often imply a wrongful exclusion of others from the network; however, often the emphasis is on inclusion of a member, as in, "doing a good ol' boy a favor".

Some negative effects of the good ol' boy network are its exclusion of others, leading to leaders of a community possibly limiting business transactions to other elites, or to friends or acquaintances from within the network, to give friends better deals, and generally to reinforce traditional power structures over any other elements in the society.

In West & Clear's Forum about the City Council Elections someone named fwtacoma (not me) commented on Glen Bucy's qualifications, to which Glen Bucy replied with the following...

fwtacoma, I respect your view on my candidacy. However, you said “you probably are not familiar with way a city is run, much less this City.” Let me start by saying that I know exactly how this city works, that is why I am running. The city is run by the “good old boy” club and “special interests”.

The people of Fort Worth have been forgotten. I am running to let city council and our leadership know that “We the people” are not blind to their true motives and interests.

I am reminded of a quote by Edmond Burke “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” I respect Mr. Jordon and mean him no ill will, however, I do believe that Mr. Jordon and most of the city council are ethically challenged and I question their true intentions for running for public office.

With that being said do not belittle my experience, in my 27 years of life, I have been faced by more challenges then most people experience in a lifetime. I have looked evil in the eye and emerged victorious. At the age of 17, I was shot at and many of my friends killed just for attending a church service. When I was 21 I faced an almost constant bombardment of Mortar attacks, multiple IEDs, and the possibility of death on a daily basis while serving my country which includes Fort Worth in Afghanistan fighting in the War on Terror.

Age is not a matter of importance, our own mayor was elected to his first public office in his 20’s or is he a more qualified candidate because of his families status in Fort Worth? I have fought for my county against evil and those who would seek to harm her. I am now fighting for the People of Fort Worth and their interests I.E. “Roads” and not of those who would contribute the most money to my campaign. Let me remind you that our first President was not an Economist, but a Soldier!

The church service to which Bucy refers, where he was shot at and saw friends killed, was the infamous Wedgewood Baptist Church Massacre about a decade ago, soon after I moved to Fort Worth.

Fort Worth Blossoms Under Mike Moncrief

This morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram's letters to the editor once more had 2 letters to the editor in support of re-electing Mayor Mike Moncrief.

And once again the letters appear to have spun from the same boiler plate as previous letters to the editor in support of Moncrief.

And for the first time amongst these letters hyperbolic nonsense there is a mention made of some actual thing Moncrief supposedly has done for Fort Worth during his reign, that being a supposed 10% reduction in homelessness.

These cliche filled letters have so many gems. In one the writer says he or she had watched the community rally behind the homeless program? Huh? How do you watch such a thing? And the city has blossomed under Moncrief? Huh, again? How has it blossomed? Are there more wildflowers?

Anyway, below are the 2 Moncrief letters of the day (that the Star-Telegram should charge a fee to print as an advertisement)....

Fort Worth mayor

Mike Moncrief has long ago proved his loyalty and devotion to Texas and to the city of Fort Worth.

One can research his political career and see that his tireless efforts and his personal contributions more than reflect this dedication to service. He has proved himself to be a brilliant businessman and has a vision of many improvements for the future of Fort Worth.

This city has blossomed since he took office, and I hope to see him here for a long time.

It would be so nice to read ALL of the facts and not just the bits and pieces of information that the Star-Telegram wants us to know — therefore we must do our homework.

— Phyllis Campos, Fort Worth

Mayor Mike Moncrief’s homeless-assistance initiative shows his sincere and heartfelt passion for our city and all our residents.

I recently saw that homelessness in Fort Worth has been reduced by almost 10 percent in the short time of this important program. Moncrief’s leadership on this issue has uplifted community awareness and inspired action by many in the city for a group of neighbors who are truly least fortunate.

I have watched the community rally behind this very worthy program to help house, care for and retrain the city’s homeless population. A great leader is measured on many levels, and Fort Worth is fortunate to have a mayor whose sincerity and compassion inspires others.

— Libby Lindstrom, Arlington

28 Questions for Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief

Minutes ago I got a blog comment regarding Fort Worth's corrupt Mayor Moncrief, who is seeking to be re-elected, asking 28 questions of the Mayor of Fort Worth who answers no questions. I published the comments and then thought them worthy of a blogging.

Here are the questions the Mayor of Fort Worth can't or refuses to or won't answer...

28 Questions for Mike Moncrief

1. Do you think that your personal relationship with executives from Four Sevens Oil/Gas Co. and possibly other such firms sends the wrong message to Fort Worth citizens who expect you to make unbiased decisions on their behalf? Do you see it as a conflict of interest? Should you recuse yourself from any City Council decisions regarding that firm or any others seeking gas drilling business in Fort Worth?

2. Will you please provide an exact date for when the gas drilling Task Force will convene to revisit the drilling ordinance as was announced months ago? Why has the city continued to issue drilling permits during the same time period without offering citizen input? Why does the Task Force consist of an inordinate number of lawyers for the gas drilling interests and developers? Shouldn't this committee be made up exclusively of concerned citizens?

3. Will you institute an immediate moratorium on drilling permits until the Task Force has adequate time to research and discuss this complicated issue that can have severely detrimental effects on our health, property values and safety? Will you make that moratorium retroactive for any permits issued that are yet to be operational?

4. Why has the city yet to announce a formal evacuation plan near existing drill sites in the event of a catastrophic accident?

5. What is the blast radius of a typical gas well drilled inside the city limits?

6. How does Fort Worth compare with other cities of similar size in the number of acres of green space? How many acres of existing green space will be lost within the city limits if drilling continues as currently allowed? How does this relate to the fact that Fort Worth is one of the only cities in Texas without a tree protection ordinance?

7. Are the effects of gas drilling in Fort Worth considered when making plans to clean up the air quality in Fort Worth? Considering that we had a significant increase in high ozone days this past summer (2005) and that the weather patterns will tend to be the same or worse in coming years, is it prudent to allow another substantial pollution source to be added to this serious health problem?

8. Since it is a known fact that gas drilling has a negative impact on property values and marketability and that even Tarrant County Commissioner, J.D. Johnson, among many others, has suffered great loss to his property due to gas drilling, why isn¹t more done to notify citizens of these facts and change the ordinance to minimize or eliminate such damages? Why wasn¹t this announced before the ordinance was in place? Are you concerned that perhaps the city and private mineral rights owners may be sued for damages to their property values and for other reasons?

9. Do you agree that allowing such an industry-friendly ordinance to be in place is an example of misplaced priorities?

10. Were the negative impacts of long term use of heavy duty, industrial gas drilling vehicles on city streets considered when the ordinance was written?

11. How do you respond to Fort Worth police officer, Augustus Green, NPO, who has written that gas drilling in neighborhoods is a crime magnet, a noise and dust nuisance, and increases traffic congestion?

12. Are you concerned with the multi-millions of gallons of clean Fort Worth water that is used in drilling each gas well while we remain in a prolonged drought with no foreseeable end and an ever increasing population?

13. What is your reaction to the many reports of illegal dumping of oil and polluted water by gas drilling companies working in our area? How do you feel about the various criminal indictments against oil/gas executives nationwide?

14. Do you agree that gas drilling in Fort Worth will have a negative effect on the city of Fort Worth's image around the country and the world? Do you anticipate a decrease in convention and tourism dollars as a result? Do you think a city that allows gas drilling in it's neighborhoods fits the criteria of one of America's Most Livable Cities?

15. Are you aware that HUD (Federal Dept. of Housing and Urban Development) reports that operating and abandoned gas wells pose potential hazards to housing, including potential fire, explosion, spray and other pollution? Why was this information not made public to Fort Worth citizens before the gas drilling ordinance was in place?

16. Is it true that the gas drilling companies, developers, their lawyers and JP-Morgan Chase had major roles in writing of the present ordinance? Do you think that might have the appearance of a conflict of interest to the average citizen?

17. What is a "tubingless" production well? Why are they considered so dangerous? Will they be allowed in Fort Worth? Can our inspectors adequately monitor their use?

18. What is a "sour gas" well? Does Fort Worth have any? Do we have a guarantee? Why are they so dangerous and what is the city doing to prevent their drilling? What are the negative health effects associated with such wells?

19. Do you think the statement, "The USA needs the gas so we must do our part," is an example of misplaced priorities? Wouldn't it be more prudent to improve conservation measures?

20. Are you aware that the process of gas well "fracturing" is known to pollute ground water, permanently polluting clean water sources? Did you know this exact problem occurred on the property of Tarrant County Commissioner, J.D. Johnson and that he had no recourse against the gas drilling company?

21. Do you think it's important to announce to the public that there is no such thing as "free money" from gas drilling under city owned property and that the negative effects may result in a net loss for taxpayers in the long run? Are you willing to pass this burden on to future generations?

22. Do you think that, all things considered, it has served the higher good of our city our neighborhoods and citizens to allow gas drilling under the present ordinance? In you opinion, has it enhanced or reduced our "quality of life"?

23. Do you agree that the city has bent over backwards to assist drilling companies while passing a white-washed ordinance with little to no protection for Fort Worth residents and their interests?

24. Are you aware that the noise from compressors and other equipment long after a well is completed has forced some residents to sell their property or endure unending noise?

25. Do you consider it unethical that gas drilling representatives fanned out to Fort Worth's various neighborhood groups to gain support for their activities without fully explaining the negative effects of such activities?

26. Will you please explain why there is not a viable forum for logging citizens complaints regarding gas drilling? Are you aware that city supervisor, David Lunsford, reports that there have been no citizen complaints about noise from drilling rigs, despite dozens of citizen reports to the contrary? Are you aware that the city attorney has advised calling 911 to lodge complaints?

27. Are you aware that the many problems associated with gas drilling are happening all across the country and are well documented in many cases by federal agencies such as the BLM and HUD as well as other trusted sources such as National Geographic? In spite of this you have allowed an industry friendly ordinance to be in place in Fort Worth. Do you regret you decision to allow this to happen and what, if anything, will you do to reverse it before more damage is done?

28. Considering all the above, would you be willing to live within 300' or even 3,000' of a gas well or a major pipeline? If not, why would expect anyone else to? Dear Mayor Moncrief: There are rumors circulating that the Task Force to revisit the gas drilling ordinance has been intentionally stacked with citizens who are pro drilling. It has been said that the reason the initial Task Force was canceled at the last minute was to keep citizens against gas drilling off the committee and allow council members to hand pick the committee. If this is true, doesn't that mean the Task Force is nothing more than a farce and that no meaningful changes to the ordinance can occur? At the very least, isn't this an unethical way of approaching this urgent and important public issue? Are you willing to make public record the mineral rights holdings of yourself and council members within Fort Worth?

Sincerely-
Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Ordinance

Great Depression 2.0, Nephew Joey, Wal-Mart & Spaghetti

One of my favorite Facebookers put spaghetti on my mind this morning. So, a bit after noon I headed to my nearby Wal-Mart Supercenter to get spaghetti fixin's.

Judging by the post-church throngs in Wal-Mart, today, it sure is hard to believe we are in the throes of the Great Depression 2.0.

In the Great Depression 1.0 there were food lines. In the Great Depression 2.0 there are grocery store lines.

I did not buy milk today. Nothing at Wal-Mart vexed me today.

Nephew Joey called a couple minutes ago to tell me he is heading south on June 20. South to Phoenix, not Texas. I'll see if I can get myself to Phoenix in June. By then it'll be real hot. But I should be used to it, being in Texas. But, Joey? Coming in from the frigid northwest?

Then again, the summer before I moved to Texas Joey and his big brother Jason took their favorite uncle to Las Vegas. Our second day there the paper had the news that the conditions were such that Death Valley might break its temperature record.

The nephews were game to go, so we headed to Death Valley. It did not break the record, but at the lowest spot in our hemisphere, Badwater, almost 300 feet below sea level, it was 124. So, I think Joey will do fine in a Phoenix summer.

So, that's my fine day today. That and the spaghetti was real good.

The Ongoing Onslaught Of Mayor Mike Moncrief Propaganda

I was looking for a "Ruling Junta" image and this is the best I could come up with.

Each morning brings fresh, cliche-ridden, propaganda-like letters to the editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that never have a single fact in them to buttress their exaggerated claims of the wonderfulness of the mayor reign of Mike Moncrief.

One of today's letter writers feels quite blessed to have Moncrief be the mayor of the greatest city in the world.

I'll copy the two letters below, then below that I'll have fun writing my own letter to the editor in support of Mike Moncrief in the style of these Ruling Junta shills.

Moncrief for mayor

There seems to be a lot of negative press lately about our mayor, Michael J. Moncrief.

I just wanted to say that Moncrief seems always to have the best interest of our city at heart without prejudice or personal gain.

He is always generous, respectable and honorable and seems to serve his community out of love for our city. I pray we are only so blessed to have Moncrief re-elected for another term as the representative of the greatest city in the world — Fort Worth.

— Donovan Steen, Fort Worth

This election is vital for Fort Worth, and the re-election of Mayor Mike Moncrief will help assure the integrity of this great city.

This is a treasure among other cities as we remain vibrant, fresh and full of life.

Moncrief fully backs our police and firefighters and their policies to enhance our safety. He supports tax controls and “real” spending accountability and champions quality-of-life efforts throughout our neighborhoods.

I have worked with Mike on a number of projects and know, without hesitation, that he is a man of his word and true to his commitment to us all. Fort Worth is one of the most desirable and livable cities in this country, and Mike and Rosie Moncrief work tirelessly to make that a reality for generations to come.

Moncrief has truly earned our vote — Fort Worth will remain in good hands as a result!

— Dr. William M. Jordan, Fort Worth

Mike Moncrief is the greatest mayor in the history of the world. I don't know how Fort Worth could possibly get along without his vibrant leadership which has made Fort Worth the envy of cities and towns far and wide.

Mike Moncrief is always a saint of a man. He listens to all points of view and then does what is right for Fort Worth.

Mike Moncrief looks after taxpayer's money with a vigilance that is truly admirable. A more honest, admirable, vigilant man can not be found anywhere in America.

Mike Moncrief cares deeply about the welfare of every citizen of Fort Worth. Mike is totally behind our firefighters and police, unlike other mayors who are not behind their firefighters and police.

Mike Moncrief works tirelessly to keep Fort Worth a city that has others green with envy over the most desirable and livable city in America. Mike does all this with only the interest of the city of Fort Worth in mind, with no personal gain to him.

You must vote for Mike Moncrief. The fate and future of Fort Worth hangs in the balance.

--Durango Jones, Fort Worth

Middle of the Night Thunderstorm in Fort Worth

No, that is not the dawn morning view from my patio door window.

That's not the sun coming up. It's a burst of light from a lightning strike. At 2 am, this morning.

In other words, it's been a rough night here in Cowtown. The thunderstorm didn't last too long, maybe a half an hour. But, it thoroughly woke me up.

Now that dawn has dawned I'm seeing what appears to be blue sky. I don't know how long that is going to last.

This latest round of storms has brought in a cold front. It is only 57 out there right now. Which means the pool will be back being warmer than the air, which is the reverse of the pool situation of late.

I think I'll head down to the pool zone now, before it gets any colder.

Dallas Cowboy Training Facility Destroyed By Micro-Burst, Not Tornado

Monday Update At Bottom

Last night I was puzzled when I looked at my FeedJit blog stats and saw that a large number of people were being directed to my blog when looking for information about a tornado hitting the Dallas Cowboy Stadium.

I knew we'd had a storm or two and were under Tornado Warning. But, I had heard no tornado sirens.

When I pulled the wrapper off the Sunday paper I saw what had actually happened. It was not a tornado. And it was not the Dallas Cowboy Stadium that was hit by wind.

It was the Dallas Cowboy training facility at Valley Ranch. And the wind was of the micro-burst sort with winds around 65 mph. The micro-burst struck around 3:30 in the afternoon.

There were about 70 people inside the facility when the roof was ripped off and the walls crashed down. There were 12 injuries, of which 10 were taken by ambulance to area hospitals, 7 to Los Colinas Medical Center in Irving and 3 to Parkland Memorial in Dallas. Two of the injured were able to make it as walk-ins to a Baylor medical facility.

I have experienced a micro-burst wind storm twice. Once where I am right now and another time experiencing the aftermath when a micro-burst destroyed most of what had been the Balloon Festival at Midlothian Airport. Micro-bursts are amazingly powerful, sort of scary, sort of exciting. I guess they are sort of a tornado-lite type phenomenon.

Monday, May 4 Update: Of the 12 injured by the micro-burst caused training facility collapse, scouting assistant, Rich Behm sustained a fractured spine that severed his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He had surgery at Parkland Memorial, in Dallas, the night of the collapse and is in stable condition.

Dallas Cowboys like Tony Romo and Jason Whitten were there to support the injured and their families. Dallas Cowboy owner, Jerry Jones, left the Kentucky Derby early to get back to Dallas to see the injured and their families, along with Cowboy coach, Wade Phillips. Jones and Phillips returned on Sunday, along with the other coaches and players.

Early Voting For Clyde Picht

I forgot to mention, in the previous blogging about going to Tandy Hills Park today, that on the way to do some high humidity hiking I saw that the public library I drive by to get there was an Early Voting location. So, I told my Gang of Four Hikers that we were going to go do our part to overthrow that Ruling Junta I blogged about this morning.

The polling place was a bit lonely. There were two people manning the station.

Voting has gotten so high tech. Is it like this everywhere now? Or is it a Texas thing? First my driver's license was scanned. This somehow established me as a legit voter and not some convicted felon forever banned from voting. Then a machine printed up some paper. Pieces of paper went to various places, including one piece handed to me that had the number code I had to enter into the voting machine.

The Texas voting machine is like some sort of video game. You enter your code by spinning a dial til the right numbers show up. Hitting enter to choose each number. Then you spin the dial some more til you get to who you want to vote for. Then you hit enter.

Then you do some more spinning and you're asked to confirm that this is how you want to vote on your ballot. You then hit enter again and when the American flag waves in all its red, white and blue glory, you're done.

There were only 2 things to vote on on this ballot. For mayor and for city councilman. I do not recollect ever voting in Washington when there was not an awful lot to vote on, Initiatives, Referendums, Bond Issues, various people.

I'm thinking maybe this thing of having only 2 items to vote on might be part of the reason the voter turnout is so low. It's a little hard to get the masses worked up over something like overthrowing Fort Worth's Ruling Junta by tossing out its current corrupt mayor. One would think it wouldn't be hard to get the masses worked up to do that, but here in Fort Worth, it is.

Well, I've done my part. That's 4 confirmed votes for Clyde Picht.

Tornado Warnings & Tandy Hills Park

It is a bit past 3 this Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth. About a half hour ago a thunderstorm started up with heavy rain and wind. The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued 5 Alerts since 11:15 am---one Thunderstorm Alert, two Flood Alerts and two Tornado Alerts.

We are being very alert here.

Prior to the storm I went to Tandy Hills Park to get in some high humidity hiking. I was surprised to see the lady you see in the picture, painting the landscape. Last week, during the Prairie Fest, there seemed to be dozens of landscape painters. Today was the first time I saw a non-Prairie Fest landscape painter at the Tandy Hills.

There were more people hiking the Tandy Hills today than I've ever seen before, except on Prairie Fest day. Towards the end of today's hike a light rain started up. That felt good due to the high humidity making hiking like being in a mild steam bath. On the return pass by the landscape painter she was hurriedly packing up to get out of the rain.

I saw a new wildflower today.

And I saw something disturbing. Someone had removed the Tandy Hills Shrine, up by the Fort Worth Space Needle. A lot of work went into building that shrine. It'll be hard to rebuild because a lot of litter has been removed from the park.

When I got back here, because of that hot, humidity thing, getting in the pool seemed like a good idea, even though it was raining and even though I'd already done my early morning swim.

The lightning continues to strike and the thunder to boom. But it seems to be letting up. For awhile there it was being so wild I was expecting to hear the tornado sirens. But all I heard was pounding rain and thunder booms.