Anonymous Information About A-AArlington & The Dallas Cowboy Stadium Wal-Mart Towing Scandal

The most frequent commenter to this blog, the ubiquitous Anonymous commented to the blogging preceding this current one with the cryptic "More info can be found here."

I was seeking the answer to the question how did it come to pass that an Arlington towing company, calling itself A-AArlington, with words attached after the A-AArlington part that seem to vary each time I find a new mention of A-AArlington. How did A-AArlington know that over 50 vehicles were there for the plucking on the Dallas Cowboy Stadium Wal-Mart parking lot the night of October 21?

The co-manager of the Stadium Wal-Mart claims Wal-Mart has no contract with A-AArlington.

A towing company must have a relationship with a business in order to tow vehicles off the parking lot of a business.

So, what did Anonymous send me you're wondering? Well, it was a link to a State of Texas website that has something to do with recording business information, like if a business is certified properly, I think. I really did not understand what this all meant.

One part said "This Certification Not Sufficient for Filings with Secretary of State." That certainly sounds ominous.

One part says "Certification of Account Status."

Under that, where it says "Status:" it says in bold letters "NO STANDING, FRANCHISE RESPONSIBILITY ENDED."

This website has "Rick Merritt" as the Registered Agent. Whatever that means. I have seen the owner/officer of A-AArlington listed as Rickie W. Merritt and Ricki Merritt. And now as Rick Merritt.

I assumed Merritt was a female due to Rickie and Ricki.

On the webpage it says the SOS Registration Date is August 11, 1989. (I assume SOS means Secretary of State) That is over 20 years ago. Why does this info about A-AArlington come up on a State of Texas website over 20 years later? Where is pertinent to 2009 information about A-AArlington?

Who told A-AArlington to take those cars from the Wal-Mart parking lot October 21? Who told those taxi drivers to be there to pick up some easy marks? How did the taxis come up with the $10 fare? I thought taxi charges were regulated? Or did the taxi know that $10 was the amount that the meter would run up in the distance from the Wal-Mart to where the cars were being held hostage? The distance was a bit over a mile.

Still No Answer To Who Authorized A-AArlington To Steal More Than 50 Cars From Dallas Cowboy Stadium Wal-Mart Parking Lot

Yesterday I told you that the Mad Texas Grandma had received a phone call from a person claiming to be the Dallas Cowboy Stadium Wal-Mart's co-manager.

The co-manager told MTG that Wal-Mart has no towing contract with A-AArlington, that being the towing company that stole MTG's car on October 21.

If Wal-Mart does not have a contract with A-AArlington to tow vehicles off their lot, who does?

A-AArlington has a website. On their website A-AArlington clearly explains that they have 2 tiers of customers, with their primary customers being businesses, and their secondary customer being those whose cars they hi-jack.

I'll copy what A-AArlington says about their 2 tiers of customers....

At A-AArlington, we serve two tiers of customers. Our primary customers, property owners and managers are key to the business and our longevity. Their businesses are apartment communities, manufactured home complexes, hotels / motels, industrial properties, everyday retail stores, shopping centers (big and small), and privately-owned lots.

Our secondary customer, those who have had their vehicles towed by A-AArlington, are also important to our business, And, our treatment of them, in their most unfortunate situation, is one of the more significant ways that A-AArlington can, and will differentiate itself from the competition.

So. How is it that Wal-Mart is a customer of A-AArlington with Wal-Mart's co-manager claiming that Wal-Mart has no contract with A-AArlington?

Who authorized A-AArlington to go on Wal-Mart's parking lot and remove over 50 vehicles?

I also told you that the Wal-Mart co-manager told the Mad Texas Grandma that A-AArlington is owned by the city of Arlington. From what I've seen I don't see how that can be. Unless Straw K, Inc. is somehow a business set up by Arlington. I could find no info about Straw K, Inc. beyond the fact that it exists, located in Arlington and is doing business as A-AArlington Abandoned Vehicle.

Another Cold Foggy Wet Day In Fort Worth Texas

It is not even winter yet and I've grown tired of that particular season this second Tuesday of December in Texas.

That is my balcony view when I returned from swimming around 8 this morning. The fog was so thick it was pretty much a drizzle getting everything soaking wet.

It is a relatively balmy 40 right now in foggy Fort Worth. I suspect the swimming water was a few degrees warmer.

My new swimming shock therapy method is to run into the pool til I'm in swim mode, swim to the end, swim back, run to the hot tub. When I get in the hot tub I feel no heat for a couple minutes. Then it gets feeling too hot. I then get back in the pool where it takes about 2 minutes to feel too cool again.

I heard from the Mad Texas Grandma a couple times last night, emailing from her cruise ship somewhere in either the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean. We still have not found out who actually owns A-AARLINGTON ABANDONED VEHICLE or how it is they tow cars from the Stadium Wal-Mart with Wal-Mart claiming they have no towing contract with the mysterious company.

It is going to be a long day.

The Blitzkrieg The Barnett Shale Gas Drillers Have Unleashed In Texas & The Coming D-Day

If my memory is serving me correctly, this afternoon, a time or two I have referred to the Fort Worth Police as the Fort Worth Gestapo, due to their, at times, heavy handed Storm Trooper like behavior.

A brutal bar raid here, a brutal tasering there, with little consequence for the bad behaviors.

Well, I got an email from Don Young, today, he being Fort Worth's Top Watch Dog as determined by those who determine who Fort Worth's Top Watch Dog is.

In the email DY makes an interesting analogy between North Texas in 2009 and Denmark and much of the rest of Europe in 1941.

I'll copy DY's email in its entirety below....

I saw a great movie yesterday called, Flame and Citron, a true story about a pair of heroic resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Denmark. It's WW2 and the Danish people have a mixture of fear and anger at the way the Nazi's have taken over their Motherland. The tag-line of the film is:

"Do you remember when they came?"

If my overburdened email INBOX is any indication, there are lots of people around the USA who are asking similar questions nearly 70 years after the Nazi's plundered Europe. Not to tarnish the meaning or memory of WW2, but the parallels to then and now - to Nazi's and gas drillers, are chilling.

Nearly every day I get a new message from a homeowner, a rancher, a mother with children or a distraught father asking what can be done. What can be done to stop gas drillers from poisoning their air and water? What can be done to stop the degradation of their property and the ruination of their investments? What can be done to stop the poisoning of their animals and wildlife?

As you might expect, the answers are complex and not easily resolved. The enemy is entrenched and seems unstoppable. Just like in WW2, gas drilling companies are aggressive, arrogant, in control of elected officials and the courts. They laugh at our laws and manufacture their own version of truth, as needed. But this is 2009 not 1941.

There are signs of growing resistance to the blitzkrieg that gas drillers have unleashed. Activists are being created every time a driller bulldozes a fence, dumps poison near our drinking water, sets up a pad-site next to a school or releases a cloud of toxic gas in the name of profit.

For some of us, patriotism is gaining new meaning. But this is NOT about radical political ideology. This is about fundamental rights to clean air and water. The stakes are getting higher every day. What is your tipping point?

"A patriot must always be ready to defend her city against her government."

-Edward Abbey

DY

December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Day's Diminishing Infamy

I opened an email from Don Young a few minutes ago, subject line "December 7, Do you remember..." which I assumed was going to be about today being the day in 1941 when Japan sneak attacked America at Pearl Harbor.

But DY's email was not about Pearl Harbor and that particular day of infamy, which seems to have faded in its level of infamy judging by how little note seems to being made in the various media I've looked at today, such as CNN online, which does have an article making note of the fact that tomorrow is the 29th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. Seems sort of shocking that that was that long ago.

Is there anyone reading this who was alive and paying attention on December 7, 1941? How does the shock of that day compare with the shock of September 11, 2001? There would have been no live television coverage from Pearl Harbor on 12/7, like what happened on 9/11. But I believe the nation was glued to their radio way back in 1941.

I suppose Americans were already in a bit of state of shock on 12/7 due to all the nasty stuff the Nazis had been doing in Europe for a couple years.

Speaking of those nasty Nazis. Nazi's are sort of what Don Young's Pearl Harbor Day email was about. I think I'll share that in another blogging.

Foggy Fosdic Lake In Fort Worth With Swirling Flocks Of Ducks

I went to Oakland Lake Park at noon to walk around Fosdic Lake. As I walked the temperature seemed to drop, and then a light drizzle. By the time I was back driving a thick, dense fog had settled in. I got back here to see the temperature had dropped. It was 41 when I left. 37 now.

Texas weather is so different than what I grew up knowing in Washington.

Does anyone know why ducks flock together and move in a circle when it's cold? In the picture you see 2 flocks of circling ducks. There were two additional flocks of circlers to the right.

Apparently 'circlers' is not a word because it just got flagged red, indicating it's a misspelling. Well, I think it should be a word, so I'm leaving it alone.

In the second picture you are looking north on Bridge Street. When Bridge Street crosses the 820 freeway it becomes John T. White Street. I don't know why they change street names like that here in Texas. It's confusing.

You can see it's quite dark here at 1pm, headlights on, low visibility. I imagine this fog is causing some problems at the airport.

Buzzer is buzzing. That means sweet potatoes have been turned into baked sweet potatoes fries for lunch, to go along with turkey kielbasa and tomato salad. You are going to need to be here in 10 minutes, or so, if you want lunch.

Downwinders At Risk Throwing A Big Arlington Party For Dr. Al Armendariz

You are looking at Dr. Al Armendariz. To the surprise and delight of a lot of people he was appointed EPA Regional 6 Administrator.

Downwinders at Risk is throwing a party to celebrate the new EPA Administrator, appointed to a post that most likely, previously, would have gone to someone in cahoots with the polluters and environment damagers.

The Downwinders Party takes place Thursday, December 10 from 7:30pm til 9pm in The Private Room at J. Gilligan's Bar & Grill at 400 E. Abram in Arlington.

Remarks by Dr. Armenadariz at 8:15

A cash bar and snacks

RSVP

Directions to Gilligan's Bar

The Mad Texas Grandma Hears From Dallas Cowboy Stadium Wal-Mart Regarding The Dozens Of Auto Thefts

I have heard from the Mad Texas Grandma again. You may remember me telling you about the dozens of grand theft auto thefts that occurred on October 21 at the Cowboy Stadium Wal-Mart in Arlington.

In that blogging I said I was not sure I remembered the facts correctly that MTG had told me over the phone and that I was awaiting confirmation. Turns out I was mostly right. MTG says it was at least 50 cars stolen, the taxi to the stolen car was a $10 ride and the troll toll to get the stolen car back was $244.00.

I did make one glaring error. I said MTG had her 5 year old grandson with her. When in fact it was MTG's 6 year old granddaughter. I'm feeling as factually challenged as a Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter right about now.

Yesterday I told you that MTG had had no luck reaching the Stadium Wal-Mart's manager. So, she called Wal-Mart corporate headquarters. Headquarters told the local manager to call MTG. MTG had learned that the Wal-Mart local manager's name was Matt.

But it was a woman who called MTG and identified herself as the manager of Wal-Mart. MTG told the woman she couldn't be the manager because he was a man named Matt.

The woman then said she was Matt's co-manager. MTG asked where is Matt? He is not here today was the reply. This was the same reply MTG has gotten every time she has called the Stadium Wal-Mart trying to speak with Matt.

Matt's co-manager denied that Wal-Mart has a towing contract with A-Arlington.

MTG told Matt's co-manager that she'd found 3 different names listed as owners of A-Arlington.

At that point Matt's co-manager, who had denied that Wal-Mart had a towing contract with A-Arlington, told MTG that the City of Arlington owns the towing company!

MTG asked Matt's co-manager how the taxis knew to be sitting and waiting for the grand theft auto victims. She said the taxis don't sit and wait.

Matt's co-manager told MTG that Wal-Mart's towing signs were legal and that Wal-Mart had never lost an appeal in court.

Speaking of court dates, MTG's is December 21 at 1pm. I'll get more details in case you'd like to attend.

Regarding Wal-Mart's sign. They say "NO EVENT PARKING VEHICLES MAY BE TOWED AT OWNER'S EXPENSE."

Texas Occupations Code 2308.301(b)(5) stipulates that the following precise verbiage must appear on the sign...

"Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed at Owner's or Operator's Expense"

Go here for more details about Texas towing laws and the crimes committed by those violating them.

Now, from what I've read about Texas towing issues, the parking lot owner, which is Wal-Mart, has to have contract with a towing company. Yet Matt's co-manager says Wal-Mart has no such contract. A towing company can not randomly show up on someone's property and start towing cars. Someone, somewhere had to authorize it. Was it the City of Arlington monitoring Wal-Mart's parking lot?

Why does Wal-Mart not sell parking spaces like virtually all the other business in the stadium area do during events? I've never seen the Stadium Wal-Mart's parking lot anywhere near full.

Why is the Stadium Wal-Mart totally barricaded, with no entry possible, during a Dallas Cowboy home game? What is the agreement between Jerry Jones, Wal-Mart and the city of Arlington that makes the closure happen?

It's all a perplexing mystery.

North Texas Shaken By Another Earthquake

The earth moved unexpectedly, again, in formerly earthquake-free North Texas, on Friday, about a half hour before midnight.

The latest North Texas earthly rocking and rolling was epicentered in the town of Mountain Creek in Ellis County.

This was a 2.8 magnitude quake, felt as far as Fort Worth, 54 miles from the epicenter.

I was in Fort Worth at a half hour before midnight on Friday and I did not feel the earth move that night.

Cleburne is still trying to figure out why that town was hit with numerous quakes this year.

Meanwhile Barnett Shale natural gas drillers continue to poke holes in North Texas, followed by squirting a watery chemical stew into the holes which causes the fracturing of a layer of the earth above the molten lava zone.

I don't see how any reasonable person could possibly think there might be a connection between fracturing a layer of the earth's crust and the earth starting to quake a bit where previously no quaking took place. The quakes must be being caused by something else. The increase in the number of obese Texans perhaps?

It Is A Cold, Drizzling Sunday In Fort Worth With Hummus

You are looking east at the noon view of John T. White Road in east Fort Worth, Texas. It looks a bit forlorn and ghost townish. It looks that way because it is a bit forlorn and ghost townish.

I've been up since before 5. I jumped in and out of the freezing pool at lightning speed this morning.

When I left here at noon, intending to go to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake, I did not realize that, in addition to the biting cold, a drizzle was falling.

Walking around in a freezing cold wind with drizzle did not sound like fun to me. And so, the change of direction to head east to Wal-Mart to load up a cart with heavy stuff and get my aerobic exercise up and down the aisles chasing chubby people out of the way.

I have not heard from my Mad Texas Grandma (MTG) this morning. I knew she was heading out of town for a few days, but I'd hoped she would check in and confirm some information. And send me some pictures of some perps in action.

I learned something this morning that brought back to me how much I dislike the Pacific Northwest (Shop). I tell you, I shall never deal with doddering old fools ever again. Unless the doddering old fools wave a lot of money in front of me.

Just heard the rice cooker ring its rice is done bell. Time for burgers, rice, hummus and a celery red pepper salad I cooked up this morning. I am such a Top Chef.