David Hopkins

Exactly. And how do we know the grandmother is any better than her daughter?

Since we don't have access to any of these details, I wonder why the news story mentioned the grandmother's custody as the lead and the fathers' custody as only a supporting detail.

I'm confused. Why is the grandmother given the lead in this news story? Shouldn't the biological fathers have priority to custody of their own children? All things being equal, this should be a no-brainer. Dad = parent.

Welcome back, again, Club Dada. Much love.

"They are required by state law to act on any reports of domestic violence."

Does "act" necessarily mean "arrest"? They should've just given the kids a warning. Tell them to fight it out at home like most families do.

There is some merit to the DMN article, and yes, we need to improve our social services.

It does drive away business when you have people aggressively panhandling. Five years ago, a homeless man approached my lovely ex-wife while she was pumping gas and he begged her for a ride (she's all alone), and he gets angry when she refuses. I can promise you in five years she's never gone back to that gas station. It freaked her out, and for good reason. If the city can do a better job serving the homeless, they won't be so aggressive and a few (obviously not all) will get back on their feet. Dallas bares the responsibility of being the "big city," and it needs to step up to the task that comes with that burden: caring for marginalized people.

Dallas Homeless Network, we want you to be successful in your work, but this article (a few exclamation marks short of a rant) doesn't represent you at your best.

Hold on.

"Two cases remain under investigation, said Lt. Blake Miller, an Arlington police spokesman. One has been forwarded to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office for grand jury review.

The others have been cleared, he said.

'Most of our homicides are relationship-oriented,' he said. 'We don’t have a lot of stranger homicides.' "

Well. That's good news.

How many of those homicides ended with a conviction of the guilty party? That's what I want to know.

I'll be there, because Catherine recommends it and she's just awesome.

That really sucks -- one of my favorite places in Dallas.

One of the more effective way to keep kids in school is also the most expensive. Smaller class sizes would make a huge difference, which means (a) hire more teachers and (b) build more schools. A smaller class gives the teacher better control and contact with his or her students. The teacher should be able to better target those "at risk" students. These kids get lost in the system, because the system is too large to keep track of them all.

I loved reading the comments on AT&T's move. Thanks for the link. Concerning Dallas, barb said, "they have the obnoxious mannerisms and speech like jersey and the plastic vapidness of la. without the money." Hey. We have money. Well, I don't, but I've seen it.

Way to half-ass it, Arlington! You make us proud?

Saw it last night, and the show was hilarious. I love the "bad idea bears." I'm going to hear their voices every time I go to a bar.

That is unfortunate. The site benefits from a wide range of opinions and ideas. I learn something when I read these comments.

...."I'm so glad to hear that your not a lib. That's because you have a real job and aren't cloistered in some make-believe world."

I'm a liberal. I've taught high school English for the past eight years. Is that a real job?

By the way, it's "you're" not "your." "Your" is possessive. You wanted the contraction for "you are." However, I live in a make-believe world, so what do I know? :)

In truth, I enjoyed reading your discussion -- sincerely, and without irony.

Regarding: "Cars driven by drunks in large parking lot + kiddos running around on a sugar high = dead kids."

Actually, cars driven by ANYONE in large parking lot + kiddos running around on a sugar high = dead kids. It happens.

Let Six Flags sell beer. It'll probably be so insanely overpriced, any self-respecting drunk will stay at the bar where they can get more booze for their buck.

This is hilarious. I can't believe I just read a news article from beginning to end about a guy who doesn't scoop up his dog's poop. And I was riveted. This is awesome, and I say that without irony.