I'm proud to announce that Friendship-West and Dallas South will host an election night watch party at 2020 Wheatland Road on November 4th at 7 p.m. I'll share more info about his exciting night as it becomes available. Please leave comments or suggests of what you think would make for a great night of watching the election returns.  You can also email me at shawn@dallassouthblog.com

Two weeks ago (Sept. 16) Brandon McLelland was murdered outside of my hometown of Paris, Texas. Here's how the story of Brandon's death was related on an East Texas radio station: A Lamar County man was killed Tuesday morning by an apparent hit and run driver. The Department of Public Safety says Brandon McClelland, 24 of Paris, was walking along FM-2648 in Powderly when an unknown vehicle struck him. State Trooper Timothy Keel is investigating. The incident was reported in the Paris News (which has removed their archives for Sept. 15-18) as a hit and run.  Brandon's family was told by local authorities that it was a hit and run.  I was contacted by someone close to the situation on Thursday September 18.  Here's what I was told about the details of the incident: On Monday night, Sept. 15, Brandon was picked up in a truck from his home by two white guys he had previously hung out with — Shannon Fendley and Ryan Crossley (spelling not confirmed). Again, they are both white boys that he knew, and he does not have a vehicle of his own. They stopped by a local beer/wine store in Toco where Brandon chatted with a white female ...

I finally have an answer to the most asked question at Dallas South.  Here's where to get Obama/Biden Yard signs in Dallas.  The Democratic Party is asking for $5 donations to offset printing costs 3109 Oak Lawn - Centrum Building at Oak Lawn & Cedar Springs.  This location opens at noon. 4209 Parry Ave.  They are usually there by 8 AM

Last week I had the opportunity to read Say It Like Obama, a book written by Shel Leanne that is now available for purchase.  Her book delves into Barack Obama's oratorical style which has helped him capture his party's nomination for President of the United States. Leanne's book is for public speaking what Oren Harari's The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell is for leadership.  The book succeeds as an aid for those who find themselves speaking in front of audiences with any frequency. It also has a secondary benefit by providing a glimpse into the political philosophy its subject through his own words. There are plenty of lessons to be learned from this book even if one doesn't agree with Obama's thoughts and beliefs, but the material has the potential to wear on those who differ with him on certain issues.  Say It Like Obama's opening chapter begins with the full text of Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention Keynote Address and ends with the full text of his 2008 acceptance speech. I'll start with what I like about the book.  For those who speak in public but have had little training, Say It does a good job of explaining rhetorical techniques employed by Obama ...

Here is an article that I wrote that appears in Sunday's Dallas Morning News Opinion section (Points).  Thanks to Nicole Stockdale for the opportunity. On a sunny and mild afternoon – a day that would have been great for football – the city of Dallas and Mayor Tom Leppert unveiled a new and improved version of the historic Cotton Bowl. I walked away impressed by the wider concourses, expanded media area, club-level seating and toilets that actually flushed (yes, I checked). But any mention of the Cotton Bowl since has been met with one word: Cowboys.It's as if residents expected Dallas to throw in the towel when America's Team chose to make its move further west. But the days for debating what could have and should have been with the Cowboys are long gone. The fact is, Arlington is getting itself a world-class stadium, but it's hard for Dallas to miss something it hasn't had since 1971. The $57 million approved by Dallas voters for the Cotton Bowl was necessary to protect the birds that were already in hand, even though the one in the bush was nice. The newly renovated stadium is being touted by leaders as the ninth-largest football stadium, by ...

I rarely post an entire article from the internet, but I had to post Sharon Grigsby's thoughts on the Sarah Palin interview on CBS.  Sharon is Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the Dallas Morning News.  Check Sharon and the crew out at the DMN Opinion Blog. Having now seen the CBS interview with Palin last night, I'm guessing the GOP can only hope the economic crisis continues -- anything to keep her out of the news loop. And now comes this, which I didn't see the first time around. And this. I have to agree with several local pastors who have emailed me of late and asked, "So where's all the coverage of this, a la the Wright/Obama media storm?" I'm proud to be a former soccer mom (kinda hard to be a "current" soccer mom when both of our sons are now in college) and I think "soccer mom" characteristics (along with "Wal-mart traits") would be a refreshing addition to Washington's leadership. But at this point, I believe Sarah Palin is giving soccer moms a bad name. At this point, does anyone who has heard her answers of the past couple of weeks really believe she is ready to take the helm of ...

Just a few thougths Does John McCain really think that what they need on Capitol Hill to solve the economic crisis is to throw the two most political figures in America into the mix? Does McCain think that we don't see that getting both campaigns to 'suspend' their ads for a couple of days is more advantageous to the person with less money and who's now 9 points down in the polls? Does John McCain really think that America would rather see he and Senator Obama sit down with Barney Frank and President than debate an the University of Mississippi? Did Senator McCain know that it's his party that is holding up the show on the bailout, one that should eventually fall somewhere between $100-$300 billion? If he wants the bailout to move forward, he may want to start with Texas Republicans in the House. Finally, why didn't John McCain "call on Senator Obama to suspend his campaign" while he had him on the phone?  If he was so interested in bipartisanship, why didn't he negotiate mano y mano with his counterpart while he had him on the line? Hey Senator McCain....see you in Oxford on Friday.

Here's the link to Wednesday's News and Notes program.  It ended up being just two bloggers on the roundtable, but I though Danielle and I held it down quite well.  Just click on "Listen to Wednesday's Show" at the top of the page.