Reflections on today's news

Pictured here: the promotional posture for Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. Whaddya think?

The Dallas City Council booted the proposed booting ordinance until it can be considered, and possibly fixed, by the Transportation Committee in August. Council member Angela Hunt explains the whole issue clearly and succinctly.

Randall Turner: My nominee for the delusional wacko of the month.

• I still think Democrats can come up with a stronger gubernatorial candidate than Tom Schieffer. State Senator Kirk Watson of Austin is one of them. In her withdrawal statement, Sen. Leiticia Van Putte said: "I think Senator Kirk Watson should raise his sights and run for Governor. I've watched as Senator Watson has emerged as a leader in the state Senate on the issues of most importance to Texans. While staying true to Democratic values, he is a bipartisan pragmatic leader solidly focused on addressing the priorities of all Texans. I intend to lobby Senator Watson to run for governor, and I'll wholeheartedly support him if he does. But if he declines, Democrats should recruit and support someone who, like Watson, is energetic, pragmatic, focused, and smart; and who can fully energize Democratic supporters while also attracting a broad range of independent voters in every region of the state. "


• LSU arguably has the nation's best college baseball team, but I'm proud of my Longhorns for hanging in there. The deciding game is tonight, 6 p.m., on ESPN.


• If the movies that have come out so far this year are any indication, the Academy may have trouble coming up with five contenders, let alone 10. OK, Up is now a sure best-picture nominee and the other nine will come out in the fall anyway. I think this probably assures a spot for Avatar, Nine and The Lovely Bones as well. I will argue that if the Academy had allowed 10 nominees for last year's films, the other five would have been, or at least should have been, The Wrestler, The Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road, Wall-E and Man on Wire. For what it's worth, I don't like the idea of doubling the number of nominees -- it devalues the entire idea of being nominated for the award.


• Dear Phil: Since you're making this list, would you add that I would like a job and a Honda Accord?


• Damn: This makes the Spurs a much better team than the Mavericks again. Not only that, one basketball expert I just talked to about this believes the Spurs are getting Jefferson essentially for free. "Since this is a salary dump on the part of the Bucks, I'm figuring they will cut Bruce Bowen and he will wind up back with the Spurs." That would really hurt, because it would give the Spurs a dynamic offensive threat in Jefferson and allow them to keep someone who can shut down Dirk. Now Dallas needs to make a move. I would like to see the Mavs pursue Vince Carter, but then I was saying that when they traded for Jason Kidd.


• In yesterday's reflections, I referred to South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford as the only person who could possibly surpass Gov. Hair as the biggest nutcase in a governor's mansion. That was before the news broke that he's an adulterous nut case.


• Soon we will have both well-researched history on one side and, on the other side, this.


• Quoting Tim Rogers in the Frontburner blog about the continuing effort to name a street after Cesar Chavez: "I don’t understand why we’re still messing around with this ... César Chávez didn’t have anything to do with Dallas." Tim, the same could probably be said about Martin Luther King and certainly Malcolm X, but we have streets named after them. It's time we also similarly honor those held in respect by our Hispanic community.


• Noted film blogger Jeffrey Wells really liked Public Enemies calling Michael Mann's film "the most captivating, beautifully composed and freshly conceived gangster movie since Bonnie and Clyde. It's an art film first, a Mann head-and-heart trip second, a classic machine-gun action pulverizer third, and a conventional popcorn movie fourth."


• Roger Ebert, however, didn't much care for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen calling it "dumber than a box of staples." Ebert writes: "If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination." No one dumps on a movie better or as unmercifully as the great Roger Ebert.