Five stories that have North Texas talking: What went wrong at a "Battlefield Dallas County" event, America's wily linguistic landscape, what you should see at the Oak Cliff Film Festival tonight and more.
After the Texas Voter ID law reached the courts and congressional districts were redrawn to ensure equal representation, you might think the importance of minority voters was clear across party lines. That’s why Democrats are especially angered by some words from Tea Party Republican Ken Emanuelson, co-founder of the Dallas Tea Party. At the first public meeting of “Battlefield Dallas County,” a group contending with the Democrat push “Battleground Texas,” he said this:
“I’m going to be real honest with you, the Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote if they’re going to vote 9-to-1 for Democrats.”
U.S. Rep Marc Veasey of Fort Worth has led the charge in responding, as he represents parts of Dallas and Fort Worth (one of those redrawn districts.) Star Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy has more about the comment in context with the political climate in Texas in this piece. Emanuelson apologized for what he said and for speaking on behalf of the Republican party, the Texas Tribune reports.
- Woman Fired From DPD For Racist Facebook Post: After allegedly posting derogatory comments on her personal Facebook page, 911 call taker April Sims was fired from the Dallas Police Department. WFAA was able to obtain screen grabs of the posts in question. One comment by Sims read, “I can count on one hand the black people I know who aren't selfish.” Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway said he was shocked and that the problem "embarrasses not just the department, it embarrasses the city." Sims, 23, was one of the call takers hired after the Dallas Morning News found the call center was understaffed. [WFAA]
- Talkin’ New York, And Texas, And Florida: What do you call a drive-thru liquor store? The answer depends on where you live in the U.S. Californians might think you’ve challenged them to a riddle of some sort – never heard of that, they’ll say. Ask someone from a pocket of Southeastern Virginia, though, and you’ll hear the term “brew-thru.” (Texans need to catch up with a coined term, as they said they didn’t know the word for those pit-stops.) A study out of North Carolina State University spawned 22 maps showing linguistic differences across the nation. See who joins Texans in wearing “tennis shoes” instead of “sneakers.” [Business Insider]
- Oak Cliff Film Festival Begins Today: The 2nd annual Oak Cliff Film Festival begins tonight. Among the openers: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, which tells the story of three women in the so-named band serving 7 years in Russian prison for a protest performance staged in a Moscow cathedral. Festival co-founder Jason Reimer told Stephen Becker and Chris Vognar it's one of his favorites this yearin an interviewfor Art&Seek's Big Screen Podcast. Check out the full schedule here.(And for your wide-release fascinations, don't miss the Think Summer Blockbuster show today at 1 p.m. featuring the Big Screen hosts and Texas Monthly's Christopher Kelly.)
- Move Over, Cowboys – The Lambert Effect Takes Hold: Women took over this year in the recently male-dominated world of country music. Pop convert Taylor Swift has little to do with this particular discussion. In the proper country genre, Longview, Texas-born Miranda Lambert is the new voice of a long struggle between conservatism and a rapidly changing world, writes NPR’s Anne Powers. It’s Lambert’s femme trio Pistol Annies that opened doors for popular groups Sugarland and Lady Antebellum. A return to songs asserting personal freedom hearkens back to the Dixie Chicks’ reign, which still echoes in the former members’ projects. Like Court Yard Hounds, who stopped by KXT studios yesterday for an in-studio performance. Tune into KXT at 3 p.m. to hear former Chicks Martie Maguire and Emily Robison’s chilling harmonies. [NPR]
