It's Come to This (Part 3)

Wow, the robocall story went a lot further than I thought it would...let's see, the Burnt Orange Report picked up the story, followed a day later by News 8 Austin, at which point Jennifer Kim finally admitted her campaign was behind the calls. Then, the floodgates opened, and everyone was dumping on Ms. Kim, from Randi Shade to the police and fire organizations, and it became the first question in KXAN's debate.

Did all that make any difference? According to KVUE, the early voting and the election-day voting went pretty much the same way (though, to be fair, early voting was still in progress when the robocall story broke). So, maybe a didn't make much difference in the voting. However, according to the Chronicle, it also appears that Ignite Consulting (owned by Kim consultant Elliott McFadden) never had a permit for robocalling and didn't even apply for one until after the "Lisa" call went out. So, if nothing else, that should serve as a warning to someone.

It can also serve as a warning to you: the application (available through the KVUE link above) also absolutely confirms the use of the phone number 800-441-0704 as its method of communication. (Cue all my readers, who currently number well into the single digits, to block that number from calling them.)

But forget all that: Lisa has been found! As it turns out, Lisa is a friend of a friend. Apparently she was concerned that she might face some of the fallout from the call. Thankfully, Ignite is the party possibly facing some serious penalties, not her. But I hear she'll be a little more careful accepting her scripts in the future.

Oh, and congratulations to Ms. Shade on winning the Place 3 seat, and best wishes in the coming three years.

The Spurs Should Drop Out (for the good of the division)

The San Antonio Spurs, facing a deficit from which it appears likely that they cannot recover, should drop out of the NBA playoffs. Sure, there are people who feel that their opponent, the New Orleans Hornets, could still fall victim to a collapse, but let's face it: the best solution is for the Spurs to rally around the Hornets now as they prepare to face their likely opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, for the Western Conference championship.

Really, what can be accomplished by the Spurs' continuing to drag this out? Surely all that can come of this is for the Spurs to expose more of the Hornets' weaknesses, thus assisting the Lakers that much more in their assumed upcoming series. It would also further divide all the constituents of the Southwest Division at a time when all need to be united against their common foe.

Now, last night the Spurs had a fairly decisive victory. This, obviously, is the perfect time for the Spurs to make a graceful exit, thus ensuring that they can go out on a positive note. Otherwise, they will continue to divide the division by dragging this series out to its inevitable conclusion.

For the good of the Southwest Division, it is time for the Spurs to go.

It's Come to This (Part 2)

Wells Dunbar wants confirmation of the "greasy" anti-Shade robocall? I've got confirmation.

(Oh, and nice term. "Greasy" describes this perfectly.)



UPDATE: My final wrap-up may be found here.

Unfairly Forgotten Song

Wow, my site meter is going crazy. See, yesterday was the first time I had posted since I added the thing. Until now, most of my hits have been coming from people looking for information about Jennifer Kim (who does rather figure into one or two entries here), Chris Matthews (no, I don't know how much he makes, but it's probably too much), or Scarlett Johansson (and I'd rather not go into that again). But, see, now I've posted something to my blog, and people are actually showing up. Crazy! I guess people are actually interested in seeing relevant, topical discussions.

(So when are you ever gonna post something like that, Snowed? Shut up.)

Anyway, I figured I'd try this posting thing again and see how it works out. A topic that is dear to me (and maybe just me) is music, specifically, music that you will never hear on the tightly-controlled playlists of Austin radio. Not even Bob, with its "we'll-play-anything" format, would touch this one (I checked).

After BTO, Randy Bachman moved on to a band called Ironhorse, which cracked the Top 40 in spring 1979 with "Sweet Lui-Louise". For some reason, I find it very catchy.

It's Come to This: Cowardly Anonymous Phone Calls

Anyone following the Austin Place 3 race might be interested in this gem of a voicemail I received today, which I will transcribe in its entirety:

"Why is Randi Shade trying to break the bank? Hi, this is your neighbor Lisa, calling to let you know City Council candidate Randi Shade has made budget promises that could mean cuts in city services and higher taxes for you. In seeking the endorsement of police and firefighters, Shade agreed to increase funding for management positions without having seen a budget, which is now in the red. With the highest-paid public safety workers in the state, can we afford Randi Shade's promises? It's not different, and it's not Austin."

Notwithstanding that 1) I don't have a neighbor Lisa; and 2) one councilmember can't do anything alone (and thus the crux of the call is rendered sadly inert), I suppose "different" and "Austin" are truly exemplified by anonymous attack ads, right, Jennifer Kim?

UPDATE: As most everyone in Austin knows by now, this story developed further.

Laura Morrison's Fear-Mongering Ad

In case you're an Austin resident who hasn't had to sit through Laura Morrison's one and only commercial at least twice on every newscast, you can now find it here.

Now that you've seen it, did you notice that this ad is flat-out lying? Oh, yeah, they're gonna build three 700-foot towers where the Green Water Treatment Plant is right now. (Specifically, per the aforementioned commercial, apparently they're gonna build three 360 Condominiums buildings on the site, but they're going to lop the top off of them. And apparently at least one of them is going to lean slightly. Seriously, learn Photoshop...) Unless plans for that site have changed quite a bit from my understanding, nothing on that scale is planned.

So, why would Ms. Morrison want you, the informed Austin voter, to think that this will happen if she isn't elected to Place 4? Because she wants you scared, that's why. Ooh, the scary developers are going to ruin our city unless I am elected! Whatever.

Oh, by the way, don't expect to see any negative comments about the ad on YouTube. Mine has been awaiting approval for at least ten hours now, and I'm not expecting to see it show up until probably, oh, say, May 11.