Who’s on first in search?
Re: “Brochure Snafu is a Red Flag — Obvious errors aside, we find the lack of seriousness and reach in the city manager search troubling,” Thursday editorial.
Thank you for helping focus attention on the search for our next city manager. I cannot imagine a decision more critical to the city’s short and long-term future than the selection of this individual.
The headlining of the promotional brochure with a picture of Houston would be laughable were it not such a glaring indicator of what you rightly deem lack of seriousness and reach. And raises the question of who’s on first?
Dallas needs a great leader with the executive skill set and financial acumen not only to run successfully a huge enterprise, but also with the harder-to-find skills of driving engagement and managing conflict within widely diverging constituencies.
When one thinks of the top level of executive search firms, Baker Tilly is not the first to come to mind. In fact, it doesn’t come to mind at all.
Carol Alspaugh Denton, Dallas
Publisher logic flawed
Re: “Telegram Founder Isn’t Free-Speech Martyr — Publishers have a responsibility to prevent crime and victimization under their noses,” Thursday editorial.
I was puzzled by the editorial board’s argument defending France’s actions in arresting Telegram founder Pavel Durov. We should all reserve judgment about those charges until more is learned, I suppose, but the board criticized Durov by saying that a publisher should be responsible for the content they publish.
That’s true. But Telegram produces tools for individuals to communicate with each other. How are they a publisher? Is the phone company a publisher? Should the president of Verizon be arrested if two people speak on its cellphones to arrange a crime and Verizon does not intervene?
Is FedEx a publisher? Should its president be arrested if illegal materials are sent through their service? Perhaps the local diner is a publisher as well, and if two people plot malfeasance over the corner table, the proprietor should be hauled off to prison.
Such, anyway, would appear to be implications of the board’s logic. Despite the misdirection about “publishers,” it is a logic that ultimately rests on the idea that no privacy at all can be tolerated if it can be used for evil.
Stephen McKeown, Northwest Dallas
Saved by the newspaper
Re: “Alexa, what’s next? AI upgrade, paid subscription,” Wednesday Metro & Business story.
This story that outlines Amazon’s plan to offer Alexa users an AI-generated “Smart Briefing” feature “that will provide daily summaries of news articles based on a customer’s preferences” is quite revealing. It shows that Amazon has now freely dropped all pretense of objectivity in its news feeds.
As an 82-year-old who remembers Walter Cronkite’s (and others’) reverence for journalistic integrity in objectively reporting the news, I long for its return. And I would pay extra to receive a feed like that online — one that is independent of any algorithm, real or AI-imagined, or of my notions or whims at any given time.
Come to think of it, I am already getting news like that, for the most part, from The Dallas Morning News print version that I get thrown onto my lawn every morning. But online, I know of no such option. Hey, I can dream can’t I?
James Beall Garner, Denton
History misused
Re: “Still Bad Ideas Despite Fancy Names — Policy proposals from both candidates could upend the economy,” Monday editorial.
As a student of history, I bristle when history is misused in the service of a poorly supported argument. The editorial in question casts doubt upon the economic proposals of each American political party, while attempting to find middle-ground. Fair enough.
However, the use of reductionist arguments makes us all less well-informed. In this instance, the declaration that price controls in 1923 Germany caused the country’s infamous hyperinflation is a classic example of the misapplication of history through the claim that, “price controls were so ineffective that they led to hyperinflation. That contributed to the rise of fascism.” Come now! Prices controls led to fascism? This declaration is both unfounded and simplistic.
The story of Germany’s bout with hyperinflation is a complex mix of economics, politics, social and cultural factors that goes far beyond easy explanations. This is why Gerald Feldman’s book, The Great Disorder, contains 800 pages of meticulously researched primary and secondary sources.
Having studied the period in question for a decade, I urge Dallas Morning News readers to discard simplistic arguments for complex situations wherever they find them.
Dan Dunham, Frisco
Neighborly love needed now
Re: “Love your neighbors (all of them) — Imagine an election season filled with better angels instead of a toxic chorus,” by Peggy Wehmeyer, Sunday Opinion.
Once again Wehmeyer writes a powerful column that pierces my heart with her very personal story and Godly instruction that can set us free from hate and toxicity.
With the election on the horizon, the timing is perfect for us to choose to love our enemies regardless of differing political beliefs, regardless of poor behavior by many and regardless of our own pious feelings. The potential is significant.
Amy P. Jones, Dallas/Preston Hollow
Wehmeyer column appreciated
I very much appreciate this column by Wehmeyer. Please let her know that I think it was worthy of being on the front page of the paper.
Alice Wycoff, Anna
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