November 2004 Cover

November 2004

Table of Contents

Features

Is she a “saccharine phony”? A closet liberal? A foot soldier—or a rebel—in the culture wars? The truth about Laura Bush is that her ambiguity makes her a model first lady: a blank screen upon which the public can project its own ideas about womanhood.

An audio slide show of images of former first lady Laura Bush and the town that shaped her.

Hey, undecided voters: Time’s up. As unenthusiastic as you may be, you gotta go with one of these guys. Fortunately, we’re here to help you make up your mind.

Rebecca Rather’s recipes for five tempting treats are our holiday gift to you.

How the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals mistakes toughness for fairness—and gives the state a black eye.

View a short documentary on the controversial case of Anthony Graves, who has spent the past eighteen years behind bars.

The Houston Ship Channel is considered one of the top strategic targets in the U.S.—an enormous bomb waiting to be detonated by terrorists. But what happens if the bomb actually goes off? Brace yourself for a worst-case scenario of the sort the Homeland Security folks are modeling and simulating and staying up late worrying about.

And they most definitely conquered. The inside story of how a ragtag bunch of hippies made the wildest Texas movie ever (and spilled no more fake blood than was absolutely necessary).

Columns

Patricia Kilday Hart

. . . that the 1994 governor’s race would have such far-reaching consequences. If George W. Bush hadn’t won . . .

Behind the Lines

Advice for the governor’s chief of staff.

Anne Dingus

From bullet bras to panties emblazoned with the Lone Star flag, a brief history of women’s underwear in Texas.

Kinky Friedman

A dreaded milestone approaches.

Don Graham

To read a Patricia Highsmith novel is to suspend one’s moral judgments. She irresistibly persuades us to side with killers and other amoral characters.

Reporter

Music Review

Music Review

Reporter

Have you heard the one about the Mormon polygamists who descended on a tiny West Texas town? It would be funny if it wasn't so serious. (Okay, it's pretty funny too.)

Reporter

Roller Derby's nun on the run.

Reporter

The unmaking of medical privacy.

The Filter

Pat’s Pick

Pat’s Pick

Miscellany

Texas Monthly Talks

“Texas is a huge, growing state on a border. We have some very basic issues that need addressing, and I don’t think they’re being addressed right now.”

Web Exclusives

Recipes From Historic Texas: A Restaurant Guide and Cookbook (Taylor Trade Publishing, 2003)

Today, it is hard to come by places like San Saba, with its hometown feel and emphasis on community. I’m sure glad I found it.

Throughout its 112-year history, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has been known for its tendency to overturn the rulings of lower courts on technicalities.

While it can boast about the more than 6,300 ships that passed through its waters last year, the Port of Houston started out as a mere loading point for cotton on the way to the Port of Galveston.

Writer John Bloom, who wrote this month’s “They Came. They Sawed,” talks about slasher flicks and horror-movie audiences.

Illustrator Steve Brodner discusses political satire and his new book, Freedom Fries.

Executive editor S.C. Gwynne on security at the Houston Ship Channel.

Executive editor Mimi Swartz, who wrote this month’s cover story, “The Good Wife,” on biographers’ failure to capture Laura Bush.

Senior editor Michael Hall talks about Ernest Willis, who was recently freed from death row, and the super-conservative Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Recipes

Adapted from The Prickly Pear Cookbook, Carolyn Niethammer

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