ON THE COVER: Photograph by Darren Braun.
November 2006
Table of Contents
Features
Agent of ChangeIn four years as president of Texas A&M University, former CIA director Robert M. Gates—who knows a thing or two about leading a strong, hidebound, misunderstood culture—has left few areas of campus life untouched. But putting sushi in the dining halls is nothing compared with overhauling the Aggie brand. AggielandSenior executive editor Paul Burka on Texas A&M University president Robert Gates and his plans for change. The Desert of the DeadWhile politicians and bureaucrats endlessly debate the best ways to secure our borders, illegal immigrants are dying to get into America—literally. The Chop Is in the MailYou want to send your granny a grapefruit this Christmas? Your bro a brisket? Your pop a pie? We’ve taste-tested more than four hundred foodstuffs that Texas companies will happily ship to your door, and more than forty are first-class. |
AnnShe was our governor, but she was my friend. Acting UpAt the Giddings State School, violent teenagers come to terms with their horrific crimes—and learn how to avoid committing them again—through role-playing exercises in a jailhouse version of group therapy. This is what your tax dollars are paying for? Well, it works. For a while, at least. Open SeasonYes, deer: It’s that time of year again. |
Columns
Letter From Washington, DCSoldier of FortuneJust curious, Mr. Vice President: How did your old pals at Halliburton get that five-year, no-bid contract to clean up Iraq? |
Reporter
Music ReviewWar and PeaceMusic ReviewThe CalifornianMusic ReviewTrying to Never Catch Up |
The Filter
Pat’s PickCatalan |
Miscellany
Editor’s LetterThe Spy Who Loved Them |
Roar of the CrowdThin Ice |
Web Exclusives
Mail-order ManiaSenior editor Patricia Sharpe and foodie Brooke Ferguson discuss the time, the tasting, and the tenacity involved in reviewing more than four hundred mail-order food items. Playing for KeepsSenior editor Katy Vine talks about visiting the Giddings State School, a juvenile detention facility where she observed therapists helping kids who’ve committed violent offenses wrestle their inner demons. Point of No ReturnSenior editor Pamela Colloff on going to Sarita to see first-hand what hardships illegal immigrants face as they try to pass a South Texas checkpoint. |
Go PostalMail your friends and family holiday treats, from ham and cheese to apple cider and tamales. Douglass St. Clair SmithThe SubGenius Psychlopaedia or Slack: The Bobliographon is—how to put this—the most unusual text most folk will ever encounter. |
Recipes
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