These are the questions Branch raised in an earlier letter to caucus chair Larry Taylor and repeated in a letter dated yesterday. My comments appear in italics. — Would a caucus meeting to produce even a “non-binding” Speaker resolution violate the constitutionally defined process for choosing a Speaker? I don’t
Where to find our favorite breakfast tacos, fajitas, rigatoni with spicy lamb meatballs, and lakeside views.
Oh, Kebabalicious, how I love you. Let me count the ways. Your falafel is crisp on the outside and fall-apart tender on the inside. You slather your wraps with cool tzatziki sauce and a fiery red concoction. You bring new meaning to the word “pun.” And you’ve
Question: When does an old story become a new story? Answer: When it comes out during a speakers race. A conservative Web site called BigJolly.com published today a report that was first issued last August by Texas Watchdog concerning an investment by current speaker candidate Ken Paxton that dates from
…and thanks for reading.
I wasn’t a believer until I tried the foie gras peanut butter and jelly sandwich at Bohanan’s downstairs bar in downtown San Antonio. My initial reaction was, What! Foie gras?! You’re kidding, right? No, they weren’t kidding, and darned if it doesn’t work (something about the creamy texture of
The forces opposing the reelection of Joe Straus as speaker are continuing their campaign against him into the Christmas holiday season. I talked to a member from North Texas yesterday who told me that robocalls opposing the election of a RINO speaker were still blanketing his district two days before
Pig Vicious has refined drunk food to a science. The science of bacon, that is. I started with a light hors d’oeuvre, the fried bacon-wrapped pickle spear. Never before has the calorie-full been so close to the calorie-less, and with your daily amount of
This is the text of the release from the speaker’s office: AUSTIN—–Rep. Beverly Woolley today announced her support for Speaker Joe Straus. “After a frank and open meeting with Speaker Straus, I am convinced he is committed to governing as a strong conservative during the 82nd session. As lifelong Republicans,
Berman, Christian, Flynn, and Hughes have signed on with Paxton. Don’t they know that the iceberg has already hit the ship below the water line? Actually, this was just a lateral move from Chisum to Paxton. All but Hughes were part of the original anti-Straus coalition.
The Speakers office is working on the press release as I write. This is the culmination of a process that began in the summer.
Despite my affection for my alma mater, I root for UT in athletics, not Rice. I’m not one to read Owl Message Boards. However, a Rice friend who does read them sent me this tantalizing comment signed “moondog.” It appeared on the “Owl War Room” forum. [I am publishing this
Two sources have confirmed that a prominent former Craddick lieutenant will announce support for Joe Straus tomorrow. I am withholding the name at the request of the member, passed on to me by the sources, so that the member can issue a statement. This may well break the resistance of
This is a list of members who are already in the Paxton camp or likely to end up there. The Returning Craddickites (12) Berman Chisum Christian Craddick Flynn P. King Morrison Riddle Woolley The Paxton inner circle (3) Paxton Laubenberg T. Parker Freshmen pledged to Paxton (8) Burkett Cain Landtroop
This is a nonbinding vote. Any proposition that will be voted on must win by 2/3, which would be 67 votes. No surprise here. Paxton had already said at a tea party meeting that is on YouTube that there would be a caucus vote. If I had been advising the
New York and Ohio were the big losers, -2 seats each. A look at the map of America on the CNN Web site shows that, from Iowa to Maine across the midwest and northeast, percentage population gains in the previous decade were very small. except Indiana, Maryland, Delaware, New Hampshire,
This is from the same poll I wrote about earlier today, which is now yesterday. The sample was of ACTUAL VOTERS, 434 of whom had voted in the 2010 Republican primary and another 677 who considered themselves Republican/Lean Republican: 34 had voted in the 2010 GOP primary and 677 considered
Bake a loaf of bread? Before Christmas? Yes, my friends, it’s possible. Even in this busier-than-busy week, while you’re running around doing all that Christmas shopping you should have done a few weeks ago (I’m in that boat too), wrapping gifts (and trying to keep the dog from opening them),
After driving three hours from Dallas to arrive in Lexington at nine in the morning, it’s hard not to suffer some validation bias no matter what you sink your teeth into. But it helps when it’s perfectly smoked and silky tender brisket. I invited a friend on a
What follows is a poll taken in mid-October, just before the start of early voting in the November 2 general election. It was conducted for three trade associations (the Texas Medical Association, the Farm Bureau, and the Texas Civil Justice League) by a firm that has been doing polling for
From the Cook Political Report: On December 21, the Census Bureau will fulfill its constitutional mandate and release its highly anticipated official state population totals and the resulting allotment of House seats and Electoral College votes for the next decade. Here are some early projections that I have taken
When I was five, I brainstormed the best business model: My mom would open a restaurant drive-up window, through the backyard to our kitchen, so that the world (or at least Dallas) could experience her awesome cooking. I like to think that I was ahead of my time, since in
Several people have asked me what John Kuempel’s status is. Sometimes the winner of a special election simply serves out the remainder of an unexpired term. However, the election code provides that if the vacancy occurs after the general election, as was the case here, then the winner of the
GQ magazine has just released its list of the ten best new restaurants in the country, and Austin’s Uchiko is number 7 on the roster. Hooray for our team! And it’s the only Texas restaurant. Who did the deciding? GQ correspondent and restaurant critic Alan Richman, who traveled the
This post has been revised. The information that Richard Green had posted on facebook came from a source with the Kuempel campaign who I know personally. Subsequently, I received a call from a friend who followed the race. He said that Green Senior’s post was several weeks old and had
He has 65.96%, and he has been right around that figure all night.
Current totals 8:42 p.m. John Kuempel 5,070 Myrna McLeroy 745 Gary Inmon 787 (7 other candidates) Early vote, all 3 counties Guadalupe County (1 of 41 precincts) John Kuempel 3,790 Myrna McLeroy 173 Gary Inmon 697 (7 other candidates) Gonzales County John Kuempel 507 Myrna McLeroy 316 Gary Inmon 33
Kuempel leads in the early vote with 3,790 of 5,487 votes cast. This is Guadalupe County only (Kuempel’s home county and the biggest county in the district). The nearest challenger has 697 votes. The other counties in the district are Gonzales and Wilson. Neither has reported any early vote totals.
Politicalwire.com is reporting, via AP, that eight Democratic legislators in Georgia have switched parties since November 2.
Two things: (1) The sentence was pretty light, just probation and fines. (2) A lot of time elapsed between conviction and sentencing. This combination might make some folks nervous, in this town, and in the Rio Grande Valley, that Flores cooperated with prosecutors to get a reduced sentence. A speakers
There will be other defections. I have speculated before that there are probably moles on the Straus pledge list who are ready to switch to Paxton in an orchestrated effort to create the appearance of momentum. It’s a smart strategy. Members in the penumbra of Dan Patrick’s radio broadcasts are
Note to readers: About an hour after I posted this, Ritter announced that he was switching parties. A source who has proven to be reliable throughout this election cycle tells me that Allan Ritter is contemplating switching parties. It makes sense to me. When Rick Perry carried Jefferson County, once
A reader posted a comment about this last night, and I made it into a brief post. However, my attempts to confirm it were unsuccessful, so I removed it from the Web site, rather than keep an unconfirmed report on display. A few minutes ago I received a call from
During the gubernatorial campaign, I was very critical of activities at the Teacher Retirement System board, which included ignoring the recommendations of TRS’s outside adviser as well as the staff. An AP story that ran in the Star-Telegram today reports: The investment team that achieved a nearly 13 percent
I was in the neighborhood, which doesn’t happen often when speaking of Lavon, Texas, and I was hoping for the best since my visit to the much heralded Big Daddy’s just two years ago left much to be desired. Both fatty and lean brisket are listed on
This is from Matthew Bentley in Reggie’s office: Reggie asked me to send out the following update: Reggie is awake, talking and feeling good. The surgery was extremely successful; the doctor was able to completely remove the second tumor. He will stay in Houston until sometime next week to finish
Diane Nusbaum of the North Texas Tea Party and the Paxton campaign circulated this message earlier this week: Harris County Executive Committee, with 350 precinct chairs present, invited Representative Ken Paxton to attend and speak. He received a standing ovation after addressing the crowd and encouraging folks to call their
I can think of so many ways to repurpose an 8-foot-by-20-foot shipping container. Use it as a place to store your discarded lamps, books, folding chairs, and husband’s hideous red leather sofa from his “wild and crazy” days. Hang a disco ball, invite some bell-bottomed friends, and party like
This is the communication I received by e-mail on Texas Alliance for Life letterhead: On November 15, we hand-delivered a candidate survey to the office of each of the three candidates for House Speaker. The survey has 10 short questions on issues important to pro-life Texans, including issues regarding overturning
The next action in the speakers race will shift to the home front. Members who support Straus will find themselves getting plenty of attention during the holidays from precinct chairs and other activists in their districts. (This is not speculation. I heard it from as well connected a source as
The recent report on whether Texas should opt out of Medicaid should make it clear that opting out is not an option. Texas would lose $15 billion in federal matching funds. Texans would still have to pay the federal Medicaid tax, but the money would go to Medicaid programs
It’s just a few days into December, but the holiday spirit has gotten a little out of hand is in full swing at our house. My husband started playing the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack two weeks into November. We went to Elgin and chopped down a tree even before we’d
I received this e-mail today, from David Epperson: I was one of the two co-authors of the report of the Legislative Study Committee on Private Participation in Toll Projects at the end of 2008. http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/commit/c820/SB792Report.pdf We addressed the issue of diversions two years ago and made the same points your
What an unexpected journey from sommelier at Hotel Johannesburg, Germany, to winemaker at the only winery in Galveston County, Texas. After working in many departments at Haak Vineyards & Winery, Nadia Hetzel was promoted from assistant winemaker to winemaker and vineyard manager one year ago. Before she arrived
The Quorum Report today has an interesting article on the briefing for freshman legislators concerning transportation funding. The villain in these discussions is always the diversions from Fund 6, which is the revenue from the state’s gasoline tax. Should budget writers end the diversions from the gasoline tax? Of course
No resolutions calling for the Republican caucus to “decide” the speakers race (mainly because it passed at the last meeting), just one calling for the elimination of the 2/3 rule in the Senate, a subject that has come up before. Sometimes the best thing that could happen is nothing.
Matthew Bentley at Reggie’s office sent me this report: Reggie will be undergoing an awake craniotomy on Thursday morning, December 9th, at M.D. Anderson to remove the second tumor discovered during surgery earlier this week. The doctor believes he can get it all out. The first successful craniotomy resulted in
This e-mail went out over the signature of Diane Nusbaum URGENT NEWS REGARDING SPEAKER RACE I have held off on this announcement until I was able to wrap my arms around this position. I have been asked to chair the state wide grass roots effort to help get Ken Paxton
If you like bad ideas, the State Republican Executive Committee is the ultimate source, now that the State Board of Education has been defanged: a never ending source of hilarity. First, they want Rick Perry to pardon Tom DeLay. Yeah, that’s a great idea. DeLay did more to damage the
Pop quiz: What’s brown and stuffed and smoking all over? If you answered a Cuban cigar, then you lose. Forget the cigars. Cuban-pressed sandwiches from the Texas Cuban are where it’s at. But before diving into sandwiches so good they should be illegal, try a real cigar-shaped treat:
