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August 2012 – Page 2 of 2

Politics & Policy|
August 19, 2012

Cabins on the coast

I was quite surprised to see the story in the Tribune about the fishing cabins along the Intracoastal canal. I’d forgotten about them since the days when I worked in the Senate for Babe Schwartz as committee counsel. The cabins, which we referred to a squatters’ shacks, were built by

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Politics & Policy|
August 17, 2012

Texans First, but in what? [see UPDATE]

There seems to be a new organization that’s getting started. It’s called “Texans First.” Here’s what I think is going on. It’s a Rick Perry play all the way. That’s obvious from the signature on the letter, which is that of Bill Jones, formerly Perry’s general counsel and former chairman

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Politics & Policy|
August 17, 2012

Faster than a speeding bullet (train)

I was very interested to see the story that former Harris County judge Robert Eckels is leading a group that wants to bring a bullet train to Texas, backed by Japanese interests. There was a previous effort to bring a bullet train to Texas in 1993. It didn’t come to

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The Culture|
August 15, 2012

How to Raise a Texan

Our forthcoming issue, on newsstands next week, tackles this subject, but we couldn’t wait any longer to share the cover of this special issue. Caution: Cute babies ahead. 

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Texas History|
August 15, 2012

The Children of Texas

I was never certain how to explain the importance of the state to my three daughters. Now that I have two grandsons—named Mason and Travis, no less—I’ve realized something that I should have known all along. 

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Politics & Policy|
August 14, 2012

The fraud of voter impersonation fraud

From the Washington Post, August 11: A new nationwide analysis of more than 2,000 cases of alleged election fraud over the past dozen years shows that in-person voter impersonation on Election Day, which has prompted 37 state legislatures to enact or consider tougher voter ID laws, was virtually

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Politics & Policy|
August 13, 2012

Munisteri says Cruz is a “bright star”

The Abilene Reporter-News published a remarkable story about a speech by Republican party chairman Steve Munisteri. “Is Ted Cruz a bright star or what?” Minusteri said in a speech at the Brownwood Country Club. The article continued, “After the meeting, he hesitated to say that Dewhurst, who was backed

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Politics & Policy|
August 11, 2012

AP confirms: It’s Ryan

From the Web site policymic.com: The Associated Press and several television stations have confirmed that Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan will be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. * * * * One big question that remains is, how many Republican insiders profited from knowing the pick ahead of time?

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Politics & Policy|
August 11, 2012

Romney to announce veep choice Saturday

Paul Ryan seems to be the favorite, judging from the latest news stories. It makes sense to me because (1) Romney has still not persuaded Republicans of his conservative bona fides, and (2) Ryan is the darling of the GOP base. If chosen, he will energize the convention, as Palin

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Eat My Words|
August 8, 2012

Texas Grabs Seven Spots on Bon Appétit List

Talk about coincidences. I was eating lunch at Elizabeth Street Café, in Austin, one of my favorite new restaurants (great Vietnamese-style fried rice with crispy oysters today, and amazing avocado ice cream. . . but I digress). When I got back to my desk, there was an email from a

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Eat My Words|
August 6, 2012

Scott Roberts details The Salt Lick Cookbook

You can’t talk about great Texas barbecue without mentioning Driftwood’s most famous barbecue joint of all time – The Salt Lick Bar-B-Que. Through the years this Central Texas haunt has gained both fame and popularity for its delicious barbecue meats – well known for their

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Politics & Policy|
August 6, 2012

What is Dewhurst’s future?

It looks pretty bleak to me. He can run for reelection in 2014, but there is no assurance that he would win. The last sitting lieutenant governor to try to move up was Ben Barnes in 1972, and he finished third in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Dewhurst’s brand has been

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The Culture|
August 5, 2012

The Rattler, 1992-2012

The Six Flags Fiesta Texas thrill ride, which at one time was the tallest, steepest, fastest wooden rollercoaster in the country, shut down operations Sunday. 

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BBQ Joint Reviews|
August 3, 2012

Pecan Lodge

You may have heard that this joint is getting a bit popular. While I may lament not being able to visit my go-to barbecue joint without braving a long line, I’m happy for the proprietors. Justin and Diane Fourton are friends in the barbecue world, and I’ve sought some bit

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Politics & Policy|
August 2, 2012

Abbott’s tweet about the runoff

           Well, I’ll be sure to cover it in 2112.What constitutes a shift? Republicans have been successful in getting Latinos to switch parties. Lozano is in the position of a tennis player trying to consolidate a break of serve. Until you win the next game

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Politics & Policy|
August 1, 2012

Voters made good choices

Veasy over Garcia. Gallego over Rodriguez. Lozano over Wilson. The right candidate won these races. The Gallego-Canseco general election race will draw national attention. Villabla’s defeat of Bill Keffer was huge too. An Hispanic Republican beat a conservative anglo Republican on his own , without Rick Perry or TLR coming

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