Back Talk

Alan says: I am in favor of limiting the governor to two consecutive terms. But blacklisting someone after eight years altogether, regardless of how good or bad they did their job, can needlessly force an effective public official out of public service. Many state governors throughout history have served well over eight years without their constituents regretting it. I would point out that such a system is wholly unworkable in twenty-first century America: we live in the era of the permanent campaign and the 24-hour news cycle. A governor facing re-election every other year would essentially do nothing but fundraise (which is close to what most do anyway even with four-year terms). (November 19th, 2009 at 11:09pm)

Larry L. King

Features

The former editor of the Daily Texan and the Texas Observer was a good ol’ boy, a haunted soul, and my greathearted friend. A remembrance. (May 2001)

How Hollywood sees us—and how Hollywood got us wrong. (July 1991)

Searching for tourist courts, fillin’ stations, and other relics of a Texas that is no more. (November 1990)

What do Odessa beer joints and the Iran-contra hearings have in common? Everything. (September 1987)

(January 1986)

Why do the towns that have oil also have the best football players? (January 1986)

That’s what country music is, and that’s why it plays in Peoria. (August 1976)

First the boy made the man—then the man re-made the boy. (January 1976)

Hint: his initials are B.S. (December 1975)

Midland and Odessa are only seventeen miles apart, and that’s too close for comfort. (June 1975)

The world’s best Domino player reveals his biggest secret — his identity. (March 1975)

What football does to its people. (September 1974)

Being a Redneck is a lot of things, but it ain’t fun and it ain’t easy. (August 1974)

Leaving Cheyenne, which may be Larry McMurtry’s best novel, is made into a miserable movie. This is how it happened. (March 1974)

Columns | Miscellany

Why you shouldn’t lose any sleep over your congressman’s nocturnal habits. (September 1976)

Web Exclusives

Larry L. King tells what he liked most about Willie Morris, what kind of editor he was to work for, and the one word he would use to describe him. (May 2001)

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