He blames the Democrats, the press, Ronnie Earle, the bloggers—the list goes on. But in the end, what did in the most powerful Texan in Washington was his own excess.

Having suffered through the ineptitudes of the Texas Rangers for nearly three and a half decades, having sat as solemn witness to their stumbling pretenses to be major league material, I assume that the hiring of a 28-year-old to run the team is yet another mistake. Jon Daniels, prove me wrong.

How to make black bean soup, cactus cornbread, and other mouthwatering dishes from Melissa Guerra’s South Texas kitchen.

At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, butterflies are free (sort of).

If he was asked what he did for a living, Roddy Dean Pippin would smile and say something about the cattle business. But he didn’t exactly buy and sell cows. He stole them. And right up until he was caught, he was as good as any such thief had ever been.

There is a world where the kings of small African countries send cases of Dom Pérignon as hostess gifts, where you get to choose between the white-striped chinchilla and the violet beaver shearling poncho. Who let me in?

Can John Sharp save the Republicans?

My dog, Flaco, sleeps on a bed from Pottery Barn, gets three walks a day, and very nearly had his teeth cleaned for the princely sum of $208. What would my father say?

A pernicious staph infection is targeting athletes young and old—and igniting a debate over the hazards of artificial turf.

As a record number of demonstrators hit the streets this spring, one Texas border town was rolling the dice on a draconian method of dealing with illegal immigrants. And it’s working.

That’s the way the coffee table bounces.

William Martin reviews our places of worship.

Suzy Banks goes out for a beer.

Terrence Malick’s self-defeating art.

The bombing of a mosque.

The Spurs versus the Mavs.

As Helen Wagner’s world turns.

The candidate cattle call begins.

Do horny toads really squirt blood?

“It’s immensely gratifying to work with people who are trying to do their best at what they do toward a common end. And whether it’s an arrangement or the performance of a single song, I just love the feeling of watching three or four or sixteen people all working together.”