The former state comptroller distributed an op-ed piece on Thursday with his proposals on how to increase domestic energy production. His approach is to reduce or eliminate taxes for domestic production and to impose taxes on foreign oil. I wouldn’t count on his being Secretary of Energy in the Obama
The business margins tax has come under increasing attack as being bad for business. One of its leading critics is Senator Dan Patrick, who e-mailed me a detailed critique of the business tax, which I have posted below, and responded to as well. My credentials as an economist are a
Senator Patrick e-mailed me his response Saturday to my post (6/18) defending the business tax. I didn’t notice it at the time. I will repost my six reasons why the business tax was the right thing to do, followed by Patrick’s comments. My comments about Patrick’s observations appear
The sample was 1,000 adults, including 32% Hispanics, out of which there were 478 likely voters (registered; voted in every, or almost every election; and were at least “somewhat interested” in the upcoming general election). The likely voters were evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. Ralph Nader and Bob Barr,
From the Wall Street Journal web site: WASHINGTON — Louisiana can’t put a man to death for raping his young daughter, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday by a vote of 5-4. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion in the child rape case that the Eighth Amendment to the
The hot topic of the last few days has been the Littlefield poll in the race between Juan Garcia and Todd Hunter. As it happened, I had an appointment scheduled with a Democratic strategist on the day the poll appeared, and we talked a lot about this race. Subsequently, Christian
This is the first paragraph of Cornyn’s release earlier today: Senator John Cornyn’s campaign called on Rick Noriega to support G.I. bill improvements approved overwhelmingly by the U.S. House last week. The measure now includes transferability of education benefits, allowing Armed Service members to transfer unused benefits to their spouse
One of the handouts I picked up at the state Republican convention was another attack on the Republican leadership and the “Perry Business Tax” from the “Conservative Republicans of Texas.” The organization’s president is longtime conservative activist Steven Hotze. The handout says: The Perry Business Tax, which passed with the
The Houston senator and talk radio host, who played a prominent role in crafting the new Republican party platform, issued a release today that criticized the Republican leadership for not adopting his plan to let businesses delay filing and paying the business margins tax that the Legislature passed during the
I spent the day at the convention on Friday. The first thing I saw on the way into the convention hotel was signs and stickers saying: Paul Perry What was going on here? I wondered. Were the Ron Paul folks advocating a national ticket headed by their man and completed
I attended a conference of around 30 large school district superintendents in San Antonio on Wednesday. The University of Texas at San Antonio hosted the conference at a downtown hotel, and Mike Moses was the facilitator. John Montford, who has the inside track to succeed Mark Yudof as chancellor of
The Supreme Court ruled today that prisoners in the war on terror held at Guantanamo Bay are entitled to their day in court. The decision, styled Boumediene v. Bush, was 5-4, with Justice Anthony Kennedy in his familiar role as the swing vote and Justices Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and
I think it was George Will who said of the description of the United States Senate as the “world’s greatest deliberative body” that the Senate is neither great, nor deliberative, nor a body. I was reminded of that comment by the desultory debate over energy this week. Democrats sought to
Huffington Post, one of the big-time blogs of the leftosphere, today has a video and a transcript of an interview with McCain on the subject of Karl Rove. The interview gets a little awkward when the reporter asks about Rove’s role in crafting a negative strategy for Bush to use
In the “Know Before You Go” category, I’m just sayin’ that if you don’t get your pre-order into Snow’s by this Wednesday, June 11, you may come up empty (see post just below this one for details). I talked to Kerry Bexley, the owner (pictured), this morning, and he’s feeling a
From the Rasmussen web site: United States Senator John Cornyn has opened a seventeen percentage point lead in his bid for re-election. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state find Cornyn leading Democratic state legislator Rick Noriega 52% to 35%. That’s a significant improvement for the
I received a couple of comments about my post “The Democratic Convention: Start at the Top?” that took issue with my argument that Democrats were adopting the right strategy by concentrating on downballot races, rather than statewide contests. Since these were e-mails rather than posted comments, and since the correspondents
The 2008 election is both an opportunity and a risk for Democrats. They have raised expectations among their supporters for the party to continue the comeback that started in 2006 and spiked in the 2008 primary. If they fail to meet those expectations, the rank and file will lose heart,
From the TV station’s web site: AUSTIN, TEXAS (KXAN)–The Texas Fire Marshall’s Office says it has evidence that arson may be the cause of an overnight fire which has gutted the state’s Governor’s Office. [Say what? You would think that a news operation would know the difference between the governor’s
Texas Democrats hardly had time to enjoy their new status as a robust minority party before they began squabbling over strategy. David Van Os, who is something of a perennial candidate (Supreme Court 1998 and 2004, attorney general 2006), signified his interest in challenging chairman Boyd Richie over the issue
Below are the Texas Supreme Court opinions in the FLDS case. On May 29, the court, by a 6-3 majority, ruled in a per curiam (unsigned) opinion that removal of the children from the FLDS compound was not necessary. (The Court has been criticized for the frequency of per curiam
As you know, our cover story touted Snow’s BBQ, in the Central Texas burg of Lexington, as our number one barbecue joint in the state. Since the article hit the newsstands, little Snow’s has been swamped. We got this email from them a few days later: “WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Never let it be said that I missed an opportunity to toot my own horn. Well, and the horns of my colleagues. TM has a new book out–a melting pot with our best food stories of the last decade or so. Now you don’t have to feel guilty about tossing
Well, well, well. The Texas Hill Country was the numero uno summer travel destination in the NY Times this Sunday. Specifically, they touted our wineries (this image is of Flat Creek Estate). Also, to toot our own horn some more, remember that you can
First, here is Tx-DOT’s official release following the meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission last Thursday, which I attended: Texas Transportation Commission Affirms Toll Road Building Principles AUSTIN, Texas, May 29 — The Texas Transportation Commission today adopted guiding principles and policies that will govern the development, construction and operation
Eighteen hungry reviewers. 14,773 miles driven/flown. 341 joints visited. Countless bites of brisket, sausage, chicken, pork, white bread, potato salad, and slaw—and vats of sauce—ingested. There are only fifty slots on our quinquennial list of the best places to eat barbecue in Texas. Only five of those got high honors.
The Victoria-born country star, now 77, had a stellar career in the fifties and sixties that is all but forgotten—but his emergence from retirement, along with a deluxe box set, Blackland Farmer: The Complete Starday Recordings, and More (Bear Family) may just change that.Jeff McCord: You were born in
A decade of research by this University of Texas at Austin psychology prof has led to new ways of understanding the relationship between individuals and the spaces they inhabit, as he now reveals with Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You.Snoop posits that our things open a window onto
8 slices pannetone, challah, brioche, or other light, sweetish bread 1 jar of Nutella (hazelnut chocolate sauce) About 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 jar caramel sauce (unless you have a favorite recipe) Whipped creamIdeally, this should be made in a panini press. If you don’t have one, heat a
Assiter, who lives in Canyon, is the founder of the auctioneering firm Assiter & Associates. He has been an auctioneer for 25 years and has hosted approximately four thousand auctions. In 2007 he was inducted into the Texas Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame and the National Auctioneers Association Hall of
Can one have too many Texas tattoos?
A. Van Jordan on writing a poem.
The puck stops here.
Chapter Six of "Twin Wells."
A vibrant mix of past and present.
Your piece on the 68 awesome things to do with your kids was terrific but incomplete when it came to family-friendly train rides [“Child’s Play,” April 2008]. You missed the Austin Steam Train, which runs vintage trains every weekend on a 33-mile route into the Hill Country, and the
When you dine out for a living, you can get a bad “been there, ate that” attitude. While other people are e-mailing each other like crazy over their latest find, you’re hitting the “delete” key as fast as possible. But a few months ago, notes from readers about a San
The Victoria-born country star, now 77, had a stellar career in the fifties and sixties that is all but forgotten. His emergence from retirement, along with the newly released deluxe box set Blackland Farmer: The Complete Starday Recordings, and More (Bear Family), may just change that.You landed your first
A McNay makeover; welcome to Shangri La; show us the Monet.
Lawn of a new day.
Villa O, Dallas and Trattoria Lisina, Driftwood
In this excerpt from writer-at-large Sarah Bird’s new novel, How Perfect Is That, the realities of life in early twenty-first century Austin become all-too-clear to a defrocked socialite.
Most American consumers understand that the invasion of Iraq has contributed to the skyrocketing price of oil. But there’s another reason why we’re paying so much per barrel and gallon: The countries where crude is available in abundance are increasingly dangerous places to operate. Russell Spell, of Conroe, can tell
During all but two of the past twenty years, someone named Bush had led our nation or led our state. Now we’re moving on.
With all due respect to the assembled face-wipers on page 6, the brains, not to mention the gullet and the stomach, behind our latest list of the best barbecue joints in Texas is executive editor Pat Sharpe. Who else could it possibly be? For a generation or more, Pat’s led
Team BBQ, Todd Sanders, and Mimi Swartz.
As big years go, Grupo Fantasma has had one of the biggest: Austin’s eleven-piece combo played festivals across the country, appeared on national TV, and even struck up an alliance with Prince. Now comes a fourth CD, Sonidos Gold (Aire Sol/High Wire). Though the album scores appearances from
Her lilting voice is a half whisper, her words evocative. At the top of her game, Austinite Eliza Gilkyson adds to her remarkable string of successes with Beautiful World (Red House). Musically, Gilkyson is expanding her palate beyond the usual singer-songwriter fare, leading musicians Mike Hardwick, Cindy Cashdollar,
Can the Alejandro Escovedo who couched his earlier songs in a fog of romantic imagery be the same one spelling things out on the autobiographical Real Animal (Back Porch/Manhattan)? The San Antonio–born singer, an inveterate rocker who writes tender ballads like “Slow Down,” has always been a study
Forty years ago, Pete Dominguez and his Mexican restaurants were the toast of Dallas. Now he’s alone, broke, and nearly forgotten.
