In the comments on my post, “It’s About Time,” referring to Colonel Davis’s resignation at DPS, there was some discussion about where the money was coming from for the renovation project at the Governor’s Mansion. Here is my understanding of how it will work: As of September 1, 2007, responsibility
I’m going to write about both party platforms, starting with the Republicans. It is a very interesting document, not only for the individual planks, but also for the frankness of its views and because it reveals some of the fissures inside the GOP. I will address only those planks that
So Colonel Tom Davis, the head of the Department Public Safety, on whose watch the Governor’s Mansion burned, has announced his resignation. Davis issued a brief statement that read, in its entirety, “After 43 years and 9 months with the Texas Department of Public Safety, I am retiring on Aug.
This was the response from the Vo campaign to Greg Meyers’ press release detailing various lawsuits complaining of conditions at apartment complexes owned by Vo: The Greg Meyers attack machine continued its personal and inaccurate attacks on the popular Democratic Representative, Hubert Vo. The latest version of his opponent’s website
Congressional Quarterly is reporting that Barack Obama is making inroads in traditionally red states. Readers may recall that Karl Rove questioned Obama’s strategy (Rove on Obama’s Chances to Win a Red State). It is fundamental that Obama must change the political map in order to win
There was never any doubt that Hubert Vo’s reputation as a slumlord would become the major issue in the 149th District race. Yesterday Greg Meyers’ consultants, the Patriot Group, issued a release that challenged Vo’s claim that he was unaware of substandard conditions at apartment complexes he owned. The release
I won’t mention the shock to a Texan’s system of seeing several signs in Vancouver for ‘Steamed Burritos.” I mean, I love the city, but are they INSANE in British Columbia? Oh, all right, I didn’t try one (would you?), so how can I criticize? Even so, the whole idea
The Huffingtonpost blog today carries a story headlined “GOP Looks to Redistrict Itself Back into Power.” The gist is that Republicans have “a sense of dread” over a “potentially massive” loss of seats in Congress this fall. The contingency plan: Win a majority of governorships (Democrats currently hold
Oh, no, not again. Today’s papers carry the dismaying news that the chairman of the House Appropriations committee is bent on making a spectacle of himself — and the House — one more time. He has vowed to reintroduce a new version of HB 2684 from the 80th Legislature, which
The last item I posted about Rove [“D’s use the specter of Karl Rove to raise money”] drew one comment that asked, “What’s the point?” I shouldn’t have to explain, but: 1. Rove is the smartest political consultant in the business. 2. He is the most dominant figure in his
This letter was sent out over the Internet tonight by consultant James Carville, urging Democrats to beat the midnight deadline with their contributions to Barack Obama. The reason: In their hour of travail, Republicans have turned to Karl Rove to save them. Here is the text of Carville’s letter. Republicans
It took the San Antonio resident thirty years to write the memoir Golden Bones—a reasonable time, perhaps, to appraise a life that includes an escape from Cambodia’s killing fields and stints as both a New York City cabbie and an ambassador to the United Nations. Diplomatic to the core, Siv
Why we should end the war in Iraq.
Recipe courtesy of Richard Knight, James Silk, and Meagan Silk, co-owners of Feast, Houston.1 rabbit, skinned and cut into quarters 8 ounces bacon or pancetta, roughly diced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large white onion 3 carrots, cut into small dice 4 celery stalks, cut into small dice 1 pound
The 24-year-old Austin singer created a grassroots phenomenon with her song and video “Be the Change” (written and produced with collaborator Kevin Lovejoy), which has garnered radio and television play, become a top local seller, and received more than 60,000 hits on YouTube. “Be The Change” YouTube video.
Looking at your Willie cover, I see him praying, my wife sees him stoned, and my daughter sees him reflecting on a long, well-lived life. It is truly a work of art.James JolleyOdessaTwenty-four hours after literally being stopped in my tracks by its impact, I’m still left speechless by your
Houston
Sage on West Alabama, Houston and El Chile, Austin
Of the many concerns I have about the Iraq war, one of the biggest is this: The media have done an inadequate job, abetted by the Bush administration’s no-images-of-flag-draped-coffins dictate, of covering the massive loss of life, limb, and livelihood these past five-plus years. This is true all over the
Over the years, the ancestral line of prewar American bluesmen has just about vanished. Mississippi-born pianist Pinetop Perkins, who relocated to Austin in 2004, is one of the few survivors. A sideman for the majority of his career—most famously with Muddy Waters—Perkins turns 95 this month. Though much has
Cash-in reunions from chart-topping warhorses aren’t tough to predict: Few could feign surprise at, say, the Police returning to arenas for ticket prices equivalent to the average family vacation. But foreseeing a new collaboration by the members of San Antonio’s Krayolas—and their first full-length studio album in 21 years—was
The MaterialA cowboy hat is a beloved possession: It fans fires, it blocks the rain, it gives shade—and it lends authenticity at any honky-tonk or greased-pig contest. But it’s also an extension of one’s personality, so commissioning one takes serious thought (and serious dough: from $300 to $1,500). The first
Ice Cream1 pint vanilla-bean ice cream (not slow-churned style) 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherriesIn a mixing bowl, allow ice cream to soften slightly, then mix in maraschino cherries. Refreeze (slow-churned style does not refreeze well).Pineapple and Bananas1/2 cup spiced rum 1/2 cup dark brown sugar pinch ground cinnamon 4
Spicy Grilled Shrimp and Scallops With Margarita Butter Photograph by Beth PerkinsShrimp and Scallops12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on 12 large scallops, rinsed and side muscles removed 1 tablespoon prepared chili powder (such as Fiesta, Spice Islands, or McCormick’s) 2 tablespoons olive
Grilled Sweet Potato, Chorizo, and Corn Hash Photograph by Beth Perkins4 medium sweet potatoes 3 ears corn, shucked 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 pound Mexican chorizo, removed from casing 1/2 cup diced red onion 1/2 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup grated Gruyère 2 tablespoons
Grilled Romaine, Endive, and Tomato Salad With Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette and Point Reyes Blue CheeseVinaigrette4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 1/2 cup sherry vinegar 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black
Dallas in Austin; base ball in Buffalo Gap; gorging in Canyon Lake.
Need someone to create a menu for the ultimate backyard feast? Paul Petersen, the executive chef at Marathon’s Gage Hotel, is ready, grilling, and able.
Once upon a time, before the pundits and the politicians hijacked it for their nefarious ends, “cowboy” wasn’t a dirty word. The lifestyle and worldview it suggested was seen as completely in line with the very finest Texas values: hard work, independence, honesty, decency, valor. For the sake of today’s
Matt Cook, Peter Yang and Beth Perkins.
Where have you gone, Yogi Berra?
Hutchison, standing, owns Hill Country Flyfishers and is the fly-fishing manager at Sportsman’s Finest, in Austin, where he has lived for twenty-plus years. He guides more than one hundred trips a year, helping clients catch a variety of bass, trout, and perch.Fly-fishing in Texas is underappreciated. When people think of
Chapter Seven of “Twin Wells.”
“Do I blame a single individual? Do I blame the nation for the mistakes we made that led us to Abu Ghraib and the abuses that occurred as a result of the actions we took? Do I blame the military or the Department of Defense for trying to contain this
Only yesterday, it seems, my mother was taking me to visit colleges. A second later, here I am, enduring this rite of passage from the other side.
A porn classic turns thirty.
Cormac McCarthy’s ubiquity problem.
Athens is all wet.
The match made in hell that is Bill O’Reilly and me.
Abilene.
The real-world town of Colma, California—home to about 1,600 residents and more than two million corpses in seventeen cemeteries (motto: “It’s great to be alive in Colma”)— provides an odd but effective setting for Alive in Necropolis, the quirky debut novel from Austin resident Doug Dorst. To the
More than forty years into his career as an antiquarian bookseller (not to mention his other job as a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist), Larry McMurtry has paused to reflect on a life hawking secondhand tomes in Books: A Memoir. Given his accounts of the shops and bookmen who’ve succumbed
It took the San Antonio resident thirty years to write the memoir Golden Bones—a reasonable time, perhaps, to assess a life that includes an escape from Cambodia’s killing fields and stints as both a New York City cabbie and a deputy assistant secretary of state under George H. W. Bush.
The executive chef of the Gage Hotel, in Marathon, created a feast in which everything is grilled—even dessert.
Wouldn’t you know it? I flee Texas for Vancouver, Canada and they’re having a heat wave–gawd, it must have been 90 degrees yesterday. There is no justice. But, still, what a beautiful city. Struck out on a couple of recommended places–don’t bother with Congee Noodle–it’s allegedly an authnetic noodle house,
I just spoke to David Beckwith, formerly (according to Burnt Orange Report) with the Cornyn campaign. He called me from the Cornyn campaign office, for which, according to Burnt Orange, he is not supposed to be employed, having been fired last week by none other than Karen Hughes for his
A skeptical reader has issued a challenge. He noticed that all of our top five picks in the barbecue feature (June 2008) were from Central Texas. Very suspicious, he says, given that the TM headquarters is in Austin. How do I know you guys didn’t just go to
I think the answer is: a lot. The Court handed down three decisions this week with major political implications: (1) Kennedy vs. Louisiana. This ruling struck down Louisiana’s version of Jessica’s law with the broad holding that capital punishment can be imposed only for the crime of murder, not for
The decision in District of Columbia v. Heller has settled the fundamental issue involving gun control, which is whether the Second Amendment limits the right to possess firearms to those serving in militias or whether it is an individual right. I never thought that the former argument would
It didn’t take long for fallout to occur from the Supreme Court’s decision establishing the right to possess handguns for self-defense. One day after the decision was handed down, another lawsuit has been filed. This report is from SCOTUSblog: In a newly filed lawsuit in federal court in Chicago,
