The Perry campaign sent out this release today. My comments appear below in italics: Gov. Perry: We Need Increased Accountability, Efficiency In Our Legal System Announces Four-Point Lawsuit Reform Initiative; Accepts Endorsement of Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC HOUSTON – Gov. Rick Perry today accepted the endorsement of Texans for
Is this press release the tip of an iceberg? LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATE DR. MIKE SMITH ENDORSES DEE MARGO FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 78 El Paso – Today, Libertarian Candidate, Dr. Mike Smith announced his withdrawal from the District 78 race for State Representative and announced his endorsement of Dee Margo. “Texas
I’m not talking about the governor’s race. I’m talking about whatever national ambitions Perry may have. If he ducks the debate, his fellow Republicans in Washington are going to take notice. No one is going to buy that Perry’s refusal to debate Bill White because White hadn’t complied with Perry’s
Good Samaritan that you are, if you saw a school bus on the side of the road with smoke billowing from its roof, you’d probably call 911. Now, it might seem counterintuitive, but don’t dial those digits. Pull over, whip out your wallet, and prepare for some of the best
It’s “Middle Easterners buying into the U.S. public school textbook oligopoly.” So says a story in today’s Statesman. This could lead to “gross pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias” in future social studies texts. None of the works about which concerns have been raised are used in Texas schools, the story says. A
Here’s what I really would like to know about Rick Perry: Does he really believe what he said (to the Chronicle’s Peggy Fikac) about the reason for the looming budget crunch? (“You have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to understand that we have a major financial crisis on
To those of you who were anxiously awaiting on a new seasonal recipe on Monday, I do apologize. My kitchen has been getting the short end of the stir stick in the last couple of weeks; its most dubious task of late has been keeping the can opener in plain
Editor Jake Silverstein received the following letter from Public Utility Commission chairman Barry Smitherman concerning my proposal to zero out funding for the PUC. My response will follow Mr. Smitherman’s letter. Dear Mr. Silverstein: Thank you for sending me an advance copy of “The Eighteen Billion Dollar Man,” by Paul
Now it’s the Ryder Cup. The Wall Street Journal notes that American captain Corey Pavin, a born-again Christian, has assembled a squad that is laden with born-again Christians, The majority of the U.S. squad, as well as three of Corey Pavin’s four captain’s picks — are all born-again Christians. As
TEXAS MONTHLY received the following letter from Bryan Shaw, chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, in response to my proposal to end all spending by TCEQ and allow the EPA to take over and fund all activities related to the Clean Air Act. Dear Editor, I read with
I missed this AP story today. Burnt Phillip Martin of BOR, who is often the target of commenters to this blog, didn’t miss it. This ran in Burnt Orange Report: AUSTIN (AP) — The owner of a small Austin grocery store whose shop is shown in Republican Gov. Rick Perry’s
This section appeared in Texas Monthly under the headline, “Put a Leash on the Governor’s Pet Projects.” I recommend zeroing out nonessential funds that appear in the Appropriations bill under “Trusteed Programs in the Office of the Governor.” These are the Texas Enterprise Fund ($67,576,0000); the Emerging Technology Fund $203,038,327;
I just saw the first Perry TV spot, “Open for Business.” He goes postive. It opens with a shot of the Lone Star Flag against a sunrise. Perry announces that Texas has created more than 850,000 jobs, more than any other state; it has cut taxes for small business; it’s
Evan Smith e-mailed me last night that I would find the poll to be “interesting.” He was right. The previous UT/Tribune poll, in May, had Perry ahead by 49-40. Perry has leaked 10 points since then, and White has lost 7. Perry is ahead–no surprise there–but he is languishing at
Nate Silver’s widely read blog in the New York Times says that Republicans have a two-in-three chance of claiming a majority of House seats in November, the FiveThirtyEight forecasting model estimates. And their gains could potentially rival or exceed those made in 1994, when they took a net of 54
“Very interesting” — Evan Smith in a tantalizing e-mail. I invite readers to post their predictions for the spread in the governor’s race. Mine: Perry +8
This post pertains to the controversy created by Republican Party chairman Steve Munisteri, who advised Republican candidates for the State Board of Education to eschew appearing at a League forum with the Democratic candidates. Readers will recall that Munisteri said that the League was a Democratic organization and that its
Over the next few days, I’m going to be writing about my efforts to cut the budget by $18 billion in a feature story in the October issue. Part of the story appears on the Texas Monthly home page and readers can link to it here. To access the
Having been poured out by the Texas Supreme Court, which last month declined to overturn her rebuke by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct by an 8-0 vote, Sharon Keller gets another bite at the apple today. She will appear before a panel of three appellate judges, who were selected
From today’s Statesman: In the Texas Department of Public Safety’s proposed budget for the next two years, officials warn that if they must reduce spending by 15 percent, a high-profile public registry of sex offenders will have to go away. No more website, no more postcard notifications to neighbors, the
I must be a glutton for punishment. Or, more likely, I’m just a glutton. After my brief fling last week with the Cutie Pie Wagon (fudge brownie pie, anyone?), I waddled over to Gourdough’s vintage Airstream trailer to get my hands on some of
From politicalwire.com, my favorite Web site for national politics: Perry’s Book Due Out After Election Look what’s coming just after the midterm elections: Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Despite Perry’s insistence that he’s not interested in running for president, this will
The latest is from Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm, which shows Perry ahead of White by 48% to 42%. PPP’s previous Texas governor’s race survey, in June, showed Perry and White tied at 43% each. A recent Zogby poll commissioned by longtime Texas Democratic godfather Bernard Rapoport has Perry
This is TPJ’s summary of its report: Two-thirds of the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) projects that faced job-creation targets by 2009 failed to deliver the jobs that they originally promised in exchange for $368 million in public funding, a new Texans for Public Justice study finds. This marks a sharp
The poll today from Hill Research Consultants casts the governor’s race in a new light. It shows Perry with a one point lead, 42-41. The poll is somewhat eccentric since the ballot test is secondary to the main thrust of the poll, which is to examine Texans’ attitude on insurance
I haven’t been writing about the down-ballot statewide races because the results are foregone conclusions. The question is not who will win, but by how much? What’s the over/under for the closest race? 15 points? 18? 20? But Barbara Radnofsky, the Democratic candidate for AG, did land a solid punch
Fivethirtyeight is the ultimate political junkies’ Web site. It is probability-driven. Fantasy baseball addicts (of whom I am one) will be familiar with the principals: Will Carroll and Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus, which specializes in detailed statistical analyses of player performance. I bought it for a couple of years
When Steve Munisteri was elected chair of the state Republican party, I wrote in my report on the GOP state convention that his defeat of the ultraconservative Cathy Adams was a positive development for the state Republican party. Now I’m not so sure. Munisteri went off the deep end when
I needed to go back to Bartley’s in Grapevine to clear up a misunderstanding. In my D Magazine article on the Best BBQ in DFW, I stated that Bartley’s used oak in their smokers, but a few commenters noted that they use hickory. I had to get it from
The Republican firm is based in Washington, D.C., with offices in Sacramento, Oklahoma City, and Austin. The poll was conducted for GOPAC Texas. Quoting from the firm’s release: Wilson Research Strategies conducted a research study of likely voters throughout the state of Texas on behalf of GOPAC-TX. Respondents were contacted
There are very few things that could drag most people out of bed at 2:30 a.m. But thankfully, you don’t have to wake up in the wee hours, as Jaynie Buckingham does, to enjoy the benefits of her baking. And, oh, are there benefits. For sweet fiends such as myself,
How a mild-mannered database analyst from Dallas became the undisputed king of extreme competitive deep-frying in Texas—which is to say, the world.
The wheels of justice (or injustice) continue to turn in the shockingly bizarre Mineola swingers club case.
What possessed me to join about 14,000 people in ninety-degree heat to ride in one of the largest bicycle races in the country? Why the hell not.
Is speed dating the surefire way to building a healthy doctor-patient relationship?
How to learn the history of Texas in five minutes or less.
Can your backyard brisket taste as good as the meat you’d get at your favorite barbecue joint? Bill Karau, a native of Pittsburg, thinks so. There’s only one catch—you’ve got to use one of his pits.
A roundup of the latest and greatest scientific research from Texas universities.
A new novel.
A new novel by Ann Weisgarber.
On her new novel, The Personal History of Rachel Dupree, and more.
One more trip—would it be the last?—to Toledo Bend Reservoir with my dad.
After a year on the job, the superintendent of the largest school district in Texas is loathed and loved in equal measure. Does that mean he’s doing his job?
Bryan Curtis, Katy Vine, and Bryce Duffy.
Dove TalesAs a fifth-generation Californian—a state that long ago lost its self-worth to historical revisionism—I applaud your insightful observations on Larry McMurtry and Lonesome Dove [“True West,” July 2010]. Luckily the rich history and traditions of Texas have withstood the politically correct demythologizing process that has destructively
Brownstone Restaurant and Lounge, Fort Worth and the Meddlesome Moth, Dallas.
Austin
On October 27, 1900, an Austrian-born mining engineer named Anthony F. Lucas spudded in an oil well on a hill near Beaumont. He’d drilled a previous well in the vicinity to a depth of 575 feet before running out of money and giving up, but this time he’d secured financing
The Sword's singer-guitarist on the band's new album, Warp Riders, and more.
A new album by Ryan Bingham.
