Politics & Policy
July 1, 1991
The Ghosts of the Freedmen
Dallas is a city that has prided itself on having escaped the hostility of the civil rights years—until now.
Politics & Policy
Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
Politics & Policy
June 30, 1991
Going by the Book
Under Jim Hightower, the agriculture department was liberal and loose. Under Rick Perry, it will be corporate and crisp.
Politics & Policy
May 31, 1991
Dough Boy
Since the publication of Paul Pilzer’s book Unlimited Wealth, the Dallas economist’s career-and ego-are on the rise.
Politics & Policy
May 1, 1991
Ann of a Hundred Days
Things around the Legislature are looking bleak, but so far, Governor Richards is having the time of her life.
Politics & Policy
April 1, 1991
Meaner Than a Junkyard Dog
“Guys like me like Iraq,” says Houston oilman Oscar Wyatt. “That’s the way the real world works, baby.”
Politics & Policy
February 1, 1991
Is the Legislature for Sale?
To reassure a skeptical public, members must pass an ethics reform bill this session. And here’s what it should say.
Politics & Policy
February 1, 1991
The Old Soldier
In 1957 General Walker warned his troops of rampant communism and lost his job. Today the world has changed, but he hasn’t.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1991
State Secrets
A quarter may not be enough to buy a newspaper much longer.
Politics & Policy
December 1, 1990
Scene of the Crime
It all looked so different 27 years ago.
Politics & Policy
December 1, 1990
I Was Mandarin…
Clues left behind by a former Dallas cop convinced his son that he killed President Kennedy—but that’s just the beginning of the mystery.
Politics & Policy
November 1, 1990
The Lone Ambassador
Henry Catto’s friends knew that one day he would be appointed to the Court of St. James’s. What they didn’t guess is that when the time came, his wife, Jessica, wouldn’t join him.
Politics & Policy
November 1, 1990
Silber Lining
Former UT dean John Silber's tough talk is about to make him the next governor of Massachusetts.
Politics & Policy
October 1, 1990
Meet the Governor
Revealing profiles of Ann Richards and Clayton Williams raise the question: How about none of the above?
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
October 1, 1990
Meet the Governor: Clayton Williams
Onward to the past.
Politics & Policy
September 30, 1990
Saddam’s Shadow
Iraq’s leader may baffle the West, but he’s even more of an enigma to his own people.
Politics & Policy
September 30, 1990
Meet the Governor: Ann Richards
How perfection led to failure.
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
July 31, 1990
What Price Glory?
John Wiley Price champions the poor, the oppressed—and his own political future.
Politics & Policy
July 1, 1990
The Unholy Trinity
“The heavens brought the rain, but Man brought the ruin.”
Politics & Policy
April 1, 1990
Save Our Schools
In education, Texas ranks below (gasp) Mississippi. Here’s how to turn the public schools around without throwing billions of dollars down the rathole.
Politics & Policy
April 1, 1990
Back to the Past
With Henry Cisneros out of office, opponents shoot down a tax increase, and San Antonio retreats to 1980.
Politics & Policy
February 1, 1990
Money, Media, and Magic
Three crucial elements that will determine the outcome of the Texas governor’s race.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1990
The Bucks Stop Here
The troubled Parks and Wildlife Department is supposed to protect the state’s natural resources. Instead, it protects its friends and, above all, itself.
Politics & Policy
November 1, 1989
John the Catalyst
In his new book, James Reston, Jr., tries unsuccessfully to make John Connally larger than life.
Politics & Policy
October 1, 1989
How Do You Say “Perestroika” In Spanish?
The parallels between Mikhail Gorbachev and Mexico’s Carlos Salinas just might end when it comes to their effectiveness at achieving reform in their nations.
Politics & Policy
July 1, 1989
On the Defensive
Jim Wright’s attorney Steve Susman is living proof that clients may lose, but lawyers don’t.
Politics & Policy
July 1, 1989
The Mommy War
Kids in T-shirts bearing political slogans, ideological confrontations in the supermarket, skirmishes at the PTA. Welcome to the battle between moms who work and moms who don’t.
Best and Worst Legislators
June 30, 1989
1989: The Best and the Worst Legislators
We just rate them. You voted for them.
Politics & Policy
April 1, 1989
Don’t Call Him Junior
George W. Bush wants to be governor of Texas. He says he’s not following in his father’s footsteps, but his name, his career, and his ideas about politics seem an awful lot like Dad’s.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 1989
The Second Coming
Twenty-five years ago, Texans hoped LBJ would lead them into the promised land. They have the same hopes for the new president, but George Bush is making no promises.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 1989
The Bush League
In George Bush’s Cabinet, Texans are crawling out of the woodwork. Read about their pasts, their pets, their secret passions.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 1989
Back In the Saddle Again
Twenty-five years ago, Texans hoped LBJ would lead them into the promised land. They have the same hopes for the new president, but George H. W. Bush is making no promises.
Politics & Policy
February 1, 1989
Jailhouse Hock
Bill Clements’ ambitious—and expensive—prison-expansion plan is only a tiny first step toward escaping the overcrowding problem.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1989
Superpolitics
Will Texas’ acquisition of the supercollider increase the state’s clout in Washington? We’d better hope so, because now that we’ve got it, we’ve got to get the money to deliver it
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1989
God Help Her
How Madalyn Murray O’Hair became the supreme being of the American atheist movement.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1989
Behind the Lines
The case against conspiracy.
Politics & Policy
December 1, 1988
Can Ross Perot Save America?
One day in 1962 Ross Perot read Thoreau’s insight that the “mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” The country hasn’t been the same since.
Politics & Policy
November 1, 1988
Power Play
Houston Lighting and Power’s purchase of a Canadian cable TV company may come as a shock to HL&P ratepayers.
Politics & Policy
October 1, 1988
It’s the Way We’ve Always Done It, Sir
How the Pentagon really works, as told by a Texan who tried to make it work a little differently.
Politics & Policy
September 1, 1988
Texas Primer: Bush vs. Bentsen
Eighteen years after their Senate race determined the course of Texas politics, their rivalry may determine the course of national politics.
Politics & Policy
August 1, 1988
Wright and Wrong
The congressional investigation that is focusing on Speaker Jim Wright’s ethics is missing the real problem —his judgment.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 1988
Country Boys
A battle over a vacant state Senate seat reveals that the scars from years of Democratic party infighting haven’t healed yet.
Politics & Policy
June 1, 1988
Caught in the Middle
On the eve of the Mexican elections, the country’s dwindling middle class prefers fatalism to Fabianism.
Politics & Policy
May 31, 1988
The Self-Destruction of Lance Lalor
Houston’s city controller prided himself on being the most scrupulously honest politician in town. So why did he sign his name to someone else credit card?
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
May 1, 1988
Learning to Love the Bomb
Can a Texas publisher of technical books make a difference in the nuclear powers’ arms race? You bet.
Politics & Policy
April 30, 1988
Just Add Water
The issues in El Paso’s colonias are watery and grave.
Politics & Policy
April 30, 1988
Fallen Idyll
Profligate and polarized, Austin attempts to salvage its future by looking into the past for its next mayor.
Politics & Policy
April 1, 1988
The Night Lyndon Quit
For twenty years, the story behind President Johnson’s withdrawal has remained a mystery. Now, on the anniversary of his decision, his former secretary reveals the drama of LBJ’s biggest surprise.
Politics & Policy
April 1, 1988
Behind the Lines
Conover Hunt and the Sixth Floor Museum.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 1988
Should This Man Be President?
For all his integrity and noble intentions, George Bush has yet to prove he’s got the agenda of a true statesman.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 1988
Disorder in the Court
An eleventh-hour filing by two candidates for the state Supreme Court has kicked off a season of judicial campaigning unprecedented in Texas history.