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Perry's tough letter, absent smiley face
Gov. Rick Perry sent a tough talkin’ letter to Kathleen Sebelius this morning, not so kindly asking the health and human services secretary to tell President Barack Obama that Texas wouldn’t be...
View ArticleDewhurst burned by a fire he could no longer control
The standard line is the U.S. Senate race in Texas was Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s to lose and lose it he did. His loss to Ted Cruz in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff will rank among the biggest...
View ArticleWillfully blind to a system 'blinking red'
From Richard Clarke’s “Against All Enemies” and other books and articles written in the first several years after 9/11, we’ve long known that the Bush administration neglected to react to intelligence...
View ArticleExploiting the death of an ambassador
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, the Austin Republican who’s a member of the House committees on foreign affairs and homeland security, released this statement this morning about Tuesday’s breach of the U.S....
View ArticleWhen debates go off script
The first presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney starts tonight at 8. The theme is domestic issues. Questions will focus on the economy, health care, the role of government....
View ArticleA few thoughts about last night's presidential debate
No structure here; just some quick, morning-after random reactions: Last night’s presidential debate was predictable, as most presidential debates are. The most surprising thing about it was how bad...
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It was 50 years ago today ...
Fifty years ago today, the first James Bond movie, “Dr. No.” premiered in London. The movie launched an enduring franchise and starred the man who’s still the best of all the Bonds, Sean Connery. Also...
View ArticleRomney vs. Obama, the final round: Foreign policy
The final debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney begins in a few hours, at 8 p.m. The focus is foreign policy. The moderator is CBS’s Bob Schieffer, who says he...
View ArticleAnother debate season comes to an end
This year’s presidential debates are done, and ready to fade into history. What moments will be revisited in four years when news networks, magazines and newspapers recall debate highlights from years...
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Kountze cheerleaders may need to bring on the fear
Last week a state district judge said cheerleaders at Kountze High School in East Texas could continue to put together biblically inspired banners for their school’s football games, at least for the...
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If God is supreme over everything, does my vote really count?
The talker of the day is this story by the American-Statesman’s Claire Osborn about a woman named Kay Hill who was asked by poll workers in Williamson County to cover her T-shirt because it said “Vote...
View ArticleLive blogging the election
Please join me tonight as I follow election developments, starting around 5:30. I’ll be watching the presidential election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, of course, but also select national and...
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Election reaction: Tell them to kiss Nate Silver's nerdy little behind
The New York Times’ Nate Silver is being hailed has a prognosticating hero following President Barack Obama’s re-election Tuesday. Silver’s political forecasts, based on complicated calculations and...
View ArticleElection reaction: The demographic tide; plus odds and ends
The focus has been on Hispanic voters since President Obama’s re-election Tuesday. Hispanic support for Obama was overwhelming - 71 percent, compared with 27 percent for Mitt Romney, according to exit...
View ArticleKountze update: Lions close season on a losing streak, finish 5-5
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the controversy surrounding the Scripture-themed banners Kountze High School cheerleaders were putting together for their school’s football games. Whatever...
View ArticleAffordable housing's uncertain future
I wrote a column for today’s American-Statesman about last week’s defeat of Proposition 15, the bond measure that would have provided $78.3 million for affordable housing. There were seven Austin bond...
View Article'He's a master at going faster'
Dear Reader, if only you knew how remarkably restrained I’ve been about one of my favorite subjects: The Beatles. I’ve written about them only once on this blog. You’re welcome. Indulge me today,...
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Leonard Lundgren and the Sellstrom house
I wrote a column for Sunday’s American-Statesman about Ashley Amini’s fight to prevent the city from declaring a 1961 house she bought in June a historic landmark, but thought I’d add more details...
View ArticleGuest list for tonight's State of the Union
Ronald Reagan introduced human props to the State of the Union in 1982 and though the practice began modestly with a single guest and with good intentions, it had, by the end of Reagan’s presidency,...
View ArticleTed Cruz finds the spotlight
Ted Cruz has been the subject of what by now are countless news stories, columns and blog entries since his upset of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in last year’s Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and...
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