Freedom of Information Act

A Federal Prisoner is Suing Taco Bell for Stealing His Idea for the Doritos Locos Taco

You've no doubt spent the 14 months since Doritos Locos Tacos were introduced wondering how Taco Bell came up with the brilliant idea of turning the popular chips into popular taco shells. If you just assumed this was the work of a dedicated, and probably high, Yum Brands food scientist, Gary Cole i ... More >>

Thanks a Bunch, IRS. Now We Gotta Respect the Tea Party -- a Little Bit.

Wow. I take it all back, Tea Party. You cool. In fact, I'm jealous. Targeted by the IRS. There was a time when that would have been my dream come true. I remember back in the day when my hippie friends started getting their FBI files under the Freedom of Information Act. I was always afraid to as ... More >>

Arlington Police Bought Two Drones, Which They Hope to Start Using Very Soon

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration released a list of all the city and state entities who have applied for a license to fly unmanned aerial drones. That list was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF), an organization tha ... More >>

Dallas Music Producers Claim Ludacris Stole Their Business Name, Throw 'Bows in Court

It was in 2001 that Christopher Bridges, a.k.a. Ludacris, released "Move Bitch," a song still considered his masterpiece. (The inimitable chorus: "Move bitch, get out the way/Get out the way bitch/Get out the way.") It was the third single from the album Word of Mouf, and it helped propel the corn-r ... More >>

Have a Coke and a Frown: Another Win for Libertarian Robber Barons Eating the Planet

​Here is where this libertarian bullshit -- the propaganda foisted on us by Koch-brothers, Harold-Simmons-style polluter robber barons -- just makes suckers, fools and chumps out of us if we believe it. A story in today's New York Times reports that the top national park system official killed ... More >>

Council Field-Trips to SMU For a Lecture on Ethics From Someone in Federal Gov't. Oh, Boy.

Photos by Anna MerlanIt would appear the council got a standing o for appearing, briefly, at a lecture about ethics.​Ethics reforms, or at least the earnest discussion thereof, are in the air over at City Hall lately. Mayor Rawlings won his seat, after all, at least partially based on a "pro-e ... More >>

Dallas City Hall Fights to Keep its Trinity Secrets

What's in the emails we can't see? Lots of bad stuff, no doubt.

City Sues Texas Attorney General to Keep From Releasing Trinity Project Docs We Requested

All your solar-powered water taxis are belong to us, says Dallas City Hall.​OK, now we're really curious. We're talking to you, Dallas City Hall, about those Trinity River project emails and memos you're fighting to keep us from seeing. What, has someone been unduly candid in his or her assessment ... More >>

ACLU Wants to Know How the FBI Profiles Ethnic Communities.

Legal Briefs: A Peek at Fred Baron's FBI File, and Cathedral of Hope's Prop. 8 Response

​Whilst awaiting a sit-down with a source, allow me to marry two unrelated legal matters, baby:Texas Watchdog has been Freedom of Information Act-ing out, requesting from the FBI the files of several "prominent Texas political figures" once they've expired. Today's installment is ... Fred Baron, t ... More >>

No Justice: We've Bailed Out the Banks. When Do We Go After the Crooks Behind Our Financial Collapse?

G.I. Jerk

Phil Haberman claims he fought with special forces in Iraq, but he's about as real as Rambo

Raising a stink

Does open government mean it's really open to everyone, even people like Phil Thomas?

Mr. Mellow

John Wiley Price, the man who once toted a bullhorn in protests outside Mayor Ron Kirk's home, learns that it helps to have friends in high places

The (W)right to Fly

How little Legend Airlines beat mammoth American at its own game

O little town of Bethel-sham

On the plains north of Dallas, budding revolutionaries are trying to form the newest town in Texas. But tiny Bethel isn't being founded on civic pride. It's a ploy to stop farmers like Jack England from selling their land.

GROUND ZERO

Atomic Cafe filmmaker Jayne Loader has won raves for her CD-ROM Public Shelter, but calls the 'new medium' a dud