It tends to get overwhelmed by the reek of humiliating ineptitude that still wafts from Rick Perry’s disastrous 2012 presidential campaign, but there was a moment when he took a principled stand and defended a position that was wildly at odds with the Tea Partiers he was trying so desperately…
It’s not yet clear who will become Texas’ next lieutenant governor. David Dewhurst, though tarnished by his defeat at the hands of Wendy Davis and her “unruly mob,” could hang onto the seat. Or he could be out-flanked to the right in the Republican primary by a trio of challengers:…
The announcement by Klyde Warren Park officials back in February was unequivocal. Come November, Dallas’ premiere urban green space would be home to an outdoor ice-skating rink. They used the term “ice” loosely. Visitors would actually skate on a synthetic substance called Super-Glide. But then-Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation chairman Jody…
An NBC5 report last night shows just how desperate Yellow Cab Co. was to run Uber, the rider-summoned, smartphone-app car service, out of its territory. In emails dating as early as May, a lawyer for the biggest taxi company in North Texas hectored the city manager’s office about citing Uber…
It’s easy enough to make a new development look lively and inviting in computer-generated renderings. Throw in a couple dozen people strolling along a broad, tree-lined sidewalk and dining on restaurant patios, all brightened by a warm evening glow, and voila: You have a thriving, modern commercial and residential hub…
It’s official. Wendy Davis, the Fort Worth Democrat who rose to national prominence during her summer filibuster of abortion legislation, is running for governor. She made the announcement just now in the Haltom City auditorium where she graduated from high school. Already, pro-life groups are readying ads that will portray…
Randy Neugebauer, a Republican congressman from West Texas, didn’t have work yesterday. So he went to the park. Unfortunately, the park was closed. Neugebauer was confused. “How do you deny them access?” Representative Neugebauer asked the park ranger. They were standing outside of the World War II Memorial in Washington,…
There was a time, back when manual transmissions were the only option and the slightest incline could potentially transform any car into an unstoppable projectile, when it made sense to have a law requiring drivers to use their parking brake. Those days have long since passed. Automatic transmissions are now…
In Cleburne, of all places, U.S. Rep. Roger Williams’ district office door was “vandalized,” he tweets, with signs that read “WE’VE HAD ENOUGH TEA. THANKS,” “IT’S TIME TO VOTE YOU OUT,” “ANTI AMERICAN RACIST” and, with a Donald Trump flourish, “YOU’RE FIRED.” Tea bags were also hung from the door…
It’s a rare thing to catch Senator Ted Cruz looking sheepish. There have been no documented cases since he swaggered onto the public stage during the 2012 Republican primary looking cocksure despite plenty of occasions (see: shutting down the government) where it might have been appropriate to show some regret…
In the heat of the moment, while the country is heaping much-deserved blame upon Senator Ted Cruz for forcing a government shutdown and mourning the resulting loss of the nation’s premiere panda cam, it can be easy to lose sight of the hundreds of thousands of rank-and-file federal employees whose…
So far, the turn-Texas-blue group Battleground Texas’ primary public function has been to serve as a Kim Jong-un-like bogeyman for Republican politicians to campaign against. Leave it to U.S. Senator John Cornyn, desperately trying to convince us that he’s just as crazy as junior colleague Ted Cruz, to take this…
For the first time since the Clinton-Gingrich budget wars of 1995-96, hundreds of thousands of federal workers may soon be furloughed without pay, while others will be asked to work for free. The U.S. House of Representatives sent a bill to the U.S. Senate that would temporarily fund the government…
The cover story for Governor Rick Perry’s feud with California Governor Jerry Brown, his job-poaching trip to Missouri and his visit to a Maryland gun manufacturer the day after this month’s Navy Yard shooting, is that he’s bolstering the Texas economy by spreading the state’s low-tax gospel and wooing people…
Back when he was trying to become president, Rick Perry was ridiculed by Mitt Romney for Texas’ growing population of illegal immigrants. Romney had said in a debate that while California and Florida had “no increase in illegal immigration, Texas has had 60 percent increase in illegal immigrants.” Turns out,…
Ted Cruz did not make the cover of the October issue of GQ, an honor reserved for The Wire’s Idris Elba. That’s probably for the best. The appearance of Texas’ junior senator on the cover of a national magazine, this one not a political rag but one that defines itself…
You are a governor of a big state. Someone just shot and killed more than a dozen people in the nation’s capital. Question: Should you tour a gun factory the next day? If you’re Rick Perry, the clear answer is yes. As part of his job-poaching tour in Maryland, he…
When the city broke ground on the $50 million Buckeye Trail Commons housing development, everyone grabbed a shovel. Never mind that they were all wearing business suits; this was supposed to be the beginning of a renaissance in the Bonton neighborhood that had until recently been burdened with the notorious…
If the Texas Department of Transportation were a private company, it would have long ago plastered “Don’t Mess With Texas” all over T-shirts, belt buckles, chastity belts, firearms, and any other consumer good its marketing department could call to mind. As it is, the state agency has mostly limited the…
A droll old English butler once told the Dark Knight that “some men just want to watch the world burn.” The ends they pursue aren’t coherent. Their objectives are inscrutable to rational men. They sow chaos, because it is a faith unto itself. Alfred was talking about the Joker, but…
The bloodletting that marked Sarah Colmark’s first year as general manager of WRR 101.1, the city-run classical music station, has eased in recent months. The resulting decline in revenue, on the other hand, has not. According to a memo sent to City Council members on August 30, WRR is expected…
The Texas Retailers Associations and its allies in the fight against Dallas’ proposed ban on plastic and other single-use bags have succeeded in stalling any action for the foreseeable future. So, even though Councilman Dwaine Caraway swears to us that the measure will ultimately pass, they’ve won at least a…
