AltWeeklies Wire
How McCain Supporters Skewed the Texas Democratic Party Resultsnew
McCain supporters, our poll reveals, made up 9.4 percent of the total vote in the primary. Clinton's margin of victory was only 3.5 percent. We can't say that the McCain ringers in the Democratic primary changed the outcome, because we don't know for whom they actually voted in March. But it is clearly possible.
The Texas Observer |
Leland Beatty |
05-30-2008 |
Politics
'Bad Money' is Not Meant to be Pretty, and It Isn'tnew
Phillips argues that financial recklessness, combined with peak oil and the rise of Asian economic power, will doom -- has already doomed -- American world leadership and our standard of living, which depend on the value of the dollar.
The Texas Observer |
James K. Galbraith |
05-21-2008 |
Nonfiction
One Man's Painful Journey Through South Texas' Addiction to Asset Forfeiturenew
In October 2005, Javier Gonzalez struck out from Austin toward Brownsville, carrying $10,000 in cash to pay for his dying aunt's funeral. He never made it. Gonzalez was stopped in Jim Wells County for a minor traffic violation, and the county anti-drug task force confiscated his cash.
The Texas Observer |
Jan Reid |
05-21-2008 |
Crime & Justice
The U.S. Supreme Court Gives New Life to the Texas GOP's Effort to Pass Voter ID Billnew
Both sides of the debate have reason to tread carefully in the upcoming legislative battles. Although the Court gave Indiana -- and any state wishing to follow its lead -- the go-ahead to enact stringent voter identification laws, the Court left open the possibility of legal challenges to such measures once their actual effect on the voting public can be assessed.
The Texas Observer |
Anthony Zurcher |
05-21-2008 |
Politics
Four More Years for Gov. Rick Perry?new
The soon-to-be longest-serving governor in Texas history says he wants to extend his run. If Perry wins again in two years, his administration will be on track to last 14 years -- longer than the lifespan of most dogs. Every dog has its day. Let's hope Perry has had his.
The Texas Observer |
Editorial |
05-07-2008 |
Commentary
Tags: Texas, Rick Perry
Inside the Oil Conundrumnew
Excerpts from Robert Bryce's Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of "Energy Independence".
The Texas Observer |
Robert Bryce |
05-07-2008 |
Excerpts
'The King of Texas' Looks at Eagle Pennell's Brilliant, but Wasted, Lifenew
The proto-indie filmmaker's highs and many lows are chronicled in this new documentary.
The Texas Observer |
Steve McVicker |
05-07-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'World Made By Hand' Conveys Post-Oil Society Through Richly Descriptive Narrativenew
While no doubt many consider him a doomsayer or a kook, Kunstler has become a go-to guest lecturer on topics ranging from architecture to urban planning to peak oil -- and now he's translated ideas in his nonfiction writing into a novel.
The Texas Observer |
C.B. Evans |
05-07-2008 |
Fiction
Texas' Founding Contribution to Fast-Food Culture Hangs Onnew
Almost nine decades after the chain was born, only one Pig Stand remains, old No. 29 on Broadway in San Antonio. In its faded, pastel glory, it lingers like the last of an ancient species, rescued from the limbo of bankruptcy court, crouched below the interstate.
The Texas Observer |
John MacCormack |
05-07-2008 |
Food+Drink
Systemic Neglect at Texas' Troubled Insitutions for the Mentally Retardednew
Texas has the largest remaining set of mental institutions in the nation, housing the state's most vulnerable: some can't feed or dress themselves, and others can't even rise from a gurney or speak. And according to government records, the very people charged with caring for these patients are victimizing them.
The Texas Observer |
Dave Mann |
05-07-2008 |
Science
'A Person of Interest' is Hypnotically Absorbingnew
While Susan Choi's new novel is clearly, in part, a fictionalized account of the Theodore Kaczynski bombings, the plot's trajectory also resonates in our post-9/11 world.
The Texas Observer |
Azita Osanloo |
04-23-2008 |
Fiction
Texas Democrats Endure Another Round of Caucus Chaosnew
With record-breaking Democratic turnout have come unprecedented headaches. The struggle to manage that surge was once again on display on March 29 at 279 county and senatorial district conventions. It was the second step in Texas' three-part caucus to determine how 67 delegates will be apportioned between Democratic presidential aspirants Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The Texas Observer |
Staff |
04-23-2008 |
Politics
Talking Politics & Prose with Elizabeth Haileynew
"Like a lot of women my age, I missed the '60s because I was at home raising my daughters," says the silver-haired, silver-tongued author of the trailblazing A Woman of Independent Means. "But now that I'm in my 60s, I'm ready to march. In the third act of my life, I'm ready for the front lines."
The Texas Observer |
Robert Leleux |
04-23-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: activism, Elizabeth Hailey
How Texas' Attorney General Suppresses the Votenew
Greg Abbott prosecutes Democrats who help seniors vote by mail while ignoring Republican ballot-box stuffing.
The Texas Observer |
Steven Rosenfeld |
04-23-2008 |
Politics
Getting Pluckednew
AltWeeklies Award - News Story -- In-Depth
The Texas Observer |
Dave Mann |
04-21-2008 |
Media
Tags: media
