AltWeeklies Wire
Texas Could Soon Have 12 New Coal-Fired Power Plants. What Gives?new
The Texas coal rush threatens to throw a monkey wrench into the nation's long-delayed efforts to stem global warming. If all 12 plants are built, they would add upwards of 80 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year.
The Texas Observer |
Forrest Wilder |
11-18-2009 |
Environment
'What Are You So Mad At?': Tea Partiers Go Grassrootsnew
With the Christian Right and the Obama Left having reinvented personal politicking for the 21st century, the old wizardry is making a comeback. After the tea parties are over and the Fox News van has skipped town, American Majority is training activists to win elections at the grassroots.
The Texas Observer |
Josh Berthume |
11-04-2009 |
Politics
Boots On the Ground: A Day in the Life of a Border Sheriffnew
Sheriff Arvin West and his 17 deputies patrol a county nearly twice the size of Delaware on the Texas-Mexico border. And West, chair of Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, has traveled to Washington, D.C., 13 times since 2005 to testify about border security.
The Texas Observer |
Melissa del Bosque |
11-04-2009 |
Immigration
Johnny Rico's Second Book Uses the Border Reality as its Shticknew
Border Crosser is the account of Rico's attempt to illegally cross from Mexico into the United States in the summer of 2007. Physically and mentally, Rico is woefully unprepared for the task he has assigned himself. Nevertheless, he sets out with testosterone-fueled arrogance and a naive, fetishized view of the border-crossing experience.
The Texas Observer |
Kirk Forrester |
10-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
Did a False Confession and Faulty Arson Science Land Alredo Guardiola in Prison for 19 Years and Counting?new
A six-month Observer investigation of the case -- using new research into arson and false confessions -- shows that he is probably innocent.
The Texas Observer |
Dave Mann |
10-14-2009 |
Crime & Justice
'Cheap' Tackles the Fraught Practice of Buying and Selling Cheap Goodsnew
For its catchy title and relatively few pages, Cheap is a weighty book. Shell reveals the dizzying connections between price and poverty, using statistics, historical accounts, and scientific and sociological explanations. She spent two years doing research, traveling to Sweden, the birthplace of IKEA, and China, "factory to the world."
The Texas Observer |
C.B. Evans |
09-23-2009 |
Nonfiction
Texas Pickers Strum Germans to Set Recordnew
On an August afternoon hotter than Jerry Jeff Walker's temper, two extraordinary things transpired: I played two songs with 1,867 other guitar pickers to set a Guinness world record. And I rekindled a subliminal inner joy buried for years.
The Texas Observer |
Robert McCorkle |
09-23-2009 |
Music
White Man's Burden: A Dallas Suburb Struggles With its Sudden Diversitynew
Like many suburbs, Irving is becoming much less white. According to the latest Census Bureau figures, in 2007 Latinos made up about 41 percent of Irving’s population. Yet one place in Irving remains unchanged -- city hall. Anglos make up 35 percent of the population, but the mayor and all eight City Council members are white.
The Texas Observer |
Dave Mann |
08-26-2009 |
Politics
The Unexpected Angles and Concluding Twists in 'Mirrors' Keep Readers Hookednew
Galeano regales us with tales from our shared history in an inclusive manner, from cultural creation myths to major historical figures and inventions to significant current events. It is a truism that history is written by the victors; what if, Galeano seems to ask, history were told instead by the vanquished, the oppressed and the downtrodden of all cultures and times?
The Texas Observer |
Liliana Valenzuela |
08-26-2009 |
Nonfiction
'All My Bones Shake' Explains Robert Jensen's Personal, Alternative Theologynew
Jensen would redefine Christian religion to help himself lead a good life as a socially and politically aware human who believes and practices Jensenist Christianity. But it is difficult to call what he is doing "religion."
The Texas Observer |
Tom Palaima |
08-26-2009 |
Nonfiction
A Mexican Shark Fisherman Tells the Tale of an Illegal Industry Gone Overboardnew
In the last decade, the Coast Guard has devoted a growing effort to deterring illegal shark fishing. But that hasn't stopped men from making the dangerous trip north in search of sharks.
The Texas Observer |
Kevin Sieff |
08-26-2009 |
Business & Labor
Will the Border Patrol Use Hurricane Evacuations to Snag Undocumented Immigrants?new
If a violent hurricane hits South Texas, 150,000 undocumented immigrants will want to flee the Rio Grande Valley. But U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints might keep them from evacuating.
The Texas Observer |
Kevin Sieff |
08-12-2009 |
Disasters
'A Saint on Death Row' is an Intervention in Public Memorynew
Thomas Cahill catalogs every disgraceful aspect of Dominique Green's experience with the justice system. His larger mission, though, is to examine the changes Green underwent after receiving his death sentence -- his transformation from a troubled teenager into what Cahill calls "a fully achieved human being."
The Texas Observer |
Todd Moye |
08-12-2009 |
Nonfiction
'That Infernal Little Cuban Republic' Dissects the Shared History of Cuba and Americanew
Lar Schoultz focuses on the Castro years, which he reconstructs in impressive detail, fleshing out such well-known events as the doomed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion with eye-opening depth. Better yet, often-glossed questions are aired with the fullness of Schoultz's four decades of wrestling with the Cuba question. Still, there's something missing.
The Texas Observer |
Mike Kanin |
08-12-2009 |
Nonfiction
Three Recents Books Tackle Iran From the Inside Outnew
Books about Iran have been recently proliferating. The last year in particular has delivered three notable titles: Hooman Majd's The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, Azar Nafisi's Things I've Been Silent About: Memories and Azadeh Moaveni's Honeymoon in Tehran.
The Texas Observer |
Azita Osanloo |
07-15-2009 |
Books
