Recently added articles from The Texas Observer:
Dialogue
Feb 06, 2009; ... SAY IT AIN'T SO! As a student of English, I am flabbergasted. Emily DePrang can't have it both ways ("Bubbles, Burst," Jan. 9). On one hand she crucifies Margaret Atwood about die style, metaphors and plain banalities in Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. Yet I believe she ...
CORRECTION
Feb 06, 2009; ... Correction: In "Bye-Bye Boys' Club" (Jan. 23), state Rep. Alma Allen ...
Home at Last
Feb 06, 2009; ... If anybody expected the inauguration-day flight to Texas on War Crime One to be a somber, tail-between-legs sort of affair, they were sorely misunderestimating Texas' prodigal son. "The president was in a very good mood," reported Congressman Mike Conaway, who described the atmosphere as ...
Department of Dry Holes
Feb 06, 2009; ... T. Boone Pickens wrung a fortune from his oil business. His green-energy boosterism has earned him boundless publicity and goodwill. But the Texas businessman's superambitious water venture - little known outside Texas - has thus far paid few dividends. No one seems particularly taken with the ...
More Monkey Business
Feb 06, 2009; ... BOARD OF EDUCATION RESISTS EVOLUTION In early January, social conservatives on the State Board of Education once again took up their crusade against teaching evolution in Texas schools. At issue this time around are new standards that will guide the content of science textbooks ...
Sad State
Feb 06, 2009; ... REFORMING THE STATE SCHOOLS - BUT HOW? Texas' system of 13 sprawling institutions for the mentally retarded- known commonly as state schools- house perhaps the state's most vulnerable population. The roughly 5,000 residents, some of whom have been institutionalized for decades, all have ...
Judging-Up
Feb 06, 2009; ... MORE JURISTS RECOMMEND ENDING DRUG WAR Before the 2007 legislative session, veteran Houston judge Michael McSpadden, a Republican, wrote to state officials urging them to ease up on sentences for low-level drug possession. Crazy, right? Indeed, the epistle carried only his lonely ...
Back to the Wall
Feb 06, 2009; ... Can Janet Napolitano stop the borderfence boondoggle? As President Barack Obama champions change in Washington, D.C., Eloisa Tamez waits to see whether an 18-foot steel and concrete wall will be built in her backyard. The Department of Homeland Security has already taken Tamez to ...
More Boldly Go
Feb 06, 2009; ... When Franklin Roosevelt was accused of being a traitor to his privileged class, he jauntily replied: "I welcome their hatred." He would feel right at home today, since FDR-haters are on the prowl again, led by right-wing think tanks and talk-show yakkers busy belittling the achievements ...
Dear President Bush
Feb 06, 2009; ... Welcome back to Texas! I think I speak for many, many, many fellow Texans when I say that, as I watched your helicopter lift off from the White House lawn on Jan. 20, 1 was overcome with joy that you would soon be returning to the Lone Star State. I look forward to seeing you refocusing your ...
Our Alcohol Problem
Feb 06, 2009; ... With rising food prices and questions about its environmental impact, corn ethanol is fueling controversy-except among Democrats. Jim Schwertner can almost see food prices rising in real time. He only needs to look through the big smudged window behind his paperwork-covered desk ....
Workplace Fairness
Feb 06, 2009; ... It's a scream to hear corporate chieftains insist that there's no more need for unions in America. "In the sophisticated workplace of the 21st century," said the head of the National Association of Manufacturers, "the need for unions is obviated." Oh really, chief? Let's see, for years ...
MAKING BREAKING UP HARDER TO DO
Feb 06, 2009; ... -House Bill 480 Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa Rep. Warren Chisum is on a mission to save Texas families, and he's gonna educate the family-sphttin' fight out of 'em. "My goal is to reduce the breaking up of families because it's the basis for our society," Chisum says. "We ...
HONK IF YOU LOVE SUBTLETY
Feb 06, 2009; ... -House Bill 109 Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman On Dec. 18, Gov. Rick Perry singled out House Bill 109 as one he would be devoting a great deal of time and attention to during the coming session. Perry said the bill would allow "Texans who believe in the sanctity of life" to tell ...
LOST IN TRANSLATION
Feb 06, 2009; ... House Bill 81 Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van Rep. Dan Flynn wants to stop using state money to print public documents in languages other than English. His House Bill 81 would also repeal a key section of the Texas election code, which requires voting precincts to provide bilingual ...
They're Just Not That Into Us Anymore
Feb 06, 2009; ... The week before the inauguration, my 26-year-old daughter and I began a road trip to California. She was headed to a new job in Palo Alto. I went along to offer worldly advice, insightful commentary and a treasure trove of hard-won wisdom that would be helpful to her. You know, the usual ...
Dead Man Talking
Feb 06, 2009; ... Why Bill Hicks is still funny. "Here's the deal, folks. You do a commercial, you're off the artistic roll call forever. End of story. Okay? You're another whore at the capitalist gangbang, and if you do a commercial there's a price on your head. Everything you say is suspect and every ...
LIVING WITH THE FORCE OF WAR
Feb 06, 2009; ... The woman cooks dogmeat on the dung fuel stove. She ignores her neighbor's corpse bloating two weeks in the street. She says to herself: God forgot about me. To her self she says: No help anywhere. But on Tuesday she ...
The Man Without a Middle
Feb 06, 2009; ... The Man Without a Middle BY DAVID THEIS Che Directed by Steven Soderbergh If you're one of those people who grumbles that nobody in Hollywood takes chances anymore, take a moment to consider the cases of director Steven Soderbergh and actor Benicio del Toro. Che, ...
IN THE DIM & FRAGRANT RESTAURANT
Feb 06, 2009; ... I gaze on this tender baby. Her face so soft it's practically melting. Her young father dandles her in her white dress. She responds transparent to his every move like watching a lover in a tennis match. I am ...