Politics

Gladys House, Fourth Ward activist pays her tax bill (swears revenge)

Last week, Gladys House had every reason to think she was about to see her property auctioned off for failure to pay her taxes, before someone swooped in to loan her the money. "I always felt like it was going to be all right. I just didn't know how it would happen," House said. Linebarger Gogga ... More >>

Fourth Ward Activist's Property to Be Auctioned Off Tuesday

Death and taxes are the only certainties in life, but in the case of Gladys House, the actual tax bill has been a question she's been wrestling with since the late 1990s. House is a longtime Fourth Ward activist and head of the Freedmen's Town Association who has fought for years to preserve the ... More >>

Rick Perry: Mum's The Word

Rick Perry has adopted a more behind-the-scenes approach this time around. That doesn't mean he hasn't been busy.

Constitutional Right to Bear Arms Found in Only Three Nations -- Rest of World Smothered in Tyranny, Apparently

We've known for some time that the American Constitution, that yellowed document containing all our inalienable and God-given rights, was a special slip of parchment. The first of its kind, we've been told. The example. The lodestar. The exceptional. But recent research, publicized last week in Blo ... More >>

What Did Dennis Rodman Do To Piss Off North Korea?

To say the United States' relationship with North Korea is less than cordial would be a bit of an understatement. A draconian cesspool of a society with nuclear weapons perpetually aimed our way, North Korea and its leadership (Kim Jong-un, yo!) represent the antithesis of everything the United Stat ... More >>

How Many Texans Own Guns? A Whole Freakin' Lot, Poll Shows

Hey, we all know Texans like their guns. We just didn't realize how much they love them. (Well, to be honest, we did if we gave it much thought, but we hadn't, and now there's new evidence showing it.) For most of those interested, the key finding of the new University of Texas / Texas Tribune poll ... More >>

Zack Kopplin, The 19-Year-Old Face of the Anti-Creationist Movement

Having fought his battles in Louisiana, the Rice University student is now ready for Texas and any move to put faux science in the public schools here.

George Prescott Bush, Yes, ANOTHER One, Considering Run for State Office

Honestly, I thought George Foreman had a lot of Georges in his family, but now I'm beginning to wonder if the Bush clan doesn't have him beat. First there was George H.W. Bush, then George W. Bush. Now, there's George P. Bush (maybe even P.G. if you count his second middle name), son to Jeb and gran ... More >>

Perry to Obama: It's the Video Games, Not the Guns. Let Us Pray.

In response to President Barack Obama's executive orders mostly relating to the sale and possession of firearms, Governor Rick Perry issued a release that sounds like it was pulled directly from the talking points of the National Rifle Association, which isn't all that surprising considering his sup ... More >>

Karma

To the media outed by the gun owner: You had it coming.

To the Media Outed by the Gun Owner: You Had It Coming

To the Staff of the Journal News, When I read recently about how a gun owner published the names and addresses of many of you on a Web site in retaliation for you publishing the names and addresses of gun owners in your area, I have to admit my first reaction was, "Sucks to be you." I should note ... More >>

Projection: Social Media Wins Big in 2012

Thanks a lot Christians, for not showing up.You disgust me.— Victoria Jackson (@vicjackshow) November 7, 2012 Amidst the pundits and the graphics and the touch screen monitors and the iPads strapped to the arms of The Daily Show's John Oliver, probably the most watched network on election ni ... More >>

DOJ Eyes Will Be On the Ground in Harris, Fort Bend counties on Election Day

Voters in Harris and Fort Bend counties will get an extra treat on Election Day: Federal poll watchers. As a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (now 47 years old!), the federal government attempts to make sure every registered voter regardless of race, color "or membership in a minority langua ... More >>

Rick Perry: Whatchya Gonna Do With All That $$$?

Since Gov. Rick Perry abandoned the fetid remains of his failed presidential bid last January, he has socked away $1.94 million in political contributions, bringing the total amount of ching deposited with Texans for Rick Perry, his political action committee, to $3.4 million, according to recent ca ... More >>

Eerily Familiar: KPRC, KTRK and KHOU Getting Dinged by Same AP Headline

It was a pretty safe bet that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney would face what Rodney Dangerfield called a "tough crowd" at the NAACP annual convention being held at the George R. Brown Convention Center this week. Romney's platform of repealing Obamacare and tax cuts for the "job creators" ar ... More >>

Whitest Man Alive Tries To Curry Favor With Blacks, Somehow Doesn't Succeed

Mitt Romney, the whitest Republican presidential nominee since every single Republican presidential nominee before him, informed an auditorium of black people at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People conference in Houston today that he, stilted awkward whiteness aside, knows ... More >>

Two Choice Idiocies in the 2012 Texas GOP Platform

The 2012 Texas Republican Platform has been released, and reading briefly through it there is an interesting mixture of solid conservative thought, some common sense points, and at least two of what appears to be a complete and utter disconnect from even manufactured reality. As Houston Press's resi ... More >>

Phone Yawns

Checking your cell.

Will HISD Thumb Its Nose at Rick Perry & Go for the Race to the Top?

The deadline is looming for the next round of the Race to the Top, a program federal education department officials all but admit was drafted for Houston Independent School District after Texas refused to compete for federal grants. When Education Secretary Arne Duncan hinted such a district-based ... More >>

What If Rick Perry Wasn't Rick Perry? He'd Be Kicking Obama's Ass, For One Thing

What if Rick Perry had never said, "Oops"? What if he could have, for Christ's sake, just remembered that he had wanted to gut the Department of Energy? What if he hadn't climbed into a tan coat and Brett Favre jeans and released that abominable Youtube video -- you know, the gay one. &nbs ... More >>

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Kill Us Now: We Covered the Houston City Council Today

Things at a Houston City Council meeting can get pretty dull. And by dull, we mean crushingly boring. As in, it was so lifeless today that matters got desperate for several reporters listening to the council members drone on and on. And on. One TV reporter -- an exceedingly friendly fellow -- took ... More >>

Crossing the Line: Welcome Back, Jim Crow

New laws in dozens of states could take out Barack Obama this fall.

ICE Sweep Nets 74, Including Child Molesters, in Houston Area

A nationwide sweep of convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and "egregious" immigration violators resulted in almost 100 arrests out of the Houston field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE took in 3,100 people nationwide in its six-day "Cross Check" operation, with 74 com ... More >>

The Rick Perry Comeback Continues: A Shocking Update to the Chart Mitt Romney (& Abortion-Lovers) Doesn't Want You to See

The pundits have declared that there was no clear winner Super Tuesday, except for President Obama. This so-called "analysis" ignores the reality that yesterday's vote demonstrates: The Rick Perry Comeback continues to soar. We showed you the amazing chart indicating Perry's dramatic momentum afte ... More >>

Fear Not: Rick Perry Is Considering Running Again for President in 2016

The GOP presidential primary has had a lot less laughs since Texas governor Rick Perry dropped out. Sure, the idea of Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum being president is pretty funny, but without Perry there's just something missing. Great news, then: Perry has told ABC News he is considering running ... More >>

Jack Donaghy Backs Romney: Our Favorite TV Characters Vote

The Republicans are whittling down now to the bare bones. Not to discredit anyone, but the race is basically Rom vs. Newt for the win. While we don't really miss the circus show that was the Republican Party just a few short months ago, at least we had more options. Now that we are getting down to t ... More >>

Is Texas Going to Have a Primary? Redistricting Maps Go Back to Drawing Board

The Texas primary is allegedly a little more than two months away, but some people still don't know what congressional or state-legislature district they're in, and the people running for those seats don't know who to court. The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a redistricting map drawn up by a pa ... More >>

Revolution and Homophobia

Pop Rocks: A Few (Updated) Non-Pokemon Speeches for Herman Cain

"Over?"​It was fun (to watch) while it lasted, but Herman Cain officially "suspended" his Presidential campaign last weekend. The former Godfather's CEO had long been dogged by accusations of sexual harassment (to say nothing of his unfamiliarity with the Libyan crisis or how to pronounce "Uzb ... More >>

Clear Lake Shores Mixers City Council Meetings Feature Alleged Boozing, Personal Attacks and One-Fingered Salutes

Clear Lake Shores residents say some are enjoying a certain Rocky Mountain flavor at city council meetings.​The people who attend Clear Lake Shores's city council meetings get started early...and we're not talking about the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Last week, Hair Balls was co ... More >>

Miracle Faker

Rick Perry is right: America can learn from Texas. He's just wrong about what the lesson is.

Rick Perry the Gunslinger: Report Released from Brady Campaign on Perry's Gun Record

Rick Perry the Gunslinger​Governor Rick Perry's love of guns has been well documented and he is more than happy to share his thoughts on the matter, particularly when it comes to killing a coyote on a morning jog and his affinity for laser sights on his weapons of choice. In Texas, loving you ... More >>

Gun-Control Group Gives Rick Perry Great Boost (Among Gun Nuts)

WHAT? Rick Perry opposes gun-control laws?​The Brady Campaign, perhaps the nation's most prominent gun-control group, has just given Rick Perry a big ol' helping hand in the GOP primaries. They've released a report called Gunslinger: Rick Perry's Reckless Record on Guns, highlighting his reco ... More >>

The Red-Light Camera Circus

Step right up, folks: Passion, deceit, money, lots of money, double dealing and a mayor with more flip-flops in her than a Cirque du Soleil acrobat!

City Hall Packed for Red-Light Camera Showdown

Photo by Mandy OaklanderPaul Kubosh addressed city council yesterday. ​As far as city hall meetings go, yesterday's was raucous. Members of the National Black United Front, Houston Ministers Against Crime, city council hopefuls, and Citizens Against Red Light Cameras filled the hall to standin ... More >>

Obama Beating Perry In Texas Match-Up, But Not Michelle Bachmann

Gov. Perry's Invitation to The Response from The Response USA on Vimeo.Rick Perry, the man who just might turn out to be the awesomest president ever if we can just convince him to run, would not win his home state against Barack Obama, a new poll shows. The survey by Public Policy Polling shows Ob ... More >>

Rebecca Forest: Tea Party Leader Tells Austin Rally There's Too Many Hispanics in Legislature

This weekend saw another thrilling right-wing rally in Austin, and in this one Rebecca Forest, a co-founder of an immigration group called Women on the Wall, offered a unique take on why Texas can't get hard-core legislation passed like Arizona and Alabama. If you want to know why we can't pass leg ... More >>

Texas: Immigration Detention Capital of the Country

In Texas, illegal immigration is often extremely lucrative.​Texas is number one again today. To our trophy case of great honors, we add Most Beholden To Private Corporations, When It Comes To Illegal Immigration. The Detention Watch Network recently released aggregated data about the big busi ... More >>

Why Don't Mexicans Want to Learn English?

And Is Mexico a Tea Party Paradise?

Gun Control: Texas Is A Namby-Pamby Liberal State, New Study Shows

Don't mess with Texas, Brady Center​If there's one piece of pride Texans can hang their hat on, it's that our legislators can be counted on to bring the crazy when it comes to (lack of) gun control. So it is with a heavy heart we bring you the state-by-state rankings of the Brady Campaign to ... More >>

May Day Immigration Rally Draws Thousands (and Opponents) in Houston

Photos by Christopher Patronella, Jr.​Some three thousand people joined together in Houston on Sunday to take part in May Day rallies held all across the nation as the battle over immigration laws has taken center stage. Demonstrators blanketed the streets around Burnett Bayland Park as they flow ... More >>

Carl Lewis' N.J. State Senate Run Going As Smoothly As His Anthem Singing

The political career of UH's Carl Lewis has, so far, proven to be as successful as his "Star-Spangled Banner"-singing sideline. In other words, not very successful at all. Lewis, who is trying to run for the state senate from his hometown New Jersey district, has been thrown off the ballot for no ... More >>

Why does everything Mexican jump?

City Council Member Jolanda Jones Distributes (Possibly) Anti-Police Pamphlets at NAACP Meeting

City council member Jolanda Jones says she acted as a lawyer at the meeting.​Small white cards drifted around the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church on February 8, where the NAACP town hall meeting was being held to address Chad Holley's police beating."Know Your Rights With The Police," the ... More >>

Death Penalty Hearing: Judge Kevin Fine Gets Slapped Down By Appeals Court

Judge Kevin Fine: Rejected​The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has permanently shut down district judge Kevin Fine's quixotic and headline-grabbing effort to examine the constitutionality of how Texas applies the death penalty. In an order issued this morning, the CCA says Fine had no busines ... More >>

Return to Sender

What Would Comprehensive Immigration Reform Look Like If the Feds Got Off Their Duffs?

Tea Party Rule: Almost One-Third Of Texas House Signs Up With Dan Patrick

It's The AUSTIN Tea Party now, Sam Adams​Last night Keith Olbermann said Texas had "a Tea Party legislature The Nuge could be proud of." Today State Senator Dan Patrick proved him right. Patrick announced his Tea Party Caucus today, and it contains fully 47 members of the 150-seat House, and ... More >>

FAIR-y Tales: Mexican Macro-economics

FAIR-y Tales: Fantasy Voter Fraud