The Army National Guard

Oregon Judge Upholds $81 Million Judgment Against KBR in Toxic Chemical Case

Poor KBR just can't get a break -- a federal judge in Oregon has affirmed an $81 million judgment against the Houston-based firm for exposing National Guard soldiers to a deadly chemical at an Iraqi water injection plant in 2003. The judgment was awarded to the first 12 veterans, out of hundreds sti ... More >>

When the Sh*t Hits the Fan

Whether it's a coupon-clipping, back-to-nature guy escaping the rat race, or someone certain we're on the brink of war or a future in which Barack Obama has taken away our guns, preppers are ready. The rest of us, maybe not so much.

Combat Veterans Fall Prey to Gambling Addictions at an Alarming Rate

where's the military when the chips are down?

Long Riders

Black cowboys didn't get to the big show in Houston by the most direct route, but they made it all the same.

Blood Money

More than 200 soldiers are suing KBR for knowingly exposing them to toxic chemicals in Iraq, whose effects started with nose bleeds and could end with cancer. KBR says that didn't happen. But even if it did, the company isn't responsible. Taxpayers are.

Street Dogs

Protect Yourself

10 Sex toys as weapons

10 Tips for Eating MREs, from a Pro

The Beef Ravioli Meal, Ready to Eat (MRE) was the best option on my post Hurricane Katrina menu.​Six years ago, citizens of the Gulf Coast were starting to understand the immediate implications of their world post Hurricane Katrina. Power had been out since the storm made landfall, which mean ... More >>

Devo In Jail: Bassist Gerald Casale Talks 1982 U Of H Arrest

Joshua Dalismer​For a bunch of geeky-looking guys from the Midwest, Devo sure has a knack for trouble. In this week's print feature, bassist Gerald Casale tells Rocks Off how the 1970 National Guard shootings at Kent State University near the band's hometown of Akron, Ohio, "transformed me and ... More >>

Weed: The Top Ten Texas Stoners of All Time

Matthew McConaughey possibly has experimented​The 82nd session of the august Texas Legislature will no doubt end as all the others have, without decriminalizing marijuana even for medical use. (We're just going out on a limb here with this prediction.) More and more states seem to be getting ... More >>

The Texas Lege: Five Crazy Things It Will Debate In 2010

Come for the budget-cutting, stay for the insanity​We regret to inform you that 2011 is one of those godforsaken years when the Texas Legislature will be in session. We further regret to inform you that Republicans have a supermajority in the House, and almost half of those GOPers are proud m ... More >>

FAIR-y Tales

Russell Pearce and Other Illegal-Immigration Populists Rely on Misleading, Right-Wing Reports to Scapegoat Immigrants and Terrify Penny-Pinched Americans.

Grinding Justice

Operation Streamline costs millions, tramples the Constitution, treats migrants like cattle and doesn't work.

Pinalcchio

Renowned forensics experts say a Pinal County deputy's high-profile tale about getting shot after encountering drug smugglers doesn't add up

Badlands

From Ground Zero of the immigration crisis along the Mexican border

Rick Perry Gets PWNED By Arizona's Governor

You got served....by Arizona​The squeaky wheel gets the grease, Rick Perry.Perry was famously, and surprisingly, critical of Arizona's controversial law regarding immigrants and demands to see their papers.Arizona governor Jan Brewer became a darling of the right, trumpeting about protecting ... More >>

ACLU Doesn't Like Obama's Border Plan; Cites Need For Further Studies

Time to do some more research, ACLU says​President Obama's plan to send a bunch of National Guard troops and a ton of cash to the U.S.-Mexico border has a new critic: The American Civil Liberties Union.The ACLU has come out against the plan, saying Obama needs to...do other things before he does t ... More >>

Treme: Right Place, Wrong Time

​The third episode is potentially a tough one in a ten-episode arc like the one we're getting in the first season of Treme: Far enough in that characters have been set up, not quite at a major halfway point that would entail some twists or the onset of the momentum that will carry the narrativ ... More >>

Treme: Right Place, Wrong Time

​The third episode is potentially a tough one in a ten-episode arc like the one we're getting in the first season of Treme: Far enough in that characters have been set up, not quite at a major halfway point that would entail some twists or the onset of the momentum that will carry the narrativ ... More >>

KHOU Scores Top Award For Its Texas National Guard Investigation

David Raziq, one of the winners from KHOU​KHOU's look into discrimination and corruption in the Texas National Guard has racked up a slew of awards, and today it won a biggie: an IRE medal.The medal is the highest honor awarded by the Investigative Reporters and Editors association; also winning o ... More >>

Want to Levitate the Pentagon? These Songs Might Help

​On this date in 1967, some 50,000 protesters marched on the Pentagon with the intention of levitating it and exorcising any "evil spirits" within. The effort was led by Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman, poet Allen Ginberg, and Ed Sanders and satirically-minded rockers the Fugs. As we all know, th ... More >>

Hurricane Ike's Wake

Forgotten and overlooked, Galveston and the Texas Gulf Coast struggle on in the storm's aftermath

Janet Napolitano = Homeland Futility

Janet Napolitano’s sorry service in Arizona makes her a terrible choice for Homeland Security secretary.

Bush Visit Causing Gridlock, Galveston Reporter Claims

Poor Treatment of Returning Veterans

Texas Air National Guard Boots Sick Soldier

Jason Franco now struggling in civilian life

A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita

For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.

Back from Iraq with Plenty of Problems

Paul Miles returned from Iraq needing help with the death in his head. He got prison.

Mail Call

A Different Breed

Home of the Brave

This is not what Francis Scott Key had in mind

Life in a Hurricane

The New Orleans sound of The Morning 40 Federation

Online Confessions

An alleged killer bares all on MySpace

Bad Checks

Sure you can ferret out the slimeballs in our midst? Guess again if you're relying on standard background searches in Texas

Rush to Judgment

In World War II, Houston attorney Leon Jaworski prosecuted a group of black American soldiers. In a hurried-up trial, they were court-martialed and sentenced to hard labor. The verdict was probably wrong. And Jaworski had a lot to do with that.

Why do Mexicans Worship Che Guevara More Than Argentines Do?

The Mexican replies

Au Revoir, Chauncey

The goat and his two humans go home to New Orleans

Against All Odds

A group of unsupervised mental patients running from Katrina made it from New Orleans to Houston. Victor Fruge led the way.

Who Cares?

Celester Hall went to Afghanistan to help the troops and make his fortune. He came back deaf, in diapers and looking for benefits.

Books and Bullets

A gun shop and a school make great neighbors

Chasing Its Tale

The Chron gets scooped on Bush -- by one of its own

Toll-Free Hassle

When good EZ TAGs go bad

Playbill

Walking Tall

Jack Massing of the Art Guys sports a new pair of kicks

Split Lip Rayfield, with the Meat Purveyors

Saturday, September 13

Preparing for the Millennium

Go to the Austin Hill Country and meet some folks who are taking Y2K very seriously

Up To Date on '98

In the Line of Fire

During the Branch Davidian siege, a Waco TV reporter risked his life to help federal agents -- then was falsely accused of setting them up. Before the compound burned, his career was in ashes.

Wild Man Blues

Hasil Adkins drinks too much, screws too much and rocks too much

The Old Guard

Lynna Kay Shuffield dreams of belonging to a modern, first-rate military organization. But she's stuck with the Texas State Guard.

Too Pharr-out?

The GOP tried to peddle a story about Ann Richards' own "Willie Horton," but the state's press corps wasn't buying