U.S. Congress

Hell to the Chief!

Thanks to a Slick Move, Houston-based Weatherford Keeps Drilling in Sudan

Mint Condition

Get Your Free Election Day Stuff (And Maybe Break the Law)

The Candidate Conspiracy author John Odam

This Texas lawyer/novelist uses experience in campaign finance to keep you on the edge of your reading glasse

Poor Treatment of Returning Veterans

This Texas lawyer/novelist uses experience in campaign finance to keep you on the edge of your reading glasse

Border Fence May Destroy Wildlife Habitat

U.S. Fish and Wildlife services spent $80 million to reclaim wildlife habitat in South Texas. Now Homeland Security is ready to wipe that out.

Mail Call

U.S. Fish and Wildlife services spent $80 million to reclaim wildlife habitat in South Texas. Now Homeland Security is ready to wipe that out.

Blue Christmas

Joe's Roadhouse pays homage to the melancholy side of the season

The Tug of War

Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison are locked in a pitched battle over the soul of the GOP. They are also running for governor.

Bill White Switching To The Governor's Race, Chron Reporting

​The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Mayor Bill White is about to switch his future plans from not being elected to the U.S. Senate to not being elected Texas governor.White's move comes as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's laughably inept run for the governorship continues to implode. Sooner or ... More >>

Turkeys of the Year

In a highly competitive 2009 field, Governor Rick Perry is the biggest gobbler of them all.

Out of the Past

Stuck in the asylum with Martin Scorsese — head-trip Shutter Island is the good kind of insane.

Teen Porn 101

If they're taking their laptops and cell phones to bed with them, it's probably not to do homework.

They Were Kinky Before Kinky Was Kinky: Musicians Who Have Held Public Office

From Ted Nugent to Bruce Springsteen to those adorable Dixie Chicks, "Masters of War" to "George Bush doesn't care about black people," musicians have never been shy about voicing their political opinions. But when it comes to putting their money where their mouths are and filing the necessary pape ... More >>

Built to Last

Iron Man 2 will lead to 3 and probably 4, but that doesn't mean it's good.

I Wanna Be Your Dog (Or Cat): The Name Of This Blog Is I Wanna Be Your Dog (Or Cat)

Hair Balls was glad to learn that one of our musical heroes, David Byrne, is taking on The Man; namely, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, for using the Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere" in his U.S. Senate campaign without permission. (Crist is running as an independent, but historically has belonge ... More >>

Clever retorts and unloved yaktivists

Hair Balls was glad to learn that one of our musical heroes, David Byrne, is taking on The Man; namely, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, for using the Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere" in his U.S. Senate campaign without permission. (Crist is running as an independent, but historically has belonge ... More >>

Greenpeace Says Dow's Freeport Chemical Plant Has Lousy Security

You won't be smiling when the leak comes​Think all those toxic chemicals stockpiled at industrial plants around Houston are safe and secure? Well, think again.According to Greenpeace, the giant holding tanks and railroad cars full full of hazardous materials are ripe for disaster -- be it by terro ... More >>

Beauty School Dropouts

HISD might close cosmetology program.

Sheila Jackson Lee Fares Badly, As Usual, On "Best & Worst Of Congress" List

Sheila Jackson Lee: You call the woman who honored MIchael Jackson a "Show Horse"?​Wanna know the inside skinny on your U.S. Congress members?Every election year, Washingtonian magazine gets Capitol Hill staffers to dish on their bosses and rank them from best to worst. And as you might expect, r ... More >>

Voodoo Lady: Christine O'Donnell's Halloween Playlist

​Christine O'Donnell's "I Am Not a Witch" ad gave us truckloads of comedy during a rather boring election season. Thanks to that unintentionally hilarious ad and the upcoming election, Christine has been on our minds lately. To better understand what drives the Teabag candidate, we stole her ... More >>

DJ Premier: A Pillar Of Hip-Hop History

​Maybe it's leaving behind our twenties and embracing our thirties, but we've been so concerned with the past lately... history, that is. We've been talking to our grandmother in the last few months about her life as a young child growing up on the Texas border. You truly don't know someone b ... More >>

FAIR-y Tales: Mexican Macro-economics

​Maybe it's leaving behind our twenties and embracing our thirties, but we've been so concerned with the past lately... history, that is. We've been talking to our grandmother in the last few months about her life as a young child growing up on the Texas border. You truly don't know someone b ... More >>

What's So Damn Controversial About Cleaner, Safer Food?

​The plant was filthy and infested with vermin, with holes as large as 2 ½ feet in the ceilings leaking water and runoff from the air conditioner units onto the finished product stored below. Records posted on the web by attorney Bill Marler show that executives at Peanut Corporation of Ameri ... More >>

Just What America Needs: Four More Texas Votes In The U.S. House Of Representatives

Texas is a big winner​Republicans in the Texas Legislature have already been salivating over the opportunity to redraw Congressional districts with little to no interference from those annoying Democrats. The U.S. Census just handed them another gift: Four more seats to mess with. A 20 perce ... More >>

Return to Sender

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

"Auld Lang Syne," In All Its Many Colors

​Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. "Should old acquaintance be forgot" - does that mean we should forget old acquaintances, or if we happen to forget them, that we should remember them, which is not possible because we've already forgotten them? ... More >>

Top Ten Celebrities This Decade Who Crashed and Burned with Video Evidence

And a partridge in a pear tree...​Last week, we gave you our list of celebrities who manage to save their careers after difficult times. This week, we go a different direction. If we have learned anything from TMZ, it's that people love celebrity scandals and the more salacious it is, the more ... More >>

What To Do When The Crowd Yells "Free Bird!"

​Sooooooo.... Thursday, the U.S. Constitution was read aloud on the floor of the House of Representatives, an act that Rocks Off views as the government equivalent of doing your homework on the morning bus, but whatever. Just as Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. was reading the bit about the eligibi ... More >>

Tom DeLay Gets Jail Time

The Hammer gets the slammer​Tom DeLay's sentence has been handed out, and it's not a slap on the wrist: He's going to prison for three years with no probation on the conspiracy charges. DeLay was also sentenced by judge Pat Priest to 10 years' probation on a money-laundering charge, according ... More >>

Lack Of Social Safety Net Tying Many Musicians To Day Jobs

"I fantasize sometimes that my musical career would hit gold and help us escape these grim realities, but it's not something I really expect to happen." ​There are few issues in the current political climate more fraught with contention than whether or not the U.S. government will take a more ... More >>

The ALL CAPS chicas

"I fantasize sometimes that my musical career would hit gold and help us escape these grim realities, but it's not something I really expect to happen." ​There are few issues in the current political climate more fraught with contention than whether or not the U.S. government will take a more ... More >>

Sheila Jackson Lee in the Muslim Hearings: YouTube Hit

The U.S. House's bizarre hearings on Muslims (sorry, "radical" Muslims) included a noteworthy speech by Rep. Keith Ellison, the only Muslim member of Congress, who teared up while remembering a Muslim first responder who died on 9/11. And then there was Sheila Jackson Lee. Love her or hate her, she ... More >>

Legislative Victory for Texas Beer

kMatherlyCheers indeed. Local breweries celebrate a win in the House of Representatives.Just as we were bemoaning the huge, wet bite the IRS took out of our savings account, along comes an example of tax dollars being put to good use. On April 21 the office of State Representative Jessica Farrar (D, ... More >>

Scott Hochberg: Politically Extinct Due To Redistricting?

Scott Hochberg has a target on his back​A marathon session in the state House of Representatives has produced a proposed redistricting map, and it's bad news for two Houston Democrats: Scott Hochberg and Hubert Vo. Houston loses one district under the map, and in the game of musical chairs, i ... More >>

Legislature Makes Western Swing Official Texas Music

News Flash: Hank Williams still not a Texan nodepression.comBob "Willis" & His Texas Playboys​It appears Rocks Off's efforts of a few weeks ago were all for naught. Despite presenting what we thought was a fairly persuasive San Jacinto Day argument to the contrary, earlier today the Texas L ... More >>

Thank You, Lord: Dan Patrick May Run for Senate

God is on line two, with a campaign contribution.​If you take as a given -- which you should -- that it's going to be awhile before a moderate ever gets elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas, then you want your troglodyte senatorial candidates to be as entertainingly fringe as possible. So lo ... More >>

Life After Rock Stardom: 7 Artists' Post-Musical Careers

naylandhouse.comFuture ordained minister MC Hammer wasn't kidding on his 1990 hit single "Pray."​Let's face it. Not everyone is cut out for - or interested in - being a sixtysomething rock star. But what type of careers awaits a retired musician? Many rock stars stay in the music industry real ... More >>

Inmates Diss Web Dating

naylandhouse.comFuture ordained minister MC Hammer wasn't kidding on his 1990 hit single "Pray."​Let's face it. Not everyone is cut out for - or interested in - being a sixtysomething rock star. But what type of careers awaits a retired musician? Many rock stars stay in the music industry real ... More >>

10 Politician Photos Sexier Than Anthony Weiner's Shots (NSFW)

If you've ever had any curiosity about how photogenic Anthony Weiner's crotch is, you're having a great week or so. (The answer, by the way, is "Not one-on hundredth as photogenic as he seems to think it is.") Weiner, who's taken a leave of absence from the U.S. House of Representatives to deal wit ... More >>

Dan Patrick Says He's Polling Great For U.S. Senator

Dan Patrick inches closer to US Senate race​Tomball's favorite state senator, Dan Patrick (R-Tea Party), has weighed in on the polling landscape for his possible run for the United States Senate. And he likes what he sees. Patrick says the recent Texas Lyceum poll (the one that showed Presid ... More >>

You Won't Have Ron Paul to Kick Around Anymore (Unless He Wins the White House)

Ron, we hardly knew ye.​Will the U.S. be able to survive without Ron Paul in the House of Representatives? We're about to find out. Paul's district newspaper, the Brazosport Facts, reports today that Paul will not seek re-election after almost a quarter-century in Congress. Instead, the 75-y ... More >>

It's Pi Day, Pi Day, Gotta Get Down on Pi Day

​In keeping with Rocks Off's latest obsession, compiling soundtracks for oddball holidays, we were tickled pink as a chorus girl's nipple to learn that this Friday is Pi Approximation Day. The holiday was first in 1988 by a physicist named Larry Shaw, who made everyone march in a circle then ... More >>

8 Memories from Congressional Page Land: Sandwiches with the Speaker, Shaking Bill Clinton's Hand and Stealing KFC Decals

Qui-Gon in your room?​Today, it was announced that the House of Representatives Page Program, a program both steeped in history and marred by scandal, is coming to an end. According to USA Today, House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi cited the $5 million annual expenditu ... More >>

Funny HPMA Nomination Ballot Fails

​It does Rocks Off's heart good to see that our Music Award nominations have stirred up so much debate. As we mentioned Tuesday, according to our Web people, there were some 9,000 nominations submitted across our 43 categories. Of course there's no way for us to really know, but as far as we ... More >>

Lost Boys: Senate Bill 596

Village Voice Media asks for your support

ESPN's Craig James to Run for U.S. Senate In Texas

The next senator from Texas?​Great news if you're a fan of inept political campaigns, or if you just want less awful announcing on your TV. Craig James, ESPN college football analyst who was personally involved in two ugly college football scndals of varying degrees, is running to replace Kay ... More >>

Why We Love to Hate the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission

Image via Westerville Public Libary (Westerville, Ohio).To understand our state's peculiar relationship with alcohol, we need to look back to the early post-Prohibition era when the TABC was founded (1935).​In the wake of a recent post on the absurdity of wine shipping regulation in Texas, a c ... More >>

Craig James For Senate: To Know Him Is To Not Like Him, Polls Say

(Don't) get to know me!!!​A new poll for Texas' open U.S. Senate seat has bad news for Houston's Craig James, former SMU star and ESPN analyst. Most people don't know the guy. Those that do, don't like him. James had the biggest gap between "favorable" and "unfavorable" ratings, a whopping 1 ... More >>