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News
March 5, 2009
Is Casino Gambling in the Cards for Galveston?: Getting Up a Game
Bringing casinos to Texas would require a state constitutional amendment
Calendar
October 9, 2008
"American Civil War Field Notes: Sketches from Cairo to Columbia"
Embedded Illustrators on display at O'Kane Gallery
News
February 28, 2008
Barack Obama and Me
It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator
Blogs
November 4, 2009
Our Bold Political Prediction For The Coming Governor's Race
Here at Hair Balls, we like to scientifically sift through mountains of poll data, do extensive focus-group interviews, and examine voting trends dating back to the 1960s before making any bold predictions.This one time, as Michael Corleone would say, we are willing to make an exception.Our bold ... More >>
Calendar
May 13, 2010
Money, Marbles and Chalk! An Affectionate Sketch of Ann Richards
Actress Holland Taylor plays the late Texas governor
Blogs
June 29, 2010
TCEQ & The Sunset Commission: Texas Environmental Groups Try Working Together
Coming together vs. TCEQThe Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, made up of 12 state legislators who evaluate state agencies every dozen years, is examining the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and will make a recommendation during the next legislative session whether to renew, tweak, or ab ... More >>
Blogs
August 24, 2010
New Anti-Perry Ad: Can The Return Of The Chicken Suit Be Far Behind?
Subtle.Back to Basics, a PAC supporting Texas gubernatorial candidate Bill White, has unleashed a new anti-Rick Perry ad. We're not sure, but we think they're questioning the current governor's manhood. Tell Rick Perry to stop cowering and face Texans like a man. White's supporters are cont ... More >>
Blogs
September 10, 2010
1 In 5 Texas Republicans Support Secession; 1 In 5 Texans Support Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens: Texas does not have your backPublic Policy Polling is a respected firm that recently did a survey on the governor's race and other political matters.They threw in some other questions, too, and found some intriguing results. A full 21 percent of Texas Republicans support secession, ... More >>
Blogs
September 15, 2010
Rick Perry & Bill White: Midnight Is Nigh In The Great (And Silly) Deadline For Debates
Debates over debates are so funThe finger-pointing continued Wednesday as the great gubernatorial debate over who's at fault for not having a gubernatorial debate came to Houston.Republican Governor Rick Perry has given Democrat candidate Bill White until midnight tonight to release tax returns f ... More >>
Blogs
October 21, 2010
King Street "Patriots": Voter Intimidation Continues At Polling Stations Around Houston
Photo by Chasen MarshallIf the signs don't sway you, the poll watchers might.Polling stations around Houston have turned into bastions of controversy this week: Fourteen reported incidents Monday and another that Hair Balls heard about on Wednesday in south Houston near Gulfgate. There are few d ... More >>
Blogs
October 27, 2010
Voter Intimidation Victim and Witness Come Forward, And Nov. 2 Looms Closer
Voter intimidation: everyone wants to shift the blame.No one seems to want to play nice at the voting polls this year. And new names and organizations keep getting involved in the already over-crowded, controversial fray.King Street Patriots/The Tea Party. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. The Te ... More >>
Blogs
October 28, 2010
Watch Out Muslims: State Senator Dan Patrick Creates "Tea Party Caucus" In Legislature
Dan Patrick: FINALLY the Tea Party will be heard in TexasRight-wing radio guru Dan Patrick has announced the creation of a Tea Party Caucusfor the upcoming Texas legislative session.And no, "Tea Party Caucus" is not necessarily a synonym for "Texas Legislature," at least not yet."The Tea Party ha ... More >>
Blogs
November 2, 2010
Go Vote, Texans...In The Least Competitive State Legislative Races In The Country
It's nolo contendre in Texas legislative racesNot much action so far on this election day, although we have folks checking out the polling places (and feel free, readers, to pass on any reports of your own).We guess the quiet shouldn't be so surprising because, according to a new study, Texas has ... More >>
Blogs
November 3, 2010
Tea Party Time: Texas Will Be Ground Zero For How They Govern
Time to governSecond-day opening paragraphs on stories about disasters such as air crashes always include something about "picking through the charred wreackage." And that's what Democrats are doing now in Texas, where the state legislature races were, well, a disaster.No other state in the count ... More >>
Blogs
November 9, 2010
King Street Patriots Ready To Go National
The King Street Patriots have plans. Big plans. At a King Street Patriots meeting Monday night, the group proved, at least for one week, that it's doing what Democrats and liberals couldn't after riding a wave of emotion to Election Day victories in 2008: still showing up. The group's founder, Ca ... More >>
News
December 2, 2010
FAIR-y Tales
Russell Pearce and Other Illegal-Immigration Populists Rely on Misleading, Right-Wing Reports to Scapegoat Immigrants and Terrify Penny-Pinched Americans.
News
December 2, 2010
FAIR-y Tales: Fantasy Voter Fraud
Russell Pearce and Other Illegal-Immigration Populists Rely on Misleading, Right-Wing Reports to Scapegoat Immigrants and Terrify Penny-Pinched Americans.
Blogs
December 14, 2010
Rep. Aaron Pena: GOP Gets Its Supermajority In Texas House: Now It Begins
It's a stampede!!The upcoming legislative session in Austin might get pretty wild and entertaining -- if not beneficial to anyone who fears the GOP/Tea Party agenda -- thanks to a move today. State Rep. Aaron Pena, a Democrat from Edinburg, is about to announce he is now Aaron Pena, Republic ... More >>
Blogs
December 20, 2010
Texas Tribune Gets A Hefty New York Times Correction
The Texas Tribune: Mistakes were madeThe Texas Tribune, the semi-new non-profit journalistic outfit, has been partnering with The New York Times. On Sundays, Times readers in the Lone Star State get two pages in their print edition with stories from Tribune writers. The partnership is relati ... More >>
Blogs
December 21, 2010
Just What America Needs: Four More Texas Votes In The U.S. House Of Representatives
Texas is a big winnerRepublicans 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 >>
News
December 23, 2010
Return to Sender
What Would Comprehensive Immigration Reform Look Like If the Feds Got Off Their Duffs?
News
December 30, 2010
The Whipping Boy
How did class size limits become the symbol of an unnecessary luxury in our schools?
Blogs
December 30, 2010
Texas To EPA: Keep Your Hands Off Our Rubber Stamp!!
Texas goes to courtAs expected, Texas state officials are not just going to roll over and accept the Obama administration's taking away their right to rubber-stamp every application to let companies pour greenhouses gases into the air. Texas AG Greg Abbott went to court today, filing a petit ... More >>
Blogs
January 20, 2011
Voter ID Is a Texas Emergency, Rick Perry Declares
Rick Perry: It's a red-meat special in Austin todayRemember that vast tsunami of voter fraud that swept across Texas, coming close to throwing into chaos the very concept of democracy? Neither do we. Even Karl Rove, using every bit of the federal government he could get his hands on, couldn ... More >>
Blogs
February 8, 2011
Rick Perry's Cuts: Good for Polluters, Electricity Companies; Bad for Commissions Who Opposed His Wife's Renovation Plans
Rick Perry, stomping on the Historical CommissionRick Perry's State of the State speech today made clear that the lamestream media has it all wrong when it comes to the financial health of Texas. "Have the doomsayers forgotten that Texas added more jobs in 2010 than any other state?" he aske ... More >>
Blogs
February 14, 2011
Rhode Island Wants a Medical Center Like Ours
Rhode Island: Almost as many square miles as Harris CountyLincoln Chafee, the former senator from Rhode Island who is now the (barely a) state's governor, announced today he wants to build a presumably mini-version of the Texas Medical Center. A "knowledge center" would be developed on land ... More >>
Blogs
February 15, 2011
Comment of the Day: The Tea Party and Secession
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>
Blogs
February 28, 2011
Local State Senator Pushing for Sunday Liquor Sales in Texas
pamlaneSunday Funday indeed.Such times as these - the economy in recession, federal and state governments mired in debt, and more than 8 percent unemployment - are leading state lawmakers around the country to question the financial logistics of blue laws restricting any business from operati ... More >>
Blogs
March 15, 2011
"Choose Life": Bill to Put Your Religious and Political Views on Texas License Plates Passes Senate
Holier than thou, person stuck behind me in trafficState Senator Dan Patrick is proudly reporting that the Texas Senate has passed by a 21-10 vote his bill creating license plates that say "Choose Life," thereby, we guess, breaking off the crippling shackles of all those Texans who have been ... More >>
Blogs
April 27, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
April 28, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
May 3, 2011
Mandatory Abortion Sonograms Bill Passes: Ladies, Get Ready For Your Close-Ups
Dan Patrick has reason to smile; women, not so much.Any woman seeking an abortion in Texas will be forced to undergo a sonogram and be asked if they want to view it or listen to the fetal heartbeat, thanks to a bill that passed today and that Governor Rick Perry says he can't wait to sign. P ... More >>
Blogs
May 17, 2011
Kristi Thibaut: Former State Rep Announces for At-Large Council Seat
Kristi Thibaut: Running for council.Kristi Thibaut, the Democrat who rode the 2008 Obama surge into a single term in the state legislature representing Memorial and the west side of town, has announced she is running for the at-large City Council seat being vacated by term-limited Sue Lovell. ... More >>
Blogs
May 20, 2011
Rick Perry Wades into Foreign Policy
But he can't see Russia from his front porch.Governor Rick Perry has told reporters he's too busy with the legislative session to think about running for the presidency, but luckily -- news flash!! -- the legislative session is dealing with American foreign policy. Apparently. Perry's office ... More >>
Blogs
May 23, 2011
75 MPH Speed Limit Passes: Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines
The Texas Senate has sent to the governor's desk a bill allowing 75 mph speed limits in semi-deserted parts of Texas. Assuming that the Tea Party is not against, Rick Perry is expected to sign it. So get ready to put the pedal to the metal, Texas, and try to imagine what it must have been like in t ... More >>
Blogs
May 24, 2011
Payday Lending: Texas Takes Teeny, Tiny Step to (Barely) Regulate
Gary Elkins: State Rep, payday lender.Payday lending, where lower-income, lesser-educated, financially strapped people get some instant cash but sometimes end up paying 500 percent interest, is an industry ripe for some regulating, you would think. But that's why you're not a member of the T ... More >>
Blogs
May 24, 2011
Sonogram Bill Signed: Three White Guys Sitting Around Talking
Sid Miller knows best.Texas, you may now consider yourself even more safe when it comes to women abortin' babies just `cause they feel like it. Governor Rick Perry, in a big ceremonial show, signed into law the bill that mandates women seeking abortions must undergo sonograms. His official ... More >>
Blogs
May 31, 2011
Rick Perry V. Florida Governor Rick Scott: Who Makes The More Pathetic NBA Finals Joke?
Meeting of the titansThe NBA Finals start tonight (the Rockets are not involved, if you haven't been keeping up). It's the Dallas Mavericks against the Miami Heat, and that means a silly little bet between Governor Rick Perry and Florida Governor Rick Scott, two of the more Tea Party-esque go ... More >>
News
June 2, 2011
Calling All Sluts
Time to fight back
Blogs
June 13, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
June 23, 2011
Groping-Obsessed Rick Perry Isn't Satisfied With Your Policy Changes, TSA
There shall be no groping in the Republic of TexasThe federal Transportation Securty Administration has announced policy changes that mean children under 12 will no longer undergo pat-down searches. In case you were thinking that might be enough for Governor Rick Perry to end his bizarre ant ... More >>
Blogs
July 1, 2011
Sarah Palin Sneak Preview: The Agony of The Undefeated
That word you keep using...There was an advance screening last night of The Undefeated, the new film by Stephen K. Bannon that traces the rise of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin from her early years as mayor of Wasilla to John McCain's 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate to her new status as ... More >>
Blogs
July 7, 2011
Texas Cities and Nonprofit Entities to Get About $3.5 Million in National Settlement of JPMorgan Suit
Settlement helps, a little.Financial giant JPMorgan has agreed to pay $228 million to settle charges that it manipulated deals involving the government bond market, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says the state's portion of it will be about $3.5 million. The money will go to Texas mu ... More >>
Blogs
August 5, 2011
Gov. Rick Perry May Have Used Taxpayer Dollars To Promote "The Response", Says ACLU
Photo by Mandy OaklanderReverend Barry Lynn and Terri Burke are protesting The ResponseDiversity-minded, Constitution-abiding folks are pissed at tomorrow's one-day Jesus camp called "The Response." Governor Rick Perry, of course, is the belle of the ball. It's a little complicated since he' ... More >>
News
October 6, 2011
Miracle Faker
Rick Perry is right: America can learn from Texas. He's just wrong about what the lesson is.
Music
November 24, 2011
The Wylie Llama for President
The singer-songwriter on Michelle Bachmann, seceding from the Union, big hair and wild hogs.
News
December 15, 2011
Down the Hatch
The Texas Attorney General's Office says a drugmaker lied in order to push an antipsychotic on foster children. So why are kids as young as three still taking the drug?
Blogs
January 20, 2012
Is Texas Going to Have a Primary? Redistricting Maps Go Back to Drawing Board
Maps are hard.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 ... More >>
Blogs
February 1, 2012
Let the Super Bowl/Human Trafficking Stories Begin Again!
The urban legend only grows stronger.It's a staple of every Super Bowl: Politicians pumping up the idea that a tidal wave of prostitutes, many of them underage, are about to descend on the host city. News outlets lap it up, and no one pays any attention to post-mortem comments from cops who ... More >>
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