Still from Lions for LambsWe were under the impression that "No Country for Old Men" was opening this weekend, and we just found out it's only coming to "big" cities today—Austinites have to wait till next weekend. Miffed, we're only slightly placated by the other offerings at hand, though Philip Seymour Hoffman is hard to turn down... Lions for Lambs: Meryl Streep is a reporter, Tom Cruise is typecast as a neocon congressman, Robert Redford... more ›

Several state reps, including Joe Farias and David Leibowitz, and Congressman Ciro Rodriguez have recently begun to ask questions about the Texas Department of Transportation's ad campaign promoting toll roads and the use of budgetary funds to lobby Congress. Specifically, they are asking the Attorney General whether TxDOT's actions are legal. Legal or not, ad campaigns and lobbying seem like a poor use of taxpayer money for any state agency, especially one that is... more ›

Adorably swollen former U.S. Congressman and blogger Thomas Dale Delay received a bit of good news today. The Statesman is reporting that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas has decided to uphold a lower court's 2005 decision to dismiss felony charges against Delay and his politickin' and redistrictin' homies, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro. The 2005 dismissal held that the state's conspiracy statutes would cover election codes in September of 2003, well over... more ›

Dems debate in New Hampshire; nothing much ensues. Louisiana congressman to be indicted for bribery; his district includes New Orleans. Why can't the Crescent City catch a damn break? The Weather Channel gets climate change-y. Riddle: Why did the German ostrich lose his mojo? Answer: Whatever it was, it wasn't firecrackers. P-Hilton reports to the slammer, set to pioneer new technologies in eyebrow threading.... more ›

• The first Muslim congressman is going to be sworn in using Thomas Jefferson's Quran. God bless America.
• 2007 will be the hottest year yet. Pet them polar bears goodbye.
• Stop making fun of grad students. Education keeps you young.

Pending a vote by the Austin City Council tomorrow, Congress Avenue Bridge is to be renamed in honor of Ann Richards, Texas' 45th Governor who passed away in September. [Excerpted from our previous post] From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. She began her political career by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats... more ›

Remember Puppet Government, last year's Frontera Fest success that went on to wow audiences at this past summer's New York International Fringe Festival? The gang's gettin' together one last time at Ventanna Del Sol's upstairs auditorium to raise money for John Courage, a former teacher, vet, and Democractic congressional candidate for Texas' 21st district. From the Puppet Gov folk: John is a honorable, genuine guy, and also very, very smart. And he's not a... more ›

From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. Her political career began by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats as former Congressman Henry Gonzalez, famous for demanding Reagan's impeachment, and former Senator Ralph Yarborough, co-writer of the Endangered Species Act and vaunted civil rights advocate. It was in 1988, though, that Richards attained national fame with her quip against then-Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, "Poor George, he can't help it...He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." more ›

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay just won't go away. The former bug exterminator fired his latest salvo in the "culture war" recently, and this one's a doozy. Apparently the loathsome deposed Congressman has begun what we assume will be his natural next career move: consulting. In an email to his conservative constituency, DeLay urged his supporters to vote for Sara Evans. Congressional candidate? No. School board candidate? Nope. Sugarland city council? Guess again. Sara... more ›

Park Officials in Bastrop are busting out the big guns against the hundreds of black vultures that presently terrorize the local establishment. The new Texas State Highway 130 (under construction) may allow drivers to fly down the road at 85 mph. Unfortunately it took a violent death to push the Backyard music venue to address the dangers related to their parking situation. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the deceased.... more ›

MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), in collaboration with other crime victim outreach agencies, is hosting a candlelight vigil tonight at Umlauf Sculpture Garden to kick off National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. The goal is to educate communities on the impact of crime on victims, neighborhoods, schools and our nation as a whole. Congressman Ted Poe (R-Houston) will be the keynote speaker on progress made thus far and the current state of victims' rights in the... more ›

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The current political buzz is that Democratic candidate Nick Lampson will officially call for DeLay's immediate resignation. If DeLay resigns, Governor Rick Perry will have to call a special election to replace him, which would be held on May 13. However, if DeLay stays in office through June like he wants to, the election to replace him will be held November 7. more ›

The Republicans aren't the only lying liars in town. And while that is not news to us, we were still a little shocked to hear the news about longtime Democratic political aide Kristi Willis and her "liberation" of $166,000 from Congressman Lloyd Doggett's coffers, along with more than $25,000 from other Democratic candidates and causes. more ›

Texas - A lobbyist hired by the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations once worked closely with DeLay cohort Jack Abramoff. The lobbyist, Todd Boulanger, was a member of what was known as "Team Abramoff" (lawyers are so creative) while they were working at a law firm together. We won't bore you with all the details, but essentially Todd worked with Abramoff as registered lobbyist for Indian tribes who were coerced into "donating" money in... more ›

Tom DeLay succeeded yesterday in having Judge Bob Perkins removed from his money-laundering and conspiracy case, complaining that the Democrat had donated over $5,000 to "liberal" causes since 2001. While a new judge has yet to be named, The Hammer's already working on his next weaselly tactic: having the trial moved out of Austin. Ridiculously, his indictment hearings have become something of a farce - it's hard to remember that the whole thing stems... more ›

We are obviously mounted-up and riding high with the Kinky Friedman campaign for governor. (I mean, Why the Hell Not?) But we have the sneaking suspicion that this race will eventually come down to a battle between the two parties of the Establishment. With that said, the Democrats picked up a little bit of optimistic steam this morning as Chris Bell announced his candidacy for governor. In his announcement, Bell brought a breath of... more ›

On Saturday, former US Congressman James Jarrell "Jake" Pickle died at the age of 91. His was a legacy of extraordinary accomplishments. Born and raised in West Texas, Pickle went on to attend UT Austin, where was a champion swimmer and senior-year student body president. After a stint in the US Navy during WWII, Pickle went on to serve in the House of Representatives for over three decades. When the Civil Rights Act of... more ›

On the hill this week select Congressmen badgered and belittled President Bush for misleading America into war with Iraq and demanded him to apologize for the mistakes of his administration. How is this in any way new or interesting? Well this time it was two Republicans. Or perhaps one and a half Republicans. more ›

Tom Delay, America's stalwart icon of moral and ethical behavior, has again come under the vicious thumping of the fourth estate. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have today written about 2 different ethical lapses on the part of Mr. Delay. more ›

While Tom DeLay (R-Texas...duh) poses for cameras outside of Terry Schaivo's hospice, the LA Times has happened across a timely anecdote from DeLay's past. Since we at the Austinist love to point out politicians and their hypocrisy, we wanted to share it with you: more ›