Rick Perry's presidential bid is quickly fading just two months after it started. In the NBC/WSJ poll released last night, Herman Cain leads Mitt Romney 27 percent to 23 percent, with Perry coming in a dismal 16 percent, down more than 15 points since August and unlikely to climb back to front runner status in part due to his sudden similarities to the former governor Bush. more ›

• Following the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, people gathered to celebrate outside of Former President Bush’s current home in the Dallas area.
• NPR is streaming the new Okkervil River album. It sounds darker and more grown-up than their previous work.
• Farmers and small food makers want to be able to more easily sell their products to consumers. (This change might even make it easier to get your hands on raw milk.)

Twenty-year-old Saudi native and South Plains College student Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari was arrested yesterday after a chemical supplier -- and a delivery service as well -- reported his suspicious purchase to the authorities. Details are still coming out, but it seems Aldawsari bought some chemicals used in explosives and had considered using various means to possibly blow up George W. Bush's house in Dallas, along with other potential sites. He will make his first court appearance in Lubbock tomorrow. [MSNBC] more ›

Condoleezza Rice grew up in the highly segregated neighborhood of Titusville in Birmingham, Alabama, where she and her family put up with the sort of bald discrimination it’s hard to imagine today. Discrimination, and real danger: one of her playmates was killed in the KKK’s 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Against this backdrop, her parents—Angelena, a high school teacher, and John, a guidance counselor and Presbyterian minister—gave her the confidence and ambition that helped her achieve what she did, and Condoleezza says you must know her parents to know who she is. That’s why she wrote Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family (Crown, October 2010), which tells the story of her upbringing, and which she’ll be discussing at BookPeople tomorrow. more ›

• New immigration law polarizes Arizonans
• Latino groups urge Obama admin to reform immigration next
• The politics of Immigration Reform: "Nobody wins"

• Nuclear proliferation summit convenes in D.C.
• Our Dangerous World: Could terrorists get hold of a nuclear bomb?
• Pilot error suggested in Polish plane crash

Everyone in the last three generations can be divided into two groups—those who worshiped at the feet of anything Star Wars and considered George Lucas a deity…and those that think “Jar Jar is funny!” And both sides wonder—how can these things have come out of the same person? In the documentary The People vs. George Lucas, those people finally get a chance to speak out. more ›

• Iraqis turn out in solid numbers to vote
• Obama takes health care message on the road (again)
• US eases sanctions to promote Web use in Cuba, Iran, Sudan

How will George W. Bush's presidency be treated by history? Sunday morning at 11am, KUT's "Best of Public Radio" will air a co-production of the radio station and ' Frank Rich, LBJ's daughter Luci Baines Johnson, and former Bush staffer Daniel Bartlett, among many others. [KUT] more ›

Israel sends tanks, troops into Gaza. Harry Reid: Bush "worst president we've ever had." Richardson no longer Commerce nominee. Obama: $300 billion tax cut. Whatever happened to Lynndie England? Conde Nast mags lose nearly half their advertising. Autopsy planned for Jett Travolta. more ›

Bush makes surprise Baghdad trip. Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush during said trip. Senator Arlen Specter thinks Polish jokes funny, appropriate. Tells them. Wasilla Bible Church burned, arson suspected. SXSW now a player in the Oscar game. This isn't really news, but it still sounds delicious. Migas, si! Bummer. Amy Poehler bid goodbye to SNL. more ›

Obama says to buckle up, economic ride going to get bumpier. Rove to name "Bush-haters" in new book. Ostensibly, that book will be very, very long. Iran doesn't like Satan-worshippy clothes, and will detain those who do. OJ Simpson sentenced to jail. Cate Blanchett gets her star. Scenes from Battlestar Galactica's final episodes all up on the web. David Gregory meets the press. more ›

• Viva Geithner, ostensibly.
• Forbes: Meow!
• Who will Bush pardon?

Domestic disturbance in Dripping Springs trailer park leads to SWAT standoff with one death. 22 Bastrop students and their bus driver sent to the hospital after the vehicle drove off the road and into a barbed wire fence this morning. Austin sex offender arrested after not staying at home on Halloween. About half of those who were pulled over on "No Refusal Weekend" had over 2 times the legal amount of alcohol in their systems. If you ride the bus, you likely already know, but the CapMetro strike is over. Really, the headline says it all. Lame duck George W. Bush will give the December commencement speech at A&M. more ›

Seeing as how we didn't get the kicky flying cars or space-age food pills we were promised, this sounds kind of nice. This just in: Someone thinks Rush Limbaugh peddling 'Shameless Lies.' The turnaround begins. President-elect snubs Fox News. It's a bit like Mean Girls. Sweet. Suffocation aboard Russian nuclear submarine enters long list of not-fun ways to go. The numbers game: some Democrats not that mad at Lieberman. Spitzer gets off again. more ›

Dowd is much less interested in political poll numbers these days. Instead, he’s much more focused now on the American political process as a whole, which is why he decided to speak at last week’s fundraiser for Austin Community College’s new, non-partisan Center for Public Policy and Political Studies. Austinist managed to grab 15 minutes with Dowd for a phone conversation before the fundraiser. more ›

Michelle Obama set to headline first night of DNC Convention. Russia still bombing Georgia. Bush: What, me worry? Fox News decides Edwards affair more newsworthy than thousands of dead Georgians. You decide. Isaac Hayes dead at 65. "Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Bernie Mac's family had expected him to survive. more ›

I wonder: why wouldn’t the APD drug cop and the data miner want the world to know what they’re up to? They’re heroes, after all! Cleansing our streets of the dreaded indoor weed farmer. They should be proud. They're like The Punisher and Microchip. more ›

CNN today announced that Campbell Brown, NBC News' White House correspondent during President George W. Bush's first term and host of a new prime-time news program that's set to debut this month, will anchor next Thursday's debate. CNN chief national correspondent John King and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos will serve as panelists asking questions of the candidates during the debate. more ›

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Barack Obama win South Carolina. Like most Americans, I like Barack Obama. And, like most Americans, I'm not sure why. more ›

Comic from ToothPasteForDinner.com State science curriculum director Chris Comer says she was forced to resign today according to the Austin-American Statesman. She walked away from her nine-year career with the Texas Education Agency amid accusations of insubordination and misconduct, both of which appear to be connected with her apparent bias against the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. The senior adviser on statewide initiatives, Lizzette Reynolds, who previously served... more ›

Some would rather vote for a yellow dog. Image from DemocraticStuff.com Lou Dubose presents Bill Of WrongsTuesday, November 27BookPeople (603 N. Lamar)Free, Starts at 7pm[info] Fiery Austin columnist Molly Ivins was once described to us as "equal parts sugar, spice, piss, and vinegar" by friend and fellow yellow-dog-democrat Bob Mann. To this day we still can't think of a better way to describe her. Her death last January left a deafening silence — gone was... more ›

Senator Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech to thousands of die-hard supporters this past Saturday at the Backyard, touching on just about every hot issue at the core of next year's election debates. Pledging to shut down Guantanamo, restore habeas corpus, and renew the hunt for Al Qaeda, Obama stressed the need for a stronger international agenda and quoted Kennedy's famous inaugural address—"Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear... more ›

Still from The District! The DistrictNovember 16-222110 South Lamar (2110 S. Lamar)Various Showtimes, $8.25[info]We heard a lot of good things about Áron Gauder's one-of-a-kind animated gem The District! during Fantastic Fest last year, but we hadn't had a chance to see it until recently. It's a Hungarian Hip-Hop / time travel / gangster odyssey set in Budapest's notorious 8th district, where rival crime families feud like Montagues and Capulets. That is, until their kids fall... more ›

There will always be chatter about Austin's changing landscape, much as there will always be supporters for both developers and the environment. We want the privilege of taking a dip in a glistening spring-fed pool, but we also want to have a robust economy that allows us to continue working and living in this city. Some would argue that the two desires aren't mutually exclusive, but we all know that it's a sticky subject.... more ›

After more than six years with our country hog-tied by George W. Bush and his Texas neo-con cronies, it is not hard to feel a nostalgic pull to the nineties. We may not be longing for rap-rock, JNCO jeans or Pauly Shore, but the roaring nineties and their dot-com excess did have some bright spots. Like a good president. (Though even Warren G. Harding looks pretty good right now.) If you are looking for... more ›

Ah, the verbal blunder. The slip o’ the tongue. The stutter, the stumble, the embarrassing gaffe at the company Christmas party. You’ve been using language practically all your life, so why does your tongue continue to betray you so? The truth is, for just about every person on the planet, verbal blunders are unavoidable. We like to test ourselves with tongue twisters (why does Sally keep selling those seashells by the seashore? It can’t... more ›

Separated at birth?Two weeks ago, the Statesman's new-ish resident fashion fella, Marques G. Harper, wrote an innocent little style article in which he happened to compare the president's recent vacation attire as "more like 'Walker, Texas Ranger' than a sweaty, tough ranch hand." OMGWTF, screamed an outraged White House, which promptly contacted Harper several days later. Evidently, Dubya—who seems to care little about his sub-30% approval rating—"read" the article and was, according to the Washington... more ›

The latest project by the Super!Alright! guys is a viral video for Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), which will attempt to answer that nagging question in the back of everyone's mind: What if, instead of going into politics, George W. Bush had pursued his love of Arena Rock? In order to make this work, they need extras for the "backstage" segment of the video, to be shot in a certain parking lot in South Austin. People are... more ›

Nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, political reporter, and beloved Austinite Molly Ivins passed away in her home yesterday at the age of 62. In a remarkable career that spanned nearly four decades, Ivins commanded the respect and admiration of a devoted national readership, who rallied around her unapologetically liberal, often satirical, and always insightful coverage of the Texas "Lege" and our leaders in Washington. Among various and sundry positions held, Ivins served as co-editor of the... more ›