Not only is the EPA cracking down on the TCEQ, but Congressman Lloyd Doggett is spearheading more restrictions on Texas use of federal education and stimulus funds. Doggett, a lifelong Austinite who represents Texas's 25th District, inserted an amendment into a supplemental appropriations bill in early July that would effectively exclude Texas officials from deciding how to spend federal aid for education. more ›

A question about Rick Perry on Wednesday brought out the political animal in former Secretary of State James Baker. In Austin for a public conversation with Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, Baker offered a candid and largely positive view of recent foreign policy decisions by the current administration. When Smith asked him about the Texas elections, however, Baker turned coy. more ›

What could have been an easy race for an incumbent may become a day of reckoning. From the Quorum Report: if Rick Perry sees Kay Bailey Hutchison's shadow today, we're in for another 6 weeks of negative campaigning. From the start of the year until February 20, Hutchison and Perry each spent more than Bill White, Farouk Shami, and Debra Medina . Pulling votes from Perry is Debra Medina, who has already generated interest as far away as the UK--one of the most popular stories in the Guardian right now covers her potential effect on the race. more ›

Remember Operation Chaos in 2008? That's when Rush Limbaugh urged Republican voters to take advantage of the open primary rules in Texas and several other swing states and vote for Hillary Clinton in order to prolong Democratic infighting. Fast-forward two years and the shoe is on the other foot: White looks like a lock for the Texas Dems, while Palin pick Rick Perry could still end up in a runoff with old-guard conservative Kay Bailey Hutchison if Debra Medina can peel off enough Tea Party votes. more ›

Perhaps the most intriguing race this primary season takes place in a mostly unfamiliar territory to Travis County voters: the GOP Gubernatorial Primary. The state of the Republican Party, while still perceived as Texas’ dominant party, is undergoing a sort of identity crisis at the moment, largely characterized by three internally warring factions each led by a specific candidate more ›

Common knowledge says that the race should be close: a popular Republican Senator running against a Republican Governor who only received 39% of the vote in 2006. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is running against Governor Perry after all, the guy who brought on the TransTexas Corridor, the mandatory HPV vaccine order, and anything TxDOT. But federal decisions from the last decade had put the federal government, economy, and foreign relations in a free-for-all, and Senator Hutchison supported most of them. more ›

• Story about the A&M student who barely survived the tragic bonfire collapse in 1999.
• When we learned that the mayors of College Station and Austin were wagering live trees on the outcome of Thursday's Longhorn/ Aggie pigskin kerfuffle all we could think of was the vintage Belly song “Feed The Tree.”
• Dallas Cowboys who were real turkeys. A.k.a. “Serious Cowboy FAIL.”

• Clinton's convention speech: "No way, no how, no McCain"
• Chatter over Hutchison as McCain's possible VP pick gets louder. Isn't she running for governor?
• Suffering from exhaustion, Dalai Lama cancels international trips