Clinton campaign seeks to control local caucus sessions? According to a Dallas Morning News blog, recent training materials distributed by the Clinton campaign read, "DO NOT allow the supporter of another candidate to serve in leadership roles... If our supporters are outnumbered, ask the Temporary Chair if one of our supporters can serves as the Secretary, in the interest of fairness." Mike Huckabee's latest outreach video reworks "Mr Sandman" Calling "Rangers," Huckabee's supporters are urged......

Photo by Steve Hopson for Austinist.com For those who are watching from home but don't have access to CNN, local PBS affiliate KLRU will be airing the debate on tape-delay, starting at 9pm DailyKos has an informative rundown of each democratic candidate's proposed legislation and their record in the Senate (thanks, MikeB) Chelsea Clinton will speak at ACC’s South Austin Campus tomorrow morning at 9:45am. The event is free and open to the public Senator......

More talk of the coming recession: "The question is not whether we will have a recession, but how deep and prolonged it will be." Meanwhile, Austin's economy may be uniquely positioned among the nation's cities to withstand a potential recession....

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan blames President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for efforts to mislead the public about the role of White House aides in leaking the identity of a CIA operative. Police Chief: "Missing Student Ignored Due to Race." A drunken man broke into a central London park and attempted to have sex with a fence: Daniel French, 24, made "sexual motions" towards metal railings in Leicester Square Gardens......

Photo of Divali celebration courtesy of Kokeshi President Bush visits wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center, demonstrates how to "shoot the bad guys" in Iraq--on a computer game, that is A 160-pound chimp attempts a daring escape from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, prompting a sweep of the entire 381-acre campus. He was later found; authorities were careful to point out that "Jake" wasn't carrying any diseases, and was merely there for "behavioral science"......

Authorities in New York arrested 43-year-old Paul Devoe III, the man believed responsible for a grisly quadruple homicide that happened in Jonestown, Texas, this weekend. Devoe is also allegedly linked to the murder of a bartender in Marble Falls last Friday, as well as another slaying in Pennsylvania. Details remain scarce, but a spokesman for the Travis County sheriff's department described Sunday's crime scene as "fairly bloody, fairly gruesome." The Capital Area Metro Planning......

A day after President Bush vetoed a bill that would have allocated $124 billion for the Iraq/Afghanistan war funds but required the total withdrawal of U.S. troops by March, hundreds of local grassroots organizations and individuals have mobilized to stage simultaneous protests across the country. At least a dozen different rallies will take place within a 300-mile radius of here. Austin Operation Democracy Council, the local MoveOn group, is staging its protest in front of......

What do you give the dear leader who's already got it all? If you're a decorated war vet with medals to spare, one option is (evidently) a Purple Heart. At least that's what Round Rock resident Bill Thomas decided to do when he and his wife met with President Bush yesterday at the Oval Office, where they presented our commander in chief with one of the three Purple Hearts that Thomas received in Vietnam. To......

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is......

From the NYTimes: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the hard-driving and super-confident Pentagon boss who came to symbolize President Bush’s controversial Iraq policy, is resigning, President Bush announced today. Mr. Bush, appearing at the White House the day after the Republican Party suffered sweeping defeats in Tuesday’s midterm elections, said he and Mr. Rumsfeld had had “a series of thoughtful conversations” and agreed that “the time is right for new leadership at the Pentagon.” Rumsfeld......

The war in Iraq is an unqualified mess, confidence in elected officials seems to be at a low and Republican leaders are scrambling trying to get some cover. Enter John Kerry. The former presidential candidate made a “botched joke” (his words, not ours) involving college students, the Iraqi quagmire and George Bush, and Republicans are taking the opportunity to turn the tables on the Democrats in hopes of generating some traction before next week’s mid-term......

President Bush and former President Clinton could be heading to Texas to stump on behalf Rick Perry and Chris Bell. Should Lance Armstrong do more to clean up his dirty little mess? Four ramps near State Highway 45N and I-35 interchange are to be closed this week in preparation for the opening of new connector ramps to SH 45. Iraqi leaders have agreed to develop a timetable for taking over security duties to protect......

President Bush has been assasinated! That is the premise behind Gabriel Range’s new film Death of a President. The film blends archival footage with narrative elements to form a fake documentary look at the supposed events surrounding the assassination of President George W. Bush. “It's a striking premise which may be seen as highly controversial," said Range. “But it's a serious film which I hope will open up the debate on where current US foreign......

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Exhibit A: Check out the juxtaposition of the picture of President Bush with this (allegedly) unrelated headline from today's Austin American-Statesman. Thanks to reader Bruce for the heads-up.......

On October 10, Ms. Magazine will release its fall issue with a cover story sure to spark a lot of debate. The magazine’s cover story, entitled “We Had Abortions,” will list the names of 1,016 women who have signed a petition stating that they have had abortions and support Pro-Choice legislation. In addition to the print version of the issue, Ms. Magazine is also taking names for their online petition, the numbers of which are......

The surprising thing about the new documentary Jesus Camp, opening tomorrow in Austin, is how, well, un-Michael Moore it is. Sure, there are a couple of scenes in Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing's look at an evangelical kids' ministry that are already providing yet more fodder for leftist religion-haters, including this one of children praying to a large cardboard cutout of President Bush. But, on the whole, you will be amazed at the filmmakers' preternatural......

Independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Cougar Keeton Strayhorn thinks Perry should stop taking money from lobbyists, but apparently it's okay to take money from tax consultants. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell has officially launched his ad campaign and we hope it is larger-then-life. Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman sees no reason to apologize for a racist remark made during a stand-up act he gave 26 years ago. Finally the Democrats are pissed; unfortunately it is......

It's National Singles Week. Everyone go out and try to get some! Lots of newly discovered species in the ocean include a shark that walks on its fins. Roeding Park in Fresno is going to be the new backdrop for reality porn. We speculate that the high quantity of sick days taken by employees in the public sector means the working environment is total crap. How did President Bush become a religious idol? How......

Like fake boobs and dyed hair, fake Ohio State vs. Texas tickets are out there to ruin your day. Clay Aiken of American Idol fame just might be President Bush's new pet. Former President Clinton is getting a pimp ride, a custom Mercury Mariner Hybrid surely outfitted with features that rival the Batmobile. Ladies, ladies. Your high heels are a death trap. A man's gun accidentally fired while he was in a Wal-Mart bathroom.......

Even as the stores sport back to school sales (which depress us, even now), summer lingers on your friends the -ists. This week's collection of links provides some of the best, worst, and oddest bits of summer fun. So, bring your laptop up onto the roof, make yourself an umbrella drink or ten, and enjoy this week's choice posts from across the Gothamist network. Torontoist (where it's 75 degrees F as of this writing)......

One of Austin's best homegrown success stories, Public Strategies Inc., has been purchased by the second-largest media and advertising company in the world. WPP Group, PLC of London purchased the consulting firm for a reported $90 million. WPP had apparently been eyeing Public Strategies for years. "I've been trying to buy Public Strategies for years," said Howard Paster, WPP executive vice president for public relations and public affairs. "It is a different public affairs firm.......

Gov. Rick Perry has stated that he has more than $10 million in campaign cash, while our friend Kinky has only about $491,000 on hand. A prisoner broke out of jail to wish his girlfriend a happy birthday. Romance is not dead. Officials in Jakarta failed to issue a tsunami warning despite receiving data about yesterday's earthquake 20 minutes before the first wave struck. The recent developments in the Middle East conflict have put......

Local: It seems that Delay's 2003 gerrymandering has left Texans confused about what district they reside in. One Austin couple appear to be in two Congressional Districts at the same time. In other redistricting news: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has ordered that all proposed solutions for fixing the state's congressional districts are due to the court on July 14th. State: Republican Gov. Rick Perry delivered a speech to......

President Bush recently added three high-profile Austinites to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, according to the Austin Business Journal: Paul Carrozza, founder of Run-Tex Susan Dell, uber-philanthropist and ironman (ironwoman?) athlete Andy Roddick, Austin Java-loitering tennis champ The members of the council will serve a two-year term, during which they're expected to advise the president on all matters concerning "physical fitness, physical activity and sports activities." Quoth Mrs. Dell, in a press......

Local: Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a controversial 1,800-home Hill Country development project known as Sweetwater. Sweetwater will cover roughly 1,000 acres with its main entrance at the intersection of Texas 71 and Bee Creek Road. Residents and environmentalists have said the area is already stressed by booming development. Christy Muse, executive director of the Hill Country Alliance, said that "questionable" actions by the commissioners allowed the project to fall under the state's......

More than 300,000 people have died as victims of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, and millions more have been displaced from their homes and forced to live as refugees. The genocide began nearly three years ago, but only recently has the international community begun to make noises about intervening. And many people still know little or nothing about one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. Brian Steidle knows a lot......

President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox continue talks today over the immigration issue. Bush is urging a program that allows more immigrants to take on jobs in the US. The heated debate over immigration is causing many to publicly protest, including local area students. Former San Antonio Spurs player Alvin Robertson is getting in to trouble with the law again. Ryan Seacrest and Teri Hatcher apparently 'idolize' eachother. (I know. I know...boo, hiss.)......

President Bush admitted that deciding to go to war with Iraq before checking the facts was his bad. Panhandlers are making headlines again, as the Austin City Council is set to vote on new ordinances regarding "panhandling, solicitation, and sleeping on the sidewalk." Owners of Mickey's and Click's Billards are headed to court because some people were caught smoking inside the bars. Click's actually has 9 violations. Each citation could cost the bar owners......

We find it shocking that President Bush sounded - how can we say this politely - silly in his interview with NBC Nightly News on Monday. The man is obviously an oratory genius, and like 99.9% of his public appearances, we're guessing an interview on network television would be carefully scripted and rehearsed. Yet these choice snippets actually came out of his mouth. We recommend the Bush administration hire new PR people. (We also......

After battling thyroid cancer since being diagnosed with the condition last October, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist passed away last night. Chief Justice Rehnquist spent 33 years on the Supreme Court, initially taking his seat under Nixon. President Regan elevated Rehnquist to Chief Justice in 1986. In his time on the court, the staunch conservative Rehnquist was very vocal when dealing with important issues. He opposed the Roe v. Wade decision. He believed religion......