Rick Perry's excoriation of Social Security may win over the hearts of many (middle class and middle-aged) Tea Partiers, but his stance on another issue may leave him with one foot out of the proverbial Tea Bag. Indeed, Perry's tolerant position on immigration puts him at odds with the Tea Party caucus, and could result in a rift between two conservative ideologies that is as symbolic as the border fence itself. more ›

• Obama urges Britain, U.S. ‘to meet the demands of a new era’
• Measure would widen president's power to fight terrorists, White House objects
• Deadly storms continue to batter Midwest region

• So much for using the Rainy Day Fund. . .
• State Sen. Fraser files bill to regulate electric co-ops.
• Nuclear crisis in Japan may mean no expansion for South Texas Project's plant.

• Violent clashes in Cairo
• Obama: change in Egypt "must begin now"
• Tea Partiers targeting Senate Dems on health care repeal

• People will do anything to drive in the HOV lanes.
• Fox News is a respectable group. Just ask Juan Williams.
• So the fact that there are racist people in the Tea Party movement is a surprise?

• National Tea Party Federation bags Tea Party Express following racist satire
• At least 60 dead, 92 injured in India train crash
• Clinton unveils an array of projects during visit to Pakistan

First the Austin City Council passed a measure to boycott Arizona, prohibiting its members from expensing trips there. Now it looks as though the city may reap the whirlwind—or at least some strong breezes. more ›

• Evan Smith on the Texas textbook issue.
• Luci Baines Johnson is in the ICU at the Mayo Clinic with an autoimmune illness.
• Do the numbers really add up for closing the Cactus Cafe?

• Oklahoma City Bombing remembered
• 15 years after OKC Bombing, anti-government sentiment on rise
• OKC bombing victims' children building new lives

Approximately 150 Tea Party activists endured heavy rainfall for last night’s Tax Day protest on the southern steps of the state Capitol building. The event, hosted by local organization Texans for Accountable Government, billed itself as a “trans-partisan gathering to protest the existing tax structure and irresponsible, big government spending.” And even though Gadsden flags were outnumbered by umbrellas, the inclement conditions did little to dampen the spirits of those in attendance. more ›

• Outraged Russia suspends adoptions to US.
• In wake of China quake -- body count 600-plus.
• You don't say: Poll finds Tea Party backers wealthier and more educated.

• Health care bill victory: Obama's historic moment
• The Senate gets their turn... (hoo boy!)
• Health care reform a possible boon to health industry

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 ›

Governor Perry may no longer seek funds from Washington because he truly believes that Washington D.C. demands too much while irresponsibly increasing federal debt. Like Gov. Perry says, “Washington is Broken”; however, this does not explain why the federal debt in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 wasn’t irresponsible while he actively sought and accepted federal funds. Or why the mandates for Medicaid, education and transportation funds that the Governor accepted in those same years had acceptable strings attached, but now, the demands are too stringent. 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 ›

• Hell yes! Obama wants high-speed rail.
• Abuse of power? Nuh-uh.
• Welcome Home, Maersk Alabama.

In Austin, we’ve got so much weird that it needs in-depth classification. For example, you’ve got the guy-inexplicably-dressed-as-a-panda type of weird, and the guy-inexplicably-vomiting-blue-stuff-all-over-the-bus weird. We’ve got happy weird and sick/sad weird, epic weirdness and little sprigs of weird popping up all over the place. And musically, we have everything from the honestly odd Daniel Johnston to the bad-strange of Blue October – from the massive drum circle-cum-circle jerk held during Eeyore’s birthday to the more underground but even more visceral strangeness held each week by The Church of the Friendly Ghost at The Salvage Vanguard Theater. more ›