Is it still too early to utter the word “festival”? The Texas Observer, the fantastic non-profit, non-partisan (but totally liberal) news and culture magazine, is hosting its Writers’ Festival this Saturday. From 12-6p you’ll be able to sit in on amazing panels featuring some of Texas’s best writers. more ›

The Texas Observer is releasing a fascinating story this week about a new intelligence database called the “Texas Data Exchange” (aka, “TDEx”). The stated purpose of this database is to catch criminals, hunt down terrorists and allow law enforcement agencies throughout Texas to share valuable information. Close to $4 million has been spent so far on this behemoth, and it’s already chock full of records. Now, the existence of this database is hardly news; such databases are often necessary for effective law enforcement these days, assuming they're used ethically for their intended purpose. The real story here is that TDEx isn’t being run by the state's top law enforcement agency, the Texas Department of Public Safety, as required by current law. It’s being run by Gov. Rick Perry’s office. more ›

Here's a round-up of our favorite posts for late January/first days of February: Last week, the Chronic pointed out the irony that the town's famous vegan firefighters are down the street from Bert's Bar-B-Q (where the fire took place a couple weeks ago). We're sure the vegans would have come to the rescue of the Austin institution if their dispatcher had told them in time. . . but that's a whole other post. The... more ›

Memorial services for beloved newspaper columnist Molly Ivins, who passed away on Wednesday, will be held at 2pm this Sunday afternoon at First United Methodist Church. A gathering will follow at Scholz Garden. Donations in Ivins' honor can be made to The Texas Observer or the American Civil Liberties Union at: The Texas Observer 307 West Seventh Street Austin, TX 78701 American Civil Liberties Union 125 Broad Street 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 Related:... 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 ›

"UT spied on its non comformists and dissident students"Your every move is being watched. Scary thought, right? A thought we like to associate with Orwellian sci-fi or Alex Jones, but in recent years we've seen this idea become a reality. Little black boxes with blinking red lights are at traffic spots, street corners or up in trees making sure you're not up to any funny business. Now, in a democracy sans Habeas Corpus, we... more ›

more ›

FRIDAY [21] [music] Sons of Hercules and The Bad Rackets at Woody's South (link) [music] Those Peabodys, Grand Champeen, Birds of Avalon (ex-Cherry Valence), Man Eaters of Tsavo at Emo's (link) [music] The Radiators at The Parish (link) [music] Blue October w/ People In Planes and Bril at Stubb's (link) [music] The Shells CD Release at End of an Ear (Free, 6pm) (link) [lecture] The Texas Observer presents David Sirota, author of Hostile Takeover: How... more ›

Come out and support the Texas Observer this Sunday at the 5th Annual Rabble Rouser Roundup and Fat Cat Schmoozefest! It's a hot musical line-up and a great cause. The event will be hosted by Molly Ivins and Jim Hightower with musical entertainment from The Marcia Ball Band, Grupo Fantasma and Carolyn Wonderland. Events: 6-7pm The Fat Cat Schmoozefest and Silent Auction 7-10pm Rabble Rouser Roundup (Silent Auction continues) Sunday, January 15, 2006 La... more ›