Month: <span>November 2010</span>

Smells like a banana republic

The term may sound a little harsh, but it is difficult to disagree with New York Times’ columnist Nicholas D. Kristof’s assessment that the United States has become something akin to a “banana republic.” He doesn’t mean a country headed by a tinpot dictator, but a country in which a tiny percentage of superwealthy individuals […]

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Will the twothirds rule crumble?

The twothirds rule in the Texas Senate may get its toughest workout yet next year, as Democrats try to stem an anticipated flood of bad legislation from a very conservative, very Republican House. But, first, the rule may have to survive a fight for its own survival. For those of you who are uninitiated in […]

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Adding a fourth R to the curriculum?

The first day of prefiling bills for a legislative session is the statehouse version of turning the kids loose in a candy store, and lawmakers were true to their roles yesterday. Led by certifiably conservative Rep. Debbie Riddle, who camped out over the weekend outside the House chief clerk’s office to be first in line, […]

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Stepping to the right in El Paso

Carlos “Charlie” Garza, the El Paso Republican who unseated longtime Democratic member Rene Nunez from the State Board of Education, hasn’t even taken office yet, but the El Paso Times already has named him to the board’s conservative bloc. We shouldn’t be surprised, considering Garza’s endorsement, as I noted in a blog posting last week, […]

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