Top Stories
- Texas added jobs in September – Jim Fuquay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The state has added 282,200 private-sector jobs in the past year, while government is down 33,700 in the same time, for a net gain of 248,500.
The important takeaway in a “news” story that seems designed to downplay the takeaway.
- Sample ballots showing local government getting bigger – Curt Olson, Texas Budget Source
- Rick Perry Hates to Lose – Lynn Sherr, Parade.com
- Dewhurst joins rivals at U.S. Senate forum – Kate Alexander, Austin American-Statesman
- Texas state crackdown on online wine sales squelches shipments to Lone Star State, down 30 percent in one quarter – Mark Lisheron, Texas Watchdog
Behold the power of alcohol distributor special interests in Texas! Too bad for you, wine drinkers (and/or craft beer lovers for that matter).
Recommended
- Romney's Premature Perry Panic – Nate Silver, 538/NYTimes.com
- Perry Brings in Reinforcements – Mark Halperin, Time
- Steve Forbes makes his endorsement of Rick Perry official – Ryan Rusak, Trail Blazers Blog
- For Perry, Air Force provided a bridge to unresolved future – David Tarrant, Dallas Morning News
- Rick Perry and racist rocks in Texas history – R.G. Ratcliffe
- The art of the cheap shot – Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, POLITICO.com
Believe it or not, the two reporters are not referencing the Washington Post’s sad “racist rock” or Rubio smears. - Flat tax is a winner for Perry and U.S. – John Avlon, CNN.com
- Ron Paul: 'I Was Tempted To Walk Off' Republican Debate – Huffington Post
- Ron Paul thinks now is the time to make his move – Kim Geiger, Los Angeles Times
There’s nowhere to go but up (from the True Believer 4% Fringe)! - Pamela Geller: Free Speech Under Fire – Even in Texas! – Sibyl West, Ramparts 360
- "Kissing bugs" plague South Texas, says UT Bug Philosopher – Tom McGregor, Dallas Blog
- Problematic Prop 4 raises spectre of TLOTA – Blue Dot Blues
- Proposition 4 Will Lead To Less Property Protections – Dustin Matocha, Empower Texans
Texas Lockstep Political Media Follies
- Legislature didn't figure on real world in school budget cuts – Patricia Kilday Hart, Houston Chronicle
In which Hart repeats the “$4 billion cut from public education” lie that the Texas lockstep political media class has done so much to popularize. - Texas schools fail English-limited Hispanics – Neal Morton, The Monitor
What an interesting definition of “fail.” - Stimulus money to prevent homelessness is dwindling – Alex Branch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Not a headline from The Onion!On display here are some of the worst traits of the Texas lockstep political media, though: The focus on the narrative favored by reporter/editor, the extensive quoting of institutional sources/special interests that support the narrative (or perhaps differ in inconsequential ways), and the exclusion of any limited-government or taxpayer advocates or harsh critics.