2nd Thought
The Spies Who Wouldn’t Stop
Germany’s trust in the U.S. is at an end.GWYNNE DYER
The question to bear in mind, in reading this sorry tale, is: If Americans are, on average, no stupider than Germans, then why are their intelligence services so stupid? After the most recent revelations about American spying i...
Put Up or Shut Up
Obama suggests Perry use his influence to get help on the border.DAVE McNEELY
President Barack Obama visited Texas last week for some fundraisers and a speech at Austin’s Paramount Theater. Gov. Rick Perry, apparently making another run for the GOP presidential nomination, pointedly turned down the ide...
The Caliphate Returns
The Middle East is getting stranger.GWYNNE DYER
“Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day,” said Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, announcing the rebirth of the Caliphate in the broad territory between northern Syria and eastern Iraq. It hasn’...
Their Texas
Davis and Van de Putte hang the Tea Party platform around their opponents’ necks.DAVE McNEELY
The Tea Party had limited success challenging Republican incumbents this election cycle, as business groups finally started fighting back to avoid a repeat of Tea Party gains of the last two elections. A notable exception was t...
It’s Not the Guns
It’s the mentality.FRANK MATTHEWS
I have given this subject far more thought than I normally do on politically charged issues, and I have come up with my own theory about gun violence in this country. The way I see it, the problem isn’t the number of guns out...
Let Them Eat Cake
Off with the heads of the poor.GRAYSON HARPER
I guess the bullies will always be with us. Nowadays they’re targeting the poor. No surprise there. Bullies always single out those who are weaker, more vulnerable than themselves. Dr. Annette Bosworth, a first-time candidate...
Re-Greening the Shrub
Hindsight is too kind.KEN WHEATCROFT-PARDUE
It’s official. Texas’ own Dubya is back, hinting at a dirty joke at a civil rights conference, leading wounded warriors on a 100K bike ride, and becoming well known in retirement as a veritable artiste. For some Americans, ...
Cracks in the Frack Wall
SHARON WILSON AND CATHY MCMULLENIf it’s a blessing to live in interesting times, those of us affected by the fracking debate — that is, all Texans — are well and truly blessed right about now. Within the past month, North Texas has seen: •petitions su...
Why He’s Running
Comptroller candidate Mike Collier says big owners are shifting Texas’ tax burden to the little guys. He wants to change that.DAVE McNEELY
Why did the Texas Legislature in 2011 cut $5.4 billion from school funding even though property tax revenues went up? That’s what Mike Collier, a Houston corporate number-cruncher wondered. “I knew something was terribly wr...
NORML-izing Drug Laws
Saturday’s Global Marijuana March is drawing more interest than usual.EDWARD BROWN
If there’s any doubt that the landscape of marijuana laws is changing in Texas, as it is in the rest of the country, look no farther for proof than the Global Marijuana March coming up Saturday in downtown Fort Worth. Shaun M...