OPINION

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Did Baylor University make a smart choice in naming former independent prosecutor Ken Starr as its next president?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

With a new poll out showing Debra Medina closing in on Kay Baily Hutchison for second place in the GOP governor's race, what do you think is fueling the enthusiasm for a woman once considered a fringe candidate?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, that topic is the latest poll numbers out of the Republican primary for governor, which show Perry (44 percent) and Medina (16 percent) gaining ground, while Hutchison (29 percent) loses some. So our question this week is:

What do you make of the latest poll numbers in the GOP race for governor?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Parkland Memorial Hospital is catching heat for the recent approval of $1.7 million in executive bonuses, including $226,670 for CEO Ron Anderson. Do you think it's wrong to use taxpayers' money for this type of compensation?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Was the Massachusetts Senate race (in which Scott Brown beat the favored Democrat, Martha Coakley) a referendum on Obama's first year in office? And how do think Brown's win will affect Obama's domestic agenda?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Now that Conan O'Brien appears poised to walk from his NBC contract, how should NBC resolve its Conan-Leno conflict?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Is there any way to defend Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid's decision to close final health care negotiations to airing on C-SPAN, effectively shutting out the public?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Is Congress right to thwart Obama's plan to move Gitmo detainess to Illinios?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Is the Mesquite school district out of line to force a 4-year-old out of class because his hair is too long? Are the rules out of line?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Do you support President Barack Obama's proposal, announced Tuesday, to spend hundreds of billions to accelerate job growth?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Do you agree with President Obama's decision to announce a timeline to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recently released new guidelines that women without unusual cancer risks should not begin regular screening for breast cancer until age 50. Does this advice send the right message about mammograms?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

What are the lessons of yesterday's elections, particularly in regard to the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia and the 23rd Congressional District race in New York?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Should Kay Bailey Hutchison resign from the Senate?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

1. Would you support a medical marijuana law in Texas? 2. Would you support legalizing marijuana nationwide, even for recreational purposes?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

If Texas were to secede from the United States, what would the U.S. be losing?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Should the North Texas Tollway Authority revisit its speed limit signage on the Dallas North Tollway?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Mike Leach has banned Texas Tech football players from using Twitter; Mack Brown says he wants his University of Texas players to use common sense. Which approach makes more sense? And should anyone bother using the social networking service?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Obama has said he's not going to decide whether to escalate in Afghanistan until he has "the strategy right." What should that strategy be?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Is the tea party movement good or bad for America?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Give the alarming number of teen pregnancies in Texas, and Texas cities' high rankings for repeat pregnancies among teens, what, if anything, would you recommend the state do to better tackle the problem?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

What does Kinky Friedman's gubernatorial candidacy say about the Democrats' field of candidates and the state of the party in Texas?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

Should Tom Leppert leave his mayor's seat to run for the U.S. Senate? What should be the main factors he considers in making his decision?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the topic is the gubernatorial race.

Only days after Kay Bailey Hutchison announced her intentions to run for governor, the race for the GOP spot is already heated. Members of the editorial board are taking a deep breath -- whether they are Hutchison or Perry backers (or none of the above) -- to answer this week's question:

What are Hutchison's and Perry's biggest strengths going into the gubernatorial race?

Here are board members' responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, the question is:

What do you see as Woodstock's legacy?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, we'll discuss Bill Clinton's successful trip to North Korea to secure the release of Americans Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

The question is:

Was U.S. foreign policy compromised by Bill Clinton's photo op with Kim Jong Il?

Here are editorial board members' responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week's topic is Texas Gov. Rick Perry's fundraising-related activities during the legislative session. The question:

Do you think Perry's action violated state ethics laws?

Here are board members' responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. Making waves this week is The New York Times' report that the federal government suppressed information on the dangers of driving while using a cellphone.

This week, the question is:

Do you think it's time to ban cellphone use for drivers?

Here are board members' responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the Editorial Board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, we had an interesting board debate about the Dallas Housing Authority's proposed new policy of requiring tenants to register overnight visitors, who would be subject, in some cases to background checks. The authority says this is a crime-fighting tool it badly needs since much of the crime at housing projects seems to be committed by the guests of tenants, rather than simply the tenants themselves. Others argue that this regulation would be nearly impossible to enforce. The DHA board is scheduled to vote on this proposed policy in August. So the question is:

Should the DHA board approve or reject this policy, why or why not?

Here are their responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic. This week, we're delving into pop culture, given the oodles of coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial this week. Much of the Internet is abuzz over the tearful goodbye from Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris.

Here's a video if you haven't caught it yet:

The question is:

Do you think adults should have protected Paris Jackson from the glare of the spotlight, or was this an appropriate show of grief from a child who has lost her father?

Here are board members' responses:

Every week, we poll the members of the editorial board on a timely and divisive topic.

This week, the board was abuzz about the Highland Park school district's decision to stop ranking all but the top 10 percent of high school students. Their reasoning? The rank-all-students system puts those with not-quite-as-high grades and test scores at a disadvantage when applying to college because the really-high-achieving students make them look bad.

The question is:

Do you agree with Highland Park's decision to throw out most class rankings?

Here are editorial board members' responses:

Every Wednesday, we'll pick a question and poll all the editorial board members. (This is the second installment; last week's was on Bryan Burrough's "The Big Rich" and our favorite books about Texas.)

Here's this week's question:

What do you think about the idea to rename Young Street for César Chávez?

You'll find our responses at the jump, but also check out Sharon's post yesterday on the topic.

I just finished reading the new book, The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes, by former Wall Street Journal reporter Bryan Burrough. It's a wry, hard-knuckle, finely woven tale of the Big Four oil barons who shaped much of what Texas is today.

"If Texas Oil had a Mount Rushmore, their faces would adorn it," Burrough writes. "A good ol' boy. A scold. A genius. A bigamist. Known in their heyday as the Big Four, they became the founders of the greatest Texas family fortunes, headstrong adventurers who rose from nowhere to take turns being acclaimed America's wealthiest man."

It's a good read, and one I'd highly recommend. In fact, Points Editor Nicole Stockdale has chosen this book to be the centerpiece of our Third Annual Points Summer Book Club project. Details on that to come shortly, but start reading the book now to get a head start on a special weeklong DMN-sponsored blog discussion beginning July 27.

We discussed the book briefly at a staff meeting earlier this week. I asked how many Editorial Board members could rattle off the Big Four. Bill McKenzie got it right. For detail here, you'll have to read into the extended entry....

But first, I want to go on record here asking each of my colleagues - and our readers, of course - this question:

What's the best book about Texas in your opinion and what makes it so good?

Read into the extended entry for Editorial Board member responses and then feel free to comment away!