Rick Perry Tag Page

Houston mayor wants to resolve political plans soon

Houston Mayor Bill White, whose last term runs through December 2009, intends to address his post-mayoral political goals within the next few weeks, an aide said today. “He’s going to make a decision in the near future,” said Michael Moore, White’s chief of staff. “It will be based on where he could do the most for Texas with his experience and abilities.” I touched bases with Moore while preparing a column running in Thursday’s newspaper on jockeying among Texans who might want to succeed U.

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St. Petersburg housing director backs board members

Mayor Rick Baker should reappoint two St. Petersburg Housing Authority commissioners, according to CEO Darrell Irions. Irions wrote to Baker last week to recommend Commissioner Lorraine Perry, a resident of Clearview Park Apartments, and Board Chairman Harry Harvey for additional four-year terms. Baker met with Irions on Nov. 4 to discuss the board's makeup. The board is in the midst of its controversial sale of the Graham-Rogall housing complex and resident relocation process. Cristina Silv

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'Twilight' Countdown: The critics weigh in

1 day left... Excited? I'm sure many of you are going to Thursday's midnight screenings of "Twilight," and I can't wait to hear the reviews. But what are the critics saying? Are the paid professionals, many of whom no doubt have not read Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" saga, buying into Bella and Edward''s forbidden-love story? So far, so good: Michael Phillips at the Chicago Tribune is mostly pleased, calling "Twilight" a film of "intelligent strengths [albeit] easily avoidable weaknesse

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Mark Sanford In 2012 ?

Via the blog of the Republican Liberty Caucus comes some interesting news about the Governor of South Carolina. First, Mark Sanford has been picked as the head of the Republican Governor’s Association: MIAMI (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association. In a statement released by the group Friday, Sanford said he was honored to be elected by his colleagues. The association has been meeting this week in Miami — and some discussions have r

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The GOP brand is tarnished in Texas

Over the last few days there have been several articles that have crystallized the problems the GOP in Texas is having post election.  The Texas GOP is beginning to look like a bunch of AIG Executives.  Their caucus is getting together with corporate lobbyists, at a posh spa retreat just South of Austin, paid for by corporate lobbyists, to plot strategy for the upcoming session.  The AP’s Jay Root has the story, GOP leaders ask for ‘unlimited’ corporate money: They might have lost ground in th

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Texan of the Year -- update

The list of nominations is getting longer -- and people are seconding these motions in a big way. Here are the updated list and other information on what we're looking for in the 2008 Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year. Email your ideas to toy@dallasnews.com or append a comment to this post. I include all ideas offered in good faith (as opposed to made out of nastiness, bitterness, malice or contempt). The definition: "A Texan (or Texans) who has had uncommon impact; who exemplifies Texa

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Todd Zwillich: The FishbowlDC Interview

Say hello to Capitol News Connection's Todd Zwillich. What word do you routinely misspell? Barack. I leave out the 'c'. What's the name of your cell phone ring? "Life on Mars" (Bowie version) What time did you get up this morning? 4:55 AM. Brutal. When did you last cry and why? Watching the 'Honor Roll' of fallen service members at the end of News Hour with Jim Lehrer. How many emails do you receive a day, roughly? Ugh. 300. What's your favorite letter? I'm partial to Z! (

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Texas Creationism: The Stakes Are High

WE’VE BEEN regularly reporting on the anti-evolution, anti-science, pro-creationism crisis in Texas. For example: Discovery Institute: In Full Spin Mode over Texas. But now the action is heating up. In this morning’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram we read: Science is up for debate in Austin. Excerpts, with bold added by us: The battle for science begins today in Austin. It might not end until 2010, when Gov. Rick Perry is either replaced or re-elected. Perry has said bluntly that he wants so-called

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Why Sarah Palin was wrong for America

My problem with Palin is a cultural one, and the GOP would be wise to take heed. Barack Obama did not win the presidency because he’s an extraordinary candidate, but because he ran against an extraordinarily weak opponent who had an even weaker running mate in Sarah Palin. John McCain’s selfish, reckless decision to put Palin one heartbeat away from the presidency marked the beginning of the end of his presidential ambitions, and proved once and for all that John McCain did not put country fir

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Willacy County, Texas

This is a little mavericky, innit? Cheney, Gonzales indicted for alleged prisoner abuse (CNN)—Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on separate charges related to alleged prisoner abuse in federal detention centers, Willacy County, Texas, District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra told CNN Tuesday. The indictment stems from Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group—an investment management company that reportedly has interests in the prison

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Cornyn To Head NRSC; UPDATE: Gets the "OK" From Ed Morrissey..that's gotta count for somethin'

Cornyn To Head NRSC; UPDATE: Gets the "OK" From Ed Morrissey..that's gotta count for somethin' I must say that I am happy with the leaders chosen thus far to lead the GOP out of the darkness and back into power. Today we have learned that Texas's own Senator John Cornyn has been chosen by his peers to head the National Republican Senatorial Committee.The dwindling ranks of GOP senators chose Texan John Cornyn this morning to lead their campaign effort for the next two years. "The right poli

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Matt Glazer

Matt Glazer Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 07:20 AM CST The Governor finally announced the date of the final election in 2008. Chris Bell is in a runoff in Senate District 17, which ranges from Jefferson County to Brazoria County and takes up large chunks of Jefferson, Harris, and Galveston. Gov. Rick Perry today announced a special runoff election to fill the vacancy in Senate District 17 to be held on Dec. 16, 2008. A special election to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Sen. Kyle Jan

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Chris Bell and Joan Huffman have a date

Gov. Rick Perry has set Dec. 16 for the date of the special run-off election between Chris Bell and Joan Huffman. The election is to fill the open seat created when Republican state Sen. Kyle Janek of Houston resigned. Bell, a former Democratic Congressman and rather forgettable candidate for governor, enters the run-off with a gaping [...]

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Texas gov. intercedes in failing IBM project

Texas Governor, Rick Perry, ordered state agencies to stop transferring data to IBM to prevent data loss on a failing project. Texas also fined IBM $900,000 for failing to meet data backup requirements specified in the state’s $863M outsourcing contract. This backup situation represents only tip of the iceberg with lots more failure to come. Be forewarned: as they say, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” The Dallas Morning News reported: [A] July server malfunction in the attorney general’s T

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SD 17 Runoff Set For December 16

Texas Governor Rick Perry yesterday set December 16 as the date of the Special Election Runoff in Senate District 17 where Chris Bell (D-Houston) will face Republican Joan Hoffman to determine who fills the seat left vacant by the resignation of Senator Kyle Janek. Since early voting will only run December 8-12, Perry has effectively shut out any Saturday voting from happening in this election. The results of this election will depend entirely upon who can fire up and turn out their support

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SD-17: Runoff Election Day, Early Vote Set

The Governor finally announced the date of the final election in 2008. Chris Bell is in a runoff in Senate District 17, which ranges from Jefferson County to Brazoria County and takes up large chunks of Jefferson, Harris, and Galveston. Gov. Rick Perry today announced a special runoff election to fill the vacancy in Senate District 17 to be held on Dec. 16, 2008. A special election to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Sen. Kyle Janek was held during the November 4 general electio

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Which colleges produce the most NFL talent? Part II

Yesterday I looked at what my algorithm thought were the ten top NCAA programs in terms of producing NFL talent. Today, we’ll look at some other teams of interest. Just missing the top 10 is my alma mater, a school which has had moderate success at various times, but isn’t thought of as a football power: Arizona St. QB Jake Plummer 76 RB John Henry Johnson 57 RB Gerald Riggs 54 RC Charley Taylor 82 RC Jerry Smith 71 RC John Jefferson 54 RC Larry Walton 42 T Marvel Smith 45 T Levi Jones 34 G Ra

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The Republican Road to Power

At the recent Republican Governors' Conference we saw the beginnings of a debate within the Republican Party as to the best course to take to get back into power. (See: New York Times: Among Republicans, a Debate Over the Party's Road Map Back to Power) As expected, this debate had everything to do with what works, and nothing to do with what is right. The question being asked is not, "What direction should the country go in?" but "What options on the political smorgasbord will get us a majorit

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Will The UAW Help Bail Out Detroit?

Just curious, because Big Labor is as responsible for the current state of GM, Ford, and Chrysler than any of the automakers’ admittedly questionable business decisions. Take a look at this chart, from University of Michigan Economics professor Mark Perry: That pay gap is a direct result of the UAW holding the industry hostage, particularly with the GM ‘Job Banks’ fiasco. What is that, you ask? Rather than allow GM to layoff workers when conditions warranted, the UAW had GM assign workers

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Interview With XM Radio’s Joe Thistel

Your pick for a player to watch from last year, Alex Ovechkin, was right on the money. While Ovechkin is currently struggling, who do you think will be the player to watch as this season unfolds? I have a head start this season, so it would be too easy to point at Semin and Malkin and predict they’ll surpass their more famous teammates. Instead I’ll turn my focus to the West and shine the light on Corey Perry in Anaheim.  Playing on that line, and with any kind of creative freedom, he’s cap

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