September 2015 - The Texas Observer

Most Recent in Politics:

1Texas Republican Called ICE on SB 4 Protesters, Threatened to Shoot Colleague

23 A.M. ‘Sanctuary’ Protest at Governor Abbott’s Mansion Blares Mariachi Music

3Special Session Edition: Dan Patrick Locks the Legislature in a Bathroom Stall

4Photos: They Fought the Lege (and the Lege Won)

5Texans Could Soon Be Jailed for Flying Drones over Oil Facilities, Animal Factory Farms

6Texas Bill Could Send People to Jail for Driving a Woman to an Abortion, Lawmaker Says

Most Recent in Environment:

1Texans Could Soon Be Jailed for Flying Drones over Oil Facilities, Animal Factory Farms

2Endangered Science

3After Eight-Year Battle Over Reforming the Railroad Commission, Oil and Gas Industry Wins

4Bill Aims to Protect Communities of Color from Polluting Concrete Facilities

5For Texas Pronghorn, an Unusual 500-Mile Journey

6Lawmaker Hopes Bill Will Encourage Legislature to End Shady Accounting Practice

Most Recent in Border:

1Texas Republican Called ICE on SB 4 Protesters, Threatened to Shoot Colleague

23 A.M. ‘Sanctuary’ Protest at Governor Abbott’s Mansion Blares Mariachi Music

3Death of ‘Baby Jails’ Bill a Win for Immigrant Families

4Activists: Greg Abbott’s SB 4 Pitch to Univision Viewers is ‘Nothing But Lies’

5On Mother’s Day, Hundreds Protest Senate Bill 4 at Governor’s Mansion

6Texas Lege on Farmworker Housing Crisis: Better Luck Next Time

Most Recent in Criminal Justice:

1Texas Republican Called ICE on SB 4 Protesters, Threatened to Shoot Colleague

23 A.M. ‘Sanctuary’ Protest at Governor Abbott’s Mansion Blares Mariachi Music

3Texans Could Soon Be Jailed for Flying Drones over Oil Facilities, Animal Factory Farms

4Texas Bill Could Send People to Jail for Driving a Woman to an Abortion, Lawmaker Says

5Two Blatant Lies from Governor Greg Abbott’s ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Op-Ed

6Traffic Ticketing Program That Feeds Debtors’ Prison Pipeline May Be in its Final Year

Most Recent in Education:

1After Freedom Caucus Kills Her Legislation, Lawmaker Announces Anti-‘Lunch Shaming’ Campaign

2Texas’ ‘Lunch Shaming’ Problem and the Fight to Fix It

3CPS Caseworker: Lawmakers Are ‘Shifting the Blame’ by Privatizing Child Welfare System

4‘Academic Freedom’ Bill Provides Cover to Teach Creationism, Climate Denial in Classrooms

5‘Another Book, Another Month, Another Day Closer to You’

6Dan Patrick Offers Vouchers as Solution to Special Ed Failures that He Helped Create

Most Recent in Health Care:

1Texas Bill Could Send People to Jail for Driving a Woman to an Abortion, Lawmaker Says

2Abandoning ‘Women’s Health’ Claims, Texas House Approves Wide-Ranging Anti-Abortion Bill

3CPS Caseworker: Lawmakers Are ‘Shifting the Blame’ by Privatizing Child Welfare System

4Texas Is Seeking Trump’s Approval of its Planned Parenthood Ban. Will Other States Follow?

5We Were the Safety Net

6Sandra Bland Act Passes Senate Unanimously After Key Provisions Dropped

Most Recent in The Interview:

1The Interview: Joaquin Castro Says Texas Democrats are Poised for a Comeback

2The Interview: Beto O’Rourke on Trump, the Border and How to Revive the Democratic Party

3The Interview: Tom ‘Smitty’ Smith

4The Interview: Lupe Valdez

5The Interview: Paul Quinn College’s Michael Sorrell

6The Interview: Judge John Dietz on Texas’ School Finance Crisis

Most Recent in Books:

1We Were the Safety Net

2‘Cornyation’ Celebrates San Antonio’s Most Fabulous Fiesta Tradition

3Valeria Luiselli’s ‘Tell Me How It Ends’ Is the First Must-Read Book of the Trump Era

4In the Age of Trump, the First All-Latino Sci-Fi Anthology Hits too Close to Home

5In ‘Blue Texas,’ a Historical Blueprint for Texas Activists

6Austin Writer Ed Ward Celebrates the Black Musicians Who Made Rock

Most Recent in Postcards:

5Feathering Their Nest

6The Business of Burying Horses

Most Recent in Essay:

1Going It Alone

2The Observer’s Founding Editor: ‘Bring the Fight Back’ to Texas Politics

3A Texan’s Political Guide to Resisting Trump

4The Resistance Against Donald Trump Begins in Texas

5What a 1940 Novel Can Teach Us About Fighting Trump

6A Single Mom’s Search for ‘School Choice’ in Texas

Most Recent in Eye on Texas:

1Eye on Texas: Runners Take on 170-Mile Race in Big Bend

2Eye on Texas: Liberty Hill Hosts Texas Firearms Festival

3Eye on Texas: TX Open Swim

4Eye on Texas: Blessing of the Hands in San Antonio

5Eye on Texas: Austin’s Chapels

6Eye on Texas: Portico Tejas

Most Recent in Poetry:

2Poem: ‘Resistance’

3Poem: ‘Screenplay for a Homemade Movie’

4Poem: ‘To Be One with the All’

5Poem: ‘Whitewashing’

6Poem: ‘Rice and Beans’

The Magazine: September 2015

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March 2015, Texas Observer cover

COVER STORY

That Sinking Feeling

by Christopher Hooks

Mon, Aug 31, 2015 |

Ken Paxton’s rapid ascent from state representative to state senator and then to the attorney general’s office in the span of just three years has been an object lesson in the dysfunctions of contemporary Texas politics.Read More

In this Issue

Political Intelligence

McAllen Catholic Church Continues to Open Its Doors to Central American Migrants

by Melissa del Bosque

Progreso ISD Fights State Over Students’ Residency

by Patrick Michels

Dallas Ranks No. 3 in Nation for Rate of Fatal Police Shootings

News

King’s Gambit

by Patrick Michels

That Sinking Feeling

by Christopher Hooks

CULTURE

‘Deep Web’ Probes Mastermind Behind Online Black Market

by Josh Rosenblatt

Insurgent Medicine

by Daniel Blue Tyx

Columns

State of the Media: Joining the GOP Circus

by Andrea Grimes

The Borderlands, So Far from Austin

by Forrest Wilder

Greater State: Rick Perry Emerges as GOP’s Voice of Reason

by Jason Stanford

State of Texas

State of Texas: Behind Bars with a Mental Illness

by Alexa Garcia-Ditta and Teresa Mioli

Loon Star State

Loon Star State: Ken Paxton Wants a Piece of the Action

Eye on Texas

Eye on Texas: Bastrop Wildfires

by Spencer Selvidge