The TYC board has resigned. This has put Dewhurst in an odd position since Perry is currently in the Middle East and he is acting governor. After the Senate passed their measure to fire the current board and bring in a new one, Dewhurst was asked if he would sign that bill once it passed the House and / or place TYC in a conservatorship. Dewhurst didn't really answer, but the position makes for some wicked liability.

John Cornyn voted against a bill that protects you, and me, and all of our friends and family yesterday when he voted against a bill which implements many of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. For all their bluster and bloviating, Senate Republicans have selective memories when it comes to terrorism and the need to secure our country against foreign aggression, and I'm not sure how any legislator could answer for making votes like this.

In this week's episode of Who's Blue, I speak with David Farabee, State Representative from District 69 in Wichita Falls. We discuss his family’s political legacy, his work on children’s mental health issues, and why he had to run as a write in candidate in his first race. You can listen to it here.

During the 2006 race for Governor, Chris Bell said that if he were given the opportunity, he would fire Accenture. Accenture was the company chiefly responsible for administering many of Texas' social services. As an example, they had a huge contract to administer CHIP, and I've heard stories which include forms with incorrect fax numbers or applications going unprocessed for weeks or months. The news that Texas is ending Accenture's contract is good news to you if you would rather not have social services provided by government continue down the path to privatization.

According to the most recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Republican voters are dissatisfied with their current field of 08 presidential candidates; view their party as divided; and are troubled their party has drifted from Ronald Reagan’s principles.

Over the years, police officers have been given a wide variety of non-lethal weapons to use in their regular duties. The baton, pepper spray, canine units, and good old-fashioned tackling are all examples of acceptable police practices. With all good practices come abuses. We have all heard stories about strangulation deaths due to night sticks, pepper spray incidents for seemingly no legitimate police purposes, etc.

Halliburton is on its way to Dubai, and so is Rick Perry. The Chron's Clay Robison wins the "Headline of the Day" award with this gem: "Perry Prepares to Gig 'Em in the Middle East." If I were having the month Perry's been having, I would be going out of town, too.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez must resign.

If you aren't on the Lone Star Project's email list, you may have missed this bit they did on Tom DeLay's new book, titled "No Retreat, No Surrender." Matt Angle, while reminding us what a horrible specimen DeLay is, produced what might be the most humorous photoshop featuring Tom DeLay and action star Jean-Claude Van Damme that you'll ever see, after the jump.

This week's feature is part one of a two-part examination of higher education in Texas, by Dr. Kimi King. This week's installment looks at how Texas ranks compared to other states on primary and secondary education programs as well as the economic benefits of kindergarten.