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The Texas Blue
Advancing Progressive Ideas

The Texas Blue: News

On The Record: Matt Glazer

For this installment of On The Record, I spoke with Matt Glazer, editor of the Burnt Orange Report and Communications Director and Legislative Aide to State Representative Pete Gallego.

Time Warner Attempts to Steal Free Speech Through Your Mailbox

Time Warner, the largest magazine publisher and news media owner in the nation, has cooked up an idea that will cost many of us even more of our rights to freedom of speech. Few have heard of this effort, because it hasn't been publicized except on listener-sponsored and/or free media.

How Many Rocks For A B.A.?

It's a week old, but I haven't seen anyone write on it around these parts (author's revision: Josh wrote about it in his Morning Roundup last Wednesday), so here it is: One of our state legislators publicly stated last week that increasing tuition rates is "like crack" for Texas universities.

Friday Roundup: A Crisis In Trust

The Texas House will soon vote on a measure to take control of the TDEx database away from Governor Perry. Representative Swinford, author of the proposal which includes that measure as well other Homeland Security concerns, said it came about because of a "crisis in trust." Indeed. It seems like Republicans can trust their own leadership for support even less than they trust the opposition these days — the guys on top of the GOP keep making life hard.

Bill Tracker: SB 127 – Communities in Schools

About five years ago, my office was located in the same building as the local chapter of Communities in Schools (CIS). The staff at CIS would have lunch with us and recruit us for various events. I took several field trips and made some school visits, and I found that kids today are as bright, sassy, and nervous as when I went to school. These kids, however, needed a little bit more help to keep them on the road to graduation due to other distractions going on in their lives.

Trippi And Edwards, Together Again For The First Time

Joe Trippi has joined the John Edwards campaign. Rejoice, activists in search of a people-powered candidate: the Man Who Forged The Netroots With His Bare Hands has chosen a candidate. His insight can only be a boon to Edwards.

On The Record: Deborah Angell Smith

For this episode of On The Record, I spoke with Deborah Angell Smith, chair of the Democratic Party of Collin County.

Thursday Roundup: Gonzales on the Spot

Alberto Gonzales testifies before the Senate today, and this Washington Post story indicates that if it weren't for his eons of loyal service to Bush, he would already be gone. Instead, because he is so totally a hardcore Bushie, as it were, he has been given a chance to fix everything by way of his testimony today. Since Gonzales is a pro, I doubt anything incredibly interesting will shake out of his appearance, but you never know.

Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Procedure Ban

The news is out that the Supreme Court upheld a controversial ban on what the right-wing politicos like to call "partial-birth" abortion today, in a 5-4 decision. Justice Kennedy wrote the majority decision, and the dissenting opinion was written by Justice Ginsburg. The major Democratic candidates for President have issued statements concerning the ruling, and they can be found after the jump.

Wednesday Roundup: Your Blackberry Doesn't Work

Imagine the horror. It is like something out of a Stephen King novel: politicos and press members all discover at the end of a news-heavy Tuesday that their Blackberries don't work. The truth is even worse — they still don't, and the Blackberry customer service line simply informs you that they are having some problems.