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NO PICNIC at SPEAKING ROCK 4 Slush of Lies from the Mainstream Media Washington Lobbyists Unhappy in Marriage, Married Immedi- GOP Corporatist Propaganda Machine

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NO PICNIC at SPEAKING ROCK 4 Slush of Lies from the Mainstream Media Washington Lobbyists Unhappy in Marriage, Married Immedi- GOP Corporatist Propaganda Machine , itiveltvok %%%10100 000,-0 4040,00.AWk Also: The TO Interviews Houston Mayor Bill White Lou Dubose on the Tigua shakedown 1 11 1 1 And "Wonderful People," by Kate Hill Cantrill 0 74470 89397 DECEMBER 17, 2004 Texas Observer POST, POST-ELECTION TURNING 50 FEATURES President Bush's heady re-election vic- Happy 50th! Your service is invaluable tory after a dismal first-term is like that and greatly appreciated out here in the classic: A gentleman who had been very NO PICNIC AT SPEAKING ROCK 4 slush of lies from the mainstream media Washington lobbyists unhappy in marriage, married immedi- GOP corporatist propaganda machine. shakedown Indian casinos ately after his wife died—it was a "tri- Keep on keepin' on. by Lou Dubose umph of hope over experience." Happy holidays and thank you. Ted Corin Robert von Tobel THE WHITE STUFF 10 Austin Bellevue, WA The Observer talks with Houston Mayor Bill White After reading your interview with James As a TomPaine.com devotee, I read their by Jake Bernstein Aldrete ("The Road Back to Power," excerpts from your "observations." So, November 19), I now know how I am today I send you best wishes for contin- DEPARTMENTS viewed. I am a Republican ("That means ued output and a HAPPY 50th BIRTH- taking on the bastards but doing it in a DAY!! DIALOGUE 2 language of faith.") So in your view I am Kathleen McKenna a bastard. Don't forget to call me igno- EDITORIAL 3 Via e-mail Grinchy Nation rant, homophobic, and racist. Then there was, "We also need a true Happy birthday and thanks for Molly DATELINE LUBBOCK 8 realization of how low the Republicans Ivins, Jim Hightower, and Ronnie Dugger. Oh, Bury Me Not can go." I guess, "Your party's insistence Michael Cassaro by Emily Pyle that young people will be drafted, that Via e-mail blacks are being systematically denied POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE 12 the right to vote, and that your disabled Congratulations, Texas Observer, on 50 MOLLY IVINS 14 relatives won't be able to walk again years of dissecting life in Texas. As Torture, American Style if Bush is reelected constitute the sort native Oklahomans, we love seeing Tex- JIM HIGHTOWER 15 of sunny, upbeat, inclusive politics of ans getting deflated occasionally. How- Bankruptcy Scams hope." (Jonah Greenberg) is not far ever, this note is for Molly Ivins, whom enough in the gutter for you. And don't we have enjoyed over many, many years. ANDREW WHEAT 16 forget to remind the old people that You're just as salty as ever. Thank you for Texas' First Postmodern Lobbyist their Social Security checks will be cut your humor and storytelling ability. We 45 percent. respect the power of the word. Keep on BOOKS & THE CULTURE Enjoy your years in the wilderness. keeping on, Molly. Harry Oburn Violet and Ronald Cauthon Via e-mail POETRY 21 Las Cruces, NM (by way of Tulsa, OK) by K.N. Wheatley ON THE ROAD WITH CHE AND AL 22 by Barbara Belejack AWARDS ART - Y - FACTS 24 by David Theis The Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors recently honored Jake Bernstein and Dave Mann's coverage of Republican efforts to funnel AFTERWORD 29 corporate money into the 2002 campaign with an Excellence in State Wonderful People by Kate Hill Cantrill Government Reporting award. The stories ["Rise of the Machine," August 29, 2003; "Scandal in the Speaker's Office," February 27, 2004; and "Rate THE BACKPAGE 32 of Exchange," March 12, 2004] won first place in the magazine in-depth Cry Fowl reporting category. The contest judges wrote, "A captivating report on the inter workings of state government....Shed great insight on what Cover Illustration by Doug Potter has been covered briefly by national media." The entire series, as well as other reporting on the corporate money scandal, is available at www. texasobserver.org 2 THE TEXAS OBSERVER •12/17/04 EDITORIAL Grinchy Nation his is the last Observer issue May have been that his heart was Texas Observer of 2004. Our 50th anniver- two sizes too small. VOLUME 96, NO. 24 ril A Journal of Free Voices sary year. An election year Since 1954 of great consequence for Observer associate editor Dave Founding Editor Ronnie Dugger 2004 the state and the nation. Mann's favorite quote from Executive Editor Jake Bernstein came from U.S. House Majority Lead- A year when once again Editor Barbara Belejack Texas politicians sent America's youth er Tom DeLay as told to the Houston Associate Editor Dave Mann to die for ideological idiocy. When Chronicle. The majority leader spent Managing Publisher Charlotte McCann economic policy amounts to squander most of 2004 ducking questions from now and let future generations pay the reporters about a Travis County grand Associate Publisher Jim Ball cost later. And rapacious corporations jury investigation and his role in an Circulation Manager Lara George vacuum up our natural resources as apparent conspiracy to funnel illegal Art Direction Buds Design Kitchen if there literally is no tomorrow. It's corporate money into state elections. Poetry Editor Naomi Shihab Nye a time when the values that make That was, until a rare election chal- Copy Editors Roxanne Bogucka, Laurie Baker this country great—freedom, civil lenge forced the Sugar Land Republi- Webmaster Adrian Quesada rights, economic justice, community; can back to his district and to renewed Interns Kris Bronstad, Megan Giller, Dan Mottola, Aaron Nelsen the rule of law—are under threat as scrutiny. Contributing Writers Nate Blakeslee, Gabriela Bocagrande, never before. And the loudest religious Questioned about the ongoing Robert Bryce, Michael Erard, James K. Galbraith, Dagoberto discourse—the alleged repository of probe, DeLay responded: "All of this Gab, Steven G. Kellman, Lucius Lomax, James McWilliams, moral values—preaches greed and stuff is frivolous and it has been prov- Char Miller, Debbie Nathan, Karen Olsson, John Ross intolerance. en to be frivolous." He then added, "If Staff Photographers Alan Pogue, Jana Birchum. But it's also a time when many there is anything else ongoing, it will Contributing Artists Sam Hurt, Kevin Kreneck, Michael Krone, also be found to be frivolous." Gary Oliver, Doug Potter, Penny Van Horn in opposition to the status quo are Editorial Advisory Board David Anderson, Chandler Davidson, awakening to the fact that they can- It's the kind of statement that could Dave Denison, Sissy Farenthold, John Kenneth Galbraith, not afford the luxury of single-issue make you think that his head wasn't Lawrence Goodwyn, Jim Hightower, advocacy. They do have a broad shared screwed on quite right. Sadly, it was Kaye Northcott, Susan Reid. vision for this country and the will to just further evidence of the contempt In Memoriam Bob Eckhardt, 1913-2001, Cliff Olofson, 1931-1995 that small-hearted politicians like Texas Democracy Foundation Board Lou Dubose, Ronnie Dugger, articulate it. Last August, half a million Marc Grossberg, Molly Ivins, D'Ann Johnson, Jim Marston, people marched through the streets of DeLay have for the "reality based com- Gilberto Ocailas, Bernard Rapoport, Geoffrey Rips. New York City to say 'no. Vast virtual munity" and by extension all of the The Texas Observer (ISSN 0040-4519/ USPS 541300), entire con- communities grew up overnight bent public. We will tell you what to think tents copyrighted ©2004, is published biweekly except every on reclaiming American democracy. and when to think it seems to be the three weeks during January and August (24 issues per year) by the Texas Democracy Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit foun- In short, it was a year we hope that reigning attitude. Just ignore those dation, 307 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. Observer readers of the future will look bloody corpses, toxic fishes, spiraling Telephone (512) 477-0746. back on as a dark period but also as deficits, the plummeting dollar, insur- E-mail [email protected] the beginning of a turning point for ance ripoffs, predatory drug compa- World Wide Web DownHome page progressives mobilization. nies, uninsured children, creeping www.texasobserver.org. In trying to understand the histori- creationism, government surveillance, Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, Texas. cal moment, and in particular, the rad- serial lying, and on and on and on. Subscriptions One year $32, two years $59, three years $84. The 50th anniversary of this maga- Pull-time students $18 per year; add $13/year for foreign subs. ical Republicanism presently infecting Back issues S3 prepaid. Airmail, foreign, group, and bulk rates on request. our state and country, we turned to zine provided an opportunity for the Microfilm available from University Microfilms IntL, that noted political philosopher, Dr. Observer community to look back at 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Seuss: the publication's output over the years. Indexes The Texas Observer is indexed in Access The Supplementary Index After doing so, there is one inescapable to Periodicals; Texas Index and, for the years 1954 through 1981, The Texas Observer Index. It could be that his head wasn't conclusion. Not only does reality mat- POSTMASTER Send address changes to: screwed on quite right. ter, sometimes when properly brought The Texas Observer, 307 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes to light, it can change lives for the bet- The Books d- the Culture section is partially funded through grants from were too tight. ter. And maybe, just maybe, the flinty the City of Austin under the auspices of the Austin Arts Commission and the Writer's League of Texas, both in cooperation with the Texas But I think that the most likely hearts of those here in grinchy nation Commission on the Arts.
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