06 11 2010 $ 3 BSERV 11 Bill White's Bottom Line The former Houston mayor hopes to bring his business acumen to the governor's mansion. Is that a good thing? BY DAVE MANN a4" ,5 1 U 0 0 0 06 ..... V1,111, 10 ,110 0. 1•11,11. 111111 4.1111 11 0 052115 4 89 39 7 IN THIS ISSU ON THE COVER AND LEFT Bill White, Democratic candidate for governor, in downtown Houston PHOTO BY MICHAEL STRAVATO 06BILL WHITE'S BOTTOM LINE by Dave Mann The former Houston mayor hopes to bring his business acumen to the governor's mansion. Is that a good thing? LIKE A BAD NEIGHBOR FOR THEIR EYES ONLY by Saul Elbein by Dave Mann In Texas, State Farm does what State Farm After five years and $254,000, the Texas OBSERVER 12 wants. Why can't the state rein in big Department of Public Safety prevails over 16Observer ONLINE insurers and high rates? the in court, keeping Capitol video secret. Watch a video REGULARS 18 FROM PORCH TO PAPER 24 BOOK REVIEW 27 TEX IN THE CITY interview with 01 DIALOGUE Bill Minutaglio goes Culture Divide As Seen on TV gubernatorial 02 POLITICAL In Search of the Blues by Todd Moye by Robert Leleux candidate Bill INTELLIGENCE by Steve Davis White and our 05 EDITORIAL 25 SATIRE 28 PURPLE STATE live reports from 05 BEN SARGENT'S 21 IMMUNE: Club Alamo Thank God for Texas the Texas GOP LOON STAR STATE NACOGDOCHES by Tyler Stoddard Smith by Bob Moser convention. 20 NI1NTOWER REPORT Blood Sport www.texasobserver.org by Joe Lansdale 26 POETRY 29 EYE ON TEXAS Sonnet by Sandy Carson 23 CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK by Alexander Maksik Freedom Trap by Josh Rosenblatt A JOURNAL OF FREE VOICES SINCE 1954 Falk* • fp 1-7.10 • I-7111 AP OBSERVER VOLUME 102, NO. 11 IALOGUE FOUNDING EDITOR Ronnie Dugger Slaves and Christians EDITOR Bob Moser MANAGING EDITOR Slavery was the excuse the federal government used to escalate the fundamental con- Chris Tomlinson ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Mann flict over states rights into the War of Northern Aggression—kind of like the WMDs in CULTURE EDITOR Michael May Iraq, except that slavery actually existed (State Board of Education coverage online, MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jen Reel INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER May 21-24). If slavery had been the real issue, then the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would Melissa del Bosque STAFF WRITERS Abby Rapoport, have been unnecessary. But the fact is that people in the Northern states treated the Forrest Wilder ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Julia Austin blacks as badly as, or even worse than, those in the Southern states (not to mention CIRCULATION/OFFICE MANAGER Candace Carpenter how they treated other people of different religious beliefs.) Charles Wright ART DIRECTION EmDash LLC AUSTIN WEBMASTER Shane Pearson COPY EDITOR Rusty Todd THE WAR OF NORTHERN AGGRESSION IS PURELY A PRO- WE ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION (OR A CHRISTIAN STATE, POETRY EDITOR paganda label. The reason the Civil Rights Act was for that matter). While many of our values are part Naomi Shihab Nye necessary is that Southerners and some Northern of the Christian tradition, they are also part of the INTERNS Laura Burke, Robert cohorts managed to sabotage the post-Civil War civil- Jewish, Muslim and other non-Christian traditions. Green, Ana McKenzie rights movement in Congress. Michael Cosper They are universal values for a civil society and need CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTIN not be tied to religious fundamentalism. Emily DePrang, Lou Dubose, Shedrick Pittman-Hassett James K. Galbraith, Steven G. Kellman, Joe R. Lansdale, YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER THAT THE LONG- DENTON Robert Leleux, James E. term economic conflict among industrialists in the McWilliams, Char Miller, Bill Northeast, farmers in the Midwest and planters in the PERHAPS EVERYONE SHOULD AGREE THIS IS A CHRISTIAN Minutaglio, Ruth Pennebaker, South was taught as the cause of the Civil War before nation in order to bolster the argument that univer- Josh Rosenblatt, Kevin Sieff, Brad Tyer, Andrew Wheat political correctness within the academic community sal health care is a moral imperative. Hey, Christian CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS discredited it in favor of a more simplistic sound bite. nation, to whom would Jesus deny health care? Jana Birchum, Alan Pogue, People voted—and fought—for their economic self- David Hawkins Steve Satterwhite interest, even back then. Ed Palmer NEWARK, NEW JERSEY CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS DALLAS Michael Krone, Alex Eben Meyer, Ben Sargent THE TEXANS' LETTER OF SECESSION EXPLAINS IN THEIR Troubles at TCEQ TEXAS DEMOCRACY own words why they seceded without any Northern I WANT TO EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION FOR THE "AGENCY FOUNDATION BOARD spin. Slavery is mentioned several times as well as of Destruction" article (May 28). The article identi- Lisa Blue Baron, Carlton Carl, Melissa Jones, Susan "the debasing doctrine of equality" fies many issues that were consistent with the Texas Longley, Jim Marston, Rich Vazquez Commission on Environmental Quality's support of Mary Nell Mathis, Gilberto ROUND ROCK a paper mill waste-water permit that is detrimental Ocarias, Jesse Oliver, Bernard to the recreational and economic value of the Sam Rapoport, Geoffrey Rips, Geronimo Rodriguez, Sharron THE DECLARATION OF SECESSION IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS Rayburn Reservoir. Even though the paper mill Rush, Kelly White, Ronnie we don't talk about much in middle-school Texas ceased operations for economic reasons in 2003, the Dugger (emeritus) history classes. Don Richardson waste-water permitting process was a travesty. In OUR MISSION LUFKIN addition to waste-water issues, multiple mill own- We will serve no group or ers deposited toxic materials for approximately 60 party but will hew hard to IF THE MUSLIM ON THE BOARD CANNOT HANDLE THE years in an on-site landfill that is directly over the the truth as we find it and historical truth that the United States is a Christian the right as we see it. We Carizzo-Wilcox aquifer. However, monitoring has are dedicated to the whole nation, then his ass needs to get off the board! never been implemented. Wafter West truth, to human values above Marie Day ZAVAL LA all interests, to the rights of HOUSTON humankind as the foundation of democracy. We will take A orders from none but our own THIS NATION IS A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, NOT A conscience, and never will we theocracy. School boards need to be comprised of overlook or misrepresent the educators, not religious fanatics. truth to serve the interests of Sound Off the powerful or cater to the Quentin Atkinson ignoble in the human spirit. ODESSA editors@texasobserver. org JUNE 11, 2010 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 11 POLO' CALINTELLIG Positive representation of Texas? A scene from Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused. PHOTO COURTESY DETOUR FILMPRODUCTION STANDARDS DEPT. The Wrong Texas? IN MAY 2009, AUSTIN FILMMAKER ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, The trailer drew return fire from conservative blog- creator of the blockbuster Spy Kids, hosted a celebra- gers and Alex Jones, the conspiranoid, Austin-based tory press conference at his Troublemaker Studios. radio talk show host. "We need to get the funding at the As state legislators and Gov. Rick Perry looked on, state level stripped out of the film commission if they Rodriguez cheered a new, $62 million incentive pro- do not stop this," Jones said during a recent show. gram for movies made in Texas using Texas-based Rodriguez did not return calls, but he told Ain't It crews. The grants reimburse from 5 percent to 15 per- Cool News, where the trailer debuted, that he wasn't cent of production money spent in the state. trying to provoke a "race war," as some critics had Now Rodriguez could lose an estimated $2 million suggested. "It's only because of what's happened in in incentives for his latest project because of a 2007 Arizona that some scenes actually feel at all grounded law that denies state funding if films include "inap- in reality," he said, "which is pretty nuts and says propriate content or content that portrays Texas or more about Arizona than any fictional movie." SEE Rodriguez's Cinco de Mayo L, trailer at txlo.com/machete Texans in a negative fashion." Bob Hudgins, director of the Texas Film The trouble started on Cinco de Mayo, when Commission, reviews initial scripts, then signs off on Rodriguez released a spoof theatrical trailer for his the movie's final cut before state funds are released. upcoming film, Machete. Rodriguez meant the gory, He says Rodriguez has assured him that the Machete over-the-top trailer to satirize anti-immigrant legis- trailer had nothing to do with the film set for release lation recently passed in Arizona. The trailer shows in September. "It's hard to prejudge whether it's the titular character aiming a .50-caliber assault rifle offensive to Texas because I haven't seen it yet," at a senator (played by Robert De Niro) leading an Hudgins said. "I probably won't see it until August." anti-immigrant rally in front of the Texas Capitol. In May 2009, a company filming a movie based on READ an interview with the 1993 Branch Davidian raid in Waco accused the Rodriguez about the Machete It ends with the words, "They just flicked with the trailer at tx1o,com/interview wrong Mexican." film commission of censorship after state aid was 2 THE TEXAS OBSERVER WWW.TEXASOBSERVER.ORG THE STATE ENCE OF TEXAS denied. Producers moved their $30 million project issue with EPA officials. "You should have seen their to another state. jaws drop," he said. "For a regulator who deals in air Hudgins said the decision wasn't censorship.