by James C. Moore Since we are entering into the season of giving, one of the more predictable annual traditions is for the overpaid CEO of the Texas Tribune to come around with his hand out. Of course, Evan Smith doesn’t ask of us for himself; it’s for our benefit Read more…
by James C. Moore I have lately tried to stay away from writing about politics. Oddly, I’ve had some success with avoiding drafting analyses and tedious thumb-sucker pieces. Social media has, admittedly, sucked me into inane and useless exchanges but I have generally not wanted to participate in the vitriol Read more…
“Sometimes I get this crazy dream that I just take off in my car. But you can travel on 10,000 miles and still stay where you are.” — Harry Chapin, WOLD The radio station was an unremarkable brick building encircled by palm and fruit trees. My intention was to use Read more…
I don’t like Ted Cruz. And there are a lot of Texans who share my sentiment. But I’ve been writing and reporting on politics here since 1975, and I can assure anyone who asks that I’ve never encountered a public figure I’ve found more reprehensible than our junior senator. Harsh Read more…
The timing was a thing of pure political beauty. President George W. Bush was only a few days away from speaking to the United Nations’ General Assembly about Iraq’s renewed efforts to acquire banned weaponry. And, in a month, the president was going to Congress to seek a resolution approving Read more…
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” – Martin Luther King When Bill Mason and his family arrived in Alice, Texas in July of 1948, he was looking for a location Read more…
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain Our delegation was supposed to be about culture and history but nobody ever went to Cuba without a political intent. The organization was a Latino group from America and they had already made many public statements about normalization of Read more…
We are not done with Rick Perry. While partisans hope there is a chance he will be held accountable for either blackmailing or bribing the district attorney in Austin and go to jail, there is just as much of a chance the Texas governor might end up in the White Read more…
Texas ain’t a battleground. It’s more like a slaughterhouse, especially if you are a Democrat. And the candidacy of Wendy Davis made matters worse. Democrats have a ten-year uphill climb to get back to being a viable party in Texas. Davis was never going to win. Celebrity is insufficient. But Read more…
During the past few months, the people of Texas and the rest of the country have been hearing about the Rio Grande Valley. Unfortunately, the type of publicity we received was unwanted. A surge of child refugees from Central America created a humanitarian crisis that again stirred the debate about Read more…
During the two months I was decamped from Austin to Mount Carmel watching the federal government and a religious clown destroy several sets of belief systems and dozens of lives, a British tabloid reporter had asked me, “What is it about you Texans?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “There’s Read more…
If the court of public opinion has an impact on a jury’s decisions, Texas Governor Rick Perry may have a chance of beating his indictments. While poorly informed Democrats like Obama advisor David Axelrod call the indictments “sketchy,” Perry’s advisors have him concentrating on defending his constitutional authority to exercise Read more…
The SpaceX decision to build a launch facility on Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville will, eventually, be considered an historical moment that began the transformation of the Rio Grande Valley, and there is little doubt the economic and cultural impact will be significant for the region. However, SpaceX is only Read more…
The frontier between Texas and Mexico has defied a cultural and economic simplicity since long before General John “Black Jack” Pershing wasted almost two years fruitlessly chasing Pancho Villa through the high deserts of Mexico and the American Southwest. Very little is what it appears to be in such a Read more…
Editor’s note: James C. Moore is a business consultant and partner at Big Bend Strategies, a business messaging firm. He is co-author of “Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential” and a TV political analyst. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Read more…