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The Atlantic's Andrew Cohen sat down with former Texas Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson to discuss the consequences of partisan judicial elections. dogged voice on behalf of Texas's poorest and least powerful litigantsconsistent critic of the dubious wayunabashedly partisan Chief Justice Jefferson, having left his seat for private practice, had critical words for partisan politics: That makes no sense. These votes are not based upon the merits of the judge but on partisan affiliation and if

On Saturday, approximately 1,500 gun rights activists gathered at one of Texas' most sacred historical sites, the Alamo, in San Antonio to protest a city ordinance that bans open carry of firearms. According to the local news site, San Antonio Express-News, about a third of the protesters carried rifles, shotguns, and antique pistols as an open display of civil disobedience. From San Antonio Express-News: Charged up and chanting, “Live free or die!” protesters at the Come and Take it San Anton

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin joined U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) for a little bit of face time in front of the World War II Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. The three popular figures in the tea party made it clear that the Obama administration is using veterans as pawns in a larger political game. "Our veterans should be above politics," Cruz said. "It is shameful that the administration is barricading and trying to shutdown the memorials." He added: "Weeks ago,

The 2016 presidential election may be three years away, but Iowa is already abuzz with potential Republican candidates. As soon as the dust settled from Mitt Romney’s failed bid to unseat President Barack Obama, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin all began making regular pilgrimages to the Hawkeye state. Iowa, the first battleground state of the presidential primary, will hold their

(Credit: digitaltrends.com) Unsealed court documents reveal that this summer, a secure, encrypted e-mail service provider was ordered to relinquish all encryption keys that would have resulted in the "defeat  its system." Owner Ladar Levison of the Texas-based Lavabit shut down his company in August and was presumed to have been subjected to a gag order. At the time, Levison made the announcement to shut down by saying he did not wish to "become complicit in crimes against the American people.

Government Closed // Credit: Whitehouse.gov While federal officials wallow in denial and finger-pointing, precipitating a government shutdown; while they fight a fight simply for the sake of obstructing one another’s bills; while they continue to ignore the needs of their constituents by cherry-picking absurd causes in an absurd attempt to improve the thoroughly rotten facade they've built, there will be millions of people impacted by their behavior. What the partisans of Capitol Hill view as

Credit: Prospect.org The United States military could quite possibly be the last nonpartisan government-controlled entity the country has. The reason for this, according to top brass, is that politics simply doesn't play a role in the military. In fact, military members are strongly discouraged from participating in partisan political activities. The military examines its force in a variety of ways, but when it comes to politics the DoD steers clear of questioning troops about their individual

Tatiana Grozetskaya // Shutterstock A study from the University of Texas-Austin, one of the most comprehensive on methane leakage from shale gas emissions to date, found that 99 percent of the greenhouse gas escaping from wells being prepared for production could be captured by state of the art equipment. The study’s findings were celebrated by environmentalists, but immediately criticized by two Cornell University scientists, Robert Howarth and Anthony Ingraffea, whose 2011 study found fracki

Shutterstock // Credit: Chris DeRidder The fundamental exercise of government, passing a national budget, hangs in the balance as lawmakers in Washington score political points ahead of a potential government shutdown. The next fiscal year begins October 1, and without a budget agreement, federally-funded services and employees will be in jeopardy. A 230-189 vote on H.J.Res. 59 fell on partisan lines Friday, apart from two House Democrats who voted for the resolution and one Republican who vot

University of Texas Tower // Credit: Larry D Moore 1980 Wikidpedia Nor is there magic in 950; the approximate number of victims of mass shootings in the US since 1982 alone and over 200 mass killings since 2006 The statistics are telling and horrifying. The first of the now hundreds of mass shootings I can remember in all its horrific details is the 1966 University of Texas massacre perpetrated by Charles Whitman who gunned down 49 people, killing 17. Years later, the Florida school teacher w