I had been hearing about this young handsome attorney in the Texas Attorney General's office for a while. He as been solicitor general for over five years. Last night I finally had the pleasure of listening to and meeting Ted Cruz, who is now running for Attorney General of Texas. I'm writing a profile on Mr. Cruz for Texas Magazine. I'll let you know when that issue will be coming out.

On Tuesday a bill that will allow college students and employees to carry their concealed handguns on campus passed with preliminary approval in the Texas Senate.

From Houston Biz Journal:

To counteract the threat of a growing swine flu epidemic, Gov. Rick Perry on Monday requested 850,000 courses of antiviral medication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I was watching a show on TV yesterday called "dating nightmares," that was bascially about women who had dated men and then broken up with them. After the relationship ends, the old boyfriend becomes a stalker. It was quite frightening watching these true stories.

Looking through the recently-released Hill Research Consultants’ statewide survey of 636 Texas voters, “Beyond Bush: Texas Republicans in an Obama Era   can make a good Republican pretty depressed.

This was a statewide survey of registered voters. With Democrats making steady gains elsewhere, will it happen in Texas as well? It has and it will.

...but I had no idea how awesome.

The Texas Insider explains why even during this economic slowdown, Texas continues strong growth and employment. Did you know these interesting tidbits?

*If Texas were a nation (and let's face it, it should be) it would be 12th largest economy in the world.

We are all familiar with the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950's. Wikipedia defines it like this:

Hey, it could happen:

via The Travis Monitor

In part:

Please note that Texas is the only state with a legal right to secede from the Union . (Reference the Texas-American Annexation Treaty of 1848.)

So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic?

Sen John Cornyn isn't happy with the way things are going with the bailout:

Texas has gone Republican for President for three decades. This time wasn't any different. John McCain won the state. 

The Texans that voted for Obama were the same demographics as in other states, African Americans, liberal voters, under 30 voters and those making $50,000 or less.

Crime hit close to home in the Hill Country this morning - very close to home. We were shocked to come in to the office and find the bank across the street surrounded by crime tape and police cars.

When the first news van showed up, for FOX-KABB news in San Antonio, we shouted across the street and found out the bank had been robbed! Account Executive Stefani Glick (thats me!) was interviewed by the news channel for a reaction.

Please send all charitable events to: calendar@mytexasmag.com

April 18 - 19 2009 Cyclists Bike to Create a World Free of MS                                                     Thousands of Cyclists Gear Up for 25th Anniversary BP MS 150 Bike Ride from Houston to Austin to Support National MS Society, Lone Star Chapter.

Sen. John Cornyn is determined that our brave men and women serving overseas have their vote counted:

"Nearly 1,000,000 military and overseas absentee ballots were requested for the 2006 election, but only one-third of them were actually counted. That means that more than 660,000 interested military voters were ultimately not able to have their voices heard. This is unacceptable."

Sausage! Burgers! Tortas!  (Read more about Walsh's drool-worthy food picks in our current print issue.)

Michael Williams is the Railroad Commissioner of Texas. You might not have heard a lot about him, but you are about to hear a lot more. He will be introducing Sen. John McCain Thursday night at the Republican National Convention. He is an impressive guy and you will be able to read all about him in the next print issue of Texas Magazine coming out in November. Here is a glimpse at the article: 

Well, it only seems right that a district in Texas be the first:

A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to pass a law specifically allowing teachers and staff to pack heat when classes begin later this month.

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For the third straight year in a row, Texas public and private school graduates increased their ACT composite score, setting a new state record with an all-time high average of 20.7, even while the national average score dropped.