When Ben Leaton went into his fort after sunset and closed the thick mesquite gates, he knew he was not safe. No one was ever completely secure in the Big Bend region of southwest Texas. Water and food were scarce, the sun and snakes were often fatal, and any help Read more…
Software isn’t eating the world; it’s feeding it. In fact, since Netscape founder and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen wrote his iconic piece for the Wall Street Journal in 2011, data has accumulated to show that hardware businesses are resurgent, and software, rather than replacing humans, is enabling their greater productivity. Read more…
We were flying due north out of Omaha. The old DC-3 had shuddered with effort on takeoff and rose so slowly we thought the treetops would remain just beneath our wingtips for the entire trip. Level much later at around 20,000 feet the props spun with efficiency and the checker-boarded Read more…
Because Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have fallen in our name, I am republishing a story I wrote several years ago. This was first printed in American Legion magazine and was noticed by political leaders in Texas, who were unfamiliar with the little town’s history of 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…
I don’t know if Hillary Clinton has brain damage. I consider it unlikely and am not sure how a new pair of glasses indicates her gray matter is getting banged up from her previous problem. But I do know something about Karl Rove, who has just made that claim, and Read more…
Anyone who says, “All publicity is good publicity,” has, obviously, never had bad publicity. There’s also that other lame line about, “I don’t care what you say about me as long as you spell my name right.” In public relations, neither is an informed approach to dealing with an image. Read more…
We lived in a trailer on the ranch and the Rio Grande was less than a mile distant across the old Mines Road in Laredo. The river was so close that immigrants were often still wet when they came by our door on the way to the railroad tracks that Read more…
“It’s nearly ten years old but “What’s the Matter with Kansas,” by Thomas Frank remains the clearest argument I know for why huge numbers of middle class voters continue to embrace the Republican Party, even though its policies hurt them the most. Frank’s solidly researched book traces the change in Read more…
When the Internet of Things (IoT) was first being conceptualized in the 1990s, the idea was little more than a dreamy notion from technologists. The vision involved connecting every physical device to the web for purposes of real-time tracking, which would allow computers to gather data without human intervention. Everything Read more…
Guest post by Mary Pauline Lowry, whose new book “Wildfire” will be published in October. Her previous novel, “The Earthquake Machine,” was a Texas girl’s coming of age story that received wide critical praise. When I was in high school–to quote the television show Portlandia– “the dream of the 90s” Read more…
Rick Perry has a problem. And it may damage more than just his political career. A grand jury and a special prosecutor are investigating allegations that the governor of Texas may have bribed and threatened a key state official to force her out of office as part of an attempt Read more…
“There were other lonely singers in a world turned deaf and blind who were crucified for what they tried to show. And their voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time but the truth remains and someone wants to know.” – Kristofferson In the morning dark, he stood Read more…
“Remember when we listened to the radio and I said that’s the place to be? And how about the job as an FM jock the day you married me?” – Harry Chapin The town had two exits off of the Interstate and I thought it was the perfect location to Read more…
Nothing has changed, yet. The new poll on the Texas governor’s race and other statewide campaigns, which was released yesterday, shows the Republican Greg Abbott with a comfortable 51-37 lead over Democrat Wendy Davis. The numbers come from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) in North Carolina. Generally, this is what Read more…