We’ve known, from the drips and dabs that slipped out, that the UT admissions scandal was worse than the Kroll report actually let on. But we didn’t know it was ten times worse: At least 764 applicants initially denied admission to the University of Texas were admitted thanks to a backdoor program for the wealthy… Continue reading UT Admissions Scandal 10X Worse Than Previously Admitted
Tag: Dan Branch
Patrick, Paxton, Sitton Win, Miller Leading
According to the latest results. Both Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton were hovering around 64-65% of the vote, which is pretty decisive. Ryan Sitton is currently winning with 58% to Wayne Christian’s 42% for Railroad Commissioner. That’s a mild surprise to me, but down ballot races are harder to predict, and I did notice a… Continue reading Patrick, Paxton, Sitton Win, Miller Leading
Final Statewide Race Runoff Update
Tomorrow is the Texas primary runoff, so now would be a good time to find your voting card and confirm your polling place. A final roundup of runoff tidbits: The Dallas Morning News says that Dan Patrick is poised to win due to his staunch opposition to illegal immigration. Oversimplified, but not entirely wrong. They… Continue reading Final Statewide Race Runoff Update
Cronyism Lowering the Bar at UT Law
For an example of how the cronyism scandal Wallace Hall uncovered is harming the University of Texas, take a look at UT’s law school. According to Erik Telford: “Only 59 percent of its graduates passed the most recent Texas Bar Examination, placing UT dead last among Texas’ nine law schools despite it being by far… Continue reading Cronyism Lowering the Bar at UT Law
Texas House Transparency Committee Votes in Secret to Impeach Wallace Hall
The Texas House Transparency Committee voted to impeach University of Texas regent Wallace Hall. Hall’s case will go to the full Texas House of Representatives. If a majority of the members of the House approve of the case’s merits, it will go to the Senate, where members will convene as a court to make a… Continue reading Texas House Transparency Committee Votes in Secret to Impeach Wallace Hall
Texas Statewide Race Updates for April 4, 2014
My taxes and family health issues have curtailed blogging somewhat, so here are some statewide race updates, some of which stretch back to just after the primary: The Weekly Standard covers the Abbott campaign. One Abbott supporter in Edinburg, former state representative Aaron Peña, is a Democrat-turned-Republican with strong ties to the valley. He says… Continue reading Texas Statewide Race Updates for April 4, 2014
A Quick Overview of Primary Results
A very brief look at last night’s primary results: John Cornyn won, but couldn’t break 60% against a field of underfunded challengers. The Democratic Senate runoff is going to be between the big-spender David Alameel and the LaRouche candidate Kesha Rogers. As expected, both Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis won their gubernatorial primaries. But Abbott… Continue reading A Quick Overview of Primary Results
Texas Attorney General’s Race: State of Play and Updates
In comparison to the Lt. Governor’s race, the Attorney General’s race is relatively straightforward: There’s a conservative favorite (State Senator Ken Paxton), the well-funded big business republican (State Senator Dan Branch), and a longshot (Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman). A recent poll shows Branch at 42%, Paxton at 38%, and Smitherman a distant third at 20%.… Continue reading Texas Attorney General’s Race: State of Play and Updates
Statewide Race Update for December 31, 2013
I thought I would do a better job of keeping tabs on Texas statewide races, but there are just too many for me to do a good job tracking all of them. Going into next year, I’ll try to do a decent job of keeping track of the Governor’s Race (Spoiler: Greg Abbot wallops Wendy… Continue reading Statewide Race Update for December 31, 2013
Texas Statewide Race Update for October 16, 2013
Slowly but surely I’m digging out from my post-Worldcon backlog, so I hope to do more on various statewide races soon-ish (for certain values of “soon-ish” that work out to “before the end of the year”). Greg Abbott reaches out to Hispanics. He also promises to keep the Texas economy rolling. Liberal fossil Paul Burka… Continue reading Texas Statewide Race Update for October 16, 2013