The deployment of troops to the Texas-Mexico border has been a made-for-TV event heavy on posturing and light on justification.
THIS WEEK: On Thursday, Governor Greg Abbott deployed himself to the Rio Grande Valley for a security briefing and press conference on the National Guard troops sent by Trump to the border. Watching the press conference, you might’ve thought “the border” was a faraway country to be invaded — rather than a region that millions of Texans call home — and you might’ve thought, too, that the whole damn thing was just for show.
From the 2014 story: “'I’d like to have you and someone from Pearson have a little debate,' Aycock said. 'Would you be willing to come back?'
'Sure,' Stroup said. 'I’ll come back and mud wrestle.'
But that never happened. Stroup had picked a fight with a special interest in front of politicians. The winner wouldn’t be determined by reason and science but by politics and power. Pearson’s real counterattack took place largely out of public view, where the company attempted to discredit Stroup’s research. Instead of a public debate, Pearson used its money and influence to engage in the time-honored academic tradition of trashing its rival’s work and career behind his back.”
What’s Happening at the Observer
Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 edition of the Observer's MOLLY Prize dinner. The MOLLY Prize is an annual national journalism award presented by the Texas Democracy Foundation and the Texas Observer in memory of Molly Ivins, columnist, author, political commentator, and humorist. This year's event will include a keynote from Joan Walsh, of CNN and The Nation. We'd love to see you there.
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