At first, I felt bad judging an entire state by one county political official, but then I found out Morrison had also helped screen public school textbooks, a topic which is another chapter in my book. The Alamo is managed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, a group whose members can claim a relative who was living in Texas during the revolution. The fight over mismanagement of the Alamo has been going on for years.

I have always believed the iron rule of politics was that women don't vote for men who yell.

For a border state, I would argue that Texas is less lunatic on the subject of immigration issues than other places around it, like Arizona. They're much more comfortable with their long-term identity as a place with a very large Hispanic population.

I just really like Houston despite its craziness. There is a sense of energy and a kind of excitement, 'We're going places and God knows what'll happen next.' It's very interesting. It's very exciting.

Whenever you bring up women's internal workings, guys want to change the subject. Unless, of course, they're trying to change the laws.

My own dream is that we discover that the NSA has been secretly keeping files on members of the National Rifle Association.

Unfortunately, he was about as deep as a melted ice cube.