The Year in Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress, pastor at First Baptist Dallas, committed himself to Donald Trump and his presidency in 2016, positioning himself as the evangelical face of Trumpism. This year, for better and worse, Jeffress has reaped the consequences of that commitment, repeatedly finding himself at the center of the Trump universe because…

The Dallas Observer Q-and-A With Congressional Candidate Lillian Salerno

Earlier this year, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that it’s targeting the seat of U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, the Dallas Republican in District 32. Sessions has drawn four competitive Democratic challengers — former Obama appointee Lillian Salerno, former WFAA-TV reporter Brett Shipp, former Hillary Clinton adviser Ed Meier and civil…

Dallas’ Future: Never Better, Never More Embattled

To our regret or good fortune time only will tell, but Dallas is a great laboratory for viewing the forces roiling around American cities. We’ve got thunder overhead, rumblings in the basement and maybe a great day ahead. Nationally, the divide between cities and everybody else has been consuming ink…

Don’t Waltz Around Desegregation on Goals for Dallas

A big picture isn’t necessarily good because it’s big. What if the picture misses the elephant? How does that help? During Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings’ state of the city address Tuesday, he announced he is launching an initiative he calls Goals for Dallas 2030, fashioned after a 1960s thing called…

Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez Will Announce Gubernatorial Run Today

Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is running for governor. The sheriff will resign her post Wednesday morning, before officially kicking off her campaign at Texas Democratic Party headquarters in Austin. “Like so many hardworking Texans, I know it’s tough deciding between buying food, finding a decent place to live, and…

SMU Police Release Photos of Suspected White Nationalist Vandals

Over the weekend, an unknown group of suspects peppered Southern Methodist University’s Park Cities campus with white nationalist banners and posters opposing the LGBTQ community and urging white men to “reject the opioid beast.” Texas Vanguard, a white supremacist group, claimed responsibility online for putting up the material, posting photos…

Barton, Farenthold, Clinton: How Do We Rank Their Rank Hypocrisy?

This last week has caused me to think about something that really never occurred to me before. Maybe it should have. So now I wonder whether U.S. Reps. Joe Barton and Blake Farenthold are bigger hypocrites than former President Bill Clinton. Are they the same grade of hypocrite? Are they…