Brian is founding member of The Barbed Wire team. A longtime Texas journalist, he has written for the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas Monthly, and more. He was also a writer and producer at Rooster Teeth.
THC is still legal in Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill Sunday night that would have banned all THC products in the state. But the battle isn't over: Soon after the veto, Abbott called lawmakers back to Austin for a special session on July 21 to,
Cheering for Tucker Carlson over Ted Cruz is like rooting for leprosy over a root canal, but here we are. Carlson, the former Fox News host who is less likeable than a group chat with your ex, your boss, and your mom, bodied Texas’ least favorite senator in an interview
Greg Abbott, part-time Texas governor and full-time social media tough guy, took a break from doing anything about actual problems to hop on X and issue a warning to protesters demonstrating against immigration enforcement. In a post that screamed “I watch too many tactical YouTube channels,” Abbott promised
Gov. Greg Abbott can’t be enjoying all this. On one side, his powerful lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, is foaming at the mouth to rid Texas of THC products, waving candy-flavored edibles around like they’re contraband at a kindergarten show-and-tell. On the other, you’ve got
Dan Patrick should be on top of the world. Texas’ lieutenant governor has just strong-armed lawmakers to pass his pet bill that bans THC in Texas, despite most Texans being against it. But instead of celebrating, the 75-year-old Maryland native seems cranky. On Wednesday, he held a
Well, Texas, if you were hoping our elected officials might finally embrace reality, science, or even basic common sense when it comes to cannabis policy — lol, nope. Instead, the Texas House just gave a big yeehaw to banning all consumable hemp products that contain THC, because nothing says “freedom” like
Well, we’ve done it again, Texas. Added yet another deeply embarrassing chapter to our ever-growing “Are We the Problem?” scrapbook. This time, it involves a doomed piece of legislation so absurd, so disconnected from reality, you’d think it was cooked up in an internet comment section. But
If you need a visual metaphor for Elon Musk's current life trajectory, just picture a human piñata with a fading hair transplant. First, Donald Trump goofs on him during a White House press conference, and then Musk’s own AI chatbot jumps in to confirm it. Folks, we
It looks like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has dusted off his CRT-sensing goggles and set his sights on Austin ISD — a district he claims is sneakily indoctrinating children with Pulitzer-Prize-winning history lessons. On Monday, Paxton’s office announced it wants to haul in Austin ISD’s
After a long and hard-fought battle to give even more taxpayer money to the wealthiest Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a private school giveaway (sorry “school choice”) into law Saturday. The new law allows parents to redirect public tax dollars — previously used for pesky things like public education — to
There’s a lot of talk these days about threats to society — AI, Grand Theft Auto VI, birds that may or may not be government drones — but I’d like to nominate a new one: people who back into parking spaces. You know them. You see them. You feel them
Ah, summer: a time for sunscreen, grilled meats, and your cousin showing up to the family cookout, quoting Joe Rogan between bites of brisket. Or, as happened to me recently, you post something on Facebook, and, all of a sudden, here comes that high school acquaintance you haven’t talked