News
“If a fascist is merely someone who opposes democracy, then let me be clear: I oppose democracy — and have always opposed democracy,” Jason Lee Van Dyke wrote. That was a part of a lengthy response I received after I’d emailed the North Texas lawyer to ask a few questions
News
EXCLUSIVE Editor’s note: This story includes quotes in which the subject uses offensive racial slurs and references to racial terror. The Barbed Wire does not condone the use of such language, but believes them to be newsworthy, important context. Any racist language has been censored with hyphens. This is
Perspectives
When Texas political leaders project images of themselves, it’s always the same. They’re in cowboy hats, boots, and toting a firearm. It’s how we like to imagine ourselves: the rugged cowboy, squinting into the distance, masculinely thinking about something. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is none of
Perspectives
On Oct. 10, former President Barack Obama stepped back into the political fray. Former President Donald Trump had spent weeks dominating news cycles with lies about Haitian-born immigrants eating neighbors’ pets in Ohio, lies about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris being a Marxist, and still more lies about the
Health
In Texas, the past few years for women have been terrifying. Abortion bans became real. Exceptions turned out to be rare. Some have nearly died during miscarriages. If you don’t feel like you’ve been abandoned by our lawmakers, you might feel like the government is trying to kill
Perspectives
It’s difficult to remember the last time both major party presidential candidates appeared in Texas so close to an election. There’s an old adage in politics, that campaigns have only three resources: time, money, and people. You can always find one more volunteer. You can always raise one
News
Tuesday night’s debate was not great for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. His opponent, Colin Allred, ripped him a new one, calling him an “architect” of the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, who was “hiding in a supply closet” when the mob finally entered the Capitol. “You’re
News
If there’s one truism in life, it’s that people on the internet will take any opportunity to act like assholes. Case in point: A bakery in Flower Mound has received death threats for daring to make a cookie with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s face on it.
Culture
Somebody—well, a man—bought a perfectly good Taylor Swift guitar just to smash it up. It happened recently in Waxahachie at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner, where a man paid a reported $4,000 for the guitar (plus a wall hanger), according to WFAA. But the winner brought
News
It’s old hat to say everything is bigger in Texas. True connoisseurs know that things in the Lone Star State are also often wilder and weirder than what you see on the evening news. Every two weeks, Steven Monacelli will explore the dystopic, desperate, and despicable realities of contemporary
News
Fewer than 24 hours before Kamala Harris took the stage for her first live debate against Donald Trump, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz spent Monday afternoon in Dallas, telling attendees at his 30-minute address that voters should take Project 2025 seriously. “They’re not kidding,” Walz said at the
Perspectives
It’s old hat to say everything is bigger in Texas. True connoisseurs know that things in the Lone Star State are also often wilder and weirder than what you see on the evening news. Every two weeks, Steven Monacelli will explore the dystopic, desperate, and despicable realities of contemporary