So, you really reject the notion that negative news tends to dominate the news cycle, just about anywhere?

I would have thought that position was unassailable.

Somebody needs to collect all the stupid stuff that has been said by Texas politicians over the years and put it in a book. Then, all elected officials and candidates should be gathered together and made to read the book and have it explained to them, in small words so they understand it, that it's this sort of stuff that makes Texas look bad.

IMO, you're unfairly taking this out of context if you don't include the rest of what DeLay said:

"And if you took that as the image of what is a great city that has an incredible quality of life and an incredible economy, it's amazing to me. Go to Iraq. And see what's actually happening there.

I think it's a political hatchet job to only quote the first part of it in an apparent attempt to make him look worse. He rarely needs help looking worse, anyway.

Sue:

Somebody needs to collect all the stupid stuff that has been said by Texas politicians over the years and put it in a book.

It would seem that Molly Ivins is just the person to do that.

Then, all elected officials and candidates should be gathered together and made to read the book and have it explained to them, in small words so they understand it, that it's this sort of stuff that makes Texas look bad.

But that would take all the fun out of it!

So, you really reject the notion that negative news tends to dominate the news cycle, just about anywhere?

I reject the notion that news stories coming out of Houston are the equivalent of the news coming out of Iraq and are serving to make people fearful of coming here.

And I think my post demonstrated that Houston news isn't dominated by stories about "violence, murders, robberies, [and] deaths on the highways."

IMO, you're unfairly taking this out of context if you don't include the rest of what DeLay said:

I quoted the whole thing in my entry.

Ah yes, Pete, your exhaustive analysis of Houston news has put to rest any notion that the news cycle is dominated by the negative. You should send that to Jordy Tollet. :)

Tom DeLay says plenty for his enemies to obsess over, but this is pretty tame stuff.

I have relatives in rural Oklahoma who actually do think Houston is all murder, rape, smog, and traffic because of media reports. But I won't present that little tidbit as an exhaustive study. It's an anecdote -- but anecdotes CAN be informative.

Neither Houston nor Iraq are probably quite so bad as media reports make them out to be.

Kevin - why don't you put on a uniform, go to Iraq and let us know how splendid it is over there. Take some Young Republicans with you.

Pete:
"I reject the notion that news stories coming out of Houston are the equivalent of the news coming out of Iraq and are serving to make people fearful of coming here."

We live just south of Houston, and we are afraid to come there ...