Will Weissert Posts

Have you seen U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman? The suburban Houston Republican and fierce conservative is mounting a long-shot challenge from the right against Senate minority whip John Cornyn but has made virtually no public appearances in Texas as questions mount about his campaign finances. Now, he's stopped showing up for his day job, too.

Nearly a year after determining the system Texas uses to finance public education is unconstitutional, a state judge is set to hear new testimony beginning Tuesday on whether more money and fewer standardized tests have adequately improved the balance for students in rich and poor areas.

Gov. Rick Perry said Friday he's disgusted a California newspaper ran a cartoon that depicts him boasting about booming business in Texas, then shows an explosion, a week after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 14 people in a Texas town.

"What [Ohman] finds offensive is a governor who would gamble with the lives of families by not pushing for the strongest safety regulations," said Stuart Leavenworth, the Sacramento Bee's editorial page editor. "Perry's letter is an attempt to distract people from that message."