Coal: Cheap. Abundant. Cheap. Clean.

Dear Mr. David Bonderman:

Congratulations on the Forbes list thing. Cowtown represent! Since you're going to like own TXU and stuff. I'd like to suggest a new ad campaign. I think Rick Perry would love it. My friend, Pete from Cowtown Chronicles sent this to me. Just a thought.

Waiting for The Other Shoe to Drop

In case you missed it, Texas Monthly's Paul Burka has an excellent recap on how TXU got bitch-slapped back into reality after threatening to close some of its power plants. Hmm, you may ask yourself, what about the shadowy hand of Slick Rick Perry? Well, here it is:

What worries me about this is that the PUC, like many state agencies, is run by a former Rick Perry staffer, and, as we learned from the HPV controversy earlier this session, the governor has been known to involve himself in agency actions and decisions. Perry has also taken six-figure contributions from TXU and its officers. Will he intervene to help TXU again, as he did in trying to fast-track the licensing of their power plants?

Cronyism and graft in state government? Not in Texas!