The Wichita Eagle reports that warring Mexican gangs who need firearms increasingly look to the United States - and Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston in particular - to buy weapons.

Read the full story here.

(Wonder if they want to rethink their position on that wall idea?)

Alan GreenspanThe current issue of The Economist features a cover story on outgoing fed chairman Alan Greenspan handing over a stick of dynamite labeled "the economy" to his successor Ben Bernanke. The sub-headline of the article reads "The economy that Alan Greenspan is about to hand over is in a much less healthy state than is popularly assumed."

The article is very critical of the performance of Greenspan who is leaving office on January 31^st and expects to command six figure "speaking fees" for appearances before outside groups once he leaves the Fed.

Here is part of what the lead article has to say about Greenspan’s performance:

"The Fed held real interest rates negative for several years, and even today real rates remain low …. The Economist has long criticised Mr Greenspan for not trying to restrain the stockmarket bubble in the late 1990s, and then, after it burst, for inflating a housing bubble by holding interest rates low for so long. The problem is not the rising asset prices themselves but rather their effect on the economy. By borrowing against capital gains on their homes, households have been able to consume more than they earn. Robust consumer spending has boosted GDP growth, but at the cost of a negative personal saving rate, a growing burden of household debt and a huge current-account deficit."

The Economist goes on to warn that our current prosperity in the U.S. is not built on a solid foundation:

"Ben Bernanke, Mr Greenspan's successor, likes to explain America's current-account deficit as the inevitable consequence of a saving glut in the rest of the world. Yet a large part of the blame lies with the Fed's own policies, which have allowed growth in domestic demand to outstrip supply for no less than ten years ... Part of America's current prosperity is based not on genuine gains in income, nor on high productivity growth, but on borrowing from the future. The words of Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian economist of the early 20th century, nicely sum up the illusion: ‘It may sometimes be expedient for a man to heat the stove with his furniture. But he should not delude himself by believing that he has discovered a wonderful new method of heating his premises.’"

Rep. Bill Keffer

Keffer criticizes former Lt. Governor Bill Ratcliff for his claim that a "good" Christian should raise taxes to fund poverty programs.

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From NBC 5

More Than 350 Birds Seized In Cockfight Bust

Three Arrested, Charged With Animal Cruelty

FORT WORTH, Texas -- More than 350 roosters and hens are now staying in a Collin County shelter after a cockfighting operation is busted over the weekend.

Acting on an anonymous tip, Bexar County Sheriff's deputies descended on the site in southern Bexar County. Officers broke up the fighting ring and arrested property owner Pedro Lozano, 34, Elida Gonzalez, 31, and Jose Arce, 43.

Each faces felony charges of animal cruelty. A sheriff's office report identified Gonzalez as Lozano's girlfriend, and Arce as a money-taker for the operation.

The 368 seized animals are now in the care of the McKinney SPCA.

Our viewpoints columnist, Rufus Shaw, finds it ironic that the Dallas Morning News is criticizing African-American council members for not spending taxpayers money.

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Our movie reviewer finds that "Glory Road" takes a number of liberties with the facts behind Texas Western's basketball success, but he still finds the movie worth seeing.

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Assorted Cowboys-related observations from atop my Monday morning barstool. ... of course, it's a little early for that visual. Let's pretend instead that I'm standing around a water cooler, shall we?

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The London Telegraph reports that First Lady Laura Bush would like to see Condoleezza Rice replace her husband as President in 2008.  Rice served as Director of the National Security Council(NSC) in Bush's first term and currently serves as his Secretary of State.  Philip Sherwell of the Telegraph also discusses in the article the hot Washington rumor that Ms. Rice "might be named as vice-president if the incumbent, Dick Cheney, were forced by his health to stand down."

There has been a lot of talk recently, fueled by (among others) former Clinton political consultant Dick Morris, that Condi Rice would be the most formidable candidate for the Republicans in 2008 against Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic contender at this time.  However, many conservatives have serious reservations about a Rice candidacy.  They were unimpressed with her performance as Director of the NSC and view Rice as having little real world experience outside her academic career and her governmental service.  Social conservatives are not comfortable with Rice's pro-abortion stance, and economic conservatives are skeptical that she would address the serious problems of our budget and trade deficits as President.  The Telegraph article also notes that neoconservatives would oppose a Rice candidacy since she has been less supportive of their policy positions after moving from NSC to State.  Most of the neoconservative leadership supports the candidacy of Sen. John McCain who is the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2008.  It is difficult to see how Rice could emerge as a serious contender in 2008 (Laura Bush's support notwithstanding) unless she wound up replacing Dick Cheney as VP prior to the beginning of that nomination process.