The Texas Attorney General’s office and Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins are in a major dispute that D.A. Watkins claims is a political ploy meant to embarrass him. The incident that caused the uproar occurred when a letter was released by the attorney general’s office related to a real estate fraud investigation. The letter in question was sent by D.A. Watkins’ staff asking the attorney general to investigate and prosecute.

A few weeks ago, the Dallas County Commissioners’ Court emphasized that smoking within 25 feet of the Commissioners’ Court building is prohibited by law. Commissioners’ John Wiley Price and Kenneth Mayfield spoke to TV reporters explaining the importance of enforcing the law for public health reasons.

Apparently, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins may have failed to have gotten the message. On the front sidewalk within 25 ft. of the County Commissioners’ Court building, the Dallas Blog clearly witnessed D.A. Watkins smoking a jumbo cigar. Numerous others had seen the incident, while some lawyers, who work in the D.A.'s office, standing inside the lobby were overheard grumbling about their boss’s smoking habits.

A more diverse and tolerant attitude by Americans toward religion is getting big play in the media, leading the network news Monday and morning newspapers. A major survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life finds a non-dogmatic approach to faith. A majority of those affiliated with a religion, for instance, do not believe their religion is the only way to salvation and also believe that there is more than one true way to interpret their religion's teachings. This openness to a range of religious viewpoints is in line with the greater diversity of religious affiliation, beliefs and practices, as documented in a survey of more than 35,000 Americans. The survey also shows that religion is closely linked to political ideology.

During a scheduled meeting in Israel next week, conservative Anglican prelates will hold an alternative religious forum to the Lambeth Conference to announce that they no longer remain in communion with the Church of England, the Daily Telegraph of London reports.

A former University of Dallas employee has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that he was fired for converting to Catholicism. UD is a Catholic University.

The Dallas Business Journal reports that, “Charles Close, who was the university’s executive director of enrollment management for more than a year and a half, filed a lawsuit against the university last month, alleging religious harassment and age discrimination.”

 The Washington Post's David Broder suggests a pair of recent strategy decisions could prove troublesome for Barack Obama. The first was Obama's turning down McCain's invitation to join him in a series of town hall meetings where they would appear together and answer questions from real voters -- without a formal agenda, press panel or professional interviewers.  The second was his rejection of public financing for the general election campaign.

NBC's First Read weighs in on the topic, saying that with Obama so unknown still, is it good for him to be ducking town hall meetings and deciding to fund his campaign privately? The more he does things that give the appearance of just another politician, doesn't that undercut the delicate nature of his fresh face image? It's the talking point of the weekend by McCain surrogates, and it could be one that's effective, says NBC's online newsletter.