Famous Texan of the Week: Dan Rather

Dan Rather, the controversial CBS news anchor from 1981 to 2005, was born in 1931 in Wharton, Texas. Rather received his degree in journalism from Sam Houston State and cut his teeth working for the AP in Huntsville in 1950. By 1954 he was writing for the Houston Chronicle and by 1959, he was a television reporter with KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas.

Rather got his "big break" when Hurricane Carla threatened the Gulf of Mexico in 1961. Rather reported live from the Galveston seawall and his coverage so impressed CBS executives that he was hired as a correspondent in 1962. He was the first TV journalist to report John F. Kennedy's death in 1963 and was promoted to White House correspondent in 1964. Rather anchored the CBS Sunday Night News during Watergate and was well-known for his hard-hitting coverage. After Nixon's resignation, Rather did assignments for CBS News Special Reports and 60 Minutes before taking over retiring Walter Cronkite's position as main anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News in 1981.

When Dan Rather took over the CBS Evening News in 1981, he only had to compete with two other networks. When he retired in 2005, he had dozens to compete with. CBS's lead in the polls slipped over the years (starting in 1988 with his on-air confrontation with George H. W. Bush and the unfortunate The Wall Within special), and viewership fell among all network news broadcasts.

In September 2004, Rather produced a series of documents concerning President George W. Bush's Air National Guard service. These documents allegedly indicated that Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian revoked Bush's flight status due to failure to submit to a physical examination. The documents were widely criticized as forgeries and though it has never been proven that they were forgeries, their authenticity cannot be proven either. Several CBS employees lost their jobs over the incident, and Rather announced his retirement shortly afterwards.

Austin hiker survives five days in lava field!

Gilbert Dewey Gaedcke III, 41, from Austin Texas survived five days in a lava field near a volcano in Hawaii. He survived by squeezing water out of moss. When hiking near an active volcano, Gaedcke thought he saw lava and tried to return to his rented car, but got lost in the dark. He then hiked inland expecting to cross a road but got lost instead. Amazing!

Tour de LANCE!

33 year-old Texan Lance Armstrong has won a stunning 7th consecutive Tour de France title today in Paris. He won by more than 4.5 minutes and was declared the winner 30 miles from the finish line. Armstrong announced his retirement immediately after winning this year's race, exiting the sport on top after nearly dying from testicular cancer in the mid-1990s. You kick ass, Lance.

Famous Texan of The Week: Doak Walker

Ewell Doak Walker, Jr. (1927-1998) was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended Highland Park High School, where he played several sports, before attending Southern Methodist University and playing on their football team. Walker played three positions: running back, defensive back, and place kicker. He also played on SMU's basketball and baseball teams. Walker's points (288) and punt return yards (750) records, set in the 1940s, still stand at SMU. While Walker was a member of the SMU Mustangs team, they won the SWC (now-defunct Southwest Conference) title twice.

Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1948 and was recruited by the Detroit Lions. Walker was voted All-Pro four times and helped lead the Lions to two NFL championships. Walker is remembered by the Doak Walker award, established in 1990, which honors the top college football running back in the United States. Walker's Number 37 has also been retired at SMU, a high honor for any athlete.

Texas's Armstrong Leads Tour de France

Lance Armstrong is leading the pack in the Tour de France after stage 18. The race ends on Sunday in Paris when a foreigner will again ride up the Champs-Elysees in triumph. The French are probably used to that sight. Go Lance!

Travis County Has Texas's Highest Suicide Rate

Travis County (where Austin is located) has Texas's highest suicide rate, with 12 suicides per 100,000. I find that shocking, since Austin is the best city in the best state in the best country in the world. Why are people unhappy? Sure, life in Austin can be stressful...but jeez, call a suicide hotline or something.

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Emily's Coming

Southern Texas is bracing for Emily. Luckily hurricanes don't visit Texas too often! Mexico is definitely coming off worse in this whole thing. Corpus, Brownsville, and South Padre are among Texas cities preparing for Emily's landfall. Stay safe, guys!

Famous Texan of the Week: Selena Quintanilla Perez

Selena Quintanilla Perez (1971-1995), known simply as "Selena," was one of the most popular Hispanic singers of all time. She was born in Lake Jackson and raised in Corpus Christi. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was a member of a singing group called "Los Dinos" in the 1950s and Selena and her siblings formed the next generation of "Los Dinos" by performing at Abraham's restaurant. She signed her first record deal in 1989 and won a Grammy for Best Mexican-American album in 1994. As her popularity skyrocketed, she also tried her hand at fashion design, opening two "Selena" boutiques in Corpus Christi and San Antonio. She also made a cameo appearance in the film Don Juan de Marco.

1995 was to be the year of Selena's crossover into the English-speaking market. Though Selena did not really speak Spanish, she recorded all of her albums in Spanish. Unfortunately, a confrontation with her fan club's president, Yolanda Saldivar, over money Saldivar had embezzled, turned tragic when Saldivar shot Selena in the back at the Corpus Christi Days Inn, where the two had agreed to meet to exchange paperwork on March 31, 1995. Before losing consciousness, Selena identified her attacker. Saldivar was arrested later the same day and is now serving a life sentence. The crossover album Dreaming of You, released after Selena's death, debuted at #1 in the Billboard charts; a first for a Hispanic female; and has since sold over 4 million copies.

The recent "Selena Vive!" tribute concert, commemorating 10 years since the singer's murder, attracted 50,000 fans and scored a 35.9 Nielsen rating. Selena continues to be massively popular in Texas and has achieved in death what she didn't in life: iconic status.

Keep Austin Weird

Since the yuppies invaded Austin in the 1990s and turned parts of it into uninhabitable country club/golf course resorts, there has been a backlash against these people. Part of it is the popularity of the "Keep Austin Weird" movement.

Basically, people wear t-shirts and slap bumper stickers on their cars imploring all those nearby to "Keep Austin Weird." Austin can be a pretty weird place; Austinites are very expressive, but some of the weirdness smacks of effort. I don't think that you're weird if you're trying to be weird. Leslie Cochran is weird because the man is just insane. Lizard Man isn't weird; he's just insane. The hearse/limousine service is weird. Spam-a-rama is weird. Human Marvels aren't weird; they're just stupid posers with a lot of tattoos.