Dog Canyon is a very well-written journal about Texas politics and culture run by veteran journalist Glenn W. Smith. It’s been around for a few years, but I only got around to reading it about 6 months ago. It provides lively political commentary as well as essays on literary and cultural subjects with lots of guest posts. It is easily a competitor to Texas Monthly.
A perfect example of a Dog Canyon article is James C. Moore’s witty piece Habeus Coyote Corpus . For those of you who don’t know, the Texas governor Rick Perry recently killed a wild coyote during a jog. Moore writes:
And, although I’ve never done it, seems to me like running and carrying a gun has to be kind of uncomfortable. I read you were packing your pistol in a holster. I just find it odd that you put on the running shorts, the Nike shoes, a tee shirt, and a ball cap, and then strapped on your coyote widow maker. Who the hell does such a thing? And not just a regular ol’ 380 Ruger. This baby has a laser sight. You’re really scared, aren’t you? Those nasty slithering, phallic things on the ground don’t have a chance, do they? Seriously, you are so afraid of snakes that you armed yourself to go for a run? Aren’t there some other unsettled issues that you aren’t talking about here? Let me also add that you ought to be thankful for your Anglo-Saxon heritage. Being ethnic and running with a gun in Texas, on a trail or a road, might end up with a different living creature other than an animal being shot.
There’s something else. If this happened in February, why are you just now sharing this? It seems to me that you would have been a little excited the day you turned coyote killer and you might have mentioned it to a reporter or a political pal that could have let it slip to someone, somewhere. But nothing until two months later? Sorry, sounds a little too neat. And if you were trying for the tough guy image, whacking a coyote isn’t really gonna do that for you. Nor is packin’ heat cuz you are afraid of things that go slither in the sun. I guess I have to say I don’t believe your story. I need testimony or signed witness statements from your two backup gunmen in the DPS. That might convince me.
In other news, Rick Perry said this when introducing Sarah Palin (actual quote): "She often reminds me that size really does matter." He later explained that he was referring to the size of their respective states.
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