The State of Texas: The best Texas Monthly longform of 2018

What Texas is talking about today No Images? [Click here]( [Give the gift of Texas Monthly]( [Texas Monthly]( December 17, 2018 QUOTE OF THE DAY "I didn’t have anything to do in retirement and I didn’t think that playing bingo was up to my speed." —Janet Fein, an 84-year-old who is [set to graduate]( from the University of Texas at Dallas this week. Fein, who retired from her secretarial job at age 77, received her bachelor's degree in sociology, which she pursued because it was "substantial." THE LATEST [The Best Texas Monthly Longform of 2018]( TEXAS MONTHLY Put your feet up and settle in for our favorite longform of the year. [Read more.]( THE TEXANIST [The Texanist: What’s So Special About the Texas Chili Parlor?]( DAVID COURTNEY Q: In the first line of my favourite Guy Clark song, “Dublin Blues,” he sings about drinking mad dog margaritas at a bar in Austin called the Chili Parlor and I’m curious if the place I find on Google is the same one he mentions. The lyrics lead one to believe that it’s a special place, as Clark is longing to be there in the song. Also, if this is the actual bar from the song, what’s so special about it? And what exactly is a mad dog margarita? Pete Tremblay, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada A: The Texanist doesn’t always get to say this, but boy, have you ever come to the right place. To answer one of your questions, yes, the Chili Parlor you found on the Google is indeed the same Chili Parlor that Guy Clark sang about in “Dublin Blues.” Its full name is the Texas Chili Parlor, and while it’s billed as more of a restaurant than a bar, it actually serves the community as a watering hole as much as it does as a chili hole. The Texanist knows all of this because the Chili Parlor happens to be located just a short stroll from his office in downtown Austin, right there in the shadow of the State Capitol, and he has darkened its door for both “water” and chili since back in the middle eighties. [Read More]( Look here every Monday for the latest from the Texanist, or [peruse his archives here.]( Tomorrow, and every Tuesday, you’ll find a selection from our archives. [Give the gift of Texas Monthly]( OUR TOP STORIES [Rick Perry As Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff? No Way.]( Energy Secretary Rick Perry has avoided the turmoil of the Trump Administration by staying out of Washington. [Read More]( [How Long Does Ted Cruz’s Beard Have to Grow Before He Is Beloved by All People?]( An unscientific, untrimmed analysis of the phenomenon of Ted Cruz Beard Thirst. [Read More]( [Texas Monthly’s Most-Read Stories of 2018]( Here are the stories that resonated most with our readers this year. [Read More]( THE STATE OF TEXAS The Death of Obamacare? On Friday, just before the enrollment deadline, Fort Worth-based U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor [dealt a major blow]( to the Affordable Care Act. O'Connor said that a key provision of the law—that every American was required to obtain health insurance—was unconstitutional, which would fell the rest of the law. This is the latest development in a Texas-led effort to bring down Obamacare; in February, twenty states sued the federal government to end the law in its entirety. Previously, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the law on the basis that the mandatory enrollment could be interpreted as a tax. O'Connor, however, agreed with Texas that after Congress set the tax at $0, there was no longer any "constitutional cover." Bankrupt Boy Scouts The Irving-based Boy Scouts of America is weighing [filing bankruptcy]( thanks in part to insurance companies that don't want to pay settlements to eleven men who claim they were sexually abused as boys. “We remain in disputes with some carriers and look forward to a resolution that benefits victims and helps them on their journey towards healing,” Boy Scouts of America spokeswoman Effie Delimarkos told NBC News. In a letter to employees last week, organization leaders said that chapter 11 is only one of the options on the table, but it's still unclear what other paths they are considering as legal costs mount. Squeaky CleaNRG The internet was [collectively grossed out]( when ESPN's Outside the Lines released its massive project on the cleanliness of stadium food vendors last week. But good news for Texans fans: NRG Stadium ranks at the third cleanest stadium of the 111 they examined, and the cleanest in the NFL. Only two of NRG's 44 vendors received high-level violations. As the Houston Chronicle [gleefully pointed out](, some of the dirtiest stadiums in the state were in the Dallas area. At AT&T Stadium—where the Dallas Cowboys play—46.71 percent of the vendors had high-level violations, and the Rangers' Globe Life Park had a whopping 71.15 percent of vendors receive significant violations. But the real loser in Texas was the American Airlines Center. The home of the Mavericks was the second dirtiest in the NBA with 83.08 percent of its vendors receiving high-level violations. And remember, y'all: you're being overcharged for all of this. NEWS & POLITICS [Tent City Operator’s Request for Policy Shift Could Reduce the Mass Detention of Migrant Children]( ROBERT MOORE Beto O’Rourke said the contractor is asking the Trump administration to stop sharing fingerprints of potential sponsors with immigration agents. [Read more.]( [Stay Roped in with Rodeo Report]( [Stay Roped in with Rodeo Report]( Get an inside look into the high-intensity world that combines talented athletes with horses and livestock, steep competition, old-school traditions, and family fun. Rodeo Report’s coverage from the PRCA circuit includes competitor updates, performance analysis, and behind-the-scenes stories of triumphs, challenges, injuries, and rerides.Read More]( [Give the gift of Texas Monthly]( MORE FROM TEXAS MONTHLY [Is the Breastaurant Era Over?]( DAN SOLOMON [Introducing Our 2018 Holiday Gift Guide]( LAUREN SMITH FORD [Corpus Christi’s Chicas Rock Might Bring Us the Next Selena]( KATY VINE [Give the gift of Texas Monthly.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Website]( Texas Monthly PO Box 1569 Austin, TX 78767 Texas Monthly has sent you this alert because you signed up to receive it either online at texasmonthly.com, at the website of one of our business partners, or when you filled out a reader response card. You may opt-out from Texas Monthly newsletters at any time. Please see our Privacy Policy. If you would like to manage which Texas Monthly Editorial newsletters you are receiving, click Preferences, below. 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