Your afternoon reading:

    • “The continuing investigation into the origin of the fire that destroyed all of Harris County’s voting machines has not arrived at a conclusion. I’m not going to jump the gun. But I will say this: If arson proves to be the cause, the feds are going to be swarming into Harris County.” — Coincidence or conspiracy: the Harris County voting machine fire, BurkaBlog
    • In his latest ad, Bill White targets Gov. Rick Perry’s “lobbyist ball,” a fundraiser to be held at “the fanciest hotel in town” on Sept. 2.

    New in The Texas Tribune:

    • The Democratic nominee for attorney general on how long of a long-shot campaign she’s mounting, the incumbent’s predilection for what she calls “show lawsuits,” when it’s appropriate to sue the feds and whether she’s willing to debate her opponent (we’ll give you one guess). — An Interview With the Democratic Nominee for AG

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    David Muto was the editor of TribTalk, The Texas Tribune's opinion page. He is also the Tribune's copy editor. A Richardson native, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned degrees...