Entertainer Kinky Friedman might be a fun guy to smoke a cigar with, but left-leaning bloggers aren't exactly welcoming the gubernatorial aspirant into the Democratic Party. Bloggers are also discussing other folks running for governor, stirring up trouble in the real world, writing about politics and talking penology. At the end, a Republican eats crow, and more.

Democrat Hank Gilbert made a big splash online with his entry into the gubernatorial race, though bloggers don't agree whether he's a leviathan or a guppy. Also making news in the blogosphere: other spots on the ballot, folks who want out of the Union and the continuing federal health care debate. A vision of former felons packing heat headlines the finale.

It may be a bit early yet for your average Joe Six-Pack to be paying attention to campaigns, but bloggers are captivated by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial announcement tour. Texas Democrats are making noise, too; town hall meetings on health care reform keep rolling on; and, Tom DeLay performs a grand jeté. Bringing up the rear, the latest legal news out of Freedom County and other items.

This week, bloggers are flooding the Internet with talk about the two gubernatorial contenders who currently hold public office. Guess who? Elsewhere in the blogosphere, there's chatter about people who probably won't be governor in 2011 (barring thaumaturgy), folks interested in different positions and a Houston congresswoman who's in the news — again. Wrapping it up is a r3volutionary real estate venture and other curiosities.

Town hall meetings on national health care reform are being turned upside down by riotous groups — or righteous grassroots, depending on your perspective. Bloggers are also buzzing about several of the candidates for governor, political doings and legal matters. At the end, a former statewide Democratic contender admits to social media fraud, plus more tidbits.

An allegedly underhanded online tactic gets bloggers to talking about the 2010 gubernatorial contest. There's discussion of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and everybody else in their wake. The City of Houston was big enough to get its own sub-head, and news that will strike fear in Texans' bleeding hearts leads off the last section of miscellaneous posts.

August could be a big political month, and the conversations are picking up. The state's blogosphere bubbled with the emergence of the Texas Tribune (which affected us, too) and other media events. Bloggers are also chatting about things related to The Law, political jockeying and goings on in Washington, D.C. Closing the curtain is a showdown between arch-liberal and ultra-conservative activists, plus more news.