Ken Paxton Would Like a Word (But Not That One) 17%

By Brian Gaar28%

7/27/2026, 11:26:45 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Biased Writer Voice, and Appeal to Emotion, with Unattributed Quote as the most egregious example at 36.7% saturation with 295 hits. Analysis detected 1,215 faulty-reasoning hits from 803 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 26.8% and a BS Rank of 17% (22,827 of 27,443 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 83.20% of the article peer group.

Howdy y'all, it's Brian Gaar with The Barbed Wire . 
There are weeks when Texas feels like a state. 
Then there are weeks when it feels like four different TV shows airing at the same time. 
This week, Ken Paxton held a press conference that ended the second reporters started asking questions. 
New court filings cast fresh doubt on the government's account of a fatal ICE shooting in Houston. 
Canada looked at Texas livestock and said, "Yeah… we're gonna sit this one out for a while." 
And the Houston Dynamo found a way to get paid to put "Dude Wipes" on their butts. 
Ken Paxton Holds Press Conference, Immediately Leaves Press Conference 
Credit: Brandon Bell / Getty Images Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton held a rare press conference Tuesday . 
And it went about as well as you’d think a Ken Paxton press conference would go. 
Reporters wanted to ask about the growing list of controversies surrounding his campaign , including allegations involving where he voted, reports about mortgage documents listing multiple primary residences, and recent reporting that property records suggest Paxton or his trusts now own at least 15 properties worth roughly $9 million. 
Paxton had other plans. 
When one reporter started asking about those allegations, Paxton interrupted to say he only wanted questions about law enforcement. 
Reporters, exercising the radical notion that journalists get to decide what questions they ask, kept pressing. 
So Paxton walked away from his own press conference. 
Lol. 
His Democratic opponent, state Rep. 
James Talarico, criticized Paxton for refusing to answer questions. 
Not surprisingly, Paxton still has not agreed to debate his opponent. 
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New Witness Statements Challenge ICE's Account of Fatal Houston Shooting 
Credit: Brandon Bell / Getty Images New court filings have raised significant new questions about the fatal July 7 ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. 
Two passengers riding in Salgado Araujo's van submitted handwritten statements saying ICE vehicles struck the van from behind and the side before it stopped. 
Both men said Salgado Araujo had already come to a complete stop when agents opened fire. 
Those accounts directly contradict ICE's initial public statement, which said an agent fired in self-defense after Salgado Araujo attempted to use the van to run over an officer. 
One passenger wrote that it was "impossible" for officers to have been in danger of being run over because they were positioned alongside the van, not in front of it. 
The Department of Homeland Security referred questions to the Office of Inspector General, which is investigating the shooting, while the FBI is also conducting its own investigation. 
The case has drawn increased scrutiny because the agents involved were not wearing body cameras, and officials have said there were no dashboard cameras either. 
Canada Would Like Texas to Keep Its Livestock to Itself 
Credit: Brandon Bell / Getty Images Canada has temporarily suspended imports of a long list of animals from Texas—including horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, elk, llamas and more—over concerns about the spread of the New World screwworm. 
If you're unfamiliar with the New World screwworm, congratulations on having a pleasant day up until this point. 
The parasitic fly lays eggs in open wounds, and its larvae feed on living tissue. 
Texas has confirmed 34 cases since the infestation was detected in South Texas in June. 
Canadian officials say the restriction is meant to prevent the pest from reaching Canada during the summer months, even though the country's climate isn't suitable for the fly to establish itself long-term. 
Experts estimate roughly 500 million sterile flies need to be released every week to eliminate the infestation. 
The U.S. is currently producing about 100 million per week, meaning officials still have a long road ahead. 
Credit: Ahmet Kurt / The Barbed Wire Houston Dynamo Put Dude Wipes Exactly Where You Think They Did 
The Houston Dynamo have signed a multiyear sponsorship deal with Dude Wipes , making them the first MLS team to sell the league's new back-of-jersey advertising space as a standalone sponsorship. 
Which, if you're Dude Wipes, is apparently the dream. 
The company says its marketing strategy revolves around "being on the butt" of uniform partnerships. 
And their campaign with the Dynamo includes the slogan: "Space City has Uranus covered." 
The logo will debut on the backs of Dynamo jerseys next month, and current jersey owners will even be able to add the new sponsor logo to existing kits. 
Somewhere, Don Draper is either crying or taking furious notes. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 1.1%Brian Gaar: 2.1%The Barbed Wire: 2.9%Confirmation Bias1.1%This article: 4.1%Brian Gaar: 0.3%The Barbed Wire: 0.9%Anchoring Bias4.1%This article: 7.1%Brian Gaar: 3.4%The Barbed Wire: 3.1%Availability Heuristic7.1%This article: 5.1%Brian Gaar: 1.0%The Barbed Wire: 1.3%Representativeness Heuristic5.1%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.2%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 2.1%Brian Gaar: 0.4%The Barbed Wire: 0.4%Overconfidence Bias2.1%This article: 2.5%Brian Gaar: 4.2%The Barbed Wire: 5.8%Framing Effect2.5%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 0.5%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 0.3%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 0.7%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 1.1%Optimism Bias0.7%This article: 2.0%Brian Gaar: 1.0%The Barbed Wire: 1.5%Pessimism Bias2.0%This article: 27.3%Brian Gaar: 9.0%The Barbed Wire: 9.3%Negativity Bias27.3%This article: 2.2%Brian Gaar: 0.8%The Barbed Wire: 0.8%Self-Serving Bias2.2%This article: 2.5%Brian Gaar: 0.6%The Barbed Wire: 1.1%Fundamental Attribution Error2.5%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 2.0%Brian Gaar: 0.6%The Barbed Wire: 1.7%In-Group Bias2.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.3%The Barbed Wire: 0.2%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 2.1%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 0.8%Halo Effect2.1%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 2.2%Brian Gaar: 1.3%The Barbed Wire: 1.1%Recency Bias2.2%This article: 2.2%Brian Gaar: 0.4%The Barbed Wire: 0.4%Primacy Effect2.2%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 2.0%Brian Gaar: 1.1%The Barbed Wire: 1.3%Ad Hominem2.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 0.4%Straw Man0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 2.0%The Barbed Wire: 1.8%Appeal to Authority0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.5%The Barbed Wire: 1.0%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 1.1%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 3.4%Brian Gaar: 3.3%The Barbed Wire: 4.4%Hasty Generalization3.4%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.1%The Barbed Wire: 0.1%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.3%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 7.2%Brian Gaar: 2.9%The Barbed Wire: 5.6%Appeal to Emotion7.2%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.6%The Barbed Wire: 0.9%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 1.5%The Barbed Wire: 2.1%Post Hoc (False Cause)0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.3%The Barbed Wire: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 6.1%Brian Gaar: 0.6%The Barbed Wire: 0.6%Burden of Proof6.1%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.1%The Barbed Wire: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 1.1%Brian Gaar: 2.0%The Barbed Wire: 3.9%Anecdotal1.1%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 2.4%Brian Gaar: 0.8%The Barbed Wire: 1.1%Ambiguity (Equivocation)2.4%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 2.2%Brian Gaar: 0.3%The Barbed Wire: 0.1%Personal Incredulity2.2%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.0%The Barbed Wire: 0.0%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 36.7%Brian Gaar: 4.5%The Barbed Wire: 2.2%Unattributed Quote36.7%This article: 2.1%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 0.5%Quote-first Misdirection2.1%This article: 17.9%Brian Gaar: 9.9%The Barbed Wire: 7.4%Biased Writer Voice17.9%This article: 0.5%Brian Gaar: 0.4%The Barbed Wire: 2.1%Indoctrination0.5%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.7%The Barbed Wire: 3.2%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Gaar: 0.2%The Barbed Wire: 0.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 4.2%Brian Gaar: 0.7%The Barbed Wire: 0.6%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…4.2%

803 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers3.0%attributed speech779writer words
Selected voice

James Talarico

100%flagged-word coverage
9 attributed words38% of attributed speech75% writer coverage
0%50.0%100.0%Unattributed Quote+65.2 ptsWriter: 34.8%James Talarico: 100.0%100.0%Biased Writer Voice-18.5 ptsWriter: 18.5%James Talarico: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -4.4 ptsWriter: 4.4%James Talarico: 0.0%0.0%Quote-first Misdirection-2.2 ptsWriter: 2.2%James Talarico: 0.0%0.0%Indoctrination-0.5 ptsWriter: 0.5%James Talarico: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.