Author: mikeyawn

Mike Yawn teaches at Sam Houston State University. In the past few years, he has taught courses on Politics & Film, Public Policy, the Presidency, Media & Politics, Congress, Statistics, Research & Writing, Field Research, and Public Opinion. He has published academic papers in the Journal of Politics, Political Behavior, Social Security Quarterly, Film & History, American Politics Review, and contributed a chapter to the textbook Politics and Film. He also contributes columns, news analysis, and news stories to newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, Huron Daily Tribune, Laredo Morning Times, Beaumont Enterprise, Connecticut Post, and Midland Reporter Telegram. Yawn is also active in his local community, serving on the board of directors of the local YMCA and Friends of the Wynne. Previously, he served on the Huntsville's Promise and Stan Musial World Series Boards of Directors. In 2007-2008, Yawn was one of eight scholars across the nation named as a Carnegie Civic Engagement Scholar by the Carnegie Foundation.

Inside The Many Faces of Sam Houston Exhibit

by Michelle Moya

The Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Presidential Library (SHMM) offers visitors a chance to learn about one of Texas’ most influential figures but its newest exhibition, The Many Faces of Sam Houston, goes a step further. This week, the LEAP Ambassadors visited the museum’s latest display, which explores how Houston’s image has been crafted, challenged, and reimagined over the past 200 years.

The exhibit, which opened July 3, explores how Houston’s public image has evolved over the past two centuries. Featuring portraits, daguerreotypes, sculptures, and illustrations, the collection shows Houston not just as a political leader, but as someone who understood the significance of image. That theatrical quality becomes immediately clear as visitors move through the gallery, seeing how Houston deliberately transformed his appearance throughout his life.

One of the featured pieces is a recently commissioned portrait by Huntsville-based artist Lee Jamison. Inspired by an early daguerreotype, Jamison portrays Houston’s larger-than-life persona in a vivid, contemporary style. Jamison’s work is familiar to many in the community; his mural located at the corner of 12th Street and Sam Houston Avenue in Downtown Huntsville has become a local landmark and tribute to Texas history.

The exhibition also includes a marble bust of Houston by sculptor Elisabet Ney, part of the museum’s permanent collection. Ney, a German-born artist celebrated for her contributions to Texas art and history, presents a thoughtful and dignified version of Houston.

She is also known for her monumental statue of Houston that stands in the Texas State Capitol, further solidifying her role in shaping the state’s visual history.

The photographer Matthew Brady was also famous for documenting history. Indeed, in addition to his famous Civil War photographs, Brady captured 18 of 19 presidents during the mid-to-late 19th century. His photograph Sam Houston, from 1850, is on display.

Another highlight is Texas artist Tom Lea’s design for the five-cent Sam Houston commemorative stamp. Though small in size, the stamp represents a different kind of legacy–one meant for daily use and mass circulation. Lea chose to depict Houston as he appeared during his presidency of the Republic of Texas, offering Americans a consistent and iconic image of their Texas hero with every letter they sent.

The exhibition also includes 19th-century book illustrations and ephemera that reveal how Houston was presented to various audiences throughout his life and long after. Each artistic decision–from clothing to posture to facial expression–reflects how artists and publishers aimed to emphasize particular traits, whether strength, wisdom, or statesmanship.

Taken as a whole, “The Many Faces of Sam Houston” illustrates how carefully Houston curated his own public image and how generations of artists have continued to reimagine him. From Brady’s realistic portrait to Jamison’s modern interpretation, each piece tells us something not only about Houston, but about the era and perspective in which it was created.

The exhibition will remain on view through August 31, 2025, in the Katy & E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center’s exhibit gallery. It is free and open to the public, offering a rare opportunity to explore the intersection of art, history, and memory through the life and legacy of Sam Houston.

Unfolding Law Enforcement Corruption and Cover-Ups

By Mayra Sofia Soto

Today we joined an exciting virtual session hosted by the Houston Area ACFE Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education.

The event was led by Lawrence P. Smith, President and Founder of the STIRM Group Inc, which conducts complex investigations for law enforcement, legal entities, and private clients.

Smith, who also hosts the podcast Bribes, Lies & Alibis, is releasing a new book this fall– Six Degrees of Corruption: The Fleecing of a City– detailing corruption at the heart of institutions designed to protect the public.

The case began when a police chief approached Smith in late 2021 to investigate a forged training record tied to a former Methuen Police Department officer. What seemed at first like a simple case of document fraud unraveled into something much larger: a pattern of systemic corruption involving fraudulent certifications, fake officers, conspiracy, and significant Brady v. Maryland implication. Smith’s background in document fraud, including years with Homeland Security, allowed him to immediately spot the forgery. But the deeper he dug, the more the issue grew– from one fake cop to institutional complicity at the highest levels.

Central to the scandal was the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), the body responsible for overseeing municipal police training statewide. Smith initially gavethem a professional courtesy call, as is customary in law enforcement when an officer is under investigation. Instead of honesty, he encountered what he believed was direct involvement andcriminal negligence by the executive director. Despite presenting overwhelming evidence such as forged academy records, evidence tampering, and false arrests. The case was rejected 11 times by the Attorney General’s Office, the District Attorney, and even the Department of Justice.

The report was not only turned down, it was impounded. Officials cited “not enough evidence” and tried to use prosecutorial discretion to avoid action. Smith detailed how elected officials and politically connected figures shielded the MPTC leadership from accountability. The MPTC agency stripped metadata from requested records, withheld documents from investigators and the media, lied to investigators and tampered with evidence. Those responsible, including Robert Ferullo, the MPTC’s executive director, faced no charges even as evidence of their active involvement increased.

These failures rippled outward. Every officer trained by the MPTC, every conviction they played a role in, now comes under question. The legal, financial, and reputational damage is profound. The scale of corruption and political protection in the state as Smith noted “is mind-numbing.”

When an accreditation body is compromised, the entire justice system is at risk ranging from civil rights violations to erosion of public trust. The fallout includes not just criminal liability, but also obstruction of justice, conspiracy and accreditation loss.

Smith emphasized that this case isn’t about money or value but it’s about protecting human rights. At the end of the day, the greatest badge of honor is honesty.

Partnership, Photography, and Philanthropy: Boy Scouts of American and the LEAP Ambassadors

The concept of helping other people is central to the BSA “Scout Oath,” while also being integral to the mission of the LEAP Ambassadors. It was perhaps no surprise, then, that these two organizations would eventually work together and, in doing so, would help others.

The partnership was prompted by Troop 114’s end-of-the-school-year celebration, a need for photography, and a request from Gene Roberts. So, in mid-May, with temperatures hovering around 95, the LEAP Ambassadors came armed with cameras to do individual, family, and group photos of the Scouts.

The immediate result was more than 200 photographs of young people, their families, and scout leaders.

The young people did a good job in the face of heat, delays, and the youthful discomfort of being the center of attention in a crowd of peers and the camera’s gaze.

It was a learning process for us as photographers. While we have a competence with the technical aspects of the camera, we do little formal photography. We also don’t do a lot of posing of other people, particularly young children and groups with extreme height differences. So, it was a little overwhelming at times, trying to keep up with camera settings, posing and positioning, backgrounds, impatience, and changing light conditions, not to mention the heat. In turn, this led to longer wait-times for the photography, which must have been frustrating to the Scouts and their families.

Nonetheless, we were able to take more 1,500 photographs in a matter of an hour, with some of the children showing an inclination for attention.

We stayed for another hour or so, photographing the Scout meeting…

…and we were generously offered meals from the Troop’s potluck dinner, and in the process, learned more about Scouts, their mission, and the contributions to those involved and to the community at large.

Indeed, although we offered to do the photography for free, many generous parents/leaders donated $360 to LEAP. In turn and in the spirit of the community-minded impulse that animates the Scouts, we matched the donation and contributed it to the Salvation Army of Kerry .