Criminal Justice

If the Federal Government Has Been Weaponized, It’s Because the Justice System Provided the Ammo

After two years of observing the actions of the Biden administration with a growing sense of helplessness and outrage, House Republicans are finally in a position to effectually respond. Having assumed control of the House of Representatives, their investigations now leverage substantial resources and are backed by subpoena power. Fittingly, one of their first undertakings...

January 17, 2023

Higher Education

Biden plans to turn student loans into delayed grants

The Biden administration has released its plans to introduce a new income-driven repayment program for student loans. The proposed regulations are as bad as the early indications hinted they would be. For those just getting up to speed, a standard loan uses a fixed monthly payment and a predetermined number of payments (e.g., a car loan of $500 per...

January 17, 2023

Criminal Justice

Why Biden’s documents mess could be one of the biggest political scandals in American history

America’s Justice Department has become politicized and the Biden documents scandal begs the question, what did Merrick Garland know? The political weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice finally hit a wall last week as Attorney General Merrick B. Garland boxed himself into having to appoint a special counsel to examine classified documents squirreled away in multiple...

January 16, 2023

K-12 Education

Teachers’ unions locked kids out of schools to get more of your money, not for safety

Teachers’ unions and Democrats want to perpetuate COVID pandemic forever Way to go, teachers unions! America’s school children were among the big casualties of COVID-19 pandemic policies. Shuttered schools and remote learning sank national math scores, slashed individual lifetime earnings, and stunted the economic growth potential. Once again, our children were political pawns in a...

January 16, 2023

Economy

5 Reasons why Gavin Newsom’s California isn’t the ‘true freedom state’

On the day Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom was sworn into his second term in office, he took to Twitter to make a remarkable—even risible—claim, that “California is the true freedom state.” Newsom went on to write, “Protecting liberty from a rising tide of oppression taking root in statehouses. Weakness, masquerading as strength. Small men...

January 11, 2023

Local Government

DEVORE: Ballots Or Bullets? Riot Or Representation? America’s Been Here Before

Ballots or bullets? Riot or representation? America has faced such crossroads in the past, in which violent unrest preceded change. Shays’ Rebellion in 1786 led to the Constitution. The Civil War resulted in emancipation. And anger with policing and the criminal justice system, with government COVID lockdowns, and with widespread disregard of election law and...

January 11, 2023

Taxes & Spending

Should Fears of Recession get in the way of Property Tax Relief?

Texans are struggling with high property taxes, soaring prices, and stagnant income. As a result, most big-budget players favor some property tax relief. For instance, Gov. Greg Abbot declared his intention to use half of the actual surplus fund ($16.3 billion) for this initiative. Likewise, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick revealed that property tax relief is...

January 10, 2023

Taxes & Spending

Five Pressing Fiscal Questions (and Answers) for 2023

The legislative session is right around the corner and many things are starting to become clear—like how big the budget should be, how much money will be available for property tax relief, and what top state officials are saying about it all. With that in mind, here are five critical policy questions and answers about...

January 9, 2023

Criminal Justice

Better Policies Can Bring Down New Orleans Crime Rates

It’s truly disappointing that the New Year was rung in with headlines such as “New Orleans is ‘America’s Murder Capital’ of 2022,” after nine shooting incidents in just 24 hours at year’s end. As a native Louisianan, a former probation and parole officer, and the Louisiana State Director of Right On Crime, a criminal justice initiative of...

January 5, 2023

Economy

California Governor Newsom starts second term Friday, will his next stop be the White House?

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, 55, will be sworn into his second and last term on Friday, Jan. 6. This marks the start of Newsom’s 26th consecutive year in elected office. Given Newsom’s ambitions and age, will he run for president in 2024? Newsom, like Vice President Kamala Harris, got his political start when former San Francisco mayor...

January 5, 2023

Foreign Policy

It’s Been 10 Months Since Russia Invaded Ukraine. Where Do Things Go From Here?

It’s been 10 months since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the second phase of his invasion of Ukraine, aiming to dismantle its government and replace it with one of his liking while annexing large portions of Ukrainian territory. Instructively, Putin launched the first phase of his operations against Ukraine in 2014 when Joe Biden was...

December 27, 2022

Public Safety

‘A Brief And Visual History Of Antisemitism’ Is An Important Resource In Today’s Climate

Israel B. Bitton’s new book, “A Brief and Visual History of Antisemitism,” shouldn’t be needed — but sadly, it is. A substantial work two years in the making, the visually rich effort features a foreword by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. It’s aimed at all people, but it is particularly designed for seniors in high school...

December 21, 2022