It is often difficult to look at any specific example of a poorly executed police action and say with certainty that the failure was caused by poor training. There are too many variables at play to limit the failure to any one thing, but if there is one thing that can be looked at it would be the...
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing devastating financial damage throughout the economy, and higher education is no exception. Colleges worry about a decline in enrollments from students newly wary of gathering in close quarters, cuts in state funding that historically accompany recessions, and declines in the value of endowments. These dangers are real, but they don’t distinguish...
Who said the following? Students must “make progress both ideologically and politically, which means that they should study Marxism, current events and politics. Not to have a correct political point of view is like having no soul.” No, this is not the Ivy League’s new Mission Statement. Yet. It comes from Chairman Mao’s 1957 essay, “On...
Texas is in the news, and not in a good way, over an increase in COVID-19 cases over the past four weeks. There’s quite a bit of speculation over why the virus, which largely bypassed the Lone Star State until the end of May, suddenly seemed to become more pernicious. Some point to a lack...
Looking for some good news amid all the pandemic headlines? Here it is — direct primary care is meeting the health care needs of more and more Americans, at an affordable price. Direct care makes health care more affordable because it’s transparent in pricing, eliminates unneeded middlemen, and leverages technology to communicate (through telemedicine). Some...
The tragic death of George Floyd has brought about a renewed focus on social justice, with so many of us thinking over the past few weeks, “Surely, we can do better.” As the dust settles from nationwide riots and inexplicable campaigns to defund the police, it’s time to take a serious look at the real-world...
The Trump Administration and American patients won a victory today in federal court when Judge Nichols ruled against the American Hospital Association’s lawsuit, which sought to block orders for price transparency. In June of last year, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require “hospitals to publicly post standard charge information, including charges and information based on negotiated rates and...
We were told by government officials that the lockdown was necessary to protect our vulnerable populations and to prevent overwhelming hospitals. As compassionate Americans, we listened. We destroyed our economy and our livelihoods. We left millions of individuals unsure of how they would pay their bills or put food on their tables. We temporarily and...
President Trump’s Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities will help continue the criminal justice reform momentum that began when the FIRST Step Act was signed into law. Importantly, the president’s executive order increases the likelihood that people returning from incarceration who have nonviolent or minor encounters with the police will be connected to the social services that...
When, on May 9, Tesla CEO Elon Musk registered his frustration, via Twitter, over California’s COVID restrictions making it impossible to build cars, he wrote, “Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.” He then added, “Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.” Musk’s...
There’s been a yearslong political fight over the issue of mail-in ballots in Texas. This struggle has taken on a new intensity in the wake of the coronavirus from China and the feeling that Texas’ shift from red, if not to blue then at least purple, is one election cycle away. Texas law on mail-in...
As of February, the US is in a recession, and Texas is no different. While the cause is different than prior recessions, people’s financial struggles are the same. With the voluntary social distancing and forced disruptions by state and local governments due to COVID-19, economic activity has collapsed, people have lost their jobs, and employers...