Last week, the Texas State Board of Education made significant improvements that allow for more objective teaching on science and the way the world is changing, including climate change. Unlike TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) standards, SBOE operating rules are revised every two years, and for instructional materials, they reinforce the selection process schools...
Historically, I’ve been a late adopter of technology. I was one of the last people I know to get a cell phone. And I continued to pay for gas inside the gas station for years after everyone else started paying at the pump with a credit card. But recognizing my own Luddite tendencies, I try to deliberately...
In much of the U.S., natural gas is so inexpensive that gas ranges cost less than half as much to operate as an electric range. In the first few days of February, central Texas was hit with a severe ice storm. An inch of ice accumulated on the trees around my house. Massive oak branches,...
Texas experienced tremendous population growth in 2022, becoming “the only state other than California with a resident population above 30 million.” One key reason for Texas’ booming population is the state’s reputation for low taxes and limited government. People want small government and they’re willing to vote with their feet to prove it. And yet,...
Here’s why detecting climate propaganda matters. Bloomberg Green, Bloomberg’s climate newsletter, started with this headline last week: “A deadly, overlooked consequence of climate change: disease.” I’d like to rephrase: “A deadly, overlooked consequence of Net Zero: disease.” While world leaders push for Net Zero, they use Malawi as a climate crisis scapegoat. We say, Malawi...
Newsom’s homelessness strategy leaves California in a shambles, but there may be hope SAN FRANCISCO — As the cold fury of the January storms ripped through San Francisco’s Tenderloin district — the epicenter of the state’s drug and homelessness crisis — much of the trash and drug paraphernalia debris had washed away. But within minutes of...
My confidence in public schools to be a safe place for kids to learn was shattered last August with this quote from a book displayed in the library at Belton Middle School: “From six up, I used to kiss other guys in my neighborhood, make out with them, and perform oral sex on them. I...
For its part, the Texas Association of School Boards is unapologetic—either for its support of the National School Boards Association (which called on the Biden administration to treat parents speaking out as “domestic terrorism and hate crimes” in 2021), or for its advocacy of political goals that the vast majority of Texans don’t share. What...
In the political context, the term “sunshine” originated in U. S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis’ book Other People’s Money and How the Bankers Use It, where he argued that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.” While initially aimed at the business sector, Brandeis’ axiom is...
The Texas Tribune began its coverage of the 88th Session this year with a news report screaming that “LGBTQ Texans Ready for Legislative Session as GOP lawmakers target them in dozens of bills.” The Tribune warns that many LGBTQ people say they are leaving Texas because of the GOP “assault” on their rights. If LGBTQ...
In our constitutional system, individuals have rights and governments have certain powers to protect those rights and to promote the common good. When local regulation unduly interferes with individual property rights, it is appropriate for the sovereign state government to act. From exceptionally high lot-size regulations to impossible land setback requirements, and other overly-burdensome constraints,...
The question is whether letting some U.S. aid corruptly enrich a few Ukrainians is worth it to degrade the threat of nuclear war with Russia. Critics of America’s support for Ukraine often cite the latter’s corruption as a rationale not to provide assistance. Ukraine has struggled under the burden of corruption, but that does not...