We put this week’s edition of Winners & Losers in podcast format taped during TPPF’s annual Texas Policy Summit on the University of Texas campus in Austin. You can listen to the entire list — here’s couple of top lines: TPPF’s Family Success Agenda earns a top spot on the “Winners List” for taking steps to...
School choice hasn’t won yet but it’s in the lead. This morning, Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows announced the filing of House Bill 3 to create education savings accounts. It’s the companion bill to Senate Bill 2 which has already been voted out of the Senate. “House Bill 3 is historic and it provides...
The right to repair is centered on the fundamental tension between consumer’s property rights and manufacturer-imposed repair restrictions. As research demonstrates, manufacturers of electronics, agricultural equipment, and household appliances (among other industries) have increasingly leveraged intellectual property laws, digital locks, and restrictive service agreements to limit who can repair their products. These restrictions not only...
Designating Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations is the first honest step Washington has taken on this issue in decades. On President Donald J. Trump’s first day in office, he issued an executive order designating human and drug trafficking cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). This week, the other shoe is expected to drop, as the State...
Like other Texas school districts, Leander ISD (LISD) is in the process of rightsizing its workforce and budget after a decade-long period of unguarded growth. As reported in greater detail by the Austin American-Statesman: “The Leander school district announced plans to slash more than 200 campus-level staff positions—including nearly 150 teachers — and $3 million...
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Just ask Joe Biden, whose executive orders have quickly gone the way of all flesh during the first three weeks of Donald Trump’s second term. An executive order is, by its nature, a temporary fix. This is particularly true of Trump’s recent executive order to keep men out of...
Every Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., I join the Cardle & Woolley show, Talk 1370 Radio in Austin where we discuss the Winners & Losers for the previous week. President Donald Trump looks like he may get a complete sweep on his cabinet appointments, and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows released his committee assignments—so the...
After last year’s primary elections resulted in a clear and convincing win for parental empowerment, my colleague Sherry Sylvester warned, “the fight is gonna get worse before it gets better.” She was right. The opponents of school have spent recent weeks lobbing absurd accusations and spreading shameful misinformation about the proposal, known as SB2, to...
“Poor Neville Chamberlain believed he could trust Hitler. He was wrong. But I don’t think I am wrong about Stalin.” For those trapped behind the Iron Curtain a mere five years later, the sad reality was that Winston Churchill was wrong about Stalin—a mistake which cost tens of millions their lives and hundreds of millions...
The Trump Administration sees very clearly the true nature of the cartels’ increasing threat to our sovereignty and security. Among his first actions as President, Donald Trump signed an executive order designating Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Shortly after, the White House highlighted the cartel’s collusion with the Mexican Government and stated that “The...
In 2020, $100 was enough to cover a couple’s ideal Valentine’s Day complete with roses, chocolates, and a romantic dinner. But in 2025, that same $100 doesn’t buy quite as much. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that $100 in January 2020 has the same purchasing power as $122.34 in December 2024,...
The shock for the informed is not that Trump declared the Mexican state a narco-regime, but that it didn’t happen years ago. “The Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have an intolerable alliance with the government of Mexico,” announced the White House last month, buried in the official statement on US tariffs on that country’s goods. The declaration...