In Dr. Seuss’ book, “The Lorax”, the “Once-ler” pursues his dreams of getting rich by cutting down trees to make Thneeds, without replanting or replenishing the trees. In so doing he awakens the Lorax, the guardian of the trees. The Lorax tells the Once-ler, “I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for...
The fact that our nation’s unemployment rate is approaching the low rate of 3.5% that was reached just prior to the pandemic should be a cause for celebration. But for a variety of reasons, the official unemployment number is misleading. The employment situation is not as rosy as it may seem. There is a wide...
HIDALGO—From the actual high ground — from the bluffs overlooking the Rio Grande River — it’s hard to see how any of this makes sense. President Joe Biden’s inaction and inept policies on the southern U.S. border only increase the human carnage and suffering wrought by the Mexican drug cartels. This isn’t compassion; it’s complicity. The Texas...
Ah, Earth Day, when all headline-seeking celebrities, corporations, and politicians come together to virtue-signal about saving the world. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Invest in Our Planet” — an ironic choice, since the financial goals of the environmentalist movement wouldn’t help the planet but would, instead, hurt so many of the humans living on it....
Today, people will celebrate Earth Day with “Invest in our Planet” events put on by climate change activists, but there are many people who don’t know such a day exists—and yet they are much better acquainted with investing in the Earth for survival than we are. Boniface, 14, knows the toils of the Earth. A...
Many of us have the average post-brunch Sunday afternoon routine. We check to see what we could buy after paying off grad school debt. Ponder if we should adopt a cat. Or we scroll through Zillow and save a couple houses. One can dream, right? Sadly, the American dream of homeownership is moving further and...
HARLINGEN—When Andrea Barrera had her baby, both she and her husband were very young—and very scared. She had her first appointment with the pediatrician, but it felt far too rushed. “I was confused, about everything, and I needed guidance,” she said. “I had questions. I didn’t get answers.” The pediatrician was covered by Medicaid, but...
Accreditors serve as key gatekeepers in higher education. Without accreditation, a college’s students are not eligible to receive federal financial aid such as Pell grants and student loans. This gives accreditors a fairly unique status—private entities that can determine if taxpayer dollars flow to a college. Given that accreditors have this power bestowed upon them...
The struggle and the idea. Defining Texas and the Texans. This is the prepared text for my remarks at the Texas Center at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, 25 March 2022. Texas identity. What is it? How do we understand it? What does it mean? What does it demand of us? Those of us who...
In Shel Silverstein’s bestselling book, “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” readers journey through a dizzying fictional tale in which boys are turned into television sets and diamonds grow in gardens. But for Nashville residents Jim Knight and Jason Mayes, their dizzying bureaucratic journey of attempting to develop their property was terrifyingly real. The story begins with...
Ghost gun—the very name invokes the image of something illegal, something hidden, something meant for unlawful ends. This name for unregistered firearms was chosen just for that purpose—to make it feel like such firearms are tainted by ill intent. The Biden administration has targeted them since ascending to office, and many liberal states have already...
It’s no surprise the Biden administration favors big government. But a new climate rule proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) takes Biden’s “whole of government” assault on our energy resources to whole new level. Under a new SEC rule proposed last month, all companies would be required to disclose their greenhouse gas...