Energy & Environment

The Biden-Harris energy plan would inflict California-style blackouts, sky-high costs on our entire nation

California just saw electrical blackouts due to a lack of power, rather than due to wildfires, for the first time since 2001. The left’s systemic environmentalism that emphasizes green bling over the basics, like reliability and power lines, is to blame. California’s woes would have been far worse were it not for gas and coal-powered generation in other...

September 5, 2020

Criminal Justice

Partnerships between police officers and former prisoners promote safety and hope

At a time of wrenching division, police officers and those returning from prison share unexpected commonalities that can bring us together. On the surface, these two groups would seem dissimilar, but a groundbreaking Las Vegas program that bridges this divide has caught the attention of both the White House and the governor of Nevada. Perhaps more importantly, it...

September 4, 2020

K-12 Education

“Pod” Bless Texas

As too many school systems dithered indecisively regarding reopening, many parents have decided that one lost semester was one too many and acted. Micro-schools-or “Pandemic Pods” are fast becoming the Cajun Navy of K-12 education, but not everyone is pleased. The Texas Tribune, for instance, said “The ‘Do It Yourself’ approach to education threatens to leave behind...

September 3, 2020

Local Government

Will Dallas Keep Bloated City Salaries?

Many Texans have had to make sacrifices this year. Now, some local elected officials are calling on city governments to do the same. One recent high-profile example: Dallas mayor Eric Johnson took aim last week at “bloated” city salaries, saying in a Dallas Morning News op-ed: “The city manager in Dallas makes $406,850 in salary...

September 3, 2020

Economy

Don’t Short-Circuit Property Tax Relief in Texas

Amid a time with one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. since the Great Depression, some local Texas entities are trying to raise property taxes. This would be especially detrimental to low-income households, which are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A Problem with Property Taxes Taxes on property are not connected to...

September 3, 2020

Local Government

How Much Will Project Connect Cost You?

Austin officials are pitching voters on a $7.1 billion transportation plan that includes a downtown subway system, light rail, electric bikes, and more. But will the plan’s tax increase scare voters away? It’s certainly possible after seeing the numbers. According to Community Impact, the average Austin-area homeowner will pay hundreds of dollars more per year...

September 1, 2020

Border Security

The Fight Against Human Trafficking: Finding Consensus in Polarized Times

As election day approaches, the polarization of our political climate has been on full display. It’s easy to fall victim to the temptation to lose hope that our increasingly divided electorate will ever be able to reach consensus on many of the most challenging issues faced by our nation. Yet, as Americans, we are united...

August 31, 2020

K-12 Education

Now is the time to renew our focus on students and their futures

You can’t just put a child’s development on hold. That’s clear to every parent. And when schools shut down last spring, many watched nervously as the ad-hoc measures put into place — from Zoom classes to emailed assignments — failed far too many students. It’s time to renew our focus on students and their futures. Only one in...

August 31, 2020

Economy

California Is Not A Tech State, It’s A Big Labor State, And The Two Are At War

We needed some groceries. Caring for my 95-year-old father-in-law at home, complicated by COVID-19 concerns, led us to do what we have increasingly done over the past few months: we ordered online for at-home delivery. At the appointed time, Billy, the driver, showed up with the groceries, driving his own car. From a respectful distance,...

August 28, 2020

Economy

Biden Majors in the Minors. Trump Focuses on Existential Threats

So far, 2020 isn’t turning out to be a defense and foreign policy election, with voters viewing overseas commitments and threats as merely the sixth-most-important issue, according to a Pew Research poll completed in August. Foreign policy ranks behind the economy, health care, Supreme Court appointments, the coronavirus, and violent crime and just ahead of gun policy...

August 28, 2020

Higher Education

How Two Uber Drivers Showed Me America’s Racial Crossroads

It was the best of rides; it was the worst of rides. I took an Uber drive from the White House to Reagan airport last March. When I got in, the driver, after saying hello, immediately informed me, “America was founded on slavery.” I was a bit taken aback by his assertion, not that I...

August 26, 2020

Border Security

U.S. Border Security Gains Teeter in the Balance

While the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming election overwhelmingly dominate the nation’s attention, other critical challenges facing the nation continue to be dangerously ignored. One such issue is our country’s chronically dysfunctional asylum system which, a little more than a year after having provoked one of the most severe crisis on our southwestern border in...

August 26, 2020