The dusky gopher frog is a critter that can be found in certain areas of Mississippi — and nowhere else. Yet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to “protect” the dusky gopher frog by using the Endangered Species Act to designate a 1,500-acre tract of private forestry land in Louisiana as “critical habitat necessary...
In 2011, then-Texas Governor Rick Perry called on the Lone Star State’s public four-year universities to craft affordable bachelor’s degrees, what the Governor labeled at the time, “$10,000 degrees.” Texas universities have risen to the challenge. In late 2013, the first Texas Affordable Baccalaureate Degree was launched by Texas A&M-Commerce and South Texas College. The...
The Founding Fathers included the Eighth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution to ensure the Federal Government does not perform “cruel and unusual punishment” on U.S. citizens or force them to pay “excessive fines” or bail. Fast forward a couple of centuries: problems that concern this rather vague (but important) clause are rearing their ugly head....
The historic passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act a year ago set off a surge of hiring across America. Since then, private employers added some 2.4 million employees through November 2018, according to the employment reportreleased by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today. Further, the federal state jobs report shows that low-tax...
Late Friday night the good news came that TPPF and the Texas-led coalition of state attorneys general scored a major victory in the fight against Obamacare. While the decision the will likely be appealed, such a decisive victory shows a clear legal pathway to overturn the disastrous Affordable Care Act. But that’s not where the...
Here’s a Dickens of an idea. After the Gainesville Daily Register published a moving piece about a downtown merchant decorating for Christmas, another local business owner asked, via Facebook, why the city doesn’t fund such decorations. Great Marley’s ghost! Still, it’s not an outlandish idea. Lots of cities decorate for the holidays, and many focus...
Today, the U.S. House just fully enrolled the First Step Act, which is now en route to the Resolute Desk as we speak. Congratulations are in order. First and foremost, Texas’s own John Cornyn deserves recognition for his dogged work on this issue, extending all the way back to 2013. Senator Cruz also cosponsored the...
Austin sometimes has its own “inside the beltway” mentality. Teams of analysts, lobbyists, lawyers, and public officials buzz around the halls of the Capitol and neighboring offices, going about work that will determine the future of Texas. Those of us who live and work here don’t always get the chance to go out and hear...
Before Texas began its transition to a competitive electric market in January 2002, Dallas ratepayers were forced to buy their electricity from one electric utility at one price — about 14 cents per kilowatt- hour in 2018 dollars. Today, Dallas consumers can choose from more than 80 plans offered by about 30 retail electric providers...
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries on December 18, with the data likely being surprising to some people. Looking at 139 separate occupations and discrete industries, an obvious pattern quickly emerges: the safest workplaces are indoors and the safest occupations frequently require education beyond high school. The...
The City of Georgetown, Texas, and its mayor, Dale Ross, have become known internationally over the past couple of years due to the city’s claim that its municipal electricity utility uses 100% renewable energy. But as recent developments show, Georgetown’s proverbial 15 minutes of fame came at great cost to taxpayers and electricity ratepayers. Mayor...
When Dillon and Melissa Bright’s infant son fell from a chair and bumped his head, they rushed him to Texas Children’s Hospital to get him checked out. It began a months-long nightmare encounter with Child Protective Services that reached its climax on November 8, when state district Judge Michael Schneider issued an unprecedented sanction of...