Tomorrow, the House Committee on Land & Resource Management will meet to discuss a slew of different bills, including two important disannexation bills—HBs 2561 and 3053. For those who may not know, disannexation refers to a community’s right to separate from a city government when it is no longer being well-served. And if the hearing...
The experts could hide behind international law as they advocate economy-crushing lockdowns and forced vaccinations. Elon Musk tweeted that “Countries should not cede authority to WHO,” and conservatives have joined him in sounding the alarm about proposed legal changes to the World Health Organization and its International Health Regulations (IHR). The basic question is whether America should...
The push to ditch reliable energy is out of control. Politicians are manipulating the energy market through subsidies, tax breaks, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives in regulations and government pensions. It’s also concerning that the “big three” investment institutions, which collectively hold over $20 trillion in assets, too often coerce the companies in which they...
With another major train derailment in West Virginia just weeks after the toxic wreck in East Palestine, Ohio — two of a dozen such accidents in 2023 — many are wondering if train wrecks are on the rise. While many factors have led to the increase in train derailments since President Biden took office, one surprising contributor is the...
When we follow it, our Constitution is well suited to achieve its Preamble’s enumerated ends, namely to: “…form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” That more people question the Constitution’s viability today...
The House’s proposed budget for the 2024-25 biennium, House Bill 1, is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee of Appropriations on Thursday. As we move forward in the budget process, it is important to consider these two key questions: Are we spending too much or too little? To answer this question, we...
Calling business welfare, or crony capitalism, an economic development tool does not change what is happening in such transactions, nor does it make it better policy. In the 87th Session of the Texas Legislature, in 2021, a wonderful thing happened: Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code was allowed to expire without lawmakers renewing it....
A change in tone is not a change in tactics — and President Joe Biden’s recent approval of the Willow project, which will allow ConocoPhillips to drill for oil and gas on lands in Alaska leased from the federal government, isn’t a deviation from his openly declared goal. During his campaign, Biden said, “I guarantee you...
A new bill in Colorado, HB 1202, would allow communities to set up “safe injection sites” in hopes of curbing the state’s overdose crisis. Its sponsors argue that people can’t kick their habit if they are dead. Colorado, for once, isn’t charting the course to the drugging of people — it’s simply following the misguided lead of...
In some cases, they promote the opposite: homogeneity, inequality, and exclusion I must tip my hat to some of my friends on the left side of the political spectrum. They are some of the best wordsmiths in our society. Not only have they coined the awful word “woke” into one of the most used words in...
Texas is a hub for human trafficking, but Austin City Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly hopes to make her city a place where those being trafficked can find help. According to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Texas ranks No. 2 in the nation for the number of human trafficking cases. The AG reports that “3,559 substantive contacts...
Any doubts around President Joe Biden’s running for reelection were dispelled by his reversal on D.C.’s new crime bill, a political punch that blindsided Washington D.C. and House Democrats. In an attempt to stem anger at this betrayal, Biden described his decision in policy terms—he simply couldn’t stand by and let D.C. enact lower penalties...