Texas is in great shape to become the national leader in protecting children online. It couldn’t come too soon. Excessive social media use and spending time online has been linked in numerous studies to disastrous physical, emotional, and mental health issues for kids. At a recent hearing in the Texas State House, a dozen witnesses...
When Walter Wendler, president of West Texas A&M University, blocked a drag show performance on his campus, likening it to blackface, he was excoriated by the organized LBGTQ+ community, which launched a petition calling it a “gross and abhorrent comparison of two completely different topics. It claimed Wendler was using an “incorrect definition of drag...
In Austin, Texas, in a 24-hour period in March less than a mile apart, a woman was punched several times and sexually assaulted, suffering a split lower jaw and bruises over her body; then a building was burned down, damaging adjacent buildings, causing about $1.5 million in damage. The common thread: Homeless men living on the street...
The debate over what is arguably the most important issue of the legislative session is in full swing. The Senate Education Committee has debated a handful of bills that to varying degrees would give parents greater control over their child’s education. While each bill would be a dramatic improvement over the status quo, the key...
After the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank failures, lawmakers in Texas should take these events as warning signs and proceed with caution when planning the 2024-25 budget. Unfortunately, instead of doing this, the House Committee Substitute for House Bill 1 (CSHB1) will boost spending even more and tap resources from the Rainy Day...
Empowering parents in rural communities with Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) will give them the freedom to choose the best school for their children, according to Mandy Drogin, campaign director for Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Next Generation Initiative. Drogin cites examples from other states that have introduced school choice programs and seen an improvement in education...
Another day, another high-ranking school official attacking parents – this time with racial overtones. In a recent House Public Education hearing, the vice president of the Pflugerville ISD school board suggested that parents of “black and brown kids” are manipulated into sending their children to charter schools. She did not reference white or Asian parents,...
Reduced competition, shortages, and unaffordable options in healthcare are symptoms of middlemen running amok. These middlemen are the healthcare administrators, who rarely touch the product or interface with patients, yet control significant healthcare dollars behind the scenes. Lawmakers must keep these middlemen in mind as they seek to address the inflation of drug prices. A proposal by...
It’s hard to imagine the same barbaric cartel activity that has ravaged Mexico spreading across the border we share, but make no mistake—cartel activity is no longer confined to Mexico. It is present in all of our communities. Drug cartels are ruthless, strategic, highly organized money-making entities that continue to evolve in strength and sophistication....
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...