Senate Bill 5 exists as a reaction to the overreach and excess of social-media firms that have taken it upon themselves to police the public square and stifle ideas and beliefs they disagree with—ideas held by broad swaths of the American public. They do so from a standpoint of exceptional power within our civic space, undergirded by a special favor granted to them, and to no other form of media, by federal legislation: exemption from liability for user-generated content. Unfortunately, what we see time and again is these firms’ unfitness to competently or consistently exercise that power. Individual citizens with unorthodox opinions are deplatformed, and then orthodoxy shifts. Democratically elected representatives are shut down, while dictatorial regimes communicate without hindrance.
Border Security
Rep. Hefner: Property taxes, security, and local reforms top priorities for next session
In a recent interview on The Arena with Greg Sindelar, State Rep. Cole Hefner, R-Mount Pleasant, offered a candid look at his East Texas roots, legislative record, and priorities as Texas heads toward its 90th legislative session. Hefner, who represents a deeply conservative district in Northeast Texas, traced his path to public office back to...
May 1, 2026