Every Friday morning, I join the Cardle & Woolley Show on Talk 1370 Radio in Austin to announce the week’s Winners & Losers. Next week you can join us at the Texas Public Policy Foundation for Winners and Losers LIVE. Click here for more info.
See you there. Here’s who made this week’s list.
WINNER: Marco Rubio & Western Civilization in Europe
There is no question that the biggest winner of this week (and in many weeks) was Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference, where he reminded Europeans and the rest of the world exactly what Western Civilization is and why we must fight for it. There were many “best lines” in Rubio’s speech, but here’s one of my favorites:
“It was here in Europe…which gave the world the rule of law, the universities, and the scientific revolution. It was this continent that produced the genius of Mozart and Beethoven, of Dante and Shakespeare, of Michelangelo and Da Vinci, of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. And this is the place where the vaulted ceilings of the Sistine Chapel and the towering spires of the great cathedral in Cologne, they testify not just to the greatness of our past or to a faith in God that inspired these marvels [but] how it is critical to our make up as countries with shared heritage.”
Rubio’s speech has been compared to Churchill. I have no doubt going forward that it will become required reading in our history books. You can read or listen to it here.
WINNER: Protecting Western Civilization in Texas
Although it was undoubtedly written before Rubio gave his speech, the University of Texas Board of Regents passed a new set of guidelines for faculty this week that requires professors to “not attempt to coerce, indoctrinate, harass, or belittle students, especially in addressing controversial subjects and areas where people of good faith can hold differing convictions.”
Predictably, UT faculty has gone wild, calling the move an end to academic freedom. Meanwhile, the media, both in Texas and nationally, are running headlines screaming that the University of Texas is limiting the teaching of “controversial subjects,” instead of saying what is true — that the new initiative prohibits coercion, indoctrination, harassment and bullying, in classrooms at public universities.
Rubio said in his speech that America does not want allies in Europe to be “shackled by guilt and shame, but who are proud of their culture and heritage and understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilization.”
Similarly, Texans want those who graduate from state universities to also understand who they are — with pride, not shame, which is why classrooms that were indoctrinating students with the idea that America’s founding motivation was racism — the bedrock principle of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs — have been eliminated along with women’s and gender studies classes that teach that the patriarchal subversion of women is the driving force behind America’s government and economy.
Stating that “people of good faith can hold different convictions” may seem obvious to most, but it is a sentiment that has long been absent from too many college classrooms. Just ask the young woman at Texas A&M who was told to leave class because she challenged an instructor’s insistence that there are more than two genders.
The war against American universities, including those in Texas, over the last several decades has actually been a war against Western Civilization, a fact that became horrifyingly clear when we watched thousands of college student mobs across the country demonstrate in support of terrorists killing Jews.
The war on Western Civilization that Secretary Rubio spoke about in Munich is the same war that the leadership of the University of Texas is fighting over on the Forty Acres. Rubio says America is “charting a path toward a new century of prosperity.” The latest changes by the Longhorns indicated they are committed to doing the same through truly open dialogue and debate.
LOSER: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Air Quotes “Western Culture”
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, condemned Rubio’s speech about Western Culture, which she put in air quotes to show her contempt for even having to discuss it. She insisted that, somehow, it wasn’t the West, but enslaved Africans (and not the Spanish) who brought horses to Mexico. If you don’t believe we are in a war about Western Civilization, watch AOC’s comments. Also, showing that she had clearly gone to schools that were long on DEI classes and short on geography, she lost lots of points for claiming that Venezuela was below the equator.
LOSER: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is Historically Illiterate
After California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week that the U.S. has never deployed the National Guard domestically, Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz blasted him for being “historically illiterate,” pointing out that the National Guard had been deployed a number of times during the civil rights movement to help enforce racial integration in the schools. Newsom fired back, insisting that Cruz was making fun of him for being dyslexic. I didn’t bother to follow it after that, but want to make sure you know that Newsom is on the losers list again.
LOSER: The Brother of the King of England, formerly known as Prince Andrew
The week’s list must include the perpetually clueless British Royal, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, who was arrested this week on suspicion of having given British trade secrets to Jeffrey Epstein years ago when the two were friends. The former prince was stripped of all his titles the other year when his close relationship with Epstein and his entourage of underage women was revealed. Mountbatten Windsor denies doing anything illegal, but then how can you believe a guy who says that the only reason he stayed at Epstein’s apartment in New York was that it was convenient for his meeting schedule. Andrew is still eighth in line to the throne, but I suspect they will pull him off the chart in the coming days. Meghan Markel probably has a better shot.
Things also don’t look good for the real leader of the British people, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who appointed Peter Mandalson, another Epstein buddy, as U.S. Ambassador. Some say Andrew’s antics could bring an end to the monarchy — but I doubt it. Who would want to jeopardize the next season of “The Crown?” After this, it’s going to be terrific.
WINNER: Kansas Legislature Champions Privacy for Women & Girls
Republicans in Kansas overrode the veto of Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly this week and passed a law that will require that public buildings including schools and state offices to designate restrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex. The fact that this is an 80/20 issue among most thinking Americans was revealed in the vote, which was 87 to 37 in the Kansas House and 31 to 9 in the Kansas Senate.
LOSER: Southwest Airlines is the new New Coke
Southwest Airlines is a great Texas brand that many used to call the “company jet,” because it worked especially well for the Lone Star State. You could fly between all the big cities in our massive state in about an hour, crossing hundreds of miles with ticket flexibility that allowed for late meetings and early starts. You got a ticket with a number on it and you got in line and got on board. That’s all over now.
Southwest flyers must pick a seat in advance, like every other airline, and wait in a large group to board — even if you are in seat A1. But on Southwest it’s worse. The overhead bin space is a mess — whoever gets on first takes all the space — blocking both entry and exit to the plane. The result has been chaotic boarding and departures.
TPPF CEO Greg Sindelar voiced his complaints on X, where thousands agreed with him and Southwest’s hometown newspaper, the Dallas Morning News, reports that nobody is happy. Still, it doesn’t appear changes are likely. We can only hope they will look at what happened to “New Coke.”
WINNER: Rescinding Greenhouse Gas Endangerment
It’s finally done — the 2009 Endangerment Finding has been rescinded in what is being called “one of the largest deregulatory actions in US history.” TPPF has all the background facts here, but the short version is that greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming will no longer be treated like pollutants because they are just not that dangerous. This will be a huge blow to professional protestors and the upcoming No Kings March. Polls show 85% of Generation Z describe themselves as “climate worriers,” or even worse, victims of “climate anxiety.”
LOSER: New York Times Neglects to Report Ice Hockey Shooter is Transsexual
Four days after the shooting, and Breitbart points out that the New York Times has yet to report that the shooter at a Pawtucket High School hockey game in Rhode Island is a transsexual. There is lots of disagreement about whether the data indicates that the number of mass shooters who are transsexual is increasing, but it is hard to see how that would justify the New York Times not reporting that the shooter was named Robert when he was born and now he goes by Roberta.
WINNER: USA Women’s Hockey Team Restores Global Order
After the whiney speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at Davos last month, complaining that President Trump’s arrogant attitude not only hurt everyone’s feelings but had created a “rupture in the global order,” it was especially gratifying when Team USA slammed the Canadian team this week in women’s hockey. The American women took the gold, capping off an undefeated season after shutting out the Canadians in all five preliminary games.
Carney initially got a standing ovation for his anti-American comments immediately following his speech, but enthusiasm has cooled as even the EU Secretary made a point of saying she didn’t agree with him. Canada’s progressive policies have devastated the country’s economy where stagnant productivity has driven the GDP lower than Alabama. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had the best critique of Carney’s remarks, saying that he would have been better off just saying thank you, adding: “In the context of the United States, I’ll point out the Canadian economy is smaller than the economy of Texas.”
Medal Count
The U.S. moved past Italy to the No. 2 position in the Olympic medal count today, way ahead of Canada. Norway is No. 1 — it’s winter sports, after all.
Have a great weekend.
Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.