Alexis Garcia at Reason explores the reasons why The Texas Model has our state booming in a nationally down economy. It should be pointed out that while we are energy rich, the Texas Model isn't predicated on energy production. It's predicated on sound conservative policies of low taxes, low regulation, reasonable tort laws, and a predisposition to enabling individual liberty. Any state can copy the Texas Model and get Texas-like results!
The Arena
Why do those who work the hardest to infringe on our civil rights and tell us how to live our lives always seem to reserve the right not to practice what they preach? Via Breitbart, "CA State Sen. Leland Yee Indicted for Arms Trafficking After Supporting Assault Weapons Ban".
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has introduced legislation known as the "Media Shield Law". Breitbart's Matthew Boyle explains:
Schumer's proposal would exempt a “covered journalist” from subpoenas and other legal requirements to expose their confidential sources in leak investigations and other areas. Other lawmakers have proposed similar ideas in the past, but the effort gained new momentum after a series of revelations about controversial tactics the Justice Department was using to target journalists.
Sounds great, right? Why wouldn't we want to shore up the First Amendment's freedom of the press protections?
But not all is as it seems. Senator...
According to the New York Times, an Egyptian court has sentenced 529 people to death for the killing of a police officer. It is absurd on its face that so many people could be directly responsible for the death of one person. Such Kangaroo Court proceedings are a good reminder that as flawed as our justice system can be here at home, our due process rights are vastly superior to most (if not all) of the rest of the world. Maybe the Right On Crime folks would consider opening an office in Cairo.
This is allegedly the text of Ernest Shackleton's advertisement recruiting men for his next polar expedition.
MEN WANTED for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.
Ernest Shackleton 4 Burlington st.
Whether this is actually the text of Shackleton's ad or not, I do not know. I do know that it accurately represents the spirit of the times. It's very Texan in spirit, actually. Had Ernest Shackleton and William Barret Travis walked the earth at the same time and ever had the chance to...
The Tyler Morning Telegraph is out with a scathing report on the rapid demise of the glorious new $60,000,000 (yes $60 Million) high school football stadium in Allen, Texas.
A $60 million Texas high school stadium that got national attention for its grandeur and price tag will be shut down indefinitely 18 months after its opening, school district officials said Thursday.
Oh, really? Where ever did they get the money for that shiny new stadium?
Built in 2012 as part of a $120 million bond issue, Eagle Stadium seats 18,000 people and sports a 38-foot-wide video board.
Unfortunately, this shiny new...
While folks in the Northeast continue to freeze their way through this not very globally warmed winter, there is plenty of cheap fuel available in Texas to help warm them up. Unfortunately due to archaic federal protectionist regulations, there's no way to get the fuel to them. When we free-marketers talk about unintended consequences of government intervention in the marketplace, this is exactly the type of thing we have in mind.
As freezing weather drained stockpiles of propane to their lowest seasonal level in two decades on the U.S. East Coast this month, shivering New Englanders couldn’t tap abundant supplies sailing out of
...
The Dallas Morning News today is agush with the shocking (shocking!) revelation that conservative groups in Texas oppose wasteful spending and higher taxes. Oh, the humanity! This is hard-hitting investigative journalism at its finest. Woodward and Bernstein would be proud.
Texas electricity regulators and their allies in the power generation industry who have been advocating for a new $4 Billion electricity tax are being stymied by reality as more people realize that Texas doesn't have a power generation capacity problem. As the Dallas Morning News reports today, there is no power generation capacity crisis. This may come as a big shock to the central planners in Austin, but the free market works. When the balance of supply and demand shifts in favor of new capacity, the generators will build new plants...
In the long debate over Obamacare there have been many arguments put forward demonstrating why the president's health insurance policy is wrong and harmful. Compelling arguments have been made citing facts, figures, and studies that prove Obamacare will cause health insurance costs to increase while health care quality diminishes and access dries up. But in the PR wars over Obamacare, well researched white papers didn't stand a chance against the president's hopeful platitudes about keeping the doctor and insurance you like all at a lower cost. Only now that the law is being implemented are we finding out the true human...
There are many who claim voter fraud doesn't exist, that Voter ID laws are not necessary, and that promoting voter registration integrity is disenfranchising to minority voters. None of that is true, of course. But don't look for traditional media to do hard hitting investigative journalism to ferret out the truth. For that kind of job we need one James O'Keefe. It's getting harder and harder to be a voter fraud denier these days.
With the stroke of a pen and without even bothering to consult Congress, the president has raised the minimum wage for workers on federal contracts. It appears one branch of government is more equal than the other branches...
In order for a taxing authority to retain the public trust, if not the public's respect, the authority must be widely understood to be apolitical and to simply carry out the policy set forth in law. No one likes being taxed but everyone understands that Congress has the power to tax and that by collecting taxes and conducting occasional audits to ensure compliance with the law the IRS is just doing its job as directed by Congress. It's supposed to work this way year in and year out across administrations regardless of what political party is in power.
Unfortunately, the...
Texas electricity consumers are poised to be hit with a new $4 Billion electricity tax and almost no one even knows it is coming.
Since deregulation of the industry in 2002, electricity in Texas has been sold on the competitive market. This has led to consumer choice and lower rates for most consumers than they would have otherwise paid had the old status quo remained. Rather than being locked into one power provider in their area, most Texans now have an array of providers to choose from. Many choose based on bottom line cost while others consider such factors as length of contract, source of...
Via the Dallas Morning News there is a fight brewing between Texas and Ohio over the permanent home of the Boeing 707 that served as Air Force One at the time President Kennedy's assassination elevated Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson to the presidency. It's in Ohio now but many Texans, led by the LBJ Foundation, want it relocated to Texas. It seems like Texas has the stronger case. That plane, on which President Kennedy made his final flight and on which President Johnson took the oath of office, is most historically connected to Texas and it should be displayed...
It appears millennials are now not so hot on President Obama's War On The Young.
A little late to the party on this one...
States use occupational licensing to protect entrenched business interests and keep newcomers out. This could never happen in Texas, right? Right, guys.....?
Via the Statesman, Two Nabbed at Texas Border In Credit Card Fraud Case.
Via the Heritage Foundation, a look a How MLK's Faith Influenced His Public Life.
In his remarks at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual Policy Orientation conference last Friday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) made headlines by calling the Obama administration “lawless”. The headline writers and those who draw conclusions based on the headline without reading or watching Cruz’ remarks totally miss the point.
The subject of Cruz’ remarks was not President Obama’s lawlessness. Rather, Cruz used the president’s well known disregard for the law and for Congress to make a larger philosophical point that transcends partisan politics and even the president himself. The subject of Senator Cruz’ remarks was the rule of law and...
Travis County anti-gun extremists have cost the county revenue by changing the lease terms for the gun show that has been hosted at the Travis County Exposition Center on a monthly basis for several years. The controversial new lease terms imposed by the county would have required the gun show to force private firearm sellers to conduct background checks that are not required under federal or state law. Just like any other type of private transaction, firearms transactions between private citizens do not require background checks. According to news reports, Saxet Gun Shows declined to capitulate to...
Going after the messenger: "Undercover agents were able to vote as dead people, but election officials are attacking the agents." It's almost like some people are ok with voter fraud or something.
Michael Moore has rightfully declared that Obamacare is a disaster.
I didn't expect 2014 to be going so well this quickly!
Look, pretty much everyone hates liter. It's wasteful, harmful to the environment and, well, just plain trashy. But Illinois has taken anti-littering laws to an absurd new level. And by a absurd new level I mean the careless tossing of cigarette butts on the ground can get you slapped with a felony, a few tens of thousands of dollars in fines and legal expenses, and time in the pokey. Yes, that's right, prison. While most states are trending toward a more balanced approach to crime and punishment by getting rid of mandatory minimum sentencing and making punishments better fit...