In my inbox tonight, I found the news that Patrick Brown, chief appraiser in Travis County, is leaving his post effective January 13, citing family reasons. Now the board of directors, an unelected group of people responsible for property appraisals, must look for a...
Michele Samuelson
Unfunded pension system a ticking time bomb
There was once a battle in the far away land of Wisconsin, where noble crusaders clashed bitterly with the clinging, desperate remnants of unions over a collapsed and unsustainable public pension system. The crusaders won, though the peace was fraught with tension and...
City of Austin micro-managers target payday lending
Not satisfied with "paper or plastic," the Austin City Council's team of micro-managers are seeking to interfere with payday lenders in a nefariously creative way, limiting the locations where such businesses may set up practice and how they may operate. This new...
City of Austin micro-managers target payday lending
Not satisfied with "paper or plastic," the Austin City Council's team of micro-managers are seeking to interfere with payday lenders in a nefariously creative way, limiting the locations where such businesses may set up practice and how they may operate. This new...
Making a point to help schoolkids in Houston
If we listen to the keening cries of educrats and liberals everywhere, we would be convinced that kids in Texas are going to school shoeless, likely to contract polio because they didn't get their shots, and will have to write their lessons with blood because they...
$86,000 for Chick-Fil-A – but can the children read?
This post comes with a warning – you may need to keep a bucket handy, if learning about financial irresponsibility in government entities makes you as queasy as it makes me.
Defining “bipartisan” down
We all hear the term “bipartisan” thrown around during election season – it’s a word that is used to convey how “affable” a politician is, how much they’ll reach across the political aisle to get work done.
Gambling interests taking bets in Texas House races
The infamous Texans for Economic Development, a PAC set up to support pro-gambling candidates for state office in Texas, threw around quite a bit of cash in time for the 30-day reports.
Crickets chirping in some Dem camps on Obamacare
In all the discussions about the Texas budget, the probable shortfall projected by the comptroller, and what on earth state legislators intend to do about it, no one has really brought up the impending impact on state spending stemming from the Obamacare legislation.
Political commercials begin: Rose lies right off the bat
I was home not more than five minutes tonight when I turned on KVUE to catch the weather, and was instead confronted with Rep. Patrick Rose’s (D-Dripping Springs) first extraordinary commercial of the season.