Today, the Pew Center released a new report stating that nationwide, approximately 1.8 million dead people are registered to vote. In addition, 24 million registrations are said to be invalid or inaccurate. This is the tip of the iceberg with regards to the problems...
Michele Samuelson
Cities should take a cue from Congress
Every so often, you hear good things come out of the Washington beltway, the kind of idea you wish would trickle down to the local level. Such was the case this week when the House Ways and Means Committee in Congress voted 20-17 to end the federal gas tax diversion...
School finance lawsuit, or coal in taxpayers’ stockings?
Just in time for the holidays, Texas' largest school districts filed the fourth and largest lawsuit on school finance just yesterday. The timing was impeccable, really. Every political hack in the state was already on vacation, the only reason people read newspapers...
Familiarity breeds contempt: Thoughts on a bifurcated primary
How many times does a blogger get to use "bifurcated" in a headline, much less a sentence? Guess I have something to thank the political punditry for. Okay. First, let's define what we discussing. There is a good chance that we may be looking at two primaries, one...
Half dozen transmission lines – for $7 billion
The Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) wants to build half a dozen transmission lines to get wind-generated energy from the west Texas plains to the state's power grid. They've been anxious to do this for awhile, and how much do they think this is going to cost?...
The “Caucus of One” Seeks a Return
I will admit, this news this morning about former state rep. Tommy Merritt announcing his intention to run against Rep. David Simpson in HD 7 is just about the best thing St. Nicholas could have put in this aspiring pundit’s shoe. Or inbox. Whatever. Let’s take a trip...
Cost of Occupy Austin begins to take a toll
Austin has been relatively fortunate throughout the so-called Occupy Wall Street protests. We have not witnessed the violence that some cities have, we have had no bodies found in tents. Some arrests have taken place, but generally, the crowd at City Hall has been...
How is “more expensive” a competitive edge?
University administrators baffle me. Every time they want to raise tuition, they justify it by saying they wish to be more "competitive" as a school. That's exactly what the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee at the University of Texas stated about their proposed...
UPDATED: Primary filing begins, SCOTUS receives stay requests
With so many moving parts, it may seem as though nothing is yet certain for our election season in Texas. Today marked the beginning of candidate filing for the primary, though at least a handful of candidates have stated publicly that they will wait to see what the...
The Very Definition of Modern Judicial Activism
We hear that term, "judicial activism," quite often. It is meant to refer to actions by a judge or panel of judges that create law, instead of doing what the courts are meant for, interpretation of the law. Almost from the very moment of creation, American courts...