There are a lot of reasons to be thankful to live in Texas today. The wide open spaces, Friday night football, the lack of bitter cold. I could go on and make a whole huge list, but I'll leave that to Gary P. Nunn. After all, this is a political space, and I'm a...
Michele Samuelson
Cowboys’ Jones finds a new way to milk fans
The North Texas Tollway Authority let it be known yesterday that you can now show off your support for the Dallas Cowboys by purchasing a Dallas Cowboys commemorative toll tag. For the bargain price of $22.99, you can show the rest of DFW where your true loyalties...
Educrats emerge in legislative races
One of the key issues in the upcoming state legislative election is going to be school finance. With the first of two expected lawsuits already out there, and so many House races in particular in play, we should start hearing a lot of "for the children" and "but it...
Job creator – or tax-and-spender?
Try though one might, it is getting difficult to ignore the political advertisements playing on local AM radio these days. Just this week, I've counted at least twelve incidents of the same ad, one for former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert, who is running for Texas Senate....
Student loan “forgiveness” not a virtue
Reality must intrude, and so it does.
Amendment Prop. 3 would extend the student loan crisis
When I voted on Monday, I voted "no" on Proposition 3, the Texas constitutional amendment designed to increase the amount of money available for guaranteed student loans in the state of Texas. This was a no-brainer for me, even as the child in my womb kicked to...
Problematic Prop 4 smells familiar, in a bad way
It sounds so harmless, doesn't it - giving counties the authority to create reinvestment zones where there is currently blight. That's the gist of one Texas constitutional amendment, Proposition 4, on the November 8 ballot. This amendment is a bigger concern than it...
Latest school finance battle opens
And so it begins. Seven school districts have joined in this first official volley in the latest battle over school finance in Texas. The very most basic argument made by the plaintiffs in the suit is that the school finance system in Texas is unconstitutional. I...
Government’s Potteresque savior complex
I couldn't help myself this morning, when I read this story about former President George W. Bush's defense of the 2008 bailouts, from thinking of Harry Potter. In one of the books, Hermione Granger says to Harry, while he's preparing to go on another of his...
The fleeting joy of tax rate cuts
Tax rate cuts are like bluebonnets - temporary and sometimes non-existent beauties that fade with the season. Even when tax rates are cut in one taxing entity, other entities will often hike your rate, and it is likely your appraisal goes up as well, making any joy...