Advocates of big government rarely let facts get in the way of their pursuit of growing budgets. Such is the case with Waco Tribune-Herald editor John Young, whose weekly column is very often devoted to the worship of government (of the activist variety) and the damnation of conservative, free market principles.

The Houston Chronicle reported over the weekend that medical professionals are skeptical that the legislature's new $3 billion "cancer fund" will accomplish much more than spend $3 billion of the taxpayers' money.

But, don't worry, it was created with the best of intentions… State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), summed it up nicely in her quote to the Chronicle that "she'd ‘like to sit back and tell my grandchildren I had something to do with the cure.' "

An elected official (a Republican, no less) told me yesterday he doesn't mind paying taxes because it is "the price of freedom." His doe-eyed statement was wrong on a great many levels, practical and philosophical. First and foremost, freedom's price has been paid — again and again — by the blood of patriots on battlefields near and far, not collected by revenue agents.
 

From the "Oh, What a Big Surprise Department," comes news that spending billions of taxpayer dollars on "nutrition education" has been a failure.

The Associated Press article makes it clear that about the only thing accomplished was making kids feel good about singing and dancing veggies. Oh, goody. The head of the federal program says, "We're finding success in things in which we have been able to measure, which are more related to knowledge and skill. It is more difficult for us to identify success in changing children's eating patterns."

Just how did the legislative session go? We’ll be releasing a full legislative score card soon, but overall, this legislative session was a bust. The cumulative score of all members of the Texas House and Texas Senate, on fiscal issues, was an abysmal 52%. Meaning? Half the time the legislature voted contrary to the best interests of Texas’ taxpayers.
 
The Republicans in the legislature scored a barely-passing cumulative rank of 70%. The Democrats? A not-unexpected 30% — but then, they make no bones about wanting to grow the size of government.

On the website, in e-mails, and recent speeches, TFR hasn’t been bashful about calling out the Tax-and-Spenders infesting the Republican Party’s legislative delegation.

By their actions (stopping additional tax relief, preventing tax reform, sponsoring tax hikes, etc.), these Republican spendoholics are pushing grassroots conservatives and libertarians – the Republican base – into apathy. Their actions are driving the core constituency of the movement away from the polls.