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.

I had the pleasure of sharing a podium last night with Robin Armstrong, vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party. We were speaking at an event in Horseshoe Bay (Llano County).

A practicing physcian (and a fellow graduate of Texas A&M), Robin has risen quickly in GOP's inside politics. His comments were refreshingly strong, focusing on the need for our elected officials to return to the core principles of the conservative movement that excite the grassroots.

State Rep. Jim Pitts should be ashamed of his bald-faced hypocrisy. Jim Pitts is saying tonight that he is voting against the budget on the grounds that it represents an irresponsible jump in state spending, and criticizes it for being laden with pork.

This begs a response. The proposed budget increases the size of government about 9 percent, while the budget Jim Pitts shepherded through the process, when he chaired House Appropriations, increased state spending 18.7 percent.

That porky smell emanating from the Capitol arises from many quarters, but Mr. Pitts' office would surely have to be one the smelliest. He's never lifted a finger to reduce spending or cut the size of government. He should be ashamed.