Liberals love to micromanage other people’s business – as long as the rules don’t apply to them. The Texas House Democratic Caucus chair proved that this week with her whining “Monday Memo” decrying recent attention paid to predominately liberal officeholders who were counting as “full-time employees” people who did little or no work for little or no pay – but getting hefty taxpayer benefits. She’s worried that this mighty, gasp, be an election issue. Ya think?

Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo) told a local TV station, “The government doesn’t need to be taxing or collecting anymore money than is absolutely necessary. We can either find some place to spend that money or give it back to the tax payers and from my standpoint, it’s the taxpayers money. I’m for anything that will help homeowners and their tax burden.

No sooner had our weekly e-mail newsletter left the servers than word arrived that Houston attorney Grant Harpold is making plans to run for Senate District 17. That seat will be open because of Dr. Kyle Janek’s expected resignation in the next several weeks.

Facing a $16 million budget deficit, Vallejo, California, is filing for bankruptcy. It seems for way too long the inmates have been running the asylum. Or, rather, the “public safety” unions have been draining the city coffers dry. Nearly 75 percent of the city budget goes to “public safety” salaries alone. The city cannot afford and the unions are refusing to negotiate. So their only recourse is bankruptcy. The people of Southlake, Texas, should take note: they will soon be voting to allow their police to unionize which could cost them an additional $10,000 per employee without. And that’s just for now. Southlake, meet Vallejo.

Unions are unions, whatever they call themselves and whatever their industry. While they might have once served a legitimate function, unions today are drains on our economy and every sector of endeavor. Government is no different. In the Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, the police are trying to unionize (they call it implementing “civil service” rules), which requires a public vote this month. Not only will public service not improve, but for the pleasure of turning the police into union thugs, taxpayers will shell out an additional $10,000 per officer.

If there’s such a thing as a one-man think-tank, Austen Furse might qualify. He’s a reliable conservative and excellent businessman with political credentials stretching from Matagorda County to the White House. He’s also the only person to have now publically declared himself as a candidate for the soon-to-be-vacant Senate District 17 seat.

At a time of record foreclosures and declining home values, someone forgot to tell the Travis County appraiser. Values were posted minutes ago and my home rose a whopping 19.3%, sending my school property tax cut up in smoldering flames. However, values are up 31% in Lago Vista.

If you own a home in Travis County, check your value at:

Isn’t it funny that the Dallas Morning News keeps trying to raise sales taxes to fund more mass transit boondoggles, and yet they and their cronies in the newspaper industry lobby against efforts to tax their product?

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas) today called for increasing both the state and federal gas tax, citing a lack of transportation funds. Yet 43% of the state gas tax is being diverted to non-transportation items and an increasing share of federal gas tax revenues are going to rail schemes that move few people for big bucks and even recreational paths.

Not only did the Empower Texans PAC help elect conservative Ralph Sheffield and defeat Martha “the Taxer” Tyroch, but we turned the spotlight on unchecked spending that allowed Tyroch to frivolously waste taxpayer dollars on fancy hotel suites, gifts and booze. Now, thanks to our work (and her excess), the Temple City Council is looking to change their policies. This welcome news for taxpayers in Bell County… And should be replicated around the state.