Late Friday afternoon the Austin emergency response teams and federal agencies declared the substance mailed to TFR to be mostly harmless. The TFR staff and others in their section of the building were released, after being sequestered until the powder was identified.

TFR’s president, Michael Quinn Sullivan, thanked his staff for their courage and professionalism in the face of the threat.

The president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Michael Quinn Sullivan, offered the following statement on the death threat and powdery substance he received in the mail today. In response, the building has been evacuated but the TFR staff has been asked to remain in the building.

State Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth wants it both ways. While he doesn’t want his constituents to know about his anti-taxpayer ways, but he also says he isn’t to worried about being seen as a government-growing spendoholic. Scoring just 45% on the TFR Index, Geren was the second-worst Republican on taxpayer issues (only Longview’s Tommy Merritt scored worse, with a 38%). In order to obfuscate his record, Geren is now playing fast and loose with the facts. But that should not surprise us, given that he plays fast and loose with our money.

My travels took me to Del Rio for a speech this week, a border town in Val Verde County. I had the good fortune to chat with the sheriff, D’Wayne Jernigan. He’s true West Texas lawman who has earned the ire of the left-leaning establishment for doing his job well and right. He is going to face a tough re-election battle this year. We need more sheriffs like him, on the border and elsewhere.

Supporters of “light rail” and “commuter rail” consistently over-sell and under-deliver. Not only does mass-transit fail to reduce congestion, but it is always fraught with cost-overruns and implementation delays. Such is the case in Austin, where the new toy train is going to cost taxpayers a third more than promised.

A lawsuit designed to stop counties from using taxpayer-money to lobby against taxpayers is still brewing in Williamson County. The judge last month gave taxpayers a partial victory, but those who brought the suit are hoping to convince His Honor to make modifications to the ruling that would ensure justice.

No title makes conservatives’ skin crawl like “tax assessor/collector.” It’s just not a job most of us hope our little conservative bundles of joy grow up to be. But thank goodness someone does, because it’s a critically important position.

Speaking in Farmers’ Branch this week I saw a familiar face in the audience – one of my upper-classman from Texas A&M. It turns out that Steven Autry is now seeking to serve as the judge of the Dallas County Criminal Court #4. He was a positive influence on me as a cadet 20 years ago, and I have no doubt he’ll serve the people of Dallas with distinction. Good luck, Mr. Autry, sir!

Hard to believe, but true, we do have a strong number of fiscally conservative lawmakers in the Texas Legislature. While outnumbered, they fight the fight for our values and principles regardless of political pressure. But doing the right thing comes at a cost. One of the taxpayers’ champions in the legislature is State Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale of Harris County.