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Tom Leppert wants D.C. to “get things done”

At the time of filing to run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator this week, Tom Leppert said: “Texans are tired of watching the dysfunction in Washington and hearing the same old excuses from politicians for failing to get things done.” And with that...

The “Caucus of One” Seeks a Return

I will admit, this news this morning about former state rep. Tommy Merritt announcing his intention to run against Rep. David Simpson in HD 7 is just about the best thing St. Nicholas could have put in this aspiring pundit’s shoe. Or inbox. Whatever. Let’s take a trip...

Cost of Occupy Austin begins to take a toll

Austin has been relatively fortunate throughout the so-called Occupy Wall Street protests.  We have not witnessed the violence that some cities have, we have had no bodies found in tents.  Some arrests have taken place, but generally, the crowd at City Hall has been...

How is “more expensive” a competitive edge?

University administrators baffle me.  Every time they want to raise tuition, they justify it by saying they wish to be more "competitive" as a school.  That's exactly what the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee at the University of Texas stated about their proposed...

UPDATED: Primary filing begins, SCOTUS receives stay requests

With so many moving parts, it may seem as though nothing is yet certain for our election season in Texas.  Today marked the beginning of candidate filing for the primary, though at least a handful of candidates have stated publicly that they will wait to see what the...

The Very Definition of Modern Judicial Activism

We hear that term, "judicial activism," quite often.  It is meant to refer to actions by a judge or panel of judges that create law, instead of doing what the courts are meant for, interpretation of the law.  Almost from the very moment of creation, American courts...

Three things to be thankful for in Texas

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...

Texas election law on churches & petitions challenged

On Pratt on Texas, I’ve covered the ongoing story in El Paso in which the mayor and council members are facing recall. It stems from El Pasoans overwhelmingly voting against their city providing spousal benefits to homosexual partners of city employees. The mayor and...

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Part Four: Venturing Capital With Taxpayer Money

Since the Harris County Department of Education hasn’t been in charge of managing public schools for over 90 years, it’s had to find another way to spend its taxpayer funds: investing in for-profit businesses. Apparently, venture capitalism is one of the many...