The Hill Poll: U.S. stance on Israel 
important to voters

September 19, 2011

From The Hill, By Elise Viebeck, 09/19/11 - More than half of likely voters say the Obama administration’s policy on Israel is either somewhat or very important to the way they vote,  according to this week’s The Hill Poll.

The survey comes just as Republicans managed to win the Brooklyn- and Queens-based congressional seat of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), in what many called a referendum on President Obama’s approach to Israel. Read the rest of this entry »


Tea Party candidate seeks to challenge Boehner in 2012

September 18, 2011

From Ballot Box, By Alicia M. Cohn – 09/17/11 – Tea Party activist David Lewis announced Friday he will challenge House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a Republican primary in 2012.

Lewis describes himself “a devout Christian, Tea Party leader, and pro-life leader” on his campaign website. “David’s only allegiance is to God and cannot be swayed by party, individuals, or interest groups,” the site reads.

Lewis told The Cincinnati Enquirer his candidacy was prompted by Boehner’s support of a federal budget that included funding for Planned Parenthood. Read the rest of this entry »


Trends in Texas Government Update – State Government Spending

September 8, 2011

Facts are stubborn things!

Good afternoon!  I wanted to share with you our latest policy brief, “Trends in Texas Government Update: State Government Spending.”  It contrasts the approved Texas state budgets with what they would look like if the Legislature had limited spending to the growth in population plus inflation (effectively, a stable per capita cost of government).  A real eye-opener. Read the rest of this entry »


Cosmic Anomaly: The Star that Shouldn’t Exist

September 6, 2011
The faint star in the constellation of Leo has a composition that according to a theory, should not have exixted.

From Time (Health), By Michael D. Lemonick Tuesday, Sept. 06, 2011 – The star known as (deep breath) SDSS J102915+172927, in the constellation Leo, isn’t much to look at. It’s a bit smaller than the Sun and a bit hotter — but then, the same could be said for millions of other stars in the Milky Way. Read the rest of this entry »


Rick Perry’s Plan: $10,000 for a B.A.

September 6, 2011

Controlling Campus Inflation

Will a college degree that costs $2,500 a year be worth the paper it’s printed on?

From The New York Times (The Opinion Pages), David Guenthner is the senior communications director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. (Updated September 5,2011)

David Guenthner

College costs are quickly approaching a crisis point. Student loan debt has surpassed credit card debt, and the poor job market for recent college graduates is spurring a growing debate on whether a college degree is still worth it.

Achieving the $10,000 target will require scrutiny of university operations that have been ignored far too long. Read the rest of this entry »


Obama Speech Fiasco Shows ‘Audacity of Weakness’

September 5, 2011
THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER, By Michael Barone – I can’t remember a more stunning rebuke of a president by a congressional leader than House Speaker John Boehner’s refusal to agree to President Barack Obama’s demand — er, request — that he summon a joint session of Congress to hear the president’s latest speech on the economy at 8 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Read the rest of this entry »

Have You Smiled Today

August 15, 2011

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was:

1. A four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old Gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.  When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, ‘Nothing, I just Helped him cry.’

***

Read the rest of this entry »


KUHNER: President’s socialist takeover must be stopped

July 30, 2011

“Mr. Obama should be impeached.”

By Jeffrey T. Kuhner, The Washington Times -

President Barack Obama

President Obama has engaged in numerous high crimes and misdemeanors. The Democratic majority in Congress is in peril as Americans reject his agenda. Yet more must be done: Mr. Obama should be impeached.

He is slowly – piece by painful piece – erecting a socialist dictatorship. We are not there – yet. But he is putting America on that dangerous path. He is undermining our constitutional system of checks and balances; subverting democratic procedures and the rule of law; presiding over a corrupt, gangster regime; and assaulting the very pillars of traditional capitalism. Read the rest of this entry »


Rick Perry’s Roots: A World of Difference From Washington

July 30, 2011

from realclearpolitics.com, by Erin McPike – July 29, 2011

PAINT CREEK, Texas — It’s not hard to understand why Rick Perry hates Washington after driving along the farm-to-market roads where he was raised.

His roots are rural: He’s a farmer-rancher by trade, and his supporters say the reason he understands the plight of small business owners is because in his younger days he ran the family’s cotton farm. He rails against centralized government because he thinks it’s too far removed from the people it governs. Read the rest of this entry »


Texas Law Requires a Balanced Budget

July 25, 2011


Why does a balanced budget approach work?  It’s simple really.  The importance of a balanced budget amendment is that it forces the legislature, by force of law, to focus all budget discussions on reconciling spending and revenue.  We are free to reconcile by a number of means: raise taxes, cut spending, or a combination of the two.  But, at the end of the day, every budget debate comes back to reconciling spending and revenue.  As a legislature, we can never ignore it.  Read the rest of this entry »


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