We keep being told the Texas Department of Transportation has completely run out of money, completely broke, and that all road construction will grind to halt in short order... unless Texans get behind a tax hike of one sort or other. And yet word comes this week that the state is paying for an $8.7-million "environmental impact" and preliminary design studies for an Austin-to-San Antonio passenger-rail line. Read More»

Many conservatives have suggested Texas House Speaker Joe Straus might be a little too cozy with the Legislature’s liberals. The policy results of that relationship has been mapped and diagrammed by a Rice University professor and publicized by the Texas Tribune. All things considered, the Republican Straus allowed Democrats to run things pretty much to the same degree they did 2001… when their party held the speakership. Read More»

Even as the legislative cheerleaders for raising gas taxes have been sidelined and admit there isn’t the political will to grow government while making travel and transportation more expensive, other big spenders are stepping up efforts to build new avenues draining your wallet. They are seeking support from statewide associations and trade groups, hoping for grassroots support in pushing a big-tax agenda even as the national and state economy struggle to climb out of the worst recession in decades. Read More»

It's not often I recommend an Austin American Statesman editorial. Snidely nicknamed the "Socialist," the liberal-leaning board rarely does much to live down the reputation. But this week they shine needed truth on the relationship between money and educational excellence. The editorial board writes: "But as much as money matters, it must be spent the right way to make the kind of gains our students need and deserve." Read More»

Texas Democrat's frivolous lawsuit to knock state Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) off the November ballot has been thwarted. But the perception that they're anti-military has been accentuated. There was a previous determination that Mr. Birdwell was eligible, and he was resoundingly elected in a special election in June. But that didn't stop the partisan scheme against a native Texan and retired Army officer who survived the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Read More»

Tomorrow will be a better day, because it's the first day you start working for yourself and your family. From January 1 until today, though, you've been working to pay for the cost of government. And it's a month more than we were working just two years ago. Read More»