Top Stories
- House and Senate near on budget deal? – Kate Alexander, Austin American-Statesman
- Gov. Rick Perry's Business-Friendly Texas Thriving – Kenneth Hanner, Human Events
- Texan T Boone Pickens is back with a new plan – Ambreen Ali, Roll Call
Natural gas is heavily weighted while wind is reduced to a breeze. It is pretty amazing that more than a few developing economies depend heavily on natural gas for auto transportation, yet America lags in what would lower the price of auto transportation and greatly increase national security. - Finance chair: Special session possible on education funding – Peggy Fikac, Chron Texas Politics
[Finance Chair] Ogden said, “There are some senators, not me, but some who believe that this is all an elaborate trick to force us to vote on gambling. ‘Well, there’s no money anywhere else members, and you can’t spend this money and you can’t spend this money and you can’t spend this money — and you know you want to fund the schools, so how about putting it on the ponies?”
Not the Finance Chair, of course. Others!
- House approves final voter ID bill – Gary Scharrer, San Antonio Express-News
Recommended
- Ron Paul: Why The Young Flock To An Old Idealist – Robert Smith, NPR.org
- The Classrooms Where Fortunes Were Made – Jeff Sandefer, Transforming Education
- A stricter version of conservatism takes root – Jason Embry, Austin American-Statesman
So as the budget shortfall has grown larger, members of the Legislature seem to be adopting an increasingly strict definition of what it means to be a conservative. For this we can thank a number of factors, including the rise of the tea party and its successes in last November’s elections, as well as the increasing prominence of interest groups such as Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, whose lawmaker scorecards can come quite in handy during a Republican primary.
It’s tiresome to watch so many Texas political journos treat taxpayer-advocacy organizations almost disdainfully (as just another “interest group”) and yet fall all over themselves to amplify the “sky is falling” proclamations from all the interest groups who favor higher spending (and by extension, higher taxes).
- Texas Senators Work to Narrow "Puppy Mill" Bill – Brandi Grissom, Texas Tribune
- Texas lawmakers move to crack down on sport agents – Jim Vertuno, AP
- Mary and Joseph Were "Undocumented" – Eddie Lucio Jr, Texas Tribune
Note to Democrats: Making an absurd Biblical analogy is not likely to help you win votes. - Mario Gallegos And Rodney Ellis Spar Over Redistricting, And It Gets Ugly – Kimberly Reeves, Hair Balls
- Julian Castro re-elected the mayor of San Antonio – Josh Baugh, San Antonio Express-News
His name was prematurely floated recently as the first Latino POTUS by Univision anchor Jorge Ramos…as was George P. Bush. Doesn’t Julian’s twin brother feel slighted? - The Hand of Mostyn from Behind the Curtain- Daniel Greer, AgendaWise Reports
- Madison Project endorses Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race
This is a tough one for us as there are two great conservatives in a crowded Republican Senate Primary in Texas. But all things being equal between Ted Cruz and Michael Williams, we have chosen to endorse Ted Cruz for his ability to raise the kind of money it takes to win a primary like the one in Texas.
Interesting mostly because it may be a harbinger of the direction national conservative organizations are moving.