Universities are meant to foster safe debate, expression of idiosyncratic beliefs and a mutually beneficial exchange of ideas about the worlds’ problems. The presence of a loaded gun in a Human Sexuality lecture hall effectively stills the freedom of speech of both students and staff.
For too long, we’ve been chipping away at our public school funding, making it practically required for teachers to throw down portions of their own paycheck. Certainly they deserve to claim those sacrifices as tax deductions.
The Veterans Apprenticeship and Labor Opportunity Reform Act (VALOR) Act makes it easier for businesses to offer apprenticeships to veterans. By cutting out redundant bureaucratic red tape and unnecessary procedures at the VA, this bill smooths a veteran’s transition from the battlefield to the workplace.
Fantasies of widespread voter abandonment of Republicans for Democrats in the Texas suburbs remain far-fetched, but data from the last three University of Texas/Texas Tribune polls does show that suburban attitudes towards President Trump in Texas could become cause for Texas GOP concern if the party continues on its current trajectory.
The GOP talks of modernizing the tax code. That is a useful concept, because it is a very modern reality that taxes feed oil, and oil contributes to climate change. It’s time to take away the permanent status of oil subsidies. Congress should remove subsidies to the oil industry.
It is time for Texans to stand up against hate. We do not have to wait until next November’s gubernatorial election in our state. We can do it now by speaking out against Texas Senate Bill 4, the racial-profiling law that is being challenged in the courts, and other policies that have turned our state into Trump’s deportation machine.
We cannot go back and change the marginalization that Bobby Moore experienced as a child and young man, or the fact that our systems failed to help him. Tragically, we cannot undo the crimes that he committed. But we can affirm his fundamental human dignity. I hope the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will choose life imprisonment for him.
Good financial health for your business means striking the right balance, with readily accessible cash, cash invested for returns and credit leveraged to augment your cash flow.
Candidates will soon be filing their paperwork to run for elected office. They’ll also begin compiling endorsements to tout along the campaign trail — nods and kudos from local chambers of commerce, environmental groups and newspapers. For the first time, some will also be getting endorsements — and campaign checks — from dogs, cats, horses, pigs and other Texas animals.
Religion, while often a powerful force for good in this world, has also been used as an excuse to suppress those who don’t agree with a particular set of beliefs. Those who stay silent as the government strips away the rights of our neighbors under the guise of religion — no matter if we agree with the ultimate policy or not — are on the wrong side of that history.
Ultimately, this law will disproportionately affect the poor and women of color in Texas. Those with resources and privilege can seek safe, timely and medically appropriate abortions outside our state borders, while women without such means will be left to deal with the risks imposed by the new law.
We will never completely end gun violence. We can't stop every shooting or keep every criminal from getting a gun. But we can make it more difficult for them to access guns and we can, I'm certain, save lives.
The more large players that enter and change the health care space, the more they bring about new competition and help reduce inefficiencies. I never thought I would be advocating for a top-down approach to help patients, but here we are.
The purpose of campus carry is often misconstrued as a heinous attempt by legislators to try and make college campuses safer. The goal of campus carry is and always has been to allow eligible individuals the proper means to defend themselves for their own personal protection and not the protection of the campus as a whole.
The latest victim of ill-considered speech is Bob McNair, owner of the Houston Texans, a National Football League franchise always eager for the right kind of attention. Unfortunately, a throwaway line Mr. McNair used during a recent closed-door NFL owners meeting produced exactly the sort of recognition the team doesn’t want.
Managing increasing healthcare costs is an important societal issue that policymakers need to pay attention to. However, policymakers can only implement effective solutions by using correct data in order to assess the root cause of the problem.
Business groups have realized that creating more competitive and fairly drawn political districts helps create a more collaborative civic climate that is good for business. It is time for Texas to do the same.
So that’s what we’ll do now. We’ll honor Cathy with action — just the way she’d want us to. We will carry on and continue to fight weak gun laws with all the trademark passion and persistence we’ve exhibited in the past. But right now, let’s stop for a moment — and honor a Texas patriot.
Federal regulators need to correct past mistakes, ensure the long-term sustainability of our power grid and pursue a diverse portfolio that ensures resiliency, reliability, affordability and sustainability that keeps our country so strong and vibrant. I believe that should include coal and nuclear power.
These stories illuminate a larger effort by government entities, whether federal or state, to legitimize crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs — which function primarily to dissuade people from accessing abortion care — and tout them as actual health care providers.
