This special session outline is a slap in the face to teachers and public schools at a time when they are being asked to do more with less. The founders knew what they were doing. Texans should be wary of what happens in Austin after the regular session adjourns in May.
Setting limits on the time politicians can serve in a particular office will not solve all the problems with Washington’s broken culture. However, I believe it will help achieve a much-needed, positive dynamic: more courage to solve the big problems for our country rather than congressional leaders planning their careers and protecting their longevity.
The recently ended regular session of the Texas Legislature offered a fresh reading of the politics of the members of the Texas Senate — a body that has edged to the right this decade as new senators have been elected.
Our divergent relationships with refugees have been on high-profile display even as we experience the largest waves of displaced people the world has seen in modern times — due in large measure to the tragic civil conflict in Syria. Yet as the U.S. and other world nations pause to commemorate World Refugee Day on June 20, one simple fact continues to be overlooked: We in America need to welcome refugees.
I don't want to elevate my Dad in death to something more than he was in life. His good will and tolerance certainly had limits. But he did something that wasn't easy. He left the familiar confines of his hometown and refused to embrace historical racial prejudice. His decision came at a cost. He returned home as an outsider, someone whose attitudes towards race were not "traditional."
In Texas, we have more teen parents than any other state, with half a million teen births in the last decade alone. Clearly, we need to have a talk with our young people — and not just our girls.
The strongest evidence of Texas Republican voters’ embrace of the president who both defied their party’s leadership and defeated a handful of Texas-based candidates in the 2016 presidential primary is the sustained approval of the job he is doing as president, as shown in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
Underground pipes account for 60 percent of the cost of maintaining our water systems. It is here that we need to focus our attention and our resources, because we have thousands of miles of leaking, corroded, underground iron water pipes that if not replaced in a timely fashion will trigger the next Flint disaster in an unsuspecting community.
Texas public school students face many of the same realities as my students in Medellin, Colombia, largely because Texas also lacks an equitable public education funding plan.
Appointing officials to state boards and commissions is one of the most important roles of the Texas governor. Individuals appointed to positions in public agencies and on state boards should be chosen on the basis of their qualifications, not their ability to donate money. We owe it to the people of Texas to take money out of the equation, ensuring that all Texans can be equally considered for these appointments on the basis of merit alone.
Editor's note: Texas Tribune reporters don't usually write pieces for TribTalk, but we've made an exception for this commentary by Washington Bureau Chief Abby Livingston, a member of the press team in the Congressional Women’s Softball Game.
During June, National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, the AHA is encouraging Americans to add color to their meals throughout the month as part of its Healthy For Good™ movement.
You would think legislators would jump at the chance to get funding back to a nursing home industry that everyone seems to agree is badly underfunded and needs to improve, especially with a program that would not add to state spending.
Overall, while some residents of both Nevada and Texas complain that they do not have full time Legislatures, both states are remarkably efficient at concluding most of the key work in a few months at the start of an odd year of each biennium.
Acting on climate change is not just about defending against loss; it’s about scoring great gains in our economy and in our communities. Investing in nature-based solutions, energy and water efficiencies, and renewable energy will bring cleaner air and water. These investments will also bring more jobs, more consumer choice, more resilient communities and better health.
These differences underscore the Texas House’s de facto tripartite party system: Democrats, Centrist Conservative Republicans and Tea Party/Movement Conservative Republicans. The boundary that defines which side of the GOP civil war battle line a Republican representative falls on is loose and shifting compared to the clear-cut partisan battle line that separates Democrats from Republicans.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in conversations about policy and the system as a whole, but we cannot forget that how we choose to address immigration as a country is also personal: It directly affects the lives of millions of people.
We are trapped in a seemingly inescapable tribal paradigm, and the one-punch option reinforced it by placing party identification at the top of the Texas ballot. But now, the first thing on the ballot will not be an invitation to swear tribal allegiance. The Texas ballot will be a collection of individuals still running under their party labels, but being considered as separate individuals in separate races.
As the number of independent, non-hospital-affiliated FECs grows in Texas, it’s important that patients understand the differences between the various emergency care options.
Sometimes I wonder if the august body of the Texas Legislature remains true to the Reagan ethos of servant leadership. Where is the humanity? Where is the compassion for the least among us? Can the blind ideology of libertarianism adequately address the pain and suffering of our fellow Texans? This session, it seems as though some members have chosen fealty to an unseen, nihilistic special interest over the lives of those who they were sent here to represent.
