Access scheme leads to indictment
Friday morning longtime Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price was indicted and arrested for bribery and conspiracy. The indictment also named his political consultant Kathy Nealy. Also named in...
View ArticleDebt collector giving
In early June the Dallas Morning News highlighted the political giving of Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson a law firm with state and local government contracts to collect unpaid debts. Last...
View ArticleCommission authority again questioned
Pressure has begun to mount on the Texas Racing Commission as it continues to lurch toward expanding gambling in Texas. The commission has been considering a rule that would result in the...
View ArticleRegents select McRaven
Tuesday evening Admiral William McRaven was named the sole finalist to become the next Chancellor of the University of Texas System. Following the selection, McRaven is being universally praised and...
View ArticlePremature promotion talk
Representative Jason Villalba has been traveling around Texas telling Republicans to embrace a soft stance on immigration. Now he’s being promoted by a group of powerful donors with a decidedly crony...
View ArticleChamber hopes to raise taxes
The Dallas Regional Chamber has plans to increase taxes and fees during the 2015 legislative session. A presentation created by the Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) public policy division, featuring an...
View ArticleAmbition
The Austin ruling class is trying to undermine Scott Turner’s bid for House Speaker with the word “ambition”. As in, he’s just ambitious and trying to push his career forward. This charge is true, but...
View ArticleWhite House guests from TX mislabeled
Late last week, construction executives from Texas met with President Obama’s staff to discuss amnesty for illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. The construction leaders were mislabeled as...
View ArticleTexas republican democracy
Texas Freedom Network wrote an article that typifies the shape Texas liberals are in. The liberal TFN attacked a statistic the pro-family group Texas Values is using - that 76% of Texans support...
View ArticleStraus, new LBB criticize popular border efforts
This week a newly configured Legislative Budget Board met to discuss the border security efforts along the Texas-Mexico border. Political friction between opposing wings of the Republican Party was on...
View ArticleEndangered species
Last week Rep. Jason Villalba (R) spoke to a gathering of Young Republicans in Austin. He was much tamer on this particular tour stop. Maybe the Speaker was none too pleased with his recent antics....
View ArticleA tale of two Flynns
In 2012 Dan Flynn was challenged by George Alexander in the Republican Party primary. Considered a good conservative at the time, Flynn won by nearly 20 points. Perhaps feeling safe at home, Flynn...
View ArticleTX Racing Commission cancels meeting
The Texas Racing Commission canceled a highly-anticipated meeting last week at which they were expected to consider a rule to allow slot machines at Texas racetracks, an activity Texas law requires a...
View ArticleVillalba plays the populist
Jason Villalba wrote a populist-toned article yesterday in favor of corporate socialism, namely the our state’s enterprise fund. Villalba spoke about the “good men and women” impacted positively by the...
View ArticleSpeaker race helping TX
The Speaker’s race is already paying for itself. It has forced Joe Straus to try to outflank Scott Turner by making bureaucratic waste into the mainstream Austin discussion. We learned this week that...
View ArticleTMA endorsements
This week the Texas Medical Association endorsed in a Lubbock based special election to fill Senate District 28. Endorsements from TMA are a good indicator for conservatives of who not to support....
View ArticleRulemaking abuse countinues in TX
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is just the latest Texas agency to follow the lead of the Obama Administration with regard to rule making hijinx. Last week the TABC initiated a public comment...
View ArticleGambling schemes and donations
As lobbyists have been using agencies to try to expand the footprint of gambling in Texas, gambling interests have been giving money to candidates for office. The Texas Racing Commission recently...
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