This was originally posted on Live Oaks on July 13, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. In March I pointed out that David Crossley, head of Houston Tomorrow (HT) thinks that he is smarter than you: HT advocates, among other things, “smart growth” and “public transit”. On both of these issues–and many others–HT advocates the…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on July 12, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. In an effort to balance their budgets, cities across the nation are reducing the money they spend on public libraries. Not surprisingly, the Chronicle finds this “alarming”: For Americans of limited means, and that includes many Houstonians, public libraries…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on July 1, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. It is summer in Texas and that means that it is time for the annual chorus of voices decrying “deregulation” of the electric industry in the state. As an example, Bay Area Houston (BAH) declares that “Electricity deregulation has…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on June 30, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. I previously addressed issues with Sheltering Arms Senior Services (SASS), a local outfit that is using taxpayer loot to make private homes more energy efficient. At the time SASS was under fire for performing sub-par work and Chronicle columnist…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on April 26, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. In defending the highest water rate increase in the history of Houston, city officials have regularly made noises about the need to have citizens pay the full cost of delivering clean drinking water. As council member Sue Lovell said:…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 26, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. I generally try to avoid listening to Sean Hannity, but I happened to catch a portion of his program the other day. A caller was frustrated over the attitude of those who have argued that we cannot claim that…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 25, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Thomas Friedman bemoans the political divisiveness that arose during the debate over health care “reform”. He fears that Democrats will lose seats in November, resulting in more gridlock in Washington. His solution: That is why I want my own…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 23, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. I have previously written that nullification–a state declaring a particular federal law unconstitutional and thereby inapplicable within that state–would ultimately lead to tyranny. But we do not need to rely solely on theoretic arguments to see the truth of…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 22, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. A few weeks ago a commenter argued that the Constitution is a “living” document. According to Wikipedia: The Living Constitution is a concept in American constitutional interpretation which claims that the Constitution has a dynamic meaning. The idea is…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 9 2010. Comments have not been migrated. With the census getting started, pundits and government officials have begun their campaign to “educate” the public regarding the importance of participating. As one example, we have an OpEd in Sunday’s Chronicle: The city of Houston loses approximately $1,700…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on March 1, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. During his public apology for marital infidelity, Tiger Woods blamed his actions on “selfishness”. I thought of nobody but myself, he declared. As I pointed out last week, his actions were anything but selfish. Interestingly, Tiger has been truly…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on February 22, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. I have followed the career of Tiger Woods since he was in high school. I regarded him as a refreshing example of talent and character. Revelations of his marital “transgressions” was more than a surprise–it felt like a good…