West Texas News

GUEST COLUMN: America’s Mark Twain conservatives

Sep 21st, 2011 | By

Share/Bookmark  Attempting to categorize conservatism in the 21st century runs the risk of plunging into the briar patch of academic labeling or the fever swamp of left-wing vitriol. In the first category, one finds such designations as conservatism, neo-conservatism and paleo-conservatism, while those things liberals say about conservatives may be relegated to the realm of
[continue reading...]



SOWELL: Back to the Future: Part III

Sep 21st, 2011 | By

Share/BookmarkNinety years ago — in 1921 — federal income tax policies reached an absurdity that many people today seem to want to repeat. Those who believe in high taxes on “the rich” got their way. The tax rate on people in the top income bracket was 73 percent in 1921. On the other hand, the
[continue reading...]



SOWELL: Back to the Future: Part II

Sep 20th, 2011 | By

Share/BookmarkSome people are hoping that President Obama’s plan will get the economy out of the doldrums and start providing jobs for the unemployed. Others are hoping that the Republicans’ plan will do the trick. Those who are truly optimistic hope that Democrats and Republicans will both put aside their partisanship and do what is best
[continue reading...]



TEXAS VIEW: Prescribed burns could save lives

Sep 20th, 2011 | By

Share/BookmarkNow that lives have been lost — as well as 15,000 acres of East Texas land — to wildfires, will public policy makers adopt a common-sense system of prescribed burning? A fatal fire in Gladewater claimed the lives of 20-year-old Valerie McBride and her 18-month-old daughter, K’loe Cheek. “We don’t want to lose anyone else
[continue reading...]



SOWELL: Back to the future?

Sep 19th, 2011 | By

Share/BookmarkThose who are impressed by words seem to think that President Barack Obama made a great speech to Congress this month. But, when you look beyond the rhetoric, what did he say that was fundamentally different from what he has been saying and doing all along? Are we to continue doing the same kinds of
[continue reading...]



TEXAS VIEW: Documents need preserving

Sep 19th, 2011 | By

Share/BookmarkA piece of Texas is fading away, literally. Historic court records, some dating to the earliest days of independence, are in such an abandoned state that every day we probably lose a bit of our past. History is crumbling in boxes and binders stored in unlikely places, including an old jail, an attic, a railroad
[continue reading...]



September has not been kind

Sep 19th, 2011 | By

Share/Bookmark President Obama has suffered through a very tough time since his return from Martha’s Vineyard. As a multiple choice question, choose which of the following items have occurred since Obama’s summer vacation ended: The President tried to have an additional State of the Union speech to push his new jobs plan, only to discover that
[continue reading...]



COLUMN: September has not been kind

Sep 19th, 2011 | By

Share/Bookmark President Obama has suffered through a very tough time since his return from Martha’s Vineyard. As a multiple choice question, choose which of the following items have occurred since Obama’s summer vacation ended: The President tried to have an additional State of the Union speech to push his new jobs plan, only to discover that
[continue reading...]



JOHNSON: Elitism isn’t a good thing – it’s the best thing

Sep 18th, 2011 | By

Share/BookmarkWhen I was in elementary, people would sometimes ask me who my favorite football team was, and I’d say, “The Panthers.” Then they’d say, “No, no, no. We mean the NFL, not high school.” “I know,” I’d say. “I’m a fan of the Carolina Panthers.” Then they’d laugh and make fun of me. (“They” are
[continue reading...]



FREEDOM VIEW: Snooping bill raises risk of ID theft

Sep 18th, 2011 | By

Share/BookmarkA Big Brother bill quietly moving through the House of Representatives would effectively end Americans’ online privacy. H.R. 1981, the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011, would force Internet service providers to maintain a national database of every user’s name, address, phone number, credit card information, bank account numbers and IP address. “The
[continue reading...]