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Columns

Debt ceiling agreement: step in right direction, more steps needed to balance budget
The debt ceiling agreement recently passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, while not perfect, is a step in the right direction. Sensible spending cuts, not tax increases, are the right path to a balanced budget. Here’s the quick outline of the plan:

August 10, 2011
Avoiding records roadblocks
Texas — just like the federal government — has laws that dictate most government records are to be open to the public for viewing.
However, like anything else in life, what you’re dealing with is real people, so the laws laid out in Texas Government Code 552 may not always be clearly defined or easily interpreted.

August 10, 2011
Public records — what’ll it cost?
State law outlines that public records may be obtained for 10 cents a page (with a double sided single page counting as two pages).
Done. Right?
Uh, no. Government is never that easy or cut-and-dry.

August 10, 2011
Treason, seditious conspiracy by the Republican Party
I have come to the conclusion after watching Republican governors and politicians in various states where they have the upper hand conspire to change rules and laws that affect all the citizens of the state and the country under the fine hand of the American Legislative Exchange Council known as ALEC, founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich and other conservative activists frustrated by recent electoral setbacks.

August 9, 2011
The logistics of public records
After attending a Freedom of Information seminar on Thursday of last week, I’ve decided to dedicated my columns this week to ways that ordinary people can research public records.

August 9, 2011
Versatility redefined
He was, by any measure, the most versatile student whose path I crossed during a 40-year career in higher education.

August 8, 2011
Balancing the budget
The political class predicted “disaster” if Congress didn’t raise its debt limit.
I think that was a scam to get more money. See, the poor politicians don’t have enough, and they need to borrow more. We taxpayers are cheap. This year we’ll give them only $2.2 trillion. They want to spend $3.8 trillion.
The president said if he didn’t get more money, Social Security checks wouldn’t go out. Why not?

August 4, 2011
Home safety for the elderly
The end result is very dire for the elderly who do not practice home safety. A fall or burn can be extremely dangerous for the elderly person; long hospitalization or even an early death can be expected.

August 2, 2011
Paying tribute to Texas’ space legacy

On July 20th, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew marked an unprecedented journey, inspiring human exploration for generations to come. Astronaut Neil Armstrong reported the landing of the first manned mission on the moon with the assuring words, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”

August 1, 2011
Caddie sacked?
You gotta hand it to Tiger Woods. He’s a quick study, this fallen-from-grace golfer who’s following last year’s divorce with another break-up. When he backed out of the caddie deal, however, he ran over no shrubbery, damaged no vehicles and required no investigation of police — at least not yet.

August 1, 2011
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