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In a “New Era of Responsibility”, Dad should come home.

On the White House website (www.whitehouse.gov) you can read, listen to or watch President Obama’s inaugural address. In the slug to the post, it says, “President Obama delivered his Inaugural Address, calling for a new era of responsibility.” (Click here to listen to the excerpt.) I’m a big believer in personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is the ultimate expression of freedom. In the 18th century, when large numbers of ordinary citizens were first given freehold tenure...

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Obama’s chance at lasting change.

As we speak this morning (Fri, Jan 16, 2008, 7:53 a.m.), in just 4,987 minutes we will have a new president. And not just any new president. As we have been reminded almost constantly since late in the evening of Nov. 4, we will have the first African-American president. It is a signal moment in American history. On Nov. 6, just after the election, I spoke in this space on one very significant aspect of...

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What will today’s media elites regret when they grow up?

Miss Campbell was a sweet old lady. She was among the last of a large cohort of American women. The Miss Campbells of the mid-20th century had three things in common. They never married. They unapologetically retained the title ‘Miss’. And they taught school. These women once constituted a sizable plurality of American school teachers. By the late 1960s, they were nearing the end of their careers and were being replaced by younger, married, fertile...

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The government needs to get out, not bailout.

Click here to listen to the broadcast of You Tell Me on Newstalk 600 KTBB, Friday, December 19, 2008. With all of the news of the past weeks if I could I would wave a wand and the federal government would take a giant step backward. I mean a giant step. The two biggest stories of 2008 are the home mortgage meltdown and the auto industry collapse. The federal government is neck deep in both....

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Memo from Senate to UAW: The party’s over.

The so-called auto bailout bill, a $14 billion bridge loan intended to give automakers sufficient cash to continue operating in the first quarter of 2009, failed last night in the Senate. As far as getting government cash into the hands of the automakers this year, it’s over. Not gonna happen. That is a very big problem for GM and Chrysler. Less so for Ford except for the fact that if GM in particular fails, it...

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Be careful giving up freedom to quell your fears.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” – C. S. Lewis Here’s a simple civics lesson. Take a piece of paper and draw a horizontal line. Mark the ends of the line and label one end “No Government” and on the other end, label it “Maximum Government.” Above the Minimum Government label write the words, “chaos” and “freedom” and above the Maximum Government label...

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He earned it.

The first presidential election of which I have any recollection was the 1960 Kennedy election. I was six going on seven years old. In those days I was living in Amarillo, Texas and my dad and I used to go watch minor league baseball. In Kennedy’s first year in office, the 1961 Amarillo Gold Sox were affiliated with the New York Yankees and played in Potter County Stadium. That 1961 team featured future Yankees pitcher...

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When you’re really rich, it doesn’t matter who’s president.

I was at a gathering on Saturday in Dallas in the brand new home of a couple that is somewhat close to me. When I describe the home, don’t draw any conclusions about me. Though they are close for reasons I won’t disclose, I am a visitor in their home no more often than two times a year. The home sits on about an acre in Highland Park, the wealthy enclave just north of Downtown...

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Leave the spreading of the wealth to us, Senator.

On the slim chance that John McCain wins this election – let me rephrase that – on the slim chance that John McCain doesn’t defeat himself in this election, he will need to invite Joe Wurzelbacher to sit with him on the platform at the inauguration. God knows Joe will have earned it. If John McCain wins, it will be Joe Wurzelbacher that drags him across the finish line. Joe Wurzelbacher is, of course, Joe...

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It’s time to be scared straight.

Let’s pick a middle class home in Tyler at random and eavesdrop on the conversation taking place inside between husband and wife. HIM: “Honey, we need to rein it in. We talk about it every year before the holiday season begins and we promise that we’re going to keep a lid on things at Christmas but then we each go out and see just one more thing and we reach for the plastic and boom....

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At least Howard Beale knew who to be mad at.

“I’m mad as hell, and I”m not going to take it anymore.” Peter Finch as Howard Beale “Network” 1976 If you’re not mad as hell, you’re not paying attention. And even those of you who are mad as hell, too many of you are mad at the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Let me illustrate. Wednesday afternoon I went to school to pick up my daughter. I was waiting on the school lawn with...

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Who will be critical of the critic?

It has been a tumultuous two weeks. Let’s review. As a result of poor lending practices in the home mortgage market and particularly egregious practices at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, non-performing loans have served to dry up lending capital. This lack of capital is putting the squeeze on individuals and businesses that need ready, affordable access to credit in order to buy cars, houses, inventory and to cover payrolls. In order to...