Vol. 14, Iss. 3· August 28, 2009
Login or subscribe to view the complete issue
Western civilization college coalition organizes
by Andy Hogue
What was the source of the following phrase: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”?
A) the speech “I Have a Dream”
B) Declaration of Independence
C) U.S. Constitution
D) Gettysburg Address
The Puritans:
A) opposed all wars on moral grounds
B) stressed the sinfulness of all humanity
C) believed in complete religious freedom
D) colonized Utah under the leadership of Brigham Young
E) were Catholic missionaries escaping religious persecution
In a 2007 quiz of about 1,000 Texas university freshmen and seniors conducted by the conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute — consisting of these and 31 other questions on the founding American principles — the average student scored 49 percent. (In case you’re one of the lower 50 percent, the answers to the two questions above were “D,” then “B.”)
Clock to wind down on private toll road contracts
by Mark Lavergne
The Texas Department of Transportation’s authority to enter into comprehensive development agreements — contracts with private companies like Spanish-based Cintra to build and operate toll roads in Texas — will expire on Aug. 31. All county toll-road authorities will still be able to enter into such contracts indefinitely.
TxDOT itself will be able for another two years to enter into “design-build” contracts, which are toll-road construction and operation agreements that do not involve any private equity. The same goes for regional mobility authorities (RMAs). Other specific exceptions to the rule remain here and there in the state as well, including the RMA for Dallas and Tarrant County, which can still do private toll-road contracts.
Texas test scores in: SAT down, ACT steady
by Andy Hogue and William Lutz
Texas’s average scores on college entrance examinations trail the national average, but it appears that some of Texas’s scores are improving.
ACT-takers on average increased their scores again for the fourth year, according to information released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Aug. 14.
ISSUES IN-DEPTH: TPPF forum: Texas economy good, but don’t spend like crazy
by William Lutz
Comptroller Susan Combs told the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s fiscal policy primer Aug. 27 that Texas is doing better than most other states. But she cautioned that the current business cycle may result in a “U-Shaped” recovery, with possibly another year to go before things get markedly better.
In other words, the state is in better fiscal shape than most of its counterparts, but that doesn’t mean the budget will be easy to write or that the state has a license to start spending.
AROUND TEXAS
Federal court rules against TDP in texas Two-Step case
Political Update
Doctors win court victory on prompt pay
OPINION: Hey University of Texas, Don’t Mess With Truth
by William Murchison
You know, don’t you, what kind of university trembles at the idea of affirming Truth? Right – a state university; which is one reason state universities are unlikely, in the broad, liberal sense, to amount to much in the 21st century.
Yeah, sure, they perform valuable scientific research. They can furnish a patina of basic knowledge. They can press diplomas into outstretched young hands. Their sports teams can rack up championships.