Fighting a straw man is not productive
2022-10-14
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Boxers and soldiers often train fighting dummies. It is easy to understand why. Dummies don’t fight back. Eventually, however, a good fighters needs to train against another human as an opponent if they want to win a real fight. Debates work similarly with words. Some debaters onlyContinue Reading
Why do conservatives ridicule those in need?
2022-10-07
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer I am always struck when I come to the end of the Good Samaritan parable in the gospel of Luke. The parable ends with the rich man begging Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers. Abraham ridicules the rich man. Abraham saidContinue Reading
The people of Texas deserve better
2022-09-30
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Conservatives politicians make two promises. They promise that government can’t work when they are elected. They promise to run government like their personal business. Why are we surprised when things turned out good for them and their friends but bad for us? Conservative politicians are on televisionContinue Reading
Beto is bad for Texas
2022-09-30
Hunter Bonner/Contributing writer “This election is the most important one of our lives.” “You can’t stay at home this time. You have to get out and vote.” While these may seem old and repetitive, they are nonetheless very true. The race for Governor of Texas is very important for allContinue Reading
There are harsh realities in a post-Dobbs American
2022-09-23
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer When a woman walks into a doctor’s office should Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton walk in too? Should national Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy and Ted Cruz watch a woman’s exam? Should these politicians make medical decisions for women? Republican politicians in Austin andContinue Reading
Texas open government laws are here for everyone
2022-09-23
Kelley Shannon/Contributing writer Across the state, Texans are keeping a closer eye on their government. They’re asking questions and demanding information. There’s a renewed awareness of our transparency laws. Times of trouble can remind us all that the people have a right to know, and Texas certainly has been enduringContinue Reading
Homecoming Queen…
2022-09-17
JHS senior Rachae Williams was named 2022 Homecoming Queen at Friday’s coronation. She was escorted by Ashton Williams. Continue Reading
People vs. monarchs
2022-09-17
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer The death of Queen Elizabeth II reminds me how lucky we are as Americans. We don’t have a monarchy. We have a Republic. The American Republic belongs to all the people, not a single person. Our Republic, however, owes much to the history of the English monarchy.Continue Reading
SMU has a storied history
2022-09-10
Ken Bridges/Contributing writer Students begin a new school year with hopes and dreams of better lives. Teachers and administrators similarly have high hopes for their students, trying to create classrooms and schools of the highest quality where these dreams can be nurtured and minds developed, as difficult as this sometimes isContinue Reading
Public services have value
2022-09-02
Conservatives have been pretty clear about one aspect of their governing philosophy. They say that they will run government like a business. Liberals, however, see government as public services. The results are dramatically different. Liberal policies shaped American politics after the Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt provided a role modelContinue Reading
Hold on to your wallets, fellow citizens
2022-09-02
The Democrats in Washington are doing another one of their zillion-dollar smash-and-grabs. This time, it’s Joe Biden’s scheme to forgive $10,000 in student debt for about 43 million Americans who’ve borrowed hundreds of billions of federal dollars to pay for college. Of course, old rich Joe’s not giving his ownContinue Reading
Let’s go Joe!
2022-08-28
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Between Jan. 20, 2001 and July 14, 2008 prices at the gas pump rose from $1.47 per gallon to $4.11 per gallon. During that extended price rise, two Texas oil men sat in the Oval Office and made decisions. Dramatically, gas prices fell to $1.61 by DecemberContinue Reading
August terrorists
2022-08-19
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Every August I remember our history. For professional historians, history is based on documents. Documents give us a look into real time events rather than looking backwards. Documents help us separate reality from storytelling. On Aug. 6, 2001 a Central Intelligence Agent handed George W. Bush aContinue Reading
America the Scary
2022-08-19
Michael Reagan/Contributing writer If you weren’t fearful of government before this week, you should be scared to death by now. This is the United States of America. Not Venezuela. Or is it? Never in our history have we gone after a former president the way the partisans running the BidenContinue Reading
Time to Cheer
2022-08-12
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Just you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it gets better. Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the global recovery from Covid 19 stalled. Global traders panic, driving up prices and clogging supply chains. Market fears of a new, and wider, disruption never materialized, however. Energy supply remainedContinue Reading
Who got us in this mess ?
2022-08-12
Michael Reagan/Contributing writer Lots of perplexed Americans are asking the question, “How did we get here?” They ask how is it that a rich, powerful and generally happy country that was chugging along so smoothly in the 21st century has almost overnight become an economic, social and ideological train wreck.Continue Reading
