| Jan 23, 2013 | Peace / SecurityLast year, Sheriff Tommy Gage of Montgomery County, Texas, was eager to show off his new surveillance toy. Having obtained a $300,000 Homeland Security grant from the federal government, his office had become the first police agency in the nation to have its very own...
| Dec 26, 2012 | Environment / HealthIn 1862, the federal government created the land-grant university system to produce critical agricultural research. Since then, America has relied on these schools to inform and guide independent scientific advances in areas like food production and energy...
| Dec 4, 2012 | Rights / DemocracyOnce again, there’s a tempest brewing in the national tea pot. We’re talking secession. Well, some of us are. Actually, very few are — and some of them aren’t too tightly wrapped. There’s now a secession drive in a mess of red states, but...
| Oct 24, 2012 | Rights / DemocracyAt my age, I thought I’d seen pretty much everything — and I’ve been to the carny sideshow at the Texas State Fair twice. But now comes a Houston-based, tea-party outfit calling itself True the Vote. It claims to be dedicated to sniffing out...
| Sep 17, 2012 | Rights / DemocracyThe Republican Party claims to be the party of small government — with the obvious exceptions of denying marriage equality and reproductive rights. But there’s another kind of big government that the party has overwhelmingly and enthusiastically gotten...
