Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 17, 2011 Page: 4 of 16
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Page 4A ★ Joshua Star ★ Thursday, February 17, 2011
www.joshuastar.net
-1 EDITORIAL I-
Texans can support governor’s plan, so should lawmakers
The issue: Gov. Rick Perry
delivered the biennial State of the
State address last week.
We say: The straight-shoot-
ing, optimistic tone of the gover-
nor was correct.
No one likes a pessimist, but
we like straight shooters.
Never has Gov. Rick Perry
ever been criticized of the first
and rarely has he ever lacked
the latter. But, some Texans just
haven’t felt him to be on target
from time to time.
Perry has campaigned from
the far right and has oft been
criticized for drifting to the
center once in office. His boot-
wearing, big-talking, get-the-job-
done campaign speeches have
often been found to be all hat
and no cattle once resting com-
fortably again in the governor’s
mansion.
We Texans like and want the
Rick Perry we’ve seen on the
campaign trail.
So, his State of the State ad-
dress was a good start last week.
This was the Rick Perry most
conservative Texans don’t want
to see leave the governor’s man-
sion. He bragged on Texas, took
a breath, and bragged some
more.
In a 45-minute oration to state
lawmakers, the governor incap-
sulated those items a majority
of Texans find important and a
shared a stance a majority of us
can agree with.
He wants a voter identification
bill. We agree. If voter fraud is
taking place, we want it stopped.
And how many literate people
do you know who don’t possess a
state-issued identification card?
On eminent domain, he’s now
supporting tougher laws that will
better protect private property
rights. He says the Trans-Texas
Corridor project - the biggest
land grab in Texas history - is
dead, as it should be. We support
tougher eminent domain laws.
The governor isn’t shying away
from budget discussions. This
will be the session’s most unpop-
ular subject. He’s asking law-
makers to cut the waste and trim
the fat. It is not the government’s
money, but the people’s money
in the government’s hands, he
said. He’s right. We want ac-
countability for every dollar
spent, and this includes school
districts. One area superinten-
dent recently claimed his district
had no fat - any Joe Blow would
gladly accept the challenge to
point out the number of waste-
ful line items in that district’s
budget, and in others. The cuts
won’t be easy for anyone to take,
but smaller government is better
government. If it is wasteful, end
it. There are no sacred cows, as
Perry said.
Anyone wanting a job and
unable to find one has reason to
question the governor’s opti-
mism, but he correctly suggests
we live in the best economic
place in the country. More jobs
are being created in Texas than
in any other state. The state is
in better shape than most, but
we won’t go as far as to support
some of the governor’s economic
development funds that have, in
the past, amounted to nothing
short of a slush fund. But, he’s
helping bring jobs to Texas when
other states are losing jobs.
The Rainy Day Fund - similar
to a fund balance held by cities
and school districts - should not
be touched, he says. We agree
it should not be utilized to fund
recurring expenses, but support
reviewing other ways the monies
held in the fund could help bal-
ance the budget.
The governor suggests tort
reform was a good idea and we
agree. It has helped make Texas
a welcoming mat for doctors.
He suggests going a step further
and adding a loser pays ele-
ment to further prevent frivilous
lawsuits. Lawmakers should get
behind this. A loser pays element
would complement job recruit-
ing efforts by the state.
No one seems quite sure what
to do when it comes to public
school finance. School districts
need to get comfortable with the
fact they will have cuts and must
become leaner. No one wants
to see teachers lose jobs, but
executive school district salaries
are out of line and that’s a place
you won’t ever hear school dis-
tricts discuss cutting. We don’t
support a single cut that will
negatively impact students, but
districts must find areas to cut.
On the higher education front,
we support the governor’s effort
in asking the state’s universi-
ties to make a bachelor’s degree
more affordable. He’s wants de-
gree plans that will cost no more
than $10,000. Right on.
While it could be viewed as
his first act in a bid at the White
House, we find the governor’s
attack of Washington policies
correct.
He wants a resolution signed
into law that sends Washington
a message that we support the
10th amendment to the U.S.
Constitution and want lawmak-
ers to follow it. The federal
government’s overreaches and
unfunded mandates must stop
and from this standpoint we sup-
port this item.
On illegal immigration, it is
disappointing that Texas can’t
get Washington to listen. This
is clearly the federal govern-
ment’s responsibility. Seal the
border and deal with those here
illegally. Otherwise, our sover-
nity is lost. But, the governor is
also correct in asking lawmakers
to create criminal penalties for
businesses who knowingly hire
workers here in violation of im-
migration law and in calling for
an end to sanctuary cities.
On the nationalized health care
front - or Obamacare as it has
been coined - we don’t want it.
The law should be repealed, not
because it was a Democrat-led
policy but because it is a federal
government overreach and crip-
pling to businesses. This is one
tact where the governor may be
wrong. Voters have called upon
their representatives to repeal
the law. The governor should call
upon these lawmakers individu-
ally to oblidge them.
The governor says this could
be the “Texas Century.” If law-
makers come through on each of
these items it will be and other
states will follow.
WHAT IS IT?
No, it's not a Chupacabra. An animal described as a Kinkajou,
a small mammal related to the Raccoon of North America, got
loose last week in southern Johnson County. The animal's natural
habitat is from Southern Mexico to Southern Brazil. The animal is
being treated for frostbite.
REMEMBERING TEXAS
The 175th anniversary of Texas’ independence from Mexico
is being celebrated this year. Following are a few events in
the Texas Revolution that tookplace this week in 1836.
Feb. 17 - Col. William Barret Travis sends out letters
pleading for men and supplies to defend the Alamo.
Feb. 21 - Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and
his army arrive at the Medina River south of San Antonio near
Bandera, once considered the boundary between Texas and
Mexican Coahuila.
Feb. 23 - Santa Anna enters San Antonio. The Alamo
comes under artillery fire from Mexican troops, commencing
the 13-day battle of the Alamo.
Texas Independence Day will be marked Wednesday,
March 2, recognizing the signing of Texas’ Declaration of
Independence and the formation of the Republic of Texas.
Consider, as a Texan, how you will celebrate.
JoshuaAStar
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Ethanol not to blame for Egypt crisis
Know what’s causing the
political crisis in Egypt? It’s
ethanol.
Hunger is rampant in this
Middle East country be-
cause U.S. ethanol produc-
tion has caused world corn
prices to go up. Higher corn
prices mean U.S. farmers
are taking wheat acres out
of production in favor of
corn. This is causing wheat
prices to spike and because
the U.S. exports a lot of
wheat to the Middle East,
the average Egyptian Joe
can’t afford to eat. So he
and his friends began riot-
ing in the streets.
At least this is what a
writer on Forbes website
maintains. I wish I could
link to the article but it
disappeared over the week-
end.
This convoluted story
reminds me of a dog I used
to have, named Brainless.
We were playing fetch one
day when
the stick
I threw
landed in
the bed of
a passing
pickup.
I guess
Brain-
less is still
chasing
Agriculture that stick.
I haven’t
seen him since.
That incident was a far
fetch for Brainless, just as
this opinion piece is a far
fetch for author Christian
Wolan.
Realizing an opinion is
an opinion, it’s still incred-
ible to me that the editors
at Forbes ever let this one
loose. I wonder if its audac-
ity was the reason it was
pulled down.
Ethanol has become a
convenient whipping boy
for whatever ills the world
is suffering.
A couple of years ago
it was the grocery wars,
where ethanol was blamed
for spikes in the price of
food in this country and
around the world.
Left unmentioned as
possible sources of food
inflation were increased de-
mand caused by a booming
world economy and a sky
high price for energy.
Guess what? When the
U.S. and world economic
bubble burst, so did oil and
food prices.
Today, the world’s econ-
omy is heating up and the
price of energy is barreling
skyward. Corn and wheat,
as well as other commod-
ity prices, are rising. So are
food prices. Deja vu all over
again.
It’s not the price of tea in
China or the cost of bread
in Egypt or ethanol produc-
tion in the U.S. that caused
the people of Cairo to begin
rioting.
They stood up to a cor-
rupt government which has
shown little regard for its
people. Many Egyptians
live in rampant poverty
with little hope for the
future. They have had
enough. They are demand-
ing change. And with the
Egyptian military’s re-
moval of President Hosni
Mubarak, it looks as if
they’re going to be success-
ful.
Meanwhile, Mr. Wolan,
if you see my dog, Brain-
less, give me a call. He’s on
an endless quest chasing a
phantom stick. It looks to
me as if you are barking up
the same tree.
Mike Barnett is the
publications director of the
Texas Farm Bureau. Visit
the Texas Farm Bureau
website at www.txfb.org.
Mike Barnett
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Porter, Brian. Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 17, 2011, newspaper, February 17, 2011; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth822949/m1/4/: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.