Live Thought

OPINION — This week’s subject is Things That Come Out Of Animals, which may sound disgusting and gross on the surface, but once you dig a little you’ll find that many things that come out of animals are disgusting and gross. Also useful. A good example is buffalo chips, which are not really chips at all. They also don’t come out of buffalo, not if you find them in the United States. Because buffalo aren’t native to the United States. Which is pedantic and annoying, I know, but there you go.

OPINION — Well, my favorite climate activist-professional whiner-space cadet seems to have decided to take a brief hiatus from saving the world in order to save the Palestinians in Gaza, or something. I guess if you’re determined to save something, it doesn’t matter what you save, as long as you document your exploits extensively on social media, so as to irritate as many people as possible.

OPINION — For someone who always looks like he’s about to fall asleep, Nicolas Cage is a pretty good actor. He’s actually been one of my favorites for a long time. I especially liked The Rock and the Gone In Sixty Seconds remake. Then he lost all his money, because of, I don’t know, taxes or something, and started making kind of odd movies. But that’s none of my business.

This past week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” a funding package that includes the long-debated defunding of Planned Parenthood. While headlines swirl and fear-based rhetoric rises, it’s important that our community understands one thing clearly: women are not being abandoned—they’re being offered better options. 

Today, I joined my fellow rural, West Texas Republicans—those who stood firm against vouchers in 2023—in voting for Senate Bill 2, following days of tough negotiations with Public Education Chairman Brad Buckley on behalf of our rural public schools.

OPINION — I offer an answer to David R. Currie’s interesting commentary on tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump. 

OPINION — My mother, Mary Jim Patton Currie, was born on March 27, 1917. She died on December 20, 2011, at the age of 94.

OPINION — The Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) in San Angelo has outlived its usefulness and should be abolished. It represents poor stewardship of property tax revenue, is fundamentally flawed in its implementation, and disproportionately benefits a small group of wealthy property owners while draining resources from the broader community.

"This is going to be a defining moment for Texas education. We won't know for years whether vouchers will be a bold step forward or just another expensive boondoggle."

Through no fault of our own, my wife and I have neighbors.

Here’s why Trump has a real shot at reclaiming the Oval Office in a historic landslide.

OPINION — On October 5, I attended the memorial service for my friend of 46 years, Floyd Craig, in Nashville, Tennessee. The memorial service was led by our mutual friend, Dr. David Sapp. All three of us met in 1978 when I started to work with the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission in Nashville.