Riding the Pine Pony

         Three strikes and you're out. This is the sentiment many have towards the recent colossal misconduct of a one Texas appellate court judge, Jim Sharp. In an editorial published by the Houston Chronicle, Sharp is accurately portrayed as a, for lack of a better term, spineless infant. If you thought Supreme Court Judge Scalia was brash and caustic, you are going to love Jim Sharp.

          The Houston Chronicle editorial is directed toward your average law-abiding Texas citizen. Texans typically view big government as the devil, so any time an article is published verbally bashing a supposed “ethereal” government official, in Sharp's words, we “common hillbillies” are all over it.

          In terms of credibility, the Houston Chronicle has plenty. It's a newspaper more than a century old and boasts the title of being the largest daily newspaper in Texas. It's not like the information was pulled from the blog of a ranting and raving thirty-something still living in their parents' basement. I digress.

           The author does a nice job of structuring the argument. The point of view is clearly summarized and the author takes an eclectic approach in voicing their overall opinion. The good, the bad and the ugly are laid out in an obvious manner, so the reader is left enough room to pass his/her own judgment. It is quite pleasant to find an editorial where the author's opinions aren't assuming a stranglehold around the reader's neck. Instead of shrewdly stating how unbecoming Sharp's recent conduct has been, the author lets direct quotes do all of the dirty work. The Texas appellate court judge's belligerent quotes help refute the claim that he is no longer fit to be “on the bench.”

         

           The author also does a nice job of providing Michol O'Connor ( former appellate judge) as the epitome of what a Texas appellate judge should be. O'Connor is cleverly used to emphasize all of the ways Jim Sharp's behavior has fallen short.

              

            Case in point, it is logical to think that we as citizens wish to have a fair and moral individual reviewing our criminal cases. We have enough loonies on the street creating mayhem. We at least need people of sound mind to accurately appraise criminals on all their levels of crazy. Judging by Jim Sharp's recent outbursts, he is in a league of his own.

Should What Happens in Vegas Stay in Vegas?

        At the mention of Sin City your mind probably strays to bright lights, expensive call girls and scenes from the slapstick comedy The Hangover. A less likely image? How the money you won playing blackjack impacts the state's overall economy.
    
          Once you get past the bells and whistles, expanded gambling does little to boost state finances. A recent Empower Texans editorial by Michael Quinn Sullivan refutes this. Sullivan places emphasis on “restricting growth of government rather than looking for new ways to grab cash to fund it.” His piece goes on to dissect the poor policy track record of gambling and how it has tarnished the economies of states like Michigan, Louisiana and Illinois.
       
         The act of extending gambling legislature comes with a large increase in regulatory and social service spending, both of which rapidly outpace whatever brief financial gain is obtained by the gambling institutions. According to Sullivan, crony gambling expansion will do for Texas what it has for every other state in which it has been implemented-- lead to a more costly government and increase taxes. Yippee! This article is worth reading for those of you brave enough to evaluate where your tax dollars may be going in the near future.