Author Archives: Bill Hobby

The nation is deadlocked politically. The Presidential race is too close to call. The new Senate will be divided 50-50. What’s needed is a compromise that lets the new President take office with broad support and provides the divided leadership … Continue reading →

The next President and Vice President of the United States have not yet been elected, nor will they be elected when the votes in Florida and Oregon have been counted, nor will they be elected when the electors meet in … Continue reading →

Yes, I have decided to run for President. You may think it’s too late now that the primaries are nearly over. Not to worry. Certainly Governor George W. Bush will try to keep me off the ballot, but he’s not … Continue reading →

A census seems pretty simple. Just count the people. Then decide how many votes each state gets in Congress and for President. Then divvy up a few hundred million dollars and go on about your business. But often in history, … Continue reading →

The Austin Independent School District has been rated “unacceptable” by the Texas Education Agency—too many dropouts and too many low-performing schools. Among the state’s nine largest school districts, which educate 21 percent of its students, there were 42 low-performing schools. … Continue reading →

The State of Texas has lost about $1,000,000,000 of federal aid in the last decade because the Census Bureau failed to count 483,000 Texans in the 1990 census. That’s $200,000,000 a biennium—enough for a teacher pay raise or whatever is … Continue reading →

Dear Legislator: Congratulations on your recent election! The easy part is over! Between now and the end of May, you will set the state’s priorities for the next two years. You will consider thousands and pass hundreds of bills. The … Continue reading →

The U.S. House of Representatives seems to be thinking about censuring President Clinton. It has ample precedent for so doing. Just 166 years ago, the House of Representatives censured (reprimanded) another former Southern governor, soon to be a President. That … Continue reading →

Get out of my face! It’s finally happened. They are warning us against the expensive safety devices with which they have cluttered up our lives. The new cars have warnings on the sun visors that the air bags that the … Continue reading →

There is a familiar Irish revolutionary song titled, “It’s Off to Dublin in the Green, in the Green.” Until recently, any story about the Irish economy could be titled, “It’s Off to Dublin in the Red, in the Red.” Not … Continue reading →