Whenever you hear a politician carry on about what a mess the schools are, be aware that you are looking at the culprit.

Most of us think of government as them. Yet government isn't Them: It's us.

If an armed nation were a polite nation, America would be paradise. We have more than 200 million guns in private owernship here. But our manners are not getting better.

Sometimes I think Texas exists as a reality check for those who might wander too far toward the precious.

When politicians start talking about large groups of their fellow Americans as 'enemies,' it's time for a quiet stir of alertness. Polarizing people is a good way to win an election, and also a good way to wreck a country.

I think of Texas as the laboratory for bad government.

In city rooms and in the bars where newspeople drink, you can find out what's going on. You can't find it in the papers.