Opinion

WE WANTED HAIRCUTS. Now we want football.

A PART OF RESPONDING to any crisis is having enough good information on which to make decisions—whether you are making those for yourself or others.

I COULD HAVE WRITTEN this column about no Republican senator yet admitting to including $1.7 billion in their latest coronavirus aid bill for remodeling the Washington D.C. FBI building, long a Trump pet project.

ICONIC RANCHES, FARMS, AND small towns sustain about 3 million Texans—a population larger than the city of Houston’s. The sense of community, plentiful open space, and great quality of life—all found in places like West Texas and the Panhandle—have sustained families for generations.

WHENEVER THE FIRST AMENDMENT’S 45 words ring out, whenever a voice for justice seizes our attention by using its core freedoms to power our democracy, John Lewis will be there.

EXHAUSTED. Overwhelmed.

THE CUTS COME NEXT. The latest news from the Texas comptroller—that the state will have $11.6 billion less to spend in its current budget than lawmakers expected—leads straight to a conversation about which programs and services in the state budget are expendable.

I DON’T KNOW WHO in rural America thinks American democracy is working. Country people who grew up trying their best and playing by the rules have seen jobs go away, schools and post offices close, poverty and addiction encroach into daily life.

The chainsaws and wood chipper that Asplundh crews wielded in our quiet community last week were pretty raucous—but they weren’t nearly as loud as the caustic reviews their arboreal expertise earned from homeowners in Canadian, whose trees were unfortunate enough to have grown up under an Xcel...

I KEEP SEEING PEOPLE say “It’s my freedom,” and “If you don’t like it and are scared of fake numbers, stay home.”