Subsidiarity and Textbooks in Texas

The State of Texas approves school textbooks.  At best, it is a costly but meaningless exercise.  According to Fox News, “A 2011 state law allows school districts to buy books both on and off the board list.” 
At worst, it limits the democratic process by centralizing decision making at an unnecessarily concentrated level.  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, subsidiarity is “a principle in social organization: functions which subordinate or local organizations perform effectively belong more properly to them than to a dominant central organization.” 
It is a principle that most conservatives accept.  It is a principle that politicians beyond the local level often ignore.  Governor elect Abbot show your conservative principles and dismantle this committee!


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The U.S. behind Romania in Press Freedom

A fall in freedom of any kind should be a big story in the United States.  From Meghan Drake of the Washington Times, “Survey: U.S. press freedom plunges under Obama to 46th in world, after Romania.”

The U.S. fell from 32nd to 46th in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index, a drop of 13 slots. The index, compiled by the press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, analyzes 180 countries on criteria such as official abuse, media independence and infrastructure to determine how free journalists are to report…

“Journalists are being caught up in what is, I think, fairly characterized as a rapidly growing surveillance apparatus, and this is happening all over the world,” said Geoffrey King, Internet advocacy coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The Huffington Post reports the same.  See Josh Stearns, “U.S. Plummets in Global Press Freedom Rankings.”

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