Statement by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst
"I'm pleased the Senate took action today to ensure the state does not mandate HPV vaccination for young girls. Parents, not the state should be making these critical decisions for the health of their daughters, and the Senate's action today will allow us time for further review of the health impacts of the HPV vaccine, as well as educate the public on this issue."

Senate Votes to Overturn Perry's Vaccination Order
The Senate Monday passed a bill overturning Gov. Rick Perry's order that middle-school girls be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus linked to cervical cancer, with a requirement that the issue be reviewed in four years.

HPV Vaccine Concerns Give Legislatures Pause
The initial rush to require the inoculation of preteen girls with the new HPV vaccine Gardasil fueled by Merck & Co.'s lobbying is meeting resistance as state lawmakers nationwide begin to question its safety, long-term effectiveness and cost.

Bill to Halt HPV Mandate Heads to Governor's Desk
A bill to halt Gov. Rick Perry's executive order requiring schoolgirls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus is headed to the governor's desk.

Lawmakers Plan to Put More Religion in Your Lifefe
They say idle hands are the devil's playthings. But in the Legislature, they're the instruments of God.

Protecting Integrity in Texas Elections
The Texas House of Representatives will consider important legislation to ensure the sanctity of the ballot on Monday, April 23, 2007, as it debates legislation requiring a photo ID to vote.

Dewhurst Backs Voter ID Bill, Moving Primary
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Tuesday that he will try to win Senate approval of a controversial, partisan-charged bill to require Texans to show photo identification before being allowed to vote.

Good Government, Open Government
House Bill 1517 by Rep. Ken Paxton Considered in House Today
To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. -Thomas Jefferson

Anti-abortion Bill Is Halted
A stiff anti-abortion bill is probably gone for the legislative session, dragged down partly by a budget analysis that showed outlawing all abortions would cost the state more than $400 million in health care costs over the next three years.

Jessica's Law Approved in Senate
The Senate overwhelmingly approved its version of Jessica's Law on Tuesday, moving Texas one step closer to becoming the sixth U.S. state to allow capital punishment for certain sex crimes against children.

Moving Up the Primary Won't Increase Texas' Influence
The fact that "everyone else is doing it" does not make advancing the Texas primary election to early February a good idea. Having run for the Texas Legislature as an unknown in 1990, I can tell you that a March primary is hard enough, and an early February primary only would compound the problems.

Senate Panel OKs Requiring Ultrasounds Before Abortions
Doctors would have to perform ultrasounds on pregnant women seeking an abortion, but the patients wouldn't be required to see the images under a bill a Senate committee approved Tuesday.

Tax Spenders vs the Taxpayers
The tax spenders are using taxpayer dollars to oppose Texas voters. Taxpayer-funded organizations including the Texas Municipal League (TML), the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) and the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), have legislative positions diametrically opposed to taxpayer views.

A Party of Wimps
In my last column, I wrote about the comments of Democrat Harry Reid. From his "leadership" position, Reid played politics with the troops and declared that the war in Iraq was lost. As the feedback came in throughout the day, I noticed a very interesting trend - one in which I hope Republican leaders will take note.

Democrats Target Funds; Tactic Tricky for '08 Slate
Congressional Democrats are looking ahead to the next stage of the political battle over Iraq cutting off funds for war operations after March though it puts lawmakers eyeing the White House in a bind.

Strange Bed-fellows
The war was going badly. As the death toll mounted (an average of two dozen soldiers were dying every day) and the president's approval ratings over the war plummeted (to 38 percent), a series of protests across the country demonstrated just how pervasive the anti-war sentiment had become: 35,000 marched on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; 100,000 showed up in San Francisco; nearly 500,000 protested at the United Nations in New York City.

We Need More Heroes
by James Bowman
Reacting to what many in Britain and elsewhere are regarding as the disgraceful behavior while in captivity of the British sailors and marines kidnapped by the Iranians, Simon Heffer recently wrote in the London Daily Telegraph: "Why are some so weak-minded compared with those 18- year-olds who, within living memory, went over the top on the Somme, or splashed through machine-gun fire onto the Normandy beaches?"

Signs of Intelligence?
by Fred Dalton Thompson
One of the things that's got to be going through a lot of peoples' minds now is how one man with two handguns, that he had to reload time and time again, could go from classroom to classroom on the Virginia Tech campus without being stopped. Much of the answer can be found in policies put in place by the university itself.

Wanted: A Culture of Self-Defense
by Michelle Malkin
There's no polite way or time to say it: American colleges and universities have become coddle industries. Big Nanny administrators oversee speech codes, segregated dorms, politically correct academic departments and designated "safe spaces" to protect students selectively from hurtful (conservative) opinions -- while allowing mob rule for approved leftist positions (textbook case: Columbia University's anti-Minuteman Project protesters).

Fight Over War Erupts
by Gary Bauer
Congressional liberals upped the ante yesterday in the ongoing feud between Congress and President Bush over the war in Iraq. According to the Washington Times, Democrats on the House and Senate conference committee negotiating differences in the chambers' war funding bills actually accelerated the timetable for U.S. troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq.

Nuts in the Crosshairs
by Ann Coutler
For cranky right-wingers who think politicians don't listen to them, this week I give you elected Democrats running like scared schoolgirls from the media's demand that they enact new gun control laws in response to the Virginia Tech shooting.

Cornyn Questions Attorney General on Imprisoned Border Patrol Agents
Just a heads-up, at yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing with Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Senator Cornyn raised the issue of the imprisoned Border Patrol Agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. You can access an audio file of the Senator's exchange with the AG at this link: http://src.senate.gov/public/_files/radio/cornyn041907m.MP3.

As you may recall, Senator Cornyn has requested a Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of this case, but it has thus far been delayed by Senate Democrats.

Is Pre-K Necessary? Right? Moms Do It Better
How many tax-funded studies are needed before parents comprehend that farming their children's education out to strangers in institutional settings may be harmful to their kids' social skills?

Reid Between the Lines
Yesterday, we reported that the self-proclaimed "pro-lifer," Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a seven-time supporter of the partial-birth abortion ban, made disparaging comments about the Court--and specifically Justice Samuel Alito--after the ruling.

Religious Schools Help Close the Achievement Gap
For forty years, the federal government has sought to close the "achievement gap" by increasing federal involvement in and spending on public education.

TWC Offers Tips for Employers, Teens as Summer Hiring Nears
Thousands of jobs will soon become available for teenagers hoping to gain valuable work experience as employers begin hiring for the busy summer months. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) reminds employers, workers and parents to familiarize themselves with state and federal laws, as well as safety regulations that address child labor issues.

The Partial Birth Abortion Ban and Its Popularity
The pro-abortion* wing of the Democratic Party has relied on the courts for so long, it seems they forget that laws can be repealed. Ruth Marcus' editorial in the WaPo is representative of this mentality.