Opinion

Afederal judge is expected to rule quickly on the constitutionality of a Texas law about to go into effect that institutes new state penalties for illegal border crossings. During a hearing last week, U.S. District Judge David Ezra said he had concerns that other states would follow Texas’ lead in creating their own immigration laws – a power given exclusively to the federal government under the U.S. Constitution.

The border crisis turns everything it touches to ash. Fort Stockton is no exception. What was once a getaway from big Texas cities is now a hub for highspeed chases, property damage, and migrant bailouts. People here should not have to live in a state of constant worry. That is why I have worked side by side with Pecos County officials like Sheriff T.J. Perkins to take a stand and end this chaos.

When I was in Bible college I was also on staff at a large church. My mother gave me some advice about working for other people and working in an office. As I had not worked in an office before. She said, “you observe your boss and learn the office procedures. Like when and how to talk with him. Also, a time when he is in good humor.”

We have been looking at how to respond in a season of disinterest in God; when we feel no desire for him. Very often, although not always, these seasons of spiritual apathy occur in times of relative comfort—when we are untested by trials and unworried by difficult circumstances. In other words, we often do not want God when we feel no need for him.

Acouple of days ago, I retrieved one (of about a hundred) of our family doglets’ chew bones from the seemingly unreachable chasm under my youngest and quietest daughter’s bed using an ingenious invention of my own making – namely a straightened-out wire clothes hanger.

Lt. Gov Dan Patrick joined with the world’s largest investment firm to pitch investors on building natural gas power plants in Texas at a summit held last week in Houston.

Last night we watched the Super Bowl. As we all watched intently it looked like my team was going to lose. My team did not give in and in some spectacular way they won. Hurray! That event reminds me of something in the Bible. Around 2000 years ago a great battle took place. No, it was not a place where great armies lined up on the battlefield and fought it out.

Our consumer society has done a remarkable thing. It has convinced us that our desires are immutable and undeniable; that we are defined by longings and are powerless to change or resist them. With some desires this is true. I cannot deny my desire for oxygen—it is hardwired into my brain, but my craving for sugar is a physical and psychological desire that can be heightened or diminished. Our culture and the economic powers that propel it, however, want us to believe that every desire is hardwired; that we are mere victims of our appetites.

The Texas Education Agency’s annual report was released last week. It indicates per-student funding in the 2021-2022 school year averaged $14,928 per student, up 42% since 2011. However, state funding has only risen slightly in the past decade, while local funding has increased substantially.

GUEST COLUMNIST Bob and Carol Burchell pulled into their driveway during the snowstorm, and were surprised to see their daughter, Katie, along with her boyfriend, Randy Jones, sitting on the porch swing, wrapped in a blanket. Both were shivering and smiling.