A wattered-down version of campus carry is moving its way through the Texas legislature.  This version would allow all universities to opt out whereas a previous version would have prevented public universities from doing so.  So, basically, what the bill does is remove most college buildings from the list of places where concealed handguns are prohibited but would still allow each university to opt out.

It's a step in the right direction. 

But here's the real story: Baylor math professor Lance Littlejohn will be too scared to hand back tests to his students if the bill passes (even though Baylor would opt out):

"I used to worry every day I gave a test back to students," said Baylor University math professor Lance Littlejohn, "that one student with take issue with their grade and let me have it — literally — with both barrels."

"If this bill passes, would you hand back my exams to my students?" Littlejohn asked him.

I'll answer Professor Littlejohn's question: yes.  I'll do it.  If you are too scared to hand a bad grade to your student, then I'll do it for you.  I'm sure that will make you feel better.  I'm sure some listeners would be willing to volunteer to assist other wussy professors who think so little of their students that they don't want to give them a bad grade.

Are professors victims of widespread assaults right now?  Nope.  But if CHL on campus is passed people are just going to start shooting professors. 

And just how little credit does Littlejohn give his students that he thinks just having a different person return the test he gave and graded will make a difference?  Are his students so dumb that they'll confuse the test-hander-back person with the professor who gave it? 

You can't fix stupid.  That goes for Baylor professors, too.

You can't fix stupid and you can't legislate common sense.  Well, you can try to legislate common sense but there's no guaranty it will work.  But I can guaranty it will raise some money for the state through traffic tickets.

Remember when the Waco Tea Party was running into all those problems with the IRS?  How the IRS was making the WTP and other limited government groups jump through absurd hoops to obtain their tax-exempt status?  How complying with all the IRS demands would comsume countless resources and volunteer time?  If not, here's my interview with Toby Marie Walker of the

And then there was a tiny piece of news from Uncle Sam this week. The IRS admits what we knew to be the case all along: it was targeting conservative groups.  The IRS under the Obama administration was trying to make the lives of conservative groups a living hell by using the force of the tax code.  If they try to comply (like the Waco Tea Party did), it will take so long and be such an infuriating task that they won't be able to spend their time on anything else.  If they just give up, then good.  They're out of the picture either way. 

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So much for some crazy right-wing conspiracy theory, huh?

But remember, Czar Obama says to ignore all thoise voices out there telling you to distrust the government.

And here's the letter sent to the Waco Tea Party to give you an idea of what kinds of things the IRS was forcing the Waco Tea Party to do.

Here's the video of Duncanville sophomore Jeff Bliss lecturing his "lazy" teacher.  I put lazy in quotes because there's clearly a lot we don't know about what happened in the minutes, days and weeks before the camera was turned on.  Having said that, the teacher's response to this student is telling.  It does seem to indicate his argument and comments are probably pretty accurate.

A commenter on our facebook page had a great line about this video: "what he is being is discourteous, not disrespectful. You see we owe everyone courtesy, but respect must be earned."

What the student highlights is what we all know: there are bad teachers.  Thankfully, they are in the minority.  But a school system that lets a teacher who just hands out packets and thinks that's educating is doing a disservice to its students, to the taxpayers and to society. 

The vast majority of teachers do earn that respect.  Dr. Rita Pierson (whom I recently had on the show with Waco ISD Superintendent Dr. Bonnie Cain), gave a remarkably relevant speech at TED just days before this video went viral. 
 

Many listeners were critical of Drs. Cain and Pierson and their approach to dealing with poverty in Waco, which was the topic of our conversation on the show.  I was, too.  But I will say the hour the three of us spend in the studio after the show was far more enlightening than the hour we spent on the air.  I wish it wasn't that way, but sometimes public officials are less forthcoming when the microphone is on.  I don't agree with everything Dr. Pierson is doing here, but after our off-air conversation and watching her speak to TED, I think she's one of the good educators.  I hope she helps Waco ISD.