Month: July 2025

Every Friday morning, I join the Cardle & Woolley Show on 1370 Talk Radio in Austin to announce the week’s Winners & Losers. As we enter the “dead of summer” with what must now be officially referred to as “the first called Special Session,” scheduled to start Monday in the Texas Capitol, here’s who made the list:

Here’s the list:

WINNERS: Taxpayers No Longer Must Fund NPR and PBS

Not sure why this was even debatable, but earlier this week, President Donald Trump actually had to waste his valuable time convincing some Republican senators to move forward with clawing back federal funding from National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of his rescissions package.

“Clawing back,” is the appropriate term. Conservatives have been fighting tooth and nail to end taxpayer funding of the left-wing public media outlets for decades. NPR and PBS have always been among the most biased news sources, because they don’t even have market forces to keep them even-handed. In recent history, they pushed the Russia-gate story, censored anyone who suggested COVID-19 might have come from a lab leak, and refused to cover Hunter Biden’s laptop, according to an insider report, because editors were worried the story “might help Trump” win the election.

NPR and PBS have always insisted that they don’t really need the federal money, but when it finally was clear that the gravy train was coming to an end, they totally panicked. Public media leaders insisted that if they lost the billion dollars in federal funds, people in rural areas would have no way to get news.

I grew up in a rural area and I do not recall any point in my life when someone actually said, “we’ve got to turn on NPR or PBS to get the news.”

The government should not be funding media—left, right or whatever. That’s a communist thing. I usually am not a fan of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, but her congressional hearing comments to the leaders of PBS and NPR sum it up perfectly: “We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime.”

LOSER: Things are Really Bad for Democrats

The fact that things aren’t going well for the Democrat Party is not really news, but I love reminding everyone how bad it is and this week it got a lot worse. A new Quinnipiac University poll found that only 19% of Americans approve of the Democrats in Congress. But wait! There’s more:

1. Their candidate for mayor of New York City is a communist and an anti-Semite. In a country where 80% of Americans support Israel and reject communism, this is a bad look.
2. The former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, announced this week that he will re-enter the race for mayor of New York City, thereby virtually assuring that the communist, anti-Semite will win.
3. In Texas, no congressional representative raised more money than Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, from Dallas, who raked in $3.8 million. Crockett is also a big leftist who frequently appears on the Losers List. She is the awful person who makes fun of Gov. Greg Abbott because he’s in a wheelchair and has called President Trump (and most Republicans) racist. In more bad news for Democrats, their top Congressional fundraiser is another socialist—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  
4. Another poll by a Democrat group found that Democrats are continuing to hemorrhage male voters who perceive them as “weak and woke.”
5. Democrat leaders who try to make things better like California Gov. Gavin Newsom look really silly when they decide the key is to curse more and try to “sound authentic,” like Trump.
6. Texan Mark Cuban—a Democrat sympathizer—seems to get it. He said this week that Democrats have to get a better message than “Trump sucks.”
7. Finally, going into next week’s Texas Legislature’s special session, which features a charge from Gov. Greg Abbott to draw a new map of congressional districts, Texas Democrats haven’t got much of a plan beyond blaming Gov. Abbott for the flood. They could leave the state and break quorum, so the state Legislature couldn’t conduct business, or they could try to get a big blue state to create new Democrat congressional seats to counter what happens in Texas. None of that looks likely, but it will be fun to watch.

LOSER: National Teachers Union President Screaming in Philadelphia

It’s been all over the Internet, but in case you missed the YouTube video of National Education Association (NEA) President Becky Pringle screaming like a crazy person at the group’s convention in Philadelphia, you can watch it here. Her performance has been widely described in the media as “unhinged,” so I went to the thesaurus to find a similar term—deranged was suggested, along with unbalanced, mad and “crackers.” I’m going with “crackers.”    

A lengthy report in the Free Press provides a detailed narrative of the latest agenda from the NEA which includes vows to stop President Trump’s fascism, eliminate ICE and resist the Supreme Court ruling that allows parents to opt their children out of “gender ideology” classes.

The NEA has also pledged millions for local political campaigns and says it will support the “No Kings,” movement, which nobody knows exactly what is, but apparently isn’t over. The NEA doesn’t seem to be pretending anymore that they care about what happens to our children.

A Texas teacher is quoted in the Free Press story saying she was told there was no time to discuss ways to improve reading and math skills (which continue to be in the tank across the country) because they had to “fight Trump.”

Texas parents finally defeated the teachers’ unions in the last legislative session after fighting for over three decades to pass school choice and establish the largest Educational Savings Account program in the country. But the screaming coming out of Philadelphia makes it clear that as long as the teachers unions can collect dues—and in most states teachers have no choice but to pay them—their wars against a good education aren’t over. To review NEA’s record, only 26% of American high school seniors are proficient in math and only about 40% of fourth graders are reading at grade level. Taxpaying parents are the ones who should be screaming.  

WINNER: Trump’s Garden of American Heroes

One of the things that was included in the Big Beautiful Bill was a small amount of funding to start the “Garden of American Heroes” that President Trump proposed back in 2020 when the country was obsessed with tearing down statues. Trump thinks putting up more statues is a better idea and, so far, his “Garden of American Heroes” will feature 250 people.

Take a look at who is on the list and you find most people you would expect—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John and Sam Adams, Davy Crockett and Martin Luther King, but there’s also Bob Hope and Kobe Bryant. Lauren Bacall is next to Clara Barton and there are even lefties, including Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Woody Guthrie.

The Washington Post report about the Garden includes the lie Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders have outlawed honoring Blacks, Hispanics and women, which is, of course, ridiculous. No word yet on where the Garden of Heroes is going to be, although there appears to be a push to put it near Mt. Rushmore, which sounds like a great spot.

LOSER: Biden Team Takes the Fifth — Week 2

One big loser last week was former President Joe Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, who invoked the Fifth amendment at a congressional deposition when asked if he believed former President Biden was up to doing the job as president, or if anyone had asked him to lie about the president’s health.

This week, Anthony Bernal, former First Lady Jill Biden’s Chief of Staff, also took the Fifth when asked if he believed Biden was able to execute his duties as president. Clearly, these guys know they are in trouble. Invoking the Fifth means you refuse to answer because telling the truth could incriminate you.

They clearly believe somebody is going to be prosecuted and they are taking steps to make sure it isn’t them. Meanwhile, Biden’s son Hunter is sticking to the script. Sounding like a character from Game of Thrones, Hunter said Democrats lost the election because they weren’t loyal to his father. Here’s the whole unbelievable quote:

We lost the election because we did not remain loyal to the leader of the party. We had the advantage of incumbency. We had advantage of an incredibly successful administration, and the Democratic Party literally melted down.

There are rumors that the House Oversight Committee may subpoena Jill Biden to testify. Hopefully, that would be more interesting than the doctor and her chief of staff. Hard to imagine the former First Lady taking the Fifth.

WINNER: Trump Gets another Victory from SCOTUS

Last week, President Trump was on the winners list when the Supreme Court ruled the obvious—that as head of the executive branch of the government, he has the right to reduce the size of the federal work force, which is part of the executive branch. This week, Trump won at the Supreme Court again when the high court ruled he could fire 1,300 employees at the Department of Education. The Department of Education was created by former President Jimmy Carter as a favor to the National Education Association, so it’s hard to figure how anyone thought that another president wouldn’t be able to fire employees or even shut it down.  

LOSER: Stephen Colbert is Finally Done

Was it something he said? Probably not. CBS announced this week that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be discontinued after May of next year. CBS says it is a financial decision, and I believe them. According to the LateNighter ratings, “Excluding Gutfeld!, aggregate linear late-night viewership was down -9% year-over-year among total viewers, and -21% in the demo.”

According to their report, “Fox News’ Gutfeld! …leads all of the shows we track among both total viewers and viewers aged 18–49.

The difference between Gutfeld and Colbert is that Gutfeld is not a progressive activist disguised as a comedian who spends every evening bashing Trump and MAGA.

Colbert and his defenders are ignoring the data showing nobody is watching him and instead are trying to make him a martyr, pretending that he was fired because he criticized CBS for the $16 million settlement they paid President Trump for doctoring their “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make her sound coherent.

Monty Python director Terry Gilliam said this week that he believes Donald Trump’s re-election has brought comedy back and people can laugh again. Monty Python is the gold standard in comedy. It will always be remembered. I’ve already forgotten why anybody ever thought Stephen Colbert was funny.

WINNER: Kristi Noem Could End Travel Size Bottles

Granted, so far it’s just an idea, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said this week that she is looking at getting rid of the requirement that only allows 3.4 ounces of water, toothpaste, shampoo—any liquid you really need—in your carry-on bag when you board a plane.

It’s almost too much to hope for. After getting rid of the “take off your shoes,” rule last week, we now have hope the tiny bottles rule is the next to go. The tyranny of TSA security could be coming to an end.

LOSER: SEC Confuses Texas Songs

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey seemed sincere when he apologized to University of Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian, who took the stage at SEC Media Days in Atlanta to the tune of the Texas Aggie War Hymn.

Sankey said, “Mistakes happen. No ill intent there,” but not every Texas fan believed him. Texas is currently one of the teams at the top of the list favored to win the national championship this year, and nobody wants anything that could be construed as a bad omen. There are lots of yards to cover between now and then. Texas will play Texas A&M in Austin on Nov. 28.

Have a great one!

Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Sign up to receive this in your inbox every week at www.texaspolicy.com/9thandCongress.

Follow me on X @sylvester1630 and follow my podcast, the Sherry Sylvester Show on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Every Friday morning, I join the Cardle & Woolley Show on 1370 Talk Radio in Austin to announce the week’s Winners & Losers. The tragedy of the devastating floods in Central Texas last weekend hang heavy over Texas now, as search and recovery continues. Texans have mobilized from all over the state to help in Kerr and the surrounding counties, once again demonstrating the “Texas strong” spirit of community and caring.

Here’s the list:

WINNER: Trump a Year after Butler

It has only been a year. Last July 13, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, narrowly missing a fatal blow from a would-be assassin. There was little doubt after that day that he would be re-elected, and he went on to transform the country and the world, engaging in the kind of leadership that had been sorely missing during the years of Joe Biden. The president will be in Texas today to talk with community leaders and survey the flood damage.

LOSERS: Flood Blamers and Haters

After the rivers over-flowed last weekend, it only took minutes for Trump’s enemies to swoop in and blame him for the flood deaths, charging that cuts to the National Weather Service had hampered their ability to get warnings out to the storm-affected areas. Even the weather service workers’ union says that wasn’t true. Still, there is a segment of the population who will undoubtedly go to their graves blaming Trump for the flooding.

Unfortunately, those predictable partisans weren’t the worst of it. Kudos to Houston Mayor John Whitmire who made sure the Bayou City was totally disassociated from Sade Perkins, who posted an ugly TikTok reel charging that the girl’s camp, where many young people were lost, was racist, and the response to the tragedy was only because the girls were white.

“If this were a group of Hispanic girls out there, this would not be getting this type of coverage that they’re getting, no one would give a f–k,” Perkins said. She went onto say that MAGA would be “happy to see LGBTQ kids floating down the river.”

Her sentiments were echoed by Christina Propst, a Houston pediatrician who said Kerr County MAGA voted to gut FEMA and MAGA voters got what they deserved. “May all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters and pets be safe and dry,” Propst said.

There simply are no words to describe these despicable individuals. It is important to note that these are not marginal crazy people. One is a physician and the other apparently showed enough competence to be appointed to a position in the city of Houston. Those who say this happens on both sides are wrong. I live in San Antonio, where, too often, bodies of illegal immigrants must be pulled from the back of an 18-wheeler after a failed smuggling attempt. Even the most vocal opponents of illegal immigration do not celebrate those deaths. This kind of hate among progressives is simply inexplicable.

WINNER: A-F Public School Ratings Finally Free for Parents to See

Giving every school a grade based on student performance is an old idea in education reform. I first heard it from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who called it the most consequential step they took in the Sunshine State to bring about change in public schools. Letting parents know how their local schools perform increases parent participation and involvement.

Texas attempted to follow Bush’s lead over a decade ago, but Texas teachers’ unions blocked A-F school ratings legislation at every turn, insisting that students would be traumatized if they knew they were attending a failing school. (Before A-F, Texas schools were rated either Pass or Fail). When A-F ratings finally passed in 2017, hundreds of schools sued the state to block the ratings from being made public. COVID-19 provided another excuse for delay, but this week the 15th Court of Appeals gave the Texas Education Agency the green light to release the latest reports—another important victory for parents.

WINNER: The End of the TSA Shoe Rule

In terms of quality of life, perhaps the best thing that happened to Americans this week was the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) decision to stop forcing people to take off their shoes while going through security to board a plane. The crazy shoe bomber (and time has shown he was crazy) got on an American Airlines flight in 2001 with some kind of explosive in his tennies, and the rest of us have suffered 23 years of TSA tyranny as a result. Now it’s over. Walk free, walk proud.

LOSER: Superman Loses the American Way

The latest actor to play Superman, a guy named James Gunn, has decided we are living in mean times here in America and his portrayal of the iconic hero needs to send a different message. That’s why in the new movie about the Man of Steel, Superman will not be standing for “Truth, Justice and the American Way,” he’ll be standing for the “human way.”

He probably won’t be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound either. Good to know Texas is working to take the movie business out of Hollywood. Box office predictions for the new Superman are not good.        

LOSERS: The Many Biden Cover-Up Stories

There is yet another book out about how the Biden team covered up the truth about his cognitive decline. Even though, like most Americans, I could see Biden was in no shape to run the country, these tell-all books detail the wide-network involved in pretending he was fine and the lies that were told. They are hard to put down.

The latest is called, “How Trump Re-Took the White House and Democrats Lost America,” and includes a fun snippet reporting how Vice President Kamala Harris told the Democrat governors that, regardless of what they thought, they had to rally behind Biden to save democracy. Then she dragged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz out in front of the White House to say “all the Democrat governors were behind Biden.”

Well, they weren’t and some of them got pretty angry—but none of them said anything at the time. Meanwhile, this week we saw Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, at a congressional hearing, take the Fifth when he was asked if he had been told to lie about the president’s health. He was also asked if he believed the president was fit for duty.   He didn’t answer that question either. He quickly scurried out of the Capitol, but he’s going to have to talk sometime. We can stand by.    

The Biden cover-up is a much bigger deal than Watergate or the Clinton scandals, but it’s going to take a long time to uncover it all. There will be more hearings, more books, probably some trials before it’s over, but no matter how it is resolved, it is going to be a great movie—one of those long Netflix series, like The Crown.    

WINNER: Sotomayor and Kagan Agree Executive Branch Can Reform Executive Branch

Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan voted with the majority in an 8-to-1 ruling this week affirming the right of the Trump administration to reform the federal government work force. Although there can still be an appeal, specifically the court determined that the Trump administration’s executive order directing agencies to develop plans to reduce the size of the workforce is likely lawful.

Labor unions and local governments had taken the president to court, insisting that Congress must sign off before the federal workforce could be reduced.

Seriously? Congress? They actually said that, and a lower court backed them up. So did Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. She could have made the loser list this week, but I wanted a couple left-leaning winners for balance.

LOSERS: Colin Allred, Beto O’Rourke and Joaquin Castro

In what was called a “shock poll” this week, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, came out as the top choice for the Democrat U.S. Senate nomination in Texas over the more familiar names of former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, who was defeated by Sen. Ted Cruz last year, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, who has been defeated by Ted Cruz, Joe Biden and Greg Abbott and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who has never run for statewide office, but has been threatening to for at least 20 years.

In a University of Texas at Tyler poll this spring, 30% of Texas Democrats also said Crockett represented their “shared values.” This is the same Jasmine Crockett who has referred to Gov. Abbott as “Governor Hot Wheels” and stated that anyone who supports Trump is “mentally ill.” Plus, she’s been spotted pushing disabled people out of her way in order to board an airplane, so you have to wonder what values those Democrats are talking about.

Winner: Back to Back Wimbledon

So we can watch the best tennis in the world this weekend following the perfect opening acts—Queen Camilla showed up to shake hands with all the tennis stars and legendary British actor Hugh Grant was spotted falling asleep. Probably ends any chance that he will ever be “Sir” Hugh Grant, but there will undoubtedly be some drama on the courts.

Have a great one!

Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Sign up to receive this in your inbox every week at www.texaspolicy.com/9thandCongress.

Follow me on X @sylvester1630 and follow my podcast, the Sherry Sylvester Show on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This Fourth of July weekend we will celebrate the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with fireworks and all the usual fanfare. As Texans, we should also take a moment to celebrate Spain’s big win in 1776, picking the American side in the war with England. Everyone knows France played a big role, but Spain also stood with the American patriots and people from New Spain (which back then included Texas), sent millions in cash, and thousands of longhorns, to help the cause. Ernesto Rodriguez, senior historian and curator at the Alamo, knows more about this than anyone. He joined me for my podcast this week, which you can watch here.

Here’s the week’s Winners and Losers List:

WINNER: President Trump’s List of Latest Wins

President Donald Trump continues his push to establish permanent residency in the winner’s circle. Trump won passage of his One Big Beautiful Bill, even after Democrats tried to talk it to death. The soon-to-be-signed bill will preserve the Trump tax cuts, which is great for everyone. If you haven’t read tax fighter Grover Norquist’s sign-off on the bill, it’s illuminating.

In case you missed it, the Mid-Year Federal Rules Tally was released this week, which found that Trump has instituted fewer new regulations than any president since they started keeping tabs. His edict that 10 regulations must die before a new one can be established seems to be working.

Trump shattered another record at the border one day this week when just 137 people were found trying to cross illegally, the lowest single day in 25 years.

Trump got great Supreme Court wins this week, and also in his civil suit against Paramount, which owns CBS News. Paramount is going to pay Trump $16 million after he sued CBS for doctoring its interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make her sound coherent.

Granted, Paramount only settled the case because it needs federal approval of a merger deal, and many in the media are pushing back at the precedent, saying CBS has the right to edit their stories any way they want. I get that point, but now that we know that the media, including CBS, was more than a little complicit in covering up former President Joe Biden’s cognitive impairment, I think we should raise the bar a little and demand that they stop doctoring tapes to make candidates they like look smarter than they are.

Alligator Alcatraz was a big hit this week too. You can buy a shirt and other merch on Amazon.

LOSERS: Democrats’ Lack of Pride

Speaking of the Fourth of July, how did we get to the point where only 36% of Democrats say they are extremely or very proud to be Americans? Did these folks miss the news last week when America’s B-2 Bombers ended a decades-old threat of nuclear war in the Middle East, and virtually all of Europe finally delivered a big thank you to the United States for NATO protections since World War II? Still, 92% of Republicans are proud to be Americans.

Gallup, which took the poll, notes that it’s all linked to Trump. Before Biden left office, 62% of Democrats said they were proud Americans.

But to get to the truly ungrateful, you have to go to Generation Z, where only 41% say they are proud of our country. Oh well, more hot dogs and apple pie for the rest of us!

LOSER: Lia Thomas and Other Men in Women’s Sports

There was no bigger symbol of the injustice of men competing in women’s sports than the University of Pennsylvania swimmer who changed his name to Lia Thomas and switched from swimming on the men’s team to the women’s team his senior year. The 6’1” Thomas, who grew up in Austin and attended Westlake High School, took home all the trophies after he started competing against women.

This week, UPenn signed an agreement with the US Dept. of Education that will force Thomas to give those trophies back. UPenn has agreed to follow Title IX and civil rights law going forward. Those laws prohibit men from competing in women’s sports. UPenn will also apologize, which is a big victory in the war against trans madness, but cold comfort for the women athletes whose college careers were ruined while they were forced to compete and share locker rooms with men.

WINNERS: Republicans in Congress

Speaking of a low bar, expectations have to be adjusted when you talk about Congress, but another poll this week found that approval of Republicans in Congress is up to 36%—the highest since 2011. Across the aisle, Democratic approval is down 12 points since February of last year, and stands at 27% among registered voters.

WINNER: HQ Texas

The latest analysis from CBRE Americas Consulting found that almost half of new business headquarters being established in the U.S. are in Texas. Dallas got almost 100 new headquarter operations last year, and Austin got 80. It’s not just people who are moving to the Lone Star State—it’s jobs.

LOSERS: New York City and New York State

A number of Democrats from all over New York came out over the weekend insisting that their nominee for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, denounce the term “globalize the intifada,” which is a rallying cry against Jews. Mamdani clearly has no intention of walking back the offensive statement. It’s his slogan and he’s sticking with it. Meanwhile, new reports indicate New York Democrats may have a bigger problem. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul may have used Medicaid funds that should have gone to cover hospital costs for sick New Yorkers to plug a billion-dollar hole in the always-overdrawn New York State budget. This is not unlike her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, who was soundly rejected in the New York City mayoral primary at least in part because he let so many elderly people die during COVID-19.

Democrats always insist that the problems they have with voters are only about messaging, but actions are also important. Mamdani’s anti-Semitism and Hochul’s stealing health care funding to fix her bloated budget matter too.

Have a great Fourth of July!

Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Sign up to receive this in your inbox every week at www.texaspolicy.com/9thandCongress.

Follow me on X @sylvester1630 and follow my podcast, the Sherry Sylvester Show on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.