What next? For me at least…

By Ashley Bean Thornton The following is a presentation I made at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waco on November 17, 2024.  I think I’m a better writer than a speaker, but if you prefer listening to reading…The video is posted at the end.  – ABT Good morning! First of all – let me say…

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Would School Vouchers work for Waco?

By Ashley Bean Thornton School Vouchers (aka Education Savings Accounts, School Choice, Parent Choice…) are often touted as a way to help low-income students “escape failing public schools.”  We know from existing voucher programs in other states that it is not working out that way.  A recent study by the Brookings Institute, for example, found…

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It’s been a year – Plus a little …

Hello Dillos – It’s been a little over a year since my political “re-birth” that led to the re-birth of the Dead Armadillo blog. I’ve done a lot of things I have never done before.  I served as an election clerk.  I went to a convention for a political party. I watched legislative hearings and…

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Just a quick comparison…

I cannot imagine that there is much that I could add that hasn’t already been said about the Trump trial and conviction.  I’ll have to think about that a bit. Both campaigns are using the Guilty verdict for fundraising purposes. I am struck by the difference in tone between these two fundraising emails that I…

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Standardized testing in a Non-standard world

By Ashley Bean Thornton I am going to brag on myself a little bit, but I have a more noble purpose in mind.  So, please bear with me. You know what I am really good at?  Standardized tests. Standardized tests have been very, very good to me.  I “earned” more than a semester of college…

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We need to shop for real fruit when we shop for candidates.

By Ashley Bean Thornton So…I watched the State of the Union the other night, and predictably for those who know me, I thought Mr. Biden did a great job! The next day I got my weekly email from my current Representative in the U.S. House, Mr. Pete Sessions.  It started this way… “Last night, President…

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Wandering the Neighborhood…

By Ashley Bean Thornton I am very worried about the current state of politics and the direction our state and country seem to be taking. I disagree with so many of the actions of the Republican Party right now. I worry that we are edging toward a dangerous religious nationalism. I am frustrated that we…

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Texas House to Greg Abbott: You’re not the boss of me!

By Ashley Bean Thornton Holy Cow!  This Texas school voucher business is getting to be quite the political spectacle! Here is the show so far as I understand it: Governor Greg Abbott is bound and determined to pass some kind of School Voucher/Educational Savings Account (ESA) bill. The Texas Senate passed one in the regular…

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