Ideologically imposed Republican deregulation is the cause of Texas's power failure and the cause of the bankruptcies caused by gouging on natural gas.

Some Texans have been bankrupted by the thousands of dollars that the gas companies charged while their electricity was out. Republicans now aim to use them as hostages to protect the windfall profits for the future. They want the federal government to ransom the hostages by paying what pay the utility gouging.

It is good to rescue the hostages, but what will happen next time there is a global heating disaster or a natural disaster in Texas? Should the utilities be able to gouge again, and the federal government ransom their hostages again? We must not throw our money down the toilet from which utilities feed.

The deal to ransom the hostages this time must include regulating utility prices in Texas so that,next time, the utilities can't gouge again.

Paying ransom for hostages to the enemies of the American people was Reagan's policy. It must not be ours today.

*Texas freeze led to release of tons of air pollutants as refineries shut.* These emissions can be equivalent to many years of normal operation.

A lesson on how domestic violence and controlling relationships really unfold.

US citizens: call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the protections of the Migratory Bird Protection Act.

Students are suing Northwestern University for collecting students' biometric information through exam software.

Bravo! The law in use is limited to that one state, but if one university shows it can do without these vicious pieces of proprietary malware, other universities will obviously also be able to do so.