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Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need.

Way Too Many Legs

What to Know: An appeals court will soon hear a case about a tiny spider—and a Texas ranching family’s property rights. TPPF will argue the case on behalf of the Yearwoods.

The TPPF Take: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has used the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution to justify its regulations; but there’s nothing commercial about the spider in question.

“The Bone Cave Harvestman lives solely in isolated caves in central Texas,” says TPPF’s Chance Weldon. “It is not bought or traded in interstate commerce and has no substantial effect on interstate commerce. Yet the federal government has come in and said this family can’t use their property in the way that they want because this is somehow a regulation of interstate commercial activity.”

O, Canada?

What to Know: Canadians—whose health care system is trumpeted as a model for the U.S. by Democratic presidential candidates—want a system more like ours.

The TPPF Take: Canadians are tired of long wait times and limited choices.

“The truth about single-payer schemes like Canada’s, or the proposed Medicare-for-All here in the U.S., is that they can’t deliver the timeliness of access and quality of care that each and every one of us desire,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “That’s why British rock stars and Canadian retirees come to the U.S. for care. We shouldn’t undermine our top-notch system with Medicare-for-All or other plans that will inevitably lead to lower quality and less access.”

Parental Rights

What to Know: The Texas Supreme Court will soon decide whether a father must share custody of his child with a non-relative—the late mother’s boyfriend.

The TPPF Take: Parental rights should be paramount.

“The United States and Texas Constitutions widely protect the fundamental rights of parents,” says TPPF’s Charissa Huntzinger. “According to U.S. Supreme Court precedent, a father is presumed a fit parent who naturally acts in the best interests of his child, and the government is prohibited from interfering with his decisions unless able to demonstrate a narrow and compelling interest in intervening.”