Good morning,

Everything is a war; wars on poverty, drugs, disease... And even a couple actual shooting wars. But I end the week reflecting on our apparent unwillingness to fight the war that matters most.

Here is the Texas Minute for Friday, April 14, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

But First... An unpleasant reminder: federal taxes are due on Tuesday, April 18. I do hope that’s not how you’re spending your weekend.

Patrick Jabs House Over Property Tax Relief

• At a press conference on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced that of the $32 billion budget surplus, nearly $3 billion will be spent on expanding mental healthcare facilities across the state. But as Sydnie Henry reports from the Capitol, Patrick also used the time to denounce the property tax relief package being debated at the same time in the House.
     
• “We can negotiate on just about everything, but I do not negotiate on bad math,” said Patrick.
      
• Patrick touted the Senate's plan, which would increase the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000 and allow seniors or disabled adults to deduct an additional $30,000. The lieutenant governor said that works out to $1,000 in annual savings for people over 65, and "$798" for people under 65.
      
• Jeramy Kitchen, executive director of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, said that if HB 2 becomes law, “it is estimated that the owner of a $350,000 home in Texas would see a potential annual savings of about $1,300 over the course of the next two years” on account of the compression in the bill.
      
• “While leadership in the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives continue to squabble over the menial tax relief provided in each of their property tax relief packages, albeit in different forms, it’s important to highlight that neither meets the criteria for the largest property tax cut in Texas history, as Governor Greg Abbott has promised on several occasions.” – Jeramy Kitchen
      
• The Senate adopted its version unanimously, 31-0. The House adopted its version by a vote of 140-9.
      
• When will Gov. Abbott take a side? He made a LOT of big promises in 2022...

House Rejects Record-setting Relief Amendment

• As inflation ravages people’s wallets and skyrocketing property taxes force Texans out of their homes, public servants in the Texas House gave initial approval to legislation that purports to provide $17 billion of property tax relief. As Darrell Frost reports, it could have been a lot more.
      

• State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) attempted to amend the proposal by increasing it to an amount equivalent to $20 billion in tax relief. 
      

• The Republican-controlled chamber killed the amendment by a vote of 118-20.

Texas Senate Sends Ban On CRT In Higher Ed To House

• With more Texas universities and colleges exposed for teaching "critical race theory" and imposing "diversity, equity, and inclusion" policies, the Senate has passed legislation banning the practice. Emily Wilkerson has the story.

       

• Senate Bill 16, authored by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R–Mineola), would amend the education code to state: “A faculty member of an institution of higher education may not compel or attempt to compel a student enrolled at the institution to adopt a belief that any race, sex, or ethnicity or social, political, or religious belief is inherently superior to any other race, sex, ethnicity or belief.”

      
• It was passed on a 19-12 party-line vote.
      
• "Liberal professors, determined to indoctrinate our students with their woke brand of revisionist history, have gone too far." – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

House Hosts Marathon Hearing On Border Security

• Hours of testimony were heard in the Texas House Committee on State Affairs on border security proposals. Sydnie Henry has the details.
        
• One proposal, House Bill 7 by Ryan Guillen (R–Rio Grande City), would administer and finance support programs for the southern border region, including property damage compensation as well as additional funding for the judiciary and law enforcement stretched thin by the border crisis.
       
• Another proposal, House Bill 20 by Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), would establish the Border Protection Unit that would be headquartered along the border and manage ongoing state border security operations. The chief would be appointed by the governor and report to the Public Safety Commission. The unit would be responsible for facilitating the building and maintenance of the barrier walls along the border, deterring or repelling illegal aliens in the event of an invasion, and returning illegal aliens to Mexico when they cross illegally during a declared invasion.
      
• “HB 20 will empower the governor of Texas with legal authorities to actually deter and repel people who are attempting to illegally cross into Texas,” said Schaefer, explaining he had updated the proposal based on grassroots concerns. “The governor will be empowered to return them to Mexico.”
      
• Get details on the other measures considered and a sense of the testimony offered during the hearing at TexasScorecard.com.

Senators Unanimously Vote To Criminalize Child Grooming

• Child grooming will be a crime in Texas under measures approved by the Senate to combat the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. Erin Anderson reports the measures now go to the House for consideration.

     
• Grooming refers to an act of deliberately establishing a connection with a child in an attempt to subject them to sexual abuse or human trafficking. Two pieces of legislation codify recommendations made by the state’s Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force.

Brewery Will Feature Explicit Performers at 'Family-friendly' Drag Show

• A “family-friendly” drag show is set to take place later this month at the Fort Worth Brewery and will feature performances by cross-dressing men whose previous shows – ironically – include little to no clothing. As Soli Rice reports, the event is open to children. 
     
• Of course. Because these men can only perform if they are doing so in front of children, it seems...
   
• Austin Griesinger, executive director of Texas Family Project, hopes parents and concerned citizens will call the Fort Worth Brewery [817.923.8000] and ask them to either cancel the program or put an age restriction in place.

📺 WATCH: Texas House Goes Crony

• On this week's edition of The Headline with Brandon Waltens, Tim Hardin from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility discusses the House’s priority to bring back a crony corporate welfare program. Then, Erin Anderson shares an update on the progress of election integrity legislation in the Senate.
      
• You can watch The Headline on the Apple TV or Roku apps, on an iOS or Android phone, or on the Texas Scorecard YouTube channel.

Now Available: 'Reflections on Life & Liberty'

• The book comes in three formats: hardcover, paperback, and digital download. For now, "Reflections on Life & Liberty" is only available at Amazon.

Friday Reflection
It's A War Out There

Everything has been militarized. Our local peace-keepers walk around in surplus tactical gear while politicians speak breathlessly of “taking bullets” in legislative debate. It’s a bit much, since the real war is one none of us seem interested in fighting.

Our infatuation with over-militarization might come from Lyndon Baines Johnson’s “war on poverty,” the only real effect of which was to decimate black families and increase poverty. Or perhaps it was Richard Nixon’s “war on drugs,” which has mightily profited the drug cartels.

Rather than fight the Islamists, we had a 20-year “war on terror” – though scary movies didn’t go away and the Taliban now runs the country we were ostensibly seeking to liberate. The world was deemed “at war” with COVID, though that was only a cover for protecting China’s culpability and eroding civil liberties.

The idea of declaring a “war” speaks to the grotesque fantasies of politicians, eager to cast themselves in the role of heroic leader.

When the people of Israel rejected the system of holy self-governance given to them by God, they said they wanted a king. Samuel, speaking for God, warned them about the propensity of kings to fight senseless and expensive wars.

The Bible doesn’t use a lot of war imagery, except where there is actual war going on. The notable exception, of course, is in describing what our posture should be toward sin. And in that regard, it is a war more deadly than any fought with blades, bullets, and bombs.

The prophet Isaiah described the singular importance of that conflict. He described God as having “righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head,” and that He wore “garments of vengeance,” wrapping Himself “in zeal.”

Yet when it comes to confronting sin in our culture, we long ago waved the white flag of surrender. We now treat sinful behavior as a mental illness to be celebrated or a lifestyle to be embraced. Rather than fight the enemy, we have contented ourselves with blaming the victims and shunning the warrior. Despite the Messiah having conquered death, we allowed a defeated enemy to lull us into apathy through lazy discouragement.

There is no war more real than the raging battle for the souls of our neighbors. No war is more consequential than for the moral security of our Republic. But if we are to do more than lament in the loss of culture, we must begin wrapping ourselves unabashedly in zeal for scripture. As St. Paul wrote, we must gird ourselves with truth, holding the shield of faith while boldly wielding the sword of the Spirit.

The good news for Christians is that the final battle has already been won. Our job is to be faithful in the here and now, fighting cheerfully and faithfully for a winning cause.