Good morning,

In politics and culture, the crony establishment uses division to consolidate power. We can only fight it through addition. I'll explain what I mean at the conclusion of today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan
Friday, June 23, 2023 

Impeachment Trial of AG Ken Paxton to Begin September 5

• Rules, and a start date, have been set in the Texas Senate’s impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton brought on by a Democrat majority in the GOP-led House. Brandon Waltens has the details.

      
• The trial is set to start on Sept. 5 and last two weeks, with live testimony allowed. Senators must believe Paxton is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” in order to vote to remove him from office.
      
• Under the rules, State Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney), the A.G.'s spouse, will be allowed to sit in the proceedings but will be unable to vote.
      

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will oversee the proceedings or appoint a senator who is not up for election in 2024 to do so.

       

• Under the rules, senators are treating themselves like jurors and, as such, are placing themselves under a gag order. This means senators will not be allowed to talk about their thoughts on the impeachment until after the Senate’s deliberations.
       

• Paxton was impeached last month by the Texas House on 20 disputed charges, four of which are being held by the Senate “in abeyance,” meaning they likely will be thrown out and will not be part of the trial.

📺 WATCH: The Headline

• The chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Matt Rinaldi, will join Brandon Waltens this week on The Headline to discuss the ongoing special session and the impeachment of Attorney General Paxton.
       
• You'll also meet conservative activist Randan Steinhauser, discussing her bid to serve as the state's Republican National Committeewoman. Incumbent Toni Anne Dashiell has been invited to sit for an interview next week.
      
• 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.

New Law Cracks Down On Discriminatory Homeschool Ordinances

• Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation to effectively eliminate juvenile curfews in Texas, which advocates say were used to intimidate and discriminate against homeschool families. Matthew DeLaCruz has the report.
    
• The new law, which takes effect on Sept. 1, removes the right of political subdivisions to “implement or adopt a juvenile curfew.” For homeschooled students throughout the state, this marks the end of what the Texas Home School Coalition calls “disproportionate discrimination.”
       
• “We see this bill as a massive win for homeschool families and all parents as it continues to uphold the philosophy that parents are the best decision-makers for their children,” said Jeremy Newman of THSC.

State Universities Hold Training to Promote LGBT Agenda

• Some public universities in Texas are offering LGBT activist training for students, reports Ryan Hughes – which means taxpayers are subsidizing it.

       
• The Safe Zone Project is a two-hour long program that instructs students on how to include LGBT  “philosophies” into their lives and then promote those values to the world. This program is taught in many taxpayer-funded colleges, including Texas Tech, Texas A&M International, University of Texas Austin, UT Tyler, and UT Dallas.
      
• According to the UT Tyler website, “The Safe Zone mission is to promote an environment where the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community and their allies flourish intellectually, socially, and emotionally.”
      
• The curriculum is not backed by academic evidence, as the "Safe Zone" organization itself explains. The organization notes that evidence-based curriculum is “not something that aligns with our goals for this project.” Instead, the training is meant to inspire political and cultural activism to advance the LGBT agenda.

Princeton ISD Hosts LGBT Event Targeting Children

• As adults continue using the month of June to advance the LGBT agenda, the superintendent and school board at Princeton ISD are showing their support by hosting an event targeting children at one of their high schools. Soli Rice has the story.

        
• An organization called Princeton Texas Diverse was given permission by Princeton ISD to host an event this weekend. Included in the program will be a drag show featuring crossdressers known for their sexually explicit costumes and performances. 

Hurd Announces GOP Bid For President

• Last seen doing car karaoke with former Democrat U.S. Rep. Robert "Beto" O'Rourke, former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd has announced his candidacy for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. As Valerie Muñoz reports, the GOP field now includes 10 candidates, including Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
    
• Hurd made his announcement on CBS, and then released a video in which he said “the soul of our country is under attack” and called former President Donald Trump a “proven loser.”

CONFIRMED: Texas Tech Cancels Class On Witchcraft

• After public backlash, Texas Tech University has walked back plans to offer a class this fall on ”Witches, Bruxas, & Black Magic.” This story was first reported by Texas Scorecard earlier this week.
        
• Other public universities in Texas, however, are still set to offer similar classes classified under universities’ women’s and gender studies colleges. The University of North Texas offers ANTH 4751: Supernatural-Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion, while students at the University of Texas can take HIS 343P: History of Witchcraft.

Friday Reflection:
Who Is For Us?

It is commonly said in politics that “you’re either with us or against us.”

While framing a fight as “us or them” is a rhetorically powerful way to raise the emotional stakes for commitment, such an attitude distorts reality by unnecessarily creating enemies out of potential allies.

It also runs in complete contradiction to the Word of God.

Let me set the stage. The disciples of Jesus had been out and about in the countryside and they saw people they did not know performing miracles in the name of Jesus. So they told Jesus—no doubt hoping to earn accolades from their Teacher—that they had tried to stop these people.

They got something else, instead.

“Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me,” said Jesus.

Pay attention to the next 11 words, found in Mark 9:30. “For the one who is not against us is for us.”

The political world says, “If you aren’t for us, then you are against us.”

But Jesus says, “The one who is not against us is for us.”

The difference could not be more striking. I witness it all the time. Worse, I know (with a high degree of embarrassment) that I’ve held that wrong attitude myself.

When we treat the unaligned person—that neighbor who has never voted, the family member who doesn’t have an opinion on the issue du jour—as an enemy, they have a funny way of becoming one.

We should spend less time looking for enemies and more time realizing—to borrow from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—that the real fight is “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

In the cause of liberty, there are actual opponents; there are those who have declared themselves against us. They should be dealt with as appropriate. But the fight that matters is the war against bad ideas, harmful ideologies, and outright evil.

Rather than side with the fallen world in assuming the worst when someone is unaligned, let’s hopefully assume the best in our neighbors. Rather than imagine enemies, let’s be about the business of creating new allies.

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.