Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, July 20, 2o23. I've got two things for you before we hit the news...

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

First... I'll be speaking in Cleburne tonight. If your church group, grassroots club, or community organization would like me or one of the other members of the Texas Scorecard team out to visit, let us know!

Second... Among our growing roster of shows (see below), each weekday we produce a podcast version of the Texas Minute – it spends a minute or less on four of the most interesting stories of the day.

REVEALED: TxDOT Uses Taxpayer Dollars to Fund “Wokeness” in the Workplace

• Internal records from the Texas Department of Transportation reveal directors have been using taxpayer money to finance leftist practices and events. Soli Rice has the details.
       
• TxDOT initially sought to hide the records from Texas Scorecard, which were requested as a result of tips from a whistleblowing employee at the agency. There are nearly 13,000 employees at TxDOT.
       
• The records released to Texas Scorecard included emails and discussions between employees regarding DEI practices, taxpayer dollars being used to fund DEI-related events and training programs, and TxDOT’s internal DEI policies.
      

• It was discovered through these records that TxDOT has changed the name of its DEI Section to the Talent Acquisition and Employee Resources (TAER) Section. The name has changed, but the emphasis has remained the same.
       

• Among other things, TxDOT records show the salaries of employees working in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Section going as high as $189,739. These TxDOT employees are paid to give and attend presentations or classes based on diversity, equity, and inclusivity.
       

• TxDOT also set up "employee resource groups," which use racial and gender segregation to “foster a diverse, inclusive workplace.” Tax dollars were used to pay for the ERGs, their events, and travel costs.

Texas Teacher Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography... At A Teacher Conference

• An elementary school teacher has been arrested on five counts of possession of child pornography with the intent to distribute. As Ryan Hughes reports, the arrest took place at a teacher conference in Plano.
        
• Fabrizio Olague works as a dyslexia interventionist for Chapel Hill ISD students from kindergarten through third grade. 
       
• The arrest followed an investigation by the Montgomery County district attorney’s office and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, where a detective posed as a minor and conversed with Olague. 

Sting Leads to New Charges of Infant Porn Against Texas Teacher

• A former Judson ISD band instructor who has been out on bond related to charges he promoted child pornography has now been caught allegedly soliciting nude images from a minor and sharing infant porn online. Erin Anderson has the story.
      
• Mark Mallow, 27, was arrested Monday and charged with online possession of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor under 14.
       
• Mallow taught at Woodlake Hills Middle School in Judson Independent School District, located in northeast San Antonio, until his previous arrest in August 2022 on child porn charges.
      
• State Board for Educator Certification records show Mallow is under investigation by the Texas Education Agency, though his teaching certificate is still valid.

UT Austin Professor Attacks 'Moms for Liberty'

• As parents across the Lone Star State grapple with a myriad of issues in the government school systems, Adam Cahn reports on one state employee who is attacking an organization promoting parental rights in education.
       
• Angela Valenzuela, a professor in educational leadership and policy at UT Austin, took to social media to denounce Moms for Liberty as “sowing discord” and “a tool for the neo liberal/libertarian right.” 
       
• Moms for Liberty is an activist group that has gained prominence in advocating for greater parental rights in education. Originally founded to push back against pandemic-era school closures, the group has more recently advocated against pornographic curricula and other misdeeds.
       
• Valenzuela, meanwhile, maintains a blog where she promotes a variety of far-left causes. In 2016, UT notes she published a paper entitled “Growing Critically Conscious Teachers: A Social Justice Curriculum for Educators of Latino/a Youth.”

County Group Condemns Paxton Impeachment

• A growing number of organizations have issued statements and resolutions condemning the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton by the Texas House. Emily Medeiros reports the latest is the Grayson County Conservatives.
       
• The group is calling on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and members of the Texas Senate to uphold constitutionally guaranteed due process and support Texas law by dismissing the articles of impeachment.
       
• In May, 61 Democrats and 60 Republicans in the Texas House voted to impeach Paxton. A trial in the Senate is set to begin on Sept. 5, 2023.

After Abuse, El Paso Terminates Taxpayer-funded Gas Card Perk

• City officials in El Paso are losing their taxpayer-funded gasoline cards after an audit revealed two council members spent more than $11,000 on themselves – apparently for personal travel. Matthew DeLaCruz has the update.
      
• An audit found that current council member Cassandra Hernandez and former councilmember Claudia Rodriguez accounted for 40 percent of the eight-person city council's gas card expenditures.
       
• Although Rodriguez agreed to pay back her 2022 expenditures, Hernandez has refused.

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