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– Michael Quinn Sullivan
Wednesday, July 26, 2023 

Paxton’s Lawyers Ask Senate to Quash 'Unconstitutionally Vague' Articles of Impeachment

• According to his lawyers in a filing before the Texas Senate yesterday, the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton was a rushed, politically driven, and "deliberately clandestine process" that was "unconstitutionally vague." Because of that, reports Brandon Waltens, Paxton's legal team is asking the Senate to quash the proceedings altogether. 
       

• The new motion calls on the Texas Senate to either force the House to "amend the Articles or be barred from prosecuting them." The 20 charges brought by 61 Democrats and 60 Republicans against Paxton range from misapplication of public resources, bribery, obstruction of justice, abuse of public trust, and disregard of official duties.
       

• “None of the Articles provide the Attorney General with constitutionally adequate notice of the charges, and forcing him to proceed on any of these Articles will violate the Texas Constitution and Texas law.” – Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee
      

• In a separate filing, his lawyers explained that 20 articles of impeachment against him are “fatally deficient” in constitutionally critical ways. They raised the need for 100 points of clarification from the House, including such things as dates when certain charges are alleged to have taken place and even what specific crimes they allege were committed. 
      

• The Senate trial is slated to begin on Sept. 5.

Vendors Sue Texas Over Law Keeping Smut Out of Schools

• A coalition of book vendors is suing to stop a new state law designed to keep smut out of Texas school libraries. Erin Anderson reports the law forbids schools from buying books from vendors that fail to comply with the law.
       
• In their federal lawsuit, the vendors claim the new law “forces private businesses to act as instruments of state censorship on controversial topics under threat of retaliation.” The plaintiffs want the courts to stop the law from taking effect on Sept. 1.
      
• In fact, the legislation – known as the READER Act – creates state-level standards designed to keep inappropriate sexual content out of all school libraries and classrooms, placing the burden on vendors to rate and label books based on sexual content.
       
• “Having fought against sexually explicit content in schools for the past 18 months, I fully recognize the far left will do anything to maintain their ability to sexualize our children,” said the legislation's author, State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco).

Alternative to Controversial American Library Association Launches in Texas

• The World Library Association has announced it will be opening in Bee Cave, Texas, as the first direct competitor to the American Library Association. As Valerie Muñoz explains, a slew of inappropriate actions by the ALA led a “library watchdog” to launch the new organization.

       

• The impetus for an alternative to the ALA comes from Dan Kleinman, who has been chronicling instances of inappropriate content in libraries as a result of ALA policy for more than 15 years.

        
• Concerns over the ALA have only increased recently, particularly after the election of a “Marxist lesbian” president who has advocated for a “socialist vision” of public libraries. The ALA was also met with backlash after giving a virtual presentation on ways librarians can deny parent groups from accessing library meeting spaces for the purpose of preventing them from reading “Brave Books,” a faith-based children’s book company that teaches conservative mores.

School District Lawyers Ridicule Parents At Conference

• Speakers at a conference for Texas attorneys who specialize in school law ridiculed parents who lodge complaints against their local school districts, describing “unruly” moms and dads as “big mad.” Check out the full report from Erin Anderson and Soli Rice.
       

• Presenters made the disparaging anti-parent remarks during the annual State Bar of Texas School Law Retreat, a continuing education program held on July 21-22. The event was subsidized by Texas taxpayers.

      
• “I was appalled at the way in which parents and community members were ridiculed throughout multiple presentations,” said education law attorney Janelle Davis, who attended the program.
       
• One of the attorneys taking aim at parents was Jeff Crownover, a lawyer and deputy superintendent in the scandal-plagued Prosper ISD. During his tenure, the district has been accused of failing to protect two elementary school girls from months of sexual abuse by a bus driver and then covering up the crimes.
       
• The audience was advised on how school districts can issue criminal trespass warnings to “unruly parents” and bar them from school grounds for up to two years.
       
• “Parents and their children are the end user of the service being provided. More respect and collaboration instead of blatant contempt for parents would be helpful.” – Janelle Davis

Woman Sues Doctors Who ‘Pushed’ Gender Mutilation Procedures

• A Tarrant County woman is suing nine doctors and medical practices over allegations of malpractice for performing gender mutilation procedures and hormone treatments on her, beginning at age 15. Emily Medeiros has the story.
     
• Soren Aldaco's lawsuit cited multiple instances of malpractice, including doctors coercing her into believing she was transgender and writing recommendation letters to receive a double mastectomy at the age of 19.
       
• According to the lawsuit, Aldaco struggled with her identity at a very young age due to a troubled family life and an early onset of puberty that caused her to dislike her physical appearance. Preying on her mental illness and insecurity, doctors began prescribing cross-sex hormones.
      
• “What Soren experienced at the hands of the defendants in this case was a horrific example of what happens when ideology, and not science, drives a growing trend in the medical field,” said her lawyer, Ron Miller, in an interview with Texas Scorecard.
       
• The lawsuit seeks to punish the doctors for "gross negligence" while compensating Aldaco's physical pain, emotional distress, and "mental torment."

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