Good morning,

Why aren't folks subscribing to local newspapers? We have some interesting thoughts from your fellow readers based on yesterday's One Click Survey.

But first, here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Porn Sites Sue Texas to Block Age Verification Law

• A group of pornography promoters is suing Texas over a new state law requiring porn sites to verify that users are at least 18 years of age before they access X-rated content online, or else pay hefty fines. Erin Anderson has the details.
      

• Several states have recently adopted age verification laws to keep minors from viewing adult content, but Texas is the first state sued by the porn industry over its law. The lawsuit claims the restriction is a violation of the First Amendment.

        
• Pornhub, one of the largest online platforms for users to share sex videos, is now asking a federal court to block the law before it takes effect on Sept. 1. 
      

• Under Texas' new law, penalties for porn sites that violate the law include $10,000 per day for operating without age verification, $10,000 per instance of retaining users’ information, and up to $250,000 if a minor accesses harmful sexual material due to a business violating the age verification requirement.
       

• The new law also requires the sites to publish Texas Health and Human Resources warnings about the hazards of pornography, which the plaintiffs reject as “controversial” and “factually false”—including a message that “Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography.”
       

• The pro-porn plaintiffs claim collecting porn users’ personal information will have a chilling effect on adults legally accessing the content, due to privacy and data-security concerns.
      

• That was the case in Louisiana, the first state to adopt an age verification law. Pornhub reported its traffic from Louisiana dropped 80 percent when their law took effect. Advocates for restricting children’s access to pornography hailed that statistic as a win.

Women Rally Against the Dangers of Transgender Ideology

• Although a mob of unruly protesters attempted to shut down the Let Women Speak Event in Austin this weekend, Emily Medeiros reports the women involved refused to be silenced. 

         

• The event was hosted adjacent to the Austin Pride Parade. It was promoted as a forum for women to discuss how the issues of homosexual “pride” and gender ideology have damaged womanhood. 

       
• “The hateful screeches of trans activists couldn’t drown out the voices of women who dissent to men in their spaces,” said Michelle Evans, who organized the event. “We won’t be deterred or silenced and are already planning for more grassroots events like this one.”

Conroe Student Beaten By Bus Monitor

• Parents are raising concerns in Montgomery County after a video was released showing a bus monitor using an object to beat a Conroe ISD student who was trying to exit the vehicle. Sydnie Henry reports the 17-year-old boy, identified only as "Mike," was hospitalized for the injuries. 
       
• The student, like others on the bus, is in the foster care system. He reportedly was previously diagnosed with a serious intellectual disability.
         
• The bus monitor has been dismissed by Conroe ISD for "unacceptable behavior." The local police department is investigating the matter.

📺 WATCH: TxLege In Review

🇨🇳 RED THREAT: China Invading Government Education

• While the nefarious Confucius Institutes have mostly faded away, a new investigation by Kristen Stanciu finds that the Chinese Communist Party's connections and influence in Texas government schools remain strong.
        
• Confucius Institutes were funded by the Chinese Ministry of Education, and founded at universities worldwide – including many in Texas – and working in K-12 schools through the "Confucius Classrooms" program.
         
• After the "institutes" were exposed as propaganda arms, China's Ministry of Education established the Center for Language Education and Cooperation and the Chinese International Education Foundation. The two entities have worked to re-brand the programs and activities that are designed to influence American education programs about China.
        
• The University of Texas at Austin alone has received $227,440 from Chinese government sources between 2020-2023.
        
• The series examining China's infiltration will continue at noon today, looking at surveillance and suppression tactics.

MACIAS: 11 Republicans Voted to Fund 'Social Transitioning' of Children

• During the regular session of the Texas House earlier this year, lawmakers considered an effort to block funding to hospitals that engage in the social "transitioning" of children. That is the psychological and sociological conditioning of children ahead of surgically altering their appearance through the mutilation of their sex organs.
      
• In a new commentary, Luke Macias explains how the vote came about and what its impact means. He notes that 11 Republicans voted to continue providing tax dollars to hospitals that engage in that practice. 
      
• The 11 Republicans are Jacey Jetton, Ernest Bailes, Angie Chen Button, Drew Darby, Kyle Kacal, Stan Kitzman, Stephanie Klick, Geanie Morrison, Angelia Orr, Hugh Shine, and Carl Tepper. 

Schaefer Announces Retirement from Texas House

• After serving more than ten years in the Texas House, Republican State Rep. Matt Schaefer of Tyler announced yesterday he will not be seeking re-election. Brandon Waltens has the story.
   
• In a social media post directed to his constituents, Schaefer said it was “time for the next conservative leader to be the voice of House District 6 in Austin.”
     
• “Future elected office remains in God’s hands. If our outstanding State Senator Bryan Hughes ever chooses higher office, I will strongly consider running for the Texas Senate,” added Schaefer.

Crowded Field Could Form to Replace Price in Amarillo

• With State Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo) vacating his West Texas House seat, Thomas Warren reports several potential candidates are beginning to generate buzz surrounding their possible candidacies.
       
• While no candidate has formally announced their campaign, four candidates have expressed an interest in running. They include former Randall County Commissioner Craig Gualtiere, Amarillo's one-time assistant city manager Carter Estes, Potter County Republican chairman Dan Rogers, and Vance Snider, a former congressional candidate and Trump campaign staffer.

Firearms Influencer Challenges Liberal Republican

• A YouTube influencer with a focus on firearms has announced that he is challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales for Texas Congressional District 23 seat. Valerie Muñoz writes that Brandon Herrera has more than 2 million subscribers.

Y'All Answered

There are fewer newspapers in Texas today than in 1943 when the state's population was a third of the current size. Yesterday, we asked if readers subscribe to a local newspaper: 79.7 percent said they do not, while 20.3 percent do.

Here is a sampling of the comments I received from folks after they participated in the survey... 

• “A majority of papers are not NEWSpapers, they are propaganda peddlers for the Democrats.” – Pamela Millisor
      

• “All the news I need I get from Texas Scorecard! They have the 411 on almost everything going on in Texas, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I tell everyone to subscribe!” – Dara Richardson
       

• “I read The Texas Minute every morning.  It's the only Texas News Outlet I actually trust. I stopped watching the Local News a couple of years ago. Can't trust the TV stuff either.” – Rick Goncher
       

• “I live in Houston, the Chronicle isn't fit to line my cat boxes.” – Kimery McKaskle
       

• "I get my news from Texas Minute. I don’t care for fake news." – Gene Klutts
      

• “I’m 61, and I’ve never subscribed to a newspaper.” – Bob Davis
       

• “Newspapers are obsolete in today's world, and they literally become trash that needs disposal the day after they're published.” – Kathy Fisher
      

• “For 37 years I have subscribed to the Austin Statesman, which no longer is a local paper.  It is printed in Houston and controlled by Atlanta.  It is no longer a journalistic newspaper, but a progressive advocacy publication written to advance an editorial partisan viewpoint in every article in every section.” – Patrick Bell
       

• “My local paper is more ads than news but I do subscribe to Epoch Times.” – Dee Wingo
       

• “I have never had a paid subscription to any newspaper.  I have found that most anything of real value and importance can be found through other sources such as radio and free online publications like Texas Scorecard.” – Roger Taylor
       

• “I stopped taking a daily paper years ago because all the news was slanted by the liberal press.  I haven't owned a TV in 15 years because there was nothing worth watching.  I am free.” – Alan Smith
       

• “The Newton County News ceased publication earlier this year.  I had a paid subscription for over 20 years.  I miss my local news.” – Kathy Hillman
       

• “Today, the printed papers can only report yesterday’s news and offer no late-breaking reports which has crippled their importance as news sources and the Opinion pages are often too left-leaning for my interest. I read the online Obit section from a paper in my childhood area to see which schoolmates I may have recently lost, but all other news comes from digital sources.” – Michael Edinburg
       

• “I have not subscribed to any local newspaper in over a decade. I did when I ran for city council in 2010 to stay in touch with local issues and read the ‘Letter to the Editor’ comments.” – Ron Smith
      

• “Why would I waste my money on something that regurgitates the same garbage as the rest of MSM.  I HAVE THE TEXAS SCORECARD!  They report the real news!!!” – John R. Makow
      

• “The major local newspaper seems to be more concerned with influencing its readers rather than presenting the news in an unbiased manner and allowing the reader to examine the facts and interpret as they deem appropriate.” – Billy Hale
      

• “I canceled my subscription to the local newspaper when it became a rerun of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, with little local news and most of that incorrect. I canceled the Star-Telegram when I realized that the news there was ‘yesterday's news,’ as I had already gotten the current news online and/or on radio or TV. The ONE thing I look to print newspapers for is the obituaries, but the local paper charges to read them.” – Charlene Roberson
       

• “Our local newspaper, the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, is referred to as the ‘daily diaper’ because sometimes there is something in it, sometimes not.  They use ‘AP’ which means Amalgamated Propaganda to me - I simply ignore those.  The obits are the only useful info.” – Glenn Breitung
      

• “One major paper near my town and it's as liberal as you can get. No, thank you.” – Patricia Forsythe
      

• "We have lost trust in the news media, including newspapers...it's now a matter of finding a source you can trust, and build it from the bottom up, with support from the public." – Philip Pizzurro
        

• “Since I am literate, I curate my news from both like-minded sources as well as opposition sources. One must chew the meat but spit out the bones.” – Laura Nunn
      

• “I have a subscription to our Jefferson paper, but will probably not renew because it has only one opinion contributor and it is very liberal.” – Gary Hunt
      

• "The Left destroyed newspapers with their lies, and sadly we miss out on a lot of important local news that binds us together as communities. I sorely miss that part of the local newspaper. " – Tim Rhodes

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