Good morning, 

We were flooded with responses to yesterday's One Click Survey about the potential for a new round of COVID lockdowns and mandates. You'll find a sampling of the responses below.

But first, here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

– Brandon Waltens

Paxton Impeachment Trial Begins Today

• For the first time in over 100 years, the Texas Senate is set to hold an impeachment trial for a statewide official.
   

• In the balance hangs the fate of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who could be removed from office and barred from holding it again in the future. The last time the Senate held an impeachment trial for a statewide official was in 1917, for Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson. He was found guilty and removed from office by a vote of 25-3.
   

• In May, the Texas House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton on 20 charges of misapplication of public resources, bribery, obstruction of justice, abuse of public trust, and disregard of official duties. 
   

• 61 Democrats and 60 Republicans supported the impeachment, including House Speaker Dade Phelan.
   

• Today the trial begins in the Senate, with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick acting as the presiding officer. The process is expected to last up to three weeks. 
   

• Texas Scorecard will be at the Capitol this week following the impeachment trial. The proceedings will be streamed live on the Texas Senate website as well as the Texas Scorecard TV app on Apple TV and Roku.
   

• You can also check out our new show Daily Headlines every weekday at 5 p.m., where we’ll be talking about what happened during the trial this week. Listen wherever you listen to podcasts!

‘Stop 30×30’ Summit Opposes Biden’s ‘Radical’ Environmental Plan

• Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and American Stewards of Liberty are hosting a summit in Texas later this month to oppose the Biden administration’s “radical” plans for America’s land and oceans.
   

• Soli Rice reports that at the beginning of his presidency, Joe Biden issued an executive order on the “climate crisis.” Executive Order 14008 on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” otherwise known as the “30×30” initiative, was signed by Biden on January 27, 2021.
   

• The 30×30 initiative states that at least 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters need to be conserved by 2030, leading to concerns about increased federal land ownership.
   

• The Stop 30×30 Summit will have several speakers, including three keynote speakers: Marc Morano, author of “The Great Reset”; U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (R–WI), Chairman of the House Federal Lands Subcommittee; and Sid Miller.
   

•  The event’s focus will be “strategies and policies to counter the 30×30 agenda, with discussions on property rights, local, state and national policy, and constitutional law.”
   

• The summit will take place September 21-23 in Irving, Texas.

A Special Session to Ban Chinese Land Grabs in Texas?

• As citizens anticipate a special legislative session in the coming months, one of the items that may be subject to the governor’s call is a ban on foreign land ownership. Sydnie Henry has the details. 
   

• State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R–Brenham) proposed a law—Senate Bill 147—that would have banned the ownership of Texas’ agricultural land, mineral interests, and timber by citizens, companies, or governmental entities of countries designated by the federal government as threats to U.S. national security. Currently, the measure would apply to China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia.
   

• Despite the measure passing the Senate, State Rep. Todd Hunter (R–Corpus Christi)—who chairs the House State Affairs Committee—never gave the proposal a hearing.
   

• At the beginning of the year, Gov. Greg Abbott said he would sign the legislation into law if it reached his desk. However, he stopped short of naming it an emergency priority item.
   

• Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that his office says aims to “limit Chinese purchases of agriculture land and land near military bases and critical infrastructure.”

Land Commissioner Says New Federal Regulation May ‘Cripple’ Oil and Gas

• Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is concerned that a recent push from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may lead to problems for the state’s oil and gas industry. Katy Marshall has the story. 

• The federal agency proposed in July that the Dune Sagebrush Lizard be labeled an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

• The lizard is native to West Texas and New Mexico, with much of the population inhabiting the Permian Basin—which supplies almost 40 percent of U.S. oil production and 15 percent of the country’s natural gas production.

• The USFWS argues that the lizard is “highly susceptible” to habitat loss and that destroying the lizard’s food source and the sand dunes it often inhabits may hinder the species’ survival.

• If the lizard is declared an endangered species, activities that harm the lizard’s environment and food sources would be prohibited. However, in a letter to the USFWS, Buckingham said the declaration would harm Texas’ oil and gas industry.

• “Listing the [Dune Sagebrush Lizard] will surely bring with it a designation of critical habitat as well as rules strictly limiting, or even prohibiting, surface activities that are absolutely necessary for oil and gas exploration and production,” wrote Buckingham.

Thousands of Dallas ISD Emails Contain Gender Identity Terms

• An investigation into Dallas Independent School District has revealed the district’s expansive communications regarding gender identity and sex education. Emily Medeiros has the report. 
   

• After Texas Scorecard reported that Dallas ISD has a department dedicated to LGBTQ youth last month, a new Open Records Request by the Dallas Express shows that Dallas ISD has more than  30,000 emails referencing gender identity and left-wing sex education advocacy groups.
   

• In response to the request, the district demanded more than $9,000 to provide 30,628 emails referencing one of the aforementioned terms. A district official claimed most emails "are at least two pages and for every 100 pages to review and redact is [sic] 1 hour which is $15 dollars per hour."
   

• Texas Scorecard has recently reported on Texas state agencies attempting to charge exorbitant amounts of money in exchange for documents referencing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Exposed: The Dark Side of Texas Schools

Children from across the state are being abused or neglected at school districts, and administrators are trying to hide their stories. 

Listen to the first two episodes of the latest season of Exposed here, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Episode 1 - The Wolves
Episode 2 - The Other Cheek

Y'All Answered

There has been increasing chatter about the possibility of new COVID-related lockdowns and mandates. Yesterday, we asked readers if they would comply.

Overwhelmingly, Texas Minute readers (97.3 percent) say they will not comply with new lockdowns and mandates – leaving 2.7 percent who say they will do so.

Here's a sampling of what they had to say:

• “Sure, everybody can say they won’t comply, but what will they do when the door to HEB says ‘no mask, no entrance’?” – Mark Juelg
       

• “Speaking for my family, we lost a lot of respect and trust in the medical and pharmaceutical professions during the Covid years. We won't be lining up for any of it again.” – Patricia Forsythe
      

• “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!” – Tim Rhodes
      

• “I do NOT plan to comply with new mask mandates and lockdowns. I NEVER believed it was necessary the first time around.  I am sick to death of being jerked around with all this Covid stuff.” – Nancy Wood
        

• “I didn't comply with any of the previous lockdown or mask orders, and I won't comply with future orders. I will also actively fight any business or citizens who do comply because my freedom, and the freedom of my children, depend on them fighting for their freedoms.” – Spencer Siino
      

• “It seems we just can’t get enough of riding that dead horse! Give me a break!” – Sara Heizer
     

• “Not this time or ever again. We now have a lot more information about what it is and what are and are not effective measures of treatment. But I, for one, can’t wait to see the toilet paper shortage again.” – Rick Goncher
      

• “Once again, they are setting the stage to once again control the elections that are coming up. Mail-in ballots and stuffing the boxes.” – Carroll Knight
      

• “The COVID-related lockdowns and mandates did not work the first time around. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing and expecting a different result?” – Chuck Breedlove
      

• “I have had enough of Government telling me what to do on medical issues. Nothing will make me comply with mandates of any kind. We the People are not property of Government.” – Cheryl Alexander
      

• “I am 74 years old. I did not comply with any of this crap last time, nor will I comply this time...AND GUESS WHAT, I'M STILL ALIVE!” – John R. Makow
       

• “The administration has proven they and NIH can’t manage health in this country.” – Bob Gibson
      

• “I have outgrown following idiots!” – Ratliff Herman
      

• “It didn’t work the first time and destroyed our economy, so my answer is: Not no, but hell no!!” – Janet Gustafson
      

• “I am not willing to let myself be masked or forced to take a shot for an illness that I have had twice and was no worse than the flu. Mandates such as those that were used during COVID-19 have led us down a road of involuntary compliance by conditioning us to accept whatever we are told to do and not stand up for what we know is right.” – Tom Parson
      

• “No, I will not comply.” – Laura Morton
      

• “No, no, no, a thousand times NO! At my age, I do not intend to spend any more time constrained from my normal activities because of another scamdemic. Was duped into that by the first scamdemic. Won't be fooled again!” – Harry Hingst
      

• "We know better than to fall for the 'trap' a second time." – Jeanie Targac
     

• “I didn’t comply when the COVID nonsense hit California in 2020. I sure as hell won’t comply now that I live in Texas. And I will continue to mock the morons who are STILL wearing a mask.” – Catherine Buschold
      

• “It is my humble opinion that the mandates and lockdowns had nothing to do with public health.  Nor were the measures effective in preventing illness. We did not shelter in place last time, and we will NOT surrender our freedoms if/when the socialists try to invoke them again during the coming elections.” – Dennis Scharp
      

• “No. I believe lockdowns and mask mandates are a form of government control that overreaches.  I had COVID twice, and my immune system did its job both times.” – Debra Davis
      

• “The big lesson of the most recent COVID era is that top-down mandates and government-ordered lockdowns are not only ineffective and unnecessary but do more harm than good. The administrative State should be prevented from infringing on first amendment rights of citizens.” – Thomas Camardo
      

• “No one I know is up for any of the mandate nonsense again.” – Chuck Farch
      

• “No, I will not comply with a mandate that does nothing but make individuals sicker. There is no irrefutable truth that masks help in any way. Pick your study, and you’ll find a side to support your stance. God decides when my days are done, not the CDC!” – Hamila Hobson
      

• “No, I will not, as the failure of the 1st round should not be tried again. ‘Fauci folly’ isn't needed.” – Joe Zimmer
      

• “Not only NO, but HELL NO to any COVID lockdowns.” – Nancy Sawyer
      

• “The only reason for Covid mandates is to give the government more control over the elections next year. If the Democrat-controlled states can lock down the people, then they can seal another election.” – Gary Hunt
     

• “Since the 2020 fiasco proved to be unacceptable, why would we accept another unbearable event?” – Barbara McClure
      

• “I did not comply last time.” – Bob Davis
      

• “During the last round of mandates, I complied twice. Once, at a walk-in clinic that required me to mask to go into the building to approve medical tests for my son. He tested positive for the virus and strep throat. I did not catch either one from him. Our household did not separate from each other when the virus made rounds amongst us either. My family was among the 'essential workers,’ so it made the rounds a few times. The other time was at a hospital in Michigan to visit my newborn grandie. I won't be complying this time if masking is required again, although it was very difficult to be the lone person without a mask everywhere I went, including church and even in a room of Republican voters during elections.” – Marion Stade
      

• “COVID must be one of the smartest viruses known to humans!! It only becomes active every 4 years during the presidential election.” – Greg Butt
      

• “There is no way that I will agree to getting ‘jabbed’ again! I did it once due to my employer ‘highly suggesting’ all the employees getting it. I regret that decision.” – David Barton

Directory of Your U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

This information is automatically inserted based on the mailing address you provide to us. If you'd like to update your contact information, please visit our subscriber portal.