[Important Note:  Are these emails too small? Is half of it clipped? We don't know why they sometimes come through that way, but at the very top of this email there's a link that says "see it online".  If you click that, it will come through in normal size and with full content! Enjoy!]

Hello, True Texan friends!

Let's give a huge welcome to the more than TEN THOUSAND new subscribers that have joined us due to the Paxton impeachment scam!  Yes...  10,000! Wow! We are so glad to have you on board! If that doesn't prove we are not alone and our ideas not fringe, what will???

I'm really glad to have all these new activists jumping in in time for this week's newsletter.  Why?  Because two weeks ago in the newsletter I asked a tough question:  What is the minimum an activist should be doing to save Texas?  Everyone always wants to know, "What can I do?"  We always start by telling them to attend our meetings and get plugged in... but then what?  Here's one answer I received that I really liked:

I kinda thought that's a pretty good start!  Going to our meetings is great because you learn what the issues are, and knowledge is key.  Plus you realize you are not alone.  It's also great to volunteer to help pull off those meetings because it takes a lot of volunteers to make them successful.  But when it comes to actual activism, there's so much more to be done!  You are not an activist simply because you listen to Tucker, get mad, and post on social media.  That's great, but you have to get involved.

True Texas Project makes it very easy.  Every Friday, Fran sends out an email with ACTION items, and they are not very hard or time consuming.  When an army the size of TTP goes into battle, the legislators cannot ignore us.  This is why we build the army... to have a unified voice!  Add your voice to those already speaking, and we will see a difference.  Whether we're talking about elections, legislation, local, city, county, or state issues, you must step up.  Here are some examples:

• • volunteer to help with TTP meetings - every location needs more help
  • read the Friday emails and do the simple tasks listed as able
  • volunteer to help a campaign: make calls, blockwalk, send texts, host a house party, donate, engage on social media
  • work on a specific issue, like protecting the 2nd amendment or fighting a bond election (we can help you connect with those who are already making an effort)

The point is, you have to DO something.  We all do.  Start here!

There's a special perk to being involved.  Not only do you make a positive difference, but you also gain the best friends from salt of the earth people.  Here's a picture of a little reunion we had this weekend.  25 activists who have been working together at TTP for 14 years met up to see The Promise in Glenrose!

Let us pray...

Lord, we lift up our precious state of Texas to you.  We are grateful we could gather at The Promise this week to glorify You, and we lift up all of the events TTP has scheduled in the next week.  As our legislature goes back into special session, we ask for Your will to be done in Austin.  We bind up all demons that would attack our representatives and senators, and we ask that your Holy Spirit would inhabit every office and chair on the floor of the House and the Senate.  Tell each of us clearly what we should take part in this week, and may we glorify You in every phone call, conversation or event we attend.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Fran's Lege Update

The 3rd Special Session of the 88th TX Legislature begins Monday.  Read all about the 6 issues on the Governor's proclamation in my Friday Message.  To get things started, the Senate has scheduled several committee hearings for this week.

• 2:00pm: Senate Finance Hearing (school funding & teacher pay raises)

• 9:30 am Senate Education Committee (ESA's)
• 9:30 am Senate Health & Human Services Committee (covid mandates)
• 2:30 pm Senate Border Security Committee (create criminal offense for illegal entry, and increase penalties for human trafficking)

As expected, the House has done nothing yet.  Rumors fly that someone will move to vacate the chair when session opens on Monday.  If you can't be at the Capitol, you can watch the session at the TLO live stream site.  You can also watch all committee hearings there.  Get your popcorn and tune in Monday because it's going to be entertaining.

ACTION ITEMS: 

Go to the hearings and testify if you can.

If you cannot go - contact the committee members to give them your opinions.  Links for details and contact information are in the Friday Message linked above.

For continued updates on what's happening in the #TXLege, watch the Facebook Citizen Advocates chat group.  I'll be posting updates there as they happen.

I'll be at the Capitol on Tuesday, Oct 17, if you would like to join me.

Stay Engaged!
Fran Rhodes, President

Tidbits You Need To Know

Oh my goodness... there's so much to share with you!  I'll be as brief as possible, but it seems like each of the items below need their own email...

• November Elections - Early voting starts Oct 23.  That's just 2 weeks away! Every Texan has an election because we are voting on amendments to the Texas Constitution.  Some of you have bond elections and/or special elections as well.  No worries.  True Texas Project has voting recommendations on our website.  Please share them!
• Play Ball! - We have our final lineup announced for the big Grassroots GameDay on Oct 28 in Arlington!  It's our True Texans vs the Lone Star Fighters, a team made up of some of our favorite electeds including Matt Rinaldi, Beth Van Duyne, Nate Schatzlline, Brian Harrison, Alex Kim, Brent Hill, Armin Mizani, Ross McMullin, Micah Young, Chance Oliver, and Chris Coker.  Plus Chris Salcedo has agreed to be the announcer, and Brady Gray is our umpire.  We've got a homerun contest open to all ages to see who can hit it over the fence the most, and we've even planned an after party!  The event is FREE to attend, and we'll have a $7 hotdog dinner available, so bring the family for America's favorite pastime.  Full details here.
• Right Vs. ...Right? - This month we have TWO of our much-anticipated forums where we present conservatives on both sides of an issue and have a friendly discussion on the pros and cons.  We want you to have all the facts and arguments laid out so that you can make an educated decision on what YOU believe, and then be able to defend it.  On Oct 12 in Dallas the subject is legalizing pot, and on Oct 19 in Katy the subject is school choice.  Even if you do not usually attend one of these locations, we encourage you to make the effort to be there for these special events.
• Voter Beware: Gimmicks Galore! In the November election, many of you will have the opportunity to vote on bond elections.  You'll hear all sorts of claims on how all these wonderful new buildings and programs won't even raise your taxes! Wouldn't that be nice???  Yeah... if it was true.  Here's the gimmick:  your taxes are supposed to go DOWN.  There are two reasons for this. 
  • • • • • • One common gimmick is that when a bond is paid off and the town or school or county no longer has that debt, you as the taxpayer are no longer on the hook for it, so your taxes should decrease.  Instead, they start a new bond at the same cost.  Your taxes stay the same to cover that new bond, and then they can claim your taxes never went up! In reality, they are spending more of your money.
            • The second gimmick is true for every property tax paying citizen in Texas.  The state legislature bought down some of your property taxes this past session using something called "compression."  It's a temporary funding by the state intended to give some tax relief at the local level.  Instead, local entities are using this as an opportunity to spend more money, assuming you won't miss the tax cuts you never knew you had. They are counting on your ignorance! Let's say your property taxes should been "compressed" by $200.  Then your city or school or county raises taxes by that amount or slightly less, and brag that your taxes have not gone up.  You never see the tax cut!  And get this... in two years, if the state legislature does not do another compression, your taxes will go back up to what they were -- and the new taxes your local politicians said would not cost you a penny will be added onto the top making your taxes SKY HIGH.   I really, really want you to understand this, so let me try to paint a clearer picture with made-up numbers:

Get it???  If not, reply to this email and I'll find a better way to explain it. We must NOT fall for their lies.  In fact, we must expose them, tell others about them, hold politicians accountable, demand the lower spending, and vote no on all these extravagant bond elections!

True Texans Taking Charge - Elections 2024

Here's a quick reminder about some of our election efforts thus far...

• Luke Macias on How To Vet Candidates
• Warren Norred on How To Start and Run a PAC 
• This month's meetings feature Christine Welborn of Advancing Integrity on How To Protect Elections.  Don't miss it!
• Two Right Vs. ...Right? forums (details in paragraph above)
• Candidate Recruitment webinar - incredible information for those considering a run for office (here's another opportunity for candidate training)
• March Primary Election information and suggestions
• Dirty Dozen challengers - every week we feature a candidate that is challenging one of the Dirty Dozen state reps that we want to get rid of.  So far we've covered David Lowe, Dennis London, Mike Olcott, Andy Hopper, David Covey, and Wes Virdell. This week we bring your attention to Matthew Morgan, who is challenging Jacey Jetton. Matt's family moved to Texas with Stephen F Austin, so you know he has Texas blood through and through!  He was the second most popular request for me to feature here, and with good reason. Jetton was one of 11 Republicans to oppose the ban on taxpayer dollars funding transgendering of children. He's also a strong supporter of Democrat chairs in the Republican-led House. He's gotta go! 

We are asking True Texans statewide to help these in the races we're featuring, even if they are not YOUR district.  Each seat affects us all!  Can you donate?  Blockwalk?  Tell others?  Every bit helps.

📅The week ahead at True Texas Project...

You can always see our upcoming events by checking the Events page at this link but here’s a detailed look at the week ahead. And remember, no matter where you live, you are welcome at any meeting or event.

Click on the images to enlarge them, or right click to save them for sharing! 

Thanks for reading!

If you have questions, tips, or encouragement for the True Texas Team, reply to this email, and we’ll talk to you soon.

God Bless Texas!
Julie McCarty, CEO

PS.  If you wanna make your blood boil a little more on the topic of our porous border, read this on replacing Texans.  We also received this great commentary from a local author regarding the federal debt.