Good morning,

It is easy to get so caught up in being "right" that we lose sight of what we're trying to accomplish. It is all too easy to trade the joy of warm camaraderie for the faint praise of self-congratulations. I close out the week reminding myself that we are called to be on God's side in every situation.

Here is the Texas Minute for Friday, October 13, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Phelan Bans Republican Lawmaker From Asking Questions

• In an escalation of his war with conservative lawmakers, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced Thursday that Republican State Rep. Tony Tinderholt has been banned from making parliamentary inquiries without prior approval. Sydnie Henry has the details.
       
• A "parliamentary inquiry" is a question asked by a House member to the speaker for the purpose of clarifying rules or procedures.
    
• Notably, Democrats in the Texas House routinely engage in parlimentary actions designed to stall House proceedings and kill Republican bills—particularly when deadlines for legislation are imminent. Phelan never limited their access to such "parliamentary" actions.
      
• In making his ruling to ban Tinderholt from asking questions, Phelan cited the Congressional Record (not Texas precedent), specifically from March 21, 2010. And it was Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi shutting down questions from Republicans.
      
• In a post to social media, Tinderholt wrote: "I won't stop fighting for the conservative values that Texans demand and that Speaker Phelan is obstructing. Texans, and our chamber deserve better."

Local Governments Pile Billions in Bond Debt on November Ballot

• Cities, counties, and school districts across the state are placing big bonds on the November ballot that would add billions to the local government debt already owed by Texas taxpayers. As Erin Anderson explains, all bond debt must be repaid, with interest, by local property taxpayers. 
    
• Texas local governments currently owe $186 billion in outstanding debt that their residents are obligated to repay with property taxes. Any new debt approved by voters will be added to current debt levels.
       
• School districts owe a majority of the state's tax-supported debt, about $104 billion.
       
• According to the Texas Bond Review Board, Texas has the third-highest local debt per capita among the nation’s 10 most populous states, behind New York and California.

House Chairman Signs on to Resolution Apologizing for Paxton Impeachment

• A chairman appointed by Speaker Dade Phelan has signed on as a joint author of a resolution filed in the Texas House to apologize to Attorney General Ken Paxton for the chamber’s rushed impeachment back in May. Brandon Waltens has the full story.
    
• State Rep. J.M. Lozano (R–Kingsville) signed on to the resolution authored by his Republican colleague, Tony Tinderholt of Arlington.
      

• Lozano was appointed earlier this year by Phelan to chair the House Committee on Urban Affairs. He was also among the 60 Republican members that voted to impeach Paxton in May. 

Lawsuit Claims Biden Knew Taxpayer Dollars Were Funding Palestinian Terrorists

• A federal judge in Texas ordered the commencement of the discovery phase of a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of knowingly providing funds to benefit Palestinian terrorist attacks. Emily Medeiros has all the details.
    
• America First Legal filed the lawsuit on behalf of the parents of West Point graduate Taylor Force, who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv. 
      
• The lawsuit claims President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken resumed payments to the Palestinian Authority, which former President Donald Trump ended in order to comply with the Taylor Force Act. Enacted in 2017, that federal law prohibits the U.S. government from providing the Palestinian Authority with American taxpayer funds until they take credible steps to end acts of violence, stop payments for acts of terrorism, publicly condemn the acts of violence, and revoke the laws requiring payments to known terrorists.
       
• According to the lawsuit, the Biden administration has sent nearly half a billion taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority, despite admitting that the PA still operates its “Pay to Slay” program. 

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• As the news organization focused on covering government and culture in the Lone Star State, Texas Scorecard is seeking journalists to join our team. The ideal candidate will be a talented writer with a passion for reporting on the issues citizens care about.
    
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Friday Reflection:
When Being 'Right' Is Wrong

In religious history, no one was more “right” than the Pharisees. They were keepers and followers of the law, which they knew forward and back. Yet they were so intent on being right that they missed the joy of being in the right. The same is true for many of us today.

There is an unfortunate tendency in each of us, especially those of us in and around politics and public policy, to be “right.”

I see this all the time, in myself, my circle of friends, culture at large, and throughout history.

The First Century zealots in Israel were zealous for their zeal… What exactly, besides independence from Rome, they were hoping to achieve with their zeal was a bit murky. But they were zealous!

Consider this. When the Romans encircled Jerusalem in 70 A.D., various factions inside the city began fighting for dominance. They began burning each other’s food supplies! Why? Because they were more concerned with being right than loving their neighbors.

It is way too easy to do very wrong things when pursuing recognition for being right. Political purity czars are a lonely lot and rarely as pure as they perceive themselves. They trade the joy of warm camaraderie for the faint praise of self-congratulations.

Let me suggest that it is more important for us to be “in the right.” That is, we should be less concerned with proving ourselves to be righteous than we are in living out our lives righteously in a spirit of humility.

When seeking admiration for “being right,” we are serving ourselves. In working to be “in the right,” we are serving something greater and more meaningful.

Among my favorite passages of scripture is Joshua 15:13-15. On the eve of battle, Joshua saw a mighty warrior on the plains of Jericho near camp. Joshua asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

The reply? “Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

Joshua wanted to be right, that is, to be sure he was on the same side as the mighty warrior. This warrior, though, tossed Joshua's assumptions (my side or my enemies’ side) to the wind. He reminded Joshua that the higher calling was to be on God’s side.

The same is true for each of us.

Rather than striving to “be right,” we should make sure we are in the right. It is from that position that we will find maximum effectiveness and joy as citizens in the fight for our republic.

Quote-Unquote

"Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first—the most basic—expression of Americanism. Thus the Founding Fathers saw it, and thus, with God's help, it will continue to be."

– Dwight D. Eisenhower

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