Good morning,

The Biden administration has launched a new center designed to help subvert the "due process" and Second Amendment rights of Americans. The One Click Survey seeks your thoughts on the issue.

This is the Total Eclipse Edition of the Texas Minute. 

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 
Monday, April 8, 2024

Total Eclipse Traffic

• With today's total eclipse moving across a swath of Texas, state and local officials are warning about traffic. As many as 1.1 million people are flocking to the region to experience the rare celestial event. Emily Medeiros explains that "totality"—when the moon fully blocks the Sun—will last up to four minutes and 26 seconds.
   
• In Waco, 20,000 people have bought tickets to view the event at Baylor's football stadium where totality will last 4 minutes and 11 seconds.
     
• The City of Austin is ranked as the number 2 destination for hotel room bookings for Monday, with hotel occupancy at 78 percent—despite totality lasting only 1 minute and 40 seconds.
      
• At Scorecard HQ, totality will last just over 3 minutes.
     
• Due to the expected traffic delays, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has banned the transportation of oversized and overweight trucks for counties in the path of the solar eclipse. The ban will cover nearly all of North Texas and start at midnight on April 8 and end at midnight on April 9.

Destinations Identified for Illegal Alien Flights

• According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies, Florida has been reported as the top landing zone for illegal aliens flown secretly into the country as part of a Biden administration program. Amelia McKenzie reports that as of February, 326,000 of these individuals were flown to Miami.
     
• The Department of Homeland Security has refused to acknowledge these flights, but Members of Congress have spoken out against it.
      
• This secretive program was designed by the Biden administration in an effort to reduce the southern border crossing numbers by flying illegal aliens into the U.S. Once they arrive, the aliens are released on "parole" and can receive two-year renewable work authorizations.
      

• Houston is the second-highest destination for these flights (21,964 individuals), followed by Los Angeles (8,382). The aliens are coming from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Ecuador.

Texas Wants Courts to Stop Biden Administration Program for Illegal Aliens

• Attorney General Ken Paxton, America First Legal, and a coalition of attorney generals from other states are asking federal courts to reconsider Texas’ lawsuit against the Biden administration regarding the transportation of illegal aliens via air travel into U.S. cities. Will Biagini has the story.
        
• In February, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas initially dismissed the lawsuit because it believed the program did not sufficiently harm the states.
       
• With new evidence about the size of the program (see article above), the plaintiffs hope the court will reconsider its position.
      
• The states are pointing to the massive number of illegal aliens given parole by the Biden administration and the resulting "significant financial costs" they represent.

Las Vegas Sands Renews Push for Crony Casino Monopoly

• After setbacks in the primary, Sands is dusting off an old trade group and even older talking points to lobby for a blank check from Texans in 2025. Daniel Greer reports that several of the crony casino lobby's legislative allies lost bids for re-election in March.
    
• Sands has been pushing for lawmakers to grant them state-enforced monopolies that forbid competition.
      
• The Republican Party of Texas platform currently opposes any gambling expansion.
      
• Sands is employing a familiar talking point first used when the lottery was introduced in Texas in the early 1990s by claiming casino revenue will boost education funding. However, these promises failed to materialize with the lottery in Texas and have not been realized in other states that expanded the casino gambling footprint.

Sen. Bob Hall Emphasizes Electrical Grid Security

• Texas’ electrical grid remains vulnerable to natural and human-caused dangers, according to State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood). Luca Cacciatore reports on the senator's presentation to the Citizens Defending Freedom of Williamson County.

    
• Hall warned that the electrical infrastructure is extremely susceptible to a catastrophic event the next time a solar flare hits the country. In 1859, the "Carrington Event" solar flare wreaked havoc on the fledging communications systems of the day. The senator said the situation would be much worse in the 21st Century.
     
• Man-made causes, such as artificially generated electromagnetic pulses, would be “catastrophic,” said Hall. He wants Texas to begin hardening its grid system through new insulation and security technology that is already available.

Dallas Charter Review Commission Advances Proposal Allowing Non-US Citizens to Serve on City Boards

• Members of the Dallas City Charter Review Commission voted last week to accept an amendment allowing non-U.S. citizens to serve on city boards and commissions. The Dallas City Council must decide if the proposal should go before voters later this year.
      
• Dallas voters rejected a similar proposal in May 2021 by a 2-1 margin.

Field Grows for Texas GOP Chair Ahead of Convention

• As of Friday, five candidates had announced their intention to run for the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Texas. Brandon Waltens reports the race will be decided at the state convention in May. 
      
• The latest to file is Mike Garcia, the former executive director of the Texas Freedom Caucus. Notably, the better-known national and state Freedom Caucus networks have long disavowed the Texas caucus for its tendency to aid the liberal House leadership.
        

• He joins four other candidates in the race—current vice chair Dana Myers, businessman Ben Armenta, activist Weston Martinez, and former Collin County GOP Chairman Abraham George.
      

• The incumbent chairman, Matt Rinaldi, announced last month he would not seek re-election.

Quote-Unquote

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."

– Albert Einstein​

ONE CLICK SURVEY

The Biden administration has launched a center designed to help bureaucrats undermine Americans’ Second Amendment rights through "red flag" style laws and actions.

What should Texas’ response be?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!