Good morning, 

Yesterday, readers were asked about the anti-Israel college protests. You'll find the survey results and a sampling of responses below.

Here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Could Democrats Save Incumbent John Kuempel in Runoff Election?

• With discussions swirling in the Republican Party of Texas about Democrat interference in GOP primaries, embattled incumbent State Rep. John Kuempel is among those attempting to exploit support from Democrats in order to hold onto power. Brandon Waltens has the story.

      
• After coming in second place to Alan Schoolcraft in the Republican primary last month, Kuempel is facing an uphill battle in his re-election campaign. Schoolcraft has already earned the endorsements of Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, and others. 
       
• An examination of voters in the March Republican primary reveals that five percent had a previous Democrat voting history. For context, Schoolcraft narrowly missed the opportunity to win that election outright by less than two points.
      
• Adding fuel to the fire locally is Democrat operative Ramon Chapa Jr. throwing his support behind Kuempel's runoff campaign.

Paxton Sues Biden Over Title IX Rewrite

• Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the Biden administration over a drastic rewriting of Title IX rules so as to protect biological men intruding into women’s spaces. Emily Medeiros reports the Biden rewrite makes "gender identity" a protected class in public education.
        
• The new rules would effectively force local public schools to allow biological males to use female spaces. If a school refuses to comply, federal funding would be withheld.
     
• In his lawsuit, Paxton describes the rewrite as "unconstitutional" and explains that it infringes on Texas’ sovereignty by "imposing substantial pressure on Texas to change its laws and policies."
        
• "Texas will not allow Joe Biden to rewrite Title IX at whim, destroying legal protections for women in furtherance of his radical obsession with gender ideology," said Paxton. "This attempt to subvert federal law is plainly illegal, undemocratic, and divorced from reality. Texas will always take the lead to oppose Biden’s extremist, destructive policies that put women at risk."
      
• Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott has sent a letter to President Biden condemning the revision. The governor has instructed the Texas Education Agency to ignore the new federal rule.

Big Spring Residents Saying ‘No’ to Big School Bond

• Residents of Big Spring who are opposing a big school bond on the May 4 ballot have taken inspiration from a voter education campaign in another Texas school district, copying the taglines “Caution High Taxes Ahead” and “If You Know, You No.” Erin Anderson has the story.
       

• Lifelong Big Spring resident and business owner Scott Emerson organized the campaign against BSISD's nearly quarter-billion-dollar bond package.

       
• Big Spring ISD officials acknowledge that their proposed bonds would result in the average homeowner seeing a tax increase of $180.

Austin Light Rail Plan on Ice Following Disastrous Court Hearing

• Austin’s controversial light rail program, approved by voters in 2020, could be null and void due to an allegedly unconstitutional financing proposal. As Adam Cahn reports, proponents of the transit scheme found themselves unable in court to defend the project’s ability to borrow money.

      
• At issue is the convoluted structure of the measure presented to voters in 2020 that was designed to evade state limits on debt and borrowing by creating a “governmental corporation” called the Austin Transit Partnership.
        
• The Austin Transit Partnership was supposed to be funded by a one-time increase to the city’s maintenance and operations property tax. Between a combination of proponents lowballing the cost estimates and inflation under the Biden administration, the Austin Transit Partnership now needs to borrow substantial sums.
      
• This is where the court case comes in: governmental corporations are prohibited from using maintenance and operations property tax dollars to pay debt.

Texas Grid Operator (Again) Warns of Coming Problems as Energy Prices Rise

• Luca Cacciatore reports that Texas’ grid operator is warning of prospective deficient power reserves over the next couple of days as energy prices continue to rise ahead of the summer season.
       
• According to a notice issued by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid might face issues through 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1.
      
• ERCOT indicated it would delay or cancel planned plant outages in order to shore up available supplies by about 2,800 megawatts.

Quote-Unquote

"The foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality."

– George Washington
Inaugural Address​

Y'All Answered

It has been widely reported that activist groups are utilizing college campuses to protest the Israel/Hamas war. These protests have included participants blocking access to buildings, threatening Jewish students and faculty, and throwing feces at police officers. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said students participating in those protests should be expelled.

Yesterday, we asked readers what they thought: 93.6 percent want those students expelled, while 6.4 percent think they should be allowed to stay.

Here is a sampling of the responses we received from readers who participated in the survey...

• “We should be careful about banning ‘protests’ because that could come back to haunt law-abiding citizens. However, we should actively prosecute crimes committed under the guise of ‘protests,’ including expelling the criminals from Texas’ universities and colleges.” – Jonathan Smythe
      

• “I do believe in freedom of speech but don’t agree that we have the right to have these mass, disruptive protests at college campuses or anywhere else.” – Velta Worley
      

• “The issue here is not the protest, but the violence and disregard for others. Peaceful protests are proper. Tantrums are not.” – Arthur Potter
     

• “Students SHOULD be allowed to protest ANYTHING. However, they shouldn’t be allowed to threaten people or disrupt the university proceedings. That crosses the line from free speech, and those students that do so should be expelled.” – Erika Metzger
      

• “I believe in freedom of speech. But these people are calling for genocide. Nothing was done about the Nazi's same type of speech, and it cost 6 million Jews their lives. This time we need to do the right thing and snuff it out.” – Herbert Richards
      

• “If a college wants tax dollars, then they should not enable antisemitic protest. At the least, they should require the protesters to study the history that brought us Hitler before the protestors could continue in state-funded schools.” – Virginia Platt
      

• “Not only should they be expelled, but any of these students who are non-citizens on Visas should be deported immediately. It is time we take back our country.” – Eric Osterhout
     

• “Blocking access to buildings or the campus is a crime. Threatening people and actually hitting them are crimes. These are not the behaviors of American citizens. They do have a 1st Amendment right to carry signs and chant, but that is not enough for these indoctrinated people.” – Laura Morton
      

• “The protesters lose their right to protest when they start interfering with the other students’ and professors’ right to attend or teach classes. The feces throwing could be considered biological warfare because of possible contaminants included in it, whether or not the thrower knew of the contamination or not.” – Charles Hastings
     

• “Expel them and do not allow them back on campus. And should they decide to continue their education, allow them to do so... In another state.” – Deb Hillis
      

• “Perhaps it's time for students to learn about the consequences of hate speech and persecution of targeted religious groups. They want to talk the talk, but few want to be responsible for their actions. Why not prosecute organizers under RICO statutes? After all, they are peddling corruption.” – Thomas Camardo
      

• “Not only expel the students… but arrest the paid protestors who carry professional signs, obstruct traffic, or cause property damage or harm to others.” – Ann Wells
      

• “Protesting is one thing. Setting up camp to belittle anyone is not acceptable at any level. They can either be paid protestors or students there to learn.” – Rick Goncher
     

• “I think that threatening Jewish students and throwing feces at police officers is more along the lines of assault rather than protesting. Standing along a roadway holding signs or gathering in a group somewhere and peacefully voicing your opinion is protesting.” – Cathy Blake
      

• “Yes, expel them! These college kids are being used by the people funding these ‘peaceful protests.’ It’s time they learn one of life’s most important lessons that there are consequences for their actions. I don’t think they really know what they are ‘protesting.’ Are our kids that brainwashed that they are supporting a terrorist organization?” – Eric Knutson
      

• “Free speech should be protected, but it sounds like these students have crossed the line into hate and violence. Pull out the Code of Conduct as the University of Florida did.” – Anne Pottinger
      

• “I want my tax money back. Useful idiots one and all.” – Corey Mayo
      

• “Students who are US citizens have First Amendment protection on every campus. Expelling students for expressing their views is a violation of their protected rights. However, arresting students who commit actual crimes while exercising their right to free speech and expression should be a consequence for illegal behavior. Expelling students for their perspective is absolutely wrong.” – Cheryl Williams
      

• “Get them off campus. Off-campus is fine unless it blocks traffic or businesses or offices. Screaming stupid things is okay, but not any kind of violence. Arrest the violent ones. Instantly!” – John Hawes
      

• “Young people need to realize actions have consequences! If these rabble-rousers are so emphatic about Palestine, let’s send them straight to Gaza!” – Priscilla Love
      

• “Students who cross the line between constitutionality-protected peaceful demonstrations to disruptive protests and activities should be expelled and permanently removed from school property.” – Richard Steenson
      

• “This would not be tolerated if the students were against black or LGBTQ students. It should not be tolerated when it is against Jewish students! They deserve to lose their place on campus. This must not be tolerated in Texas or anywhere in the USA!” – Glenda Piacenti
      

• “The students should be expelled, but the people financing and instigating the demonstrations should be fined and jailed for creating civil unrest.” – Bob Hooten
       

• “As the saying goes… your right to swing your arm ENDS at my face!” - Cathy Hess
     

• “Governor Abbott takes a dangerous path in selectively choosing what speech will or won't be allowed on Texas campuses. Free speech, which is protected under the First Amendment, includes ALL speech, even that which we find distasteful. Conservatives and libertarians alike should be very concerned about this approach.” – David Vargha
           

• “I don't agree with expelling the students; however, that is ONLY if the protests are, in fact, peaceful.” - Kathy Carten
       

• “Protesting about something is fine, even if they have no idea what they're protesting about. But when others are affected by being blocked from getting to class, work, etc., then that crosses the line, and they need a reality check. There needs to be consequences.” - Mary Philip
       

• “The hate-filled antisemitism seen in the protests did not just happen suddenly, but it’s fermented in the classrooms of progressive educators!” – Michael Edinburgh
      

• “Why does everything have to be an extreme? Can't they protest without violence, property damage, and feces?” – Julie McCarty
       

• “No. Free speech means that one sometimes hears speech one hates. Period.” – Jeffrey Bane
     

• “I believe those behind organizing/paying for the protests should be prosecuted.” – Joyce Singleton
     

• “There is no right to riot, and history shows anti-semitic rioting ruins a country if not stopped timely.” – Mike Smith
      

• “Sorry, but as long as they are PEACEFULLY protesting, I believe they should have the right to do so. If they are punished for peacefully expressing their opinions—whether or not I agree with them—then what’s to stop someone from punishing me for peacefully expressing mine? If they are not taking part in a legal peaceful protest, then it should be a legal issue with legal consequences, not punishment from the university.” –Karen Breazeale
       

• “The very idea of expelling students from University, just for exercising their first amendment rights, is totally anti-American.” –Sean Glynn

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