Good morning,

Some people want to be thought of as reluctant participants in the fight for liberty, but most of us are just glad to be allowed on the team. Below, I end the week reflecting on the citizens' joyful calling to be in the fight.

This is the Texas Minute for Friday, August 23, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

DPS Chief ‘Temporarily’ Blocks Outside Groups During Voter Registration Investigation

• Amidst an investigation into noncitizens being registered to vote outside the agency’s offices around the state, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety told his staff Wednesday night that he was “temporarily” prohibiting such activities.
       
• One source inside DPS told Texas Scorecard that agency management had tacitly allowed several groups to engage in such activities despite the fact that voter registration is intertwined with applying for or renewing a driver’s license under a 1993 federal law. A second DPS source said the director was “angry” that Paxton’s office was investigating the matter and had publicly announced it.
       
• Gov. Greg Abbott has publicly backed Paxton's investigation.
      
• “It starts with the registration process. And obviously what was happening at the DPS offices was completely wrong and was set up in a way where it could have been registering people illegally, so first step is to shut down things like that,” said Abbott in an interview with Chris Salcedo.

RELATED NEWS

• The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has been widely panned for the ruling, which Abbott called "nonsensical" and "bizarre." Abbott said he utilized that law's authorities "every year" he served as attorney general.
      
• All three incumbent member of the CCA up for re-election this year lost their GOP primary bids in March to opponents supported by Paxton. Abbott's comments come as pressure increases on the court to fix their ruling or find their authority further diminished in the 2025 legislative session.

New Texas Policy Stops Gender-confused Individuals From Changing Sex on Driver’s License

• A new policy from the Department of Public Safety will only allow Texans to change the sex listed on their license to fix a clerical error. Sydnie Henry reports that gender-confused individuals used to be able to have the sex changed on their driver's license as part of their gender transition.
      
• Going forward, the sex listed on an original birth certificate will be what is reflected on the license. Until recently, the "sex" could be changed by means of a court order filed with DPS.
      
• “Attempts to erode basic truths of biology are evil and foundational to a larger and more sinister agenda,” said Brady Gray of the Texas Family Project. “While I applaud the actions of TXDPS, we should not understate how absurd it is that these policies are necessary. Citizens must remain vigilant and never accept the lies the left continually bombard society with.”

Harris County Uses State Loophole to Hike Property Taxes

• Harris County is taking advantage of a loophole in state law that allows them to exceed the 3.5 percent state-imposed property tax cap without voter approval and, instead, push an 8 percent increase on taxpayers. Charles Blain has the report.
    
• Under state law, a county that has had a disaster declaration is permitted to exceed the state’s cap that year, up to 8 percent, without voter approval.
      
• Talk about adding disasters upon disasters...
       
• Inflation trackers show Texas households are spending $12,500 more today than in 2021 to maintain the same standard of living but despite that, the burden of government keeps growing.

RELATED NEWS

• Northwest ISD currently owes more than $1.8 billion in debt.

Red Power... Coming August 27!

Judge Ends Hood County Fight Over GOP District Clerk Candidate

• A fight over who should be the Republican nominee for Hood County’s district clerk in November ended up in court this week after interim District Clerk Roberta Zamarron sued the party for not choosing her as the candidate. Erin Anderson has the story.
    
• The fight started when District Clerk Tonna Newman died in February. It fell to the GOP's executive committee to pick a replacement for the November ballot. They went with Granbury ISD school board trustee Melanie Graft.
      
• Now, a judge has ruled against Zamarron and confirmed Graft as the GOP's candidate.

Analysis: Mary Talley Bowden Keeps Up The Pressure

• Forged in the fire of forced COVID vaccinations, Houston-area physician Mary Talley Bowden continues to gain support from Texas lawmakers and candidates. Daniel Greer looks at how she has been able to take so many arrows from Big Pharma. 

Friday Reflection
Joyfully in the Fight

A while back, I was chatting with a fairly well-known conservative personality. He was lamenting how he “had” to be in the fight. As he talked about all the other things he thought he would “rather” be doing than be engaged in the cause of liberty, my thoughts turned to a bunch of dry bones.

The prophet Ezekiel was told by God of Israel’s rebirth. In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, that prophecy is followed up by a vision. In it, Ezekiel was taken to a valley full of bones. At God’s insistence, Ezekiel spoke words over the bones, and they began to regather into men, taking on muscle and skin until, eventually, the valley was filled with a mighty army.

There are numerous interpretations of that section of Scripture, which are a lot more theologically heady than what I’ll offer here.

My take on that passage, and applying it to my own life, is echoed in Matthew 3 with the words of John the Baptist. There, we find John warning people about the arrogance of their lineage. “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

In other words, I might not be as necessary as I may like to presume!

With that in mind, I find great joy in being allowed to do what I do every day. I meet men and women who joyfully volunteer their time and fortunes in the fight for liberty in our Republic. 

They are the rule, not the exception.

But some people—like the fellow mentioned above—like to grumble. They want to be seen as reluctantly recruited into the fight because of some uniquely exulted quality they alone want others to believe themselves to possess. They seem to suggest that were it not for being conscripted, they wouldn’t otherwise care about the issues confronting us—much less be involved. 

Being that full of oneself must be exhausting!

If we are honest, very few of us are actually up to the task of saving the Republic.

There is little doubt that what we do could be done more efficiently and effectively by a stone turned into a son or a heap of dry bones given new life. I don’t know about you, but I’m just excited to be on the team. 

Whether I make a big play or sit on the sidelines, I think it is cool that I get to wear the same jersey as a long lineage of patriots engaged in one of the most consequential fights in human history. 

Rather than grumble about our tasks and responsibilities, we should greet each new twist and turn in the journey as a joyful reminder that we get to be in the fight.

Quote-Unquote

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."

– Thomas Paine