Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, August 29, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

FDA Lawyer: War Against Ivermectin was a Mistake

• Project Veritas has released footage of a Food and Drug Administration attorney admitting that the agency he represented “unquestionably” went beyond its authority by dissuading the American public from taking ivermectin to fight COVID-19. Daniel Greer reports on what it means for Texas.
       
• Isaac Belfer was secretly recorded as saying that the agency overstepped its authority by recommending what drugs should and should not be taken.
       
• Texas officials cited the federal agency's guidance repeatedly during the pandemic while making policy decisions.
       
• According to doctors who have brought a lawsuit against the FDA, the agency’s attack on ivermectin was part of an orchestrated effort to herd the public into getting COVID-19 shots. This was after the federal government took control over and cut the supply of monoclonal antibodies, another treatment option that had been saving lives.
       
• While alternative media sources and doctors reported accurately that ivermectin had been used for decades by humans as an anti-parasitic prophylactic, the FDA’s campaign, coupled with suppression by technology companies, led to backlash from the medical community against the treatment and its advocates. 
      
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that the Biden administration pressured Facebook to censor free speech, including information about COVID treatments.

Texas A&M Promoting LGBT Ideology at Student Center

• A massive photo collage displayed at the Texas A&M Memorial Student Center focused on students' arms sporting temporary tattoos featuring LGBT symbols. Valerie Muñoz reports that university officials say "no complaints or concerns" have been raised about the display.
      
• The collage has been in place since 2019, the center of which is the LGBT tattoos. The tattoo design is similar to those distributed as recently as March 2022 at Texas A&M's LGBT-focused Pride Center, which has since been rebranded in the wake of a state law prohibiting DEI initiatives.
      
• An A&M spokesperson said the LGBT photo collage "is in compliance with state laws."

Speaker Phelan's New Chief of Staff is a Democrat Donor

• Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s new chief of staff, lobbyist Mike Toomey, is a Democrat donor. Brandon Waltens details his giving.
      
• Campaign finance records reveal that Toomey has given thousands of dollars since 2015 to some of Texas' most liberal Democrat lawmakers. Toomey has also given $13,000 to Speaker Phelan. His hire is being viewed as an attempt by Phelan to project bipartisan power heading into the vote for speaker next session. 
       
• While Phelan has said he intends to run again, he has already gained two opponents—State Reps. Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville) and Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress). Both are running on platforms of ending the power-sharing dynamic in the Texas House that has led Democrats to dictate the chamber’s legislative agenda.
       
• Toomey is known for his close association with the Austin lobby group "Texans for Lawsuit Reform," which has pushed to keep Democrats in positions of power despite Republicans' lock on the chamber.

Mckinney ISD Trustees Reject Policy to Protect Young Girls

• After one trustee in the McKinney Independent School District offered a proposal to protect girls’ sports in the district, the other board members moved quickly to shut it down before a vote or even any discussion could be held. Emily Medeiros has the story.
     
• McKinney ISD Trustee Chad Green wanted the district to support young girls by not allowing biological boys to compete on girls’ sports teams or enter their locker rooms. His colleagues shut him down.
      
• Of the seven board members who blocked Green's proposal, four of them have terms that expire in May 2025.
      
• “That is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe only one board member is interested in protecting girls. Parents should be outraged! Maybe a recall election is in order.” — McKinney resident Vanessa Adame

Lawsuit Seeks to End Austin's Tax Collection for Project Connect

• A new class action lawsuit against the City of Austin asserts that an annual property tax is being illegally collected to fund a project that is not doing what voters were promised. Debra McClure explains that millions of dollars are being collected for the voter-approved transit program. 
        
• According to attorney Bill Aleshire, Austin's Project Connect "started as a $7 billion plan that included 30 miles of rail, a route to the airport and downtown, now has a more than an $11 billion price tag and half the routes."
       
• The Austin Transit Partnership, which oversees Project Connect, described the lawsuit as "baseless."

Quote-Unquote

"The Chinese government might be evil, but they're not stupid."

– Bill Peacock​

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