Good morning,

Yesterday, we asked readers what they thought about women being required to register for selective service. You'll find the results below.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Border Official Accuses Biden & Harris of Covering Up Crisis

• A now-former border official has come forward to members of Congress accusing the Biden-Harris administration of intentionally covering up the severity of the border crisis. Emily Medeiros has the story.
      
• Retired San Diego Sector Chief Aaron Heitke testified before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee that the Biden-Harris administration attempted to “quiet the border-wide crisis” by shielding information from the press and concealing crossings by illegal aliens who were tied to terrorists.
      
• Heitke explained that the administration funded two flights a week to Texas, transporting illegal aliens who would otherwise have been released into San Diego.
       
• He said administration officials asked him to move more than 2,000 apprehended illegal aliens "out of the sight of the media."

RELATED NEWS

• According to immigration expert Todd Bensman, Colony Ridge’s population is increasing rapidly. The developers allegedly allow prospective buyers to circumvent usual loan requirements, such as providing a social security number, that would also establish their legal right to be in the country.

Texas Sues Federal Government Over Environmental Law

• Texas has sued the federal government for waging war against the state’s oil and gas industry by weaponizing environmental laws. Will Biagini reports that the lawsuit centers around the administration’s decision to classify the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered.
      
• Attorney General Ken Paxton says the classification was unlawful and violated the Endangered Species Act. His lawsuit asserts that listing the lizard as endangered was based on inconclusive and unreliable speculations about its status.
      
• Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has said that listing the lizard as an endangered species would detrimentally affect the state’s oil and gas industry.
       
• "The Biden-Harris Administration will stop at nothing to cripple Texas’ robust oil and gas industry." – Dawn Buckingham

Dallas Police Chief is Leaving Position for Different Austin Role

• Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia plans to retire from law enforcement and move to Austin, where he will assume a new administrative position overseeing the capital city’s public safety.
        
• Garcia’s reported departure comes after he and Dallas reached an agreement to keep him on as the city’s police chief until mid-2027. That agreement would pay Garcia an annual salary of $306,440.40 and give him a retention bonus of $10,000 every six months.

Teacher’s Aide Arrested for Assault of a Child

• A newly certified teacher’s aide in Conroe Independent School District is facing a charge of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. Erin Anderson has the report.
     
• KeSean DaVante Carter began working as an instructional paraprofessional at Oak Ridge High School on August 21—the same day he became certified as an educational aide. He had worked as a substitute for the district during the last school year, from January through May 2024.
     
• The principal of Oak Ridge High School said Carter was fired when officials learned of the charges.

Two Lubbock Commissioners Succeed in Stopping County Tax Increase

• Lubbock County will not impose higher property taxes on residents this year, thanks to the actions of two county commissioners. On Monday, Commissioners Jason Corley and Jordan Rackler purposefully skipped a third meeting to deny the quorum necessary for County Judge Curtis Parrish and the other two county commissioners to impose a tax increase.
      
• State law requires four commissioners at a meeting to approve a tax levy. Now, the county can only levy the "No New Revenue" rate.

City Raises Property Taxes 30%... Without Voter Approval

• Elected officials in the small North Texas city of Whitesboro want a big property tax increase, and thanks to a carve-out in the state’s tax laws, they won’t need voters’ approval to get it. The city council is set to adopt a property tax rate for 2024 that is a whopping 30 percent higher than the 2023 rate.
       
• Under property tax reform passed in 2019, city and county tax increases that exceed 3.5 percent automatically trigger a tax rate election. However, the law excludes cities with fewer than 30,000 residents.
      
• "They’re proposing raising taxes even though we have a huge surplus in the bank right now," said Rebecca Meals, a Whitesboro resident. "This is not right."
       
• The city’s planned tax hike will be in addition to Whitesboro's recently passed school bonds, which increased the average district homeowner’s annual property taxes by $325.

Arrington Exposes Kamala Harris’ Anti-Law Enforcement Record

• Debra McClure reports a resolution has been introduced in Congress by Texas Republican Jodey Arrington condemning Vice President Kamala Harris' record on law enforcement issues.
        
• Among other things, Arrington references Harris' opposition to police funding and her stated intention to decriminalize illegal immigration.
        
•  "Kamala Harris is working tirelessly to reinvent herself as a mainstream moderate, but her record reveals she’s proudly aligned with the radical Left with a clear history of empowering criminals and vilifying our law enforcement." – U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington

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Quote-Unquote

"Those who own the country ought to govern it."

– John Jay​

Y'All Answered

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is among those spearheading a movement in Congress to oppose any measure that would force women to register for selective service.

Yesterday, we asked readers if women, like men, should be subject to being drafted for military service. More than three-quarters of readers (77.8 percent) oppose requiring women to be subject to the draft, while 22.2 percent said women should be.

Here is a sampling of the responses we received after folks clicked their answer.

• “Biological women should not be included in the draft. The men who pretend to be women should be included in the draft.” – Denise Lunski
      

• “For someone who has served, I sure as hell would not want a woman alongside me while I'm engaged in a firefight with the enemy. I would be more concerned about her safety than defeating the enemy. Just call me old-fashioned.” – John R. Makow
      

• “We should not have a draft for any gender. Forcing someone to fight is unacceptable. Incentivize serving for your country.” – Dianna Galando
      

• “As a female and US Air Force retiree, I believe that women should have the option to serve when and how they wish. … Since there is no mandate for women to take on direct combat roles (unrestricted service), I don't believe there should be a draft for women. I know others will argue, but if there is ever a draft again, there will be plenty of places for women to step up, as they always have, to serve in combat support roles. These roles are critical to winning the war.” – Lenore Hackenyos, Lt. Col. (Ret.), USAFR
      

• “As a military retiree, I have worked with, commanded by, and commanded females of diverse backgrounds. I see no reason why a female should be excluded from the draft. The IDF has always done so, and it has only strengthened their culture/society.” – Kenneth Gardner
      

• “Women have put themselves in the situation that they should be drafted. I have sons, daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters. Why should my sons and grandsons be responsible for our freedom while my daughters and granddaughters get a pass?”– Faye Drohan
       

• “Chip Roy is my representative, and I consider him one of the best members of Congress, but on this issue he is wrong. There will be no military draft, for men or women, unless the nation faces a dire foreign threat. In that case, there will be no time to pass legislation, register women, and gear up a draft for women.” – Jerry Harben
       

• “Why aren't they talking about drafting all these illegals my tax dollars are going to? What about the man-girls my tax dollars are being wasted on so their body parts match their new pronouns? My daughters will not be drafted into the political elitists' war for their own financial enrichment.” – Deborah Wiley
      

• “Women should be able to serve if they want to but not be drafted. Someone has to take care of the house kids and daily family life.” – Dawn Gerstenberger
      

• “Women are the heart of the home. This action could further erode the family unit, which is exactly what the liberals want.” – Debbie Hillis
      

• “No, women in the draft is a ‘solution’ to a ‘problem’ that doesn’t exist. It is solely a talking point being pushed by regressives and their propagandists in the ‘press’ designed to divert attention from other immediate priorities.” – Jay Westfall
      

• “You can’t have it both ways. Equality doesn’t just deliver the best parts; it brings responsibility to all.  Today’s women have technical skills and education matching their male counterparts. Military service brings discipline and investment in your country.” – Sandra Grove
       

• “As a Christian, I'm opposed to drafting women. As a female, I'm opposed to drafting women. Women are still free to enlist, why would it be necessary they also be drafted?!” – Michelle Lantz 
       

• “No woman should be subject to the draft! Women are our national treasures and should be treated as such.” – Ron Martin

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