Good morning, 

The number of the day appears to indicate the Chinese coronavirus thrives in the presence of leftist Democrat politicians. 

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, May 21, 2020
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• No matter which death projection you believe to be most accurate, coronavirus is not nearly as deadly as socialism. That ideology and its variants have been responsible for the outright murder of tens of millions around the world, and has brought misery, pain, and sufferings to those who survive.
   
• New data from the Texas Workforce Commission shows between 2.3 million and 2.6 million Texans have filed for unemployment due directly to the government mandated shutdown of the economy.

• In a letter released yesterday, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen have directed state agencies to trim their budgets by 5 percent. Cary Cheshire reports not every state agency will be forced to comply with the request. The “Big Three” politicians specifically exempted a majority of state spending from their request for cuts.
       
• Former State Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving) criticized the exclusions as “insulting and absurd.”
      
• Frankly, “insulting and absurd” might be too nice. Are the Big Three really that out of touch? More than 10 percent of working-age Texans have been forced from employment by government mandates, but the very best our Republican governor, lieutenant governor, and (outgoing) House speaker can manage is to ask some state agencies to cut 5 percent of their spending.
      
• Because schools have been closed since March, the Texas Education Agency is encouraging school districts to look at adjusting their schedules for the upcoming 2020-2021 academic year. The agency argues that the early end to classes this school year, combined with the summer break, could lead to a decrease in overall preparedness headed into the fall, adding that “students could return nearly a full year behind what normally occurs.” As Brandon Waltens reports, the agency document makes a case for what many might see as a move towards year-round schooling: earlier start date, longer breaks, and a later end date.
          
• Every aspect of state and local government spending – including public education – must be carefully examined for cuts, writes State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg). With so many Texans unemployed by the government mandated shutdown of the economy, Biedermann believes “school districts and the State of Texas will also have to make difficult cuts.”
       
• In today’s edition of Texas Scorecard Radio, Tony McDonald and Erin Anderson discuss the Democrats’ efforts to force expanded mail-in voting – including the highlights of yesterday’s hearing before the Supreme Court of Texas. He also interviews Mark Meckler about the Open The States Project.

• It turns out the four Dallas County Commissioners are tired of the authoritarian foolishness of County Judge Clay Jenkins.
      
• Robert Montoya reports the commissioners have severely restricted Jenkins’ power and restrained him from issuing any further “executive orders” without their approval. As the populous county’s chief administrator, Jenkins has been the chief Democrat implementer of the state orders issued by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott – and at times even going beyond them.
        
• Meanwhile, the Dallas County Commissioners voted to demand Gov. Greg Abbott apologize to Judge Eric Moyé (D). You will recall he is the judge who sentenced Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther to jail after she refused to comply with Abbott’s shutdown orders. She was freed by the Supreme Court of Texas, and Abbott was pressured to modify his order – though he publicly railed against Moyé’s judicial overreach. Commissioner John Wiley Price accused Abbott of racism. Our friends at The Texan have more details.
       
• Oh, and Dallas County taxpayers could be looking at a property tax hike. Congratulations.

• Yesterday we asked whether or not readers thought they could trust Texas’ politicians to implement “contact tracing.” Gov. Abbott recently announced the hiring of 4,000 contract contact tracers, and many people are raising privacy concerns over how the program will be run.
      
• By a margin of 9-to-1, Texas Minute readers said they do not trust Texas politicians to implement contact tracing in the Lone Star State. Saw a similar ratio on social media.
       
• A lot of the feedback took a tone similar to Patti Glass: “I am an adult. Sad the government does not think I am capable of taking care of myself and my loved ones. No, the government has no business being a nanny state.”
       
• David McLaughlin wrote, “I cannot even trust them to manage my property taxes effectively.”
      
• Or, as Rachel Donnell noted: “Government is a leviathan that only gets bigger and more corrupt and the only thing it understands is money and power... the more you give the more it takes... the idea of a government that exists to serve its citizens was lost a long time ago.”
       
• Karl Wendler was succinct: “NO, NO, NO, a thousand times NO!”

John... the Texas Minute and Texas Scorecard are produced thanks to generous donations from friends around the state. Please consider making a special contribution today of $100, $50, or $25 to assist in the ongoing work of Empower Texans.

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