Good morning – 

Starting the day on a sad note: former U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson passed away yesterday. He was a true gentleman, a devoted Texan, and genuine patriot. We are all the better for his lifetime of selfless service to our nation in the Air Force, the state legislature, and Congress. Rest in peace.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, May 28, 2020
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• In a ruling issued late yesterday afternoon, the Supreme Court of Texas found “a lack of immunity to COVID-19 is not itself a ‘physical condition’ for being eligible to vote by mail.” This ruling came in a lawsuit pitting the State of Texas against several counties and the Democrat Party. The Democrats, of course, are seeking to use the coronavirus as an excuse to vastly expand mail-in balloting. Erin Anderson has the details.
      
• The Supreme Court expresses confidence that county “Clerks and all election officials will comply with the law in good faith” – after noting the issue of mail-in balloting has “long been a subject of intense political debate, in this State and throughout the country.” 
      
• “Election officials have a duty to reject mail-in ballot applications from voters who are not entitled to vote by mail. In-person voting is the surest way to maintain the integrity of our elections, prevent voter fraud and guarantee that every voter is who they claim to be.” – Attorney General Ken Paxton
     
• A separate legal case involving the Democrats’ attempt to expand the fraud-prone mail-in balloting program is pending before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
     
• TODAY AT 3pm... Take part in a live discussion with grassroots leaders about coronavirus “contact tracing.” They will discuss, in part, the $300 million contract Gov. Greg Abbott signed with a New York company to bring on 4,000 contact tracers. Watch it on the Empower Texans Facebook Live channel.
      
• The fears of the Chinese coronavirus –and ensuing government-mandated shutdowns – are threatening to cancel the 2020 Republican National Convention, which is currently scheduled for August 24-27 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a result, Brandon Waltens writes, Texas Republicans are lobbying to move the national convention to the Lone Star State.
     

• While there are officially 2,550 delegates, and an equal number of alternates, thousands more attend the national convention as volunteers, staff, or just to enjoy the festivities. In 2016, 48,000 visitors descended on Cleveland, Ohio, for the Republican Party Convention. That’s something North Carolina’s Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper is threatening to hinder.
       

• Texas’ Republican and Democrat parties have taken very different approaches to their state conventions this year. The Texas GOP convention was originally scheduled to be held in Houston in May, but was pushed to July due to coronavirus concerns. Texas Democrats, meanwhile, have moved their state convention to be entirely virtual, taking place online next week. 
        

• “I think it’s a tradition, unfortunately, of Democrats living in fear and not being willing to lead, not being strong and courageous.” – Republican Party of Texas chairman James Dickey

      
• Democrats also like to sow fear among the rest of the population... which brings us back to mail-in ballots.
   
• Democrat congressional candidate Carolyn Salter, M.D., appears to be sending emails with fake prescriptions for voters in Texas to apply for mail-in ballots. Her prescription is written for a “diagnosis” of “COVID-19 anxiety.” Our friends at DirectAction Texas have the details. Salter is a running against east Texas Republican incumbent Lance Gooden.
      
• Dr. Salter should read the Supreme Court’s ruling before she next whips out her prescription pad.
     
• Please join me in wishing a very happy birthday to Empower Texans’ Darrell Frost!

• Last week Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked for a 5 percent cut to some portions of state government – though exempting large sections of spending – in light of the economic slowdown ordered by Gov. Abbott and local officials. Brandon Waltens reports Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is saying he’ll do even better, announcing plans yesterday to cut the Texas Department of Agriculture’s budget by 10 percent.
      
• “This is going to be a tough year for Texas families and state government needs to tighten its belt along with everyone else. While TDA is already a lean, efficient agency that pays its own way, I’ve directed my staff to cut 10 percent without affecting our farmers and ranchers or our rural communities.” – Ag Commissioner Sid Miller
      
• Spending $9 million for a $5 million property? That’s what the City of Austin is doing with the taxpayers’ money, reports Jacob Asmussen. The city is spending $8.75 million on a downtown-area hotel that will house roughly 75 homeless people. This means taxpayers will spend more than $116,000 per room—a price that doesn’t even include the ongoing maintenance and operation costs. The property was recently valued at only $4.8 million.
     
• Someone is getting a good deal... it just isn’t the taxpayers.
      
• School property taxes are continuing to rise, especially for residents in Denton County. Robert Montoya has the details.
       
• A new article in The Federalist takes an unflattering look at the health policy and political implications of mandatory mask orders making their way around the country. 
   
• “Implementing mandatory mask policies across a society of 300 million because it makes some people feel better is absurd on its face. But the policy makes a lot of sense if you understand its purpose and usefulness to shift the American mindset.” – Molly McCann

• Looking at numbers from the Centers for Disease Control... A third of all coronavirus cases and deaths in the US have occurred in the Democrat-run slum known as New York City and the immediate area. Yet that region has approximately 12% of the US population.
      

• The State of New York has less population than Texas, but has more than 6 times as many cases of Chinese coronavirus... and 19 times as many deaths.

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