Read this in a browser. [link removed]

Good morning,

It was revealed last week that a federal agency was secretly funding leftwing "news" websites at home and abroad. This week, we want to know what you think of that practice.

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, Feb. 10, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Donald Trump Warns Texas House on School Choice On Saturday, President Donald Trump issued a clear warning to the Texas House, declaring that he will be “watching them closely” as they decide the fate of a major school choice initiative. Brandon Waltens has the details [[link removed]].

In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and State Sen. Brandon Creighton for their work in passing Senate Bill 2, which would create a school choice program with Education Savings Accounts. However, he made it clear that the real test lies ahead in the Texas House, where school choice legislation has repeatedly failed.

“Lt. Gov. Patrick has now passed School Choice six times out of the Texas Senate, only to see it die in the Texas House every time, but he never quits,” wrote Trump [[link removed]]. “The Texas House must now pass School Choice to deliver a gigantic Victory for Texas students and parents. I will be watching them closely.”

The House, meanwhile, still does not have committee assignments and has not yet considered any legislation. Math Goes Woke at UT-Austin Math courses this spring focused on Marxist theory and "racial inequality" count toward the University of Texas at Austin's core curriculum, reports Valerie Muñoz [[link removed]].

One of the courses is titled "Measuring Racial Inequality: Indexes to calculate disparities and segregation." Another UT math class is "Numbering Race." Both attempt to present far-left ideologies as objective concepts.

According to his spring 2025 syllabus for "Numbering Race," Professor Ricardo Henrique Lowe forbids students from sharing course materials with the public and requires that class recordings be kept confidential.

Apparently, Prof. Lowe doesn't want his woke, pseudo-intellectualism mocked on social media...RELATED NEWS After new legislation relating to public universities was filed late last week, State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) said one measure—pushed by “fake Republicans”—only pretends to ban DEI [[link removed]]. At issue is House Bill 2548, filed by State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine), which would allow university governing boards to make exceptions [[link removed]] for DEI courses in degree programs that clearly and primarily focus on “racial, ethnic, or gender studies.” Harris did not reply to requests for comment.

President Donald Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott have issued executive orders banning DEI across government agencies. However, how these orders will affect institutions of higher education remains unclear. Constitutional Amendment Authored To Stop Democrats From Ever Packing SCOTUS U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has reintroduced a constitutional amendment requiring a total of nine Supreme Court justices on the bench at a time. As Debra McClure reports [[link removed]], Cruz has offered this proposal twice before, in 2020 and again in 2023.

In recent years, Democrats have threatened to "pack the court" by creating new slots on the Supreme Court. He said Democrats have taken this approach because they "seek to use the Court to advance policy goals they can’t accomplish electorally.”

The Constitution does not specify the number of justices on the Supreme Court. That number fluctuated until the Judiciary Act of 1869, when it was set at nine. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt tried to increase the number of justices in order to get more favorable rulings. That push was eventually abandoned.

A survey by the Wall Street Journal in mid-2024 found that a majority of Americans do not favor increasing the number of SCOTUS justices. Harris County Empowers Attorney to Sue Trump Administration Joseph Trimmer reports [[link removed]] Democrats on the Harris County Commissioners Court voted to give the county attorney the authority to file lawsuits or join existing lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s executive actions without needing to wait for a vote of approval by the commissioners.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee requested authority to take legal action without court approval for a six-month period with the option to request a renewal. Menefee argued that he could not wait for court approval “given the sudden nature of these orders and the exigency of taking legal action.”RELATED NEWS Meanwhile, the Harris County Engineering Department is $120 million short [[link removed]] for approved flood control projects. In 2019, the county approved a prioritization framework for the $2.5 billion flood control bond program passed the year prior. One county official said those project costs were “ guesstimates [[link removed]],” because no engineering studies were completed before going to the voters.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo (D) said she wants the commissioners to consider a new flood bond to pay for the shortfall and other projects. North Texas Teacher Arrested for ‘Improper Relationship’ With Student An art teacher at Newman International Academy, a charter school in Arlington, has been arrested and charged with sexual misconduct involving a student. Erin Anderson has the story [[link removed]].

Ruel “JR” Barbee, 53, was jailed last week. He reportedly worked at the district’s Gibbins campus, which serves 7th through 12th-grade students. Newman officials have not yet responded to a request for comment. Number of the Day

42,444

Undergraduate enrollment at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2023.

[Source: UT.edu [[link removed]]]

Quote-Unquote

"The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors."

– Thomas Jefferson​

One Click Survey

It was revealed last week that the U.S. Agency for International Development was funneling [[link removed]] millions of dollars (or more) to left-leaning publications like Politico at home and the BBC overseas. Each of the outlets taking USAID money has taken strong positions in opposition to conservatives in general and President Trump in particular. The president has ordered [[link removed]] an end to all such contracts and payments.

In Texas, state agencies [[link removed]] have also spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars subsidizing media operations.

Do you think Gov. Abbott should, like President Trump, order state agencies to stop all payments to media outlets?

YES, end those paymens. It's not an appropriate use of the taxpayers' money. [[link removed]]

... or ...

NO, media operations need the cash from government so they can remain independent. [[link removed]]

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!

Directory of Your Current U.S. & Texas Officials [[link removed]]

This information is automatically inserted based on the mailing address you provide to us. If you'd like to update your contact information, please visit our subscriber portal [[link removed]].

​ U.S. Senator [[link removed]]

John Cornyn - R

(202) 224-2934

U.S. Senator [[link removed]]

Ted Cruz - R

(202) 224-5922

Governor of Texas [[link removed]]

Greg Abbott - R

(512) 463-2000

Lt. Governor [[link removed]]

Dan Patrick - R

(512) 463-0001

Attorney General [[link removed]]

Ken Paxton – R

(512) 463-2100

Comptroller [[link removed]]

Glenn Hegar – R

(512) 463-4600

Land Commissioner [[link removed]]

Dawn Buckingham – R

(512) 463-5001

Commissioner of Agriculture [[link removed]]

Sid Miller – R

(512) 463-7476

Railroad Commissioners [[link removed]]

Wayne Christian – R

Christi Craddick – R

Jim Wright – R

(512) 463-7158

State Board of Education [[link removed]], District

Update your address ( )

Main (512) 463-9007

U.S. House [[link removed]], District

Update your address ()

Congressional Switchboard (202) 225-3121

Texas Senate [[link removed]], District

Update your address ()

Capitol Switchboard (512) 463-4630

Texas House [[link removed]], District

Update your address ()

Capitol Switchboard (512) 463-4630

Speaker of the Texas House [[link removed]]

Dustin Burrows (R)

(512) 463-1000

Something not right?

Make sure your contact information is correct [[link removed]]!

Update Your Subscription Profile [[link removed]] Request A Speaker [[link removed]] 🔒 Contribute 🔒 [[link removed]]

A product of Texas Scorecard

www.TexasScorecard.com

(888) 410-1836

PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646

Presented by Texas Scorecard, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the first news of the Lone Star State so citizens can be well informed and effectively engaged. It is available weekday mornings in your inbox!

This message was originally sent to:

John xxxxxx |

Be sure to put “ [[link removed]]” on your safe-senders whitelist.

If you ever stop receiving our emails, it might be because someone to whom you forwarded the email unintentionally removed you from the list. No worries; it is easy enough to reactivate your subscription immediately by visiting:

[link removed]

Before you click the link below... If someone forwarded this email to you, please don’t! Clicking the link will end the subscription of [email protected].
Unsubscribe [link removed]