Good morning,

Because we were designed to live in community, I end the week reflecting on the importance of getting to church.

This is the Texas Minute for Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Signs Legislation Barring Abortion Drugs in Texas

• Yesterday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed "The Woman and Child Protection Act" into law, providing new protections for unborn children and their mothers. Passed during the second special legislative session, Addie Hovland reports the new law cracks down on the manufacture and distribution of abortion-inducing drugs in Texas.
       
• Among other things, the measure holds accountable those who traffic abortifacient drugs through the mail from other states. The new law is enforced through civil lawsuits by private citizens.
    
• "Texas is leading the way to make sure every mom and child is rescued from the tragedy of abortion." – Kim Schwartz of Texas Right to Life
       
• The law will take effect on December 3.

Mark Welsh Out as A&M President

• Late yesterday afternoon, Texas A&M announced that Mark Welsh will step down as the university's president at 5 p.m. today. This came after pressure had been building from former students, donors, and lawmakers calling for Welsh's ouster. Sydnie Henry has more details. 
       
• A former Obama administration appointee, Welsh was well-known as a staunch advocate for leftwing causes—ranging from the DEI agenda to LGBT ideology—when he arrived at Texas A&M to work at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service.
        
• Earlier this year, Welsh drew the ire of Gov. Greg Abbott for allowing A&M money to be used for a business program that excluded Whites and Asians. The governor publicly called for Welsh to be fired unless the sponsorship was cancelled. Welsh eventually backed down.
      
• Most recently, Welsh was caught berating a student who objected to coursework providing instruction on how to present LGBT themes to children as young as 3 years old. Welsh told her such coursework was necessary for individuals who wanted to be public school superintendents. Welsh only terminated the professor when it became clear he could no longer defend her.
      
• Considering Welsh replaced a president forced to resign for similar leftwing tendancies, one hopes the A&M Board of Regents won't make the same mistake a third time.

Texas State To Remove LGBT Course

• Texas State University will remove an LGBT course from its catalog following intense criticism generated by a member of the Texas House. As Adam Cahn reports, the criticism comes as the boards of regents for the state's universities gain new authority over curriculum.
       
• Earlier this week, State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) highlighted on social media a course called “COMM 3316I: LGBTQ+ Communication Studies.” Harrison specifically highlighted the use of the words “resistance” and “justice” as they pertain to the LGBT communities.
       
• The far-left coursework hits the LGBT themes, but begins with a "land acknowledgment" to the "Jumano, Cibolo, Cantona, Casquesa, and Coahuiltecan tribes" that once lived in the region. Among the required readings is a book about "a self-proclaimed closeted Puerto Rican baby dyke from the Bronx." One of the planned class projects is the "Queering and Transing" of Wikipedia.
             
• A spokesperson for Texas State said the course would be removed from the university's catalog shortly.

DOJ Launches Investigation Into Race-Based Hiring Policies

• An investigation has been opened by the U.S. Department of Justice into the hiring practices of the City of Austin. Brandon Waltens reports the DOJ is looking into discriminatory employment practices tied to the city's diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda.
    
• In a notice sent yesterday to Mayor Kirk Watson, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced it is examining whether Austin is involved in a “pattern or practice of discrimination” based on race, color, sex, or national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
       
• At the center of the probe is the City of Austin’s Office of Equity and Inclusion. Among other things, the office encourages the use of “racial equity tools” designed to inject race into city decision-making on policies, programs, and budgets.

Ballot Harvester Arrested for 2022 Election Crimes

• After a yearlong investigation into ballot harvesting operations targeting numerous senior citizens in South Texas, Modesta Vela of Roma has been arrested in Starr County. Travis Morgan has the story.
      

• Ballot harvesting typically involves a third party illegally collecting and handling voters’ ballots in order to influence elections. In South Texas, these third-party ballot harvesters are known as politiqueras.
      

• Investigators with the Office of the Attorney General allege that Vela’s activities focused on Texans over the age of 65, a group often targeted in such cases due to their automatic eligibility for mail-in voting.
      

• "Though liberals and the left-wing media like to pretend otherwise, we know that election fraud is real and a serious threat," said Attorney General Ken Paxton. "Criminals trying to steal our elections and rig the democratic process will be found, arrested, and prosecuted. Modesta Vela was trying to take advantage of voters and broke the law by illegally ballot harvesting and targeting a Texan seeking to engage in our elections. Now, it’s time for Vela to answer for her actions in court."

Despite New Law, Whitesboro Officials Say City Can Raise Property Taxes

• Whitesboro City Council is still on track to raise residents’ property taxes by as much as 61 percent, despite questions and concerns about the legality of the tax hike and its impact on local homeowners. Erin Anderson has the full report. 
    
• Last week, the city council tabled a planned vote on a proposed property tax increase due to concerns it might run afoul of a new law tying tax rates to audit compliance.
      
• The new tax rate will increase the average homeowner's bill by almost $500 a year.

Saturday Radio

• Catch my interview tomorrow with Anthony Holm on his new show "Politics with the Big Dogs" that airs on radio stations in San Antonio (10am on 930AM), Houston (7am on 1070AM), and the DFW Metroplex (4pm on 660AM). 

DEADLINE TODAY: Nominate a Conservative Leader

• Other groups give baubles and plaques to politicians … Texas Scorecard honors grassroots activists with engraved swords! The annual Conservative Leader Award highlights the men and women of the grassroots who work to make the Lone Star State shine more brightly than ever.
       
• The award recipients are nominated by their peers—men and women who have seen them step up as citizen-leaders in their neighborhoods and communities. Make your nomination before 5 p.m. today!

This Sunday on REAL TEXANS

Friday Reflection

Built For Community

A friend of mine likes to say that our strengths are often our weaknesses. The person who is a great orator sometimes doesn’t know when to shut up, as an example. As Americans, we have developed a strong sense of rugged individualism, which has allowed our republic to thrive. Carried in the wrong direction, that go-it-alone mindset can have decidedly unhealthy spiritual consequences.

Beginning in the 20th century and carrying through today, many of us like to picture ourselves as a version of the Lone Ranger who ignores the U.S. Cavalry and leaves Tonto stranded six miles back.

The Lone Ranger, for those who might not remember the details of the old comic book and TV show, was never actually alone. All of his fictional heroics were achieved with others. Alone, he was just a guy in a silly mask.

We were not supposed to be solo actors. We were not built to take on the world alone. We were meant to live in community.

In the opening pages of Holy Scripture, we find God looking at Adam—the only creature made without a mate—and declaring, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” Hence, Eve was brought forth so that man and woman could complete each other.

The same sin nature that drives us to be separate from God also drives wedges in our relationships. Building honest relationships requires work.

We need each other. It is not good to be alone.

Throughout the pages of Scripture, God instructs people to gather in community for worship. There is no provision for a “Lone Ranger” faith, even if the desire—the sin—to do so has been around since the beginning.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews understood this. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

As such, the third Sunday of September has been designated since 2009 as “National Back to Church Sunday.” The idea is simple: invite friends and family who have stopped attending, or never attended, a church to gather for worship.

St. Paul, writing to the Colossians, explained that gathering is critical so that we can grow and learn from each other’s experiences. To the modern ear, Sunday worship doesn’t always evoke the sense of “grow and learn” only because we’ve relegated it to a performance in which the “worshipper” is an anonymous, passive observer. Instead, the fellowship of the church is to be unlike anything on this side of eternity, deeper in commitment and higher in aspiration, impacting all aspects of life.

“Iron sharpens iron,” goes the ancient biblical proverb, “and one man sharpens another.”

We must be actively involved in the work of sharpening and being sharpened. We have an obligation to grow as surely as we do to help others.

Humanity was built for community, and the best community is found in gathering with our fellow saints in the worship of the Lord. And as we grow closer to God, we grow closer to each other.

Quote-Unquote

"In the absence of a biblical morality, a new elite will always come forward to dictate arbitrary absolutes to society."

– Francis Schaeffer​

Directory of Officials

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