Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, October 16, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Land Commissioner Calls for Accountability Over ‘Woke’ Alamo Social Media

• Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is blasting the Alamo Trust after the official social media accounts for the historic site posted a message this week recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day rather than Columbus Day. Brandon Waltens has the details.
       
• The since-deleted post drew swift criticism online from Texans who accused the Alamo Trust of promoting a political narrative at odds with the Alamo’s history. Within hours, Buckingham—whose office oversees the Alamo—repudiated the post and announced an internal investigation.
      
• Texas Scorecard has obtained a letter Buckingham sent this week to members of the Alamo Trust Board following the incident. In it, she accuses the Trust’s leadership and communications staff of being “misaligned with the culture of The Alamo” and demands the names of those responsible for drafting and approving the post. The commissioner also referenced in her letter what she described as a recurring problem with the Trust’s messaging and priorities.
       
• "We owe it to all Texans, including future generations, to preserve, protect, and defend our proud Texas history, without succumbing to the pitfalls of modern ideology." – Dawn Buckingham

Austin Democrat Gina Hinojosa Launches Campaign for Governor

• State Rep. Gina Hinojosa has announced she is running for governor, entering the race as the highest-profile Democrat challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott. She enters the race with more than 100 endorsements from fellow Democrats holding local, state, and federal offices.
       
• Hinojosa has represented Austin in the Texas House since 2017, where she amassed a far-left voting record. She has been vocal in her opposition to school choice legislation and worked against legislation protecting children from sexually explicit materials in school libraries.
      
• Also seeking the Democrats' nomination is Andrew White, whose chief claim to fame is being the son of former Gov. Mark White.
      
• Even as the "highest profile Democrat" running, Gina Hinojosa has roughly the same chances of being elected the governor of Texas as someone who isn't running.

Mexican Cartels Place Bounties on ICE and CBP Officers

• Cartels from Mexico are coordinating with domestic extremist groups to place targeted bounties on federal agents conducting deportation operations, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has confirmed. Addie Hovland has the story.
      
• Intelligence received by DHS reveals that extremist groups in the U.S.—such as Antifa—are receiving instruction from Mexican cartels to monitor, harass, and assassinate federal agents.

TAMU College of Medicine Injected LGBT Ideology Into Curriculum

• On the same day Texas A&M President Mark Welsh resigned amid controversy over LGBT course material, a College of Medicine professor postponed a mandatory session on “medical care for the LGBTQ+ patient population.” Robert Montoya reports on records obtained by Texas Scorecard as part of an ongoing investigation into higher education curriculum.
       
• The mandatory course, which will now be held in mid-November, is titled HEAL: Medical care for the LGBTQ+ Patient Population. HEAL is an acronym for "Humanities, Ethics, Altruism & Leadership." The program is described as putting a "focus on the humanistic concerns in modern medicine."
       
• Last year, the mandatory HEAL course promoted LGBT ideology, including gender mutilation and hormone manipulation procedures. Among the required readings for that course was "What Is Rough Sex, Who Does It, and Who Likes It?"

Feds Sentence Grapevine Coach to 40 Years for CSAM

• Erin Anderson reports that a former Grapevine girls’ basketball coach has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for engaging in a conspiracy to sexually exploit children and produce child sexual abuse material.
       
• Prior to his arrest in November 2023, Michael Peacock was a high school girls’ basketball coach at Grapevine Faith Christian School, a private school for pre-K through twelfth-grade students. He was also a coach for a competitive girls’ basketball program based in Argyle.
       
• The FBI determined that Peacock and his co-defendant exploited more than 100 child victims who were contacted and engaged on social media platforms.

Richardson ISD Asks Voters For $1.4 Billion in New Debt

• A $1.4 billion bond package will be on the November ballot in the Richardson Independent School District. Including the cost of interest over the life of the debt, the district estimates the total cost to local property taxpayers would be $2.32 billion.
      
• The money is to be spent on new buildings, computer purchases, and football stadium upgrades.  
       

• Richardson ISD property taxpayers are already on the hook for $1.45 billion in outstanding bond debt principal and interest.

Quote-Unquote

"The world is not going to be saved by legislation."

– William Howard Taft​

SHOWS

Directories of Elected Officials

📧 If someone forwarded the Texas Minute to you, and you like what you see, it is easy to get on the list yourself!