Good morning, 

Is Texas still a bastion of freedom?

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Brandon Waltens 

Thursday, August 6, 2020
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• After the City of Dallas shut down a pro-liberty youth organization’s convention just days before it was scheduled to begin, the governor of South Dakota is calling out Texas for not living up to being the “bastion of freedom” many believe it is.
   

• Young Americans for Liberty was scheduled to hold its Mobilize 2020 conference in Dallas from August 6-9—until the city decided to exercise a force majeure clause, citing public health fears amid the Chinese coronavirus, to put a stop to the event just three days before it was scheduled to begin.
   

• Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was scheduled to speak at the conference, says she was shocked to see the move happen in Texas.
   

• “I think it’s surprising, coming from Texas. I mean, they’re the home of the Alamo, the ‘come and take it’ flag. It’s supposed to be one of the greatest states in America and a state that stood up and protected people’s liberties [and] God-given rights." –Gov. Kristi Noem
   

• Noem’s public profile has grown in recent months, as the governor of a state that has rejected heavy-handed stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, and travel restrictions. In contrast, Texas’ Gov. Greg Abbott began a phased approach to reopening the Texas economy in May, but in late June began to wind back those provisions. He also implemented a statewide mask mandate on July 2 that is still in effect, with no end in sight.

• Is the University of North Texas attempting to cover up plans to go after conservatives on campus? That's the question Robert Montoya asks after the university has asked the state’s attorney general to hide certain communications they’ve had about a conservative student organization on campus.
   
• In June, an extreme-left coalition led by College Democrats launched a petition to ban Young Conservatives of Texas from the University of North Texas. UNT President Neal Smatresk joined the fray, saying the university was “looking into” allegations from a member of this coalition against YCT at UNT.
   
• After multiple open records requests were filed by Texas Scorecard, the university appealed to Attorney General Ken Paxton to attempt to hide communication on the subject.
   

• Smatresk’s office has not replied to inquiries about the threats made to YCT at UNT nor any other inquiries sent to his office on this subject. UNT’s public silence–in addition to their appeals to hide communications about YCT at UNT—raises further questions about what is happening behind closed doors.

• In his first official act as chairman of the Federal Election Commission, Trey Trainor is speaking out against hyper-technical rules that limit Americans’ right to free speech.
   
• Trainor joined his colleagues on the commission in dismissing a complaint brought by the Campaign Legal Center, a left-wing organization aligned with the Democratic Party, against America Progress Now. In its complaint to the FEC, CLC accused APN of running $7,665 in Facebook ads supporting third-party candidates without including legally required disclaimers.
   
• In a “statement of reasons” for his vote to dismiss a complaint against American Progress Now, Trainor explained that he was troubled by how the accused was treated by the commission. “I am troubled that as a result of the Respondent’s interaction with the FEC, he has expressed his disinclination to continue exercising his First Amendment right to engage in political speech,” wrote Trainor. “A person shouldn’t need to have to hire a lawyer to speak.”
   
• Trainor was finally confirmed to the post in May, after first being nominated in September of 2017. In addition to serving as legal counsel for numerous Republican officials and conservative groups, including Empower Texans and Texas Right to Life, he also advised the president’s campaign in 2016.

• McKinney officials say their recommended city property tax rate will be lower than the ceiling approved this week—but will it be low enough to keep local homeowners’ tax bills from going up again?
   
• On Tuesday, Erin Anderson reports, McKinney City Council members approved a maximum property tax rate for next year that is higher than the no-new-revenue rate—the rate that collects the same overall revenue from properties taxed the previous year, keeping tax bills stable.

Be sure to join us at 1 p.m. today for an interview with newly elected Republican Party of Texas Chairman Allen West on Facebook Live!

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