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Good morning,

Going to the Moon? In today's One Click Survey, we want to know what you think of plans for a permanent lunar base.

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, August 31, 2026.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan [[link removed]]

--" width="434" src=" In Houston, Trump Honors Artemis II Crew and Announces US Space Academy On Friday, President Donald Trump announced the creation of a U.S. Space Academy while honoring the Artemis II astronauts at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Brandon Waltens has the story from Houston [[link removed]].

Trump said the new academy would train future members of the U.S. Space Force while also serving NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry. The president said a location would be selected “very shortly.”

The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was awarded to the four members of the Artemis II crew: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Only 30 astronauts had previously received the honor.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said [[link removed]] Artemis III is expected to launch next year, followed by Artemis IV in 2028, which he said would take American astronauts back to the lunar surface. Meanwhile, robotic landers and rovers will be sent as NASA works toward establishing a permanent presence on the Moon. --" width="434" src=" More Texas Teachers Lose Credentials Over Sexual Misconduct A new report reveals that nearly a hundred more Texas educators lost their professional credentials due to sexual misconduct. Erin Anderson has the details [[link removed]].

From March 1 through May 30, 2026, the State Board for Educator Certification took disciplinary action against nearly 300 teachers over allegations ranging from sexual and physical abuse of students to contract abandonment. Sexual misconduct accounted for 109 of the sanctions; 82 involved their students.

The Texas Education Agency's new Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard shows the agency has received more than 18,000 misconduct reports since the fiscal year began in September 2025, an average of 1,640 a month. The TEA has opened an average of 1,118 investigations per month.

RELATED NEWS Educator Sexual Misconduct [[link removed]] A visualization tool of the hundreds of articles [[link removed]] Texas Scorecard has published about school employees accused of sex crimes involving students and other children. --" width="434" src=" Two Counties Challenge FEMA’s Election Regs Democrat-run El Paso County and Harris County have joined a federal lawsuit challenging new election-related conditions on Homeland Security Grant Program funding. As Michael Wilson reports [[link removed]], FEMA had announced in June that it would withhold 20 percent of grant funds from jurisdictions that do not comply with a series of election-related requirements.

The Homeland Security Grant Program was established in 2003 to help state and local governments prepare for and respond to terrorism and other security threats. Since 2023, at least three percent of each grant has been designated for election security.

Among other things, the new requirements would push Harris County to move away from its current voting system toward equipment relying solely on hand-marked paper ballots.

Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin (D) said [[link removed]] a 20 percent holdback would total nearly $4.7 million, funding that currently supports specialized law enforcement training and detection equipment for chemical, nuclear, biological, and explosive materials.

So, to be clear, Houston and El Paso Democrats are so committed to fraud-prone elections that they are willing to sacrifice public safety ... #Priorities. --" width="434" src=" Communities Decline to Renew Flock Contracts In a unanimous vote last week, the Wylie City Council decided not to renew its contract with Flock Safety. Hunter Burney reports [[link removed]] that Wylie joins a group of governmental entities in Texas ending their relationship with the controversial surveillance company.

Wylie's assistant police chief told councilmembers that the Flock technology was a “game-changer.” He noted various local criminal cases had been solved using Flock technology, including a drive-by shooting and a homicide.

Neither the councilmembers nor local residents were swayed. One resident expressed [[link removed]] concerns about the company's policy of allowing access to its data without a warrant.

Wylie wasn't the only Texas community to deflock itself last week. The Pflugerville City Council also ended its relationship with the company, followed a day later by the Pflugerville Independent School District. Hood County decommissioned its Flock cameras over concerns related to mass surveillance and potential Fourth Amendment violations. --" width="434" src=" Regulators Move Forward on Controversial Transmission Line Texas’ Public Utility Commissioners voted to move forward on the first of three controversial extra-high-voltage transmission lines, reports Robert Montoya [[link removed]].

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and members of the state House and Senate called on regulators to deny all pending 765-kV projects until the legislature can reform the approval process in 2027. On Friday, Attorney General Ken Paxton added his voice to those urging a delay.

The controversial project would move electricity from East Texas to the natural gas-rich Permian Basin. One landowner group has described the project as “hauling water to the sea.”

Lawmakers have said they never intended a regional energy plan to be morphed into a statewide project.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation estimates the full project's lifetime cost at nearly $100 billion, with the price passed on to ratepayers. TPPF wants lawmakers to reform the electricity market to enable the development of reliable energy generation where it is needed rather than incentivize unreliable wind and solar programs. --" width="434" src=" Study Says School Cell Phone Ban Allows Teachers to ‘Reclaim Lost Attention’ A study from Texas A&M Health finds that Texas’ new limits on student cell phone use during the school day are allowing teachers to “reclaim lost attention.” As Addie Hovland writes [[link removed]], the legislature mandated the restrictions last year.

School psychologist Israel Arevalo, who is a research assistant at the Texas A&M Health Telehealth Institute, reported there was a “baseline anxiety” in teachers, students, and parents about the restrictions. She suggests that it could be attributed to “digital withdrawal.”

According to A&M’s research, concerns seem to have abated, with teachers reporting more energy to focus on educating students.

"There was this palpable anxiety on campus for weeks leading up to the school cellphone ban about how we were going to enforce it, but by the end of day one, it was just a total breath of fresh air," said Rachel Bailey, an 11th-grade history teacher in the College Station Independent School District. --" width="434" src=" Number of the Day

238,855

The average distance (in miles) from the Earth's surface to the Moon. Thirty Earths could fill that space, or all the planets in the solar system.

Source: NASA [[link removed]]; Lights in the Dark [[link removed]]

Quote-Unquote

"We need Jesus—whether on Earth or circling the Moon." – Artemis II Pilot Victor J. Glover

One Click Survey

On Friday, President Donald Trump was at the Johnson Space Center to award the Space Medal of Honor to the Artemis II astronauts whose trip around the Moon earlier this year set up a return to the surface of Earth’s nearest neighbor in 2028. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said this will be the start of establishing a “moon base.”

Should the United States establish a permanent US lunar base?

YES [[link removed]]

... or ...

NO [[link removed]]

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

--" width="434" src=" State & Federal Officials [[link removed]]

Contact information, biographies, and campaign finances.

​U.S. Senate

John Cornyn - R

(202) 224-2934

Ted Cruz - R

(202) 224-5922

Governor

Greg Abbott - R

(512) 463-2000

Lt. Governor

Dan Patrick - R

(512) 463-0001

Attorney General

Ken Paxton – R

(512) 463-2100

Comptroller

Don Huffines – R

(512) 463-4600

Land Commissioner

Dawn Buckingham – R

(512) 463-5001

Agriculture Commissioner

Sid Miller – R

(512) 463-7476

Railroad Commissioners

Wayne Christian – R

Christi Craddick – R

Jim Wright – R

(512) 463-7158

State Board of Education, District

Update your address ( )

Main (512) 463-9007

U.S. House, District *

Update your address ()

Congressional Switchboard (202) 225-3121

Texas Senate, District

Update your address ()

Capitol Switchboard (512) 463-4630

Texas House, District

Update your address ()

Capitol Switchboard (512) 463-4630

Speaker of the Texas House

Dustin Burrows (R)

(512) 463-1000

* The new congressional boundaries for representational purposes will not take effect until January 2027.

--" width="434" src="

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