Good morning,
Our American system of self-governance requires us, as citizens, to tell each other the truth. Today's edition of the Texas Minute begins and ends on the theme of trust.
This is Friday, September 18, 2026.
Patrick Loses ‘Confidence and Trust’ In ERCOT Chairman
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he has “lost total confidence and trust” in ERCOT's board chairman, Bill Flores. Robert Montoya has the details.
- The breaking point has been a contract extension for ERCOT's president and CEO, Pablo Vegas. An ERCOT presentation revealed that the grid operator would pay Vegas a maximum of $6.4 million over time. Of that amount, Vegas’ maximum base pay plus incentives for next year would be $4.4 million, if he met key performance indicators set by the ERCOT board. Vegas' starting base pay in 2022 was $990,000.
- "During a time of increasing utility costs, this is not the time to give the CEO of ERCOT a multi-million-dollar pay raise on the backs of ratepayers," said Patrick, urging Flores and the rest of the ERCOT board to start over. “I’ve lost total confidence and trust in ERCOT Board Chair Flores to look out for Texas ratepayers and to be the Chair of the ERCOT board.”
- While the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Public Utility Commission have both voted to extend Vegas' contract, the details have not yet been finalized.
- This is the latest in a series of conflicts between Patrick and the state's energy regulators. Earlier this month, Patrick said he was “very disappointed” after utility commissioners voted to approve the first of three highly controversial power projects.
Talarico’s Minister Says Democrat Will ‘Change His Tune Back’ After Election
- A longtime minister at Democrat U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico’s Austin church was caught on undercover video claiming that the Democrat is moderating his positions on transgender issues to only win the election. Brandon Waltens has the story.
- The footage, first reported by The Daily Wire, features Rev. Babs Miller, a minister at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, where Talarico has long attended and preached.
- “I can guarantee you that once he gets elected, he’ll change his tune back to where he was,” said Miller.
- During a recent interview, Talarico said he would “absolutely” support a national ban on gender-mutilation procedures for minors and that he only believed there are two genders, as opposed to the six he once claimed. As a member of the Texas House in 2023, Talarico voted against legislation to ban gender-mutilation procedures on minors. He has also said that the people he loves the most are “trans children.”
Paxton Launches Investigation into Data Center Land Deal
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into the land deal underpinning a planned data center in Taylor. As Hunter Burney reports, the project is set to be situated on land "conveyed more than 25 years ago for use as public parkland."
- A family sold the land in 1999 to the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation for just $110 for use as parkland in Williamson County. Shortly after, the property was sold to the City of Taylor for $10 and then later handed over to the Taylor Economic Development Corporation.
- In April 2025, TEDC sold the land for $10 million to a developer for Blueprint Projects Data Centers.
- The investigation comes as recent polling finds data centers are increasingly unpopular with Texas voters.
Federal Prosecutors in Texas Join COVID Loan Fraud Takedown
A national enforcement surge, called Operation No Doze, has uncovered more than $245 million in stolen COVID-era money that was intended for small businesses. Amanda Linberg has the story.
- The operation involved 40 U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including three in Texas, centered on loans obtained through false claims to the Small Business Administration.
- In one Texas case, a known money launderer applied for and received multiple fraudulent PPP loans totaling $905,264. In another case, a couple fabricated employees and business expenses, causing the SBA to lose $697,000.
- “Pandemic loan relief was meant to keep American small businesses alive during government lockdowns—not line the pockets of fraudsters,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The defendants charged during our summer surge allegedly fabricated businesses, submitted false payroll and revenue claims, stole identities, and concealed foreign ties on their applications— but they will now be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
UT-Austin Eliminating More Grievance Studies Programs
- Adam Cahn reports that several grievance studies programs at the University of Texas at Austin previously thought safe are going to be cut after all.
- Citing leaked emails, a left-wing media outlet says UT-Austin will eliminate majors in African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latina/o studies, women’s and gender studies, as well as others focused on race and migration.
- In the emails, the interim chair of the newly formed Social and Cultural Analysis Department complains that “the Provost’s office rejected our proposal to keep our majors.”
More Texas News
Last Laugh
Chicken Little (Updated)
by Gary Varvel
The left has a new issue du jour.
This Sunday on REAL TEXANS
Cam Shepherd on Prison Ministry
- For Sunday's edition of REAL TEXANS, Brandon Waltens talks with Cam Shepherd of Prison Evangelism. They discuss ministering to prisoners and the transformation that is possible when sharing the Gospel.
- Watch the preview.
Friday Reflection
by Michael Quinn Sullivan
In the economy of civics, “trust” is the only currency that counts. We all know that a flat-out lie is wrong, yet we tolerate “shading” the truth if it serves our political purposes. It is so easy to pull honest-to-goodness facts out of context to deceitfully further our own ends.
Scripture is replete with condemnations of lying. Proverbs 12:33 tells us “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.”
And let us not forget that most awkward of the Ten Commandments. To be clear: the Ninth Commandment doesn’t say, “Don’t lie,” which is how we conveniently try to explain it. True enough; we should not lie, but that explanation misses the mark through simplification.
Instead, God tells us to “not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This covers a lot more ground than just “do not tell a lie.” It goes to the heart of what we say, what we communicate, and what we are trying to make our neighbor hear. It even speaks to what we don’t say.
This is where context matters. Facts presented out of context will create a lie; I see it all the time in politics.
I recall, several years ago, sitting in the audience as a politician spoke to his constituents about his unwavering support for a popular civic reform. In fact, I knew he was responsible for watering the measure down to the point of being useless. After the legislation had been gutted, he of course voted for it. So when he told his constituents he supported the measure, he was telling a version of the truth way outside the context of what had actually happened.
It’s not just the politicians. The legacy media does the same thing every day. From carefully selected camera angles to skipped nuances, much of what we read and watch is simultaneously “factual” and a lie.
The crony politicians and the establishment media do it for the same reason: to preserve their power and keep the citizenry uninformed.
Tyranny thrives when the people are misinformed. To secure liberty, we must first demand the truth so that we can be more effectively engaged. Bad information always produces bad actions.
This constitutional republic will fail when we, as citizens, tolerate deceit for too long from those who are supposed to serve us. Our American system of self-governance requires that we, as citizens, tell each other the truth, putting facts in context to help each other be more effective.
Being a truth-teller isn’t always appreciated by the establishment politicians, their partisan sycophants, or their apologists in the media, but it is critical to the high calling of citizenship.
Quote-Unquote
"You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say." – Martin Luther
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