Good morning,

Too many politicians want credit for what they say, not what they do. Citizens must be less focused on words, and more focused on results.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Friday, January 29, 2021

Update your email preferences [[link removed]].

As property taxes continue to rise, State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R–North Richland Hills) filed legislation seeking to help citizens deal with appraisal review boards not following proper procedure when citizens protest their appraisals. Robert Montoya has the details [[link removed]].

“Texas taxpayers are already fighting an uphill battle in protest hearings and deserve an enforcement mechanism, some real teeth to the law, when they see a review board or appraisal district breaking protocol.” – State Sen. Kelly Hancock

According to Hancock’s office, examples of procedural violations by appraisal districts includes board members sleeping during a hearing, rescheduling hearings without the property owner’s request, denial of an owner’s or agent’s use of technology to support their appeal presentation, and the Texas Comptroller’s hearings procedures not being followed. Taxpayers would be paying for abortion under legislation proposed by two Austin Democrats – State Rep. Sheryl Cole and State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt. Jacob Asmussen reports [[link removed]] the law would fund abortions through the state’s Medicaid health insurance program.

Just in Texas, nearly 56,000 children were killed by abortion [[link removed]] in 2019 – making the procedure the leading cause of death in the state.

“While incredible, it is not surprising that the abortion industry is not simply content with murdering tens of thousands of innocent preborn children each year, but they are advocating for Texans to pay for the murder through tax dollars and insurance premiums. The majority of Texans do not simply oppose this abortion funding bill, but are demanding that their elected officials pass bold pro-life legislation that bans elective abortions and saves innocent human lives this session.” – John Seago, legislative director of Texas Right to Life Meanwhile, as the world’s largest tech and internet companies purge and ban conservative voices, Texans are wondering [[link removed]] what – if anything – state lawmakers will do to stop the assault on free speech.

Republican legislators in Florida and North Dakota have moved quickly to address censorship by Big Tech, but so far Texas’ lawmakers have done little more than issue statements.

The ongoing legislative session has already proven to be unique when compared to previous cycles. Adding to this oddity was the announcement that Gov. Greg Abbott will give his biennial State of the State Address in front of television cameras next week, as opposed to a joint session of the legislature as it has traditionally been given.

This year there exists a great amount of uncertainty over which issues Gov. Abbott will prioritize. Jeramy Kitchen previews the upcoming speech [[link removed]], which will be given Monday night at 7pm.

Later today, though, Kitchen will join Brandon Waltens on The Headline to preview the governor’s address. You can watch The Headline live at 11 a.m. [[link removed]], with the video and podcast archive available shortly after.

In the latest installment of Texas Scorecard’s review of the highest-paid lobbyists in the Lone Star State, Joshua Pierce looks at [[link removed]] the background and clientele of Robert D. Miller – the 10th highest-paid lobbyist in Austin, bringing in $4.1 million.

According to a study by Transparency USA, taxpayer-funded clients make up 19 percent of Miller’s lobbying contracts. Those clients include the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System, the Houston Police Officers’ Pension System, University of Houston, the Port of Houston Authority, and the City of Galveston Employees’ Retirement Plan for Police. After failed runs for the U.S. Senate and the White House, former U.S. Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke is now publicly mulling a run for the governorship of Texas. Michael Swirsky reports [[link removed]] on the El Paso Democrat’s attempts to stay in the political spotlight. Friday Reflection [[link removed]]

by Michael Quinn Sullivan

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

Listen to the Reflections Podcast [[link removed]]

George Washington rarely made speeches. Abraham Lincoln’s most famous address ran just 271 words. Teddy Roosevelt famously said you should talk softly but carry a big stick. Whatever else one thinks of them, they were men who let their actions speak louder than their words.

Unfortunately, too many politicians in the modern era rank talk ahead of action. They want applause for their words, without having to suffer the indignity of working to make them real. Too many in elected office want to be judged by what they have said, rather than what they have substantively accomplished.

Modern politicians seem to have an almost pathological compulsion to resist delivering on campaign promises.

Our republic could do with a little less talking and a lot more doing. Citizens and taxpayers have been demanding important reforms for years. Politicians pay lip service to the ideas when campaigning, but don’t seem to find the time to actually get them done.

As an aside, that might be why Donald Trump was so hated by so many in the political establishment. Yes, he talked a lot. Yes, his words were sometimes poorly considered or ill-timed. And yet, he got a lot done.

A lot of Republicans are talking tough now that a Democrat has moved into the White House, which is all fine and good, but what does it actually mean for the citizens in our republic. Will their work live up to their rhetoric?

The Apostle James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”

James, of course, was writing about a faith that isn’t backed up by matching actions. I once had a pastor, in discussing James’ words, tell our congregation that he could hear what someone says they believe, or he could look at their calendar and checkbook to know for certain what they believed.

His point, of course, was that talk is cheap, but how we spend our time and money – our actions – tend to show our real heart.

The same is true in politics. What good are politicians’ promises to do good, when they don’t actually do it?

Citizens in our self-governing republic should be less interested in what our public servants say and more focused on what they do... or fail to do. A politician can tickle our ears all day long with promises to do our bidding, but the proof of their commitment to liberty is found in what actually gets done.

Quote-Unquote

“I do not want to see any of the people cringing supplicants for the favor of the Government, when they should all be independent masters of their own destiny.”

– Calvin Coolidge​

🔒 Contribute to Texas Scorecard 🔒 [[link removed]] Today in History

On Jan. 29, 1861, the “Secession Convention” voted to leave the United States. The position was ratified by a public referendum a month later, with 46,153 people voting for secession and 14,747 voting against it.

Manage / Update Your Account [[link removed]]

John xxxxxx

[email protected]

xxxxxx

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

U.S. Senator

John Cornyn - R

(202) 224-2934

U.S. Senator

Ted Cruz - R

(202) 224-5922

Governor of Texas

Greg Abbott - R

(512) 463-2000

Lt. Governor

Dan Patrick - R

(512) 463-0001

Attorney General

Ken Paxton – R

(512) 463-2100

Comptroller

Glen Hegar – R

(512) 463-4600

Land Commissioner

George Bush – R

(512) 463-5001

Commissioner of Agriculture

Sid Miller – R

(512) 463-7476

Railroad Commissioners

Wayne Christian – R

Christy Craddick – R

Jim Wright – R

(512) 463-7158

U.S. House, District

Update your address so we can show your congressman -



Texas Senate, District

Update your address so we can show your state senator -



Texas House, District

Update your address so we can display your state rep -

Something not right?

Confirm we have your address correct [[link removed]]!

A product of Texas Scorecard

www.TexasScorecard.com

(888) 410-1836

PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646

PO Box 700981, Dallas, TX 75370

PO Box 12862, Odessa TX 79768 Produced by Michael Quinn Sullivan and Brandon Waltens, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is delivered weekday mornings (though we'll take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

This message was originally sent to:

John xxxxxx |

If you ever stop receiving our emails, it might be because someone unintentionally removed you from the list. No worries; it is easy enough to reactivate your subscription immediately on our website.

[link removed]

Before you click the link below... If someone forwarded this email to you, clicking the link will end the subscription of [email protected]. Unsubscribe [link removed]