Good morning, 

Yesterday I asked readers about vaccine passports... and, wow, y’all had answers!

First, here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, April 8, 2021
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• When I was 4, I wanted to be a fire truck when I grew up. Not a fireman; a fire truck. I shudder to think what today’s Woke Elite would have demanded my parents do to appease my feelings.

• Would businesses that “knowingly failed to implement or comply with government-promulgated standards, guidance, or protocols” be eligible for COVID-19 lawsuit protections under legislation being considered in the Texas Senate? Brandon Waltens looks at the details.
   
• Senate Bill 6 by Kelly Hancock (R–North Richland Hills) is priority legislation for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott. While the bill purports to protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits during pandemics, some experts say the measure could actually have the effect of subjecting businesses to new government regulations.
     

• Constitutional law expert and former state representative Matt Rinaldi says the bill relies too heavily on government guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, which has made strict recommendations in response to the coronavirus. “So a business failing to mask toddlers or requiring double masking would be liable because they didn’t follow CDC guidance? This bill is terrible. It reads as a blueprint to establish liability for virtually every business in Texas.”

     

• Senate Bill 6 is currently on the intent calendar in the Texas Senate, which means the bill could be brought up for a vote at any time.

• A Texas psychologist is voicing concerns about the possible long-term side effects of children being forced to wear masks in schools, including the possible long-term effects to their mental health. Tera Collum has the story.
   
• “Speaking as both a mom and a psychologist, the continued use of masks … does not appear warranted and is more of a detriment to our children,” said Dr. Sheri Tomak. “I believe there could be long-term negative effects, specifically potential deficits in socialization and identity development.”

• Joshua Pierce reports several measures that would punish localities for defunding law enforcement were considered in the Texas House Ways and Means Committee.
     
• Committee chairman Morgan Meyer (R–Dallas) said he authored his bill because of skyrocketing homicide and burglary rates after cities cut police funding.
      
• A spokesman from the Austin Police Department—whose budget was cut by a third by the Austin City Council last year—came to testify against the bill, claiming to be unhappy with his department’s elimination of positions but adding he believed the bill would be an infringement upon local control, authorizing an unjust expansion of state power.

• Speaking of lawlessness in Austin... As Austinites prepare for a pivotal public vote in May over legalized homeless encampments, Jacob Asmussen reports many citizens already see the chaos that has unfolded in their communities and neighborhoods—including the recent arson of a downtown landmark.
   
• Homeless individuals set fire to Buford Tower, a 1930s iconic bell tower that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Austin Fire Department ruled the fire as “incendiary,” or intentionally set, saying the flames spread from a nearby homeless campfire.

• Two elected trustees in north Texas’ Carroll Independent School District have been indicted for violating the Texas Open Meetings Act by secretly discussing a controversial leftwing plan to be imposed on students. Robert Montoya has the details.
   
• Board President Michelle Moore and Vice President Todd Carlton have been indicted for their role in attempting to circumvent public participation in a decision about the district’s controversial Cultural Competence Action Plan. The plan would—among other things—create a system where students could report each other for “microaggressions,” and create an LGBTQ+ student focus group. The plan had a startup cost to taxpayers of $425,000, and then a quarter of a million dollars annually from 2021-2025—altogether close to $1.5 million.

• Let me offer a BIG THANKS to our friends at Patriot Mobile. Yes, they let me avoid dumping money into the Woke mob at Big Cellular, and – yes – they have GREAT customer service with real people you can call. More important than that, though: in this age of companies rushing to appease the leftwingers, Patriot Mobile is standing more boldly than ever with the conservative movement.

• Yesterday’s One Click Survey asked if Texans should be required to show a “vaccine passport” to go about their daily lives.  
       
• “Why should I place something dangerous in my body and then not be allowed to shop for travel? When did we become Communist China?” – Rosanna Gonzalez
       
• “I am 67 years old and I have no intention of getting the vaccination, it could kill me. I should have a choice. The government has no right to force us to take the shots.” – David Letersky
      
• “Why are we even asking? It is still ‘government by consent’ isn't it?” – Juan Martinez
      
• “Why did I vote NO for vaccine passports? Never needed one for other big deals like smallpox, DPT, flu, etc. Why one now? No reason I can think of other than it’s a convenient way for our government overlords to control us.” – Mark Henley
        
• “Vaccine Passports are nothing short of what went on in Nazi Germany and the USSR. Essentially, ‘Papers please.’” – Roger Taylor
       
• “Absolutely not! And we need legislation, not an EO preventing it.” – Chris Faulkner

• Join me in wishing a very happy birthday to my sister-in-law, Natasha Campbell!

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