Good morning,

There is nothing new about cancel culture; the ruling elite have always sought to use their power to silence those who would disrupt the status quo. 

More on that thought at the conclusion of today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Friday, April 30, 2021
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• Everyone in the Texas Capitol started the week whispering that a HillCo Partners lobbyist had put a “date-rape” drug in the drink of a legislative staffer with the intent of sexually assaulting her. From receptionists to powerful committee chairmen, the story was the only topic of conversation.
      
• Lawmakers went into overdrive; tweeting about the lobby firm not being welcome in their offices. House Speaker Dade Phelan spoke emotionally to the issue from the floor of the chamber; everyone wore pink in solidarity with victims of sexual assault. Legislation was rushed in both chambers requiring sexual harassment training for lobbyists.
       
• On Thursday afternoon the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Travis County district attorney’s office released a joint statement indicating that after conducting an investigation, they reached the conclusion that the lobbyist had not committed a crime.
        
• Now a new allegation is swirling around the Capitol, which might point to something equally sinister. Was the man set-up?
        
• At the center of this new allegation is that those close to former House Speaker Dennis Bonnen orchestrated the set-up. The former speaker and HillCo Partners have a long-running feud. Allegedly, Bonnen’s friends blame HillCo for assisting his critics in the lead-up to his ouster from the Speaker’s office amidst scandal in 2019.
        
• Whether it is a lobbyist spiking the drink of a legislative staffer, or politicians so desperate for power they would frame a man in the name of settling a political score, none of it speaks well about the culture in the Texas Capitol.

• With a month left in the legislative session, Jeramy Kitchen reviews the status of the various priorities set by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Speaker Dade Phelan, and those of the Republican and Democrat parties.
   
• That will also be the topic of this morning’s discussion on The Headline with Brandon Waltens. Join in the conversation with Brandon and Jeramy live at 11 a.m., or catch the video and podcast archive immediately after.

• Thanks to sustained pressure from grassroots activists, constitutional carry legislation could come to the floor of the Texas Senate next week, according to Lt. Gov. Patrick. Brandon Waltens has the details.
   
• “It’s rare that I do this. Usually, if you don’t have the votes for a bill, you don’t bring up a bill that’s going to lose, but this is an important issue.” – Lt. Gov. Patrick

• On Thursday the Texas House advanced legislation banning the use of private money to administer elections, which one expert called “the single most important election integrity measure” state legislatures can enact.
     
• As Erin Anderson reports, the legislation is in response to millions in third-party cash called “ZuckBucks,” named because of funding from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The bulk of ZuckBucks in Texas went to election offices in Dallas and Harris counties – Democrat-dominated counties that account for almost a quarter of all registered voters in the state.
     
• HB 2283 by Phil King (R–Weatherford) prohibits county officials from accepting private third-party contributions of more than $1,000 for the purpose of administering elections.

• As the Chinese government continues to forcibly sterilize citizens and kill pre-born babies—particularly those of a minority religious and ethnic group—U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-CD21) wants American dollars to have no part in funding the abhorrent practice. Jacob Asmussen has the story.
   
• “Apparently, the Biden administration has no qualms with sending hard-earned American tax dollars to organizations that promote, perhaps even impose, coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization.” – Peter Pinedo of Texas Right to Life

• Please join me in wishing a very happy Saturday birthday to my nephew Tanner!

Friday Reflection: Cancel Culture

There is nothing new about cancel culture. The ruling elite have always sought to use their power to silence those who would disrupt the status quo. The methods and scale might be different, but not by much.

Throughout history, tyrants have sought to silence the voices of truth. Weeks after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, His disciples were preaching freedom that threatened the ruling elite of Israel. The Book of Acts notes the rulers were “greatly annoyed” and had the disciples arrested, hoping that would silence them. It didn’t.

And so, arrests turned to beatings, stonings, and, yes, more crucifixions. The ruling elite were annoyed by the message, so they attempted to silence the messengers. 

Whether it was Nero in Rome, Hitler’s National Socialists in Germany, or the government of China today, anyone who questions the absolute power of the state finds themselves at the center of oppression – official or otherwise.

Jack Dorsey’s Twitter silences people like James O’Keefe III for proving the establishment media manipulates news coverage for political ends. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon erases mentions of books that expose the psychological damage of the transgender movement. And, of course, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook rigs its algorithms to hide the content of anyone expressing concerns about election integrity. 

Google’s YouTube recently erased the digital existence of a roundtable discussion Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had with three medical professionals about the relative merits of masking children. Google doesn’t want anyone making decisions informed by anything but the shrill, big-government alarmism of Anthony Fauci.

If we cannot choose what information we consume and what we reject, then we are not free. It doesn’t matter if the oppression comes from Jeff Bezos or Joe Biden.

Yes, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter are private companies, but their growth and power have been fueled and subsidized by government spending. Taxpayers’ funds have been used to build and maintain their data-centers, warehouses, and offices. Even now, with these tech giants openly engaged in an all-out war against conservatives and Christians, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is working to give them more of Texans’ money.

Cancel culture is merely the latest iteration of what was once called persecution and censorship. It is the high priests of the secular left erasing ideas inconvenient to the lifestyles they would choose for us. It is the ruling elite using their power to silence those who annoy them. Why would we subsidize the ruination of our republic? Why would we not fight those who would muzzle us?

And so we can shrug our shoulders in resignation, or we can shrug off our censors. We can capitulate and be silenced, or we can speak louder. 

Our Founding Fathers acknowledged the fundamental right of all citizens to speak and publish. They expected us to not just jealously guard those rights, but to zealously exercise them. As a self-governing people, we are expected to be an annoyance to those who would establish themselves as the ruling elite.

It is up to each of us to ensure liberty is not canceled. By doing so, we ensure that our constitutional republic survives and thrives.