Good morning –

“Just be nice,” the politicians say as they undermine the republic and erode our liberty. I close the week by reflecting on the modern virtue of “niceness” at the end of today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Friday, July 9, 2021

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Legislature Starts 30-Day Special Session… By Funding ThemselvesAs the special session gets underway, committees in both the Senate and House are meeting today. Rather than focus on election integrity or border security, both chambers are starting off their work by restoring the funding for the legislative branch that was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Election IntegrityWith Texas lawmakers back in Austin addressing their unfinished business from the regular legislative session, election integrity is at the top of voters’ concerns. As Erin Anderson observes [[link removed]], advocates see this as a second chance for the Texas Legislature to overcome Democrat opposition and do what other Republican-run states were able to accomplish this year: enact meaningful reforms to restore voters’ confidence that elections are secure and their votes count.

Put differently: will Republican lawmakers have the courage to follow Florida and Georgia in securing Texas’ elections?

In a surprising move, the House election integrity effort will be led by Andrew Murr (R-Junction) rather than the chairman of the House Committee on Elections, Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) – and the bill will be sent to a new select committee [[link removed]] rather than Cain’s committee. Priorities, By The NumberIt might seem trivial, but the “bill number” assigned to legislation speaks volumes about where it ranks in the mind of a chamber’s presiding officer. This special session is no different.

Lt. Gov. Patrick assigned “ Senate Bill 1 [[link removed]]” for this special session (as noted above) to election security.

In contrast, Speaker Phelan gave “ House Bill 1 [[link removed]]” to restoring funding for the legislature. Join Brandon Waltens and Jeramy Kitchen at 11 a.m. live for The Headline [[link removed]] for a discussion about the start of the special session. (The video archive and podcast [[link removed]] will be available early this afternoon.) Tinderholt Aims At House DemocratsWith Texas House Democrats threatening to again bust the quorum requirements of the chamber in order to thwart election integrity reform, Republican Tony Tinderholt (Arlington) has filed a resolution to punish such behavior. Jeramy Kitchen has the details [[link removed]].

Tinderholt’s resolution [[link removed]] would modify the House rules to strip chairmanships, committee membership, and seniority from those members who participate in quorum-busting. Yet Speaker Dade Phelan (Beaumont-R) would not respond to Tinderholt’s inquiries yesterday about advancing the measure for the House’s consideration.

It’s almost like Phelan and his Republican lieutenants work for the Democrats… Border Security (Finally) A PriorityDespite the recent push by Gov. Abbott, border security was not a priority for him in the 2021 regular session. But now that it is a priority in this special session, State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), and State Reps. Jeff Cason (R-Bedford) and Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) have re-filed legislation that was ignored just a few months ago [[link removed]].

Slaton proposed in March a measure he has re-filed that would pay for the construction of the border wall and name it the “President Donald J. Trump Wall.” Cason has a series of measures designed to turn off the “magnets” incentivizing illegal immigration, while Hall wants to create an interstate compact on border security and immigration enforcement that bypasses the federal government. Why No Protection For Children?Citizens and lawmakers alike are urging Gov. Greg Abbott to add to the special session agenda an urgently needed ban on child disfigurement operations. Jacob Asmussen has the details [[link removed]]. Florida RisingData shows Florida is leading when it comes to relative job growth, while the Lone Star State is leading in business bankruptcy filings. As Robert Montoya reports [[link removed]], the Sunshine State is besting both Texas and California in key economic indicators. Antifa Targets Austin City ManagerDespite his own left-leaning ideology, Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk has been targeted by Antifa, with a cell of the organization showing up at his home to protest and intimidate. Adam Cahn has the story [[link removed]]. Friday Reflection: Stop Being Nice [[link removed]]

by Michael Quinn Sullivan

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Most of us live our days striving to be nice. We think we can just be all smiles and exude love by being nice to those who do evil. It’s a niceness that doesn’t appear in scripture, and provides only a self-serving sense of cowardly righteousness.

In scripture we don’t find this modern version of “nice” that so many church leaders and secularists push Christians to embrace. We find love. We find generosity. We find kindness. We find sincerity. We find patience.

But this gooey, saccharine-sweet niceness is nowhere to be found.

On nearly every page of the Gospels you will find Jesus dining with culture’s untouchables, healing the infirm, instructing the weak – but He isn’t “nice” – he is firm, honest, truthful, patient. He lovingly tells them the truth about their sin. He tells them to “go and sin no more.”

But with the ruling elite of the day? With the rulers who profit from self-dealing and cronyism? He calls them “serpents” and a “brood of vipers.” He says they are “whitewashed tombs.” He calls them murderers. These words weren’t directed at the occupying Romans, or the atheists, or adherents to other religions; they were pointed at His fellow Jews.

Nothing about that was “nice.” It was true. It was honest. And it was a kindness to those who were being oppressed.

No doubt many wanted Jesus to just be nice. You can hear them demand, “More of the ‘water into wine’ and ‘free bread and fish,’ Jesus, and less of the viper-talk.”

It is no different today. I can only speak to the experience of Republicans, but those who yell the loudest for citizens to be “nice” to politicians are the ones profiting off selling out the values and principles for which the GOP reportedly stands.

We can be nice serfs, or we can be driven citizen-leaders. We can smile pleasantly as our Republic is run into ruin, or we can fight for the inheritance of self-governance meant for ourselves and our posterity.

Rather than be “nice,” let us first and always strive to be passionate citizens faithfully committed to the cause of liberty.

Quote-Unquote

“If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”

– Margaret Thatcher​​

Directory of Your Federal & State Lawmakers [[link removed]]

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

Glenn 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

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PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646 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).

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