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Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Thursday, January 27, 2022

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Recording Contradicts Texas Military PR Push Amid a rash of bad news plaguing the Texas Military Department – ranging from suicides to pay issues – the state agency is pushing heavily to dismiss reporting by active duty soldiers about low morale in the Texas National Guard and Texas Air Guard. Robert Montoya has the full details [[link removed]].

Texas Scorecard has obtained a recording of a TMD town hall meeting in which the pay issues and troop morale were actively discussed, in direct contradiction to the agency's public relations push in recent days.

The well-being of Texas soldiers has become a key concern [[link removed]] as the TMD and Gov. Greg Abbott have come under increasing scrutiny for alleged mishandling of Operation Lone Star, the governor's military mission on the border.

As OLS approaches its one-year anniversary, issues continue with soldiers’ paychecks. Texas Scorecard first heard about these issues in October [[link removed]], as additional troops were being onboarded. The pay issues were known by top officials [[link removed]] in the state, including Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Abbott’s office.

“While there have been administrative pay challenges, currently every service member assigned to Operation Lone Star is being paid,” said a statement [[link removed]] from the Texas Military Department.

These “challenges” are paycheck hardships Texas soldiers assigned to OLS continue to have. Ongoing pay issues were referenced in a recording of a January 14 internal town hall of the 36th Infantry Division.

From the start of Texas Scorecard’s investigation, initiated by tips from active-duty and reserve personnel, multiple requests for comment and information from the Texas Military Department have gone unanswered. The TMD has also sought to withhold public records. This month, they appealed to Attorney General Ken Paxton our requests for communications with the Texas Comptroller [[link removed]] and Gov. Abbott [[link removed]] regarding TMD payroll. This contradicts TMD’s suggestion [[link removed]] that they’re “setting the record straight” and have worked to ensure accurate reporting.

Meanwhile, Abbott’s office has also appealed to Paxton [[link removed]] our open records request for their communications about Texas soldiers’ paycheck hardships and deployment of TNG forces as part of OLS.

Were it not for anonymous soldiers reaching out to Texas Scorecard, it’s unlikely these issues would have been uncovered.

To California, And Back Again

Social media star and grassroots activist Kambree Nelson made a name for herself while living in California describing the conditions she saw every day. Katy Drollinger has the story [[link removed]], based on a conversation Nelson had on the Luke Macias Show.

“It was a culture shock a little bit, going to California and witnessing what I was witnessing. I knew the taxes were high. I knew the gas prices were high. But it was very hard for me to fathom,” said Nelson [[link removed]]. “Seeing people sleeping on the streets, Americans sleeping on the streets. Seeing the overflow of people coming from across the border and nothing being done.”

But the biggest shock for Nelson was moving back to her home state of Texas. "I’m starting to see it in Texas," she said. "I’m starting to see a power grab that I saw in California. That scares me the most." Activists Unimpressed With 'Parental Bill of Rights'

Gov. Greg Abbott’s new parental bill of rights is being met with skepticism by a family rights advocacy organization. Sydnie Henry reports [[link removed]] that the state's foremost advocacy organization for parental rights, the Texas Home School Coalition, is "skeptical."

“Every significant parental rights reform to pass the legislature since 2017 has done so without the support of Governor Abbott. Every parental rights legislative reform that has died has done so without his comment," – Jeramy Newman, director of public policy for the Texas Home School Coalition

In announcing his "parental bill of rights," the governor ironically claimed to have prohibited mask mandates in Texas schools – even as large, mid-sized, and small districts around the state are explicitly mandating masks for students [[link removed]]. Bovard: Republicans Plan To Win Back the Senate, Then Do Nothing In a new commentary [[link removed]], Rachel Bovard chastises the Republican leadership in Washington, D.C., for not having a discernible action plan once they take over the U.S. Senate – as is predicted – in the November elections.

"Republicans cannot, in other words, do what they have largely always done with a Senate majority: set it on a shelf, polish it, and admire it from afar while checking off a Beltway-driven agenda designed solely to protect incumbents." – Rachel Bovard [[link removed]] 🔒 Donate to Texas Scorecard 🔒 [[link removed]] Number of the Day

2.85

Average number of people living in each household in Texas.

[Source: U.S. Census [[link removed]]]

Today in History

On Jan. 27, 1945, Soviet troops entered Auschwitz, Poland, and began freeing the prisoners of the Nazi regime kept in a series of internment camps.

Quote-Unquote

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."

– Viktor Frankl​​

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Your CURRENT Federal & State Lawmakers

NOTE: These are your current lawmakers in the current representational districts. New district lines take representational effect on January 1, 2023.

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John Cornyn - R

(202) 224-2934

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Ted Cruz - R

(202) 224-5922

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(512) 463-2000

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(512) 463-0001

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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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