Good morning,

Would anyone remember Texas in 9,000 years? And what would they remember us for? I close out the week with a reflection on seizing, and squandering, opportunities.

Here is the Texas Minute for Friday, March 25, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

• Since Joe Biden couldn’t deliver on a winter of “severe illness and death,” he is now promising a spring of starvation and shortages.
   
• Stolen elections have consequences.

Liberal Austin Drops City COVID Rules, Even As Texas’ Statewide ‘Emergency’ Continues

• As cities across the country begin repealing their restrictive COVID-19 policies, one of the most liberal regions in Texas is also winding down its pandemic orders. As Katy Drollinger reports, this stands in contrast to the ongoing “emergency declaration” made by Gov. Greg Abbott and re-upped on March 13.
   
• State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) sent Abbott a letter earlier this month calling on him to lift the COVID state of emergency and officially recognize the end of the pandemic in Texas.
      
• “What started as ‘15 days to slow the spread,’ has turned into 24 months of unprecedented government regulations, a massive transfer of wealth from small businesses to mega-corporations, families separated from loved ones, and fear permeating every thought and action,” wrote Slaton.
   
• As regions historically governed by progressive Democrats, like Austin and Travis County, begin ending COVID restrictions, the governor will have to decide if keeping the COVID-19 emergency declaration in place still benefits the state of Texas and its citizens.

10-Year Incumbent Pushed To Runoff

• After a decade in the Texas House, State Rep. Phil Stephenson (R–Wharton) finds himself in a fight for his political life. Sydnie Henry reports Stephenson was forced into a runoff for the GOP nomination to retain the House District 85 seat.
     
• After receiving just 40 percent of the vote in the March 1 primary, Stephenson faces former Waller County Commissioner Stan Kitzman in the May 24 runoff.
   
• With strong conservative stances on social issues such as abortion, critical race theory, and school choice, Stephenson’s ultimate failure has been fiscal policy as evidenced by a career rating of “F” from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. Texas Right to Life gave him a 100 in the most recent legislative session, while the Young Conservatives of Texas gave Stephenson a score of 65.

Fredericksburg Parents Winning Library Fight

• At a school board meeting this week, Fredericksburg Independent School District officials unanimously agreed to implement new policies for expediting the removal of sexually explicit books in school libraries. As Erin Anderson reports, this action came after intense effort by local parents.
      
• “The kids won,” said Fredericksburg ISD parent Tara Petsch, crediting Superintendent Joe Rodriguez with championing changes to district policies that citizens had requested. “We’ve never asked for book banning. We’ve never asked for book burning. We’ve asked for book boundaries. … We want age-appropriate books in our children’s libraries.”
          
• The district’s assistant superintendent announced some books, which had been challenged as inappropriate, would be taken out of libraries after an administrative review found they were “pervasively vulgar, not educationally suitable, and in some cases, sexually explicit.”
   
• The local Gillespie County Democratic Party had run an ad in the local paper referring to parents who raised concerns about porn in schools as “a few extremists,” with the party taking the position that no checks were needed by parents or community members.
      
• Democrats won’t be happy until all children – that is, those not butchered in the womb – are treated as the property of the state.

Headline: Fighting Back

• At 5:30 p.m. today, join Brandon Waltens on The Headline, where he will be joined by senior journalist Erin Anderson to talk about parents fighting back against pornography in their school districts.
     
• Tim Hardin from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility also joins the show to talk about the legislature’s expected $25 billion surplus and how lawmakers could use it to eliminate property taxes.

HD 93 Runoff Candidates Discuss Platforms

• At the Fort Worth Republican Women’s forum, former Southlake Mayor Laura Hill and citizen activist Nate Schatzline discussed fiscal policy and education as they compete for the open seat. Sydnie Henry has the details.

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Friday Reflection:
Seizing – Or Squandering – Opportunities

In 9,500 years, will anyone remember the United States? Will the name "Texas" mean anything? As I stood on the upper layer of ruins at Tel Megiddo in northern Israel, I thought a lot about seizing – and squandering – opportunities.

Even today, it is easy to understand why Megiddo was so economically and militarily important for seven millennia. Anyone traveling north and south through this region of the Mediterranean would pass through this valley. It sat at the natural crossroads of the ancient world.

Never heard of Megiddo? Yes, you have. We know of Megiddo by its Greek name, through the writings of John in the New Testament Book of Revelation. We know it as Armageddon.

No matter what one thinks of eschatology and biblical prophecy, Megiddo tells us a lot about the opportunities we have if we seize them.

The city was occupied for some 7,000 years. Let that sink in. From the archeological record, we know Megiddo was a thriving hub of commerce and a military outpost before written history.

As an archeological site, it is without equal – layer upon layer testifies to people taking advantage of their geography to influence the world.

Megiddo was in a valley that made for easy travel. One could literally touch the corners of the ancient world merely by living in Megiddo. All of the important roads came through Meggido, and those who lived there drew immense power from controlling the junction.

As individuals, we each have such opportunities. Each of us is placed somewhere in which we interact, directly or indirectly, with thousands of people. Where are you? Are we using our position to its fullest potential? Maybe it’s an actual geographic position, or maybe it’s a profession, certain skills, accumulated wealth, or even simply a series of relationships. How are we influencing the world around us from our respective positions?

For a variety of reasons, Texas sits at a critical cultural and political junction for conservatives in America. And yet, Texans have grown frustrated with a series of "do-the-bare-minimum" legislative sessions in a GOP-dominated state. All roads to a better, brighter future for our republic could run through the Lone Star State, yet lawmakers squander this opportunity time and again.

Megiddo’s influence and importance eventually waned. The geopolitical reality of the Iron Age, the rise of the Roman Empire, all marched by and Megiddo fell away – it was uninhabited by around 500 B.C. But thanks to 7,000 years of preeminence, its name and legacy have lived on as a literary tool and a rhetorical device. (Meggido’s place in future history, of course, is a different discussion.)

I choose not to believe Texas is entering a period of decline. I believe rejuvenation is possible. I know it is needed. You and I must decide what we will do to make Texas count, and ensure the Lone Star State continues as a force for good influencing the world.

Should the Lord tarry another 7,000 years, will we be remembered for squandering our place, or seizing opportunities? What we do every day, and what we do next, will be the answer to that question.