Good morning!

Grassroots activists in Texas are in position to do some serious winning, as evidenced by – if nothing else – the howling of the leftwing media. More on that in a moment.

How secure do your fellow readers think November's general election will be in the Lone Star State? Find their responses at the conclusion of today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan
June 29, 2022 

Border Insecurity: More Than 50 People Dead

• Earlier this week, more than 40 illegal migrants were found dead and 16 injured in an abandoned tractor-trailer near Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. By yesterday afternoon, reports Emily Wilkerson, the death toll had risen to 51.
      
• The gruesome discovery is being called the deadliest human smuggling case in modern history. Gov. Greg Abbott was quick to respond, criticizing President Joe Biden and his lax immigration policies for the mass death. 

Austin Council Members Want To ‘Decriminalize’ Abortion

• In response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last week, the Democrat-run Austin City Council wants to retaliate. Jacob Asmussen has the details. The court’s decision in the Dobbs case means states can outlaw the practice of dismembering, poisoning, or using any other means to kill a baby in the womb.
     
• Council members Vanessa Fuentes and Jose “Chito” Vela have proposed a city resolution that effectively “decriminalizes” abortion in Austin. They want to prohibit the Austin Police Department and other city departments from storing reports of soon-to-be-illegal abortions, giving related information to other government agencies, or even investigating the businesses exterminating the preborn children.
      
• Ironically, the proposed resolution begins by purporting to honor “pregnant people.”
     
• So you can add “infanticide” to the list of crimes the City of Austin won’t enforce.

The Post-Roe Texas Agenda

• In this week’s podcast, Luke Macias takes a moment to rejoice in Roe v Wade being overturned and then moves quickly to explore “the kinds of pro-life policies that will be discussed next session to ensure that unborn human beings continue to be protected.”

Texans Score Victory Against Drag Shows Targeting Kids

• When a pub in The Woodlands scheduled an “all-ages” drag show last week, they didn’t expect the community’s response.
    
• Emily Wilkerson reports Mahoney’s Texish Pub originally advertised “Drag Me To Brunch” as a way to celebrate the “LGBTQ community,” but the community was not impressed. 
       
• Local activists sprung into action and forced the establishment to restrict the event to adults only.
       

• The move was a victory for parents and concerned citizens who have fought back against similar efforts in recent weeks, especially after a “Drag Your Kids to Pride” event was held in a Dallas gay bar earlier this month.
      

• While Texas’ next legislative session won’t begin until January, State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) has pledged to file legislation in the Texas House prohibiting drag shows held for children.

Texas GOP: Stop Sexualizing Kids

• Sebastian Castro explores the background of the Texas GOP’s efforts to push back against the sexualization of kids. The issue is one of eight deemed a legislative priority by the grassroots delegates to the biennial state convention.

Media Spins, But Grassroots Win

• In a new commentary, Kellen McGovern Jones urges his fellow grassroots activists to push forward on their priorities rather than give in to the pressure of the leftwing media outlets.
     
• “The major news outlets, staffed by big-city journalists replete with graduate degrees in medieval queer philosophy and feminist dance therapy, seem unable to comprehend the political shift occurring among regular people in Texas,” writes Jones. “The Texas Republican Party is taking an energetic and refreshing approach to state politics. The party is speaking in the common vernacular, eschewing politically correct dogma, and moving closer to the topics that are on Texans’ minds.”

WATCHMEN NEEDED

• Our friends at the Texas Home School Coalition are now accepting applications for their incredible Watchmen program at the Texas Capitol. Among other things, role of a THSC Watchman is to track bills filed in the Texas Legislature and analyze them for content that affects Texas families and homeschoolers.
      
• Learn more about the program on THSC’s website.

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Y’All Answered

Yesterday, we asked if readers believe Texas’ elections are currently safe and secure from fraud. There were 8.6 percent of readers who answered “yes,” while 91.4 percent said “no.”

Here’s a sampling of replies from the inbox…

• “I believe Texas has good laws to ensure election integrity. Unfortunately, the misguided ruling by the state Court of Criminal Appeals means the state cannot enforce those laws. We must rely on Democrat district attorneys to prosecute violations, and I am afraid they will turn a blind eye to the election crimes of their own party. I fear this will be a very corrupt election.” – Jerry Harben
      
• “I have firsthand experience in working the Dem-led elections of Travis County. There are way too many opportunities to cheat in the way elections are currently conducted. Democrats have years of experience in election fraud, and there are not near enough state resources to prosecute violations. Honest elections depend on people with noble intentions doing the right thing.” – Thomas Camardo
      
• “I won’t trust any election until we return to paper ballots and single-day elections! Why not make it a national holiday?” – Lisa Malik
      
• “I have no confidence that Texas elections are safe from fraud. Due to actions by both the Texas Legislature (reducing the penalty from felony to misdemeanor) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (stripping the AG from prosecutorial powers), we are MORE vulnerable now than in 2020. Clearly, John Creuzot (DA Dallas) will not prosecute voter fraud. Lawless Creuzot has already vowed to not prosecute abortion law violators either. Who knows what Lina Hidalgo has planned in Houston? Clearly, corruption is rampant in Texas.” – David Clark

     

• “Harris County.  Does anything else need to be said about unsecured elections?” – Laura Morton
     
• “I live in Harris County under the purview of Lina Hidalgo’s elections’ ‘administrator,’ need I say more?” – Kimery McKaskle

     

• “As long as electronic voting machines are utilized, I doubt the vote is secure. Only paper ballots, leaving the proverbial paper trail, being counted by nonpartisan means, are able to ensure fair elections.” – Owen Schierenbeck
     
• “It is sad that our most powerful tool of controlling the government that is meant to work for us is a sham! A fraud!” – Bathsheba Campbell
      
• “Nothing will change unless and until there are harsh punishments attached and meted out for anyone who purposely breaks the law, which must include judges and officers of the courts.” – Patrick Bell
     
• “After watching ‘2000 Mules,’ I don’t think any place in the world is safe from election fraud, including red-state Texas.” – Nickki Cluck 
     
• “If the elections are “safe and secure,” why did the RINOs change the penalty for voter fraud from a felony to a misdemeanor?” – Jeffrey Bane

      

• “I don’t believe ANY elections in the U.S. of A. are secure…sadly.” – Judy Henson
     
• “Are Texas elections safe and secure from fraud? Depends on whether Speaker Phelan allows the legislature to pass laws giving AG Paxton the ability to prosecute fraudsters, since we all know that local Democrat AGs won't pursue fraud election cases.” – Terry Fokas
     
• “No election in Texas or any other State will be secure as long as there are mail-in ballots and unscrupulous Democrats.  Harris County and others have their elections run by liberal activists and millions in out of state monies.  How is that secure?” – Lloyd Smith
    
• “I experienced a voting machine change in my selections 4 times at [the] library. I got a new machine, but they did not take the machine out of service because it kept saying YES to the school bond. Please check your ballot after you vote and before you place it in the count machine.” – Pam Millisor
     
• “Until there are mandatory jail sentences for election fraud – including election officials, organizations that try to register people illegally, and the general public that vote multiple times – there will never be a safe election.” – Jimmy Lane

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.