Good morning, 

The Lone Star State is now 27 months into “two weeks to flatten the curve,” with Gov. Greg Abbott continuously re-upping his original declaration of a state of emergency over the Chinese coronavirus. The One Click Survey asks your opinion of the ongoing “emergency.”

Also, holding on to our guns is deeply woven into Texas’ self-governing DNA. How so? Find out what happened on this day 190 years ago. 

Here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Border Suffering

• We still have a COVID “emergency,” but Gov. Abbott still hasn’t declared an invasion on the southern border. He did announce yesterday that he’s invited the mayors of New York City and Washington, D.C., to come down for a tour. 
     
• Why? Aren’t our people on the border suffering enough? Why bring MORE enemies of Texas to the border?

The Liberty Issue of 2023

• Setting a high marker for his fellow Republican colleagues, State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) says liberal indoctrination inside public schools is making it more necessary than ever for a robust “school choice” program in Texas. Jake Peterson has the details.
      
• “A lot of opponents of school choice paint this as some kind of a thing that will only help … rich families or rich kids. That’s ridiculous,” said Harrison in an interview on The Headline. “Rich families have and enjoy school choice right now. The biggest beneficiaries across the state of Texas would be poor kids who come from poor families who are trapped in failing ISDs who place more emphasis on a doctrine than they do on education.”
     

• According to Harrison, there can be no more waiting. “This is the liberty issue.”

Yes, There Is Porn In Public Schools

• The head of the Texas Education Agency, Mike Morath, told lawmakers last week that, yes, “inappropriate” materials have been found in the state’s public school libraries. Jacob Asmussen has the details.
     
• “If you have materials where there is no effective oversight process for that selection, a lot of weird things can occur in that process.” – Mike Morath

Not Just Public Schools Are Going Woke

• According to a recent report from citizen news page LibsOfTikTok, a teacher at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School – a private school located in Austin – allegedly included hateful rhetoric against people with white skin color in a kindergarten lesson plan. Sebastian Castro reports students were reportedly taught that “whites make it harder for black people.”
     
• Parents are paying close to $27,000 for their children to attend St. Andrew’s, in addition to their property tax burden.

Why Were Parents Silenced At The Texas Capitol?

• In a new commentary, Lee Spiller explores the treatment handed out to parents by the Texas House Committee on Public Education last week.
   
• “Unfortunately, we found that our ability to participate here was barriered by 14 panels of invited witnesses before parents—who represent the end users of our educational system—got to speak,” writes Spiller, the executive director of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights–Texas, a mental health watchdog group.
     
• “We cannot, will not, partner with a public education system that insists on straying out of its lane into private and personal issues that should be the province of parents and the churches and community organizations they choose.” – Lee Spiller

Texas’ Sales Tax Holiday

• Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has announced that the sales tax holiday will occur August 5-7. Juliana Berg reports clothing, footwear, school supplies, and backpacks less than $100 will be exempt from state and local sales taxes.
      
• The program, which began in 1999, applies to sales at both brick-and-mortar and online stores.

Today In History

On August 2, 1832, Texans in Nacogdoches refused an edict to surrender their arms to the Mexican military commander. In the ensuing battle, the Texans forced the Mexicans out of town... then proceeded to chase them across the state. In all, 47 Mexican soldiers died and more than 40 were wounded. In contrast, just four Texans died and four more were wounded.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Texas is still operating under a “state of emergency” regarding the Chinese coronavirus, with Gov. Greg Abbott re-upping his declaration every month since March 13, 2020. The current declaration will expire in the middle of August.

Should Gov. Abbott stop the emergency declarations?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!