Good morning, 

China is literally buying up Texas. Our series on the Chinese infiltration of the Lone Star State continues this week.

And yesterday, we asked readers to pick a governor for the Lone Star State; today, we have the answers. The most common theme in the emails y’all sent back? “Action.”

All that, and more, in today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan
Wednesday, August 10, 2022 

O’Rourke Promises CRT in Texas Classrooms

• As parents combat sexually explicit materials, racist curricula, and poor educational outcomes, Robert “Beto” O’Rourke – the Democrats’ nominee for governor – promises to allow more racist ideologies in public schools. Juliana Berg has the story.

🇨🇳 Buying Up Texas

• Our investigation into the Communist Chinese infiltration of Texas continues this week, looking at the massive land purchases impacting food and infrastructure security.
     . 
• The latest report – compiled by Robert Montoya, Jessie Conner, and Emily Wilkerson – finds the Chinese Communist Party absorbing a lot of Texas land for its strategic geopolitical ends.
     
• Texas Scorecard recently launched an investigative series exposing CCP infiltration of our state’s education apparatus. During our months-long investigation of the CCP’s activities, it became clear that education was merely one part of a multi-prong incursion into the United States of America.
      
• For the past decade, the number of purchases of agricultural resources by foreign actors has dramatically increased across the nation, with Texas being No. 1 according to a review of USDA documents. Currently, at least 4.7 million acres of Texas’ agricultural land is owned by a foreign entity or individual.
     
• They are also purchasing land near military installations.
      
•  J. Kyle Bass, chief investment officer of Hayman Capital and founding member of the “Committee on the Present Danger: China,” told Texas Scorecard the Chinese government has been using layers of corporate shells to make it difficult for researchers to track the true ownership of major land purchases.
     
• Texas’ commissioner of agriculture, Sid Miller, believes – like Bass and others – the threat to the Lone Star State, and the rest of the nation, is very real.
     
• Later today, we’ll have an article at TexasScorecard.com explaining how these land purchases by China threaten our nation’s food security.

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The Texas Scorecard I-Team spends months digging into records and documents to expose the dirty underbelly of corruption and cronyism. Will you make a special, tax-deductible contribution to support their work? We don’t take government grants or corporate sponsorships, and we don’t put our content behind a paywall. Your support makes Texas Scorecard possible!

Abortion Group Funds Underground Network

• Despite a 2021 Texas law banning the mailing of abortion medication, a Mexican nonprofit is providing U.S. citizens with the means to kill their unborn children in their own homes by using abortion medication. Jake Peterson has the details.
     
• Las Libres, a Mexican pro-abortion organization, claims to kill 15 unborn Texas children every week by pushing abortion kits and other drugs into the state.

REACTION: Mar-A-Lago Raid

• Following the FBI’s unprecedented raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Republican lawmakers and officials in Texas are speaking out. Sebastian Castro has the round-up.
      
• U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz called the raid “corrupt and and an abuse of power.”
   
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton noted, “Biden’s decision to wield the FBI against Trump is a brazen & ill-fated attempt to distract from his own failures.”
     
• Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi succinctly expressed his opinion on the FBI in a tweet with only three words: “Abolish the FBI.”
      
• Gov. Greg Abbott criticized the FBI raid on Trump’s home, “Such abuses must have limits.”
     
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, historically an outspoken ally of President Trump, has not yet commented on the raid. 

Macias On ESG 🔊

• This week’s edition of the Luke Macias Show is a primer on Environmental, Social, and Governance standards – how corporate board rooms are reshaping culture through the power of their businesses... and usually not for the better.
     
• Listen on our website or find it anywhere you get podcasts.

Y’All Answered

In yesterday’s One Click Survey, we asked readers to play a little “fantasy governing” and pick a governor for Texas with these four choices: Greg Abbott, Ron DeSantis, Kari Lake, or Robert O’Rourke.

By The Clicks… Far and away the top pick for Texas Minute readers was DeSantis (80.3 percent), followed by Lake (13.6 percent) and Abbott (5.5 percent). In distant last place, O’Rourke was the choice of 0.6 percent of readers.

From The Inbox…

• “I didn’t vote for a king. I won’t vote for an idiot. Ms. Lake is promising but unproven. Hence, Governor DeSantis.” – Bryan Maupin
     

• “I would like a governor to be conservative for four years, not just six months before an election.” – Sidney Champagne
     

• “Rather than replacing Abbott, maybe we could just send him to Florida for therapy sessions.” – Tobie Hall
     

• “I chose Ron DeSantis. He is action, not talk.” – Gary Hunt
     

• “I love what I’ve been hearing from Kari Lake and it was tempting to choose her as my fantasy Texas governor, but Ron DeSantis is a proven leader.” – Lisa Malik
    

• “Although Kari seems promising, Ron has a proven track record.” – Jim Moyer
     

• “I selected Ron DeSantis because he appears to have a boldness to speak against ALL the craziness that our illegitimate government is doing right now. I believe our border would have been closed 2 years ago if he was our governor and we wouldn’t be dealing with a whole slew of other issues. We NEED Mr. Abbott to advocate for Texans!” – Nancy Wells
      

• “Gov. DeSantis leads his state from in front, with conservative principles; he would make a great Texas governor right now!” – Gene Glass
     

• “Ron Desantis is the gold standard for conservative governors.” – Helen Herd
     

• “Kari Lake is saying all the right things and I think she will follow through, but Ron DeSantis is DOING the right things right now!” – Roger Taylor
     

• “DeSantis is a leader. We need one of those in Texas!” – Karen Breazeale
     

• “I voted for Ron Desantis, but have NO doubt I am 100% behind Gov. Abbott against this lunatic ‘Beto.’  Governor Abbott is as trustworthy a conservative as Senators Manchin and Sinema, but he definitely deserves credit as a ‘smart, cunning & evasive’ politician that has been able to deceive Texans for so long.” - John Erwin
     

• “I picked Ron DeSantis as he is a strong leader and does as he promises! … Texas needs a strong leader right now and unfortunately we’re stuck picking between a RINO Abbott or the left lunatic fake-Hispanic Beto!” – Greg Burr
     

• “DeSantis has the courage to stand up to the politically correct, corrupt, and woke mob that is infecting our state and our country. He also is young enough to withstand the media smear campaign that will surely follow any speaker of truth.” – Thomas Camardo
    

• “I voted for Ron DeSantis, as he accomplishes more each week than our Greg Abbott does in a year.  I wish we could trade Abbot and a future draft choice for Ron Desantis.” – Tom Wilson
      

• “Ron DeSantis is the only governor who has taken a strong stand in support of the Constitution of the U.S. and the State with no apologies or quibbling, for the benefit of the citizens of his state.” – Gay Armstrong
     

• “DeSantis proves everyday that he is walking the path and, quite frankly, making improvements as he goes. Lake might be an effective governor too, but it is too early to know yet. DeSantis is battle tested.” – Shawn Line
     

• “I picked DeSantis because he has proven he does more than just talk the talk.” – Kimery McKaskle
      

• “If Texas turns blue, it will be more the fault of Abbott than Beto.” – Jason Kerr
     

• “DeSantis plays offense and defense at the same time with common sense. He defends the rights of freedom and the people. He gets laws passed to go after the evil ideas and evil people.” – Jim and Melissa Hughes
     

• “Governor DeSantis is a TRUE conservative leader.” – Steve Crevier
    

• “Ron DeSantis is a man of action.” – Donna Smith
     

• “I voted for Governor Abbott because he was much better than his opponent.” – Joseph Zimmer
     

• “DeSantis isn't afraid to lead from the front, and he refuses to play the liberals’ games.” – Cindy Armstrong
    

• “I chose DeSantis because he has a proven track record of solid, bold, and explainable action.  I like Lake very much, but she has yet to implement any bold actions (kinda like Abbott). So far, Lake and Abbott are just talk.” – Patrick Bell
     

• “I chose Ron DeSantis - he’s the real deal and faces down anti-American leftists straight away.” – Dennis D. Mease, M.Ed.
     

• “My pick is Ron DeSantis. He has proven to be not timid when action is demanded. Rather than simply make a show of action, he commits his office and authority to standing up to the cultural and political Marxist challenges to our country.” – Dale Huls
     

• “Ron DeSantis has proven he has the mettle needed and would be a great governor for Texas.  He easily won my vote.” – Greg Milner
     

• “My choice is Ron DeSantis. He’s proven to me that he is not afraid of the communists and their tactics.” – Ken Bintliff
     

• “Lake talks the talk, but DeSantis has walked the walk.” – Ray Mathis

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.