Good morning!

Lots of news in today’s Texas Minute…

A huge ruling with profound implications for the Second Amendment was released yesterday, and a state-funded school for the deaf is looking to go woke. Meanwhile, our ongoing series on China continues by looking at the way heavy-hitting politicos have been opening the door for the Chinese Communist Party to make gains in Texas.

Why does it seem politicians, once elected, stop trying to please their constituents? I conclude the week with an explanation some politicians may not like.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan
Friday, August 26, 2022 

More Texas Counties Declare Border Invasion

• Five more counties have declared the crisis at the border an “invasion” and are asking Gov. Greg Abbott to do the same. 
      
• Chambers, Ellis, Hardin, Liberty, and Orange counties are latest to issue such a declaration. Notably, Orange County is represented by House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), who has been silent on the issue.
      
• The other 12 counties include Kinney, Goliad, Terrell, Parker, Wise, Edwards, Atascosa, Presidio, Tyler, Live Oak, Johnson, and Wilson.

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EXCLUSIVE: Texas’ School for the Deaf Seeks ‘Diversity’ Consultants

• As some school districts are moving away from divisive racial policies and critical race theory, the state-run School for the Deaf is seeking to hire a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant, according to documents obtained by Texas Scorecard. Brandon Waltens has the scoop.

      

• In practice, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have been revealed to be tools for leftist “social justice” programs and the imposition of critical race theory in the classroom. 

     

• Similar to other school districts in Texas, the School for the Deaf is governed by a board. Those members, however, aren’t elected; instead, they are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. The board is slated to meet today, where they will consider the proposal.

Federal Judge: Second Amendment Should Apply To All Law-Abiding Adults

• A federal court in Fort Worth handed gun rights advocates a major win on Thursday, ruling that a Texas law prohibiting 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying handguns without a license violates the Second Amendment.
     

• Legislation passed last year set a minimum age of 21 to carry a handgun in Texas, despite the fact that it is legal to own a handgun at 18. It is also legal to carry a long gun at 18, and individuals in the military are eligible for a license to carry a handgun at age 18, as well.
      

• “Based on the Second Amendment’s text, as informed by Founding-Era history and tradition, the Court concludes that the Second Amendment protects against this prohibition. Texas’s statutory scheme must therefore be enjoined to the extent that law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds are prohibited from applying for a license to carry a handgun.” – Federal Judge Mark Pittman

New TEKS To Radicalize Texas Education

• With the State Board of Education preparing for radical changes to educational standards for K-8 students in social studies, parents and activists across the state have mobilized. Sydnie Henry reports that their voices have seemingly been heard, but there are still serious problems with the proposals.
     
• At issue is a proposed rewrite of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, which serve as the basis for classroom education in Texas. The updated TEKS have removed every item previously highlighted by Texas Scorecard as potentially problematic—except for one. Defining “migration” and discussions of how some are voluntary and some are forced remains in second grade.
     
• The new chronological framework remains in place for social studies; therefore, Texas history is still not allotted an entire year of study at any point in K-8.
      
• Former SBOE member Terri Leo-Wilson told Texas Scorecard that “K-2 students are grammar school students who developmentally are not ready for abstract and advanced concepts.”
      
• In addition, the SBOE is still intent on changing the traditional “B.C.” and “A.D.” dating labels to “B.C.E.” and “C.E.”
     
• Meanwhile, eighth-graders are expected to “compare the goals of the American Indian, civil rights, [LGBT] pride, and women’s liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s.”
      
• The SBOE will be meeting from August 30 to September 2 to hear testimony on the TEKS and framework. A vote is not expected until November.

Texas’ Medical Schools Teaching Child Gender Modification

• State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) released findings from an investigation led by his office revealing that taxpayer-financed medical schools in Texas have been teaching child gender modification. Emily Wilkerson has the story. 
      

• “Repeatedly, the people of Texas have been told, ‘This kind of thing isn’t going on in Texas.’ And yet, the exact opposite is true,” said Slaton. “Not only are young children being subjected to barbaric gender-modification practices like surgeries and puberty-blocking drugs on a daily basis, but these practices are being taught to the next generation of doctors in some of our public medical schools.”
        

• The University of North Texas (UNT) was among the schools revealed to be teaching the practice, with UNT’s Pharmacy 7205 class currently teaching “advanced skills in providing pharmaceutical care to the LGBT community.” 

       
• The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the University of Texas Southwestern have also been caught promoting programs for the gender transition of children.

🇨🇳 Politicos Opening The Way For China’s Infiltration

• In the latest installment examining China’s infiltration of Texas, Robert Montoya and his team find nonprofit organizations – such as the George H. W. Bush Foundation – have been opening the door for China’s government.
     
• This week’s explosive finale exposes a state lawmaker with very concerning ties to the Chinese Communist Party. You’ll be able to read that at noon.
       
• The Bush Foundation isn’t the only nonprofit, politically active entity in Texas working disturbingly closely with the Chinese government. There is also the U.S. China Innovation Alliance and the China Public Policy Foundation at the University of Texas Austin.
       
• On the U.S. side, these entities have close relationships with several former U.S. presidents and other top government officials. On the China side, the entities are advised by individuals affiliated with some of the biggest organizations within the Chinese Communist Party.

Friday Reflection: People Pleasers

Our Founding Fathers upturned the traditional role of “the people” in relationship to “the government.” The citizenry became the masters, and government officials were to be their servants.

All good servants share a particular trait: they want to please people. That is not a bad thing, in and of itself. It is actually a very good thing in the right circumstances.

Our system of government was designed to attract people pleasers. In their obsession with checks and balances on power, the framers of the republic wanted public officials to be those who yearn for the approval of their civic masters.

Yet a curious thing has occurred; our republic has devolved. The process by which we select public servants remains the same, putting people pleasers into office. And yet, the structures of government and the miseducation of the people means once the politicians are in office they start trying to please those around them – the cronies, the lobbyists, and the other politicians.

Whatever lip service they play to “working for you,” they functionally see themselves as servants to the head of their legislative chamber, to their mayor, governor, or party leader. They get their information from lobbyists, and hope to receive applause from the establishment-run media.

This is not how the system is supposed to work, but it is the system we tolerate.

The politicians are the same people pleasers we elected … they are just seeking approval from the wrong people. And one way they please those people is by stomping on the rights of the people. The servants have turned themselves into the masters – and we’ve allowed it.

As a self-governing people, we must recognize the role we have played in this reversal. We pay just enough attention to elect to office the guy or gal who has the most soothing voice or tickles our ears with right poll-tested catchphrases … and then we check out.

We allow the politicians to escape to the “backrooms” where they meet with “stakeholders,” only to emerge with a “done deal” to which they had foolishly “given their word.” And we then join in applauding their violations of our republic’s most cherished principles as evidence of “leadership” and “statesmanship.”

It is time for the citizens to stand up and speak out. We must remind ourselves, each other, and – most especially – the politicians that their job is to serve the people, and not the other way around. We citizens must exert ourselves like never before, raising our voices and encouraging others to do likewise.

It is time for the politicians to remember they exist to serve. You and I need to be about the business of reminding them.