Posts Tagged ‘Texas Scorecard’

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Paxton Sues NCAA Over Transsexual Deception

Monday, February 24th, 2025

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit, this one against the NCAA over “deceptive trade practices,” namely pretending that NCAA women’s sports are, in fact, limited to women, despite carving out a huge loophole for men pretending to be women to drive through.

Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking legal action against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, seeking a temporary injunction to halt what he claims are “deceptive trade practices” as the organization’s athlete eligibility policy could allow men to compete in women’s sports.

Paxton alleges that the NCAA’s recently amended policy—presented as aligning with President Donald Trump’s executive order to “Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports”—is actually a misleading “illusion of change” that still allows biological males to compete in women’s sports.

The legal move follows Paxton’s December 2024 lawsuit against the NCAA, which accused the organization of false advertising by promoting sporting events as exclusively “women’s” competitions while permitting biological males to participate.

According to the temporary injunction filing, the NCAA’s amended Transgender Eligibility Policy (TEP), effective February 6, 2025, is inconsistent with Trump’s executive order and does not prevent biological men from competing in women’s sports.

Paxton’s application for a temporary injunction highlights key areas of disagreement with the NCAA’s current policy:

  • Definition of sex: The lawsuit states that the NCAA determines a student-athlete’s sex according to “birth records” and designations “assign[ed]” by doctors, rather than biological makeup “at conception.”
  • Changeable vs. immutable: The suit alleges that the NCAA treats sex as changeable rather than an immutable characteristic

    • The attorney general’s filing also raises concerns about the NCAA’s enforcement mechanisms, specifically pointing out the lack of sex-screening procedures for student-athletes.

    Paxton argues that this absence allows biological males to “surreptitiously participate” in women’s sports categories, citing the example of Blair Fleming, a biological male who played on San Jose State University’s women’s volleyball team for two years without initially disclosing his biological sex.

    With the 2024-25 Women’s NCAA March Madness basketball tournament approaching, Paxton asserts that the NCAA’s deceptive practices are causing confusion among consumers and potentially harming female athletes.

    Paxton is asking the court to order the NCAA to immediately begin screening the sex of student athletes and prohibiting biological males from participating in women’s sports categories.

    Social Justice Warriors pushing a radical transsexual agenda have been controlling decisions at the NCAA, making them rule in direct opposition to the clear language of Title IX, the wishes of female student athletes, and the will of the American people and their elected government. There are two biological sexes, male and female, and retroactively changing a birth certificate from male to female doesn’t actually change a person’s sex.

    Men shouldn’t be allowed to compete in women’s sports. That this common sense proposition even needs to be argued for is a sign of how illogical social justice madness has infected our institutions.

    Let’s hope that the NCAA can be made to see the error of their ways well before this lawsuit even gets to trial.

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    Posted in Democrats, Social Justice Warriors, Texas | 2 Comments »

    Paxton Argues For Free Speech, Against Texas Agency

    Tuesday, February 18th, 2025

    When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton shows up in the news, usually he’s suing on behalf of the State of Texas. This time, however, he’s weighing in on the other side of a lawsuit, backing Michael Quinn Sullivan in his case against the Texas Ethics Commission before the Supreme Court.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking the unusual step of siding against the Texas Ethics Commission in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Rather than defending the state agency, he has filed an amicus brief supporting Michael Quinn Sullivan, a conservative activist who was president of Empower Texans at the time of the events in question.

    Now Publisher of Texas Scorecard, which is also the source of this article.

    The case centers on whether Sullivan should have been required to register as a lobbyist before communicating with lawmakers and the public about tax and spending policies.

    The dispute dates back to 2014 when the Texas Ethics Commission fined Sullivan $10,000 for allegedly acting as an unregistered lobbyist. The TEC ruled that his efforts to inform legislators and the public—particularly through emails detailing his Fiscal Responsibility Index—qualified as lobbying under Chapter 305 of the Texas Government Code.

    This has always seemed a very odd cranny for the Texas Ethics Commission to stick its nose into, but at that time Sullivan was quite a thorn in the side of then-speaker Joe Straus. Indeed, Sullivan was such a thorn in the side of the Straus/Bonnen/Phelan/Burrows cabal that Sullivan would eventually cause Dennis Bonnen to resign for offering Sullivan an unethical deal for press credentials in exchange for bringing pressure on certain GOP caucus members. It was a stupidly petty deal at the time, and appears even more so in retrospect. The TEC case certainly seems like someone doing the bidding to the cabal to shut Sullivan up.

    Sullivan has spent the past decade fighting the ruling, arguing that the communications were protected free speech, not lobbying. He is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

    Paxton, rather than backing the agency tasked with enforcing Texas lobbying laws, is arguing that the TEC’s enforcement is unconstitutional and represents a violation of First Amendment rights.

    “No free citizen should have to register with the government and pay a special fee just to send letters or emails to the government about matters of public importance,” Paxton’s brief states, contending that the First Amendment does not allow government officials to regulate political speech in this way.

    The attorney general’s filing goes on to suggest that the Ethics Commission’s enforcement is not just improper but harmful to public participation in government.

    “Discussing political issues with elected officials is indispensable to democracy,” the brief argues. “In recent years, the Court has repeatedly stressed the importance of robust political discussion.”

    Paxton’s brief also challenges the bureaucratic barriers imposed by the state’s lobbying laws, arguing that the TEC’s actions stifle political activism rather than regulate true lobbying.

    Indeed.

    “Sullivan should not be punished for communicating his views without first registering with the government and paying a fee,” the brief states. “Many people do not have the resources to pay such fees and do not understand the registration requirement; Sullivan’s publicized punishment will discourage the public from sending letters and emails to lawmakers.”

    Paxton’s decision to challenge a Texas state agency is rare. While the attorney general’s office typically defends state entities in court, Paxton’s brief emphasizes that he is responsible for protecting constitutional rights above bureaucratic enforcement.

    “General Paxton has sworn an oath to ‘preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States.’ When those obligations conflict, General Paxton may decline to defend a State entity whose actions violate the U.S. Constitution,” the filing states.

    At the time of the events in question, Sullivan was president of Empower Texans, a conservative organization focused on fiscal responsibility and government transparency.

    As part of that work, Sullivan published the Fiscal Responsibility Index, a rating that graded Texas legislators on their votes related to taxes and spending. The Ethics Commission ruled that his outreach to lawmakers—informing them how their votes would be scored—met the definition of lobbying, making him subject to registration and disclosure laws.

    If actually applied to all, this standard would make groups like Right to Life, the NRA and the ACLU “lobbyists” merely for stating how they would score certain votes.

    Sullivan and his supporters, meanwhile, have argued that such political communication is core protected speech, not regulated lobbying activity.

    Tony McDonald, a free speech attorney who represents Sullivan in the case, sees Paxton’s brief as a warning about broader abuses of power by the TEC.

    “This brief should be a strong signal not just to the court, but to anyone who will listen,” McDonald said. “The Texas Ethics Commission is out of control.”

    The TEC has faced mounting criticism in recent years for what some say is overreach in its regulation of political speech.

  • In Katy Christian Magazine v. The Link Letter, the TEC forced a small publication into a costly legal battle over political advertising disclosures, leading to accusations that the commission’s tactics are designed to intimidate conservative media outlets.
  • The agency has also been criticized for targeting citizens. Darnella Wilkerson, an older black activist, was fined thousands of dollars over paperwork issues, effectively shutting down her ability to participate in political organizing.
  • Lawmakers have raised concerns that the commission is being used to silence political speech rather than enforce ethical standards. A growing number of Republican legislators have called for reforms to rein in the agency.

    • The case was a serious overreach for a Texas Ethics Commission serving narrow political interests rather than those of free speech, democratic governance and the public good. Hopeful the case will be heard by the Supreme Court, and both Sullivan and Paxton will come out victorious.

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    Posted in Supreme Court, Texas | No Comments »

    Paxton Joins Lawsuit Against Child Mutilation

    Wednesday, February 5th, 2025

    If you were worried that Ken Paxton would run out of people to sue with Biden out of office, you need not have worried. Texas just joined a lawsuit against child mutilation.

    Texas has joined an amicus brief to prevent a district judge from mandating taxpayers fund “gender transition” surgeries for criminals in a state prison.

    Texas joined 23 other states in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit backing Indiana’s appeal in a case brought by a prison inmate who demanded a taxpayer-funded “gender transition” surgery.

    “Taxpayers should not be forced to fund dangerous and experimental procedures for prisoners based on radical gender theory,” stated Attorney General Ken Paxton.

    Brady Gray, president of Texas Family Project, agreed, saying that the case is about protecting Texas families from being compelled to support policies that contradict their values.

    “Forcing taxpayers to fund these surgeries not only diverts critical resources away from public safety and rehabilitation but also imposes an extreme ideological agenda on the people of Texas,” Gray told Texas Scorecard. “This is a fight to uphold common sense, defend biological reality, and ensure that public funds are used responsibly.”

    Both President Donald Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott have issued directives for government agencies to reject gender ideology.

    “On his first day in office, President Trump signed an Executive Order to end this kind of nonsense. The United States recognizes two unchangeable sexes, male and female,” continued Paxton’s statement. “That biological reality has always been true despite the political activism of extremist gender theory advocates.”

    For inexplicable ideological reasons, many social justice warrior Democrats have decided that a willingness to mutilate a child’s genitalia is a virtue-signaling hill they’re willing to die on. Not only Ken Paxton, but the entirety of the Abbott and Trump Administrations, as well as the Republican establishment as a whole, are committed to keeping crazy leftwing Democrats from mutilating children.

    If that’s the hill Democrats want to die on, we should make them.

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    Posted in Democrats, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, Texas | 1 Comment »

    Paxton Files One Last Lawsuit Against Biden For The Road

    Monday, January 20th, 2025

    As Joe Biden and his ruling cabal slunk out of the White House, Ken Paxton filed a final lawsuit against the regime’s executive regulatory ovrereach:

    Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined a legal challenge against the Biden administration’s recent regulation targeting gas-powered water heaters.

    On December 26, 2024, the Department of Energy issued a final rule that would prohibit the sale of non-condensing instantaneous natural gas water heaters. Paxton and a coalition of attorneys general from multiple states contest the move is unlawful.

    The lawsuit, led by Georgia, Kansas, and Tennessee, argues that this regulation disproportionately affects seniors and low-income households by limiting market options and potentially forcing consumers to use products that may require more energy for the same performance.

    Paxton strongly criticized the rule, stating, “It makes no sense to ban better performing instantaneous water heaters in the name of ‘green energy’ and force consumers to purchase more expensive and less efficient models. Beyond being ridiculous, it is an unlawful abuse of power.”

    He has vowed to continue opposing overreach by the Biden administration, adding, “Until the final second of Biden’s tenure in Washington, I will defend Texas from the chronic lawlessness of his Administration.”

    With President-elect Trump set to take office in a few days, it remains to be seen how these ongoing legal challenges and regulatory disputes will be resolved.

    Fellow states joining Texas in the suit are Georgia, Kansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

    Plus a bunch of natural gas associations.

    Hopefully today marks the end of federal regulatory overreach in the service of unlawful, pie-in-the-sky environmentalism and the beginning of an administration that actually cares about ordinary Americans.

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    Posted in Democrats, Regulation, Texas | 7 Comments »

    Greg Abbott Vs. Communist China

    Thursday, November 21st, 2024

    Communist China has plenty to worry about with a second Trump Administration coming in, but now a second Republican politician is taking concrete steps to thwart their plans: Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has issued a number of executive orders to curtail Chinese influence in the state.

  • First he issued an order opposing Chinese efforts to harass and forcibly repatriate dissidents.

    Gov. Greg Abbott announced a new executive order on Monday aimed at countering what he describes as harassment campaigns by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against Texans.

    The order focuses on China’s “Operation Fox Hunt,” which Abbott says is part of a broader CCP effort to forcibly repatriate Chinese dissidents living abroad to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

    “The PRC forces targeted dissidents to return in several ways, including threatening dissidents’ families still residing in China, using PRC assets to target dissidents abroad in their host countries, and kidnapping and smuggling dissidents back into the PRC,” the order states.

    According to Safeguard Defenders, a human rights nonprofit, as of 2022, the PRC has established at least 102 illicit overseas “police service stations” worldwide, including some in the United States. These stations reportedly engage in unlawful campaigns of threats, harassment, and harm against U.S. citizens and lawful residents of Chinese origin or descent.

    At least six of these so-called “police service stations” are believed to still exist in the United States, including one in Houston.

    The order tasks the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) with a series of actions to address the issue, including:

    Identifying and prosecuting offenders: DPS will identify and charge individuals suspected of exploiting dissidents on behalf of foreign governments.

    Collaborating with law enforcement: DPS will partner with local and federal law enforcement through the Texas Fusion Center to assess incidents in which foreign governments attempt to intimidate Texans.

    Documenting and reporting threats: DPS will discover and document individuals planning or carrying out acts of repression, and by January 15, 2025, will provide policy recommendations and training programs to counter these threats.

    Improving reporting systems: Texans will be able to report suspected acts of oppression or coercion through a new hotline and updates to the iWatch Texas Community Reporting System.

    Abbott says that Texas will not tolerate such harassment, particularly against the state’s Chinese-American community.

  • Abbott has also undertaken steps to protect Texas from foreign threats (including China and others).

    Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order aimed at strengthening Texas’ defenses against hostile powers.

    Abbott identified the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the primary threat. He also included North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Russia, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in his order.

    The executive order directs state agencies, public institutions of higher education, and other key sectors to bolster security measures, safeguard critical infrastructure, protect intellectual property, and secure personal data against threats from these hostile powers.

    “Our No. 1 priority is to protect Texans, including from espionage threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies,” Abbott said. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that the Chinese government has actively targeted local and state officials as part of their strategy to undermine the national security of the United States. Hardening our state government is critical to protect Texans from hostile foreign actors who may attempt to undermine the safety and security of Texas and the nation.”

    The executive order is designed to prevent Chinese influence and espionage operations within Texas’ state government.

    Among the key provisions of the order:

    Increased Scrutiny for Contractors: Any company bidding for state contracts must certify that it does not have ownership or control by a foreign adversary government or its subsidiaries.

    Enhanced Background Checks: Stronger background check procedures will be introduced for state employees and contractors who have access to critical infrastructure.

    Gift and Travel Restrictions: State employees will be prohibited from accepting gifts from representatives of foreign adversary countries, and any state-sponsored travel to those countries will be banned.

    Restrictions on Foreign Government Contracting: Texas state agencies will no longer be allowed to contract with companies owned or controlled by foreign adversary governments, ensuring that Texas is not inadvertently empowering foreign entities with national security concerns.

    Protection for Higher Education: Faculty and employees will be prohibited from participating in foreign recruitment programs sponsored by foreign adversary nations, which often serve as channels for espionage or intellectual property theft.

    “With this Executive Order, Texas will safeguard our critical infrastructure and information from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party,” Abbott added.

    In the past Communist China has infiltrated or partnered with University of Texas system entities, including “The University of Texas Medical Board (UTMB)-run Galveston National Laboratory (GNL) [signing] a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in 2017.”

  • Infrastructure was also the focus of yet another Abbott executive order.

    Gov. Greg Abbott announced his third executive order in as many days targeting the influence and potential security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party in Texas.

    Abbott’s latest executive order directs two key agencies—the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Public Utility Commission of Texas—to take immediate action to prepare for and counteract any potential cyberattacks or other disruptive actions aimed at Texas’ critical infrastructure. This includes sectors crucial to public safety and economic stability such as communications, energy, water, and transportation.

    In his statement, Abbott emphasized the urgent need for these protective measures. “China has made it clear that they can—and will—target and attack America’s critical infrastructure,” he wrote, adding:

    Just this past year, a hostile Chinese government actor targeted America’s communications, energy, transportation, water, and wastewater systems, threatening our national security. Today, I directed Texas state agencies to identify potential vulnerabilities to prevent cyberattacks on local, state, and other critical infrastructure. Texas will continue to protect our critical infrastructure to ensure the safety of Texans from potential threats by the Chinese Communist Party or any hostile foreign government.

    The executive order outlines a multi-faceted approach to reinforce the security of Texas infrastructure. Among the key provisions, TDEM and PUC will:

    Establish a taskforce to identify vulnerabilities in Texas’ infrastructure, focusing on state and local government systems. This taskforce will also offer actionable recommendations to address and mitigate these vulnerabilities.

    Simulate responses to cyberattacks across key Texas industry sectors, including energy, water, transportation, and telecommunications, to ensure preparedness for potential disruptions. These simulations will guide the development of policies and best practices to prevent or minimize the impact of cyberattacks.

    Convene a state agency committee to simulate the restoration of Texas’ electric grid in the event of a foreign attack, ensuring that state and utility authorities are prepared to respond swiftly to protect the state’s energy supply.

    Additionally, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has been directed to create a dedicated, secure communications system for electric and telecommunications companies to use during critical grid incidents. Abbott has set a deadline of June 30, 2025 for the creation of this system.

    That secure communications system sounds like it would have come in handy during the last two ice storms.

    • Taken together, these actions may seem somewhat scattershot, and are no substitute for effective, coordinated federal action, but they reflect China’s multifaceted threat. At lot of these may have no impact (I see no signs China is particularly active in the U.S. contract employee space, though India certainly is), but others may at least have some bureaucrats go “Eh, I supposed we should look into this,” which might end up turning up something.

    And anything that discourages private companies and government agencies from working with a genocidal communist dictatorship is a good thing.

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    Posted in Communism, Crime, Republicans, Texas | 3 Comments »

    Election Shenanigans From Travis County Dems

    Saturday, November 2nd, 2024

    The People’s Republic of Austin is a deep blue dot in the midst of deep red Texas, and Democrats are ramping up election shenanigans to keep it that way.

    Local GOP Sues Travis County Over Election Staffing

    According to the Travis County GOP, 41 percent of locations on Election Day lack any Republican poll workers.
    …UPDATE: The Travis County Republican Party has appealed to the Texas Supreme Court after the 3rd Court of Appeals dismissed the lawsuit as moot.

    A lack of Republican election staffers, despite the county party having submitted over 900 names to the local election office, has caused the Travis County Republican Party to take drastic action.

    According to a press release, the Travis GOP filed an emergency petition against the county elections division for refusing to staff polling locations with Republicans.

    The filing alleges “the Travis County Elections Department ignored repeated requests from TCRP for polling location staffing, only delivering the information just four days before the start of early voting. The received information shows a severe lack of Republican presence at Early Voting and Election Day polling locations.”

    According to the GOP, 24 percent of early voting locations have no Republican election judges, and 50 percent have no Republican election workers. For Election Day, 41 percent of locations lack any Republican poll workers.

    The Texas Election Code requires polling locations to assign someone from the other major party as the alternate judge if they assign someone from one major party as the presiding judge.

    “It is totally unacceptable that large portions of our county have no Republican election judges assigned, despite our providing far more than the number of available workers needed,” said Travis County GOP Chair Matt Mackowiak. “As long as I am TCRP chair, we will hold local government accountable when they violate our rights and risk election integrity. This is an egregious example, and we look forward to our day in court.”

    Of course, pulling this sort of election shenanigans so close to the election gives very little time to correct the abuse. Here’s hoping the Texas Supreme Court comes back with some form of injunctive relief to have Republicans monitoring election day…

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    Posted in Austin, Democrats, Elections, Republicans | 7 Comments »

    10% Of Texas Population Illegal Aliens?

    Monday, October 14th, 2024

    This is a pretty startling tidbit via Texas Republican congressman Chip Roy:

    Given that the entire population of Texas is some 31,000,000 people, that means that just under 10% of the population are non-citizens, the majority of which are probably illegal aliens, and most of them have probably been imported under the Biden-Harris administration.

    If you were wondering how Democrats were planning on stealing the 2024 election, that’s one of the ways. Fortunately, Texas officials finally seem to have their act together for ensuring only citizens vote.

    In a major reversal from her guidance just days ago, Secretary of State Jane Nelson now says non-citizen driver’s licenses may not be used as a form of voter identification.

    The Texas Department of Public Safety issues driver’s licenses and personal identification cards to lawfully present noncitizens, which are clearly marked “Temporary Visitor” or “Limited-Term” and expire after one year or when the individual’s period of lawful presence ends.

    An advisory from the Secretary of State issued Tuesday afternoon stated that while citizens should not use these types of IDs to vote, poll workers should nonetheless offer a regular ballot to people on the voter rolls who present a noncitizen ID. This contrasts with previous guidance from the Secretary of State’s office in 2018, which specifically stated that DPS-issued driver’s licenses and personal identification cards “should not be used if ‘Limited Term’ or ‘Temporary Visitor’ appears on the face of the card, as this indicates the person is not a U.S. Citizen.”

    Instead, voters with such IDs were urged to show other forms of identification, including naturalization certificates or passports.

    After backlash, Nelson has issued “updated guidance” reversing the decision:

    When an individual attempts to vote by presenting a temporary or limited-term driver’s license (which federal regulations say must be issued only to non-citizens who are lawfully present in this country) election workers must require that the individual produce a naturalization card or naturalization certificate demonstrating U.S. citizenship to receive a regular ballot.

    I still expect Democrats to try to harvest illegal alien votes (and pursue other avenues of voting fraud) in deep blue cities, but state vigilance has helped forestall this particular avenue of illegal alien voting fraud.

    But voting fraud is far from the only baleful effects of Democrats importing such a staggering number of illegal aliens into Texas (and elsewhere). Higher crime rates, soaring housing costs, and downward pressure on manual labor and entry level jobs are all notable problems, as is the diversion of federal funds from more vital tasks to fund the Biden-Harris illegal alien importation agenda.

    The Biden-Harris administration allegedly redirected funds meant for securing the southern border to advancing its open borders agenda.

    The Center for Renewing America reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been using funds allocated to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to spur illegal border crossings.

    Specifically, CRA Executive Director Wade Miller levied accusations against the Biden-Harris administration for propagating the illusion that CBP had enough taxpayer funding, but then moving those dollars to FEMA to advance open-border policies.

    He described this process as being even more scandalous than FEMA funding illegal aliens with its own money.

    “It appears that much of the money used by FEMA to fund illegal immigration was transferred to FEMA from CBP,” Miller posted on X. “The Biden/Harris admin is defunding border security to facilitate open borders.”

    Miller explained later that “Democrats set up the CBP funding levels to make it look like CBP had non-laughable funding levels, with the intent of then later transferring those funds to fund the open borders agenda through FEMA.”

    While U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed that FEMA is running out of money amid the ongoing hurricane season, FEMA actually spent exorbitant amounts of money on welfare for illegal aliens.

    For example, in the past two years alone, FEMA covered approximately $1 billion worth of food, shelter, and transportation for illegal aliens.

    Now, not only is FEMA allegedly out of money, but the federal government has also been accused of taking taxpayer dollars from CBP’s pockets and transferring it to FEMA to continue its spending on illegal aliens.

    “Absolutely nothing that Border Czar Kamala Harris and President Biden do – or intentionally fail to do – surprises me,” State Rep. David Spiller told Texas Scorecard. “They continue to consciously endanger every Texan and American by their indefensible open border policies.”

    Having this many illegal aliens running around lose is an active threat to Texas and the United States. A second Trump presidency is necessary to secure the border and start the deportation of all illegal aliens.

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    Posted in Border Control, Texas | 9 Comments »

    Police Raid San Antonio Apartment Complex Run By Tren de Aragua

    Tuesday, October 8th, 2024

    The Biden-Harris Administration’s decision to flood America with illegal alien criminals continues to bear bitter fruit. Police raided a San Antonio Apartment complex taken over by Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua over the weekend.

    Law enforcement officials have confirmed that a vacant San Antonio apartment complex had fallen under the control of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which was using it as a base for criminal activity.

    On Saturday morning, a multi-agency task force—which included the San Antonio Police Department, Texas Anti-Gang Unit, Texas Department of Public Safety, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security—cleared more than 300 vacant units at the Palatia Apartment complex on the North side of the city.

    San Antonio PD had received several complaints about the complex regarding narcotics, human trafficking, and threats to apartment personnel, according to San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus.

    “We had information that members of the transnational gang, Tren de Aragua, were in control of the area and committing various crimes,” said McManus during a press conference. “The task force processed over 20 individuals that we arrested. We confirmed that four TdA members are in custody.”

    McManus also revealed that one of the members is an “enforcer” for the gang, who collects payments or dues on behalf of the gang. Nineteen of the 20 detained were charged, with several having warrants out for their arrest.

    The weeks-long investigation by San Antonio PD—“Operation Aurora”—was part of a broader effort to disrupt Tren de Aragua’s influence in Texas.

    Authorities believe the Venezuelan gang has been involved in prostitution, selling cocaine, and other violent crimes in the city. McManus said the gang has been operating in San Antonio for “several months.”

    “We assure the community and members of the public that we are committed to their safety, and we are on top of this TDA issue that seems to have gone very public lately,” said McManus.

    McManus said this was only the first takedown of a known gang location and that they have “other places we are going to hit.”

    “We are on to you,” McManus told Tren de Aragua. “We are coming for you, and we know where you are.”

    The gang has also been spotted in North Dallas, with Dallas Police officers confirming they have infiltrated the city. Members of the Tren De Aragua gang have congregated with other Venezuelans in the northern part of Dallas, nicknamed “Villa Dallas.” Since the gang’s arrival, the neighborhood has become riddled with illegal street racing, beatings, shootings, and extortion attempts.

    As I’ve noted before, I never read about Tren de Aragua until the Biden-Harris Administration decided to flood America with illegal aliens, and now they seem to be popping up everywhere, from New York City to Aurora to El Paso, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently declared them a terrorist gang.

    What do you think the odds are that Tren de Aragua is also active in more illegal alien-friendly blue states like California, and nobody is bothering to report on it or do anything about it?

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    Posted in Border Control, Texas | 4 Comments »

    Dade Phelan/Texas Speaker Race Update

    Monday, September 16th, 2024

    I’ve been needing to post a Dade Phelan/Texas Speaker’s Race update for a few weeks now, because I held off because I needed more information and I wasn’t sure what’s going on. Now a couple of tidbits of news have dropped that pretty much requires a post…but I’m still not sure what’s going on.

  • Now that Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo) has joined the race there are five Republican representatives who have declared they’re running for Speaker:
    • David Cook (Mansfield)
    • James Frank (Wichita Falls)
    • Tom Oliverson (Cypress)
    • Shelby Slawson (Stephenville)
    • John Smithee (Amarillo)
  • But wait! It’s not just republicans! Democrat Ana-Maria Ramos has also thrown her hat into the speaker’s race ring.

    State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos has filed to run for Speaker of the House, becoming the first Democrat to do so in what is becoming a crowded race against incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan.

    Snip.

    With Republicans expected to maintain or even grow their current majority in the Texas House, Ramos is unlikely win her bid for speaker. It does, however, add to the ever-growing consensus that Phelan will not be speaker next session.

  • In theory, the Republican caucus will determine their speaker nominee by secret ballot.

    The vote for Speaker of the House will take place on the first day of the legislative session on January 14, 2025.

    The decision may be made long before that as part of the Republican Caucus’ nominating process.

    The process of Republican legislators nominating a unified speaker candidate ahead of the official vote at the start of the session in January was adopted in 2017, in an attempt to prevent Republican speaker candidates, like then-Speaker Joe Straus, from courting Democrat support for the position.

    In the years since, however, both the former Speaker Dennis Bonnen and the current Speaker Dade Phelan have released lists containing Democrat supporters ahead of the caucus vote, making the exercise a formality.

    This year appears to be shaping up differently as Phelan has already gained four challengers who have promised to appoint only Republicans as committee chairs and gain Republican support first. For the first time, the caucus nomination process could be significant.

    The caucus vote will take place in December as part of their retreat ahead of the session. To clench the caucus’ nomination, multiple rounds of voting can take place during a secret ballot. The winner must receive 2/3 support during the first two rounds of voting. If that does not occur, the threshold then drops to 3/5.

    The widespread disillusion with Phelan over the Paxton impeachment, the school choice vote, and so many Phelan loyalists getting slaughtered in the primary, plus the vocal opposition of Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Senator Ted Cruz to Phelan continuing as speaker, plus a secret ballot, would seem to doom Phelan’s chances of being the Republican caucus choice.

  • But Texas speaker election rules run things on a top-two runoff basis, not round-by-round elimination, and the process is overseen by the Secretary of State. In combination with Ramos’s run, this would seem to eliminate Phelan’s chance to be elected speaker, as Democrats would presumably support Ramos on the first ballot, while Republicans would support whatever non-Phelan candidate gets the official GOP House Caucus nod, which means Phelan is left out of the top two.
  • Maybe Ramos is getting high on her own supply, actually believing that Democrats are ready to “turn Texas blue,” perhaps thanks to the Democratic Party’s relentless importation of illegal aliens. But since Ken Paxton has been hypervigilant in cracking down on potential voting fraud, that outcome seems…remote.
  • But since the cabal backing the Straus-Bonnen-Phelan speakership line is unlikely to go gently into that good night, I must be missing something. There must be some scheme to either keep Phelan in the speaker’s chair, or elect another cabal toady in his place, that I’m just not seeing.
  • Phelan shows every sign of trying to finagle another term, even going so far as to declare that now he he really is for school choice after working so hard to kill it last session. I don’t think anyone believes those new spots are genuine.
  • Another sign that Phelan is working to win is the announcement that former Republican Governor Rick Perry has hired as a senior advisor.

    Perry’s new position follows the announcement of Phelan’s new chief of staff, Mike Toomey, whose campaign finance records show numerous donations to Democrat lawmakers since 2015.

    Toomey, who previously served as chief of staff to Rick Perry, has been a casino lobbyist, which garnered him between $3.4 and $6.7 million this session alone. One of Toomey’s largest clients is the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which seeks to legalize monopolistic casino gambling in Texas.

    Toomey has also represented Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the group that advocated for Phelan’s impeachment of Paxton last year. Notably, Perry’s name was on the by-line of a Wall Street Journal op-ed calling for Paxton’s impeachment and conviction; the article was ghost-written by TLR.

    As of 2022, Perry has warmed up to the expansion of gambling, becoming a spokesperson for Sports Betting Alliance, a group lobbying to legalize mobile sports gambling in Texas.

    Perry will advise Phelan in a “voluntary capacity” until the start of the 89th Texas Legislature in January, according to an official press release.

    Perry’s support of Phelan may seem inexplicable to Texas Republicans who remember him as a conservative stalwart, but Perry has long gone off on ill-advised tangents every now and them, from backing the Gardasil mandate for pre-teen girls to his love for expensive high speed rail subsidies to derailing his presidential campaign by debating while hopped up on goofballs for back surgery.

    Plus, I suspect that gambling money pipeline jets out a pretty lucrative stream…

  • Finally, I note for the record this Texas Scorecard “Speaker Phelan Used State Jet for Campaign Activities” article.

    A new investigative report revealed that House Speaker Dade Phelan used a state jet for campaign activities.

    KHOU 11 has reported that members of the Texas House have used TxDOT’s executive-style jets for activities that crossed the line between “official state business” into personal or political business.

    According to state law, the jets cannot be used for attending “an event at which money is raised for private or political purposes.”

    When Phelan (R-Beaumont) used the jet in September 2022 to attend a speaking engagement at the leftwing Texas Tribune Festival, he didn’t stop there. He then used the jet to attend a University of Texas versus Texas Tech football game in Lubbock.

    In a statement to KHOU 11, Phelan’s office said the trip was to meet with Tech officials and paid for by university donors.

    However, campaign finance records show that he accepted a $2,500 in-kind contribution for “food and beverage for campaign event” the day he got to Lubbock. He also had an $880 charge at a hotel for “staff lodging for political fundraiser.”

    KHOU 11 estimated that he raised at least $37,522 for his campaign on the trip.

    Yeah, probably a violation, but it seems pretty smallball stuff compared to Phelan’s other shenanigans…

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    Posted in Democrats, Elections, Republicans, Texas | 2 Comments »

    Biden Admin Paying Ft. Worth Catholic Charity $1 Billion For Illegal Aliens?

    Monday, September 9th, 2024

    Back in the dim mists of time (the 1980s or 90s), every time a Republican would try to earmark money for a religious charity for non-religious services (say, rehabilitating felons or running an adoption agency), Democrats would throw a fit and scream “Church and state! First amendment!” As always, those same rules never apply when they’re the ones doing it, as the Biden Administartion has been funneling money into a Fort Worth Catholic Charity help import their precious illegal aliens.

    Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French has revealed that a Fort Worth Catholic organization has been enabling illegal aliens in Texas.

    The Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has given control of nearly a billion in taxpayer dollars to the organization. The organization has been revealed as funneling this money to illegal border crossers and other organizations funded by leftist billionaires George Soros and Bill Gates.

    Starting in 2021, the Catholic Charities of Fort Worth—the primary charity of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth—began a unique relationship with the Biden-Harris administration, as well as with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccera.

    The two made an arrangement that all federal grants for the state of Texas, regarding cash payments to so-called “refugees” would be given to the charity, with CCFW receiving discretion over who the money was being handed out to.

    With the money being handed out to them, CCFW established the Texas Office for Refugees to handle grants being sent by the federal government. Since 2022, the organization has received more than $800 million from the Biden-Harris administration to aid illegal aliens.

    One wonders what line item was for “help illegal aliens move into American neighborhoods to raise the crime rates, depress wages and vote for Democrats?” Was this in the “inflation reduction act?”

    CCFW also has an Immigration Services law firm that helps illegal aliens obtain legal status and even American citizenship.

    According to French’s findings, the organization’s 2022 Form 990 showed they had given more than $25 million that year to the International Rescue Committee—an international immigration nonprofit whose stated mission is to “help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster, including the climate crisis, to survive, recover and gain control over their future.”

    So Green New Deal Graft helps with the Import Illegal Aliens Graft.

    The IRC receives more than $1 billion annually, with a majority of that money funded by the Biden-Harris administration, as well as Soros and Gates. The IRC’s expressed purpose for assisting illegal aliens is to help them “become permanent residents and US citizens.”

    The IRC has stated that they’ve already helped more than 50,000 illegal aliens annually and their website states they have settled over 26,000 in Dallas alone.

    In 2022, the President of IRC’s salary was more than $1 million and several other employees received a higher salary than the President of the United States.

    The article fails to mention that office is held by Labour Party functionary David Miliband, possibly the only man every to lose a leadership election to his own brother.

    However, IRC isn’t the only organization receiving taxpayer money from the Catholic Charities of Fort Worth.

    CCFW has also given more than $13 million to Refugee Services of Texas—a Dallas-based immigration non-governmental organization. RST has also worked with illegal aliens to help them attain citizenship in the U.S., however, the organization has since shut down due to financial mismanagement and lack of funds. Nonetheless, RST received more than $20 million—$19 million of which was from federal grants—in 2021.

    The HHS grant, which CCFW has received nearly a billion dollars since 2022, is a grant program 93.566, which gives cash payments to “refugees” and pays for their medical expenses.

    Under the HHS program, illegal aliens can receive up to $685 per month in cash payments and incentive bonuses for actions like getting a job or keeping a job for a certain period of time. The program is also known to pay for medical expenses for the illegal alien and their families—up to 100 percent of the cost.

    Meanwhile, taxpaying American families are eligible for Jack and Squat under the program.

    French accused the Biden-Harris administration of abusing the asylum process to help illegal aliens become voting citizens and of giving money to the so-called “charities” to help with their aims.

    When an illegal alien crosses the border and is apprehended, they can claim asylum. An immigration officer then interviews them to check their claims. If the officer accepts the claim, they are granted asylum status and are legally allowed in the country, where they can receive benefits from these nonprofits.

    If the alien’s asylum claim is denied, they will go to an immigration court and get another chance with a lawyer provided to them for free by nonprofits like CCFW and IRC. Once they receive some form of legal status, the same organizations will help pay lawyers to assist them in obtaining access to taxpayer-funded programs like SNAP, Section 8 housing, and the Women, Infants, and Children’s (WIC) program.

    Illegal aliens are then able to receive thousands of dollars per month of taxpayer dollars and can apply for permanent legal residency after one year.

    None of the Democratic Party’s “let’s cram as many illegal aliens into the country as possible so we can amnesty them to vote for Democrats” is beneficial for the American taxpayer.

    Republican in congress should start an immediate investigation into the organizations receiving these funds, and a second Trump Administration should eliminate all line item spending for national or international NGOs until those designed to violate American sovereignty are weeded out.

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    Posted in Border Control, Democrats, Social Justice Warriors, Texas, Welfare State | 11 Comments »

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