George P. Bush cries "Rasicm" to misdirect from Dunderheaded Mismanagement of Alamo

"Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way."
Psalm 25:8

What a dork:

THREAD: One must ask themselves, why am I being accused of honoring the murderous dictator Santa Anna? Is it because my mother (now a naturalized citizen) is from Mexico? I was born in Houston, my wife is from San Angelo, and my boys were born-you guessed it- here in Texas. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Tjn7Ek2jjB

— George P. Bush (@georgepbush) December 11, 2019

The idea that I would EVER place a statue of Santa Anna at the Alamo is patently false. Enough is enough. This is an outright lie, and is quite frankly, flat out racist. (3/3)

— George P. Bush (@georgepbush) December 11, 2019

YCT Chairman Saurabh Sharma then addressed P.:

I’m not a native Texan but I love this state. The specific story you’re citing is fake news & should discredit anyone spreading it.

But let’s not pretend it hasn’t been your failure to competently restore the Alamo that has led to the opposition to you. It’s not racism. #txlege https://t.co/L5aJnNgbrx

— Saurabh Sharma (@ssharmaTX) December 12, 2019

To which J.R. Hernandez (remember him) replied:

Now this is a take.

In which @YCT chairman justifies the spread of lies with racist undertones claiming its George P. Bush’s own fault for not “competently restoring Alamo.” https://t.co/Z1V5yWVE8Y

— J.R. (@JRHDZV) December 12, 2019

Saurabh again:

Do you know how to read or does your lucrative taxpayer-funded salary not require that?

I explicitly said that the story is fake & discredits anyone spreading it.

But any effort to paint all opposition to Commissioner Bush as racism is a lie designed to avoid true criticism. https://t.co/gHsl02sPi2

— Saurabh Sharma (@ssharmaTX) December 12, 2019

For those who don’t know JR is Commissioner Bush’s in-house campaign flack whose job it is to plant the asinine “George P. For Lieutenant Governor” boomlet we see every few months. @cahnman did the digging on this last time.https://t.co/GIt2khHRKn

— Saurabh Sharma (@ssharmaTX) December 12, 2019

Thank you Saurabh.

Now, look: George P. Bush probably isn't some globalist with a secret agenda to erase history. George P. Bush isn't that smart.  But George P. Bush can still grease the skids for a shady "redevelopment" deal even if he's not receiving direct orders from the Trilateral commission.

For several years, George P. Bush has been talking out of both sides of his mouth about the Alamo.  Given his own behavior, it's not surprising that a rumor took hold.  Watch for yourself and decide whether or not you trust him:



Bottom Line: If George P. Bush wants to know why people are angry at him over the Alamo, he should look in the mirror, rather than grasping at this pathetic straw(man argument).

#TXLEGE: So-called "Campus Free Speech" Bill Accomplished NOTHING (Like We Predicted)

"Professing to be wise, they became fools,"
Proverbs 1:22

Lovely:

A speech panel titled “When Hate Comes to Campus: Free Speech” was held at the University of North Texas last week. What was intended to be a learning experience for us all devolved into toxicity and victimhood.

The panel opened with a speech by Caitlin Sewell, a lawyer on the university’s general counsel. Ms. Sewell discussed the First Amendment and Texas Senate Bill 18 by going over examples of what is protected by free speech and what is not. In one example of what is protected, she decided to use a racial epithet in its entirety. Later in her speech, however, she chose to censor an expletive by using the term “f-word.”

The students in the audience were not fond of these choices made by Ms. Sewell. Some jumped out of their seats to yell, and one student accused the speaker of “oppressing her.” The president of the student government, Yolian Ogbu, also had quite a bit to say on the matter, claiming that “we can think of a million words to harass black people, brown people … but we can’t even think of a single word to do that for white people. Why? Because we are living in a white supremacist system.”

The students rallied behind these outlandish claims made by Ms. Ogbu, and quite a few students on social media pushed for Ms. Sewell to be fired. She resigned the next day.

Despite lavish protestations otherwise, nothing's really changed.

As we said last month:

So why is anyone surprised?!?

We've been making this point for years: See 2017, and 2018, and 2019.

Once again, witness list from this past session's UNT Board confirmation hearing:

Bottom Line: The legislature can pass all the bills it wants.  Absent personnel that will faithfully implement those laws, however, nothing will change.  This has been obvious since (at least) 2016.  We've been on this soapbox since 2017.  But uprooting an entrenched bureaucracy is hard.  So-our so-called "leaders" do nothing.  "Keep Texas Red" Tho....

#TXLEGE: Higher Ed. establishment proves Abbott A LIAR (once again)

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Joshua 24:15

Via. Texas Scorecard:

Starting a college organization is never easy, but starting a conservative organization—Young Conservatives of Texas, to be precise—has proven to be particularly hard at the University of North Texas.

There are many staff, students, and perhaps even those in administration who seem to be against our message. Our freedom of speech is under fire, with rumors that the Student Government Association is looking to put policies in place that would essentially revoke the free-speech rights that were reaffirmed to public universities through the passage of Senate Bill 18—which YCT representatives gave supportive testimony for at the Senate hearing—and Trump’s executive order.

The piece then details the UNT administration's specific abuses.  Typical higher ed. stuff.  To be honest, the details don't matter.

With all due respect: DUH!!!

Of course the higher ed. establishment is ignoring the legislature.  It's what they do.  The only thing that's surprising is that people believed Greg Abbott in June:

I just signed a law protecting free speech on college campuses. #txlege pic.twitter.com/jHIh8431SH

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 10, 2019

The higher ed. establishment will continue to ignore the legislature as long as the Boards' of Regents allow them to do so.  Meanwhile, allowing the higher ed. establishment to do whatever it wants is the one common trait we've seen from Greg Abbott's regent appointees.  And the Texas Senate keeps confirming them.

So why is anyone surprised?!?

We've been making this point for years: See 2017, and 2018, and 2019.

Witness list from this past session's UNT Board confirmation hearing:

All is well with this author's soul.

Bottom Line: The only surprising thing is that anyone is still surprised.

#TXLEGE: HD 135 candidates a TEXTBOOK example of why the Texas GOP is losing

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

HD-135 is a historically Republican district in Northwest Harris County that (barely) flipped blue in 2018.

The Texan has a write up of the candidates currently running for the Republican nomination.

-------

Meet Justin Ray:

Republican candidate Justin Ray, was elected to the Jersey Village City Council in 2012, and in 2015 was elected as the youngest Mayor in city history. A life-long resident of Jersey Village, the only city in the district, Ray says he’s watched the area evolve from “suburban to urban-suburban.”

When asked by The Texan what he thought was needed for the GOP to reclaim HD 135, Ray emphasized appropriate messaging and hard work.

“We must articulate a Republican message that resonates with our 2020 voters, including younger voters and suburban moms.” Ray added that a priority issue for his campaign would be support for public education, which he says is the number one issue for families in his district. “I am uniquely situated to understand what voters and families in the area want.”

....

Ray has been cultivating support from other elected officials in the area, and the host committee for a recent Justin Ray fundraiser included trustees from both Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and the Harris County Board of Education, as well as Jersey Village city council members and the city’s current mayor.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

Justin Ray is a standard educrat candidate.  He'll be a mouthpiece for the Cy-Fair ISD bureaucracy.  His campaign website is short on specifics beyond throwing money at public education.

Fun facts about Cy-Fair ISD:

• Superintendent Salary -- "Superintendent John Henry of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District took home the largest paycheck in Texas with his base salary of $406,484, according to 2017-2018 salary data from the Texas Education Agency.

• Total Debt Outstanding --  $2,419,435,000 [Note: That's over $2 BILLION]

• Debt Outstanding per student -- $21,062.

• Debt approved, not yet issued -- $1,762,000,000. [Note: That's almost another $2 BILLION]

Cy-Fair ISD is about to have $4 Billion in debt outstanding...and Justin Ray is running to be their man in Austin.

As for the so-called "Harris County Board of Education": It's a superfluous layer of government that should have been abolished decades ago.

Even with all that, however, Justin Ray might still be the less bad candidate in this race.

-------

Meet the other candidate:

Young Conservatives of Texas Denounce Mark McCaig

Austin, TX—Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) today denounced the activities of former YCT member Mark McCaig and demanded that he stop using the organization’s name to attack conservative candidates. McCaig, who recently joined the personal injury law firm of ultra-liberal Democrat super funder Steve Mostyn, has launched a deceptively named–PAC called Conservative Voters of Texas and is using the PAC and his credentials as a former member of YCT to attack conservative members of the Legislature.

“Mark McCaig has sold his conservative credentials to the highest bidder—in this case liberal Democrat Steve Mostyn,” said Jeff Morris, YCT State Chairman. “No true conservative would work for the man who spent $10 million last election cycle working to defeat conservative candidates across Texas and who has hosted fundraisers with Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi in his own home. We are outraged by McCaig’s deception and his continued use of his past membership in YCT membership to bolster his attacks on conservative legislators. We will make sure that conservative voters are informed of his efforts to deceive them.”

Mostyn, the past President of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, spent millions against Gov. Rick Perry in the last election cycle and has donated a million dollars to Harris County Democrats. Mostyn is also the largest funder of Texans for Insurance Reform, a trial lawyer front group that opposes conservative candidates.

“Mark McCaig may claim to be a conservative and may have once been a YCT member years ago, but his conservative credentials dissolved the minute he sold out to his new boss,” said Tony McDonald, YCT Senior Vice Chairman. “Conservative voters should not be fooled by his rhetoric about ‘conservative principles.’ He is, and always has been, only concerned with reversing the conservative lawsuit reforms passed by Republicans over the last decade.”

 You can learn more about Mark McCaig here, here, and here.

McCaig's now calling himself the principled conservative in the race, a declaration that's laughable to anyone whose memory extends past five years.

-------

Bottom Line: That the primary for one of the most winnable Texas house races anywhere in the state features an educrat mouthpiece running against a trial lawyer mouthpiece tells you everything you need to know about the status of the so-called "conservative" party.

New UT system Chancellor just said...WHAT...about free speech?!?

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"
1 Peter 1:3

[Note: Learn more about the Chicago Statement on Free Expression on university campuses here.]

Chancellor Milliken spoke with the Trib last week; we weren't expecting this:

During audience questions, biochemistry senior Saurabh Sharma, chairman of UT’s Young Conservatives of Texas chapter, asked Milliken about potential changes to the UT System’s free speech policy. Milliken said he was considering adopting a policy like the Chicago statement, a set of principles that condemn restrictions of all speech on college campuses.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

It's a good thing we weren't drinking anything as we read that; if we had been, we would have probably spit it out.

But...yes...thank you.

Obviously, their follow through and implementation will need to be monitored.  But for the system Chancellor to endorse this position is unimaginably HUGE!!!  We'll see what happens.

Good deal.

Bottom Line:  Time will tell whether the new management is different from the old management, but this is an undeniably good start....

#TXLEGE: Mary Gonzalez adopts Top YCT Priority

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
Galatians 5:16

This session keeps getting curiouser and curiouser:

TX students graduate with over $30,000 in debt due to rising tuition. In 2003, the Texas Legislature let colleges & universities start setting tuition - since then, tuition has doubled. HB 132 returns responsibility to the legislature for ensuring affordable higher ed #txlege pic.twitter.com/UxIaRsuKIP

— Mary Gonzalez (@RepMaryGonzalez) January 16, 2019

Followed by this:

We're excited to see @RepMaryGonzalez file HB 132 to end tuition deregulation, one of our top legislative priorities for the session. #txlege https://t.co/2lGuzXQCKs

— Young Conservatives of Texas (@yct) January 16, 2019

Gonzalez's bill would repeal the horrifically misnamed so-called tuition 'deregulation' scheme the legislature passed in 2003.  Gonzalez would freeze tuition at the rate of this coming fall semester.  After that, tuition increases would require an affirmative act of the legislature.

Repealing so-called tuition "deregulation" has been a priority of this website for at least five years.  Just last week, we identified it as an important forward looking reform.  So yeah

Bottom Line: This was not something we expected, but we'll take it.

#TXLEGE: Will Abbott do anything after ANOTHER Higher Ed incident?!?

"Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
James 2:17

By now, you've heard:



Obviously, this isn't good.  There's a lot that can be said.  We've said a lot of it before.

But it comes down to this: Abbott has jurisdiction.  He's not using it.  Nothing else matters.

Last year, we predicted the situation would eventually get so bad that Fox News would notice.  Well, Fox News picked this one up.  And we all know how Greg Abbott feels about Fox News....

In fairness to Abbott, he's been telegraphing for awhile that he's getting sick of UT's nonsense.  He forced out the Chairman of the Board last fall.  But none of that has changed anything.

Instead, there's this:

Bottom Line: Abbott has jurisdiction.  He's not using it.  Nothing will change until he does....

-------

Governor Greg Abbott:

Phone - (512) 378-0285

Twitter - @GregAbbott_TX

Humphrey's comments fine so long as conservative Student-Athletes are granted similar courtesy

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight."
Proverbs 11:1

Last week, Longhorn Wide Receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey posted a poem to twitter that ignited some controversy:

A Lil piece of my mind pic.twitter.com/khNhvryK2f

— Lil'Jordan Humphrey (@LJ_Humphrey23) July 13, 2018

>
We're sympathetic to some of the points he makes. We disagree with others. But mostly we think he's entitled to his opinion and that it's none of our business.

Chris Del Conte expresses a similar sentiment:

"I was proud of him," Del Conte said exclusively to Horns247. "He did a class project where he was asked to write a poem about what he's going through."

....

"Music always depicts what's happening in society. Whether you're looking at the Mamas and the Papas, Jim Croce and what was going on in the seventies, the Allman Brothers, CCR, or even to NWA in the eighties when I was growing up, you always have something that's going to depict what's in society," Del Conte told Horns247. "Here's a kid writing a poem for class about what he's feeling, so I looked at it and thought, 'You know what, I'm proud of what he's talking about.' Sports always manifest things that are going on in society, and here's a kid just talking about what he feels like, and I can understand that.

"In today's society, it's polarizing. We're in a time that has not been that way in forever, we've been around for 250 years, we're founded by immigrants, we all mold together to become this great country called America, and yet today, we're more divisive than we've ever been. I felt like his poem was about what he's feeling, and you have to accept that and understand that."

Likewise Tom Herman:

“I was proud of him,” Herman said during a break-out session. “I was proud of him for expressing his feelings. I spoke to him... He wrote it and felt like he wanted to post and share it. I support him. That’s the beauty of social media.”

And that's fine.

However...this street better run both ways.

This author knows of several conservative student-athletes, across multiple sports, at the University of Texas.  If they choose to express their views. they had better receive the same treatment.  A free and open exchange of ideas means a free and open exchange of ideas.

Ultimately, everybody's goal is to win the Big XII; if we can do so in an environment of robust political dialogue, that could be a really cool model for the country.

Bottom Line: The standard has been set; we'll see where it goes from here....

IRRESPONSIBLE, RECKLESS, report nevertheless reveals Major UT Title IX problems (not what you think)

"And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar."
2 Samuel 13:22

Yesterday, Campus Reform had a highly sensationalistic report about a recent Title IX conviction at UT-Austin.  It was the worst piece of sexual assault "reporting" we've seen in awhile.  As agenda driven narrative, it was the right-wing equivalent of the original Aziz Ansari report.

Yet, for all that, it still revealed a major problem.

You can read the report here, otherwise we've going to dive in.

-------

Here's the crux:

The student—who requested anonymity—graduated in Spring with a JD. During his time in law school, a female student filed six Title IX complaints against him over two years: three for harassment, two for stalking, and one for violation of a no-contact order.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

Seriously...six complaints?!?  Stalking?!?  Violation of a no contact order?!?

It could be that this guy is completely innocent.  U.T.-Austin certainly has a record of railroading guys through Title IX.  But six complaints is pretty dadgum suspicious.

Campus Reform makes no attempt to determine the facts of the case.  Instead, it takes the accused at his word when he says his conviction was "very questionable."  With all due respect, it's...difficult...to take someone at their word following six separate complaints.

In each of the previous Title IX cases at UT-Austin, we had a reasonably decent grasp of the facts.  Each involved a single complaint against the accused.  Each showed significant evidence of lawless activity on the part of the University.

That's not the case here, and a guy with six complaints is not the hill on which this website wants to die.

The incoming Vice President of the Young Conservatives of Texas' UT chapter says it best:



Agreed.

That being said....

-------

...there's the matter of what happened next:

In addition to placing him on disciplinary probation for the fall 2018 semester and forbidding him from having further contact with his accuser, Zamora sentenced the student to “watch the film 'The Mask You Live In'…and write a reflection paper” on “your definition of masculinity and how it has been informed.”

He was also told to “identify gender role stereotypes/concepts and how [these] have impacted your relationship with women,” and to “define your idea of ‘healthy masculinity’ and describe what active steps you can take today to encourage healthy attitudes around masculinity at all levels of society.”

“Be advised that this [reflection assignment] may not serve as a defense of your actions, but as a reflection of what you have learned about yourself through this experience,” wrote Zamora, adding that the paper should be 5-6 pages, double-spaced.

This has produced predictable right wing commentary about "political correctness" and other pre-existing narratives.  But it misses a larger point: Following his conviction, the accused was sentenced to watch a movie and write an essay.  That's it.

"Toxic masculinity," or not, that's ridiculously weak; it's the modern day, woke, equivalent of saying "go to your room and think about what you've done."

Either the guy is guilty, or the guy is innocent:

• If he's guilty, he should face real consequences.

• If he's innocent, he be should left alone.

Watching a movie and writing an essay is neither.

-------

A note to our conservative friends: The "toxic masculinity" aspect of this is certainly dumb, but if you think that's the biggest problem here then you seriously need to reexamine your priorities.

-------

Then there's this:

[U.T. Austin press flack Shilpa] Bakre also said there is no standard procedure for how sanctions are determined when asked whether other students found guilty of violating the same policies have been sentenced to similar “healthy masculinity” reflections.

That's the actual problem with all things related to sexual assault policy at U.T.-Austin: They're making it up as they go along.

-------

Here's the other tragedy: U.T-Austin's Title IX program is poorly enough run that they're eventually going to step in it again.  Jumping the gun on cases like these are the equivalent of crying wolf.  It'll only hurt your credibility in the long run.

-------

Bottom Line: Nobody's covering themselves in glory....

#TXLEGE: Senate Free Speech hearing correctly identifies problem (solutions = anyone's guess)....

"When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them."
Acts 5:33

We attended today's Senate State Affairs committee hearing about free speech on college campuses.  They did a good job asking questions.  Whether they promote good answers remains to be seen.

The hearing began with two hours of invited testimony from bureaucrats representing the various public university systems around the state.  They predictably filibustered and gave Senators the runaround in denying the had a problem.  Honestly, they didn't say anything interesting.

During the third and fourth invited panels, various speakers from across the political spectrum described their experience navigating the morass related to free speech on Texas' campuses.  Contrary to the rosy picture painted by the bureaucrats, Tony McDonald of Empower Texans described his experiences during his college/law school days with YCT.  McDonald proposed eliminating "free speech zones", not charging "security fees" to student organizations, and eliminating requirements for "mandatory faculty advisors" for student groups.  Glenn Maxey of the Texas Democrat Party largely echoed McDonald's testimony but, citing some of his own experiences as an LGBT activist in the 1980's, stressed the need for protections to apply equally to groups on the left as groups on the right.

During the fourth invited panel, Senator Birdwell (finally!) identified the real solution: the Regents need to do their job!!!  Birdwell specifically bemoaned that the university bureaucracies deliberately keep Regents in the dark about the extent of the problem.  Of course, Birdwell neglected to mention that the various Boards of Regents already have the authority they need to eliminate the bureaucracies in question and...well...they haven't.

We built upon Senator Birdwell's comments in our testimony.  We testified that the real responsibility for protecting free speech on campus lies with the Boards of Regents.  We pointed out, furthermore, that at this time last year we told the Texas Senate (and Senator Birdwell in particular) that if they confirmed the last round of UT regent nominees, political correctness (including this free speech stuff) would get worse.  Every Senator on that panel then voted to confirm the Regents in question.  One year later, here we are.   We also pointed out that, among elected officials, it's the Governor (who appoints the regents) who's primarily responsible for public university governance.  It's worth pointing out that, in four panels and four hours of invited testimony, not a single currently serving Regent from any university system was asked to speak.

During public testimony, several left leaning students voiced concerns about the backlash to a student newspaper columnist who publised a highly imflammatory essay about race last fall.  Specifically, they described death threats and doxxing experienced by the author of said essay.  On the other hand, several of those same left leaning students talked about how racist flyers posted around both the UT-Austin and Texas State campuses last year created an "unsafe" enviroment.  Let's clarify: death threats and doxxing aren't cool...but when you lump flyers (no matter how distasteful) with those sorts of physical threats, you undermine your own credibility.

Bottom Line: We'll know if the Senate is serious about this issue when it takes up regent confirmations next year....

UT now imposing politically motivated de facto speech taxes (aka. "Security Fees")

"As a dog returns to his own vomit,
So a fool repeats his folly."
Proverbs 26:11

Wow:

Today Young America’s Foundation (YAF) sent a letter to the University of Texas at Austin, demanding the immediate rescission of a viewpoint discriminatory “security fee” that University administrators levied on conservative students’ speech.

On November 14, 2017, the students of the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) partnered with Young America’s Foundation to bring United States Senator Rick Santorum to campus to talk about “moral governance.” The lecture itself was a tremendous success and students benefitted from an insightful dialogue with Senator Santorum.

However, UT-Austin is now sticking conservative students with a $654 invoice for the security services of five security officers. Why? According to University officials, this “security fee” was necessary because Senator Santorum is “high profile” and because of the “political climate.”

“School administrators may not impose varying security fees based on the community’s reaction to the content of speech. Doing so violates both the First and the Fourteenth Amendments,” said Spencer Brown, Spokesman for Young America’s Foundation. “This security fee reeks of viewpoint discrimination. The facts are clear – University officials arbitrarily levied a hefty security fee based on the content of Senator Santorum’s lecture. Equally clear is how the courts respond to such a practice.”

Furthermore, having been in attendance at this event, we will add that we only saw one UTPD officer there.  So it seems pretty far-fetched to claim that there was any sort of heightened security fears when no actions were taken at the time to quell them.  But that assumes this charge was made in good faith, and this is the UT politburo about which we're talking....

Bottom Line: Isn't this just typical?!?

UT Communists Vandalize Private Property...AGAIN!!! (Fenves, Board of Regents, and Abbott STILL SILENT)

"As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent."
Jeremiah 28:9

On Wednesday, we reported on the communist inspired vandalism against a widely respected right of center student organization that has been active in Texas politics for four decades.

It happened again.

From a campus source:

At this point, the following must happen:

• President Greg Fenves needs to take all necessary steps to ensure that the free speech rights of all students on campus are protected from violent political intimidation.
• Note: Considering that this is the same Greg Fenves who hasn't done a damn thing about two on campus murders in 13 months, consider us skeptical that this step will occur.

• If President Greg Fenves fails to fulfill his responsibility to maintain a campus free from violent political intimidation, then the Board of Regents needs to fire him and replace him with someone who will.

• If President Greg Fenves fails to fulfill his responsibility to maintain a campus free from violent political intimidation, and the Board of Regents fails to fire him, then the allegedly conservative Governor who has appointed a majority of the currently seated Regents (and who, just this past Monday, had his handpicked choice elected to chair the Board) needs to explain to the public why he is allowing a culture of violent political intimidation to fester on the state's flagship public university campus.
• Note: Keep in mind, this is the Governor who once bragged about giving "marching orders" to his university Regent appointments.

Bottom Line: The festering culture of violent political intimidation on Texas' flagship university campus cannot continue.

-------

President Greg Fenves:
(512) 471-1232
president@utexas.edu

Board of Regents:
(512) 499-4402
bor@utsystem.edu

Governor Greg Abbott:
(512) 463-2000

Violent UT Communists Vandalize Conservative Students' Property

"As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent."
Jeremiah 28:9

Remember, back in June, when we observed that violent communists were recruiting at the University of Texas' flagship campus and that it would lead to some very bad incidents this fall?!?

Yeah, about that:

A campus source sent the following pictures:

The original sign

How the sign was discovered.

We also received video of one of the RSF vandals fleeing after being caught:

And all this, literally, on the day after Abbott's hand picked candidate is elected to chair the Board of Regents.

Obviously, President Fenves and (to a lesser degree) Chancellor McRaven are the ones who should take the lead rooting out this nonsense.  If history is any guide, they won't.  Assuming Fenves and McRaven refuse to do their jobs, the Board of Regents (which Abbott controls) should fire BOTH.

Bottom Line: Greg Abbott owns this.  It's his Board of Regents and his hand picked board chair.  If Fenves, McRaven, and the Board refuse to act that's where the blame lies.

-----

President Greg Fenves:
(512) 471-1232
president@utexas.edu

Board of Regents:
(512) 499-4402
bor@utsystem.edu

Governor Greg Abbott:
(512) 463-2000

#TXLEGE: Senate hears bill protecting free speech on College Campuses....

"When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them."
Acts 5:33

[Note: The hearing can be viewed here.  The consideration of the free speech bill begins at the 1:35 mark.  Our testimony can be found about ten minutes later.]

As national headlines can attest, the assault on free speech on college campuses has gotten significantly worse in recent years.  In response, several states have passed bills to protect speech on campus.  This morning, we attended a hearing for, and testified in favor of, Texas' equivalent attempt to do so.

SB 1511 (Buckingham) would prohibit "free speech zones" on campuses.  It would prohibit universities from punishing students based on political ideas.  It would also prohibit public universities from disinviting speakers based on the political content of their ideas.

TPPF's Tom Lindsay testified in favor of the bill and recited a litany of abuses against students holding views contrary to the bureaucracies that run these institution.  We largely echoed Dr. Lindsay's views, while also highlighting the mess that occurred with YCT's affirmative action bake sale at UT last year.  To be honest, we think the national headlines speak for themselves.

But there's one point we made in testimony about which we want to elaborate here: The biggest problem is that the Boards of Regents aren't doing their jobs to protect students.  If the legislature wants free speech on campus protected, they've got to stop rubber stamping Regent appointments, otherwise they're going to gut this law the same way they gutted campus carry.  It's not a coincidence that we made this exact point during our testimony for the last round of UT regents.

During dais discussion, Chairman Seliger tried to claim that the first amendment renders this bill superfluous.  Kirk Watson came up with a serious of cute lawyer distinctions designed to show that the bill was unnecessary. Seliger and Watson both chimed in to claim that the bill is toothless and thus unnecessary.

Unfortunately, according to a Senate source, Senator Buckingham had to remove most of the teeth from the bill to get it a hearing in the first place; thus Seliger is talking out of both sides of his mouth on this issue.

Bottom Line: This bill won't get to the Governor's desk this session, but we commend the Senate for starting the conversation because we have a feeling political correctness in public universities is going to get a lot worse.

-----

#HookEm: Is Greg Fenves politically STUPID enough to ban YCT?!?

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1:7

The fallout from last week's kerfuffle between the UT Chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas and the campus SJW continues; now UT's joke of a 'student government' gets in on the act:


So now this moves to Greg Fenves' desk...where we've got to imagine it will die quietly.

Between the tuition hike and the land grab in Houston, the UT politburo is already walking into a buzzsaw in the legislature next year.  If Greg Fenves were to actually attempt to ban YCT, it would BLOW UP into a sensationalistic national story that would become too hot for the legislature to ignore.  Greg Fenves has to realize this...right?!?

At that point, they would become so politically radioactive that not even Abbott could protect the UT Politburo.

And Fenves HAS to realize this...right?!?

Bottom Line: We can't imagine the UT politburo would sacrifice the broader swindle for this small piece of kabuki theater and thus we fully expect this proposal to die quietly...but we could be wrong.

UT Politburo: A Tale of Two Protests....

"And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?"
Romans 2:3

[Update: It gets better, apparently Gregory Vincent makes $331,500 per year.]

[Update II: From Vincent's official bio, "Since Dr. Vincent’s appointment by President William Powers Jr. in 2005, the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement has grown to encompass a $50 million budget and more than 400 employees, 50 units, and 300 community partners."]

We deliberately ignored the "Cocks not Glocks" (CnG) protest earlier this year because it was stupid.  Nevertheless, yesterday's kerfuffle over YCT's 'affirmative action' bakesale got us thinking.  There's a contrast.

Dr. Gregory Vincent, Vice President of the Division of Diversity and Community engagement, yesterday:

On Wednesday, the UT chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) held a bake sale on the West Mall, where they sold goods to students at varying prices based on their race and gender. This is a repeat of a YCT bake sale held here on campus in September 2013. YCT joins a handful of student groups at other universities who over the years have used the same reductive tactic to garner the spotlight for their views on affirmative action.

Such methods are inflammatory and demeaning. Yet focusing our attention on the provocative nature of the YCT’s actions ignores a much more important issue: they create an environment of exclusion and disrespect among our students, faculty and staff. The West Mall is a place where free speech is exercised by all students, and rightly so, because it is meant to be an arena that inspires dialogue from diverse viewpoints. However, it is also meant to be a space where students exhibit respect for each other while holding those viewpoints. Although it is their right to do so, it is deplorable that a few students took advantage of this open forum to direct negative sentiment toward their peers.

In seeking an audience for their ideas, the YCT resorted to exercising one of the university’s core values to the detriment of others. Such actions are counterproductive to true dialogue on our campus, and it is unrepresentative of the ideals toward which our community strives.

During CnG Vincent said...bupkus.  Moving along, Greg Fenves also said...bupkus.  Eventually, we find this statement from Fenves' chief of staff in response to a press inquiry:

Thanks for writing President Fenves on the rally yesterday protesting the “Campus Carry” law. I am responding on his behalf.

As an institution committed to the creation of knowledge, UT Austin firmly supports free inquiry and robust discussion of issues. Political protests occur on campus regularly representing a wide spectrum of ideas and positions. The university has well established processes for reserving space, guaranteeing the free speech rights of members of our community and maintaining safety.

The university recognizes that many people may find protestors’ actions offensive. The First Amendment, however, protects expression no matter how offensive the content. UT Austin students are free to express themselves peacefully on all issues. The planned protests around campus carry appear to be examples of protected political speech. We ask students and others in the university community to maintain conversations around this issue in a civil manner, and we encourage students of all opinions to be a part of this and other discussions of public policy.

Bottom Line: It's not surprising, but still....

#HookEm: YCT's "Affirmative Action" Bake Sale draws MASSIVE Protest!!! :D

"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."
John 17:17

[Update: Campus Reform has more here.]

From time to time, as the Fischer case has weaved it's way through the courts, the UT chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) has held affirmative action bake sales.  The premise is to set prices according to race, with whites and asians paying the highest prices and 'protected classes' paying less.  It's designed to smoke out the absurdity of the campus left.  They get offended by this sort of 'favoritism' but have no problem with race based admissions policies.

Anyway, YCT held another one this afternoon:

Come to the West Mall to buy a cookie from us and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action 🍪😋

A photo posted by YCT-UT (@yct_ut) on Oct 26, 2016 at 9:24am PDT

We didn't explicitly set out to attend the event, but unrelated business brought us to the campus area while it occurred.  We came upon UT's west mall at approximately 1pm (the event began at 11am).  The SJW crowd was fully assembled.

To the best of our knowledge, here's how things went down: About 45 minutes after the event began, a large crowd assembled and attempted to shout down the YCTers.  Shortly thereafter, someone stole the YCTers sign and cookies.  Chaos then reigned until everyone got bored around 1:30 pm.

A small sample:

The Dallas Morning News has more here.

Bottom Line: HILARIOUS!!!

-----

One thing we would like to point out: This entire event was contained within a corner of the West Mall.  99% of campus was unaffected by this.  While it's certainly worthy of a laugh, we would caution against overreacting.

Furthermore, if you needed any proof that God is in control and that He knows everything that's going on, this guy was preaching the Gospel about 5 feet away from this event the entire time:

-----

While we were writing this report, YCT-UT sent out the following press release:

YCT-UT Starts Dialogue on Affirmative Action

Austin, TX - Today, Young Conservatives of Texas at UT (YCT-UT) held an 'Affirmative Action Bake Sale' on campus to bring attention to the absurdity of giving preferential treatment to individuals based on race, ethnicity or gender.

Affirmative action for university admissions was banned in Texas in 1996 (Hopwood v. Texas) but then overturned over by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 (Gratz v. Bollinger) stating that race, gender, and ethnicity can again be used as a factor in admissions as long as a quota or point system is not used.

"Our protest was designed to highlight the insanity of assigning our lives value based on our race and ethnicity, rather than our talents, work ethic, and intelligence," said YCT-UT Chairman, Vidal Castañeda. "It is insane that institutional racism, such as affirmative action, continues to allow for universities to judge me by the color of my skin rather than my actions."

The event was streamed by Yerim Ashley Choi, a University of Texas spokesman for the Gender and Sexuality Center at the university. Choi titled the video: "Racists are live at UT Austin."

"The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees our organization freedom of speech and expression," continued Castañeda. "YCT-UT will not be deterred by liberal elites that would love nothing more than to silence conservative, common sense voices on campus. We will continue to speak out against policies that are harmful or give preferential treatment based on nothing more than immutable characteristics."

Young Conservatives of Texas is a non-partisan organization that has promoted conservatism at universities across the Lone Star State for over three decades. The State’s most active political youth organization, YCT is composed of hundreds of members and alumni who participate in the full spectrum of politics. YCT issues the most respected ratings of the Texas legislature and is the only conservative group to have done so without interruption over the past 21 legislative sessions. For more information about YCT, please visit www.YCT.org.

Jeremy Story's pro-Student, pro-Taxpayer, agenda for Austin Community College...

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
1 Peter 5:8

[Author's Note: We didn't record the specific sources Jeremy cited for his factual claims in our notes.  That being said, they all came from various governmental entities.  That being said, you can contact the campaign for more specific information here.]

We finally had an opportunity to hear Jeremy Story speak last night.  He's running for the Austin Community College board of trustees, place 9.  He's running to promote better student outcomes and greater fiscal accountability for taxpayers.

ACC ranks near the bottom of community college systems in Texas in terms of positive student outcomes.  Positive outcomes are defined as completion of an associates degree, transferring to a four year college, or obtaining a trade certification.  We were astonished to learn that only 4% of ACC students transfer to a four year school.

Story wants to focus on core functions of students success.  He wants to increase the number of academic advisers to shepherd students through the bureaucracy, especially the first 15 hours.  Currently, there are 700 students for every adviser, so it shouldn't surprise us that there's a high dropout rate.  He also wants to increase the number of dual credit courses in local high schools.  He wants to streamline the online registration process, which we've heard described as a "nightmare" from various quarters over the years.  Finally, he wants to increase the focus on certification for skilled trades.  These are all things a community college should, by definition, be doing.

On the pro-taxpayer side, Jeremy Story is the only candidate running for any ACC trustee position who supports a moratorium on tax hikes.  Considering the gigantic tax hike ACC passed last month, this is important.  Considering that ACC recently ran a $9 million surplus, there's plenty of money available as long as the organization focuses on core responsibilities.

As an example of core responsibilities, he discussed a recent proposal to expand CapMetro service to the various campuses.  Whatever the merits of such an idea it is, at best, a long term solution.  To paraphrase Story: "It may or may not make sense to make it easier for a student in Austin to attend a class in Round Rock, but in the meantime why don't we make it possible for that same student to take that course online from their living room?!?"

Also, he's a YCTer from the UT chapter; to put it mildly, that speaks well of him.

Bottom Line: Anyone who gives the Austin Chronicle a conniption fit is off to a good start, but it was good to flesh out specifics.

Highlighting Joe Straus' Tragic SANCTUARY CITIES Failure

"Do not remove the ancient landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;"
Proverbs 23:10

OUCH:



Highlights:

• "My son Spencer was murdered by an illegal alien hiding in a sanctuary city."

• The illegal alien's: "name was Victor Reyes and he was associated with the cartels."

• "I have just one question for Joe Straus: Isn't the government supposed to protect innocent people?!?"

• "When Joe Straus killed the bill to ban sanctuary cities, he put the life of an illegal alien ahead of my murdered son."

• "Joe Straus has got to go because he's failed to do his most important job."

Gio Gets Played

"The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools."
Proverbs 3:35

On Wednesday, Joe Straus released committee assignments.  While predictably awful, they were also revealing.  For obvious reasons, Gio is a case in point.  According to the legacy GOP narrative, Gio got 'plum' assignments on Appropriations and Local and Consent.  As the concern trolls at Texas Observer so 'helpfully' explain:

But Giovanni Capriglione, a Republican from the Metroplex who bucked his tea party supporters and loudly supported Straus, came out of his ordeal pretty decently. He sits on Appropriations, Local and Consent Calendars, and Investments and Financial Services—the last committee is sought-after for its members ability to raise money from the many well-heeled outsiders who have business before it.

But all is not as it seems.

An individual member makes little difference on any given committee (ESPECIALLY Appropriations).  What matters is the chairmanship and the composition of the committee.  Looking at Gio's committee assignments in context makes it obvious that he will be irrelevant on his 'plum' committees.

Empower Texans and YCT produce the most reliable conservative policy indexes in Texas; their 2013 rankings illustrate Gio's folly:

[Author's note: With a 94.4 from Empower Texans and a 92 from YCT, Gio had the highest score on either index.]

Appropriations:

• Chairman score: 35.5 ET; 41 YCT.

• Committee Average (with Gio): 40.5 ET; 40.1 YCT.

• Committee Average (without Gio): 38.1 ET; 37.8 YCT.

Local and Consent:

• Chairman score: 22.2 ET; 15 YCT.

• Committee Average (with Gio): 51.8 ET; 51.7 YCT

• Committee Average (without Gio): 48.2 ET; 48.4 YCT

• Committee Average (without Gio, Jason Isaac, or Drew Springer): 39.7 ET; 34.8 YCT. (*)

Bottom Line: Having a "seat at the table" is irrelevant.  Even if you get a "seat," leadership will stack the remaining "seats" at said "table" to make your "seat" meaningless.  Anyone who believes otherwise is a sucker.

Methodology Below:

-----

* -- While we we didn't calculate their respective committee averages, a glance at Jason Isaac's and Drew Springer's assignments reveals a similar phenomenon.

-----

From the great minds think alike department, Tony McDonald likewise observes:

The media were quick to point the finger at those conservatives who had stayed true to their convictions and supported Scott Turner for Speaker. These members were “foolish” and had allegedly been punished with “bad” committee assignments, while members who sold out their principles and constituents were lauded for reaping great “rewards.”

To paraphrase a quote from Ronald Reagan, “It isn’t so much that the liberal media is ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so.”

The reality is that the Speaker and his allies engage in a false barter with members. It reminds us of the trade offered by Bart Simpson to his father, Homer: “I’ll trade you this delicious doorstop for that crummy old Danish,” offered Bart. In much the same way, House leadership, the media, and the lobby are all busy telling members that they will really enjoy a spot on a “powerful” committee if they will just trade in their crummy old ability to vote “no.”

A “coveted” spot on House Appropriations is put up as the sweetest plum of all. Many in the media were quick to latch on to the fact that Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who infamously turned his back on his former conservative ally Scott Turner at a local Tea Party meeting, was given a spot on the “budget writing” committee.

However, as we have pointed out before, members on the Appropriations Committee don’t actually write the budget. That task is reserved for a small handful of appointees to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) and the bureaucrats they employ. After the budget is released by the LBB, the Appropriations Committee members meet early and often, but only end up tinkering around the edges of the initial document. Then, after both chambers pass the budget, it is sent to another small hand-selected group on the conference committee who largely rewrite the document as they see fit.

-----

Update: Another funny note is that Gio, Isaac, and Springer were the only low-threshold conservatives to get on any of the important committees; the rest were shut out completely.