Good morning, 

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, February 6, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Dan Patrick Blasts Dade Phelan in Video Message

• In a video sent to voters in southeast Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blasted House Speaker Dade Phelan over the weekend on behalf of President Donald Trump.
       
• Last week, Trump endorsed David Covey who is challenging Phelan in the primary. Phelan responded with the claim he had been a longtime supporter of the president.
      
• Patrick wrote in an accompanying text message that despite chairing Trump’s campaign in Texas for three elections, Phelan has “never offered to help.”

‘Biden-Senate Immigration’ Deal Draws Strong Condemnation

• As President Joe Biden’s border crisis continues, Texas officials are decrying a proposed Senate deal on border security. Sydnie Henry has the details.

      
• Among other things, the deal would allow millions to continue illegally entering and residing in the country. Buried in the deal was language requiring that legal challenges to the proposed law be handled by federal courts in Washington, D.C., not those in the states.
        
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said, "This U.S. Senate bill is a joke. It would still allow up to 5,000 a day to enter our country. Any Republican Senator who votes for this bill should be voted out of office."
        
• "The open borders policies it enshrines would destroy our country," said Attorney General Ken Paxton. "This bill is an unacceptable mess that no serious leader could even think about passing."
         
• Even U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a close ally of the Senate's deal-driver, Mitch McConnell, has expressed concern. “Now that I have seen text, I have questions and serious concerns.”

Yelp Loses in California Court to Texas A.G.

• The internet review website Yelp may face penalties for deceiving Texans about crisis pregnancy centers after a federal judge in California dismissed the company's lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton. Emily Medeiros has the story.
         
• Last fall, Paxton announced a lawsuit against Yelp, alleging the company added “inaccurate and misleading language” to listings of crisis pregnancy centers. The lawsuit also accused the company of violating Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
       
• Yelp countersued in California to block Texas' action. The judge presiding over the case found Yelp had "not provided enough concrete evidence" and "reluctantly" dismissed the company's action.
       
• “Yelp cannot mislead and deceive the public simply because the company disagrees with our state’s laws,” said Paxton, noting that the Texas lawsuit against the company will now proceed.

School Board Committees to Meet Away from Public

• A Houston-area school board recently amended its board operating procedures to create subcommittees. Under the structure adopted by the board, these subcommittees will be allowed to meet privately.
        
• Charles Blain explains the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District is making the change despite concerns over transparency and accountability.
      
• Yes, parents and taxpayers should be concerned.

East Texas Incumbent Faces Two Challengers in GOP Primary

• Running for a fifth term in the Texas House, Republican Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant has two challengers in the March 5 primary. Erin Anderson breaks down the race.
       
• After voting to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton last spring, Hefner's top political donors are House Speaker Dade Phelan and Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
       
• Hefner is being challenged by Dewey Collier and Jeff Fletcher. Collier ran against Hefner in 2022, gaining 19 percent of the vote. Fletcher is backed by Grassroots America We The People.

NEW SERIES: The Decline of Texas A&M

• A two-part series launches at noon today tracking Texas A&M's shift from a conservative bastion to a woke institution. 
   
• Despite Texas A&M's long-standing reputation as a "conservative" and tradition-bound university, it is now a haven for antisemitism, LGBT ideology, and critical race theory.

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Today in History 

The republic's 40th president, Ronald Reagan, was born on Feb. 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois.

Quote-Unquote

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

– Ronald Reagan​

Y'All Answered

It often seems as though modern life is consumed by social media. Yesterday, readers were asked which—if any—social media platform they used most. Here are the results:

Here is a sampling of replies I received after folks made their selection.

• “I might use Truth Social more if it were a little more accessible. I have gone back to supplementing my news through X, after coming back when Musk took it over.” – Larry Thacker, Jr.
      

• “None... If I were to use one, it would be Truth Social - the only one I would trust not to censor.” – Lisa Buck
      

• “I also watch TikTok. I take everything with a grain of salt and research topics I’m interested in.” – Dawn Gerstenberger
     

• “Not being on social media keeps me from wasting a lot of time I don’t have to spare.” – Steve Abernathy
      

• “Facebook censorship is why I logged off and haven’t been back since 2020.  I have never used Instagram or Twitter, but I do have Truth Social. At this time, the only one I use is Telegram so that I can get news and follow conservative channels.” – Lydia Farrar
      

• "I use Facebook for posts (outbound) but likely read X as much as Facebook, as there are more content creators there vs. family/friends. I’ve tried Truth, Gab, etc.  There’s just not enough people on them." – Steve Bailey
      

• “I would urge everyone to cancel Facebook. After 20 years of existence, it has now done more damage than good. If you want to stay connected to friends and family, call them or text them directly. Make an effort to engage face-to-face or voice-to-voice. It’s time to take our society back!” – Robin McCarty
      

• “Why would anyone look for news on Social(ist) media...possibly outside of X/Twitter...when there is Texas Scorecard? For someone who was born in the former Soviet Union, to compare Social(ist) media to Texas Scorecard would have been like comparing Voice of America and Radio Free Europe to Pravda/Izvestia, the voice of the Communist party!” – John R. Makow
       

• “What little time I spend on social media is split between Gab and X. In general, I believe social media is one of the many huge time sinks designed to distract and control all the ‘useless eaters.” – Cindy Armstrong
       

• “I use Facebook much less often than I used to. My guess would be ¼ of the time. I’m thankful that my “friends” are mostly conservative, and it’s nice to see what they say. Still, it’s not nearly as important as it used to be.” – Glenda Piacenti
       

• “While X/Twitter was notorious for censorship of conservative views, after the acquisition by Elon Musk, the environment has improved to a degree. … A bit of time on X/Twitter will show we are not in a battle of Red v. Blue or Right v. Left but standing in the arena of Good v. Evil. Tread carefully.” – John Bolgiano
      

• “I was kicked off Facebook four years ago, and I have not been on it since.  I use Twitter sometimes, but not often.” – Gary Hunt
      

• “I answered Truth Social, but I use X the same amount of time.” – Jackey Clough

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