Good morning,

Happy birthday to the Supreme Court of the United States! While authorized under Article III of the Constitution, it did not come into actual effect until Sept. 24, 1789, with the signing of the Judiciary Act and appointment of the first justices by President George Washington.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, September 24, 2019
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• On the Mark Davis radio show (heard weekdays on 660AM in the Metroplex), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that while on vacation overseas he spoke with “scores” of gun owners and only one of whom disagreed with his gun control policies. (Those are the policies the National Rifle Association has described as “trampling the freedom of law-abiding Americans.”)
      

• Republican politicians who cite polling data as justification for depriving citizens of their constitutional rights should take a deep, self-reflective pause. Whether it is the freedom to speak, publish, worship, or to keep and bear arms, the Constitution must not be defined by mob-rule nor should the exercise of those rights be subject to political whims.
       

• Speaking of gun control... U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston) isn’t known as a thought leader in Congress; after all, she’s the one who once claimed the American astronauts planted a flag on Mars. Well, Jason Howerton of The Blaze posted video of the congresswoman making some outlandish claims about AR-15s. For example, she wants the “bullets to be licensed” and says the firearm weighs the same as “10 boxes” – whatever that means.
      

• Add the City of Victoria to those around the state hiking property taxes in advance of a new law taking effect limiting their ability to do so in the future. Chad Shoemake reports the Victoria City Council voted unanimously to raise the city’s property tax rate – increasing the city’s budget by nearly $750,000. For city property owners already facing rising property values, the rate hike represents a double-hit to their wallets.
      

• A programmatic review of the shadowy government agency run by the son of U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) reveals bloat in the agency’s annual $2 million administrative budget, with $220,000 for public relations propaganda. Ross Kecseg and Robert Montoya report J.D. Granger’s “Trinity River Vision Authority” has already spent $383 million of the taxpayers’ money  for a property redevelopment scheme known as the “Panther Island Project” with no construction aspect complete.
         

• That same programmatic review finds the Trinity River Vision Authority has a “complicated, opaque structure and reporting hierarchy.” Not a good look for a government agency.
       

• President Trump’s Administration has rightfully halted all federal funding for the wasteful project.

• In the name of GOP unity in 2020, should taxpayers look the other way on the wasteful spending U.S. Rep. Granger has directed to the bloated agency run by her son? More to the point: was President Trump’s Administration wrong to stop sending federal tax money into this black hole?
      
• We must stand for principles, first and always. Worshipping at the altar of partisan political convenience must be avoided.
        
• Daniel Greer of Direct Action Texas writes that State Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-North Richland Hills) is trying to defend her actions "killing the most impactful election integrity bill considered by the legislature" – Senate Bill 9. "Her defense is setting off more bombs than it’s defusing."
   

• “In 2010, there were 72,000 NICS background check denials of gun purchases. But there were only 13 federal convictions. What does that tell you? #1. Most were false denials. #2. We aren’t enforcing existing laws.  Don’t expand a broken system!” - U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Twitter