Pratt on Texas

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: According to an FBI whistleblower’s testimony, Bank of America didn’t need the new gun related credit card code to track gun purchases. Bank of America, according to testimony, mined its own customer data and turned over a gun purchaser list to the FBI voluntarily. Worse, the FBI’s DC office pressured other field offices to open investigations into Americans with no probable cause that they had committed any crimes. Read the full piece here: Whistleblower: FBI Targeted Innocent Gun Owners Via Bank Of America Records.Other Second Amendment stories today involving Texas:Paxton Petitions Court to Halt Illegal Biden Administration Rule That Targets Americans Lawfully Exercising Their Second Amendment RightsBipartisan push to close gun background check loophole in Texas – bad use of language in the headline as it is not a “loophole.”Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Anti-Wimp Update: Home invader shoots dog, resident shoots invader!We remember the fall of the Alamo on March 6th, 1936: Texas remembers the Alamo every March. Here are 10 things you may not know about the Lone Star State’s history.  Thanks Fox News for remembering, most Texas press outlets didn’t make note of Texas Independence Day or March 6th.Youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgJFPFDx_gAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5dciOAZU1YAnd, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.PrattonTexas.com 

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Lieutenant Governor Patrick and House Speaker Phelan are being nasty to each other over each body’s tax relief package, as I predicted in early January, but they are both wrong.We need to dedicate more of the revenue surplus and keep the major items proposed by the House and the Senate: A serious raise of the homestead exemption (the Senate plan) and add to it an indexing to real estate inflation. And, a lowering of the annual appraised value caps for taxing purposes to cover all property, not just homesteads (the House plan.) But the House plan needs more appraisal and local taxing reform so that we do not push the issue back in the direction of local officials claiming taxes went up, not because they set a tax rate above the No New Revenue Rate, but because appraisal values increased. The key to doing both, or some of both, is keep spending in line with inflation and population growth and using much more of the surplus to implement a true “largest” tax break in Texas history.Divide Emerges Between House and Senate on Property Tax Appraisal Reform StrategyLt. Gov. Patrick dismisses Phelan property tax proposalTexas House Speaker Dade Phelan releases $17B property tax proposalLeaders of Texas Legislature set battle lines over property tax reliefOne basic note to keep in mind: Lowering appraised value caps does not stop local governments from raising taxes just as much as they did before the cap changes. They can set the tax rate at whatever they want to bring in as much money as they want. The caps provide a form of political protection in that it makes it a bit harder for them to sell big local tax hikes as them making “no change in the tax rate” when such a rate is actually a huge increase because of increased valuations. Learn more with these resources.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Oil and gas rig count falls.An example out of Austin of what happens when a Speaker of the House appoints Democrats as committee chairmen, as has Speaker Phelan. It leads to the very type of D.C. Leftism Phelan, and others, claim his brand of bi-partisanship avoids: A Democrat committee chair in the Republican-controlled Texas House is trying to implement a “woke” speech code for members of her committee.Two Second Amendment stories today involving Texas:Bump stocks sales resume in Texas after ATF misses deadline to appeal reversal of banGun sale codes being implemented by all credit card issuers at the behest of a woke, ESG promoting New York BankAnd, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: It’s Texas Independence Day and we celebrate with a reading of the Declaration of Independence and a two-segment interview with the world’s preeminent Texas historian Dr. Stephen L. Hardin.Stephen L. Hardin is a professor of history at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. He is author of numerous award-winning books on Texas history and more than a dozen scholarly articles enjoyed by readers on both sides of the Atlantic. Texian Iliad, published in 1994, achieved distinction as a “Basic Texas Book” when bibliophile Mike Cox included it in More Basic Texas Books. His book Lust for Glory: An Epic Story of Early Texas and the Sacrifice That Defined a Nation is a must-read and a perfect “first” book to read on Texas history.When not engaged in the classroom, he serves as an on-air commentator, appearing on such varied venues as the A&E Network, the History Channel, and NBC’s TODAY show. Most recently, he appeared on the Fox News series, “Legends & Lies.” And most importantly of all, Dr. Hardin has appeared numerous times on Pratt on Texas!Podcast Extra: An Independence Day audio treat – Dr. Stephen Hardin interview from 2019 on his book Lust for Glory about the founding of Texas.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.School choice: Another poll shows Texans back real school choice and without the mythical “rural divide.”Texas sales tax collection well outpaced inflation in February.Texas wins Site Selection’s Governor’s Cup for record-breaking 11th consecutive year.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Not only do many in Austin and in local governments want to revive the crony-capitalist handouts that ended when Chapter 313 expired, it appears the Speaker of the House and his crew want an even bigger program and with even less accountability. It’s shameful but not to them. And, the shameful push is being led by your local organizations.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Two “stench of local government” stories ( 1 and 2 ) out of the City of Houston that demonstrate how our society is suffering from a bankruptcy of integrity.Abbott’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) has proposed a terrible grid “fix” that fails for two overall reasons: First, it substitutes complexity over the simple. Second, it forces all of us to pay, forever, for a problem created by others and from which those others profit.A new “Red Raider Caucus” in the legislature formed.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Election fraud bill moves out of committee in the Texas Senate with Democrats still trying to block reasonable penalties for vote fraud. Meanwhile in Laredo, the district attorney for Webb and Zapata counties has asked the Office of Attorney General to investigate a case consequential vote fraud which involves police officers and more. But don’t worry, Democrats tell us over and over that there is no “widespread” vote fraud – but of course even if true that doesn’t mean there is not regular “consequential” vote fraud.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Rep. Dustin Burrows pushing to highly bills with long term significance for Texas freedom and liberty.More Texas economic news from the Dallas Fed: The retail sector continues to be awful.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Texas among states that shipped thousands of driver licenses to a “Chinese” organized crime group. At least 3000 Texas of Asian origin have been affected. This was not a hacking job but instead a huge operation using people’s stolen personal information found on the “dark web” to request replacement driver licenses. It would be hard to convince me this isn’t part of the Chinese Communist Party’s radically broad efforts to undermine the USA.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Real signs of recession in Texas: Texas manufacturing sector contracts, says Dallas Fed report.Former Texas House Speaker Gus Mutscher dead at 91. Mutscher was one of several Democrat politicians indicted in the Sharpstown bank stock fraud scandal. He was convicted and sentenced to five years probation for conspiring to accept a bribe but was later cleared on appeal.Abortion in the courts: One good ruling in Texas, another bad ruling in Texas.Former RINO state rep. gives up the over half-a-million lobbying job he was doing. Paddie was a co-author of the very law he was violating with his retire-and-lobby-the-committee-he-chaired-last-session gig.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: More on what really is “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI.)  Texas A&M has been pressing this ideology for years and yet by their own measurements it hasn’t worked so why keep doubling down on it? Because it is not about the words in the title but a tool to exclude and discriminate against those who do not adhere to a certain, and Leftwing, political point of view. The entire system is setup to stop viewpoint diversity which frankly is the only diversity which contributes significantly to academic achievement.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Legislature: Time for the House to get to work and stop the 5-day weekends! Numerous bills filed which will help with election security and hamper liberal agendas.Hughes Files Legislation Seeking to Prevent State Bar from ‘Discriminating’ Against AttorneysLawmaker Files Bill to Ban College Campus Polling LocationsTexas Senate revives effort to make illegal voting a felonyWe remember William Barret Travis “Victory or Death” letter from the Alamo this day in 1836.  Radio listeners to hear the great Brian Burns version.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates. www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Texas Republicans are fighting back against the Left using taxpayer money to fund their political views and institute programs that coerce people into adopting Leftist viewpoints. Republicans are fighting back on multiple fronts and the Left is simply not accustomed to such, rather they’re used to too many Republicans surrendering to Leftist demands.Whether C.R.T., D.E.I, or E.S.G., Texas is putting up resistance and the Leftist propagandists who dominate the state’s media are working full time to mislead the public through mischaracterization, omission, and outright lying about the motives and ideas behind the opposition to their beloved revolutionary social movements. I deal with several examples in today’s Pratt on Texas. Some of the stories I mention are:University of Texas System pauses new DEI policiesAs Abbott attacks diversity hiring programs, Biden shores them upTexas A&M Students Say They Don’t Feel Like They Belong On CampusWide open for business? Texas cancels firms over guns and oil, and the public will payOur Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Anti-Wimp Update: Armed homeowner confronts armed vehicle thieves in HelotesSpaceX appears ready for an orbital launch test of Starship from Texas but the feds are standing in the way.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: There was, from the White House yesterday, what appears to be real movement on border policy. We should all be highly skeptical of it but it appears that for re-election purposes Biden may be putting in place policy that would help with illegal crossing. I explain why it may be good and why it may be nothing effective.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Eric Dexheimer of Hearst has a fascinating piece on the Texas state psychiatric hospital system. The story is about the new $30 million facility sitting empty in Kerrville but the meaningful meat of the story is section about how quickly and significantly the patient population make-up has changed for the system. In about 20 years we’ve flipped from about 85% being civil commitments to two-thirds being “forensic” commitments through the criminal courts.Odessa and conservatism get the usual liberal media-style treatment in a hit piece in Texas Monthly: What Happened After a Right-Wing Cabal Took Over Odessa’s Government. Read it, don’t get too hung up in the assertions of various people, then step back and think about what you read. It’s the same thing we always get out of D.C. – any change, pressured or otherwise, that moves toward conservatism is ALWAYS inherently bad, wrong, unfair, and mean. But any change, including natural drift over time, that leads to bigger government and liberalism is completely natural, normal, nice, and above criticism.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Governor Abbott says will campaign across Texas for authentic school choice and parental empowerment. That’s great news. What interests me is the continuing narrative that school choice can’t pass in the House because of rural state representatives. If that narrative holds true it proves my decades-long assertion that many reps are deeply confused as to who are their constituents. Abbott, in the Tribune interview, provides the evidence for this when he talks about the support for school choice amongst rural voters.And if you want to read empty arguments and Leftist Austin-insider bigotry on school choice, check out this piece.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Podcast Extra: Merrill Matthews on Expanding workforce, Social Security, Energy subsidies, Public ed. and illegal immigration.No wonder Austin police are slow on the job, the Austin Police Department is too busy with promoting homosexuality and neo-Marxist political dogma. Could it be that Austin PD’s long standing staffing problems are related to the fact that many, if not most, police officers don’t want to be part of all this Leftist bilge?Dallas’ mayor to be unopposed for re-election and the rumors heat up of Dallas Democrat Congressman Colin Allred considering a challenge to Ted Cruz in 2024.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com