Pratt on Texas

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Texas Tech, now proven in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, is using Leftist “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” political litmus tests in employment decisions.National Association Scholars’ John Sailer, using open-records obtained documents, has now demonstrated that Texas Tech is using D.E.I. adherence and promotion in the judging of pure sciences faculty.System Chancellor Mitchell and TTU President Schovanec should be removed from their positions if they do not eliminate this and similar cancers from Texas Tech – not a wink and a nod job but a true elimination of such. For too long they have told political and other leaders not to worry, that they are keeping this type of thing under control at Tech when now we know such is not true. (Which is obvious before when they built a black-student-only student union building reestablishing a form of segregation on the public campus.)Texas Tech has put out a statement today reading:February 07, 2023 StatementTexas Tech University’s faculty hiring practices will always emphasize disciplinary excellence and the ability of candidates to support our priorities in student success, impactful scholarship, and community engagement.Recently, we learned of a department that required a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement in addition to the usual applicant materials as part of a faculty search. We immediately withdrew this practice and initiated a review of hiring procedures across all colleges and departments. We will withdraw the use of these statements and evaluation rubrics if identified.That sounds all well and good except the University actually funds, with our money, the inherently political D.E.I. movement and has pushed such into all parts of the enterprise, see: Texas Tech University Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Note part of its own description: “We establish our culture through shared practices and traditions, through our artwork and our food, through our words and our actions, through our practices/policies/procedures,…” [Emphasis added.]Sailer is set to appear on Pratt on Texas later this week to further discuss this great stain on Texas and upon Texas Tech University.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.State Senator Charles Schwertner arrested on misdemeanor DWI charge.Governor Abbott to deliver latest State of the State Address in 30 years AND will give it from San Marcos instead of the Capitol – sounds sort of Lefty to me. And what’s the deal with a government function being handed to one media company? Was this put out for competitive bidding?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: Why appraisal caps are not the way to go to slow the growth in property taxes and why it would take Democrat support to pass lower caps. The aggregate increase in appraised value does not cause local governments to spend more each budget year. Generally, the only reason your property taxes go up is that your local governments that levy property taxes decide to spend more each year.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.RIP: Texas GOP pioneer Harry Whittington.Border: Texas’ Operation Lone Star still struggling with incompetent execution. And this from NBC: Nearly 600,000 migrants who crossed the border since March 2021 were released in the U.S. with no immigration court dates.Missing prison guard/peace officer out of Eagle Pass.United Launch Alliance closing rocket building operations in Harlingen; 100 jobs lost – more than made up for by the massive SpaceX presence in Brownsville.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: Harris County election debacle shows the elections office shorted 121 of 782 vote centers ballot paper. 52 locations were supplied with less ballot paper than votes cast in those same locations in the 2018 mid-term election! The lawsuits move on.Rep. Toth: KHOU Investigation Concludes Over 120 (Not 20) Polling Sites in Harris County Were Denied Sufficient Supply of Ballot PaperOur 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.Texas oil and gas drilling rig count falls.Texas Assoc. of School Boards (TASB) is on the defensive and media and Austin insiders are ridiculously upset, as if they didn’t know such was coming, that the new State Board of Education has voted to support school choice. (Background story.)Border new including a new Texas member of Congress schooling El Paso County’s untruthful county judge.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 local governments have power, not rights. Governments are not people yet they are using the resources to a tune of over $75 million in Texas to lobby against the interest of their citizens. It’s time the legislature end the practice of letting local governments use your money to drown out your voice in the competition of political speech.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.More on how real public school choice could operate in Texas as well as rebuttal of some of the more frequent anti-parental empowerment arguments offered up by the government-schools-only lobby.Abbott Endorses Universal School Choice Through Education Savings AccountsHow Gov. Greg Abbott plans to enact private school vouchers in TexasSchool Choice Advocates Criticize Public Education Lobby Over Claim Vouchers ‘Lack Accountability’State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled Record $4.11 Billion in January but when inflation is factored, it’s not a very big increase.Unreliable, heavily subsidize by us, wind and solar power failed Texans yet again! Wind and solar together produced less than 5% of the electricity on the grid as of 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the middle of the latest big freeze.Attorney General Paxton goes after Biden’s new version of DACA.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: The self-defeating arguments against school choice – read my full opinion piece here. Or here.Another piece you may wish to read, coming at the issue from a different angle, is: The results are in: School choice works, by Texas Tech’s Alexander William Salter.Education blogger says public schools are the right choice (except for her kids)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.New move by Biden Administration to made pursuits of illegal aliens and smugglers extremely rare by putting Border Patrol agents’ careers on the line each time they engage in such. CBP adopts the ACLU idea of not pursuing people who blow through border checkpoints!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: Two of the highly political cases lobbed at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to hurt him politically (and that’s all there is to either) are in the news:Texas AG Ken Paxton enters into settlement talks with whistleblowers over retaliation suit – so-called “whistleblowers”Judge Says Texas Attorney General Paxton Must Face Ethics Lawsuit – a really bad state judge.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.Texas service sector activity rebounds, but outlooks continue to worsen.Border: Gov. Abbot appoints former Border Patrol officer as “border czar” to help get state wall building moving faster.Fascinating story out of El Paso from KTEP: Veterans accuse “legal advisor” of former District Attorney, also reportedly a municipal judge for Vinton, of fraud, harassment and threats.Story I mentioned: On This Day 10 Years Ago, a Disgraced East Texas Judge Began His Killing Spree | The TexanAnd, 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 race baiters just can’t let go of their fantasy of race being at the center of every bad happening. The leftist Texas Organizing Project insists the black police officers beating a black man in Memphis, Tennessee is due to racism.Meanwhile a more clearheaded Andrew McCarthy points out the folly of this racism-in-everything line of non-thinking and also points out the disingenuousness of Biden’s DOJ opening a Civil Rights investigation over the issue. He says the move essentially calls the profession of policing inherently racist. 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.Texas manufacturing sector continues to lose steam says Dallas Fed.Good movement forward on settling the disputes in the Rio Grande Compact with New Mexico and Colorado. It looks as if the Biden Administration is not going be get away with forcing secrecy in the matter.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: One of our RINO ex-state reps is thumbing his nose at a lobbying restriction law – a law he voted for! No matter the intricacies of any legal arguments, Chris Paddie’s actions show just how far we have fallen when it comes to ethical behavior. Bad actors have always been around but today many in politics don’t even try to hide their questionable positions or actions.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.Ryan Autullo, of the Austin American-Statesman, had a superior piece today: How much of Texas’ unprecedented budget surplus will be spent? That’s up to Republicans. Again, don’t be snowed by rather ignorant media reports because of now all of this is up in the air with no clear idea how much and in what form tax relief might come.Oil and gas drilling rig count unchanged this week.Border news includes this shocker: Analysis: ‘Mind-Blowing’ Illegal Immigration Under Biden Approaching 1% of Total U.S. Population. Even if not intentional by the Left (highly doubtful,) the remaking of the USA is underway.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: The self-defeating arguments against school choice – read my full opinion piece here.  Another piece you may wish to read, coming at the issue from a different angle, is: The results are in: School choice works, by Texas Tech’s Alexander William SalterOur 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.Beto Pancho O’Rourke and his campaign expressly lied about returning the $1 million donation from the crypto-[alleged]-fraudster!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: Is Abilene’s state Rep. Stan Lambert ready to gut significant tax relief to join with Democrats and hand most of the surplus over to his favorite political constituent group? Also, I’ll explain why Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s announcement that he will run again for the post in four years is not particularly meaningful but something he must do.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.Gun numbers at Texas and U.S. airports are beyond insignificant but propagandist news outlets attempt to lead you to the opposite conclusion. Note that a “record” year was 150 firearms at Austin’s airport yet, in November of 2022 alone, there were 1,845,593 passengers through that airport. Nationally the story cites 6,542 firearms in carry-on bags last year but never compares that number to more that 369,000,000 passengers (2020 numbers.) You have to have one heck of a calculator to figure the percentages of these hyped numbers on guns. Frankly, it’s just almost nothing as a percentage of passengers flying.Brilliant border/Title 42 bill filed in the statehouse by Rep. Harrison – brilliant because it used their own arguments against them (Dems & Biden Admin.)SpaceX news: SpaceX completes Starship wet dress rehearsal in Texas & With Starshield, SpaceX readies for battle.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