Y'all-itics

Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is required to attend his own trial. But will he testify? What will his defense be? The Texas Senate laid out 29-pages of rules by which the Paxton impeachment trial will happen. Travis County GOP chairman and veteran political consultant Matt Mackowiak shares what he expects to happen next.

Guest:

Matt Mackowiak

Travis County GOP Chairman and veteran political consultant

A third political party is challenging two decades of Republican dominance in Texas. Former Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Republican New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman argue the two-party system has created a one-party monopoly that deprives voters of choices and solutions. And they've come to Texas to drum up support for their new Forward Party. 

Guests

Andrew Yang

Forward Party Founder/Former Candidate for President

https://home.forwardparty.com

Christine Todd Whitman

Former NJ Governor

After the deadly 2021 winter blackouts that left millions of Texans in a deep freeze for days, lawmakers have now had two sessions to remedy the state's flawed power grid. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons are joined by two experts who say recently passed "fixes" haven't made the grid more reliable, but that it could have been worse. 

Guests

Doug Lewin

Founder, Stoic Energy

Author, The Texas Energy and Power Newsletter

https://douglewin.substack.com/

Professor Ed Hirs

Energy Fellow, University of Houston

Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin have resumes and personas as big as Texas. These two legal icons will now prosecute the impeachment case against suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Their selection shows how serious House Republicans are in removing Paxton from office. But can even the best attorneys get the jury in this case – the state’s 31 senators – to put aside their next re-election and weigh the evidence in this case? This is their first extended interview together since they took the case.

Guest: 

Dick DeGuerin, Attorney

Rusty Hardin, Attorney

How serious is the Republican-led case against Attorney General Ken Paxton? He said all of it is “easily disproved”. But you’re about to hear all of the evidence collected by investigators from the Texas House General Investigating Committee – as told to lawmakers just before they voted to send up the articles of impeachment.

GUEST: 

The General Investigating Committee from the Texas House of Representatives.

You never know what to expect in the final week of a legislative session in Texas. But 2023? Wow. The Jasons have been in Austin all week, witnessing this drama, chaos and legislative two stepping in person. Joining them for a cold brew and hot topics are two veteran political journalists, KVUE’s Ashley Goudeau and the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Bud Kennedy.

GUESTS

Ashley Goudeau, KVUE Anchor/Reporter

 Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star Telegram

LOCATION: Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden

Despite months of warnings, anxiety and political battles, Title 42 appears to have ended with a whimper, not the expected bang. The pandemic-era health policy that allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants, even asylum seekers, is no longer in place. And the predicted migrant surge and chaos along our southern border simply has not happened. In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the number of illegal crossings has dropped by more than half. And in this episode of Y’all-itics, we explore why. The Jasons sit down for a cold one with Laura Collins, Director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative. That’s a fancy way of saying she’s an expert on immigration and the economics surrounding it, and she recently took part in a white paper about smart border policy for the 21st century. Collins says Title 42 was bad for humanitarian and enforcement reasons and tells us why its demise means we’re “back to normal” along our southern border. And she explains how a refugee crisis in the western hemisphere makes this much more than an American problem.

Guest:

Laura Collins, Director/Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative

Location:

George W. Bush Presidential Center

Eight innocent people dead. Seven more wounded. And hundreds more still suffering from shock and fear after being caught in the middle of a mass shooting involving another AR-15 style rifle. This time, it happened in Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb. But at this point, it seems you can insert any Texas city’s name, like a Mad Lib. What is different is that a handful of Republicans have at least signaled they’re willing to have a discussion on guns. Will there ever be a tipping point for the Texas GOP to support even modest gun control measures? Will it take more Allens, as if Uvalde, El Paso, Sutherland Springs and Santa Fe weren’t enough already? A recent University of Texas at Austin survey found that the vast majority of Texans support raising the minimum age to buy any gun from 18 to 21 (76%, including 64% of Republicans). But the Republican-controlled Legislature has, so far, avoided a vote. In other words, no Texas Republican has yet had to go on record whether they support raising the age, or any other gun safety legislation. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons are joined by veteran WFAA journalist Teresa Woodard, who got the interview everyone’s been talking about… a Republican lawmaker who bluntly said something must be done about guns. And the Representative of the district where the Allen massacre took place explains why he thinks it will lead to legislative changes. But what kind of change? That answer is what most Texans have been waiting for.

Guests

Teresa Woodard, WFAA Senior Reporter/Anchor

State Rep. Frederick Frazier, R-McKinney

State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Allen

If you plan to protest your property appraisal in Texas, you’re running out of time. In many appraisal districts, the deadline is May 15. That’s why we aren’t waiting to release this special episode of Y’all-itics, which will provide pro tips to help you take your protest to the next level. One important factor to know this year before you get started: Your 2023 appraisal is based on research the appraisal district did last year. Exactly when they did that really matters, maybe more than it did in previous years. And you’ll learn why kitchens and bathrooms could make or break your protest. The Jasons are joined once again by one of Texas’ leading experts on protesting property appraisals, realtor Chandler Crouch. And he'll help you learn more about comps, codes, full agent reports and everything else you were afraid to ask to help you lower your appraisal, which could significantly lower your property tax burden. They also discuss why lawmakers haven’t done a thing to lower property taxes, despite many promises leading into the legislative session.

Guest:

Chandler Crouch, Chandler Crouch Realtors

FreeTaxProtest.com

James 'Jim' Chapman

Chairman, Appraisal Review Board of Dallas County

Location:

Division Brewing Company

Arlington, TX

Before you book your summer vacation, you’ll want to hear this episode. What is going on at Southwest Airlines – a carrier known for efficiency and customer loyalty? The Dallas-based airline has had a rough go of it the last six months. The December meltdown cancelled more than 16,000 flights, impacting more than two-million passengers. Then in April, the failure of a computer firewall delayed 1,700 flights on a random Tuesday. Jason Whitely grabbed a seat next to CEO Bob Jordan on a recent flight to Hawaii as the airline marked four years of flights to the islands with a 737 sporting a newly painted Hawaiian-themed livery. Mr. Jordan took Jason’s questions on all the recent problems, the fixes in place before next winter, getting phone calls from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, a new contract for pilots and what he has learned in his first 14 months as the top executive at the airline. But if talking to the CEO isn’t rare enough, Southwest also made the Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Watterson, available to Whitely. What destinations are Southwest considering next? Will you be able to get from A to B? This is the episode to download before you pack your bags for your summer vacation.

GUESTS:

Bob Jordan, CEO, Southwest Airlines

Andrew Watterson, COO, Southwest Airlines