Boots & Sabers

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Category: Politics – Texas

Fallout from Ending DEI Programs at Universities

by | 1512, 13 Oct 24 | | 1 Comment

This ABC story highlights the “fallout” after Texas ended DEI programs at universities. The first fallout highlighted? There are fewer taxpayer-funded programs to help illegal aliens access other taxpayer-funded resources to attend a taxpayer-funded university. I’m okay with such fallout.

At UT Austin, students like Arely had a place to turn to for answers. Monarch, an on-campus student program for undocumented and temporary status students, hosted workshops on those logistical concerns, mental health resources at little to no cost, career fairs specifically geared toward undocumented students, panel discussions with undocumented grads, and a donor-based scholarship.

 

“Those are the things that I would help students navigate,” said Alicia Moreno, the former Monarch Student Program Coordinator. “Like working with campus partners to create resources and help students understand what their options were because many students that I heard – before they ran into Monarch – they believed their options were really slim.”

 

Abbott Pardons Man Convicted of Killing Violent Protestor

by | 2112, 17 May 24 | , , | 0 Comments

Excellent

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a full pardon Thursday for a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice.

 

Abbott announced the pardon shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced a unanimous recommendation that Daniel Perry be pardoned and have his firearms rights restored.

 

Perry had been in state prison on a 25-year sentence since his 2023 conviction in the killing of Garrett Foster, and was released shortly after the pardon, a prison spokeswoman said.

Perry, who is white, was working as a ride-share driver when his car approached a demonstration in Austin. Prosecutors said he could have driven away from the confrontation with Foster, a white Air Force veteran who witnesses said never raised his gun.

 

A jury convicted Perry of murder, but Abbott called it a case of self-defense.

 

“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive district attorney,” Abbott said.

Abbott Rejects Demands of Hamas Supporters

by | 2135, 5 May 24 | , | 0 Comments

Good.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a defiant statement Sunday, vowing that the demands made by student protesters at the University of Texas at Austin will “NEVER happen.” The students called for the school to divest itself from companies manufacturing weapons for Israel and demanded the resignation of university President Jay Hartzell.

 

“This will NEVER happen,” Abbott wrote on X about the demands. “The only thing that will happen is that the University and the State will use all law-enforcement tools to quickly terminate illegal protests taking place on campus that clearly violate the laws of the state of Texas and policies of the university.”

Key word in that statement is “illegal.” Protests are fine. People have a right to speak. They do not have a right to infringe on the rights of others.

Also, if these student protestors are so appalled by the fact that the University invests in companies that manufacture weapons for Israel, then why are they helping fund the university through their tuition? They should all immediately withdraw if they are sincere.

UTD Eliminates DEI Positions

by | 0755, 19 Apr 24 | , , | 0 Comments

Of course, we all need to be vigilant about DEI being infused in other ways, but this is manifestly positively. When I see these stories about universities and companies eliminating DEI positions, it does make me marvel at how much cost has been ladled onto students and taxpayers by these universities for things that had zero – or, perhaps, negative – value for the students’ education.

More than three months after a law banning diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education went into effect, the University of Texas at Dallas has announced it will officially be eliminating around 20 positions. 

 

According to a recent announcement from the university, they will be closing the Office of Campus Resources and Support to comply with state law. 

 

“As a result, effective April 30, 2024, the Office of Campus Resources and Support (OCRS) and approximately 20 associated jobs will be eliminated,” UTD President Dr. Richard C. Benson announced in a letter.

 

Benson added that all employees being affected will be able to apply for other open positions on campus and directed hiring managers to give “these experienced and talented individuals careful review when making their hiring decisions.”

 

The elimination of these positions at UTD follows the University of Texas laying off dozens of employees working in DEI positions. 

t.u. Fires DEI Staff

by | 1850, 5 Apr 24 | , , | 0 Comments

Progress.

The University of Texas at Austin has sent layoff notices to an estimated 60 staff members who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion roles, according to the Texas NAACP and the Texas Conference of American Association of University Professors.

 

The staffing cuts come as the university works to comply with the state’s anti-DEI law, or SB17, that bans public colleges and universities from maintaining DEI offices, holding mandatory DEI training, and having departments focused on “promoting differential treatment” based on race, sex or ethnicity.

 

In a statement released Wednesday, the Texas NAACP and AAUP said impacted staff members were given a 90-day layoff notice. Forty of those employees were from the Division of Campus and Community Engagement, which will be closing, the statement said. The office was formerly called the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement before SB17 went into effect in January.

Brian Davis, a university spokesman, said he was unable to confirm the number of jobs that are being eliminated. Davis told CNN in an email that the university would not comment beyond a letter President Jay Hartzell’s released to the campus community earlier this week.

 

Hartzell said in the letter that the university is redirecting funds from DEI initiatives to “teaching and research.”

Imaging spending money on teaching and research. How progressive.

Texas Devests From Blackrock over Anti-Energy Stance

by | 0735, 20 Mar 24 | | 0 Comments

Good.

FIRST ON FOX: The State of Texas is terminating a massive $8.5 billion investment with trillion-dollar asset manager BlackRock over the state’s determination that the firm is engaged in a boycott of energy companies.

In an announcement first shared with FOX Business, Texas State Board of Education Chairman Aaron Kinsey said the so-called Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) had delivered a notice to BlackRock on Tuesday, informing the New York City-based firm of the action. According to Kinsey, the move was made in accordance with a 2021 state law that seeks to distance the state and its large public purse from financial institutions boycotting the oil and gas sector.

SCOTUS Allows Texas to Arrest Illegal Aliens

by | 2117, 19 Mar 24 | , | 3 Comments

Excellent.

A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to begin enforcing a law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally while a legal battle over the measure plays out.

 

The conservative majority’s order rejects an emergency application from the Biden administration, which says the law is a clear violation of federal authority that would cause chaos in immigration law.

 

Texas Gov Greg Abbott praised the order — and the law — which allows any police officer in Texas to arrest migrants for illegal entry and authorizes judges to order them to leave the U.S.

The high court didn’t address whether the law is constitutional. The measure now goes back to an appellate court and could eventually return to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, it wasn’t clear how soon Texas might begin arresting migrants under the law.

 

It was also unclear where any migrants ordered to leave might go. The law calls for them to be sent to ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, even if they are not Mexican citizens.

 

But Mexico’s government said Tuesday it would not “under any circumstances” accept the return of any migrants to its territory from the state of Texas. Mexico is not required to accept deportations of anyone except Mexican citizens.

I suggest that Mexico make some effort to prevent non-Mexicans from crossing their country to jump our border.

Abbott Tells UN to “Pound Sand”

by | 1854, 26 Feb 24 | | 1 Comment

LOL

Texas Governor Greg Abbott had a blunt response to learning that LGBTQ+ groups have written to the United Nations to complain about suffering from “systemic” discrimination in the Lone Star state.

Dismissing the international organization with a six-word post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott wrote: “The UN can go pound sand.”

His comment comes after Texas passed a string of laws that critics consider discriminatory against LGBTQ+ people. Seven new laws in particular have drawn the ire of some gay and transgender organizations and human rights groups, which joined forces to write a letter to officials at the U.N. “to raise alarm about the deteriorating human rights situation for LGBTQIA+ persons in the state of Texas, United States of America, due to hostile rhetoric and legislation from the Texas state government.”

The U.N. has proven to be one of the most bigoted and corrupt organizations in the world. I think Texas does well to ignore them.

Californians Move to Texas in Droves

by | 0739, 6 Jul 23 | , , | 2 Comments

They are like locusts. Let’s hope they leave their politics behind.

About 300 Californians moved to Texas each day in 2021 – a staggering 111,000 people, newly released data shows.

That is double the 63,000 that made the same move in 2012, according to a new report from Storage Café, which examined California-Texas migrations patterns over nearly a decade.

Of those that moved in 2021, nearly half were millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, and headed to counties around major cities such as Austin, Houston and Dallas.

The study found Californians were lured from their state by a number of factors, including cheaper housing, lower taxes and booming work opportunities thanks to Texas’ tech and energy industries.

Fueling that shift was the COVID pandemic which increased the number of people that could work from home, releasing them from traditional commitments that would tie them down.

Note that Wisconsin looks more and more like California every day – especially after this last state budget.

Republicans Hold Republican Accountable in Texas

by | 1802, 27 May 23 | | 5 Comments

Would that Democrats ever saw fit to hold their own accountable.

The Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach and immediately suspend Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday by a vote of 121-23, with two members present not voting and three absent.

 

House Speaker Dade Phelan voted “yes” on the resolution.

 

The matter will now head to the Texas Senate, where lawmakers will hold a trial for the attorney general. Paxton’s wife, Angela, is a senator and could vote on his removal.

 

“Honesty and doing the right thing matter,” said Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, who chairs the General Investigating Committee that initiated the impeachment proceedings, during closing statements. “They matter to me, and I know that they matter to you.”

Texas to Charge Owners of Electric Vehicles More to Register Them

by | 1930, 19 May 23 | | 2 Comments

The tax man cometh.

EV drivers in Texas don’t pay at the pump, but will have to start paying a significant annual fee that critics are calling “punitive.”

 

Driving an electric vehicle in Texas is soon to become more expensive. Governor Greg Abbott signed a law (SB 505) on May 13 instituting new fees for registering and owning EVs in the state. Under the bill, electric car owners will have to pay $400 upon registering their vehicle. Then, every subsequent year, EV drivers will have to shell out an additional $200. Both of those fees are on top of the cost of the standard annual registration renewal fees, which are $50.75 each year for most passenger cars and trucks.

 

The law exempts mopeds, motorcycles, and other non-car EVs, and goes into effect starting on September 1, 2023.

Really, though, this is coming everywhere. Funding our road infrastructure with a gas tax doesn’t work in an EV world.

 

State of Texas Takes Over Houston School District For Chronic Poor Performance

by | 2143, 15 Mar 23 | , | 0 Comments

Git ‘er dun. It’s good to see consequences for chronic failure. I hope that they can make swift improvements for the betterment of the kids.

Texas law authorizes the appointment of a Board of Managers based on the district’s inability to improve student achievement at its low-performing campuses. In particular, Wheatley High School earned seven consecutive unacceptable academic ratings for the school years from 2011 through 2019. For the 2021-2022 school year, Wheatley earned an acceptable academic rating, driven by an increase in the award of Microsoft Office Specialist Word certifications among graduating seniors.

 

However, Wheatley’s acceptable rating this year does not abrogate my prior legal requirement to intervene based on the seven consecutive unacceptable ratings that were addressed by the original Board of Managers order.

 

Furthermore, while Wheatley was earning seven years of unacceptable academic performance ratings, multiple other campuses received inadequate district support leading to persistently poor performance. To note one example, Kashmere High School had eight consecutive unacceptable academic ratings starting in the 2008-2009 school year. In 2016, I appointed a conservator to ensure and oversee district-level support for Kashmere. As a result of that intervention, Kashmere finally earned an acceptable academic rating for the 2018-2019 school year. However, while the
injunction was in place—which limited the authority of the previously placed conservator— Kashmere High School’s performance regressed, as it received a “Not Rated” accountability rating for the 2021-2022 school year with a scale score of 68 out of 100. To note another example, Highland Heights Elementary School has not earned an acceptable performance rating since 2011.

 

The district’s approach to supporting students with disabilities also continues to violate state and federal law. Starting with internal reviews going back to 2011, there has long been recognition from Houston ISD itself of problems in this area. Substantive action was not taken until a management team of conservators was appointed. Since then, Houston ISD has seen some improvements related to basic Child Find obligations. But there are still significant systemic compliance problems, including an ongoing inability to provide special education services to students without delays, which harms their academic progress

Texas Bans TikTok from State Devices

by | 2006, 7 Dec 22 | , | 2 Comments

Is Wisconsin going to protect state systems from Chinese hackers?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies on Wednesday to ban the use of social media platform TikTok on government-issued devices over concerns about how the China-owned app handles data on American infrastructure and other sensitive information.

 

“TikTok harvests vast amounts of data from its users’ devices — including when, where and how they conduct internet activity — and offers this trove of potentially sensitive information to the Chinese government,” Abbott said in a letter to state officials on Wednesday.

 

TikTok has faced growing scrutiny from state and federal officials over fears that American data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government.

Battle for Texas

by | 1939, 27 Oct 22 | | 0 Comments

I love how the Leftist media continues to hype Beto. You can see the problem right here… he’s being introduced by celebrities – two New Yorkers and a Brit – who have little connection to Texas or their issues.

Beto O’Rourke stood in the middle of a music hall in Houston, Texas, surrounded by cheering supporters.

He had been introduced by Hamilton musical creator Lin Manuel Miranda and can count pop star Harry Styles and actor Matthew Broderick among his backers.

 

A former congressman from the border town of El Paso, Mr O’Rourke, 50, stands for everything liberal America wants: gun control, abortion rights, ‘racial justice’ for minorities and a plan for tackling climate change.

Long tipped as a rising star on the Democratic left – despite a failed 2018 Senate run – Mr O’Rourke now has his sights on another high-profile office.

 

But to become governor of Texas, he’ll have to get by the sitting Republican, Greg Abbott – a man who could not be more different.

Seeking his third four-year term, the 65-year-old may not have Mr O’Rourke’s celebrity endorsements, but he is a political powerhouse in his own right. He won re-election four years ago by double-digits and is the best political fund-raiser in Texas history.

 

The Abbott agenda is Mr O’Rourke’s opposite. Instead of abortion, guns and the environment, he focuses on rising undocumented immigration numbers and violent crime rates. He blames a national economy that is sputtering under high inflation on Democratic President Joe Biden’s policies.

DC Declares Emergency Over Illegal Aliens

by | 1959, 8 Sep 22 | , , | 7 Comments

Note that DC is getting a microscopic fraction of the millions of illegal aliens that the Biden Administration is allowing to invade our southern border. Border states have been dealing with much, much worse for much, much longer.

WashingtonCNN — 

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public health emergency on Thursday in response to the thousands of migrants arriving in the nation’s capital by bus from Arizona and Texas.

Bowser announced in a news conference a new government office tasked with the local response to arriving migrants that will also support new arrivals who are seeking asylum.

[…]

As of Thursday, the Texas governor’s office had sent more than 7,900 migrants on over 190 buses to the District, more than 2,200 migrants on over 40 buses to New York City, and more than 300 migrants on over five buses to Chicago.

[…]

Arizona, which is only sending buses to DC, has sent 46 buses carrying 1,677 migrants.

Adams Whines About Impact of Leftist Policies

by | 2047, 18 Aug 22 | , | 1 Comment

Those illegal aliens show up in Texas unannounced. Nobody is coordinating their arrival with authorities. Why should it be any different if they show up in NYC?

Abbott and Adams spoke with “Nightline” co-anchor Byron Pitts in interviews that aired on Wednesday, where Adams criticized the Republican governor for not coordinating the arrivals of migrants with NYC officials and Abbott doubled down on his policy to bus migrants out of Texas.

 

“We’ve got to secure our border because the Biden administration is not securing it,” Abbott said. “And then the reason why we began putting people on buses in the first place is because the Biden administration, they were literally dumping migrants off in small little towns of 10 or 25,000 people, and they were completely overwhelmed.”

 

Meanwhile, Adams criticized Abbott for not coordinating with NYC officials as buses of migrants arrived over the past two weeks.

Texas Increases Exports to D.C.

by | 0956, 13 Apr 22 | , | 0 Comments

This has been happening all over America. The only news here is that Abbott’s move forced everyone to see it.

A bus from Texas arrived in Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning, transporting dozens of illegal immigrants as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s new plan to counter federal immigration policies during an ongoing border crisis.

 

Abbott announced last week that he was directing the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to transport migrants released from federal custody in Texas to the nation’s capital and other locations outside his state.

 

The bus pulled up at approximately 8 a.m. local time, blocks away from the U.S. Capitol building. Fox News has learned that they came from the Del Rio sector in Texas, after coming to the U.S. from Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

 

Upon the bus’s arrival in Washington, D.C., individuals disembarked one by one except for family units who exited together. They checked in with officials and had wristbands they were wearing cut off before being told they could go.

Texas Supreme Court Strikes Final Blow to Challenge to Abortion Restrictions

by | 1333, 11 Mar 22 | , | 0 Comments

Excellent. Now do it in Wisconsin.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas abortion providers on Friday conceded a final blow to their best hope of stopping the nation’s most restrictive abortion law after a new ruling ended what little path forward the U.S. Supreme Court had left for clinics.

 

The decision by the Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely controlled by Republicans, spelled the coming end to a federal lawsuit that abortion clinics filed even before the restrictions took effect in September, but were then rejected at nearly every turn afterward.

 

“There is nothing left, this case is effectively over with respect to our challenge to the abortion ban,” said Marc Hearron, attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which led the challenge against the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8.

Although Texas abortion clinics are not dropping the lawsuit, they now expect it will be dismissed in the coming weeks or months.

 

The Texas law bans abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy and makes no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Abortions in Texas have plummeted by more than 50% since the law took effect.

Democrats Struggle to Make Headway in Texas

by | 1956, 15 Jan 22 | | 1 Comment

Ha

If fact, Democrats haven’t won any statewide elections in that long, and there have been about 100 of them during that time.

By way of illustration, an online site for lottery players puts the odds of someone matching three of the six numbers in a Texas Lotto drawing at about one in 75. The payout for hitting three of six is a modest $3. But it still means a Texas Democrat has a better chance of winning at least part of the Lotto jackpot than he or she has of getting elected statewide.

And that begs the question, why can Democrats win at least sometimes in red states but not in Texas?

There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer, but there are some clues. And, like the Lotto analogy, evidence suggests that a little luck is often involved.

I remember growing up in Texas when Democrats were regularly elected statewide. And in some parts, like East Texas, one couldn’t get elected without being a Democrat. Back then, Democrats still loved God, guns, law & order, and fought for the little guy. Those Democrats are not today’s Democrats. I’d suggest that Texas has not gotten more conservative or Republican. If anything, it has drifted a bit left. But the Democrats have gone so far left that they can’t win in a majority of the state.

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