Fort Bend Protests Meet Houston ICE Rules In A Week Of Flashpoints

A county judge gets suspended, a presiding judge appoints a replacement, and suddenly Fort Bend County is in the street protesting a “power grab.” We walk through what Texas law actually allows, why people still feel cheated without a direct vote, and how that same frustration shows up again and again in local politics. If you care about transparency, elections, and what “representation” really means, you’ll hear the argument for a representative republic laid out in plain terms.

Then we turn to the Houston police and ICE controversy that keeps changing shape. City Council votes to limit cooperation, Governor Greg Abbott freezes about $114 million in public safety grants, and the mayor negotiates revisions that are supposed to fix it. But the Fourth Amendment debate over civil immigration warrants, detentions, and “reasonable time” waiting periods leaves even council members saying they were misled. We break down what HPD says officers can do, why the city’s messaging is so muddled, and what legal liability could look like.

From there, we zoom out to the Texas House oversight push, the “Death Star” preemption law and talk of “Death Star 2.0,” and even the jaw-dropping idea of New Mexico counties joining Texas. We also hit major local headlines with Charles Blaine, including the Adrian Garcia dual office ruling and Harris County flood control dysfunction, before closing on the alleged synagogue attack plot, Magnolia ISD’s massive bond debt request, and UT Arlington’s new Doctor of Social Work program amid DEI scrutiny.

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Transcript

Welcome And Week Rundown

SPEAKER_13 0:00

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. And we have made it to Friday, the end of the week, coming up on the weekend. And I'm very excited to be with you here this morning. Of course, at seven o'clock, we have our very good friend from Urban Reform for the weekly local recap. That would be none other than Charles Blaine coming on. And I'm sure it will be a very exciting local recap, given, of course, some of the things that happened this week. And I'm sure he's got more on the agenda than than I know about. But uh no, I'm I'm I'm very much looking forward uh to getting into all this because ton of stuff going on. Ton of stuff going on. And we'll kick it off just so you understand. On top of, of course, having that interview at the top of the second hour, we've got protests going on out in Fort Bend County over the appointment of the new county judge. Um we've got some HPD policy regarding ICE, separate from, of course, city council. We've got this New Mexico annexing stuff. Uh they're calling it the Death Star 2.0. Uh, we've got this attack planned for a synagogue. It's it's two young people have been uh arrested and apparently an alleged attack plan on a Houston synagogue. Uh Magnolia ISD voters are being asked to approve uh a new healthy serving of debt. Apparently, there's this new controversial social work doctorate at UT Arlington that they've now uh approved. You also have the Houston ISD board. You're hearing all these and you're realizing there's no way that Michael's gonna speak fast enough to get or or is my speaking speed, I don't think is the problem. There's no way I'm gonna move on from stories fast enough to get to all of these. But yeah, just to highlight, there is there is a lot of stuff going on. There is a ton. And I'm very excited to get into it because we're wrapping up the uh the show today for the week, which means that whatever I cover today, that's all we're gonna have until Monday. And so I'm gonna try to get into as much as I can so you guys are updated and prepared going into the weekend. Of course, at the bottom of this first hour, we'll get into the weather. We'll talk about what we see going on today throughout the weekend, going into next week. The weather, just so you guys are aware, a little spoiler alert for that segment, is going to get warm. It's gonna get, you're like, oh, it's already warm. It's gonna get warmer. It's gonna be very warm. That's the plan. That's what's on the agenda.

Fort Bend Judge Protest Explained

SPEAKER_13 2:39

With that being said, let's kick it off with none other than Fort Bend County. Tensions are escalating out there given a contentious leadership, we'll call it a shakeup, that uh has been, you know, raising questions regarding, you know, political maneuvering, the way that judge appointments work, all this sort of stuff. You have dozens of residents and of course, of course, local Democratic leaders gathered outside the Fort Bend County Courthouse, voicing frustration over what they describe as a lack of transparency, and get this voter input. At the center of the controversy is the temporary appointment of an acting county judge, an action that critics are coming out and saying, Well, that's a power grab. That's not allowed. You're not supposed to be able to do that. Protesters say their concerns come down to one core issue: the absence of a public vote. Quote, they just put him in there. He wasn't voted in. Others echoed that sentiment, criticizing what they described as no election, no public process, zero consent. The appointment followed the suspension of, of course, Forband County Judge KP George, after all the stuff going on with the misuse of campaign funds, and then he's still got a trial on the horizon for the social media hoax side of things. And so, of course, at some point, if he was gonna go to jail, which he was, at some point we had to come in and step in and say, okay, so he's gotta go. He can't serve in the position of county judge. And if he can't serve, that means that somebody else is going to have to serve in his stead, or your county has no judge, which, by the way, not a good idea. Worse idea. And so, by the way, just so we're clear, I know that they're protesting this. Under Texas law, when an elected county official is suspended, a presiding judge has the authority to appoint a temporary replacement. So this has not gone about fraudulently or behind closed doors, this has not gone about in some sort of weird, you know, illegal kind of loophole sort of way. It's very explicit in the law of our state that when this particular situation happens where someone is suspended over even something like this, that a presiding judge has the authority to say, okay, well, I'll appoint a temporary replacement until such a time as I think it's fair to move on. In this case, you had a judge from Galveston County who selected Daniel Wong as the interim county judge, which again has the authority to do. Wong is just you know the Republican nominee for the same position in, I believe, the November election coming up, uh, which of course opponents are not happy about. They think this creates some sort of bias or some sort of unfair advantage, which maybe it does. That's the way the world works. You know, something I had to learn when I was real small when I said that's not fair. I remember the first time I used that term. That's not fair. My dad looked me dead in my eyes and he said, Yeah, life's not fair. And since then, I've realized that's just true. Not that we can't try to make it as fair as possible, but that's the way the world works. You have to appoint somebody, you need a county judge, and you have to appoint somebody that's dedicated to doing the job well, who represents what the voters want most, what would be best for the county, your options are very limited. I I understand you wanted somebody else, but your options were very limited. And so you also have the political quote unquote experts who've come out, as they do, and they said the process is legal, but not usually how these things happen. According to Rice University Political Science Professor Mark Jones, Texas law allows these sort of appointments, but the political implications are significant, especially when the appointee is also a candidate for the position. Jones notes that similar dynamics are unfolding in neighboring Harris County. There, Democrats appointed Abby Kamen as county attorney after Christian Mennefee was elected to Congress, a move that likewise places an unelected official into a position of power ahead of an election. He describes these actions as examples of partisan actors using their position to give their candidate a leg up in future races. While legal, these kind of decisions can have lasting consequences. He kind of warned that these sort of maneuvers risk eroding public trust and public confidence in local governments, particularly when voters feel sidelined from the decision-making process. In the short term, however, uh residents are kind of limited in what they actually get to do. He said the only thing that residents could do is to either punish the party that engaged in the acts at the polls in November or lobby their state legislatures and senators to change the law. That's how it works. If you don't like it, I don't know why you're protesting that it happened. That's the law. If you want to protest, you're better off protesting outside Austin than you are Fort Penn County, because the law was not created in Fort Penn County. We're just following what the law says. For now, the leadership over in Fort Penn County uh is is gonna stay in some sort of flux sort of area. Uh the interim appointment stands as legal. I I I think they're gonna try to probably pursue legal proceedings. I don't know why, because as of now, it's legal. Um, and the broader political battle is expected to play out both in the courts and of course coming up in the elections later this year. Uh but again, I think it's I think it's fair to say if you don't like this process, then you know, lobby the lawmakers. Say, hey, we need to change, we need to change the parameters of the law. I that's totally fair. You're allowed to do that. What I wanna I want to come out and say this because I think this is important.

National Debate On Redistricting

SPEAKER_13 8:38

I was on uh Todd Starne's newsmax program yesterday, debating a Democrat, which, by the way, always a blast. Love getting to do that. It's fun getting to go on and have conversations. I love talking to people that I disagree with. I I always have a good time. Uh it was the first time that I had been on a national program where I got interrupted. I that usually doesn't happen. People are usually pretty polite. I I gave him all his speaking time, and of course, I said one thing that he disagreed with, then he decided to interrupt me. Uh, but nevertheless, it was a good time. I I had a phenomenal time on there. And it was with uh this this democratic name was Grant Stern, and we were debating uh at this point the Virginia redistricting. And he'd read to say, well, Texas started it. Oh boy. I I had a field day with that because of course I I made a few arguments. I I said, first of all, the process was very different. And the reason why the judge so far has been allowed to block what Virginia did with the referendum is because they took a vote, which which has a lot more legal qualifications than doing it by creating the process through lawmakers. And I I kind of also highlighted that Texas was way more fair. I said we Texas, we're pretty red. If we had wanted, we could have found a way to just kind of outline all the blue areas. We still gave Democrats what 13 seats. We didn't have to do that. We wanted to be pretty fair, pretty balanced, you know, nice. Still give them a little bit of representation. Don't take it all away from them. But what did we get back? Virginia gave us what, wanted to give us one, one Republican seat in Virginia. And as somebody who's lived in Virginia, by the way, multiple times in my life, I can tell you it is not blue enough to deserve one Republican seat. Yeah. You go to DC, there's a lot to air, but not just D.C. You go to a lot of the cities, yeah. Same as anywhere. You got you got blue compounds of people. Not not enough to give Republicans one seat and give what Democrats 43. Insane. Literally insane. However, one of the things that I want that I highlighted on that show that I'm kind of you're wondering why I brought this up. It connects and I'll explain. Grant Stern, when I pointed out that the legal processes are different between how we did it and how Virginia tried to do it. They tried to do it through a referendum given specifically to the people, and we did it through lawmakers. And he said, Well, isn't my way more fair? I'm paraphrasing, I'm not quoting him. But what he explained was, yeah, we took a vote of the people. Isn't that the most, you know, democratic way to do it? It's the fairest. We had the actual people decide. You guys did it in back rooms behind closed doors with secret deals by the lawmakers. Well, let me explain something to you. And I I tried to explain this on the show yesterday, and I'll explain it again today because it's the same thing here.

Republic Versus Direct Democracy

SPEAKER_13 11:43

We are not a democracy. We are a republic. Not only are we a republic, but we are a representative republic. And what that means is that the founders understood that most of us have jobs, most of us have lives outside of voting. I I'm in a peculiar position because my job happens to be deeply embedded in politics. But for 99% of the population, your job is going to be completely unrelated. And the founders knew that. And so they designed the system. They understood that the system likely would be that you, if you decide to run, are representing the people in your district. Let's say you have a thousand people that you're going to represent. When you go and make votes, you're not the one making the votes. You represent the 1,000 people that your district elected you to represent. That means that when you vote in on any bill, you actually are 1,000 people voting on that bill. It is a referendum to the people because the people selected you to go and vote on the referendum. The reason that that matters, and the reason that we did that, I I don't have the numbers. I should have looked it up. I'll probably look it up over the break and see if they're they're publicly available yet. They may not be. And I tried to highlight this yesterday. And it's the same conversation here. What's the voter turnout like in these sorts of elections? If Fort Penn County decided to do a special election tomorrow or in a week from now, what would the voter turnout look like? Oh, we don't know. Yeah, it would be very small. The Virginia election. What was the voter turnout like for that referendum? I I have to wonder. Because the margins were 51% approved the redistricting in Virginia. First of all, that that's you're getting very close to mob rule at that point. To redistrict the whole state for a 51% vote. I understand how majorities work, but come on. Not only that, but again, the reason we have representatives is because if voter turnout was anything less than 50% of eligible voters in that election, that's why we have lawmakers. Because you can show up to vote during normal elections where voter turnout is high, you select someone to represent you, and then they all go and they make those decisions for your state because there's decisions every day over law, redistricting, what that looks like, this policy, that policy. And we can't possibly address all of that as voters. We have jobs, we have lives. We can't get out there to the polls five times a day and vote on things. It won't work. And so they tried to say, well, it's democracy. Well, we don't you didn't get the public's opinion. Well, you didn't put up put it to a vote. Not everything needs to be a vote. Not everything should be a vote. Because if everything's a vote, then you get to rule over everybody else if you just don't have a job. If if you the Democrats that don't like to work and they get funded by welfare and whatever, they can just show up to vote every day on anything they want, and boom, they're just gonna automatically win. That's not how our how our republic was designed to operate. We are a representative republic, and that is incredibly important to the success of our nation. And so whenever I hear somebody say, Well, you need to get a vote from the people, I always say, No, you don't. There are things that require votes from the people, and there are other things that the people already voted for. Right? This is how this works. And if you don't like the process, I understand this is a little different because a judge appointed, if you don't like that, just go to the legislature and lobby to change it. I don't think it's a big enough deal, and I don't think it happens very often. How often do you see a county judge get removed for scamming people and then have it replaced another one? I mean, it's so it's so uncommon. I don't think there's really any point now. It's already happened. Even if you go and lobby, they'll change it in the next legislature legislative session. Now that the appointment's already over and somebody has won the elect- I mean, it won't matter. But I'm just highlighting, I know that the claims are don't you guys want public input? And they try to drive that point home because they're very good at making it sound appealing. But I just want to highlight for all our listeners, because I was dealing with a Democrat yesterday who made the exact same argument, well, the public chose this. It's the people. Don't you guys love the people? You have no idea what you're talking about. Because the people are supposed to be represented intentionally because they can't possibly do what you're saying they should do. With that being said, when we get back from the break, we'll jump over and we'll talk a little bit about this HPD update. Uh, because yesterday, the Houston Police Department released an updated order to its officers on how to interact with federal immigration agents. And it's it's pretty crazy what they've specifically come out and said. We'll talk about it when we get back. If you would like to text into the show, let us know your thoughts on anything we're covering or anything that we're not, you know, something that you want to hear me cover, feel free to text in. The number is 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and I'll be right back in the next segment. Update with HPD Nice. You won't want to miss it. Hang tight.

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HPD Resets Rules On ICE

SPEAKER_13 19:52

The Houston Police Department leaders yesterday came out and released an updated order to its officers on how to interact with federal immigration agents that largely returns HPD to the rules it operated under before Houston City Council spurred a fight over the issue. And which, by the way, legal advocates say could expose the city to legal liability, those updates. The council voted two weeks ago, as you all very well remember if you've listened to this show or read some of my writing for Texas Scorecard, they they voted two weeks ago to limit HPD's cooperation with U.S. immigration and customs enforcement agents, leading Governor Greg Abbott to then, of course, freeze like $114 million in grant funding, public safety funding to the city. Mayor John Whitmeyer then immediately changed his tune, which I really don't know why he voted for it. I'm I'm still by I know we've I've said this like 80 times. I'm still just flabbergasted by the notion that Mayor Whitmeyer voted for that policy. I just can't bel I underst maybe I get why. Maybe he was hoping to kind of get some of the Democrats back on his side. I don't even know. But it was not intelligent. It was not very wise, and it was certainly not in line with all the things that he claims to believe. Nevertheless, he then negotiated amendments to the policy with Abbott's office and secured council approval of those changes during Wednesday's city council meeting. In a prepared statement yesterday, Whitmeyer said Abbott's office had reviewed the HPD order implementing that amended policy and agreed the city could keep its grant funds, which is the biggest update we've got. He said, I thank the twelve council members who supported this change and understood the consequences. These funds are critical in continuing to make public safety our highest priority. Whitmeyer said the new ordinance reaffirms the Fourth Amendment, but legal advocates said that HPD's new directive exposes the city to legal risk. By not explicitly banning detaining someone exclusively on a civil immigration warrant, the city potentially violates the Fourth Amendment, said Travis Fife. He's an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project. Sorry if being an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project doesn't immediately earn my greatest confidence. I'm not sure how credible that person is. It just doesn't you don't sound like somebody I just automatically trust, unfortunately. IC Minister warrants are of course civil documents that on their own supposedly do not give local police the authority to arrest someone. And so this guy with the Civil Rights Project said this policy exposes the city to legal liability, both from the people harmed by the policy as well as the attorney's fees for those who successfully sue the city. They are exceeding HPD's state law enforcement authority and violating the Fourth Amendment. Now, Nick Hudson, he is the senior manage of senior manager of policy and advocacy at the ACLU. Again, very trustworthy fellow. Not light in the low first at all. Uh he kind of echoed the same thing. He said the new directive invites Houston police to detain people unconstitutionally for ICE. Officers are now directed to violate Houstonians' Fourth Amendment rights. No, no, no, no, no, no, not Houstonians. Hang on. Illegals. Can I at least change your word in there? They're not Houstonians. Houstonians assume that you are allowed to be there. That's like saying I'm a child because I'm actually a you know a pedophile who's stuck into a daycare. Well, I'm a child just because I'm in a daycare. No, you're actually a really creepy pervert. The fact that you're in the daycare actually makes it worse. You're not a kid because you went in there. You're not a Houstonian just because you came to Houston. That's not how this works. That's not the standard we apply across the board. Anyways, uh, he said that their Fourth Amendment rights are being violated, which is supposed to protect us from illegal searches and seizures. We all agree the Fourth Amendment is incredibly important. It's just being weaponized in this case. And so, under the terms of the order issued yesterday, HPD officers are to call a sergeant to the scene, contact ICE, and wait a reasonable amount of time if an immigration officer wants to come to the scene. That is the same sort of phraseology that existed in HPD's policies before March. When the Houston Chronicle, uh, if you look back at some of their reporting, kind of came out and said that officers in at least two cases have possibly violated the Constitution by directly transporting drivers with similar civil immigration warrants to ICE agents. And so in response, Whitmeyer and HPD chief uh Noah Diaz announced a policy change, saying that officers should wait about thirty minutes for ICE agents to arrive when they encounter someone with a civil immigration warrant before releasing the person. That way they're not illegally detaining them or unconstitutionally detaining them as local law enforcement, but that they're giving ICE the opportunity to show up. So trying to balance those things. And so council members felt that policy didn't go far enough, hence why they voted to come out and say, Oh, you know what? You know what? Uh, we're gonna say that you can't detain anyone at all. You you can't stop them for 30 minutes, you can't hold them, basically banning any sort of cooperation with ICE in the first place. And so then Emmett reissued the threat. Whitmeyer said we need to amend this, and and that's how we

Conflicting Messages From City Leaders

SPEAKER_13 25:00

got here. The guidance that they issued yesterday out of that ordinance keeps the requirement to call a sergeant to the scene. It prohibits officers from directly transporting people to ICE agents, but not from detaining people with civil immigration warrants beyond the initial purpose of the detention, such as a traffic stop. Some council members, of course, who opposed uh Whitmeyer's omitted policy, said the changes were vague and questioned how they would be implemented. In response to questions during Wednesday's meeting, City Attorney Arturo Michael said the policy would not change that local police can't hold people with a civil immigration warrant for ICE to arrive, and said the city would not return to its prior 30-minute wait policy. But Witmeyer offered a conflicting explanation saying that HPD sergeants called to the scene in such cases would consider the totality of the situation before deciding whether to release the person. Councilmember Alejandro Salinas sought clarification on which was correct. Winmeyer said both explanations were consistent, which I like the guy, but that does not sound quite true. After the release of the police directive late yesterday, Salinas said the council had been misled when they were told the mayor's amendments wouldn't materially change policy. She said the updated directive makes clear that this was false. HPD must now wait for ICE to obtain custody of the individual. The public deserves a clear and transparent explanation. Abby Kamen, uh, who was I I think along with Salinas, two of the three council members who pushed for the initial ordinance, uh, kind of came out and and didn't respond to requests, and Edward Pollard said he had not yet seen the new directive, but said that not telling the intent of the ordinance w would result probably in litigation. But I just wanted to highlight weird things that are going on. Because we we don't really know. At this point, I I'm as lost as everybody else. I don't think we even really know what's happening. Because we we went from 30 minutes to crazy, don't cooperate at all, to are you allowed to literally detain them and take them to I are you allowed to hold them for I I we don't know. We really don't know the entirety of how this is gonna work out. We I I what I think is we're gonna find out in a couple weeks what's legal, what's illegal, things are gonna kind of continue down this path of people fighting tooth and nail until we find out where the line is for Houston. That that is almost certainly what's going to happen is that they're going to keep fighting both sides of the aisle here until we get to a point where we get to keep our money, that the Democrats, I don't want to say they're satiated, but we've reached some sort of negotiated balance, and we're kind of really back to where we started, where everyone kind of admits, okay, we're not really cooperating with ICE, but we are doing what we need to do. Which is literally what we always had, and they wanted to shake they wanted to completely shake it up. And it's gonna be so funny because eventually what's going to happen is we're gonna end up right back there, and then everyone's gonna say, We got ya, we won. And we're just gonna say, No, that's what we always had. We negotiated, no, this we went back to the normal. You that you originally didn't like. Whatever happens, it's just a mess. Especially when you talk about having an extra hundred and fourteen million dollars on the line on top of the mess of all of this in in the first place. Now, with that being said, after the break, we're gonna come back and we're gonna talk about this Mexico annexation. Uh on the on the agenda for the new House Oversight Committee. What that is, you might be thinking to yourself, Michael, what are you talking about? What do you mean New Mexico? What are you talking about, New Mexico? This I thought we did local and statewide news. We do. Uh apparently the House Oversight Committee is expected to gu guide legislation on local regulations, taxpayer-funded nonprofits, transparency laws, other issues added in the next session, including maybe the annexation of part of New Mexico. We'll talk about what that means, what I'm talking about, if that's even true. After the break, text in if you'd like at 713-779-5978. One more time. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative, and I'll be right back after the break. So don't go anywhere. We'll talk soon.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

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New Texas Oversight Committee Priorities

SPEAKER_13 33:25

So essentially, Texas House lawmakers are saying a broader crackdown on local governments, taxpayer funded nonprofits, and outside influence on public officials as a new oversight committee begins its work ahead of the next legislative session. The panel's wide-ranging agenda includes everything from regulatory policy to examining whether parts of neighboring New Mexico could join Texas. Because Texas just isn't big enough yet. We need we need more land. Because our we're you imagine. Has anyone ever driven from like coast to and I don't mean coast to coast, but I mean Beaumont to El Paso. You ever done the I-10 drive? Man. You drive out to San Diego. I mean, it's a long drive. And your second day is getting out. Your second day is New Mexico to San Diego. Your first day is Texas. And maybe you make it to the corner of New Mexico. Imagine extending it further. You're on I-10 for like 40 hours before you're out of Texas. Goodness gracious, we're just not big enough. Anyways, uh Cody Vasut, who chairs the House Select Committee on General Oversight, he said that they will the committee's work will focus on identifying gaps in current law, determining whether existing statutes are being followed. He said our main role is to study several very important issues to understand whether or not current law is being complied with or whether there's gaps. That's kind of the theme that goes across each item. And I hope that what we find is going to guide a lot of good bills next session, very critical bills.

Death Star Law Expansion Talk

SPEAKER_13 35:00

So among the committee's top priorities is a review of the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, often referred to by critics as the Death Star Law, which limits the ability of local governments to impose regulations beyond state law in key areas like labor and business practices. The suit signaled that lawmakers are already considering expanding the law's reach and strengthening how it is enforced, saying the effort could amount to Death Star 2.0. He said the premise of the bill is a very good premise, which is that Texas businesses ought to be able to have predictability and an easy time doing business in Texas, regardless of whether they're in the panhandle, the valley, or Southeast Texas. But he noted the law currently only applies to certain sections of the state code, leaving room for expansion. He said, Now, if only targeted certain codes that were perhaps at the time thought of as the most significant for business, but there are other codes that we need to extend it to. So they're trying to do that. And so there's a lot, there's a lot going on with the committee, what they expect to kind of get into nonprofits, bankrolling, education foundations tied to public school districts. We know that there's ongoing issues with that. So kind of getting into ISDs and their connection to these nonprofits. They're also going to debate the Texas Public Information Act and so kind of get into um exemption claims. It's a little bit broken in that regard. Now I want to talk for just a moment about one of the more unusual charges.

Could New Mexico Join Texas

SPEAKER_13 36:22

Examining the potential for parts of New Mexico to join Texas. Uh he said the issue is actually being taken seriously. That I'm joking about it, but it's actually apparently a very real thing. He said it is serious. This is a real deal. He pointed frustration among some counties in New Mexico that feel overlooked by their state government and said lawmakers want to explore a path exit, that a path exists for those areas to leave. Say, A, New Mexico doesn't represent us. We're more Texan than we are New Mexican at this point. He said they feel neglected by their state government, they feel left behind, they feel probably more naturally aligned with Texas culturally and perhaps politically, perhaps economically. And so he said the committee will examine what legal mechanisms, if any, would be required for such a move, including whether both states would need to approve a boundary change. And he said understanding what's at stake here with this area that is such a vast mineral reserve, it raises questions in my mind whether New Mexico is properly developing it to the detriment of all the people of the United States, including its own citizens. Ultimately, he said any effort would depend on the will of the people in the affected area. If the people of New Mexico wanted to a vote to join Texas in these counties, we'd be happy to have them. But ultimately, it's going to be a decision for the people if we believe in South in self-determination. I just want to highlight it because I just could not believe what I was reading. I I I had not kept up to date with this. I think that'd be pretty epic. I would actually, hang on, pause. Before I say anything, I want to know what the voting history of those specific counties are. I need to know what's the demographic breakdown in terms of party affiliation. That's what I would want to know before we before we do anything. Assuming that's all good, I'd have you, I'd be happy to have you. I'd be we'd be happy to, you know, join. Always having extra land of Texas, we'll take it. It's a positive. Having extra voters, depending on how you vote, could be a positive. With that being said, to wrap up the first hour of the show when we get back, we're going to go over the weather and all those updates. So stick around. You're listening to Lone Star Conservative. Text in 713-779-5978. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. We'll be right back to wrap up the first hour of the show. Weather report coming. Don't go anywhere.

SPEAKER_07 38:25

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SPEAKER_13 41:24

Got a text in. It says, Good morning, Lone Star Conservative. We appreciate your weather forecast as much as all the rest of what you do each morning. Have a great weekend. You have a great weekend too. Let me not keep you waiting. Thanks for the text in. Let's dive into the weather

Houston Weather Turns Summerlike

SPEAKER_13 41:37

report. Houston is getting a sort of a taste of summer, though it's not the real thing yet. After a mostly quiet and warm Thursday, the forecast ended today and the weekend looks more like a summer preview than a full seasonal shift. Temperatures are of course trending upward. Humidity is creeping in. We'll talk about it. Peak daytime temperatures will continue to rise through the end of the week, approaching the 90 degree mark by tomorrow. A noticeable shift toward early summer warmth for April. And of course, it will also come with humidity increases. Even so, this does not appear to be a sustained heat wave. The pattern still shows some variability, suggesting that Houston is more a sort of transition phase than a full jump to summer. Rain changes are going to drop off after yesterday, but they're not going to disappear entirely. Each day of the weekend is going to carry at least a small chance for some sort of change, some sort of, you know, uh situation where you could get some rain. Friday is going to stand out a bit more. That's today. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has placed areas generally along and north of I-10 under a very low end, level one out of five risk for severe weather. They're saying that isolated scattered storms could develop during the afternoon and could persist into the evening, uh, meaning that many storms could struggle to organize, but any storm that can sustain an updraft could briefly become strong. Outside of that, storm activity should remain pretty limited. Most neighborhoods are going to stay dry. A few could see short-lived downpours, lightning, and gusty winds, but it's going to not be very common. Looking ahead, broader weather patterns suggest that Houston could remain near normal or slightly warmer than normal into early May, even as below average temperatures settle across much of the central and eastern United States. Forecast confidence decreases in the 8 to 14 day range, you know, as you get more than a week out, particularly when it comes to rainfall. So we don't really have a strong signal for a prolonged stretch of extreme heat or a completely dry pattern. For now, the takeaway is pretty straightforward. Summer's knocking on the door. All right, it's it's getting here, but it has not fully moved in. Expect warm, increasingly humid days with just enough storm chances to remind you that spring is not quite over yet. With that being said, you know, next by next Friday, they're already predicting potentially more rain going into next weekend, which could bring those temperatures about eight degrees down from the high. We'll see what actually happens. You know, that is a week away. But that'll do it for the weather report today. With that being said, we get back at the top of the next hour. We're gonna have Charles Blaine from Urban Reform on for the weekly local recap, which you will not want to miss. Text in 713 779. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. I'll be back with Charles Blaine at the top of the next hour.

SPEAKER_08 44:19

The voice of reason. That is the most dark conservative. Michael Wilson.

Charles Blaine Joins The Show

SPEAKER_13 44:41

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. And on the air, we have Charles Blaine from Urban Reform coming on. We have some confusing stuff this week that hopefully we have somebody well equipped to answer. Welcome to the show, Charles. Well, thanks for having me. If you're thinking that I'm that well-equipped person, I'm just as confused as everyone else.

SPEAKER_14 45:04

So it's going to be a tough week.

SPEAKER_13 45:05

So you're like, I don't know if you're bringing on another guest that's supposed to be the well-informed one, but it's not me. Well, unfortunately, it's not me either. I'm incredibly lost, especially on this first story that I want to talk about.

Why The HPD ICE Fight Persists

SPEAKER_13 45:17

What the heck is going on with the HPD and ICE?

SPEAKER_14 45:20

Yeah, well, that's an open-ended question because I have no idea. So as we talked about last week on your show, HP uh the Houston City Council passed this ordinance that put them in alleged violation of state SB4, which then caused the governor to come out and say that he was going to rescind $110 million, someone within $110, $114 million of uh aid that they gave to HCD and other agencies in order to help Houston from his public safety office. Then City Council meets, they rescind the ordinance, or well, they pass a new ordinance that rescinds that ordinance, which is just a technicality. But immediately after that, Abbott's in an interview on Fox News, and he says, Well, yes, Houston City Council did take their ordinance back. However, HVD has not agreed to stop doing what they're doing, and so they still may be in violation.

SPEAKER_13 46:11

Right, right. And uh, so yeah, I mean it's it's it's pretty crazy updates. And I gotta say, Charles, I gotta say, one of the things that I think is absolutely crazy uh that that I think is going on that's that is that is crazy about this, is the fact that so Abbott says that the HPD has done this, what have you. And then and then what kind of comes out of that?

SPEAKER_14 46:33

Yeah, so then after that, they they uh so they they kind of have this conference, if you will. Some council members didn't know what's going on. I didn't know what's going on. I don't think you did either. And then now suddenly uh HPD comes out and they say that they have changed the ordinance and their policy, or not the ordinance rather, but their policies to be able to, I guess some are saying do what they did before, and then others are saying not to, but I it it's allegedly now in compliance with what Abbott wants. But it's very confusing because frankly, what he said after the meeting was that council did what they needed to do, and yet it would indicate that if HPD was not in compliance after that, they would be going rogue from what city council was doing. So I don't really know. It makes no sense to me.

SPEAKER_13 47:14

Yeah, none of this makes sense because Abbott's office came out and said, good policy, this'll work great. And then Abbott came out not like two hours later and said, No, but it's not working. And then the next day, HPD is coming out and and saying, Yeah, so we're actually back to to really even possibly more aggressive than when we first started. The Democrats have no idea what they've done. And Alejandro Salinas, this this cracks me up because she came out and she she kind of responded after the press conference last night uh that HPD said what they're gonna actually do. Um that that she kind of said and I I want to be careful how I say this because I want to make sure that I'm I'm not fake quoting her. But she came out and said that if if this was what the HPD was doing, then she feels like city council was very much misled. He said the changes weren't material, but this feels pretty dang material.

SPEAKER_14 48:11

Yeah, well, that's the thing. So, yeah, and and some council members, because the original vote was uh 12 to 5, I think it was, 12 to 5, 12 to 4, with the Republicans voting against this ordinance. Then the whole thing flipped and you had 12 to 3. And so a lot of the Democrats on city council were like, well, you know, this wasn't a huge change, this wasn't a huge change, and then now they're being kind of like told under the radar, more or less, but kind of not really, that this was a huge change. And so it doesn't seem like anybody really has a good grasp on on what's going on. Like anybody at all. Like I don't I don't want to say that like the mayor's office is is playing the long game here because like I don't think they even like I don't feel like anybody has any idea of what's happening, and they're just kind of like riding it through hoping that whatever is done will appease habit. But I just what shocked me is that you know the governor did come out and he said immediately after and said that what they passed was kind of bringing them back in line, and then kind of shifted that blame to HPD. And so, you know, if your issue was with city council originally, well then now your issue, uh according to that statement, would be with HPD going rogue against their governing body rather than with the city of Houston. And it and it kind of seems like you're trying they were trying to play both sides here, like Houston's still bad, but like they did the right thing, but they're still bad. So I I just I mean, I guess we're just gonna have to wait and find out. I mean, if we got the money today, will we have it tomorrow? Who knows?

SPEAKER_13 49:30

Right. I I just I'm flabbergasted. It's it's actually I if what's happening is what I think what's happening, then I I'm gonna laugh because what it seems like is we had a policy a few months ago, right, which was, hey, we just hold them for administrative warrants. And of course, the left said that's a that's a violation of the Fourth Amendment, even though we've been doing it for years, and no one's ever won a lawsuit saying that's actually true. So it seems like a pretty outrageous claim. They claim that it's a violation of search and seizures, but they've never proven that in court. And so you don't just make that claim without proving it and just say, well, I think it violates the Fourth Amendment. Well, I don't, okay? But that's what we've been that's what we've been doing. And then they passed the 30 minute policy, and then they passed this crazier policy, and then Whitmeyer says, Hey, I'm just gonna change the words up to try to please Abbott. It doesn't actually do anything. And then I don't know how dumb the Democrats are that voted for it, but apparently they didn't read it very well because it does do something and it returns it back to literally what we've been doing for years that they complained about. I just I'm so lost.

SPEAKER_14 50:28

Exactly. And the thing is, you know, he did not pass out the ordinance in advance of. They bit they did it, they did it like uh at the start of that meeting, kind of everybody got it. But when they did it, they didn't just give it to counsel. Alejandro Salinas had them print like hundreds of copies and pass it out to um everybody in the audience, and they had organized so that they had civil rights attorneys and you know, immigration and all these people's audience. So apparently nobody could pick up on it really quickly, all of that. That like and I mean they were in in mass, in mass passing it out. But no one noticed. So I don't know. We're just gonna have to wait and see what happens. But this there's a lot of back and forth.

SPEAKER_13 51:04

And I'd be embarrassed to come out now and say, I can't believe he's done this to us, because all that says is I can't read. Like if you admit, I can't believe he snuck it in. No, the wording's there. You just didn't read it very well, did you? You just didn't really I got you with the fine brain. Oh my goodness.

Adrian Garcia Dual Office Ruling

SPEAKER_13 51:21

Okay, with that being said, the next really big thing I want to get into is Adrian Garcia. And this is another this one I'm not lost on. It's just unbelievable to me. I mean, I am lost, but in a different kind of way. I'm lost because I just don't understand what the courts are doing anymore. Uh this is the we like if they would have said he wasn't guilty, I would have just thought it was judicial activism. But this is weirder than that. Can you kind of give us some background on what happened, the case itself, Richard Vega, Mark Goloby, all this stuff?

SPEAKER_14 51:48

Yeah, absolutely. So Adrian Hurst, the uh commissioner, um, he was who also is also the commissioner over the area in which the Gulf Coast Protection District, or at least part of it, um, is kind of overlaid. And so the Gulf Coast Protection District was a new district created by the legislature, essentially to raise money for the hike dike. And raise money meaning kind of raise taxes and just govern the whole process. Right. And so, in that, the legislation they they wanted, they have a number different, a number of different appointees who are on the board. The county gets an appointee on the board. Currently, the county's appointee is a flight control director. Previously, though, for four years, the county's appointee was Adrian Garcia from the inception until about last year. And so when they appointed him, um, he it wasn't until I think maybe two years ago that uh Mark Olaby and uh Richard Vega and Attorney Jared Navarre and others said this is inappropriate because if you look at Texas law, you are not allowed to hold two um positions at the same time that I believe it's either they get paid or that tax citizens or one of the equivalent. Right. And with the Gulf Coast the Gulf Coast Protection District taxes um the citizens who live within that area, but it's also contracts with the counties uh for various things in order to get ready to prepare for ice dike and and other stuff that they're working on. So this whole lawsuit proceeded, and it got up to I think it was the first court of appeals is who recently made this decision. And what they came down to uh what it landed on was that yes, the appointment or no, I'm gonna let me just say that. Yes, it's illegal to hold these two positions, but and therefore uh technically he never accepted to hold these positions. His appointment initially was illegal to begin with, so he doesn't have to resign the commissioner's position, which wouldn't be anyone's interpretation. Most people's interpretation would be when you accepted that position at the Gulf Coast uh protection district, you would then be resigning the other position like you do in any other situation where you uh have to resign to run in Texas. So if you are a judge or if you are a city council member and you uh uh announce you're running for something else and then you win, you have to resign your seat, which makes sense. But this one they said no, well, you know, that appointment was never valid because uh it wasn't legal to begin with, which just makes no sense to me.

SPEAKER_13 54:08

Right. And and by the way, uh we we again it it it comes out to dual office holding and the incompatibility. And it's pretty crazy because we actually have common law that deals with exactly this kind of thing, not just elections, but your uh but appointments, including self-appointments, to other districts and other boards. And it specifically states that you're allowed to do it. You just have to give up your first you just automatically give up your first office the moment that you do. Right, right. And it makes sense. So why why does that ex why does that law exist if we're allowed to just say, well, no, that was illegal, and so the second office actually wasn't real? What Right, right. What does the law mean?

SPEAKER_14 54:46

You get to kind of pick and choose in that instance because uh yes, he's not on anymore, but that's not because of this whole I mean, and he might have did it, he might have gotten off in preparation for this to come down, but he he was forced off. He chose to leave. And so, in a sense, he got to pick which one he was gonna hold. He could have at that point said, Hey, I'm gonna resign from my commissioner's court seat, I'm gonna keep this one. And then what? So, like it's just that none of it makes any sense to me because yes, there is precedent here, there and there are adjacent cases. Anything that you look at that is kind of within this realm of dual office holding or dual office seeking makes sense that you would resign the one that you were in because you were knowingly choosing to take another office. And so they decided this. I don't really, I don't get it at all. It makes no sense to me. And so, yeah, the headline is like, yes, it was illegal. However, uh, it was illegal, so he never really did it.

SPEAKER_13 55:35

Like it was illegal, but we don't want him to face any accountability and create a mess for Harris County, is what they're saying.

SPEAKER_14 55:40

Which is frustrating because, you know, the Court of Appeals is who uh uh not just conservatives, but anybody who's really hoping that the court step up and kind of be a backfill for what we see going on in Harris County with our district courts, right, is who we kind of lean on. And so to see this coming out of the court of or the first court of appeals is not really uh I don't understand. I don't I don't get it. I don't get it. It's frustrating, I believe.

SPEAKER_13 56:00

I don't get it either. Of course, we did have Richard Vega on the show uh I think last week, and he said that no matter what happens, either side was probably going to appeal it to the Supreme Court. Uh and he's he said fervently that he's going to if if it doesn't work out. I don't think anyone expected this sort of scenario though. He said they're either gonna rule it illegal and he's gonna be removed, or they're gonna say no, it wasn't illegal because of this, that, and the other. I don't think anyone expected them to say it was illegal, but we're gonna do something different than has ever been done for political appointments so that we don't create a mess. I I've I've never heard of that. And I'm hoping that the Supreme Court looks at that and says, What were you doing? What like you said it was illegal, we agree with that, but then by necessity, this is what has to happen then. And I just don't again, I'm lost.

SPEAKER_14 56:41

Yeah, I mean I hope they do as well because it would put some kind of common sense back into the system. And and they because you let this stand, then we're gonna start seeing this happen all over the place, and people are gonna be accepting appointments and then waiting for someone to challenge it in order to have to then give up that one, which they never actually took technically. Um and so it's weird. Like, but no, I don't think this that this should stand. I think it's gonna open up a whole can of worms and it because it goes against what everyone's basic understanding is of this of this system and situation. And so I really hope if they do challenge this room that this room improves some sanity here.

SPEAKER_13 57:14

Right, and and you actually bring up a really good point that I had not mentioned there, which is not only is this bad for Harris County, but this sets court precedent if it's not challenged, that everybody else can do the same thing. And that's that's potentially very dangerous on top of this scenario. With that being said, to get to wrap up, one more thing, can you talk about just for a moment the Harris County flood program and what's going on with the disrepair there?

Flood Control Delays And Spending

SPEAKER_14 57:36

Yeah, so a couple of weeks ago, maybe a month ago, uh you're listening to probably remember that they uh said that the Harris County Flood Control Project, that we had all this money that was that we were at risk of losing for the federal government because we had not started, I think it was uh 24 or out of 25 or 22 out of 23 projects. So, like all but one we had started. So uh this week at Commissioner's court, Lena Hidago, I'm sorry, not all but one. We only started one. Um but this week at Commissioner's court Lena Hidago kind of reamed out the uh the flood control department kind of telling that how she's lost confidence in them, which you know, she probably shouldn't be the one, you know, leading that charge, but it's okay. But she said that she has lost confidence in them because of their failure to be able to deliver on really anything. And so after that, they had their own little private meeting and then this one-on-one uh sit-down with the news saying that no, you know, we suddenly have done all the back work behind the scenes and everything, and we have we're gonna have every federal project that was off the list uh underworked by June. And so we might be able to get the federal funding uh in order in time, but which is probably will not happen. I think it was just a way to say faith. But at the same time, they're also requested twenty thousand dollars to send two employees to Tokyo to learn what they do for flooding so that we can do that here. So, and this is the same flood control department that I think it was last year, their director had this like outlandish request to go to a flood control meeting, and I think it was San Francisco, and like the she wanted to fly like first class, and the the hotel rooms were expensive, and the conference charge that she was asking for a refund for was like three times the amount of the actual conference charge. So I I have two lost control, uh hope in our flood control. But you know, like Lena, I I I'm able to say that.

SPEAKER_13 59:11

Yeah, what a mess. I I mean, really, it this is this is one of the biggest, one of the things that should be one of the biggest focuses on actually getting right for our area. We we have a massive problem. I mean, we we got a little bit of I mean, I'll say it's it was a little bit of rain, and we had tunnels just completely flooding out of that. And so people are worried, hey, if we're getting this little of rain and and we don't have the drainage working, what happens if we get a massive storm, an actual massive Gulf Coast storm? What happens? And the answer is just, I don't know. We'll figure it out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_14 59:40

And yeah, I mean, throw your hands up to it, you know, because it and and realize we have not, we've been very lucky to not have anything significant since Lena was the uh has been in office, truly. I mean, Harvey happened, tax day floods, uh, Memorial Day floods. Those were all kind of well, those are all big, but like they were kind of at the start and right before she started. And then since then, we haven't had anything really, really massive. Um, you know, barrel, but like we have lushed out of it. And I don't think people realize that like this is still a problem. Like you see all these construction going on by the bayos and stuff, like it's still a big problem, even though it looks like we might be fixing things. We have not really gotten there. Right, right.

SPEAKER_13 1:00:15

With that being said, Charles, how can everyone find the stuff you're putting out, the stuff you're reporting on, and kind of keeping up to date with with what we kind of talk about in the weekly local recap when you're not here on the show?

SPEAKER_14 1:00:26

And you check out Urban Reform Org or Charles Blaine on uh social media, mainly Twitter, and you put everything we do, we put out there.

SPEAKER_13 1:00:32

Perfect. Well, as always, we appreciate you coming on this morning, and Lord willing, we'll talk to you again next Friday. Looking forward to it. Thanks for having me talk to you next week. Of course. With that being said, when we get back from the break, we're gonna talk about two young people who are arrested in alleged attack to uh an alleged plot to attack a Houston synagogue. If you want to text in, the number is 713-779-5978. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and I'll be right back in the next segment.

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SPEAKER_05 1:03:50

Here's Jim Dotton, host of Texas Home Improvement, and owner of Dew West Foundation Repair.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:55

It's no secret this year has brought us a lot of rain. And that means your foundation is about as good as it's gonna get. So if you're still noticing cracks in your walls and doors that are sticking, call us today so we can help correct the problem before it gets out of hand and more expensive. Call the best. Call Dew West Foundation Repair 713-473-7156 online at du-west.com.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:20

Hi, this is Harold Guy. And this is Bill Olston. Texas Outdoor News is the longest-running, most awarded outdoor radio show in the state for a lot of good reasons. We bring you the latest news and information about hunting and fishing across our great state and beyond. And our guests are who's who from industry, government, and the field. Texas Outdoor News is brought to you by Ford Trust and your best in Texas Ford Dealers. The state's number one outdoor radio show, Texas Outdoor News. Saturday morning the 6th on Patriot Halk at 920.

Arrests In Houston Synagogue Plot

SPEAKER_13 1:05:03

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. Two young people have been arrested in an alleged plot to attack a Texas synagogue here in the Houston area that involved driving to the congregation to kill as many people as possible, according to authorities and court documents. The arrest comes a month after an armed man crashes pickup truck, of course, into a Detroit area synagogue in another attack. And so uh Angelina Han Hicks, 18 in North Carolina, uh is was being held in the Davidson County jail under a $10 million bond. She was arrested and formally charged with conspiring with two male subjects to commit murder and assault attacks against members of congregation in Houston, according to warrants laying out two felony counts against her. Apparently, they were planning this assault for April of 2028. The FBI office said in a social media post yesterday that a juvenile was arrested in relation to the plot and charged in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. There was no immediate information on whether the juvenile was one of the two male subjects, which lists only their first names and under their last names as Unknown. A Houston Police Department news release on Thursday announced a 16-year-old being arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder related to a threat directed towards certain institutions in our area that the agency learned about on Wednesday. And so the FBI and the Houston School District Police Department assisted in the arrest. At this time, there is no other known credible threat. But what what I will say is apparently the FBI started its its Joint Terrorism Task Force after they had a tip about what was going to happen. And they said that there had been some concern there could be an imminent event targeting the synagogue. A potential motive for the planned violence wasn't immediately disclosed, and the investigation is continuing. But apparently what's happening here is something that we've been highlighting for a long time. And it's, by the way, it's it's not just synagogues. I want to be very clear. We've had mass attacks against churches as well and schools, right? It is across the board. This sort of I want to say it really is terrorism, right? It's this sort of striking fear into the hearts of people to not participate in any sort of religious institution. That's that's the overarching goal. And I've said for a very long time that churches need to have some sort of security, right? And by the way, I think it's totally fair for your church security to be that everybody in your church carries. That should be a goal because people should be carrying, which of course includes members of your church. You have to take up arms in defense of your family, which includes your church family, because it's not just it's all religious institutions that are being targeted. It's not just synagogues, it's churches, it's it's across the board in order to strike fear into the hearts of those who are religious. And we we have to stand up to this sort of evil. We can't negotiate with terrorists, we can't give them what they want. We can't allow this to kind of coerce us into being afraid to worship. We can't allow this to coerce us to being afraid to do the things that we're called to do as believers.

Church Security And Gun Rights Pitch

SPEAKER_13 1:07:56

This requires a level of dedication to us protecting ourselves, which by the way, requires the assistance of our sponsor, Gun Owners of America. Guns of America understands, and this is a necessary understanding for uh any sort of gun lobby, that the Second Amendment is broad and wide-reaching and is designed for any sort of self-defense. That means that when you have a tyrannical government, the Second Amendment is to hold them accountable. That means when you have terrorists that have been allowed into your country, people who are attacking religious institutions, that you have the right to come in and to defend your home, your church, your family, and your your your Christian family as well. That requires your right to do that. On top of, of course, actually caring. In order to keep those rights, they're not just gonna stick around by necessity, they're not just gonna stick around by magic. It requires dedicated effort. It requires consistent around the clock focus on preserving those rights, which is exactly what Gun Owners of America does. They do that through lobbying, campaigning, and if need be, through lawsuits against tyrannical regimes and tyrannical ordinances and policies. That's not free. That that that costs money, which means they need your support. If you'd like to become a member, you can go to goahhouston.com. That is goahhouston.com. It is a $25 annual membership, not per month, per year, $25. And of course, every dime they get goes right back to being able to campaign to lobby to keep people informed and to initiate lawsuits if necessary. Again, you can go to goahuston.com. But let me let me, as we wrap up this segment, let me just say that this sort of violence that's being perpetrated all across our country has a design, right? And this is what kind of differentiates a mass shooting from being able to call it terrorism. When you look up what is terrorism, right? What does that actually mean? It is important that we understand that terrorism specifically is the calculated use of violence, or or even just a threat of violence, to induce fear intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies or groups of people in pursuit of political, religious, or ideological goals, right? That that it's not just violence for the sake of violence, it's violence with the intent to do specific things. And terrorism has been used for a very long time with this specific intent to coerce and intimidate. You know why terrorism works or when terrorism works? It doesn't work just because the violence is carried out, it doesn't work just because people are killed. It works when we become afraid, when we're willing to become apologetic, when we're willing to negotiate and say, okay, we're scared now. We we we we what do you want? What are your demands? That is when terrorism works. Terrorism is unsuccessful if we stand up in arms against it. It's completely unsuccessful if we say, we're not afraid of you. You can carry out as many attacks as you'd like, and we're gonna continue standing up to you.

Terrorism And Deterrence Argument

SPEAKER_13 1:11:02

You know, I've talked before about the Crusades because they were well they were well educated on terrorism and on attacks from religious extremists from Islam for centuries. They were very well acquainted with the sword of the Muslim hordes. I remember a story uh they based Count Dracula on a a real guy, right, uh who was, by the way, uh part of the Crusades. And this guy was again, was a real human being. He was uh Prince Vlad, right? He was he was Romanian. He was known as Vlad the Impaler, was sort of his terminology. And so this guy was they based Dracula and tried to make him the villain. This guy, by the way, was an incredible Christian. And just so you guys are aware, he also was well acquainted with the sort of Muslim extremism that we're facing. And you want to know what he did, because his his area ended up actually staying safe. Do you want to know what the solution was uh to that country in terms of protecting their people? So he understood that the is that the Muslims, the Mohammedans, were using fear as their basis. And he said, Well, what if we scare them back? That that was the proclamation. What if we what if we get them back? What if we just make them afraid to even come here? You know what he did? Uh they won one battle against the Muslims. They took everyone that was already dead, right? This was not some sort of torture method where they, you know, engaged in some sort of extremism. They took everyone that they had killed and they put their heads on pikes and they lined all of the rows and the forests leading in to Romania at the time with the heads of the Muslims they had killed. You want to know what that did? When the Muslims showed up knocking at the door, they didn't even get to the door because they saw all of these heads and they said, Whatever's happening there is a level of insane that we've never dealt with before. And they fled. They ran away. They said, We're not gonna attack that whoever that is, we we just don't want to mess with that. That that's something else, that's something unusual. We've never had to grapple with that level of it struck fear into their hearts. When we talk about criminality and terrorism, instead of being afraid, we should be the ones making other people afraid. That they should be afraid to do these sorts of things in our country. But they're not because we haven't done anything to make them afraid. And this is why I've said if you if you want to deal with any of the criminality in our country, it's not just terrorism and Islam and Islamic influence. Any any sort of would-be criminal. If you want them to stop committing crimes, then the risk of what happens to them should they get caught has to outweigh any sort of reward. And I've said we we lost a lot of the criminal fights the moment that we stopped using the death penalty as a means and especially stopped making it very public. People used to be afraid to do things because they knew if they got caught, they were gonna face the same justice as that guy that got caught last week, who they watched hang from a noose until dead in front of the public square. The moment we stopped doing that and we started saying, no, that's not nice. That's not very nice, criminals stop being afraid. Why do you think there's a massive drug epidemic? Why do you think there's such chronic homelessness? Why do you think that we have issues with people being out on bonds and people committing more and more violent crimes? And why none of this is changing? Because people aren't afraid of justice. They should be. It should be a level of awe-inspiring fear from justice when they do evil things, that the risk should outweigh the reward. And we've made it where that's not the case. You know what should happen to these people that plan this attack? If it's if it's proven through due process that it was credible, they were going to do this thing, should that come out, they should face the death penalty publicly and say if you're going to attack religious institutions in the U.S., you're going to be put to death. That's what's going to happen to you. We should do it publicly, and everyone should be aware, this is what happens to criminals that do these sorts of things. If you want to do this, go right ahead. This is what will happen to you as a result. And I think that would that would completely shift the dynamics. Because now, instead of making people afraid, the terrorists become afraid. We've done that before in Western history, and we need to start doing it again if we're going to have any success whatsoever. With that being said, when we get back from the break, we're going to jump over and uh we're going to talk a little bit about Magnolia ISD, where voters are now being asked, again, to approve new debt because we don't have enough debt, right? We don't have enough debt going on. We'll talk all about Magnolia ISD, what they're asking voters for, and how yet again the answer is, well, we just need more money if we're going to make things better. If you would like to text into the show, let us know your thoughts. And those can be agreements, encouragements, maybe disagreements, something that we've said. Feel free to text in. Uh the number is 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and Lord willing, I will return with Magnolia ISD's new debt request after this short break. Stick around.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:59

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Magnolia ISD Bond Returns Bigger

SPEAKER_13 1:20:30

The district has placed a single proposition bond on the May 2nd, 2026 ballot, asking voters to authorize $465 million in new debt. The move comes after voters rejected a larger three proposition, $570 million bond package in November of 2025, which Magnolia ISD again projected would exceed $1 billion once interest was included. This time, the board consolidated its plans into one proposition and trimmed certain projects, especially athletics, in an effort to sort of win voter approval. Now, according to Magnolia ISD's official voter information document, the May 2026 bond would authorize $465 million in principle, the total cost nearly a billion. Magnolia ISD officials say the bond is focused on addressing rapid enrollment growth and aging facilities over roughly the next two years. Major projects include a new high school, a new elementary school, another new elementary school, safety and security upgrades, land acquisitions, school buses, and renovations. District messaging emphasizes the package does not include some of the more controversial athletic and recreational projects that were part of the failed 2025 propositions, such as additional turf fields, multipurpose athletic facilities, and a second natatorium. Magnoli ISDs I sort of argues that the bond is necessary because enrollment is growing faster than originally forecasted. For the 2025 to 2026 school year, the district projected an increase of 479 students, but since it actually added around 670 students, leading officials to update their growth expectations to about 4% instead of 3% over the next decade. Magnoli ISD repeatedly tells voters that the 2026 bond can be funded with no change to the current school tax rate, citing early debt pay downs, a growing tax base, and a favorable bond rating. However, under state law, the May 2026 ballot must still carry the statement this is a property tax increase at the top of the proposition. The legal language reflects that authorizing new bonded debt extends or increases the tax burden over time, even if the normal rate does not go up short term. It will go up eventually. And so campaign finance reports for the pro bond campaign show the largest contributors are B and C constructors, both to the tune of about $5,000, as well as Newcastle Masonry, which of course, among its specialties, they list being able to build schools. Big shocker there, of course, it benefits them. But early voting is going on uh through April 28th, and election day is May 2nd for that particular bond proposition. But again, a lot of the issues that we're seeing in many of these cases, what we're dealing with is shockingly, we need more money. Not we'll figure this out, not hey, you know what? Maybe it's time that we start addressing the real issues that are plaguing voters, that are plaguing our schools. And it's not because we don't have enough money, it's because we don't know how to budget adequately. And and I might I highlight, might I highlight, yes, they did remove uh about $50 million in specific athletic renovations. But you want to know what's crazy about that is, and and I know that people forget about this all the time, money is very fungible.

Why Budget Fungibility Matters

SPEAKER_13 1:23:28

Do you guys know what the fungibility of funds means? If I say I'm gonna give you a million dollars, say you make $500K a year, a lot of money, and I say I'm gonna give you I'll give you $500,000. I'm gonna match your yearly salary, but you're not allowed to use it on drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, right? That that's on the no list because you have a massive problem buying that. You say, I won't. So then you use that $500,000 I gave you under agreement that you would not use it for those things, and you use it to cover all of the bills that you had that your salary would usually cover. Then you use your salary to buy drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Well, you technically agreed and followed the terms of the agreement, right? You didn't use the money to do that. But because money is fungible, because it doesn't matter where the money comes from, you can do different things with each, with each dollar you have. Sure, this bond may not cover the athletic upgrades, but they can just use other stuff to do that now because it'll free up all the money they would have needed to use for these other renovations and building new schools, and they can dedicate it to other things. And so you really are still approving a lot of the renovations they're saying you're not going to be approving, just by nature, that they don't have to use any extra funds for the renovations they need to do on school, so they can they can now dedicate that portion of the revenue back to the athletic departments. They do this all the time, by the way, and especially in big budgets like this one, using the fungibility of money. Voters need to be aware that taking on more debt based on growth projections is a completely unwise idea. It is a terrible way to budget. It is almost never very successful, and it almost always results in the projections not being what we're expected and in you having to bear the debt burden. They say, hey, we don't plan on raising taxes, but there's a reason you have to put this as a property tax increase on the bond because let me ask. Let me go to one of their meetings and say what happens if the growth is, instead of it being it's not the three percent and it's not the four percent, it's three point three percent. What happens? Who covers either 0.7% of that funding that you didn't end up getting from new voters, that you didn't end up getting from new people moving in? What happens then? Well, we have to pay back the bond. That's a requirement of the agreement, so we would have to raise taxes at that point. They're basing this all on projections. And if you've learned anything from the weather reports at the bottom of the first hour every day, you might notice that they're often wrong. Projections are educated guesses, and sometimes they're right, and sometimes they're wrong. And when you're willing to go nearly a billion dollars into debt based on growth projections, rather than what actually happens, rather than actual cash flow and changing when you actually need the changes to be made. When you do that, you are setting yourself up for failure, right? I we have Dave Ramsey on our lineup every day. One of the big things he highlights is if it's something that you need to do, and something that ends up being required and ends up making you money, then why are you going into debt to do it? Just do it. You you don't need the debt, just figure out how to do it without the debt. And I'm not saying there's never an instance where a loan can be positive. I'm not saying there's never an instance where you can get, you know, I'm not, I'm not as on the anti-debt train as Dave Ramsey is, but of course Dave Ramsey is speaking to a general audience that has a massive problem with debt in America. So for most people, that's probably fair. But I get that there are arguments for sometimes loans are good, sometimes credit cards are good, sometimes there's benefits if you pay everything off every month. Right? There there can be positives if you're dedicated to self-control. The reason that it's usually a bad idea is because you're basing it on unknowns and hoping for the best. And that's what Magnolia ISD is doing. It is incredibly dangerous. I think it's an absolutely awful idea. I would encourage people almost every time to deny extra debt, especially given how much debt we already have in the state of Texas, tens to hundreds of billions of dollars we have in debt to these companies, these loan companies, uh, in order to do these renovations that we don't actually need, are not actually ultimately beneficial, and are not doing things that are a necessities. So, no, you don't get another billion dollars from the taxpayers. You don't get to guess at how many people are gonna join the district and hope they're able to pay off the debt. And if not, you ask the voters to, then we're gonna raise taxes on you. We don't even have to ask you, we're going to raise taxes because we have to pay off the debt that you incurred by voting for this thing. It's your fault, really, if you think about it. Stop doing it. Stop approving all the billions of dollars in new spending and start saying, how about you figure out how to make do with what you have? How about if if it's true that people are gonna move in and they're gonna cover this cost, how about you wait till they do that and then you cover the costs? Then you replace whatever facilities you need to, and you do it when you're able, like every other American family has to do. How about you you work with the budget, you work with what you have, you stop putting us in these massive deficits, and you stop asking for more money, and you live with what you have. Like you're supposed to. I think that's a much better alternative to a billion dollars in debt. With that being said, when we get back from the break to wrap up the show, we're gonna jump over and talk about the Higher Education Coordinating Board, which has now approved this, we'll say controversial social work doctorate at UT Arlington. And of course, social work programs have come under scrutiny as a vehicle for woke content. Uh, but the Texas Education Board has now approved this new Doctor of Social Work program at UT Arlington, moving ahead with the expansion of the state's embattled social work pipeline. And we'll talk about what that looks like and what that means and why it's sort of controversial. After we get back from the break, as always, if you would like to text into the program, this is your final opportunity, not only for today, but for this week until the weekend, text in at 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative, and Lord willing, I'll return after the break to wrap up the show today and this week. So stick around, hang tight, and we'll talk very soon.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:05

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SPEAKER_06 1:32:37

Patriot Talk 920 is your Houston base camp for the America first movement. I'm Todd Starns and join me weekdays at 11 on Patriot Talk 920 and online at PatriotTalk920.com.

UT Arlington Social Work Doctorate

SPEAKER_13 1:33:25

In a board meeting, UT Arlington told staff that board members said the proposed program met all general criteria for program approval in the Texas Administrative Code and recommended it for approval. Their presentation emphasized the program is designed to directly support Texas workforce priorities by priority by preparing experienced social workers to fill what UT Arlington staff characterized as high need roles as educators, advanced practitioners, and organizational leaders. And so the full board voted unanimously to approve it without so much as a debate. This comes, of course, as the social work program became the subject of national controversy last week when an activist group Accuracy and Media released an undercover video in which a now former staff member discussed how the institution has maintained diversity, equity, and inclusion materials in course content. The now former staff member, Melissa Cruz, explained that while the university has had to remove certain terminology and abide by new bans, the core intent, research, and curriculum of the social work program remains unchanged. And so UTA terminated Cruz's employment following the release of the video. Though we have to wonder, did you remove her employment and and force her to quit because she said things that weren't true and made the university look bad in terms of the fact that we're not doing that and she lied? Or is it because she spilled the the truth? She spilled secrets that you didn't want revealed as to what your university was doing. That's a good question. And so they said the University of Texas at Arlington has been and will continue to be fully compliant with all federal and state laws, as well as University of Texas system policies, which isn't the question. The question is, are you abiding by the intent of those things or are you just removing terminology so you don't get in trouble legally? And by the way, social work education has a notorious history, as I think we're all well aware, as a repository for well content, uh both nationally and especially here in Texas. Uh they uh they kind of stressed, the the officials from the university stressed that the program is developed in full alignment with state and federal requirements and accreditation standards. But some of those standards, which are are set by bodies like the Council on Social Work Education, may conflict with state level mandates. Uh accreditation by this the Council on Social Work Education was the subject of another video which again showed continuing DEI at the University of North Texas. Uh and and by the way, the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at UT Austin also requires so-called anti-racism training for accreditation with the Council on Social Work Education. And so we have a lot of these conflicting ideas where it seems like woke content is still being put forth and they're still just kind of allowing it to transpire so long as it's not making headlines, so long as it's not in the news and they're not using terms like DEI and critical race theory, so long as it's staying sort of behind closed doors and it's being done privately through curriculum and accreditation standards, but not in the public eye, it doesn't seem to be a problem for our legal system. And that's that is a real issue because it it does two things. One, it demeans credibility, and because if we think that you can just loophole anything, we stop trusting the the organizations. And two, it sets a precedent that everyone is going to do this. If we can get away with it as long as we just don't get caught doing it publicly, we're

Final Thoughts And Signoff

SPEAKER_13 1:36:25

good to go. With that being said, that'll do it for the show today. And this week I want to thank everyone for tuning in. You've been listening to the Lone Star Conservative. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. Lord willing, I'll return bright and early Monday morning at 6 a.m. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your Friday, the rest of your weekend, and Godspeed.