Houston’S Budget Fight And A $4,000 Couch

A Houston official warns that the city budget is squeezing working families, then his office turns around and requests a nearly $4,000 sofa. That single detail opens a bigger question we can’t dodge: when leaders preach restraint but spend like it’s Monopoly money, how are regular taxpayers supposed to trust any “fee,” any rate hike, or any promise that the money will be used the right way?

We also dig into the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board ordering Texas American Muslim University of Dallas (Texam) to shut down for offering degree programs without authorization, and why shutting something down on a technicality can still leave the bigger trend untouched. From there, we hit the Kincaid School controversy after a student Palestine poster drew online accusations of antisemitism, and we wrestle with where free speech, school culture, and institutional responsibility actually begin and end.

In the weekly local recap, Charles Blaine from Urban Reform helps us break down the Houston budget deficit, the $5 “trash fee,” and the fund-shifting behind the scenes, plus what’s at stake in the District C election and how Pearland’s low-turnout result shows the real power of small local races. We then cover Ken Paxton’s statewide push to enforce SB 10 and SB 11 around the Ten Commandments in classrooms and optional school prayer policies, a major meth seizure near Houston, and TEA’s new do not hire screening tool aimed at protecting kids.

************************************************
Listen every day to our strong conservative programs on Patriot Talk 920 AM.  Tune-in on your radio in Houston to KYST 920 AM or download our app by visiting 920app.com or search for "Patriot Talk 920" from your app store!

Transcript

Listener Message And Community Mission

SPEAKER_07 0:08

The voice of Rising, Michael Wilsen.

SPEAKER_15 0:42

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. It is good to be with you this morning, bright and early. The last show of the week, by the way, that is Friday, May 8th. And we already have a text in. I I know it's crazy how some of you guys jump chop into the bit, but I'm very happy about it. And Fridays, Fridays are such a great day to get into all of this, and I'm very excited to have everybody on here. So let's kick it off with this text in, and then we'll jump into the rest of the show. This text reads, Good morning, Lone Star Conservative. Yesterday you talked about how much appreciation you have for Patriot Talk 920 listeners. And I wanted to say something about how appreciative we Patriot Talk 920 listeners are for you. We are kind of like a family that you and Matt have brought together. We all meet up at local gun shows and other area events. Because of Patriot Talk 920, I was able to meet Terry from Texal and AC service and have their numbers in my phone for all of our AC needs. I have Telgee roofing in my phone in case of roofing needs as we live in a storm region. My wife and I are happy GOA members, and I love the Second Amendment report on Saturday mornings. And then there's our Uncle Otis sharing his wisdom as any good uncle does. And by the way, may I add, making sure he does it very, very entertainingly. Thank you and Matt for all that you do for us, the family that you've brought together. God bless Patriot Talk 920. I I have no words. You know, that that was always our goal. When we when we started the station, I remember because I was around uh we went from a Spanish station to a in English conservative talk news station. I was around when I heard people saying, What kind of crazy idea is that? You you have sponsors for your station already. And I remember when Matt approached me about the project, this would have been a few months before the launch, and he told me why he was doing what he was doing. He explained that he's on Facebook making comments, he's at home watching the news, and he's always thinking to himself, why doesn't somebody stand up to this? Why doesn't somebody do something? Why why is no one willing to stand up and fight? And then he kind of looked at himself and said, Well, why should they be when I'm not? What what am I doing? I'm doing nothing. And that was the moment that it kind of clicked, hey, we're gonna have a conservative talk news radio station. And I don't mean a Republican talk news radio station, I don't mean a squishy rhino station, I mean a conservative Christian talk news station. That is what we endeavored and set out to produce. And one of the byproducts of that was that early on we realized that unlike a lot of radio stations or even just influencers in general, people that have, you know, you lend them your ear. We wanted to be different in the sense that we wanted our influence, any influence that we have, to come from relationships. We didn't want to be some name uh in a far-off place that you just listen to because there's a name. Right. We didn't want to be just somebody that everybody just listens to because he's the guy. That's not what we wanted. We wanted to build those sorts of relationships with our listeners. We wanted people to have access to us. That's why we're out as many. I like I said, I won't be at this upcoming event, but we're out at as many events as we can be. Uh whether that's a gun show, our own event, a convention that's in town, we do our very darndest to make sure we're at all of these because we wanted to build that community. Because we desire that we would have this sort of familial relationship. And it used to be that that's what a country looked like, by the way. It used to be that there, and it's not in some collectivist, communist, Marxist sort of way, but there used to be human connection among countrymen that you treated one another like family. That you cared for one another, that you die for one another. And we're trying to kind of restart that heart here in Houston. And I honestly, having met a lot of our listeners, obviously not all of them, but a lot of them, I think we're doing a pretty darn good job. Looking around at the family that we're building, looking around at the relationships we've formed, looking around at the number of people who, even when they don't text in, even when they don't call in, even when, you know, uh there'll be days where I I've said to myself, I know I'm not talking to the ether, I know people are listening. And then we show up at an event, and I'm I'm I'm I meet dozens, sometimes more new people who specifically listen to my show. And that's just the ones that were able to come to an event. And so we're continually growing. We are we are always making sure that we're doing the very best we can because our mission coming into this, again, it was never, never to just be some big conglomerate radio station. It was always to to fix our home. Because we actually do live here. We we actually do believe in this place. We actually all grew up somewhere around here, right? Whether you grew up in Brazoria County or Fort Bend County or Harris County, wherever you particularly grew up, this region, Southeast Texas, the greater Houston area, this is your home. And we are on a mission to save it. We actually, and that's not some, you know, outrageous claim we're on a mission. No, I I actually do believe that we can. I actually do believe that God has given us everything we need through his grace, through his sovereignty, and through his providence, to fix Houston, to fix Texas, and to fix the U.S. But it's gonna require diligence, dedication, determination, really working on the the D alliterations today. It is gonna require an enormous amount of grit. And we're prepared. We we knew coming into this what it was going to take. We knew it was not gonna be a one-year battle, we knew it was gonna be realistically, it's going to be decades. It it just that is the nature of the beast. That's how long it's going to take. If we want to fix any of this. But we're in it for the long haul. And we know that our listeners are in it with us. And I, like I said yesterday, I could not be more grateful. Because we also view each and every one of you like family. And that's why we enjoy seeing you at all of our events. It's why we enjoy going to gun shows. It's why we enjoy whatever kind of event it is, being involved in the community. Now, let's kick it off with a little bit of it's Friday.

Controller Spending Hypocrisy And The Couch

SPEAKER_15 7:41

It's Friday. What do we kick it off with? A little government hypocrisy. How about? I think that's a good way to start our Friday morning. You see, the Houston controller has been out there criticizing left and right city spending. Oh, we don't have the budget for this. And actually, I do, I do agree with him, by the way. I do actually do I actually do happen to think that our budgetary issues are not because of taxation, they are because of overbloated spending in a lot of ways. But he doesn't have the right to say it, and I'll explain why. So apparently of course, right now you guys know they're debating this seven and a half billion dollar budget, and controller Chris Hollins has been clashing with Mayor Whitmeyer. It's not I can't even say months, years. Years. Where he has disagreed with the mayor's positions, he's disagreed with the budget proposals, he's disagreed with, you know, not raising tax, anything Mayor Whitmeyer is doing, the controllers basically said, Well, here's why that is bad. Here's why I don't like it. And it starts to seem like you just don't like the mayor, which I get. There's a lot of people that don't like the mayor on both sides of the political aisle. Nevertheless, let's get into the hypocrisy because as he's literally in the process of criticizing our proposed Houston budget records show. And by the way, his main just can I so I can make sure we understand the scope of this sort of brazen hypocrisy. Do you guys know what the main criticism he had of the budget was? The main criticism of the budget was that because of how much we were spending, and the only way we could meet up that that deficit, make it up, is to shift the burden onto taxpayers. Right? So just to make sure that we are incredibly clear, he's saying this is bad, this is wrong, because it forces the taxpayers to pay more money. Okay. With that understanding, can I go ahead and highlight one other just basic fact of government, just so we're all on the same page? Any spending at all is taxpayer spending. Depend I and I'm being dead serious, even things that they print money for so they don't tax you, just to be clear, that's literally, literally a tax of inflation. It's it's still a tax. And so it's it's absolutely bizarre to me because you know, we're sitting here and he's saying, Oh, oh, oh, you're shifting the tax burden onto taxpayers. This is bad. Yeah, okay, so what you would expect to see from a guy that's that up in arms about it, what you expect is that his office doesn't spend very much. And it's only on the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities. That's that's what you'd expect, anyways. At least that's what I maybe I'm wrong. Text in, let me know. Am I wrong? Would you expect that a guy who believes that it is wrong to put more tax burden on the taxpayers sh would, and you'd expect, would therefore not be making extravagant purchases. I think that makes sense. Well, it turns out uh that his office has been requesting approval to purchase a nearly $4,000 sofa for city offices. $4,000. This is as he's literally saying this budget shifts costs onto working families. It hides the price tag of city services, and it puts Houston on a dangerous financial path. And then he turns around and procurement records show that he submitted a request just what 10 days ago uh for an alemia Senator Ori three-seat sofa planned to replace a quote unquote damaged couch in the office. Which, yes, just so everyone's clear, that is a four thousand dollar couch. And look, I get it if you got the money to go get yourself a nice couch. That's great. Right? Yeah. Really, I don't even know that I would want a four thousand dollar couch. I actually really like my couch. It is potentially my favorite couch. I've had a lot of couches, been on a lot of couches. My couch might be the best couch. And um it cost 1,500 bucks. It wasn't a cheap couch when I bought it years and years ago, but it was it was not $4,000. And just so we're clear, just so I make this evident, I was a private citizen using my money to buy a $1,500 couch. Very different than if the government took my money to buy a $1,500 couch and he's asking for almost triple to an almost triple. He's asking for $4,000 as he's sitting around whining his little butt off that oh, well, you can't, you can't take that money. The hardworking families need it. Yeah, and apparently you really, really need a $4,000 sofa. That just so we're clear, hardworking families need to keep their money and you need a $4,000 sofa. Is that fair? Are those equivalent to you? Because just so you are aware, at $4,000, somebody has to pay for it. It's not free. You don't get a discount because you're the controller. Actually, that's not true. Maybe they'll give you like $500 off. Maybe you can make it a $3,500 sofa. Regardless, somebody has to pay for it. It's not free. It costs money. It costs, to be precise, $4,000. And just so I'm kind of making it understandable here, you're like requesting approval for that couch, shifting the tax burden onto residents. That's definitionally what you what you did. Should it be approved? Of course. But that is that is definitionally what you are doing. By and I get it, right? If you have a damaged couch, your office needs a couch. Sure. Also, have you guys been to Walmart? They make fine enough couches for an office that are not four thousand dollars. That are what, like $120, $200 for the cheaper ones. I don't think anyone would have had a problem if that had been the route you went. Instead, you got some fancy name brand, bougie $4,000 couch that you wanted. Really? Maybe you should look for a different job. There are lots of industries out there where you can make that kind of money. Not the kind of industries I want to be in. I I'm content right where I am. But if you want a $4,000 couch, buddy, be my guest, but you're not supposed to use the what did you call them? Hard working residents tax dollars to do that. I'm not saying you're a hypocrite. I'm just saying if a hypocrite means anything at all, it means exactly what you just did. That that's all that's all I'm saying. Just so we're all kind of clear on that. It just again, it it is pretty wild. And so again, while the controller's office is saying that no taxpayer dollars have been spent as of now and no final purchase was ever approved, the timing of the request, I think it is fair for all of us to look at and say, hmm, we have some additional questions. I think it's fair for us to say, you know what? Actually, we have some other concerns here because you're debating on the side of the taxpayers so that we stop introducing new fees, and then you're the reason we have to introduce new fees, at least to a degree. $4,000 is not pennies. I know you view it that way, but it's not. And somebody's got to pay for it. And you're pretending to be on the little guy's side. I fight for the little guy. I fight against tyranny and corruption. I fight against high taxes, even though I just bought a $4,000 couch, which means that we have to have higher taxes. It is that sort of blatant hypocrisy that's on display in government all the time. Rarely does it come out quite like this. Right? Rarely are we in the middle of a budget fight where they're kind of clashing and then one of them gets caught doing the very thing they said don't do. Right? That that's rare that it comes out so elegantly that you you just get a really a movie. The controller clashes with the Houston mayor over the budget proposal. Controller says, You're spending too much. You gotta stop. The residents are gonna be hurt. And then he proposes a $4,000 couch for his office. I mean, you just can't, you can't make it up. You can't make it up. With that being said, when we get back from the break, we are going to talk a little bit about the state board, which has now halted, I guess I could say ordered it to shut down, halted it. They have ordered the Muslim University in Dallas to shut down. We actually talked with Sydney about this university on Wednesday. Um, this institution, Tech Sam University, is apparently has been illegally offering degree programs without authorization, which is a big no-no on top of being Muslim. So we'll talk about it when we get back from the break. As always, if you would like to text into the show, let us know your thoughts on anything we're covering or anything we're not. The number is 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 return to talk all about the Muslim University that was shut down in Dallas after the break.

SPEAKER_08 17:09

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.

SPEAKER_04 17:24

Hi, I'm Craig Klein, founder and CEO of SalesNexus. I started SalesNexus to help sales teams like yours close deals faster and more efficiently. Our all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform streamlines your sales process. With Sales Nexus, you can manage leads, automate email and text campaigns, and gain clear insights into your sales pipeline. Visit SalesNexus.com. That's salesnexus.com to start your free 30-day trial today.

SPEAKER_15 17:54

Hey y'all, this is the Lone Star Conservative Michael Wilson, and I want to tell you about my friends at Telgee Roofing. What might seem like a simple water leak in your house could be a sign of roof damage. Our friends at Telgee Roofing help homeowners uncover those problems before they get worse. Their experts provide free roof inspections, and if they find a problem, they will help you with your insurance claim as well. Don't wait for the next storm. Call Telgee Roofing today at 281-290-0606 for your free, no obligation inspection.

SPEAKER_21 18:23

The Medicare Minute with Justin White is brought to you by Senior Health Services.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

If you are of Medicare aids or getting close or you have a loved one that is, be careful with those unsolicited phone calls that I know you know about. We get told about them all the time. What you need to know is that many of those phone calls are not even legal. They're coming from offshore call centers. Sometimes they're calling regardless of whether you're on the do not call list. Isn't that nice of them, by the way? It's really sweet of them to just do that because they are thinking that they can't get caught. Bottom line is when you get on there and you talk to them, they're already kind of operating sidelong of what should be done. And sometimes people end up in plans that they did not intend to enroll in. And so what do you do? Call somebody local. If you got a local agent, my gosh, call them and get in front of them. And if you don't have a good agent, think of an organization like Senior Health Services where you can sit down, talk about what you're looking for, and get the help that you need. You don't need to be talking to phone operators from other countries that you don't know who they are, where they are, or what in the world they're doing.

SPEAKER_21 19:30

Medicare choices are easier with a professional in your corner. Senior Health Services is not associated with the government, so you know you can trust them. Visit Senior Health Services.com today to connect with a trusted agent for a free consultation.

SPEAKER_02 19:54

Aegis Arms Indoor Gun Range is the perfect place to hold your next company retreat, team building, family gathering, birthday, bachelor, or bachelorette party. If you don't have your own gun, don't worry, we've got you covered. You can rent one of our various guns. We have everything from full auto World War II relics to modern day pistols. Our trained staff and certified instructors will make your occasion safe and memorable. Go to AegisArms.com. That is AGISARMS.com.

SPEAKER_18 20:23

Chart your course for excellence at Houston Christian University. You will find professors who challenge you and help you discover your unique calling. Explore diverse degree programs and connect with industry leaders. Whether you hope to be an entrepreneur, teacher, or engineer, HCU equips you to pursue your passion for his purpose. Invest in your future. Your journey starts at hc.edu. That's hc.edu.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Have you thought about buying a gun or even carrying a gun? But you don't know if that's smart or where to start. I can help. I'm Tom Gresham, host of Gun Talk. Call in Sundays between 1 and 4, right here on Houston's Leader for Gun Owners, Patriot Talk 920.

Texas Shuts Down Unapproved Muslim University

SPEAKER_15 21:19

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has ordered a Richardson-based institution, calling itself Texas American Muslim University of Dallas, otherwise known as Texam, to immediately cease operations, saying it has been illegally offering higher education programs in the state of Texas without the state of Texas's authorization to do that. It says the Tex AM University of Dallas, or Texas American Muslim University, has been marketing itself as a new Islamic centered university offering STEM degree programs. Combined with mandatory Islamic studies coursework. According to a letter sent by the coordinating board, Tex AM never received the required certificate of authority from the state to operate or grant degrees in Texas under Chapter 61 of the Texas Education Code. The letter states Tex AM, Tex AM, I have to say it right, not Texas AM, not Tex AM, it's Tex AM. Has never been granted a certificate of authority to operate in Texas. Therefore, Tex AM is prohibited by law from granting or offering to grant degrees. Now officials warned that violations of Texas law could expose the organization to criminal penalties, civil liability, administrative penalties, and enforcement under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The board also said that Tex AM's use of the term university, because that actually has a specific definition, and you have to be able to provide degrees, may itself violate state law because protected terms like university and college cannot legally be used by institutions that are unapproved to grant degrees. You don't get to come out and say, I am you, I am a univers. You can't just say you're a university and kind of, again, we have a deceptive trade practices act for a reason, because you can't deceive people into coming in and trying to apply for your program and then later finding out down the road. So all of those, all the school you did, all of the education, the grueling education you went through, it actually doesn't contribute to a degree because we're not authorized in the state of Texas to grant degrees. And so Grimner Greg Abbott came out and said he personally directed the action against the institution. He said, I directed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to issue a cease and desist to Tex AM, an unauthorized Islamic educational institution operating illegally in Texas. If they refuse to comply, legal action will follow. Texas will not allow illegal educational institutions to operate in our state. Meanwhile, the education board, whatever, ordered the institution to immediately stop advertising and authorized degree programs and halt student enrollment entirely. They said the failure to comply would result in referral to uh the big hammer himself, our Attorney General Ken Paxton for prosecution. Now, the university had recently been promoting spring 2026 admissions for programs in AI, cybersecurity, health, informatics, Islamic economics, alongside coursework, everything had required coursework in Islamic studies, math, and English. I don't know what Islamic math is, to be honest with you. It it says they had Islamic studies, math, and English. And sometimes without the Oxford comma, you get a little confused. Was this Islamic math? Or was this Islamic studies and math and English? It's not very clear. Their website didn't make it very clear. The way they wrote it didn't make it very clear. Realistically, because of the way they wrote it in technical grammar, it would certainly be Islamic math. And again, I don't know what Islamic math is. I I couldn't tell you. I I have literally no idea. But I'm sure it's dumber than American math. So Tex AM described itself as the first university in the USA to offer STEM degree programs embedded with mandatory courses in Islamic studies, stating that roughly 30% of its curriculum was devoted to Islamic subjects. The institution's materials emphasized combining modern technology with Islamic services and training students in areas like Islamic finance and digital services while preserving Islamic values. The school operated from the address in Richardson shared by the Dallas Dianet Mosque and the Islamic Seminary of America. Richardson mayor Amor Omar, Amir Omar, literally his name, A-M-I-R-O-M-A-R, Amir Amir Omar, had publicly praised the project, you could tell by his name, Amir Omar, in a promotional video, calling it a major opportunity for the city and joking that he had already picked out space for a future second campus. And so the organization identified his business entity as a nonprofit Texas American Institute for Technology at Dallas, which a search name for that in the IRS pulled up literally nothing, so yet another lie. And so Texas A and M Texas AM has not yet responded to the state's cease and desist letter slash order. So we don't know, you know, what the plan is if they're going to try to fight it on legality. I'm sure they're probably not, given that they're ha they have a chance to just shut it down and not have to go into a legal fight, and given that they did not actually have authorization. I think they're kind of they put themselves in a really terrible place. You can do controversial things. I do controversial things all the time, but I have the legal basis to do them. I make sure that the things I'm doing are not illegal while I do controversial things. Because controversial is fine. Let me put it this way: you can be controversial and get away with it. Often you can do things that are illegal and get away with it. But if you do something controversial that's illegal, you're not going to get away with it ever. You're going to be front and center. And and and that's that's what's happening here. You're allowed to have a Muslim school. That's allowed to happen, but you probably shouldn't make headlines advertising yourself to everybody, pretending like you're the first of its kind and you're going to take down America, and then realize that you didn't you didn't actually get authorized to do that, and you're lying to people. And breaking potentially multiple laws, and now you have to shut your whole university down. So, you know what? There are probably better ways to handle this, but I'm sure the Islamic math told them that this was the order of operations. It was very backwards, as it turns out. And look, I'm glad it's shut down, of course, but my issue is the same issue I have over and over and over again. My my very biggest concern in regards to Islamic influence here in America. You know what that concern is? The fact that every single time that we talk about them getting shut down or stopped in their tracks, it's just on a on a pure just basic technicality. And I'm I'm very grateful that you caught the technicality. Don't get me wrong. I'm not sitting here whining, oh man, I mean that's a terrible way to go. No, I don't care. Get them. Get them in any way, shape, or form you can. But you understand the the I'll say concern. That's the best word for it. The concern that that creates on our part. Because we have to realize, what if that university had gotten the proper authorization? What if they were accredited as a university? We wouldn't be able to shut them down. And that's that's great. Now you have another very anti-American college popping up whose literal goal it is. You they talk about how they have sh they have Islamic ideology mixed into all of their subjects. Islamic ideology is just destroy the West. I mean, that is, if you boil it down, that is what they believe. I mean, the the literal I I've highlighted this before. The their version of the Great Commission ultimately really is the subjugation of the infidel, which the West is the biggest, most threatening infidel at this point in time to Muslims. And so when you say, hey, we're blending math and Islam, it's like so I all you can really picture is that they're raising up little warriors. That's that's what they're doing. They are trying to produce these colleges that are going to produce people, Muslims, who desire the downfall of America, who desire the downfall of American values, principles, and ideologies. And the problem is that the only way we're able to stop them, right? Because you'd think you you'd hear all of that. And if you had lived prior to literally 50 years ago, you'd think, okay, are we doing an invasion? When are we denaturalizing these people? When are we with drone strikes? Like what's what's the plan here? Where how how are we going to handle this? You know, most people prior to 50 years ago, that would be the question. The question today is, I mean, I guess we can get them on a little technicality. I mean, I guess that we can go after them in the most minute of ways, saying, Yeah, well, guess what, loser? You forgot to fill out the date on the form application. You lose. I just, does no one else understand how concerning that is? It's the exact same thing happening up in up in the East Plano Islamic Center area with Hunt and Collin counties, where the only reason the counties haven't approved, the only reason the Texas Workforce Commission didn't approve, the only thing we really have stopping them, period, are technicalities. The bare bones project itself, not illegal, by the way. It's the it's the shady way that they went about getting the current or the, I guess, former mud board to resign and appointed themselves to it. It's the fact that their applications were incomplete for both counties. It's the fact that they had a certain kind of marketing materials in front of the Texas Workforce Commission. All those things in tandem create these sort of stalls, these delays. But in five years, Epic City's gonna be a nice little Muslim enclave where they get when they get it figured out and they fill out the applications correctly. That's what's coming. You you can't, you there, we're not doing anything to avoid it. And we're all celebrating these, and we should, right? Every little win matters. I'm glad that the the dumb Muslim school is done. I I am happy about that. I don't want to come off as being ungrateful and and discontent. I am happy that we got the Muslim college shut down. I am glad that as of now, Epic City is not operating and not building, and nothing's happening. Right? Those are positive things, and I'm not trying to pretend like I'm not appreciative of them because I am. But somebody's gotta say something. These are not these are small tactics that don't even win battles, much less wars. Right? This this would be you're in wartime and you're facing a ginormous army, and you do this thing. Say the army is is a million men strong, and you have this trench that's hidden, and the first line of the army falls in, which is about a hundred people, and you're like, we got them. You're like, yeah, that's great. The hundred is good. I'm I'm that's one hundred less we have to fight. There is still 999,900 men that we have to face. And that's a little bit daunting. And so my frustration, my concern comes from the fact that, yes, I'm glad we shut it down. Yes, I'm glad that Epic City is stalled. Yes, I'm glad that these things are happening. But they all seem like we don't really have a plan for how to deal with with Muslim influence, that we're just doing everything we can to hold on as long as we can until the end. And that is not the way I was raised. That is not what my ancestors believed when they came to America in the 1730s, 1720s. That is not what they fought for in the Revolutionary War. It's not what they fought for in the Civil War. Uh, and that's certainly not what I'm fighting for now. I I'm not fighting for the whole wait around for our death and doom and uh hold on as long as we can. Not my kind of fight. I actually prefer to win. I'm I'm very I'm very competitive that way. And I think most of our listeners are very competitive that way. I think actually, as it turns out, if people would stop being so complacent and lazy, most of America has always been like that and will be like that and is like that today. That is going to require a massive shift in the complacency and and all that that we've kind of grown accustomed to luxury. That's gonna have to change, but I don't I don't think we're gonna lose. I think we're gonna get pretty darn close. Just enough, kind of like when you're riding on a motorcycle or driving a car and you're not paying attention and you you're you're you skim another car, you're like real close to a deadly head-on collision, and you kind of wakes you up, snaps you out of it, and you go, Man, I am I'm never not paying attention again. It's kind of like that. We need a wake-up call. We need a near-death experience. We need people to kind of, you know, I'm not calling for you know violence or anything like that, but I think people need to understand these are stalling tactics. This is not getting rid of the issue. And unless we wake up and start doing something about the problem and saying, we need this gone, nothing's gonna get better. Now, when we get back from the break, we're gonna jump over, talk a little bit about free speech. How far does that extend? Where does that apply, et cetera, so on and so forth, because the school leader, the the, I don't know if you call it a principal when it's a private, I don't know how it works. Uh, but he was the leader of the Kincaid school, has now stepped down. He says that he faced no pressure to resign, but as there was literally this week a major controversy over anti-Semitism, you kinda gotta wonder if those things are connected. We will talk about the claims. We will talk about how far our first speech, First Amendment speech extends, all that sort of stuff. If you would like to text into the show, the number is 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. You are listening to the Lone Star Conservative. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and I will return, Lord willing, to talk about this controversy and the stepping down of this school leader after the break. Hang tight.

SPEAKER_10 35:40

Hi, this is Harold Gunn, inviting you to join Bill Olson and me for Texas' longest running and most awarded outdoor show. Brought to you by Built Ford Tough Trucks, it's Texas Outdoor News. Join us Saturday mornings at six on Patriot Talk 920.

SPEAKER_15 35:55

For top quality roofing, call Telgee Roofing at 281-290-0606. Specializing in residential and commercial shingle, metal, and TPO roofing systems, Telgi Roofing offers free, no obligation roof inspections. Telgee Roofing is GAF certified and holds the GAF Presidents Club three-star gold status, an award held by less than 100 roofing companies in all of America. Only top quality materials and accessories are installed by our Master Elite Roofers, ensuring durability and performance. With an average of five roof replacements every day and nearly 60,000 roofs completed, experience and reliability are guaranteed. Telgee Roofing also provides repairs, gutters, cleaning services, and maintenance packages to keep your roof in top shape. Visit Telgeeroofing.com or call 281-290-0606 today.

SPEAKER_02 36:37

Hey guys, it's Mike here, co-owner of Aegis Arms Indoor Gun Range, located on 288 MLA8. I wanted to personally invite you guys out to check out our firearms store. We have a huge collection of firearms you can purchase right there. Meet some of our certified instructors. They can do one-on-one classes. We can even get a group together and do classes with your group. And if you want to go downrange, guess what? We can do that too. Just check us out at aegisarms.com. That's a g-isarms.com.

SPEAKER_13 37:06

My doctor won't take my plan anymore.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

Why is my Medicare supplement so expensive?

SPEAKER_13 37:12

My prescription drug plan sucks.

SPEAKER_11 37:15

When you need some help with Medicare, go to Senior Health Services.com.

SPEAKER_03 37:23

In all seriousness, we know you're frustrated, but if you'll call 281-894-7540, we'll help you with your Medicare and we'll do it for free. Plus, we're not with the government and we are fully licensed to help.

SPEAKER_04 37:36

Craig Klein here, founder and CEO of Sales Nexus. As a Christian business owner, I know that faith and business go hand in hand. That's why I built Sales Nexus to help fellow Christian business leaders and sales teams serve their clients with integrity and excellence. Our all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform isn't just about growing your business, it's about stewarding the opportunities God has placed in your hands. Visit salesnexus.com and start your free 30-day trial today.

SPEAKER_05 38:07

Need to make a big impression? At Bullshirts. We've been Houston's go-to for custom screen printing, embroidery, and promo items for over 40 years. Want tees, polos, hats, or giveaways that fit your brand and your budget? We've got you covered. Stop by our showroom at 5485 Weststand Houston Parkway North. Or call 713-983-8080. Bullshirts, the trusted printer of Patriot Talk 920.

SPEAKER_06 38:36

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

SPEAKER_12 38:42

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 39:07

Texalent AC service, your local Christian choice for cooling and comfort. Honest answers, quality service. Call TexLent today at 281-402-5100. That's 281-402-5100.

SPEAKER_08 39:23

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

Kincaid Poster Controversy And Free Speech

SPEAKER_15 39:58

So we don't have a lot of time, so let's jump right into this. The leader of one of Houston's most established private schools, Kincaid School, will resign this summer according to an announcement letter sent to the community over the last couple days. In the letter, the head of school, Jonathan Eads, wrote that his decision had been long in the making and that he was under no duress or pressure to resign. The Board of Trustees wrote in a statement that the resignation was due to personal reasons and called it a thoughtful, deeply personal decision. On top of that, the news comes after a major controversy surrounding a poster about Palestine at the school's culture fest, was spread across social media over this past weekend. Officially, the resignation was not related to those events. But come on, you've been the head of the school for a long time. Major controversy comes out, and you'll see how major the controversy is by who got involved in just a moment. And then you resign and you're like, ah, it's not, it's not related. That just you could just be honest and say it's related, but we don't need to talk about the extent. I was already considering it. Like just be honest with people. Nevertheless, the controversy came to light this weekend after an advocacy group, Stop Antisemitism, put the Kincaid School on blast by posting a photo of a student poster of Palestine, accusing it of not sufficiently recognizing Israel. The group claimed the presentation won second place at the fair. Stop anti-Semitism describes itself as a watchdog organization for those that espouse anti-Jewish sentiment. The group posts about an anti-Semite of the Week and has taken credit for getting individuals fired from their jobs after being mentioned by the group. And so just so we're clear at this point, from my understanding of the whole situation, nobody made an anti-Semitic comment. Nobody was actually chanting pro-Palestine. You know, because a lot of the chants are by nature anti-Israel, right? From the river to the sea, what are you saying? Well, you're saying that if the river to the sea would include Israel, that's your land. Right. This map, I looked at the picture, didn't do that. It was highlighting Palestine. It was a poster dedicated to like the understanding of that particular specific spot on the map, the region. It circled that. You didn't see Israel. You know what? You didn't see any other countries either. I it wasn't like it didn't appear to be anti-Israeli in its messaging. Nevertheless, on top of that, it was made by a student. They didn't have rules. And I understand that if something's awful enough, it can't be allowed to be in the culture festival. But, you know, this is if you want to know about your doing leftists, let's be honest. You're the ones that say all culture is okay, and you can have whatever culture you want. And your culture should add just as much as mine. Well, their culture is understanding Palestine. So I why are you so upset? Nevertheless, uh the founder and executive director of Stop Antisemitism, Leora Rez, said in a statement that the organization learned about the poster from concerned parents and community members who raised serious alarm about both the display itself and the school's perceived lack of action. What'd you why why does there have to be action? It was a poster with ideas that even if you majorly disagree with them, uh are we not allowed to have disagreements in America anymore? Again, if the school had been taking stand, that'd be a very different conversation. And I totally get it. But the school didn't. A student did. In a culture festival art competition, and you didn't like his art, and therefore the school's anti-Semitic. I mean, do you understand how just insane this gets? This is what happens when you just demean words. Because there are anti-Semites out there. There are actual racists out there, there are actual bigots out there. There are people that are actually those things, that are actually terrible people, that actually do hate people on certain you know standards. But when you throw the word around, you're like, that's an anti Semitic school because one student drew a poster that Israel wasn't on the map they drew, and the school is not taking sufficient action against the student. I mean at some point there's so many layers. It's like really that's that's what we're focused on. Of all the things that are going on right now. That's where we want to spend our time. I don't know. I don't know what to say. What I have to say is doesn't really matter to me what art the student drew. I I mean, come on, really? I I couldn't care less. There's much bigger issues to deal with. Even if you're really concerned about anti-Semitism, there's bigger issues to deal with in in those regards all across the U.S. With that being said, to wrap up the first hour of the show, when we get back, of course, we're going to go over the weather, what we expect coming up through the rest of the day, through the weekend, to keep you guys tightered over until we get back on Monday morning for that show. In the meantime, stick around. You're listening to Lone Star Conservative, text in. We'd love to hear from our listeners this morning, the last show of the week. We'd love to hear from you. Text in at 713-779-5978. That 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 to wrap up the first hour of the show with our weather report. Hang tight, and I'll be right back after the break.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

Houston, this is Tom Gretch, I'm inviting all gun owners to join me live every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. for gun talk. Call in with your questions or range reports, and let's tackle everything Second Amendment. Here on Houston's Leader for Gun Owners, Patriot Talk 920.

SPEAKER_06 45:27

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

SPEAKER_12 45:33

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_02 45:58

Agent Starms Indoor Gunrange invites you to visit us at 3915-South and Houston Parkway feast in Houston and see all what we have to offer. You can have our on-site gunsmith adjust your personal firearms, sign up for our various classes, plan your next event, and use one of our clean ventilated lanes to practice or to sign in a new purchase. You can also give us a call at 713-503-7645 or visit agentsarms.com. That's AGISARMS.com.

SPEAKER_17 46:28

Our pets creeping into your home, ProMax Pest Control is here to help. ProMax Pest Control tackles everything from roaches to roaches, keeping your home safe and pest free with fast, reliable service you can count on. Take back your space today. Call ProMax Pest Control at 832-283-0741 to schedule your service. That's 832-283-0741. ProMax Pest Control. Keeping pests out so you can rest easy.

SPEAKER_20 46:57

Listen up, Patriots. Got armory needs? Then you need Fire Armadillo. They've got guns, tactical gear, body armor, firearm training classes, and more. Call 832-437-3869. You won't find a better place to go for your firearm needs than Fire Armadillo. Call 832-437-3869 or visit firearmadillo.com for more information. Get fired up, Houston, with Firearmadillo.

SPEAKER_04 47:28

Houston, this is Craig Klein, founder and CEO of Sales Nexus. At Sales Nexus, we're proud to support businesses and organizations that make a difference, like Patriot Talk 920. As one of our valued clients, Patriot Talk 920 trusts SalesNexis to manage their leads, automate communications, and build strong relationships with listeners and advertisers. Ready to take your sales to the next level? Visit salesnexus.com and start your free 30-day trial today.

SPEAKER_07 48:00

Textu AC Service isn't your average HVAC company. We're high performance comfort engineers. We don't guess, we test. We design full system solutions for airflow, humidity, and air quality issues that others overlook. Whether it's one hot room, high bills, or Houston humidity, we deliver real comfort. Call 281-402-5100. Texas AC service, where custom air service is our specialty.

SPEAKER_09 48:29

Hi, this is Harold Gunn. 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.

SPEAKER_10 48:37

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 mornings the 6th on Patriot Talk at 920.

Houston Weekend Weather And Flood Risk

SPEAKER_15 49:20

Could you imagine looking around at the earth God's given us, looking around at everything we have? And by the way, I mean, can you imagine God has given us so many naturally occurring, just out there? You have access to caffeine, you have access to tobacco. I mean, the list is long of like extra substances that aren't like debilitating or causing a lack of sobriety. But you have all these things. God has given you so much stuff that there's people who dare to be unhappy. I just I'm just saying. Sorry, I didn't mean I'm supposed to do the weather report. I'm talking about people being dumb. My bad. Anyways, a wetter and more active stretch of weather is going to return to Houston today as a slow-moving frontal boundary stalls near the region and taps into a deeper surge of atmospheric moisture. I I just I don't know. Just sounds that way. Rainfall totals will vary considerably from one neighborhood to the next, but areas that see multiple storms passing overhead could quickly pick up several inches of rain in a relatively short time period. The bottom line is that Houston's threat of heaviest rainfall is going to arrive this afternoon and tonight as multiple rounds of thunderstorms are going to develop. Locally heavy rainfall could trigger isolated street flooding, especially in low-lying and urban flood-prone areas. Most of the Houston area is going to receive an inch to two inches of rain through tomorrow, although some spots could see north of three inches, right? Like if they're right in the middle where the storms are all headed through to get to other people, they're going to get more. Rainfall totals will vary from one neighbor to the next. More storms could redevelop tomorrow, bringing more flooding concerns into the weekend, though conditions should gradually improve late Sunday into early next week as we're going to get drier, warmer weather returning to Houston. And so again, uh the day today is going to be again warm, humid, scattered showers, thunderstorms developing through the morning. Coverage is going to be mostly limited here in the day early in the day. So not everyone's going to start off the morning with rain. But again, that deeper plume of moisture is coming through midday afternoon into evening, which is when flooding concerns are going to peak. That could continue into Friday, so you need to be aware of that as you plan your weekend. And then forecast guidance continue to indicate improving weather by late Sunday into Monday as the storm system finally shifts east over into Louisiana. Now rain hinds should gradually decrease as well heading into early next week. That'll also mean, well, it'll be nicer outside, it'll also be significantly warmer insofar as our weather's going to change into the mid to upper eighties. If you've lived here more than a couple years, you know what's coming. You're ready, you're prepared. That's what's coming. It's summertime. That'll do it for the first hour of the show. When we get back from the break, of course, it is Friday. We're coming up on one of my favorite segments of the week. And that is our upcoming weekly local recap with Charles Blaine from Urban Reform. You won't want to miss that. Text in 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wells, and I'll be right back with Charles Blaine for the weekly local recap at the top of the next hour.

SPEAKER_07 52:38

From deep in the heart of Texas, Houston's God-loving patriot, the voice of reason. This is the O-Star Conservative, Michael Wilson.

Local Recap With Charles Blaine

SPEAKER_15 53:13

Our good friend Charles Blaine from Urban Reform coming on for the weekly local recap. Welcome to the show, Charles. Good morning. Happy Friday. I'm glad to be with you yet again. And we're glad to have you with us yet again to talk about some of the biggest and sometimes most unfortunate news in the fourth largest city in the country. Let's kick it off with talking a little bit about this contract. Because I actually hadn't even thought of this contract when I first talked about this Holland story. I hadn't even considered this. You've got Mayor Whitmeyer and controller Chris Hollands, which by the way have been battling for what years now? I mean, it's it's every time I hear either of their name in the same article, it's good because they're like angry at each other. Um now yet again they're going to, you know, back and forth. Mayor Whitmeyer is saying we need the trash fee and we have to do these things. The controller, I think, kind of saying that's shifting the burden to taxpayers. But uh their actual policy, apart from their words and the press, seem kind of similar. Can you walk us through that?

SPEAKER_16 54:08

Yeah, so a couple weeks ago, I think we talked about this on your show, but everybody's probably heard about it. You know, the mayor came under a little bit of fire because he launched a $60,000 podcast. Initially, it wasn't known that the podcast was actually um going to be funded by tax dollars. It was just he had a $60,000 podcast. So now we know that it's tax funded. And then so he came under some fire from that and from Chris Hollins. And then yesterday we find out that um and I'm I'm assuming the mayor's office put this out. I mean, I guess they had to have this. But either way, it's still wrong. But Chris Hollins had requested during their office furniture selection a $4,000 luxury couch for his office. So this is, I mean, it's which is still frustrating, it's still like trivial, but it's not because it's this is exactly the time that they sit in our political class, right? Like if it's one legislature attacking another over a podcast that's very expensive, then you have a $4,000 couch, while yet the city of Houston, you have to the numbers yesterday. There's like $1,200, $1,300 employees in the city of Houston who make under $40,000. And like not to mention just the average Houstonian who like is is you know trying to figure out how to get by, and yet you're ordering $4,000 couches or requesting $4,000 couches.

SPEAKER_15 55:11

Can I can I ask you a question? This might be a little personal. So does running for office damage someone's brain? I I I haven't done the studies on what running for office is for some reason. I feel like if I was in office and I had tax money, I would neither be starting a podcast that they pay for, nor would I be, even if I needed to replace my couch, going to a $4,000 website. Charles, is it just me or does something happen to these people where they just all of a sudden become like legitimately stupid?

SPEAKER_16 55:41

I you know, I don't know. I that's why I've always said I've never running for office. I don't want to find out personally. I just you see these things, you meet people, and they're you know, whether they're activists or even candidates, and they're you're like, wow, this is a really solid person, got the great head on their shoulders, they're gonna do great. And then they get there and then they do something like this, and it's like, okay, well, well, what's lift? Like, I don't I don't understand how you think this is acceptable. Because any average person who looks at this on his face would say, This does not make sense and it's unacceptable. So, like, I don't understand why you are any different. I I don't understand it. I just I wish I could make heads and tails of it. I don't feel I don't have a $4,000 country. I wouldn't feel comfortable having a $4,000 count. I wouldn't want people to come into my house and see a $4,000 and ask me how much that counts was. And so I don't understand how you can do that with people, other people's money for a place that you don't even live. Like, isn't it just your office? If we, if we have, you know, if we supplied their house, like you know, we do for the new mayor of New York or the president or other places like that. I mean, I wouldn't say it's acceptable then, but I could be a little more understandable because you're gonna make some use out of it. But we're talking about a $4,000 couch in an office that you probably shouldn't be in very much if you're using your office correctly, which is going out and talking to people and doing all the things you need to be doing as a controller.

SPEAKER_15 56:47

So I I it's it's crazy. Also, I I actually looked at the the in the paperwork for it, the the filing paperwork. And not only are they dumb, but they also I I could never imagine. They they wanted to pay $225 for a couch install fee. Oh my god. They didn't have employees that could just help them build a couch. I I'm I'm just baffled.

SPEAKER_16 57:11

This whole thing. I mean, yeah, we don't got the general services department that could put together a throw. I mean, I I will give up a whole Saturday to put my IKEA furniture together so I don't have to pay the fee to have them do it. And trust me, that is more difficult, I'm assuming, than this $4,000 couch.

SPEAKER_15 57:23

I was gonna say, I'll I'll build the couch for a hundred bucks. I'll undercut it. I'll come build it tomorrow if you if they end up buying it. I do like that you mentioned there's no evidence of this, but it actually is a funny thought. I imagine the mayor's office put this out. This is a full filing, and I know anybody could technically get this with it with the Open Records Act, but they did not go in and request the couch file from the controller. I hadn't thought about that. The news didn't go in and be like, do you have a couch file? That's not that didn't happen. It was it was somebody in there.

SPEAKER_16 57:54

It had to be. It had to just the way they go back and forth, they were like, we need to get to meet all of us right now. Let's throw something. And they've probably been sitting on this for a little bit, too. How many people have got a date on it?

SPEAKER_15 58:05

I was gonna say, I want to find the date when they requested this because you know the mayor's like, stop talking about my podcast. He wanted a big expensive couch. Right, exactly. Like hold it in our back pocket until we need it. That's that's actually insane. That's crazy. Um now, I want to talk a little bit about speaking of the couch, the podcast, all these things, of course, are in the greater budget.

Trash Fee And Budget Shell Game

SPEAKER_15 58:27

What's going on with the budget deficit? I know that there was a trash fee that was proposed, some changes to how the water operates. Can you kind of walk us through the budget deficit and kind of the changes that are coming?

SPEAKER_16 58:36

Yeah, so the big ticket item or the big deal that everybody's talking about is actually like the lowest ticket item. And that's this $5 quote unquote trash fee that the city is launching. And it's actually not a trash fee, according to them, it's an administrative fee. And the reason they say that is because once that fee starts, you're not actually going to see your trash service like enhanced. It's going to be the same, probably, but it's going to be um the fee to cover some of the costs. Now, in theory, that is what's happening. What's really happening is the the solid waste department, which is now currently funded by the general fund. So this is just a big pool of money that goes into the city to pay for things. That's getting moved out of there. So that's like a hundred and some odd million dollars, and that's getting moved into the what they call the combined utility services, which is the water fee, water funds, and things like that. So that fund has um it's a special fund, which means that they can't touch it for only a certain reason. So it's uh right now it's like water improvements and things like that, and soon to be uh trash service where they move it over there. And so what that means is that the $5 is not going to that fund, it's going to the general fund. And then the trash is moving to that fund. So the money that's coming in for the five dollars is not going to be restricted to trash, it's gonna be used to pay down the deficit, and then the money that is a surplus in the water fund will be used to pay for trash. Now, the reason they're saying that is because we have a $5 billion surplus in the water uh fund and the combined utility fund. The reason that we have that surplus is because one, it's restricted. You can only pay it for certain things, so if you know we have more money, it's only they can just rob it the way they have other funds. Two, if you notice in Houston, your water fees gone, your water bills gone up uh consecutively for like five years after the coming past a couple years ago. So you pay you pay for it, and now there's a third plus, and now that's moving there. And coupled with that, the combined utility, which is your your utility services, they get uh preferential right of way. So, like if they need to build things and pipe and stuff, they don't typically have to pay the city as as companies would have to. Well, now the city would say, What you do, you're gonna we're gonna charge you for that. So now they're gonna charge their combined utility fund that fee to build things in the right of way, which is more money that goes to the general fund. So it's really it's like I don't want to say it's Robin for Peter PayPal, but like you're finding ways to take this money that is very restricted and putting it in a fund that is not restricted. That's exactly that's what they're doing. And so it while also taking costs that aren't restricted and putting them in a restricted fund, and that is how they're freeing up $173 million. And so I know it's a little confusing, but it's it's essentially just kind of it's shifting some money around and using a five billion dollar surplus that they have not previously been able to touch uh to help pay down.

SPEAKER_15 1:01:14

Alternatively, we could just not buy $4,000 couches. Also an option if we wanted to fix the budget crisis. I think that too. There's that too. One thing I did see from the mayor, and I don't know if you saw this, so if you don't have a take on it, that's totally fine. He did say something about uh how this all kind of worked, and he highlighted, um, I'm trying to remember exactly what he said because I don't want to misquote him. But he said something about how this wouldn't shift the burden over to taxpayers. And I'm a little lost on how that's the case because if we're charging more money to these departments, I actually have two questions. That's the first one. How is this not ultimately going to end up raising rates if we're having to change the money around?

SPEAKER_16 1:01:57

So the the argument that it's not raising money on taxpayers, and then that's also not raising rates, is because the combined utility fund is the the money there is derived from the ratepayers. So like it it's it's the your taxpayers too, but like it's the rate because they're charging a rate. So if there are certain people in the city of Houston who do not pay into the combined utility fund because of where they live, they may live in like a water district or something else and they pay into something else. So they won't be charged for this. Um so it's going into the rate, it's going it goes to ratepayers, but most ratepayers are taxpayers. But there is a small exception. Now, the reason they're saying that it's not going to raise the rates is because we have a five billion dollar surplus in that fund because of the rates that have been previously raised. So under Turner, they did a, I think it was a five-year, six-year increase every year, a little bit of it. There still might be two or three more years left of that, I think. I don't know. But they're they raised rates. So if you were if people look at their water bills, they'll notice every year it went up. And this was during COVID and shortly thereafter. And when um during that time, actually, council member Amy Peck made an put an amendment up saying that if the city comes into extra money, that they would erase that that increase and give the refund. And I, you know, unfortunately, her council or people didn't agree with her, uh people meaning elected officials didn't agree with her people not being the taxpayers that want their money. Right. So now there's this massive surplus in that fund because that fund is so restricted, you can only use it for certain things, and those certain things, the costs just haven't, you know, it just hasn't been super high. And so, you know, you're saying it's like a savings account, but you aren't really ever supposed to touch it because it's restricted for its use. But they're just finding a different way to utilize it.

SPEAKER_15 1:03:28

Right. The other question, I'm glad you brought that up because it prompted the surplus prompted my question. Didn't we have a conversation? I don't know if this is related, so correct me if I'm wrong. If this is a different sort of water department, didn't we have a conversation about how if we didn't spend a ton of money, you're gonna spend $10 billion replacing our entire water system?

SPEAKER_16 1:03:44

That's exactly it.

SPEAKER_15 1:03:46

Isn't that something that a surplus that's restricted would be good for?

SPEAKER_16 1:03:49

Exactly. And that's what the big complaint is from a lot of people is that listen, we have to, we're it's the consent decree that we're in, and that is partially why the rate water rate increases have happened, because they pass the increases to pay for the consent decree because we're paying it off year after year. And so uh a lot of people are saying, well, we're using that for the consent decree. Like, sure, it's still legal bit of a surplus because we're paying it off on a payment plan, but we have all this money that we have to pay them, and we have um, I think it's the I I think it's the east, I don't know if I can say which one, but there's a there's a water plant that is very, very old in the city of Houston that is kind of almost on it. It is on its last lag and it's almost out. And there's been a lot of talk about needing to re-uh build it because it it supplies like half of the city's water. Um, and so it just it they've delayed it and delayed it and delayed it and have not changed the infrastructure. And so the other argument is well, we've we've got somewhere that money could actually go, like tomorrow if we needed it to, so we shouldn't be using it for this. And so the the argument is that this is how you pay down the deficit, that money's gonna be rebuilt or re-replenished over years, but let's just hope something crazy doesn't happen like tomorrow with that water plant or or next week.

SPEAKER_15 1:04:51

Right. Let's hope that the old beater doesn't die and we don't have to buy a new car because the money that we had set aside to buy a new car, we actually used it to buy a $4,000 couch instead. Um I that's

District C Election And Turnout

SPEAKER_15 1:05:00

that's crazy. The next thing I want to get into here is the early voting for district C. Can you walk us through that so people can be prepared for that? Because that'll also drive into the next conversation about what happens when you don't show up.

SPEAKER_16 1:05:11

Right. So early voting for district C. District C is um, if you folks remember, we talked about this on your show, Abby Kaman. She is the council member who oversees or represents uh, you know, Montrose and uh somewhat of a a little bit of over Kirby, Midtown area, Fourth Ward, a bunch of different areas of it. She is now the county attorney, well, county attorney, I guess, nominee. She was appointed county attorney last month, but she didn't take effect till June 16th, which would in theory be the day that her replacement is sworn into city council. So the election for her replacement is currently underway, and there are two folks in there, Joe Panzarella and Nick Heller. And I know that um uh Joe Panzarella has been framed as just kind of an ultra uber progressive, and so a lot of folks who who don't like that style of politics is go are voting for Nick Hellier um and trying to kind of you know keep some sort of standard at City Hall. If you can equate it to anything, Alejandro. They're kind of on the same her original candorola are kind of in the same uh realm, if you will. And so people are trying to say that you know they want to avoid that and let's let's vote for someone else. And so that is underway. And I mean, look at while I do think you should vote for one over the other, I do think in general you should vote if you live in that district. I think too often we and I don't blame you. We have too many elections, there have been too many elections this year. If you live in that district, you probably voted, I think about no I'm no fewer than eight times because you're also kind of Sheila Jackson Lee's and and all this stuff. So uh I was actually well now Christian Menepie, but um you voted a lot in that district. So I can understand if you're burnt out, but people really need to get out and vote because it's these low turnout elections like this, which are going to make the difference down

Pearland Upset And Low Participation

SPEAKER_16 1:06:42

the road.

SPEAKER_15 1:06:42

Right. And so to wrap up, mentioning what happens when you don't, can we jump down to Paraland, a little bit out of Houston, but I think Paraland was rated one of the highest neighborhood, one of the highest cities to live in in the country. Uh I think it got like within the top five. It might have been number one, but it was within the top five for this last year of best cities to live in in the country. Um they've been doing a great job. And they recently had an election. It's technically called a nonpartisan election, meaning no one ran as a Republican or Democrat for Paraland mayor. But we all know with nonpartisan elections, you have to instead of looking at the the letter next to the name, you just look at the pop proposed policies, campaign plan, and former votes. So this guy, I think it's Quentin Wiltz, won that election. He obviously didn't run as a Democrat, but I'm hearing a lot of telltales about uh the fact that a lot of policy-wise, it appears like he's pretty progressive.

SPEAKER_16 1:07:30

Well, yeah, and you know, it's funny. They they they all these local elections are considered nonpartisan, but yet when uh when the Brazilian County Democratic Party comes down and claims it'll win, you know, you gotta kind of look for what it is. I mean, it's a yeah, this guy won, and he is uh he's a democrat, and he is the first Democrat to win ever in their history of being a city. And what's interesting about this is because it's not a uh democratic stronghold by any means. Trump won uh parallel, but I think it was 57 points uh 57 percent in uh the last election, and they typically vote Republican, they're commissioners, um uh county up and down the ballot, it's typically Republican, and so it's very interesting that they were able to make commissioners here. It's both interesting, but at the same time, it's kind of not because when you look at what Houston is like has done over the years, right? Here in 2014, and when I moved here, half of Houston City Council was Republican. The next election, um, which was between Phil King and Comester Turner, Phil King lost by like one percent of commissioner's court was all Republican, the school board was all republican, and you start to see these changes. Then now you start to see them on the outskirts. I think you're starting to see that kind of spread outward. And you've seen in Fort Bane County, I think now you're seeing it this might be the first not in resorient county of Democrats starting to gain strongholds out there. And so the point I'm getting at is that I mean, if you want that fine, but if you don't, you gotta get out there and vote for these elections that people do not pay attention to. Again, I know there's so many of them, and there's constant, and it seems like you can now get away from them, but this this is what this is how people plan. This is what they do. They look for these low low-turn-out elections to try to make some inroads, and then they get in, and then they use their policies and their power and their position, you know, bring in others who agree with them, and then they start to you know amount a solid defense. And next thing you know, you are kind of out of place in your own city or your own county. So I I think people should really be paying attention to this. It might not be a uh the the biggest warning call that Democrats are taking over county, but it's probably certainly the first inroad that they're making in a long time.

SPEAKER_15 1:09:25

Right. And I do want to highlight, since you mentioned the the these low voter turnout elections and how many there are, I want to highlight based on population density in Paraland versus the eligible voters that turned out, looks like it was less than 20% of eligible voters. Less than 20%. That means the representation of this guy is is one in five Paralandians. Yes. I I mean that's not representative at all of the demographics.

SPEAKER_16 1:09:48

It's not. And and then the thing, like you know, it's not representative, but yet what he's yes, he's gonna represent every single one of you. He's gonna run your budget, your your uh daily whatever goes on daily ordinances, everything that happens now, the oversight of the police, police department, fire department, all these things are now under his unilateral control, but certainly under his influence. And if they are not your priorities, well then you need to be out there and be more vocal and be and be voting, at least, because that's the thing. It takes very few few people to sway an election in these raw areas. We've had recent uh recent elections in Houston where you've had uh city council members representing districts of 250,000 people where 27 votes made the difference. And so I think people just really gotta take this seriously because these elections are what matter, these these local offices are what have the biggest impact in your life, and you're gonna feel it if you think you won't.

SPEAKER_15 1:10:34

Right, absolutely. With that being said, Charles, how can everyone find all the stuff you're cooking when you're not here on the show?

SPEAKER_16 1:10:40

Just check out urban reform or um all across social media or Charles Lane on uh Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, wherever, and you'll see everything we're working on there.

SPEAKER_15 1:10:48

Perfect. Well, as always, we appreciate you coming on, and Lord willing, we'll talk to you again next week. Thanks for having me. Talk to you next week. Of course, with that being said, when we get back, we're gonna talk about Ten Paxton, who is now launching this investigation into the enforcement of the Ten Commandments and school prayer laws. Text in 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You're listening to Lone Stark Conservative. I'll be right back with the Ken Paxton statewide investigation after this short break.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:22

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.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:37

Hi, I'm Craig Klein, founder and CEO of SalesNexus. I started Sales Nexus to help sales teams like yours close deals faster and more efficiently. Our all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform streamlines your sales process. With Sales Nexus, you can manage leads, automate email and text campaigns, and gain clear insights into your sales pipeline. Visit salesnexus.com. That's salesne-x-us.com to start your free 30-day trial today.

SPEAKER_15 1:12:06

Hey y'all, this is the Lone Star Conservative Michael Wilson, and I want to tell you about my friends at Telgee Roofing. What might seem like a simple water leak in your house could be a sign of roof damage. Our friends at Telgee Roofing help homeowners uncover those problems before they get worse. Their experts provide free roof inspections, and if they find a problem, they will help you with your insurance claim as well. Don't wait for the next storm. Call Telgee Roofing today at 281-290-0606 for your free, no obligation inspection.

SPEAKER_21 1:12:36

The Medicare Minute with Justin White is brought to you by Senior Health Services.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:40

If you are of Medicare AIDS or getting close or you have a loved one that is, be careful with those unsolicited phone calls that I know you know about. We get told about them all the time. What you need to know is that many of those phone calls are not even legal. They're coming from offshore call centers. Sometimes they're calling regardless of whether you're on the do not call list. Isn't that nice of them, by the way? It's really sweet of them to just do that because they are thinking that they can't get caught. Bottom line is when you get on there and you talk to them, they're already kind of operating sidelong of what should be done. And sometimes people end up in plans that they did not intend to enroll in. And so what do you do? Call somebody local. If you got a local agent, my gosh, call them and get in front of them. And if you don't have a good agent, think of an organization like Senior Health Services where you can sit down, talk about what you're looking for, and get the help that you need. You don't need to be talking to phone operators in other countries that you don't know who they are, where they are, or what in the world they're doing.

SPEAKER_21 1:13:42

Medicare choices are easier with a professional in your corner. Senior Health Services is not associated with the government, so you know you can trust them. Visit Senior Health Services.com today to connect with a trusted agent for a free consultation.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:06

Aegis Arms Indoor Gun Range is the perfect place to hold your next company retreat, team building, family gathering, birthday, bachelor, or bachelorette party. If you don't have your own gun, don't worry, we've got you covered. You can rent one of our various guns. We have everything from full auto World War II relics to modern day pistols. Our trained staff and certified instructors will make your occasion safe and memorable. Go to AegisArms.com. That is AGISARMS.com.

SPEAKER_18 1:14:35

Chart your course for excellence at Houston Christian University. You will find professors who challenge you and help you discover your unique calling. Explore diverse degree programs and connect with industry leaders. Whether you hope to be an entrepreneur, teacher, or engineer, HCU equips you to pursue your passion for his purpose. Invest in your future. Your journey starts at hc.edu. That's hc.edu.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:06

Have you thought about buying a gun or even carrying a gun? But you don't know if that's smart or where to start. I can help. I'm Tom Gresham, host of Gun Talk. Call in Sundays between 1 and 4, right here on Houston's Leader for Gun Owners, Patriot Talk 920.

Paxton Pushes Ten Commandments Enforcement

SPEAKER_15 1:15:32

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching a statewide investigation into dozens of Texas school districts to see whether they are following new laws requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms. He's also requesting evidence that early e or that each school board voted on whether to put organized prayer time back into public schools. Paxton's office announced that it has sent investigative demands to nearly 30 ISDs from urban systems like Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Cyprus, Fairbanks to suburbs like Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, and Plano, ordering them to turn over records showing whether they are displaying the Ten Commandments and whether their boards have voted on implementing a daily prayer period. The list also includes districts like Galveston that were previously involved in litigation over the Ten Commandments law. Paxton came out in a statement and he said, I will always fight for students' fundamental right to pray in our schools and work to ensure that Texas kids are able to learn from the Ten Commandments daily. Districts must comply with Texas law by displaying the Ten Commandments and taking a school board vote regarding the implementation of prayer time in schools. He framed the effort as defending both religious freedom and the moral foundation of our nation. And you guys should think about voting for John Cornyn. Come on. Senate Bill 10, which was passed by lawmakers in the 89th legislature and effective, September 1st of 2025, requires public schools to display donated copies of the Ten Commandments that meet certain specifications in a conspicuous place in each classroom. SB10, of course, as we all remember, had been tied up in court until a recent ruling from the Fifth Circuit upheld its constitutionality, clearing the way for statewide enforcement. Separately, just so we understand some background here, Senate Bill 11 requires every school district and charter school board in Texas to formally vote on whether to adopt a policy establishing a daily period when students and employees can pray or read the Bible or other religious texts. Boards had a deadline of March 1st of this year to make that decision, and districts that chose to implement a prayer period must obtain parental consent and ensure the participation is voluntary and not broadcast over loudspeakers or imposed on non-consenting adults. In step one, guys, we'll get we'll we'll get there. You don't have to consent in the future. As part of the new investigation, the Attorney General's office is requiring targeted ISDs to produce proof that their board of trustees held a vote on whether to establish a prayer period under SB 11. They must also provide documents and policies showing whether they are displaying donating commandments copies in classrooms as required by SB ten or explaining why they're not. And there's very little exemptions. I think the only exemption really is that no single person donated any copies. I think that's the only justification that they could be able to use because they wanted to do it in a way that on top of it, you know, not being a religious violation of the First Amendment, they wanted to make sure that we weren't creating a new tax burden because that could be uh a detractor. And so it was supposed to be donated copies. And so if nobody donated, which I can't imagine, you look at Houston, you're telling me nobody if if nobody donated in Houston, I'll go and start it off. If we can get our listeners together, we'll all donate, if that's the reason. Uh but I think that's really the only way that they that they have not put it up. And so just to highlight, the districts named include Alamo Heights, Northeast, Austin, Cyfair, Lackland, Lake Travis, Fort Bend, Houston, Dripping Springs, Plano, Northside Conroe, Galison, Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Wichita Falls, McGall, Amarillo, El Paso, Corpus Christi, United Tech, Arcana, Victoria, Waco, Abilene, San Angelo, Brownsville, and Beaumont. And so many of these districts, again, were among the list that had this emergency injunction where they didn't have to do it while the case played out in court. Well, that case wrapped up pending the appeal to the Supreme Court, to the Fifth Circuit Court, meaning that that excuse for, hey, we can't put them up because we have this injunction in place does not apply. So now every single school district in the city of Texas is by state law required to put in the Ten Commandments. And so again, Paxson has framed SB 10 and SB11 both as key tools to restore religious expression in Texas classrooms after years of litigation and confusion over what's actually allowed in our public schools. And look, I get it. I get the detractor's arguments. I think they're dumb, but I understand them. The main detraction from putting up the Ten Commandments in classrooms, uh, putting forth a daily prayer period, most of the excuses are from there are some from Christians that I think are just misinformed. Many of them are from unbelievers. Or even further, you know, there's a difference between atheists and um anti-theists. Most of the time they end up being the same. An atheist is someone who simply doesn't believe in God. An anti-theist is someone who hates God. Right? Anti-God. And unfortunately, atheism has kind of turned almost completely into anti-theism. And what this has produced by extension is that people hate what America was founded upon. And by nature, when you try to put that into classrooms, when you try to highlight the moral foundation of this country, the legal foundation of this country, it it turns into massive lawsuits where parents say this violates my freedom of religion. Um No, it doesn't. It absolutely does not. And and I I need to highlight this again because people don't understand that we have so severely misconstrued the intent of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, that people have no idea what they're even defending anymore. I know that the courts ultimately have the power of legal interpretation. Right. We have courts for a reason. That's not necessarily bad. We have to know how the law applies, when it applies, how it's enforced, and so on and so forth. And you need a a court system in order to do that, right? You don't want the the people who write the laws to then also apply the laws and also defy. You need a level of checks and balances, right? That's good, that's important. The problem is that when the courts make really terrible decisions, we still have to abide by them. But what we are allowed to do is say they're wrong and that they're mistaken and that they're incorrect. And the modern interpretation, especially of the First Amendment, is just not only disingenuous, but it is it is uh completely misplaced. Because the First Amendment, one of the big one of the big things, and you you have to know American history. It's why American history, the true American history, not the revisionist version, is so utterly important to us functioning as a country. Because as I always highlight in regards to any of these things, the Founding Fathers were coming off of a revolution. They were coming off of a war that they fought because of a tyrannical, centralized federal government. And their main concern when forming the US, their their number one concern was federal tyranny. And so most of the laws they wrote, most of the rights they gave were not expected to extend into state sovereignty or into local policy. Ninety-nine percent of it was designed to make sure that the federal government wasn't tyrannical. Right? And so that's why if the states decided they wanted to do something like this, they could pass their own laws that that prohibited this sort of religious association. They could do that. But they expected the states, if they wanted to do that, to do that. It was not covered under the First Amendment. The First Amendment was written for Congress, it was written for the federal legislative body specifically. And so when you talk about the First Amendment and how it applies to classrooms, it shouldn't apply to classrooms at all. Classrooms are run by the state. The policies, the curriculum, the decor, all of that falls under state purview. And so there's there's literally no reason why freedom of religion in general is expected or must be expected from the classroom. Not only is that not expected, that would have sounded insane to the founders. Because you have to remember at the time of the founding, we still had primers in in our schools that taught the memorization of the Psalms. Not just the Ten Commandments on the wall, not just the understanding of American and legal history. They expected you to know the Bible and to learn one of the main classes was theology. They expected you to understand Scripture and its application to America. And so we have we have severely misinterpreted the First Amendment through the court system, where now, oh no, no, no. We have to we have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this has nothing to do really with religion, uh, but with historical foundations. We have to prove that it's viable historically to make sure that we can actually pass the policy. We shouldn't need to do that. That is because of a tyrannical regime. It really is still ta it is still federal tyranny because it's the federal courts that are doing this that have ruled this way. It's still a version of federal tyranny that's limited state sovereignty in these cases. And it's not just the first amendment, we know it extends. We know there have been brazen misinterpretations of every amendment, every every form of the Constitution, every part of it, uh, in order to strip states and by extension people of the power and give it to the federal government. One of the good examples of that, federal tyranny on application, the Second Amendment, which is why it is so important that you join our sponsor as a member of Gun Owners of America. Gunners of America is singularly focused on the preservation and the defense of the Second Amendment in its entirety, totality. Right? That means when it says shall not be infringed, you know what that means? It means no compromise. And Gun Owners of America is the only real no-compromise gun lobby in the United States. And they do that in a variety of ways, from campaigning for good candidates to lobbying for good bills, and and of course, the antithesis lobbying against bad bills, it also means that if there is a level of tyranny, if there is a law or an ordinance or a policy or an executive order, whatever it comes out as that is a violation of the Second Amendment, because unlike the first amendment, the Second Amendment does apply to every part of government, they're pushing back on that. If that means suing the government to get it struck down, then so be it, they'll do it. But as it turns out, it's actually not free to campaign, lobby, inform, and sue. Those things cost uh an exorbitant amount of money, which is where you, our listener, comes in. You can go to G O A Houston to become a member, and it is only twenty-five dollars per year. Twenty-five dollars annually. And every dime of that, of course, goes right back to the preservation and the defense of our God-given, constitutionally enshrined Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms, which shall not be in French. One more time, that is G-O-A-Houston.com. With that being said, when we get back from the break, we're gonna jump over because over 1,000 pounds, 1,000 pounds of meth was seized here in the Houston area after officers found a hidden compartment on a trailer during a traffic stop. We like again about the drug epidemic, how that's happening, and why we it's so important that we we we stop it as much as possible. When we get back from the break, if you would like to text in, the number is 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 be right back to talk all about this drug crime after this short break. So hang tight, we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_10 1:26:24

Hi, this is Harold Gunn, inviting you to join Bill Olson and me for Texas' longest running and most awarded outdoor show. Brought to you by Built Ford Tough Trucks, it's Texas Outdoor News. Join us Saturday mornings at six on Patriot Talk 920.

SPEAKER_15 1:26:38

For top quality roofing, call Telgee Roofing at 281-290-0606. Specializing in residential and commercial shingle, metal, and TPO roofing systems, Telgee Roofing offers free, no obligation roof inspections. Telgee Roofing is GAF certified and holds the GAF Presidents Club three-star gold status, an award held by less than 100 roofing companies in all of America. Only top quality materials and accessories are installed by our Master Elite Roofers, ensuring durability and performance. With an average of five roof replacements every day and nearly 60,000 roofs completed, experience and reliability are guaranteed. Telgee Roofing also provides repairs, gutters, cleaning services, and maintenance packages to keep your roof in top shape. Visit Telgeeroofing.com or call 281-290-0606 today.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:20

Hey guys, it's Mike here, co-owner of Aegis Arms Indoor Gun Range, located on 288 M Bellway 8. I wanted to personally invite you guys out to check out our firearms store. We have a huge collection of firearms you can purchase right there. Meet some of our certified instructors. They can do one-on-one classes. We can even get a group together and do classes with your group. And if you want to go downrange, guess what? We can do that too. Just check us out at aegisarms.com. That's a g I s arms.com.

SPEAKER_13 1:27:49

My doctor won't take my plan anymore.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:52

Why is my Medicare supplement so expensive?

SPEAKER_13 1:27:55

My prescription drug plan sucks.

SPEAKER_11 1:27:58

When you need Some help with Medicare, go to senior health services.com.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:06

In all seriousness, we know you're frustrated, but if you'll call 281-894-7540, we'll help you with your Medicare and we'll do it for free. Plus, we're not with the government and we are fully licensed to help.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:19

Craig Klein here, founder and CEO of Sales Nexus. As a Christian business owner, I know that faith and business go hand in hand. That's why I built Sales Nexus to help fellow Christian business leaders and sales teams serve their clients with integrity and excellence. Our all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform isn't just about growing your business, it's about stewarding the opportunities God has placed in your hands. Visit salesnexus.com and start your free 30-day trial today.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:50

Need to make a big impression? At Bullshirts, we've been Houston's go-to for custom screen printing, embroidery, and promo items for over 40 years. Want tees, polos, hats, or giveaways that fit your brand and your budget? We've got you covered. Stop by our showroom at 5485 West Sam Houston Parkway North. Or call 713-983-8080. Bullshirts, the trusted printer of Patriot Talk 920.

SPEAKER_06 1:29:20

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

SPEAKER_12 1:29:26

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 1:29:50

Texellent AC service, your local Christian choice for cooling and comfort. Honest answers, quality service. Call Textellent today at 281-402-5100. That's 281-402-5100.

SPEAKER_08 1:30:06

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.

Meth Bust And Tough Drug Penalties

SPEAKER_15 1:30:42

A routine traffic stop escalated into a major narcotics investigation that led to the seizure of over 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in a trailer and at the suspect's home, according to law enforcement officials. During the stop, investigators reported that they discovered approximately 396 kilograms or 873 pounds of meth hidden inside a false compartment of a trailer. Authorities said an armed suspect was taken into custody at the scene, but the suspect's identity has not yet been released. The case expanded even further when officers executed additional investigative steps, leading them to the suspect's residence. There, they recovered an additional 73 kilograms, or 160 pounds, of meth, along with an unspecified amount of cash believed to be linked to the alleged operation. And so officials have not yet released details regarding the potential charges, but the scale of the seizure map marks one of the larger recent methamphetamine recoveries in this particular region. Of course, the investigation was carried out by the Houston Police Department's Narcotics Division, Squad 5, in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEI, the DEA's Galvison Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Houston, and the Harris County Sheriff's Office. HPD in a Facebook post said, quote, we thank our partners for their continued commitment to keeping dangerous drugs off our streets. And of course, the investigation remains ongoing because where there's smoke, there's fire. And where there's fire, there's the fire spreading. Right? That's how it works. And so, regardless if you think we found smoke or fire here, there's obviously more. And the reality is that when you talk about cases like this, when I think it's very important for us to highlight if there's a thousand pounds of meth, uh how long has he had that? I don't know if does meth expire? What's the expiration date for meth? I don't know. But you'd have to imagine that it's probably not a brand new operation. This is probably there's probably been thousands of pounds that this guy has trap traversed with and sold and whatnot. And so, of course, the next steps in the investigation, finding out who he sold them to, where the cash came from, where he was getting them, right? The the actual because there was no meth lab at his home as far as the investigation has found out so far. And so he's getting it from a producer manufacturer and then importing it. We don't know if he's importing it from another country. Like we have no idea. And so they're gonna continue the investigation to find out all the the interworkings and connections here. But what I want to highlight, and I think it's very important to highlight, is the amount of devastation that drugs, dangerous drugs like this one, and I get it, right? We could have conversations about how there should be a a level of discretion used to differentiate between drugs. I do believe that. That's why we have different schedules for different substances. Obviously, there is a difference between heroin and marijuana, right? We can ign we can acknowledge that both are bad. We can say that both should be outlawed, we can say all of that, and also acknowledge that there is probably a a vast cavernous difference between the two drugs. Right? You could you could certainly come out and say, okay, so from some of the metal applications of certain psychedelic substances in in uh what they call microdosing, if you look at psychedelics and you compare that to meth or to fentanyl, right, obviously there are differences in those sorts of substances. And so I think it's very important for us to be very aware of how we need to handle these sorts of drugs, right? And and again, it can be a case-by-case basis, but based on the kind of drugs, the amount of drugs, and what your plans are with them. Right. If you're if you're selling, you know, very low amounts of marijuana, I'm not gonna argue that the same exact thing should happen as if you're traveling with a thousand pounds of meth. There are two distinct cases. I think it should be handled differently. But I I think Singapore provide provides a a very, very clear, I want to say very clear way that we are supposed to handle these sorts of drug issues. And the reality is that Singapore handles them very, very well, and you know they do because you can see the effects. Because Singapore doesn't have a massive drug issue, and by extension, as I've highlighted before, Singapore doesn't have a big homeless issue either. You want to know why? Because of how they handle the drug epidemic in Singapore. Now, Singapore has one of the strictest anti-drug systems in the world. Uh its approach is built around deterrence, aggressive enforcement, mandatory penalties, and a belief that we should all hold that harsher punishment prevents widespread drug abuse and this sort of organized trafficking that we have here. Now, drug offenses are divided into categories in Singapore, just so everyone's clear. Uh possession, consumption, trafficking, import, export, manufacturing, and repeat offenses. But even small quantities can lead to very severe consequences. And so one of the most controversial aspects is that Singapore law includes legal presumption. For example, if someone possesses more than a threshold amount of certain drugs, the law may presume intended to traffic unless the accused proves otherwise. So I'm not saying we should go as as in every shape, way, and form, the same as Singapore. What I am saying is the harsh penalties where we can look at this. Penalties escalate rapidly, uh, depending on the drug and the quantity. Examples can include potentially large fines, mandatory terms, uh caning, which if you don't know, it's basically like flogging in the public square, life imprisonment, and death penalty for trafficking cases. Singapore still uses capital punishment for tracking offenses involving quantities above statutory thresholds. Examples for the death penalty include heroin, methamphetamine, and and most drugs above large trafficking quantities, of which 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine was certainly applied. And so the death penalty. The government maintains that it targets major traffickers, not casual users. It protects society from these organized narcotics networks, and it acts as a deterrent. And so judges have gained limited discretion if they accused only a courier or they had uh assisted authorities, diminished mental responsibility, you know, like they're disabled. Or, you know, if they just they were a low-level street dealer, they might not get the death penalty, they might get a caning instead, they might get flogged, you know, it's where and so I think it's very, very important that we look at that and they say, okay, so that worked, and it's just. Those are the only two things I care about. Is it just and did it work? The answer to both of those is yes. It did. It's just and it works. The US is so soft on drug crime, particularly. I'm not saying go after casual drug users, the ones who are addicted. I'm saying go after the manufacturers to get people who are addicted off of it without even having to explore that. Just by going after these people that are traveling a thousand pounds, manufacturing it, producing it, currying it, by going after them with very harsh penalties, like and I think we certainly should bring back public forms of I don't want to say torture, but but whippings, floggings. Like some sort of you get caned in the street. That's what happens. It is humiliating, it hurts, it reminds you, don't do that again. And of course, that escalates for repeated offenses. If the caning didn't teach you a lesson, I guess you gotta die, right? Though once you're caned and you know what happens next, you really, really think very cautiously about whether you want to do that. And you know it works because they don't have a drug epidemic and they have very low levels of homelessness. Not non-existent, but I've never said it's a uh uh a fix all, but it's a fix most. And we have been so soft on crime that people like this get away with it, they get slaps on the wrist. It's just a drug infraction, and people are are hurt by it. We have a massive productivity crisis, a massive homelessness crisis, and we're trying to build all these fancy, while we have a budget deficit, trying to build all these fancy, fancy, schmancy uh homeless shelters, instead of just, yeah, how about you just kill the guy that's giving the drugs out? How about that? That would fix it. But that being said, to wrap up the show, when we get back, we're gonna jump over and talk a little bit about how Texas has unveiled this new do not hire tool for teachers. We'll talk about that tool when we get back from the break. As always, if you'd like 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 Lord willing. I will return right after this break to wrap up the morning show for today and this week. Don't go anywhere, because I'll be right back.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:36

Houston, this is Tom Gresham, inviting all gun owners to join me live every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. for gun talk. Call in with your questions or range reports, and let's tackle everything Second Amendment. Here on Houston's Leader for Gun Owners, Patriot Talk 920.

SPEAKER_06 1:38:53

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

SPEAKER_12 1:38:58

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_02 1:39:23

Aegis Arms Indoor Gun Range invites you to visit us at 3915-South Sam Houston Parkway East in Houston and see all what we have to offer. You can have our on-site gunsmith adjust your personal firearm, sign up for our various classes, plan your next event, and use one of our clean ventilated lanes to practice or to cite in a new purchase. You can also give us a call at 713-503-7645 or visit Aegisarms.com. That's AGISARMS.com.

SPEAKER_17 1:39:53

Are pests creeping into your home? ProMax Pest Control is here to help. ProMax Pest Control tackles everything from roaches to ropes, keeping your home safe and pest free with fast, reliable service you can count on. Take back your space today. Call ProMax Pest Control at 832-283-0741 to schedule your service. That's 832-283-0741. ProMax Pest Control. Keeping pests out so you can rest easy.

SPEAKER_20 1:40:23

Listen up, Patriots. Got armory needs? Then you need Fire Armadillo. They've got guns, tactical gear, body armor, firearm training classes, and more. Call 832-437-3869. You won't find a better place to go for your firearm needs than Fire Armadillo. Call 832-437-3869 or visit firearmadillo.com for more information. Get fired up, Houston, with Firearmadillo.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:53

Houston, this is Craig Klein, founder and CEO of Sales Nexus. At Sales Nexus, we're proud to support businesses and organizations that make a difference, like Patriot Talk 920. As one of our valued clients, Patriot Talk 920 trusts SalesNexus to manage their leads, automate communications, and build strong relationships with listeners and advertisers. Ready to take your sales to the next level? Visit salesnexus.com and start your free 30-day trial today.

SPEAKER_07 1:41:25

Texellent AC service isn't your average HVAC company. We're high performance comfort engineers. We don't guess, we test. We design full system solutions for airflow, humidity, and air quality issues that others overlook. Whether it's one hot room, high bills, or Houston humidity, we deliver real comfort. Call 281-402-5100. Texellent AC service, where custom air service is our specialty.

SPEAKER_09 1:41:54

Hi, this is Harold John. And this is Bill Olsen. Texas Outdoor News is the longest-running, most awarded outdoor radio show in the state for a lot of good reasons.

SPEAKER_10 1:42:02

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 Trucks and your best in Texas Ford dealers. The state's number one outdoor radio show, Texas Outdoor News, Saturday mornings at six on Patriot Talk, 920.

Texas Teacher Do Not Hire Tool

SPEAKER_15 1:42:45

So as of May 1st, the Texas Education Agency is now connected to the search engine for multi-agency reportable conduct, a pre-screening tool that incorporates D data from multiple sources, including the state's do not hire a registry of individuals ineligible to work in a Texas public school. The centralized database is designed to streamline background checks for previously reported abuse, neglect, exploitation, or any other kind of general misconduct. Now, SEMARC, again, the search engine for multi-agency reportable conduct, we're going to just call it SIMARC. That information can be used to determine an individual's suitability for employment, volunteer roles, contracts, certifications, or licensure. Quote, by bringing together reportable conduct in data in a single secure system, CIMARC strengthens how participating Texas agencies protect children and other vulnerable populations. The TJJD, or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, was the first agency to use CIMARC in live operations earlier this spring, and now it's been followed by the TEA's launch this month. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the Health and Human Services Commission will also be added in the coming months. CIMARC was created in response to legislation acted back in 2023 as Senate Bill 1849. Now, of course, while there were already some data sharing agreements, there was no sort of centralized source of data to ensure that schools don't hire bad actors with demonstrated histories of harming children. Which is why you see in a lot of these cases, after someone gets fired, after someone's being accused of these things, you find out, oh, seems like they may have done something. Oh, oh, look, they have a history of theft, a history of being fired before for allegations of misconduct. Why did we hire them in the first place? Don't we have better background checks? Well, that should no longer be an excuse. On the bright side, for us, it means that there is now evidence of, oh, look, we have all the available data, don't hire that person. On the downside for them, if they do it anyway, they no longer have the excuse of sorry, we didn't have centralized data. Well, now you do. Now there is literally no reason why teachers should be hired that are that have ever been or will ever be dangerous to children. There's just no reason. If you have any sort of the background on this person, you'd have known, and now you do. With that being said, that's gonna do it for the show today and this week. As always, I want to greatly appreciate everybody that tuned in, all of our listeners. Thanks for everyone that texted in today and the rest of this week. We greatly appreciate each and every one of you. And I mean that. Lord willing, I'll be back bright and early on Monday morning at 6 a.m. In the meantime. Enjoy the weather, enjoy some of the rain, though it might be a little bit much, two to three inches, I'm hearing. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and ladies and gentlemen, Godspeed.