The Lone Star Conservative
Join Michael Wilson as The Lone Star Conservative every morning from 6am - 8am on Patriot Talk 920 AM in Houston, TX. Michael will bring you the latest political news from the Greater Houston Area and around the country while providing commentary from a Christian conservative perspective.
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The Lone Star Conservative
Texas GOP Convention Day 2
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Live from the Texas GOP State Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center, we sit down with voices shaping the legal and political fights Texans argue about every day, and we keep the focus on what actually happens when theory meets the real world.
First, we talk self-defense and gun rights with Armed Attorneys Emily Taylor and Richard Hayes, who explain why Texas law is not a one-size-fits-all problem and why their new Ready2Act membership is built around three moments that matter most: before an incident (education and personal legal guidance), during an incident (an emergency attorney hotline), and after an incident (criminal and civil defense). We get specific about the 911 call, what you should say, when you should stop talking, and how adrenaline and memory gaps can turn a “helpful” statement into a long-term legal trap under Texas self-defense law and Chapter 9 realities.
Then we shift to the abortion debate with Bradley Pierce from Abolish Abortion Texas, focusing on equal protection, intent, and why activism inside party platforms and legislative priorities becomes a battleground. We also hit Houston’s budget fight and new fees, the role of grassroots clubs like Cypress Republicans, and what it looks like to run where the party usually doesn’t, with congressional candidate Martha Fiero talking crime, affordability, and community basics like access to grocery stores. We close with plans from the newly elected chair of the Republican Party of Texas D'rinda Randall on get-out-the-vote, voter registration, youth engagement, and staying active after Election Day.
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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!
Live From The Texas GOP Convention
SPEAKER_16From deep in the heart of Texas, it's Houston's God-loving patriot and the voice of reason. This is the Lone Star Conservative, Michael Wilson.
SPEAKER_29I'm a bandit. You're banded. Let's all get a banded at the time.
SPEAKER_07Welcome back,
Armed Attorneys Launch Ready To Act
SPEAKER_07ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative live and on site at the GOP Texas State Convention here at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Come on out, you have a couple hours left, but we'll be doing the show till six o'clock. We'll also be here tomorrow here at the Patriot 920 booth alongside the Armed Attorneys and Gun Owners of America. Speaking of, I actually have the Armed Attorneys with me here on air, Emily Taylor and Richard. Hayes, welcome to the show, guys. Thank you. Yeah, thank you for having us. Now, obviously, the big news is that the armed attorneys is no longer just a YouTube channel and legal defense for other people. You guys have a brand new membership, and I I want to spend a lot of time kind of focusing on that because I think the expertise in the background has kind of developed to this point. So kicking it off, can you guys walk me through the background of where this all started? Because obviously you're lawyers by trade and then YouTube. How did that kind of all start play out?
SPEAKER_06Sure. Well, you know, we've been focused on firearms law and self-defense for a long time now. Um, you know, Richard and I were actually, we were first criminal prosecutors together in Galveston County, and for the last twelve years or so, we have been practicing together in the gun law world. It was a great way to get um to get to do the right thing, right? You know, you work for the government and you end up putting, you know, not serving victims the proper justice that they need. You end up putting away people who maybe don't need to get put away, and then you become a criminal defense attorney, and then maybe you're not really serving justice there either. But when you get to do the work of protecting people's gun rights and of protecting self-defenders, you get to make sure that you are doing the right thing all the time. And so that's what really drew us to gun law. That's why we've done it for so long, and we've gotten to be really well-rounded firearms attorneys now, and and of course now we are launching into this new product.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, so I mean it's it's a full spectrum that we've been working on for such a long time with gun owners of America, doing the legislative side, with criminal, you know, criminal trial, criminal appeals, uh the civil defense, everything that gun owners need.
SPEAKER_07And the information in the background, right? The YouTube channel's huge. All the information you're providing just, you know, to to people for free where they can just come and access, hey, what's going on? What do I need to know?
SPEAKER_06Oh, exactly. That's our side project, right? That's in our free time. We try to learn everything we can do.
SPEAKER_07I'm sure there's a lot of free time.
SPEAKER_06So much free time. But that's what we do. We try to learn everything we can about gun law, not just in Texas, but what's going on all over the country and make sure that we can educate everyone we can.
SPEAKER_07Right, right. Now, obviously, uh, when we talk about the membership, it's reminding people of a lot of different membership options for making sure they're legally protected. What did you kind of see as a gap? Obviously, with a lot of experience coming into this, having to deal with gun law, having to deal with, you know, all of the research for not only GOA, but for your own YouTube channel, you were very clearly informed, and certainly something kind of popped up. You said, hey, this is gonna be our next big thing. We have to do this, there's a reason. What kind of drove that?
SPEAKER_09So we were looking for an incredible solution for Texans. What we see going on across the country is a one-size-fits-all solution. And that's not how the law works. The law is you think about the 50 states, all their different gun laws. Think about the federal and the interaction between all these things. And so the big hole we saw was we we don't want a one-size-fits-all solution. We want something that is for Texans and for and and because of that, we're not giving folks things they don't need, and they're not getting, you know, wasting money on things that don't benefit them. Maybe somebody in some other state needs it, but you don't need that here in Texas. So we wanted a core Texas product that really serves the interests of Texans.
SPEAKER_06And not just that, we are the Texas gun lawyers. So who better to bring them the Texas focused product than I think the guys in the state who know the most about Texas gun law? It was just a natural fit.
SPEAKER_07Right, of course. And so I think a lot of that's very interesting because you know you look at, and we've talked about this before, but I want to bring it back up because I think it's something people miss out on before we really dive into all of the specific details, is sort of that background. A lot of people look at Texas, and as we've said before, they look at Texas and they assume that is freedom as a state. That is freedom incarnate. And we wish that were true. Right. I think all of us desire that. Maybe one day it can be true. Uh, but we know that today it's not. And unfortunately, that results in a lot of cases where we're still fighting with a lot of bills, as GOA is doing all the time. There's still so much going on. Hey, here's where they're trying to take your rights every single session. Here's where they already have, and we need to change that with new laws. And so obviously there was a need here in the state for that sort of product to say, I know you think you're safe just by nature of being a Texan, but you actually need more than that.
SPEAKER_09Well, the vast majority of Texans live in, think, concentrated areas where you have liberal DAs that hate self-defense. Harris County, Bear County, Dallas County, El Paso. And so I think this, yeah, for you you you think of a stereotypical Texan, you don't think of the vast majority of people living in these cities where the threat of prosecution when you are forced to defend yourself is so real.
SPEAKER_07Right. And so I want to get into that. So can you kind of give us the plain English version of Ready to Act? What what what is this? What does it look like? What is the before the incident, during, after, self-defense? What is kind of the culmination of it all as kind of a simple sort of look?
SPEAKER_06Well, you know, before and after is is why you have us, is why you would need the armed attorneys programs. Because before the incident, you sign up as a member, you can stay extraordinarily well educated, not just with the education we're already providing to everyone, but that is general education. You'll see on our YouTube channel we say this was not legal advice, right? Right. But you join this membership and you get to call us with your specific questions. We can tailor our advice to you, to what's happening in your life, what your home looks like, your specific defense needs, and that's going to help keep you safe, keep you legally protected should you ever have to act in self-defense. You know what to do. You've trained your brain from the outset with what the law is, and then unfortunately, you have that self-defense incident. If you then, you know, call our attorney 911 defense line, we can continue that process.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, so that's the during. You know, you find yourself in the worst day of your life where you're forced to save yourself, save your loved one, your family. Well, most folks don't have a plan. They go to the range, they practice, they get on target, right? They but they don't know, all right, I just had to defend myself. What do I do next? Well, that's what we have. We have our emergency 911 defense line, connects you straight to an attorney. Um, attorney who understands Texas self-defense law, can assist you right away. And this can go so many different directions. We don't need to go down it, but that immediate attorney intervention, I cannot tell you, in the thousands of cases that we have helped with, that early intervention can mitigate so much uh damage to a potential self-defender. And then I think that brings us to all right, you find yourself in this situation having to talk to police. Maybe you get charged criminal, like maybe you get sued civilly. That's where we have the third prong of this program, the after.
SPEAKER_06Right, which is what we do. I mean, we have defended self-defenders now for over a decade. We know every pitfall, we know everything that the state can throw at you. We are uh, you know, I would say more educated than almost anyone else on the actual law in chapter nine of the Texas Penal Code. It's what we live and breathe every single day, and we're there for you, unlimited, no out-of-pocket fees, and we don't stop until you are free.
SPEAKER_07She just didn't want to say you are the best informed because you're never supposed to say that. She was like, we are nearly, if not, the best informed, uh, which is incredible. And so that's the next thing I want to get into to give a little more detail, not just to the service itself, but to the kind of access you provide here. You know, a lot of people certainly have questions about what self-defense looks like, when it can look like self-defense, all these sorts of questions, uh, you know, tons of litigation going across the spectrum in a variety of ways. Uh two kind of separate questions, and I'll ask them in one. I think you can remember them. What sort of questions do you frequently get asked before an incident? What kind of questions should you ask before an incident?
SPEAKER_09Yeah, I'll say the the big one we get asked before an incident is all right, what do I do immediately following this thing? So you know, obviously, you want a safe scene, you don't want anybody else to be in danger. You hear these statistics about home break-ins, there being multiple assailants. So, all right, all that stuff aside, assume the scene is safe. If you've had to use deadly force in defense, your first call should be to 911. And that's the other thing we talk about. What do I need to tell the 911 operator? Name, location, you need police and EMS. You know, I say a short, truthful defensive statement. Hey, someone just tried to kill me, I had to defend myself. And then the final step, hanging up. Your next call has to be to your lawyer. Right. And the call, you know, little bonus question Do I have to stay on the phone with 911? Do I have to answer if they call me back? No, not here in the state of Texas. You don't need to do that. But you do need to speak to an attorney right away.
SPEAKER_07Right. Um, and so that kind of leads into all of the rest of this, uh, which is what sort of mistakes have have you seen made by citizens who maybe are responsible gun owners, maybe are acting in legitimate self-defense. And I'm sure some of those mistakes are maybe staying on the line or not calling their lawyers. What kind of avoidable mistakes are you often seeing that people need representation to be aware that they shouldn't make?
SPEAKER_06The most avoidable mistake is talking too much because you've defended yourself. You you know you had to save your own life, you feel like you've done exactly the right thing, and then you know, we all have this as as good citizens, we have this instinct, oh, the police are here, they are here to help me. But unfortunately, when you're the guy who's just pulled the trigger, that's not going to be true. They are there to investigate a crime and you are the suspect. And it is so easy to give more information than you should in your heightened state. We want them to have a full self-defense statement. But you need to run that through with an attorney first, because if you do it on your own, the sort of things that you are going to say, first of all, could be incorrect. They could not sound good. I mean, I've had people say things on 911 or things
The First Call After Self-Defense
SPEAKER_06on the scene that sounded absolutely horrific. Right. Not because they did the wrong thing, not because they're bad people, but because they've just had the worst day of their lives. And then the thing that people don't think about is if you're going to give a statement and you leave out incredibly important components from that statement, you don't get to go add those back in later because when you do, that's when the the law says, hold on a second. If it was so important, if that was fresh and forefront in your mind when you shot that guy, why didn't you say it then? I bet now you're trying to cover your butt. And so you have to make sure that first statement is the most complete and the best, and you truly cannot do that without an attorney.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, and I I just want to throw something in. And it's not because our folks want to be misleading, hide the ball, or anything like that. You just don't know how a critical incident is going to affect you. The chemicals that go on in your body, maybe time speeds up, maybe time slows down, distances, number of shots, things you hear, everything you perceive. You can't control what your body is kind of taking in. And so again, it's not folks trying to lie, trying to hide the ball, trying to get a trick over on the cops. That's you know why you get your lawyer. It's because you are some of these folks are physically incapable of conveying the information. You think about something where it's like they just say, Oh, I got it on camera. Well, all right, now the police know there's a recording of this thing. You know, you just don't know how. And maybe it's good, maybe it's bad. I I you don't know, but you don't want you want to be prepared. You want the gatekeeper, you want the lawyer to decide, hey, do we release this information? When do we release this information? If at all, and so it's so important.
SPEAKER_06Right. And bear in mind, if you are a member of law enforcement and you have shot someone in an officer involved shooting, you generally will get 72 hours before you have to go give a detailed statement about that incident. Why? Because all of the psychology, all of the physiology says that three sleep cycles are incredibly important for you to process and you to be able to regurgitate that in the way that is uh the most accurate, uh, you know, in as much as anything else. And so it's the benefit that law enforcement gets that unfortunately civilians don't get. Right, right. So you need that attorney by your side.
SPEAKER_07Right, absolutely. And so obviously, whether you make some of those mistakes or you don't, uh these people, of course, as you've talked about for a long time, like even before all of this, they still deserved representation from a civil and criminal perspective. What does that step of the process look like? Uh they've gone through this, it's been a time, liberal DA or not, they get charged, whether that's you know, criminally or they get sued civilly. Does this continue on into that and what does that look like?
SPEAKER_09Yeah, so the the when you defend yourself, that is just the beginning, right? It the legal process can take you. It starts right there. It starts right there. And so, yes, you know, criminal charges, you have a statute of limitations, they have this full statute of limitations to charge you. Uh but criminal representation, I mean, you're it it goes from the full gambit of, hey, I just assaulted Sun Moon to, hey, I was forced to take a life in self-defense. Um, and that can be so expensive, so time consuming, and go on for so long. But guess what? That's just phase one. All right, let's say you're acquitted, you're found not guilty. Hopefully you haven't had to, you know, get a HELOC to hire a lawyer, right? You still could get sued civilly, and that's the other kind of one-two punch to all this. And so, again, nobody's sitting down at the courthouse saying this is a good lawsuit, this was actually the dirtbag criminal. No one's saying this is a bad lawsuit. So these things get litigated, the legal expenses are so high, and that's why we had to had to have this program, you know, because we don't want good people getting wiped out when they save themselves.
SPEAKER_07Right, absolutely. So to wrap up here, uh, and I'm sure you might be a little biased, but I want to get your take on this. When people are comparing a lot of these programs, when they're looking and saying, hey, I I I do see the importance of this, uh, even as a preventative measure, so I can ask my questions, I can be aware, I may I avoid a lot of the pitfalls and mistakes in the moment, and so that, you know, should that happen, I don't then want to be let, you know, lawyer fees and everything else that's associated with the stress, not even the stress of having to find a lawyer that's gonna represent you well on top of everything. They already have all this, but there are a variety of programs. What would be your advice when you're looking at those programs to say, hey, here's what you need to focus on, here's what you need to look at, here's what you need to think about when you're making that decision.
SPEAKER_06Absolutely. You need to look for something that has immediate access to an attorney on an emergency hotline, not an attorney that's licensed in a different state other than Texas. You need a Texas attorney who is going to answer the phone at three in the morning when your incident actually happens. Right. And you need no out-of-pocket fees, you need no, I have to reimburse the company if I got convicted of a criminal offense. You need real coverage that doesn't get withdrawn, that doesn't have insurance backers, because a lot of these problems come through insurance. Right. And I mean ultimately, you need the best gun lawyers in Texas. Now, I believe that's what we're doing.
SPEAKER_09I wonder who that could be. No, I 100% agree with all of that. And then on top of that, I mean, you don't want going back to that one size fits all solution, you know, you see these things like, oh, we got your red flag coverage, or you know, we're gonna protect you from whatever. Guess what? We banned red flags in Texas. So that's not something that we need to charge you money for. So you want to find the right price that doesn't sell you anything you don't need. Right. And you know, you want folks who believe in this. That's the other thing. And we do. We eat, sleep, and breathe this, we believe in it, and we're here to help.
SPEAKER_07Perfect. So as we wrap up, last question, and that is all right, so they they realize, okay, so we have Texas lawyers who have a history of obvious like authority credibility, right? That's true. Like you can say, hey, we do have the credibility to say we know what we're talking about, we know what we're doing. This may be a new venture, but it's not new to us. So for people who have made that decision or who are still considering it, where can they go to reach out, contact, find out more information, or if they're saying, you know what, I'm ready to sign up. Is that kind of all in the same place? Where can they find that?
SPEAKER_06Absolutely. Well, if you're ready to sign up, go on over to armedatorneys.com. You can get comprehensive coverage for $19.99 a month. But if you'd like to know a little bit more about us first, go over to YouTube, go subscribe to our channel. Our channel is Armed Attorneys. Go s understand that we do know what we're talking about. Check us out. You'll like us and you'll be ready.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. Well, Richard Hayes, Emily Taylor, as always, I appreciate y'all's time coming on. And I'm very excited for this new project. I think it's gonna be excellent. I'm very glad to see the gun lawyers coming in and saying we're gonna continue to be the gun lawyers in yet another aspect. Yeah, you got an exclusive. You're the first person to announce it. That's so cool. That's so cool. Well, I'm very excited for you guys, and Lord willing, we're talking to you again in the future with lots more great news.
SPEAKER_06Yes. Thank you.
SPEAKER_07With that being said, ladies and gentlemen, when we get back from the break, lots of news coming up, lots of interviews coming up through the rest of the show that you certainly will not want to miss. So stick around. You can also text in during the live show at 713-779-5978. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You're listening to Lone Star Conservative Special Edition live at the GOP State Convention. And Lord willing, I'll be right back after this next break. Hang tight.
SPEAKER_18This is Todd Starns, and I'm proud to be a gun-totin Bible clinging flag waving patriot. Listen to my show weekdays at 11 on Patriot Talk 920. The revolution starts now.
SPEAKER_11Here's Jim Dotton, host of Texas Home Improvement and owner of Dew West Foundation Repair.
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SPEAKER_17Now, time for another Otis advisory. Thanks to the new Orange Sunrise over Washington, a system-wide Paras Dalsis has started to begin removing the waste and waste byproducts from the gut of government. In its place, luxury, prosperity, and of course endless boogie. But as always, Donkey Darkness is on the rise to stop common sense before it breaks out. The next wave of pajama-wearing protesters are daydreaming of the day they'll throw their avocado toast at police or the iceman. That'll show them who's paused. In the meantime, China's been busy busting heads with their new AI thing. Look, ours has long pointy teeth. So it's better, said China. Our guys just hid under their desk. Not good, said the boys at Golden Sachs. Time to call Agent Otis with alcohol, tobacco, and alcohol. Look, you've got your good AI and your discount AI, said Otis. How can you tell the difference? Well, if it's two tin cans and a piece of string, take it back. That's not real AI. Ask your dog if she's a Republican. Real AI would know. Discount AI would just blame it on climate change. And you can get plenty of that already just by licking the top of a nine-volt battery. Maybe you had a girl like that. Remember, if you're planning to send a pajama gram this year, the whole thing, ears, feet, and tail, maybe ask AI for another idea. That's another profile encourage from Radio's Test Kitchen. This is your Uncle Otis. I'll see you at the Peace March.
SPEAKER_20Hi, this is Harold Gunn, inviting you to join Bill Olson and me for Texas's 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 6 on Patriot Talk 920.
Texas A&M Race Institute And Campus Politics
SPEAKER_07We have a short little segment here. I'm not going to talk about too much, but I do want to bring this topic up since we do have a little bit of time before the next interview. Despite not offering any courses, any majors, or any degree programs for students, Texas AM University's Race and Ethnic Studies Institute has become a powerful hub for both race and ethnicity themed research, which is, as always, in these sorts of studies, steeped in these this sort of grievance language. The Race and Ethnic Studies Institute, it runs the gambit of the left-wing academic framework, including, and I'm going to quote from AM's course guide on this race slash ethnic slash ethno racial equity and inequality. Quote Africana studies, African American studies, black studies, and Latina O X E studies, Mexican American studies, Chicano O X studies. If some of that didn't make any sense to you, we're on the same page. Didn't make any sense to me either. I don't know what O X O X E stands for. Nevertheless, the Institute describes itself as Quote, dedicated to fostering, celebrating, and producing world-class cutting-edge research related to race and ethnic studies among the community of scholars at Texas AM University and beyond. This was founded back in the nineteen nineties, by the way, it's nothing new. It was the Institute, which functions as a research-focused organization dedicated to studying race, ethnicity, and their intersections with societal factors like class, gender, and sexuality. So I'm going to read to you the actual mission of the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute from Texas AM. And it is to highlight the strengths and academic leadership in research relating to the study of race and ethnicity, supporting the research and scholarship in the humanities as well as social and behavioral sciences that contribute to the study of race and ethnicity. Provide intellectual leadership in advancing interdisciplinary partnerships that pursue research aimed at understanding the salience of race and ethnicity for local and national cultures, public policy, and public discourse, both nationally and globally. Cultivate an intellectual environment that fosters supportive mentor. You could you kind of get the gist. I could go on and on and on and on and talk to you all day about everything you need to know. But the reality is you already know it all. It's been coming out of AM for at this point years. We've replaced campus leadership, we've gone after some of the craziest of the craziest, and yet it's still going on in our very so-called conservative universities. We have it going on every day. And even when they say we've removed the majors, we've removed the programs, we've removed the studies, we've removed the courses, yet they leave their institute up and running. Why? Two reasons I'll give you is a go to the break. Reason number one, because they're not abandoning their principles today. Because the principles they held that we, the people, have kind of forced them out of because of our own culture that's actually taking off quite well, holding higher institutions accountable. But because we're doing that, they've been forced to kind of go back into the shadows. But don't be don't be convinced that the shadows mean they're gone, it just means they're hiding. Point number two, the second reason they're doing this still today. And that is because they have grand and great and grand plans for their vision of the future. The reason they won't end the institute period is because they believe in whether that's tomorrow or it's five years down the road or it's 20 years down the road, they think long term and they have a plan for the day when they get back in power. They're able to bring the culture back that believes in these sorts of crazy ideologies, and they're going to bring it back front-centered because they will k still have all of the infrastructure they need to again start propagating the youth into believing false narratives about the world, about reality, about our history, about our country, our heritage, and our beliefs. And that's happening at the supposed conservative college in the state of Texas, subsidized, by the way, by your taxpayer dollars. Welcome to Texas AM, ladies and gentlemen. With that being said, when we get back from the break, another very exciting guest coming up. That's Bradley Pierce from Abolish Abortion coming on to kind of talk to us about what the pro-life movement is, what it means to actually support life, to support justice, to support logic, and to kind of understand where we're at in this fight, especially since we're here at the GOP State Convention for Texas, understanding what's going on in the fight for Texas today, where we need to go from here, all that and so much more coming up in the next segment. As always, if you would like to text in, the number is 713-779-5978. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You're listening to the special edition, like I said, live at the GOP State of Texas Convention at the George R. Brown. And Lord willing, I'll be right back in the next segment with a very good interview. So hang tight, and I'll be back soon.
SPEAKER_18Patriot Talk 920 is your Houston base camp for the America first movement. I'm Todd Starns, and join me weekdays at eleven on Patriot Talk 920 and online at Patriot Talk920.com.
SPEAKER_05And now another segment from the Dave Ramsey Show here on Patriot Talk 920. I'm thinking about selling my house.
SPEAKER_04My son's father and I live together, and it it's not the best situation.
SPEAKER_19You own it. Yeah, he's actually standing next to me because he can't go inside. I can hear it in your voice. You sound really afraid to me. When is he leaving?
SPEAKER_02Uh, it's a great question.
SPEAKER_19Okay, do you have family in the area? You need to get in the car and go to your dad's house when you hang up the phone. I've turned that already. Do I need to call the police for you?
SPEAKER_04We've already gone through that. Where's your son? And uh his father's home in front of my car.
SPEAKER_19You and your son are in danger.
SPEAKER_04I want to fix it.
SPEAKER_03That's why I want this in my home and I just want to be here.
SPEAKER_19No, no, no, honey. We don't need to call a realtor. You and the baby need to get out of there. You need to call the police, and you need to call your father. You hold on a second. Kelly is gonna make sure that law enforcement gets over there, okay?
SPEAKER_05Thank you, sir.
SPEAKER_19And we're gonna make sure you get taken care of.
SPEAKER_05Take control of your money and get ready for a life of financial freedom. Tune into the Dave Ramsey Show weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. here on Patriot Talk 920 and at PatriotTalk920.com.
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SPEAKER_11Here's Jim Dotton, host of Texas Home Improvement and owner of Dew West Foundation Repair.
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SPEAKER_18Patriot 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.
Abolishing Abortion And Equal Protection
SPEAKER_07And joining me now for this segment, a very exciting guest, by the way. That's Bradley Pierce from Abolish Abortion coming on the show, talk all about abolition, understanding the differences, getting into some of the nuance that actually, as it turns out, nuance is incredibly important in both politics and in life. Welcome to the show, Bradley. Hey, thanks for having me on. It's great to be with you. Absolutely. Let's kick it off with a basic understanding. When people hear abolish abortion, they might think, oh, I I want to do that, but they may not know what all that entails. Can you walk us through what a abolish abortion from a kind of a summary perspective is?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, it basically just means that we believe that abortion that we should be treating babies before they're born the same as we treat babies and other people after they're born. We're all made in the image of God from conception, from fertilization. So the same laws that protect my life and your life should protect their lives as well.
SPEAKER_07Right, absolutely. It's a good start. So that I think unfortunately has kind of created a bit of a rift, especially here at the convention, actually, where they're debating planks and they're adding things or trying to take things away. I'm sure you're well aware of all of that, especially in the pro-life movement specifically. Um we don't need to name any names to get into it, but there has been a lot of debate as to differences between what it means to be quote unquote pro-life and quote unquote abolitionist. Can you kind of describe those differences to me?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, absolutely. You know, we believe, you know, first of all, we start with the word of God, right? As an abolitionist, we're really just Christians that, you know, we're applying Christianity to the issue of abortion. Right. So what how do we do that? We want to glorify God in everything that we do, so we're unapologetically Christian. We're doing this because this is what God says to do. We're obeying God. He says outlaw murder, outlaw child sacrifice, so that's what we should do. We don't apologize for that at all. Like Christ is king, right? King of kings.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely.
SPEAKER_15And so from there, then we say, well, what does God say to do? Well, he says justice without partiality. So no one's supposed to be giving have some license to murder, license to kill their children, or anything like that. There's not supposed to be protections that, well, you get protections after you get to a certain age. Um so that's what abolitionists believe. Then that then there's the really the pro-life movement, and there, of course, there's tons of, you know, your average pro-lifer out there, they they're hearing what I'm saying, and they're like, oh yeah, I totally agree with that. What's the difference? But a lot of the pro-life leaders out there in pro-life, establishment. Establishment, right, they oppose a lot of what I just said. They oppose what we call equal protection. Again, biblically, what's called impartial justice in the Constitution is called equal protection. They oppose that. And they say, no, we need to be writing into our laws, and they are writing into our laws, that mothers do not have any liability for aborting their own children, so it's legal for women to abort.
SPEAKER_07Right. And so, can we walk through the logic? Because I think I think this will be the easiest thing to kind of take away from the whole thing, is the logic behind a lot of this. And it's a very clear syllogism to me, but I want to kind of get it from you. So walk us through the logic from understanding, okay, so if you're already at the pro-life movement, you already believe, okay, baby, living human being from conception, to the end result. How do you get there logically?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, well, it's again, it's it's once you say that life becomes a fertilization, okay, and then okay, what are the laws protecting my life? Then it's really just it's very simple. That's what I wanted to get. That's what I kind of wanted to do.
SPEAKER_07Exactly. That's kind of why I kind of put you on the spot with it, because I knew where it would go. Uh, but that's the reality. If we say, and if you're already in the pro-life movement, this is something that fascinates me about people that don't realize this. If you're in the movement, you already affirm that that baby is alive from the moment of conception. Right? At the moment that that there's a living human being. Right. So the next step is obviously, well, do we believe that that human being is deserving of rights? Well, if it's a human being, as Americans, I mean, as Christians and as Americans, we do actually affirm that. That's constitutional. Right. And so if you've already reached, that's the debate with the abortion activists, is they don't think it's a living human being. They'll debate, well, it's a life, but it w when we say human, we start inflicting a sort of emotion. There's things that we don't believe that in the pro-life movement. And so once you get into that part already where you believe there's a living human being, it's the necessary logical step to say they they deserve equal protection under the law. Now I want to get into that. One of the big concerns, and I think it's worth addressing, is that criminal liability for what kind of happens as as a result, even if it's logical. Um and I think there needs to be an understanding that the law does and should distinguish between instances like we can talk about uh up in, I think it was Montgomery County, where you had a guy who gave his girlfriend an abortion pill secretly in a drink, right, uh, and it killed the baby, right? I think there's a lot of I don't even want to say well-meaning, but there's a lot of activists who would look at that and say, see, she technically drank it, is she gonna be charged trying to kind of get a gotcha? How does the law distinguish between coercion, influence, who did it, who didn't do it? How does that kind of play out? Right.
SPEAKER_15Right. Obviously, you know, in order for something to be a crime, there have to be two things. You have to ki commit a an act, in this case, causing the death of someone, in this case a pre-born child. Right. And then but you have to have criminal intent, right? And in this case, in that case, obviously she doesn't have any criminal intent at all, right? She's just drinking her drink. He's the one that has a criminal intent, he's the murderer, he can be charged with murder for that. And uh and that's already the law, right? It's already the law that if a man does that, right, if he puts if he's secretly hence why he's already being charged. Hence why he's being charged. And so all we're saying is that hey, the same law that exists to apply to that applies to this man who intended to kill this baby should also apply to mothers.
SPEAKER_07Any woman who intends to kill said baby.
SPEAKER_15Exactly, but not those who don't intend, right? Right. It doesn't apply to that at all.
SPEAKER_07Right. And I think another one of the main arguments that I've heard, at least from the again, a lot of the establishment, or people again, who are well-meaning and and just don't realize the logic, who haven't been caught up, who haven't debated and heard, and this is the you know the point of surrounding yourself with believers who can encourage you and support you and teach you and walk you through these things. One of the things that I've heard as a common complaint has been, well, a lot of these moms don't know any better. Right. And and there, I think there is a level of understanding that a lot of it has been lies. They intentionally won't use ultrasound machines, they won't show you. They have convinced a lot of women that this is just a comp and a lot of men, that it's a comp of cells. But I think it's another gotcha moment because from I believe your perspective, and I don't want to put words in your mouth, this would be not retroactive, but it would be moving forward alongside you know now that it's a criminal penalty.
SPEAKER_15Exactly. That's the big part of the big point of it, is so that everybody does know. Right. One reason that they don't know right now, and yeah, no one's talking about going backwards and prosecuting people who've had abortions in the past. Right. We're saying this law, well, you know, once it goes into effect, it would everybody would know. You know, only like pregnancy help centers, they do a lot of great work, right? But only 13% of abortion-minded women will ever find themselves in those places. So how do you reach all of those women? Well, what's something that reaches a hundred percent of people, the law, right? So our law needs to be telling people this is not okay. But right now, under the pro-life laws, they all have written into them, this is okay. This does apply to you, you have total immunity. In fact, if if you see a woman taking abortion pills and you tried to knock the abortion pills out of her hand, you would be the one arrested and charged with assault, and she would have total immunity if she took those to kill her baby on purpose.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely insane. Insane, absolutely backwards setup that we have. Now, another thing that I want to get into is there are a lot of people who say, like, and this was the argument for a lot of the stuff Trump did, a lot of the stuff that a lot of people have done is from a position of incrementalism, they say, well, if you go too far, too fast, it'll set the movement back. People don't like that. You can't run on that, you've got to kind of silence yourself. I I think the argument, and again, I don't want to put words in your mouth, could at least hypothetically be truth and moral clarity is actually more important than quote unquote the movement. Is that a kind of a fair response to that sort of concern?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, I mean people have had that concern for decades, and that's why we've haven't been willing to do anything. That's why we have more abortions in this country today, you know, than than even 13, 14 years ago. Um so whatever they're doing is not working. This whole incrementalist strategy is not working. And most importantly, it's about faithfulness to God, right? What does God say to do? Okay, well then let's do that. You know, if we say like, well, I predict the future will look like this if we go that route or like that, you know what, we're not God. How about we just do what God says and we trust Him to take care of it?
SPEAKER_07Absolutely, I love that. Now I want to get into so we talked a little bit about the background of beliefs, kind of the setup, but I want the organization itself. Uh from that perspective, right, your organization, what do you actually do in in general? What is what does abolish abortion do physically? Like what is the activity?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, so we actually have two organizations. We have one Texas Focus, Abolish Abortion Texas, then we have another one called Foundation to Abolish Abortion, where we work beyond Texas. Uh but really here in Texas, abolished abortion Texas, you know, we're drafting legislation, we're working with legislators to see that introduced, to see that make it forward, Lord willing, to passage, you know, before too long. Uh and then also we're letting people know during the election season, uh, you know, uh, or really all the time, like here's where representatives stand. Right. Uh we have candidate surveys that we do so people know here's the candidates that that you need to work on. Here's the ones you need to thank, because they support abolition, equal protection. Here's the ones you still need to go put pressure on to get them to make a firm commitment in favor of it. And we're and a whole lot of education stuff like that as well. I've I've talked to college campuses here in Texas, and we do a whole lot of that kind of thing as well.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. So, what do you kind of do between legislative sessions then? Uh you know, you you could be drafting bills, training advocates, activism in general, uh working with churches. What does it kind of look like when you're not in the legislative session?
SPEAKER_15Really all the above. Yeah, just trying to reach you know candidates, but then also um you know getting messages out to the grassroots Texans as well.
SPEAKER_07Right. And then the overall I believe has helped draft bills in something like more than 30 states. So where go ahead.
SPEAKER_15Yeah, yeah. So FAA, Foundation Abolish Abortion, we've there's been bills in over 20 states around the country. I've drafted bills on other issues as well uh over the years, but uh but yeah, over 20 states that have introduced abolitionist uh bills. Um and there's more and more. In fact, this last year we saw more abolition um more co-authors signing on to abolition bills. I think around 130 across the country altogether. We saw 122 last year. And so we're seeing this increasing all around the country, and so we're grateful for the progress being made.
SPEAKER_07Of course, and we have a lot of progress left to go. Um I think this convention is a reminder of that, but every legislative session is another reminder of that, and people need to be aware, hey, actually you need to face a serious amount of pressure as a politician in order for us to get anything done. And that that's true with literally every single person I've had on the show, uh, from people that are running in office in border areas to West Texas, going up to DC or just in the Texas Senate or House, every single person I talk to, the reality is we always address we have to hold people accountable. Right. And the problem is when you don't do that, when you don't have some sort of activism or some sort of group that says, hey, we actually need to be there, and we need everybody else to be on board to say, hey, call your person, hey, talk to this person, hey, hold them accountable. The debt gets out of check in any way. Have you kind of seen that as well, where it's kind of just been flying under the radar, no one's really doing anything, and the result has been bad.
SPEAKER_15Yeah, absolutely. You know, nothing nothing gets accomplished politically, nothing controversial without a demand, right? And without people uh putting pressure on politicians. Because politicians, you know, generally speaking, they're gonna take the path of least resistance. And so if no one is there fighting and pushing and pressuring them to do the right thing, then they're gonna cop out and go do something else. Right. And so that's the importance of the the organization that we have, all the volunteers, all the supporters that we have, and uh all of everybody together, just putting weight and pressure on those politicians and calling on them to like do their duty before God and where they f are failing to do that, to repent of that. Right. Come and do the right thing, do what do what the Constitution says and what God says.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. Now, uh one thing that I do also want to highlight, this isn't really an emotional perspective, but it sort of is. So obviously the position that you and your organization are in have kind of put you in a tough spot. Because the reality is that for a lot of people, if you're on the right, you're dealing with the left. If you're on the left, you're dealing with the right. But in your position, you almost have to deal with a wide coalition from abortion activists to so-called pro-life activists and everything in between. How does that kind of work out? How have you seen that kind of working out, and how do you manage to stay, shall we say, calm and courageous dealing with such a wide array of opposition?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, well, you know, everybody's coming at it from different perspectives and different reasons. But we yeah, we have pro-abortion activists out there that are regularly like melting down about what we're doing, which we're we're like, hey, I guess we must be doing something good if they're there this upset about it.
SPEAKER_07I always say that if if if the leftists aren't mad at me, then whatever I said was wrong. That's that's it kind of reminds you, Jesus says, they're gonna hate you if you if you do they're gonna. Exactly. And so if they don't, then I'm not doing something right. Yeah, I need to be saltier, you know. Yeah, clearly. Clearly, I'm I'm I'm failing somehow. I just I I do see immense courage from that because for so much of the right politically, it can get easy uh to address a lot of issues because you know you have a lot of people behind you. You know you have the support of the party behind you. Um, and I want to talk about the party a little bit. So the party's plank, as far as my understanding, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, because you probably know more about this than I do. Uh, the Republican Party platform actually is fighting for equal protection here in Texas, though it hasn't succeeded, but that's the party platform. Uh there are people who are trying to get that changed. How has that been going here, specifically at the convention?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, so the current platform, the principles of the party support equal protection, numerous planks support equal protection. There's still some stuff in there, kind of incrementalist stuff, but as far as like equal protection, it's very solid. And the legislative priority that's been you know been proposed, this uh this convention is very solid, favorable toward equal protection, in fact, getting very even more specific about what that means. You and so we're all for that. Um but then there's been groups or one group in particular who has been coming and opposing all of that equal protection here. So we've been battling that all week, but uh battling it and and seeing success.
SPEAKER_07I was gonna say, I was what I was gonna ask is kind of, and you're not a prophet, you're not God, so you can't see the future, but how how do you see that going forward? Do you see it kind of playing out your way? What are we kind of hoping for? What's the outcome that we're kind of looking at?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, I I think that what we're we're wanting to see is the language that's in the platform and in the legislative priority to just stay like it is. Again, I expect that there will be attacks, and I'm gonna say it's Texas Alliance for Life for anybody listening. Uh, that's because I know people will be like, well, wait, who are you talking about? Of course. Um, because because I don't want to like them to think it may be other groups, right? But Texas Alliance for Life, uh, they've been just this all week long and then unre you know unrelenting opposing it. But we've the the committees that have considered it have rejected what they're saying. Uh so we'll see if they go to the floor to try to oppose it there uh here at the convention, but at least so far so good.
SPEAKER_07Now, with that being said, uh to kind of wrap up, it's kind of a loaded question, but it'll be kind of kind of going together. What should pastors, churches, Christians, believers, people that listen to this show, which is primarily uh I I talk too much about Jesus for someone who's not a Christian to enjoy the show. So what should Christians be doing in general, but also to get involved with your organization? Is there a place they can go to find out more information, a place they can go to learn more and specific things they can be doing right now?
SPEAKER_15Yes. Well, getting to pastors, I mean, this is a movement of Christians, right? Which means it's a movement of the church, which means it's a movement of local churches that are led by pastors. And so we need pastors, you know, the Bible talks about equipping the saints for the work of ministry. That's what the the one of the jobs of pastors to do. And so, how do you do that? Well, you equip them like to go out and apply the scripture, apply what God says to our current land that we live in. Right. And this is a huge issue. There's there's thirty thousand children being murdered, you know, in our state or every year over that, you know, uh over 80 a day. So I mean, this is a big issue. So so we need to be you know, pastors need to be talking to their congregations, number one, so that way they know what the Bible says about this, so they have the right convictions that they would never do this to one of their own children, so they're passing that on to their children and children's children. But then also, okay, yeah, we're not gonna kill our own children, but then what do we do about everybody else? You know, you know, that this is still legal here. Right. And pastors talking about how Christians need to engage and stand in the gates and be a voice for the voiceless and rescue the parishing. I mean, there's so many scriptures about this. Pastors need to be teaching their congregations about that so the church can be unified around this.
SPEAKER_07Right. And to wrap up, is there any like a website places people can go to just to kind of learn more about your organization in general?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, abolishabortion tx for Texas.org. Check us out there, or you can all the socials, Abolish Abortion Texas.
SPEAKER_07Perfect. Well, Bradley, I greatly appreciate your time this afternoon for coming on here live on the show and uh for giving us your time and for the work that you do. Again, like I said, it does require immense courage. It's easy. I don't want to say it's easy because the left is often very scary for a variety of reasons, but it's it's far easier when you at least have a big coalition behind you, and it can be a lot harder when you have people on your own side, supposed to be on your own side who are fighting you. So I appreciate the courage and the bravery and the conviction. And uh, Lord willing, we'll have you on again in the future with more good news coming out of the state of Texas with what we're all fighting for. Thank you. Sounds great. Thanks for thanks for having me. Absolutely. With that being said, ladies and gentlemen, when we get back from the break, we're gonna wrap up the show with some more news, and then in the next hour we're gonna have a couple more guests coming on. We'll wrap up, of course, at 6 p.m. In the meantime, if you want to text in, the number is 713-779-5978. You're listening to the special edition of the Lone Star Conservative live at the City of Texas GOP convention of the George R. Brown. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and Lord willing, I'll be right back to wrap up the first hour of the show.
Justice Logic And The Death Penalty Case
SPEAKER_07Stick around.
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SPEAKER_07We'll also be here tomorrow, by the way. The booth will still be here. People will be hanging out. So we'd love to see you. With that being said, to wrap up the first hour of the show, I'm actually going to tie the last segment into this the segment we just did into this last segment of the hour, specifically because down in Brisoria County, for those of you who are around here, prosecutors received the death penalty against this mother down in Porter, who was accused of shooting her four children last year, killing two of them, and critically injuring two others. According to a court document obtained just yesterday, prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty against Ol Onalinda. Onalinda Romulus, if that's how you pronounce her name, who is charged with capital murder and aggravated assault in connection with the shooting. The filing states that prosecutors intend to prove aggravating factors that would warrant a death sentence, including allegations that Romulus would pose a continuing threat to society if allowed to live. Now, I mentioned it's going to connect me back to the last, but there's more details in this. We don't need to go over them. You understand the basic groundwork that I've kind of laid out here. In the last segment, we went over the logic of why we believe in equal protection and the total abolishment of abortion. And the number one argument back against that is, well, what about all of the uninformed women who are killing their babies? And the reality is that if that logic applies, if we use that as a justification for not seeking punishment, for not seeking justice, then when we look at this case, what if she just goes, Well, I didn't know any better? I I didn't know. I didn't believe that. I didn't think they were, you know, I thought, you know, I thought they were figments in my whatever claim she wants to make, if she just comes out and says that, who are we to then say, well, no, we still believe in punishment? We still ultimately believe fundamentally in the reality that justice must prevail. And if we believe that for those who are grown, if we believe that for children and for adults in cases of murder, then we must believe it for those who are unborn. In fact, if not more, because they are the most defenseless, the most helpless, the ones that deserve our protection the most in the most vulnerable state they'll ever be in their lives in their mother's wombs. Now that'll do it for the first hour of the show. We have another hour coming up with lots of great guests that you will not want to miss. I promise you, you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative live at the GOP City of Texas Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center. I will be right back. I'm Michael Wilson. Stick around through the next hour. You won't want to miss those guests, and I'll be right back.
SPEAKER_16This is the Lone Star Conservative, Michael Wilson.
SPEAKER_29I'm a bandit. Let's all get a bandit.
SPEAKER_07Welcome back, ladies
Houston Budget Fees And Taxpayer Burden
SPEAKER_07and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative special edition, by the way, out here live and on site at the State of Texas GOP convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center. So we're gonna get our guest on in the second segment. We're gonna have this short little segment. We'll go over one quick story that I did want to highlight. We'll come back and we'll have a guest from Cyprus Republicans coming on. And then we'll come back in the next segment and have Martha Fiero on as well, running for office before wrapping up the show. So let's jump straight into it. Houston City Council, and we actually I had Charles Blaine, and it's always good when we have Charles Blaine for the weekly local recap on Friday mornings at seven o'clock, if you ever tune into the regular morning show. But one of the things that I like to do sometimes is even if we cover it in the weekly local recap, sometimes I like to kind of go back because all of those stories, because they're just a recap, we don't get all of the details that people might want about it. And I think this is massive because it's the entire next year's budget for the fourth largest city in the country. Now, the spending plan is built around two new revenue mechanisms, not two new spending programs where they're able to spend less. No, no, no. No new budget programs, no new ability to spend less money because the government doesn't seem capable of doing that. They can't spend less money, they just have to get more money from you, the taxpayer. And so City Council has put two new revenue streams into Houston. And then if uh has, of course, drawn sharp criticism not only from the city controller, but also from myself and and many of the residents of Houston. And you also had one council member. It was a vote of 15 to 1 uh in approval for the next fiscal year's budget. Means you had one dissenting vote on city council as well. The budget will take effect July first, which includes, starting off right then, a new five dollar monthly administrative fee tied to residential trash collection along with a right-of-way charge on the city's water and wastewater utility operations. Together, those two measures are predicted. That's like an important word because the government likes to give you a lot of predictions and projections, and you never know if they're true, and many times they're not, but they're projecting that it will generate more than two hundred million dollars a year. The treasury alone is going to bring in about twenty-four to twenty-five million of those dollars. Chris Holland, who certified the budget, he is the city controller. Uh, he he made it very clear when he certified that budget earlier this week that that certification was a legal obligation and that it did not carry any endorsement of the plan. And he gave the spending document a failing grade after the vote. He said, you know, if this was a school, you would have just gotten an F for what you just did. Uh he said, if I were grading this budget, this budget would get an F on transparency, on accountability, and on the financial ground that it's putting the city on. He called the budget riddled with gimmicks and accused the administration of concealing the true financial burden on everyday Houstonians. He also took aim at the trash fee specifically, arguing that lower income residents would bear a disproportionate share of the cost compared to what a property tax increase would have required from them. But I don't think we have to go there. See, this is of course I can't agree with somebody on everything. You look at Chris Hollands and you realize very, very quickly, okay, so he opposes the trash fee, that's great. Uh, but his reason for opposing the trash fee is not great. The reason you should, and I oppose the trash fee, as well as anybody who opposes the trash fee, is because you're placing new fees on every resident. And he said it has to go and be, you know, class warfare and we should do a property tax increase, because that's really what the city needs. No. The answer should be that instead of spending more and more money, which requires taking more and more money from you, it should be spending less money. He warned the letter in in a letter that he sent, by the way, when he certified the budget uh to City Council as well as to the mayor's office, he said uh basically that the right-of-way fee, which still requires approvals from outside entities, including the Texas Water Development Board as well as the Texas Attorney General's office, that it poses significant issues of uncertainty for the coming fiscal year's general fund revenues. I'll give you an example. If if it's projected to total all the changes, bring an extra two hundred million dollars in annually. And the $5 trash fee is only, say, $25 million on the upper scale, $25 million of that a year is coming from a trash fee. That means the other $100, basic math, $175 million has to come from this wastewater project. Well, if the Attorney General's office comes in and says, actually, that's that's fraudulent. You can't do that, you can't operate this way. What happens? Well, all of a sudden, that $175 million we're projecting, well, it's now projected at zero dollars. I'm not saying that's going to happen, but that's a serious risk that you carry given that it's not already been rectified. Now, Edward Pollard, who we love, I'm being sarcastic, he cast the sole vote for no. He argued that despite growing expenditures over the past two fiscal years, the city has produced none of the results residents are owed. He said over the last two fiscal years, our city has faced the largest budget deficits in the city's history. Are we getting better streets? Are we getting more affordable housing? Are we getting less homelessness? Are we better with trash collection? Do we have stronger infrastructure? The answer is no. He said the $5 trash fee lacks specificity about what residents will actually receive in return for it. Um you also had several council members who came out and said that their their agreement with this was sort of to a degree conditional. Uh Amy Peck, for instance, Councilmember Amy Peck, said that she remains convinced the city should consider exiting the trash collection business altogether, citing a consistent failure to deliver adequate service. While she said she was willing to give the mayor's office new approach a chance, she warned that if service levels do not improve measurably, that she would personally author an ordinance to repeal the fee. You also have Councilmember Joe Panzarella, who said his yes vote should not be read as blanket support and came with certain expectations for accountability. Councilmember Alejandra Salinas expressed reservations about drawing funds from the water utility, but said she trusts the assurances of the mayor's office. Now the vote caps weeks of public hearings, debate, extended council sessions, that by the way, it was supposed to be voted on last week and didn't get voted on this week because it was pushed back by City Council. Whitmeyer, meanwhile, of course, since it's his budget, has defended the budget as necessary step towards stabilizing the city's finances, telling the council members ahead of the vote, quote, I'm just as confident today as I was a month ago when I initially rolled it out. And we know that the fight between the mayor and the controller has been going on for a long time. We're well aware of that fact. It's very, very evident. But here's the reality that no one seems to want to address. You ha you have Edward Pollard actually got the closest, but even then, it's it's not quite what we wanted to hear. But the controller doesn't seem to want to address it. The mayor's office doesn't seem to want to address it, the council members don't seem to want to address it. The only people who want to address it are the people that have to live here and pay the fees and pay the taxes. You want to know what that thing that needs to be addressed is? Why are you raising taxes or putting in new fees? Do you think that people don't bear enough burden when it comes to cost? Do you think that people are having not a hard enough time affording things? Do you think that it's not already difficult enough to make a living in the economy? Are those things that you just don't care about? Well, of course they don't. Because this is how government operates over and over and over again. There's no fiscal responsibility whatsoever. They could take a very huge lesson out of Dame Ramsey's book. They should, actually. And this would apply as it does on a human scale. It should certainly apply on a government scale as well. When you look at fiscal responsibility in a person's life, what you must acknowledge is that you cannot outspend your income. You can't do that. Your budget has to bare minimum. It has to match your income. Really, your income should exceed your budget by enough that you're safe. And instead, what Houston is doing time and time again is projecting the bare minimum to make the match, which requires charging you more. And the number one piece of advice our government at every level, local, state, and federal, needs to hear is that their goal should, as always, be to spend less, to be more efficient, to find ways without endangering public safety, without being a danger in any way, shape, or form, with still providing the services that people have come to expect, the role of government, they should do those things in the most efficient way possible to stop spending your money. And they don't seem to be willing to do that. And they face no backlash for it. And the reality is that regardless of whether you take the controller's position or the mayor's position on any of this, the end result is the same. They want to raise taxes or put new fees on you, the taxpayer. When the response instead should be, how can we spend less? Now, with that being said, when we get back from the break, we're gonna have a very exciting guest coming on from Cyprus Republicans. We'll be talking all about Cyprus Republicans, how that kind of ties into the state convention that we're at, like I mentioned before, live and local here at the George R. Brown today. We'll be going over the importance of these sort of Republican chapters, these groups that are willing to put themselves out there to educate people, to activate people, to get people involved, to give people a sense of community. We'll be going over all of that, how this all kind of ties together, the importance of these sorts of groups, and so much more that you will not want to miss, I promise you. So if you're listening, hang tight, stick around. If you want to text in, let us know any of your thoughts. You can do that at 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You are listening to the Lone Star Conservative here at the George R. Brown for the GOP Texas State Convention. And Lord willing, I'll be right back with Cyprus Republicans after the break.
SPEAKER_18This is Todd Starns, and I'm proud to be a gun totin, Bible, clinging, flag, waving patriot. Listen to my show weekdays at 11 on Patriot Talk 920. The revolution starts now.
SPEAKER_11Here's Jim Dutton, host of Texas Home Improvement and owner of Dew West Foundation Repair.
SPEAKER_23It'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.
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SPEAKER_17Now, time for another Otis advisory. Thanks to the new Orange Sunrise over Washington, a system-wide Paras Dalsis has started to begin removing the waste and waste byproducts from the gut of government. In its place, luxury, prosperity, and of course endless boogie. But as always, Donkey Darkness is on the rise to stop common sense before it breaks down. The next wave of pajama-wearing protesters are daydreaming of the day they'll throw their avocado toast at police or the iceman. That'll show them whose paws. In the meantime, China's been busy busting heads with their new AI thing. Look, ours has long pointy teeth, so it's better, said China. Our guys just hid under their desk. Not good, said the boys at Golden Sachs. Time to call Agent Otis with alcohol, tobacco, and alcohol. Look, you've got your good AI and your discount AI, said Otis. How can you tell the difference? Well, if it's two tin cans and a piece of string, take it back. That's not real AI. Ask your dog if she's a Republican. Real AI would know. Discount AI would just blame it on climate change. And you can get plenty of that already just by licking the top of a nine-volt battery. Maybe you had a girl like that. Remember, if you're planning to send a pajama gram this year, the whole thing, ears, feet, and tail, maybe ask AI for another idea. That's another profile encourage from Radio's Test Kitchen. This your Uncle Otis. I'll see you at the Peace March.
SPEAKER_20Hi, 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 6 on Patriot Talk 920.
SPEAKER_07Welcome
Cypress Republicans And Grassroots Organizing
SPEAKER_07back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative here live and on site at the State of Texas GOP Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Joining me now, very exciting guest Jim Bramble coming on from Cyprus Republicans to walk us through a lot of this coalition building, activism, everything in between. We'll get into it. You'll hear all about it. Welcome to the show, Jim.
SPEAKER_01Thank you very much, Michael. I appreciate you and Matt inviting uh Cyprus Republicans. Uh sorry that Sandra is not able to make it. No worries. But uh she is with Dorinda Randall, uh celebrating uh Dorinda Randall uh victory as uh as chair for the Texas uh State Republican Party along with uh Dave uh Covey. Yep. And uh so they've been working on a little busy. Yeah, very, very busy. But anyway, thank you again for the invitation.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. Now, uh you guys have a very visible presence here at the convention, generally speaking. What has the experience been like and what are members hearing from delegates and members who maybe are delegated? What does that kind of look like for you?
SPEAKER_01Well, it it has been a phenomenal experience to say the least. Let's take it in phases. The first phase is preparation. So uh I'd say about six weeks ago, uh Cyprus Republicans uh got together and decided that they were going to participate in the convention. We're able to get an excellent booth along with the Texas coalition of Republican clubs, 20-foot vooth, and so we have a lot of swag out. And anyway, so we got all that together. We brought it down on Tuesday morning, set up the booth Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and then basically we have a total of 87 uh delegates from Cyprus Republicans that are participating in the conference. So it's been an exceptional experience to be able to interface with also other clubs. Uh, but importantly is for us to be able to interface with our elected officials, right? And then also participate in the elect uh uh in the process of you know. How can you appreciate it if you won't live it? Exactly, exactly. So we've really enjoyed the process, not only of being out here, having a booth, being able to interact with all the participants, but also to participate in the Senate district uh breakout meetings, and then of course in the general uh convention breakout.
SPEAKER_07Now, can we get a little bit more into Cyprus Republicans that we can understand what you're doing here? What is Cypress Republicans? What do you guys do month to month? What does that whole thing look like?
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's not a problem. Actually, we have over 225 members in the club.
SPEAKER_07And by the way, as you say that, 87 is a pretty sizable portion of that. We are the largest activism here.
SPEAKER_01It is, it is. We are the uh largest delegation here uh at the convention, and not only that, but also we are the only uh political activist club, I would say, uh that's participating here in the uh in the convention uh room. So, but anyway, uh on a day-to-day basis or a week-to-week basis, we meet twice or once a month, okay. Cyprus Republicans. That is the second uh Thursday of every month at lunchtime over at uh St. John's Lutheran Church. And then we also meet again as Cyprus Republicans at night, and when that is the fourth Tuesday of every month, and that is at Alicia's restaurant just off of 290. But anyway, with those 225 members that we have, we also get heavily involved in meeting with our representatives, the uh and the senators up at the Capitol when they're in session. Uh, we also have the committee of uh legislative action that both Tom DeLay and I co-chair. We basically monitor everything that's going on at the federal, state, county, and ISD level. And so our members uh we have subcommittees, okay, and they participate managing and monitoring everything that's going on at those different levels of government. So we are highly involved. Uh we're highly involved in the convention right now. Uh we have members that are participating on the various committees, legislative proposals, the education committee, uh, you name it, credentialing committee. It's great. So we are heavily involved, not only here in the exhibition uh area, but also in the convention itself.
SPEAKER_07Now, I kind of understand because right now we're obviously in the middle of a very busy election cycle. Runoffs occurred, now we're going into the the general election come November. What are the issues kind of motivating, at least in your area, in the Cyprus area, Republicans going into the midterms? What kind of things are you seeing and dealing with right now?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think the first and foremost thing is now that we have gone through the runoffs, okay, we have to unify. Right.
SPEAKER_07They weren't contentious at all.
SPEAKER_01No, not at all. Not at all. We were very, very cordial. Wasn't like a blood support or anything. Uh on the contrary. But anyway, uh we've we're past that. We now need to unify.
SPEAKER_07Right.
SPEAKER_01And uh, you know, campaigns such as John Bunk. John Bunk's moving forward as our candidate for the Republican Party for Congressional District 38. And then we have a number of other candidates, Maze Middleton, who's running for attorney general. Correct. And then of course we've got Ken Paxton. You know what? We've got to come together and we've got to move forward, we've got to get them elected. This is now or never what it boils down to. So um as far as the issues, you know, border security, uh, election uh security, right? Uh things of that nature, uh, you know, we just uh have to make sure that we are working as grassroots. Absolutely. That's the key, is that we have to come together. Uh one of the things I would also point out about these Cypress Republicans is that we are part of a greater organization called the uh Coalition of uh the Texas Coalition of Republican Clubs. Glad to get into that. Yeah, and so that consists of 2,500, uh 250 clubs, excuse me, uh throughout the state of Texas. And that's key because we w really appreciate the focus that's representatives like uh Harrison, Brian Harrison. Yes, you know, he understood to have him on yesterday, yeah. And and today he he was over at our booth, he talked to our uh members and to the to the uh participants at large here, emphasizing grassroots really is what this whole process is about. That's why we're here at the convention, so that we can develop our bills from the grassroots up. This is what the constituents want. This is to address the problems head on and not to be able to deflect them when they get up to the legislative body.
SPEAKER_07Right, and I think that's very important because you've been mentioning unification is one of the driving issues going into the November election. We have to be willing to unify even with people that maybe we didn't vote for. Yes, uh people that maybe were not our top choice. Exactly. But saying, and Ken Paxton is a great example of this. Even if you, you know, regardless of if you supported Ken Paxton or John Cornyn, we come in and you look and you go, Okay, Ken Paxton, James Alarico, those are your options, ladies and gentlemen. Choose wisely, sort of scenario, and we have to be willing to say, hey, this isn't perfect. This isn't necessarily what I even wanted. But the comparison is drastic and insane. And so I I, as I kind of mentioned at the start, it's not just doing and or it's not just saying things, it's also doing things. And so to see not only are you bringing delegates in and bringing members in to be involved in the process, but being a part of that coalition and saying, hey, if I'm gonna preach unity, if I'm gonna say, hey, people need to unify and get together behind, I need to be a part of that unification process by involving ourselves with other clubs.
SPEAKER_01Well, being part of it is extremely important because bottom line is one person can't do the work. It has to be an organization, it has to be the entire grassroots, it has to be an entire organization that is completely mobilized to support a candidate that's going to represent them at uh and represent the values that we're asking them to represent, the conservative values. I would say that it's imperative for them to do that. So I can't see any other way around it. I mean, it's critical more now than ever is to be able to say, here we are, the conservative wave, the conservative Republicans' Christian values have to be professed, have to be demonstrated. We have to really mobilize the entire community in order to beat the Democrats uh and their woke values that they want to bring into Texas.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. And and so with that being said, as we're getting close to the wrap-up, I have another question, and that is so obviously right now we're in the middle of the midterm, so that's on everybody's mind, as it should be. Yes. That's where our focus primarily is going to be directed for the next few months. We come out, regardless of what what occurs, right? Whether it's a blue wave, red wave, regardless of whether it's a mix, like regardless of what happens.
SPEAKER_01It's gonna be a red wave.
SPEAKER_07Of course. Of course. Regardless of that, what do Cyber Republicans do after? Because I know that there's a growing concern that we've had every election cycle, which is they're, you know, especially even if especially with a red wave, actually, you say, hey, there's now complacency. We won, we did it, we finished, we finished the race, we're good to go. What does Cyber Republicans say, no, actually, we need to keep going? What's the move after the election?
SPEAKER_01We have to continue with several things. One is membership drive, paramount. We cannot rest on our laurel laurels. If we do well in the election, we will do well in the election, but we can't rest on our laurels. We have to grow the organization. That's first. You grow the organization to keep it healthy. You have to elect new membership or new leadership in the organization. You know, our bylaws require us to, you know, have elections periodically, and that is important. That keeps the organization healthy. We need people to come in with their ideas and be able to lead the organization that much further. But I would say that we just have to be out of the box, we have to be grassroots focused, we have to work together, no matter what the outcome is. Uh we have to continue to drive home the points of conservatism and uh you know, just basically is we just don't stop. Right.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. So with that being said, uh from now to November and well beyond, how do people find out more information about Cypress Republicans? Maybe they want to become a member, if they want to get more information, where can they go? Is there a website, a place they can kind of check out?
SPEAKER_01Yes, there is CypressRepublicans.com. Okay. Okay, go there and you can find uh everything you want to know about membership, about our meeting dates, about our uh programs, our speakers that we have. We have had a number of great speakers that I think that would definitely uh interest everyone, to include Governor Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. We've had a number of candidates uh come through. We have uh meet and greets that we host. So bottom line is you should be able to find everything at CyprusRepublicans.com.
SPEAKER_07Well, excellent. Jim Bramble, I appreciate you coming on, giving us your time this afternoon for being a part and for all the work that you're doing with Cyprus Republicans here at the convention and beyond.
SPEAKER_01I appreciate it, Michael, for the invitation again. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. That being said, we're gonna have Martha Fiero coming on after the break. So stick around. More exciting interviews on the way. In the meantime, you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative here live and on site at the GOP City of Texas convention at the George R. Brown. And Lord willing, I'll be right back after the break. Hang tight.
SPEAKER_18Patriot 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_05And now another segment from the Dave Ramsey Show here on Patriot Talk 920. I'm thinking about selling my house.
SPEAKER_04My son's father and I live together, and it it's not the best situation.
SPEAKER_19You own it. Yeah. He's actually standing next to me because he can't go inside. I can hear it in your voice. You sound really afraid to me. When is he leaving?
SPEAKER_02Uh, it's a great question.
SPEAKER_19Okay, do you have family in the area? You need to get in the car and go to your dad's house when you hang up the phone.
SPEAKER_04I'm trying to hurry.
SPEAKER_19Do I need to call the police for you?
SPEAKER_04We've already gone through that. Where's your son in uh his father's home in front of my car?
SPEAKER_19You and your son are in danger.
SPEAKER_04I want to fix it.
SPEAKER_03That's why I want this at my home and I just want to be.
SPEAKER_19No, no, honey. We don't need to call a realtor. You and the baby need to get out of there. You need to call the police, you need to call your father. You hold on a second. Kelly is gonna make sure that law enforcement gets over there, okay?
SPEAKER_05Thank you, sir.
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SPEAKER_05Take control of your money and get ready for a life of financial freedom. Tune in to the Dave Ramsey Show weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. here on Patriot Talk 920 and at PatriotTalk920.com.
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SPEAKER_23It'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_18Patriot Talk920 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.
Martha Fiero On Running In CD29
SPEAKER_07Welcome to the show, Martha.
SPEAKER_27All right. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. Now I want to kick it off asking a very important question. We're here live at the GOP convention for the state of Texas. How is it running for office being here? What encouragement have you heard? How have things been going here at the convention?
SPEAKER_27It's it's great. It's awesome. I mean, it's exuberating. I mean, it's just the crowd of people that you're walking around. One of the things that my daughter said is so great walking around with the American flag and not getting, you know, bombarded. Of course. And so because we're with our people, you know, the patriotic people, the people of God, the people of family, faith, and freedom. So it's it's awesome. It's awesome.
SPEAKER_07It's awesome. And this is why I I love conventions like this. I also like a lot of Republican gatherings, because it gives you an opportunity. A lot of us, I think, in a lot of cases, can kind of get, I don't want to say pessimistic, we can get dissuaded. When we see all of the affront that we have to face with the Democrats and radical leftists and progressives, it can kind of get demoralizing. It can get a little easy to say, wow, this is tough, this is difficult, this is not fun. And you get to come to places like this and see the energy and say, okay, I'm not alone. There's a lot of people who believe what I believe, who fight for the things I fight for and who are standing behind me when I do the things I do. One of those things is running for office. Yes. One of those things that I don't know if anybody really, I mean, other people that really desire power really want to do, but but more importantly, the people that feel the need to do it. And that's that's a thing probably, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I feel like that's probably what driving you. So before we kick it off with your campaign, I want to talk about what you represent, the district area, because there's of course been a lot of redistricting changes, people are kind of confused. What is Texas 29? Can you walk us through that?
SPEAKER_27Oh gosh, yeah. I mean, it has been broken down with the redistricting. It's the new CD29, and it's got parts of Al Green, Sheila Jackson, Dan Crenshaw, you know, uh Sylvia Garcia. I mean, I mean, I'm getting all the people where they went to vote, you know, in the in the primaries, and it was like, wait, I was trying to vote Dan Crenshaw out, and I saw your name, you know. And so basically, it's it's right in the middle, smacking of Houston. It's one county only, Harris County. It's 610 north, all the way up to 1960 FM. And to the right, you got a little bit of umbo, at Tasca Seed, and to the left 290. And so it's it's a good, good, good county, and it's not the actual heights that's involved, and I gotta say that because people they go, no, we are independent heights. So I have to differentiate that between the folks, but it's got all that, and it's it's it's it's a good district, but it was unopposed, and that was one thing that I dislike so much.
SPEAKER_07I wanted to get into that. So, of course, you ran unopposed, which means you're the only one that decided to put your name in the hat to run. And and a lot of the reason for that is probably the justification well, this is a Democrat district. I mean, we're Sylvia Garcia, Sheila Jackson Lee, uh, I mean Derek Crenshaw. And then you get into all this. You know, people are saying that's a Democrat area. Why would I bother running? What kind of drove you to say, it doesn't matter. I have to run here.
SPEAKER_27Listen, um, you know, you look at it all over the world. We have the Astros. I mean, we got the Spurs right now, right? Against the New York Yankees, and and they're in it, and we don't know who is going to win. We don't know who's gonna get it. But you don't just throw in the town, you say, that's it. The New York Yankees are gonna you know. Oh, sorry, New York Knicks. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_07You know, I I know I know sports only probably one percent more than you do.
SPEAKER_27Okay, I call them Yankees, you know, they're from New York. They're from New York, it counts. It's close it up.
SPEAKER_07We wasn't saying the name of the team, we were just saying they're the Yankees. Okay, it's the Yankees aren't there anymore.
SPEAKER_27They hear this, they're gonna go up in a riot.
SPEAKER_07No, she wasn't talking about the team, she was just describing people from New York.
SPEAKER_27Yeah, so you know, so the thing is that you don't just say, okay, that's it. I'm I'm I'm losing, I'm gonna throw in the towel, this is all Democrat, that's it. No, we have to keep going, and we cannot have these seats unopposed. Because look, let me tell you, the Democrats don't care. They're coming for Texas, they're not saying, oh my goodness, Governor Abbott is gonna take over. No, no, they don't care. They're in that minded spirit where they say, We will take it, we will come for you. So look, why are we, as Republicans, not taking over these seats? Why are we as Republicans afraid to step into this game? And it doesn't matter if it's a plus 20, plus 15, plus we gotta put it in. We gotta go in there and run the hell out of it.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, and I would I would encourage any Republican who's hearing this, and I would say this to them, I would say, do you think there's any seats where Democrats aren't running? Do you think that they're they're looking at these congressional discussions saying, ah, it's a Republican area? No, they're still trying their darndest. They're still fighting for that because they believe in winning at any cost. And Republicans turn around and they just give up. They say, I don't I don't want to do that. It's there's no point, it's a waste of my time. It's not a waste of your time to fight for the people of Texas.
SPEAKER_27Of course not. There is no waste, no wasting at all, especially Texas, faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER_07I do want to get into that. So your campaign heavily emphasizes faith, family, and freedom. Can you kind of walk me through what that actually looks like on a real scale?
SPEAKER_27Well, listen, when I go in there and I've gone to a lot of churches, and when we go, you know, the first thing they see, they see me and they go, What are you for? What are you standing for? And I say, I am for the faith, family, and freedom party. And as soon as I say that, that person just kind of goes down and it's kind of humbling. And then they go, you know what? I stand for the same thing. I said, Exactly. We align to the same things, and we start having a conversation and things like that. And then afterwards they go, You're really a Republican, are you? And I'm like, I am a Republican.
SPEAKER_07It just so happens that that's the party that represents faith, alien freedom. That's not my fault.
SPEAKER_27Exactly. And they're like, Wow, well, you know what? I even had a Democrat precinct chair, and she didn't give me her name. She said, You know what? I can't tell you my name because I'm a Democrat precinct chair, but I'm gonna vote for you. And so that was one of the things. So we are going into like acres homes, places where a lot of Republicans don't go, a lot of Republicans don't touch. Even the people, when we're block walking in those areas, they say, Do you know where you're at? Do you know where you're block walking? And we're like, Yes, we know. We're blocking because we love you. We're blocking because we care about you, we're block walking because we are for family, faith, and freedom. And that's one of the things that touches their hearts, and that's what we're doing is C D 29.
SPEAKER_07Right now, speaking of C D twenty nine, can you kind of walk me through what some of the actual getting into the nitty-gritty specifics? What are some of the big issues that are facing families in C D twenty nine? What are they kind of looking at? Uh I don't like calling them voting issues, but they sort of are. They look at them and they say, Hey, these are the things that are impacting my family the most. What have you kind of been hearing from your constituents from people who you might represent? What are you hearing from them as the biggest issues driving them right now?
SPEAKER_27Well, just walking, walking the districts, I mean, you see a lot of crime constantly. Every other day, you hear it in the news. Something happened in Northside, something happened, you know, airline drive, something happened, you know, in these neighborhoods. You see it constantly. A father was just killed because the son, I don't know if you heard about it. The father was killed over the weekend. The son, they mugged him, took away the vehicle, the father went after. That was in Congressional District 29, and it was so sad. And this whole family just went and then they were with the crime stoppers. But I'm telling you, crime is a huge thing. It's a huge thing that Sheila Jackson didn't change, that Al Green didn't change, that Dan Crenshaw didn't change. None of these elected officials change. Why? And so you have all these people that are living there, you know, people that love God, uh, people that stand for faith, people that stand for freedom, people that want safety, public safety, you know, just coming out of their house. I mean, I was telling some of the precincters, hey, do you guys want to go block walking? And they were like, Where? In my neighborhood? No, I can't go in my neighborhood. Well, why not? Because they'll mug me, you know, two streets down. And that's one of the things that we need to make sure that we are there. Make sure number one the crime. So number one thing is public safety.
SPEAKER_07Public safety, absolutely. And there's a lot of these issues, right? We talk about affordability, jobs, small businesses, border enforcement, immigration issues, all these ranging things that we see all over the city of Houston, all over Harris County, all over the state of Texas, and all of them need specific addressing. And it just seems like it's not even just fear of running. It's just a lot of Republicans are afraid to talk about a lot of those issues. They don't want to talk about public safety and what that actually looks like fixing. They don't want to talk about what it actually means to deal with uh the affordability crisis. And they want to give kind of these blind talking points, well, I certainly think should be more affordable, but then there's no action. And that's the biggest complaint. That's the reason why people get demoralized with the party, is over and over, I don't see action from people who claim to represent me. We have, you know, we we can say all day long, well, we have, you know, uh Republican leadership in the the state house, in the state senate, exactly. In the governor's office, Lieutenant Governor. We have it in the the the at the U.S. level, at the federal level, we have it at the House, the Senate, the President's office. Why is nothing changing?
SPEAKER_27Exactly.
SPEAKER_07And I think that's because we need candidates, and I'm again putting words in your mouth that are actually going to go and do something.
SPEAKER_27You know, one of the things uh on another side note, the gentrification of these homes. You've got acres homes, for example, since 1910, those neighborhoods. Um, you know, they started talking about it, it was a gem and everything. We went to a town hall meeting this week, we went to uh a civic meeting this week, and what they were telling me right now is that they can't afford their taxes. They can't. These elderly people are being taxed out. Uh the HOAs are taking over the neighborhoods, and they're being taxed out. They're they're stealing, stealing, because that's what taxes are. They're stealing away their homes. And where are they landing? And nobody cares. And and it's like the leaders that have been there, it does not matter. The other thing is affordability. They can't afford it. Look at the gas prices, look at what is happening right now, and so we cannot just put this in the closet and not pay attention to it. So that's why I'm there talking to them, trying to figure out let's plan something, let's do what is it that I can serve, what can I help you with? Another topic that we talked about is that there are no grocery stores, and I know because of the crime, because they can't sustain themselves in a place where they're gonna be mugged. And so I tell the people listen, you want HEB to come, you want Randall to come, you want Viesta to come. Well, we gotta make sure that we cannot allow the crime to be rising up. So you can't even go to your local grocery store, you know? They have to get out of the whole neighborhood, drive out 15, 20, 25 minutes to get a good piece of bread someplace else. And I've been talking to them. That's what we're doing. We're going into the town hall meetings, we're meeting with them, we're talking to the leaders in the area.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. So, as we're getting kind of close to the wrap-up here, one thing that I do want to ask is specifically say you win the election, right? Which is gonna take a whole lot of work, as you're well aware of. But say you win the election and not afraid of work. That's good. You can't be you can't be in politics and be afraid of work, or you're not gonna ever make it. Say that you win, you get in. What does it look like after that? What is the priority? Where do you go specifically? Say that you win that race.
SPEAKER_27Well, I want to make sure that what I have stated and the problems that they have that I address them, time and time I tell them, you know, it's gonna take a lot of work, but it does not mean that we cannot do it. I said we've been talking to several grocery chain stores, trying to get them in, like Aldi's, you know, Aldi's in some of these areas, Old Spanish Trail, they keep going even though that they're getting mugged or doing this thing. They they keep being there, and that's good because we can have something like that in acres homes. So this is the plan for the people. And so I want to make sure that I bring this across. Even the taxes, you know, we're having uh we're having Governor Abbott, which is something good that he's thinking about the property taxes, cutting off the M and O from the property taxes, slashing down to 50%. That's something that's coming up in the next elections coming up next year. And so that's good. So that's one of the other topics that I'm talking to them about, and also the homestead exemption. Some of the people in the areas don't know. They don't know that this has already been into law, that already has happened, and that be able to go to the tax office and be able to get their homestead exemption.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. Well, Martha Fiero, I appreciate you coming on, giving us your time this afternoon. Thank you for everything you're doing and for the bravery it takes to run it in that in the area that you're running in. Thank you. It's an honor for the yeah. And for the perseverance. Absolutely. With that being said, one very more exciting guest coming up to wrap up the show this afternoon. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative coming to you live and on site from the GOP City of Texas convention. And Lord willing, be right back to wrap up the show with one more guest after this last break. So hang tight. We'll be back soon.
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SPEAKER_05And now another segment from the Dave Ramsey Show here on Patriot Talk 920.
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SPEAKER_05Take control of your money and get ready for a life of financial freedom. Tune in to the Dave Ramsey Show weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. here on Patriot Talk 920 and at PatriotTalk920.com.
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Texas GOP Strategy Youth And GOTV
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you very much. I'm very excited.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. Let's get into it. First and foremost, uh, second to the congratulations, you have very little time to rest, unfortunately. I know usually we get a big, big win and we're like, yes, we did it. Let's celebrate. Not a lot of time for that considering the midterms are coming up in just a few months. What does the party look like from now to November? What are the action items? What are we doing going into November right now?
SPEAKER_00So one of the things that I want to do is make sure that we have our get out the vote effort uh put together, and that is something that we're gonna work on with in regards to block walking. We're gonna do a statewide block walking initiative and we're gonna do a statewide voter voter registration drive. And then we're also going to activate a lot of the youth.
SPEAKER_07Right.
SPEAKER_00We have had a ton of youth come to the Republican Party. The problem is that we have not captured them when it comes to uh keeping them engaged. And so that's the one thing that I see that I can do in the Republican Party of Texas. I can make sure that we get more and more youth involved and get active with us. And so the thing about the youth, whenever they get involved, they energize the older people.
SPEAKER_07And there's hope.
SPEAKER_00There's hope. And so the other thing is what they do is, you know, if more youth see that there's youth involved in the Republican Party, then there's going to be more youth involved in the Republican Party.
SPEAKER_07It's a nice little cycle.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And so we're going to make sure then it comes to social media that we put all of their pictures out there. We show everything that they're doing, they're doing. And then plus, we're going to also show what all these counties are doing. They do a lot of Trump trains, they do a lot of July 4th parades. We have the 250th.
SPEAKER_07Coming up very soon.
SPEAKER_00And we we have done nothing so far. Right. So I've got to make sure that we prepare for this. And so that is one catalyst that'll also give us the energy to get us to November as well.
SPEAKER_07I do love that you mentioned that because a lot of those are cultural things that I think historically we've seen not been focused on enough. And the reality is that this is a culture of people that are showing up to vote. Yes. And so that 250 celebration should be a massive deal.
SPEAKER_00It should be a massive celebration.
SPEAKER_07It should be a massive celebration. Yes. And there should be effort going into that.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And the thing is, is that for us as Texans, we are Texans first before we're Americans.
SPEAKER_07Right, right. Yeah. No, it's true. It's true. We're the only state. We have our big flag flying even. It's it's it's true. We're the Republic of Texas.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we take a a lot of pride in that. But we've got to make sure that we highlight the fact that this is the greatest nation on earth. This is the greatest nation that we must protect. We pray for it. We love it. And so we've got to make sure we celebrate it. The fact that we've gotten to this mile marker, we've got to make sure that we capitalize on it, not only gives more energy to get to November, because we've got to come together in order to make November work and for us to be victorious in November.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. And that's been a big thing I've heard from basically everyone I've talked to at the convention and and you as well, has been this sense of unification.
SPEAKER_28Yes.
SPEAKER_07Uh that I know that the primaries can get to be a blood sport between and they can be friends. It's kind of like two guys go to a bar, they get to a fight, they're friends the next day. It's totally fine. Kind of the same thing needs to happen where we had these primaries and you can debate and have a good time and and and you can win. And then come November, we have to come together and say, like, we have of an evil enemy that we have to defeat here. It's the heart and soul of our state that we love. Right. And we have to be willing to do anything it takes to get there. One problem I do see, and I want to get your take on this, is after November, a lot of times I think we get kind of the tendency to, well, we won, right? We did it. We we achieved our goal. We're we're looking at November, we did it, we made it. And then after that, I don't want to say that people give up, because it's not that sort of sense, but it's a sense of accomplishment and celebration that unfortunately seems to result in a level of complacency. What's the plan for the Republican Party, especially coming on the fact that we have a legislative session very soon? What's the plan after November for the for the party?
SPEAKER_00So for me, it's gonna be all about media. It's gonna be about marketing. Because one of the things that, you know, with us not and and you're right. It used to be whenever I first got involved in politics, that you voted for the president and you took a nap until the next election. But then we found out that the Democrats never take a nap.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_00And so we've got to be just as engaged as they are, and the way that you do that is through your marketing and through keeping it energized and making sure that people know what we're doing. The one thing that I get to do is I was vice chair for two years, and now being the chair, um, I have traveled to over 120 cities. Wow. The thing that I get to see is I get to see the energy that's going on in all of these counties, and especially like South Texas, is actually my favorite place to go because they have a newfound freedom in the Republican Party, and they have built such a huge amount of energy. And I go back to the youth. There's so much youth in South Texas that they are totally energized, and they they have a backbench in South Texas that is ready to take over. But we've got to make sure we keep people engaged and and let people know why are we Republican?
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_00You know, and we have to be able to define that. And so one of the things that I want to do is a digital magazine where we t highlight what's going on in other counties. Because when you see, you know, the Republican Party should not be about the chairman, and it it's not that. What makes our party great is the amount of people that love the state. Grassroots is is they love the state, they want to make it better, because our policies are the best for all Texans, not just Republicans. And so we've if we have a mechanism to be out there to tell people what we are about, we'll get more people to be involved with the Republican Party. But what I'd love to do is it, you know, it's the whole bandwagon effect. And whenever they see that there's happy and wonderful people on our side doing things, then there's going to be more that come and do that. Right. So we've got to get Joy is infectious. Yes, it is. And it's contagious. And the thing is, is you look at the Democrats and the evil that they want to ensue with, you know, what they want to do to children with sh supporting Sharia law, all of those things that oppress children, that oppress women, those that's not our party. Our party wants you to know that you're beautifully and wonderfully made and that God is king. That's where we get our peace. We can't think of ourselves as king. We have we know we serve something greater and somebody greater.
SPEAKER_07Right. Absolutely. So, and another thing that I want to quickly highlight as we uh as we're wrapping up the show here is also that accountability. Yes. There's been a lot of Republican voters who get disenfranchised and demoralized because they see, well, we elected Republicans and then nothing changed. Right. And there needs to be that accountability moving forward. We say, after November, now you're elected, you won, now do what you came here to do. And I'm very excited to see the direction of the Republican Party is going. And so I appreciate the work that you're doing. Again, congratulations. Thank you. I mean, it's a wonderful achievement. Yes. Um, and I'm very proud to see the work that you're gonna do moving forward. Thanks and I'll make sure to get you on sometime. We can we can get an update after November and say, where are we going?
SPEAKER_00That would be great. I would love that.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for coming on, and thank you for all the work that you're doing. I'm sure you're very busy right now, so thanks for carving out
Booth Info Morning Show And Sign-Off
SPEAKER_07some time. With that being said, ladies and gentlemen, that's gonna do it for the show today. And uh, it's been an absolute pleasure, uh, both yesterday and today, with all the very exciting guests we had on, all the phenomenal things we had going on all weekend. It has been a very active weekend here at the State of Texas Republican Convention, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. There's one more day. I won't be live tomorrow, but come on out to the booth, booth 210 here at the convention throughout the rest of the weekend. We'll be here. It's been an absolute pleasure talking to each and every one of you. I greatly appreciate everybody who tuned in, who texted in, who was a part of the show. Lord willing, if you want to tune into the morning show regularly, I go live, 6 a.m. on Monday. I'll be live Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. In the meantime, I would encourage each and every one of you to enjoy the rest of your weekend, to enjoy the beautiful weather that we're having, even though it's a little warm, but you know, you live in Houston, you get used to it. It's beautiful, it's nice. Enjoy it. Enjoy your weekend. And ladies and gentlemen, Godspeed.