Identity Politics And Why Accountability Still Matters

Loyalty feels good until it starts excusing the very thing we claim to oppose. We take a hard look at identity politics on the right and the left, and why treating politicians like untouchable symbols makes accountability impossible and bad policy inevitable.

We walk through a major Texas election integrity fight over open primaries vs closed primaries, including Governor Greg Abbott’s convention remarks backing closed Republican primaries. Then we test the “great speech” moment against the quieter decisions that actually shape Texas for years, like appointments to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. If higher education is already a battleground over DEI, compelled speech, and ideological capture, who gets appointed matters as much as what gets applauded on stage.

From there, we widen the lens: a Harris County judge reportedly absent from court while still drawing a public salary, a Texas Supreme Court ruling that limits state power in an eminent domain repurchase dispute, and a Discovery Green teen takeover that forces Houston police into crowd control and gunfire response. We also bring in Medicare Monday with Justin White to explain where Medicare Advantage is heading, why PPO plans are under pressure, when to expect real plan details, and what the Annual Notice of Change in September can reveal about cancellations, networks, and benefits.

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Transcript

Convention Weekend And What’s Next

SPEAKER_09 0:04

From Deep in the Heart of Texas, it's Houston's gun loving Patriot, and the voice of reason. This is the Lonestark Conservative, Michael Wilson.

SPEAKER_14 0:32

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative here on Patriot Talk 920. And by the way, we were out at the State of Texas GOP convention all weekend. They are Patriot Talk 920. We had a couple of live broadcasts, some prerecorded interviews, lots of exciting stuff. If you were not able to tune into the afternoon show, uh you really did miss out because we did, we did actually have quite a few very good interviews with we have we have a we had an interview on there with the new chair, Durinda Randall of the State of Texas Republican Party. We had interviews with Brian Harrison, Nate Sheets, Brandon Herrera. The list goes on, right? If you missed that, you should definitely check out the podcast. We now have both episodes. I think they're titled like GOP Convention Day One, GOP Convention Day Two. And you can just find it as probably the most recently uploaded uh podcast episodes. If you just search the Lone Star Conservative on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, wherever you use, just search Lone Star Conservative and you'll find my show there. And you can check out, of course, all the morning episodes. If you ever miss a morning episode and you want to tune in, you can check it out there. But you can also check out those afternoon editions where we were live and on site at the GOP State of Texas convention. With that being said, of course, at the top of the second hour, we're gonna have Justin White from Senior Health Services coming on for, of course, Medicare Monday, which you won't want to miss. We always answer all the most difficult questions kind of surrounding Medicare, what you need to know about what's going on, especially as we're getting closer and closer to the fall, which is tough to say, I can't believe. You know, I felt like just yesterday it was winter, now we're in the summer, fall's coming up.

Identity Politics And Blind Loyalty

SPEAKER_14 2:15

But I want to get off the show here this morning talking about the issue that I have with identity politics. And what I mean by that is and and I like Trump for a lot of reasons. And I've always I've said before, and this I I want to be very clear about it so people understand my position on it. I supported Trump before I was old enough to vote, like a lot of people. I I was I was, I think in 2016, when he got elected, I was 15 years old pushing for people to go vote for Trump that I had that were friends that were older than me that could go vote. I was 15. And I was looking forward partially to being adult because I wanted to vote for Trump come 2020. And kind of going through all of that, there was a whole movement behind Donald Trump as a sort of figurehead that I think a lot of people got swept up into and that I think is incredibly dangerous. And I'm not saying that because I don't like Trump, and I'm not saying that because I think it's dangerous to have Trump leading anything that's not true. The reason I say that is because anytime that you form a movement around a person, that movement sours. That is just the inevitable repercussions of what happens unless that movement is centered around Jesus Christ. That's the one exception to that rule. You cannot have a movement around a man unless that man is also fully God. That's how it works. And the identity politics that we're playing today, and it's not just identity with people, it's also identity with party. These identity politics that we're dealing with on a massive scale are, I think, creating a very big danger for both the right and the left and for our future as a country. Because it's resulting in people not holding their elected leaders accountable because they're loyal to those elected leaders. It results in watching a politician who's doing something that you should be able to question, you should be able to ask and say, hey, why are you doing this? Hey, why in the world would you pursue said policy? And a lot of the result of these identity politics have been that we can't do that, or you're not supposed to do that, or that's automatically presumed to be you being anti-Trump or literally anti-anybody. I'm using Trump as an example because I think he was the first to really kind of come in and kind of change up the system a lot in this particular way. But it it occurs with a variety of politicians where it's almost like you can't say anything bad. You can't question their motives, you can't question their policies, or it's automatically assumed that you don't align with where we are supposed to be moving. Or you've heard the phrase, we're all in the same boat running in the same direction. I've heard that used a variety of times. I've used that, and it's true. Right? I've I've harped on unity over and over and over going into the midterms, going into every election. Every general election, there should be a sense of unity where we get behind the party and we say we gotta do what needs to be done. What that can't mean is that we refuse to hold those who are in elected positions accountable for the things they say and the things they do. That's the whole point of having if we're not gonna do that, then why do we bother setting up a republic in the first place? If if we're not gonna hold our elected officials accountable because of their their position and because of their name and because of our loyalty, then why didn't we just start as a monarchy? That that was partially the whole point was that we didn't want the tyranny and the associated identity politics that came with it. There's a lot of danger in the refusal, the adamant refusal that I've seen from so many on the right who are unwilling to speak the truth about a politician because they don't want to get blacklisted. They don't want their name to look be looked down upon. They don't want to be called out for not going along with the direction the party's going. They don't want to be the odd man out, the you know, the the greasy wheel gets the WD-40, whatever the language is, whatever terminology you want to use, they don't want to be in trouble. They don't want to have to face the repercussions of coming out and saying, hey, I like you, but I don't like this. What's going on with or or even just not even just necessarily speaking out against a policy, but even so much as questioning a policy, which we should all be doing for every single policy. Every single policy that comes out, we should be willing and able to question and to ask, hey, is that in the best interest of the tech people of Texas? Is that in the best interest of the American people? We should be asking that every single day of every single policy and every single bill. We should be questioning them to make sure that they ultimately align with our goals, with what we the people desire, so that we're being well represented. And I'll give you a re a really clear kind of compare comparison and a contrast of this. I use Trump as an example, but I'm actually gonna kind of talk a little bit about Governor Abbott in this regard. Because Governor Abbott is one of those guys that has done, continues to do, and probably will do into the future, a lot of good things. A lot of positive things for the Republican Party, a lot of good things for the movement, a lot of good things for the people. But I think it's important that we look at each individual policy as its own policy rather than looking at each individual policy as something that's coming out from a specific person, and therefore, by by end result, we just necessarily support it. Here's a comparison. Uh to kick it off, let's talk about Abbott's talk about primaries.

Unity Without Losing Accountability

SPEAKER_14 7:45

Uh, because he threw his support behind Republican primaries, closed Republican primaries, over the weekend at the GOP convention, which I didn't actually get to attend, so this is coming out from our friends' Texas scorecard. Uh, but he told delegates at the Republican Party of Texas Convention that, quote, unity, only Republicans will vote in Republican primaries going forward. That declaration from the governor's office is incredibly important, which is just days, by the way, after the Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced that she's going to step down next month, uh, and nearly a year after her office became embroiled in a legal battle, an ongoing lawsuit with the Republican Party of Texas over that particular issue. He said, Let me just emphasize, we are going to make clear that in the future only Republicans vote in Republican elections. Now we currently operate under what we call an open primary system. And for those who aren't aware, just so you understand what we're even talking about, the way that primaries work right now in the state of Texas, anyone can vote in whatever party they want in the primary and a different party in the general. Meaning that if you're a Democrat and you don't really care who wins the primary election for whatever races you're voting in, or you already think you know who's going to win in the primary elections and you don't think you're going to have any impact, you can switch over and vote in the Republican primary for a for a moderate Republican so that regardless of who wins the general, when you vote for the Democrat and the general, if the Republican still wins, at least you don't have to contend with with policies coming out from a conservative figurehead. At least you don't have to contend with policies from someone who actually represents conservative values. You can operate with someone who's willing to work across lines, who's willing to be more bipartisan and open and compromise on a lot of issues. And we've seen that happen with a lot of races. We've seen that happen a lot very recently. Uh the Dave Phelan race is an excellent example of this. I've used it time and time again because I think it's so clear that more people who were going to vote in the November, December in the November election, the general election, voted in the open primary of the Republican Party. More people voted in that election for Dade Phelan than there were people who who ultimately the split between the two candidates. Meaning that if you had banned open primaries before that election, Dade Phelan may not have ever been elected in the first place. You may have not had to contend with that at all. You may have never had a Dade Phelan, you would have had the alternative result. And we've seen that Dave Feeling's a good example of this, but we've seen it over and over and over again. Where our open primary system has selected people who are not representative of the values of our state because Democrats were able to vote in the Republican primary. And that's an incredibly dangerous open primary uh primary system to have in general. It's just not a good idea. It allows undue influence from the Democrat from the Democrat Party on the Republican nominees, which they should have zero, precisely zero influence on, and yet we've given them a whole lot of influence. So last year, the Secretary of State's office under Jane Nelson uh was sued by the party, by the Republican Party of Texas. Uh you had Ken Paxton, who usually would represent a state agency, so usually you'd expect that the Attorney General's office would have supported Jane Nelson in her side of the lawsuit, but Ken Paxton actually instead sided with the state GOP while Nelson's office had to seek dismissal by going through a third-party law firm. And so that litigation is actually going on right now still. And so Abbott kind of just stayed out of that back when it was really going on. And now that Jane Nelson has stepped down, and we don't know all of the background details as to why she stepped down. It could have been after pressure from the gubernatorial office, uh, it could have been a variety of things. But she decided to step down, and now Abbott comes out. And so his remarks are representing a very clear endorsement of a closed primary policy, uh, which has long been championed by people like us, by the grassroots movement, by people who are saying, hey, we want the Republicans to have influence over our own nominees, which is important. And that was, of course, uh one of one of several policy priorities that he highlighted for Republican activists ahead of the next legislative session. There are other things as well that we don't have time to get into. Uh but I just want to make it clear, he has also not announced a successor for the Secretary of State's office, uh, but you have multiple sources that have suggested that uh State Representative Nate Chatzlein is under consideration for that position. But I want to applaud this particular decision. Because I think it's important that anytime you have someone in a position of authority, a position of power, granted, that that power, quote unquote, is coming from the people. It's actually the people's power that's being represented by someone in that office. When somebody has that level of power given to them by the people, it's important that they do good things. And it's important that when they do good things, that we are willing to say, hey, that is a good thing and we want to see more of it. And so I I'm I'm gonna be very clear. I think it's very important that our governor stands in firm support of closed primaries. I think it's very important that our really our highest office for the state is willing to take a stand principally and say, hey, you know what? It's actually really bad for the movement, for the party, for our elections, and for our system in general. It's really bad that Democrats can vote to select Republican nominees. That's a very bad thing to happen and it needs to be done away with. Now, of course, I don't think it needs to be done by the legislature. I think that, of course, would be almost everybody's preference if the legislature would do it. We all would rather see that. We want to see that come from a legislative priority that's passed and codified into law, as opposed to the party having to sue and go through a judge to get it done. Right? We don't want to necessarily see it coming out. But if that's what we have to do to get it, it's worth it, right? If we have to go before a judge or if we have to have the Secretary of State's office affirm it instead of it going through the legislature, that's still better than not doing it at all. So if the legislature is not going to do it, which they should, then we need to have an alternate methodology for making sure that it actually passes, for making sure that we actually get our primaries closed in the first place. And so the reason I bring up this article in the first place is to highlight, hey, Governor Abbott is saying and doing good things. This is a good priority to have, this is a good thing to support, this is something that we need to all say, hey, we're we're in line with this. We are supportive of this. And I started off the segment kind of talking about identity politics, talking about how in so many cases, you have this blind support of an office or of a person rather than looking at each individual

Abbott Backs Closed Republican Primaries

SPEAKER_14 14:20

policy as its own policy and questioning or calling out those policies when maybe they don't align with your position. And so to contrast the fact that Governor Abbott is undeniably doing a good thing by coming out in support of closed primaries, while Abbott has also appointed someone to the higher education coordinating board. That's also a new story that's that's coming out. His name is Brian Haley, uh, who's who's going who has been appointed uh to a vacant position on Texas's higher education coordinating board. And we'll talk a little bit about why this kind of compares, why this and how this contrasts to the closed primary and why we need to look at each policy as its own policy. When we get back from the break, as always, if you would like to text into the show, let us know your thoughts on anything we're covering. If you have a point to make about Governor Abbott or about identity politics, or you just have questions, or you have a story that you've heard a little bit about, but you want to hear reported here on the show, feel free to text in at 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and Lord willing, I'll be right back to talk all about that comparison in the next segment.

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Higher Ed Board Pick Raises Questions

SPEAKER_14 19:50

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. Governor Greg Abbott has also appointed Brian Haley of Austin to a vacant position on the Texas's higher education coordinating board. Now, Haley, who is an investment company executive, has served on a series of boards in the Austin area related to the arts and UT Austin. However, he has extensive experience fundraising for moderate Republicans, primarily John McCain. During the current election cycle, he's also branched out to finance Democrats. According to campaign finance data, Haley has donated to three candidates during the 2026 election cycle, Kelly Hancock and Jim Wright, both of whom lost their Republican primaries, and Democratic Representative candidate Josh Wallenstein. According to his campaign website, Wallenstein is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the AFL CIO, and a series of anti-Christian and anti-Second Amendment groups. He's running against Republican incumbent Mono Deala for a Houston area seat. A national Democrat campaign committee announced last week that this district is a target for the 2026 election cycle. And so I think a lot of people are concerned saying, hey, so this guy is donating to Democrats and moderate Republicans, like the whole point of you're talking about closing the primaries, Governor Abbott. Why did you appoint someone whose whole support seems to be on milked toast moderate Republicans and Democrats? That does not seem to be someone that'll be that is aligned even remotely with the goals and agendas of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. That board oversees a series of different operational functions related to our state subsidized universities, making sure that our higher education institutions are leading correctly, are teaching correctly, and are operating correctly. That's a very important job. And so we should be looking at every appointment and saying, hey, you know, I I think it's a little bit confusing why you're coming out and you're you're taking on a conservative priority like closing the primaries, and then you appoint a moderate Republicanslash Democrat to the position on the Texas' higher education coordinating board where there are not enough people you could select from. I think there are plenty of people who would be willing to serve if you Who are not moderates, who are not Democrats, and yet you went out and you selected somebody who is very clearly not in support of conservative priorities, especially at a time where we're already dealing with massive issues when it comes to higher education. And so I I think I think it's it's very important that we understand exactly what's going on here. Uh, because the speech that he delivered on Friday to the convention, right, I I think that contained quite a bit that we wanted to hear, right? Closed primaries, stronger property extra states were also in there, uh district attorneys who refused to enforce the law, he talked about taking actions against those people, right? There were a lot of things that we don't have time to really dive into, uh restrictions on H1B employment, uh more tools against Sharia law. There were a variety of things that he kind of talked about, but they're very serious proposals, and many of them I think we should consider very seriously and say, hey, those sound good. They sound great, actually. But then you look across the board and you see, okay, but at the same time that you're making all of those grandiose claims, that you're saying that you stand in staunch support of things that we support. At the same time, you're putting someone on this higher education coordinating board that doesn't quite seem to line up with the things that you're saying you believe in. Almost simultaneously, as he's doing all of this, he's appointing this guy who is sitting around and he's he's donating to Democrats to attempt to defeat a Republican state representative. That's the guy that you've selected. He's not running in some uncontested district, right? He's not donating to some Democrat just because he has money. I mean, even that wouldn't make any sense. But he's donating to a place where they're trying to take more and more Democrat control. And I don't think it's coincidental that he's donating to moderate Republicans, even when he does donate to Republicans, when he's supporting the people who are clearly not part of the grassroots, people who are clearly not part of the conservative list, right? Jim Wright over Beau French is a wild determination to make if you're trying to be a conservative. And so it's very obvious that this guy's very, it's very obvious this guy is not a conservative, if at all a Republican in the first place. And so I think it's fair that we have to ask a couple questions. First of all, how did you even make this determination, right? Do you know the contributions that he made to the Democrat Party before the appointment? And if you did it, right? If you did, that's really bad because you knew that he was donating to Democrats and you put him in anyway. If you didn't know, I think that's another very, very big issue for us to question. Well, how bad is our vetting process for these boards that we don't know in advance? Either way it goes, it's problematic, right? Was was was Haley asked, hey, why did you why did you support this Democrat before? Why why did why are you uh you know donating these campaigns? Why have you selected the things that you've selected? What do you believe about DEI, about compelled speech, racial gender ideology? Those are the questions that we should be asking about somebody who's going to be put on the higher education board. And again, these are not demands for like personal vengeance. Oh, you don't need to do a Democrat, therefore I don't like you. Uh but they're they're very ordinary questions that we should always be asking about stewardship. And that's where we often fail, all the time as a party, right? You have this guy, you have the governor who walks onto the stage of the convention, right? He gives a very good speech, he checks every single rhetorical box you could possibly imagine. He does all these good things, makes all these good, good grand claims about what he wants to do, and everyone applauds and everybody posts clips on their social media, and everyone goes home feeling like, oh yeah, the movement's doing good. Finally, the Republican Party is moving in the right direction, and then meanwhile, at the same time that he's giving this these speeches, at the same time that he's talking about all these grand claims, in the background, we're still getting Democrat appointments to our boards. Right? The speech receives a lot of attention. While those decisions, the actual decisions that are going to impact our young people, yeah, that are going to change the way that education is fomented, that are going to change the way that our that our higher institutions operate, those aren't being looked at because at least he's giving good speeches. The person who he's appointed to a board, anytime he appoints anybody to a board, has a potentially enormous amount of influence long after the convention ends. Right. This could be a year's long appointment. He may help decide how money is administered, how state policy gets interpreted on the higher education side of things, and how institutions are ultimately held accountable for the way they're violating potentially state law. And again, I'm not saying that every single person appointed to every single board has to have a perfect, non-spotty, uh just incredible record. That's not that's not what I'm saying at all. But I want to be clear if you have recently donated to Democrats, I think it's fair for the people of Texas to ask, why did you appoint that guy? Of all of the options you could have selected from, out of all the available opportunities for that position, why did you pick a guy who is standing in staunch support of moderacy or or maybe even of radicalism on the left? Why is that your choice, right? Because you know, if this was reversed, if you had James Tallerico, for instance. James Tallerico comes out and he's giving this grand speech about what he believes, things that are radical agenda items to the left from boys and girls sports to mass immigration. He gives this speech and all the Democrat activists applaud, and then he comes out and he starts working with Republicans. You can you can see very clearly immediately, immediately, Democrat activists are going to be all over his back for it. We know because that happens all the time. You have plenty of examples of Democrats who the party no longer really supports. Sean Theory is an example of this. John Fetterman, even. Democrats who are certainly still Democrat, who we still don't align with, but who are not as radical as the base would like them to be, who can say all the right things, but the moment they kind of go one direction on something small, they're basically kicked out of the party. That happens all the time. And we should be applying the same standard, and it doesn't make any sense that we're not. Right? We should not become less discerning merely because the governor placing the appointment is a Republican. Merely because that that that governor has given great speeches and promised good things in the future, right? It's crazy to be uh when you look even down at the at the base logic of this, because the whole point of the closed primaries is the Republicans should get to select their own nominees. That we should be able to elect our own leadership, that we should be able to choose actual conservatives. And then the very same guy who's doing that speech at the very same time goes back and says, Well, I'm a Republican, you elected me, and I'm gonna go select a Democrat to serve. It's it's completely backwards from everything he's promising. And I think it's reasonable that we ask questions on that, right? It's not even just the issue of this particular story, but the greater issue in general of the identity politics that I wanted to start off talking about. Because the bigger issue isn't even whether or not he appointed a Democrat to the higher education coordinating board. Though that is a problem that we definitely have talked about and should question for sure. The bigger issue I have is why it seems like as a base, we start giving our essentially our undying loyalty or undying loyalties to people rather than to policies. I'm not saying you're not allowed to like Governor Abbott. I'm not allowed, I'm not saying you're not allowed to like Donald Trump or to overall support their policy agendas and the things they stand for, or to applaud their speeches. No, no, that's what I'm saying. What I am saying is the way that politics has started working, where everything is about a person rather than specific policies, where everything's about, well, do you support Abbott? Well, sometimes. I mean, I'm gonna vote for him in November for sure, but do I support every pol No. And I think it's important that we we acknowledge that and that when there are issues, we're willing to call them out. We're willing to say, hey, that's not good. Without it being taken like we all of a sudden hate a particular person. Or like all of a sudden we we don't care about everything they did. I remember I was debating someone on Trump because Trump isn't as pro-life as I'd like to see our president be. I'd like to see the next president, the next president after that be more and more pro-life, where there's a desire to ultimately end abortion nationwide. That this is the biggest genocide potentially in world history, and we're just allowing it to continue. We're allowing babies to continue to be murdered in their mother's womb. That should end. That should be a national ban on abortion. And so when I when I when Trump said, Hey, I'm good with a heartbeat bill, I'm good with the six weeks or whatever, and he says, well, states' rights, and he says all these things, I came out and I said, that's not good enough. I I think we should demand better. I think we should let Trump know at the bare minimum, hey, the people desire for this to be ended. The people want to see an end to the genocide that has occurred that has killed a vast, a vast number of my generation. One out of every four Gen Zers is dead because they were aborted. Right? It's an insane statistic to think about, but it's very realistic. And I remember a conversation I had with someone where I said that. I said, hey, we should hold Trump accountable and say this is what the people want out of our abortion policy. And I was told, you don't like Trump. Well, don't you know Trump is the most pro-life president? Well, well, don't you know the good that he's done? Well, well, don't you realize that without Trump we wouldn't have overturned Roe v. Wade? Yes, I do. And I applaud every single one of those things that Trump has done for the pro-life movement, right? I I support every single one of the things that Trump has done in regards to ending Roe v. Wade. All the Supreme Court appointments that ultimately resulted in our ability to send it back to the states. That's great. I'm very glad that happened. I'm very supportive of those policies. But that doesn't mean that Trump gets a free pass to say and do whatever he wants whenever he wants without any backlash from his own party. That's ridiculous. And that's it, that's an insane way to view politics. And that is exactly how you get tyranny in the first place. When people think they have a free pass to do whatever they want because their own base won't say anything about it. You won't call out the bad decisions. You're afraid to say, hey, that's not good. That's not what the people want. This isn't a positive. I'm glad you gave a good speech. Glad to hear it. I'm glad that you say that you stand in support of closed primaries. I'm glad that you want more tools to deal with Islamic influence. I'm glad that you want more done on the border. I'm very excited to see what you're gonna do with all these varieties of issues. But I'm not gonna ignore when you do something bad just because you're doing other good things or saying you're gonna do other good things. I'm not playing the identity game where you've earned my trust, therefore you don't get called out by me not playing that. No, no conservatives should be playing that game. It's a it's a it's a dangerous game. It's a it's a terrible game. And it's one we're gonna lose every single time if we're if we're willing to play it. We shouldn't be playing it at all. We should be saying, no, my policy, my political preference is not for an individual, it is for policy, it is for truth, it is for specific things that need to happen. And if you do those things largely, then I'll support you. And when you make a mistake, I'll still call you out, but I may still support you because you've done a lot of good. But if we're refusing to do the call you out part, if we're refusing to question why our elected leaders are doing things, why our elected officials are making certain decisions, if we can't come out and say that doesn't look good, why would you do that? Then there's a bigger issue at play than simply that we elected a Democrat elected. We we put in a Democrat to the higher education coordinating board. There's a bigger issue than just good speech is a bad policy. There's an issue going on in the grassroots, in the conservative base that is afraid to speak the truth because we don't want to look like we don't support a specific person. And that I think is incredibly dangerous.

Holding Leaders Accountable On Abortion

SPEAKER_14 34:28

Now, with that being said, when we get back from the rec, we're gonna jump over and uh talk about this Harris County judge who apparently was absent from court for so far most of this year, despite the salary that she's still earning, while she's you know consistently absent, which we'll talk about uh in the next segment. As always, if you would like to text into the show, let us know your thoughts. The number is 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You are listening to the Lone Star Conservative, and Lord willing, I'll be right back with the rest of that story after the break.

SPEAKER_11 35:14

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

SPEAKER_03 35:29

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

SPEAKER_18 35:59

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SPEAKER_02 36:15

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

SPEAKER_06 36:19

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

SPEAKER_02 37:21

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

SPEAKER_14 37:44

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SPEAKER_04 38:14

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SPEAKER_13 38:45

Patriot Talk 920 is your Houston base stamp for the America first movement. I'm Todd Starns and join me weekdays at 11 on Patriot Talk920 and online at PatriotTalk920.com.

Harris County Judge Missing From Court

SPEAKER_14 39:27

Had has been absent from her family law court for most of this year, according to Harris County Records. Judge Angela Groves Harrington used her county-issued badge to swipe into the civil courthouse or any other county buildings on 13 weekdays, including just once in the month of April, according to badge swipe data through May 13th, obtained with open records request. That means that from the start of 2026 to May 13th, she swiped in two county buildings just 13 weekdays. 13 times. Now, you do the math out, and it should be what twenty times a month minimum. And you go through I mean four and a half months. You have what ninety swipes? And you're at 13? You're showing up one eighth of the amount of time that you should be. Nevertheless, outside of court, she has made some public appearances in her capacity as judge, uh, but her presence in the actual court, which handles the divorce, child custody, and other family proceedings, has been sporadic since around the time of her husband's death in October of 2025, which has continued, obviously, as recently as May. Graves Harrington, whose annual salary consists of $192,000 in state funds and another $25,000 from the county for that position, attributed her absence to medical leave and declined to elaborate. She is still collecting a paycheck, according to the Texas Comptroller's office, which means she's making what? Do the math out? That's what? Almost $218,000,000, $217,000 a year that she's making while she swipes in one time, one time in the month of April, and twelve times in the other three and a half months she's been in office since she was last elected. And I get it, right? If you're if you're getting older and your husband passes away and you've got medical issues, I understand not being able to show up. I I I do get it. That actually makes a lot of sense. That's when you say, It's time for me to step out. It's time for me to be done as judge. It's time for me to move on. And whether that's retirement or more freelance work or maybe an aide or somebody who kind of serves in a more advisory capacity, whatever that looks like, totally fine. It is totally acceptable. But if you're gonna continue to serve as judge, you don't get to then blame your year and a half old grief for the reason that you're being paid by the taxpayers and not showing up to work. You don't get to you don't get to do that. That's a that's a non-sequitur automatically. You're not allowed to do that. And so Armanda Coyne, a spokesman for the administrative office of the courts, declined to comment on what those personal health matters were, uh, or when she would be back to the bench. And so again, the badge swipes from Harris County Universal Services show the number of times that she entered a county building. The time and location of the board swipes were redacted. Uh, she had last used her badge on May 3rd, which was a Sunday when Universal Services pulled her records. And so again, you can look at the number of times. When you look back at 2025, it makes sense, right? In May of 2025, she swiped in 19 times. Like I said, you swipe somewhere around 20 times a month. That makes just about the right amount of sense. In June of 25, she swiped 20 times. In July of 2025, she swiped 17 times. So already going down by July of last year. By August of last year, she was down to 12 swipes. Same for September, 12 swipes again. In October of last year, she swiped in eight times. In November of last year, she swiped in once. December was twice, January was twice, February was six times, March was four times, and April was once. That's that's who Shaka Pippi paid $218,000 to be a presiding judge. And uh concerns kind of escalated this month, uh, when an administrative judge, Susan Brown, ordered her cases to be transferred to other family courts and to block her court from receiving new cases until further notice for the mere reality that she's not doing her job. And so other judges were already already handling the bulk of her work. Uh, scattering of retired and former judges paid through state funding were posted to her court allowing her following her husband's death, but requests for outside assignments. Through her office came to a halt, according to records from the office. And so now they're switching it to an entirely different district area. Which should never have to happen. And again, I'm not trying to be lacking a level of sympathy and compassion for someone who lost their husband and who's suffering medically. I'm not trying to be, you know, rude. But that means you should drop out. That means you have to resign. That means you don't run. While you're running for reelection, you did one day of work in November of last year. I think there's a reality maybe you shouldn't be running. Maybe you should be resigning, and it's time to move on. With that being said, to wrap up the first hour of the show, as always, we're going to have the weather report. If you would like to text in, the number is 713-779-5978 for any thoughts, concerns, questions, disagreements, or things you want to hear more about, 713-779-KYST. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and Lord willing, I'll be right back to wrap up the first hour of the show with the weather report after the break. So hang tight. We'll be right back after the break.

SPEAKER_01 45:05

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SPEAKER_08 45:21

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

SPEAKER_15 45:27

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SPEAKER_07 45:51

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SPEAKER_04 46:22

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SPEAKER_14 46:52

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SPEAKER_03 47:23

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SPEAKER_00 47:52

My doctor won't take my plan anymore.

SPEAKER_12 47:55

Why is my Medicare supplement so expensive?

SPEAKER_00 47:58

My prescription drug plan sucks.

SPEAKER_17 48:01

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

SPEAKER_06 48:09

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

SPEAKER_10 48:22

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SPEAKER_11 48:30

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Houston Flood Risk Weather Update

SPEAKER_14 49:12

Repeated rounds of heavy rain could bring localized flooding to the Houston area through the middle of the week, creating, of course, potential travel disruptions, especially given that we still have ongoing World Cup events across our region. And so for today, let's kick it off with today. For the morning, most morning commutes should remain mostly rain-free as temperatures climb through the 70s and into the eighties under partly cloudy skies. A few downpours are possible, but we do not expect widespread rain during the first half of the day. Now, by early afternoon, temperatures reaching the mid and upper eighties is gonna that's gonna help fuel scattered showers and thunderstorms. The first storms are expected to develop inland and generally parallel to the coast before spreading to the Houston metro area. By late afternoon, going into the evening, storms should expand toward the I-10 corridor and become more widespread across the Houston area. Periods of heavy rain could create ponding on roads and slow the evening commute in down in some locations. Overnight, we may expect briefly for storm coverage to decrease before another round of showers and other storms develops overnight into tomorrow, as conditions become increasingly favorable for flooding rainfall. Now, not everyone's gonna see rain today, but many communities are expected to receive at least a little bit. Areas that remain mostly dry could still see heated values climbing to the low one hundreds. Uh, rain chances are gonna remain elevated through much of the work week as a weak area of low pressure moves north along the Texas coast. The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring a disturbance near northeastern Mexico that could emerge over the Western Gulf later this week, though development chances remain low for that, so I don't want anyone to freak out. It's not worth worrying about. Regardless of that, the system is intended to help maintain a wet pattern across Texas. Also be aware with all of this, rip currents certainly remaining a concern for the next several days. Above normal tides could also lead to isolated minor coastal flooding. The primary weather concern this week is flooding from repeated rounds of heavy rain through Wednesday. So today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, most of the Houston areas going to receive between two and four inches of rain, with some isolated locations getting closer to the six to eight inch range where thunderstorms repeatedly track over the same neighborhoods. And so basically, what you're hearing is it's still going to be warm, it's certainly going to be muggy, and it's going to be rainy for a lot of the street. With that being said, at the top of the next hour, having Justin White from Senior Health Services on for Medicare Monday. Text in 713-779-5978. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. And Lord willing, we're right back with Justin White at the top of the next hour.

SPEAKER_09 52:06

From deep in the heart of Texas, it's Houston's God-loving patriot, the voice of reason. This is the most star conservative, Michael Wilson.

SPEAKER_20 52:18

I'm a bandit. Let's all be offended.

SPEAKER_14 52:33

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative here on Patriot Talk 920.

Medicare Market Outlook With Justin White

SPEAKER_14 52:41

Joining me now as we do Mondays at the top of the Tekken Hour here at 7 a.m. We're having Justin White from Senior Health Services coming on for our Medicare Monday segment. Welcome to the show, Justin. Hey, good morning. Good to be here as always. Good to have you here as always. And now what I want to do today, I want to step back a little bit from a lot of the stuff because we've gone over specific plans, enrollment periods, enrollment questions, penalties. I want to step a little bit back and look at the broader market a little bit because I think there's a lot of concern from people about this pressure that's kind of building up throughout the industry from cancellations or reduced benefits and narrower networks. There's a lot of that. And so, first of all, can you kind of give us a picture of when we'll know I don't want to say definitively, because I guess you'd never really know, but when we kind of expect to have way more details than we have now?

SPEAKER_05 53:31

Well, I'm going to be finding out, and I guess I the uh anybody in the industry, we will start finding out a lot more detail about what plans are going to look like in the fall. Probably the more consistent flow will begin in the very latest part of July, and certainly on into uh in June through August, as we look and see what the carriers are gonna be rolling out for next year. Um, but we're not gonna be able to talk about it with anybody uh publicly until the 1st of October. So I gotta make sure which can be a problem.

SPEAKER_14 54:09

So I gotta make sure to be careful when I ask you from August to October.

SPEAKER_05 54:13

Oh, you can ask me whatever, believe me. I I know what I can say and what I cannot. Um I won't say you can you can ask me whatever you like, but that's that's the uh that's the reality of it. We can speculate all day, we all we want, we can make educated guesses, we just can't talk about the specs because they they're kind of honest about that.

SPEAKER_14 54:33

Right, right. Now, getting into that, into some speculation, I wanted to clarify that timeline so people understood we don't know any of this definitively. We we we we don't have the ability to prophesy and see into the future. So these are all based on market trends that we see going on, directions we see the market going. Justin, when you look at the Medicare market like generally, like the overall picture, what direction do you kind of seeing do you kind of see it heading right now?

SPEAKER_05 54:58

Well, I mean, the the speculation is fairly easy, you know, to uh to go down. So like I see the the pressure that the PPO plans are putting on the carriers is palpable. They're all losing money on them because of of uh overutilization and people needing to go in, which of course that's what the insurance is for. But they're having a lot of pressure put on them and they're losing money. So um I fully expect that we're gonna see adjustments to those plans. They're gonna be at the very best, they're gonna be made less attractive in a lot of ways. Um, and at the very worst, we might actually see some continued uh service reductions, service service area reductions are what they call those SARS, uh, which basically means that they go in there and the plans that are not profitable for them, they just cut them off. And that's been going on in in certain areas. The PPOs have been especially hard hit, and uh, and that's very plausible that that could continue on, and we could possibly see that some some in our areas.

SPEAKER_14 56:03

Right now, mentioning the PPOs, I want to get into that a little bit specifically. Uh why, what makes, and maybe this is a little bit lack of my knowledge or or what the listeners might want to hear more about, but PPOs specifically, what kind of makes them difficult to maintain in this particular market? What what is the reason for kind of abandoning PPOs or putting more pressure on those?

SPEAKER_05 56:24

Well, when you don't need referrals, which is ever what everybody wants, when you don't need referrals, it gives people the ability and the freedom, which which is what they want, by the way, uh, to go in whenever they want to and to go wherever. So a lot of people will go and and something will come up, and instead of going to their primary doctor, they run straight into the specialist, which is a far more expensive deal. But think of the context. You know, you go in there, it may be something that a primary can handle very easily. It might be an inhaler and an antibiotic. But when they go into the pulmonologist, for example, for that genus infection, and the pulmonologist does not know this person, they're not familiar with them, they don't know what's been ruled out, they don't know what has to have been done, and they've got somebody there in front of them that feels bad, they don't want to be feared for missing something, so they run lots and lots and lots of tests to make sure that they don't leave anything on the table, and you know, and a small reimbursement for a primary doctor turns into a very involved round of medically necessary testing because the specialist doesn't have any context, right? That's uh that it becomes a drain. And that's that's a that not not in every case, obviously, but it's happening enough to where the claims loss situation on the PPOs is rough.

SPEAKER_14 57:46

It is rough. Right. So now compare that obviously to how you know you see the pressure on the PBOs and more opportunity for these HMOs. Um, and I think that's that's kind of the reason we see that, obviously, is because HMOs kind of allows for, I don't want to say a greater power differential, but kind of allows for more structure, I'd say, in that regard. Is that fair?

SPEAKER_05 58:07

Well, yeah, absolutely. And really all the the PPOs have been demonized, um, and and in a lot of ways, rightly so, when they came into existence back in the 70s and then really sort of went through the 80s and 90s, the carriers handled them very poorly. Uh, you know, that's where the term gatekeeper and all this stuff came up. And so people understandably are a little bit creeped out by them, but really all they are are cost-contained vehicles. All they want people to do is just lift their primary doctor and the first crack at whatever's going on. If the primary doctor can fix it, it's cheaper for everybody involved. If they can't, they refer them. And so people are really worried about well, they're just trying to keep me from going to the specialist. Not necessarily. They don't want you to go to the specialist unless it's necessary. But if you need to go see a specialist or something and they don't send you, Medicare is going to come down on them with both feet. So it's a matter of just figuring out and and putting a hierarchy on, you know, on where people go for their care so that they can keep the cost somewhat under contain in containment so that they don't just completely spin out of control like they have of late.

SPEAKER_14 59:20

Right. I think it's fair. I think it's at least a little bit fair because you know, money isn't infinite, and if we're gonna spend it, it has to be clear, hey, here's how we're gonna spend it. We need a little bit of structure in that, not saying, hey, you don't get to go to a specialist, but saying, hey, let's do referrals, let's make sure that the doctors know about this so we can do as much as we can, especially again, given where we see these market trends going. Now, I want to highlight one last thing because we kind of mentioned it a little bit, uh, and I don't want to, you know, people to freak out or anything like that, but I do want to say that we have seen, you know, carriers potentially canceling plans or leaving particular areas. What does that sort of look like? Are there any potential expectations for that to kind of come out?

SPEAKER_05 59:57

Um well, it's very possible. Now, those of us in Houston, we we're fortunate because all the carriers want a piece of Houston. You know, they they want to compete very strongly here. So in Houston proper, the greater Houston primary counties, we've had very little in the way of uh service area reductions, which are basically plan cancellations. Most of those things have happened in the rural areas that are lightly populated inside these plans. However, insurance companies are not going to sit there and lose money forever. So it's very, very possible that we can start seeing some of that, especially on the plans that are hitting the carriers particularly hard. And so I think that's possible. And the way people will be able to know that if you're in a PPO is watch your mailbox because in September, towards the latter part, they're gonna get an annual notice of change, which is gonna show what their plan's gonna do, how it's gonna change and where it's going, and unfortunately, up to and and including whether it's gonna be canceled or not.

SPEAKER_14 1:01:03

Right. You kind of stole my last sort of line of questioning there from me. I was gonna mention the annual notice of ask. So on top of potential cancellations, you also have a lot of changes, right? Premiums, copies, all the drug stuff.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:14

I oh, I think for sure, I think you're gonna see that. Now, there might be there might be some outlier, but you know, but there there were some carriers last year that just got obliterated in the fourth quarter and then had a really good season and had a had a zillion people on their PPO uh for this year. And, you know, I can't mention their name, but um, but bottom line is it's it's one of the large companies, and you know, we're all eyes are on them. That's who I'm watching. But yeah, you can just you can see that. I don't know what they're gonna do, obviously, and and they haven't said one thing, they've been very quiet. But I know insurance companies, and they're uh they're not about losing money. So I just would just say everybody get ready, watch for that deal in September. Uh stay close and listen to what's going on because there's gonna be some actual intel that you're gonna want to pay attention to.

SPEAKER_14 1:02:04

Right. And reminder, we don't just have Justin White on because he's a Medicare expert. We also have Justin White on because Senior Health Services is one call away uh from any questions you do have. So especially going into September when you get that annual notice of change, you're probably fair to say you're gonna have quite a few questions. And you're gonna need somebody kind of in your corner who's able to answer those questions, who knows what's going on and who can be there for you. And so if you want to go check them out, as always, you can go to senior health services.com or give them a call. Justin, as always, we greatly appreciate you coming on, giving us your time this morning, keeping us updated, and uh I know that September and October are gonna be here before we know it, and I'm sure we're gonna get to hear a lot more going into the fall time frame from you.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:45

Absolutely, buddy. Looking forward uh, as always, to our visits. And uh everybody out there stay dry today, and we'll uh we'll talk again soon, godwelling, as you always properly say.

SPEAKER_14 1:02:57

Absolutely. Lord will we'll talk to you again next Monday, Justin. You got it. Thanks, sir. Of course. And like I said before, if you want to check out CNR Services, again, you go to CDL Services.com or give them a call 281-894-7540. That is 281-894-7540. Senior Services does just an absolutely excellent job with any questions you have, totally free consultations. They always manage to kind of walk out and look, uh Justin says it all the time. I gotta say it, it's and it's it's something that you need to be aware of, right? Nobody, no group, no organization, it's impossible to get to be perfect. Right? No matter what plan you end up in, of course there's gonna you're gonna look at it and you're gonna say, Oh, I wish it didn't do this, or oh, kind of wish it did that, or oh man, this changed like this, right? That's that's inevitable, especially with the way the market is going right now. You need to start mentally preparing, if you haven't already, for a lot of the changes that are inevitably coming. Kind of what we're starting to prepare you for in the segments right now, saying, hey, which way is the market going? Where's the pressure? Is it on the PPOs? How's that gonna change? Are there potential cancellations? How are prices gonna change? Right? There's a lot of questions that I think people have. And you need to be prepared uh that those questions are not always going to get answered in a way that is for the maximum enjoyment. With that being said, regardless of how the plan changes, regardless of what kind of moves that you'll need to make, regardless of anything, senior health service is gonna have your back. They're gonna be there, and they're gonna get you on the best plan they possibly can uh with all the information they have, especially after all the annual notices of change come out and they're allowed to start revealing all the information they have from inside, they'll be able to do a lot of work with you. Uh that that they'll be able to get you again, it won't be perfect, right? Because plans are changing, but it'll be the very best you can get. Again, you can give them a call anytime you want with any questions at 281-894-7540. That is 281-894-7540. Or just go to senior health services.com if you want to learn more about their organization. Uh, it's nice having local help here in the greater Houston area, who, again, clearly knows a lot about the Houston market, specifically, which answers a lot of our listeners' questions. Now, with that being said, we still have a lot of news left to go here in the second hour. Uh in the next segment, we'll go over the Texas Supreme Court, which has now sided with citizens in this eminent domain dispute uh after the Texas Department of Transportation basically refused to return land. We're also going to go over Houston police responding to these teen takeovers, I'm pretty sure you've you've probably heard of. This one uh happened at Discovery Green. Shots were fired and two were detained with firearms. Uh, we also have the uh a kind of a group of attorneys general that includes Ken Paxton as well as thirteen other. Attorneys General, who have requested that the EPA add abortive drug Mifepristone to contaminant lists. And of course, lots of stories after that, from task forces to potential options coming out of SpaceX, especially now that they've made their public market debut and what that'll mean for consumers and whatnot going forward and for all the missions to Mars to see the little spacemen out there. We'll talk about all of that stuff through the rest of the show. Maybe not. Depends how long each story takes. In the meantime, if you would like to text in, let us know your thoughts. The number is 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You are listening to the Lone Star Conservative. And Lord willing, I'll be right back. Talk all about that eminent domain dispute and the Supreme Court's ruling on it when we get back.

SPEAKER_13 1:06:55

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

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

Supreme Court Limits Eminent Domain Power

SPEAKER_14 1:11:05

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and you're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. So the Texas Supreme Court has now ruled that state agencies cannot invoke sovereign immunity to block former landowners from reclaiming property taxes taken through, or not just taxes, but property in general, taken through eminent domain and later deemed unnecessary for public use. Which of course helps to clarify the limits of state power when it comes to these sorts of problems. Now, to give you a little background, as as I frequently do, we'll go back to the very beginning of this case, which kicked off in this particular instance back in 2013, so it's been about 13 years, the Texas Department of Transportation sent an offer to Joyce Hutcherson, Rudolph Pusok, and Jimmy Pusock, the owners of this home in Tomball, to purchase their property. TechSdot planned to construct a new road along the Grand Parkway. That's Highway 99. After receiving pushback from the landowners, the state filed an eminent domain lawsuit to acquire the property the next year in 2014. The suit was dismissed when the owners ultimately agreed to sell at $1.05 per square foot. Years later, TextDot stated in an email that approximately 20,000 square feet of the subject property constituted surplus land, as the decision to reroute that road made the land no longer necessary for public use. In other words, the land they bought, they didn't actually end up needing. And so when the landowners sought to buy it back, Text Dot denied their request. So then they sued both the state of Texas and Kyle Madsen, the director of TechStot's right of way division, in a Harris County civil court claiming a right to repurchase under the Texas Property Code, Chapter 21. To read that code, just so you understand what they're emphasizing, quote, a person from whom a real property interest is acquired by an entity through eminent domain for public use is entitled to repurchase the property as provided by the subchapter if the property becomes unnecessary for public use for which the property was acquired. In other words, if they eminent domain your land to build part of a highway, and then they never build the highway, you have the right to go get your land back. And so the state, of course, as as you probably noticed here, right, that technical subchapter clarifies if it's done through eminent domain. Well, since the family agreed to sell independently, they did not eminent domain them, meaning that that chapter technically doesn't apply. At least that'd be the argument that I'd make. That's also the argument, of course, that the state made. The state argued that the property was purchased from a settlement, even though the process began with the threat of an eminent domain, rather than a final judgment in any eminent domain proceeding. Therefore, the repurchase statutes do not apply because you we didn't eminent domain your home, you actively and decidedly sold it to us. So of course, the the people that wanted their home back that are pursuing, they rejected that, asserting that all that is required for a property to be acquired through eminent domain is a transfer of land in exchange for compensation. Another argument made by the state was that they sought to recover only a portion of the property, while the repurchase statutes allegedly require any repurchase to cover the entire parcel. And so, notably, the state argued that repurchase statutes don't implicitly waive sovereign immunity, which it claimed is presumed any time a plaintiff files suit to control state action. In other words, we have immunity from any of this, so you can't even come at us in the first place. And the trial court granted the state's injunction in that and then dismissed the case. Of course, the family appealed, they went to the 14th Court of Appeals, which reversed that dismissal, finding that the repurchase claim under Chapter 21 constituted a valid waiver of immunity. Additionally, the court reasoned that the state's acquisition of the property did actually constitute imminent domain because the state compelled the transfer by initiating a condemnation action. In other words, you could say, well, guns weren't involved. I didn't shoot him, he just gave that to me. But if I'm pointing a gun at you and you give it to me, that's still theft. Right? If I if you if if if I point a gun at you and I say, give me your your stuff, or I kill you, and then I'll take it anyway, right? Okay, I'll hand it to you then. See, didn't steal it. He gave it to me. Now you see the logic. When you eminent a domain someone by saying, I'm gonna take your land, and they go, Okay, okay, you're gonna take it, we'll sell it to you. And then they try to come buy it back one day and you go, see, no, you can't do that. We didn't actually eminent domain your land, so we actually don't qualify. The court eventually looked through that and said, That's not actually right. You did eminent domain it in practice by doing what you did. And so, of course, they didn't like that. The state appealed it to the Supreme Court of Texas. And so over the weekend, the Supreme Court of Texas sided with the family, affirming that the state has no immunity from Chapter 21 claims to repurchase condemned property no longer necessary for public use. Uh the opinion continued, repurchase claims derive from constitutional limits placed on the state's eminent domain power. Further, Chapter 21 permits the repurchase of a portion of condemned property no longer necessary for public use. The ruling is, of course, very important uh as it clarifies how much power state actors actually have and what they can't do here, which in this particular case, what they can't do is come in, eminent domain your property, and then claim immunity so that you can't repurchase when they don't end up using it. Um and by the way, one thing that I'm a little bit lost on, one thing that doesn't make sense to me is why they don't just sell it back in the first place. Why in the world go through all these lawsuits and whatever you're not using it? This feels like you ever you ever had a kid that really doesn't like to share? You ever seen a child that's really I it doesn't even have to be a child, but but especially in children. Have you ever seen a child that is just completely unwilling to share just about anything? Right? I'll give you an example of this without naming any names, but I knew somebody who who would you know go get fast food or any type of food really, they would save that food and you weren't allowed to eat it as a leftover. And I get it, that's your food. I understand you wouldn't want someone else to eat it, but it would get to the point where it would go days, maybe even weeks in the refrigerator uneaten. And if you tried to eat it, the answer was you can't do that. I'm gonna eat it, or just simply that's mine. And that's kind of the vibes I'm getting from the state, right? We need to steal your land, which is what eminent domain is. You don't have to like it, but that's what it is. We're gonna steal your land to build a highway. Turns out they never built the highway there. They completely rerouted it. They're not going to build the highway there. And then you say, well, then can I have it back? They say, No, it's ours now. Wait, we don't need it. We're not gonna use it, but we want to have it anyways, because it's ours and you can't have it back. That's kind of what I'm getting out of this, uh, which of course is just incredibly petty and is also, again, highlighting the need for limited government. It's highlighting the need to have a level of understanding that maybe we need to have very specific constraints on our government. This is coming up from the Texas Department of Transportation, and eminent domain is already one of those topics that in general gets a little heated, in general gets a little bit concerning from a lot of people for good reason. People look at eminent domain and they think, hey, this already is a very difficult issue because obviously we understand that there are specific times when it must, it must be possible for the state to use or take your land. We I I and I know conservatives who will say no, they don't, that there's never a case. But I'll get into it with them. I I will happily debate them because that's simply not true. Imagine you have a war on your own front lines. The state is going to take your land if that's where the front lines are in order to house their their personnel there, right? In order to have whatever they need to do what they have to do. Now, there's an argument to be made. Does that qualify to building a road? I mean, that gets into the weeds of this particular issue, and that's where it gets a little dangerous. It gets a little touchy, it gets a little difficult. Because obviously there's an issue when the state is taking someone's land, which is what they did. They want to say that's not what they did because someone bought it or they bought it. Yeah, but you threatened the person at gunpoint to sell it to you. That's the same difference. You stole their land, then you didn't use it, and then when they wanted it back, you said no. And I mean, obviously there's a reason I don't think it's purely pettiness. I'm I'm sure there's something else, like probably that they want to uh ultimately use it for something else. They have maybe a vision of 10 years in the future, or they just leave it open-ended, right? They say, I don't know what we're gonna do, but as the city of Houston grows, we're gonna need access to all the land we can outside the city of Houston to make way for whatever we'll need. I'm sure there's some sort of like argument like that going in the background. In fact, we actually just got a text in about it. Uh, if you would want to text in, by the way, 713-779-5978. This text says it's gotta be money related or something. Maybe they think they'll be able to sell it to a developer in the future, but with the legal bills, would they actually make more? That's also an option I didn't think of. Uh I I kind of considered that they were looking for something years down the line when they might use it. Uh, but maybe they do want to sell it at a higher price as the cost of land goes up. I I I and again, as the city of Houston grows outward, the land is, of course, outside of Houston going to get inevitably more expensive. So potentially I could be on the list of options. I hadn't thought of that. Either way, regardless of if it's pure pettiness or it's that they want to use it for something down their line, or it's that they want to sell it at a higher price, regardless of what it is, it's all wrong. It's all obviously a violation of the role of eminent domain. It's all obviously a violation of chapter 21 of the Texas Code. And it's so obvious. It's so obvious that what they did is is wrong that the Supreme Court of Texas had to say, what are you even what are you even arguing? Are you arguing you didn't eminent domain them because you did? Are you arguing that you're immune? Because chapter 21 specifically says you're not. Like this gives a specific exemption to any sort of sovereign immunity you might have in these particular scenarios in a specific set of circumstances which you're in. You're in the specific circumstance that's highlighted as an exemption to your immunity. So I think it actually I I'm pretty sure it's actually going back to the trial court because this is a ruling on uh the actual ability to rule on it. I know that's a little confusing, but now it has to go back and be ruled on whether they get to repurchase. But the Supreme Court was mostly ruling on do they have immunity and did they do imminent domain? And they said yes, they did, and no, they don't have immunity. So now it can go back to the trial court for the trial court to come in and say, so you don't have immunity, now we have to rule on the merits of the case and see who gets the land. I would I I don't want to assume anything. Given the arguments, it certainly seems like it's gonna go in the family's direction. The Supreme Court saying, yeah, chapter 21 implies, and chapter 21 is is pretty clear about what it says in regards to eminent domain. But again, as I was saying, this gets into the heart of the issue, which is the ability of government to do whatever they want with no repercussions. Can you imagine this argument? They say, we're going to steal your land, we're not gonna use it. And if you want back your land, we're gonna stop you by saying we're immune from your lawsuits. You can't do anything to us. That's that's basically unlimited power. That is basically unlimited, like monarchial dictatorship style power that our government is exhibiting right now. That's that's literally what they're doing. They're saying, we're gonna steal your land from you. We're not even gonna use it ultimately, but we're gonna steal it, and when you want it back, as you're you're legally owed it according to the law, we're gonna say no. And if you try to sue us anyway, we're gonna say, well, we're immune. And so, yeah, it's very important that the Supreme Court of Texas rule the way they did. Right? I'm not I'm not saying that this actually happened because, of course, thank goodness, the Supreme Court said, no, you can't do that. There is an exemption, you're not actually immune from this issue. But that was the argument that the state of Texas was making. That they were immune. Despite the law, despite the constitution, despite the limits, they wanted ultimate power. And as I said over and over and over again, that's what happens to unchecked government agencies and bureaucracies and arms of government. That is how the government operates over and over and over again. They want unlimited power. They want they want no repercussions, they want no accountability, and to be completely honest, that's why you gotta become a member of our sponsor, Gun Owners of America. Gun Owners of America understands that government tyranny was the main reason that the Second Amendment was written. That is ultimately the only real defense that we have against tyranny. That that is the only enforcement we have against tyranny. The Founding Fathers, coming off of a revolution, understood very well that tyranny can only be stopped by an armed populace that's willing to stand up and fight. And that requires the God-given right enshrined in our Constitution to do so. If you want to become a member, you can go to G Oahhouston.com and it's $25 a year. That $25 they spend on right now, we're in election season, so campaigning for candidates that support and defend your rights. That means once we go into the legislative session come January, that means lobbying for good bills and against bad ones, which also means doing research and having staff to do research right now for those bills, getting their legislative priorities, finding out who's writing what. That also means say a bad bill does get through. That means being willing to sue in court and say this is unconstitutional, it's a violation of people's God-given rights. We're not letting it stand. But that all requires your support. So again, you can go to G-O-Ahouston.com, spend $25 per year to continue that fight. With that being said, when we get back from the break, we're gonna jump over and we're gonna talk about these teen takeovers, which have been going on, this one particularly at Discovery Green, the issue around young adults that don't seem to want to behave themselves in this cultural epidemic that we're facing. All that and so much more for the rest of the show. Tick around. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. Text in at 713-779-5978. One more time. That is 713-779-KYST. I'm your host, Michael Wilson. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative, and Lord willing, we're right back with that story after the break. Hang tight, we'll be back very soon.

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Discovery Green Teen Takeover Fallout

SPEAKER_14 1:30:39

Houston police were called to Discovery Green at about 9.23 PM on Saturday after receiving reports of a teenage takeover at the downtown park. Officers arriving at the area found an estimated 500 to 600 juveniles along with various adults gathered at Discovery Green. Additional Houston Police Department resources resources responded to help with crowd control, with officers focused on preventing the group from dispersing into other locations, particularly the FIFA Fan Fest. HPD said resources from the downtown division and the patrol support division responded, and captains coordinated additional personnel by phone as officers were working to break up the crowd. Now, while officers were dispersing, people from the park, police said another large crowd gathered across the street. Multiple shots were fired from that location, prompting officers and multiple police units to run toward where the gunfire occurred. Police said they continued dispersal efforts after the first round of shots. No injuries were reported and no officers were hurt. About ten to fifteen minutes later, police said a second round of shots was fired. More than one hundred police units responded to assist, and officers remained on scene for several hours attempting to disperse the crowd. Police said their response helped prevent any incidents from occurring over at the fan festival for the FIFA World Cup. One juvenile male and one adult male were detained. Both were found in possession of firearms. Authorities said both were located in the area where shots were fired and will likely be taken downtown for further investigation. An investigative division is assisting with the ongoing investigation. Rapid mobilization patrol units from stations all across the city were also requested, again, due to the size of the crowd. You also had the mayor, uh John Whitmeyer, who came out and he said this quote, I am proud of the Houston Police Department response to last night's incident. The gathering was mostly organized and attended by people from outside Houston. It was attempted it was an attempted park and street takeover. We love having folks enjoy our city, but everyone needs to follow the law and respect public safety. Thanks to the professionalism and training of our HPD officers, they brought the situation under control quickly and safely. HPD's ability to rapidly deploy resources made a big difference, and the more than 800 additional officers we've hired since I took office have further strengthened our response and helped keep our communities safe. Now we need to understand what just kind of happened here. Five to six hundred young adults, young people descended on Discovery Green. Uh police are forced to mobilize what? Something like a hundred units. I think that was at one point. It may have been more than that overall. You have different areas where gunshots are ringing out. This is not just like mischief coming from young people that young people always kind of have going on. This is not kids having a little too much fun at a party. Uh this is like total social disorder, is what this is. And and and thank goodness we didn't have anybody that was like hurt or killed. No officer got wounded. Uh and again, Houston police, I think, deserve a little bit of credit for running toward the gunfire, trying to restore order and and and kind of preventing this mess from turning into a bigger tragedy than it already was. Uh, but we cannot stop at just saying, good job to our police, poison blue.

unknown 1:33:56

Right?

SPEAKER_14 1:33:56

We need to take it a step further than that and acknowledge the real issues because of the the the collapse here. Where are the parents of these young people? Uh that is the question that respectable society just does not seem to want to ask. This, you have hundreds of teenagers who believe that it's totally acceptable to seize a public area, a a literal park, obstruct the streets, and look, you know, here on the show we don't have issues carrying firearms, but pulling your firearm and shooting it when you're already having to deal with a massive crowd and police dispersal, not the wisest choice of action. And all of that, challenging law enforcement, doing these takeovers, that attitude did not suddenly appear at 9.30 on a Saturday night. That didn't come out of nowhere. I didn't just randomly come up and say, hey guys, you want to go do a street takeover? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. This came from somewhere. It was cultivated in these people's homes where there were no authority figures and no discipline. It was cultivated by our schools that are often more comfortable just sitting around doing nothing and affirming feelings, oh, I'm sorry you feel that way, and here's this and here's that, than they are, again, with any level of discipline or or justice or consequences or repercussions. We have pop culture and and rap music and all this stuff that glorifies it literally glorifies murder and rape and criminality and assault and disrespect for the police and and disrespect for authority and contempt for anyone who's not them specifically. It it has been, I don't it has been continually allowed and justified by politicians and by activists and by BLM and everybody else that has has spent years, years telling people that it's okay that we understand how you're feeling, that what's gone on in the past and what's happened in your life justifies your misbehavior, justifies your issues and your decisions and how you shouldn't face any justice, right? And we've heard that from the politicians and the schools and the families and whatever else, and then we get really surprised. We we just can't believe it. We just should be so shocked when you have this young generation uh in at least in this particular group raised without boundaries, behaving like they're like they're they're okay, let me word it this way. They're raised without boundaries in their life, and then we're surprised when they go out into the world and act like there are no boundaries to what they get to do. That it makes perfect sense if you've just been watching anything they've been through as e-generation. If you just watch what they've been allowed to do, how they've been allowed to act, especially coming out of the public school system and out of fatherless homes, we should not be surprised. I have too much more to say on this. We'll talk more about it when we get back from the break to wrap up the show. If you want to text in, I know I sound passionate and angry. I'm not angry, I'm a little angry. You can text in at 713-779-5978. That is 713-779-KYST. You're listening to the Lone Star Conservative. I'm your host, Michael Wilson, and Lord willing, I'll be right back to wrap up the morning show, explaining the cultural epidemic that has resulted in a teen takeover at Discovery Green on a Saturday night. Hang tight, we'll wrap up the show soon.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:23

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

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Discipline Culture And Final Takeaway

SPEAKER_14 1:41:32

We had a text that it says the mayor said they weren't from the area. Where did they come from? I know when there's protests, those in the crowds come from other cities and even other states. We don't have enough details to know any of that, unfortunately. He did he did mention that in passing, but I wonder if that means that they were traveling for the World Cup, or if it was just people not from the area and he just meant they came down from Montgomery County. I'm not pointing fingers at Montgomery County. I just use that as an example. But we don't know. We don't have the details to know where they came from, uh, or if the mayor's just, you know, talking backwards and doesn't know what he's saying and just wanted to qualify it that way. And maybe they are from Houston or they're not from the Discovery Green area, but they're from the the other like we don't know. We have no idea. And so I'm I'm what I want to get into to wrap up, and thank you for the text in as always. Greatly appreciate it. We and I wish I could I wish I had a better answer. We just I don't know. And I know that happens with protests. I don't know if this is a planned protest or just one of these takeovers that we've been seeing quite a few of. And so I I don't know where they would have come from or why they would have come for just a takeover, but nevertheless, the biggest issue here for certain is the cultural epidemic that has resulted in this, right? Um and and and and scripture, I mean, I I wanted to come back and tie it back into the Bible so we understood where all this comes from. Scripture tells us that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. Children are not born as morally neutral little angels who simply need society to stay out of their way. That is that is a myth. That is a I mean, it's really very heretical, actually, but it it fundamentally under misunderstands human nature. We are not inherently morally little good people who, if we were left in an island, would just grow up to be morally good people, right? Not how it works. You actually need instruction, you actually need correction, you actually need discipline, rebuke, you need love, you need godly authority and godly examples, right? You need all of these sorts of things working in tandem to raise good children. And that of course starts in the home, hence why I mentioned the fatherlessness epidemic. I I've talked about it extensively on the show because it matters. You have a massive fatherlessness epidemic that results in these young people not growing up to see uh a a fatherly good figure in their life to raise them correctly, right? And again, this this is so extensive because the injustice resulted in more than just the immediate danger of people shooting firearms off. Uh, it was unjust to all the families that should be able to enjoy Discovery Green to pay for it, right? To taxpayers who fund these have to fund this police response, to every young person who then, you know, they look at somebody like me and go, Well, you're young. Yeah, I'm nothing like that. And I have to I have to defend myself from accusations because, well, you make us look bad. And we need a fix to this cultural epidemic, and uh, we need it soon. With that being said, that'll do for the show today. I want to thank everyone for texting in, for tuning in, being a part of the show. Lord, we'll like to be back bright and early tomorrow at 6 a.m. In the meantime, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the rest of your Monday. Hopefully you'll get, or maybe you won't get a little wet. And in the meantime, God speed.