Grading Texas

Remember Gov. Greg Abbott’s “parental bill of rights” proposal he outlined earlier this year? He claimed it was designed to assure parents have a role in their children’s education. What he didn’t say was that he was merely recopying parental rights that already were in state law and claiming them as his own original initiative.

He also didn’t say that his idea of parental “rights” and control over their children didn’t apply to every family. That’s because he has reserved political bullying for some families.

The Washington Post has reported that a 13-year-old transgender boy was pulled out of his class at a Texas middle school about two weeks ago, directed to a conference room and subjected to nearly an hour of personal grilling by a state investigator, who asked questions about the boy’s medical history, his gender dysphoria diagnosis and a suicide attempt years earlier. The encounter, his mother declared later, left the boy shaking and distressed.

This was bullying of a very vulnerable young man, and it was done under Gov. Abbott’s legally dubious order to investigate the use of gender-affirming care in minors as child abuse. Abbott’s order, issued earlier this year, followed a so-called “legal” opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton that certain gender-affirming medical treatments could “legally constitute child abuse.” Paxton’s opinion didn’t carry the force of law and was issued solely to win both men reelection votes from their right-wing political bases.

The transgender boy’s ordeal itself was a form of child abuse and was recounted in a document filed in connection with an ongoing lawsuit by LGBTQ advocates to block these investigations.

This boy’s parents had no chance to exercise any rights, including a right to privacy, as their son was yanked from his classroom and subjected to sensitive questioning for the sole purpose of allowing Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton to reap political points from people who fear their transgender neighbors.

That is obnoxious political behavior. Abbott, Paxton and their ally, Dan Patrick, already have targeted immigrants and now the transgender community. It makes you wonder who they will harass next as they continue to pander to intolerance.

Clay Robison

Mom says trans eighth grader was questioned by Texas investigator at school

Educators have many important reasons for voting against Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton in the upcoming general election. Most have to do with the survival of their profession and their ability to meet the educational needs of the children entrusted to their care.

These would include issues such as inadequate school funding, promotion of private school vouchers, political lies against teachers, meddling in their classrooms and whitewashing their curricula.

But something even more basic is at stake in this year’s election, and that is the survival of our election system itself – and ultimately our country as a democratic republic. Trust in election results is essential in a country where people choose their government leaders in elections, and Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton all have helped Donald Trump erode that trust and put our election system at risk.

Polls indicate that 70 percent of Republicans in this country still believe Trump’s lie that Joe Biden “stole” the 2020 election and is not the legitimate president of the United States. This is after a succession of judges, including the U.S. Supreme Court, found no merit to the claims of Trump and his supporters — and after Republican election administrators in key battleground states also denied the former president’s claims.

Although Trump bears most of the blame for this attack on democracy, he has had many enablers and abettors, including hundreds of prominent Republican elected officials who refuse to announce loudly, clearly and repeatedly in no uncertain terms that the lie is a lie. Among them are Abbott, Patrick and Paxton, the three top state officeholders on the Texas ballot this November. They know Trump is lying but for their own political reasons refuse to denounce him.

Paxton filed a lawsuit to overthrow Biden’s election, proving his allegiance to Trump over democracy and lies over truth. Paxton also has spent most of his time as the state’s top lawyer under criminal indictment for felony fraud. He, of course, is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but no one knows when – or if – he ever will come to trial. Meanwhile, whenever Trump whistles, Paxton jumps.

Patrick, who regularly promotes ideology over democracy, was Trump’s Texas campaign chairman in both 2016 and 2020 and still regularly courts and praises the former president, with whom he shares a large political base. Members of that base believe the lie and are prepared to destroy the election system on Trump’s behalf, as the attack on the U.S. Capitol already has demonstrated.

Abbott also courts members of Trump’s political base and fears them. So, he avoids saying or doing anything that would turn them against him.

Abbott’s, Patrick’s and Paxton’s refusals to directly challenge the “stolen election” lie – half-hearted ambiguous answers to reporters’ questions don’t count — help the lie continue to grow and undermine a governmental system they all swore oaths to uphold. Their refusals are a sign of cowardice and a disrespect for democracy that alone makes them unfit for public office.

Clay Robison

Gov. Greg Abbott will do almost anything, it seems, to promote school safety without addressing the main issue – the need for gun reform.

He has promoted legislative studies, safety audits, surprise school inspections and locked doors. Now, he has enlisted the help of a fake Texas Ranger, who also happens to be a longtime spokesperson for the National Rifle Association.

Abbott announced that Chuck Norris – former star of the TV series, Walker Texas Ranger, and other tough guy roles – will do public service announcements to help spread the message that anyone who sees suspicious activity around a school should send an alert to the iWatchTexas reporting system.

“Law enforcement can’t stop the bad guys if they don’t know who they are,” Norris says in one PSA. “That’s why I wanted to tell you about iWatch, a website, phone app and service that allows Texans to report suspicious activity.”

If one of Norris’ PSAs actually saves a life, it will be worth the effort.

But how many more lives could potentially be saved if Abbott would promote legislation to make it more difficult for dangerous people to obtain firearms?

He won’t do that though. Instead, he continues to bring out initiatives – some people would call them gimmicks – to pretend to be promoting school safety while keeping the NRA happy.

Norris not only has promoted the NRA, he also has been a spokesperson for Glock, the gun manufacturer.

These PSAs should include the disclaimer: Approved by the National Rifle Association.

Gov. Greg Abbott deploys Chuck Norris to help stop the next school shooting

Clay Robison

Unless the NRA forgets his name or his extremist political base is suddenly struck with a bolt of reason, Gov. Abbott will not address the gun reform issue in any meaningful way. But he will continue to play games – to the point of lying – with gun-weary Texans, including the families and friends of mass shooting victims.

Recently, the Uvalde school board made the politically necessary but wasted effort of passing a resolution asking the governor to call a special legislative session to raise the legal age for purchasing an assault-style rifle from 18 to 21. This, of course, was in response to the fact that the 18-year-old shooter who killed 19 elementary students and two teachers with an assault rifle had easily and legally purchased his weapon from a local gun store.

When a reporter for The Texas Tribune asked for a response from the governor’s office to the school board’s request, an Abbott spokesperson replied that the governor “has taken immediate action to address all aspects” of the Uvalde tragedy.

That was a deliberate, direct lie because the governor has done nothing to address the most critical aspect of the shooting – the ease with which the shooter obtained his murder weapon. Nor has Abbott done anything to keep guns out of the hands of other dangerous people and potential mass shooters.

His spokesperson added, “All options remain on the table.”

Another lie. As far as guns are concerned, the only thing remaining on Abbott’s table is a pile of campaign cash from the gun lobby.

As long as he is in office, Greg Abbott will never seek to enact sensible gun reform laws, not even to protect young children who are among the most vulnerable of his constituents. I would be happy to see the governor prove me wrong, but that isn’t going to happen.

Uvalde school board pushes Greg Abbott for special legislative session to increase legal age for purchasing assault rifles

Clay Robison