Three-Point Shots, Vol. 1, No. 9: Lege Session Week 13
An update on three previous topics. Plus, some lovely photos and an invitation to Substack Notes.
Welcome to another edition of Three-Point Shots, an occasional series briefly surveying three interrelated stories of passing importance. Three-Point Shots is a part of my Life Its Ownself Substack page. If you enjoy reading it, please 1) hit the Like button at the bottom, 2) subscribe to the Life Its Ownself newsletter, and 3) share it with others in the link below. Also, comments welcome and encouraged.
Friday, April 14, 2023
Sometimes I amaze myself with my ability to sniff out an issue or a person who is going to be significant soon. Today, we update three people or stories I talked about earlier in the session.
But first, a photo I took last night at nightfall of which I am modestly proud:
Notice Orion’s Belt in the upper left-hand corner. Venus is the bright planet among the wispy clouds and emerging stars, and the setting sun is still warming the western horizon. A picture like this astonishes me, because I did not will its elements into being, or even know they were there. For instance, I only noticed Orion’s Belt when I was looking at the photo later. The Zen of spending a bunch of time out west is that, if I don’t like a photo I took tonight, I can try again tomorrow night.
1. The Texas Observer Lives!
Just a few weeks ago, I was lamenting the reported death of the hoary ol’ Texas Observer, which has been doing investigative journalism and progressive political commentary for longer than most of us have been alive. But a GoFundMe drive spearheaded by the Observer’s plucky James Canup raised $347,859 in, like, four days, enough to convince the board of the Texas Democracy Foundation, which owns the Observer, to call off the obsequies and plow forward with the next chapter of the magazine’s charmed and consequential life.
I asked for your support of the GoFundMe drive, Dear Readers, and I am eternally grateful to those of you who responded. Your faith is rewarded in the quality and timeliness of the Observer’s reporting. Consider the following, torn from today’s headlines as they say, all of which are on the website now:
· “‘School Choice’ Is Just a Ploy to Defund Public Ed”
· “Abortion Laws Stand Between Pregnant Texans and The Care They Need”
· “Tallahassee My Texas” – where do you think Greg Abbott gets his bad ideas?
My point is, your support of the Observer allows some of the best progressive journalism in the state or nation to thrive. Meanwhile, I promise not to let Life Its Ownself become a “Hopeless Cause of the Week” mouthpiece, although some of you may suspect it’s too late.
2. Anti-Trans Kid Bill Moves Forward
I have written several times about the bizarre crusade against transgender children undertaken by Texas legislative GOP leaders, notably Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton. The bottom line: For two years, Abbott and Paxton have sought, on the flimsiest of grounds, to have gender-affirming medical care designated as child abuse.
To no one’s surprise, literally dozens of bills to restrict or outright ban gender-affirming care have been filed this session. The bill that seems closest to escape velocity is SB 14, which, according to Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News, “would bar doctors from providing a number of common treatments for gender dysphoria to those under 18, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical interventions, commonly referred to as ‘gender affirming care.” It would also require the state medical board to revoke the license of physicians who provide this care, and bar taxpayer money to entities or individuals that facilitate or provide these treatments to minors.”
The bill, by Sen. Donna Campbell, is one of Dan Patrick’s legislative priorities for the session, which is why it has already made it to the House. The fate of Campbell’s bill is unclear in the House, which does not operate in lockstep the way the Senate does.
3. The Odd-yssey of Rep. Bryan Slaton: Who Knew?
(Bryan Slaton: quickly becoming the loneliest guy in town. Photo: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune)
Bryan Slaton wants you to know he’s a God-fearing man. According to his political website, “he grew up regularly participating in church and family gatherings. Bryan attended Ouachita Baptist University, where he earned a double major in Youth Ministry / Speech Communication. He then attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Masters of Divinity with Biblical Languages. He served in the ministry as a Youth and Family Minister for 13 years.”
We may want to go back and look at his career as a youth minister.
Early in the session, I mentioned Rep. Slaton (R-Trollville), who’s been spending his second term in the House the way he spent his first: on silly performative stunts to demonstrate his MAGA bona fides. Early on, he tried to amend the House rule to require that all committee chairs be Republicans or, alternatively, to state whether they support Marxism . Presumably, Marxist Democratic chairs (probably an oxymoron in Rep. Slaton’s view) would have to “out” themselves when it came time to sign the statement.
Anyway, Rep. Slaton is in the news again, in circumstances he desperately wishes he wasn’t. From the Texas Tribune:
An internal complaint filed against state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, alleges that he was engaging in a potentially “inappropriate relationship” with an intern. The complaint came after an incident in which Slaton and the staffer allegedly met up at his Austin apartment last weekend.
The complaint, obtained by The Texas Tribune, was reported to the House General Investigating Committee by a legislative staffer. The account in the complaint was also corroborated by another source who works in the Capitol who had direct knowledge of the incident.
Of course, Rep. Slaton is presumed innocent until we know otherwise, and the House General Investigating Committee is looking into it. It is notable that two of the most conservative members of the House – identified in legal documents only as “Neanderthal 1” and “Neanderthal 2” – have called for Slaton to resign.
Stay tuned …
In other news … I am temporarily sojourning out in the Trans-Pecos, thanks to a generous friend who makes his home available to me. It’s a marvelous time to be out here, as the desert is in full blossom. Here is a photo of my neighbor’s gorgeous flowering yucca tree:
Weekend reading … I cannot recommend enough Ron Brownstein’s essay in The Atlantic, “The Tennessee Expulsions Are Just the Beginning. Red states are trying to make their own rules.” I’ve admired Ron’s thinking and writing forever, and this essay points out a new trend in the red states – including, of course, Texas: using political majorities (or supermajorities) to roll back the “rights revolution” of the last 60 years.
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Understated and subtle dig of the year: "We may want to go back and look at his career as a youth minister." I don't know if it's an LoL or a CoL, cry out loud.
UPDATE: As of Saturday afternoon, the accusations against Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Hound Dog) have become more serious with the Quorum Report’s publication this afternoon of the complaint sent to the House General Investigating Committee.
While news reports suggested an “inappropriate relationship,” the only specific they provided were that Slaton and an underage intern had consumed alcohol.
The complain goes beyond that to suggest the two had sex. The complaint also clarifies that the intern worked in Rep. Slaton’s office, which, if true, makes his transgressions even worse.