A good Nathan Johnson mic drop
And does Steve Toth ever shut up?
I hope you all enjoyed Presidents Day. Bought a mattress or two. Me, I grilled an American flag and drank the blood of a bald eagle. Weird how you just find bald eagles on the ground looking lost these days. I’m sure it’s nothing!
Today I listened in to the Senate Business & Commerce Committee meeting, which had two interesting discussions. One on SB21, the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill, and another on SB495: relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Insurance to adopt rules that implement or are based on certain environmental, social, and governance models, ratings, or standards.
The bitcoin thing basically boils down to it’s a new, fun way to invest public money and make more money! But there was healthy discussion about the security of cryptocurrency, with a couple of public panelists saying it’s absolutely not secure and a couple of public panelists saying it’s totally secure. Not sure which white guys to believe, really. The two guys with the shorter hair here spoke against the bill and sounded pretty serious about their concerns. Meanwhile the guys with the longer hair were very happy about their crypto.
When asked how much taxpayer money would actually be put into this reserve, the bill’s author didn’t have a number, nor did Comptroller Glenn Hegar when he was asked to speak. Seems like a detail they will come up with later? Great!
Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) pointed out there’s an option in the proposal for people to donate into the reserve, which could allow for some random billionaire with interests in crypto (Elon Musk, he was definitely talking about Elon Musk) to dump money into the fund to further his wealth. The Republicans said “nah, won’t happen. We’ll make sure of it. Don’t worry about it.”
There was a brief discussion of the environmental impacts of crypto by a Sierra Club member who brought Girl Scout cookies to illustrate his point, but it didn’t land.
He mentioned eating six boxes of cookies and Sen. Phil King said, “I’ve done that,” to which the climate do-gooder politely said, “well, that’s not good for you.”
Onward to this ESG bill. If you’re not familiar with ESG: “Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is shorthand for an investing principle that prioritizes environmental issues, social issues, and corporate governance.” Texas Republicans hate ESG directives because “woke.” It’s DEI but for investing.
SB495 would prohibit the Texas Department of Insurance to adopt rules that implement or are based on certain environmental, social, and governance models, ratings, or standards. What this means is that insurance companies who work in Texas would be prohibited from taking climate change seriously because “woke.” That’s pretty much the whole thing.
After Mayes Middleton whined about the Green New Deal a bit and Nathan Johnson visible rolled his eyes, he ended discussion on the mind-numbingly stupid bill with this:
I could really feel that mic drop.
Oh look, Paul Wall was at the Capitol today for “Texas Music Advocacy Day.”
A few Texas news outlets published stories today about HB515: relating to public school policies regarding student use of personal electronic devices.
If the bill passes, students would be required to hand in their cell phones at the beginning of the school day and retrieve them at the end of the day. During that time, they would be stored in a locked container.
According to the bill, students would only be able to contact a parent or guardian during the day if deemed necessary. There is also an exception for those who verify a medical condition that requires them to have access to their cell phone.
In a video posted to Facebook on Feb. 6, Troxclair blamed cell phones for heightened suicide rates among teens.
Parents, on the other hand, are concerned about their kids not being to reach them or call 911 during lockdowns, which I’m sure Troxclair would never consider as a more significant reason for extreme anxiety and suicide in teens.
The bill has not been sent to committee. Yet.
Speaking of, the next Senate Committee on Education K-16 will meet 11 a.m. Thursday. I’ll be watching.
Not exactly lege related, but I suppose this directive from Texas Agriculture Commissioner and paragon of health Sid Miller could be turned into legislation. Not sure why else he would put out this press release today otherwise.
A fundamental American value is the freedom of choice. This is why I call on Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature to prioritize a statewide ban on non-water additives, such as fluoride, in our public water. While we work to expand and improve our aging water infrastructure amid our growing water crisis, we must also address the fact that our water infrastructure should not be used as a delivery system for government-mandated chemicals without the consent of the people. I support the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald J. Trump in ending forced government health decisions and truly making America healthy again.
I suppose the most annoying part of the release is the final sentence: “Texans deserve clean, unaltered water, free from additives they did not choose.” There’s not a single Texas Republican that feels this way about our truly horrendous air quality, btw.
Just who is going to pay for all of the new cases of childhood dental decay when they take fluoride out of the water, I wonder. Will RFK Jr. have a dental camp where teeth can be reparented?
Lastly, what is wrong with Steve Toth? Like, what is wrong with him? Why is he like this?
Three Good Things
I bought an iridescent pink light-up hula hoop at HEB yesterday. I tried to use it but it just falls to the floor. I still think it’s pretty. Not the worst $10 I’ve spent.
Girl Scout cookies.
One more blast of winter!