Is Even the Government Bigger in Texas?

Mack and Steve tackle the home state of Texas after a listener asked, what the heck is going on here? Spoilers: it’s vouchers.

References

Our capital is taller:

Texas State Preservation Board. “Capitol Myths and Legends.” https://tspb.texas.gov/prop/tc/tc-history/myths-legends/index.html

Back to the constitution of 1876:

Ericson, Joe E. & Wallace, Ernest. “Constitution of 1876.” Updated March 23, 2021. Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/constitution-of-1876

Learn about the Reconstruction period in Texas (a very racist time):

Moneyhon, Carl H. “Reconstruction.” August 25, 2023. Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/reconstruction

Learn about how often the Texas Legislature meets and for how long:

Legislative Reference Library of Texas. “Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About the Texas Legislature." https://lrl.texas.gov/geninfo/faq.cfm

Some of the state isn’t in Central:

TimeTemperature.com “Texas Time Zone – Texas Current Local Time – Daylight Saving Time.” https://www.timetemperature.com/tzus/texas_time_zone.shtml

Learn about special sessions:

Legislative Reference Library of Texas. “Frequently asked questions about special sessions.” https://lrl.texas.gov/sessions/specialsessions/FAQ.cfm

How Texas legislators are paid:

Ramsey, Ross. “Life of a Texas Lawmaker: Lousy Pay, Great Benefits.” April 13, 2012. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2012/04/13/lousy-pay-great-benefits/

It stands for State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness:

Texas Education Agency. “STAAR.” https://www.texasassessment.gov/staar.html

Learn about when the STAAR went to 15 end-of-course assessments and back again:

Texas Education Agency. “Historical Overview of Assessment in Texas [PDF].” https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/reports-and-studies/2012-tech-digest-chapter-1.pdf

The really, really big freeze in February ‘21:

National Centers for Environmental Information. “The Great Texas Freeze: February 11–20, 2021.” February 24, 2023. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/great-texas-freeze-february-2021

Information about water facilities being required to operate in the event of a power outage:

Generator Source. “Texas Water Facilities Required to Have Backup Power.” May 11, 2022. https://www.generatorsource.com/blog/May-2022/Texas-Water-Facilities-Requiring-BackUp-Power.aspx

How Texas education ranks in the country:

Heckler, Amber. “Texas Flunks Out in New Ranking of America’s Best School Systems.” July 31, 2024. InnovationMap. https://houston.innovationmap.com/houston-business-networking-events-february-2671105140.html

Not all committee meetings are transcribed, but if they are, the transcriptions are now posted online:

Legislative Reference Library of Texas. “HB 2811, 77th R.S. additional sources.” https://lrl.texas.gov/legis/billsearch/JournalsEtc.cfm?legSession=77-0&billtypeDetail=HB&billNumberDetail=2811&billSuffixDetail=

Get to know the plural executive:

Regalado, Daniel M. “The Texas Plural Executive.” OER Commons. https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/26306/overview

Mack said ’76, but the constitutional convention was in 1974:

Barras, Mary Lucia & Houston, Daniel. “Constitutional Convention of 1974.” Updated September 11, 2019. Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/constitutional-convention-of-1974

Get to know Rick Perry:

Tikkanen, Amy & Pallardy, Richard. “Rick Perry.” Updated January 30, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rick-Perry

If not railroads, what does the Railroad Commission of Texas do:

Railroad Commission of Texas. “About Us.” https://www.rrc.texas.gov/

How long have Republicans been running things in Texas:

Ballotpedia. “Party Control of Texas state government.” https://ballotpedia.org/Party_control_of_Texas_state_government

The Democratic attorney general who was arrested was Dan Morales:

Ramsey, Ross. “Dan Morales Indicted.” March 10, 2003. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2003/03/10/dan-morales-indicted/

Why Anne thought the billionaire using their money to influence Republican politics might be Koch:

Elliott, Philip. “Where the Koch Network Is Putting Their Money–Anywhere But Trump.” September 5, 2024. Time. https://time.com/7018266/trump-republicans-koch-network-2024/

But, no, there are other billionaires influencing politics in Texas. For instance, Tim Dunn:

Gold, Russel. “The Billionaire Bully Who Wants to Turn Texas Into a Christian Theocracy.” March 2024. Texas Monthly. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/billionaire-tim-dunn-runs-texas/

And the Wilks brothers:

Kofman, Ava. “A Pair of Billionaire Preachers Built the Most Powerful Political Machine in Texas. That’s Just the Start.” October 2, 2024. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/tim-dunn-farris-wilks-texas-christian-nationalism-dominionism-elections-voting

An update on school vouchers in Texas:

Heath, Keri. “Texas School Voucher Bill Arrives in House, Speaker Says Proposal Has Enough Support.” February 7, 2025. Austin American-Statesman. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/education/2025/02/07/school-choice-voucher-senate-bill-2-texas-house-dustin-burrows/78294683007/

It’s a ball of yarn (how Texas public schools are funded):

Raise Your Hand Texas. “School Finance 101.” https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/policy/school-funding/school-finance/

In the states that have had vouchers, it’s not very successful:

Walker, Tim. “‘No Accountability’: Vouchers Wreak Havoc on States.” February 2, 2024. National Education Association. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/no-accountability-vouchers-wreak-havoc-states

In case you don’t know what Mack meant by “No Child Left Behind”:

Nolen, Jeannette L. & Duignan, Brian. “No Child Left Behind.” Updated January 22, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/No-Child-Left-Behind-Act

The person who was finally chosen as speaker of the Texas house:

Barragán, James & Scherer, Jasper. “Reb. Dustin Burrows Voted Texas House Speaker in Blow to Insurgent GOP Movement.” January 14, 2025. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/dustin-burrows-david-cook-texas-house-speaker-vote/

Apparently, Tim Dunn did tell Joe Strauss to his face that he didn’t think that someone who was Jewish should be Texas speaker of the house:

Scherer, Jasper & Downen, Robert. “Former Texas House Speaker Says GOP Megadonor Tim Dunn Told Him Only Christians Should Hold Leadership Positions.” April 4, 2024. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/04/tim-dunn-joe-straus-christian-texas/

The latest on Governor Abbott deploying the national guard:

Office of the Texas Governor. “Governor Abbott Directs Texas Military To Coordinate With Trump Administration [Press Release].” January 27, 2025. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-directs-texas-military-to-coordinate-with-trump-administration

Texas is sitting on tens of billions of dollars of surplus:

Adkison, Michael. “Texas Has a $24 Billion Surplus. Here’s Where Lawmakers Want to Spend That.” January 13, 2025. CBS Austin. https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/texas-has-a-24-billion-surplus-heres-where-lawmakers-want-to-spend-that

The governor is currently looking for reimbursement from the feds for the money the state has spent on troops on the border:

Runnels, Ayden. “Greg Abbott Seeks $11 Billion in Federal Reimbursements for Border Security.” January 23, 2025. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/23/greg-abbott-border-security-11-billion-reimbursement/

A little bit about buoys:

Guo, Kayla. “Texas’ Floating Barrier in the Rio Grande Can Stay For Now, Appeals Court Says.” July 30, 2024. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/30/texas-floating-barrier-rio-grande-court-ruling/

A little bit about that park in Eagle Pass:

García, Uriel J. “In Eagle Pass, A Tense Border Standoff Between Texas and the Federal Government is Reaching a Crescendo.” January 22, 2024. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/22/texas-border-patrol-immigration-enforcement-eagle-pass-park/

There’s a lot of information about immigration out there and what constitutes a crisis. Here’s just one article for your consideration:

Gramlich, John. “Migrant Encounters at U.S.-Mexico Border Have Fallen Sharply in 2024.” October 1, 2024. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/10/01/migrant-encounters-at-u-s-mexico-border-have-fallen-sharply-in-2024/

An update on Venezuelans immigrating to the U.S.:

Allen, Greg. “‘Beyond Betrayal.’ Venezuelans in Florida Are Angry at Trump Immigration Policy.” February 4, 2025. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/nx-s1-5285470/venezuelans-florida-tps-immigration-trump

Pink gin:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/pink-gin-classic-cocktail-759332

Negroni sbagliato:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/sbagliato?srsltid=AfmBOoo6dPvJEJU37yIZ5nNAPZzInjUVEVXgM4Ys2n76b_BqslA5oegI

If you, too, are old and/or uninformed about pop culture type things, here’s the whole backstory with a meme:

Mack, David. “Negroni. Sbagliato. With Prosecco In It.” October 10, 2022. BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/negroni-sbagliato-prosecco?fbclid=IwY2xjawITLv9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSGR73MBuO3Q_5eoqWDdMOTxTPxViHoLDB-qIZbjgFOcC7JTQkW8Du2ftg_aem_GSsekaQ1_sTOYH0q760jFQ

If you have an engineer, math geek, or Mack in your life:

https://www.kleinbottle.com/

A supreme court case from 1952:

Oyez. “Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company v. Sawyer.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/343us579

As in creators of steel:

Steelers. “The History of the Steelers Logo.” https://www.steelers.com/museum/content/text-logo-history

Secretary Sawyer seized the steel mills (but not by the seashore):

Legal Information Institute. “Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952).” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/youngstown_sheet_tube_co._v._sawyer_(1952)

Get to know Robert H. Jackson:

Editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Robert H. Jackson.” Updated October 5, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-H-Jackson

Not the Twilight Zone:

Constitution Annotated. “ArtII.S1.C1.5 The President's Powers and Youngstown Framework.” https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S1-C1-5/ALDE_00013794/

Not the zone of twilight:

IMDB. “The Twilight Zone.” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052520/

What’s an executive order:

Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response. “Executive Orders.” https://aspr.hhs.gov/S3/Pages/Executive-Orders.aspx

Mack said it fast, but “unity of the executive” is an idea based on something Alexandar Hamilton wrote:

Bill of Rights Institute. “Federalist 70.” https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/federalist-no-70

The Quran is the original source for the threads aphorism. It was used to describe when people could participate in certain activities during holy days:

Quran.com. “Eating, Drinking, and Sexual Intercourse are Allowed During the Nights of Ramadan.” https://quran.com/en/al-baqarah/187/tafsirs

More twilight than a Stephanie Meyers book series:

Bikos, Konstantin & Kher, Aparna. “Twilight, Dawn, and Dusk.” Time and Date. https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/different-types-twilight.html

The Sun spans half a degree in the sky:

Temming, Maria. “How Big is the Sun?” July 15, 2014. Sky & Telescope. https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/how-big-is-the-sun

Why sailors are whistling at manatees:

Fairclough, Caty. “From Mermaids to Manatees: the Myth and the Reality.” March 2014. Smithsonian. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/mermaids-manatees-myth-and-reality

Boulevardier:

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/boulevardier/

Why does toothpaste change the taste of orange juice:

BBC Science Focus. “Why Does Toothpaste Make Everything Taste Horrible?” https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-does-toothpaste-make-everything-taste-horrible

In case you were thinking about your own tea and marmalade journey:

Taylor, Rupert. “Marmalade: The Bitter Truth.” January 5, 2025. Delishably. https://delishably.com/sauces-preserves/Marmalade-The-Bitter-Truth

If you want to stay informed on what’s happening in the latest session of the Texas legislature:

The Texas Tribune. “Texas Legislature 2025.” https://www.texastribune.org/series/texas-legislature-2025/?utm_source=articleshare&utm_medium=social

Yep, there were almost fisticuffs on the floor of the Texas House:

Texas Tribune Staff. “Video: Lawmakers Fight in the Texas House Amid Immigration Protests.” May 29, 2017. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/29/watch-fight-erupted-texas-house-floor-amid-immigration-protests/

John Cornyn, along with several other senators, will be running for reelection in 2026:

United States Senate. “Class II – Senators Whose Terms of Service Expire in 2027.” https://www.senate.gov/senators/Class_II.htm

#NoNameWeirdos Challenge:

If you are providing educational or informative content, please provide accurate and thorough information. If you are venting, ranting, or mocking, consider doing so without using the egomaniacs’ names, words, or pictures. Don’t give them the satisfaction of free publicity. They hate it when they aren’t the center of attention, so we challenge you to protest creatively.

And “red shirt” is a reference to Star Trek. But you already knew that.