< Previous www.TerryLowry.com July 201710Did Voters Really Want toExtend the Terms? By Eric DickThe November 2015 votingcycle in Houston includedone ballot result that sur-prised many: the decision to extendthe term limits of city officialsfrom three two-year terms to twofour-year terms (“Proposition 2.”)The result was so unexpected, itimmediately raised controversy,eyebrows, and the question, “Did the voters of the City ofHouston actually mean to extend term limits?” Phillip Paul Bryant filed a lawsuit to invalidateProposition 2 because he believes the ballot language misled Houston voters. He argues that the language ofProposition 2 was misleading for several reasons:nThe ballot language suggested that it would “limit”term length instead of extending it from two yearterms to four year terms;nThe ballot language read as if it was shortening thetotal amount of time an elected official could stay inoffice when it actually extended it from six years to atotal of eight or ten years;nThe ballot language omitted a chief feature of theproposition - it suggested that it shortened the amountof times an elected official can serve to two termswhen in fact there were hidden exceptions that unfairlybenefited incumbents.Mayor Annise Parker literally said:"There may have been some voter confusion out there.I don't know that they realized that they were givingcouncil members more time in office.”Even liberal Houston Chronicle reportedthat the ballotlanguage was obscured:Political scientists were not convinced Tuesday'sresult was proof of radically shifting attitudes, however.The ballot language did not spell out the effect onincumbents or that the item would loosen the existingrestrictions.“It was ballot confusion or obfuscation,” TexasSouthern University political scientist Michael Adamssaid. “The way it was written, some people may havethought they were voting to limit the terms rather thanextend them to two four- year terms.”That take made sense to Rice University political scientist Bob Stein, who added, “Nobody reads theballot when they walk in there. They don't have to readit to vote.” Houston Public Media reportedthat the ballot languagedidn’t tell the whole truth:“When we informed voters that the adoption of thetwo four-year (terms) would take place immediatelyin 2016 and advantage incumbent council members,support swung the other way and it was a deficit of 17points against,” Stein said.But that information was not in the ballot language. In fact, it didn’t even mention that it would actuallyextend term limits. This month Texas Supreme Court is expected to rule onwhether City of Houston municipality elections will occurin 2017. A November 2017 snap-electionwould likelycreate an advantage for conservative candidates.Erick DickWeekdays 2:00 to 3:00 PM on FM 100.7 The Word. Visit www.TerryLowry.com11July 2017 www.TerryLowry.comStop Renting From the Government By Mayes MiddletonThere is no way to get around it: youdon’t own your land and home; yourent it from the government. Don’tbelieve me?Let’s assume you have an old lawnmowershed in your backyard, and that shed is partof your tax appraisal. If you don’t pay taxeson that shed, then the government has theability to come and take your property andland away from you. Every piece of property you own, andeverything attached to it, the governmenthas burdened with property taxes.Government is the landowner, and you arethe renter.It would be one thing if property taxes were low andbearable. That is not the case. Texans are being taxed outof their homes. From 2010 to 2015, property tax billsgrew 2.33 times faster than median household income.The Numbers are Staggering and OffensiveProperty tax levies have soared 132% since 2000.For example, I have one piece of unimproved land whichincreased 22,172% in valuation this year. Surprisingly, many in government argue your taxes didnot increase, only the valuation increased. They are insist-ing taxes did not go up…but with a 22,172% valuationincrease, the taxes due on that unimproved property wentup, how much: 22,172%. Only those in government,spending all of our money, could have logic like that.All Texans are hurt by property taxes. In 2015, Texanshad $52.2 billion in property taxes levied against them.That’s a lot of rent to the government. Too many electedofficials love spending our money.The CornerstoneThe House RejectedThe Texas Legislature could make reforms to combatskyrocketing property taxes. One reform would be to limitproperty tax growth by imposing a 5% rollback election.When property valuations plus tax rate increasesexceed 5% year-to-year, bingo, voters must approve theexcessive amount, thus limiting the growth of governmentspending. This year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Texas Senate, and ahandful of Conservatives in the Texas House fought forthis rollback provision. This would become the corner-stone of property tax reform. But, NO. Big governmentspecial interests and liberal Republicans destroyed thispro-taxpayer reform. More must be done during the upcoming Special Session.We must not lose sight of the fact that paying rent to thegovernment does not respect the Constitutional privateproperty rights our Founders fought and died for. Our realgoal should be to eliminate property taxes altogether andreplace them with a higher sales tax. Texans Deserve Property Tax ReformEliminate property taxes and watch the Texas economysoar to new heights. Stand back and watch our industriesgrow. New job opportunities would be created for ourchildren and grandchildren. All Texans deserve betteropportunities.The Fake News About Elections www.TerryLowry.com July 201712By Sara TraceyWill the Fake Newsabout Russia hacking ourelections ever go away? According to HarrisCounty Clerk & Chief Election Official StanStanart, your vote is safe and secure. The voting machines and the machines that tally upthe results are never connected to the internet, plusthere are many layers of security, with lots of eyes onthe process, to ensure your vote is accurately counted!Only voter registration lists in a fewjurisdictions were ever supposedlyobtained by Russians. This is clearlyFake Newsbecause the voter roll is publicdata. Political campaigns obtain a copyof the voter roll all the time to contactvoters. Phone numbers and socialsecurity numbers are never shared andare not on public websites. There is no evidence that the voter rollin Harris County was ever illegally accessed byRussians or others. There is no evidence of any tamperingwith any votes anywhere in the country. Harris Countyhas many firewalls, backups, and the latest in securityto ensure that the voter roll or any votes are neverhacked or corrupted. Stan Stanart – Guardian Of The Ballot BoxYour County Clerk obtained two voter fraud convictionsearlier this year. In June, he turned six more cases overto the District Attorney for investigation of voter fraud.County Clerk Stan Stanart’s office is diligently lookingfor those who cheat, making sure they are held account-able. Since being elected County Clerk, Stan Stanart hasbecome a state and national leader in election technologyand security. In the last four legislative sessions, Stanand his team have seen dozens of their bills passed withthe help of our Conservative Legislators. These common-sense bills have prevented voter fraud,saved taxpayer dollars, and enhanced the voting processfor our voters, the disabled, seniors, and military voters. Stan will be rolling out electronic poll books forElection Day in 2018, which will further enhance securityand efficiency at the polls.The Liberal Agenda To Target Harris County Clerk Stan StanartLiberals started targeting down ballot races in theNovember 2016 Election. Over $1,000,000 waspumped into the District Attorney, Tax Assessor-Collector, and Sheriffraces. There will be many good peopledown ballot who need your vote in2018, but their big target is HarrisCounty Clerk Stan Stanart becausehe runs the elections in Harris County.Liberals know if they control theelection process, they can find ways to skew the elections for their candidates. Stan Stanart - The Principled County ClerkStan Stanart was elected in 2010 by an overwhelmingmajority of voters from across the county because hewas known to be a man of integrity, honor, and principle.His background in IT, software engineering, and electronics has revolutionized the County Clerk’sOffice. Besides running elections, Stan Stanart is the ex-officioClerk of Commissioners Court, maintaining the recordsof the four Probate Courts and the records of the fourCounty Civil Courts at Law. He is responsible forrecording over 600,000 vital documents per year,such as Property Records, Marriage Licenses, AssumedNamed Certificates, Birth Records, and Death Records. Stan Stanart is an incredible asset to all citizens ofHarris County, keeping records and elections in HarrisCounty secure, efficient, and available to all citizens.We need to ensure that our down ballot ConservativeCandidates like Stan Stanart continue to guard our taxdollars and our votes. 13July 2017 www.TerryLowry.comHarvesting for Profit By State Representative Briscoe CainIn the summer of 2015, that David Daleiden and hisorganization, the Center for Medical Progress,shocked the world with undercover videos of PlannedParenthood employees speaking callously and, at times,jovially about the harvesting and sale of fetal tissueremains. To pro-lifers, these videos were shocking andillustrated the heinous behavior of the abortion giant. Viewed by tens of millions, the videos had an effect onthose who did not consider themselves ‘Pro-Life’.Manyexpressed how the videos opened their eyes to the atrocityof abortion. The defenses of Planned Parenthood began tocrumble.Close toHomeThe videos also hadtangible policy effects.The Texas Legislatureheld interim hearings.Planned Parenthood,including PlannedParenthood Gulf Coast(PPGC), the secondlargest abortion mill inthe world which islocated right here inHouston, was investi-gated for the practice of fetal tissueharvesting and for the for-profit sale ofbaby-body-parts.Indicted in TexasOf course, this wave of public attentioncould not be ignored by the advocates of death. Daleidenwas indicted by a grand jury in Harris County in 2016. I would be remiss not to tell you of my role in the under-cover investigations. After news broke that Daleiden hadbeen criminally charged by the Harris County DA’s office,I received a text message from Daleiden himself. He said,“I think it’s time to release the invoices.”Texas Medical Schools Bought PartsDaleiden was referencing to our joint operation. Basedon a Freedom of Information Act request I made to Texasmedical schools, we revealed the fact that several Texasmedical schools were using tax dollars to purchase abortedfetal tissue. The evidence we uncovered revealed that theabortion giant in Houston (PPGC) was, in fact, sellingbaby parts for profit.On December 1, 2016, the Select Investigative Panel,a U.S. Congressional subcommittee chaired byCongresswomanMarsha Blackburn tasked with investi-gating businesses that buy and sell baby parts, recom-mended that criminal charges be brought against PPGC,based on the evidence we uncovered and delivered to thecommittee. The Charges in Harris County were dropped. Sadly,charges have yet to be filed against Planned ParenthoodGulf Coast.California Continues with One CountDespite the dismissal of the Texas cases, andCongress’s recommendation that PlannedParenthood be criminally charged, the liberalAttorney General of California decided to tryand put Daleiden behind bars on fifteen felonycounts related to the investiga-tion. In June of 2017, fourteenof the fifteen criminal chargeswere dismissed for being legallyinsufficient.As the saying goes, “If you’renot catching flak, you’re notover the target.” DavidDaleiden, and those who workwith him, know this all too well. Thanks to their exposé, theTexas Legislature has taken positive steps to eliminate thisbrutal practice.Stop the Merchants of DeathPlanned Parenthood and its affiliates need to be calledout for what they are: merchants of death. Thank you,David, for your work to reveal their gruesome practices.The biennial budget passed this year by the Texas Legislature completely defunds Planned Parenthood andtheir associates in the abortion industry. Senate Bill 8,signed by the Governor, bans dismemberment abortion, agruesome practice used by abortion providers to keep fetalorgans intact and prime for sale. David Daleiden(left) with BriscoeCain (right) at pressconference outsideHarris CountyCriminal courthouseBriscoe Cain (center) escorting his client David Daleiden(left) into the Criminal Courthouse in Houston. www.TerryLowry.com July 201714Defunding PlannedParenthood in Texas By Sara Tracey Sometimes just standing up and fighting for what is rightpays off. It may not always be in the way planned or anticipated, but then, God's plans are not our plans. That's what happened when Rep. Valoree Swansoncourageously filed a Women's Privacy and ProtectionAmendment to the Budget, which instead, was used asleverage to completely defund Planned Parenthood. It all started this past January with the Budget Bill in the85th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature. The BudgetBill is the only bill that must be passed every two years,according to the Texas Constitution. The Budget Bill had special rules attachedto it, one of which is that Amendments mustbe filed 24 hours before the bill is debatedon the floor of the House. While freshman Representatives often donot get a say in the budget, other than a yeaor nay, Rep. Swanson strategized with otherConservatives on what budget Amendmentsmight help push the Conservative agendaforward. The plan was to go on offenserather than staying on the sidelines or playing defense.Rep. Swanson was determined to take the bold step of filing a Women's Privacy and Protection-related BudgetAmendment. The Amendment was a budget “rider”—additional instructionsto state agencies on how to spend theirbudget. It would also prevent state agencies, includingschools, from spending any taxpayer money to accommodatemen using women’s facilitiesand vice versa, not even on sig-nage changes. Budget day, April 6, 2017, started at 10 a.m. It was to be along day of intense debate as over 400 Amendments werebeing considered to the almost 1000-page proposed budget.As the day wore on, a few Amendments were passed, butthe bulk of the proposed Amendments were Liberal, big-spending bills, which Republicans soundly defeated timeafter time after lengthy debate.In the early morning hours, after endless debate, everyonewas exhausted. The outcomes on each successiveAmendment were predictable. Since Speaker Joe Strausrequires that the budget be debated andadopted in one marathon sitting, someRepresentatives in both parties were diligently seeking solutions to speed updebate so the budget could be adopted.Around 15 hours after this marathon session started, members started seriouslynegotiating, looking in earnest for ways todeal with Amendments left. Well over 100Amendments were yet to be considered,and the vast majority would certainly getvoted down.For the Democrats, there was a particularlytroublesome Amendment left—the oneRep. Swanson had filed. Several women’sprivacy and safety groups in Texas had discovered it andpublicized it statewide. The Capitol switchboard was figura-tively melting down all day as people from all districtswere calling and asking their Representatives to supportwhat was being called “The Swanson Amendment.”For Democrats, it was a lose-lose-lose nightmare. First,15July 2017 www.TerryLowry.comthey would likely lose the vote itself. Second, if they votedfor it, they would be going against their party leadership—a politically suicidal act of rebellion among Democrats, whovote as their leaders demand. Third, if they voted against TheSwanson Amendment, they would be voting against theirconstituents. Polls and elections, like that of the anti-Hero ordinance inHouston, consistently show that voters all across the politicalspectrum support women’s bathroom safety and privacy. TheDemocrats could not win, so they desperately wanted a wayout. Democrats had discovered a technicality they could use tokill the Swanson Amendment, but they would have to debateall the other Amendments before it in order to kill it, whichwould take all night. Meanwhile, Rep. Swanson's fellow Texas Freedom Caucusmember, Rep. Matt Rinaldi, and another member had animportant Amendment to completely defund PlannedParenthood and other abortion providers. Unfortunately, theDemocrats found a technicality to kill it too, but would haveto wait hours till it came up for debate.Negotiations ensued. At this point, Democrats were willingto end debate many hours early and vote to pass the budgetif the rest of their remaining 100+ big-spending Amendments,were passed in another section of the budget (where theywould likely die a quiet death in conference committee dueto lack of funding for them).However, the Swanson Amendment was standing in theway. For all the rest of their Amendments to be put in thatsection of the budget without debate, the Democrats wouldbe forced to allow the Swanson Amendment in the budget. Since it required no money, it would not die for lack offunding. The Democrats found it to be a poison pill theycould not afford to swallow. Liberal Republicans began topressure Rep. Valoree Swanson to withdraw her Amendmentso everyone could go home, but she held out to use it forleverage.At this point, Rep. Matt Rinaldi, Rep. Swanson's fellowTexas Freedom Caucus member, with Rep. Swanson's fullsupport, was able to brilliantly negotiate a strong deal forConservatives. Rep. Rinaldi convinced Democrats to allow his DefundPlanned Parenthood Amendment to be voted on and passedin return for Rep. Swanson withdrawing her Privacy andProtection Amendment.The plan went off perfectly. The Democratswithdrewtheir technicality on the pro-life Amendment. It then passedwith strong Republican support, and Rep. Swanson withdrewher Amendment as agreed.Victory! The remaining state taxpayer funding to PlannedParenthood was finally history. They could not have plannedit any better, but God did! To God be the Glory.“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantlyabove all that we ask or think, according to the power thatworks in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus toall generations, forever and ever. Amen.”Eph. 3:20-21 [NKJV-emphasis added]Weekdays 2:00 to 3:00 PM on FM 100.7 The Word. Visit www.TerryLowry.comPRSRT STDUS POSTAGEPAIDDALLAS, TXPERMIT # 3260theLINKLetter1782 W. Sam Houston Parkway NorthHouston, Texas 77043www.terrylowry.comHARRIS COUNTY SPECIAL EDITION FOR THE SPECIAL SESSIONTerry Lowry host of the What's UP Radio Program invites you to visit www.TerryLowry.com Protect our wives, mothersand daughtersfrom beingexposed bybiologicalmales infemalefacilities.Next >