ABORT ABBOTT
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Texas politicians rake in millions from far-right Christian megadonors pushing private school vouchers
Texas Republicans bankrolled by Christian conservative donors are hoping to ride a wave of parental anger over the teaching of race and sexuality in schools to achieve what has long been an unattainable goal: state funding for private education. Groups committed to giving parents the option of sending their children to private schools using taxpayer dollars — sometimes known as “school choice” or “vouchers” — have given millions of dollars to Republican candidates in Texas this year, helping to win key races and pushing some establishment lawmakers further to the right on the issue. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott recently pledged to make school choice a priority in the next legislative session if he wins re-election over Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke…
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Texas’s Governor Is Trying to Destroy Public Education — and Dim Those Friday Night Lights
Texas governor Greg Abbott is on a crusade against public education. But even rural Republicans aren’t going along with his privatization scheme, recognizing the threat it poses to youth education, adult employment, and Texas’s beloved football teams. On a Friday evening in late September, Texas governor Greg Abbott continued his aggressive push for school vouchers at a high school football game in Dallas. At an event called Parents Matter Tailgate, he hopped on the bullhorn and said, “Tonight is a typical night in Texas — tonight is about football, family, fun, and freedom. One of the freedoms we believe in is the freedom of parents to choose what’s right for their child.”…
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The ‘Texas Three-Step’: Defund, Demonize, and Privatize Public Schools
Texas state lawmakers have gaveled in and started stepping to the tune of well-funded efforts to pass private school vouchers and undercut public schools. It’s a tired tune that state leaders sang throughout 2023’s lengthy legislative season, though it lacked the backup vocals of thousands of Texas families. Now, with a chorus of new legislators in office, the volume is a bit louder under the dome, but lawmakers still risk stepping on millions of public school students and their families. State leaders and many lawmakers have frolicked with billionaires in what we at the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) call the “Texas Three-Step” to defund, demonize, and privatize public schools…
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‘Y’all Street’ is booming, but abortion bans create a talent bust
South by Southwest once again brought thousands of tech and business leaders to Austin — just as Texas positions itself as Wall Street’s next frontier. The New York Stock Exchange is expanding into the state, and the pitch is clear: lower taxes, lighter regulation, cheaper everything….
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Abortion pill providers targeted by new Texas law refuse ‘anticipatory obedience’
Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, on Wednesday signed into law a bill that lets people sue anyone suspected of manufacturing, distributing or mailing abortion pills to or from Texas. The first-of-its-kind law is almost certain to dramatically escalate the state-by-state showdown over abortion laws in the post Roe v Wade United States – especially as some out-of-state abortion providers have already vowed that they will continue shipping pills to Texans….
