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< Previous www.TerryLowry.com May 2024 10 Texas Parents are Ready for Change GUEST EDITORIAL Texas State Senator Mayes Middleton As parents, our rights come from God, not govern- ment. Unfortunately, Texas is one of few remaining states in the country that does not allow parents to have the final say on their child’s education. This is why we have seen the strong emergence of the parent’s right movement across the state. During the March 2024 Republican Primary Election, anti-school choice candidates across the state lost big. We saw incum- bent Republicans that fought against empowering parents through a school choice program defeated by candidates that championed parents being the principal decision makers in their children’s education. Trust Moms and Dads During the next Legislative Session, we must trust moms and dads by empowering parents to direct their children’s education, with money following the child to the school of their choice. Unsurprisingly, we saw taxpayer-funded lobbyists come out in droves to defend anti-parental empowerment Republicans during the Primary. Taxpayer-funded lobby- ing is the practice of local governmental entities, such as cities, counties, and school districts, using your tax dollars to hire Austin lobbyists to oppose policies that you support. Stop Tax-Payer Funded Lobbyists This unethical practice is the epitome of the Austin swamp. ■ Taxpayer-funded lobbyists have opposed border security, including the Texas border force that was approved on the primary ballot. ■ They have opposed election integrity and citizenship verification of our voter rolls. ■ They have opposed property tax relief. ■ They have opposed parental empowerment through school choice. ■ They have even lobbied for the Democrat’s radical agenda of allowing boys in girls restrooms and locker rooms. Remove the Roadblock Not only are your own tax dollars used to lobby against you, taxpayer funded lobbyists act as a roadblock to every major Conservative priority we attempt to pass in the Legislature. Next Session, we must finally ban taxpayer- funded lobbying to restore the power back to “we the people” and pull the plug to the Austin swamp. In Texas, we have a mandate from voters and parents to get them done. Defeat the Biden Agenda At the top of the legislative “to-do” list is defending Texas from the destructive policies of the Biden Administration. Joe Biden has continued his assault on Title IX and women by attempting to force transgen- derism into women’s sports. Last Session, I was proud to author and pass the Save Women’s Sports Act, which bans men from unfairly competing against women in collegiate sports. In Texas, men can no longer unfairly steal opportunities from women collegiate athletes. We must continue to push back against the insane and unfair treatment of women athletes by the radical left and stop the woke transgenderism ideology being forced on our kids. Secure the Border One of the most important things we must do during the next Session is continue the fight to secure our border. The Biden Administration has allowed an invasion and Texas is exercising our Constitutional right to defend ourselves. Last year, Texas passed the nation’s strongest border security measure, Senate Bill 4, and the Biden Administration has fought us every step of the way. Make no mistake, the radical left wants an open border and defenseless Texas. I have heard concerns from parents Mayes Middleton11 May 2024 www.TerryLowry.com and voters across my district about how unsafe they feel in their own communities as mass illegal immigration has caused spikes in crime. We must continue to secure our border and put citizens first. Demand a Refund from WDC Throughout the years Biden has been in office, Texas has stepped up to the plate and spent billions of taxpayer dol- lars to do the job of the Federal government and secure our border. This represents billions of dollars that could have gone to property tax relief had Biden followed the law. Next session, I intend to file a bill to demand the Federal government pay Texas back the billions of dollars we’ve spent on border security and return that money as property tax relief to who it really belongs to – the taxpayers. As we prepare to vote on May 28th in the Republican Primary Runoffs, it is clear parents and voters of Texas want a change from the status quo. Parents and voters want true Conservative fighters in Austin to pass the Conservative policies that they’ve been asking for. No more excuses. Texans are ready for conservative change. Editor’s Note: Please vote in the Republican Primary Runoff. If there is a Runoff in your area Please Vote Early. EARLY VOTING HOURS MAY SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 MAY 28 29 30 31 JUNE 1 Election Day 7:00am - 7:00pm Memorial Day Holiday www.TerryLowry.com May 2024 12 Designed Babies: Does IFV Create More Problems than it Solves? GUEST EDITORIAL by Kris Ullman, President Eagle Forum “The Sweetest Place on Earth” is the tagline for Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. In addition to a family-friendly amusement park, it is also the home of Chocolate World where you can create your own candy bar. For $29.95, you can “Dream up your perfect candy bar and watch it come to life, from flow- ing chocolate to solid bar. Choose your ingredients and design a personalized wrapper!” The price tag is steep, but at least you get to choose what ingredients you want. No surprises! Customized and Designed Customization is also one of the benefits of in vitro fer- tilization (IVF). While most couples do not choose IVF unless they are infertile, the “upside” is that embryos can be selected, indeed customized, for a variety of factors. This designer service is marketed to more couples includ- ing those who can conceive naturally. This is just one of the many ethical issues with IVF. Are Embryos Babies Once created? IVF was thrust into the political spotlight earlier this year when the Alabama Supreme Court found that embryos created via IVF were covered by the state’s wrongful death statute. The ruling caused a panic not only in the state, but across the nation, as IVF clinics threat- ened to shut down unless they were given complete immunity for negligent acts like the one at issue in the case, in which a hospital patient entered an unsecure area of the facility, removed several cryogenically frozen embryos, and dropped them onto the floor, thus killing the embryos. Complete Immunity The Alabama legislature quickly passed a law providing both criminal and civil immunity to IVF clinics and the governor Kay Ivey signed it saying, “Alabama works to foster a culture of life, and that certainly includes IVF.” Is an Embryo human life? In addition, former President Trump said Alabama, “really did a great and fast job” and gave unequivocal and unquestioned support for IVF when he released his state- ment on abortion and life issues. Even Kellyanne Conway, a pro-life champion, seemed to get tripped up during an interview with Politico when reporter Ryan Lizza asked, in the context of IVF, how she would advise a Republican candidate who believes an embryo is a human life. Are There Ethical and Legal Issues with IVF? The regulation of IVF is sure to be an issue in this election year as pro-abortion advocates seek to weaponize “reproductive health” topics. Some on the right would rather ignore the serious ethical and legal issues surround- ing IVF and instead seemingly champion its use without limitations. Is this the right approach? In 2021: Over 4.1 million Embryos created with just over 94,000 live births. WHERE ARE THE OTHER 4 MILLION PLUS BABIES? Researcher Emma Waters of the Heritage Foundation published a report that raises many of these important questions. She reminds readers that “IVF treatments in the United States rely on the routine destruction of embryonic life, either intentionally or through neglect.” The report estimates that 4.1 million embryos were cre- ated by IVF in 2021 but only 2.3% result in the live birth of a baby. Waters points out that these excess creations are not essential to the industry. Louisiana and “many Western countries permit IVF but limit or prohibit the wanton transfer, production, and destruction of human embryos.” Kris Ullman13 May 2024 www.TerryLowry.com Designed Babies: the Eugenics Aspect of IVF Another troubling issue is the eugenics aspect of IVF. The Heritage paper states that, “more than 75 percent of fertility clinics offer preimplantation genetic testing for genetic issues; 73 percent offer testing for sex selection or hair, eye, and skin color.” “Have Healthy Babies” is the promise on the website for Orchid Health, a company that offers whole genome screening of embryos. A customer testimonial says it “is the best thing you can do for your child and yourself.” Is it? Becoming a Creator and Owner Dr. Raymond G. Bohlin, Vice President of Vision Outreach with Probe Ministries, asked in the April 2021 issue of the Eagle Forum Report, “If parents have constructed the best child for them using the best available technology they can afford, are they still parents, or cre- ators and owners with additional rights and privileges?” End Result: Too Many Men – Not Enough Women. Stephanie Gray Connors has written about the tragic sit- uation in China, where men vastly outnumber women by 33.59 million (in 2016) and are unable to find women to marry. This has led to men responding with “desperate measures and treating women as property, trafficking them as modern-day slaves, forcing them into relation- ships they do not want.” If IVF is used to allow parents to self-select the sex of their children, the U.S. could face a demographic problem. Good or Bad: Eliminating Civil or Criminal Liability? Finally, eliminating any civil or criminal liability for the IVF industry leaves parents and their pre-implanted embryos vulnerable to negligence and abuse. Parents des- perate for a child spend between $12,000- $30,000 per round of IVF. There are a number of instances of clinic negligence leading to destruction of embryos. In Ohio in 2018, 950 families lost 4,000 embryos when the freezer malfunc- tioned at the UH Cleveland Medical Center. Most clinics accused of negligence settle out of court, perhaps to avoid court rulings similar to the one in Alabama – that these embryos are indeed human beings. Shielding the clinics from liability does nothing to help families or babies. Law professor Dov Fox from the University of San Diego said in an article, “Damage awards are the principal tool that courts have available to remedy such wrongs. But as with many intangible losses, dollars and cents can’t of course make things all better or put the plaintiffs where they were before this happened.’’ We Should Not Ignore Ethical and Legal Issues. The ethical and legal issues are numerous and should not be ignored. As Dr. Bohlin stated, “Within a few short decades, our children will be pressured to alter their chil- dren genetically to keep up with society. Scientific research may well use human embryos as research subjects. This research may likely extend to developing fetuses, all in the name of furthering health and eliminating disease. Do we really think we can improve on the original design?” Pro-life politicians should be careful not to uncritically support IVF clinics without protections and regulations. www.TerryLowry.com May 2024 14 Jimmy Carter Personally Experienced Voter Fraud. His First Election Was Stolen. By Hans Von Spakovsky Originally posted on December 12, 2023 on www.dailysignal.com *Edited for space With the passing of Rosalynn Carter, former President Jimmy Carter lost his lifetime partner. My deepest sympathies go out to him and his family. The former first lady’s death reminded me of something relevant to election integrity that many Americans may not realize: Organized voter fraud in Jimmy Carter’s first run for office stole his election. The only reason Carter ended up in office when he did is because he claimed publicly that he had won and went to court to fight to overturn the election. He is one of the few leaders in the Democrat Party who has acknowledged that peo- ple should be seriously concerned about election fraud. This led to the 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform, which President Carter co-chaired with former Secretary of State James A. Baker III. Among the recommendations in the commission’s final report was a call for states to implement “a photo ID system for voters” that would provide “free IDs for those without driver’s licenses.” Jimmy Carter’s Stolen Election One of the best accounts of the Georgia State Senate Race in the Democrats’ Primary Election of 1962 was written by the late Jim Wooten, a highly respected jour- nalist and editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In his 1978 book, “Dasher: The Roots and the Rising of Jimmy Carter”, Wooten recounts how Carter challenged the local incumbent, described as “an entrenched establishment figure”, and worked hard campaigning throughout the district. Carter’s prospects seemed high until he arrived in Georgetown, a small town in Quitman County, on Election Day. Carter saw “no voting booths in the courthouse and all voters were marking their ballots on a table in full view” of the “local legislator and dominant political boss”, who was telling voters who to vote for and even pulling ballots out of the ballot box to check them. Carter’s attempt to get the Columbus, Georgia, newspa- per to write a story about the situation proved unavailing, because the reporter sent to cover the story just happened to be friends with the local political boss. Carter said the reporter “was not interested in writing any story critical of election procedures in Quitman County,” Wooten writes.One of the best accounts of the Georgia State Senate Race in the Democrats’ Primary Election of 1962 was written by the late Jim Wooten, a highly respected journalist and editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In his 1978 book, “Dasher: The Roots and the Rising of Jimmy Carter”, Wooten recounts how Carter challenged the local incumbent, described as “an entrenched establishment figure”, and worked hard campaigning throughout the district. Carter’s prospects seemed high until he arrived in Georgetown, a small town in Quitman County, on Election Day. Carter saw “no voting booths in the courthouse and all voters were marking their ballots on a table in full view” of the “local legislator and dominant political boss”, who was telling voters who to vote for and even pulling ballots out of the ballot box to check them. Carter’s attempt to get the Columbus, Georgia, newspaper to write a story about the situation proved unavailing, because the reporter sent to cover the story just happened Hans Von Spakovsky15 May 2024 www.TerryLowry.com to be friends with the local political boss. Carter said the reporter “was not interested in writing any story critical of election procedures in Quitman County,” Wooten writes. 126 Voted in Alphabetical Order The results from Georgetown were the last to arrive with a total of 443 ballots and “according to the names listed, 126 of them voted alphabetically!” (Wooten wrote) Moreover, when the “ballots were unfolded, there were sometimes four to eight of them folded together,” making it obvious that “the box had been stuffed.” Carter and a lawyer went to Georgetown. When they began taking statements from local residents, they discovered that “what had happened that day had been happening on election days as long as most people could remember.” The “local Democratic machinery laughed at [Carter’s] efforts to reverse the decision,” Wooten writes, because the election was over and there “was nothing he could do.” But Carter and his lawyers doggedly continued their investigation, which resulted in their being followed by “local lieutenants of the organization” and targeted by “threatening phone calls.” They discovered that votes had been cast by individuals who “were dead, in prison, or had long ago moved away and voted in other communi- ties.” Some even claimed they never voted, yet a ballot was cast in their name. Persistence Prevailed The newspapers characterized Carter “as a politically naïve sorehead and a poor loser,” while state Democrat Party officials were “aloof or downright hostile.” The “local judge and district attorney had strong ties in the county” and refused to do anything about the fraud, Wooten wrote. Carter never gave up even though the media, his own political party, and the local justice system were against him. Carter’s lawyer, Charles Kirbo, managed to get a hearing before a judge outside the state Senate district in which Carter was running. Tat judge declared Carter the winner because the election in Georgetown was “so thoroughly tainted by vote fraud that there was absolutely no way to determine what had been the voters’ original and genuine intent.” Accordingly, the judge said, the election would be decid- ed by the votes cast elsewhere in the Senate district. One would have thought that would be the end of the story. But a bizarre procedural quirk allowed the now- losing candidate to appeal the judge’s decision to Democrats’ local Executive Committee, which was controlled by the corrupt local political boss, who rein- stated the incumbent. Carter Declared Winner Carter had to appeal to the state party chair, J.B. Fuqua, who was in Canada on a hunting trip. Carter’s lawyer went all the way to Canada, hunted down Fuqua, present- ed Carter’s case, and convinced Fuqua to declare Carter the Democrat nominee the weekend before the general election. The Georgetown political boss eventually was convicted of voter fraud, not for what he did in Carter’s election, but for fraudulent acts in connection with a prior Congressional election. Once in office as a State Senator, Carter spearheaded a comprehensive reform of the state’s election code that passed the Georgia Legislature. According to Wooten, Carter recalled that, during the debate, “someone suggested as a compromise that no one be allowed to vote who had been dead more than three years.” In Review of the Facts Observers (witnesses) are important. If Carter had not seen what was happening on the ground in Georgetown, he would not have known his election had been stolen. Note the media’s lack of interest in covering the story of local prosecutors and judges who had ties to the political powers that be. Light sentences given by judges for attempts to subvert our democratic process often don’t fit the seriousness of the crimes. The theft was all within the same political party, some- thing that happens all too often. And finally, the US Supreme Court decision in Crawford v. Marion County (2008) stated “it could affect the out- come of a close election” when it upheld Indiana’s voter ID law. “Fraud is especially troublesome”, the high court ruled. If Carter had not had, as Wooten aptly describes it, the “stubborn, dogged determination, fueled by his seething anger,” to fight to overturn his stolen election, would he ever have been elected president? We’ll never know. PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT # 3260 the LINK Letter 10924 Grant Road, #133 Houston, TX 77070 www.terrylowry.com REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION SPECIAL EDITION LINK LETTER Terry Lowry host of the What's UP Radio Program invites you to visit www.TerryLowry.com Four Candidates Worthy of Your Support At the Republican State Convention For Re-Election Dr. Robin Armstrong Republican National Committeeman Debbie Georgatos Candidate for Republican National Committeewoman Rachal Hisler (R) with State Rep. Terri Leo Wilson Mike Garcia (L) with State Senator Mayes MiddletonNext >