Frank Nance

10/20/2026

I Won’t Be Alone in the Voting Booth and Neither Will You. So Get There.
By John Pavlovitz • October 20

Like hundreds of millions of Americans, I am preparing to go to the polls to cast my vote in the most consequential election of my lifetime, perhaps of this nation’s lifetime.

And while I will enter the voting booth by myself, I will not be alone there.

I am bringing a silent multitude with me.

I am bringing the Dominican father shot in his car by ICE agents while his terrified child screamed in horror.

I am bringing the gay teenager in Tennessee who is terrified of revealing his truest truth.

I am bringing every child and woman brutalized by Jeffrey Epstein and his collaborators.

I am bringing the tens of thousands of children killed in Gaza.

I am bringing the gregarious Mexican couple at the taqueria down the street.

I am bringing Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

I am bringing the suffragettes.

I am bringing our overworked and underfunded public school teachers.

I am bringing the exhausted parents of a terribly sick child who face bankruptcy paying her medical bills.

I am bringing Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks, and John Lewis.

I am bringing the kind-hearted transgender woman from the shop near our house.

I am bringing every Jane Doe from every college campus.

I am bringing the black boy in his school library who deserves to see himself in the stories he reads.

I am bringing the neighborhoods gerrymandered out of the political process.

I am bringing the amazing Muslim family in our neighborhood.

I am bringing the Little Rock Nine.

I am bringing the Wisconsin grandparents who stand on their small town main street every Saturday to oppose fascism.

I am bringing the children and teachers murdered in their classrooms.

I am bringing the disabled woman at our church whose economic supports are vanishing.

I am bringing Anne Frank and Greta Thunberg.

I am bringing the crafters of our Constitution and those who still defend it.

I am bringing the honey bees and the sea turtles and the red wolves.

I am bringing the theatre kids and the theatre departments who make magic for the rest of us.

I am bringing the high school students who refuse to allow their immigrant classmates to be bullied.

I am bringing the pregnant women at the precipice of death in a Texas hospital room.

I am bringing my indigenous brothers and sisters.

I am bringing Emmett Till and Breonna Taylor and Nolan Wells.

I am bringing the young soldier on his way to a war of choice in Iran and the homeless veteran discarded by his government.

I am bringing the Stonewall rioters.

I am bringing the young girl who imagines she might one day be the President, and will.

This is true for each of us.

We are not just using our vote to speak for ourselves or those close to us.

We are leveraging that profound and sacred privilege to stand with every beautiful, vulnerable, never-to-be-repeated human being we hold within our hearts, every person we have admired from the distances of geography and time.

We carry every activist and serviceperson who spent themselves on behalf of those who would follow them.

We carry every person on the horizon of history whose names and faces we’ll never know, but who will inherit the nation we leave them.

We cannot stay home or opt out or cast our votes carelessly.

So yes, vote your morality. Vote your ethics. Vote your values and your passions and your core truths, but vote because you aren’t alone when you do.

This is so much bigger than us, friends.

Who do you care about?

Who are you fighting for?

Who does your heart break for?

Who do you believe deserves to be heard?

Who are you living for?

Who are you bringing to the polls?

10/19/2026

Texas can do better than this. But if we’re going to hold our leaders accountable, we need to get the facts right ourselves.

Most of these numbers check out. A few need clarification: the health rankings are 50th out of 51, including Washington, D.C. The education spending and teacher pay figures are estimates for 2025–26. The voter participation number averages the 2022 and 2024 elections. I couldn’t confirm the exact child-poverty ranking, and the insurance line combines figures from different sources and years.

The last line needs correcting, too. Republicans have held the governor’s office since 1995 and controlled both legislative chambers since 2003.

The underlying problems are well documented: Texas has the nation’s highest uninsured rates for adults and children, ranks near the bottom in access to mental health providers, and trails the national averages in teacher pay and school spending. https://commonwealthfund.org, https://americashealthrankings.org
https://tsta.org

The 2026 KIDS COUNT report ranks Texas 44th in overall child well-being and 47th in child health. https://assets.aecf.org

We should expect better from a state with our resources. When politicians ask for another term, I want to hear what they’ll do about these problems and why they haven’t done it already.

10/16/2026

Abbott needs to explain what measurable conditions would end this emergency, why ordinary legislative oversight is insufficient, and when Texans get normal competitive purchasing back.

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/10/15/greg-abbott-border-emergency-trump/

Rep. Gina Hinojosa for Governor!

Since Abbott first declared a border emergency in 2021, he’s renewed or amended the proclamation at least 69 times. The proclamation has greatly expanded his powers.

10/08/2026

Are We Building an AI Future Without Asking Americans What Kind of Future They Want?

The more I learn about the rapid expansion of AI and data centers across Texas, the more concerned I become. And Elon Musk’s recent comments about the future of artificial intelligence only add to those concerns.

Musk has suggested that AI will eventually make traditional employment largely optional and lead to universal high incomes, where people no longer need to work to meet their basic needs.

Think about the implications of that for a moment.

We’re being told that AI is too important to slow down, that massive data centers are essential to America’s economic future, and that communities must accommodate their extraordinary demands for electricity, water, and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Texans are struggling to obtain basic information about these projects.

We’ve seen nondisclosure agreements limit transparency in local development negotiations. We’ve seen widespread failures to comply with water-use reporting requirements. And now a Texas regulatory agency is suing to prevent certain information about data-center locations from becoming public.

And we’re supposed to trust that all of this is ultimately in our best interests?

Here’s what troubles me most.

If Musk and other technology leaders are correct that AI will eventually eliminate enormous numbers of jobs while generating unprecedented wealth, we’re talking about something much bigger than technological innovation.

We’re talking about a fundamental restructuring of the American economy.

And that raises some questions we ought to be asking right now:

* Who owns the technology and controls the wealth created when machines increasingly replace human labor?
* If millions of Americans eventually depend on some form of universal income, who determines how much they receive and under what conditions?
* Why are local communities being asked to shoulder the environmental and infrastructure costs today while the promised economic benefits remain uncertain?
* Why are we allowing private companies and government agencies to limit public access to information about projects that affect shared resources?
* And if AI truly produces the abundance Musk envisions, how do we ensure that prosperity is broadly shared rather than concentrated among a handful of corporations and investors?

There’s an interesting political irony here.

For decades, Americans have debated socialism, government dependency, free markets, and the dignity of work. Now some of the world’s wealthiest capitalists are describing a future in which technological productivity could make universal income necessary or possible.

Universal basic income isn’t necessarily socialism. But it certainly raises questions about the relationship between capitalism, work, wealth, and government’s responsibility to its citizens.

What concerns me is that we’re racing toward that future without having the conversation.

I recognize AI’s extraordinary potential in medicine, education, scientific discovery, and countless other areas. I’m not opposed to innovation or economic development.

But technological progress should serve people, not simply require people to accommodate it.

Before we surrender more of our natural resources, subsidize more infrastructure, and allow more economic power to become concentrated in fewer hands, shouldn’t Americans have a meaningful voice in where all of this is headed?

The question isn’t whether AI will change our future.

It’s whether we will have any meaningful say in shaping that future — and whether its benefits will belong to the many or primarily to the few.

A lawsuit will test whether Texas officials can withhold data center location details under the state Homeland Security Act.

10/04/2026

When does love of country become an excuse to violate someone else’s?

Kristin Kobes Du Mez highlights reporting from the Globe and Mail describing American political operatives assisting Alberta separatists, along with discussions about offering access to Canadian water and oil resources in exchange for American help.

Now turn the tables.

How would we feel if foreign political operatives helped a movement break Texas away from the United States? If its leaders offered our water and oil revenues in exchange for foreign assistance? Would we call that freedom—or interference in our sovereignty?

That is the danger of weaponized nationalism: “Our country first” becomes permission to treat another country’s people, resources, and independence as ours to exploit.

Christian nationalism adds another layer by giving political ambition the appearance of divine approval. A prayer before a meeting does not settle whether its purpose is just. Christian language should invite moral scrutiny, not exempt anyone from it.

Before defending conduct abroad, ask whether we would accept it here.

➡️If sovereignty matters, why should it matter only when it is ours? And if loving our neighbors means anything, shouldn’t it include respecting the ones across our borders?

It’s been there all along...

10/03/2026

So I was listening to Trump talk about how “beautiful“ data centers are. I realize that with all the talk about them, I’m not sure I could describe the exterior of the data center. So I asked ChatGPT… wow

Large, boxy buildings: Often one or two stories, with concrete or metal walls in gray, white, or beige.

Few windows: Most of the building houses equipment; windows tend to be concentrated near offices and entrances.

Extensive cooling equipment: Fans, chillers, pipes, or cooling towers on the roof or beside the building.

Electrical equipment yards: Transformers, switchgear, and sometimes a nearby substation.
Security fencing and controlled entrances: Gates, cameras, and limited public access.

Yep, sounds beautiful. 🙄

10/03/2026

Just a reminder as Donald Trump is out on the Campaign trail this month.

On April 1, at a White House Easter luncheon, President Trump said:

“The United States can’t take care of daycare.”

“We have to take care of one thing, military protection.”

He also named Medicare and Medicaid as responsibilities states should handle. (rollcall.com)

Since then:

* In June, he requested more than $11 billion in additional federal farm aid, following $12 billion already disbursed that year.

* By September, advertisements celebrating Trump had incurred at least $1.4 million in tracked taxpayer-funded spending. The White House defended them as public service announcements.

* On October 2, he announced $90 payments to more than 20 million Medicare recipients, financed through a congressionally funded Medicare account.

These actions contradict the sweeping claim that Washington’s responsibility should be limited to “military protection.”

They show that federal involvement remains available for priorities his administration chooses.

Find latest news from every corner of the globe at Reuters.com, your online source for breaking international news coverage.

10/03/2026

I love my country, but the church belongs to Christ and includes people from every nation. I value the Ten Commandments, but public schools serve children of every faith and none. Keep worship centered on God and public education welcoming to everyone. Faith and patriotism are better expressed through how we live and serve than through displays on a wall.

From Christianity Today:

Christian cases for yes, no, and flying other nations’ flags as congregations balance love of God, neighbor, and country.

09/21/2026

BETTER TEST SCORES DON’T AUTOMATICALLY MEAN A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL TAKEOVER.

Houston ISD has made real academic gains under the state’s control. The number of F-rated campuses has fallen from 56 to five. That deserves acknowledgment.

But the rest of the story matters.

According to Texas Tribune:

• HISD is spending about $2,200 more per student at schools using Superintendent Mike Miles’ New Education System.

• Enrollment has fallen by roughly 21,000 students since the takeover began—costing the district an estimated $190 million in state funding.

• HISD has withdrawn nearly $450 million from its reserves.

• The district has eliminated about 1,500 central-office positions, more than 200 specialists who connected families with food and healthcare, and 85 bus routes.

• Teacher turnover reached 33%—nearly twice the state average.

Texas leaders are now promoting this model for other districts. But many of those districts do not have Houston’s former reserves, surplus property or financial scale.

Academic improvement matters. But so do financial stability, teacher retention, student services, community trust and local accountability. If a reform produces higher ratings while exhausting reserves, losing families and cutting essential support, we should ask whether it represents lasting improvement—or a short-term gain someone else will eventually have to pay for.

Texas needs education leaders willing to examine the entire picture. That is one reason educators should pay attention to James Talarico: he understands that strengthening public education requires sustained investment—not simply taking control away from elected communities, imposing an expensive model and leaving local taxpayers to clean up the finances afterward.

Read the full Texas Tribune investigation:
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/21/houston-isd-state-takeover-sustainability/

James Talarico
Rep. Gina Hinojosa

Other Texas districts are mirroring HISD’s costly efforts to boost academics. Superintendent Mike Miles acknowledges tough cuts are necessary to pay for it.

09/18/2026

Apparently Texas has been quietly “promoting Islam” for decades.

Muslim population growth? Substantial. Mosques? From 91 in 2000 to 224 by 2020—and possibly more than 330 mosques and Islamic centers today. Halal restaurants? More than 300 listings around Houston alone. Islamic schools? Roughly 30. Refugees? Texas has repeatedly ranked among the leading resettlement states.

All of that happened under decades of Republican control.

Or—and stay with me here—perhaps Muslim Texans have been doing what other Texans do: raising families, starting businesses, building houses of worship, opening schools, serving their communities and exercising their constitutional religious freedom.

Maybe that isn’t a “Muslim takeover.” Maybe it is just Texas.

Or better yet - we can be anti-violence from any religion. And we will defend America against anyone who advocates terrorism, religious coercion or the replacement of constitutional government with theocracy. We will apply that standard to Islamists, Christian nationalists and every other movement.

At the same time, we will defend the constitutional rights of peaceful Muslim Americans as firmly as we defend the rights of Christians, Jews or anyone else.

We judge citizens by their conduct—not their names, clothing, ancestry or place of worship.

The former president spoke highly of Islam after 9/11—a posture that MAGA has abandoned.