Tea Party Heaven

New Texas secession drama: Scenario where Texas becomes its own country createscontroversy

Here's the set-up proposed by Austin-based journalist John Burnettfor a lighthearted not-quite-April Fools' Day radio piece on National Public Radio's All Things Considered: It's 2012 and Texas has seceded from the United States.

Burnett imagines an independent Republic that puts Rick Perry's long-standing secessionist threats to the test with the help of scholars, business leaders, journalists and Kinky Friedman. The writer is quick to note that none of his interviewees want Texas to secede and that recent polling statistics reveal only one in five Texans want to break away from the U.S. (which seems pretty high, right?).

"The former state has reinvented itself as a sort of Lone Star Singapore, with low taxes, free trade and minimal regulation," John Burnett writes.

"The former state has reinvented itself as a sort of Lone Star Singapore, with low taxes, free trade and minimal regulation," Burnett writes. "It enters the community of nations as the world's 15th-largest economy, with vast oil and gas reserves, busy international ports, an independent power grid and a laissez-faire attitude about making money."

Right off the bat, the Texas business community is hot to market the new Republic as vibrant haven for free-market capitalism, a land without the Transportation Security Administration or the Environmental Protection Agency to get in the way of commerce.

Supporters of the Tea Party movement are loving the new streamlined, no frills government.

"What is the Republic of Texas charged with actually doing? [It's] charged with defense, charged with education, charged with a few things that you have to do, and the rest is wide open," Felicia Cravens, a high school drama teacher active in the Houston Tea Party, explains to Burnett. "Liberty may look like chaos, but to us, it's a lot of choices."

But then comes the "independence hangover," as citizens realize the bare-bones government would have to pay for duties formerly carried out by Washington — duties ranging from meat inspection to foreign affairs. A post-secession "Texodus" soon sweeps the fledgling nation, putting the whole imaginary land in jeopardy.

Tale from the dark side?

There's something a little nefarious about playing Burnett's game, especially as Dallas-based Tea Party member Ken Emanuel celebrates the hypothetical new Republic as an "empowerment" as opposed to a "caretaker" society.

Admittedly, it's a little difficult to hear the term "secession" and not think of the institution of slavery and the Civil War.

"You will be a productive member of society and our environment doesn't allow for people to not be productive," Texas Tea Party member Katrina Pierson says about her vision of an independent Republic.

Admittedly, it's also a little difficult to hear the term "secession" and not think of the institution of slavery and the Civil War, the latter of which was on Houston listener Peter Bowen's mind when he wrote to NPR. All Things Considered hosts Robert Siegel and Audie Cornish read his comments along with a string other complaints.

"It is interesting to me that you would do a story that, despite its spin, puts on the table the breakup of the United States and (an independent Texas) which your reporter said was not very popular," writes Bowen. "But giving the idea air time is to promote the discussion of (secession) . . . which the bloodiest civil war in history was fought to defeat."

Listen to the full radio piece:

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”