Recently I posted a long article about our now acting Comptroller (ie Money Manager), MAGA billionaire, and new Zorro Ranch Owner Donald Huffines. I felt like one part of the article should stand alone… Huffines’ relationship with Elon Musk and Space X. Unethical at best….illegal at worst…

https://lovedoesnoharm.substack.com/p/tx-comptroller-don-huffines-investment?r=1ttv5i&utm_medium=ios

FTA:

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts does more than collect taxes and distribute state revenue.

The office prepares the revenue estimates lawmakers rely on to build the state budget, administers Texas’ new $1 billion school voucher program and, this week, announced it will audit four public school districts — including Austin — to examine how much money goes to classrooms versus administrative costs.

The comptroller can serve taxpayers by providing clear, useful information about how public money is spent. Or the office can become another vehicle for driving a partisan agenda. We recommend Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt in the Nov. 3 election because she would bring the transparency and accountability that Texas taxpayers deserve.

Acting Comptroller Don Huffines, a self-branded “MAGA warrior,” took office in August after Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him following his Republican primary victory. Since then, the office has undergone significant staffing changes. Huffines, who declined a state salary, fired dozens of staffers in an effort to eliminate “wasteful spending,” then installed a 20-something political consultant as deputy comptroller, with a salary of more than $300,000.

Huffines, a Dallas-area businessman and former state senator, declined to meet with us. Beyond the disruption Huffines has already brought to the office, we are troubled by his call to double the size of the school voucher program — a political decision that belongs to lawmakers, not to the financial office administering the program.

Meta temporarily suspended the main Instagram account for the No Kings Coalition during a nationwide day of protests and early-voting mobilization

For those still deciding between Talarico and Paxton, please remember that Paxton refused to debate Talarico anywhere, including Fox News.

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/qj46B6oLno8

Whatever misgivings you have about Talarico, just think that Paxton and Talarico could have debated face-to-face on Paxton friendly Fox News and Paxton chickened out.

Allen pastor Irvin Barrett makes his case for Collin County JP3

how is it legal or allowed for him to make these ads? especially the “Talarico thinks parents who don’t allow their children to surgically transition should go to jail” one. quite literally nothing in them is the truth? they’re also blatantly manipulating parents. i understand politicians lie all the time, but this is insane. I don’t get how they’re allowed to run on television and be pushed onto ignorant voters

i’m not against political “beef” ads, but no matter your political affiliation, i feel like they should be required to at least tell the truth or talk about their own policies in ads.

they’re also EVERY other commercial. his and Talarico’s. its making me want to not watch tv

Hotze*

So the message was basically about voting straight R to stop the Muslim takeover of Texas/Sharia law. I know its only computers processing this stuff, but it feels good to respond to these kinds of things. This is just my take. If there's a counter-argument for this culture war non-issue and the tactic of sowing division to concentrate a voting coalition, I'm wiling to listen. I won't agree, but I will hear you out.

This was my response to the text.

STOP. Unsubscribe me from this absolute garbage.

Your message is a textbook masterclass in blatant misinformation, xenophobia, and manufactured panic. The absurd claim that American Muslims are conspiring with political opponents to overthrow the U.S. and Texas Constitutions is completely baseless and entirely detached from reality.

If you actually cared about "American liberty," you wouldn't be using fear-mongering tactics to demonize an entire religious community. Real liberty means upholding the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion and equal rights for all Americans—not just the ones who share your specific beliefs. Pushing conspiracy theories to divide people and scare them into voting isn't patriotism; it is an insult to the intelligence of Texas voters and a direct assault on the constitutional principles you claim to defend.

Take my number off your list immediately. And if you care an iota about the United States of America, you should retire from political activism because Dr Hotze, you are a cancer infecting our nation and your ideas and agenda should be treated with poisonous chemicals, irradiated, and excised surgically from our body politic to avert the destruction of our democracy. The desperation of your minority ideaology is apparent and I will do everything in my power to work against your corrupt political party and its extremist, bigoted agenda that only benefits the wealthy for my entire life.

Never text me again you POS.

Dan Patrick says “we could lose Texas in three weeks”, Lt. Governor opponent Vikki Goodwin says she wants to bring about change, after Republicans have been in control for 30 years.

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, the democratic candidate for Lt. Governor who is running against incumbent Dan Patrick, has been also touring Texas.

During the campaign trail, she’s made affordability, public education, THC legalization (with sensible reform), healthcare, and data center regulation her biggest priorities.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has been discussing the sale of Boca Chica State Park, Texas Monthly has learned. The deliberations were far along enough that the commission planned to take up the sale of “1,300 acres” in Cameron County during a closed-door executive session at a meeting on November 5, two days after the election, according to a draft agenda of the commission meeting.

Two sources familiar with internal discussions of the potential sale said Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the prospective buyer and confirmed that the 1,300-acre property in question is the beachfront state park, which is adjacent to Musk’s burgeoning Starbase facility, near Brownsville. 

After Texas Monthly inquired about the meeting and Musk as the potential buyer, Stephanie Garcia, a Parks and Wildlife spokesperson, issued a brief statement: “The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is not considering the sale of the Boca Chica property at its November meeting.” As of press time, Garcia had not responded to follow-up questions about the discussions over the sale of the park, Musk’s involvement, why the November 5 agenda had apparently changed, and whether the issue has been tabled indefinitely.

Sources said the item could instead be taken up by the nine commissioners—all appointees of Governor Greg Abbott—at a later date.

SpaceX recently asked the Federal Aviation Administration to approve an increase in the number of rocket launches per year from 25 to 456 at its South Texas site.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/us/paxton-dubai-fugitive-fraud-allegations-texas.html

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt is a serious person, a critical thinker and a responsible steward of taxpayer money. We don’t share many of her views on social policy, but we readily recommend her over acting Comptroller Don Huffines to keep watch over the state’s finances.

She helped lead Travis County to lower property taxes three times, while delivering balanced budgets. She calls herself a fiscal conservative and points out that, in fact, Texas Republicans have moved away from conservative values adding more layers of bureaucracy (Huffines is now
investigating four Texas school districts instead of allowing the Texas Education Agency to do so) and approving contracts without a competitive bid process.

Those no-bid contracts are a major point of emphasis for Eckhardt’s campaign. She is rightly concerned that Gov. Greg Abbott continues to extend disaster declarations after the need has passed, giving him legal authority to skip the competitive bid process.

Those are smart proposals that would
deter waste, fraud and abuse without creating expensive new DOGE-style bureaucracies.
We have recommended Republicans for this post in the past, particularly Glenn Hegar, who ran the office professionally and conservatively.

We don’t have confidence that either value would mark a Huffines tenure. The Republican has launched new initiatives regarding things like fluoride in drinking water that have nothing to do with the comptroller’s mission.

Eckhardt’s social worldview is from the political left, but her fiscal conservatism and her ability to stay in her lane will benefit Texans. She’s the better choice.