Ep. 407 Not by the Hair of Our Chiny-Chin-Chins: Building Better for Climate Resilience

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

#Religion #News #Politics #Texas Impacts

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In 1966, two Brazilian men were found dead on Vintém Hill under bizarre circumstances that continue to perplex investigators and conspiracy theorists alike. Lying side by side, their bodies were discovered wearing matching lead masks—shields with no eyeholes—alongside cryptic notes. Were they victims of a cult ritual, a failed experiment, or something even more otherworldly? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .…

acum 28 weeks 48:08

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This week we are talking weather and climate from an interesting perspective as we welcome two former colleagues of our very own Dr. Becca Edwards. With us are Dr. Ian Giammanco who serves as Director of Standards and Data Analytics and Lead Research Meteorologist at the Institute for Building and Home Safety and Dr. Tanya Brown-Giammanco who serves as Director of Disaster and Failure Studies at the National Institute of Standards and Testing.

We will discuss resilience and how changes in climate impact our homes and buildings, and what we can do about it from both a consumer and advocacy perspective.

It is also a good reminder that Texas Impact has tools for you to learn more and get engaged on this and all of our other issue areas. Join one of our issue champion teams like our Climate Action Team to connect folks interested in this issue–or find a team connected to another issue you care about.

Find out more about the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes here.

If you live in an area that experiences wildfires, find out how you can get prepared.

125 episoade

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

Ep. 407 Not by the Hair of Our Chiny-Chin-Chins: Building Better for Climate Resilience

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

published acum 28 weeks

Distribuie

MP3•Pagina episodului

We will discuss resilience and how changes in climate impact our homes and buildings, and what we can do about it from both a consumer and advocacy perspective.

Find out more about the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes here.

If you live in an area that experiences wildfires, find out how you can get prepared.

125 episoade

#Religion #News #Politics #Texas Impacts

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Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 430 From Bad to Worse: Looming Medicaid Cuts in Congress 24:43

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This week, we turn our eyes to DC for a fight that will impact this legislative session and sessions to come as Congress is considering hundreds of billions of dollars of cuts to Medicaid. These cuts would be devastating—not just to the Texans who rely on that coverage, but to our entire health care system. We welcome Peter Clark, Communications Director with Texans Care for Children, to talk to us about that and how you can get involved. Visit the Action Center on the Texas Impact website at texasimpact.org to sign up for weekly action alerts. Find out more about the work of Texans Care for Children on their website txchildren.org Read Bee's post on Medicaid cuts on our Substack texasimpact.substack.com/p/medicaid-cuts-let-us-stop-you-right…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep.429 Don't Fence in the Future: SB 819 Would Hurt Renewables Just When We Need Them Most 18:08

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This week we are recording from the Capitol on a day when many of Texas Impact’s priority bills are being heard or voted on. So, we sat down with a few friends and colleagues who are testifying in the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce on SB 819, a regulatory bill that is anti-energy in a time where renewables are increasingly ensuring that Texas has enough energy to meet our growing demand. SB 819 would target the state’s nation-leading renewable energy industry with some of the most far-reaching, cumbersome, anti-business regulations that the legislature has ever contemplated. Joining us for the conversation are Adrian Shelley, Texas Director of Public Citizen, Cheyenne Rendon with the Society of Native Nations and Rev. Dr. Becca Edwards, Policy Advocate for Texas Impact. We are past the halfway mark of the 89th Texas Legislature! Make sure you stay up-to-date by signing up for the Action Alert and the Rapid Response notifications.…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 428 This Bill Will Save Lives: Faithful Support for the Life of the Mother Act 26:41

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The Texas Impact team just worked with some incredible faith partners on the Family Matters: Faith Days at the Texas Capitol event. About 300 Texans of Faith gathered at the Texas Capitol and across the street at First United Methodist Church of Austin for three days of education, advocacy and activism. We had legislative visits to Capitol offices, singing in the rotunda, great panel discussions, a rally on the steps of the Capitol, and—the part that got the most attention in the media, a press conference dubbed "Texas Women of Faith Support the Life of the Mother Act Press Conference." At the press conference, Bee highlighted the postcard many of you… along with 6,000 other Texans of faith have signed calling for the Texas Legislature to “fix the abortion ban.” A room full of Texas women faith leaders spoke in favor of the bill, and the author of the House version of the bill, HB 44, the "Life of the Mother Bill" Rep. Charlie Geren spoke saying that in his 24 years, this is the most important bill he has ever carried. You can watch that entire press conference on Texas Impact’s LegeTV channel on YouTube. So, this week we are going to talk about all of that with one of the Texas faith leaders who spoke at the press conference, Rev. Jessica Cain of Living Word Lutheran Church in Buda and Texas Impact Policy Advocate working on reproductive health issues, Rev. Kyle Riley.…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 427 State of Play: Vouchers in Focus 33:55

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Y’all, it is getting wild over at the Texas Capitol, and Texans of faith are in the midst of all of it with thousands of phone calls going in every week, members of Texas Impact’s issue teams staying up until all hours of the night giving testimony, and the Texas Impact staff busting their tails working on behalf of our membership. If you have been paying attention to the Legislature at all—or have been on social media or paying attention to the news, you will know that the school voucher, or "Education Savings Account", bill has been front and center over the last few weeks.The Senate passed their ESA/Voucher Bill, SB 2, early on and this week, the House Public Education Committee had a hearing on their bill—HB 3. That hearing went 22 and a half hours with opposition from across the state and across the political and ideological spectrum. That committee is now deliberating to determine their next steps. Which means, it is important that Texans of faith mobilize our communities to talk to our legislators about why we support public schools, and why diverting public dollars to private schools would harm our communities. And, we are going to talk more about that today with our two guests, Texas Impact’s Executive Director Bee Moorhead and outside legislative counsel, Beaman Floyd. If you missed it, Texas Impact's LegeTV has clips from the hearing . Be sure to subscribe to our Youtube channel to see more from the 89th Texas Legislature.…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 426 Policy Push-Pull: Foundations for Immigration Advocacy 40:06

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Among the many justice issues concerning people of faith in 2025, immigration is near the top of the list across the country and across faith traditions. This week we are bringing you three guests to lay a foundation for immigration advocacy—at the federal level and in Texas. First up, we talk with Bobby Painter and Kristin Etter of the Texas Immigration Law Council , who bring us up to speed on current immigration realities here in Texas and throughout the country. Then, we welcome Texas Impact’s Bobby Watson with the state of play at this point in the Texas legislative session. Check out the Action Center on our website to consider how you can get involved. One timely option: consider joining Texas Impact's Immigration Team. Make sure you are signed up for Texas Impact’s emails and our Rapid Response team so you can receive the weekly Action Alert and updates—because your voice is needed now more than ever. Find out more about the work of the Texas Immigration Law Council at txilc.org…

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Ep. 425 "Do Something to Show You Care:" Perspectives from the Gun Sense Majority 31:24

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This week, we are joined by several of the speakers and participants in the Preventing Gun Violence Advocacy Day. First we talk with Jasir Rahman, a student at Rice University and Texas Youth Advocacy Coordinator with Team ENOUGH. Later in the episode we hear from Nicole Golden, Director of Texas Gun Sense, and Rev. Stephen Sanders from Oak Hill United Methodist Church shortly after the rally for gun violence prevention was held on the Texas Capitol steps on February 27th. Gun violence is always such a hard topic. Because so many of the folks who show up have traumatic stories to explain what brought them to this work. We heard stories from Uvalde families. We heard from people who had family members take their lives or who had friends involved in accidental deaths. And, while we marched to the Capitol with about 1,000 other advocates from across the state to rally on the South steps, we passed by over 1,000 t-shirts with the names of Texans who needlessly lost their lives to gun violence as part of a giant Vidas Robadas display. I want to give props to Texas Impact’s Gun Violence Prevention team for their work on this event and to the Texas Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence for their work. If you want to learn more about Texas Impact’s involvement or how you can get involved check out Action Center at texasimpact.org . Find out more about the work of Team Enough and Texas Gun Sense: https://www.bradyunited.org/take-action/join-movement/team-enough https://txgunsense.org/…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 424 This is Not Done: The Fight to Stop School Vouchers 20:50

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This week we are excited to bring you content from Texas Impact’s Public School Defenders’ Lobby Day. We are joined by State Representative Gina Hinojosa, House District 49, while walking back to the Capitol after she addressed the Public School defenders to discuss voucher plans and how Texans of faith can push back against SB 2 and other voucher bills. Later in the program we are joined by Texas Impact’s Public Education Policy Advocate, Grace Bonilla, to talk about the lobby day and the work of the PSDs. You can learn more about the Public School Defenders and Texas Impact’s other issue teams, and see our weekly action alert, in the Action Center at texasimpact.org . Watch a clip from Scott's interview with Representative Hinojosa on our Youtube Channel. https://youtu.be/-7b-1RC-o08…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep.423 Voucher Pop Quiz with Sen. Sarah Eckhardt 20:59

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This week we have an exciting episode for you as we are recording live from the Capitol office of Senator Sarah Eckhardt. Last week, the Senate passed SB 2, a school voucher bill that would give a $10,000 voucher to students to attend private schools. What is not shocking is that the Senate passed SB 2 so quickly while legislators are usually still in the relationship-building part of the session. They did pass a version of a voucher bill four times in 2023. But, every time it failed in the House, which is where SB 2 now finds itself. So, we are talking today with Sen. Eckhardt about the bill and what Texans of faith can do to help stand up for public schools and oppose this bill—all of this just days after she voiced strong opposition to the bill on the Senate floor . We might even give her a test on the bill, so listen closely and see how she does. If you are interested in learning more, or joining other advocates who care about the issues you care about, check out texasimpact.org and click on the Action Center . We would love to see you in our weekly Public School Defender Zooms, in the Marching Orders Monday calls with the Rapid Response team or one of our other teams.…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 422 Reconciliation and Respect 36:58

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This week we are going back to back with United Methodist Bishops as we welcome Bishop Ruben Saenz from the Horizon Texas Annual Conference—formerly the North, Central and Northwest Texas Conferences. We thought this was a timely conversation as Bishop Saenz and other United Methodist Bishops in the South Central Jurisdiction wrote a pastoral letter addressing how we treat our immigrant neighbors. Immigration is an issue that is front and center in response to the opening days of the Trump Administration, but we also expect it to be a hot topic during the Texas legislative session. It is important that faith leaders and Texans of faith clearly state our desire to live out our faith principles. If you are interested in working on immigration during the legislative session, Texas Impact has a team for you. Check out the Action Center at texasimpact.org and sign up for Texas Impact’s Immigration team–or one of the other teams to work on issues important to you. Read the letter signed by UMC Bishops here: www.txcumc.org/beyondbordersletter…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 421 Anointed with Hope 26:41

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This week we are bringing you content from the United Women in Faith Legislative Event. This is typically Texas Impact’s biggest event of the year—and this year the UWF had record participation with 350 registrants from United Women in Faith and various other faith groups participating over the three day event with hundreds making Capitol visits to their Legislators. In this episode we share Bishop Cynthia Harvey’s keynote address from Sunday evening–although Bishop Harvey notes that she doesn’t do keynote addresses… she preaches. Bishop Harvey is the Bishop of both the Texas Annual Conference and the Rio Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, and previously served as the President of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. Bishop Harvey joins a chorus of faith leaders calling Texans of faith to action… to care for our neighbors and engage in the work of justice And, Texas Impact has tools and resources for you to do that work. Check out texasimpact.org and click on the Action Center to find out how you can get involved. Join the Rapid Response team to get updates on actions you can take and join our weekly Zoom on Mondays to learn more.…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 420 (Don't) Forget Paris 21:04

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This week, we are excited to welcome Texas Impact’s Climate Action Fellow, Rev. Dr. Becca Edwards, to talk about the President’s recent executive action, once again, removing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. There has been a lot happening in the last two weeks. The opening of the Texas legislative session, MLK Day, a presidential inauguration, a snow day or two and all of the news that comes from it—it has been a lot. And, the Texas Impact team will be covering it all. Learn more about how you can get involved on our website at texasimpact.org . Make sure to check the Action Center to sign up for a team and bookmark the Events Page to take advantage of opportunities to come see us in Austin.…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 419 Reflections from the Celebration of Public Witness for the 89th Legislature 19:55

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Since 1973, Texas Impact has hosted a service or celebration of public witness on the south steps of the Texas Capitol in conjunction with the opening of the Texas Legislature. This year, the Texas Legislature convened Tuesday, January 14, and so the Texas Impact crew, along with Texas faith leaders and elected representatives, gathered on the steps for a Celebration of Public Witness before the Legislature convened at noon. The representatives were ready to get to work, and the faith leaders hopefully set a tone for a session that could celebrate justice, diversity and working together for the common good. We decided to talk with some of the leaders from that service about their reflections and hopes and share that for our podcast today. You can watch the full services, or highlights on Texas Impact’s YouTube channel or head to txfaith.org/cpw2025 for more content from the Celebration of Public Witness 2025 Special thanks to: Representative Salman Bhojani, House District 92 Rev. Leslie Jackson, Sr. Pastor, St. Peter United Church of Christ, Houston Maha Iskandar, Baha'i Faith, Irving Rabbi Nancy Kasten, Faith Commons, Dallas Saranjeet Singh, Sikh Faith, Central Texas Abel Vega, Rio Texas Conference, United Methodist Church, San Antonio…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 418 New Year, New Resolve 32:20

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We hope you all had a meaningful and relaxing holiday season and a great start to the new year; it is about to get busy and your advocacy will be critical in the next few months. We know a lot of attention will be paid to what is happening in Washington with the new administration, but the Texas Legislature convenes next Tuesday, January 14 and will be meeting for 140 days. They have a lot on their plate that will impact you, people in your congregation and your community. So, now is the time to get organized and lock in to try to make some progress on issues we care about. Here with us to talk about all of that and more, to kick off the new year right, is Texas Impact’s Executive Director, Bee Moorhead. Join an Issue Team and get involved by heading to the Legislative Action Center on our website.…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 417 Meanwhile in Washington: Looming Federal Medicaid Cuts 15:11

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Last week, Diana Forester and her colleague Alec Mendoza joined us to talk about health policy in Texas. It is such a big topic, and so much of it is driven by federal policy, that we are joined again this week by Diana to continue the conversation about how actions by Congress could impact health in Texas–and how you can help protect Texans' access to healthcare in the coming weeks. This will be our last episode before the new year, so on behalf of the entire Texas Impact team, we hope you have a meaningful holiday season and that you are able to connect with family and loved ones and find some joy and peace. When we come back, Congress will have convened, and the Texas Legislature will be preparing to come to town, so I hope everyone comes back from the holiday ready to get to work! Find out more about Texans Care for Children and their work at txchildren.org Be a part of our fall Membership Drive by donating or, better yet, becoming a member at texasimpact.org/donate…

Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

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Ep. 416 Start with the Good News: Opportunities and Challenges for Families and Kids in the Upcoming Session 23:02

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