Texas Third Court of Appeals Justice Melissa Goodwin will speak at Star Republican Women’s February 16 meeting at Quail Point Community Center.

Due to Covid-19 protocol, SRW will not be able to offer its traditional complimentary light lunch prior to the meeting.  Attendees are requested to wear masks and comply with CDC-recommended social distancing.

Justice Goodwin, first elected in 2010, is serving her second six-year term of office on the Third Court of Appeals.  The Court has intermediate appellate jurisdiction of both civil and criminal cases appealed from lower courts in 24 counties of Texas, mostly rural counties including Burnet and Llano counties, along with urban Travis County.

Because the Third Court resides in Travis County where the State Capitol is located and State Agencies are headquartered, the Court is also the last resort for regulatory matters in Texas.  In that role the Third Court acts as a statewide administrative law court and many of its rulings are on major policy issues and regulatory matters.

When Justice Goodwin first joined the Third Court of Appeals in 2010, it was comprised of three Republicans and three Democrats.  In 2016 when Goodwin was re-elected the Court was 100% Republican.  Today, however, Justice Goodwin is the sole Republican on the court, largely reflecting the increased population of Travis County.

In 2018, Democrats lost many statewide offices including Beto O’Rourke’s loss to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.  However, in the judiciary branch of government, Texas Democrats flipped the four influential state appeals courts that serve Austin, Houston and Dallas.  At that point, Democrats held majorities on seven of the state’s 14 appeals courts compared to only three before the 2018 election.

This shift in the appeals courts has created an ideological tension between the Democratic courts of appeals and the state’s all-Republican high courts – The Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Justice Melissa Goodwin received a law degree from St. Mary's School of Law and a BA from the University of Texas. Prior to her election to the Third Court of Appeals, Justice Goodwin served as a District Court Judge, for the 427th Judicial District Court of Travis County and Justice of the Peace for Precinct 3, Travis County, Texas. She has also served as an attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Justice Goodwin has also served the State of Texas as Commissioner for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. She has been appointed to the Texas Judicial Council, the Judicial Ethics Committee and the Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas. In addition to her responsibilities as Justice on the Third Court of Appeals, Justice Goodwin travels throughout Texas as a teaching faculty member with the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center and the Texas Justice Courts Training Center.

Kathy Hussey, VP Programs

SRW's Caring for America Committee is recruiting members to help assist local distribution of the COVID vaccines in Horseshoe Bay. 

Our local Bay Pharmacy expects to receive vaccines soon.  SRW volunteers will help in the logistics through tasks such as patient check in, temperature checks, data entry, social distancing, etc.

Members interested in participating in this special program should contact Caring for America Committee Chairwoman Sherry Olson at [email protected].

Sherry Olson, Caring for America Committee Chairman

At our annual Christmas luncheon/Installation of Officers of the Star Republican Women on December 8, 2020 I gave a “We’re not giving up hope” cheer.  We’re still not giving up hope that America can and will be saved from socialism!

The following was in a recent TFRW Newsletter from our President, Glynis Chester:

In Texas, we believe in liberty, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the principles that our Republican Party of Texas Platform so beautifully expresses.  The Preamble summarizes this well:

“Affirming our belief in God, we still hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Throughout the world, people dare to dream of freedom and opportunity.  The Republican Party of Texas unequivocally defends that dream.  We strive to preserve the freedom given to us by God, implemented by our Founding Fathers, and embodied in the Constitution.  We recognize that the traditional family is the strength of our nation.  It is our solemn duty to protect innocent life and develop responsible citizens.  We understand that our economic success depends upon free market principles.  If we fail to maintain our sovereignty, we risk losing the freedom to live these ideals.”

More than ever before, our job as Texas Republicans is to educate and warn of the evil and lies of socialism and the freedom and life offered by the type of government our Founders set up for us.

Here in Texas, we must hang on to our freedom of religion and other First Amendment rights, and ensure no losses of our Second Amendment, because that is what protects those rights.

Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week, or next year.  If you get the RPT Chairman’s emails from Lt. Col. Allen West you may have read in his Jan. 11^th “Monday Message” (and you know that with 22 years of active-duty service) Col. West is prepared to lead us to “be resolute, forthright, and stand like an immovable rock.”  

Col. West described the five forms of maneuver against the enemy the Army taught him: infiltration, penetration, turning movement, envelopment, and frontal assault.  I don’t pretend to know about any of these maneuvers but, he explained that 30 years ago, our forces in Kuwait and Iraq conducted the largest envelopment operation in modern day military history.  The problem with Republicans, West said, is that we often choose the worst form of maneuver, the frontal assault.

“The real issue, said West, from the 2020 election cycle is that the left enveloped Republican State legislatures.  The left targeted and encircled key Republican State legislatures in places like Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Arizona, among others, and changed election law by way of governors, secretaries of state, and judicial activism.  They implanted unconstitutional actions such as universal mail-in ballots and changing ballot signature verification standards.”

He went on to write that “one thing the left, like any bully, relies upon is the lack of intestinal fortitude from us, their political opposition.”  As strong conservative, we have to seize every opportunity to let our voices be heard.  This involves:

• making phone calls and writing letters/emails to elected officials, especially about the Legislative Priorities of the Republican Party of Texas:

1. Election Integrity
2. Religious Freedom
3. Prohibition of Gender Modification of Children
4. Abolition of Abortion
5. Constitutional Carry
6. Monument Protection
7. School Choice for All
8. Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying

• taking every opportunity to talk to family, friends, and neighbors about our conservative values;
• making no mistake that the “non-partisan” elections are how the left intends to “envelope” our local positions, so make plans to find strong conservatives to run for School Board, City Council, Mayor, POA Board positions, even Water Management District (like KMUD) elections.

We have no reason to be scared.  God didn’t give me, or you, a spirit of fear.  What we need are people willing to step up and work to let our voices be heard for conservative Christian values.  We also need leaders who are calm, cool, and collected under fire, and who won’t cower to the left.  This is the time to show the left the intestinal fortitude of Republican women and men!  Don’t give in, don’t give up!

Denise Rives, SRW President​

Star Republican Women needs you to stand with us to continue our efforts to Keep Texas Red!  Help us grow our membership. 

If you haven't already renewed your Star Republican Women membership please do so now!

Also, Please ask your friends, neighbors and family members to join Star Republican Women -- as members or associates.  Bring them to our next meeting.  Dues are $30 for members and $20 for associates.  Remember, spouses can join as associate members and attend all of our meetings.  

Click on the button below to download the membership form and recruit family and friends to become new members!

Please bring your completed membership form & your dues to our next meeting or mail to:           

       STAR Republican Women

       P.O. Box 8675

       Horseshoe Bay, TX  78657

Kathy Stahl, VP & Membership Committee Chairman​ 

Star Republican Women's Red Shoe Book Club will meet Tuesday, March 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. to discuss the book "American Dirt" by Jeanine Cummins.   The event will be held in The 400 Room at the Horseshoe Bay Resort Hotel.

SRW Literacy Committee Chairman Kathy Hussey will lead the discussion about the book. Even if you haven't read the book, you can attend and enjoy the conversation about the book and other topics of interest to the group.  Food and beverage service will be available on an individual pay as you go basis.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy—two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia—trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

Kathy Hussey, Literacy Committee Chairman

The 87th Texas Legislature is now in session with a packed full agenda.  The new legislature started January 12 and is scheduled to end May 31.

SRW members and associates are encouraged to stay informed about issues being addressed during this legislative session, and to communicate with your respective elected Representative and Senator.  

Click on the button below to get information about the Representatives and Senator who represent Llano and Burnet Counties. 

More information is available on our SRW website under the Club Docs & Info Tab, including how you can be a legislative advocate.  Just go to www.StarRepublicanWomen.com to access this information!

Sara Boyd, Legislation Committee Chairman