Blog

May 15th  2019 From the desk of George Seay While on the surface of the matter, it may appear amusing to conservatives and patriotic Americans that U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar has been invited to speak at a Ramadan closing event/dinner on May 18, where the Mayor of Austin is the guest of honor, Ms. Omar has left the lightness of levity far behind after her comments on 9/11 and the Black Hawk Down engagement.  Representative Omar has a pattern and practice of siding with America’s enemies.  Here she is in her own words: On Jews and Israel – supporters of

As the Chairman of the Texas-Israel Alliance, I recently led a Texas trade mission to Israel, to enhance business and trade between Israel and Texas.  Throughout the trip we had many first rate meetings with AT&T, Microsoft, cyber security firms, venture capital firms, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s national security advisor, the founder of Checkpoint Software, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Knesset, among many memorable meetings. Perhaps the most compelling meeting, however, took place over a traditional Israeli lunch in the Golan Heights.  The Golan Heights are the beautiful hills rising above the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River Valley. Israel seized and kept

It’s been a tough week for news.  From New Zealand, arguably the most beautiful place on the planet, 49 murders at two mosques, in a shocking display of racial, religious and ethnic hatred and bigotry.  49 deaths in New Zealand is the same % of its population as 9/11’s murders were to the US population.  New Zealand will not recover rapidly from this horrific tragedy.  Our thoughts, prayers and sorrow all go out to that beautiful country and its people. In the US, arguably the worst news of the week was the college admissions scandal.  What we all feared and

It’s a real pleasure to welcome Nick Rasmussen and Michele Malvesti to our growing cadre of elite professionals at the Clements Center for National Security at UT Austin.  Dr. Will Inboden, the Executive Director who is a star in national security circles, has already built a world class institution, and it’s getting better and better all the time. When I tell conservatives that UT Austin has a world class conservative national security institute that we have built from the ground up, most don’t believe it, as UT Austin is famous (or infamous depending on your perspective) as the most liberal

So we’ve finished two breathtaking days in Israel on the Texas Trade Mission, to increase business between Texas and Israel. The first evening we spent with Avi Dichter, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, and former director of Shinbet, the Israeli internal security service.  We then had a behind the scenes tour of the Peres Center for Peace, former President Shimon Peres’ master stroke upon leaving office, which houses incredible technology and memorabilia, including his Nobel Prize for Peace. First full day began with a breakfast meeting with Chemi Peres, the Prime

In late January, the Clements alumni gathered at the Governor’s Mansion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Governor Clements’ first election as Governor of Texas.  Since Governor Clements ran 3 times and won 2 out of 3, there were a lot of staffers.  But even accounting for that, for 80+ people to show up says a lot about their relationships and their admiration of and loyalty to Governor Clements.  40 years is a long time ago, no doubt. Among the many attendees present were former Secretaries of State George Strake, George Bayoud and Geoff Conner, former ClementsChief of Staff Bayoud,

One of the smartest, wisest investors you’ve never heard of is a man in Boston named Seth Klarman, who runs nearly $30 billion within a firm called Baupost. He’s generated enormous returns over many, many years, and has become a billionaire. He’s one of 2 or 3 “E.F. Huttons” out there in the modern day investment world that everyone listens to. This past week, Mr. Klarman sent out the annual letter for his firm and raised several concerns:  rising global debt at the country, corporate and individual levels; the appearance of instability in the executive branch of the US government;