Flyover Friday, December 1, 2023Intro: On this episode of The Heartland POD for Friday, December 1st, 2023A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Welcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller in Denver, Colorado. With me as co-host today is Adam Sommer, how you doing Adam?We’re glad to have you with us. If you’re new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on social media with @ THE heartland pod, and learn more at thehearltandcollective.com Alright! Let’s get into the storieshttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/28/new-article-greg-abbott-school-vouchers-hugh-shine-endorse/Gov. Greg Abbott is starting to make good on his threat to politically target fellow Republicans who oppose school vouchers, issuing his first endorsement of a primary challenger to a House member who has helped thwart his top legislative priority of the year.Abbott on Tuesday backed Hillary Hickland, an activist mother who is running against Rep. Hugh Shine, R-Temple. Shine was one of 21 Republicans who voted earlier this month to strip a voucher provision out of an education bill, delivering the most decisive blow yet to the governor’s agenda.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/16/texas-house-school-vouchers/​The Texas House on Friday voted to strip school vouchers from the chamber’s massive education funding bill, taking an ax to Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority of the year.The House voted 84-63 in favor of an amendment offered by Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, which removed the provision of the bill allowing some parents to use tax dollars to send their children to private and religious schools. Twenty-one Republicans, most of whom represent rural districts, joined all Democrats in support.https://missouriindependent.com/2023/11/29/missouri-attorney-general-opposes-proposed-federal-rule-supporting-lgbtq-foster-kids/“Because of family rejection and abuse,” the Biden administration said in a September press release, LGBTQ children are “overrepresented in foster care where they face poor outcomes, including mistreatment and discrimination because of who they are.”Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey this week joined with 18 other states to oppose a proposed federal rule that aims to protect LGBTQ youth in foster care and provide them with necessary services.The attorneys general argue in a letter to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services that the proposed rule — which requires states to provide safe and appropriate placements with providers who are appropriately trained about the child’s sexual orientation or gender identity  — amounts to religion-based discrimination and violates freedom of speech.“As a foster parent myself,” Bailey said in a news release Tuesday, “I am deeply invested in protecting children and putting their best interests first.”https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/senate-clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-john-cornyn-ted-cruz/WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz were among several Republicans who bolted from a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday to protest subpoenaing Dallas-based conservative donor Harlan Crow.The committee’s Democrats are seeking records over payments, gifts and travel Crow reportedly provided Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, some of which were not initially listed on financial disclosures. The committee’s GOP members cast the subpoena authorization as a partisan attack against one of the most conservative members of the court and a private citizen."This is an outrageous attempt to target private citizens without any legitimate legislative purpose," Cornyn told reporters after the meeting. "If you can go after a private citizen … for a non-legislative prupose, you essentially can target for political reasons any American citizen at any time in the future. And that is a dangerous, dangerous place to go."https://www.propublica.org/