Good morning!

The feedback we've already received for our documentary "The Texas Heist" has been phenomenal. If you haven't watched it yet, I hope you'll do so this weekend! 

Here is the Texas Minute for Friday, August 18, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Roy Accuses DHS of Funding Migrant Camp in Central America

• As the U.S.-Mexico border continues to bear the onslaught of illegal border crossings, Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is asking the Biden administration for an accounting of taxpayer money spent housing migrants in Central America. Sydnie Henry has the details.

      
• Roy specifically wants the Department of Homeland Security to explain reports indicating the federal government has been funding a temporary shelter and processing center for  U.S.-bound migrants in Panama. 
      
• In the past two fiscal years, more than 900 people have died attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border – a figure that doesn’t include those who died after being encouraged to make the journey to the border.
       
• Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott has called for the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. More than a dozen members of the Texas congressional delegation are calling on Congress to defund DHS until the border has been secured.

Texas State Library to Cut Ties with Controversial ALA

• Following revelations that the American Library Association’s newest president is an outspoken Marxist, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is reportedly ending their contract with the group. Brandon Waltens reports the commission is taking action after being called on to do so by State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian).

       
• Earlier this year, the ALA announced that Emily Drabinski, a self-proclaimed “Marxist lesbian” and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, would be its new president.
       
• After winning the position, she participated in an interview with the openly socialist publication Red Fault. Her win was described by the publication as “a huge inspiration to socialists, librarians, and socialist librarians.”
       
• “Texas should be leading the fight against dangerous Marxist ideology – not subsidizing it with my constituents’ hard-earned tax dollars. I’ll continue fighting to protect Texans from having their money weaponized against them, their values, and their children,” said Harrison.

State Appeals Ruling That Blocks Election Integrity Effort

• After a Travis County judge temporarily blocked election security legislation from going into effect, the office of the Texas Attorney General has filed an appeal. Emily Medeiros has the story.

      
• In 2020, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and the commissioners’ court decided to appoint an elections administrator who would handle all election duties. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and former Secretary of State Ruth Hughs accused the county of violating the Texas Election code. 
       
• After a series of problems occurred since the new position was created, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) filed legislation abolishing the unelected position of county elections administrator and transferring those duties to elected officials.  A month after the measure was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, Harris County filed its lawsuit. The county claims the measure singles them out specifically so as to disrupt its local control over elections.
      
• A Travis County district judge issued an injunction blocking the law from taking effect, leading to the A.G.'s direct appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas.

🇨🇳 Red Threat: Corrupting Investments

• Mirroring the flow of illegal immigrants crossing America’s porous southern border, the Chinese Communist Party's investment in American social and political structures continues. Kristen Stanciu explains in the latest installment of a week-long investigative series into how the CCP has advanced its agenda in the industrial, commercial, and agricultural sectors.

        
• Key players moving the CCP’s agenda are individual Chinese businesses. Unlike the private-public distinction present in the United States, there is no clear break between the state and private businesses in the communist country, especially when it comes to foreign dealings.

📺 WATCH: Communist China Continues Reach into Texas

• On this week's edition of The Headline with Brandon Waltens, Robert Montoya walks through the findings of the week-long series detailing the impact the Chinese Communist Party is having in Texas.
      
• You can watch The Headline on the Apple TV or Roku apps, on an iOS or Android phone, or on the Texas Scorecard YouTube channel.

Teacher Arrested for Sending Nude Pics to 14-year-olds

• A math teacher in the Houston Independent School District is out on bond after being arrested for sending pictures of his genitals to two 14-year-old female students via Instagram. Erin Anderson reports that 27-year-old Abdurahman Milani faces four felony charges.
    
• A parent of one of the victims notified the school in May. Investigators reportedly found communications with Milani on one girl’s phone going back to December.
      
• Houston ISD said the teacher is currently on administrative leave.

Collin County Proposes Property Tax Increase

• Collin County Commissioners Court gave preliminary approval to a $280 million budget that will increase property taxes for a second consecutive year, after years of keeping residents’ tax bills flat.

        
• The proposed general fund budget is based on the maximum tax rate the county can adopt without voters’ approval. Commissioners also approved putting $683 million in property tax-backed bonds on the November ballot.
       
• County Judge Chris Hill cast the lone vote against the proposal, calling the budget and tax rate vote “stunning.”

Potter County GOP Chair Launches Bid For Amarillo House Seat

• Potter County Republican Party Chairman Dan Rogers has announced that he will be a candidate for the House District 87 seat being vacated by State Rep. Four Price next year. As Thomas Warren reports, Rogers is likely to face a crowded field in the GOP primary.

Friday Reflection:
Be of Good Cheer

Due to the passage of time and cultural differences, we often miss the cutting and sometimes subversive humor employed in scripture. That’s unfortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is that a healthy dose of humor is a good way to combat a fallen world.

Now, let’s be clear: Jesus wasn’t a standup comedian, nor were the ancient prophets performers on “Whose Soul Is It Anyway?” Yet they were effective communicators and didn’t shy away from employing that most dangerous of weapons: the wry chuckle.

The problem for us is that in our very serious faith, we don’t want to appear impious by laughing in the presence of the Divine. And there is the practical challenge for us as modern readers of English Bibles translated from Greek, which – in Jesus’ case – had themselves been translated from the spoken Aramaic. We don’t catch the play of words, hear the lilt of the voice, or simply see the smile.

Everyone in earshot got the irony when Jesus said, after viewing a Roman coin bearing the image of the Roman emperor, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.” You can easily imagine Jesus smiling as he said this, and every Jew listening would have smiled along with Him. They all know this basic truth: everyone, including Caesar, was made in God’s image… and everything in creation belonged to God, even Caesar’s coins. A nicely subversive dig at the ruling elite.

Jesus’ description of the ruling class as the blind leading the blind would have received a wry and knowing laugh in an era not known for being particularly easy to navigate for the visually impaired. He would sarcastically confront hypocritical religious leaders with the cutting phrase, “Have you not read?” since, of course, their claim to authority was their learned status.

Very often, Jesus was saying out loud about the country’s rulers what many quietly believed. He compared them to “vipers” and said it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for Jerusalem’s political ruling class to make it into heaven.

On one of the occasions in which Jesus was about to be stoned by those rulers’ sycophants, He not only kept His wits but employed them. He asked His would-be assailants, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

Yes, Jesus got angry – and with good reason. But more often than not, we find Jesus directing that righteous anger into loving action tinged with humor. He was the happy warrior in the battle for the souls of men.

What about you and me? There is no end to the litany of things about which to be angry – but it doesn’t mean we have to be endlessly upset. The issues facing our republic are deadly serious, but that doesn’t mean we always have to be.

I understand why the other side is a grim lot, driven as they are by greed and envy. They’re on the side of slavery and death. They know, deep in their hearts, that the best they can expect if they are successful is to be ruled over by tyrants who will destroy them last. I’d be grim, too.

We, however, should be of good cheer. In the eternal fight, our victory over death has been secured for us by Jesus. We’re now the adopted sons and daughters of the Most High King. In this world, we get the honor of fighting to expand the promise of self-governance and extend liberty – so we might as well do so with a smile on our face.

Now Available: 'Reflections on Life & Liberty'

• The book comes in three formats: hardcover, paperback, and digital download. For now, "Reflections on Life & Liberty" is only available at Amazon.