Good morning,

Tomorrow marks the 188th anniversary of Texas Independence Day. Will we disgrace our founders' memory through apathy... or honor them through our civic actions? The republic's future rests on which side of a very clear line we stand.

This is the Texas Minute for Friday, March 1, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Federal Judge Blocks Texas’ New Border Security Measure

• Less than a week before it was set to go into effect, a federal judge has blocked Texas from enforcing its new border security law.  Sydnie Henry has the details.
    
• U.S. District Court Judge David Alan Ezra ruled Thursday in favor of the federal government, arguing that Texas’ new law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by exercising “immigration enforcement power.”
       
• At issue is Senate Bill 4, which was passed last fall and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. The measure creates a new state crime for entering Texas illegally. The law authorizes local law enforcement anywhere in Texas to arrest and prosecute those who cross the border. The state is appealing the decision.
     
• “The authors of the United States Constitution foresaw a situation when the federal government would be inattentive to states that faced charges at their borders,” said Gov. Abbott. “And in response, they inserted Article One Section 10 to the United States Constitution, to empower states to take action to defend themselves. And that is exactly what Texas is doing.”

Michael Cloud to Joe Biden: Do Your Job

• In a new commentary, U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Victoria) details what he describes as Joe Biden's "dereliction of his duty" as president of the United States.
    
• "The sad truth is, through his own actions, Biden has demonstrated he does not want a secure border." – Michael Cloud

REVEALED: Lawmaker Encourages Illegal Electioneering

• Republican State Rep. Glenn Rogers of Graford has been promoting his anti-school choice stance to government school administrators, who in turn are pushing his stance on faculty and staff. Robert Montoya reports on the results of a Texas Scorecard investigation.
      
• In a text message thread that included public school superintendents, Rogers pushed a commentary published under his name excoriating the Republican Party of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott for seeking to empower parents. 
       
• One superintendent responded to the chain, noting Rogers' piece was published as a "guest commentary" in their district-wide newsletter.
        
• In January, Rogers promoted an endorsement video filmed in a junior high principal's office, potentially violating state law.

Related Education News

D.C.-based PAC Backs Embattled Speaker Phelan

• Recent reports reveal House Speaker Dade Phelan’s largest donor to date in 2024 is a D.C.-based PAC affiliated with political commentator Karl Rove and former Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio.  
        
• The Republican State Legislative Committee donated $750,000 to Phelan on February 2, 2024. While the RSLC raises money with the promise that it will be used to help Republicans beat Democrats, the organization has spent $1.5 million in 2024 helping moderate and liberal Republicans cling to office.

Texas 4-H Under Fire for CRT-filled Workbook

• A youth development program funded in part by Texas taxpayers is under fire for having issued a workbook to children that pushes Critical Race Theory and other divisive ideologies. Luca Caccatoire reports the 4-H program seemed to mirror leftist phraseology promoted by the Texas A&M College of Education.
      
• 4-H's programming is overseen by Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Service.
       
• One lesson, “Power and Privilege,” puts white people, heterosexuals, middle-class people, Christians, and even the able-bodied, under the category of privileged and powerful. 
       
• U.S. Rep. Chip Roy described the 4-H materials as “antithetical” to American values. The workbook has been removed from the 4-H website, but the program director has not responded to questions about its origins or future use.

John Cornyn Announces Bid for Senate Majority Leader

• Just one day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he would step down from his post in November, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced his candidacy for the post. Brandon Waltens has the story.

        
• Cornyn pointed to his two terms as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and time as Republican Whip as reasons to support his candidacy.
       
• While support among his colleagues in the Senate remains to be seen, he has faced turbulence among Republicans in his home state. At the 2022 Texas GOP Convention, Cornyn's speech to delegates was delayed by loud and sustained booing over his support of Democrat gun control measures. A poll of convention delegates found that 67 percent disapproved of the senior senator. 

Friday Reflection
Choosing the Right Side

On March 5, 1836, during a pause in the bombardment of the Alamo, William Travis famously drew a line in the sand. He asked his fellow defenders to join him in putting everything on the line for liberty in Texas.

We have a much easier task on March 5, 2024, but the ramifications for the future are no less impactful.

When it comes to choosing a side on an important debate, most politicians prefer to hang back and see where the crowd is going before picking a side. Unlike Travis, they want to be on the “safe” side of every fight.

As citizens, you and I do not have that luxury. As citizens, we are called to a higher purpose.

I want to take you back a couple thousand years and 7,000 miles to the plains of Jericho, where a pivotal question about “sides” took place. After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites camped on those plains in preparation for God’s command that they march on the highly fortified city of Jericho.

Joshua, who had only recently taken over as the Israelites’ leader, was confronted with the sight of a mighty warrior. That he was fearsome is not in question; was this simply an angelic being, or—as many theologians argue—a “pre-incarnate” visit by the Son of God?

Either way, Joshua decided he better be friendly.

So Joshua asks the ultimate whose-side-are-you-on-anyway question: “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” Seems like the right question before a big fight, right?

The response probably isn’t what Joshua was expecting: “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.”

That answer should ring in our ears as loudly as it did for Joshua.

It doesn’t matter if someone is on our side or if we’re on their side. The only question that counts is: Am I on God’s side? It’s a question we should consider daily and prayerfully—but especially as we march to the polls.

In this republic, the citizens are the leaders… Or, we are supposed to be. Our job is to select not strong men who impose themselves on the people, but faithful servants who will be answerable to the people.

Our task is not to pick a winner but to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with someone who will faithfully fight for the republic no matter the cost. We’re all flawed warriors, and, as such, we are not expected to be successful—but, rather, to be faithful.

We must do what is right, regardless of the consequences.

On March 5, 2024, each of us must step boldly and faithfully across the line in the fight for liberty in the Lone Star State.

Quote-Unquote

"You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war."

– Winston Churchill