Good morning,

So much angst seems to arise from the never-ending attempt to control others. I end the week reflecting on the peace we can find when controlling ourselves.

This is the Texas Minute for Friday, February 6, 2026.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Texas Sues CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood to Halt Operations in the State

• Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down the operations in Texas of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood. This marks the first major enforcement action stemming from Gov. Greg Abbott’s designation late last year of the groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Brandon Waltens has the story.
    
• The lawsuit seeks to stop the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, and their affiliated entities from operating, fundraising, recruiting members, or engaging in organizational activity within Texas.
      
• The state’s petition alleges that CAIR functions as the American arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization with a stated objective of establishing a global Islamic state governed by Sharia law. The lawsuit asserts that the groups’ activities constitute an ongoing public nuisance and pose a threat to the safety and security of Texans.
       
• "Sharia law and the jihadists who follow sharia law have no business being in Texas." – Ken Paxton

This Sunday's REAL TEXANS

Greg Abbott on the Islamic Infiltration of Texas

Wylie ISD Employee ‘On Leave’ Over Hijab Day Handouts

• An unnamed staff member is on leave from Wylie East High School for allowing unauthorized distribution of Islamic materials on campus as part of a “World Hijab Day” event hosted by the school’s Muslim Student Association. Erin Anderson updates the story from North Texas.
    
• Earlier this week, a group called Why Islam? set up a table in a common area inside the school during lunch time and was handing out copies of the Quran and pamphlets on “Understanding Shariah,” as well as offering hijabs to female students.
      
• Wylie Independent School District responded Tuesday, telling families that administrators had only learned about the event via a social media post on Monday night. They confirmed that “district protocols” were not followed during the incident. On Wednesday, the superintendent said an investigation was underway.
      
• According to district officials, security footage shows fewer than 50 students visited the group's table.

Texas’ Handgun Trespass Signs Challenged in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

• Two Harris County property owners are challenging state laws that govern when persons carrying handguns can be convicted of criminal trespass if they enter or remain on property where guns are not welcome. Travis Morgan explains the legal issues presented in the case.
    
• State law requires the posting of signs with specific requirements on the buildings of property owners who wish to ban handguns from their premises. Property owners may alternatively issue a written notice in the form of cards or give verbal notice to potential violators.
      
• A lawsuit filed by the Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church and Antidote Coffee challenges the signage requirements. They argue that state law is "government-scripted speech" that is "unjustified and unduly burdensome." They want to use different language while keeping gun owners from carrying on their properties.
       
• The legislation's author, former Republican State Sen. Jerry Patterson, describes their argument as "illegitimate," pointing out that many signs—including traffic signs—are standardized so they can be recognized and understood without having to read them in full.

GOP Candidate in Washington County Promoted Drag Performer

• In Washington County, where voters backed President Donald Trump by nearly 80 percent, a Republican candidate for county judge has publicly aligned himself with a drag performer who promotes drag events attended by children.
    
• Brad Tegeler, who is trying to distance himself from his own social media posts, is seeking the Republican nomination for county judge. He has appeared on social media wearing a shirt featuring the caricature of a drag performer known for hosting and promoting drag-themed events with young children present.
     
• Tegeler’s Instagram account, which is locked from public view, shows open advocacy for LGBT causes and drag shows. In a statement to Texas Scorecard, he sought to characterize questions about his position as a "smear."

TAMU Regents Authorize Core Curriculum Review Committees

• The Board of Regents at Texas A&M has authorized the creation of individual campus committees to conduct reviews of general education requirements in order to ensure compliance with state law and system policy. Adam Cahn reports from Aggieland on the A&M quarterly meeting.
    
• The committees must report their findings to the system chancellor and the Board of Regents Committee on Academic and Student Affairs by July 1. 
      
• General education requirements are a set of curricula that all students must complete, regardless of major. These have been criticized as a subsidy for economically unsustainable programs that frequently protect woke curricula from accountability.
     
• Regent Chairman Robert Albritton said that the board would announce a permanent president for the College Station campus in “30 to 60 days.”

State Agency Tries to Conceal Investigative Records About Water District

• A state agency is asking the Texas Attorney General’s Office for permission to withhold investigative reports about, and complaints against, a Harris County water district. Robert Montoya has the story.
      
• The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is refusing to release documents, telling the OAG that the records are exempted for a dozen reasons ranging from pending litigation to homeland security.

Friday Reflection

Controlling What You Can

A lot of energy is expended in trying to control things. From national politicians to HOA Karens, and seemingly everyone in between, much of life is spent in the reckless pursuit of controlling others.

Of course, civil society does require some set of controls on behavior. As St. Paul explained, government ideally exists as “an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.” 

But in our daily lives, too many of us spend an inordinate amount of time trying to control everyone around us … with very little to show for it except frustration and failure.

I know people who let their attitude (good or bad) for a third of the year be determined by the performance of college-age men on a football field. Yell as hard as they might from the living room couch, that receiver just won’t take their counsel.

There are only three things any of us can truly control. Those are:
1) Who I trust at any given time;
2) How I react to circumstances; and
3) What I do in a given situation.

I cannot force you to trust anyone; I can only perhaps explain why I trust the people I do. You cannot make me honestly react favorably to circumstances I find intolerable, any more than I can compel your sincere actions. 

Certainly, a sword dangling over my head might compel me to reassess things … even if only temporarily. But even then, a great many people have, despite a gun to their head, chosen to retain control over themselves. 

Nathan Hale could have forsaken the cause of Independence and perhaps escaped the British hangman’s noose. William Travis could have flown the white flag of surrender from the Alamo and been temporarily feted by the Mexicans. Yet, neither man would be fondly remembered by anyone today had they done so.

Ultimately, it was their sense of personal control that we celebrate—even revere—to this day. They chose to make their lives count for something bigger than themselves. They did so by doing what they could in their circumstances.

The stakes are much lower for most of us, but we similarly cannot delude ourselves about what is within our control. Our joy must not depend on controlling others, but we can start to find a measure of peace by controlling ourselves.

The circumstances of our lives may not always (or ever!) be what we choose, but we can control what we do in them. We can cower as victims or rest in our convictions. That choice is, and always remains, our own.  

Quote-Unquote

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."

– Viktor Frankl

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* The new congressional boundaries for representational purposes will not take effect until January 2027.