Good morning,

We would all do well to live the admonition of Sam Houston: “Do right and risk the consequences.”

Here is the Texas Minute for Friday, Sept. 23, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

🗓 COMING NEXT WEEK: Texas Scorecard’s investigative team explores claims the religious rights of Texans serving in our military forces are being undermined in the name of COVID “vaccination.”

📺 Of Polls And Rulings…

• Watch the latest episode of The Headline with Brandon Waltens right now!
   
• This episode features an interview with attorney Tony McDonald about a recent decision affecting free speech in the social media age, as well as a discussion with Luke Macias about polling heading into November’s election.
   
• Watch it on our website, over on YouTube, or on Rumble.

Abbott Declares Cartels To Be Terrorist Organizations

• Earlier this week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced an executive order which would treat “Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.” Sebastian Castro has more details.

      

• The executive order cites the cartels’ violent nature, noting that trafficking victims are subjected “to sexual assault, human trafficking, assault, extortion, and other dehumanizing, violent, and heinous acts”. 
     
• Abbott charged the Texas Department of Public Safety with seven tasks associated with tracking cartels, targeting and seizing cartel infrastructure, and identifying Texas-based gangs that are aiding the cartels.

Bexar County Sheriff Investigates Flight To Martha’s Vineyard

• Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar (D) says he will be investigating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent move to fly illegal aliens to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.  Emily Wilkerson has the details.
      

• During a press conference earlier this week, Salazar called the flights from his county “an abuse of human rights.” 

      
• Salazar cannot point to any crime, or even any suspects, but he’s investigating it anyway.
   
• Earlier this year, Salazar stated he would refuse to enforce Texas’ anti-abortion laws in Bexar County. 

POLL: Voters Say Illegals Should be Sent To ‘Sanctuary Cities’ 

• New polling from Scott Rasmussen finds just 38 percent of American voters disapprove of sending illegal aliens to Martha’s Vineyard, and more than 50 percent believe illegal aliens should be sent to self-declared “sanctuary cities” like New York City and Martha’s Vineyard.
   
• Nearly two-thirds of voters believe it is hypocritical for those “sanctuary cities” to complain when illegal aliens are sent to them.
     
• 63 percent of voters believe sending illegal immigrants from border states to other parts of the country was the only way to get the media and the government to acknowledge the problem.

Educators Focusing On ‘Equity,’ Not ‘Equality’

• This weekend thousands of Texas public school administrators and school board members will meet in San Antonio for the annual Texas Education Conference (txED22) to attend workshops that include many references to “equity.” Sydnie Henry examines what that means.
      

• As the D.C.-based Heritage Foundation explains, “Equity, under the corrupted new meaning, calls for government to dispense unequal treatment in order to achieve equal outcomes.”
      

• One of the workshops entitled “A Transformative Data Equity Assessment Approach to Improve Student Outcomes and Pathways,” says it will use a “data assessment approach” to “identify and eradicate inequities thereby, improving student outcomes and eliminating student achievement gaps.”
     
• If that word salad sounds like an excuse to separate taxpayers from their money without actual academic improvements… you’re right.
      

• Another presentation, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, will talk about an “equitable environment for all students” in regard to student dress codes. The presentation claims to “explore how dress codes in public schools have recently caused discrimination based on gender, race, and religion.”
      

• Yes, taxpayers are underwriting the cost of this “conference.”

Friday Reflection: Doing Right, Faithfully

Some 3,400 years ago, Jericho was a buzzing metropolis by the standards of the ancient world. The city was already ancient, having been continuously occupied for many millennia. It was the first city the Israelites would confront when entering the land promised to them.

And so spies were sent by the Israelites’ new leader Joshua. Their mission was to scout out the region before the people would cross the Jordan. While in Jericho, they were aided by a woman named Rahab. Many believe her to be a prostitute or a madam. Either way, she would appear to some as an unlikely ally for the Israelites on many fronts—and especially not a convert to their religion.

Yet, she was also convinced that the God of Abraham had indeed given the land to the people of Israel, and so she aided the spies. She asked only that the lives of her family be spared in the battle to come.

In most reasonable scenarios, Rahab had to assume her survival—and the survival of her family—was unlikely. She put herself and everyone she loved at great risk, but still she chose the path of righteousness. It would have been more convenient to ignore the call of God, to turn the spies over to her civic betters.

You know the rest of the story from the Book of Joshua. The city was locked down, the people of Israel marched around it, the walls fell, and everyone inside was slaughtered. Except Rahab and her family; they were protected. Not just protected, but saved. Not just saved, but sanctified.

The victory at Jericho was a big deal, no doubt. But the salvation and sanctification of Rahab is the miracle we overlook. She is listed in the lineage of Jesus, and named in the New Testament book of Hebrews for being a model of faith.

Is it too much to suggest that each of us should model our lives not after sanctimonious politicians, but instead a faithful harlot? Rahab was willing to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.

We should do likewise.