Good morning!

Standing in a pitch-black tunnel, up to my waist in water, I remembered the advice of my scoutmaster. What was it? Find out below in today’s Friday Reflection.  

Here is the Texas Minute for Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

But first… You know what today is? It is a GREAT day for Gov. Greg Abbott to declare an invasion at our southern border. Will he? Probably not. But it would be great if he did…

El Paso DEMs Bus More Illegals, But Media Makes Abbott The Villain?

• While Democrats have rushed to condemn Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis for sending illegal aliens to out-of-state liberal bastions, a new report in Reuters finds that the city council in Democrat-run El Paso has been exporting illegals in even greater numbers.
    
• According to Reuters’ report, the city “has bused roughly 7,000 migrants to New York City since late August and sent more than 1,800 to Chicago.” In comparison, “Abbott has bused more than 3,000 migrants to New York City and more than 900 to Chicago as part of a high profile campaign to put a spotlight on the record crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
      
• Yet the ire of NYC and Chicago has been aimed exclusively at the Republican governors. According to liberal commentators interviewed by Reuters, the reason is because El Paso is “coordinating with receiving cities.”
      
• As Gov. Greg Abbott said in his debate with gubernatorial rival Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, the mayor of New York City had not reached out to Texas as had been claimed in press reports. Similarly, despite the implication of Reuters, all of the illegal aliens shipped out of state by Texas have gone voluntarily.

National Guard Forced to Vax; Illegal Aliens Get a Pass

• According to law enforcement sources, illegal aliens are not subjected to COVID testing unless they are displaying acute symptoms. As Sheena Rodriguez reports, illegal aliens are not required to be vaccinated before being placed on buses or planes and dispersed throughout Texas and the U.S. – but Texas military personnel are facing discharge unless they are vaxxed.
      
• The disparity is leaving local activists in El Paso outraged by what they call blatant hypocrisy.
     
• “This is a disgrace to our soldiers,” said Kathy Countiss, an activist with the Alliance for a Safe Texas. She is frustrated by the continued hypocrisy of the standards only Americans are expected to uphold during the unprecedented border crisis facilitated and encouraged by the Biden administration.

Obama-era Amnesty Program Is Illegal, Rules Federal Appeals Court

• The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a program implemented by President Barack Obama is illegal, but stopped short of ordering it to be ended outright. As Katy Drollinger reports, the case goes back to a lower court in Texas to decide if recent changes made by the Biden administration are enough to keep it alive.
   
• At issue is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known by its acronym DACA. It was created in 2012 and provided illegal aliens who entered the country as children with a renewable two-year work permit and prevented their removal from the country. It currently is used by more than 600,000 illegal aliens.
      
• President Donald Trump attempted to end the program in 2020 but was blocked in doing so by the U.S. Supreme Court.
   
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton described this week’s ruling as a “huge victory” by his legal team “against lawless, open-borders Biden Admin.”

📺 On The Headline: Trans-Church and Election Cheating

• Flip over to The Headline right now for Brandon Waltens’ conversation with Tayler Hansen about the Katy church that is promoting homosexuality to kids – and helping them hide it from their parents.
       
• You’ll also get to hear me talking about election cheating and a visit to Texas – OK, well, to Austin – by Vice President and Border Czar Kamala Harris.
     
• The Headline can be seen on Texas Scorecard, YouTube, and Rumble.

Podcasts And Videos

• In addition to watching The Headline (which is available right now), Texas Scorecard offers a great lineup of podcasts and videos on a wide variety of platforms.
      
• The Salcedo Storm: Every weekday, Chris Salcedo has great conversations with newsmakers, opinion leaders, and some of the most fascinating people you’ll ever hear.
       
• The Luke Macias Show: Once a week, Luke Macias dives into the Austin sewer to bring you an insider’s view of the Texas Capitol and the issues behind the issues.
       
• The Kambree Show: Several times a week, Kambree Nelson brings an outsider’s common-sense view to the issues affecting life and liberty in Texas, with an emphasis on helping other mama bears know who poses threats to their kids and families.
        
• The Liberty Cafe: As Bill Peacock says, oppression seems to always be on the menu offered by politicians. His podcast looks at the ideological, and even theological, underpinnings of thorny policy issues.
      
• And then there is our serialized EXPOSED series (three seasons!), Conversations (long-form interviews), and, of course, my own…

Friday Reflection: Are You Prepared?

When I was a kid, my scoutmaster used to say, “Prior proper planning prevents a pitifully poor performance.” In almost every situation, the person or group that is best prepared will overcome whatever challenges they face.

I thought of the value of “prior proper planning“ while in complete darkness, walking in water nearly up to my waist. I was walking through Hezekiah’s tunnel, underneath old Jerusalem. (FYI: In 2024, Texas Scorecard will be leading another pilgrimage to explore the biblical and historic roots of self-governance.)

The tunnel was built by King Hezekiah approximately 2,900 years ago. Knowing an Assyrian army was planning to attack Jerusalem, Hezekiah ordered the construction of the tunnel to ensure spring water in the area wasn’t available to his enemies when they arrived. He also built up the city’s fortifications and produced weapons for the people. The Israelites were going to be ready!

Yet for all the physical preparations, Hezekiah knew that the people needed to be ready for the coming battle emotionally and spiritually.

“Be strong and courageous,” he is recorded as saying in 2 Chronicles 32:7-8. “Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.”

And so it must be for us, as well. The most important preparation we can make isn’t in things and plans, but in the depths of our heart.

In the end, it is not enough to simply be prepared; we must be prepared for the right reasons to do the right things.