Texas Airports Discover the Shocking Concept of Religious Neutrality

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R-of course) has apparently committed the unforgivable sin of asking whether government-owned airports should be in the business of providing religion-specific amenities.

Abbott ordered a review of state funding for airports across Texas after learning about Islamic ablution facilities at two of the state's largest airports. The question is fairly simple: If government is supposed to remain religiously neutral, why is it providing specialized facilities for the practices of one particular faith?

“These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal,” said Abbott.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport plans to install separate foot-washing stations for men and women so Muslims can perform wudu, the ritual washing conducted before Islamic prayer. The project was originally listed as privately funded, with an estimated price tag of $300,000 and an August 31 start date.

Apparently, however, the phrase "privately funded" was experiencing a brief identity crisis.

DFW later told the Dallas Express that the facilities would actually be paid for with airport funds. The airport blamed an outside design firm, which mistakenly selected "non-publicly funded" on a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

“That was an error and it should have indicated that airport funds would be used projects. We are putting in firm erroneously selected no dollars for its operation to prevent that kind of error in the future,” said DFW.

This is reassuring. Nothing makes taxpayers sleep better than learning that hundreds of thousands of dollars in airport spending may have been accurately described as private funding due to an unfortunate encounter with a dropdown menu.

Abbott's review could result in existing state grants being revoked and future funding denied to airport operators, including DFW and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

He has also asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate both airports for possible religious discrimination.

While DFW is still deciding whether to install its ablution facilities, IAH [George Bush International Airport] already has one connected to a prayer room.

“Both airports are government-owned facilities,” said Abbott. “The federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination.”

Abbott also asked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to have the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration review the facilities and take corrective action if necessary.

Both airports receive federal funding and are required to comply with federal laws prohibiting religious discrimination. Which raises an awkward question for the modern bureaucracy: If government cannot favor one religion over another, how exactly did taxpayers wind up underwriting religious foot baths?

Surely this is all just a misunderstanding.

Perhaps tomorrow the airports will announce that Christians can receive complimentary baptismal pools, Jews can get kosher ceremonial washing stations, Hindus can receive a taxpayer-funded purification room, and atheists can be provided with a comfortable chair where they can contemplate the absurdity of the entire arrangement.

DFW's explanation does little to calm the situation. According to the airport, the outside design firm selected the wrong funding designation on the paperwork.

Apparently the airport's religious neutrality was not the problem. The checkbox was.

X users backed Abbott's move, with some calling for similar scrutiny of other airports.

At this rate, the next great airport security breakthrough may not involve detecting explosives. It may involve detecting whether the government has accidentally decided to become the facilities manager for someone's religion.

And somewhere, a taxpayer is still waiting for the airport to build a special foot-washing station for him.

He just hasn't figured out which religion gets one yet.

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Midland, TX gunman dead and ID'd leaves 1 dead, 10 wounded

The FBI is now investigating after one person was killed and 10 others were wounded in a Friday shooting spree in Midland, Texas, because apparently America’s lunatic factory is still operating around the clock and guns are getting more violent and someone needs to speak to them.

The deceased suspect, identified as a 45-year-old man with a Hispanic sounding name allegedly opened fire on officers and innocent bystanders before barricading himself inside an abandoned veterinary clinic in downtown Midland, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Steven Blanco.

Midland Mayor Lori Blong said during a news conference that police used robot and drone footage to confirm the shooter was dead inside the building. Authorities still do not know exactly how Villarreal died, which means the conspiracy theorists are probably already warming up their keyboards.

Of the 11 victims, Midland Memorial Hospital received nine gunshot victims, with four initially rushed into surgery.

The situation began in southeast Midland before spreading across south Midland in what sounds like the sort of chaos no community should ever have to deal with at eight o’clock in the morning. Police were first dispatched at 8:03 a.m. local time after reports of a disturbance involving weapons and shots fired, according to Midland Police Chief Greg Snow.

Naturally, it took a massive multi agency response to contain the situation. The FBI, HSI, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, Odessa Police Department, and sheriff’s offices from both Midland and Ector counties all joined the effort.

Using armored vehicles, Snow said officers were able to safely extract law enforcement personnel who had been pinned down behind their patrol cars. That little detail alone tells you how ugly this situation became.

Police then moved down Highway 80 to rescue civilians trapped in their vehicles, prevent the shooter from finding more targets, and lock down the area before things got even worse.

Snow confirmed that several officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect during the incident, which will now be investigated by the Texas Rangers and DPS.

Meanwhile, FBI El Paso deployed special agents and victim services personnel to assist at the scene.

Midland Memorial Hospital’s main campus was placed on lockdown for nearly two hours during the shooting, because when violent lunatics decide to turn a city into a war zone, everybody’s normal day instantly disappears.

Andrea Mendias told The Associated Press she heard what sounded like a small explosion at the abandoned veterinary clinic next to the body shop where she works and watched heavily armed officers flood the parking lot.

Some officers reportedly entered the building while others deployed robotic equipment into the area.

Mendias also said she heard what sounded like at least 40 gunshots before law enforcement finally cornered the suspect.

Video she recorded showed officers pouring out of an armored police vehicle while robots were sent toward the building, which sounds less like West Texas and more like footage from a failed state.

"Cecilia and I are deeply saddened by the senseless act of violence in Midland," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in a social media post. "We are praying for the victims, their families, and the entire community."

Blanco later confirmed that Villarreal was also the suspect accused of shooting at police earlier in the week.

"Yes, the identity of the suspect, [redacted because the scumbag doesn't deserve notoriety], age 45, is a suspect from the previous day's shooting," he said.

Midland sits near Odessa, roughly 330 miles west of Dallas and about 300 miles east of El Paso, proving once again that even places far removed from America’s elite urban circus are no longer insulated from violent chaos.

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Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church shooting leaves child shot, suspect shooter down

According to Texas authorities, a child was shot and the suspected shooter is down.

The shooting occurred Sunday afternoon in the Houston, Texas megachurch.

Alan Rosen, a constable of Harris County said the child who was shot is between the ages of 5 and 9, but provided no other information.

The latest report at around 2:00 p.m. was announced by Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez on X. The shooting was also reported in the Spanish language church service which was to start at the time.

"Correction: shooter is down," Gonzalez wrote on social media. "But it does not appear that@HCSOTexas deputies fired shots; other agencies fired."

"We continue to assist in a methodical/thorough search of the complex."

At around 2:10 p.m. CT, Gonzalez said that there were "possible shots fired at/or around Lakewood Church." Less than an hour after that announcement, Texas law enforcement confirmed that the scene was Lakewood Church.

"The active scene is at Lakewood Church on the SW Fwy service road. Traffic is very heavy near and on the service road," Houston Police Department wrote on X.

"Please avoid the area and use alternate routes. We have PIOs en route to the scene and will provide any and all updates here."

Police later advised that anyone with missing family members should head to the "family reunification location" at Greenway Plaza's Life Time Fitness gym.

Lakewood Church confirmed on X that there was a shooting and asked that users "please pray for Lakewood and our community."

In a press release sent to local outlets, Governor Greg Abbott called the shooting "tragic."

"Our hearts are with those impacted by today’s tragic shooting and the entire Lakewood Church community in Houston," Abbott said. "Places of worship are sacred."

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Border Patrol turns on senile old man: will support Texas National Guard

When you're too cognitively impaired to be embarrassed after trying to marry two complete sentences together, or fall up or down stairs, or get lost at the podium after trying to read a teleprompter but fail miserably, that isn't a good look. But when you're the President of the United States of America, that's dangerous. 

That's Joe Biden.

Now we have to be concerned that there's going to be a major conflict at the Texas border with Mexico after Biden's ultimatum to remove the state's National Guard from Shelby Park and other "disputed" areas was made.

Obama, for all his leftist faults, was right about Joe when he told us to "never underestimate Joe's ability to f**k things up."

It has gotten to the point where the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has made it clear that they will not intervene on Biden's behalf. The Border Patrol Union posted, and a report from Fox News' Griff Jenkins, say that the alleged President has "lost operational control of the situation," at least in a practical way.

The Biden administration initially warned Texas that it had until mid-day Friday, January 26, to relinquish control of Shelby Park, the nearby boat dock, and the International Bridge. Screw states right and the 'alleged' invasion.

The deadline has passed and there has been no clash between the [federal] Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard--the two groups have de-escalated the situation.

The Border Patrol Union blasted Biden for creating the current "catastrophe" and reiterating that there will be no conflict between CBP agents and state forces. The statement is a clear signal of support for the Texas National Guard, its mission, and those leading it, including Gov. Greg Abbott.

So take the embarrassing loss, Joe--you'll forget about by tomorrow.

The rank-and-file of the Border Patrol agents stated that they appreciate and respect what TX has been doing to defend their state in the midst of this catastrophe that the Biden Admin has unleashed on America.

They added that they want to be "perfectly clear, there is no fight between rank-and-file BP agents and the TX NG, Gov. Abbott, or TX DPS. It may make flashy headlines, but it simply isn't true."

A senior CBP official said that they have no plans to follow through on removing the razor wire put up by Texas.

Biden has 'no hand'; no leverage at all now that Americans are fed up.

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Mexico blames migrant deaths on Texas buoys: Abbott says that's "Flat-out wrong"

In an attempt to eliminate US border barriers to keep illegal aliens out of the country, the Mexican government has blamed the deaths of two illegal aliens on the floating buoy installed in the Rio Grande. Gosh, it's almost as if Mexican officials are getting paid off by the cartels to make their job smuggling people into the United States easier.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) scoffed at the claim.

On Wednesday, two corpses were found near buoys in the river that are part of the buoy installment and the Mexican government was on the case before anyone else discovered this tragedy. Mexico informed the public about the incident and linked the deaths to the floating buoys. 

Gee, when you come to think of it, wouldn't buoys help people who were drowning rather than cause them to drown?

Anyway, Abbott's office called the finger-pointing balderdash, fully rejecting the claim.

“The Mexican government is flat-out wrong,” Abbott’s spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said, according to the Washington Examiner. 

“To be clear, preliminary information points to the drowning occurring before the body was even near the barriers. The Texas Department of Public Safety previously reported to Border Patrol the dead body floating upstream from the barriers in the Rio Grande.”

Is it possible a card carrying cartel tour guide stuck the bodies by the buoys to create a scene supporting Mexico's theory? But that would be dishonest.

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was notified by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) about a “lifeless body caught in the southern part of the buoys.” Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez, however, said the river’s stream moved the dead body “down into the buoy,” explaining that the buoy did not lead to the death, the Examiner reported. The 1,000-foot stretch of buoys is placed in a shallow area where it is easy to walk across the river, according to Olivarez. 

“The water is between knee and waist level,” Olivarez said. “There’s no way the body would have drowned there. … There’s nothing in the buoy — no objects, no sharp objects, no wire, no hook.”

Unless the buoys were remotely controlled by an evil Texan that could cause it to grab an illegal alien and drag them under.

Olivarez said Mexico acknowledged the second body recovered was found “miles upstream from the marine barriers,” which blows the theory out of the water. 

Mexico claimed that Abbott’s barrier in the river is a “violation of our sovereignty.”

Yeah, but sovereignty goes both ways.  

“We express our concern about the impact on the human rights and personal safety of immigrants that these state policies will have, which go in the opposite direction to the close collaboration between our country and the federal government of the United States,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Sounds like Mexico, the cartels and the Biden administration are working hand-in-glove to keep illegal border crossings as copious as possible.

The Biden administration has targeted Abbott for installing the buoys, filing a lawsuit against Texas last month. The Department of Justice claims that it was unlawful for Texas to put up the barriers and said there were humanitarian concerns. 

If the Biden administration was really concerned about humanitarian concerns, they would be concerned for U.S. citizens living near the borders whose land is being overrun by illegals and for those in American towns and cities where the homeless crisis has gotten out of hand. If they were really concerned about the humanitarian situation, the administration would make it clear to those who would seek illegal entry into the US that they would be wasting their time--this would save countless lives of those who die in the process.

“The floating barrier poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns,” a warning letter from the department said.

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Mexico upset Texas floating barrier might actually work on Rio Grande

Mexico seems worried that the Texas floating barrier along the Rio Grande may keep illegal aliens on their side of the river and cause them higher crime and lower job availability if the migrants stay. They sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. government saying such an effective barrier may violate treaties on boundaries and water, Foreign Relations Secretary Alicia Bárcena said.

The Associate Press reports that Bárcena says Mexico will send an inspection team to the Rio Grande to see whether any part of the barrier – put in place to deter illegal immigration – extends into Mexico’s side of the border river. If it does, then it's no bueno, amigos. But if Texas can pull it toward their shore just a little, then they have nothing to say on the matter.

Texas began rolling out the new floating barriers in early July, but migrant advocates have voiced concerns about drowning risks from the buoys as opposed to the drowning risks of crossing the river in the first place.

Environmentalists, especially progressive liberal Democratic socialist environmentalist who believed the world should have already burned up, questioned the impact on the river.

Bárcena, a Mexican from Mexico not living in the United States, also complained about the installation of barbed wire on an island in the river near Eagle Pass, Texas, not Mexico. 

Photos of the inflatable barriers show what appear to be a string of connected inflatable spheres that spin when someone attempts to scale them. They look like giant caterpillars and can be fun for the whole illegal alien family.

According to a press release from Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, the inflatable barrier will "proactively prevent illegal crossings between ports of entry by making it more difficult to cross the Rio Grande and reach the Texas side of the southern border."

This can serve as a deterrent and thus save lives rather than end them, but it certainly will help stop the flow of future Democrats, the left believes.

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Martha kicks migrants out of her vineyard as residents remove lawn signs welcoming them to US

It took less than 2 days for the upper crusty residents of Martha's Vineyard to get rid of the migrant "riff-raff" and send them anyplace else. There are videos of the exodus that show the 50 illegal immigrants being removed from the island after they were flown to the so-called sanctuary location in Massachusetts by Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. 

When it came to putting their "money where their mouth is" they exhibited poverty of character.

It's ironic how the Left claimed DeSantis' move was akin to human trafficking and/or kidnapping. They never said that about the cartel's human traffickers who brought them to the US southern border in the first place, and had no comment about the migrants who died and continue dying as they come here.

And when the rubber meets the road and push comes to shove and excrement hits the fan, they cannot handle the comparable microscopic number of illegal immigrants in their tony town of Martha's Vineyard.

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) initiated the idea of sending illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities but Ron DeSantis perfected it and made it this week's top national news item as hypocrisy seethes out of every pore of the Martha's Vineyard elite.

The illegal immigrants boarded two busses and were sent off to Joint Base Cape Cod, where they will be met by 125 National Guard troops who were activated to assist in their removal from Martha's Vineyard.

Buses have arrived in Edgartown to transport migrants from St. Andrew’s Parish House.

There is one big bus and two shorter buses to transport folks off the island. People with bags are taking selfies and hugging volunteers goodbye pic.twitter.com/wuauiZM4Y3

HAPPENING NOW: Migrants, flown into Martha’s Vineyard by Fl’s governor, are boarding buses. They’ll be heading to Joint Base Cape Cod, according to officials. 125 Mass National Guard members are being activated to assist. @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/RLwxNPu8GM

— Emilie Ikeda (@EmilieIkedaNBC) September 16, 2022

“DeSantis really exposed these hypocrites,” popular YouTuber Tim Pool commented.

Donald Trump Jr. responded, “It took less than 24 hours for the libs to kick these illegal immigrants out of Martha’s Vineyard, but Biden won’t lift a finger to deport the thousands of illegals pouring through the southern border daily out of the country.”

An actual Martha's Vineyard lawn sign

“I thought Martha’s Vineyard was a ‘sanctuary city’?” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) mocked. “I thought they declared themselves a ‘haven’ for illegal immigrants?? Just 50 arrive, and the socialist billionaires send them away—to a military base, no less—in JUST 24 hours.”

Eric Schmitt, Missouri’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, wrote: “Something, something ‘In this house we believe…’ Something, something…Ukraine flag.”

“In the end, the Leftist liberal elite anthem is a word salad of virtue signaling defined by next level hypocrisy,” Schmitt added.

“Unfreakingbelievable,” attorney A.J. Delgado tweeted. “Are all the virtue-signaling posts, about how ‘we took them in, we stepped up and came together to help!’ going to be removed now?”

Is he putting it up or removing it? 

“The wealthy elites on the Vineyard couldn’t stand to have the undesirables there for more than 2 days, so they shipped them off to a military base,” former Trump official Monica Crowley wrote on Twitter. “Someone else’s problem now. Back to the Chardonnay!”

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New York Times “Women’s Work” writer Megan K. Stack wrote: “Whatever the surrounding circumstances, calling in the National Guard for 50 people really does look terrible. It’s also awful to see people marched past the cameras. This whole stunt is dehumanizing and humiliating.”

Ya think?

The liberals could not have done anything else to point out who they really are.

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BREAKING: Mask mandate lifted in Texas

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday that he is signing an executive order to end the state's mandatory mask mandate and get rid of the limits on the number of people that businesses can serve indoors. This order will be put into effect starting next week, as reported by the Daily Wire. 

Evidently, Abbott views Texans as adults who will take appropriate precautions with the coronavirus rather than using the government as their mommies and daddies telling them what they can and cannot do.

“Too many Texans have been sidelined from employment opportunities,” Abbott said. “Too many small business owners have struggled to pay their bills. This must end. It is now time to open Texas 100%.”

Democrats must be shocked and frightened at the blatant act of rebellion and liberty.

“So today, I’m issuing a new executive order that rescinds most of the earlier executive orders,” Abbott explained. “Effective next Wednesday, all businesses of any type are allowed to open 100%. That includes any type of entity in Texas. Also, I’m ending the statewide mask mandate.”

So while some Fauci fans don 2, 3, maybe even 4 masks, Gov. Abbott is giving people a personal choice.

“Today’s announcement does not abandon the safe practices that Texans have mastered over the past year,” Abbott asserted. “Instead, it’s a reminder that each person has their own role to play in their own personal safety as well as in the safety of others. It’s a reminder that individual safety is managed every day as a matter of personal responsibility rather than by government mandate. Individual responsibility is a corollary to individual freedom, we can have both.”

Personal responsibility over government control--what a concept. I just wish our canceled founders were here to see it.

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