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Messing with Texas: It’s an inadvisable thing. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is finding that out from the people of San Jacinto County.

If you’re not familiar with the FFRF, you’re probably not familiar with ticky-tack lawsuits over whether a school can put the three wise men in a Christmas display. Every few months, clockwork-like, the FFRF shows up with a new lawsuit specifically tailored to elicit maximum attention.

This time, the subject of the lawsuit is the San Jacinto County Courthouse in Coldspring, which apparently has four crosses. This is enough for the Wisconsin-based organization to threaten to sue the county, which is about an hour north of Houston, unless it removes the religious ephemera.

Instead of kowtowing, however, county residents decided to let the FFRF know what was what.

According to Fox News, the county judge and four commissioners voted unanimously to keep the four white crosses on the building last week.

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Then, members of the community showed up in droves to protest the FFRF’s legal maneuvering against the county.

Speakers at the event, which drew hundreds of people, roundly condemned the atheist group.

Cloresa Porter, a local resident, said that “the devil is alive” and “political correctness is a one-way ticket to hell,” according to Fox.

Terry Holcomb, an area preacher, was even more blunt: “Go suck a tailpipe,” he told the FFRF.

Yes, those are some pretty heavy words, but when you have an organization that’s throwing its legal weight behind suing a small Texas county because said organization has a twisted view of the Establishment Clause, I’d be angry too.

And, let’s face it, this is Texas — by God, they don’t mince their words or deeds, as the chairman of the San Jacinto Republican Party pointed out on Facebook.

“THIS is how we roll in San Jacinto County! Not only did we not cower to the Wisconsin Whiners, we Lit Them Up!” Dwayne Wright said in a Facebook post that showed one of the crosses lit up.

San Jacinto has a small population — less than 30,000 total, according to the Census Bureau — but it has a lot of fight.

“Even a small, tiny speck of a community – when you come together and you share conservative principles – you can push back against any of these anti-religious groups,” Wright said in an interview with conservative radio host Todd Starnes.

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“We don’t need freedom from religion. We need freedom of religion.”

He also invoked one of the most famous of biblical battles when Starnes brought it up:

“We absolutely identify with David’s plight and we’re willing to toss that rock,” he said.

But they’re not standing alone. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office wrote the county last week assuring San Jacinto officials of its support.

“We want to make it clear that your county may display historical religious symbols, like crosses, without violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. You should know that you can reject FFRF’s demand to impose its anti-religion bias against San Jacinto County,” First Assistant Attorney General Mateer wrote.

We’ll fight for you in court: That is what the Texas attorney general is telling San Jacinto County after county leaders voted to maintain crosses at their courthouse over the threats of an atheist group. https://t.co/eaaZ8BjMLl

— ProvidenceFoundation (@Providencefndtn) May 10, 2019

The FFRF is being, well, its FFRF-iest.

“It is extremely disappointing that the County has decided to continue violating the constitutional rights of its citizens,” organization attorney Chris Line said in a statement.

“FFRF will be following up with our local complainant and evaluating our next steps.”

County Judge Fritz Faulkner indicated that San Jacinto County will be seeking legal representation if the FFRF decides to take those next steps in a court of law.

So, in short, if the foundation wants the crosses down, it looks like they’re going to have to do it inside a courtroom — and San Jacinto County is more than willing to stand up to the Goliath, rock in hand.

And from the looks of things, there a few hundred residents willing to rally behind them.

This is why you don’t mess with Texas.

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Chick-fil-A has offered a response to critics constantly protesting their establishment over claims that the company is anti-LGBT: The restaurant’s mission in helping others is bigger than partisan attacks or the culture war in general, and they will not be deterred in their work.

Rodney Bullard, the head of Chick-fil-A’s charitable foundation and the restaurant chain’s vice president of corporate social responsibility, addressed left-wing backlash in an interview with Business Insider on Tuesday.

“There’s a calling to help people, and I think at times that has been confused with a calling, somehow, to exclude,” explained Bullard, according to The Blaze. “And that’s not the case. The focus, the phrase ‘every child’ — we’re very intentional about that. We do have programs and we look for programs that are inclusive as well to help every child.”

As noted by Business Insider, Chick-fil-A has received backlash for donating to Christian organizations like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army; far-left outlets have labeled such charities anti-LGBT for their stance on same-sex marriage.

Bullard, who formerly served as a White House fellow under the Obama administration, highlighted that the Chick-fil-A Foundation “works with more than 300 partners, primarily focusing on lower-income and underserved youth,” the report states. “He also said he believes reporting on the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s donations has failed to dig into what the funds have gone towards,” such as children in need and not any specific religious sect.

“Under Bullard, Chick-fil-A has focused on low-income youth and economic inequality. Bullard said a child born into poverty in Atlanta has just a 4% chance of achieving self-sufficient wealth,” Business Insider notes.

“Regardless of where you may find yourself on any particular issue, this is our collective problem and that we all can be a part of the solution,” said Bullard. “At the end of the day, the calling for us is to ensure that we are relevant and impactful in the community, and that we’re helping children and that we’re helping them to be everything that they can be.”

The executive made it clear that the company’s charitable mission will not be slowed down by unfair criticism.

“For us, that’s a much higher calling than any political or cultural war that’s being waged,” emphasized Bullard. “This is really about an authentic problem that is on the ground, that is present and ever present in the lives of many children who can’t help themselves.”

The charity head said Chick-fil-A has “to do more of telling the story of our need, and we have to do more of doing the work. Because, at the end of the day, this is about the work. It can’t be about me personally and it can’t be about anything other than doing the work for these kids.”

“That’s why I’m here,” he said. “That’s why we’re all here, and I love that about Chick-fil-A. There really is a sincerity in our employee base, sincerity that comes from the top down, that it really is about the mission.”

As reported by The Daily Wire last week, Chick-fil-A has chugged along to massive success in face of the fringe opposition, becoming the third-largest restaurant chain in the nation and tripling their sales over the last ten years.

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents seized more than $2 million in methamphetamine at an inland checkpoint located about 70 miles from the Texas-Mexico border.

Agents assigned to the Kingsville Station’s Javier Vega, Jr. Checkpoint observed a passenger vehicle approaching for inspection.
Agents conducted a physical inspection of the vehicle and located more than 100 bundles of methamphetamine. Agents reported the contraband weighed nearly 70 pounds and has an estimated street value of $2.2 million.

Officials stated the agents arrested the driver and passenger of the vehicle but provided no information as to their citizenship, nationality, or immigration status.

Border Patrol agents turned the driver and passenger, along with the drugs, over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation and possible drug smuggling charges.

Inland inspection stations are an effective tool for Border Patrol agents in their duties to interdict human and drug smuggling efforts. Due to the overwhelming numbers of Central American migrant families and unaccompanied minors who are crossing the border illegally, several sectors have shut down inland inspection stations in order to move agents to the border, Breitbart News reported in March.

Earlier this month, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official told Breitbart News that migrant crossings in “large groups” are having a negative impact on the agency’s ability to carry out its national security mission. CBP defines “large groups” as 100 or more migrants crossing the border together.

So far this fiscal year, there have more than 140 large groups apprehended after illegally crossing the border. These groups represent more than 22,000 people, the official stated.

More than 80 of the large groups were apprehended in what he described as remote locations in New Mexico and Arizona (El Paso and Yuma Sectors).

These large group apprehensions in remote locations shut down border security operations in a wide area as all available Border Patrol agents are consolidated to transport and process the migrants in the large groups, the CBP official stated.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.

Democrat presidential hopeful Kamala Harris is expanding her executive order promises to include a focus on banning AR-15 imports.

Harris already stated that she would use executive action to ban private gun sales, when they involve the sale of more than five annually. And she also promised to use executive action to take away federal gun dealers’ licenses when they “fail to follow the law.”

Now she is expanding her promised use of executive action to block the importation of AR-15s. Politico reports that Harris wants to prevent of import of “AR-15-style assault weapon imports and suspend all other assault weapon imports until the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can analyze whether they should be permanently banned under U.S. law.”

Harris argues the the weapons are not “suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes,” therefore, they could be banned under law.

Ironically, ATF Associate Deputy Director Turk noted that the AR-15 had become “standard for hunting activities” by early 2017. In fact, Turk said the use of AR-15s for hunting was so widespread that the ATF should revisit previous studies on the gun and amend them.

On January 20, 2017, the Washington Post published a “White Paper” wherein Turk wrote, “The use of AR-15s, AK-style, and similar rifles now commonly referred to as “modern sporting rifles” has increased exponentially in sport shooting. These firearm types are now standard for hunting activities. ATF could re-examine its 20-year-old study to bring it up to date with the sport shooting landscape of today, which is vastly different than it was years ago.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

 

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk received an honorary doctorate degree from Liberty University last week, ahead of the school’s commencement ceremony.

Kirk, the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, was presented by Liberty University with a distinguished doctorate degree for his “exceptional leadership and energetic voice.” The TPUSA founder reacted to the doctorate degree by calling it an “incredible honor.”

“It’s such an honor to be speaking to the greatest college in America, and I can say that, because I visit nothing but colleges all across the country,” said Kirk on Saturday at the school’s graduation ceremony, ahead of Vice President Mike Pence’s commencement address, “It’s an absolutely incredible honor to be here.”

Incredible honor. Thank you so much to Liberty and @JerryFalwellJr https://t.co/nJDQ2wfkBZ

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 11, 2019

“Citing his exceptional leadership and energetic voice for Conservatives through his @TPUSA, [university president Jerry Falwell Jr.] and [Liberty University] Provosts grant an honorary doctorate to [Charlie Kirk],” tweeted the university on Friday.

“It is beyond humbling and incredible to receive such an honor,” said Kirk to Breitbart News, “I want to thank Jerry Falwell Jr. and the amazing Liberty University family for this distinction.”

Kirk’s biggest critics would oftentimes appeal to authority by arguing that the TPUSA founder should not have embarked on his own endeavors to lead a campus movement until after obtaining a degree from an accredited university — an argument that appears to have been made null and void as of Friday.

Nearly seven years after its founding, the conservative student movement championing free markets and limited government has grown substantially, with TPUSA now listing its presence at over 1,000 college and high school campuses, as the organization hosts annual events attracting thousands of young people from across the country.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.

Former Vice President Joe Biden admitted that the “Second Amendment exists” but stressed during his speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday that it does not say everyone is “entitled” to own a gun.

Biden, who was taking questions at a small outdoor venue, then added, “By the way, if one of you left the keys in your car down the street, and a kid comes along and jumps in it and takes off, you could be held liable civilly for that. So if you own a gun, put a damn trigger lock on it. Put it in a case. You have an obligation.”

Biden also spoke about past gun bans he supported. He specifically referenced the 1994 “assault weapons” ban and noted that it also “limited the number of bullets in a clip.” Additionally, he spoke about being former President Barack Obama’s point man for gun control following the December 14, 2012, attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School.

He said, “There are so many other things we can do to make schools safer, other than arming teachers.” He did not specify, however, what those other things are. Rather, he pivoted to the next question.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

President Donald Trump reportedly will sign an executive order this week banning U.S. telecom companies from using equipment deemed risky to national security. The order will not specify individual companies or countries of origin, but it will clearly have the most profound impact on Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, sources told Reuters Tuesday.

Reuters quoted three U.S. officials who said the Trump administration had worked to plan the executive order for over a year, delaying it several times and potentially delaying it again.

If he issues the order this week, President Trump would draw upon existing legal authority to bar American companies from purchasing equipment that could pose a significant security risk, as the U.S. government believes is the case with Huawei and some other Chinese firms:

The executive order would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency that threatens the United States. The order will direct the Commerce Department, working with other government agencies, to draw up a plan for enforcement, the sources said.

If signed, the executive order would come at a delicate time in relations between China and the United States as the world’s two largest economies ratchet up tariffs in a battle over what U.S. officials call China’s unfair trade practices.

Washington believes equipment made by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, could be used by the Chinese state to spy. Huawei, which has repeatedly denied the allegations, did not immediately comment.

The administration banned U.S. government agencies last summer from using equipment made by Huawei and ZTE, another large Chinese telecom firm. Huawei is suing the U.S. government to overturn the ban.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has acted to prevent China Mobile from providing telecom services in the United States and may block other Chinese companies from the American market on similar grounds.

The Trump administration stepped up its criticism of Chinese technology theft and security threats this week, possibly laying the groundwork for the coming executive order.

Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity director Chris Krebs warned the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that Beijing could force Chinese telecom companies to push out updates with hidden back doors and deliberate security flaws, making it possible for Chinese agents to steal data from Western companies or even sabotage U.S. infrastructure. He also suggested Chinese intelligence agents could be planted in teams of technicians sent from China to install or service telecom equipment.

“This is a single-party government. Everything that flows from the central party is a manifestation of their philosophy,” said Krebs, citing the recent Chinese cybersecurity law that effectively gives the Communist Party unlimited authority to co-opt Chinese companies for intelligence work.

The Chinese government insists it has not compromised the security of Huawei equipment and charges to the contrary are merely an effort to “smear” Chinese companies as a tactic in the larger U.S. trade war with China. The Chinese have accused the Trump administration of unfairly protecting American and European companies from competition with Huawei, which generally sells products for cheaper.

Huawei representatives argue that the type of security audits that should be routinely performed on crucial technology from any vendor could mitigate any hypothetical risk their equipment poses. Huawei Chairman Liang Hua has expressed willingness to sign “no-spying” agreements with the United States and European governments, a measure critics deem insufficient because China’s cybersecurity law would override any agreement signed with foreign governments or corporations.

On Tuesday’s episode of “The Michael Knowles Show,” the host debunks Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s comments on the Holocaust and on Israel in the years following the Second World War. Partial transcript and video below.

The whole left wing is totally falling apart. Over in D.C. and over in Congress, Rashida Tlaib, a rising star of the Democrat Party, has now referred to the Holocaust as a “calming” event. She not only said that phrase which is so outrageous. She is rewriting the history of the Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel. This has nothing to do with investigations of Russia or collusion or whatever. This is just purely the Democrat Party and the ideological Left collapsing in on itself and specifically on this issue of Israel.

Here you see two major leftist strategies at play. Rashida totally does them both at the same time. She does the performance of victimhood and she does the rewriting of history both at the same time, both central to the left-wing agenda. Here she is speaking out of both sides of her mouth about the Holocaust:

Rashida Tlaib: And there’s you know this a kind of a calming feeling I always tell folks when I think of the Holocaust and a tragedy of the Holocaust and the fact that it was my ancestors Palestinians who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, the human dignity, and their existence in many ways, have been wiped out. I mean, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews. Post the Holocaust post the tragedy in her thick persecution of Jews occurred across the world at that time. And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that in many ways, but they did it in a way that took their human dignity away. And it was forced on them.

None of that is true. Nothing she just said is true. Either she is a profoundly stupid woman or she’s lying, and I don’t think she’s stupid, so I think she’s lying. None of what she just said is true.

First of all, this is just a note of rhetorical advice: When you are describing the Holocaust, it is best to avoid the word “calming.” There are many words in the English language, and “calming” is not the best one to describe the Holocaust. Eric Swalwell, the sort of presidential candidate, just did this the other day when he compared the Russian election interference to September 11th. Again, another piece of advice: It’s best not to compare things to September 11th. You now have two rules for rhetoric: don’t compare things to 9/11; don’t refer to the Holocaust as calming.

But then she rewrites history. Everything she said that the Arabs in British Mandatory Palestine, they welcome the Jews and they said Jews please come in, please establish the state of Israel, we’d like you so much we want you to be here. How happy was Rashida Tlaib, to tell you that her ancestors, the Arabs in Mandatory Palestine, and they welcomed — except none of that happened. That did not happen. Arabs in British Palestine did not want the Jews to come in.

What is my evidence of this? For one, they allied with Hitler. The leader of the Palestinian Arab nationalist movement, Haj Amin al-Husseini, allied with Hitler. He was living in Germany in Berlin from 1941 to 1945. He not only allied with Hitler, he called for the massacre of Jews in the Arab world. He did it on Nazi radio stations all throughout Berlin. He called specifically for an anti-Jewish jihad. He then aided the Nazis because he was friends with Hitler. He aided the Nazis in recruiting Muslims from the Balkans for the SS and for the Wehrmacht.

The Palestinian Arabs launched a revolt between 1936 and 1939 to deter European Jews from coming into the region of Palestine. When we use the word Palestine, we have to be clear we’re not referring to a country called Palestine. There has never been a nation state called Palestine. That nation state might as well exist between Narnia and Wakanda. It is completely imaginary, completely fictitious. There is a region that was named by the Romans, Palestine. So, when we refer it historically to Palestine we’re referring to a region named by the Romans, well after the nation of Israel inhabited that land. And then when the British took over the area there was the mandate of Palestine. It’s referred to British Palestine or Mandatory Palestine, so that’s a region, not a nation state.

The Arabs who were living in British Mandatory Palestine launched a revolt to stop Jews from coming into the area, and eventually they petitioned the British to stop the refugee Jews almost altogether from entering the region. Rashida Tlaib completely reinvents that history.

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