Tag Archives: Senator John Cornyn

Rules For Thee And For Me

Posted on by

On Friday, The Daily Caller posted an article about a law passed in the Senate that would exempt lawmakers from special treatment at airport security lines–lawmakers would have to wait in line just like everyone else.

The article reports:

The Senate passed a bill to end lawmakers’ special privileges to bypass airport security lines late Thursday night while security personnel continue to manage hours-long lines while working without pay through a partial government shutdown.

The End Special Treatment for Congress at Airports Act was introduced by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn and approved by unanimous consent because no senators were present on the floor to object to the legislation. The bill passed as the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) shutdown prepared to enter its 35th day — tied for the second-longest in American history — with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers struggling to manage a surge in spring break travelers.

…“Maybe, just maybe, if Congress has to live under the same laws that everybody else does, it will motivate us to get our work done. In other words to fund the [DHS],” Cornyn said on the Senate floor Thursday night. “So no American, no air traveler will have to suffer the disruption and tribulations that many, many travelers are having to experience now. It’s not too much to expect that Congress will be subject to the rules as everybody else.”

…The legislation now awaits passage in the House, and then would go to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature. The TSA is an agency of the DHS.

I hope this law is passed in the House and signed into law in as short a time as possible!

The article concludes:

Air travel worker unions, airlines have called on Congress to resolve differences and restore funding as stress mounts on workers, and TSA specifically called on Democrats to stop withholding their votes to end the shutdown.

“The shutdown is having very real consequences, and hardworking federal aviation workers, the airline industry and our passengers are being used as a political football once again. This is simply unacceptable and un-American,” Airlines for America president and CEO Chris Sununu, a former Republican governor of New Hampshire, said in a statement.

Cornyn is currently locked in an extremely expensive runoff primary contest against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that President Donald Trump and Cornyn’s Senate counterpart, Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, have chosen to stay out of. Trump said he will make an endorsement soon, and Paxton said he will drop out of the race if the Senate passes the SAVE America Act. Soon after, Cornyn advocated to eliminate the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold despite defending the protective measure in 2022.

No Democrat who continues to vote for this shutdown should be re-elected!

Creating A Gaza Strip In Texas

Posted on by

Anyone who has read the Koran has encountered verses that instruct Muslims to kill the infidels (non-Muslims). The Koran instructs its followers to take control of the lands they enter and place the inhabitants of those lands under Sharia Law. Coexistence is not part of the platform.

On Monday, Legal Insurrection posted an article about EPIC City, a city being constructed near Dallas, Texas, to house the Muslim community. There will be Mosques, Muslim schools, and an infrastructure that will make it possible for the Muslims who live there never to have to mingle with non-Muslims.

The article reports:

There is no construction taking place.

The state of Texas has launched about a half dozen investigations into this project.

That includes criminal investigations.

And, the US Department of justice is also investigating.

This matter, and similar matters, are taken very seriously, and actions are being taken to address all concerns.

…The EPIC City is the brainchild of the East Plano Islamic Center. From KERA News:

The 402-acre development would be in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties roughly 40 miles northeast of Dallas near the city of Josephine, and would include a new mosque, more than 1,000 single and multi-family homes, a K-12 faith-based school, senior housing, an outreach center, commercial developments, sports facilities, and a community college.

In an interview in December, Yasir Qadhi, a resident scholar at the Plano mosque, said the idea for EPIC City came as the Muslim population continues to grow in the region.

“We need more space, and there are people coming from across the country,” Qadhi said. “Dallas is now known to be a hub of people of our faith, coming not just to the city, but specifically to our mosque.”

The first 450 plots sold out within days of its announcements on the mosque’s website, Qadhi said.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) demanded that the DOJ investigate the city for possible First and Fourteenth Amendment violations by preventing those of other faiths from living there.

Community Capital Partners claimed the community would be for “people of every background, faith, and culture” who “can live together in harmony.”

The company admitted, though, that “Islam will be at the center of the development.”

This is not like Baptists building a community. Baptists do not murder non-Baptists. This has the potential to become something like what the Gaza Strip devolved into. Muslims need to be encouraged to assimilate. If they choose not to assimilate, they might consider living elsewhere. There is nothing wrong with keeping the traditions of the place you lived before you came to America. However, if you live here, you need to swear allegiance to our Constitution and follow our customs. If you are not willing to do that, please move to someplace that has rules you like.

There’s Gun Legislation That Makes Sense And Then There Are People Who Want Political Points

Posted on by

John Hinderaker at Power Line posted an article yesterday about the four items related to guns that were voted down in the Senate yesterday. The four items were an overreaction to what happened in Orlando, but the votes and the suggested laws bear looking into.

The article reports:

Senator Chuck Grassley proposed legislation that would have increased funding for the NICS background check system, and would have pressed states to send more records to the FBI on felons and others barred from buying guns. It also revamped language that prohibits some people with mental health problems from buying guns. Grassley’s bill had majority support, 53-47, but wasn’t passed because the Democrats filibustered it.

Senator John Cornyn offered legislation to keep firearms out of the hands of suspected terrorists. His bill would let the government block a sale to a known or suspected terrorist, and prosecutors would then have three days to convince a judge that the would-be buyer was likely a terrorist. This seems like a sensible compromise, and it too had majority support, 53-47, but again the Democrats filibustered and blocked the bill from taking effect.

The Democrats likewise offered two proposals, both of which enjoyed less support. Dianne Feinstein proposed legislation that would bar gun sales to people on any federal terrorism watch list–a list that has included Ted Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and many random, innocent citizens–without providing any way for people to get themselves taken off the list. I think it is safe to say that this proposal was sheer political grandstanding. It went down to a 47-53 defeat. It is shameful that so many Democrats voted for it.

Chris Murphy’s bill would have required the current, inadequate list of people who can’t buy guns to be applied to even more sales, including sales between friends or relatives. That, too, was defeated 47-53.

Frankly, I am glad to see all of these laws defeated, although the defeat of all of them shows the depth of the political divide currently in America. The first bill listed actually makes sense, but I object to the other three. The problem with Senator John Cornyn’s legislation is that it would set up a nightmare system of paperwork that would quickly be abused. The right political connections and a good lawyer can fairly easily get you removed from the terrorist watch list.

The problem with this entire discussion is that the terrorists are not bound by any laws. Terrorism tends to morph–it can change according to circumstances and can easily do things outside the law–Paris has very strict gun laws–that didn’t stop the terrorists–it just made their attack easier. Criminals don’t pay attention to gun laws–Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws and America and also one of the highest gun murder rates–so does Washington, D.C.

The bottom line here is that we are so politically polarized right now that we cannot even cross party lines to commit common sense. Unless this changes, our country is in serious trouble.