CartoonDems

 

Abbott Orders Probe of DFW Muslim Prayer Rooms

Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered a state investigation into ablution facilities planned for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, arguing in a letter that the Islamic foot-washing stations amount to unconstitutional religious favoritism at a government-owned facility.

In an Aug. 14 letter to DFW Airport CEO Christopher McLaughlin, Abbott said he had referred both DFW and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. Houston's airport installed a wudu washing facility and adjoining prayer room in 2024 stocked with copies of the Quran, prayer rugs, prayer beads and a turbah, according to the letter.

Abbott wrote that the facilities single out one religious group for accommodations not extended to other faiths represented in Texas, and that both the U.S. and Texas constitutions bar government entities from favoring one religion over others.

"Unlike nondenominational interfaith chapels, these ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion," Abbott wrote.

The governor argued that because both airports are government-owned and receive federal funding, they are bound by federal anti-discrimination requirements enforced through the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Compliance Program.

He cited legal precedent holding that governments cannot use private organizations as a "subterfuge" for discrimination, and pointed to past state action against using city property to promote a Muslim-only event.

Abbott said his office is reviewing state grants awarded to local governments connected to the airports and could revoke past funding or cancel future disbursements.

 

Grant recipients are typically required to certify compliance with anti-discrimination laws, he wrote, and any entity found in violation would face funding withdrawal and other enforcement measures.

"Any development, provision, or continued operation of such exclusionary religious spaces in government-owned facilities violates state and federal law and the terms of any grant agreements between the State of Texas and your organizations," Abbott wrote.

DFW Airport is jointly owned by the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. Abbott copied Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, and Houston Mayor John Whitmire on the letter.

The letter follows earlier actions by Abbott's office addressing discrimination claims, including a January executive order on race-based discrimination and a May letter to the city of Grand Prairie regarding religious favoritism, both cited as precedent in Thursday's letter.

Solange Reyner ✉

Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.

© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

 

Cuba Is Allegedly Waging Stealth 'Foreign Influence' Campaign Inside US Using Union Members

Questions are swirling about just what sort of relationship the authoritarian Cuban government and members of a U.S.-based trade union with strong ties to the military have, in a story that went fairly under the radar late Thursday night.

Fox News Digital reported that members of Congress are investigating the troubling information, and grilling the International Association of Machinists (IAM) over directives to its members on taking part in activism pushing Cuban propaganda and lobbying to change the U.S. embargo policy against Cuba and its leader, Raúl Castro:

A powerful U.S. union representing roughly 600,000 workers is facing new scrutiny over its ties to communist Cuba.

Lawmakers are demanding answers about Cuba trips, regime-aligned advocacy and whether union resources helped advance Havana’s policy goals in the United States.

The pressure comes amid broader concerns over Cuban influence efforts inside America — and a midterm cycle already being roiled by fights over socialism.

The story continued: 

The Cuban official who spoke at the IAM meeting — David Ramírez Álvarez, second secretary at Cuba's embassy — has drawn the attention of American officials for allegedly coordinating an influence network within the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter. He instructed union members on how to lobby, track legislation, and engage in national activism on Cuba's behalf.

Here are just a few examples of what's being alleged:

An IAM leader told attendees: "The job now is defending Cuba in whatever way we can." He later successfully petitioned the California AFL-CIO to pass a resolution calling for Cuba's removal from the U.S. list of state terror sponsors. A separate video posted by the Cuban Embassy shows the same leader declaring "we must and will continue to defend the sovereignty of Cuba."

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, is now seeking answers from IAM about its advocacy, in a letter sent Thursday:

"I am concerned that IAM Union member dues are financing efforts to change U.S. policy related to the Cuban regime, a State Sponsor of Terror, instead of supporting American workers’ priorities," Cassidy wrote. "These examples raise serious concerns that IAM Union officials have used their positions within the union to advocate for policy objectives promoted by the Cuban regime as part of a foreign influence scheme."

He continued:

"American workers should not be compelled to finance advocacy that advances the foreign policy aims of a hostile foreign power, particularly one responsible for the deaths of at least three U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident in international waters."

The letter comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the alarm about details from a recent voluminous State Department report on the Cuban regime "reportedly organizing far-left American activist groups to target American military bases, ICE facilities and other federal installations," in a sit-down with Fox News' My View With Lara Trump.

---

READ MORE: Boom: Rubio Issues New Crackdown on Cuban Regime’s Financial Backers

State Dept: Code Pink, DSA, People's Forum Among Groups in Cuba-Linked Rapid Response Network

---

For its part, in response to Fox News Digital on Friday, the union said in a strident statement: "The IAM Union is proud to be America’s largest and most powerful defense union, representing tens of thousands of highly skilled workers — including many military veterans — who build and maintain the aircraft, ships, vehicles and other critical equipment our servicemen and women rely on every day to defend our nation and our freedoms."

It continued: "This is not the first politically motivated attack the IAM has faced in our 138-year history, and it will not be the last. We will never be intimidated or distracted from our mission of fighting for the working people who make us stronger."

 

Wounded Vet Joey Jones Gives Tongue Lashing for the Ages to USS Lincoln Sailors Complaining to CNN

Combat-wounded U.S. Marine Corps vet and now motivational speaker and Fox News host Joey Jones could barely contain himself Saturday as he listened to a USS Abraham Lincoln sailor complain to CNN about the food and morale aboard the ship. 

The aircraft carrier has been on a long deployment of over 260 days with few port stops as the U.S.-Iran conflict wears on, and the mainstream media has gone into overdrive reporting on the supposed miserable conditions and deteriorating mental health among the ranks.

 

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, CENTCOM, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, and other officials have acknowledged that the deployment has been difficult, but have vigorously denied that conditions are anywhere near as bad as what the D.C. journalist class is telling us.

Jones, who lost both legs above the knee in Afghanistan in an IED blast that also severely wounded his arms and left his fellow Marine dead, served for eight years and, after a long recovery, became a motivational speaker and Fox News host. He was certainly not interested in hearing a sailor complain about hot dogs vs. corn dogs, and he had more than a few hard words to impart to the unsatisfied service member.

To put it gently, he went off:

🚨 JUST IN: JOEY JONES SLAMS COMPLAINTS OVER NAVY SHIP CONDITIONS@Johnny_Joey: "How weak are you? On TV complaining about tuna and noodles... If this is a representation of who our military is now... we're just Rome sitting here waiting to burn." pic.twitter.com/JIW8dMxoYv

— The Big Weekend Show (@BigWeekendShow) August 15, 2026

Whoa, Jones didn't leave anything on the table with that one. Be sure to watch the whole clip.

---

MORE: Hung Cao Torpedoes Media Narrative About 'Miserable' USS Abraham Lincoln Crew

We Might Be Cool, but No One Is Johnny Joey Jones Reenlisting in the Marine Corps Cool

---

Jones said if this is the attitude of a majority of our service members, we’re doomed. Here’s what so thoroughly ticked him off:

Jones skewered the unnamed troop in a Saturday segment on The Big Weekend Show. The show played a clip of the troop griping to CNN’s Pamela Brown about conditions on the aircraft carrier, which was filmed on July 10 and aired on CNN on Thursday.

“I would say morale’s pretty low, and not just in the division, like in the ship entirely,” the troop told CNN. “We’re running pretty low on rations, I mean at some points in the day it would just be about noodles and tuna mixed in together, and that was it… sometimes you get a corndog, sometimes you get a hot dog.”

And here was his thunderous response:

“That little… you know what I ate in Afghanistan for six months using a little burner? I ate Ramen noodles… that’s what I ate, and I was happy to have it, because the alternative was an MRE or something cooked by the Afghan guy who was too stupid to be given a gun and they let him be the cook,” Jones started off by saying.

He then turned it up a notch or three.

“How weak are you?! On TV, complaining about tuna and noodles?” Jones continued. “I’m sorry, you volunteered to serve your country. You can come back, get out of the military, and do like all these Democrat veterans and complain about it and make commercials and be a sellout if you want to.”

He was beyond stunned that people who voluntarily signed up to ensure our liberties and the American way were complaining about hot dogs:

“To sit there and say that it was terrible because you had a corndog and a hot dog? I would’ve traded a block of C4 to the Taliban for a hot dog by about July 2010,” Jones quipped.

He continued, “I just do not understand the mentality — if this is a representation of who our military is now, and I’m not saying it is, but there’s at least enough for some of these trash rags to print about it, if this is who we are, we’re just Rome sitting here waiting to burn. We’ve got nothing left. It makes me fume.”

He also made his point on social media on Saturday in a response to Hung Cao's statement. What if these were the people tasked with defending the world against the Nazis in World War II, he wondered? We'd probably all be speaking German about now:

I cannot imagine what a living World War 2 veteran reading the trash about this deployment thinks. If we’ve gotten this soft, we truly are Rome waiting to burn.

Good job SECNAV. https://t.co/3hMtLvibzU

— Joey Jones (@Johnny_Joey) August 15, 2026

Powerful stuff.

 

Bill Maher's Take on Trump's Secret Turkey Flight Will Not Please the Lib Press Corps

If Bill Maher can understand the dynamics behind why President Trump had to secretly switch plans to avoid a credible assassination threat in Turkey, then you know the media is a bunch of babies. We already know that they are, but this manufactured drama over that July flight remains a point of contention among this cadre of entitled clowns. 

Backstory: Following the NATO meeting, Trump faced a credible Iranian assassination plot. He hid in a catering truck and left the country on a secret jet. The press corps was unaware and is now incensed to have been used as a decoy. Too bad. You’re expendable; the president is not. End of lecture. Also, Maher wondered if other presidents, Democrats and Republicans, would’ve done this — yes, they would:

MAHER: “President Trump foiled the assassins again this week. He jumped on the plane that wasn’t the plane, but he left everybody else on the other plane. If the Iranians were going to shoot down that plane, goodbye, Marco Rubio and a lot of other people. No, I’m not judging here. I’m sure that’s what the Secret Service told him to do."

“My question is, because I’ve heard it is the president’s discretion whether he could do that or not. Do you think any other president would have done it differently? Like, say, Jimmy Carter. He was like Mr. Christian Guy. Would he have left his friends on that other plane? What about Obama? What about Reagan?”

ANDERSON: “Donald Trump has had a number of credible threats on his life, traced back to the Iranian government. He got his ear shot. So I kind of think if you’re Donald Trump, you do what the Secret Service tells you.”

MAHER: “Yeah, I would."

CUOMO: "I think they all would.”

MAHER: “You think they all would?”

CUOMO: “Yeah, I think they would do what the Secret Service said to do. Yes, it’s his decision, but you rarely go against what the Secret Service is advising.”

The media is mad they weren’t told. Get over it—your lives will never be above that of the president of the United States. The White House’s credibility is not on the line; can we please move on? No one cares except the press corps. 

His commentary veered into some immigration talk, where he said that the melting-pot ethos essentially must die, assimilate, and accept Western civilization. Also, no sharia law — ever: 

MAHER: “Democracy, not theocracy.”

“Free speech, even about religion.”

“Equal rights for women.”

“LGBT. That’s America!”

“And none of it…none of this is available in sharia law…”

“Which a third of British Muslims want to see be THE law in England.”

“And you can’t have both. You can’t have England and sharia law.”

“The left’s reaction to islamification is, the worst thing that could come from that is it will get right wingers elected.”

“Maybe…or maybe the worst thing that could come from it is in 20 years the U.K. is turning away gay cruise ships.”

“Now, you can—and I’m sure some of you are—screaming ‘Islamophobia,’ but that’s just a bullsh*t word to cow people into not talking about this!”

“This has nothing to do with ‘non-Whites’ becoming the majority. I don’t give a shit about that. I don’t give a shit about colors.”

“I care about liberal values being replaced by ILLIBERAL ones.”

Also, Maher’s advice to the migrants who invaded Spain’s African territories will also trigger liberals:

MAHER: “Last month, more than 70,000 Moroccan migrants breached the border and poured into a part of Spain called Ceuta.”

“I feel for them, but I also understand why a lot of Europe freaked out about it.”

“I sympathize with refugees. But when I see them interviewed, it’s always: there’s nothing for me here, the economy sucks, I don’t see a future.”

“I sympathize. But what you need is not asylum. What you need is LinkedIn!”

“Build something in the country you live in.”

“You got a bad economy? You know that cruise ship you couldn’t dock? Do you have any idea how much money 2,000 drunk, gay men would have spent in your beach town?!”

I can see how hardcore progressives now call Bill a Nazi. He couldn’t care less. He’s a liberal who isn’t nuts. I’ll take it. 

 

The GOP Midterm Convention Lottery Is Open and You Won't Want to Miss It

With the Republican Party midterm convention just under one month away, a promotion was announced where some lucky attendees will win unprecedented access.

The ticket lottery for the September 9 and 10 midterm convention in Dallas, Texas is now open, and the event is expected to be the largest convention in a decade as more than 20,000 people will be in attendance.

 

GOP officials have announced that, starting today, individuals who sign up will have the chance to win special VIP front row tickets while others will be granted unprecedented access while at the event. All attendees will be able to visit Victory Plaza, where they can meet surprise special guests, enjoy food and drink, and celebrate America in a convention experience unlike any other.

Interested parties are able to request tickets beginning today for September 9, 10, or both days. Winners will be notified on September 4, and they will have 24 hours to claim their tickets should they win. If interested, the convention has announced that they are seeking 750 volunteers per day.

Republicans say that the midterm convention will be a massive event that will expose the difference between the increasingly radical Democrat Party, and the common sense approach of the Republicans.

 

UAE condemns Iran for attacking 3rd state-owned oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz in 1 week

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has accused Iran of attacking another vessel belonging to its state oil company, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), as it attempted to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, marking the third such incident in a week.

“The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned and denounced the hostile Iranian attack that targeted a vessel affiliated with ADNOC as it transited through the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported,” the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a statement on Saturday.

Reuters reported that the ADNOC vessel was struck on Friday and that the situation was under control, according to the company.

The UAE emphasized that “this attack constitutes a flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolution 2817, which affirmed the importance of freedom of navigation, and rejected the targeting of commercial vessels or the obstruction of international maritime routes. The Ministry emphasized that targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail represents acts of piracy by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and constitutes a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security.”

 

The incident also came one day after the UAE blamed Iran for two other attacks on ADNOC tankers in the waterway. These caused minor damage, but no injuries were reported.

 

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has previously threatened to target vessels in the Strait of Hormuz that do not follow Iranian orders or have ties to its enemies. Iran also insisted that it will maintain control over the strait, which is to remain closed until the U.S. meets a list of conditions to end months of conflict.

Advisor to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Anwar Gargash, asserted via social media on Saturday that the country would defend itself in light of the continued attacks.

 

“Repeated targeting of ADNOC company tankers will not deter the United Arab Emirates from moving forward with a balanced and rational policy, based on the triad of deterrence, diplomacy, and adherence to international law,” Gargash wrote.

“We will safeguard our rights to freedom of navigation and the use of the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law, and we will defend our sovereignty and interests, while continuing the path of dialogue and prioritizing diplomatic options,” he continued. “We will make every effort to strengthen a unified Gulf position, as it is a fundamental pillar for protecting the region’s security and the interests of its countries in this ongoing crisis.”

الاستهداف المتكرر لناقلات شركة أدنوك لن يثني دولة الإمارات عن المضي قدماً في سياسة متزنة وعاقلة، تقوم على ثلاثية الردع والدبلوماسية والالتزام بالقانون الدولي.

سنصون حقوقنا في حرية الملاحة واستخدام مضيق هرمز وفقاً للقانون الدولي، وسندافع عن سيادتنا ومصالحنا، مع مواصلة مسار…

 — د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) August 15, 2026

 

Media Mobs Target Athlete: Fairness in Sports Gets Silenced

Sophie Cunningham dared to say what millions of Americans already know: fairness in women’s sports matters. When a high-profile athlete speaks plainly about protecting girls and preserving women’s competition, the so-called guardians of culture swoop in to brand and bury her instead of engaging the actual issue.

The response has been predictably performative — from protest signs in arenas to cable hosts rushing to coronate her as a villain — even as the White House’s press team reluctantly waded in to defend her right to speak. Conservatives aren’t surprised: the media mob will manufacture outrage and then lecture the rest of the country on tolerance while silencing dissent.

Then came the cheap, theatrical grievance play: a brutal clothesline foul by a Chicago Sky player that earned an immediate Flagrant 2 and an ejection, followed by a public post accusing Cunningham of benefiting from “white privilege.” That post was less an argument than a distraction — an attempt to change the subject from a dangerous play to identity politics.

 

This is exactly the problem plaguing today’s sports: politics, not rules or safety, sets the headlines. League committees and well-meaning task forces talk about “inclusivity” while failing to set clear, sport-specific standards that protect fairness and the safety of female athletes. Hard-working fans tune in to watch competition, not to wade through daily woke theater; the league risks alienating those fans if it keeps letting politics trump common sense.

Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark’s

 

 arrival showed how big the WNBA can become when talent and entertainment drive the narrative instead of grievance. Clark’s star power pushed viewership and attendance in ways many pundits said were impossible, proving the product can thrive if leaders stop politicizing every play and let athletes play.

Patriots who love sports should demand better: protect girls’ sports, punish dirty play regardless of who commits it, and stop turning every on-court moment into a culture-war soundbite. If the WNBA wants real, lasting growth it must choose basketball over political theater — and if the media refuses to cover that, the rest of America will.

 

Massachusetts Advances Law for Unlimited Abortion Access

Massachusetts lawmakers have just taken another radical step away from the sanctity of human life by advancing H.5595, a bill that strips the state of its long-standing 24-week limit on abortion and hands the ultimate decision to a single physician’s judgment. This isn’t a tweak — it’s a wholesale surrender of legislative responsibility to make moral lines in law.

On July 22, 2026 the Massachusetts House voted 119–33 to remove the carefully crafted four-part exceptions that limited late-term abortions and replaced them with a catch-all standard allowing abortions “based upon the professional judgment of the physician.” Supporters insist this empowers clinicians, but the result is plainly that one doctor’s subjective call can now end a viable life.

The Senate moved quickly after the House, adopting the measure and sending it to Governor Maura Healey,

 

 who has signaled strong support for expanded abortion access in the past — meaning a final signature was always the likeliest outcome. This is not hypothetical; Beacon Hill’s Democrats made clear they intend Massachusetts to be an outpost for unlimited abortion access, a model for the rest of the left-leaning states to follow.

Faith leaders and pro-life organizations have rightly sounded the alarm, warning that this bill erodes the principle that human dignity is not a creation of the state but a gift before any government paperwork. Massachusetts Citizens for Life and other Catholic advocates warned that the language now permits a solitary physician to authorize termination even for infants who could survive outside the womb, and that moral questions have been handed to bureaucrats and clinicians instead of being debated by the people.

Let’s call this what it is: the political class in Massachusetts embracing a “no limits, no mercy” doctrine that treats unborn children as policy levers rather than human beings. Conservative Americans who value life, family and the rule of law should be outraged that a state once proud of its historic institutions now gleefully expands the scope of state-sanctioned death. This is not compassion; it is convenience dressed up in medical jargon.

The wider consequence is unmistakable — when elite coastal states push abortion absolutism, it sharpens the national divide and hands Republicans a clear, righteous rallying point in November and beyond. Patriots who cherish a culture of life must meet this with more than talk: defend pregnancy resource centers, support crisis care, and make the moral case in every town hall and polling place.

If you believe in the dignity of every human life and the proper role of elected representatives, now is the time to act. Call your state senators, back pro-life candidates, and put your energy and donations behind organizations that offer real alternatives to abortion. The future of our country’s moral fabric is not a spectator sport; it’s a fight worth winning for hardworking Americans and the generations to come.

 

CartoonDems