That is the title of an article in today’s Houston Chronicle from their Austin bureau. I sh*t you not!
To support Gov. Greg Abbott’s deadly orange buoys covered in razor wire in the international boundary waters of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass,TX, Texas Republicans, in particular U.S. Rep. Jody Arrington, R-Lubbock and the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation are trying to raise legal justifications using the Bible and in particular the story of Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood to try to keep Abbott’s death buoys in the Rio Grande despite the Rio Grande being an international border subject to control by the United States government and Mexico (not Texas) and despite the Rio Grande being a navigable waterway used by thousands of boats every year.
Here is the relevant jaw-dropping excerpt from this morning’s Houston Chronicle (written by the Chron’s Austin Bureau writer Jeremy Wallace):
They [the Texas Public Policy Foundation] argue that the Rivers and Harbors Act should only apply when there is evidence showing that the waters can be navigated as that case described: “generally and commonly useful to some purpose of trade or agriculture.”
They add that while at one point the Rio Grande could have met that definition decades ago, it may not anymore given how the river has changed. That’s where they cite Noah’s Ark from The Bible.
“Indeed, if one takes the Book of Genesis literally, then the entire world was once navigable by boats large enough to carry significant amounts of livestock,” they wrote, specifically citing the passage from the Bible in their legal filing. “Under the federal government’s theory, these anecdotes would render any structure built anywhere in Texas an obstruction to navigation subject to federal regulation.”
Holy S**t! “If one takes the Book of Genesis literally”!!! That is a pretty damn big if! Even for a lawyer. And if pigs could fly, we could have bacon with wings! What more can I say here that isn’t already said or implied by this nutty right-wing conservative group.
I know there are many here who are Christians and take the Bible seriously, but using the story of Noah and the Great Flood supposedly from around 5000 BC as evidence in a 21st Century legal matter beggars the imagination. But then this is our present day Republican Party here in Texas. Sigh!
You may now lift your jaws from the floor as am I, and hopefully have a wonderful day.