Greg Locke Finally Admits He Lied (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #635)

— America will “rededicate” the nation to a Christian God this weekend. (1:05)

— A private Muslim event at a Texas water park was legal. Greg Abbott shut it down anyway. (8:28)

— Hate-preacher Greg Locke admits lying about Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland. (24:28)

— MAGA pastor says Trump understands the Bible better than Pope Leo. (40:48)

— Richard Dawkins was seduced by a glorified autocomplete engine. (47:29)

— Daystar’s Joni Lamb died at 65, leaving behind scandal, cover-ups, and COVID lies. (1:05:16)

— Southern Baptist membership hits another 50-year low as Americans keep walking away. (1:12:30)
Interview: 

Audio only, with Jessica: https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/05/13/greg-locke-finally-admits-he-lied/

YouTube video, no Jessica: LIVE: Friendly Atheist News Roundup 5/14/2026

Contents, for the below embedded YouTube video (with Jessica):

0:00 Intro
1:05 America will “rededicate” the nation to a Christian God this weekend.
8:28 A private Muslim event at a Texas water park was legal. Greg Abbott shut it down anyway.
24:28 Hate-preacher Greg Locke admits lying about Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland.
40:48 MAGA pastor says Trump understands the Bible better than Pope Leo.
47:29 Richard Dawkins was seduced by a glorified autocomplete engine.
1:05:16 Daystar’s Joni Lamb died at 65, leaving behind scandal, cover-ups, and COVID lies.
1:12:30 Southern Baptist membership hits another 50-year low as Americans keep walking away.

Texas Supreme Court rejects bid to oust House Democrats who fled state over redistricting - POLITICO

“Abbott sent us threats. He sent lawyers. He sicced his lapdog, Ken Paxton, on us,” Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement. “He asked the highest court in Texas to remove elected Democrats from office because we refused to be bullied into helping him pass a rigged map for Donald Trump. Today, the Republican-controlled Supreme Court said: no. The Constitution does not let a Governor erase voters’ choices when their choices are inconvenient to him.”…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/15/texas-supreme-court-democrats-redistricting-00923616

 

🚨New York Times Exposed A TEXAS TAKEDOWN By Federal Judge!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZXU6ADm0vE

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott immediately calls second special session for redistricting - POLITICO

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott immediately called another special session to pass a new congressional map, after the first attempt failed due to Texas Democrats leaving the state to deny Republicans the ability to carve out additional GOP seats...

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/15/texas-abbott-second-special-session-redistricting-00511787

 

Texas governor FUMES when CONFRONTED on his FAILED legal logic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wgTM2Vrd2A

 

Texas Democrats fight back in court against Abbott’s bid to remove them - POLITICO

In court papers filed Friday, the Democrats argued that their quorum-breaking tactic is an affirmation of their legislative duties, not an abdication of it...

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/texas-democrats-redistricting-court-00500649

Texas House Democrats left the state. Here's what happens if they don't return

Texas Democrats may have fled the Lone Star State to avoid a critical redistricting vote, but potential problems await them once they return…

https://www.axios.com/2025/08/04/texas-democrats-flee-republicans-greg-abbott 

 

Rep. James Talarico – the Christian Democrat Fighting Christian Nationalism in Texas (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast) re-released

Rep. James Talarico is a Christian fighting Christian nationalism in the Texas legislature. He’s also an 8th generation Texans; a former middle school teacher; and a seminarian. 

He calls school voucher schemes “scams,” and “welfare for the rich,” while labeling Gov. Abbott “Robinhood in reverse.” 

He went viral for opposing the Ten Commandments bill on religious grounds and is now squaring up against the Christian nationalist billionaire pastors trying to take over Texas – and the United States. 

He spoke to Brad about reproductive rights, education, religious freedom, and how Texans are fighting back.

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/re-release-rep-james-talarico-the-christian-democrat-fighting-christian-nationalism-in-texas/

🚨 New scandal ERUPTS in Texas; Republican may face CHARGES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ4dm0ccqLs

 

Religious attack on LGBTQ+ (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

We criticize Texas Governor Gregg Abbott for using the flood devastation as an opportunity to preach his personal religious views. 

We point out that in spite of the IRS decision not to punish two churches for politicking from the pulpit, the Johnson Amendment prohibiting such action is still the law of the land. 

After honoring the life of our friend, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Steve Benson, who died this week at age 71, we talk with attorney Kat Grant about their Freethought Now “Pride Month” blog: ”Don’t make sacrifices on the altar of authoritarianism.”

Interview: 

https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-july-10-2025/

Greg Abbott accused of trying to ‘fix’ midterms for Republicans by redrawing congressional maps | US politics | The Guardian

Texas governor unveiled plan to redraw state's districts in a move opponents are calling 'an egregious gerrymander'

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/greg-abbott-midterms-republicans 

 

Greg Abbott's Stunt BLOWS UP In His Face As Kamala Attack Implodes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSSV9-sUquE

James Talarico Debunks Greg Abbott’s Private School Voucher Slogans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUh9dpajb5s

Texas Law SURGES Into Spotlight After Horrific Consequences Unveiled

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's law proves devastating consequences as reports reveal the infant mortality rate has spiked after the extreme anti-abortion law was enacted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKI_Y-Zul-U

DESPICABLE MAGA Gov ATTACKS Jury Verdict at Trial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP8jIZsurIU

Weekly Roundup: Toxic Masculinity Outside a Courtroom and at a Commencement Speech (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad and Dan take on a series of stories related to hypermasculinity, politics, and religion. They begin with the commencement speech by Harrison Butker, the NFL player who sparked controversy with his rad-trad commencement speech. From there the hosts move to the Trump sycophants visiting his trial each week – breaking down why they are all dressing like Trump and what this says about the toxic masculinity operative on the American Right. They finish with a brief discussion of Texas Governor Greg Abbot’s pardon of a man who ran over protesters and shot a person at point blank range.

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-toxic-masculinity-outside-a-courtroom-and-at-a-commencement-speech/

Texas Governor Pardons Daniel Perry in 2020 Black Lives Matter Protest Shooting - The New York Times

The family of the protester, Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old former mechanic in the U.S. Air Force, expressed disbelief at the decision and saw a political motivation. Republicans, including the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, and the political pundit Tucker Carlson, had called for Mr. Perry's pardon. 

"It doesn't make sense. I feel like I'm in a 'Twilight Zone' episode. This doesn't happen," Mr. Foster's mother, Sheila, said in a telephone interview. "It seems like this is some kind of a political circus and it's costing me my life." 

Her son was a supporter of the Second Amendment, she said, who advocated free speech and had been attending the racial justice protests in 2020 day after day. "He deserved so much better," Ms. Foster said. "He was an Air Force veteran. He was out there protecting people from people like Perry."…

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/texas-abbott-pardon-daniel-perry.html

Mayorkas slams Texas Gov. Abbott for saying Biden should use executive authority on border | CNN Politics

"He couldn't be more wrong," Mayorkas said of the Republican governor in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." 

"As a matter of fact, former President Trump tried to close the border, and it was enjoined in the courts and never saw the light of day," the secretary said, before later adding, "The reality is that Congress needs to act, and President Biden said that Congress needs to get a spine."…

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/03/politics/alejandro-mayorkas-abbott-border/index.html

Texas governor building military 'base camp' near border to deter migrants | Reuters

The facility - dubbed Forward Operating Base Eagle - will be an 80-acre complex along the banks of the Rio Grande and house up to 1,800 troops, with the ability to expand to 2,300, Governor Greg Abbott said at a press conference...

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-governor-planning-military-base-camp-eagle-pass-near-us-mexico-border-2024-02-16/

The Supreme Court Has Itself to Blame for Texas Defying Its Orders

One of the maddening and self-contradictory aspects of conservative propaganda on this issue is that Republicans frequently cite metrics that indicate just how closed the border is, as if they demonstrated the opposite. Earlier this month, House Republican Oversight Committee Chair James Comer released a statement condemning Biden's "open border policies" while announcing that "Fiscal Year 2022 set records for the number of arrests of illegal border crossers, the number of migrants who died making the journey, the number of dangerous narcotics seized, and even the number of suspected terrorists arrested trying to illegally cross the border." 

The reason that migrants are being arrested and dying on the way, and that drugs are being seized, is that the border is not open.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/01/greg-abbott-texas-border-stunt-supreme-court/677267/