With a majority of Mainstreet businesses in Texas grappling with an uncertain economic climate and the deadline to file this year’s taxes, we could use another round of common sense, pro-innovation tax policies. And in a Congress that's taken few steps forward on legislation of any kind, "The Tax Relief for American Families & Workers Act of 2024" provides a glimmer of hope. Many Texans could use some relief from the economic woes they’ve endured under the Joe Biden White House.
Accidental opioid overdoses are on the rise in Texas. In fact, 1-in-4 Texans has personally experienced an opioid overdose – or knows someone who has. Emergency Room visits for opioid misuse among seniors rose 220% in 2021, and Veterans of Iraq & Afghanistan are at increased risk of being prescribed opioids for pain. Since the best time to break a habit is before it starts, it’s been encouraging to see Congress heed the call to make non-opioid pain medications more available & affordable.
“Despite Secretary Mayorkas finally admitting there's a border crisis after three years of lying to Congress – and to the American people – he continues to incentivize unlawful entry into our country with his mass Catch & Release and mass-parole programs,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, after the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security reported more than 256,000 "encounters" with unauthorized migrants in February, the worst February on record.
“They’re goin’ to put y’all back in chains!” Joe Biden threatened a group of Black voters back in 2012 – when he was running for re-election as vice president. Luckily, Donald Trump is a new kind of Republican who's not afraid to point these things out. Yet once again, Democrats and the sock-puppet political press has spilled their bloody entrails over the often-colorful language Mr. Trump uses to vividly describe the dramatic doom America will be in if Mr. Biden has four more years in the White House.
"Heinous crimes committed by the Tren de Aragua – like the rapes of multiple children and the murders of retired police officer José Luis Sánchez Valera and nursing student Laken Riley – must stop," said Cong. Tony Gonzales, as he joined with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio & Rep. María Elvira Salazar in demanding that President Biden formally designate the vicious "Tren de Aragua" Venezuelan prison gang as a Transnational Criminal Organization.
Just as Midwestern Voters soured on liberals in the 1980s and started supporting Ronald Reagan's Blue-Collar Republican message, so too are settled-in Mexicans seeming to sour on today's leftist-liberal excesses – and moving over to the GOP. In California's recent primary, Democrats cast 59% of the total votes, and Republicans cast 39% – down from Biden's 63%-34% primary margin over Trump in 2020. That suggests gains for Republicans in the Hispanic & Asian Communities.
“District Attorneys who choose not to prosecute criminals appropriately have created unthinkable damage across Texas," said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, announcing his proposal of a new rule to enhance the reporting requirements for Texas' District & County Attorneys who preside over counties with a population of more 250,000.
The soft drinks are gone, "but 3-gallon jugs of Arizona Green Tea are still on the shelves." The good stuff – Dawn Dish Soap, L’Oreal Shampoo, Clairol Root Touch-Up hair kits, DayQuil, NyQuil, diapers, Cetaphil & Neutrogena – they're all either behind Plexiglass, available only at the counter – or under Lock & Key. "Other shelves, stretching entire aisles, are totally empty."
"What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30th," says Joe Biden, before a White House Counsel staffer interjects, "2015." Mr. Biden then asks, "Was it 2015 he died?" And an unidentified speaker says, "It was May of 2015," to which Biden repeats, "It was 2015. Or I'm not sure the month, sir, but I think that was the year." Biden then says, "And what's happened in the meantime – Trump gets elected in November of 2017?" 2017?
Joe Biden's address last night was the most Bizarre & Disappointing ever seen delivered by a president in the Halls of Congress. He didn’t even try to deliver a unifying "Address to the Nation" – instead, he shouted a Political Convention-like Campaign Speech that insulted Congressional Republicans, the U.S. Supreme Court Justices sitting right in front of him, Israel, the National Rifle Association, Candy Bar Snack companies, people who expect their fellow Americans to repay their Student Loans, and those who're concerned about inappropriate books being in Elementary-School Libraries.
Joe Biden got some painful news earlier today – the day of his 2024 "State of the Union" Speech. The pace of job cuts by U.S. Employers accelerated in February, and “marked the highest layoff total for the month of February since 2009.” That – along with inflation & high interest rates – is another sign the labor market's in bad shape. Mr. Biden may try to tell the American people his version of the health & welfare of our nation tonight – but I’m not sure any of us need the update. We know what the actual "State of the Union" is.
Monday's unanimous 9-0 Supreme Court decision provided the American Public with a refreshing counter to the Media & the Democrat's ridiculous "Save Our Democracy" attacks. Their "The Process Is the Penalty" strategy – that the U.S. Courts and the weaponization of the Federal Government would remove their mega-MAGA "Make America Great Again" enemy from consideration – is only infuriating the American Voter, who knows the ongoing perversions of Law & Justice have been a cancer attacking "Democracy."
This weekend's New York Times-Siena College Poll has to have the Biden White House coming unglued. It shows how much even his own 2020 supporters worry about his age – and that concern is intensifying. There's literally no good news in the poll for Biden, and every piece now shows Donald Trump with a measurable and unmistakable lead, and it’s hard to see how Joe Biden can recovers his footing. Actually, such an idea is now more than doubtful – it’s actually to the point where it’s unimaginable.
“I commend and offer my deepest thanks to the staff of the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery for all they do to support, honor, and love our veterans and their families. I'm so proud they're receiving the national recognition they deserve,” said the Chair of the Texas Veterans Land Board, Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, as the Veterans Cemetery in Killeen was honored with the prestigious "Operational Excellence Award" by the National Cemetery Administration of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department.
“This gargantuan methamphetamine seizure – the largest ever taken down by U.S. Customs & Border Protection Officers at a port of entry – uniquely illustrates the serious threats our officers and nation face daily, as well as their effectiveness in utilizing our technological enforcement tools to zero-in on these threats,” said Donald Kusser, Director of Field Operations for the Laredo Field Office, after U.S. Customs & Border Protection seized a record 6 and 1/2 tons of meth in a single stop.
As written in a Newsweek Opinion piece earlier this morning, the best thought coming out of yesterday's Michigan Primary may be – "Joe Biden Should Endorse Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Step Aside." Yes, Joe Biden won the Democrat Primary comfortably, but he lost 13.3% of the Michigan vote to that hard-charging candidate known as “uncommitted.” It's sent a strong signal to both Mr. Biden and his National Democrat friends down-ballot – he has a big, big problem. And, it's likely not just with Michigan.
A new poll conducted across Texas has found that a majority of Hispanic Voters in the state support constructing a Border Ball, as the nation continues to see an increase in violent crimes and record numbers of illegal immigrants flooding across the Southern Border. And because Hispanic voters have long been viewed as a crucial voting bloc for Texas Democrats, the shift away from the Democrat Party and toward Republican policies on the border issue is raising major concerns for Texas Democrats.
“The morale and motivation to go out and work has been destroyed – and will take a generation of agents before it ever begins to return,” said one of the five Border Patrol Agents who spoke with the Washington Examiner, expressing skepticism that a Senate Impeachment Trial, even a conviction, will have a significant impact on the department’s roughly 19,000 Border Patrol Agents nationwide. Having been dragged through the mud since Mayorkas was confirmed in February 2021, one Texas agent texted, “I want to see him GONE!”
“With more than 513,000 State Criminal Offenses – including murder, sexual assault & robbery – many of these criminal aliens remain in our jails for weeks or months, unable to secure bond due to their immigration status. By providing Federal Funds to offset the costs on State & Local Governments, including County Jails, we'd uphold our commitment to public safety while easing the strain," said Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, who serves as Legislative Chair for the Texas Sheriffs’ Association which is backing Gonzales's effort.
Big news in the world of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) the past few weeks: JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock & State Street Global Investors have backed away from a multi-national alliance intended to fight "climate change." That's welcome news for taxpayers, as many of these initiatives advocate for bad policies – like higher taxes and more regulatory red tape. Americans have become increasingly skeptical of politicians who place excessive emphasis on "the environment," and use them as pawns in their culture wars.