NOW THIS:...Appeals Court Drops Sledgehammer...Trump Is "Citizen Trump"...Nothing More, Nothing Less...Ruling Is "Nation-Destroying"...That's His Lame Opinion...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...Oh, no. They are telling Donald Trump that he's just like you and me - a run-of-the-mill citizen and nothing more. No special place in the mob, nothing to set him apart.

That was the kinda-expected verdict from a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., when a three-judge panel of learned jurists told Trump his claim to "presidential immunity" for life was bullshit.

From motherjones.com: [ The long-awaited 57-page ruling is not full of fiery rhetoric. But it does contain a few sharp punches aimed at Trump’s contention that a president should possess king-like power. The court said Trump has no special standing as a former president:

For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution.

Trump argued that potential prosecution in the future could chill presidential action. The court said, "No way." ]

Well, of course no way. That Trump sought a favorable ruling is all-Trump. We know he will go for it in such situations. What the Hell. You never know, right?

But he will appeal. That's his M.O. Take this one step further, to the U.S. Supreme Court. After getting word on the ruling, Trump let go his usual angry rant, damning it on social media and even labeling it "nation-destroying," as if...

It is not nation-destroying. It is not a bad ruling. It is not something most Americans will even wonder about; everybody except the 77-year-old Trump expected it. Fellow Republicans in the pro-Trump House of Representatives went ahead and filed a motion to erase everything connecting Trump with the U.S. Capitol Riot of January 6, 2021.

As if that would absolve him of blame and potential prosecution and jailing. Not since the extended family of Hippie Moses asked why he was being dispatched to Egypt has an answer been known way ahead of its arrival. Moses dilly-dallied, but he showed-up there at the end.

Trump, we fear, won't show up. He wants the Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court ruling, knowing, of course, that three of the associate justices are three he appointed and, well, what's so wrong with a little benevolent payback? I mean, it's a lifetime gig, and he fingered them for the job.

But the nation's high court may tell Trump it will stay out of it and let the lower court ruling stand, which would, we know, bring forth perhaps the wildest, most-profane attack ever endured by our once-hallowed Supreme Court. Donald Trump could not care less for our institutions; they are there either for him for or smashing.

We shall see.

Still, it is a breath of fresh air whenever you hear Trump taking a fall. He remains "above the law," only, little by little, his veneer dusts-up enough to dirty his ass. Lugging four criminal cases and facing 91 felonies would seem to be too much, as Moses might say about tremendous tasks. Yes, he's done it so far, however.

Not that we wish to compare him entirely to Good Ol' Moses, but we couldn't this to the pro football field and tell you Trump was facing a 95-yard drive late in the game with less than a minute to go and the refs out to throw penalty flags as if confetti. Why soil pro football, we say.

This morning, we are somewhat assuaged knowing Trump likely had a bad overnight. Did he even sleep? It has to wear on you. He's human, or so we are led to believe.

The appeals court ruling saying he is "Citizen Trump" will stand. Yes, the legal delays will continue until they don't. They do say the wheels of justice will turn slowly. Tomorrow is another day and that brings us closer to closure with this guy. 

Now, let's proceed with the also-predictable trials...

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SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom Jukebox..."Anti-Hero"...

CONUNDRUM:...Well, Boys, It's Not A Republican Border ...It's Not A Democrat Border... It's The U.S. Border...House Of Representatives To Kill Border Bill...Trump Demands It...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...So close and, well, so far away. Dealings with the current slash and burn politics of the Mexican Border has been one runaway rollercoaster ride. The migrant problem is still there this morning. No, not as painted by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott or any of his Republican colleagues, but it's there, as it has always been.

We're slogging through an election year, so therein lies the reason for our discontent.

The U.S. Senate has worked-up a bi-partisan legislative bill to sort of address the problem, only senior Republicans in both the Senate and the House of Representatives aren't interested in backing it. This, we should say, after months and months of hemming and hawing about the dangers of a "migrant invasion," in the words of sensationalism-minded Gov. Abbott.

Hell-o, walls.

As in Border Walls and other solutions to a political issue sort of at odds with reality. That migrant surge, according to the U.S. Border Patrol, is no longer a surge. Yet, the Mexican Border is living large as a danger to American society. Don't let the roofers kick you in the ass on their way south. Same for the landscaping guys and the restaurant workers.

We could use some brains these days on all things to do with the Mexican Border. This is a shank of American and Mexican land separated for the most part by a passive, often-shallow river. The migrants will come. They've always come.

That bill now headed for the House authored by a bi-partisan committee in the Senate seems a step in the right direction. The particulars are sort of bureaucratic from what we've heard, but, already, Republicans in the House say it is "dead on arrival."

Yeah, blame Donald Trump for that. He is running for president proudly lugging four criminal cases and indictments totaling 91 felonies...and he is telling Republicans to kill the bill. Passage of it, he says, would help Democrat Joe Biden. How's that, you ask. Well, Trump sees the border migration issue as something he can use against President Biden ahead of the election in November. If the problem is even alleviated just a bit, that would hurt him as give Biden a campaign win.

Of such high school hallway bullshit are we made these days.

Pass the damned bill and keep working on it.

Republicans do not have - and cannot stake - sole claim to the Mexican Border. Neither do Democrats. This is a U.S. responsibility issue, and it should be dealt with the country - not the political party - in mind. Sounds simple and factual, but then there's Trump. Always the liar, always the dude throwing the firecracker at the teacher.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is whole hog in. He has been relentless in coming up with wild solutions (. . .buoys, razor wire, taking over a municipal park in Eagle Pass, et., etc.) while forever parroting Trump's equally harsh solutions. Abbott even said he'd shoot migrants if only the federal government would not arrest him. It sounds dumb, but talk and word-selection is everything in politics.

Will the Republican-controlled House membership hold to its pro-Trump position on the proposed legislation?

Yes. Bank it.

Elections have consequences and winning the White House is getting and eating the cherry off the celebratory cake. Republicans want that victory against Biden in the November General Election. Taking a political position on an issue that affects the entire country is to be expected. Republicans know that without occupying the White House, well, they are the subservient party.

Moods in this country are always swaying back and forth between being united and being dumb.

Republicans are being dumb about the Mexican Border, but they know it. Their fight is for political ground and a little bad P.R. will be endured.

They even roasted one of their own on this bill. U.S. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma was censured by his state Republican Party. He co-authored the Border Bill now before the House, the one Trump is against. Indeed, Trump has even damned Lankford, who, truth be told, is one of the more conservative senators in the upper chamber.

Trump even told reporters Lankford is one politician he has never endorsed.

Only, as is wont to happen with Trump, of course he did. The media quickly noted, published and broadcast reports and videos in which Trump wholeheartedly endorsed Lankford in his last campaign for reelection.

But that, too, is our political arena.

Fix the border...if it needs fixing. Get back to real work if it doesn't...

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SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom Jukebox..."Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts"...

JOE:...He's Begun Attacks On Donald Trump...The President Goes Hard After The Orange One...Blows Off Haley...Hey, Now...Jabs & Uppercuts...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...He's not talking about Nikki Haley. No, President Joe Biden knows who his target is and will be for the rest of the year. Democrat Biden has placed Donald Trump straight-up in his campaign crosshairs.

Look out below!

Fresh off his comfortable victory in the South Carolina Primary, Biden let go a salvo against troubled Republican Trump during a brief stop in Las Vegas yesterday.

This coverage from newsweek.com: [ . . .During a rally in Las Vegas' Historic Westside, Biden repeated a similar version of the speech, telling the crowd: "This is the guy, when he was in France, they asked him to go to an American cemetery in France for World War II, where Americans were buried. You know what he said? He said those folks were suckers and losers."

He added, raising his voice: "Suckers and losers the guy said." He then said he was glad he wasn't there. "Called my son and your sons and daughters who gave their lives in this country suckers and losers. That's how this guy thinks. Who the hell does he think he is?" he said.

Joe Biden also touted the results achieved by his administration during his years at the White House, citing the most recent jobs reports, which showed that the country added more than 350,000 jobs, and the resilience of the U.S. economy, which grew by 3.3 percent in the last quarter of 2023.

He added that 40,000 infrastructure projects are underway as the result of the bipartisan infrastructure bill he signed into law.

The 2024 presidential race is shaping up to be a likely rematch between Biden and Trump, who's currently leading the Republican primary polling with 74.2 percent of the vote as of February 4. He's ahead of his only standing rival Nikki Haley by a huge margin, as the former South Carolina governor currently had an estimated 17.5 percent of the vote.

Biden told the crowd of about 400 people gathered at Las Vegas' Historic Westside that "we'll make Donald Trump a loser again." ]

Yeah, nice horse-collar tackle of Trump there.

And Biden asking "What has Orange done for you?" is on-target. Oft-indicted Trump remains the front-runner in the GOP contest, even as Haley insists on staying in the primary fight. The larger majority of lame Republicans in Congress have now endorsed Trump as their nominee.

Biden will stay with the hammering. And he'll enjoy every minute of it.

What a big, fat target he has...

-30- 

SUN COMEDY:...Newsroom Laughs..."Mitch Hedberg"...

INVASION:...When Do We Exaggerate?...In Politics, it's Damned Near Always...Texas Gov. Abbott Loves The Word "Invasion"...It's Not That...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

EAGLE PASS, Texas |...Well, he hasn't yet "secured" the border. That would be one Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas shown in wheelchair in photo above. It is the story of the day for the Lone Star State.

Some truck and bus convoy has landed here to join him in stopping the surge of migrants wanting to cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. Abbott is still calling it an "invasion," even as critics call him out on the term. The convoy's arrival rankled local feathers, with a few residents asking if the show was really needed.

In South Dakota, the Oglala Sioux, a Native American tribe, issued word that it was banning Gov. Kristi Noem, also a Republican, from its land in opposition to her decision to send the state's National Guard to help Abbott in Texas.

But it is an editorial in the conservative Wall Street Journal (owned by FOX's Rupert Murdoch) that is taking Abbott to task.

This excerpt via newsweek.com: [ The piece notes that Abbott has invoked a clause in the U.S. Constitution that allows Texas the "right to self-defense" in the event of an "invasion," which is how he and many other conservatives have characterized the recent surges in migrant crossings. The board criticized this as an inadvisable stretch, and also noted that congressional approval is needed to begin acting on the clause.

". . .The first question is whether migration, however anarchic, is an 'invasion.' Do conservatives really want to start stretching constitutional terms? Progressives will do that better," the piece argued. "And what power is Texas even trying to unlock? If migrants who have walked 1,000 miles qualify as an invading army, does Mr. Abbott intend to 'engage in War' on them?"

The WSJ editorial board went on to raise concerns that the situation at the border could potentially turn violent.

"But it isn't hard to imagine a more direct conflict emerging if Texas continues trying to box out the Border Patrol in Eagle Pass. Would Mr. Abbott or other officials defy a resulting court order and risk contempt? Would Mr. Biden invoke the Insurrection Act to have the military intervene?" ]

That last sentence says it all.

What is Abbott's end game - an actual confrontation with the U.S. military? He'd lose that fight.

He's staying with the opposition, however, and it is now clear that it's all a political charade. Yes, secure the border. But try doing it in an intelligent manner and not just some cheap political stunt.

The rest of the country is watching and waiting. And it's true that some 25 other Republican governors have sided by Abbott, but even that substantiates the belief that this is all just a game for Texas.

Just how much Abbott has spent on this, what with his busing of migrants to other cities, is the Big Unknown.

The number "millions" keeps being mentioned...

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SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom Jukebox..."Forever Young "...

ELECTIONS:...Miniscule U. of H. Poll has Ted Cruz Ahead In Senate Reelection Contest... Dreaming Democrats Allred And Gutierrez Trailing Badly In Distant Dust...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Can anyone here beat Ted Cruz? Twelve years into his U.S. Senate career, the 53-year-old Republican seems to be on his way to another, do-nothing six-year term. There are two totally-blue Democrats fighting for a shot at the annoying Cuban-American, but polls say their odds are long.

Those two would be former National Football League linebacker Colin Allred (Tennessee Titans) and State Rep. Roland Gutierrez.

Both have been granted their "Good luck!" by Beto O'Rourke, he of the Election Day losses to Ted and to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, perhaps the state's wildest Republican.

A recent University of Houston poll shows Cruz comfortably ahead of Allred and Gutierrez.

This from newsweek.com: [ Texas Senator Ted Cruz is on track to secure reelection in November against either of his top-polling Democratic rivals, according to a new University of Houston poll.

The survey found that, in a straight fight between Cruz and Rep. Colin Allred, the leading Democratic candidate, the Republican incumbent would win by nine points. Alternatively, if Cruz faces Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez, who is also running to be the Democratic nominee, he would secure victory by 10 points.

The University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs surveyed 1,500 Texan registered voters online between January 11 and January 24. They found that, if the Democrats select Allred, a member of the House of Representatives and former NFL player who has launched a Senate run, as their candidate for Cruz's seat, the GOP incumbent will win with 48 percent of the vote against 39 percent.

Alternatively, if the Democrats select Gutierrez, a current member of the Texas state Senate who has also announced his candidacy, Cruz will win by 48 percent against 38 percent. ]

I'm not a fan of polling, as the number of voters queried is often too small.

This one was an "online" poll, which makes it even more useless.

But it is a snapshot of the contest, so we'll look at it that way. Cruz is running in a heavily-Republican Red State. That sort of backs up the miniscule U. of H. poll.

Allred has been out and about, but has not campaigned in South Texas. Neither has Gutierrez. Ted Cruz has been up and down the border on those Republican Border Wall and Migrant Clown Shows.

Perhaps a poll closer to the November election would serve Texans best...

-30-

SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom Jukebox..."Trees Lounge"...

BORDER BATTLE:...Texas Republican Says Colleagues Are Stupid...They're Fighting Actual Legislation Addressing The Mexican Border...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...They're still trying although we hesitate to use the word trying "mightily." It's more like kids playing football out in the street, although one of the teams keeps deflating the ball. It's called congressional politics on its face.

The face is getting bruised.

At burning issue is the Mexican Border. Republicans in the House of Representatives want it shut down, as in closed the damned door to migrants already. Democrats want that, too. But they'd rather be more thoughtful than simply wait on Republican Orange God Donald Trump to make the call on just how the mess will be addressed.

Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are crafting a legislative bill both sides say may be the answer (for the time being, but an answer). It's about "controlling" the border, they tell us, and that's the sticking point for the Trumpians, who want quick and decisive and painful action, like right now.

There's a convoy of truckers and buses headed for the border.

Republicans are eager to tag along, to ride the wave of discontentment, to saddle up and go stupid.

That's what Texas Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw, shown in photo above, is saying as he rags his colleagues for being political malcontents out to do soiled Trump's political ambitions bidding.

This from thehill.com: [ Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) swiped at his Republican colleagues for opposing a deal being crafted in the Senate that pairs border and migration policy changes with Ukraine aid before the text of the bill is out.

"The height of stupidity is having a strong opinion on something you know nothing about," Crenshaw said Thursday. "So, I don’t have a strong opinion on the bill because I haven’t seen it. Nobody has."

Crenshaw’s message is a major break from top House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Johnson has said if reports about what is in the deal are true, it would be "dead on arrival" in the House.

"I’m extremely disappointed in the very strange maneuvering by many on the right to torpedo a potential border reform bill. That’s what we all ran on doing," Crenshaw continued. "If we have a bill that, on net, significantly decreases illegal immigration, and we sabotage that, that is inconsistent with what we told our voters we would do."

"It would be a pretty unacceptable dereliction of your duty," Crenshaw said. ]

He represents the conservative 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses land in far north Harris County (Houston) and runs northward to grab a bit of Montgomery County. He's actually likely going against many of his district's constituents who went with Trump in the 2020 election.

But, boys, something's gotta give, as Jack Nicholson might say about here.

The border is at present needy of all national publicity and that beast must be served. For shifty, lying Republicans, the Mexican border is Lassie/Trigger/Godzilla/Reptilicus all in one nifty political package.

The GOP fears losing the November General Election, so grabbing onto the Mexican Border and playing as if it's the equal of the War in Ukraine and Gaza.

It's not.

And if Republicans think it is, well, their own Dan Crenshaw wants a word with each of them...

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SUN TV:...Icy, Memorable Interviews..."Jane Fonda"...

FEAR AND LOATHING:... ...Migrant Hunting...Convoy Heads For Mexican Border... Hoped For 40,000 Truckers... Got 20 Cars & Three Buses...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...They left the east coast after a few days of online humping, word grindings that fueled an emotional response. Stopping the so-called migrant invasion at the Mexican Border; that was their mission. To cement their commitment, the loose-knit group named itself "God's Army."

Things have not gone well so far.

News reports have it that the convoy never really materialized, that some group members were fighting each other for leadership, that tires had been slashed at a motel where they spent the first night on the road and that at least one rider had been expelled and left to fend for himself on and East Texas highway.

But they're still headed for defenseless Eagle Pass, Texas, where migrants continue to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico and where Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has staked his claim to being El Grande De Coca-Cola.

It's all a silly mirage.

Some early arrivals even took to their websites online to report not seeing "any sort of invasion," a few angrily bitching at Texas "for lying to all of us."

The news website wired.com had sketchy info, but it was about problems the convoy people were encountering on the road and the apparent disinterest on the part of the "40,000 truckers" the group said would be joining the convoy.

Nothing was posted on the New York Times website, perhaps because editors there saw the early fizzle as the leading edge of a failing effort. The Associated Press posted a story about this yesterday, but we could not find it on its website today.

Still, the first few are on the road, seemingly headed for a rendezvous in Eagle Pass. What exactly they mean by "hunting migrants" is yet to be explained. Normally, state law enforcement and the Feds (U.S. Border Patrol) tolerate this sort of thing for a day or two before things get serious and the citizens are told to go home.

Much of the breathless chatter online about this has generous criticism, with commenters asking about the group's reasoning, their employment and mental status also questioned and some saying most truckers are hard at work and won't join this particular effort.

If anything, the convoy (if it ever grows to any meaningful size) will likely be a boon to highway gas stations, fast food eateries and cheap motels.

This much-ballyhooed citizen uprising, we say, will end with a whimper...

-30-

SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom House Band..."Tennessee Flat Top Box"...

INVASION:...Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Plays Excitable Word Games...Last Real "Invasion" Came in 1944...Migrants Not Armed...Mexican Cartels Don't Need The Cash...

 

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Did I miss something? What's that you say - we have an existential "invasion" at the Mexican border? Wow! I hadn't heard a single shot fired or any sort of anguished cries from the many wounded. Invasion?

Well, that's what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is selling to the state, nation and his Republican Party.

I must’ve missed the part where the U.S. is now at war with another country. I must’ve also missed the part where the "invasion" on the border is an armed invasion by an invading force at war with the U.S. Jeepers, creepers. Maybe I should go get my rifle, load it and have it at the ready.

By my rack, or the front door, yes.

But no, I saw nothing of the sort when I took a drive down to the Rio Grande, or border, the other day - a nice and cold Mid-January day full of calm and birds. Pieces of that fabled Border Wall can be seen here and there down in the dusty and tiny city of Hidalgo, where the international bridge connecting us with Reynosa, Mexico sees brisk motor and pedestrian traffic. It's just there, not imposing or holding back any sort of armed surge by migrants insisting on getting into this country.

Abbott, however, has riled up everybody.

The mood on the border seemed the same usual, that well-known people getting here and there mood. Shoppers from Mexico coming over and going back. That same scene we've had around here seemingly forever. Good Mexican people looking for quality goods at the grocery and department store and going back home, helping the local economy. No signs of fear or angst or anything brought on by an invasion on their faces.

Just locals being locals.

But Abbott has created another roadside attraction for bored Americans. A convoy of truckers is said to be on its way to seeing what I saw - nothing much, nothing even remotely dangerous. Oh, well. We live in a time of rage & ruin. Next: Tourist helicopter flyovers up and down the passive Rio Grande.

Our do-nothing Congress is said to be dealing with a plan for the southern border, one that has a few Republicans aboard but also one that has the overwhelming number of Republicans looking at it as a nonstarter, because it, they say, would make Democrat Joe Biden, the president, look as if he solved the silly migrant "invasion."

Oh, well. Again, oh, well.

The word "invasion," of course, is an easy-reach excitable term. It conjures quick fear and imagery of military attack. Thousands of heathens from Central and South America, from the Caribbean, at the gates, all of them tossing grenades at us from the southern banks of the Rio Grande. Armies of invaders, all out to kill every Texan in their way. Women in the murderous mobs, hair in a wild splay and knives in their hands. A full-frontal assault, yeah.

That's what Gov. Abbott sees in our boring border.

Invasion, he keeps crowing.

It's no invasion, one Dwight D. Eisenhower would tell him. It's just the latest wave of poor immigrants looking for a better life - our usual answer to cheap labor, crop-harvesting and restaurant work included.

Only, and this is the cheapest political rub, MAGA Republicans have demonized all immigrants not from Norway. The desire is obvious.

But no, don't go loading your rifles to join the defense against this "invasion." You'll sit there waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting on it...and it won't come...

-30-

SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom Jukebox..."Harvest Moon"...

HAIL, MARY:...Hot, Scorching Political Shit Spells Doom And Gloom In America...Redneck Convoy To The Border..."Heil, Hitler!!!" Is What They Wish To Shout...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...You could look across the landscape and see it. I suppose you could, if that's what you're looking for. Internal unrest, we mean. A nation in turmoil. Reds against Blues. Antsy whites against everybody else. Politics on a tear unlike any seen in modern times. A congressman wishing for a return to dueling in the nation's capital.

What to make of it, Maria?

Is it the arrival of lasting Doom & Gloom, or is this just the now-popular politics of rage and ruin? Yes, and yes. The country is in for a long, harsh summer & winter of discontent. No one wants to go easy; no one wants peace and tranquility. It's us against you, Baby. Deal with it.

America has been too comfortable, they say. Others fear their ethnic group's demise, or at the very least a devaluation. Line it up for Uncle Sam. He's wondering what the Hell is going on, too.

The cold Russians are on record as saying they wish for an American Civil War, something perhaps rising from anger over that breakup of the Ol' Soviet Union they still blame on the United States.

Gorbachev, front center! Tell them the truth. Tell them the USSR over-reached, bankrupted itself with no help from Ronnie Reagan. Star Wars? A mirage.

Just like this crazy talk of a new civil war in the Lower 48.

I've been talking with some old pals from the World of Daily Journalism, asking about this civil war noise.

"I’m gonna get political here," said one. "A second American civil war would never happen as vast majority of Americans are too comfortable for war."

What would it take, however, I kept going. A few armed uprisings, maybe. Perhaps a shootout at the Mexican border in which 12 or so visiting Rednecks would be mailed back home in a casket. Sparks will spark, we agreed.

More to the point went the idea that civil war is only in the minds of our low-rent, self-serving politicians, that no serious, career-minded district manager for McDonald's is even thinking about it. Profit projections? Yes, that has their minds on the end-of-year accounting.

Texas seems ready to play Fort Sumter in this re-make of a time in America when it was mainly Whites dying for the cause. They seem to be interested. A massive convoy is said to be headed for the Mexican border to aid Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in his ongoing partisan silliness.

I've not caught the Invasion Fever and I live some 11 miles from the Rio Grande. Neither have most of my friends in town. We're busy with getting our asses to the breakfast restaurant, where we do discuss the political crap, but never to the point of ridiculousness.

Abbott has some fans.

Texas is still Red, led by Republicans at pretty much every meaningful level of government. They will talk tough and act it even more. It's in vogue, see. Republicans think they have America by the short hairs, that their time for staking claim to it all has come. It's now or never, as an on-the-commode Elvis would readily and gladly sing for them.

Hail, Mary?

Eh. For some of these flaming, fentanyl-fueled Republicans, the words would be: "Heil, Hitler!"

We'll keep tabs on the goings-on so you don't have to.

We know - what a waste of fucking time...

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SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom Jukebox..."Buena"...

CIVIL WAR:...Russians Want It...Texas Teasing It...MAGA Arms Itself...Governors Plot Allegiance...Mexican Border May Be The Spark...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Well, the Russians are for it. Out front and being quoted. They want a civil war in America. For one, the Ruskies say it would immediately bring an end to their war in Ukraine. Europe fears a Donald Trump victory in the upcoming national election would place it in a vulnerable position, one then open to Russian invasion of member NATO countries.

Yes, that could easily come to pass.

Same for an end to our monstrous national debt, our social programs including Social Security and an end to most of our civil liberties.

That's what border-fearing Texas is offering these days?

The Lone Star State is playing fast and loose with talk of secession and, of course, the federal government would never abide by such action. Not for one second. Talk, we know, comes cheap in politics. Perhaps that's all Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is doing - talking shit.

He'd never secede. The financial wallop, if it ever happened, would be so extreme as to make Texas just another poor neighbor of Mexico. In the Guatemala, Honduras class, yeah. Beaten Austin would then export is winning catchphrase to, well, "Keep Tegucigalpa weird." 

But the Russians, friends of Trump from way back, see it coming.

This from newsweek.com: [ . . .Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as the Deputy Chair of Russia's Security Council, released a lengthy statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday reiterating his past prediction that Texas would secede from the rest of the U.S., something the state has no legal ability to do, and potentially kickstart a civil war.

"There are known cases in history when some states tried to break away from the Union and form the Confederacy," Medvedev wrote. "The end result was the bloody civil war which cost thousands upon thousands of lives. Either way, America can face an unsolvable constitutional crisis, and for long, fall into the abyss of a new, possibly even more destructive civil confrontation. And the Western world, its breath held, will be staring at the American mess in fear. Well, it's their problem, anyway."

Responding to an inquiry, the U.S. Department of State dismissed on Saturday the seriousness of Medvedev's various statements.

"We know by now not to take Medvedev seriously," a department spokesperson wrote. "This is standard Kremlin nonsense." ]

Everything wild is nonsense until it happens. Russians might even be comforted by knowing that there are some (MAGA) Americans who would take to the streets to kill at the drop of a projection that Trump will lose the General Election in November.

Chew on that for a minute.

You know that's true. You know you've read and heard about it. These are not good times for American civility and an internal war does look like the answer to resolve these problems in the here & now. What's a few million less citizens. The elderly would go first and therein would come the millions in savings on Social Security payouts.

What would the federal government do about is 15 active military bases in Texas, the ones that contribute some $100 billion to the state's economy. Would, as some are saying, Texas storm the bases with its weekend warrior Texas National Guard and commandeer weapons?

And what would McDonald's do at war's breakout? Chase Bank? City Hall in your hometown? Public schools and colleges? Trash collection? Mail delivery? Starbucks drive-thru? Laundry service? Grubhub?

Yeah.

Those mischievous Russians are onto something with their wish for a second American Civil War.

We're nowhere near that shots-fired stage yet. Words are being flung around as if off an AR-15, but so far it is just words.

Gov. Abbott keeps talking tough, as if his next move is sending not a bus full of migrants to New York, but a squad of giddy, nerdy National Guardsmen to the U.S. Capitol. It's a comical threat, we say at this point, but we are worried about the 25 other state governors who have publicly said they support Texas in its effort to curb migration at its southern border.

Politics breeds love & hate.

One day, all is cool on the news-brightened campaign trail and the next it is Sherman's March to The Sea. Fighting is fighting. Guns don't kill people; people kill people. And, as we know, there is no more armed citizenry in the world than the American citizen.

The Russians may get what they want...

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SUN RECORDS:...Newsroom Jukebox..."One Headlight"

GUNNING FOR MIGRANTS: ...Greg Abbott's Wet Midnight Dreams...Border Standoff...No Solution In Sight...Mexico Not Taking Calls...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Greg Abbott can't seem to solve the problem. It is a 1+1=2 elementary toughie, but he's doing his damndest to make it more than it is. Stopping the alleged migrant surge at the southern border, we mean. Get off the bike and on the stick, we say.

Enough is enough.

Abbott, the sitting Republican governor of Texas, wants a fight with the federal government that feeds him and his state's constituents, like to the tune of 15 active military bases operated by the Feds and a resulting $100 million impact from that alone. We're not even going to mention the $200 million Texas got from the federal government to fight Covid-19, but which was used by Abbott in his Operation Lone Star border mess.

The border is still not secured, at least not to the liking of American Rednecks and some congressional members of the Republican Party. How hard can this be? Put some educated brains on it already, and come up with a working solution, - even if it's one that takes several years to accomplish.

Do something!

As things stand, the Mexican Border may as well be the Gaza Strip. Our news cycle includes it daily, its ever-beating heart exposed to the entire country on both left-wing and right-wing news outlets. Abbott has been munching on this issue since Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency over Abbott-favorite Donald J. Trump.

We ask: Would Abbott be doing what he's doing if he had Trump back in the White House saddle?

Of course not, although the wet dream Republicans have about this is that Trump would not have a single migrant at the border. Good soundbite, but, in our real world, just a panacea. Our southern border always has been a magnet for the God-abandoned and dispossessed. That's a lingering fact, one Republicans choose to ignore.

The U.S. is an immigrant country - immigrants will always seek America. That's why we clarion the red, white and blue standard that this is the nation of freedom, a place on Earth where even the weakest can rise and become somebody. Lately, Abbott has bused thousands of migrants to other cities in the country, namely those run by Democrats, and a few to the home of Vice-President Kamala Harris.

In that junior high solution, one that does not aid the country, Abbott has spent a few more million.

You wonder why, yes.

El Paso resident Reynaldo Alvara has some news for Abbott. He wrote in a letter-to-the-editor of his hometown newspaper (one re-published in a few others, like the Dallas Morning News):

". . . I live in El Paso, and illegal immigration is not an issue here. El Paso’s port of entry has processed millions of asylum seekers. I can tell you firsthand that almost all, once paroled, leave the state. The first thing they tell you is that they would rather not stay in a state with a $7.25 minimum wage when others start at $15 an hour. Texas has thousands of homeless people, but asylum-seekers like to work and live in a home, not on the streets."

Geez, had Abbott merely let them amble in and keep walking, well, they'd be no problem for Texas. Most of them would likely have ended in Democrat-controlled states anyway!

But this is a political issue now, and this being a presidential election year, well, the muddied mess is going to be stirred. Abbott has the big, wooden spoon and he's stirring.

Donald Trump doesn't have the answer, either. His style is to talk tough and then forget about it. Mexico was going to pay for his "big, beautiful wall."

There are nine months before the General Election in November.

Nothing will be done to solve the so-called Border Crisis, nothing. Migrants will be photographed by the news media, state and federal agents will be on-station and Texas Gov. Abbott will keep throwing wrenches into the national wheel's spokes.

He could huddle with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, but the word is that Mexico can't stand Abbott and won't take his telephone calls. That, we would guess, is likely okay with sheltered Abbott. 

It's all a game for him. It's all a game we all see clearly...

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SHE WAS A BABE:...Trump Sexual Target/Victim E. Jean Carroll Is 80, But She Was A Looker...Attacked by Trump Some 30 Years Ago...The Girl Was Hot...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...It happened at a ritzy department store three decades ago. The hustle and lay story came out when Elle magazine writer Elizabeth Jean Carroll wrote about it in 2019. Donald Trump happened to be president by then.

He ambushed her. He groped her. He had his way with her.

That was the story that fueled this recently completed defamation case in New York, the one that led to an $83.3 billion jury verdict yesterday against Trump. He always denied doing the dastardly act and even said he did not know Carroll.

The photo above begs to differ. It shows a much-younger Carroll, with husband John Johnson, a NYC television personality, in the company of Trump and his then-wife, Ivana (shown at right).

This from a report: [ Carroll claims Trump forcibly groped and then raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan nearly three decades ago. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that he had never heard of Carroll prior to her legal action against him. ]

The case caught the country's attention late last year, when another jury said Trump did what Carroll alleged. This week, it was the "pay up" part of the legal equation.

Miss Carroll is now 80 years old. Trump will be 78 this June.

It is his openly, no apologies adulterous ways that has some voters looking away from his current candidacy, although the overwhelming majority of his racist/bigoted MAGA movement says he can do no wrong. Just how many on this particular jury voted for him earlier - or did not - is not known.

Trump has never fared well with voters in Manhattan.

The MAGA bullet train rolls on to the next primary in South Carolina (Feb. 24th) and then onto the larger Super Tuesday voting in some 20 states on March 5. Trump has said he wants the Republican Party's 2024 nomination ASAP, like today.

It's not happening that quickly, but he could figuratively get it if he whips former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, his last remaining opponent, in her home state - a very real possibility.

Haley has not said much about the E. Jean Carroll win in court...

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MOFOS AT THE PASS:...The Foggy Mirage At The Mexican Border...Anxious Republican Gov. Greg Abbott Blows Off Supreme Court Ruling...GOP Wants Immigrants As Election Issue...Abortion, Baby...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Noise is noise. In national politics, the loudest noise goes to the moment's "hot button" issue - the one Americans are presumably most concerned about. Goofy little noise like what a candidate said years ago is meaningless. Same for what a candidate once believed in.

The mess (if it is that) at the Mexican border would seem to be the maker-breaker in this year's presidential election.

It'll make for some noise, but it won't be. Abortion, or the right to seek one, remains the Number 1 headache for Republicans. They simply cannot outrun or outflank it. Women won't let them, women are pissed off, actually.

Texas is now fighting the federal government and the U.S. Supreme Court for its right to go All-Out-Nazi on the northern banks of the Rio Grande. The Lone Star State led by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott insists on laying down razor wire fencing the Feds want removed.

A Supreme Court ruling sided by the federal government, only Abbott is not going with the usual belief that a Supreme Court ruling means anything. He's ignoring the high court.

This week, 25 other governors (of so-called Red States) up and said they will support Texas. Republican Congressman Chip Roy (San Antonio/Austin) is openly telling Texas to blow-off the Supreme Court and take care of the alleged problems on the border.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Border Patrol is reporting its apprehension numbers are down.

Yeah, label this one a "political stunt."

Migrants are still coming. That is in keeping with the history of this immigrant country. "Invasion," however, is a high-anxiety term coyly selected by Republicans to get the attention of their base and the national news media. Invasion is better than a "crowd," or a "bunch" or a "group" of migrants at the border.

Plus, the only photos we see are those taken in Eagle Pass, not in McAllen or in Brownsville, for example. Eagle Pass and that local municipal park encampment created by Abbott seems to be it. Nothing up El Paso way or southern New Mexico. Arizona gets the headlines, but it's less and less. Southern California always has been the largest, most attractive magnet.

But Texas?

No, there are no hordes of raggedy immigrant mobs running up McAllen's Main Street on their way north, not a huge gathering of Border Patrol agents or Texas State Troopers. You're more likely to see the agents and troopers at Starbucks or morning eateries.

But there was this in the news: [ House Speaker Mike Johnson says the Republican-controlled House "will do everything in its power" to support Texas over its ongoing feud with the Biden administration over border security - after the Lone Star State said it has a "right to self-defense."

"I stand with Governor Abbott. The House will do everything in its power to back him up," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The next step: holding [DHS] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas accountable."

Abbott on Tuesday declared the state has a right to "self-defense" from a migrant "invasion" as it faces significant pushback over its border security policies from the Biden administration. ]

There is some truth in the reporting, only that "some" is such a small amount as to be that infamous nothingburger.

Worried Republicans want and need the border as a primary issue ahead of the 2024 presidential election. But they know, they know that Republican White House aspirant Donald Trump also did nothing about stemming the phantom migrant "invasion" during his four years in office.

Let's get real.

There is no "invasion." Picture D-Day on the French beaches of World War II and then you'll get the proper definition of an invasion. Republicans love the lingo of brawling politics. This word is only the latest to be abused.

And, as we said up top, it is "abortion" that will sink their chances come Election Night...

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DEEPFAKE:...Antsy For-Hire Blogger Rips Into Republican Mayra Flores...Rare Mexican-On-Mexican Grime...Who Is Paying Him?...He Won't Say...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...You have a candidate for office, you have his or her backers, you have social media either pushing or damning that campaign. Then you have opposition paying for the soiling of this or that candidate.

That last one, that last one.

That's the one that currently has Brownsville Blogger Juan Montoya by the short hairs. He's hellbent on derailing the settled-in campaign of 34th Congressional District Republican candidate Mayra Flores - the 37-year-old naturalized citizen about to give incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez a run for his money.

Well, word in the streets has it some of that Gonzalez cash may be behind the silly attacks on Miss Flores over at Montoya's "For Hire" blog here in under-achieving Brownsville. Welcome to shameless paid-for journalism, last refuge of the lame, smalltown reporter.

The McAllen Sun is no die-hard fan of Mayra Flores, although we do enjoy seeing her shepherd lazy-ass South Texas Democrats up their sheltered treehouse for a quick and needed sip of Mylanta. There is no fame or gain if all you do is the same dumb thing over and over again. The poor Rio Grande Valley is at the bottom of the political league standings for a reason - It plays the game at a wildly-low level. Even the language is "border."

Montoya, shown in file photo at left, in his late-60s and looking it more and more, has some real journalism experience, mostly, however, at The Brownsville Herald - an entry-level, first-job newspaper for college grads.

Lately, again, Juan has been on a tear to destroy Mayra Flores way before the district's voters get their shot. Well, even before the Republican electorate in her party's primary. That's some head start, Monty. Man, you must've been a hellcat writing for The Heraldo. It's true: a cub reporter earns his stripes in the hometown barrio, a valley reporter, we mean. Montoya has done that. He is even known in some tough local cantinas, a tiny house wren feather in his hat but a feather, nonetheless.

And we're largely okay with what he's doing as a proud Democrat, but our recollection of that ethics class in Journalism School tells us Juan Montoya should level-up with those few vatos and chucas reading his free blog by adding a disclaimer to his stories as to who is paying him to diss Mayra.

Is it Congressman Vicente Gonzalez?

Okay. Just say it. We are told Gonzalez paid local bloggers for their help in the last election. Nothing wrong with that; he's interested in keeping his cushy job in Washington, D.C.

The hands-out Montoya does nothing without getting his few pennies for typing. He even shills for Republicans every now and then, as he did for Cameron County sheriff candidate John Chambers in the 2020 election. We're not getting into that here, but he also charges off the couch to assail incumbent Sheriff Eric Garza, and perhaps that odd positioning has something to do with Sheriff Garza not paying Juan. Quien sobby, yes.

So, we'll stay on this for the next few weeks, keeping an eye out on the entertaining Mayra Flores journey to the mountaintop.

She's a fighter, a feisty Mexican woman fighting, and we're all for that. Montoya, who forever goes pro-Mexicans on his blog, has it in for Miss Flores. Perhaps it' because she is an attractive woman and some less-than-Jeff Bezos vatos have a problem with attractive Mexican gals. That, we're told, is what inspired the sleeveless "wife beater" men's undershirt, popular here in the poverty-stricken Rio Grande Valley.

Let Mayra run. Let her lie. Let her be the loose cannon. Let her rise & fall. Let her posture herself as this and that. Let her smile and laugh. Let her win and fail. She's a candidate.

Voters will decide her fate, the law if she breaks it.

Breathless blogging won't make a bit of difference...

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WHITEOUT!!!:...Primary In The Outs Of New Hampshire... ...White People Give Donald Trump An Easy Victory Over Nikki Haley...Re-Run Of Same In White Iowa...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Another largely White state has voted and it's another victory for racist Republican Donald J. Trump. This time, it was New Hampshire, where projections had the divisive, oft-indicted former president beating last opponent standing Nikki Haley soundly.

It's a battered freight train of pain he rides, but, somehow, the 77-year-old Trump seems happy to be rolling towards that now-expected battle against Democrat Joe Biden in the 2024 General Election. The voting yesterday was called a win by The Associated Press and CNN for Trump with barely 21% of the vote counted.

Slowly and steadily, the gap widened as the tabulation proceeded. It would be an easy and unmistakable takedown of Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and an ex-United Nations Ambassador in the earlier Trump Administration.

Speaking to supporters at her campaign headquarters in Concord, Haley congratulated Trump on his victory. But she’s staying in the race.

"New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last," she said.

That challenge moves to her home state next month for the next primary. And even as some pundits are saying Haley will stay in through the Super Tuesday primaries in early March, they say her motivation may be a belief that Trump could die on the campaign trail.

Yesterday's defeat came two days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Rolling Pageant and threw his support to Trump.

A buoyant Trump thanked his supporters and essentially said the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination is over. Scenes of the ex-president belied all of his legal problems, his interaction with supporters looking very much like those of a normal, unbridled candidate enjoying himself.

Trump is scheduled to return to his defamation trial in New York on Thursday. He's also still on the hook for three other trials, the result of 91 felonies filed by federal prosecutors and the State of Georgia, where he faces RICO charges to do with his alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election.

Still, a win is a win is a win in politics.

Never mind that, so far, it is essentially just a rather giddy White people carnival. Iowa, where Trump won that state's caucus a week ago, is 89.8% white. New Hampshire is 89.6% white - both figures according to the most recent U.S. Census.

South Carolina, however, will see a large number of Black voters, but Hispanics are not to be seen in the game until the March 5 Super Tuesday voting, when Texas heads to the polls.

Something about this set-up is skewed, is our feeling.

But give Trump his moment in the spotlight one more time. He is looking only to the national election in November, perhaps to hopefully win and unload the worst court cases for as long as he is president. His ongoing defamation case concerns magazine writer E. Jean Carroll, a woman who accused Trump of raping her. She won that particular case, but is now sitting in for the punishment side of things, i.e. a judge's ruling as to how much Trump will pay her.

None of that made it to the meaningful conversation ahead of the voting in Iowa or New Hampshire. Trump supporters - the MAGA sorts - are staying with him through Hell or High Water.

The odds for that showdown with Democrat incumbent Biden?

Most of the writing I've seen in the major publications says Biden will easily beat Trump.

We'll see about that all-inclusive dogfight, yes...

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NEW HAMPSHIRE:...Big Vote In Nation's 1st Primary...Itchy Republicans Nikki Haley And Donald Trump Duking It Out ...Haley Gets First Six Votes...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...As Kenny Loggins sang, "This is it. The waiting is over. . . .over." That telling, much-awaited first primary vote in the current presidential race takes the frozen field today, voters in New Hampshire strolling out to have their say on Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley as the eventual Republican in the 2024 General Election.

Already, following the casting of initial votes, Haley leads Trump 6-0 after all registered residents of tiny Dixville Notch in far northern New Hampshire sided with the former South Carolina governor over Trump.

The resort town was the first place in the nation to vote in the 2024 primaries. It kicked off its voting at midnight. There was no comment on the shutout from Trump; Haley hailed the small voter sampling as a precursor to victory.

Pundits aren't so sure, however.

The two-person race is actually the first real test for the last candidates standing. That Iowa Caucus a week ago merely offered a taste of what would be coming when a larger turnout would perhaps set things in place for one or the other claiming the party's nomination outright.

Both candidates head to South Carolina after New Hampshire for the next round, scheduled for February 24th. That contest will certainly tell a more meaningful tale as it is Haley's home, a state she served as governor from 2011 to 2017. Trump, meanwhile, claims a "strong" following in South Carolina, one that was aided this week when U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a candidate himself until two weeks ago, endorsed him.

The other U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, is a rabid Trump backer.

Haley celebrated news of her victory in Dixville Notch calling it "a great start to a great day in New Hampshire." However, the early excitement is tamped down by the possibility of a Big Win by Trump, which would in effect drown Haley.

Yes, she is given a good shot at seriously challenging Trump in today's New Hampshire vote. Haley was helped by an endorsement from the state's biggest, most influential newspaper, the Manchester Union-Leader.

The winner? Who knows?

It's an all-day voting exercise, so results aren't expected until tonight.

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KISSING UP:...Florida Wants To Help Fund Donald Trump's Legal Bills...With A $5 Million Contribution... Taxpayer Cash, Yes...Can Texas Be Next?...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Now this: Florida Republicans want to the state's taxpayers to pay for Donald Trump's mounting legal bills. Okay, you ask, so how much cash are we talking about, 'cause the Orange One loves dealing in cash - especially if it's coming his way.

$5 million.

But, but, but isn't Trump a billionaire? And isn't he already receiving a load of contributions from his many MAGA supporters?

The latest Trump Fund comes in a proposal from Florida State Sen. Ileana Garcia, shown at right in photo above. She is a die-hard Trump fan and a former prisoner in her native Cuba. The funding would come from taxpayers and not her bank account.

This from the MiamiHerald.com: [ Some Florida Republicans want millions to go toward former President Donald Trump’s legal fees. And they want residents to foot the bill.

State Sen. Garcia has authored a proposal that could grant up to $5 million to the Republican frontrunner, who has been indicted four times. The bill doesn’t name-drop the presidential hopeful but says the funds would be provided to "qualified persons" who have been "subject to political discrimination" to "pay for legal fees incurred as a result of criminal charges brought by a U.S. public entity."

For a person to qualify, they must meet the presidential eligibility requirements and be a legal resident of the state.

Trump is the only president in American history to have faced criminal charges.

Trump is charged in two federal cases, one related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the other related to the alleged mishandling of highly classified documents at Mar-A-Lago. He’s also charged in Georgia with racketeering over attempting to subvert the 2020 election results and in New York with falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments.

The money would come from the Freedom Fighters Trust Fund, which Garcia filed a bill to create. ]

We're okay with Florida proceeding with this nutty idea (I mean, what's next - Florida buying Mar-a-Lago for a billion and then gifting it to Trump? Don't laugh.)

The question for us, and this is all about taxpayers, is whether Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a dude who has pretty much copied every move Florida has made to stem that phantom migrant invasion at the Mexican border, will up and say he'll chip-in another $5 million for Trump.

Abbott's undying allegiance to Trump is well-documented.

He could say it today or tomorrow and Texans would immediately be on the hook for that cash sent off on direct-deposit to Trump. Just like that - swiftly and neatly. And politically expedient. Got any other ideas, Republicans?

Surely, you do.

There have to be a good dozen Texas state senators in the Ileana Garcia mold. Or perhaps the leadership, eh?

Hell-o, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Good morning, Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Yeah, those Texans...

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OUT AT FIRST:...Florida Gov. DeSantis Leaves Presidential Race After One Primary...Iowa Did Him In...Just Another Easy Grounder...Be Back 2028!!!...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Out at first. That's the day's headline for Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor from Florida who dropped out of his party's 2024 presidential race on Sunday. One primary - Iowa - is all it took to send this Trump-Lite dude back to the Sunshine State a loser.

So long, Ron, so long.

Tomorrow's primary in New Hampshire is left with Donald Trump and ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Trump is the favorite, and the one Democrats want to compete against in the November General Election. Trump, they say, they can beat.

We'll see.

DeSantis left with a parting gift for Trump - a generous endorsement - and goodbye kiss-off for Haley - she isn't and never was qualified. Okay. But she's still in the hunt and he's not.

It says here that DeSantis never found a persona to campaign. He was always the stodgy one, silliness invading his effort every now and then - like his use of elevated cowboy boots to look taller. But, really, the criticism he is now getting goes to his inability - or refusal - to take on Trump like a man - Mano-a-Mano against the Mar-a-Lago Marvel.

DeSantis would not climb into that ring. They're saying he's legitimate 2028 presidential timber, only that just his defeated tank looking for a silver lining. 2028 is political light years ahead. Let him have his departing confidence. DeSantis is suddenly totally irrelevant.

This from axios.com: [ Haley told CNN on Sunday that she is "absolutely" going to stay in the race through South Carolina's primary on Feb. 24. As part of a "First-in-the-South Swing," her campaign announced a rally in Charleston, S.C., for Wednesday night, 24 hours after New Hampshire polls close.

New Hampshire - which allows independents to participate in the primary and includes healthy percentages of moderate and college-educated voters - is an ideal state for Haley to give Trump her best shot.

"Ron DeSantis has been a good governor, and I wish him well," Haley said in a statement. "So far, only one state has voted. Half of its votes went to Donald Trump, and half did not. We're not a country of coronations."

Trump said he would "retire" his "Ron DeSanctimonious" nickname for DeSantis and complimented the Florida governor on his run. ]

So much for a presidential run. This one, to me, smacks very much of the ill-fated run of another Florida Republican in the 2016 race - Jeb Bush, who arrived against Trump carrying his family's name as the favorite and lost early.

Oh, well, as they say in the West Texas oil bidness...

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