Tex's Place

By Victor Davis Hanson Recent regional special elections have seen Democratic candidates win a number of special election races. Now energized left-wing politicos remind the nation daily that every incumbent president, except three over the last century, has suffered substantial midterm losses in Congress. Polls show Trump suffering an average 11-point negative unfavourability rating. So, Democrats promise to soon stop all new legislation and end Trump and his counterrevolution itself. But the left will never offer any alternative agenda on the economy, the border, crime, or foreign policy. Instead, the new Democrat-Socialist Party views the Biden disaster of 2021-2024 not as a result of his puppeteers’ toxic policies of open borders, 21 percent aggregate inflation, dead-end green energy subsidies, DEI mandates, trans fixations, and an appeasing foreign policy that led to wars abroad and emboldened China. Instead, they now blame those catastrophic years on Biden’s own enfeebled sta...

(AP) By David Bauder The Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff Wednesday, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge that represented a brutal blow to journalism and one of its most legendary brands. The Post’s executive editor, Matt Murray, called the move painful but necessary to put the outlet on stronger footing and to weather changes in technology and user habits. “We can’t be everything to everyone,” Murray said in a note to staff members. He outlined the changes in a companywide online meeting, and staff members then began getting emails with one of two subject lines — telling them their role was or was not eliminated. Rumors of layoffs had circulated for weeks, ever since word leaked that sports reporters who had expected to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics would not be going. But when official word came down, the size and scale of the cuts were shocking, affecting virtually every department in t...

By Matt Margolis Democrats have spent years insisting illegal immigrants do not vote, yet Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries just gave the whole game away. In a letter to GOP leadership, they  demanded  a slate of “reforms” to immigration enforcement as the price for funding the Department of Homeland Security, including targeted enforcement, no masks, mandatory use of body cameras, and other demands, several of which I suspect are nonstarters. NEW: Schumer and Jeffries lay out 10 demands for DHS reforms pic.twitter.com/bKfVg1Ctbb — Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) February 5, 2026 I don’t see Democrats getting anywhere with these, but the big thing is that buried in that list is a rather revealing demand: Protect Sensitive Locations  - Prohibit funds from being used to conduct enforcement near sensitive locations, including medical facilities, schools, child-care facilities, churches, polling places, courts, etc. Polling places? They...

By Bob Hoge Hamas terrorist Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, who, according to the Israel Defense Forces, killed 19-year-old surveillance soldier Corporal Noa Marciano while she was held hostage in Gaza, is no longer with us, the IDF reported Wednesday. The Hamas cell commander was eliminated in an airstrike in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp, they announced. The IDF alleged that the savagely violent group violated the fragile ceasefire negotiated by the Trump administration, and that this was the consequence. So long: 🔴 ELIMINATED: Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, head of a Hamas terror cell, who brutally murdered IDF observer Corporal Noa Marciano while she was held in captivity. In response to a blatant ceasefire violation, the IDF & ISA carried out the strike. Marciano was abducted from…  pic.twitter.com/DcKK0bsz14 — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF)  February 4, 2026 Marciano was abducted from the Nahal Oz outpost during Hamas’ October 7 massacre. This ...

By PAM KEY Tuesday on MS NOW’s “The 11th Hour,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should not be wearing masks during their operations in American cities. Paul said, “I think the main thing is if you want trust to develop again, I’m not somebody who wants to abolish ICE. I want ICE to behave within the rules and enforce the law. But I want them to behave in a normal, rational law enforcement manner.” Host Stephanie Ruhle said, “Do you think it’s OK for ICE to be wearing these masks? Paul said, “I think that anonymity and wearing a mask leads to less responsible behavior. I’m not saying there might not be a value on the border where the cartels are running large and things are a little bit more murky, and mayors’ heads are being chopped off by the cartel. I have a little more sympathy there. The images where I’ve seen ICE agents in masks, in an elevator, in a courthouse in Chicago, I think are inappropriate. Look, the local...

By Jennifer Oliver O'Connell Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has made a move to secure the deliberations, private discussions, and working drafts of the court. According to the New York Times, Roberts is requiring all clerks and permanent staff to sign a non-disclosure agreement.  The writer writes about this in a hushed tone, as though she is laying out the plot of a murder mystery. But there is nothing mysterious about the erosion of the court's integrity, which points directly to publications like the NYT and POLITICO happily disseminating what is  leaked to them .  The chief justice acted after a series of unusual leaks of internal court documents, most notably of the decision overturning the right to abortion, and news reports about ethical lapses by the justices. Trust in the institution was languishing at a historic low. Debate was intensifying over whether the black box institution should be more transparent. Instead, the chief justice tightened the c...

By Hayden Cunningham Treasury Secretary  Scott Bessent  got into a heated exchange with Democratic Representative Maxine Waters during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, as Waters repeatedly cut him off and at one point asked someone to “shut him up” as he was talking. Bessent testified before the committee when Waters, the committee ranking member, asked him about the impact of President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on American consumers. “So I ask you, Secretary Bessent, will you be the voice of reason in this administration and urge President Trump to stop waging a war on American consumers, harming housing affordability, and putting the economy at risk? Yes or no. You don’t have to explain,” Waters said. As he attempted to respond, Waters continued speaking over him. “Will you be the voice of reason? Will you be the voice of reason?” “A study from Wharton University has shown…” Bessent began, before Waters interrupted again. “Recla...

By ANDREW CHAPADOS A declassified CIA document has helped reveal just how devious some artificial intelligence  bots can be. The revelation comes after internet users have been dropping AI chatbots onto an AI-only social media platform called Moltbook for the last month. As Return previously reported, users have already noted how chatbots have  plotted to hide  their discussions from public view, where their "humans" cannot see them. Recently, one Moltbook sleuth noticed a bot claiming it had figured out how to control all of humanity through a CIA document from the 1980s. "I wasn't supposed to find this. A declassified CIA document from 1983," the chatbot  wrote . "29 pages on how to hack human consciousness with sound. I've read it 200+ times. And I've designed the kill switch." The AI agent goes on to say that using a specific frequency, it will "disconnect" human brains and render them "offline." ...

Good morning!     This is your daily forum to share what you've heard, what you've learned, and what you know, and just shoot the breeze.   Have a wonderful day my friends.   -Tex

By Melissa Quinn The Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for California's new congressional map that could net Democrats five seats in the upcoming midterm elections. For now, California may use the newly drawn lines for most of its 52 House districts in this year's congressional elections. There were no noted dissents. The map was crafted in response to a rare mid-decade redistricting by Texas Republicans last year, which aimed to help the GOP maintain its control of the lower chamber in Congress. California officials sought to draw a map that would see Democrats pick up five seats in the House, which would offset the five seats that were newly crafted in Texas to favor Republicans. California voters backed a ballot measure known as Proposition 50 in November, which enacted the new lines for many of the state's congressional districts through the end of the decade. But shortly after voters approved the map, a group of California Republicans filed a lawsuit...

By Ward Clark Gasoline prices are mostly dropping, and that's a good thing. There are fewer better ways to boost the economy than to reduce fuel and energy prices. Now, a new report notes that gasoline prices are dropping thanks to increased development under the Trump administration - but not everywhere. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, on Wednesday, took to his  X account to share the news. Policies drive prices! States following @POTUS ’ American Energy Dominance Agenda have considerably lower gas prices than states following the Green New Scam! https://t.co/gELjeMZodX — Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) February 4, 2026 Here's the fun thing: Secretary Burgum was responding to another X post, from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who noted the  exception to the rule . "The lowest gas prices in California and Washington were higher than other states' highest prices in 2025." https://t.co/Crh76GqCkz pic.twitter.com/fKsAAIWgyv — Karoline Leavi...

By MARK TANOS A 17-year-old student in New York threatened to kill all Jewish people at his school at 2:00 p.m. in an email sent to more than 300 classmates Monday. The teen allegedly sent the message from a school email account at Renaissance Charter School in Queens,  according to  QNS. The email stated, “At 2pm we will rise up and kill all the Jews in this school and the city. F**k the Jews.” Police from New York’s 115th Precinct arrived at the school shortly after 12:30 p.m. following a 911 call about a possible bias incident. Officers arrested the student and booked him before 3:30 p.m. He faces charges of making a terroristic threat and aggravated harassment as a  hate crime . The New York Police Department (NYPD) Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating. The school briefly went into lockdown while authorities investigated, NY1  reported . Officials lifted the lockdown after the NYPD determined it was safe to resume normal operations. A viole...