Tex's Place

By Ward Clark Where are all our scientists going? A startling number of key scientists, some of whom are working on some very sensitive projects, have suddenly gone missing. It's a troubling situation.  Republican Representative Eric Burlison (MO-07) is looking for answers. In a Fox News interview over the weekend, Rep. Burlison expressed his concern. Watch: Missing scientists. Classified programs. Advanced tech. This isn’t speculation, it’s a transparency problem. Congress is pushing for answers. pic.twitter.com/crvwlziiF7 — Rep. Eric Burlison (@RepEricBurlison) March 29, 2026 Rep. Burlison: Yeah, it’s remarkable. General McCasland apparently walked out of his home, left all of his devices, and never came back. And Monica Reza—she was on a hike as well and mysteriously disappeared. Then I’ve heard about others. We already sent a letter when our first one came in—I heard of it. Another gentleman—I’ll keep that name to myself out of respect—we sent the letter to the FBI invest...

By Hayden Cunningham Republican Senator Ron Johnson suggested that Senate Republicans should consider eliminating the  filibuster , calling Democrats “obstructionist” and blaming them for the ongoing Department of Homeland Security  funding impasse  in Congress. Speaking on  Fox News’  Sunday Morning Futures, Johnson blasted Democrats for their refusal to support a DHS funding agreement that includes money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Johnson argued that Republicans should act preemptively, warning that Democrats would likely eliminate the filibuster themselves when they regain control of the Senate. "The split in the Senate, in terms of a filibuster, is [between] those of us who believe that Democrats will [get rid of] it next time they have the power, and those who are hoping beyond hope that they won't,” Johnson explained.  Sen. Ron Johnson: "The split in the Senate in terms of a filibuster, is those of us who believe the Democrats ...

By Teri Christoph President Trump came out swinging against the "new regime" in Iran Monday morning, threatening in a Truth Social  post  to escalate military operations there if a deal isn't reached and the Strait of Hormuz isn't immediately reopened.  The president indicated in his post that the U.S. has been in "serious discussions" with "A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME" to end the military operation. It's still unclear who, exactly, is part of this new regime and if it includes the presumed new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Somewhat more clear is what the U.S. intends to do if a deal isn't reached "shortly" and the strait isn't – to use Trump's own words – “Open for Business” immediately: complete obliteration of Iran's infrastructure. Per the president: [W]e will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and ...

By David Manney F-16 fighter jets scrambled over Palm Beach after a civilian aircraft entered restricted airspace near President Donald Trump and Air Force One. The incident happened while the president's aircraft sat on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport. Military pilots moved quickly, intercepted the plane,  and deployed flares to get the pilot's attention and force a change in course . Authorities imposed a ground stop at the airport as they rushed to confront the civilian aircraft.  The White House said that the security scare took place after authorities lost communication with a general aviation plane. “The civilian aircraft violated the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) at approximately 1:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The aircraft was safely escorted out of the area by NORAD aircraft,” the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service explained in a statement shared by the North American Aerospace Defense Command—which controls the airspace over the ...

By Jennifer Van Laar A Palm Beach County election volunteer was arrested Saturday night after allegedly stealing an encrypted access key from a voter registration terminal during a training session on March 19, in the lead-up to the March 24 special election. Photos from the session captured John Panicci, 59, in the act, according to a news release from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, but the theft wasn't reported until March 27, three days after the election. According to the  Palm Beach Post : Detectives obtained a warrant to search his home and recovered the key as well as a large number of electronic and digital-storage devices, according to the sheriff's news release. They took him into custody late on Saturday, March 28. Panicci faces charges of property crimes and theft charges related to the destruction, taking or damaging of computer equipment. The Florida Statutes list penalties ranging from five to 30 years in prison if convicted. County Judge Frank C...

By Jennifer Oliver O'Connell As only TV personality and host Mike Rowe can, he embodied what makes America great. The American Dream is not just about a certain achievement like buying a home or being promoted to a particular vocation: It's about the opportunity to dream big and aspire to higher things — or just different ones. Of course, Rowe's incredibly insightful commentary, which he posted to X on Sunday, was born from unfunny comedian Jimmy Kimmel's joke that maligned the fact that a plumber — that would be former plumber, former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, and current Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin — is now heading the agency in charge of combating terrorism. If you haven’t heard, and even if you have, Jimmy Kimmel said this about Markwayne Mullin, former Senator from Oklahoma, and our newest Secretary of Homeland Security: “We have a plumber now protecting us from terrorism.” Apparently, there has been some backlash. Plumbe...

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 Jennifer Van Laar What a mess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune spent all week allegedly working to get the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) open again and pass the SAVE America Act, but after days of increasingly tough talk he cut a middle-of-the-night deal with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to fund most of DHS, but not parts of ICE or part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), passed it by voice vote, then high-tailed it out of town to start a two-week recess. That might have been okay if Thune had bothered to coordinate with House Speaker Mike Johnson to be sure that whatever was passed in the Senate would work for House Republicans, or with the White House. But he didn't, and now we've got a procedural mess on our hands with competing funding bills and vacationing legislators - not to mention the schism in GOP leadership Thune's actions put into the spotlight. Perhaps Thune thought that since House Democrats would vote for the Senate measure (which...

US Rep. Eric Swalwell poses with Christine Fang, a Chinese spy with links to Swalwell dating back to at least 2014. (Daily Mail) By Zach LaChance FBI Director Kash Patel has moved to release decade-old files on Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) over his ties to an alleged Chinese spy, according to multiple reports. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Patel ordered agents in the FBI’s San Francisco office to redact the files before they are eventually released and shared with Trump administration officials. The files focus on Swalwell’s ties with a Chinese national named Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang. According to an Axios investigation, Fang participated in fundraising for Swalwell in his 2014 reelection campaign for the House and also placed at least one intern in his Washington, D.C., office. Swalwell was one of many politicians, particularly in the Bay Area, whom Fang interacted with. Federal investigators alerted Swalwell about concerns they had about Fang in 2...

By Matt Margolis When the liberal media isn’t buying the Democrats’ talking points, you know they’re in trouble. On Sunday’s edition of  This Week , host Jonathan Karl walked Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) through the reality of the Democrats blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and things got a little testy when Van Hollen was confronted with some uncomfortable truths. “I guess what's confusing here is you have fought and blocked the funding for the Department of Homeland Security because you object, as you just outlined, to what ICE has been doing, and you wanted to force changes,” Karl said. “And yet, the only thing that has been assured throughout all of this is that ICE already has the money. Because, as you said, $75 billion passed in the budget bill last year.” This isn’t new information; we’ve known for months now that ICE is funded through 2029, which made this standoff completely pointless, not to mention dangerous and reckless. Karl pressed the po...