Tex's Place

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) heads to the Senate Chamber for a vote on Thursday, December 12, 2024. By Zach Schonfeld Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee condemned the Supreme Court for an “ethical crisis of its own making” in a new report released Saturday.  The report  follows Democrats’  20-month investigation into the court’s ethics , spurred by ProPublica reports last year detailing how Justice  Clarence Thomas  accepted various luxury gifts and trips from a billionaire while on the court.  In particular, the majority staff report critiques Thomas, Justice  Samuel Alito  and the late Justice Antonin Scalia, all prominent conservative justices, claiming they violated their legal obligations by not disclosing gifts or failing to recuse from certain cases. “Any claim that the Court can adequately police itself is belied by the fact that the Court has not taken meaningful action to address ethical misconduct, and no justice has faced cons...

By Brian C. Joondeph M.D. President Joe Biden is often unaware of his surroundings or behavior, but he surely knows that Christmas is almost here. Playing Santa Claus, he is handing out gifts — pardons to existing and as-yet-unprosecuted criminals and members of Congress and special gifts to those succeeding him in the White House, particularly President-elect Donald Trump. Concerning Biden’s cognition, we are now learning that the White House was fully aware of his mental decline since before he took office and concealed this information from the public, as  reported  by the Wall Street Journal. Has Trump been naughty or nice? Will he receive a glittery Christmas present like a robust economy, world peace, or a secure border? Or will a nuclear war, drone attack, or pandemic be in his Christmas stocking?   The author enjoyed falafel in Aleppo earlier this year in front of one of the many former posters of deposed President Bashar al-Assad that once covered the Syrian ...

By Susie Moore There were hints that it was coming, but in a stunning move early Monday morning, President Joe Biden  commuted  the sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row. There has been a moratorium on carrying out federal executions since 2021, and Biden's move is seen as an attempt to prevent the incoming Trump administration from carrying out the executions.  President Biden  is commuting the sentences of nearly all the inmates on federal death row, a move that comes not even two weeks after he went through with the "largest single-day grant of clemency" in American history, the White House announced Monday. Of the 40 inmates on federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, Biden is commuting 37 men sentenced to death, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. Who were the three men not on the receiving end of this sweeping clemency? The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, who is responsible ...

Good morning troops!     Welcome to another day in paradise, and another installment of REVEILLE!     This is your daily forum to share what you've heard, what you've learned, and what you know, and just shoot the breeze.     All subjects are on the table, just be sure to stay within the comment policy, as usual.      This is also a great place to tag me, Goofy, or Trackman if you have articles you'd like to have published. Of course that's not restricted to this page, and you can still contact us any way you prefer.   Have a wonderful day my friends.   -Tex

By Bonchie Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) is still bitter about how his ex-party treated him, and he's wearing that animosity on his sleeve. In an  interview  that aired Sunday, the soon-to-be ex-senator sat down with CNN and set the Democratic Party on fire, calling it "toxic." Manchin also took a clear shot at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and what is left of "the squad." “The D-brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of, it’s just, it’s toxic,” Manchin told CNN’s Manu Raju in an interview airing Sunday, citing the shift as the reason why he left the party.     Adding that he no longer considers himself a Democrat “in the form of what Democratic Party has turned itself into,” Manchin — who has long been a pivotal swing vote in the Senate — said the party’s brand has become about telling people what they can and can’t do, blaming progressives for the change.     “They have basically expanded upon thinking, ‘Well, we want to protect you there, bu...

Joe Biden and Jill Biden thank the crowd at the conclusion of the 2016 Democratic National Convention. By John Opdycke Rahm Emanuel — whom David Axelrod is pushing to become the new chair of the Democratic National Committee — believes he knows what’s wrong with the Democratic Party and how to fix it. In a recent interview with Ezra Klein, Emanuel lamented that Democrats “use language to feel good about ourselves, not to communicate. We all think we’re applying to be adjunct professors at a small liberal arts college. We don’t listen to people. We tell them how to eat their peas.” Many Democrats have commented on this elitism. But Emanuel went further when Klein asked, “If you were advising a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair working on candidate recruitment, who are you looking for?” “I think independence is a streak that I’m going to look for,” said Emanuel. “Give me somebody that ran against the grain, said publicly what people are thinking … so their in...

By Jim Hoft Tom MacDonald, the Canadian-born rapper known for his fearless critique of modern culture, has done it again with his latest track, a remix of the holiday classic  Let It Snow . Independent artist MacDonald, who hails from Alberta and British Columbia, has built a career on confronting contentious social issues through his music. His previous tracks, such as “Fake Woke” and “Snowflakes,” have garnered millions of views on YouTube and have charted on the Billboard Hot 100 His latest release,  Let It Snow (Screw The Woke) Remix , a scathing critique of modern “woke” culture, takes aim at everything from identity politics to liberal leadership, with particular barbs reserved for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and mainstream media elites. The video has already amassed 3.1 million views on X. LYRICS: [Verse 1] Well, the tide is finally turning and Kamala’s speech is slurring Thank God we’re saying bye to Joe [Chorus] Screw the woke, screw the woke, screw the woke [Verse ...

Got resume? House Speaker Mike Johnson's tenure looks shakier than ever with the passage of the slimmed-down continuing budget resulotuon last week. By David Marcus Donald Trump will not be president of the United States for another month, at least not literally. Yet, his recent victory in the battle of the budget shows that, for all intents and purposes, he is already the nation’s leader, and not a moment too soon. In the space of just a few days, Trump’s pressure on the Congress, including siccing his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) attack dogs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on reckless spending, turned a 1,500 page monstrosity of a bill into a slim 120-page banger of basic necessities, including disaster relief and help for farmers. Prior to the intervention by Trump, it looked for all the world like House Speaker Mike Johnson would stuff the Democrats’ stockings with pork and goodies to ensure that a shutdown did not mar next month’s inauguration. Johnson bel...

By Brittant Sheehan In a series of Saturday posts on TruthSocial, President-elect Donald Trump stated that if moral and legal principles are not followed, the Panama Canal should be "returned to us, in full, and without question."  The construction of the Panama Canal was a monumental achievement for the US in the early 20th century, requiring vast resources and the labor of American workers, many of whom lost their lives. The canal drastically shortened shipping routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, boosting American trade and strengthening naval power. Its historical importance is immense, as it played a key role in establishing the U.S. as a global power. Trump emphasized that the canal is a vital national asset to the United States for both its economy and national security, writing: The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security. A secure Panama Canal is crucia...

By Ward Clark Alaska's relationship with the United States Department of Education has been on shaky ground lately - and in this, Alaska has plenty of company. This has a couple of parts; first, the Department of Education singled out Alaska for the way the state distributed COVID-19 education relief funds. Must Read Alaska (MRAK) has the story. Not enough "equity," you see. When Covid relief funds were distributed to states in 2021, Alaska officials directed those funds to districts according to the state’s lawful formula. Earlier this year, Alaska Department of Education Commissioner Deena Bishop was sent a stern letter from the U.S. Department of Education, accusing it of not distributing the funds according to the fed’s “equity” test. The federal department said it would withhold $17.4 million from the state and put it on a “high-risk grantee” list unless the state distributed the funds according to the federal equity formula that has been enacted during the Biden...

By Tyler Durden Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times  (emphasis ours), A third blood pressure medication was recalled across the United States in the past several weeks , according to a notice updated on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website on Dec. 16. The  notice said  that  New Jersey-based Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. is recalling Nebivolol tablets  in 2.5 milligram doses in 30-count bottles, which are only available by prescription. Nebivolol, a type of beta blocker, is used to treat high blood pressure. The reason for the recall is because of the “ presence of nitrosamine drug substance related impurity, ” adding that discovered N-nitroso nebivolol levels are above the “acceptable intake limit,” it said. N-nitroso nebivolol is a nitrosamine and is considered mutagenic. It was first initiated by Aurobindo earlier this month.  The FDA classified the recall as Class II on Dec. 16, which occurs when there is a low chance of injur...