James Talarico’s 12-Day Campaign Absence Deserves Scrutiny in Texas

"The Texas Democrat says he was sidelined by the flu, but this does not explain why the candidate had not been seen since Sep. 26."

The American Spectator | USA News and Politics  

"If he continues the farce, his purported lead in the polls is likely to evaporate. Texas voters have patiently watched Talarico change virtually all of his positions on the issues. This final lie could well be fatal."

Texas Tribune

"Most political campaigns produce October surprises but James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Texas, deserves the prize for the weirdest stunt in the current midterm cycle. He vanished from the campaign trail after a September 26 event and no voter from the Lone Star State saw him in-person again until October 9, when he suddenly showed up for 15 minutes at the Austin City Limits concert. The only contact any Texan had with Talarico during the preceding 12 days was a September 30 Zoom meeting with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council in the Rio Grande Valley. He was scheduled to speak in-person, but he begged off due to illness.

"According to an NBC report, Talarico had been diagnosed with the flu. At age 37, this should have laid him up for 3 or 4 days maximum, but he continued to remain in seclusion far longer. He canceled an October 5 event with the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium. Unless he was at death’s door, this was stupid. Fox News reports, “Democratic strategists are worried that Senate hopeful James Talarico’s chances of flipping Texas blue are being jeopardized by what they see as a major vulnerability: a lack of enthusiasm on the part of Texas Black voters.” This is exacerbated by the refusal of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) to campaign for him. The Austin Independent quotes her explanation for not doing so.

The best thing that I can do for James Talarico isn’t me standing on a stage with him. It is the fact that I endorsed five candidates in the runoff who all happen to be Black men in the state of Texas and every single one of them won and they’re going on to November, meaning that they will pull out more Black people to vote. People keep trying to say, ‘Well, Jasmine has to go and hold his hand.’ Nah, I don’t … And, honestly some people are just not gonna be sold on certain people that are running in the state of Texas. So the best thing I can do is take down ballot candidates.

More. 

CNN anchor looks tearful over Omar raid... but new info reveals how SERIOUS this really is

 Revolver News   

"And here’sTom Homan discussing the raid on Fox News. One can’t help but wonder… is this the end of the line for Ilhan Omar’s political career in the US?" 

Editorial Cartoons That Bite

"Nothing will make CNN more weepy and sad than a Dem radical being held accountable. And one of their favorite radicals is now sitting in a caldron of very hot water.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s DC house was the subject of a pre-dawn raid on Monday morning, and reports indicate it has to do with a fraud investigation, possibly tied to her immigration status.

Fox News:

BREAKING: Federal agents raid Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., home early Monday morning as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

Homeland Security Investigations agents arrived around 6 a.m., with both DHS and the Justice Department involved in the operation.

The DOJ confirms agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant, but officials have not publicly disclosed the full scope of the investigation.

 https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1969121931547844884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1969121931547844884%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=  

Full article with video.

NEW – IT’S CONFIRMED: Ilhan Omar MARRIED HER BROTHER, per marital records obtained by @scrowder

Christian moms: Why are you posting pics of your daughters in slutty homecoming dresses?

Revolver News

"Because sometimes being a good mom means being the unpopular person in the dressing room."

"Apparently, homecoming dresses have become a competition to see how little fabric you can get away with wearing to a high school dance.

"And some of these dresses are pretty ridiculous.

"We’re talking about teenage girls wearing skin-tight, barely-there dresses that look more appropriate for a wild nightclub than a school gymnasium. And what’s even stranger is that some of their mothers are proudly posting these pictures online for the whole world to see.

"Now, apparently, the explanation for these increasingly tiny dresses is that homecoming is supposed to be less formal than prom.

"When did “less formal” start meaning “less clothing”?

"We decided to go online and type in “homecoming dresses” and see what popped up. "Spoiler alert: it’s giving “women of the night” a look." . . . More.

I witnessed my first twerk at a high school prom a few years ago in California. TD

https://x.com/RelatablewABS/status/2110542103205875982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2110542103205875982%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=

Which would Nazi Germany have partnered with?

"Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said: “We can forgive [the Arabs] for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children." 

Could Gaza's destruction have been avoided?   

"Perhaps Israel didn’t need to level Gaza then, but it will have to destroy the Islamists that populate it, and Lebanon, sooner or later. In so doing, they’ll do Western Civilization a great service, and we’ll owe them an enormous debt." 

Michael Ramirez

"Historian and classicist Victor Davis Hanson is among America’s treasures. In a recent article, he suggests that after the 10-07-23 Hamas slaughter of 1200 innocents and the taking of 251 hostages in Israel, the destruction of Gaza could have been avoided if Hamas had released the hostages and turned over those who planned and carried out the massacre.

"He notes that more than 2000 “civilians”, if there is any such thing in Gaza, accompanied Hamas terrorists, killing, torturing, raping and looting, and innumerable “civilians” beat and spat on dead and wounded Jews and hostages.

Second, Hamas didn’t just refuse to stand down and hand over the hostages and culpable terrorists to the Israelis. Far from seeking peace, Hamas and Hezbollah spent the 20 days between the slaughter of October 7 and the Israeli ground forces’ entry into Gaza launching thousands of missiles, rockets, and drones at civilians in Israel (barrages that would exceed, within a year, 25,000 launches).

Third, the death toll in Gaza would have been far lower had the killers of October 7 helped their own civilians keep clear of combat zones. Far fewer Gazans would have died had Hamas not deliberately situated its tunnel exits and entrances beneath private homes, hospitals, mosques, and schools." . . .

Yes, There’s A Genocide Being Waged In Gaza! - American Thinker   "After the brutal assault by Hamas on October 7, 2023, there was an immediate worldwide reaction...not against the psychopaths who:

Ø murdered 1,200 Israelis in cold blood — the equivalent vis-à-vis population of 40,000 Americans,

Ø wrested infants from their mothers’ arms and put them in ovens to bake to death,

Ø raped women so savagely that they shattered their pelvic bones,

Ø lit fires so deadly that they incinerated entire families in their homes,

Ø captured 240 hostages and incarcerated them in their underground torture-the-Jews tunnels for over two years,
Ø and on and on and on...

...but against Israel!

"Who can forget the recorded voice of the deliriously thrilled terrorist who bragged to his mother over the phone, “Mom, I killed ten Jews!”  Or the mothers of these mass murderers who were videotaped gleefully passing out candies at the news of Jewish deaths?". . . 

Audio Reveals Hamas Terrorist Bragging To Parents On Call: ‘I Killed 10 Jews’

I understand the distaste for televising the death of Hasan, the Fort Hood killer. Should we assume the keffiyeh-clad crown is equally repulsed by the Hamas Go-Pro videos of them murdering Israeli families that terrible Oct 7th?  

Make Lightbulbs Great — And Safe — Again

Issues & Insights

   . . . "Nevada U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto used the excuse that “the infrastructure needed to manufacture incandescent light bulbs has been dismantled, repurposed, and restarting that production would not make economic sense.” Umm, yes it would, senator, if consumers started demanding more Edison bulbs. That’s how the market works." 

ChatGPT: Expensive Light Bulbs

"The worst thing George W. Bush did while president wasn’t the war with Iraq. It was signing the “Energy Independence and Security Act,” which, among other ill effects, produced today’s ban on incandescent light bulbs. Our most fervent hope is that Republicans will correct this mistake while they still have the chance.

"Those inexpensive incandescent bulbs, invented right here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. by Thomas Edison, were deemed by our Washington masters to be too inefficient. And, because the public was told we needed to “save energy,” the law mandated efficiency standards that traditional bulbs could never meet.

"And so, despite the fact that millions of consumers prefer traditional lightbulbs for regular home use, they aren’t made anymore. Now, buying replacement bulbs has transmogrified from a simple process of deciding what wattage you needed to an overly complicated exercise in deciding which of an array of different types of lighting devices – all wildly more expensive than the old Edison bulbs – will suit your lighting needs.

"Buyers today have to consider things such as lumens, the color “temperature” measured in Kelvin (the higher the Kelvin value, the harsher the light), whether the bulb will work with a dimmer switch (you also have to make sure your dimmer switch will work with the bulb), and something called CRI, which measures how accurately a light source displays colors compared to natural light. (You’re advised to look for bulbs with a CRI of 80 or higher.)

"Everyone following this?

"But fear not, we are told, those complicated, pricey LED bulbs last far longer and use much less electricity than those bad old Edison-style bulbs, more than paying for themselves over their lifetimes. Except they often fail long before their promised expiration date because, unlike incandescents, LEDs require a circuit board with parts that can easily, and often do, fail before the diodes die. So any claim of lifetime savings from these bulbs can’t be trusted.

"Worse still, it appears that this massive uncontrolled government experiment in a heretofore unknown lighting source could be having severe health effects on the population.

"Here’s how Newsmax reported it recently:" . . .   More.

"I Come From Your Future": A Frenchman Begs Americans Not to Vote Democrat

2026 Doug Ross

"Brivael Le Pogam is a French entrepreneur and co-founder of the AI video startup Argil. He posted a blunt warning on X aimed at Americans thinking about voting Democrat in the 2026 midterms. France isn’t a theory. It’s a preview."

"The message came in from Europe. No drama. No shouting. Just a Frenchman named Brivael Le Pogam, a self-taught tech founder who built an AI company and came up through Silicon Valley. He posted a warning on X, and it went viral. Here is an illustrated version for New York Times readers, courtesy summer intern Biff Spackle."

"Le Pogam’s sharpest point is that France didn’t fall off a cliff. It walked down a staircase, one polite step at a time. Free healthcare, free college, free welfare, empowered unions, heavy regulations, and high taxes on the rich all sounded fine - taken separately. Stacked over 50 years, they pushed public spending to 57.3% of France’s economic output in 2025."

"This is where the dream meets the invoice. Public debt is projected to hit 120% of GDP by 2027, behind only Greece and Italy in the EU. The money hasn’t bought results. Hospitals are collapsing despite record funding. Young graduates can’t afford apartments in cities they grew up in. France’s best thinkers are leaving for London, Zurich and SF." . . .

. . . "In a second post on X, Le Pogam answered the Americans who told him “Democrats aren’t socialists.” He didn’t argue labels. Just price tags. Over the last 25 years, TVs, phones, software, clothes, toys all got cheaper - because those things live in capitalist markets. College, healthcare, childcare and housing exploded - because the federal government is involved The government-run parts of the economy always fail." . . .Much more...

 

Apple News Offers Midterms Guide Filled With Leftist Sources

 "Apple has a history of promoting left-wing news sources while almost completely ignoring right-leaning ones." Apple does Apple.

The Federalist  

“'Apple has no shortage of conservative journalism to choose from. Apple is choosing to exclude conservative voices and deny its audience anything resembling a balanced news diet,” Media Research Center President David Bozell said in a statement." 

"I Phone users across the country were urged to vote after consulting left-wing media sites on Tuesday.

"Apple News’ sent an alert to users that read “This personalized guide has all the information you need.” Clicking the alert then takes user to a page with a “How to vote” tab offering a “personalized guide to casting your ballot.” Users can enter their zip code to find coverage of the elections happening in their area.

"Visiting Fellow at the Heritage Foundation Robby Starbuck pointed out that much of the news provided “felt heavily biased in favor of Democrats.”

"For several zip codes in battleground areas, the featured coverage highlights Democrat candidates’ accomplishments and opportunities to make history. Meanwhile, Republican candidates are often framed around their association to President Donald Trump and proposed election safeguards are framed as needless.

"Apple did not respond by time of publication to questions from The Federalist, such as how it selected its sources for the coverage or whether it uses third-party rating services such as NewsGuard. Notably, Apple has been called out before by media watchdogs as well as the Federal Trade Commission for its preferential promotion of left-leaning media sources.

"Consider the coverage featured for voters living in Portland, Maine’s 04101 zip code. The Maine Monitor’s article entitled “2026 Maine General Election Voter Guide,” introduces voters to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Hannah Pingree as “the youngest woman in the country to serve as state house speaker.”

"The article then highlights Pingree’s legislative accomplishments and frames Pingree as the candidate who, “If elected governor, she [said that she] would work to protect Maine from ‘the overreaches of the Trump administration’ and work to make housing and health care more affordable.”

"Republican nominee Bobby Charles got a different introduction.

“'Charles’ career was primarily spent in Washington, D.C.” The guide then notes he founded a consulting firm.

"For the state’s highly watched Senate race, Democrat Troy Jackson is introduced to voters by highlighting his 20 years in the state legislature." . . . More.   

"Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics.

Not Today, Dude: Washington Girls Walk Off Rather Than Race Male Teammate

 Not Today, Dude: Washington Girls Walk Off Rather Than Race Male Teammate – RedState

"About a dozen female cross-country runners at Camas High School in Washington state sent a pretty bold and unmistakable message Tuesday when they walked off the course rather than compete against a biological male who had started the season competing on the school's boys' team.

"Video from the October 13 meet against Battle Ground High School shows how simple, yet, powerful, their protest was – they simply walked off the course when the starting gun sounded. While other runners began the race, the girls headed toward a nearby line of trees, reportedly joined by one girl from Battle Ground.

"And it's the optics that really tell the story here: the unnamed male athlete towers above the girls as they line up for the race. He apparently moved to the girls team about a month ago and has been placing in every competition since making that move, essentially stealing those victories from a female athlete.

"What's worse is that he's stealing from his own teammates. It's one thing to have to face competition from another school who allowed a male to compete as a girl, but imagine how these female athletes feel about someone from their own team and school – someone they may have even grown up with – barging into their space and helping himself to their opportunity?" . . .  More.

Irene BritUSA also has much to say about this.

Mike Johnson Gets It Backward: Weakness Is The Best ‘Recruitment Tool For Terrorists’

  Issues & Insights  

"The truth is that the best recruiting tool for Islamic terrorists is signaling weakness on the part of the West. Full stop. Johnson should know better."

"In the 25 years since Islamic terrorists killed 2,977 innocent people on 9/11, the left has claimed that any national security policy it doesn’t like will only “recruit more terrorists.” So it’s especially disappointing to see House Speaker Mike Johnson adopt this shopworn and terribly misguided rhetoric.

"When asked by CBS News about War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s proposal to livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood mass killer Nidal Hasan, Johnson said this week that “The concern would be that you would create a video that would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists.”

"We are not here to argue about the merits or demerits of a public execution of a convicted mass murderer. But, by using this as an argument against livestreaming it, Johnson managed to add his voice to a chorus of Democrats who’ve made that exact same claim anytime they disagreed with the country’s anti-terrorism policies.

"Barack Obama, for example, famously claimed that “instead of serving as a tool to counter terrorism, Guantanamo became a symbol that helped al Qaeda recruit terrorists to its cause. Indeed, the existence of Guantanamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained.” On his second day in office, Obama signed an executive order to close the detention center “as soon as practicable.”

"Obama signed another order banning the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques, saying they “serve as a recruitment tool for terrorists and they increase the will of our enemies to fight us, while decreasing the will of others to work with America.”

"During the 2016 presidential campaign, Democrats said that Donald Trump’s “fiery rhetoric is now a recruiting tool for terrorists.”

"When Trump tried to put roadblocks in front of refugees entering the country from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, “experts” said it will “certainly be used as a recruiting tool by terrorist groups, who will claim these measures prove that the United States is hostile to Islam.”

"Hillary Clinton claimed during the 2016 campaign (based on no evidence) that ISIS was “showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists.” . . .

Legal expert Jonathan Turley says Ilhan Omar could be in line for denaturalization: 'Immigration laws are very clear'

 The Western Journal   

"He then explained why age matters.“By saying that she was 17, she did not have to file for her own citizenship,” Turley said."

"Legal expert Jonathan Turley said that laws surrounding immigration fraud mean that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota could lose her citizenship if she's found to have committed fraud.

"Homeland Security Investigations raided Omar’s Washington-area home onMonday.  The raid was part of what Fox News called a “criminal fraud investigation into the Somali-born congresswoman's immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child.”

"A Department of Justice statement added little other than saying the raid was “part of an ongoing federal investigation,” which is "criminal" in nature.

“'This investigation began under the Biden administration,” Turley noted in a video posted to X, saying that there have long been questions surrounding Omar’s history." . . .More.

Regarding Ilhan Omar: A message to the dumbocrat socialists of America - Eric Utter   "Stop whining, charlatans. President Trump is not raiding Ilhan Omar's residence.

"There was a signed warrant from a judge, consistent with an ongoing investigation, in this case a legitimate one, into various aspects of alleged fraud.

"But for far-left Democrat punks' information, the Democrats actually did raid President Trump's home, on trumped up charges. And, apparently, rifled through Melania's lingerie drawer. I doubt these HSI folks rifled through Ilhan's lingerie drawer -- and if they did -- I hope they were wearing hazmat suits.

"Moreover, President Trump did not come to this country illegally, under false pretenses." . . .

Pirro Confirms Her Office is Investigating Omar’s Financial Disclosures   

. . . "In September, the Office of Congressional Conduct voted 5-1 to dismiss allegations against Omar concerning financial disclosures “that briefly made her look like a multimillionaire.”

The Biden administration began that investigation. It had nothing to do with President Donald Trump.

Democrats cheered Mar-a-Lago raid in 2022, but now call search of Omar's home 'weaponization' | Just The News   . . . "When the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 as part of a Justice Department investigation into allegations that then-former President Trump mishandled classified documents, Democrats were singing the opposite tune." . . .  

CNN: What we know about the fatal roller coaster incident at Six Flags Over Georgia

 CNN  "As investigators work to determine how a man fell to his death during a roller coaster ride Monday at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities have identified the victim as a beloved educator, prompting an outpouring of grief across the Atlanta community and school system.

Cobb County Police on Tuesday identified the victim as Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old man who worked at an Atlanta public charter school as its IT manager, technology teacher and robotics coach.

While few details have been released, witnesses say he fell from a hypercoaster called Goliath, a 210-second ride that reaches 70 mph and a height of 200 feet, according to the Six Flags website.

In the wake of his death, at least 10 similar rides across six parks in the US and Canada have temporarily closed as investigators work to establish what happened.

Here’s what we know:  How the accident unfolded

"Preliminary information gathered at the scene from witnesses and employees indicated Kariem had been ejected from the ride, the Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit said. He struck other riders before falling beneath the roller coaster, where he was found “unresponsive and not breathing” at around 4 p.m., police said in a statement." . . . More.

The Six Flags Coaster That Ejected a Rider

"The lap bar type is called a clamshell. It is proven to be enough to prevent accidents. There is no coaster at a quality park today that does not have sensors connected to the control panel. The other coasters must have something similar. There is no normal way to send a train if the sensor shows open. It is possible for maintenance people to override the sensors. This requires at least one key and sometimes the input of a code on the control panel. A failure like this requires a failure that covers both ride mechanics and operator training. I've worked as a ride operator on a wild mouse coaster. According to this video, one of the crew saw what seemed to them an out of position lap bar but didn't hit the E-stop. Our training is quite exact. Anyone on the crew who sees something out of the ordinary, no matter if you're at ops, loading or handling the line, has the right to stop that ride."

What Might Have Saved Gaza?

"Hamas could have spared Gaza’s devastation by choosing peace over terrorism. The conflict has exposed international double standards toward Israel and fueled a resurgence of antisemitism".

Victor Davis Hanson  

"In 2026, these two pernicious forces have united in the new Democratic Party: the antisemitic socialism of the Western Left has now merged with the anti-Israeli Islamism of the growing Muslim and Arab population within the West."

""After October 7, 2023: Could the destruction of Gaza after October 7 have been avoided? The answer is yes—had Hamas so wished.

"First, if the Hamas leadership had simply complied with Israeli demands to (a) return the 251 hostages and (b) surrender the architects and perpetrators of the massacre of some 1,200 Israelis, the Israelis would not have had to fight Hamas in the streets and tunnels of Gaza.

"Note how critics of Israel consistently fail to offer any viable alternative to the Israeli ground effort to destroy the Hamas mass murderers.

"Nor do Israel’s enemies ever bother to explain why Hamas did not return its hostages and give up the perpetrators of October 7. Why did nobody expect the International Criminal Court or the UN to have the slightest effect when they ineffectually interceded to demand the return of the hostages and issued arrest warrants for the “war criminals” of Hamas?

"The answer, of course, is that there was no more likelihood of them getting Hamas to cooperate than there was of the defunct League of Nations convincing Hitler to stop the killing of Jews or the UN persuading Pol Pot to stop murdering Cambodians. And it is likely that many anti-Israeli UN members silently approved of the murders.

"Moreover, there is no evidence that most Gazans objected to the terrorism. Indeed, large numbers joined in when possible. More than 2,000 civilians tagged along in hopes of killing, raping, torturing, and looting with impunity. And when corpses and hostages appeared in the trucks of the returning Hamas murderers, the killers had to protect their prizes from their own even more bloodthirsty people back home, who sought to beat and spit on already dead and wounded Jews. Imagine: the killers had to protect their hostages from an even more bloodthirsty “civilian” mob.

"Second, Hamas didn’t just refuse to stand down and hand over the hostages and culpable terrorists to the Israelis. Far from seeking peace, Hamas and Hezbollah spent the 20 days between the slaughter of October 7 and the Israeli ground forces’ entry into Gaza launching thousands of missiles, rockets, and drones at civilians in Israel (barrages that would exceed, within a year, 25,000 launches).

"Third, the death toll in Gaza would have been far lower had the killers of October 7 helped their own civilians keep clear of combat zones. Far fewer Gazans would have died had Hamas not deliberately situated its tunnel exits and entrances beneath private homes, hospitals, mosques, and schools." . . . Mmore.