Screaming Democratic Rep. Gives Unhinged Defense of Joe Biden During Impeachment Inquiry

 By Jeff Charles | RedState.com

CSPAN3

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) went wild during the opening day of the impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. During the proceedings, House Republicans laid out the case for the inquiry and had a series of witnesses to testify about why the investigation is necessary.

But Crockett, like her not-so-esteemed Democratic colleagues, took issue with the idea that the president should be investigated for his alleged involvement with his son’s shady foreign business dealings. When it was her turn to speak, she ardently defended the president, claiming that he is only guilty of “loving his child unconditionally” and suggested that House Republicans stop the inquiry to focus on other things.

But I will tell you what the President has been guilty of. He has unfortunately been guilty of loving his child unconditionally, and that is the only evidence that they have brought forward. Honestly, I hope and pray that my parents love me half as much as he loves his child. Until they find some evidence, we need to get back to the people's work, which means keeping this government open so that people don't go hungry in the streets of the United States. I will yield.

 Democrats and their close friends and allies in the elite media have been claiming that there is absolutely no evidence to warrant an inquiry. Indeed, they have even resorted to distributing an edited video clip of legal analyst Jonathan Turley to prove their point.

However, despite their protestations, Republicans have pointed out that there is ample reason to at least look into the allegations about the president. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) repudiated Democratic arguments about the supposed lack of evidence during the proceedings. He addressed Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant:

Mr. Dubinski, I want to come to you quickly. A lot of talk about evidence. On the screens in the room, we have an organizational chart from the IRS investigative team that was looking into the business practices of Hunter Biden and his associates. This org chart is from 2014. Now, Mr. Dubinski, in my former life, I was in community banking, and I'm comfortable with looking at organizational charts. When I first saw this chart, the first thing I thought about was a real estate holding company or a developer, and this is not to demean developers in... America, but developers typically have multiple companies that float with various business interests and business lines. But the funny thing is that in the business dealings of Hunter Biden, there is no real estate. None at all. So Mr. Dubinsky, in your professional experience looking at this organizational chart of business structure, what do you see here?

 Dubinsky indicated that when looking at the chart, he saw some details that would look like red flags to an investigator.

Donalds also brought up a WhatsApp message exchange between Hunter and his uncle Jim Biden, noting that his uncle had been brought into the business “purely for the purpose of protecting Dad.” The lawmaker also highlighted messages in which Hunter complained about having to give his father half of his salary.

Despite Crockett’s unhinged comments during the proceedings, there is enough “there” there to warrant an investigation. Perhaps her spirited defense of the president is motivated more by politics than a desire to learn the truth?

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO.

Don't Look Now, but a Rebellious NYC Borough Is Winning the Fight Against Biden's Illegal Hordes

BY ATHENA THORNE | P J MEDIA

AP Photo/John Minchillo

Everyone knows the Biden administration’s suicidal immigration policy — which basically boils down to “let ‘er rip” — is unsustainable and is destroying the country. But with its iron-fisted enforcement of far-left speech and social codes, Big Left has so far kept the lid on the simmering resentment.

Even in the Big Blue Apple, Mayor Eric Adams is all-in on facilitating the transplantation of the entire Third World into his city. His greatest act of resistance has been to whine about how the federal government needs to send him more taxpayer money to supplement the $12 billion (!) of New Yorkers’ taxpayer dollars he’s spending on the aliens.

But the situation has become highly unstable — in New York and across the country — and sooner or later, genuine resistance will erupt on a large scale. One borough in dark-blue New York City, Staten Island, has been speaking up loud and clear. And on Tuesday, the resistance scored a resounding court victory.

The battle flared up over the summer when Adams decided he would move hundreds of Biden’s asylum-scammer army into a shuttered Catholic school — which he had previously promised the city would reopen as a new school — in the low-density, residential Arrochar neighborhood. But Staten Island is perhaps the reddest of NYC’s blue boroughs, and the residents rose up against the plan.

Large protests filled the streets around the shelter day after day, and the pressure intensified. “Ten people were arrested and one police officer was slightly injured during a protest in Staten Island… against the arrival of a bus full of migrants at a local shelter,” reported PJ Media’s Rick Moran a week ago.

Staten Island’s Nicole Malliotakis, a rare Republican U.S. rep from NYC, described the outrage her constituents were feeling: “We have [legal] immigrants from all over the world in my district, and the immigrant communities are the ones who are most upset. Why? Because they sacrificed greatly. They followed the rules. They waited their turn. They did everything right, and now they see a group of people coming into the community, taking taxpayer resources away,” she fumed on Fox5 NY’s “Good Day New York” Wednesday morning. “This was a school that was supposed to have 1,000 seats [for] our overcrowded system, and it’s been taken away from the community. Our national parks now are being taken away from our community. I had an assisted living facility where… a 95-year-old veteran this week, who, he and seniors were removed from that facility. And then the organization, Homes for the Homeless, that ran it turned around and cut a deal with the mayor to turn it into a migrant shelter.”

Adams’s suicidal migrants-first policy is the result of his absurd interpretation of New York state’s “right to shelter” policy. Most people understand that the policy, which arose from a 1981 court ruling, was intended to assist actual New Yorkers who were homeless as the city simultaneously struggled with the AIDS epidemic. But NYC Adams decided it actually applies to anyone from anywhere in the whole world who comes to his city and demands shelter. He also thinks it extends to cover food, transportation, clothes, schooling and social services for children, and on and on.

Malliotakis and other Staten Island Republicans sued the city, and on Tuesday, they won a massive victory. Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi ruled that the migrants must be removed from the school building.

The victory could even have fatal implications for Biden’s no-limits-on-immigration policy all across big, blue New York State:

This sort of successful rebellion is extremely dangerous to the globalist forces who are trying to bury America beneath an army of intruders. If other locales get wind of it, they’re going to start doing the same thing. After all, NYC isn’t the only place where residents are sick of being treated like a welcome mat for illegal aliens to wipe their feet on.

The win is also incredibly dangerous because it gives a huge morale boost to Americans everywhere who are sick of their government facilitating an invasion — and there’s a big election on the horizon.

VA Dem Candidate Who Made Porn Videos for 'Tips' Gets Bad News, Shows Glenn Youngkin Doesn't Miss

By Bonchie | RedState.dom

Townhall Media

Susanna Gibson, a Democrat, was once seen as a possible favorite in her race to win Virginia's 57th district. Now, she might be lucky to come within 10 points. 

For those unacquainted, Gibson was embroiled in a scandal recently after it was revealed that she conducted online porn shows for money. Some of her videos included forcing unwitting hotel staff to appear in them. 

When the news broke, Democrats immediately circled the wagons. Top Virginia Democrat Louise Lucas responded by accusing Glenn Youngkin of "leaking" the videos. Of course, that's ridiculous given that Gibson uploaded the videos herself. Accusations of "revenge porn" were also levied, though again, those made no sense because it was Gibson who released the videos. 

To make matters worse, it was revealed that the Associated Press was offered the story and instead chose to bury it while also alerting Gibson to its existence. As they say, it's good to be a Democrat, at least as far as press interactions are concerned. 

But while Gibson may have thought should could power through, she received some very bad news on Tuesday evening. A poll has been conducted in her district, and she's trailing by a whopping 10 points. 

A Democratic candidate for the Virginia legislature who was caught performing sex acts with her husband for “tips” during online webcam shows is down more than 10 percentage points among likely voters in her district, according to a poll conducted after the scandal surfaced.

Susanna Gibson, who is running to represent the 57th district in the Old Dominion’s House of Delegates, trails Republican David Owen by 49.5% to 38.9%, a Cygnal poll exclusively obtained by The Post shows.

Let me just say this: Glenn Youngkin does not miss. I don't know if he was specifically behind the highlighting of the videos, but it certainly appears that the opposition research came from within his orbit, and it's been devastating. Virginia Republicans are trying to retake the legislature in November of 2023, and Gibson losing opens up that possibility even further. 

Yeah, Youngkin isn't bombastic, but he's calculated, and he's managed to exert his will in what was a deep blue state just a couple of years ago. He's also managed to continually keep Democrats on the defensive. 

Think about all that has transpired. Youngkin got his far-left opponents to defend child rape because it conflicted with the transgender agenda (i.e., the Loudoun County scandal that turned the 2021 election). Now, he's got those same opponents defending amateur porn. 

That's how you win elections. You constantly put the referendum on the other side because if you are explaining, you are losing. Youngkin does that with extreme efficiency, and Republicans would do well to elevate him down the road. It's not just about him being a conservative (he is). It's about him obviously knowing how to play the game. Ruthless competency in the GOP is hard to come by these days. 

BREAKING: Biden Almost Falls Down Air Force One Stairs Shortly After Report Reveals Secret Mission to Prevent Old Joe From Falling!

 By Cristina Laila | Gateway Pundit

Joe Biden on Tuesday nearly tripped as he exited Air Force One after he landed in Wayne County, Michigan.

He almost fell down the stairs shortly after a new report revealed there is a secret mission to prevent Joe Biden from falling down.

According to a new report by Axios, White House insiders are secretly working to prevent feeble Joe Biden from falling down.

Biden almost fell down the shorter staircase!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS DISTURBING VIDEO.

Via Axios:

Biden’s balance difficulties are likely the result of what his physician has diagnosed as “a combination of significant spinal arthritis” and “mild post-fracture foot arthritis.”

• Biden works out many mornings with physical therapist Drew Contreras, who also worked with former President Obama.
• Biden’s doctor has recommended exercises for balance, which he called “proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers.”
• What the maneuvers entail is unclear.
• “I have never heard the term ‘proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers.’ It is not a clinical term in standard use,” said Professor James Gordon, associate dean and chair of the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California.

Biden joined striking autoworkers in Detroit on Tuesday. He looked like a doddering old man wandering around confused.

“There Is No Place to Hide. Are You Next?” – Dinesh D’Souza Releases Trailer to “Police State” His Latest Project on America’s Political Persecution (VIDEO)

By Jim Hoft | Gateway Pundit

Filmmaker, author, and entrepreneur Dinesh D’Souza released his trailer this weekend for his latest project, “Police State.”

Theaters are calling “Police State” Dinesh’s best movie yet!

D’Souza Media LLC presents a film produced by Dinesh D’Souza, Debbie D’Souza, and Bruce Schooley. In collaboration with Dan Bongino. Research by Julie Kelly and Peter Schweizer.

Featuring Nick Searcy. Music by Bryan E. Miller. Executive Producers Dan Bongino, Paula Bongino, Brandon Gill, Danielle D’Souza Gill, Mike Vess and Rhonda Vess. Written and directed by Dinesh D’Souza, Debbie D’Souza, and Bruce Schooley.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TRAILER TO "POLICE STATE."

_____________

TWEET

Dinesh D'Souza @DineshDSouza

Watch the teaser trailer for my new film "Police State", exclusively in theaters October 23 & 25. You can get theater tickets now, and sign up for email updates at http://policestatefilm.net

Here’s How Biden Admin Destroyed Our Immigration Law

By Victor Davis Hanson | The Daily Signal

How and why did the Biden administration destroy immigration law as we knew it? Pictured: Migrants, after arriving by freight train Wednesday in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, move through the train station on their way to the U.S. border. (Photo: David Peinado/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Since early 2021 we have witnessed somewhere between 7 million and 8 million illegal entries across the now-nonexistent southern border of the U.S.

The more the border vanished, the more federal immigration law was rendered inert, and the more Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spun fantasies that the “border is secure.” He is now written off as a veritable “Baghdad Bob” propagandist.

But how and why did the Biden administration destroy immigration law as we knew it?

The Trump administration’s initial efforts to close the border had been continually obstructed in the Congress, sabotaged by the administrative state, and stymied in the courts. Nonetheless, it finally had secured the border by early 2020.

Yet almost all the Trump administration’s successful initiatives were immediately overturned in 2021.

Construction of the wall was abruptly stopped, its projected trajectory canceled. The disastrous Obama-era “catch and release” policy of immigration nonenforcement was resurrected.

Prior successful pressure on Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to stop the deliberate export of his own citizens northward ceased.

Federal Border Patrol officers were forced to stand down.

New federal subsidies were granted to entice and then support illegal arrivals.

No one in the Democratic Party objected to the destruction of the border or the subversion of immigration law.

However, things changed somewhat once swamped southern border states began to bus or fly a few thousand of their illegal immigrants northward to sanctuary city jurisdictions—especially to New York and Chicago, and even Martha’s Vineyard.

The sanctuary-city “humanists” there who had greenlighted illegal immigration into the southern states suddenly shrieked. They were irate after experiencing the concrete consequences of their own prior abstract border agendas. After all, their nihilism was always supposed to fall upon distant and ridiculed others.

New York Mayor Eric Adams went from celebrating a few dozen illegal immigrants bused into Manhattan to blasting his own party for allowing tens of thousands to swamp his now bankrupt city.

But why did the Biden administration deliberately unleash the largest influx across the southern border in U.S. history?

The ethnic chauvinists and Democratic Party elites needed new constituents, given their increasingly unpopular agendas.

They feared that the more legal Latino immigrants assimilated and integrated into American society, the less happy they became with left-wing radical abortion, racial, transgender, crime, and green fixations.

Democratic grandees always had bragged that illegal immigration would create what they called “The New Democratic Majority” in “Demography Is Destiny” fashion. Now they slander critics as “racists” who object to left-wing efforts to use illegal immigration to turn southwestern red states blue.

Mexico now cannot survive as a modern state without some $60 billion in annual remittances sent by its expatriates in America. But many illegal immigrants rely on American state and federal entitlements to free up cash to send home.

Mexico also encourages its own abject poor and often indigenous people from southern Mexico to head north as a safety valve of sorts. The Mexican government sees these mass exoduses northward as preferable to the oppressed marching on Mexico City to address grievances of poverty and racism.

The criminal cartels now de facto run Mexico. An open border allows them to ship fentanyl northward, earn billions in profits—and kill nearly 100,000 Americans a year. Illegal immigrants pay cartels additional billions to facilitate their border crossings.

Don’t forget American corporate employers. Record labor nonparticipation followed the COVID-19 lockdown. In reaction to the dearth of American workers, the hospitality, meat packing, social service, health care, and farming industries were desperate to hire new—and far cheaper—labor.

Human rights activists insist that the borders themselves are 19th-century relics. And the global poor and oppressed thus have a human right to enter the affluent West by any means necessary.

Many in the tony suburbs and in universities do not live anywhere near the southern border. So they pontificate on the assurance that thousands of unaudited illegal immigrants will never enter their own enclaves or campuses.

The result is elite bottled piety—but not firsthand experience with the natural consequences of millions chaotically fleeing one of the poorest countries in the world to pour into the wealthiest. Without background checks, vaccinations and health audits, legality, high school diplomas, English facility, skill sets, or capital, the result is an abject catastrophe.

Polls continue to show that the American people support measured, diverse, legal, and meritocratic immigration as much as they oppose mass illegal immigration into their country and the subsequent loss of American sovereignty on the border.

They understand what the Biden administration does not: No nation in history has survived once its borders were destroyed, once its citizenship was rendered no different from mere residence, and once its neighbors with impunity undermined its sovereignty.

Ending illegal immigration now depends solely on the American people overriding the corrupt special interests and leaders who profit from the current chaos and human misery

The Rarely Seen Reason Donald Trump's Supporters Will Not Abandon Him

By Becky Noble | RedState.com

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Like everything in politics, there is a narrative, an accepted line of thought about something or someone that there is rarely an effort to prove false or even question. It just is. Democrats care about minorities; Republicans are racist, sexist, bigoted homophobes; politicians don't care if they get reelected, and so on. It is either the reason or the result, that the political process is carried out in America the way it is. But sometimes, something different from what we have been led to believe is seen or heard. It might be something small, but it upends the narrative that has been created around it, or them, and it might just make you see that person or that thing a bit differently.

Former President Donald Trump has been in the public eye for most of his adult life in one way or another. He burst onto the scene in the 1980s as the quintessential business mogul, fabulously wealthy and successful, with a beautiful wife. He went on to do reality TV, and even cameo appearances in movies like Home Alone 2. He came to politics late in life, and when he did, he aimed for the top spot. Both business and politics are hard-nosed arenas, but Trump has had the mentality for each one. 

From the moment Trump came down the escalator in Trump Tower, Democrats and the media have had the narrative for Trump all prepared and ready to go. Donald Trump was a cold, heartless, racist, sexist, homophobic Nazi. He only cares about himself, and his ultimate goal is to be king for life. There's much more, but you get the idea. 

But something happened recently, that like all other ridiculous notions Democrats and the media have about Trump, blows that narrative -- like every other one -- to pieces. Trump made a trip to South Dakota earlier in September for a campaign rally, where he also picked up the endorsement for 2024 of Gov. Kristi Noem. Like all Trump rallies, it was a raucous affair, full of "Trump 2024" signs and chants of "USA." Trump spoke about the current state of the nation but also talked about how America had been built "into the greatest nation in the history of the world." 

But he stopped after those words and appeared to not be able to go on. For roughly 35 seconds, Trump is visibly emotional at the thought of what has happened to the country since he left the White House. It is a short clip of video, but arguably, one of the most powerful that may come out of this election cycle.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS POWERFUL VIDEO.

The audience then takes over for him for a bit. It is that same auditorium of supporters that the great Rush Limbaugh predicted that Democrats and the media would never understand or even bother to try. Often, politicians are a poor man's actor. Who can forget Bill Clinton, who, when walking out of a church, made sure to have a Bible in the hand that was closest to the camera? While the left may scoff at any possible show of emotion from Trump, one of the things that Rush referred to was the fact that Trump's supporters know he is genuine when talking about the country, and they are simply not going to abandon him. He knows that Joe Biden and the Democrats are slowly destroying a nation that just three short years ago was prosperous by any measure, until the onset of the COVID-19 virus. 

There are plenty of people, even some conservatives and Republicans, who dislike Donald Trump. But unlike the unhinged left, it is a rational dislike based upon personality or policy. The sight of Trump getting choked up over the ongoing demise of a country he loves should get to even those who fall into the dislike column. We are used to seeing Trump point at the "fake news" in the back of the rally or needle his favorite target of the day, be it Joe Biden, or one of his fellow GOP presidential candidates. To see Trump unable to speak because of emotion is a human side of Donald Trump Democrats and the media don't want you to see, and there is a simple reason why they don't want you to see it. When was the last time you saw a Democrat get choked up about what is happening to the country? 

If Republicans are smart, they would take this short 45-second bit of video and make a dozen campaign commercials out of it. Donald Trump is simply giving a face to millions of Americans who are feeling the same way he does. It would illustrate the fact that Democrats own all of the nation's woes, and chances are, you will never see them get emotional about America.

Hooded slobs can now vote on the Senate floor, Have They NO Decency?

By Maureen Callahan | DailyMail.Com

The United States Senate has lowered itself to the whims of one member, a so-called ‘distinguished senator’ from Pennsylvania who refuses to appear on the Hill or with the president of the United States in anything else but a grubby hoodie, billowing shorts, and drab sneakers.

No one signals the death of American decorum like Democratic Senator John Fetterman. Except, perhaps, for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — who rarely misses a Sunday morning in front of television cameras, but who, over the weekend, very quietly dropped the suit-and-tie requirement on the Senate floor.

The hypocrisy is staggering: Fetterman insists he can do this very big job despite suffering a stroke that has left him with difficulty speaking and processing voices, that resulted in a six-week stay at Walter Reed for depression — yet he can’t expend the effort to look like a presentable member of Congress.

Actually, the question here is: Fetterman can’t, or won’t?

If we are to accept that everything is fine with Fetterman, then reasonable people can conclude that he simply doesn’t care.

We can assume that he is lazy, a slob, and is happy to present himself as someone who is not bringing 100 percent to the job. That he is a narcissist who thinks that a centuries-old dress code for members of Congress should not apply to him, that D.C. should lower its standards to meet his slovenliness, and laughably, as a source close to Fetterman once claimed, that ‘his relaxed, comfortable style is a sign that the senator is making a robust recovery.’

Sure. Nothing says you’ve beaten back depression by dressing as though you haven’t gotten off the couch for a week. Nothing says self-respect like showing up to the Hill in clothes you’d wear to scrub the tub. Most of us dress better for a coffee run.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE.

Kevin McCarthy Makes His 2024 GOP Nominee Prediction

By Sarah Arnold | Townhall.com

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) makes a big prediction regarding the 2024 presidential election and expressed disappointment in one GOP candidate's campaign.

On Sunday, McCarthy confidently told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that former President Trump will be the 2024 GOP nominee, despite the Left launching several politically-motivated witch hunts against him. 

"What's your take on this, that as we see more indictments of Donald Trump, he seems to be gaining in terms of popularity with the public? Will he be the nominee?" Bartiromo asked.

McCarthy wasted no time saying that he believes Trump will secure the nomination, adding that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has no chance in the battle. 

"I think he will be the nominee. President Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016 or 2020, and there's a reason why," the House Speaker said, pointing to Trump's achievements from his last term that resulted in the U.S. having four of its most successful years in history. 

"They saw the policies of what he was able to do with America, putting America first, making our economy stronger. We didn't have inflation. We didn't have these battles around the world. We didn't look weak around the world," McCarthy continued. 

Bartiromo then questioned McCarthy on the possible government shutdown, which DeSantis is pushing for. 

"I don't think that would work anywhere. A shutdown would only give strength to the Democrats. It would give the power to Biden," he added. 

The Republican claimed DeSantis would not have gotten elected the governor of Florida had Trump not endorsed him, adding that the 45th president and DeSantis are not anywhere near the same playing field.

"President Trump is beating Biden right now in the polls. He's stronger than he has ever been in this process," McCarthy said. "And, look, I served with Ron DeSantis. He's not at the same level as President Trump in any shape or form. He would not have gotten elected without President Trump's endorsement."

According to a recent Fox News poll, Trump expanded his lead in the GOP primary race, with DeSantis falling short. 

Sixty percent of Republican voters support Trump in the primary race— up from 53 percent in August. 

On the contrary, only 13 percent of voters would back DeSantis in the race, a decrease of 3 points since the first GOP debate. 

A FiveThirtyEight poll also found Trump has a significant advantage over the governor, with the former president garnering 55.5 percent support and DeSantis having 13.3 percent support.

Texas AG Ken Paxton Releases Barn-Burning Statement After Impeachment Acquittal

By Bonchie | RedState.com

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File

As RedState reported, Texas AG Ken Paxton was acquitted of all impeachment charges on Saturday, representing a blow to Democrats and a group of Republicans who had sought to remove him from office. The impeachment centered on various corruption charges involving a real estate deal and several so-called whistleblowers.

Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan, who has also helped block school choice in the Lone Star State, spearheaded the effort, with articles of impeachment officially passed in May. After a tense several hours of every individual charge being voted on, Paxton came out victorious. It would have taken 21 votes to convict, but in the end, the attorney general enjoyed majority support and never even had to break a sweat. 

In response, Paxton put out a barn-burning statement, savaging those who sought to take him down.

While he went after Phelan directly, Paxton laid most of the blame on the Biden administration, claiming his impeachment was organized to punish him for his political views. At the end of the statement, he promises retribution, something that will no doubt interest many Republicans who have been waiting for a state AG to fight fire with fire. It will be especially interesting to see what Paxton does on the border crisis. He's been sidelined since the spring, even as Gov. Greg Abbott has escalated various measures, and one would assume he's chomping at the bit to get back to work.

Some questions about where things go next will be answered relatively soon. Paxton is scheduled to sit down with Tucker Carlson soon for an interview. You can bet he's not going to hold back.

_________________

RELATED ARTICLE

BREAKING: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Acquitted of All Charges

BY DARRELL FROST | PJ MEDIA

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday of impeachment charges related to bribery and abuse of office after a trial in the state senate, which lasted nearly two weeks, concluded without a vote to convict by two-thirds of the members. In fact, none of the 16 articles of impeachment considered was upheld by even a simple majority of senators.

The vote means that Paxton, who has been suspended from his duties since he was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives in May, will remain in office. He was reelected to a third term as the state’s attorney general last year by a sizable margin.

The impeachment charges stem from a whistleblower lawsuit filed in November 2020 by four former staffers who accused Paxton of using his office to intervene in the legal affairs of a wealthy donor and wrongfully terminating them after they objected to his actions.

The allegations against Paxton received a great deal of attention during last year’s campaign, amplified consistently by his political opponents and the press, but voters opted to stick with Paxton, who has gained a reputation for opposing the Biden administration on a host of issues such as immigration, vaccine mandates, and affronts to the First Amendment.

In February of this year, Paxton agreed to a $3.3 million settlement with the whistleblowers and asked the state legislature to authorize payment of the funds. In response, moderate Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan initiated a months-long secret investigation culminating in twenty articles of impeachment against Paxton, which members of the lower chamber forwarded to the Senate by a vote of 121-23 after being given a mere three days to consider the charges.

During the brief debate in the House, it was revealed that no witnesses had been put under oath and that Paxton was denied an opportunity to give his side of the story to members of the investigating committee.

The Senate trial saw Paxton’s defense systematically unravel the overblown narrative of witnesses for the prosecution, namely that Paxton used his office to provide unmerited legal assistance to a wealthy donor who was being investigated for fraud by the FBI.

It was revealed that one witness provided no evidence when he contacted the FBI himself with concerns about Paxton’s conduct. Another confessed to not knowing whether or not his statements to House investigators were true. Yet another admitted that he applied for a position with Paxton’s office after making a number of accusations against him.

After the vote was taken, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was presiding over the trial, blasted the entire process as hopelessly flawed and ill-conceived.

With all due respect to the House, we didn’t need to be told in the final arguments how important this vote was. . . . Our members already knew that, and I’ve known that for the last three months. If only the House members who voted for impeachment would have followed that instruction in the House, we may not have been here.

In the House, the vote to send the articles of impeachment against the attorney general to the Senate happened in only a few days, with virtually no time for 150 members to even study the articles. The speaker and his team rammed through the first impeachment of a statewide official in Texas in over 100 years, while paying no attention to the precedent that the House set in every other impeachment before.

In the past, the House had transparent and open investigations for all to see, including other House members. The target of the investigation was notified and invited to attend with counsel and given an opportunity to cross-examine witnesses that were placed under oath before testimony was taken. At the conclusion of past House investigations, the evidence was laid out for weeks for House members to evaluate, not hours before they took their vote on articles of impeachment.

 Patrick said legislators should amend the Texas Constitution to prevent an impeachment like this one from ever happening again. Specifically, he said that testimony provided to House investigators should be given under oath, the official being investigated should be given the opportunity to cross-examine those witnesses, House members should be given a minimum of two weeks to review the evidence before taking a vote, and impeachment should not result in an automatic suspension from office. He also promised an audit of all taxpayer dollars spent on the impeachment process.

In his first public statement following his acquittal, Paxton said, “Today, the truth prevailed. The truth could not be buried by mudslinging politicians or their powerful benefactors. I’ve said many times: Seek the truth! And that is what was accomplished.”

This sham impeachment process coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House.

The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt.

Paxton warned the Biden administration to “buckle up because your lawless policies will not go unchallenged. We will not allow you to shred the constitution [sic] and infringe on the rights of Texans. You will be held accountable.”

While the swamp threatens to overwhelm the federal government, it appears to have been held at bay in Texas… for now.

BREAKING: CA Judge Rules Teachers Cannot Be Forced to Lie to Parents About Child's Gender Identity

By Ward Clark | RedState.com

United States District Judge for the Southern District of California Hon. Roger T. Benitez has granted a preliminary injunction against the Escondido Union School District (EUSD) in a case involving a requirement that teachers mislead parents as to their own children's "gender identity."

The entire decision can be viewed here.

The background statement of this decision begins:

If a school student suffers a life-threatening concussion while playing soccer during a class on physical fitness, and the child expresses his feelings that he does not want his parents to find out, would it be lawful for the school to require its instructor to hide the event from the parents? Of course not. What if the child at school suffers a sexual assault, or expresses suicidal thoughts, or expresses aggressive and threatening thoughts or behavior? Would it be acceptable not to inform the parents? No. These would be serious medical conditions to which parents have a legal and federal constitutional right to be informed of and to direct decisions on medical treatment. A parent’s right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, control, and medical care of their children is one of the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests that Americans enjoy. However, if a school student expresses words or actions during class that may be the first visible sign that the child is dealing with gender incongruity or possibly gender dysphoria, conditions that may (or may not) progress into significant, adverse, life-long social-emotional health consequences, would it be lawful for the school to require teachers to hide the event from the parents?

 In this case, it's clear that consistency and predicates in other cases are being considered in the overall picture of parental rights. As the statement notes, the EUSD's transgender pronoun policy would somehow place gender confusion in a different category than a sports injury or other mental issues.

The conclusion notes:

Parental involvement in essential to the healthy maturation of schoolchildren. The Escondido Union School District has adopted a policy without parent input that places a communication barrier between parents and teachers. Some parents who do not want such barriers may have the wherewithal to place their children in private schools or homeschool, or to move to a different public school district. Families in middle or lower socio-economic circumstances have no such options.

The District, by this estimation, sought to raise barriers between children and parents, in effect putting teachers in loco parentis with no due process; it also denied the teachers their sincerely held religious convictions as to the nature of the proper relationship between parent and child. This is a victory for not only freedom of conscience on the part of the teachers but also a victory for the rights of parents to direct health decisions for their children.