Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke spar in what could be a preview of the 2022 governor’s race

The Republican governor, who is up for reelection in 2022, and the state’s best-known Democrat exchanged words Thursday after O’Rourke said he will consider challenging Abbott.

by Patrick Svitek Jan. 28, 2021 Updated: 3 hours ago

Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso.
Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso. The two traded criticisms Thursday as speculation mounts over whether O’Rourke will challenge Abbott in 2022. Credit: The Texas Tribune

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Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke butted heads Thursday after the Democraticformer El Paso congressman said he would consider challenging the Republican incumbent for Texas’ top elected post in 2022.

O’Rourke said during an El Paso radio interview earlier this week that a gubernatorial bid is “something I’m going to think about.” The comment began receiving wide attention after the Houston Chronicle wrote it up Thursday morning, and during an unrelated news conference hours later in Odessa, Abbott fielded a reporter’s question about a potential O’Rourke challenge.

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Netanyahu Warns Biden: Entering Iran Deal Would be Nuclear ‘Nightmare’, Spark Arms Race

Netanyahu warns that U.S. reentering the Iran nuclear deal would lead to ‘nightmare’ of other states seeking nuclear weapons.

By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the incoming Biden Administration last week that the U.S. blindly re-entering the Iran nuclear deal could end up sparking a Middle East arms race where many countries threatened by Iran would also try to obtain nuclear weapons.

Senior Democrats have indicated that the president-elect Joe Biden will seek to get the United States back into the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA) that was initiated by the Obama Administration when Biden was vice-president.

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Texas sues battleground states, claims unconstitutional changes made to election laws

Fort Worth Star Telegram, By Eleanor Dearman December 08, 2020 09:08 AM, Updated 1 hour 37 minutes ago

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming the battleground states made unconstitutional changes to election laws during the coronavirus pandemic.

The four states played a pivotal role in former Vice President Joe Biden securing the presidency in the November general election. Paxton in a statement argues the four states “destroyed that trust and compromised the security and integrity of the 2020 election.”

The suit asks the Supreme Court to prohibit the states from voting in the electoral college.

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Do Qualifications Matter

By Lenny Leatherman

If the issue with Drew Springer is big money influence, where is the wisdom in thinking the solution is big money influence?

Drew Springer has been accused of wrong-doing because he worked for a wealthy lobbying firm. The Springer family business is a financial services business. His customers are successful individuals and businesses. Should we be surprised to learn that some of his customers may have employed lobbyists? I would be surprised if they did not!

I take no position for, nor against Drew Springer.

I have heard suspicion driven charges against him, that he may be one of many who have been influenced by Austin’s big money politics.

An issue that is even more difficult to see beyond is his judgment; judgment that may have fortified the perception of becoming entangled by the influence of lobbyist money while performing official duties.    

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Review: Hornady 6mm ARC

From The NRA’s American Rifleman, by Jeff Johnson, Field Editor, Nov, 2020

Review: Hornady 6mm ARC

Hornady’s new 6mm ARC was designed for a specific military requirement; the 108-gr. ELD (l.) makes for an excellent long-range target round, while the 103-gr. ELD-X hunting load (shown here) penetrated nearly 18″ into 10 percent ballistic gelatin.  The U.S. military is good at recognizing specific needs based on firsthand lessons gleaned from an evolving battlefield. But civilian small arms, optics and gear makers are the experts when it comes to engineering and delivering the goods. Take, for example, a few years ago when the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) challenged the gun industry to produce a lightweight rifle cartridge capable of delivering a 50 percent hit ratio on man-size engagements at 2,000 yds.

Only a few years prior, this seemingly impossible task was the exclusive territory of the world’s largest shoulder-fired cartridges such as the .50 BMG, .408 CheyTac and .338 Lapua Mag.—whose huge projectiles had adequate exterior ballistics to provide this type of downrange energy. Such behemoths are not conducive to individual soldiers, however, because the guns and ammunition are prohibitively heavy and costly, their recoil/muzzle blast is punishing, and accuracy, well, could be better.

hornady 6 mm ARC

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My Mind Is Made Up Don’t Confuse Me With Facts

Parker County Blog, Lenny Leatherman, 09/22/20

Isn’t it interesting how both sides in most arguments are equipped with their own set of “facts”?  And, when the argument involves political candidates, arguments are almost always comprised of mostly hearsay. The indisputable fact is – although both sides have their favorite candidate, to vote is nothing more than to express a subjective opinion.

Unless the candidate has a verifiable history of performance in office, neither side can validate their own set of “facts”. That which appeared to be true before the election may prove to be a disappointment to either, or both sides of the argument.

It may be a good idea to remember the reason for the debate, and to remember that neither side can be proven right or wrong until long after the election is over. Hopefully, the election will be over but not your friendship.

The Armed Citizen

American Rifleman, September, 2020

A robber was shot and wounded when he attempted to burglarize a home in Fort Worth, Tex., in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2020.

The incident began just before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning when the robber kicked in the front door to the home. As the robber entered the home, he encountered a woman and began assaulting her. The woman’s son then shot the robber in the leg.

The wounded robber then fled the residence and jumped into a getaway vehicle nearby in the street. The robber was taken to his sister’s home until he fled once again when he learned that she called the police.

Authorities believe the home was targeted by the robbers who intended to steal firearms from the residence. (star-telegram.com, Fort Worth, Tex., 09/02/2020)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives June 1973   

Addie Whitesides, a church cleaning woman in Charlotte, N.C., was at work before dawn when she came face to face with a prowler. Screaming, Mrs. Whitesides ran for the door, followed by the man.

Once outside, she drew a pistol and held it on the intruder until police arrived. She has carried the gun since the church was broken into recently. (Greensboro Daily News, Greensboro, N.C.)

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Recycling Is Garbage

New York Times, By John Tierney, June 30, 1996

Image from PIXABAY

PIXABAY image AS THEY PUT ON PLASTIC GLOVES FOR THEIR first litter hunt, the third graders knew what to expect. They knew their garbage. It was part of their science curriculum at Bridges Elementary, a public school on West 17th Street in Manhattan. They had learned the Three R’s — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — and discussed how to stop their parents from using paper plates. For Earth Day they had read a Scholastic science publication, “Inside the World of Trash.” For homework, they had kept garbage diaries and drawn color-coded charts of their families’ trash. So they were primed for the field experiment on this May afternoon.

“We have to help the earth,” Natasha Newman explained as she and her classmates dashed around the school collecting specimens. Their science teacher, Linnette Aponte, mediated disputes — “I saw that gum wrapper first!” — and supervised the subsequent analysis of data back in the classroom. The students gathered around to watch her dump out their bags on the floor.

Do you see any pattern as I’m emptying it?” Miss Aponte asked.

“Yeah, it stinks.”

“Everybody’s chewing Winterfresh.”

“A lot of paper napkins.”

“It’s disgusting.”

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The CDC Admission: Mask Effectiveness up in Flames

New American, Saturday, 12 September 2020, Written by  Dennis Behreandt

The CDC Admission: Mask Effectiveness up in Flames

The Centers for Disease Control continues to take pains to remind Americans to wear their masks when they are out in public.

A missive from CDC that encouraged COVID safety during the Labor Day holiday says: “Do your part to help slow the spread of COVID-19 this Labor Day weekend. If you go to a park, beach, event or gathering, be sure to” do several things, including: “Wear a mask to protect yourself and others.”

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Ammo Shortage May Last Until 2021

Shooting Illustrated, by Guy J. Sagi -Thursday, August 20, 2020 –

Ammo Shortage May Last Until 2021

Vista Outdoor CEO Christopher Metz’s quarterly earnings call, which took place earlier this month, indicates the current ammunition shortage may continue at least until 2021—perhaps longer.

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