How could a Democrat operating on 1/10th the campaign budget beat a Trump-endorsed candidate in Texas by any margin let alone one this wide? Their victory would have been more believable if it was by a small margin but this is ludicrous.
This is not proof of Dems stealing 2026
I live in District 9. The majority of the approx. 620,000 registered voters in this district are Republicans. But only approx.98,000 people voted, a dismal 16% turnout. This special one-off election was marred by two issues- one, lack of awareness of the one seat special election. And two- voting happened during the recent Texas freeze. My wife and I voted early, driving thru ice and snow, the streets bare. Needless to say, very few people at the polls, they stayed in their warm homes off the roads. Unfortunately, Democrats came out. It is very disappointing that so many people did not vote. Good news is that the seat us up for grabs this Nov. and IMO, will swing back to red.
"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
February 02, 2026, 09:52 PM
a1abdj
quote:
Democrats came out. It is very disappointing that so many people did not vote.
Democrats always show up. I see this same phenomenon in local elections. Even in red areas, low turnout favors the blue.
Califorincation. You will have the same effects with the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida due to the mass immigration a blue state Democrats moving out a Illinois, New Jersey, New York and New England due to the damage of their previous voting habits. Although they moved physically, they also brought those same voting routines with them.
Similar to NV, AZ.
_________________________
February 03, 2026, 08:08 AM
sigfreund
Bad weather isn’t the only reason people don’t bother going to the polls. Very often it’s because they are disgusted by both sides or at least because they feel that a situation is hopeless.
► 6.0/94.0
“I can’t give you brains, but I can give you a diploma.” — The Wizard of Oz
It follows through on the administration’s plans to establish price floors for critical minerals, protecting the supply chain from Beijing’s predatory pricing.
President Donald Trump announced on Feb. 2 a new strategic private sector critical minerals stockpile.
“Project Vault” is being seeded with $1.67 billion in private capital and a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and it is meant to insulate U.S. industries from market disruptions such as the seismic critical minerals rule change Beijing previewed in 2025. The Pentagon already has a critical minerals stockpile, kept in six locations across the country, to be used in the event of a national emergency. However, Beijing announced a major rule change in 2025 that would subject all sales of critical minerals mined or processed in China—which could be up to 90 percent of global supply—to review and approval from Chinese authorities.
That would upend the status quo by severely restricting or disrupting the supply chain, and Beijing’s announcement accelerated global efforts to find alternative sources. When Chinese authorities implemented a much smaller-scale version of a critical minerals licensing regime earlier in 2025, it caused supply disruptions, and within weeks, some auto part manufacturers were forced to shut down entire production lines.
After a U.S.–China meeting in October 2025, Beijing agreed to pause its new licensing regime for one year, during which, Trump said, the United States will have found other reliable sources. “We don’t want to ever go through what we went through a year ago,” Trump said at a press briefing at the Oval Office.
Project Vault is meant to be a key component of that derisking strategy, and it has buy-in from some of the biggest U.S. companies. Participants already include General Motors, Boeing, Corning, Stellantis, and Google.
The venture will allow participating companies continued access to their requested critical minerals at set prices in exchange for paying a stockpile maintenance fee, making an up-front payment on their purchases, and agreeing to continue to buy those materials in future years.
John Yovanovitch, head of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, said the president directed agencies to come up with a solution that did not put the cost burden on taxpayers.
“Manufacturers and workers all across the country can rest assured they'll have what they need when they need it most,” he said at the Feb. 2 briefing. “And the best part about it is that the American taxpayer will earn a return on financing the first ever strategic critical minerals reserve in history.”
The purchasing of raw materials for the stockpile will be handled by energy commodity trading companies Hartree Partners, Traxys North America, and Mercuria Energy Group.
The set pricing mechanism counters the Chinese regime’s predatory pricing practices that drove global critical minerals miners and processors out of business years ago. Chinese state-subsidized companies have undercut multiple industries over the years by flooding the market with products priced below their competitors’ costs.
Because the companies participating in Project Vault are making long-term purchasing agreements at set prices, the venture would function to establish price floors for the industry that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previewed in 2025.
The project also follows an executive order Trump signed earlier this month directing the U.S. trade representative and commerce secretary to negotiate critical minerals agreements with trading partners on the basis of national security. One of the goals was to secure price floors with trading partners, and the United States would guarantee minimum import prices for critical minerals in exchange. The United States has secured several international partnerships on critical minerals since the start of the second Trump administration, including with Japan, Australia, and Ukraine. The agreements range from cooperation on research and development to multibillion-dollar investments and pricing safeguards. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during the briefing that announcements of partnerships with 11 more countries will be forthcoming this week and that 20 more countries are interested in joining.
The State Department announced that it is hosting the first U.S. Critical Minerals Ministerial on Feb. 4 to “create momentum for collaboration to secure these critical components vital to technological innovation, economic strength, and national security.”
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Builders Float Plan for Nearly 1 Million 'Trump Homes'
Homebuilders are working on a proposal to develop nearly a million "Trump Homes" that would address the U.S. affordability crisis, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
This calls for builders to sell entry-level homes into a pathway-to-ownership program allowing private capital funding of billions of dollars, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the proposal.
Shares of U.S. homebuilders, including Lennar, D.R. Horton, Pultegroup, Toll Brothers, Taylor Morrison Home, and KB Home, were up between 5-7% during early trading hours.
Lennar declined to comment, while the other homebuilders and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The proposal comes at a time when U.S. consumers continue to face affordability challenges in an inflationary macro environment, dampening home sales across the country.
At the 1 million homes estimate, the program would likely deliver more than $250 billion worth of housing.
However, a White House official told Bloomberg News that the administration is not actively considering the plan.
Such a program would be complicated to implement and it's possible that it won't gain enough support to move forward, Bloomberg News reported.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to restrict large institutional investors from competing with individual homebuyers in an effort to make housing more affordable.
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February 03, 2026, 06:13 PM
XinTX
quote:
Originally posted by a1abdj:
quote:
Democrats came out. It is very disappointing that so many people did not vote.
Democrats always show up. I see this same phenomenon in local elections. Even in red areas, low turnout favors the blue.
The dead don't care about the weather
_______________________ “The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.” Ayn Rand
“If we relinquish our rights because of fear, what is it exactly, then, we are fighting for?” Sen. Rand Paul
Amazon Stops Portland-Area Theater From Showing 'Melania'
A suburban Portland movie theater said it was ordered this week to stop screening a documentary about Melania Trump after the distributor objected to how the film was promoted.
Jordan Perry, general manager of Lake Theater & Cafe in Lake Oswego, said Amazon MGM Studios contacted the theater earlier this week and told staff it could no longer show "Melania," a documentary that follows the first lady during the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump's inauguration last year.
According to Perry, the decision followed complaints about messages displayed on the theater's marquee.
Before the film was removed from the schedule, the signage read "TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY, YOU MUST KNOW THEM" and "DOES MELANIA WEAR PRADA?," KOIN 6 reported.
The latter line referenced the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada."
Perry said the theater had already faced backlash from some patrons and online commenters for booking the documentary.
In a post published on the theater's website, he addressed criticism that screening the film amounted to political support for Trump or his administration.
"Why did I want to see Melania?" Perry wrote in a post to the theater's website.
"This seems to be the question without a reasonable answer for many messaging me," he continued. "And their main gripe is that if it is a signpost of our times, it is an inescapably toxic one: that showing Melania is necessarily supporting her, this administration, and this administration's policies. I don't think this way! I think a lot of people don't think this way! For me there was no dividing line between wanting to see it and showing it here."
Perry said the theater's programming decisions are not guided by politics and that the documentary was chosen based on audience interest and limited alternatives.
He noted that other films available at the time, including the R-rated titles "Send Help" and "The Bone Temple," were unlikely to perform well at the venue.
Amazon MGM Studios distributes "Melania," which was directed by Brett Ratner and reportedly carried a production budget of $75 million.
Despite the controversy surrounding individual screenings, the documentary has posted strong box office results nationwide.
According to Deadline, the film debuted with $7 million in ticket sales, marking the largest opening for a nonfiction feature in the past decade.
Beckman, who has been promoting the film in media appearances, praised the opening during an interview on Newsmax's "The Count."
"It's official," he said. "We are the number one highest opening in the past decade for documentaries."
Beckman cited an A CinemaScore, a metric based on opening-weekend audience surveys, as evidence of the film's reception.
"And we got it," Beckman said, after describing the film's rating. "It's very rare for movies to score with an A."
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February 04, 2026, 03:17 PM
lastmanstanding
This lunatic got exactly what he needed.
quote:
A federal judge on Feb. 4 sentenced Ryan Routh to life in prison for attempting to assassinate then-candidate President Donald Trump in 2024.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised what he described as an "excellent" phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of Trump's planned April visit to Beijing.
Trump said the call covered key topics, including trade, military matters, Taiwan, Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war and expanded Chinese purchases of U.S. energy and agricultural products.
The conversation took place just hours after Xi held a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the discussion productive and forward-looking.
"Many important subjects were discussed, including Trade, Military, the April trip that I will be making to China (which I very much look forward to!), Taiwan, the War between Russia/Ukraine, the current situation with Iran, the purchase of Oil and Gas by China from the United States, the consideration by China of the purchase of additional Agricultural products," Trump wrote.
Trump said Xi agreed to significantly boost Chinese purchases of American soybeans, raising imports to 20 million tons this season, up from 12 million previously — a move Trump framed as a major win for U.S. farmers.
"All very positive," Trump wrote. "The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way."
Trump also expressed optimism about the future of U.S.-China relations during his presidency.
"I believe that there will be many positive results achieved over the next three years of my Presidency having to do with President Xi, and the People's Republic of China!" he said.
The Chinese government released its own summary of the call, confirming discussions on global issues and upcoming international summits that both countries plan to host in the coming year — events that could provide opportunities for additional meetings between the two leaders.
Beijing's statement did not reference Trump's expected April visit.
China also reiterated its long-standing position on Taiwan, emphasizing it has no intention of abandoning its goal of reunification with the self-governing democratic island.
"China will never allow Taiwan to be split," the Chinese statement said.
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February 05, 2026, 05:28 AM
downtownv
quote:
"China will never allow Taiwan to be split," the Chinese statement said.
Trumps doing a great job with the international issues, Iran, Venezuela, China, the rare earth mineral mine plan in the USA, all that's great, and much needed for the country to move forward.
He surely has a plan for the midterms, most of this stuff doesn't resonate with daily milk and bread people, it's Rent, House payment, taxes, pay, jobs, medical.
The "low turnout" in Texas is typical of R voters in non president race years, the excuse that it's short term isn't acceptable, it's what needs to be ginned up between now and November. It shows the left is going to come out in masses for the midterm to stop Trump.
Trump and his team need to find a way to get R voters off their asses or we'll be in for two years of impeaching every person in his cabinet by the left. Sure that doesn't make them look great, but it doesn't let us move forward the agenda and stalls it again.
February 05, 2026, 07:17 PM
powermad
I don't watch the Today show and had no idea who the Guthrie kidnapping was but kept seeing it popping up. I seen that President Trump is pulling out all the stops to locate the woman and had to see what's it all about.
Holy shit what a nasty duo and he's still willing to help them. Kill em with kindness.
February 05, 2026, 09:13 PM
6guns
powermad, thanks for posting that!
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February 06, 2026, 09:49 AM
BigSwede
quote:
He surely has a plan for the midterms, most of this stuff doesn't resonate with daily milk and bread people, it's Rent, House payment, taxes, pay, jobs, medical.
I don't know, beginning to think he might not GAF. Though he needs a majority to get things done for the next three years, he has a lot of work to do to get a good outcome in the mid terms
February 06, 2026, 10:39 AM
KMitch200
quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
quote:
He surely has a plan for the midterms, most of this stuff doesn't resonate with daily milk and bread people, it's Rent, House payment, taxes, pay, jobs, medical.
I don't know, beginning to think he might not GAF. Though he needs a majority to get things done for the next three years, he has a lot of work to do to get a good outcome in the mid terms
If he cares about getting ANYTHING done, he’ll step up the pace big time.
He is never going to stop the LSM from using their platform to criticize everything he does, (including what he ate for breakfast) but he knows the importance of getting more Republicans (ptui!) in congress. Hopefully, there will be enough new blood that sees what a shambles the last do nothing losers in congress left for us.
-------- After the game, the King and the pawn go into the same box.
February 06, 2026, 12:34 PM
Flashlightboy
He's not doing himself any favors by posting stuff like his "Mighty Jungle" shit. That's not focusing on fixing the problems he was elected to fix. He's not gaining support for downline voting in November, and those candidates are cringing, no doubt.
