Fauci invoked the Fifth. Trump invoked the Fifth. Epstein invoked the Fifth.
The Fifth Amendment didn’t change. The reactions did
.
Saturday, August 1, 2026
AND THIS MAKES OUR MAGA FRIENDS FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEIR HERO?
16 mins ago
Trump still refuses to give up the 1.8 billion slush fund. The conman spends taxpayer money like a drunken sailor. There is no end to his corruption and no end to this meaningless war.
Friday, July 31, 2026
NAVARRO TO CORTINA: "NO TODOS LOS AMERICANOS SON HOMBRES MALOS"
El Rrun-Rrun graphic. We thank Dr. Marie Theresa Hernández, PhD Professor University of Houston • World Cultures & Literatures Program Department of Modern & Classical Languages, for sending us a copy of the letter by Jose Antonio Navarro.
Navarro was born in 1795 in San Antonio de Béxar, at a time when Texas was still part of the Spanish colonial empire, and he would go on to live through Spanish rule, Mexican independence, the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas, and Texas statehood — witnessing and shaping nearly every major political transformation of the region in a single lifetime.
He was also one of only two native-born Texans of Mexican descent to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836, a decision that placed him at profound personal risk given his deep roots in Tejano society and his extended family connections throughout Mexico.
Cortina left Brownsville only 13 hours after his takeover September 28, 1859 at the urging of the Mexican military detachment in Matamoros – some of who were his relatives – after killing five Brownsville residents, including Peter Neale, son of Brownsville mayor William Neale, who he accused of murdering Mexicans and still walking free in the city with impunity. 
Navarro wrote Cortina that he had heard of his raid on Brownsville and told him that he understood his anger, but urged him to reconsider his quest for vengeance, counseling him that his revolution was "without object, without moral or physical force, destitute of any hope of success or glory..."
He sent his son Angel Navarro to deliver the letter to Cortina and a copy of it sent to Governor (General) Sam Houston. 
Navarro wrote that he had heard of several reasons for Cortina to have staged the takeover of the city looking for his enemies, but that one reason seemed to him to be his main drive and that it was "mainly a local disturbance, a matter of personal vengeance on his part and his followers, provoked by a few evil and malevolent (white) Americans of Brownsville, and "in my view, I have never believed that a man (like you) of good sense, noble, and obedient Mexican adopted son of this country (USA)" would launch such an enterprise.
Navarro's appeal to Cortina was soon overtaken by events that saw Houston send the Texas Rangers who were routed by Cortina and it wasn't until December 27, 1859 – two months after the September raid – that Major Samuel Heintzelman and the U.S. Army with a Texas Ranger detachment under John (RIP) Ford battled him in Rio Grande City and drove him into Mexico that the first Cortina War ended.
Navarro's life story complicates simple narratives about Texas history, showing a Tejano statesman deeply committed to Texas independence and statehood while remaining proud of his Mexican heritage throughout his entire life. His letter to Cortina shows that he considered Cortina and himself "adoptive" sons of the fledgling United States and he urged his compatriot to overlook the evil elements among the white men who were entering the country and place his hopes on the majority of Americans.
"Every once in a while there appear malevolent and avaricious speculators and imps whose thirst for the acquisition of lands that they could not acquire with their industry or good services to their country leads them to be evil persecutors of honest (Mexican) citizens who are illiterate and cannot defend their rights. Pero Señor Juan Nepomuceno, that class of evil men has noting in common with" the laws and good will of most Americans...
HOW AMERICANS FEEL ABOUT TRUMP'S "ALREADY WON" WAR IN IRAN
About two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war with Iran, which began Feb. 28, has not been worthwhile, according to the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That includes the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as about 37 percent of Republicans.
The poll was conducted July 23-27, as the U.S. and Iran paused attacks following a nearly two-wek escalation in the war. During the escalation, the U.S. targeted Iranian military and commercial sites while Iran attacked U.S. military facilities in the Middle East, resulting in additional deaths of American service members. Since the war began, 18 U.S. service members have been killed, but the Trump administration has sought to revise those numbers.
Thursday, July 30, 2026
YEAH, HE'S A CROOK, BUT HE'S OUR TEXAS GOP CROOK...
How can Texas Republicans really stand for upholding the law by nominating crooked Ken Paxton?? It’s a serious question, too. They justify terrorizing the Black community and Latino community in Texas while continuing to elect criminal leadership who have little to no regard of the law. How?
BIRDS OF A FEATHER...
Dude gotta mugshot and get nominated...my family with mugshots struggle to get housing and jobs
BREATHING ROOM: DATA CENTER, QUICK LUBE, EVENT CENTER ON HOLD
By Monserrat Pagan
myRGV.com
Meanwhile, the company behind a request for a special use permit for a data center and cold storage facility in a former Walmart and the former Southwest Key facility on Padre Island Highway that was scheduled to go before the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 6 has withdrawn its request, City Manager Alan Guard confirmed Wednesday.
Still, the commission will hold two public hearings on the proposed moratorium ordinance at its Sept. 1 and Oct. 6 regular meetings.
If approved, the temporary moratorium would suspend municipal approval for the construction, expansion and operation of a “High-Intensity Data Processing Facility, Event Center, Private Game Club, Automotive Quick Lube Facility, or Self-Storage Facility,” according to the notice.
The initial moratorium “may be extended up to an additional 90 days upon a public hearing on the proposed extension and adoption of additional written findings,” the notice states.
Mayor John Cowen previously told MyRG .com that the city commission will hear a general presentation about data centers at the Aug. 4 meeting.
He also said that he would consider a moratorium, but noted it’s important to learn more.
BILINGUALISM: HOW DO YOU SLICE A PIZZA? WITH LITTLE SCISSORS....
By Juan Montoya
When I was in grad school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison I got to know a few movimiento people who had been active in La Raza Unida, the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan (MEChA), among others.
One of the most interesting was Mario Compean from Las Wilmas (San Antonio), who, for those of us old enough to remember, was the last Raza Unida candidate for governor of Texas.
Mario was working on his PhD in Educational Administration at the UW and acted as a sort of mentor to younger undergrads through the university's Chicano Advocate's office.
When I was in grad school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison I got to know a few movimiento people who had been active in La Raza Unida, the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan (MEChA), among others.
One of the most interesting was Mario Compean from Las Wilmas (San Antonio), who, for those of us old enough to remember, was the last Raza Unida candidate for governor of Texas.
Mario was working on his PhD in Educational Administration at the UW and acted as a sort of mentor to younger undergrads through the university's Chicano Advocate's office.
Now, Wisconsin, being a beer-manufacturing state (the beer that made Milwaukee famous, among others), lent itself to the consumption of its products. The Rathskeller started serving beer at 11 a.m.
In the evenings, after classes concluded and a bunch of us gathered to shoot the breeze over a mug of Old Style beer, the tales would start flowing.
What follows is one of the better offerings by Compean.
It seems that when La Raza activists would go to the outlying rural communities in Central Texas around Uvalde, Crystal City, etc., a part of the organizing would include the proper manner to conduct a meeting under Robert's Rules of Order. This, of course, would set off a round of protest from independent-minded adult migrant workers.
"Y quien es ese Robert?" (who is this Robert?) they would ask the chair when he called them to order and gave someone the floor. "Porque manda el?" (Why is he in charge?)
"Y quien es ese Robert?" (who is this Robert?) they would ask the chair when he called them to order and gave someone the floor. "Porque manda el?" (Why is he in charge?)
After a couple of these meetings, people generally caught on and by then the organizers were ready for most questions. That is, until they got to a meeting at a small town held in a rural church hall.
"La raza was getting into the meeting and following the rules of order until an old man stood up bien enojado (angry) and demanded to know why we wanted to sacar el mocho (someone without an arm or leg)," Compean would say.
"Yo nomas quiero saber porque quieren sacar al mochito," the old man said. "Oigo que saquen el mocho y que saquen el mocho. Que les hizo el mochito pa que lo quieran sacar?"
It took a while for the organizers to understand the man's protest, but when they did, they burst out laughing, much to the man's displeasure.
"No, señor, they're saying that they second the motion, no que saquen el mocho!"
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
SO DONALD TRUMP AND ERIC TRUMP ARE GUILTY AS HELL THEN, JOSEY??
"You don't plead the 5th if you haven't done anything wrong..." Josey Wales, The Babylon Bee
TRUMP PLEADS THE 5TH 440 TIMES, AND ERIC TRUMP MORE THAN 500 TIMES
Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times (specifically reported as over 440 times) during a single civil deposition.
Deposition Details
Date: August 10, 2022
Location: New York, New York (New York Attorney General’s office)
Context: A civil business fraud investigation led by Attorney General Letitia James into the Trump Organization's financial practices.
Outcome: Aside from stating his name, Trump declined to answer substantive questions for the duration of the four-hour hearing
Deposition Details
Date: August 10, 2022
Location: New York, New York (New York Attorney General’s office)
Context: A civil business fraud investigation led by Attorney General Letitia James into the Trump Organization's financial practices.
Outcome: Aside from stating his name, Trump declined to answer substantive questions for the duration of the four-hour hearing
WHAT SAY YOU, SANE REPUBLICANS? IF THERE ARE ANY LEFT...
Chris Perez: The back of the shirt says “No Matter What"
GUS AND PEDRO JOIN DATA CENTER BATTLE: DISTRACT FROM ASPHALT-MILLINGS GATE; BUT STATE BEAT THEM TO THE DRAW
By Juan Montoya
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
A proposal for a data center in Brownsville and the particulars about its electric and water use have not even been discussed and we already have at least two city commissioners who say they have already made up their mind that they are against the construction of one here.
City of Brownsville commissioner Pedro Cardenas has spoken out against it and assures us that his appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commissioner (independently, or does she do what she is told?) has reached the same conclusion.
It didn't take long for fellow commissioner Gus de Leon – eager to distract residents from the asphalt-millingsGate scandal involving city materials, labor, and machinery to make road improvement on his private property right before he leased it to the Department of Homeland Security and who sleeps and wakes up with honor and integrity intact – to pipe in vowing to fight the idea and to wage holy war against it.
This two-headed Hydra tag team is now – even before we know anything about the planned data center construction – waging a jihad against them.
"Although a data center proposal has not yet been presented to the City Commission, we understand that it is expected to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission," Cardenas wrote in his FB social page."I have already spoken with my Planning and Zoning appointee, and I am glad that she shares my position. At this time, we are against the proposed data center."
But, hold the presses, haven't these gents kept up with what the State of Texas and its local representatives in the legislature – D-27 Senator Adam Hinojosa and State Rep. D-38 Erin Gamez, Brownsville – have been doing up in Austin which effectively makes their courageous stand a self-serving side show?
Cardenas states that these are his concerns:
"Brownsville and South Texas have faced drought and water supply concerns for several years," he wrote. "Data centers can require significant amounts of water and electricity, and I do not believe our community currently has the infrastructure necessary to support a project of this size without placing additional pressure on our residents, utilities, and essential services....Until we have the water supply, electrical capacity, infrastructure, and clear answers needed to protect our residents, my position is a firm NO."
[Hey, Pedro, SpaceX had no running water (and 13 launches later still doesn't) and they buy it from the Brownsville Public Utility Board (PUB). Would you have been against SpaceX coming because of their supposed impact on local water supplies?]
And just FYI, this center is not the only one which has approached the city. Management can point to at least two others interested in coming here to do biz.
Your opposition sounds nice, but this is what's going in Austin.
According to the Austin Statesman, the state has already directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to require data center proponents to take concrete steps to protect residential ratepayers from the costs of data center expansion.
Both entities are under orders to make sure that residential ratepayers across the state will not foot the bill for this industry’s growth. These actions keep electric bills affordable and protect the water these communities need. And unless they comply, no permits for the centers will be issued. Zilch.
These requirements are in place right now across Texas, so rising in courageous opposition in Brownsville matters very little. Already, several data centers have withdrawn their plans to build such centers in several cities across the state because they didn't meet the PUCT and ERCOT directives. Once they comply, the show is on.
The two commissioners' heroics aside, these key actions have already been taken and underway by the PUCT and ERCOT and include:
*Requiring data centers to not only pay for transmission infrastructure built to serve them but contribute toward meaningfully reducing residential electric bills.
*Adopting rules to prevent large data centers from diverting existing power away from the ERCOT grid and ensuring power is prioritized for Texas families and communities.
*Begun sweeping changes to how data centers pay for the infrastructure needed to serve them, ensuring data centers do not shift those costs onto everyday Texans or place unnecessary strain on our state's resources.
*Implemented a new interconnection screening process to prevent data centers from overburdening the grid.
The PUCT and ERCOT also recommended the following legislative changes for the upcoming legislative session:
*Expand the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act to cover large data centers so foreign actors cannot use them to threaten the Texas grid.
*Clarify the PUC's and ERCOT's authority to establish additional reliability requirements that data centers must comply with.
*Require data centers to register with the PUCT and ERCOT so the state has accurate information about their water and electricity operations.
And before we start following knee-jerk politicians, just what is a data center and why would we need one here?
A data center is a facility that houses the computing infrastructure needed to store, process, and distribute digital information. Think of it as the “engine room” of the internet and many business applications. Do you use a cell phone, PC, Internet, or surf the social pages? You are already using a data center somewhere.
Its main purposes include: Storing data: Keeps databases, files, backups, photos, videos, and other digital information securely. It is also used for running applications: Hosts websites, business software, streaming platforms, AI models, and cloud services. Do you want SpaceX and Saronic to continue providing well-paid jobs and to attract other high-tech companies to provide jobs to local residents?
Processing information: Performs computations for tasks like financial transactions, analytics, machine learning, and scientific research.
Providing network connectivity: Connects users, devices, and services over high-speed networks.
Ensuring reliability: Uses redundant power, cooling, networking, and hardware so services stay online even if components fail.
Protecting data: Includes physical security, cybersecurity measures, fire suppression, and environmental controls.
What’s inside a data center?
Simple analogy:
Imagine a city library: Books = Data
Librarians = Servers that find and process information
Shelves = Storage systems
Hallways = Network connections
Electricity and air conditioning = Power and cooling systems
Just as a library organizes and provides access to information, a data center organizes, stores, processes, and delivers digital information to users around the world. Sure we don't want to be connected with all the protections in place?
Its main purposes include: Storing data: Keeps databases, files, backups, photos, videos, and other digital information securely. It is also used for running applications: Hosts websites, business software, streaming platforms, AI models, and cloud services. Do you want SpaceX and Saronic to continue providing well-paid jobs and to attract other high-tech companies to provide jobs to local residents?
Processing information: Performs computations for tasks like financial transactions, analytics, machine learning, and scientific research.
Providing network connectivity: Connects users, devices, and services over high-speed networks.
Ensuring reliability: Uses redundant power, cooling, networking, and hardware so services stay online even if components fail.
Protecting data: Includes physical security, cybersecurity measures, fire suppression, and environmental controls.
What’s inside a data center?
Simple analogy:
Imagine a city library: Books = Data
Librarians = Servers that find and process information
Shelves = Storage systems
Hallways = Network connections
Electricity and air conditioning = Power and cooling systems
Just as a library organizes and provides access to information, a data center organizes, stores, processes, and delivers digital information to users around the world. Sure we don't want to be connected with all the protections in place?
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
BUILDERS ACROSS S. TEXAS START TO FEEL THE I.C.E. LABOR SQUEEZE
The South Texas Builders Association (STBA) invites the Rio Grande Valley community to Rally the Valley, an open discussion on immigration enforcement and its impact on our region.
The construction industry, including projects in Brownsville, has been affected by labor shortages and growing uncertainty as immigration enforcement has intensified. The meeting aims to provide a respectful space for community members, elected officials, and industry leaders to share concerns and discuss possible solutions.
Immigration Enforcement’s Impact on #Brownsville Construction to Be Discussed at Rally the Valley. 💪🏻⚠️ #Pharr #Rgv #McAllen #Donna
La industria de la construcción, incluyendo obras en Brownsville, ha enfrentado retos por la escasez de mano de obra y la incertidumbre que viven muchos trabajadores. Este foro busca abrir un diálogo pacífico entre la comunidad y las autoridades.¡Asiste! ¡Corre la Voz #RGV!
NEXT THING YOU KNOW THEY'LL WANT TO MOVE IN NEXT DOOR
Cable news has convinced millions that immigrants are invading, replacing them, and taking what’s theirs. That’s a powerful business model—but a terrible way to see the world. Sometimes satire says it best.")
PENTAGON UPS ITS CASUALTY FIGURES; COUNT STANDS AT 640
By Davis Winkie
CNN
The Pentagon updated its war casualty database Saturday, recording more than 140 additionally wounded and restoring the four soldiers killed due to Iranian strikes last week amid questions about a lack of transparency over the war’s toll.
The Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, also featured a new tracking category — “Overseas Operations” — for killed and wounded “starting July 7.”
When the new Pentagon data is combined with updated totals for Operation Epic Fury, 18 troops have died and another 624 have been wounded since the US launched its war against Iran on Feb. 28. The number of wounded is a significant increase from the previous peak of 482 observed by CNN last week.
The Pentagon drew scrutiny from media outlets and lawmakers last week when killed and wounded numbers decreased in the DCAS system as Iranian attacks continued. The 12 Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday requesting answers on what was causing the changes.
The Defense Department’s acting press secretary, Joel Valdez, insisted in a Thursday social media post that the decreases were due to “temporary data disruptions on the (DCAS) website.” CNN observed data glitches that led to fluctuating casualty totals when monitoring the DCAS site on a minute-by-minute basis last week.
On Friday, CNN asked the Pentagon for more details about the data interruption, but the department neither acknowledged nor responded to the inquiry as of Sunday afternoon.
Beyond the July 7 starting date, the new “overseas operation” category on the DCAS site does not include any distinguishing details or specify the conflict in which the casualties occur, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions seeking clarification on what the category covers. The category features a by-name list of fallen troops, though, that includes the three Army soldiers killed in Jordan due to an Iranian strike and the soldier killed in northern Iraq last weekend during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
The July 7 date coincides with when President Donald Trump claimed a new conflict with Iran began in a War Powers notification the administration sent to Congress earlier this month. (The War Powers Act of 1973 requires the president to end military operations within 60 days unless authorized by Congress to continue; the Trump administration argued that the April ceasefire with Iran stopped the clock on May 1 for the conflict’s initial period.)
Lawmakers of both parties have argued against the administration’s interpretation of the War Powers clock, though some analysts and officials contend that the act itself represents an unconstitutional limit on presidential war-making authority. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued the law is “unconstitutional, 100 percent” during a May press briefing at the White House.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said to Hegseth during a July 21 hearing that she is “concerned” the administration is circumventing Congress through the ceasefire clock reset.
“The claim essentially allows the president to extinguish the War Powers clock just at the moment that it becomes legally inconvenient … avoiding the congressional authorization that the Constitution requires and the War Powers (Act) intends,” she said.
Davis Winkie’s work at CNN is supported by a partnership between Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). CNN retains full editorial control of the reporting.
The Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, also featured a new tracking category — “Overseas Operations” — for killed and wounded “starting July 7.”
When the new Pentagon data is combined with updated totals for Operation Epic Fury, 18 troops have died and another 624 have been wounded since the US launched its war against Iran on Feb. 28. The number of wounded is a significant increase from the previous peak of 482 observed by CNN last week.
The Pentagon drew scrutiny from media outlets and lawmakers last week when killed and wounded numbers decreased in the DCAS system as Iranian attacks continued. The 12 Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday requesting answers on what was causing the changes.
The Defense Department’s acting press secretary, Joel Valdez, insisted in a Thursday social media post that the decreases were due to “temporary data disruptions on the (DCAS) website.” CNN observed data glitches that led to fluctuating casualty totals when monitoring the DCAS site on a minute-by-minute basis last week.
On Friday, CNN asked the Pentagon for more details about the data interruption, but the department neither acknowledged nor responded to the inquiry as of Sunday afternoon.
Beyond the July 7 starting date, the new “overseas operation” category on the DCAS site does not include any distinguishing details or specify the conflict in which the casualties occur, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions seeking clarification on what the category covers. The category features a by-name list of fallen troops, though, that includes the three Army soldiers killed in Jordan due to an Iranian strike and the soldier killed in northern Iraq last weekend during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
The July 7 date coincides with when President Donald Trump claimed a new conflict with Iran began in a War Powers notification the administration sent to Congress earlier this month. (The War Powers Act of 1973 requires the president to end military operations within 60 days unless authorized by Congress to continue; the Trump administration argued that the April ceasefire with Iran stopped the clock on May 1 for the conflict’s initial period.)
Lawmakers of both parties have argued against the administration’s interpretation of the War Powers clock, though some analysts and officials contend that the act itself represents an unconstitutional limit on presidential war-making authority. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued the law is “unconstitutional, 100 percent” during a May press briefing at the White House.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said to Hegseth during a July 21 hearing that she is “concerned” the administration is circumventing Congress through the ceasefire clock reset.
“The claim essentially allows the president to extinguish the War Powers clock just at the moment that it becomes legally inconvenient … avoiding the congressional authorization that the Constitution requires and the War Powers (Act) intends,” she said.
Davis Winkie’s work at CNN is supported by a partnership between Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). CNN retains full editorial control of the reporting.
NICE BUILDING, BUT THAT AIN'T CAMERON COUNTY COURTHOUSE ON LEFT
(The photo at left is supposed to be a photo of the Cameron County Courthouse, which obviously it's not. There are old courthouses in Smith and even Harrison counties – even the one in Tyler, Texas – that resemble the one at left, but we couldn't tell for sure. Does anyone know?)
Texas Explored
"Where the Rio Grande bends and Texas meets Mexico, the Cameron County Courthouse rises over Brownsville with all the dignity of a border capital.
Its stately dome and grand columns speak of a city that has stood at the crossroads of two nations for generations, a place where history has always been written in more than one language.
Brownsville grew up beside old Fort Brown, on ground that saw the opening battles of the war between the United States and Mexico.
The city became a bustling port of trade where cotton, cattle, and commerce flowed across the river, and the courthouse rose to reflect the civic power of a community at the very edge of Texas. Its walls have witnessed the blending of cultures that gives the border its unmistakable spirit.
To stand before this courthouse, framed by palms and warm Gulf light, is to feel the deep and complicated history of the borderlands.
It is a place where Texas is at once fully itself and something wholly unique. What do you find most fascinating about the rich history of the Rio Grande Valley and the border country?"https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122106907112436636&id=61563099099037&post_id=61563099099037_122106907112436636&rdid=bkLHXJwNaY5yk7gD#
Sawyer E. Edward
Some of the history is factual but that is not a photo of the original Cameron County courthouse. There were no columns and the rotunda was a lot more narrow like a copula. Your page is misleading.
Its stately dome and grand columns speak of a city that has stood at the crossroads of two nations for generations, a place where history has always been written in more than one language.
Brownsville grew up beside old Fort Brown, on ground that saw the opening battles of the war between the United States and Mexico.
The city became a bustling port of trade where cotton, cattle, and commerce flowed across the river, and the courthouse rose to reflect the civic power of a community at the very edge of Texas. Its walls have witnessed the blending of cultures that gives the border its unmistakable spirit.
To stand before this courthouse, framed by palms and warm Gulf light, is to feel the deep and complicated history of the borderlands.
It is a place where Texas is at once fully itself and something wholly unique. What do you find most fascinating about the rich history of the Rio Grande Valley and the border country?"https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122106907112436636&id=61563099099037&post_id=61563099099037_122106907112436636&rdid=bkLHXJwNaY5yk7gD#
Sawyer E. Edward
Some of the history is factual but that is not a photo of the original Cameron County courthouse. There were no columns and the rotunda was a lot more narrow like a copula. Your page is misleading.
Monday, July 27, 2026
Sunday, July 26, 2026
NEALE HOUSE, AT $404,000 FOR JUST RELOCATING IT, JOINS SLAVER BROWNSVILLE FOUNDER CHARLES STILLMAN'S LAUREL RANCH ON SLAVERS' PLANTATION ROW ON LINEAR PARK
At right, the 1850 Census shows that Stillman, and other "founders" were listed as slave owners.
Neale's house, once renovated, will comprise Brownsville's own Plantation Row, joining Brownsville "founder" Charles Stillman's Laurel Ranch House, who through legal chicanery along with Samuel Belden, dispossessed the rightful land-grant owners of the land and made off like a thief with the ill-gained profits and established Citibank in New York City. Evil tongues say the ranch house was actually a love shack that resulted in a Mexican Stillman blood line.
Neale's house, once renovated, will comprise Brownsville's own Plantation Row, joining Brownsville "founder" Charles Stillman's Laurel Ranch House, who through legal chicanery along with Samuel Belden, dispossessed the rightful land-grant owners of the land and made off like a thief with the ill-gained profits and established Citibank in New York City. Evil tongues say the ranch house was actually a love shack that resulted in a Mexican Stillman blood line.
This enshrinement of these structures of Brownsville's founders thumbs its nose at local residents who lobbied to remove the stone monument to Jefferson Davis in Washington Park as a rejection of the Confederate Lost Cause "heritage" that had slavery as its foundation. Why are we still doing this?
Below: That was the Laurel Ranch House when it was brought to Brownsville from Corpus Christi and what it looked like after its $100,000s "restoration" courtesy of the local taxpayers. Expect the same magical transformation for the Neale House.)
FANTASY: STILLMAN'S LAUREL RANCH HOUSE BEFORE AND AFTER
NEALE'S DILAPIDATED CRIB TODAY BEFORE $404,000 RELOCATION
NAH, SHE DIDN'T DIE IN MY WAR; WE WON 13 TIMES ALREADY. FORE!
By Mary Bruce, Nicholas Kerr, and Elise Spanner
ABC
Via posts on his social media platform, Trump displayed the number of fatalities in Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and Korea -- multi-year conflicts that cost thousands of American lives -- alongside statistics from the Iran war, a four-month conflict in which 18 Americans have been killed.
“All of them said very strongly, ‘We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,'” Trump told reporters as he departed to attend a dignified transfer, the process by which the remains of fallen military members are moved from aircraft to vehicle, in Dover, Delaware.
He added a chart to a second post, writing, "These are the real facts."
Trump has consistently referred to the ongoing fighting in Iran as a "military conflict" rather than a war, including in the charts he posted.
His comments come just days after four more service members were killed in Iranian attacks -- the first American fatalities since a fragile ceasefire deal collapsed two weeks ago.
He added a chart to a second post, writing, "These are the real facts."
Trump has consistently referred to the ongoing fighting in Iran as a "military conflict" rather than a war, including in the charts he posted.
His comments come just days after four more service members were killed in Iranian attacks -- the first American fatalities since a fragile ceasefire deal collapsed two weeks ago.
That included not counting U.S. Army Private Isabella Gonzales, a 19-year-old soldier from Carrollton, Texas, who was killed in action on July 17, 2026, during an Iranian drone and missile attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and three other Americans who Trump had previously called "patriots."
Top Democrats have turned the President's comments against him, accusing Trump of trivializing the deaths of American service members.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Trump's comments "beneath contempt and a new low" in a post on X.
Former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an erstwhile Trump ally, said on social media that the posts were "stupid" and the president was "bragging about killing 18 US soldiers."
Top Democrats have turned the President's comments against him, accusing Trump of trivializing the deaths of American service members.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Trump's comments "beneath contempt and a new low" in a post on X.
Former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an erstwhile Trump ally, said on social media that the posts were "stupid" and the president was "bragging about killing 18 US soldiers."
Saturday, July 25, 2026
COOKING THE BOOKS AGAIN: AFTER IRAN MISSLES KILLED FOUR U.S. SOLDIERS TRUMP DENIES THEY DIED IN HIS WAR
The Trump administration is manipulating sensitive information about the number of service members killed in the war against Iran, as part of efforts to manipulate reality to justify Trump’s rhetoric.
The New York Times reported on Friday that the official Pentagon website now alleges that 14 troops have been killed in the war, removing the previous number of 18.
(That included not counting U.S. Army Private Isabella Gonzales, a 19-year-old soldier from Carrollton, Texas, who was killed in action on July 17, 2026, during an Iranian drone and missile attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and three other Americans who Trump had previously called "patriots.")
Multiple officials anonymously told the Times that the administration is contending that troops who were killed in attacks in U.S. facilities in Iraq and Jordan are not being counted, because they occurred after Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached with Iran earlier in the year.
Multiple officials anonymously told the Times that the administration is contending that troops who were killed in attacks in U.S. facilities in Iraq and Jordan are not being counted, because they occurred after Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached with Iran earlier in the year.
This is what we've come to in Trump USA. A five-time draft dodger is now Commander-in-Chief of our men and women serving in the Armed Forces. He started an unnecessary war and now has the unmitigated gall to sit in judgement of their service and minimize their ultimate sacrifice to a nation he cowardly chose not to serve. So they didn't die for your war, Donny. You only like winners, not these "losers."
This is not how reporting on wartime casualties works. And the ceasefire was never a true cessation of combat between the U.S. and Iran.
This is not how reporting on wartime casualties works. And the ceasefire was never a true cessation of combat between the U.S. and Iran.
Both militaries regularly fired upon each other and traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz has still been restricted, causing a global strain on oil supplies. Trump has repeatedly announced that he was close to or had secured a “deal” in the region, only to see hostilities renewed again and again.
Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges , who commanded military forces in Europe during Trump’s first term, told the Times, “The administration seems to have a real hard time being honest about what is going on—not just about casualties, but about the whole war in general.”
Meddling with troop death counts falls in line with the deception recently on display by the Trump administration.
The administration has ben hiding details of attacks on American assets, has ceased giving public briefings after crowing about purportedly devastating attacks early in the conflict, and has in general been dishonest about the reasoning for the attack on Iran from the start.
The situation has continued to worsen as Trump and his team offer up a stream of lies. Earlier in the week, the Houthi militant group claimed responsibility for attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea. The attack happened despite Trump’s proclamation a year ago that the Houthis no longer wanted to fight.
Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges , who commanded military forces in Europe during Trump’s first term, told the Times, “The administration seems to have a real hard time being honest about what is going on—not just about casualties, but about the whole war in general.”
Meddling with troop death counts falls in line with the deception recently on display by the Trump administration.
The administration has ben hiding details of attacks on American assets, has ceased giving public briefings after crowing about purportedly devastating attacks early in the conflict, and has in general been dishonest about the reasoning for the attack on Iran from the start.
The situation has continued to worsen as Trump and his team offer up a stream of lies. Earlier in the week, the Houthi militant group claimed responsibility for attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea. The attack happened despite Trump’s proclamation a year ago that the Houthis no longer wanted to fight.
THERE'S THAT ORANGE GUY AGAIN! GET HIM OUT OF THE PICTURE!
The Fool On The Hilll
Songwriters: Paul McCartney / John Lennon
Day after day, alone on The Hill
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him, they can see that he's just a fool
And he never gives an answer
But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head see the world spinning around
Well on the way, head in a cloud
The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice
But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head see the world spinning 'round
And nobody seems to like him, they can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings
But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head see the world spinning 'round (oh oh oh)
'Round and 'round and 'round and 'round and 'round...
WHY WON'T ABBOTT DEBATE GINA? WHY IS HE KEEPING KIDS HUNGRY AND HIDING BEHIND THE BIBLE?
Team Gina
Texans deserve a governor who's willing to answer for their record.
I've made it clear that I'm ready to debate Greg Abbott — but he’s stayed silent. There’s a very simple reason why:
He’s failed Texans, and he doesn’t want to actually face them. The control over him by the gun lobby is literally killing Texans.
Texans have faced years of rising costs, some of the highest uninsured rates in the country, families struggling to keep the lights on because electricity has become so expensive, and billions of our taxpayer dollars flowing to politically connected donors and special interests instead of working people.
And why did he keep food from the mouths of hungry Texas children?
Greg Abbott should be openly willing to defend his record before the people he serves.
Instead, he's refusing to face voters — but I wouldn’t do that.
I'm running for governor because I believe leadership means showing up, answering tough questions, and being accountable to the people of Texas. Not hiding from them.
I'll proudly defend my vision to strengthen our public schools, lower costs for working families, expand access to healthcare, and build an economy that works for everyone — not just the wealthy and well-connected.
Greg Abbott can keep avoiding the conversation.
But I'll keep traveling across Texas, listening to voters, and earning their trust.
If you believe Texas deserves a governor who will show up and fight for you, will you chip in $5 to help us keep this campaign moving forward?
Instead, he's refusing to face voters — but I wouldn’t do that.
I'm running for governor because I believe leadership means showing up, answering tough questions, and being accountable to the people of Texas. Not hiding from them.
I'll proudly defend my vision to strengthen our public schools, lower costs for working families, expand access to healthcare, and build an economy that works for everyone — not just the wealthy and well-connected.
Greg Abbott can keep avoiding the conversation.
But I'll keep traveling across Texas, listening to voters, and earning their trust.
If you believe Texas deserves a governor who will show up and fight for you, will you chip in $5 to help us keep this campaign moving forward?
Friday, July 24, 2026
"I DON'T NEED NO STINKING ENGINEERING DEGREE TO BE ENGINEERING & PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR. A WINNING P.R. SMILE AND HANDING OUT FAVORS USING TAXPAYERS' MONEY WORK WONDERS."
WHAT COB ENGINEERING & PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR SAID:
AND WHAT SHE REALLY MEANT:
"At the end of the day, our legacy is not defined by the protection of our city taxpayers, but by the brownie points with the elected officials and the influential private citizens that we help with the public's money to help us climb up the bureaucratic career ladder, the amount of taxpayer-subsidized asphalt millings we spread on private property, and the pat in the back we get from pampered and corrupt city officials.
Transparency? Accountability? That's for sound bites.
"Why should I have an engineering degree when I can flash a friendly smile to pander the favoritism of our great city commissioners and city manager and his deputies? At a salary of more than $150,000, es muy buen cheque! Positive difference? For us, maybe, but a negative difference to the public treasury. Criticism? Sticks and stones, but words..., well, you know. Why should I worry about dirty little Brownsville when I was the mayor of exclusive Rancho Viejo? The peasants are revolting.
Yuck! Let's go Gus! What if we "dump" those road materials on private property, Sir?"
EXCUSE ME SOLDIERS. DO YOU MIND IF I PLAY THROUGH?
Mother Jones
President Donald Trump’s open disdain for Americans who have died in war, “losers” and “suckers,” in his estimation, is well documented. But that hasn’t stopped him from exploiting fallen soldiers to prop up support for himself. This time, it’s the four service members who were killed over the last week as the US returns to full-scale war with Iran.
President Donald Trump’s open disdain for Americans who have died in war, “losers” and “suckers,” in his estimation, is well documented. But that hasn’t stopped him from exploiting fallen soldiers to prop up support for himself. This time, it’s the four service members who were killed over the last week as the US returns to full-scale war with Iran.
“All of them said very strongly, ‘We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,'” Trump told reporters as he departed to attend a dignified transfer, the process by which the remains of fallen military members are moved from aircraft to vehicle, in Dover, Delaware, on Wednesday.
There is no evidence that the service members killed, as Trump so confidently claimed, ever said or believed this. It conveniently happens to be one of the exceedingly few talking points Trump has had for continuing an increasingly unpopular war on all his own. And what better device for repeating his excuse than dead Americans who can’t speak for themselves?
And, incidentally, a Trump campaign flier with a photo of him at a dignified transfer of soldiers killed in battle is being used to promote "private national security briefings" for a limited number of donors under his Never Surrender Inc. is the latest wrinkle of this shameless grifter
The assertion of the dead soldiers and Iran nuclear weapons was made without evidence or apparent shame, shortly after the president appeared to boast on social media about the total number of service members killed since the US first launched strikes against Iran in February. In doing so, Trump referred to the casualties of previous wars, seemingly arguing that 18 wasn’t so bad.
The comments are the latest evidence of Trump’s long-held, blatant disregard for those killed in war. Meanwhile, his administration’s celebration of war, both in absurd pageantry and ethos continues apace.
The assertion of the dead soldiers and Iran nuclear weapons was made without evidence or apparent shame, shortly after the president appeared to boast on social media about the total number of service members killed since the US first launched strikes against Iran in February. In doing so, Trump referred to the casualties of previous wars, seemingly arguing that 18 wasn’t so bad.
Afghanistan War: 20 years, 2,000 DEAD.
Iraq War: 9 years, 4,600 DEAD.
Vietnam War: 19 years and 5 months, 58,220 DEAD.
Korean War: 3 years and 1 month, 36,574 DEAD.
Venezuela War: 1 day, 0 DEAD.
Iran Military Conflict: 4 months, 18 DEAD.”
SO IF A CITY OFFICIAL IS CAUGHT USING PUBLIC PROPERTY, WE SHOULD JUST LET IT GO AND "MOVE ON"?
In Texas
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) considers clean asphalt pavement millings to be non-hazardous. If they are reused for beneficial purposes (such as road construction or base material), they often are not managed the same way as waste requiring disposal.
Why this matters
If the millings came from a city street and were placed on private property: The legal issue would generally not be that the material is hazardous waste.
The issue would instead be ownership and authorized use of public property. Even though the millings are non-hazardous, if they belonged to the city and were diverted to private property without authorization, investigators could examine whether public resources were misused.
So, in the situation you’ve been discussing, the classification of the millings as non-hazardous does not determine whether there was misuse of public resources. The key questions would instead be who owned the material, whether officials had legal authority to dispose of or transfer it, and whether all applicable city policies and laws were followed.
So, in the situation you’ve been discussing, the classification of the millings as non-hazardous does not determine whether there was misuse of public resources. The key questions would instead be who owned the material, whether officials had legal authority to dispose of or transfer it, and whether all applicable city policies and laws were followed.
What investigators would want
To determine whether criminal charges are appropriate, investigators would likely seek:
*Work orders
*Daily activity logs
*GPS records for city trucks and equipment
*Fuel records
*Time sheets
*Payroll records
*Load tickets for the millings
*Equipment-hour logs
*Photographs before and after the work
*Property ownership
*Witness statements from city employees
If the evidence showed that taxpayer-funded materials and labor worth approximately $55,000 (based on estimate) were intentionally diverted to improve a private commissioner’s property without lawful authorization, Abuse of Official Capacity would likely be among the first statutes investigators would examine.
*Daily activity logs
*GPS records for city trucks and equipment
*Fuel records
*Time sheets
*Payroll records
*Load tickets for the millings
*Equipment-hour logs
*Photographs before and after the work
*Property ownership
*Witness statements from city employees
If the evidence showed that taxpayer-funded materials and labor worth approximately $55,000 (based on estimate) were intentionally diverted to improve a private commissioner’s property without lawful authorization, Abuse of Official Capacity would likely be among the first statutes investigators would examine.
Whether that results in criminal charges would depend on proving the required facts and intent beyond a reasonable doubt. There is obviously a lot of evidence by Gus's own admission to the press.
Thursday, July 23, 2026
"TAKE ALL I'VE GIVEN HIM, BUT ON HIS SOUL, DON'T LAY A FINGER..."
I am Job
Who once was blessed
Pushing this shopping cart
Through the streets
Scavenging through your refuse
In the night
To eat
I am Job
Once master of lands
As far as the eye could see
Thick with flocks - like oceans - of sheep
Pushing it down these streets
Loaded with discarded ore
And tins
Selling them
To exist
I am Job
Who never suffered want
And reveled in soft plush cushions
And splendor,
And favored
By my Lord
And
Who now –
Tortured by the ashes
In a spent crack pipe –
Am tempted Him to blame
By the Great Deceiver
And to curse
His name
OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR! THEY'RE BADGERING THE SEA TURTLES!
After a number of confirmed sightings of striped badgers digging up sea turtle nesting sites on South Padre Island, Sea Turtle Inc. encourages anyone who sees one disturbing a sea turtle nest to safely scare the animal away from the area and call or text the organization's emergency line at 956-243-4361.
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