Hard Hitting Conservative Commentary by Gary M. Polland
Volume XXIII Number 15 – December 16, 2024
Thoughts This Fortnight
By Gary Polland
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
HEGSETH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY – YES
The Department of Defense desperately needs reform. Remember the failed audits, problems with the major defense contracts. Focusing not on war fighting but woke DEI.
The attempt to “Kavanaugh” Hegseth with unsourced accusations is out of control and ugly. Like Brent Kavanaugh they were never raised pre-appointment. GOP voters support Hegseth by 68% to 15%. It’s critical he be confirmed.
THE BIDEN PARDON – WHO IS BEING PROTECTED
Yes, President Joe Biden “promised” at least six times not to pardon Hunter Biden for real federal crimes. He changed his mind and should’ve been honest. So, what’s behind this? It seems that expanding the pardon well beyond guns, taxes, and foreign agent failure to register. The pardon exempts any and all crimes since 2014.
By pardoning Hunter, the in essence he has pardoned himself. Since 2014, the Biden family has been selling access and influence on foreign countries and special interests and the left-wing media has been covering it up.
DOGE COULD SAVE OUR ECONOMY
The Department of Government Efficiency is poised to help cut waste, abuse, and unneeded federal government programs.
A recent analysis on National Science Foundation Biden administration funding for 2024 shows an incredible 27.71% of the total budget for woke DEI funding or $289,593,584. You may ask yourself, what does DGI have to do with science funding!
A PREVIEW OF TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS
TCR’s take on Trump’s priorities for the first 100 days:
- End transgender insanity
- Renew and expand the First Term Trump Tax Cuts
- Unleashing U.S. Energy and cut over Regulations
- Support Israel and end foreign conflicts
- End government wokeness
- Protect Social Security and Medicare
- Appoint an America First government
- DOGE a top priority entity to cut waste, fraud, and unneeded government agencies
ASSASSINATION OF CEO BRIAN THOMPSON –
NEVER JUSTIFIED EVER AND PROBLEMS WITH OUR MEDICAL SYSTEM
Let’s be clear, we have a medical insurance (public or private) problem. With around 36% of coverage for Americans from Medicare and Medicaid, who underpays doctors and hospitals, and is only getting worse as the Biden administration has cut payments for Medicare Advantage from insurance companies which has resulted in insurance companies requiring prior authorization on services. Government health care makes things worse.
Some in the media have used these issues to excuse the murder of the United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson. They are sick and raise concerns about our continuing issues with public safety.
CONSERVATIVE KUDOS TO COUNCILMEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ
TCR would like to extend conservative kudos to Houston City Councilmember Julian Ramirez for his principled vote opposing the $98 million capital improvement projects budget for the Upper Kirby TIRZ. The budget item that outraged Ramirez was $8.5 million for Levy Park, which is in much better condition than many other Houston parks. Ramirez said, “In view of the problems that we have with our parks, [with] hundreds of our parks in terrible condition, many lacking basic playground equipment, I don’t think it’s fair to spend another $8 million on a park that is already world-class when we have so many parks in dilapidated conditions.”
We applaud Councilmember Julian Ramirez for his principled stand as the lone hold-out in the 15-1 vote and encourage others to follow his example. We need more like him at all levels of government.
CARTOON OF THE FORTNIGHT
TCR Newswire
By Marc Cowart
Managing Editor
TRUMP NAMED PERSON OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump for being named as Person of the Year by TIME Magazine. This is President Trump’s second time to be selected for this honor. The first was in 2016. Elon Musk, who will head Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, was TIME’s Person of the Year in 2021. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TIME MAGAZINE ARTICLE.
WHITMIRE-HIDALGO FEUD ESCALATES
It looks like the feud between Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is not cooling. In a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle, Houston Mayor John Whitmire stated, “Hidalgo doesn’t plan to seek re-election because of mental health and stress.” Readers may remember that Hidalgo took three months off for “mental leave” a fact that was referenced in an ABC13 story on the issue. In response to a request to Hidalgo to comment on Whitmire’s statement by ABC13, Hidalgo’s office responded, “It’s behind the times to insinuate that a well-managed (mental or physical) medical diagnosis makes someone unfit to lead. Too many people fail to seek treatment for mental and certain physical conditions out of shame. As leaders, let’s not continue to perpetuate harmful stigmas.”
TCR commentary: Considering the ongoing feud between Whitmire and Hidalgo and Hidalgo’s response to Whitmire’s comments, you can be sure that would-be Democrat County Judge candidates smell the blood in the water are preparing for a 2026 contested primary. And with Republican victories in Harris County in 2024, you can expect a number of Republicans to throw their hats in the ring in the 2026 primary.
HISD SUPERINTENDENT GETS SIX-FIGURE BONUS
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles was just awarded a whopping $126,000 bonus on top of his $380,000 salary, as reported by several media outlets including the Houston Chronicle and the online Houston Landing. The announcement prompted one citizen to comment on social media, “He is destroying lives right and left and he gets a raise??? What is the justification?” Another said, “On the backs of our children….” and one user asked, “Bonus for what, being extra awful?”
The Miles bonus came on the heels of HISD’s $4.4 billion bond election that failed at the ballot box on November 5th. Many considered the bond election failure a referendum on HISD’s and Miles’s performance. In a story on the issue, Houston Public Media stated, “Many of the 130-plus public speakers at Thursday’s board meeting called for the state-appointed superintendent to resign or be terminated after HISD’s $4.4 billion bond proposal was rejected by voters.”
Miles, who is the former Superintendent of Dallas ISD, was appointed to the HISD post by the Texas Education Agency in June of last year, following the agency’s takeover of the district.
HARRIS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY CLOSURE
For anyone with business with the Harris County Republican Party, please note that, according to their website https://www.harriscountygop.com/latest-events/, the HCRP will be closed December 21-January 1, reopening January 2, 2025.
COMMENTS OR STORY IDEAS
If you have an event for announcement, press release, a comment, story idea, etc., or for information on becoming an advertiser, please email Marc Cowart at [email protected]
POINTING FINGERS AND THE BLAME GAME FOR THE DEMOCRATIC LOSS
By Brian Ettinger, Guest Columnist
The Democrats started their opposition against President Trump less than a day after his victory in the Presidential election. So much for unity and uniting the country.
The media continues to come up with all the reasons why Vice President Harris lost. They include that the country was not ready to elect a black female, especially one married to a Jewish white man, next, she was stuck with President Biden‘s policies or the National Democratic Party should have not forced President Biden to step aside from seeking a second term, or should have done it earlier in this process and allow for a Democratic election process at their convention to select their best candidate.
Lastly, the most relevant point is that Harris was a bad candidate and could not mobilize support to show how the policies under the Biden Administration work or, admit did not work and offer alternative concrete solutions. She was a shallow candidate.
The media and Democratic officials are mourning and lashing out at this overwhelming loss. Rather than trying to reach a compromise and working together for the betterment of the country they start with an opposition of resisting movement. They spent over $1 billion dollars and look at the outcome they got.
They missed the signs of what the country and citizens needed addressed: 1) inflation, 2) the economy, cost of groceries, gas and the bills individuals struggle to pay using credit cards and maxing them out.
The issues the Democrats stressed were Democracy, Trump being a dictator calling him Hitler, going after him with impeachment lawsuits, criminal and civil actions and portrayed Trump as someone singled out that he becomes the champion of the people fighting for them.
Then he gets shot and two assassination attempts at him and makes him more of a sympathetic figure. The Democratic Party and social media played stories every day about President Trump thinking it would destroy his image but all it did was make it stronger as a constant coordinated program on articles and stories with false statements and in the end it backfired. An old political adage says just keep your name in the public eye as the public just remembers the name not what was said or done.
The Democratic party needs to make a real reflection and realize they need to move to the middle on less controversial issues and look at governing as moderates. Move away from the left progressive mandates and offer multiple points of view. Even adopt some of the ones raised by President Trump.
But they will not do this as in just two days after the election results Governor Newsom called a special session of the legislature to allocate funding as a legal defense fund to enforce California laws and fight U.S. law passed by President Trump’s federal legislation. The same is true for the Governor of Illinois.
The dust has not settled, and Democrats are already forming up an opposition. They are bitter, sore losers and it shows their real motives. They spent over $1 billion dollars, and they got a lot of paid consultants. This is why we need a reorganization of how elections are conducted.
One day paper ballots need to show ID with a picture to vote. Have an early voting process a week before election day in-person or absentee secure process. Special arrangements for seniors or people with special needs but still need an ID.
Set spending limits on how much a candidate can spend on a campaign. No soft money, or PACs. This takes the money and consultants out of this process.
Set term limits on all public elected officials. President one six-year term like they do in Mexico. Run one time and if you cannot get the agenda done in 6 years then never get it done. Senate two terms, the House three two-year terms.
Power leads to corruption. Take the money out of the process and put term limits including on judges of 10 years and lastly no bureaucratic government employees are allowed to stay in designated government job positions more than 10 years and need to go into another government agency but must leave the government after a total of 15 years. These bureaucrats have too much power and the civil service needs total revision which has led to the deep State.
In fact, President Trump needs a total 15 percent reduction across the board in all federal agencies except DOD, Social Security, Medicare and VA programs. Get rid of the Department of Education as handled by the States. Get rid of the massive regulations that hinder our businesses from electric vehicle mandates or IRS hiring more agents first not qualified to do audits and just place unnecessary burdens on the taxpayers.
Next, I mean NO benefits to any illegal undocumented individuals not lawfully in the USA. If they provide no benefits, and that includes all these NGOs, they will leave the country. If an NGO provides funding, take their license or ability to raise funds. You can have a guest working on a documented program for immigrants as we need to know who is in our country. Arrest these criminals, either deport or kill them for the drugs, sex slaves, gangs and criminal actions they cause. This includes going after the ones from Mexico and need to make a no man’s zone 10 miles inside Mexico across our whole southern border and anyone in this area is subject to being detained, arrested and/or killed. This will stop the flow of the drugs, sex trafficking and any other criminal activities but need a real commitment to do it and go after these drug cartels and other organized crimes and either deport them or kill them.
Drastic measures are needed. So, unless serious, it’s just more lip service. Trump has a mandate so do it now. I know these are hard choices, but it takes real leadership.
THE PRICKLY PEAR REPRINT
Trump Throws A Brick At the Brics
December 3, 2024/by Neland Nobel
(see original post here)
We trust our readers know we have supported Donald Trump and feel he is by far the best choice of recent candidates. However, that does not mean we will always agree with him on all matters.
However, our problems are less with him and more with the people who have left him with such weak and unstable economic conditions.
Over the weekend, the incoming President sent a stern message to the BRICS nations, a group that now includes many more countries than the original Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It includes US enemies such as China and Iran but ‘friends’ like India and the UAE.
Mr. Trump said bluntly:
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy.”
OK, what is all this about? This is not a story that has gotten much ink. Are we about to be plunged into an international trade war? The notion of global payment systems and currencies is a wonky subject and not very sexy. But it just happens to be important, even if it has never been discussed on “The View.”
The President about to be #47 has just threatened nine countries, big ones like China, Russia, and India. Why did he do it? He recognizes that the ability to fund US debt by selling it abroad takes place at low interest rates because the dollar is in demand as the world’s “reserve” and “transaction” currency. That means most countries hold dollars as their bank reserves, and most commerce is settled in US dollars.
This has been called the “exorbitant privilege.” It means that the US is the only country in the world that can inflate its currency to pay its domestic and international debt. Other countries are limited to the domestic side only. As such, this has given the US tremendous power in the global monetary system and can force others to subsidize our standard of living.
To understand, we need to rehash some history.
To continue reading, click here for the full article
About Your Editor
Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as “the most successful county Chairman in America” by Human Events – The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his twenty-eighth year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. For the last twenty-three years, he has edited the Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the previous 20 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections, and city elections, all to assist conservative candidates. Gary also for 20 years cohosted Red, White and Blue on Houston Public Media TV 8 PBS Houston, longest running political talk show in Texas history and for the last two-plus years Gary has been a regular commentator on Fox 26-Houston’s “What’s Your Point” airing Sunday’s at 7 a.m. Gary serves on the Board of Directors of American Values, a national pro-family, pro-faith, conservative organization supporting the unity of the American people around the vision of our founding fathers and dedicated to reminding the public of the conservative principles fundamental to the survival of our nation. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.
