Opinion

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By Tony Farkas
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Memorial services for the United States of America, 247, will not be held, as there’s no one left who actually supported the former nation.

There are no survivors, as the nation has degenerated into an oligarchy.

To plant a tree in memory, move to Canada.

The lead-in of this column might seem like over-the-top hyperbole, but I really feel that recent developments — particularly the 1,739th indictment of Donald Trump — has cemented the national law enforcement groups, including FBI, federal judges and the other alphabet organizations, as shock troops for the administration.

The cynical among you might think that indicting Trump on 37 charges, including illegal retention of classified material, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice, is warranted; that the possibility of 400 years in prison is only “justice,” or that the “special” prosecutor is only following the rule of law.

Normally, I feel that letting legal matters play out to get to the heart of things is the best practice. I still will wait to see what the outcome of this is before discussing Trump’s action. However, the rule of law I referred to is what the problem is here, and that any nation, including its leaders, that uses law to suppress honest discourse, to keep any opposition at bay, to affect public opinion especially in election cycles, is a nation that cares very little about equality and only cares about power.

A nation without laws is no nation, as you cannot govern anarchy. A nation that uses laws like clubs, beating down its people, is a dictatorship. A nation that controls its people through law under the guise of enforcement is an oligarchy, a nation ruled for the benefit of a small group.

For the unaware, there have been numerous examples over the last few years — heck, even decades — of the very same thing happening in other administrations and to other prominent politicians.

Hillary Clinton, for example, probably is the most egregious example of mishandling of important documents, having on at least two occasions used private, non-government-controlled email servers, the most notorious one being housed in a basement in her home. The Blackberry device she used for those emails was lost. All of this led to nothing.

President Joe Biden had boxes of classified documents at his home in Delaware, at a museum and in Chinatown, D.C. While a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate this, there’s only been one witness called, and no grand jury has been empaneled. Even other events — accusations of bribery, for instance — are merely headlines, meaning nothing has been done there.

More examples of such things can be cited, but the upshot will be that because Trump embarrassed the elite, because he has the temerity to be Republican and conservative, because he will make a run for the presidency, he was and is the target of “law enforcement.” The other people — Biden, Clinton, Swalwell, Schiff, et al — are ignored and even praised for their dedication to the country.

For a party to claim it seeks equality in all things to turn around and attack anyone that disagrees means the republic our Founding Fathers fought for is gone, replaced by howler monkeys screaming for freedom while denying it to others.

So in the words of the M*A*S*H camp announcer, we’ll be mourning all afternoon and evening, hoping against hope that the pendulum swings back toward fair and equal justice under the law, and like Lazarus, our country will once again stand tall.

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By Jim Powers
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We need to invent a stronger word to replace cynicism.

Over my decades of observing humanity, I’ve become increasingly cynical about our ability to survive as a species. Lately, though, I’ve had to add modifiers to the word cynical because it is not strong enough fit our current situation.

As those of you who follow the daily antics of our ruling class know, former President Donald Trump has been indicted by the DOJ (Department of Justice).

It is a 37 criminal count indictment, including 31 counts related to withholding national defense information, with one count against Trump for each document he was alleged to have kept in his possession​and five counts related to concealing possession of classified documents. Among these are counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and withholding documents and records, levied against both Trump and an aide, Walt Nauta​, and two counts of false statements related to statements to the F.B.I. by Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta​.

The indictment details the potential danger of the classified information in the documents that Trump kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and emphasizes the risk of disclosure, given the number of people with access to the estate, and includes photographs showing that some of the boxes Mr. Trump had taken from the White House were stored in areas where guests had access.

It also refers to an audio recording in which Trump acknowledges that he knew a document in his possession was still classified, which contradicts his public claims that he had declassified all the materials he took from the Oval Office.

Further, the indictment also suggests that Trump and Nauta hid boxes of documents from Evan Corcoran, referred to as "Trump Attorney 1," who would soon tell the Justice Department that there were no other files responsive to the subpoena, which was not true. The special counsel appears to be connecting phone records and surveillance footage to show a link between Trump's and Nauta's actions.

Finally, it also presents instances in which Trump implied, without directly asking, for Corcoran to destroy classified documents rather than turn them over to the government.

Not surprisingly, many republicans in government have jumped to Trump’s defense, not by alleging that anything in the document is not true (there is verifiable evidence, clearly, that it is true), but by claiming either that President Biden has committed much worse crimes, or some version of the belief that even if true, Trump should not be prosecuted because the indictment is politicly motivated.

There is no evidence that the Republican House has presented that Biden is guilty of anything. They make a lot of accusations, claim they have the proof, but refuse to provide it.

The claim of political motivation is moot. If politically motivated, again for which there is no evidence being provided by Republicans, the evidence leads to the conclusion that Trump committed the crimes, and we operate under the belief that no citizen of the U.S. is above the law. A trial will allow everyone to present their evidence, and a jury will decide the outcome.

Here's where the cynicism comes in. What the Republicans appear to be saying is that Trump is in some way special. That even if he committed crimes against the country, he deserves special consideration because he is a former President, or because he is a present Presidential candidate, or because of all the things he has done for the country.

Calling them cynical is simply insufficient to describe what they are saying. They are elevating one man above all others, which would be bad enough if they believed that Trump was worthy of that lofty position, but we know from many of their own statements that they do not.

What they do know is that Trump’s millions of followers do believe he is special, for many a messiah, and they need those followers to get reelected themselves. So, they are willing to shield him from his own criminal actions to curry favor with his disciples.

Perhaps I’m just using the wrong word.

Trump would call these kinds of Republicans the DEEP STATE.

Jim Powers writes opinion columns. All opinion are his own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of this publication.

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By Rep. Trent Ashby
Representing District 9

At the beginning of the 88th Legislative Session, our state coffers were brimming with a budget surplus of nearly $33 billion. Fortunately, the Legislature put some of this money to good use. Through the budget-writing process, the Legislature appropriated money to bolster border security, strengthen the electric grid, expand mental health access, and improve our state’s road, water, and broadband infrastructure. And while I certainly support funding for these initiatives, I felt a sense of disappointment when the Legislature adjourned on Monday, May 29, because I felt that we had not adequately addressed two of our state’s most pressing issues – property tax relief and a pay raise for Texas teachers.

Upon adjourning Sine Die, I drafted a letter to Governor Abbott requesting that he call the Legislature back for a special session to pass legislation that would provide our dedicated educators with a well-deserved pay raise and deliver meaningful property tax relief to Texas taxpayers. Little did I know that a few hours later, Governor Abbott would issue a proclamation to notify the Legislature that the first called special session would begin at 9 p.m. that evening and that the agenda would include legislation related to property taxes and border security.

While I was disheartened that the first special session did not include a teacher pay raise, I was pleased that Governor Abbott shared my view that the Legislature had more work to do.

The next day, the Texas House went to work. In a matter of hours, the House had crafted and overwhelmingly passed several pieces of legislation to provide meaningful property tax relief and establish stronger penalties for criminals involved in human trafficking at our southern border.

The House’s property tax plan, HB 1, and HJR 1 provide Texans with the largest property tax cut in history. This legislation significantly compresses school district tax rates, while providing a historic $12.3 billion in state funds to buy down property taxes across the state. This proposal will provide savings to all property owners, including commercial property, rental property, and individuals who own their primary residence. To enhance border security operations, the House passed HB 2, which severely increases penalties for criminals involved in the operation of stash houses or human trafficking.

I’m proud of the Texas House for taking swift and decisive action to answer the Governor’s call for the first called special session. While I appreciate the Governor’s recognition that more work needs to be done, it is my hope that he will call another special session to address teacher pay. Until then, I remain committed to providing our dedicated educators with the pay raise they deserve, and I stand ready to return to Austin to begin working on this policy initiative at the Governor’s convenience.

With both the regular and the first called special session behind us, I’ll be adjusting our column schedule from every week to every other week in order to keep you updated on the latest from Austin and around the district.

The mobile office is on the road again and our District Director will look forward to seeing you on the following dates, in the following locations: June 7 at the San Augustine County Courthouse from 9-11 a.m.; June 14 at the Polk County Commissioner’s Court Room in Livingston from 9-11 a.m., or at the Tyler County Courthouse in Woodville from 1:30-3:30 p.m.; June 21 at the Houston County Courthouse Annex in Crockett from 9-11 a.m., or at the Trinity County Courthouse in Groveton from 1:30-3:30 p.m.;

As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office if we can help you in any way. My district office may be reached at 936-634-2762 and our capitol office at 512-463-0508. Additionally, I welcome you to follow along on my Official Facebook Page, where I will post regular updates on what’s happening in your State Capitol and share information that could be useful to you and your family: https://www.facebook.com/RepTrentAshby/.

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By Tony Farkas
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One of the hallmarks of a weak argument is deflection, in that when a problem is identified, attention is redirected toward some other bugaboo — real or perceived — that may not be of any consequence, but so much can be made of it that discussion of the original problem is forgotten.

For instance, there has been quite a big fight in Washington, D.C., over increasing the debt ceiling and the possibility of the nation defaulting on its ever-increasing, massive debt.

The nation, however, is embroiled in other issues, such as book-banning, gay bashing, Trump, acceptance of trans people, Trump, Tucker Carlson, Trump, gun control, climate and even Republicans and their hate for all of humanity, society and puppies.

With any of these issues, including the one about debt, is the idea that someone else caused this problem, and the government must step in and bring whatever to ground.

Aside from the problem that government is not, nor should be, the answer, there’s also the mischaracterization of the issues themselves. What the government is responsible for, though, is its overspending problem, caused by the mischaracterized bugaboos that seem important, but not government important.

That’s a pretty important distinction, by the way; what the government can and can’t do. Ultimately, since we’ve abdicated our — meaning personal — responsibility in holding our elected officials responsible, they have in turned made our jobs theirs, and through the force of law, become arbiters of society.

This has happened for so long, that it’s become the accepted form, and that it is a scarier problem than debt. Once an elected body assumes the mantle of control, it keeps it, and then broadens it, mostly without the benefit of lawmaking and instead using regulation. The recent ruling against the EPA, which slapped down the agency’s overreach into controlling navigable waters by classifying any standing or running water, including underground.

A second tactic used to shut down arguments and opposition is transference, in which one group that practices a certain tactic accuses its opposition of practicing that very same tactic. The most glaring example of this is in race relations; claiming white people are inherently racist, and demonizing them, not understanding that this is racist.

Christianity gets a bad rap, too, as I pointed out recently, but gets labeled as something akin to a hate group for not accepting certain ideas, such as transgenderism.

Forcing a group of people to forfeit their beliefs to accept current zeitgeist is anathema, yet Christianity is constantly bombarded with such demands. Freedom of speech or religion doesn’t come into play, and the government, who is asked to protect subclasses of society, is asked to not protect Christians, since the mantle of unacceptable beliefs has been transferred to them.

Debt has nothing to do with any side issue, such as AI, capitalism, gay pride month, tire tread wear patterns, tea in any country, or climate. Debt has everything to do with government overspending on things like a surfeit of unconstitutional government agencies, unnecessary and frankly illegal regulations (that are passed by said unconstitutional agencies), bloated bureaucratic requirements (try applying for a grant and see what happens), overstaffed programs and departments, subsidies, foreign aid, baseline budgeting — you see where this is going.

It’s been said so much that it should be an adage, but to fix a problem, you must first identify the problem exactly, and then face it, work it, and as a friend and psychology professor once said, bring it to ground. Grasping at straws or straw-man arguments only shows that solving the problem is not a priority.

As I’ve said numerous times, too, government is never the answer. We as parents, residents, citizens and frankly the government (of the people, by the people, for the people, remember?), must reclaim our responsibility for our own destiny.