SOME ELECTION STUFF FROM CALIFORNIA

By Bob Walsh

 

The mandatory voter ID and Save Proposition 13 ballot initiatives are both heading for the ballot, probably.  There is some reason to believe the Democrats are making some sort of sleaze move against them.  This sleaze move almost certainly will involved misleading title once the initiatives actually hit the ballot and misleading summaries, both of which are controlled by hard-core Democrat partisans.  Also it seems likely the legislature will come up with competing measures to muddy the water and mislead or confuse voters, some of who are actual citizens.  

Also, the Tax Those Billionaire Bastards initiative, being pushed primarily (at least officially) by labor unions, is running way behind the curve.  It is completely possible it will NOT get enough legal signatures to make the ballot.  That of course doesn't mean it won't be on the ballot.  The Democrat super-majority in the state house has very much a FUCK YOU attitude towards the voters.  

FIRED L.A. FIRE CHIEF SUES MAYOR

By Bob Walsj

 

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley and Mayor Karen Bass speak to reporters at a news conference on devastating wildfires around the LA area, on Jan. 11, 2025.

 

Kirsten Crowley was formerly the Fire Chief of Los Angeles.  She was sacked by Mayor Karen Bass, allegedly for incompetent response to the L A fires 13 months ago.  There is some reason to believe she was actually fired for having the affrontery to call out the mayor for inadequate funding of her department and refusing to go along with whitewashing a report on the fire response to make Mayor Bass look good, or at least less bad.  

She has just filed suit against the mayor asserting that she was fired inappropriately and illegally.   

I VOTED FOR SEN. JOHN CORNYN TODAY

By Howie Katz

 

 

I voted in the early election today and cast my ballot for Sen. John Cornyn.

I usually do not vote in primary elections because I an neither a Democrat or a Republican. But this year was different because knucklehead gun owners are trying to unseat Sen. Cornyn because he voted for some reasonable gun legislation in response to the 2022 Uvalde school shooting which left 19 children and two teachers dead. And so I voted in the Republican primary.

 

The 19 children and two teachers that were killed in the Uvalde school shooting.

 

 

The legislation Cornyn voted for was very reasonable in light of the Uvalde shooting and in no way hurt any law abiding gun owners. But apparently the majority of Texas gun owners are a bunch of knuckleheads who are determined to run Cornyn out of office because of this one vote.

 

Polls indicate that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running ahead of Cornyn among Texas Republicans. What a shame. Paxton is a crook who ought to be in jail instead of in public office. Yet Texas Republicans prefer a crook over an honest politician.

 

There will probably be a runoff because there is a third candidate in the race. Wesley Hunt, currently a Congressman, seems like a decent man but is trailing far behind the other two contenders.

 

Sen. Cornyn deserves to be reelected. He has been good for Texas and for our country. And he has seniority in the Senate, which is important and beneficial for Texas.

 

If Paxton turns out to be the Republican nominee for the Senate, there's no way on earth that I would vote for him in the November general election.

 

I pray to God that the Texas Republicans regain their senses and vote to return Sen. Cornyn to his seat in the Senate, a seat he so richly deserves. 

CJNG FLEXES ITS MUSCLES, MAKES MEXICO PAY FOR ITS KILLING OF EL MENCHO

Did Mexico WANT cities to burn? Ex-CIA chief RICK DE LA TORRE's revelations will challenge everything you thought you knew about cartels

 

By Rick De La Torre 

 

Daily Mail

Feb 24, 2026

 

 

Smoke over Puerto Vallarta. Tractor-trailers burning across major highways. Gunmen erecting checkpoints (Pictured: Puerto Vallarta on February 22)

 

Smoke over Puerto Vallarta. Tractor-trailers burning across major highways. Gunmen erecting checkpoints as if they were a sovereign authority collecting tolls in fear. Tourists confined to resort hallways. Police units pinned down. Soldiers ambushed in broad daylight. Guadalajara's airport, in Mexico's second largest city, thrown into chaos as armed convoys moved with confidence.

That is what happens when a state strikes the head of a cartel machine.

The fall of Jalisco New Generation Cartel's (CJNG) longtime leader, known by his nom de guerre 'El Mencho,' born Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, was never going to pass quietly.

CJNG is not a personality cult orbiting one man. It is a vertically integrated criminal enterprise that operates as a parallel regime. It taxes territory, controls ports, runs industrial-scale fentanyl labs, fields drone units and armored vehicles, and deploys disciplined hit teams with military-grade coordination. It has penetrated municipal governments, state police commands, and segments of the federal structure.

When an organization like that loses its apex figure, it does not retreat. It demonstrates continuity. It burns highways to signal succession is already in motion. It ambushes soldiers to show the chain of command survives the man.

The polite narrative says this is contained fallout. A bold raid. Proof that Mexico can act under pressure from Washington. A decisive blow delivered in a new era of seriousness.

That storyline protects the political class in Mexico City. It avoids the harder question: if retaliation was inevitable, why was it not anticipated and contained?

If Mexico's defense establishment executed the raid with full awareness of CJNG's reach then that demanded preparation.

 

The fall of Jalisco New Generation Cartel's (CJNG) longtime leader, known by his nom de guerre 'El Mencho,' born Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, was never going to pass quietly

 

Vetted rapid-response units staged in likely flashpoints. Coordinated corridor lockdowns across cartel strongholds. Immediate financial seizures to choke liquidity. Follow-on arrests targeting second- and third-tier leadership. Hardened perimeters around airports, ports, refineries, and major commercial arteries.

If those layers were thin, delayed, or symbolic, that is not bad luck. It is the consequence of years of accommodation.

Perhaps even a purposeful Mexican government demonstration of their own fecklessness. A cry for help.

Cartels of this scale do not thrive in a vacuum. They thrive inside political tolerance.

Governors accept geographically contained violence so long as it does not spill into tourist districts or financial centers. Municipal police collect plazas and pass intelligence in exchange for local calm. Judges convert procedural delay into practical impunity. Federal authorities manage criminal power rather than dismantle it because open confrontation carries political cost. Electoral incentives reward short-term quiet over structural reform.

That is how a criminal enterprise matures into a parallel authority.

Now it is asserting itself in daylight.

The consequences do not end at Jalisco's beaches, like Puerto Vallarta. Tourism contracts as travelers rethink risk. Commercial corridors slow as blockades and uncertainty ripple through supply chains. Rival factions probe newly exposed territory, and fragmentation often produces bloodier competition.

Fentanyl production does not pause during that chaos. It recalibrates. American communities absorb the overdoses.

 

That storyline protects the political class in Mexico City. It avoids the harder question: if retaliation was inevitable, why was it not anticipated and contained? (Pictured: President of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on February 23)

 

CJNG and its competitors already maintain operational nodes inside the United States. They manage distribution networks, enforce debts, intimidate witnesses, and launder proceeds through American financial channels. The violence in Mexico and the damage in the United States are not separate phenomena. They are extensions of the same criminal enterprise.

Cartel leadership will now reassess risk. If calibrated intimidation north of the border could slow or complicate sustained pressure, they will study that option. These organizations are rational. They prefer profit to chaos and generally avoid actions that invite overwhelming U.S. retaliation.

But they probe.

Probing has historically meant targeted violence, intimidation of witnesses, or settling internal disputes on American soil. It has meant threats against family members to silence cooperation. It has meant subcontracted crews and intermediaries to create distance between command and act. None of it resembles an invasion. All of it is designed to protect revenue and test resolve.

Deterrence works when the cost of probing is clear and immediate. The United States is not a permissive battlespace. Federal, state, and local law enforcement capacity is deep. Intelligence authorities are expansive. Financial monitoring is sophisticated. Cartel networks operating inside the country understand this and generally calibrate their activities accordingly.

Which brings us back to the central question.

Was this a headline operation or the opening move in a sustained campaign?

 

That is what happens when a state strikes the head of a cartel machine

 

Mexico must decide whether it intends to dismantle the machine or merely disrupt it. Leadership decapitation without financial strangulation is temporary relief. A serious effort requires coordinated asset seizures inside Mexico, aggressive prosecution of political facilitators, federal intervention in compromised local police forces, judicial reform that ends impunity by delay, and permanent territorial control rather than rotating deployments that concede ground once headlines fade.

Anything less signals the endurance of the cartel and the fatigue of the state.

The United States can reinforce that effort. Continued indictments. Aggressive Treasury designations. Enforcement actions against facilitators operating inside U.S. jurisdiction. Intelligence sharing that enables follow-on arrests. Relentless extradition demands. Economic leverage that ensures cooperation does not drift once public attention moves elsewhere.

Leverage matters. But sovereignty requires will.

Mexico will either be governed by its constitutional authorities or by armed criminal enterprises that burn infrastructure to set the rules.

If the state cannot impose sustained cost on organizations that challenge it with open warfare, it is not asserting control. It is conceding it.

 

                                      

Rick de la Torre is the founder and CEO of Tower Strategy, a federal lobbying firm in Washington. A retired senior CIA operations officer and former Chief of Station, he specializes in national security, energy, trade and geopolitical risk. 

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A HOCKEY FAN TO BE PROUD OF TEAM USA ..... THE DEMOCRATS WHO REFUSED TO STAND FOR THE TEAM HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CLASS

Democrats spark fury for refusing to stand for the US Olympic hockey team at Trump's State of the Union

 

By Max Winters 

 

Daily Mail

Feb 24, 2026 

 

 

Trump gave the team a rousing reception as defening 'USA' chants filled the chamber

 

Democrats attending the State of the Union have been blasted after they refused to give the Team USA men's hockey stars a standing ovation.

The Winter Olympics champions were given a rousing introduction into the US Capitol by Donald Trump, prompting wild 'USA' chants among Republicans and others in attendance. 

But Democrats inside the room refused to stand up for the team, sparking fury across social media. However, they did stand up when Trump later announced the women's Winter Olympics team would visit the White House after rejecting his initial invite.

Referring to his political rivals, Trump quipped: 'That’s the first time I’ve ever seen them get up and actually not all of them did get up.'

Former Trump advisor Jason Miller led the fury on social media, calling Democrats who snubbed the team 'terrible human beings' and 'really pathetic'. 

Others watching on at home labeled them 'disgusting' and 'pathetic' and claimed they 'hate American greatness'. 

 

Some Democrats refused to give a standing ovation to the Team USA men's hockey stars

A large number of Democrats (left) stayed seated when the US hockey team was introduced

Players pumped their fists and posed with their gold medals as Republicans went crazy 

The Winter Olympics champions were given a rousing introduction from President Trump

 

During the celebrations Trump announced he was awarding goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who remarkably saved 41 of 42 shots in the 2-1 overtime win over Canada, the Presidential Medal of Freedom following a vote by the players. 

Trump said: 'They beat a fantastic Canadian team in overtime, as everybody saw. As did the American women, who will soon be coming to the White House.

'They were in the Oval Office before and I just want to say a second big congratulations to Team USA. We took a vote and I said "if anybody votes no, I'm not doing it." They said they weren't about to say no because they've never seen a goaltender play as well as Connor Hellebuyck.

'I asked him, "the one shot where you put your stick in the back and it hit the neck of your stick and bounced off, did you practice that or was it a little lucky? He refused to answer that question.

'But I just want to tell you that the members of this great hockey squad will be very happy to hear, based on their vote and my vote and in this case my vote was more important, that I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor which is the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

'What a special job you did. What special champions you are. Thank you very much.' 

The men's team has spent the day in Washington DC after being invited by Trump in the celebratory locker room phone call that has since divided America.

Trump joked he would 'be impeached' if he didn't extend the same invite to the women's team, who also won gold in Milan, and they later chose not to accept.

 

Former Trump advisor Jason Miller called them 'terrible human beings' and 'really pathetic'

Trump awarded goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (right) the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Connor Hellebuyck makes a stick save, one of 41 saves he made to seal Team USA's victory over Team Canada

 

Following a riotous night of celebrating in Miami, the men's team flew to Washington DC on Tuesday morning. They met Trump in the Oval Office as he prepared to deliver his State of the Union address.

Moments before Trump arrived, Boston Bruins star Charlie McAvoy was seen entering the US Capitol with his gold medal hanging around his neck. 

There are 20 members of the 25-man Winter Olympics roster in Washington DC but it remains to be seen how many will attend the State of the Union. 

Videos and photos shared on social media by Trump administration aides throughout Tuesday documented their trip to the White House. They showed hockey team members posing for a photograph in front of the South Portico. 

They walked along the West Wing colonnade where Trump has posted portraits of every U.S. president just steps away from the Oval Office, where they were welcomed by Trump.  

As they approached the Oval Office, some of the players popped into the press office's open door to flash the medals from their 2-1 overtime win over Canada on Sunday.

It was the Americans' first gold medal in men's hockey since the 'Miracle on Ice' group won in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980. Staffers applauded and shouted, 'We love you!'

'I recognize every one of you. I know every one of you,' Trump said as the players entered the Oval Office, which he has redecorated with numerous flourishes of gold that matched the players´ medals.

'Big guys,' he said, standing near his desk and shaking hands with the players, who wore dark tops with 'USA,' the American flag and the Olympic rings on the front and light colored pants.

The one Team USA star who was instantly recognized by Trump was Panthers veteran Matthew Tkachuk, who recently made flattering comments about the President as Florida celebrated its latest Stanley Cup title at the White House last month. 

 

President Trump welcomed 20 of the 25-man roster into the Oval Office earlier on Tuesday

The Republican leader slipped on a gold medal before posing for pictures with the team

They showed hockey team members posing for a photograph in front of the South Portico

They walked along the West Wing colonnade where Trump has portraits of every president

Stars leaned into the press office's open door to flash the medals from their win over Canada

 

As a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion, Tkachuk was making his third White House trip in just over 12 months. 

'There's my friend,' Trump told the elder Tkachuk brother. 'You've come a long way since I last saw you.'

While 20 members of the 25-strong squad were in attendance, five players chose not to go to America's capital to continue the celebrations.

According to The Athletic, Kyle Connor, Jake Oettinger, Brock Nelson, Jake Guentzel and Jackson LaCombe have all opted against spending time with Trump and their teammates in Washington DC.

Connor, who didn't see any action in Milan after their first game, practiced with the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday ahead of their next NHL game on Wednesday. 

Oettinger was scheduled to arrive back in Texas on Tuesday and should be at the Dallas Stars' morning skate on Wednesday before they play the Seattle Kraken.

Nelson is back in Denver to see his family and should be back with the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Guentzel has arrived home in Tampa Bay but skipped Lightning practice on Tuesday.

Meanwhile LaCombe was heading back to California from Miami on Tuesday as he prepares to reunite with his Anaheim Ducks teammates for their game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Interestingly, all but Connor grew up in Minnesota. There have been violent clashes in Minneapolis between immigration enforcement agents and anti-ICE protesters following the deaths of two Americans, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, last month.

AS USUAL, HOUSTON'S AL GREEN MAKES AN ASS OUT OF HIMSELF ..... AND HIS LOCAL CONSTITUENTS ADORE HIM

Democrat lawmaker is THROWN OUT of Trump's State of the Union

 

By Ross Ibbetson and Victoria Churchill 

 

Daily Mail

Feb24, 2026

 

 

Rep. Al Green holds up his, 'Black people aren't apes' sign, a referennce to a recent social media post Trump made about the Obamas

 

Texas Democrat Al Green was ejected from Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday after brandishing a placard reading: 'Black people aren't apes.'

Green's protest was in reference to a recent social media post Trump made featuring an AI video depicting Barrack and Michelle Obama as primates. 

Trump kept walking as GOP Senators Markwayne Mullin and Roger Marshall moved swiftly to stand in front of Green, blocking his sign from view. 

Green, a long-serving member of the Congressional Black Caucus, was swiftly ushered out of the House Chamber as Republican lawmakers erupted in heckles. 

Trump's arrival was otherwise smooth as he delivered a landmark congressional address to reset his agenda ahead of November's midterms. 

The President is staring down the barrel of his lowest approval numbers with the economy and his immigration crackdown at the top of voter grievance lists.

Trump's speech focused on his domestic accomplishments following his first-year in office, including a rate payer pledge to keep energy prices down amid soaring costs due to AI data centers.

The President also touted his TrumpRx initiative to deliver affordable pharmaceuticals to American families.

 

Rep. Al Green holds a sign which reads, 'Black people aren't apes' as Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday

Republican lawmakers surround Al Green as he holds a sign protesting the president

Green is ushered out of the House Chamber holding his incendiary sign

Republican lawmakers swat down Green's placard 

Green engages in a tug of war with furious Republicans trying to snatch his sign

Trump carries on walking as Green holds up his protest sign

 

Green's protest was rooted in a February 5 Truth Social post in which Trump shared a video about voter fraud that included a two-second clip depicting the Obamas as apes. 

The 62-second video, posted during a late-night spree, featured the segment with the former president and first lady's faces superimposed onto the bodies of primates to the song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.' 

The White House initially attempted to downplay the post, with Karoline Leavitt dismissing the backlash as 'fake outrage' and labeling the clip an innocent meme.

But the administration swiftly blamed it on a junior staffer after outcry from senior Republicans, including Senator Tim Scott, who called it 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House.'

By midday, the post was deleted - a rare admission of a misstep.

Trump later explained that he had no idea that the video featured the AI clip at the end.

He told reporters on Air Force One he had only watched the opening section of the video, which focused on his 2020 election fraud claims, before passing it to his team.

Trump said he condemned the racism in the clip but refused to apologize, blaming a staffer for failing to check it before posting. 

NO SURPRISE HERE BECAUSE THEY ARE SOCIALISTS

Fury as AOC and Mamdani urge illegal migrants to sign up for free childcare

 

By Phillip Nieto 

 

Daily Mail

Feb 24, 2026

 

 

The advertisement triggered the wrath of conservative influencers on X who accused the progressive pair of prioritizing migrants over American citizens

 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani have sparked backlash after urging undocumented migrants to sign up for free childcare in a Spanish advertisement.

The New York mayor was joined by his socialist congressional ally in a video warning migrant parents that this is the last week to sign their kids up for free childcare in NYC

'My Spanish is not very good,' Mamdani says before introducing AOC. 'But the fight for universal childcare? That is very good. So I brought a friend to help me share why signing up for free 3-K and Pre-K this week matters.'

Ocasio-Cortez then steps into the frame, continuing in Spanish as she outlines the February 27 deadline for parents to enroll their children.

'Any New York City parent, regardless of your occupation, income or immigration status is eligible to sign their child up.'

'We've made the application process easy, no matter who you are,' Cortez adds before explaining the online process for registering children, noting it is open to more than 200 languages. 

'Because no family should be shut out from our programs just because of the language they speak...we can make our city more affordable for everybody.'

The video with AOC high-fiving Mamdani and shouting, 'Muy bien!' 

 

The New York mayor was joined by his socialist ally AOC in a video urging migrant parents to sign up their kids for free childcare

Mamdani's Spanish advertisement for undocumented families comes amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in major US cities

 

The advertisement triggered the wrath of conservative influencers on X who accused the progressive pair of prioritizing migrants over American citizens. 

'Hey AOC imagine you put this much effort into ideas to help working Americans earn more money,' one X user wrote in response to the video. 

Another right-wing influencer reacted by telling his followers, 'Nothing is “FREE."'

Other critics mocked AOC, claiming her Spanish was not “much better” than Mamdani’s.

Not all the reaction migrant childcare video was negative. One uses named Rachel Bedard wrote, 'UGH my heart is FULL because it’s so CUTE when the government loves the people and works for the people!'

Mamdani's Spanish advertisement for undocumented families comes amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in major US cities.

New York City is one of the largest urban centers in the country refusing to cooperate with the administration on the mass detentions of migrants.  

He successfully ran for New York mayor last year on a platform focused on making healthcare and the cost of living more affordable for working families, regardless of immigration status.

US INCHING CLSER TO WAR WITH IRAN

US deploys F-22 fighter jets to Israel

Bloomberg reports NATO steps up E-3 surveillance flights to monitor Iran, as the US confirms at least 12 stealth F-22s that took off from base in UK have landed in southern Israel. 

 

Israel Hayom

Feb 24, 2026

 

 

F-22 Raptor

 

 

Tensions between the US and Iran are nearing a boiling point, with diplomatic efforts continuing even as Washington ramps up its military posture across the region and issues direct threats toward Tehran. 

 

President Donald Trump has set an early March deadline for reaching a deal and warned that if no agreement is achieved, "bad things will happen." Writing overnight between Monday and Tuesday, Trump said he would "prefer a deal, but if not, it will be a very bad day for Iran." 

Meanwhile, At least 12 F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets landed Tuesday at an Israeli Air Force base in southern Israel as part of the US regional deployment in the Middle East, a source at US Central Command confirmed to Kan News.

The F-22 is a strategic stealth fighter aircraft operated by the US. Unlike the F-35, Washington has not sold the F-22 to any other country. Much of the aircraft's capabilities remain classified and it is considered a state secret in the US, with abilities unmatched by any other fighter jet.

The aircraft's structure and composite materials enable it to evade radar detection, allowing it to fly covertly toward its target. To preserve its stealth profile, the missiles it carries are stored internally rather than mounted under its wings until the moment of launch. The F-22 is also equipped with a low-observable radar system that allows it to detect adversaries without exposing itself while in stealth configuration, along with advanced self-defense capabilities.

According to Bloomberg, Trump has assembled the largest US military force in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Officials in Tehran reportedly assess that if the Islamic Republic of Iran withstands a possible strike, it would be able to claim victory.

At the same time, The New York Times reported that the president is considering an initial strike in the coming days. If that fails to break the regime's resilience, a broader military campaign could follow, even as Pentagon officials warn of the risk of a prolonged confrontation.

SMOTRICH, AS USUAL, IS SPOT ON

Smotrich: Jerusalem will ‘never’ cede control of Judea and Samaria

“It is part of Israel, part of the State of Israel,” said Smotrich, “and with God’s help, this can never be changed.”

 

By Amelie Botbol and Akiva Van Koningsveld  

 

Israel Today

Feb 24, 2026

 

 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of theReligious Zionism Party, leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, Feb. 23, 2026.

 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) declared on Monday that Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley are part of the Jewish state and “with God’s help, this can never be changed.”

Smotrich commented to JNS on figures showing that the Jewish population in the region grew in 2025 at twice the national rate.

The current 541,085 residents of Judea and Samaria are “not enough,” Smotrich told JNS. “We want the population to grow much more, throughout the entire State of Israel and in Judea and Samaria.”

Describing the often-disputed region as the security backbone of the entire country, Smotrich said Jerusalem would continue to expand its grip on Judea and Samaria, including through a construction boom.

“We are changing all the services the state provides there, because it is part of Israel, part of the State of Israel,” Smotrich added, “and with God’s help, this can never be changed.”

The Cabinet minister concluded, “This is the security of the entire State of Israel—and when it comes to our security, we do not compromise.”

The population in Judea and Samaria has grown by 13.8% since 2021, when 475,481 Jews lived in the region liberated during the 1967 Six-Day War, according to the report, which was first shared with JNS on Friday.

The natural growth of the area’s Jewish residents is expected to result in a population in excess of 600,000 by 2030, 685,112 by 2035 and over a million by 2050, former lawmaker Ya’akov Katz’s report predicted.

Katz credited Smotrich—who also serves as a minister in Israel’s Defense Ministry responsible for civilian matters in Judea and Samaria—and Israel’s minister for settlement and national missions, Orit Strook, for helping bring about “a far-reaching revolution.”

Smotrich and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have led an unprecedented drive to expand control of Judea and Samaria, said Katz.

Over the past 24 months, the two leaders oversaw the establishment of 69 new towns, approved more than 60,000 housing units and classified tens of thousands of hectares of land as state property, he explained.

The changes were made possible by the transfer of dozens of key powers—about 70 in total—from the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration to a civilian deputy appointed by Smotrich, effectively giving the minister far-reaching powers over Judea and Samaria affairs, according to Katz.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, during a Feb. 20 interview with controversial podcaster Tucker Carlson, declared that Judea and Samaria’s Area C, which constitutes 60% of the territories, “is Israel.”

“Area C is Israel. And Israelis can live in Israel. That’s what it is,” he said.

Huckabee’s remarks indicated a potential shift from US policy, which does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, though the Trump administration has said that civilian communities in the territory are “not per se inconsistent with international law.”

Politico reported on Monday that top State Department officials were in touch with Arab countries that expressed anger over the remarks, saying these are Huckabee’s personal views and do not reflect a shift in policy.

Nearly 70% of Israeli citizens want Jerusalem to extend full legal sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, according to a 2025 survey.

Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the country, according to a survey the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11, 2025.

20 SOUTH AMERICAN BURGLARS BUSTED IN HOUSTON

HPD makes 20 arrests in South American crime ring connected to Houston, West U burglaries

 

By Luke Jones 

 

KTRK

Feb 20, 2026  

benefits of Houston 

West University Place

 

HOUSTON, Texas -- Houston police have arrested 20 people in connection with a South American burglary ring and recovered $4 million in stolen property, according to investigators.

The ring is believed to be responsible for more than 60 home break-ins across the Houston area, including seven in West University Place.

Eyewitness News has learned HPD's Westside Crime Suppression Team took one of the "major players" into custody last month.

Chilean national Patricio Munoz and his wife, Tania Barra, were arrested Jan. 28.

Investigators said the couple was funding and directing many of the break-ins. Munoz was previously charged and sentenced in Los Angeles for the 2022 break-in of then-Congresswoman Karen Bass' home.

The FBI has linked the same Chilean burglary ring to break-ins at the homes of professional athletes in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kansas.

In Houston, Munoz allegedly was selling jamming devices to a separate Colombian burglary ring.

The devices, which are illegal under federal law, can interfere with home security systems and other wireless communications.

West University Place police said they found a jamming device on Chilean burglary suspect Ignacio Castillo Contreras during a break-in last year.

"It's sending out a really strong signal to overwhelm the signal of your security cameras, your alarm system, your cell phones," Nigel Neilsen, who runs the IT firm Idealtek, said.

When Munoz and Barra were arrested last month, they were initially booked on charges of tampering with government records.

Munoz had a fake Mexican passport and fraudulent car title, according to court records, while Barra is alleged to have used a fake Argentinian ID to rent an apartment.

Days later, Munoz was charged with the Oct. 4 burglary of a home in a gated Royal Oaks neighborhood.

Investigators said he broke in through a window after jumping a fence and then pried open a safe and stole four watches, each worth thousands of dollars.

When police searched his apartment, they said they found watches, jewelry, and other pricey items. In his child's bedroom, they said they found pry bars and a jamming device.

While the tampering charges against Munoz and Barra were later dropped, Munoz currently faces the burglary charge, and Barra is being held on a warrant out of Pennsylvania.

Both are also wanted by federal immigration authorities.

THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE AS LONG AS AMERICANS DEMAND ILLEGAL DRUGS

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Navy Seals Trained Mexican Military Team Who Killed Terrorist Leader El Mencho

 

By Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby 

 

Breitbart

Feb 22, 2026

 

 

The Mexican Army team that tried to apprehend but ultimately killed the fearsome leader of the terrorist organization, Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), Ruben Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, received specialized training from U.S. Navy Seals shortly before the operation.

Breitbart Texas was able to confirm with high-level members of the U.S. intelligence community that Navy SEAL instructors traveled to Mexico earlier this month for a series of trainings aimed at targeting and apprehending top-level cartel figures. Earlier this month, amid much controversy, Mexico’s Senate voted to allow U.S. special forces operators to travel into the country to train their Mexican counterparts.

Instructors from the U.S. Navy SEALs and other top-tier groups are scheduled to be in Mexico from mid-February to April. They first arrived on February 15 on a U.S. air transport with their own equipment and weapons for the training seminars.

The sources consulted by Breitbart Texas revealed that as soon as a top-level Mexican Army team was turned over to the U.S. Navy SEAL instructors, they sequestered their phones and all communication devices to prevent any leaks of information, something that has been an ongoing issue in prior attempts to capture El Mencho and other cartel figures in recent years.

While details of the training and the operation remain classified, Breitbart Texas was able to confirm that Mexican military forces working off U.S. and Mexican intelligence tracked down El Mencho to Tlapalpa, Jalisco, where they carried out a high-level operation aimed at capturing the terrorist leader.

During the operation, the security forces of CJNG tried to fight off the military forces, leading to a fierce firefight when Mexico’s military forces killed four gunmen and injured three others, who were airlifted to a hospital for emergency care but died en route. According to information provided to Breitbart Texas by Mexico’s military, one of the individuals who died during the air transport was Oseguera Cervantes, more commonly known as El Mencho.

As Breitbart Texas reported, the death of the feared cartel boss unleashed a wave of terror in Mexico as cartel gunmen in several Mexican states carjacked vehicles, set up blockades, and torched buildings. The widespread terror by the criminal organization reached such levels that the U.S. Department of State was forced to issue a travel warning to U.S. citizens in Mexico about the dangers they could face. 

A GOOD IDEA WITH ESSENTIAL ZERO CHANCE OF GOING ANYWHERE

By Bob Walsh

 

 

CA state senator Tony Strickland  

CA state senator Tony Strickland has proposed that the state of CA stop charging a gasoline tax for one year and knock off the twice-yearly legally mandated fuel mixture change for one year.  It is believed that this would drop the cost of gasoline in CA about $1 per gallon pretty much instantly.  The legislative proposal is written as an emergency bill which would take effect immediately upon being passed into law.

IMHO it has essentially zero chance of going anywhere and pretty much the same chance of being signed into law if it makes it to the governor's desk.  Of course it the price of gas balloons quickly enough that the Democrats in the legislature sweat their re-elections and if Newsom thinks that signing it might help his presidential aspirations, then maybe......

 

FASCISM OF THE LEFT IN MINNESOTA

By Bob Walsh

HF 3433 has just been proposed in the Minnesota legislature.  This bill would ban the sale, transfer or possession of a whole bunch of semi-automatic rifles.

There would be a grandfather clause, BUT any such weapon must be specifically registered with the state.  Part of that registration process includes a waiver by the owner granting the cops authority to enter their place of residence to inspect the weapon and see that it is stored safely as prescribed by the government.

Gee, I don't see how anything bad could result from that.  (Typed with massive insincerity.)

FORMER UK AMBASSADOR ARRESTED IN EPSTEIN PROBE

By Bob Walsh

 

 

The British constabulary has arrested Peter Mandelson, formerly the ambassador from the U.K. to the U. S. on suspicion of misconduct in public office.  He is believed to have been involved in the same bullshit that Andrew Windsor is believed to have been involved in, passing confidential trade information to Epstein.  

This is a big deal.  It makes the government look really stupid.  You don't arrest your own former ambassadors unless you are pretty sure you have the goods on them.

EL MENCHO IS DEAD, BUT THE JALISCO NEW GENERATION CARTEL IS NOT

The cartel king is dead, but his dynasty survives: Inside El Mencho's savage billion-dollar empire... and why all eyes are now on his 'narco queen' wife and glamorous criminal daughter

By Nick Allen 

 

Daily Mail

Feb 23, 2026 

                          El Mencho died in a shootout with Mexican soldiers on Sunday

 

In the anarchical world of Mexico's drug cartels they call her 'La Jefa' - The Boss.

Now, as the widow of Mexico's most-wanted drug lord she stands at the center of the storm in a country convulsed by spasms of cartel violence.

Rosalinda González Valencia, 63, married Nemesio Oseguera, the brutal mastermind known as 'El Mencho,' in 1996.

On Sunday, El Mencho, 59, leader of the savage Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), who had a $15 billion bounty on his head, was killed by soldiers in Jalisco state.

Mexico was on high alert Monday with schools closed, travelers stranded, airports in chaos, and gas stations in flames as El Mencho's henchmen launched violent revenge rampages.

Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla revealed that it was a visit from a 'romantic partner' that led to El Mencho's capture.

Following the visit, an associate of the woman told authorities where to find El Mencho, and special forces stormed his lair. 

Trevilla did not name the woman and it was unclear if it was Rosalinda. The couple, who had three children, separated in 2018, according to local reports, and he had been linked to other women.

 

 

El Mencho and his wife Rosalinda González Valencia

 

Although it is unlikely in the male-dominated cartel world, Rosalinda could now be the best positioned person to take over her late husband's power.

Such a scenario would mirror Hollywood dramas like "Griselda" - the Netflix production starring Sofia Vergara - and the Oscar-winning movie "Traffic," starring Catherine Zeta -ones.

Rosalinda is already no stranger to the law.

She was first arrested and released in 2018, and then captured by the Mexican army in 2021.

The Mexican government described her detention then as a 'significant blow to the financial structure of organized crime' and accused her of involvement in 'the illicit financial operation of an organized crime group.'

At the time, Mike Vigil, former international operations chief for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, called her a 'narco queen.'

'She has all of the keys, all of the confidence of El Mencho, all of the information, and was responsible for laundering the cartel’s money,' Vigil said.

Following the 2021 arrest Rosalinda, reputedly a clever businesswoman, was jailed for five years for money laundering.

She was released early last year for good behavior, according to news reports in Mexico. Her present whereabouts are not known.

 

Jessica Oseguera, daughter of Mexican cartel boss El Mencho, served a 30-month jail sentence in the US

Smoke billows from burning vehicles amid a wave of violence in Mexico following the killing of 'El Mencho' by security forces

Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes was killed by Mexican federal forces on Sunday, leading to chaos across Mexico

 

When she was arrested in 2021 two of her three children were already behind bars in the US.

That included daughter Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez - known as 'La Negra.'

Jessica, a dual US and Mexican citizen, was born in San Francisco but studied at university in Mexico.

She was arrested in 2020 in Washington DC when she attended a court hearing involving her brother.

She was charged with money laundering under the Kingpin Act, pleading guilty to five counts, and was jailed for 30 months.

According to the Department of Justice she owned or helped run six businesses sanctioned by the US, including two sushi companies and a tequila operation.

At the time, a DOJ official said: 'We will aggressively investigate and criminally prosecute those who willfully violate Treasury Department sanctions under the Kingpin Act, as a key component of our broader strategy to dismantle and disrupt foreign drug cartels.'

'La Negra' was released from jail in 2022.

 

El Mencho's daughter Jessica was jailed for 30 months for money laundering

El Mencho pictured with his son and one of his daughters

Burned buses that were set on fire by organized crime groups in response to El Mencho's death

 

Her brother, Rosalinda's son Rubén Oseguera González - known as 'Menchito' or 'Little Mencho' - had been extradited to the US in 2020 on drug trafficking charges.

He was ultimately jailed for life and ordered to forfeit over $6 billion in drug trafficking proceeds.

He was considered by the DOJ to be CJNG’s second-in-command, responsible for trafficking more than 50 tons of cocaine.

Rosalinda and El Mencho's other daughter Laisha has had a much lower public profile.

According to local reports, El Mencho and Rosalinda separated eight years ago, but the exacts status of their marriage remains unclear.

Rosalinda grew up the eldest of up to 18 siblings, and is the niece of a powerful 1990s figure called 'El Maradona,' who founded the the Milenio cartel.

Originally avocado farmers, members of the clan diversified into marijuana, and then morphed into a money laundering cartel known as

 

El Mencho's cartel had trafficking routes across five continents

 

Los Cuinis, named after a type of squirrel that reproduces quickly.

According to the DOJ it 'financed the founding and growth of' CJNG through a burgeoning business empire that comprised restaurants, hotels, beauty salons and more.

That operation was headed by three of Rosalinda's brothers, according to the DOJ.

Last year, one of them was sentenced to 30 years in jail in the US.

Meanwhile, the CJNG, headed by El Mencho, became arguably Mexico’s most powerful and violent cartel.

It made its reputation with brazen attacks on Mexico’s security forces, including an assassination attempt on Mexico City’s police chief that wounded him and left three people dead.

In 2015, cartel gunmen shot down a Mexican military helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade, and it has also been accused of drone attacks on law enforcement.

It has ruthlessly expanded its territory beyond the state of Jalisco, spurring bloodshed in states including Guanajuato and Michoacan, as well as reaching its tentacles into Mexico’s Caribbean beach resorts.

The cartel went on to set up drug trafficking routes across five continents.

Its main business is trafficking drugs to the US, especially methamphetamine and fentanyl.

According to the DOJ it is traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the US and other countries, and is known for 'extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption.'

 

President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum speaks at Palacio Nacional on February 23, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico

 

The most orderly successions in cartels tend to come when a relative takes over, according to experts.

But the prospect of La Jefa assuming control in the male-dominated world of the cartels would be is unlikely, especially if they are no longer married.

David Saucedo, a security consultant, said: 'This is similar to what happened with the capture of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

'The commanders of this criminal organization will reach an agreement on who will take over the position; if they fail to reach one, a civil war will break out within the organization.'

'The CJNG is a pyramidal organization, Mencho exercised undisputed command.'

Since her release from prison last year, Rosalinda has seemingly vanished.

Experts say that El Mencho’s stepson, Juan Carlos Valencia González, could now succeed him.

Speaking to El Pais, Víctor Manuel Sánchez Valdés, professor and researcher at the Autonomous University of Coahuila specializing in organized crime, said: ‘The most logical successor now is Juan Carlos Valencia González, his stepson.’ 

He said other figures who could compete for the position include Audias Flores Silva, another major figure in the cartel who oversees operations in Michoacán, Zacatecas, and Nayarit, as well as Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán, who manages the ports.

Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, who is identified in the press as the leader of the cartel’s Elite Group could also be a candidate.