Politics. On Point.

  AUTHORIZING MAVERICK COUNTY, TEXAS, TO CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE A VEHICULAR, PEDESTRIAN, AND RAIL BORDER CROSSING NEAR EAGLE PASS, TEXAS, AT THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO Image source .   By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America (the "President"), I hereby grant permission, subject to the conditions set forth herein, to Maverick County, Texas (the "permittee"), to construct, maintain, and operate a vehicular, pedestrian, and rail crossing located on the United States border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, as described in the "Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Presidential Permit Application" dated October 17, 2023 ("October 17, 2023, Application"), by the permittee to the Secretary of State and determined to be complete on February 5, 2024, in accordance with 33 U.S.C. 535d and associated procedures.      The term "Border facilities" as used in this...

Fox News reporter, Lawrence Jones, talks to a Texas resident about conditions at the Texas border where migrants continue to pour in from South America and Haiti seeking asylum in the U.S. Texas resident Alison Anderson voices her concern over migrant trespassing, COVID-19 (and other health issues), border patrol agent job performance and more.  The treatment of Afghans vs the treatment of Haitians. It was less than a week ago that the world watched as the U.S. offered free plane rides to America for people of Afghanistan after the Taliban took over when U.S. troops departed the country after a twenty-year war stemming from terrorist attacks on several U.S. cities on September 11, 2001. In contrast, the U.S. has begun  flying Haitians back  to their native country.  READ: The Economic Benefits of Extending Permanent Legal Status to Unauthorized Immigrants In August U.S. president, Joe Biden, put out a very brief statement pledging that Haiti would have the support o...

Mexican restaurant Oyamel was the chosen spot for date night for the Obamas last evening. It's no secret that along with french fries, Mexican cuisine is a favorite of the Obamas, especially First Lady Obama. The coupled dined at the trendy restaurant at 401 7th Street, NW, in the District's Penn Quarter amid a crowd of 20-30 onlookers who later took pictures of the couple's departure. The Obamas en route to another fav dinner spot, Duck Tavern, in 2011. Speculation is that Saturday's dinner was an early Valentine's Day dinner since on Friday, February 14th, President Obama will be dining, instead, with King Abdullah II of Jordan as the president travels to Rancho Mirage, California - a stop he'll make before delivering remarks at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Maryland early in the day. No official word from the restaurant on what the Obamas had for dinner (you're not likely to get it), but we were told the staff and patrons were exc...

November Sale Will Offer All Available Unleased Areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico, Only Latest in a Series of Recent Major Offshore Oil and Gas Sales As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold an oil and gas lease sale that will make more than 20 million offshore acres available, and represents all unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. The Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale builds on two major Gulf of Mexico lease sales in the past year alone, a 21 million acre sale held last December and a 39 million acre sale held in June.“At President Obama’s direction, his Administration continues to implement a comprehensive, all-of-the-above energy strategy, expanding domestic production, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and supporting jobs,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “Developing public energy resources in the...

US Attorney General Under Fire for Gun Tracking Operation US General Eric Holder testified on Capitol Hill today in a hearing on about an operation named Fast and Furious, said to be designed to take illegally purchased weapons from Arizona gun stores across the  border for Mexican drug cartel use. The operation, which began during the George Bush era, came under fire as hundreds of those weapons somehow were lost, untracked, and plainly unaccounted for.  Oddly enough, at least two of the missing weapons were found at a site where Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in December 2010. Republican members of Congress are calling for Holder's job, alluding to Holder being impeached. "There is really no responsibility within the Justice Department," Sensenbrenner said. "The thing is, if we don't get to the bottom of this -- and that requires your assistance on that -- there is only one alternative that Congress has and it is called impeachment."...

"To The Happiness Of Our People" Our First Lady (looking gorgeous, as usual) and President Obama (bow-tie a bit off center) with Mexican President Calderon and Mrs. Margarita Zavala. (More photos). Tonight’s State Dinner will be held in the East Room of the White House with State Dinner performances held under a tent on the South Lawn of the White House.  Performances are expected by Beyonce , Rodrigo y Gabriela and the United States Marine Band . The most recent State Dinner held at the White House was for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur of India hosted on November 24, 2009.  (Our coverage here ). A Message From President Calderon at the State Dinner President Calderon points out the similarities between he and President Obama, explaining the two want the same things - "Happiness of our people." "We both belong to the same generation, almost the same age. We both are lawyers, for a time we went to the same University; ...

Oil Rig Catches Fire Off Coast of Mexico and Louisiana - Days After Nation Celebrates Earth Day Just when thousands celebrated Earth Day an oil rig catches fire off the coast of Mexico leaving 11 workers missing, seventeen workers suffering injuries including burns, smoke inhalation, and broken bones. Four people remain in critical condition. The crew of the Deepwater Horizon rig were performing exploratory drilling procedures some 50 miles off the Louisiana coast when the sudden explosion occurred. Environmental concerns have officials wondering if the crude oil on board the platform could begin leaking into the surrounding waters, reaking havoc on the environment. The Coast Guard's Petty Officer Katherine McNamara told reporters a day after the explosion that more than 300,000 gallons of oil per day could be spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.  An AOL news report tells a different story  featuring the Coast Guard's Rear Adm. Mary Landry giving ...

On her return trip from Mexico and Haiti, the First Lady will stop in San Diego, California for an event in support of her Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation. Continuing her efforts to improve nutrition, encourage healthy eating, and ensure access to fresh and affordable food in all communities, First Lady Michelle Obama will visit a community farm that is supported by the California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities Initiative. The Building Healthy Communities Initiative is targeting 14 geographically diverse areas across the state with significant, strategic, and sustained investments to transform these underserved communities into healthy communities. The First Lady will meet with community farmers and volunteers, tour the garden, and give remarks. Video : Ms. Obama on her first solo trip. Earlier this month the First Lady met at the White House with a task force to help determine ways youth and families can learn healthier eatin...

The death toll is spiraling throughout Mexico as a war between the country's government and the drug cartels intensifies. A U.S. consulate employee and her husband were killed in a drive-by shooting in Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican border city wracked by drug violence.  The wife and husband were in a car near the international bridge crossing into El Paso, Texas, the newspaper said, and a infant, presumably their daughter, survived the shooting unscathed. US National Security Council Mike Hammer, in a statement earlier this morning said: "The President is deeply saddened and outraged by the news of the brutal murders of three people associated with the United States Consulate General in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, including a U.S. citizen employee, her U.S. citizen husband, and the husband of a Mexican citizen employee. He extends his condolences to the families and condemns these attacks on consular and diplomatic personnel serving at our foreign missions. In concer...

Lady Michelle Obama will visit Mexico City, Mexico, April 13-15. Mrs. Obama’s international agenda will amplify the President’s commitment to advancing mutual interests, mutual respect and mutual responsibility between nations and peoples around the world. During this visit, Mrs. Obama will have the opportunity to engage the citizens of Mexico, particularly young people, and build on her recent conversation with Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala de Calderon on the issues of education and economic advancement in both countries. Earlier this month president Zavala met with the First Lady during her visit to Washington in which the two discussed Mrs. Obama's campaign for childhood obesity, and undocumented Mexican minors in the U.S. Mrs. Obama's trip to Mexico will be her first solo official trip as First Lady. It is not known whether the First Lady speaks Spanish.  Meanwhile her husband, President Obama admitted to not speaking a foreign language , says Ame...