The Face of Courage
Democrat Representative Nicole Collier stands up to the Texas GOP and Trump’s attempts to rig the midterms.
The Republicans know that their narrow majority in Congress is at risk in the 2026 elections. Since they can’t win on the issues, they have to cheat.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers left Texas earlier this month to block the GOP-controlled statehouse from passing a gerrymandering scheme designed to create five more Republican congressional seats at the behest of President Donald Trump, who claims that he “deserves them.”
When they returned yesterday, GOP Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows demanded that the Democrats sign statements agreeing to be escorted by state troopers when leaving the House chamber to prevent them from leaving the state again.
Representative Nicole Collier refused the demand and issued this statement:
“I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts,
“My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights. When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents—I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination.”
In response, GOP leaders locked her inside the Texas House chambers, where she remained overnight Monday. Collier vows to stay until the issue is resolved.
The latest PEW Research polls show that a growing majority of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump’s policies and dislike the man himself. 60% disapprove of his performance in office, which represents a 9-point drop from early February.
A majority also dislikes his tariffs, budget bill, economic and immigration policies. They also dislike his personal traits, including his broken promises and lack of honesty.
Newsmax Pays the Piper
The arch-conservative media outlet Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over Newsmax’s spreading of outlandish conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was rigged.
In 2023, Fox News Channel paid $787.5 million to Dominion for making similar false claims.
Following the settlement, Trump posted on social media yesterday that he intends to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines, including those supplied by Dominion, even though he lacks the legal authority to do so.
During his disastrous summit with Vladimir Putin last Friday, where the president backed down on his demands for a ceasefire and embraced Putin’s position on Ukraine, Trump also went off-topic to mention his opposition to mail-in ballots.
He did so again when meeting with European leaders at the White House on Monday in what was widely seen as an intervention to get Trump back on track.
No Matter What Trump Does to Change the Narrative, the Epstein Files Won’t Go Away
Among Trump’s many broken promises was his assurance that he would release the full Epstein Files once he was elected.
The Department of Justice failed to meet this week’s deadline for the House Oversight Committee's subpoena to turn over the "full, complete, unredacted Epstein Files.”
DoJ now says it will provide the files “in batches” over time.
The FBI reportedly has already pored through the files and redacted Trump’s name, which appears numerous times.
Resources:
Texas Democrat Locked in State Capitol for Refusing Mandatory Escort ~ Time
Newsmax to Pay $67M to Dominion Tied to 2020 Election Defamation Case ~ Newsweek
Donald Trump's Name in Jeffrey Epstein Files Redacted by FBI ~ Newsweek
Donald Trump Suffers Major Polling Blow Over Jeffrey Epstein Files ~ Newsweek
Trump’s Job Approval and Views of His Personal Traits ~ Pew Research Center
Lone Star Tyranny ~ Perspectives
Representative Collier is an American hero. Thanks for telling us about her, Brad.
Go Nicole! This is the face of courage and the example of leadership our country needs at this time.