Horowitz: What will Gov. Abbott do with vax mandate in the Texas National Guard?



These were supposed to be part-time citizen soldiers, but so many of them have served multiple tours of duty in the Middle East. More recently, nearly all of them are at the Texas-Mexico border attempting to do the job the federal government won’t do. Now that same federal government is threatening to terminate thousands of Texas guardsmen if they fail to get a shot that quite literally is outdated, and numerous data points and testimony from military doctors raise concerns about adverse reactions. Will Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stand up for his Guard? What about other GOP governors?

The Biden administration officials know that with mounting opposition to COVID mandates, they must let some of the pressure out of the balloon and ease some of the restrictions affecting the average family. But they also understand that the military is a minority of the minority and that they can get away with illogical and illegal mandates on it for far longer. At present, it appears that no number of facts on the ground will change the minds in the Pentagon in terminating their July 1 deadline on all Army soldiers, including state guardsmen, to receive the experimental shots. While the damage has already been done in most circles of the active-duty military, there are thousands of Texas guardsmen who have not gotten the shots and are now starring down the barrel of losing their careers and all retirement benefits.

Here are the most recent vaccination numbers released by the Texas Military Department obtained by the Blaze:

As you can see, just 47% of the Texas Army National Guard are fully vaccinated, and 45% — accounting for 8,750 troops – have not begun the shots. At the border, 48% of the soldiers, nearly 3,000 of them, are unvaccinated, according to my source. And from speaking to two sources on the ground in the Texas Guard, it appears that most of them will refuse to get the shots. Will Gregg Abbott allow them to be terminated? Will Republicans in the U.S. Senate vote for the upcoming budget bill that continues to fund the DOD mandate?

The obvious question everyone should be asking is why are the GOP governors not uniting at a meeting and declaring the DOD mandate null and void? Remember, while governors have no control over the active-duty military, they do control the chain of command for disciplinary actions in their respective guards, absent a “Title 10” order from the president. At a minimum, each governor should direct the adjunct general of the Guard to announce that the state plans to fight the mandates and will dismiss any officer who encourages, much less coerces, soldiers to get the shots. That is fully within the legal authority of a governor.

Obviously, the Biden administration could use purse strings to gain leverage by threatening to cut off funding for the soldiers, but it’s hard for Biden to stand before America with waning popularity both for himself and the mandates and threaten to deny pay to the guardsmen in half the states. But that would require Republican governors to get on the playing field and pick the fight first.

The problem is that the Texas Military Department officials in charge of health issues in the Guard are downright on the same side as Biden, even though they work for Greg Abbott, who issued an order banning the mandate! In December, the Office of the Joint Surgeon of the Texas Military Department sent out a letter to doctors scoffing at religious exemptions and essentially ordering them into bullying soldiers to get the shots. The letter was publicized by Allen West, who is one of the candidates challenging Abbott for the GOP nomination on March 1.

Nice to see Gov Abbott posturing to join the 5 GOP Govs pushing back against fed overreach; however, Gov Abbott may want to speak to his own Deputy Joint Surgeon of the TX Military Department - Deputy Joint Surgeon Powell\u2019s internal memo seems to state something to the contrary.pic.twitter.com/VMJu0ka7nJ
— Allen West (@Allen West) 1639688580

Despite recognizing the governor’s order, the letter implores the doctors to take sides. “As a reminder, it is our job to convince Soldiers to receive the vaccine. If you, personally are not able to fulfill this role, please, privately message the State Surgeon.”

What about medical exemptions?

“If we do, and you authorize a temporary or permanent medical exemption for the COVID19 vaccine: ensure that you document (SF 600, uploaded to HRR or open an eCase); ensure that the appropriate exemption code is entered into MWD; and anticipate your decision will come under EXTREME scrutiny. Be prepared to justify it.”

What about religious exemptions?

“Read the regulation. See also AR 600-20. Ever seen a religious exemption for vaccines? NO! You haven't. That kid was administratively separated during IET. Soldiers will try. Soldiers will fail.”

Folks, this is not coming from the DOD or a blue state. This is the Texas Guard’s State Surgeon Peter Coldwell, who works for Adjunct General Tracy Norris – both of whom serve at the pleasure of the governor. How can this continue for even one day in Texas? Abbott claimed to have banned even private businesses from mandating the shot, yet he has his own state employees promising to make the lives of the Texas guardsmen miserable for not getting the shots.

Also, how can the Texas Guard leadership blow off concerns about medical problems, when in a Feb. 1 letter they admit the problem of adverse events? In that letter, they encourage soldiers to get the shots in the military (as opposed to a Walgreens) because then they will be eligible for medical compensation for line-of-duty injury in case of adverse events.

How can something like this be forced upon them? Consider the following points:

  • The military does not allow any vaccine mandate on experimental shots. There currently is no shot that is fully approved and available to service members. A federal judge in Florida agreed that Comirnaty, the approved injection with a license number, is not the same as the Pfizer shot available to the public, which is still operating under EUA.
  • How can they mandate a shot that not only fails to stop transmission but appears to have gone negative? My source in the Texas Guard tells me that over the past few weeks, 71% of the cases among those at the border are vaccinated, even though the background vaccination rate is only 52% among those soldiers.

With negative efficacy of the shots, most soldiers having had the virus already, and so many reported injuries in the military, is it really that hard for Republican governors to stand up for their guardsmen? With Biden’s polling in the toilet, many Democrat governors looking for an off-ramp, and the public finally realizing they’ve been scammed, is it too much to ask for GOP senators to fight the mandates in the budget bill?

Gov. Abbott, for his part, has asked the federal courts for a temporary injunction against the mandate. He may or may not succeed, but the courts (given their track record) cannot be the end-all. He is right that the governor of Texas does not take orders from the president. But it’s time to start acting the part. It would also help if he would start by cleaning up his own generals.

It’s time for the tyrants in Washington to learn what state sovereignty really is.

Beto O'Rourke told to 'get the hell out' during Texas campaign stop as he doubles down on gun-grabbing promise



Failed Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke was met with jeers and demands that he "get the hell out" during a recent campaign stop in Houston, Texas.

Last week, O'Rourke announced he is running for Texas governor, hoping to unseat incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

What are the details?

During a Houston campaign stop, O'Rourke met with a Texas rancher named Robert — who made no bones about telling the former presidential candidate to "get the hell out."

After shaking O'Rourke's hand, the man said, "Beto, I'm Robert. I'm native Houstonian. On behalf of the ranchers, the oil and gas, the farmers: Like Maxine Waters, I'm in your grill, telling you 'Don't come back. We don't want you here. Get the hell out! ... Adios!'"

A grinning O'Rourke told Robert, "Thank you. Thank you."

He continued, "Hey, Beto! Come and take it! It ain't going to happen. You lost twice. You lost twice. No means no."

The crowd then began chanting, "Hell no, hell no!"

(Content warning: Rough language):

Based Hispanic energy \u201cyou aint taking my guns either!\u201d \u201cKyle Rittenhouse!\u201dpic.twitter.com/8M7pueHyBa
— Nuance Bro (@Nuance Bro) 1637507393

What else?

Last week, O'Rourke said, "I'm running to serve the people of Texas, and I want to make sure that we have a governor that serves everyone, helps to bring this state together to do the really big things before us and get past the small, divisive politics and policies of Greg Abbott."

He also added that he stands by his vow to take away certain firearms from Texans.

During an interview with CNN's Dana Bash for the network's "State of the Union," O'Rourke said that he will work toward taking certain guns out of the hands of Texans if he is elected governor of the traditionally red state.

"Look, we are a state that has a long, proud tradition of responsible gun ownership," O'Rourke said. "And most of us here in Texas do not want to see our friends, our family members, our neighbors shot up with these weapons of war. So yes, I still hold this view."

During a 2019 Democratic primary debate, O'Rourke proposed a mandatory buyback of certain weapons.

"Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47," he said at the time. "We're not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans any more!"

On Sunday, O'Rourke said that Texas residents have spoken up about their concerns surrounding a bill Abbott signed into law over the summer allowing concealed carry without a permit.

“We don't want extremism in our gun laws," he said. "We want to protect the Second Amendment. We want to protect the lives of our fellow Texans. And I know that when we come together and stop this divisive extremism that we see from Greg Abbott right now, we're going to be able to do that."

Gov. Greg Abbott says there will be no more more lockdowns in the state of Texas



Gov. Greg Abbott said despite the increased numbers of coronavirus cases in Texas, he will not order any new lockdown in his state.

"We are not going to have any more lockdowns in the state of Texas," Abbott said to a Dallas radio host on Thursday.

"Our focal point is gonna be working to heal those who have COVID," he explained, "get them out of hospitals quickly, make sure they get back to their normal lives."

Abbott had issued a statewide mask mandate for the state on July 2 after a spike in virus cases and hospitalizations.

That order called for "all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases, with few exceptions."

At that time, the state had recorded 8,000 new cases of the virus in a single day and was experiencing a spike. On Tuesday, the state recorded 10,826 new daily cases.

Hospitalizations due to the coronavirus have also increased since the first lockdown orders in June and July. At that time, Texas had seen 5,102 hospitalizations due to the virus, but four months later the state has more than 7,400 hospitalizations from coronavirus.

Abbott has said during recent radio interviews that the state will focus on treatments for coronavirus including Bamlanivimab, which will be sent to Texas hospitals, as well as Regeneron antibody cocktail.

"COVID-19 antibody therapy medicine will be distributed next week to hospitals across Texas," Abbott tweeted on Friday.

"It has been shown to prevent hospitalizations in some patients when used before they become very sick," he added. "There will be no cost to patients."

Epidemiology professor Rajesh Nandy told KPRC-TV that although the rise in coronavirus statistics was alarming, the public appeared to be suffering from "COVID fatigue" and that there wasn't enough public will to support another lockdown.

Here's a news report about the governor's comments:

Gov. Abbott: No lockdowns during Texas COVID-19 surge | KVUEwww.youtube.com

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issues disaster declaration after brain-eating amoeba reportedly kills 6-year-old boy



Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a disaster declaration after the discovery of a brain-eating amoeba in a Lake Jackson water supply.

The brain-eating amoeba — naegleria fowleri — is reportedly responsible for the death of a six-year-old boy in the area.

What are the details?

According to CBS News, Abbott issued the disaster declaration on Sunday, and it extends to Brazoria County at large.

A portion of Abbott's disaster declaration states that "the presence of naegleria fowleri, which can cause a rare and devastating infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, was identified in three of 11 tests of the water supply, posing an imminent threat to public health and safety, including loss of life."

"Any regulatory statute ... that would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with this disaster shall be suspended," the declaration adds.

Residents are under a "boil water" notice at the time of this reporting.

The organism typically infects people through contaminated water entering the nose. Naegleria fowleri can cause fatal cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis.

KHOU-TV reports that the six-year-old boy likely caught the infection from a public splash pad or a garden hose, and the subsequent tests on the water supply confirmed the presence of the amoeba in the Lake Jackson water supply.

On Friday, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced the potential contamination, warning at least eight communities away from using their tap water except for toilet flushing.

On Saturday, the commission lifted the warnings for all impacted cities in Brazoria save for Lake Jackson.

The city's mayor, Bob Sipple, announced on Saturday his own disaster declaration, which activated the local Emergency Operations Center and permitted officials to acquire the necessary additional resources from the state.

You can watch CBS News' video report on the announcement here.

According to KHOU, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is working with the City of Lake Jackson, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Environmental Protection Agency to resolve the ongoing water issue.

In a statement, Abbott said, "The state of Texas is taking swift action to respond to the situation and support the communities whose water systems have been impacted by this ameba [sic]. I urge Texans in Lake Jackson to follow the guidance of local officials and take the appropriate precautions to protect their health and safety as we work to restore safe tap water in the community."

What about the little boy?

KTVT-TV reported that the child, Josiah Christopher McIntyre, was very ill prior to his untimely death.

His mother, Maria Castillo, said, "Friday it was vomiting and throwing up and still the headache, but I mean kids get sick. It's normal. Kids vomit. Kids run a fever."

The child's family initially worried that Josiah — who had played at a local splash pad — was infected with COVID-19, but he tested negative for the virus just a day later.

On Sunday, the family took the child to Texas Children's Hospital, which administered a CT scan that showed swelling of the six-year-old's brain.

The child died on Sept. 8, and doctors later determined that his brain swelled due to naegleria fowleri.

Castillo says she still wants to know precisely how her son contracted the amoeba.

"We want to know as a family, you know, for a peace of mind," she told the station. "It won't bring him back. It probably won't make us feel better. But the fact that we know how he got it, how he contracted it, just gives us that peace of mind that we can that we know."