Mark Finkner

This one means a little more to us, Lady Raider Nation 🥹 We’re excited to share that Stephanie Okechukwu has been granted 4 years of eligibility by the NCAA ❤️🖤

PART 3 of Setting the Record Straight on @KenPaxtonTX “If Ken Paxton couldn’t honor his marriage vows, how can we trust him to honor his oath of office?” Here’s what’s ironic… Some of you aren’t even Christians, yet you’re suddenly invoking the sanctity of marriage as a moral absolute. Okay… based on WHAT? An objective moral law you’re prepared to defend consistently? Or just “muh preferences” because you already don’t like the guy? Those of us who are Christians recognize that adultery is sin. I’m not defending it, excusing it, or pretending it doesn’t matter. But let’s examine the logic that Paxton can’t be trusted to do his job for a second… Saying a man can’t be trusted to honor his oath of office because he cheated on his wife is like saying a surgeon who commits adultery can’t be trusted to save your life on the operating table. Think about how absurd that is. Does breaking one commitment automatically prove someone will violate another? Of course not. And here’s something interesting… Angela Paxton filed for divorce citing adultery. Yet she’s publicly encouraged Texans to support the Republican ticket, which includes Ken Paxton. That doesn’t mean they’ve reconciled or that she’s excused his conduct. But it DOES illustrate that personal and political judgments aren’t necessarily the same thing. And despite Paxton’s personal failings, we still have an established record of what he’s actually accomplished in office. His office secured BILLIONS in privacy settlements against Meta and Google, prosecuted human traffickers and child predators, and fought numerous legal battles on behalf of Texas. That’s an actual record. One that includes accomplishments AND controversies. And no… his accomplishments don’t erase his failures… But his failures don’t erase those accomplishments. That’s why I’ve said from the beginning that we should evaluate the entire record… Not reduce a man’s entire public service to one aspect of this personal life. As Christians, we understand that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We’re imperfect people voting for imperfect people. And here’s something else I’ve noticed… People have a bad habit of judging others by their ACTIONS while judging themselves by their INTENTIONS. When we screw up, there’s always an explanation… But when someone else does, suddenly that failure defines their entire character. A vote isn’t a valentine. If you believe Paxton violated his constitutional oath, then examine his conduct in office and make that argument. But don’t pretend his marital infidelity automatically proves he can’t fulfill his responsibilities as a public official. That’s an assumption… Not a conclusion established by evidence.

I simmed the rest of the season. Four-way tie for 1st. Texas Tech vs. BYU in the Big 12 championship. Do with this what you will. bball.notnothing.net/big12.p…

HISTORY LESSON ON YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD: Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn’t know this. It’s easy to check out, if you don’t believe it. Be sure and show it to your family and friends. They need a little history lesson on what’s what and it doesn’t matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are FACTS. Up until the 1980's, Social Security cards expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the "NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION" message was removed. Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. His promises are in black, with updates in brackets. 1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary [No longer voluntary], 2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program [Now 7.65% on the first $90,000, and 15% on the first $90,000 if you’re self-employed], 3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year [No longer tax deductible], 4.) That the money the participants put into the independent ‘Trust Fund’ rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program [Under Johnson the money was moved to the General Fund and spent], and 5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income [Under Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be taxed]. Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month — and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to ‘put away’ — you may be interested in the following: Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’ and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it? A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate. Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding? A: The Democratic Party. Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities? A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’ deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US AND MY FAVORITE: Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants? A: That’s right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it! Now, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away! And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it! If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe changes will evolve. Maybe not, though. Some Democrats are awfully sure of what isn’t so — but it’s worth a try.

D1 Head Coaches Career Wins