The Citrus Eagle-Buzz of the Beak
February 24, 2026 - Reader-supported FREE interactive newsletter w/paid option. *There Are Advertisements. Connecting you with valuable resources & Event Notices to increase community engagement! 👀
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THANK YOU, HEROES for Defending Our Country! I LOVE YOU!
Excerpts from Congressman Gus Bilirakis Newsletter
Investing in Future Generations: It was great to speak with parents in our community to share an exciting opportunity: the option to open a new investment account for their children as part of their 2025 tax return - helping families plan and invest in their children’s future. You can learn more about how to help the children in your lives save for future success by reading my column here.
Promoting American-Made Products & Tax Relief: In my most recent op-ed, I outlined our continued efforts to strengthen American manufacturing while delivering meaningful tax relief to hardworking families. By encouraging investment in American-made products and offering tax incentives for those who purchase American-made vehicles, we are supporting domestic jobs, strengthening our economy, and rewarding consumers who choose to buy American. You can read the full op-ed here.
Excerpts from Byron Donalds Newsletter.
For Immediate Release
February 18, 2026
Contact: Daniel First
(202) 225-2536
ICYMI: Donalds Joins The Brian Kilmeade Show
WASHINGTON – Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) joined The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio to discuss President Trump’s successful economic policies and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to raise property taxes in New York City.
Watch the full interview here
If you’d like to receive excerpts from Congressman Byron Donalds, Click Here.
Three Mexican Citizens Charged with Trafficking Agricultural Workers into Servitude on Farms in Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida
CarMax to Pay Nearly $500,000 to Remedy Illegal Repossessions of U.S. Servicemembers’ Vehicles
Former NFL Player and Laboratory Owner Convicted in $328M Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme
Romanian National Pleads Guilty to Selling Access to Networks of Oregon State Government Office and Other U.S. Victims
Nuclear Weapons Engineer Sentenced for Orchestrating 15-Year Kickback Scheme
Eleven Gang Members and Associates Indicted on Racketeering, Attempted Murder, Murder Conspiracy and Drug Trafficking Charges
Six More Defendants Charged in International “ATM Jackpotting” Scheme
Florida Man Charged with Shooting at Uber Driver and Possession of Illegal Firearms and Narcotics
Former Coal Company Executive Convicted in International Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme
Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges Related to the Sponsorship of Unaccompanied Alien Child
ATF Seizes Thousands of Illegal Firearms Bound for Cartels in Mexico
Attorney General Bondi Announces Department of Justice Prioritization of Animal Welfare Enforcement
Sports Equipment Company Owners and Sales Professional Indicted for Bid Rigging Schemes Affecting Mississippi Public Schools
President of Insurance Brokerage Firm and CEO of Marketing Company Sentenced in $233M Affordable Care Act Enrollment Fraud Scheme that Preyed on Vulnerable Consumers
Dear Fellow Floridian,
This week, I had the opportunity to join the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, local elected officials, and leaders in the Hispanic community to demand the immediate passage of the SAVE America Act. The American people have made it clear they want safe and secure elections, which means we MUST pass this bill that makes commonsense changes:
1) It requires Voter ID to vote in our elections – you have to show ID to board a plane, buy a lottery ticket, open a bank account, so why wouldn’t we require ID for something as important as voting in our elections?
2) It ensures only U.S. citizens can register to vote in our elections. The United States government and its elected officials should represent the will of United States citizens.
The SAVE America Act has overwhelming support from the American people and President Trump for good reason: we have to protect our elections. I’m going to keep fighting to get this bill passed.
Sincerely,
Rick Scott
United States Senator
Dear Friend,
As your newest U.S. Senator, I am fighting every single day for Florida families, our freedoms, and our future. From working to end wasteful and negligent government shutdowns and defending our constitution, to standing with law enforcement and preserving Florida’s beautiful coastline, I remain committed to ensuring our state stays the Great Free State of Florida!
I will keep striving to advance legislation that protects Americans’ rights, strengthens our national security, and holds your government accountable to you—from the HALO Act and Safer Truckers Act, to the DEMOCRACIA Act, I remain laser-focused on restoring law and order, safeguarding freedom and continuing our mission to make America stronger and safer.
To stay informed, I encourage you to also follow me on X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I look forward to continuing to update you on my work on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Ashley Moody
Florida’s Newest U.S. Senator
The Safer Truckers Act
Read more here
Getting behind the wheel of a car can be one of the most dangerous things Floridians do every day—and we must do all we can to make sure our roads are as safe as possible. That is why I’m fighting to pass my Safer Truckers Act. We’ve seen across the country how reckless sanctuary policies allowing illegal aliens to operate commercial trucks can be deadly and endanger other motorists. The time for action is now, and I want to thank Congressman Steube for joining me today to get this legislation across the finish line.
Ashley Moody
Florida’s Newest U.S. Senator
My New Year Resolutions
Expose EVEN MORE excessive and wasteful spending of your hard earned tax dollars.
Continue to hold insurance companies accountable with BIG FINES for screwing with Floridians.
I am honored to have the complete and total endorsement of America’s Governor. He has been a true champion for freedom and a fighter for our Conservative values.
The Governor knows how critical this election is for the future of our state. We are holding liberal mayors accountable and fighting for property tax relief – that’s why he says, “This is one of the easiest choices conservatives will ever have for Chief Financial Officer.”
To see the Governor’s FULL video of his endorsement, click the link below!
Congressional Representatives
Bill Tracking
Finance Appropriations
Representatives’ Roll Call Votes/Voting Records
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Voter Data Center - Registering to Vote in Florida
Florida voters can register to vote in a variety of ways:
Online here.
In person at your local supervisor of elections office.
By completing a Florida Voter Registration Application and mailing it to your local supervisor of elections office.
To register:
You need to register with your local, county Supervisor of Elections. The list can be found here. The rules for voting by mail can be found here.
To be eligible you must:
Be a United States citizen
Be a Florida resident
Be 18 years old
Not have been convicted of a felony without your civil rights having been restored
Registration Deadlines
You can register at any time. However, to vote in an election, you must be registered by the book closing date, which is normally the 29th day before each election.
For more information on voter registration in Florida, you can visit the Florida voter registration page here.
Florida Office of Inspectors General
NOTE: No admission charge for the Village View Community Church Event.
Any questions email kenmccard@gmail.com or text/call 954-258-1111.
Ken McCard Lake County Republican Party https://www.lakecountyrepublicans.org/
Citrus Newcomers Club
It’s finally here… The Roger Stone Menswear Collection
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Largest fentanyl seizure in Citrus County history nets two in Beverly Hills, detectives say
—> Additional News Sources ←
FREE FOR ALL FRIDAY With Steve Gruber
Call the common sense hotline
877-310-9966.
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Click Here & Get The Book! Government Gangsters By Kash Patel
Good morning, patriots, business-minded people, and the defenders of our great republic. First, know that the fundamentals of our original monetary system, or free markets, remain. However, over the course of 250 years, some of our leaders were not always good stewards of what the founding fathers put in place for us, as most of us know. We are working our way to 39 trillion dollars of debt. Some economists do not believe operating in debt is a bad thing. For me, debt is unsustainable. The reality is that our dollar, over the years, has lost nearly 88% of its value, and this is the world’s currency?
We are in a precarious position, and most people are unaware of the extent to which our currency has eroded. Many more have no investments or funds set aside for the future or for a rainy day. Wouldn’t it be great if our school system taught children the lessons of saving and investing at a young age? Wouldn’t it be great if they were taught the true value and positive tenets of capitalism? We were once on the gold standard, as you know, meaning that our currency was backed by gold and silver. But that is no longer the case.
Because of bad decisions and bad policies made by our legislators and our major banks, we are at a crossroads when talking about investments and what really has true value. Many of us were raised and taught to believe that our government-issued currency, which I describe as fiat money, has true value because the government declared it legal tender, not because it was backed by any physical commodity. We were taught to invest in paper currency, not precious metals. We have been told that gold and silver are relics of a bygone era and serve no other purpose today outside of the jewelry business and proclivities related to one’s fortune and vanity.
That’s not the case anymore. Silver, often referred to as the stepbrother of gold, has both monetary and industrial value. And with so little of it being produced, and because the mining of it was suppressed for over 45 years, we, and the world, find ourselves in a financial pickle. Established in 1933, the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) is a major futures and options market for metals, including gold, silver, and copper. Over the years, silver contracts became a hot item within this exchange environment. This was good as long as there was silver to back up each contract. When the opportunity to sell more contracts than the available physical silver on hand arose, it was the perfect ploy for the banks because few investors ever wanted to take custody of physical silver. They either cashed out or rolled their contracts over when the time came.
Today, with the urgent need for silver in AI, EVs (electric vehicles), solar panels, the hi-tech industry, military missile guidance systems, jewelry, and the numismatic collecting industry, silver is a hot item again. Unlike the Asian commodity markets, where physical gold and silver are regarded much more highly than any futures contracts, COMEX in New York and the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) are facing a crisis because they do not have enough silver to meet all of the contracts coming due at the end of this month, and we’re talking contracts they had no problem in the past basing their business models on for over fifty years in its current form.
Some believe it is the coming end of fiat currency and a return to a metal-based monetary system worldwide. So, how can you protect yourself from the ramifications this crisis presents? If you can afford physical silver before it really takes off in value, one might want to take a look into purchasing physical silver. Or, if you cannot afford the current price of silver, you have available silver mining stocks (not the same as ETFs - exchange-traded funds). Like physical silver, silver mining companies are highly undervalued. Most are still very affordable, but like physical silver, they are poised to rise in value in leaps and bounds, a majority of analysts believe. So, to protect the hard money you earned, do your due diligence and consider all of your financial investment options. Great opportunities are out there to secure your wealth and increase it even more. As with any investment, there are risks, but by doing your research and thoroughly studying the businesses you want to look into, it becomes more of a calculated risk, which is a much better position to be in. But as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained...
Investing should not be looked at as a get-rich-quick scheme. Think long term, my friends. As long as the fundamentals remain solid, such as is the case with silver, meaning there remains a short supply of this metal, and the urgent need for it is not only present, but growing each day, then you can expect the positive outcome in the ensuing years to favor you. This is not financial advice, but more a heads-up notice to all who believe in our republic and capitalism, because there are signs of dark clouds ahead of us, and our broken monetary system may just collapse.
For your edification, I have below a link which identifies what the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) believes are the top eleven silver mining companies. Again, do your research, but you can begin here with this link... And remember, a day of reckoning is coming for fiat currency. Don’t be caught off-guard holding worthless paper money... In full disclosure, I own stock in the number one and number three stocks listed in the link below (NYSE Symbols: EXK and FSM). There are nine other companies you can research if you are interested...
Whether you decide to invest in these mining companies or others, or none, is up to you. I am just a messenger. Keep in mind that when the government feels its needs are critical and it needs your physical silver, they can, and will, come after your valuables just like they did with gold and silver decades ago. In the mining stocks area, you do not have these concerns because your silver is in a never-ending state of being mined and extracted... Once the mining company gets paid for the sale of their silver, that’s where your concerns about physical silver end and where your stock increases in value...
Please click on the links below to see and hear Berney Flowers...
Maryland on the Line: Power Hour with Col. Berney Flowers on Leadership, Policy & the 2026 Midterms
SKILLS BUILD ON SKILLS
John 21: 17 “He said unto him, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep.”
After teaching industrial arts and working as a carpenter for many years, I suppose I had sawdust flowing through my veins. The wood shop must have been my favorite area and that love carried over into my retirement years.
A wood shop in a garage became my work area in which I continued to build furniture, cabinets and other items of walnut, cherry and maple. A woodland on the property provided trees to cut and haul to an Amish sawmill.
Roy, the sawmill operator was an unusual sort. He worked barefoot and used a band saw. His work was absolute precision. I could not find as much as a thirty-second of an inch variance in thickness and widths.
Normally there was one-thousand or more board feet of lumber in my drying building for my habit and the projects seemed to never find an end, which of course, I would not have wanted to happen.
A high school boy from down the road would come by occasionally (most every day) and keep me company. I still see him from time to time and we reminisce about those days in the wood shop.
One day I was turning bed posts on a wood lathe. The project was a walnut, king-size poster bed. It sits in my bed room even now.
My young friend asked me that day if I could show him how to do the work. My immediate response was “These skills are an accumulation of years of work, study and a lot of trial and error. So it probably wouldn’t be of any great benefit to you.”
He was depressed over my response and went away head down and dragging his feet. Over the time, I had second thoughts. We all had to start somewhere; why not?
A couple of days later he returned. Asking him what he had in mind to build, his response was “I dunno.” Finally the truth came out; he wanted to make a wooden heart for one of his girlfriends. I’m not sure how many he had and I dared not ask!
Thinking he could not get into much trouble with a portable jig-saw, I gave him his first lesson. It was to draw a symmetrical design for the heart. Avoid making the radius of the curve too acute because the blade would not turn that sharp a curve.
Clamping the nine inch square piece of cherry to a work bench, he began. After an extended period of time, he brought it to me for inspection.
With a little touch up, he had a presentable heart. I’m sure it totally impressed his current girlfriend. As the days and weeks passed, he used belt sanders (portable and bench), a band saw, a router and drills. He made his mother a cutting board and a wall shelf.
Skills build on skills. If a woodworker learns simple cabinet construction, he/she can build a night stand. If one can build a night stand, he/she can build a dresser and a chest-of-drawers. If one can turn a rolling pin on a wood lathe, a poster bed is definitely in the future.
New Christians are usually (or should be) introduced to Jesus’ last commandment before He ascended.
Acts 1: 8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The power He was referring to was from the Holy Spirit (Spirit of God). Acts 2: 1-4 tells us of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Any true believer-follower of the Lord Jesus has this power.
A Christian should never feel that he/she is going into the world alone to teach others about Jesus and eternal life. God is with us and will give us words and motivation to inform others about His saving power (Matthew 28: 20).
Just as skills build on skills in the wood shop, skills build on skills in our Christian life. Also our enthusiasm grows as well as incentive to share our faith.
In the leading scripture (John 21: 17) Jesus asked Peter “Do you love me?” We love Jesus because He first loved us. With this truth, should we not follow His commandment to “feed my sheep?”
Skills building on skills include feeding lost and hungry sheep. Sheep are not particularly intelligent animals; they become lost rather easily. There are over five-billion people in this world that have not realized eternal salvation is by a faith based belief in Jesus, crucified and resurrected.
This is not to mean those billions have limited intellect, but is to say they have never been told. Telling others is establishing a skill, a motivation and a burden for those without Christ. One does not have to be a carpenter to build; neither does one have to be a preacher or missionary to share their faith.
We may not win our first encounter to Jesus but the courage to win the next will develop and our enthusiasm will grow. A personal testimony, a gift of a Bible, or a simple invitation to a church or a back yard Bible study is a good place to begin. I challenge you! Let your skills build on skills.
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com
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