Free Republic

The indictment of Texas Gov. Rick Perry on two felony counts of abusing his power "potentially was the stupidest thing I´ve seen, I think, in my entire career," MSNBC political analyst Mark Halperin told MSNBC´s "Morning Joe" on Monday. "I hope some judge throws it out right away. "It´s not just kind of funny and ridiculous. But it´s an infringement on individual liberty. He´s got a first amendment right -- just because he´s the governor of Texas. And I think, like I said, it´s easy to joke about this, but this is a serious thing. It is ridiculous that he...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Mr. Snerdley walked in and said, "Boy, this thing with Rick Perry, can you believe what a farce?" It's not a farce, folks. Now, I'm not gonna be getting to Rick Perry right off the bat here, but I wanted to mention something about it to get it on the table. It's not a farce. It isn't a joke. Sadly, it's not even a laughing matter. This is dead serious. Not that he's done anything wrong. What's dead serious about this is the Democrat Party and their ongoing effort to criminalize political differences or opposition. All the...

Remember Barack Obama telling his followers to always "bring a gun to a knife fight"? Like good subjects do, his supporters in Texas obeyed. Friday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was indicted on two counts of abuse of power.

Video of Lemberg's arrest as reported by KXAN.

No, I'm NOT being metaphorical nor am I kidding. If I wasn't having so much fun laughing at Ronnie Earle, I might even wish that it weren't true. Evidently Travis County DA Ronnie Earle - who is once again back in the running for most politically-driven DA in the nation now that Mike Nifong has been disbarred - is involved in this New Age, "re-discover your masculinity" cult called the ManKind Project. That's according to the liberal Houston Press. And boy does this outfit sound scary. Forty men at a time strip down and do tribal dances and beat cooked...

The Republican governor is accused of abusing his official powers by publicly promising to veto $7.5 million for the state public integrity unit at the Travis County District Attorney's office. He was indicted by an Austin grand jury Friday.

Southwest Key Programs is the largest provider of services to unaccompanied children in the United States. The group has illegal child units in seven states.An Austin-based company has received over $120 million so far this year to shelter illegal immigrant children.(VIDEO-AT-LINK) KEYE TV reported: More than $100 million of federal grant money this year has gone to an Austin based company that runs unaccompanied minor shelters across the country. Its website says Southwest Key Programs is the largest provider of services to unaccompanied children in the United States. Their headquarters is in Austin, Texas. A brief online description details the...

On Tuesday, migrant children from Central America were expected to be bussed into Oracle, and taken to a local shelter. According to this report, Kwasman tweeted from the scene: “Bus coming in. This is not compassion. This is the abrogation of the rule of law." He posted the tweet along with an image of a yellow school bus. He later told a reporter that he saw “fear” on the faces of the migrant children on the bus. “This is not compassion,” Kwasman said during the interview. There was only one problem. The children on the school bus were not migrants,...

Barack Obama may have lost a few approval rating points with this move. The president was seen cutting the line at Austin's Franklin Barbecue Thursday afternoon, while in town to raise money for the Democratic Party. Lives at the eatery are infamously long, and have been known to stretch as long as three hours wait.But Mr Obama did no waiting today, as he showed up at the restaurant, shook a few hands and made his way straight to the register to order more than $300 worth of meat. 'I know this is a long line. I feel real bad, but...

Some people wait in line for five hours just to get their fix at Austin’s famous Franklin Barbecue. And who can blame them? The establishment is less than 10 years old but has been cited as the nation’s best. Of course, President Obama is not “some people.” After a campaign-style speech in Austin on Thursday afternoon, the commander in chief made a stop by Franklin Barbecue and was quickly ushered to the front of the line. It’s common practice to let a president cut to the front of the line at a dining establishment. After all, the president arguably has...

President Obama was heckled by two men in his speech in Austin today, in which he discussed the economy and again pushed for immigration reform. About a half hour into the speech, two men stood in their seats near the front of Austin's Paramount Theater and began shouting. At first, the President spoke over them, but later said to them, "sit down guys, I'm almost done.' The men continued shouting, and the audience tried to shout them down, and two Austin Police Officers emerged, but the President asked that they not be removed, and he promised to speak to them...

Bill Powers, the president of the University of Texas-Austin, has announced that he will step down from his post in June 2015. The announcement brings to a close a power struggle that has shaken the state in the past week, signalling the twilight of the eight-year reign of one of the most powerful figures in higher education. The outcome is a compromise between Powers and University of Texas Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, who had demanded that Powers depart by October or else find himself fired at Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting. By serving for another year, Powers will be able to...

Gov. Rick Perry Monday turned down what he characterized as President Barack Obama’s offer for a “quick handshake on the tarmac” at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Wednesday, but said he would juggle his schedule to accommodate a “substantive meeting” with the president on the border crisis any time during his two-day visit to Texas. In a letter to the president, Perry wrote, “I appreciate the offer to greet you at Austin-Bergstrom Airport, but a quick handshake on the tarmac will not allow for a thoughtful discussion regarding the humanitarian and national security crises enveloping the Rio Grande Valley in South...

Obama Skips Border Chaos, Will Fundraise in Austin with Director of Pro-Illegal Immigration Film President Barack Obama is refusing to visit the turbulent U.S.-Mexican border, where a flood of illegal immigrants continues to overwhelm the region. Instead, Obama will visit the home of Austin-based filmmaker Robert Rodriguez this week as part of a trio of Texas fundraisers. The Austin visit features tickets ranging in price from $5,000 to $32,400. The July 9 fundraiser also will feature actors Rosario Dawson, Danny Trejo and Jessica Alba. Both Trejo and Alba star in Rodriguez's ultra-violent Machete franchise. The first film in the series...

Between Rick Perry, Ted Cruz and Wendy Davis, Texas politicians in recent years have lived up to their state's reputation for producing larger-than-life characters. That makes the Texas political scene a natural for the Hollywood treatment. HBO has given God Save Texas, a drama about the state's often raucous political culture, the green light for development. It's set to unfold at the Texas statehouse, a perennial flashpoint for national debates about issues ranging from abortion to gun rights to the size and role of government. According to an early description first reported by Deadline.com, the show will follow an "idealistic...

A Texas court ruled Thursday to overturn the conviction of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who was found guilty of money laundering in 2010. According to KHOU 11 and the Associated Press, the Third Court of Appeals in Austin said the case's evidence was "legally insufficient to sustain DeLay's convictions," formally acquitting the former congressman on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Burton Wilson’s camera was Austin’s memory during the hippie era when, as the saying went, if you could remember it, you weren’t there. The former Vermont farmboy who documented the vibrant scene at the Vulcan Gas Company in the 1960s and the Armadillo World Headquarters in the 1970s passed away Monday morning. He was 95. Wilson got it down while those around him were only concerned with getting down. In the process, he created the defining documents of an enchanting era in Austin’s history. “Burton was one of my mentors,” said photographer Todd V. Wolfson. “He made me want to...

On a recent evening, more than 300 homeowners who are worried about their rising property tax bills filled First Unitarian Universalist Church in North Austin for a town hall meeting. If something doesn’t change, many said, they will soon be priced out of their homes. Two nights later, a similar discussion played out in South Austin, where homeowners gathered at Grace United Methodist Church in Travis Heights to talk about what can be done to slow escalating residential tax values. “I’m at the breaking point,” said Gretchen Gardner, an Austin artist who bought a 1930s bungalow in the Bouldin neighborhood...

“I have voted for every park, every library, all the school improvements, for light rail, for anything that will make this city better. But now I can’t afford to live here anymore. I’ll protest my appraisal notice, but that’s not enough. Someone needs to step in and address the big picture.”

NIMBY, literally. “I’m at the breaking point,” said Gretchen Gardner, an Austin artist who bought a 1930s bungalow in the Bouldin neighborhood just south of downtown in 1991 and has watched her property tax bill soar to $8,500 this year.“It’s not because I don’t like paying taxes,” said Gardner, who attended both meetings. “I have voted for every park, every library, all the school improvements, for light rail, for anything that will make this city better. But now I can’t afford to live here anymore. I’ll protest my appraisal notice, but that’s not enough. Someone needs to step in...