Free Republic

You wouldn't expect to see gun control happening in Texas, but that's what will be taking place at a few Astros games this year. Here's the deal: The Astros are marking their 50th anniversary this season, so they'll be wearing an assortment of throwback uniforms for Friday home games. That includes the uniform of the Houston Colt .45s, which was the team's name for the first three years of the franchise's existence.

Flags will be lowered in New Jersey Saturday, the day of Whitney Houston’s funeral. But a Marine mom in Arlington says it’s an honor Houston doesn’t deserve. When Phyllis McGeath heard Gov. Chris Christie had ordered flags lowered to half-staff for Houston, she said she felt a pain deep inside her. “I was hurt and offended. Disappointed. Saddened,” she said. “I felt like the honor that was given to my son was tarnished.” McGeath had three sons who were active duty Marines. Her oldest, Philip, was killed by a suicide bomber just four weeks ago in Afghanistan. He was 25.

Flags will be lowered in New Jersey Saturday, the day of Whitney Houston’s funeral. But a Marine mom in Arlington says it’s an honor Houston doesn’t deserve. When Phyllis McGeath heard Gov. Chris Christie had ordered flags lowered to half-staff for Houston, she said she felt a pain deep inside her. “I was hurt and offended. Disappointed. Saddened,” she said. “I felt like the honor that was given to my son was tarnished.” McGeath had three sons who were active duty Marines. Her oldest, Philip, was killed by a suicide bomber just four weeks ago in Afghanistan. He was 25....

Powered by a booming energy business, the Houston regional economy grew faster last year than any other in North America, the Brookings Institution reports. Houston and Dallas were the only two major metropolitan economies on the continent to rank among the world's most robust in 2010-2011. The findings underscored a larger global shift away from traditional power centers, primarily to Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

...Gelareh Bagherzadeh was studying molecular genetic technology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She was of Iranian descent and was active in promoting Iranian women's rights, Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties said. She was a vocal critic of the Iranian government, according to prior interviews with the Houston Chronicle. Whether discrimination or her personal background was connected to her death was not clear, Senties said. "At this point, it does not appear that she was targeted," Senties said. Investigators do not know the motive for the shooting, he said. Bagherzadeh was shot about 12:30 a.m. outside the family's home in...

Charles Hauboldt, a Texas funeral home owner, wants nothing more than to see his Houston Texans bury the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl drive at this Sunday’s big game at M&T Bank Stadium. He’ll get his chance as the winning bidder for a playoff ticket auctioned by a Texas Catholic priest and rabid Ravens’ fan. Hauboldt’s high bid of $2,115 won him the ticket, a flight to Baltimore, lodging and ground transportation – not to mention the chance to sit next to Trinitarian Father Stan DeBoe, the man who put the ticket up for grabs. The money will be used to...

A Houston-area Democrat serving in the House is hailing President Obama’s controversial recess appointment of a former Ohio attorney general to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. ...Obama resorted to the step after Cordray’s Senate confirmation had been sidetracked for months. ...“Senate Republican obstructionism has until now prevented the bureau from fulfilling its mandate from Congress to oversee some of the worse anti-consumer practices of non-bank financial services providers, like payday lenders, debt collectors, and check-cashing outlets.” ...Sens. John Cornyn, R-San Antonio, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Dallas, criticised Obama’s move in statements issue on Wednesday. The GOP lawmakers claimed...

Scarlet Spider swings into Houston just in time to tangle with supervillains lurking in the shadows of the Texas metropolis. Consider yourself lucky if you have never seen the evil Salamander, who can generate and control fire. Scarlet Spider is the star of a new Marvel Universe comic-book series that launches Wednesday with events at 8th Dimension Comics & Games and Alamo Draft House at West Oaks Mall. Scarlet Spider/Kaine, a clone of Spider-Man, has a villainous past and is on the run to Mexico when life happens, said writer Christopher Yost, and Kaine stops in Houston. Yost of Los...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A couple of thieves are helping themselves to some high-end champagne. It may seem like small potatoes, but these thieves aren't just stocking the bar for a holiday party. Investigators believe they may be behind multiple thefts, and the brands they're taking are worth hundreds of dollars. **snip & edit** Thieves are going to the back of the store to the locked cabinets and picking out the most expensive stuff before leaving without paying a nickel. At a time when many are in the spirit of giving, others are acting more like the Grinch, especially at one...

Their sign warns those who are "Drunks, homosexuals, abortionist, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, witches, idolators" that "Hell awaits you." Their hearing will be in Houston Municipal Court, which is run by Barbara E. Hartle, who, according to the Dallas Voice, is listed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund as "one of only a few out members of the Texas judiciary." She was appointed to the position by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, identified by the Los Angeles Times as "the first lesbian to head a major American city." Allen told WND that no matter what happens, the fact that...

Two veteran street preachers in Houston are facing a bench trial for spreading the biblical message about homosexuality – and other sins – on one of their favorite corners for preaching in Houston. That the message was direct is obvious, from a photo of the situation that developed for David Stokes of BulldogMinistries.com and Dave Allen of HornofSamuelBook.com: Their sign warns those who are "Drunks, homosexuals, abortionist, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, witches, idolators" that "Hell awaits you." Their hearing will be in Houston Municipal Court, which is run by Barbara E. Hartle, who, according to the Dallas Voice, is...

HOUSTON - Two armed suspects attempted to rob a Denny's restaurant, but ended up fleeing for safety after a shootout with a customer. The shootout happened at a Denny's restaurant in the 11000 block of the East Freeway around 5:50 a.m. Saturday. Officials said two armed suspects wearing bandannas entered and attempted to rob the store. The sole customer in the restaurant, a licensed concealed handgun carrier, observed the suspects enter, pulled out his own gun, took cover and fired at the robbers. Officials said the suspects returned fire and fled the restaurant. The customer followed the suspects, firing as...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police say a homeowner shot and killed one of three men he caught breaking into his car on Houston's south side early this morning. It happened near Gulf Valley and Springtime. Police say that homeowner saw three suspects stealing from his car and repeatedly yelled for them to stop. He said the three men had his car doors and trunk open, and were rummaging through. The suspects didn't comply, so the homeowner went to get his gun. The homeowner told police the suspects began to run back to their vehicle, but says he saw one of them...

A multi-agency undercover drug bust in Texas spun out of control Monday afternoon when a civilian working for law enforcement was killed and a police officer injured in what has been described by the local press as a “Mexico-style” attack. The incident occurred in Texas' Harris County, where parts of Houston are located, when the secret operative disguised as a truck driver delivering a 300 pound package of marijuana was driving through the northwest part of the county to a rendezvous point. Out of nowhere three sport-utility vehicles carrying alleged Zetas drug cartel gunmen cut off the 18-wheeler truck and...

Violence broke out at Occupy Houston's Tranquility Park site Monday evening. A gunman armed with a .40-caliber rifle shot approximately 15 rounds into the air and into the park's fountains before being shot twice by Houston Police officers patrolling the area. He was taken into custody. Witnesses say the gunman — a twentysomething male in a dark suit with a white shirt — entered the park through a stairwell at Bagby and Rusk. Walking towards the Occupy Houston site, the man fired several rounds towards the sky and started heading towards the fountains. Several protestors approached nearby police officers, who...

Annise D. Parker won a second term Tuesday as mayor of the nation's fourth-largest city, narrowly avoiding a runoff despite having no well-funded or well-known opponents and spending $2.3 million to promote herself to Houston voters this year. Two of her fellow incumbents on City Council will have to defend their seats again next month in runoff elections. Councilwoman Jolanda Jones will go to her third straight runoff for the At-Large Position 5 seat. Chiropractor Jack Christie will again challenge her one on one on Dec. 10. District A Councilwoman Brenda Stardig also faces a runoff against civic club president...

I work for a state district court here in Houston, and while I was outside the Harris County Civil Courthouse during my lunch break, I heard voices. I asked a friend of mine where those voices were coming from, and was informed that it was an "#OccupyHouston" protest outside the Criminal Justice Center. Expecting to find a crowd of thousands of angry "concerned youths", I scanned the area around the various courthouses in downtown Houston and spotted a knot of all of 30 protesters carrying signs and chanting such stirring invocations as "We are the 99%!" and other similarly high-minded...

Now at the top of the polls as the frontrunner among Republican presidential hopefuls, businessman Herman Cain electrified a crowd of thousands who braved the heat and mosquitoes to see him speak Tuesday night in La Marque. Cain took another leg of his White House bid to the Gulf Greyhound Park, a home of races and gambling, as the headliner of the Clear Lake Tea Party's rally. After a daylong media tour in Houston, Cain's largest public appearance began with a brief book signing with supporters, then he disappeared for two hours while the crowd heard from other speakers, including...

La Marque, Texas - Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain will be headlining the Clear Lake Tea Party's annual Fall rally at Gulf Greyhound Park just south of Clear Lake. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be emcee'd by Galveston County Tax Collector Cheryl Johnson. There will be live music and a $5.00 entrance fee for adults and children under 18 are free. Speakers include: CLTP Founder Lisa Gonzalez - Opening Remarks - 6:55 p.m. Pastor Ron Hindt Invocation & Pledge - 6:57 p.m. Raging Elephants Founder Apostle Klaver - 7:15 p.m. U.S. Senate Candidate Lela Pittenger - 7:35...

Tonight I will be appearing at Houston-based King Street Patriots at 7 p.m. CDT to talk about my new book Injustice. PJM has covered the work of King Street and their True the Vote project for many months, include this Bryan Preston roundup of Andrew Breitbart’s hilarious speech to them last January. You can actually watch the regular Monday night events at King Street on a nationwide web broadcast (King Street Live) that has amazingly been attracting tens of thousands of viewing patriots across the nation every week. In response to the good work that King Street is doing, Soros-funded...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An armed robbery at a gas station on Houston's south side has ended with both a suspect and a store clerk shot, and the search continues for two other suspects who got away. It happened around 6:45am at a Valero store in the 8100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. at Belarbor St. "They just came in shooting," said Ofc. T. Triplett with the Houston Police Department's robbery division. Surveillance video from inside the gas station is shocking. At 6:30am Saturday, two clerks were tending to a customer when a masked gunman opened fire. "The guy...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Three Houston police officers are under investigation after claims they got high while on duty. And the claim, made by a man accused of drug possession, are backed up with something undeniable -- the words of the officers themselves. It sort of jumps off the page. "'So high' spaced out: h i g h" defense attorney Daniel Cahill said. The words of a Houston police officer about an hour after arresting Nicholas Hill for marijuana possession. "It was actually about 10 or 11 at night," Hill said. Hill was at his Atascocita apartment with friends late one...

This event is a fundraiser for a very worthwhile and VERY NEEDY non-profit Christian school in the Houston area who is facing closure. A sellout for this event would save the school... literally. Please help spread the word. School's website for the event. Join Baptist Minister, Former Arkansas Governor, 2008 Presidential Candidate and the host of the number one rated weekend hit “HUCKABEE” on the Fox News Channel, MIKE HUCKABEE, for a discussion on Lessons in Christian Leadership, including a Q&A session. Also, JONATHAN CHURCHILL-SANDYS, great grandson of Sir Winston Churchill who wil…l be discussing the state of education in...

Let’s start with some great news this week. Judicial Watch client Sergeant Joslyn Johnson, the widow of a fellow police officer gunned down by an illegal alien criminal, may finally get her day in court thanks to a landmark Judicial Watch court victory!On September 9, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of Sergeant Johnson. At Judicial Watch’s urging, the three-judge panel reversed a decision by the district court. Sgt. Johnson’s lawsuit against the city of Houston’s illegal sanctuary policy will now continue. As noted by the appellate court, under the Houston Police...

On a warm Saturday evening in June 1943, crowds were relaxing on Belle Isle, a retreat slightly larger than New York’s Central Park nestled in the Detroit River, which separates Canada and the United States. Belle Isle’s landscapes and structures were a showcase of great American architecture: Frederick Law Olmsted, Albert Kahn, and Cass Gilbert all were represented. Its botanical garden, yacht club, memorial fountain, golf course, and opulent marble lighthouse offered a serene testament to the grandeur of Detroit. Exactly what started the riots that night, we’ll never know for sure. There seems to have been a confrontation between...

Appellate Court Reverses Decision by District Court Dismissing Judicial Watch Lawsuit Filed by Houston Police Sgt. Joslyn Johnson, Widow of Police Officer Murdered by Illegal Alien Washington, DC -- September 13, 2011 Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled in favor of Judicial Watch client Houston police sergeant Joslyn M. Johnson, the widow of a fellow police officer murdered by an illegal alien. The three-judge panel reversed a decision by the district court. Sgt. Johnson’s lawsuit against the City of...

These days NASA is dismantling the once great shuttles, getting them ready to hang in museums all over the country -- except in the one museum many of us Houstonians think it should be.

A female lawyer got into a sticky situation when she attempted a U-turn and drove straight onto a bed of freshly laid wet cement in Houston, Texas. Road workers stationed in the city couldn't believe there eyes as the driver totally ignored the bright orange markers and planted all four-wheels of her £70,000 luxury Lexus square on the concrete.

Authorities have identified a woman who was fatally shot when three masked men burst into her house and threatened her teenage daughter during a home invasion in northwest Harris County last night. Peggy Ariza, 40, died in the shooting, which occurred at the home in the 17100 block of Copper Crossing about 9:30 p.m., according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Deputies said Ariza, 40, was shot at least once in the chest and was flown by LifeFlight medical helicopter to Memorial Herman Hospital, where she later died. No other injuries were reported. Deputies said when Ariza's 17-year-old daughter answered...

Houston, TX – A federal court judge has delayed the hearing for embattled Houston Veterans Cemetery Director Arleen Ocasio. The hearing has been rescheduled for Friday, August 26, 2011 and the judge has ordered that Ocasio appear before the court. Ocasio has rightly been under fire for not allowing the word “God” to be used during funeral proceedings. Ocasio has denied this but according to Houston veteran’s activist John Faulk, the plaintiffs in this case have twenty-five sworn affidavits from families proving Ocasio’s prejudicial behavior.

First there was Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in his lonely quest to get answers from Attorney General Eric Holder about Project Gunwalker. Then Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) got on board and through his chairmanship of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held hearings. Now Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is asking questions of Eric Holder as it appears Texas had its own version of Operation Fast and Furious. Below is the letter he sent to Attorney General Eric Holder today. August 11, 2011 The Honorable...

Part of a Texas interstate remained closed overnight Tuesday after a bizarre accident. It happened on Interstate 45 in Houston when an 18- wheeler lost its trailer. The trailer ended up leaning against an overhead beam. That same beam holds-up the exit sign for Airline Drive. Somehow the cab of the big rig separated from the trailer. The good news is nobody was hurt. The bad news is traffic was backed up for miles. TXDOT didn't want people to exit there because they didn't know if the sign was going to fall.

Seven members and associates of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang are charged with three murders as part of a squad that allegedly killed, robbed and dealt drugs on the streets of Houston, officials said Thursday. The defendants are tied to the gang, which is known as MS-13 and has roots in Central America, federal authorities said as they announced the unsealing of a federal indictment. "Gang activities reach out from far beyond the neighborhoods in which they are ongoing and into the communities in which we live," said Jose Angel Moreno, the top federal prosecutor for a region that stretches...

HOUSTON -- For weeks, congressional leaders have grilled officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about an operation in Arizona called "Fast and Furious." Now, some of those pointed questions are focusing on a gun trafficking investigation conducted by the ATF's Houston office. According to testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, agents involved in Fast and Furious allowed Mexican drug cartel recruits to buy guns in the United States with the hopes of following the buyers and weapons back to key cartel and smuggling operations. The operation, called "reckless" by some congressional leaders, was...

The Perez family's agony and ecstasy: From abortion to ordination When Victor (hereafter referred to as Vic) and Karen Perez’s son was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on June 4 in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, the Perez family was all together and shed tears of joy at this blessed moment. Everyone, that is, except the oldest sibling. However, Vic and Karen believe that the child they named Joseph Manuel was with them in spirit, and that his presence filled the cathedral-and their hearts-with gladness rather than sadness.Joseph is the child and sibling the Perez family never had the privilege...

Dick DeGuerin is the attorney for Carter's Country gun shop in Houston. After being criticized for being one of the stores that sold guns that were found in Mexico and traced to the U.S., it came out that they only went ahead with sales at the request of the ATF. If this sounds similar to what we heard Phoenix area gun store owners say, it is. DeGuerin was interviewed by Cam Edwards for NRA News. He would like the House Oversight Committee hearings into gunwalking to be expanded to include what went on in Texas. I think we could safely...

Prince and Charlomane Leonard sat together in a Houston courtroom on Wednesday, anxiously waiting for a judge to decide their family's fate. With hands clasped tightly, the couple occasionally whispered to each other, biding the time before their turn to approach the bench. Unknown to them, in the lobby on the other side of the court's double doors, their six children also were sitting, waiting and hoping that their family would all be together again. It had been more than a month since Child Protective Services caseworkers found the family living in an eastside storage shed and removed the children...

A Judicial Watch investigation has discovered that the drunk illegal immigrant who recently killed a Houston police officer had six arrest warrants, multiple encounters with law enforcement and had been caught driving without a license four times. He also had been cited by police on eight occasions, was ticketed twice in 2009 and had two convictions for unlawful entry into the U.S., according to public records obtained by JW from the Houston Municipal Court. Incredibly, the illegal alien (Johoan Rodriguez) remained free and in late May struck and killed Houston Police Officer Kevin Will. It marks the fourth time in...

Full headline: American Traffic Solutions -- red-light camera vendor for Houston, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving and Amarillo --- suspends exec for posting pro-camera comments under fake identity -- As far as anyone can tell, American Traffic Solutions Inc. has resorted only to the conventional lobbying method of throwing money around to grow its red-light camera business in Texas. Until last week, at least one business development executive was making inroads in Washington state by cheerleading for the company and personally attacking opponents under an assumed name in dozens of comments left on the website of a local newspaper, according to...

A Houston congresswoman says she is headed back to Washington D.C. to get involved in the debt ceiling debate. On paper, the government will run out of money on August 2. If there's no deal by then, the U.S. will run out of money. That means the nation will default on debts, and it could mean social security and military checks will not go out. But Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee says Houstonians should not just look at this as just as national problem. She says if the debt ceiling is not raised, this city will be hit hard financially. "If...

Charlomane and Prince Leonard were doing just fine before the recession hit. But for the past three years, they've been forced to live with their six children in a self-storage unit in northeast Houston -- a situation that they reluctantly accepted until Texas's Child Protective Services came in and took custody of their children this week.

More than a dozen men accused of taking part in a series of sexual assaults on an 11-year-old girl are expected in court Wednesday in a case that has divided and horrified their southeast Texas town. The 14 men, who along with five juvenile boys are facing charges, are scheduled to be in a state district courtroom in Liberty for status updates. The investigation began in December, after one of the girl's friends told a teacher he had seen a lurid cell phone video that showed the girl being raped in an abandoned trailer. Authorities say the girl was assaulted...

A police officer has been fired after allegedly losing his temper at a cook-off and throwing a tear gas grenade at a rival team - many of whom were military amputees. Mike Hamby, 52, could face criminal charges for the drunken attack, which happened at this year's Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo BBQ Cook-Off in Texas. Several members of the team were left vomiting and with burning eyes after Hamby, an officer with 30 years service, allegedly flung a military-style 'clear-out' grenade into their tent. Hamby, who was off-duty, had been drinking before the incident in February, according to police...

The movement to draft Tommy Lee Jones to run as a Democrat to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison is most likely doomed to failure, but a new poll shows Jones might be a viable candidate. Public Policy Polling released its survey today on the 2012 Senate race, and it shows Jones with the best favorable/unfavorable combo among possible candidates. It also shows he is within range of two Republican candidates, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert, in head-to-head matchups. Dewhurst beats him 43-39 percent, and Leppert by only 38-37. "A Jones candidacy is probably a pipe dream...

This morning, just five days before the celebration of our nation's independence, I was shocked into wakefulness by a news item on Fox and Friends. It seems that the Houston National Cemetery has now begun banning "God" from military funerals. The director of the Houston VA National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio, has ordered the burial teams to instruct that religious references, as well as prayer, are no longer to be included as part of the burial services. Requests for messages or prayers can be formally submitted for her approval, but the mention of "God" is not allowed. Ocasio has also ordered...

HOUSTON -- After KHOU 11 News aired the story of a man who said a smart meter installation ruined his AC, many people have come forward to share similar stories. It's been a long couple of weeks for a Sugar Land man who only wants to be identified as Mike. "This is basically the first thing I noticed. Just trouble," he said. He said first it was the alarm, but things just keep going wrong, next was the thermostat. “Just all screwed up. Scrambled up," Mike said. It was like a laundry list of home appliance disaster. He said his...

The Texas Tea Party Patriots PAC is hosting a Vacation Liberty School for eight to thirteen year old children during the second and third weeks of July. Vacation Liberty School is modeled after Vacation Bible School by engaging children in a fun atmosphere to learn during their summer break from school. Vacation Liberty School helps fill in the blanks of some of the areas of American history that have been glossed over in public school text books due to political correctness. The focus of the Vacation Liberty School is to help the children learn more about founding principles of the...

In a February 13, 1818 letter to H. Niles, John Adams wrote: “But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was affected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations…This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.“ The first “shots” of the Second American Revolution have not been fired, but the battle lines have been drawn. There is now a radical change in...

HOUSTON, TX - One of two men shot by an off-duty Houston police officer after they allegedly broke into the lawman’s home in Harris County Thursday has died at the hospital, officials said. Lt. Donald Hamilton, 53, said he was getting ready for his shift at the Houston Police Department’s Southeast Patrol Division about 6 p.m. when he heard a knock at his front door, on President’s Drive near Cullen. Hamilton didn’t answer the door, investigators said. "According to him, there are solicitors in the neighborhood all the time," said Harris County Sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Pinkins, whose agency is leading...

After a psychic tip-off about a mass grave in Texas, Liberty County sheriff's department informs the media no bodies have been found. Turned out that Liberty County sheriff's deputies had been acting on a tip from a woman who may or may not have been claiming to be a psychic, and who may or may not have had an ulterior motive in directing police to the home of the long-haul trucker who owns the place. But by then it was too late for media, in or near Greenwich mean time. They'd long since launched a journalistic corpse-a-palooza. Agence France Presse...