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One of Barack Obama's staunchest supporters and prized campaigners and film biographers from the motion picture and television business has just been accused of union busting, according to a complaint filed Thursday with the National Labor Relations Board. Before the exposé, writer/actor/director/producer Tyler Perry invited the presidential candidate to the grand opening of his entertainment studio on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, this coming Saturday night. But if Obama attends he will be met by picket lines thrown up by the Writers Guild of America with support from other unions including the Teamsters, even though the latter union has officially...

Perry says school districts should decide own gun rules By JANET ELLIOTT Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Aug. 18, 2008, 11:35PM AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that local school districts should be able to decide whether to allow concealed weapons on their campuses. "I'm pretty much a fan that if you've been trained, if you are registered, then you ought to be able to carry a weapon," Perry said.

The state of Texas is now in official opposition to the federal ethanol mandate. Governor Rick Perry has petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency for a one-year reprieve, and the reason is simple and increasingly familiar: Washington's ethanol obsession is hurting the state. We all know that corn farmers everywhere love ethanol. Don't tell that to Texas cattle ranchers. Because of the mandate to add this biofuel to gasoline, ranchers are being forced into bidding wars with ethanol plants for the grains they feed their cattle. They don't appreciate being hammered on price because of a subsidy to corn growers. Thus,...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans to host a private dinner followed by fireworks near Austin on Saturday to honor the Aga Khan, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad celebrating his 50th year as the spiritual leader of a Muslim sect. Earlier in the day, the leaders are expected to be on hand as the University of Texas signs an agreement with Aga Khan University, which has campuses in Pakistan and other countries, fostering student and teacher exchanges between the institutions.

As Congress debates funding for a "virtual" fence along the U.S.-Mexican border, the governor of Texas wants "real" people guarding it. Gov. Rick Perry said boots on the ground is how you stop the flood of illegals. In the areas where patrols have been beefed up, the flow of illegal immigration is down, as is overall crime. Texas is one of four states that share a border with Mexico, and the governor of the Lone Star State said Washington is out of touch.

CORPUS CHRISTI — Hutchison plans to run for governor in 2010 The Austin and Republican rumor mills have been in overdrive for months about Gov. Rick Perry's future political plans. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is planning to run for governor in 2010, her spokesman Matt Mackowiak said while he was in town Wednesday. If she resigns her Senate seat to devote her efforts to the governor's race, Perry would name her successor. Mentioned as the top front-runners are Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (who also has indicated that he plans to run for governor), former Secretary of State Roger Williams,...

Washington (CNSNews.com) - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has no regrets about his proposal requiring sixth grade girls to get a vaccine protecting them from a sexually transmitted disease, even though reports surfaced that some vaccine recipients suffered miscarriages while others had numbness or paralysis after the vaccine was administered. A year ago, Perry, a Republican, signed an executive order making Texas the first state in the country to require girls entering the sixth grade to get a Gardasil vaccination to guard against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a leading cause of cervical cancer. It didn't take long for the Texas Legislature to...

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry, speaking to a national gathering of conservative activists, told the same crowd that booed Republican presidential front-runner John McCain that he would speak on McCain's behalf to as many different audiences around the nation as possible from now until November. "We should never give any quarter," he told the Conservative Political Action Conference. "Standing together, we're gonna fight, and we're gonna win. See you on the battlefield." The Texas governor had been an early supporter of GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, but he switched to McCain after the former New York mayor withdrew from the...

Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday announced his endorsement of presidential candidate John McCain. Perry said he is backing McCain, because he is the candidate who would do the most for and win the war on terror. He said having Hillary Clinton as a president would mean the country would be "going to hell in a hand basket." Perry spoke by telephone earlier in the day with McCain and said he expects the Arizona senator to visit Texas soon to see what the state has done to try to combat crime along the border. The governor would not expand on his...

As he continues to rack up high-profile Republican endorsements, John McCain today told reporters that Texas Gov. Rick Perry will endorse him this afternoon. The brief mention of Perry, who endorsed Giuliani in October, was prompted by a reporter’s question of whether backing by Rudy and Schwarzenegger -- both who are considered moderate on many social issues -- will truly aid McCain in courting Republican votes next Tuesday.

Answering a call to help political ally Rudy Giuliani pump up his struggling presidential campaign, Gov. Rick Perry is jetting off to Florida, aides announced Saturday. It's a change in plans for the governor. A few days ago, Perry press secretary Robert Black said Perry would not make a swing through the Sunshine State because of scheduling conflicts. Perry "had tentatively planned to go to Florida this week for a couple of days, but we couldn't get the schedules to work out so he's not going," Black said Tuesday. But on the eve of the crucial primary, Black said Saturday,...

Rick Perry won't play political prognosticator, but he said Wednesday that if people listen to Rudy Giuliani's message, they too will support the former New York mayor in his run for the presidency. On economic policy and with terrorism issues, Mr. Giuliani comes out ahead of the pack, Mr. Perry said. The Texas governor has campaigned for Mr. Giuliani, and despite Mr. Giuliani losing ground in some polls, Mr. Perry said his chosen candidate shouldn't be counted out.

AUSTIN — George W. Bush's name once was invoked by Texas Republicans as the strongest of selling points, even when he wasn't on the ballot. But this election, some say he may be more likely to get the campaign-trail equivalent of a polite handshake, or a cold shoulder, than the tight hug of years gone by. A recent indicator: Gov. Rick Perry, who ascended to Texas' top spot when Bush left for the White House, declared on a campaign trip to Iowa for presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, "George has never, ever been a fiscal conservative." Some veteran observers were surprised...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Amid last-minute budget squabbles and uproarious rebellion against Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick, the Legislature stumbled toward the finish line Monday. Entering the final day of a five-month legislative session, a few key bills remain in limbo, the result of an early morning protest staged by Craddick's foes. The speaker's opponents from both political parties have tried all weekend to oust him from power, with no success. Dozens of angry House members who want Craddick to leave office walked out of the chamber in protest, bringing work to a halt. "This man is sitting here violating every...

Paul Perry didn't know anyone in Fresno County Jail. So why was he getting mail from someone behind bars? Inside the envelope was a piece of paper with two scribbled sentences that changed his life: "Your nothing but a piece of black s--- you stupid n------. Wait until I get out of here."

AUSTIN — The Senate Monday passed a bill overturning Gov. Rick Perry's order that middle-school girls be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus linked to cervical cancer, with a requirement that the issue be reviewed in four years. After a brief debate, the Senate voted 30-1, with Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, casting the lone "no" vote. The bill would prevent the HPV vaccine from being required for school enrollment until 2011. The version passed by the House has no expiration date. Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, who is sponsoring House Bill 1098 in the Senate, said the bill...

Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a bill Tuesday that gives Texans a stronger legal right to defend themselves with deadly force. SB 378, which is backed by the National Rifle Association, states that no person has a duty to retreat from an intruder before using deadly force. Perry was surrounded by lawmakers who pushed for the new law. "The right to defend oneself from an imminent act of harm should not only be clearly defined in Texas law, but it is intuitive to human nature," he said. Both chambers of the Legislature overwhelmingly approved the measure earlier this month....

Several years ago, in another Southern state, an earnest backbench legislator set out to do something about the strip clubs springing up all over the place, including one under construction beside a highway in his district. The rookie Bible Belt lawmaker didn't know his way around the Legislature, but he did know how to read. So he found a rule that said he could bypass the committee process and take his solution straight to the floor of the state House of Representatives. And that's where he proposed a statewide ban on public nudity. Right off the bat, the proposal caused...

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- About one in 150 American children has autism, an urgent public health concern, said U.S. health officials Thursday who reported on the largest study done so far on the troubling disorder. The new numbers, based on 2002 data from 14 states, are higher than previously reported. Advocates said the study provides a sad new understanding of how common autism is, and should fuel efforts to get the government to spend hundreds of millions of additional dollars for autism research and services.

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry ordered today that schoolgirls in Texas must be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, making Texas the first state to require the shots. The girls will have to get Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass laws in state legislatures across the country mandating it Gardasil vaccine for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government,...

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, who built his re-election campaign on border security, told a gathering of border mayors today that building a wall along the border with Mexico is a "preposterous" idea. "Now, strategic fencing in certain urban areas to direct the flow of traffic does make sense, but building a wall on the entire border is a preposterous idea," Perry said. "The only thing a wall would possibly accomplish is to help the ladder business." While Perry always opposed fencing the border, his re-election campaign de-emphasized that position. Perry ran millions of dollars of television advertising portraying the...

Oct. 25, 2006, 7:35AMCAMPAIGN 2006Big guns to stump for Perry and BellBush to appear in Dallas while Clinton makes Dem radio ads By PEGGY FIKACCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau AUSTIN - It's Clinton versus Bush versus Kerry all over again in the Texas governor's race as Democrats and Republicans work to turn out their base for the Nov. 7 election.GOP Gov. Rick Perry's campaign blog touted a "huge political rally" for their candidate in Dallas on Nov. 6 featuring President Bush. Supporters call Bush a definite plus despite the dent that issues, including the Iraq war, have made...

Friedman unveils universal health care plan Hospitals, doctors would be taxed to pay for program. By Corrie MacLagganAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Friday, October 20, 2006 Independent gubernatorial hopeful Kinky Friedman unveiled a health care plan Thursday that he says will ensure that all Texans have access to affordable coverage. His TexasCare plan — a serious proposal from the campaign of a comedian — is the latest in a series of ideas he has gleaned from the state of Minnesota, whose former governor Jesse Ventura is an inspiration for Friedman. Health care has emerged as a hot topic in the governor's race in...

Rick Perry (R) 34% Carole Keeton Strayhorn (I) 21% Chris Bell (D) 19% Kinky Friedman (I) 18% 500 Likely Voters Survey conducted October 9th

DALLAS, — Kinky Friedman on Friday said he would call for marshal law in border cities if he becomes Texas’ next governor during the only gubernatorial debate for this election. Each of the four candidates declared victory after the hour-long de-bate that included substantial discussion about the border and immi-gration. “Yeah, of course, whatever it takes,” Friedman said in response to a question from an Austin television reporter about whether he would declare marshal law, which would be required by law to make possi-ble his proposal to add 8,500 National Guard troops to the border. When asked in a lightning...

All four candidates, one GOP, one Dem and two Indys will be holding the only debate for Texas Governor tonight at 7:00 p.m. Central time. Gee, I wonder whose influence had this debate scheduled during Friday night football?

Nearly two-thirds of Texas voters want one of Gov. Rick Perry's challengers to beat him in the upcoming election, but none of his opponents has enough support right now to win, a newspaper poll shows. The statewide poll conducted for The Dallas Morning News found that 38 percent of likely voters back Perry's re-election in the Nov. 7 election. It found 18 percent support independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn, 15 percent support Democrat Chris Bell and 14 percent support independent Kinky Friedman. "There is an anti-Perry vote, and clearly somebody should have been able to beat him. But the anti-Perry vote...

Gubernatorial candidate and professional wiseacre Kinky Friedman was accused Wednesday of making another racially offensive remark _ this time in a year-old interview in which he said sexual predators should be thrown in prison and forced to "listen to a Negro talking to himself." The independent candidate already was under fire for referring to Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Texas "crackheads and thugs." ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Houston Chronicle have reported on an interview with Friedman that aired on CNBC last year in which the country singer and comedian was asked what to do with sexual predators. "Throw...

Dear Fellow Texans, The greatest threat Texans face today is the porous 1,200 mile Texas-Mexico border. It is viewed as a prime point of entry by terrorist organizations, criminal gangs, and drug traffickers. Despite this growing threat, Washington has failed to devote the necessary resources to secure our border and protect our communities. Since they have chosen not to act, I have. Six months before the president announced National Guard soldiers would help secure the border, Texas had already made that decision. We are leveraging the National Guard’s unique capabilities to support local law enforcement. We have substantially increased investigators...

Perry and Strayhorn have regressed, Strayhorn by a considerable margin, while Bell (15 to 23) and Friedman (16 to 23) have moved up. Bell is finally consolidating Democratic support (from a pathetic 32 percent in April to 44% in July and 55% this time) and is getting more Independents (from 10% to 18%), while Friedman has picked up Republicans (from 10% to 23%) and more Indies (32% to 39%). Both Perry (65% to 56%) and Strayhorn (20% to 14%) have seen their GOP strength decline. Strayhorn has also seen her Democratic support wane, as she's dropped from 30% to 20%.

Perry (R) 35% Friedman (I) 23% Bell (D) 23% Strayhorn (I) 15% 536 Likely voters, +/- 4.3% MOE

AUSTIN — Two polls released Monday found Gov. Rick Perry is vulnerable to defeat, but his campaign is questioning the surveys' accuracy. Conventional wisdom in the governor's race has been that none of the governor's four opponents would have a chance to beat him if he gets more than 35 percent of the vote on Nov. 7. There is no runoff in the general election, so the top vote-getter wins. Perry has hovered between 35 percent and 41 percent in public polls for months. But he has fallen into the defeatable zone in polls done by Rasmussen Reports and the...

Calculate Perry's new tax on your family: Highway miles driven daily: 10 X Cents per mile: 44 X Days per year: 365 X 2 Cars: = $3212.00 per year. Traditional toll roads have been welcomed by the public because they are designed and built as whole new highways that compliment existing freeways, therefore, the public can choose to use a toll road or a freeway. Those traditional toll roads are funded primarily with investor dollars. In contrast, "Double Tax Tolls" are public freeways funded with our tax dollars to create a revenue-generating machine that will shift ALL our freeways to...

DALLAS -- Legalizing casinos in Texas makes sense because residents already drive to nearby states or fly to Las Vegas to gamble, independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman said today. ADVERTISEMENT "This is common sense," said Friedman "It's crazy to have Louisiana gamblers mad at Oklahoma for taking away their Texans." Friedman, a musician, author and humorist, said he recently returned from a "fact-finding mission" in Las Vegas and estimated that half the people he met there were from Texas. Texans are also responsible, Friedman said, for transforming the regional gambling hot spot of Tunica, Miss., from the "poorest little town...

Governor Perry, Conservative and Good for Texas I’m writing this especially for my friends here at FR. I’ve been reading a lot of back and forth about our Governor on here lately. There seem to be a group of folks that don’t like him or at best barely tolerate him. It’s America and that’s the American way. Lord knows, Freepers don’t have a problem expressing their opinions. It just surprises me considering the conservative foundation of this web site. I’m a working class conservative, like so many others on here. I don’t have deep rooted political ties to the administration,...

A rally was held to support the troops on Aug 20, 2006 in Orleans Massachusetts. Here are the photos and the story of some brave people

Strayhorn says her politics remain true But switching of parties, stands has critics calling her an opportunist By R.G. RATCLIFFE Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau AUSTIN — Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, an independent candidate for governor, has politically reinvented herself time and again during the past three decades — repeatedly leading to questions of whether her actions are sincere or expedient. Strayhorn is a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent. She has given up three elected positions and one appointed state job to run for a higher office. And her positions on issues have transformed more than once. When she left the Democratic Party...

Strayhorn Announces Highest Wall Street Ratings for Texas’ Short-Term Notes (Austin)—Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn today announced that Texas’ 2006 Series Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRANs) have received the highest possible ratings from New York’s top bond rating firms: SP1+ from Standard & Poor’s, MIG 1 from Moody’s Investors Service and F1+ from Fitch Inc. “This is great news. Once again, Wall Street has shown its confidence in Texas’ strong and resilient economy,” Strayhorn said. “The bond rating firms also have a high regard for Texas’ track record of conservative revenue estimating, pay-as-you-go budgeting and prudent financial management. And...

On Sunday's This Week, during the roundtable discussion, host George Stephanopoulos embarrassed himself and had to backtrack after he raised Clinton Defense Secretary William Perry's recommendation -- that President Bush bomb the nuclear missiles on the launchpad in North Korea -- but then went a step further and combined Perry's proposal with blaming the Iraq war for preventing that type of action in 2003, only to be thoroughly refuted by George Will. “I don't even believe what I said,” Stephanopoulos sheepishly conceded, “So I take it back, you're right.” Stephanopoulos had proposed: “What if in 2003, instead of invading Iraq,...

AUSTIN — Entertainer Kinky Friedman and state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the two independent candidates for governor were certified for the November ballot Thursday by Secretary of State Roger Williams. ``Texas has a process for verifying the eligibility of independent candidates for a place on the ballot and today we have finished that process,” Williams said. ``Our method of verifying every signature is the most accurate, has been upheld by the courts and was done faster than in years past.” Williams notified the two campaigns Thursday afternoon that they had met the requirements for ballot access. Both candidates exceeded the...

North Korean technicians are reportedly in the final stages of fueling a long-range ballistic missile that some experts estimate can deliver a deadly payload to the United States. The last time North Korea tested such a missile, in 1998, it sent a shock wave around the world, but especially to the United States and Japan, both of which North Korea regards as archenemies. They recognized immediately that a missile of this type makes no sense as a weapon unless it is intended for delivery of a nuclear warhead. A year later North Korea agreed to a moratorium on further launches,...

The governor of Texas wants to turn all the world into a virtual posse. Rick Perry has announced a $5 million plan to install hundreds of night-vision cameras on private land along the Mexican border and put the live video on the Internet, so that anyone with a computer who spots illegal immigrants trying to slip across can report it on a toll-free hot line. "I look at this as not different from the neighborhood watches we have had in our communities for years and years," Perry said last week. Some say it is a dangerous idea and a waste...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday used Cameron County as an example of an area that suffered the consequences of a weak and porous border. The plan he developed to “fill gaps” in border security aims to remedy the situation caused by federal inaction, he said during his address to community leaders and local officers at the Texas Department of Public Safety in North Brownsville. Perry’s arrival coincided with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham and Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar’s visit to McAllen. The National Guard will make its move to the Texas-Mexico border during...

At San Antonio convention, expect Perry pitching himself, immigration rumbling, vice chairman election Things appear so dandy for Texas Republicans, delegates to this week's party convention could be excused for decamping to San Antonio's River Walk rather than sticking out the big show. How do you fuel a fire when your candidates have won every statewide election since 1998? Fred Meyer, state GOP chairman in the early 1990s when Democrats held legislative majorities and the governorship, sees the party's rah-rah role on the decline. The party's Austin operatives are outnumbered by well-funded elected officials, with its once-mighty message role skinnied...

Memo to the average homeowner: Don't spend that $2,000 Gov. Perry is promising you. If you own a television and haven't seen the political commercials in which Perry touts recently enacted school property tax cuts, you soon will. His campaign spokesman says they'll be running in a lot of markets for a long time. Standing in front of a pleasant, modest house (or a school in another version), the good-looking governor touts the accomplishment. As he speaks, large print echoes his words: "$15 billion tax cut." "Governor Rick Perry." "$2,000 tax cut." That last line accompanies him saying, "The average...

EL PASO — Worried about possible racial profiling in El Paso County, a South Texas lawmaker has asked Gov. Rick Perry to specify how the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition is permitted to spend nearly $10 million in border security grant money. Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, sent Perry a letter Friday expressing concern that El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego is using a $376,500 grant to run roadblocks and raids aimed at ferreting out illegal immigrants. Hinojosa asked the governor to detail rules for the “appropriate use of funds for Operation Linebacker.” Hinojosa expressed concern that people are being detained...

Analysis: In an election for Texas Governor held today, 5/22/06, Republican incumbent Rick Perry defeats 3 challengers, according to a SurveyUSA election poll conducted for KEYE-TV Austin and WOAI-TV San Antonio. Perry leads Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is running as an Independent, 41% to 20%. Democrat Chris Bell gets 18% and Independent "Kinky" Friedman gets 16%. 1% prefer some other candidate. 3% are undecided. Since an identical SurveyUSA poll on 4/26/06, Perry has gained 2 points, Strayhorn has lost 5 points, Bell has gained 3 points, and Friedman is unchanged. There are 5 1/2 months until the 11/7/06...

You may win, lose or draw in the great Texas tax swap of 2006. But you can't sit it out. As billions in new taxes and property tax cuts take shape in the special legislative session, almost every Texan has a stake in the action. The Senate is expected to vote on two major parts of the package today; approval would be a major step toward the package becoming law. . . . Winners include homeowners, who will see their property tax bills cut by as much as one-third for the 2007-08 school year. They clearly fare better if they...

Todd Johnston's Aztec Party & Tent Rental in Houston is by most standards successful, but last year it did not turn a profit. Under the state's current business franchise tax, Aztec owed no state taxes. But under a new business tax that has been approved by the Texas Legislature, Aztec would have owed $81,000 in taxes because the tax is based on gross revenues, not net profit. Johnston said the new tax would not have put him out of business. However, it would have hurt his ability to weather a bad year, purchase new equipment or hire new employees, he...

Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #9043 Geography Surveyed: Texas Data Collected: 04/23/2006 - 04/25/2006 Release Date: 04/26/2006 11:00 AM ET Sponsoring News Organizations: KEYE-TV Austin, WOAI-TV San Antonio Analysis: In an election for Texas Governor held today, 4/26/06, Republican incumbent Rick Perry defeats 3 challengers, according to a SurveyUSA election poll conducted for KEYE-TV Austin and WOAI-TV San Antonio. Perry leads Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is running as an Independent, 39% to 25%. Independent "Kinky" Friedman gets 16% and Democrat Chris Bell gets 15%. 3% prefer some other candidate. 3% are undecided. Perry leads among...