Free Republic

SAN ANTONIO: In the final moments of Tuesday’s redistricting hearing, a three-judge panel said Texas’ primary elections likely will not occur before May 29. While Judge Jerry Smith, one of three federal judges in the San Antonio redistricting case, said the likely date of the primaries will be May 29, he did not commit to the date. Smith, however, told the state’s two major political political parties that they should prepare proposals based on that assumption The Republican Party of Texas and the Texas Democratic Party will prepare a schedule in the coming days that will include dates for early...

Police said a homeowner shot a man in the head after the man reportedly tried to steal a potted plant from the homeowner's property Wednesday morning. Police received calls about the purported theft about 8 a.m. near the intersection of Shadwell Drive and Red Bud Drive on the West Side, said Sgt. Chris Benavides, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department. About the same time, officers were called to the suspect's residence at the Cabana Apartments on the 300 block of Sunshine Drive, where his wife told police he had been shot in the head after dropping his children...

The scimitar horned oryx . . . the addax . . . the dama gazelle - three elegant desert antelope that you'd hope to see on a journey through Africa, except that their numbers are dwindling there. Which is why Lara Logan went to Texas -- yes, Texas. There, on large grassland ranches, some exotic species that are endangered in the wild have been brought back in large numbers. But there's a catch: a percentage of the herd is hunted every year by hunters who pay big money for a big catch. The ranchers say this limited "culling" gives them...

A former state trooper who was seeking election to the Precinct 1 constable’s seat was arrested Monday on money laundering charges after law enforcement officers found more than $1 million packed inside suitcases stored in his car’s trunk.

n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizer’s footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

SAN ANTONIO — A federal court sent a message Friday that the Texas primaries shouldn’t be pushed past April because of bitterly disputed voting maps and ordered the state and minority rights groups to spend the weekend back at the bargaining table. The fate of the Texas primaries, which have already been postponed once and risk being held too late to matter in the Republican presidential race, could be decided early as Tuesday by the San Antonio court. The primaries are currently scheduled for April 3, though that date appears all but dead.

Savannah Aulger will never have snapshots with her father on her first birthday, on Christmas or at a school event. The only picture she will ever have of them is the one as sweet as it is heartbreaking. Hooked up to an oxygen mask at the hospital, the man she would call dad cradled her in his arms for 45 minutes...

C-SPAN's coverage of the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) continues Friday with speeches by the leading presidential candidates and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The three top GOP candidates for the Republican nomination -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum -- are taking a break from the campaign trial to address attendees. Rep. Ron Paul was invited to speak but will instead continue campaigning.

HOUSTON - A couple of burglars chose the wrong woman to pick on. They came sneaking into her house, and she sent them running out. Perhaps they didn't count on the woman fighting back, but that's just what she did. The mother of two was getting her 10-year-old son ready for school when the two bad guys broke in. She grabbed a gun and came face-to-face with not one but two intruders inside her Huffman home. "It was scary," she said. She's still shaken up, so she doesn't want her identity revealed. It was broad daylight, 7:30 a.m., and the...

PLANO, Texas — Standing in front of a massive crowd at a rally in Plano, Texas, Rick Santorum unleashed criticism of Barack Obama and threw out some campaign red meat to supporters hungry for it, telling them the president has an “overt hostility to faith.”“(He’s) trying to weaken them, churches, trying to say that anybody who believes in the values of the Judeo Christian policies,” Santorum said to about 2,000 people in a converted barn, one of his largest audiences of the campaign. He told the audience at the raucous rally that Obama is restricting religious freedoms in this country,...

Visitors to the Pacific island of Peleliu can't claim they weren't warned. The sign at the harbour says "Welcome to Peleliu -- Land of Enchantment," but as the boat approaches the quay, a second sign becomes visible. "Remember that WWII ordnance is still dangerous and can injure or kill!"The water glistens in varying shades of turquoise, the sand on the beaches is as fine as dust and a balmy breeze eases the tropical heat. But the beauty is deceptive. The "Land of Enchantment," which belongs to the island nation of Palau, was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles...

TX Redistricting Deal Rejected - NO Apr 3 Primary - Apr 17 Unlikely – Split Election Likely – TX Should Stand Up to Feds & RNC Monday, February 6th, was the deadline for a Texas Redistricting agreement to be made in order to have a one 2012 Primary Election in Texas on April 3rd. There was an agreement made between Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and some of the minority groups who are plaintiffs in the Redistricting Lawsuit, but then a Federal US District Judge, Orlando Garcia, in San Antonio struck down the deal. Yep, this is the same...

Mexico arrests figure in Fast and Furious gun-smuggling scandal REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities have arrested a reputed enforcer for the country's most powerful drug cartel -- a man also alleged to have amassed weapons from the U.S. government's failed Fast and Furious gun-smuggling operation (link, in Spanish, includes video). Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, 33, is also wanted by U.S. officials on drug-trafficking charges in El Paso. Mexican and U.S. authorities say he served as a top lieutenant to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel and was in charge of operations in the border state of...

Do we want a big name blogger - one who is nearly a member of the traditional media - named to the CPAC Blogger of the Year? Or do we want a grassroots, self-taught blogger like you and me to represent us? I know many of the bloggers who will most likely be nominated and would be proud to call them friends, but Sonja Harris better represents me and most of the Pajamas crowd. So read the blog, nominate Red Sonja!EMAIL THIS FORM, FILLED OUT WITH YOUR INFORMATION, TO BloggerAward@conservative.org CPAC 2012 Blogger of the Year Award Please submit nominations...

Big Bend National Park - What started as a family vacation quickly took a turn for the worst after a six-year-old boy is attacked by a mountain lion in Big Bend National Park. "We weren’t on a trail or down in the woods we were on a sidewalk between the restaurant and hotel," explains Rivers Hobbs’ father, Jason. The Hobbs family drove in from Austin, hoping to enjoy the outdoors in Big Bend National Park. But their vacation was cut short. "It snuck up on me," claims 6-year-old Rivers. “It” was a mountain lion, sneaking up on Rivers just feet...

A federal judge on Monday upheld the Texas law requiring women to have a sonogram before having an abortion, saying an appeals court had forced him to declare the law constitutional. District Judge Sam Sparks had previously struck down parts of the law, but his latest ruling said he's bound to follow the direction of the New Orleans-based appeals court. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Health Services said the ruling clears the way for full-enforcement of the law, which was supposed to take effect Oct. 1 but has ping-ponged through the federal courts in legal challenges. The agency...

Tarrant County Republicans favored Rick Santorum over the other remaining presidential candidates at a straw poll and candidate fair held Saturday in Hurst. Santorum won with 36 percent support of more than 700 votes cast. Newt Gingrich came in second with 25 percent support, followed by US Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, at 18 percent and Mitt Romney at 17 percent. Excitement was high all day around the Santorum table at the Hurst Conference Center as supporters notified attendees that Santorum will be in North Texas on Wednesday. The former US Senator from Pennsylvania is scheduled to speak to area...

A couple from Texas who moved to a violence-plagued area of northern Mexico to run a Baptist church were found murdered on Tuesday in their ransacked home, relatives said. John and Wanda Casias, originally from Amarillo, Texas, moved to an area outside of Monterrey, Mexico, in the late 1970s or early 1980s to make it their home. Valerie Alirez, the eldest child of John Casias, said one of her brothers found her father and stepmother dead on Tuesday in their home in Santiago, Nuevo Leon. John Casias, 76, was a Baptist preacher and the couple ran the First Fundamentalist Independent...

SNIPPET: "Moeed Abdul Salam didn't descend into radical Islam for lack of other options. He grew up in a well-off Texas household, attended a pricey boarding school and graduated from one of the state's most respected universities." SNIPPET: "It is not clear to what extent Salam's family knew of his radicalism, but on his Facebook page the month before he died, he posted an image of Anwar al-Awalki, the American al-Qaida leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, beside a burning American flag." SNIPPET: "The family, originally from Pakistan, immigrated to the U.S. decades ago."

You know the border is a place where drugs and illegal immigrants transit every day. But you have no idea how bad things really are.

DALLAS - No one would say being a single mom is easy. Especially being a single, teenage mother. But the State of Texas appears to be encouraging teenage girls to become pregnant so they can receive free dental care under Medicaid. Our investigation last year found hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money spent for free braces on kids' teeth under Medicaid. That spurred a federal investigation, because cosmetic braces aren't supposed to be paid for under Medicaid. If that is an example of good intentions gone bad, Latricia Banks and her mom, Patricia Jones, may exemplify a good...

Joe Straus, a Republican with poor conservative credentials, connived with 65 Democrats and 11 “moderate” Republicans to take over the speaker of the house for the 81st session in 2009, a betrayal of the other Republican members and the voters who elected them. It is a well known story in political circles how Democrats were allegedly rewarded for their votes with prominent committee positions. As a result, the Democrats were able to substantially block the conservative Republican agenda in the 81st legislature in Texas. Texas Tea Party activism in the 2010 elections helped elect a conservative Republican super majority to...

A man accused of robbing a taxi driver at gunpoint, then fleeing from another cab stopped for a traffic violation, said he was trying to recruit the second driver into his terror cell, police said. Ali Abdullal Mayberry, 29, was taken into custody late Wednesday and is being held at Bexar County Jail on one count of aggravated robbery. A judge set bail at $50,000. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a taxi driver on Jan. 10 went to pick up a fare in the 10300 block of Royal Estate, where he had driven Mayberry the morning before. Mayberry did...

Not an actual photo ​Every once in a while, amid the stacks of semi-literate, pro se habeas corpus petitions, trademark suits and product liability complaints, there comes a federal filing so disturbing, so completely awful, that it leaves the reader with nothing but questions. This week, it's Danny Cantu v. The City of Dallas and a whole passel of named and unnamed police officers. According to the complaint, which made its way to Courthouse News yesterday, Cantu, a diesel mechanic, was making his lunch January 22, 2010, when he saw a few cops streaking across his yard. A deafening...

President Barack Obama might have rejected the enormous Keystone XL pipeline, at least for now, but that doesn't mean heavy crude from Canada won't be flowing into Texas' refineries later this year. TransCanada Corp. — the Canadian company that proposed building the $7 billion, 830,000 barrel-a-day pipeline — has some ideas that could lead to moving oil from the oil sands region in northern Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast of Texas without the blessing of the president, the company said. "We are still very much committed to building this pipeline," TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said in an interview with...

The Texas state attorneys defending the state’s GOP-drawn redistricting plans from court challenges have reached out to settle litigation, according to sources in the state. The settlement would give minority groups and Democrats what they’ve been demanding from the start: more heavily minority, Democratic-leaning House seats. The result would likely mean at least four more Texas Democrats in Congress as of next year, a good start on the 25 or so seats Democrats need to win to retake control of the House.

by John HillStand with Arizona The border is "safer than ever". So says DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. Again and again. Barack Obama has mocked those who say the border is unsafe: "Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they'll want alligators in the moat. They'll never be satisfied." But for Texas ranchers in the Rio Grande Valley, the border has never been more dangerous. And they are stocking up with the hardware to do the job that the Feds refuse to do - AK47 rifles to defend their property and lives from border violence. Barbed wire fencing doesn't keep illegal aliens...

Yes, that was deceitful, but i really DO need a title -- I'm no good at that. My boring choice was, "How Does The General Election Relate To Texas History and a "Last Stand?" :)This isn't about Rick Perry, btw. It's about you and me and our future as a Constitutional Republic. Rick Perry -- in an act of courage, conviction, and wisdom -- has stepped aside and endorsed someone whom he thinks can lead our charge. For that, I am thankful. Even if you disagree with his endorsement, you probably understand that nothing is more important than stopping the...

Newt Gingrich now has that intangible that unfortunately our Republicans have been missing, except for Sarah Palin. It is called swagger. I am talking about the Contract with America creating, welfare reforming, budget balancing, race card killing, CNN bashing, Obama debate challenging swagger. More than confidence, it's pure belief and trust in his own ability to carry out the conservative cause while winning hearts and minds. Public arena winning, back room brawling, media manhandling, Newt is a seasoned, battle tested statesman who has finally found his rhythm. It is very contagious to witness a confident conservative who can articulate our...

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected elections maps drawn by a federal court in Texas that had favored Democratic candidates there. The unanimous decision said that redistricting is primarily a job for elected state officials and that the lower court had not paid enough deference to maps drawn by the State Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans. The justices sent the case back to the lower court, extending the uncertainty surrounding this major voting-rights case.

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has thrown out electoral maps drawn by federal judges in Texas that favored minorities. The unsigned opinion Friday left the fate of Texas' April primaries unclear.</p>

WASHINGTON — On Dec. 31, just hours before a New Year's Eve celebration, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Section 1245 of the law contains language providing authority to impose economic sanctions on Iran in order to deter the ayatollahs from acquiring nuclear weapons. White House efforts to have the sanctions provision stripped from the bill failed, and the measure became law with a quiet flourish of the presidential pen. Ever since, Washington and Tehran have been waging a war of words. None of this works to the advantage of the American...

In a recent article published by The Daily Beast, its Washington bureau chief, Howard Kurtz, reasoned that if “moderate” Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination for President, he’ll need to choose a running mate with the conservative bona fides to balance the ticket. While the notion that Mitt Romney is "on the verge of sewing up the Republican nomination" is still just a neo-con fantasy (especially in light of Ron Paul’s surging poll numbers and his respectable showing in Iowa and New Hampshire), pundits and soi disant opinion makers have suggested that the former Governor of Massachusetts choose a VP...

Republicans in the House of Representatives said on Wednesday they plan to introduce a bill to advance TransCanada's Keystone XL oil pipeline to try to override President Barack Obama's rejection of the $7 billion project. House Speaker John Boehner told reporters "all options are on the table" to craft a bill to fight for the pipeline, which Republicans say would create thousands of jobs and bolster the economic recovery. "There are legislative vehicles that will be moving in the weeks and months ahead," Boehner said. House Republicans have not yet decided what kind of legislation they will push, said Lee...

Congressional support for controversial online piracy legislation eroded dramatically on Wednesday in the face of an unprecedented online protest supported by tech titans such as Google, Wikipedia and Facebook. Several key senators withdrew their support from the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA), including Tea Party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), an elected member of his party's leadership. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who leads the Senate GOP's campaign team, said the legislation should be put on hold, while Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a sponsor and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, retreated from the...

From Public Policy Polling, this is really bad news for Rick Perry -- although at this point it cannot be unexpected: Rick Perry's Presidential campaign is doing about as bad in Texas now as it is everywhere else in the country. When PPP last polled the state in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points. Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%. Mitt Romney at 24% and Newt Gingrich at 23% lead the way with Rick Santorum at 15%, Ron Paul at 12%, and Buddy Roemer at 0%...

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Texas Governor Rick Perry is demanding Mitt Romney release his tax records, warning there can't be any surprises should the GOP front-runner become the party's nominee. "Anita and I put out our taxes every year since back the 80s, and every candidate up there, they should put their taxes out, including Mitt," Perry insisted during a town hall meeting. "You know, November, or excuse me, September and October, is not the time for us to be finding out that whoops, there's something out there that is a problem. We need to know it now." Perry has...

Austin to get $11.7M in sales tax revenue Austin will collect $11.7 million in sales tax revenue from the state this month for sales that took place in November, up 6.2 percent from the same period last year, according to data released by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs. State sales tax revenue was $1.98 billion, up 9.5 percent compared to November 2010 sales. “Sales tax revenue continues to grow in almost all major economic categories and revenue has now increased for 21 consecutive months,” Combs said. Sales taxes from retail trade and restaurant activity continue to improve and tax revenue from...

Jon Huntsman was endorsed by Columbia, S.C.'s The State newspaper on Sunday. The endorsement comes less than a week before the South Carolina primary and comes as Huntsman quickly tries to gain traction in the Palmetto state. The State's endorsement is actually similar to what happened just before the New Hampshire primary: Mitt Romney's hometown paper, The Boston Globe, backed Huntsman in a long editorial in which it compared Romney with the former Utah governor. Like the Globe endorsement, The State praised both Romney and Huntsman but said Huntsman was the better candidate. "There are actually two sensible, experienced grownups," The...

A few summers ago I took some time to drive out to the old home place where I grew up during the 50’s and 60’s. Lots of memories accompany me with every visit so each trip is a “grounding” of sorts. I think we all need that from time to time, or at least I do. On one particular trip in early summer I noticed a small critter scurrying through the parched grass a short distance away and after closer inspection I recognized a little Mexican ground squirrel quite busy looking for some grub to store in his burrow. Being...

A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the immediate enforcement of a new Texas abortion law that requires abortion providers to show and describe ultrasound images to pregnant women and play them sounds of the fetal heart.

In a move the technology sector will surely see as a victory, a controversial antipiracy bill being debated in Congress will no longer include a provision that would require ISPs to block access to overseas Web sites accused of piracy. Rep. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), one of the biggest backers of the Stop Online Piracy Act, today said he plans to remove the Domain Name System or DNS-blocking provision. "After consultation with industry groups across the country," Smith said in a statement released by his office, "I feel we should remove DNS-blocking from the Stop Online Piracy Act so that...

It sounds too good to be true, and if Texas regulators have their way, it won't happen. About 690,000 consumers are slated to get an estimated $160 million in rebates from health insurance companies by Aug. 1. But the Texas Insurance Department wants to slash that amount by three-fourths and phase in changes slowly. The department says the individual insurance market could be destabilized if companies have to make the payments and cut into profits. Consumer groups say that everything will be fine and that customers deserve their full refunds. A federal decision is expected within two weeks. The rebates...

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...

With Newt Gingrich breaking out of the pack as the conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney in South Carolina, he came under attack Friday from an old friend and colleague in Congress, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. Santorum had largely avoided political attacks against Gingrich, whom he once considered a political mentor. But on Friday, the glove came off as Santorum took the former House speaker to task for being insufficiently conservative on climate change, free markets and health care. "Conservative alternatives don't go out and attack the capitalist system as he has done. Conservative alternatives don't promote...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Federal Court Upholds Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme; Congressional Action Needed   Friday, January 13, 2012   Moments before this alert was to go out, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.  The case was brought by two NRA-backed firearms retailers and by the National Shooting Sports Foundation acting on behalf of its affected members.  Plaintiffs plan to appeal immediately—but in the meantime, your help is urgently...

DALLAS - Vehicles in Texas must display both front and back license plates. It’s been a state law since 1934. But lawmakers in rewriting the state transportation code recently made what could be a serious omission. “Absolutely it is a potentially very big problem,” said Robert Gregg, a criminal defense and personal injury attorney. “The issue is not whether it is a fine. That’s where we start. The issue is whether or not it’s a crime.” The old law read, “A person commits an offense if the person operates… a passenger car or commercial motor vehicle that does not display...

A tiny Texas baby born with some organs on the outside of his body is recovering at a hospital after having surgery to correct the rare condition, his parents told ABC News. Little Hayes Davis was born in Houston on March 25 with a rare defect known as omphalocele, in which a fetus’ intestines and other organs develop in a thin sack outside a baby’s belly. Mom Kelly Davis told ABC that doctors told her about the condition, which afflicts one of every 10,000 babies, during an ultrasound about three months into her pregnancy. “Once we heard the word ‘omphalocele,’...

Following much thoughtful consternation, I have decided to pull my support and endorsement of Texas Governor Rick Perry for the GOP presidential nomination.  I realize the redstate diary commenters, won’t be kind but this needs to be said.  This decision wasn’t easy but a serious evaluation of the field should inform us that Rick Perry has no realistic path to victory in South Carolina, Florida and beyond. I realize that redstate.com’s Erick Erickson continues to stick by him, that South Carolina is Perry’s state and that he has re-tooled his staff.  But it is too little too late and at...

Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to overturn a district judge's injunction against Texas' sonogram law: "Today's ruling is a victory for all who stand in defense of life. Every life lost to abortion is a tragedy, and this important sonogram legislation ensures that every Texas woman seeking an abortion has all the facts about the life she is carrying, and understands the devastating impact of such a life-ending decision. We will continue to fight any attempt to limit our state's laws that value and protect the unborn."