Free Republic

More than half the Senate on Wednesday urged quick approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ramping up pressure on President Barack Obama to move ahead with the project just days after he promised in his inaugural address to respond vigorously to the threat of climate change. A letter signed by 53 senators said Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman’s approval of a revised route through his state puts the long-delayed project squarely in the president's hands. “We urge you to choose jobs, economic development and American energy security,” the letter said, adding that the pipeline “has gone through the most exhaustive...

My employer (TxDOT) is requiring a xerox copy of my CHL

SAN ANTONIO - A scary situation for a family on the Northeast Side. Just before 10 am Sunday morning Bexar County Sheriff's Deputies say someone tried to kick-in the front door at a home on Sunlit Trail. We're told the mom called 911 and the son fired one shot through the door. The suspect then took off after firing his gun.

<p>Gov. Rick Perry’s spokesman Josh Havens said, “(Perry’s) thoughts and prayers are with those that have been impacted,” Havens said. “We have nothing more to add at this point, but the governor will continue to closely monitor the situation.”</p> <p>My prayers are w/ those who were injured in today’s shooting, the entire Lone Star College community, & our first responders on the scene.</p>

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There's a good news update on a home ransacked and spray painted by a pair of teen burglars in northwest Houston. While the burglars are now in custody, community members and Marines stepped in to help the homeowner -- a 93-year-old World War II veteran. The Marines quickly marched into the defaced home of WWII veteran Elbert Wood, eager to help. "It's important that he knows we're here for him and that we're always his brothers," Major Roberto Rodriguez said. The presence of these local Marines is just one example of the outpouring of support for Wood...

Dozens of people lined up outside a South Austin gun shop Monday. They fear this new presidential term will mean tougher gun laws. Monday morning dozens of people lined up outside Central Texas Gun Works in South Austin. Some waited as long as five hours to get the chance to purchase a part to make an AR-15. "Lower receivers seem to be sold out throughout the nation so as soon as you find out one's in stock like the line shows, everybody rushes for them," gun owner Jeremy Paul said.

It's being reported on KXAN.com noon news that multiple people shot at on Lone Star College in Houston, TX. It's a tech school.

AUSTIN -- Forty years ago the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the case of Roe vs. Wade. The ruling confirmed that the right to privacy includes making your own personal medical decisions, including abortion. However the fight over abortion rights continues. One of the biggest is playing out among state lawmakers. Polls show most Americans still support the Supreme Court's ruling. According to a 2012 Gallup Poll, 77 percent think abortion should be legal in some or all circumstances. The battle at the Texas Capitol centers on just how far abortion rights should go. Several bills have...

Tired of the scourge of organized crime, civilians in two rural towns in southwestern Mexico have taken matters into their own hands over the last two weeks. Since the second week of January, around 800 masked and armed residents have set up vigilante groups who are manning checkpoints, imposing curfews and arresting alleged criminals. This unofficial police force says they are providing security for the municipalities of Ayutla de los Libres and Teconoapa in Guerrero state, an area that has been hit hard by Mexico's drug violence. More than 70,000 people killed across the country since 2006 and residents in...

The Black Heritage Society is sponsoring the 35th annual "Original" MLK Parade beginning at 10 a.m. on the corner of Texas and Jackson in downtown. Glorice McPherson, event coordinator for the Black Heritage Society, said the festivities will include an awards gala, a health fair, and a groundbreaking for a statue of MLK Jr. Charles Stamps, chairman and CEO for the MLK Parade Foundation, said the parade will have two battle of the bands contests this year instead of just one, as well as the youth parade.

This report lays out the case for elimination of the franchise tax. Part II of this report (which is forthcoming) advocates for a transition Be Bold Texas! Franchise Tax Report Be Bold Texas! Franchise Tax Report (PDF) away from property taxes to consumption taxes to fund the maintenance and operations of public schools. That report will also make the case for a lower property tax appraisal cap or property tax revenue cap to provide homeowners and business owners with relief from inexorable appraisal growth. Taken together, these reforms would represent a substantial transformation of the state’s tax structure, and thus,...

Ted Cruz was on Meet the Press this morning to primarily discuss the Second Amendment and the debt ceiling. The downside to this clip is that he’s on with Schmucky Schumer. Watch:

DALLAS (Reuters) - A pickup truck used by former President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch was sold for $300,000 at an auction on Saturday after he donated it to benefit a charity that serves U.S. military families.

Gun shop owner to auction off Bushmaster rifle for charity A local gun shop owner is auctioning off one of his guns to help out one of his employees in need. "Buy a gun, annoy a liberal." That's a T-shirt you can buy at Central Texas Gun Works in Austin. The owner, Michael Cargill is pro-gun but what he is not...is a conservative. "Hey, I'm a Democrat and I support the second amendment. If someone wants to come in here and buy a gun, annoy a liberal, that's fine. They can do that!" Cargill said. That's what makes the following...

The Seaway Crude Oil Pipeline Co. has taken the biggest step so far toward reducing transportation bottlenecks between the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast, setting the stage for significant changes by mid-2014 that will bring relief to Bakken producers. The 50-50 joint venture by affiliates of Enbridge and Enterprise Products Partners has completed a reversal of 500 miles of the Seaway system, increasing the flow between Cushing, Okla., and Houston to 400,000 barrels per day from 150,000 bpd. The partnership is now targeting 850,000 bpd by the first quarter of 2014 when it introduces a new twin line parallel...

<p>MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Border Patrol says two Central American women have reported being raped by human smugglers in two separate incidents in South Texas.</p> <p>A Border Patrol statement Friday says a Honduran woman apprehended Tuesday in the brush by agents from the Kingsville station said she was raped Jan. 6 by three men at a stash house near Hidalgo. She was taken to a Kingsville hospital for evaluation.</p>

In the days leading up to the 40th commemoration of Roe v. Wade, the pro-life cause is winning the legal war against America’s largest abortion provider. As reported recently in the Texas Tribune, the State of Texas has won round one in the battle to defund abortion providers. In 2011, the Texas legislature passed what is called the “Affiliate Ban Rule,” which prohibits any health provider affiliated with abortion, including Planned Parenthood, from participating in the state’s Women’s Health Program. In April 2012, a Texas judge granted a preliminary injunction to Planned Parenthood TX, exempting them from the new rule;...

President Obama's plan, announced Wednesday, to curtail gun violence in the wake of recent mass shootings is drawing both criticism and praise in the gun-loving state of Texas. The president is calling for Congress to implement background checks for all gun purchases and to ban certain assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Republican Gov. Rick Perry said the president's plan "disgusts" him and that it is an effort by the political left to use the killings to accomplish an anti-gun agenda. He called for prayer and a rejection of evil, as opposed to gun regulation. But Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said...

Join us at the Texas State Capitol in Austin for a family friendly, pro-second amendment rally to affirm your right to bear arms. The event begins at noon on the North Side of the Capitol this Saturday, January 19th. Confirmed Speakers: Sheriff Richard Mack; TX Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson; TX Rep. Steve Toth; Eric Reed - National Coordinator for Guns Across America Events; Adrian Murray - Texas Political Activist; Alan LaFrance - Texas Gun Talk; Ralph Patterson - TX Rep. Co. Chair and Gun Rights Proponent; Toby Marie Walker - Tea Party & Political Activist. Others to be announced as...

The American economy has had little to cheer about since the 2008 financial meltdown and the resulting recession. Recovery has been feeble, and many states continue to struggle. One bright spot in the general gloom, however, is Texas, which began shining long before 2008. Not only has Texas created jobs at a stunning rate; it has also — pace critics such as the New York Times' Paul Krugman — created lots of good jobs. Indeed, the rest of the nation could turn to the Lone Star State as a model for dynamic growth. Texan job creation has far outpaced the...

Full Title: Upcoming Pipeline Capacity Additions Will Facilitate Continued Growth in Crude Oil Shipments from Midwest to Gulf Coast This Week in Petroleum Continuing growth in U.S. crude oil production is causing significant changes in the way crude oil moves within the United States. The Midwest (PADD 2) has been one of the major sources of this production growth, especially from the Bakken formation in North Dakota. Pipeline flows from PADD 2 to PADD 3 will increase over the next two years as several major pipeline projects, starting with the Seaway Pipeline's current capacity expansion, are completed. As PADD 2...

CORPUS CHRISTI — It sits outside the frenzied drilling activity, but Corpus Christi has its eye on the gas fields of the Eagle Ford Shale region. Even as companies chase crude oil deposits in South Texas, Corpus Christi is betting on dry natural gas — currently uneconomic to drill — as a long-term fuel supply for its busses and city fleet, and as an export product for its port. “What’s happening in the Eagle Ford is not staying in the Eagle Ford,” said Richard Borchard, a Port of Corpus Christi commissioner, who spoke at an Eagle Ford Shale Consortium meeting...

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is holding a young immigrant from Asia who officials say is infected with a rare drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis. The man was detained by the Border Patrol trying to sneak into South Texas on Nov. 27. Several days later, while undergoing a medical screening at the Port Isabel Service Detention Center, he was diagnosed with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, the least treatable form of the disease. Officials declined to identify the infected man other than to say he is young and from an Asian country. It's only the third time since 2008 the strain has been...

Gov. Rick Perry released the following statement regarding President Obama's executive actions: "The Vice President's committee was appointed in response to the tragedy at Newtown, but very few of his recommendations have anything to do with what happened there. "Guns require a finger to pull the trigger. The sad young man who did that in Newtown was clearly haunted by demons and no gun law could have saved the children in Sandy Hook Elementary from his terror. "There is evil prowling in the world - it shows up in our movies, video games and online fascinations, and finds its way...

Remember when San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sent home four of his players before a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat and was fined $250,000 for it? Well, so does a lawyer who just filed a suit against the team in Miami-Dade County, citing that the Spurs broke a state law regarding "deceptive and fair trade practices." According to ESPN.com's Darren Rovell, Larry McGuinness filed a class action lawsuit against San Antonio for sending Tim Duncan, Danny Green, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili home before their game against the Heat on Nov. 29, 2012. On Monday, Larry McGuinness...

San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp., is planning to build a new crude topper unit at its Houston refinery to expand its capacity to process light sweet crude oil from the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas. The refinery already processes 20,000 to 40,000 barrels a day of crude oil from the Eagle Ford, Valero spokesman Bill Day said, and the expansion would allow it to use more. No construction date has been set, but plans call for the work to be completed by mid-2015.

Politics: President Obama threatened Social Security checks would be delayed if Congress didn't play ball on the debt ceiling. Once again, he turned pensions into a political football. There are ways to stop this. Americans should know: Social Security payments won't be affected by debt-ceiling talks, and Obama knows it. Still, it's not as if the Social Security system is healthy. In a Page 1 story Monday, IBD's Jed Graham reported that 2013 marks the first year new Social Security retirees will outlive the trust fund. Their benefits will be slashed 25% as the system goes bust in 2033. So...

AUSTIN -- The City of Austin's Health and Human Services Committee spent the first hour of its Tuesday meeting discussing ways to expand gun control and safety. "We are taking part in an important discussion that's going on at the national level," said Austin City Council member Mike Martinez. The committee took part in a question/answer session with Austin Police Assistant Chief Sean Mannix. Mannix says since 2010, Austin police seized more than 780 guns through a buy-back program called Guns for Groceries. Mannix says the weapons seized are either destroyed or used by the police department. APD also has...

A representative from The Woodlands is vowing to file legislation that would make it illegal to enforce federal bans on semi-automatic weapons. Under Republican State Representative Steve Toth's "Firearms Protection Act," anyone trying to enforce federal gun bans could face felony charges. Toth's announcement comes on the eve of President Barack Obama's unveiling of his initiative to fight gun violence. Some of the so-called concrete steps will address both gun control and mental health care. So how will Texas respond to the recommendations? .... "What should we be doing to make sure that our children are safe and that we're...

SAN ANTONIO -- A homeowner shot two men, killing one, when he heard someone breaking into his SUV. It happened on Lightstone Drive near Stone Oak and Hardy Oak Boulevard shortly before 2 a.m. Police say the owner of a parked SUV heard someone attempting to break into it. That's when, according to police, he went outside and spotted someone inside his vehicle. As he approached the vehicle the owner thought he spotted a gun. The SUV owner then fired at the suspect, hitting him one time in the upper torso. Police say the getaway driver then sped off. The...

A Texas lawmaker says he plans to file the Firearms Protection Act, which would make any federal laws that may be passed by Congress or imposed by Presidential order which would ban or restrict ownership of semi-automatic firearms or limit the size of gun magazines illegal in the state, 1200 WOAI news reports. Republican Rep. Steve Toth says his measure also calls for felony criminal charges to be filed against any federal official who tries to enforce the rule in the state. "If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person...

A Texas lawmaker says he plans to file the Firearms Protection Act, which would make any federal laws that may be passed by Congress or imposed by Presidential order which would ban or restrict ownership of semi-automatic firearms or limit the size of gun magazines illegal in the state, 1200 WOAI news reports. Republican Rep. Steve Toth says his measure also calls for felony criminal charges to be filed against any federal official who tries to enforce the rule in the state. "If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person...

A Texas lawmaker says he plans to file the Firearms Protection Act, which would make any federal laws that may be passed by Congress or imposed by Presidential order which would ban or restrict ownership of semi-automatic firearms or limit the size of gun magazines illegal in the state, 1200 WOAI news reports. Republican Rep. Steve Toth says his measure also calls for felony criminal charges to be filed against any federal official who tries to enforce the rule in the state. "If a federal official comes into the state of Texas to enforce the federal executive order, that person...

McALLEN — Federal authorities arrested three men accused of holding 51 undocumented immigrants, threatening them with a handgun and a machete as well as paddling them to keep them in line. The arrests came after a Guatemalan immigrant managed to escape the house and alert authorities. On Friday afternoon, agents with U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division went to a house in the 6600 block of North Bentsen Road, where they arrested 51 undocumented immigrants and three men who, in addition to being immigrants from El Salvador, were in charge of holding them...

Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman threatened Monday afternoon that he would file articles of impeachment against President Barack Obama if he institutes gun control measures with an executive order. Stockman warned that such executive orders would be “unconstitutional” and “infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms.” “I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment,” Stockman said in a statement.

Four illegal immigrants from the tiny European nation of Albanian are facing deportation after being caught near Brownsville. U.S. Border Patrol agents caught the four wading across the Rio Grande River in Brownsville on Wednesday. The four immigrants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Felix Recio on Friday. Judge Recio sentenced them to time served but they are now facing deportation. The group makes up a total of 16 Albanian immigrants caught in Brownsville since late December. Border Patrol statistics show only 38 immigrants from the southeast European nation were arrested along the entire southwest border in 2011.

Seaway Crude Oil Pipeline Company LLC announced that service on the 500-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline between Cushing, Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast resumed today, with approximately 400,000 barrels per day ("BPD") of capacity now available to shippers. Service was suspended on January 2, 2013 so that the remaining pump station connections could be completed allowing capacity to be increased from approximately 150,000 BPD.

In 1991, a man named George Hennard drove his truck through the front of a Luby's Cafateria in Killeen, Texas. It wasn't an accident. He hadn't lost control of his vehicle but instead was there to kill. After crashing into the restaurant, Hennard jumped out and started killing as many people as he could. Dr. Suzanna Gratia was there that day eating lunch with her parents. At the time, it was a felony in the state of Texas to carry a firearm inside a purse and Gratia left her gun in the car. Al Gratia, her father, attempted to rush...

SHAWNEE, Oklahoma -Armed with a gun and ready to shoot, a Shawnee woman defended her home as man broke down her door. It happened in broad daylight and she didn't back down. Pam Loman and her husband, James, say they've lived on Homer Lane in Shawnee for over 10 years and have never had any problems. But early Friday afternoon, while Pam was home alone, she quickly figured out, three men outside her home were up to no good. "I still feel queasy sick at my stomach, a little shaky, a little nervous," Pam said. ... Pam says the knocking...

I’m sure I couldn’t get all 49 other governors to admit they would want to be Texans. Just reading the front of the Drudge Report today, I’m thinking Governor Cuomo would not admit he would want to be a Texan. But if he would be truthful, he would say that the economic climate that has allowed that state to grow and create jobs, he would dearly love to be able to stand up in say ‘We did this in New York. But he can’t.”

The Eagle Ford Shale is turning out to be more than an oil boom. It’s also a shot in the wallet, pulling up personal income in counties across the region — some of the poorest in the state. With a sudden abundance of well-paid oil field jobs, counties with Eagle Ford Shale wells permitted or in production saw an average increase in per capita income of 13.62 percent between 2008 and 2011, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. Texas as a whole saw an increase in per capita income of 1.34 percent during...

For instance hollow-point bullets which used to sell at Central Texas Gun Works for $15 dollars a box 30 days ago -- now costs more than $30... "Anyone that's coming in, taking a concealed handgun class, we'll sell ammo to them. But we're not selling any ammo to any outside people," Cargill said.

Houston trial lawyers Steve and Amber Mostyn say they’re giving $1 million to a gun-control group formed by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. Steve Mostyn is a major Democratic campaign contributor, backing candidates in Texas and nationally. He gave $3 million to Priorities USA Action, a super PAC aiding President Obama’s re-election. He’s perhaps best known in Texas for launching a media campaign against Rick Perry two years ago in which he chided the Republican governor for his reluctance to debate in his 2010 reelection race with a full-page newspaper ad depicting Perry and...

Frisco gun club indoor range being built. Over 40 lanes. Over 40,000 square feet being built.

CELINA –– A parent in Celina ISD has been charged with making terroristic threats at his child's school. Police say Ron Miller, who was unarmed, told Celina Elementary School staffers that he had a gun to test the school's security response on Wednesday morning. "Basically, he told one of the greeters, 'I am a gunman. My target is inside of the building. I'm going in the building. You stop me,'" said Celina Independent School District superintendent Donny O'Dell. "They recognized, at that point, that he did not have a weapon and they were able to go ahead and tell him...

FARMINGTON, N.M., Dec. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- An energy conference scheduled for March 18 and 19, 2013, will feature a series of presentations about new drilling for shale oil in the Mancos Shale Formation of the Four Corners Region of Northwest New Mexico. The conference will be held at San Juan College in the Henderson Fine Arts Center.

Wyoming lawmakers have proposed a new bill that, if passed, would nullify any federal restrictions on guns, threatening to jail federal agents attempting to confiscate guns, ammunition magazines or ammunition.

The Eagle Ford Shale play is still in its early stages, with landmen continuing to hunt for mineral rights across South Texas and no one really knowing how much oil is out there. But if the Eagle Ford seems big, get ready for what’s happening in West Texas, where oil and gas production is ramping up in shale layers such as the Wolfcamp in and around Midland. “They’re getting thousands and thousands of feet of pay zone,” said Ken Morgan, director of the Texas Christian University Energy Institute, who spoke Wednesday at Palo Alto College. “It’s like the Eagle Ford...

I was recently hired to review the Supreme Court opinion in the case of Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1869). The opinion in that matter was written by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, who had served in Lincoln's cabinet during the Civil War prior to his appointment as chief justice. In the recent talk of secession, this case is often thrown out as having settled the matter legally, just as the Civil War settled the matter militarily. This memorandum of course does not address the wisdom of secession and does not advocate secession. It is devoted solely to analysis...

ConocoPhillips is splitting its vast mid-continent business in two and moving managers from Midland to Houston, as part of an internal reorganization, according to spokesman Daren Beaudo. ConocoPhillips, the nation’s largest independent oil producer, will shut down its Odessa office in the shuffle, an effort to improve operational efficiency, Beaudo said in an e-mail. Currently, the mid-continent unit is based in Midland and stretches from Texas to the Canadian border. It includes several prolific oil plays, including the Permian Basin in West Texas and the Bakken shale in North Dakota. Beaudo did not disclose how the company’s assets will be...