Free Republic

Army officials say one thing that could have helped prevent last week’s shooting at Fort Hood is better information sharing with commanders about the mental and behavioral health histories of incoming soldiers.The shooter, Spc. Ivan Lopez, 34, had arrived at Fort Hood, Texas, in February after being stationed for four years at Fort Bliss, Texas. By the time of his transfer, Lopez had a history of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, and was prescribed a number of prescription drugs, including Ambien. But receiving commanders at Fort Hood would not have been privy to Lopez’s health history.“Here's the biggest...

If Sen. Rand Paul has any hope of capturing the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, he'll have to convince the conservative base he can be trusted on foreign policy -- which is exactly why Sen. Ted Cruz is his most dangerous critic.Though they have often been allies on domestic policy, anybody paying close attention knew that there was always a big gulf on foreign policy issues between Cruz, R-Texas, and Paul, R-Ky.Whereas Cruz has a much more traditional Reaganite view of a strong role for America in the world, Paul seeks to advance his father's brand of non-interventionism, which advocates...

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is done being patient. There was a time when an Oval Office meeting with President Obama could buy their silence. But no longer. On Friday April 4, the CHC sent a six-page letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson demanding that Obama use "all legal means available" to "suspend, delay, or dispense with the deportations of immigrants who would qualify for legal status and protection under S. 744." At no point does the letter bother to call for new legislation or the passage of S.744. Instead, the CHC just demands that Obama enforce current...

Jere Brower, his wife Clara, and his 4-year-old daughter Ana, have a very good reason to believe Texas Congressman Ron Paul when he said people view his supporters as "dangerous." The 38-year-old Atlanta man and his family have been targeted by militant Ron Paul supporters, one of whom threatened to "kneecap" him, then rape his wife and young daughter. Mr. Brower said he has also received death threats from supporters of Ron Paul. The trouble started when Brower and some of his Facebook friends decided to have a laugh over Ron Paul's ties to racist and anti-semitic groups. He wrote...

(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Monday seeking to bar Iran's proposed U.N. ambassador, Hamid Abutalebi, from entering the United States. The legislation, introduced by Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, would prevent "known terrorists" from entering the United States to serve as U.N. ambassadors. The Democratic-controlled Senate passed the measure by a voice vote. The possibility that Abutalebi may have played a role in the 1979-1981 hostage crisis has outraged some of the U.S. Embassy workers held by the Iranians for 444 days. Several lawmakers had said they were infuriated that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would make such...

<p>David Corn over at Mother Jones unearths a 2009 video of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), in which Paul suggests that former vice president Dick Cheney wanted to invade Iraq in order to benefit his former employer, Halliburton.</p> <p>In the video, shot at Western Kentucky University, Paul argues that Cheney thought the invasion was a bad idea in the first Bush administration but changed his tune after working for Halliburton.</p>

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) took a shot at Dick Cheney last night, saying the former Vice President wasn't in any position to be criticizing President Obama. "Well, I think he had his eight years and he's caused a lot of trouble for our country and he perpetuated a war in Iraq that was unnecessary and wrong-headed," Paul said of Cheney on CNN's Larry King Live. "So I would say that it would be best he not be so critical right now."

Police in East Texas have arrested a woman after she called them to complain about the quality of the marijuana she had purchased from a dealer. Lufkin police Sgt. David Casper said Monday that an officer went to the home of 37-year-old Evelyn Hamilton to hear her complaint that the dealer refused to return her money after she objected that the drug was substandard.

A date and cabin locations have finally been chosen. This year’s shoot will be October 18th. Once again it will be held in Seagoville, (5 miles south of Route 175 or 3.5 miles NE of I-45 (exit 270) on S. Belt Line Road). The plan at this time is to meet at Cotton Gin in Crandle for breakfast at 9:00 a.m., BUT they are currently closed due to a fire. Hopefully they will be reopened by October. If not, Plan B will be put in place. After breakfast we will all head to the range. A delicious lunch will be...

<p>Spc. Ivan Lopez vented about a range of subjects on Facebook before his shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas, including his outrage at Adam Lanza's mass school shooting in Connecticut.</p> <p>He wrote of experiencing overpowering fear after an insurgent attack in Iraq and the hatred that consumed him after getting "robbed."</p>

<p>The spree began in one building of the sprawling complex, where Lopez, who was 34, first pulled his .45-caliber Caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and killed one, injuring 10.</p> <p>"The deceased and one of wounded had been involved in the verbal altercation with subject," Grey said.</p>

On Monday, The New Yorker revealed its newest cover: President Obama as a doctor spooning medicine to smiling children – Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). The cover was designed to push Obamacare’s supposed great success, with artist Barry Blitt stating, “The whole enterprise was just an elaborate excuse. I enjoyed drawing Ted Cruz, John Boehner, and Michele Bachmann as petulant children – and I especially wanted to draw an open-mouthed Mitch McConnell being spoon-fed his meds.”

Foreign companies are making big bets on the Gulf Coast petrochemical corridor, where capital investment is surging because of cheap U.S. natural gas, other lower costs and the existing industry infrastructure. Domestic natural gas and its byproducts including ethane — a building block petrochemical companies use to make plastics and other materials — are low-priced relative to most of the world because of the surge in oil and gas production from U.S. shale plays. The bargain-rate raw material has caused a stampede of recent international investment along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas, the center of the U.S. petrochemical...

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will make a decision on whether he’ll enter the 2016 presidential race by the end of this year, he said during an interview on Fox News Channel Sunday during the 25th anniversary celebration of his father’s presidency in College Station, Texas. ... He said in the Fox News interview that illegal immigration is, for many people, an effort to provide for their families, and “not a felony.” “It’s an act of love. It’s an act of commitment to your family,” Bush said. “I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime. There should...

After NBC's "Meet The Press" host David Gregory ran an anti-ObamaCare ad targeting Sen. Mark Pryor from Arkansas featuring a couple with a southern accents questioning the confusing nature of the Affordable Care Act, Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker objected to Americans for Prosperity using people with southern accents in political ads running in Arkansas: "I think you could find someone who doesn't have a southern accent who is confused by this act," Parker said. "We always seem to find the character who seems a little countrified, who can't just fathom this. You know there there are plenty of smart...

HOUSTON, TEXAS--According to new statistics from the Labor Department, 16,000 new people sought U.S. unemployment benefits. This brought the seasonally adjusted figure to 326,000. In addition, the national employment holds at 6.7 percent. Meanwhile in Texas, the job market is booming and companies are expanding at a rapid rate. Texas Governor Rick Perry said the state is home to a thriving job market due to business-friendly policies and a predictable regulatory climate. Perry told Breitbart Texas, "We've been below the national average of unemployment for over 80 months. We have 1,000 plus people moving into the state per day. So...

As investigators continue to canvass a crime scene an area the size of two city blocks, details are emerging about the bravery soldiers displayed Wednesday when one of their own began shooting. Maj. Patrick Miller, an Iraq veteran from New York, heard the “pop, pop, pop” of gunfire and rushed to get his soldiers into a closed office as quickly as possible, U.S. Rep. John Carter said Saturday. While Miller was trying to help others, he was shot “in the gut,” but he put pressure on his own wound and kept moving the soldiers behind a door, said Carter, R-Texas,...

The McAllen Police Department is facing a big lawsuit, after a sergeant allegedly failed to prevent a drunk driver from getting behind the wheel. Bars and clubs are sometimes sued after serving drinks to a customer involved in drunk driving accidents, but a case filed in March points to a McAllen police sergeant for failing to prevent a drunk driver from taking the life of an Edinburg man. Two years ago, Jose Mata was taken from his wife and son, when police say Zulai Zamora rammed the back of his motorcycle at the intersection of Jackson Rd. and University Drive...

When Army Spec. Ivan Lopez went on the shooting rampage Wednesday at Ft. Hood, Texas, killing three soldiers and injuring 16 others, he had just learned that superiors in Washington had rejected his request to take a temporary leave to deal with family matters related to his mother’s death, a federal law enforcement official said. Officials had turned down an earlier leave request and Lopez was attempting to renew it, said the official, speaking anonymously because the investigation is ongoing. The rejection, delivered Wednesday, set him off, the official said. “He had put in for something regarding his mother's death...

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Senator, when Obamacare was at issue, a month ago, when it came to a continuing resolution to funding the government you supported a filibuster of other Senators, who demanded that you had to have a change or the abolition of Obamacare as a condition for funding the government. In retrospect do you think that was a good strategy? But even more importantly --looking ahead, the deadlines are coming up, the resolution's going to run out, we're going to hit the debt ceiling soon -- would you be prepared to use same tactic as we approach the new deadlines?...