Free Republic

SNIPPET: "A North Texas imam is calling on Muslims to take up arms in defense of Palestinians in Gaza. Sheikh Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti, director of the Islamic Center of South Plains in Lubbock, Texas, participated in an online chat, "Fatwas on Gaza," at the web site IslamOnline.net. El-Shinqiti encouraged readers to fight - or if they can't, to send money to those who are fighting - in response to six out of the eight questions posed to him in the online chat. When asked what can be done to help the people in Gaza, El-Shinqiti emphasized war over sending food...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to build a big highway through the Lone Star State. No, make that a really big highway, as in a monstrously big highway. The exact route hasn't been determined. The mega-highway would run roughly from Laredo on the Rio Grande River through the Hill Country and the Piney Woods and then through Texarkana in that tiny portion of the state that borders Arkansas. Imagine for a moment if that thoroughfare would be pointed in the other direction - from the Valley, through the South Plains and then through the heart of the Panhandle, right past...

AUSTIN - When it comes to road improvement and maintenance, by most accounts, the South Plains and Panhandle are fortunate. Despite a $1.1 billion accounting error, the Texas Department of Transportation recently reported no projects in the region have been canceled or delayed while cities like Dallas, Houston and Laredo had at least a half dozen highway projects delayed. But the $1.1 billion-error, which occurred because TxDOT inadvertently counted some bond money twice and consequently allocated more funding than it had, is just the latest problem plaguing the beleaguered agency. For months, TxDOT executive director Amadeo Saenz and other transportation...

Broadway explodes with food, music, fun July 4 celebration draws strong crowd BY ANGELA PATTERSON AVALANCHE-JOURNAL From Avenue Q to University Avenue, not one inch of space went unoccupied. Festival goers from all over the South Plains enjoyed music, food and fun at the 4th on Broadway celebration Friday, billed as the largest free festival in Texas. One hundred and seventy sponsors and contributors helped make the event possible, which included 44 vendors and more than 60 entertainment groups. Nine stages were home to country, rock, Tejano, gospel and dance groups. The high temperatures made the food and beverage vendors...

<p>CAMP SAYLIYAH, Qatar -- Facing mounting skepticism about their strategy in Iraq, senior Pentagon officials launched the fiercest defense yet of their decision to send in limited ground forces, dismissing reports yesterday of discord between US political and military officials over how to prosecute the war.</p>