Free Republic

Angela Dean spends at least $200 a month to cover after-school care for her 5-year-old son. Getting back and forth to work — and making sure she picks him up in time — costs another $200 just in tolls.“If I didn't take toll roads, my commute would be an hour-and-a-half or more depending on traffic,” Dean said. “I get off work at 5:30 p.m. and I have to pick my son up by 6:30 or pay crazy late fees. When I take the toll roads, I get there with about 15 minutes to spare.”The North Texas suburbanite uses the President...

A man arrested Friday for breaking into a home on the 400 block of FM 1413 in Dayton allegedly hid in a closet for hours while the family went about their normal activities, according to an account from the homeowner and corroborated by the Liberty County Sheriff's Office. "We were in the house having fun, cooking and eating, and had no idea a stranger was in my son's closet," said Tara Trevino-Pasket. "My son is now afraid to sleep in his own bedroom."...Based on the information the suspect provided at the jail, he is 59 years old and has a...

San Antonio's traditional Alamo Plaza tree-lighting ceremony will relocate families to Travis Park on Friday, but the cheer is continuing at the original spot -- thanks to a (now-not so) secret elf. Over the weekend, locals and tourists seemed happy to spot an 18-inch tree standing small but proud in front of the Alamo. No one knew how the little tree got there, but they crouched beside it and posted photos on Facebook and Instagram. And that elf -- he isn't done yet. The tree stood in the exact spot a much bigger tree usually stands during the holiday season...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has stated the obvious about the mass murder at the First Baptist church in Sutherland, Texas. People who gather together will have to consider polices to defend against these mass killers. Paxton suggested that Texas consider carrying weapons to protect themselves.From foxnews.com:Paxton added that churches, places of business and schools should have policies addressing the possibility of a shooter so they can protect their communities.“I wish some law would fix all of this,” he said.“All I can say is in Texas at least we have the opportunity to have conceal carry,” he explained. “And...

Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced he will not participate in this year’s Veterans Day Parade, held Saturday on Congress Avenue, because some groups signed up to march will be carrying the Confederate flag. “Veterans Day should only be about honoring United States Military Veterans,” Adler said in a statement Thursday morning. “Symbols of racism, Civil War secession, and white supremacy should not be forgotten or erased, but they need to be remembered and studied in museums and classrooms not cheered and applauded in parades.”

Link An exclusive interview with Stephen Willeford, the hero who ended the killing spree in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Stephen recounts the actions that lead him to confronting Devin Patrick Kelley outside First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.

The man who police say shot and killed 26 people in a Texas church was able to purchase firearms because the Air Force failed to enter his assault conviction into a federal database, according to a report.........

Johnnie Langendorff recounts capture of church shooter in Sutherland, Texas. Link to video There was a gunfight. Johnnie saw the last of it. The defender asked Johnnie for help in following the shooter.  Johnnie and the defender chased the shooter, the shooter eventually ran off the road. The community rifleman kept the shooter covered with his rifle. The church shooter did not move after that. The police showed up a few minutes later. ©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included. Gun Watch

Almost 140 men, including a Houston police officer, found out too late that the new management were actually undercover vice officers operating the massage parlor that had been a well-known underground brothel in the past. Dozens of men including two attorneys, a teacher and the police officer, were arrested earlier this month during a 10-day sting, law officials announced Thursday... Acevedo said the undercover police charged the average rate in Houston of $60 as a door fee and $120 for sex acts... there are 250 to 520 illicit massage parlors operating in Houston at any given time, Acevedo said.

"There is nothing further on the Oswald case except that he is dead." J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the FBI, dictated that line in a memo he issued on Nov. 24, 1963, the day Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald as Oswald was being transported to the Dallas County Jail after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The memo is one of at least 52 records never previously made public that were included in the release Thursday of about 2,800 unredacted government documents related to Kennedy's murder in Dallas two days earlier. President Donald Trump approved withholding an...

At the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Dallas, Texas, I noticed a significant amount of the open carry of sidearms. This would not have been legal as late as December of 2015. The open carry of a Bowie knife would have been illegal up until then end of August this year!In addition to the licensed open carry of handguns, edged weapons with blades of more than 5.5 inches can now be legally carried in most places. One participant carried an iconic Bowie knife at the GRPC. He graciously allowed me to take a picture. Knife Rights deserves much...

The Austin Police Department is looking for the public's help in locating a man involved in several South Austin indecent exposure incidents... According to police, the suspect is either walking or jogging with a cell phone in his hand, which he uses to illuminate (himself)... The suspect is described as a Hispanic make in his late teens to early 30s, 5'8" to 5'11" and weighing 180 to 210 lbs. He has been seen wearing a baseball cap, shorts, shirt or muscle shirt, socks and dark shoes.

It’s a sad world we live in where talking about the Constitution is considered inappropriate for children. But for actress Janine Turner (Northern Exposure), these are the accusations she faced from parents of the students she teaches about the Constitution. A former board member, who is a current member of the #Resistance, pushed the school who hosted Turner to apologize for inviting her. . . . The board member, one Buddy Luce, told the Dallas News that he thought the speech was a partisan attempt to bias children. He said, “How they get their foot in the door is letting...

Original link with original headline retrieved from Google cache: "Trump hugs children, serves food in visit to victims of Harvey"The original link (currently unavailable on Internet Archive due to technical error possibly caused by redirect: "The search engine encountered the following error: Search engine returned invalid information or was unresponsive. We are working to resolve this issue. Thanks for your patience.") now redirects to new headline 12 hours later: "Trump hugs Harvey's victims in test of presidential mien"

HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump flew to Houston on Saturday to meet with victims of Hurricane Harvey and see the effects of the record-setting storm while he presses for a multi-billion-dollar aid package. Trump, facing the first natural disaster of his administration, was joined by his wife, Melania, as he passed out food and hugged, kissed and played with children at Houston's NRG Center, a 700,000-square-foot (65,000 square meter) facility that is now the city's largest emergency shelter. Trump, who is making his second trip to the stricken state this week, asked Congress late on Friday...

With the recovery process just beginning in some parts of Texas on Thursday, following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, President Donald Trump pledged $1 million of his own money to aid relief efforts. Only two of the Big Three Networks (ABC and CBS) found it fitting to report Trump’s act of charity. NBC Nightly News was the only network news show to ignore it, instead, they simply mentioned that Trump planned to visit Houston on Saturday. In addition to Trump’s pledge, Vice President Mike Pence was in Rockport, Texas to survey the damage, console the people, and personally help with...

Houston priest uses kayak to say Mass, runs afoul of ban on Sunday wine sales A family evacuates their Meyerland home in Houston, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. Rescuers answered hundreds of calls for help Sunday as floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey rose high enough to begin filling second-story homes, and authorities urged stranded families to seek refuge on their rooftops. (Credit: Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP.)Father David Bergeron of the Catholic Charismatic Center in Houston, was returning from watching the big Mayweather v. McGregor fight and ended up stuck in the storm and sleeping in his truck. He...

RUSH: Man, I tell you, I don’t care what’s happening in Houston, the Trump hate is ongoing. The anti-Trump thinking, actions, the protests, the apparent desire to rip this country apart and eventually destroy it goes on unabated, as does the meteorological disaster taking place in southeastern Texas. We’ll start with the meteorological disaster in southeastern Texas first. We can get through that fairly — well, in a little less time than it will take to document the Trump hate today and the actions of the worldwide and American left, led by the media to continue to destroy Trump. It’s...

Joel Osteen Getty Images Televangelist Joel Osteen cancelled services at his Houston megachurch Sunday and has yet to reopen its doors — despite the fact that thousands of flooded-out residents are desperately seeking shelter.The perpetually smiling pastor told followers on Twitter on Monday to lean on their faith.“Jesus promises us peace that passes understanding,” he wrote. “That’s peace when it doesn’t make sense.”But Osteen’s comforting words didn’t sit well with critics, who want to know why the doors to his 16,800-seat arena at his Lakewood Church near downtown Houston are closed.

Shot Spotter Sensor in Omaha, Nebraska One of the technological fixes that has been attempted is the use of sensors to pinpoint gunshots inside of cities. The theory of the technology is fairly simple. Spread audio sensors throughout the city. Feed the input into a computer system, looking for gunshots. With sophisticated programs, isolate the gunshots from the other noise, and pinpoint their location and time. Ideally, this happens in near real time, to allow police response to gunshots. From ksat.com: San Antonio - A program intended to help police officers identify where a shooting happens, get there quicker...