Free Republic

During a trip through Colorado in December of last year, President Obama spoke of his intention to implement his economic policies with or without the approval of Congress. Said Obama, “And where Congress is not willing to act, we’re going to go ahead and do it ourselves.” It now appears that such a mindset applies not only to economic matters but to the distribution of foreign aid as well--in particular, foreign military aid for the Muslim Brotherhood, who now hold the reigns in Egypt. Congress has restricted and, in fact, halted military aid to Egypt until

Although Gov. Brad Henry vetoed similar legislation 10 days earlier, House members Monday again approved a resolution claiming Oklahoma’s sovereignty. Featured Gallery Advertisement Click Here to visit ThunderMadness.com! Unlike House Joint Resolution 1003, House Concurrent Resolution 1028 does not need the governor’s approval. The House passed the measure 73-22. It now goes to the Senate. "We’re going to get it done one way or the other,” said the resolutions’ author, Rep. Charles Key, R-Oklahoma City. "I think our governor is out of step.” House Democrats objected, saying the issue already had been taken up and had been vetoed, but House...

Texas Farm Bureau offered several viable transportation and funding alternatives to the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) in meeting Texas’ future transportation needs during testimony before the Senate Transportation Committee. “Let me assure you, as an industry we absolutely support and recognize the need for building and maintaining roads in Texas,” said Texas Farm Bureau State Director Tom Paben. “We feel this can be accomplished within the current framework of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).” “However, there is a need for redirection, as well as a review of the current priorities of the agency,” Paben added, noting several concerns about...

n what may have been the first hint of victory for opponents of the Trans Texas Corridor, a high-ranking Texas Department of Transportation official said Thursday he regretted his agency's communication failures and said one proposed version of the corridor, a 10-lane super highway with rail and utility pathways, will "probably not" be built in East Texas, based on the overwhelming resistance to the idea expressed at public hearings on the project this month. Phillip Russell, assistant executive director for innovative project development at TxDOT, was the keynote speaker at the Lone Star Legislative Summit at SFA Thursday, where he...

Gov. Rick Perry's ambitious Trans-Texas Corridor plan, and his advocacy of toll funding for future roads, hit the skids in a skeptical Legislature last spring. The road shows no signs of getting any smoother as state transportation officials try to sell the plan to Houston-area audiences. "This will wipe me out," Dee Bond told a panel of corridor advocates at a town hall meeting in Rosenberg last week. The panel, which included Texas Transportation Commissioner Ned Holmes of Houston and Steve Simmons, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, was there to explain and gather comment on a...

US bypasses Russia with BP pipeline By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow (Filed: 09/06/2006) Washington scored a significant victory in its contest with Moscow for influence in Central Asia yesterday when Kazakhstan agreed to start pumping oil to the West through a British Petroleum pipeline that bypasses Russia and Iran. The deal, secured largely because of a personal visit to Kazakhstan last month by Dick Cheney, the United States vice-president, will infuriate the Kremlin. But there will be secret relief in European capitals, where there is growing concern over Russia's apparent willingness to use its vast energy supplies as a political...

Local elected officials, business leaders and transportation experts in North Central Texas are fuming about a proposed primary artery of the Trans-Texas Corridor that would skirt the east edge of Dallas County and shun the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They want the corridor to run northward from the Hillsboro area and straight up the middle of the Metroplex, along the general path of an extended Texas 360 and on to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The corridor potentially would include high-speed rail. They also favor the development of rail and freight corridors that would run in a general east-west direction...

My oldest niece had a triple bypass within the last couple of days at Texas Heart Institute (Houston or St. Luke's Episcopal or whichever name you wish to use). It is now necessary that she await a donor heart and will undergo a heart transplant. When I heard this I was in shock, as I did not know that transplants were used anymore (excuse my ignorance). My entire family asks for the prayers of each of you for Judy. Her Dad, my brother Dan, entered eternity two years ago this last July 14th. We are reeling with the news of...