Free Republic

HOUSTON - Loud voices, finger pointing, and name calling erupted under a billboard bearing the image of a man who dreamed of peace Friday. The billboard and its claim that Martin Luther King Jr. was a republican is the brainchild of Apostle Claver Kamau-Imani, founder of Houston-based RagingElephants.org , a grass roots group hoping to appeal to minorities. "We're going to make a very earnest serious aggressive attempt to lure them to the conservative voting base," Kamau-Imani said. But not everyone agrees. "Dr. King may have supported some of the principles-- anti-abortion, same-sex marriage--I understand that,” community activist Quanell X...

Mayor Bill White on Thursday sought to calm and reassure the city in the wake of this week’s discovery of racist, sexist graffiti at a north Houston fire station. But at least some of his suggestions to boost harmony and smooth administration raised sparks with the nearly 4,000-member firefighters union. Rules meant to assure due process for firefighters suspected of wrongdoing have the potential to slow the investigation, White said. Also, rules requiring that promotion decisions be based largely on test scores make it difficult to put the best leaders in place, he said.

We recently reported that Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Tex.) had introduced a resolution to honor Michael Jackson. (Oddly enough, the legislation was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.)The full text of that resolution has been published, and it's….long.The legislation lists Jackson's accomplishments in endless detail, from his #1 hits to the details of his charity work. At the conclusion, the legislation resolves that Congress (1) recognizes Michael Jackson as a global humanitarian and a noted leader in the fight against worldwide hunger and medical crises; and(2) celebrates Michael Jackson as an accomplished contributor to the worlds of arts and entertainment,...

female driver. wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !!

  Third Officer Shot By Illegal Alien In Sancutary City Last Updated: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 3:52pmA third law enforcement officer in one of the nation’s biggest sanctuary cities has been shot by an illegal immigrant who was protected by a don’t-ask-don’t-tell immigration policy during previous police encounters.The Houston Police Department’s longtime rule prohibiting officers from questioning suspects about immigration status has cost the department dearly in the last few years. Two officers have been murdered and one shot in the face by illegal immigrants with previous records. The latest shooting occurred just last week when an illegal alien from Mexico killed...

Policeman's killer, suspected accomplices appear to be illegal immigrants The gunman who fatally shot a Houston police officer in the back before being gunned down by another officer during an undercover sting late Tuesday is believed to have been an illegal immigrant from Mexico, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Robert Rutt, agent in charge of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement office of criminal investigations in Houston, confirmed that Houston police had asked for assistance in determining the immigration status of the gunman shot to death in a drug store parking lot after officer Henry Canales, 42, was fatally wounded....

The Houston Tea Party Society is coming off some great successes in the past few months. First was their incredibly well attended, lively rally, held in Downtown Houston on Tax Day, then they held a successful protest when Nancy Pelosi came to town, and now they’re gearing up for their biggest event ever.

With Iranians demonstrating daily to protest their disputed presidential election, the Iranian-American community has also taken to the streets in major U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston and Washington. Sheida Jafari was among several hundred Iranian-Americans who gathered last week in front of a Washington office that houses the Iranian Interests Section to protest what they viewed as rigged election results that gave a landslide victory to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. "For me, it's more about showing my solidarity with all my friends in Iran, my family in Iran, everyone who...

A homeowner who had twice ordered a teenager to leave the property — once while holding a rifle — shot the teen dead after the boy refused to leave and walked toward him, authorities said. “He feared for his life,” said Harris County sheriff’s Lt. Rolf Nelson. Dwayne Austgen, 69, was inside his north Harris County home in the 5500 block of Susanna around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when he noticed a teenager in his front yard, officials said. The man went outside, confronted 17-year-old Vidal Herrera, and told him to leave, authorities said.

see video here. http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=360653&comments=1#comments Hoping the crowds will get bigger and bigger everywhere she goes.

Dateline: Houston, TX - Source: Houston Tea Party Society 06-14-2009 5:09 pm

For the first time since man set foot on the moon four decades ago, a president has ordered a wholesale review of the space program’s future and whether the U.S. can afford to — or even wants to — return to the moon or send humans hurtling toward Mars. With new leadership poised to take command of NASA, the next few months could be pivotal to the jobs of thousands of space program employees and contractors who depend on NASA for their livelihoods. As the shuttle prepares for its future as a museum exhibit and cost projections for a new...

Being on the road this summer with ZZ Top puts Aerosmith in a unique position for the Boston rockers. As guitarist Joe Perry rightly told us of the little ol' band from Texas, "They've been together longer than us." Not many acts can claim to have outlived Aerosmith, and even fewer can last so long with the original lineup. Therefore, it's that much more amazing that 2009 marks the 40th anniversary for bandmates Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, and Dusty Hill. Let that digest for a second -- 40 freaking years! Obama is the eighth president ZZ Top has recorded under,...

Guitar legend Huey Long, the last surviving member of the original Ink Spots, died June 10 in Houston at the age of 105. Long was born in Sealy, Texas. He worked various jobs in the Houston area until he got his big break playing banjo in the Frank Davis Louisiana Jazz Band. In 1936, Bill Kenny, the leader of the Ink Spots, talked Long into leaving the jazz trio joining the Ink Spots. ...He moved back to Houston in the 90s, having written and arranged more than 80 songs. Long is survived by his daughter, Houston resident Anita Long, and...

The calls from Chrysler officials were coming nearly every day, sometimes several times a day, right through the final weeks before the company filed for bankruptcy. And the message, said Robert Archer, who runs three Chrysler dealerships in the Houston area, was simple: Take more cars. “They tell me, ‘The only way that we can survive is if you order cars, and Fiat and the government see money coming in,’ ” Mr. Archer said. He acquiesced, he said, thinking he was doing his part to save the company. “I’m a team player and I don’t want them to go out...

Reporting from Houston -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to make one thing clear. "We live in a great country," he said, hands pressed to his chest. "I'm not in favor of Texas seceding." That said, Perry insisted that those who jumped on his statement last month -- a seeming nod and wink at the idea -- were purposely trying to distract from the real problem: Washington's overreaching. "This was a classic example of trying to deflect off the issue at hand, which people were talking about," Perry said, doing a bit of his own deflecting between stops on a...

One-third of Travis Elementary School pupil missed school Thursday because of a mysterious illness, leaving Houston ISD and city officials scrambling to diagnose the cause. They suspect a virus is behind the fevers, headaches and stomachaches that sidelined 242 children, including about 80 percent of the third grade at the Heights neighborhood school. That’s a sharp increase from the 86 students who stayed home sick Wednesday, when educators were forced to cancel an extensive third-grade field trip. “I felt like really bad,” said 8-year-old Luke Morrison, who was too sick to attempt the much-anticipated trip. “I just was scared. I...

A few weeks ago there was an exchange between Councilmember Pam Holm and Controller Annise Parker over whether the city’s budget was balanced and what it actually means to have a balanced budget. The controller asserted that the city’s 2009 budget was balanced. Let me assure the reader that is not the case. Here are the facts. The city’s 2009 budget projects that the city will have general fund revenues of $1.84 billion. These revenues are derived from property taxes, sales taxes, fees and fines and certain miscellaneous categories such as interfund transfers and the sale of capital assets. However,...

Note: Photos included. # Taking a Stand Against MS-13 05/01/09 Our MS-13 Task Force was able to resolve the case quickly because the victim came forward with security surveillance tapes of the robbery. After MS-13 gang members robbed a Houston beauty salon at gunpoint last January and sexually assaulted a salon employee, one of the gang members went a step further: he took the owner’s picture so he knew exactly who she was. If she thought about going to the police, he said, she would be sorry. The owner was also told that from now on, she would be expected...

State health officials say the boy was traveling with family to visit relatives. He traveled from Mexico City ity to Matamoros, and arrived in Brownsville April 4. After developing flu-like symptoms, he was hospitalized on April 13 and transferred the next day to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. The boy came to Brownsville's Valley Baptist Medical Center at 1:30am on April 13. He was feverish and having some breathing troubles. Doctors there diagnosed him with pneumonia. The next day, doctors sent him to Texans Children's Hospital in Houston by helicopter. But we learned Wednesday that would be his second trip...

In the end, it exceeded the expectations of even its once-seemingly wildly overenthusiastic organizers. Approximately 3,500 pissed-off demonstrators packed Jones Plaza for a warm-up blues-rock concert and harangues about high taxes, debt, bailouts and socialism last week. You'd have to think the crowd was decidedly of the Outside-the-Beltway persuasion. All in all, there haven't been this many melanin-challenged people in Jones Plaza since Cory Morrow played here back in '03, and the near-beer bar-rock of Mean Gene Kelton and the DieHards billowing live from the stage suited the crowd to a tee. Since the average age of the crowd was...

A great tea Party in Houston. More Pictures and comments at http://facefwd.com/?page_id=414

This is the latest 60 second video from Priests for Life.

Clear Lake Tea Party Tax Protest RallyClick on highlight photos to see the rest of the photos.

Volunteers at the downtown Houston Tea Party at Jones Plaza collected over 8,500 signatures. Many, many people did not sign due to time constraints or concerns as to privacy. The square block facility was filled to capacity; lines surrounding the plaza kept the sidewalks filled to capacity and the police would only allow people to enter as others exited. MSN sources WAY lowballed the crowd estimate to 2,000 - 3,000. For story, pics and video, go to: http://houstontps.org/

Thousands gather in Houston, Pearland to state case on spending Protesters turned out by the thousands Wednesday in Houston and other cities across the nation to voice their displeasure with big government spending and what they called the erosion of people’s constitutional rights. Among those taking part in the Tax Day Tea Parties was Tim Volzer, who took an hour away from work to attend a rally of 450 people in Pearland pushing for less government spending. The roofing company salesman wore a sign on his back that summed his feelings: “No taxation without representation, Bro.” At Jones Plaza in...

It's a Tea Party -- and it's revolutionary. On Tax Day, Wednesday, April 15, at 4:00 p.m., taxpayers from across Houston and Southeast Texas will gather in downtown Houston at Jones Plaza to protest unprecedented government spending in Washington. Wednesday is the deadline for mailing federal income taxes. Houston Tea Party

Texas and Arizona are considering bills to ban cities from enacting "sanctuary policies" that discourage them from enforcing federal immigration laws. Witnesses testified Wednesday before a Texas Senate committee for a bill aimed at "sanctuary cities" like Austin and Houston that tell police officers to avoid determining the immigration status of those they deal with, the Houston Chronicle reported

Pirates have used rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons to attack another US merchant ship off the coast of Somalia. The pirates damaged the Liberty Sun, which was carrying a cargo of food aid, but were not able to board it. The ship asked for assistance from the American warship involved in the rescue of a US captain seized last week. Pirates have vowed to avenge the deaths of those killed in recent rescue operations by US and French forces. The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says the latest attack shows the danger posed by pirates off the Somali coast. Despite...

Two Houston firefighters died early Easter morning trying to save an elderly couple from their blazing home. Capt. James Harlow, 50, and rookie firefighter Damion Hobbs, 30, didn’t know the homeowners had already escaped. The couple, both in their 80s, were safely down the street by the time firefighters arrived. The fallen firefighters never made it out of the sprawling one-story, 4,170-square-foot home on Oak Vista. They missed roll call after the rest of their colleagues from Fire Station 26 in southeast Houston were ordered out of the blazing home. “Unfortunately, there are inherent dangers in our profession,” said Jeff...

HOUSTON -- One person was killed when a group of men tried to steal a boat while driving down a freeway, KPRC Local 2 reported. Houston police said three men in a car tried to steal a boat that a man was hauling with his pickup truck on Interstate 45 at about 1 a.m. Investigators said the men in the car opened fire on the man in the pickup truck. The man in the pickup truck returned fire, officials said. One of the men inside the car was killed. The driver of the car stopped at a gas station on...

Of all the wonders in The Palace of the Great Khan, the silver fountain most captivated the visiting monk. It took the shape of "a great silver tree, and at its roots are four lions of silver, each with a conduit through it, and all belching forth white milk of mares," wrote William of Rubruck, a Franciscan friar who toured the Mongol capital, Khara Khorum, in 1254. When a silver angel at the top of the tree trumpeted, still more beverages spouted out of the pipes: wine, clarified mare's milk, a honey drink, rice mead -- take your pick... in...

HOUSTON—Nehemiah Jamal Douglas, 28, of Houston, has pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering charges, acting United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today. Douglas admitted to conspiring with others to defraud residential mortgage lenders by misstating facts relevant to the lending decisions. Douglas worked as a loan officer at two Houston area mortgage broker firms, Motown Mortgage Group and Central Capital Financial Group, where fraudulent loan applications and other fraudulent documents were prepared to induce mortgage lenders to provide 100% financing for homes the borrower’s falsely claimed were to be their primary residences. Douglas himself purchased...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A robbery attempt in southwest Houston ended with gunshots and a suspect being taken to the hospital. Saturday evening, investigators say that two men walked into the Bayou pawn shop off Fondren near Clarewood with guns drawn. The manager reportedly grabbed a gun and fired at the men. One of the suspects was hit and the other surrendered. The condition of the suspect, who was hit by a bullet, hasn't been released. Police took three people in for questioning.

Housing values in nearly two-thirds of more than 2,000 Houston-area neighborhoods declined or stood still last year, according to an annual home price analysis commissioned by the Houston Chronicle. .... Overall, the median price per square foot of a single-family home fell 2 percent in 2008 to $72.71, marking the first time it has dropped into negative territory in 14 years. ....

A day before receiving the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s highest honor – the “Margaret Sanger Award” – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, leaving a bouquet of white flowers “on behalf of the American people,” and asking the basilica’s rector, “Who painted it?” In response to Clinton’s question, basilica rector Msgr. Diego Monroy responded, “God!” The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted by Mary on the cloak of St. Juan Diego in 1531. According to a report from Catholic News Agency, Msgr....

A man allegedly attempting to rob a northwest Harris County cell phone store died after he was shot by the business owner and then hit by a car as he attempted to flee, authorities said. Deputies answered a call around 6:15 p.m. Saturday at a cell phone store in the 5200 block of Barker Cypress, where they learned that two armed men dressed in black allegedly attempted to rob it, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. John Legg. The store owner produced his own handgun and the alleged robbers fled the business, Legg said. As the men ran into the parking...

Efforts to stop gunrunning to Mexico to center on city A $700 million initiative to strengthen the U.S. role in the fight against Mexican drug cartels will place Houston at the center of efforts to shut down gunrunning to Mexico, federal officials said. The Obama administration this week announced a multi-agency effort to assist Mexico’s battle against warring drug cartels by adding hundreds of agents to gun-running units, drug intelligence groups and task forces aimed at fighting kidnapping and public corruption. The initiative places new agents in Houston to quickly expand Project Gunrunner, a federal effort to staunch the illegal...

The Houston Chronicle today began layoffs of approximately 12 percent of its employees in an effort to reduce costs amid unprecedented change in the newspaper industry, Chronicle Publisher and President Jack Sweeney announced. "As our newspaper continues to report the condition of the economy, we read about companies in all business categories adjusting their size to match current and projected revenues," Sweeney wrote to Chronicle employees. "The Houston Chronicle must do the same in spite of your diligent efforts." The Chronicle will be providing severance packages, which include two weeks of pay for each year of service up to one...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has handed out millions of dollars in scholarships, but some local community leaders say they could do even more if they would stop spending money on items that they consider questionable. Minority leaders say they're answering the challenge from the head of the Livestock Show and Rodeo. They've laid out the expenses they question, that it's time for Rodeo leaders to explain them. After looking at the ledger for 2005 through 2006 which the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo recently provided to state Senator Mario Gallegos and local minority leaders, they...

HOUSTON -- When flames engulfed a small home in Cleveland, Texas earlier this month, a family's nightmare was just beginning. Little Dylan Mills was caught in the firestorm and suffered second and third-degree burns over 80 percent of this body. "You try to rescue him and you grab a hold of him and the skin is coming off," said Heather Davis, the victim's aunt. Before Ike, Dylan would have been taken to the Shriners Burn Hospital in Galveston. But now the closest pediatric burn unit capable of handling his case was in Shreveport, Louisiana.

"There is not enough duck tape on planet earth to wrap your head so it doesn't explode. Blood will shoot out of your eyes....", is how Glenn starts the segment! Glenn Beck tells it like it is! Mayor White in Houston has put Policies in place forbidding LEOs from inquiring about immigration status. Allowing, and in many cases, encouraging day labor sites. Houston is one of the so-called sanctuary cities. Mayor White is responsible for this. Watch the segment here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX03UfddjCM

Fearing for their lives, affluent seek asylum in Houston, other Texas cities Mexican businessman Jorge Hernandez abruptly relocated his family to Houston last year, terrified that family members would be abducted by kidnappers. He had ample reason to be afraid. He left in August, days after a father was kidnapped for ransom as he dropped his child off at the same school Hernandez’s children attended in a north Mexico city. “One night, I told my wife ‘Pack the bags — we’re leaving,’" Hernandez said. “The fear we felt caused us to get in the car and drive for 12 hours...

Recent arrests in a mistaken killing point to the perilous presence of gangs The order was clear: Kill the guy in the Astros jersey. But in a case of mistaken identity, Jose Perez ended up dead. The intended target — the Houston-based head of a Mexican drug cartel cell pumping millions of dollars of cocaine into the city — walked away. Perez, 27, was just a working guy, out getting dinner late on a Friday with his wife and young children at Chilos, a seafood restaurant on the Gulf Freeway. His murder and the assassination gone awry point to the...

HOUSTON—A Harris County deputy accidentally shot herself in the leg at a gun range Thursday.

Here is video from the Houston "Tea Party" that was held this past weekend to protest the Obama Stimulus Package. It is great to hear the voices of average Americans and how they feel about the out-of-control government spending: Taxpayers from the Greater Houston region gather to protest massive government spending. Listen to their thoughts and opinions - get inspired and get involved to overturn out of control government spending. . . . . (Watch Video)

As discussed yesterday, Houston was one of many (40?) cities across the country today that held rehearsal tea parties in anticipation of July 4th. I hoped on the scooter and went down to check it out. I arrived precisely at 11:00 am, the announced starting time. There weren’t a lot of people there, perhaps 50 or so. And they didn’t start on time, typical for these events. I hung out for about an hour and a half, if you were there, I most likely have your picture. The crowd kept growing the entire time I was there, I’d estimate it...

Houston Police Deparment and Houston Municipal Courts Participate in the Great Texas Warrant Round Up The City of Houston's Police Department (HPD) will be among more than 180 law enforcement jurisdictions across Texas participating in the "Great Texas Warrant Round Up," which begins Saturday, March 7, 2009. This statewide initiative will target people who have outstanding warrants with their respective Municipal Courts. The City of Houston Municipal Courts encourages everyone to take advantage of one of the options listed below to settle any outstanding warrants before the Texas Round Up period begins at the end of next week. Notices are...

Houston taxpayers may foot the bill for people who want homes but can’t qualify for loans based on credit card debts, car loans or other bills, The Chronicle’s Carolyn Feibel reports. The government already lowers the bar for low-income, first-time homebuyers. There are grants for down payments, help with closing costs, as well as specific programs for veterans. But all that do-gooding is apparently not good enough for Houston, where some officials want it to be even easier to rack up bills you haven’t paid but still be able to claim “the American dream” of homeownership.

HOUSTON — Mayor Bill White on Tuesday pulled a proposal that would have used taxpayer money to pay down the debt of first-time homebuyers trying to qualify for a mortgage through Houston's assistance program. White's decision to pull the idea from Wednesday's City Council agenda came after the proposal hit the national news media, the Houston Chronicle reported in its online edition Tuesday. See more at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6279060.html "This issue has hit a nerve across this country," said Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck. "Not just here in the city of Houston. Giving people the ability to increase their credit score artificially because we're...