Free Republic

AUSTIN, Texas - A rally for tougher gun laws becomes a heated debate when gun rights advocates decided to bring a message of their own on the south side of the Capitol. The organizers of the Texas Rally for Gun Sense say they're not against law abiding gun owners. They say they're fighting for universal background checks and they want to limit assault weapons and high capacity magazines. They also oppose putting any guns on a school campus. Among the speakers at the rally were people who's lives have been touched by gun violence. "She could have fought him off,...

Two men were arrested for driving while intoxicated on 6th Street Friday night. One was riding a horse, while the other was riding a mule. Austin police say the ment were both intoxicated. They were apparently trying to lure people out of bars and into the street to take pictures with them and their farm animals. Bartender Brian Matthews thought he'd seen everything, that is until he walked outside to have a cigarette Friday night. "There were these two guys on horses, or mules, or something, outside of Shakespeare's," he said. "(It) looked like they were being pulled over for...

If WikiLeaks had been around in 2001, could the events of 9/11 have been prevented? The idea is worth considering. The organization has drawn both high praise and searing criticism for its mission of publishing leaked documents without revealing their source, but we suspect the world hasn't yet fully seen its potential. Let us explain. There were a lot of us in the run-up to Sept. 11 who had seen warning signs that something devastating might be in the planning stages. But we worked for ossified bureaucracies incapable of acting quickly and decisively. Lately, the two of us have been...

Infamous Texas humorist, Jewish cowboy, and recent candidate for both Texas Governor and Agriculture Commissioner , Kinky Friedman, plans to make an official endorsement in the Governor’s race, according to a number of sources. During his political career, Friedman has campaigned as a Republican, Democrat and Independent, so this endorsement could finally shed a little light on where his true political motivations lie. Turns out it does, sort of. Kinky is forgoing the two top candidates in the governor's race to endorse Woodrow, a once-homeless rescue dog. The Woodrow for Texas Governor Campaign, united behind the motto "How Ruff Could...

The clutch of cerebral midgets sitting on the Austin City Council decided that official travel by city employees is off limits to the hostile land of racist Arizona. My local six pack of quivering idiots worked themselves into a frothy, indignant snit over fears of racial profiling. Excuse me, but are they planning to send the Parks and Maintenance Department brown worker bees off to Phoenix for a mowing conference? I should mention that this is the same elected crew who built a riderless light rail system that's run a gazillion dollars over budget and who also just agreed...

After the joy of a wedding and the adoption of a baby came arguments that couldn't be resolved, leading Angelique Naylor to file for divorce. That left her fighting both the woman she married in Massachusetts and the state of Texas, which says a union granted in a state where same-sex marriage is legal can't be dissolved with a divorce in a state where it's not. A judge in Austin granted the divorce, but Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is appealing the decision. He also is appealing a divorce granted to a gay couple in Dallas, saying protecting the "traditional...

Spelman's proposal, which the council will consider Thursday , would require such centers to display two , 8.5- by 11 -inch signs at the entrance of their facilities. The signs would say: "This center does not provide abortions or refer to abortion providers. This center does not provide or refer to providers of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved birth control drugs and medical devices." One sign would have to be in English and one in Spanish, and both would have to have a font size of at least 48 points. Failure to comply would be a Class C misdemeanor,...

If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?” The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to...

Transportation officials in Texas are scrambling to prevent hackers from changing messages on digital road signs after one sign in Austin was altered to read, "Zombies Ahead." Chris Lippincott, director of media relations for the Texas Department of Transportation, confirmed that a portable traffic sign at Lamar Boulevard and West 15th Street, near the University of Texas at Austin, was hacked into during the early hours of Jan. 19. "It was clever, kind of cute, but not what it was intended for," said Lippincott, who saw the sign during his morning commute. "Those signs are deployed for a reason —...

Mayor proposes strongest policies of any American city. Austin will attempt to take the lead among the nation's cities in the race to curb global warming with an aggressive climate protection plan unveiled Wednesday. Mayor Will Wynn and several other city officials said Austin will cut its emissions of polluting carbon dioxide to almost nothing by 2020, increase the use of renewable energy sources, boost energy conservation, and require better efficiency for homes and commercial buildings. Elements of the proposal could be controversial. "Climate change may be the most critical issue we face today," Wynn said. "That may seem like...

AUSTIN, Texas - Police shut down 10 blocks of businesses in the heart of downtown Austin early Monday after dozens of birds were found dead. Experts were testing for any sort of environmental contaminant or gas or chlorine leaks that might have killed off the animals, police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said. There were no reports of any humans harmed, but a 10-block stretch of the main north-south route through downtown, several side streets and all buildings in the area were blocked off and expected to remain off-limits until about noon, Chovanetz said. The bird carcasses were found overnight along Congress...

He's storing the fat in case he needs the cells later, will urge patients to do the same By Mary Ann Roser AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Friday, August 27, 2004 Calling himself the biggest fat sucker in Texas, Dr. Robert Ersek proceeded Thursday to do just that: suck fat from his belly to promote the potential use of stem cells from tissue taken during liposuction. Ersek, a 66-year-old plastic surgeon at Personique in Austin, performed the liposuction on himself as TV and newspaper cameras recorded what he called a historic act. He had a staff member videotape the procedure. "Somebody said we're...