Free Republic

HOUSTON, Texas -- On Friday Texas' Attorney General Greg Abbott and State Senator Wendy Davis -- both gubernatorial candidates -- debated in the state's Rio Grande Valley. During the course of the debate, the issue of education came up. After hearing what Abbott had to say, a defensive Davis spoke when she was not supposed to and even interrupted a moderator multiple times--despite being told that it was not her turn to speak. The incident began after Davis asked Abbott a question that began, "Judge Dates has recently ruled against you and in favor of the school children of Texas,...

Reactions from Republicans were universal that Abbott had won the debate, and Davis had performed even more poorly than they had expected. Red State Women Executive Director Cari Christman said, "One thing is clear from tonight’s debate- Greg Abbott is ready to lead as the next Governor of Texas. While Wendy Davis failed to exude one ounce of substance in the way of policy or future plans for our state, Greg Abbott demonstrated genuine leadership and a plan to protect, empower and increase opportunity for the women of Texas. Tonight, Texans learned Wendy Davis’ rhetoric can’t compete with Greg Abbott’s...

Texas Rangers and members of the Texas State Guard are beginning or are about to begin an effort in Brooks County near Falfurrias to help stop the climbing number of deaths related to human smuggling operations. Ranchers in the area reported a community partnership meeting where they were briefed on the proposed activities. This year, fifty-two people have been found dead in the arid ranch lands of Brooks County having gotten lost while attempting to bypass the Border Patrol checkpoint located thirteen miles south of Falfurrias. Texas Department of Public Safety reports that since 2011, at least 332 sets of...

AUSTIN — The special prosecutor who secured two felony abuse of power indictments against Gov. Rick Perry is facing his own legal problems after a decision by Texas’ highest criminal court to renew a contempt of court case against him. Prosecutors filed a contempt of court motion against San Antonio-based attorney Michael McCrum in January, after a separate case the previous fall. In it, one of McCrum’s clients was convicted of manslaughter for driving his car the wrong-way down an interstate with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, and sparking a head-on crash that killed two men.

Sen. Ted Cruz tried to get the Senate to consider a measure Thursday providing that any American who joins the fight with terrorist groups such as the Islamic State would immediately renounce their U.S. citizenship, but a Democratic senator objected, saying more time is necessary to weigh the significant constitutional issues it raises. Ahead of the Senate’s scheduled consideration Thursday afternoon of a proposal to arm and train Syrian rebels, part of President Obama’s strategy to combat the terrorist group, the Texas Republican asked for unanimous consent to pass the Expatriate Terrorist Act he introduced earlier this month. The measure...

But less than 48 hours later the Gateway Pundit reports that the U.S. government did, in fact, apprehend four suspected terrorists with ties to the IS organization on the border. Congressman Jason Chaffetz broke this shocking news Wednesday that four known terrorists were apprehended at the US border in Texas on September 10 – the day before the 13th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Chaffetz questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on whether he is “aware of any apprehensions of suspected or known terrorists.” Johnson dodged the question. Tonight, Rep. Chaffetz told Megyn Kelly there were four terrorists arrested crossing...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Democratic nominee for Governor Wendy Davis has come a long way since the heights of her pink-sneakered glory days back in June 2013, when she captured the national attention of abortion advocates for her eleven hour filibuster against Texas’ abortion bill. Today, less than two months before the general election, it seems that her party is reduced to hiring roles that should be filled by basic volunteers to keep operations going. Davis’ attempts to rebrand herself as a defender of second amendment rights flopped, her book is not exactly tearing up the charts but did get her...

Congressman Jason Chaffetz broke this shocking news Wednesday that four known terrorists were apprehended at the US border in Texas on September 10 – the day before the 13th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Chaffetz questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on whether he is “aware of any apprehensions of suspected or known terrorists.” Johnson dodged the question.

FULL TITLE: l them I finished strong': Last words of Texas woman, 38, executed for starving girlfriend's 9-year-old son to death A Texas woman was executed this evening, after spending the last eight years on death row for the murder of her girlfriend's son a decade ago. Lisa Ann Coleman, 38, of Arlington, Texas, was found guilty of capital murder in the death of 9-year-old Davontae Williams, who had been beaten and bound, and whose body bore more than 250 scars when officials discovered him on July 26, 2004. 'What she’s really guilty of is being a black lesbian,' Stickels...

HOUSTON, Texas -- The organizer of this weekend’s planned protest to shut down international ports of entry have a message to militia groups – You are not welcome. This statement came in response to a Breitbart Texas article about police agency preparations for the protest planned for the weekend. In an interview with Breitbart Texas, Staysi Barth, organizer of “Shut Down All Ports of Entry”, said militia groups are not welcome at the national event planned for this weekend across the southern border of the United States. “Only peaceful protesters are coming,” Barth said. After fighting with the problem of...

"If they show their ugly head in our area, we'll send them to Hell." President Obama promises to "degrade" ISIS, whatever that means. They cut off people's heads. We respond by "degrading" them (and never with boots on the ground, unless we do, or something).

A Dallas bar owner is taking a stand against the NFL, pledging not to show any games this season in response to the league’s recent domestic abuse incidents. Jack Mac’s Swill & Grill in far north Dallas announced the decision on Facebook on Monday:

Eighty legislators from Utah have submitted an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in which the legislators warn the Court that legalizing same-sex marriage would lead to the legalization of incestuous and polygamous marriages. The brief comes following the request for a writ of certiorari from both Utah's Attorney General, Sean Reyes, and the plaintiffs in Kitchen v. Herbert, the case that found both both a district court and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of marriage equality in Utah. As Joe.My.God points out, "the brief is signed by 22 of the 29 members of the state...

MISSION, Texas -- Authorities prepare to use “whatever force is necessary” to defend international bridges between Texas and Mexico from U.S. based militia groups. The preparations by Texas law enforcement agencies are in response to recently discovered plans by militia groups to attempt closing several international bridges. The militia groups' plans are intended to be protests against the federal government's failure to secure the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The plans call for militia groups to begin blocking traffic on an undisclosed number of international bridges in the Rio Grande Valley on Sept. 20th, 2014. “We will not allow...

Abortion is not health care and a handful of Texas-based clinic affiliated with the Planned Parenthood abortion business have found that out the hard way. The Planned Parenthood abortion business is the biggest abortion company in the United States. It runs hundreds of clinics across America — some of which do surgical abortions, some dispense the dangerous abortion pill RU 486, and all clinics refer women for abortions (and not to any clinics that provide women with abortion alternatives). plannedparenthood129Because every Planned Parenthood clinic either does or refers for abortions, pro-life elected officials in Congress and a number of states...

Gary Painter, Sheriff from Midland County, Texas, warned Fox & Friends’ Elisabeth Hasselbeck that not only was ISIS poised to sneak into the U.S through the porous Texas-Mexico border, but that based on evidence he’d heard of, “Muslims” were already being smuggled across. He presented no evidence that the alleged Muslims were connected to ISIS or any other terror group. “Are you saying that ISIS is ready to come across poised to perhaps execute what they have threatened to do, attacks on the United States, drown us in our own blood?” Hasselbeck asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”

PORT ARTHUR, Tex. — It is hard to imagine the desert sands of the Persian Gulf being any farther away than from this swampy refinery port known for Cajun food, sport fishing and being the birthplace of Janis Joplin. But right in the middle of town stands a strategic outpost for Saudi Arabia’s global ambitions, although one that the Saudis appear loath to publicize. The giant Motiva oil refinery, which just completed a $10 billion expansion that makes it the largest processor of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in the United States, is owned by Saudi Aramco and Royal...

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto castigated Texas Governor Rick Perry’s deployment of National Guard troops on the U.S.-Mexican border as “unneighborly. He’s like that Clint Eastwood character in Gran Torino telling my people to get off his lawn.” “For decades my people have become accustomed to the ability to pass freely between our two countries,” Peña said. “In our minds this clearly establishes an ‘easement’ right to travel over these roads and pathways. For Governor Perry to suddenly seek to terminate these rights is an affront.” Peña indicated that he plans to bring the issue up before the United Nations....

A growing chorus of liberal Democrats is pushing President Obama to get Congress's explicit approval before launching missile strikes into Syria. The pressure from supporters on Capitol Hill is not only a headache for Obama, but also puts House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top Democrats in the difficult position of bucking a broad segment of their own caucus in order to protect an ally in the White House. Scores of Democrats had signed letters a year ago advocating against military strikes targeting the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad without congressional backing. Thirteen months later the enemy...

"Centralists in America fear that, if Scotland votes yes, it may set a chain of events in motion that could affect many more western regions," the movement organizers wrote. "Suddenly, the impossible seems possible." With some new attention on Texas nationalism comes repeated arguments for independence: Yahoo columnist Rick Newman notes that — with its GDP of $1.6 trillion and population of 27 million — Texas would be the 13th largest country in the world if it obtained independence from the United States. He also wrote Texas could lure companies away from the United States and survive on the strength...