Free Republic

Sen. Ted Cruz will hold a telephone town hall with church leaders Tuesday to discuss his plan for defunding Planned Parenthood. "Recently, all of us have seen the videos of the behind-the-scenes dealings at the Planned Parenthood facilities, activities that all of us find horribly offensive," Cruz said in a video invitation to the national conference call. "But even more appalling is that we as taxpayers are funding these activities." Cruz has been an outspoken critic of Planned Parenthood subsidies since a series of undercover videos shed light on the organization's policy of donating fetal tissue to researchers. "Only our...

ANDERSON, South Carolina — Three presidential candidates came to Rep. Jeff Duncan’s Faith and Freedom BBQ here in South Carolina’s northwest corner on Monday, but only Sen. Ted Cruz brought a crowd with him.Cruz, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were the three featured speakers at the conservative congressman’s annual cattle call, and there were supporters here backing each of the candidates. But most of the estimated 2,000 people seated around tables at the Anderson Civic Center came for Cruz, easily identifiable by the red “courageous conservative” shirts they wore.Winning the Feb. 27 primary in South Carolina,...

Two former teachers at a North Texas high school have been accused of having inappropriate sexual relationships with the same 16-year-old female student. Darrell Glenn Whitten, a 50-year-old former teacher at Melissa High School, turned himself in on Friday and was charged with two felonies — improper relationship between an educator and a student and indecency with a child by sexual contact, according to online jail records. Whitten, a government and economics teacher, was also booked on a misdemeanor charge of failure to report child abuse, stemming from his failure to tell officials about the alleged offenses by Michael Eugene...

He who laughs last, Luke . . . At first I wasn't sure: it certainly sounded like Luke Russert, off camera, was laughing as a reporter said that some of Donald Trump supporters told her they hope he hires smart people to carry out his plans. Listen and judge for yourself 35 seconds into the video clip. But was I being unfair? Could he have been coughing? But no, when Russert came back on screen, his disdain for those Trump supporters couldn't have been clearer. A smirk [see the screencap] still on his face, Russert said: "that's a fascinating anecdote,...

RICHMOND, TX (KTRK) -- One man is now in police custody after a bizarre incident this morning at William Velasquez Elementary in Richmond. Fort Bend County authorities tell us two men -- and not teens as previously reported -- were apprehended around 8am in the 400 block of Macek Road today after one man was shooting on the school's roof while the other man played bagpipes. Authorities determined one of the men -- the bagpipes player -- was not involved in the incident and was later released, saying he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time." The other...

Kasich’s decision to expand Medicaid under Obamacare—a move that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled was optional and up to state discretion—is a sore subject for fiscal conservatives and led to him being, not just left out of an event held in his backyard, but attacked by several of the event’s speakers, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and AFP President Tim Phillips. Obamacare critics do not like how the law allows Medicaid, originally enacted as a safety net to provide health coverage for poor mothers and children, to be expanded to cover able-bodied, working-age adults. Federal funds cover the costs...

While giant LyondellBasell has been expanding throughout the Houston area, CEO Bob Patel said the company is also looking to build a new polyethylene plant at one of its sites in southern Texas. Speaking at the Houston-based company’s sprawling Channelview complex where LyondellBasell will start up 250 million pounds of new ethylene capacity near the end of August, Patel said an announcement likely will come later this year on adding more production of polyethylene, the most common type of plastic. He said it could be a combination greenfield-brownfield project in the greater Houston region, but he noted that the region...

Several hundred people gathered outside a southeast Houston Planned Parenthood as part of an international day of protest against the group. The protests, which were held in places as far off as Northern Ireland, Mexico and the Slovak Republic, were spurred by the release of a series of videos secretly recorded by an anti-abortion organization that the group has said shows Planned Parenthood executives offering to sell fetal organ tissue, which is illegal. Planned Parenthood spokespeople have said the videos were edited and are not accurate, and that the agency does not sell fetal tissue. "While Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast...

Neither party's elites represent the majority's views on an issue such as immigration; Trump does. Trump often promotes nastiness in pursuit of legitimate policy concerns. Yet his populism also taps into real frustration with two thing The classic answer is to take the wind out of his sails by co-opting (and moderating) some of his positions, thus not allowing him to be the only candidate tapping into populist frustrations. Even with all of his clownery, Trump won't implode until folks have another choice that satisfies the feelings he evokes. One or more of the other Republican candidates needs to draw...

Well, first we found how Newsweek called Obama an “anchor baby,” and now we’ve discovered a video showing the evil racist Harry Reid decrying birthright citizenship in 1993. Watch below:

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is slated to hold a private roundtable meeting with local officials Monday to discuss border security issues as well as related economic and community issues, according to former Pharr commissioner A. Jimmy Garza. After the meeting, the former Florida governor is set to have a news conference at 2:30 p.m. inside Palenque Grill, 606 E. Expressway 83 in McAllen, where he plans to touch on the discussions he’ll have with the undisclosed officials, said Garza, who’s a Republican. Bush is also planning a private luncheon at noon, which costs at least $1,000 to attend. Those...

Casting himself as a tax-cutting, passionate government reformer, Jeb Bush drew merely polite applause Friday from thousands of the nation's most-active tea party conservatives gathered at the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers' summit. Only when the Republican presidential candidate wrapped up his 20-minute speech by calling for a military buildup did the more than 3,000 conservatives from around the nation join in a sustained cheer for Bush, a familiar face in American politics but a newcomer in front of the tea party crowd.

Immigration is not going anywhere as a political issue, as much as some would like it to. Although Democrats and the media whine over the term “anchor baby” and the concept of our national sovereignty, adults have to address real problems, and millions of people in the country illegally is a problem. So let’s address it, shall we? Big business and big government love the idea of amnesty; cheap labor for one, a dependent voting bloc for the other. To that end, both agree to the lie that amnesty would be a boon to the economy. Somehow we’re meant to...

Senator Hutchison cool to SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch; concerns remain about Obama NASA policy June 5, 8:25 AMHouston Space News ExaminerMark Whittington Falcon 9 Courtesy NASA The near universal acclaim that SpaceX has acquired for the successful launch of the first Falcon 9 is not shared within the United States Congress, which is still skeptical of many aspects of the Obama space plan, which includes reliance on companies like SpaceX for Earth to Low Earth Orbit transportation. The reaction illustrates for all the technical triumph that SpaceX has accomplished with the Falcon 9 launch, it still faces political problems. Typical...

Hey, remember Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the guy who threw needless layers of bureaucracy at SpaceX because the private space company was doing its job of launching rockets into space a little too well? Well, it looks like he’s being joined by gentlemen from the other side of the Capitol: Three congressmen are trying to do the same thing.

Political commentator and author Michelle Malkin dropped by to talk about her new book, “Who Built That,” the 2016 presidential field, Iraq and more. Michelle told Brian that she feels Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the most intriguing candidate on the GOP side because of his intelligence and he practices what he preaches. Michelle also explained that before we can make a real decision we have to see them tested in the arena.Video at link.

Ron Paul revels in the fact that he is the presidential candidate of America's small donors, receiving more contributions under $200 than any other Republican seeking the White House in 2012. But, like every other GOP presidential contender, he also has a mega-millionaire "sugar daddy" helping to fund a super PAC that is promoting Paul's candidacy. Yet while Newt Gingrich underwriter Sheldon Adelson and Rick Santorum super-supporter Foster Friess have shared the campaign stage - and the national political spotlight - with their candidates, Paul's benefactor, San Francisco entrepreneur Peter Thiel, has never met the Texas congressman he's aiding.

Ron Paul revels in the fact that he is the presidential candidate of America's small donors, receiving more contributions under $200 than any other Republican seeking the White House in 2012.But, like every other GOP presidential contender, he also has a mega-millionaire "sugar daddy" helping to fund a super PAC that is promoting Paul's candidacy.Yet while Newt Gingrich underwriter Sheldon Adelson and Rick Santorum super-supporter Foster Friess have shared the campaign stage - and the national political spotlight - with their candidates, Paul's benefactor, San Francisco entrepreneur Peter Thiel, has never met the Texas congressman he's aiding.Who is this mystery...

Barry Matsumori, formerly the senior vice president of sales and business development at SpaceX, has joined Virgin Galactic's satellite launch team. With Virgin Galactic, Matsumori holds the title of senior vice president of business development and advanced concepts for LauncherOne, the company's small satellite launch vehicle. Prior to SpaceX, Matsumori held a leadership role at Qualcomm as vice president of wireless connectivity where he was responsible for the development of mobile telecom module products as well as satellite communication infrastructure and terminals. He has held positions at Space Systems Loral (SSL) and General Dynamics, and has experience with early-stage technology...

Exciting news! Our very own Senator Ted Cruz will be in Fort Worth for a 2016 Presidential campaign rally! Thursday, Sept. 3rd - Doors Open at 10:00am - Rally at 11:00am - Fort Worth Stock Yards - Free parking available Click here to RSVP for this free event! [Go to web site to RSVP for free tickets.] I’ve proudly endorsed Senator Cruz for President and I am so excited to have him come to SD10 during his Presidential campaign! The momentum behind #Cruz2016 is growing every day! Whether you're a Ted Cruz supporter like me, or undecided, I encourage you...