Free Republic

" If some policeman thinks you’re doing something illegal, your life is over. Without money, you cannot hire a lawyer and they can just rob everything you have on a whim."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed again Friday that the Senate will not confirm President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland, this year. “Let me say this once more, and let me say it clearly: Barack Obama will not get a Supreme Court Justice in the 11th hour of his presidency on the way out the door,” McConnell said to loud applause at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C. …

When it comes to eating at a barbecue joint there’s an unspoken code of conduct. You don’t order salad, you don’t use a fork and if you’re a cross-dressing cowboy with an affinity for stiletto heels – you don’t use the ladies room. And that brings me to a story from the pages of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about a small-town barbecue joint that inadvertently found itself right smack in the middle of the big debate over transgender bathrooms. John Sanford owns BBQ on the Brazos – located about 30 minutes or so southwest of the stockyards in Fort Worth....

The video shows an officer holding a gun on an individual, telling that person to stay down. One person has been transported to Parkland Hospital, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue officials. There is no word on if flights at Love Field have been affected. Flights at D/FW International Airport are not impacted, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. No additional information was immediately available.

A San Antonio Marine Corps veteran spending Wednesday afternoon with his family on the Medina River made the heroic, fateful decision to sacrifice his own life while rescuing two teens caught in the undertow, according to authorities. Master Sgt. Rodney Buentello was visiting Bandera City Park when an unidentified teen girl tried crossing the dam, a violation of city ordinance, the Bandera Marshal's Office said in a statement. A male teenager followed her in an attempt to save her, but was also swept away, prompting Buentello to jump into action."(He) went into the water and managed to save both of...

AUSTIN, Texas -- A Texas high school valedictorian who described herself as "undocumented" in a tweet touting her academic accomplishments said she didn't intend to cause offense."My tweet wasn't made to mock anyone. I just wanted to show that no matter what barriers you have in front of you, you can still succeed," Mayte Lara told the Austin American-Statesman on Wednesday.Lara graduated June 3 from Crockett High School in Austin. The 17-year-old's tweet read: "Valedictorian, 4.5GPA, full tuition paid for at UT, 13 cords/medals, nice legs, oh and I'm undocumented."The tweet went viral and generated a barrage of negative comments...

CONROE, Texas (CBS NEWS)-- A Houston man convicted of drunken driving nine times since 1980 has been sentenced to life in prison. The Montgomery County judge who sentenced Donald Middleton on Tuesday said the 56-year-old man is a habitual offender. Middleton pleaded guilty last week to driving drunk in a May 2015 traffic accident. Investigators say Middleton was arrested after he fled on foot after the wreck, ran to a store and begged the clerks not to turn him in. Prosecutors say Middleton has already served four prison terms for alcohol-related convictions.

On May 26, the Chicago Tribune published an editorial in which it claimed the NRA is exaggerating Hillary Clinton’s threat to gun rights. Focusing on the Supreme Court, the Tribune claimed there is no guarantee that Republicans would confirm Clinton’s appointees to the highest court, and even if they did, there is no guarantee those justices would revisit landmark decisions like District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) or McDonald v. Chicago (2010).

A Texas high school valedictorian has revealed she is an illegal immigrant in her graduation speech. Larissa Martinez told classmates at McKinney Boyd High School that she was one of the 11million undocumented citizens living in the United States after she fled her abusive and alcoholic father in Mexico. The 18-year-old, who has been offered a full scholarship to Yale, said she decided against giving her classmates the 'traditional Hallmark version' of the speech and instead opted for the truth. The teenager told the crowd of thousands: 'Immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, are people too'. 'We are here without documentation because...

CONROE, Texas — A Houston man convicted of drunken driving nine times since 1980 has been sentenced to life in prison. The Montgomery County judge who sentenced Donald Middleton on Tuesday said the 56-year-old man is a habitual offender. Prosecutors say Middleton has already served four prison terms for alcohol-related convictions.

A video leaked to Breitbart Texas by Mexican law enforcement shows a man being interrogated by cartel gunmen moments before his execution. The video revealed a dire warning about upcoming violence in this border city. The violence comes as two rival factions of the Los Zetas Cartel, the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) and the Vieja Escuela Z (Old School Z)/Grupo Bravo have been at war for more than seven months. During their struggle, the Tamaulipas capital of Ciudad Victoria has been ground Zero for daily executions, regular beheadings, shootouts, drive by shootings and other acts of violence that have spread...

Mayte Lara tweeted after graduating from Crockett High School in Austin But the Texas teenager also mentioned that she was 'undocumented' Federal law does not prohibit states from providing in-state tuition to undocumented students High school graduation season is in full swing and Twitter and Facebook are jam-packed with pictures of jubilant teenagers but one girl's tweet has landed her in a whole lot of trouble. Mayte Lara, from Crockett High School in Austin, Texas, tweeted: 'Valedictorian, 4.5GPA, full tuition paid for at UT, 13 cords and medals, nice legs, oh and I'm undocumented.' (snip) The fact that Lara has...

Montgomery County Judge Gives Man Life Sentence After Ninth DWI Conviction A Montgomery County judge has sentenced a man to life in prison after he was found guilty of drinking and driving a ninth time. Donald Middleton was arrested May 30, 2015 on a DWI charge. It was his ninth since 1980. Authorities say Middleton was trying to turn at a stop sign but didn't stay in his lane and struck another vehicle nearly head-on. After the wreck, he ran to a nearby convenience store and begged the clerk to hide him. "He tried to flee, get away. He called...

Did Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell do their La Raza homework before calling Trump a bigot? It appears they may not have. Or worse, they’ve done their homework, but chose not to factor in the nature of the organization named La Raza. Jerome R. Corsi, in WND posted an article entitled “Judge, Law Firm Bringing Trump U Case Both Tied To La Raza.” It begins: “The federal judge presiding over the Trump University class action lawsuit is a member of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association, a group that while not a branch of the National Council...

GE Oil & Gas is laying off a total of 362 workers in Lufkin, Texas, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Lufkin Industries, LLC, a part of GE Oil & Gas, is laying off employees at three different facilities. Layoffs will be permanent and are expected to be completed by Aug. 5. The three Lufkin facilities – one for power transmission, one for gear repair and a manufacturing plant – are all union sites and affected employees have bumping rights. GE Oil & Gas spokesperson Lindsey Benton said in an emailed statement to Rigzone that due to...

<p>A Houston Police Department decoy car became political Monday when a vandal tagged the back windshield with the word "Trump" in hot pink spray paint.</p> <p>HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the cruiser was parked at a Jack in the Box at Antoine and Pinemont. The car is used as a crime deterrent and is frequently moved around, Silva said.</p>

“If somebody in Washington is holding their breath, waiting to give their endorsement on an apology, they’re going to be waiting a long time,” he said. “There are so many people in this country who are just sick and tired of our elected officials being apologetic for everything.” When Trump spoke to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference last month, it sparked hope among Washington Republicans of a long-awaited pivot to the general election and a more presidential demeanor. Those hopes, however, were dashed by Trump’s assertion last week that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over civil...

On May 23rd, we here at Mediaite ran this headline: Lindsey Graham Caves, Quietly Tells Fellow Republicans to Get Behind Trump 14 days later, Graham has not only done a complete 180, but he is telling other Republicans to un-endorse Donald Trump. Yes, just so we’re clear, Graham went from “hell no” on Trump to “eh maybe” on Trump to “okay let’s do this” on Trump to “ABANDON THIS SINKING SHIP WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND DONORS FIRST.” Graham spoke to The New York Times and made it clear he’s telling Republicans to get out while they still can: Senator Lindsey...

Bretagne, a 16-year-old golden retriever and the last known remaining Sept. 11 search dog, was euthanized Monday in Texas. Searching through the rubble of ground zero was her first-ever deployment, according to a press release by the Texas Engineering Extension Service, or TEEX, provided by KBTX-TV. Bretagne (pronounced Brit-nee) was 2 at the time, a newly certified FEMA Search and Rescue dog. With handler Denise Corliss, Bretagne looked first for survivors, then for remains. They worked at the site for 10 days.

Before the lynching of The Donald proceeds, what exactly was it he said about that Hispanic judge? Stated succinctly, Donald Trump said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a class-action suit against Trump University, is sticking it to him. And the judge's bias is likely rooted in the fact that he is of Mexican descent. Can there be any defense of a statement so horrific? Just this. First, Trump has a perfect right to be angry about the judge's rulings and to question his motives. Second, there are grounds for believing Trump is right. On May 27,...