Free Republic

Joel Osteen Getty Images Televangelist Joel Osteen cancelled services at his Houston megachurch Sunday and has yet to reopen its doors — despite the fact that thousands of flooded-out residents are desperately seeking shelter.The perpetually smiling pastor told followers on Twitter on Monday to lean on their faith.“Jesus promises us peace that passes understanding,” he wrote. “That’s peace when it doesn’t make sense.”But Osteen’s comforting words didn’t sit well with critics, who want to know why the doors to his 16,800-seat arena at his Lakewood Church near downtown Houston are closed.

Shot Spotter Sensor in Omaha, Nebraska One of the technological fixes that has been attempted is the use of sensors to pinpoint gunshots inside of cities. The theory of the technology is fairly simple. Spread audio sensors throughout the city. Feed the input into a computer system, looking for gunshots. With sophisticated programs, isolate the gunshots from the other noise, and pinpoint their location and time. Ideally, this happens in near real time, to allow police response to gunshots. From ksat.com: San Antonio - A program intended to help police officers identify where a shooting happens, get there quicker...

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- In August, 2016, two professors from the University of Austin, Texas, and an Associate Teaching Assistant Professor, sued the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, the President of the University of Texas, Austin, and the Members of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas at Austin.A number of frivolous claims were offered in an attempt to stop the Texas statute allowing exercise of the Second Amendment on Campus from going into effect. The claims included that the law is vague, the law violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment, Second Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.  The arguments were...

A coffee shop that caters to Second Amendment Supporters and armed customers is hoping to open in 2018. So far it is only a web site with an online store that sells ground coffee and T-shirts.  They are seeking investors, if you are  interested. Here is a description of the proposed enterprise, from their web site. From operatorcoffee.com: To us, Operator Coffee is more than a coffee shop, it's a cause. We are a group of airborne veterans, special operations veterans, and active members of the shooting community. The idea for Operator Coffee was born out of a love...

Barney Smith has spent nearly half his life creating friendships through his trove of toilet seat art. But now he's ready to auction it off. Turning trash to treasure has been Smith's hobby for more than 50 years, he told mySA.com. He is the owner of Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum and 1,200 ornately decorated lid covers that he has created works of art on. Generations of oddity oglers from around the world have stopped by 239 Abiso Ave., in Alamo Heights, to check out Smith's collection and chat with him.

Governor Abbot has signed HB 1819 into law on May 26th, 2017. The law goes into effect on 1 September. The law makes Texas safe for silencer ownership if/when the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump.  This is important because the Texas legislature only meets every two years. The law removes silencers from the list of devices that are required to be on the BATF registry for NFA items, only requiring that people who own, manufacturer, transport, repair, or sell silencers in Texas be in compliance with federal law. From...

Two of at least four levels of Sanctuary City Proponents Disrupting Texas Legislature A Texas legislature called Immigration and Customs Enforcement on disruptors at the Texas Legislature who claimed to be illegal immigrants. When he told other legislators of his action, a scuffle broke out on the floor.  This video shows the level of disruption that occurred before the scuffle. The "protest" was against a bill that had been signed into law days before. Link to video There are conflicting versions of events. Rinaldi, the Republican who Called ICE, said he was assaulted and threatened by Romero and other...

Gov. Greg Abbott’s visit to a shooting range to sign a bill into law got big attention when he took some target practice and made a crack about journalists. “I’m going to carry this around in case I see any reporters,” Abbott said with a grin as he joked with journalists covering the event, after he was given his target sheet. There was little attention paid to the remark at The Range in South Austin, where Abbott posed for a photograph.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Monday that he will fight to keep jobs and boost funding for research facilities like Oak Ridge National Laboratory. {snip} Perry, who once called for the abolition of the Energy Department, has since become an outspoken proponent of the department's importance, particularly of the cutting-edge research conducted at the national labs. Perry acknowledged he has "not been in the job long enough to go through the budget line item by line item" but said he is "doing my homework every day." Perry was joined on the tour by U.S. Sen....

SB 16 Reforms the fee structure of the license to carry in Texas. Texas has one of the highest shall issue license to carry fees in the United States. The current cost is $140 for the original license and renewal is $70.  The reform law reduces the original license to $40, and the renewal to the same $40.  People who are indigent have the initial fee reduced by half, to $20.  The renewal fee for the indigent will be $5. For people 60 years or older, the same $20 for an original and $5 for renewal, applies. SB 16...

Mohamed was arrested and charged with bringing a hoax bomb to school.  Those charges were later dropped, but the resulting furor from the incident became a litmus test for "Islamophobia" in America.  Those who supported the "innocent" teen were tolerant, broad-minded, and welcoming of diversity.  Those who think the student wrong were haters.  Ahmed ended up being invited to NASA headquarters and an event that featured President Obama as the left rallied to his cause. Meanwhile, his father moved the family to Qatar but stayed only nine months. When the family moved back to Irving, they demanded $15 million not to...

I drove to the NRA Meeting in Atlanta yesterday, the 26th of April, 2017.  I had been visiting family in Dallas, Texas, so it was only 800 miles. On the way, I reflected on the last time I was in Atlanta for more than a flight change. It was over 40 years ago, when I was in the Army. What happened then was not important. But what has happened in the last 40 years has been phenomenal for Second Amendment Supporters. In 1974, the Gun Control Act of 1968 was only six years old. It had not been improved...

Texas has very specific requirements for “gun free” zones.  When the legislature passed the shall issue concealed carry permit law, they included specifications for signage if establishments were to ban people form carrying guns on their property.The signs are called 30.06 signs, from the section of the law, and are large, obvious, and in both English and Spanish.When the legislature reformed the law to restore some open carry rights, they expanded the signage requirement to include a separate sign for premises to legally prevent people form openly carrying handguns on their premises. Those signs are 30.07 signs.They are also...

The Texas state dish is chili, its tree is the pecan and its fish is the Guadalupe bass. And soon, Texas may have an explosive addition to its set of official symbols: plans are afoot for a state gun. Though Texas lawmakers through the years have seen fit to designate dozens of symbols, including an official pollinator (the western honey bee), cooking implement (the cast-iron Dutch oven) and shell (the lightning whelk), they have not yet given the seal of approval to a weapon, despite the state’s famous fondness for arms.

Emergency responders in most states are prevented from carrying defensive firearms. This is a result of governmental employee rules and regulations, or, in some cases, private employment rules. In some states, lawmakers are seeking to reform those rules. In Texas, a reform bill, HB 435, would allow first responders to carry defensive arms if they have a concealed carry permit. From everythinglubbock.com: Currently, there is no state law that addresses this issue, policies are set at the local level and vary by location. “You need to be able to exercise your Second Amendment right,” Flynn said. The legislation looks...

On March 30, in the Second Judicial District Court of Cherokee County, a jury found Kevin Ray Morris Sr. Guilty of 34 counts of child sexual abuse including, aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. The Honorable Judge R. Chris Day ordered all possible counts stacked, and told the Defendant after sentencing, “Mr. Morris, there is really no other way to put it, you are a monster.” The Judge went on to say, “Mr. Morris, if I could give you more time to serve, I would.”

<p>The owner of the Olive Garden is making a cheesy acquisition. And investors love it.</p> <p>Darden Restaurants announced late Monday that it was buying Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, a casual dining chain with 165 restaurants in 28 states, for $780 million cash. The company also announced earnings and sales that topped forecasts.</p>

On a Saturday morning in Dallas, Texas, my daughter and I decided to eat breakfast out. My grandson mentioned pancakes, so my daughter decided on a Denny's that was reasonably close, at 4567 Frankford Road. It took about five minutes to load up a one year old and a two year old into the car, in the proper car seats, and another five minutes to drive to the restaurant. On the way in, I noticed the 30.07 sign that banned open carry in the restaurant. The 30.07 sign is required by Texas law, if a private property owner decides...

Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, Passes Away: She Never Had an Abortion and Became Pro-Life National   Steven Ertelt   Feb 18, 2017   |   2:10PM    Washington, DC Share this story: Norma McCorvey, who was the Jane Roe of the infamous Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case legalizing virtually unlimited abortions, passed away today. McCorvey never had an abortion and eventually became pro-life and dedicated her life to overturning the horrible Supreme Court decision that bared her pseudonym. McCorvey died today at an assisted-living facility in Katy, Texas. She was 69.McCorvey never wanted an...

Exactly 20,008 students were absent in the school district Thursday, compared to only 4,216 the previous day. AISD says they have 83,591 students in 130 schools — that’s almost 24 percent of their students marked as absent...Pflugerville ISD say they experienced a higher than normal number of absences Thursday. While they are still gathering their attendance data, only a handful of schools had attendance below 70 percent. Friday, students in Manor walked out of classes and caused traffic delays while protesting on US 290. The district said around 50 students at Manor High School were part of the protest; no...