Free Republic

There's been an email going around with out and out lies about the Texas economy and half truths or lies about our Governor Perry. I worked on this last weekend, sitting up most of Sunday night and rechecking my facts and numbers this morning. Here's the truth: To everyone thinking about Rick Perry for President: #1 Rick Perry is a "big government" politician. When Rick Perry became the governor of Texas in 2000, the total spending by the Texas state government was approximately $49 billion. Ten years later it was approximately $90 billion. That is not exactly reducing the size...

Trivia Tidbit of the Day: Part 938 -- Texas Debt Among Lowest In Nation- From the Tax Foundation: "With so much recent discussion of the fiscal outlook of the federal government, it's worth looking at the solvency of state governments as well. Today's map shows how much interest on their debt the states pay as a percentage of their direct spending. Texas also has the second lowest state debt as a percentage of personal income. While it is true that voters in Texas have approved far more bond debt, mostly for roads, in the past decade (voters, even conservative Texas...

I was the first in my family to graduate from college, much less to go to Medical school. I believe I was blessed by attending Texas elementary and high school, Tyler junior college, UT at Tyler, and then Med school and residency in San Antonio, Texas. I'm grateful, knowing that a “non-traditional student” (an older woman with a family) couldn't have done that in any place but the USA and Texas. No one took my place or squeezed my kids out of a good education, even though we live in a small city where more than 50% of the surnames...

Big surprise: Lloyd Doggett doesn't like Perry. I guess he's given up on winning his primary against one of the Castro twins (I can't tell them apart), so he's going to spend time campaigning against the Governor who wouldn't lie for money. ABC.news has a blog entry explaining the details, here. Doggett's the creator of the Doggett layoff, causing school districts all over the Nation to layoff teachers. Doggett was the author of the amendment to part of a stimulus bill, refusing money to Texas education by setting specific, individual requirements for Texas that no other State must meet and...

It's time for Governor Sarah Palin and Governor Rick Perry to fish or cut bait. Conservatives must begin the process of forming a coalition that can beat Obama. Like everyone else in the Nation, I'm waiting for an announcement from one or both, declaring their candidacy for the Republican nomination for President. However, Conservatives must remember that we are first of all Conservatives, not Palin-supporters or Perry-supporters. Our true enemy is big government and threats to our Conservative ideals. We must strive to conduct the 2012 Primary in order to build up and not tear down fellow Conservatives and avoid...

Since when is accusing everyone of terrorism acceptable, much less equal to accusing no one? “It is acceptable and encouraged that a TSA government official can do something to an American citizen that US military personnel cannot do to a member of the Taliban.” Woman who accuses TSA I’m a 50-something, overweight Grandma who, last December, was subjected to a search at Chicago’s O'Hare airport after I went through the metal detector without setting it off. Apparently on the whim of a single Transportation Safety Agency agent who shouted, “Female, no alarm search!” I was pulled aside, wanded and patted...

Our Mission As members of the Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas, we pledge to defend the values and principles on which our nation was founded. We are proud Republicans who support our party. But our first allegiance is to the people, the conservative majority of our party who elected us to office. We pledge not to divide, but to unite Conservatives everywhere. We pledge to make America and Texas stronger by defending individual liberty, freedom, and the free market ideals that made our country the envy of the world. Our Contract with Texas We give our word to stand for...

AUSTIN — The Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas can't corral all the independent, conservative Republicans in the Texas Legislature. State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, got kudos from the likes of Mike Huckabee and Laura Ingraham for founding the group, which he describes as a back-to-basics initiative reaching out to tea party activists and independents. It features a “Contract with Texas” whereby lawmakers pledge to stand firm on core principles like fiscal accountability, limited government and protection of life, the border and the sovereign rights of Texas. But not everyone in the state House and Senate is signing up. “I just...

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,...

Today the Susan B. Anthony List announced the results of a series of polls conducted in congressional districts by the polling company,inc/WomanTrend. The surveys asked registered voters about abortion funding and healthcare reform in the following members’ districts: Jason Altmire (PA-04), Paul Kanjorski (PA-11), Brad Ellsworth (IN-08), Baron Hill (IN-09), Steve Dreihaus (OH-01), Charlie Wilson (OH-06), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), and John Boccieri (OH-16). . . . . . . . . Voters Reject Federal Funding of Abortion, Especially in Healthcare Reform At least three-in-five voters in these eight congressional districts agreed that “Abortion and abortion funding have no place in...

When Congress returns from the Presidents Day recess next week, lawmakers will have just seven days to pass a bill to prevent a 21% cut in Medicare reimbursement. Racing the clock to prevent cuts dictated by the sustainable growth rate (SGR) is nothing new. Every year over most of the past decade, Congress has voted at the eleventh hour to push planned cuts off for a year. "Congress has a clearly established pattern to wait until the last minute to do a temporary patch," Cecil Wilson, MD, an internist in Winter Park, Fla., and president-elect of the American Medical Association...

"One year ago, Michael Williams announced his plan to run for the United States Senate. Williams is a staunch conservative who would become the lone African-American Republican in the Senate, and his campaign has gained attention nationwide. Join us to learn more about the candidate and his views." - Evan Smith, Texas Monthly Talks, Broadcast 01.21.10

When we join together in prayer and action, the will of the people can change history. The world watched in horror as China’s government tanks killed isolated student protesters in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Just a few months later, on November 9, 1989, we witnessed with joy as the Berlin Wall was dismantled by men and women coming together as one from divided Germany. I believe that the difference between these two citizen protests was unity that spread from the Monday Demonstrations, which began as weekly prayer meetings at Nikolai Church in Leipzig, East Germany in 1982. The...

Thursday, The Travis County Healthcare District Board, will vote on whether to continue to pay for abortions. If approved, county taxpayers would continue to spend $450,000 a year, paying for abortions for low income women. Emotions are expected to run high during Thursday's meeting at commissioners court. Opponents argue property taxes should not be used to fund abortions for low income women, while supporters say if the programs are taken away about 1 percent of the most vulnerable will have nowhere else to turn.

First, there is the God issue. Dr. Collins believes in him. (sic) Passionately. And he preaches about his belief in churches and a best-selling book. For some presidential appointees, that might not be a problem, but many scientists view such outspoken religious commitment as a sign of mild dementia.

. . . Formal patient and provider appeals to Medicare took an average of 21 months, according to a report issued in 2003 by the Government Accountability Office (using 2001 data), with delays in "administrative processing" due to "inefficiencies and incompatibility" of data systems eating up 70% of the time spent processing appeals. There's nothing inherently wrong with a program like Medicare seeking value for taxpayers. But it shouldn't make up the rules as it goes. When private plans ration care, patients can appeal directly to an insurer's medical staff. Only a small fraction of Medicare's denied claims—about 5%—are ever...

The Ascent of Money Episode 3: Risky Business ASCENT OF MONEY In “Risky Business,” episode three of the four-part THE ASCENT OF MONEY, economist and historian Niall Ferguson examines the roots of the insurance industry in Europe; how disasters like Hurricane Katrina expose problems in risk management; how countries like Japan and Chile manage risk for their citizens; and the great rewards that can be accumulated through risk with hedge funds. http://video.pbs.org/video/1173188365

I'm thinking that it may save my life for me to learn to use Twitter and Facebook. Now.While President Obama is planning to take over the entire finance world ASAP, ABC is planning their all-day infomercial for Obama and his push - there is no "plan," yet - for health care "reform" by July 4. No opposing or alternate viewpoints will be allowed. They're even refusing to take a paid-for program in rebuttal, according to the Drudge Report. While looking for verification of this story, I came across several that report that Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and Bob Baker are...

Another version of the perinatal hospice concept can be found in Choices Medical Clinic of Wichita, Kansas. It is located next door to the notorious abortion clinic of George Tiller, which is known for performing late-term abortions. Choices provides more typical crisis pregnancy center services such as free pregnancy tests, counseling, and education. But in response to Tiller's specialty, the center also offers free ultrasounds and perinatal hospice support to the parents if the unborn child has a life-threatening condition. After an ultrasound confirms the diagnosis, "we come alongside the mother, involve the family, a team of physicians, social workers,...

Robert Lanza is now reporting that his research group has produced induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) that are safe for use in humans. The website, Red Orbit, has provided a link to the original (.pdf)article. See the Time magazine news article, here. Lanza gives credit to the pioneering work of Shinya Yamanaka: Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), reported today in the journal Cell that his team has created stem cells using human skin cells and four proteins. The innovation builds on the breakthrough discovery in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka, who similarly coaxed human skin...