Free Republic

Fleeing smugglers keep DPS troopers busy in Hidalgo County McALLEN — On a quiet November morning, trooper Johnny Hernandez patrols the dusty back roads along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County. In the back seat, his M4 rifle sits within arm's reach. In the trunk, he stores a bulletproof vest. The 15-year Department of Public Safety veteran has been in so many high-speed pursuits that he can't remember the first one, and, to be honest, he says he doesn't even think of them in terms of which one is scariest. "There's just so much" going on, he says. "Your thoughts...

They're accused of making victims sell counterfeit CDs and DVDs A federal grand jury in Houston indicted three illegal immigrants in connection with an alleged human trafficking ring that forced victims to sell counterfeit CDs and DVDs, authorities said. Estela Aguilar-Lopez, 47, Blanca Estela Lopez-Aguilar, 37, and Francisco Ivan Rodriguez-Garcia, 29, were indicted Wednesday on charges of conspiracy to force labor and conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston. The defendants, all citizens of Mexico, are accused of running a scheme to collect smuggling debts of about $2,200 to $2,500 from illegal immigrants by...

Republican storm created too much headwind for most Dems From the moment the "Bill White for Texas" campaign moved from a U.S. Senate race to a governor's race, the Democratic candidate knew he was facing a long, hard, low-gear climb. Bill White, an inveterate bicyclist, needed every gear to mesh perfectly. He needed a clear path, however challenging. He got neither. A red-state race that all along was going to be daunting proved an impossible slog in a state full of restive Republicans determined to reverse their 2006 and 2008 losses and in an anti-Washington season that grew ever bleaker...

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry's new book, Fed Up!, is repeatedly critical of former President George W. Bush and defends the rights of Arizona to pass anti-immigration legislation, as well as for California to legalize marijuana. The anti-federal government book defends states' rights to regulate guns, abortion, gay marriage and calls for the overturning of the new federal health care law. One portion of the book blames Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court for the Civil War, claiming they hampered the ability of Northern states to help set the slaves free. Perry specifically cited the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850...

Up to 450,000 ballots cast in Harris County Taken together, the events of the 2010 election season in Harris County sound almost good enough for a movie plot: electoral turmoil, thousands of burned up voting machines, controversial poll watchers and electioneering, traded allegations of voter fraud and voter suppression, even a few dirty tricks. Whatever the causes or motivations behind the differing dramas this election season, it has not been enough to deter voters. As polls closed Friday before Tuesday's general election, as many as 450,000 people are expected to have cast their ballots early or by mail, an amount...

The largest brush and tire fire in a decade has drawn crews from six Montgomery County fire departments and the Texas Forest Service to about 20 acres of land in the New Caney area. The Courier of Montgomery County reports that the New Caney Fire Department arrived at the scene about 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the 48000 block of FM 1485. Firefighters contained the blaze late Saturday night, but expected it to continue burning Sunday. “The area was filled with ravines and sand with holes of eight to 10 feet deep,” New Caney Assistant Fire Chief Josh Smith told The...

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people in a shooting spree at Fort Hood and wounding dozens of others, begins an arduous legal process today that could end in his death. The Article 32 proceeding, as it is called, could run for more than a month with Col. James Pohl sifting through the evidence. Pohl's task will be to gather evidence and then tell higher-level commanders if a trial should be ordered. It isn't clear how Hasan's lawyer, himself a former military judge, will counter testimony, likely from GIs in a crowded Fort Hood deployment...

Margin virtually unchanged after months of campaigning AUSTIN — Ill will toward President Barack Obama and a voter belief that Republican Gov. Rick Perry has helped save the Texas economy are giving Perry a re-election lead over Democrat and former Houston Mayor Bill White, according to a new poll done for the Houston Chronicle and four other state newspapers. Perry leads with 46 percent support to 39 percent for White, with Libertarian candidate Kathie Glass trailing at 4 percent among likely voters; 11 percent were undecided. Green Party candidate Deb Shafto had less than 1 percent support. "It's not an...

As has been previously reported, the Democrats have come up with a snappy new logo. It's simple, it's blue, it's bad graphics. What was the inspiration for this genius work of rebranding? Here's the answer:

A pre-dawn fire that destroyed nearly all of Harris County's voting machines last month likely erupted in a rear section of the north Houston warehouse that was used as a classroom and storage area, authorities said on Wednesday. Houston Fire Department arson dogs didn't find any accelerants, such as gasoline, at the scene of the Aug. 27 blaze at the Harris County Election Technology Center, 606 Canino. "We don't have any reason to believe that ignitable liquids were used," said HFD arson chief Gabe Cortez. Although arson investigators haven't ruled out the fire being intentionally set, Cortez acknowledged that most...

More than 1,000 Houston dropouts woke up Saturday morning to an unexpected knock on their door from some of the city's top dignitaries — including Mayor Annise Parker, Houson ISD Superintendent Terry Grier and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White — encouraging them to return to school. Hundreds of volunteers made morning house calls as part of the Houston Independent School District's seventh annual dropout recovery walk, now called Grads Within Reach. The walk, born in Houston in 2004, has expanded to 22 Texas school districts, as well as St. Louis and Des Moines, Iowa. "Our success as a city depends...

The Texas Fried Frito Pie is the winner of the biggest food prize for this year's state fair. The battered and fried blend of chili, cheese and Fritos won the Best Taste award Monday at the sixth annual Big Tex Choice Awards. Prize winners usually attract long lines from fairgoers. Concoction creator Michael Thomas says he and his partners spent six months experimenting with different batters, chilis and chips.

After two years, the momentum returns to GOP favor in Texas races AUSTIN — The Texas general election opens this Labor Day looking like the Year of the Angry Voter. Two years ago, the momentum was with Democrats. Even though Barack Obama lost the state while winning the presidency, excitement for his campaign produced regional turnouts that helped at least four Democrats win seats in the Texas House. The tide appears to have returned to the Republicans' favor. A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found just 34 percent of Texans approve of the job Obama is doing as president. That is...

Florida church will mark 9/11 by destroying books Religious leaders gathered in Houston Saturday to condemn a Florida church's campaign to burn hundreds of Qurans later this week. Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Muslim clergy spoke to about 120 people at an interfaith symposium held at the Baitus Samee Mosque in northwest Houston. They discussed the sanctity of scriptures and denounced the ill-treatment of religious books. "Even if it is a human document merely inspired by encounters of the divine, or generations of my people's wisdom passed down and kept sacred, it is still sacred," Rabbi Jonathan Siger...

The 12- and 13-year-old are accused in the shooting deaths of Garland couple DALLAS — A 13-year-old boy and his 12-year-old girlfriend will soon face capital murder charges in a Dallas-area double shooting after the second victim died, authorities said Friday. Alan Nevil, 48, died Thursday night from wounds he suffered in an Aug. 17 attack that also killed his wife, Darlene Nevil, 46, Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said. Alan Nevil was found bleeding on a neighbor's front yard. He told police who shot him, and authorities arrested the 13-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl within a quarter of a...

For the second time in as many years, the Texas Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County tax assessor-collector, accusing the Republican-led voter registration office with illegally rejecting voter applications and with sharing information with political allies that it did not share with Democrats last year. Leo Vasquez, who in his capacity as tax assessor-collector is the county's voter registrar, said the lawsuit has no merit. "They're just trying to throw stuff up against the wall and see if it sticks," Vasquez said. The Democratic Party made similar accusations about what it said were improperly rejected voter...

What FReepers Annoy You the Most? And why? I'm fairly annoying so I figure it falls on me to post this.

Officials still investigating cause of fire that destroyed voting devices A day after a fire destroyed virtually all of Harris County's electronic voting gear, officials were still determining the cause of the warehouse blaze and furiously exploring ways to accommodate voters come early November. Houston's fire marshal's office hasn't made a ruling on whether Friday's early-morning fire was accidental or deliberately set, said Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, who hopes to hear something on the cause early this week. "It would break my heart to think someone would do something like this to the election process," she said, adding that...

HIDALGO — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn on Friday backed off his support of Congress taking up birthright citizenship after earlier joining prominent Republicans who have called for a review of the 14th Amendment. "It is going after a symptom rather than the cause of the problem in the first place," Cornyn said. Cornyn, the head of the GOP Senate campaign committee, softened his stance while visiting a port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border. He met with the Texas Border Coalition, a group of local mayors and business leaders focused on border security and traffic backlogs at ports that affect...

Perry, White trust Harris election officials, voters AUSTIN ­— State election officials said they will make sure Harris County gets enough voting machine replacements to pull off a smooth election, and neither major gubernatorial campaign plans major changes after a Friday morning fire consumed all of the county's 10,000 voting machines. Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade spoke with Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and other county officials on Friday, pledging to provide whatever necessary help once they finish assessing the damage and equipment needs. "There is some time," Andrade spokesman Randall Dillard said. "It's not a good time, but...