Free Republic

City officials threatened to cut utilities to home ahead of Fiesta party. For months, an arguably 8-foot to 11-foot fence centered in the Oak Park-Northwood neighborhood on the Northeast Side of San Antonio has been embroiled in community controversy. Now, when city staffers sought to shut off water and utilities just before the homeowner at the root of the drama was set to throw a Fiesta party, the city and homeowner sued each other. Each say the other is being unreasonable. The Oak Park-Northwood neighborhood is in a tizzy after the relatively new owner of a property on Country Lane...

Authorities discovered the remains of a missing woman in the jaws of an alligator this week in Houston, prompting an investigation into her cause of death by the city's Homicide Division Sergeants. “Patrol officers located the remains of a woman in the jaws of an alligator in the Horsepen Bayou, just west of El Dorado Boulevard, while searching the area for a woman reported missing” on Tuesday, Houston police said in a Wednesday release. Police did not name the woman, who they believe to be in her 60s, but they told KHOU-TV that she went for a walk around 7:30...

It’s time somebody came out and said it: Whataburger sucks. God forbid somebody in San Antonio should say that. We treat Whataburger like a hometown hero, never mind that it never was. And now it’s just another asset in a Chicago firm’s portfolio. Through orange-colored glasses, we failed to see the beat-down beef, the bun crushed by overreach and ennui. We failed to hold accountable the burger that tastes like the wrapper it came in, with the little round sticker that says “no onion” or “bacon” or “you can do better.”

Austin, Texas — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas narrowly won his primary Tuesday against a gun-rights activist who pushed the border congressman into a bruising runoff that threatened to unseat a U.S. House incumbent. Another prominent Texas Republican, state House Speaker Dade Phelan, also edged out a challenger from the right who was backed by former President Donald Trump. Both won by razor-thin margins, reflecting the anger of hard-line conservatives and a wave of party turbulence in America's biggest red state over votes that bucked party lines and the impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Gonzales defeated Brandon...

In a rare TV interview, Pope Francis lambasted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's attempt to shut down an El Paso-based Catholic charity that assists migrants, even calling the state's legal action "madness." Francis' comments came during Sunday's episode of CBS's 60 Minutes. During that interview, taped in April interview at the Vatican, journalist Norah O'Donnell asked the pontiff what his thoughts were on Texas' bid to shut down Annunciation House, the El Paso-based nonprofit. "That is madness. Sheer madness. To close the border and leave them there, that is madness," Francis said. "The migrant has to be received. Thereafter you...

They said they couldn't be fair or impartial Developments on the first day of Donald Trump's historic criminal case in New York:Dozens of potential jurors dismissed. More than 50 of the 96 potential jurors brought in for a preliminary round of questioning were immediately excused after raising their hands to indicate they couldn't be fair or impartial, reports the New York Times. The fail rate was "surpassingly rare," the Times reports. Before the trial ended for the day, Judge Juan Merchan questioned nine potential jurors, CNN reports. He dismissed a woman who said she had strongly held beliefs about Trump...

Roughly two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters on Monday blocked the entrance to Valero Energy Corp.’s headquarters off the Loop 1604 access road on the Northwest Side, snarling traffic for nearly two hours as they chanted against the oil refining company selling fuel used by the Israeli military. “Not another nickel, not another dime,” the group yelled, as some sat cross-legged by the headquarters’ entry road, “no more money for Israel’s crimes.” The protest, which included a 25-person blockade, was done in coordination with other major cities across the U.S. to coincide with Tax Day and what activists call the U.S. government’s...

Aimee Harris, the woman who pleaded guilty to stealing the diary of first daughter Ashley Biden, received a one month prison sentence on Tuesday to be followed by three months of home detention. She was further ordered to surrender $20,000, the same sum she received from selling the diary to the now-defunct investigative outlet Project Veritas, CNBC reported. Harris will also serve three years on probation. The Department of Justice last week asked that she receive four to ten months in prison. Harris's sentencing was originally slated for December of 2022 but was delayed a total of 12 times. She...

Jury selection could take up to two weeks, or around a quarter of the trial which is set to begin on April 15. Potential jurors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s falsified business documents case against Donald Trump will reportedly be asked whether they have been to rallies either in support of or against the former president, as well as if they follow him on social media, have attended one of his rallies, or use Truth Social. Potential jurors will be asked if they use Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, as well as if they have "feelings of opinion...

President Joe Biden, 81, appeared to forget his own name during a speech on the economy delivered at Washington, D.C.’s Union Station on Tuesday. “My dad used to say ‘A job… Joey… I give you my word as a tray… ‘” the President began, confusingly stumbling over his words. Abandoning the anecdote, Biden said: “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect.”In a video of the speech, Biden briefly hesitates while attempting to quote his father’s words, appearing unclear how his father referred to him in the anecdote before settling on...

Big Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has “deeply” apologized for promoting an “unlicensed” coronavirus vaccine, after being rebuked for the fifth time by state regulators. The move earned the firm another reprimand from the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) in the United Kingdom.The British government regulator found Pfizer had “proactively disseminated” an “unlicensed medicine” on Twitter, now X, in November 2020 while providing no information on its safety or adverse side effects. Berkeley Phillips, medical director of Pfizer UK, shared a message from a Pfizer employee in the U.S. promoting their “vaccine candidate” as “95 percent effective in preventing Covid-19,...

I wonder if there is ever a moment while DHS Secretary Mayorkas is claiming that America’s borders are entirely secure and blaming “climate change” for the influx of tens of millions of illegal aliens into the United States when he thinks, “Wow, I am really full of BS. I mean, it is simply amazing how much BS I shovel down the American people’s throats every single day.” The notion that powerful people lie to the public is certainly not new. You can go back through the centuries and find essays, songs, drawings, and folktales that all attest to the timeless...

Former First Lady Melania Trump is helping the homosexual ‘conservative’ group Log Cabin Republicans kick off its ‘Road to Victory’ campaign at her and her husband’s Florida resort home on April 20. ... PALM BEACH, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — After an extended absence from public view, former First Lady Melania Trump is reportedly set to return to the campaign trail for her husband starting with a fundraiser for homosexual “conservative” group Log Cabin Republicans at her and husband Donald’s resort home of Mar-a-Lago. The news puts to rest unsubstantiated rumors that Mrs. Trump was distancing herself from the former president’s 2024...

The University of Texas at Austin has sent layoff notices to an estimated 60 staff members who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion roles, according to the Texas NAACP and the Texas Conference of American Association of University Professors. The staffing cuts come as the university works to comply with the state’s anti-DEI law, or SB17, that bans public colleges and universities from maintaining DEI offices, holding mandatory DEI training, and having departments focused on “promoting differential treatment” based on race, sex or ethnicity. In a statement released Wednesday, the Texas NAACP and AAUP said impacted staff members were...

~snip~ As part of a longstanding campaign to stop printing and even recall existing $100 bills, the New Republic wrote, “Benjamins are the favorite currency of criminals and almost no one else.” Rich tax evaders, corrupt foreign officials, money launderers, counterfeiters and other bad actors hoard them, but the law-abiding masses rarely use them except for overseas travel or special occasions. As far back as 1976, an economist named James Henry called for an end to the $100 bill in an article in The Washington Monthly because — even nearly a half-century ago — it was the preferred currency of...

Part 1 was featured here last week. Did you see it? It explored the beginnings of a true FReeper tradition. A tradition that is in dire need of being resuscitated.Anyway, we continue the silliness with the second OFST.... **** OFFICIAL FRIDAY SILLINESS THREAD **** Posted on 12/10/2004 11:05:24 AM PST by TheBigBBy request...another OFFICIAL FRIDAY SILLINESS THREAD! Feel free to vent, post silly jokes, make nonsensical statements, or even IGNORE THIS THREAD. I ask that we all keep our good buddy TomServo in our thoughts, also.To get things started, a favorite cartoon:more....... 415 replies this time TheBigB (as far as...

It was almost 20 years ago that The Official Friday Silliness Thread began. As far as I can tell it was TheBigB who began this great Freeper tradition. Looking back over his posting history, it seems he posted lots of funny threads and vanities since his sign on date in 2000. But I can’t find any evidence of an earlier OFST other than this one. Dated 11/19/2004. **Official Friday Silliness Thread**11/19/2004, 2:33:34 PM · by TheBigB · 604 replies · 16,767+ views11/19/04 | self Here is the very first joke on the very first Silliness Thread. To: TheBigBA senior citizens'...

Three people sued the National Park Service earlier this month for its policy not to accept cash payments at a growing number of locations.Esther van der Werf of Ojai, California, Toby Stover of High Falls, New York, and Elizabeth Dasburg of Darien, Georgia, filed their lawsuit on March 6 after being prevented from paying in cash at various national parks, monuments and historic sites around the country. Citing a U.S. code that states U.S. currency is legal tender for all public charges, the lawsuit alleges that the park service’s cashless policy is in violation of federal law.The park service instituted...

A man has been banned from all Buc-ee’s locations for life after bringing his “service duck” along for a jaunt around the store. Circus performer Justin Wood and his online celebrity duck Wrinkle filmed their latest adventure at the world’s largest Buc-ee’s in Sevierville, Tennessee. A circus performer captured a video of the moments when he was allegedly banned from Buc-ee's for life for bringing his service duck inside. The duo were allowed to go on their way once Wood presents IDs proving Wrinkle is a service animal, but shortly after another employee approaches. “Even if it’s considered a service...

Donald Trump said Thursday during a visit to the Texas-Mexico border that Gov. Greg Abbott is “absolutely” on his short list of potential vice presidential candidates for his 2024 run. During a joint interview with Abbott on Fox News, the former president was asked by host Sean Hannity whether Abbott was under consideration for the position. Trump responded that Abbott is “a spectacular man” and he was honored when Abbott endorsed him for president last year. “And he’s done a great job,” Trump said. “Yeah, certainly he would be somebody that I would very much consider.” “So he’s on the...