Free Republic

HOUSTON – A 25 year-old resident of Houston has been ordered to federal prison after he threatened two young girls and required them to engage in commercial sex, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.A Houston federal jury deliberated for one hour before returning a guilty verdict against Romello Lee following less than three days of trial on March 6. He was convicted on one count of trafficking a minor for commercial sex and one count of trafficking a minor by force for commercial sex.Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Lee to serve a total of 480 months in federal...

The Houston Press' 28-year run as the region's alternative weekly ended at approximately 3 p.m. Friday when the nine full-time editorial staff members learned they had lost their jobs and print publication would cease. In a post this afternoon, the newspaper's parent company cited "devastation" from Hurricane Harvey as the final straw. The Press, one of the nation's first alt weeklies to have an online presence, will be produced as a web-only product. Andy Van De Voorde, executive associate editor at parent company Voice Media Group, said in an interview that houstonpress.com would continue to provide news and culture coverage...

Billwhittaker Ted Cruz wants to be President of these United States. While this is unlikely -- the party elites dislike him, view him as an electoral disaster waiting to happen and he would never emerge from the "invisible primary" as the GOP elites' choice -- Cruz dares to dream. Thus, he has been spending an inordinate amount of time in Iowa, known for its social conservatism on the GOP side of the fence. (I wonder how you feel about him spending his time in the Senate as a platform for his presidential aspirations rather than focusing on governing --...

Texas Tech, that bastion of Americanism way out there in Lubbock, has done it again. This time they're not protesting a statue that allegedly features Commies and lesbians, nor are they linking tattoos to social deviance. This time, they're saying liberals hate Sarah Palin because she's beautiful, and libs prefer dogs like Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton and Elena Kagan. Well, at least one Red Raider is. A.W.R. Hawkins writes an online column for the conservative Human Events and proudly lists in his bio that he has a Ph.D. in military history from Tech. Which makes him an expert on dames,...

FAUX FAUX FAUX In a marketing ploy as plain as a mall full of Xboxes, a band of politicians, pundits and pastors is assailing those who dare to voice holiday cheer without the word "Christmas." These militants say seasonal greetings reflect the secular siege on a holiday that rightly belongs to Christians. But the real war on Christmas was fought almost two centuries ago. Although the Rev. Jerry Falwell, television host John Gibson and the American Family Association might deny it, their side won. Christmas today is an inextricable part of U.S. public life, celebrated on TV specials, welcomed in...