Free Republic

<p>A master plan of the proposed toll road and rail line from the Oklahoma border to San Antonio was unveiled this morning by the Texas Department of Transportation.</p> <p>This summer, critics panned the secrecy of the privately funded deal and called for financial details to be revealed.</p>

North Texas grows by 150,000 people a year – about the population of Richardson and Rowlett combined. McKinney and Frisco each add 200 newcomers a week. Keeping pace with the mobility needs of the mushrooming region is a losing proposition if we use only traditional means: state fuel taxes and leveraged federal funds. Yet most positions taken by candidates for governor are unrealistically wed to yesterday's formulas for financing roadways. Here's the size of the North Texas funding gap over the next 25 years: a nearly $28 billion shortage for new highways and related projects, according to the Regional Transportation...

HILLSBORO, Texas — Leroy Walters has survived many a threat on the farm that has been in his family for 120 years — droughts, hailstorms, tornadoes, grasshopper attacks. But now he sees a manmade danger on the horizon: a colossal, 600-mile superhighway that will plow clear across Texas, perhaps cutting through Walters' milo and corn fields, obliterating family houses and robbing his grandchildren of their land. "I don't think they're going to want to pay a toll to go across this land," he said. "They want to enjoy it free, as Texans should enjoy it." That kind of fear and...

        .......for $3.78 a jar at H.E.B. !                  

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas chapter of the NAACP asked comedian and independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman on Friday to apologize for using a racial slur during a 1980 nightclub act in Houston. NAACP President Gary Bledsoe said in a letter that Friedman's remarks "invoke the worst racial stereotypes about people of color." Friedman's campaign did not immediately return a call seeking comment. On Thursday, the campaign issued a lengthy statement denying Friedman was a racist and explaining that he used comedy to lampoon bigotry. Friedman told The Associated Press the criticism was orchestrated by his political opponents. Earlier this...

AUSTIN — Republican Gov. Rick Perry criticized his rival Kinky Friedman Thursday for making "racist" comments about blacks. In a video clip widely circulated this week, the entertainer-turned-politician says he would punish sex offenders by throwing them in prison and making them "listen to a Negro talking to himself." He also called the term Negro a "charming word" in the CNBC interview, which first aired months ago. Friedman, running as an independent, offered no apologies and says his blunt rhetoric is sorely needed in an otherwise timid political culture. Perry, asked about the remarks during a wide-ranging news conference at...

Gubernatorial candidate and professional wiseacre Kinky Friedman was accused Wednesday of making another racially offensive remark _ this time in a year-old interview in which he said sexual predators should be thrown in prison and forced to "listen to a Negro talking to himself." The independent candidate already was under fire for referring to Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Texas "crackheads and thugs." ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Houston Chronicle have reported on an interview with Friedman that aired on CNBC last year in which the country singer and comedian was asked what to do with sexual predators. "Throw...

Perry and Strayhorn have regressed, Strayhorn by a considerable margin, while Bell (15 to 23) and Friedman (16 to 23) have moved up. Bell is finally consolidating Democratic support (from a pathetic 32 percent in April to 44% in July and 55% this time) and is getting more Independents (from 10% to 18%), while Friedman has picked up Republicans (from 10% to 23%) and more Indies (32% to 39%). Both Perry (65% to 56%) and Strayhorn (20% to 14%) have seen their GOP strength decline. Strayhorn has also seen her Democratic support wane, as she's dropped from 30% to 20%.

AUSTIN - Kinky Friedman has thrived on brash commentary, outlandish attire and crude humor. But some critics say the independent candidate for governor has gone too far with his comments about African-Americans. Friedman, in a video clip that some of his opponents began circulating Tuesday, calls Negro a “charming word” and uses it in an explanation of what he would do to sexual predators if elected governor of Texas in November. “Throw them in prison and throw away the key and make them listen to a Negro talking to himself,” Friedman said in the TV interview, which CNBC broadcast late...

Friedman leads field in individual donations; Perry holds cash lead AUSTIN (AP) - Comedic candidate Kinky Friedman has far and away the most individual donations in the governor's race this year, collecting campaign cash from thousands across Texas and across the country. Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads in total money, followed by independent Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn - both piling up millions of dollars and benefiting from some large contributions of $100,000 or more. With Perry and Strayhorn holding that strong financial advantage entering the Nov. 7 election, Friedman will be working to capitalize on what appears to be a...

Governor hopeful Bell says changing schools priority for state's future BY ROBIN BRISCOE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell said he wants to build the Texas that most only envision in their dreams. He believes he offers a new vision of positive change for the state and encouraged an excited crowd of about 60 Democrats Thursday evening to unite to make it happen. Bell said he believes changing public schools is the No. 1 priority to a brighter future, adding that there aren't enough bandages to just fix it. "We keep falling further and further behind the rest of the...

Kinky Friedman says he favors legalizing marijuana to keep nonviolent users out of prison. If Texas elects him governor, he says, he'll try to get locked-up pot users released to make room for more violent criminals. "I think that's long overdue," Friedman told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "I think everybody knows what (U.S. Sen.) John McCain said is right: We've pretty well lost the war on drugs doing it the way we're doing it. Drugs are more available and cheaper than ever before. What we're doing is not working." Friedman, the often irreverent singer, entertainer and mystery...

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign opponents are hoping his Trans-Texas Corridor becomes a central campaign issue, and it is now the focus of a new online campaign attack. It's an animation, like the JibJab cartoons that took aim at President Bush during the last election. But the creators say their message is anything but funny. It's the latest shot in the Texas governor's race, and it takes aim at Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor. An online animated video calls Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor a land grab that will use eminent domain to kick Texans out of their homes, farms and ranches. "Eminent domain is...

A Houston-area lawmaker said Tuesday that she is "vehemently insulted" by independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman's derogatory comments about Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Friedman last week attributed a spike in Houston's crime rate to the "crackheads and thugs" who evacuated New Orleans. "He has demonstrated a total lack of human sensitivity," said state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. "The people of Katrina have lost everything and are suffering not only from the loss of loved ones, but the trauma of the event itself. What has precipitated from this tragedy is behavior that results from a disastrous event." Friedman campaign spokeswoman Laura Stromberg...

AUSTIN - Cigar-chomping cowboy Kinky Friedman seems to be offering a home for conservatives disgruntled by Gov. Rick Perry's administration. Friedman, the independent gubernatorial candidate, has said he'll reduce state spending, eliminate the new business tax and use the state surplus to curtail illegal immigration and crime in Houston if he's elected in November. It's a platform that resonates with Republicans who say they feel betrayed by Perry's policies, especially the new business tax they call a state income tax in disguise. His platform so closely matches the agendas of groups like Texans for No New Taxes and Citizens for...

GOVERNOR'S RACE Contrasting views emerge on the mix of faith, politics Candidates make their beliefs known in wake of national push for a piece of religious vote AUSTIN - God is everywhere in the race for Texas governor. And in this crowded field, there's plenty of room for interpretation on just what it means to bring faith to public service. Is it Gov. Rick Perry campaigning against gay marriage and signing abortion restrictions into law at a church school gym? Is it Democrat Chris Bell calling Texas' budget morally out of balance under the GOP incumbent because of children who...

AUSTIN — Days after being criticized for derogatory comments about Hurricane Katrina evacuees, independent gubernatorial hopeful Kinky Friedman struck back at candidates who pander to minorities. "I don't eat tamales in the barrio, I don't eat fried chicken in the ghetto, I don't eat bagels with the Jews for breakfast," said Friedman, who is Jewish. "That to me is true racism." The comment last week was intended to reflect that he's not afraid of risking a little unpopularity for the sake of being honest, campaign spokeswoman Laura Stromberg said Monday. "He's not going to become the politician that people in...

Seething at what they consider racist slurs against African-Americans displaced by Hurricane Katrina, activists here Friday took verbal aim at gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman and west Houston residents who last week urged city officials to send evacuees back home. "The nerve of the white man to talk about shipping anyone anywhere," Houston activist Quanell X told a small group of reporters and the public Friday at a Texas Southern University news conference. "This is disgraceful." His comments came as local and New Orleans activists gathered in Houston to craft a response to the comments, which they said smeared the estimated...

AUSTIN — Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman said Thursday he can be critical of "crackheads" in Houston because he was once on cocaine himself. ADVERTISEMENT "As a musician, I was stoned a lot of the time. And I probably raised a lot of hell, and was involved with a number of beautiful women as I recall, and I don't regret any of it," Friedman said. "At least I never killed anybody. I mean, even (U.S. Sen.) Ted Kennedy can't say that," Friedman said, referring to the 1969 incident in which Kennedy's car plunged off a Chappaquiddick bridge, killing his passenger,...

Who should be governor of Texas? 8:30 CDT Sept. 8, 2006 Carole Keeton Strayhorn --31 percent Richard Friedman -- 43 percent Rick Perry -- 26 percent Democrat Chris Bell not included in the poll