Free Republic

HOUSTON, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in the U.S. state of Texas have issued a measles alert due to a sharp increase of cases this year. About a dozen people have been confirmed to have measles in Texas so far this year, local media outlet Houston Chronicle on Sunday quoted state health authorities as saying. Texas had six reported cases of measles in 2011, while no cases were reported in 2012, according to the report. Given the alarming rise, state health officials are urging immunization and asking health care providers to watch for potential exposures and patients with measles...

Not long ago it was discovered that Amazon was operating a facility in Texas without paying sales tax. This of course was a problem because everyone else in Texas pays sales tax, including the small local bookstores. A little over a year later, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has announced an agreement with Amazon that settles the tax dispute and will bring 2,500 new jobs to Texas and $200 million in capital investments. This is great news for the Texas economy. This is also great news for Amazon.com because Texas is very business friendly and Amazon will enjoy a great environment...

Can we even call what went down at Dartmouth last night a debate? Not in my book. But even so, the word is out that Governor Rick Perry is dead in the water after last night’s “debate” and the reason is that he is a rotten “debater” and can’t translate the Texas economic miracle into greater American lingo-ese. Perry couldn’t win American Idol, that’s for sure. But I still think writing off the governor of the most successful state in the union is a mistake Americans might not be able to afford at this point. The fruit of solid economic...