Posts

Texas City Working To Turn Sewer Water Into Tap Water (+video)

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Titanas/flickrDrastic times call for drastic measures. But what would it take for you to drink tap water that had been recycled straight from the sewer?

The concept sounds crazy but it could happen soon in one North Texas city. Wichita Falls is two hours outside of Dallas. Three years ago 88-percent of Texas was under exceptional drought conditions – that’s the worst classification of drought. Today there are just two small areas that still have that designation and the city of Wichita Falls is in one of them.

You need drive no further than nearby Lake Arrowhead to see how bad the drought is. The lake is one of the main water sources for the town, but it’s only at about 27-percent capacity. Boat docks stand 10 to 15 feet above dry land and the nearest water is hundreds of feet away. The lake bed is littered with dead fish and shells. When the wind blows you’re reminded of a dustbowl.

Every time the water in the lake drops, officials in Wichita Falls consider enacting more severe water restrictions. Through conservation efforts, city water usage dropped from between 45 and 50 million gallons of water each day before the drought, to 12 million gallons a day now. But the water savings still aren’t enough.

“This reuse system will put five million gallons [of water] back in the distribution system a day,” explained Mayor Glenn Barham. “So, it saves us taking five million gallons out of the lake.”

Read more this story HERE.

The First, Legal Gay Marriage In Texas? (+video)

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: WNDJudge Carl Ginsberg presided over two ceremonies its participants believe are the first, legal gay marriage in Texas.

Two couples said their “I-do’s” and all four people consider themselves female. But one member of each couple has had their gender changed surgically from male to female.

“On all of my information, it still says male,” said Ashely Boucher. “So, legally I’m still male in the state of Texas. My presentation would suggest otherwise. But my documentation says that I can marry Genevieve no questions asked.

“If you were born male and became female through being transgendered or having a gender reassignment surgery, they consider you to be biologically male,” said UTA political science professor Thomas Marshall.

The couples struggled to find clerks and judges who would cooperate with the marriages trying as many as 17 courts according to one of the participants, Genevieve Jonte.

Read more from this story HERE.

Wendy Davis Says Texas Not a Red State

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APTexas gubernatorial hopeful and Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis asserted on Thursday in an interview with statesman.com, “Texas is not really a red state, it’s just a non-voting state.”

Davis, who gained notoriety for her 11-hour filibuster against a bill that would have banned late term abortions, may be engaged in wishful thinking rather than admitting the facts about Texas. Since 1994, Republicans have won all of Texas’s 29 statewide offices, giving the state the longest streak of single-party dominance in the country.

These statewide offices include governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state comptroller, land commissioner, and agriculture commissioner, three seats on the Texas Railroad Commission–which oversees the energy sector–and nine seats each on the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals. It bears repeating: not one Democrat has won any of these seats in twenty years.

Read more from this story HERE.

Most Of North Texas City Without Gas Service Or Heat (+video)

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: euthman/flickrTexas Gas Service (TGS) was forced to shut down the gas supply to the entire city of Jacksboro Thursday. Most businesses and residents had no heat, on a day when temperatures struggled to get out of the teens.

The lack of services affected adults and children. The Jacksboro Independent School District even sent students home early and businesses closed all over town.

“I felt the cold breeze right in my face,” recalled Jacksboro resident Ana Karen. “There’s nothing to do [now] but, somehow keep warm.”

Trucks were bringing in compressed natural gas (CNG) to supply the small city hospital, senior living center, warming shelter and emergency operations center.

City manager Mike Smith said gas service started repeatedly turning off and on early Thursday morning. With pilot lights going out, there was a risk for gas buildup inside of structures. TGS notified the city it would have to shut off service completely.

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Missing’ Congressman Stockman In Russia as Part of Congressional Delegation; Rips Media for False Reporting

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

By Brandon Darby and Jonathan Strong.

Missing Texas Congressman Steve Stockman told an associate he was headed to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin, according to an electronic communication reviewed by Breitbart News, and now says he is in London…

Stockman broke his silence on the matter in a text message sent to Breitbart News at 3:26am central time.

“I am on a bipartisan codel. I’m on foreign affairs. Part of my work,” Stockman said, adding that he doesn’t know why a Houston Chronicle reporter said “I’m missing” because “we met with the press every day.”

Stockman also said “I am in a meeting now – London.”

Read more from this story HERE.

_______________________________________________________________________

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Steve Stockman details overseas travels, rips media

By Brandon Darby and Jonathan Strong.

Rep. Steve Stockman told Breitbart News he traveled to Russia, Egypt, Israel and England as part of an official congressional delegation and ripped the media for what he described as a made-up story about his absence from Congress and his Texas district.

The Texas Congressman said members of the delegation held press conferences in each city they visited and that a reporter for the Associated Press – the news organization which most prominently raised questions about Stockman’s whereabouts – had a reporter at one such event in Egypt.

Stockman said the purpose of the trip was to discuss issues relating to terrorism with foreign governments and said the group of lawmakers met with the President of Egypt and a top-ranking general in Israel.

Though the group of five House members had been scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin, the Russian President canceled because of meetings in Davos, Stockman said.

Stockman said the group had also wanted to meet with former NSA contractor and whistle-blower Edward Snowden but did not have enough time because of urgent meetings about terrorist threats to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Read more from this story HERE.

Wendy Davis Slams Pro-Life Paraplegic Opponent: He’s “Never Walked In My Shoes”

/9 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: LifeNews

Photo Credit: LifeNews

It’s just getting worse and worse for abortion activist Wendy Davis, who is falling on her own sword in the Texas gubernatorial race.

First, Davis was caught by a Dallas newspaper lying about her story of being a single mom who overcame adversity. Then, she sought to blame her problems on pro-life candidate for governor Greg Abbott. Now, in attacking Abbot, she’s stuck her foot in her mouth saying he’s “never walked a mile in my shoes.”

Problem is, Abbott can’t. He’s a paraplegic who is confined to a wheelchair. As a conservative blog notes:

There’s a lot in the Wendy Davis story besides Davis and her constructed and false “narrative.” Here is one of Davis’ most recent official statements on the matter, a little masterpiece of accusing the accusers:

We’re not surprised by Greg Abbott’s [her Texas governorship opponent] campaign attacks on the personal story of my life as a single mother who worked hard to get ahead. But they won’t work, because my story is the story of millions of Texas women who know the strength it takes when you’re young, alone and a mother. I’ve always been open about my life not because my story is unique, but because it isn’t.

Read more from this story HERE.

Texas Judge Orders Home Schooled Children Removed from Christian Parents Home

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

A controversy has erupted in Texas after a judge ordered children removed from the home of their Christian homeschooling parents – over the homeschooling itself – even though the Texas Home School Coalition notes the state doesn’t allow that.

A 2005 memo from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services notes that,”Whether parents choose to homeschool their children or send their child to another private or public school is not relevant to the CPS investigation. When CPS staff investigates a family for abuse/neglect, the investigation must focus on the occurrence, or risk, of abuse/neglect and not on the child’s educational setting,” according to the Texas Home School Coalition.

However, of the allegations brought against Trevor and Christina Tutt, who had four biological children and three foster children removed by Child Protective Services several weeks ago, all have been about the educational setting.

According to a report this week at Christian News, social workers were brought in when a child temporarily in the Tutts’ care, a four-year-old with autism, and an eight-year-old, wandered a short distance from the home in September.

A police officer found the children before Tutt, who was searching nearby, and the subsequent report attracted the attention of CPS.

Read more from this story HERE.

Steve Stockman Can’t Lose: The Political Genius of the Texas Firebrand

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Politico

Photo Credit: Politico

John Cornyn saw it coming. Even with no real competition on the horizon, the senior senator from Texas had been hiring staff, building his network and choking his state’s Internet bandwidth with ads that hinted darkly at Texas’s political future without him. Cornyn, an 11-year veteran of the Senate, may have been named the body’s second most conservative member by National Journal, but after criticizing Tea Party hero Sen. Ted Cruz during the prelude to the government shutdown this fall, he had good reason to fear a threat from his party’s far-right fringe. As chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Cornyn had told sitting senators to be prepared for primary challenges—and he took his own advice.

There were rumblings of a challenge from several corners. Tea Party leaders had tried to draft Rep. Louie Gohmert, and evangelical historian David Barton had flirted with running. When conservative activists in Texas spoke privately, other names cropped up—like Ted Cruz’s father, Rafael, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. So when a challenger came—even if he came, like an undergraduate with a term paper, less than half an hour before the filing deadline—Cornyn’s team was prepared.

But still, Steve Stockman?

Yes, that Stockman, the Republican congressman most famous outside Texas for his bombastic use of social media (his Twitter account is legendary, thanks to declarations like “Obamacare is less popular than Chlamydia” ) and outrageous proclamations (like his now-infamous “If babies had guns they wouldn’t be aborted” bumper sticker). For the most part, other Republicans here in Texas seem merely to tolerate him—or, at best, appreciate his ability to fire up the grassroots while maintaining their distance. (One long-time Republican strategist told me the Texas congressional delegation had adopted what he termed the “rabid dog approach” to handling Stockman.) Edward Chen, former vice chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, once summed up Stockman’s place in the GOP for Texas Monthly thus: “He’s a Republican. As a Republican, he’s on our ballot. And that’s about the situation.”

Just to be clear: Nobody in Texas thinks Stockman has a snowball’s chance of winning against Cornyn, and they’re probably right. “This is going to be an irritant,” says Matt Mackowiak, an Austin-based Republican strategist. “But it’s only an irritant.” Some argue that a failed primary challenge from Stockman will help burnish Cornyn’s credentials and distance him from his party’s far right. That may be true—and it may be true, as well, that Stockman’s campaign will help break the populist fever afflicting the state’s GOP.

Read more from this story HERE.

Mystery Illness in Texas Kills Half of Those Infected (+video)

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

Mystery illness claims 4 lives in Montgomery County

Officials with the Montgomery County Health Department are on a mission to find out more about a mystery flu-like illness.

So far, half of the people who have come down with it have died.

According to the health department, all of the patients have had flu-like and/or pneumonia like symptoms. However, all of them have tested negative for the flu.

There have been eight confirmed patients ranging in age from 41 to 68. Four of those patients have died.

Read more from this story HERE.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Mother says mystery illness transformed son into dying patient in days

The mother of the youngest of eight confirmed cases of a mystery illness in Montgomery County is sharing her son’s story.

Dathany Reed, 41, wasn’t feeling well on Thanksgiving. He called out sick from his job at the Golden Corral and went to see doctors at Conroe Regional Medical Center.

Odessa Reed says doctors sent her son home with several prescriptions.

She said her son was admitted to the hospital’s emergency room the next day and ended up on life support.

“It doesn’t make sense,” said Odessa Reed. “How can you talk to a person one day, and they say, I’m not feeling good, and the next day, that person is on life support.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Abortion Destroying Minority Communities: 82% of Abortions in NYC, 64% in Texas, Black and Hispanic Babies

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: LifeNewsThe new report from the Centers for Disease Control had good numbers across the nation when it came to abortion — with abortions declining three percent in 2010 after a five percent decrease in 2009. But they also contained shocking figures showing abortion targets blacks and Hispanics.

The CDC Abortion Surveillance Report dated November 29, 2013 reveals that in 2010, 56.7% of abortions reported to the CDC nationwide were done on Hispanic and Black women.

According to the report, there were 415,479 abortions for known ethnicity reported for selected states in 2010 and 153,045 (or 36.8 percent) were non-Hispanic white babies, 148,261 (or 35.7 percent) were non-Hispanic black babies, 87,240 (or 21.0 percent) were Hispanic babies, and 26,933 (or 6.5 percent) were babies of other races or ethnicities.

The report reveals that a majority of Black or Hispanic babies were aborted in New Jersey (55.9 percent), the District of Columbia (64.8 percent) and Georgia (73.2 percent). In New York City alone 81.9 percent of the babies aborted were Black or Hispanic while in the state of Texas 63.7 percent were Black or Hispanic an increase from 2009.

One leading pro-life activist tells LifeNews the CDC report confirms what many pro-life groups have been saying about abortion and the founder of the Planned Parenthood abortion business, that a eugenics-based racial discrimination is involved.

Read more about abortion destroying minority communities HERE.

______________________________________________________

Women File Hundreds of Complaints Against Indiana Abortionist

Women have filed more than 600 complaints against an Indiana-based abortion practitioner saying he submitted false and misleading reports to state health officials about their abortions.

Representatives from Indiana Right to Life and Lake County Right to Life held a press conference late Tuesday announcing that 626 consumer complaints were filed against Gary’s Friendship Family Planning abortion doctor Ulrich Klopfer, who lives in Illinois but does abortions in Indiana. Each complaint is the result of a terminated pregnancy report containing errors or omissions, the group says.

Klopfer is the same abortion practitioner who has come under fire for failing to report abortions on teen girls who were victims of rape.

Indiana law requires abortion doctors to submit terminated pregnancy reports to the Indiana State Department of Health for every abortion performed. Complaints were sent today to the Indiana Attorney General and delivered to the Lake County Prosecutor. The complaints come less than two months after 17 women filed nearly 500 complaints against Klopfer for improper terminated pregnancy reports for abortions done in Allen County, Indiana.

As the groups informed LifeNews, “Lake County Right to Life and Indiana Right to Life requested copies of the publicly-available terminated pregnancy reports from the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) and reviewed each report supplied by ISDH for abortions done between July 2011 and June 2013. Every terminated pregnancy report had errors or omissions, ranging between one and 15 mistakes per report. In total, pro-life officials found 3,678 errors and omissions on the 626 reports.

Read more from this story HERE.