TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalThe Calvary Church of Granbury Was Reading the Book of Revelation When the Hail Started
Last fall, I drove down to the Calvary Church of Granbury, a Pentecostal congregation in the little town southwest of Fort Worth that was devastated by last night's tornadoes. It's a tiny building with vivid green carpet, next to an empty field and just up a narrow country road from the town cemetery. I was there to hear Irvin Baxter, an End Times preacher who's pretty sure the Apocalypse is due any minute.
Last night, as Calvary notes on its Facebook page, a group of congregants was sitting in the church, in the middle of reading Revelation 11. The chapter deals with the "two witnesses" who prophesy for "a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth," just before the seventh trumpet sounds. As they reached the last line of the chapter, the hail started.
Well, that's terrifying. Calvary's pastor, Jacob Stump, also wrote on Facebook that several of the churches in town met this morning to determine what they could do. First Christian Church reported that they needed volunteers to help with sorting the donations that have already come in. Check with First Christian or Red Cross DFW if you'd like to help.
Source: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/05/the_calvary_church_of_granbury.php
Hunter, 18, bags 800-pound Texas record alligator
An 18-year-old Fort Bend County high school senior has become the record holder for the heaviest alligator ever caught in Texas.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials have certified an 800-pound gator bagged last week by Braxton Bielski.
He was hunting with his dad and a friend, both Houston police officers, after they won a Parks and Wildlife drawing for a five-day permit to hunt in the Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area in South Texas, about 90 miles south of San Antonio.
Wildlife officials say the 14-foot-3-inch gator could be 30 to 50 years old. It was hooked on a line with raw chicken as bait, then shot. They had to pull the alligator alongside their flat-bottom boat across the lake to a beach area to lift it into their boat.
Photos at http://www.theeagle.com/news/texas/article_d8dc878a-be68-11e2-beb7-001a4bcf887a.html .
[font color=green]The Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area surrounds Choke Canyon Reservoir.[/font]
Judge denies release for Erxleben
A federal magistrate judge on Thursday denied bond for former football player Russell Erxleben, calling him a financial threat to the community and a cheater who manipulated people through fear, guilt and promises of wealth.
Judge Andrew W. Austin said the former NFL punter and three-time All-American kicker at the University of Texas, couldn’t be trusted to abide by the conditions of a supervised release, as allegations that he has continually been involved in criminal activity stem back more than eight years to when he was in prison on another conviction for fraud.
Although an ankle monitor could prevent him from leaving the area before his next court date, “there are other risks that are more amorphous,” and no orders could keep him from continuing to lie and bilk investors, Austin said.
“I believe he has been leading a parallel existence for a long time,” the judge said.
More at http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/erxleben-appearing-in-federal-detention-court-hear/nXspY/?icmp=statesman_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_statesmanstubtomystatesman_launch .
[font color=#B45F04]The article also states. "Prosecutors went even further into his alleged criminal dealings Thursday in a detention hearing spanning more than six hours. They said Erxleben had made statements that he would kill himself before going back to prison, that he led a fraudulent day trading scheme while incarcerated and that he made death threats to customers who complained or asked for their money back."[/font]
Jim Hightower--On-call shifts: The latest corporate shame
Step right up, folks, and take your chances in the Amazing New American Workplace. Constantly high unemployment! Low wages always! No employee bargaining power! A corporate paradise!
This paradise has enriched the already-rich investor elite and rewarded top executives with multimillion-dollar pay packages. It also lets corporations treat the masses of people in today's workforce like Kleenexes: Just use 'em and toss 'em – after all, they're cheap, plentiful... and disposable.
Indeed, taskmasters-in-suits have now redefined the term "hired" to mean that you're tethered to a corporation full-time, but you actually work and get paid for only the few hours a week when the boss calls. This nefarious practice, known as "on-call shifts," is all the rage among national retail chains. Such giants as Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap, and Urban Outfitters require employees to work without set schedules and to be available to have their strings yanked at any time, day or night, even on weekends, with as little as two hours' notice. Likewise, if customer traffic in a store is slow, retail workers who got dressed up, battled the morning commute, and reported on time, can simply be sent away after an hour or so – with no pay for their lost hours.
A recent survey of some 400 retail employees in New York City found that only 17 percent have a set schedule. Those with no set hours, also have no set income – and no life. If you're at the beck and call of the boss, what do you do with your children, how do you make a doctor's appointment, what if you're taking a class or trying to work a second job?
More at http://www.jimhightower.com/node/8032 .
Houston man charged after threats made to synagogues
A Houston man is in custody after authorities accused him of making telephone threats to Jewish houses of worship in the area last month.
On April 30, Dante Phearse called in bomb threats to Congregation Beth Israel, 5600 N. Braeswood, and Congregation Or Ami, 3443 Wilcrest, Houston police said.
Houston police and the FBI launched investigations into the threats. Phearse, 32, was arrested on Tuesday, according to Harris County criminal records.
Officials with the Anti-Defamation League said it was clear law enforcement officers were taking the threats seriously.
More at http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-man-charged-after-threats-made-to-4520090.php .
RNC Hispanic Outreach Director Resigns Over "Intolerance", Becomes Democrat
The Republican National Committee's Director of Hispanic Outreach for Florida, Pablo Pantoja, has quit his post and registered as a Democrat. In his letter of resignation he cited the recent anti-immigrant study by the Heritage Foundation and the general "culture of intolerance surrounding the Republican Party today". The study itself has been making headlines because language it contains is eerily similar to one of its authors' college dissertations that concluded, "no one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites".
The entire study is predicated on the idea that allowing our current immigrant population to become citizens would create an unsustainable burden on current taxpayers. To the contrary, Texas' own Republican Comptroller found, undocumented immigrants are an actual net positive on the economy -- and we have the nation's 2nd largest immigrant population! Her offices study concluded in 2006 that, "The absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our gross state product of $17.7 billion."
At this point the Heritage Foundation has distanced itself from the study's controversial author, who has now "resigned", but the damage is done. Right-wing commentators on every form of media have used the cynical study to hide their anti-immigrant bias behind the veil of fiscal responsibility. What it is really about for immigrants is the opportunity to fully express their basic human rights, the freedom to own a home, raise a family or start a business, and now what should be a more important concern for Republicans - the right to vote.
Source: http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/13528/rnc-hispanic-outreach-director-resigns-over-intolerance-becomes-democrat
PPP Polls: Rick Perry Not Worth Including in Presidential Polls Anymore
From the fine folks at Public Policy Polling:
— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) May 6, 2013
Perry's going to need some ointment for that sick statistical burn.
PPP will have their first national presidential poll out this week that includes Cruz. Will he have a stronger showing than Governor "Oops," who is little more than a rounding error to GOP primary voters at this point?
More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/13520/ppp-polls-rick-perry-not-worth-including-in-presidential-polls-anymore .
[font color=green]He's not worthy!
[/font]
Wayne Slater: Is Ted Cruz the dream date for Iowa conservatives in 2016?
An influential Iowa conservative predicts Sen. Ted Cruz would catapult to the top of the field of potential GOP nominees if he runs for president in 2016. Bob Van der Plaats, head of the social-conservative group Family Leader, says voters on the GOP’s right flank will be looking to coalesce around a strongly conservative nominee. He says Cruz could be that candidate.
“In my opinion, if the caucuses were being held today and you threw in all the potentials … Cruz would be at the top of the list immediately,” Van der Plaats said in an interview. The Texas Republican has only been in the U.S. Senate since January, but Cruz has made headlines as an outspoken critic of the Obama administration, a tea party conservative on fiscal issues, opponent of gun control and adversary of bipartisan immigration efforts that includes a path to citizenship.
Van der Plaats says that’s music to the ears of social conservatives in the first-caucus state that launches the presidential nominating season. “If he wants to do this, I think the door is going to be open,” said Van der Plaats. “People are so thirsty for leadership today, so thirsty for somebody who’s going to be authentic and credible and be what they are – and that’s what they’re seeing in Cruz. So although he’s only served in the Senate a short amount of time, they’re willing to jump in for Cruz.”
Cruz says he’s focused on the Senate, not a future run for president. But there are indications from people around Cruz that he’s considering the idea. Van der Plaats is among Iowa’s leading Christian conservative leaders, who have pressed the GOP to nominate somebody on the right like former Sen. Rick Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. “As we’ve all seen, the John McCains and the Bob Doles who’ve been there forever – they don’t sell with the American public. They believe you’re going to fix DC from outside DC. And what they’re seeing in Ted Cruz is he’s outside DC.” Van der Plaats isn’t backing any particular candidate yet, but he has lamented in the past a divided GOP base that dilutes its impact by supporting several candidates. Analysts say Republicans who oppose a more moderate choice (former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie) could consolidate around a conservative alternative (Santorum, Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal).
Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/is-ted-cruz-the-dream-date-for-iowa-conservatives-in-2016.html/
Pit bull savagely attacks owners in their home
BEEVILLE – A simple swat on the hind end of a 4-year-old pit bulldog Wednesday morning ended with two Beeville residents suffering serious bite injuries and the ultimate death of the animal.
Senior Animal Control Officer Lupe Valdez said Derek Malcom, in his 20s, swatted the dog to keep him from making a mess on a sofa and that led to the dog attacking Linda Engstrom, in her 50s.
Valdez said the dog went for the woman’s legs and ended up biting a chunk out of one arm. She also had bites to both sides of her spine.
The man grabbed a steak knife and tried to fight off the dog, but he also was attacked. The man ended up having a finger amputated after being taken by the Angel Care Ambulance Service to Christus Spohn Hospital Beeville.
More at http://mysoutex.com/view/full_story_landing/22540984/article-Pit-bull-savagely-attacks-owners-in-their-home?instance=landing_2nd_news_lead_story
Texas A&M bomb threat suspect sentenced to 33 months for Texas State bomb scare
A Bryan man charged with making bomb threats to Texas A&M has been sentenced for similar threats made against Texas State University.
Dereon Kelley, 22, on Wednesday was handed a sentence of 33 months in federal prison for the October threats against Texas State.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, who presided over the trial, additionally ordered Kelley to pay a $300 fine and $15,000 in restitution and serve a three-year term of supervision upon his release. Approximately $12,000 of the restitution will be paid to Texas State University and $3,000 will go to Kelley's former girlfriend, Brittany Henderson of Bryan, whom Kelley implicated in the threat and who spent more than a month in jail in San Marcos on charges related to the threat.
Kelley was accused of three federal counts of using the Internet to convey a false threat involving an explosive device in order to intimidate people at Texas State University. The charges carried a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Kelley was found guilty after a two-day trial and one hour of jury deliberation.
More at http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_101843d0-ed49-5a5d-b05d-6742dbf6905a.html .
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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