On Friday, December 26th, Red White and Blue joins The Amigos on KSEV am 700 for a year in review from 5 pm to 7 pm. Tune in.
A Star Is Born: Devon Anderson, Conservative Reformer
The newly elected Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson is an emerging star in the constellation of Texas elected officials.
In office a little over a year ago, she has taken the lead in organizing a diversion program for first time marijuana users designed to get them help and reduce jail overcrowding.
Most recently, she quickly put together all the key players for a body camera program for police officers and found the funding for it.
So, while President Obama and others talk about things he has no say so on, Devon Anderson acts decisively.
Mental Health Help, Give Harris County The Tools And We Can Do More
The Harris County mental health system, run in cooperation with the University of Texas Medical Center, is doing a fine job with short-term stays, working closely with Probate Judges Rory Olsen and Christine Butts.
But there is a problem on long-term stays. The State of Texas' closest facility is over 3 hours from Houston. The distance makes it hard for reintegration with families. Also, the facilities are old and set in rural East Texas. It's hard to recruit and retain needed mental health workers and professionals.
"The major problem facing public mental health since the Harris County Psychiatric Center (HCPC) opened, the population of Harris County has increased significantly. But the number of beds available has not increased. HCPC needs to expand to meet the county's needs," said Judge Olsen. From past experience, local is best, so here's a few ideas - the state should build a longer term facility in Harris County, or fund per client and let Harris County do it like they do with the Harris County Psychiatric Center. Simple answers and smart solutions.
Sony's Retreat In The Face Of North Korean Intimidation, A Sign Of America's Decline Under Obama
We have just had a front row seat witnessing how disrespected America is by our enemies in the world. North Korean hackers have intimidated U.S. motion picture company Sony into not releasing a comedic movie involving North Korea, and the price North Korea paid for this criminal act is exactly nothing.
America, once respected and feared by its enemies, is now essentially a big joke where foreign dictators can trample on the First Amendment.
Can the end of the Obama administration come any sooner?
Can America survive the more than 24 months left of Obama's reign of error?
Guest Editorial: The Once Great Country Of America Is Crumbling Before Our Eyes By Marc Patron Reprinted From The Calgary Sun
America is a mess and the world can barely tear its eyes away from the unfolding train wreck.
Our friends are at a crossroads and the implications for Canada and the rest of the beleaguered free world are monumental.
Like it or not, the U.S.A. is the symbol of world freedom and liberty. Without it, I shudder to think what will happen to us.
America must fight to survive the Obama debacle.
Freedom-loving people are growing more angry, frustrated, and worried with each passing day.
They send me e-mail after e-mail out of desperation.
"What do we do now?"
They have zero faith in their government.
But for Fox, talk radio and conservative online news sites, the media, to its eternal, traitorous disgrace, has gone full Benedict Arnold.
They have been a Democratic lapdog so long, they now act as if they have no choice but to continue protecting Obama.
Former CBS investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson has come as close as anyone to exposing media complicity in covering up scandals such as Benghazi.
And what is the administration's push to regulate the Internet but a shameless attempt to silence online critics.
It only gets worse. Various arms of the state including the IRS, designed to be apolitical, have been subverted and weaponized into attack drones aimed at conservative groups.
Attempts to expose what's going on are stonewalled at the highest levels.
These are nightmarish attacks on freedom-loving people around the world.
Once respected institutions such as academia, the labour movement and the entertainment industry are viewed with great suspicion -- and so they should be.
But worst of all, there's the presidency.
Instead of healing the racial divide, the election of this president has only fanned the flames of grievance and hatred.
The sales pitch/sham that was 'hope and change' is a smoking ruin, trampled and set ablaze in Ferguson.
If the world is lucky, the failure of hope and change will be his only legacy.
But executive amnesty proves this president wants to tear away at the unifying fabric that is a great country -- its Constitution.
This document is being mocked and ignored by a president sworn to uphold it.
Congress has taken the "nobody here but us chickens" approach to keeping a check on executive overreach.
Either the Constitution survives the Obama executive action on amnesty or the U.S. risks devolving further into just another sick, bloated, welfare state where an all-powerful, hopelessly corrupt bureaucratic borg smothers what's left of individual liberty.
On the foreign front, Obama boasts an impressive and growing string of failures.
But the latest impending policy debacle may be his crowning achievement -- the nuclear power of Iran.
Consider this horrifying piece of irrefutable logic: why would Obama attempt to appease and cut deals with a country like Iran, which despises America, unless this president is in sympathy with the views of that country?
Let that sink in over your Thanksgiving turkey.
Such is the state of a great nation. Americans can't rely on the newly invigorated Republican Party to do much but talk.
They think NOT opposing Obama won them their huge victory in the mid-terms.
And now, the GOP think acting like a doormat is a key to winning the presidency in 2016.
But by then, who knows what will be left of their country.
Still, Americans are in a rebellious mood.
Hold onto that, America. It may be all you've got left. There is still time to fight back.
TCR Comment: Our foreign friends see clearly what ails America. We need to wake up.
TCR on the Air
Red, White & Blue featuring TCR Editor Gary Polland, liberal commentator David Jones and moderator Linda Lorelle on Fridays at 7:30 pm on PBS Houston Channel 8.1, replaying Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 8.1, Mondays at 11:30 pm on Channel 8.2 and on the web at www.houstonpbs.org.
Upcoming shows:
12/19/14: Immigration - with guests Jeronimo Cortina and Charles Foster.
12/26/14: Political analyst and author Mark Halperin.
01/16/15: City Issues - with guests Orlando Sanchez, Ellen Cohen, Dr. Jack Christie and Oliver Pennington.
The current show as well as past shows are available on YouTube.
About Your Editor
Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events - The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his fifteenth year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. The last thirteen years he has edited Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the last 11 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections and city elections, all with the purpose of assisting conservative candidates. Gary is also in his 14th year of co-hosting Red, White and Blue on PBS Houston, longest running political talk show in Texas history. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.
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