tagged w/ Texans
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I wonder if Rick Perry's prayer day had anything to do with this accident?
DALLAS (AP) — Texas billionaire and philanthropist Charles Wyly, whose family donated millions of dollars to Republican causes and Dallas arts projects, has died after a car accident in western Colorado, authorities said. He was 77.
Wyly, who maintained a home near Aspen, Colo., was turning onto a highway near the local airport when his Porsche was hit by a sport utility vehicle Sunday, the Colorado State Patrol said in a statement. Wyly died at Aspen Valley Hospital.
"He is among the finest people I have ever known," William Brewer III, Wyly's attorney and long-time friend, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "His contributions in business, philanthropy and civic leadership will forever be remembered."
The other driver suffered moderate injuries.
In Texas, Wyly and his younger brother, Sam, along with their wives, gave $20 million to help build Dallas' performing arts center. They also donated big, but quietly, to Republican causes: the brothers had said they'd given about $10 million to GOP candidates and causes since the 1970s.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry was one of the biggest political beneficiaries, receiving more than $300,000 combined from the Wylys since 2000, according to Texas Ethics Commission reports. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the brothers had donated almost $2.5 million to more than 200 Republican candidates and committees at the federal level over the past two decades.
Last summer, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Wyly and his brother of using offshore havens to hide more than a half-billion dollars in profits over 13 years of insider stock trading. The brothers denied and were fighting the allegations.
Born during the Great Depression, Charles Wyly was a child when the collapsed economy forced the surrender of his family's cotton farm in Lake Providence, La. He and his younger brother went on to attend Louisiana Tech University in the 1950s, then went to work for IBM.
Charles Wyly helped his brother run their startup computer software company, University Computing, and later founded and led several other companies including arts and crafts retail chain Michaels Stores Inc., which was sold in 2006. He also was a former member of a White House Advisory Council for Management Improvement.
Leaders of the Dallas arts community were stunned by news of Charles Wyly's death. Bill Lively, who launched the 2000 campaign to build the $345 million performing arts center in Dallas, told the Dallas Morning News that Wyly was "a critically important force." The complex has a theater named after Wyly.
"He was always positive," Lively said. "He was always optimistic."
For the rest of the story go to the link:I wonder if Rick Perry's prayer day had anything to do with this accident?... more
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A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison had at least two chances to make parole and be set free - if only he would admit he was a sex offender. But Cornelius Dupree Jr. refused to do so, doggedly maintaining his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery, in the process serving more time for a crime he didnt commit than any other Texas inmate exonerated by DNA evidence...
http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk-news/ap/National/75878A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison had at least two... more
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A big city lawyer went duck hunting in rural Texas. He shot and dropped
a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence. As
the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his
tractor and asked him what he was doing. The litigator responded, "I shot a
duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it."
The old farmer replied, "This is my property, and you are not coming over
here." The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in
the United States and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and
take everything you own.
The old farmer smiled and said," Apparently, you don't know how we settle
disputes in Texas. We settle small disagreements like this with the "Three
Kick Rule." The lawyer asked, "What is the Three Kick Rule?" The Farmer replied,
"Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, first I kick you three times
and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up."
The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that
he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.
The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney.
His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel toed work boot into the lawyer's
groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff sent the
lawyer's last meal gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the
farmer's third kick to his rear end sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.
The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet.
Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, "Okay, Now it's my turn."
[I love this part....]
The old farmer smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck."A big city lawyer went duck hunting in rural Texas. He shot and dropped
a bird, but... more
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People were dissatisfied with the re-election of George W.Bush who successfully secured his presidential election in 2004.People were dissatisfied with the re-election of George W.Bush who successfully... more
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NEW YORK — The five skyscrapers were all supposed to rise by early next decade to replace the ravaged World Trade Center, with the city's tallest towers set in a spiral evoking the Statue of Liberty's torch.
They would frame a massive memorial in a tree-filled park, plus a theater and a transportation hub with uplifted wings — one of several symbols intended to defy the terrorists who destroyed the 16-acre site in under two hours.
Standing on the site now — a multi-level labyrinth of concrete and steel, from the entrance resembling the rooftops of an underground city — the sweeping design unveiled 6 1/2 years ago still hasn't materialized.
It's not a pit," Ward said. "Now, it's a sense of rebirth." (-heh-)
Its history is "too sad to even really think about progress," said the 48-year-old Austin, Texas, insurance worker. But "I am a little surprised — I thought there'd be something built there.
When will there be?NEW YORK — The five skyscrapers were all supposed to rise by early next decade... more
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By now, Raider Nation has probably already heard about all of the negatives that they can bear. From the rumors relating to the eventual Lane Kiffin firing to the recent possibility that they'll lose both Nnamdi Asomugha and Shane Lechler this coming offseason, the Nation's faith has taken a beating...By now, Raider Nation has probably already heard about all of the negatives that they... more
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