Posts Tagged ‘Crime’
Friday, June 13th, 2014
Polling keeps finding a majority in favor of vague “immigration reform” because of the way the questions are asked.
Hint: Any question that asks “Do you support comprehensive immigration reform including enforcement…” is already a lie, since we know that the Obama Administration has no intention of enforcing existing immigration laws.
Things immigration polls don’t ask:
Should we enforce existing laws?
Should we implement E-verify?
Is the Obama Administration faithfully enforcing immigration law?
Do you approve of the Obama Administration dumping tens of thousands of illegal alien felons onto America’s streets?
These are the things liberal MSM pollsters refrain from asking because they know they won’t like the public’s answers, and it won’t help their push to scare Republicans into passing illegal alien amnesty.
Indeed, 72% of those polled last year “said they support reducing the illegal immigrant population by requiring employers to check workers’ legal status, fortifying the border, and getting the cooperation of local police.”
But as an “enforcement first” approach appears to be off the table until Obama leaves office, the only responsible thing for Republicans to do is refrain from passing any immigration “reform” until such time as the White House is occupied by someone willing to actually obey the law.
Tags:amnesty, Border Controls, Crime, Illegal Aliens, Media Watch, Obama Scandals
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Media Watch, Obama Scandals | No Comments »
Thursday, June 12th, 2014
It’s been a while since I did a roundup of gun news, so here it is. Just don’t be surprised if you read some of this on gunny blogs weeks ago…
Obama praises “Australia’s gun laws.” Which is to say, the total confiscation of all firearms from law-abiding citizens.
So how much “safer” has New York’s gun-grabbing SAFE act made New York City?
In the last month alone, 129 people were shot, according to the latest CompStat figures, or 43.3 percent more than for the same period last year.
Since January, there has been an overall 13.2 percent increase in shooting victims, while 10.2 percent fewer guns have been recovered compared to 2013.
Of course, some of that is probably due to the work of new Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio…
Oklahoma’s House and Senate successfully override governor Mary Fallin’s veto of a bill establishing a 15 day denial window for local law enforcement to turn down approval of certain NFA-regulated firearms and accessories (silencers, suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machine guns, etc.), after which approval becomes automatic. Why a Republican governor tried to veto a popular pro-Second Amendment bill (which passed 39-0 in the Senate and 86-3 House, which puts Fallin to the left of many state Democrats) in a deep red state is a deep mystery…
CNN admits it got played by the lying liars at Everytown for Gun Safety, who produced a map of “school shootings,” 80% of which were easily debunked as bogus. (Hat tip: Alphecca.)
George Soros-funded Moms Demand Action demands Tulsa Chipolte kick out the Oklahoma Open Carry group. The result?
The manager refused to kick out OKOCA and even gave them free drinks. MDA activists then proceeded to take pictures of the gun owners and attempted to portray them as intimidating and threatening. The management wasn’t having any of it; he threw Moms Demand Action out of his store!
How did I miss this? The son of infamous Philadelphia abortion doctor (and now convicted felon) Kermit Gosnell “shot several times” by a homeowner during an “alleged home invasion.” Gosnell family values…
Why does the sheriff of an Indiana county with a population of 13,124 need a 60,000 pound mine-resistant MRAP vehicle? (Hat tip: Borepatch.)
School shooting stopped by good guy with a gun. (Hat tip: Say Uncle.)
Why Civil Rights and Gun Rights Are Inseparable. This is a review of Nicholas Johnson’s Negroes and the Gun: The Black Tradition of Arms.
The NRA says, in effect, “Hey, cool it with the Open Carry hi-jinks.”
Target considering a gun ban. Contact links there to let them know this is a bad idea…
Armed Cincinnati homeowner confronts three home invaders. Result: All three arrested, one with life-threatening injuries. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes…
Probably the saddest story you’ll read all year. Seriously. We’re talking industrial strength sad here. Click with caution. (Hat tip Dwight.)
Debunking the latest over-hyped bullet.
Tags:Bill De Blasio, Crime, Everytown for Gun Safety, Guns, Kermit Gosnell, New York, New York City, Oklahoma
Posted in Crime, Guns | No Comments »
Thursday, June 5th, 2014
I’ve been busy with other things, so until Dwight covered it, I didn’t realize that indicted California state senator Leland Yee’s suspended campaign still came in third in the race for California Secretary of State, pulling in a quarter-million votes.
Yee finished ahead of ethics watchdog Dan Schnur, a former chairman of the state Fair Political Practices Commission, who framed his campaign around cleaning up Sacramento. Yee also finished ahead of Derek Cressman, a Democrat and former director of the good-government group Common Cause.
“Sure, he’s been indicted on a gun trafficking and murder-for-hire scheme, but I really liked his opposition to banning shark fin soup.”
Alternately, maybe all California voters just naturally assume that all Democratic office holders in their state are crooked.
In other Leland Yee news:
California’s Senate Rules Committee refuses to release his legislative calendar. Because you puny peasants have no right to know what slimy deals your betters are making behind closed doors.
The presiding judge has ordered the material released to the defense attorneys sealed, as per Yee’s wishes, but over the objections of the lawyers for Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow.
“There are sensitive materials identifying numerous individuals who are not believed to have engaged in any criminal activities, but who were nonetheless captured on FBI surveillance or documented in FBI reports, for example after being introduced by charged defendants to undercover agents. Such materials, if improperly disclosed, could be used to besmirch these otherwise innocent individuals,” noted the April 8 motion for a protective order.
Chow’s lawyers, Tony Serra and his team, who claim their client is innocent, take issue with this reasoning.
”He knows the politicians, the celebrities who were investigated and through this order of his gagging us, there’s an implication he’s almost protecting their reputation,” Serra said about Breyer.
Tags:California, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Leland Yee, Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Elections | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014
Lots of news on the Texas vs. California front. An audit turns up $31 billion in California budget mistakes, Democrats hike the minimum wage there, Jerry Brown tries to do something about the growing CalSTARS pension deficit, and people and businesses continue to depart the “Golden State” for Texas…
You know how Democrats were crowing that California had a budget surplus? Forget about it:
The California Bureau of State Audits set off a scandal on June 1st by disclosing that the State Controller’s Office made accounting misstatements amounting to $31.65 billion. The timing of the announcement may be devastating to the Democrats who expected to use their super-majority to pass billions of dollars in increased spending, but may now find the net effects of the accounting restatements are a $7 billion General Fund deficit.
Snip.
As the former Treasurer of Orange County, California it is my preliminary judgment that under state law the negative $7.847 billion impact from overstating general fund assets and revenues and overstating deferred tax revenues may create an “on-budget” deficit to the state’s $96.3 billion “General Fund Budget.”
From the same audit: “There was a deferred tax-revenue figure posted as $6.2 billion when it was actually $6.2 million.”
California Senate votes to hike minimum wage to $13 an hour. It’s like they want to export ALL their jobs to Texas.
Wealth continues to move from high tax states to low tax states. “The nine states without a personal income tax gained $146 billion in new wealth while the nine states with the highest income tax rates lost $107 billion.”
Union-dominated states are sinking further into economic stagnation as Democratic politicians increasingly dominate the local political climate. In 2012, California Democrats won a supermajority in both houses of the legislature and proceeded to accelerate a tax and spending spree that has been ongoing for two decades. For example, California now has the nation’s top state income-tax rate, at 13.3 percent.
Those kind of policies have consequences. The Manhattan Institute released a report in 2012 that found that since 1990, California had lost nearly 3.4 million residents to other states with lower tax rates.
Snip.
The U.S. is swiftly becoming a tale of two nations. States that are following the Reagan model of low taxes and incentives are booming while states that are opting for the Obama model of wealth redistribution and European welfare-state economics are stagnating.
Texas’ unemployment rate “has now been equal to or below the national average since January 2007 and below California’s rate—4th highest in the nation—for 93 consecutive months.”
A look at how many more billions per year California taxpayers will be coughing up for the inevitable CalSTARS bailout.
“Alameda Unified’s pension costs could nearly triple and those of its teachers could rise by 25 percent under Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal to reform the California State Teachers Retirement System.”
But even though its a step in the right direction, Brown’s proposals stretch out installments so far that they’re still not fiscally responsible. “Even with the higher rates, the debt would continue to grow until 2026. That’s because the amortization over 32 years means the payments would essentially not even cover the interest costs for the first 12.”
And the assumptions behind the repayment schedule sound like fantasy: “The state still faces a huge unfunded liability in the teachers’ pension fund—the governor’s proposal would increase employee’s contributions by 3 percent and increase school district’s by nearly 2 ½ times and it would still take 30 years to close the gap with a generously estimated 7.5 percent annual return.”
Judge rules CalPERS can be sued for mishandling a long-term insurance program.
Thanks to various legal rulings, there will be more felons on California streets. “Release on parole continues a steady climb in California. In just the past five years, over twice as many convicts serving life sentences have been paroled than in the last two decades combined.”
Cargo aviation firm Ameriflight is relocating from Burbank to Dallas/Ft. Worth.
Sony Pictures Imageworks visual effects house is relocating to Canada.
Tesla narrows down list of possible factory locations to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Not on the list: His home state of California. “The winning state will need to have all the necessary permits approved by the time Tesla plans to break ground next month. With the onerous requirements of the California Environmental Protection Act (CEQA) and other environmental regulations, Tesla would be lucky to break ground by 2017 – when its battery factory is scheduled to open.”
New effort to bring California’s underfunded health liabilities onto the books. “Legislation in the early 1990s created an investment fund for California state worker retiree health care, but lawmakers never put money in the fund.”
Remember the FBI agent who shot and killed a suspect connected with the Boston marathon bombing? Turns out he receives $50,000 a year in disability pay from the Oakland Police Department. And he’s been getting that since 2004, when he retired at age 31. “59% of Oakland Police Department retirees have received disability retirements.” (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Why people are moving to Texas:
As a growing number of Americans choose to call Texas home, it is critical that policymakers not lose sight of the reasons why: low taxes, limited government, and personal responsibility. Liberty is popular. That’s a message that needs reinforcement, particularly at the local level where some of the macro level trends involving taxes, spending, and debt are moving in the wrong direction. We can keep Texas and our cities beacons of prosperity and flourishing — but to do that, we must understand the principles that got us here, and defend them in policy and the public square.
Some California cities have hidden taxes just to fund government worker pensions. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Lawsuit over California teacher’s union seniority rules to go to trial.
Jerry Brown may let California commit more Kelo-like eminent domain abuses.
Sriracha followup: The Irwindale City Council voted Wednesday night to drop its declaration that the hot sauce plant was a public nuisance.
Just so I’m not accused of glossing over the occasional bit of bad Texas economic news, Motorola Mobility (which is owned by Google) is closing their Texas smartphone assembly plant. But I think this says more about Motorola Mobility’s viability in a smart phone market dominated by Apple and Samsung than about Texas’ economy…
Tags:Ameriflight, Budget, California, CalPERs, CalSTARS, Crime, Democrats, Economics, pension crisis, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sriracha, Tesla Motors, Texas, unions
Posted in Budget, Crime, Democrats, Economics, Texas, unions, Welfare State | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 2nd, 2014
The witchhunt against UT regent Wallace Hall for uncovering cronyism and favoritism in UT admissions may be coming to an an end, thanks to Dan Patrick’s decisive win the Lt. Governor runoff. Patrick has constantly supported Hall in his investigative efforts and condemned the attempt to impeach him.
The effect of Patrick’s statement was immediate. The next day, a legislative committee that had met to draft articles of impeachment against Hall failed to do so. Several members of the committee were quoted saying that it would take a while. Others expressed hope that the Travis County District Attorney would, basically, take the case off their hands.
The piece goes on to note that it is unlikely for Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (who is up to his eyeballs in the scandal) to call a special session just to consider the impeachment of a regent who earns no salary. That would put off a House vote to send the formal charges of impeachment to the senate until next year, when then Lt. Governor Patrick, who controls the Senate agenda, would have numerous tools to delay or kill consideration of the impeachment charges.
In other Wallace Hall/UT Scandal news, the Dallas Morning News published an editorial by Joe Straus ally Charles Matthews in which he tut-tuts the scandal, saying “nothing to see here.”
Says Matthews: “A review has already been conducted by the UT system. After a nine-month inquiry, the report released to the public ‘did not uncover any evidence of a systematic, structured or centralized process of reviewing and admitting applicants recommended by influential individuals.'”
Translation: We’ve investigated ourselves and found ourselves innocent! At least in “the report released to the public,” which seems and awfully specific formulation. (And how about non-“systematic, structured or centralized” abuse?)
The biographical blurb on Matthews states that “Charles Matthews, a Dallas resident, is former vice president and general counsel of the Exxon Mobil Corp.” But the editorial fails to note that Matthews was the University system chancellor from 2005-2010 (i.e., at least some of the scandal presumably occurred on his watch), which would seem to be fairly important information for readers to judge his impartiality.
Also, Hall has threatened to sue one of his legislative critics for making false statements about him…
Tags:Charles Matthews, college, Crime, Dallas Morning News, Dan Patrick, education, Joe Straus, University of Texas, Wallace Hall
Posted in Austin, Crime, Texas | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 15th, 2014
Do you remember District 27 Democratic State Representative Ron Reynolds? I mentioned his indictment back in 2012 on barratry charges in 2012. (For those unfamiliar with the term, “barratry” essentials amounts to illegal ambulance chasing.) Evidently the 2012 charges were thrown out due to fallout from the comic book theft scandal.
However, Brittany Pounders at Liberty Juice brings us news that Reynolds was again indicted on barratry charges in 2013, this time in Montgomery County.
It seems he was a real go-getter in the barratry department:
Reynolds was not only smart enough to profit from the lawyer fees he generated as an ambulance chaser, he also had part ownership in the Greenspoint Health and Injury Clinic, the clinic where these “victims” were sent to be “evaluated” after an accident, giving him a double profit whammy. This practice puts the sleaze in lawyer.
It seems that the Montgomery County Police Reporter is the only news outlet covering the story, and they have significant details on how Reynolds’ boiler-room legal solicitation call operation worked.
“I am an appointment setter for 12 different law firms in Houston. Because the police report shows that you are in the right, at no charge to you, you are eligible to have a rental car while your car gets fixed and you are eligible to go to the doctor to get checked out. Additionally if you went to an emergency room, your bills will be paid and you can receive a personal injury check from $3000 to $6000. If you are interested all you have to do is set an appointment for one of the law firms to have a representative come out to your home to meet with you.”
Liberty Juice also notes Reynolds’ previous legal problems (twice sanction by the bar, several settled lawsuits) and that he has a Republican election opponent in David Hamilton.
Tags:Crime, Harris County, Montgomery County, Ron Reynolds, Texas
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Texas | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
I’m on enough mailing lists that I get a lot of campaign/PAC/etc. solicitations. One of the ones I get pretty regularly in email are missives from “Patriots for Economic Freedom” seemingly soliciting for one or another notable conservative candidates.
Take, for example, this one for Ted Cruz. They’ve also done solicitations featuring Allen West and Mia Love, and I just got one this morning for Oklahoma Senate candidate T. W. Shannon.
Just one tiny little problem: Ted Cruz never authorized Patriots for Economic Freedom to solicit on his behalf.
Well, actually two problems: The money Patriots for Economic Freedom raises doesn’t seem to get to the candidates. Indeed, the lion’s share seems to go to consultants Tyler Whitney and Dan Backer.
That’s right: “Patriots for Economic Freedom” is a scam PAC, and has been pulling their scam since at least 2012.
I don’t know who exactly is selling Patriots for Economic Freedom their email list (though I’m looking in your direction, NRO and Breitbart), but they need to stop. Every dollar spent supporting a scam PAC is a dollar not spent actually supporting a conservative candidate.
And someone should consider suing Patriots for Economic Freedom for false advertising.
And if you want to donate to Allen West, Mia Love or T.W. Shannon, do it directly.
Tags:Crime, Dan Backer, Elections, fundraising, Lee Stranahan, Mia Love, Patriots for Economic Freedom, scam, T. W. Shannon, Ted Cruz, Tyler Whitney
Posted in Crime, Elections | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, May 7th, 2014
The United States House of Representatives votes 231-187 to hold former IRS Lois Lerner in contempt over the IRS scandal. Six Democrats joined House Republicans in voting for the contempt charge. The House also voted to request that Eric Holder appoint a special prosecutor, with an additional twenty more Democrats voting in favor of that as well.
This vote follows on the heels of emails that revealed Lerner coordinating with Obama’s Department of Justice to harass conservative groups.
If Nixon’s IRS did what Obama’s IRS did to suppress the speech of his political opponents, is there any doubt those charges would receive their own line items in his articles of impeachment?
Tags:Crime, Democrats, IRS, Lois Lerner, Obama Scandals
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Obama Scandals | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014
You may remember back in 2012 when I reported on Democratic Party candidate for Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Constable Robert “Bobby” Maldonado being caught with over $1 million cash in his car’s trunk. Well, I now have a Hidalgo County guilty plea update.
But not on Maldonado. Last time I checked, he was out on a $200,000 bond.
No, I have an update on a completely different Hidalgo County Democratic Party law enforcement officer charged with money laundering.
Former Hidalgo County Sheriff Guadalupe “Lupe” Treviño, a nine-year veteran of the office and a fixture of the region’s Democratic Party, pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges of money laundering. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said the former lawman “received cash contributions for his election campaign from alleged drug trafficker Tomas ‘El Gallo’ Gonzalez.”
Trevino’s former chief of staff, Maria P. Medina, also plead guilty.
Also keep in mind that this was after Trevino prepared termination papers for his second in command, Jose Padilla after the feds arrested him for “marijuana smuggling and money laundering,” also reportedly in the pay of Gonzalez.
I wonder how many other shoes might drop.
Texas Attorney General (and 2014 Gubernatorial favorite) Greg Abbott penned this editorial on the topic, containing this great quote (albeit it one only tangentially related to the question of border corruption):
Conservative is not a color, it is not a race, it is not an ethnicity. It is a commitment to the idea that every American has a chance to succeed; that faith and family are foremost; that jobs and education are the best pathway to a better future; and that secure communities are a part of all that.
Tags:Crime, Democratic Party, Greg Abbott, Guadalupe “Lupe” Trevino, Hidalgo County, Rio Grande Valley, Robert "Bobby" Maldonado, Texas, Tomas "El Gallo" Gonzalez
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Texas | No Comments »
Monday, April 21st, 2014
More details and repercussions from the indictment of California State Senator Leland Yee and his criminal associates on gun-trafficking and other charges:
Feds plan to add racketeering charges to the Yee indictment.
Prominent Democrat Willie Brown (former Speaker of the California House and Mayor of San Francisco) wonders what the big deal is with the Yee indictment:
Give the guy a break. When all is said and done, his alleged crimes come down to taking campaign contributions in return for issuing proclamations, using campaign funds to set up a meeting and taking campaign funds for writing a letter.
Never did he sell his vote, steal public money or actually put money in his own pocket, as far as I can tell.
None of Yee’s decisions affected the public.
I’ve gone over the FBI’s criminal complaint and, from what I can see, the biggest crime he was accused of was trying hustle some undercover FBI agents who were out to get alleged Chinatown gang leader Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow.
First, I don’t think Brown has read that indictment carefully enough. Second, notice how prominent Democrats seem to think that some felonies are just no big deal…
“Leland Yee symbolizes the pay-to-play virus that has infected our entire body politic.”
But don’t worry, Californians! Your Democratic Party-controlled government has the solution to all this slime and corruption: “intensive ethics training for senators and staffers.” Because ordinarily people just wouldn’t know that engaging in illegal arms trafficking to Islamic rebels was wrong. “Was that wrong? Should I not have done that?”
Alleged money laundering co-conspirators Leslie Yun and James Pau granted bail. They’re also accused of stolen stolen cigarette smuggling, marijuana distribution, and owning “a massage parlor that provides sexual services for its customers.”
Back when Yee was a mere school board President, someone once sent him a message in the form of a pig’s head with a clever embedded in its skull.
Yee’s defense team accuses FBI of entrapment.
Chow’s lawyers also accuse the FBI of entrapment, saying that the FBI threw millions of dollars at him. His lawyer also says that “the $58,000 Chow received from undercover agents were legal gratuities, not kickbacks for illegal activity.” Yeah, good luck pushing that theory…
Tags:California, Crime, Democrats, FBI, Guns, James Pau, Leland Yee, Leslie Yun, prostitution, Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, San Francisco, Willie Brown
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Guns | No Comments »