Posts Tagged ‘Texas’
Friday, January 8th, 2016
Another one of Obama’s “refugees” makes his presence known:
Authorities said Thursday that two Iraqi refugees have been arrested on terrorism-related charges in Houston and California.
According to the FBI’s Houston office, Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, was charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, unlawfully attempting to gain U.S. citizenship and making false statements.
Al Hardan, a Palestinian born in Iraq, entered the United States as a refugee in November 2009 and has lived in Houston since being granted legal permanent residence in August 2011, the FBI said in a prepared statement.
Authorities said Al Hardan is accused of attempting to provide support and resources, including “training, expert advice and assistance and personnel — specifically himself — to a known foreign terrorist organization.”
The FBI also said that Al Hardan lied on his application to be a naturalized U.S. citizen.
“He allegedly represented he was not associated with a terrorist organization when, in fact, he associated with members and sympathizers of ISIL throughout 2014,” the FBI said.
Somehow all these terrorists and rapists keep slipping through that “rigorous screening” Obama likes to talk about…
Tags:Border Controls, Crime, Houston, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jihad, Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, terrorism, Texas
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Jihad, Texas | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 6th, 2016
Three of the top Bandidos leaders have caught federal charges.
National leaders of the Bandidos biker gang were arrested Wednesday on charges of racketeering and waging a deadly “war” on the rival Cossacks gang, federal authorities said.
An indictment announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Antonio accuses three Bandidos leaders of sanctioning a three-year fight that included violent clashes with rival gangs and distribution of methamphetamine.
The accusations focus on a rivalry that came under renewed attention in May, when a meeting of biker groups at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, ended in gunfire that left nine people dead.
Authorities believe that the fatal confrontation began when members of the Cossacks crashed a meeting of a confederation of biker clubs that included the Bandidos at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. The dispute ended in gunfire between the bikers and police standing nearby.
The federal indictment accuses John Portillo, the Bandidos’ national vice president, of using dues and donations to pay legal expenses of its members days after the Waco shooting. Portillo, along with national president Jeffrey Pike and national sergeant-at-arms Justin Cole Forster, are charged with racketeering, drug distribution and other crimes.
None of those three shows up on the list of bikers arrested at the Waco shootout.
“Using dues and donations to pay legal expenses of its members days after the Waco shooting…” Is that illegal? I’m actually asking here. I’m not aware of that violating any specific law, but I could be wrong.
Federal charges are heavy, as Uncle Sam has essentially unlimited resources with which to investigate and make the case. As the Bandidos have been involved in drugs in the past, that may be the easiest charge to make stick. But it’s still mighty curious that no one has been charged with murder for a shootout that left nine dead….
Tags:Bandidos Motorcycle Gang, Cossacks Motorcycle Gang, Crime, Jeffrey Pike, John Portillo, Justin Cole Forster, Texas, Waco
Posted in Crime, Texas | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2016
I hope everyone else has had a happier New Year than I, since my father passed away after a long battle with cancer Sunday.
On the plus side, I saw the new Star Wars and the Texans made the playoffs. Doesn’t quite balance out, though…
Remember: It’s OK to rape 13-year olds as long as you’re a well-connected Democratic Party donor. Remember, this is the case that had Bill Clinton taking the Lolita Express to Pedophile Island.
“Nobody needed criminal convictions to drop Cosby – just multiple accusations of sexual assault and some out-of-court payouts. But multiple accusations of sexual assault, out-of-court payouts and the loss of his law license are apparently not enough to bar Bill Clinton from another eight years in the White House.”
Hillary Cliton’s many conflicts of interest:
At Hillary Clinton’s confirmation hearing for secretary of state, she promised she would take “extraordinary steps…to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Later, more than two dozen companies and groups and one foreign government paid former President Bill Clinton a total of more than $8 million to give speeches around the time they also had matters before Mrs. Clinton’s State Department, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
Fifteen of them also donated a total of between $5 million and $15 million to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the family’s charity, according to foundation disclosures.
Six things a Washington Post reporter found out following Ted Cruz around. “The majority of the undecided voters I have spoken with have said they were very impressed after hearing Cruz speak. Many of them said they were undecided coming into a rally and supported him when it was over.”
Obama to judicial branch: “Screw you, I’m going to give work permits to illegal aliens you’ve ordered deported.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“Unfortunately, 2016, the little of it that we have so far seen, is already beginning to look like another year of Grim Slide, of a world stumbling down a slippery slope to become less secure, less stable, and less free.”
People are forgetting what an awful festering hellhole the Soviet Union was.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have severed diplomatic relations over Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric, and Kuwait has recalled their ambassador from Tehran; don’t be surprised if the other Sunni nations follow suit. Good thing we have a Nobel Peace Prize winner in the White House…
Turkey’s Prime Minister: Hey, you know who was a model of effective leadership? Adolf Hitler.
Swiss General: Europe “On The Verge Of Civil War,” Citizens Must Arm Themselves.
Oslo police: “We Have Lost the City.”
It looks like Karachi, Basra, and Mogadishu all rolled into one. People sell drugs openly just next to the Gronland subway station.
It’s not Norway or Europe anymore, except when there is welfare money to be collected. The police have largely given up. Early in 2010 Aftenposten stated that there are sharia patrols in this area, and gay couples are assaulted and chased away.
Mass sexual assaults involving up to 1,000 Arab men on New Year’s Eve in Cologne.
“IRS Employee Whose Job Was Assisting Victims Of Identity Theft Charged In $1 Million Identity Theft Tax Fraud.” (Hat tip: Instapundit)
Rahm Emanuel’s failure in Chicago is emblematic of the blue model failure in America’s cities. “The city’s bloated pension obligations have already forced Emanuel to make severe education cuts. It will continue to force cuts in city services in various cities, making it harder and harder for mayors to govern, and increasing the antagonism among various constituencies.”
“Murder rates drop as concealed carry permits soar.” Plus this: “Between 2012 and 2014 the number of black permit holders increased from 10,389 to 17,594, according to the report.”
Mississippi Democratic City Councilman urges constituents to hurl rocks and bricks at the police.
Armed mother successfully defends home and children against three armed thugs. But gun-grabbers want to disarm her…
Bahamas resort project gives in to Chinese demands to secure more construction loans. Result: Bankruptcy.
Ben Carson’s campaign staff quits. There’s a reason president of the United States isn’t an entry-level job…
Former feminist now a pro-life activist who is disillusioned with feminism. (Hat tip: John C. Wright.)
Confessions of a social justice warrior white knight. “Their communities thrive on self loathing disguised as elitism…SJWs insist their goal is to make everyone equal, and for a long time I believed it, but their communities actually enforce factionalism and division.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Wendy Davis: Still digging.
Tags:2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Race, Bahamas, Ben Carson, Bill Clinton, Chicago, China, Cologne, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Europe, feminists, Foreign Policy, Germany, Guns, Hillary Clinton, Hitler, Iran, IRS, Islam, Jihad, Mississippi, Norway, Obama Scandals, pension crisis, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia, Social Justice Warriors, Soviet Union, Ted Cruz, Texas, Turkey, unions, Wendy Davis
Posted in Border Control, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Foreign Policy, Guns, Jihad, Obama Scandals, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, unions | No Comments »
Friday, January 1st, 2016
Happy New Year! Today the open carry law went into effect, meaning that if you have a Concealed Handgun License, you may now openly carry a handgun in most (but not all) locations where it was legal to conceal carry before. (It was already legal to openly carry rifles and shotguns without a CHL, and the open carry law didn’t change that.)
The Houston Chronicle has some pointers on open carry, though annoyingly, they are in slideshow form. Some highlights:
Open carry of handguns is only allowed for those who already hold a valid CHL.
You need a belt or shoulder holster to open carry, even in your car. Your gun must be holstered while driving or otherwise hidden.
Primary and secondary schools, hospitals, sporting events, and nursing homes are still “gun-free zones.”
Handguns cannot be taken into amusement parks, churches, hospitals and bars and public meetings if they post notice it’s a gun-free zone.
CHL holders can open carry unless it’s been prohibited by the private property owner. (I am given to understand that HEB is allowing concealed carry, but not open carry.)
“If you do not leave you could be charged with criminal trespass and/or unlawful carry. You will also most likely lose your rights to carry a handgun too.”
A 30.06 sign means no concealed carry on premises but open carry is allowed.
A 30.07 sign ONLY means no open carry on premises but conceal carry is allowed.
And you still can’t carry (open or concealed) in an establishment that derrives 51% or more of its income from the sale of alcohol:
You can’t open or conceal carry beyond the security checkpoint in an airport (duh).
Reciprocity still applies, so if you’re licensed to conceal carry by another state, you’re licensed to open carry in Texas.
The separate campus carry law which allows CHL holders to conceal carry in most buildings at most public universities does not go into effect January 1, but rather August 1, but you still won’t be able to open carry on campus then. Private colleges and universities may opt out, and junior colleges do not need to comply until August 2017.
I think the touches all the highlights. If you think I missed something important, let me know in the comments.
Tags:CHL, college, Guns, handguns, HEB, open carry, Texas
Posted in Guns, Texas | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 31st, 2015
Police have found out who set fire to a Houston Mosque on Christmas day. Guess who did it.
Go ahead. Guess.
Using surveillance video from other area businesses to identify the arsonist, Gary Nathaniel Moore, 37, was arrested and charged with starting the Christmas Day fire that devastated a Houston, Texas mosque. Moore is a devout Muslim who attended this same mosque for years, praying up to five times a day every day of the week.
Funny how the majority of high profile “hate crimes” against Muslims or black activists seem to be committed by the supposed “victims”…
Tags:arson, Crime, Gary Nathaniel Moore, Houston, Jihad, Muslim, Social Justice Warriors, Texas, victimhood
Posted in Crime, Jihad, Texas | No Comments »
Monday, December 21st, 2015
Here’s something on the surface that seems like a small local story, but it’s one that could potentially have huge national implications.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF)’s Center for the American Future representing Williamson County resident John Yearwood and Williamson County, Texas today filed suit to intervene into the pending lawsuit seeking delisting of the Bone-Cave Harvestman from the Endangered Species Act. Mr. Yearwood and Williamson County, Texas challenge the authority of the federal government to use the Interstate Commerce Clause to regulate non-commercial interactions with the Bone Cave Harvestman arachnid, which only exists in two central Texas counties, is not bought nor traded in interstate commerce, and does not otherwise affect interstate commerce.
“This lawsuit centers around respect for the rule of law and recognition that the Constitution establishes our federal government as having limited, enumerated powers,” said Robert Henneke, director of the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Congress has the power to regulate commerce among the states, i.e. Interstate commerce. Congress’ Commerce power through the Endangered Species Act should not, therefore, extend to regulate the Bone-Cave Harvestman species – an intrastate cave-arachnid existing only in caves in Central Texas without any commercial value. For there to be rule of law, there must be limits to government power.”
The Interstate Commerce Clause is the camel’s nose by which the federal government has stuck its vast regulatory powers into just about every crevice of the body politic. Because the Williamson cave spider case clearly has no impact on interstate commerce, there’s the potential for the case to unravel a whole host of intrusive New Deal-era commerce clause rulings, of which Wickard vs. Filburn is probably the most egregious.
There’s no guarantee the case will get to the Supreme Court, but if it does…
Tags:Bone Cave Harvestman, Commerce Clause, environmentalism, spiders, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Wickard vs. Filburn, Williamson County
Posted in Supreme Court, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, December 17th, 2015
Time and time again the executive, legislative and judicial branches have told the Texas Racing Commission “You’re breaking the law and you have to repeal your approval of historical gambling” (i.e., thinly disguised slot machines). And time and time again the Texas Racing Commission has said “Up yours! We’re tools of the gambling lobby, and we’re not going to let little things like the law stand in our way!”
And this week they did it yet again:
Texas racing officials refused to retreat Tuesday from a plan to allow a hotly contested new way to gamble at horse racetracks statewide, prompting the commission’s new chairman to ask the staff for a plan to shut down the agency.
After two hours of testimony from those in the horse industry, the nine-member Texas Racing Commission voted 4-4 with one abstention to repeal rules that would allow historical racing, the replaying of already-run races on slot machinelike devices, at Texas tracks such as Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.
The commissioners later unanimously agreed to republish the historical racing rules to gain more public input so they can take up the issue again in February.
Since the the motion to repeal the rules failed, new commission Chairman Rolando Pablos asked agency staffers to “prepare a plan for shutting down the agency,” anticipating a lack of funding from lawmakers that would require the agency to shut down.
What does it take to bring a rogue agency to heel?
Tags:gambling, Texas, Texas Racing Commission
Posted in Texas | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 17th, 2015
The filing deadline has passed for 2016 races in Texas, and once again several U.S. House seats will go uncontested.
The first step to winning a race is showing up for one. Even token candidates force the opposition to expend time and attention on races they could use elsewhere. And having a candidate in the race helps you win during improbable circumstances (indictments, scandals, wave elections).
As usual, Democrats passed up more races than Republicans, but Republicans seemed to pass on a higher number of races as well.
Races Democrats Failed To Field a Challenger
Here are the races Democrats failed to show up in, and the current Republican incumbent:
4th Congressional District (John Ratcliffe, who drew two Republican primary opponents)
5th Congressional District (Jeb Hensarling)
8th Congressional District (Kevin Brady, who drew two Republican primary opponents)
11th Congressional District (Mike Conaway)
13th Congressional District (Mac Thornberry)
19th Congressional District (No incumbent, as Randy Neugebauer is retiring; five Republicans will be vying to take his place)
32nd Congressional District (Pete Sessions, who drew two Republican primary opponents)
36th Congressional District (Brian Babin)
With Democrats not contesting eight districts, it allows Republicans to shift time and effort into defending incumbents in more marginal districts (such as Will Hurd in the perpetual battleground 23rd).
Races Republicans Failed To Field a Challenger
Here are the races Republicans failed to show up in, and the current Democratic incumbent:
9th Congressional District (Al Green)
16th Congressional District (Beto O’Rourke, a white Democratic incumbent in a heavily Hispanic district whose drawn a Hispanic Democratic primary opponent, albeit one he already defeated four years ago)
20th Congressional District (Joaquin Castro)
On Republican missed opportunities, Joaquin Castro is the sort of rising star you want to force to defend his home territory, rather than go off gallivanting at the national level.
A few other points of interest:
Sheila Jackson Lee drew no less than four Republican opponents in District 18.
District 15, where Democratic incumbent Ruben Hinojosa Sr. is retiring, has seven Democrats (including Ruben Ramirez Hinojosa) and two Republicans vying for the seat.
Matt McCall (and two other Republican challengers) are gunning for Lamar Smith in District 21 again.
Tags:11th Congressional District, 13th Congressional District, 16th Congressional District, 19th Congressional District, 2016 Election, 20th Congressional District, 32nd Congressional District, 36th Congressional District, 4th Congressional District, 5th Congressional District, 8th Congressional District, 9th Congressional District, Al Green, Beto O'Rourke, Brian Babin, Democrats, Elections, Jeb Hensarling, Joaquin Castro, John Ratcliffe, Kevin Brady, Lamar Smith, Mac Thornberry, Matt McCall, Mike Conaway, Pete Sessions, Randy Neugebauer, Ruben Hinojosa, Ruben Ramirez Hinojosa, Texas
Posted in Democrats, Elections, Republicans, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, December 10th, 2015
Hey remember how the state legislature told they Texas Racing Commission that they didn’t have the authority to approve “historical racing” machines (i.e., gambling machines prohibited by law)? And remember how the Racing Commission said “Screw you, we’re doing it anyway because we’re total lapdogs for the gambling lobby?” (I may be paraphrasing just a wee tad here…)
Well a solution appears to be at hand:
There’s been another shakeup of top leadership at an embattled state agency as the push to derail historical racing — a hotly contested new way to gamble at tracks statewide — continues in Austin.
Gov. Greg Abbott has named Rolando Pablos of El Paso to lead the Texas Racing Commission, replacing local orthopedic surgeon Robert Schmidt, who has guided the agency since 2011.
Schmidt, who will continue to serve on the commission, resigned as chair after declining Abbott’s request to place the issue of repealing historical racing, the replaying of past races on slot machine-like devices, on next week’s agenda.
The governor accepted that resignation; a proposal to repeal historical racing rules is now on the commission’s Dec. 15 agenda.
You would think it wouldn’t be that hard to reign in a rogue commission that refuses to obey the law, but I guess gambling lobby money talks pretty loudly…
Tags:Greg Abbott, Robert Schmidt, Rolando Pablos, Texas, Texas Racing Commission
Posted in Texas | No Comments »
Monday, December 7th, 2015
Finally, some news from California that doesn’t involve radical islamic jihadis killing innocent people…
California lost 9,000 business HQs and expansions, mostly to Texas, 7-year study says. “It’s typical for companies leaving California to experience operating cost savings of 20 up to 35 percent.” (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Remember those “temporary taxes” that made California’s state income taxes the highest in the country? Well, to the all-devouring maw of a broke welfare state, no tax is temporary.
Los Angeles County: center of American poverty:
The Census Bureau’s 2012 decision to begin releasing an alternative measure of poverty that included cost of living has appeared to have far-reaching effects in California as politicians, community leaders and residents react to the new measure’s depiction of the Golden State as the most impoverished place in America.
The fact that about 23 percent of state residents are barely getting by has helped fuel the push for a much higher minimum wage and prompted renewed interest in affordable housing programs. It’s also put the focus on regional economic disparities, especially the fact that Silicon Valley and San Francisco are the primary engine of state prosperity.
While the tech boom and the vast increase in housing prices it has triggered in the Bay Area are national news, prompting think pieces and thoughtful analyses, the poverty picture in the state’s largest population center isn’t covered nearly as fully. Although the fact is plain in Census Bureau data, it’s not commonly understood that Los Angeles County is the capital of U.S. poverty. A 2013 study by the Public Policy Institute of California and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality based on 2011 data found 27 percent of the county’s 10 million residents were impoverished, the highest figure in the state and the highest of any large metro area in the U.S.
Why California’s cities are in trouble: “The problems here, as the bankruptcies of San Bernardino and other cities have shown, are mismanagement and high costs incurred as a result of the state’s public-employee unions.” (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
How CalPERS created a ticking time bomb. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
CalPERS also paid $3.4 billion in private equity firm fees since 1990, despite returns that were not that great. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
And CalPERS also has a huge problem with self-dealing and conflicts of interest. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Texas’ largest employer is Wal-Mart. California’s largest employer is the University of California system.
But I doubt Wal-Mart has 35,065 employees who make more than $100,000 a year…
What good is California’s open meetings law if officials still feel free to ignore it? “Six decades after Brown Act passage, elected leaders still hold illegal meetings.” (Note: The Brown Act is named after Assemblyman Ralph M. Brown, D-Modesto, not either Jerry Brown.) (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Though Texas is doing much better at fiscal restraint than California, TPPF notes that Texas’ could still use additional spending restraint:
“Though Texas legislators did an excellent job by holding the total budget below population growth plus inflation during the last session, the state’s weak spending limit remains a primary cause of excessive budget growth during the last decade,” said Heflin. “Legislators can strengthen the limit by capping the total budget, basing the growth on the lowest of three metrics, and requiring a supermajority vote to exceed it. These reforms would have helped keep more money in Texans pockets where it belongs.”
“All segments of Texas housing market show strong gains in 2015.”
Mojave solar project operator files for bankruptcy.
“Fresh off of a major expansion, iconic San Francisco craft brewery Magnolia Brewing Co. filed voluntarily for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.” So a brewery that opened in 1997 is “iconic”?
“Fuhu Holdings Inc, a maker of kid-friendly computer tablets, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a court filing on Monday.” Eh, included for completeness. That sounds like a bad business model for a startup no matter what state it was in…
Fresno Democratic assemblyman resigns to make more money in the private sector. Evidently a year to wait until his term expires was just too long to avoid climbing aboard the revolving door gravy train…
Tags:bankruptcy, California, CalPERs, Democrats, Fresno, Los Angeles, pension crisis, San Francisco, Texas, unions, waste, Welfare State
Posted in Democrats, Texas, unions, Waste and Fraud, Welfare State | No Comments »