Posts Tagged ‘Texas’
Tuesday, May 12th, 2015
…you’re pretty much jumping up and down yelling “You-ho, Mr. Darwin! I’m ready for my closeup!.”
Investigators received information that a man with four active warrants was inside the residence.
When he emerged, police approached the man. They say he jumped into a pickup truck and backed into a narcotics officer. Another officer then opened fire.
A police spokesman said the warrants were for drugs, and also aggravated assault on a Benbrook police officer.
A few left-wing Twitter activists were trying to hype this up as the latest “innocent man gunned down” garbage last night. That dog won’t hunt, snowflake…
Tags:Crime, Ft. Worth, Texas
Posted in Crime, Texas | No Comments »
Monday, May 11th, 2015
Remember Plano pipeline bomber Anson Chi? Having already plead guilty (twice) for the attempted bombing, Chi, acting as his own attorney during the penalty phase of the trial, now claims his confession was tortured out of him.
Given the overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence against him (like the fact he managed to do more damage to himself than the pipeline), I think that idea is exceptionally unlikely. I suspect that the gulf between Chi’s self assessment of his legal skills and his actual skills are as vast as those between his conception of himself as an eco-avenging terrorist and his actual skills therefore…
Tags:Anson Chi, bomb, Plano, Texas
Posted in Crime, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, May 7th, 2015
Former Texas Democratic congressman and Speaker of the House Jim Wright has died at age 92.
As Speaker, Wright was a hyper-partisan that ran roughshod over the Republican minority while committing sleazy ethical lapses. As Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA) once noted, “Jim Wright was like an evil fog that floated over everyone’s head.”
Alas, Wright’s death means I’ll never get a chance to get him to sign my copy of Reflections of a Public Man.*
It’s a slender collection of personal reflections and pithy aphorisms that even at 117 pages is badly padded. It was also a blatant scam to bypass congressional limits on personal honorarium.
The real focus of the marketing effort for Reflections of a Public Man was on bulk sales to trade associations and other groups. Almost 98% of all sales of “Reflections of a Public Man” were bulk sales of 15 or more books. In some instances, Wright’s staff informed various groups Wright spoke to that because he had already reached the maximum limit on outside earned income for that year, he would not be able to keep an honorarium offered to him. The staff then recommended that instead of paying Wright an honorarium, the organization could purchase books for the same amount . . .
For example,) Wright spoke at a Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Assn. trade show in September, 1985, just several weeks after SBCA had purchased 1,680 copies of “Reflections of a Public Man” for $10,000. SBCA testified that although it historically has paid honoraria and expenses to congressmen for their appearances, in this case SBCA’s legal counsel, who arranged for Wright to speak at the trade show, suggested that SBCA purchase the books instead. Thus, Wright received a $5,500 “royalty” for his appearances before the SBCA.
So that works out to a 55% royalty rate. 10-15% royalties for hardbacks is industry standard. It’s possible that J. K. Rowling and Stephen King might (might) get as much as 25%. If J.K. Rowling demanded a 55% royalty rate, her publisher would have no choice but to turn her down, since they’d be losing money on every book sold.
Through Wright resigned, his strong-handed tactics helped lead to the rise of Newt Gingrich and his Contract With America, which helped pave the way for the 1994 Republican takeover of the House. (And don’t let the New York Times obituary fool yeah; Wright had squat to do with bringing peace to Nicaragua, which was achieved through the pressure of the Reagan Doctrine and the crumbling of the Eastern block, which finally realized it was too broke to prop out communist dictators in Central America.)
*Though I did get Newt Gingrich to sign it…
(Hat tip: Dwight.)
Tags:Communism, Democrats, Jim Wright, Newt Gingrich, Nicaragua, Obituary, Reagan Doctrine, Ronald Reagan, Texas
Posted in Communism, Democrats | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 5th, 2015
Happy Cinco de Mayo! My efforts to move the LinkSwarm back to it’s usual Friday position by posting early have failed, so I’m trying to get it there by letting it drift back one day later each time…
“Canadian Partnership Shielded Identities of Donors to Clinton Foundation.” Just in case you missed that. Because trying to keep up with all the sleazy bribery angles of the Clinton Foundation is like trying to drink from the firehose…
Speaking of which:
“Hillary may want to talk about inequality, but is there any better example of a couple who gorged at the trough of Wall Street and foreign autocrats, chose not to follow the rules, never could stop chasing more and more money and (in Hillary Clinton’s case) went to extraordinary lengths to destroy “personal” e-mails that might have pulled back the curtain on all that?” (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Hillary hires Scott Hogan, an organizer of the failed “Everytown” gun-grabber astroturf to run her “Grassroots” campaign. Hopefully he’ll bring Hillary the same outstanding success he brought to gun control…
Russian stooges in Ukraine: “Soviet terror famine? No, that was all just a big misunderstanding!” (Hat tip: Dwight.)
Islamic State murders 600 more Yezidis. (Hat tip: Jihad Watch.)
The Islamic State also claimed post facto credit for the Garland attack.
Speaking of which, here’s an interview with Bosch Fawstin, the winner of the Draw Mohammed contest. (Hat tip: Legal Insurrection.)
Emergency room visits up under ObamaCare.
Lefty lawyer Laurence Tribe calls Obama’s “force everyone to use green energy without congressional approval” plan unconstitutional. “After studying the only legal basis offered for the EPA’s proposed rule, I concluded that the agency is asserting executive power far beyond its lawful authority.”
Drug cartel violence heats up in Mexico: “Gunmen shot down a Mexican military helicopter Friday in the western state of Jalisco, killing three soldiers, and set fire to buses, blocked roads, and attacked banks and gas stations in a sharp escalation of violence against the government.” This is evidently the handiwork of the New Generation drug cartel.
Minimum wage hike hits San Francisco Comic Store.
When the Social Justice Warriors started attacking the company Protein World over their “Beach Ready” ad campaign, Protein World didn’t cave, they fought back. Result: They earned an additional $1 million in four days.
Not understanding that the Presidency is not an entry level job, and that the Republican field was already packed, Ben Carson joins the Presidential race.
Ditto Carly Fiorina, whose tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard was not an unqualified success, and whose 2010 California Senate race lost to Barbara Boxer by 16 points.
And evidently Mike Huckabee is going to run as well.
Texas Democrats are furious that a new ethics bill might keep them from scratching each other’s backs. (Hat tip: Push Junction.)
The Austin American Statesman is moving printing and packing operations to San Antonio and Houston, resulting in about a 100 jobs lost in Austin. Previously. (Hat tip: Dwight.)
Social Justice Warriors can’t even win elections at UCLA.
Austin’s Highland Mall closed on April 30th.
Tags:2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Race, Austin, Austin American Statesman, Ben Carson, Border Controls, Bosch Fawstin, Carly Fiorina, Charlie Hebdo, Clinton Foundation, Communism, Crime, Democrats, drug lords, Elections, Everytown for Gun Safety, Garland, Garland Shooting, genocide, gun control, Hewlett-Packard, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Scandals, Holodomor, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jalisco, Laurence Tribe, LinkSwarm, Media Watch, Mexico, Mike Huckabee, Military, New Generation drug cartel, ObamaCare, Regulation, Republicans, Russia, Texas, Ukraine, Yezidis
Posted in Austin, Border Control, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Economics, Elections, Foreign Policy, Global Warming, Guns, Jihad, Media Watch, Military, ObamaCare, Regulation, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, Texas, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, May 4th, 2015
The name of the second dead terrorist in the Garland attack has been released. “A federal law enforcement official is confirming the identity of the second gunman in the shooting outside a contest for Prophet Muhammad cartoons as Nadir Soofi, according to AP reporter Eric Tucker in Washington.”
Oh, and the lawyer for Elton Simpson, the first terrorist identified, says that he’s “a devout Muslim.”
Try to contain your shock.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also gets it right the second time, calling the attack a “heinous crime” and stating “We live in a country where the First Amendment is one of the paramount promises of this nation,” Abbott said. “That provides people the ability to speak out to say what they want. Just as people draw cartoons mocking the governor, people may draw cartoons mocking others.”
And here’s the cartoon that won the Draw Mohammed contest:
Tags:Crime, Draw Mohammed Day, Garland, Garland Shooting, Greg Abbott, Jihad, Texas
Posted in Crime, Jihad, Texas | No Comments »
Monday, May 4th, 2015
More details are trickling out about the failed Islamist terror attack on a Mohammed art exhibit being held in Garland:
“A senior FBI official has identified one of the men as Elton Simpson, who was previously the subject of a terror investigation.”
“FBI agents and a bomb squad swarmed Simpson’s apartment in north Phoenix, Arizona and used a robot to carry out the first sweep of his home, the channel reported. Investigators are reviewing computer records from materials found at the home.”
Bruce Joiner, the security guard and Garland ISD officer shot in the incident, has already been released from the hospital.
“A jihadist named as Abu Hussain AlBritani, which SITE said was British IS fighter Junaid Hussain, claimed that ‘2 of our brothers just opened fire’ at the Prophet Muhammad exhibition in Texas.”
“Other ISIS supporters claimed on Twitter that one of the gunmen was a man calling himself Shariah Is Light on the social media site, using the now-suspended account name @atawaakul, according to New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi. He had posted a message earlier that said ‘the bro with me and myself have given bay’ah [oath] to Amirul Mu’mineen [ISIS leader Al Baghdadi]. May Allah accept us as mujahideen #texasattack’.”
Despite some saying “ISIS has claimed responsibility,” I’m not seeing proof that any official ISIS account has claimed responsibility.
From a 10 AM conference by Garland police officer Joe Harn:
There were concerns about security for the Mohammed art event from the very beginning.
Garland police officers worked the event as private security officers (which is quite common), and the event paid an additional $10,000 for security.
Both suspects drove up, got out of their car with assault rifles, and started shooting at police officers outside. The officers returned fire and killed the suspects.
Suspects were evidently wearing body armor.
The first officer who fired put down both suspects, using his duty pistol.
Sounds like the bomb squad used explosives to breach the trunk of the suspects car, but did not find any bombs.
Because of the security plan and perimeter, no one else was hurt in the incident.
Says while others have released the names of suspects, Garland police hasn’t.
They’re working with the FBI.
It will not be a quick investigation.
Some people attending the event were put up in hotels, and still haven’t been able to return to their cars, which are part of the crime scene.
Nothing about motives or terror organization affiliation, which is probably beyond the scope of Garland police.
No forensic results yet, but they may have them by the end of thee day.
Another conference scheduled for 3:30 PM today.
Officer Harn did a good job conveying just what he knew, and refusing to speculate on what he didn’t know.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the following statement: “Texas officials are actively investigating to determine the cause and scope of the senseless attack in Garland, Texas. This is a crime that was quickly ended thanks to the swift action by Garland law enforcement. Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected tonight.”
With all due respect for the governor, this was not a “senseless attack,” it was a premeditated act of Islamic terrorism.
Tags:Crime, Garland, Garland Shooting, Greg Abbott, Jihad, Joe Harn, terrorism, Texas
Posted in Crime, Jihad, Texas | No Comments »
Sunday, May 3rd, 2015
Evidently the suspects had explosives on them.
Organizer Pamela Geller is live-tweeting:
Details as the come out.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess they weren’t Unitarians…
Update 1: SWAT team is evidently evacuating the conference center and taking people over to a local high school. Ambulances on scene.
Update 2: Two Twitter feeds to follow for the story are Pamela Geller and WFAA reporter Jobin Panicker.
Panicker conveys rumor the two dead suspects were carrying AK-47s. That rumor almost invariably pops up during these types of incidents, but 98% of the time its wrong. But they may have had other MSRs.
Update 3: A nearby Wal-Mart has been closed, and another suspect is reortedly inside with a hand grenade.
Update 4 Evidently SWAT team members were already on site for the exhibit before the shooting started, which shows considerable forward thinking on someone’s part.
Update 4: Reports of Garland ISD policeman also being treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound:
Unclear whether this is an additional policeman, or if this is the policeman who was initially shot.
Update 5:
Update 6:
Update 7:
Probably more likely than the “third suspect with a grenade” scenario.
Update 8: Not seeing reports of an additional cop shot besides the Garland ISD officer, so I believe that is the only law enforcement officer hit.
Update 9:
Garland’s Twitter feed is here.
Tags:Crime, Draw Mohammed Day, Garland, Jihad, Pamela Geller, Texas
Posted in Crime, Jihad, Texas | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 30th, 2015
Time for another Texas vs. California roundup, albeit a somewhat smallish one:
UC-Berkley misused nearly $2 million in National Science Foundation funds on staff salaries, travel expenses, and booze.
How California teacher’s unions indoctrinate children with left-wing propaganda.
Thanks to overly generous pension rules, Vallejo may be headed for a second bankruptcy. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Eureka, California will be laying off police to pay for pensions. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Farmer Brothers coffee roasters is moving from California to Denton. (Previously.)
Jerry Brown has ordered a radical cut in California’s greenhouse gases. Evidently he wants all of California’s manufacturing to move out of state…
Though Texas does a vastly better job than California managing statewide finances, local debt is close to California’s:
Among the top ten most populous states in the nation, local debt in the Lone Star State was the second highest overall, at $219.7 billion. Only California’s local governments had amassed more, at $269.2 billion.
On a per capita basis, local debt in Texas ranked as the second highest ($8,431 owed per person), with only New York in tougher shape ($10,204 owed per person). The average local debt burden among all mega-states was $5,956 owed per person.
So California may use drought bond money to pay for water not for people, but for the Delta Smelt?
West Coast truckers strike over alleged millions in wage theft. You may have gathered that I’m not exactly a pro-union guy, but from what a relative has told me about the trucking industry, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the strikers were fully justified in this instance…
Tags:California, debt, Democrats, environmentalism, Global Warming, Jerry Brown, pension crisis, Texas, unions
Posted in Democrats, Global Warming, Texas, unions, Welfare State | No Comments »
Friday, April 24th, 2015
Time for another Texas vs. California roundup:
The Manhattan Institute has a new report out discussing how California’s pension spending is starting to crowd out essential services. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Austin is the number one city in the country for technology job creation.
Texas unemployment is down to 4.2%.
That’s the lowest unemployment rate since March of 2007.
Marin County Grand Jury:
Unfunded pension liabilities are a concern for county and city governments throughout California. Reviewing this problem in Marin County, the Grand Jury examined four public employers that participate in the Marin County Employees’ Retirement Association (MCERA): County of Marin, City of San Rafael, Novato Fire Protection District, and the Southern Marin Fire Protection District, hereafter collectively referred to as “Employer(s)”
The Grand Jury interviewed representatives of the County of Marin, sponsors of MCERA administered retirement plans, representatives of MCERA, and members of the various Employer governing boards and staff. It also consulted with actuaries, various citizen groups, and the Grand Jury’s independent court-appointed lawyers.
In so doing, the Grand Jury found that those Employers granted no less than thirty-eight pension enhancements from 2001- 2006, each of which appears to have violated disclosure requirements and fiscal responsibility requirements of the California Government Code.
(Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
The Marin Country lawyer: Nothing to see in this Grand Jury Report! Critics: Hey, aren’t you pulling down a cool $434,000 by “triple dipping” the existing system? (Ditto.)
Why does the University of California system have to hike tuition 28%? Simple: Pensions.
As with other areas of state and local budgets, a big factor is pension costs, which for UC have grown from $44 million in 2009-10 to $957 million in 2014-15. And the number of employees making more than $200,000 almost doubled from 2007-13, from 3,018 to 5,933.
While total UC employees rose 11 percent from October 2007 to October 2014, the group labeled “Senior Management Group and Management and Senior Personnel” jumped 32 percent.
(Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Los Angeles Teacher’s Union gets a 10% pay hike over two years.
Like everything else associated with ObamaCare, covered California is screwed up.
BART wants a tax increase. This is my shocked face. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
And by my count, there are 157 BART employees who make more than $200,000 a year in salary and benefits…
California state senate committee votes to raise California’s minimum wage to $13 by 2017. If I were Gov. Greg Abbott, I’d be ready to start sending Texas relocation information packets to large California employers the minute this gets signed into law.
California-based Frederick’s of Hollywood files for bankruptcy. The retail lingerie business just isn’t what it used to be…
Torrence, California newspaper wins Pulitzer Prize for reporting on local school district corruption.
Priorities: Carson, California approves $1.7 billion for an NFL stadium even though they don’t have an NFL team to put in it.
Dilbert’s Scott Adams weighs in on California’s drought:
Tags:Austin, California, Democrats, drought, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Unified School District, Marin County, ObamaCare, pension crisis, Texas, unemployment, unions, University of California, waste, Welfare State
Posted in Austin, Budget, Democrats, ObamaCare, unions, Waste and Fraud, Welfare State | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 21st, 2015
House Bill 910, which gives Texas Concealed Handgun License holders the right to open carry, has passed the Texas House. Since the Senate has already passed a version, and Governor Greg Abbott has promised to sign the bill, its all over but the gun grabbers shouting about how it will result in a state-wide bloodbath.
You know, just like happened after concealed carry passed.
Here’s the text of the law.
Tags:CHL, Crime, Guns, open carry, Texas, Texas 84th Legislative Session
Posted in Crime, Guns, Texas | 2 Comments »
