Tag Archive for: Texas

Governors Rick Scott and Rick Perry join forces to fight Ebola

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Today, Governor Scott issued an update on Ebola preparedness activities throughout the state, following the news that the Miami patient tested for Ebola has tested negative in a preliminary test. Further testing will be completed later this week to rule out any possibility of Ebola.

Governor Rick Scott said, “We are glad to hear that the test for the Miami patient was indeed negative for Ebola and we are hopeful that further CDC and Department of Health analysis will back up this preliminary negative result later this week. While we have no confirmed cases of Ebola in Florida, we are continuing to take every step possible to best protect our citizens and our tourists.

“Today, I spoke to Texas Governor Rick Perry about what their state has learned from responding to the confirmed Ebola patient in Dallas. We will stay in communication with Texas officials as their response and treatment efforts continue to develop. Florida state agencies also held conference calls with our state’s airport and port leaders today to share information on preparedness steps at each of their facilities. Supporting the preparedness efforts of our airports and our ports means we must have a tremendous partnership between the state, federal officials and local leaders on the ground. We will continue to communicate regularly with these leaders in the days ahead as Florida continues to hope for the best even while we prepare for the worst.”

JOINT INFORMATION CENTER AFTERNOON UPDATE:

Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA):

  • The Agency identified hospitals that have the proper treatment kits and isolation facilities suitable for the treatment Ebola cases.
  • The Agency distributed information on the identification, handling, and reporting of a potential Ebola case to staff members at Agency call centers/area offices and in the offices of Agency partners.
  • Agency staff members have been trained and placed on alert in the event that they should need to support hospitals in coordinating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) relative to pertinent waivers and related federal guidelines during the course of management of a declared emergency and commensurate diversion of facility resources.
  • Agency staff members have been trained and placed on alert in the event that they are required to provide expedited reviews of any requests from hospitals relative to protocols for identification and management of suspected Ebola viral disease; including those related to the patients, transport, and the physical plant of the facility, as necessary.

Florida Department of Health (DOH):

  • Additional patient screening and care guidance is being provided to all local Hospitals, Urgent Care Centers, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and all private providers of care to address the full range of issues posed by potential Ebola cases.
  • Distributed Ebola-related medical guidance to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) throughout the state to protect humanitarian volunteers who may travel to or from regions where the disease is present.

Get Your Politics Off Our Kids!

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The Texas social studies textbook adoption process has turned into a political fight, just as many predicted it would.  That’s a shame.

This past week, a reporter for a local San Antonio news site interviewed us about the politics behind education.  However, when her stories came out, it was party-line politics once again.  Included in her two stories were the following:

  • One article cites, without skepticism, a review by the partisan National Center for Science Education (NCSE) that perpetuates debunked claims about scientific consensus. The NCSE openly attempts to inject its special interest politics into education. It is not a scientific organization.
  • Both articles quote the highly partisan Texas Freedom Network (TFN) as saying that the publishers are not to blame for problems in the textbooks, only the State Board of Education (SBOE) is.  But the TFN has made it very clear that its primary aim is to discredit and defeat politically certain elected members of the SBOE.
  • Finally, one of the articles mimics a TFN complaint about political cartoons that appeared in one proposed text and joked about affirmative action via a story about space aliens.  Apparently, neither the blogger nor TFN realized that this cartoon is provided as a primary source and the lesson is designed to encourage critical thinking about affirmative action.  While the related questions might be lacking, the idea of having a cartoon as a primary source, it is perfectly acceptable to use political cartoons – which will always insult someone – as primary sources in critical thinking exercises.

All textbooks have problems, and many of these proposed Texas textbooks are particularly inaccurate or biased.  The state adoption process should be about correcting these problems before the books are published and handed to students.

It is forever disappointing when partisan groups hijack this process to further their political goals.  In the end, the children suffer when politics and special interest control the content of educational material.  Verity Educate continues to expose these influences and the inaccuracies and biases they perpetuate.

#GetYourPoliticsOffOurKids

Texas Sheriff says it’s “naive” to say Islamic State not here: “We have found Muslim clothing, they have found Quran books”

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In June 2014, Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) enunciated the concerns that increasing numbers of people have about jihadists exploiting our open Southern border when he said:

“This jihadist group ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi have promised direct confrontation with America. He is looking forward to that day and he has said that publicly, we should believe him when he says that. These folks hate everything about the United States.” What’s more, “Of course the way they would come to the United States would be through the porous border with Mexico. The drug cartels will bring people into the country no matter who they are — for money. Everyone in the world knows that the border between the United States and Mexico is completely porous.”

Jihad terrorists and their enablers and accomplices have been entering the U.S. illegally by means of the Mexican border for many years. According to TheBlaze, “Hezbollah members and supporters have entered the U.S. through the southern border as early as 2002, with the case of Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, a Mexican of Lebanese descent. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison by Mexican authorities on charges of organized crime and immigrant smuggling. Mucharrafille had owned a cafe in the border city of Tijuana, near San Diego. In 2002, he was arrested for smuggling 200 people into the U.S., including Hezbollah supporters, according to a 2009 Congressional report.” Nothing has changed since then. It’s only gotten worse.

“Texas Sheriff: Reports Warn Of ISIS Terrorist Cells Coming Across The Border,” CBS Houston, September 15, 2014 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Midland County, Texas (CBS HOUSTON) – Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said that law enforcement agencies along the “wide open” border have received alerts to be on the lookout for terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria crossing into the United States.

Painter, who said he has worked along the border for “about eight years,” stated that alerts have been issued to border law enforcement to be on the lookout for suspicious terrorist activity, specifically involving ISIS cells being smuggled into the United States.

“I received an intelligence report that said that there was ISIS cells that were active in the Juarez area, which is the northern part of the Chihuahua state, and that they were moving around over there, that there was some activity…” Painter told Fox News. The report asked “for the sheriffs along the border to be on the alert, for all law enforcement to be on the alert, and to be on the lookout for these people maybe trying to come across.”

Painter sidestepped any direct knowledge that ISIS, specifically, is along the border, but he reiterated that the border “is wide open.”

“Well I’m saying the border is wide open, there is no control on the border, it’s not shut off,” said Painter. “There’s places along the Rio Grande you can walk across, there’s no water in it. I worked the border for eight years I walked back and forth across the Rio Grande; I was in Mexico, I was on this side. I never got challenged.

“There’s always a way to get across, there’s coyotes that bring those people across for thousands of dollars.”

Painter noted that “Muslim” items have been strewn along the border and estimated that 10 to 15 million “undocumented aliens” have crossed the border.

“I think it’d be naive to say that (ISIS is) not here…We have found Muslim clothing, they have found Quran books that are lying on the side of the trail, so we know that there are Muslims that have come across and are being smuggled into the United States,” Painter told Fox News….

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Dennis Michael Lynch fears Americans are giving up and giving in on immigration

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Dennis Michael Lynch appeared at an event sponsored by the Sarasota Patriots in Sarasota, Florida on August 22nd as part of his Fighting for America Tour 2014.

Lynch began his presentation by lamenting the fact that two of his appearances in Texas were cancelled. Lynch attributed it to “infighting” between TEA Party Conservatives and establishment Republicans. Lynch also notes that he is seeing a 25% drop in attendance at his 2014 tour events compared to his 2013 tour. Lynch fears that Americans are giving up the fight against illegal immigration.

Highlights of his remarks included:

  • The surge (migration) of illegals will continue and grow in the coming months. Camps in Mexico that can accommodate an estimated 100,000 illegals are being set up.
  • President Obama will soon sign an Executive Order granting de facto amnesty to the 44 million illegals currently in the U.S.
  • The media is focused on the children coming across the border when they make up only 15% of the illegal migration.
  • Putting the national guard or militias on the border will not stem the flow of illegals.
  • The number one issue in America today is the illegal migration according to recent polls, a sea change since he began speaking about it.
  • For every illegal one American loses his or her job, at every level of employment ( the landscaper becomes the carpenter, who become the plumber, etc.)
  • President Obama will exempt illegals from the Obamacare mandated insurance provision, which will take even more jobs away from legal American citizens. When President Obama exempts illegals from the Obamacare insurance mandate, businesses will hire them to avoid both the costs of insurance and paying any IRS penalty for failing to provide insurance.
  • President Obama is inflating the deportation numbers by counting “turn backs” as a deportation. A turn back is when the border patrol catches an illegal along the border and turns them around (escorts them) across the border back into Mexico. If that illegal turns around and returns and is turned back again and again and again, that is being counted as a deportation.
  • The Obama administration is legalizing the movement of illegals across the Southern border by coyotes (those paid by illegals to smuggle them into the U.S.). Human trafficking is if a person is kidnapped and moved across the border for the purpose of selling that person to another (e.g. for prostitution). Coyotes transporting illegals are being paid upward of $10,000 to $50,000 per illegal. According to Lynch this is nothing more than the profitable business of human smuggling not human trafficking.
  • Multiple diseases are coming across the border, with little or no screening. These diseased illegals will end up working in our restaurants, using our hospitals and attending public schools.
  • The Department of Justice has declared that public schools cannot ask students for papers showing they are in the U.S. legally. Schools cannot turn away an illegal, no matter how much it harms the district or the community (e.g. , takes resources away from current legal students).
  • Terrorists, including members of the Islamic State (IS), are coming across the border unchecked, which is a major threat to the national security of the U.S.
  • People like Senator Ted Cruz and Glenn Beck going to the border and handing out $2 million in free food, teddy bears and soccer balls is making the problem worse. Better to take the free food and toys to Houston, Texas and give it to needy legal children.

Lynch looked at the current field of potential Republican presidential candidates (Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Mitt Romney) and dismissed them all as too weak on immigration and not having the gravitas to beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. Lynch believes that a candidate will emerge who will have what it takes to become the next President, but not from the usual pathway. Lynch prefers a strong leader from the business community. He mentioned Donald Trump as an example, not as a potential candidate.

Lynch is concerned about the internal struggle going on in the Republican party between conservatives and moderates (liberals). A uniting force is needed to bring these and others on board or America is lost.

Lynch presented clear solutions to solving the illegal migration problem:

  1. Enforce the laws. President Obama and his administration are completely ignoring the immigration laws.
  2. Punish businesses who hire illegals, if they continue prosecute them.
  3. Cut off all monetary support for illegals and they will self-deport.
  4. Deport first those recently here illegally before they become “embedded” in our communities.
  5. Deport the remaining 30-40 million illegals in the U.S. over time. It is cheaper to give them a check, let them keep their earnings/possessions and send them home on a plane than to support them in the long term.

Lynch concluded with a Q&A. He was asked if he would consider running for President. He said that if he had support like that of a Dr. Ben Carson, he would. Without that he will continue on his mission to tell the truth about what is really going on along the Southern boarder with Mexico. Lynch said he is coming out with a feature film next year. If it takes off, like the films of Michael Moore and  Dinesh D’Souza then he will consider his options.

Lynch looked tired and worn out. He was not the same man that I saw a year ago. We are all worn out, being ground down by the barrage of attacks from all fronts. But that does not mean Lynch is not in the fight.

USofA Battle Lines: From Missouri to the Mexican border

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It seems like the Obama administration is stirring up trouble all across the country. From Ferguson, Missouri to the Mexican border the battle lines are clear.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured photo of a rioter in Ferguson, Missouri is by James Keivom of the New York Daily News and of immigration protesters (insert) courtesy of BuzzPo.com.

An open letter to U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) on the Birth Right Citizenship Act (H.R. 140)

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Dear Representative Veasey,
RE: Your Opposition to H.R. 140 – Birthright Citizenship Act of 2013-2014

Dear Marc,

I am happy you took the time to write and give me your reasons for opposing the bill. I would like to address them one at a time.

The first statement is “H.R. 140 would change the definition of “American” which is absolutely not true. What it means is a child born would have at least one citizen parent to be a U.S. citizen. You must have never learned what the definition of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means. Children born of illegal aliens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of our country. They are subject to the jurisdiction of the country from where there came from. Amending the IMM & NAT ACT to require one of the parents to be an American citizen would remove a strong magnet that currently attracts illegal aliens to sneak into the country to give birth to nearly 400,000 babies a year called “Anchor Babies”. I suggest you trace back the history of the Fourteenth Amendment and Representative John A. Bingham who is referred to as the father of it. Rep. Bingham discusses Natural Born citizen and the reason for the 14th amendment.

The second statement you made was H.R. 140 if passed would have the “goal of preventing future immigration.” I don’t know what world you are living in but how you came to that conclusion is not a reasonable response, when one is warranted.

The third statement you made was “eliminating birthright citizenship would do nothing to reduce illegal immigration.” If so, why do 400,000 births a year happen to parents who are illegal aliens? They sneak in to have babies here so the child can lock them into the U.S. welfare system at the expense of American workers.

“The proposal to eliminate birthright citizenship is a distraction from fixing our broken immigration system” is an incorrect statement. Marc, I just mentioned 400,000 babies a year born to illegal aliens in the U.S. annually and you think H.R. 140 is a distraction? You also state we have a “broken immigration system” which is the statement all democrats make. There are two things promised by Congress in 1986 that were never delivered; a secure border like we have had in Korea for 60 years and a mandatory system to make sure all workers are legal workers that is E-Verify. The system you refer to is not broken; it is simply not being enforced. If Congress would have fulfilled those two promises we wouldn’t be talking about H.R. 140.

Another statement you made was “Congress should be addressing immigration issues head on by reforming our immigration laws in a way that fairly addresses the economic and labor needs of the country, unites American families, and ensures that immigrants have legal channels to enter, remain and work in the U.S.” Do you happen to know what the U.S. population is and where we rank in being the most populated? The answer Marc is we rank third in population and have over 90,000,000 that have dropped out of the labor force. Are you aware we import maids and lawn mower operators while millions of your brothers and sisters are sitting on the couch watching game shows and waiting for the next welfare check.? Blacks are most affected adversely by illegal immigration for employment yet you are for open borders.

I have three questions for you:

  1. What is the purpose of mass immigration since immigration has always been used in the past to settle virgin lands but there are none left?
  2. If mandatory E-Verify had been put into place by Congress when promised 28 years ago do you think we would have millions of illegal aliens without an income living here?
  3. Do you think if Congress would have secured the border as we have in Korea for 60 years now do you think we would have illegal aliens and drugs moving back and forth at will?

Thanks for writing Marc and feel free to contact me again.

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EDITORS NOTE: H.R. 140 – Birthright Citizenship Act of 2013-2014 amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is: (1) a U.S. citizen or national, (2) a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States, or (3) an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Osama bin Laden crosses border from Mexico to U.S.

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James O’Keefe, Project Veritas

In a Project Veritas investigation released on Monday, James O’Keefe crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico to the United States disguised as Osama bin Laden.

Jim Hoft from Progressives Today reports, “The Southern US Border is so porous even Osama Bin Laden can get across. And to prove it James O’Keefe crossed back and forth across the Rio Grande in an Osama Bin Laden costume. The investigation took place in Hudspeth County, Texas, at a crossing commonly used by illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.”

O’Keefe says in the video: “If the president or Senator Reid or anyone else tries to tell you that our borders are secure, they are lying to you.”

Open U.S. border being exploited by 75 countries – including those with Ebola

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It’s a simple statement so terribly appropriate for our times: “In a universe of deceit, truth becomes a revolutionary act.” Regarding immigration, we are constantly told we need to be compassionate and are un-American if we do not care about the poor kids seeking to escape crime and violence in their respective countries. However, a leaked report from the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) shows we are being lied to. It’s not just about children, and it’s not just Central America.

According to an exclusive report from Breitbart.com, “A leaked intelligence analysis from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveals the numbers of illegal immigrants entering and attempting to enter the U.S. from more than 75 different countries. The report was obtained by a trusted source within the CBP agency who leaked the document and spoke with Breitbart Texas on the condition of anonymity.”

We should all be thankful there are individuals who will keep the American people aware of the threats. And I pray this individual will be safe — especially in this current administration.

Here are some highlights of the report, which you can read here:

The report shows that most of the human smuggling from Syria and Albania into the U.S. comes through Central America. Among the significant revelations are that individuals from nations currently suffering from the world’s largest Ebola outbreak have been caught attempting to sneak across the porous U.S. border into the interior of the United States. At least 71 individuals from the three nations affected by the current Ebola outbreak have either turned themselves in or been caught attempting to illegally enter the U.S. by U.S. authorities between January 2014 and July 2014.

As of July 20, 2014, 1,443 individuals from China were caught sneaking across the porous U.S. border this year alone, with another 1,803 individuals either turning themselves in to U.S. authorities at official ports of entry, or being caught attempting to illegally enter at the ports of entry. This comes amid a massive crackdown by Chinese authorities of Islamic terrorists in the Communist nation.

Twenty-eight individuals from Pakistan were caught attempting to sneak into the U.S. this year alone, with another 211 individuals either turning themselves in or being caught at official ports of entry. Thirteen Egyptians were caught trying to sneak into the U.S. this year alone, with another 168 either turning themselves in or being caught at official ports of entry.

Four individuals from Yemen were caught attempting to sneak into the U.S. by Border Patrol agents in 2014 alone, with another 34 individuals either turning themselves in or being caught attempting to sneak through official ports of entry. Four individuals from Somalia were caught trying to sneak into the U.S. by Border Patrol agents in 2014. Another 290 either turned themselves in or were caught attempting to sneak in at official ports of entry.

Of course I don’t need to remind you that Yemen and Somalia are bases of operations for Islamic terrorism.

But here are two other things to keep in mind. These figures do not include apprehensions from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – those figures would be in addition to what Breitbart reports. The other disturbing fact is Border Patrol agents admit they are not apprehending 100 percent of those crossing illegally. In this video we posted previously, former Border Patrol Agent Zack Taylor said as few as 10 percent are caught. Other estimates are more optimistic, but the fact is we do not know the precise number in any event – whether they are Islamic terrorists or bio-terror vectors carrying Ebola.

Sadly no one in the Obama administration is telling the American people the actual demographic breakdown of these illegal aliens. We keep seeing pictures and hearing about children but how many? How many are teenaged males? How many have MS-13 gang associations? These illegals are being secretly dispersed across America and the trend is that they do not appear for hearings.

President Obama, his mouthpiece Josh “Not So” Earnest, and Dan “Talking Points” Pfeiffer have stated that unilateral action will be taken by the end of summer. What does that mean? Does it mean the Obama administration will secure our border and begin deportations? Or will this president act against Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution?

This crisis is not “humanitarian,” it is a national security crisis. Our border must be secured and we should deploy National Guard troops to back up the U.S. Border Patrol. We need to patrol directly on the border and not offset some 50 miles.

We must open up federal lands for Border Patrol to monitor and not create gaps which are being exploited. Immediately we should be returning these illegal aliens back to their countries of origin and stop the dispersion into our country. Most importantly, we have to stop the taxpayer-funded benefits given to those here illegally, and stop the attempt to change terminology. They are illegal aliens by definition, not “undocumented workers.”

As we wrote here, this comes down to one simple premise: the rule of law. Either we are a sovereign nation of laws, a Constitutional Republic, or we are on the road to perdition. But we need to know the truth.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com. The featured image is courtesy of Front Page Magazine.

RELATED ARTICLE: 71 Illegals from Ebola Countries Caught Sneaking Across Border

Immigrant camp worker: People won’t believe what is going on in America

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Obama has stated he will use his executive authority to “fix” the immigration problem in America. In fact he recently stated these illegal immigrant kids who have flooded across our southern border must go back home. We shall wait and see if rhetoric meets action.

In the meantime, we could be facing a serious health crisis at the immigrant border camps. It’s so bad, staff have been threatened with arrest if they reveal the truth.

kid-300x180According to a report by Todd Starnes at FoxNews.com, “A government-contracted security force threatened to arrest doctors and nurses if they divulged any information about the contagion threat at a refugee camp housing illegal alien children at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.”

Starnes says, “In spite of the threat, several former camp workers broke their confidentiality agreements and shared exclusive details with me about the dangerous conditions at the camp. They said taxpayers deserve to know about the contagious diseases and the risks the children pose to Americans.”

The fact that we have a situation where Americans are being threatened for telling the truth is in itself disturbing — but is sadly reflective of the progressive socialist, Chicago way of political thuggery, intimidation and coercion.

“There were several of us who wanted to talk about the camps, but the agents made it clear we would be arrested,” a psychiatric counselor told Starnes. “We were under orders not to say anything.” Starnes reports that the sources said workers were guarded by a security force from the Baptist Family & Children’s Services, which the Department of Health and Human Services hired to run the Lackland Camp.

At the immigrant camp, Starnes say “workers were stripped of their cellphones and other communication devices. Anyone caught with a phone was immediately fired. “Everyone was paranoid,” a worker said. “The children had more rights than the workers.” She said children in the camp had measles, scabies, chicken pox and strep throat as well as mental and emotional issues. “It was not a good atmosphere in terms of health,” she said. “I would be talking to children and lice would just be climbing down their hair. You could see the bugs crawling through their hair,” she said. “After we would rinse out their hair, the sink would be loaded with black bugs.”

Of course all of this may seem inconsequential to some folks — like Nancy Pelosi who said there’s not a crisis but an opportunity in all of this. However, we do know our federal government and its Department of Homeland Security has been transporting these illegal immigrants across the country in commercial buses and airplanes. The question is, were the aliens transported before or after delousing, and will the buses and planes now be used to transport the general American public?

Starnes says, “a former nurse at the camp addressed how she was horrified by what she saw. “We have so many kids coming in that there was no way to control all of the sickness – all this stuff coming into the country,” she said. “We were very concerned at one point about strep going around the base.” Both the counselor and the nurse said their superiors tried to cover up the extent of the illnesses. “When they found out the kids had scabies, the charge nurse was adamant – ‘Don’t mention that. Don’t say scabies,’” the nurse recounted. “But everybody knew they had scabies. Some of the workers were very concerned about touching things and picking things up. They asked if they should be concerned, but they were told don’t worry about it.”

The counselor, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Starnes she kept a detailed journal about what happened during her tenure at the facility. “When people read that journal they are going to be astonished,” she said. ‘I don’t think they will believe what is going on in America.”

The counselor received a call from federal agents demanding that she return to the military base and hand over her journal but she refused.

So what happened to the “most transparent administration?” The last thing we need in America is a health crisis, a sort of biological assault on the country.

However, in the world of liberal progressives, the ends justify the means. Apparently, the goal of fundamentally transforming America must happen “by any means necessary.”

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com.

Homegrown jihadis arrested in Texas

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Once again, the “religion of peace” demonstrates its true colors — and please don’t give me the line of a few individuals perverting Islam. A few days ago, two Muslim men in Texas were arrested on jihad terror charges.

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Michael Wolfe & Rahatul Khan

As reported by ABCnews.com, the two men were separately charged with terror-related offenses after federal agents said they planned to travel halfway around the world to engage in violent jihad. One of the men, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen named Rahatul Ashikim Khan, allegedly wanted to join al-Shabab, a Somalia-based terror group linked to al-Qaida. For the other, Michael Todd Wolfe from Houston, learning to fight in Syria was allegedly the goal.

Anyone who doesn’t believe we have a problem with homegrown jihadis in America is delusional.

According to charging documents, Wolfe’s wife met an undercover FBI agent in August 2013 and told the agent she and her husband wanted to “perform a violent form of jihad” outside of the United States. She said Wolfe “just wants to hop into Syria. He’s just ready to die for his deen [religion]. He’s ready to die for someone, for something,” court documents say.

Over several months, another undercover FBI agent met with Wolfe, and they discussed Wolfe’s plans for going overseas, according to the court documents. On Jan. 22, both undercover FBI agents met with Wolfe and his wife, and Wolfe “indicated that he had learned that al-Qaida in Syria was training brothers from other countries (foreign fighters) and then sending those fighters back from Syria to their home countries to conduct terror attacks,” the FBI says in court documents.

This is the larger concern about ISIS and its Islamic caliphate — just yesterday the head of the FBI acknowledged that some 100 Americans could be part of the ISIS army. What is even more egregious is this: the couple was planning to use some of their estimated $5,000 tax refund to pay for their travel, prosecutors say.

Khan became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and is a full-time student at University of Texas-Austin (a very liberal school), which is now on summer recess. According to charging documents in his case, in early 2011, Khan began communicating with an informant in an online chat room, which he used “as a platform to spot and assess potential recruits for committing violent jihad overseas.”

Khan introduced the informant to an unidentified co-conspirator, possibly in Florida — and we know an American from Florida detonated himself in a suicide bomb attack in Syria recently — who then attempted to recruit the informant to travel to Somalia to engage in jihad there, prosecutors say in court documents. The co-conspirator then introduced the informant to another person, also likely in Florida, who discussed how Khan could get to Somalia to join the terrorist group al-Shabab.

In June 2011, Khan told the informant that his brain “starts bleeding” when he sees weak “Bengalis” who have “no love for jihad” and “no love to shed blood,” authorities allege.

The arrests come a month after the Justice Department asked a special prosecutor in its National Security Division to help lead U.S. efforts aimed at stemming the flow of American fighters to the civil war in Syria.

This is the jihadist version of “coexist” and I believe somehow it is different from the bumper sticker slogan on those Prius cars. The time for political correctness is gone — when tolerance becomes a one-way street it leads to cultural suicide. It also allows the enemy to walk amongst us, masquerading as a religion and affording themselves benefits in order to kill us.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com.

America’s New Textbooks are Coming

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In just six months, the state of Texas will adopt new social studies textbooks and educational materials for its five million students.  Approximately 50 new textbooks and 100 workbooks, CDs, and other educational materials will be put before the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) for approval in November.  The committee’s determinations are not only essential in Texas, where the state purchases almost all educational materials for its school districts, but for the nation at large.  As a bulk purchaser of over 150 million textbooks, the Texas market is substantial enough to influence the textbook publishers themselves.  Major publishers align the content of textbooks offered nation-wide to comply with Texas’ requests in order to ensure their books have a place in this substantial market.

What happens in Texas does not stay in Texas, but impacts parents, teachers, and students around the nation.  The textbooks that the SBOE chooses in November could very easily be on the desks in middle schools and high schools around the country in 2015.  It behooves citizens across the country to pay attention to the choices Texas will make and to understand the content of the books.

So, how is Texas planning to decide which textbooks to adopt?

In January, the SBOE changed the rules for its review process to mostly exclude individuals who are not Texas teachers or professors from reviewing textbooks.  The selection process has become more opaque and the standards for review unknown to those outside the process.  The public only knows that reviewers will meet for a week in Austin over the summer and are instructed not to discuss the process with outsiders (including publishers).  According to a Star-Telegram article, we do know that the changes are specifically designed to prevent citizens from raising controversial issues at the November hearings.

The public does not know who will be chosen to review the textbooks, the degree of scrutiny the books will face, or if the review process will even examine factual accuracy, objectivity, and overall content responsibility.  Newer textbooks, especially the slew of new material now marketed under the aegis of “Common Core,” contain an alarming degree of inaccurate material and need to be scrutinized and analyzed by independent experts who are guided by honesty and objectivity.  An independent review of these educational materials is crucial for students, parents, the education system, and our civic society.

Residents of Texas and other states should be alarmed that such important decisions will be made essentially “under the radar” of the citizenry.  A group of citizens called “Truth in Texas Textbooks,” under the leadership of Lt. Col. Roy White is leading an effort to bring citizen input to the SBOE.  This group has been planning and organizing since the fall of 2013 and is committed to making citizens’ voices heard.

At Verity Educate, we are working hard to provide parents, communities, and schools with the information they need to know about the content of these new textbooks.  Our experts – independent, non-partisan scholars – review material in their specialized content areas.  Textbooks are examined line-by-line for factual inaccuracies and content objectivity.  The in-depth reports we compile note every error, explain biased material, and examine the impact of particular inaccuracies on students’ education.  We spend up to 60 hours reviewing each book, researching the facts, and compiling reports.  How can the SBOE complete a thorough review of all the textbooks in one week?

Because the state will be coming to the November hearings with reviews from its hand-picked expert panels, citizens must also arm themselves with credible, authoritative, and scholarly evidence.  Some of the textbooks up for adoption will be great – factual, objective, and honest.  However, other textbooks will be inaccurate, biased, and un-truthful.  It is important for citizens to be informed about the content of these books before their adoption by the state of Texas and before the books come home in students’ backpacks.  When parents, taxpayers, and citizens inform themselves about the content of these books they can have input with their schools boards, state boards of education, and elected representatives.

An education riddled with factual inaccuracies and biased content affects the heart of our civic society.  When factual accuracy is not accounted for, students will grow into citizens lacking the most basic historical knowledge.  When presented, over and over, with biased content and one-sided arguments students fail to develop critical thinking skills.  The effects of a poor history education are playing out as we speak.  Influential leaders bring their ignorance of key historical events like the Monroe Doctrine and the Crimean War to the attention of the world through their actions and their speech.  When history is taught incorrectly, the nation suffers.

If you are interested in learning more about the content of new textbooks and efforts to ensure accuracy and objectivity, visit www.VerityEducate.org.  Follow us on twitter @VerityEducate and Facebook for regular updates.

Voice & Exit 2014: Join us to celebrate “human flourishing”

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Are you done with rubber chickens, cold hotels, and boring panels? FEE is a proud sponsor Voice & Exit 2014.

The event, to be held on June 21, 2014, in Austin, Texas, allows guests to explore ideas of “human flourishing.” Themes include:

  • Radical innovation
  • Opt-out culture
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Disruptive technology
  • Biohacking and personal optimization
  • Communities of the future (seasteading and startup cities)

Get tickets and make plans now to attend Voice & Exit 2014. Join FEE in celebrating ideas that could take us to the next stage of freedom, life meaning, and human well-being.

Use promo code “freedom” for a 10 percent discount. Student tickets are just $50.

Texas: Conviction upheld of Muslim who plotted jihad bombing of Bush’s home, Hoover Dam, “people of New York”

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At least Aldawsari has the satisfaction of knowing that he tied up the Infidel’s resources and made him spend a good deal of money on this frivolous appeal, and that in itself is a kind of jihad. “Conviction upheld in Saudi student Texas bomb plot,” by Michael Graczyk for the Associated Press, January 24 (thanks to Bill):

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a former Texas college student from Saudi Arabia sentenced to life in prison for trying to make a bomb for use in a religious attack that possibly was targeting former President George W. Bush.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected an appeal from Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 23. A federal court jury in Amarillo in June 2012 convicted him of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Prosecutors said Aldawsari, serving his life term at a federal prison in Terra Haute, Ind., had collected bomb-making material in his Lubbock apartment and researched possible targets, including Bush’s Dallas home, the Cotton Bowl, Hoover Dam and “people of New York,” according to the trial transcript.

Aldawsari’s lawyers contended in their appeal before the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit that the trial judge improperly allowed evidence, gave invalid jury instructions and erred in calculating Aldawsari’s sentence….

Aldawsari was arrested in February 2011 after the FBI searched his computer and apartment for evidence under terms of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows such searches if there’s probable cause the offender is an “agent of a foreign power.” The appeal contended the search involving Aldawsari wasn’t valid because there was no evidence of any foreign power’s involvement.

But a three-judge panel of the appeals court said “protection of the nation against terrorist threats” made the search proper under a provision of the act.

Attorneys also argued Aldawsari never completed the bomb but had made “mere preparations,” meaning a single sentence in the jury instruction referring to the crime of attempt was invalid. The court said the reference in the appeal was taken out of context and the instruction as a whole was correct.

In addition, the appeal said the sentence was too severe. While the punishment was the maximum the trial judge could impose, “we do not find the district court abused its discretion,” the appeals panel said.

Aldawsari arrived in the U.S. legally in 2008 to study chemical engineering. A handwritten journal found in his apartment included notes that he believed it was time for “jihad,” a Muslim term for holy war.

Naaah. As Hamas-linked CAIR would have us believe, that just means he was on his way to the gym.

Federal agents also found explosive chemicals, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks, along with videos showing how to make the chemical explosive TNP.

At his trial, his attorneys claimed he was a harmless failure who never came close to attacking anyone.

He told U.S. District Court Judge Donald E. Walter at his sentencing hearing in November 2012 he was lonely and isolated from family, friends and faith.

The poor guy! Imagine how isolated his victims and their families would have been if his jihad mass murder plot had come to fruition.

“I am sorry for these bad actions, but none of these bad actions did harm to the United States,” Aldawsari said.

FBI bomb experts say the amounts of chemicals he had would have yielded almost 15 pounds of explosive, about the same amount used per bomb in the 2005 London subway attacks….

Aldawsari had transferred from Texas Tech in early 2011 to nearby South Plains College, where he was studying business. A Saudi industrial company was paying his tuition and living expenses in the U.S.