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Louie Gohmert: “Appalled that Jade Helm hostile areas have Republican Majority”

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Photo Credit: National Journal

Photo Credit: National Journal

By Matt Berman. U.S. Special Operations Command is preparing to launch a five-month, multi-state exercise across private and public land to prepare Army special forces for threats anywhere in the world. Or at least that’s what the Pentagon would want you to believe. Officials and citizens in Texas, one of the states involved, see something potentially more nefarious in the exercise, dubbed Jade Helm 15. And now Rep. Louie Gohmert is joining them.

“Over the past few weeks, my office has been inundated with calls referring to the Jade Helm 15 military exercise scheduled to take place between July 15 and September 15, 2015,” Gohmert said in a Tuesday statement. “This military practice has some concerned that the U.S. Army is preparing for modern-day martial law. Certainly, I can understand these concerns.”

“When leaders within the current administration believe that major threats to the country include those who support the Constitution, are military veterans, or even ‘cling to guns or religion,’ patriotic Americans have reason to be concerned,” Gohmert wrote.

The congressman took particular issue with the layout and labels of the Pentagon map for the exercise. “Once I observed the map depicting ‘hostile,’ ‘permissive,’ and ‘uncertain’ states and locations, I was rather appalled that the hostile areas amazingly have a Republican majority, ‘cling to their guns and religion,’ and believe in the sanctity of the United States Constitution.” Gohmert called on the Pentagon to change the map, the names on the map, and said “the tone of the exercise needs to be completely revamped so the federal government is not intentionally practicing war against its own states.” (Read more from “Louie Gohmert: Appalled that Jade Helm Hostile Areas Have GOP Majority” HERE)

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Pentagon: Texas Has Nothing to Fear From Upcoming Military Exercise

By James Rosen. The Pentagon has a message for Texas: chill.

Defense officials Monday dismissed as “wild speculation” an Internet-fueled claim that a massive summertime exercise called Jade Helm 15 for special operations commandos is a covert operation by President Barack Obama to take over Texas.

That claim was given legitimacy by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott’s order last week for the Texas State Guard to monitor the exercises.

“Operation Jade Helm poses no threat to any American’s civil liberties,” Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday. “Operation Jade Helm is being conducted by Americans – by, specifically, American special forces personnel.”

Jade Helm 15 will be one of the biggest peacetime military exercises in six decades. Starting July 15 and lasting two months, thousands of Army Rangers, Green Berets, Navy SEALS and other special operations forces will simulate war missions in mainly remote areas of Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Chilling Recorded Conversations of American Muslim Who Opened Fire on Anti-Islam Event in Texas [+video]

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Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

By Lydia Warren. The former terror suspect shot dead by police on Sunday after he and another gunman stormed an anti-Islam art contest in Texas had said he intended to ‘fight to the death’ for Allah.

Elton Simpson, 30, and his roommate Nadir Soofi, 24, were killed outside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland after a security guard was shot during a controversial competition for the best caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

Court documents have now revealed that Simpson, who was born in Illinois before moving to Phoenix, Arizona and converting to Islam, was well known to the FBI.

In 2010, he was convicted of lying to federal agents about his plans to travel to Somalia, where they suspected he planned to join a terror group.

‘The defendant falsely stated to special agents of the FBI that he had not discussed traveling to Somalia, when in fact he had discussed with others traveling to Somalia for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad,’ a complaint reads. (Read more from “Chilling Recorded Conversations of American Muslim Who Opened Fire on Anti-Islam Event in Texas” HERE)

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How Texas “Terror” Shooter Elton Simpson Avoided Prison in 2011

By James King. The attorney who once defended one of two men who opened fire at a “Draw Muhammad” event in Texas on Sunday says she was “shocked” to learn that he was involved in the attack. She says she has represented a number of people charged with terrorism-related crimes. Some of them are the “worst of the worst,” but Elton Simpson was “one of the good ones,” she said.

“He was always respectful to me and my staff—did everything he was supposed to do,” attorney Kristina Sitton told Vocativ.

According to Sitton, Simpson didn’t come from a Muslim family and didn’t convert to Islam until he was in high school. “He said he was running with a bad crowd in high school—smoking, drinking and stuff,” she said. “He said Islam got him away from that stuff.”

Sitton defended Simpson against charges that he made false statements to an FBI agent in 2010 about a trip he was planning to take to Somalia to study Islam. He was facing up to eight years in prison if federal prosecutors had been able to convince Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Mary Murguia that the trip was related to international or domestic terrorism. Ultimately, Murguia in 2011 sentenced him to three years probation for the false statement. According to federal court records obtained by Vocativ, the judge determined that the feds didn’t make their case—despite audio recordings of Simpson talking about “jihad” with an FBI informant. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Texas Governor Orders State Guard to Keep an Eye on Federal Troops’ Jade Helm Exercise

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Photo Credit: NPR

Photo Credit: NPR

By Wade Goodwyn. [W]hen rookie Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was ordering the Texas State Guard to monitor a Navy SEAL/Green Beret joint training exercise, which was taking place in Texas and several other states, everybody here looked up from their iPhones. What?

It seems there is concern among some folks that this so-called training maneuver is just a cover story. What’s really going on? . . .[Last week there was] a public briefing by the Army in Bastrop County, which is just east of Austin, got raucous. The poor U.S. Army colonel probably just thought he was going to give a regular briefing, but instead 200 patriots shouted him down, told him he was a liar and grilled him about the imminent federal takeover of Texas and subsequent imposition of martial law. . .

The next day Gov. Abbott decided he had to take action. He announced that he was going to ask the Texas State Guard to monitor Operation Jade Helm from start to finish.

“It is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed upon,” Abbott said.

The idea that the Yankee military can’t be trusted down here has a long and rich history in Texas. But that was a while back. Abbott’s proclamation that he was going to keep his eye on these Navy SEAL and Green Beret boys did rub some of our leaders the wrong way. (Read more from “Texas Governor Ordered State Guard to Keep an Eye on Federal Troops’ Jade Helm Exercise” HERE)

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Texas Governor Orders Troops to ‘Monitor’ Jade Helm

By Dylan Baddour. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered members of the Texas Military to monitor federal troops in an upcoming two-month training exercise planned for the Lone Star State.

Operation Jade Helm will bring the U.S. military’s most elite soldiers, including the Green Berets and Navy SEALS, to Texas for simulated special operations in a hostile territory. But plans for the exercise have roused fears in many Texans of a federal occupation.

In a letter to Major General Gerald Betty of the Texas State Guard, Abbott said his order was “to address concerns of Texas citizens.”

“During the training operation, it is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property right and civil liberties will not be infringed,” the governor wrote. “I am directing the Texas State Guard to monitor Operation Jade Helm 15.”

The State Guard is a militia of volunteer reservists, headquartered at Camp Mabry in Austin, meant to serve in times of emergency or catastrophe. It is one of three branches of the Texas Military, a force commanded by the governor. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Watch: Texas Trooper KARATE KICKS Suspect off His Motorcycle Following High-Speed Chase

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Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Dashcam footage has revealed the startling moment a Texas trooper ran toward a motorcyclist following a high-speed chase, leaped into the air and karate kicked him to the ground.

The unconventional maneuver led to a three-day, unpaid suspension for Trooper Abraham Martinez last year but the footage only emerged this week as the Austin American Statesman investigated outdated tactics used in Department of Public Safety pursuits.

The incident unfolded in December 2012 after Martinez, a 10-year veteran trooper, took chase when 25-year-old Steven Gaydos ran a stop sign near Houston . . .

Troopers followed Gaydos for nearly 40 miles at speeds of 130 mph before Martinez pulled alongside him and fired four times through the window of his moving car, striking the man once in the thigh.

The motorcyclist then raised his hand and pulled over and, as he tried to put down his kickstand, Martinez suddenly leaped out at him, kicked him and knocked him to the ground. (Read more from “Watch: Texas Trooper KARATE KICKS Suspect off His Motorcycle Following High-Speed Chase” HERE)

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‘American Laws for American Courts’: Resolution Passed in North Texas City Despite Muslim Complaints

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ShariaOn Thursday evening, March 19, the Irving City Council passed a resolution that expressed support for Texas House Bill 562, a proposed piece of legislation that is scheduled for its first public hearing in Austin next week. It is a bill that has been nicknamed American Laws for American Courts.

Irving’s symbolic nod was close, won only in a vote of 5 to 4. The resolution was one heated agenda item, too. It brought out an estimated 500 residents from the City of Irving in the Dallas area. The local, large Muslim population also turned out at City Hall, complaining that HB 562 was discriminatory to them because the bill codifies that US and Texas laws supersede foreign laws.

It is something that should make perfect sense — that the laws of the United States and Texas, and their respective constitutions supersede foreign law. HB 562 was authored by state Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) and was coauthored by 34 other state legislators. One of them, state Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving) spoke on behalf of the bill at the meeting.

The Muslim community’s point of contention with the City’s resolution was that they felt targeted by HB 562 because of their faith; however, there was nothing in HB 562 that mentioned race, religion, or creed. Nor did Leach’s proposed legislation prevent the practice of “tribunals” where religious leaders act as arbitrators in family, business or other situations whether it be Catholic Ecclesiastical Law, Jewish Halakhah Law, or Muslim Sharia Law.

“This bill does not mention, at all, Muslims, Sharia Law, Islam, even religion. It specifically talks about foreign laws not taking precedent over US laws and those of the state of Texas,” Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne stated during the council meeting. (Read more from “‘American Laws for American Courts’: Resolution Passed in North Texas City” HERE)

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Republican Lawmaker: Sodomy Law Needed for Public Health

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[Editor’s note: This excerpt is biased but is included for its news content] Texas Republican state Rep. James White has said that the state’s unconstitutional ban on same-sex sodomy should not be repealed for “public health” reasons and to stop bestiality.

The San Antonio-Express News recently asked White if he would support repealing the ban since he had filed a bill to rollback regulations on hair braiding.

Even though the Supreme Court struck down the sodomy law in its 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision, White insisted that it should be kept on the books. The law specifically bans “deviant sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.”

“Absolutely, there is a difference,” White said, arguing that hair braiding regulations were “a way of disenfranchising them out of the marketplace. I don’t necessarily think this was the case with sodomy.”

According to the Republican lawmaker, the anti-gay law represented “a community coming together and having a moral standard, per se, as opposed to using the regulatory environment to disenfranchise people.” (Read more from “Republican Lawmaker: Anti-Gay Sodomy Law Needed for ‘Public Health’” HERE)

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Feds Raid Texas Political Meeting [+video]

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It seemed like a typical congressional meeting for the Republic of Texas. Senators and the president gathered in the center of a Bryan, Texas, meeting hall, surrounded by public onlookers, to debate issues of the national currency, develop international relations and celebrate the birthday of one of their oldest members.

But this wasn’t 1836, and this would be no ordinary legislative conference. Minutes into the meeting a man among the onlookers stood and moved to open the hall door, letting in an armed and armored force of the Bryan Police Department, the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office, Agents of the Texas District Attorney, the Texas Rangers and the FBI.

In the end, at least 20 officers corralled, searched and fingerprinted all 60 meeting attendees, before seizing all cellphones and recording equipment in a Valentine’s Day 2015 raid on the Texas separatist group.

“We had no idea what was going on,” said John Jarnecke, president of the Republic of Texas. “We knew of nothing that would warrant such an action.”

The raid was a response to legal summons sent by Republic of Texas members to a Kerr County judge and bank employee, demanding they appear in the Republic’s court at the Veterans and Foreign Wars building in Bryan the day the officers stormed in. Jarnecke’s group, the subject of a half-hour YouTube documentary [see below], maintains a small working government, including official currency, congress and courts. (Read more about the feds raiding a Texas political meeting HERE)

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If You Chant ‘USA’, You’re Racist According to a Texas High School

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By Brian Anderson. With six years of Obama disrespecting our heritage, playing identity politics, and destroying our sovereignty, this was inevitable: patriotism now equals racism. Fans at a high school girls basketball game in Texas have been accused of racism becuase they were chanting “USA, USA, USA!”

See, it’s all in the context. Apparently, Idalou High School, whose fans were chanting, is predominantly white, while the team they were playing, Slaton High School, is predominantly Hispanic. I guess the Slaton ballers must all be illegal aliens or something, because I still can’t see why this is an issue.

Slaton Superintendent Julee Becker took issue with the chant however, explaining to My San Antonio why this was such a horrible incident:

“I believe that we are a microcosm in schools of greater society. That’s what we are. The symptoms of racism, they run deep, said Becker. (Read more about the ‘racism’ at the Texas high school HERE)
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Faculty at Texas High School Apologize to Students for ‘USA’ Chants

By Phil Terrigno. Slaton Superintendent Julee Becker confirmed Slaton has not filed a formal complaint with the UIL regarding the incident and said that “in some ways, this is a bigger deal than the UIL” . . .

Idalou Superintendent Jim Waller issued a written apology in addition to speaking with Slaton administrators but also said no students will be disciplined. . .

“I was not aware of anything about that until it was brought to my attention by someone else about what had happened at some other schools,” Waller said in a phone interview. “I immediately apologized to the (Slaton) superintendent. I emailed this morning a written apology and called an administrators meeting.”

In that apology, Waller wrote: “I apologize to Slaton ISD and the chanting will not be allowed to continue at games because of the perception that it creates. We understand competitiveness and school excitement and support, but we need to be supportive in our words to our team and not use words that may be interpreted as insensitive to an opposing team” . . .

Becker said she plans to address the Slaton students and community about the incident because “they deserve to know that we won’t let it go. We don’t tolerate racism in our schools.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Social Media Blasting Texas Lawmaker After She Asks Muslims to Pledge Allegiance to US

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Photo Credit: Western Journalism Freshman Republican state representative Molly White recently wrote a Facebook post asking American Muslim visitors to her office to pledge allegiance to the United States, and now she is getting blasted on social media for it.

The Texas lawmaker wrote on Facebook Thursday:

Today is Texas Muslim Capital [sic] Day in Austin. The House is in recess until Monday. Most Members including myself are back in District. I did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws. We will see how long they stay in my office . . .

CAIR sent a letter to Texas House Speaker Joe Straus asking whether Rep. White had engaged in an ethics violation by asking American Muslims coming into her office to renounce terrorism and pledge allegiance to the US. The letter reads:

Our ethics question is: Has Rep. White violated any House rules in creating such an internal office policy that is selectively being enforced to discriminate against certain religious minorities trying to meet with her or her staff? Are House members prohibited from making constituents take oaths before meeting with their elected representatives or House staff? . . .

Fatima Ahmed wrote on Facebook:

You can’t seriously be this clueless. Not very ‘Christian’ of you. We should organize a group to come visit you and shower you with love in return for your hate. That’s would Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) would do. But what would you know about that. #Islamophobia #Bigotry #MollyWhite #TAKEONHATE. . .

White stood by her statement. . .

(Read more about the Texas lawmaker getting blasted on social media HERE)

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Islamic Court Using Sharia Law Confirmed in Texas

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Photo Credit: BreitbartAn Islamic Tribunal using Sharia law in Texas has been confirmed by Breitbart Texas. The tribunal is operating as a non-profit organization in Dallas. One of the attorneys for the tribunal said participation and acceptance of the tribunal’s decisions are “voluntary.”

Breitbart Texas spoke with one of the “judges,” Dr. Taher El-badawi. He said the tribunal operates under Sharia law as a form of “non-binding dispute resolution.” El-badawi said their organization is “a tribunal, not arbitration.” A tribunal is defined by Meriam-Webster’s Dictionary as “a court or forum of justice.” The four Islamic attorneys call themselves “judges” not “arbitrators.”

El-badawi said the tribunal follows Sharia law to resolve civil disputes in family and business matters. He said they also resolve workplace disputes.

In matters of divorce, El-badawi said that “while participation in the tribunal is voluntary, a married couple cannot be considered divorced by the Islamic community unless it is granted by the tribunal.” He compared their divorce, known as “Talaq,” as something similar to the Catholic practice of annulment in that the church does not recognize civil divorce proceedings as ending a marriage.

He also said there is a difference between how a man and a woman can request a divorce under their system. “The husband can request the divorce directly from the tribunal,” El-badawi stated. “The wife must go to an Imam who will request the divorce for her.” He called it “two paths to the same result.” The practice of Khula is the process where a wife can initiate a divorce proceeding and where the husband can agree to the divorce in exchange for a financial compensation. It appears the wife must agree to give up any claim to the “dower” that was not already paid or to return it if it has already been paid. Once the financial issues are resolved the husband can then proclaim the Talaq (divorce). (Read more about the Islamic court HERE)

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