Jihadist Enclave discovered near Houston

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Ephesians 5:11

This came out last February, but we just learned about it:

A Clarion Project investigation has discovered a jihadist enclave in Texas where a deadly shooting took place in 2002. Declassified FBI documents obtained by Clarion confirm the find and show the U.S. government’s concern about its links to terrorism. The investigation was completed with help from ACT! For America Houston.

The enclave belongs to the network of Muslims of the Americas, a radical group linked to a Pakistani militant group called Jamaat ul-Fuqra. Its members are devoted followers of Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, an extremist cleric in Pakistan.

....

Terror Enclave: “Mahmoudberg, Texas”

The MOA compound in Texas, described by the FBI as an “enclave” and “communal living site,” is in Brazoria county along County Road 3 near Sweeny. It was discovered by the FBI due to a tip from an informant in New York.

The MOA referred to its Texas commune as “Mahmoudberg” in online instructions for a parade in New York in 2010. A posting on an Islamic message board in 2005 advertised a speaking engagement in Houston by someone from Mahmoudberg.

According to the reports, the commune is seven to 10 acres large, is in an “extremely wooded area” and two or three trailer homes moved there in December 2001. However, ACT members visited the area as part of Clarion’s investigation and interviewed one nearby local who confidently said it is closer to 25 acres in size and spoke of a presence dating back to the late 1980s.

“The area is so rural it is quite common for residents to shoot firearms for target practice or hunting on private property without interference from law enforcement,” one FBI report states.

Locals told the ACT members that they haveShells found in the area of MOA's 'Mahmoudberg' enclave in TexasShells found in the area of MOA's 'Mahmoudberg' enclave in Texas heard gunfire coming from the commune. Pictures of shells from the area are posted to the right:

The FBI reported in 2007 that one commune resident used to be a leader at the MOA commune in Badger, California. The site was called "Baladullah." In March 2001, one of the Baladullah members was arrested for transporting guns between New York and South Carolina. Another was charged with murdering a police deputy that caught him breaking and entering a home.

Interviewed residents all agreed that the MOA members are private, yet when the ACT members were spotted in the area, they were immediately and repeatedly approached. At one point, a commune resident gave them a final warning to leave, despite the fact that they were not trespassing or harassing MOA members.

“It was definitely very threatening and menacing,” an ACT member told me.

Multiple sources confirmed that one resident of the commune is a police officer. According to a nearby neighbor, one of the MOA members used to drive trucks for the U.S. Army in Kuwait.

The commune is also linked to a non-profit called the Muslim Model Community of Texas. Members travel to Houston to worship at the MOA Dawah Center that is linked to another organization called First Muslims of Texas.

 And where, pray tell, is Sweeny, TX?!?

And how would you get to Minute Maid Park from Sweeny, TX (assuming the Astros one day start drawing enough fans to become a legit mass casualty target)?!?



How would one get to the Alamo from Sweeny, TX?!?



And finally, since this is a Longhorn-friendly website, how would one get to Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium from Sweeny, TX?!?



Seriously, though, it gets better:

More MOA Activity in Texas

The MOA presence in Texas is not limited to the Mahmoudberg commune near Sweeny. As mentioned, the MOA utilizes a dawah (outreach) center in Houston for activities. The declassified FBI documents show that the extremist group has been in Texas since the 1980s.

On October 11, 1991, a federal search warrant for three suspects was issued after a MOA/Jamaat-ul-Fuqra bomb plot in Toronto was foiled. A nearly 45-acre “compound” about 70 miles south of Dallas was raided. The location may have been near Corsicana, as another FBI document mentions that about seven MOA members purchased property in that area.

The suspects managed to flee on October 5-6 before the raid took place. Their children also suddenly disappeared from school. The feds found four mobile homes, three military, general-purpose tents and six vehicles. Loose ammunition, books on counter-terrorism techniques and weaponry and various items with “Jamaat Fuqra Land” written on them were discovered.

They also found surveillance photos of a post office building and the Greenhead Station in Los Angeles, leading authorities to suspect that attacks on these sites were planned.

MOA activities in Texas continued after the October 1991 raid. Two FBI documents from 1992 mention that MOA members in the state were using false aliases, social security numbers and birth certificates.

 Lovely.

(h/t Bryan Preston.)

SD-28: Prop. 6 Slush Fund Loses Big

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight."
Proverbs 11:1

We haven't discussed the Prop. 6 Slush Fund since it passed last fall.  But last night, in Northwest Texas, something interesting happened.  Charles Perry decisively won a special election in SD-28, despite the fact that the George W. Bush crony running against him attacked him relentlessly on water:



Ouch....

Child Rape and Fraud in the Early Sexual Revolution

"Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises."
Habakkuk 1:3

We haven't discussed Alfred Kinsey in awhile, but this interview is fantastic:



Highlights:

• Abused infants and children in his "research."

• Falsified Data.

• Used statistically invalid population samples.

• Academia has covered it up.

• Kinsey institute is now advising the U.N.

• Recorded children crying as 'orgasms.'

• Got data from Nazi Pedophiles.

• Hugh Hefner was Kinsey's pamphleteer.
• And that didn't work out particularly well for Hefner, either.

• Consequences of sexual revolution include impotent young men.

• Sex education, especially under Common Core, is all based on Kinsey.

Citizens for Tax Relief Now's Press Conference

"But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God."
Nehemiah 5:15

Austin City Hall -- This afternoon, Citizens for Tax Relief Now held a press conference to discuss alternatives to the tax increase the current lame duck city council is set to impose on Austin:

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Highlights:

• Cindy Malette -- People are now paying more in property taxes than mortgages.
• Her rent went up substantially in 2013.
• Rail, busses, and bikes aren't viable for people with kids.
• Affordability crisis is due to tax rate, not appraisals.
• Effective tax rate equals tax relief now.
• City and county are operating a dysfunctional system.
• 90,000 people protested property taxes in 2014, only 50,000 voted in last Austin City Council election.

• Bill Worsham -- Two paths: Either chase unicorns or promote prosperity for all Austinites.

• Kent Philips -- City is driving gentrification.

• Julian Fernandez -- Will lower property taxes by 20%
• Forensic Audit and zero-based budgeting.
• Helen Diaz, age 90, had to sell her home because of property taxes.
• WWII vets are getting priced out in East Austin.
• We cannot let people lose their home because of high property taxes.

• Todd Phelps --  We're trying to retain our soul in Austin.
• Doesn't want to wait four years for a homestead exemption.
• Current group running city hall got us into this affordability/traffic crisis.

• Michael Cargill --  Get back to fiscal responsibility.

• Mike McNamara - We're in trouble in Travis County.

• Richard Franklin -- Local Government doesn't do a cost/benefit analysis, just give $$$ to special interests.

• Peggy Venable -- ATX is the poster child for local government debt.
• 10 cents of every dollar Austin ISD spends goes to debt service.

• Dean Wright -- 3 actions City/County needs to take:
• Freeze 2014 tax rate.
• Audit city agencies every two years.
• Zero-based budgeting every two years.

Texas' first 'Liberty City' abolishes property taxes!!!

"And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities."
Luke 19:17

Good for them:

Last month, it was announced that Von Ormy likely will become the first municipality in Bexar County to eliminate its property tax and shift to a consumption-based tax system.

By proposing to eliminate the property tax, Von Ormy officials are not only establishing a pro-growth benchmark for other cities to follow but also challenging Texans to question the need for a property tax in the first place. The implications could have an effect on tax policy for years to come.

How did Von Ormy get here?

After incorporating in 2008 to provide basic city services to this underserved community of South Bexar County residents, the nascent city set a property tax rate of 39 cents per $100 valuation, based on an average of surrounding communities. While it was sufficient for its needs, low property valuations — and the deepening recession of 2008 — meant a limited property tax revenue stream going into city coffers.

That was when Von Ormy did something extraordinary — not only did it provide services within its tax rate, the city was so efficient that it cut taxes the next year. Then city leaders kept doing it. Every year that Von Ormy has existed, they've cut the property tax rate by at least 10 percent using surplus sales tax revenue.

Lower taxes, no fees and few regulations have encouraged strong local growth. As a result of fostering a pro-growth economic environment, Von Ormy's revenues have exploded, with more than a 30 percent increase expected in the coming fiscal year.

....

Some might wonder if such measures mean meager city services. In fact, they do not. Among other things, Von Ormy's budget this year proposes building a new police station and city park, for which the city will pay cash and incur no debt.

#HookemGrover: Explaining last Saturday's beatdown

"A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones."
Proverbs 17:22

Ouch, but true:

"The Passion Economy" is coming to Austin!!!

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,"
Colossians 3:23

This is the coolest thing we've seen since BITCOIN:



Highlights:

• Passion is the most overused, underutilized, word in the English language.

• The education system is the least passion oriented system in history.

• Following you passion entails sacrifice.

• The sharing economy is the foundation.

• What you will work for for nothing is your most valuable asset and you should be able to make money off of it.

Learn more here and here.