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April 2015

When Al Sharpton is in front of an MSNBC camera, it's an adventure watching him try to read from the teleprompter ("Resist we much!"). However, when he's in front of other cameras, grandstanding, he does very well. Earlier, Sharpton had a run in with Fox News reporter Leland Vittert. Vittert was doing this odd thing called "journalism" and was attempting to question Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake when Sharpton decided to play palace guard: Sharpton of course, knew it was Fox News and as such, he knew millions were watching... unlike his show on MSNBC. But hey, at least Sharpton is punching up, right?

Earlier today, President Obama visited D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood where he spoke to grade school students at a public library. According to CNN, Obama unveiled a two-part plan to encourage reading in lower-income areas. "The first part of President's plan is to give young people better digital access to books," CNN reports. The second part of the plan is the ConnectED Library Challenge. ConnectED's goal is to put, "a library card in every child's hand to ensure they have access to not only books, but public internet." "The event was moderated by a sixth grader from Salisbury, Maryland, who asked questions submitted by students across the country, some of whom were watching the event on a livestream in their classrooms," reports CNN. While Obama was discussing the difficulty of speech writing (though if he mentioned he has a staff of speech writers, it's not contained in this clip), the frustration of writer's block, and how terrible first drafts can be, this brave youngster said what we have all wanted to say:

Update: Bowdoin College students overwhelmingly reject Israel boycott ---------------- The Bowdoin College Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group may obtain sufficient signatures on a Petition to send a referendum endorsing the full academic and cultural boycott of Israel to a vote by the full student body. This is not a mere "divestment" resolution.  In calling on the full student body to endorse the complete boycott of Israel, the referendum appears to be taking an unpredecented move among college anti-Israel initiatives, which normally are narrowly tailored. It is a resolution, much like that passed by the American Studies Association, that would cut all academic and cultural ties with all Israeli Universities and any Israeli scholar or student acting on behalf of or through those universities.  The ASA boycott was condemned as a violation of academic freedom by over 250 University Presidents (including Bowdoin's) and several major academic groups, such as the American Association of University Professors. Whether SJP will obtain sufficient signatures is a matter currently under dispute. As of last night, SJP was claiming that it reached the required number at the time it closed the Petition. Bowdoin SJP Announcement Enough Signatures According to the Bowdoin Orient student newspaper 360 signatures were needed, but the online petition as of this writing shows only 351 signatures.  I am told that in a new development this afternoon, the number of signatures needed was raised to 383, as there has been a miscalculation of the total number of students.

Peter Schweizer's "Clinton Cash" has the Democratic Party---and Hillary Clinton's campaign team---really nervous. The book has shone a spotlight on Hillary's time as Secretary of State, and on the connection between deals presented to the state department by foreign interests (government and business) and donations made to the Clinton Foundation. Schweizer has said several times his role as an author was to establish a pattern of behavior by Bill and Hillary Clinton as it related to donations made to the Clinton Foundation, and paid speaking gigs for Bill that often topped $500,000 apiece. Critics however, have lashed out at Schweizer and his book, claiming it is nothing but a political hack job due to the lack of a "smoking gun." There is no evidence of any quid pro quo, so therefore, the book is just partisan mudslinging. Schweizer is quick to point out that he is an author, not a prosecutor, and his job was merely to report on what he believed was a pattern of behavior. He said it is up to those with subpoena power to look into the issue further and determine if there was any criminal behavior. That being said, the "smoking gun" argument doesn't really pass the sniff test, because there are plenty of politicians who have been indicted and/or convicted of crimes without the presence of a "smoking gun." Here are just a few:

An unlikely alliance between a top Democrat, and a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, has cast a trip line in front of the House's "running start" on the appropriations process. Last night, House Republicans delayed a vote on the first spending bill of the new session. The bill would have provided the funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects, and is usually the easiest appropriation to pass. A series of amendments from Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), however, threatened to derail an agreement made by House and Senate negotiators to reconcile both chambers' spending plans prior to a vote. The amendments address a budgetary loophole involving the sequester (remember that whole thing?) and the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) fund. Mulvaney's amendment seeks to block the Pentagon from using $532 billion from the OCO to fund overseas military construction projects at bases in Italy, Poland, Bahrain, Niger, Djibouti and Oman. Note: the OCO is not subject to the sequester caps passed in 2011. The budget the House was poised to pass would have appropriated $90 billion dollars from the OCO fund to the Pentagon; because that $90 billion comes from the OCO, it's not subject to the sequester, either, even though the appropriations bill slapped another label on it.

Earlier this week, I wrote on reports that the Nigerian military had managed to rescue hundreds of women and girls from now-defunct Boko Haram camps in northeastern Nigeria. Good news like that doesn't come along every day---but maybe today is just a good week for hope, because almost 200 more women and children have been rescued in the Sambisa Forest area. The 200 "Chibok" girls of #BringBackOurGirls fame do not appear to be among those rescued, but reports have not yet confirmed that. More from CNN:
"We are still working to verify the actual number of the rescued hostages, but I can say they include around 60 women and 100 children," said army spokesman Sani Usman. A female hostage and a soldier were killed during the rescue operation at Sambisa Forest, a base for the Islamist extremists. Troops are moving into other parts of the forest and have destroyed nine militant camps, the spokesman said. "Many of those kidnapped have undergone psychological trauma and indoctrination," he said.
This is huge, for a variety of reasons.

This is a follow up to our post, Mom Sets #BaltimoreRiots Son Straight. The two sat down for an interview with ABC News:
The teenage boy publicly shamed when his mom smacked him around at the Baltimore riots this week said he knows she "really cares about me." A video shows Michael Singleton being dragged from the protests and whacked by his mother, Toya Graham, after she saw him on television and recognized a key piece of clothing. "What caught my eye was his sweatpants," she told ABC News. "Even though he had on all black, I knew those sweatpants he had on, they had a stripe on the side of it and then his eye contact met mine. And I knew that was my son." Though he was visibly annoyed and tried brushing off his mom in the video that has now gone viral, the 16-year-old recognizes that she was just looking out for him. "I’m like, 'Oh man! What is my momma doing down here?'" Michael told ABC News, laughing while thinking back to the moment his mom nabbed him Monday afternoon. "All my friends know my mother. Every time they see her they’re like, 'Toya coming.' Oh, yeah she’s coming. Everybody better get straight," he said. He added: “I understand how much my mother really cares about me. I just got to try to do better.”

Last time we saw Lois Lerner, she was breathing a sigh of relief upon hearing the news that the DOJ had declined to pursue contempt charges after her refusal to testify before a House committee. At the time, this may have seemed like a huge win, but in context, a contempt charge was and probably remains the least of Lerner's problems. Just months before learning she was in the clear, Lerner got buried beneath a damning pile of recovered e-mails showing a very, very paranoid Lois Lerner. The evidence gained from those e-mails suggests a group of officials bent on suppressing the free speech of their political enemies, and screams "cover up." Just think---what if there were even more e-mails out there containing even more damning evidence?! Ask, and you shall receive. An inspector general investigating IRS misconduct has unearthed additional e-mails, and turned them over to Congress. Via Fox News [emphasis mine]:
“This underscores that our investigation into IRS abuse is far from over,” a House Ways and Means Committee spokesman said Wednesday. “The committee will thoroughly review these new emails as part of our ongoing efforts to find out exactly what happened and provide accountability."

According to a new report from FOX News which is sure to generate controversy, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake gave an order for police to stand down during the riots which decimated the city this week:
Source: Baltimore mayor ordered police to stand down Despite a firm denial by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a senior law enforcement source charges that she gave an order for police to stand down as riots broke out Monday night, raising more questions about whether some of the violence and looting could have been prevented. The source, who is involved in the enforcement efforts, confirmed to Fox News there was a direct order from the mayor to her police chief Monday night, effectively tying the hands of officers as they were pelted with rocks and bottles. Asked directly if the mayor was the one who gave that order, the source said: "You are God damn right it was." The claim follows criticism of the mayor for, over the weekend, saying they were giving space to those who "wished to destroy."
Bill Hemmer of FOX News asked the mayor to comment but she denied the claim. Watch:

One of the most remarkable aspects of the death of Freddie Gray is how little is publicly known about the physiological cause of death, and the lack of evidence behind all the speculation. The autopsy will not be released, according to police, but will be handed over to state prosecutors. There is a report in The Washington Post that Gray tried to injure himself in the police van, but that is far from certain at this point. This naturally complicates reasoned analysis of the events, and provides fertile ground for false, politically-motivated narratives that lead to violence, rioting, looting and arson. Let's take a step back, examine the claims and narratives that have been promulgated to date, and consider whether there exists even a hypothetical scenario in which the death of Freddie Gray is the result of events not involving police malice.

Assumed for Purposes of Discussion: Gray’s Arrest Was Lawful

There is no dispute that Freddie Gray was arrested on the street by the Baltimore police department. Some claim that the arrest was committed without adequate probable cause. This is, of course, possible. Given Gray’s extensive criminal record, familiarity to local law enforcement, objectively suspicious behavior—-flight upon spotting the patrol officers—-and a police claim that he was in possession of an illegal (in Maryland), spring-assisted opening knife, it’s at least equally possible that the police had probable cause.

Monday evening, Governor Perry introduced Navy SEAL of 'Lone Survivor' fame at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library's Perspectives on Leadership Forum. There, they discussed their unique bond. "These are extraordinary people that step forward and serve their country," Perry said of military service personnel. "Tonight you are going to hear from one who simply understood that he owed a debt. A debt to the individuals who had come before him. In the form of William Barrett Travis at the Alamo, his father before him, my dad, all of those men and women who have stepped forward to keep this country free. We are incredibly blessed... we are in the presence of some extraordinary beings. And none more so than the one you'll hear from tonight. Just a regular, common, country boy who found himself in extraordinary circumstances." Gov. Perry's relationship with Luttrell is one markedly different from the overplayed politician parades soldier for political expediency schtick. In 2007, two years after he survived a Taliban onslaught in Afghanistan, a distressed Luttrell showed up at the Texas Governor's mansion and asked to speak with Rick Perry.

Things just got real up in here. You might remember the hubbub surrounding Sen. Tom Cotton's so-called "47 Traitors" open letter addressed to Iranian officials. You know, the one where Cotton, et al. were proved right? Well earlier today, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (the same dude who thought it would be cute to lecture the Senate about the U.S. Constitution), took a verbal swipe at Sen. Cotton. As U.S. News and World Report writes:
The Iranian foreign minister addressed the U.S. domestic political debate regarding the negotiations, referencing a letter sent by 47 Republican senators to leaders of the Islamic republic warning that any deal agreed to by President Barack Obama could be undone by a subsequent administration. The initiative was led by freshman Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark, whom Zarif called out by name Wednesday, saying with a chuckle that upon completion of a deal Iran expects sanctions to be dropped in the U.N. Security Council “whether Sen. Cotton likes it or not.” “We don’t want to get bogged down into the domestic procedures in the United States. I’ve studied and lived in the U.S.,” Zarif said. “I know enough about the U.S. Constitution and U.S. procedures, but as a foreign government I only deal with U.S. government. I do not deal with U.S. Congress.”
Shortly thereafter, Sen. Cotton released a statement urging Congressional approval of any Iran deal, and reiterating the need to oversee President Obama's efforts:

As readers know, "microaggression" theory is the rage on campuses. We have covered the phenomenon extensively: At Brandeis University, the Asian American Students Association (BAASA) sought to put the spotlight on and fight microaggressions through an installation on the steps of the Rabb Graduate Center, as announced on Facebook:
We have put up an installation at the Rabb steps to bring attention to microaggressions that are frequently heard in and out of the Brandeis community. These words are microaggressions, targeted towards Asian (American) students drawn from our very own experiences on this campus. Our experiences connect us and create the need for Asian (American) communities and resources.

This week, the Senate recognized the passing of the first 100 days of the new majority Congress. We've covered the good, the bad, and the ugly here at Legal Insurrection (read it here). The Senate has hit a lot of high points. In addition to passing an actual budget, they passed the hotly-contested Keystone XL pipeline approval, advanced bipartisan trade legislation, and shined light on the plight of domestic human trafficking. Stark differences from Harry Reid's Senate abound. Watch the primed-for-fundraising video the NRSC produced to highlight those differences: Of course, that's not the whole story.

Last week, Iron Man and Avengers: Age of Ultron star Robert Downey, Jr. walked out of an Avengers promotional interview after British journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy decided to dive into the motivation behind a comment RDJ made in 2008 about the correlation between incarceration and progressivism. Here's the offending utterance:
“I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can’t. I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics every since.”
It was an ambush seven years in the making. Here's what happened when Guru-Murthy decided to go all 60 Minutes on the actor during what was billed as a superhero movie promo spot:

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will officially toss his hat into the presidential ring Thursday. The self-described 'democratic socialist' is currently 73-years-old, making Sanders just a few years older than Hillary Clinton who is now 67. Former Rhode Island Governor, Lincoln Chafee, who seems to have dropped off the map after kind of sort of announcing candidacy, is 62-years-old. Though he's registered as an independent, all accounts suggest Sanders will run on the Democratic ticket. According to Vermont's NPR News Source, the first to report Sanders' forthcoming candidacy:
VPR News has learned from several sources that Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday. Sanders will release a short statement on that day and then hold a major campaign kickoff in Vermont in several weeks. Sanders' entry into the Democratic race ensures that Hillary Clinton will face a challenge to win the support of the liberal wing of the party. Sanders' basic message will be that the middle class in America has been decimated in the past two decades while wealthy people and corporations have flourished.

If you're wondering why the Democratic Party's presumed 2016 nominee has been quiet lately, you're not alone. Hillary Clinton has answered only seven questions from the media since announcing her run for president. Zach C. Cohen of National Journal:
Here Are All Seven Media Questions Hillary Clinton Has Answered During Her Campaign Most of the media questions Clinton has answered have focused on policy (the exact type of inquiry she recently encouraged reporters to focus on). They've touched on ongoing trans-Pacific trade negotiations, campaign finance, and foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation... Here are all seven: Question 1: "Secretary Clinton, your reaction please to these book allegations? Did foreign entities receive any special treatment for making any kind of donations to the foundation or your husband?"—ABC in Keene, New Hampshire, April 20