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January 2016

Posted by New Neo on January 31, 2016 216 Comments
As a large-scale real estate developer, Trump has sometimes sued in his efforts to use government to condemn houses belonging to people of modest means whose homes---which Trump considers insufficiently attractive---have stood near his big developments and have chosen to exercise their liberty by refusing to sell to him. That's one of the reasons Trump agrees 100% with the SCOTUS decision in Kelo (decided in 2005): he sees it making it easier for him to use government to compel the sale of a person's house even against that person's will. It's Trump's prerogative to approve of Kelo, and it's certainly understandable that someone in his line of work might have that point of view. He has every right to build his projects, and to try to buy the land of those with adjacent property.

Posted by Miriam Elman on January 31, 2016 9 Comments
In November 2015, The Nation, a prominent progressive magazine, published an essay by controversial professor Steven Salaita which raised complaints from a prominent Rabbi that the essay crossed the line from legitimate criticism of Israeli policy to anti-Semitism. As we noted in many prior posts, Salaita is a virulently anti-Israel academic who had a contingent offer at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign rejected in 2014. He sued and got a money settlement, but not the job. Salaita's since become “enshrined as a symbol” in the American academy of the trouncing of academic freedom and the trampling of shared governance protocols. Salaita's essay in The Nation brought harsh criticism from a Professor of Jewish thought and culture:
Apparently it’s Zionism that ails the neoliberal university, along with everything else amiss in the world. You can read here his goodbye at the Nation. What reads like it was taken straight out from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the complaint that Zionism occupies the American mind and the American university expands as a logical next step on the basic view from the tweets and the book that “Zionists” are enemies of humanity, supporters of war crimes, adorn themselves with the teeth of Palestinian babies, etc, etc. Don’t be surprised when the next stage in on-campus Palestinian solidarity activism takes aim at purging U.S. academe of “Zionism,” namely Birthright, Hillel, study abroad in Israel, Israel Studies, and Jewish Studies.
The essay also prompted Rabbi Jill Jacobs, a leading voice in American Jewish Conservative circles, to write in complaint. In a Letter to the Editor sent to The Nation in November, Jacobs contended that Salaita’s article contained a series of disturbing anti-Semitic statements.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 31, 2016 21 Comments
Many conservatives opine that what we need after Obama's disastrous presidency is the same cure we had after Jimmy Carter's disastrous presidency: a Ronald Reagan. This desire isn't lost on the Republican candidates for president.  Many are comparing themselves to President Reagan in the hopes of stoking, even fulfilling, that hope.  One such comparison to President Reagan was recently made by Donald Trump who compared his very recent Democrat background to that of President Reagan. The Hill reported at the time:
In response to questions about the business mogul’s previous status as a card-carrying Democrat, Trump said that he was in good company. “If you look at Ronald Reagan, and he was a Democrat, he was actually, Don, he was a Democrat with a very liberal, or at least a pretty liberal bent, and he became a Republican with a somewhat conservative — I wouldn’t say very, but he was a conservative Republican,” Trump said.
Watch:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 31, 2016 31 Comments
Liberals in politics and media love to talk about the so-called gun show loophole. You've heard it a thousand times from Obama, Hillary, Bernie and countless talking heads. If these people are to be believed, anyone can waltz into a gun show and buy an automatic or semi-automatic weapon with no background check. The Heritage Foundation's Daily Signal recently cleared up some of these myths.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 31, 2016 10 Comments
With her poll numbers cratering, Hillary Clinton and her team have evidently caved to the reality that the thin debate schedule designed to hide her from the public eye and let her coast to the Democrat nomination is actually, as Kemberlee noted earlier this month, hurting her and her campaign. As a result, the Clinton team and the Sanders team have agreed to four more debates this campaign season, a decision the DNC still has to approve (and likely will). Politico reports:
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders’ campaigns have agreed in principle to attend four more debates, starting with a proposed New Hampshire event next week, a Clinton campaign aide confirmed Saturday.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 31, 2016 22 Comments
An eight-year Marine Corps veteran his wife have filed suit against their daughter’s high school principal, vice-principal, school district and board of education for violating her First Amendment rights by indoctrinating her in Islamic thought. The case filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland is captioned Wood v. Charles County Public Schools, et al. The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Their daughter and her fellow students were instructed to write out the Islamic creed “Shahada,” which says, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” When recited by non-Muslims, the creed amounts to conversion to Islam. Students were also required to memorize and recite the Five Pillars of Islam and were subjected to disparaging teachings about Christianity. “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian,” one worksheet read.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 31, 2016 13 Comments
Despite the success of Mayor Rudi Giuliani's quality-of-life laws, the smart set on New York’s City Council is considering options to ease enforcement of these offenses in the name of "diversity". I would like to offer New Yorkers a glimpse of their future by showing them what is now happening in San Francisco. The Bay Area metropolis hasn't had New York's experience of sensible leadership (albeit for only a brief time); therefore, it is about a decade ahead, in terms of enjoying the consequences of implementing diversity policies instead of those focusing on public health. I foresee that New Yorkers will soon be treated to fabulous, new facilities . . . like open-air urinals:
The first open-air public urinal in San Francisco has been unveiled in the city's Delores Park. The concrete circular urinal was opened in the latest move to combat the destructive scourge of public urination in the city.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 30, 2016 19 Comments
With final Des Moines Register polling showing Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton essentially even, consider this:
A little-noticed data point in the new Selzer & Co. Iowa poll, in fact, shows that 43 percent of likely [Democratic] voters in the Feb. 1 caucuses say they would use the word "socialist" to describe themselves. And to be very clear, this question was not whether they would vote for a socialist or sympathize with socialism; it's whether they consider themselvessocialist. The 43 percent of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers who self-identify as socialist is actually more than the number who identify themselves as capitalist — 38 percent.
That's right. More likely Democratic voters self-identify as Socialist than Capitalist. Here is the full chart:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 30, 2016 49 Comments
The Des Moines Register just released its final pre-caucus polling. Trump is up, but its close enough that everything will depend on turnout, as the Register analysis shows:
Donald Trump has muscled ahead in Iowa, regaining his lead on the brink of the first votes being cast in the 2016 presidential race. Trump stands at 28 percent, while rival Ted Cruz has slid to 23 percent. But there’s still a strong case for Cruz in this race — he’s more popular and respected than Trump, the final Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll shows. “The drill-down shows, if anything, stronger alignment with Cruz than Trump, except for the horse race,” said J. Ann Selzer, the pollster for the Iowa Poll.
This could be important:
Among first-time caucusgoers, Trump has a 16-point lead. But the universe of experienced caucusgoers is bigger, where Cruz has a 3-point lead.
Here is the rest of the field. Looks like Jeb, at 2, will have some decisions to make.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 30, 2016 8 Comments
In January 2015, we reported on how anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement supporters hijacked a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event on the San Mateo Bridge. Some Stanford students turned a Black Lives Matter march into an anti-Israel event by unfurling a huge Palestinian Flag on the bridge span at its highest point.  Hundreds of motorists were trapped, and they caused accidents. One of the key activists involved was Kristian Davis Bailey, a leader of attempt to demonize Israel by tying Zionism to problems of non-whites in the U.S. through the theory of "intersectionality." [caption id="attachment_113857" align="alignnone" width="600"]https://twitter.com/farah_salazar/status/558214869648814080 [January 2015, San Mateo Bridge, image via Farah Salazar Twitter][/caption]It is a highly racist approach, seeking to exploit racial tensions by portraying Israel -- and Israel alone -- as the cause of problems it has nothing to do with. As we saw recently in Chicago at an LGBT conference and Oberlin College, because "intersectionality" theory portrays Israel as uniquely evil in the world, the distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism quickly blurs. This year, we are aware of two attempts to co-opt the memory of Dr. King by putting on anti-Israel events as part of MLK Day activities. There likely were many more that we don't know about. At George Mason University, the MLK Day Program featured and event by Students Against Israeli Apartheid showing an anti-Israel film.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 30, 2016 14 Comments
Although John Kasich has recently surged in New Hampshire to tie for second place in the Granite State with Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush, few believe he has any chance at all of winning the GOP nomination. The New York Times hopes to change that, however, with their endorsement of Kasich today. The NYT writes:

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, though a distinct underdog, is the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race. And Mr. Kasich is no moderate. As governor, he’s gone after public-sector unions, fought to limit abortion rights and opposed same-sex marriage.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 30, 2016 11 Comments
Following reports of increasing sexual violence and general law breaking throughout Europe, including particularly in Germany, EU leaders double-down on their delusional thinking.  Apparently, they are insisting that the increased crime and sexual assaults are not linked to the Middle Eastern refugee influx. The Telegraph reports:
The sex attacks that took place in Cologne on New Year’s Eve were simply a “matter of public order” and had nothing to do with the refugee crisis, Jean-Claude Juncker’s inner circle believe. The European Commission will be the "voice of reason" and tell the public that there is no link between the migration crisis affecting the continent and attacks on women in Germany, internal minutes disclose, amid growing concerns at a “xenophobic” backlash.
Apparently, public safety is not high on their list of priorities; instead, they are focused on trying to manage and manipulate the public's perceptions.  Indeed, according to The Daily Mail, the EU  leaders want to "unconditionally reject" the link between the Cologne sexual assaults and the migrant crisis.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 30, 2016 12 Comments
Mass migration into Europe has been notable for the heavy percentage of unaccompanied young males. Sweden has accepted among the highest percentage of such migrants relative to its population, causing not only a massive crime and sexual assault problem but also violent reaction from native Swedes. Due to the huge numbers of young males entering the country, Sweden now shows a greater imbalance between genders than does China. The BBC reports:

There is something odd going on with the ratio between boys and girls in Sweden. The latest estimates suggest there are 123 boys for every 100 girls among 16 and 17-year-olds. That's an even greater imbalance than in the same age group in China.

The natural "sex ratio at birth" is 105 boys for every 100 girls, according to the World Health Organization - and official statistics show that in 2014, there were 108 boys for every 100 girls among Sweden's 16 and 17-year-olds. But the country now has 123 boys for every 100 girls in this age group, according to Valerie Hudson of Texas A&M University.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 30, 2016 5 Comments
Now that the Iowa caucus is getting close, things are starting to heat up between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. In an interview with Lester Holt yesterday, Hillary took a few shots at Sanders. Via NBC News:
Ahead of Iowa, Clinton Says She 'Can Actually Produce Results' Hillary Clinton, locked in a dead heat with Bernie Sanders three days before the Iowa caucuses, betrayed little sign of nerves in an interview with NBC News Friday, saying she relished the scrutiny that a close fight will bring her rival. Clinton also accused Sanders of "trying to go negative" with ads accusing Wall Street of trying to buy off politicians — spots that didn't name Clinton, but aired after she left Iowa Wednesday to raise money at a Philadelphia investment firm.

Posted by AACONS on January 30, 2016 5 Comments
Michelle Malkin is a premier political blogger as well as syndicated columnist; bestselling author, the founder of HotAir.com, Twitchy.com, and MichelleMalkin.com. Her new book, co-authored with John Miano is, Sold Out: How High-Tech Billionaires & Bipartisan Beltway Crapweasels Are Screwing America's Best & Brightest Workers. Kevin D. Williamson writes for National Review, and his work has appeared in publications including Politico and the New York Post. He is the author of The End Is Near and It’s Going To Be Awesome, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism, and the Broadsides The Dependency Agenda and What Doomed Detroit. His latest book is entitled, The Case Against Trump.
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