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November 2013

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 28, 2013 12 Comments

Marissa Alexander has been released on bail, according to widespread news reports.  The conditions of her release are stringent, although not overly so for someone who has never been a very appropriate candidate for pre-(re-)-trial release.  Alexander had been previously convicted of aggravated assault with...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 28, 2013 4 Comments
The last time we checked on Hobby Lobby after a 60,000 citizen buycott in support of its case against Obamacare, it looked likely that US Supreme Court would take up the case. SCOTUS has now formally done just that.
The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to review the lawsuit filed by Hobby Lobby against the federal government over the Obamacare mandate that employers provide contraceptive coverage in their health plans. Hobby Lobby, which is owned by an Oklahoma City family with strong Christian beliefs, says a 1993 law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, protects the company from the mandate. The company is particularly opposed to paying for coverage that includes the morning after pill.
The court also accepted a related case from Pennsylvania involving a Mennonite family with a furniture-making business. In that case, a federal appeals court initially ruled that the owners could not challenge the mandate on religious ground because a company did not enjoy the same rights as individuals.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on November 28, 2013 4 Comments
Ah, Thanksgiving.  It's one of those holidays where we indulge ourselves with food, often by way of a multitude of side dishes and usually accompanied by a turkey.  Some folks of course opt to stray from the traditional roasted bird and go the route of deep frying.  And that's a decision that all too often results in accidents for those who aren't accustomed to frying a turkey in...well...the proper way.  It also results in YouTube videos. Science and tech blog io9 collected this video list of The Best Turkey Frying Disasters on the Internet to remind such people what not to do should they choose to deep fry their turkey this Thanksgiving. [Language warning for some of the videos]. "It's gonna be delicious now."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 28, 2013 12 Comments

Progressives are being forced to eat a lot of crow this Thanksgiving. At the national level, Obamacare is being plucked apart in the media.  In California, a touchstone of liberal green dreams and one of the state's biggest turkeys is being thrown under the bus by...

Posted by Laurel Conrad on November 28, 2013 14 Comments
Democrats have prepared a guide to confronting Republican relatives at Thanksgiving: https://twitter.com/TheDemocrats/status/405706375096827904 For those Democrats who are too dumb to remember the talking points, they even have a cheat sheet (h/t Noah Rothman): https://twitter.com/dccc/statuses/405770354314190848 And what a fantastic idea; nothing says, "this would make for interesting dinner conversation" quite like debating Obamacare.  After all, over the past month, signing up for Obamacare has really put people in the holiday spirit. Democrats are just doing what the leader of the Party wants: https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/405765118492811264 To get the warm-fuzzies going, a month ago BarackObama.com introduced the idea of "it's time to have the talk" in a video on its website.

Posted by A.F. Branco on November 28, 2013 12 Comments

Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source.  To see more Legal Insurrection Branco cartoons, click here. Branco’s page is Cartoonist A.F.Branco...

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 27, 2013 58 Comments
Earlier this month, a man allegedly shot a woman through the front screen door of his porch when the woman knocked or banged on it after reportedly crashing her car nearby in suburban Detroit, Michigan.  The case has since made news headlines. I've been asked repeatedly to comment on the purported self-defense shooting by Theodore Wafer of Renisha McBride in Michigan, and now that the factual situation appears to have stabilized a bit it seems suitable fare for the Thanksgiving weekend. Most of you will know that I was a vigorous supporter of George Zimmerman's legal claim of self-defense in his shooting of Trayvon Martin. I also consider myself very much a member of the self-defense community, being an NRA instructor in personal protection (and other stuff) for ~20 years, a long-term competitor in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA# 13; to provide context, membership now exceeds 20,000), and someone who arms himself as a routine matter of personal protection. That said, the facts as currently available to me, considered in the context of Michigan self-defense law, suggests that Theodore Wafer is going to have considerable difficulty in successfully advancing a claim that the shooting of Renisha McBride was in lawful self-defense. One caveat: The "facts" on which I rely are derived from the press, so as always should be taken with a grain of salt. I have, where possible, relied upon press sourced in the UK, rather than the widely discredited US press.

Michigan's Law of Self Defense

Theodore Wafer has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and possession of a firearm used in a felony, for the shooting death of Ranisha McBride. He is claiming self-defense which, if successfully argued, would require an acquittal on all charges.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2013 18 Comments
Yesterday we reported that Iranian officials were furious that the Obama administration's "fact sheet" spun the nuclear deal in ways not agreed-upon.  The Iranians are crowing that their right to enrich uranium was confirmed while the Obama administration is saying the opposite. Now comes word that the "deal" is not actually final, that there are details to be worked out, and that there is a window before the agreement comes into effect. https://twitter.com/DanRiehl/status/405820620132200448 US now indicates Iran interim deal wasn’t quite finalized:
Iran is currently enjoying a “window” of time before the six-month deal signed in Geneva early Sunday goes into effect, during which it is not bound to take any credible steps toward disabling its ability to produce a nuclear weapon, the State Department acknowledged Tuesday. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the six-month interim period, during which Iran would take steps to rein in its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, has not yet begun. Furthermore, there are still a number of details to be worked out, she said, without specifying what points had yet to be finalized.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2013 7 Comments
This is a follow up to the undercover video by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas in which Chris Tarango, Texas Communications Director for Enroll America, was caught offering to help make a connection between the non-profit Obamacare enrollment group and what he thought was a Democratic Party operative. The operative was part of O'Keefe's sting operation. The video gave rise to a challenge to Enroll America's non-profit status, Fox News reported:
On Friday, a self-described nonprofit, nonpartisan government accountability group filed a complaint with the IRS that Enroll America was violating its tax-exempt status by participating in partisan politics, citing the Project Veritas video as evidence. The group, Cause for Action, has also written a letter to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot, asking him to investigate whether Enroll America and other groups have violated the state’s laws and the IRS code.
Now Tarango has resigned according to O'Keefe's website:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2013 34 Comments
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Posted by Mandy Nagy on November 27, 2013 14 Comments

As the November 30th deadline to have healthcare.gov fixed and working smoothly "for the vast majority of users" quickly approaches, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that improvements are on track.  But officials are apparently still concerned about a possible rush of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2013 15 Comments

It's hard being a principled member of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement. With Israel being a leader in computer, medical and other technologies, one would have to enter a time machine back to the 1950s to truly boycott Israeli products. The Cornell Students For Justice...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 27, 2013 4 Comments

From Diana: I saw the these bumper stickers at the local whole foods store. The nice lady to whom they belong tells me that she’s had to replace some of them, as they’ve been torn off her car. She says the Chapter 11 sticker has been undisturbed, though....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2013 39 Comments
George Zimmerman has hired Jayne Weintraub to defend the domestic assault charges arising out of accusations from Zimmerman's girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe:
George Zimmerman has hired a new lawyer to handle the domestic violence case against him. The public defender who was representing Zimmerman tells local media that he has hired attorney and frequent cable news contributor Jayne Weintraub. As Bob Kealing tells us, some legal analysts are questioning Zimmerman's new hire. "It really boggles the mind." WESH 2 legal analyst Richard Hornsby says it appears George Zimmerman has chosen south Florida defense attorney Jayne Weintraub because of her high profile on cable television.
[caption id="attachment_71823" align="aligncenter" width="483"](Jayne Weintraub) (Jayne Weintraub)[/caption] Court records released today also indicated the weapons Zimmerman had in his possession at the time of his arrest:

Posted by Mandy Nagy on November 26, 2013 10 Comments

Alec Baldwin's “Up Late" show on MSNBC has been canceled, following the actor's latest series of antics. The NY Post first reported the news, which has since been confirmed by other media outlets. From the NY Times: The actor Alec Baldwin’s short-lived show on MSNBC has been terminated,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 26, 2013 42 Comments

Seriously. https://twitter.com/DanRiehl/status/405455788228882433 From Fars News Agency, Iran Strongly Rejects Text of Geneva Agreement Released by White House: TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called invalid a press release by the White House alleged to be the text of the nuclear agreement struck by Iran and the...

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