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March 2014

Posted by Mandy Nagy on March 16, 2014 25 Comments
In what will likely come as little surprise to anyone who has been following the events in Ukraine, Russian state media are reporting that early exit polls show Crimea has voted to break with Ukraine and join Russia.  Official results are expected later. From Reuters:
Russian state media said Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to break with Ukraine and join Russia on Sunday, as Kiev accused Moscow of pouring forces into the peninsula and warned separatist leaders "the ground will burn under their feet". RIA news agency said 93 percent backed annexation, citing an exit poll released as voting ended at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). Another Russian agency said turnout was over 80 percent. Caught in an East-West crisis reminiscent of the Cold War, Kiev said Russia's build-up of forces in the Black Sea region was in "crude violation" of an international treaty, and announced plans to arm and train 20,000 members of a newly-created National Guard to defend the nation.
The White House had already denounced the vote ahead of the official results, calling the referendum illegal and citing Russian intimidation.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on March 16, 2014 23 Comments
David Gregory spoke with Dan Pfeiffer on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, where he pressed the White House Senior Adviser on Obama's recent low approval rating among Democrats. Pfeiffer didn't address much about the polls very directly, but said that the shutdown and problems with healthcare.gov had some impact for everyone in Washington, including the president. "Here’s what the president is going to do," Pfeiffer said. "He is going to lay out the terms of the debate in this election as a choice between Democrats who support an agenda of opportunity for all, for Republicans for an agenda of opportunity for a few. And let’s not forget, this president wrote the book on running and winning modern campaigns. So we’re going to take all of our resources and help Democrats up and down the ballot." And then Gregory asked Pfeiffer, "Right, but do they want your help? Is the president more of a liability than he is an asset at this stage for Democrats?" Pfeiffer responded, "We are going to set the terms of the debate, we’re going to provide our organizational ability to help them if the president’s going to raise money, we want to help them in every way we can." Gregory continued to press and asked again, "Liability or asset?" "The president will be an asset in every way possible and help these candidates," Pfeiffer said. Full video below (the Obama approval rating exchange starts at 1:58). Here's a writeup of the full exchange:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 16, 2014 21 Comments

As many of you may know, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said, in regards to those pesky Tea Party activists challenging GOP incumbents for Senate seats: “I think we are going to crush them everywhere. I don’t think they are going to have a...

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 16, 2014 9 Comments

The Democratic Party has made it clear that they're planning to run on "income inequality" in 2014. Liberal Washington Post writer Greg Sargent has even suggested this strategy is part of the reason for Senator Harry Reid's recent attacks on the Koch brothers. It's ironic that...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 16, 2014 14 Comments

It looks like the special election earthquake that shook FL-13, sending Republican David Jolly to Washington D.C., may be being felt in other ways in the land of real earthquakes -- California. I recently covered the severe drought that is impacting the Golden State, which is...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 16, 2014 28 Comments
From LukeHandCool, a handy Guide to California Crazy, with commentary:
Came across this motorized billboard on a corner of Wilshire Boulevard on L.A.'s Westside after dropping the son off at school. He's becoming quite a politically incorrect joker and I'd just given him a little lecture to be cautious around his teachers; that it's much safer to give the teacher a rotten, non-organic, non-fair-trade apple than to challenge his/her political sensibilities. Anyway, behold the peak of evolution of the car as pop-art-political statement. I call it, "Driving the Narrative: When Life Imitates Art Imitating Life: A Conversation with Still Life." 1) "Marriage = heart + heart." My wife has disproved this theory. 2) "Democracies Die Behind Closed Doors." Whereupon they go to The Afterlife on the backs of cars. 3) "Earth Without Art is Just 'Eh.'" Spoken like a true cavewoman. 4) "Imagine What We Could Accomplish if We Weren't so Afraid of Each Other." You first. 5) "The Most Powerful Mind-Altering Substance is the Truth." Yeah, but I suspect the buzz it gives you won't feel too good, lady. 6) "The Time to do the Right Thing is Always Now." Tony Robbins just gagged. 7) "Got Aloha?" Yeah. You? 8) "I'm Already Against the Next War." Oh! You're a Prepper!

Posted by Mandy Nagy on March 15, 2014 12 Comments
Tensions are mounting ahead of a planned referendum Sunday to determine whether or not Crimea will break from Ukraine and join Russia. A few updates on the situation... From AFP via Yahoo News:
Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of invading a region bordering Crimea and vowed to use "all necessary measures" to ward off an attack that came on the eve of the peninsula's breakaway vote. The dramatic escalation of the most serious East-West crisis since the Cold War set a tense stage for the referendum on Crimea's secession from Ukraine in favour of Kremlin rule -- a vote denounced by both the international community and Kiev. The predominantly Russian-speaking Black Sea region of two million people was overrun by Kremlin-backed troops days after the February 22 fall in Kiev of a Moscow-backed regime and the rise of nationalist leaders who favour closer ties with the West. President Vladimir Putin defended Moscow's decision to flex its military muscle by arguing that ethnic Russians in Ukraine needed "protection" from violent ultranationalists who had been given free reign by the new Kiev administration. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told Secretary of State John Kerry in London on Friday that Moscow "has no, and cannot have, any plans to invade the southeast region of Ukraine."
The full statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine website demanded Russia withdraw forces from the territory of Ukraine immediately.

Posted by David Gerstman on March 15, 2014 11 Comments
During the past year, three English speaking heads of state have spoken in Israel. Nearly a year ago, President Barack Obama addressed the people of Israel in the Jerusalem's International Convention Center. In January, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the Knesset. This week British Prime Minister David Cameron did too. The contrasts between the President Obama's speech and those of Harper and Cameron are striking. First of all, President Obama chose to forego addressing the Knesset on his first state visit to Israel. According to Jay Carney, “The president will speak to all of the Israeli people in front of an audience of young Israelis who … have it within their hands the power to shape Israel’s future." In other words, President Obama doesn't like the direction Israel is taking (Israel held election two months earlier) and will seek to engage Israelis who may be more receptive to his message that Israel's elected leaders. Although the president was addressing university students, he refused to allow students from Ariel University attend his speech. To be sure, President Obama said many of the right things in his speech. He even acknowledged that Israeli efforts at making peace resulted instead in being "... faced terror and rockets." But these professions of sympathy come across as perfunctory.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 15, 2014 34 Comments

When I first heard about the #BanBossy movement, a movement that is backed by Facebook's  Sheryl Sandberg and The Girl Scouts, I was incredulous. First progressives emasculate America's men; now, they are emasculating its women! Professor Jacobson was right to be concerned about the tendency of "low...

Posted by Bryan Jacoutot on March 15, 2014 14 Comments
Remember what Ezra Klein said about our old Constitution?
"The issue of the Constitution is that the text is confusing because it was written more than 100 years ago and what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done."
The internet remembers. Proving that "great minds" think alike, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) proclaimed the Constitution has guided our nation for "some 400 years." (h/t HotAir):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 15, 2014 3 Comments

From W.: McDonald's parking lot, Port Chester, NY. Vehicle left before I could get a distinctive political pic, but driver rolls with the left! Rolls with the left? More like rolls joints: ...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on March 14, 2014 1 Comment

We've brought you a selection of links for your Friday evening reading (and viewing). Twitchy highlights the cartoon from editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez on the departure of Sharyl Attkisson from CBS News National Review Online has more on the Lois Lerner situation as Issa, Cummings Line Up...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 14, 2014 31 Comments

Even though some meaningful immigration changes could pass Congress, Democrats want full amnesty, and will settle for nothing else.  All other immigration reforms are held hostage to that demand. Unable to move the Republican House on amnesty (yet), the Obama administration has been going it alone...

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