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October 2014

Posted by Amy Miller on October 07, 2014 19 Comments
As if Dallas weren't enough of a circus already, Reverend Jesse Jackson has announced that he will be working with community leaders in Dallas to make sure that Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan receives "the best humanitarian relief" available. (Because round the clock care and rare experimental drug therapy isn't enough, I guess.) Just when the people of Dallas thought it was safe to leave the house, right? At any rate, Jackson landed in Dallas this morning and immediately began blaming a lack of health insurance for the terrible consequences of the reckless choices of Thomas Eric Duncan.
“He must be treated as a patient — with all the human rights preserved — not as a criminal,” Jackson stated. Duncan’s family believes that he may have been medically mishandled by the hospital after he was originally sent home by staffers. Days later, paramedics transported the visitor from Liberia back to the hospital, where doctors eventually confirmed that Duncan is seriously sick with the Ebola virus. “Without insurance, he was only offered a cursory examination,” Jackson said. “Thomas needs the same treatment as others. They sent Ebola back into the community.” “This is a good time for churches — black and white — to rally, and find common ground and healing,” Jackson said Tuesday morning. He plans to hold a prayer vigil outside of the hospital at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. “This is the essence of the message of Jesus.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 07, 2014 3 Comments
Turns out Twitter is also fed up with this administration's war on transparency. Last month, Twitter released a report detailing how they'd been banned from reporting the extent of government surveillance on the platform. In that report Twitter explained:
"...if the government will not allow us to publish the actual number of requests, we want the freedom to provide that information in much smaller ranges that will be more meaningful to Twitter’s users, and more in line with the relatively small number of non-national security information requests we receive. We also pressed for the ability to be specific about different kinds of national security requests and to be able to indicate “zero requests” if that applies to any particular category of request. Unfortunately, we were not able to make any progress at this meeting, and we were not satisfied with the restrictions set forth by the DOJ.
Today Twitter announced they're taking the transparency fight to court:
Our ability to speak has been restricted by laws that prohibit and even criminalize a service provider like us from disclosing the exact number of national security letters (“NSLs”) and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) court orders received — even if that number is zero. It’s our belief that we are entitled under the First Amendment to respond to our users’ concerns and to the statements of U.S. government officials by providing information about the scope of U.S. government surveillance – including what types of legal process have not been received. We should be free to do this in a meaningful way, rather than in broad, inexact ranges. So, today, we have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to publish our full Transparency Report, and asking the court to declare these restrictions on our ability to speak about government surveillance as unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is already considering the constitutionality of the non-disclosure provisions of the NSL law later this week.
You can read the filing in its entirety beneath:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 07, 2014 10 Comments
James O'Keefe and the crew at Veritas Action Fund are in search of a supporter of Alison Grimes supporter who actually believes her campaign position that she's not anti-coal industry. The other day O'Keefe released a video in which various assorted Democratic operatives and Grimes supporters used the "L" word in describing her position. Today O'Keefe has released another video in which a financial backer using the "F" word as to what Grimes will do to the coal industry if elected. Language Warning Here's a partial transcript posted by O'Keefe:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 07, 2014 28 Comments
Angelo Carusone is the Media Matters executive behind the effort to get Rush Limbaugh off the airwaves, as we documented in 2012: The attack on Limbaugh was not Carusone's first targeting of a major conservative personality.  Carusone, prior to joining Media Matters, was behind the Stop Beck effort. Angelo Carusone Twitter Profile As reported at The Daily Caller today, Carusone may have some problems with a prior blog he maintained in which he engaged in questionable conduct, Media Matters Executive Wrote Racist, Anti-Semitic, Anti-’Tranny’ Blog Posts:

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 07, 2014 22 Comments
We're a month away from the midterm election that could hand control of the Senate to Republicans. As with any election, there are lots of moving parts and no one is absolutely sure what's going to happen. Even so, Alexander Bolton of The Hill is reporting that panicked Democrats are already blaming each other for an expected loss:
Democrats start to point fingers Democrats are starting to play the blame game as they face the possibility of losing the Senate in November. Tempers are running high a month out from Election Day, with polls showing Democratic candidates trailing in the crucial battleground states that will decide whether control of Congress flips to Republicans. The behind-the-scenes tension broke into the open last week when former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) questioned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) decision not to endorse Democrat Rick Weiland in South Dakota’s Senate race. Pro-immigrant advocacy groups, meanwhile, are saying Democrats should not blame them if Latino voters don’t turn up to the polls on Election Day. They say President Obama made a tactical blunder by postponing an executive order easing deportations.

Posted by Amy Miller on October 07, 2014 26 Comments
With less than 15 days to go until early voting begins, statewide candidates in Texas are running a full court press against not only the agendas of their opponents, but against umbrella strategies from national party organizations and advocacy groups. The gubernatorial contest between state Senator Wendy Davis and Attorney General Greg Abbott is arguably the most high profile of the top-ticket races, and pollsters are busy keeping up with a race that has slowly tightened since the primary. From the Wall Street Journal:
A poll released Wednesday by the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan public-policy group, showed Ms. Davis nine percentage points behind Mr. Abbott. The Rasmussen Reports, meanwhile, released a poll Friday showing Mr. Abbott 11 points ahead. “Turnout in nonpresidential election years is always lower, and Texas voters just don’t seem interested in politics this year,” Mr. Riddlesperger said. ... Ms. Davis hasn’t emphasized abortion in the campaign, largely focusing on other issues, such as increasing public-education funding and expanding health coverage. She has portrayed Mr. Abbott as beholden to moneyed, corporate interests. Mr. Abbott, in turn, has said he would work to secure the border against illegal immigration—a key concern in the state—and he has tried to link Ms. Davis, whenever possible, to President Barack Obama.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on October 07, 2014 30 Comments
Earlier, I weighed in on how the media and administration are handling the Ebola epidemic, using language to minimize the fact that it is a hemorrhagic fever. It the wake of reports that Colorado children who suffered from an infection of the very aggressive respiratory pathogen, Enterovirus D-68, have also experienced limb paralysis, today's "Bio-Insurrection" research has revealed that there is a nice, new moniker associated with it: Non-Polio Enterovirus. From our Department of Health: LI #09 Non-polio enterovirus I made this discovery while I was searching for confirmation that a child's recent death was associated with an Enterovirus D-68 infection. Sadly, it was.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 06, 2014 4 Comments
First Dallas, now Houston. Thankfully, Governor Perry put together a Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. The task force, "will assess and enhance the state's existing capabilities to prepare for and respond to pandemic disease, such as the Ebola virus." Perry also, "called on the federal government to immediately begin enhanced screening procedures at all points of entry, including obtaining additional information, checking temperatures and staffing quarantine stations to help prevent the disease from entering the country." According to a local ABC News affiliate:
A hospital in Cypress says it is treating a patient with an "extremely low-risk" chance of having Ebola.

The North Cypress Medical Center, located along the Northwest Freeway, says the patient was admitted Monday and is being monitored. The hospital issued the following statement about the patient's admission:

"North Cypress Medical Center is treating a patient who has not been diagnosed with ebola. He is considered to be of extremely low risk to the ebola virus. Hospital personnel are taking all precautions as prescribed by the Harris County Health Department and the U.S. Center for Disease Control. The patient is in stable condition and is showing no signs of a fever. Admitted earlier today (October 6th), he has been isolated from other patients. We are working closely with local health and CDC officials who will determine all the steps we need to take to ensure the patient's recovery and the community's safety." 

Over the weekend, it was thought a person in Katy may have had Ebola, but that turned out to be malaria. 

The health department says they've conducted two Ebola tests on patients in the Houston area. Both have come back negative.

Posted by Amy Miller on October 06, 2014 9 Comments
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Wisconsin's new voter ID laws are constitutional, meaning that those heading to the polls in November will need to show ID before casting a vote. Via ABC News:
State elections officials are preparing for the photo ID law to be in effect for the Nov. 4 election, even as opponents continue their legal fight. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Advancement Project asked the U.S. Supreme Court last week to take emergency action and block the law. ... A lower court judge, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, struck the law down as unconstitutional in April, saying it unfairly burdens poor and minority voters who may lack such identification. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asked the 7th Circuit to overturn that ruling. The three-judge panel agreed with Van Hollen. The judges said Wisconsin's law is substantially similar to one in Indiana that the U.S Supreme Court declared was constitutional.
Last month, the same panel of the 7th Circuit issued a short Order vacating the district court injunction staying enforcement of the law, and instead held that the voter ID laws would indeed be in effect for this November’s election. The court indicated that a full decision on the merits would be forthcoming. Progressive activists in Wisconsin and across the country had a meltdown following the ruling:

Posted by Amy Miller on October 06, 2014 1 Comment
More than six months after Malaysia Air Flight 370 vanished without explanation over the Indian Ocean, crews are ready to renew the effort to locate the crash site and what remains of the downed plane. Although the media obsessed over the strange disappearance, actual reports on evidence regarding the plane's whereabouts were few and far between. Since then, however, crews have been preparing for a new search that will use sonar, video, and fuel sensor technology to explore the remote stretch of the Indian Ocean where authorities suspect the plane went down. Via The Times of Israel:
The search has been on hold for four months so crews could map the seabed in the search zone, about 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) west of Australia. The 60,000-square kilometer (23,000-square mile) search site lies along what is known as the “seventh arc” — a stretch of ocean where investigators believe the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed. Officials analyzed transmissions between the plane and a satellite to estimate where it entered the water. Two other ships being provided by Dutch contractor Fugro are expected to join the Malaysian-contracted GO Phoenix later this month. The ships will be dragging sonar devices called towfish through the water about 100 meters (330 feet) above the seabed to hunt for the wreckage. The towfish are also equipped with sensors that can detect the presence of jet fuel, and are expected to be able to cope with the dizzying depths of the search zone, which is 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) deep in places.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 06, 2014 13 Comments
It isn't over until the votes are counted, and miracles can happen, but it isn't looking good for Martha Robertson, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Tom Reed in my home NY-23 district. Once up a time, Robertson was a lead Democratic prospect to turn a seat from Red to Blue. But now Robertson is being written off by every non-partisan analyst following the race. We asked whether it was time for the DCCC to abandon Robertson, and pull its reserved television advertising. This NY Daily News analysis, showing Democrats struggling in upstate NY, cannot be good news for Robertson:
One year ago, Republicans had just shut down the government, and Democrats declared they might win back the House, in part by picking up Republican-held seats in New York. A year later, Democratic hopes of gaining up to three seats in New York are gone. They are more likely to lose three, and hope simply to break even. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. of Long Island calls New York a “microcosm” for the rest of the country. New York is proving Steve Israel right, as Democrats’ defensive posture in the Empire State mirrors a national political landscape where President Obama’s unpopularity leaves his party hoping to simply limit Republican gains. “If Democrats are ever going to win back the House, they need to pick up seats in upstate New York,” said David Wasserman, who analyzes House races for the Cook Political Report. That isn’t happening this year.
As to NY-23, The Daily News says Robertson's chances have collapsed:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 06, 2014 73 Comments
Many if not most observers expected the Supreme Court to take at least one of the cases for which review was sought in which the issue of whether same-sex marriage bans were constitutional was squarely presented. None of the Supreme Court's decisions in DOMA or the Prop. 8 litigation decided that issue. But the Supreme Court did not take any of the cases, leaving in place Court of Appeals decisions that seem to clear the way for same-sex marriages in numerous states. ScotusBlog reports:
The Supreme Court had issued the first round of orders from the September 29 Conference last Thursday, adding eleven new cases to its docket for the new Term.  Many people had anticipated that one or more of the same-sex marriage petitions might be on that list, but the Court did not act on any of them at the time.  Last month Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had suggested that the Court might not step into the controversy at this point, because there was no disagreement among the lower courts on that issue.  Today her prediction proved true, with the Court denying review (without any comment) of the seven petitions:  Bogan v. Baskin (Indiana); Walker v. Wolf (Wisconsin); Herbert v. Kitchen (Utah); McQuigg v. Bostic (Virginia); Rainey v. Bostic (Virginia); Schaefer v. Bostic(Virginia); and Smith v. Bishop (Oklahoma).
The NY Times explains the impact:

Posted by Amy Miller on October 06, 2014 5 Comments
According to a recent Gallup poll, voters will be sending a message to President Obama---and it may not bode well for Democrats. Out of the just over 1000 registered voters surveyed, 32% of respondents said that their vote in the midterms would serve as a message of opposition to Obama; in contrast, 20% of those surveyed said that their vote would serve as a message of support. Gallup's writeup of the poll explains why this is significant in terms of Republicans' chances in November:
Gallup first asked this question in 1998, the year Republicans were moving toward impeaching President Bill Clinton for lying about his affair with a White House intern. That year, when Clinton's approval rating was 63%, more voters said their choice of candidate in the fall election would be made to show support rather than opposition to Clinton. Democrats had a strong showing in that fall's elections, gaining seats in the House of Representatives, bucking the historical pattern by which the president's party loses seats in Congress in midterm elections. In the next midterm election, voters by an even larger margin said their vote would be made to support rather than oppose President George W. Bush, who had a 66% approval rating at the time of the elections. These attitudes were consistent with the eventual outcome, as Republicans increased their majority in the House and gained majority control of the Senate.
Gallup Registered Voters Message 2014 Election October That's the shot; now here's the chaser: out of registered voters polled, 58% Republicans said that their vote would act as a message of opposition to Obama, while only 38% of Democrats polled said their vote would act as a message of support.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 05, 2014 3 Comments
We have posted many times about how the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, through faculty and Students for Justice in Palestine branches, has turned campuses and classrooms into political battlefields in the worst way. When Northeastern University SJP marches to the chant of "Long Live the Intifada," they are celebrating the bloody suicide bombing campaign. When Vassar College SJP pickets a class and forces a professor to walk the guantlet just because the course involved a trip to Israel, and anti-Israel students jeer Jewish students who spoke up for Israel, they are sending a message of continued conflict -- so it was no surprise when Vassar SJP tweeted out a Nazi cartoon. When NYU SJP dorm storms and invades the privacy of students in their dorm rooms to leaflet against Israel, they bring the war into bedrooms. When the faculty members of American Studies Association bring the war to campus through an academic boycott of Israel led by people whose explicit goal is the destruction of Israel, it sends a message to students that to be pro-Israel is to be unacceptable in the classroom. When faculty are willing to destroy academic freedom for everyone in order to hurt Israel, yet play victim when their own academic freedom allegedly is impinged, the argument no longer is over principle but pure power. When conspiracy theories involving Jewish control of the media and the money are central to the arguments of BDS supporters who claim not to be anti-Semitic, anti-Semitism flourishes. When a central thesis of the student, faculty and off-campus leadership of the BDS movement on campuses is that Zionism is the cause of anti-Semitism, and even Naziism, anti-Semitism is rationalized. When stoking and exploiting racial tension is a common tactic used to increase hatred of Israel, and BDS refuses to allow Arab and Jewish students to interact for fear of "normalization," BDS tears campuses apart. When making it costly to be pro-Israel on campus is the major achievement of student BDS activists, discussion is impossible. When BDS banners and messages are at the front of Jew-baiting crowds in Europe, Boston and Miami, it's clear what BDS is about.
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