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February 2015

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 12, 2015 9 Comments
In a 93-5 vote, the Senate voted to confirm Ash Carter as the new Secretary of Defense. Carter will replace Chuck Hagel who was fired resigned in November of last year. Hagel took his licks as President Obama's perpetual fall guy, a concern Senator McCain shares for Mr. Carter as well. If you were unable to watch the confirmation hearings, this is a great wrap up: CNN Reports:
The Senate easily confirmed Ashton Carter, a former number two at the Pentagon, to be the new Secretary of Defense. The vote was 93 to 5. He will take the helm at DOD as the United States is immersed in several complex national security challenges across the globe, including the widening military campaign against ISIS.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 12, 2015 16 Comments
The student government at a university in South Africa recently voted to expel Jews:
The vice chancellor of Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa on Wednesday rejected the student council’s call to expel Jewish students who do not support the Palestinian cause. University Vice Chancellor Professor Ahmed Bawa released a statement calling the demand “outrageous, preposterous and a deep violation of our National Constitution and every human rights principle.” He added, “No student at DUT will be discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, gender, political affiliation or sexual orientation.” Bawa also told South Africa’s Daily News that the request was “totally unacceptable.” The demand to expel all Jewish students, especially those who do not support the Palestinian agenda, was made by the university’s Students Representative Council and Progressive Youth Alliance.
This is the logical progression in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It's fitting that the vote took place in Durban, the scene of the anti-Semitic 2001 Durban Conference that created the BDS movement. While expulsion of Jews will not happen here, the BDS movement is moving towards a de facto bar on Jews who are not anti-Israel by alleging that taking subsidized trips to Israel or attending conferences and training through major pro-Israel Jewish organizations constitutes a conflict of interest. That standard would exclude a high percentage of pro-Israel Jewish students from participating in student government (not to mention excluding many leading non-Jewish pro-Israel students).

Posted by Amy Miller on February 12, 2015 18 Comments
Last week, we covered IRS Commissioner John Koskinen's testimony about the shocking tax consequences of Obama's executive amnesty plan. In previous testimony before Congress, Koskinen explained that illegal immigrants who were granted amnesty would be eligible to receive back-refunds in the form of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)---but only if they had registered with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN.) This means that, although the person was here illegally, they were still working and paying taxes and thus eligible for a refund. It's a bogus loophole, but it stems from an existing IRS interpretation of their own rules, so at the end of the day it was a "fix this now" situation rather than an "end of the world" scenario." That was scandal enough, though, considering the divisive nature of illegal immigration itself; but this week's testimony from Koskinen just made things a whole lot worse. That's right---we've had a "clarification." From the Washington Times:
On Wednesday, he said even illegal immigrants who didn’t pay taxes will be able to apply for back-credits once they get Social Security numbers. The EITC is a refundable tax credit, which means those who don’t have any tax liability can still get money back from the government. “Under the new program, if you get a Social Security number and you work, you’ll be eligible to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Mr. Koskinen said. He said that would apply even “if you did not file” taxes, as long as the illegal immigrant could demonstrate having worked off-the-books during those years. That expands the universe of people eligible for the tax credit by millions. He said only about 700,000 illegal immigrants currently work and pay taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, but as many as 4 million illegal immigrants could get a stay of deportation and work permits under the temporary amnesty, which would mean they would be eligible to claim back-refunds if they worked those years.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 12, 2015 7 Comments
A while back I noted that Egypt looked like it was networking with European powers to address the chaos that threatens the vital Suez Canal. Russia's President Vladimir Putin came to Cairo this week, bearing gifts that indicate he understands Egyptian needs.
Just hours before a summit in Minsk that could decide the fate of eastern Europe for a generation, Vladimir Putin had a gift for the president of Egypt: an assault rifle. A photo of the rifle, with its wooden stock and accompanying gun case, along with a smiling President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, was posted on the website of Egypt’s state-controlled MENA news agency. The rifle was identified as an AK-47, according to the state-run Russia Today’s Arabic website.
A video of the exchange, which occurred at the Cairo Aiport shortly after Putin arrived. But the AK-47 isn't the only present in Putin's bag: Last year, the two countries made a $3 billion deal that includes Russian attack helicopters and MiG-29 fighter jets. Additionally, Russian businesses have agreed to proceed with a major grain storage construction project in Egypt.

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 12, 2015 87 Comments
The same mainstream media that refused to demand Obama's (still undisclosed) Columbia University records in 2008 (while reassuring us that he was brilliant) has taken a keen interest in the academic pedigree of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Professor Jacobson repeatedly reminds us that the MSM always tries to kill Republican candidacies in the cradle. The Washington Post did it with Rick Perry's hunting property rock. Jeb Bush's high school antics are fair game, as were Mitt Romney's. Now they're trying to play the same game with Scott Walker's unfinished college degree. David A. Fahrenthold of the Washington Post wrote this yesterday:
As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit Scott Walker was gone. Dropped out. And in the spring of his senior year. In 1990, that news stunned his friends at Marquette University. Walker, the campus’s suit-wearing, Reagan-loving politico — who enjoyed the place so much that he had run for student body president — had left without graduating. To most of the Class of 1990 — and, later, to Wisconsin’s political establishment — Walker’s decision to quit college has been a lingering mystery. Not even his friends at Marquette were entirely sure why he never finished. Some had heard that a parent had fallen ill, or maybe there was some financial strain. Others thought he had simply had enough of school. Walker clearly liked college politics more than college itself. He had managed to line up 47 campaign endorsements, including ones from the ski team and the varsity chorus, but he had trouble showing up on time for French. And, after four years, he had faltered on both fronts. He’d lost an ugly race for president. And he apparently had far too few credits to graduate.
Allahpundit of Hot Air notes that journalists are already playing the requisite "gotcha" games with Scott Walker from which Democrats are always exempt.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 12, 2015 16 Comments
Remember that one time when a professional journalist called the United States Attorney General a duck, and then asked him to quack? In public? While the camera was rolling? There are no more words. Just watch: I'M SO UNCOMFORTABLE.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 11, 2015 30 Comments
On the O'Reilly show tonight, it was announced that the Southern Poverty Law Center has taken Dr. Ben Carson off the "Extremist" Watch List. And sure enough, Carson no longer is on the List. Carson's former Extremist profile now redirects to a page with this statement:
In October 2014, we posted an “Extremist File” of Dr. Ben Carson. This week, as we've come under intense criticism for doing so, we've reviewed our profile and have concluded that it did not meet our standards, so we have taken it down and apologize to Dr. Carson for having posted it.
http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/publication/splc_statement_carson_feb2015.pdf Legal Insurrection first brought this travesty to public attention last Friday. Whether you agree with Carson or not, he didn't deserve to be on a list with Klan and Neo-Nazi leaders (there are a few other people who don't deserve to be on the list, but that's a different matter.) Since our report, the issue has been the subject of hundreds of columns, radio shows, and obviously SPLC, worth $300,000,000, felt the heat. Who says a small blog can't make a difference. Should I do it? Should I? Okay, here goes: (WARNING, MAY CAUSE SEIZURES)

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 11, 2015 19 Comments
I'm a believer, a true believer, that Elizabeth Warren would crush Hillary, if she wanted to. Just Run, Elizabeth, Run! Now a poll backs me up, Shock poll: Warren leads Clinton in Iowa, N.H.:
Populist groups cheering "Run Warren Run," today released 2016 election polls from Iowa and New Hampshire showing Sen. Elizabeth Warren ahead of dominant Democrat Hillary Clinton. The YouGov poll of likely Democratic voters for MoveOn.org and Democracy for America also found that 79 percent want Warren and majorities support her anti-Wall Street positions. The poll of 400 conducted Jan. 30 to Feb. 5 put Warren ahead of Clinton in Iowa, 31 percent to 24 percent. In New Hampshire, her lead is 30 percent to 27 percent.
SCIENCE! Why do some people hate SCIENCE?

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 11, 2015 40 Comments
This story hits a little too close to home. Yesterday, Republican state Rep. David Moore introduced House Bill 365 in the House Judiciary Committee. The bill would redefine "provocative clothing" in such a way that the wearing of yoga pants in public would be outlawed. According to the Billings Gazette:
A Montana legislative panel has moved to kill a bill that would tighten the state's indecent exposure law and consequently ban some provocative clothing. Members of the House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to table House Bill 365 Wednesday. Republican Rep. David Moore introduced it on Tuesday. The proposal would have expanded the definition of indecent exposure to include garments that give the appearance of a person's buttocks, genitals, pelvis or female nipple. Moore said the bill could outlaw some provocative clothing, and later said he thinks yoga pants should be illegal in public.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 11, 2015 13 Comments
Senate Democrats continue to block the Department of Homeland Security funding bill passed by the House. As we've reported, the House DHS appropriations bill is enforcement-heavy and seeks to squash President Obama's executive overreach. Not amused, Speaker Boehner held a press conference and minced no words:
“The House did its job. We won the fight to fund the Department of Homeland Security and to stop the President’s unconstitutional actions. Now, it’s time for the Senate to do their work. You know, in the gift shop out here [in the Capitol], they’ve got these little booklets on how a bill becomes a law. Alright? The House has done its job. Why don’t you go ask the Senate Democrats when they’re going to get off their ass and do something other than to vote ‘no.’”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 11, 2015 4 Comments
When the University of California system-wide student government passed a resolution not only divesting from Israel, but also the United States, it was met with widespread mockery and ridicule. The Stanford University Undergraduate Student Senate avoided that fate by failing to pass an Anti-Israel Resolution heavily promoted, including by dozens of Stanford pro-BDS professors to influence the outcome. As now seems to be a common tactic, the #BlackLivesMatters leadership was recruited to help with the effort. There was a Petition and some very good dissections of the Resolution by opposition students. One analysis indicated it wasn't even clear that Stanford invested in the companies from which divestment was sought, The Hidden Agenda Behind SOOP’s False Divestment Claims. The vote was close -- the boycotters needed a 2/3 majority, but fell just short. But a fail is a fail, and this at least gives pro-Israel, pro-peace students some time to regroup and reconsider how to fight this scourge. Multiple student Senate members who voted for divestment claimed in speeches that they did it for love of Israel, as if it was their job to know better what is good for Israelis than Israelis. When the vote was announced, there was a chorus of cheers, followed by someone (not sure if faculty, administrator or student) asking people to just get along, followed by shouts from an angry member of the crowd:

Posted by Amy Miller on February 11, 2015 37 Comments
Craig Stephen Hicks has been charged with three counts of first degree murder in the shooting deaths of Deah Shaddy Barakat, age 23, Yusor Mohammad Barakat, age 21, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, age 19. A local ABC news affiliate has footage of Hicks' first court appearance, which you can watch here. We're still unclear as to why Hicks chose to gun down three people, but there are multiple reports floating around that the shooting was an escalation of an ordinary neighborhood parking dispute. More from WaPo:
The Chapel Hill Police Department said Wednesday morning that initial indications suggested that the issue stemmed from a parking altercation. “Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking,” the department said in a statement. “Hicks is cooperating with investigators and more information may be released at a later time.” ... [Note: he was not released.] ... Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for CAIR, said Wednesday morning he had heard some “unsubstantiated reports” from community members that the victims had previous interactions with Hicks, including a dispute about a parking spot.
CAIR says it...but neighbors also told the police that a parking dispute was part of the problem between Hicks and his victims. Bottom line is, we don't know yet. Hicks' appearance in court was extremely brief. Friends of the three victims have set up a "Our Three Winners" Facebook Memorial dedicated to telling the stories of Deah, Yusor, and Razan.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 11, 2015 12 Comments
President Obama's draft Authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS has been released. There are limitations to its scope, and it includes a time limit, but still...everybody hang on to something. Here we go: Authorization for the Use of United States Armed Forces in connection with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) poses a threat to the people and stability of Iraq, Syria, and the broader Middle East, and to U.S. national security. It threatens American personnel and facilities located in the region and is responsible for the deaths of U.S. citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller. If left unchecked, ISIL will pose a threat beyond the Middle East, including to the United States homeland. I have directed a comprehensive and sustained strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL. As part of this strategy, U.S. military forces are conducting a systematic campaign of airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria. Although existing statutes provide me with the authority I need to take these actions, I have repeatedly expressed my commitment to working with the Congress to pass a bipartisan authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL. Consistent with this commitment, I am submitting a draft AUMF that would authorize the continued use of military force to degrade and defeat ISIL. My Administration's draft AUMF would not authorize long‑term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our Nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan. Local forces, rather than U.S. military forces, should be deployed to conduct such operations. The authorization I propose would provide the flexibility to conduct ground combat operations in other, more limited circumstances, such as rescue operations involving U.S. or coalition personnel or the use of special operations forces to take military action against ISIL leadership. It would also authorize the use of U.S. forces in situations where ground combat operations are not expected or intended, such as intelligence collection and sharing, missions to enable kinetic strikes, or the provision of operational planning and other forms of advice and assistance to partner forces.

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 11, 2015 20 Comments
One year ago, Barack Obama told Bill O'Reilly that there wasn't even a smidgeon of corruption at the IRS. If that statement was true, why is the Obama administration refusing to share documents related to the IRS targeting scandal? Bob Cusack of The Hill reported yesterday:
Obama administration won’t release IRS targeting documents The Obama administration is refusing to publicly release more than 500 documents on the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party groups. Twenty months after the IRS scandal broke, there are still many unanswered questions about who was spearheading the agency’s scrutiny of conservative-leaning organizations. The Hill sought access to government documents that might provide a glimpse of the decision-making through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The Hill asked for 2013 emails and other correspondence between the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The request specifically sought emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner and Treasury officials, including Secretary Jack Lew, while the inspector general was working on its explosive May 2013 report that the IRS used “inappropriate criteria” to review the political activities of tax-exempt groups. TIGTA opted not to release any of the 512 documents covered by the request, citing various exemptions in the law. The Hill recently appealed the FOIA decision, but TIGTA denied the appeal. TIGTA also declined to comment for this article.
The Department of Justice, which hasn't been politicized in any way, may be partially to blame for the slowness of the investigation.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2015 42 Comments
Brian Williams has been suspended by NBC News for 6 months without pay, pending further investigation of his tall tales and untruths. That's about $5 million dollars of salary lost, and obviously more if it becomes permanent. NBC Statement via Mediaite:
We have decided today to suspend Brian Williams as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News for six months. The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately. We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News. Our review, which is being led by Richard Esposito working closely with NBCUniversal General Counsel Kim Harris, is ongoing, but I think it is important to take you through our thought process in coming to this decision. While on Nightly News on Friday, January 30, 2015, Brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003. It then became clear that on other occasions Brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues. This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 10, 2015 17 Comments
Welcome to Team Hillary vs. Itself, Round 2! (3? 4? I lost track.) Yesterday, operative and scourge-of-the-right-wing David Brock resigned in protest from pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA Action. In his message to the board, he accused his colleagues of orchestrating a "hit job" against his other project organizations, American Bridge and Media Matters. More from Politico:
Those groups — along with another pro-Clinton group, the super PAC Ready for Hillary — had their fundraising practices called into question last week by a New York Times report. It pointed out that veteran Democratic fundraiser Mary Pat Bonner got a 12.5 percent commission on funds she raised for Brock’s groups and a smaller percentage commission on cash she raised for Ready for Hillary. In his letter to the co-chairs of Priorities’ board — former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina — Brock alleged that “current and former Priorities officials were behind this specious and malicious attack on the integrity of these critical organizations.” The letter — and Brock’s resignation — offer a rare glimpse into a network of groups upon which Democrats are relying to keep the White House and stave off increasingly robust big-money efforts on the right. The public airing of dirty laundry comes as sources say Priorities is struggling to live up to the hopes of some Clinton allies, who had argued it should aim to raise as much as $500 million to eviscerate prospective Clinton rivals in the primary and general elections.
It's not just the groups that Democrats are relying on to keep the White House---it's the optics of the thing.
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