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April 2015

Posted by New Neo on April 27, 2015 13 Comments
Rand Paul said it just a couple of weeks ago, but a lot of people have thought it for a long time:
I think the thing is about the Clintons is that there’s a certain sense that they think they’re above the law.
There are some good reasons the Clintons might have come to believe that. Both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton have always been powerful people, even as young adults. As early as college and law school they were both widely considered to be brilliant and charismatic, albeit in somewhat different ways. Recall, for example, that Hillary was chosen to give a commencement speech in her graduating year at Wellesly, a very unusual honor. The main speaker was Senator Edward Brooke, but she stole his thunder:
Clinton, then just Hillary Diane Rodham, was chosen by her peers to be the first student speaker to deliver a commencement address at Wellesley College. Clinton electrified 400 of her peers at the women’s liberal arts college with a fiery speech that captured the young generation’s disillusionment over President Richard Nixon’s war in Vietnam.

Posted by David Gerstman on April 27, 2015 9 Comments
Yesterday afternoon Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon warned Iran not to arm Hezbollah.
“Iran continues to try and arm Hezbollah and it is striving to arm the Lebanese terror group with advanced weapons in every way it can, and by using every avenue,” Ya’alon said in a speech at Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv. “We will not allow the transfer of sophisticated weapons to terror groups, and in particular Hezbollah.” “We know how to reach [Hezbollah] and those who direct it, at any time and any place,” Ya’alon continued. “We will not allow Hezbollah to establish a terror infrastructure on our borders with Syria, and we know how to lay our hands on anyone who threatens Israeli citizens, along our borders or even far from them.”
It wasn't clear if Ya'alon was referring to airstrikes targeting weapons depots in Syria, attributed to Israel, that occurred Wednesday and Saturday last week, or if he was threatening future action. Subsequent to Ya'alon's talk it appeared that he may have intended both.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 26, 2015 23 Comments
For the longest, Blue Bell was solely a Texas establishment. Their factory is right up the road from Houston. Kids would take school trips to the Blue Bell factory (and I imagine they still do). Everyone grew up looking forward to their seasonal offerings. And Blue Bell was the treat you looked forward to as a kid. Not ice cream -- Blue Bell. So when the grocery store is out of Blue Bell, they may as well be out of ice cream altogether. Beloved Texas staple, Blue Bell ice cream voluntarily pulled their product off the shelves following widespread listeria contamination concerns. As my sister observed at the grocery store yesterday:

Noooooo :(

A photo posted by Kristee Masters (@masterlenn) on

The massive voluntary recall was the first since the creamery opened in 1907. Closed temporarily, Monday, "Blue Bell Ice Cream will embark on an intensive cleaning program while it simultaneously conducts a new training program for its employees at all four production facilities with locations in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas." Friday afternoon, Blue Bell released the following video:

Our employees are working hard to bring Blue Bell back. Here’s their message for you:

Posted by Blue Bell Ice Cream on Friday, April 24, 2015

Posted by Amy Miller on April 26, 2015 35 Comments
We're slowly losing the distinction between the protest and the riot. Last night, chaos broke out in Baltimore after protests against the death of Freddie Gray turned into riots that damaged property and police cars, and resulted in the arrests of more than 30 people. Baltimore city officials denounced the violence as the work of "splinter groups"---isn't that always the case?---but the fact that over 300 officers were deployed and engaged in the area around Camden Yards sends that friendly narrative right down the toilet. One producer paid the price for covering the protests, and was robbed on camera as she filmed a group of teens running the streets. In the video below, you'll see the producer become surrounded, and then thrown to the ground as the crowd becomes more frenzied. The producer filming the scene was forced to give chase after one of the teens ripped her handbag from her person. Fortunately, police intervened soon after. Watch:

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 26, 2015 15 Comments
George Stephanopoulos worked in the Bill Clinton administration as a senior adviser. In what way is he qualified to question the author of a book which seeks to expose alleged corruption of the Clintons? Peter Schweizer holds his own in this interview despite the aggressive and skeptical questions hurled at him throughout the discussion. Stephanopoulos is not so much a journalist, he's a member of the palace guard. It's quite clear which side he's on in this situation.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 26, 2015 18 Comments
White supremacy, white privilege, whatever you want to call it, it's the attempt to "other" white people in America and to essentially blame all problems encountered by minorities on "white" power structures and on "white" justice systems. Obama and Eric Holder are big proponents, as we know, and as we've seen recently, so are all sorts of people in positions of power from the Al Sharptons right down to the local "community organizer." The good news is that you don't have to actually participate in this as a white person . . .  or even be aware of it, actually. If you're white (and male--doubly bad), you are racist even if you think you aren't, and you bask in a privilege that encircles you like a fluffy protective bubble, bouncing you from opportunity to opportunity from riches to more riches. All because you are white. Don't try to confuse the issue by noting that the president, former attorney general, and various well-paid MSNBC host proponents of white privilege are not actually white and are, by anyone's definition, privileged. This doesn't matter. Because white privilege! As Rick Moran writes:
What makes the academic study of “white supremacy” and “white privilege” so perfect for racialists is that it requires absolutely no parameters of study. There are no standards of proof. There is no way any claims can be vetted in peer-reviewed journals because the “evidence” can be explained by other factors. Anything and everything can be pointed to as being a result of white supremacy or white privilege because of one’s personal worldview — looking at the entire world through a prism of race. And apparently, you don’t even need a white person around for white supremacy to rear its ugly head.
This is just as absurd as it sounds, but it is what is behind much public policy today. From our universities to our local police stations, from the federal government to our local places of worship (well, the "white" ones), our culture is being fundamentally transformed.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 26, 2015 30 Comments
As I noted with the report on Chile's Earth Day volcanic spectacular, the prime cause of climate change is Mother Nature. And while the eco-activists continue to gin-up man-made fear about "climate change",  it appears that a new study, conducted by Duke University that looked at 1,000 years of temperature records, supports my assertion.  The analysis shows that the climate models, the holy grail of climate change science, are...less than completely accurate.
The study compared its results to the most severe emissions scenarios outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 'Based on our analysis, a middle-of-the-road warming scenario is more likely, at least for now,' said Patrick Brown, a doctoral student in climatology at Duke University. 'But this could change.' The Duke-led study says that variability is caused by interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, and other natural factors. They claim these 'wiggles' can slow or speed the rate of warming from decade to decade, and exaggerate or offset the effects of increases in greenhouse gas concentrations. If not properly explained and accounted for, they may skew the reliability of climate models and lead to over-interpretation of short-term temperature trends.
LI #26 Global Warming Meanwhile, discussions among client scientists have recently included one of the leading religious figures in the world, Pope Francis. The pontiff is slated to give a much anticipated "climate change" encyclical this summer, to the delight of progressives everywhere.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 26, 2015 59 Comments
This week has been very revealing in terms of what conservatives actually think and what progressives imagine we think.  The "big" question that kicked it all off was "would you attend a gay wedding?"  This was, apparently, supposed to separate the knuckle-dragging haters on the right from the sophisticated and pious leftists.  John Nolte writes:
Another Republican presidential hopeful, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, made all kinds of headlines when he said something that would not surprise anyone who has spent any amount of time with a conservative Christian — that he would attend a same sex wedding. Out here in the real world this is a dog-bites-man story. Nevertheless, our media considered it as newsworthy as the sinking of the Titanic.
And that's the problem.  As surreal as it seems to most of us on the right, the leftist media and progressive groups actually believe that we have such hate in our hearts that we wouldn't support our own friends and family members should they be gay.  This is, after all, a very different question than whether or not gay "marriage" should be legal.  At least it is to us. This fundamental misunderstanding of conservatives seems more than a simple political weapon designed to rally progressives against those (supposedly) intolerant, nasty Republicans.  The conviction with which they approach such topics--so certain that some candidate's willingness to attend a gay friend's wedding will instill in the base a violent disgust--suggests that they really believe their own myths about us.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 25, 2015 27 Comments
David Frum's naive delight in what he seems certain is Elizabeth Warren's completely pure and altruistic populism leads him to insist that she'll run for president, despite her repeated statements that she will not.  He writes,
By now Warren knows (assuming she didn’t know before she arrived there) that the only thing the Senate can offer somebody like her is the velvety asphyxiation of every idealistic hope. If what you like best is the sound of your own voice and the deference of those around you, then a senatorship is a wonderful job. If you’re in politics to accomplish things, the institution must be almost unbearable. Can Warren bear it? The endless talk, talk, talk? The scoldings from White House aides whenever she says or does something they deem unhelpful? The merciless editing of her speech at the next Democratic National Convention —and the surgical exclusion from the innermost council of the party leadership? That’s the “unique role in the national conversation” in which a Hillary Clinton led Democratic party will cast Elizabeth Warren. Warren's got nothing to gain from staying put in the Senate except drudgery, ineffectuality, and humiliation.
She's simply too good for the Senate, and her beautiful soul can only be quashed and trampled in the Senate quagmire.  The only way to save herself--and America!--is to run against and beat Hillary for the Democrat nomination, and if she is as sincere as Frum believes her to be, she has no other choice but to run.  Frum explains:
If a politician expresses ideas that are shared by literally tens of millions of people—and that are being expressed by no other first-tier political figure—she owes it to her supporters to take their cause to the open hearing and fair trial of the nation. It would be negligent and irresponsible not to do so. Elizabeth Warren belongs to that unusual group who stick by their principles even when it might cost them something, including an election. But if you’re willing to lose for your principles, surely you should be willing to try to win for them?
However, what if Warren is not sincere but is, instead, inauthentic?

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 25, 2015 19 Comments
Last December, we followed the hostage crisis in Australia when Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis walked into a Sydney cafe armed with guns and extreme religious zeal. Since that time, many Australians have been re-evaluating the inclusive, feel-good policies toward Muslim immigrants supported by the government, including those that related to certification for halal-based foods. Many Australians, unhappy with the lack of response to their objections, have begun organizing Down Under a citizen-based organization named "Reclaim Australia":
“Reclaim Australia” rallies were held in 16 different locations across Australia Saturday [April 11, 2015]. Billed as a call for “patriotic Australians” to “stand together to stop tax, Sharia law and Islamization,”. the rallies provoked violent encounters with counter protesters who billed the events as racist and anti-Muslim. Reclaim Australia, a community organization, denied the accusations. "We're not against any particular race or any particular religion," John Oliver, an activist with the organization, said. "We're against the extremists of one particular religion. I know in Sydney and Melbourne they've got Muslims already signed on to attend because they can see what's happening and they don't like what's happening." Most Reclaim Australia protesters interviewed seemed to agree that the group was opposed to Islamic extremism and not Muslims who follow Australian law and whose intentions were not to change Australian culture.
I have a contact in that country, who is following "Reclaim Australia" closely (my source must remain unnamed, due to connections to the government). She indicates that the halal certification is pervasive, and seems to be a way to garner special rights. For example, the halala promoters require certification on everything (water, spice) at every level down to cleaning supplies. Furthermore, most government agencies and public places (sports complexes, museums, schools, hospitals) only offer halal slaughtered meat.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 25, 2015 8 Comments
The progressive hosts of MSNBC may like the idea of big government programs, but for some of them, paying taxes seems to be a challenge. Jillian Kay Melchior outlined the issue in a recent column for National Review:
MSNBC’s Touré Has the Taxman on His Case Touré Neblett, co-host of MSNBC’s The Cycle, owes more than $59,000 in taxes, according to public records reviewed by National Review. In September 2013, New York issued a state tax warrant to Neblett and his wife, Rita Nakouzi, for $46,862.68. Six months later, the state issued an additional warrant to the couple for $12,849.87. In January 2014, Neblett tweeted, “Regressive taxation & tax-avoidance & union crushing & the financial corruption of legislation has fueled inequality more than hard work.” In 2012, he also criticized Republican politicians, saying they were “all afraid to vote for a modest tax increase of people who can totally afford it.” MSNBC’s hosts and guests regularly call for higher taxes on the rich, condemning wealthy individuals and corporations who don’t pay their taxes or make use of loopholes. But recent reports, as well as records reviewed by National Review, show that at least four high-profile MSNBC on-air personalities have tax liens or warrants filed against them.
Melchior discussed the issue with Sean Hannity on Thursday night:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 25, 2015 7 Comments
While I'm not a fan of Grover Norquist, I do appreciate his Americans for Tax Reform's work each election cycle to get candidates on the record regarding tax increases.  It's not the be-all-and-end-all, but it does indicate to voters where candidates stand in terms of big government and taxation.  The Hill reports:
The Taxpayer Protection Pledge is maintained by Grover Norquist’s group, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), and has been signed by the majority of Republicans in Congress. The group says it has shared the pledge with all candidates running for federal office since 1986. In separate statements, Norquist said their signatures show Paul and Cruz continue “to protect American taxpayers against higher taxes.” Signing the pledge could help the senators draw a contrast with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is expected to also launch a presidential bid and is considered a leading candidate for the GOP nomination.
Ted Cruz tweeted a photo of himself signing it to underscore his seriousness:

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 25, 2015 10 Comments
FOX News is airing a special which examines claims made by the new book Clinton Cash. Special Report host Bret Baier interviews author Peter Schweizer and investigates alleged abuses of power and money by the Clintons from the efforts to rebuild Haiti to the questionable Uranium deal that benefited Russia. The special premiered last night and airs again today at 5 PM, Sunday at 3 PM and 10 PM.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 25, 2015 18 Comments
Today's college students apparently cannot endure exposure to thoughts or ideas that might conflict with their existing world view.  These precious snowflakes need trigger warnings and safe spaces to protect their delicate sensibilities from anything they may find insulting, wrong-headed, harmful, confusing, or otherwise thought-provoking. Thinking, of course, is the real enemy because it means being open-minded and willing to listen to and engage opposing views in what we quaintly used to call rigorous intellectual debate. Enter the hilarious parody:  Safe Space University, "where we pretend differing opinions simply don't exist":
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