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May 2015

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 31, 2015 6 Comments
Our journey off the usual tourist trail through Israel continued today with a visit to border areas near Gaza. Sderot is famous for being the closest Israeli town to Gaza, and the first and most frequent target. The Sderot Media Center has a wealth of information. Sderot Satellite Map North Gaza Because Sderot is so close, the town has only 15 seconds warning once a launch is detected. This video is from 2008: There are bomb shelters everywhere, including on the street (see Featured Image - "Shalom" painted on a bomb shelter) and in the playground, where the bomb shelter is in the form of a large caterpillar so as to make it more welcoming to children.

Posted by Amy Miller on May 31, 2015 25 Comments
Rand Paul is in trouble. At least, it looks like Rand Paul is in trouble. When answering questions about fundraising posed by Politico last week, spokesmen from both the official campaign and America's Liberty PAC couched on their actual numbers. PAC spokesman Jesse Benton may have revealed much more than he intended when he said, “Results to date have been solid and give us lots of room for optimism as we continue. We also know this is a marathon, not a sprint.” Oof. Marathon-not-sprint is never where you want to be when other candidates are charming the multimillionaires who make national presidential campaigns tick. Part of me believes it shouldn't be this way. Paul has been making headlines as an anti-establishment pot-stirrer with his opposition to the impending PATRIOT Act extension. Back in 2013, an overwhelming majority of Americans stood in solidarity with Paul after he held a 13-hour filibuster protesting the use of drone strikes against American citizens. Senator Paul has been much more adept than fellow presidential contender Senator Cruz at influencing his colleagues on issues of policy without crossing the line into willful alienation---so what's the problem? The other side of my brain knows, though---and so do donors and strategists. More from Politico:

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 31, 2015 19 Comments
According to a recent poll from Rasmussen, a shockingly high number of Democrats think that non-citizens should be allowed to vote in America's elections:
Most Democrats Think Illegal Immigrants Should Vote Are voters ready to let illegal immigrants vote? A sizable number, including most Democrats, are. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that one-out-of-three Likely U.S. Voters (35%) now believes that illegal immigrants should be allowed to vote if they can prove they live in this country and pay taxes. Sixty percent (60%) disagree, while five percent (5%) are undecided. Fifty-three percent (53%) of Democrats think tax-paying illegal immigrants should have the right to vote. Twenty-one percent (21%) of Republicans and 30% of voters not affiliated with either major political party agree.
The reason so many Democrats support this idea is obvious. It would increase their voter ranks immensely. It's stunning that any Republican would agree with such an idea.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 31, 2015 6 Comments
Professor Jacobson has written extensively about the BDS movement and the effort to boycott the boycotters. Senator Ted Cruz has a new idea. Take federal funds away from schools that boycott Israel. He made the remarks at the Champion of Jewish Values International Awards Gala. Among attendees was Sheldon Adelson, an influential donor to Republican politicians. Katie Zezima of the Washington Post writes:
Cruz: Universities that boycott Israel should lose federal funding NEW YORK -- Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that universities that boycott Israel should lose their federal funding. Cruz's remarks were aimed at the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which is gaining traction on college campuses. It calls for U.S. companies and universities to divest from Israel. Cruz has spoken against BDS but sharpened his tone Thursday. The nation needs a president who will ensure that "if a university boycotts the nation of Israel then that university will forfeit federal taxpayer dollars," Cruz said at the Champion of Jewish Values International Awards Gala here, where he received the Defender of Israel Award. "BDS is premised on a lie and it is antisemitism plain and simple."

Posted by Jay Caruso on May 31, 2015 13 Comments
"Don't you someday want to see a woman president of the United States of America?" That was a line from a speech Hillary Clinton recently delivered for a gathering of the pro-abortion PAC, EMILY's List. It was delivered with all of the warmth and charm we've come to expect from the former Secretary of State, which is to say none at all. "First woman president" is basically what Hillary Clinton's campaign will be, and the media will do all they can to help her across the finish line in order to accomplish that. Take the latest cover of the New Yorker for example: new-yorker-gop-hillary There's "First Woman President" candidate Hillary standing on the outside looking in. The lone woman staring into a locker room loaded up with white guys, right? The New Yorker had this to say about the group of potential GOP candidates in the photo:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 31, 2015 23 Comments
Obama has famously (infamously?) long been enamored of the idea of fundamentally transforming America, and one of the foundational aspects of American culture that he has in his sights is the Second Amendment and Americans' firmly held belief in their right to keep and bear arms. His former attorney general, Eric Holder, went so far as to proclaim—back in the 1990's—that "we really need to brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way." At least he understood that it's the American people who resist infringement of this right.  The administration has tried to pass gun control legislation, most notably in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings, but such attempts fail. Completing missing the fact that Americans are strongly supportive of their right to bear arms, Obama and his assortment of anti-Second Amendment zealots blame the NRA:
“But the power of NRA and the gun lobby in Congress is formidable,” Obama said. “And you know, we’re going to keep chipping away at this, but until you get intense public demands for this, it’s probably not going to happen because some special interests and lobbyists in Washington are really, really strong and their membership feels very intensely about the issue. Whereas the general public is concerned about it, but doesn’t make it their top priority.”
He also recognizes that Congress—even when Democrats held supermajorities in both houses—is unable to pass the sort of sweeping gun control legislation he seeks.  In his 2014 State of the Union address, he promised gun control "with or without Congress," and it seems he's working on multiple fronts to make that happen. From taxing bullets, to gun locks, to gun recalls / buyback programs, to targeting children's pop-tarts and otherwise controlling the narrative about guns, Obama and other anti-Second Amendment advocates are working overtime in their frantic bid to disarm the American people.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 31, 2015 13 Comments
While presented as a means to protect drinking water and "hold[ing] polluters accountable," the Obama administration's latest EPA rule, Waters of the United States, is rather more far-reaching than many conservatives like. According to the document (full text embedded below), the rule itself is not intended as regulatory (that probably comes later), but is instead "a definitional rule that clarifies the scope of the 'waters of the United States' . . . ."  Essentially, almost all fresh water, including that in "water-filled depressions," is now under the federal government's purview and subject to government oversight and regulation. Politico reports:
On its face, the Waters of the United States rule is largely a technical document, defining which rivers, streams, lakes and marshes fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. But opponents condemn it as a massive power grab by Washington, saying it will give bureaucrats carte blanche to swoop in and penalize landowners every time a cow walks through a ditch. . . . "This rule will provide the clarity and certainty businesses and industry need about which waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, and it will ensure polluters who knowingly threaten our waters can be held accountable,” Obama said in a statement after the EPA released a final version of the regulation. “My administration has made historic commitments to clean water, from restoring iconic watersheds like the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes to preserving more than a thousand miles of rivers and other waters for future generations. With today’s rule, we take another step towards protecting the waters that belong to all of us.”
Obama's emphasis is on safety and clean water; the rule, however, greatly expands the definition of what waters "belong to us all," including that on privately-owned property.

Posted by Jay Caruso on May 31, 2015 14 Comments
A protest at a Phoenix mosque was held late Friday afternoon in response to two Phoenix residents driving to Texas last month looking to engage in violence because of a "Draw Mohammed" contest that was going on there:
Police officers lined barricades separating protesters and counter-protesters who gathered outside a Phoenix mosque Friday evening in response to a planned "freedom of speech" demonstration where attendees were encouraged to bring weapons and "draw Mohammed," an act offensive to many Muslims. Police presence increased by 6:30 p.m. to physically separate the two sides outside the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix. About 20 cars and 15 motorcycles traveled from a protester meeting point at a nearby park to the mosque around 6 p.m., where people from the two sides used megaphones to yell at each other and were at times nose-to-nose. A large group of counter protesters held signs reading "Love not Hate," as others waved American flags and one man ripped the Quran in half.
The protest went off without any acts of violence. There were no fights and no riots. One area where even supporters of the protesters split was in the decision of some to carry firearms. Arizona is an open carry state, and some of the protesters were openly carrying firearms, including rifles that would naturally be mistakenly referred to "assault weapons" or "automatic weapons."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 30, 2015 5 Comments
In 2013, I traveled extensively in Samaria. You can find photos and description of that travel here, To Samaria and back. On Friday, May 29, 2015, I traveled to Mount Gerizim and the Samaritan community, on a high peak in Samaria. Mount Gerizim Map Road Mount Gerizim overlooks the city of Nablus and the Balata refugee camp, and contains ancient ruins of the original Samaritans (the Islamic style dome is not part of the original ruins): [caption id="attachment_129103" align="alignnone" width="600"][Mount Gerizim Samaritan Ruins - Dome Not Original] [Mount Gerizim Samaritan Ruins - Dome Not Original][/caption]Mount Gerizim - Samaritan Ruins overlooking Nablus and Balata Refugee Camp Amid conflict, Samaritans keep unique identity (CNN 2002):

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 30, 2015 17 Comments
Chris Christie is the first of the potential GOP presidential candidates who first embraced Common Core to distance himself from it.  According to New Jersey.com:
Navigating New Jersey interests and a likely presidential campaign, Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday proposed dropping national Common Core education standards he once supported but have since become a lightening rod issue for Republican voters. The governor, speaking at Burlington County College in Pemberton, declared Common Core is "simply not working." Christie wants to assemble a team to develop a state-based group to develop "new standards right here in New Jersey, not 200 miles away on the banks of the Potomac River."
That Common Core doesn't work—can't work—is no surprise to those of us who oppose it, but it is interesting to see that Christie has changed his tune as he struggles to rebuild his reputation with conservatives.   When he was pushing Common Core in New Jersey, Christie lashed out at its opponents:
“We are doing Common Core in New Jersey and we’re going to continue,” Christie said in 2013. “And this is one of those areas where I have agreed more with the president than not. I think part of the Republican opposition you see in some corners in Congress is a reaction, that knee-jerk reaction that is happening in Washington right now, that if the president likes something the Republicans in Congress don’t. If the Republicans in Congress like something, the president doesn’t.”
While he wasn't as insulting as Jeb Bush has been about Common Core's opponents, he was dismissive and unwilling to hear the case against Common Core.  Examples such as children failing Common Core math problems because their numbers weren't "friendly" enough, the arguments against Common Core's "dumbing down of standards," and theoretical arguments concerning problems with Common Core's "compartmental learning" fell on deaf ears.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 30, 2015 9 Comments
This seems to happen frequently. As we noted in 2013, the IRS and other workers' unions wanted an exemption from Obamacare, despite the fact that they would be trusted with enforcing it and had been avid supporters of it. Now labor leaders in Los Angeles, who pushed for a minimum wage hike, are suggesting that unions should be exempt from that very rule. From the LA Times:
L.A. labor leaders seek minimum wage exemption for firms with union workers Labor leaders, who were among the strongest supporters of the citywide minimum wage increase approved last week by the Los Angeles City Council, are advocating last-minute changes to the law that could create an exemption for companies with unionized workforces. The push to include an exception to the mandated wage increase for companies that let their employees collectively bargain was the latest unexpected detour as the city nears approval of its landmark legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. For much of the past eight months, labor activists have argued against special considerations for business owners, such as restaurateurs, who said they would have trouble complying with the mandated pay increase.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 30, 2015 6 Comments
Congressman John Delaney of Maryland has noticed a hard shift to the left in the Democratic Party, making him unique among his colleagues. Some Democrats are currently supporting the presidential run of a senator who openly describes himself as a socialist. You would think that's enough to support Delaney's conclusion, but he's more concerned about the blockage of Obama's trade deal. Kevin Cirilli of The Hill:
House Dem: Left has 'hijacked' party message Rep. John Delaney (Md.), a centrist House Democrat, on Friday warned that voices on the left have "hijacked" his party’s message. "With Washington already broken, the last thing we need is a left-wing version of the tea party," Delaney wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published online Thursday evening. "But I am worried about where some of the loudest voices in the room could take the Democratic Party." He said Democrats' "party microphone has been hijacked by people more interested in scoring points than in solving problems." Delaney didn't specifically mention any prominent liberals by name, but he delved into specific policy debates that have divided Democrats in recent weeks, including trade policy. Liberal Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have bucked the White House in opposing legislation that would grant President Obama fast-track trade authority, arguing that it would favor corporations and put U.S. workers in competition with low-wage workers in other countries.

Posted by Jay Caruso on May 30, 2015 22 Comments
Whether one believes in God or not, whenever natural disasters strike and deaths are involved, people often ask, "Why?".  They ask:  "Why did this happen?"; "Why did this have to happen now?"; and sadly, "Why did ________ have to die?" The worst response is when somebody tries to politicize such tragedies, especially in the context of assigning bad weather to an "angry God." Evangelical Christians such as Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell have been known to enjoy the taste of their own feet as they have, at times, pointed the finger of blame at various behaviors by people as the reason for some kind of natural disaster. Pat Robertson, in 2012 was raked over the coals for suggesting deadly tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest could have been avoided if people had merely been more willing to pray about it. News outlets that covered it included The Huffington Post, The Daily News, The LA Times, CNN as well as left wing outlets such as Crooks & Liars, Media Matters, Raw Story and others.

Three days ago, Al Sharpton suggested the following with respect to the floods that have claimed the lives of over 20 people in Texas:

https://twitter.com/TheRevAl/status/603640706104721409 Notwithstanding Sharpton's concern over whether or not the citizens of Texas were spending too much time messing with their thermostats, Sharpton's "question" is really a political statement aimed at a state that is pretty red politically. Governor Greg Abbott handily defeated Wendy Davis and ended her 15 minutes of fame. The state has two Republican Senators in Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Former Governor Rick Perry is likely going to run for president, along with Cruz.

Posted by Andrew Branca on May 30, 2015 56 Comments
It took the Sparks NV jury fewer than 7 hours last night to find 74-year-old Wayne Burgarello not guilty of all charges in the shooting of two squatters, one of whom died of his injuries, reports the Reno Gazette Journal.  Burgarello had been charged with murder for the death he caused and was also subject to conviction on the lesser included charge of manslaughter; he was also charged with attempted murder for the victim who survived. Here's Burgarello leaving the courtroom following the verdict, in the company of his defense lawyer Theresa Ristenpart:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 30, 2015 5 Comments
They came. They saw. They protested without hurting themselves or others. I promised a round of applause for Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton if he and his city management and law enforcement teams managed to keep the peace between protesters and counterprotesters at last night's free speech/anti-Islam/whatever you want to call it rally. The verdict? They managed! Mr. Stanton, this one's for you. USA Today explains how things played out:
Police presence increased by 6:30 p.m. to physically separate the two sides outside the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix. About 20 cars and 15 motorcycles traveled from a protester meeting point at a nearby park to the mosque around 6 p.m., where people from the two sides used megaphones to yell at each other and were at times nose-to-nose. A large group of counter protesters held signs reading "Love not Hate," as others waved American flags and one man ripped the Quran in half. Counter protesters wearing blue lined the side closest to the mosque. They said they came from Redemption Church in Tempe and wore the color to be a peaceful presence. Few people showed up for the mosque's scheduled prayer service.
Supporters on both sides of the issue took to Twitter to speak their minds---and air their grievances:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 30, 2015 10 Comments

Hi, Prof. J: Here's a contribution from the Land of Lincoln. The car sported the red "Impeach Obama" sticker on the passenger door as well. Not everyone in this state is a liberal moron, but unfortunately we conservatives seem to be outnumbered, and most likely our...

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