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May 2015

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 14, 2015 25 Comments
Remember how former Clinton advisor and now ABC News host George Stephanopoulos raked the "Clinton Cash" book author over the coals? We smelled a rat at the time:
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.
Rat confirmed, via Politico, George Stephanopoulos discloses $50,000 contribution to Clinton Foundation:

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 14, 2015 17 Comments
We don't like to kick a loser when she's down, but when this story appeared on Legal Insurrection's radar we thought it was too good to keep to ourselves. The pink sneaker wearing hope of progressives isn't finished with her fall from grace. Terri Langford of the Texas Tribune:
Wendy Davis Fined $5,000 for Ethics Violation The Texas Ethics Commission has fined former state senator and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis $5,000 after finding "credible evidence" that she failed to include her relationship with two lobbyists on financial disclosure forms filed during her 2012 senate re-election campaign. The commission issued an order detailing its findings and the fine on Thursday, nearly three years after a complaint was filed by Davis' Republican opponent, Mark Shelton, who narrowly lost the election to Davis by 2 percentage points. Shelton complained that Davis' personal financial documents for 2010 and 2011 did not properly indicate that her law partner, Brian Newby, was a registered lobbyist. The firm's unpaid executive director, Marcy Weldin Foster, was also a registered lobbyist in 2011, and that was not disclosed. The commission found Davis received fees for services from her own firm and another that she worked for "of counsel," Cantey Hanger, in 2010 and 2011. Both firms paid Newby as a lobbyist, and Cantey Hanger paid Foster as a lobbyist.
What a shame. Just as she was getting ready to launch the next phase of her career.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 13, 2015 6 Comments
Much of the war against Israel is fought in the media and through deceptive "Non-Governmental Organizations" which issue endless distorted reports against Israel. There hardly is any pretense of objectivity anymore -- there is an attempt to tie Israel's hands when dealing with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah which strategically use civilians as shields. In Gaza, the media was intimidated by Hamas, and maintained a near-silence about the use of the main hospital in Gaza as a Hamas headquarters, and the firing of rockets from near schools, apartments and hospitals. But a few reports leaked out and some reporters admitted to the distorted reporting after leaving Gaza: http://youtu.be/Nu-e5qWXx-k This media war is important because one side (Hamas, Hezbollah) uses media outrage as a strategic weapon to shape the physical battlefield.  And biased, agenda-driven NGOs and media organizations are part of the plan. The lastest distortion, which has received wide play on anti-Israel websites and on Facebook, was issued by "Breaking the Silence."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 13, 2015 7 Comments
New polling released by Gallup shows a steady upward tick in Hillary's unfavorability rating. While Hillary's approval ratings have hovered around 50%, her unfavorability rating has steadily increased since March. Now up a full 7 points since her presidential candidacy announcement, is Mrs. Clinton's campaign facing imminent danger? Hillary Clinton Favorability Ratings Trends 2016 President

Posted by David Gerstman on May 13, 2015 3 Comments
A couple of remarkable news reports have been broadcast in recent days about the care given Syrians wounded in the civil war across the border. One - the more dramatic one - was at the Israeli news site Ynet (affiliated with the daily Yedioth Ahronot); the other at CNN. The Ynet article written and narrated by one of the paper's top journalists, Ron Ben-Yishai told of an injured man -likely a jihadist - who was severely injured by a bullet to the stomach and shrapnel wounds. Israel has "trusted intermediaries," on the other side  of the border who communicate when there is an injured person who needs treatment in Israel. Most of the injured are woman, children and the elderly. However there are also younger men, such as the subject of the article. In this case the Israeli were told that without a hospital the man would die. Despite having contacts in Syria, the Israelis know who's on the other side of the border on the Golan Heights, so they have to take care:
At around 8 pm on the day the wounded Syrian was transferred, parties on the Syrian side announced they were approaching the fence. The Israeli ambulance and paramedics readied themselves, while Givati troops received a briefing and then headed out to the fence area. Their role is to make sure that those who sent the wounded citizens to the area had not laden them with explosives, as well as to ensure that the wounded person was not bait in a scheme designed to lure IDF troops into an ambush. Considering the information Israel has on its new neighbors across the border on the Golan Heights – these extra precautions are necessary. Half an hour later, the commander of the forces stationed near the border gave approval to send out the armored vehicle carrying the paramedics to collect the wounded citizen, who was already waiting on the Israeli side.

Posted by Jay Caruso on May 13, 2015 24 Comments
When scanning the spectrum of President Obama's presidency, it's difficult to find anything that he does with any kind of competence or skill. That said, when it comes to erecting straw man arguments, it's hard to find an equal to President Obama. As demonstrated before, Obama routinely engages in this practice by making a claim and then presenting an alternative or a solution to a problem that does not exist. The President recently participated in a panel discussion on poverty with Arthur Brooks from The American Enterprise Institute, Georgetown University President Joe DeGioia, and Robert Putnam of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; during his remarks, Obama raised scenarios that simply did not exist. The first was a recall of the good old days when rich people and poor people co-mingled in the same neighborhoods, contrasted with the current "reality" where successful people separate themselves and thus have no clue about life in the middle class:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 13, 2015 9 Comments
Whoever would have guessed that trade policy could turn into the US Senate's latest stumbling block? Yesterday, Senate Democrats voted to block the start of debate on a bipartisan bill that would renew and broaden the President's negotiating authority over international trade agreements. The bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority renewal legislation was introduced back in mid-April by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). If passed, it would give the President authority to negotiate trade deals that would then be sent off to Congress for either rejection or approval. Because the TPA legislation would not permit Congressional amendments to the deals, the update is seen as a "fast track" option. If passed, the TPA could be used to fast-track approval (or rejection) of the Trans-Pacific Partnership; the Partnership would include 11 other nations (both developed and developing), and stands to affect up to 40% of all US imports and exports if approved. The block isn't the end of the TPA renewal, but it represents a divide in the caucus, and the willingness of Democrat leadership to go against the agenda promoted by the White House.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 13, 2015 19 Comments
Elizabeth Warren had a reputation in academia as a climber with sharp elbows, said New York Magazine in 2011 ("A Saint with Sharp Elbows), and The Boston Globe in 2012:
Behind the scenes, some of her peers bristled at her ascent, viewing her as smart and capable but also as a climber with sharp elbows.
Warren brought those sharp elbows to her 2012 Senate campaign against Scott Brown, and when Brown elbowed back he was accused of sexism. Brent Budowsky at The Hill accused Brown of "sexist slime" for raising the obvious question as to whether Warren's false claim to be Native American in a law directory used for hiring might have juiced her career. Budowsky wrote:
First Brown implied that Warren was a Harvard elitist. Presumably Brown would attack John F. Kennedy for the same reason. Now Brown suggests that Elizabeth Warren is not really qualified to teach at Harvard. Huh? Brown's using the old Karl Rove-style "dog whistle" attack, suggesting Warren just maybe got the Harvard job because of affirmative action. What sexist garbage it is that Scott Brown is trying to sell? Elizabeth Warren got the Harvard job because she was supremely qualified, as are most women who are attacked in this way.
The Warren campaign made the same sexism charge:

Posted by Andrew Branca on May 13, 2015 55 Comments
The Baltimore Sun is reporting that defense counsel for the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray anticipate that they will receive formal grand jury indictments within the next two weeks. At present the officers are charged in District Court, which is a lower-level court not suited to the severity of the charges (which include second-degree depraved-heart murder.)  Accordingly, it has always been anticipated that the charges would be moved to the Circuit Court, where jury trials are held, and where a probable cause hearing on those charges is already scheduled for May 27. In the usual course of events an indictment would occur before that probable cause hearing, thus the expectation that the indictments will be handed down within the next two weeks. The Grand Jury will hear evidence presented only by the prosecution, as is normally the case.  Although the defense can challenge the evidence presented by the State, it may not present any evidence of its own.  All parties therefore expect that the Grand Jury will, indeed, indict the officers.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 13, 2015 19 Comments
Obama's obsession with FOX News is well documented. In 2009, shortly after being sworn in as president, his administration said FOX wasn't a real news network and accused FOX News of being a wing of the Republican Party. It doesn't matter to Obama that he's received the most fawning media coverage of any president in the last fifty years; he just can't sleep at night knowing that there's one cable news network that has dared to question him. The president's thin skin was on full display yesterday when he appeared at a "poverty summit" at Georgetown University. While invoking straw men who apparently hate poor people, Obama couldn't resist demonizing his old standby enemy. Transcript via John Nolte of Breitbart:
I think that the effort to suggest that the poor are sponges, leeches, don’t want to work, are lazy, are undeserving, got traction. And look, it’s still being propagated. I have to say that if you watch Fox News on a regular basis, it is a constant venue. They will find folks who make me mad. I don’t know where they find them. They’re all like, “I don’t want to work. I just want a free Obama Phone, or whatever.” And that becomes an entire narrative that gets worked up. And very rarely do you hear an interview of a waitress, which is much more typical — who is raising a couple of kids and doing everything right but still can’t pay the bills.

Posted by Andrew Branca on May 13, 2015 18 Comments
OK folks, just a hit-and-run post here on the Zimmerman/Apperson kerfuffle. Commenter "Merrymary" from our previous post on this subject (George Zimmerman Attempted Shooting – New Facts Released) was kind enough to send me the audio of the third-party 911 call made after Matthew Apperson fired a shot at George Zimmerman; she also provided some police documents. (Thanks!) We, in turn, provide them to you. Here's the 911 call, or at least the brief portion released so far by the police:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 13, 2015 17 Comments
I love the Equal Pay debate. It's one of the simplest tests of political acumen. Caleb Bonham decided to chat it up with a few Hillary supporters who love Mrs. Clinton because she's, "doing a great job fighting for what should have happened a long time ago." "What should've happened a long time ago," being Equal Pay. There's just one problem with this whole Hillary the Salary Saint schtick -- while serving as one of New York's Senators, Mrs. Clinton paid year-round female employees 72 cents for every buck she paid their male counterparts. Oops? hillary clinton these are difficult hard choices Those numbers come report from the Washington Free Beacon, who analyzed the wages of then Senator Clinton's staff.
During those years, the median annual salary for a woman working in Clinton’s office was $15,708.38 less than the median salary for a man, according to the analysis of data compiled from official Senate expenditure reports.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 12, 2015 8 Comments
Activists from Ithaca Jewish Voice for Peace brought a referendum to the GreenStar Food Coop in Ithaca calling for a boycott of Israeli products.  The effort was national, with big names such as Angela Davis (radical anti-Israel prof.) and Medea Benjamin (Code Pink) lending their support (see Featured Image). The effort was rejected tonight unanimously by the GreenStar Council based on the NY State Human Rights law prohibition of boycotts based on national origin. (Full decision at bottom of post.) Similar to the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn, NY, the referenda caused enormous tension among the GreenStar membership and within the community. See our prior posts: The proposed referenda read:
1. Shall Greenstar be required to halt the sale of all Israeli products and produce grown or produced in the Occupied West Bank in Israeli settlements, settlements which are recognized as illegal under international law?

Posted by Andrew Branca on May 12, 2015 44 Comments
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Lake Mary Police Department has released additional information on the events surrounding Matthew Apperson's firing of a bullet at George Zimmerman's face yesterday.  Here's video of the LMPD press spokeswoman briefing the media: Additional facts now being reported by the Orlando Sentinel include: Police recovered two handguns from Apperson's car, including a Glock 22 (in .40S&W, of course) and a .357 Magnum revolver with one spent case in the cylinder. The police spokeswoman indicated that Apperson had licenses for both guns, a fact which seems odd given Apperson's prior arrests and sometimes convictions on charges ranging from drug possession to reckless driving to DUI to violation of probation (see: Zimmerman Shooter Claims Self-Defense.) Police also recovered a handgun from Zimmerman (also a Glock model unspecified), which Zimmerman's lawyer Don West indicates is habitually carried because of the great number of death threats made against Zimmerman.  Zimmerman is licensed to concealed carry a pistol in the State of Florida.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 12, 2015 13 Comments
Forget the fictitious but politically expedient 'War on Women,' masculinity is under attack. Men are maligned for not being more feminine in quality and character, and little boys are expected to forsake their natural curiosity, fervor, and active nature so as not to offend anyone with their rambunctiousness. The compulsion to label little boys as violent, soon-to-be patriarchal overlords who can't possibly understand the plight of women is not only out of control, but is damaging future generations of men. Why can't boys just be boys anymore? That's a question Bill Whittle, Stephen Kruiser, Scott Ott, Stephen Green, and Dr. Helen Smith tackle in a video released by PJ Media Monday. Boys are diagnosed with ADHD and ADD at substantially higher proportions than girls. Do boys really suffer from attention deficits or are they simply... little boys? "Are we drugging our boys into femininity?" asks Whittle. While boys aren't being drugged into femininity per se, Dr. Smith notes that a byproduct of the progressive education movement is a school system staffed predominately with women who know best how to serve girl students. And the boys? There's really no place for them in this construct. In order to make the transition as seamless as possible, little boys are disproportionately drugged to make them more cooperative in the system built around the needs of little girls. The progressive left's troupe of feminist harpies are the worst offenders in the War on Masculinity and examples abound. As Whittle points out, "so much of this is the feminist movement thinking they can get rid of violence by getting rid of masculinity."

Posted by Andrew Branca on May 12, 2015 12 Comments
We first wrote about the shooting of Tony Robinson (black) by Police Officer Matt Kenny (white) way back in March of this year. Back then our angle on the story was to shine the light of reality on the increasingly popular meme of "white cop shoots unarmed young black man for no damn good reason" and noting how quickly the narrative was imploding in the case of Robinson. Today the district attorney declined to bring charges against Kenny: For the gritty details, see that prior post Analyzing Wisconsin police shooting of unarmed Black teen.  But for those of you short on time, here's a taste for how the "narrative" began wildly unwinding within a day of the police shooting of Robinson:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 12, 2015 4 Comments
U.S. Pacific Command has declared a UH1 "Huey" helicopter missing in the midst of relief efforts following a series of devastating earthquakes in Nepal. The helicopter was carrying 2 Nepalese army soldiers and 6 U.S. Marines when it disappeared in the remote area near Charikot. The aid team had delivered tarps and rice to one location, and was on its way to another, when contact was lost. Search teams have found no evidence of a crash, and officials are hopeful that the team was forced to land in a low-lying area and is unable to deploy a beacon or radio signal. Nightfall ended air-based search, but full efforts to locate the craft and team will continue at dawn.
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