Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

June 2015

Posted by Andrew Branca on June 02, 2015 32 Comments
It looks like two members of the St. Louis Chapter of the New Black Panthers who planned multiple terrorist bombings around Ferguson, MO last year have been gifted a sweetheart plea deal from Obama's Department of Justice, based upon reports by Fox News/Associated Press and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Today Olajuwon Ali Davis (on left in the featured picture above) and Brandon Orlando Baldwin (aka Brandon Muhammad, on right in picture), both 22,  changed their plea of "not guilty" to accept a plea arrangement in which they will each serve 7 years in Federal prison. That means both men will be back on the street and free to continue terrorizing innocent people while still under the age of 30. If convicted of the charges initially brought against them they would each have faced decades in prison. The men were originally charged with plotting to kill Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch and then-Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, and planning to blow up a Ferguson police station, police vehicles, and other area targets including (according to law enforcement sources) the famous St. Louis Gateway Arch monument. Their plan for the Arch was to plant a bomb on the observation deck.

Posted by Amy Miller on June 02, 2015 1 Comment
Late last month, Fox News broke an exclusive story about how the dramatic uptick in social media use by ISIS militants and their supporters has led to problems in the intelligence community. Due to a recent increase in online activity, ISIS has been able to effectively clog the pipes with so much content and discussion that analysts are having a hard time distinguishing rhetoric from legitimate threats. Not only is ISIS really good at propaganda, they've also been incredibly effective in getting people to play along. Their social media game is strong, and recently, the extremist organization has made moves to up the quality of their presence on more traditional mediums---namely, TV and video. It's all part of a tactic to reach beyond their strongholds in the Middle East and into the homes of young men and women in the west. Al-Bayan, the ISIS-controlled public radio network, is described as sounding similar to NPR; similarly, videos posted to YouTube and various ISIS websites display a marked increase in production value, all aimed at catching the attention of people who are used to being fed quality propaganda, as opposed to the grainy, shaky offerings of a few years back.

Posted by Amy Miller on June 02, 2015 6 Comments
They way Elizabeth Warren's current devotees talk about Elizabeth Warren reminds me very much of of the way Hillary Clinton's devotees once talked about Hillary Clinton. During my time in high school, undergrad, and law school (so, since 2003 to a couple of years ago,) I remember my girlfriends speaking with awe about the woman who beat the mortification of a cheating husband (who was also the President) to rise to such great political heights, under such pressure, and in the face of such scrutiny and opposition from evil Republicans determined to take out the first woman to ever chip away at the presidential glass ceiling. They didn't just admire her; they loved her, much in the same way that Warren's supporters have now devoted themselves to the prospect of a presidential run. Well, at least they were devoted. They've also been rebuffed by the woman herself (even though the MSM really seems to want her candidacy), and discouraged by a lack of any indication that people close to Warren were setting up a campaign infrastructure. So discouraged, in fact, that Run Warren Run, the drafting campaign set up by Democracy for America and MoveOn.org Political Action, is suspending its operations next week. From The Hill:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 02, 2015 27 Comments
As I was joining a friend for lunch at a local craft beer establishment, I caught this bumper sticker that I can't help but share with you. Food and Friends June 2015 002 Today, this sentiment is even more true. You may recall last week that a Fox News pundit referred to President Obama as "delusional" over his claims that climate change was a national security issue. Obama's most recent statements clearly show he has left the junction of reason and sanity:

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 02, 2015 12 Comments
Now that former Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer is joining CNN, the number of Obama administration officials in the mainstream media has shot up to five. David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs are on the payroll at MSNBC, and CNN is also home to former "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones. Jay Carney also went to work for CNN but has since left. As John Nolte of Breitbart points out, two members of the George W. Bush administration (Dana Perino and Karl Rove) went to work for FOX News, but not while Bush was still president. CNN made the announcement yesterday:
Dan Pfeiffer joins CNN as contributor Dan Pfeiffer, a long-time top aide to President Barack Obama, is joining CNN as a contributor, network president Jeff Zucker announced Monday. The 39-year-old Pfeiffer is a Wilmington, Delaware, native and a graduate of Georgetown University. His first presidential campaign role came in a communications post for then-Vice President Al Gore's unsuccessful 2000 campaign. He then worked for the Democratic Governors Association and later Sens. Tim Johnson, Tom Daschle and then Evan Bayh's brief 2008 presidential campaign.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 02, 2015 24 Comments
Yesterday, fledgling retailer Abercrombie & Fitch lost their anti-hijab case in the Supreme Court. Amy provided background when SCOTUS heard oral arguments in February:
Back in 2008, Samantha Elauf, an observant Muslim, applied and was interviewed for a job at teen-friendly retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. She impressed the hiring manager, but when the time came to make a decision, the manager decided not to hire Samantha because she had concerns about whether or not Samantha would insist on wearing her headscarf to work. This would have been a violation of Abercrombie’s “Look Policy,” which dictates that employees conform to a strict set of style guidelines that specifically prohibit head coverings and black clothing.
Abercrombie's "Look Policy" was summarized as, "classic East Coast collegiate style."

Posted by Amy Miller on June 01, 2015 6 Comments
Remember Anthony Elonis? He was sentenced to four years in federal prison after he posted original rap lyrics and other content concerning his wife, co-workers, a kindergarten class, and even a federal agent. A lower court held that Elonis' posts constituted a "true threat" against those mentioned in his rants, and he served more than three years of his sentence before being released. At controversy in the ensuing lawsuit was the prosecutor's use of a low-hanging, "reasonable person" standard in his instructions to the jury. The Court had never specifically ruled on whether or not a prosecutor must show intent to carry out verbal or written threats in order to get a conviction; lower courts are split, with most requiring enough evidence to show that a reasonable person would see or hear the speech and believe that it is “a serious expression of an intention to inflict bodily injury or take the life of an individual.” In today's ruling, the Supreme Court held that requiring only negligence with respect to the communication of a threat, is not sufficient to support a conviction under the statute that governed Elonis' alleged crimes.

Posted by New Neo on June 01, 2015 17 Comments
More Americans are finding certain behaviors morally acceptable that are nevertheless still widely considered unacceptable. In other words, approval (though still low) of these behaviors has been creeping up:
While a select few actions remain deeply taboo for much of the country, there has been an increasing shift to moral acceptability for some of these over time. Such actions include suicide (which 19% of Americans call "morally acceptable"), polygamy (16%) and cloning humans (15%).
Will they follow the route of once-disapproved-but-now-widely-approved behaviors such as premarital sex or gay/lesbian relationships? Or will they continue to remain in the dungeon like---and the low score of the following may surprise you, as it did me---adultery, which remains in the approval basement?:
On the other hand, "married men and women having an affair" has remained at the bottom of a list of 19 moral behaviors Gallup has measured, with only 8% considering it morally acceptable.
Not only is adultery at the bottom of the list, but I would wager it's the most highly disapproved behavior that is most widely engaged in.

Posted by Amy Miller on June 01, 2015 2 Comments
Finally---a hostage crisis that didn't end in bloodshed. (Yet.) Today Houthi rebels released the first of several American hostages currently being held in Yemen. Casey L. Coombs was held by the Iranian-backed group for two weeks in the capital city of Sanaa before his family was informed of his successful transfer out of the country and into neighboring Oman. From the New York Times:
Mr. Coombs, who lived in Sana, Yemen’s capital, was arrested by Houthi militiamen there in mid-May, and traveled to neighboring Oman on Monday. He was scheduled to undergo a medical evaluation there before flying home to Seattle, his mother, Jill Marie Hammill, said in a telephone interview. Ms. Hammill said she had received a call from the International Committee of the Red Cross early Monday saying that Mr. Coombs was at the Sana airport and was preparing to leave Yemen. She was able to speak to her son on Monday afternoon, after he arrived in Oman. “I cannot describe how happy I am,” she said. Mr. Coombs has written for publications including The Intercept, The American Prospect and Time magazine. The Obama administration has said a number of Americans have been detained by the Houthis, a Shiite rebel group that took control of Yemen’s capital and forced the United States-backed Yemeni government from power earlier this year.

Posted by Amy Miller on June 01, 2015 24 Comments
We're going to need a bigger stage, people. Today, Lindsey Graham stood up before an enthusiastic crowd in Central, South Carolina, and announced his bid for President of the United States, making him the ninth Republican to jump in the race. He focused mainly on highlighting his foreign policy and national security chops, taking swipes at Obama's disastrous foreign policy and Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. Via Fox News:
"I'm running for president of the United States," Graham said. "I want to be president to defeat the enemies that are trying to kill us -- not just penalize them or criticize them or contain them, but defeat them." Graham slammed President Obama's policies for fighting terror, and said "radical Islam is running wild." He said the biggest threat remains Iran's nuclear ambitions. Graham said he has more experience on national security than any candidate in the race. He quipped, "That includes you, Hillary."
You can watch the announcement here, via C-SPAN.

Posted by Amy Miller on June 01, 2015 28 Comments
Yesterday, I posed the conundrum of Rand Paul as an investment for major donors. From my perspective, the ratio of risk to reward tilts too heavily toward the former, and is a major cause of Paul's fundraising troubles. I floated the idea that, contrary to some commentary from the pro-Paul camp, these troubles aren't necessarily due to policy differences, but are a direct result of just how different Paul is from other candidates on a personal level. One of my commenters decided to keep it 150% more real when he said, Let me make this simple–he’s a jerk. I gave that a well-reasoned high five, because I don't feel like we give simple, decisive judgment calls like the one my friend in the comments made enough credit. It's easy to get carried away with a hyperanalysis of why a candidate succeeds, or fails, or loses relevancy in the middle of the pool---why not just say it? It's not us---it's you. Yesterday, Paul proved just how true that platitude rings when he accused his colleagues and peers on the Hill of "secretly wanting there to be an attack on the United States" out of spite over policy differences. The Daily Caller had it first. Watch:

Posted by David Gerstman on June 01, 2015 22 Comments
Baltimore has been out of the national conversation for a couple of weeks. Freddie Gray is dead. Six police officer have now been indicted in his death. Last weekend, Memorial Day weekend, Baltimore was one of several cities that saw a spike in violence. At that point Baltimore had 35 homicides for the month of May, making it the deadliest month in the city since 1999. But the killings didn't stop. Late last week a 31 year old woman and her seven year old son were shot in the head in southwest Baltimore. Little information has been reported. Police have not released any speculation about the motive behind the slayings. With three more murders Sunday, the murder count in Baltimore stands at 43, the highest toll in 40 years. What's going on in Baltimore (and elsewhere as we saw last weekend) is part of what Heather MacDonald calls A New Nationwide Crime Wave (Google link). After seeing crime drop for nearly two decades, crime is rising. The reason isn't complicated. With politicians claiming that the main problem in law enforcement is policing, a theme echoed by many in the media, and police realizing that they can be prosecuted and vilified for doing their jobs; arrests are down and crime is up.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on June 01, 2015 28 Comments
The history of the Lifeline (aka Obamaphone) program is often cited by progressives as a Republican scheme, and in some ways, it is.  As Daniel Greenfield explains:
At the same time it should be recognized that the roots of this monstrosity began under Bush when the [Universal Service Fund] USF was used to subsidize cell phones. The original purpose of the USF was to provide landline access to rural communities. That made sense because people who are 40 miles away from help need a lifeline. Then the ‘lifeline’ became a way for every housing project resident, who has a cop downstairs, to get a free cell phone. That’s why the lefty howls of “It’s a ReaganPhone” are lie. This was never supposed to mean free cell phones with every welfare check. But then it was and did.
This is one reason that I oppose almost all such federal programs; over time, they become bloated, wasteful, abused "rights" that no longer even remotely resemble the original program or its intent. Now, Obama's FCC plans to take the Obamaphone program to the next level: the internet.
MORE POSTS
Accessibility by WAH