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September 2015

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 29, 2015 18 Comments
The financial benefits and savings touted by Obama and his allies on the road to Obamacare's passage are still failing to live up to their promise. In fact, the largest non-profit co-op created under the law is about to fold. Anna Wilde Mathews of the Wall Street Journal:
Regulators to Shut Down Health Republic Insurance of New York Regulators will shut down Health Republic Insurance of New York, the largest of the nonprofit cooperatives created under the Affordable Care Act, in the latest sign of the financial pressures facing many insurers that participated in the law’s new marketplaces. The insurer lost about $52.7 million in the first six months of this year, on top of a $77.5 million loss in 2014, according to regulatory filings. The move to wind down its operations was made jointly by officials from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; New York’s state insurance exchange, known as New York State of Health; and the New York State Department of Financial Services. In a statement, Health Republic said it was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome, and pointed to “challenges placed on us by the structure of the CO-OP program.”

Posted by Amy Miller on September 29, 2015 11 Comments
Joyce Mitchell was arrested on June 11 after authorities discovered that she assisted convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape from a maximum security prison in upstate New York. Yesterday, Judge Kevin Ryan threw the book at Mitchell, sentencing her to the maximum of 7 years in prison for first-degree promoting prison contraband, a felony, and a concurrent year for fourth-degree misdemeanor criminal facilitation. She was also hit with over $6000 in fees, and is facing over $100,000 in restitution charges from the state to cover the cost of the three-week manhunt. More from CNN:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 28, 2015 10 Comments
Rasmea Odeh is the supermarket bomber who killed Hebrew University students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner in 1969, served 10 years in Israeli prison before being released in a prisoner exchange, and then made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. Rasmea then lied on her visa and naturalization applications, among other ways, by denying that she ever had been charged, convicted or imprisoned. Rasmea was convicted in federal court in Detroit in November 2014 of immigration fraud, sentenced to 18 months in prison, and ordered deported. Rasmea danced in the aisle of the bus back to Chicago after sentencing. Rasmea is out on bond pending appeal, which will be argued in Cincinnati before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on October 14, 2105.

The Mythology of Rasmea's Innocence

We have covered many times how Rasmea is being treated as a hero by the anti-Israel activist community, The Sickening Deification of Rasmea Odeh. That despite the fact that the evidence of her guilt in the bombing and the immigration charge is overwhelming. That hero status is based in part on her claim that her Israeli conviction was solely because she falsely confessed after 25 days of sexual torture.  In fact, Rasmea confessed just one day after arrest, there was substantial independent evidence, and even a Red Cross observer said she received a fair trial. Rasmea’s co-conspirator decades later would brag on video about how Rasmea planned the whole thing.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 28, 2015 14 Comments
Today before the United Nations General Assembly, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin sparred publicly over how their respective nations have approached a solution to crises in Ukraine and Syria. For both leaders, these speeches were an opportunity to regain control of a spiraling military, security, and human rights narrative that is now being influenced not only by the spread of Islamic terrorism, but the effects of mass migration out of the Middle East and Africa and into Europe. President Obama lashed out at Putin over Russia's aggression toward Ukraine and criticized Putin's leadership (or, lack thereof) on the Syrian crisis. Oddly enough, though, Obama somehow managed leave himself space to justify a partnership with Russia as a way of addressing conflict in Syria. From the New York Times:
Mr. Obama made a forceful defense of diplomacy but also castigated Russia by name multiple times in his speech for its defense of the Syrian government, its takeover of Crimea and its actions supporting Ukrainian rebels. “Dangerous currents risk pulling us back into a darker, more disordered world,” Mr. Obama said. Those currents include major powers that want to ignore international rules and impose order through force of military power, he said.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 28, 2015 16 Comments
72 hours since Speaker Boehner's surprise resignation announcement and the replacement field is beginning to take shape. Some who took the weekend to mull a gavel run and test support announced their decisions Monday. Here's what we know as of now: Shocking no one, Majority Leader Rep. McCarthy is definitely in the race:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 28, 2015 23 Comments
Based on the media chatter, Marco Rubio is being set up as the alternative to Jeb in taking on The Donald. Jeb wasn't up to the job of taking on The Donald. Jeb's counterpunches reminded me of George Castanza on Seinfeld. His comebacks to Trump just never seem to work: The Donald has moved beyond Jeb, and now is attacking Marco:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 28, 2015 133 Comments
Speaking from Trump Tower Monday, Republican Presidential contender Donald Trump announced his "tax reform that will make America great again." The announcement brings Donald Trump's policy paper count up to a grand total of three.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 28, 2015 27 Comments
Two women are running for the highest office in the land and only one has the support of liberal feminists. Despite her overuse of the gender card, Hillary's devotion to the feminist cause is largely unquestioned by her following. The conundrum is an interesting one to observe. How do feminists justify supporting one woman over another in an arena historically delegated to men? Hillary believes she's owed the White House, has served her time, and now the public ought repay her with the Presidency. She is pro-abortion, and has accomplished little outside of being elected to office or appointed to a cabinet position. Her resume is full of impressive titles but has a deficit of accomplishment. Clinton seldom, if ever, stands toe to toe with her opponents much less holds her own. The opposite is true of Fiorina. She's tough, accomplished, and has said repeatedly she hopes to earn voter support and ultimately, the White House. She doesn't see being a woman as a meritorious occurrence, nor a reason to garner votes. Preaching women are not "an interest group" in need of puffy pandering, Fiorina has even gone so far as to denounce modern feminism as a version that is "no longer working." And yet, liberal feminists aren't quite sure what to make of her. The New York Times explored the perplexing phenomena Monday:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 28, 2015 6 Comments
While riding the Sunday talk show circuit, Hillary Clinton encountered what should've been a brutal segment on her long-standing history of philosophical changes. On Meet the Press, a damning mashup called Clinton vs. Clinton would have been an uncomfortable for just about anyone one else, but not for Hillary. The former Secretary of State was at ease watching and addressing video footage of her ever-changing beliefs. Of course it didn't hurt that Todd didn't ask one single challenging question, either.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 28, 2015 44 Comments
In his first interview since his surprising announcement Friday that he is both resigning his role as Speaker of the House and his congressional seat at the end of October, John Boehner "unloads on GOP 'false prophets'" on Face the Nation. Politico reports:
In his first one-on-one interview since his resignation announcement, Speaker John Boehner blasted right-wing lawmakers and groups as “false prophets” who “whip people into a frenzy” to make legislative demands that “are never going to happen.” The Ohio Republican also declared on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday that there won’t be a government shutdown this week, though he’s “sure” it will take Democratic votes to pass a temporary funding extension.
 “The Bible says, beware of false prophets. And there are people out there spreading, you know, noise about how much can get done,” Boehner said.
“We got groups here in town, members of the House and Senate here in town, who whip people into a frenzy believing they can accomplish things they know — they know! — are never going to happen,” he added.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 27, 2015 12 Comments
When the migrant crisis in Europe first broke into the American media, many analysts compared it to the outpouring of refugees following other high-profile (and particularly violent) conflicts in places like Vietnam and the former Yugoslavia. They struggled to find a benchmark; but as the migrants continued to come, the numbers defied comparison, and now those monitoring the situation believe that the thousands who have already managed to gain passage into Europe represent "the tip of the iceberg" of what's to come. It's not an overblown prediction. What's happening right now in Europe far surpasses past migrations:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 27, 2015 24 Comments
On top of last Monday's news that Hillary Clinton was underwater for the first time in New York state, polls released today show Hillary still losing ground against Sanders and her favorability underwater in almost all demographics. NBC reports:
Hillary Clinton has lost ground to Bernie Sanders — she leads him by just seven points with Joe Biden in the race, and 15 points without the vice president. That's down from Clinton's 34-point lead over Sanders in July and her whopping 60-point lead in June. . . . . Hillary Clinton is the first choice of 42 percent of primary voters, Sanders is in second at 35 percent and Joe Biden third at 17 percent. No other Democrat gets more than 1 percent.
The Fox News poll also show grim results for Hillary:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 27, 2015 6 Comments
The Catalonia region of Spain is voting today in local elections which, while not directly an independence vote, are considered a proxy for independence support. Background on Catalonia and Spain is explained in this English-language Spanish website, An historical look at the drive for an independent state of Catalonia. This Vox-like Spanish website has a series of "cards" explaining what is going on, Catalonia explained in 21 cards. The Daily Mail reports:

Posted by Miriam Elman on September 27, 2015 38 Comments
This Thursday Israel’s 10-member security cabinet unanimously voted to approve a series of tougher measures against Palestinian rock and firebomb throwers. The new measures are being adopted following a heated debate this past week over what the government and police can and can’t legally do (shoot them with live fire? lock them in jail for longer periods? penalize the parents?) to crack down on Palestinian youth who hurl stone and petrol bombs onto highways and city streets with increasing impunity. There are no easy answers here, or simple solutions. According to experts familiar with these cases, rock-throwing is mostly being perpetrated by unorganized and leaderless young men, making it hard for Israel’s security and intelligence forces to prevent impending attacks. These angry Palestinian kids probably aren’t usually receiving direct orders to terrorize Jews. But they’re acting within an ideological environment that encourages and condones these attacks. In addition to incitement by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, Israeli Arab leaders incite violence by spreading falsehoods about the Al Aqsa Mosque:

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 27, 2015 7 Comments
People are always willing to tell you how and when to eat but the rules seem to change all the time. The newest target for criticism is eating throughout the day or "grazing" as some call it. Melissa Healy of the Los Angeles Times:
Longer fasts might help with weight loss but Americans eat all day long It's official: Americans' 24/7 culture of work, entertainment and digital connectivity now also extends to our dietary consumption patterns, new research finds. Americans' erratic, round-the-clock eating patterns, suggests the new study, have probably contributed to an epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. But they can be changed, and the restoration of a longer nighttime "fast" shows promise as a means to lower weight and better health, researchers add. In a study that detailed the consumption patterns of just over 150 nondieting, non-shift-working people in and around San Diego for three weeks, researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla found that a majority of people eat for stretches of 15 hours or longer most days -- and fast for fewer than nine hours a night.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 27, 2015 19 Comments
After Speaker Boehner's unexpected resignation announcement Friday, the scramble to replace him is underway. Friday, Congressional members hoping to fill Boehner's shoes were frantically whipping votes and calling in favors. Boehner indicated he will not vacate his role until the end of October, leaving the House five weeks to select his replacement. Who's in and who's out?

A handful of high-profile House Republicans have indicated they have no interest in the speakership

According to the Daily Caller, Issa and Gowdy are out:
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is in the running as a potential successor to Boehner, but other members are likely to be interested in the job as well. Could a member of the Freedom Caucus become speaker? Issa does not think so.
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