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September 2015

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 24, 2015 12 Comments
Gallup released an interesting poll this week showing that nearly half of all Americans view government as "an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens."  Interestingly, this is "similar to what was found in previous surveys conducted over the last five years"; however, "when this question was first asked in 2003, less than a third of Americans held this attitude." Gallup reports:
The latest results are from Gallup's Sept. 9-13 Governance poll. The lower percentage of Americans agreeing in 2003 that the federal government posed an immediate threat likely reflected the more positive attitudes about government evident after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The percentage gradually increased to 44% by 2006, and then reached the 46% to 49% range in four surveys conducted since 2010. The remarkable finding about these attitudes is how much they reflect apparent antipathy toward the party controlling the White House, rather than being a purely fundamental or fixed philosophical attitude about government.
It's no accident, for example, that when Democrats start and/or renew pushes for gun control, gun and ammo sales skyrocket. Of course, this isn't just about gun control; it encompasses everything from government surveillance to over-regulation to fundamental First Amendment rights.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 24, 2015 44 Comments
If anyone is wondering what's behind the high poll numbers for political outsiders in this election, a new poll from FOX News has possible answers. A startling number of Republican primary voters feel betrayed by the party. Dana Blanton has the details:
Fox News Poll: Outsiders rule 2016 GOP field, support for Biden nearly doubles Most Republicans feel betrayed by their party -- and show their displeasure by supporting outsiders over establishment candidates in the GOP presidential race. Real-estate mogul Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson are the favorites in the Republican race in the latest Fox News national poll on the 2016 election. Neither has held elected office before and yet the two of them -- together with businesswoman Carly Fiorina -- capture the support of more than half of GOP primary voters...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 24, 2015 31 Comments
Pope Francis has accomplished something that is truly miraculous in this country: He has managed to bump Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton from the spotlight for a brief time. For that, I am truly grateful. I have been mulling over my thoughts about the Pope's American tour and his various statements, and I have come to the conclusion I need to view him like I view my local priest: I will listen politely, avoid getting emotionally attached, and do what my own conscience (after prayerful reflection) dictates. When I became Catholic in 2010, my sponsor warned me about getting emotionally attached to any priest. Why? Priests tend to move around quite a bit, but every one of them has something to teach you. I must admit, I'm getting quite a lesson in expectation setting and patience. Pope Francis is the first pontiff installed since I joined the church, so in that way, he is special to me. I must admit, I caught "Francis Fever". Given his humility and sincerity, it was hard not to be moved.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 24, 2015 18 Comments
Earlier this week, Ted Cruz appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  It was an interesting appearance in a few respects, but what stood out to me is how confident and relaxed Cruz remained in the face of Colbert's questions and an often hostile audience. When faced with Colbert's regurgitation of common talking points among the left about Ronald Reagan (he raised taxes and supported amnesty), Cruz took the questions in stride and explained his own stance on both issues and on conservatism more generally. Watch:

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 24, 2015 36 Comments
The mainstream media is obsessing over Ben Carson's recent remarks about a Muslim becoming president, but the issue hasn't hurt his fundraising. Quite the opposite, actually. Denver Nicks reported at Time:
Ben Carson Sees Campaign Cash Spike After Muslim Comments Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Wednesday that he’s seen a deluge of donations to his campaign in the days since his controversial anti-Muslim remarks. “The money has been coming in so fast, it’s hard to even keep up with it,” Carson said on Fox News. “I remember the day of the last debate, within 24 hours we raised $1 million. And it’s coming in at least at that rate if not quite a bit faster.” During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Carson was asked if he believes “that Islam is consistent with the Constitution.” “No, I do not,” Carson said then. “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on September 24, 2015 34 Comments
As Hungary confirmed the number of migrants heading towards Europe to be in the range of 30-35 million, Germany is still refusing to put an upper-limit to the number of migrants it can accommodate. Berlin, unwilling to change its open border policy, is urging EU member states to take in their “fair share” of migrants. Germany’s deputy Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel (Social Democrat) is calling for economic sanctions against East European countries, if they continue their opposition to Germany’s (and EU’s) generous stand on migrant intake. Back home, mainstream media is in lockstep with the political establishment. From the "Die Linke", successor of East-German communist party, to Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian-Democrats, all significant political parties back the current course. German politicians and commentators are now boasting of a “political consensus” on migration policy. Not satisfied with shutting down the debate on the political stage, German authorities are now taking on the dissent to its migration policy on internet and social media platforms. German government is pulling out all stops to ensure Facebook complies with its idea of acceptable speech. Wall Street journal reports:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 23, 2015 13 Comments
Back in July, the federal government let it slip that they had evidence that China was responsible for compromising the records of nearly 22 million federal employees. It was one of the largest thefts of government data ever recorded, and exposed gaping holes in the security protocols protecting sensitive information. The wake of the breach was plagued by resignations and recriminations, and new protocols were pitched, but these "solutions" left those affected feeling completely out in the cold. Unfortunately for those people, things just got a lot worse. OPM revealed today that they believe hackers stole the fingerprints of 5.6 million federal employees and applicants---a far cry from the 1.1 million that OPM originally reported. Of note: this news was released just as the Pope arrived at the White House, which was a terribly convenient happenstance. More from the NY Times:
Before Wednesday, the agency had said that it lost only 1.1 million sets of fingerprints among the more than 22 million individuals whose records were compromised.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 23, 2015 55 Comments
Carly Fiorina killed it during the last debate. Polling has her in second place behind Donald Trump, marking a whopping 12% increase in support from earlier this month. Considering she very nearly didn't make the cut for CNN's GOP throwdown, I think we can all afford to throw her props. Love her, hate her, or have questions about her, registered voters have spoken---they want to see more. It's not surprising; many pundits predicted that all Carly needed to raise her profile within the crowded Republican field was a chance to steal the spotlight. She did it. Her star is rising, and she's using the opportunity not only to hit back at her most vocal opponents, but to bolster her conservative bona fides before a divided voter pool. It's a continuation of the strategy she used earlier this summer---when her polling numbers sat below 5%---but it's still effective. This time around, Fiorina is rebooting the conversation on abortion with a new Carly for America PAC ad that lashes out against Democrats who refused to acknowledge the existence of the Planned Parenthood sting videos after she referenced them in the CNN debate. It's an intense ad, and be warned---it contains graphic images from the now-infamous sting videos. Watch:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 23, 2015 78 Comments
When we kicked off this election cycle, many pundits (including myself) asserted that it would be the "foreign policy election" we've all been waiting for. Our prediction has played out, but with a twist: Americans want to know what the candidates think about ISIS, asylum, and the military, but we're increasingly interested in what the political "outsiders" have to say about them. In fact, we're interested in what they have to say about everything. Whether it's because we crave a fresh perspective, the novelty of the moment, or merely to watch them eventually stumble, the polls show that when Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina---the top 3 outsiders currently charming their way into the inner circle---speak, Americans like what they're hearing. It's not exactly shocking; disenchantment with Beltway politics and political insidership has spread beyond the conservative base and into the broader demographic of primary voters. It's not a matter of those candidates who have more political experience being bad---although you're free to disagree with me about one particular candidate or another---it's just that a candidate who comes from somewhere other than the Beltway seems so much more appealing. Even tea party favorites like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio (although Rubio's poll numbers have increased dramatically since the last debate) haven't quite cracked through the wall separating those with an official connection to Washington politics from those who offer a different perspective.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 23, 2015 68 Comments
Earlier today, Donald Trump announced his own personal boycott of Fox News via tweet. Trump alleged Fox News' treatment was "unfair." And so the ongoing battle between Trump and cable news network rages on. A spokesman for Fox News told CNN Trump's boycott announcement followed their cancellation of his scheduled appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 23, 2015 22 Comments
A new book called Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary reveals what author Edward Klein claims are insider accounts of a meeting between Hillary and President Obama. According to Klein, Hillary blew up at President Obama during a meeting over the investigation of her emails. Scheduled for release Monday, the New York Post obtained a colorful excerpt:
An enraged Hillary Rodham Clinton blew up at President Obama, demanding he “call off your f–king dogs” looking into her emails during a tense Oval Office meeting, according to a new book. The book, “Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary,” says the former first lady was furious at what she believed were damaging leaks by Obama aides that led to investigations of her use of a private email server as secretary of state. So she went right to the top to settle the matter. Clinton requested a meeting with Obama, against the advice of hubby Bill Clinton, believing “she was being persecuted for minor, meaningless violations,” author Edward Klein writes. Clinton initially took a friendly approach during the meeting and Obama reacted as if he didn’t know what she was talking about, the book claims. “He was almost being deliberately dense,” a Clinton source said. “It really angered her.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 23, 2015 25 Comments
Regardless of what your thoughts might be on Catholicism, the Pope, or politics, I believe we can all agree that the decision to view everything through a political lens is a great way to miss some of life's best offerings. This has never been more apparent to me than it is today. This morning I watched the fanfare around Pope Francis' historic visit to the US. You can watch Pope Francis' remarks here. They're brief, less than ten minutes. https://youtu.be/nAJiyDvCbyw

Posted by Amy Miller on September 23, 2015 23 Comments
"Deleted?" Not so much. Two government sources revealed last night that the FBI has managed to recover personal and work-related emails from Hillary Clinton's private server. The sources say that the emails were "not hard" to recover, but did not elaborate as to whether this latest discovery included all 60,000 emails stored on the server. The story was originally reported by Bloomberg:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s success at salvaging personal e-mails that Clinton said had been deleted raises the possibility that the Democratic presidential candidate’s correspondence eventually could become public. The disclosure of such e-mails would likely fan the controversy over Clinton’s use of a private e-mail system for official business. The FBI is investigating how and why classified information ended up on Clinton’s server. The probe probably will take at least several more months, according to the person, who described the matter on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing and deals with sensitive information.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 23, 2015 34 Comments
President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and their families greeted Pope Francis with smiles when he landed at Washington, D.C., obviously looking forward to the historic visit that includes a gay-activist filled dinner at the White House and addresses to Congress and the United Nations. With the tumultuous start to the 2016 presidential election cycle, the media is eager to politicize the event so that it is bad news for the Republicans:
Francis has blasted gun manufacturers, likening them to hypocrites. And in a series of tough speeches, Francis has railed against global capitalism, even calling it a "subtle dictatorship." Such comments make many Republicans cringe.
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