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September 2015

Posted by Amy Miller on September 15, 2015 26 Comments
Real talk: the media does a terrible job of reporting on gun violence. America has seen a lot of tragedy this year, and each time that tragedy involved the use of a gun, the mainstream media took the opportunity to lay the blame not on the hand that pulled the trigger, but on the gun that contained the bullet. We don't trust guns as a matter of principle, and we certainly don't trust those who are experienced with firearms to make the decision to use them for protection. This needs to stop. The NRA may have found an "in" with one of the most vocal and important demographics: women. Their new ad, featuring firebrand pundit and mother Dana Loesch is simple, slick, and offers a simple message: women (and moms) who demand the right to defend themselves "are everything that makes America strong." Click 'play':

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on September 15, 2015 11 Comments
Recently, refusing to take any Syrian refugees, Fahad Alshalami, a senior official of Kuwait explained to the media that “it is not right for us [Kuwait and other Gulf States] to accept a people that are different from us. We don’t want people that suffer from internal stress and trauma in our country.” Alshalami glossed over the fact that 800,000 migrant Indian workers living in his country too might be suffering from the same “internal stress and trauma.” About 40 percent of Kuwait’s 4 million population comprises of Asian workers. In total about 7 million Indians work in the 6 oil-rich nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain). They are often at the mercy of their employers and work under dangerous conditions. According to an investigative report published by IndiaSpend, at an average an Indian living in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Kuwait is “at ten times the risk of death, compared to an Indian living in the US”:
On an average, there are 53.6 deaths per 100,000 [expat Indians] annually. However, this number conceals a sharp discrepancy. The average for the six GCC nations is 69.2 deaths, while the figure for rest of the world is 26.5 deaths, almost 60% lower. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Kuwait report between 65 and 78 deaths per 100,000 Indian workers.
Indian government that heavily benefits from remittances, worth billions of dollar from Gulf States annually, is reluctant to raise concerns about the safety and wellbeing of its citizens.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 15, 2015 9 Comments
The Center for Medical Progress has released its 10th Planned Parenthood sting video featuring prescient conversations between Planned Parenthood executives about the PR dangers of the organization's fetal body part harvesting scheme. This video is similar to the more recent offerings from CMP's investigations in that it is light in shocking footage of the actual procurement of fetal tissue, but heavy on content that exposes the corruption between Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. It features conversations between CMP's actor, a fetal tissue buyer, and Dr. Carolyn Westhoff, Senior Medical Advisor for PPFA; Dr. Vanessa Cullins, Vice President for External Medical Affairs for PPFA; and Deborah VanDerhei, National Director for the Consortium of Abortion Providers (CAPS) at PPFA. In the video, the buyer presses the issue of "donations for remuneration," which CMP describes as "[carrying] the connotation of financial reward or benefit without regard for actual expenses." The officials the buyer speaks to admit several times that "the headlines would be a disaster" if the abortion industry gets caught selling baby body parts for profit before developing a PR strategy to protect the exchanges. Watch:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 15, 2015 11 Comments
If you're running for president, sooner or later you're going to have to get used to the idea of the ambush interview---especially if you're spending any time at all in either chamber of Congress. At this point in the cycle, many candidates are jockeying for media attention wherever and whenever they can get it, even if it means dipping a toe into unfriendly waters. A hostile interview can be intimidating, but the payoff is worth the pain if you keep it together and "win the debate." Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly is known for interviews that get a little hairy---which may be why Dem presidential candidate and US Senator Bernie Sanders has been avoiding invitations to come on the O'Reilly Factor like the plague. Bill finally got tired of being ignored, and sent ambush journalist Jesse Watters to track down the Senator for a pickup interview. It didn't go so well. Give it a watch:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 15, 2015 2 Comments
Even in the big, bad world of politics football gets some love. Or at least it does from Senator Rubio. The good Senator from Florida took some time away from the political inquisition to toss around a football and answer America's most pressing questions. Super Bowl pick? And what about his Super Bowl pick percentage? What made him more nervous, his first presidential debate or first college football game? What Senator would make the best NFL player? Far from an armchair quarter back, Rubio played on a football scholarship to Tarkio College. He also routinely flew back to Florida to coach his son's youth team.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 15, 2015 22 Comments
David Brock, the founder of the far left Media Matters for America, has taken on the unenviable role of Hillary Clinton defender in this election cycle. Yesterday, he appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe program and proved that he's in deep denial over Hillary Clinton's scandals and the way they're being perceived by the American people. David Rutz of the Washington Free Beacon:
Brock Gets Hammered by Morning Joe Trying to Spin Clinton’s Email Conduct Media Matters founder and Hillary Clinton flack David Brock struggled to defend the conduct of his boss under aggressive questioning from MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough Monday. Brock, the former self-described “right-wing hitman” who underwent a massive political transformation in the late 1990s and became one of the Clintons’ most rabid defenders, appeared on Morning Joe to promote his new book blasting the New York Times and other “perceived enemies” he insists are out to destroy the Clintons. The hot topic, of course, was Clinton’s private email server, another “phony scandal” as Brock put it, that has sunk Clinton’s numbers on honesty and trustworthiness. “Are all the scandals involving the Clintons, quote, ‘fake scandals’”? Scarborough asked.

Posted by Jason Boisvert on September 14, 2015 20 Comments
[WAJ Note: Given the vigorous reader discussion about Ad Blockers, I asked Jason Boisvert, who has contacted me via Twitter in the past about auto-play issues, if we could repost his original blog post, and he agreed.] ------------------ Many websites today have autoplay video/audio ads, even when they aren't supposed too. This postat the webcomic Erfworld lays out the basics as to why. In short, advertising networks are paid for ads from producers and host them on their networks. The networks appear on many sites, and those sites receive a portion of the revenue from the networks. It turns out that the best-paying networks "accidentally" let a larger portion of "malicious" (that is, with unauthorized function) ads through. These ads play audio when the websites running them have demanded no-autoplay, crash websites with long scripts, lock the page so the ad is on-screen, making it impossible to scroll and even redirect mobile devices to the purchase page of whatever they are advertising. Somehow, the networks that pay less don't have the problem of "malicious" ads "sneaking through" and "accidentally" breaking webpages or blasting noise and music. At the moment, these ad companies are protected. The obnoxiousness of the ads is often related to the uselessness of the product, so annoying or even destructive ads enhance revenue - the terrible reputation of the company is not a factor for someone selling a cell-phone game no one has heard of. Most people won't quit a website for playing an audio ad sometimes, so the ads still get plenty of viewers.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 14, 2015 72 Comments
Ah, presidential election cycles. Nary does one pass without first unleashing drama, betrayal, scandal, and intrigue into the political arena. A Rolling Stone article published last Wednesday quoted a not-so-kind Donald Trump. Chronicling the campaign life of the mega-millionaire, the article captured what were reportedly disparaging remarks about fellow presidential contender, Carly Fiorina:
When the anchor throws to Carly Fiorina for her reaction to Trump's momentum, Trump's expression sours in schoolboy disgust as the camera bores in on Fiorina. "Look at that face!" he cries. "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!" The laughter grows halting and faint behind him. "I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not s'posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?"
When the article went live, Cable News seized the opportunity to capitalize on a candidate cat fight, and "look at that face!" then found its way to the far corners of the internet. Wednesday evening, Fox News' Megyn Kelly asked Fiorina what she thought Trump meant when he said, "look at that face!" To which Fiorina responded, "You know, honestly Megyn, I'm not gonna spend a whole cycle wondering what Donald Trump means. But maybe, just maybe, I'm getting under his skin a little bit, because I am climbing in the polls." With the dumpster fire ablaze, Trump told Fox New's Greta Van Susteren Thursday that he was an entertainer.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 14, 2015 12 Comments
For those of you who put money on there being more to this Clinton email scandal than what was contained in the already-released files, step forward and collect your prize---this thing isn't over yet. Today, advocacy group Judicial Watch released documentation showing an almost five-month gap in the timeline of emails Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose to return to the State Department last year. The details, from Judicial Watch:
The documents were produced under court order in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit Judicial Watch filed on May 6, 2013 (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00687)). The lawsuit was filed after the Obama State Department violated federal law and failed to respond to two separate FOIA requests, including a request for records about the actual production of the emails records by Clinton to the State Department. The first batch of documents obtained by Judicial Watch contains a heavily redacted email from State Department official Eric F. Stein to Margaret P. Grafeld, dated April 21, 2015, with the subject “HRC Emails.” Stein is deputy director of global information systems at the State Department and Grafeld is deputy assistant secretary of global information systems. Stein reports to Grafeld that the “gaps” in Clinton’s emails include:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 14, 2015 8 Comments
Today, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will take the stage at a Las Vegas town hall and unveil his national labor reform plan. On Thursday, Walker teased the plan during a speech at Eureka College, saying, "...on Day One, I will stop the government from taking money out of the paychecks of federal employees for political union dues. I've won those battles in Wisconsin and believe me, I won't back down from the battles in Washington." The Walker campaign has done a lot of legwork in the lead-up to today, which tells me that they're banking on this presentation as a vehicle to breathe life back into what many believe is a faltering campaign infrastructure. During an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper this weekend, Walker ran offense as Tapper grilled him on dropping poll numbers and criticism from right-leaning outlets about how his campaign is handling the pressure of the election cycle. Walker's labor reform plan is bold, and detailed. He proposes eliminating the National Labor Relations Board, eliminating federal unions, and requiring new levels of transparency and accountability for all unions. He also backs national right to work laws, and policies that would protect whistleblowers and employees who choose not to join a union. On the taxpayer end, Walker proposes rolling back wage controls (for a savings of $13 billion over ten years,) and ending union control over federal highway contracts (for a savings of 12-18 percent per project.) In an exclusive op-ed at HotAir, Walker touts the plan as a way of protecting workers, while loosening the unions' stranglehold on government:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 14, 2015 8 Comments
This weekend, Germany instituted controls at its border with Austria in an attempt to stem the flow of refugees into the country. They halted all inbound trains, and deployed riot police at entry points as officials attempted to maintain order; only those with "valid travel documents" were allowed to enter the country, prompting some commentators to lament at yet another dramatic change in Germany's policy toward the ever-increasing wave of migrants seeking asylum in western Europe. Today, however, Germany reversed its emergency protocols (which amounted to a 12-hour suspension of train access) and again allowed trains containing migrants to cross the border into Bavaria. Officials are now running offense against criticism that Germany's attempt to control its border somehow amounts to a violation of its previous commitment to help those seeking asylum. Via Fox News:
The temporary halt to train service was "not about a closing of borders and absolutely not a suspension of the basic rights to asylum," Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel insisted, defending the weekend's border controls in a letter to his Social Democratic Party.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 14, 2015 9 Comments
According to a series of recent (and not-so-recent) polls, Hillary's support among women has been declining quite steadily as her unfavorables rise.  This is particularly true of the support of Democratic women and has the folks over at the Daily Beast scratching their heads.  Patricia Murphy writes:
Earlier this year Hillary Clinton seemed to have the female vote locked down, so why is she now having to work so hard to convince them to support with her campaign?
The Clinton campaign went into overdrive this week to shore up support among voters most assumed would have been locked in as Clinton backers from the start—Democratic women. From last Saturday’s kickoff of “New Hampshire Women for Hillary,” to Clinton’s appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show last Thursday where she pitched, “If you vote for somebody on the merits, one of my merits is that I’m a woman,” to an online campaign store newly stocked with lady-friendly merch (official “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” tote, anyone?) the not-at-all subtle message is this: Hey ladies, vote for Hillary!

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 14, 2015 60 Comments
Governor Scott Walker was interviewed by CNN's Jake Tapper yesterday. The segment began with Walker's dropping poll numbers in Iowa but went on to cover a wide range of topics. Early on, Tapper refers to a column from National Review which charges the Walker campaign with being too lax in response to questions on big issues. That article can be read here. Later, Tapper brings up an op-ed Walker wrote for Hot Air about Obama's weak leadership in the face of violence against police officers. You can read that here. Jake Tapper is widely considered one of the most objective journalists in the mainstream media but as you watch the video below, you'll find him full of leftist talking points. The Koch brothers come up more than once, Walker is forced to defend himself as a career politician as if Hillary and Sanders aren't. Tapper also questions Walker about women's rights, Planned Parenthood, the Syrian refugees and more.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 13, 2015 45 Comments
When the world was in an uproar over the killing of Cecil the Lion, we noted that responsible trophy hunting was important to many African economies and could be a responsible conservation tool because it created incentives for local communities not to kill endangered wildlife. But in the disgust with the killing of Cecil the Lion by luring him off a nature preserve, calls to ban all trophy hunting disregarded all facts. So this report from The NY Times is hardly surprising. While it's not about Cecil and his aftermath, it is about bans on trophy hunting, A Hunting Ban Saps a Village’s Livelihood
Lions have been coming out of the surrounding bush, prowling around homes and a small health clinic, to snatch goats and donkeys from the heart of this village on the edge of one of Africa’s great inland deltas. Elephants, too, are becoming frequent, unwelcome visitors, gobbling up the beans, maize and watermelons that took farmers months to grow. Since Botswana banned trophy hunting two years ago, remote communities like Sankuyo have been at the mercy of growing numbers of wild animals that are hurting livelihoods and driving terrified villagers into their homes at dusk.
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