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October 2015

Posted by Amy Miller on October 10, 2015 6 Comments
John Kerry lost big this week as the Nobel Committee announced it was awarding the Nobel Peace Prize not to John Kerry, Secretary of State and erstwhile hero of the Iran nuclear deal negotiations, but to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. The Quartet formed in 2013 in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution. Tunisians were attempting a democracy, but the process was being stifled by political assassinations and social unrest. The Quartet turned the focus back onto individual rights, redirected the political process, and facilitated the creation of a constitutional system. Sounds a lot better than "facilitated a deadly deal with a belligerent nation," doesn't it?

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on October 10, 2015 8 Comments
In May, we covered the EPA's Waters of the United States rule and just how far-reaching it is, and in August, the EPA decided that a federal injunction imposed in response to a suit filed by thirteen states didn't apply nationally, stating that it applied only to those states that were parties in the case.  The EPA declared it would move forward with imposing the rule on the remaining fifty states. Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit Court handed down its own ruling that blocked the waters rule nationwide.  The Hill reports:
In a 2-1 ruling, the Cincinnati-based Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit delivered a stinging defeat to Obama’s most ambitious effort to keep streams and wetlands clean, saying it looks likely that the rule, dubbed Waters of the United States, is illegal. “We conclude that petitioners have demonstrated a substantial possibility of success on the merits of their claims,” the judges wrote in their decision, explaining that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new guidelines for determining whether water is subject to federal control — based mostly on the water’s distance and connection to larger water bodies — is “at odds” with a key Supreme Court ruling.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 10, 2015 23 Comments
In the newest edition of Afterburner, Bill Whittle examines the issue of gun control from a liberal perspective and follows it to its logical end. If it's guns that kill people, not people, then why do some guns kill while others don't? Whittle suggests that perhaps the problem has something to do with boys growing up without strong father figures as well as the left's continuing effort to water down masculinity into a version of femininity lite. He cites as an example, a recent New York Times article titled 27 Ways to be a Modern Man. As usual, Whittle shreds the progressive argument in the process.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 10, 2015 18 Comments
Sometimes anti-Israel media bias is blatant, like the NY Times disgusting attempt to deny that Jewish Temples stood on the Temple Mount. A serious backlash forced the Times to issue a correction -- but why did it even attempt to feed into the incitement that denies the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount? Other times it is more subtle, like the the headline from The Independent in Britain about the shooting of a 16 year old Palestinian boy in Jerusalem. The headline, which is what most people read and sets the theme of an article, portrays the boy as the victim, and only obliquely references some connection to stabbings in Jerusalem. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-unrest-seventh-palestinian-killed-by-security-forces-after-jerusalem-stabbing-as-wave-of-a6688781.html In fact, the 16 year old had just stabbed two elderly religious Jews on their way home from Shabbat prayers at the Western Wall. They survived, but one is in serious condition. Here's that 16 year old as he went on his stabbing spree, and then attacked a policeman. At that point he was shot dead. (Images via @IdoDaniel Twitter)

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 10, 2015 13 Comments
The TSA is terrible. Probably one of the worst organizations we pay for. Even worse is that collectively we've decided to tolerate wandering barefoot through nudey scanners and randomized government sanctioned, blue-gloved molestation. Evidently, there exist those who still believe putting mascara in a plastic zip-loc bag makes it less terroristy. Enter College Humor. In one of their latest videos, they challenge the misconception that TSA fulfills its sole raison d'etre -- stopping terrorist attacks.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 10, 2015 14 Comments
CNN's Ashleigh Banfield spoke to Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman about the upcoming Democratic primary debate yesterday. They considered the unthinkable possibility that Bernie Sanders will bring up Hillary's email scandal, which Banfield quickly suggested isn't really a scandal. Matthew Balan of NewsBusters reports (emphasis is his):
CNN's Banfield: Hillary E-Mail Scandal 'Not Even A Scandal' On Friday's Legal View, CNN's Ashleigh Banfield did her best to downplay Hillary Clinton's ongoing e-mail scandal. Banfield asked Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman if Bernie Sanders would bring up the issue at the upcoming Democratic presidential debate.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 09, 2015 13 Comments
Hillary Clinton's campaign is encouraging those digitally inclined to join their digital grassroots army. The process is pretty simple. The first step to joining the astroturf grassroots gang, entering your email address and zip code: Tweet for hillary clinton campaign grassroots digital media sign up scandal email benghazi 2016 democrat Almost instantly, you'll receive an email promising you all kinds of "goodies." We're not entirely sure what "goodies" we might get and we're afraid to ask.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 09, 2015 10 Comments
The Washington Post reported Friday afternoon that China arrested a handful of hackers at the American government's urging. The move would is a first for the Chinese and may be indicative of cooperation between the two governments. As we've discussed before, conventional wisdom holds the Chinese responsible for the massive OPM hacking, though the Obama administration refused to publicly blame China.
Citing concerns over national security, the Obama Administration has decided that they will not publicly blame China for the hack, even though conventional wisdom (and a fair amount of now-public evidence) suggests that they were responsible. Officials fear that coming out in an official capacity against Beijing will compromise what evidence investigators have been able to assemble. More from WaPo:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 09, 2015 52 Comments
Via KOIN 6 News (h/t American Power):
A local principal sent an 8th grade student home this week for wearing a shirt supporting U.S. troops. The problem, according to Gresham-Barlow School District [Oregon] officials, was that it had a gun on it. Now, many are speaking out against the principal’s decision to reprimand the student for something they consider a display of patriotism. “It means a lot to me because our family, we have a lot of people who were in the military,” middle schooler Alan Holmes said. “I didn’t see anything wrong with that shirt… It’s sad to see because it’s a fallen soldiers’ memorial.” But administrators at Dexter McCarthy Middle School didn’t see it that way.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 09, 2015 8 Comments
Shirley Sherrod sued Andrew Breitbart, Larry O'Connor and others over a video of Sherrod giving a speech before an NAACP group, in which she recounted how in the distant past when she worked for a state agency, she had discriminated against a white farmer. Breitbart's widow was substituted as a defendant after his death. Sherrod was fired by the US Dept. of Agriculture as a result of their (over)reaction, and despite her clarifications and denials, indicating she had given some help to the farmer, and had learned from the experience to treat people fairly. We have analyzed that original tape, frame by frame, and the tape was not deceptive. See these posts: Nonetheless, the myth lives on, and is perpetuated by Bloomberg news in a lengthy article about the Chairman of the Breitbart news organization, Steve Bannon (emphasis added):

Posted by Amy Miller on October 09, 2015 13 Comments
The United States will discontinue its efforts to create a new, moderate rebel fighting force in Syria as part of the effort to "degrade and defeat" the Islamic State, the Pentagon said Friday. Most analysts believe that this reflects a failure of the US's current strategy in the region. That strategy---which focused on training new fighters---drew widespread criticism, particularly from Congress. In a statement to the media, Defense Secretary Ash Carter defended the change in policy by emphasizing the Administration's continued commitment to relying on local forces to get the job done, saying, "I remain convinced that a lasting defeat of ISIL in Syria will depend in part on the success of local, motivated, and capable ground forces. I believe the changes we are instituting today will, over time, increase the combat power of counter-ISIL forces in Syria and ultimately help our campaign achieve a lasting defeat of ISIL." During a brief press conference, Carter cited the work that US forces have done with rebels in northern Syria as an example of what they would like to pursue with other groups in other parts of Syria going forward:

Posted by Amy Miller on October 09, 2015 39 Comments
I think it's safe to say that, as of right now, the situation in the House of Representatives is officially through the looking glass. John Boehner's pending resignation threw the conference for a loop; when Kevin McCarthy announced he would not run for Speaker, things unraveled. The caucus is in chaos, and without a presumptive leader, we're wading in a sea of speculation about who should---or is even competent to---take the gavel. Jason Chaffetz's surprise bid for Speaker caused a buzz amongst conservatives---but also drew fire from fellow Republicans who claim that the young lawmaker hasn't proved his conservative bona fides. From The Hill:
Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.) on Friday had harsh words for his successor to lead the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), as the two Republicans eye the Speaker's gavel.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 09, 2015 11 Comments
A few days ago we wondered whether the rise of Palestinian knife and rock attacks was the start of a Third Intifada. Despite cheerleading from Western anti-Israel activists hoping for more violence, and incitement by Palestinian politicians and religious leaders (like the Gaza preacher in the Featured Image), it's not clear whether this is something that will last. The Second Intifada lasted years and in its early stages -- before Israel built the security barrier and launched Operation Defensive Shield -- killed 452 Israelis in 2002 alone, plus hundreds more before it was quashed. But the scale of attacks is not letting up. ] Many of the attacks are by women, like this one in Afula who stabbed a security guard at the bus station and was shot in the lower body to disable her: Israeli undercover police have started infiltrating crowds of rock throwers. This image (video here) shows the moment the undercover police draw their weapons:

Posted by New Neo on October 09, 2015 7 Comments
Hillary Clinton's opponents in the race for the 2016 Democratic nomination are against the TPP deal, unions are against the deal, and now she's against it too although previously she was one of its strongest supporters. It's hard to imagine that a single thinking human being would be convinced that her change of heart on this issue is on the merits rather than merely politically expedient. For example, even Ezra Klein finds himself a mite perturbed by her reversal on this and other matters:
Of late, Clinton is again looking like the kind of candidate who puts polls in front of policy. First, she came out against Obamacare's Cadillac tax — a policy that enjoys wide support among health economists... ...What I have trouble believing is that Clinton and her policy advisers really think the Cadillac tax is a bad idea. Her past policies embrace its theory, her past advisers helped pass it into law... On Wednesday, Clinton came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, saying that she's concerned with the provisions around pharmaceuticals and the absence of provisions around currency manipulation. But as Tim Lee notes, Clinton strongly supported early versions of the deal — she called the TPP "the gold standard in trade agreements" — that were worse on pharmaceuticals and identical on currency manipulation...

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 08, 2015 14 Comments
Former Rhode Island Senator and Governor Lincoln Chafee is a confirmed participant in the first Democratic primary debate next Tuesday on CNN. The debate will be shorter than the last Republican event but the smaller number of people on stage means even lower tier candidates like Chafee will get ample time to speak. As a man currently polling at less than one percent, Chafee has nothing to lose. Chafee also is notoriously unfiltered. Expect him to come out swinging at Hillary Clinton. Hard. Chafee has already indicated that he intends to go after Hillary for her Iraq War vote. CNN reported in July:
Lincoln Chafee needles Clinton: Iraq war vote 'created all the problems' Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee said Tuesday he's seeking the Democratic nomination to keep the question of the Iraq War alive, one which implicitly haunts Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 08, 2015 7 Comments
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is the very aggressive national campus organization devoted to the destruction of Israel. SJP works mostly through campus-specific affiliates. We have highlighted here the antics of the Vassar, Cornell, Northeastern, Bowdoin and NYU chapters, among others. SJP is part of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which popular propaganda says was a grassroots Palestinian civil society call issued in 2005. As we have documented, in fact BDS was launched with the help of anti-Semitic Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) assisted by Islamic governments at the 2001 Durban Conference. Among the panoply of SJP groups is one not based at a specific campus. Calling itself New York City SJP (NYC SJP), the group formed in August. The group members are no shrinking violets -- they are as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than other SJP groups. NYC SJP posts some of its protest videos on its Facebook page, including this recent demonstration.
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