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December 2015

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 07, 2015 28 Comments
"The time for press releases, the time for simple condemnations of the acts of violence is over," said Dr. Zuhdi Jasser speaking on Fox News. At a two-day summit held in DC, the Muslim Reform Movement released a declaration of principles that condemn what Dr. Jasser referred to as "operationalism." The Washington Examiner reported:
The Muslim Reform Movement grew out of a summit this week of leaders of groups that were already fighting extremism. Organizers said deadly terrorist attacks by Islamist extremists in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., added new urgency to the effort. "Let's get rid of political correctness and grab this problem by the root," said Naser Khader, a conservative member of Denmark's parliament, in a panel discussion Thursday at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "It is important to draw a line between the Islamic religion and Islamism." Khader and other members of the group on Friday released a declaration of principles calling on Muslims to reject violent jihad and endorse religious freedom for all and secular government, and saying they will call out those who reject it.
Groups that do not sign the Muslim Reform Movement's declaration of principles are, "part of the first three or four steps of radicalization and American's need to realize that," Jasser continued.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 07, 2015 5 Comments
As San Bernardino families mourned the loss of their loved ones during a terror attack, funeral services were being conducted for an American student killed during the recent Paris massacre:
Funeral services [were] held Friday for Nohemi Gonzalez, the 23-year-old Cal State Long Beach student who was killed in terrorist attacks that killed 129 people in Paris Nov. 13. Gonzalez, of El Monte, died while eating with friends at a popular bistro in Paris called La Belle Equipe. A senior majoring in industrial design, she was one of 17 CSULB students attending Strate College of Design in Paris as part of a semester abroad program. She died in the coordinated attacks that erupted at the cafe, a soccer stadium and, most notably, at the Bataclan theater where a Palm Desert-based band was performing.
The loss of such a young woman, filled with talent and life, is horrific. So, too, is the loss of the 14 Californians at the hands of a couple they had befriended.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on December 07, 2015 12 Comments
The popular rebellion against Europe’s migration policy has reached the European heartland, with a day that saw one of the worst defeats for the France’s traditional Socialist Party and a historic win for the far-right Front National. The anti-migration and anti-EU party Front National (FN), with Marine Le Pen at the helm, secured 28 percent of the votes and took lead in 6 out of 13 regions that went to polls. The is a huge gain for the far-right party compared to only 11 percent it got in the last regional elections in 2010. Front National has never held the leadership of a French region before in party's more than 40 years of existence. In French regional election being held from December 6-13, 2015, 13 Regional Presidencies within mainland France and 5 Presidencies overseas (out of total 27) are up for grabs. The regions in France hold limited powers, as the country in centrally governed from Paris since the Napoleonic times, but the provincial governments get to manage big regional budgets.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 07, 2015 16 Comments
A few more details are emerging concerning the San Bernardino terrorists. The Times of Israel reports that Syed Rizwan Farook, the male terrorist killed trying to run away from the carnage he and his wife created, was "obsessed" with Israel and unwilling to wait the two years his father estimated it would take for Israel to cease to exist. https://twitter.com/LegInsurrection/status/673501593510219776
In Sunday’s La Stampa ... report, Farook said, “My son said that he shared [IS leader Abu Bakr] Al Baghdadi’s ideology and supported the creation of the Islamic State. He was also obsessed with Israel.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 06, 2015 78 Comments
Update: It's over. My take: https://twitter.com/LegInsurrection/status/673672232707690496 There wasn't much to the speech. No proposals. No change of course. Barely a mention of gun control. Really nothing Grand or Large. So why the speech from the Oval Office? Judge for yourselves: https://youtu.be/zJ_tWsei3pE?t=2m48s Oh, and this, so this >>

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 06, 2015 21 Comments
On Friday, many Americans were taken aback when Obama elected not to address the nation in the wake of the San Bernardino terror attack.  However, on Friday, he was busy meeting with Gabby Giffords about gun control, so while he addressed the issue in his weekly address, he'll be delivering a speech tonight (at 8 p.m. EST). Going by reports of tonight's speech so far, anyone hoping for what Megyn Kelly calls the "Comforter in Chief" or for him to declare the San Bernardino terror attack an act of war will be disappointed. Apparently, Obama's plan is to lecture us on what terrorism is and how it came about (his version of it, anyway), bemoan the Second Amendment protections afforded the American people, and harangue Congress into passing stricter gun laws. This sounds ripe for another Obama speech drinking game.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 06, 2015 14 Comments
Recent remarks by Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. are going viral. In an address to a large audience, he urged students to obtain gun licenses and arm themselves. Falwell was obviously talking about the terrorists who carried out the attacks in San Bernardino, but as you'll see below, he had to clarify his statement. Bradford Richardson reports at The Hill:
Liberty University president urges students to carry guns, ‘end those Muslims’ The president of the Liberty University is urging students to carry concealed weapons on campus in order to “end those Muslims” who would attack the campus. “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” President Jerry Falwell, Jr., told students at convocation Friday, according to the News & Advance.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 06, 2015 12 Comments
Last week, Republican Presidential hopeful, Marco Rubio, opened up about his faith, what it means to doubt one's faith, and where he turns in times of tumult and challenge. His candid response caught the attention of many Republican Christians. That was until this video surfaced. At an event organized by American Renewal Project in Iowa, Sen. Rubio shared the gospel with a large audience of pastors. Like his previous answers on the matter, Rubio spoke at length of peace. Not "hippy peace" as he called it, but the "peace that we are ordered to." For five minutes forget about politics, forget about your personal candidate preferences and just... listen.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 06, 2015 20 Comments
In the wake of the "there've been more mass shootings than days in the year" hysteria, Australia's former deputy prime minister, Tim Fischer, is pushing for "better travel warnings" for Australian travelers to the U. S. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
"Three hundred and fifty two mass shootings in the USA so far this year but about 80 a day you don't hear about," Mr Fischer told ABC News on Thursday. "All [are] unacceptable because the US is not stepping up on the public policy reform front. But have we not reached the stage where the Smart Traveller advice of [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] needs to be muscled up?" Mr Fischer said a person is 15 times more likely to be shot dead in the US than in Australia and that travel advice should reflect this, as it does for Mexico.

Posted by New Neo on December 06, 2015 45 Comments
President Obama used his regular weekly radio address on Saturday to discuss the San Bernardino shootings, which now have been categorized---although not by Obama---as the worst terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11. He will give a televised speech from the Oval Office Sunday night. In the radio address, Obama offered very tepid stuff in terms of the terrorist connection, as one might expect from Obama. The speech began with praise for the police and rescuers and sympathy for the victims and families (and prayers; notify the Daily News that the president has gone off the reservation). But when Obama starts discussing the causes of the attack, he defers to the investigators---although those very investigators have now said they are investigating it as a terrorist attack. All he has to say about that is the following:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 05, 2015 25 Comments
Anne posted this report and video back on January 22, 2013, Veteran stands up for 2nd Amendment at Chicago anti-gun forum. In light of open calls by The NY Times and others to confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens, it seems worth running again. The event was an anti-gun forum organized by the New Trier (Illinois) Democrats as a “space for real conversation.” When panelist Lee Goodman of the Stop Concealed Carry Coalition responded to a question about the original reasons for including the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights by saying “it didn’t matter [what their intentions were],” and that it no longer was needed, combat veteran Kevin Tully spoke up: The video taken by Anne, embedded below, has over 700,000 views so far. Here is the key exchange:
Veteran: Sir, sir. While you’re standing up. I’ve sat here [inaudible] and I’d like to agree with the professor. Everyone standing in this room right now, especially the veterans in the room right now, know, that we are all Americans. The problem with this country right now is it’s us and it’s f***ing them. We need to stop this crap.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 05, 2015 3 Comments
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has been targeting American Reggae musician Matisyahu because he is Jewish and refuses to denounce Israel. In the summer of 2015 an international firestorm of controversy erupted after BDS succeeded in getting Matisyahu banned at the Spanish Rototom Reggae festival. The ban was reversed only after an international outcry, including denunciations by the Spanish government and a leading Spanish newspaper that the action amounted to religious discrimination. So when Matisyahu booked an appearance in Ithaca, NY, as part of his world tour, it was not long before the local BDS crowd, including our own BDS "star," sought a boycott of the event and planned a protest. But it didn't work. There was a substantial backlash in favor of artistic freedom. Ithaca resident Linda Glaser wrote a powerful op-ed in The Ithaca Journal, Let Jewish artist perform in Ithaca:
Artistic freedom is the right of every American, as it is based on the First Amendment right of freedom of speech. The Ithaca Coalition for Unity and Cooperation in the Middle East (ICU-CME) supports the right of American musician Matisyahu to perform and to be heard free from intimidation at the State Theatre of Ithaca.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 05, 2015 103 Comments
Last week,  Quinnipiac reported poll results for Iowa that showed Ted Cruz surging to 23%, only 2 points behind Donald Trump. The Wall Street Journal reported:
A new Quinnipiac University poll of likely Republican caucus goers showed Mr. Cruz with 23%, behind only New York real estate developer Donald Trump, with 25%. That is more than double Mr. Cruz’s showing of 10% in the university’s October poll. Mr. Trump gained five points from October.
Today, Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, tweeted the following: https://twitter.com/RichLowry/status/673236631231533056 More Twitter responses:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 05, 2015 6 Comments
This day in 1933, America had the good sense to decriminalize booze. The 21st amendment to the Constitution was ratified, nullifying the 18th amendment. Three weeks after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Act, legalizing the sale of beer and wine with the alcohol content of 3.2%. The "3.2% Beer Act," as it was known, went into effect April 7 (which is now celebrated as National Beer Day) and was the beginning of the end of Prohibition.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 05, 2015 80 Comments
In a front page editorial, something that hasn't been done in 95 years, the New York Times is calling for the confiscation of certain kinds of guns and ammunition. The piece makes no distinction for the motives behind recent shootings. It also ignores the fact that gun violence is declining. Many Americans are beginning to realize that our country is under attack and that we're at war whether we like it or not. The fact that the New York Times is calling for disarming citizens makes them look as out of touch as the president they helped elect. Here are some excerpts:
End the Gun Epidemic in America All decent people feel sorrow and righteous fury about the latest slaughter of innocents, in California. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are searching for motivations, including the vital question of how the murderers might have been connected to international terrorism. That is right and proper.
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