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January 2016

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 13, 2016 5 Comments
There is no sadder commentary on why peace is not yet possible than the exploitation of children by Palestinians in the war against Israel. It's a lot more than the types of confrontations staged by Bassem Tamimi, where young children are sent to confront Israeli soldiers in the hope of creating a reaction that will generate a viral video or photo. A recent parade in Bethlehem in which a child paraded with a mock suicide belt reflects the pathology. MEMRI reports, Children Sport Dummy Explosive Belts, RPG Launchers In Bethlehem 'Fatah Day' Parade:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 13, 2016 20 Comments
Shortly after Obama's state of the union address last night, Ted Cruz appeared on the Kelly File and mercilessly lambasted the president for omitting recent developments in Iran as well as terror attacks like the one in San Bernardino. The FOX News Insider reports:
'State of Denial': Ted Cruz Bashes Obama's State of the Union Address President Obama's final State of the Union address was more like "a state of denial," Ted Cruz said on "The Kelly File" tonight. The Republican presidential contender told Megyn Kelly that he's not surprised that the president didn't mention ten U.S. sailors held by Iran during his speech.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 12, 2016 42 Comments
South Carolina governor Nikki Haley is delivering the GOP response to Obama's SOTU address tonight. Haley is a good choice. She's an effective and successful governor and has been rumored to be on the short list for VP.

Her speech:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 12, 2016 20 Comments
Tonight President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union Address. No need for cable to watch the president's remarks. You can watch the livestream beneath. We've also included two live reaction feeds for your viewing pleasure. At the conclusion of President Obama's address, we invite you to join us on our separate live thread, where Aleister will be live blogging the Republican rebuttal given by Gov. Nikki Haley.

The speech:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 12, 2016 4 Comments
Given the atmosphere of deep political division that has widened and deepened during Obama's presidency and the clear dissatisfaction among Republican primary voters, Gallup's latest poll on party identification makes sense. According to Gallup, the percentage of people who identify with either the Democrat or Republican party is "nearing historic" lows.
In 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, at least four in 10 U.S. adults identified as political independents. The 42% identifying as independents in 2015 was down slightly from the record 43% in 2014. This elevated percentage of political independents leaves Democratic (29%) and Republican (26%) identification at or near recent low points, with the modest Democratic advantage roughly where it has been over the past five years.
Despite knowing better, I am sometimes surprised by how very few Americans actually identify as Democrat.  It seems that they dominate the news and the culture, so it's easy to forget that they make up such an insignificant portion of the electorate.   I'm never surprised that Republicans make up an even more insignificant portion.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 12, 2016 14 Comments
Gearing up for the State of the Union lecture he is preparing to treat us to this year, President Obama wanted to put a positive spin on the results of his many years in the Oval Office. It is a chilling testament to his myriad of failures as Commander-in-Chief that one positive he reaches for, amid his many delusions, is that the Americans are not facing "existential threats".
In an interview with NBC’s Today on the morning of his final State of the Union address, President Barack Obama told interviewer Matt Lauer that the United States didn’t face a single existential threat as his presidency approached its end. “It is sometimes important for people to step back and measure how far we’ve come,” Obama argued. “The economy right now is better than any other economy in the world by a significant margin. We remain the strongest nation on earth by far and there are no existential threats facing us.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 12, 2016 34 Comments
Tuesday, the U.S. experienced yet another provocation from Iran who seized two U.S. Navy boats carrying ten U.S. sailors. Iran promised to return everyone and everything shortly. So, yay?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2016 1 Comment
The last we wrote about Stanley Cohen was when he was released from prison in late December 2015, “Hamas lawyer” Stanley Cohen out of prison. Cohen jumped right back into things, taking on the issue of New Jersey teenager Bethany Koval who was questioned by her school administrators over some pro-Hamas, anti-Israel tweets which the administrators claimed might constitute cyber bullying of other students. (She has walked back the pro-Hamas tweet and turned her account private.) When Koval went public with the possible discipline, including secretly recording a meeting with a school administrator, it created a several day media frenzy, and Cohen was right in the middle of it. I found out about Cohen's involvement when I saw people tweeting the link to Cohen's interview yesterday by Russia Today: I was surprised that Cohen was introduced as Koval's's attorney.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 12, 2016 17 Comments
During a Fusion-hosted event at Drake, Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was asked, "Can you tell us what the term ‘white privilege’ means to you and can you give me an example from your life or career when you think you have benefitted from it?" "Look, where do I start? It is hard when you're swimming in the ocean to know exactly what's happening around you so much as it is when you're standing on the shore, perhaps watching," Hillary began.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 12, 2016 63 Comments
Joining Chris Matthews' Hardball on MSNBC Monday night, Republican strategist Liz Mair sparred with columnist and purveyor of outrage, Ann Coulter, over Donald Trump's candidacy. Coulter, Mitt Romney fan girl and Chris Christie acolyte has been a champion of Trump's candidacy since he announced. Mair, who runs the PAC Trump Card LLC, the "guerrilla effort" to thwart Donald Trump's candidacy, is leading the charge to "Make America Awesome (America is Already Great!)." The result? A smackdown you won't want to miss:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 12, 2016 8 Comments
Something maddening is happening in the European and Nordic countries which have opened their doors to millions of refugees from Muslim countries. Women of the host countries were sexually assaulted in numerous cities during holiday celebrations by refugees and it's being ignored in some cases and even covered up in others. In Sweden, these attacks have allegedly been going on for months. The Times of Israel reports:
Swedish police take flak for covering up refugee sex attacks Swedish police were criticized on Monday after admitting they failed to release information about alleged sexual assaults against women by young immigrants at a Stockholm summer music festival over the past two years. There were 38 reports of rape and sexual assault filed after the We Are Sthlm festival, which uses the postal abbreviation for Stockholm, in 2014 and 2015, according to police.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 12, 2016 11 Comments
Legendary singer and cultural artist David Bowie has passed away at the age of 69, after losing an 18-month private battle with cancer.
The artist's hits include Let's Dance, Changes, Space Oddity, Starman, Modern Love, Heroes, Under Pressure, Rebel Rebel and Life on Mars. He was also well known for creating his flamboyant alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The singer, who had been living in New York in recent years, released his latest album Blackstar only last Friday, his birthday. The album has been well received by critics and was intended as a "parting gift" to the world, according to long-time friend and producer Tony Visconti.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2016 35 Comments
Fox Business News announced the line up for the January 14, 2016 Republican Debate. This is the last debate before the Iowa caucuses. Mercifully, we are down to just 7 people on main stage. The Big Names not on stage anymore are Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina. Jeb is now on the edge, physically and metaphorically. Looking back, it's interesting how there has been a realignment. Jeb is moving on down, and Christie fought his way back. What has not changed is Trump in the center position, and a solidifying of what everyone knows -- it's Trump at the top, Cruz as the main challenger. Carson is a goner. Jeb is a goner.  Rubio, Kasich and Christie are vying for the non-Trump, non-Cruz candidacy. Here's how things looked at the mid-December 2015 CNN debate:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 11, 2016 6 Comments
Monday morning, the White House announced they'd added another social media platform to their repertoire -- Snapchat. Beginning as an app that allowed users to privately share photo messages with friends, messages that would vanish after viewing (it's biggest selling point early on), Snapchat quickly evolved to include video messaging, a chat feature, and most recently, Story Explorer. Story Explorer allows users to take videos or photos and add them to their "Story"; essentially, the apps version of a public profile. Unique to Snapchat, Story Explorer has become more than a personalized user perspective and is now used by media outlets, brands of various kinds, and as of today -- the White House. The White House explained:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2016 21 Comments
Wow. Just Wow. This January 9, 2016 Letter to the Editor in The Boston Globe is just amazing, To the man I sat next to on the train: I am the gun owner you hate:
TO THE man I sat next to on my way in to Boston: When I boarded the commuter rail, you were already in the midst of a spirited phone conversation and didn’t seem to care about how loud you were talking. You were talking with someone about the Paris train attack and the growing epidemic of gun violence in America. You spoke about the “murderous NRA” and “bloodthirsty gun nuts” who were causing our schools to “run red with blood.” You spoke profanely of the Republicans who opposed President Obama’s call for “sensible gun control,” and you lamented the number of “inbred redneck politicians” who have “infiltrated Capitol Hill.” I found myself amazed at the irony of the situation. While you were spewing your venom, I sat quietly next to you with my National Rifle Association membership card in my wallet and my 9mm pistol in its holster. You were only 12 inches away from my legally owned semiautomatic pistol. I suppose I didn’t look like the “bloodthirsty gun nut” you thought I should be. It apparently didn’t register to you that I could so cleverly disguise myself by wearing a fleece coat, Patriots hat, and khakis.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 11, 2016 10 Comments
Just before the end of 2015, Ben Carson's campaign manager along with 20 staffers quit. Less than two weeks later, all New Hampshire paid staffers for a pro-Carson PAC, 2016 Committee, quit and left to volunteer for Ted Cruz. WMUR reports:
All five paid New Hampshire staffers at the pro-Ben Carson 2016 Committee super PAC quit their posts on Sunday to become volunteers for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, WMUR.com has learned. Jerry Sickles of Keene, the spokesman for the staff, said he and the other four staffers recently came to the conclusion that Cruz is the conservative most able to win the GOP presidential nomination and the presidency. He also noted that Carson has spent very little time campaigning in New Hampshire, which became frustrating to him and the other staffers as they tried to build support in the state.
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