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January 2016

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 22, 2016 11 Comments
If you had any concerns about Obama's Iran Deal rest assured, the news only gets worse. Speaking to a CNBC panel yesterday, John Kerry admitted that some of the money the U.S. is giving to Iran is likely to end up in the hands of terror groups. CNN reports:
John Kerry: Some sanctions relief money for Iran will go to terrorism Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged to CNBC Thursday that some of the money Iran received in sanctions relief would go to groups considered terrorists. When asked about whether some the $150 billion in sanctions relief to Iran would go to terrorist groups, Kerry reiterated that, after settling debts, Iran would receive closer to $55 billion. He conceded some of that could go to groups considered terrorists, saying there was nothing the U.S. could do to prevent that.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 22, 2016 122 Comments
National Review has a special issue Against Donald Trump, with columns by 22 people, most of whom are familiar conservative writers and media personalities. I skimmed a few of the columns and they make the case persuasively that Trump is not a conservative. You know the arguments already. He's for activist big government, a populist with no conservative ideological compass, and is not what he purports to be even on his core issue of immigration (where he may be to the left of Marco Rubio in reality). National Review Conservatives Against Trump Cover

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 22, 2016 23 Comments
Retired four-star general and former head of the CIA, David Petraeus, may be demoted for his 2012 scandal involving classified material.
The Pentagon is re-examining whether retired Army Gen. David Petraeus should be retroactively demoted for giving his biographer unauthorized access to classified information, defense officials say. While the Army officially determined last year that Petraeus should retain the status — and pension — of a retired four-star officer, that decision is now under review by Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s office, officials said.
This is a troubling development, given that Hillary Clinton is asking to be promoted to Commander-in-Chief despite her allegedly knowledgeable mishandling of classified electronic communications. But is it really fair to compare the two?

Posted by Taryn O'Neill on January 22, 2016 21 Comments
Twitter Inc. is facing a civil suit brought by the widow of an American defense contractor that was  killed by actors of the Islamic State in Jordan. Tamara Fields, wife of Lloyd "Carl" Fields, 46, alleges that Twitter knowingly allowed the Islamic State (ISIS) to use the social network to spread its propaganda and expand its membership. The civil complaint filed last week alleges Twitter enabled ISIS to carry out acts of international terrorism such as the attack that left Fields' husband dead in Jordan. A resident of Cape Coral, Florida, Carl Fields and one other American were shot by a Jordanian police captain on November 9, 2015 in an ISIS-inspired attack. "Without Twitter,  the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most-feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible."

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 22, 2016 50 Comments
The Republican emeritus leadership seems to be breaking for Donald Trump over Ted Cruz as the lesser of two evils.  They reason that Trump is less extreme, less likely to cause collateral damage to Republicans in Congressional and state races, and more electable. They're also probably wrong, at least about the electability question.  Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com writes:
It’s hard to say exactly how well (or poorly) Trump might fare as the Republican nominee. Partisanship is strong enough in the U.S. that even some of his most ardent detractors in the GOP would come around to support him were he the Republican candidate. Trump has some cunning political instincts, and might not hesitate to shift back to the center if he won the GOP nomination. A recession or a terror attack later this year could work in his favor. But Trump would start at a disadvantage: Most Americans just really don’t like the guy.

Posted by AACONS on January 22, 2016 1 Comment
Steve Forbes is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine, and the chairmanForbes Media, which encompasses Forbes, ForbesLife, Forbes.com, Investopedia.com, the RealClear sites and a host of other properties. His latest book, written with Elizabeth Ames, is titled Reviving America: How Repealing Obamacare, Replacing the Tax Code and Reforming The Fed will Restore Hope and Prosperity. A.F. Branco is one of today’s most widely followed editorial cartoonists whose work has been cited by some of our nation’s most prominent Conservative figures. His work is published regularly on a number of conservative websites including Legal Insurrection and his new book is titled Comically Incorrect: A Collection of the Politically-Incorrect Comics.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 21, 2016 72 Comments
Anyone who a year ago picked Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to be the two leading Republican candidates heading into the Iowa Caucuses either (i) is a liar, or (ii) should invest heavily in the lottery because they are beyond lucky. Certainly, the powers that be in the Republican Party were not expecting it. Here's what a Fox News poll looked like in January 2015: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2015/01/29/fox-news-poll-voters-believe-romney-clinton-remain-top-picks-for-2016-believe/ The pollster didn't even bother to ask about Trump. And Cruz was in low single digits. Now Trump is on top in the national polls and Cruz is in second place. In Iowa, three polls released today show Cruz leading, a dead heat, and Trump leading.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 21, 2016 13 Comments
I doubt these fellas were expecting a whoopin' when they decided to carjack this gal. While this Mom was pumping gas, a would-be carjacker hopped into the driver seat and the other began beating on the window with a gun. And then this Mom got ahold of them both:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 21, 2016 33 Comments
Establishment Democrats are scared to death of a Bernie Sanders win over Hillary for many of the same reasons the Republican establishment is scared to death of a Ted Cruz primary win: People will lose party jobs and access. In Democratic circles, people like Claire McCaskill are worrying that Bernie will be a general election disaster because Republicans will run ads with a hammer and sickle on them. So how will the self-identified Democratic Socialist convince America to vote for him? Simon & Garfunkel. I agree with this assessment of a new ad released by Sanders:

Posted by David Gerstman on January 21, 2016 10 Comments
Vox.com, which purports to "explain" things, has turned its attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The results are not pretty. Truth takes a backseat to revisionism and a combination of ignorance and propaganda forces out knowledge. Here's the video, but be sure to read the explanation below as to how it misleads: In general the content can be divided in two: anything that makes Israel look bad or the Palestinians sympathetic is described in (often incorrect) detail; anything that makes the Palestinians (or Arabs generally) look bad is described only generally. Israel is active; Palestinians are passive.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 21, 2016 15 Comments
The seemingly non-stop attack ads being run by Jeb's SuperPAC, Right to Rise USA, are causing deep concern among Jeb supporters, the NY Times reports:
When Jeb Bush and his allies began helping the “super PAC” supporting him raise more than $100 million last year, his bid for the Republican nomination seemed like a safe bet. But as Mr. Bush’s campaign continues to lag, his backers are increasingly turning their frustrations over his foundering candidacy on the group, Right to Rise, and its inability to influence the race. Some donors quietly worry about how the cash-rich group is spending its money, confounded by how few tangible results the tens of millions it has pumped into the race so far have yielded. Others have expressed dismay with negative ads Right to Rise has run ....

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on January 21, 2016 9 Comments
Shocked by the wave of violent anti-Semitism in Germany following the Gaza conflict of 2014, the Central Council of Jews, apex body of Jewish organisations in Germany in called for the rally “Stand up! Never again anti-Semitism!” on September 14, 2014. The event was attended by German Chancellor Merkel, President Joachim Gauck and other senior government ministers. Speaking under the banner of “Never Again”, leader of the Jewish community, Dr. Dieter Graumann said, “enough is enough” and “we do not want to be compelled to gather here again in two or three years’ time.” The state ceremony graced by Chancellor Merkel and her entire cabinet is barely an year only and here we are again. 70 years after the end of Nazi Germany, the small Jewish community in Germany doesn't feel safe in Germany anymore. In recent months, prominent community leaders in Germany have urged Jews to avoid wearing religious symbols in public and to avid “districts with strong Muslim populations.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 21, 2016 11 Comments
Fifteen years ago when the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, they destroyed ancient Buddhist statues. Today, ISIS is following their lead in other parts of the region, most recently by destroying a Christian monastery in Iraq. Jonah Bennett reports at The Daily Caller:
ISIS Just Bulldozed The Oldest Christian Monastery In Iraq The Islamic State just bulldozed St. Elijah’s Monastery, the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq, which has survived every other assault for 1,400 years until now. ISIS took out the location with bulldozers, sledgehammers and perhaps even explosives.

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 21, 2016 37 Comments
Judge Barry Williams, the trial judge in the "Freddie Gray" cases, yesterday ruled that Officer William Porter is not required to testify against the three white officers charged in the case: Edward Nero, Garrett Miller, and Brian Rice, reports CNN. Those officers were primarily involved in the initial arrest of Gray, and less so in his transport during which Gray would suffer his traumatic neck injury. Brian Rice Garrett Miller Edward Nero

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 20, 2016 16 Comments
The decision by Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz to keep an abbreviated presidential primary debate schedule ruffled the feathers of just about every non-Clinton acolyte. Democratic presidential candidates vocally opposed the meager schedule which they claimed was designed to help Hillary Clinton. So incensed were New Hampshire delegates that they shouted down Wasserman Shultz chanting, "we want debates!" Three of the last four Democratic Presidential Primary debates were scheduled on weekends. The last? Scheduled to compete with two NFL playoff games and PBS favorite, Downton Abbey. After the most recent debate Sunday night (which was cut short by the network), Wasserman Shultz was chastised by CNN’s Brian Stelter for the lack of debate opportunities. Monday, I suggested the paltry debate schedule was doing more harm than good for Hillary, whose poll numbers continue to tank:

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 20, 2016 189 Comments
Bob Dole, who has endorsed Jeb Bush, has weighed in on the budding Ted Cruz v. Donald Trump contest in the early GOP primaries, and backed Trump in the strongest terms.  According to the New York Times, Dole warned of "cataclysmic,” and “wholesale losses” if Cruz is nominated.

Dole's logic is viewing the Trump/Cruz contest explicitly in terms of what is better for the Republican Party establishment:

“I question his allegiance to the party,” Mr. Dole said of Mr. Cruz. “I don’t know how often you’ve heard him say the word ‘Republican’ — not very often.” Instead, Mr. Cruz uses the word “conservative,” Mr. Dole said, before offering up a different word for Mr. Cruz: “extremist.” . . .

The remarks by Mr. Dole reflect wider unease with Mr. Cruz among members of the Republican establishment, but few leading members of the party have been as candid and cutting.

Dole added that Cruz has falsely “convinced the Iowa voters that he’s kind of a mainstream conservative.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 20, 2016 16 Comments
On December 15, 2015, Legal Insurrection broke the story of the 14-page demand list prepared on behalf of the Black Student Union at Oberlin College. The list was a pity party of racial and class gripes, some of which were comical, some of which were quite nasty (like the demand to boycott Israel). The 14-page demand list was separate and apart from the much-mocked dining hall petition complaining about the lack of fried chicken on Friday nights and cultural appropriation of dishes such as General Tso's chicken. But the nastiest part was that the students demanded the firing of various professors and staff, and the promotion to tenure or tenure track of others. Seriously. Oberlin's President Marvin Krislov has just posted his response to the Demands, which now are on the Oberlin website . I think it would be fair to characterized the response as a complete rejection of the notion of unilateral Demands and attempts to interfere in the employment of faculty and staff.
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