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February 2016

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on February 20, 2016 7 Comments
In November, Vijeta wrote about David Cameron's warning to the EU: reform or risk "Brexit" (British exit from EU).  Cameron's demands were as follows:
The New York Times reports: After days of conflicting signals about his attitude toward the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday formally outlined his approach to negotiations with other member countries ahead of a crucial referendum that will determine whether Britain stays in the 28-nation bloc. His demands included a safeguard to prevent countries that use the euro from discriminating economically against Britain, which has retained the pound; a stronger role for national parliaments in European Union decision-making; and an end to Britain’s legal commitment, as a signatory to European Union treaties, to pursue “ever closer union,” which conservatives see as a threat to national sovereignty.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on February 20, 2016 48 Comments
Periods, as in periods, is the new frontier of the social justice movement. Not long ago, after widespread activist pressure, Obama opposed the (non-existent) "tampon tax." Now, a Columbia University female student has decided that Columbia should provide her—and all "people who menstruate"—with free tampons and assorted "period-related" items from sanitary napkins to painkillers. Writing in the Columbia Spectator, this student writes, Columbia should pay for my period:

Sure, I can easily find a free condom on Barnard and Columbia’s campuses, but why can’t I find a free tampon in the bathrooms in Hamilton or Milbank? Why does the administration care about my sexual protective rights, but not how I handle my monthly menstrual cycle?

Limited access to free sanitary products, along with the widely recognized “tampon tax,” is a frequently recurring topic in popular discourse regarding reproductive rights. While California may have pioneered potentially eliminating the tampon tax at the state level, many people who menstruate still lack the sufficient financial resources to frequently purchase sanitary products. And even if the sales tax is removed from these products, we must still front the cost to pay for other menstruation-related items, such as pads, DivaCups, painkillers, and birth control.

This adds up, she reasons, to almost a hundred dollars a year.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 20, 2016 18 Comments
It's something of a sideshow, but nonetheless interesting. Breitbart.com has been all over Marco Rubio for months over the Gang of 8 and immigration in general. I don't think Rubio has responded directly before, or if he did, it was the usual type of campaign responses to media. But last night, on the eve of the South Carolina primary, Breitbart ran a headline story about ICE officers calling out Rubio for dishonesty and betrayal. It got a Drudge Banner link (image via Jim Hoft):

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 20, 2016 51 Comments
Twitter, an invaluable news aggregator when properly run and used, has seemingly taken aim at conservatives and those advocating conservative causes. In early January, Twitter stripped Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero on Twitter) of his "verification," saying he violated the anti-harassment Terms of Service. https://twitter.com/Nero/status/685601754654871552

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 20, 2016 15 Comments
The Witch is a new film which will delight fans of horror stories and history alike. The writer and director of the film, newcomer Robert Eggers, won best director for this movie at last year's Sundance Film Festival and the award was well deserved. Due to a heavy writing schedule, I don't get out to the movies very often but when I first saw the trailer for this film back in August, I knew I wanted to see it. It opened in theaters this weekend and I saw it last night.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 20, 2016 45 Comments
The video below was released last night on Facebook by former Clinton Secretary of Labor and noted liberal Robert Reich. Reich's argument is that Cruz actually believes his conservatism. Reich is right on a big picture basis, even if he exaggerates or distorts a couple of Cruz's positions. Trump, by contrast, is someone Reich feels will make deals and has no ideological foundation so while he's a bully, there's actually less to fear. Basically, Reich is telling liberals to be afraid, very afraid of Ted Cruz. This Facebook comment reflects the general sentiment:

Posted by New Neo on February 20, 2016 36 Comments
[See the UPDATE at the end of this post, which indicates that the information published in the Time article was most likely incorrect.] Donald Trump has said repeatedly that on the morning of 9/11 he watched the burning World Trade Center towers from his midtown Manhattan apartment. One controversial aspect of his claim is that he could see people jumping from the WTC as he watched from his apartment, which is four miles away. Some experts doubt that is feasible. But no one has disputed that Trump was in NY that morning. Here is Trump talking about 9/11, and mentioning that he was in his apartment at the time:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 19, 2016 10 Comments
There were many moving images today as Justice Antonin Scalia's body was brought to and placed in repose in the Supreme Court. The Featured Image was one of the most moving. His former law clerks lined up outside the Supreme Court awaiting arrival of his body. (h/t @amandacarpenter) They continued to stand guard as the casket was carried up the steps: Scalia Law Clerks Casket Steps

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 19, 2016 7 Comments
Non-partisan organization, PoliTech, a student organization from Texas Tech University in Lubbock ventured out to George Mason University with a very basic man on the street test: Can students identify three public figures? To their credit, PoliTech appears to sample student from various majors, including an international politics major who had no clue who Joe Biden was, at least not when looking at a photo.

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 19, 2016 21 Comments
Wisconsin is trying to take measures to deal with illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. Naturally, detractors are describing the initiatives as racist and anti-immigrant. As a result, thousands of protesters showed up at the Wisconsin capitol yesterday, reminiscent of the anti-Walker protests of several years ago. Here's what it looked like in 2011, in case you've forgotten:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 19, 2016 37 Comments
Let's play, Progressive or Parody. Some students at Brown University devote so much of their time to activism they are getting stressed out, and it's creating mental health problems. (h/t @JeffreyGoldberg) From the Brown University Daily Herald, Schoolwork, advocacy place strain on student activists:
Two weeks ago, the University released the final version of its diversity and inclusion action plan, which could not have been compiled without the exhaustive efforts of students throughout last semester. “There are people breaking down, dropping out of classes and failing classes because of the activism work they are taking on,” said David, an undergraduate whose name has been changed to preserve anonymity. Throughout the year, he has worked to confront issues of racism and diversity on campus.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 19, 2016 13 Comments
While Pope Francis' remarks about Donald Trump were off target, a laser attack during his flight to Mexico was not.
The airline that carried Pope Francis to Mexico says the plane carrying the pontiff was hit by a laser light from the ground as it arrived on Friday. Alitalia says no one was hurt and the aircraft landed safely. It said Wednesday that the crew notified the Mexico City airport's control tower of the incident. Officials around the world have been increasingly concerned about people training laser pointers on jetliners. In some cases, crewmembers have suffered eye damage.
There is no indication Trump was involved.  (Joke) The number of attacks have dramatically increased, hitting 5,300 last year. However, as demonstrated by a recent flight from London that was mere days before the papal trip, the boldness of the attacks has escalated.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 19, 2016 9 Comments
On February 18, 2016, Tuvia Yanai Weissman, 21, was stabbed to death in a supermarket while he was shopping with his wife and baby daughter. Tuvia Yanai Weissman and family Another Israeli, 35, was wounded and is being treated in the hospital. The Palestinian attackers were 14 years old. They were shot by a private citizen during the assault. One died and the other is an Israeli hospital where he will receive as complete medical treatment as the person he stabbed.* These stabbing attacks by Palestinian minors, of which there have been many, don't happen in a vacuum. There is widespread incitement both officially from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and also in social media. This video was released just days ago:

Posted by Andrew Branca on February 19, 2016 22 Comments
Maryland's Court of Appeals (the state's highest-level "supreme court") ruled yesterday that the trials of the Baltimore police officers charged in the Freddie Gray incident will be postponed while they decide whether one of those officers, William Porter, can be compelled to testify against the others. We covered the legal issues in a prior posts: The next officer to be tried was scheduled to be Officer Edward Nero, in whose case jury selection was to have begun this coming Monday. The difficulty in this case, and an area of law without precedent in Maryland, arises because Porter remains vulnerable to criminal prosecution. Porter was the first of the officers to be tried, last fall, but the trial resulted in a hung jury without verdict, and prosecutors immediately stated they would retry the case.
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