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March 2016

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 12, 2016 129 Comments
One of the most difficult things in politics is to defend the rights of politicians you otherwise might not want to defend. One of those cases was the defense of Sarah Palin against a vicious left-wing smear machine that targeted even her youngest child, who was mocked not only for having Down Syndrome but for not having been aborted. The sexist distortions and outright lies about Palin reached an apex when she was blamed by left-wing bloggers for the shooting of Gabby Giffords and murder of others by Jared Loughner. The excuse was that Palin allegedly used incendiary words and created a climate of fear; a national electoral map she used which had crosshairs over some districts was blamed directly. In reality, Loughner was a psychotic person who, to the extent his politics were of this world, leaned left. There is no evidence Loughner ever saw the map in question. Loughner was held mentally unfit for trial. Yet Palin was blamed, and even some Republicans joined in the chorus. I wrote at the time that the defense of Palin was not a defense of Palin the person or politician, but of the principle that if Republicans enabled such dishonest tactics against her, then no Republican politician was safe:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on March 12, 2016 14 Comments
A CBSNews investigation uncovered worrying patterns of spending donations by the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that helps veterans wounded while serving their country. According to the initial CBS report, Wounded Warrior Project spends only about 60% of its donations on veterans.  Compared to the 91% Fischer House spends on veterans and the 96% spent by the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust this is a shockingly low percentage of donations used for things other than the stated goals of the charity. In light of the CBSNews investigation and the subsequent publicity and internal investigation, Wounded Warrior Project has fired both its CEO, Steven Nardizzi, and its COO, Al Giordano. CBS's initial investigation uncovered shocking increases in spending on "team building" staff meetings as five-star resorts and extravagance on "big parties" after Nardizzi came on board in 2009.
Former employees say spending has skyrocketed since Steven Nardizzi took over as CEO in 2009. Many point to the 2014 annual meeting at a luxury resort in Colorado Springs as typical of his style. "He rappelled down the side of a building at one of the all hands events. He's come in on a Segway, he's come in on a horse." About 500 staff members attended the four-day conference in Colorado. The price tag? About $3 million.

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 12, 2016 3 Comments
Bernie Sanders draws a major amount of his support from Millennials to whom he just so happens to promise free college and a host of other goodies. His plan to win in Ohio next Tuesday relies on bringing out the youth vote, so why wouldn't he want some seventeen year-olds to vote in the primary? He actually sued the state of Ohio for this and won. Politico reports:
Sanders wins: Ohio judge rules 17-year-olds can vote on election day Sen. Bernie Sanders notched a potentially significant win on Friday evening when an Ohio judge issued an order, allowing 17-year-old voters to participate in the state's presidential primary on Tuesday.

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 12, 2016 4 Comments
Chris Matthews of MSNBC famously said during the 2008 presidential election that Obama sent a thrill up his leg but he's not feeling the same magic for Hillary in 2016. Steve Guest reports at the Daily Caller:
MSNBC’s Matthews Laments Hillary Doesn’t Give Him ‘Thrill Up The Leg’ [VIDEO] MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said Hillary Clinton in 2016 “can’t match” President Barack Obama’s oratory skills that gave him the “thrill up the leg” in 2008.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 12, 2016 10 Comments
Don't let it be said the Obama Administration doesn't have it's priorities in perfect progressive order. And near the top of those priorities are dealing with "climate change deniers". Today's forecast related to climate change insanity is grim, indeed. United State Attorney General Loretta Lynch admitted her team has discussed the option of filing a lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry based on its handling of climate data gathered in the course of pursing business.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch has considered taking legal action against climate change deniers. The United States' top lawyer told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the Justice Department has 'discussed' the possibility of a civil lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry. She said any information her office has received has been sent to the FBI in a bid to build a case.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on March 12, 2016 7 Comments
We all remember Hillary Clinton's, along with assorted Obama administration officials', televised assertions that the Benghazi attacks that left four men—an American ambassador (Christopher Stevens), two former Navy SEALS (Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty), and one embassy aide (Sean Smith)—brutally murdered in a terrorist attack was the result of an anti-Islamist video. As of the most recent Democrat debate, Hillary is still standing by that assertion and even going so far as to imply the Benghazi victims' families are lying about what she told them. Following Hillary's repeated assertions that the video was the cause of the "spontaneous" attack on the Benghazi compound and the subsequent revelations that the attack was neither spontaneous nor the result of a video, the victims' families came forward with the information that Hillary had told them that the video was to blame long after she knew that not to be the case. Watch one victim's mother express her outrage at Hillary for lying to her:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 12, 2016 35 Comments
The Breitbart/Michelle Fields/Trump Campaign Manager saga continues. If you're just joining this story, I would suggest beginning with Part 1 as this post picks up where the other left off. Breitbart Reporter and Fox News contributor, Michelle Fields, claimed Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, grabbed her arm, tossing her towards the ground when she asked Trump a race-related question. Breitbart News offered a muddled initial response, suggesting if Lewandowski had in fact grabbed Fields, he should apologize. A Washington Post reporter with Fields at the time of the alleged altercation identified Lewandowski as the individual responsible for grabbing Fields. The Trump campaign denied Lewandowski put his hands on Fields and then proceeded to attack her as "delusional."

Both sides of the argument

Thursday, Breitbart's Editor at Large, Ben Shapiro and Trump supporting defense attorney, David Wohl, joined Megyn Kelly to discuss the alleged altercation:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 11, 2016 159 Comments
This is a developing situation. There were large protests outside a planned Donald Trump rally in Chicago, at the University of Illinois. The event was canceled for security reasons when a large number of protesters got inside, scuffles broke out, and at least one person managed to get on the podium. Large groups of protesters chanted "Bernie, Bernie" and were met with chants of "Trump, Trump" as police moved to separate them. Here is a live stream from earlier INSIDE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVszzOp3iWM Here is a live stream from earier OUTSIDE:

Posted by Sarah Rumpf on March 11, 2016 9 Comments
On Thursday, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a bill that would cut off state funding to abortion provider Planned Parenthood and increases the safety requirements for abortion clinics. The bill was cheered  by pro-life activists across the country and also brings added importance to a case pending before the United States Supreme Court. The bill, HB 1411, contains provisions similar to those in the Texas abortion law currently being challenged before the Supreme Court, requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and requiring abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. The Florida law also mandates annual inspections for abortion clinics, including a review of at least 50 percent of their records, in order to have their licenses renewed.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 11, 2016 4 Comments
This is pretty big political news, signaling a larger Arab versus Iranian divide. The Arab League had just declared that Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy which dominates Lebanon and fights for Assad in Syria, is a terrorist organization. Al-Jazeera reports:
The Arab League has declared Lebanese movement Hezbollah a "terrorist" group, only days after the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) adopted the same stance. The move came during the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting at the organisation's seat in Egypt's capital Cairo on Friday. Nearly all 22 Arab League members supported the decision, except Lebanon and Iraq which expressed "reservations", the bloc said in a statement read out at a news conference by Bahraini diplomat Wahid Mubarak Sayar.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 11, 2016 38 Comments
We know that Brayan Pagliano has cut an immunity deal with the feds. The first of what I see as a multi-level roll-up of those around Hillary to prove, at minimum, a conspiracy to evade the FOIA laws, and at worst, serious national security criminal violations. Katherine Herridge, who has been the top reporter on the story, reports, Source: Clinton IT specialist revealing server details to FBI, 'devastating witness':
Former Hillary Clinton IT specialist Bryan Pagliano, a key witness in the email probe who struck an immunity deal with the Justice Department, has told the FBI a range of details about how her personal email system was set up, according to an intelligence source close to the case who called him a “devastating witness.” The source said Pagliano told the FBI who had access to the former secretary of state’s system – as well as when – and what devices were used, amounting to a roadmap for investigators.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 11, 2016 34 Comments
Officials from Marco Rubio's campaign are encouraging Ohio-based supporters to vote for John Kasich in the upcoming primary. Why? Strategic voting -- as it's termed. Rubio is unlikely to cary Ohio, but encouraging supporters to toss their votes behind Kasich might help keep Ohio out of Trump's win column. Kasich, however, is not interested in a Rubio bump:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 11, 2016 11 Comments
Disruption of Israeli or pro-Israel speakers and events is becoming all too common on college campuses, including by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and similar groups. The purpose is to make sure that Israeli and pro-Israel points of view cannot be presented without incident, and to create a campus climate of intimidation. We have reported on several such recent disruptions, including at University of Minnesota Law School, UT-Austin, Kings College (London), U. Windsor, University of South Florida, and an LGBTQ Shabbat Event in Chicago. Even events that are not disrupted are protested, such as the appearance of actor Michael Douglas and human rights hero Natan Sharansky at Brown University The latest was the disruption of an appearance at UC-Davis by Israeli diplomat George Deek, who also happens to be an Arab Christian. Israel On Campus Coalition reports:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 11, 2016 15 Comments
We have continuously chronicled they myriad of symptoms that clearly show the Affordable Care Act is seriously ill. Enrollments have been significantly short of projections. Premiums for health insurance are escalating to the point many Americans can't afford the coverage they were mandated to purchase. Obamacare state exchanges have been closing, and the largest of the co-ops was placed under investigation for under-reporting its financial obligations. Now NPR and Harvard, hardly the bastions of Tea Party activism, have declared Obamacare a failure.
National Public Radio collaborated with Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to survey Americans’ recent experience with health care. As to the Affordable Care Act, the survey’s findings are damning. They suggest that Obamacare has been worse than a complete waste of money.

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 11, 2016 6 Comments
In his latest video, Bill Whittle offers a calm, reasoned analysis of the 2016 election so far. Although he doesn't give any easy answers, he does a great job of allaying some of the anxiety many of us are feeling. Whittle opens by describing how ancient map makers would mark uncharted waters with the words "Here be dragons" and carries the metaphor through his breakdown of an election unlike any in recent memory.

Posted by AACONS on March 11, 2016 3 Comments
John Yoo is a Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a former advisor in the Justice Department as well as a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas. His books include Crisis and Command, War by Other Means, The Powers of War and Peace, and Point of Attack: Preventive War, International Law, and Global Welfare. His most recent project is co-editing, Liberty's Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State. Peter Ferrara is director of policy for the Carleson Center for Public Policy and senior fellow for entitlement and budget policy with the Heartland Institute. He served in the White House Office of Policy Development under President Reagan and as associate deputy attorney general under President George H. W. Bush. He writes a weekly column at Spectator.org and also writes for townhall.com and Forbes.com. He lives in McLean, Virginia, and Easton, Pennsylvania.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 10, 2016 20 Comments
Welcome to our live coverage of tonight's GOP debate.

How to watch:

When and where is the debate? The Republican debate will be held at the University of Miami at 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday. How can I watch it? It will be broadcast live on CNN, as well as live-streamed online at CNN.com and across mobile devices for all users without logging in. CNN International and CNN en Espanol will also simulcast the debate. Salem Radio Network will be the exclusive radio provider for the debate. Who will moderate the debate? CNN's Jake Tapper will moderate and CNN's Dana Bash, Salem talk radio host Hugh Hewitt and The Washington Times' Stephen Dinan will join as questioners.
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