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April 2016

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 13, 2016 111 Comments
Noted liberal Harvard Law School professor (retired) Alan Dershowitz was on the Kelly File last night, and repeated what he has said before via News Max): "He came into my class, literally his first day in law school with his right had up – not his left hand, his right hand," Dershowitz said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File." Cruz challenged his professor on everything, which made his job easier, Dershowitz said. "I was against the death penalty, he's in favor. I was in favor of the exclusionary rule, he's against it," he said. "And he made such brilliant arguments that I never had to play the devil's advocate." Cruz "was one of the best students I ever had," Dershowitz said.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 13, 2016 2 Comments
When you think back to the presidency of George W. Bush and try to recall things that were said about him by celebrities, you're likely to think only of the negative. Bush was regularly lampooned as an idiot on Saturday Night Live and Kanye West stupidly declared after Hurricane Katrina that "Bush doesn't care about black people." The truth is that no president, including his successor, has done more for victims of AIDS in Africa than George W. Bush, a fact that's routinely ignored by his critics.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 13, 2016 45 Comments
An Administrative Law Judge in New Jersey has rejected a challenge to Ted Cruz's eligibility to be president in rejecting an attempt to remove Cruz from the NJ primary ballot. The Judge's decision (full embed at bottom) is very similar to my analysis in my September 3, 2013 post, natural born Citizens: Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, Ted Cruz. NJ.com reports:
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is a "natural-born citizen" under the U.S. Constitution and therefore can run in the June 7 New Jersey primary, a state administrative law judge said Tuesday. "The more persuasive legal analysis is that such a child, born of a citizen-father, citizen-mother, or both, is indeed a 'natural born citizen' within the contemplation of the Constitution," Administrative Law Judge Jeff Masin wrote....

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 12, 2016 8 Comments
We've been covering the refugee crisis in Germany and throughout Europe  Not only is Germany contending with refugee crime waves and push back from German citizens, but now they may have some trouble determining, at least initially, who has done what.  Much like the "fake hate" hoaxes perpetrated in America, particularly on college campuses, a Syrian refugee has admitted to German police that he tried to frame neo-Nazis for his crimes. NBC reports:
A Syrian refugee set a shelter for migrants where he was living ablaze and tried to frame neo-Nazis by painting swastikas on its walls, according to authorities in Germany.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 12, 2016 25 Comments
In case there was any doubt, Paul Ryan has said he's not the least bit interested in being the Republican nominee for president. In a press conference Tuesday, Speaker Ryan said, "I do not want, nor will I accept the nomination for our party."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 12, 2016 21 Comments
Californians are thrilled at the prospect of having their votes actually matter during the presidential primary season, especially when every delegate is critical. So many Republicans in the southern California area headed to various rallies yesterday to see aspirant Senator Ted Cruz. I joined two of our local Tea Party bloggers (W.C. Varones and Left Coast Rebel) and 2000 other interested voters at his San Diego event yesterday.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 12, 2016 13 Comments
Bill Whittle's new Firewall video is inspired by a recent incident at San Francisco State University which we also wrote about. As usual, Whittle does an outstanding job of dismantling the left and exposing them for the hypocrites they are. Here's a partial transcript via Truth Revolt:
Firewall: Appropriate This! Well, “Cultural Appropriation” is the latest form of combat used by Social Justice Warriors: a term used by crybullies to describe themselves as fighters against prejudice and privilege. They are the first warriors in history to burst into tears and require weeks of therapy at the mere sight of an actual weapon.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 12, 2016 3 Comments
Terrorist group Hezbollah is using the conflict in Syria to prepare for a war with Israel, reveals a report published by the UK-based research group BICOM. In 2015, Iran funnelled a billion dollars to the Lebanon-based terrorist group. According to a strategic analysis released by Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre (BICOM) on Monday, Iran-backed Hezbollah's missile stockpile is now estimated to be around 100,000-150,000, with large portion of it hidden among Lebanon's civilian population. Hezbollah entered the Syrian civil war 5 years ago to fight on behalf of Iran-backed dictator Bashar Al Assad. Since then 5,000 of its 20,000-strong fighting force is pinned down in Syria. The terrorist militia now controls territory within Syria, creating a base for Iran -- a fallback option in case Assad regime were to collapse. The Obama-Kerry Nuclear Deal gave Iran a signing bonus of  $150 billion. Flushed with fresh cash, regime in Tehran is making up for the past cuts it had to make in funding its proxy terrorist group across the Middle East including Hezbollah.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 12, 2016 10 Comments
If the list "Best California Governors" is ever created, our current one has a better shot at making the cut than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger began his time in office with record high approval ratings (89% in December 2003), he left office with a record low 23% in 2011, only one percent higher than that of Gray Davis's when he was recalled. The reasons for the plummeting approval are many, but ultimately stem from selling himself as a conservative but abandoning these principles after important citizen-backed control measures were defeated because of union shenanigans. Californians might have forgiven him for bad politics, but one of his final acts as Governor was utterly disgraceful and unforgivable.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on April 12, 2016 5 Comments
While anti-Israel propaganda is common on college and university campuses, there appears to be a filtering down to the public education system. We already have seen attempts to proselytize students into becoming "freedom fighters for Palestine" at an Ithaca, NY, third grade class.  Now the Newton (MA) Public Schools are embroiled in controversy over anti-Israel bias in the public high schools.

Alleged Anti-Israel Bias At Newton South High School

Last week, Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT) released a video about the years-long controversy over Newton South High School's curriculum for teaching about the Middle-East.  The issue first arose in 2011:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 12, 2016 222 Comments
Donald J. Trump got crushed at the Colorado Republican state convention, where Ted Cruz swept the national delegate selection. This sweep happened not because the convention was rigged, but because Trump did a horrible job of working the caucus process that led to the convention. Trump all but ignored the electoral process leading up to the convention, and didn't even bother to go make a pitch himself at the convention, unlike Cruz who gave a speech on stage as Trump surrogates were furiously working to convince delegates to vote for Trump. Throughout the process, there was no discernible complaint by Trump and his supporters so long as they thought they had a shot at winning, or at least eating into Cruz's likely win. Only after it was over, and Colorado together with Wisconsin created momentum for Cruz, did Trump and his supporters start alleging fraud and deceit. This was a classic "change the narrative" Trump ploy, much as he would roll out high-profile endorsements that morning after a debate. Had Trump done better, there would not have been a peep. This controversy is not about principle, fairness or anything other than Trump losing and fearing his chance to win on a first ballot is slipping away.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 12, 2016 9 Comments
At an event on Saturday night, Hillary Clinton and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio made a lame attempt at humor which was blatantly racist. The New York Times chose to call it a "racially charged" joke:
Racially Charged Joke by Hillary Clinton and Bill de Blasio Leaves Some Cringing In less than three minutes, a comedy routine between Hillary Clinton and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York managed to cause a storm of controversy over a racially charged joke. It happened on Saturday night when Mrs. Clinton made a surprise visit to the Inner Circle dinner, an annual black-tie event that brings together the city’s press corps, lobbyists and lawmakers. She strode on stage with Mr. de Blasio and Leslie Odom Jr., the actor who plays Aaron Burr in the hit musical “Hamilton.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2016 16 Comments
The second man on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, is hopeful humans will be able to colonize the red planet in the near future. In an interview with Techcrunch Monday afternoon, Aldrin discussed how he sees the government and private sector working together to get man to Mars.
After all, his mother was born in 1903, the same year the Wright brothers made their first flight, and Aldrin himself was born less than three decades later. Yet in the span of his own life he’s seen the beginnings of the American space program, he went to the Moon and today he’s still advocating for the next step — Mars. (In fact, we recently wrote about Destination: Mars, a virtual reality project in which Aldrin participated.)

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2016 8 Comments
Hillary Clinton does not like being asked to release transcripts from her pricey paid Wall Street lunch speeches. Clinton was paid a whopping $675,000 for three speeches to Goldman Sachs. In an interview with the editorial boards of two Philadelphia-based newspapers, Clinton got nasty when asked if she would release her speech transcripts. True to form, she shifted to the matter of tax returns and bemoaned double standards rather than answering the question.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2016 5 Comments
Italian legislators have introduced a novel educational proposal -- teaching kids about cultural heritage and the driving force behind their country's economy! New legislation would devote an hour per week to teach kids ages six to thirteen about "wine culture and history" at school. Quartz has the story:
Alongside sprouting beans and lentils, winemaking has been an occasional feature of science classes for Italian children for decades. At age seven, I remember making white and red varieties, and waiting with my classmates for them to ferment into wine. They turned into vinegar—so we learned that grapes make wine and vinegar, too.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2016 10 Comments
Towards the end of last year, Obamacare co-ops were dropping like flies. 12 of the 23 taxpayer funded non-profit co-ops created under the Affordable Care Act were shuttered, and the largest of them is under investigation. By the end of 2014, 21 of the 23 non-profit health insurance co-ops created under the ACA were losing money. Enrollment was well beneath expectations in 13 of the 23 plans. And the news isn't getting any better.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 11, 2016 2 Comments
Last week, Kemberlee covered the Panama Papers scandal that is rocking much of the world, and there certainly has been a lot of buzz about the fact that few Americans, maybe only one, appear to have taken part in the tax evasion scheme run out of Panama.  In the wake of the revelations, Iceland's Prime Minister has resigned, and there are calls for David Cameron to do the same. The Guardian reports:
After a torrid week, which ended with calls from MPs for his resignation, Cameron aimed to move the focus to his party’s record as he launched the Conservative campaign for next month’s local elections. . . . . The prime minister was accused of misleading the public after he issued several statements before finally admitting he had benefited from his late father’s offshore investment fund Blairmore. The details of the fund were contained in documents leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2016 25 Comments
Is it an epidemic? Yet another decades-old rockstar miraculously found a feigned moral superiority soapbox. Canadian rocker Brian Adams, most famous for his early 90s hits, has decided Mississippi's religious freedom laws are too draconian for his liking. ABC News reported:
Canadian rocker Bryan Adams is canceling a performance this week in Mississippi, citing the state's new law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples. Adams said in a statement Sunday night that he was canceling a show Thursday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. The singer says he can't "in good conscience" perform in a state where "certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation."
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