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April 2016

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 22, 2016 3 Comments
Tonight is the First Night of Passover, in which we celebrate the Exodus from Egypt. My favorite passage from the traditional Passover Haggadah is one that is evergreen:
"For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand!"
If you have been reading Legal Insurrection the past years, you understand that this passage remains as true today as ever before. Fourteen years ago, during the 2nd Intifada, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a Passover seder at the Park Hotel in the seaside town of Netanya, Israel:
The suicide bomber, Abd El-Basset Oudeh (resident of Tulkarm, born in 1977), arrived at the hotel disguised as a woman after shaving off his beard and moustache, putting on makeup, and wearing a straight hair wig. He wore women's shoes, blue feminine-cut jeans, a brown shirt, and a brown leather jacket with a leopard-print collar. A fake Israeli ID card in a woman's name completed the disguise. The explosive belt worn by the suicide bomber was designed as a vest with pockets that hid approximately 10kg of explosives.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 22, 2016 16 Comments
At least Ira Einhorn was consistent? My favorite inconvenient Earth Day truth (aside from the many horrendously wrong apocalyptic predictions) is the story of Earth Day co-founder Ira Einhorn. Not that I like tragic tales of death and compost, but it's hard not to enjoy the fact the day created to glorify bad science was propagated by well, a murderer. Several years after the first Earth Day in 1970, police raided Einhorn's home where they found his dead girlfriend "composting" in a trunk. What a guy, that Einhorn. When his girlfriend broke up with him in 1977, Einhorn insisted she return home to collect her belongings or he would pitch them out. She returned and was never seen again. Einhorn told police she'd gone to the co-op for tofu and vanished. 18 months later, her body was found.

Posted by New Neo on April 22, 2016 147 Comments
The anti-Cruz hype is that nobody likes him, everybody hates him, he has no friends. The anti-Republican hype is that they're racist bigots. Here's a story that could kill (or at least slightly injure) those two birds with one stone: the tale of Ted Cruz's best friend in college, law school, and beyond, David Panton.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 22, 2016 23 Comments
In a world in which universities apologize for serving Mexican food because doing so smacks of cultural appropriation and is deemed culturally insensitive, the student-organized "Wear a Hijab Day" at a Paris university was bound to cause controversy. Although February 1st is the "official" World Hijab Day, these students were apparently not interested in waiting until early next year to express their "solidarity" with women who "choose" to wear the hijab; unfortunately for them, their gesture backfired. The Telegraph reports:
Students at an elite Paris university sparked fierce debate on Wednesday by inviting classmates to wear the Muslim veil for a day in a bid to "demystify" a practice that is highly divisive in France. Students at Sciences Po urged women to take part in Hijab Day "if you too think all women should have the right to dress as they wish and have their choice respected". A dozen students handed out flyers at the university by a table covered in colourful headscarves with a sign reading: "France got 99 problems but Hijab ain't one", adapted from a hit by US rapper Jay Z.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 22, 2016 5 Comments
Regular Legal Insurrection readers may recall that prior to signing the new state minimum wage law, California Governor Jerry Brown was heckled at the Paris Climate Conference. Brown was challenged by a group of protesters opposed to carbon offset programs they said could hurt indigenous people. However, his enthusiasm for imposing draconian rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions has remained quite vigorous.
“This is one skirmish, but I’ll tell you, it’s increasing the intensity of my commitment to do everything I can to make sure we reduce oil consumption in California,” he said. “My zeal has been intensified to a maximum degree, and nothing, nothing is going to stop this state from pushing forward on our low-carbon fuel standard and our cap-and-trade and our ZEV [zero-emission vehicle] mandate.”
Brown's zeal was such that about a year ago he issued an executive order setting a goal for greenhouse gas emissions to be 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The California Governor's mandate was short on specifics about how his new goal will be achieved, and relied on currently undeveloped or uninvented technology to ultimately achieve the goal.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 22, 2016 13 Comments
Hillary Clinton is trying to convince her party, and possibly herself, that Bernie Sanders supporters will ultimately embrace her as the Democratic nominee. Nick Gass reports at Politico:
Clinton: Sanders' young supporters will unite behind me Just as her supporters coalesced behind Barack Obama after she exited the race in 2008, Hillary Clinton expressed optimism Thursday that backers of Bernie Sanders would do the same this year if the choice is between her and either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 21, 2016 181 Comments
I fully appreciate that support for Trump has become a cult of personality. Nothing can sway those who refuse to see that Trump is conning them. He doesn't respect you. He doesn't like you. He is manipulating you to get what he wants. It's all a show. And his new convention manager (and de facto campaign manager) Paul Manafort just admitted to the con in a closed door meeting with the RNC. The Associated Press obtained a recording, and reports, Trump team tells GOP he has been 'projecting an image' (emphasis added):
Trump's newly hired senior aide, Paul Manafort, made the case to Republican National Committee members that Trump has two personalities: one in private and one onstage. "When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose," Manafort said in a private briefing. "You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different guy," he said.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 21, 2016 15 Comments
The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account and home-brewed server won't be wrapping up anytime soon. Nor is the Democratic convention a consideration in the timeliness of the investigation. NBC reported FBI Director James Comey's remarks Thursday afternoon:
Asked about the case today at a security conference in London, he said, "Somebody asked me if the Democratic National Convention is a hard stop or a key date for you? Are you doing this aimed at that? And I said, no.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 21, 2016 1 Comment
Last year, Sen. Sassee introduced companion legislation to the House version of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Speaking before the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives Wednesday, Sen. Sasse gave an impassioned speech on the sanctity of life and the necessity of protecting the lives of the unborn.

Posted by Miriam Elman on April 21, 2016 9 Comments
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is a non-Jewish organization that gives cover to the anti-Israel boycott movement (BDS) and its political war on Israel by washing away the stains of anti-Semitism that are central to the BDS movement’s founding, actions and identity. As we noted in a prior post, JVP operates in multiple arenas to exploit Jewish culture and traditions, putting them into service for a vehemently anti-Israel propaganda campaign:
In its written materials and presentations, JVP reinforces that its anti-Israel positions are consistent with Jewish values. Toward this end, it usurps the Jewish life cycle and religious holidays by incorporating anti-Israel themes into traditional celebratory and commemorative events”.
This JVP identity theft of Jewish heritage and narrative is particularly visible at Passover, which begins April 22 this year.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 21, 2016 2 Comments
Germany-based activists linked to the terrorist outfit Hezbollah could be getting large amounts of financial support from the German government, the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung reveals. In one instance, city of Berlin is set to grant €100,000 to a 'refugee project' allegedly run by Hezbollah sympathisers. ‘Refugee Impulse Club’, as the group is called, has also been nominated for a €10,000 prize offered by the German Ministry of Culture. The nomination alone brings €2,500 to the group. Hezbollah, the Iran-funded Shia terrorist group, controls most of Lebanon and has made large territorial gains in Syria fighting on behalf of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah also acts as the long arm of Iranian regime, with a long history of involvement in international terrorism under the direction of Tehran. According to a German intelligence report, Berlin is home to some 250 active Hezbollah members. Estimated 950 Hezbollah members and 300 Hamas members are thought to be operating on German soil. Berliner Zeitung reports:

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 21, 2016 14 Comments
Anders Breivik, the mass murderer who killed 77 people during a rampage in 2011, has successfully sued the government of Norway for violating his civil rights by keeping him in solitary confinement and searching him. CNN reported:
Mass killer Anders Breivik's human rights breached in prison, court rules Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has won part of his lawsuit against the state over his solitary confinement in a high-security prison, a court announced Wednesday. The Oslo district court found the 37-year-old's treatment in prison violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, prohibiting "inhuman or degrading treatment," and ruled that his conditions must be eased.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 21, 2016 190 Comments
Donald Trump was asked on the Today Show which bathroom at Trump Tower Caitlyn Jenner should use. Trump didn't limit himself to Caitlyn, and broadly proposed that businesses would be discriminating if they provide a separate (presumably non-gendered) bathroom. Trump also complained that a separate bathroom would be too expensive for businesses. https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/723125136170213376 Here's the full question and answer:
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