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May 2016

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 14, 2016 6 Comments
Madeleine Albright is set to deliver the commencement address at Scripps College. You would think that the nation's first female secretary of state would be welcomed at the women only school but we live in strange times. Back in April, students objected to Albright for being white, now they've decided the real problem is that she's a war criminal. The Los Angeles Times reports:
Madeleine Albright a war criminal? Scripps College's baffling crusade for simple thinking Ah May, when flowers are blooming, allergens are wafting and aggrieved college students are mewling about commencement speakers whose politics don't sufficiently hew to the ultra-liberal standards set by the campuses' most outspoken activists.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 14, 2016 15 Comments

She can load more than just a washer and dryer...

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 13, 2016 12 Comments
Andy Stanley has a message for the forty-five and older crowd -- stop scaring the children. Why? Youngsters take cues from older generations. If all they hear is doom and gloom, there's a pretty good chance they're going to buy into the Apocalypse is nigh! hogwash. "Many of you have grown weary and you've lost heart, and the reason is, you have fixed your eyes on a political system, you have fixed your eyes on a political leader, you have fixed your eyes on the good 'ol days, you've fixed your eyes on the economy and you are growing weary and you need to knock it off!" said Stanley. "And I'll tell you why -- because you are scaring the children."

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 13, 2016 12 Comments
Disgraced communist and former Obama "Green Jobs Czar," Van "Cash for Clunkers" Jones, hasn't been resting on his laurels since his abrupt 2009 middle-of-the-night departure from the Obama administration. He was busy serving at the front of the progressive campaign to diminish and demonize the Tea Party into obscurity, and he has now, apparently, turned his attention to Donald Trump's candidacy and is warning progressives not to underestimate The Donald. In a video posted at the MoveOn FaceBook page, Van Jones lists three specific "dumb ideas progressives have about Donald Trump." Via Mediaite: 1. Trump will self-destruct 2. He’s bad on policy, so he will lose 3. Demographics will save us

Posted by Andrew Branca on May 13, 2016 49 Comments
Yesterday saw the start of the latest trial related to the arrest and transport of Freddie Gray on April 12, 2015.  Gray would die a week after his arrest, and his death was promptly used as a justification for days of violent rioting, looting, and arson in Baltimore. This time the defendant is Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero, one of a total of six officers against whom criminal charges were brought following Gray's death. [caption id="attachment_171309" align="alignnone" width="600"]Officer Edward Nero Officer Edward Nero[/caption] The prosecution is being led by Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow, an attorney with relatively little criminal law experience.  Schatzow previously led the failed prosecution of Officer William Porter in the first “Freddie Gray” trial earlier this year. (Porter’s trial ended in a hung jury, and prosecutors have announced they intend to re-try him.) Nero is being represented by defense attorney Marc Zayon.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 13, 2016 3 Comments
Brazil's senate voted to begin an impeachment trial for President Dilma Rousseff over alleged budget violations. She must relinquish her presidential duties for at least six months. Rousseff said the actions amount to a coup and called herself a "victim of a great injustice."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 13, 2016 56 Comments
Late last night, I blogged about a NYT report that the Education and Justice Departments were issuing a bathroom edict to all government-funded schools. As the NYT pointed out, the letter is not legally binding and has, "no force of law," but is a threat no less. Without force of law, the only threat remaining is federal money (which should make for a fun 10th amendment fight). So the ED and DOJ trotted out Title IX to preach about discrimination. But it's not a threat. Public schools will lose federal funding for noncompliance, but it's not a threat though: Potty Decree highlights (or lowlights):

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 13, 2016 7 Comments
Legal Insurrection's sci-fi fans will recall our recent report on the legal case filed by CBS/Paramount against a fan-based film being funded by Kickstarter donations. I was intrigued by the team from the Language Creation Society (LCS), who filed an amicus brief challenging Paramount’s dubious claim about copyright infringement based on the fan-film's use of the Klingon language.  I noted that Marc Randazza (a first amendment attorney) and Alex Shepard had filed an amusing and scholarly legal document filled with Klingon words, its alphabet, and cultural references on behalf of that group. Fortunately, two LCS board members were able to be guests on the Canto Talk show this week, and provided an update on the case as well as details on constructed languages (conlangs) and their organization.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 13, 2016 4 Comments
There have been a series of assinations of top Hezbollah commanders in the recent past, including Imad Mughniyeh (mastermind of almost all attacks on Israel and the U.S.), his son Imad Mughniyeh (who was killed along with several high level operatives and an Iranian general), Hassan Laqqis (key Hezbollah link to Iranian weapons procurement) and Samir Kuntar (who killed an Israeli girl by smashing her head against the rocks on a beach). In some of the cases (Imad Mughniyeh) Israeli involvement was clear, in the others it's presumed. Hezbollah just lost another top commander, the brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyey, and its top commander in Syria, Mustafa Amine Badreddine. The BBC reports:

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 13, 2016 7 Comments
The new U.S. missile defense system in Romania has sent Russia into quite a tizzy. So much so that the Kremlin mentioned nuclear war. Andrey Kelin, a senior official in the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the actions "by NATO can only exacerbate an already difficult situation." Tensions have risen between the West and Russia since the latter invaded east Ukraine and annexed Crimean in March 2014.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 13, 2016 31 Comments
The Family Policy Institute of Washington recently spoke with some students from Seattle University and asked them simple questions about gender and the differences between men and women. Here's a description from their blog:
The second episode in FPIW’s wildly popular College Kids Say the Darndest Things series launched Monday afternoon, just hours after the federal government inserted themselves into the battle between the unrealistic social justice agenda and biological science.

Posted by AACONS on May 13, 2016 1 Comment
Ed Morrissey is the senior editor and correspondent for HotAir.com, and has weekly columns at TheWeek.com and TheFiscalTimes.com. His new book is entitled, Going Red: The Two Million Voters Who Will Elect the Next President - And How Conservatives Can Win Them. Peter Kuo is a Republican candidate to represent California’s 17th Congressional District in the US Congress. He is an insurance agent who started his own Farmers Insurance Agency in 1994. And he is the founder of the True 3D marketing company. He is married and the father of three children.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 12, 2016 38 Comments
Because the issue isn't contentious enough, Obama Administration Officials will issue a directive to public school districts nationwide, instructing them to allow students to use the restroom of their choosing. Officials from the Justice and Education Departments have signed the letter which preaches against discrimination. The New York Times reported late Thursday evening:

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 12, 2016 12 Comments
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Clinton Global Initiative provided $2 million to a for-profit company partially owned by close friends of the family. Scott Kleeb, who "twice ran for Congress" as a Democrat, founded Energy Pioneer Solutions in 2009. A document showed other friends of the Clintons also own the company:
An internal document from that year showed it as owned 29% by Mr. Kleeb; 29% by Jane Eckert, the owner of an art gallery in Pine Plains, N.Y.; and 29% by Julie Tauber McMahon of Chappaqua, N.Y., a close friend of Mr. Clinton, who also lives in Chappaqua. Owning 5% each were Democratic National Committee treasurer Andrew Tobias and Mark Weiner, a supplier to political campaigns and former Rhode Island Democratic chairman, both longtime friends of the Clintons.
Tobias spoke with the Journal through email:
“With my modest initial investment, I wound up owning a small percentage of the company. It grew, because ultimately, between loans and equity investments, I’ve wound up putting a little more than $1 million into this effort.”
President Bill Clinton insisted the donation take place at a September 2010 conference.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 12, 2016 37 Comments
Being replaced by machines is probably not what the Raise the Wage! crowd had in mind, but here we are. Again. For almost two years, McDonald's has been flirting with automated ordering machines, and has introduced the new mechanical overlords to some of its locations. I blogged about this back in 2014:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 12, 2016 6 Comments
As part of the Israeli Independence Day celebrations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted a live question and answer session on Twitter. Respondents tweeted questions using the #AskNetanyahu hashtag. Typical of most hashtag events, ne'er do wellers loaded up #AskNetanyahu with all kinds of silly questions. Unlike most hashtag events, Netanyahu responded.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 12, 2016 26 Comments
As summer approaches, Belgian-owned Budweiser announces a new patriotic label:  "America."  The theme is intended to attract customers while sharing patriotic sayings, lyrics, and the like. From the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser press release entitled "Budweiser emblazons America on cans and bottles to kick off its most patriotic summer ever":
America’s No. 1 full-flavored lager is taking its longstanding tradition of patriotic packaging even further this summer by replacing “Budweiser” with “America” on the front of its 12-oz. cans and bottles. The brand is also modifying Budweiser’s iconic label to add copy that is central to American history, including phrases from the Pledge of Allegiance and lyrics from “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful.” On shelves nationwide from May 23 through the election in November, these cans and bottles aim to inspire drinkers to celebrate America and Budweiser’s shared values of freedom and authenticity.
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