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May 2016

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 16, 2016 10 Comments
Dinesh D'Souza's new film Hillary's America will open this summer on July 15th, three days before the start of the Republican National Convention and ten days before the Democratic National Convention. Deadline Hollywood reports:
Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘Hillary’s America’ Docu Set To Open Just Before GOP Convention EXCLUSIVE: No word yet if Dinesh D’Souza’s Hillary’s America: The Secret History of The Democratic Party will be playing in Cleveland when the Republicans have their national convention in the Ohio city from July 18-21 and are expected to nominate Donald Trump for President but the provocative pic will be on the big screen for sure. The third documentary from the bestselling author and D’Souza’s solo directing debut, Hillary’s America is opening on limited release on July 15 before going wide a week later on July 22, Deadline has learned.

Posted by David Gerstman on May 16, 2016 9 Comments
There continues to be fallout from the profile of Obama adviser Ben Rhodes that appeared in Sunday's New York Times magazine last week. Much of discussion of the article has surrounded who demonstrated bad faith, the Obama administration or Samuels. There are two targets of the criticism. In the MSM and left-leaning media the villain is David Samuels for writing a hatchet job on the administration. In the right-leaning media the villain is the administration for lying about the nuclear deal with Iran. But the question of dishonesty or bad faith is less important than the system Samuel described. From the administration's view, the article was, according to Lee Smith, "a victory lap," a boast of how they bested their political opponents and mastered the media. Little attention has been paid to exactly how the "echo chamber" Ben Rhodes boasted about actually worked.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 16, 2016 11 Comments
Following his massive cat fight redux with Harry Reid, Alan Grayson appeared on MSNBC and . . . things didn't go well. The Tampa Bay Times reports:
In a combative interview this morning, Democratic Senate candidate and current U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson accused MSNBC host Joy Reid of "smearing" him and "spreading lies" about him in relation to a congressional ethics investigation over a once-offshore hedge fund associated with the Orlando congressman. Reid initially wanted to ask Grayson about his confrontation with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this week, but almost immediately after she started speaking, Grayson interjected. He started talking over Joy Reid and demanded she "correct the record" in describing the status of the ethics probe.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on May 15, 2016 43 Comments
It has been a roller-coaster few weeks for famed Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  On May 2, the 9th Circuit vacated an injunction prohibiting Arpaio and fellow Maricopa County, Arizona police officers from raiding workplaces to enforce anti-identity theft laws.  Then on Friday, Arizona District Court Judge G. Murray Snow held Arpaio and three deputies in civil contempt in connection for racially profiling in traffic stops, contrary to a prior order.

Workplace Raids

The May 2 decision revolves around Arizona laws H.B. 2779 (2007) and H.B. 2715 (2008), which prohibit the use of a stolen or fake identity to obtain or in connection with employment.   According to the 9th Circuit's decision in Puente Arizona v. Arpaio:
These bills were passed, at least in part, in an effort to solve some of Arizona’s problems stemming from illegal immigration.  The titles of the legislation and the legislative history show an intent on the part of Arizona legislators to prevent unauthorized aliens from coming to and remaining in the state. But these bills were also aimed at curbing the growing and well-documented problem of identity theft in Arizona. Between 2006 and 2008, Arizona had the highest per-capita identity theft rates in the nation, and one third of all identity theft complaints in the state involved employment-related fraud.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 15, 2016 27 Comments
Sexual consent laws on college campuses are already reaching absurd levels, but if the American Law Institute has its way and loosens the concepts of consent, it will easier to accuse participants of crimes. Stuart Taylor Jr. writes at Real Clear Politics:
Legal Group Weighs Radical Expansion of Sex Crimes Imagine the following case: Two recent college grads meet in a bar, talk, begin kissing, and go to her apartment. After a little more talking, they resume kissing there. He undresses her and initiates sexual intercourse. She neither objects nor resists. He leaves, and they have no further contact. A month later, she files a criminal complaint with police, complaining that this was rape because she never expressed verbal consent and was physically passive.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 15, 2016 9 Comments
A new documentary about disgraced former congressman Anthony "Carlos Danger" Weiner, entitled Weiner, is scheduled for limited release on Friday, and with all that Huma Abedin (Mrs. Danger Weiner) has been through with her "excessive pay" investigation  as well as her recent FBI interview, it seems that she will be reliving the downfall of her husband. The New York Post reports:
When the couple OK’d filming, they clearly expected a comeback story: “Disgraced congressman rebounds to become mayor.” What unfolded instead became a headline writer’s dream (“Weiner’s Rise and Fall”) and a wife’s nightmare. Yet there’s Abedin standing, however grimly, by her man. ‘I love him, I believe in him, I have forgiven him.’ - Huma Abedin Though she never raises her voice — the filmmakers often give us subtitles — her body language speaks volumes.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 15, 2016 8 Comments
A few Russian officials have demanded a Ukraine boycott after singer Jamala won Eurovision with her song "1944," which is about the USSR deportation of the Crimean Tatars. Well, maybe if Russia did not invade east Ukraine or annex Crimea, people would not hate them so much. Jamala, a Crimean Tatar, drew inspiration for the song from her great-grandmother. USSR dictator Josef Stalin deported over 200,000 Crimean Tatars to central Asia on suspicion of corroborating with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The 72nd anniversary of the deportation falls on May 18.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 15, 2016 15 Comments
Bernie Sanders isn't dropping out of the Democratic primary any time soon and that's starting to concern leaders in the Democratic Party. Unlike Donald Trump, Hillary isn't able to focus entirely on the general election, which has already begun. The Associated Press reports:
Democrats Fear Sanders is Undermining Efforts to Beat Trump Democratic Party leaders are upping the pressure on Bernie Sanders to drop his presidential campaign, alarmed that his continued presence is undermining efforts to beat the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and again win the White House. "I don't think they think of the downside of this," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a supporter of front-runner Hillary Clinton and broker of the post-primary peace between Clinton and then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in 2008.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 15, 2016 3 Comments
An expert's report in the Harvard Public Health Review asserts that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro could cause a "full-blown public health disaster” because of the Zika virus unless the event is postponed, relocated or canceled. The author of this analysis is Amir Attaran, Associate Professor of Law and Population Health and the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa. His education includes a D.Phil in immunology from the University of Oxford. Interestingly, Attran has been a fighter for for renewed use of DDT in sub-Saharan Africa to combat malaria. His full piece in the Harvard publication makes 5 key points, which are as follows:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 15, 2016 11 Comments
From Oregon Mike:
Trump should have thought of this bumper sticker . . . . . . spotted this afternoon in Eugene, Oregon. (My wife snapped the picture.)
  Bumper Sticker - Eugene OR - Bernie Because Fuck This Shit In another case of life imitating a bumper sticker, the Nevada Democratic Convention devolved into chaos after Bernie supporters accused Clinton supporters of rigging a procedural vote seeking a recount as to rejected pro-Bernie delegates. RCP reports:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 14, 2016 23 Comments
I opposed Loretta Lynch's nomination to be Attorney General because I found her congressional testimony lacking on fighting the politicization of the federal prosecutorial function that was the hallmark of Eric Holder. I was concerned that by confirming Lynch, we would be elevating someone who would not resist the urge to impose political views in the guise of law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion. Not being Eric Holder is not enough – vote No on Loretta Lynch
It pains me to come to the conclusion that Loretta Lynch should not be confirmed as our next Attorney General. As I wrote before, Lynch was a law school classmate. While we were not “friends,” we were acquaintances. I have only good memories of her, and it does not surprise me that she has accomplished so much.... Holder leaves behind a tattered and disgraceful legacy that will take a strong new Attorney General to clean up. Lynch could have been that person to clean up Holder’s mess and put the DOJ back on the non-political path....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 14, 2016 7 Comments
We reported on Friday that top Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine was killed in an explosion in Syria, but that the circumstances were unclear, Another top Hezbollah commander killed – but who dunnit?. Badreddine was considered a master bomb maker, credited with developing that combination of explosives and gas that took down the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and numerous American and other diplomatic facilities. Badreddine of late was commander of Hezbollah forces propping up the Assad regime, and was hated not only by Israeli but also by many Arab states. So he had plenty of enemies, and plenty of people who wanted him dead. But he also lived in the shadows, with few photos of him prior to his death (Hezbollah has released more photos after his death) and a life lived under assumed names. While pro-Hezbollah Lebanese media immediately blamed Israel. That made perfect sense in light of Israel's presumed assassinations of numerous Hezbollah leaders, 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).

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 14, 2016 2 Comments
The United States and Poland have broken ground on the site of the new defense missile site, which will probably anger Mother Russia. But what else is new? Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work tried to assure by reminding them the site will only protect NATO members:
"Today we stand at a strategic inflection point and a change in the strategic landscape," Work said at this Polish military base situated in a northern village. Europe and NATO face a range of new and complex security challenges, he said. Addressing those challenges will require a "more capable NATO alliance, one that continues to evolve and adapt to threats," he said. In efforts to protect the alliance, NATO is making important investments, including in missile defense, he said.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 14, 2016 9 Comments
While the Obama Administration is setting the country on fire with public school transgender bathroom dictates, a Wyoming man has scored a major legal victory against a regulatory Goliath. The Pacific Legal Foundation represented Wyoming rancher Andy Johnson in challenging an EPA compliance order threatening him with $37,500 per day in fines for constructing a stock pond on his property. The PLF lawsuit argued that Johnson’s pond is expressly exempt from the Clean Water Act and that the stream in which he constructed the pond is not a jurisdictional water because it does not affect a navigable water. And, as an extra bonus, a former Corps of Engineers enforcement officer asserted that Johnson's pond has many environmental benefits, including fish and wildlife habitat and enhanced water quality.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 14, 2016 9 Comments
Back in January, Iran seized two U. S. Navy vessels and detained 10 of our sailors, and though they were released amid a flurry of genuflections and gushing gratitude from John Kerry, our sailors were purposefully and publicly humiliated by Iran.  Not only did they release photos, but they are going so far as to erect a statue to memorialize their "victory" over the United States. The Navy announced that Commander Eric Rasch who was the executive officer of the riverine squadron has been fired as a result of the Navy's "lack of confidence in his ability to command." The Navy Times reports:
The head of a riverine squadron at the center of an international incident in January was fired Thursday, the first officer to be publicly disciplined for errors that led to 10 sailors being captured by Iran after getting lost in the Persian Gulf — a debacle that nearly scuttled the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal at the 11th hour.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 14, 2016 13 Comments
Hillary Clinton and her surrogates have been describing the FBI investigation into her private email server as a "security review" or "security inquiry."  That narrative, however, has been dismantled by FBI Director James Comey. Hillary appeared on the Today Show last month and laughed at the preposterous idea that she might be indicted and told host Matt Lauer that "there is not even the remotest chance that is going to happen" because the FBI investigation is just a "security review." The Washington Free Beacon reports:
“Do you think the FBI and the Justice Department write you a letter and say it was a misunderstanding? We’re sorry, carry on?” Lauer said. “Well, we’re certainly going to carry on. I think it’s a security review,” Clinton said. “It is a security review and there are lots of those that are conducted in our government all the time and you don’t hear about most of them. You hear about this one because, you know, it does involve me, so that’s why it gets so much attention.”
Comey, however, said this week that he has no idea what that means in terms of the FBI.
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