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August 2016

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 25, 2016 12 Comments
The Department of Justice has released a transgender training video for police, giving them guidance on how to handle situations they may come across with transgender people. The DOJ said:
“Transgender Americans, like all Americans, deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect by law enforcement officers,” said Acting Director Paul Monteiro of CRS [DOJ Community Relations Service]. “The information provided in this video will help strengthen the relationship between police and the transgender community, allowing for more effective investigations and safer encounters for officers and citizens alike.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 25, 2016 16 Comments
Indiana Democrat Senate candidate Evan Bayh wants to win back the seat he gave up in 2011, but does he even live in the state? He told WISH-TV:
“Well,” he said, “1142 C Canterbury Court, Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s on my drivers license.”
But Independent Journal Review found that his address is actually on Canterbury Square. This has only added fuel to claims that he doesn't actually live in Indiana and rarely visits.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 25, 2016 2 Comments
In January 2016, we addressed the rising tide of aggressive and sometimes violent conduct by anti-Israel protesters who disrupt appearances by Israeli and pro-Israel speakers, Anti-Israel protest at Kings College turns violent:
For several years we have been documenting the increasingly aggressive tactics of anti-Israel protesters on campus. Recently, an Israeli professor’s guest lecture was disrupted at the University of Minnesota Law School, and the Palestine Solidarity Committee at UT-Austin (led by law student Mohammed Nabulsi) disrupted an Israeli Studies event....

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 25, 2016 42 Comments
Mylan came under fire after it recently hiked the price of their EpiPen, a life saving allergy shot. They have now decided to offer the medicine at a discount price for some patients. In a statement, the company said it will use a savings card "which will cover up to $300" for the medicine. Mylen claims that those who "were previously paying the full amount of the company's list price for EpiPen®, this effectively reduces their out-of-pocket cost exposure by 50%."

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on August 25, 2016 15 Comments
The Obama Administration told Kurdish forces in Syria to move back from their positions after they seized control of the ISIS-held Syrian town of Manbij. “We’ve made it absolutely clear [to the Kurdish forces that] they must move back across the river,” Vice President Joe Biden said during a visit to Turkey on Wednesday. “They cannot — will not — under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment.” Biden's stance is widely seen as an attempt to pacify Erdogan’s Turkey, alarmed by recent Kurdish gains against ISIS in Syria. Erdogan’s Turkey, after maintaining long tacit alliance with the Islamic State, has recently dispatched military troops into Syria -- not to fight ISIS but to hold the line against Kurds. In contrast, Kurds of Syria and Iraq have proven themselves as the most reliable fighting force in war against the Islamic State. The Associated Press reports:
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is calling on Syrian Kurdish forces to move back across the Euphrates River, telling them they will lose U.S. support if they don't.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 25, 2016 23 Comments
This would be funny if it weren't so ironically hypocritical. There was reporter Jeremy Peters, of the New York Times—appearing on MSNBC—piously condemning "Sean Hannity's incredibly inappropriate role as an adviser to Donald Trump who is essentially giving him tens of millions of dollars of free advertising." Just what does Peters think the MSM is: from his own New York Times to MSNBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, the Washington Post, etc., if not one huge monolith devoted to electing Hillary Clinton and other Dems while destroying Donald Trump? If Hannity is giving Trump "tens of millions" in free advertising, what is the combined value of free advertising that the MSM is giving to Hillary Clinton? Peters spoke after a clip ran of Hannity's show in which Trump asked people at a rally to show their support for different policy options on immigration.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 25, 2016 34 Comments
The University of Chicago has been hailed for its commitment to free speech by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) since January of 2015. Now, the school is in the news because of a letter given to incoming Freshmen. Heat Street reports:
University of Chicago to Incoming Freshmen: Don’t Expect ‘Safe Spaces’ Here The University of Chicago, one of America’s most prestigious and selective universities, is warning incoming students starting this fall not to expect safe spaces and a trigger-free existence during their four-year journey through academia.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2016 34 Comments
The Clinton Foundation has a dark cloud over them due to emails showing major donors asking then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for huge favors. They have tried to mend their ways by deciding to stop accepting foreign donations if Hillary wins the presidency, but they may have taken a big step back. Chelsea just decided to remain on the board even if her mom wins. Conflict of interest much? Besides Bill, who else has better access to Hillary than Chelsea?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 24, 2016 92 Comments
The current polling gives little rational reason to think Donald Trump will win in November. No matter how you slice it -- national 4-way, national head-to-head, battleground states, electoral college, unfavorability -- Trump is deeply underwater, as this polling average chart at Real Clear Politics today shows: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ The trends are not any better for Trump than the averages. The two weeks after the Republican Convention were a complete disaster for Trump, from which he has not yet recovered:

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2016 16 Comments
The GOP has worried it may lose its Senate majority in November and Toomey may be one of the victims. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) has received an endorsement from former Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords as he faces a tough reelection in November. The endorsement from Giffords and her anti-gun violence group Americans for Responsible Solutions might be just what Toomey needs to defeat his Democratic challenger Katie McGinty, who has slightly pulled ahead in four polls.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 24, 2016 33 Comments
Last year, students at the University of Texas organized a "Cocks for Glocks" rally to protest the upcoming implementation of Texas "Campus Carry" laws. We weren't sure if it was a publicity stunt or a thing that would actually happen. Almost a year later and it's a thing that actually happened. Last October I blogged:
Longhorn alumna Jessica Jin plans to protest campus carry in a somewhat unconventional way — by organizing a “Campus (Dildo) Carry” protest at the University’s Austin campus. Jin graduated from the University of Texas last year with a degree in violin performance. Campus carry, a law that extends concealed carry privileges to license holders on university campuses, was signed into law by Texas Governor Abbott this year. Using the social media hashtag, #CocksNotGlocks, participants are encouraged to wield dildos to demonstrate the absurdity of campus carry. Yeah, we don’t get it either.

Posted by Miriam Elman on August 24, 2016 14 Comments
Last Thursday, Israel National News (Arutz Sheva) reported that Arab-Israeli MK Yosef Jabarin traveled to Hadarim Prison to visit with top Palestinian terror mastermind Marwan Barghouti. After the visit, Jabarin reportedly claimed to be “impressed” by the terrorist’s “serious intention” to run for chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA), despite being holed up in an Israeli jail cell:
During their meeting, Jabarin and Barghouti discussed efforts to reconcile split Palestinian factions before the upcoming municipal elections, which are set for October. Barghouti emphasized that the success of the local government elections could pave the way for democratic elections in the Palestinian Legislative Council, and the office of the chairman of the Palestinian Authority after Abbas—which would give him a chance to supersede Abbas”.
Other than this brief mention in Arutz Sheva and an editorial in a website catering to religiously-observant Jews, I couldn’t find this news item covered by any other mainstream media outlet. That’s not surprising.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 24, 2016 16 Comments
Legal Insurrection has chronicled the radical social upheaval pursued by Black Lives Matter, which seems to have enriched some of the participants more than accomplished anything worthwhile. However, the lack of BLM response to the Louisiana floods now have some black Americans questioning the movement's true motives. Jerry L. Washington, a former Baton Rouge resident who went to southern Louisiana to lend a hand after the disaster, is angry about failure to respond. He has a few choice words for Black Lives Matter:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 24, 2016 18 Comments
A recent sexual assault case at Stanford University which involved drinking has led to a new alcohol policy which bans hard liquor except in limited cases. Does anyone believe this policy will keep students from obtaining and consuming hard liquor? Campus Reform reported:
Stanford takes shots at alcohol, Pres. Hennessy bans liquor Stanford University has banned all hard liquor at undergraduate parties in an effort to reduce binge drinking on campus.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 24, 2016 21 Comments
On arguably the worst day of Hillary Clinton's campaign, her campaign manager Robby Mook never stopped laughing and grinning through his Morning Joe appearance. The AP has reported that more than half of the meetings Hillary had as Secretary of State with non-governmental representatives were with people who had donated to the Foundation. But in what was clearly a grinning-past-the-graveyard strategy, there was Mook laughing like he had just won the lottery. And when he wasn't actively laughing, Mook kept a smile resolutely plastered in place. Mook displayed encyclopedic knowledge of all facts favorable to Clinton. But when it came to something that might harm her, Robby suddenly pleaded ignorance. Joe Scarborough asked whether it was true that when Doug Band of the Foundation was sending Huma Abedin emails asking for meetings on behalf of donors to the Foundation, he was also the head of the Teneo firm at a time Huma was on the Teneo payroll, effectively making Band Abedin's boss. "I, I don't, I don't know the details of, you know, what was going on in her life," stammered Mook. Isn't that convenient?

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 24, 2016 19 Comments
A recent report analyzing the regulatory climate under the Obama Administration shows that it is a lush and healthy environment... for bureaucrats.
A recent report by Sam Batkins of the American Action Forum brings the regulatory overreach of the Obama administration into focus. In nearly eight years, the Obama administration has issued 600 major regulations, which, again, are regulations with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more. Unfortunately, even with President Obama's time in office slowly coming to a close, the number of major regulations issued on his watch may exceed 650.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 24, 2016 13 Comments
Hillary Clinton escaped catastrophe when FBI Director James Comey declined to recommend criminal charges in connection with her emails. But the influence-peddling pipeline between the Clinton Foundation and the Department of State during her tenure as Secretary might just come back to do her in... Witness John Heilemann, co-host of Bloomberg TV's With All Due Respect, on this evening's show. Heilemann is anything but a conservative or Trump admirer, yet he had the candor to describe Hillary's State Department dealings as "seamy and seedy." Even guest co-host Alex Wagner, a devout liberal, acknowledged: "you can't get past the number that the AP is reporting today, that 85 of the 154 people from private interests that met with Secretary Clinton while she was at the State Department were donors to the Clinton Foundation. Those numbers are a problem."
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