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February 2017

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 11, 2017 27 Comments
The people who claimed they were protesting the Dakota Pipeline to save the environment have a funny way of showing it. They left behind so much garbage that the site has become a potential environmental disaster. The Washington Times reports:
Massive cleanup underway after Dakota Access protesters leave behind environmental mess Clean-up crews are racing to clear acres of debris at the largest Dakota Access protest camp before the spring thaw turns the snowy, trash-covered plains into an environmental disaster area.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2017 59 Comments
So this is curious. A Judge at the 9th Circuit, whose name is not revealed, has requested a vote be taken whether to conduct en banc (full court) review of the February 9, 2017, Order by a three-judge panel denying Trump's request for a stay of the District Court Temporary Restraining Order. That TRO put a halt to all substantive aspects of Trump's immigration Executive Order, including the temporary halt to visa entry from six failed states known for ISIS and al Qaeda presence, plus state sponsor of terrorism Iran.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 10, 2017 39 Comments
Houston, TX, just hosted another Super Bowl to rave reviews, but it may be the last one for the Lone Star State if the state passes its own bathroom bill. From The Houston Chronicle:
"If a proposal that is discriminatory or inconsistent with our values were to become law (in Texas), that would certainly be a factor considered when thinking about awarding future events," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email response to a Chronicle question about the bill.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 10, 2017 18 Comments
Once upon a time, a certain Senator from Massachusetts wrote about the virtues of school voucher programs. But you'd never know that based on how Sen. Warren criticized newly minted Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. Writing to Secretary DeVos upon her nomination, Sen. Warren wrote:
"For decades, you have been one of the nation's strongest advocates for radically transforming the public education system through the use of taxpayer-funded vouchers that steer public dollars away from traditional public schools to private and religious schools. ... "But the actual evidence on how private voucher programs affect educational outcomes is mixed at best, in many cases reveals these programs to be expensive and dangerous failures that cost taxpayers billions of dollars while destroying public education systems."

Posted by Miriam Elman on February 10, 2017 11 Comments
On Wednesday, the New York State Education Department apologized for including an ‘anti-Israel’ political cartoon on its global studies Regents Exam. The exam was administered to 10th graders back on January 24. In an earlier post on the controversy, we wrote that critics—including students, teachers, and a prominent NY politician—had charged that the cartoon was offensive anti-Israel propaganda.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 10, 2017 11 Comments
President Donald Trump has told Chinese President Xi Jinping that he will honor the "One China" policy, which should ease tensions between the two presidents. From The Financial Times:
The White House released a statement after the FT reported the call between the two men, saying that Mr Trump had agreed “at the request of President Xi” to honour the "one China" policy. “The phone call between President Trump and President Xi was extremely cordial, and both leaders extended best wishes to the people of each other's countries. They also extended invitations to meet in their respective countries," the White House said.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on February 10, 2017 20 Comments
Wait a second: was that Sean Hannity on Fox News? Nope, it was Chris Matthews on MSNBC last night, expressing surprising skepticism over the 9th Circuit's decision to uphold the stay of President Trump's executive order on immigration.Matthews made a multi-pronged attack on the ruling.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 10, 2017 34 Comments
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos could not enter Jefferson Academy in Washington, D.C., on Friday due to angry protesters. From Mediaite:
“GO BACK!” one of the men can be clearly heard saying. “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!” the small vociferous crowd continued.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 10, 2017 8 Comments
Voting along party lines, the Senate has confirmed Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Democrats once again held the Senate to a 30 hour debate to change minds of the Republicans, but failed once again. This is a huge first step for Republicans in Congress who want to repeal and replace Obamacare, which Price "has been prominent in pushing alternatives" to the law.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2017 68 Comments
The decision of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to leave in place a broad Temporary Restraining Order freezing President Trump's Executive Order on visas and refugees presents a serious threat to the constitutional and statutory authority of the presidency. By leaving an overly broad TRO in effect that protects even persons who are abroad with no prior connection to the United States, and by refusing to narrow the TRO, the 9th Circuit effectively extended to such persons U.S. constitutional due process rights both to apply for a visa and in the visa process.[*] Not only that, while not disputing the President's inherent constitutional and explicit statutory authority over foreign affairs, including security procedures as to the admission of aliens, the Court nonetheless designated to itself the judgment as to what constituted a sufficient threat for the President to exercise that authority. The President's reliance on Congressional and Department of Homeland Security analyses as to threat assessment was explicitly rejected by the Court as sufficient basis.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 09, 2017 12 Comments
Less than a month after this year's March for Life and pro-lifers nationwide will protest abortion clinics in 218 cities. “Defund Planned Parenthood” rallies aim to put pressure on lawmakers to strip the country's largest abortion purveyor of federal funding. From Life News:
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