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March 2017

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 30, 2017 22 Comments
Former Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), decided to turn down a Distinguished Graduate Award from the Naval Academy Alumni Association. Webb graduated from the academy in 1968. According to the AP, Webb's sin was an article he penned almost forty years ago, "In 1979, Webb wrote an essay for Washingtonian magazine called "Women Can't Fight." In it, he said the presence of women "at institutions dedicated to the preparation of men for combat command is poisoning that preparation.""

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 30, 2017 35 Comments
Democratic U.S. Congressman Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke will reportedly launch his 2018 Senate campaign tomorrow. The Irish-American Congressman represents Texas's 16th district in west Texas, home to border town El Paso. O'Rourke looks to be the most formidable Democratic Senate contender Texas has seen in years. At 44-years-old, O'Rourke is a former punk-rocker who ran a successful insurgent campaign in 2012, ousting a 16-year incumbent in the Democratic primary before going on to win his Congressional seat. He's consistently rated one of the top five sexiest members of Congress. In Washington, O'Rourke serves on the Veteran's Affairs Committee as well as the Armed Services Committee. He's an outspoken advocate for veterans affairs and was awarded the 2016 Vietnam Veterans of America Medal of Honor and Legislator of the Year.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 30, 2017 15 Comments
North Carolina government official reached a compromise to repeal House Bill 2, the controversial bathroom bill that required people to use the restroom of their birth sex. From CNN:
"l support the House Bill 2 repeal compromise," Gov. Roy Cooper said. "It's not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation."

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 30, 2017 8 Comments
Back in October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande warned British Prime Minister Theresa May that the United Kingdom might face a tough time leaving the European Union. Those warnings have come to fruition a day after the UK delivered the official Brexit letter to the EU. Merkel and Hollande demanded to May "that Brexit negotiations must deal with how Britain will leave the bloc" before the countries even think about future negotiations.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 30, 2017 16 Comments
It probably comes as no surprise that California's politicians are doubling down against President Trump's immigration law enforcement policies.
State and local leaders in California struck a defiant tone Monday, saying they would continue to protect people in the country illegally despite an announcement by U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions that the U.S. Department of Justice would soon cut federal grants from so-called sanctuary cities. ...[I]n Sacramento the swiftest reaction came from state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), who is championing legislation that would effectively make California a sanctuary state by prohibiting state and local police from enforcing federal immigration laws. He called Sessions’ statements “nothing short of blackmail.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 30, 2017 27 Comments
The country has changed. When I was growing up in the 1970's in Massachusetts, everyone in my neighborhood played with toy guns sometimes. If one of those wasn't available, a stick was the next best thing. Thanks to relatively new "zero tolerance policies" children can't even think of doing such things. A little girl in North Carolina just learned that lesson. The Blaze reports:
School suspends 5-year-old girl for ‘turning a stick into a gun’ Officials at a North Carolina school suspended a kindergarten student for playing with a “stick gun” on the playground.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 29, 2017 26 Comments
We have covered the rollout of Chelsea Clinton. The fawning media coverage portrays Chelsea as an emerging (or already emerged) leader of #theresistance to Trump. Her every tweet is promoted by outlets such as The Hill. This has a very professional ring to it -- there must be a team working for Clinton World that has structured the building of Chelsea's public image with an eye towards public office. But it's too soon to run for something now. Mom is still making news, and Dad is just still wandering the land in search of *****.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 29, 2017 19 Comments
Just how badly did the GOP's first attempt at repealing Obamacare fail, and what are your thoughts on buttercream frosting? Sunday I joined the Matthias Shapiro (one of my very first politifriends) and Jordan Ecarma of CRC Media on their Paradox podcast where we tackled terrible opinions, the AHCA flop, and talked more about fondant vs. buttercream than you'll probably want to hear.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 29, 2017 1 Comment
Tuesday, I blogged that funding for a border wall may complicate the budget showdown set for next month. President Trump asked Congress for around $1 billion to start building a wall along 62 miles on the border. Time White House correspondent Zeke Miller asked Press Secretary Sean Spicer if the administration considers funding for a border wall with Mexico a deal breaker when it comes to next month's spending bill:
“That is our request,” press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday when asked if the wall funding is a deal-breaker for a must-pass spending bill.
Unfortunately, a more specific answer is needed since the government faces a partial shutdown if Congress cannot pass a bill by April 29.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 29, 2017 7 Comments
Who doesn't love Mike Rowe?! The Dirty Jobs star has become well known for his videos that encourage people to learn a trade and get to work. For the fourth year in a row, he has launched a scholarship for those who want to learn a certain trade:
“Every year, we do a work ethic scholarship,” explained the 55-year-old on “Fox & Friends" Tuesday. “It’s not huge, but we set aside five or six hundred grand and we put it in a pile and we invite people who want to learn a skill that’s actually in demand to make a case for themselves [such as] an essay, video, references.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 29, 2017 9 Comments
Tuesday, California's Attorney General slapped two undercover investigators from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) with a whopping fifteen felony charges. CMP instigated a Congressional investigation when they exposed Planned Parenthood's baby part selling. Today, the 9th circuit granted the National Abortion Federation (NAF) a gag order, demanding the CMP cease publishing undercover videos featuring footage from their conferences. Those shown negotiating baby brain prices in the videos have yet to be charged, making quite clear California's AG (a former Democrat state house member) was politically prompted to levy a long litany of charges.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 29, 2017 18 Comments
Donald Trump moved fairly quickly in the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to fill the Scalia Seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The hearings have moved more slowly than many of us would have liked, but Mitch McConnell is promising an up or down vote by April 7, regardless of any attempts by Democrats to filibuster. Whether Republicans will exercise the Nuclear Option is a current media obsession. Yet there is another aspect of the federal judiciary on which Trump can have a lasting legacy, the lower federal courts (appeals and district courts).

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 29, 2017 10 Comments
The divorce between the United Kingdom and the European Union has officially begun. Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May signed the letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which allows a member to leave the union. Wednesday morning, British Ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Burrow handed the letter to Tusk. The UK now has two years to leave the EU.
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