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April 2017

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2017 33 Comments
New York state recently passed legislation making it "free" to attend two and four-year state colleges. It's so free, it's estimated to cost New York state taxpayers a paltry $163 million per year. Called a "last-dollar" plan, would-be participants must first apply for federal monies before turning to the state for assistance. This 'free tuition' only covers half the cost of attending school and doesn't cover incidentals like books, fees, or housing. Oh, and participants must finish school on time.

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 11, 2017 41 Comments
A federal judge has again rejected the 2011 Texas voter ID law, stating that the legislators meant to discriminate against minority voters. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos made this same ruling in 2014, which forced an appeal. The Fifth Circuit issued a stay against the order. The Supreme Court stepped in and allowed Texas to use the voter ID law. But last July the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans asked the judge "to re-examine the decision" since the judges found that "some of the evidence used by the judge wasn't relevant." The two sides reached a deal for the 2016 election, which allowed a voter to "sign a declaration swearing that he or she has had a reasonable difficulty that prevented obtaining one of the accepted forms of photo identification."

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 11, 2017 9 Comments
With her book The Veiled Threat dealing with the plight of Muslim women in Europe, former radical feminist Zana Ramadani has kicked the Islamist hornets’ nest in Germany. Being born a Muslim herself, Ramadani is fearful of her life after receiving countless death threats from radical Muslims in Germany. German authorities have not granted her police protection yet. Ramadani gained public prominence in Germany five years ago when she founded the German chapter of the radical feminist group Femen. Once a darling of the left, Ramadani quickly fell out of favour with German liberals once she started criticising the oppression of women within Islam. Her fellow feminists accused her of being a racist and forced Ramadani out of the group which she founded.

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 11, 2017 11 Comments
Midterms are 18 months away, but groups on both sides have planned ads to target vulnerable Republicans over the failure to repeal or reform healthcare. Congress has begun its recess, which has led groups like Save My Care to release ads. The group has spent $1 million on TV spots this month "that highlight the members’ support for the GOP health-care plan that now stands in limbo in the House." But conservative groups have also planned ads "against moderate Republicans" they placed blame on "for the holdup on an ObamaCare repeal bill."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 11, 2017 15 Comments
When I wrote about California's senate mulling over a law that would repeal the state income tax for teachers, I predicted a new tax on fuel and electric cars was poised to slide through our legislature and become law. It did!
Faced with a personal appeal by Gov. Jerry Brown, a Senate panel on Monday gave the first approval to a measure that would raise gas taxes and vehicle fees by $52 billion during the next decade for road and bridge repairs. The bill by Brown and legislative leaders was approved in a 5-2, party-line vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which sent it to the Senate floor, where it is proposed to come up for a vote on Thursday.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 11, 2017 25 Comments
This is a fascinating story and kind of a fun break from politics. Researchers have discovered an ancient settlement off the west coast of Canada that is approximately 14,000 years old. The Independent reports:
14,000-year-old village discovered in Canada one of oldest settlements ever found in North America An ancient village believed to be one of the oldest human settlements ever found in North America has been discovered during an excavation on a remote island in British Columbia.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 10, 2017 3 Comments
Bassem Tamimi is a Palestinian activist  best known for using children, including his own, to confront Israeli soldiers in the hope of creating viral video and photo images. Tamimi has been quite successful at this, and many of the images resulting from these provocations have become international hits. This video of his daughter gained international fame, and a prize for her from the Islamist prime minister of Turkey:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 10, 2017 15 Comments
Last night anti-Israel groups, led by Students for Justice in Palestine and "Jewish Voice for Peace," took advantage of the Passover Holiday when many Jewish students already had left for home for the Passover Seders, to bring to the Tufts University student Senate a resolution to divest from certain companies doing business with Israel. The resolution was loaded with defamatory "Whereas" clauses portraying Israel as at the "intersectional" center of worldwide injustice, much as the international Jew has been portrayed in classic antisemitic literature as the source of the world's problems. I discussed the details and how the process was manipulated in my prior post, Another sneak Passover Divestment attack, this time at Tufts University. That resolution will not change any facts on the ground but it reflects the continuing reality of the passage from the traditional Passover Haggadah:
For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand!

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 10, 2017 4 Comments
Dylann Roof pleaded guilty to state charges, which included murder and attempted murder, for the 2015 massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson sentenced Roof to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This deal "means no state trial or sentencing phase will be necessary." A federal jury sentenced Roof to death in January.

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 10, 2017 6 Comments
Alabama lawmakers have started impeachment hearings on Governor Robert Bentley (R) after a year of allegations concerning a sex scandal with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his senior political advisor. Bentley decided to resign on Monday. Fox News reported:
Bentley stepped down as part of a plea deal that saw him admit to two misdemeanor campaign and ethics charges. The 74-year-old grandfather of six was given a 30-day suspended jail sentence and a year of probation. The agreement includes provisions that Bentley not seek elected office again, that he repay campaign funds totaling $36,912 within a week and perform 100 hours of community service as a physician.

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 10, 2017 31 Comments
White House aides have told the Associated Press that President Donald Trump has decided to scrap the tax reform plan he campaigned on and start from scratch as a way to bring in more Republicans. Trump and House Republicans already endured one defeat when many Congressional Republicans would not vote for their healthcare plan. The White House wants to take a more active role with tax reform so failure does not happen again.
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