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June 2017

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 12, 2017 27 Comments
I was a guest today on Newsmax TV – America Talks Live with Bill Tucker. The main topic was my post about James Comey's Senate testimony, Robert Mueller should step aside: Friends shouldn’t be investigating friends:
"... the case has dramatically changed since James Comey was outed, or outed himself, as the leaker of a memorandum to the NY Times and testified before the Senate. Remember this case started as an investigation of Russian involvement.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 12, 2017 4 Comments
30 years ago today, President Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate in western Germany and demanded Mikhail Gorbechav “tear down this wall.” Two years later, the wall was gone, and families separated by the wall were reunited. Known now as the "Berlin Wall" speech, Reagan's address is one of the most iconic addresses of his presidency and of the era. His words remain as true today as they were thirty years ago.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 12, 2017 19 Comments
President Donald Trump sure loves Twitter! This is why Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) introduced the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement Act, which would preserve all of Trump's tweets as presidential record. Yes, the acronym is COVFEFE to mock Trump's infamous tweet when he wrote "Despite the constant negative covfefe." The word took off online.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 12, 2017 15 Comments
More retailers have decided to close stores while Gymboree has filed for bankruptcy. Ascena Retail Group has decided to close "between 250 and 650 locations over the next two years." This group owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, and Justice stores among others. CEO David Jaffe did not specify which brands the closures will affect. But he guaranteed that 250 stores will close. 400 others will definitely close "unless the company can negotiate lower rents at these locations."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 12, 2017 28 Comments
We've been here before. Another judicial opinion upholding an injunction against Trump's Travel Order No. 2. This time from the 9th Circuit arising out of the injunction by the Hawaii District Court. The Opinion (pdf.) is embedded below. The Trump administration already has the Hawaii injunction before the Supreme Court, as it previously filed for contingent review of a possible 9th Circuit decision, expecting a losing result. The 4th Circuit Opinion also is before the Supreme Court for a stay of the injunctions, the opposition to which is due today.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 12, 2017 2 Comments
"Blasphemous" social media posts can get you killed in Pakistan. The first of its kind in the middle eastern state, Pakistan recently sentenced a man to death for making "derogatory" remarks about "Sunni religious figures and the prophet of Islam's wives," reports leading German news purveyor, DW. Taimoor Raza, a Shiite Pakistani, was charged and sentenced to death for engaging in a Facebook argument with a government official who later brought charges against him.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 12, 2017 23 Comments
Sunday, Puerto Ricans headed to the polls to cast their votes for statehood. 97% voted to make Puerto Rico the fifty-first state. But that overwhelming support is hindered by the fact that only 23% of the eligible population actually voted.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 12, 2017 7 Comments
Cook County in Illinois, home to Chicago, has decided that its soda tax will not apply to food stamps. Purchases made with food stamps cannot have state and local taxes tacked onto them, according to federal law. Cook county tried to bypass that law, but none of the options officials used took off. So this means that the 827,000 people in Cook County who have food stamps will not have to pay the tax. This is the second reversal of the tax, which has caused massive confusion as the bankrupt county and state have tried everything to raise revenue.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 12, 2017 127 Comments
Because of my Legal Insurrection coverage of climate change, in the wake of the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, I was asked directly: Exactly how much climate science does President Trump understand. Like any true science, climatology is filled with highly technical terms, professional jargon, complex mathematics, and a myriad of other aspects that are challenging to understand and master. For example, a talk by Dr. William Happer, the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics at Princeton University, shows the discussion included the variability of carbon dioxide levels through history and flaws in the computer models used related to lack of cloud cover influence on temperature.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 11, 2017 9 Comments
There apparently is no depth to which so-called Jewish Voice for Peace will not go in its anti-Zionist activism. For those who are not familiar, JVP's name itself is highly misleading, as it is not Jewish and is not for peace. Rather, JVP provides a Jewish cover for the anti-Semites and Israel-bashers of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. One of JVP's primary modus operandi is disruption -- to make it difficult for pro-Israel voices to be heard without being shouted down or pushed off stage, or having their events disrupted. JVP once even disrupted a NYC Council vote commemorating liberation of Auschwitz:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on June 11, 2017 20 Comments
Identity politics seemed to help Democrats . . . until it didn't.  In the wake of their devastating presidential election loss in 2016, Democrats have steadfastly avoided confronting the myriad flaws in their "divide and conquer" strategy that centers on creating a seemingly endless number of imagined underclasses and then nurturing their outrage, fear, and dissatisfaction all the way to the ballot box. What little meaningful reflection on the devastation of the Democratic Party that has taken place since November has done so on the new fringes created by a seismic shift in the party.  Where once the radical voices screeched about the evils of America, now the more moderate establishment Democrats and pundits are the radicals, advocating moderation and realignment.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 11, 2017 47 Comments
Puerto Ricans went to the polls today to vote on possible statehood with America. The majority of people voted yes, but only 23% of the people voted, which could call into question the validity "of the nonbinding referendum." From The Wall Street Journal:
According to early results on a government website, statehood drew 97% of support with more than 90% of votes counted Sunday afternoon, but a turnout of about 23% reflected the success of a boycott effort led by opponents.
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