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November 2017

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 25, 2017 48 Comments
Richard Cordray announced his resignation from the contentious Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) two weeks ago. Friday, Cordray suddenly changed plans, and with no warning, left the agency a week before his scheduled departure date. Prior to leaving, he appointed his Chief of Staff, Leandra English, to replace him as the Acting Director. The move was intended to fill the spot temporarily, forcing Trump to go through the confirmation process for a nominee, which could take months, before putting his own person in place. But Trump didn't wait, and appointed Mick Mulvaney as Acting Director and nominee. This sets up a turf war over who is Acting Director.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 25, 2017 14 Comments
Any discussion of tax reform shifts quickly to "tax the rich" with avowed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sanders wannabe Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at the forefront of the Democrat 2020 presidential hopeful pack.  There are numerous problems with this philosophy, not the least of which is that it's a political slogan not viable economic policy, but that doesn't stop the left. Earlier this year, Seattle passed a "tax the rich" scheme that was immediately challenged.  This week, Superior Court Judge John Ruhl ruled that Seattle does not have the authority to impose such a tax.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 25, 2017 13 Comments
As a teenager, one of the books I recall reading during that formative phase in my life was Helter Skelter, written by killer cult leader Charles Manson's determined prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, who won death sentences for Manson and his band of butchers. The tenacious lawyer, who passed away in 2015, was interviewed by Time Magazine about his book in 2009 about his book and the country's continued fascination with the cult. His explanation centered on the era in which the slaughters occurred.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 24, 2017 5 Comments
Miko Peled is a celebrated anti-Israel activist who tours the U.S. promoting that Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. We first wrote about Peled when the hideous "Jewish Voice for Peace" found Peled too toxic (which is saying a lot), Jewish Voice for Peace disavows BDS activist Miko Peled: “No place 4 antisemitism in our movement”. We explained in that post that Peled is so valuable to the anti-Israel movement because he is from Israel and the son of a famous Israeli general:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 24, 2017 15 Comments
We have been following the outbreak of Hepatitis A as it has spread among the homeless and drug-users of California, into Utah, Michigan and Colorado. Public health officials are now reporting a significant uptick of cases of the disease in Kentucky. Genetic tests indicate the strain of the virus, which is transmitted via fecal matter and cause life-threatening effects on the liver, is the same strain as the one from Southern California.
Kentucky has become the fifth state to declare an outbreak of hepatitis A, reporting the 31 cases so far this represent a 55 percent increase over the annual averages for the past 10 years.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 24, 2017 17 Comments
As Professor Jacobson recently noted, California Governor Jerry Brown occasionally has moments of sanity and clarity. In what can only be described as a Thanksgiving miracle, it is being reported that Brown is endeavoring to tackle the looming employee pension crisis by reforming the pension benefits for current government employees.
Gov. Jerry Brown got most of what he wanted when he carried a proposal to shore up the state’s underfunded public employee pension plans by trimming benefits for new workers.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 24, 2017 6 Comments
Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman sat down with Thomas Friedman of The New York Times and offered up some very choice words for Iran's leader:
Iran’s “supreme leader is the new Hitler of the Middle East,” said M.B.S. “But we learned from Europe that appeasement doesn’t work. We don’t want the new Hitler in Iran to repeat what happened in Europe in the Middle East.” What matters most, though, is what Saudi Arabia does at home to build its strength and economy.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 24, 2017 13 Comments
Lawyer Melanie Sloan has come forward with inappropriate behavior that Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) used towards her, which included verbal abuse and comments about her appearance. This happened when she worked as a Democratic counsel for the House Judiciary Committee in the 1990s, which Conyers still serves on as ranking member. From The Detroit Free Press:
She said he criticized her for not wearing stockings on at least one occasion. On another, she said he ordered her backstage from a committee field hearing on crime she had organized in New York City to babysit one of his children. Sloan made clear that she did not feel she had ever been sexually harassed, but that she felt “mistreated by this guy.”
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