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Author: Mike LaChance

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Mike LaChance

Mike LaChance has been covering higher education and politics for Legal Insurrection since 2012. He has also written for American Lookout, Townhall, and Twitchy.

Since 2008 he has contributed work to the Daily Caller, Breitbart, Gateway Pundit, the Center for Security Policy, the Washington Free Beacon, and Ricochet.

Mike is a Generation X, New England lifer who describes his political views as conservative and libertarian.

You can find him on Twitter @MikeLaChance33

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 31, 2014 9 Comments
You would think a state with such dire financial problems couldn't even consider spending such a large sum of tax dollars on something that's usually built with private money. Luckily, the Illinois House has backed off the idea for the moment. USA Today reported...
Illinois shelving $100M gift to Obama library A plan to offer $100 million in tax dollars to lure Barack Obama's presidential library to Illinois is on the shelf, with lawmakers prepared to wrap up their spring session without advancing the idea. Democrats in the president's home state pushed the proposal to compete against rival bids from Hawaii and New York. But it faced opposition from Republicans wary of an expensive and precedent-setting gift — with no immediately identified funding source — for a mostly private endeavor when the state faces serious financial difficulties. Not all Democrats were on board either, and the Illinois House adjourned Friday without calling for any final votes on the measure.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 29, 2014 9 Comments
While the IRS assault on Tea Party groups is well known, another equally disturbing development is taking shape at the beleaguered agency. Alana Goodman of The Washington Free Beacon reported...
Lawsuit Alleging IRS Discrimination Against Pro-Israel Groups Moves Forward A lawsuit alleging that the IRS discriminates against pro-Israel groups will be allowed to move forward, a federal judge ruled this week in Washington, D.C. The IRS has been fighting to quash the lawsuit filed in 2009 by pro-Israel group Z Street, claiming the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter. However, Judge Ketanje Brown Jackson rejected the agency’s request to dismiss the case on Wednesday and ordered the IRS to respond to Z Street’s complaint within the next 30 days. Z Street says its constitutional rights were violated by an IRS policy that allegedly singles pro-Israel groups out for stricter scrutiny when they apply for tax-exempt status. According to the lawsuit, an IRS official told Z Street’s lawyer in 2009 that the group’s application for tax-exempt status would be “sent to a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the administration’s public policies.”
Eugene Volokh provides more insight at The Washington Post...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 24, 2014 6 Comments
Nancy Pelosi gave Harry Reid the weekend off from raving about the Koch Brothers but was unable to come up with a new villain to blame for the VA scandal. Old habits die hard. Joel Gehrke of The Washington Examiner...
Nancy Pelosi blames George W. Bush for Veterans Affairs scandal House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., repeatedly put the blame for the Veterans Affairs scandal on former President George W. Bush, while arguing that her party has worked hard for veterans in recent years. Pelosi took a shot at Bush while saying that the scandal is a high priority for Obama. "He sees the ramifications of some seeds that were sown a long time ago, when you have two wars over a long period of time and many, many more, millions more veterans," she told reporters during her Thursday press briefing. "And so, I know that he is upset about it." The Democratic leader never mentioned Bush by name, but she alluded to him early and often in the press briefing.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 24, 2014 3 Comments

If nothing else, the Class of 2014 will be remembered for commencement season. “Thanks for Not Disinviting Me” Condoleezza Rice Defended by… The New York Times? Smith College Economics Profs Decry Campus Activists for IMF Director’s Commencement Cancellation Former Princeton President Blasts College Students for Speaker Controversy Harvard joins list...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 18, 2014 9 Comments
Republican Lee Zeldin is running for congress in New York and is an Iraq War veteran. That didn't stop the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from accusing Zeldin of being a coward. Alex Pappas of the Daily Caller reported:
In a post on its website, the campaign arm of the House Democrats is asking whether Republican Lee Zeldin is being cowardly about Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget. “Over a month after his House Republicans passed Paul Ryan’s reckless budget, Congressional Candidate Lee Zeldin is still too scared to admit how he would vote for the plan, even though he wants Long Islanders to send him to Congress,” the DCCC said in a release. “Even though every member of Congress had no choice but to vote yes or no weeks ago, what’s taking him so long to decide? There’s only one answer: Zeldin is either woefully uninformed, willfully ignorant or a coward.”
Zeldin responded on FOX News. Comments and video via NewsBusters:
Well, you have some liberal Democrat hack who is hiding behind his Twitter account, stuffs his face with cheese doodles, sending out press releases on DCCC letterhead, shameful attacks. And the fact is Nancy Pelosi, Steve Israel, Tim Bishop, they've never served a day, and I think when I was sitting at the door on that Blackhawk and the drill master hits the back of your head, and you do what's so unnatural, jumping out with your parachute, here you are, fast forward to today and you have these Democratic hacks out of Washington who want to change the subject and fling insults, saying that I'm a coward. It just doesn't fit.
Here's the video: Democrats now are retreating from the claim, as reported at Newsday:

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 18, 2014 21 Comments
After New York State passed the "SAFE Act" gun control law, there were fears that Remington Arms, a major employer in the economically depressed upstate area would leave. Slowly, that appears to be happening.  First, Remington announced it was opening a plant in Alabama, for future expansion.  But politicians assured us that the jobs in Upstate were safe. Now we learn that Remington is moving two production lines out of New York to Alabama, and the jobs are going with them. The Buffalo News reports...
Remington to move production of two gun lines from New York to Alabama Nearly 200 years after Eliphalet Remington II forged his first rifle in Ilion, residents of the small central New York village are getting the bad news they have feared for more than a year: Remington Arms is moving production of two of its gun lines to Alabama. While the company did not announce the outright closing of the facility that has been home to Remington since 1816, gun rights advocates said that day is now likely moving closer and they blame the state’s 2013 NY SAFE Act gun control law. “This could very well be the beginning of the end of Ilion,’’ said Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state chapter for the National Rifle Association.
Syracuse.com is reporting that even if workers want to move, there's no guarantee they can keep their jobs...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 17, 2014 7 Comments
A better question might be should Dr. Ben Carson run for president? It's no secret that Dr. Carson enjoys tremendous support from American conservatives. When he spoke at CPAC in March of this year, the audience was sprinkled with signs which read "Run Ben, Run" but that doesn't necessarily form the basis of a campaign. Then again, maybe it does. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard recently reported...
Ben Carson Moves Toward Presidential Run Ben Carson is warming to the idea of running for president. Since the famous brain surgeon retired last year from Johns Hopkins Hospital, he’s been speaking around the country to enthusiastic audiences. And they’ve affected his thinking about seeking national office. “Over the years, there have been many attempts to get me to throw my hat in the political arena,” Carson writes in his new book, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future. “I have been offered support from around the country and tremendous financial resources if I decide to run for national office. But I have not felt the call to run.”
Ramesh Ponnuru offered a counterpoint at Bloomberg News...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 17, 2014 20 Comments
Much has already been written about the Satanic black mass which was supposed to take place at Harvard last week but I feel MSNBC's recent participation in the story warrants one more post on the subject. In the video below, MSNBC's Chris Hayes attempts to make some moral equivalency between Satanism, Christianity, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. What he fails to understand and neglects to adequately explain to his handful of viewers is that the outrage over the Harvard black mass wasn't an attempt to squelch the religious rights of Satanists as much as it was recognition of extremely poor taste on Harvard's part. Whether you like the school or not, Harvard is one of the nation's most prestigious institutions of higher learning and is therefore held to a higher standard. In short, people expect better from Harvard. As a spiritual entity, Satanism would not exist without Christianity. The very central premise of Satanism is the rejection and mockery of Christianity, which explains why a host on MSNBC would rush to defend it. One has to wonder if MSNBC would defend free speech and freedom of religion if a group of Harvard students decided to burn a Koran on campus. Jim Geraghty of National Review recently noted the irony...
Dear Harvard Satanists: Go to Hell. I Hear You’re a Fan of the Management:

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 17, 2014 7 Comments

Checking your privilege is all the rage on college campuses these days. Harvard’s Freshmen May Be Forced into ‘Check Your Privilege’ Training College Theater Production Features “White Privilege” Blame Game Funding for Cornell Student Groups Depends on ‘Diversity and Inclusion Plan’ Of course, if you don't want to check...

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