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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 August 19, 2015 31 Comments
In the race for the 2016 Republican nomination, John Kasich is being taken seriously because he's been a popular governor for Ohio, and because...well...Ohio. As you may recall, his biggest applause lines in the first GOP debate were for his stance on caring for the mentally ill and for citing God's unconditional love on the question of gay marriage. Kasich seems to be running on compassionate conservatism 2.0, but don't take my word for it. NBC News reports:
John Kasich Pitches Compassion at Iowa State Fair Ohio Gov. John Kasich sought to portray himself as compassionate conservative and touted his gains in the polls in New Hampshire when he visited the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday. His soapbox speech, which had to be moved indoors because of rain, contained little of the red meat typically doled out when Republican presidential candidates address Iowa crowds. Instead, his speech hit on topics ranging from aid to Africa, treating Alzheimer's disease and expanding Medicaid in Ohio.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 18, 2015 11 Comments
Bob Woodward and his Washington Post colleague Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate story over forty years ago but everything old has become new again. Yesterday on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Woodward made a direct comparison between Hillary Clinton's emails and Nixon's tapes. Jesse Byrnes of The Hill:
Bob Woodward compares Clinton emails to Nixon tapes Veteran Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward on Monday compared Hillary Clinton’s private email account to the Nixon tapes. “Follow the trail here,” Woodward said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” noting that emails erased from Clinton’s private server when she led the State Department were either sent or received by someone else, too. “You've got a massive amount of data. It, in a way, reminds me of the Nixon tapes: thousands of hours of secretly recorded conversations that Nixon thought were exclusively his,” Woodward said...

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 16, 2015 23 Comments
In the newest edition of Afterburner, Bill Whittle examines the dumbing-down of American society with an eye to the causes, effects and possible solutions. Whittle opens by noting that conspiracy theories about the moon landing and 9/11 have become mainstream. He goes on to explain the difference between ignorance and a lack of education. One of the points Whittle makes, truly jumps out. He talks about a photo of Steven Spielberg on the set of Jurassic Park next to a dinosaur which went viral after the Cecil the Lion story. Some people actually believed Steven Spielberg killed a Triceratops.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 16, 2015 10 Comments
Since the beginning of fiscal year 2015, the federal government has taken in a staggering $2.6 trillion in tax revenue. Despite this record breaking haul, the United States is still operating in the red. Terence P. Jeffrey of CNS News reports:
$2,672,414,000,000: Federal Taxes Set Record Through July; $17,955 Per Worker--Feds Still Run $465.5B Deficit The federal government raked in a record of approximately $2,672,414,000,000 in tax revenues through the first ten months of fiscal 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014 through the end of July), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today. That equaled approximately $17,955 for every person in the country who had either a full-time or part-time job in July. It is also up about $183,397,970,000 in constant 2015 dollars from the $2,489,016,030,000 in revenue (in inflation-adjusted 2015 dollars) that the Treasury raked in during the first ten months of fiscal 2014. Despite the record tax revenues of $2,672,414,000,000 in the first ten months of this fiscal year, the government spent $3,137,953,000,000 in those ten months, and, thus, ran up a deficit of $465,539,000,000 during the period.
FOX News put the issue in perspective:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 15, 2015 10 Comments
Plenty of people in political media are taking note of the large crowds Bernie Sanders is drawing at his events, but at the end of the day, it still might not be enough for Sanders to trounce Clinton. Philip Bump of the Washington Post recently took a hard look at the numbers:
100,000 people have attended Bernie Sanders events this month. That doesn’t mean much. Some 28,000 people attended Bernie Sanders's rally in Portland, Ore., on Sunday -- both in the venue and watching outside. The Fix's Chris Cillizza marveled at the turnout. "28,000 people! In August! Of an off year!" Cillizza wrote. "I mean, that is a lot. A LOT." It's an amount that exceeds one out of every 10 people who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 in Multnomah County, in fact. And then, the next day, Sanders pulled the same number in Los Angeles -- meaning that in seven events since July 1, Sanders spoke before 100,000 people. So what does this mean? I hate to say it -- and I hate to rain on Sanders' well-attended parade -- but: It doesn't mean a whole lot.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 15, 2015 16 Comments
Dr. Ben Carson appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto this week and spoke about Planned Parenthood, calling abortion the number one killer of black people. Later in the week, he was asked about his comments on the O'Reilly Factor by guest host Eric Bolling and stood by his statement. Ken Meyer of Mediaite has more:
As Bolling asked him about abortion rates in black communities, Carson responded by saying it was a matter of deciding whether those black lives matter as much. “The number one cause of death for black people is abortion, and I wonder if maybe some people might at some point become concerned about that and ask, why is that happening,” Carson said. He went on to continue his point about Sanger’s alleged eugenics leanings, saying that if Parenthood employees learned about her, they’d be less keen to defend their practices:
I encourage people to go and read about Margaret Sanger and go and read about the beginnings of this organization so that you know what you’re dealing with. One of the ways that they’re able to perpetrate the deceit is because people are not informed. The more people are informed, the less likely these kinds of things happen.
Watch the full exchange below:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 14, 2015 20 Comments
The U.S. reopened its embassy in Cuba yesterday, which also happened to be Fidel Castro's 89th birthday. Castro used the occasion to insist that the United States owes Cuba millions of dollars over the trade embargo. Yahoo News reported:
Fidel Castro to US: You owe us millions Fidel Castro marked his 89th birthday Thursday by insisting the United States owes Cuba "many millions of dollars" because of the half-century-old American trade embargo. Castro spoke out in an essay published in local media a day before US Secretary of State John Kerry makes a historic visit to Cuba to reopen the US embassy as part of the countries' restoration of diplomatic relations. The trade embargo that the United States slapped on communist Cuba in 1962, three years after Castro seized power by ousting a US-backed regime, remains in effect despite the thaw. President Barack Obama wants Congress to lift it, although US officials say this will take time and is not an automatic part of the restoration of ties, as it requires congressional action. Many Republicans, who control both chambers of the legislature, oppose the idea, insisting Cuba has to improve its human rights record and make other democratic reforms.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 14, 2015 25 Comments
Lois Lerner is back in the news. According to a new report, emails Lerner sent to a friend reveal that the called Republicans evil and dishonest. She also criticized the Citizens United ruling as one of the worst things to happen in the United States. Andrew Kugle of the Washington Free Beacon:
Lois Lerner: GOP is ‘Evil and Dishonest’ Former IRS official Lois Lerner said that Republicans are “evil and dishonest,” in a email dated March 26, according to Fox News reporter James Rosen. In the email, Lois Lerner described the time when she was called back to testify about the IRS targeting of conservatives before Congress. “They called me back to testify, on IRS ‘scandal,” Lerner wrote. “I took the fifth again and they had been so evil and dishonest in my lawyer’s dealings with them.”
Here's the video report with James Rosen of FOX News:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 13, 2015 18 Comments
Carly Fiorina appeared on CNN this week with Jake Tapper who asked her how she could oppose Obamacare as a cancer survivor. Tapper respectfully pointed out that she's a survivor of breast cancer and asked about the provision which requires coverage of pre-existing conditions. Fiorina responded by saying that while she supports coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, Obamacare isn't helping many of those people. Transcript via Frank Camp of the IJ Review:
Fiorina: “I absolutely endorse that goal–I did at the time. But guess what? None of that has worked. Demonstrably, if you look at the results of Obamacare… health insurance premiums are up almost 40% now. That isn’t helping anyone with cancer, I can assure you that–” Tapper: “But the expansion of the pool allows the insurance companies to pay for the people with pre-existing conditions.” Fiorina: “…Who helped write Obamacare? The health insurance companies, and the drug companies. And guess what’s happening? Those companies are consolidating. That’s called crony capitalism.”
Watch the full exchange below:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 12, 2015 8 Comments
The man in the video below is Sergeant Robert Bartlett who was wounded in Iraq in 2005. Bartlett is part of a group called Veterans Against the Deal which obviously opposes the Iran Nuclear Deal. The video makes a very strong statement because you're hearing from someone who has experienced the brutality of war in the Middle East and was wounded, as he says, by an Iranian bomb. This isn't a political party or a defecting senator Obama or his supporters can demonize, this is an American veteran. Allahpundit of Hot Air points to an article in the Military Times which strengthens the argument of this group:
Iran linked to deaths of 500 U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan At least 500 U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan were directly linked to Iran and its support for anti-American militants — a newly disclosed statistic that offers grim context for the Obama administration's diplomatic deal with the Iranian regime aimed at curtailing the rogue nation's nuclear ambitions. That figure underscores the controversy surrounding Washington's deal with Tehran, a long-sought goal for the president — but one that is fiercely opposed by many Republicans in Congress and other critics.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 11, 2015 14 Comments
A Mississippi couple has been arrested for planning to join ISIS during their honeymoon in Syria. They were taken into custody as they were preparing to board a flight for Istanbul. CNN reports:
Feds: Mississippi couple planned to join ISIS in Syria Two Mississippi residents were arrested last weekend and charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, according to a law enforcement official. Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla and Jaelyn Delshaun Young were arrested at a Mississippi airport on Saturday. Authorities say they were planning to travel overseas to join the terror group. An initial court appearance from Monday was continued to today, when a criminal complaint will be announced. CNN obtained a copy of the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Law enforcement sources confirmed it is genuine but said the final version of the complaint could change. According to the criminal complaint, Young and her soon-to-be husband were planning to fly from Mississippi to Europe, then travel to Syria and join ISIS.
Here's a video report from CBS:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 11, 2015 12 Comments
As a member of Generation X, I have a very clear memory of 1970's TV shows. In the days before cable, our choices were limited but the quality of many shows was much higher. Every week, my entire family would sit down together to watch certain programs and one of them was Little House on the Prairie, which was based on a classic series of books by real life settler Laura Ingalls Wilder. You've probably heard of the show and the books, but you may not have heard that Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls on TV, is running for congress in Michigan. From the Detroit Free Press:
Melissa Gilbert running for Congress Actress Melissa Gilbert, best known for her portrayal of Laura Ingalls Wilder on NBC’s “Little House on the Prairie” in the 1970s and ‘80s, said Monday she will run for Congress in Michigan’s 8th District -- though her campaign will have to tamp down questions about a tax bill. Gilbert, who lives in Livingston County with her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, is running as a Democrat in a district that has been a Republican stronghold in recent elections: U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, won the race to replace former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Howell, last year, beating Democrat Eric Schertzing, 54%-42%.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 10, 2015 26 Comments
The Democratic Party recently released its primary debate schedule and compared to the prolonged schedule of 2008, it's tiny. Party leaders are obviously trying to protect Hillary Clinton by limiting the amount of damage that could be done to her campaign in debate soundbites and video clips, but her Democratic rivals are calling foul. Ed Henry of FOX News recently shared what he's hearing from other Democrats and makes an excellent point. Back in 2008, the brutal primary battle between Obama and Hillary made Obama a better candidate. Via the Washington Free Beacon:
Henry: Democrats Tell Me They’re ‘Worried’ About Clinton Avoiding Media and Debates Fox News correspondent Ed Henry said Friday Democrats have told him they are “worried” about Hillary Clinton’s ability to get into general campaign shape due to the party’s limited debate schedule and her avoidance of the media. “I hear from Democrats, actually, they’re worried about Hillary Clinton,” he said. “Not taking a lot of questions from the media, although she’s started doing more, we should note. But also not doing debates until later because she’s not going to get into fighting shape. One reason Barack Obama was so tough in 2008: he had a brutal primary against Hillary Clinton. A lot of debates. They were tough. They mixed it up, but that made Barack Obama a better candidate.”
Watch the video:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 09, 2015 35 Comments
Scott Walker appeared on CBS This Morning Friday to talk about his campaign and how he did in the debate. Oddly enough, as soon as Walker started talking about Hillary Clinton, Norah O'Donnell wanted to shift the conversation to Donald Trump and obviously wanted Walker to answer for Trump's words and actions. Walker handled it well and tried to steer the conversation back to his campaign but O'Donnell persisted. She clearly wanted Walker to comment on Trump. Partial transcript via NewsBusters:
Rather than accept Walker’s rejection of Trump’s language, the CBS host continued to press the governor over Trump’s comments and demanded that he “denounce” his opponent:
You know that your own party did a full dissection of what happened in the last presidential campaign about how the Republican Party does among women and how they do among minorities. If you have the leading candidate in the Republican Party saying those things about women, when it was the largest gender gap in history in the last presidential election, can you denounce those comments here today, or is it just part of a freewheeling debate?
Here's the full video:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 09, 2015 30 Comments
For the second time in a month, Bernie Sanders has been derailed by Black Lives Matter activists. The last time was at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix. This time it was at a campaign rally in Seattle, WA. John Wagner of the Washington Post reports:
Bernie Sanders leaves Seattle stage after event disrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters A planned speech in Seattle by presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders celebrating the anniversary of Social Security and Medicare was scuttled Saturday after protesters from Black Lives Matter took the stage and demanded that the crowd hold Sanders “accountable” for not doing enough, in their view, to address police brutality and other issues on the group’s agenda... Shortly after the senator from Vermont started speaking, a small group of protesters took the microphone, shared a series of local grievances with the crowd, including school disparities and gentrification in Seattle, and then asked for a period of silence to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown being shot and killed during a confrontation with a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 08, 2015 15 Comments
If you're one of the people who think it's madness to prohibit the carrying of firearms in military workplaces, there's some good news developing. The U.S. Navy is planning to place armed guards at reserve centers. NBC News reports:
Chattanooga Shooting: Navy Plans Armed Guards for Reserve Centers After a gunman killed four Marines and a sailor at a Navy Reserve Center in Chattanooga last month, the Navy plans to station armed guards at all of its reserve centers across the country, NBC News has learned. An email sent to Naval Reservists nine days after the attack, and obtained by NBC News, says "VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY!" to provide 45 days of "armed sentry watchstander duty" at 53 "NOSCs," or Navy Reserve Centers, beginning Aug. 17, and also asks for volunteers to provide a full year of armed sentry duty at 70 reserve centers starting Oct. 17.
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