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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 October 03, 2015 2 Comments
Someone seems to have a problem with conservative students exercising their free speech. I don't think they heard him. The problem isn't limited to flyers. Higher education seems to have a free speech problem. Some schools seem to get it.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 02, 2015 4 Comments
The progressive base of the Democratic Party is voting with their wallets and has pushed fundraising for Bernie Sanders up to the level of the Clinton machine. Over the last three months, Sanders has come within $2 million of Hillary's grand total. James Hohmann and Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post:
So much for the Clinton juggernaut Clinton raised $28 million from July 1 to Sept. 30. Bernie Sanders raised $26 million. Hillary personally headlined 58 fundraisers during that time period, the same number as she did during the previous quarter. Sanders only appeared at seven finance events! Almost all of his money came from online. The disclosures come with fresh evidence that the base of the Democratic Party is not ready for Hillary. Yesterday alone, the Sanders campaign raised more than $2 million online. About $500,000 of that came in from 10:30 p.m. until midnight, according to my colleagues Matea Gold and John Wagner. Sanders has received 1.3 million donations from about 650,000 different donors. That puts him across the threshold of 1 million contributions earlier than Barack Obama in both his presidential campaigns.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 01, 2015 49 Comments
Two weeks ago at the second Republican presidential primary debate, Senator Marco Rubio predicted what happened in Syria yesterday with alarming accuracy. Here's a refresher from David Rutz of the Washington Free Beacon:
Everything Marco Rubio Said About Russia and Syria at the GOP Debate Is Coming True Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) was prophetic at CNN’s GOP presidential debate Sept. 16, predicting that Russia would continue to exploit a vacuum in the Middle East and “prop up” Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to demonstrate to the Middle East it was the most important power broker there. The Obama administration was admittedly caught by surprise this week when Russia announced an intelligence-sharing agreement with Iran, Syria and Iraq to battle the Islamic State, another example of Vladimir Putin expanding his influence in the region after he deployed warplanes and tanks to help Assad earlier this month. Over the weekend, Russia announced it would step up its military support to prevent the collapse of Assad, which Putin believes would be destabilizing. This, Rubio said at the time, is Putin’s vision for repositioning Russia “as a geopolitical force.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 30, 2015 14 Comments
Matt Damon has a big new movie coming out but he's not winning any new fans from his fellow travelers on the left. Damon has long been a favorite on the left for his progressive politics but two recent high profile incidents have put him at odds with the social justice crowd. The Daily Beast's culture reporter Kevin Fallon took Damon to the woodshed yesterday:
Shut Up, Matt Damon: The Actor Argues Gay Actors Should Stay in the Closet In The Martian, Matt Damon plays an astronaut who is left behind on Mars. The entire world rallies around an effort to retrieve him and bring him safely back to Earth. Lately, we’d be just as happy to send Damon back. The Oscar-winning actor’s career-long charm offensive came to a screeching halt this past week with two incredibly tone-deaf and woefully retrograde mini-scandals surrounding comments he’s made that were ill-advised at best—and bigoted at worst. First was the ignorant dialogue about diversity in film on Project Greenlight. And now the most recent symptom of the most severe case of foot-in-mouth to plague an actor in years: an interview with The Guardian in which Damon posits that gay actors should stay in the closet if they want their careers to thrive. Shut up, Matt Damon.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 29, 2015 18 Comments
The financial benefits and savings touted by Obama and his allies on the road to Obamacare's passage are still failing to live up to their promise. In fact, the largest non-profit co-op created under the law is about to fold. Anna Wilde Mathews of the Wall Street Journal:
Regulators to Shut Down Health Republic Insurance of New York Regulators will shut down Health Republic Insurance of New York, the largest of the nonprofit cooperatives created under the Affordable Care Act, in the latest sign of the financial pressures facing many insurers that participated in the law’s new marketplaces. The insurer lost about $52.7 million in the first six months of this year, on top of a $77.5 million loss in 2014, according to regulatory filings. The move to wind down its operations was made jointly by officials from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; New York’s state insurance exchange, known as New York State of Health; and the New York State Department of Financial Services. In a statement, Health Republic said it was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome, and pointed to “challenges placed on us by the structure of the CO-OP program.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 27, 2015 7 Comments
People are always willing to tell you how and when to eat but the rules seem to change all the time. The newest target for criticism is eating throughout the day or "grazing" as some call it. Melissa Healy of the Los Angeles Times:
Longer fasts might help with weight loss but Americans eat all day long It's official: Americans' 24/7 culture of work, entertainment and digital connectivity now also extends to our dietary consumption patterns, new research finds. Americans' erratic, round-the-clock eating patterns, suggests the new study, have probably contributed to an epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. But they can be changed, and the restoration of a longer nighttime "fast" shows promise as a means to lower weight and better health, researchers add. In a study that detailed the consumption patterns of just over 150 nondieting, non-shift-working people in and around San Diego for three weeks, researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla found that a majority of people eat for stretches of 15 hours or longer most days -- and fast for fewer than nine hours a night.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 26, 2015 1 Comment
Despite pleas from numerous high level progressives over the last few years, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren is still insisting that she will not run for president in 2016. In an appearance on the Late Show this week, Stephen Colbert gave Warren celebrity treatment and asked her the question one more time. Curtis Houck of NewsBusters has the story:
Stephen Colbert Cozies Up to Elizabeth Warren, Pleads with Her to Run for President Near the tail end of his opening monologue, Colbert hyped that Warren “has launched a one-woman crusade against the billionaire class” and is “like Batman, but her enemy is Bruce Wayne.” Later in the September 24 program, Colbert introduced her as “the sheriff on Wall Street” and admitted to her that “you’ve come a long way, baby, if I may coin a corporate phrase.” Reminiscing about the first time he met her, Colbert hyped that she serves as “one of the household names in American politics and yet you are one of the few household names that is not running for president of the United States.” He then pleaded: “Are you sure you're not running for the president of the United States?

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 26, 2015 50 Comments
When John Boehner shocked everyone yesterday by announcing he would step down as house speaker, even Obama dropped his partisanship long enough to say a few nice things. No such courtesy was afforded by former house speaker Nancy Pelosi who used the opportunity to bash House Republicans as extremists who want to shut down the government. Carolyn May of Breitbart reported:
Pelosi: Boehner Resignation 'Indication of Disarray in GOP' Speaking to reporters Friday, Pelosi called Boehner’s resignation “a stark indication of the disarray of the House Republicans.” She continued, adding that it is “a demonstration of [House Republicans’] obsession with shutting down government at the expense of women’s health and a sign of the failure of the House Republicans to be willing to engage in dialogue for the good of the American people and for us to move forward.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 25, 2015 5 Comments
Islamists in Bangladesh have published a hit list of bloggers and writers which includes people in Europe and America. The image above is of people in Bangladesh protesting the murder of a blogger earlier this year. Jethro Mullen of CNN reports:
Extremists in Bangladesh publish global hit list of bloggers and writers Islamic extremists in Bangladesh appear to be taking their war on secular writers and bloggers beyond the South Asian country's borders. A hit list purporting to be from the militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team has been sent out threatening people in Europe and North America. "Let Bangladesh revoke the citizenship of these enemies of Islam," a statement accompanying the list says. "If not, we will hunt them down in whatever part of God's world we find them and kill them right there." The list contains nine people in the United Kingdom, eight in Germany, two in the United States, one in Canada and one in Sweden. CNN isn't reporting any of the names on the list.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 24, 2015 44 Comments
If anyone is wondering what's behind the high poll numbers for political outsiders in this election, a new poll from FOX News has possible answers. A startling number of Republican primary voters feel betrayed by the party. Dana Blanton has the details:
Fox News Poll: Outsiders rule 2016 GOP field, support for Biden nearly doubles Most Republicans feel betrayed by their party -- and show their displeasure by supporting outsiders over establishment candidates in the GOP presidential race. Real-estate mogul Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson are the favorites in the Republican race in the latest Fox News national poll on the 2016 election. Neither has held elected office before and yet the two of them -- together with businesswoman Carly Fiorina -- capture the support of more than half of GOP primary voters...

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 24, 2015 36 Comments
The mainstream media is obsessing over Ben Carson's recent remarks about a Muslim becoming president, but the issue hasn't hurt his fundraising. Quite the opposite, actually. Denver Nicks reported at Time:
Ben Carson Sees Campaign Cash Spike After Muslim Comments Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Wednesday that he’s seen a deluge of donations to his campaign in the days since his controversial anti-Muslim remarks. “The money has been coming in so fast, it’s hard to even keep up with it,” Carson said on Fox News. “I remember the day of the last debate, within 24 hours we raised $1 million. And it’s coming in at least at that rate if not quite a bit faster.” During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Carson was asked if he believes “that Islam is consistent with the Constitution.” “No, I do not,” Carson said then. “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 23, 2015 17 Comments
A Wesleyan University student named Bryan Stascavage who writes for the student paper, the Wesleyan Argus, recently penned an op-ed which was critical of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Since then, all hell has broken loose. Here's a sample of Stascavage's column:
Why Black Lives Matter Isn’t What You Think A 20-year-old man walks into a church and massacres nine people, claiming that he was afraid that America was being taken over by Black Americans, citing American race relations as evidence. About a month later, a man wears a GoPro, tapes himself walking up to a local reporter and a cameraman, and shoots them both on camera, proclaiming racial injustice in this country as his motive. Police officers are looking over their shoulders as several cops have been targeted and gunned down. The week before classes started, seven officers were killed in the line of duty; a few were execution-style targeted killings. An officer I talked to put it succinctly: “If they want to come after me, fine. Just come at me head on. Don’t shoot me in the back of my head. I’d rather go down with a fighting chance.” Is this an atmosphere created by the police officers and racist elements in society itself? Many, including individuals in the Black Lives Matter movement, believe so.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 22, 2015 41 Comments
Marco Rubio did a pretty good job in the Republican debate last week. He didn't hurt himself in any way and when he had a chance to speak, he sounded strong and got applause. Since then, two liberals have expressed fear of Rubio as a candidate and it seems real, not the type of fear liberals express for a weak candidate they secretly want to get the nomination. First up is MSNBC's Chris Matthews who claims that Rubio "terrifies" him. Here's what he says in the video below:
I'm sorry, I see this race going to Marco Rubio and it terrifies me. He's the biggest hawk running, he's a beautiful speaker, a very attractive young candidate who really knows how to spellbind. He's the young new breath, he's an Obama!
Watch:

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 20, 2015 21 Comments
Hillary Clinton appeared on Face the Nation today and responded to questions from host John Dickerson on a wide range of issues, notably the Benghazi attack and her controversial email server. On Benghazi, Clinton claimed that she felt no political pressure to blame the attack on a video. On her email, she continued to insist everything was above board. Here's a partial transcript via CBS News:
DICKERSON: Benghazi. CLINTON: Right. DICKERSON: Was that your 3:00 a.m. phone call? And how well did you handle that crisis, by the standard you raised in that ad? CLINTON: Well, of course it was a crisis. And we lost four brave Americans, including the person that I asked the president to send as ambassador, Chris Stevens. But we live in a dangerous world. And even our diplomats are at threat. And that goes all the way back to, for goodness' sake, taking over our embassy in Tehran or the bombings of our embassy in Beirut, when President Reagan was in charge. This is a dangerous world. And I think what we had to do during that period of time, in trying to protect our people after the attack on the consulate, getting them evacuated, not only working on what was going on in Libya, because, remember, we had embassies that were under attack or threatened to attack by terrorist groups across North Africa, indeed, across a much larger swathe of the world. So, I think it was terribly tragic, what happened. I immediately asked for an independent review, just like former secretaries of state did. And I made that public. And the only other person who did that was Secretary Albright after our embassies were bombed in Africa.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 20, 2015 16 Comments
Susan Brownmiller wrote the 1975 book Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape which set the stage for much of today's feminism. She is not, however, a huge fan of everything espoused by today's feminists, including slut walks and rape culture activism. Katie Van Syckle of New York Mag recently interviewed her. Hat tip to Ann Althouse:
I was wondering if you have been following the discussions of rape activism on college campuses. Yes, very closely. In the 1970s we had an extraordinary movement against sexual assault in this country and changed the laws. They [the campus activists] don't seem to know that. They think they are the first people to discover rape, and the problem of consent, and they are not. They have been tremendously influenced by the idea that "You can drink as much as you want because you are the equal of a guy," and it is not true. They don't accept the fact there are predators out there, and that all women have to take special precautions. They think they can drink as much as men, which is crazy because they can't drink as much as men. I find the position "Don't blame us, we're survivors" to be appalling. Also, they [college women] are not the chief targets of rapists. Young women and all women in housing projects and ghettos are still in far greater danger than college girls.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 19, 2015 13 Comments
After the recent Miss America contest, some of the ladies on The View mocked Miss Colorado, who is a nurse, for wearing scrubs and a stethoscope during the pageant. Social media erupted following their obnoxious comments and now the show is paying the price with the loss of advertisers. Mary Bowerman of USA Today reports:
Advertisers pull ads from 'The View' following nurse comments The fallout continues over comments two hosts made on The View, about Miss Colorado's Miss America monologue about being a nurse. Johnson & Johnson and Eggland's Best Eggs have both announced they will no longer advertise on show following the comments. Johnson & Johnson said Thursday the company was taking the money saved from pulling ads from "a certain daytime program to good use," and announced a new donation drive for nursing scholarships. Likewise, Eggland's Best said Thursday that the company "appreciates nurses and values the important role they play in family health. In light of the comments about the nursing profession recently made on daytime television, we will no longer be advertising on the show in question."

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 19, 2015 11 Comments
The Greek island of Lesbos has been a popular landing point for refugees fleeing the Middle East by boat. The numbers have been so great that rafts and other flotation devices are piling up on the shore. The UK Daily Mail reports:
Piled 12ft high, the ever growing mass of rubber dinghies and life jackets abandoned on Lesbos by migrants who have risked crossing the Mediterranean by boat Shocking images have emerged of a huge pile of deflated dinghies and life-vests, left behind on the Greek island of Lesbos by the refugees and migrants who have successfully made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean. The pile of abandoned dinghies, some still intact and others worn through by the journey, which tens of thousands have already made this summer. But the crossing is notoriously perilous. Some 34 refugees, including 15 children, died this week off the coast of the southern Greek island of Farmakonisi. The UN said the accident had the largest recorded death toll from any in Greek waters since the migrant crisis began. The youngest victim was just one-year-old. Some 132 people were travelling on the wooden fishing boat when it capsized at around 3am, off the tiny island which is primarily a military base.
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