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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 June 07, 2014 35 Comments
Soldiers who served with Bowe Bergdahl were in the news a lot this week offering their opinions on the situation and most of them are clearly not happy with Bergdahl being portrayed as a hero. For the sin of interfering with the preferred narrative, these men have been accused of swift-boating Bergdahl and were even called psychopaths by a member of the Obama administration. Megyn Kelly interviewed six of these men on her FOX News program Thursday night. Here's a segment. See more at FOX News. Ben Domenech keeps the Bergdahl issue in perspective with a piece at The Federalist:

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 02, 2014 12 Comments
Hillary Clinton and her closest allies know that Benghazi spells big trouble for her in 2016, especially with a select committee poised to launch a new investigation with a fresh round of questions. With that in mind, it's no surprise that Clinton is trying to cut them off at the pass by addressing the subject in her new memoir. It's just an attempt to claim that all the questions surrounding the attack have already been answered. They haven't. Jim Geraghty of National Review weighed in recently...
Politico obtains the Benghazi-related chapter of Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming memoir, and describes it here. You are unlikely to be surprised to learn that she attacks the motives of her critics, contends the intelligence community believed the attack started as a protest — even though she was the one who first issued a statement declaring the attack video-related, while it was still going on — and contends the government did everything it could to rescue those under attack.
Stephen F. Hayes of The Weekly Standard offered this...

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 01, 2014 29 Comments
Senator Ted Cruz has been on a roll lately and he seems to be picking up steam as he goes. Conor Finnegan of CNN reported...
Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has won another straw poll, boosting his national profile and elevating his name among potential 2016 presidential contenders. The firebrand freshman senator and tea party favorite was among a handful of 2016 hopefuls speaking at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this week. Cruz finished in first place in the annual conference's presidential straw poll at 30.33%. Dr. Ben Carson, a Fox News commentator and conservative activist, finished in second with 29.38% while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, was third with 10.43%. Fox News host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Governor Rick Perry rounded out the top five, at 5.06% and 4.90%, respectively... Cruz's address was among the most popular. He was interrupted several times by cheers and standing ovations - especially when he told the crowd he was "convinced" the Republican Party would retake control of Congress in the midterm elections this fall.
The influence of Ted Cruz was felt in another Texas election recently. FOX News Latino reported...

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...

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