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Author: Fuzzy Slippers

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Fuzzy Slippers

I am a constitutional conservative, a writer, and an editor.

Follow me on Twitter @fuzislippers

As Americans across the nation begin Memorial Day weekend with thoughts and prayers honoring our nation's fallen heroes, vandals defaced veteran memorials in California, Kentucky, and Virginia. ABC News reports:
Memorials to veterans in a Los Angeles neighborhood and a town in Kentucky, as well as a Civil War veterans cemetery in Virginia, were damaged as the nation prepares to mark Memorial Day, officials said. A Vietnam War memorial in the Venice area of Los Angeles has been extensively defaced by graffiti. The vandalism occurred sometime during the past week, KCAL/KCBS-TV (http://cbsloc.al/1RAa3mg) reported. The homespun memorial painted on a block-long wall on Pacific Avenue lists the names of American service members missing in action or otherwise unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. News of the vandalism came as another veterans-related memorial was reported damaged in Henderson, Kentucky. Police say a Memorial Day cross display there that honors the names of 5,000 veterans of conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War has been damaged by a driver who plowed through the crosses early Saturday.

We've been covering the Hillary Clinton email scandal here at LI, and now it seems that the Obama administration is actively working to prevent her deposition. The Hill reports:
The Obama administration is trying to prevent former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from being deposed in an ongoing open records case connected to her use of a private email server. Late Thursday evening, the Justice Department filed a court motion opposing the Clinton deposition request from conservative legal watchdog Judicial Watch, claiming that the organization was trying to dramatically expand the scope of the lawsuit.
Judicial Watch is “seeking instead to transform these proceedings into a wide-ranging inquiry into matters beyond the scope of the court’s order and unrelated to the FOIA request at issue in this case,” government lawyers wrote in their filing, referring to the Freedom of Information Act. The Hill continues:
The lawyers wrote that the request to interview Clinton “is wholly inappropriate” before depositions are finished in a separate case also concerning the email server.

In 2015, Kate Steile was killed by an illegal alien who had been deported five times prior to this crime and had a lengthy criminal record; San Francisco's status as a well-known sanctuary city is believed to have contributed to the senseless murder. Kate's relatives are now filing suit. Fox News reports:
Relatives of the woman shot to death on a San Francisco pier last year filed a lawsuit Friday saying the illegal immigrant accused in the killing should have been in custody if not for a series of mistakes by city and federal workers. . . . .  The sheriff at the time of the killing, Ross Mirkarimi, is named in the lawsuit, along with ICE and the Bureau of Land Management. Mirkarimi previously defended the release of the suspect, a repeat drug offender and habitual border-crosser. Frank Pitre, the lawyer for Steinle's family, said the lawsuit points out "failures at every level." "We're approaching the one year anniversary of Katie's death and it is a particularly difficult time for the family."

Although very few states still—or ever did—mandate ethanol in gasoline, ethanol-blended gas is widely available; indeed, it can be difficult to find an ethanol-free gas station (if you want to find one near you, try this resource). The blend wall—the percentage of ethanol to gas considered safe for car engines—is 10% or E-10, and past efforts to create and push E-15 have failed.  The little-known practice of automakers quietly voiding warranties on cars whose owners use E-15 gasoline illustrates the industry's understanding of the harm that levels of ethanol passing the blend wall (E-10) causes to car engines.  Triple A also warned against the use of E-15 gas in pre-2012 cars.  Not only are engines—cars, boats, lawn mowers, chain saws, etc.— harmed, but ethanol blended into gasoline, not just the higher E-15 blend but even that at the blend wall, also contributes to a loss of mileage. The percentage of ethanol to gas has been increasing relatively steadily over the past decade as indicated by this graph from Bloomberg:

In 2015, Obama announced that he was calling on all federal agencies to no longer check the criminal history of job applicants.  This "ban the box" move was part of a larger criminal justice reform agenda that is now being extended to the nation's colleges and universities. Judicial Watch reports:
The Obama administration has ordered the nation’s colleges and universities to stop asking applicants about criminal and school disciplinary history because it discriminates against minorities. Institutions are also being asked to offer those with criminal records special support services such as counseling, mentoring and legal aid once enrolled. The government’s official term for these perspective students is “justice-involved individuals” and the new directive aims to remove barriers to higher education for the overwhelmingly minority population that’s had encounters with the law or disciplinary issues through high school.
Part of the problem, the Obama administration and opponents of "the box" believe is that asking such questions about criminal or school disciplinary history "disproportionally affects blacks and Latinos."

Having been denied their Ground Zero victory mosque, the owners of the site have planned to build an Islamic museum there since 2014.  This museum, apparently, will be an impressive structure containing apartments, a children's play room, and the museum itself. NBC New York reported at the time:

The developer who once proposed a mosque and Muslim community center near ground zero now plans a museum devoted to Islam at the same site.

Sharif El-Gamal said in a statement he wants to build a three-story museum "dedicated to exploring the faith of Islam and its arts and culture."

He said he commissioned French architect Jean Nouvel to design a 5,000-square-foot museum. The building also would include a sanctuary for prayer services and community programs.

. . . .  The five-story building, which was once a Burlington Coat factory, now includes a Muslim prayer space that has been open for three years.

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, the world's largest solar plant, has had its share of troubles, including reports that it was scorching birds that flew over it, that it wasn't producing the energy it was projected to produce, and that it was in dire financial difficulty.  This week may well top all of that . . . the solar plant set itself on fire. The LA Times reports:
A generating tower at the world's largest solar energy plant was shut down Thursday after a mirror misalignment caused sunlight to burn through electrical wiring and start a small fire, according to officials. The blaze at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert broke out around 9:30 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. In a Facebook post, officials said that flames could be seen near the ninth floor of the Unit 3 tower, but that they had apparently died out by the time firefighters arrived.

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, one of the original members of Delta Force and later its commander, was fired from his teaching position at a Virginia college because of comments he made at a conservative gathering. The all-male college, Hampden-Sydney College, was apparently inundated with SJW's demanding that the decorated hero be removed from his teaching post, so they removed him . . .  only to then be faced with a new onslaught of outraged Americans demanding that the college reverse its decision. It did. The Washington Free Beacon reports:
An all-male college in Virginia has reversed its decision to fire a prominent retired U.S. Army general hours after reports that he was removed over political correctness provoked outcry. Hampden-Sydney College decided to offer Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin a one-year contract, walking back its decision to fire Boykin after he made controversial comments about transgender bathrooms that angered LGBT activists. Fox News first reported Thursday that Boykin, an original member of the Delta Force who served as undersecretary of defense for intelligence under President George W. Bush, had been fired after nine years of teaching at the school after criticizing transgender bathrooms. “The first man who goes into the restroom with my daughter will not have to worry about surgery,” Boykin said of the debate surrounding transgender bathroom rules during a speech to conservatives in March.

Following his massive cat fight redux with Harry Reid, Alan Grayson appeared on MSNBC and . . . things didn't go well. The Tampa Bay Times reports:
In a combative interview this morning, Democratic Senate candidate and current U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson accused MSNBC host Joy Reid of "smearing" him and "spreading lies" about him in relation to a congressional ethics investigation over a once-offshore hedge fund associated with the Orlando congressman. Reid initially wanted to ask Grayson about his confrontation with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this week, but almost immediately after she started speaking, Grayson interjected. He started talking over Joy Reid and demanded she "correct the record" in describing the status of the ethics probe.

A new documentary about disgraced former congressman Anthony "Carlos Danger" Weiner, entitled Weiner, is scheduled for limited release on Friday, and with all that Huma Abedin (Mrs. Danger Weiner) has been through with her "excessive pay" investigation  as well as her recent FBI interview, it seems that she will be reliving the downfall of her husband. The New York Post reports:
When the couple OK’d filming, they clearly expected a comeback story: “Disgraced congressman rebounds to become mayor.” What unfolded instead became a headline writer’s dream (“Weiner’s Rise and Fall”) and a wife’s nightmare. Yet there’s Abedin standing, however grimly, by her man. ‘I love him, I believe in him, I have forgiven him.’ - Huma Abedin Though she never raises her voice — the filmmakers often give us subtitles — her body language speaks volumes.

Back in January, Iran seized two U. S. Navy vessels and detained 10 of our sailors, and though they were released amid a flurry of genuflections and gushing gratitude from John Kerry, our sailors were purposefully and publicly humiliated by Iran.  Not only did they release photos, but they are going so far as to erect a statue to memorialize their "victory" over the United States. The Navy announced that Commander Eric Rasch who was the executive officer of the riverine squadron has been fired as a result of the Navy's "lack of confidence in his ability to command." The Navy Times reports:
The head of a riverine squadron at the center of an international incident in January was fired Thursday, the first officer to be publicly disciplined for errors that led to 10 sailors being captured by Iran after getting lost in the Persian Gulf — a debacle that nearly scuttled the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal at the 11th hour.

Hillary Clinton and her surrogates have been describing the FBI investigation into her private email server as a "security review" or "security inquiry."  That narrative, however, has been dismantled by FBI Director James Comey. Hillary appeared on the Today Show last month and laughed at the preposterous idea that she might be indicted and told host Matt Lauer that "there is not even the remotest chance that is going to happen" because the FBI investigation is just a "security review." The Washington Free Beacon reports:
“Do you think the FBI and the Justice Department write you a letter and say it was a misunderstanding? We’re sorry, carry on?” Lauer said. “Well, we’re certainly going to carry on. I think it’s a security review,” Clinton said. “It is a security review and there are lots of those that are conducted in our government all the time and you don’t hear about most of them. You hear about this one because, you know, it does involve me, so that’s why it gets so much attention.”
Comey, however, said this week that he has no idea what that means in terms of the FBI.

Disgraced communist and former Obama "Green Jobs Czar," Van "Cash for Clunkers" Jones, hasn't been resting on his laurels since his abrupt 2009 middle-of-the-night departure from the Obama administration. He was busy serving at the front of the progressive campaign to diminish and demonize the Tea Party into obscurity, and he has now, apparently, turned his attention to Donald Trump's candidacy and is warning progressives not to underestimate The Donald. In a video posted at the MoveOn FaceBook page, Van Jones lists three specific "dumb ideas progressives have about Donald Trump." Via Mediaite: 1. Trump will self-destruct 2. He’s bad on policy, so he will lose 3. Demographics will save us

As summer approaches, Belgian-owned Budweiser announces a new patriotic label:  "America."  The theme is intended to attract customers while sharing patriotic sayings, lyrics, and the like. From the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser press release entitled "Budweiser emblazons America on cans and bottles to kick off its most patriotic summer ever":
America’s No. 1 full-flavored lager is taking its longstanding tradition of patriotic packaging even further this summer by replacing “Budweiser” with “America” on the front of its 12-oz. cans and bottles. The brand is also modifying Budweiser’s iconic label to add copy that is central to American history, including phrases from the Pledge of Allegiance and lyrics from “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful.” On shelves nationwide from May 23 through the election in November, these cans and bottles aim to inspire drinkers to celebrate America and Budweiser’s shared values of freedom and authenticity.

How bad and lacking in moral fiber must a Democrat be for Harry Reid to accuse him of having "no moral compass?"  Alan Grayson bad. Grayson (D-FL)—who is perhaps best known for his over-the-top statements, unethical campaign ads, and alleged shady hedge fund dealings—is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio (R-FL). Reid, Senate minority leader, is less than enthusiastic about Grayson's bid to leave the House and join the Senate.  Back in February, the two men engaged in a remarkable cat fight . . . that Grayson just can't let drop. In a rather stunning act of insanity, Grayson confronted Reid during a Congressional Progressive Caucus meeting Wednesday morning; he was waving Reid's February statements and demanding an explanation.

As we at LI, like everyone else on both sides of the aisle, absorb the likelihood of a Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton face-off in November, the Military Times conducted its own survey of active-duty military personnel and learned that those in the military, if faced with the choice between Trump and Hillary, choose Trump by a wide margin. Disturbing to the Trump camp, however, is the fact that "more than one in five" of those military members surveyed may not cast a vote for president at all in November if Trump and Hillary are the only two choices and that Trump's troubles with women voters extends to females in the military. The Military Times reports:
In a new survey of American military personnel, Donald Trump emerged as active-duty service members' preference to become the next U.S. president, topping Hillary Clinton by more than a 2-to-1 margin. However, in the latest Military Times election survey, more than one in five troops said they’d rather not vote in November if they have to choose between just those two candidates. But given only those choices, 21 percent of the service members surveyed said they would abstain from voting.More than 54 percent of the 951 troops Military Times surveyed said they would vote for Trump, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, over Clinton, the Democratic front-runner. Only about 25 percent said they would vote for Clinton in that matchup.
Here's the Military Times graphic (via the above link):

In keeping with the lumbering awkwardness of Hillary Clinton's presidential primary campaign that has included herding reporters like cattle and adopting a phony Southern accent, Team Hillary has concocted a new means of countering widespread unflattering comments about Hillary online.  Unlike Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, Hillary does not enjoy an enthusiastic following even among those who support her, so she does not have the army of online people voluntarily engaged in defending her against attacks from both the left and the right. The solution? A vast network of highly paid online pro-Hillary trolls funded by a David Brock super PAC, "Correct the Record," that will be coordinating with the Hillary campaign.  The plan, apparently, was to hire a bunch of people to do what other candidates' supporters do for free . . .  and to make it look grassroots and organic. The LA Times reports:
When the Internet’s legions of Hillary hecklers steal away to chat rooms and Facebook pages to vent grievances about Clinton, express revulsion toward Clinton and launch attacks on Clinton, they now may find themselves in a surprising place – confronted by a multimillion dollar super PAC working with Clinton.