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Author: Kemberlee Kaye

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Kemberlee Kaye

Kemberlee Kaye is the Senior Contributing Editor of Legal Insurrection, where she has worked since 2014 and is the Director of Operations and Editorial Development for the Legal Insurrection Foundation. She also serves as the Managing Editor for CriticalRace.org, a research project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation.

She has a background working in immigration law, and as a grassroots organizer, digital media strategist, campaign lackey, and muckraker. Over the years Kemberlee has worked with FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, James O'Keefe's Project Veritas, and US Senate re-election campaigns, among others. 

Kemberlee, her daughter, and her son live a lovely taco-filled life in their native Texas.

You can reach her anytime via email at kk @ legalinsurrection.com.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 09, 2015 25 Comments
I must've missed the "everyone make stuff up" memo circulating through media channels this week. Thankfully, I'm just a blogger. Tuesday, the Huffington Post published a post with the headline, Jeb Bush In 1995: Unwed Mothers Should Be Publicly Shamed. There's just one problem though -- that's not what Jeb Bush said. Not in 1995 or otherwise. The post focuses on a book Bush wrote called Profiles in Character. The book was published in 1995. Gawker, Wonkette, Raw Story and others then reblogged using the same, incorrect headline. No, Jeb Bush did not say unwed mothers should be publicly shamed

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 09, 2015 45 Comments
Last week, the New York Times dropped the lamest "hit" piece in the history of hit pieces. Pretending a few traffic tickets from the 90s made Sen. Rubio and his wife unfit for public service, the NYT ended up the butt of the joke. On social media, #rubiocrimespree trending nationally for hours with submissions like, "drank milk after it expired," and "Didn't read Apple End User Licence [sic] Agreement but still clicked "I Agree"." Rubio's campaign got in on the fun, and celebrities publicly declared the NYT story dumb. Apparently that wasn't enough embarrassment for the NYT. Tuesday, the NYT released yet another 'scoop' on the good Senator from Florida. This time, the NYT suggested that Rubio had financial problems which have tainted his career. Those "financial problems"? "Student debt, mortgages and an extra loan against the value of his home totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 08, 2015 28 Comments
You probably remember Emma Sulkowicz, who carried her mattress around Columbia University to protest her alleged rapists presence on campus. Sulkowicz's "Carry the Weight" project was an act of "performance art" (her term, not ours) that resulted in college credit. Her alleged rapist, Paul Nungesser, was later cleared by Columbia and has since filed suit against the university. Sulkowicz graduated with her mattress in tow. Wasting no time, Sulkowicz released her latest piece of performance art -- a sex tape. "Ceci N'est Pas Un Viol" or "This is Not a Rape" is Sulkowicz's latest endeavor. Titled to imitate Rene Magritte’s “Ceci N’est Pas Une Pipe,” Sulkowicz's project begins with a trigger warning, and includes a critical thinking guide.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 08, 2015 20 Comments
On the rare occasion Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame wanders into quasi-political discourse, he shares a perspective severely lacking in this overly-politicized world -- common sense observation. Usually, these observations are served up via Rowe's mail bag. Sunday afternoon, Rowe responded to a message from Craig P. Craig wrote:
Your constant harping on “work ethic” is growing tiresome. Just because someone’s poor doesn’t mean they’re lazy. The unemployed want to work! And many of those who can’t find work today, didn’t have the benefit of growing up with parents like yours. How can you expect someone with no role model to qualify for one of your scholarships or sign your silly “Sweat Pledge?” Rather than accusing people of not having a work-ethic, why not drop the right-wing propaganda and help them develop one?
Mr. P. makes several good points, namely -- despite the oft interneted mantra, just because someone's poor certainly doesn't mean they're lazy. In response to Mr. P., Rowe pointed out what's probably the single most productive observation I've seen on the matter (emphasis added):
Hi Craig, and Happy Sunday! I’m afraid you’ve overestimated the reach of my foundation, as well as my ability to motivate people I’ve never met. For the record, I don’t believe all poor people are lazy, any more than I believe all rich people are greedy. But I can understand why so many do.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 05, 2015 5 Comments
Last week, reporters with NBC's Atlanta affiliate station crashed the Spring Task Force Summit of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC, an organization that works with state legislators, think tanks, and policy experts to advocate for limited regulation and reduced taxation, is a favorite target of left-leaning media outlets and reporters. The report published by 11 Alive, Atlanta's NBC affiliate, paints ALEC as a group of nefarious money-mongers who buy their way through state legislatures to accumulate power. 11 Alive also suggests ALEC was involved in a "secret back room meeting"... a secret back room meeting to educate part-time legislators.
What is ALEC? "It's really a corporate bill mill," said Sen. Nan Orrock, an Atlanta Democrat who has served in both houses of the Georgia General Assembly for years. "They're cranking out legislation, putting it into the hands of legislators who go back and file it." Orrock would know. She was once a member of ALEC. "The corporations that are there have equal standing with the legislators," Sen. Orrock said. "You mean they can vote?" we asked. "They absolutely can vote, and truth be told, they write the bills," she answered, referring to the lobbyists. There really are back rooms where corporate lobbyists have direct access to lawmakers completely out of sight, with no transparency or public filings. They're also wined and dined after hours at these events with nothing recorded on ethics reports. We know because we saw one of these back rooms with our own eyes, and were kicked out with the aid of off-duty police officers on orders from ALEC staff.
Orrock won awards from the Progressive States Network. It's also not uncommon for think tanks and policy shops to have sample legislation posted on their websites for state house use. But facts and things.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 05, 2015 42 Comments
Friday morning, the New York Times deemed Senator Rubio's driving record news that fit to print. Though it reads like something from the annals of The Onion, the New York Times was completely serious about Sen. Rubio's troubling speeding tickets from the 90s.
Senator Marco Rubio has been in a hurry to get to the top, rising from state legislator to United States senator in the span of a decade and now running for president at age 44. But politics is not the only area where Mr. Rubio, a Republican from Florida, has an affinity for the fast track. He and his wife, Jeanette, have also shown a tendency to be in a rush on the road. ...A review of records dating back to 1997 shows that the couple had a combined 17 citations: Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13. On four separate occasions they agreed to attend remedial driving school after a violation.
Sen. Rubio took defensive driving?! IMPEACH.
Mr. Rubio’s troubles behind the wheel predate his days in politics... A dozen years later, in 2009, he was ticketed for speeding on a highway in Duval County and found himself back in driver improvement school. Things got more complicated in 2011 when Mr. Rubio was alerted to the fact that his license was facing suspension after a traffic camera caught him failing to stop at a red light in his beige Buick. His lawyer, Alex Hanna, paid a $16 fee to delay the suspension and eventually it was dismissed.
What kind of elitist is Rubio that he paid a whopping $16 fee to avoid suspension of his driver's license?

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 05, 2015 8 Comments
Speaking from a plane hanger in a Dallas suburb Thursday afternoon, Governor Perry officially launched his second bid for the White House. Flanked by Navy SEALs, Perry was introduced by his wife, Anita. Meet the former first lady of Texas, Anita Perry. Over the years, I've often heard Governor Perry refer to Anita as, "his rock" and it's easy to see why. Perry's Coaxer in Chief as CNN called her, addressed one of the most crucial issues of Perry's 2016 campaign -- his glasses. "He's got these new glasses that have gotten a lot of attention," observes CNN, "What do you think? Did he need a new image?" "No, he needed the glasses to see! I mean, this really just tickles me, it makes me laugh. He needed those glasses from a childhood injury when he was 16 or 17-years-old and the vision in one eye deteriorated such that he had to have the glasses. So I picked them out. Really, I like him without the glasses, but he had to have them to see."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 04, 2015 8 Comments
After being maligned by the press for "inviting" violence by taking a stand for free speech at her Garland, Texas "Draw Mohammad" event, Pamela Gellar was target of a beheading plot. Usaamah Rahim, who was being investigated by the FBI, was shot and killed by Boston police Tuesday. Rahim and an alleged co-conspirator, planned to behead Pamela Gellar.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 02, 2015 5 Comments
Merriam-Webster released this year's dictionary update and the additions are... interesting. According to their website, the dictionary expansion includes more 1,700 words:
As of last week, it’s grown by more than 1,700 entries, and existing entries have expanded by more than 700 new senses. We’ve added 3,200 examples that provide contextual information, and another 200 entries for some of the words people most frequently look up have been updated and enhanced. Some of the new entries are for terms you’ve heard of and some likely aren’t.
Several words birthed from the politisphere made the cut -- like this lefty favorite. Take this one away and they'd have no clue how to chat about the Koch brothers: dark money merriam-webster dictionary addition

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 02, 2015 24 Comments
Yesterday, fledgling retailer Abercrombie & Fitch lost their anti-hijab case in the Supreme Court. Amy provided background when SCOTUS heard oral arguments in February:
Back in 2008, Samantha Elauf, an observant Muslim, applied and was interviewed for a job at teen-friendly retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. She impressed the hiring manager, but when the time came to make a decision, the manager decided not to hire Samantha because she had concerns about whether or not Samantha would insist on wearing her headscarf to work. This would have been a violation of Abercrombie’s “Look Policy,” which dictates that employees conform to a strict set of style guidelines that specifically prohibit head coverings and black clothing.
Abercrombie's "Look Policy" was summarized as, "classic East Coast collegiate style."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 29, 2015 13 Comments
U.S. Beer King, Anheuser-Busch has temporarily stopped producing beer at one of its Georgia facilities to can drinking water for flood victims in Texas and Oklahoma. Working with the Red Cross, Anheuser-Busch is producing 50,000 cans of water free of charge. NBC News writes:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 29, 2015 8 Comments
According to Haaretz, the Palestinians have backed off their push to ban Israel from FIFA. Watch live: Haaretz reports:
4:50 P.M: Palestinian soccer chief welcomes Eini's call for a handshake, but demands FIFA vote on compromise deal: "Let bygones be bygones," Rajoub said. FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the congress that at this point "there is no motion to ban any association from the league." 4:45 P.M. Palestinians introduce amended version of proposal, which drops demand for banning Israel from FIFA, but includes the formation of a committee to look into the freedom of movement for Palestinian soccer players, Israeli racism, and the status of Israeli league teams based in the West Bank.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 28, 2015 17 Comments
If it seems like we're writing at least one "so and so formally announces they're running for president in 2016" post each day, that's probably not far from accurate. Waiting with baited breath for the Republican presidential candidate who can serve up the pro-abortion, anti-gun vote? Wait no more! Your endurance has proved fruitful. New York's former Governor George Pataki announced his presidential candidacy today. "My vision wasn't a partisan vision, it was about people, about what we can accomplish together," Pataki says in his first campaign video which was also released this morning. "If we are to flourish as a people, we have to fall in love with America again," he concludes. The video is 4 minutes long and has underlined words. That's pretty much all I'll say about it. But it's here to sate your curiosity:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 27, 2015 35 Comments
Former Senator Rick Santorum formally launched his presidential bid in Pennsylvania this afternoon. Making his announcement to a sizable crowd of enthusiastic supporters, Santorum made a tall order. "I'll offer a bold vision for America, the one that's clear and conservative, that has plans for reform and that has a proven track record." His multi-faceted platform included "scrapping the corrupt federal tax code and the IRS that goes with it." In exchange for the current tax code, Santorum proposed implementing a flat tax. Reviving industry, shrinking government, reducing spending, and revoking every executive order and regulation that "cost American jobs" were also priorities outlined by Pennsylvania's former Senator.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 27, 2015 23 Comments
Keep in mind our hard earned money goes to pay people to come up with these ideas. According to Roll Call's Hannah Hess, Chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, Rep. Candice S. Miller, R-Mich., the Capitol could really use a few giant surveillance blimps. In April, intrepid Florida mailman Douglas Hughes successfully landed a gyrocopter on the Capitol's West Front Lawn. Hughes was gyrocopting around D.C. in protest of the campaign finance system. Authorities were unaware of the gyrocopter's approach until Park Police spotted the UFO hovering over the Lincoln Memorial about 25 minutes before Hughes landed on the Capitol's lawn.
Hughes’ gyrocopter appeared on the FAA’s radar as a simple dot. “All available information about the slow moving, irregular symbol made it indistinguishable from other non-aircraft radar tracks,” FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta testified. On the raw-air traffic radar feed, the gyrocopter looked like a flock of birds, weather event, kites or a balloon.
Of course every single action requires a disproportionate government reaction so clearly, the only way to stop unsolicited gyrocopters is to employ a bevy of giant blimps to provide aerial surveillance of the Capitol grounds... Hess reports Rep. Miller visited, "U.S. Customs and Border Patrol ground stations along the Southern border in January and was amazed at the clarity of the Tethered Aerostat Radar System, or TARS. She is suggesting the “sophisticated technology” might suit the Capitol."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 26, 2015 41 Comments
Leave it to feminists to be incensed over a dinosaur movie. "Jurassic World" hits theaters June 12. Presumably a redux of "Jurassic Park," but this time with one dude taking out dinosaurs instead of a motley crew of paleontologists, it's a film I can't wait to see on the silver screen. But that's probably because I'm not a feminist. In this edition of Feminists vs. Reality, the gripe is with (gasp!) traditional gender roles. According to NYU Local, Joss Whedon is to blame for reminding feminists they should be infuriated by traditional gender rolls instead of swooning over leading man, Chris Pratt:
When a clip from Jurassic World featuring Pratt and his co-star Bryce Dallas Howard was released on the Internet last week, Joss Whedon, director of the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron and well known feminist, had some major gripes with what he saw. Online feminist entertainment blog The Mary Sue tweeted out a link to the Jurassic World scene, commenting, “We’re too busy fanning ourselves to talk more about Chris Pratt in this #JurassicWorld clip.” Joss Whedon used his own Twitter account to reply: “…and I’m too busy wishing this clip wasn’t 70’s era sexist. She’s a stiff, he’s a life-force – really? Still?” He has since stated in an interview with Variety that he regrets sending the tweet, saying that Twitter was the wrong medium for such negative comments, but Whedon hasn’t retracted the opinion he expressed to his 1.12 million followers.
Whedon has since abandoned Twitter, but his tweeted seed of outrage has blossomed into a hideously stupid monstrosity.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 26, 2015 25 Comments
One of the nation's largest cities experienced what meteorologists are calling a one-hundred-year flood. Late last night, three separate thunderstorm systems converged over Space City to form one incredibly nasty storm. For weeks Houston and other parts of the Lone Star State have been pelted with storm system after storm system, leaving large swaths of affected areas waterlogged and unable to absorb more rainfall. Leaving two dead, lightning storms and torrential rainfall pounded Houston for most of the night. Some parts of the city, particularly southwest Houston, saw more than ten inches of rain in as little as five hours. Courts and schools were closed Tuesday with much of the city still unnavigable.

RAW VIDEO: This is just some of the incredible footage taken by Skyeye HD of the flooding across the city of Houston this morning.WATCH MORE HERE --> http://abc13.co/1FN6b0f#HoustonFlood Photo Gallery --> http://abc13.co/1HHk02n

Posted by ABC 13 Houston on Tuesday, May 26, 2015
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