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Posted by Amy Miller on April 24, 2015 6 Comments
During the unraveling of the Ottoman Empire, the embattled leadership ordered the forced deportation of ethnic Armenians from the region. Nobody has ever been able to say for certain how many people were slaughtered in the years following the order, but experts estimate that somewhere between 300,000 and 1.5 million ethnic Armenians lay dead when all was said and done. Armenia's "Great Catastrophe" was, in the eyes of much of the world, the first genocide of the 20th century. Ceremonies were held today in both Turkey and Armenia commemorating the massacres, yet even in the face of such a solemn anniversary, Turkish officials continued to deny that ethnic cleansing was the motivation for the forced deportations and murders. Calling what happened to ethnic Armenians is a consistent point of contention even amongst the world's most powerful governments. The EU Parliament, and even the pope, have used the word "genocide" to describe what happened, but the United States continues to lag behind. President Barack Obama has come under fire in recent days for offering official statements that omit the use of the word "genocide" to describe the "Great Catastrophe," and many see this as the breaking of a major campaign promise.

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Posted by Mike LaChance on April 24, 2015 21 Comments
Wow. First David Brock and now Howard Dean. Is there something in the water at MSNBC? Dean is the former chair of the DNC, a role now filled by our favorite Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz. As a long time party loyalist, Dean appeared on Morning Joe yesterday and attempted to downplay new scandalous revelations regarding the Clintons. Hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough could barely contain their skepticism. David Rutz of the Washington Free Beacon:
Mika Tires of Howard Dean’s ‘Jihad’ for Clintons: ‘The Facts Are The Facts’ The New York Times reported Thursday that the Clinton Global Initiative accepted millions of dollars from a Russian oil company when the State Department, then headed by Hillary Clinton, was approving a deal that would give Russians control of the company Uranium One and bring Vladimir Putin “closer to his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.” The charges are part of Peter Schweizer’s book Clinton Cash.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 24, 2015 15 Comments
We have been here before. The vicious anti-Israel boycotters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement don't like it when the tables are turned on them.  That's why, when faculty pass their anti-Israel boycott resolutions, they include in the resolutions the demand that their right to boycott be protected. In other words, boycotters claim the right to boycott others, but deny others the right to boycott them. It's an "academic freedom for me, but not for thee" attitude. In Europe, in particular, the BDS rhetoric and tactics are so toxic that BDS has become the mother's milk of anti-Semitic violence and threats.  In many cities, Walking While Jewish is hazardous to one's health. But boycotting the boycotters was bound to happen. Israel supporters were not going to be punching bags forever. And forever has arrived. We have highlighted before proposed federal legislation updating boycott protection for Israel in new trade legislation, including the massive European Union free trade agreement under negotiation. BDS supporters howled that the trade legislation could mean the death of BDS in Europe. That effort just got a huge boost, as this AIPAC press release reflects:
AIPAC praises the Senate Finance Committee for unanimously including an amendment targeting harmful anti-Israel trade and commercial practices in the “Fast Track” Trade Promotion Authority bill yesterday. AIPAC applauds the amendment's authors, Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH), and expresses appreciation to Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Democrat Ron Wyden (D-OR), who backed this key initiative.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 24, 2015 38 Comments
We've written quite a bit about Trigger Warnings since before it became fashionable:
The fragile college student mind is getting more fragile by the day. As if the normal run of political correctness were not enough, we now have “Trigger Warnings” — the notion that students need to be warned that the material they are about to read in class may “trigger” emotional upset.... Of course, how the trigger is defined says much about the theory behind the movement — it almost always serves left-wing critical race and gender theories .... The Trigger Warning movement is all about enforcing a conformity of thought by forcing faculty and others to identify and warn about politically incorrect ideas.
The Trigger Warning in the Featured Image was displayed at Oberlin when Christina Hoff Sommers spoke: [caption id="attachment_124731" align="alignnone" width="550"]Image credit: Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute Image credit: Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute[/caption] UT-Arlington Philosophy Prof. Keith Burgess-Jackson has come up with a Trigger Warning for his Philosophy of Religion class. He writes:
I've decided to include a trigger warning in each course syllabus, beginning this fall. Here is the trigger warning for my upcoming Philosophy of Religion course. What do you think?
What do I think? I think the precious, fragile souls demanding Trigger Warnings will demand that you put a Trigger Warning on this Trigger Warning. Here we go:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 23, 2015 22 Comments
When I read Aleister's post detailing the ludicrous trigger warning issued by Georgetown's radical feminists for Christina Hoff Sommer's talk, I was taken aback by this tweet from from an attendee of an event for the Association of Writing and Writing Programs. After I got done rolling my eyes, I realized that it is unlikely that any one of these geniuses will be remembered for their writing in 40 years...much less 400 years. This is compared to one very white, very straight man known as William Shakespeare, who was born on this day in 1564.

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Posted by Amy Miller on April 23, 2015 18 Comments
Late last month, the internet descended into justified outrage over the launch of a "spa-like" abortion clinic located in Friendship Heights, just outside of Washington, D.C. Carafem's approach to the business of abortion is made clear in one of their many flippant, casual slogans: Abortion. Yeah, we do that. In my head, I always follow it up with, You got a PROBLEM with that? Yes, yes I do. The clinic's founders are loud and proud about what they do, and they want to make sure that their patients feel comfortable with their choice to end the life of the tiny human incubating peacefully within. Carafem's new ad campaign, however, goes one step further, and challenges the existence itself of rightful opposition to abortion. Watch:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 23, 2015 22 Comments
They New York Times dropped a bomb. More like a daisy cutter, actually. The NYT's latest exposé into the sordid world of the Clinton family suggests a direct connection between the Clinton Foundation, Russian donations (that were not publicly disclosed), and the Russian acquisition of Uranium One. The events transpired while Mrs. Clinton was serving as Secretary of State. Point for Rand Paul who publicly predicted new, potentially disastrous revelations about the Clinton Foundation just weeks ago. The dots connected in the NYT story, links reportedly included in the upcoming book, "Clinton Cash", might be the most serious allegations in the litany of Clinton-family misdeeds thus far.
Beyond mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton. As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.
Coincidence, right?
And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock. ... Whether the donations played any role in the approval of the uranium deal is unknown. But the episode underscores the special ethical challenges presented by the Clinton Foundation, headed by a former president who relied heavily on foreign cash to accumulate $250 million in assets even as his wife helped steer American foreign policy as secretary of state, presiding over decisions with the potential to benefit the foundation’s donors.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 23, 2015 20 Comments
By a vote of 56–43, the Senate confirmed Loretta Lynch as Eric Holder's replacement today. Lynch will be the first African-American woman to serve as attorney general. Legal Insurrection has vocally opposed the confirmation of Loretta Lynch, and painfully so, seeing as the Attorney General to-be was a law school classmate of Professor Jacobson's. Our objections, like the objections of many, revolve around Lynch's views on prosecutorial discretion and President Obama's executive immigration overreach. The reader may recall Lynch's nomination hearings. During these hearings, Lynch made no indication she would handle President Obama's executive immigration overreach in a manner that differed from Eric Holder. Ten Republicans voted to confirm Loretta Lynch. They are, in no particular order:

Posted by Daniel Mael on April 23, 2015 23 Comments
On Thursday, the State of Israel is celebrating her 67th birthday. Naturally, pro-Israel college students nationwide have organized celebratory gatherings - ranging from guest speakers to culturally (read: food) oriented events. On Massachusetts Institute of Technology's campus, the planned celebration was not without controversy and dissent. On April 20th, the student group Palestine@MIT issued an "open letter" decrying an Israel Independence Day celebration scheduled to take place during SpringFest. Palestine@MIT went as far as to claim that the event makes them feel "unsafe."
The Israeli Independence Day raises politically sensitive questions given that it just so happens to represent the 1948 Palestinian Exodus, also known as the "Nakba". This is a day of extreme tragedy and traumatic loss for millions of people, including many students here at MIT. As Palestinians and supporters of Palestine in the MIT community, we are alarmed by the fact that the UA are endorsing this event, given that the UA represents us as well. We feel unsafe in an environment that celebrates a catastrophic day for one nation at an official school-wide capacity by a body that represents all students equally, with no regards or sympathy towards our tragedy. We direct this message to the entirety of the student body with a request for change. We request the UA to detach the carnival from SpringFest, and to refrain from sponsoring and/or publicizing it at a school-wide capacity.
Palestine@MIT, promoting a narrative of victimhood, suggested that the celebration of Israel's independence threatened their community standing.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 23, 2015 18 Comments
When I reported that the Disneyland measles outbreak had officially ended, I also noted that a bill mandating vaccinations for children attending public or private schools was stalled in committee. Due to California's recent infectious disease challenges, which also includes a substantial increase in whooping cough infections, our legislators have cleared Senate Bill 277 repealing the state's current personal and faith-based exemptions, and allowing only vaccinated children to attend public and private schools.
Legislation aimed at reversing the state's liberal vaccine exemption law took a major step forward Wednesday in the state Senate, only a week after support for the bill seemed to be on shaky ground. The dramatic 7-2 vote by the Senate Education Committee surprised some Capitol observers, as one East Bay Democrat, Loni Hancock, of Berkeley, switched sides and voted yes. If the bill becomes law, California would become the third state after Mississippi and West Virginia to slam the door on any exemptions to vaccinations except those issued for medical reasons.
Children with problems like allergies or immune suppression would remain exempt under this new proposed law.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 23, 2015 15 Comments
For a paltry $200, you finally give Mom the gift she's always wanted -- a $50 Starbucks gift card. But this isn't any ordinary Starbucks gift card, oh no. This special, limited-edition version is etched and comes in a cardboard box. "Offered for the first time ever, this Mother's Day Starbucks Card makes an elegant gift with its laser-etched floral details and satin ceramic finish. It comes pre-loaded with $50 on the Card and packaged in a beautiful gift box with matching design," says the Starbucks website. So far, the overpriced premium gift card has a total of one review. The alleged purchaser, UniBaller, likes the laser-etched card so much, they intend to keep it fo' themself. Screen Shot 2015-04-23 at 9.36.11 AM

Posted by Pat Austin on April 23, 2015 48 Comments
SHREVEPORT --About six years ago, in May 2009, I received an outraged email from Stacy McCain. He had just learned that the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee) had endorsed Charlie Crist in the 2010 Florida Senate race fifteen months before the primary. As you may recall, Mel Martinez was retiring and so this was an open seat which as it happens had an up-and-coming, very promising conservative Marco Rubio vying for the seat against Crist.  Rubio was just out of his former position as Speaker of the House in Florida. A host of other conservatives, such as Michelle Malkin, Erick Erickson and John Hawkins, also were furious that the NRSC would attempt to trump the voters in a state race and endorse Crist who had by that time already shown some allegiance to Barack Obama by supporting the stimulus plan. The NRSC endorsement ignited a grassroots campaign for the charismatic and conservative Rubio, and the Not One Red Cent blog was born.  Within two weeks the blog had already hit thousands of readers. I was one of the writers on that blog in those early days. I’d like to believe that our writing helped propel Rubio’s campaign as he gained momentum and eventually dominated Crist in that election.  The blog was born on May 15, 2009 with Stacy McCain doing the first thirteen posts.  My first post was number 14 on May 16, 2009. Within the week, Carol’s Closet was on board, as was No Sheeples Here and Doug Hagin.  We picked up a few others along the way.  In May 2009, we put up fifty-seven posts on Not One Red Cent; by the end of 2009 we had posted 146 times, but by the end of the year Rubio had picked up significant steam and was crushing Crist in the polls.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 23, 2015 19 Comments
As the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev entered the penalty phase yesterday, jurors were shown a photo of the Boston Marathon bomber giving the finger to a jail security camera after his arrest. The Boston Globe reported:
Jurors view footage of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev making obscene gesture Jurors in the death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday were shown video of him making an obscene gesture as well as holding his fingers in the shape of “V” to a surveillance camera in a courthouse holding cell three months after he was arrested in the terror attack. A prosecutor had shown a picture of Tsarnaev making the obscene gesture to the jury in US District Court in Boston at the end of her opening statement in the penalty phase of the trial on Tuesday, underlining her argument that he was “unconcerned, unrepentant, and unchanged” after the attack. On Wednesday, video of the incident, which happened on July 10, 2013, was shown to jurors at the request of Tsarnaev’s defense team.
The gesture is blurred in this video but you'll get the idea:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 22, 2015 7 Comments
According to The Hill, one of Hillary Clinton's longstanding supporters has defected to Governor Martin O'Malley. The Miami Herald explains, "as Miami mayor, Manny Diaz backed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. But now he's hosting a breakfast for former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a potential Clinton rival in 2016." To say that Diaz is excited about a potential O'Malley run is probably an understatement. Diaz told the Miami Herald, "He's not running yet, but I'll tell you, if he does run, I will endorse him. He's an old friend, and I'm very loyal to old friends."
Diaz praised O'Malley's work as Baltimore mayor and noted he visited him when he first got elected in Miami. Diaz ended up using Baltimore's 311 call system as a model for his own city. "He's very data-driven, results-oriented, 'let's see how we're doing, let's measure ourselves,'" Diaz said. Plus, he has a soft spot in his heart for executives: In 2008, as head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Diaz said he met separately with Clinton and Barack Obama and urged them to run as "mayor of the United States." "When you look at what mayors do, and in this case what governor's do -- and he's been both, so he's actually run something," Diaz said. "He's run two governments."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 22, 2015 16 Comments
Is the 2016 GOP field to RINO-y for you? Hillary too full of hogwash and O'Malley too boring? Are you looking for a candidate who graduated from the School of Hard Knocks? Then Waka Flocka Flame might just be the candidate you're looking for... or not. Juaquin James Malphurs or Waka Flocka, is a rapper from Atlanta. He also announced his presidential candidacy Monday (which was not so coincidentally 4/20). According to Rolling Stone:
Two years ago, Waka Flocka Flame made a promise. "I'm dead ass running for president in 2016," the Atlanta rapper tweeted. The date was November 6th, 2012. Today, he's keeping his word. In a high-level meeting with Rolling Stone today, on April 20th, 2015, Waka declared his candidacy for the next President of the United States, with DJ Whoo Kid as his running mate.

Posted by Amy Miller on April 22, 2015 10 Comments
Happy Earth Day, everyone! Hope you're all enjoying your...composting...and your...carbon offsets? I used aerosol hairspray today, so I'm not even going to pretend I observe this non-holiday. President Obama does, however. Today, he boarded his private jumbo jet and burned down to the Everglades to deliver a blistering take on his political opponents who aren't doing enough to stop people from flying their private jets everywhere. Also, something about protecting fragile ecosystems. In anticipation of Obama's Earth Day stump speech, the media started publishing annoying articles about Air Force One's carbon footprint. How inconvenient, right? When asked about the jet's effect on the environment, White House press secretary Josh Earnest crumbled under the weight of his boss's sanctimony. Watch the madness unfold:
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