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Posted by Mike LaChance on January 22, 2015 15 Comments
Did you think it was impossible for the Times to say something nice about anyone at FOX News? I did too, until I read this column by Jim Rutenberg:
The Megyn Kelly Moment Kelly, who is now 44, grew up in Ailes’s America, in a middle-class suburb of Albany called Delmar. She was the youngest of three children, worked as a fitness instructor and went to Mass most Sundays. Her father was an education professor at the State University of New York at Albany, and her mother ran the behavioral-health department at a Veterans Administration hospital. As a teenager in the late 1980s, she lived in a mall rat’s bubble of tall hair, leg warmers and Bon Jovi; one of the popular kids, she was the type who also had friends among the other groups at Bethlehem Central High School, with names like the Dirties (hackeysack-playing stoners) and the Creamies (choir geeks). Reality intruded early. Ten days before Christmas, when Kelly was 15, her father died of a heart attack. He had canceled some of his life-insurance coverage just two months earlier. Money had been tight, and Kelly’s mother had to worry about the mortgage and other expenses. In her senior yearbook, Megyn listed her future hopes in three words: “College, government, wealth.” Kelly took a high-school aptitude test that, in a perhaps rare moment of accuracy for such tests, suggested that her ideal career was news. She applied to Syracuse in hopes of attending its well-regarded communications program; she was accepted to the school but rejected from the program, so she majored in political science instead.
It's a very long piece but worth reading in full. Of course, not everyone on the left is happy about Kelly's success.

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Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 22, 2015 11 Comments
The House Homeland Security Committee passed the Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015 yesterday. The Act will be introduced in the House today. "This is probably the strongest border security bill ever presented to the Congress," Homeland Security Committee Chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, told Fox News yesterday. The bill's stated purpose is, "to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to gain and maintain operational control of the international borders of the United States." The Homeland Security Committee released the following to promote the bill: "It's the fundamental responsibility of the government to ensure the territory of this nation is secure against any illicit entry and concealed threats, and on that account the government has failed consistently. Despite billions of dollars and decades of policy debates, the border is not secure," McCaul said in a statement.

Holding DHS Accountable

Facing numerous roadblocks to thwarting President Obama's executive immigration overreach by tightening the purse strings, the Secure Our Borders First Act seems to have found a way to force accountability, at least on the border. The bill seeks to hold the Department of Homeland Security accountable by imposing penalties for noncompliance.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 22, 2015 10 Comments
This has to be a new low. Anti-Israel activists in New York City have started a campaign as part of the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement to try to prevent City Council members and other politicians from visiting Israel. A coalition of 40 groups, most of which are quite small but including the usual suspects like the inaccurately named Jewish Voice for Peace are leading the effort. At a NY City Council meeting today, anti-Israel activists disrupted a vote commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, shouting for one of the council members not to travel to Israel, as reported by Jacob Kornbluh at Jewish Political News & Updates website, which has video:
Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists disrupted the City Council’s stated meeting on Thursday while members were voting on a resolution commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The protesters started yelling, “shame on you, Melissa”, “why are you supporting an apartheid” and “Palestinian lives matter.” After five minutes of yelling and screaming, the some 40 protesters were ordered to leave and escorted out the balcony. Council member Cory Johnson called it “incredibly disrespectful and offensive. Simply awful.” Councilman Mark Weprin added, “The State of Israel has never supported the killing of innocent people, and they want to love in peace.” “I am still shaken, upset and angry,” Councilman David Greenfield. “Shame on them for hating Jews.” “But I’m pleased, because we can stop pretending that this is about Israel. What we saw here was blatant antisemitism, good old fashioned antisemitism,” Greenfield roared. “They were angry, you know why? because Hitler did not finish the job.” The trip to Israel is a message that “we will not be cowered by this fear and hatred,” he added.... Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said in an emailed statement, “At a time when the Council was voting on a resolution commemorating the 70thanniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, this outburst was offensive, outrageous and counter to the values of the City Council.”
One of the people in the protest recorded Vine loops(h/t Gothamist).

Posted by Amy Miller on January 22, 2015 0 Comments
Earlier today, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his government resigned under pressure from Houthi rebels who gained control over the Presidential palace and residence this week. According to Presidential adviser Sultan al-Atawani, contrary to what previous sources touted as the beginnings of a compromise, Houthi rebels refused to withdraw from key parts of the city---including the presidential palace, and the presidential and prime minister's palaces---and refused to release government officials taken hostage during the attack. Via the AP:
"We reached a deadlock," Hadi said, according to a copy of his letter of resignation obtained by The Associated Press. "We found out that we are unable to achieve the goal, for which we bear a lot of pain and disappointment," he said. ... Military officials close to the president said Hadi resigned after the Houthis pressured him to give a televised speech to calm the streets. They said the Houthis also requested appointments in his own office, the Defense Ministry and provincial capitals, demands Hadi rejected.
The fallout from this could go in one of two directions---although in this region, unrest and faction splits don't generally lead to either peace, or collaboration against growing terror operations. On one hand, some analysts believe that the resignations will lead to backlash and popular uprising, further isolating the Houthi (and diminishing Iranian influence.)

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 22, 2015 9 Comments
I love, love, love when companies and brands go pro-Dad. Last year, Cheerios released a "How to Dad" series of ads that were adorable and quite perfect in their ability to silence the ridiculous "dumb Dad" meme. This year, one company has upped the ante on featuring fatherhood in its marketing. You might need to grab the Kleenex to watch Dove's newly released Super Bowl ad. Called #RealStrength, Dove's commercial asks, "What makes a man stronger?" Take a look: Dove's intention is to highlight the caring side of masculinity. The ad's description states, "90% of men around the world say that their caring side is part of their masculinity and strength. Let’s acknowledge the caring side of men and celebrate their #RealStrength as a true sign of masculinity."

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 22, 2015 30 Comments
This is likely the final chapter in the saga of our two-year long fight to obtain important documents regarding the non-prosecution of David Gregory for possessing on Meet the Press an illegal high-capacity ammunition magazine. The short version is that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department warned NBC News that it could not possess an actual high-capacity magazine, but NBC News went ahead and did it anyway. The MPD recommended a warrant for Gregory's arrest, but that request was nixed by the D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan because -- my paraphrase -- Gregory was just too nice a guy and had no other criminal intent. That attitude stood in stark contrast to the D.C. Attorney General's vigorous prosecution of other lesser-known people who also were nice people and had no other criminal intent, but violated D.C.'s gun laws. We served a Freedom of Information Act request but D.C. held back numerous documents. So we filed suit. We were assisted by attorneys Jim Peterson and Ramona Cotca of Judicial Watch, who did a great job. Everybody give them a round of applause. D.C. eventually produced more documents, but refused to give us the Arrest Warrant Affidavit. We eventually won a court decision, and today D.C. produced the Affidavit, with some personal information redacted. (Affidavit Below) The Affidavit demonstrates the facts as to NBC News' open defiance of the law. This was no innocent error. Yet no prosecution. Here is an excerpt from the Affidavit:

Posted by New Neo on January 22, 2015 10 Comments
Remember all those articles about Boehner planning to take revenge on Republicans who had opposed his Speakership? Remember how he was going to take away their committee positions as punishment? And remember how angry a great many people on the right got about it? I wrote this post about it at the time. But the next day I wondered:
...[T]here’s no real evidence that the retribution [by Boehner against his conservative enemies] is occurring... Now, I’m not saying it won’t happen. As I’ve written before, politics ain’t beanbag and people with power tend to reward those who support them and punish those who don’t. But it’s interesting that nothing much has really happened yet and yet we get all these reports that it’s happened or will happen. Who is making the reports? The MSM. Since their goal is to heighten the discord on the right, they have every motivation to spread rumors that will do just that. I’ll wait for something clearer before I will believe it’s happening. Again, I won’t be surprised if it happens. But it may not.
Now comes this article in National Journal entitled: "Boehner Foes Get Gavels, Not Punishment," and subtitled "The speaker's allies are annoyed that GOP rebels are getting top subcommittee slots." Here's an excerpt:

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 22, 2015 53 Comments
The Bridgeton NJ police department has released dash camera video of the shooting of violent felon Jerame Reid by two of its police officers during a traffic stop, reports NBC 4 news in New York.  Both Reid and the officer who first shot him, Behame Days, are black.  Days' partner, Officer Roger Worley, who is white, also shot Reid after the gunfire began. The South Jersey Times reports that last summer Officer Days was involved in the arrest of Reid for heroin and cocaine possession, and resisting arrest. The same source reports that Reid has previously served thirteen years in prison for shooting at New Jersey State Police Officers. Given Day's previous experience in arresting a non-compliant Reid it seems quite possible that he would have been aware of Reid's history of shooting at police, knowledge which would naturally have contributed to his reasonable fear of death or grave bodily harm at the hands of the once again non-compliant suspect. The video begins with the suspect vehicle, in which Reid was the passenger, making a rolling left turn through a stop sign (0:06) while directly in front of the patrol car occupied by officers Worley (driving) and Days.  This immediately initiated the traffic stop (0:22), which begins amiably enough with a typical verbal exchange (0:36), but degenerates into Days drawing his service weapon within 22 seconds of his first words with the suspects (0:58).

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 22, 2015 9 Comments
On January 21, 2015, Josh Rogin and Eli Lake at Bloomberg News reported Israeli Mossad Goes Rogue, Warns U.S. on Iran Sanctions:
The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has broken ranks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling U.S. officials and lawmakers that a new Iran sanctions bill in the U.S. Congress would tank the Iran nuclear negotiations. Already, the Barack Obama administration and some leading Republican senators are using the Israeli internal disagreement to undermine support for the bill, authored by Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Robert Menendez, which would enact new sanctions if current negotiations falter.
In a rare move, the head of Mossad issued a statement denying the reports that he is against sanctions. Israel Matzav has the details and translation:
The above was just posted on TwitLonger by Israel Radio reporter Chico Menashe. Here's my translation: Reaction of the Mossad Chairman to the new crisis with Washington: On 19 January 2015, Mossad Chairman Tamir Pardo met with a delegation of American Senators. The meeting took place at the Senators' request, and with the Prime Minister's approval. Contrary to the report, the Mossad Chairman did not say that he opposes additional sanctions against Iran. In the meeting, the Mossad Chairman emphasized the unusual effectiveness of the sanctions imposed on Iran a number of years ago in bringing Iran to the negotiating table.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 22, 2015 10 Comments
Just when you may have given up entirely on the Golden State, news comes about a newspaper in one of the deepest blue enclaves fighting political correctness.
A California newspaper will continue to use the term "illegals" to describe people who enter the U.S. without permission, despite an attack on its building by vandals believed to object to the term. The Santa Barbara News-Press's front entrance was sprayed with the message "The border is illegal, not the people who cross it" in red paint, sometime either Wednesday night or early Thursday, according to the newspaper's director of operations, Donald Katich. The attack came amid wider objections to a News-Press headline that used the word "illegals" alongside a story on California granting driver's licenses to people in the country illegally. ....In addition to the writing on the building, graffiti espousing a no-borders mentality was scribbled on the walkway through Storke Placita and the sidewalk near Santa Barbara City Hall. Police were braced for a protest in front of the paper later this week. Jan said hundreds could show up, and the Police Department is aware of the call for a protest.
Here's the offending paper: You may recall that another of California's newspapers, the Los Angeles Times, jettisoned the phrases “illegal immigrant,” “illegal immigration” and even "undocumented immigrant."

Posted by Amy Miller on January 21, 2015 2 Comments
Yesterday, State Department officials in Yemen were preparing for the possibility of evacuation. Houthi rebels had laid siege to the presidential palace, and later held President Hadi captive in his own home. The United States Embassy was fired upon, and the Navy was on alert. Earlier today, however, the Houthi reached a compromise with the U.S.-backed leadership that would give the rebel group more of a say in government, bringing an end to the immediate violence. (It is unclear whether or not Hadi remains a prisoner in his own home.) Via the AP:
SABA [news agency] said the agreement included a clause that would answer the rebels' demands to amend the constitution and expand their representation in the parliament and in state institutions. It also included promises to ensure better representation for Yemen's southerners as well, the deal said. The agreement also calls on Hadi to shake up a commission tasked with writing a draft constitution to ensure bigger representation for the Houthis. The draft constitution has proposed a federation of six regions, something the Houthis reject. The agreement reached Wednesday night also ensures that Yemen would be a federal state, but doesn't mention the six region proposal, saying controversial issues will be further discussed. The agreement, while addressing the immediate Houthi takeover and security concerns in the capital, leaves the contentious political issues unresolved.
The Houthi reign of terror began last year, when the Iran-backed rebels took partial control of the capital city of Sana'a, and attempted to block the the President from taking power.

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 21, 2015 34 Comments
The Department of Justice is preparing to drop the pretense that it has any expectation of bringing Federal civil rights charges against Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, MO police officer who successfully defended himself against Michael Brown after Brown attempted to beat Officer Wilson into submission and seize the officer's sidearm. The New York Times reports in part that:
The Justice Department has begun work on a legal memo recommending no civil rights charges against a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., who killed an unarmed black teenager in August, law enforcement officials said. That would close the politically charged case in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The investigation by the F.B.I., which is complete, found no evidence to support civil rights charges against the officer, Darren Wilson, the officials said.
Let no one allege that the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder didn't allocate sufficient resources to uncovering any possible trace of misconduct by Wilson. The Times report notes:
Federal investigators interviewed more than 200 people and analyzed cellphone audio and video, the law enforcement officials said. Officer Wilson’s gun, clothing and other evidence were analyzed at the F.B.I.’s laboratory in Quantico, Va. Though the local authorities and Mr. Brown’s family conducted autopsies, Mr. Holder ordered a separate autopsy, which was conducted by pathologists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner’s office at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the officials said.
Despite these resources, the DOJ was unable to find any evidence whatsoever to suggest that Darren Wilson violated anyone's civil rights:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 21, 2015 8 Comments
We are seeing a growing volume of knife attacks on Jews in Israel as the new Palestinian terror tactic. The murder of four Jews praying in a synagogue in Jerusalem with knives and machetes received a lot of attention, but there are almost daily knife attacks on Jews, primarily but not exclusively in Jerusalem. That terror tactic is necessitated, in part, by Israel's security barrier, checkpoints and raids which make it much more difficult to infiltrate weapons and explosives into Israel for use in terror attacks. But knives are more readily available, and knife attacks seem to be promoted as a tactic. Hamas-affliated Palestinian students at Al Quds University produced a video celebrating the murder of the four Jews in Synagogue: Hamas even produced a video on how to stab a Jew:

Posted by Amy Miller on January 21, 2015 12 Comments
Remember Rebekah Erler, President Obama's premiere "everywoman" success story from last night's State of the Union address? The one whose family inspired the leader of the free world to stand up for the common man by...raising their taxes, or something? As it turns out, Rebekah isn't just an inspiration. She's an operative. Rebekah has been used before by the White House to tout its controversial fiscal policies. Last summer, President Obama spent a well-publicized day with her, taking in "real America" and picking up talking points about the excessively nice people up in Minnesota. Though all of this, the White House failed to mention one important detail: Rebekah is a former Democratic campaign operative. She worked for Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) as a field organizer. According to the Washington Free Beacon, Reuter's revealed Erler's affiliations after her day spent with Obama; Republicans fought back, accusing Obama of being out of touch with average Minnesotans. The real scandal here isn't that the White House fabricated a success story; that's old news. The scandal is that internationally-read publications have revealed this woman's affiliations and bias, and the White House trotted her out anyway. They really don't care, do they?

Posted by Amy Miller on January 21, 2015 8 Comments
In last night's State of the Union address, President Obama made a lot of promises. From free community college, to middle class tax breaks, to massive tax hikes on the wealthy and investors, the President served up a bill of goods that, given a Republican-controlled Congress, will take a miracle to become reality. This is nothing new for Obama, who has a pretty poor record of delivering on his most high-profile promises. He hasn't allowed Congress to address our broken immigration system; he hasn't eliminated the threat of al-Qaeda; he hasn't closed the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay; and he certainly hasn't brought the kind of "change" that America wants or deserves. Based on an informal tally, President Obama has broken a whopping 112 SOTU promises during his time as President. I don't think any reasonable person would argue that no president has ever added aspirational policy goals to his annual address to the nation, but coming from a man who came into office claiming revolutionary status, the number seems...high? Grabien compiled a video montage of all 112 broken promises. Click below the fold for an all-too-long list of bullet points highlighting all the ways Obama has failed to live up to his promises. 112, and counting. I wonder how long this list will be come 2016?
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