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Posted by New Neo on October 09, 2015 7 Comments
Hillary Clinton's opponents in the race for the 2016 Democratic nomination are against the TPP deal, unions are against the deal, and now she's against it too although previously she was one of its strongest supporters. It's hard to imagine that a single thinking human being would be convinced that her change of heart on this issue is on the merits rather than merely politically expedient. For example, even Ezra Klein finds himself a mite perturbed by her reversal on this and other matters:
Of late, Clinton is again looking like the kind of candidate who puts polls in front of policy. First, she came out against Obamacare's Cadillac tax — a policy that enjoys wide support among health economists... ...What I have trouble believing is that Clinton and her policy advisers really think the Cadillac tax is a bad idea. Her past policies embrace its theory, her past advisers helped pass it into law... On Wednesday, Clinton came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, saying that she's concerned with the provisions around pharmaceuticals and the absence of provisions around currency manipulation. But as Tim Lee notes, Clinton strongly supported early versions of the deal — she called the TPP "the gold standard in trade agreements" — that were worse on pharmaceuticals and identical on currency manipulation...

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Posted by Mike LaChance on October 08, 2015 14 Comments
Former Rhode Island Senator and Governor Lincoln Chafee is a confirmed participant in the first Democratic primary debate next Tuesday on CNN. The debate will be shorter than the last Republican event but the smaller number of people on stage means even lower tier candidates like Chafee will get ample time to speak. As a man currently polling at less than one percent, Chafee has nothing to lose. Chafee also is notoriously unfiltered. Expect him to come out swinging at Hillary Clinton. Hard. Chafee has already indicated that he intends to go after Hillary for her Iraq War vote. CNN reported in July:
Lincoln Chafee needles Clinton: Iraq war vote 'created all the problems' Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee said Tuesday he's seeking the Democratic nomination to keep the question of the Iraq War alive, one which implicitly haunts Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 08, 2015 7 Comments
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is the very aggressive national campus organization devoted to the destruction of Israel. SJP works mostly through campus-specific affiliates. We have highlighted here the antics of the Vassar, Cornell, Northeastern, Bowdoin and NYU chapters, among others. SJP is part of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which popular propaganda says was a grassroots Palestinian civil society call issued in 2005. As we have documented, in fact BDS was launched with the help of anti-Semitic Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) assisted by Islamic governments at the 2001 Durban Conference. Among the panoply of SJP groups is one not based at a specific campus. Calling itself New York City SJP (NYC SJP), the group formed in August. The group members are no shrinking violets -- they are as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than other SJP groups. NYC SJP posts some of its protest videos on its Facebook page, including this recent demonstration.

Posted by Amy Miller on October 08, 2015 28 Comments
Back in July, we reported that Hillary's emails revealed a disturbing (but not altogether startling) connection between the former Secretary of State and Sidney Blumenthal. We already knew that Blumenthal was sending Clinton "off the books" intel reports on the situation in Libya, but new emails suggested that he was also offering advice on how to handle the politics of dealing with Iran, China, and Northern Ireland. Now, new reports show that the advisor and Clinton Foundation payee engaged in communications with the Secretary that both raise ethical questions about business practices, and could have endangered national security. In a 13-page letter to ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings, Benghazi Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy previewed new and troubling details about just what sort of information Secretary Clinton was sharing with Blumenthal via her home-brew server. From the Weekly Standard:

Posted by Amy Miller on October 08, 2015 18 Comments
When CNN hosted the Republican primary candidates, the candidates got 3 hours in which to make (or sink) their case for the White House. It was a long affair, but some good came from it---Marco Rubio distinguished himself on foreign policy (whether you agree with his approach is a different story entirely,) Carly Fiorina shifted from "dark horse" to budding household name, and Ted Cruz was afforded more of an opportunity to get in on the conversation. The Democrats won't be afforded that same luxury. Next week's CNN debate---this time, hosting the Democratic primary contenders---will afford the Dems' 5* candidates just two hours to make their initial splash in the primetime media pond. *Will Joe Biden debate? We're still not sure:

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Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on October 08, 2015 30 Comments
Remember President Obama’s open mic moment in Seoul, South Korea back in 2012, when he was overheard by reporters, promising Russian President Dmitry Medvedev more “flexibility” to Russians in Eastern Europe after his re-election? The NATO generals in Europe are now finding out the hard way what happens when you offer ‘harmless’ concessions to tyrants and imperialists. President Obama offered a bit of leg space to Comrade Putin in a fit of mindlessness and now you have Russian jackboots dangling all over Eastern Europe. Putin and his ex-KGB clique in control of Kremlin, have not forgotten humiliating Soviet retreat from the countries of Eastern Europe and are back from the cold to correct the 'historic injustice'. Today, Putin’s Russia is running a well-coordinated and highly effective campaign of propaganda and subversion in Eastern Europe that even communist-tyrant Stalin would be proud of. This “hybrid warfare” involves covert cyber operations, misinformation campaigns and psychological warfare to disrupt political and military decision making in Europe. Recently a leading NATO commander acknowledged the damage Russians are inflicting on U.S. allies in Eastern Europe:
Speaking at the Atlantic Council on Tuesday, US Admiral Mark Ferguson, who is in charge of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, said that Russia is developing military capabilities and hybrid method of war are designed to "cripple" the functional abilities of the NATO alliance, according to a transcript from US Naval Institute news. Russia's focus on hybrid and asymmetrical warfare, including its development of cyber and information warfare capabilities, is “designed to cripple the decision-making cycle of the alliance," Ferguson. "Their capabilities have focused on the creation of ambiguity.” Admiral Mark Ferguson explained the objectives of Russian tactics against the NATO member states, saying, "Russia exploits ethnic and religious divisions, makes use of an aggressive information campaign, and extensively uses misinformation and deception to delegitimize the forces under attack while confusing the attribution of their actions."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 08, 2015 49 Comments
This just in from The Hill:
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has dropped out of elections for House Speaker. Republicans were to meet Thursday at noon to elect a new Speaker. McCarthy had struggled to win over conservatives, and while he was the favorite to win the closed-door vote, he did not have the votes on the floor to win election.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 08, 2015 11 Comments
It's far from clear that there is a "Third Intifada" in Israel. But there are multiple attacks daily by Palestinians, usually involving rock throwing and knives. It's a very personal type of attack fueled by incitement in Palestinian and some western social media over the Temple Mount / Al Aqsa Mosque. Many of the rock attacks on the roads are attempted lynchings, hoping to stop the vehicle in order to kill the driver, such as this incident:
Lev Ohayon was on her way to work in Jerusalem from her home in Tekoa, when she was ambushed by a group of rock-wielding Palestinians, who shattered her car’s windows. One of them began to beat her, while trying to pull her out of the vehicle.

Posted by Amy Miller on October 08, 2015 74 Comments
Oh boy, here we go---it's time to talk about this mess again. Remember back in October, when Megyn Kelly got into a fight with Donald Trump during a nationally televised debate, and everyone took a side? Remember? Was there a gotcha question involved? Was Trump disrespectful? Do we even know why we're fighting anymore? HAVE WE ALL LOST OUR MINDS?

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 08, 2015 28 Comments
By now, you may have heard that University of Pennsylvania religious studies professor Anthea Butler is under fire for comments she made about Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson. Butler suggested that Carson, a renowned pediatric brain surgeon, should get the ‘coon of the year’ award. We covered the story at College Insurrection. In fact, we've written extensively about Professor Butler at College Insurrection over the years: Surely, a professor who said something similar about Obama would face a backlash. Most media is ignoring the racist taunt. The panel on The Five discussed the issue yesterday and ironically it was Juan Williams, easily the most liberal participant, who felt that Butler should be dismissed from her position.

Posted by Amy Miller on October 07, 2015 2 Comments
Today, the House Homeland Security Committee released a "Terror Threat Snapchat" detailing the growing threat of Islamic terrorism against targets both in the United States and abroad. So far this year, officials have identified 61 total ISIS attack plots against western targets. This represents a 2x increase in attack plots since 2014. 17 of those plots focused on the United States, and authorities have arrested 55 people this year in ISIS-specific attack cases alone. “Islamist extremist groups are consolidating their control over crucial terrain and seizing the initiative to expand their global footprint," said committee Chairman Michael McCaul in a statement accompanying the report. "Destabilizing aggressors, from the Putin regime in Russia to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror in Iran, are filling the void of American withdrawal to disastrous effect. This global surge in radicalism and instability has directly contributed to the elevated threat level here at home. We need decisive American leadership that starts with shoring up our defenses and advancing a credible strategy to stop the threats at the source.” Key takeaways (as per the Committee's report) include:

Posted by Amy Miller on October 07, 2015 11 Comments
On Monday, American officials announced that they had finally reached an accord on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an east-meets-west free trade deal that has been in the works for nearly a decade. TPP languished under "classified" status, irking both Republicans and Democrats who publicly lashed out against the Obama Administration for keeping the details of the trade deal secret, and that frustration has now boiled over as legislators and other officials get their first look at the 1000+ pages of negotiated regulations. What have we learned so far? Not much, but the Trans-Pacific Partnership was and will remain controversial. High-powered Democrats are pitted against each other---and the president---over concerns that an emphasis on free trade could alienate powerful workers' unions and other interest groups. Today, Hillary Clinton formally came out against TPP, citing concerns about job creation, wage levels, and national security, saying, "I don't believe it's going to meet the high bar that I have set." Watch:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 07, 2015 11 Comments
A firestorm of controversy erupted in Ithaca, NY, hometown of Cornell University and Ithaca College, when it was learned that local anti-Israel activists brought highly controversial Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi to third grade class. Tamimi is best known for using children, including his own, to confront Israeli soldiers to create viral video and photo opportunities. He also is an advocate of children taking part in resistance activities, including stone throwing. To pro-Palestinian activists, however, he is a symbol of Israeli repression. The third-grade presentation was skewed and biased against Israel, according to a statement issued by the Ithaca City School District Superintendent, after an investigation. Among other things, after seeing videos and hearings stories of how Palestinian children suffer at the hands of Israelis, the third graders were urged to become "freedom fighters for Palestine."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 07, 2015 101 Comments
During an interview with Special Report's Brett Baier Tuesday night, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump said eminent domain is a "wonderful thing."
"I think eminent domain is wonderful if you're building a highway and you need to build, as an example, a highway, and you're going to be blocked by a hold-out or, in some cases, it's a hold-out. Just so you understand, nobody knows this better than I do, because I built a lot of buildings in Manhattan and you'll have 12 sites and you'll get 11 and you'll have the one hold-out and you end up building around them and everything else, OK. So I know it better than anybody."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 07, 2015 32 Comments
Tuesday, Senator Cruz chaired a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts titled “Opportunity Denied: How Overregulation Harms Minorities” that investigated the harmful effects of government overregulation on people and businesses who lack the resources and political connections to deal effectively with mountains of red tape. According to his office, Cruz invited Harry Alford, president and CEO, National Black Chamber of Commerce; Michael Barrera, national economic prosperity manager, The LIBRE Institute; Sabina Loving, owner and operator, Loving Tax Services, Inc.; and Timothy Sandefur, principal attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation. Their testimony focused on the harmful effects of government overregulation on the African-American and Hispanic communities and on the experience of small businesses within these communities. Democrat witnesses included Aaron Mair, president of the Sierra Club; Amit Narang, regulation policy advocate at Public Citizen; and William Scott, CEO of Tristatz, LLC. “Fifty-five years ago, there were 13 regulatory federal government agencies. Today, there are over 70," said Senator Cruz. This is where Cruz shines his brightest. Questioning Sierra Club President Aaron Mair, Senator Cruz challenged Mair to name one instance harmful government regulation:
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