Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

/var/www/vhosts/legalinsurrection.com/httpdocs/wp-content/themes/bridge-child/readFeeds.incFALSE

Posted by Amy Miller on August 21, 2015 38 Comments
The Center for Medical Progress' investigation into Planned Parenthood's body parts-for-profit scandal has the pro-life community screaming for change, and the pro-choice community scrambling to circle the wagons before their entire system of "sexual freedom" and "fertility management" comes crashing down. One prog-feminist website decided to take a different approach to CMP's revelations. Rather than focusing on a defense of Planned Parenthood and choice, they decided to go after Holly O'Donnell, whose on-camera testimony about what she saw during her time as a procurement tech for StemExpress has served as a definitive nail in the coffin of Planned Parenthood. RH Reality Check author Sharona Coutts did some digging online, and figured out that O'Donnell's sexual preferences were a far cry from what progressives believe is the stereotypical norm for conservative, pro-life activists. Using content pulled from various dating websites and social platforms, Coutts ran a sexually-charged dox on O'Donnell, claiming that O'Donnell's propensity to enjoy sex like a normal human being somehow unveiled the hypocrisy of the pro-life movement. Fortunately, this little act of pillow talk terrorism backfired spectacularly.

LATEST NEWS

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 21, 2015 2 Comments
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement suffered one of its worst public relations debacles when it pressured the Spanish Rototom SunSplash festival to ban American Jewish musician Matisyahu. At so many levels, the incident exposed BDS for what it is - anti-freedom, anti-Jewish, anti-just about everything we hold dear. Left twisting in the wind are leading American BDS activists like Ali Abunimah, Max Blumenthal and Joe Catron who supported the ban, even as BDS leader Omar Barghouti ran for political cover and BDS author Ben Norton condemned the ban. BDS defenders of the Matisyahu ban claim the ban was justified because Matisyahu is Zionist and pro-Israel. https://twitter.com/BDSPaisValencia/status/630716300319424516 If being Zionist and pro-Israel were justification for a ban, then BDS would be justified in banning the vast majority of Jews from public appearances. So tell me again how BDS is not anti-Semitic? https://twitter.com/BDSmovement/status/634348175663480832 We mentioned yesterday that the festival organizers had apologized and reinvited Matisyahu to perform. Now the date is set, August 22, on the main stage:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 21, 2015 10 Comments
Greece received the first chunk of its multibillion euro bailout package yesterday---to the tune of 13 billion euros---but all is not well in Athens. Political opposition to the harsh austerity terms laid out by Eurozone creditors has caused a revolt in the far-left Syriza party and prompted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to tender his resignation and call for early elections. More from the BBC:
Alexis Tsipras made the announcement in a televised state address on Thursday. "The political mandate of the 25 January elections has exhausted its limits and now the Greek people have to have their say," he said. "I want to be honest with you. We did not achieve the agreement we expected before the January elections." Mr Tsipras said he would seek the Greek people's approval to continue his government's programme.
You can watch Tsipras' announcement here, via Reuters.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 21, 2015 7 Comments
Dr. Ben Carson gave a speech Tuesday night to a crowd of 12,000 people at the Phoenix Convention Center. Carson was scheduled to speak at a smaller venue but the event was moved due to high demand. The Right Scoop notes that Carson drew a larger crowd than Donald Trump had at a recent event in the same city. The full speech is at the bottom of this post. It's forty minutes long and you should watch the whole thing but if you're pressed for time, here's a short report from FOX News in Phoenix: Carson touches on all the major issues of domestic and foreign policy but gets his biggest applause breaks when he talks about shrinking the size of government, fair taxation, immigration, healthcare, reducing America's debt, improving national security, and his faith in God. He takes the political fight to Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and boy does he sock it to the media. In fact, if you watch nothing else, skip to the 15 minute mark and listen to Carson explain why the media isn't supposed to take sides in American politics.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 21, 2015 11 Comments
Longtime readers know the history of Legal Insurrection and Mia Love, whose success was one of the most satisfying moments for Legal Insurrection. This interview with Lou Dobbs shows why we've supported her since the start. Via Washington Examiner. Love became very emotional when discussing the Planned Parenthood videos:
Freshman Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, had to wipe away tears while talking about the undercover Planned Parenthood videos on the Fox Business network Wednesday night. "It's our job to protect those who do not have a voice to protect themselves, and to see what is actually happening to babies while they're still alive, I mean, it's horrific," said Love. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ETa_sUCDhk "This is not about a Right or Left issue – this is right or wrong, and whether we are going to stand up for those who cannot speak for themselves, or if we're going to just turn a blind eye and pretend that this is not happening," she added, wiping away tears.... "This is who we are as Americans; our job is to protect human life," said Love as tears streamed down her face. Love said she has "always been pro-life" and that as a mother and wife, she wants the American people to know what is happening and "stand up" to protect life.
On Iran, she was just as powerful:

LEGAL INSURRECTION QUICK TAKES

TPUSA Members: UT Tyler Attack Reflects Growing Campus Hostility Toward Conservatives

UT Austin Funds Graduate Student Research on ‘Reproductive Justice’

Texas Tech Regents Eliminate Several Race, Gender Studies Courses

Ransomware Gang Claims Credit for Vanderbilt Cyberattack

Occidental College Hosts Transgender Event That Mocks Trump

Franklin & Marshall College Drops Plan to Adopt 'Gender Neutral' Mascot

SEE MORE

Posted by Amy Miller on August 20, 2015 11 Comments
Yesterday, the AP revealed the existence of a side agreement between the IAEA and Tehran that would effectively neuter inspection protocols contained in the controversial Iran nuclear deal. Sources revealed a draft of "Separate Agreement II" containing provisions allowing Tehran to use its own inspectors—as opposed to a neutral IAEA-based team—to keep tabs on the Parchin nuclear site in Iran. Although a general agreement regarding inspection protocols between the IAEA and Tehran was expected, the contents of the draft provided to the AP were unprecedented. Today, the AP published the contents of the draft agreement. Reporters weren't allowed to make a copy of the draft, but instead transcribed the complete text here:
Separate arrangement II agreed by the Islamic State of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency on 11 July 2015, regarding the Road-map, Paragraph 5 Iran and the Agency agreed on the following sequential arrangement with regard to the Parchin issue: 1. Iran will provide to the Agency photos of the locations, including those identified in paragraph 3 below, which would be mutually agreed between Iran and the Agency, taking into account military concerns.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2015 8 Comments
American Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu was banned from the Spanish Rototom Sunsplash festival after intense pressure from supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, who demanded that Matisyahu sign a pledge supporting a Palestinian state. Matisyahu was singled out because he was Jewish. He's not even Israeli. No other musician, regardless of his or her politics, was asked to take a political pledge. It was a huge victory for BDS, which routinely seeks to prevent Israeli musicians from appearing at festivals around the world for the crime of being Israeli and Jewish (the ban doesn't appear to be enforced as to non-Jewish Israelis.) When Matisyahu was first banned, there was much joy in BDS circles, particularly in the United States where BDS leaders like Max Blumenthal, Ali Abunimah and Joe Catron publicly supported the decision. (And apparently still do.) But then a funny thing happened on the way to this huge BDS victory. In fact, something quite unusual in the world of BDS bullying in Europe -- the world expressed outrage.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2015 40 Comments
A hearing was held this afternoon in federal court in Washington, D.C., before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, in the FOIA case brought by Judicial Watch seeking records regarding then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's aide Huma Adedin's outside employment. We have covered the court developments, including allegations by Judicial Watch that the State Department has failed to comply with court orders and has not provided sufficient searches. Yesterday the State Department filed a Reply admitting that Hillary never was issued a State Department Blackberry, and the Blackberries used by Adedin and Cheryl Mills likely were destroyed. Today's hearing was over Judicial Watch's request for "discovery," which normally doesn't take place in FOIA cases. Discovery could include sworn depositions of witnesses. Amy Miller was in Court for Legal Insurrection and reports: The Judge ordered the State Department to confer with the FBI and DOJ as to searches of the server and thumb drive, including recovery efforts. The Judge wanted to wait until the State Department filed another status report before ruling on discovery issues. Just after the hearing, the Court updated the docket with the following:
Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan: Status Hearing held on 8/20/2015. Court directs the government to file a status report on or before September 20, 2015 for reasons stated on the record in open Court. Further Status Hearing set for 10/1/2015 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 24A before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan. Court to issue order accordingly. (Court Reporter Janice Dickman) (tcr) (Entered: 08/20/2015)
Amy will update soon with further details as to today's court proceedings. *** Amy's Updates First up, the official docket text from today's directive, as filed with the court:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 20, 2015 26 Comments
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the Republican primary candidate causing the most excitement---at least when it comes to media coverage and outspoken grassroots support---is Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, Trump has found his niche in the voter base, and he's playing out his position by going consistently on the offensive against candidates who would prefer to turn focus on their budding policy initiatives for health care or education. While campaigning in New Hampshire this week, Trump took full aim at fellow contender Jeb Bush, who constitutes the prime example of a candidate we'd expect to pivot away from rhetorical attacks. Trump played off of this significant difference in tactics and personality, and the results were devastating.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on August 20, 2015 12 Comments
If you are following mainstream media in the U.S. or Europe, you will get an impression that a thuggish Indian government is shaking down the helpless environmental activist group Greenpeace. The UK-based Guardian newspaper ran a story recently titled “India’s war on Greenpeace”, detailing a long litany of charges alleging India of investigating against “environmental activists”, freezing their funds and restricting their movement. In that article, a leading Greenpeace staffer describes peril of Greenpeace in India to The Guardian:
The weeks (...) had been the hardest Greenpeace India had ever faced. (…) Greenpeace’s registration was newly imperilled. Morale had plummeted. In all likelihood, the shakedown of Greenpeace, and of other civil society groups, will continue. It is in the character of this government to persecute its adversaries, and the convolutions of the law provide many ways for the state to install difficulties in their paths.
However, in reality it is Greenpeace holding India ransom; threatening dire consequences unless the country reviews its stand on coal.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 20, 2015 15 Comments
Rand Paul is dealing with some tricky rules as he tries to run for president and hold on to his senate seat at the same time. Chris Moody of CNN reports:
Rand Paul's tough choice Rand Paul has a choice: Spend nearly half a million dollars to keep his increasingly longshot presidential ambitions alive in his home state or leave the Senate. For now, he's choosing to pony up. Paul's political future rests partially in the hands of nearly 350 Republican officials in Kentucky, who will decide Saturday whether to approve a costly plan that would allow him to run in Kentucky for president and the U.S. Senate simultaneously—and possibly salvage his chances of staying in electoral politics after 2016. The proposal, which acts as a work-around of a state law that forbids candidates in Kentucky from running for two federal offices at the same time, would establish a presidential caucus in early March in addition to the state primary scheduled two months later.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 20, 2015 10 Comments
A report from the London Times has revealed that a senior employee of Amnesty International failed to disclose ties to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the greater global Islamist network. Yasmin Hussein, 51, was until recently head of Amnesty's international advocacy division, and played an active role in the charity's advocacy at the United Nations. An investigation into Hussein's connections uncovered ties to "a secretive network of global Islamists" both through her husband, who was investigated for working closely with the Muslim Brotherhood, and via her activities with a UK-based aid agency that was banned from Israel for their alleged support of Hamas terrorism. More from the Times of London (hat tip to UN Watch):
Ms Hussein, who is understood to receive a salary of more than £90,000, told The Times that she had “never had any association whatsoever with . . . the Muslim Brotherhood”. Her husband, Wael Musabbeh, was one of several alleged British Islamists, none of them defendants, named in documents released after a 2013 trial in the UAE that led to the jailing of more than 60 Emirati citizens who were tried for conspiracy and sedition.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2015 39 Comments

It starts somewhere....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 19, 2015 44 Comments
The Alpha Phi Sorority at the University of Alabama made a recruiting video which has generated a lot of controversy. In fact, the controversy was so severe that the university administration condemned the video and the sorority ended up taking it down. But it was saved by someone: And the problem is? I don't get it. But I'm an empirical, evidence-based type person. So I'm going to keep watching it over and over until I figure it out exactly what the problem is. This does have some serious implications, though. Not the video. The response.

Posted by New Neo on August 19, 2015 26 Comments
We all know that Hillary Clinton is the first female frontrunner candidate of a major party. That is, she's long been the frontrunner, and remains the frontrunner, although who knows how long that will continue. I believe that the only thing that can stop Clinton is an indictment, or the entry of Elizabeth Warren into the race. That's how shallow the Democratic bench is and how much the public (especially Democrats) seems to thirst for another "first," as they did with Obama. The first woman president is the next logical step for them, and Hillary seems (or seemed until recently) to fit the bill. That's one of the reasons Carly Fiorina is an especially good foil for her. I don't doubt, however, that if Carly were to rise in the polls and become a strong possibility for first female president, the attacks on her as "not a real woman" would become the drumbeat of the opposition.
MORE POSTS
Accessibility by WAH