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Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 30, 2015 5 Comments
In 2013, I traveled extensively in Samaria. You can find photos and description of that travel here, To Samaria and back. On Friday, May 29, 2015, I traveled to Mount Gerizim and the Samaritan community, on a high peak in Samaria. Mount Gerizim Map Road Mount Gerizim overlooks the city of Nablus and the Balata refugee camp, and contains ancient ruins of the original Samaritans (the Islamic style dome is not part of the original ruins): [caption id="attachment_129103" align="alignnone" width="600"][Mount Gerizim Samaritan Ruins - Dome Not Original] [Mount Gerizim Samaritan Ruins - Dome Not Original][/caption]Mount Gerizim - Samaritan Ruins overlooking Nablus and Balata Refugee Camp Amid conflict, Samaritans keep unique identity (CNN 2002):

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Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 30, 2015 17 Comments
Chris Christie is the first of the potential GOP presidential candidates who first embraced Common Core to distance himself from it.  According to New Jersey.com:
Navigating New Jersey interests and a likely presidential campaign, Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday proposed dropping national Common Core education standards he once supported but have since become a lightening rod issue for Republican voters. The governor, speaking at Burlington County College in Pemberton, declared Common Core is "simply not working." Christie wants to assemble a team to develop a state-based group to develop "new standards right here in New Jersey, not 200 miles away on the banks of the Potomac River."
That Common Core doesn't work—can't work—is no surprise to those of us who oppose it, but it is interesting to see that Christie has changed his tune as he struggles to rebuild his reputation with conservatives.   When he was pushing Common Core in New Jersey, Christie lashed out at its opponents:
“We are doing Common Core in New Jersey and we’re going to continue,” Christie said in 2013. “And this is one of those areas where I have agreed more with the president than not. I think part of the Republican opposition you see in some corners in Congress is a reaction, that knee-jerk reaction that is happening in Washington right now, that if the president likes something the Republicans in Congress don’t. If the Republicans in Congress like something, the president doesn’t.”
While he wasn't as insulting as Jeb Bush has been about Common Core's opponents, he was dismissive and unwilling to hear the case against Common Core.  Examples such as children failing Common Core math problems because their numbers weren't "friendly" enough, the arguments against Common Core's "dumbing down of standards," and theoretical arguments concerning problems with Common Core's "compartmental learning" fell on deaf ears.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 30, 2015 9 Comments
This seems to happen frequently. As we noted in 2013, the IRS and other workers' unions wanted an exemption from Obamacare, despite the fact that they would be trusted with enforcing it and had been avid supporters of it. Now labor leaders in Los Angeles, who pushed for a minimum wage hike, are suggesting that unions should be exempt from that very rule. From the LA Times:
L.A. labor leaders seek minimum wage exemption for firms with union workers Labor leaders, who were among the strongest supporters of the citywide minimum wage increase approved last week by the Los Angeles City Council, are advocating last-minute changes to the law that could create an exemption for companies with unionized workforces. The push to include an exception to the mandated wage increase for companies that let their employees collectively bargain was the latest unexpected detour as the city nears approval of its landmark legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. For much of the past eight months, labor activists have argued against special considerations for business owners, such as restaurateurs, who said they would have trouble complying with the mandated pay increase.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 30, 2015 6 Comments
Congressman John Delaney of Maryland has noticed a hard shift to the left in the Democratic Party, making him unique among his colleagues. Some Democrats are currently supporting the presidential run of a senator who openly describes himself as a socialist. You would think that's enough to support Delaney's conclusion, but he's more concerned about the blockage of Obama's trade deal. Kevin Cirilli of The Hill:
House Dem: Left has 'hijacked' party message Rep. John Delaney (Md.), a centrist House Democrat, on Friday warned that voices on the left have "hijacked" his party’s message. "With Washington already broken, the last thing we need is a left-wing version of the tea party," Delaney wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published online Thursday evening. "But I am worried about where some of the loudest voices in the room could take the Democratic Party." He said Democrats' "party microphone has been hijacked by people more interested in scoring points than in solving problems." Delaney didn't specifically mention any prominent liberals by name, but he delved into specific policy debates that have divided Democrats in recent weeks, including trade policy. Liberal Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have bucked the White House in opposing legislation that would grant President Obama fast-track trade authority, arguing that it would favor corporations and put U.S. workers in competition with low-wage workers in other countries.

Posted by Jay Caruso on May 30, 2015 22 Comments
Whether one believes in God or not, whenever natural disasters strike and deaths are involved, people often ask, "Why?".  They ask:  "Why did this happen?"; "Why did this have to happen now?"; and sadly, "Why did ________ have to die?" The worst response is when somebody tries to politicize such tragedies, especially in the context of assigning bad weather to an "angry God." Evangelical Christians such as Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell have been known to enjoy the taste of their own feet as they have, at times, pointed the finger of blame at various behaviors by people as the reason for some kind of natural disaster. Pat Robertson, in 2012 was raked over the coals for suggesting deadly tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest could have been avoided if people had merely been more willing to pray about it. News outlets that covered it included The Huffington Post, The Daily News, The LA Times, CNN as well as left wing outlets such as Crooks & Liars, Media Matters, Raw Story and others.

Three days ago, Al Sharpton suggested the following with respect to the floods that have claimed the lives of over 20 people in Texas:

https://twitter.com/TheRevAl/status/603640706104721409 Notwithstanding Sharpton's concern over whether or not the citizens of Texas were spending too much time messing with their thermostats, Sharpton's "question" is really a political statement aimed at a state that is pretty red politically. Governor Greg Abbott handily defeated Wendy Davis and ended her 15 minutes of fame. The state has two Republican Senators in Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Former Governor Rick Perry is likely going to run for president, along with Cruz.

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Posted by Andrew Branca on May 30, 2015 56 Comments
It took the Sparks NV jury fewer than 7 hours last night to find 74-year-old Wayne Burgarello not guilty of all charges in the shooting of two squatters, one of whom died of his injuries, reports the Reno Gazette Journal.  Burgarello had been charged with murder for the death he caused and was also subject to conviction on the lesser included charge of manslaughter; he was also charged with attempted murder for the victim who survived. Here's Burgarello leaving the courtroom following the verdict, in the company of his defense lawyer Theresa Ristenpart:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 30, 2015 5 Comments
They came. They saw. They protested without hurting themselves or others. I promised a round of applause for Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton if he and his city management and law enforcement teams managed to keep the peace between protesters and counterprotesters at last night's free speech/anti-Islam/whatever you want to call it rally. The verdict? They managed! Mr. Stanton, this one's for you. USA Today explains how things played out:
Police presence increased by 6:30 p.m. to physically separate the two sides outside the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix. About 20 cars and 15 motorcycles traveled from a protester meeting point at a nearby park to the mosque around 6 p.m., where people from the two sides used megaphones to yell at each other and were at times nose-to-nose. A large group of counter protesters held signs reading "Love not Hate," as others waved American flags and one man ripped the Quran in half. Counter protesters wearing blue lined the side closest to the mosque. They said they came from Redemption Church in Tempe and wore the color to be a peaceful presence. Few people showed up for the mosque's scheduled prayer service.
Supporters on both sides of the issue took to Twitter to speak their minds---and air their grievances:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 30, 2015 10 Comments

Hi, Prof. J: Here's a contribution from the Land of Lincoln. The car sported the red "Impeach Obama" sticker on the passenger door as well. Not everyone in this state is a liberal moron, but unfortunately we conservatives seem to be outnumbered, and most likely our...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 29, 2015 6 Comments
Ah, the beach in Tel Aviv. The Featured Image shows the view north from in front of my hotel. There is a huge amount of construction going on up and down the beach -- luxury hotels and residence buildings. The building on the far right in the Featured Image is the U.S. Embassy. That's right, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv is beachfront on the most prized section in Tel Aviv. U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv Beach Satellite

Posted by Amy Miller on May 29, 2015 18 Comments
Tonight, activists plan to protest outside of the Phoenix mosque frequented by the Islamic extremists responsible for shootings at a free speech rally in Garland, Texas. Obviously, a controversy. Local law enforcement officials aren't taking any chances with this one; organizers for this protest have been less...filtered?...than those responsible for Garland's "draw the Prophet" event, and city officials are preparing for the possibility of violence.
The protest is timed to coincide with jummah, a large communal Muslim prayer service held on Fridays. Protest organizer Jon Ritzheimer told CNN his goal is to expose Islam. "True Islam is terrorism," he told the network's Anderson Cooper. "The ones that are out committing these atrocities and stuff, they're following the [Quran] as it's written." ABC News reported Friday the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned local law enforcement there is a possibility of violence, though no specific nor credible threat. The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said it has met with law enforcement in an effort to protect mosque-goers.

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 Andrew Branca on May 29, 2015 53 Comments
Fox host Megyn Kelly had a segment on last night in which she played video of public statements made by Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby regarding the Freddy Gray case In the video clip Mosby calls for "Justice, by any and all means necessary," echoing Malcolm X. And here's a few seconds of discussion of the subject between Kelly and Fox contributor Judge Napolitano:

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 Fuzzy Slippers on May 29, 2015 36 Comments
While we await the Supreme Court decision regarding federal vs. state subsidies, Republicans can't decide if they want the subsidies upheld or struck down.  Indeed, some believe that upholding them will be best for Republicans (note, not best for America or Americans).  Sharyl Attkisson reports:
It would theoretically be a victory for Republicans who oppose Obamacare: Americans would likely find the health care law less palatable if tax money isn’t helping pay for their mandatory policies. They would suddenly be exposed to the reality faced by those who aren’t getting subsidies: insurance may cost more, come with higher deductibles, and provide less coverage. But some Congressional Republicans are more worried about winning the Supreme Court case than losing it. “There are Republicans right now scared to death that we’re going to win,” says one Republican leader who did not want to be quoted by name. “They’re in meetings right now planning ways to revive the subsidies if the [Supreme] Court strikes them down.”
They are "scared to death" because they are worried the Democratic and media narratives would place the blame on Republicans for the loss of subsidies by those who've purchased ObamaCare through the federal exchanges.  Attkisson explains:
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