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Posted by Mike LaChance on March 07, 2015 15 Comments
Many people in media have been critical of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving at State, but Lawrence O'Donnell? When Hillary has lost MSNBC... Daniel Bassali of the Washington Free Beacon has the story:
Lawrence O’Donnell: Clinton Email System Obviously Set Up To Defy FOIA Questions have arisen following reports Hillary Clinton had used a personal email account to conduct official State Department business as Secretary of State, and that the server she used was registered to her home in New York. Prior to launching the “Right to Rise” PAC, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush released hundreds of his emails from his time in the state house. Clinton has been constantly compared to Bush’s decision. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell said he does not even believe that Clinton’s intentions in using a private server were pure.
Watch the segment here:

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Posted by Mike LaChance on March 07, 2015 7 Comments
Benjamin Netanyahu's recent address to congress was the inspiration for the latest edition of Firewall with Bill Whittle. While some prominent Democrats skipped the speech, Netanyahu warned of the dangers faced by Israel and the west in the face of Islamist terrorists and a nuclear Iran. Partial transcript and video via Truth Revolt:
He’s the Leader of the Free World, elected by a civilized nation: militarily powerful because of, and not in spite of, it’s cultural commitment to science and art and medicine. Although he spent much of his early life overseas, the Leader of the Free World grew up in the Northeast, and graduated from Harvard University. That he has a deep and abiding love for America is self-evident: he admires our energy, our inventiveness; our decency and kindness; our innate friendliness and charity. He loves our culture; he admires our private sector which generates so much innovation. And the Leader of the Free World admires and respects our vast military power, and the restraint which it is used – to him, it is indeed the Arsenal of Democracy. And even though he has grown up the victim of bigotry and hatred, the Leader of the Free World loves America, even though slurs are applied to him still today. In spite of all that, he loves everything she stands for.
Watch the whole thing.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 07, 2015 6 Comments
According to AFP, Boko Haram's leader pledged loyalty to ISIS in an audio message posted to Twitter this afternoon. From Yahoo News:
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - The leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram militants, Abubakar Shekau, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group in an audio recording released Saturday. "We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims, Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi," said the voice on the message, which was believed to be that of Shekau and was released through Boko Haram's Twitter account. Qurashi is better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the IS group which has proclaimed a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq. Shekau spoke in Arabic, but the message contained French and English subtitles. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the message. Shekau was not pictured, a contrast from most of Boko Haram's past messages in which the Islamist leader has been shown, often in close up shots. But Shekau did identify himself in the recording, which was accompanied by the subtitles and a graphic including an image of a radio microphone. There have in recent months been signs of closer ties between the Nigerian militants and the IS group, with both using similar ways of communicating with the outside world. Boko Haram has notably begun releasing videos that resemble those made by IS. Boko Haram has been waging a six-year uprising against the Nigerian state, which has claimed more than 13,000 lives. Analysts have long debated the extent of Boko Haram's ties to other jihadist groups, but the evidence was never clear.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2015 4 Comments
The destruction of treasured world-heritage archeological sites by ISIS continues unchecked. This time, the terror group obliterated Hatra, a city in Northern Iraq that was made famous in the opening sequence of the blockbuster horror film, The Exorcist.
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants bulldozed early Saturday the ancient city of Hatra founded 3rd or 2nd BC by the Seleucide Empire, activists and Kurdish media reported. Spokesman for the 14th branch of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Ninveh province Saeed Mumuzini told Rudaw news website that “ISIS militants used buldozzers to destroy Hatra city.” “ISIS stole the ancient gold and silver coins, which were used by the Assyrian kings and were stored in the city,” Mumuzini added.
A small sequence from that movie will remind everyone of the stunning ancient masterpiece of architecture Hatra was.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 07, 2015 7 Comments
Today commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when Rep. John Lewis first led a march from Selma to Montgomery, seeking the right to vote. On their first attempt to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, some six hundred marchers were greeted by law enforcement officers wielding nightsticks and tear gas. Martin Luther King, Jr., lead a symbolic march two days later. On March 21, more than 3,000 marchers joined Dr. King on a march to Montgomery. By the time the Dr. King reached Montgomery, approximately 25,000 marchers accompanied him. Only a few months later, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Selma marked a pivotal turning point in the Civil Rights movement. Today, leaders from all political stripes gather together by the Edmund Pettus Bridge to remember the bravery of those who marched for freedom and celebrate how far we have come. Livestream of the event is here: Leaders in attendance include Senator Tim Scott, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Rep. John Lewis, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, President George W. Bush, and many more. Follow their live Twitter updates:

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Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2015 24 Comments
From my point of view, the single best moment of the 2008 election season was Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican Party convention: Palin was so genuine, so impassioned, and so appealing -- despite lacking cherished Beltway connections and credentials -- that she instantly became a target. One of the most ridiculous attacks centered on her personal beauty, and terms such as "naughty librarian" were launched in a nuclear-scale War on One Woman. That Scott Walker has similar appeal is proven by the various attacks already being made, despite the fact that the first caucus vote has not been cast. However, the attack on good looks can't truly be launched against him directly. So, call the latest progressive response "naughty librarian by proxy".

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 07, 2015 11 Comments
One thing I've learned over the years is to screen shot, save on Wayback Macnine, or download any key evidence found on the internet.  Too many times I've gone back to a link and it's gone, and Google Cache can't be counted on to have preserved the evidence. So when I learned in early February that a UCLA student applying for a student judicial board slot was questioned by the Student Council as to whether she could be fair because she was Jewish and involved in Jewish groups, I wrote it up, UCLA student gov’t candidate challenged for being Jewish (February 12, 2015). I also downloaded the over 4 hour live feed, and excerpted the approximately 40 minute segment, which I uploaded to YouTube. As mentioned yesterday, discriminatory questioning of the Jewish student by the UCLA Student Council has gone national, Mainstream media wakes up to BDS-Anti-Semitism connection. It's a good thing I saved the evidence, because the Student Council took down the original live stream video, as HuffPo explains, UCLA's Student Council Tries To Hide Video Of Its Members Questioning A Jewish Student (emphasis added):
The university's [Undergraduate Students Association Council] typically posts recordings of its meetings on YouTube. But the student government took down the footage of a Feb. 10 meeting where several students questioned whether Rachel Beyda, a Jewish candidate for the school's judicial board, could be "unbiased" given her religion. Various news reports on the controversy this week prompted the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to call on the university to put the video back online Friday. But the university told The Huffington Post that the decision to pull the video was made by the USAC's internal vice president's office.... The group StandWithUs, a pro-Israel education and advocacy organization, is circulating a clipped video of the controversial meeting. Legal Insurrection, a conservative blog, has uploaded the full video of the meeting as it pertains to Beyda's nomination.
The networks are using our video as their source:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 06, 2015 13 Comments
As Snowmageddon descended upon the Imperial City, freedom-loving sledders wielding "Sled Free or Die" placards marched, sleds-in-hand to Capitol Hill. The prohibition on sledding on Capitol Hill is a long-standing regulation, and is not a recent occurrence. According to CNN:
... a regulation written -- clearly by 19th-century scrooges -- banning play on the Capitol grounds. "It shall be the duty of the Capitol police on and after April 29, 1876, to prevent any portion of the Capitol Grounds and terraces from being used as playgrounds or otherwise, so far as may be necessary to protect the public property, turf and grass from destruction or injury," the regulation reads.
Those sledding in civil disobedience were informed by Capitol Police that their down-hill antics were prohibited. Undeterred, they continued to slide down Capitol Hill anyway. Despite the warnings, police watched sledders without bothering to enforce the city's archaic regulation.

Posted by Amy Miller on March 06, 2015 15 Comments
Feminists are marching against Andrew Jackson. (Well, at least against his face.) A group called "Women on 20's" is trying to rally online support behind an effort to change the face of the $20 bill to that of a woman who "the people" see as instrumental in the fight for gender equality:
The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote. So it seems fitting to commemorate that milestone by voting to elevate women to a place that is today reserved exclusively for the men who shaped American history. That place is on our paper money. And that new portrait can become a symbol of greater changes to come. Let's make the names of female "disrupters" -- the ones who led the way and dared to think differently -- as well-known as their male counterparts. In the process, maybe it will get a little easier to see the way to full political, social and economic equality for women. And hopefully it won't take another century to realize the motto inscribed on our money: E pluribus unum, or "Out of many, one."
I'm going to leave this alone, mostly because I support legitimate "female disrupters," and I'm not particularly attached to Andrew Jackson. What I won't leave alone is their list of nominees. For the women heading up this effort, Andrew Jackson is "problematic," mostly because of his role in passing the Indian Removal Act of 1830. But what's more problematic than Jackson's face on the 20 is their inclusion of Planned Parenthood warrior Margaret Sanger in their list of nominees to replace him.

Posted by Amy Miller on March 06, 2015 34 Comments
Arguments in the case of King v. Burwell helped serve to shine light on just how big of a mess implementing, changing, scuttling, or rebuilding the ACA will be. From Bloomberg:
It wasn’t immediately clear where the court leaned, as Chief Justice John Roberts -- who voted in 2012 to uphold the law as constitutional -- asked few questions during the hearing Wednesday. A ruling is expected by late June. Alito’s suggestion that the court might set an end-of-the-year termination date for subsidies in healthcare.gov states was greeted somewhat favorably by solicitor general Donald Verilli, who represented the Obama administration. “That would reduce the disruption,” he told Alito. Still, he said it was “completely unrealistic” to expect that states that lack their own exchange could build one by the end of the year. Under current regulations, for example, states must win approval from the health department by May for an exchange that would open for business in October. Justice Antonin Scalia, another Republican appointee, said that Congress could act to solve the problem. Republicans in both the Senate and House have said that they would respond to a court ruling against the government with legislation to preserve insurance coverage, but they don’t agree on a solution. “Well, this Congress, your honor?” Verilli said, to laughter. “Theoretically, they could.”
One does not joke before the Supreme Court unless one is absolutely positive that the bench will join in the fun. Everyone laughed.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 06, 2015 25 Comments
Allegations of corruption and scandal have swarmed New Jersey Democratic Senator Menendez for years now. That the DOJ waited until now to pull the trigger is... interesting. Just four days ago, Menendez said he would only support a deal that dismantled Iran's nuclear program, according to NJ.com:
"As long as I have an ounce of fight left in me, as long as I have a vote and a say and a chance to protect the interests of Israel, the region, and the national security interests of the United States, Iran will never have a pathway to a weapon," Menendez said, bringing the delegates to their feet. "It will never threaten Israel or its neighbors, and it will never be in a position to start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Not on my watch." Menendez is one of the most outspoken supporters of increasing sanctions if negotiations fail to curb Iran's nuclear program. The issue has pitted Menendez against President Obama, a fellow Democrat. Obama has threatened to veto new sanctions legislation, saying it would give Iran an excuse to walk away from negotiations and leave a military solution as the only option to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons.
Though it's worth noting Menendez has a history of supporting AIPAC, and fighting with the White House over the proper course of action on Iran. Today, CNN reports the DOJ is moving forward with criminal corruption charges:
Washington (CNN)The Justice Department is preparing to bring criminal corruption charges against New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat, alleging he used his Senate office to push the business interests of a Democratic donor and friend in exchange for gifts. People briefed on the case say Attorney General Eric Holder has signed off on prosecutors' request to proceed with charges, CNN has learned exclusively. An announcement could come within weeks. Prosecutors are under pressure in part because of the statute of limitation on some of the allegations. The case could pose a high-profile test of the Justice Department's ability to prosecute sitting lawmakers, having already spawned a legal battle over whether key evidence the government has gathered is protected by the Constitution's Speech and Debate clause.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 06, 2015 19 Comments
How many times have we written about this? Too many to capture them all. The Obama economy has created a perverse distortion of the "Unemployment Rate" because that widely-reported rate represents the percentage of the total workforce actively seeking employment but not able to find employment. The more people who give up hope, and stop seeking employment, has the effect of lowering the "unemployment rate." Here are some of our prior posts: And again today, with a seemingly strong jobs report, the "unemployment rate" dropped, but the number of those dropping out of the workforce also dropped. The Federalist, which produced the Featured Image, reports:
The Department of Labor announced today that the official unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent last month, the lowest it’s been since Spring of 2008. Good news, right? Well, kind of. The official unemployment rate masks a problem that’s been plaguing the economy since shortly before the 2009 recession: a continuing decline in the labor force participation rate, which basically measures the percentage of the able-bodied population that’s either working or looking for work. After holding steady at roughly 66 percent from 2004 through late 2008, the labor force participation has been falling, and falling, and falling some more, with no end in sight....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 06, 2015 10 Comments
Long time Legal Insurrection readers know that for years we have been sounding the alarm over the connection between the gross anti-Israel propaganda which demonizes and dehumanizes both Israeli Jews and supporters of Israel, and anti-Semitism. Scroll through our Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) tag for several dozen over 200 stories over the years. We reported on February 12, 2015, that UCLA student gov’t candidate challenged for being Jewish. Now the story has gone mainstream, with an article in The NY Times, In U.C.L.A. Debate Over Jewish Student, Echoes on Campus of Old Biases:
It seemed like routine business for the student council at the University of California, Los Angeles: confirming the nomination of Rachel Beyda, a second-year economics major who wants to be a lawyer someday, to the council’s Judicial Board. Until it came time for questions. “Given that you are a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish community,” Fabienne Roth, a member of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, began, looking at Ms. Beyda at the other end of the room, “how do you see yourself being able to maintain an unbiased view?” For the next 40 minutes, after Ms. Beyda was dispatched from the room, the council tangled in a debate about whether her faith and affiliation with Jewish organizations, including her sorority and Hillel, a popular student group, meant she would be biased in dealing with sensitive governance questions that come before the board, which is the campus equivalent of the Supreme Court.
As I have pointed out, this is part of a larger movement to ban pro-Israel and almost always Jewish students from involvement in campus politics. Morning Joe addressed the situation (note - the video they mention was taken down, but Legal Insurrection has posted a complete version of that portion of the event):

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 06, 2015 14 Comments
Remember a few years ago when Democrats took to lecturing conservatives about a new tone? They don't. Brad Woodhouse, former DNC communications chief and current President of liberal super PAC American Bridge, recently made some rather unsavory comments about New Jersey governor Chris Christie. Alex Pappas of The Daily Caller reported:
Democratic Super PAC Goes After Chris Christie: ‘We Want To Kill Him Dead’ The president of a Democrat super PAC dedicated to digging up opposition research on Republicans said of New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie: “We want to kill him dead.” Brad Woodhouse, the president of the liberal super PAC American Bridge, made the provocative comments in a profile of the organization published by Bloomberg Politics. The story notes that American Bridge would not back off its attacks on Christie. “We’re not going to pull resources from Christie,” Woodhouse told the outlet. “We want to kill him dead.” Woodhouse, a longtime Democratic operative, has often accused Republicans of using offensive rhetoric against President Obama. But on Thursday, Woodhouse seemed proud of his quote, retweeting it several times in his Twitter feed.
If nothing else, you have to love the fact that Christie is being attacked by a liberal group called American Bridge.
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