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Posted by Amy Miller on February 11, 2015 37 Comments
Craig Stephen Hicks has been charged with three counts of first degree murder in the shooting deaths of Deah Shaddy Barakat, age 23, Yusor Mohammad Barakat, age 21, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, age 19. A local ABC news affiliate has footage of Hicks' first court appearance, which you can watch here. We're still unclear as to why Hicks chose to gun down three people, but there are multiple reports floating around that the shooting was an escalation of an ordinary neighborhood parking dispute. More from WaPo:
The Chapel Hill Police Department said Wednesday morning that initial indications suggested that the issue stemmed from a parking altercation. “Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking,” the department said in a statement. “Hicks is cooperating with investigators and more information may be released at a later time.” ... [Note: he was not released.] ... Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for CAIR, said Wednesday morning he had heard some “unsubstantiated reports” from community members that the victims had previous interactions with Hicks, including a dispute about a parking spot.
CAIR says it...but neighbors also told the police that a parking dispute was part of the problem between Hicks and his victims. Bottom line is, we don't know yet. Hicks' appearance in court was extremely brief. Friends of the three victims have set up a "Our Three Winners" Facebook Memorial dedicated to telling the stories of Deah, Yusor, and Razan.

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Posted by Amy Miller on February 11, 2015 12 Comments
President Obama's draft Authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS has been released. There are limitations to its scope, and it includes a time limit, but still...everybody hang on to something. Here we go: Authorization for the Use of United States Armed Forces in connection with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) poses a threat to the people and stability of Iraq, Syria, and the broader Middle East, and to U.S. national security. It threatens American personnel and facilities located in the region and is responsible for the deaths of U.S. citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller. If left unchecked, ISIL will pose a threat beyond the Middle East, including to the United States homeland. I have directed a comprehensive and sustained strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL. As part of this strategy, U.S. military forces are conducting a systematic campaign of airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria. Although existing statutes provide me with the authority I need to take these actions, I have repeatedly expressed my commitment to working with the Congress to pass a bipartisan authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL. Consistent with this commitment, I am submitting a draft AUMF that would authorize the continued use of military force to degrade and defeat ISIL. My Administration's draft AUMF would not authorize long‑term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our Nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan. Local forces, rather than U.S. military forces, should be deployed to conduct such operations. The authorization I propose would provide the flexibility to conduct ground combat operations in other, more limited circumstances, such as rescue operations involving U.S. or coalition personnel or the use of special operations forces to take military action against ISIL leadership. It would also authorize the use of U.S. forces in situations where ground combat operations are not expected or intended, such as intelligence collection and sharing, missions to enable kinetic strikes, or the provision of operational planning and other forms of advice and assistance to partner forces.

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 11, 2015 20 Comments
One year ago, Barack Obama told Bill O'Reilly that there wasn't even a smidgeon of corruption at the IRS. If that statement was true, why is the Obama administration refusing to share documents related to the IRS targeting scandal? Bob Cusack of The Hill reported yesterday:
Obama administration won’t release IRS targeting documents The Obama administration is refusing to publicly release more than 500 documents on the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party groups. Twenty months after the IRS scandal broke, there are still many unanswered questions about who was spearheading the agency’s scrutiny of conservative-leaning organizations. The Hill sought access to government documents that might provide a glimpse of the decision-making through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The Hill asked for 2013 emails and other correspondence between the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The request specifically sought emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner and Treasury officials, including Secretary Jack Lew, while the inspector general was working on its explosive May 2013 report that the IRS used “inappropriate criteria” to review the political activities of tax-exempt groups. TIGTA opted not to release any of the 512 documents covered by the request, citing various exemptions in the law. The Hill recently appealed the FOIA decision, but TIGTA denied the appeal. TIGTA also declined to comment for this article.
The Department of Justice, which hasn't been politicized in any way, may be partially to blame for the slowness of the investigation.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2015 42 Comments
Brian Williams has been suspended by NBC News for 6 months without pay, pending further investigation of his tall tales and untruths. That's about $5 million dollars of salary lost, and obviously more if it becomes permanent. NBC Statement via Mediaite:
We have decided today to suspend Brian Williams as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News for six months. The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately. We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News. Our review, which is being led by Richard Esposito working closely with NBCUniversal General Counsel Kim Harris, is ongoing, but I think it is important to take you through our thought process in coming to this decision. While on Nightly News on Friday, January 30, 2015, Brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003. It then became clear that on other occasions Brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues. This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position.

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Posted by Amy Miller on February 10, 2015 17 Comments
Welcome to Team Hillary vs. Itself, Round 2! (3? 4? I lost track.) Yesterday, operative and scourge-of-the-right-wing David Brock resigned in protest from pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA Action. In his message to the board, he accused his colleagues of orchestrating a "hit job" against his other project organizations, American Bridge and Media Matters. More from Politico:
Those groups — along with another pro-Clinton group, the super PAC Ready for Hillary — had their fundraising practices called into question last week by a New York Times report. It pointed out that veteran Democratic fundraiser Mary Pat Bonner got a 12.5 percent commission on funds she raised for Brock’s groups and a smaller percentage commission on cash she raised for Ready for Hillary. In his letter to the co-chairs of Priorities’ board — former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina — Brock alleged that “current and former Priorities officials were behind this specious and malicious attack on the integrity of these critical organizations.” The letter — and Brock’s resignation — offer a rare glimpse into a network of groups upon which Democrats are relying to keep the White House and stave off increasingly robust big-money efforts on the right. The public airing of dirty laundry comes as sources say Priorities is struggling to live up to the hopes of some Clinton allies, who had argued it should aim to raise as much as $500 million to eviscerate prospective Clinton rivals in the primary and general elections.
It's not just the groups that Democrats are relying on to keep the White House---it's the optics of the thing.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2015 7 Comments
Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Congressman Juan Vargas (D-CA) have just introduced sweeping revisions to anti-boycott legislation long on the books, in order to counter the global and domestic anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Prior legislation countering the Arab League Boycott arguably did not apply to the BDS movement because BDS is not a country-sponsored boycott. I believe that BDS was structured that way to evade such legislation, and Congress appears to be both tightening the language, and expanding its scope. The Times of Israel reports that the bill is linked to pending U.S.-European Union trade negotiations:
The bill, which has been worked on for over six months, does not authorize any sort of federal response to domestic BDS initiatives, but rather would use free trade negotiations to discourage foreign and international institutions from supporting initiatives to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel. The bill’s sponsors have their eyes on the ongoing negotiations to create a free trade agreement between the US and EU – an agreement that proponents say will be the largest free trade deal in history....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2015 11 Comments
As threats of congressional boycotts by Democrats swirl, and as his political enemies in Israel and the U.S. seek to use the controversy against him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just issued a statement that he still plans to speak before Congress next month:
10/02/2015 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued the following statement: "First, on behalf of the people of Israel, I wish to send condolences to President Obama, the American people and the family of Kayla Mueller. We stand with you. Israel’s survival is not a partisan issue, not in Israel nor in the United States. This doesn’t mean that from time to time Israeli governments have not had serious disagreements with American administrations over the best way to achieve the security of Israel. Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared Israel’s independence in the face of strong opposition from US Secretary of State George Marshall. Likewise, Prime Minister Eshkol’s decisions at the start of the Six Day War, Prime Minister Begin’s decision regarding the nuclear reactor in Iraq, and Prime Minister Sharon’s decisions to press ahead with Operation Defensive Shield; these were all strongly opposed at the time by American administrations.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 10, 2015 11 Comments
While American "feminists" prattle on about "Manterruptions" and other trivial nonsense, lawmakers in East Java (the island that houses Indonesia's capitol, Jakarta) are considering imposing virginity tests on school girls. Jember's City Council wants to institute virginity tests as a prerequisite for high school graduation. Test would be administered only to girls. According to the Jakarta Globe:
“What surprises us the most is they have had sex several times and with different partners,” Habib Isa Mahdi, a lawmaker from the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), told Detik.com on Friday. “Moreover, the Ministry of Social Affairs said that Indonesia is in an emergency situation against pornography — that’s what drives us to make such regulation.” The idea was first debated during a meeting between the city council’s Commission D and the Jember Education Agency on Wednesday. The council is drafting a regulation on “good conduct,” which includes an article installing a virginity test as a requirement for female students’ graduation. The city council argued the regulation was necessary because many secondary and high school students were engaging in pre-marital sexual activities. Isa claimed that based on the data gathered from local hospitals, around 10 percent of Jember’s approximately 1,200 HIV/AIDS patients were students. The Jakarta Globe could not immediately verify Isa’s claims.
"For the children" -- the leftist control-centric mantra that's now gone global.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 10, 2015 7 Comments
The United States is closing its embassy in Yemen amid the disintegration of the Yemeni government and deteriorating security conditions caused by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. From the AP:
The officials said diplomats were being evacuated from the country on Tuesday and the embassy will suspend operations until conditions improve. Yemen has been in crisis for months with Iran-linked Shiite Houthi rebels besieging the capital and then taking control. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the closure publicly on the record. Marines providing the security at the embassy would also likely leave, officials said, but American forces conducting counterterrorism missions in other parts of the country would not be affected. Maj. Brad Avots, a Pentagon spokesman, would only say that the Defense Department is always assessing security conditions on the ground and the military has evacuation assets available if they are requested by the State Department.
Yesterday, UN-organized peace talks between Yemen's various political factions broke down after reported threats from Houthi rebels. The rebels had previously insisted on imposing their own methods to maintain order, and formed a "presidential council" to rule; the other factions revolted against the idea, but agreed to come back to the talks earlier this week:
The latest round of talks began on Monday after the UN warned it would take unspecified further steps against the rebels if they refused to return to the negotiating table. However, they quickly descended into arguments between party representatives and one of the Houthis' delegates, Mehdi al-Meshaat. According to the New York Times, Mr Meshaat was quoted by a participant as warning the parties: "If you don't behave, we will take appropriate measures against you." The main Sunni Islamist party Islah, whose supporters have fought battles with the rebels, and the smaller Nasserite Organisation promptly withdrew, complaining of "threats". Nasserite leader Abdullah al-Noman claimed the Houthis intended to "impose the choices of the group by force".

Posted by Amy Miller on February 10, 2015 11 Comments
Last week, we reported on news out of Syria that 26 year-old humanitarian aid worker and ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller was killed during a Jordanian air strike. The State Department refused to confirm the message published by ISIS, and experts were quick to point out discrepancies in the group's claim. Today, however, Kayla's family issued a statement to the media confirming the death of their daughter. They didn't reveal how specifically they knew and were convinced of Kayla's death, but a representative of the family told the press that they received additional communication from ISIS. More from NBC News:
"We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller, has lost her life," Mueller's parents, Carl and Marsha, and brother Eric, said in a statement. "Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in need of freedom, justice, and peace." President Barack Obama expressed his "deepest condolences" to Mueller's relatives. "No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla's captivity and death," he said in a statement calling ISIS a "hateful and abhorrent terrorist group." Secretary of State John Kerry said Mueller "represented everything good about the human spirit," and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said "the world is united in condemning" ISIS' "murder and imprisonment of innocents." "As we join Kayla's family and loved ones in their grief, we also celebrate her selfless dedication to helping others," he said in a statement. "Her compassionate spirit will never be forgotten."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2015 46 Comments
George Bush did not "lie us into war," no matter how many times the media and Democrats claim it was so. But Barack Obama did lie himself into office, when he falsely claimed to oppose gay marriage on religious grounds during the 2008 campaign: In fact, we now know as a fact what we always suspected, that Obama's 2008 position was purely political, so as not to alienate the religious black community, whose enthusiasm and turnout was critical to Obama's campaign. What used to be just a "right-wing" tag line about Obama not being honest about his faith, now is proven by Obama's key confidant and political advisor, David Axelrod as reported in Time, Axelrod: Obama Misled Nation When He Opposed Gay Marriage In 2008 (emphasis added):

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 10, 2015 41 Comments
Due to regulations imposed by Obamacare, some businesses are cutting the work hours of their employees. This was a known, predicted consequence of the Affordable Care Act. Staples is just the latest newsworthy example. Remember, businesses can only try to survive under the given set of rules---but some employees are having a hard time keeping that in mind when they see their pay stubs. Ashley Lutz of Business Insider:
Staples threatens to fire employees who work more than 25 hours a week Part-time Staples workers are furious that they could be fired for working more than 25 hours a week. The company implemented the policy to avoid paying benefits under the Affordable Care Act, reports Sapna Maheshwari at Buzzfeed. The healthcare law mandates that workers with more than 30 hours a week receive healthcare. If Staples doesn't offer benefits, it could be fined $3,000 in penalties per person. Buzzfeed spoke with several Staples workers who revealed their hours have been drastically cut over the past year. Many reported working as few as 20 hours. The workers started a petition on Change.org asking the company not to "cut part-time hours because of Obamacare."
It's terrible that these folks are losing work hours, but it's not unexpected, and it's not the fault of Staples---that's just as far as an employee wants to look when it's suddenly gotten harder to pay the bills and feed their families. You think it's bad now, wait until people start dealing with their tax returns.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 10, 2015 12 Comments
Berg-dog. Club Gitmo. Feeling so...ISIS right now. Every year, the city of Tampa, Florida gathers at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival to soak in a little sun, a little more music, and one too many of those gigantic frozen margaritas. Not exactly the best venue to discuss pressing issues of foreign policy, but still---you'd expect the attendees to have at least a basic awareness of the things that threaten their country at any given moment. Or would you? Maybe not after today. Fox News' Jesse Watters traveled down to Gasparilla to see just how many attendees he could coax into revealing a rudimentary grasp on current events. The results will not shock you. From Fox News Insider:
“Do you think [the administration] should keep Gitmo open or close it?”
“Open, so we can have fun.” “Club Gitmo?” “You know it!”
No. Surely not.
“Do you know what ISIS is?”
“Being alone.”
This is real. This is a thing that is real that has happened and if I have to deal with it, then so do you. Watch:

Posted by Amy Miller on February 09, 2015 22 Comments
The White House is nearly ready to send to Congress a piece of legislation that would formally authorize the use of military force against ISIS. This new legislation would expand on provisions provided in the 2002 authorization for military action in Iraq, which only covers portions of the current mission. Via CBS News:
The State Department, Defense Department, National Security Council and the White House Office of Legal Counsel have all participated in the drafting of the document, which outlines the military goals and strategy against ISIS in Iraq and Syria and would seek formal, legal authorization for the mission and other counter-terrorism operations related to the effort. This would be the first move by Congress and the White House to give legal backing to the military effort to degrade and destroy ISIS and represent the first update to US military strategy in a post-9/11 world since the authorization to use military force in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.
This major move comes at a time when many analysts are seeing a change in how coalition forces are responding to the threat ISIS poses both in the Middle East, and across the world. Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill believes that the "tide is turning" against ISIS.

Posted by New Neo on February 09, 2015 12 Comments
Obama is getting ready to shoot down the Keystone pipeline bill in the first of what promises to be a blizzard of vetoes of legislation the current Congress is planning to pass. Never mind that the Keystone bill passed with bipartisan support in the Senate 62-36 (nine Democrats joined) and in the House 266-153 (28 Democrats joined; although there will have to be another vote in the House within the next few days to align the two bills, it is expected to go similarly). From The Hill:
Still, if Obama vetoes too many bills, especially ones with Democratic support, Republicans could have success portraying him as partisan and unwilling to negotiate. “One veto doesn’t make him obstructionist,” said James Thurber, a professor of government at American University. “Now maybe after 3, 4, 5 vetoes, then they could start painting him that way.”
Portraying him. Painting him. Not, of course, that he is that way. Here's a statistic: since January, Obama has issued eight veto threats. That's "the most ever for the start of a new Congress." Obama thinks this projects strength, and to his supporters it most definitely does. When the Republicans---even when in the majority in the House, and even with Democratic support---tried to block something Obama was attempting, their actions were painted as unreasonable and stubborn obstructionism. Now, when Obama plans to block what a Republican-majority Congress has done, even when those Republicans have a significant amount of support from moderate Democrats, it's a show of strength and resolve.
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