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Posted by Mike LaChance on January 03, 2015 14 Comments
Democrats, who have spent the better part of the last six years politicizing... everything, are suddenly concerned that Republicans might politicize the Congressional Budget Office with a new appointment. Vicki Needham of The Hill reported:
Dems warn GOP: No 'ideologue' in budget job Senate Democrats are warning Republicans to tread carefully with their selection of a budget scorekeeper for the new Congress, saying they will “strongly object to any effort to politicize this important office." "Appointing a new [Congressional Budget Office] director on the basis of ideology would fundamentally compromise the integrity of an institution that has served as a trusted scorekeeper," a group of Senate Democrats wrote in a letter sent to Republican leaders and budget chairmen. As one of their first acts this year Republicans must decide whether to give another term to Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). While the CBO job is little-known outside Washington, it holds enormous power. The “scores” handed out by the office — measuring the impact of legislation on the budget — are often make-or-break for legislation, particularly if a bill is found to add to the deficit.
Too bad Senate Democrats didn't have the same concerns about politicization when they released the so-called "torture report" last month, huh?

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Posted by Amy Miller on January 03, 2015 21 Comments
Between the President's executive orders, a spiraling health care delivery infrastructure, and a bloated welfare state, candidates gearing up for a run in 2016 have no shortage of material for stump speeches and e-mail blasts. But, as anyone who has looked at the data from previous cycles knows, some issues move voters to the polls, while others move voters to remain on the couch rating movies on Netflix. Willingness to prioritize issues has been a problem for the right at least as long as I've been involved in politics. We worry that strategically promoting, say, conservative economic policies, means that we're somehow downplaying the importance of other issues such as abortion, immigration, or the country's whirling moral compass. I don't have a solution to this problem; but as a strategist, when it comes to choosing which issues to throw on the front burner during a political campaign, I look to the data. A new poll by Gallup rounds up the top concerns of Americans in 2014, and offers valuable insight for those looking to get an early start on platform building. 2014 was unique in that over the course of the year, four issues dominated the conversation enough to break double digits in the percentage of people who thought that particular problem was the nation's most troubling. Gallup explains how the numbers have shifted:

Posted by Amy Miller on January 02, 2015 12 Comments
There are some narratives that not even MSNBC should be expected to screw up---and yet, here we are. Today, Tamron Hall hosted former New Mexico Governor and UN Ambassador Bill Richardson to talk about Kim Jong Un's barely-precedented call for a summit between between the leadership of North Korea and South Korea. Throughout the interview, Richardson did a good job of pointing out how erratic the actions of North Korean regime has been, and was quick to put a damper on hopeful expectations that this proposed summit could mean a change in how the divided countries interact with one another. Then, of course, whatever is in the water over at MSNBC's studios seeped in to Richardson's consciousness and took the wheel. When asked about the possibility of Kim Jung Un wanting to define himself as a leader, Richardson went off the rails and blamed the media for North Korea's problems: Politico has the money quote:
“He has been the victim, Kim Jong Un, of a lot of bad press, a lot of bad international attention, with the Sony hacking, with [being] taken to the International Criminal Court by some U.N. countries, a number of other very destabilizing moves that he has made, shooting the missiles, nuclear testing,” Richardson said on Friday on MSNBC’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall.”
Watch it here:

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Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 02, 2015 24 Comments
New dietary guidelines being considered by the Agricultural Department take into consideration "environmental cost." The USDA's recommendations eventually trickle down into school lunches and other federal programs. Every five years the USDA updates their dietary guidelines. Remember when we lost the iconic food pyramid to the "My Plate" thing? That was all the USDA's doing. And we all know how well it goes when government restrictions end up on school lunch plates... According to the AP:
That means that when the latest version of the government's dietary guidelines comes out, it may push even harder than it has in recent years for people to choose more fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and other plant-based foods — at the expense of meat. The beef and agriculture industries are crying foul, saying an environmental agenda has no place in what has always been a practical blueprint for a healthy lifestyle. The advisory panel has been discussing the idea of sustainability in public meetings, indicating that its recommendations, expected early this year, may address the environment. A draft recommendation circulated last month said a sustainable diet helps ensure food access for both the current population and future generations. A dietary pattern higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods is "more health promoting and is associated with lesser environmental impact than is the current average U.S. diet," the draft said.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 02, 2015 3 Comments
When talking about the obsessive-compulsive haters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement, it's easy to focus on opposing what they do. In fact, this weekend at the American Historical Association, some BDS activist-professors are trying to get business meeting rules waived so they can introduce a biased and inaccurate anti-Israel resolution. These efforts need to be opposed, but opposition is not the ultimate answer. The answer to those who seek to demonize and deligitimize Israel through the BDS movement is to build even more academic and other relationships with Israel. The University of Chicago is doing just that, cooperating wtih Ben Gurion University on water resource management for desert climates. This is not a political move, but shared scientific research on its own merits. It's only anti-Israel activists who turn such research to benefit all humanity into a political issue. The Chicago Tribune reports For water's sake, Chicago researchers reach across the seas to Israel:
The Arava desert, a salty wasteland dotted with tufts of scrub, gets only about an inch of rain each year. And yet cows lazily low at dairy farms that collectively produce nearly 8 million gallons of milk annually. Orange bell peppers flourish in a long swath of greenhouses that skirts the Jordanian border. Kibbutzim with vineyards somehow manage to churn out shiraz and sauvignon blanc, unfazed by the desert sun. The clusters of farms and wineries in the Arava are a testament to Israel's acumen in water technology. One of the most parched places on earth has found a way to beat water woes once so severe that Israel's national mood rose and fell with the changing level of the Sea of Galilee, one of their most critical water sources. That expertise helps explain why the University of Chicago sought out Israel's Ben-Gurion University to help tackle one of the world's most worrisome problems — water scarcity....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 02, 2015 12 Comments
Despite widespread media and social media claims that the North Koreans were not behind the Sony hack, the U.S. government stands by the assertion that North Korea is the culprit. Obama signed an executive Order today imposing sanctions, as The Washington Post reports:
President Obama, while vacationing in Hawaii, signed an executive order authorizing the sanctions, saying the repressive government was trying to stifle freedom of speech by American artists and businesses. The Treasury Department imposed financial measures on 10 North Korean officials and three government agencies. They include the country’s main intelligence agency, believed to have orchestrated major cyber operations, as well as agencies responsible for weapons deals and military research and development. The newly sanctioned officials include those operating out of Namibia, Iran, Syria and China....

Posted by Amy Miller on January 02, 2015 17 Comments
In a move to "make lives easier," California has initiated a driver's license program for immigrants who are in the country illegally. The program went into effect today, and has doubled the number of applications for licenses submitted to the state. From the AP:
California has begun accepting driver's license applications from immigrants who are in the country illegally. Despite near-freezing temperatures, hundreds of immigrants lined up as early as 2 a.m. Friday at a temporary Department of Motor Vehicles office in the city of Stanton to begin the process of obtaining licenses. The DMV expects 1.4 million people will seek a license in the first three years of a program aimed at boosting road safety and making immigrants' lives easier. Some applicants may receive licenses Friday if they previously had one. First-time applicants will receive permits if they pass a written test. They will have to return for a driving test at a later date.
This move reverses previous state policy which required "proof of legal presence" in the state of California before an applicant could successfully obtain a driver's license. According to the AP report, while illegals will be able to obtain a license to drive, the license will not count as official federal identification. Additionally, applicants are being cautioned to seek legal advice before applying if they are under a pending deportation order or have a criminal record.

Posted by Amy Miller on January 02, 2015 3 Comments
U.S. troops' boots may not "be on the ground" in the sense of the popular wartime narrative, but Islamic State insurgents are getting awfully close to where those boots are stationed. From the Washington Post:
In Iraq’s western Anbar province, more than 300 U.S. troops are posted at a base in the thick of a pitched battle between Iraqi forces, backed by tribal fighters, and well-armed Islamic State militants. The militants, positioned at a nearby town, have repeatedly hit the base with artillery and rocket fire in recent weeks. Since the middle of December, the U.S.-led military coalition has launched 13 airstrikes around the facility. U.S. troops have suffered no casualties in the attacks. But the violence has underlined the risks to American personnel as they fan out across Iraq as part of the expanding U.S. mission against the Islamic State, even as President Obama has pledged that U.S. operations “will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.” In a sign of the risks, military officials said American soldiers have been transported to the Ayn al-Asad base under the cover of night by helicopter — partly to maintain a low profile for the renewed U.S. operation in Iraq but also to protect U.S. personnel amid fierce fighting west of the capital, Baghdad.
No wonder troops feel like they're getting mixed messages on what their mission in Iraq actually is.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 02, 2015 24 Comments
My family was set to see the snow in the local mountains today, until we discovered thousands of fellow Californians decided they were going to check out this novelty as well.
Interstate 8 east ground to a halt, the mountain town of Julian became completely gridlocked in traffic -- and access to several mountain recreation areas was closed off at mid-afternoon Thursday -- as thousands of San Diegans went to play in the snow. The quaint town of Julian was packed Thursday as residents tried to park to find snow, hot pie or other attractions. "It's busy, but not too crazy," said Pistols & Petticoats owner Debbie Mushet. "It's mainly the restaurants and pie shops that are busy." That was confirmed by employee Monique Quijano at Julian Pie Company. "The line is all the way down the street and probably 45 minutes to an hour," Quijano said.
It may be hard for some of you to believe, but the amount of snow was such a rarity that today's traffic to see it backed up for miles:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 02, 2015 20 Comments
The ink on 2015 is barely dry, but that hasn't stopped liberals from continuing their push for increased gun control. Seizing on the still-raw emotions of the shooting at Sandy Hook, Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker outlined what he calls their "moral work":
The Newtown Lawsuit and the Moral Work of Gun Control The news that the parents of the children massacred two years ago in Sandy Hook, near Newtown, Connecticut, by a young man with a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle, were undertaking a lawsuit against the gun manufacturer was at once encouraging and terribly discouraging. The encouraging part is that those parents, suffering from a grief that those of us who are only witnesses to it can barely begin to comprehend, haven’t, despite the failure to reinstate assault-weapons bans and stop the next massacre, given way to despair. Like Richard Martinez, after his son was murdered by a weapon that should never have been in the hands of a lunatic, or anyone else, for that matter, they’re allowing themselves to be angry, and then turning their anger into action: they’re naming the business that helped kill their children and asking a court to hold that business responsible. The filed complaint—the numbered paragraphs give it an oddly religious feeling, like theses nailed to a church door—is worth reading in full, however painful that might be, not only because of the unbelievable suffering and cruelty it details on that terrible morning but also because it offers, in neatly logical fashion, an indisputable argument: the gun manufacturer is guilty of having sold a weapon whose only purpose was killing a lot of people in a very short time.
John Hinderaker of Powerline wrote an excellent response to this which you can read here. Leftists claim to support the rights of law abiding gun owners when it's politically convenient, but they will never stop pushing gun control.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 01, 2015 2 Comments

Adorably hilarious, this father-daughter conversation fantastically illustrates how behavior is learned. Modern "feminism" scoffs at the "sexual objectification" of Princess Leia, all the while, drooling over shirtless pictures of Ryan Gosling (because somehow that's different). Flipping through a Star Wars book, this little girl found Princess Leia's...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 01, 2015 7 Comments
We have been running bumper stickers since June 24, 2010, when I saw the Bumper Sticker of Change while on a walk in my then home State of Rhode Island and Provideence Plantations: Bumper Sticker - Work Harder Obama Needs The Money Since then, we have run over 500 posts with bumper stickers, almost all reader submitted. Scroll through our Bumper Sticker tag. In 2012 we had a bumper sticker post almost every day due to the presidential election. Things have slowed down, but we still have a bumper sticker post just about every week. Keep 'em coming. Here are my picks for the Best 2014 Bumper Stickers:

Posted by New Neo on January 01, 2015 2 Comments
The last year I remember noticing as a huge transition was 2000. We had entered science fiction territory, and 2001 was similar because of the Stanley Kubrick film. But after that it's all been a blur. How did it pass so quickly? That's a cliche, but there's no question that as you get older time seems to fly by more rapidly. One reason is that each segment of time is now a much smaller percentage of the total amount you've been alive. A year? Almost a blink. These days when I try to figure out how much time has passed since an event my gut reaction is to use 2000 as the index year. So, for example, if something happened in 1976 my first response would be to say that that was 24 years ago. Way off, obviously; to get the right answer I have to take that figure and add the current year of the 21st century to it. It's a laborious process, but since for me the changing year number seems to have stopped at 2000 there's no way around it. The title of this post was inspired by a memory from my extreme youth. I was enchanted by a TV car ad campaign from the year 1957 that used the catch-phrase, "Suddenly, it's 1960!" to indicate how futuristic its car design was. All I had been aware of in my very short life up to that point were the 1950s, and the idea of a decade of 1960s was magical.
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