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Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 30, 2014 22 Comments
Forget the New Year's ball drop in Times Square. Brasstown, North Carolina celebrates with their annual Possum Drop. A plexiglass box containing a live possum is lowered when the clock strikes twelve and then there is much rejoicing. Or at least there was before PETA came to town. Participating possums were released back to the wild after their fifteen minutes of fame. Yet PETA claimed the annual Possum Drop would create a "zone of lawlessness" wherein anything could happen to the possum of the hour. According to the Wall Street Journal:
The community of Brasstown, population 240, has been lowering a plexiglass box containing a live opossum from a pole at Clay’s Corner Convenience Store at midnight on Dec. 31 for the better part of 20 years. Organizers call the Brasstown Possum Drop a hillbilly homage to the ball drop in Times Square. Animal-rights advocates say it is a cruel act to a shy creature that not only must be left out in the cold mountain air but also can be easily startled by the festival’s fireworks and brass band.

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Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 30, 2014 29 Comments
United Airlines and the popular travel site Orbitz, joined mega corporation forces to sue a 22-year-old Brooklynite. Aktarer Zaman created and runs the site Skiplagged.com. He claims he makes no money on the venture. Skiplagged utilizes hidden city ticketing. While not always the cheapest way to fly, often times hidden city ticketing can produce a significantly cheaper flight. Suppose you want to fly to Denver. A direct flight might be pricey depending on where you're coming from. But, if you were to book a flight to San Francisco that connects in Denver, and simply get off in Denver (hence, "hidden city") ditching the last leg of your flight, you may find you are able to reach your desired destination with a little extra cash in your pocket. Caveats do apply. For hidden city ticketing to work, flights must be booked one-way, and unless you want your bags to have their own vacation, checking a bag isn't optional either. Needless to say, airlines are not fans of the gimmick. All kinds of stipulations and contractual obligations listed in the fine print of plane tickets explain why. Hidden city ticketing is an old trick, but Skiplagged succeeded in making the little known 'discount' readily available. So much so, air travel behemoths are out to crush the site. CBS This Morning reports:

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 30, 2014 15 Comments
Obama recently sat down for an interview with National Public Radio during which he was asked how he is going to work with the new Republican controlled congress for the remainder of his presidency. His response was rather telling. Brendan Bordelon of National Review has the story:
Obama: ‘I’m Obviously Frustrated’ Dems Didn’t Run on My ‘Great Record’ in November In an interview released Monday by National Public Radio, President Obama made clear what’s long been suspected by White House observers — he believes Democratic politicians sowed the seeds of their own defeat in November by failing to support his “great record” as president... “I’m obviously frustrated with the results of the midterm election,” he said. “I think we had a great record for members of Congress to run on. And I don’t think we — myself, and the Democratic Party — made as good of a case as we should have. And, you know, as a consequence we had really low voter turnout, and the results were bad.”
Watch the segment below: Of course, some liberal media types are already trying to correct the mistake the American people made in November.

Posted by David Gerstman on December 30, 2014 5 Comments
In a recent essay, Jonathan Spyer identified the likely approach the anti-Netanyahu coalition - specifically Isaac Herzog of Labor and Tzipi Livni of Hatnua - will take in preparation for the Israeli elections on March 17. Spyer writes, "The belief underlying the Israeli center-left’s campaign is evidently that if Israel is 'boxed in' it is because of its own 'extremists' and that the solution to this is greater accommodation to the U.S. administration." There's a problem with this approach, though: it may not resonate well with Israeli voters.
But if this is indeed to be the thrust of the center-left’s campaign in the elections, success is likely to continue to elude it. Israelis are deeply aware both of the threats that surround them, and of the cold attitude of the current U.S. administration toward their country. A campaign which seeks to blur or obscure these or to claim that they are largely of Israel’s own making is likely to win its proponents a further term in the opposition.
We only have to go back to last week, when Roger Cohen of the The New York Times published an interview with former Israeli peace negotiator Tzipi Livni, to see how true Spyer's assessment is. Livni, in the column, identifies Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud  Abbas as the one who torpedoed the American-sponsored peace process by failing to accept an American framework agreement, attempting to bolster a unilateral bid for statehood by signing international treaties and finally by agreeing to a unity government with Hamas. Yet even as Livni recounted Abbas refusal to negotiate in the middle of the op-ed, at the beginning and end of the article she asserts that only she and those aligned with her are moderates seeking peace. The problem is the disconnect between her accounting of Abbas' intransigence and her insistence that Likud is what's preventing peace is rather obvious. She can't convincingly claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the major obstacle to peace when she herself has documented how Abbas scuttled the American peace efforts.

Posted by New Neo on December 30, 2014 15 Comments
Ordinarily one wouldn't think that news of wreckage and multiple bodies being pulled from the sea could be classified as "good." But given what we already very strongly suspected---which was that AirAsia Flight QZ8501 had crashed, and that the likelihood of survivors was very poor---and given the continued unknown whereabouts of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the news that the wreckage of QZ8501 has been found and that 40 bodies have been recovered so far can be considered "good" in the relative sense, despite its horrific nature. There was always more hope of finding this plane than of locating Flight 370. We didn't know much about QZ8591, but at least we knew that it had encountered bad weather, and that it had probably gone down suddenly in waters that were less than 150 feet deep. Had it not been for the mystery of Flight 370, it would have assumed that QZ8501 would have been found in due time. That is what has happened, and there is every reason to suppose that the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be recovered and we will learn the most likely cause of the disaster. The plane was found about six miles from where it lost radio contact with the ground, and there are reports that a plane-shaped "shadow" can be seen under the water. In addition:
The aircraft's last request - to climb higher to avoid a storm - was turned down... Geoffrey Thomas, editor of AirlineRatings.com, told Sky News: "We have a radar plot which shows the plane actually climbing through 36,300ft - it wasn't given permission to do that. "It also shows that its speed had decayed by 134mph and dropped dramatically to a level where it couldn't sustain flight."

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Posted by Amy Miller on December 30, 2014 2 Comments
Yesterday, the United States Military launched targeted airstrikes against the insurgent group al-Shabaab in Somalia. From the Washington Post:
“The target of the strike was a senior al-Shabab leader,” Kirby said in a statement. “At this time, we do not assess there to be any civilian or bystander casualties.” A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing analysis of the strike, said officials were not fully certain whether the strike had hit the militant. But he added: “We think the targeting was done precisely and accurately.” The official said that Monday’s attack on al-Shabab did not include any U.S. operations on the ground against the militant leader, whom he declined to name.
Multiple news outlets are reporting that the target was a "senior leader" of the al-Qaida affiliate, but American officials have not yet confirmed a name, or if the strike was successful. This is familiar territory for the U.S. Military, whose targeted drone strikes in southern Somalia this past September deposed former al-Shabaab front man and spiritual leader Ahmed Abdi Godane. After those strikes, Abu Ubeid Ahmed Omar rose to power within the organization, and although officials' lips are sealed (for now) about who this latest target was, it would make sense for the U.S. to target Omar.

Posted by Amy Miller on December 29, 2014 6 Comments
Over the past year, we've provided extensive coverage of the controversy surrounding the death of Michael Brown, the grand jury's decision to not indict Darren Wilson, and the ensuing fallout, riots, and protests that wracked cities all across America. What started out as a local controversy turned into a national discussion, which subsequently morphed into a national protest and social media movement that endures even as 2014 comes to a close. It's official: "#Ferguson" was the most tweeted news story of 2014. Via Mediaite:
Digital research firm Echelon Insights has put together an infographic that charts the year in news as seen through 185 million Twitter mentions. And between the initial protests that followed Brown’s death and the grand jury decision months later that cleared Officer Wilson of any charges, #Ferguson was far and away the most talked-about event of the year: Screen-Shot-2014-12-29-at-11.42.28-AM-650x267 Midterm Election Day created the second-biggest spike, followed by the State of the Union and the Donald Sterling L.A. Clippers controversy. The firm also broke down Twitter mention by political leaning and found that while conservatives had more to say about Benghazi, guns, Iraq and Ebola, liberals were more likely to talk about Chris Christie, Obamacare, Ferguson/Eric Garner and the midterm elections. But regardless of political persuasion, the most-talked about politician for both sides, by far, was President Barack Obama.

Posted by Amy Miller on December 29, 2014 23 Comments
"The faces of the Republican Party's most ambitious members are changing," says the latest MSM mini-mashup of the GOP's 2016 presidential hopes. In the same breath, after describing Republicans' sweep of the midterms, comes the inevitable chaser: The GOP's success may be misleading, however. I've watched the Republican machine during the past two presidential election cycles, and based on those observations, I'm not going to hold that one against the AP. One of our greatest talents as professional conservative politicians is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory---and we have enough second place trophies to prove it. For more than a few reasons, though, 2016 could be different. More from AP's Big Story:
Long criticized as the party of old white men, the GOP's next class of presidential contenders may include two Hispanic senators, an Indian-American governor, a female business leader and an African-American neurosurgeon. In a group that could exceed a dozen Republican White House prospects, all but a few are in their 40s or 50s, while one of the oldest white men is a fluent Spanish speaker whose wife is a native Mexican. The diverse group is a point of pride for those Republicans who have long pushed for a welcoming "big tent" party. "This is a diverse nation, and we need to be a diverse party," said Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive and only Republican woman openly weighing a 2016 bid. "That doesn't mean we sacrifice our principles, but it means we need to look like and understand and empathize with the nation." Republican strategists hope that a more diverse slate of candidates will help appeal to a growing minority population that has given Democrats a decided advantage in the last two presidential contests.
I love the fact that we have candidates willing to get out there and use the "D-word." And by "D" I mean "diversity," which is going to be the magic word in 2016 not only as we discuss issues of race, gender, and economic status, but as we build strategies to reach and corner the market on blocs of voters who have never supported Republicans until now.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 29, 2014 33 Comments
Kids these days. Students who neglected their studies to protest the Michael Brown grand jury decision were disappointed when their appeal to the administration for special accommodations during finals was rejected. According to Fox News Cleveland:
Over 1,300 Oberlin students signed a petition for college administrators asking for understanding and “alternative modes of learning” as they continue to cope with what’s happening across the country. They asked for the normal grading system to be “replaced with a no-fail mercy period,” and said “basically no student …especially students of color should be failing a class this semester.” In response, Oberlin President Marvin Krislov said that he understands their concerns and that he and the Academic Deans took the request seriously, however “we are in firm agreement that suspending grading protocols is not the way to achieve our shared goal of ensuring that students have every opportunity and resource to succeed,” he said in a statement. Administrators did offer students some assistance in the form of counseling and other support services. They also added increased flexibility in terms of students making “incomplete requests.” They also extended the deadline for students to change from “a grade to the pass/no pass” option.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 29, 2014 29 Comments
While most Americans were enjoying Christmas Eve, the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty went into effect. On the surface, the treaty is supposed to help regulate international arms trade but Awr Hawkins of Breitbart reports that there's more than meets the eye (emphasis is mine):
Gun Control Groups Cheer as UN Arms Trade Treaty Takes Effect Gun control groups cheered as the UN Arms Trade Treaty went into effect on Christmas Eve. Although the treaty’s ubiquitous aim is regulation of the export and import of small arms for signatories, Breitbart News has previously reported the treaty poses international gun control and, to be enforceable, will require the creation of an international gun registry. According to Reuters, Control Arms’ Anna Macdonald praised the treaty, saying, “Campaigners have been pushing for this moment for a decade.” She said the treaty could usher in the “dawn of a new era” if “robustly implemented.” She also indicated the UN treaty subjugates arms trade to “international law.”
Although the Obama administration has signed on to the treaty, Hawkins reports that Republican Senator James Inhofe prevented the senate from ratifying it. Liberal news outlet The New Republic describes the treaty as 'most reasonable' but controversy has followed the plan for over a year.

Posted by Amy Miller on December 29, 2014 0 Comments
The search for Air Asia Flight 8501 continues, but officials close to the investigation have already come forward with fears that the plane is likely "at the bottom of the sea." Crews began the search for the plane, which disappeared over the Java Sea Sunday morning, by combing the heavily-trafficked route over the shallow waters between Surabaya, Indonesia and Singapore, in hopes of finding some evidence of an emergency landing. When no immediately identifiable evidence of the plane was found during the initial search, officials decided to expand their grid to include land areas. Experts participating in the investigation, however, are convinced that the plane crashed into the sea after encountering a violent storm system. Fox News explains:
Broad aerial surveys Monday spotted two oily patches and objects in separate locations. Indonesia's air force says oil samples from the Java Sea will be collected and analyzed to see if they're connected to the missing jetliner. Jakarta's Air Force base commander Rear Marshal Dwi Putranto told the Associated Press that he was informed Monday that an Orion aircraft had detected "suspicious" objects near Nangka island, about 100 miles southwest of Pangkalan Bun, near central Kalimantan, or 700 miles from the location where the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers early Sunday. An Australian plane also spotted a "suspicious" object in the Java Sea, about 700 miles from where the AirAsia plane lost contact "However, we cannot be sure whether it is part of the missing AirAsia plane," Putranto cautioned, "We are now moving in that direction, which is in cloudy conditions."
Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes has spent these last few days putting on a brave face for staff and the families of those on board Flight 8501.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 29, 2014 57 Comments
For months, nay years, I have been predicting that the promise of quality healthcare for the poor via rapidly expanded Medicaid enrollments was a house of cards, a fraud, a three-card monte game, a sham, a man-made disaster, a Gruberesque fake meant to deceive the "stupid" people into believing that the promise of Obamacare was real instead of styrofoam faux-Greek columns basking in the neon light of Hollywood-driven love and media sycophancy. For many reasons, but mostly because doctors would not work for peanuts, they would revolt like the kulaks and choose not to work rather than see the fruits of their labors handed out for free or close to free: And now, for "BREAKING" news, As Medicaid Rolls Swell, Cuts in Payments to Doctors Threaten Access to Care (via Instapundit):
Just as millions of people are gaining insurance through Medicaid, the program is poised to make deep cuts in payments to many doctors, prompting some physicians and consumer advocates to warn that the reductions could make it more difficult for Medicaid patients to obtain care. The Affordable Care Act provided a big increase in Medicaid payments for primary care in 2013 and 2014. But the increase expires on Thursday — just weeks after the Obama administration told the Supreme Court that doctors and other providers had no legal right to challenge the adequacy of payments they received from Medicaid. The impact will vary by state, but a study by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, estimates that doctors who have been receiving the enhanced payments will see their fees for primary care cut by 43 percent, on average.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 29, 2014 16 Comments
Ignore the polls showing Hillary up by 50%+ over potential Democratic rivals. Elizabeth Warren "is not" running. Everyone knows (or assumes) Hillary is. The second Warren declares she's seeking the nomination, if she declares, the polls will narrow. The second Warren goes after Hillary as the crony-capitalist, contrived-candidate that she is, the polls would narrow. Defeating the Clinton machine would not be easy or quick, but I stand by my view that if Warren were to run, she would end up crushing Hillary. The massive lead would narrow and then evaporate, just like it did with Obama. But it would end there. As part of my effort to spread the word, I have a column today at The Boston Herald, Will Elizabeth Warren sell ‘outside the bubble’?. Boston Herald Will Elizabeth Warren Sell Outside the Bubble Here is an excerpt, head over to The Herald for the full story:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 29, 2014 7 Comments
I thought it would be an excellent time as I recover from my bout with the flu to check in on the state of my state...and it looks like the diagnosis is poor---especially if you own a small business in California, as a leading health insurance provider is hiking rates:
Health insurance giant Aetna Inc. is imposing excessive rate hikes on more than 5,000 small employers, according to California's insurance commissioner. Commissioner Dave Jones lashed out Thursday at the third-largest U.S. health insurer for raising premiums as much as 20% on some small businesses starting Jan. 1. The average increase of 10.7% will cost small employers and their workers $23.5 million in excessive premiums, according to the state. ...Aetna said its rate increase was justified based on the expected medical costs for employers. The Hartford, Conn., insurer rejected the state's request for a lower increase. The state said a 2.6% increase was more appropriate for this group of 64,000 employees and dependents.
While the finger is being pointed at the "evil insurance company", an analysis by Cal Watchdog's James Poulos shows that Obamacare (i.e., Affordable Care Act) is most likely the root cause.
...From a bird’s-eye view, however, some analysts have pointed out that Aetna’s rate increases are a rational result of the market distortions created by the ACA’s regulatory framework. As Scott Gottlieb argued at Forbes, “Obamacare was designed with the goal of commoditizing health insurance. The belief was that competition between plans would turn largely on premiums and cost sharing. This was seen as a way to hold down prices.” What happened instead, Gottlieb explained, was that pushing down on competition in the areas of networks and care delivery discouraged competition between “different benefit packages and plan designs.” In other words, the big, established coverage providers discovered they could create many variations on very similar benefit packages. In a free market for health care, different plans would differ in their benefit packages as well — giving small business owners, for instance, greater options around not just scope of coverage but cost of coverage. Instead, the ACA has dramatically narrowed their available coverage, leaving business owners with little alternative to Aetna’s hiked rates.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 29, 2014 8 Comments
I don't watch CNN anymore, but I'm very familiar with Don Lemon from all the times he's appeared on conservative news sites seeking to correct something he said. According to The Hollywood Reporter, lots of people have noticed Lemon's work:
CNN's Don Lemon Named to 'Worst Journalism of 2014' List Don Lemon has picked up a dubious honor: ranking in a Columbia Journalism Review fellow's list of the "worst journalism" of 2014. The anchor has made headlines throughout the year for controversial moments during his tenure as a CNN newsroom anchor. In a post written by David Uberti, the CJR fellow makes a case for why Lemon deserves to be ranked along with other missteps in journalism over the past year. "As one of the most recognizable anchors on CNN, Don Lemon has helped lead the cable network’s coverage of the biggest stories of the year. Live television is exceedingly difficult to produce, of course, but Lemon’s gaffes this year offer a case study in how to choose words wisely — or not," Uberti wrote.
The fine folks at Twitchy think they may have uncovered the reason for Lemon's new distinction:
Don Lemon’s report on black holes and missing plane help him win ‘Worst of 2014′ award CNN anchor Don Lemon has taken his share of hate on Twitter: a former Miss Teen USA called Lemon a “modern day house negro,” hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons labeled him “a dangerous talking head” and MSNBC’s Goldie Taylor accused him of being a “turn coat mofo.” And those are just the racial attacks; there’s also the matter of Lemon’s skills as a journalist.

Posted by Amy Miller on December 29, 2014 7 Comments
Yesterday, the International Security Assistance Force was folded away into history as the combat mission in Afghanistan officially came to an end. After more than 13 years, the day-to-day combat operations have now been handed over to Afghan security forces. The new international mission, dubbed "Resolute Support," will provide training and support for Afghanistan's military, and require the continued service of 11,000 American troops; considering the total force caps off at 13,500, the American contribution will not be insignificant. In addition to providing more training, American forces are also authorized to assist in counterterrorism operations, which means that we'll be providing air and ground support to Afghan troops for at least the next two years. President Obama took a break from his vacation to send along a congratulatory statement to the coalition forces in Afghanistan, saying that, "[w]e are safer, and our nation is more secure, because of their service." But many in Afghanistan worry about what the change in mission will do to the already tenuous control Afghan troops hold over the country's security:
Afghans have mixed feelings about the drawdown of foreign troops. With the deteriorating security situation, many believe the troops are needed to back up the Afghan effort to bring peace after more than three decades of continual war. "At least in the past 13 years we have seen improvements in our way of life — freedom of speech, democracy, the people generally better off financially," said 42-year-old shop keeper Gul Mohammad. But the soldiers are still needed "at least until our own forces are strong enough, while our economy strengthens, while our leaders try to form a government," he said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Afghanistan's 350,000-member security forces are ready to take on the insurgency alone, despite complaints by officials that they lack the necessary assets, such as air support, medical evacuation systems and intelligence. On Sunday, he said that ISAF's mandate was "carried out at great cost but with great success."
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