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Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 01, 2014 11 Comments
On this second anniversary of Andrew Breitbart's death, Legal Insurrection and others are remembering Andrew. Some of Andrew's enemies in life, however, continue their efforts in his death. I seriously thought about not calling attention to such people, but that would be a cop out. At the Breitbart Awards in Providence in 2012, the only blogger conference I've attended so far, numerous people spoke to how Andrew thought of himself as the point man in the movement, the person who drew the fire so that others didn't have to. It's important to remember what and who Andrew faced. When I scrolled through a Twitter search for Andrew Breitbart's name, I saw a tweet by Max Blumenthal referring to Andrew reaching his "tweet limit" and linking to an article by Blumenthal from May 2013 mocking how "it was convenient that Breitbart's heart exploded when it did...." I didn't remember what the beef was between Andrew and Blumenthal. So I did a search and found this video by Lee Doren (via an Erick Erickson post) explaining the whole incident and confrontation at CPAC 2010:

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Posted by New Neo on March 01, 2014 38 Comments
NOTE: for previous coverage of the situation in Ukraine/Crimea, you can follow this live coverage post. Putin is no doubt quaking in his boots at this warning issued by President Obama:
"We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine," Obama said in a hastily arranged public statement from the White House briefing room. "Just days after the world came to Russia for the Olympic games, it would invite the condemnation of nations around the world. And indeed, the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine," the president warned.
Costs...costs...what could they be? Here are some possibilities:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 01, 2014 42 Comments
Alternative title: Is Hillary sick in the head? FWIW, I've notice Hillary lately having a vacant, sickly appearance. Not enough to have done a post about it, but I noticed. Alex Pappas at The Daily Caller writes that others have noticed, too. Whispers persist that Hillary won’t run: Health may be worse than disclosed
If you listen to the chattering class in Washington, D.C., Hillary Clinton is a virtual certainty for the 2016 Democratic nomination, and the front-runner in the next presidential race. But in private, rumors persist that the former Secretary of State may not even be capable of making it to Iowa and New Hampshire. Clinton, these skeptics often say, will not run for president again because of health concerns.... Asked about her health on Thursday, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said in an email to The Daily Caller: ”To your question, very caring of you to ask. She’s 100%.” ... But the rumors suggesting otherwise date back to the end of 2012, when Clinton’s health made headlines as she finished her term as secretary of state: aides explained then that she developed a stomach virus, hit her head, suffered a concussion and subsequently developed a blood clot in her brain but was being medicated and was expected to recover. But skeptics say there is much more to the story of her health, which has recently been the subject of increased speculation in Washington. Because of these rumors, some on the right have been convincing themselves that Hillary is sick and therefore won’t run — a bombshell that would upend the 2016 race. Roger Stone, the GOP consultant, wrote on Twitter recently that Clinton is “not running for health reasons,” telling followers to “remember you heard it first” from him.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 01, 2014 15 Comments
Two years ago today, Andrew Breitbart died. The entire conservative blogosphere was in shock, and even some opponents of Andrew, such as Eric Boehlert of Media Matters, paid their respects. There's not much I can add, two years later, to my post, A personal note on the death of Andrew Breitbart:
I only spoke once with Andrew Breitbart. He reached out to me, and we spoke by phone. The topic is not important, but I was shocked that he even knew who I was; but as I’ve come to learn, Andrew seemed to know who everyone was in the conservative blogosphere. He was just that way. Since my wife called this morning to let me know of Andrew’s death, it has been hard to focus on anything else. In her words, we don’t have that many bright media lights, and to lose him hurts. Andrew lived in a world without restraints. He could be who he wanted to be, a luxury few bloggers have, particularly those who blog under their own name and work for others. I live in a world of restraints, and I envied Andrew’s freedom more than you can know. Andrew is irreplaceable, but we would serve his memory well to aspire to more freedom of thought and more freedom of action. I’ve often wondered where to go with this blog. I now know.
This interview of Breitbart by Prof. Glenn Reynolds and Dr. Helen Smith still is one of my favorites:

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 28, 2014 20 Comments
So last night I saw a term I had not heard before, "The Jew Flu." I'm not sure how I found the column from Haaretz on that topic. Someone may have tweeted the link, but regardless, it talks about what I've noticed regarding the obsession of the Jewish left with demonizing Israel beyond all rational thought. How is it that so many progressive Jews are happy to break bread with Islamists and other assorted Jew haters, but can only find harsh things to say about Israel? The Haaretz column was by Uzi Silber from 2009, but it rings true today when I see the Jews put out ahead of the BDS movement as cover. Here's an excerpt, The Jew Flu: The strange illness of Jewish anti-Semitism:
Diagnosis The 1930s Labor Zionist leader Berl Katznelson asked "Is there another People on Earth so emotionally twisted that they consider everything their nation does despicable and hateful, while every murder, rape, robbery committed by their enemies fill their hearts with admiration and awe?" This is Jew Flu - the virus of Jewish Anti-Semitism, and its Jewish Anti- and Post-Zionist mutations, afflicting a small but inordinately loud minority of Hebrews. Its modern symptoms are a rejection of Israel's identity as a Jewish state and a dismissal of its right to defend itself militarily, while embracing the goals of its nihilistic Arab enemies. Those infected with the virus wildly inflate Israeli sins real or imagined, while excusing or rationalizing Palestinian anti-semitism and outrages against Jews. Those afflicted with Jew Flu often view the notion of Peoplehood as an artifice, which implies a rejection of Jewish national self-determination and acceptance of the 90-year-old Palestinian Arab contention that Jews are not a nation but merely members of a religion, and as such don?t merit a national home of their own.
Silber then goes on to describe some historical,  sociological and psychological research on the subject, which I have no way of evaluating on medical grounds, but was interesting to read. Regardless of cause, here's his conclusion:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 28, 2014 17 Comments
At this point, I'm used to support for the Tea Party being mischaracterized in news coverage of polling.  The negative always is the focus, and actual analysis of the persistency of support hovering between 1-in-4 and 1-in-5 Americans is ignored: With the release of the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, the strength of the Tea Party has been ignored in favor of focus on rifts in the Republican Party and the generic congressional ballot looking better for Republicans.  Those other topics are important and worthy of coverage, but why isn't the surge in Tea Party favorability since the partial government "shutdown" getting coverage? Wait, what?!  Favorability of the Tea Party has surged since the partial shut down of some of the government?  Isn't the narrative supposed to be that the Tea Party is toast? Here are the internals for the NYT/CBS poll.  Favorability has risen from 14% in late October to 21% currently! Surge! Unfavorability has dropped by 5% too. Overall favorability actually has returned to its historical norm, but that in itself is a story. An overwhelming majority do not have an unfavorable view of the Tea Party, with almost half undecided or not having heard enough.  Most of the unfavorability comes from Democrats: CBS-NYT Poll February 2014 Q 70 Tea Party Favorability You could slice and dice this into great headlines reflecting well on the Tea Party in America.  But you won't see those headlines. Why the surge in favorablity and decline in unfavorability? Perhaps it's because the massive media attack on the Tea Party after the "shutdown" was overblown, and the Tea Party was proven correct on so many things, particularly Obamacare. As to whether the Tea Party has too much influence, the numbers also are postive although not dramatic:

Posted by David Gerstman on February 28, 2014 24 Comments
According to an article last month in the New York Times Iran is facing a major water crisis.

Iran is facing a water shortage potentially so serious that officials are making contingency plans for rationing in the greater Tehran area, home to 22 million, and other major cities around the country. President Hassan Rouhani has identified water as a national security issue, and in public speeches in areas struck hardest by the shortage he is promising to “bring the water back.”

Experts cite climate change, wasteful irrigation practices and the depletion of groundwater supplies as leading factors in the growing water shortage. In the case of Lake Urmia, they add the completion of a series of dams that choked off a major supply of fresh water flowing from the mountains that tower on either side of the lake.

According to a recent op-ed in the New York Times, Iran didn't always have a water problem.

That cooperation began in 1962, after a severe earthquake in the Qazvin region of Iran killed more than 12,000 people. The earthquake collapsed a chain of wells that engineers had drilled in a qanat, or tunnel, style. Hundreds of thousands were at risk from lack of drinking water. Israel flew in teams of drillers. New water supplies were identified, and a series of artesian wells were drilled. The drilling was such a success that Israel’s water engineering company, today a private enterprise, was hired to identify and gain access to underground resources elsewhere in Iran.

Beginning in 1968, a desalination company owned by the Israeli government built dozens of plants in Iran. These are now aging, while Israel continues to innovate: On its Mediterranean coast, it recently opened an immense, energy-efficient desalination plant. More than half of Israel’s drinking water — purer, cleaner and less salty than natural sources — now comes from seawater.

Posted by New Neo on February 28, 2014 15 Comments

Attorney General Eric Holder advises state AGs that they may disregard their oaths of office: Holder said state attorneys general do not have to enforce laws they disagree with, specifically when it comes to the issue of gay marriage. "It is highly unusual for the United States...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 27, 2014 19 Comments

February 19, 2009, is the date credited as the start of the Tea Party movement, although some activists would differ and say they already were laying the groundwork. But there's no doubt that Rick Santelli's call for a Chicago Tea Party on CNBC was the moment that...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on February 27, 2014 20 Comments

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, testified Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee on the topic of “Enforcing the President’s Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws.” Turley expressed concern that “We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis with sweeping implications...

Posted by A.F. Branco on February 27, 2014 6 Comments

Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source.  To see more Legal Insurrection Branco cartoons, click here. Branco’s page is Cartoonist A.F.Branco...

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