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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 27, 2014 18 Comments
Melissa Harris-Perry hosted a panel on the question: "Are attacks against Wendy Davis sexist or standard political fare?" Harris-Perry gave a pretty good intro, pointing out that narrative failures are political problems for women and for men. And she did highlight that Wendy Davis' narrative is not quite as portrayed in her campaign. But were the attacks "gendered" if not outright "sexist." Watch the video below. Does it strike you, as it did me, that the panelists could not generate any visible indignation over the supposedly sexist treatment of Davis? They mouthed the words, but seemed a bit shy about it after listening to Harris-Perry's intro about the discrepancies in Davis' narrative. Davis' parenting and maternal commitment were an express part of her narrative -- when that narrative failed, it was not gendered or sexist, it just was what it was. There was no dissent among the panelists. Jonathan Capehart particularly dropped the ball by suggesting that Newt Gingrich is an example of a man leaving his first wife and kids behind who did not pay a price. But in fact, Newt has been excoriated for it and it was a damaging blow to his presidential ambitions, as I explained to Kirsten Powers. This should have been a panel that breathed "sexism" fire. That all they could muster were a few glowing embers of "sexism" tells you something right there. There doesn't appear to be any fire in the belly even at MSNBC to defend Wendy Davis' failed personal narrative. Here's the video, in two parts:

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 27, 2014 30 Comments
Dinesh D'Souza allegedly violated campaign finance laws through a relatively small scheme to have friends donate $20,000 to Republican Senate candidate Wendy Long, who had little chance of defeating Kirsten Gillibrand in 2012. The alleged illegality was that D'Souza would reimburse them, thereby allowing him to exceed the individual campaing donation limits. It he did it, it's hard to excuse. He must have known about the campaign limits. But such small-scale violations of campaign finance law often are treated as civil matters, with fines. When the Obama campaign turned off credit card security features that would prevent foreign donations, it didn't even get a slap on the wrist. When the Obama campaign was caught hiding over $1 million in excess donations, it merely was fined:
Barack Obama's presidential campaign has been fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for violating federal disclosure laws, Politico reports. An FEC audit of Obama for America's 2008 records found the committee failed to disclose millions of dollars in contributions and dragged its feet in refunding millions more in excess contributions.

Posted by A.F. Branco on January 27, 2014 5 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...

Posted by David Gerstman on January 27, 2014 8 Comments
The Israeli public historically doesn't like when Israeli Prime Ministers feud with American Presidents, and take it out on the Israeli Prime Minister. It previously happened with Netanyahu and President Clinton in 1999 and earlier with Yitzchak Shamir and President George H. W. Bush. In the months before an Israeli election both Prime Ministers ran afoul of the American administration and lost the subsequent elections. There have been two high-profile clashes between Obama and Netanyahu of the sort that previously would have landed an Israeli Prime Minister in trouble back home.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 27, 2014 17 Comments
A legislator in Oklahoma has proposed legislation to ease the "zero tolerance" school policies that have created absurdities in which young children with toy or imaginary guns are punished. We're seen so many of these instances: The legislator has an opponent, the Oklahoma Education Association, as explained in this report:
A proposed law that would ease school rules when it comes to fake weapons is causing a stir. It's called the "Common Sense Zero Tolerance Act" and the bill's author says it will protect children in school. "Real intent, real threats and real weapons should always be dealt with immediately. We need to stop criminalizing children's imagination and childhood play," explained Sally Kern, Republican from Oklahoma City. "If there's no real intent, there's no real threat, no real weapon, no real harm is occurring or going to occur, why in the world are we in a sense abusing our children like this." .... It also prevents schools from punishing students "using a finger or hand to simulate at weapon," "vocalizing imaginary firearms" or "drawing a picture of a firearm." But the Oklahoma Education Association isn't on board with Kern's proposed law.

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Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 26, 2014 54 Comments
We are approaching the 5th anniversary of the start of the Tea Party movement. So, for fun, I wanted to explore the devolution of insults about citizen activists like myself over the years. First, we were peppered with a wide barrage: “Astro-turf”, “members of a mob“, “clansmen“, “un-American”, “political terrorists“, “Nazis“, and “evil-mongers“. I must admit, being called "well-dressed" by Nancy Pelosi was hilarious. Then, they hit us with their biggest bombshell: "Racists". Because all of these have failed to silence us, they have one last card to play. Now, we are simply crazy.
A Psychologist Diagnoses the Tea Party-and other extremists threatening our world. In “The Polarized Mind: Why It’s Killing Us and What We Can Do about It,” Kirk J. Schneider Ph.D., calls for a new and deeper psychological understanding of our greatest political and social conflicts and those who drive them.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 25, 2014 16 Comments
This apparently happened: So did this (via Twitchy): So did this:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 25, 2014 46 Comments
There is a growing attempt to paint Wendy Davis as the victim of a double standard, in which a woman is treated more harshly than conservative men as to family failings and career ambition. Kirsten Powers articulated that view in her post at The Daily Beast, The Right Subjects Wendy Davis to Litmus Tests No Male Would Ever Face (interestingly, the title shows up in search engines as "Wendy Davis the Piñata Parent," not sure if that was the original title):
It seems that Wendy Davis needs to learn her place.... It’s fair to criticize Davis for her misleading bio that implied she had been a single mother during law school. Instead, a misogynistic mob is determined to punish her for her parenting choices.... Where were the headlines claiming the unfitness of male Republican candidates who ditched wives with whom they had children (think Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani)? Or are we to understand that conservatives believe that cheating on a spouse and getting divorced is not relevant, but giving your husband full custody of a child is?
Similarly, Politico Magazine has a lead article playing up the "Wendy as victim of sexism" defense.  In The Most Judged Woman in America, the sub-title tells the story:
Wendy Davis did make a mistake. She thought that we were ready for a single mother.
Just Google "Wendy Davis Sexism" and you will see that these two examples above are not exceptions, they are part of a pattern of defending Davis. There is no double standard. Both Newt Gingrich and John McCain were seriously attacked because of their treatment of first wives and kids, as I shared with Powers in a Twitter exchange:

Posted by Mandy Nagy on January 25, 2014 6 Comments

Just a brief update for LI readers who have been following the situation in Ukraine. From the Associated Press: Ukraine's embattled president is offering the country's premiership to one of the leaders of the opposition that has conducted two months of intensifying protests. A statement on President Viktor...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 25, 2014 3 Comments
I was recently privileged to chat with American Conservative Warrior Princess, Teri O’Brien, on Canto Talk.  She is a dynamic and engaging BlogTalkRadio.com host herself, with a long history of conservative activism.  Her website is here. Teri has written a terrific synopsis of President Obama's personal, political and policy history: The ABC's of Barack Obama: Understanding God's Greatest Gift to America. With her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, O'Brien reviews the presidents many administration and policy failures. The saddest observation: There is enough material to cover all 26 letters of the alphabet! [caption id="attachment_76944" align="alignnone" width="337"](Teri O'Brien) (Teri O'Brien)[/caption] The book is rich with Teri's biting wit and cutting analysis. At about 60 pages, it is a fast read -- but well worth the time, as she summarizes a maze of scandal, deceit, and incompetence that has gotten lost in the avalanche of current news items slamming the Obama administration. And, as a special bonus, Teri has this great deal:
HERE'S THE REALLY EXCITING NEWS! From Sunday, January 26, 2014 through Tuesday, January 28, 2014, this information-packed, well-researched book, loaded with supporting links and information is available exclusively on amazon.com ABSOLUTELY FREE!
Teri is an experienced attorney and talk-show host, who knows how to tie together detailed research, current events, and humor to cleverly highlight the many failures of Team Obama. She starts with "A" and ends with "Z", which condenses the many arguable anti-American, anti-Constitutional actions taken by Obama and his staff members and bureaucrats into a useful compendium. Not surprisingly, my favorite letters in her tome center on key aspects of "capitalism". For example, "J is for Jobs" is a walk down memory lane about the Keystone Pipeline being thwarted. The Canadians said over 7,000 jobs would be created if the unit went through as planned. The Obama Administration dismissed it, saying a mere 50 jobs might be generated -- and that wouldn't compare to all the "green jobs" the "Stimulus Plan" would create.

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 25, 2014 3 Comments
In the aftermath of Shellie Zimmerman's perjury charges, the Florida Bar opened an investigation into whether George Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara may have solicited her false testimony. Shellie Zimmerman ultimately accepted a plea offer on the charges, receiving one year probation and no jail time, as reported here at Legal Insurrection: Shellie Zimmerman Plea Deal [caption id="attachment_76902" align="alignnone" width="450"]Shellie Zimmerman, with her then-husband George Zimmerman Shellie Zimmerman, with her then-husband George Zimmerman[/caption] Today, the Florida Bar concluded that there was no credible evidence that O'Mara engaged in any such misconduct. The closing of this investigation follows closely on the heels of O'Mara being named the National Trial Lawyer's Criminal Trial Lawyer of 2013, as previously reported here at Legal Insurrection: Zimmerman Attorney Mark O’Mara Named “National Criminal Trial Lawyer of 2013″ In the interview below, conducted a few days ago, O'Mara talked about how the case has affected his practice, and life:
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