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Posted by Amy Miller on August 22, 2014 6 Comments
Last month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutional Virginia's same sex marriage ban. This week, however, the Supreme Court put a hold on that ruling, meaning that for the time being gay marriages are blocked in Virginia:
While nearly all federal and state courts have ruled in favor of same-sex marriage since the high court issued two landmark decisions in June 2013, judges have blocked nearly all such marriages while the cases are appealed. The justices had stepped in once before, in Utah, to do just that. If the court declines to hear the Virginia appeal, the stay would be lifted and couples could begin getting married. Otherwise, those marriages would have to wait until the case is ultimately decided. "The Supreme Court is making clear, as it already did in the Utah marriage case, that it believes a dignified process is better than disorder," said Byron Babione, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the Virginia court clerk opposed to same-sex marriage.
Virginia Attorney General Mike Herring, who has decided not to support the new ban, actually asked the Supreme Court to issue a stay on the Fourth Circuit's ruling, citing concerns over the impact an eventual negative ruling could have on families and businesses.

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Posted by Amy Miller on August 21, 2014 15 Comments
Texas democrats may be keeping busy wallowing in the shallow victory of the recent indictment of Governor Rick Perry, Rick Perry himself is doing what he does best---his job. Today, Governor Perry gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. detailing the dangers inherent in Barack Obama's tacit open borders immigration policy. The apparent beheading of U.S journalist James Foley by ISIS terrorists in Syria has energized the debate over whether or not Islamic terrorists could use America's porous southern border as an an easy access point. Via the New York Times:
While Mr. Perry said that there was “no clear evidence” recruits from terrorist organizations had entered the United States illegally, he pointed to the number of violent crimes committed in recent years by illegal immigrants. “I think there is the obvious, great concern that — because of the condition of the border from the standpoint of not being secure and us not knowing who is penetrating across — that individuals from ISIS or other terrorist states could be,” he said during a speech at the Heritage Foundation.
According to CNN, Perry didn't spend much time addressing his legal problems, and instead focused solely on the crisis down at the border:
Even during his brief remarks in Washington, Perry seemed to be focused mainly on the idea of one day serving as commander-in-chief: following a brief mention of the case against him in his home state, the Governor focused his attention on the crisis at the border, calling it a threat to national security. Perry said there should be no conversation about immigration reform, “until the border is secure.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 21, 2014 34 Comments
Now this is interesting. The General Accounting Office has just issued a report concluding that the Department of Defense broke the law in the Bergdahl-Taliban swap (h/t @JakeTapper). It has to do with the requirement of congressional notification prior to transferring a detainee at Gitmo. Bowe Bergdahl was swapped for 5 high level Taliban Gitmo detainees with no notice to Congress. Here's the Summary of the GAO report:
The Department of Defense (DOD) violated section 8111 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2014 when it transferred five individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the nation of Qatar without providing at least 30 days notice to certain congressional committees. Section 8111 prohibits DOD from using appropriated funds to transfer any individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay unless the Secretary of Defense notifies certain congressional committees at least 30 days before the transfer. As a consequence of using its appropriations in a manner specifically prohibited by law, DOD also violated the Antideficiency Act.
The full report is here, and concludes as follows:
Our opinion in this matter rests upon the Secretary of Defense’s responsibility to comply with a notification condition on the availability of appropriations to transfer individuals from Guantanamo Bay. This opinion does not address the Secretary’s decision to transfer the five individuals in this case as part of DOD’s efforts to secure the release of an American soldier. However, when DOD failed to notify specified congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of its transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Qatar, DOD used appropriated funds in violation of section 8111. As a consequence of using its appropriations in a manner specifically prohibited by law, DOD violated the Antideficiency Act. See 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a). DOD should report its Antideficiency Act violation as required by law.
So what? Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch says the penalties are pretty significant:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 21, 2014 89 Comments
The latest developments, a growing list, feel free to add more in the comments: NY Times, Missouri National Guard to Withdraw From Ferguson as Tensions Ease:
As tensions on the streets here seemed to ease on Thursday, Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the Missouri National Guard to begin withdrawing from the city. “I greatly appreciate the men and women of the Missouri National Guard for successfully carrying out the specific, limited mission of protecting the Unified Command Center so that law enforcement officers could focus on the important work of increasing communication within the community, restoring trust, and protecting the people and property of Ferguson,” Mr. Nixon said in a statement. He said that order in the city had been largely restored and that the presence of the National Guard was no longer needed.
Is the Trayvon case really the prototype to use? Well, maybe, if you want a prototype of a rush to judgment based on inflammatory racial accusations that had no basis in evidence: Even WaPo now is reporting on the alleged eye socket fracture to the police officer:

Posted by David Gerstman on August 21, 2014 13 Comments
Following up on an airstrike that hit the house of terror mastermind Mohammad Deif, Israel killed three Hamas commanders last night. Raed al-Attar, Mohammad Abu Shmallah and Mohammad Barhoum. While there are still conflicting accounts as to whether Deif was killed or not, including a disappearing death certificate; three of his colleagues were killed. The IDF provided background on the two primary targets, al-Attar and Abu Shmallah as well as Barhoum. 2014-08-21_121035_IDF_Shamlah_Attar
Raed Attar, who oversaw Hamas forces in Rafah, planned major infiltrations and other attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was directly involved in the 2006 kidnapping of SFC Gilad Shalit, as well as efforts to hold him captive in Gaza. In addition to planning attacks, Attar oversaw the construction of tunnels used to attack Israel through the Sinai Peninsula. As a senior Hamas operative, his major responsibility was to smuggle weapons into Gaza and oversee efforts to train and arm terrorists.

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 21, 2014 13 Comments
Martha Robertson is the Democratic challenger to Republican Tom Reed in the key NY-23 swing congressional district in upstate New York. Robertson is a "Red-to-Blue" DCCC designee, meaning that they rate her as one of the top prospects to flip a Republican seat. But the campaign has not been going well for her, with all independent analysts giving her little hope of winning. Her campaign also has been plagued by a fundraising scandal, and questions about her strong support for single-payer healthcare. But there is a new scandal brewing for Robertson, one first exposed here at Legal Insurrection: Robertson's campaign repeatedly and prominently uses old photos of Reed showing Reed to be very heavy, and emphasizing photo angles making him look obese. Those old photos, however, no longer represent what Reed looks like, since he had gastric bypass surgery in early 2013. Here's just one of many examples of how the Robertson campaign focuses on Reed's prior weight problems: Martha Robertson Video Tom Reed Come Clean 3 That's doesn't look anything like Tom Reed looks now, and makes him look heavier even than many other pre-surgery photos. Now the issue of "Fat Shaming" has broken into the mainstream upstate and national media.  Local station WETM reports:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 21, 2014 21 Comments
Earlier this month, Wendy Davis fell into the gutter with a new ad accusing current Texas Attorney General and fellow gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott of being soft on rape. Politicos on both sides of the aisle were put off by the ad, and many consultants believe that she may have actually damaged her image with undecided voters. Apparently her campaign staff realized this was a likely result of an ad that was basically an exploitative non sequitur, because this week Davis began touting her plan to end the statute of limitations on criminal sexual assault cases. Via the Dallas Morning News:
In recent weeks, she’s toured the state touting bills she pushed in the Texas Legislature that led to rape kits being tested so victims could receive justice. Last week in Dallas, she stood with Lavinia Masters and other rape survivors. According to Davis, Masters didn’t get justice because time ran out on officials seeking to close her case. “Eliminating the statute of limitations for rape will help to right that wrong by making sure that survivors like Lavinia will never again will have to forgo justice just because someone stood back and let the clock run out on their case,” Davis said. The Davis campaign pointed to several Texas rape case where the criminals got away with the crime because of the statute of limitations.
Right now in Texas, there is a ten year statute of limitations on the prosecution of felony sexual assault cases. There is no statute of limitations on the prosecution of sexual assault on a child, or in cases where DNA is recovered but no match can be found. What Davis wants to do is put felony sexual assault on the same level as crimes like murder, manslaughter, and human trafficking, the prosecution of which is not limited by statute.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 21, 2014 26 Comments
When I told you on July 16 that I was Expecting anti-Israel violence on campuses this fall, you might have thought I was needlessly worried. But I have observed over the past academic year the increasing fury and frustration of the campus BDS movement -- and that was before Gaza. So in my post I predicted:
Merely unhinged BDS on campus will be the good old days.
And it may already have come true, just as most universities are seeing students return to campus for the fall semester. Via Truth Revolt, Temple Univ. Jewish Student Punched In Face And Called ‘Kike’ In Anti-Semitic Attack:
A Jewish student on the campus of Temple University was assaulted on Wednesday afternoon and called “kike” and “baby killer” by members of the anti-Semitic student group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). [Name removed on request], a Camera on Campus fellow and a member of the Jewish fraternity AEPi, was punched in the face by a violent member of the anti-Israel organization SJP at “Templefest” which is organized for students on campus to gain new information about campus clubs a week before the start of classes.[name removed on request] is a managing information systems major at the Fox School of Business at the university.....

Posted by New Neo on August 20, 2014 119 Comments
Fox News is reporting that police officer Darren Wilson was severely beaten by Michael Brown during the confrontation that ended with Brown's death:
Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer whose fatal shooting of Michael Brown touched off more than a week of demonstrations, suffered severe facial injuries, including an orbital (eye socket) fracture, and was nearly beaten unconscious by Brown moments before firing his gun, a source close to the department's top brass told FoxNews.com. “The Assistant (Police) Chief took him to the hospital, his face all swollen on one side,” said the insider. “He was beaten very severely.”... The source also said the dashboard and body cameras, which might have recorded crucial evidence, had been ordered by Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, but had only recently arrived and had not yet been deployed.
Too bad about those cameras; what poor timing. The article also says that St. Louis County police, now in charge of the investigation, have refused to confirm or deny the story. They say they will present all the evidence to a grand jury when the time comes.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 20, 2014 41 Comments
Attorney General Eric Holder is meeting with law enforcement and civil rights leaders in Ferguson, Missouri today in an attempt to ease racial tensions in the St. Louis Metro area. It's unclear, however whether Holder's presence will calm the violence, or make things more difficult for local and state law enforcement:
Justice Department officials say the unusually aggressive federal intervention is justified by the continuing violence and apparent mishandling of the case by local officials, who have been criticized for displaying excessive force against protesters and moving too slowly to investigate the Aug. 9 shooting. But law enforcement officials and other experts could not recall another instance in which Washington pushed ahead with a federal civil rights case as it has in Ferguson, almost elbowing state officials out of the way.
Fortunately for America, Holder also took time out of his busy schedule to get in on a selfie: Holder has also encouraged local civil rights leaders and advocates to promote a more federal-centric approach to resolving the crisis in Ferguson.
In a sign that Holder's campaign is gaining traction in the area, a group of African American lawyers held a news conference Tuesday in front of the St. Louis County courthouse, calling on local prosecutor Robert McCulloch to recuse himself. They said the federal investigation should proceed first because McCulloch appears to be "emotionally invested in protecting law enforcement." Yet with all of Holder's determination, the reality is that state prosecutions almost always go first and that a federal civil rights case could be harder to build and win than a state case involving a charge of murder or manslaughter.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2014 8 Comments
Earlier in the day, there were tweets from reporters about a Hamas admission during a conference in Turkey that its military wing was behind the kidnap and murder of there Israeli teens: [caption id="attachment_90804" align="alignnone" width="500"](Gil-ad Shaar, Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Fraenkel) (Gil-ad Shaar, Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Fraenkel)[/caption] The Israeli website first reporting on the video is Channel 2. Israel website Hamas Official kidnap teens The Jerusalem Post now reports, In first, Hamas official takes credit for kidnap and murder of Israeli teens:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 20, 2014 23 Comments
The midterm elections in Texas are shaping up to be just as interesting as the run to 2016, and the recent indictment of Governor Rick Perry is only serving as fuel for the fire as battle lines are drawn between conservatives and progressives. The apparent weakness of the charges against Governor Perry has drawn criticism from activists and the mainstream media alike, and is leaving many Texans wondering why Democrats seem to be banking on this indictment as the key to damaging the credibility and reputation of the Republican Party. The Austin American-Statesman recently debunked a seriously misleading e-mail sent by Mo Elleithee, communications director for the Democratic National Committee, claiming that the real reason Governor Perry chose to veto funding for the ironically-dubbed "Public Integrity Unit" was to stop investigations into an $11 million CPRIT (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas) grant to Peloton Therapeutics; Peltron has been a big donor to both Perry and current Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, and democrats in Washington smelled blood. Via the Statesman:
Elleithee’s email charges that the CPRIT investigation “was underway when the governor called for the head of that investigative unit to resign. Perry pushing Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg to resign was a win-win. Lehmberg either resigned and he appointed her successor or he vetoed the PIU’s funding. Both would have the same effect: stopping the investigation into the CPRIT its tracks.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2014 5 Comments
We have seen how on Twitter, and on the streets of Europe and elsewhere, the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement tells us how they really feel. And how they really feel is that Israel must be destroyed. That's not, of course, what they and their compatriots as groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, tell gullible students on campuses. On campuses, they talk about ending the "occupation," but what they don't say is that they consider all of Israel (not just the "West Bank") to be occupied territory. In Oakland, BDS protesters tried to stop a ZIM line ship from unloading. ZIM is associated in the public mind with Israel, but it's only one-third owned by Israelis. J.E. Dyer at Liberty Unyielding has excellent background, Anti-Israel BDS nuttery at the port of Oakland on the people involved and the futility of the protests. And yes, there is a heavy socialist-communist element: Oakland Block the Boat socialist banner In this case, after a delay, the ship was unloaded anyway. But not before dockworkers let it be known how they felt about these protesters interfering:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2014 4 Comments
LIVE feeds added at bottom of post Mohammed Deif is the head of Hamas' military wing. Israel has made several attempt to assassinate him over the years, injuring but not killing him. The latest was last night, but Deif's fate is unknown:
Hundreds of Palestinians turned out on Wednesday for the funeral of the wife and son of the Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who were killed overnight in an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City. Hamas had urged Gazans to turn out in force for the funeral in Jabaliya refugee camp, after an attack which left at least one other Palestinian dead and injured a further 15 people. There were fears that there could be more bodies under the rubble. The fate of Deif, one of Hamas's most senior figures who has survived Israeli attempts on his life in the past, is still unknown.
Hamas asserts Deif is alive, but that lack confirmation. Hamas is trying to say it fired rockets in response to the attempt, but in reality the attempt on Deif came after Hamas broke the truce:
Israel attempted to assassinate Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing, in Gaza City on Tuesday, Hamas officials said. Israel has not officially commented on the report. Deif's wife and young child were killed in an Israeli air strike, the Hamas officials said. Hamas has not issued a statement on whether Deif was killed, and Israeli sources speculated Wednesday that he likely survived. Hamas officials said the assassination attempt represented an Israeli violation of the cease-fire, but Israel says its air strikes came in response to rockets fired from Gaza while the truce was still in effect on Tuesday.
Background on Deif, from Amos Harel at Haaretz, Who is Mohammed Deif?:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 19, 2014 72 Comments
Texas Governor Rick Perry was booked today on charges of abuse of power, but before he went in to pose for the greatest mugshot in the history of mugshots, he took the time to speak at a pickup rally organized in support of the Governor and his fight against Texas democrats. The Washington Free Beacon has the video:
I’m here today because I did the right thing. I’m going to enter this courthouse with my head held high, and not only were the actions that I took not only lawful and legal, but right. And if I had to do so, I would veto funding for the integrity unit again. You think any governor, Democrat or Republican, would expect this important unit with jurisdiction over state officials, be led by someone who lives up to the high standard of conduct and personal integrity. And this issue is far bigger than me. It is about the rule of law, about the constitution that allows not just a governor but every citizen to speak their mind free of political interference or legal intimidation. [ cheers and applause ] This indictment is nothing but an attack on the constitutional powers of the governor. There are important fundamental issues at stake, and I will not allow this attack on our system of government to stand. I’m going to fight this injustice with every fiber of my being. and we will prevail. and we’ll prevail because we’re standing for the rule of law.
After Perry was booked, he went to Sandy's ice cream, as is the Texas way. Although these charges appear to be nothing more than a political power play, Governor Perry is playing a very smart long game by both hiring an excellent legal team, and welcoming the commentary from pundits on both sides of the aisle---almost all of whom believe that the indictment is nothing more than a transparent political play.
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