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Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 22, 2014 7 Comments
It has been ten years since the original 9/11 Commission released it's report. The Commission has stayed together informally, but today released a anniversary report entitled “Reflections on the Tenth Anniversary of The 9/11 Commission Report.” The panel members warn that though al-Qaeda has been severely weakened since 2001, new and offshoot groups -- like ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) continue to pose serious threats to the United States national security. From The Washington Post:

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 22, 2014 49 Comments
UPDATE: Whipsaw: 4th Circuit upholds Obamacare federal exchange subsidy after D.C. Circuit rejects Full opinion and Judgment at bottom of post Decision just released in Halbig case. Here's the punchline:
Section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code, enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA or the Act), makes tax credits available as a form of subsidy to individuals who purchase health insurance through marketplaces—known as “American Health Benefit Exchanges,” or “Exchanges” for short—that are “established by the State under section 1311” of the Act. 26 U.S.C. § 36B(c)(2)(A)(i). On its face, this provision authorizes tax credits for insurance purchased on an Exchange established by one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia. See 42 U.S.C. § 18024(d). But the Internal Revenue Service has interpreted section 36B broadly to authorize the subsidy also for insurance purchased on an Exchange established by the federal government under section 1321 of the Act. See 26 C.F.R. § 1.36B-2(a)(1) (hereinafter “IRS Rule”). Appellants are a group of individuals and employers residing in states that did not establish Exchanges. For reasons we explain more fully below, the IRS’s interpretation of section 36B makes them subject to certain penalties under the ACA that they would rather not face. Believing that the IRS’s interpretation is inconsistent with section 36B, appellants challenge the regulation under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), alleging that it is not “in accordance with law.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). ....Because we conclude that the ACA unambiguously restricts the section 36B subsidy to insurance purchased on Exchanges “established by the State,” we reverse the district court and vacate the IRS’s regulation.
What problems does this create? Massive. All the millions of people who signed up for Obamacare on the federal exchange -- and the true numbers were disputed -- expecting to get tax credits as subsidies now will not get those subsidies. A year-long effort to get people to sign up for Obamacare on the federal exchange will be in peril. Here's how The Washington Times summarized the effect prior to the decision, Five million Americans in for premium spikes if Obamacare challenge is successful:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 22, 2014 44 Comments
I tweeted about this yesterday: Now Yair Rosenberg of Tablet Magazine has the video: This is part of a worldwide phenomenon, and puts the lie to the claim that in modern political reality there is any difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

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Posted by David Gerstman on July 22, 2014 2 Comments
According to Ynet nine soldiers were killed Monday in separate incidents. Israel also announced that one of the soldiers killed in Sunday's armored personnel carrier attack has not yet been accounted for. Although not all the circumstances are clear, it appears Hamas may have retrieved body parts and/or belongings to the dead soldier: https://twitter.com/CiFWatch/status/491539100491866113 Of the 27 Israeli soldiers killed so far in Operation Protective Edge, 6 of them have been killed inside of Israel, not Gaza. In separate incidents soldiers were killed by terrorists emerging from terror tunnels:

Posted by New Neo on July 21, 2014 11 Comments
There's a long, long article appearing in TNR that professes to be "The Explosive, Inside Story of How John Kerry Built an Israel-Palestine Peace Plan—and Watched It Crumble." It's worth reading, but perhaps not for the reasons the authors intended. The problem with the article and so many other treatments of the subject is that its premise is that there is a peace plan that can be built and that can crumble---and that someone like John Kerry has the smarts to do it, if it were possible to do it. But the whole thing is a chimera at this point. The piece's conclusion contains a more realistic appraisal of the situation, from Avi Dichter, former head of Israel's Shin Bet:
The American effort will always be multiplied by the amount of trust between the two leaders. So if Kerry's pressure represents the number five, and then Obama's help brings the number to ten, it really doesn't matter. You're still multiplying it by zero. The final result will always be zero.
The amount of trust---or distrust---between the two leaders reflects the amount of distrust between the two countries and their peoples. Peace plans sometimes have been entered into by these two groups (or Israel and other Palestinian groups) for temporary tactical reasons, but that's about it. The Palestinian government does not recognize Israel's right to exist and Hamas is a terrorist group dedicated to its destruction. But for various reasons both have become the darlings of Europe and the Left, and that helps tie Israel's hands to a certain extent. But "partners for peace" they ain't.

Posted by Andrew Branca on July 21, 2014 25 Comments
Jury selection begins today in the murder trial of Detroit homeowner Theodore Wafer, as reported in the Detroit Free Press. Wafer shot and killed Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old black woman, on his front porch. Wafer is claiming self-defense. The most recent news in the Wafer case was the June 27 denial by trial judge Dana Margaret Hathaway of defense requests to have McBride's cell phone texts and a map illustrating local crime incidents admitted into evidence (Judge Bars Cellphone Texts, Crime Map From Evidence in Renisha McBride Case). The cell phone texts suggested that McBride, the victim in the shooting, might have been engaged in the dealing of marijuana the night she was shot.  Such evidence could potentially be relevant in this self-defense case if it suggested a potential for violence on the part of McBride, but the judge ruled that it failed to do so. The judge also denied a motion by the defense to admit into evidence a "crime map' of Wafer's neighborhood. Based upon police reports of local crime, it illustrated the local crime incidents with large markers over a broad area around Wafer's home.

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 21, 2014 21 Comments
Below the big blaring headlines about Middle East turmoil, there is growing and systematic elimination of Christians being undertaken by Islamists. It is difficult to accurately gauge the extent of the actual number of executions by crucifixion or displacement of families -- but the Christian community is being decimated from areas from North Africa through Iraq. Whether we want to admit it or not, the Arab dictators that the United States supported during the Cold War were non-secularists and supported their nation's minority Christian communities. The Arab Spring's evil genie has been released and not only is Israel facing the consequences, but the Christian slaughter and "relocation" may be the most long-lasting result. In my mind, there is nothing comparable to the Holocaust by Nazi Germany -- though some are making that reference.
When U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003, there were at least 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. Over the last ten years, significantly in the last few months with the emergence of ISIS, that figure has dropped to about 400,000. In a region where Christians predate Muslims by centuries, over one million Christians have been killed or have had to flee because of jihadi persecution, while America is basically standing by and watching. This is the sad news that Breitbart’s National Security Editor and one of the world’s leading experts on asymmetric warfare, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, brought to Breitbart News Saturday.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 21, 2014 9 Comments
Part of the anti-Israel war effort includes attempts to demoralize Israel and its supporters. That is why Hamas, Hezbollah and others try so hard to kidnap Israeli civilians or soldiers, and even to grab dead bodies. That psychological warfare is on full display in the media and social media. But it's not working because Israelis know that Hamas and other Islamic terrorist groups in Gaza, who fire from among civilians towards civilians, leave Israel with no choice but to fight in a war it didn't want but in which so much is at stake. Despite losses from infiltrators and in city combat, Israeli troop morale is high from all reports. The video below has gone viral on Facebook, with over 30,500 likes and almost 20,000 shares as of this writing. It shows Israeli soldiers on a break from combat in Gaza singing: The song is "Who Believes" by Eyal Golan. This is a rough translation (thanks to our Israeli family friend Daniel for the link):

Posted by A.F. Branco on July 21, 2014 2 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 Andrew Branca on July 21, 2014 7 Comments
Marissa Alexander has been denied a second shot at a self-defense immunity hearing (often incorrectly referred to as a "Stand-Your-Ground' hearing), reports by First Coast News. Under Florida's self-defense immunity statute (FL 776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force) a person claiming self-defense can seek immunity from criminal prosecution and civil suit.  To do so they generally request a hearing in court in which they present their evidence in support of self-defense. If the hearing judge determines that there is a preponderance of the evidence in support of self-defense, immunity is granted.  Given that a preponderance of the evidence is a vastly greater level of proof than the reasonable doubt required to sustain a claim of self-defense at trial, this approach only makes common sense. Alexander sought and received a self-defense immunity hearing prior to her first trial (since reversed, and she now awaits retrial). Following that hearing, her motion for self-defense immunity was denied--no surprise, as there is scant evidence in support of her claim of self-defense (and that's being exceedingly generous). When Alexander sought a second self-defense immunity hearing leading up to her re-trial, it raised a novel question under Florida law whether a second such hearing was legally required upon demand or even permitted (see Marissa Alexander’s Desperate Efforts for Self-Defense Immunity Hearing Delayed Again and Will Marissa Alexander get second shot at Self-Defense Immunity?). This past Friday the electronic court records of the case were changed to indicate that Alexander's current motion for a self-defense immunity hearing was denied, and the actual order denying the request for a second self-defense immunity hearing was released this morning.  It's embedded below, but here are the highlights:

Posted by David Gerstman on July 21, 2014 5 Comments
Note: There are live Video and Twitter feeds at the bottom of the post ----------------------------- Overnight Hamas attempted two infiltrations through tunnels, one of which opened up near the dining room of Kibbutz in Israel. Both sets of terrorists were eliminated by the IDF. There are unspecified reports of Israeli casualties. The Times of Israel reports:
In open ground near Erez five terrorists come out of a tunnel shortly after six in the morning. They surface near the security fence and only a few hundred yards from the nearest community. An IAF aircraft intercepts them, killing all five, with no Israelis wounded. ... Near Kibbutz Nir Am, a second group of terrorists surface on the Israeli side of the border. It is not clear if they emerge from a different tunnel or a branch of the one that served the other squad, nor is the number of gunmen confirmed. The sizable squad is able to surprise a passing army jeep, ambushing it with an anti-tank missile and inflicting Israeli casualties. But with the help of Nahal troops the force is able to kill the operatives and thwart an infiltration to civilian areas or an abduction attempt.
Ynet has more on this incident as well as other fighting:

Posted by Mandy Nagy on July 21, 2014 6 Comments
The remains of nearly 200 passengers from downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 have been removed from the wreckage and placed in refrigerated rail cars in a rebel-controlled area of eastern Ukraine. From ABC News:
It may be some time before the bodies of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 are returned to their families. In an exclusive interview with ABC News today, the leader of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic said they would not be turned over until international inspectors come here to inspect them. "We can and we want to give bodies to the relatives but experts have to examine the bodies here. That is international practice," Alexander Borodai said.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 20, 2014 16 Comments
From an Imam in Berlin -- can you tell his words apart from tweets of pro-Boycott Divest and Sanctions professors and campus speakers? From my Twitter feed keeping track of events today:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 20, 2014 12 Comments
I was at summer camp in New Hampshire. They brought us into the rec hall where a couple hundred of us stared, bleary-eyed, at a single black and white monitor. They said we would remember this all our lives. And I do. It's as if it happened yesterday. Today in 1969, the Eagle landed on the moon. (h/t Instapundit) Here are three versions depending on your 2014 attention span, which anecdotally I believe to be much shorter than 1969 attention spans: Really short, medium and long. Short (2 minutes)
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