News of the Week (July 20th, 2014)

Posted on July 20, 2014 by The Political Hat

 

News of the Week for July 20th, 2014


 

Election 2014

 

McDaniel’s Lawyer: We Have Enough Evidence To Launch Official Election Challenge
The lawyer for state Sen. Chris McDaniel announced at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon in Jackson, MS, that he has enough evidence to file for an official challenge of the election results, and will do so in the coming days.

Washington Post: So our election model is pretty accurate and it predicts the GOP takes the Senate — but what the hell do we know?
The Washington Post covers the nation’s most important elections with the help of Election Lab, a statistical model built by three political scientists.

Can Anti-Corporatist Populism Save the GOP’s Electoral Fortunes?
A Republican Party that taps sentiment against government-business collusion can get its groove back.

The Pink Elephant in the Room: Eyes on Gay Republican Candidates
Is the political viability of gay GOP candidates another sign of libertarian influence on the party?

 

Obama Scandals

 

WaPo Fact Checker: Democrats Lying Through Their Teeth On Hobby Lobby Ruling
He claims they don’t give out Pinocchios for lying about Supreme Court cases. In this instance they’d need a new scale to measure the outrageous lies, or as Glenn Kessler says, misspeaking. Can we just call lies what they are?

Lois Lerner’s Former FEC Colleague Has Emails Go Missing Too
The Federal Election Commission recycled the computer hard drive of April Sands — a former co-worker of Lois Lerner’s — hindering an investigation into Sands’ partisan political activities, according to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Obama executive actions seen as threat to Constitution
Republicans file lawsuit in attempt to rein in president

The Veterans Administration Can’t Be Fixed
Chrissakes the nurses in this hospital retaliated against a whistleblower surgeon by REFUSING HER ORDERS IN THE OR

The Obama Administration Will Seize Land from the Lakota Sioux if They aren’t Stopped
The only barrier standing in the way of another shameful broken treaty with our Native Americans is the U.S. Congress.

Gun Rights

 

Guess What Detroit’s Police Chief Credits For Crime Decline
The chief of Detroit police credited legally armed residents for a substantial decrease in crime in a city that desperately needs it.

Gun Madness at the State Line
Why do states treat ordinary citizens as gun criminals?

Dem Bill Would Outlaw Firearm Brands On Kid’s Clothing And Colorful Guns
A Democrat sponsored gun control bill would drastically curtail any efforts to “market guns to children,” according to supporters. The Children’s Firearm Marketing Safety Act would make it illegal for groups like the NRA and firearms manufacturers to showcase their brand on child-sized hats and clothing, among a host of other new regulations which has Second Amendment advocates organizing opposition to the proposed legislation.

Hide the Decline

Environment &
“Green Energy”

 

Australia votes to repeal carbon tax
Australia’s Senate has voted to repeal the carbon tax, a levy on the biggest polluters passed by the previous Labor government.

On Global Warming, Follow the Money
There is a real irony in the Left’s repeated insinuation that climate realists must be funded, somehow, by the oil industry. In truth, there is plenty of money being distributed to climate scientists, but just about all of it comes from governments, and all government money goes to alarmists who promote government power.

EPA Says It Can Garnish Your Wages Without a Court Order
Before the July 4th holiday, EPA quietly announced in the Federal Register that it wants to begin garnishing wages for those who owe the agency a debt, say a fine for a contested regulatory violation. The agency wants to be able to “collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order,” [emphasis mine]. A debtor could have as much as 15% of their disposable pay taken from their paycheck.

People who claim to worry about climate change use more electricity
People who say they are concerned about climate change use more electricity than those who say the issue is ‘too far away to worry about’, government-commissioned study finds

Mann v. National Review Update
I wanted to update our many friends as to the legal whereabouts of Mann v. National Review. The D.C. Court of Appeals has now issued a briefing schedule, with briefing set to be complete by September 24, and oral argument on our Anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss Mann’s complaint to be heard some time in November.

Carbon Tax Torn Asunder Down Under
Did you hear that last night? The sound of a million green activists crying out in terror? Australia just abolished its tax on carbon on a 39 to 32 vote. Prime Minister Tony Abbott campaigned on this repeal, and after two years of debate, he can now claim victory on the issue.

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

Obamacare Isn’t What’s Slowing Costs
Health-care cost growth is slowing, and the Congressional Budget Office expects this to continue. Is this good news?

Glenn Reynolds on the hidden cost of national health care
Lots of people are beginning to question the cost of President Barack Obama’s healthcare “reform” plans, and with good reason. (Just compare the original projections for Medicare with what it wound up costing in reality).

 

War & Terror

 

Malaysian Plane ‘Shot Down’ With 295 On Board
A number of Britons are feared dead after a plane thought to have been flying in or near an unsafe zone came down over Ukraine.

A map that says it all about the Middle East

The Doctrine of Proportionality
Proportionality in international law is not about equality of death or civilian suffering, or even about [equality of] firepower. Proportionality weighs the necessity of a military action against suffering that the action might cause to enemy civilians in the vicinity.

National

 

Hundreds of birds poisoned and killed at Bush Airport
Hundreds of birds were poisoned and killed at Bush Intercontinental Airport this past weekend as part of a “bird abatement project” that animal rights groups call cruel and inhumane.

Fox’s Bob Beckel to address ‘Chinamen’ remark amid calls for termination
Fox News co-host Bob Beckel will address his controversial use of the word “Chinamen” on Monday’s broadcast of “The Five,” a network spokesperson told POLITICO.

Inside Brandeis University’s Faculty Listserv
According to its mission statement, Brandeis University was founded to “embody its highest ethical and cultural values and to express its gratitude to the United States through the traditional Jewish commitment to education.” The school pledges that its faculty will “bring newly minted knowledge straight from the field or lab to the graduate and undergraduate classrooms.”

Mom Arrested for Letting 9-year-old Loose at Playground
I’m sure you see the problem already. Apparently Ms. Harrell couldn’t afford a helicopter drone with live video to her smartphone, so her nine-year-old daughter ran the risk of having fun outdoors without parental witness.

Federal officer fires weapon in altercation at pro-Israel rally
A federal officer attempting to break up an altercation during a pro-Israel demonstration Sunday at the federal building in Westwood fired a single shot but no one was harmed, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.

WHO warns HIV ‘exploding’ among gay men, urges preventive drugs
HIV infections are rising among gay men in many parts of the world, the World Health Organization warned Friday, urging all men who have sex with men to take antiretroviral drugs to prevent infection.

SMALL LIFELESS, DEAD CHILDREN Found “Washed Up Along Riverbank” of Rio Grande
Winter reports that several dead children have been discovered “washed up along the riverbank” of the Rio Grande, but fails to note that there have been no reports by the Obama administration on this.

Is California Latino Legislative Caucus breaking the law by denying GOP lawmaker membership?
When Republican Rocky Chávez was first elected to the California Assembly and took office in December 2012, he said that he inquired about joining the California Latino Legislative Caucus, a congressional group comprised of Democrats.

WA ACLU Trolls to Destroy Religious Liberty
For reasons unknown to me, I received a notice from the ACLU of Washington seeking people who have been denied “rights” to medical care, e.g., abortion, contraception, and assisted suicide–based on religious objections.

Are You Ready for Six Californias? Plan to Split State Gains Momentum
A long-shot effort to break California into six separate states got a boost on Monday, when the billionaire venture capitalist behind the proposal said he had gathered enough signatures to place it on the ballot in two years.

Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Son Describes Abuse by Feminist Pagan Fiction Author
Moira Greyland said her mother first molested her at age 3 and the last time when Moira was 12, describing the chaos of her childhood home (“out of control drugs, orgies, and constant flow of people in and out”) with a mother who was “cruel and violent.” Now Moira’s brother Mark is speaking out about Bradley’s abuse

Berkeley Finally Achieves Complete Utopia
I checked, wondering if this story was some kind of Onion-like parody site. (Look: the Los Angeles Times is something of a joke these days; who’s to say they didn’t decide to jump the shark overnight?) Nope; it appears to be on the level.

Father freed after a decade in jail as daughter admits she lied about him raping her when she was 11 as she was ‘disappointed in him’
A 23-year-old woman has told police she lied about her father raping her when she was 11 – accusations that put him behind bars for nine years.

Agent in Orlando never heard of “District of Columbia.” Demanded passport because he didn’t believe DC drivers license was from US
You probably learned the 50 United States in elementary school— but don’t forget about the nation’s capital. An Orlando Transportation Safety Administration agent apparently needed a geography refresher after refusing to let a D.C. man through a security checkpoint last weekend because he didn’t recognize his District of Columbia driver’s license as a valid form of identification.

Garcetti Convening With Nonprofits To Shelter Undocumented Children In LA
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has convened with nonprofit groups to shelter undocumented immigrant children in L.A. while they await court hearings on whether they can remain in the United States.

Four Cases of Life-Threatening Plague Found in Colorado
Three more plague cases were found in Colorado, a week after the first infection of the deadliest form of the disease was reported in the state in a decade.

Parents Threaten to Sue School After Son is Accused of Racism
An outstanding athlete and student at Marshalltown High School has been suspended from playing three football games in the fall because his parents say the school misinterpreted a symbol of school pride — as a symbol of white pride.

College Exhibits Nude Photos of Female Students, for ‘Empowerment’
Nude photos of female students were on display at one of our nation’s most prestigious colleges.

CBS Reveals ‘Two and a Half Men’ Stars Will Adopt Baby as Gay Couple This Season
The coming TV season beginning in September will be the final one for CBS’s long-time hit “Two and a Half Men,” and it will certainly go out with a bang. CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler told reporters that in season twelve Walden (Ashton Kutcher) and Alan (Jon Cryer) will be getting married so they can adopt a baby as a gay couple. And if that isn’t a big enough twist, the characters are and will remain straight.

Progressives Cheer: Sterilizing Poor People Is Totally Awesome!
Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) was the primary weapon to prevent poor people — mainly black and Latino teenage girls — from reproducing in the Colorado Family Planning Initiative (CFPI). Funded by a “confidential private donor” and operated through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Title X Family Planning Program, CFPI not only paid for LARC — contraceptive implants and intra-uterine devices (IUDs) — but also paid up to $675 for each vasectomy and $2,600 for each tubal ligation (female sterilization) performed in Colorado’s Title X clinics since 2009.

Netherlands held liable for the Srebrenica massacre
One of the iconic photos of the ill-considered UN effort during the Götterdämmerung of Yugoslavia’s dissolution is that of Dutch Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Karremans sharing a drink with Serb commander, psychopath and war criminal Ratko Mladic after the surrender of Dutchbat, or the Dutch peacekeeping battalion at Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. Even as this photograph was taken, Serbs had begun the massacre of the first of what would eventually total over 8700 men, women, and children.

New Head of LADOT Has Never Lived in LA
Seleta Reynolds, 38, the new general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) starting August 11, has never lived in Los Angeles.

CA Atty General Convenes Group to Provide Lawyers for Illegals
California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris is looking to provide illegal immigrants who are flooding across the border with lawyers, which will ensure they get better treatment than Americans who are not guaranteed representation in civil cases.

Fauxcahontas and the eleven commandments of progressivism
In a speech today to the Nutroots Nation, held befittingly in dystopic liberal paradise of downtown Detroit, non-candidate and American Indian princess Elizabeth Warren brought down the house. The theme of her speech were the economic issues that Democrats should run on in 2016. The National Journal calls them the eleven commandments of progressivism

University of Wisconsin Faculty Votes to Apportion Grades by Race
Earlier this year, the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty senate adopted a new Framework for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence, which, according to the campus’s Board of Regents, “places the mission of diversity at the center of institutional life so that it becomes a core organizing principle.” Nothing new under the sun there.

Water Your Lawn, Pay $500; Don’t Water Your Lawn, Pay $500
Californians are in quite a pickle over the drought that’s been making the golden state a crispy brown since late last year. And now, different levels of government are guaranteeing to make the crisis even more difficult.

Economy & Taxes

 

We’re in the third biggest stock bubble in U.S. history
Here’s a quick question for you. What do the following years have in common: 1853, 1906, 1929, 1969, 1999
Those were the peaks of the five massive, generational stock-market bubbles in U.S. history.

 

International

 

20 missiles found in UN-run school in Gaza
UNRWA apologizes to Israel, condemns a ‘flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises’ and promises investigation; Israel calls on UN to ‘act strongly’

Four-winged flying dinosaur unearthed in China
Newly discovered Changyuraptor yangi lived 125m years ago and was like ‘a big turkey with a really long tail’

Europe is dying, says France’s leading demographer, and Britain would be better off with the Anglosphere
One of this blog’s constant themes is that Britain is shackled to a corpse: the EU is the only trade bloc on the planet that is not growing economically.

Escaped Christian Schoolgirl Admits Being Raped 15 Times a Day by Boko Haram Islamists
A video released by Islamist militants Boko Haram in May claimed to show around 100 girls kidnapped from a Nigerian Christian school. The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said the girls would be held until all imprisoned Islamic militants had been freed.

Anti-Israel protesters attack Paris synagogue
At least three Jews were taken to hospital as a result of the clashes the erupted; synagogue briefly besieged.

Christians in Iraq: What should they do?
Apart from praying and lamenting, is there anything else that concerned outsiders, such as the Western churches, should be doing to help Christians and other religious minorities in northern Iraq? That is a real question, not least because Iraqi Christian leaders are in a quandary themselves.

Venezuela’s airport ‘breathing’ tax
The biggest international airport in Venezuela is charging a fee for the right to inhale clean air – and social media users are not happy.

Dutch Fury As MH17 Bodies ‘Dragged Around’
The Netherlands expresses anger as the country grieves for its 192 nationals killed by “murderers” when the plane was shot down.

Christians lie and wives must have sex or go to hell, Trojan Horse pupils told
Inquiry commissioned by Birmingham City Council reveals details of religious extremism in 13 schools

 

Opinion

 

When more diversity means less real diversity
A fascinating footnote to Barry Goldwater’s 1964 acceptance speech, about which I wrote about here, was the Arizona conservative’s insistence on the importance of “diversity.” Goldwater used the word six times in his 30-plus minute address.

Homosexuality, incest, and the death of sexual taboos
An Australian judge is currently being criticized for what many social conservatives would call a statement of the obvious. Judge Garry Nielson was presiding in a locally notorious trial involving rape and incest. There is a lot to criticize in Judge Neilson’s findings, at least to American eyes, but what has him in trouble — and could cost him his job — is not his lenient treatment of the rapist, the girl’s uncle who was already in sexual relationship with the victim’s mother, his own sister.

Philosophy and Feminism
Defending a critique of the politicization of academic philosophy

Conservatives Won’t Win Millennials With Political Consumerism
A new poll depicts a politically confused Millennial generation that favors whatever cocktail of big- and small-government that gets them the most stuff.

What Libertarianism Isn’t
At my first real journalism job, I started off covering personal finance. Not having the first clue about financial topics going in, I ended up asking patient sources a lot of questions like, “So tell me who should consider an REIT—and also what are they?”

Sex Trouble: Radical Feminism and the Long Shadow of the ‘Lavender Menace’
No one can honestly discuss feminism without addressing the enduring question, “Which feminism are you talking about?” From its inception as the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1960s and ’70s, modern feminism has been fractured by schisms that its would-be mainstream leaders have sought to conceal from the larger public.

Harry Jaffa on the Famous “Extremism” Speech
Paul noted yesterday the 50th anniversary of Barry Goldwater’s famous—or infamous—convention speech in 1964. Has there ever been another convention speech before or since that is as well recalled for a single line? Only William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech comes close.

Is Sen. Elizabeth Warren a Mere Hack or an Out and Out Sociopath?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren now says that last year’s government shutdown was about birth control.

Vargas’s Gun: A Thought Experiment
In my conversations with Vargas’s defenders, the standard response to this criticism has been that the injustice of the situation has forced him to break these other laws: in other words, that because the federal government will not give him the requisite documentation, he has little choice but to take liberties in other areas. Okay. In which case, my questions are these: 1) How far does this principle remain in tact, and 2) At what point does it lose the Left’s support? My suspicion is that the answers to both inquiries are: “Up until the point at which progressives encounter behavior that they dislike.”

College Presidents are the New Captains of the Titanic
Higher education hit the iceberg of reality quite a while ago, but as Benjamin Ginsberg of Minding the Campus points out below, many of the captains are still unaware of the situation.

OUT: Cult of Obama // IN: Cult of Warren
Warren has even created a list of “progressive commandments.”

EXPLAINER: If You Don’t Pay Your Bills, You Don’t Get Stuff
Apparently there’s a big debate going on right now in Detroit about people not paying their water bills. Some believe that you should be able to not pay your water bill and continue to receive water. Others believe that you should only be able to receive water if you pay your water bill.

Welcome To The Pink Police State: Regime Change In America
Part 1 of a series: Americans are giving up political liberty in the name of health and safety, and in exchange for more interpersonal freedom.

Christina Sommers: Author, Who Stole Feminism?
Christina Sommers isn’t what most of us would call a “typical” feminist; in fact, she shudders at the very notion. Rather than focus on the perceived “oppression” of American women, she instead champions the notion that in fact, we’re among the most privileged people on earth.

The coming progressive schism
There’s big trouble in little Progressivetown, folks. That’s trouble with a capital T, which rhymes with We, as in We (meaning Daily KOS) won’t be going to Netroots Nation next year because it’s being held in Arizona.

Elizabeth Warren’s List for Progressives Is EERILY SIMILAR to Hitler’s Nazi List
Darling of the far left Sen. Elizabeth Warren released her 11 commandments of progressivism this week during her stop at the Netroots Nation annual conference.

To What Shall The MSM Be Compared?
Expanded and enlarged from some moron comments several weeks ago, this is what the MSM is like

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