News of the Week for May 1st, 2016
- Election 2016
- Obama Scandals
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2016
GOP veepstakes begin: Candidates start building lists and vetting prospects
As the Republican presidential race heads toward a possible contested convention, the three remaining candidates have begun considering vice-presidential picks – with a much different set of calculations from a normal political year.
A Vice Presidential Free-for-All?
How the Republican delegates in Cleveland could nominate Donald Trump but not his chosen running mate.
An Open Convention, but Not Over Trump
If Republicans truly want to revamp the party, let delegates select the vice presidential pick in Cleveland.
The OTHER reason why it matters that Ted Cruz made sure all the delegates like him.
This tweet by Patrick Ruffini highlights something important, I think
Alliance expanding? Cruz, Kasich reportedly in talks about coordinating in California too
A leftover from yesterday. If you know the delegate math, you know why coordination in California between anti-Trumpers is a fait accompli. Indiana, which Kasich has ceded to Cruz, will award 57 delegates; Oregon and New Mexico, which Cruz has ceded to Kasich, will award 52. That’s 109 in all — 63 fewer than California will award on June 7th. If you want to stop Trump, you’ll need to do it on the coast.
You Need to Know About Tom Perez: Likely Hillary VP Opposes First Amendment
Could the next president of the United States be neither Clinton, Trump, Cruz, or Kasich … but Thomas Perez?
Bernie’s Corporate -Tax Misconceptions
Last week, I did an NPR affiliate interview about Bernie Sanders’s claim that the vast majority of corporations in America pay no taxes. Since then, I have heard Sanders tout his talking point on the issue several times — so I thought I might as well comment.
NY judge decides Trump University case going to trial
A New York judge decided Tuesday that a fraud case against Donald Trump over his former school for real estate investors will go to trial – raising the possibility that the Republican presidential primary front-runner could testify during campaign season.
Students demand UW raise sports ticket prices to fund diversity efforts
At a forum called to discuss student concerns about insufficient diversity, one student suggested raising ticket prices at sporting events to help fund “opportunities for disadvantaged student”
“A Republic, if you can keep it.” Donald Trump and the Tyranny of the Mob.
For the last eight years I’ve been shaking my head, simply bewildered that so many Americans could be so insane as to vote for Barack Obama for president.
Donald Trump furiously denies woman’s claims in lawsuit that she was raped by the tycoon and used as a 13-year-old “sex slave” at billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s “sex parties” in 1994
She claimed she was raped by the property tycoon in 1994 at billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein “sex parties”
Livid Mike Lee UNLOADS on John Boehner for calling Cruz “Lucifer”
Via the Right Scoop, Boehner’s the prime target but I don’t think Lee’s frustration is primarily about Boehner.
No, Marco Rubio didn’t say he opposes a contested convention
I got suckered by an out-of-context quote on Twitter, as did others, and figured it’d be my good deed of the day to make sure that no one else does.
Supreme Court allows Texas voter ID law to stand
The Supreme Court Friday denied an advocacy group’s request to temporarily block a Texas voter identification law from being enforced during the 2016 general election.
John Kasich Goes Full Pander Bear To Gay Californians
Showing why he’s the second out of three GOP candidates who apparently got confused while registering and should have registered as a Democrat, Governor John Kasich played up his moderate-to-left side for a town hall crowd in California, yesterday.
KKK Leader Hates Ted Cruz, Endorses Donald Trump: “What He Believes In, We Believe In.”
In Virginia, NBC affiliate WWBT ran an investigation into the local KKK after fliers were circulated in the area recruiting new members.
Former California Gov. Pete Wilson endorses Ted Cruz
Welcome to a special edition of Essential Politics, our live feed from the California Republican Party convention in Burlingame. Here’s a quick glance at the what’s coming up Saturday.
Jon Huntsman Joins the Trump Train So John Kasich Isn’t Far Behind
Utah’s human weathervane, Jon Huntsman, is now aboard the Trump Train
Confirmed: Gen. James Mattis will not run for president as an independent
I wrote about Mattis’s chances last month so read that if you’re interested in whether this could have worked or not. (Not.) The threshold problem was this: What was in it for Mattis?
Donald Trump, Human Nature, and the Craving for Respect Paul Hollander
Trump’s popularity raises disconcerting questions not only about American voters but about human nature as well.
The Media Corruption that Helped Spawn The Donald
Many of the Republican candidates defeated by Donald Trump — and Ted Cruz, who is fighting a last-ditch battle against him — have complained that the news media created the Trump candidacy with (Cruz’s words) “hundreds of millions of dollars of free advertising.” That seems to me half true. The news media did give the odious Donald a boost, but they did it by spewing such a ceaseless fume of left-wing lies that Trump’s simplistic nonsense, by comparison, sounds like “telling it like it is.”
Reid “Fairly Certain” Democrats Will Retake Senate in November
Is he right?
What of the GOPe if Trump Wins in November?
I’ll be honest, #NeverTrump losing steam at this point. Trump may just be the nominee. But does #GozerrTrump still in play (or was it ever?)
Voting For Free Soup
So, I hear Donald Trump is now promising free college. Don’t bother explaining that that wasn’t really what he said, or why it is the best idea possible. I’m not interested in the Donald. What I’m interested in is this idea of free college.
Not many GOPers want to be Trump’s running mate
There’s a new game being played amongst politicos: who wants to be Donald Trump’s running mate? According to The New York Times, it’s not that many.
Obama Scandals
Protesters storm parliament in Iraq’s Green Zone
Thousands of angry protesters broke into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone area on Saturday and stormed the Iraqi parliament building after lawmakers again failed to approve new ministers.
Poll: Not a Single White House Reporter Is a Republican
Sixty percent not registered to vote
Gun Rights
Obama Plan Calls For Computer Chip Technology To Track Guns
President Barack Obama released a proposal on Friday that will expedite the development of a type of “smart” gun technology that will utilize computer chips that can track the location and use of firearms in real-time.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
Mark Steyn Versus the Climatistas
The New Criterion and Change Up Media have produced a series of videos featuring Mark Steyn discussing climate change and especially Michael Mann’s ludicrous libel suit against Mark.
The infantile Left
I find the image fascinating because it speaks so strongly to a particularly immature facet of the Leftist brain: Just like the baby who thinks your face has vanished for real when you cover it as part of a game, only to magically reappear when you pull your hands away while explaining “peek-a-boo,” the Leftist believes in the existence only of things he can see.
Political Distortions in Climatology
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claim with 95 percent certainty that they completed a 5000-piece puzzle using only eleven pieces.
Inside climate propaganda
Have you ever wondered how the LA Times, Associated Press, Weather Channel and your local media always seem to present similar one-sided stories on climate change, fossil fuels, renewable energy and other environmental issues? How their assertions become “common knowledge,” like the following?
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Netherlands Push to Euthanize Children
Euthanasia boosters are so full of baloney. To get the death agenda adopted, they promise the moon, that medicalized killing will be strictly limited, and always restricted to competent adults.
How The Abortion Industry Bought Off The Top Democratic Leader Investigating Planned Parenthood
The ranking Democrat investigating Planned Parenthood’s role in selling human organs from aborted babies needs to explain these huge conflicts of interest.
“Dentist of horror” Jacobus van Nierop jailed in France
Jacobus van Nierop, 51, “took pleasure” in causing horrific injuries to patients in the small central town of Chateau-Chinon, prosecutors said.
Privatizing CanuckCare©
We’ve written about the Canadian health care system many times over the years. It’s “free,” which means that one gets what one pays for. As with all such schemes, actual care is rationed, most often by the use of long wait times that work on the basis of attrition. That’s changing, however, at least in one Province.
War & Terror
Army retains decorated Green Beret it planned to kick out over confronting Afghan child rapist
In a stunning reversal, the U.S. Army decided late Thursday to retain a decorated Green Beret it had planned to kick out after he physically confronted a local Afghan commander accused of raping a boy over the course of many days.
National
Teenager Livestreams Her Friend’s Rape
The Decline and Fall of American Civilization
California’s Soviet-like Kangaroo “Courtroom”
In a one-party state, election results are shredded in the name of democracy.
Report: Feds Illegally Funded New York City Abortion Escorts
AmeriCorps, a federally funded government program, allowed several on-duty members to escort women to three abortion clinics in New York City in violation of federal law, according to an Inspector General report.
Minnesota Parents Sue To Get Trans Classes In Kindergarten
Parents of a five-year-old trans-questioning child have filed a complaint against a charter school for refusing to teach harmful, anti-science beliefs about human biology.
UMass Amherst students throw temper tantrum at free speech event
Students at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst set a new high for hysteria Monday night at an event featuring Christina Hoff Sommers, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Steven Crowder
Harvard Dean Accused of Apparent “Ethical Impropriety” in Talks with Final Clubs
All-male club asks dean to remove himself from discussions after attempts to “coerce” students
Tom Coburn Unleashes on Congress: “America Doesn’t Trust You Anymore. That’s the Truth”
Quotes Tocqueville to the Senate
Human history traced via the Y chromosome
Male lineages expand rapidly at key points in our past.
Hoping To Attract Soda-Hating Millennials, Pepsi Revives Soda Jerks
Pepsi 1893 is a revolutionary product—from a century ago.
Brave new world: A majority of millennials reject capitalism
The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades.
Scripps “Unofficial Survival Guide” Legitimizes “A General Distaste or Hatred of White People”
Over the summer of 2015, two Scripps College students spent approximately 500 hours creating the “Unofficial Scripps Survival Guide.” The 217-page guide, intended to help new students acclimate to the college, features lengthy discussions of topics ranging from food and money management to gender identity, race, and privilege.
Lesbian Couple Happy To Buy A Baby But Not To Get A Black One
These women are more concerned about racial differences than about the fact that they intentionally paid to procure a child who has no father in her life.
Mexican Liberation Flag Flown Over San Diego Public Park
There are numbers of immigrants, many here illegally, who have no interest in assimilating. Their interest is taking over.
“Sickening”: Art Piece Featuring “Jesus Crucified to a Dartboard” Causes Furor at Rutgers University
Officials at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, have removed a controversial art display that depicted Jesus affixed to a dartboard — a piece of art that one conservative commentator called “sickening.”
Drake student gov. rejects conservative club for “harmful” views
The chapter’s bid for recognition failed in a 15-3 loss.
NC Officials Enable Male Reporter Posing as Sexual Predator to Use Female Bathrooms for Deviant Purposes
UNC Title IX Mandatory Reporter Seems to Turn Blind Eye to Report of Sexual Deviancy in Girl’s Bathroom
Hillary Wants to Make It Illegal to Criticize Her
In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN yesterday, Hillary Clinton had this to say about the Citizens United decision
Transsexual Student Charged with “Mischief” For Burning Gay Pride Flag
A transsexual student at the University of British Columbiais being charged with “mischief” for burning a gay pride flag in protest of political correctness and transgender identity politics.
Wesley students hope cartoon can stir race discussion
Wesley students and Dover community leaders say they hope the anger stirred up by two racially charged cartoons that appeared in the student newspaper can be channeled into a more productive conversation about race on campus.
NC governor responds to “bathroom bill” backlash
Gov. Pat McCrory goes on “The Kelly File” to defend legislation critics say discriminates against the LGBT community
#NeverTrump Is Not New And Andrew Breitbart Knew Trump Was A Fraud
It’s hard to tell whether or not #NeverTrump is just a social media sensation or if it will result in a contested convention that sees Donald Trump being shown the door if he fails to secure 1,237 delegates prior to the start of the Republican National Convention in July.
Satanists Respond: Lucifer Is More Like John Boehner than Ted Cruz
The media is interpreting the way Satanists respond to John Boehner’s words as if they tell us something about Cruz, but they say more about the Republican establishment.
Dream Logic 2016
Political logic can be a lot like dream logic. I recently had a dream of what I understand is a very common type: It was close to the end of senior year in high school, and I had just failed to show up for an exam, and failed to write a term paper on Edmund Spenser that was due. This meant I wouldn’t graduate. In most of my dreams, my conscious mind doesn’t intrude on the creations of my subconscious: The dream feels completely real. But in this case, my conscious mind intervened, and said: “But Mike, you already have a high-school diploma. This situation you’re worried about is unreal and absurd.” But in the dream, I coldly rebuffed the intrusion of reason and accepted what I really, honestly believed to be true: It doesn’t matter. I have failed and won’t graduate. That’s the reality.
Believing in two genders is a “hate crime” under police investigation at Catholic college
“You can have your opinion” as long as it doesn’t “deny my existence”
Marco Rubio Photo Op with CIA operative who captured Che Guevara
Guevara was a ruthless killer turned into a leftist hero.
Economy & Taxes
16 “Pro-LGBT” Businesses That Operate in Countries With Poor Human Rights Records
Big corporations have come out to criticize state religious liberty measures in Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina as discriminating against those who aren’t heterosexual, some going as far as to propose boycotting states that enact such laws.
Teens enter vocational school, come out with jobs, no debtEun Kyung Kim
When he decided against going to a traditional high school, Warner Adams got teased. But now he’s getting the last laugh.
International
Austrian government “shocked” as opposition sweeps early presidential balloting
Do you think that the people of Europe are a bit tired of their own politicians and how they have handled the flood of Muslim immigrants from Iraq and Syria? In Austria the voters have had a chance to speak out on the subject and the results thus far seem fairly clear.
Muslims Account for 4% of the UK Population: So Why Are They Responsible for More Than 91% of the Child Rapes?
First, I would challenge the accuracy of Muslims only accounting for 4% of the population of the UK. Local and national governments and regulating bodies are known for vastly under-reporting the true Muslim population in our Western societies. Why is this? The reason is to instill a false sense of security in “non-Muslims.” Essentially, they do not want to alarm us at the true rate at which our nations are losing their historical uniqueness and being transformed into a dangerous cesspool of multiculturalism. But, we will use the “4%” number anyway…
Feminists Demand Quotas for Award Nominations at Cannes Film Festival
What does “equality” mean? This is the question people fail to ask when they accept the claim that feminism is simply about equality.
Venezuelan president announces rolling blackouts, 2-day work week
The sweet socialist miracle continues to transform Venezuela into an economic powerhouse destined to show the capitalist world the error of its ways. Of course, they’ll be showing the world those errors by candlelight.
Italy’s “big babies”: court orders father to pay for upkeep of 28-year-old son
An Italian court has ordered a middle-aged father to keep supporting his 28-year-old son through university, after he turned to the law to try and force his offspring to get a job.
What lies beneath West Antarctica?
Three recent publications by early career researchers at three different institutions across the country provide the first look into the biogeochemistry, geophysics and geology of Subglacial Lake Whillans, which lies 800 meters (2,600 feet) beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Muslim prayer hall set on fire on French island of Corsica
A Muslim prayer hall was seriously damaged by fire overnight in the capital of the French island of Corsica, local authorities said, four months after a separate Muslim prayer hall there was ransacked.
Nashville man ordered to remove zombie statue from front yard
“During a recent inspection of the community on April 19, 2016, it was noted that there is a zombie in your yard that needs to be removed.”
This Venezuelan beer shortage proves that Communism DOES. NOT. WORK.
Beer shortage? BEER SHORTAGE?
British Labour Party Anti-Semitism – “like lifting up a stone and having insects crawl out”
More proof that leftist hatred of Zionism is just a smokescreen for anti-Semitism
U.K. Considering Regulating Ads to Make Sure the Women In Them Aren’t Too Hot
The Advertising United Standards Authority has “already been taking action to ban ads” based on these concerns.
Delcons, Defcons, and elections in Australia 2016
With an election likely for July 2nd, the hottest topic in Australian politics right now is how to vote. So put your best case forward here. Hammer this out. Will Turnbull promise anything to win back the Delcons — the angry conservatives? The time to ask is now, and if the Liberal base are not prepared to vote against him, they have nothing to negotiate.
Opinion
Upholding Free Speech Begins At Home
My generation supports speech policing. In a liberal household, I was taught the opposite.
William Seward, Harriet Tubman, and the Twenty
William Seward is in the news these days. He was the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860 and had the most first ballot votes, but was surpassed in later voting by Abraham Lincoln.
Navel-gazing about gender while the world burns
Rogue feminist Camille Paglia on the unreal world of America’s youth.
7 Questions About Transgender People, Answered
What social science research we have on transgender people and gender dysphoria is limited, but it does not support the agenda of trans activists.
Warrants & Revolution
I’ve been researching the causes of the American Revolution, and while there were several, arguably the fuse of the American Revolution was first lit in 1756 Boston, when and where a corrupt government customs official began to make use of a rare practice – a general search warrant coupled with a “Writ of Assistance” – to fill his pockets. It raised the issue of the government’s power to search without any reasonable suspicion of a crime having been committed – essentially a fishing expedition easily abused to harass, punish or, in this instance, plunder – done without oversight by a magistrate.
Jian Ghomeshi, Sexual Harassment and the Enchanted Crocodiles of Feminism
Most Americans have never heard of Jian Ghomeshi, but he’s a celebrity in Canada.
The Suicide of Venezuela
I never expected to witness the slow suicide of a country, a civilization. I suppose nobody does.
Why Moving Black Families Into White Neighborhoods Isn’t Justice
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s decision to force people into and out of neighborhoods based on race is cruel and unfair.
I Didn’t Believe Feminists Until The Trans Lobby Attacked Me
I didn’t believe in rape culture until a 6’3″, 250-pound grown man stared angrily into my eyes and proclaimed to me how hurtful it was that I did not want to see his penis.
Feminism: It’s About SCIENCE!
Sex is about reproductive biology. Human beings are mammals, and any eighth-grader can figure out what that means in terms of sex.
What Is This? Was #GamerGate About Fake Victims Faking Fake Harassment?
Was Zoe Quinn GamerGate all along? Or, at least, its so-called “harassing” element — those who were accused of sending anonymous death threats and abuse to the feminist video games designer?
What #GamerGate Should Teach Us (But @JesseSingal Refuses to Learn)
The world does not divide along neat political lines, but the temptation toward what Julian Sanchez dubbed epistemic closure is one that too many journalists are unable to resist.
Lena Dunham Is The Donald Trump Of Baby Boomer Feminism
Lena Dunham isn’t an original; she’s caricature of what she thinks her feminist predecessors and mentors expect her to be.
An honest headline about Yale’s Leftist obsession with race
If you want to be entertained by the insanity that is American higher education, where the focus has shifted entirely from expanding their brains to pandering to their ignorant social justice concerns, you can read Power Line’s take on the obsessive lengths to which Yale went, first to consider changing Calhoun College’s name and second to explaining its decision not to change the name — along with its groveling promise to keep the name as “teaching” device about the evils of slavery and, presumably, of America.
U.S. Politics Realign Into Populists Versus Neoliberals
The previous political dividing line of liberals versus conservatives is no longer sufficient to describe the fault line in contemporary politics.
Silence Is Death: The Generational Case For Free Speech
Speak and live with an eye towards what truths you will leave championed when you die.
Millennials, Socialism and Venezuela
The Millennial Generation is infatuated with socialism. So much so, a Gallup poll reveals a whopping 69% of them are willing to vote for a “socialist” candidate for president.
Space Opera, Skulduggery, and a Stray Draftsman
The end of tax season ate most the time I usually devote to reading, so it’s only been in the last couple of weeks that I’ve actually had any time to fire up the Kindle or thumb through a book off my (not nearly numerous enough) shelves.
Feminism Is a Synonym for “Shut Up”
A major goal of feminism is to silence opposition. Because their ideology cannot withstand informed and articulate criticism, feminists therefore requires a dishonest vocabulary of jargon that functions to disqualify and discredit their opponents.
On Ted Cruz And The Restoration Of The Republic
Mr. Cruz has never – unlike a certain New York Megalomaniac or a particular Red Diaper Spoiled Brat – proclaimed himself to be The American Messiah. Mr. Cruz is not so shallow or Narcissistic to believe he can be Our Political Jesus.
NC Governor McCrory Doubles Down On Purpose For Bathroom Bill
I really shouldn’t have to be writing this. I know others have written on it, from numerous angles and from varying degrees of outrage, but it seems the current climate of our electorate (and society, in general) requires reminding of some of life’s hard truths. Most specifically, biology and nature do not care about your feelings.
How Unelected Bureaucrats Became “Liberty’s Nemesis”
Federal employees micromanage every aspect of our lives, and yet, they have no constitutional authority to make the rules. We can’t allow them to remake America.
The virtues of private investment and the failures of federal funding
I regularly like to tell anyone who will listen that Bernie Sanders is a good diagnostician but that his proposed treatments will kill the patient — the patient in this case being the United States economy. Bernie is absolutely correct that America has a problem with the too-tight nexus between the government and corporations.
Religion, Rights, and Revolution (Part 1)
Sometimes we’re lucky to end up with a super brilliant friend who has the gift of making complex information accessible (sort of like Thomas Sowell).
The broken windows theory of public bathrooms and gender identity
The social justice warriors have been busy on my “real-me” Facebook page, ridiculing the concerns of ordinary Americans who cannot understand why, out of the blue, they are suddenly being told that gender isn’t a biological reality but is, instead, a mere social construct that a person can socially reconstruct on a daily basis — and, moreover, that this sudden gender fluidity means that it’s an act of gross discrimination to contend that public bathrooms should be limited to reflect a person’s basic biology (i.e., penis or no penis).
What #TrigglyPuff Means
The phenomenon of #TrigglyPuff — Cora Segal, the angry feminist who disrupted an event at the University of Massachusetts this week — deserves extended analysis, and I’ve got a 4,000-word draft in queue, awaiting the final touches. Spending two days analyzing the social significance of this comedic phenomenon was perhaps too much, but that’s my job. You need someone to totally overthink it? I’m available.
The Future Of The Past
Yesterday in one of the groups I belong to and check irregularly, someone posted an article from IO9. Full disclosure, I didn’t read the article. Life is too short to hang out at IO9. But this is not about the article, not really. It’s about the concepts which were summarized in the lead, and confirmed by those of my fans/friends brave enough to put on waders and climb down into IO9.
There are only two genders
There is an event taking place here in Thunder Bay in May, which local businesses are invited to attend so they can understand how to use pronouns for “different” people. They will discuss how Thunder Bay businesses can create safe spaces for the LGBTQ community here.
