News of the Week for August 14th, 2016
- Election 2016
- Obama Scandals
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Election 2016
Catch-22, IRS style
This past Friday the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals partly reinstated the lawsuits brought by two groups – True the Vote and Linchpins of Liberty – that had sued the IRS over its targeting of conservative or Tea Party-type organizations seeking 501(1)(c)(3) status. The court has resurrected the groups’ claims for relief enjoining the IRS against continued discriminatory treatment.
Clinton Kicked $125K to Hospital After Receiving Treatment for Blood Clot
Clinton family foundation had not donated to hospital before Hillary’s stay
Father of Orlando Nightclub Shooter Attends Hillary Clinton Rally, Shows Sign He Made for Her
Seddique Mateen, the father of the worst mass shooter in U.S. history, was spotted sitting behind Hillary Clinton at her rally in Kissimmee, Florida, on Monday, and he expressed his strong support for her in an interview afterwards, calling her “good for [sic] United States.”
Watch The Orlando Shooter’s Father Praise Hillary Clinton
“Hillary Clinton is good for the United States.”
Newly released Clinton emails shed light on relationship between State Dept. and Clinton Foundation
Newly released emails from Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state raise questions about the nature of the department’s relationship with the Clinton Foundation.
U.S. appeals court stays recent ruling that struck down part of Wisconsin voter ID law
A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday issued a stay of a recent ruling that struck down parts of Wisconsin’s voter ID law, the Justice Department announced.
Gloom sets in for GOP
Gloom is setting in for GOP lawmakers and strategists who increasingly think Donald Trump will lose the presidential race and their party will be left in the political wilderness
Charlie Cook and Hillary’s Down-Ballot Problem
If you’re a Donald Trump supporter and you were hoping for some good news from a consummate political pro with an excellent record, then I have bad news for you instead. In today’s National Journal, Charlie Cook comes to the exact same conclusion I did yesterday about the current state of the race
Wargaming the Electoral College
Let’s get ready to ruuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmble!
Justice Department officials pushed for Clinton Foundation probe
Top Justice Department officials pushed for a public corruption probe of the Clinton Foundation earlier this year, but were overruled by their colleagues after a bank alerted the FBI to the “suspicious activity” of a foreign donor to the charity.
These States Are at the Greatest Risk of Having Their Voting Process Hacked
Despite the inherent security risks, 31 states use the Internet to collect votes in some way.
Current And Former GOP Officials And Operatives Call On RNC To Cut Support For Trump
More than 70 Republicans have signed an open letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus urging him to stop spending any money to help Donald Trump win in November and shift those contributions to Senate and House races.
Constitution Party Candidate Darrell Castle In His Own Words
On several occasions, I’ve mentioned that I am a political nomad, at this point. The Republican party has left me and is now the Trumplican party. Its ideology is one I no longer recognize, nor do I identify with it.
Is Trump deliberately throwing the election to Clinton?
In August 2015, I wrote a column for The Hill titled “Is Trump a Clinton plant?” At the time, I wrote that I was not seriously suggesting that Donald Trump is running as a Hillary Clinton plant for the purpose of bringing a second Clinton to the White House, but noted some facts.
Which Is Worse—an October Surprise or a December Surprise?
While the mainstream media—desperate to prevent Donald Trump from bringing his gold lamé lifestyle anywhere near the White House—rattles on in mock astonishment about the loquacious businessman’s latest gaffe, a far more significant threat to our country looms than any possible verbal miscue.
The Seriously Delusional, But Ever Optimistic Mr. Trump
Donald Trump has turned conventional politics on its head, as his supporters gleefully like to point out.
Obama Scandals
“Budget-Crunched” VA Has 167 Interior Designers On Staff
An army of 167 interior designers work at the Department of Veterans Affairs, picking window blind colors and buying millions of dollars of art each year, an investigation from The Daily Caller News Foundation has found.
Gun Rights
Concealed-Carry Permit Surge Could Play Decisive Role in These 2016 Battleground States
The number of concealed-carry permit holders has skyrocketed over the last four years, noticeably in key battleground states and among women, according to a new report.
Millennial poll: 2nd Amendment no obstacle to gun control
A new poll by the University of Chicago finds that Millennials have a strong preference for gun control, even supporting a proposed ban on semi-automatic weapons.
Wells Fargo Won’t Do Business With Online Knife Sellers
A major knives manufacturer from central California says his company was denied access to an internet payment processing service because they sell weapons online, raising questions about whether an anti-fraud program called Operation Choke Point is continuing to block legal businesses in the firearms and weapons industries from accessing basic banking services.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
Secret Deal Among AGs to Prosecute Climate Change “Deniers” Challenged in Court
By signing a “secrecy pact” with fellow Democrat attorneys general preparing to prosecute climate change skeptics, Rhode Island’s top law enforcement officer jeopardized free speech rights and government transparency laws, according to two legal organizations that have taken him to court.
Letter shows #ExxonKnew Attorneys General caught up in unlawful collusion
AG Letter Reveals #ExxonKnew AG Campaign about Defending Obama Climate Legacy
A new paper from Richard Betts shows land use change is a significant component of the global climate heat budget
From the Roger Pielke Sr. has been saying this for years department comes this paper where Dr. Richard Betts of the UK Met Office is a co-author. h/t/ to Betts Twitter feed today. It is published in Climate Dynamics. Unfortunately, it has a $40 price tag, since it is part of Springer publications, so I can’t offer much more than the abstract. It does look interesting though, even though it is not observationally based, but model based. However, despite that limitation, when the climate modelers start looking at things other than CO2, that can only be a good thing.
Nevada starts to pull the plug on solar subsidies
For years, Nevada taxpayers have spent millions subsidizing homeowners who install rooftop solar panels – but that’s about to end.
Criminal investigation into Animas River Spill confirmed
EPA spends $29 million for clean-up and $48.4 million for high-end furniture.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Ban on Non-Urgent Surgeries Proposed in England Because NHS Is Hurting for Money
Welcome to your future, if Dems get their way.
About that single-payer Plan B for ObamaCare …
Conservatives have long suspected that the long-term goal of ObamaCare is to force the adoption of a single-payer system.
War & Terror
Cotton: Clinton discussed executed Iranian scientist on email
Hillary Clinton recklessly discussed, in emails hosted on her private server, an Iranian nuclear scientist who was executed by Iran for treason, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Sunday.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Islamic State claim suicide attack at Pakistani hospital
Both the Islamic State and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed credit for today’s suicide attack at a hospital in the Pakistani city of Quetta that killed scores of people. While the competing claims cannot be verified, both groups are capable of executing the mass-casualty suicide assault.
Canadian ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorist Planned Suicide Bombing of Major City, Killed in Overnight Police Operation
A Canadian man known as an ISIS supporter and who was released in February on a peace bond has been killed in an overnight police raid in his hometown of Strathroy, Ontario. Authorities said that Aaron Driver, aka Harun Abdurahman, had planned a suicide attack on a major Canadian city. An alert sent to Canadian law enforcement authorities yesterday indicated that an attack was imminent.
Bombings in Thailand target tourist cities, killing 4 people
Attackers struck a series of tourist resort towns across southern Thailand with homemade explosives and firebombs in some of the worst violence to hit the country since a military coup two years ago. Police said at least four people were killed and dozens wounded, including 11 foreigners.
People Celebrate As U.S.-Backed Forces Liberate Manbij, Syria From ISIS
The celebration of a simple drag of a cigarette
Kyrgyzstan president: “Women in mini skirts don’t become suicide bombers”
Women can become radicalised to become terrorists if they put on Islamic dress, the President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, has claimed in his most recent intervention in a national debate on cultural identity.
National
Public university that hikes tuition yearly also spends $800K annually on diversity staffers
Auburn University maintains a lengthy roster of employees dedicated to advancing diversity that costs taxpayers at least $800,000 annually, a payroll analysis by The College Fix has found.
How Washington Is Regulating American Indians To Death
U.S. policies have turned Indian reservations into “small third-world countries,” Naomi Schaefer Riley claims in her latest book.
“Predominantly white institutions” are “hotbeds of white supremacy,” prof warns
An Oklahoma State University professor says predominately white institutions (PWIs) are “hotbeds of white supremacy” and that black students must be prepared to be “treated like second-class citizens” if they attend a PWI.
Meet the public university that actually has a surprisingly high number of Republican professors
East Carolina University appears to offer an ideological balance among professors
Bernie Sanders Buys a Summer Home in North Hero
The Burlington resident last week plopped down nearly $600,000 on a lakefront camp in North Hero.
Two years ago Michael Brown died, and a movement based on lies was born
The Black Lives Matter movement was launched by lies, and so was its hijacking by anti-Israel activists.
AARP’s Retreat From Conservative Forum Part of “Great Silencing”
The decision by the seniors group AARP to drop its membership in an influential legislative reform coalition is the latest example of the left’s successful pressure on corporations and other organizations to disown the group.
Claremont students refuse to live with whites
A group of students at the Claremont Colleges are in search of a roommate, but insist the roommate not be white.
Minorities, evangelicals unite against CA bill targeting religious colleges
A new website explains how a California bill that would pull grants from private religious colleges negatively affects minority students, an argument that is also being made by leading evangelicals.
Feminists Plan to Sue U.S. Education Department Over Title IX “Gender” Policy
Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) is a radical feminist group founded in 2013, and they are furious about the Obama administration’s manipulation of Title IX to conform to demands of transgender activists
Federal Union Puts Artificial Fingernails Over Patient Safety
A federal employees union refuses to stop healthcare workers from wearing artificial fingernails that can harbor deadly germs when working with patients.
Ohio Judge: State legislators cannot defund Planned Parenthood
An interesting decision out of Ohio. A judge appointed by George W. Bush has ruled that Ohio’s law defunding Planned Parenthood is unconstitutional because it violates the group’s First Amendment rights.
Public university starts “adulting” program to help students who are terrified of failure
Today’s generation of students have never learned how to manage failure. So East Carolina University is going to teach them how.
“Gender Unicorn” for Kids Lets Them Color in Their “Gender Identity”
Kids can choose whether they are sexually attracted to women, men, or “other genders”
“No face mask” security policies overruled by Religion of Peace
Gone are the days when merchants could protect themselves from those wearing masks with a sign saying “DO NOT wear a mask in this store”. Nowadays, such a security policy might get in the way of accommodating adherents of a certain Religion of Peace.
Congrats. You just paid $40M to run monkeys to death on treadmills in Texas
Let’s kick the weekend off with a story which touches on two subjects which tend to get the blood boiling: potential animal abuse and massive, wasteful spending of tax dollars by the federal government.
South Carolina sued over its vague “Disturbing Schools” law
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the state of South Carolina claiming its “Disturbing Schools” statute is unconstitutional.
Can the states legally ban “gay conversion” therapy?
Some pastors in Illinois are challenging a state law which bans gay conversion therapy on a variety of grounds.
Chaos, Violence, Looting In Milwaukee
Local official appears to condone the violent response to shooting of armed suspect: “This is the warning cry”
Economy & Taxes
US Productivity Plunges For 3rd Quarter In A Row – Longest Losing Streak Since 1979
Following the Q2 GDP print, the slowing in aggregate weekly hours suggested a modest pickup QoQ in non-farm productivity, but it plunged 0.6% – dramatically missing the +0.4% exp in this preliminary Q2 report. This is the 3rd quarterly decline in a row – the first time that has happened since 1979. This three quarter plunge is the biggest drop in productivity since 1993, and this is the first YoY drop (-0.4%) since Q2 2013. All in all… a disaster!
International
Hong Kong booksellers under threat from China “steamroller” censor
China’s recent detention of five Hong Kong booksellers has left many involved in the city’s popular distribution of Beijing-banned works wracked with fear. While some refuse to buckle under pressure, others say they face a censorship “steamroller”.
Islamist Turkey seizes ALL Christian churches in city and declares them “state property”
TURKEY’S Islamist government has stepped up its war on Christianity by seizing all the churches in one city and declaring them state property.
Thai junta passes ballot box test with referendum win
Thai voters approved a junta-backed constitution in a referendum on Sunday, preliminary results showed, an outcome that paves the way for an election next year but will also require future elected governments to rule on the military’s terms.
ROTHERHAM ABUSE SCANDAL: Horrific reality of “industrial scale” child grooming revealed
GROOMING of young girls by gangs of predominantly Kashmiri men is still occurring on an “industrial scale” in Rotherham because authorities are failing to tackle an organised child sex crime racket, an investigation by express.co.uk has uncovered.
Report: British Authorities Still Ignoring Massive Pakistani-Led Child Sex Ring
Why bother rescuing thousands of children from rape if it might mean enduring claims of anti-Muslim racism?
Muslims Demand Polygamy In Response To Same Sex Unions
Following the introduction of civil partnerships, Muslim representatives in Italy are now demanding the legalisation of polygamy
Brazil’s Senate indicts Rousseff, opens impeachment trial
Brazil’s Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to indict President Dilma Rousseff on charges of breaking budget laws and to begin an impeachment trial that is expected to oust her from office and end 13 years of rule by the Workers Party.
Bikinis Made Mandatory on Cannes Beaches
That isn’t quite right, but it’s close: the city of Cannes has banned the wearing of burkinis on local beaches
Majority of Canadians Think “Universal Basic Income” Too Expensive, Makes People Lazy
They like the idea, actually.
British Judge Lets Confessed Pedophile Walk Because He Changed Gender
Gina Owen, a British man who twice solicited or engaged children in sexual activity, was handed two years probation Tuesday because he now identifies as a woman.
The Kent child sex crimes that police, schools and social workers are accused of failing to prevent
There are at least 40 perpetrators and 100 victims of child sexual exploitation in Kent, according to a damning new report.
Rio’s Contaminated Waters Claim First Victim
Additionally, Rio’s Olympic pools are turning green and “smell like a fart”.
Pray, play, gay
In Australian democracy there is one rule more important than the “separation” of church and state.
NSW Anti-Discrimination Board: it’s unlawful to link to Andrew Bolt
Well, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board has done it again.
Opinion
How The Left Is Weaponizing The American Legal System
Various progressive factions have undertaken an effort to criminalize dissent using the courts and statutory law.
Make Victory Over Japan Day great again!
Rhode Island last state to celebrate what now is a Generic politically correct Victory over Someone.
The Problem With Politics Today? The Opposition Must Be PUNISHED!
Every election, someone makes comments about voter apathy. After all, such a small percentage of Americans take to the polls each year, it actually is a problem.
Olympians destroy the left’s narrative on marriage and children
Did you hear that women’s trap shooter Corey Cogdell-Unrein won her second career Olympic medal for the U.S. team in Rio this weekend? Did you cheer for Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú, who won the gold and broke a world record in 400-meter individual medley? Or were you too distracted by the media commentary about their husbands?
Here’s What You Can Do To Keep Government From Crushing Religious Charities
Despite losing in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Obama administration is still reluctant to stop forcing charities to pay for abortion-inducing drugs. But we can help.
Narcissism, Nipples and “Social Justice”
Christine Lasher wants you to notice her daughter’s nipples
No, Sean Hannity, It’s Folks Like You Who Are Electing Hillary
It’s been said before. I’m saying it again. And there will be cause to say it several times again before the year is out. Opposing Donald Trump is not the same thing as supporting Hillary Clinton.
How Western White Males Colonized The Progressive Mind
The entire stable of thinkers who crafted the cosmic architecture that has spawned feminism, LGBT thought, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter? They’re dead white men.
Dan Rather, Here’s Why No One Cares When You Say “History Is Watching”
At no point in my life do I remember a presidential election quite like this one. The two major parties have given us candidates that are beyond terrible by every measure. A friend describes the choice as one between a kick in the crotch and a punch in the face — I couldn’t disagree with him.
Hope Solo should be banned from all future American national teams
If you’re going to play sports in the name of the United States of America, you need to be like the British Royal Family. You need to show some class, and represent the best of what our nation has to offer.
What Conservatives Did to Pull Off Religious Liberty Win in California
California conservatives won a surprise victory this week, changing a state assembly bill that would have curtailed the freedom of private religious colleges.
Conservative Bi-Lingualism?
Those who suffer the handicap, like myself, of having a Ph.D and writing for a living—the kind of people who actually sit in bars discussing, for example, Eric Voegelin’s injunction against “immanentizing the eschaton” (there’s a reason Voegelin devotees don’t get dates, and it’s not hard to figure out)—don’t understand that one reason for Trump’s appeal is that to a great many Americans he talks like they do—in sentence fragments, summary emotive thoughts, and imprecise terms.
Europe’s Last Chance
We have a duty to put a stop to this madness, and we have the power.
The Intellectuals and Feminism: Why Do Fantasies of Sexual “Equality” Persist?
Men and women are different – biologically, as a matter of science – and the differences between the sexes are socially significant. Feminism seeks to impose a politically constructed regime of “equality” between men and women. This project is essentially destructive, resulting in the loss of social cohesion and an increase of sexual hostility.
Attention @MGTOW: Survey Question
“Men Going Their Own Way” (MGTOW) is a segment of the so-called “manosphere,” the loose coalition of online resistance to feminism that includes also men’s rights activists (MRAs) and pickup artists (PUAs) and various advocates of what is known as “Red Pill” philosophy.
Political correctness and the decline of science
Here’s quick pop quiz for you… which US political party is “The Party of Science” today? I’d be willing to bet that nearly everyone had an answer at the ready and half of you disagreed with the other half. (Assuming a readership which matches the generic national political profile.) Rather than the usual finger pointing, perhaps this is an opportunity to ask ourselves if politics is simply ruining science. And if so, that’s a disastrous shame because we used to be really good at science in the United States.
Centrists
So this post – Fish And Water – got echoed by a friend on FB. This is a person whose books I’ve read, though I only know him on FB, and also a person who normally doesn’t echo blog posts.
There’s No Good Way Out Of This
I keep telling you all, We’re Screwed. But no one seems to listen.
