News of the Week (August 7th, 2016)

Posted on August 7, 2016 by The Political Hat

 

News of the Week for August 7th, 2016


 

Election 2016

 

GOP confidence in Senate majority builds
Republicans are growing much more optimistic about their chances of saving their Senate majority.

Mike Pence shows how it’s done in response to a question about Trump and the Khan family
During a town hall meeting in Nevada, Mike Pence was challenged on his support for Donald Trump despite Trump’s comments over the weekend criticizing a gold star family. Pence handled the situation well, first calming the crowd and then offering his respect to the person asking the question and then to the Khan family.

Gallup: For the first time, most who watched GOP convention say they’re less likely to vote for nominee
The good news for Republicans: Reaction to the Democratic convention was also historically weak. The margin between those who say Hillary’s big show made them more likely to vote for her versus less likely was just four points, 45/41. Never before since Gallup started asking this question in 1984 has the spread for a Democrat been that small.

This Hillary Clinton Coloring Book
This coloring book might be the most creative way to celebrate Hillary Clinton’s historic milestone.

What Should Republicans Be Learning From This?
My friend Kurt Schlichter makes some fair points and some not-so-fair points about what the Republican Party should be learning from the rise of Trump and the mess of the 2016 campaign.

The No. 2 figure at the DNC just resigned
Democratic National Committee CEO Amy Dacey resigned on Tuesday, less than two weeks after leaked emails showed organization staffers criticizing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during a public feud with the DNC in May.

So Conservatives, What Have We Learned From This Trump Thing?
The primaries are over and Trump is the nominee, and instead of whining about it like a Millennial faced with having to get a job we need to step back and ask ourselves if we have learned anything from this bizarre turn of events. The GOP – our GOP – has nominated someone who is not a traditional conservative. He’s not even an untraditional conservative. Hell, there’s probably not even a “c” or a “v” in whatever he is. So we can either try to figure out what happened or keep rending our clothes and gnashing our teeth about how our own voter base took one look at us and rejected us like any sober, sighted guy in a bar at 7 p.m. would reject Lena Dunham.

GOP reaches “new level of panic” over Trump’s candidacy
Turmoil in the Republican Party escalated Wednesday as party leaders, strategists and donors voiced increased alarm about the flailing state of Donald Trump’s candidacy and fears that the presidential nominee was damaging the party with an extraordinary week of self-inflicted mistakes, gratuitous attacks and missed opportunities.

Report: GOP Exploring Contingency Plan in Case Trump Drops Out
Senior officials in the Republican Party are reportedly preparing a contingency plan in case Donald Trump decides to drop out of the presidential race.

The Democrats’ Anti-Science Platform
The Science and Environmental Policy Project puts out a weekly electronic newsletter called The Week That Was that brings together links to everything notable on the topic of climate. If you want to keep up on the global warming debate and related scientific issues, you really should subscribe to it.

Trump May Start Dragging GOP Senate Candidates Down With Him
Donald Trump doesn’t seem to have a good handle on what’s going on in the Senate races this year. After previously predicting that Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona would lose in the fall (Flake isn’t up for re-election this year), Trump went after Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire this week, saying, “I’m beating her in the polls by a lot.” But Ayotte is running ahead of Trump in New Hampshire, earning a higher share of support in her race than Trump is against Hillary Clinton in the Granite State.

Clinton’s bounce is probably here to stay
There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton received a sizable bounce from the Democratic convention. Sean Trende says that Clinton’s position in the polls appears to have improved by at least six points, though some of the improvement may be due to Donald Trump’s dispute with the parents of a dead war hero, rather than the Dems’ convention per se.

Trump Unveils Economic Advisory Team Ahead of Detroit Speech
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday named an economic advisory group that includes Steve Roth, Harold Hamm, and Tom Barrack.

Giuliani blames Gingrich for Trump “intervention” reports
Donald Trump is not having any sort of “intervention” with the likes of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Giuliani said Thursday, pointing to Gingrich as the source of the term.

How Not To Waste Your Vote: A Mathematical Analysis
During this especially contested election, a lot of people are talking about people “wasting” or “throwing away” votes. However, many people who say this do not have a complete grasp of the full mathematical picture – or worse, they are only mentioning the part that supports their position. First let’s define what a “wasted” vote is.

Clinton pauses ads in Virginia in sign of confidence
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has left Virginia off its upcoming battleground-state television ad buy beginning next week — the second state to be dropped in recent weeks as Clinton holds a significant lead over Donald Trump nationally and in key states.

How American Politics Went Insane
It happened gradually—and until the U.S. figures out how to treat the problem, it will only get worse.

Clinton Says She Was “Short-Circuited” to Explain Email Lie
Hillary Clinton explained on Friday that she may have “short circuited” when she gave a disprovable answer to Fox News’ Chris Wallace on Sunday about her public email statements.

An Open Letter to Donald Trump From a Loyal Supporter
They’re saying you had a bad week. The commentariat from all sectors is betting the Armageddon card on your campaign. Out here in the hinterlands, it’s hard to know whom to believe anymore, Paul Manafort or Glenn Beck. What we do know is that none of what happened after the DNC ended and the campaign entered its final days and hours is new. We knew the mainstream media was going to hit you with what the Nazis called Tottestossen, “total destruction.” And we knew Hillary Clinton was going to get a convention bounce.

Mulling Kansas 1856 and America 2016
I’ve been reading Bleeding Kansas, another lender from my historical daughter. And the more I read about Kansas in the 1850s, the more I see some unhappy parallels to today.

Protest Voting: GOP Edition
There are a lot of people on both sides upset with the outcome of these primaries. I’ll leave to the Democrats to figure out how to send their party a message. But what of us conservatives?

Counterpoint: Protest Voting In This Election Is Naive And Dangerous
My earnest but painfully deluded coblogger seems to think that this election cycle is just one more in a series of American presidential elections that will have consequences that are neither dire nor or existential, and that a protest vote is an appropriate response to two truly awful choices (I don’t count the Libertarian, who is an idiot) He is wrong.

Blog War: Counter- Counter Point: We’re screwed.
I am, apparently, deluded. So says the man responsible for the existence of this blog in the first place.

Counter-Counter-Counterpoint
Well, just as in real life, we at CJN seem to be in the midst of a bit of a contretemps about Mr. Trump, Mrs. Clinton, the 2016 Election and the state of the union today and going forward. That’s not a bad thing; it’s in keeping with the spirit of this website as well as the love of healthy, and perhaps heated discourse.

 

Obama Scandals

 

Pompeo: Iran “Ransom” Payment Is Obama’s Iran-Contra Scandal
Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) slammed the Obama administration on Wednesday for taking “lawless” steps to provide Iran with $400 million in “pallets of cash” as part of a so-called ransom payment to free imprisoned Americans, according to comments provided to the Washington Free Beacon.

 

Gun Rights

 

ATF forgot to comply with policy, accidentally creating gun owner database
The government’s top watchdog revealed in a new report that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) essentially maintained a database of law-abiding gun owners by ignoring its own policies.

 

Hide the Decline

Environment &
“Green Energy”

 

EPA Cannot Prove That Its $16 Million Education Program Had Any Positive Results
Inspector general criticizes agency for using weak excuses for not collecting data

Climate Change Agenda and the Role of Bureaucratic Scientists
Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time the quo has lost its status.

 

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

ObamaCare Is Failing Exactly The Way Critics Said It Would
In another blow to ObamaCare, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said that the company was abandoning plans to expand into more ObamaCare markets and considering whether to stay in its existing markets. (AP)

Toddler is hospitalised with the ‘worst chickenpox ever seen’ after GP receptionist told his mother he didn’t need to see a doctor
Jasper Allen, 2, developed chickenpox after a bout of scarlet fever in July

The NIH would like to create human-animal chimera embryos
I’m generally not opposed to animal testing where it’s the only way to advance medical science which benefits humanity and is done in the most humane way possible, but even I find this creepy.

 

War & Terror

 

ISIS details “Why We Hate You” in new magazine
In the new edition of its full-color, glossy magazine, ISIS mocks those who claim Islam is a peaceful religion, and even wades into the controversy surrounding Donald Trump and the parents of a dead Muslim U.S. soldier.

Pipe bomb reportedly explodes on police SUV in Maryland, authorities investigating
Someone placed a pipe bomb on the hood of a police cruiser in a Thurmont neighborhood.

Nigeria’s Muslim Government Targeting Christians; A Pass to Boko Haram
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator, rather than concentrating his efforts on Boko Haram, has instead mounted a campaign of intimidation against his Christian opponents in the south of the country.

 

National

 

Michigan State students fight to keep women-only study lounge
The women’s lounge at Michigan State University has long been a special spot on campus, a place where female students say they could study and relax free of unwanted attention.

Baltimore police dues doubled to pay for legal defense of officers in Freddie Gray case, avert union insolvency
Footing the bill for the high-powered defense of six Baltimore police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray crippled the city’s police union financially, officials said, until members voted unanimously this year to nearly double their dues.

Minnesota students face mandatory sexual assault training
The law was approved by the Minnesota legislature last year.

Leaked Text Messages Between Baltimore Prosecutor’s Deputy and Investigator Add New Twist to Freddie Gray Case
Leaked text messages between one of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s deputies and the lead investigator in the Freddie Gray case are raising new concerns about whether politics played a role in the decision to charge six officers with his death.

NCAA suggests colleges should let men who identify as men use women’s locker rooms
“The modern-day Pharisees of sexual politics”

The Next Health Fad? Blood Transfusions from Young People
Piggybacking on contentious research, the startup Ambrosia is offering blood transfusions meant to rejuvenate people.

UNM researcher caught celebrating deliveries of aborted fetuses
Evidence collected by the state’s Attorney General suggests that the University of New Mexico may have illegally procured aborted body parts for research.

Court green-lights “anti-male bias” lawsuit against Columbia
A male student at Columbia University will be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit accusing the school of “anti-male” bias in its handling of a female student’s sexual assault accusations.

Supreme Court puts a hold on forcing schools to let transgender students use wrong bathroom
Mark your calendar: Today Stephen Breyer surprised everyone.

Wearing “Don’t Tread on Me” insignia could be punishable racial harassment
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, among its other functions, decides “hostile work environment” harassment claims brought against federal agencies. In doing so, it applies the same legal rules that courts apply to private employers, and that the EEOC follows in deciding whether to sue private employers. The EEOC has already ruled that coworkers’ wearing Confederate flag T-shirts can be punishable harassment (a decision that I think is incorrect); and, unsurprisingly, this is extending to other political speech as well. Here’s an excerpt from Shelton D. [pseudonym] v. Brennan, 2016 WL 3361228, decided by the EEOC two months ago.

University prez: free tuition at public colleges is not enough
A university president says that Hillary Clinton’s plan for tuition-free college at public universities could harm students at private schools unless government pays for them, as well.

In teaching sexual consent, group infuses humor with “rape bombs”
In this day and age, a softly murmured “stop” given by a female student and ignored by a male student as they get hot and heavy is often defined by Title IX campus administrators as sexual assault — regardless of whether everyone agrees that scenario constitutes rape.

STUDY: Young black men hired less when employers can’t ask about criminal history
“Ban the box” is a progressive policy idea that keeps employers from asking about applicants’ criminal histories until later in the application process, so that ex-cons aren’t immediately excluded from interviews.

Feminist scholar’s research finds that “yes means yes” sex policies don’t work in practice
New York, California, Connecticut and Illinois all expect college students to get the “affirmative consent” of their partners before having sex. Otherwise, it’s sexual assault under state law.

“Bias Incident Team”: Students’ Three Blind Mice Halloween Costume “Makes Fun of a Disability”
A University “Bias Incident Team” took a carving knife to three students’ “three blind mice” Halloween costumes last fall, saying the costumes mocked the disabled.

Alumni cancel donations over social justice warrior protests
The social justice warriors making noise on campus are also making an impact on alumni. The NY Times reports some older, successful alumni are pulling back on donations because they are so turned off with what they see happening on their former campuses

Mysterious Purple Sea Orb Stymies Scientists
“Have a look at that dark purple blob on the left, there.”

Diversity dean gets a little too excited about diversity
The Dean of Diversity Affairs at Concordia University ignited an uproar recently when she sent out a letter inviting “students of color” to attend a special meeting prior to freshman orientation.

“Intersectional” atheism campus speaker threatens to sue after sexual harassment claims
“Believe the accuser” is what dumb feminists say

University of Idaho students can now earn academic credit playing Pokemon Go
It was only a matter of time. A class to be offered this fall at the University of Idaho will let students play Pokemon Go for academic credit.

Black Lives Matter expresses solidarity with slave traders
I wrote here about the scores of demands made by a multitude of organizations associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. The demands combined the cant of the old “Black Power” movement and worldwide “liberationist” ideology with that of Bernie Sanders. It confirmed that Black Lives Matter isn’t about reforming the police in order to reduce shootings by cops, but rather about transforming America across-the-board in the interests of Black-centric socialism.

NFL Star Ben Watson: Planned Parenthood Was Created to “Exterminate Blacks” and “It’s Working”
Christian NFL player Ben Watson does not hesitate to call out Planned Parenthood’s targeting of minority women and their babies for abortions.

Alabama regulators want personal info on beer purchasers
Proposed regulation seeks to ensure compliance with direct beer sales law.

New Bill Will Make Drinking Coffee While Driving a Criminal Act
Drinking coffee while driving could land you in hot water if a new piece of legislation passes.

 

Economy & Taxes

 

Report: Hillary Clinton would hike taxes by $1.3 trillion
Hillary Clinton comes up $2.2 trillion short in paying for her policy agenda, despite hiking taxes by $1.3 trillion, according to a new analysis of the Democratic nominee’s campaign platform.

 

International

 

Leading Danish politician calls for ban on Muslim asylum seekers
Danish People’s Party deputy leader has said a ban should be implemented for up to six years, sparking outrage across the political spectrum. Denmark has already introduced laws believed to constrain immigrant rights.

Official figures reveal UK billed MORE than £350m each week by EU
NEW figures have revealed that Vote Leave under-estimated the amount of money demanded by the EU from the UK each week by £26 million.

Venezuela Reaches the En of the Road to Serfdom
Nicolás Maduro’s workers’ paradise is literally enslaving its citizens.

Theresa May SLAPS DOWN Nicola Sturgeon: WE are in charge of Brexit, NOT you
SCOTTISH First Minister Nicola Sturgeon WON’T be able to discuss her own Brexit deal with the EU, the Foreign Office have confirmed.

Liberal hypocrisy: “It’s wrong to have gender separate washrooms for Canadians – but it’s ok to have gender apartheid swimming pools” for Muslims?
On my latest show, Faith Goldy and I talk about how creeping sharia in Canada — the left’s insistence on accommodating Islam — is revealing liberals’ own hypocrisy regarding their own pet issues like equality, secularism and “diversity.”

North Korean propaganda project backfires badly
A filmmaker hired by North Korea to show the glories of life in a worker’s paradise instead produces a film on the harsh coaching and staging of every scene by government officials.

Games begin in full, with US teen on target for 1st gold
The Olympics began in full with the first gold medal going to an American teenager by the fearsome name of Thrasher. And there was fear and plenty of rough riding on a punishing cycling course that showed the beauty and blight of the host city.

How President Erdogan hopes to erase Ataturk’s Turkey
“One day my mortal body will turn to dust, but the Turkish Republic will stand forever,” said Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern nation. As such he is rewarded a special place in Turkish history as the ‘father of the Turks’. Indeed this is what Ataturk, the surname he was given by the people, means. And it’s impossible to be in Turkey without seeing his image wherever you go. His face adorns the currency, both paper and coinage, it’s engraved on plaques, printed on flags, statues celebrating the man are too numerous to count, there is even a shop in Istanbul which has one item on its inventory, gold laminated Ataturk masks. The man is an icon to Turks. He is Turkey and Turkey is him. But for how much longer?

Senate recount needed in Tasmania
In the final count, the Greens finished ahead of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation by the slimmest of margins. A recount is needed and I certainly hope that Pauline Hanson will request one.

Election reflections
Nearly one month after the election, some things are clear.

 

Opinion

 

Why “white trash” Americans are flocking to Donald Trump
When J.D. Vance was a boy, his beloved grandmother “Mamaw” told her boozer husband that if he ever came home drunk again, she’d kill him. When he did, and passed out on the couch, she got a gasoline can, poured fuel all over him and dropped a lit match on his chest. He survived with mild burns, and later quit drinking.

“Bojack Horseman” Shows Why Art About Abortion Is Failing
Three reasons why the abortion episode failed, and why that should encourage pro-lifers.

“Sexual advance directives’”
An interesting new article by Prof. Alexander Boni-Saenz (Chicago-Kent)

I Learned More at McDonald’s Than at College
Oddly enough, customers were rarely interested in my feelings.

The Trans Cult and Gender Hypochondria
Question: Are young people being psychologically damaged by exposure to a cacophony of information about “gender” and sexuality?

Anti-Israel SJW @bendykoval Calls Beauty Pageant “White Supremacy”
Bethany Koval (@bendykoval on Twitter) is an “anti-Zionist Jew from New Jersey fighting for radical change,” according to her profile at the anti-Israel web site New Jewish Resistance. Earlier this year, Koval was accused of bullying a fellow high-school student who disagreed with her. Koval’s reaction to the Miss Teen USA pageant last week shows that hating Israel is certainly not her only fringe view.

Conservatism Is Dead; Long Live Conservatism
There is no conservative movement. The “Reagan coalition” stopped existing as an operational political force some time ago.

Leftist friend handily demonstrates the difference between “fairness” and “justice”
On my real-me Facebook page, I posted a story about another miscarriage of justice against a male university student, this time at USC. My comment was that those of my friends who have sons who are or will be attending university will want to be aware of what’s going on so that they can address it with their sons.

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