News of the Week (August 3rd, 2013)

Posted on August 3, 2014 by The Political Hat

 

News of the Week for August 3rd, 2014


 

Election 2014

 

Why Jack Kingston Lost: GOTV Efforts With His Base
Don’t forget your base. It’s an important lesson and one Republicans keep failing to learn. Candidates must keep their supporters engaged whether through issues or motivation.

The July Forecast For November’s U.S. Senate Elections
Mixed news with this edition, as Republicans have weakened in North Carolina, strengthened in Iowa’s open seat, and we introduce a new graphic.

The Endangered Governors List: Republican Edition
One Republican governor won big in 2010 while two others snuck by. Four years later, their fates couldn’t be more different.

U.S. Attorney Warns Cuomo on Moreland Commission Case
In an escalation of the confrontation between the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over the governor’s cancellation of his own anticorruption commission, Mr. Bharara has threatened to investigate the Cuomo administration for possible obstruction of justice or witness tampering.

Cantor to resign from Congress
Now-former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) will resign from Congress on Aug. 18, nearly two months after his surprise GOP primary defeat.

Cook Political Report House race update: 17 races +GOP, 4 +Dem.
Cook’s main ratings now show that there are five Republican seats that are seriously at risk of flipping, as opposed to fifteen Democratic ones.
Looking at the race changes themselves: Cook took 6 Republicans and one Democrat effectively off of the board completely by rating their races as Solid. Cook also put one race (IA-02) into play by upgrading it from Solid Democratic to Likely Democratic.

McConnell, Grimes Trade Barbs at Kentucky Picnic
The 134th annual Fancy Farm Picnic was held in Kentucky yesterday, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes squared off to deliver insults and one liners to a lively crowd of partisans.

 

Obama Scandals

 

House approves lawsuit against Obama over alleged abuse of executive power
The House on Wednesday approved a highly contentious lawsuit against President Obama over his alleged abuse of executive power, teeing up an election-year legal battle sure to spill onto the midterm campaign trail.

Gun Rights

 

Police Chief Recognizes Carry Reciprocity in D.C.
Many have said that the D.C. political establishment will ignore the judges order. This shows that Police Chief Lanier is, at minimum, unwilling to be found in contempt. Notice the broad extent of the order: no arrests for a person who can legally carry a gun in D.C. or any State.

Judge Stays D.C. Handgun Ruling for 90 Days
A federal judge on Tuesday put a hold on the ruling that overturned the District’s ban on carrying handguns in public, effectively giving D.C. police and law enforcement some space to figure out how to respond.

Hide the Decline

Environment &
“Green Energy”

 

Burn the Witch! Roger Pielke Jr. Out at FiveThirtyEight
In an interview with Discover Magazine, published yesterday, Pielke was resolute, suggesting that Nate Silver should have shown more “editorial backbone” and explaining that he could not fulfill his role if was expected to self-censor. “Seeing a campaign organized to have me fired from 538 also taught me a lesson about the importance of academic tenure,” he told Keith Kloor.

The ‘Billionaire’s Club’ Behind the Green Movement
Report: Groups involved in backing green candidates and legislation may have violated tax laws, Senate Republicans claim

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

5 More Typos We Found In Major Pieces Of Legislation
Much has been said, most all of it idiotic, about how a typo/drafting error was responsible for the recent federal court decision that forbids Obamacare subsidies from being used to offset the cost of federal health exchange plans. Seriously. A lot of people who are not particularly bright have actually claimed the whole brouhaha is due to a silly little typo.

The Agony of Jonathan Gruber: Michael F. Cannon’s Revenge
The Obamacare architect just got pwned by his past self.

Halbig Shows How We Legislate Now
Do we pass laws any more? I ask because of the reaction to the federal appeals court decision in Halbig v. Burwell, in which the court enforced what the Affordable Care Act actually says—namely, that federal subsidies for health insurance are available only through state-run exchanges and not through exchanges set up by the federal government.

Halbig and Hammurabi
Disdain for the letter of the law is complexly intertwined with the progressive imagination.

Case Against The D.C. Court’s Halbig Ruling Crumbles
Consequences: The more ObamaCare backers try to attack the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision that limits subsidies to state-run exchanges, the more it looks like the two judges on that panel got it right.

 

War & Terror

 

Lunch and War, a Century Ago
As Americans sat down to their noon repast on Tuesday, July 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, exactly one month after Serbian-trained radical students assassinated Austrian heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand during a brief visit to Sarajevo

100 years ago today Austria declared war on Serbia, the first declaration of World War 1
The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.
~Sir Edward Grey (remark, 3 August 1914, on the eve of Britain’s declaration of war)

Why China’s PLA is a weak but dangerous army
CHINA’s military capability and intentions are causing significant concern among its regional neighbours and the United States, writes guest expert Rogier Creemers.

U.S. Personnel Evacuate Libya — Again
Anti-government militias have damaged Tripoli Airport — which is close to the United States Embassy compound

Ukraine digging 400 kilometer, anti-tank ditch on border with Moldova’s Transdniestria
Ukrainian border guards are digging a 400-kilometer anti-tank ditch on Ukraine’s border with Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region.

Obama reportedly told Netanyahu to halt fire unilaterally in phone call
Israel’s Channel 1 publishes a Hebrew transcript of a portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama’s telephone conversation Sunday, in which Obama is insistent that Israel unilaterally halt all military activities in the Gaza Strip.

US says Russia violated 1987 nuclear missile treaty, calls breach ‘a very serious matter’
In an escalation of tensions, the Obama administration accused Russia on Monday of conducting tests in violation of a 1987 nuclear missile treaty, calling the breach “a very serious matter” and going public with allegations that have simmered for some time.

Seriously, What Is John Kerry Doing?
Let’s concede for a moment that most of us do not want the United States refereeing conflicts between nations or warring factions abroad. Even so, most Americans would probably agree that at a minimum our diplomatic efforts should not cause unnecessary harm. Which brings me to John Kerry’s recent misadventure in the Middle East.

You Want MORE Proof of Hamas Using Civilians As Human Shields? Here are Ten More..
A few days ago we published ten examples of Hamas using civilians as human shields. Some of you said it was not enough. So here are ten more examples/reports (Plus two bonus) proving that Hamas is using its civilians as human shields

CIA Spied on Senate, Internal Review Finds
The CIA’s insistence that it did not spy on its Senate overseers collapsed Thursday with the release of a stark report by the agency’s internal watchdog documenting improper computer surveillance and obstructionist behavior by CIA officers.

A tale of two hospitals: One in Israel, one in Gaza
Israel saves its enemies; Hamas endangers its friends

Netanyahu to US: Don’t second guess me on Hamas
Following the quick collapse of the cease-fire in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the White House not to force a truce with Palestinian militants on Israel.

U.S. official: Spy plane flees Russian jet, radar; ends up over Sweden
The Cold War aerial games of chicken portrayed in the movie “Top Gun” are happening in real life again nearly 30 years later.

US spy plane evades Russians, enters Swedish airspace
This story apparently took place last month, right after Malaysia flight 17 was shot down over the Russia – Ukraine border area, but we’re only hearing about it now. A United States aircraft – a Boeing RC-135 – was performing reconnaissance of Russian forces when the Russians noticed, began tracking the craft using ground radar and dispatched a fighter jet to intercept it. Complicating the issue is the fact that the US plane took evasive action which included flying into Swedish airspace without getting permission to do so.

National

 

Murder verdict tossed because his mom couldn’t find a seat
Meet Daniel Floyd — the luckiest “killer” in New York.

OKCupid experiments with ‘bad’ dating matches
Dating website OKCupid has revealed that it experimented on its users, including putting the “wrong” people together to see if they would connect.

California State Employers Can No Longer Ask for Criminal History on Job Applications
A new California law, in effect as of July 1, mandates that state and local agencies are no longer allowed to ask for job seekers’ criminal histories on their initial job applications.

Secretive Leftwing Network Discovered through WI Records Law
A low-profile Google Group used by over 1,000 state and national leftwing leaders and activists has been discovered thanks to Wisconsin’s open records law. A Media Trackers inquiry into the actions of a University of Wisconsin professor turned up records and communications from “Gamechanger Salon,” an online community that provides a forum for leftwing activists and leaders to share tactics, strategies and opinions.

Guess How Many Times Chris Cuomo and CNN Have Mentioned His Brother’s Ethics Scandal
As corruption allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) have heated up over the past week, CNN is conspicuously quiet on the matter. Of course, CNN also employs the governor’s brother, Chris Cuomo, as host of its morning show New Day.

Poll: Harry Reid trails Gov. Sandoval in hypothetical senate race
I doubt that Harry Reid is doing this year’s Democratic Senatorial candidates any favors with his deranged attacks on the Koch Brothers, his changes to longstanding filibuster moves as a means of confirming left-wing judicial nominees, and his over-the-top partisan bluster. A new poll suggests that he isn’t doing himself any favors either.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s Staff Threatens Taxpayer For Asking About Her Impeachment Claims
Congressional approval ratings are at a historic low, and after what has happened over the course of the last twenty four hours – I can see why. On the House floor Wednesday, longtime Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee made the startling claim that “We did not seek an impeachment of President Bush, because as an executive, he had the authority.”

NFL Outlines ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy for On-Field Homophobic and Racial Slurs
The NFL is outlining a new “zero tolerance” policy for badmouthing, verbal abuse, and racial and homophobic slurs from players and coaches on the field, in the locker room, and in other NFL facilities.

Where cats are more popular than dogs in the U.S.—and all over the world
We all know there are only two types of people in the world: cat people and dog people. But data from market research firm Euromonitor suggest that these differences extend beyond individual preferences and to the realm of geopolitics: it turns out there are cat countries and dog countries, too.

Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds collective bargaining reform law “in its entirety”
Huge victory for Scott Walker, and defeat for public sector unions.

Man Admitted Putting Needles In Store Meat ‘Just For The Hell Of It’
A 68-year-old Illinois man was jailed without bond Thursday after being accused by federal prosecutors of inserting sewing needles into a packaged meat “just for the hell of it” at a grocery store in his hometown for more than a year.

Blogger: Utah School Fired Me for Writing About ‘Homophones’ Because the Word Sounds Like ‘Homosexual’
A blogger employed by a Utah school says he was fired for writing about “homophones” because his boss thought it would associate the school with homosexuality.

Even Massachusetts Rejects Racial Preferences
This story in the Boston Globe today discusses a recent survey that resoundingly confirms the conventional wisdom of Massachusetts as a very liberal state – with one notable exception. “Amid those liberal tendencies, though, was an outlier: a stark opposition to affirmative action. Just 24 percent agreed that qualified minorities should receive special preference in hiring and education, while 69 percent disagreed.” This is no surprise, really: Poll after poll shows that Americans just don’t like policies that discriminate on the basis of race. Go figure.

Black Leaders in Fresno Say a White Man Can’t Teach Cultural Studies
Saying that someone can’t teach a particular subject because of their skin color is kind of racist, isn’t it?

The Immigration Speech That Angered Nancy Pelosi so Much She Angrily Chased Around the Speaker
In a raucous moment during the last session of the House of Representatives Friday evening, Republican Tom Marino reminded the Democrats that they had years to solve the immigration problem when they were in power and they didn’t have the courage to do so. This got Nancy Pelosi so angry she jumped up on her chupacabra hooves and ran after the congressman, berating him and pointing her skeletal finger at him.

Black Caucus Wants Diversity Boilerplate in FCC-Vetted Mergers
Members tell Wheeler that deals are an opportunity to advance that goal

Economy & Taxes

 

NLRB goes after McDonald’s and franchise systems everywhere
National Labor Relations Board disregards contract law in seeking to hold McDonald’s liable for individual franchisee employment conduct.

Former Employees Allege Widespread Illegality at Taxpayer-Backed Solar Company
Spanish firm under federal investigation routinely violated U.S. immigration, workplace safety laws, former employees claim

Many Parents Have to Pay Off Dead Kids’ Student Loans
Families often have little legal recourse in these cases

 

International

 

Haryana polls: Rebel factor gives Cong the jitters
Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, the rebel factor is worrying the Congress, which is desperately looking for a comeback after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls.

Declaring Israel a ‘terrorist state,’ Bolivia’s president ends free entry for Israeli visitors
Bolivia’s leftist president has declared Israel a “terrorist state” because of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, and his government will now require Israeli citizens to obtain a visa to visit the Andean nation.

Liberia shuts schools as Ebola spreads, Peace Corps leaves 3 countries
Liberia will close schools and consider quarantining some communities, it said on Wednesday, rolling out the toughest measures yet imposed by a West African government to halt the worst outbreak on record of the deadly Ebola virus.

Belgian doctor refuses treatment to Jewish patient
Patient suffering from a fractured rib told to get treated in Gaza; incident among string of anti-Semitic incidents in Belgium.

UK Diversity: Friends are turned away by security guard at cinema because they were not Muslim
A sales consultant was allegedly turned away from a busy cinema yesterday because he was not a Muslim celebrating Eid.

Muslim Mob Protests Blasphemy and Kills Seven-Year-Old Girl and Her Baby Sister in Retaliation
In Pakistan, a Muslim mob has killed a seven-year-old girl and her baby sister (as well as their grandmother) in the latest carnage to defend the faith from blasphemy. The cause of the outrage was a simple picture posted on Facebook that was deemed offensive to Islam. The mob accused members of the Ahmadi sect, who live under continual discrimination by the Pakistani government and the threat of death from Muslims over their faith.

Gas blast in Taiwan kills 25, injures 267, topples buildings
A series of explosions caused by a gas leak killed 25 people and injured 267 in Taiwan’s second city on Friday, sending flames shooting 15 storeys into the air, setting ablaze entire blocks and reducing small shops to rubble.

Controversial Mayor Of Tower Hamlets Flies Palestinian Flag Over Town Hall
The Mayor of the east London borough of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, has flown the Palestinian flag over his town hall in an act of solidarity with Gaza. Rahman proudly posted a photo of the flag on his twitter account along with the message “Palestinian flag flying at Town Hall in solidarity with #Gaza and in support of a #ceasefire & peace.”

China on watch as India seeks Great Power status
IT HAS been a memorable year for India, for its place in the international community and those who seek to understand one of the planet’s largest and most vibrant civil societies.

Gaza ethnic cleansing of Christians
The story about Hamas and other Islamists the Western media is not telling.

Assyrian Christians protest in Sydney city against ‘silent genocide’ taking place in Iraq and Syria
MORE than 6000 Assyrians marched through the city today in protest against the treament of fellow Christians in Iraq and Syria.

Swedish police can’t protect convert, has to go into hiding, change identity
Mona WalterSharia is already rampant in Sweden and the rest of Western Europe, and the police have to work ever harder to protect in particular women, non-Muslims, and converts against it.

Is Russia about to invade Ukraine?
Given the pattern of the cable news cycle, you might think that events in Ukraine had pretty much ceased to be of interest were it not for the downed airliner. To be fair, Israel is the hot news of the moment and, aside from the plane investigation, there haven’t been that many huge developments on the Russian border. But that would clearly change if the Russians launched a serious military invasion over the border.

 

Opinion

 

If You Don’t Fight For The Past, Forget About Winning The Future
Why Conservatives Can’t Keep Surrendering The Popular Culture’s View Of The Past To Progressives In Hollywood & The Media

Feminists Against ‘The Unnatural, Yet Universal Roles Patriarchy Has Assigned’
There is a lot of confusion about what “feminism” means. Many people seem to think that a vague commitment to slogans — “choice,” “equality,” “progress,” etc. — is sufficient to qualify them as feminists.

THE NARRATIVE AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
“Threats to freedom of speech, writing and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen.” -George Orwell

50 Shades of Derp – Voxsplaining* Sure Beats Having To Think
Even Mike Dukakis Can Sometimes Have A Point

Michelle Nunn: A Consultant’s Golem Coming for the Jews
A golem is a being of inanimate material magically given anthropomorphic abilities. Back when I was a political consultant I would tell candidates that they were lumps of clay to be molded. In a memo discovered by National Review, Michelle Nunn has all the makings of not being her own woman, but rather being a consultant’s golem.

QUIZ: Parody Or Actual Salon.com Article?
Site parodies are completely en vogue these days, especially those of the struggling liberal webzine Salon.com. J. Arthur Bloom and Rob Mariani, the brains behind the brilliant @salondotcom parody Twitter account, so mastered the craft of parodying Salon that Twitter even banned their parody account for a time

Big Government Is The Borg, And Resistance Isn’t Futile
The primary reason to fight against big government is that its final destination is death. As in, murder. At some point, someone’s got to say it.

Let Me Google ‘England’ For You, Matt Yglesias
Matt Yglesias is the executive editor of Vox, known around the world for having the “smartest thinkers” asking the “toughest questions.”

Smarter than Thou
Neil deGrasse Tyson and America’s nerd problem

Responding to Obama’s immigration edicts
Ubiquitous media reports indicate the president is preparing to declare he in essence will not faithfully executive certain immigration laws for certain groups of people — millions in total, perhaps — because Congress won’t do what he wants. This from a former constitutional law instructor. One would hope that elected officials of both parties and public figure and media of all political stripes would denounce the notion that congressional intransigence permits executive imperialism.

Please shut up and stop telling rape victims what kind of rape is the worst
“Dawkins is right. He just is. Getting raped in an alleyway while having a knife held to your throat is worse than being taken advantage of while inebriated at the end of a date.” So says my colleague Brendan O’Neill, in response to Richard Dawkins’s characteristically unhelpful comments about rape.

The Same-Sex Marriage Trap
Progressives are language manipulation masters. Their arguments for or against an issue are designed to corner you with words created to make the ill-prepared and/or the simple-minded retreat from the argument. And they love to play victim and scream about their rights being violated if you do not cave into their demands. Such is the case with those whose mission is to redefine marriage.

Rubio’s Utilitarian Case for Traditional Marriage Dodges More Powerful, Controversial Approach
How many more social conservatives must we endure as they make the utilitarian case for traditional marriage, dodging the more frank, powerful and controversial biblical case, summarized thus: “God says.”?

Growing ‘Women Against Feminism’ movement draws fury
The Tumblr site Women Against Feminism has started a social networking trend in which thousands of young women photograph themselves holding signs bluntly denouncing feminism, giving a sharp indication that the feminist brand has become poison to young, hip, and internet-savvy women.

Evan Sayet: How Liberals Reach the Tops of Their Professions
If the Modern Liberal is in fact as stupid as I believe him to be, then how is one to explain the fact that so many Liberals rise to the very pinnacle of their professions? If Nancy Pelosi is stupid, how did she become the Speaker of the House of Representatives? If Katie Couric is stupid, how did she become the most recent recipient of the Walter Cronkite award for “excellence” in television journalism. If Henry Gates and Ward Churchill are stupid, how did they become tenured professors? In this short video, I explain the otherwise inexplicable.

Now that Richard Dawkins is attacking Muslims and feminists, the atheist Left suddenly discover he’s a bigot
‘Richard Dawkins, what on earth happened to you?’ asks Eleanor Robertson in the Guardian today. Ms Robertson is a ‘feminist and writer living in Sydney’. She follows to the letter the Guardian’s revised style guide for writing about Prof Dawkins: wring your hands until your fingers are raw, while muttering ‘Oh, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown’.

Andrew Klavan: Thanks, Christian White Men!
In which our host offers a rare display of gratitude to the one group of people no one ever says thank you to: Christian White Men!

Schools for Scandal
The astounding waste, corruption, and self-dealing of university student governments

Criminal States
In Illinois and New York, the crime-fighters are criminals.

Tampering Tinkerers of Capitol Hill
The Democrats’ proposed constitutional amendments reek of hypocrisy.

Freshman Year of College to Become Grade 12.5?
English professor Rick Diguette offers a critique of Common Core from the perspective of a college professor who has been more than underwhelmed by his recent students’ mediocre writing skills.

FDA’s Artificial Trans Fat “Ban”: A Dangerous Step to Control Personal Dietary Choices
In November 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its tentative determination to revoke the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), which are the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat. As explained in a recent FDA update, “If FDA determines that PHOs are not GRAS, it could, in effect, mean the end of artificial, industrially-produced trans fat in foods.”

Thought experiment: Let’s reverse the sexes in this story about drunk shaming
There’s apparently a new craze sweeping college campuses (which probably means just a few) — men are “photoshaming” women who pass out before them.

A lesson from Down Under
I write from an idyllic spot on the Great Ocean Road, a couple hours outside Melbourne on the way to Adelaide. A vast expanse of spotless ocean opens out below me, and there’s nary a ship or illegal-immigrant-bearing boat in sight. That’s been happening mostly up by Christmas Island, an Australia territory in the Indian Ocean. Hordes of indigents from Sri Lanka, India, and elsewhere had been crowding on to something that floats and making their way to Christmas Island, if not the Australian mainland itself, and, once ashore, seeking out the nearest welfare agency for their first check. It was not dissimilar to what’s been happening on the Southern border of the United States, except, alas, there is no great body of water to impede those eager welfare seekers slipping into the U.S.

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