Morning Briefing
For June 27, 2014
Abuses Too Far
Yesterday, Barack Obama lost his twelfth unanimous decision before the United States Supreme Court. His own Justices on the Court ruled against him. What is most striking is that Barack Obama is a former law professor. What is more striking is that his Attorney General, who is more invested in protecting the precious than upholding the law, did not try to protect his precious from these new precedents. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Noel Canning Decision Exposes President Obama's Insane Belief in his Own Primacy
Without getting into the weeds of the Supreme Court's unanimous opinion striking down President Obama's "recess" appointments to the NLRB, I think it important to point out exactly what it is Obama's reckless actions have wrought, and what they expose about his own opinions of himself.
No reasonable person could have thought that Obama's interpretation of the Recess Appointments Clause was correct. I, along with virtually every other sane legal commentator, predicted at the time that Obama's reckless and blatant usurpation of power would be unanimously overturned by the Supreme Court. Certainly, the Recess Appointments Clause contains some levels of ambiguity, but when deciding whether the Senate is in recess, as between the President and the Senate, only a narcissist drunk with power (the sort of person who would, say, name his dog after himself) would assert that the President has the right to make that call. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Unanimous Supreme Court Strikes Down "Extreme" Law Aimed at Silencing Pro-Life Speech
Yesterday, a unanimous Supreme Court struck down a pro-abortion Massachusetts law which made it illegal for anyone to speak on the public sidewalks - otherwise known as exercising the First Amendment - within 35 feet of abortion clinics, calling the measure an "extreme step" in silencing free speech. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
8 Headlines That Lie About Gov. Scott Walker and Secret Probe
Late Thursday morning, an attorney for special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, who is leading a once-secret probe into conservative groups in Wisconsin, released a bombshell statement on behalf of his boss. When documents related to the probe became public last week, state and national media outlets tripped over themselves to explain how they implicated Gov. Scott Walker and showed him to be at the center of an alleged criminal scheme. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Export Import Bank stumbles toward a final exit
Yesterday the Export Import Bank had a bad day at the hearing chaired by Congressman Jeb Hensarling . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
The Uncivil Servants of The EPA
The USEPA has become a challenging place to sniff around for the truth. It appears they've steadily declined in both conduct and decorum over the last decade or so of being an inbred and completely unrestrained arrogant bureaucracy. Agency professional conduct was deemed contumacious back in 2003. It then degenerated to being pornographic. We now can conclude that it has become positively emunctory in nature. An agency that can fine and jail people for pollution has employees that literally poop where they work instead of in the toilet. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Congressional leaders: Comprehensive immigration reform is dead
If true, it is certainly good news. Congressional leaders of both parties are telling the Washington Post that comprehensive immigration reform is dead for the foreseeable future:
The two-year attempt to push immigration reform through Congress is effectively dead and unlikely to be revived until after President Obama leaves office, numerous lawmakers and advocates on both sides of the issue said this week. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Waiting For The Wave: The 2014 Senate Map
The polling tells us that the bulk of 2014's contested Senate races are basically dogfights. So why are so many Republicans optimistic? Because it's still June, and some of the elements of the dynamics of 2014 may not be fully baked into the polling yet. How good a year this is for the GOP will depend on those factors.
If you look at the chart at the top of this post, what you pretty clearly can see from the data is that the Senate races right now seem to be sorted into three general groups (although in each group I'm including one race that is less favorable for the GOP than the rest). . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For June 26, 2014
Will There Be a Consequence?
It was the Republicans in Washington and their allies in Mississippi who distributed fliers to Democrats in Mississippi calling conservatives racists, klansmen, Nazis, etc. It was a concerted effort by the GOP to beat their own base at any cost.
And here's the kicker - there will be no consequence if they have their way. That begs the question of whether there should be. Should the Republican establishment in Washington get away with tarring its own voters as racists? Should the Republican establishment in Washington get away with comparing its own base to Klansmen?
If there is no penalty for doing so, they will keep doing it. If there is no consequence, they will attack their own base to preserve their power. They will learn no lesson. In fact, some of you may want to donate to Travis Childers, Thad Cochran's Democrat opponent. I cannot say that I blame you. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Lois Lerner looked to target sitting Senator for IRS investigation
Basically, what happened here was that Lerner got sent an invite meant for Sen. Grassley by mistake. So she immediately started sniffing around for a way to make a federal case out of it, and got gently smacked down by a colleague more aware of the pesky reality that you actually have to wait for somebody to break the rules before you can investigate them for it. Your tax dollars at work, folks: the IRS may not be able to follow the same document storage rules that they'll enforce on the rest of us, but they're absolutely proactive when it comes to trolling through your mail for a preemptive strike. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
IRS Commissioner Koskinen - The Obama Administration's Chicago Politics Consigliere
Congressman Paul Ryan spoke for most of America when he pointblank told IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, "I don't believe you."
Commissioner Koskinen has been defensive, defiant, dismissive, and what even Democrats are calling "arrogant" in his blind defense of the IRS targeting of conservative Americans. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
8 Ways the New York Times Misled You about Gov. Scott Walker
Last week, the New York Times published both an editorial board piece and a news report detailing allegations that Gov. Scott Walker and his allies violated campaign finance laws during the Wisconsin recall elections. While the paper prides itself on its national audience and standing as a newspaper of record, it miserably failed to present the facts in a clear, lucid fashion.
By burying key information, and paying extraordinary and unqualified attention to previously discredited theories, the Times sought, intentionally or not, to convict Gov. Walker in a makeshift court of public opinion. Here is why the Times is wrong, and why its story and editorial piece reveal a deep bias against a Republican governor. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Abolish the IRS
The IRS has lost the trust of the American people. Targeting conservative groups was unacceptable. Pleading the fifth, misleading lawmakers, covering up wrongdoing, throwing away hard drives, and "losing" sensitive emails is even more egregious. Not only did the IRS abuse their power; they spent years lying about it.
So Congress has been forced to investigate, and they could have gotten answers for the American people from one important source: Lois Lerner's old emails. But now the IRS claims those emails were lost when Lois Lerner's computer crashed in 2011-something they neglected to mention until two weeks ago. Oh, and that crashed hard drive has been "recycled." It's also reported that the IRS ended their contract with the service that backed up their emails. How convenient. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Employees Behind Failed Cover Oregon Website Getting Nice Bonuses
Here's one more story for the long list of problems: in yet another case of "so tone deaf it has to involve government", the employees responsible for the Cover Oregon website, unarguably the worst among all state exchanges and so bad that the state has given up on fixing it, are receiving bonuses for their hard work. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
John Kerry ignored by everyone as Iraq dissolves
Three things have happened in the past weeks that are making it obvious that the nation that has been Iraq since 1919 will soon cease to exist. First, the Turks have spoken in an approving way of the idea of an independent Kurdistan inside of what is now Iraq and has moved to address the issues that have fueled a long running Kurdish insurgency in Turkey. Second, Iraqi Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki has cast his lot firmly and unambiguously with Iran. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
An Almost High School Dropout
As a parent, when I think of school choice, I naturally think of how it applies to my children. Recently, however, I came across the news that the South Carolina Senate Education Committee passed a bill allowing students to attend public school in another district if they desire. Immediately I was taken back to my own public school experience and the fact that having a choice kept me from dropping out of high school. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For June 25, 2014
The Marionettes Remain Uncut
Having been an elected Republican and someone who routinely takes the position of supporting conservatives in primaries and Republicans in general elections, the Mississippi race does crystalize for me the desires of many to start a third party. In essence, tea party activists are the RINOs. A Republican Party campaigning on making the Senate "conservative," used liberal Democrats to preserve an incumbent Republican and defeat a conservative. The actual conservatives are the outsiders with the GOP establishment doing all it could to preserve its power at the expense of its principles.
The problem for those who call themselves Republicans is that it is harder and harder to say exactly what a Republican is these days. The great lesson from Mississippi is that Republican means, more or less, that if elected the party will reward its major donors, who are just different than the Democrats' major donors. Policy differences are about different donors, not an actual agenda to shift the country in a different direction.
The Republicans have become the party of lobbyists, most of whom were on twitter celebrating their purchase. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
An Intellectually Honest Media Would Ask This Question
Ignore, for a minute, the IRS targeting of conservative groups and the erasure of seven hard drives at the IRS. Yes, ignore all that for a moment.
While the media is doing its best to avoid that subject, with difficulty, it is absolutely and willfully ignoring another IRS scandal that, had it happened in the Bush Administration, would be the lead story of every nightly newscast and above the fold on the front page of every newspaper in America.
We now know that some person or persons at the IRS intentionally and maliciously leaked confidential tax records of a non-profit organization so that gay rights activists could target the donors of the organization for harassment. We know this from the emails of the gay rights activist who obtained the records through, what he described, as "a conduit" from the IRS. He then sent the data to the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, which then put the records online. The records contained the names and addresses of donors to the National Organization for Marriage. The IRS is not only seemingly targeting conservative groups, but is now admitting to leaking information about a conservative group so others can target their donors.
Yes, the IRS is admitting someone at the IRS did this and is paying the legal fees of the National Organization for Marriage as a result. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Reporters Show Egregious Bias in Scott Walker Coverage
Media Bias was on full display last week in reaction to news coming out of Wisconsin. Reporters' assumptions that conservative politicians are cheating the system led them to report significant factual errors regarding Gov. Scott Walker and a "criminal scheme." In reality, failed legal arguments were being publicly exposed for the first time as a federal judge forced prosecutors to attempt to damage Walker in the public eye when they could not in court in this once secret conservative witch hunt. The media's coverage of Scott Walker reveals egregious bias and their blatant disregard for the facts. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Elijah Cummings (D-MD) Rooted for the Tanks in Tiananmen Square
Getting audited by the IRS is, to put it bluntly, a life-ruining experience. More to the point, there is virtually no such thing as a pleasant interaction with the IRS under any circumstance. Everyone hates the surly workers, the unpleasant attitudes, the inherent suspicion towards everything you have ever done or said. What sort of person would take the side of the giant, tax collecting, life ruining behemoth? Via Twitchy comes this insane video of Democrat Elijah Cummings on the verge of tears at the shameful, shameful treatment being given the IRS commissioner at Congressional hearings . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Looking in Depth at the Kaiser Obamacare Poll
For those of you not aware, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a poll recently on how people who bought insurance under Obamacare are faring. Unsurprisingly, much of the media has portrayed it as showing a generally positive response to the healthcare law. In particular, they emphasized that about 6 in 10 of the enrollees were previously uninsured. This is all, per the poll, true, but these write-ups did not look at the questions of the poll, which reveal a much more negative picture for the ACA. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Obamacare Causes 2,130 More Insurance Cancellations in Colorado
Today's bad news for Obamacare comes from Colorado. Thanks to the state GOP's Tumblr (yes that platform has a real use), we now know that the ACA has caused the cancellation of 2,130 more insurance policies in the state. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Racism for Fun (and Profit!)
Liberals and thoughtless conservatives often miss this critical point when discussing matters of public policy. Sometimes - often - the process is more important than the outcome in these fights. Invariably, when purely political decisions are made by policymakers who are sufficiently isolated from the democratic process (most especially the courts), nightmares will inevitably follow. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For June 24, 2014
Why Runoffs Tend to be Nasty, Messy Affairs
Today is runoff day in Mississippi. We should not underestimate the ability of Haley Barbour to turn out voters for Thad Cochran. It will be a case of motivation of the voters. And that is exactly why runoffs tend to be nasty, horrible affairs. Runoffs are not about voter mobilization. They are about voter suppression. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Thad Cochran Admits Personal Responsibility For Destruction of McDaniel Campaign Signs
Recall that for weeks, the desperate Thad Cochran campaign and their increasingly shrill surrogates found that no connection between the misguided supporters responsible for the nursing home break in and McDaniel himself to merit trumpeting from the hilltops. The three McDaniel supporters were without question not employees of the campaign, had never been paid by the campaign, and did not even have official titles. In addition, the McDaniel campaign immediately and forcefully condemned their actions. In their desperation, however, Cochran lickspittles like Brad Dayspring rushed out and breathlessly reported such astonishing and damning facts as the fact that the three arrested persons had liked the McDaniel for Senate Facebook page, that they followed McDaniel on twitter (and in some cases were followed in return), that they had volunteered for McDaniel and thus (unsurprisingly) had been photographed with McDaniel. Eventually, Cochran himself groused aloud about McDaniel's possible involvement in the break in. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
New York Times Sends Obama Campaign Worker Theodore Schleifer to Cover Chris McDaniel
The incestuous relationship between the mainstream media and Democratic Party has headed down to Mississippi. Theodore Scheifer is covering the campaign. He has written a few stories. My friend Charles Johnson characterizes one as a "hit piece" on McDaniel.
Charles Johnson also pointed out that Theodore Scheifer is also Teddy Scheifer. Scheifer was a speechwriting intern for Obama for America and also for Obama's U.S. Department of Education. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
So What If Goldman-Sachs Just "Lost" 7 Hard Drives Athwart A Major Investigation?
Assuming a 2 to 3 year life for a hard drive, the monthly likelihood of 1 drive failing is 1 in 24 to 1 in 36. The likelihood that 7 specific hard drives fail, without the aid of a bludgeon and a vat of battery acid, would be equal to somewhere between (1/24)^7 to (1/36)^7.* That equals 0.000000022% to 1.27609349443829E-09%. When the probabilistic likelihood of an event crucial to someone's explanation of an unpleasant circumstance hovers between 0.22 in a Billion and 1 in a Trillion of actually having happened a certain skepticism would be the hallmark of an open and functional mind. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Russia is at work destabilizing Poland and so is Obama
While Barack Obama is fixated on his golf game, the United States is undergoing a strategic roll-back in virtually every area of the world. Libya is an al Qaeda haven. Syria seems doomed to partition. Iraq is on the verge of complete and irretrievable break-up. Ukraine has been carved up by the Russians. China is resurgent in the South China Sea. Iran is seizing a march on us, creating a dominant position on the ground while continuing its development of a nuclear weapon.
While Obama seems unable to influence events and, indeed, unconcerned about events, American prestige suffers and with it our alliances. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Kevin McCarthy poised to kill Export-Import Bank
In what appears to be an olive branch to conservatives in Congress, newly elected House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that he is in favor of letting the US Export-Import Bank die in September when its current authorization expires in September. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Hillary Clinton: $100 million doesn't make us "truly well off."
It is becoming difficult to believe that Hillary Clinton is actually going to run for president in 2016. Her disastrous tenure as Secretary of State is coming home to roost in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Russia, Poland, and any other country that dealt with the United States from 2009 through 2012. Her book isn't selling all that well and her book tour has produced some insights into the bizarre thought processes of the woman who is trying to be the first to have slept her way into the Oval Office. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Rick Scott Signs Terrible Law Expanding Florida DCF's Power
One of the least desirable features of a representative democracy is that often, poorly thought out legislation is rammed through with little thought as a gross overreaction to immediate public outrage. Such is the case with the child welfare law signed into law by Florida Governor Rick Scott today. The gist of this story is that the Florida Department of Children and Families ("DCF") has come under substantial public criticism for an investigative series of stories first published by the Miami Herald which revealed that 477 children have died child abuse related deaths in the last five years. The report criticized the agency for, among other things, failing to notice obvious signs of abuse in children under their care. Predictably, the response that has been ramroded through the Florida legislature is to, essentially, give lots more money and sweeping new authority to the agency directly responsible for the SNAFU that caused the public uproar in the first place . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Gov. McAuliffe Follows Gov. Kasich's Lead for Obamacare Money
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) took a page from Ohio Governor John Kasich's (R) playbook this weekend, vetoing a ban on the Obamacare Medicaid expansion passed by the state legislature.
"Some of the most conservative Governors in the nation have implemented this program," McAuliffe said in a June 20 statement announcing plans to expand Medicaid administratively, despite the Virginia General Assembly's disapproval. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
The Vine
Many people are apprehensive to compare abortion to the Holocaust. It's understandable in a time when comparisons to Hitler are thrown about with an ease that is cause for concern. The Holocaust is one of the darkest times in our human history, any comparisons to it or the people involved should not be made lightly. It is, in fact, such a horrific event that some refuse to believe it even happened. Could people possibly commit such evils? And why would so many sit on the sidelines and do nothing? 11 million people were lost in the Holocaust. Today, over 50 million lives have been lost in abortion. Yet, while this evil is committed, many sit on the sidelines and many more refuse to call it what it is: It is our Holocaust. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For June 23, 2014
Corrupt Cochran Campaign Campaigns Corruptly
Win or lose on Tuesday, Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran will have forfeited any vestige of honor or integrity he still has and will have capped off a successful political career with a campaign built on distortions, misrepresentions, and outright lies. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Voices in the Wilderness
As we arrive fully in the world Gertrude Himmelfarb warned us of - a world where our sexual orientation is chosen for us, but we can choose our own gender - there are fewer and fewer voices willing to be heard in the wilderness of secular insanity that envelopes us. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
No combat pay for US advisors in Iraq
It is difficult to see how we help Iraqis "take the fight to the terrorists" if the men we send to do this will be so far removed from combat that they do not draw hazardous duty pay. In order to evaluate what is going on, at some point you have to see the situation for yourself.
This looks to be yet another of Obama's ridiculous directives that are launched with great fanfare but turn out to be nothingburgers. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
IRS cut ties with Sonasoft almost immediately after Lois Lerner scandal broke
"The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cancelled its longtime relationship with an email-storage contractor just weeks after ex-IRS official Lois Lerner's computer crashed and shortly before other IRS officials' computers allegedly crashed." . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
A Mainline Primer (Explainer?) for the Media: Not All Presbyterians Are in the PCUSA
With the Presbyterian Church USA fully embracing its heretical temptations and rejecting Israel, I have read a number of articles that seem pretty ignorant of various denominations in the United States.
Most national reporters tend to not be religious and when having to write about Christian denominations in America they screw it up badly. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Nearly 70% of Americans favor euthanasia
At first blush, the idea that a euthanasia should be allowed seems to follow a logic. If a person is suffering and wishes to end that suffering then who has the right to tell them no? It is their life, right? Only some troglodyte Bible thumper could possibly deny a person the simple mercy of ending their suffering. In this way it is no different than any other social innovation that has come down the pike over the past 60 or so years. It is a profound evil traveling under the guise of modernism and compassion. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Dispelling the myths and lies about the illegal child immigration crisis
There's a deluge of misinformation and bad "facts" flying around about the flood of unaccompanied minors-kids-flooding our southern border. Let's get some things straight, and dispel some of the untruths. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Jen Psaki accuses Russia of #WarOnWomen
The state run Russian press has taken to poking fun at State Department spokescreature Jen Psaki. Psaki is probably best know for doing ridiculous things such as the juvenile #UnitedForUkraine hashtag campaign that substituted for an actual US policy. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
David Brock and Journalism
David Brock is the guy who founded Media Matters for America. Not content to just take on (and declare victory against) Fox News, he has decided to launch a "journalism institute" to expose "the nexus of conservative power in Washington." . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
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