Morning Briefing
For July 31, 2014
This is Inexcusable
House Republican Leaders have a deal for conservatives. After giving Barack Obama a blank check with the debt ceiling, if they will now give him $659 million then and only then will John Boehner give conservatives a vote on shutting down DACA.
This really is inexcusable. DACA is the chief incentive inspiring people to cross the border. The administration intends to expand DACA.
The House GOP should be starting with closing DACA, not telling conservatives they first have to fund the President and then they'll get table scraps.
I have opened RedState's Action Center. Go here now, put in your zipcode, and we will connect you with your congressman. Tell him the House GOP must close DACA as part of their legislation, not as a separate vote after funding Barack Obama. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Obama Peddles Impeachment Conspiracy Theories To Raise Money
The definition of a conspiracy theory is that it requires belief in a secret agreement among other people in the absence of of any evidence of such an agreement. President Obama and the Democratic Party are presently peddling a conspiracy theory that Republicans have a secret plan to impeach him from office. Their reason for selling this theory is nakedly self-interested: to raise money from gullible donors and drive turnout from excitable but poorly informed voters who may be unhappy with the President's job performance but remain personally loyal to him. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Greg Sargent's Own Goal Worse than Previously Believed
Yesterday I jotted off a quick post about Greg Sargent's "bombshell" evidence that supposedly disproved the Halbig Plaintiffs' entire argument, but actually proved it conclusively. At the end of that post I predicted that Sargent's evidence would be much more likely to be cited by the Plaintiffs (the side he opposes) than the Defendants (the side he favors).
Turns out, Patterico did some digging late last night and found that lo, the plaintiffs in both the Halbig case and the 4th Circuit case (that ruled against the plaintiffs) already cited the exact evidence dug up by Sargent about the HELP Committee language. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Obama Condemns Israel for Shelling a U.N. School; Shrinks from Criticizing Hamas
A U.N. school in Gaza was recently hit by some Israeli shells. It appears to be the result of the IDF aiming for some Hamas forces nearby. Unsurprisingly, the White House was among the first in line to condemn Israel for this. An Associated Press release reports . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
US and EU impose new sanctions on Russia
The smart set running what passes for diplomacy in US and the EU have released a new array of sanctions against Russia. These are a belated response to Russia's fomenting a bloody civil war in Ukraine but in reality were only brought on by Russian armed, Russian trained, and Russian led 'separatists' shooting down a Malaysia Air passenger jet. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
France offers Asylum to Iraqi Christians while Obama Turns his Back on Them
Providing us with yet more evidence that leadership in addressing humanitarian crises across has passed to Western European powers, France has offered asylum to Iraqi Christians fleeing persecution from the Islamic State (formerly ISIL). . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Venezuela demonstrates the nadir of American power
It should have been a pretty straightforward case. Retired Venezeulan general Hugo Carvajal, who was a close confidant of the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and head of Venezuela's intelligence service, was indicted in Miami on federal charges of drug trafficking. Via the Wall Street Journal:
In the Miami indictment unsealed Thursday, Mr. Carvajal is accused of taking bribes from late Colombian kingpin Wilber Varela, who was killed in 2008, and in return allowing Mr. Varela to export cocaine to the U.S. from Venezuela and avoid arrest by Venezuelan authorities. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Hollywood Cannot Save Their 'Abortion Barbie'
Poor ol' Wendy Davis. She wore her pink sneakers and filibustered pro-life legislation. The media made her a national hero for kid killers. And they she had to do something besides look pretty and filibuster. It all started falling apart. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
This is What a Judicial Abomination Looks Like
Whilst everyone is arguing about the propriety of a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit taking the words of a statute literally, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit decided to show the world what a really terrible judicial opinion actually looks like. In a split decision, the Court ruled in Jackson Women's Health Organization v. Currier that Mississippi H.B. 1390, which required doctors who performed abortions at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, violated the Constitution. The Court's decision is an atrocity against the law, reason, and the facts of the case before it. If any intellectually honest liberals still exist and would like to know what bad, lazy, partisan and activist judging looks like, they need look no farther than this opinion. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For July 30, 2014
House Republicans Set to Create Massive New Government Entitlement Program
It could be as big as Medicare Part D. It is being rushed quickly to a vote so congressmen can then flee Washington and claim they've done something to fix the VA situation. It does nothing to fix the VA situation. Did I mention it could be as big as Medicare Part D and will be a new massive entitlement program?
This is how House Republicans want to fix the VA situation. Only it won't actually fix the problems. It just spends massive amounts of money to bandaid the problems. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Greg Sargent Inadvertently Proves the Halbig Plaintiffs' Case
Partisan hack and Washington Post writer Greg Sargent has allegedly found a silver bullet that proves that the Halbig decision is erroneous and that the Halbig plaintiffs don't have a leg to stand on. The gist of Sargent's point is that an earlier version of the Obamacare bill had language that explicitly provided for subsidies for beneficiaries on Federal exchanges, even though the final version of the bill did not include such language . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
The Ridiculous Handwringing of the Overthinking GOP
Byron York tells us the GOP is worried they may get their strategy wrong in 2014. Back in 1998, you see, they made it about Bill Clinton and got spanked. They expected to pick up seats, but they lost seats.
But in this entire piece from Byron, there is one word missing - "Gallup".
Republicans in 1998 faced an incumbent President with popularity above 60% for most of 1998. They tried running a political campaign to convince America that they need to stop a President who sixty percent of them loved.
Compare Clinton in 1998 to Barack Obama in 2014. Obama has not been above 45% popularity the whole year.
Wringing hands over the 1998 strategy compared to the 2014 strategy is ridiculously stupid. It is an apples to oranges comparison that also involved a Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1998 who was more polarizing than the President of the United States. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Planned Parenthood - They Kill Your Baby And Then Overcharge You For The Service
Under the benevolent auspices of what has to be the most Pro-Abortion administration in American History, Planned Parenthood has grown to be an ultimate crony capitalist partnered with an encouraging government. The organization netted $1.21B in FY13 of which $540.6M was government grant money. $54.7M has been reinvested in lobbying the government that same year. This gives Planned Parenthood an ROI approaching 850% which makes Big Abortion a business that doesn't seem to die. It's not for nothing that they describe themselves as follows. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Obama Administration Energy Policies Destroying Middle Class
EPA head Gina McCarthy claims the Obama administration is not engaged in a "war on coal." Nevertheless, the mounting evidence is fairly conclusive: Not only is there a war on coal, but the Obama administration is winning . . . and the collateral damage includes middle and working-class families throughout the country. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
New CBS/NYT Poll Shows Possible GOP Senate Wave Forming
A new CBS/NYT poll has been released which is thus far the most exhaustive simultaneous battleground poll that has been taken this election season. It shows Republicans holding all their "close" seats, with McConnell leading Grimes 50-46 and Perdue leading Nunn 50-44. Obviously, these races are still very competitive and could flip although I think that as time goes along Perdue will pull away from Nunn while McConnell looks to be in a dogfight to the very end. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Mainstream Media "Fall Over Each Other to Support" Hamas Terrorist Propaganda
It has been well documented that Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization, has been intentionally firing thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians while using Palestinian civilians as human shields, basing their attacks in hospitals, and hiding their rockets in schools.
Despite these grave war crimes and violation of any semblance of humanity, the mainstream media has bought into Hamas's propaganda campaign. The terrorists want to be viewed as the victims, and somehow the media is buying into that narrative hook line and sinker. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Corruption at Export-Import Bank alleged
There are days when it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. This is one of those for the Export-Import Bank. The Bank is already in jeopardy of seeing its charter expire in September because of its record of corporate welfare, the top 10 clients of the Bank receive 93% of all the money it dishes out, and the incoming House majority leader has said that he is inclined to let it die. Now, in addition of defending itself from allegations that it is a piggy bank for politically connected companies it has to address charges of real corruption. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Iranian General Wants to Annihilate Israel as Obama Works on Nuclear Deal
Overlooked in the mainstream media reports on the current Israeli war on Hamas is a statement by high ranking Iranian General Hossein Salami that makes plain how his nation views this conflict. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
The Moronic "Inversions" Drumbeat Grows Louder
Somewhere in the bowels of the festering Democrat political machine, some focus group automaton has decided that "closing the inversions tax loophole" is a message that can save Democrats from destruction in 2014. By way of background, America has an astronomically high corporate taxation rate compared to the rest of the world; so what some American companies are doing is merging with overseas companies and declaring that the new, merged entity is incorporated in the overseas country as opposed to America. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew took to the Washington Post yesterday to condemn the practice as "unpatriotic." Predictably, the various White House mouthpieces have slavishly repeated this assertion in publications across the country, including Paul Krugman, Tim Worstall, Matt Yglesias, and other various liberal luminaries . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For July 29, 2014
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.
Not only a golem, but one whose organization is related to funding for Hamas and now wants Jews to fund her political ambition. The campaign email is filled with great stereotypes. Nunn's campaign wants gays, Asians, and Jews to fund it, but wants blacks and hispanics to be her grassroots base.
Note that she has to come up with a position on Israel. Her consultants list it as "TBD", but note that the better the position, the more money she can generate.
Those are the sensational bits. But the other is far more damning. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Michelle Nunn (D-GASen Candidate) Wants Jewish Donors, Gives to Hamas
Eliana Johnson broke news today with the release of a confidential campaign plan from Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn. The campaign plan details the demographic models, special interest groups, donor targets, and the assumption in the campaign plan that Nunn will have a compliant media. This is what Johnson focused on in much of her post. For me, the real news comes in the second half of Johnson's post.
While the campaign strategy memo stressed the importance of the Jewish community for volunteers and fundraising, with a projected goal of $250,000 from Jewish donors, it also noted that any money from the Jewish community would be dependent on her stance on Israel. The memo also noted that Nunn had funneled money to "problematic entities" while at the Points of Light Foundation.
So far, Nunn hasn't clarified her stance on Israel on her campaign website. And as for the "problematic entities" to which the leaked memo referred?
According to National Review, tax forms show that Michelle Nunn directed funds to organizations which, in turn, helped fund Hamas. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Obama requests Iraq AUMF be repealed
The situation in Iraq grows more perilous by the day. The nation seems of the verge of dissolving into now only warring ethnic enclaves but warring ethnic enclave engaged in their own civil war. Barack Obama and his administration has stood idly by as the situation has spiraled out of control and any gains made during the Iraq War have been erased.
Yet, on Friday National Security Advisor Susan Rice sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner asking him to pass legislation to revoke the Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
US Chamber of Commerce is not winning
The US Chamber of Commerce has for years viewed the GOP as its personal political party. Sure they supported the now-extinct "Blue Dog Democrats" but when most of them disappeared in the maelstrom of 2010 they were left with GOP candidates and communists. Unfortunately for the Chamber, the GOP caucus has been getting progressively more conservative each year. And not merely conservative but populist. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Will the Chamber of Commerce Back Democrat Mary Landrieu?
Avowed enemy of conservatives and champion of corporate welfare the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is reportedly contemplating backing Democrat Mary Landrieu over Bill Cassidy in the LA Senate race. Per the Hill, New York Times columnist Joe Nocera may have inadvertently leaked plans on the part of the Chamber to back Landrieu this November. Per other reports on Twitter, the Chamber is still staying mum and allegedly has not yet made a decision about who to endorse. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
The Democrats Have Abandoned Populism
Salon justifiably takes a lot of flack around these parts for the many insane things they print, but this this piece by Bill Curry is worth a read as a damning indictment of the Democrats' wholesale abandonment of populism in favor big business corporate donations. Some of Curry's piece is rank with revisionist history that should be expected from a lifetime partisan Democrat but it is nonetheless interesting that Curry, at least, perceives that there's only party that's even engaging in a serious discussion amongst itself about the evils of crony capitalism, and it isn't the Democrats . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
In which we revisit Rathergate, and the bad movie about to be made of it
Hey, remember that stupid, incredibly ham-handed, and only-an-drooling-idiot-would-fall-for-it Rathergate scandal? Well, in case you were a teenager in 2004 and missed it.CBS got a bunch of documents purporting to show that George W Bush went AWOL from the Texas National Guard and that people covered it up, because shut up you Republicans. Dan Rather (remember him?) promptly ran with the story, because if the documents were true it'd have been a bombshell. Only problem was that these documents were fakes: they were originally written in Microsoft Word 2003 and then made to look like documents from the 1970s. Once this was pointed out CBS ended up giving Rather (and, importantly for this article, his producer Mary Mapes) the bum's rush.
Now, apparently, Robert Redford is going to make a movie about the whole thing . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Federal Highway Trust Fund Pays for Bike Paths in Wisconsin
A looming shortfall in the federal highway trust fund threatens to dramatically cut the amount of money states get from the federal government for road and highway maintenance. But even as some policymakers examine the possibility of raising taxes to boost revenues, a review of federally-funded transportation projects in Wisconsin finds that federal money has been spent on things like bicycle paths, archeological research, and beautification projects, among other things. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Nancy Pelosi's Perversion of Piety: A Page Out of the Proof-texting Playbook
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's recent attempts at Biblical proof-texting clearly evidences that she, like many politicians, is a pawn being used in a scheme much larger than American politics.
Pelosi's bizarre political statements are not new. But referencing Biblical terminology is. She's been in office for 27 years, but only in the last ten has she revised her remarks to include "Christian" concepts. She didn't wake up one day and think, "I've got to start talking about Jesus." No, her perversion of scripture was well-calculated and thought out over ten years ago by George Soros. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For July 28, 2014
Maliciousness. Not Incompetence.
For the longest time I have chosen to chalk our President's stumbles, bumbles, and disasters up to incompetence. He is in over his head. He is inexperienced. He is out of his league. It is hard to accept otherwise.
But it is clearer and clearer that is not true. It is clear that President Obama's disastrous policies are premised not in incompetence, but in maliciousness. Our President - and he is our President - is not a stumbler and a bumbler, but a Nero who when not persecuting Christians, plays golf while the world burns.
President Obama has surrounded himself with a group of people who comport to his own world view. That world view is very simple to explain: Barack Obama and his advisors belief that in order for the world to be safer, they must make the United States less safe. In order for the world to be stable, the United States must be less stable.
In short, Barack Obama blames America first. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Halbig's Critics Hoist By Their Own Petards
This has not been a good week for defenders of Obamacare and their scorn for the legal arguments challenging whether the statute provides subdsidies for buyers of health insurance policies on the federal Helthcare.gov exchange. On Monday, a divided panel of the DC Circuit ruled in Halbig v Burwell that the statute only provides subsidies for purchases on the state exchanges (the Fourth Circuit reached the opposite conclusion). The reaction to Halbig from pundits on the Left - most of them not lawyers, and many of them obviously woefully ignorant of how courts read laws - can only be characterized as an unhinged meltdown. The latest news has only further undermined their position. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
CNN: The Question of Whether Hamas is Using Human Shields is "Complicated."
Via CNN.com today comes this truly astounding article that purports to leave the question of whether Hamas is using human shields in Gaza up in the air. The opening four paragraphs here set the stage for the accusation that Israel is using the "human shield" argument as a PR ploy of questionable factual validity . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Libya Implodes While the Press Fiddles
It seems like almost forever in one sense since the media were treating American citizens to literally daily updates with the number of people killed in terrorist attacks in Iraq. Every IED explosion, every infrastructure failure, every rise in terrorist activity was the subject of a major feature splash. During the course of the 2008 election, the Republican candidates were repeatedly beaten about the head by the media with Bush's Iraq policy, especially those who voted for it or were involved with it in any way. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Justin Amash versus the Chamber of Commerce
A showdown is brewing in Michigan's Third Congressional Distirct which could have outsized impact on national politics for the foreseeable future. What is happening there is a showdown between populist sentiment and cash. For the time being it looks like cash isn't king. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
VA's solution to fix its incompetence is $17.6 billion more of your money
In most human endeavors the natural inclination is to reward success and punish failure. The fact that the federal government works in rather the opposite way is just one of the ways it which it differs from the universe most of us inhabit. In Washington if you want a huge amount of money the best way to go about it is to fail. Case in point is the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA has long suffered from what, in the Army, we often referred to as the "happy loser syndrome." The VA has been failing for so long that not only does no one outside the VA expect it to succeed but failure, itself, has become the VA's corporate ethos. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Export Import Bank subsidizes Russian companies under US sanctions
Since March 3, Obama has issued three executive orders imposing sanctions on a number of individuals and businesses (or on-going criminal enterprises if you are a stickler for accuracy) closely associated with Russian president Vladimir Putin. In light of recent statements emanating from the White House, statements which label Russia and Putin as culpable in the shootdown of Malaysia Air MH-17 over Ukraine, we can expect an additional round of sanctions. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Russian involvement in Ukraine deepens
In the week after a Russian built, Russian commanded, and probably Russian operated anti-aircraft missile knocked a Malaysia Air plane from the skies over Ukraine, Russia has shown no signs of letting the stigma of slaughtering innocents deter them from their mission of carving up Ukraine. In fact, they have doubled down. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Another 2012 Jonathan Gruber 'speak-o,' apparently
Dear God but the Left is going to hate that term by the time we're done with it. Via Breitbart: "An audio clip from a public appearance [Jonathan] Gruber made at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco on January 10, 2012 reveals he made the same connection between subsidies and state-based exchanges on at least one other occasion" . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Morning Briefing
For August 8, 2014
Boehner Has Time to Salvage a Ridiculous Farce Descended to Stupidity
If the President's polling is at 65% unfavorable on the border situation and the Democrats have no intention of doing anything about, it should be an easy vote for the House GOP to show they're the ones who took the steps to stop the mass migration across the border.
Instead, on Eric Cantor's last day as leader, the whole of the leadership bollixed it up and embarrassed themselves. Harry Reid then concluded the business of the Senate.
The House has stayed and has one more opportunity to get this right. Conservatives concerned about the spending were willing to set those concerns aside if the House leaders would shut down DACA. Today, the House can get it right, shut down DACA, show they are serious, and let the public turn toward the Senate where the "closed" sign is lit up.
But let's not forget the punchline to this. House Republican Leaders want to give more than $600 million to the same man they just voted for sue for the way he's doing and not doing his job. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
John McCain on the Decline & Fall of the United States Senate
The Senate is in a bad way these days. Not that the Presidency and the House are functioning all that well, but under the leadership of Harry Reid since January 2007, the U.S. Senate has reached levels of dysfunction unparalleled in its history, and presided over eight years of economic stagnation and bitterly polarized and increasingly petty and juvenile politics. Reid has ruined the Senate's onetime distinguishing feature, the ability of any Senator to submit amendments and have them debated when bills came to the floor, with procedural restrictions unheard of between 1789 and 2006. Meanwhile, scores of bills that have passed the House are never even brought to a vote in the Senate - and without the amendment process, they can't even be raised indirectly. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Jonathan Gruber and Obamacare: The Tale of the Tapes
Here at RedState, we've already spilled a lot of digital ink on Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber's supposed "speak-o" that government subsidies for Obamacare wouldn't be available in states that didn't set up their own exchanges. Now, American Commitment has a new video out showing us in a way that should be beyond a doubt that Jonathan Gruber's assertion was no mere misspeak. He made the statement numerous times to several difference audiences. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Surprise outcome. Incompetent ATF accepts incompetence as the norm
While nearly everyone is familiar with Operation Fast & Furious, the failed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) scheme to create facts that would lead to gun control laws in the United States, fewer are familiar with a similar program run in Milwaukee, WI called Operation Fearless. Where Fast & Furious was a combination of maliciousness and epic incompetence that has led to the deaths of hundreds of people, including a US Border Patrol agent, Operation Fearless is a veritable clown car stupidity. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
Richard Dawkins: Islamophobe and Sexist
After making atheist provocateur Richard Dawkins a deity himself for his vitriolic attacks on Christianity, the left is suddenly experiencing a case of tightly wound panties over the discovery that Dawkins doesn't reserve his misanthropy for Christianity. He also thinks the feminist focus of "rape culutre" is ridiculous and that Islam is violent and dangerous. Dawkins may or may not be particularly smart. Obtaining a doctorate and academic tenure doesn't necessarily mean you are smart or talented (his bio suggests he was more the benefactor of the British class system than anything else, but that is another matter). What is certain is that he's a boorish and unpleasant little man. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
We, America, Created Ray Rice
Ray Rice faced the media yesterday for the first time since he knocked his fiancee unconscious and dragged her to his hotel room. I didn't watch; I have little interest in hearing questions from the same media that insists upon calling Rice an "alleged" woman beater even though he was literally caught on tape and even though he's essentially admitted doing it. Neither do I care to hear his pre-canned answers.
Everyone right now is pretending outrage that Rice was only suspended for 2 games despite being caught on tape brutally assaulting a woman. And I agree that it is indeed an outrageously light sentence. What I don't get is why anyone pretends surprise. . . . please click here for the rest of the post ?
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