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2016

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Has Richard Posner committed an impeachable offence? By Sierra Rayne

By on June 29th, 2016

Writing over at Slate (h/t Joel Pollak), Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit states that he no longer desires the application of the United States Constitution within the American legal system:

And on another note about academia and practical law, I see absolutely no value to a judge of spending decades, years, months, weeks, day, hours, minutes, or seconds studying the Constitution, the history of its enactment, its amendments, and its implementation (across the centuries – well, just a little more than two centuries, and of course less for many of the amendments). Eighteenth-century guys, however smart, could not foresee the culture, technology, etc., of the 21st century. Which means that the original Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the post – Civil War amendments (including the 14th), do not speak to today. David Strauss is right: The Supreme Court treats the Constitution like it is authorizing the court to create a common law of constitutional law, based on current concerns, not what those 18th-century guys were worrying about.

In short, let’s not let the dead bury the living.

This isn’t the first time Posner has embarrassed the judiciary, but it is certainly his most irresponsible public statement. It also proves, since he was appointed by former president Ronald Reagan, that conservatives have a terrible track record – perhaps worse than liberals – when it comes to the quality of their judicial choices.

How Posner has escaped impeachment this long remains a mystery, since his ongoing commentaries while remaining on the bench are a textbook example of bringing the administration of justice into disrepute.

In 2012, he said he has “become less conservative since the Republican Party started becoming goofy.” This, of course, openly mixes partisan politics with the judiciary, which is a very immature move. Furthermore, it should cause individuals who are known members of the GOP to feel that Posner will be biased against them if he is to preside over their case. For a sitting judge to declare a mainstream political party as “goofy” is truly reprehensible.

His pro-authoritarian police state views on the power of the government to intrude into all aspects of private life is frightening:

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From Brexit to Visions of a UN Exit? By Claudia Rosett

By on June 29th, 2016

Britain’s vote last week to leave the European Union — the Brexit — was a vote for freedom, a revolt against an unaccountable bureaucracy in Brussels. Amid the excitement, Fox News briefly reported the story as even bigger than it was, with a TV screen banner proclaiming not that the UK was leaving the EU, but “UK VOTES TO LEAVE UN.”

Yes, some things are too good to be true, and this was one.

As parody, it would have been genius. As a piece of news reporting, the Fox mixup of the EU and UN inspired plenty of derision — a bit of comic relief, gleefully seized upon by the stricken members of a pro-EU global elite and commentariat. They cannot fathom why a majority of British voters would choose to reclaim from the commissars of the EU the full freedom to control Britain’s own borders, bananas and vacuum cleaners. In that context, Fox’s botching of a news banner helps feed the narrative that the Brexit vote was some boorish mistake cooked up by a know-nothing mob.

Except that’s false, in ways far more profound than the mistake in the Fox chyron. For an eloquent defense of Brexit, see Roger Kimball’s “Focused on Disaster Narrative, Media Ignores Obvious Benefits of Brexit.” To this I’d add that even in Fox’s erroneous UN-exit caption there was, along with the comedy, some grist for serious thought.

I’m not defending Fox’s proofreaders. Accuracy matters, even on TV. But it’s not completely daft that a copywriter in a hurry would read “EU” and write “UN.” There are some pernicious similarities between the two. Both belong to the clan of multilateral institutions set up with the mission of promoting peace and prosperity, post-World War II. Both have proved better at promoting themselves and their own backroom deals. They are clubs of governments, breeding big, intrusive and unelected bureaucracies; largely self-serving, unaccountable and in various ways damaging to and divorced from the real interests of the populations they claim to serve. As Ambassador John Bolton writes in a piece on “How America Should Answer the Brexit Vote,” peace in Europe since 1945 is a product not of the EU, but of the U.S.-led military alliance of NATO.

Both the EU and the UN have a distinct tilt toward central planning, with all the warped incentives, waste and disregard for free choice that this entails. In the EU, this takes the form of regulation. At the UN, it is packaged as an endless array of UN-orchestrated development goals, capacity-building programs and bureaucratically directed spending of other people’s money, much of it funneled through despotic governments whose oppressive misrule is the main reason for the poverty and perils the UN proposes to alleviate.

We’ve all read plenty in recent times about the troubles within the EU. Let’s take a moment to reprise just a few of the problems with the UN. A good place to start would be a June 17th article by a former Swedish diplomat and UN whistleblower, Anders Kompass, who recently resigned from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In this article, headlined “The ethical failure — Why I resigned from the UN,” Kompass writes:

Cholera in Haiti, corruption in Kosovo, murder in Rwanda, cover-up of war crimes in Darfur: on too many occasions the UN is failing to uphold the principles set out in its Charter, rules and regulations. Sadly, we seem to be witnessing more and more UN staff less concerned with abiding by ethical standards of the international civil service than with doing whatever is most convenient — or least likely to cause problems — for themselves or for member states.

Kompass ran afoul of his UN bosses in 2014, when he reported to French authorities that French UN peacekeepers were sexually abusing children in the Central African Republic. The UN accused Kompass of sharing confidential information, suspended him from his job and asked him to resign. Many months later, he was exonerated, but he writes that the UN has done nothing to address the “systemic issues of internal accountability” raised by his case. CONTINUE AT SITE

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Benghazi Report: Obama Administration Failed to Protect Americans in Benghazi Clinton and the State Department acted in a “shameful” manner. By Debra Heine

By on June 29th, 2016

The House Select Committee on Benghazi released it long-awaited report on the 2012 terrorist attack Tuesday morning, detailing an array of administration deceptions, miscues and blunders. Among the bombshells to come out in the 800-page document is the conclusion that the Americans were saved by Gaddafi’s “Libyan Military Intelligence” — not a “quasi-governmental militia” as previous reports had found.

“There were only three assets that ever made it to Benghazi; two unarmed drones and the team from Tripoli who deployed themselves. They weren’t ordered to go; they deployed themselves,” Chairman Trey Gowdy said during today’s press conference.

Glen Doherty was on that plane from Tripoli to Benghazi and Glen Doherty not only flew from Tripoli to the Benghazi, but he negotiated at the airport with Libyans that were supposed to be our friends to get to the annex so he could help defend that facility and he got there just in time to join his fellow Navy SEAL, Tyrone Woods, minutes before they both died.

The report also concluded that Hillary Clinton and other administration officials pushed the video explanation for Benghazi despite knowing the truth because eyewitness accounts were immediately available.

Republicans on the committee charge that Clinton and the State Department acted in a “shameful” manner in refusing to hand over requested emails from her private email server and pointed out that President Barack Obama skipped his daily intelligence briefing one day after the attacks.

The report also said that the investigation by the so-called Accountability Review Board was tainted by the influence of Clinton’s former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills.

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Jihad’s Beltway Allies By: Srdja Trifkovic

By on June 29th, 2016

In the final weeks of spring the Islamic State finally seemed to be in serious trouble. Its capital of Raqqa came under simultaneous pressure from forces supported by the Syrian government advancing from Palmyra in the southwest, and from the U.S.-supported (mainly Kurdish) Syrian Democratic Forces to the north. The scene was set for a 1945-style “race to Berlin.”
Then, on June 17, came the “leak” of an internal memo by 51 middle- and low-level State Department officials criticizing the Obama administration’s policy in Syria and advocating U.S. military attacks on the government of Bashar al-Assad, to “undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process.” The memo—filed in the “dissent channel” set up in the Vietnam era as a way for employees to register their protest without fear of reprisal—did not offer a scenario for a post-Bashar Syria. It simply asserted that “the moral rationale” for ending the death and suffering is “evident and unquestionable.” The memo advocated “a credible threat of military action to keep Assad in line” (as his downfall was being arranged) and to bolster the fight against the Islamic State by helping the “moderate Sunni” forces.
Reportedly, many of the “dissidents” are Hillary Clinton’s liberal-interventionist appointees from her tenure at the State Department. In view of her vocal support for “robust” U.S. action is Syria, their memo appears to be a preemptive bid to curry favor in advance of her anticipated victory in November. The document reflects all the flaws, inconsistencies, and outright idiocies of Mrs. Clinton’s Middle East policies, past and present.

Since the drafting of the Cessation of Hostilities agreement—signed by the United States and Russia last February—over 800,000 Syrians have been receiving aid that was previously denied them. Any U.S. attack on Assad’s forces would sever this lifeline, escalate the war, and dramatically increase death and suffering. It would be a boon not only to the Islamic State but to jihadists of all hues and to their abettors in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf. Worse still, it would risk an unpredictably hazardous escalation with the Russians—who have major military assets in Syria—with no commensurate strategic benefit to Americans. It would prompt Tehran to terminate its tentative anti-IS cooperation with the United States in Iraq. It would destroy American credibility with the Kurds, without compensating for the loss of their hitherto effective boots on the ground by the addition of imaginary Sunni Arab “moderates.” Perhaps the authors of the memo imagine they will convert non-ISIS jihadists and Salafi fanatics (such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam, who are firmly allied with Al Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra) into “moderates.” But there was no mention of any of them and their routine cease-fire violations in the memo.

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COMMON SENSE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

By on June 29th, 2016

Young people face many worries and uncertainties as they grow toward adulthood, so it really is immensely unfair that those with agendas work so hard to add to their burdens. Physicist John Reid has set out to relieve one of those fostered anxieties with A Young Persons Guide to the Green House Effect. A sample:
Climate change is a hot topic. Despite the experts telling us that `the science is settled’ it just does not appear to be the case.
Because the environment scare and the nuclear war scare were fresh in people’s minds they decided that the two things were connected and that rising CO2 must be causing the temperature to go up. They started calling CO2 a ‘pollutant’ like DDT and radioactive fallout. The increase in CO2 is supposed to be due to humans burning coal and oil in industry, but there are other explanations for it.

Many scientists believe there has been an hysterical over-reaction to these observations and that, apart from the fact that both CO2 and temperature have both been increasing recently, there is really no evidence to connect the two things. It is just a delayed reaction to the ‘Future Shock’ of the scary 1950s.
When CO2 and water vapour in the atmosphere increased at the end of the last Ice Age, which had lasted for more than 80,000 years, it made the earth warm again . It made the big ice caps melt and raised the level of the ocean. That happened 11,000 years ago and created a boom time for Homo Sapiens (us). Apart from a few random fluctuations, our climate has been warm and stable ever since.

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Darryl Glenn Wins Republican Primary for U.S. Senate in Colorado Winner in general election could determine which party controls Senate next year By Dan Frosch

By on June 29th, 2016

A conservative county commissioner won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Colorado on Tuesday, setting up a critical swing-state race with Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet.

Darryl Glenn led the five-way, crowded contest with 37.5% of the votes, according to the Associated Press, with 84% of the precincts reporting.

Once considered a long shot, Mr. Glenn impressed Colorado Republicans—particularly conservatives—with his speech at the state GOP convention earlier this year. And in recent days, he seemed to gain momentum after picking up the endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and other national conservative figures.

Republicans had initially been hopeful that the race would produce a heavyweight challenger to Mr. Bennet in a state that is virtually evenly carved up between Democrats, Republicans and voters who don’t identify with either party.

But after more popular GOP politicians including U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, and George Brauchler, the prosecutor in the Aurora theater shooting trial, declined to jump in, those hopes dimmed as lesser known figures joined the fray instead.

The race will be one of several closely watched contests that will determine which party controls the Senate next January. Democrats must win a net of five seats, or four if they win the White House and secure the vice president’s tiebreaking vote, to regain control of the chamber.

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Attack at Istanbul Airport Kills at Least 36 Bombers hit Turkey’s busiest airport leaving more than 100 wounded By Emre Peker and Ayla Albayrak

By on June 29th, 2016

ISTANBUL—Suicide bombers struck Turkey’s busiest airport Tuesday, killing at least 36 people and injuring scores more on the eve of a major holiday, the deadliest in a string of attacks in Istanbul this year.
Three bomb blasts shook the arrivals area of the international terminal at Istanbul Atatürk Airport around 9:22 p.m., Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said. At least 147 people were wounded.

One assailant set off a bomb after being shot by police near a checkpoint just inside the terminal, a Turkish official said. Two other attackers blew themselves up outside—one near the entrance and one in a parking lot across the street, the official said.

No group had claimed responsibility hours after the attack. However, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said initial findings of an investigation suggested Islamic State carried out the assault. U.S. and other Western officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of the extremist organization, but added it was too early to assign blame.

Since last summer, Turkey has faced threats from Islamic State and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, an outlawed militia that has attacked Turkish security forces and civilian targets, including Istanbul’s second busiest airport, Sabiha Gokcen.

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‘Defective to its Core’ Another judge enjoins another Obama rule, this one from Labor.

By on June 29th, 2016

That’s how a federal judge in Texas on Monday summed up the Labor Department’s new “persuader” rule as he imposed a preliminary injunction, and he could have been describing the Obama Administration’s entire regulatory apparatus.

The National Federation of Independent Business and 10 states sued to block the rule, which was set to take effect on July 1. Judge Samuel Cummings said the plaintiffs were “likely to succeed” on all five of their claims including lack of statutory authority, abuse of discretion, and violation of First Amendment rights, due process and the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

The rule putatively updates the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, which requires “persuaders” hired by employers to communicate directly with workers to disclose their clients, services and compensation. The real goal is to muzzle employers and help union organizers.

Labor in effect eliminates the law’s “Advice Exemption” that shields privileged attorney-client communications by mandating disclosures from employers and anyone engaged in “actions, conduct, or communications that are undertaken with an object, explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, to affect an employee’s decisions regarding his or her representation or collective bargaining rights.”

As the judge notes, the “use of words like ‘implicit’ and ‘affect’ are too broad,” leaving employers and consultants to “guess” what activities are covered. Merely drafting employment policies could be a persuader activity. CONTINUE AT SITE

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Clinton’s Benghazi Cover Story She wonders why she’s so distrusted. Here’s the reason.

By on June 29th, 2016

Democrats have succeeded in persuading the Washington press corps that what happened when four Americans died at Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012 isn’t a story. But the House report released Monday about that night and its aftermath contains details that ought to concern Americans who care about political accountability.

Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died in that attack that is dissected in 800-plus pages released by Republicans on a House Select Committee chaired by South Carolina’s Trey Gowdy. The report’s most disturbing facts concern the way the Obama Administration and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spun an alternative narrative that is contradicted by their private statements and the intelligence from the scene.

We learn from the report that the day after Mr. Stevens became the first American ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979, President Obama decided to skip his daily intelligence briefing.

We also learn that on the day of the attack, in a 5 p.m. meeting that included Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Mr. Obama said the U.S. should use all available resources. After that meeting, Mr. Panetta returned to the Pentagon to discuss what military resources were available. The Defense Secretary then issued an order to deploy military assets to Libya.

But nothing was sent to Benghazi, and nothing was even in route when the last two Americans were killed almost eight hours after the attacks began. The holdup seems to have been caused in part by something else we learn from this report: a 7:30 p.m. teleconference of Defense and State officials, including Mrs. Clinton.

Ostensibly they were sharing intelligence and coordinating responses. But they debated whether they needed Libya’s permission to deploy American troops to defend endangered Americans, whether Marines should wear uniforms or civilian clothes, and so on.

Even more telling: Though there was no evidence linking the Benghazi attacks to a YouTube video mocking Islam, of the 10 “action items” from the notes of that meeting, five referred to the video.

Mrs. Clinton referred to the video more than once in her public statements. At 10:08 p.m. on the night of the attack, she issued a public statement on Benghazi: “Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.” She repeated the point the next day at the State Department. CONTINUE AT SITE

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Multiple Immigration System Failures Undermine National Security Michael Cutler

By on June 29th, 2016

CIA Director Brennan warns that ISIS is likely to exploit refugee flows, smuggling routes and legitimate methods of travel to attack the West

On June 16, John Brennan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, testified before a hearing conducted by the Senate Intelligence Committee on the various threats and challenges that confront our nation, including threats posed by ISIS to the United States, our allies and countries around the world. C-SPAN posted a video of the hearing.

Fox News put immigration front and center.

Here is an important excerpt from Brennan’s prepared testimony:

“Since at least 2014, ISIL has been working to build an apparatus to direct and inspire attacks against its foreign enemies, resulting in hundreds of casualties. The most prominent examples are the attacks in Paris and Brussels, which we assess were directed by ISIL’s leadership.

“We judge that ISIL is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks. ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West. And the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel.”

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