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June 2019

POLITICS Comments turned off

Partisan Gerrymandering: Courts Should Keep Out of the Debate By Hans A. von Spakovsky & Michael Watson

By on June 24th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/06/partisan-gerrymandering-supreme-court-cases-maryland-north-carolina/

Surprise: The supposedly nonpolitical bill to change how districts are drawn would … help Democrats.

For the past few years, liberals have been pushing the courts to declare that partisan redistricting — the consideration of politics when drawing the boundaries of legislative districts — violates the Constitution. In fact, we are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on this issue in two cases out of Maryland and North Carolina.

We hope that the Court will refuse to involve itself in the political thicket of the redistricting process. Engaging in politics does not violate the Constitution. Besides, the solution to gerrymandered districts should come from state legislatures, not the courts.

The allocation of representatives in a state legislature or in the U.S. House of Representatives is a fundamental political question that cannot be resolved without political considerations. Democrats know this, which is why they are demanding major revisions to the way elections are held for the U.S. House of Representatives in their H.R. 1 bill — major revisions they could exploit to increase their political power. Funny, they never complained about partisan redistricting that favored the Democrat party when they controlled a majority of state legislatures.

H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2019, passed the House in March on a party-line vote. It would take away the constitutional authority of state legislatures to draw the boundaries of their congressional districts and would require states to set up supposedly “independent” redistricting commissions. The Democrats and their allies claim that this provision would ensure that congressional redistricting, when considered on a statewide basis, would not “unduly favor or disfavor any political party.”

It wouldn’t? A purportedly “independent” redistricting commission already draws congressional districts in California, and that state’s “citizens redistricting commission”—explicitly “grandfathered” by H.R. 1 — drew more unrepresentative districts than did partisan Republicans in Texas.

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The Energy Solution That Should Make Everyone Happy By Norman Rogers

By on June 24th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/06/the_energy_solution_that_should_make_everyone_happy.html

Fake science is a plague that inhibits the advance of the economy and causes vast sums to be wasted going up blind alleys.  Fake science is promoted not solely by crackpots.  Scientists are in the game, too.  If I went through the long list of fake sciences, I’d probably offend every reader.  So I won’t.  For the argument here, I need to mention only global warming, nuclear radiation, and renewable energy.  Personally, I think global warming is fake science.  But whether it is or is not fake does not matter for my argument. What I am going  to suggest will solve the global warming problem if there is one.

Nuclear radiation has been the target of a long running scare story.  Yes, a big dose will make you sick or kill you.  But the evidence is that small doses are harmless or beneficial.  This is important because society will not accept nuclear power if it is terrified of nuclear radiation, even though the radiation emitted by nuclear power plants is microscopic.  The argument for the danger of low-level radiation is demolished easily.  You only need to observe that elephants are not suffering greatly from cancer, even though they have vastly more cells that are suspectable to radiation damage.  There are scientific studies that back up the elephant story completely.

Renewable energy is a crackpot invention of the environmental Left.  Supposedly, renewable energy uses sources of energy that will not run out, anytime soon, like the sun.  Renewable energy must not emit CO2, because that might cause global warming.  But the renewable energy proselytizers can’t stick to their story.  Hydroelectricity is obviously renewable, but it is excluded because the environmental Left hates dams.  Geothermal energy, using the heat in hot rocks underground to generate electricity, is considered renewable, even though the hot rocks frequently cool because the heat is used up.  The “fuel” runs out.  Wind and solar are loved by the environmental Left, even though they are expensive and brimming with serious problems.  Nuclear is hated and not considered renewable, even though it emits no CO2, the fuel is potentially inexhaustible, and there are no noxious substances coming out of smokestacks.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Palestinians defy Trump By Lev Tsitrin

By on June 24th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/06/palestinians_defy_trump.html

From the terrible squealing by the Palestinian leadership that greeted the unveiling of the economic component of Trump’s blueprint for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict one would be excused for thinking that Trump was planning to take from the Palestinians $50 billion over the next decade, rather than give it to them.

In the past, Palestinians were rather more enthusiastic about taking money. Over the decades, billions came pouring from the international community, funneled through the UN into various projects and services, with not a few crumbs landing in the pockets of Palestinian leaders themselves — after all, Arafat is rumored to have died a billionaire; nor is Abbas exactly a pauper. But this time around, there was a difference: Palestinians rejected the offer outright: “The mask has fallen, and attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause in return for a handful of dollars have been made public!”

How does Trump’s plan “liquidate the Palestinian cause?” The answer is simple: not only the Palestinians get the money under the plan, but Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon do too. And apparently, those moneys are allocated to absorb Palestinians who now live in the camps, deprived of the right to work and participate in the larger society. Currently, they are segregated and live on a UN pittance. Apparently, Trump plans to make them full-fledged, happy citizens of the host countries, to the horror of Palestinian leadership who are decrying the $50 billion investment as “the price for liquidating the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees [UNRWA] and the rights of Palestinian refugees.”

So here we have it: Trump’s plan apparently includes normalization of the lives of those who are now huddled in the camps, deprived of normal lives. What exactly is wrong with them living well? Well, per Palestinian leaders’ thinking, it is this: by getting absorbed by their host countries, they will become unavailable for the role assigned to them by the “Palestinian cause” — of eliminating Israel through exercising the “right of return.”

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Clapper Hears Barr’s ‘Chilling’ Footsteps By Daniel John Sobieski

By on June 24th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/06/clapper_hears_barrs_chilling_footsteps.html

They really counted on Hillary wining, didn’t they?  Former director of National Intelligence James Clapper is in panic mode, realizing that the so-called “intelligence community” he supervised under President Obama is about to be revealed by Atty. Gen. William Barr and U.S. atty. John Durham as a weaponized arm of the Clinton campaign, with indictments to follow.

The man who lied to Congress about spying on the American people was shocked back in April to hear Barr testify before  Congress that yes, he thought the Trump campaign had been spied upon by his political opponents.  As Breitbart reported:

Well, I thought it was most stunning and scary. I was amazed at that and rather disappointed that the attorney general would say such a thing. The term “spying” has all kinds of negative connotations, and I have to believe he chose that term deliberately. And I think it’s incredible that if he has concerns, he would have easily on his first day on the job, after his confirmation, asked his own IG, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, for a briefing on his preliminary, in the course of his investigation, that is, the IG’s investigation, whether there was any wrongdoing by the FBI. I think it would have been far more appropriate for him to just defer to that investigation rather than postulating, apparently with no evidence. He just has a feeling that there was spying against the campaign.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

In Setback for Erdogan, Opposition Candidate Wins Istanbul Mayor Seat Sunday’s ballot thrusts opposition politician in one of Turkey’s most powerful and prestigious elected positions By David Gauthier-Villars

By on June 24th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-setback-for-erdogan-opposition-candidate-wins-istanbul-mayor-seat-11561309654?cx_testId=30&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s

ISTANBUL—An opposition candidate has won a repeat ballot for Istanbul mayor Sunday, ending President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s quarter-century grip on the megalopolis and exposing troubles at his long-dominant ruling party.

The opposition party’s candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu, beat a rival from Mr. Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, 54% to 45%, according to a tally of 99% of votes cast released by Turkish state news agency Anadolu.

“It’s a new beginning,” Mr. Imamoglu said in a victory speech.

The AKP candidate, Binali Yildirim, conceded defeat. “I congratulate him and wish him success,” he said in a brief televised address.

Mr. Imamoglu had defeated the AKP candidate in the initial March municipal ballot, but electoral authorities had voided the results after Mr. Erdogan complained of fraud and called for a do-over.

Sunday’s defeat, adding to the loss of the capital, Ankara, in the March elections, is a stinging setback for Mr. Erdogan, who led numerous rallies in support of his AKP protégé ahead of the repeat election. It comes at a delicate time for the president, who is straining to repair a recession-hit Turkish economy and is scheduled to meet President Trump at the end of the week in a bid to defuse a diplomatic standoff with the U.S. CONTINUE AT SITE

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FOREIGN POLICY, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

U.S. Launched Cyberattacks on Iran The cyberstrikes on Thursday targeted computer systems used to control missile and rocket launches By Dustin Volz and Nancy Youssef

By on June 24th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-launched-cyberattacks-on-iran-11561263454

The U.S. covertly launched offensive cyber operations against an Iranian intelligence group’s computer systems on Thursday, the same day President Trump pulled back on using more traditional methods of military force, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The cyberstrikes, which were approved by Mr. Trump, targeted computer systems used to control missile and rocket launches that were chosen months ago for potential disruption, the officials said. The strikes were carried out by U.S. Cyber Command and in coordination with U.S. Central Command.

The officials declined to provide specific details about the cyberattacks, but one said they didn’t involve loss of life and were deemed “very” effective. They came during the peak of tensions this week between the U.S. and Iran over a series of incidents across the Middle East, including Tehran’s shooting down of an American reconnaissance drone.

The attacks also came as U.S. fears have grown that Iran may seek to lash out with cyberattacks of its own, as multiple cybersecurity firms said they had already seen signs Tehran is targeting relevant computer networks for intrusion and appeared particularly focused on the U.S. government and the American energy sector, including oil and gas providers.

While little was known about Thursday’s digital attacks, they were the latest indication that the U.S. has ramped up its willingness to use disruptive or destructive cyber weapons under President Trump after years of caution and drawn-out interagency deliberations that often led to inaction in previous administrations.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

PA Intransigence Makes Peace Deal Unlikely David Isaac

By on June 24th, 2019

https://freebeacon.com/blog/pa-intransigence-makes-peace-deal-unlikely/

The Trump administration rolled out the economic details of its peace plan on Sunday ahead of its “Peace To Prosperity” Workshop which opens in Bahrain this week. The problem is that the intended beneficiaries, the Palestinians, are having a meltdown.

“The Trump team is trying to restrict the Palestinian economy with the chains of occupation,” the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates declared Sunday, calling the plan “the obnoxious Trump Declaration.”

The PA had already decided to reject it before they knew what was in it. “The deal of the century, or the deal of disgrace, will go to hell,” PA president Mahmoud Abbas said on May 27 at a ceremony in Ramallah. “The economic project they are working on for next month will also go to hell.”

It has been fighting to wreck the Bahrain conference since it was announced (the fact that it’s now being called a “workshop” indicates the PA has enjoyed some success). And it has announced its rejection of any projects coming out of the conference, even if they are “painted in Arabic,” that is to say, initiatives funded by the Gulf States, not America.

Labeling the conference “a Holocaust against the Palestinian people,” Abbas’s Fatah movement has urged violence against Israel on the days it is to take place. Fatah deputy chairman Mahmoud Al-Alous, cited as possible heir to Abbas, (now in the 14th year of his 4-year term) describes the called-for violence as “national activities of rage.”

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Take the Palestinians’ ‘No’ for an Answer They’ve rejected every peace initiative. Their no-show this week in Bahrain should be the last. By Eugene Kontorovich

By on June 24th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/take-the-palestinians-no-for-an-answer-11561316980

This week’s U.S.-led Peace to Prosperity conference in Bahrain on the Palestinian economy will likely be attended by seven Arab states—a clear rebuke to foreign-policy experts who said that recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the Golan Heights as Israeli territory would alienate the Arab world. Sunni Arab states are lending legitimacy to the Trump administration’s plan, making it all the more notable that the Palestinian Authority itself refuses to participate.

The conference’s only agenda is improving the Palestinian economy. It isn’t tied to any diplomatic package, and the plan’s 40-page overview contains nothing at odds with the Palestinian’s purported diplomatic goals. Some aspects are even politically uncomfortable for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Given all that, the Palestinian Authority’s unwillingness to discuss economic opportunities for its own people, even with the Arab states, shows how far it is from discussing the concessions necessary for a diplomatic settlement. Instead it seeks to deepen Palestinian misfortune and use it as a cudgel against Israel in the theater of international opinion.

This isn’t the first time the Palestinians have said no. At a summit brokered by President Clinton in 2000, Israel offered them full statehood on territory that included roughly 92% of the West Bank and all of Gaza, along with a capital in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority rejected that offer, leading Israel to up it to 97% of the West Bank in 2001. Again, the answer was no. An even further-reaching offer in 2008 was rejected out of hand. And when President Obama pressured Israel into a 10-month settlement freeze in 2009 to renew negotiations, the Palestinians refused to come to the table.

After so many rejections, one might conclude that the Palestinian Authority’s leaders simply aren’t interested in peace. Had they accepted any of the peace offers, they would have immediately received the rarest of all geopolitical prizes: a new country, with full international recognition. To be sure, in each proposal they found something not quite to their liking. But the Palestinians are perhaps the only national independence movement in the modern era that has ever rejected a genuine offer of internationally recognized statehood, even if it falls short of all the territory the movement had sought.

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Elizabeth Warren Demands Reparations for Same-Sex Couples By Tyler O’Neil

By on June 24th, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/trending/elizabeth-warren-demands-reparations-for-same-sex-couples/

True to form on the intersectionality front, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, introduced a bill to extend the idea of reparations to LGBT people. While far more limited in scope than frequent calls for slavery reparations to black Americans, the proposal blames the U.S. government for withholding benefits same-sex couples allegedly should have received before the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

On Friday, Warren re-introduced S. 1940, the Refund Equality Act, which would allow same-sex couples to amend past tax returns. According to a report from the Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill would direct $57 million in refunds. The funds would go to same-sex couples in states that had legalized same-sex marriage before the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013. Warren introduced an earlier version of the bill in 2017.

“The federal government forced legally married same-sex couples in Massachusetts to file as individuals and pay more in taxes for almost a decade,” Warren said in a statement on the legislation. “We need to call out that discrimination and to make it right — Congress should pass the Refund Equality Act immediately.”

“It wasn’t until marriage equality became law that gay & lesbian couples could jointly file tax returns—so they paid more in taxes,” Warren tweeted Saturday.

“Our government owes them more than $50M for the years our discriminatory tax code left them out. We must right these wrongs.”Such claims echo the argument for slavery reparations. According to that argument, the government allowed and fostered the horrific practice of race-based slavery, which stripped black people of their right to the fruits of their own labor. While slavery was abolished, the government did not return the property unjustly stolen from black people. The wealth inequalities among black and white Americans are a result of this horrific injustice, so the argument goes. Therefore, the government must pay their descendants the debt it owes them.

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