WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

From Paris to Riga to where else? By Silvio Canto, Jr.

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/02/from_paris_to_riga_to_where_else.html

Over the last two months, we’ve seen the so called “yellow vest” riots underway in France. It’s become so routine that the media is grown tired of reporting it, or maybe they don’t like to tell us how citizens are reaction to tax increases over climate change.

Over the weekend, I saw this. It looks like the vests have some imitators in Riga, Latvia, according to this AP report:

Earlier Saturday, activists in Latvia staged a picket in front of the French embassy in Riga, the capital of the small Baltic EU country, to support the yellow vest movement and urge Latvians to demand higher living standards.

The activists waved Latvia’s red-and-white flag, shouting slogans like “the French have woken up, while Latvians remain asleep.”

Very interesting. This story also reminds me of a conversation that I had a few weeks ago with a new student from Latvia attending a local community college.

POLITICS Comments turned off

The Education of Ilhan Omar Democratic leaders rebuke their anti-Israel freshman colleague.

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-education-of-ilhan-omar-11549930665?cx_testId=16&cx_testVariant=cx&cx_artPos=2&cx_tag=contextual&cx_navSource=newsReel#cxrecs_s

The Democratic Party’s support for Israel has been fraying for years, and some new Members of Congress seem willing to indulge in arguments that border on the anti-Semitic. So kudos to House Democratic leaders who slapped down one of their own, freshman Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, for her ugly comments.

“Legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders in a joint statement on Monday. “But Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive. We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments.”

The leaders are trying to put out a firestorm that erupted after Ms. Omar claimed on Twitter that her colleagues defend Israel for the money, writing, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.” When asked who she thinks is “paying American politicians to be pro-Israel,” Ms. Omar named the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, which doesn’t donate to political candidates, though it does urge U.S. support for Israel.

ISRAEL, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Eugene Kontorovich:For the ACLU, Antipathy to Israel Trumps Antidiscrimination Laws against boycotting the Jewish state are patterned after those that protect gays and lesbians.

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-the-aclu-antipathy-to-israel-trumps-antidiscrimination-11549928620

Identity politics guides its adherents in strange directions. The American Civil Liberties Union, which for decades defended the vulnerable against public discrimination, has begun an assault on several antidiscrimination laws. Its goal is to bring boycotts of Israel into the political mainstream.

The ACLU’s latest target is the Combatting BDS Act, which passed the Senate last week 77-23. The bill is quite modest compared with the anti-BDS measures enacted in 26 states in recent years, which the ACLU is also challenging. Those laws prohibit state contracts with, and investment in, companies that boycott Israel-connected firms. The federal Combating BDS Act would simply declare that the state laws don’t violate U.S. foreign policy.

Despite the bipartisan support the bill enjoyed in the Senate and overwhelming approval of the underlying state legislation, it faces a difficult road in the House, where radical Democrats are united against it.

The ACLU is providing political cover to Democrats who oppose the laws by claiming they raise constitutional problems. It has brought lawsuits in three states, arguing that the First Amendment protects firms’ right to boycott certain clients. In the litigation, the ACLU claims that “the state cannot condition government contracts” on a company’s refusals to do business with private parties for “political” motives. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has also brought two such lawsuits.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Incredible Shrinking Europe The Continent’s grand unity project is failing, and its global influence is fading. By Walter Russell Mead

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/incredible-shrinking-europe-11549928481

Last week offered fresh evidence that the most consequential historical shift of the last 100 years continues: the decline of Europe as a force in world affairs. As Deutsche Bank warned of a German recession, the European Commission cut the 2019 eurozone growth forecast from an already anemic 1.9% to 1.3%. Economic output in the eurozone was lower in 2017 than it was in 2009; over that same period, gross domestic product grew 139% in China, 96% in India, and 34% in the U.S., according to the World Bank.

As its economy lags behind, Europe is becoming more divided politically. Brexit negotiations have inflamed tempers on both sides of the English Channel; Central European countries like Hungary and Poland are alienated from the West; much of Southern Europe remains bitter about the aftermath of the euro crisis; and anti-EU political parties continue to gain support across the bloc. A recent report from the European Council on Foreign Relations projects that anti-EU parties from the right and left are on course to control enough seats in the next European Parliament that they will be able to disrupt the EU and weaken it further. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The EU was founded to stop Europe’s decline, not reflect it.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

BDS Plays a Nazi Tune Outside Carnegie Hall by Lana Melman

Posted By on February 11th, 2019

https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/02/07/bds

There was a lot to jeer at this past Sunday. (Feb. 3) I’m not referring to the lackluster Super Bowl game in Atlanta, but rather the shameful Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) protest against the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO)in front of Carnegie Hall.

The IPO annual gala took place on February 3 to raise money for the legendary orchestra, and featured a brunch and concert performance. As attendees entered the concert hall, they were jeered at by BDS proponents calling for a cultural boycott of the Jewish state.

The IPO was partly created as a refuge for Jewish musicians facing boycotts and imminent death during the rise of Nazi Germany. Its founder, Bronislav Huberman — a Polish violin virtuoso and child prodigy who had performed countless concerts all over the world — found work in Europe scarce as the cloud of Jew-hatred spread over the continent.

He fled to pre-state Israel, where he envisaged an orchestra as a refuge for musicians persecuted by the Nazis, as well as a contribution to Jewish cultural life in the young city of Tel Aviv.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Public Education’s Dirty Secret written by Mary Hudson

Posted By on February 11th, 2019

https://quillette.com/2019/02/10/public-

Bad teaching is a common explanation given for the disastrously inadequate public education received by America’s most vulnerable populations. This is a myth. Aside from a few lemons who were notable for their rarity, the majority of teachers I worked with for nine years in New York City’s public school system were dedicated, talented professionals. Before joining the system I was mystified by the schools’ abysmal results. I too assumed there must be something wrong with the teaching. This could not have been farther from the truth.

Teaching French and Italian in NYC high schools I finally figured out why this was, although it took some time, because the real reason was so antithetical to the prevailing mindset. I worked at three very different high schools over the years, spanning a fairly representative sample. That was a while ago now, but the system has not improved since, as the fundamental problem has not been acknowledged, let alone addressed. It would not be hard, or expensive, to fix.

Washington Irving High School, 2001–2004

My NYC teaching career began a few days before September 11, 2001 at Washington Irving High School. It was a short honeymoon period; the classes watched skeptically as I introduced them to a method of teaching French using virtually no English. Although the students weren’t particularly engaged, they remained respectful. During first period on that awful day there was a horrendous split-second noise. A plane flew right overhead a mere moment before it blasted into the north tower of the World Trade Center. At break time word was spreading among the staff. Both towers were hit and one had already come down. When I went to my next class I told the students what had happened. There was an eruption of rejoicing at the news. Many students clapped and whooped their approval, some getting out of their seats to do a sort of victory dance. It was an eye-opener, and indicative of what was to come.

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The Green New Deal Versus Rural America By Robert Bryce

Posted By on February 11th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/02/the-green-new-deal-versus-rural-america/

Customers outside dense urban areas will get stuck with huge electric bills.

The Green New Deal is the shiny new object in Washington. Rolled out last week by Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and Senator Ed Markey (D., Mass.), the proposal is a grab-bag of policies that covers everything from creating “high-quality union jobs” to universal health care. It has been endorsed by nine Democratic contenders for the White House and nearly 70 members of the House of Representatives.

The fundamental charge of the Green New Deal is the “green” part: The U.S. is supposed to get to “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers.” Achieving such a goal (and doing it in just ten years) would require overhauling nearly every piece of energy infrastructure in the country. That’s where the Green New Deal parts company with the real New Deal — and, in fact, contradicts the achievements of the legislators who helped ensure rural electrification, and by doing so, helped set the table for America’s emergence as an economic superpower after World War II.

Two pieces of New Deal legislation changed the shape and structure of America’s energy sector: The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 busted the big electric utilities that had a stranglehold on America’s electric grid, and the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 provided low-cost federally backed loans to electric cooperatives and other entities, which allowed them to build their own electric grids and be independent of the big utilities. Those laws helped slash electricity costs for rural customers and led to a broad dissemination of economic and political power across the country that was critical to the development of western and southern states. And that leads to my thesis: If the Green New Deal becomes a reality, it will dramatically increase electricity costs and concentrate economic and political power in big business and in Washington. In short, the biggest costs of the all-renewable-energy push will be paid not by urban liberals such as Ocasio-Cortez, who are pushing the Green New Deal, but by rural Americans who probably voted for Donald Trump.

POLITICS Comments turned off

Report: Tlaib Once Wrote Op-Ed for Anti-Semitic Farrakhan Outlet By Jack Crowe

Posted By on February 11th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/rashida-tlaib-once-wrote-op-ed-for-anti-semitic-farrakhan-outlet/

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) wrote an op-ed in 2006 for Louis Farrakhan’s digital publication Final Call, which routinely publishes anti-Semitic content, according to a new report from freelance journalist Jeryl Bier.

Tlaib argues in the op-ed, which is dated October 4, 2006 and was resurfaced by Bier, that illegal immigrants shouldn’t face criminal charges or be deported for violating immigration law.

Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, has long been known as an outspoken anti-Semite. In February 2006, months before Tlaib’s piece was published, he accused Jews of promoting homosexuality in order to harm the African-American community.

“These false Jews promote the filth of Hollywood that is seeding the American people and the people of the world and bringing you down in moral strength. . . . It’s the wicked Jews, the false Jews, that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality. It’s the wicked Jews, false Jews, that make it a crime for you to preach the word of God, then they call you homophobic,” he said during his Saviour’s Day speech on February 26, 2006.

POLITICS Comments turned off

Dem. Leaders Demand Omar Apologize for Endorsing ‘Anti-Semitic Tropes’ By Jack Crowe…..see note please

Posted By on February 11th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/dem-leaders-demand-omar-apologize-for-endorsing-anti-semitic-tropes/

Update 3:04p.m.: Omar apologized for her comments in a Monday afternoon tweet.

House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement Monday calling on Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) to apologize for endorsing the “anti-Semitic trope” that Jewish donors leverage their wealth for nefarious political purposes.

“Legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share,” read the statement, which was signed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and other Democratic leaders. “But Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive. We condemn these remarks and we call upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments.”

POLITICS Comments turned off

Congresswoman Omar’s hatred for Jews now on daily display By Carol Brown

Posted By on February 11th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/02/congresswoman_omars_hatred_for_jews_now_on_daily_display.html

Congressman Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitism is so virulent that it’s on full display just about every day. The Daily Wire reports:

On Sunday, after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) displayed her blatant anti-Semitism by tweeting that GOP support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins,” and followed by accusing AIPAC of paying American politicians to support Israel, bipartisan condemnation of her remarks erupted, although no leading Democrats said a word about their colleague’s vile rhetoric.

(“All about the Benjamins” refers to Benjamin Franklin’s face on $100 bills.)

GOP voices expressed disgust, including former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, Congressman Lee Zeldin, Senator Ted Cruz, and the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Democratic voices were few and far between. Chelsea Clinton, whose husband is Jewish, is the exception, though her parents remain silent as of this writing.

Democratic leadership remained silent, as they have for months as rampant anti-Semitism is spreading through the party like cancer.

I get the feeling Omar likes this attention and may feel empowered as a female Muslim member of Congress. That seemingly sweet smile isn’t so sweet.