POLITICS Comments turned off

ELECTIONS: TEXAS DISTRICT 2-DAN CRENSHAW (R) FOR CONGRESS

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

http://thefederalist.com/2018/11/05/dan-crenshaw-sexy-congressman-america-needs/
Dan Crenshaw Is The Sexy Congressman America Needs By Ellie Bufkin
Dan Crenshaw is a former Navy SEAL and Republican candidate for U.S. Congress for Texas’s 2nd

Dan Crenshaw is not just a congressional candidate for Texas. He’s an American hero, a patriot, and a man compelled to serve his nation beyond the sacrifice he’s already given in military service.

He’s also quite handsome. “Saturday Night Live’s” Pete Davidson attempted to make fun of him on the show’s broadcast over the weekend, comparing a photo of an eyepatch-donning Crenshaw to a “hit man from a porno movie.” He admitted that he knew Crenshaw’s eye injury was the result of being wounded “in war or whatever,” but that didn’t stop the joke from amusing Davidson.

Jokes about wounded veterans have not been historically well-received, and this SNL snafu was no different. Backlash was immediate, with many on social media calling for the comedian to be fired, or for NBC to cancel the show.

It wasn’t until the following morning that Crenshaw learned he had been the butt of a tasteless attempt at political humor. The congressional hopeful took to the high road, telling T.M.Z. he would not be demanding any apologies or resignations over the gaffe. He said, “I want to get away from this culture where we demand an apology every time someone misspeaks.”

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Foreign Policy Iran’s Hits On Western Soil Reveal The Foreign Policy Establishment’s Hypocrisy Iranian hit squads have been exposed for plotting a string of assassinations of political rivals in exile and other foes residing in Europe. Ben Weingarten

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

http://thefederalist.com/2018/11/05/irans-hits-western-soil-reveal-foreign-policy-establishments-hypocrisy/

While America is often insulated from the most malign of Iran’s activities, even if only by dint of our distant geographic position, the brazen and bellicose mullocracy has reminded us of its global reach at a pivotal time. This global reach extends from our Transatlantic allies, to our southern neighbors and our own shores. Clearly, Iran feels it perfectly acceptable to carry out murderous acts here in the West with impunity.

This all should only underscore the need to counter the Khomeinist regime using every element of national power at all points of leverage. The political establishment’s silence in the face of this threat — if not its urging to engage further economically with Iran while punishing its foes in spite of the calamitous consequences of that very policy during the Obama years — is stunning.

For the latest evidence of Iran’s audacious aggression, America need look no further than Europe. There, Iranian hit squads, in part under diplomatic cover, have been exposed for plotting a string of assassinations in what seems to be a concerted campaign to take out the ayatollahs’ political rivals in exile, among other foes.

The latest evidence of this effort comes mere days before U.S. sanctions are set to “snapback” on Iran in strategically significant sectors like shipping, energy and finance. Some Europeans have resisted these very sanctions. But do not hold your breath waiting for the media and political establishment to harp on these attempted hits. This is Iran after all, not Saudi Arabia.

According to the Associated Press, in September 2018, Denmark’s national security service foiled an alleged assassination plot directed by Iranian intelligence against a leader of the Danish wing of a militant Iranian separatist group called the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA). This follows the 2017 murder of the founder of the ASMLA, Ahmad Mola Nissi, in The Hague at the hands of an “unidentified assailant.” Dutch authorities reportedly expelled two Iranian diplomats who may have been linked to the Nissi assassination.

ASMLA consists of Ahwazi Arabs, a small minority in Persian-dominated Iran, who desire independence, and according to Amnesty International are subject to severe repression. ASMLA has engaged in violent acts against the Iranian regime, including attacks on energy infrastructure in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province, where Ahwazis predominate, and against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

EDUCATION Comments turned off

9 Years Into Common Core, Test Scores Are Down, Indoctrination Up Common Core sucked all the energy, money, and motivation right out of desperately needed potential reforms to U.S. public schools for a decade, and for nothing. By Joy Pullmann

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

http://thefederalist.com/2018/11/05/9-years-common-core-test-scores-indoctrination/

It’s been about nine years since the Obama administration lured states into adopting Common Core sight unseen, with promises it would improve student achievement. Like President Obama’s other big promises — “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” — this one’s been proven a scam.

“If you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments; if you put outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom; if you turn around failing schools — your state can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students outcompete workers around the world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential,” President Obama said in July 2009.

He went on to state his faith that Common Core — at that point unwritten — would “not only make America’s entire education system the envy of the world, but we will launch a Race to the Top that will prepare every child, everywhere in America, for the challenges of the 21st century.” Race to the Top was a $4 billion money pot inside the 2009 stimulus that helped bribe states into Common Core.

So here we are, nine years later. Common Core has been officially rolled out into U.S. public and even many private schools for at least three to five years now. Are American children increasingly prepared for the “the challenges of the 21st century”? We’re actually seeing the opposite. They’re increasingly less prepared. And there’s mounting evidence that Common Core deserves some of the blame.
Student Achievement Largely Down or Flat

ACT scores released earlier this month show that students’ math achievement is at a 20-year low. The latest English ACT scores are slightly down since 2007, and students’ readiness for college-level English was at its lowest level since ACT’s creators began measuring that item, in 2002. Students’ preparedness for college-level math is at its lowest point since 2004.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Louis Farrakhan Chants ‘Death to America’ During Visit to Iran By Jack Crowe

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/louis-farrakhan-chants-death-to-america-during-visit-to-iran/

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan led chants of “death to America” on Sunday and derided American conceptions of democracy and freedom during a visit to Iran, planned as a show of support for the regime ahead of the re-implementation of U.S. sanctions.

Farrakhan, a notorious anti-Semite who has been embraced by prominent liberal activists and lawmakers, railed against American policymakers for harassing the Iranian people and siding with Saudi Arabia in its proxy war with Iran in Yemen.

“I understand how the enemies have plotted against the Iranian people and I would like to stay alongside you to stop their plots,” he said during a meeting with the secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, Mohsen Rezaei, according to state-owned news agency Mehr. “Satan seeks to divide Muslims and wants them to kill each other, while God tells us in the Quran to be united.”

During a subsequent speaking appearance at the University of Tehran law school, Farrakhan mocked America’s founding ideals while praising the Islamic conception of women’s rights and Iran’s strict enforcement of female modesty.

“America has never been a democracy and has always leaned towards the wealthy and powerful class,” he said before leading the law students in chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”

Farrakhan, who recently referred to Jews as “termites,” has been lauded by Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory as the “GOAT” or Greatest of All Time. Linda Sarsour, Mallory’s fellow Women’s March leader, has also praised Farrakhan on multiple occasions and has refused to condemn his anti-Semitism.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The McCarthy Report: White Supremacism and Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre By Andrew C. McCarthy

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-mccarthy-report-white-supremacism-and-pittsburgh-synagogue-massacre/

In last week’s edition of our NR podcast, The McCarthy Report, Rich and I spent the first half of our discussion digging in to the knotty issues of birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment, including whether — assuming for argument’s sake that birthright citizenship is not mandated by the Amendment — the president has the power to change current policy (or is it law?) by executive order. I won’t belabor the discussion further, having had plenty to say about it in the weekend column and in an earlier column last week. Basta!

The second half of the podcast homes in on some issues that deserve more attention in the wake of the horrific massacre two Saturdays ago at the synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. Rich pressed me on why I don’t think we need new domestic-terrorism laws to deal with white-supremacist groups — an issue I’ve dealt with a few times over the years, most recently in connection with Antifa (see here). We also talk about why I don’t think the synagogue murders should be a federal prosecution (which I explained in this column — the Justice Department has filed its complaint, and has indicated an indictment alleging death-penalty charges is imminent). I relate my personal horror story about a very tough state attempted-murder that I tried to prosecute as a federal racketeering case.

We also talk a bit about the arrest of the pipe bomber; touch on the intriguing Politico reporting that suggests Special Counsel Mueller is in a secret grand-jury litigation to try to force a witness to testify (is it the president?); and take a look back at the truly abominable Whitey Bulger, the Boston mobster who was killed in federal prison last week.

You can give us a listen here on the website. Even better, make us part of your feed at iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher.

POLITICS Comments turned off

The Democrats Have Not Earned Your Vote By David French

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/democrats-havent-earned-your-vote-midterms-2018/

If you like your Republican, you should keep your Republican.

Tens of millions of Americans have mailed in their ballots already. Tomorrow, tens of millions more will go to the polls. I’m not confident how they’ll vote, but I am absolutely certain of one thing: Not one of them will see the name “Donald Trump” on the ballot.

Instead, they will see different individuals with characters very different from Trump’s. They will see Republicans and Democrats with their own policy positions and their own rhetorical styles.

Yet now voices from the left, the center, and what can only be called the “former right” are calling on Republicans and conservatives to abandon any kind of individualized determination for the sake of opposing a man who isn’t on the ballot. They’re making that demand even as leading Democrats prove time and again that they will not moderate for the benefit of Republicans who change parties, will not compromise, and — crucially — will not even behave better than Trump himself.

In other words, they are asking for your political capitulation without earning your support.

Democrats claim that now is a critical time for public hygiene. It’s time to hold corrupt, self-aggrandizing politicians accountable. I agree.

Ask your Democratic candidate if he or she is willing to publicly condemn New Jersey senator Robert Menendez — tried for public corruption and admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for doing favors for a wealthy contributor in exchange for lavish gifts — the way that so many conservatives condemned (and ultimately rejected) Roy Moore.

Democrats claim that now is the time to reject the politics of personal destruction. They look at a president who calls people names, who spins out wild conspiracy theories (Ted Cruz’s father participated in the Kennedy assassination? Really?), and they demand better. I agree.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Homegrown Jihad: 10 Years of Terrorist Radicalization in the Somali-American Community By Patrick Poole

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/homegrown-jihad-10-years-of-terrorist-radicalization-in-the-somali-american-community/

Ten years ago today — the same day that Barack Obama was elected president — a group of young Somali-American men left Minneapolis intending to join the al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia. Nearly two dozen men were part of that first wave of terror recruits, but they wouldn’t be the last. And Somalia wouldn’t be their only destination.

This proved to be one of the first major signs of an escalating problem of terrorist radicalization in the Somali-American community that has continued for the past decade. Among the fallout from that radicalization has been several attempted terror attacks here in the U.S., and the death of these youths in fields of jihad abroad.

I was one of the first to speak out about the problem nearly a year before.

In December 2007, I wrote about my attempts to get Homeland Security to prevent the entry of a known deputy of a U.S. designated terrorist leader from keynoting a series of fundraisers in Minneapolis, Columbus, and Washington, D.C. — three of the largest Somali communities in the country.

That speaker, Zakariya Mahmoud Haji Abdi, was here to raise funds and to recruit for the jihad in Somalia. I noted in my report that a summary, published in Somalia, recorded the fundraiser held in Minneapolis. That event summary is still online.

It was later acknowledged that the fundraisers I warned federal officials about were the tipping point for radicalization in the Somali community.

The first group composed of six men from Minneapolis left only several days after the Zakariya Abdi fundraiser.

Among that group was Shirwa Ahmed, who conducted a suicide terror attack on October 28, 2008, just a few days before the next group left. Ahmed had arrived in the U.S. at an early age, had done well in school, went to college, and had a good job. But he fell into a group at the Abubakar as-Siddique mosque in Minneapolis, where most of the men who later left for Somalia attended.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

David Steinberg New Photos Corroborate Perjury Claims Against Rep. Ilhan Omar, as She Deletes Social Media Evidence

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

https://pjmedia.com/davidsteinberg/new-photos-corroborate-perjury-claims-against-rep-ilhan-omar-as-she-deletes-social-media-evidence/

“Bone-chilling anti-Semitism? Serial felon? Meet the rising Democratic star. ”

On Tuesday, one-term state Representative Ilhan Omar (D-60B) appears likely to replace the outgoing Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) by winning Minnesota’s pre-eminent House seat: CD-5.

In October, however, the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board opened a formal investigation of her after reviewing evidence of several violations. Omar has also made, and defended, anti-Semitic comments as direct and vicious as any spoken by a U.S. politician in a generation.

Yet those legal and character matters may only be secondary red flags.

In 2016, an anonymous writer on SomaliSpot.com published verified photos and Minnesota state records suggesting that Rep. Omar is a serial felon and fraudster.

Since then, the additional evidence discovered to back these claims — and the absence of contradictory evidence — are almost as remarkable as Minnesota media’s refusal to lift a finger investigating her for two years.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Don’t join this year’s Women’s March unless you’re good with anti-Semitism mitism By Karol Markowicz

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

https://nypost.com/2018/11/04/dont-join-this-years-womens-march-unless-youre-good-with-anti-semitism/

With the Pittsburgh shooting so fresh and anti-Semitism (alas) so necessary a topic, it’s time for a reckoning with the Women’s March. This January, women who say they stand with Jews need to boycott the Women’s March.

The first year of the march, it made sense that many otherwise normal people would attend. It was just two months after Donald Trump’s shocking victory. Many were dazed and upset. The march was quickly organized by people whose names were not yet known to everyone.

Linda Sarsour is one of the leaders. Articles soon sprang up about terrible comments she made: She supported the radical Muslim Brotherhood. She praised Sharia law, which, among other things, includes second-class status for women. She was open about her fandom of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam.

In 2012, she tweeted: “When we write the history of Islam in America, the Nation of #Islam is an integral part of that history.”

Perhaps she didn’t know Farrakhan said “Hitler was a very great man” in a 1984 speech or that in 1985 he warned Jews: “And don’t you forget, when it’s God who puts you in the ovens, it’s forever!”

Maybe she was ignorant of his 1996 remark about “fake Jews,” that is, Jews who disapprove of his anti-Semitic comments: “You are the synagogue of Satan, and you have wrapped your tentacles around the US government, and you are deceiving and sending this nation to hell.”

People change, goes the argument, and comments Sarsour made were several years ago, before she became a high-profile political figure on the left. Perhaps she’s more responsible now.

But in September, Sarsour said American Muslims shouldn’t “humanize” Israelis. There was no overwhelming response from the left to remind her that Israelis are actually human. American Jews who ignore this hatred are fooling themselves. Anti-Semitism is specifically about dehumanizing Jews until their murder makes sense.

In July, she tweeted birthday wishes at a fugitive cop-killer. This is not a woman who has done a lot of introspection and changed her views. Why stand with her?

POLITICS Comments turned off

Will Trump Convince Hoosiers to Dump Donnelly? By Julie Kelly

Posted By on November 5th, 2018

https://amgreatness.com/2018/11/05/will-trump-convince

President Trump travels to Indiana again today—his second visit to the Hoosier State in three days. The president is pushing hard to make sure Mike Braun, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, wins on Tuesday. If Braun snatches away this critical seat from the Democrats, he could help widen the GOP’s majority in the Senate (if Democrats don’t add any seats) and turn this already-red state even redder.

But there could be a bigger reason why Trump wants Braun in the Senate: the desire to have a fellow political novice and successful business owner on his side.

“I believe Trump showed you can come from outside the political farm system and gain the most powerful spot in the world,” Braun told me Thursday morning on his way to a campaign stop in South Bend. “More and more people will enter politics from the business world, bringing a new dynamic. We can get rid of career politicians, at least I hope that’s the case.”

Braun, 64, is taking on Democratic incumbent Senator Joe Donnelly, who is finishing his first term. The race is considered a toss-up; recent polls suggest it’s a dead heat—and an expensive one. Outside groups have spent nearly $65 million in Indiana since May, compared to $45 million on the state’s 2016 Senate race between Evan Bayh and incumbent Republican Todd Young.

A two-term state legislator, Braun is the founder and chief executive officer of Meyer Distributing, an automotive parts distributor with locations across the country. “There are some feisty entrepreneurs in Congress,” Braun said. “We need some in the Senate, too. I turned a little company into a national one, and if I win and Rick Scott wins and Mitt Romney wins, we will double the number of businessmen in the Senate.”

Trump lauded Braun’s business background during a campaign event in Indianapolis on Friday night, where the president was joined by legendary former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight.