May 25, 2013 — Steven Hayward

In Praise of Slow Learners

Featured image There’s this much to be said in praise of Jonathan Turley, professor of “public interest law” at George Washington University Law School, and frequent bobblehead on cable TV shows: at least he isn’t a supercilious smug-mugger like Jeffrey Toobin.  In addition, unlike Toobin, Turley often gets things right. But come on man, you’re only just discovering now that the federal administrative bureaucracy—the “fourth branch of government”—has become problematic?  From Turley’s »
May 25, 2013 — Steven Hayward

The Week in Pictures: Summer Sequel Edition

Featured imageSince summer sequel season in the movie theaters has arrived, we might as well treat ourselves to the memes and images of the ongoing Obama scandals.  Speaking of sequels, I took in Star Trek: Into Darkness yesterday.  Meh.  It’s impossible to review without spoilers, so I’ll just say it is as unimaginative as a Washington scandal involving political influence at a bureaucracy.  But the Obama scandals do give rise to »
May 25, 2013 — Scott Johnson

The future of an illusion

Featured imageAs ABC and other news outlets had it, the White House billed President Obama’s speech at the National Defense University on the status of our efforts to thwart agitated acolytes of a certain belief system as “The Future of Our Fight Against Terrorism” (for that lapse into Bushspeak regarding “Terrorism,” read “Violent Extremists”). The White House text of the speech is posted here without a title. I thought the speech »
May 25, 2013 — Scott Johnson

In the matter of James Rosen

Featured imageThe latest reporting in the matter of Fox News Channel’s James Rosen indicates the Obama administration fought to keep the search warrant for Rosen’s private email account secret, arguing that the government might need to monitor the account for a lengthy period of time. Thank you, Ryan Lizza. And one more thing. Despite Eric Holder’s his protestations of ignorance regarding the Rosen matter, NBC reports that Holder himself authorized the »
May 24, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Marco Rubio’s embarrassing appearance on Fox, Part Two

Featured imageIn a post below, I noted that during his appearance tonight on Sean Hannity’s program, Marco Rubio failed to defend his immigration bill, even though the format of the show was highly favorable to the Senator from Florida. Here is what happened. Hannity asked a central question that has become even more pressing in view of recent Obama administration scandals, particularly the one involving the IRS. That question, in essence, »
May 24, 2013 — John Hinderaker

The Inevitable Decline of Great Britain (Cont.)

Featured imageThe brutal murder of an off-duty soldier by two Muslim activists continues to dominate the news in Great Britain. The scene was utterly bizarre: in broad daylight, in a busy section of London, the two Muslims apparently ran the soldier down with a car, within a block or two of his barracks, and then attacked him with knives and a meat cleaver. They attempted to behead him, apparently not quite »
May 24, 2013 — John Hinderaker

Whose Administration Is It, Anyway?

Featured imagePresident Obama’s response to the multiple scandals besetting his administration has been revealing. It turns out that they have nothing to do with him: he has no idea what is going on in the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice, the State Department, the IRS, or, apparently, anywhere else, other than what he reads in the newspaper. He takes no responsibility for the actions of those whom he appointed to »
May 24, 2013 — John Hinderaker

Al Franken Resists Impulse to Slug Reporter

Featured imageThis video of Jason Mattera trying to interview Al Franken and Chuck Schumer about their two letters to the IRS, asking the agency to crack down on tax-exempt “social welfare” groups, is pretty entertaining. Only I don’t think Breitbart TV, which posted the video, described it correctly. Breitbart wrote: Sen Al Franken (D-MN) was using such a circuitous “serpentine” walking pattern in an effort to avoid TRN’s Jason Mattera’s tough »
May 24, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Americans are tired; Obama is tired — but not of the same thing

Featured imagePresident Obama’s legendary intellectual dishonesty was on full display once again in his “The Future of our Fight Against Terrorism” address. In essence, the speech called for a pullback, if not an end to, the “war” on terrorism. He prefaced this call with a quote from James Madison: “No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” And he pushed it home by emphasizing the duration of »
May 24, 2013 — Steven Hayward

When “Diversity” = Hate

Featured imageIf memory serves, Irving Kristol once remarked that the term “peace,” as it was used by the left, “is a Stalinist concept,” since the intent of the so-called “peace movement” was the unilateral disarmament of the West and the triumph of Communism.  Today the term “diversity” works the same way: it has become a term meaning the opposite of its dictionary meaning, and is a vehicle for racial division and »
May 24, 2013 — Scott Johnson

On section 1203: A footnote

Featured imageA knowledgeable reader who asks us to withhold his name writes to comment on our post “On section 1203.” Our reader writes: I’m writing to comment on your post on the IRS and section 1203. Like the retired CID agent you quote, I’m a regular reader and a fan. I’m also an attorney with many years of service with Chief Counsel’s Office of the IRS. I agree with most of »
May 24, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Marco Rubio’s embarrassing appearance on Fox, Part One

Featured imageTonight, Sean Hannity had Marco Rubio on his show for an hour to advocate the Schumer-Rubio amnesty bill. The program was an embarrassment at two levels. First, as I feared, the format was heavily skewed in favor of Rubio and his position. Second, even with this skewing, Rubio’s main arguments were pathetic. As to the format, Rubio spent roughly the first half of the program answering questions from Hannity. Some »
May 24, 2013 — John Hinderaker

When Did the Sports Pages Get More Liberal Than the News?

Featured imageMost of us read a newspaper’s sports pages for a respite from the generally depressing news of the day, and there was once a time when we could even expect a conservative outlook from most sports reporters. But those days are long gone. For some reason, today’s sportswriters are, if anything, farther to the left than their brethren in the news room. Moreover, some of the most obnoxious, far-left news »
May 24, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

This day in baseball history

Featured imageOn May 24, 1963, the first place San Francisco Giants took on the second place Los Angeles Dodgers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. It had taken a dramatic playoff series (won by the Giants) to separate the two teams in 1962, and well into the 1963 season, they were separated by only one game. To add to the drama, the pitching matchup featured Sandy Koufax for the visitors and »
May 24, 2013 — Steven Hayward

A Second Amendment Celebration

Featured imageOne of my favorite Facebook groups is “2nd Amendment Hotties,” and apparently more than a few other people like it too, as it has something like 16,000 “likes” on FB.  Would seem an omission not to share some of its awesomeness with Power Line readers, especially since we’re still in a too-long hiatus of beauty pageants worthy of John’s coverage.  So enjoy this respite from scandalmania for a holiday Friday. »
May 24, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff

Fox News trots out Rubio to promote amnesty once again

Featured imageI have written before about the lack of expression of opposition to the Schumer-Rubio amnesty legislation on leading Fox News programs such as Sean Hannity’s. While amnesty opponents receive little or no air time, Marco Rubio appears fairly regularly with Hannity to field mostly softball questions. Now comes word that Rubio will appear tonight on a “special edition” of Hannity to field questions from an audience of experts on immigration. »
May 24, 2013 — Scott Johnson

Weiner envy

Featured imageSince the rancid Weiner (Anthony) announced his campaign for the mayoralty of New York, I’ve been looking for an excuse to enter the Weiner (punning) sweepstakes. Now I think the Houston Chronicle may have provided the fodder. Finding the local angle in a New York story, the Chronicle reports on Weiner’s incredibly efficient rehabilitation in Houston: Anthony Weiner’s New York mayoral candidacy was only made more improbable today after he »