Monthly Archives: June 2014
June 25, 2014 — Steven Hayward
Regular readers of Power Line know that we keep close tabs on The Warmlist, the site that catalogues everything caused by global warming climate change, which now spans 883 things starting with AIDS and ending with zoonotic diseases. (Yeah—I had to look that one up, too. It has to do with diseases transmitted by insects, etc. Nothing that a little DDT wouldn’t beat back in many cases. . .) Well,
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June 25, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Rand Paul is fond of invoking the Constitution to support his policy preferences. But is he really a “constitutional conservative”? Roger Clegg raises the question in light of Paul’s announced plan to introduce federal legislation to enfranchise some felons. This plan probably reflects Paul’s desire to increase his appeal to African-American voters. But is it constitutional? No, it is not. As Clegg explains: The Constitution gives the states the authority
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June 25, 2014 — Steven Hayward
As we noted here on May 29, the Department of Commerce reported that the nation’s economy contracted at an annual rate of about 1 percent during the first quarter of this year. This morning the DoC is out with revised numbers, showing the economy shrank much more than previously thought: 2.9 percent. Last year the White House had predicted 2.6 percent growth for the first quarter. Oops. The suitably grumpy
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June 25, 2014 — Scott Johnson
Thomas Lifson draws attention to the notice taken here by Sundance of Conservative Treehouse to the peculiar advertisement posted by DHS this past January: On January 29th of this year, the federal government posted an advertisement seeking bids for a vendor contract to handle “Unaccompanied Alien Children.“ Not just any contract mind you, but a very specific contract – for a very specific number of unaccompanied minors: 65,000. • Why
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June 25, 2014 — Scott Johnson
At least two of Robert Conquest’s Three Laws — set forth here by John Derbyshire — explain the political world much as Newton’s laws of motion explain the physical world. Conquest’s Second Law provides: “Any organization not explicitly and constitutionally right-wing will sooner or later become left-wing.” Derbyshire adds with respect to the Second Law: “Conquest gave the Church of England and Amnesty International as examples.” Conquest’s Second Law probably
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June 24, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
I’m following two congressional primaries in the Empire State — one Democratic and one Republican. On the Dem side, Charlie Rangel narrowly trails challenger Adriano Espaillat in the early returns in the 13th District. On the Republican side, Frank Scaturro, whom I endorsed here, narrowly trails the establishment candidate Bruce Blakeman in the 4th District. Blakeman tried to disparage Scaturro by tying him to Arlen Specter based on nothing more
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June 24, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
Tonight’s most important primary election is the runoff in Mississippi for the Republican Senate nomination. Incumbent Thad Cochran faces a stiff challenge from Chris McDaniel, the candidate of choice for the Tea Party and other staunch conservatives. Recent polls have shown McDaniel ahead, but with 37 percent of the precincts counted, Cochran leads by 53.5 to 46.5. In raw numbers, this translates to a little more than 6,000 which, of
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June 24, 2014 — John Hinderaker
We live in a strange time. Historically, reporters and editors have believed that their job is to disseminate news. That is no longer true. Now, most reporters and editors believe that their principal function is to prevent people from learning things they are better off not knowing. Day after day, they run interference for their party, the Democrats. Blockading inconvenient stories from making the news is job number one. Consider
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June 24, 2014 — John Hinderaker
I don’t believe we have written about Naftali Frankel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah, the three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped, apparently by Hamas, while hitchhiking home from school on June 12. [UPDATE: Scott did write about it, see below.] Frankel, 16, is a dual Israeli-American citizen. The boys have not been seen since they were abducted and may or may not be alive. The kidnapping was generally viewed by
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June 24, 2014 — Scott Johnson
In an astute Wall Street Journal column almost exactly one year ago, my daughter Eliana named House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings “The IRS’s best friend in Congress.” And that was before Cummings’s moving tribute to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in last night’s hearing! In his column on last night’s hearing, Byron York names Cummings the best supporting actor. Having watched the hearing, I would say the competition for
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June 24, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
A source from deep within the intelligence world has commented on my post about Walter Russell Mead’s article concerning ISIS. Mead’s thesis is that ISIS is more radical, better organized, and better financed than al-Qaeda. And now that it controls some of the most strategic territory at the heart of the Middle East, ISIS poses a greater threat to the United States than any of its jihadist predecessors. My source
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June 24, 2014 — Steven Hayward
Yesterday we noted that Greenpeace turns out to be really bad at currency trading. Turns out the full story is much worse. According to a story in The Guardian, Greenpeace suffers from multiple defects in its financial controls (“disarray” is the bland term The Guardian uses), such that if it were a bank or a U.S. for-profit corporation, the SEC might well slap it with fines or sanctions: The handling
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June 24, 2014 — Scott Johnson
I dutifully watched IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testify before the House Oversight Committee regarding the “lost” Lois Lerner emails last night. Koskinen’s specializes in audacity, Obama style. He serves as front man for the Democrats in the scandals that beset the IRS and he’s not giving an inch. In his capacity as front man, the audacity not only comes in handy, it is a bona fide occupational qualification. According to
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June 23, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen is known as a “turnaround specialist” who helped rescue failed or failing enterprises. Unfortunately, it is clear from Koskinen’s strident testimony before Congress that he has no intention of turning the IRS around. His intention, instead, is to stonewall. The only change Koskinen seemed interested in during his recent testimony is more funding for the IRS. Koskinen may have a background as a turnaround specialist, but
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June 23, 2014 — John Hinderaker
One of our favorite candidates this year is Stewart Mills, who is running for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th District–northern Minnesota–against a weak one-term incumbent, Rick Nolan. We helped launch Stewart’s campaign by promoting his YouTube video in which he argues for 2nd Amendment rights and defends the dreaded “assault rifle.” When we get around to posting this year’s Power Line Pick Six–soon, I hope–Mills will be one of our choices.
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June 23, 2014 — Paul Mirengoff
“From the ruins of the Obama Administration’s Middle East strategy, the most powerful and dangerous group of religious fanatics in modern history has emerged in the heart of the Middle East.” So says Walter Russell Mead, the distinguished historian of American foreign policy (who reportedly has said he voted for Barack Obama in 2008). The fanatical group in question is, of course, ISIS. According to Mead, who cites analysts at
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June 23, 2014 — John Hinderaker
In any other administration, the debacle unfolding across our Southern border would be dominating the news. But in the Age of Obama, it jostles for attention with a host of other scandals and catastrophes. Tens of thousands of Central Americans–maybe more–have now traversed Mexico and deposited themselves at our border, where they are being whisked into the United States. The migrants endure privation and danger to get here, lured by
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