Ha, just kidding!
Try to contain your shock.
(Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Obama Spends Sunday Going Over Gaza, Border Crisis
July 20th, 2014Wendy Davis’ Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
July 18th, 2014This has not been Wendy Davis’ week.
First Greg Abbott’s campaign announces that he has more than $35 million cash on hand. Since Abbott was already the prohibitive favorite, hearing that he’s shattered Texas gubernatorial fundraising records wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine for Team Wendy.
Second, a Dallas Morning News headline proclaims that “Hollywood luminaries, labor and trial lawyers fuel Wendy Davis campaign.” Thus reminding everyone yet again that Davis is a liberal media darling whose fundraising occurs out of state because she’s far more popular in Hollywood than in Texas.
Now even the Democrat-friendly Texas Tribune is debunking her fund-raising numbers:
Instead of $13.1 million in cash on hand as claimed, the reports Davis and her allies filed show there was actually $12.8 million in the bank at the end of June, a difference of about $300,000.
Meanwhile, the $11.2 million Davis claims she raised over the latest period — an amount she said was larger than the $11.1 million Abbott raised — contains over half a million dollars in non-cash “in-kind” donations and counts contributions that could benefit other Democratic candidates.
One of the biggest sources of non-cash donations: a $250,000 in-kind contribution from country singing legend Willie Nelson. That’s how much the red-headed stranger told the campaign he would have charged for a free concert he gave at the senator’s Houston fundraiser, the campaign said.
The lower-than-advertised cash figure and non-traditional accounting methods raise questions about how much money can be accurately attributed to Davis for the latest period.
Also this:
It was the cash-on-hand figure from Battleground Texas that came in lower than advertised. In the press release, the Davis campaign said Battleground would report $1.1 million in the bank. But Battleground told the Ethics Commission it only had $806,000 in the bank.
That’s a double-dose of good news: The hopeless Davis campaign is sucking up money that might go to competitive races nationwide, and the well is running dry on Battleground Texas, which might conceivably be able to swing a few down-ballot races with better funding.
And the general election is four months away…
IDF Goes Into Gaza
July 17th, 2014Israel has launched what it calls a limited ground offensive into Gaza, mainly to destroy terrorist infrastructure like tunnels.
If so, expect both parties to go through this same dance in, oh, about two years. Assuming there’s not a full-scale Shunni/Shia civil war raging across the region by then.
Here’s a live blog from the Times of Israel.
Dispatches From The Twitter Wars
July 17th, 2014These seem like parts of he same story:
If you are receiving this email, it means you ordered a copy of my book. Yet no one has received any copies yet, and I owe you an explanation why.
I am presently legally barred from fulfilling the order. The South Carolina lawyer disciplinary authorities—government officials—have determined that my political and religious commentary is “unethical.” I am legally barred from sending you a copy of my book at this time. (Well, I could send you a copy, but I could be disbarred for it.)
This is the culmination of a two year secret investigation of me by the South Carolina Commission on Lawyer Conduct and the South Carolina Office of Disciplinary Counsel, two entities that have taken the position that the First Amendment simply does not apply to lawyers. Unsurprisingly, no Democrat lawyers have been targeted so far as I know, and the people in charge of the South Carolina Office of Disciplinary Counsel have solid Democrat voting histories.
I encourage you to do discuss this matter in public and on Twitter and Facebook, and you are free to contact the people involved to complain. Here are some excellent talking points: (1) This is just like the IRS Tea Party targeting scandal, because I am being targeted for my political commentary but absolutely no Democrat lawyers are being targeted. (2) Anyone with half a brain understands that the genuinely offensive things I say are merely to provoke the Left and are my distinctive brand of political commentary. (3) If my political activism wasn’t effective, no one would be trying to shut me up. (4) Unlike the Mozilla controversy and other examples of private boycotts, the South Carolina lawyer disciplinary authorities are government agents who are punishing private citizens for political and religious advocacy that is not to their liking. (5) This is book burning, plain and simple. (6) If I lose my right to speak freely because I am a state licensed professional, anyone in a state licensed profession is subject to having their free speech rights taken away from them. (7) This case is one of the absolute best arguments against state licensing for professions. Once government gets its dictatorial foot in the door, everyone in the room becomes a slave to whatever group of petty tyrants happens to run that wing of government at any given point in time.
The reason for my silence about this matter until now is that I truly thought they would come to their senses about all of this. In fact, they indicated to me more than once that they would not punish me for political or religious commentary that was not to their liking, after initially demanding that I stop saying anything offensive on Twitter. (That was why I briefly stopped using profanity on Twitter in late 2012, in case you were wondering what that was all about.)
However, in early June, just as I was preparing to send out my book, I received an unexpected notice from the South Carolina Office of Disciplinary Counsel that the investigation was going to continue because of comments I made on Twitter regarding a left wing political activist named Col. Morris Davis, a frequent guest on MSNBC. (I have no indication that Col. Davis has anything to do with this—it appears a supporter of his filed a bar complaint on me, the seventh or eighth complaint filed on me in recent times.)
As a result of all this, I have prepared and filed a lawsuit in federal court. Please read the attached complaint that was filed earlier this evening. I will fight this matter all the way to the United States Supreme Court if I have to. Surrender is not in my DNA. However, I have no choice but to stop tweeting and hold off sending out copies of my book or engaging in any other advocacy until the federal court gives me clearance to do so without fear of professional repercussions.
#SalonExcuses What right-wing libertarian theocrats call "parody" is nothing more than an effort to silence marginalized voices.
— Popehat (@Popehat) July 16, 2014
Why Parody Should Be Regulated and Progressives Should Be the Regulators http://t.co/0Kbj5P99TH #FreeSalonDotCom
— SalonDotCommie (@IloiloKano) July 17, 2014
Noam Chomsky explains how communism has been ruined by white privilege. #Freesalondotcom
— Hugo Hackenbush (@MangyLover) July 17, 2014
The Stealth Anti-Feminist Messaging of Dunkin Donuts, where the eclairs and bearclaws are always displayed higher than the donuts
— SalonDotComLives (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 16, 2014
Derridas And Derridon'ts: How To Avoid Linguistic Hegemony When Deconstructing Your Children's Artwork
— Popehat (@Popehat) July 16, 2014
I like to think @salon had to scrap a good 25% of upcoming stories b/c @salondotcom accidentally stole their thunder. #FreeSalondotcom
— Will Antonin (@Will_Antonin) July 17, 2014
.@Salon: Stop Laughing at Historical Hate Crimes: Why Blazing Saddles Should Be Banned
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) July 16, 2014
.@Salon If You Argue With A Gay Person Or Minority, You're Automatically Wrong #FreeSalondotcom
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) July 17, 2014
.@Salon Who's More Rabid: A Rabid Dog, Or The Gun Owner That Shoots It? #FreeSalondotcom
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) July 17, 2014
.@Salon A Second Nobel Peace Prize? Obama's Masterful Handling of The Middle East #FreeSalondotcom
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) July 17, 2014
.@Salon Why An Obscure Church With 8 Members Represents The Hate In All Christian's Hearts #FreeSalondotcom
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) July 17, 2014
Texas vs. California Update for July 16, 2014
July 16th, 2014Some other stuff bubbling up, so here’s a Texas vs. California update to tide you over for a while:
“Greg Abbott Shatters Record, Reports $35.59 Million Cash on Hand for Campaign”
July 15th, 2014That’s the title of the press release the Abbott campaign just sent out. Details from that release:
$35.59 million cash on hand for the fundraising period ending on June 30th – the highest cash on hand amount ever reported by a Texas candidate. Since January 1st of this year, Texans for Greg Abbott has raised $16.6 million. For the current reporting period running from February 23rd-June 30th, Abbott reported raising $11.1 million. Greg Abbott’s fundraising is coming from Texas: 95 percent of Abbott’s contributions came from within the state.
That last line is a direct jab at Wendy Davis’ Hollywood fundraising trips. The farther she goes from Texas, the more they like her…
The fat lady isn’t just warming up, she’s already striding out on stage in full Valkyrie gear…
Gun Roundup for July 15, 2014
July 15th, 2014Been a while since I did a roundup on gun news, so here’s the latest, including an epic mugshot:
What is that, some incompetent Wolverine/Rocket Raccoon combination cosplay?
Evidently toy guns are something of a thing with him…
(Hat tip: Say Uncle.)
Scenes From The Illegal Alien Flood
July 14th, 2014You’ve got to hand it to the Obama Administration: They’ve taken an issue (a flood of illegal aliens) that was most heavily impacting the border states, and found a way to piss off pretty much the entire nation.
As Senator Jeff Sessions noted: “The crisis on our border is the direct and predictable result of President Obama’s sustained effort to undermine America’s immigration laws. As the president’s previous director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Sandweg recently acknowledged: “if you are a run-of-the-mill immigrant here illegally, your odds of getting deported are close to zero.” Enforcement has collapsed.” Sessions further notes that Obama’s $3.7 billion request does not ask for enhanced deportation authority.
The leftist ideologues who form the core of the administration evidently never gave up their love of forced busing, since they seem to want to forcibly bus illegal aliens into every state (or perhaps fly them to Alaska and Hawaii).
They’re certainly pissing off people in Arizona, as well as elsewhere. “Federal officials have been dumping illegal immigrants in places like Arizona, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Illinois without telling state and local officials beforehand and then demanding the states use their limited resources to care for the illegal immigrants.”
Even Obama’s fellow Democrats in Texas are saying he should visit the border. Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke “added that he has been surprised by the anger he has heard toward the immigrants from many of his El Paso constituents, who “feel like we can’t take care of everyone, and these children and their families are gaming the system.’”
And if Hispanic constituents in heavily Democratic El Paso are pissed off, how do you think people in other parts of the country feel about illegal aliens being force bused into their neighborhoods?
And Obama has done absolutely nothing to complete the construction of the already authorized 700 miles of border fence. Despite the fact that where border fences have been completed, illegal alien crossings are down 95%.
But doing that might keep out the illegal alien felons Obama so seems to love. Like the Mexican national who had already been deported four times being charged with molesting a 9-year old. Evidently molesting our children is one of those jobs Americans won’t do…
And Americans know who is to blame for the problem: “Nearly half of U.S. voters believe the Obama administration has prompted the flood of illegal immigrant children at the border, and most want them sent back home right away.”
If this is a scheme to panic Republicans into passing illegal alien amnesty, it seems to have backfired spectacularly.
No wonder Democrats are nervous. 2014 is shaping up an awful lot like 2010, if not worse…
Israel Picks Perfect Time to Kick Hamas’ Ass
July 13th, 2014Just a quick note to compliment Israel on a perfect sense of timing in picking this week to kick Hamas’ incompetent ass (yet again) in Operation Protective Edge:
Hamas has done more harm to the Palestinian movement in the past two decades, than any opponent of the Palestinians could have done. It has sabotaged relations with a sympathetic media through muddled press conferences and moronic bombastic statements about “opening the gates of hell.” It has driven out international supporters, managed to decrease the support it did have among various “free Gaza” committees and “shot its bolt” in its various ill-conceived wars with Israel.
Snip.
It gained a respite with the election of Mohammed Morsi in Egypt in 2012. But like Morsi, it over-reached and overestimated its military chances against Israel. It must have gained hope from Turkey’s Islamist government AK party and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strong messages of support. But the Gaza flotilla incident of 2010 seems like a high point of Turkish resolve. Hamas’ other erstwhile friends in Iran and Hezbollah; although Shi’ite extremists, seemed like they might bolster the organization. The 2006 Lebanon War, which was roundly seen as a blunder for Israel, was a by-product of Hamas’ own kidnapping of Gilad Schalit that year. But Hezbollah and Iran were drawn into the Syrian quagmire and Hamas was left alone. The overthrow of Morsi by General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in Egypt put another nail in the blockade around Gaza as Sisi sought to root out terror in Sinai. Pro-Gaza activists from the West were roughed up routinely in Egypt.
Whereas Hamas could once propagate stories about flour or electricity shortages in Gaza, the international media and activists began to shrug their shoulders. Another perennial sewage problem? In June of 2014 Reuters noted, “sewage at the beach, piles of garbage mar Gaza’s summer.” Various alarmist UN statements, such as a 2008 claim that the “blockage [by Israel and Egypt] is putting Gaza at risk of starvation” were met with a yawn. Hamas’ Gaza policy, with its need for international attention, has been marred particularly by the mass atrocities that have been taking place throughout the Middle East. Media outlets like the BBC caught on to the fact that images from Syria are routinely passed off as being from Gaza and there is less international outrage at Israel than in previous years as the European public is inured to suffering in the region.
This latest round of violence is indicative. Al-Jazeera cobbled together various world leaders’ reactions to the conflict. The usual suspects were there – but were markedly tepid in their criticism of Israel.
All that said, I bet we go through the whole thing again another two years from now…
LinkSwarm for July 11, 2014
July 11th, 2014More news from inside the handbasket, including the dust-up in Gaza and the illegal alien surge at the border:
So tragic. So avoidable. RT @verumserum: The surge of unaccompanied minors at the border. pic.twitter.com/xxHzoZCgvI
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) July 10, 2014
In honor of the POTUS being in Austin. #tcot pic.twitter.com/d0iqRs8JUR
— YCT-UT (@YCT_UT) July 10, 2014