Winding Down

Lonely
Michael G. Grimm, the Republican Party’s lone congressional representative in New York City, announced late Monday night that he would resign effective Jan. 5, two weeks after he pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion. (New York Times, 12/30/2014)

When Republican politicians misbehave they are forced to resign. Not so with Democrats (see Rangel, Charlie). Sometimes these Democrats even become the revered senior statesmen of their party (see Clinton, William).


Squandered, Defaced & Shredded
Mr. de Blasio isn’t going to say it, but somebody has to: With these acts of passive-aggressive contempt and self-pity, many New York police officers, led by their union, are squandering the department’s credibility, defacing its reputation, shredding its hard-earned respect. (New York Times editorial. 12/30/2014)

The New York Times editors never once explain in this editorial exactly why the NYPD is angry with Mayor de Blasio, so we are left to wonder. What did the mayor say or do? Readers with any information are urged to comment so that we can get to the bottom of this perplexing mystery. 

Small Victories

Longing
Long before revelations in the spring that the Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix had manipulated waiting lists to hide that veterans were facing long delays to see doctors, senior department officials in Washington had been made aware of serious problems at the hospital, according to filings before a federal administrative board. (New York Times, 12/26/2014)

An entire article on the Veterans Affairs scandal and not one mention of the politician in charge of Senate oversight of the VA. Who would be..... Vermont's own Bernie Sanders! Can you imagine such a journalistic oversight if the senator had been, say, Ted Cruz?


Jihadist
The revival of the U.S. financial system after the crash of 2008 is arguably the Obama administration’s biggest domestic policy success. But Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in her jihad against Wall Street, seems determined to devalue this accomplishment — and to make financial expertise a mark of shame for Democrats, rather than a source of pride. (David Ignatius, Washington Post, 12/23/2014)

Even Liberal columnists realize that - when it comes to the financial markets - Lizzie Warren is off the reservation..... wait, can we say that? 


Let's Analyze Kat's Column
The embargo hurt the Cuban people it claimed to help and bolstered the regime that it intended to undermine. (Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post, 12/23/2014)

And how we know that the U.S. embargo has "bolstered the regime" is because ... what?

The effort to isolate Cuba has been increasingly isolating the United States both in the hemisphere and across the world.

And the specific proof that the U.S. has been 'isolated' by its embargo is that Hugo Chavez in Venezuela is no friend to the U.S. Oh wait, he's dead. 

Normalizing relations with Cuba enables the United States to advocate for individual liberty, without being seen as a bully trying to club a small neighbor into submission.

Great idea Kat! Let's try this with North Korea!

The Cold War is over; the Soviet Union no more.

And Putin's invasion of the Ukraine, that doesn't count.

For more than a century, we have casually and routinely trampled the sovereign rights of our neighbors to the south.

Finally we get to the real point that Comrade vanden Heuvel wants to make: it is all America's fault! Yes, blame America.


Eyes On
Polls taken over the last three months reveal a list of home-state complaints: Mr. Christie’s favorability is at its lowest point, with more voters disapproving than approving of his job performance. New Jersey residents think he is making decisions with an eye on his national standing rather than on what is good for their state. (New York Times, 12/28/2014)

Chris Christie probably breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the New York Times had pivoted away from writing endless negative stories about him to focus on Jeb Bush. He was foolish if he thought he could let his guard down. Given that the Times will be writing no hit pieces on Hillary Clinton, Lizzie Warren or Bernie Sanders, it has plenty of capacity to focus on all the potential Republican candidates.


Bouncer
What’s the important lesson from this late Obama bounce? Mainly, I’d suggest, that everything you’ve heard about President Obama’s economic policies is wrong. (Paul Krugman, New York Times, 12/29/2014)

After six years of dreadful economic news, it is now official. We can refer to any uptick as "the Obama recovery." Yes, those specific programs that Obama put in place have led to this "bounce." Guess they just took a little time to work..... Of course, voters rewarded Obama and the Democrat party for their careful stewardship of the economy by keeping the Senate in their hands and returning the House to the Dems. That happened, right?

Your Christmas Round-Up

Attention Deficit
Last week, in a reversal that deserves more attention, Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin announced that Vermont would no longer create America’s first statewide single-payer health system. Vermont was seeking a waiver from the Affordable Care Act to abolish what’s left of the nominally private insurance market by 2017, but Mr. Shumlin’s budget gremlins concluded the plan was too expensive and would damage the state economy.
...
Then again, maybe Vermonters are smarter than their politicians. Republican Scott Milne ran for Governor against single payer this fall and lost by 2,095 votes. Had Mr. Shumlin disclosed the true costs before the election, he’d have been turned out. (Wall Street Journal, 12/22/2014)

What about the front page article in the New York Times on the death of single payer in Vermont? Oh wait, that didn't happen!

Of course the Legitimate Media smothered the embarrassing news of the collapse of single payer in Vermont. In a year of disastrous news for Liberal bright ideas about health care there was simply no way to spin it. So they ignored it. 

Good point also that Shumlin would have been defeated if he was honest before the election about what he announced after the election. Has Vermont had a more corrupt governor?


History
At the same time, officials cautioned that the gunman had a history of mental health problems.

Mr. de Blasio took care on Monday to describe the gunman as a “very troubled individual,” urging vigilance among New Yorkers who might encounter threats against officers. (New York Times, 12/22/2014)

Liberals discover the possible connection between shootings and mental illness, but only when a cop is murdered.


Pros and Cons
The demonstrations sparked by the exoneration of the officers who killed Brown and Garner were pro-accountability, not anti-police. As I’ve pointed out many times, no one better appreciates the need for an active, engaged police presence than residents of high-crime neighborhoods. But nobody should be expected to welcome policing that treats whole communities as guilty until proved innocent — or a justice system that considers black and brown lives disposable. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 12/22/2014)

So according to our friend Eugene Robinson, the demonstrations are pro-accountability, not anti-police. Presumably this also includes the demonstrations in which the chant: "What do we want? Dead cops!" was heard. That was pro-accountability. Also, pro-accountability were the demonstrations in which two cops were assaulted. We are sure glad that we have Robinson to clarify things for us.

For yet more news on pro-accountability see below:

A police officer in suburban St. Louis fatally shot a man who pointed a gun at him outside a gas station on Tuesday night, the authorities said..... After the shooting, a large crowd gathered at the station. Chief Belmar said there were three instances of explosives, likely fireworks, being set off, and bricks or rocks that were thrown at police. At least two officers were injured, and four people were arrested on charges of assaulting an officer. (New York Times, 12/23/2014)


Mostly
With his slicked-back hair, Queens accent and entourage of mostly white, male union lieutenants, Patrick J. Lynch moves through New York as the rough-around-the-edges, unapologetic labor leader for more than 22,000 street officers. (New York Times, 12/23/2014)

New York police union chief's biggest sin is not that he drew a line between the mayor's rhetoric and the death of two cops. No, it is that his entourage is not "diverse" enough.....


Scraps
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would scrap a decades-old lifetime prohibition on blood donation by gay and bisexual men, a major stride toward ending what many had seen as a national policy of discrimination.

However, the agency will continue to ban men who have had sex with a man in the last year, saying the barrier is necessary to keep the blood supply safe, a move that frustrated rights groups that were pushing for the ban to be removed entirely. (New York Times, 12/23/2014)

So only celibate gay men can donate blood?

Question: Which is more important, safeguarding the nation's blood supply or making gay men feel better about themselves?


Charged
Mr. Bush — who announced this month that he was “actively exploring” a presidential bid — left office in 2007 after two terms. In those eight years, the state government in Tallahassee had been transformed by his hard-charging and driven style.

Jeb Bush's positions on immigration and education won't endear him to the Republican Party's conservative base, but those concerns may be overrated. Mr. Bush supports Common Core standards in education that are unpopular with some Republicans. And while he did not slash the number of state employees by half, he did privatize thousands of public jobs. The email forecasting that move is one of hundreds of thousands from two accounts — one a government address, the other personal — sent during his time in office and obtained by The New York Times through a public records request. (New York Times, 12/24/2014)

There is nothing more important for the New York Times to do over the next six months than soften up Jeb Bush. Hence they begin a massive effort to troll through his e-mails, much as they once did to Sarah Palin. Now if they could only get a hold of Hillary Clinton's e-mails on Benghazi.......


Once and Future
Law and Order Issues, Once G.O.P.’s Strength, Now Divide the Party (New York Times headline, 12/24/2014)

The headline says it all. There is dissension in the Republican party. And that conflict is between law and order Republicans....and Rand Paul. Apparently the New York Times has determined that Rand Paul is the party's leader. 

Report: Obama to Stay in Hawaii for Balance of Term

Beans
Last week, in the side room of Java Joe’s coffee shop here, the liberal group MoveOn.org took the first step to propel Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, on a similar path, holding a rally to encourage her to get into the 2016 race. (New York Times, 12/20/2014)

When Chris Christie announces for president we will get a thousand word article from the New York Times detailing the Bridgegate "scandal", Christie's brusque "unpresidential" demeanor and a thousand other sins. Meanwhile, if you want to learn about any of Lizzie Warren's baggage you will have to read Howie Carr's columns. Just as a reminder, Warren is a multi-millionaire who decries the 1%; who lied about being native American in order to get a teaching position at Harvard; and, who claimed to be the "intellectual" godmother of the Occupy movement. 


Suggestion
If, as all signals suggest, Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and brother and son of presidents, is about to get in, the race quickly intensifies. (New York Times, 12/21/2014)

Question: How long until the New York Times runs an article citing unnamed sources talking about an alleged Jeb Bush extra-marital affair? 

Answer: Six months, tops.


Irrespective
Moreover, when two of the six people who “allegedly” attacked two cops on the Brooklyn Bridge a week ago Saturday night turn out to be, respectively, a CUNY professor and an organizer for a union that placed five one-time senior union leaders in top de Blasio ­administration posts, it’s clear that New York isn’t dealing with bearded Bolsheviks living in caves. (Bob McManus, New York Post, 12/21/2014)

Good to know....


Let the Heeling Begin
Yet on the heels of the police deaths, the long-simmering tensions between Mr. de Blasio and the department he has pledged to reshape have reached an extraordinary nadir. Officers, led by union leaders, turned their backs on the mayor and Commissioner William J. Bratton on Saturday night as the two walked through a hospital to address the public about the deaths. 
...
Even when trying to defend officers, the mayor has, at times, been criticized by them. After reports of an attack on two police lieutenants during protests on the Brooklyn Bridge on Dec. 13, union leaders lamented that the mayor’s statement condemning the episode included the qualifier that police were “allegedly assaulted.”(New York Times, 12/22/2014)

How dishonest is the New York Times? Plenty! Does anyone think for a nanosecond that police officers were turning their backs on Police Commissioner Bratton? Of course not. By all accounts he is beloved by fellow officers. The Times purposefully softens the intended rebuke to de Blasio by mentioning Bratton.

Furthermore, the Times never says that the December 13th assault on police officers was captured on video. This turns it from an "alleged assault" to an "actual assault." Liberals only consult the video when it serves their purpose. 

And finally, a random thought..... where is the Liberal outrage over gun control when two cops are shot?

The Weight of Expectation

The Worm Turns
For weeks, university officials were careful not to strike a defensive tone, emphasizing that whatever doubts there were about the account, they saw a problem that needed addressing. But on Friday, the university’s rector, George Keith Martin, opened a meeting of its governing Board of Visitors with a broadside at the news media.

“Our tightly knit community has experienced the full fury of drive-by journalism in the 21st century — of callous indifference to the truth and callous indifference to the consequences,” he said, adding, “our great university’s reputation has been unfairly tarnished.”

Before reciting a long list of things the administration is doing to make the campus safer, Teresa A. Sullivan, the university president, said, “Our concern with sexual assault was not something that started with the Rolling Stone article.” And she said she felt compelled to state that “UVA’s climate and culture are generally healthy.” (New York Times,. 12/19/2014)

The University of Virginia Rape Hoax. 

Instead of an apology to the fraternity that she was quick to punish, UVA President Teresa A. Sullivan now blames...the media!

To Liberals who suddenly and unexpectedly face scrutiny from a previously docile and compliant media we offer little in the way of sympathy. Imagine for just a moment how the UVA frat that was unjustly accused feels. 

And just remember, the next time that you hear of some atrocious sexual assault on a college campus: it is undoubtedly a hoax. 


Why?
A Vermont Senator Asks, Why Not a Socialist President? (New York Times headline, 12/19/2014)

Well...because he's a nut-job.


Heavy Lifting
Still, the president acknowledged that he would have to work with Congress on contentious issues, including lifting the 54-year-old American trade embargo against Cuba. “We cannot unilaterally bring down the embargo,” he said, although his administration is undertaking a major effort to loosen key elements. (New York Times, 12/20/2014)

Prediction? 

Six months from now Obama will announce an executive order lifting the trade embargo against Cuba. He will deny ever having said that he could not take such action unilaterally. 

You read it here first. 

You Choose The Headline

Obama normalizes relations with Cuba, where torture is legal

What do Obama's deals with Russia, China, the Taliban and Cuba have in common? Answer: He got taken!

Christmas comes early in Vermont! Single payer shelved

Obama: We will no longer torture, drone strikes to continue


Pressing
Days earlier, two big progressive groups, MoveOn.org and Democracy for America, also pressed the first-term Massachusetts senator to seek the party’s presidential nomination.

The implicit logic of the Draft Warren movement is that after eight years of the Obama presidency, the American people want to move . . . further left. (Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal, 12/17/2014)

A challenge from Bernie Sanders or Liz 'Pocahantas' Warren or a more Left-leaning Hillary Clinton all spell good news for Republicans in 2016.


Linkage
But several former directors and deputy directors of the CIA have all attested to the link between KSM’s interrogation and the identification of bin Laden’s courier.

I am sorry that the Feinstein Report, which failed to interview those directors and thus has the credibility of a Rolling Stone article, seeks to deny this. Maybe Sabrina Rubin Erdely, author of the discredited University of Virginia gang-rape story and a pro at failing to interview key witnesses, will find a new career in Sen. Feinstein’s office. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 12/15/2014)

Good point from Bret Stephens!

Dianne Feinstein: American Traitor

Candy-Colored Clown
Candy Crowley resigned from CNN last week. Crowley will be remembered for her many achievements, such as becoming the first woman to win a presidential debate.

Speaking of Crowley, she will remain at CNN until January for State of the Union Address, where she is expected to load all necessary talking points into President Obama’s teleprompter. (Jodi Miller, Newsbusted, quoted on Newsbusters.org, 12/9/2014)

Now that is funny!


Irresponsible
As a president who receives regular briefings on terrorist threats and is responsible for stopping them, Mr. Obama sees the situation differently than he did as a candidate denouncing the incumbent of the other party. (New York Times, 12/11/2014)

Ya think? Of course Obama's default is always to blame Bush. 


Head Bump
Maybe it’s easier to get tenure at MIT than we thought. At least that’s our reaction to the Forrest Gump routine put on Tuesday before Congress by MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, who sounded for all the world as if he knew nothing more about politics and health care than the lovable bumpkin who always showed up when history was being made. (Wall Street Journal, 12/9/2014)

Why do you think that Dianne Feinstein and Democrat co-conspirators chose yesterday to release their treasonous report on the CIA? If you guessed: to deflect attention away from Gruber's Obamacare mea culpa, you would be exactly right!

Democrats Sell Out America, Again

Never Ever
I’m bemused that the Senate could devote so many resources to studying the interrogation program and yet never once speak to any of the key people involved in it, including the guy who ran it (that would be me). (Jose Rodriguez, Washington Post, 12/5/2014)

Rodriguez is a patriot and an American hero. Democrats hate that.

These are the same Democrats who first blamed intelligence agencies for not stopping 9/11; then received briefings on the measures taken by these same intelligence agencies to find the people responsible for 9/11 and prevent another attack; and who now claim amnesia while blaming the intelligence agencies for...what? Doing too much?

Ann Coulter says it all the time: Democrats cannot be trusted with national security. They should not be allowed to hold power for forty years. 


Their Trauma
Over the weekend Columbia Law’s interim dean, Robert Scott, announced that exams would be postponed for students who feel traumatized over the two grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of Brown and Garner, both of whom are black. (dailycaller.com, 12/8/2014)

Those crazy kids will do ANYTHING to get out of finals!


Worst Case
Administration officials acknowledged that the briefings given to lawmakers included worst-case scenarios. They say that is a legacy of the attack on the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, which erupted after the posting of a satirical video about the Prophet Muhammad. State Department officials were faulted for inadequate security and for not responding quickly enough when the assailants overran the complex. (New York Times, 12/9/2014)

After having been thoroughly discredited, the Obama administration and the New York Times are back to touting the "bad video" as the reason for Benghazi. This is propaganda that Joseph Goebbels would admire. 


No Mystery
While the names of these countries are redacted in the declassified report, their identity is scarcely a mystery. Poland, for example, has been cited by a court for its involvement in the program, which has been highly controversial among both opponents inside Poland and international human rights activists for more than a decade.

“We have suspected that Polish authorities knew about the black sites and that the C.I.A. had planned for them from the very beginning,” said Adam Bodnar, vice president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. “Hopefully, it will allow this issue to be finally resolved, and make sure those in Poland who are guilty are brought to justice.”

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in July that Poland was complicit in the interrogation program and awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to two men: Abu Zubaydah, suspected of running a Qaeda facility in Pakistan, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, believed to have planned the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.

“Poland, for all practical purposes, facilitated the whole process, created the conditions for it to happen, and made no attempt to prevent it from occurring,” the court ruled. Polish officials have steadfastly denied the country was involved in the secret prison program. (New York Times, 12/9/2014)

America has no more stalwart ally than Poland. Which pains us at RedStateVT when - once again - the Obama administration throws Poland under the bus. RedStateVT apologizes to the Poles on behalf of all fair-minded Americans. 


Run Run Run
Some Democrats are “Ready for Hillary.” MoveOn.org is ready for Elizabeth Warren.

The liberal group is poised to spend $1 million on a campaign to draft Senator Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat, into the 2016 presidential race, an indication of an appetite among some activists for a more progressive alternative to Hillary Rodham Clinton. (New York Times, 12/9/2014)

Can you imagine a Democratic race which included Hillary Clinton, Lizzie Warren and Colonel Bernie Sanders? It would be a RedStateVT dream come true! We would easily have a year's worth of material. 

Cutting Spending For Education: Something We All Can Agree On

Profiles in Courage
Racial profiling will still be allowed at airports, along border despite new policy (Washington Post, 12/5/2014)

And American lives will be saved because of it.


Bad
 “...every time something bad happens in the black community, we can’t bring up slavery.” (Charles Barkley, 12/5/2014)

Sir Charles is not backing down! Good for him.


Per Cent
Ms. Landrieu, 59, earned a reputation as one of the most conservative Democrats in Washington in her 18 years there, particularly with her vigorous support of the oil and gas industry, a position that often put her at odds with the party’s environmentalists. (New York Times, 12/6/2014)

...Ms. Landrieu had voted with Mr. Obama 97 percent of the time. (New York Times, 12/7/2014)

According to the New York Times, Mary Landrieu who voted with Obama 97%, of the time is a conservative Democrat. 

Also according to the New York Times: those who voted with Obama 98-99% of the time are moderate Democrats; those who voted with him 100% of the time are Democrats; those who voted with him over 100% of the time are liberal Democrats. 


Trans Parent
Last September, a brief mention in a welter of bureaucratic announcements caught the eye of Steven Aftergood, an advocate for government transparency at the Federation of American Scientists. He investigated and discovered that the Central Intelligence Agency was proposing to eventually destroy the email of all but a small number of its thousands of employees, from covert operatives to counterterrorism officers. (New York Times editorial, 12/7/2014)

Of no concern to the editorial board at the New York Times: the disappearance of Lois Lerner's e-mails.


Linked In
A long-awaited Senate report condemning torture by the Central Intelligence Agency has not even been made public yet, but former President George W. Bush’s team has decided to link arms with former intelligence officials and challenge its conclusions.

The report is said to assert that the C.I.A. misled Mr. Bush and his White House about the nature, extent and results of brutal techniques like waterboarding, and some of his former administration officials privately suggested seizing on that to distance themselves from the controversial program, according to people involved in the discussion. But Mr. Bush and his closest advisers decided that “we’re going to want to stand behind these guys,” as one former official put it. (New York Times, 12/8/2014)

In the wake of the disaster that has been the Obama presidency, George W. Bush's presidency is already being reevaluated....to the upside. And it is no wonder. As Senate Democrats prepare to issue a report which will result in the death of Americans, Bush - given the opportunity to sell out the CIA - stands with them and defends his actions to protect Americans. 

That is how it is in America: Republicans defend the country and Democrats weaken it. 

Shadow Shall Cover Us

Buffed
House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday rebuffed conservatives who had been urging him not to invite President Obama to deliver the State of the Union address, in protest over his executive actions on immigration. 

Boehner reasoned that giving Obama the floor would hurt, not help, the president's cause. 

"The more the president talks about his ideas, the more unpopular he becomes," Boehner said. "Why would I want to deprive him of that opportunity?" (Foxnews.com, 12/4/2014)

Who would have guessed that Boehner had such a good sense of humor? He should thank Obama for giving him good material. 


Busted
First, while it’s true that most Americans have insurance through Medicare, Medicaid, and employment-based coverage, that doesn’t mean that only the current uninsured benefit from a program that guarantees affordable care. Maybe you have good coverage now, but what happens if you’re fired, or your employer goes bust, or it cancels its insurance program? What if you want to change jobs for whatever reason, but can’t find a new job that comes with insurance? (Paul Krugman, New York Times, 12/5/2014)

It is shocking that Krugman does not know what you do if you lose your employer-sponsored health insurance. 

So here's the answer: you buy individual health insurance. It is offered in all 50 states. 

We are pleased to be able to provide this public service message...


Evidentiary
A long-awaited report by a New Jersey legislative committee says that there is “no conclusive evidence” whether Gov. Chris Christie knew about the controversial lane closings at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 before or as they were happening.

But in a detailed chronology, the report argues that the governor had many opportunities to know about the lane closings, the political motive behind them and the involvement of his administration, even as he insisted he knew nothing. (New York Times, 12/5/2014)

The Times continues its hard-hitting investigative reporting on what New Jersey Governor Chris Christie knew about a traffic back-up on the GW Bridge. Once reporting has been completed - and not before - they will be able to turn their attention to Lois Lerner and those lost and found e-mails.

All Together Now

Longing
Warren is considered a long shot to challenge Hillary for the Democratic nomination in 2016. Hillary Clinton is not only older and richer than Warren; she has also published more memoirs. (freebeacon.com, 12/2/2014)

Now that is funny!


RedStateVT Dissects MSNBC's Analysis of Hillary Clinton's Appearance At Georgetown 
It was the right topic at the right venue for Hillary Clinton Wednesday morning at Georgetown University, but the timing was off. Poor weather and impending finals kept students from filling up the ornate Gaston Hall, and her wonky foreign policy remarks left many disappointed who are hungry for something more from the likely presidential candidate. (MSNBC.com, 12/3/2014)

Liberal Georgetown students were unwilling to brave the rain to see the Democrat party's presumptive presidential nominee. Students - who could normally be enticed to do almost anything else instead of studying - decided to study. 

Questions from students were submitted ahead of time and reviewed by a committee of faculty and students before being read by Verveer. At the start of the program, an announcer declared that interruptions to the program “will not be permitted.”

Her Majesty will not suffer any surprises. 

Approved questions:
How is Bill doing?
How is Chelsea doing?
How is the baby doing?
How does it feel to be a grandmother?

Questions not approved:
What exactly did you accomplish when you traveled one million miles as Secretary of State?
What exactly did you mean when you said of Benghazi: what difference does it make?
What exactly did you mean when you said that corporations do not create jobs?

Meanwhile, as she speaking, an entirely different theme was being pushed by Republicans operatives, who filled reporters’ inboxes and Twitter feeds with pictures showing empty rows of seats in the hall.

The vast right wing conspiracy lives!

The university said the hall seats over 700 people, but that only 400 turned out. The entire balcony was empty, save reporters, while there were several empty seats downstairs.

It is likely that high ticket prices - in addition to the confounded weather - also depressed attendance. 

Tickets were offered free to every student.

Scratch that.

The university and students sympathetic to Clinton pointed out that many students were busy studying for upcoming finals. The rainy weather also may have kept some students indoors...

Just to reiterate, it was the weather and finals. It has nothing to do whatsoever with the plummeting appeal of the prickly Hill. 


Truly Deeply
Randi Weingarten, the affluent, fancypants president of the American Federation of Teachers, issued a statement on Wednesday expressing her deep concern about the salaries of American teachers....Certainly, Weingarten is not feeling squeezed. The teachers union honcho’s salary of $360,000 per year puts her squarely in the top one percent of all Americans. It is 641 percent higher than the $56,130 annual income of an average elementary school teacher. (dailycaller.com, 12/3/2014)

Good timing, we have been thinking about this exact point. So when Liberal redistributionists decry the purported "income inequality" in America, are they also talking about the union bosses who make 641% more than their constituents? We doubt it. With the characteristic hypocrisy of Liberals, it is only corporate CEOs that are greedy.


Dead Letter
While the United States and Iran are traditional rivals, if they can reach a deal over Iran’s nuclear program, more normal relations could follow, including close cooperation against the Islamic State. That was the point Mr. Obama made in a letter to the ayatollah last month urging him to sign off on the nuclear deal.

But the letter, as well as an earlier one wishing the Iranian leader a speedy recovery from surgery, may have backfired, one analyst said, projecting a weakness that only encouraged Iran to display its power more openly.

“When Obama sends letters to our leader wishing him a speedy recovery, to us that is a sign of weakness,” said one Iranian journalist closely connected to the conservative Revolutionary Guards. “During meetings the letter is discussed and we conclude: ‘Obama needs a deal. He needs us.’ We would never write him such a letter.” (New York Times, 12/4/2014)

The Bush Doctrine broadly holds that America will pre-emptively deal with threats to our national security. The Obama Doctrine holds that America will make any deal (Russia, China, Iran), no matter how lopsided, in an attempt to get our enemies to like us. Under Bush, our enemies feared us. Under Obama they laugh at us. This will be Obama's legacy. 

For The Last Time: His Hands Weren't Up And He Wasn't Surrendering

All Good
Only liberals look at blacks looting and say, See what white Americans made them do? (Anncoulter.com, 11/26/2014)

Ann Coulter argued that body cameras on police officers would "shut Al Sharpton down" in an interview on Monday's "Sean Hannity Show." (Breitbart.com, 12/1/2014)

Ingraham: Put body camera on Obama (foxnews.com, 12/2/2014)



The Key
“The true story came out from the grand jury testimony,” Barkley said, adding that he was made aware of “key forensic evidence, and several black witnesses that supported Officer Darren Wilson’s story…” He continued, “I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore. And, that’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media anymore, because they (the media) love this stuff, and lead people to jump to conclusions. The media shouldn’t do that. They never do that when black people kill each other. ”  (Hotair.com, 12/1/2014)

The wonderful Charles Barkley. The only braver blacks in America were the ones who testified before the Ferguson grand jury and corroborated the version of events told by Officer Wilson. 


All the Facts
The Ferguson case, with its fiercely disputed facts, has posed a particular dilemma for Mr. Obama, forcing him to balance his sympathy for the anger it has aroused among African-Americans with his commitment to the rule of law. (New York Times, 12/2/2014)

Actually, New York Times, the facts are the facts. There are no longer two sets of "facts." And the "facts" are only "fiercely disputed" by those - like the New York Times - who refuse to recognize the truth and who want to make the death of Michael Brown into a civil rights issue instead of what it really was: an assault on a peace officer. The grand jury heard expert testimony from forensic specialists and from unimpeachable witnesses who - in telling the truth - put themselves at great risk. Now there are only the facts and discredited falsehoods. 

Candidate For Dumbest Person Of 2014 Identified

Straight Talk
For the second straight year, Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha visited Politics and Prose, where the president left with an armful of books.

"Hope you can close Guantanamo," said one patron, referring to the president’s efforts to close the U.S. detention center in Cuba, which was opened in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks. (foxnews.com, 11/29/2014)

The year isn't over yet, but we think we have identified the Dumbest Person of 2014: this idiot is given the extraordinary opportunity to speak to the most powerful man in the world .... and asks about Gitmo. 


Hinged
As Republicans took control of an unprecedented 69 of 99 statehouse chambers in the midterm elections, they did not rely solely on a bench of older white men. Key races hinged on the strategic recruitment of women and minorities, many of them first-time candidates who are now learning the ropes and joining the pool of prospects for higher office.

They include Jill Upson, the first black Republican woman elected to the West Virginia House; Victoria Seaman, the first Latina Republican elected to the Nevada Assembly; Beth Martinez Humenik, whose win gave Republicans a one-seat edge in the Colorado Senate; and Young Kim, a Korean-American woman who was elected to the California Assembly, helping to break the Democratic supermajority in the State Legislature.

In Pennsylvania, Harry Lewis Jr., a retired black educator, won in a new House district that was expected to be a Democratic stronghold; he printed his campaign materials in English and Spanish. Of the 12 Latinos who will serve in statewide offices across the nation in 2015, eight are Republican. (New York Times, 11/30/2014)

So will the New York Times now stop repeating the lie that the Republican party is the party of old white men? We know that Democrats will continue to say this until - like the War on Women - it no longer helps them to win elections.


Shoe In
On the second of a three-day trip to Turkey, the pontiff removed his shoes before entering the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles embellishing its walls. After a tour of the cavernous 17th-century mosque, he stood alongside Istanbul Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran, facing in the direction of Mecca, and bowed his head in long prayer. (Wall Street Journal, 11/29/2014)

Next up, the Grand Mufti will pray in a Jewish synagogue.

Just kidding!


The Math
The next Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, wants to make a ban on abortions after 20 weeks the law of the land. (New York Times, 11/28/2014)

And again - just to clarify - 20 weeks equates to 5 months. So McConnell would like to ban abortions after a baby is more than halfway developed. Liberals are outraged. 

Stay The Course

Lesser
Less than 48 hours after President Obama nominated Antonio F. Weiss, a longtime adviser on mergers at the investment bank Lazard and a Democratic supporter, to become the under secretary of Treasury for domestic finance, Senator Elizabeth Warren denounced the appointment and said that she would vote against his confirmation.
...
Yet Ms. Warren’s wrath is misdirected, and her understanding of the so-called inversion deal on which she bases much of her opposition appears misinformed...Ms. Warren is, to put it politely, mistaken. (New York Times, 11/24/2014)

Why do we have to put it politely? Can't we just say that 1%er Elizabeth Warren is a complete and utter fraud? The new hero of the Democrat party - like the current president, and former hero of the Democrats - does not have the vaguest idea of how capitalism works. When you are a Democrat and the New York Times corrects you, you know that you screwed up.


Blown
“Unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem: health-care reform.” (Senator Chuck Schumer, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, 11/25/2014)

So how do you spin this if you are Democrat?


Lies
But he (Hagel) was not the core of the Obama administration’s military problem. That lies with the president and a national security policy that has too often been incoherent and shifting at a time of mounting international challenges, especially in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. (New York Times editorial, 11/25/2014)

When you are a Democrat and the New York Times says your policy is "incoherent", you know that you screwed up.

So how do you spin this if you are Democrat?


Evidence-Free
Truthfully, the angry and sullen reactions of those who wanted Wilson tried are understandable. They’re understandable because most Americans live in the evidence-free narrative created by malicious media liars, and the politicians they enable. They live in the evidence-free world of the political left, which maintains that America remains deeply racist, that every white cop is Bull Connor, and that every black man shot by police is a Selma marcher. So long as they live in that world, racial reconciliation will remain a dream, and racial polarization will remain a tool of the political and media elite to sell papers, raise cash, and drive votes. (Ben Shapiro, Breitbart.com, 11/24/2014)

Ben Shapiro at Breitbart never disappoints. Think he is wrong? Recall what the despicable Mary Landrieu said about race on the eve of the recent election.


Razor Sharp
Scenario A -- A secretly racist cop sees two unarmed black teenagers (one of whom is six feet five inches tall and weighs 250 pounds) and decides to provoke a fight with them for no apparent reason. The cop decides to shoot the teenager knowing full well that any weapons discharge would be fully investigated. 

Scenario B -- A six foot five inch, 250 pound black teenager - who recently smoked marijuana and who had just minutes before robbed a convenience store - attacks a cop who had asked him to move to the sidewalk from the middle of the street. The teenager is shot during the struggle. 

Occam's razor posits that the simplest or most obvious solution to a problem is most often the correct one.


Refrain
They headed toward City Hall, chanting familiar refrains calling for justice. When they got there, several revelers rushed a police cruiser and smashed the windows with bricks. They then rocked it until it flipped over, and bystanders cheered.

They eventually flipped it back over and tried to set it on fire. Small flames flared up, but the car was not engulfed.

“I thought it was exciting,” said Sherrelle Primm, 26, a protester who watched as the car was vandalized. (New York Times, 11/27/2014)

Even the storefront office of Antonio French, a local politician who was an outspoken leader amid the protests over the shooting, has been destroyed. (New York Times, 11/27/2014)

We have written before about dysfunctional cultures, most notably the Palestinians for whom child suicide bombers are celebrated and sweet treats are passed around to motorists after Jewish rabbis are slaughtered while praying in a synagogue. Cultures which act in such complete opposition to accepted norms of civilization are doomed to failure. Similarly it is with the poor urban underclass wherein burning down their own neighborhood - even the office of one of their own - is celebrated and "exciting."

If Al Sharpton truly wanted to help his people he would teach black youths not to resist the police and would stand in front of the beauty shop, the convenience store and the community center in these neighborhoods and use his powers of persuasion to prevent violence. 

Obama: Turns Out I Am An Emperor!

Broadly
But accusations of a presidential abuse of power appear to have gained traction in recent days, as a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found just 38 percent support for Mr. Obama’s executive actions even as there was broad support for a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. In the poll, 48 percent said they opposed Mr. Obama’s actions. Even a few Democrats have expressed concern about the propriety of the president’s actions. (New York Times, 11/21/2014)

Actually - if only 38% of the country supports Obama - he has lost more than "a few" Democrats. We wonder how many Democrats are quietly saying: "this guy is going to hurt our brand for years...." 


Zoned Out
I don’t know how ObamaCare will go, but it won’t last as it is. If the White House had wisdom, they’d declare that they’d won on the essential argument—health coverage is a right for all—and go back to the drawing board with Congress. The only part of the ObamaCare law that is popular is its intention, not its reality. The White House should declare victory and redraw the bill. But the White House is a wisdom-free zone. (Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 11/21/2014)

Another score for Noonan!


Wanted
People who wanted market-driven health care now have it in the Affordable Care Act (Alice M. Rivlin, Washington Post, 11/20/2014)

Completely dishonest analysis from Rivlin. Liberals do this all the time. They impose draconian rules and then talk about free markets. 


Inflation
President Barack Obama's much-touted 8 million Obamacare enrollment number was inflated by 1.3 million, the Obama administration now admits. "The mistake we made is unacceptable," tweeted Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell. "I will be communicating that clearly throughout the department." (Breitbart.com, 11/23/2014)

Is there anything that the Obama administration will not lie about? Answer: no. 


At Least
President Obama decided in recent weeks to authorize a more expansive mission for the military in Afghanistan in 2015 than originally planned, a move that ensures American troops will have a direct role in fighting in the war-ravaged country for at least another year. (New York Times, 11/21/2014)

Hey, don't get us wrong we think fighting the terrorists on their home turf is a good idea. But where is Code Pink? Where is the condemnation by the New York Times editors? Where is the rambling incoherent speech by Harry Reid on the Senate floor? Where is the reminder of how many soldiers have died already? Oh, and where are the apologies to George Bush and Dick Cheney?


Holy Holy Holy
McAllister points out that the usual separation-of-church-and-state crowd has been remarkably quiet about the president’s invocation of the Old Testament, that bloodiest and most patriarchal part of holy writ. “No scathing posts. No statement from the Freedom From Religious Foundation. Oh, right,” she says, “this is a Democratic president, so it’s okay.”(Ian Tuttle, nationalreview.com, 11/21/2014)

Killer point! Recall the endless criticism any time a Republican politician invokes religion. Liberal secularists are mute when Obama quotes scripture. 

Coming Soon from Democrats: The Republican War on Children!

Bernie Sanders: Keystone XL 'makes no sense to me' (Washington Examiner, 11/18/2014)

RedStateVT: Bernie Sanders 'makes no sense to us' (RedStateVT, 11/18/2014)


Currently
In the current Democratic-controlled Senate, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, has long refused to bring a Keystone bill to a vote for fear that it could hurt the re-election chances of environmental-minded Democrats who might have voted against a project that is popular with many voters. (New York Times, 11/18/2014)

So to fellow bloggers who write endlessly of Republican obstructionism we forward the passage above. Turns out Harry Reid's Senate (which never passed a budget either, by the way) may have doing some obstruction of their own! Also nice to hear that the Keystone pipeline is "popular with many voters." We are guessing that said voters like jobs and low gas prices. 


Starkly
President Obama is poised to ignore stark warnings that executive action on immigration would amount to “violating our laws” and would be “very difficult to defend legally.”

Those warnings came not from Republican lawmakers but from Mr. Obama himself.

For years, he has waved aside the demands of Latino activists and Democratic allies who begged him to act on his own, and he insisted publicly that a decision to shield millions of immigrants from deportation without an act of Congress would amount to nothing less than the dictates of a king, not a president. (New York Times, 11/18/2014)

For any of you cynics out there, remember: Republicans flip flop, Democrats evolve.


Mutually
But since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, the relationship between the Obama administration and insurers has evolved into a powerful, mutually beneficial partnership that has been a boon to the nation’s largest private health plans and led to a profitable surge in their Medicaid enrollment. (New York Times, 11/17/2014)

During the Obamacare debate, Charles Krauthammer once famously said: "I care not a whit about the insurance companies." We agree. They sold their souls to Obama for short term profits but given the opportunity Obama will sell them out in a heartbeat.


Surely
As headlines go, “ Obama Moves Close to Calling Russian Action in Ukraine an Invasion,” from a weekend story in the New York Times , must surely rank among the year’s most revealing. The Obama presidency has long been at odds with the obvious. Once this was called hope.

Now it is generally recognized as farce. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 11/17/2014)

Bret Stephens picks up on RedStateVT's recent point!


Extensively
Mr. Gruber wrote a 2011 cartoon book called “Health Care Reform” that aimed to explain the federal law. A note about the author says Mr. Gruber “consulted extensively with the Obama administration and Congress during the development” of the law. (Wall Street Journal, 11/17/2014)

Of all the egregious sins that Gruber has perpetrated, surely this is the worst: he wrote a cartoon book on Obamacare. 


And Then This
Here comes the tea party of the left. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 11/17/2014)

Honest column from Milbank. Yes, the Dems have a tea party too.

"Stupid" Americans Face Large Health Insurance Price Hikes

Substantially
The Obama administration on Friday unveiled data showing that many Americans with health insurance bought under the Affordable Care Act could face substantial price increases next year — in some cases as much as 20 percent — unless they switch plans. 
....

“Consumers should shop around,” said Marilyn B. Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the federal insurance exchange serving three dozen states. “With new options available this year, they’re likely to find a better deal.” She asserted that the data showed that “the Affordable Care Act is working.” (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So apparently, a "better deal" and "working" describe a situation wherein Americans pay substantially more for health insurance. Got it.


Checked Out
 “We’re really making sure the website works super well before the next open enrollment period. We’re double- and triple-checking it.” President Obama
...

The health insurance marketplace opened for business on Saturday and performed much better than last year, but some consumers reported long, frustrating delays in trying to buy insurance and gain access to their own accounts at HealthCare.gov. (New York Times, 11/15/2014)

Quadruple-check?


Dysfunctional
Vermont is the only state that requires purchase of any individual health care insurance policies through the state exchange. Yes, that’s the same exchange that isn’t functioning. Shumlin has turned health care in Vermont into a Kafka-like cartoon: you must buy through the exchange and the exchange doesn’t work. (Stuart Stevens, thedailybeast.com, 11/13/2014)

Wonderful article which describes how corrupt and arrogant Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin is and how he nearly blew the recent election to an almost unknown Republican, Scott Milne. Speaking of Vermont Health Connect, here is a recent e-mail: 

"You are receiving this email because you have chosen email as your communication preference.  Usually this email would include a link to your account, but at this time account log-ins and online payments are unavailable due to a period of extended maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Got it.


Identity Crisis
The Democrats’ widespread losses last week have revived a debate inside the party about its fundamental identity, a long-running feud between center and left that has taken on new urgency in the aftermath of a disastrous election and in a time of deeply felt economic anxiety. (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So after fifty-two thousand articles on how the Republican party is being torn apart by the Tea Party the Times concedes that Democrats face their own rifts. Got it.


Wonderful
Sometimes we wonder if President Obama has even the vaguest idea how a private economy works. (Wall Street Journal, 11/14/2014)

We just liked this line.


Get Closer
Obama Moves Close to Calling Russian Action in Ukraine an Invasion (New York Times headline, 11/16/2014)

Months after Putin invades Ukraine, Obama threatens to accuse Putin of......invading Ukraine. Vlad must wake up every day and pinch himself thinking about how lucky he is to have Obama.

War On Women Ends; Dems Lose

Charles M. Blow: Liar at the New York Times
Then came the signing of the Civil Rights Act by the Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson — although he wasn’t perfect on the issue of race, and the bill passed partly because of Republican support. (Charles M. Blow, New York Times, 11/13/2014)

Blow purports to write an objective history of race and politics in the U.S. Of course, he tilts the facts to fit his conclusion that Republicans are racists.  Oh, and he lies. Blow says Lyndon B. Johnson "wasn't perfect" neglecting to mention that Johnson is quoted as calling the Civil Rights Act a "n***r bill." In addition, Blow, like E.J. Dionne over at the Washington Post, lies about Republican support for the Civil Rights Act. Blow says it passed "partly because of Republican support" when, in fact, a greater percentage of Republicans than Democrats voted in favor of it.

We will not be lectured by Democrats on race when they lie about the issue.

It is Democrats who perpetuate the myth of Republicans as the party of (racist) white men. Which is exactly why they must vilify Clarence Thomas, Herman Cain, Ben Carson, Tim Scott, J.C. Watts, Condi Rice, Mia Love, Sarah Palin, Nikki Haley, etc. etc.


You're Stupid!
"Call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass.” (Obamacare "architect" Jonathan Gruber)

What Gruber is really saying - and RedStateVT is the first to note this - is that Democrats who supported Obamacare are stupid. Consider that support for the bill has never been above 50%. So half of the country, let's call them Republicans, have ALWAYS been against the bill, seeing it for the dysfunctional government entitlement program which it has become. They were not then and are not now "stupid." From the beginning, they saw that Obamacare was an abomination. So those who did support the bill, call them Democrats, are the stupid ones. We are happy to provide this clarification.


Thumpity Dump
Although they do not present it this way, in some ways Mr. Obama and his aides are taking a page from President George W. Bush’s playbook after his own “thumping” in his final midterm elections. Instead of pulling out of the deteriorating war in Iraq, as Democrats interpreted Mr. Bush’s election mandate, he sent more troops. Democrats like Mr. Obama, then a senator, accused the president of defying the voters. In the end, the reinforcements and a strategy change helped turn around the war. (New York Times, 11/14/2014)

So helpfully, the Times tells us two things: once again Obama (how many times is that now?) said one thing as a senator only to do the opposite as president; and second, George Bush's surge secured success in Iraq. The Times omits, however, the follow-up: Obama then squandered this success which has led to the madness of ISIS.


Battered
Instead of simply being spun out from Procter & Gamble, Duracell will find a new corporate home — with Warren E. Buffett. The billionaire’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, said on Thursday that it would acquire the battery maker from P.&G. through an unusual transaction aimed at lowering the overall tax bill. (New York Times, 11/13/2014)

News flash! Liberal icon Warren Buffett doesn't like to pay taxes.

Mocking Breeze

Blood Feud
"I'm not sure what Bill and I expected from the Obamas, but there was bad blood between us from the start."  
Hillary Clinton

"Obama has turned into a joke."  
Hillary Clinton

"The thing with Obama is that he can't be bothered, and there is no hand on the tiller half the time. That's the story of the Obama presidency. No hand on the f***ing tiller."  
Hillary Clinton

"And you can't trust the m***f***.... His word isn't worth s**t."  
Hillary Clinton

"No matter how obstructive the Republicans may be, Obama has the responsibility of leadership." Vernon Jordan

"I'm not going to enjoy this."  
Bill Clinton on playing golf with Barack Obama

"I hate that man Obama more than any man I've ever met, more than any man who ever lived."  
Bill Clinton

"He (Obama) put a hit job on me. He played the race card on me."  
Bill Clinton 

"I have no relationship with the president - none whatsoever."  
Bill Clinton 

"He (Obama) hates me. He tolerates you."  
Bill Clinton to Hillary Clinton

We recently read Edward Klein's delightful new book: Blood Feud - The Clintons vs. the Obamas. Highly recommended! The quotes above are some of our favorites from the book. 


Negotiation 101
The landmark agreement, jointly announced here by President Obama and President Xi Jinping, includes new targets for carbon emissions reductions by the United States and a first-ever commitment by China to stop its emissions from growing by 2030.
...
As part of the agreement, Mr. Obama announced that the United States would emit 26 percent to 28 percent less carbon in 2025 than it did in 2005. That is double the pace of reduction it targeted for the period from 2005 to 2020. (New York Times, 11/12/2014)

One can almost imagine Vlad Putin telling Xi Jinping: "This guy Obama is a shmuck. He is so desperate that he'll agree to anything." 

Including a deal in which he commits the U.S. to a 26% decrease in carbon emissions by 2025 while allowing China increases until 2030. 


Discouraged in Vermont
Managers of Vermont’s troubled exchange, which has been offline for repairs since September, are asking customers who have coverage to avoid using the website during open enrollment to keep volume down. Asked last week whether the exchange would be working by Saturday, Gov. Peter Shumlin said, “I’ve been discouraged so many times by this website that I’ll believe it when I see it.” (New York Times, 11/12/2014)

Shumlin added: "All these issues will go away once we implement single payer in Vermont."

Just kidding!

By the way, a quick tally shows Vermont health insurance premiums up by almost 14% for 2015.