What’s interesting in the news today?
We’ve got a bunch today.
First up, from TheWashingtonPost “By a margin of 56 to 27 percent, more Americans say they’d prefer to impose limits on abortions after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy rather than the 24-week mark established under current law, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.”
________________________________________________________
Next up, Holder begins his attempt to get around the recent Voting Rights decision from the Supreme Court. Why does he always speak to border-line racist groups about alleged racism from others?
From RedAlertPolitics “In response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision that states are innocent of institutional racism until proven guilty, Attorney General Eric Holder is arguing that Texas’ “history of pervasive voting-related discrimination against racial minorities” should make its voting laws subject to the Department of Justice’s oversight indefinitely.
While speaking before the National Urban League in Philadelphia on Thursday, Holder said his agency would ask a federal judge to require Texas to submit all its voting laws to the DOJ for review before they can be legally enacted because the state has a supposed history of discrimination and racism.”
_________________________________________________________
Meanwhile the Obama admin plays dumb in order to keep the money flowing to Egypt. Coup? What coup? 🙄
From TheHuffingtonPost “The Obama administration told lawmakers Thursday that it won’t declare Egypt’s government overthrow a coup, U.S. officials and lawmakers said, allowing the United States to continue providing $1.5 billion in annual military and economic aid to the Arab world’s most populous country.”
_________________________________________________________
Next we have another victim of ObamaCare.
From RedAlertPolitics “For almost 20 years Bob Westbrook has been a Cici’s Pizza franchise owner, selling “fresh taste at a great price.” But thanks to Obamacare’s not-so-great-employer mandate, Westbrook is forced to sell his buffet-style restaurants instead of pizza.
Even though Westbrook says his Texas stores were the top three performing CiCi’s Pizza franchises, he wasn’t making enough dough… er, money to provide health insurance to all 96 of his full-time employees, much less afford the penalty — which would cost him $78,000 more than what he says he made at his restaurants in 2011.”
_________________________________________________________
Here’s a new development in the NSA snooping.
From Cnet “The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users’ stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.”
“If the government is able to determine a person’s password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.”
_________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, we now know what it costs to buy an Ambassadorship. About a half a million.
From Bloomberg “At least 26 of Obama’s current and nominated ambassadors were major Democratic campaign contributors, giving a total of at least $13.6 million to him, the Democratic Party, and congressional candidates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“When he talked about toughening up lobbying rules, the sense was that this is a president really committed to international engagement,” said Dan Kurtzer, a 29-year veteran of the foreign service and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. “Instead, we so devalue diplomacy that we assume anyone can walk off the street and do it.”
_________________________________________________________
And last, we have The Black Death. 😯
From NBCLosAngelos “A squirrel infected with plague bacteria prompted the closure of popular campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest on Wednesday, according to Los Angeles County health officials.”
That’s not cool.
_________________________________________________________
Wandering Views 
Re: Zealot from yesterday’s post. This is the sort of stuff that comes from non-Christians, in this case, a Muslim. Mohammed said that Allah did not have a son, and that Jesus was not crucified. Allah took him to heaven and he will return when the 12th Imam arrives. I haven’t read the book. I intend to not read it. I’m sure he makes Jesus look good, because they believe Jesus was a prophet. But that’s just misleading.
Several years, nay, decades ago, I was challenged to read a book by Hugh Schonfield called The Passover Plot. I read about a third of the way through, but there were so many statements like “presumably”, and “he likely …” and “It seems that…” that I decided that I didn’t have to presume anything. So, I put it down.
Later, I started reading Those Incredible Christians by the same guy. I didn’t finish the first chapter in that because he kept saying, “As was shown in my previous book…..”.
I get advertisement magazines from “The Great Courses”. They offer some courses like “The Historical Jesus”. I really can’t criticize them because I haven’t studied any of them. And I won’t. The point is, you already know as much about Jesus as any of those guys. There is nothing new.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are important. They give us insight into a religious group called the Essines, a religious group in the pre-NT era. There are several portions of OT scripture, specifically Isaiah. They read essentially the same as the copy you have. Nothing has changed.
This sort of thing is designed to lead astray those who are doubtful about the validity of scripture, and are always looking for something new.
I repeat: YOU ALERADY KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT THE LIFE OF JESUS AS THEY DO.
They want nothing more in this world than to sow seeds of doubt.
LikeLike
Oh the Passover Plot! That was just awful scholarship and argumentation. What a pathetic piece of work. You were right not to waste your time finishing that pulp, Chas!
LikeLike
From yesterday, Ricky, Much of the Texas economy is based on low wages and thus Michelle’s comments are especially apt for Texas.
Ricky, from the links I’ve been given here, self defense can be invoked in Florida if its “reasonably possible” that the person had grounds to fear for his/her life. There’s no need to wait for the first punch to defend himself. Martin could claim a “reasonably” fear and state of mind due to Zimmerman following him both in the car and on foot. Now that’s based on the links given here and from what I gleaned since the Z verdict. However, I think self defense needs to be more narrowly defined than in Florida.
Solar — Yes I would convict Zimmerman. He made a mistake and must be accountable. I’m not sure what Florida charge would be applicable but manslaughter or a lesser charge.
Obviously, I think innocent before proven guilty — English common law wouldn’t work without it. However, if one admits to a crime and is seeking to justify it, then the defense must prove their theory. An alternate explanation is needed.
Interestingly, European civil law does not hold an individual innocent before proven guilty. Its up to both sides to provide the most plausible explanation. We generally assume the European justice system works to the same standard and in terms of results it does.
LikeLike
Egypt — a real sleight of hand but still good policy. Egypt is an American charity case and the US risks instability when it cuts off funds. The newer gov’t appt by the military is better than the previous so why complain …. This isn’t new. During the Cold War, NATO countries kept the money flowing to Turkey despite successive coups by the military who viewed themselves as the guardians of the constitution.
Obamacare — The Texas restaurateur admits he went straight to the penalty section of the ACA and determined he couldn’t pay the fine and thus quit. He never even investigated whether he could afford to provide health insurance to his workers. And since the penalties don’t come into effect til 2014 he has plenty of time to investigate. he’s jumped the gun.
NSA — an amusing bit of irony, I read yesterday that the NSA could not provide their email records to congress because “they lacked the technology”
Ambassador – I was under the impression this was the norm in US politics. During the Bush jr presidency the American ambassador to Canada was a supporter and donor to the Bush presidential campaign. When appointed he admitted he knew little of Canada, but was a quick learner. He replaced a Clinton appointee who was a big donor to Clinton.
LikeLike
Link for the day.
A California Democrat hold his fellow representatives accountable. In the latest round of agricultural subsidies, 15 Republicans voted for subsidies that directly benefited themselves — nothing like voting to give yourself money. they should’ve excused themselves due to conflict of interest.
Click to access Pork%20Barrel%20Politics.pdf
LikeLike
I have read Zealot yet but I expect he will base it on Bart Ehrman’s work
LikeLike
hwesseli: Thankfully, we don’t convict people for making mistakes, but committing crimes. Given his alleged acting in self-defense, how is it that he committed manslaughter? Zimmerman didn’t admit to committing a crime, and if his shooting of Martin was in self-defense, he has every reason for “seeking to justify it.” And the defense “did” provide that “alternate explanation.” I tell ya, you need to acquaint yourself with facts here.
LikeLike
hwesseli, where are you getting your definition of “reasonably possible”? You’re begging the question to assume that “reasonable” means “probably unjustified” or however you’re misconstruing it. We have juries for these kinds of things.
LikeLike
solar — we do convict for criminal mistakes, eg, criminal negligence causing death. A charge frequently used against people who in a careless and dangerous act caused a death. There’s no intent to kill, its an accident but they are responsible for it.
He admitted to killing Martin. I know the defense provided a “good enough for the jury” alternate explanation and thus manslaughter doesn’t apply. However, if this is the standard for self defense in Florida the bar is fairly low …. you can stalk an individual in your car and on foot and when he confronts you as most 17 year old males do, you can kill him. The bar is low and with the bar being that low, if Martin had killed Zimmerman that night he too might be able to claim self defense because he had a “reasonable” fear of imminent harm.
Try this sometime. At night, follow a young man when he walks home from the store. Use your car initially and then go on foot. After five minutes of following him on foot, many 17 year old males will physically confront you. Are you then allowed to shoot him? I’m not saying Zimmerman deserved the beat down but lets use some common sense you don’t follow 17 year old males at night. This is a serious error in judgment and since it ended in death, he must be held accountable. If you expect he’s up to no good, call the cops. The police will and do track 17 year old males.
LikeLike
Wow. You need to articulate yourself way more clearly. “Criminal mistakes” are crimes. You mention Martin “confronted” Zimmerman. If by “confront” you mean “accosted,” you’re correct. There was no evidence presented that Martin used anything approaching a reasonable escalation of force in “confronting” a man who, at that time, was apparently just standing there, and not in pursuit. That’s not posing “imminent harm.” Please familiarize yourself with the facts. Or rather, acknowledge them, since I’m assuming you’ve read up.
Your thought experiment entirely ignores facts of the case. Beyond that, of course I would be allowed to shoot someone whose first step in confronting me was to physically attack, then pin me down, beat me repeatedly, and tell me he’s going to kill me. That response is entirely out of proportion to the threat posed by Z. Really, be “reasonable” here. It’s amazing how much you have to conjecture to determine guilt.
LikeLike
The bar is low and with the bar being that low, if Martin had killed Zimmerman that night he too might be able to claim self defense because he had a “reasonable” fear of imminent harm.
No way. Doubtful a jury would acquit a guy who, as his first order of confrontation, shot a person who had merely been following him, but who had also dropped off the ‘chase’ for an was only either standing idle or returning to his car. Nope.
LikeLike
I saw that someone vandalized the Lincoln Memorial by pouring green paint on the statue. The criminal should be easy to catch. There can’t be that many Confederate environmentalists.
LikeLike
Speaking of Confederates, that Yankee government is still after us:
http://o.dailycaller.com/thedailycaller/#!/entry/feds-investigate-redneck-day-at-arizona-high-school-have-nothing,51f26d63da27f5d9d0ff2d1c
LikeLike
HRW, it would be nice if some day we’d see you decry the slaughter of innocent human beings through abortions as vociferously as you speak out in Trayvon Martin’s defense.
LikeLike
Ricky,
They use that race card everywhere they go. It’s the only one they have in the deck. It’s the reason they’re after Texas and the school in Arizona, and Voter ID. Race baiting is their specialty. All they do is divide. They’re a one trick pony.
Meanwhile actual crimes like the IRS scandal, F and F, and Benghazi go unanswered for.
Congress aren’t the only one’s that hold Holder in contempt. The man is a sorry excuse for an AG. He should be removed from office.
LikeLike
But AJ, the president said those were all “phony” scandals. 🙄
Really? Benghazi? Nothing to see there? … Sigh.
This administration can’t be gone soon enough, although I fear some of the damage in its wake might be impossible to ever reverse.
LikeLike
Ricky, what do you hear around Texas about Holder’s response to the Supreme Court ruling about voting rights law?
LikeLike
I’m not sure who is offended over the Redneck Day and why. Was it the kid who wore the flag, was told to take it off and did? Was it that the word redneck is offense to people who might be a redneck or was it that rednecks themselves are politically incorrect?
LikeLike
The ongoing disparaging of fox news — out of hand, just on “principle” — has long bothered me, especially by fellow journalists (some of whom go so far as to “block” it on their cable services to send a message).
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/03/24/why-liberals-still-detest-fox-news/
LikeLike
Yes, Chas, it is cute that Holder is getting ready to take on Texas. I would think that he would start with a smaller state, like Arkansas maybe. Perhaps he is using the theory that to get a reputation for being tough, you walk into a bar and punch out the biggest guy there.
LikeLike
The broad-brush criticism comes from people who never watch the programming, of course.
LikeLike
Chas, My friends and family really just try to ignore Holder, Obama and the rest. It’s almost football season and that will be a good distraction.
LikeLike
Liberals like to silence dissent. It is easier than disproving it.
LikeLike
The NSA is out of control. And neither party is much interested in correcting it. Both of my representatives voted for the Amash amendment to the recently passed spending bill, which would have prevented the NSA from continuing the warrantless dragnet they are currently engaging in. But when the amendment failed (215-205) they still voted for the bill without it. Good grief…..
LikeLike