Ain't The Devil Happy: December 2015

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Twice Fired Former Donald Trump Aide; 'He's Doomed'

Look at the polls, and Donald Trump is crushing his Republican opponents. But from the perspective of Sam Nunberg, a political adviser who worked for Trump until earlier this year, The Donald’s campaign is losing—and is just a couple months from total disaster.

“What I’m worried about is, I don’t know what his inner circle is telling him. I hope they’re being honest. I’m more worried, I’m not optimistic,” Nunberg told The Daily Beast. “Under the scenario that I’m laying out, I do not think that he will win… This is what I would say from a ‘glass half-empty’ perspective if I were talking to Mr. Trump.”

To be sure, predictions of Trump’s demise have so far proven wrong—he has defied conventional wisdom, and continues to be the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary despite controversies that would have eliminated almost any other candidate. But the trajectory of the campaign thus far, Nunberg says, means that it is more likely than not that Trump will lose the first presidential contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, then hobble into South Carolina having lost frontrunner status and ceded momentum to his competitors.

Falling poll numbers in the first key states, a lack so far of reserved advertising, a low net favorability and underperformance in the college-educated voting bloc that dominates the early presidential contests—all these contribute to a darkening forecast for the Trump campaign, Nunberg argued.

Nunberg began consulting for Trump as early as 2011, and became a full-time adviser in Trump’s office in 2014. But Nunberg was fired over the summer due to a series of racist Facebook rants, including one 2009 post in which he called the president a “Socialist Marxist Islamo Fascist Nazi Appeaser.” So he is not exactly an impartial observer, despite his protestations to the contrary.

Apparently Trump doesn’t see eye to eye with his former aide. In characteristic Trump fashion, the businessman struck back against Nunberg’s analysis in a biting, personal way.

“Sam Nunberg was fired. He’s a highly self-destructive individual who makes routine calls begging for his job back. This is the interview of a desperate person who is trying to hang on and stay relevant,” Trump told The Daily Beast.

Nunberg maintains that he’s a staunch supporter of Trump’s candidacy, and took great pains during our interview to stress his personal esteem for the businessman. The purpose of speaking out, he said, was to create an “open memo” in which Trump might be alerted to his campaign’s shortcomings.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

78-Year-Old Bill Cosby Charged With Sexual Assault

ABCNews.com:

Bill Cosby was hit today with aggravated indecent assault charges stemming from an alleged 2004 incident in Pennsylvania, according to prosecutors and court documents.

After a brief court appearance, the 78-year-old comedian was released on $1 million bail and the judge wished him "good luck." Following court, Cosby was processed and had his mug shot taken at the Cheltenham Police Department.

Cosby entered the courtroom in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, around 2:30 p.m., walking arm-in-arm with his legal team. He is set to appear in court on Jan. 14 and was released on $1 million bond.

Cosby also turned over his passport to the court and did not enter a plea.

"The charge by the Montgomery County District Attorney's office came as no surprise, filed 12 years after the alleged incident and coming on the heels of a hotly contested election for this county's DA during which this case was made the focal point," said Cosby's attorney, Monique Pressley, in a statement to ABC News. "Make no mistake, we intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law."

The character Cliff Huxtable, as played by Bill Cosby, was an iconic figure who exemplified morality, hard work, success, and love--traits that conservatives push in opposition to the muddle of victimhood that social liberals do on minorities in America. It was only a matter of time before they got Bill Cosby.

RELATED: Mark Steyn: Why is Bill Cosby Finished While Bill Clinton is Beloved?

ABC Promotes Gay Agenda with New Miniseries: 'When We Rise'

NewsBusters.org:

It’s no secret that ABC pushes the gay agenda. But if you doubt it, wait until its newest miniseries comes out (pun intended).

Authored by openly gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, When We Rise will detail the history of the gay rights movement from the 1969 Stonewall Riots to the present day. It follows the stories of three people who are also members of the women’s rights movement, the peace movement and the black rights movement. “It's When We Rise, not When Gay People Rise,” Black told Adweek. “It's about how everyone benefits when we lift up any one group in this country.” If you think it will be a neutral examination of one of the biggest rights movement of our time, think again.

According to The Advocate, “with marriage equality established across the nation, Oscar-winning activist Dustin Lance Black is, once again, taking to the screen to affect change.” In his own words, Black told Adweek: “I’m drawn to making films that in some way move the social conversation.” In other words, films that are biased toward the gay agenda.

As the co-founder of the American Foundation of Equal Rights, Black is not new to activism through media. Raised in a strict Mormon home, he rejected the church’s teachings on sexuality and became a gay rights activist in 2008. In 2010, he narrated a documentary criticizing the Church of Latter Day Saints for its involvement in Proposition 8 and authored a play about the overturning of the same law the following year. In 2014, Black won an Oscar for his screenplay of Milk, a biopic about one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. His new 8-hour miniseries is likely to be similarly acclaimed by the major media.

In an article entitled “This is the LGBT Rights Miniseries We’ll All Be Watching,” Refinery29 wrote, “we don't doubt that we'll be glued to the TV screen for the premiere. Kudos to ABC for including more LGBT characters in its increasingly diverse lineup.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, “For ABC, When We Rise comes as the network has earned critical praise (and ratings success) with its push for inclusion and diversity in its programming and casting.”

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Bill Clinton's Conduct Towards Women 'Far Worse' Than Donald Trump's

Mediaite.com:

Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus admitted in a column yesterday that Bill Clinton‘s problem with women is a little bigger than Donald Trump‘s.

Hillary Clinton accused Trump of being a sexist, and Trump fired back by bringing up her husband’s past sex scandals.

Marcus has no problem calling Trump a sexist, a racist, a narcissist, etc., but she wrote yesterday that Trump has a point in calling out Clinton for playing the sexism card.

She isn’t sure that Trump’s “schlonged” remark was anything too outrageous––”mild” at best––and made this strong statement about the difference between him and the former Democratic president:

Well, Bill Clinton has a penchant for something. He had a successful presidency — with an ugly blot. “Sexism” isn’t the precise word for his predatory behavior toward women or his inexcusable relationship with a 22-year-old intern. Yet in the larger scheme of things, Bill Clinton’s conduct toward women is far worse than any of the offensive things that Trump has said.

Trump has smeared women because of their looks. Clinton has preyed on them, and in a workplace setting where he was by far the superior. That is uncomfortable for Clinton supporters but it is unavoidably true.
Marcus concludes that what Trump is doing is fair game because Clinton’s the one who first played the sexism card.

Comedian/Actor David Spade: Barack Obama ‘Should Have a Little More Dignity’ Than to Appear on Reality Shows

Mediaite.com:

David Spade has said in the past that President Obama‘s participation on reality shows is not exactly becoming for the leader of the free world. Yesterday, TMZ caught up with the actor, who expressed that Obama should “have a little more dignity” than doing things like going on an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls.

“What president is doing reality shows,” Spade asked. “I realize that Woodrow Wilson went on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ once… It just sounds weird to me, you know, it’s just too much.”

Spade also had some commentary about how “thirsty” the First Family is when Michelle Obama has been on with Ellen Degeneres more than he has.

“He’s on GQ, I’m like, leave that to Bradley Cooper,” Spade added. “You don’t need to go — you’re the president, you’re above all of us, you’re above stars, you’re above everything. When he’s trying to get in the mix like I want to present at the MTV Awards – all right guy, you got it, relax.”

Spade better be careful before the wolves come out and call him a 'RACIST!!!' for daring to criticize Barry.

Monday, December 28, 2015

‘Affluenza’ Teen Ethan Couch and His Mother Caught in Mexico After Days-Long Manhunt

Mediaite.com:

Ethan Couch, the teenager infamous for using an “affluenza” defense to get a light sentence for murder, was caught in Mexico with his mother after a days-long manhunt for both of them.

CNN is reporting tonight that Mexican authorities arrested both of them near Puerto Vallarta, a popular beach resort area.

Back in 2013, Couch was not sentenced to prison for killing four people while he was drunk driving. His legal team successfully argued that he has “affluenza,” characterized as “a lifestyle where wealth brought privilege and there were no consequences for bad behavior.”

Earlier this month, someone tweeted a video of him violating his probation by drinking, and after that, his probation officer was unable to contact him. A Texas court issued a warrant for his arrest, and there was a huge manhunt underway.

Both Couch and his mother were found in Mexico and are expected to be handed over to U.S. authorities.

Great, now this miscreant/murderer and his stupid mother will finally have to do some time in prison.

RELATED: Ethan Couch recklessly abused court's trust

Jim Webb: Why Is No One Going After Hillary Clinton for ‘Inept Leadership’ on Libya?

Mediaite.com:

Former Democratic candidate Jim Webb really went after Hillary Clinton on foreign policy and her “failure as Secretary of State” on Facebook this morning.

Webb, who decried how the DNC rigged debates in Clinton’s favor before dropping out, lamented how no one is calling her out “for her inept leadership that brought about the chaos in Libya, and the power vacuums that resulted in the rest of the region.”

He dismissed her “nonsensical” excuse about wanting to avoid another Syria-like catastrophe since, as he argues, that’s already happened:

Clinton talked at this last DNC debate about her failure as Secretary of State as if she was successful. While she held that office, the U.S. spent about $2 billion backing the Libyan uprising against Qadaffi. The uprising, which was part of the Arab Spring, led directly to Qaddafi being removed from power and killed by rebel forces in 2011. Now some 2,000 ISIS terrorists have established a foothold in Libya. Sophisticated weapons from Qaddafi’s arsenal—including up to 15,000 man-portable, surface-to-air missiles have apparently fallen into the hands of radical Islamists throughout the region. For a Secretary of State (and a Presidential administration) this is foreign policy leadership at its worst.

There’s been talk that Webb may attempt an independent bid for the presidency, and between this post and another one earlier this week calling President Obama and the Democratic party “out of touch” on the American working class, that could still happen…

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Ain't The Devil Happy: In The News 12/27/15

Trump: Benghazi Hearings Were ‘Disaster’ for the GOP, Bad for the Country

Andrea Mitchell Presses Sanders: You’re ’Far Behind’ Hillary in Polls on Foreign Policy

Obamas Say Happy Kwanzaa; Most Candidates Say Nothing

Analyst: US Senate Should Unilaterally Refuse to Ratify Paris Climate Treaty

Trump: Bill Clinton 'Fair Game' in Presidential Race

Why is Obama Working With ISIS to Eradicate Christianity?

Salon Writer Calls the NFL ‘The Most Homophobic Subculture This Side of the Westboro Baptists’

So, did Hillary just admit Obamacare hurts workers?

Kurt Russell’s take: Founders were ‘damn smart,’ Bill Maher is fake libertarian and more

Bitter Columnist George Will: ‘Highest Priority’ of the GOP Should Be to Stop Trump

Mediaite.com:

Columnist George Will is so alarmed by Donald Trump‘s “comprehensive unpleasantness” doing well in the Republican primary that in his newest column, he just comes out and says stopping Trump needs to be conservatives’ highest priority.

Will asks at the top if there is anything remotely redeemable about this “fundamentally sad figure” who coasts on his “compulsive boasting” and need for others’ approval.

It seems like Trump’s sorta-embrace of Vladimir Putin (he snarks that maybe it was just a coincidence that dozens of Putin critics have ended up dead) was the last straw of sorts for Will. He said, ” Trump has forced conservatives to recognize their immediate priority.”

He understands how crucial it is for Republicans to win the White House and beat the Democrats, but as far as Will is concerned, “Conservatives’ highest priority now must be to prevent Trump from winning the Republican nomination in this, the GOP’s third epochal intraparty struggle in 104 years.”

What a bitter, bitter man. Of course, people in the know are aware that Will's wife served as an advisor to Scott Walker, who Trump repeatedly dissed during the campaign for the GOP nomination before Walker sadly dropped out the race. And there are other reason's that Will's hatred for Trump including the Donald's past ridicule of Ronald Reagan, long a hero to Will.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Donald Trump Campaign: Hillary Clinton Bullied Women to Hide Bill's 'Sexist Secrets'

TheHill.com:

Donald Trump’s campaign is escalating its war of words with Hillary Clinton, claiming that the Democratic front-runner bullied women to hide her husband’s “sexist secrets” and accusing her campaign of “acting like 9-year-old little girls.”

In an interview late Wednesday on CNN, Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson unloaded on Clinton and her campaign, returning fire after Clinton condemned Trump’s “penchant for sexism.”

“What you have on Hillary Clinton’s side are a bunch of people, including women — liberal women — who want to run around talking about the war on women,” Pierson said. “They want to burn their bras and complain about equal pay and be treated as men, and the second they get criticized for anything they start acting like 9-year-old little girls.”

The feud began on Monday, when Trump ripped Clinton at one of his rallies, saying she got “schlonged” by then-Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries, and mocking her for returning late to the debate stage because she had to use the bathroom.

Pierson denied that the term “schlonged” was sexist or should be considered offensive.

“You know, no one really complained in 2011 when he used the exact same word to describe a woman winning an election cycle... and so all of a sudden it’s horrible,” Pierson said. “But Hillary Clinton has some nerve to talk about the war on women and the bigotry toward women when she has a serious problem in her husband.”

Actually, it was Hillary who started this feud with Trump (not the other way around) when she made the point of ISIS using Trump as a recruitment tool in their videos. But what's wrong with yet another lie by the liberal media that's so in the pocket for Hillary.

RELATED: Hillary Clinton Is ‘Not My Abuela,’ Critics Say

Thursday, December 24, 2015

America’s Miley Cyrus Fatigue

TheDailyBeast.com:

Oh look, Miley posed nude in another ‘racy’ photo. And there she is in a ‘crazy’ outfit. Did you know that she loves weed? Yes, 2015 is the year Miley’s antics got tired.

Miley Cyrus has built a career on multiple personality disorder. First, she was the bewigged fake pop star Hannah Montana by day, and real-life child star Miley Cyrus by night. Then, she traded in her Disney channel credentials for the all-grown-up starter pack: mature hit singles, a hunky temporary fiancé, and an extended IMDB page.

These days, Cyrus has been going full rebel without a cause, trading her cutesy roots for a marijuana obsession, queer identity, and psychedelic social media presence. But unlike any other college freshman undergoing a similar transformation, Miley Cyrus is super famous.

This has both positive and negative effects.

On the plus side, when Cyrus starts a nonprofit like her Happy Hippie Foundation for underprivileged, queer, and homeless youth, these issues get some much-needed play on a national platform. Unfortunately, the flip side is that when Cyrus takes a break from supporting cool causes to pursue her side passions of cultural appropriation and saying borderline racist shit, the ramifications are a lot more far-reaching than just an angry op-ed in the campus newspaper.

Miley backlash first reared its white-dreaded head back at the 2015 VMAs, which was essentially an extra long episode of Bad Girls Club masquerading as a legitimate awards ceremony. The show was already slated for drama with a warm up Twitter beef between Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. Cyrus, in her official capacity as host and in her infinite wisdom, decided to throw some white girl gas on the racial tension fire by showing up to the ceremony in white dreadlocks, and making a “mammy” reference during the show. All that would have been enough; unfortunately, Cyrus also had the balls to do a Times interview badmouthing Minaj about her pre-VMAs conduct. This led to an onstage confrontation between Cyrus and Minaj, which produced the beloved diss quote “Miley, what’s good?” as well as an answer to the age-old question, “Does Nicki Minaj read The New York Times?”

Ever since the VMAs, it’s safe to say that Cyrus’s shock and awe appeal has gone a little lackluster. For an artist whose aesthetic, sound, and performance style owes so much to black culture, that brand of racial insensitivity and borderline racism is more than just inexcusable—it’s downright stupid. All of a sudden, Cyrus’s “cool” doesn’t seem so progressive, and without the mark of millennial-approved values, Cyrus ceases to be an alt, radical hero, and is reduced to a crazy ex-child star stereotype. Instead of revitalizing her image from the roots up, Cyrus seems dead-set on throwing some glitter on the problem and barreling through the backlash. This has led to a series of eyeroll-inducing career moves.

Planned Parenthood Thinks Disclosing HIV To Partners Should Be 'Optional'

TheFederalist.com:

In a recent interview with Matt Lauer, actor Charlie Sheen disclosed that he is HIV-positive and has been aware of his HIV status for approximately four years. Since Sheen has a well-known sexual legacy and claims to have had sex with 5,000 women, Matt Lauer and the rest of humanity were understandably concerned that Sheen may have infected some of his many partners with HIV over the years.

Lauer asked Sheen pointedly, “Have you, since the time of your diagnosis, told every one of your sexual partners, before you had a sexual encounter, that you were HIV positive?” Sheen said, “Yes, I have.” Lauer: “No exception?” Sheen: “No exception.”

In this exchange, both Lauer and Sheen seem to assume it would be the right thing to inform a potential sexual partner that you are HIV-positive before engaging in sexual activity with him or her. Even if Sheen is not telling the whole truth, he seems to know he should at least publicly insist that he, without exception, told his sexual partners that he was HIV-positive before engaging in sexual activity with them.

Would it surprise you to know that Planned Parenthood disagrees? International Planned Parenthood Federation, of which Planned Parenthood Federation of America is an official affiliate, maintains it is a person’s “human right” not to tell their sexual partners they are HIV positive if they don’t want to.

Go Ahead, Infect People
It’s all laid out in International Planned Parenthood Federation’s booklet for HIV-positive youth entitled “Healthy, Happy and Hot.” It says, “Young people living with HIV have the right to decide if, when, and how to disclose their HIV status.” It continues: “Sharing your HIV status is called disclosure. Your decision about whether to disclose may change with different people and situations. You have the right to decide if, when, and how to disclose your HIV status.”

In other words, Planned Parenthood thinks it’s your human right to risk exposing other people to a potentially deadly disease without telling them. Most of the states in the union disagree with Planned Parenthood. Lauer went on to ask Sheen, “What about criminal charges? In 35 states if you or someone who is HIV positive…have sex with someone else without divulging it, you can be charged with a crime.” Sheen said he understands.

But fortunately for him, International Planned Parenthood Federation is working to change that. “Healthy, Happy and Hot” explains, “Some countries have laws that say people living with HIV must tell their sexual partner(s) about their status before having sex, even if they use condoms or only engage in sexual activity with a low risk of giving HIV to someone else. These laws violate the rights of people living with HIV by forcing them to disclose or face the possibility of criminal charges.”

The pamphlet then gives tips to protect oneself from criminalization, and does say that the best way to protect yourself (which is apparently more important than protecting your partner) is to tell your partner that you are infected before you have sex. This section ends with the statement, “Get involved in advocacy to change laws that violate your rights.” It appears that, according to Planned Parenthood, Sheen’s right to have sex trumps his partners’ right to live. That should give him some peace of mind.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

On The Other Hand, Hillary Clinton's Husband BIll Clinton WAS Used In An Isis Video

Townhall.com:

Either Hillary did not know that an ISIS video existed which had her husband and former President being described as a 'fornicator', or she simply ignored the fact and made up something else.

Both are wrong and should be defined as such.

On one hand, the fact that the former Secretary of State is not up to date on all ISIS videos and information is stunning in itself and would mean that she is simply incompetent. In the past, especially with Benghazi, we gave our Secretary State a pass when we found out that she was just incompetent (or so she says) and just swept it under the rug.

But on the other hand, she knew all about the video and refused to acknowledge it in the debate on Saturday night. She knew that her husband was on an ISIS video released several weeks ago and instead made something up about Donald Trump. Did she never mention it because the video labeled her husband as a 'fornicator'? Did she lie about Trump being on an ISIS video to cover up the fact that her own husband was seen in one?

What's the truth?

New National Q-Poll Has Ted Cruz Four Points Behind Donald Trump

HotAir.com:

Looks like Ted Cruz has begun to peak at just the right moment. A new national poll from Quinnipiac puts the Texas Senator within four points of Donald Trump for the lead, within the margin of error for registered Republican voters. Trump trounces both Cruz and Hillary Clinton for another honor … a dubious one:

Six weeks before the Iowa Caucuses open the 2016 presidential race in earnest, Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz lead the Republican field nationally, but Trump trails either Democratic candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and 50 percent of American voters say they would be embarrassed to have Trump as president, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today.

Trump has 28 percent of the GOP pack, with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 24 percent. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has 12 percent and Dr. Ben Carson has 10 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. No other candidate tops 6 percent with 8 percent undecided. But 58 percent of those who name a candidate might change their mind.
This is a big move for Cruz — eight points in three weeks for the Q-poll series. It broke a three-way deadlock for second place, as both Rubio and Carson dropped in the polls, by five and six points respectively. The other somewhat significant move came from Chris Christie, who rose four points to get to 6%, and who now has passed Jeb Bush to gain fifth place overall. No one else’s support changed even close to the margin of error, and the same 8% still don’t have a candidate preference.

Cruz appears to be improving on his likability, too. He gets a 35/33 rating overall and a 34/28 among independents. It’s not as good as Marco Rubio, whose +9 at 37/28 is the best in the GOP field (and 38/24 among independents), but Cruz has had issues on likability in the past. He’s doing better than Ben Carson on this question, who has slipped to negative numbers overall, 36/38.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

New York City Bans Employers From Calling Transgender Employees Wrong Gender

Mediaite.com:

The New York City Commission on Human Rights has issued a guidance indicating that under existing discrimination laws, employers can be fined for calling transgender employees by the wrong name, gender, or pronoun.

“[City law] prohibits unlawful discrimination in public accommodations, housing and employment on the basis of gender,” the new guidance reads. “Gender is defined as one’s ‘actual or perceived sex and shall also include a person’s gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the legal sex assigned to that person at birth.'”

Accordingly, the guidance lists several instances of what will now be considered a violation of the New York City Human Rights Law. Among them is “failing to use an individual’s preferred name or pronoun.”

Employers can fall afoul of the law regardless of whether or not the individual has legally changed their name.
Likewise, “refusing to allow individuals to utilize single-sex facilities and programs” is also against the law.

“Some people, including, for example, customers, other program participants, tenants, or employees, may object to sharing a facility or participating in a program with a transgender or gender non-conforming person,” the Commission predicts. “Such objections are not a lawful reason to deny access to that transgender or gender non-conforming individual.”

How much do employers or landlords stand to lose if convicted under the law? “The Commission can impose civil penalties up to $125,000 for violations, and up to $250,000 for violations that are the result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct.”

As long as New Yorkers continue to elect Godless, far-Left pols like Andrew Cuomo and Bill De Blasio to office, liberal fascism will further become the blueprint for all of New York.

RELATED: De Blasio Announces Six Weeks of Paid Parental Leave for 20,000 City Workers

Monday, December 21, 2015

Massive Manhunt Ongoing To Find Ethan Couch

WaPo.com:

Amid a nationwide manhunt for a Texas teen — infamous for the “affluenza” defense that helped him avoid prison time following a fatal drunk-driving crash — authorities now say the 18-year-old’s mother has been listed as a missing person.

For the past week, U.S. marshals have been searching for Ethan Couch, who is wanted for a possible probation violation in a 2013 vehicular manslaughter case.

Authorities said in a statement Monday that his mother, Tonya Couch, 48, has been named a missing person “in all relevant national databases” and may be traveling with her son in a pickup truck.

“He continues to believe the law doesn’t apply to him, which is how he was raised,” Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said during a news conference, according to the Dallas Morning News. “If he has enough money, he can get out of it.”

Authorities have enlisted the public’s help in finding Tonya Couch’s pickup truck — a black 2011 Ford F-150 Harley Davidson edition. Authorities said it has 23-inch chrome wheels, “crease-like damage to the passenger side real panel” and a Texas license plate: BC50945.

In June 2013, Couch was driving his friends down a two-lane road in Fort Worth, about 30 miles from Dallas, and had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit and Valium in his system, authorities said.

He crashed into passersby who had stopped to help a stranded motorist.

Four people were killed.

Couch, who was 16 at the time of the fatal crash, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault while intoxicated, according to the Associated Press.

It was his trial that thrust him into the national spotlight.

His attorneys argued that he was a spoiled rich kid whose privilege prevented him from distinguishing right from wrong. Indeed, his family is reported to be worth millions, thanks in part to a booming sheet metal business. It’s their success — and the way they have handled it — that contributed to Couch’s reckless behavior, his attorneys argued.

They recommended a lesser sentence — and won.

Couch was sentenced to drug-and-alcohol-free probation for 10 years as well as time in a rehabilitation center. But the term was tricky. Under Texas law, because Couch was younger than 17 when he committed the crime, his case would remain in juvenile court until his 19th birthday — and then his sentence would disappear, said Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.

The prosecutor’s office filed a motion last month to have the case moved from juvenile court to adult court when he turns 19 next year, so that he would have to serve out his sentence.

If there's one issue that should be uniting Americans everywhere, it's finding this spoiled, rich murderer.

RELATED: Q&A: Hundreds of tips received in hunt for teen who used 'affluenza' defense after fatal wreck

Sunday, December 20, 2015

5 Times Debbie Wasserman Schultz Violated DNC Rules and Stacked the Deck in Favor of Hillary Clinton

USUncut.com:

Tonight’s Democratic debate in Manchester, New Hampshire comes just a day after a very public battle between the Bernie Sanders campaign and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee. And given how Sanders raised an additional $1 million in just one day by maligning the Democratic Party organization as a saboteur working on behalf of his rival, the head of the DNC has made a name for herself among many Democratic voters as a shill for the Clinton machine.

If Wasserman Schultz hopes to maintain credibility, bring unity to the party, and help more Democrats win elections, it has a lot of work to do to define its reputation as something other than what former Virginia US Senator Jim Webb called “an arm for the Clinton campaign.”

Here are 5 blatant examples of the DNC tipping the scales in favor of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic primaries:

1. Scheduling primary debates to garner as few viewers as possible
DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has taken lots of heat for scheduling only six Democratic primary debates compared to the Republicans’ 12 debates, and for scheduling them at times traditionally known for low TV ratings. Saturday night’s Democratic debate in Manchester, New Hampshire on ABC coincides with a Saturday night NFL football game on CBS, and is additionally competing with the opening weekend for the highly-anticipated Star Wars sequel. The debate is also just six nights before Christmas, when many Americans are likely traveling for the holidays. The next debate in January will take place on a weekend, at the same time as an NFL playoff game. The next debate that’s on a weekend isn’t until February, around the same time as the early primaries.

When asked about the timing of this weekend’s Democratic debate, a spokesman for Bernie Sanders joked “I guess Christmas Eve was booked.” Martin O’Malley accused the DNC of trying to “circle the wagons” around the front-runner.

Wasserman Schultz has also been accused of rigging debate audiences themselves to be friendly to Hillary Clinton. After the second Democratic debate in Iowa, Senate candidate Tom Fiegen accused the DNC of loading the room with Clinton supporters to make it seem to viewers that Clinton was winning the debate with each round of applause.

2. Grassroots Clinton field offices co-located at DNC offices
In a recent VICE News report, reporter Pete Voelker described seeing firsthand how the Clinton campaign had rented a campaign office within the local Democratic Party office in Nevada, a crucial early primary state. Indeed, both the Clinton field office and the Carson City Democratic Party list the same address: 502 E. John Street.

“With its walls papered with Hillary Clinton signs and the seats carefully arranged for the Hillary for America ribbon-cutting, it was hard to tell where the Democratic Party’s office ended and the Clinton office began. There were a few signs referencing Obama and the Affordable Care Act, but as far as I could tell, there weren’t any that mentioned the two other Democrats running for president.”
However, Sanders campaign spokeswoman Joan Kato said no local Democratic Party officials offered any office space to their Nevada operations.

“None of our offices are located within the Nevada State Democratic Party or any of their affiliate offices,” Kato told VICE News.

In New Hampshire, where the first official presidential primary of 2016 takes place, New Hampshire Democratic Party staffers rushed to join the Clinton campaign before the former Secretary of State even announced her campaign for the presidency. Mike Ollen, Gene Allen, and Liz Wester left their positions at the state party to join the Clinton campaign in early April 2015, according to WMUR.

3. Dismantling Bernie Sanders’ campaign over one staffer’s mistake
The most obvious example of DNC favoritism toward Hillary Clinton was Friday’s snafu that began with the Bernie Sanders’ campaign defending itself against allegations of cheating and ended with Sanders filing a federal lawsuit against the DNC and accusing the party of “sabotage” against his campaign infrastructure to help Hillary Clinton.

Events spiraled out of control just as quickly as they unfolded. Josh Uretsky, national data director for the Sanders campaign, admitted to improperly accessing Clinton’s campaign data during a 40-minute security breach within NGP VAN, the system all Democratic campaigns use to monitor voter patterns and conduct outreach. The DNC responded by shutting off the Sanders campaign’s access to the voter database, effectively crippling its ground strategy. Even after Sanders’ campaign manager fired Uretsky, the DNC initially refused to back down from its decision to take away the Sanders campaign’s infrastructure.

The move was unprecedented as a punishment for any campaign. Even Robert Reich, Bill Clinton’s former Secretary of Labor, started a petition calling for Sanders’ file to be reinstated. David Axelrod, former adviser to President Obama, equated the DNC’s punishment to “putting the finger on the scale” for Clinton.

I've been saying that the Democrat Party wants Hillary to win the nomination so bad and they'll do anything to make it happen, including pressuring that idiot Joe Biden not to run. Bernie Sanders doesn't care, he just wants Billary to select him for the VP slot. If anything, Martin O'Malley is the one who should be hiring a lawyer and suing the DNC over this overwhelming bias.

RELATED: Bernie Sanders Raises $1 Million in One Day as Supporters Mobilize Against DNC Sabotage

Saturday, December 19, 2015

House Speaker Paul Ryan Pledges Aggressive Agenda for Conservatives in 2016

USAToday.com:

Rep. Paul Ryan, just seven weeks into his new job as House speaker, brought the legislative year to a drama-free close on Friday with a major bipartisan agreement on taxes and spending.

The votes on that agreement, the last ones in Congress until lawmakers return next year, clear the decks for what Ryan promises will be an aggressive, conservative agenda in 2016.

Ryan lost 95 Republican votes on the $1.1 trillion spending bill that the House approved Friday. But he said he's still optimistic about crafting a a 2016 legislative strategy that can win over hardline conservatives and even help the GOP retake the White House.

“My goal is to help unify the conservative movement so we can unify the Republican Party so… that the citizens of this nation get to choose in 2016 what kind of country they want to have in the 21st century,” the Wisconsin lawmaker said. “It’s nothing short of a generational defining moment we are facing next year.”

When Congress returns in January, Ryan said he expects quick work on criminal justice reform and legislation to improve screening of Syrian refugees. He also mentioned consideration of a new resolution to authorize the use of military force against the jihadist Islamic State, and proposals to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Mostly, however, Ryan talked about overhauling how the House operates. His earlier promises to make it more inclusive, open and collegial already have bought him goodwill from the conservatives who revolted against his predecessor as House speaker, Rep. John Boehner.

Rolling all of the unfinished fiscal 2016 spending bills into one 2,000-page package and bypassing the regular process of floor amendments wasn't ideal, yet 150 Republicans supported it on Friday.

“They knew I inherited this situation,” Ryan said.

Outside the Capitol, however, conservative interest groups already are unhappy, noting that the massive spending measure doesn't impose stricter limits on immigration, Syrian refugees or abortion providers. Two of those groups, Heritage Action for America and Club for Growth, urged lawmakers to vote against it. In the end, most of the yes votes came from Democrats.

Asked if he believes such outside groups will impede his agenda as speaker, Ryan said that "people who have been lifelong members of the conservative movement know me as one of their own."

Under Barack Obama, Race Relations in the US Reach 20 Year Low

TIME.com:

Perception of U.S. race relations have reached a 20 year low after several high-profile deaths of black Americans at the hands of police officers, according to data from a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Only 34% of Americans said race relations in the country are fairly good or very good, the lowest since October 1995, shortly after the O.J. Simpson trial concluded in an acquittal for the former football star.

The inauguration of Barack Obama as the country’s first black president saw Americans’ view of race relations reach a high of 77% in January 2009. However, the Wall Street Journal notes, there has been a precipitous decline in Americans’ perceptions of race relations since July 2013, when George Zimmerman being acquitted of shooting and killing Trayvon Martin—and that dim view of relations is shared across racial lines. Just 33% of whites and 38% of Hispanics view race relations as very or fairly good, with only 26% of African Americans saying the same.

The WSJ/NBC poll surveyed 1,000 adults and was conducted Dec. 6-9 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Bill Cosby Sues Sex Assault Accusers

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Dana Loesch Blasts the Godless Left for Politicizing Mass Shootings

Gay NBA Referee Bill Kennedy Holds Grudge Against Player Rajon Rondo and Old Boston Celtics Team

TheBigLead.com:

Bill Kennedy, the NBA referee who was on the receiving end of a torrent of homophobic slurs from Rajon Rondo, has revealed he is gay. The NBA suspended Rondo for one-game for directing a gay slur at Kennedy in Mexico earlier this month. Here is some interesting context for that from 2010.

Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy alleged in a 2010 interview (here’s the audio at 1hr 6 mark) that Kennedy was gay and “had no love for Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics,” because of a comment Rivers allegedly made about Kennedy’s sexual orientation. Rondo, obviously was a member of that Celtics team.

That’s a difficult question for me to answer because I certainly don’t want to offend anybody… I’m just gonna come out and say it like it is. It’s no secret on the staff that Bill Kennedy is a homosexual… I don’t have any ill will towards gays or lesbians, but it was no secret that he’s a homosexual. It was known around the league, it was obvious during a game Doc Rivers questioned his sexual orientation and I think that has stuck with Kennedy over the years and he has no love for Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics.
Donaghy discussing what was “known around the league” is hardly rock solid sourcing. There’s no evidence Rivers directed an untoward comment to Kennedy about his sexual orientation. There’s no evidence Kennedy displayed a particular bias against the Celtics, though seasoned Celtics fans might quibble.

However, Rivers and Kennedy did have a notable feud that had already been publicly reported. Both were fined for their actions toward each other during a game in 2009.

Of course, there's no such thing as "sexual orientation" as homosexuality is nothing more than a sexually deviant choice and Rondo lost a game's salary (pretty significant and justified considering what the average NBA star makes annually) for his remark at Kennedy. But if the NBA played fair and stopped catering to the Godless Left, they'd go back in the archives and conduct a full investigation on Kennedy, considering Donaghy's allegation and the fact that it could've made a difference in past games....but they won't.

RELATED: Kings' Rajon Rondo suspended 1 game for incident with official

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

WaPo Fact Checker: Marco Rubio Right to Say Gun Laws Wouldn’t Have Stopped Mass Shootings

Mediaite.com:

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio earned a rare acknowledgement from the Washington Post Thursday when they fact-checked his claim that more gun control wouldn’t have stopped recent mass shootings, and ruled that he was correct.

Rubio made a sweeping statement during an interview with CBS’ This Morning, arguing, “None of the major shootings that have occurred in this country over the last few months or years that have outraged us, would gun laws have prevented them.” But when the Post‘s Glenn Kessler looked into the issue, he found that Rubio was essentially right.

Kessler examined mass shootings back to the Newtown tragedy. In each of the instances, he found that the gun purchases would have still been legal under the most common gun control proposals, or that the shooter was already flaunting existing gun laws and would have presumably continued to do so. In the San Bernardino shooting, for example, “the guns were purchased legally and the rifles were purchased legally by a former neighbor.”

“Rubio’s statement stands up to scrutiny — at least for the recent past, as he framed it,” Kessler writes. “Notably, three of the mass shootings took place in California, which already has strong gun laws including a ban on certain weapons and high-capacity magazines.”

In the end, Kessler forgoes his trademark “Pinocchio” rating scare to give Rubio an elusive “Geppetto Checkmark,” indicating “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

Lord Jamar Addresses Porn Star Nikki Benz Saying He's Slut Shaming: 'Shame is Needed!'

Monday, December 14, 2015

A College’s War on Christmas Parties

TheDailyBeast.com:

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville warned students to not throw Christmas parties because someone might somehow be offended.

Another holiday, another opportunity for college administrators to trample students’ free expression rights as part of some comically misguided effort to prevent offense. Last week, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville issued a breathtakingly Scrooge-ish (Scrooge-ian? Scrooge-esque?) piece of advice: “Ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise.”

The diversity officers who wrote this instruction must have a lot of extra time on their hands, because eradicating secret Yuletide gatherings doesn’t exactly seem like a pressing higher education issue.

The university, thankfully, has since re-discovered its Christmas spirit, but not before inspiring bewilderment and anger among some students, as well as quite a few Republican politicians who hysterically interpret any slight against Christmas as an attack on Christianity itself. U.S. Republican Rep. John Duncan had this to say: “The people on the far left who claim to be tolerant seem to be tolerant of everything except traditional Christianity. They don’t object to Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or any other religion’s traditions. But they go unhinged on anything that hints of traditional Christianity. They try to take down Crosses and Christian emblems. It is a shame and very sad. And it is extremism.”

Considering how Christmas originated, how was this idiot stunt NOT an attack against Christianity???

RELATED: School principal bans Santa, Thanksgiving and Pledge of Allegiance

Testimony From Ex-Lesbian Christine Dixon.

Love these videos from people who came around to understanding the truth that homosexuality is a choice and how choosing God over what Ellen DeGerenes or the Godless liberal media says can lead to eternal salvation. I'll make sure to post one every week from no won.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Ain't The Devil Happy: In The News 12/13/15

Angela Merkel is doing more damage to the future of the West than Donald Trump

Even Atheists Could Benefit From Praying Every Once in a While

Orwellian: Award-Winning Journalist Censored After Skepticism of Man-Made Climate Change

National Security Profiling Is a No-Brainer

Obama Declares: ‘We’ve Transformed the United States Into the Global Leader in Fighting Climate Change’

Mitt Romney Loyalists May Launch WH Bid at Convention Floor

Over 10,000 Unaccompanied Minors Apprehended on U.S. Border in Last Two Months

The Media Avoid Hillary's Obvious Woman Problem

NY Daily News Columnist Sees Social Media Backlash After Saying San Bernardino Victim Had It Coming

Colorado ACLU Chairman Resigns After Writing About Shooting Trump Supporters Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/11/colorado-aclu-chairman-resigns-after-writing-about-shooting-trump-supporters/#ixzz3u8SxW4cv

TheDailyCaller.com:

The co-chairman of the Colorado Springs American Civil Liberties has resigned after being criticized for a Facebook post that said to supporters of Donald Trump: “If you are voting for him, I will have to shoot you before election day.”

The Daily Caller drew attention to the posts on Loring Wirbel’s Facebook account this week.

The ACLU of Colorado tweeted Friday that it “has accepted Loring Wirbel’s resignation as chapter representative to our state board.”

“The ACLU of Colorado does not condone the recent personal Facebook post of regional volunteer Loring Wirbel,” the group said.

Wirbel’s Facebook post read: “The thing is, we have to really reach out to those who might consider voting for Trump and say, ‘This is Goebbels. This is the final solution. If you are voting for him I will have to shoot you before election day.’ They’re not going to listen to reason, so when justice is gone, there’s always force, as Laurie would say.”

In a statement to TheDC, a police spokesman in Colorado Springs, Colorado, called the post “distasteful and a little alarming, given the source and content within current political environment.” But the spokesman said the department would not launch an investigation.

“There is not an investigation underway as the contents of the threat do not address a specific individual who could be considered a victim,” Lt. Mark Comte of the Colorado Springs Police Department said in an email.

Wirbel initially denied posting the comment. But on Friday, in an interview with the Colorado Springs Gazette, Wirbel admitted to writing the post, but said he wasn’t being serious: “It was intended totally as a joke.”

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Lying 'Rape Activist' Emma Sulkowicz Threatens to Sue Newsweek For Publishing Accused Student’s Side of the Story

Mediaite.com:

When contacted for comment by Newsweek, anti-rape activist Emma Sulkowicz threatened to sue the paper if they published the story of the man she accused of rape.

Newsweek‘s front page story, titled “The Other Side of the College Sexual Assault Crisis,” examines the surge in college students being falsely accused of rape after universities began lowering their evidentiary standards to crack down on rape. The centerpiece of the article is the story of Paul Nungesser, a Columbia University student who accused of rape by Sulkowicz.

Even under the lower “preponderance of evidence” standard, Nungesser was cleared of the charge by a Columbia tribunal. But Sulkowicz engaged in a art project/protest where she dragged a mattress across campus until the university expelled him (they never did). Sulkowicz became a media star, but the Newsweek story was one of few that was sympathetic towards Nungesser’s side of the story.

When asked for comment, Sulkowicz responded by threatening legal action: “Paul Nungesser’s complaint is filled with lies…. I want to warn you to be conscientious about what you publish as ‘fact’ for I may work with a lawyer to rectify any inaccuracies and misrepresentations.”

Ben Carson Blasts RNC, Threatens To Leave Republican Party

Politico.com:

Ben Carson on Friday blasted the Republican National Committee following a Washington Post report that nearly two-dozen establishment party figures were prepping for a potential brokered convention as Donald Trump continues to lead most polls.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus held a dinner in Washington on Monday, and, according to five people who spoke with the Post, the possibility of Trump heading into the Cleveland convention with a substantial number of delegates was a topic of discussion. Some attendees suggested the establishment lay the groundwork for a floor fight that could lead the party’s mainstream wing to unite behind an alternative. Carson rejected this approach.

“If the leaders of the Republican Party want to destroy the party, they should continue to hold meetings like the one described in the Washington Post this morning,” Carson said in a statement released by his campaign.

Carson said he prays the Post’s report is incorrect and threatened to leave the GOP. “If it is correct, every voter who is standing for change must know they are being betrayed. I won’t stand for it,” said Carson, who added that if the plot is accurate, “I assure you, Donald Trump won’t be the only one leaving the party.”

The retired neurosurgeon said that next summer’s Cleveland convention could be the last Republican National Convention if leaders try to manipulate it.

“I am prepared to lose fair and square, as I am sure is Donald,” Carson said. “But I will not sit by and watch a theft. I intend on being the nominee. If I am not, the winner will have my support. If the winner isn’t our nominee, then we have a massive problem.”

Carson told ABC News on Friday that he had no plans to run as an independent. “But I certainly don’t want to be a part of corruption,” he said, stopping short of saying he would drop out of the race if he left the Republican Party.

“I’ll leave that up to you to speculate,” he added with a smile.

Funny how the liberal media has backed off smearing Carson now that his poll numbers are down.

RELATED: Ben Carson campaign at war with itself

Friday, December 11, 2015

So-Called "Conservative" Pundit S.E. Cupp Would Rather See Hillary Clinton Win Presidency Than Donald Trump

Mediaite.com:

Conservative CNN commentator S.E. Cupp has voiced her displeasure with Donald Trump on numerous occasions, having declared that his ideas will cost him the presidency for being too morally and constitutionally repulsive to the GOP. Today, Cupp wrote a column on Townhall where she detailed that even though a Hillary Clinton Presidency might not be a desirable outcome, it would be preferable over Trump continuing to damage the Republican brand.

Cupp noted that despite Trump’s threat to run a third-party campaign and earning condemnation across the board for his rhetoric, the mogul has managed to keep a significant chunk of conservative voters in his corner. In the event that Trump decides to spite the GOP mainstream by going independent, Cupp expressed that the 2016 election might be a necessary sacrifice so that Republicans will be able to win in the future.

“Whatever group he claims to represent should have to embrace his dimwitted and divisive proposals without the imprimatur of the Republican Party or the conservative movement,” Cupp wrote. “Republicans shouldn’t have to defend religious tests, internment camps or Eisenhower’s ‘Operation Wetback’ just because Trump and his goon surrogates do… if Trump wins the nomination and runs as a Republican, we’ll have Democrats like Clinton in the White House for the next 50 years.”

Cupp continued, saying how Democrats have successfully smeared conservatives with the same brush as Trump, and that his continued run and potential presidency would cause incalculable harm to the GOP. On that reality, she said:

Just imagine a debate between Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, for example. I bet Rubio would actually look pretty great next to those two. So would Christie. Or Fiorina. At the very least, in those cases there would be an actual Republican on the stage representing conservative values, instead of a charlatan carnival barker… Donald Trump’s near-nihilistic determination to destroy the Republican Party shouldn’t get any more help from Republicans. I know it’s a painful prospect — but we may have to lose this one to ever win again.

This chick is a proud atheist who cried tears of joy when SCOTUS passed gay marriage earlier this year. How she continues to get a pass being called a "conservative" probably has more to do with her good looks than her actual politics.

RELATED: Trump Tower website has outage after Anonymous' anti-Trump rant

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Why We Need More Ayesha Curry's and Less Amber Rose's

AllBlackMedia.com:

In the age Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter it has become the norm for women to express themselves by taking provocative photos. We’ve seen regular women become overnight celebs due to the praise of this type of behavior, but what example are they setting for our future black women? Are we teaching them that popularity is more important than self respect? Ayesha Curry, who’s the wife of NBA star Steph Curry, was recently attacked on Twitter for simple stating her preference in clothing.

Nothing wrong with either sentiment, right? She wasn’t lecturing others about their fashion choices; she was merely stating her personal preference and trying to start a conversation. She did that, all right, and found herself both praised and pilloried, with a great number of responses.

Amber Rose, on the other hand, was recently involved in a “Slut Walk” where she protested about perceived promiscuity, and how it affected her relationships with Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa. While her intensions maybe good many refused to get over the fact that she’s an ex video model/stripper who tend to use her personal “assets” as a unique selling proposition. She recently exchanged words with West and Khloe Kardashian, who both slammed her for her past.

Despite the negative attention Rose continues to flaunt her assets for all to see. Is this a problem? No, not at all but it becomes one when people like her are praised by little girls for having a “great body” instead of actually doing anything to contribute to society. Amber Rose, herself, is not to blame for this widespread issue. It is the people who’d rather support an ex stripper baring it all while bashing a housewife willing to cover it up.

Majority of Chicagoans Want Rahm Emanuel’s Resignation

HotAir.com:

Last week, Hillary Clinton gave Rahm Emanuel her vote of confidence even after it became clear that the mayor’s administration deliberately withheld the video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald until after his re-election. This week, Chicagoans have a much different answer for the former adviser to Hillary’s husband. USA Today reports that a poll of Chicago voters puts Emanuel’s approval rate at a microscopic 18%, while a majority of respondents demand his resignation (via Newsalert):

A new poll published on Tuesday shows that more than half of Chicagoans believe Mayor Rahm Emanuel should resign in the aftermath of the release of a police dashboard video that shows a white police officer shooting a black teen 16 times.

More than 51% of likely voters said Emanuel should resign, while 29% said he should not step down, according to the poll commissioned by The Insider, a newsletter published by Illinois Observer.

Only 18% approved of how Emanuel is handling his job and 67% disapproved, according to the poll which was conducted by the Chicago firm Ogden & Fry. Meanwhile, 63.2% of respondents said they did not believe the mayor when he said he did not view the disturbing video of officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald ahead of its public release.
The pollster offered a caveat to his one-day survey:

“Right now, you’re in the middle of a strong emotional response,” said pollster Tom Swiss. “I would be curious to how people are feeling in a month or two months.”
Well, maybe, but this isn’t just the day after, either. The video finally got released before Thanksgiving, a little over two weeks ago. It was a full week ago that Emanuel insisted he wouldn’t resign, and tried to quell the firestorm by firing a police superintendent over the shooting. Thus far, the “strong emotional response” does not appear to be receding, nor the political judgment which it has created.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Ted Cruz Takes Down Global Warming Alarmists

TheAtlantic.com:

Ted Cruz doesn’t believe in man-made climate change or the science behind it. So while diplomats in Paris attempt to negotiate an international deal to fight global warming, Cruz is in Washington railing against mainstream climate science and “partisan dogma and ideology.”

On Tuesday, Cruz invited scientists who doubt the scientific consensus that climate change is real and driven by human activity to Capitol Hill to testify at a congressional hearing titled “Data or Dogma? Promoting Open Inquiry in the Debate over the Magnitude of Human Impact on Earth’s Climate.”

The skeptical message won’t sit well with the vast majority of climate scientists. But it’s likely to resonate with conservatives. That’s strategic: Cruz’s climate hearing wasn’t just a chance to talk about global warming. It was an opportunity for the Republican presidential contender to portray climate change as a flashpoint in a larger clash between liberals and conservatives—a chance to advance a narrative of “us” versus “them.” It arrives at a moment when Cruz is fighting to win votes in the midst of a crowded 2016 field.

If you were to ask American voters what they care about most, few would place climate change at the top of the list. The economy, jobs, national security, and terrorism are far more important to voters than the gradual warming of the planet. But at a moment when Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has struck a chord by suggesting that America is under threat, Cruz is styling himself as a defender of open inquiry fighting against fanatical ideology.

During the hearing, environmentalists were denounced as “global warming alarmists.” The media was assigned blame for failing to air dissent. Skeptical scientists spoke of a “chilling effect” at universities and backlash against anyone who denies mainstream scientific consensus.

“Many in the media reflexively take the side of the global warming alarmists,” Cruz declared, adding: “Public policy should follow science and evidence and data.”

The presidential contender has staked out a position on climate change to the right of many of his rivals—even in a Republican field dominated by candidates who question the consensus that human activity is the primary driver of global warming. Most Republican candidates acknowledge that the planet is warming, but say they cannot be certain how much of that is the result of human activity. In contrast, Cruz takes every opportunity to reject claims of planetary warming altogether. He frequently says that satellite data shows that “there has been no significant global warming for the past 18 years.”