Is It Time For Jeb Bush To Drop Out?

HotAir.com:

Here’s the only problem: What evidence is there that Bush can’t come back and win? The working theory behind Trump’s (slight) downturn in the polls since the last debate is that voters are only now starting to get serious about the race. If that’s true, then the Bush boomlet might still be coming. If you believe the last NBC/WSJ poll taken in New Hampshire, Bush is still in third place there with 11 percent, just 10 points behind a weakening Trump and five points behind Fiorina, whom few believe will win the nomination. With a ton of money in the bank and continued viability in his must-win state, there’s no reason for him to get out soon. Purely as an ego matter, why would he want to bow to his protege Rubio by throwing in the towel when he and Rubio are separated in most polls by just a handful of points? And whatever you think of Rahn’s assessment of Dubya as a disastrous president, the fact is that Republican voters don’t agree. Go look again at Bush 43’s favorable rating among GOP voters. It’s entirely possible that having George on the trail for Jeb will lend him the bit of stature he needs for undecided center-right voters to take a closer look at him.

The only scenario where it would make sense for Bush to quit in early October, I think, is if Trump and some other credible center-right challenger like Rubio or Kasich had already bounced out to big leads and made it a two-man race. In that case, Jeb might tell himself that it’s unrealistic to think he’ll be able to catch the center-righty, even with tons of money in the bank and Dubya’s help on the trail, and also that Trump is so serious a threat to win the nomination that the responsible thing to do, a la Scott Walker, is unite behind the leading “electable” alternative. Neither of those conditions obtain right now, though — Trump’s lead is shrinking, not expanding, and second place is up for grabs among Rubio, Carson, and Fiorina. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next six weeks or so, though, if Rubio continues to inch up and Trump continues to inch down. In that case, Jeb may decide that the scariest prospect of the campaign — Trump as nominee — has become sufficiently unlikely that he can just continue to run his race for another two months and see if he can catch Marco in New Hampshire. If not, fine. Maybe he’ll drop out then and spare Rubio a death match in Florida. If so, great. Then he’s back on track for the nomination. Until it becomes a two-man race, though, this probably isn’t even worth thinking about — unless it turns out that Jeb hates campaigning so much that he’s actually eager to find excuses to quietly retire.

Exit question: What if we end up with a two-man race between Rubio and Ted Cruz, with Jeb Bush more than 10 points behind both men? Would he quit and endorse Rubio then?

RELATED: Jeb Bush Should Face Facts: It’s Time to Drop Out

Laurel Harper Should be Charged With Accessory To Murder

CNN.com:

The apparent online writings of the mother of the man who killed nine people at a community college in Oregon discuss guns and the autism spectrum, painting a partial picture of the environment the family lived in, their beliefs and the challenges they faced.

Online posts linked to Laurel Harper, mother of the gunman, are limited and incomplete, but they seem to indicate two things: that her son, Chris Harper-Mercer, had a developmental disorder, and that the family had a familiarity with firearms and gun laws. 

On Tuesday, a spokesman for the agencies looking into last week's fatal shooting told CNN that investigators are aware of Harper's alleged social media postings and her son's online writings. Sgt. Jeff Eichenbusch of Roseburg police said that Harper is part of the investigation, just as would be any person who was close to the gunman.

Laurel Harper's apparent online writings come in the form of posts to several websites, usually about health topics. The bulk of the postings were on forums such as Yahoo! Answers and comments on NurseTogether.  

Laurel Harper's apparent online writings come in the form of posts to several websites, usually about health topics. The bulk of the postings were on forums such as Yahoo! Answers and comments on NurseTogether. 

Public records link Harper to the same email address used in these posts from a Yahoo! user calling herself "Tweety Bird." 

The postings, first reported by The New York Times, make references to Harper having a son who has a disorder on the autism spectrum and of the family having strong pro-gun views. 

In response to a question posted on Yahoo! Answers three years ago, the account linked to Harper complains about "lame states" that consider a loaded magazine inside the home the same as having a loaded gun.

"I keep all my mags full. I keep two full mags in my Glock case. And the ARs & AKs all have loaded mags. No one will be 'dropping' by my house uninvited without (acknowledgment)," the user Tweety Bird wrote.

Forget gun control because it clearly doesn't work and don't ignore mental illness. Still, gun owners need to be more responsible on who has access to their guns. In this case, a mother with a kid who has a mental disorder, allowing him to have access to her guns? Sorry, but she needs to be charged as an accessory to murder.

RELATED:  These murderers were made at home: The Oregon shooter’s mother armed her son — just like Adam Lanza’s did

Barack Obama Working on More Gun Control Executive Actions

Newsmax.com:

President Barack Obama is working on more executive actions related to gun control following the shooting on an Oregon college campus last week that left nine dead.
"It's a high priority and will continue to be until we start to see more progress on this issue in this town," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during the daily briefing on Monday.
Earnest said Obama was working behind the scenes to find ways to take actions, Breitbart reported.

Obama enacted 23 executive actions in 2013 following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He has expressed unhappiness that the Republican-controlled Congress has not taken action itself.
Earnest said he disagrees with anyone claiming that Obama did not offer specific proposals in his press conference about the shooting last week.
"I can tell you that they're not stumped, they're continuing to review the law that's on the books and continuing to consult with legal authorities but also others who may have ideas about what steps that can be taken to keep guns out of the hands of criminals," he said.
He admitted to not having any details on the administration's plans, but did criticize the so-called "gun-show loophole" that allows for people to buy guns from private occasional sellers without having to have a background check.
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Monday announced her own plans for executive actions if she is elected. Earnest said the White House welcomes her ideas, though he said he hasn't seen the details.

The Oregon shooter's guns were all purchased legally and 9 times out of 10 a person sick enough to plan and kill a group of innocent people is going to find a way to do it regardless of laws. But all those facts don't matter to a President from the murder capital of Chicago and who's only interest lies in serving the wants and needs of Godless, white liberals.

RELATED: Roseburg’s Gun Store Grandma Shuts Down ‘Executive Anus’ Obama’s Gun Control Narrative

Report: Joe Biden Leaked Son’s Dying Wish

TheDailyBeast.com:

Politico reported Tuesday it was Vice President Joe Biden himself who leaked his son’s dying wish for him to run for president to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. Citing multiple sources, Politico alleges Biden planted the story in August and “effectively placed an ad in The New York Times, asking people to call.” 

The report claims Biden is constantly referencing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers to aides, as well as the data that show him drawing more support away from her than Bernie Sanders. Sources also told Politico that when Biden privately met with Sen. Elizabeth Warren this summer, he hinted at a possible running-mate spot for 2016. 

Though Biden has said publicly that he remains undecided about a run, his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and his wife, Jill, are hoping the answer is no, sources said.

RELATED:  Joe Biden’s never-ending delay

Thanks To Radical Feminism, Men Are Now Afraid To Help Women At Work

Telegraph.co.uk:

A new book claims that male office workers are now so afraid of being on the receiving end of a sexual harassment case, they are reluctant to mentor, assist, befriend and even hold open doors for female colleagues. 

Crushingly, Sex & The Office suggests men now view such ordinary, decent behaviours as “too risky” – and, in what will be a bitter irony for equality campaigners – claims that, as a direct consequence, women are now failing to advance at work. 

This terror of being accused of sexual harassment is now so common it has its own term, “backlash stress”. It sounds like something straight out of a Claims Direct ad – where the only victims are men. 

The book’s author, Kim Elsesser, a research scholar at the University of California, argues that a “sex partition” has sprung up, which impedes women from building the vital network of contacts both within the workplace and socially. 

And the author should know about tough working environments: she’s a former equities trader at Morgan Stanley. 

Tellingly, Elsesser adds that companies themselves are contributing to this mess, as they are now so terrified of legal action they send staff on sexual harassment training courses, and are duty-bound to follow up on any allegation, however minor. 

Ludicrously, Elsesser cites examples of men who have been dragged in by their HR departments for simply opening a door for a female colleague or complimenting her on a new suit. “Stories like these spread around workplaces, instilling a fear that innocent remarks will be misinterpreted,” she says.

RELATED: LA’s Walk Of Shame Sending The Wrong Message?

Pretty Much Everything Barack Obama Said About Gun Violence Was Wrong

Townhall.com:

The president’s emotional plea for us to politicize mass shootings to curb Second Amendment rights was explicitly clear Thursday night. The president cited what he considers to be the facts that support his narrative on the issue of gun violence in America. Namely, that the American people, including gun owners, want stricter gun laws, that it’s easy to obtain firearms, and that the UK and Australia have passed laws that reduced mass shootings.

Let’s start with the polling. 

First, the support for gun control has waned since Newtown, with support dropping below 50 percent. Second, 60 percent feel that guns in the home make them safer. Third, the majority of American feel more guns reduce crime. Fourth, as a result, it’s no surprise that 68 percent of Americans feel safer in neighborhoods that are packing heat. Fifth, support for gun rights is at a 25-year high. 

As for the ability for one to buy a firearm, it’s true that for years Americans thought it was too easy to buy guns. That’s not the case anymore; 49 percent think it’s just about right, while 41 percent think it’s too easy.
Regarding the UK and Australia, they’re our allies–yes. But that doesn’t mean they’re good at gun policy, nor does it mean we should follow their lead with policies that amount to gun confiscation--something that will be incredibly hard to pull off, and most likely unconstitutional, given that the U.S. has 300-350 million guns housed in over 100 million homes. So, sorry, Mr. President, but we’re not like them. We have a Bill of Rights that prevent us from enacting similar policies over here–for which I am eternally grateful.

As I wrote earlier today, the National Review’s Charles Cooke described this un-serious attitude liberals and anti-gun advocates have regarding solutions to these awful incidents, as if whoever shows they’re the most passionate about stopping mass shootings gets the big, stuffed panda bear in the end. Cooke stressed that this isn’t a competition for who is the most “vexed.” It’s a public policy debate, and the pro-gun control side has nothing to offer that could stop mass shootings. Again, there is a debate on how to prevent the mentally ill from obtaining firearms. The president is right that America isn’t the only nation dealing with how to treat and detect mental illness, but the vast majority of the perpetrators of mass shootings have exhibited serious signs of mental instability. 

Adam Lanza, Elliot Rodger, Aaron Alexis, Jared Lee Loughner, and John Russel Houser all committed mass shootings–and all were mentally ill. In some cases, like Alexis, if he had been properly reported, his security clearance would have been revoked and the Navy Yard shooting would have never occurred. It’s a tedious debate that touches upon the right to privacy, federalism, constitutional rights, doctor-patient confidentiality, and to add more to the pile–a comprehensive rundown of mental illnesses that should prohibit one who is afflicted with mental problems from owning firearms. It's quite the Gordian knot regarding policy, but even Alexander the Great was able to untie it. We can do so here. The majority of states voluntarily submit mental health records into the federal National Instant Background Check System [NICS]. How can we improve this, given that it’s not going to be shocking if we find out that the Oregon shooter, Chris Harper-Mercer, was mentally disturbed? Both sides agree on this issue, yet it’s the gun control side that wants to shove this on the periphery so we could either tip-toe around what they really want–gun confiscation–or have another painfully ineffective talking point shouting match over background checks.

Yes, the public is for background checks. I’m for background checks. Almost every law-abiding gun owner supports background checks, but expanding them in the way prescribed by the anti-gun left is neither effective nor smart policy unless it includes something to deal with the mentally ill, and that is going to take some time to debate. At the same time, we know that gun control advocates cling onto this talking point for dear life because it’s the only part of their agenda that polls well. On the other hand, 64 percent do support a gun registry, which is depressing, though gun owners generally oppose this–and they’re the side that’s going to show up at the polls when decision time comes.

RELATED:  Everyone Talks Big Game on Mental Illness; Here’s the One Candidate Doing Something About It

Vatican Sacks Gay Priest After Highly Public Coming Out

YahooNews.com:

The Vatican on Saturday dismissed a Polish priest from his Holy See job after he came out as gay and called for changes in Catholic teachings against homosexual activity on the eve of a major Church meeting on the family.

Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, a theologian, had worked at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal arm, since 2003, and taught theology at pontifical universities in Rome, which have also dismissed him.

Charamsa, 43, told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper and Polish media that he was gay and had a partner. The Church teaches that homosexuality is not a sin but homosexual activity is, and priests, whether heterosexual or gay, take vows of celibacy.

Charasma followed up his media interviews with a packed news conference with his partner and gay activists at a Rome restaurant. They had planned a demonstration in front of the Vatican but changed the venue several hours before it was due to have started.

The Vatican said the dismissal had nothing to do with Charasma's reflections on his personal life, which it said "merit respect".

But it said his interviews and the planned demonstration was "grave and irresponsible" given their timing on the eve of a synod of bishops who will discuss family issues, including the Church's position on gays.

The Vatican said his actions were aimed at subjecting the synod, which Pope Francis opens on Sunday, to "undue media pressure". He presided at prayer vigil for the synod on Saturday night before tens of thousands of people in St Peter's Square.

At the news conference, Charamsa said he wanted to make "an enormous noise for the good of the Church" and apply "good Christian pressure" on the synod not to forget homosexual believers.

"This decision of mine to come out was a very personal one taken in a Catholic Church that is homophobic and very difficult and harsh (towards gays)," he said.

If the Vatican starts caving to the Gay Mafia, soon there will be no point in joining a church.

RELATED: CNN Exclusive: Pope held private meeting with same-sex couple in U.S.

New Forensic Report Flushes Planned Parenthood’s “Highly Edited” Talking Point

Townhall.com:

Planned Parenthood can no longer hide behind a defense of distraction.

With hours of video footage available online showing its senior level executives and its baby-part-harvesting corporate partner, StemExpress, discussing the business of baby body parts, Planned Parenthood and its allies did the only thing they could do – deflect.

Unable to defend their words and afraid Americans would watch the videos and make up their own minds, Planned Parenthood employed a Democratic opposition research firm to discredit the videos and promote the narrative that the CMP videos, even the full versions available on YouTube, are all “heavily edited.” Planned Parenthood’s defenders then broke out the thesaurus and began an ever-escalating series of claims about the videos. From “edited” to “manipulated” to “doctored” to “fraudulent.” And the media played right along.

But this week, ADF released the results of a new forensic report that debunks this talking point. Coalfire, one of the country’s most trusted digital forensic analysis companies, released a report indicating the undercover videos recorded by the Center for Medical Progress are “authentic and show no evidence of manipulation.”

Forensic analysts were granted access to all of the raw investigated footage recorded by the Center for Medical Progress and checked it against the full length videos posted on the CMP YouTube account. They found the only events not depicted in the publicly available videos fell into five common categories: commuting, waiting, adjusting recording equipment, meals, and restroom breaks. All of the edited content was “non-pertinent” to the actual investigation.

For months Planned Parenthood defenders have been pounding on the door of CMP, demanding to see the videos in their entirety. We now know the door they have been pounding is to the men’s room. Seriously. This is a photo of one of the “highly edited” gaps in the full version of the videos CMP has posted online.

David Daleiden, the videos’ creator, has been saying exactly this about the videos ever since a Democratic activist firm was hired to do what it does – discredit opponents. But even that Planned-Parenthood–commissioned report had to acknowledge the same findings revealed by Coalfire.

RELATED:  Democrats: The party of abortion, not the party of women

Gay Mafia Wins Again As Caitlyn Jenner Won't Be Charged in Fatal February Car Accident

NBCNews.com:

California prosecutors declined Wednesday to charge Caitlyn Jenner in connection with a fatal multi-car accident earlier this year, citing insufficient evidence. 

A month-long investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department found that Jenner — the reality show star who, as Bruce Jenner, won a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics — was driving too fast for the prevailing conditions in February when her SUV, hauling a trailer, rear-ended a Lexus on the rain-slickened Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. 

Prosecutors could have filed a misdemeanor manslaughter charge, but sources familiar with the investigation said there was a number of mitigating factors, including the fact that Jenner wasn't driving recklessly or at excessive speed, didn't flee the scene, traveled with the flow of traffic and wasn't on a cellphone at the time. 

"We believed from the start that a thorough and objective investigation would clear Caitlyn of any criminal wrongdoing," said Jenner's attorney, Blair Berk. 

"We are heartened the district attorney has agreed that even a misdemeanor charge would be inappropriate," Berk said. "A traffic accident, however devastating and heartbreaking when a life is lost, is not necessarily a criminal matter." 

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office noted that Jenner was traveling slightly below the posted speed limit and "minimally slower than [the] victim." To charge Jenner with a crime would require "ordinary negligence," and prosecutors said they "could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that suspect's conduct was unreasonable." 

The driver of the Lexus, Kim Howe, 69, died after her car was pushed into the southbound lane of the highway and was struck head-on by a Humvee. 

RELATED:  Caught on camera: Fatal moment Caitlyn Jenner's Cadillac plowed into the back of 69-year-old widow in deadly Malibu crash

House Republicans Consider Suing Barack Obama for Withholding Side Deals on Iran’s Nuclear Program

FreeBeacon.com:

House Republicans are still considering a lawsuit and other measures to prevent the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and the provision of billions of dollars in sanctions relief to Tehran, according to one of the leading lawmakers opposed to the agreement.

Rep. Peter Roskam (R., Ill.) told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview that the Obama administration still needs to address a “serious legal question” about the nuclear deal and the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which allowed Congress to evaluate the agreement before it was fully implemented. According to the review act, lawmakers were supposed to be granted access to the text of the agreement as well as “any additional materials related thereto, including annexes, appendices, codicils, side agreements, implementing materials, documents, and guidance, technical or other understandings, and any related agreements.”

However, Roskam and other lawmakers have said that they have been prohibited from viewing the “side deals” that govern the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Agency officials have said that such inspection deals typically remain confidential.

Further questions were raised about the secret side deals earlier this month when Iran said it obtained samples itself from Parchin—a military site where Tehran is suspected of conducting nuclear work—without agency officials present. Yukiya Amano, head of the agency, pushed back against those claims and said that “the agency can confirm the integrity of the sampling process and the authenticity of the samples.”

“This is such a far cry from the false claim [President Obama] had that this would be full disclosure and we would have all this information,” Roskam said. “Why are these side deals so sacrosanct?”

The clandestine nature of the side deals might also be illegal, he said. The plain language of the Nuclear Agreement Review Act—signed into law by Obama—requires the disclosure of all side agreements, placing a “high burden” on the administration to prove it is not violating the act by withholding side deals from Congress.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), is “actively considering” a legal challenge against the administration for violating the review act, Roskam said.

RELATED:  White House says Obama would veto any bill that blocks Iran deal