Columnist.
There are disturbing reports in a leading Capitol Hill newspaper that the Obama Administration is, once again, looking for ways to circumvent Congress and ignore the courts. Using his pen and his phone, Obama is hoping to enact a radical climate change agreement through executive regulation, just like he did with the Iranian nuclear deal. In addition, leaked memos from the Department of Homeland Security indicate that the administration is preparing to ignore court orders that have so far frozen his executive amnesty efforts.
Over the weekend, 6,000 so-called "non-violent criminals" were released from federal prisons, part of the Obama administration's efforts to relax sentences for non-violent drug offenders. An additional 8,500 prisoners may be deemed eligible for early release next year. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Administration officials estimate that as many as 46,000 prisoners may have their sentences reduced over the next few years, leading to what one report called "the biggest prisoner release in U.S. history."
The fallout from Wednesday's contentious CNBC debate continues. Politico reports that the Republican presidential candidates are taking matters into their own hands. Representatives from at least nine campaigns will be meeting in Washington, D.C., Sunday to discuss how they can force changes to the debate structure. No one from the Republican National Committee (RNC), which set up this process with the media, has been invited. The candidates' frustrations run the gamut from the questioning to the reliance on national polls to determine who makes it into the prime time debates.
Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin became Speaker Ryan [Thursday] morning. In doing so, he becomes the youngest speaker of the House in nearly 150 years. He is now second in the line of presidential succession, behind Vice President Joe Biden. While I have concerns about some of Ryan's positions, I will say this for the new leader of the House: Well-known for his devotion to policy solutions, Paul Ryan is one of his party's most articulate spokesmen. There will be many contentious battles in the weeks and months ahead, and his ability to articulate a conservative vision for the country will be tested like never before.
Yesterday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, introduced a resolution of impeachment against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The impeachment resolution was co-sponsored by 18 members of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
When we think of things worth striving for, usually something noble comes to mind — striving for a better education, a new job or reaching a life goal. But by the standards of most Americans, one abortionist is striving for something sinister. The latest undercover video exposing Planned Parenthood's barbaric fetal harvesting practices features Dr. Amna Dermish discussing how she was trained to "get the specimens out pretty intact."
Friday, an Israeli family, driving near Beit El, was attacked with firebombs. A four-year-old girl suffered burns to more than 35% of her body. Her parents and two siblings were also wounded. Saturday, a 16-year-old Palestinian pretending to be a candy salesman attempted to stab Defense Ministry security guards near Jenin and was shot.
Contrary to the consensus media narrative that nothing new was learned at [Thursday's] Benghazi hearing, there were in fact a number of revelations.
In recent weeks across the nation of Israel, fanatical Palestinian Muslim youths have attacked and killed Israeli Jews. Using knives, axes, and ice picks, they have murdered grandmothers, women and children. The United Nations has collectively yawned.
Don't cry, America, but we are losing Ahmed Mohamed. The 14-year-old Muslim boy who built a clock (sort of) that some people mistook for a bomb (it looked like a bomb) is leaving with his family to live in Qatar. Ahmed said at a press conference on Capitol Hill [Tuesday] that he was leaving the U.S. because it is "hard" growing up in America and "going to school being a Muslim." (If he thinks it's tough here, trying going to school as a girl in Afghanistan.) I guess that sort of makes him a reverse Muslim refugee.
When you think of evil in the world today, what image comes to mind? Perhaps it's the black-clad thugs of ISIS cutting the throats of Christians. Maybe it's the bespectacled Ayatollah Khamenei chanting, "Death to Israel, Death to America." Perhaps it's a steely-eyed Vladimir Putin plotting his next conquest.
[Sunday] President Obama issued orders for the government to begin the process of lifting sanctions against Iran as required by the nuclear deal. But do we even have a deal? The Iranian parliament, the Majlis, approved the deal last week, but that doesn't mean anything. Moreover, the Iranians are again demanding that sanctions be "terminated" rather than suspended.
Israelis [were] on heightened alert [yesterday] after the terrorist group Hamas declared Friday to be a "day of rage." Palestinians began the day by taking out their rage on Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, setting fire to the Jewish holy site. Reports indicate the shrine suffered serious damage. The Washington Post tells us that Muslims supposedly "venerate the site." Yet it was attacked and destroyed by Palestinian mobs in 2000.
[Wednesday] a State Department spokesman attempted to clarify recent remarks by Obama administration officials regarding the recent wave of Palestinian terrorism in Israel. The clarification was more of the same verbal vomit that encourages our enemies and demoralizes our friends. "We recognize that incitement can go both ways here. Whether it's action or rhetoric, it's things that encourage others to continue this cycle of violence," said State Department spokesman John Kirby.
The consensus of the talking heads is that Hillary Clinton was the clear winner in [Tuesday] night's Democratic debate. But some focus groups and online polls suggested that Bernie Sanders held his own. Clearly, she did better [Tuesday] night than she has so far in the campaign. There were some sharp exchanges, but none of the other candidates managed to damage her. In one sense, Clinton prevailed because her opponents were so weak.
Politico reports that billionaire Sheldon Adelson may be on the verge of endorsing Florida Senator Marco Rubio and committing his considerable wealth to backing the junior senator's candidacy. This would be a huge development. Adelson is the Republican Party's biggest donor. He spent $100 million in 2012. If Adelson commits to Rubio, he could single-handedly neutralize Jeb Bush's financial advantage.
Virtually every media outlet is declaring the Republican Party to be in a state of disarray, crisis or chaos. But what the media call disarray is just competition and debate about which leader is best able to fashion a strategy for dealing with a president who is willing to do almost anything to enact his agenda — with or without Congress. Reports today indicate that Obama is preparing to use executive actions to bypass Congress in order to further restrict Second Amendment rights.
House Republicans were scheduled to meet behind closed doors [Thursday] to choose their nominee to replace John Boehner as speaker of the House. Daniel Webster of Florida and Jason Chaffetz of Utah had declared, as had House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. [Wednesday], former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Speaker Newt Gingrich endorsed McCarthy, who was widely expected to emerge as the caucus nominee.
Dr. Ben Carson is in deep trouble according to the media mavens. Did they discover his missing emails containing classified material? Was he caught trying to get the IRS to audit his political enemies? Did he threaten, if elected president, to use executive orders to ram through his agenda? No, Carson's "scandal" is bigger than any of those.
During a press conference last week, President Obama said that Russia's Vladimir Putin was acting in Syria "not of strength, but out of weakness." If Mr. Putin gets any weaker, he may end up controlling the entire Middle East! Multiple reports today indicate that Putin has deployed shock troops known as the Spetsnaz into Syria. These troops are "extremely aggressive and highly trained."
