In an echo of protests this week in Baltimore, demonstrators in Jerusalem, Israel have taken to the streets to oppose police brutality against Ethiopian Israelis. The immediate trigger for the protest, which drew hundreds of people to the streets near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence, was a surveillance video showing two policemen beating a black Israeli soldier in uniform. Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat rushed to the scene to listen to the demonstrators’ concerns.
by Joel B. Pollak30 Apr 2015, 11:46 AM PST0
Late last week, former San Francisco mayor–and Hillary Clinton supporter–Willie Brown said that the “Clinton Cash” scandal could prove “fatal” to her candidacy. Sanders, who warned in the past that Clinton would not fight the “billionaire class,” seems to agree–but could be too radical for voters. Jerry Brown’s opportunity may have come.
by Joel B. Pollak29 Apr 2015, 5:31 AM PST0
As the Supreme Court takes up oral arguments on whether there is a fundamental right to gay marriage, Californians will be watching closely.
by Joel B. Pollak28 Apr 2015, 6:15 AM PST0
Numerous reports, based on second-hand accounts, have alleged that former President George W. Bush “bashed” President Barack Obama in his remarks at the gala dinner of the Republican Jewish Coalition spring leadership meeting in Las Vegas on Saturday. Bloomberg View bases its report on notes provided by an attendee; so does the New York Times–although, to his credit, the Times’ Jason Horowitz actually sought other quotes from exiting attendees as he stalked outside the event.
by Joel B. Pollak27 Apr 2015, 10:56 AM PST0
Stanford University president John Hennessy is condemning the vandalism of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house at the university, which was daubed with swastikas that were discovered on Sunday morning, the Stanford Review reports.
by Joel B. Pollak27 Apr 2015, 5:58 AM PST0
Former California Republican Party chair Thomas Del Beccaro announced Sunday that he will seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by incumbent liberal Democrat Barbara Boxer upon her retirement in 2017. Del Beccaro is the second major Republican running for the seat, which is also being contested by Assemblymember Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside).
by Joel B. Pollak26 Apr 2015, 9:29 AM PST0
LAS VEGAS –The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) wrapped up its spring meeting in this weekend on an enthusiastic note. Several presidential contenders, declared and potential, addressed the meeting in on-the-record sessions. Former President George W. Bush addressed the gala dinner Saturday, in a rare (and off the record) public appearance.
by Joel B. Pollak26 Apr 2015, 9:22 AM PST0
Journalists are supposed to ask tough questions. On Sunday morning’s edition of ABC News’ This Week, however, host George Stephanopoulos pursued Clinton Cash author (and Breitbart News editor) Peter Schweizer with a vehemence that suggested he had reverted to his 1990s incarnation as a spokesman for the Clinton administration. Stephanopoulos looked past the Clintons’ glaring conflicts of interest and focused narrowly on whether the book met a criminal standard of proof.
by Joel B. Pollak26 Apr 2015, 9:03 AM PST0
Federal law enforcement and homeland security officials are reportedly stepping up security due to an ISIS-related terror threat, according to CNN. The boosted security was reportedly prompted by “intercepted chatter and other intelligence information” that suggested parts of the state could be in danger.
by Joel B. Pollak26 Apr 2015, 6:48 AM PST0
California’s controversial high-speed rail project is barely under way, but it’s already been beaten by other options. Under the best of assumptions, the (subsidized) cost of a trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles when the bullet train is complete will be $86, plus “last mile” costs of traveling to and from the train station. The journey, door to door, will take about four hours–that is, if the high-speed rail makes the journey in under three hours as originally advertised, which it will not.
by Joel B. Pollak26 Apr 2015, 6:00 AM PST0
This weekend, leaders of the Republican Jewish Coalition hold their annual spring meeting in Las Vegas–and, as in prior years, many Republican presidential hopefuls will be in attendance. The conference is hosted by Sheldon Adelson, casino magnate, philanthropist and Republican mega-donor.
by Joel B. Pollak24 Apr 2015, 8:24 AM PST0
With Hillary Clinton reeling from a major ethics scandal, true-blue Democrats are looking for alternatives to their party’s presumptive presidential nominee. The bench is rather weak. There’s Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor who couldn’t build an Obamacare exchange and provoked a Republican sweep. There’s Elizabeth Warren, the fake Indian and genuine real estate speculator who has learned to parrot the “progressive” talking points. And then there’s Jerry Brown.
by Joel B. Pollak24 Apr 2015, 6:00 AM PST0
On Friday, the lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal–often a mainstream conservative bellwether–castigated Hillary Clinton for the conflicts of interest exposed by Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer’s forthcoming book, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich. And, in a moment of rare bipartisan unity, the lead editorial of the New York Times–a liberal mouthpiece–largely agreed.
by Joel B. Pollak23 Apr 2015, 10:13 PM PST0
In the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003, New York Times columnist began to reconsider his support for the military option, as he became convinced that the Bush administration was going to mishandle the war and its aftermath. Fast-forward 12 years, and Friedman is making similar moves ahead of the final talks on a nuclear deal with Iran. In his Apr. 23 column, Friedman says that while a nuclear deal is desirable, the structure and context of the deal means “it will not be easy.”
by Joel B. Pollak23 Apr 2015, 5:31 AM PST0
The revelation that four left-wing MSNBC hosts have failed to pay their taxes (Al Sharpton, plus Melissa Harris-Perry, Joy-Add Reid, and Touré Nesbitt) recalls an episode in 2011, when Andrew Breitbart raised the issue of MSNBC’s tax-dodging.
by Joel B. Pollak22 Apr 2015, 8:34 AM PST0
TechCrunch’s Kat Zakrzewski has an odd argument against Republican bills to curb the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent decision to impose Net Neutrality: we don’t really need transparency, after all. Zakrzewski’s stance shows how far Silicon Valley’s “progressive” activists have come after years of pushing for the maximum transparency possible in public affairs. When the feds are doing what they want, the public is better off in the dark.
by Joel B. Pollak22 Apr 2015, 5:57 AM PST0
Sharyl Atkisson of the Daily Signal reports that Covered California deliberately tried to hide its operations from public scrutiny, including the number of enrollees, the close ties of many contractors to executive director Peter Lee, and general mismanagement. Her investigative report, based on whistleblower accounts, is the second in a two-part series on Covered California, which has been touted by Obamacare supporters as the model for how other states should run their programs.
by Joel B. Pollak21 Apr 2015, 12:56 PM PST0
As the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt heads to Yemen to confront a convoy of Iranian ships, including destroyers, it is worth asking why President Barack Obama is still talking to the Iranian regime about its nuclear program. The Iranians, who used the Houthi militia to knock over the American-aligned Yemeni government, clearly has no fear that Obama will suspend negotiations. If anything, Iranian tactics are winning more concessions.
by Joel B. Pollak21 Apr 2015, 7:36 AM PST0
Investigative reporter Sharly Atkisson, who uncovered key details of Operation Fast and Furious and the Benghazi scandal, now reports at the Daily Signal that Covered California, the Obamacare health care exchange established by the State of California, is not the success story that boosters claim, but is rather rife with fraud, chaos, and failure.
by Joel B. Pollak20 Apr 2015, 5:08 PM PST0
President Barack Obama’s decision to abandon Iraq remains the most significant strategic blunder in a generation. Putting politics ahead of strategy, Obama sought to win an argument with history rather than to win the struggle against terror and tyranny in the Middle East. His presidential ambitions depended on his opposition to the Iraq War–which, he decided, also meant opposing the “surge.” He could barely admit the surge worked–and, in office, reversed it as soon as possible.
by Joel B. Pollak20 Apr 2015, 2:51 PM PST0
New research suggests that a fault underneath the city of Ventura, roughly one hour northwest of L.A., could produce an 8.0-magnitude earthquake, as well as “severe” tsunamis previously thought impossible in Southern California, the Los Angeles Times reports.
by Joel B. Pollak20 Apr 2015, 2:18 PM PST0
Continuing its tradition of providing a propaganda platform for America’s enemies, the New York Times has published an op-ed by Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif in which he demands that the United States choose “between cooperation and confrontation, between negotiations and grandstanding, and between agreement and coercion.” Enjoying the freedom of expression his government denies to its opponents, Zarif argues that the West should work with it toward regional peace.
by Joel B. Pollak20 Apr 2015, 5:50 AM PST0
For some in California, April 20th marks the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, a day to celebrate the environment and raise ecological awareness. For others. 4/20 is simply a day to get high on pot. The date–which is said to originate from a tradition among high school students in San Rafael of smoking marijuana at 4:20 in the afternoon– marks an unofficial day of appreciation for all things marijuana- and hemp-related–and a day of activism for legalization of the drug.
by Joel B. Pollak20 Apr 2015, 5:23 AM PST0
Boko Haram, the Islamist terrorist organization, has threatened to kill all South Africans in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and the surrounding region, according to media reports based on a video allegedly released by the group. The threat came as a response to a wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa, in which ordinary South Africans, primarily blacks, have killed, maimed, abused and expelled other Africans throughout the country, killing seven thus far and displacing thousands.
by Joel B. Pollak19 Apr 2015, 8:20 PM PST0
Joel Kotkin, the noted liberal critic of California’s far-left government, says that Gov. Jerry Brown is leading California to ruin–and that the state’s business leaders share the blame by failing to speak out. In a new essay at the Daily Beast that summarizes much of his recent criticism, Kotkin says that while Brown’s father Pat brought the state progress and prosperity as governor (1959-1967), Jerry Brown “has waged a kind of Oedipal struggle against his father’s legacy.”
by Joel B. Pollak19 Apr 2015, 11:00 AM PST0
