The Nation's Pulse: Mr. Boorish vs. Mrs. Boring

“Every nation has the government which it is fit for.”  Joseph de Maistre

"We’re getting what we evidently deserve, and how."

The American Spectator   "The quadrennial national popularity contest underway pits the host of one of America’s longest running reality shows against a woman whose husband won election to the presidency. The vote always tells us at least as much about the electorate as it does the elected.

"Like the homecoming king and queen in high school, the presidential nominees turn out to lack genuine popularity when you discreetly inquire with the subjects.

"In the NBC poll released Tuesday, Clinton voters pick “opposition to Donald Trump” as the most compelling reason (33 percent) to cast a ballot for their candidate. Trump voters pick “opposition to Hillary Clinton” as the most compelling reason (36 percent) to cast a ballot for their candidate. Voters, wrong on so much in this election cycle, don’t err here.

"The NBC survey finds that 58 percent of Americans say they either dislike or hate Mrs. Clinton. For Mr. Trump, the negative response comes from 64 percent of respondents. Americans vote against a candidate, and much else, this election.

"This negativity favors the candidate of change, not of the status quo. Trump’s positions on trade, immigration, foreign policy, and much else represent a clean break from the dogmas of both parties’ elites. After an American Century in which the U.S. dominated economically, the Americant Century struggles in the face of annual GDP growth averaging below two percent and an ominous cloud of debt approaching $20 trillion.

"The national palate understandably entertains the idea of a more exotic plate." . . .

Another Obamacare co-op bites the dust

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Rick Moran  "Ohio's Obamacare co-op will be shut down over the next 60 days despite efforts to keep it afloat.

"Nearly 22,000 customers will be forced to find alternatives for their health insurance. The meltdown marks the 13th out of 23 Obamacare co-ops to go under.

"The Hill:"  More at the link
. . ."As the pool of insurers continues to shrink, competition disappears as well. With companies likely to demand double digit increases in insurance rates this year, even fewer options will become available for consumers in the future. The end of Obamacare is on the horizon, killed by stupidity and incompetence. So much of what was sold to the people about what Obamacare would do has been shown to be wrong that its death will be welcomed by most."

UPDATE:Thanks to Jimmy Kimmel Trump will debate Sanders for Charity. Oops...NO?

UPDATE: Trump Says No To Debate With Bernie: ‘Inappropriate’ To Debate ‘Second Place Finisher’
“ 'Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and Crooked Hillary Clinton and (Debbie) Wasserman-Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second-place finisher,” Trump said in a statement."
More on this here.

Althouse  "Great for Trump because it shows — in addition to the instinct to toward charity — that he's unafraid and not inclined toward the passive role of standing back and letting his opponents beat each other up.

"Great for Bernie because he's shown his readiness to debate and Hillary turned him down. She turned him down the day after she said — on "Meet the Press," when asked if she'd do the debate Bernie had accepted — "You know, I haven't thought about it." I wrote at the time: "How is that possible? That's an unforced lie." When she declined the debate the very next day, I thought it was ridiculous. She never bothered with the pretense of taking the idea of the debate seriously.

"But Trump is game. And so is Bernie "Game on!" Sanders.

It's go time! We know Trump has the brains for the debate, but is he educated enough? A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, you know.

Krauthammer: The arrow of history

Charles Krauthammer  . . . "Barack Obama is a classic case study in foreign policy idealism. Indeed, one of his favorite quotations is about the arrow of history: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." He has spent nearly eight years trying to advance that arc of justice. Hence his initial "apology tour," that burst of confessional soul-searching abroad about America and its sins, from slavery to the loss of our moral compass after 9/11. Friday's trip to Hiroshima completes the arc.

Unfortunately, with "justice" did not come peace. The policies that followed — appeasing Vladimir Putin, the Iranian mullahs, the butchers of Tiananmen Square and lately the Castros — have advanced neither justice nor peace. On the contrary. The consequent withdrawal of American power, that agent of injustice or at least arrogant overreach, has yielded nothing but geopolitical chaos and immense human suffering. (See Syria.)

But now an interesting twist. Two terms as president may not have disabused Obama of his arc-of-justice idealism (see above: Hiroshima visit), but they have forced upon him at least one policy of hardheaded, indeed hardhearted, realism." . . .

Politically Incorrect Cartoon Exposes Obama’s Foreign Policy For What it REALLY is

THE BIG UNEASY; What’s roiling the liberal-arts campus?

The New Yorker  "At Oberlin, it started in December, when the temperatures ran high, although the weeping willows and the yellow poplars that had flared in the fall were bare already. Problems had a tendency to escalate. There was, to name one thing, the food fight: students had noted the inauthenticity of food at the school’s Afrikan Heritage House, and followed up with an on-site protest. (Some international students, meanwhile, complained that cafeteria dishes such as sushi and bánh mì were prepared with the wrong ingredients, making a mockery of cultural cuisine.) There was scrutiny of the curriculum: a student wanted trigger warnings on “Antigone.” And there was all the world outside. A year earlier, a black boy with a pellet gun named Tamir Rice was killed by a police officer thirty miles east of Oberlin’s campus, and the death seemed to instantiate what students had been hearing in the classroom and across the widening horizons of their lives. Class and race mattered. Power in a system would privilege its authors. After a grand jury declined to indict Rice’s shooter, the prosecutor called the death a “perfect storm of human error.” . . .  H/T to Althouse

Who and what caused the big housing crisis and economic tailspin? (Updated)

How Democrats Were Responsible For Mortgage Crisis That Led To Great Recession  . . . "The New York Times reported on this in 1999:

Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits. 

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates — anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

"Even back then, there were skeptics. Specifically, the American Enterprise Institute raised alarms, saying if all these “low-income” mortgages fail, there would be a crisis." . . .
The one that Obama continually refers to to explain his own economic issues.

Rush brings us an economics lesson  Pay attention to this man; he is not some silly hack, but knows what goes on in government.

. . . "What really happened was in the nineties Bill Clinton ordered these loans to be made, and Janet Reno, who was the attorney general at the time, threatened these banks with investigations, open-ended investigations into whatever they might be doing if they didn't comply.  And so they did, just like they were all called into a room during the financial crisis and told they were going to take loans or subsidies or buyouts or whatever, $25 billion, even the banks that didn't need it.  This was TARP.  

"So that's what led to the subprime mortgage.  It was a disaster brought to you by the United States government as presided over by Bill Clinton at the time.  It's inarguable, this is what happened.  Your average Democrat doesn't know it.  They have bought hook, line, and sinker a total different story, including elected Democrats."  . . . 

. . . " "Last year," it says here, which would have been 1998, "44% of loans Fannie Mae purchased are from moderate and low income."  It was expanding.  The pressure was on.  Janet Reno was out demanding these banks lend the money or we're gonna investigate you for whatever we can find. " . . . 

. . . "George W. Bush was governor of Texas.  George W. Bush had nothing to do with any of this.  In fact, the truth of the matter is, George W. Bush and the inspectors general, the investigators, tried to shut it down, and Barney Frank told the investigators to go pound sand. " . . . 

Some mud wrestling on the subject:

Yes, we do fear the things Democrats believe

Bernie Sanders refuses to answer questions about socialism’s failure in Venezuela   "Facing the first hard question from a reporter he has received during this campaign, Bernie Sanders clammed up and refused to talk about it. Perhaps the fact that the question came from Leon Krauze of Spanish Language network Univision spooked him with the knowledge that the audience has access to Sapnish language media from Venezuela.

"Edgar Portela of Newsbusters reports:

When asked to explain the failure of socialist governments in Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil, Sanders completely clammed up, saying he has an opinion on the subject, but was unwilling to share it, as he is “focused on my campaign.”

Trickery: Katie Couric Edits Interview with Gun Rights Group

Every site seems to have something on this manipulated interview, so it is time I posted it as well, along with others.TD

PJ Media   "Katie Couric has made a documentary on gun violence called Under the Gun.

"Couric interviewed members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (a pro 2A group) for the film and "edited" the interaction.

"The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Couric can be heard in the interview asking activists from the group, “If there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or terrorists from purchasing a gun?”

The documentary then shows the activists sitting silently for nine awkward seconds, unable to provide an answer. It then cuts to the next scene.

"But that's not really how the conversation went down.

However, raw audio of the interview between Katie Couric and the activists provided to the Washington Free Beacon shows the scene was deceptively edited. Instead of silence, Couric’s question is met immediately with answers from the activists. A back and forth between a number of the league’s members and Couric over the issue of background checks proceeds for more than four minutes after the original question is asked.

 Audio Shows Katie Couric Documentary Deceptively Edited Interview with Pro-Gun Activists

WordPress Link

. . . "Under the Gun has been labeled “dishonest politicking in the guise of media coverage,” “loose with the facts,” and “a full-length assault on guns and the Second Amendment” by those in the gun community since its debut on May 15.

"The Virginia Citizens Defense League labeled the deceptively edited segment featured in the film “unbelievable and extremely unprofessional.” Philip Van Cleave, the organization’s president, said the editing was done deliberately to make it appear that league members didn’t have a response to Couric’s question.

“ 'Katie Couric asked a key question during an interview of some members of our organization,” he said. 

“ 'She then intentionally removed their answers and spliced in nine seconds of some prior video of our members sitting quietly and not responding. Viewers are left with the misunderstanding that the members had no answer to her question.' ” . . .

Newsrooms dance around selective editing of Couric's gun documentary  . . . "The Times' reluctance to state this admitted fact stands in sharp contrast to how the 165-year-old newspaper reacted in 2015 to the release of more than 20 hours of undercover Planned Parenthood footage.

"When the Center for Medical Progress, a pro-life activist group, produced tapes from a three-year-long investigation of the nation's largest provider of abortions, the Times' editorial board accused the activist group repeatedly of doctoring the videos to make it appear as if Planned Parenthood was in the business of selling harvested organs for profit." . . .

"An apology, retraction, re-editing, whatever it is that filmmakers do to make amends — all of it needs to happen here," the Washington Post's Erik Wemple wrote in an article titled "Audiotape: Katie Couric documentary falsely depicts gun supporters as 'idiots.'"

The Daily Beast: Katie Couric Stands by Film’s Deceptive Edit of Pro-Gun Interviewees  

Legal Insurrection  "Gun rights advocates have criticized the documentary since it aired on May 15. The producers filed the show with gun control advocates, but lacked experts from the right:" . . .

PJ Media covered it.  But most take you back to the Washington Free Beacon.

Under a Liberal Democrat NY Is About To Become A Lot More Disgusting…

Weasel Zippers

"Rudy Giuliani cleaned it up, Bloomberg (despite being a Nanny) kept it clean. Now, De Blasio will take it back to the sewer…

"Via NY Post:

Scofflaws of New York, rejoice — the City Council has cleared the way for you to litter, loiter and pee in the street to your heart’s content.

New legislation dubbed the “Criminal Justice Reform Act” was passed by lawmakers Wednesday, giving miscreants a get-out-of-jail-free card by eliminating the criminal penalties on a raft of quality-of-life crimes.

The disgusting and disturbing acts that the council voted to decriminalize include drinking alcohol out of a paper bag, lurking in parks after hours, urinating in the street and making enough of a racket to violate the noise code.

Under the legislation, which Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign, offenders will face only civil summonses instead of criminal citations.

The main part of the “reform” act sponsored by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito deals with reducing the penalty for public urination and other quality-of-life offenses. It passed by a 40-9 vote in the liberal-leaning council.

It aims to keep offenders from getting a permanent criminal record and requires the NYPD to “develop guidance” for cops on when to issue criminal instead of civil summonses.

Montana’s Fort Peck Indian Tribe Passes Transgender Bathroom Policy Modeled On North Carolina Law…

Weasel Zippers

"DOJ to sue in 3, 2, 1…  "Via KRTV:

Tribal leaders of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation have adopted a transgender bathroom policy that mirrors the controversial bill in North Carolina recently opposed by President Obama.

With a majority vote in favor, the tribal executive board approved a policy Monday that requires people use the bathroom according to the gender on their birth certificate, not the gender they identify as.

According to the motion, which was carried, the tribe will mirror its policy after the language used by the state of North Carolina.

The policy was approved by nine council members and denied by one. Two members of the council were not present for the vote.

Opponents of the policy call it discriminatory toward transgender people.

Councilman Ed Bauer, who seconded the initial motion, was recorded in the meeting minutes as saying, “What people do in their bedrooms is their business. How public bathrooms are used is (my) business.”

Keep reading…

Big Brother is Watching: Obama Admin. Sued Business Because It Kept Male Employee Out Of Women’s Room

Daily Caller

"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued a private business for sex discrimination and harassment after a male employee — who announced he was switching genders to become a woman — was barred from using the women’s restroom and was referred to with male pronouns by his coworkers.

"Deluxe Financial Services, a Minnesota-based company that helps small businesses with marketing, denied that it violated any anti-discrimination laws but agreed to settle the case for $115,000 in order to avoid further costs of litigation, according to the settlement agreement.

"The male employee, who now goes by the name Britney Austin, publicly presented himself as male when he was hired by Deluxe Financial but later opted to begin identifying as a woman.

"According to a press release from last summer — when the EEOC filed the lawsuit — Austin’s coworkers subjected him to a “hostile work environment,” such as “intentionally using the wrong gender pronouns to refer to [him].”

"In response, Austin hired lawyer Jillian T. Weiss, whose law practice specializes in suing people for allegedly discriminating against transgenders, to team up with the EEOC against Deluxe Financial, seeking unspecified monetary damages.

"The two parties arrived at a settlement in January 2016, requiring the company to shell out $115,000 to Austin and his attorneys within five days of the agreement." . . .

Watch it; those improper pronouns are a business-killer.

Disney SLAMS Sanders With A Simple Question: “How Many Jobs Have You Created?”

“To Bernie Sanders: We created 11,000 new jobs at Disneyland in the past decade, and our company has created 18,000 in the U.S. in the last five years. How many jobs have you created? What have you contributed to the U.S. economy?”

RedState   . . . "Iger is right to ask, and I’ll give him the answer.

"In Sanders’ state of Vermont, private sector jobs shrank 1.2% from 2000 – 2011. To be fair, government jobs skyrocketed by 7.5%. But it will likely not see an increase in the private sector, because Vermont’s high taxes keep businesses from wanting to settle there. So if you want to work at the DMV, you’re good to go, but if you want to climb the corporate ladder, you might want to just go away. And according to Vermontians, that’s exactly what people do. Once you graduate high school, you leave the state.

"Maybe to Disney California for a job.

"It might be my anti-big government bias, but watching Disney slap around officials that couldn’t run a lemonade stand has been a welcome break from all the slapping around big government has done to us over the years."