California Watch; Destroying Free Speech in Service of Abortion

The American Spectator

U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on California’s totalitarian law that requires pro-life centers to pitch abortion services.

"Remember the days when Democratic politicians at least pretended that, although they wanted abortions to be “safe and legal,” they also wanted them to be “rare”? Those days are long gone, and California lawmakers, in particular, are eager to pass measures that seem designed to make these life-ending “procedures” as plentiful as possible.

"They’re so eager to do that that they’re willing to undermine our free-speech rights, but fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to look at the state’s recent law requiring pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics to provide their clients with pro-abortion information.

"The rarest things I’ve ever seen in the Legislature are laws that deregulate anything, let alone health-care rules or land-use regulations. But in 2013 Gov. Jerry Brown signed two new laws — one that allows non-physicians to perform abortions, and another that changed building codes to allow abortion clinics to qualify as primary-care facilities. The obvious goal of the Planned Parenthood-backed bills was to make it easier for providers to set up shop.

"But the most wretched abortion-related law the governor signed is the 2015 California Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care and Transparency) Act, sponsored by now-Sen. Kamala Harris and the National Abortion Rights Action League’s California affiliate. It sets precedent far beyond the area of abortion, which is why it will reach the high court. It’s one of three free-speech related cases the court will review. The other two are related to political speech and emanate from disputes in Minnesota and Florida." . . .

Yet the state of California insists that they also counsel their clients on how to get a procedure that violates their deepest principles. Ironically, pro-abortion groups have freaked out at laws that require abortion clinics to show women their ultrasound before having a “procedure,” so we know they only want to compel certain types of speech.

 

CNN Female Panel Brushes Aside Franken Allegations: ‘He Was Just a Comedian’

Weasel Zippers Via News Busters:

"Stuck in the spin cycle."

"Thursday afternoon CNN Newsroom panel showcased political tribalism as three liberal journalists downplayed the disturbing sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic Senator Al Franken (Minn.) by harping on the fact that Franken was “just a comedian” while those against Roy Moore and President Trump were far more serious.

“ 'But just out of the gate, the fact that you have Gloria, you know, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, right, from the left and right, both saying there needs to be an ethics investigation. I realize that this was years and years ago, this story, and he was a private citizen at the time, but can he survive this,” host Brooke Baldwin wondered to chief political analyst Gloria Borger.

"Borger admitted that “[i]t remains to be seen,” but immediately went into spin mode by downplaying the fallout, stating that KABC radio host Leann Tweeden “did not call for him to step down or say he ought to step down” and didn’t render an opinion upon being told an investigation had been launched.

"From there, Borger continued proving this segment as one of political tribalism, declaring that what matters most is “the context in which all of this occurring, which is Moore — Judge Moore — and that has been, you know, brewing and percolating, whatever you want to say, for days and days and days.”

"She added that Tweeden’s story will not be “the last” woman to come forward with disturbing allegations, but what came next from Borger was quite disturbing: “This is scratching the surface. He was not a member of the Congress at the time this occurred. He was just a comedian.”

"Keep reading…

Cowards in the Academic Trenches

Mike Adams

"The problem with my leftist colleagues really isn’t their politics. It is their lack of courage. And it is getting worse. Granted, I have long heard reports of professors abusing students in the classroom. But those reports have drastically increased since the election of 2016. I would like to provide just a few examples before commenting on the effects such cowardly abuse are having on students and on
the general campus climate:

*A professor was giving a pro Black Lives Matter lecture. A student countered the professor by making the rather obvious observation that “all lives matter.” Upon hearing it, the professor denounced his student as a racist three times in front of the entire class. Each time she tried to explain herself, the professor shouted “racist!”
*On the first day of class, a professor circulated her syllabus with a clause telling students they were banned from making “disrespectful” remarks during class discussion. Over the course of the next three and a half months, the professor repeatedly claimed that all white police officers are racists and that simply aspiring to be a police officer is evidence of racism. Students were prevented from rebutting the professor by the selectively enforced ban on “disrespectful speech.” She equated denial of racism with racism, which she classified as inherently disrespectful." . . .

. . . " Regrettably, tenure prevents any prospect of justice. Thus, the freedom to perpetuate tyranny prevails." . . .

At Least My Generation Will Have Our Revenge On The Millennials

Townhall

"With all the awful things happening now – the discord, the anger, the stupidity – at least those of my generation can rest easy knowing that the Millennials are going to suffer after we’re gone. Sure, I’m going to die a lot sooner than them – unless someone invents some sort of expensive life extension potion that I can buy but they can’t because they will still be paying off their degrees in Oppression Studies and Virtue Signaling Arts until the year 2083. But at least I’ll know that we left them a suitably terrible world, since they are a terrible generation.

"Millennials are the spawn we deserve – annoying, posturing, and frequently pierced. They are utterly convinced of their own moral superiority, and yet they don’t even believe in morals. Well, that’s not quite true – they just confuse morals with the increasingly bizarre patchwork of taboos and fetishes of the social justice weirdos they use as their moral compasses. When you ask people, “What’s the world’s biggest problem,” and they answer, “The structural paradigm imposed by cisgender Western males,” and you reply, “How about, I dunno, ISIS?” and they answer “Well, who are we to judge their culture?” it’s slappin’ time. " . . .

Yes, Hillary Was an Enabler

If consistency mattered, feminists would demand safe spaces whenever Bill Clinton approached a college campus.

. . . "Hillary Clinton’s self-image as a feminist champion has always been at odds with her political partnership with a serial womanizer. 

"Hillary tends to get a pass, because the 1990s were long ago, the media often scold anyone who brings up the scandals, and most politicians hesitate to talk about someone else’s marriage. Unconstrained by these boundaries, Trump is hitting her with his characteristic abandon." . . .Rich Lowry

It wasn’t “the times” that caused feminists to give Bill Clinton a pass

Power Line Blog   "Yesterday, in a post called “The Farce of Bill Clinton’s Reckoning,” I discussed the intellectual dishonesty of the many Democrats and feminists who defended Clinton from highly credible (and in at least one case admitted) charges of sexual misconduct. I rejected the defense to this hypocrisy that, when Clinton’s offenses were “litigated” more than 20 years ago, the problem of sexual harassment wasn’t taken nearly as seriously as it is today. The furor caused in 1991 by Anita Hill’s charges against Clarence Thomas demonstrates the falsity of this evasion.

"Yet, feminists and Democrats continue to make the argument. For cite one absurd example, last night a “Democratic strategist” who, from the look of it, was a toddler during the Thomas-Hill showdown, informed Tucker Carlson that “the times” were different in the early 1990s.

"To overcome feminist amnesia (or in the case of the “strategist,” ignorance), let’s revisit the Thomas controversy. First, let’s compare the allegations against Thomas with those against Bill Clinton.

"Was Thomas accused of rape, as Clinton was by Juanita Broaddrick? No. Was he accused of attempted rape? No.

"Was he accused of groping Anita Hill? No. Did he try to steal a kiss from her? No.

"Was any sex act performed, as with Clinton and Lewinsky? No. Nor was there any cigar play.

"Here is how, at the time, Newsweek summarized Hill’s allegations against Thomas, all of which were denied by the nominee and none of which was ever corroborated:" . . .

A.F. Branco sees Clinton as victim on media's path to slime Judge Moore

'Hero' pulls gun to stop woman from being raped on Austin trail

 NBC5 Dallas  "An Austin man takes his weekly trail run armed with a flashlight, cell phone -- and a handgun tucked in a Velcro belt. Last month he pulled out the  weapon to help rescue a woman who was being sexually assaulted. 

"Josh Williams, 39, was running about 5:30 a.m. on the north side of Austin's Hike-and-Bike Trail when he heard a woman screaming and pointed his flashlight in her direction, KVUE-TV reported. He saw a man on top of her and realized she was being sexually assaulted.

" 'I came up, pulled my gun and told him to get off of her," he told the station. "I said, 'Get on your knees and show me your hands.'"

"The suspect told Williams that he knew her, but the woman told Williams that wasn’t true.

"The suspect ran away, but Williams and the victim were able to give police a description. Richard McEachern, 22, was arrested several days later and faces a sexual assault charge, the station reported." . . .

Satan, the left and the death of reality

David Limbaugh

"David Limbaugh spotlights poll showing most Democrats ignoring realities of biology"

"I’m an advocate of higher education and all, but so much for assuming that the development of common sense and sound judgment are part of the package.

"A Pew Research Center poll found that 77 percent of Democrats with a bachelor’s degree or more believe a person’s gender can be different from the sex they were “assigned at birth.” You’ll remember that Democrats are the party of science, and Republicans the Neanderthal science-deniers.

"First we have to ask ourselves why in the world it would occur to anyone of any gender at any time or any place even to conduct such a survey. It would be like surveying people to find if they believe ears are for hearing or eyes for seeing.

"It would be disturbing enough if only 77 percent of Democrats with this level of education thought gender is determined biologically. But 23 percent? That’s a whole new level of weird – unless you define “weird” as being outside the mainstream. What’s weird is how weird the mainstream has become – at least on the political left. This doesn’t speak well for higher education in this country, does it? Then again, you wouldn’t be surprised if you had seen the core curricula of America’s “great” universities – and many of the required reading assignments in the classes.

"I watched an interesting video of a young conservative from a liberal family explaining why he could dialogue with liberals and still love them because we all share common goals. It is leftists, he said, who don’t even share our goals anymore, and it is very difficult to find any common ground with them.

"I thought to myself when watching the video, “Yes, we do share some of the same goals: less crime, less poverty, etc., but increasingly the mainstream Democratic Party is embracing or strongly enabling certain extremist ideas. There is just no denying that the party has lurched leftward.' ” . . . Full article.

Trump Doing What He Set Out To Do In South Korea

RealClearPolitics   "RCP co-founder and publisher Tom Bevan joins FNC's 'Special Report' panel to discuss the president's trip to Asia: 

TOM BEVAN: [Trump's trip to Asia] is consequential, it is going well so far. There haven't been any major gaffes. He's doing a reasonably good job of doing what he set out to do on the trip, which is to build support for sanctions [against North Korea]... There is some skittishness in the region, particularly in South Korea.

It looks like that is what Trump is doing: bringing out the carrot instead of the stick. Trying to shore up and reassure South Korea, get them on board for future sanctions, and bringing the region together to do something more against North Korea.

Trump is ever the showman, trying to keep people interested and engaged in this trip -- hence the tease about big new tomorrow. 

Video at the link. 

GQ Magazine Sham of the year edition names Colin Kaepernick their Citizen of the Smear

Michael Ramirez

Miss Iraq And Miss Israel Take Selfie Together, Muslims Lose Their Minds Over It…

Weasel Zippers Via BBC:

. . . "As contestants for Miss Universe 2017 gather in Las Vegas, it's no surprise many have been grabbing photo opportunities together.

"However, when Miss Iraq, Sarah Eedan, posted a selfie with fellow contestant Miss Israel, Adar Gandelsman, they may not have realised how mixed reaction would be on social media.

"Ms Gandelsman shared a similar photo on her Instagram account calling Miss Iraq "amazing". Her post was liked nearly 3,000 times.

"There are many other photos with other contestants featured on Ms Gandelsman's Facebook page, but this one has touched hearts and nerves equally.

"Ms Eedan, also spelled Idan, who grew up in Iraq and moved to the United States to study music, wrote on Facebook how honoured she was to be the first Iraqi woman in 45 years to be representing her country in the competition.

"Given there are no diplomatic relations between Israel and Iraq, it was pointed out by some, including YouTuber Sabrina Bennoui, posting a photo of the two of them together was "not to everyone's taste.' " . . .

Trump, internationally speaking

Out with Obama’s James Taylor diplomacy and in with Donald Trump America first approach.

Trump Represents US Far Better In Asia Trip Than Obama Ever Did

. . . "President Trump did us all proud on his Asia trip – at least those of us who are still prouder to be Americans rather than citizens of the world. He scored points by simply behaving like the leader of our nation and the free world.
"President Obama was never comfortable in either role. He often acted like he was ashamed of the United States and gave speeches that blurred the distinction between friend and foe.
"Not President Trump. He was open and forthright about his aims: he was in Asia to address North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, help right America’s trade imbalance with China, and reassure our allies about American staying power.
"Just in case anyone in Pyongyang or Beijing – or Hanoi or Manila for that matter – missed this message, there were three U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups operating off the Korean peninsula to reinforce its importance.
"The world was never comfortable with President Obama’s bowing and scraping. Other nations couldn’t understand why the head of the world’s only superpower would deliberately project weakness rather than strength.
"At times President Obama seemed almost embarrassed by American power, as if he believed that America’s free enterprise system was morally inferior to the vastly poorer but politically virtuous communist, socialist, and Islamic regimes he had to deal with. Our allies saw this behavior as, well, un-American. Our enemies were emboldened."  Keep reading…

Trumpian leadership and the awe of foreign heads of state 

. . . "None of this was in evidence when Obama met these people or, before him, Bush II.  Obama had a certain presence, but it wasn't leadership he radiated; it wascocksureness, different from self-confidence in the way teenager cockiness differs from manly self-assurance.  The one's for show; the other's for real.