Nets Covered Cecil the Lion More in 1 Day Than Abortion Videos in 2 Weeks

America’s anchors have spoken: the shooting of one lion vastly outweighs the trafficking of baby parts by a taxpayer-funded abortion giant. 

In other words, the broadcast news shows spent more time in one day on Cecil the Lion than they did on the Planned Parenthood videos in two weeks. 

The three broadcast networks, ABC, NBC and CBS censored the third video released Tuesday by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) exposing Planned Parenthood’s practice of harvesting aborted baby parts -- censored it at Planned Parenthood’s urging. But the news shows did find more than 14 minutes for a more important story: the “outrage” over the shooting of Cecil, a famed African lion, by an American dentist. 

Tuesday, the networks spent 5 minutes, 44 seconds during their evening news shows on Cecil -- and that’s not even counting the teasers. Wednesday morning, ABC, NBC and CBS lamented over the lion for 8 minutes, 17 seconds. But they couldn’t do the same for a story of babies “picked” apart by tweezers. - 

On July 29, Good Morning America co-anchor Lara Spencer highlighted the “very disturbing story” with “international outrage” before turning to ABC correspondent David Wright for the full story on the lion-shooting by an American, now, according to Wright, “pretty much the most hated man on the internet.” 

“There are no words,” Spencer added at the end of the segment. Again, we’re talking about a lion. For CBS’ This Morning, co-anchor Gayle King commented, “The more you hear about it, the more upsetting it is.” For the shooting of a lion, yes. For the weekly videos exposing the trafficking of baby parts, no. (According to the media, that is.). “I heard somebody in South Africa describe it

,” King added. “It would be like in this country, if somebody shot Lassie, and then said, ‘We didn’t know that was Lassie.’”

Via: Newsbusters

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Time for the GOP to Crap or Get Off the Pot

 Anyone who has known me for longer than about 30 minutes knows that I am a Boston Red Sox fan. After the collapse in the 1986 World Series, that experience was, for about 15 years, an unmitigated experience of misery and the addition of reasons for Red Sox fans to nurse their massive inferiority complex with respect to the New York Yankees. However, beginning in the late 90s, Sox ownership began once again to make an earnest effort to field a winning team, and Sox fans were once again treated to meaningful baseball in September – even if we still inevitably finished behind the Yankees and then were (usually) eliminated by them in the playoffs.

2003 was the first year Sox fans had reasons to believe that things might be different. Position for position, it was the first year since the mid-80s that the Sox had fielded a team that stacked up more or less equally with the Hated Yankees. During this season, the Sox were managed by an affable fellow named Grady Little. Grady was well liked (maybe even loved) by his players, who credited him with creating a loose atmosphere in the clubhouse and making Boston a place where good players wanted to play. During the two years Grady managed the team, the Sox won a nearly unprecedented (in recent history) 188 games.

That year, of course, the Sox and the Hated Yankees met in the American League Championship Series, an epic affair that came down to a decisive Game 7 with Pedro Martinez on the mound for the Sox. The Sox had a 2-run lead going into the 7th inning, but a truly epic series of strategic blunders by Grady Little (I won’t recount them here) frittered the lead away and the Yankees once again emerged victorious. It is one of the few times in modern history that a manager has decisively cost his team an important game.

In the offseason, the “smart set” sports commentators opined that it would be crazy for the Sox to fire Grady Little even after his ignominious performance in the most significant game in recent Sox history. They wrote, quite reasonably, that Grady had brought the Sox to heights unheard of since the heady days of 1986 and that ownership should just show patience and expect the fans to be thankful that the margin between the Sox and Yankees was smaller than it had been in recent memory.

Thankfully, Sox ownership ignored all this eminently sensible advice and Grady was not invited for a return for the 2004 season. By doing so, a clear message was sent to applicants for the job of Sox manager: there comes a point, and the point is now, that giving it the old college try and coming in a close second is not enough. After having spent millions of dollars and countless effort building a team that had the promise and ability to beat the Yankees, they expected this team to actually, you know, beat the Yankees. The rest, of course, is history, as the last 11 years have arguably been the most successful in Sox history (the disastrous current season notwithstanding), including a victory in 2004 over the Hated Yankees in the ALCS and their first World Series title in decades.

So, this little baseball historical aside, let’s talk politics for a minute.

Every two years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, I bring myself to take a couple hours off of work, brave traffic going in the wrong direction, stand in long lines, and vote. With the exception of a single vote cast for Marion Berry (the pro-life former Democrat Congressman from Arkansas, not the crack smoking former mayor of DC) back in 2002 or so, I have voted every single time for every Republican on the ticket.

Like most Republican voters, I’ve had mounting frustrations with failed promises on the part of the GOP since the much ballyhooed Gingrich revolution in 1994. However, my pragmatism has always gotten the better of my frustration and I have always reasoned with myself that, however feckless and impotent the Republicans were, they were better than the Democrats. At least the Republicans did not have legalized infanticide up until the date of delivery enshrined in their party platform, I always reasoned with myself.

Via: Red State

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Massachusetts Schools Ranked Tops in Nation

If you’re sending your kids to public school this year, what kind of education are they getting? That’s the question one study set to answer as back-to-school season gears up.

And the results are music to the ears of Massachusetts parents.

WalletHub recently broke down the best and worst public school systems in the country, using its own formula to come up with a ranking for each state. The site ranks Massachusetts tops in the nation — second in “school system quality,” and first in school safety.

The study used public data available for 13 metrics, including student-teacher ratios, dropout rates and test scores. It also came up with a safety ranking based on bullying incidents, incarceration rates and a school safety survey.

While not in the top 5 in student-to-teacher ratio, SAT scores or lowest dropout rate, Massachusetts ranked highest in the nation in both reading and math scores, accounting for the commonwealth’s high overall ranking.

In addition to Massachusetts, WalletHub’s top five included Colorado, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Kentucky.

The five worst: Louisiana, Arizona, Nevada, District of Columbia and Alaska.

Massachusetts had the safest schools, with Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kentucky and Hawaii rounding out the top five. D.C. was the least safe, followed by Indiana, California, South Dakota and Colorado.

For the full results, check out the full study, which includes a breakdown of each category, here.

Via: Westford Patch

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All the way with LBJ and Obama

Count on it: When it comes to foreign policy, two-term presidents -- and even most one-term presidents -- will change course along the way. Since 1933, only two have not: Lyndon Johnson, who rode the Vietnam War all the way down, and Barack Obama. That's not a good sign.

Consider the record. When Franklin Roosevelt entered the White House in 1933, he began by torpedoing the World Economic Conference and accepting neutrality legislation. But over the 1930s, he moved from isolationism to leading the United States into the Second World War.

At first, Harry Truman drew down U.S. military strength rapidly after 1945, especially in Europe. But as the Cold War began to take shape, he reversed course and brought the U.S. into NATO.

Dwight Eisenhower moved from rejecting summits with Soviet leaders and opposing Western intervention in the Middle East, to holding summits and intervening himself. Jimmy Carter couldn't accept the Soviet Union was a problem, until it invaded Afghanistan.

Ronald Reagan confronted the Evil Empire, but after 1983, decided the time was right to negotiate with it. George W. Bush entered office saying that the U.S. military should be doing less in the world, but 9/11 changed many minds, including his.

The only real exception to the rule is Johnson, who hated the Vietnam War, but who got us into it and was never willing to get us out. True, the changes don't happen for the same reason. Sometimes, presidents are wrong and recognize it, like Carter.

Other times, presidents, like John F. Kennedy, deliberately reverse the policies of their predecessor, only to find out after a few years that the previous guy wasn't entirely wrong. At times, as with 9/11, the world changes, and the president changes as a result.

And sometimes, as with Reagan, their initial policies work, which allows them to move on to a new part of their strategy. But in most cases, change isn't a sign of failure. It's a sign of success, of adaptation, or at least of learning.

Nor is it a sign that presidents are giving up on their goals or their core beliefs. With the exception of genuinely clueless presidents like Carter, most changes are about means, not ends.

That's because it's not reasonable to expect presidents to change who they are. If they were so easily changed, they wouldn't have become president. But it is reasonable to expect them to look at how they're doing, at the world around them, and adjust accordingly.

Obama stands out because he is the same man we first elected in 2008 -- which is fair enough -- with the same foreign policy. Unlike almost all of his predecessors, he's not changed significantly. Unfortunately, that's a lot less reasonable.

Yes, there have been tactical adjustments. Obama talks less about the United Nations now than he did in 2009. But the first thing he did when he came into office was to reach out to Iran; over six years later, we're still riding that train.

Obama wanted to "reset" relations with Russia. He still hankers after the same thing, as evidenced by his comments about Vladimir Putin after the Iran deal. He wanted to reduce U.S. involvement in the Middle East, and reach out to adversarial regimes like Cuba's diplomatically, so that he could focus more on domestic policy. No change there, either.

I don't agree with these policies. But what is remarkable to me is the consistency with which Obama has pursued them. Obama has a perfect right to have his values. But precedent suggests that presidents who don't adapt how they apply their values are regarded by history as failures.

 - Ted R. Bromund is a senior research fellow in Anglo-American Relations in The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation.

Originally appeared in Newsday

Via: Heritage Foundation

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N.C. lawmakers join forces to find money for veterans

Charlotte, N.C., members of Congress Alma Adams and Robert Pittenger have teamed up in an effort to help veterans.

The pair plan to introduce legislation Wednesday to get additional federal funding for a Mecklenburg County program that works to help members of the military transition to civilian life.

The county approached the two about expanding the program, based on a model developed by Syracuse University, that currently connects 29 local agencies and non-profit groups in the Charlotte region in a network connecting veterans to the myriad of available social, health and wellness services.

Adams, a Democrat, and Pittenger, a Republican, seek to use existing Veterans Affairs funding for a grant to develop the regional technology network. The bill would direct the Veterans Benefits Administration to use existing money to develop such a grant, though Adams and Pittenger didn’t specify how much money would be needed.

“It’s kind of piecemeal now,” Adams said in an interview. “They go to one place and then to another place. You know how you go to one place and people say ‘let me refer you to another.’”

There are nearly 800,000 veterans in North Carolina, including 37,000 veterans in Adam’s 12th Congressional District and more than 41,000 veterans in Pittenger’s 9th Congressional District.

YOU HAVE VARIOUS PROGRAMS THAT ARE SCATTERED OUT AND THE RIGHT HAND DOESN’T KNOW WHAT LEFT HAND IS DOING. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THIS FRONT AND CENTER AND VETERANS KNOW THE ENORMOUS SYSTEMS THAT ARE THERE ON THEIR BEHALF.Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C.

It’s unclear what chances the legislation has of passing. The legislation currently has two additional sponsor, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., and Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., who represents the Syracuse area.

The Veterans Benefits Administration has $79 billion in available funds to provide benefit assistance for veterans and their families, said Jamie Bowers, Pittenger’s spokesman. The legislation, he said, would allow communities like Mecklenburg County or Syracuse to apply for a specific grant to help pay for the support system. The grant program would not be an earmark, he said.

The community would determine the amount of its specific request, Bowers said. And it would be up to Veterans Affairs to decide whether to approve the grant and which discretionary funds to use, he said.

Via: McClatchy

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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article29389699.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article29389699.html#storylink=cpy

ALABAMA: Former AEA leaders say organization is being ‘occupied’ by national teachers’ union

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former Alabama Education Association (AEA) leaders are lashing out at the teachers’ union’s current trusteeship under its parent organization, the National Education Association (NEA), saying in a letter that the AEA is being “occupied” by the NEA.

The letter, dated July 2nd, is signed by former AEA leaders Joe Reed and Nancy Worley—who are both currently leaders within the Alabama Democratic Party—as well as four former AEA presidents.

“This letter comes to express our deep concern over the current ‘Takeover’ of the Alabama

Education Association (AEA) by the National Education Association (NEA) in the name of Trusteeship,” they wrote. “Under the facts and circumstances of the current ‘Takeover,’ there are no grounds for NEA to occupy AEA.”

“Don’t force us to fight an organization we love, respect and support,” the authors continued. “This is an ‘internal family issue,’ but the House is severely Divided. We all know that a House Divided cannot stand. It is going to take many years to repair the damage already done.”

That damage is a tumultuous change in leadership after longtime power broker and boss Paul Hubbert retired, then passed away, coupled with drastic changes in the state legislature—where Hubbert wielded unprecedented power—the AEA’s 2014 was disastrous.

Even after spending approximately $20 million during the primary and general elections, the AEA’s PAC, A-VOTE, failed to win a single seat for the candidates it supported. According to their most recent 990 form, the AEA spent $8.5 million more than it took in during Fiscal Year 2014.

“Finally,” the letter concludes, “NEA is occupying our organization illegally and without justification. NEA should call the Special Trustee home because if the NEA continues to trespass, the AEA, the strong organization we built over the past 45 years, will be DEAD! We do not concede that the NEA Trusteeship is legal and we are determined to take our association back!”

Both Reed and Worley told the Montgomery Advertiser they had not received a reply from the NEA.

Reed highlighted his particular concern that the NEA’s Trustee would dissolve the AEA’s 46-year-old merger with the predominately black Alabama State Teachers’ Association.

“There are certain things that are there and ought to stay there, for instance, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” he said. “The merger agreement we have has got to stay.”

AEA president Sheila Hocutt Remington said in a statement Tuesday that the letter was “inaccurate” and “designed to divert attention from the positive direction AEA is taking to support educators and Alabama schools.”

“AEA is successful because it has been a member-driven association for more than 150 years,” she said. “While some people will always be uncomfortable with change and will cling to vestiges of the past, AEA and its membership is focused on what matters most – preparing students for a new school year that will begin throughout Alabama next week.”

While the AEA and the Alabama Democratic party were virtually synonymous for years, the NEA often tacks even further left than its Alabama affiliate.

Via: YellowhammerContinue Reading....

50 Years of Dysfunction: The Failures of Medicare and Medicaid

Fifty years ago, on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation creating the nation’s two largest federal health entitlements, Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicare was created as a social insurance program for seniors and those with disabilities. It is financed primarily by payroll taxes collected during a recipients working life, and secondarily by personal and business income taxes.

Medicaid was designed as a welfare program to provide health care services to vulnerable low income groups. Medicaid is jointly financed by federal and state governments.

>>> On Thursday, the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute are hosting an event with leading experts to reflect on the past 50 years and look ahead to the next. Details here.

Unfortunately at the age of 50, both Medicare and Medicaid continue to suffer from problems inherent to their structure and organization.

For example both programs:

• Limit choice
• Are overly bureaucratic and slow to change
• Suffer from crucial gaps in coverage and inefficient pricing
• Are plagued with losses through waste, fraud and abuse

Medicare is the largest purchaser of health care in the nation, covering roughly 55 million persons.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates Medicare’s total annual cost at $615 billion in 2015 and it is scheduled to exceed $1 trillion by 2023.

In other words, over the next 75 years American seniors are expecting tens of trillions of dollars of Medicare benefits that are not paid for. Today, working taxpayers, mostly through business and personal income taxes, fund an estimated 86 percent of the program’s annual cost.

For Medicaid, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary estimates that Medicaid’s total (federal and state combined) spending is expected to reach $529 billion in 2015, with 68.9 million enrollees.

Fifty years later, in their July 22, 2015 memo to Senate Budget Committee staff Medicare’s Office of the Actuary reports that Medicare’s debt – the program’s long-term unfunded liability- ranges from $27.9 to $36.8 trillion.

Whether it’s the lower or higher debt number, this year’s estimates are worse than last year’s by more than a $1 trillion.

For Medicaid, cost and enrollment is expected to continue to grow, in particular due to the expansion of the program under the Affordable Care Act.

By 2023, total Medicaid spending is projected to climb to $835 billion and enrollment will near 80 million.

The President’s answer is to cut Medicare payments to medical professionals and institutions.

Under Obamacare, the Medicare Trustees warn,

“By 2040, approximately half of hospitals, 70 percent of skilled nursing facilities and 90 percent of home health agencies would have negative total facility margins, ” adding that this creates the “possibility of access and quality of care issues for Medicare beneficiaries.”

For Medicaid, access and quality of care is already a top concern.

A recent CDC study found that only 68.9 percent of physicians would accept new Medicaid patients.

For the next 50 years, Congress could initiate transformative changes through a defined contribution ( “premium support”) financing in both programs, giving patients direct control over the flow of health care dollars and compelling health plans and providers to compete for patients’ dollars on a level playing field.

Intense competition among health plans and providers would stimulate innovation in benefit design and care delivery, improve patient outcomes and enhance patient satisfaction, and save serious money for both seniors and taxpayers alike.

Via: The Daily Signal

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[VIDEO] Lake County murder suspect found to be in country illegally during July 7 traffic stop

PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- Lake County sheriff's deputies learned that Juan Emmanuel Razo was in the U.S. illegally from Mexico more than two weeks before his arrest in the death of a 60-year-old Concord Township woman.

Razo made his first court appearance Tuesday in the death of Margaret Kostelnik where a judge set a $10 million bond. He's also accused in the attempted rape of a 14-year-old girl and the shooting of another woman who survived.

Razo pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder, but still faces possible murder and other charges in connection to the other incidents.

Lake County Sheriff's Det. Brian Butler said during the court hearing that during a July 7 traffic stop, deputies contacted border patrol agents who advised the sheriff's office not to detain Razo despite his status as an undocumented immigrant.

Cicconetti expressed frustration at Razo's lack of documentation.Razo, who spoke with the aid of a Spanish translator, told Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael Cicconetti at the hearing that he doesn't have a passport or a green card.

Razo told Cicconetti he has a birth certificate from Mexico, to which the judge replied, "That doesn't help you here in the United States."

Razo has lived in the country for five years and has no local criminal history, the sheriff's office said Tuesday. 

In response to a request for information, Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jaime Ruiz issued a statement that said, "we're looking at the facts of the case to find out exactly what happened."

Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency "intends to take custody of [Razo] and pursue his removal from the United States."

Razo's illegal status may hit a nerve for many at a time when immigration is a hot button political issue. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump just last month criticized Mexican immigrants, characterizing them as criminals and rapists. Trump will be in Cleveland next week for a debate.

The of violent events of Monday left neighbors of the rural Concord Township and the surrounding areas on edge. Investigators have not revealed any information about Razo's possible motive.

A 14-year-old girl told police that Razo tried to rape her about 10:40 a.m. in Helen Hazen Wyman Park in Concord Township. 

Detectives canvassed the area looking for Razo. They also searched his Lusard Street home in Painesville, but didn't find him.

As the search continued, Lake Metroparks rangers were called to a shooting near the Greenway Corridor.

A 40-year-old woman was found along the bike path with a gunshot wound to her arm. Her two 12-year-old children were unharmed.

Paramedics took the woman to the Tripoint Medical Center, where she was treated for non life-threatening injuries.

Investigators widened their search area, driving an armored vehicle along the bike path. Officials sent a reverse 911 call to residents within a half-mile radius telling them to stay inside their homes.

Officials called in help from surrounding police departments, including two K-9 units.

It was during this search that a deputy was flagged down by Kostelnik's husband. He told detectives he just found his wife dead in their Ravenna Road home with several gunshot wounds.

The Kostelniks' Ravenna Road home is directly behind the bike path where the woman was shot 

A man at about 4:30 p.m. called 911 reporting a man – later found to be Razo – was in his back yard pointing a rifle at his son.

Three deputies rushed to Palmer Road in Concord Township, where they found Razo.

Razo shot at deputies, according to reports. The deputies fired back at Razo, who jumped behind a large boulder.

The deputies ordered Razo to surrender, which he did. He was taken into custody.

A preliminary hearing is set for 8 a.m. August 3.

Northeast Ohio Media Group reporter Eric Heisig contributed to this story.

Via: Cleveland.com

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[MUST READ] Obama Cronyism + Your Personal Data = Trouble by Michelle Malkin

It's the most far-reaching scandal in Washington that no one wants to talk about: Tens of millions of federal employees had their personal information hacked as a result of Obama administration incompetence and political favoritism.

Ethnic community organizer-turned-Office of Personnel Management head Katherine Archuleta recklessly eschewed basic cyber security in favor of politically correct "diversity" initiatives during her disastrous crony tenure. This Beltway business-as-usual created an irresistible opportunity for hackers to reach out and grab massive amounts of sensitive data — compromising everyone from rank-and-file government employees to CIA spies.

Could it get worse? You betcha.

Amid increasing concerns about these massive government computer breaches, the Defense Department is expected to announce the winner of a lucrative high-stakes contract to overhaul the military's electronic health records system this week.

The leading finalist among three top contenders is Epic Systems, a Wisconsin-based health care software company founded and led by top Obama billionaire donor Judy Faulkner. Thanks in significant part to President Obama's $19 billion stimulus subsidy program for health data vendors, Epic is now the dominant EMR player in the U.S. health IT market.

According to Becker's Hospital Review, CVS Caremark's retail clinic chain, MinuteClinic, is now adopting Epic's system, and "when the transition is complete, about 51 percent of Americans will have an Epic record." Other major clients include Kaiser Permanente of Oakland, Calif., Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Arlington-based Texas Health Resources, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, and Duke University Health System in Raleigh, N.C.

As I've reported previously, Epic employees donated nearly $1 million to political parties and candidates between 1995 and 2012 — 82 percent of it to Democrats. The company's top 10 PAC recipients are all Democratic or left-wing outfits, from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (nearly $230,000) to the DNC Services Corporation (nearly $175,000) and the America's Families First Action Fund Democratic super-PAC ($150,000).

Faulkner received a plum appointment to a federal health IT policy panel in 2011. Brandon Glenn of Medical Economics noted that "it's not a coincidence" that Epic's sales "have been skyrocketing in recent years, up to $1.2 billion in 2011, double what they were four years prior."

Stunningly, Epic "has the edge" on the gargantuan Pentagon medical records contract, The Washington Post reported on Monday. This favored status comes despite myriad complaints about the interoperability, usability and security of Epic's closed-end proprietary software. Just last week, the UCLA Health system run by Epic suffered a cyber attack affecting up to 4.5 million personal and medical records, including Social Security numbers, Medicare and health plan identifiers, birthdays, and physical addresses. The university's CareConnect system spans four hospitals and 150 offices across Southern California.

The university's top doctors and medical staff market their informatics expertise and consulting services to other Epic customers "to ensure the successful implementation and optimization of your Epic EHR." Will they be sharing their experience having to mop up the post-cyber attack mess involving their Epic infrastructure?

UCLA Health acknowledged that the hack forced it to "employ more cybersecurity experts on its internal security team, and to hire an outside cybersecurity firm to guard its network," according to CNN.

Now another Obama crony is poised to cash in on her cozy ties and take over the mega-overhaul of millions of Pentagon and Veterans Affairs medical records to the tune of at least $11 billion.

Can you say "Epic fail"?

Via: CNS News

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Soda Wars: Business Groups Sue San Francisco To Defend First Amendment

A trio of business groups is suing San Francisco to protect the First Amendment rights of companies that sell and market sugary drinks.

On 24 July, the California Retailers Association, the American Beverage Association and the California State Outdoor Advertising Association filed a lawsuit to prevent mandatory warning labels on soda ads. The San Francisco ordinance, which was passed in June by nine votes to zero would cover soda ads on billboards, buses, transit shelters, posters and stadiums.

The plaintiffs argue “the city is trying to ensure that there is no free marketplace of ideas, but instead only a government-imposed, one-sided public ‘dialogue’ on the topic — in violation of the First Amendment.” They hope the District Court will overturn the city government’s decision.

The label, which must cover 20 percent of the ad, reads “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.” The labels mimic warning signs placed on cigarette packs.

Drink manufacturers will not only have to comply with producing warning labels but will be subject to a wave of new restrictions. Baylen Linnekin, chief executive of Keep Food Legal, writes, “the law would prohibit soda makers from identifying the products they sell while protesting against the law on public space. It bars ads advertising soda, Frappuccinos, or some Jamba juices on public property.”

Linnekin identifies two violations of the First Amendment in the city ordinance. One being the government preventing speech with which it disagrees and two, compelling the speaker to switch their language to that preferred by the government.

Government efforts to label certain products with health warnings have taken a knock in recent years. The California plaintiffs may draw hope from the 2012 case where tobacco companies won a major victory after a federal appeals court struck down requirements for cigarette packs to display graphic health warnings.

Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the District of Columbia Circuit, who voted with the majority in the case, wrote ”this case raises novel questions about the scope of the government’s authority to force the manufacturer of a product to go beyond making purely factual and accurate commercial disclosures and undermine its own economic interest — in this case, by making ‘every single pack of cigarettes in the country a mini billboard’ for the government’s antismoking message.”

The Food and Drug Administration which was pursuing the policy has not attempted to reintroduce the graphic labels.

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Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation

Via: California Political Review

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Reid is out and Congress is surprisingly productive

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nev. arrives at the Capitol Building before the Senate convenes for a Sunday session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sunday, July 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

When voters pulled the lever for Republicans in 2014, they probably didn't have high expectations for the Congress they were creating. With two years left in President Obama's term, divided government and further gridlock seemed the best possible outcome.

Yet the 114th Congress has been surprisingly productive — and more importantly, it holds forth great promise on such major issues as free trade, criminal justice reform and tax reform. And although not all of the developments are or will be positive, none of the problems stem from the kind of institutional dysfunction that plagued the previous Senate, especially.

The classic but misleading metric for a Congress is the number of laws it enacts. This Congress has been better on that score than its immediate predecessors so far. But as Congress leaves for its August recess, it is wiser to measure its value based on precisely what it has accomplished, and what aspirations lawmakers can realistically harbor based on the tone of the place today.

For example, Congress took a huge step toward opening up America's trade footprint when it approved Trade Promotion Authority earlier this summer and extended a long-running African trade agreement. Members fully expect to vote on at least one major trade deal before President Obama leaves office.

Before that, the House and Senate approved a bicameral budget for 2016. This might not seem like much, but it marks the first time Congress has actually fulfilled its budget responsibilities since Obama took office. Congress also approved the Keystone Pipeline (Obama vetoed that one), and passed a so-called "doc-fix," which had been kicked down the road for years. It also passed a bill helping the victims of human trafficking.

Looking forward, there's no question that this Congress has a considerably less toxic atmosphere than the last one. Instead of contemplating a government shutdown or a default, lawmakers are talking about what they might be able to pass.

The major difference is that the Senate's new leadership has chosen a decidedly less autocratic style. The former Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, D-Nev., will be remembered best for blocking amendment votes. He essentially offered the minority only two choices — accept his demands or else stop action on bills altogether. This not only blocked individual senators' contributions to the process (including Democrats who might have benefited from the opportunity to contribute), but it also became a huge source of tension between the parties. Reid's decision to trample the minority's rights by invoking the so-called "nuclear option" did not help matters, either.

Now that senators are free to propose amendments, Democratic and Republican senators alike have more of a buy-in to the legislative process. In just the first major debate — over the Keystone pipeline — there were more amendment votes than there had been in the entire preceding year.

Via: Washington Examiner

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