Sunday, December 29, 2019

Fact Check: Why Attacks on Jews are Increasing


Violent and deadly anti-Jewish attacks appear to be on the rise.  Six were killed in NJ a couple of weeks ago and several were attacked by machete in NY just days ago.  And there have been waves of smaller attacks in recent weeks throughout NYC.

Luckily, CNN is on the case:


What are the other possibilities when someone attacks a Jew and yells, "Fuck you, Jew!"?

A striking number of these violent attacks were committed by Black people.  This is significant because a number of prominent Democrat people-of-color are vehemently anti-Jewish and anti-Israel.  Among them:

Louis Farrakhan
Al Sharpton
Jesse Jackson
Keith Ellison
Ilhan Omar
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
Marc Lamont Hill
Tamika Mallory
Alice Walker
Angela Davis
Ayanna Pressley
Linda Sarsour

Most prominent among them is of course, Louis Farrakhan, who is unparalleled in his open hatred of Jews.   Which raises the question, what has the response been by other prominent Democrats to all this Jew hatred?  Has Barack Obama weighed-in?  How about Chuck Schumer?  How about Nancy Pelosi?  How about the Democrats running for President?   

To answer this question I did some research and compiled a list of all the prominent Democrats who have specifically and unequivocally addressed these haters by name.  I found all the leaders who were brave enough to say something other than the generic cliches and who volunteered to do so before being prompted. 

Below is a PDF of the completed list.

They all deserve high praise for boldly standing-up and risking support from the Black, Hispanic, and Muslim communities.  Thanks to Democrat leaders like them, the increase in attacks on Jews will not last.  



And remember, Barack Obama was the most anti-Semitic President in history.

(I avoid using the term "anti-Semitic" because Arabs are technically Semites too.  Many Jew-haters are themselves Semites, or are allied with the Arabs, as was Hitler.  It is an extremely inaccurate term.  But when the original source material uses it, I abide.) 

Friday, December 27, 2019

Fact Check: Is Donald Trump a Dictator?


[UPDATE 1/25/20]
Jerry Nadler accused Donald Trump of being a dictator last night during his impeachment speech.  Here is an undiepundit.com fact check on that very subject from earlier this year: 
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The polemics flow like water over Niagara Falls. Every minute of every day there's a new rant by some politician, media personality, academic, or entertainer asserting that Donald Trump is:  
A Dictator!  A Fascist!  A Tyrant!  A Totalitarian!  Subverting our Constitution!  Hitler!  An Existential Threat!

The question is, is any of this true?  Can we prove or disprove these allegations?

Luckily, there's a whole branch of government dedicated to identifying this exact behavior.  At the top of that branch is the Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS).  No matter what happens in the lower courts,  the supremes always get the final say.  If there's ever a dictator living in the White House, he or she would have an historically bad losing record at the SCOTUS.

Astonishingly, Donald Trump does not!

Here’re the numbers from Trump’s last year at the SCOTUS:



From: “Trump’s Top SCOTUS Lawyers Post winning Term, But Barely” - Bloomberg Law

Donald Trump had a TOTAL win rate of 68% based on his only full Supreme Court session for which he had a confirmed Solicitor General.*

So how did Barack Obama do?
Overall, the (Obama) administration has managed a record of 79-96, a win rate of just above 45 percent.
Wait. OBAMA had a losing record?

How about the other Presidents?
That (Obama) audit doesn't look too good when compared to the record of his predecessors. George W. Bush achieved a record of 89-59 (60 percent)—and that's if you fold in all of 2000-2001, including cases argued when Bill Clinton was president in what was an unusually bad term for the government (roughly 35 percent). Clinton, in turn, had an overall record of 148-87 (63 percent), again including all of 1992-1993. George H.W. Bush went 91-39 (70 percent), while Ronald Reagan weighed in with an astounding record of 260-89 (about 75 percent).

While it looks like this is merely a tale of a downwards trend in recent years, Jimmy Carter still managed a 139-65 record (68 percent). Indeed, the overall government win rate over the last 50 years—I've calculated back to the early 1960s—is comfortably over 60 percent.
From: “Obama Has Lost in the Supreme Court More Than Any Modern President” - Cato Institute

And remember, Obamacare (ACA) is likely going back to the Supreme Court in 2020!

*Note: The Bloomberg graphic includes Trump’s amicus cases. The Cato analysis only includes cases in which the administration was a party. Using only party totals, Trump is still at 55% vs. Obama at 45%.

In summary: Donald Trump is doing about average and has a winning record at the SCOTUS.  Conversely, his immediate predecessor is the most overturned President in modern history and the only one with a losing record!

Remind me again who the dictator is?

Monday, December 9, 2019

Fact Check - The Truth About The IG Report

All you need to know about today's Inspector General report: