“You know what, yeah, yeah,” Maher said. “You know what — that’s liberal bullshit right there … they’re not as dangerous. I mean there’s only one faith, for example, that kills you or wants to kill you if you draw a bad cartoon of the prophet. There’s only one faith that kills you or wants to kill you if you renounce the faith. An ex-Muslim is a very dangerous thing. Talk to Salman Rushdie after the show about Christian versus Islam. So you know, I’m just saying let’s keep it real.”

◼ Holy Cow! Bill Maher rips lib professor for comparing violence in Islam to Christianity - The Right Scoop

This video shocks me a bit as Bill Maher is much more right in this dialogue than I think I’ve ever heard him, and the dialogue is about the terrorist bombers and Islam.

◼ Why Do So Many Muslims Embrace Religious and Ideological Warfare? - Victor Sharpe/American Thinker

◼ What did Dzhokhar learn about Chechnya in school? - Thomas Lifson/American Thinker

◼ Feinstein: Don’t treat Boston Marathon bombing suspect as enemy combatant - Sean Sullivan/Washington Post

◼ Here We Go… Sen. Feinstein Accuses GOP Rep. Peter King of Islamophobia After Boston Bombings (Video) - Jim Hoft/Gateway Pundit

Axelrod goes silent after Boston Marathon suspects ID’d as Muslim

◼ Former senior Obama administration advisor David Axelrod has been silent since the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects were positively identified Friday as Muslim immigrants from Chechnya. - Josh Peterson/Daily Caller

This reticence is a stark contrast to Axelrod’s speculation earlier this week that President Obama has avoided saying the Boston Marathon bombing might be related to “Tax Day.”

...The Left, however, has branded the Tea Party as a violent and racist movement. Progressive commentators — including Michael Moore and Chris Matthews — were quick to place blame for Monday’s tragedy on the Tea Party.

◼ Emergencies Bring out the Best in Citizens and First Responders, Worst in First Reactors - Bryan Preston/PJM

This nation’s character has been severely tested this week. So has the character of many of our leading lights and talking heads. Emergencies this week have consistently brought out the best in ordinary Americans and first responders. The same cannot be said for the media or the “first reactors.”

...It has been a shameful week in media and social media. David Sirota infamously wanted the Boston terrorists to turn out to be white, for the politics, and got his wish — sort of. They’re white, but also Chechen and Muslim, and naturalized citizens. Michael Moore was happy that he correctly predicted that the terrorists turned out to be men. Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert tried his hand at bowling. Twitter has been overwhelmed with idiocy and mediocy this week.

If there’s a lesson to be learned from this week, it’s that if there’s an emergency, rely on the burly, decisive ones around you and not those chattering about themselves in the peanut gallery, trying to score political points off it all. The first will give their life for you without hesitation. The second will watch you die and then turn your corpse into a political pinata, also without hesitation.

Obama’s Political Army Targets Sen. Ted Cruz’s Office for Direct Protest

◼ ...after the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, President Obama called on Americans not to “rush to judgment against groups of people.” The president applies such thinking when terrorists strike and kill, but not to Americans who happen to disagree with him. He spent Wednesday afternoon yelling at Americans who disagree with him on gun ownership. - Bryan Preston/PJM

Saturday, the political army that answers directly to Barack Obama and no one else, Organizing for Action, will muster in Dallas to target Sen. Ted Cruz for disagreeing with him on gun ownership. I caught this on Facebook tonight, after the president called on Americans not to rush to judgement and all that crap that he doesn’t really mean. Except when applied to terrorists.

OFA vs. CRUZ CREW

The Obama machine has targeted the Dallas office to protest in retaliation of striking down gun control!

Tomorrow 11:30am
10440 N Central Expy, Dallas, TX. 75231

Stand with Ted Cruz!

◼ Ironic, since Obama himself was angered by legislators 'caving to the pressure': And obviously a lot of Republicans had that fear, but Democrats had that fear, too. And so they caved to the pressure. And they started looking for an excuse, any excuse to vote no. CNN Transcript: Newtown Shooting Victim's Father And President Obama Speak In Rose Garden On Gun Legislation Defeat

◼ And then: Obama uses fake Twitter messages in fight over gun control - HRWF

CAPTURED – Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect #2 Caught In Watertown

◼ A flurry of applause at the scene of a standoff between police and Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev signaled his capture Friday night. - CBS Boston

◼ Suspected Boston Bomber on Twitter: ‘A decade in America already, I want out.’ - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

◼ Feds 'investigating possibility that the government's terror-trackers knew about the Boston bombers before the blasts' - DAVID MARTOSKO IN WASHINGTON/Daily Mail

Federal law enforcement officials are actively investigating the possibility that the Boston bombers were known to the government’s terror-trackers, MailOnline understands.

Any inquiry into the marathon bombing will look into whether agents could have taken action – but didn’t – to prevent the Tsarnaev brothers from obtaining the explosives that killed 3 and wounded 173 others.

CBS News reported Friday evening that two years ago, the FBI interviewed the elder brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who was killed in Thursday night's dramatic shootout. The feds reportedly spoke to him at the request of an unspecified foreign government, but couldn't establish that he had ties to terrorist radicals.

Tamerlan left the United States in January 2012 for Russia and returned in mid-July, according to records uncovered by NBC in New York.

But an official inside the Department of Homeland Security with knowledge of federal law enforcement activities in Massachusetts has claimed to MailOnline that Tamerlan was on the radar screen of agents in Boston between his return to the U.S. and the end of the fall.

(Under the radar: Once source told MailOnline in an unconfirmed claim that law agencies received tips from inside a local mosque in 2012 about young Muslims who were becoming radicalized. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was allegedly one of those.)

..If we forgive a demon like Ayers, why pursue the Boston bombers at all?

◼ Bill Ayers and the Bombings in Boston - Doug Ross

The major media outlets and their on-camera newslings, have now interpreted the Boston Marathon bombing as a new era in the ground assault on America.

“We’ve entered a new phase in the kind of tactics the enemy is willing to use against us,” they profess. “They’re resorting to a new unusual street warfare and we should be prepared for this new type of attack.”

Excuse me…?

The esteemed American professor Bill Ayers and his Weather Underground bombed – are you ready? – nearly forty (40) American institutions in the 1970’s.

The Boston bombing is not new by any means – it has an evil precedent - produced by similarly evil people.

...Add to this the killing of a San Francisco police officer; the murder of two Brink’s guards during a NY robbery attempt, to fund their malicious spree; the firebombing of Chicago police cars; abetting the escape of Timothy Leary from the California Men’s Colony; and the firebombing of a New York City judge’s home (the judge, his wife, and his children were forced to flee for their lives).

Bill Ayers set the stage – the precedent if you will – for American bombings. And for the Boston bombings.


..If we forgive a demon like Ayers, why pursue the Boston bombers at all?

The callous indignant Bill Ayers once proudly boasted, “'I don't regret setting bombs - I feel we didn't do enough.''

◼ How Long Before Dzhokhar Starts Palling Around with Obama? - Jack Cashill/American Thinker

With his capture Friday evening in Boston, terrorist bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would seem to have abandoned all hope of ever amounting to anything useful. He may, however, be selling his adopted country short. In America, at least in certain quarters thereof, our fellow citizens have a history of rehabilitating terrorists and restoring them to places of honor.

President Barack Obama knows something about this. It was no more than fifteen years after Bill Ayers walked away -- "Guilty as hell. Free as a bird." -- from his 1970's career as an underground bomber that he became Obama's mentor, political adviser, and literary ghost. Ayers went on to become a distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois and a much-sought after speaker at educational conferences around the country. Chin up, Dzhokhar!

Boston marathon suspect #2 covered in blood

RT @nbcnightlynews Suspect covered in blood, our affiliate @7news reports

— Wash. Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 20, 2013

RT @passantino: WCVB: "Large amount of blood" where suspect is in Watertown

— Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) April 20, 2013

RT @boston_police @boston_police Suspect in custody. Officers sweeping the area. Stand by for further info.

— Wash. Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 20, 2013

'Teenage bomber' fled on FOOT: Police reveal suspect escaped the scene of shoot-out as they uncover terrifying cache of explosives at Boston homes but suspect remains on the loose as night falls

◼ Fugitive Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, remains at large following a manhunt by thousands of police officers today but the order for residents of Watertown, Massachusetts to stay indoors has been lifted with authorities telling them to 'stay vigilant'. The public transport system the MBTA was also being reopened. - Daily Mail

◼ Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, 'Suspect 1' killed after explosions and machine gun fire in Boston suburb of Watertown
◼ Manhunt continues for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, 'Suspect 2' who was seen on CCTV wearing a white baseball cap
◼ Police chief says: 'We remain committed to this' but admits leads in Eastern Massachusetts have been fruitless
◼ Both suspects are brothers from the Russia region near Chechnya and had lived in U.S. since 2002
◼ Police lift order to stay indoors in Watertown as long as the public 'remains vigilant'
◼ Amtrak cancels routes between Providence, Rhode Island and New York; Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins cancel Friday night games
◼ Police officer dies and 15 others wounded in exchange of 200 rounds of gunfire after suspects threw explosives following car chase

Via Drudge:
BROTHER BOMBERS: 1 DEAD...
Hailed from Russia region near Chechnya....
Bragged of Bombing...
PROFILE? 'WORLD VIEW: ISLAM'...
Appears Sympathetic to Al Qaeda...
SHOOTOUT VIDEO...
Photos/timeline...
POLICE SCANNER: Trigger found on body...
At-large bomber 'may be wearing suicide vest'...
POLICE STATE: NOW FREE TO ROAM...
BOSTON A GHOST TOWN...
LIVE UPDATES...
REUTERS...
WHDH-TV... FOX25... WCVB... WBZ... WRKO-AM...
Manhunt drags on, anxiety grips city...

◼ ‘Suspect down’: Shots fired, bombing suspect reportedly pinned down in Watertown, Mass. - Twitchy

◼ link

◼ Boston: It’s About Islam, David Sirota - Roger L. Simon/PJM

Over the last few days I have wanted to write about an article published by David Sirota on Salon, which was commented on admirably by my colleagues Roger Kimball and Richard Fernandez. Sirota wrote to express his hope that the Boston Bombers would be white Americans, because otherwise our putative race-hatred of Muslims or people of color of any sort would be enhanced. It’s all about “white skin privilege,” doncha know?

Today Sirota seems like an imbecile (well, he did before), but I would venture to say he doesn’t know why. So I will spell it out for him: the War on Terror (euphemism alert) is not about skin color. It is about ideology, Islamic ideology.

The Tsarnaevs are white people in the purest sense. They are Caucasians from the Caucasus, of all things, but they believe in Allah — do or die, apparently.

The Uncle, who will warm your heart, speaks

Overnight...

BREAKING NEWS - AUTHORITIES SAYING WATERTOWN SUSPECTS ARE IN FACT THE MARATHON BOMBING SUSPECTS. WCVB. #911BUFF

— 911 Operator (@911BUFF) April 19, 2013

“[Fed Chairman] Ben Bernanke has pulled off a neat trick that could well give us the worst of all worlds: a brief commodity deflation, future inflation and a stagnant economy”

◼ Steve Forbes: Fed Policy Continues to Plague Asset Markets, Economy - MoneyNews

“It will earn him a prominent place in the central bank’s Hall of Infamy.”

The weak economy has helped push inflation down, leading to gold’s recent drop, he says. “Leveraged speculators are waking up to the fact that we won’t be getting a 1970s-style inflation in the near future and are bailing out — for now,” Forbes writes.

“Gold rose sharply in anticipation that all that quantitative easing would flood the economy with excess money just as happened in the 1970s.”

But that water has now been bottled up. “Or a better metaphor, it lies in a vast reservoir. However, in this case, the water is held in place by a very weak dam,” he notes.

“The Fed is still doing enormous damage to the economy by distorting the credit markets both in the pricing of credit and in creating uncertainty about the future value of the dollar.”

Rubio Discusses New Immigration Bill On The Senate Floor

Must see: Boston Bruins fans take over national anthem

◼ Rene Rancourt leads into the anthem, stops singing to conduct the crowd and let them sing - Twitchy

Wrongly Accused Teen: I Am Not the Boston Bomber

◼ The teenage boy authorities once investigated as possibly being connected to the Boston Marathon bombing told ABC News today he was shocked to see his face pop up on television and all over social media. - SHAHRIAR RAHMANZADEH, JENNIFER LEONG, SANTINA LEUCI and RHONDA SCHWARTZ/ABC

When he saw the front page story, with the headline "Bag Men," Barhoun said, "It's the worst feeling that I can possibly feel… I'm only 17."

◼ Boston Bombings: Speculation, Spin, and Shamelessness - Tom Blumer/PJM

Writing on reactions to the Boston Marathon bombings, columnist Tom Blumer calls out the fast and furious smears coming from politicians and the media.

...the smears have been fast and furious. Wholly predictable and despicable speculation has come from the likes of former Congresswoman and now apparent full-time kook Cynthia McKinney, who thinks the cops are in on it; addition-challenged Michael Moore (“Tax Day. Patriots Day”); and Chris Matthews, supported by a host of others at MSNBC who also played up an alleged Tax Day connection. It didn’t matter that April 15 wasn’t “Tax Day” in Massachusetts, because Patriots’ Day is an official holiday.

Apart from irresponsibly assigning blame, the politicizing of the bombings began shortly after the smoke cleared. Nick Kristof at the New York Times got on his Twitter soapbox to take a shot at Republicans for not confirming President Obama’s nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; he later deleted his tweet, but he wouldn’t have without the blowback which ensued. Tuesday, former Congressman Barney Frank was telling the world that the heroism displayed by first responders and the medical community somehow proved that big and bloated government is a feature, and not a bug.

The litany of blame-gaming and politicization by the obviously agenda-driven, though truly offensive, is nowhere near as troubling to me as some of the mainstream “straight news” reports which inexplicably held back on unequivocally calling the Boston bombings what they are — terrorism — or veered into their own irresponsible speculation about the nature of the perpetrators.

The organizations involved always claim that they play it straight. Once again, their own coverage has proven them wrong.

◼ Falsely Accused in Boston: 3 Examples and What They Should Teach Us - CONOR FRIEDERSDORF/The Atlantic

What is it like to be a Muslim, or a person frequently mistaken for a Muslim, in the aftermath of an apparent terrorist attack? Americans who don't fit that description can't really know for sure, but three news items from the last few days show that knee-jerk prejudice is inexcusably common. If your ethnic group were treated this way, you'd be walking around paranoid and anxious.

Surveillance Video Related to Boston Bombings

Published on Apr 18, 2013
More at: http://www.fbi.gov/bostonbombings
Submit tips to: https://bostonmarathontips.fbi.gov

◼ Boston Bombing Suspects Photos Released with Video: No Ethnicity Mentioned - Maggie's Notebook

The man in the white ball cap is considered Suspect No. 2 and was seen on video dropping a bag or backpack near the site of the second blast in Boston. Less is known about the man in the dark cap and sunglasses. No connections to the markings on either hat was mentioned. Do either look familiar to you? No mention of ethnicity was mentioned, although someone on Fox commented that the suspect was a “white” man – happened just minutes before the FBI press conference. Sorry I don’t know who made the comment. There were also online reports circulating last night that the suspect in the photos was “White.”

If Suspect No. 2 in the white hat dropped what we are told was a black nylon backpack, his backpack looks to be white or gray with black trim. Suspect No. 1 in the dark hat has a black backpack.

Look at the top right photo of the man in the white ball cap. Doesn’t it look as though we are looking at bare skin across his shoulders, rather than the jacket we see in the top left photo?

◼ Images and video of suspects in Boston Marathon Bombing - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

◼ ICE Official Calls TheBlaze Source’s Claim on Deportation ‘Categorically False’ — But Says They Do Have Different Saudi in Custody - The Blaze via Mark Levin

◼ Boston Bombing Victim in Iconic Photo Helped Identify Attackers - Bloomberg

Minutes before the bombs blew up in Boston, Jeff Bauman looked into the eyes of the man who tried to kill him.

Just before 3 p.m. on April 15, Bauman was waiting among the crowd for his girlfriend to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. A man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at Jeff, 27, and dropped a bag at his feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, said in an interview.

Two and a half minutes later, the bag exploded, tearing Jeff’s legs apart. A picture of him in a wheelchair, bloodied and ashen, was broadcast around the world as he was rushed to Boston Medical Center. He lost both legs below the knee.

NFRW 75th Anniversary Video

NFRW Appreciation Video from Lisa Roper on Vimeo.

A video featuring elected officials wishing NFRW a happy 75th anniversary has been posted on the NFRW website. Many thanks to Lisa Roper for donating and producing the video!

NFRW Capitol Update

NFRW Model Used to Train the World's Leaders

The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advances freedom and democracy worldwide through developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, good governance and the rule of law. Within the IRI, the Women's Democracy Network connects women leaders and aspiring women leaders with their counterparts around the world to share best practices and to learn new skills. Working together, members of the Network are building thriving communities and lasting democracies by conducting skill-building programs to provide women in many countries with the tools they need to compete effectively in politics and political campaigns. The Women's Democracy Network is active in 61 countries in every region of the world.

Last month, NFRW President Rae Chornenky was invited to meet with IRI's Women's Democracy Network International Women's Day Conference delegation made up of ten women from countries around the world who were brought to Washington, D.C., to participate in training workshops, meet with policy makers and plan activities for their coming year. The delegates, chosen for having demonstrated their dedication to increasing women's political representation in their home countries, and who are running for political office, were given the opportunity to observe the governmental process in the United States, experience intensive election campaign training, and learn from their international peers.

The general emphasis of the NFRW's presentation was the importance of women's political participation, educating women to participate politically and training women who are seeking political office on how to run campaigns which reflect the concerns of voters. Reading the biographies of the delegates was particularly humbling as delegates represented countries plagued by poverty, revolution and oppression. Some of them have been imprisoned themselves for being active politically and some face economic and political backlash for their activities.

The NFRW was asked to train the delegates, who were from Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, Moldova, the Ukraine, Tunisia, Bangladesh, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Argentina, and Nigeria, in how to increase women's leadership within a political party. Discussion questions from delegates quickly turned to the model of the NFRW as a grassroots, activist political organization led by and comprised of women across the United States. Delegates were very interested in how NFRW recruits and retains members, what role programs and community activities play in NFRW and how NFRW keeps members and local clubs connected. The NFRW's use of the Achievement Awards program to connect and provide structure for local clubs was also of great interest.

It was fascinating to learn the number of delegates' countries that have laws in place mandating that certain percentages of elected officials be female. Reasons for why there are not many female members of the U.S. Congress and Senate were explored and delegates were quite curious about this phenomenon.The potential for women leaders in political parties was examined and issues surrounding women as political leaders were evaluated.

Not long after the conference, the NFRW was invited back to the WDN to meet personally with a political activist from Egypt to present the NFRW model of recruiting, organizing and educating women to be politically active and to empower the young woman in her efforts to organize women in her own country.
NFRW At the RNC Spring Meeting

Last week the RNC met in Hollywood California for the spring meeting. Convening one block from Hollywood Boulevard, the location choice was a not-so-subtle hint that the GOP is looking to re-brand, fitting with the "Grow & Win" theme of the meeting.

At Wednesday evening's welcome reception, Michael Reagan spoke about the legacy of his father, and how his father started his political career in Hollywood. Larry Solov, the current president of Breitbart.com and Andrew Breitbart's childhood friend, urged GOP activists to never stop fighting for what they believe in, and that the key to securing the youth vote is the tenacious GOP activists who fight for them.

The keynote speaker on Thursday's lunch was former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has fully recovered from a heart transplant he had last year. He spoke about the need to keep an eye on national security and the threats we face with North Korea.

On Thursday afternoon Chairman Priebus moderated a town hall-like discussion featuring Mia Love, Ricky Gill, and Michelle Steel, and then the group separated into sessions focusing on diversity and outreach, securing the women's vote, and securing the youth vote. The session on securing the women's vote relied heavily on reaction to the RNC's Renew Grow Win report section on women in the chapter "Demographic Partners."

On Friday, resolutions were passed that included a "Resolution Celebrating the Life, Accomplishments, and Memory of Borah Van Dormolen," where "the Republican National Commitee joins with the Texas Federation of Republican Women and the Republican Party of Texas to proudly honor and celebrate the life and many accomplishments of our dear friend, Borah Van Dormolen..." Other notable resolutions passed include a "Resolution Calling for Cooperation With the Conservative Grassroots Movement," "Resolution Concerning Common Core Education Standards," "Resolution for Marriage and Children 2013," and "Resolution Supporting Core Values of the 2012 Republican Platform." Click here to read all of the resolutions.

A Message From the Membership Committee Concerning Satellite Groups

A satellite group is a way for State Federations, faced with losing a club, to save Federation members. A neighboring club can reach out to members whose club might be dissolving. The members can become a satellite group - preserving their relationships with each other and remaining part of the NFRW. The satellite group can be permanent or temporary, and might lead to a successor club.

A satellite group success story comes from Sharon Barnes, Membership Committee co-chair: "Republican Women's Club of St. Louis has taken the Reagan Republican Women's Club (that was going to dissolve) and made them a satellite group! The members are ecstatic that they can continue to meet but without the hassle of paperwork and officers!!" Is there a club in your area that is in danger of dissolving? Would a satellite group help save those members? Contact the NFRW Membership Committee for more information on how easy it is to set up a satellite group.

NFRW Winning Web of the Week

"The Most Powerful Women's Political Organization in Texas Today!"

Congratulations to State President Carolyn Hodges and to Holly Hansen, Michele Samuelson, Shannon Way, Courtney Forsell, and Cassie Daniel, the TFRW members who maintain the outstanding website for the Texas Federation of Republican Women. This website meets and exceeds the basic requirements for a NFRW Winning Web. It is easy to read, easy to navigate, and easy to access. The overall layout and design is consistent through the website. It is quick to load. And Most Important Of All -- it is updated frequently. Click here to read more about this outstanding website, and be sure to visit www.TFRW.org

To submit a RW website to be considered for NFRW Winning Web, please go to www.NFRWWinningWebs.org, click on the Application link, complete and e-mail to committee. Click here to view basic website guidelines.

All of these bombers are now either professors (or in prison) and were early gunpowder and pressure cooker enthusiasts.

◼ Maetenloch reminds us of another guy who built a bomb filled with nails . . . William Ayers. Ace of Spades

◼ Greenwich Village townhouse explosion

...Shortly before noon on Friday, March 6, 1970, people in the townhouse were assembling nail bombs packed with dynamite and roofing nails. Former members of Weatherman later advanced differing claims as to the planned uses of the bombs. According to Mark Rudd, the plan was to set them off that evening at a dance for noncommissioned officers and their dates at the Fort Dix, New Jersey Army base, to "bring the [Vietnam] war home". Other reports say that some were destined for the Fort Dix dance and some were to destroy the main library at Columbia University...

The Greenwich Village townhouse explosion occurred on March 6, 1970, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. It was caused by the premature detonation of a bomb that was being assembled by members of the Weather Underground, an American radical left group. The bomb was under construction in the basement of 18 West 11th Street when it accidentally exploded – the blast reduced the four-story townhouse to a burning rubble-strewn ruin. Three persons preparing the bomb were killed instantly, and two others were injured but escaped from the scene.

"Nobody listens to what he says anymore, nobody is interested in winning his approval and nobody much cares if he thinks they have 'let the country down'"

◼ Barack Obama can't pass gun control despite 90 per cent support. Truly, he is a lame-duck president - Tim Stanley/The Telegraph

Whatever your position on gun control, yesterday’s events are a damning indictment of Obama’s presidency – a flash of style, lots of soaring rhetoric and, when the votes are actually counted, little show for any of it. America has four more years of this lame-duck president telling them that it has let him down. If only he could tear up the Constitution and rule by diktat he might save himself a little disappointment. Alas, American democracy is a stickler for rules.

◼ It's been a bad first quarter of the second term for President Obama. - Althouse

1. It's been so bad that the media dropped their erstwhile foible of talking about everything that happens in terms of what it means for Obama. And here it is, the first lap of his new term, when there's more reason than usual to talk about how things are working out for the President.

◼ Emotional Obama vows gun control ‘without Congress’

President Obama was visibly angry during his press conference yesterday, voicing disappointment with the Senate for failing to pass an amendment requiring universal background checks for gun sales.

Media outlets can’t get their stories straight

◼ Boston marathon: Here is what we know thus far: - Howie carr/Boston Herald

Here is what we know thus far:

The cops have photos of one of the suspects, or two.

The suspect(s) may be either “dark-skinned” (CNN) or “white” (CBS).


They were carrying backpacks, or maybe bags.

The backpacks, or bags, were black, unless they were blue.

The bombs were detonated by control boards, unless it was cellphones, unless it was egg timers.

Yesterday’s press conference was supposed to take place at 5, until it was supposed to take place at 8, until it was canceled.

The media descended on the federal courthouse on Northern Avenue because the suspect was in custody — no, actually it was because a bomb threat had been phoned in.

Yesterday was not a day in which the local and national media covered themselves with glory. It reminded me of my days as a college-boy rewrite man in the Hearst empire, taking dictation from the old-time Hearst legmen. Often they were wrong, never were they in doubt.

I don’t particularly want to point fingers here, if only because I got the same bad information. My source said he was getting it from “the White House.”

SUDDENLINK VANDAL STRIKES AGAIN; CABLE GOES DOWN IN HUMBOLDT

◼ Sudden link cable cut in multiple locations. Service out in Arcata & McKinleyville. - Arcata Eye
◼ The mysterious vandal who is apparently obsessed with Suddenlink struck again early this morning, cutting off service to McKinleyville, Arcata, Trinidad, Big Lagoon and Bayside. - McKinleyville Press

To date there have been five vandalisms to Suddenlinks Fiber Optic Cables. Total estimated damage by Suddenlink to repair the lines is now estimated to be at least $75,000.00. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and Suddenlink are encouraging the public to call in any suspicious activity they may observe near telephone/ cable lines, especially during the late night/ early morning hours.

This is an on-going investigation and the Sheriff’s Office is actively working to identify a suspect or suspects in these crimes and to stop further vandalisms and interruptions to Suddenlink’s services.

◼ Suddenlink Cable Repairs Continue, Public’s Help Requested - Arcata Eye

Suddenlink is working with Cook & Associates, McKinleyville's very own private investigators. - McKinleyville Press

Gun control: Obama’s biggest loss

◼ BITTER O...Never before had President Barack Obama put the moral force and political muscle of his presidency behind an issue quite this big — and lost quite this badly. - Politico ◼ Via Drudge

More than anything, it was an emotional blow to Obama, who was as irritated at the four members of his own party as he was at the 90 percent of Republicans who defeated the bill.
◼ GUN GROUPS 'LIARS'... Obama angrily denounces gun-rights groups as willful liars - Washington Times

Senators voted 54-46 late Wednesday to expand background checks of gun purchases, six votes shy of the 60 needed for passage of the amendment.

◼ SENATE KILLS DEAL - The Hill

It failed by a vote of 54 to 46, with five Democrats voting against it. Only four Republicans supported it.
Democratic Sens. Mark Pryor (Ark.), Max Baucus (Mont.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Mark Begich (Alaska) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) voted against it. Reid supported the measure but voted against it to preserve his ability to bring the measure up again.
GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Susan Collins (Maine), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Mark Kirk (Ill.) voted "yes."

◼ Bloomberg RAGES... - CBS NY

“Today’s vote is a damning indictment of the stranglehold that special interests have on Washington,” Bloomberg said. “More than 40 U.S. senators would rather turn their backs on the 90 percent of Americans who support comprehensive background checks than buck the increasingly extremist wing of the gun lobby.”

◼ Feinstein Fumes... - National Review

Feinstein is the author of the assault-weapons ban, which was defeated earlier today by a margin of 60 to 40. The compromise on background checks introduced by GOP senator Pat Toomey and Democratic senator Joe Manchin was also defeated, 54–46.

◼ Biden Wipes Away Tears... - Weekly Standard
◼ Cuomo Complains... Politicker
◼ Reid Mocks: 'Imagined Tyranny'... - Real Clear Politics

◼ GALLUP: Only 4% of Americans Think Gun Control Important Problem... - CNS

Despite the Obama administration’s strong push for more gun control legislation, few Americans are concerned about the issue.

As Gallup reports, “Few Americans mention guns or immigration as the most important problems facing the nation today, despite the current attention lawmakers in Washington are giving to these issues. The economy still dominates as the top concern, followed by jobs and dissatisfaction with the general way in which Congress and the government work.”

These data “underscore the prominence of economic issues in Americans’ minds,” said Gallup.

Feds arrest suspect in ricin-positive letters sent to Obama, senator

◼ Miss. Sheriff Links Letters in Ricin Case (Video) - /Washington Examiner
◼ Federal agents on Wednesday arrested a suspect in the mailing of letters to President Barack Obama and a U.S. senator that initially tested positive for the poison ricin. - US NEWS & WORLD REPORT

The suspect was identified as Paul Kevin Curtis of Tupelo, Miss., federal officials told NBC News. They said he may appear in court as early as Wednesday night.

I’M SURE THE PRESS WILL BE ALL OVER THIS:Alleged Ricin Terrorist is a Democrat. bit.ly/17u774H via @instapundit

— Instapundit.com (@instapundit) April 19, 2013

Report: McConnell bugger met with liberal group in White House in December

◼ The head of a group accused of illegally taping private meetings of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign visited the White House days before the group’s twitter account began actively attacking the Kentucky Republican, according to White House visitors logs. - Sean Higgins/News.ok

◼ Alleged McConnell Bugger Visited White House - John Stanton/Buzzfeed

Days before Progress Kentucky launched a Twitter offensive against Mitch McConnell, its executive director met with White House officials....

For days, Democrats in the state and nationally have sought to cast the duo as a pair of bungling amateurs who simply got in over their heads and made a series of bad decisions. But the White House visit suggests the distance from Reilly to his party's leaders may not have been quite that far.

The White House visitors log, showing Reilly met with administration officials Dec. 5th, appears to have been signed in by Victoria McCullough, a staff assistant to Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett.

◼ According to Reilly’s twitter feed, his trip to Washington included stops at the White House to discuss the fiscal cliff and a meeting at the Center for American Progress, a left leaning think tank. - Sean Higgins/Washington Examiner

◼ Investigation: Why did David Corn Run with a False McConnell Tape Transcript? - Bryan Preston/PJM

...The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint shortly after the tape’s release, amplified by the liberal Huffington Post, claiming that it provided evidence that Sen. McConnell has used official congressional staff to conduct opposition research on Judd (who, not to belabor the point, is no longer even a candidate and never officially was one).

The blockbuster that Corn believed he had was encapsulated in a few words: “thank them three times.” Those words are the basis of the CREW charge that McConnell has used legislative assistants or legislative aides (“LAs” on the tape) for political opposition research. Corn transcribes that passage as follows:

Presenter: So I’ll just preface my comments that this reflects the work of a lot of folks: Josh, Jesse, Phil Maxson, a lot of LAs, thank them three times, so this is a compilation of work, all the way through. The first person we’ll focus on…

But what if no one on the tape ever said those words in bold?

The Louisville Courier-Journal took the noisy 12-minute audio and cleaned it up to determine what the speaker actually says on the tape. The newspaper determined that the legislative aide did not say “thanked them three times,” but instead said “on their free time.” So the transcript should read:

Presenter: So I’ll just preface my comments that this reflects the work of a lot of folks: Josh, Jesse, Phil Maxson, a lot of LAs, on their free time, so this is a compilation of work, all the way through. The first person we’ll focus on…

The Weekly Standard’s Daniel Helper came to a similar conclusion. Those words make all the difference in the world. If the “thank them three times” interpretation is correct, then the phrase may be evidence backing up CREW’s complaint. But “on their free time” makes it clear that the work was not done on the taxpayer’s clock and therefore there is no basis for the complaint at all.

Corn says that he had the audio for two weeks before he released it into the wild, while he vetted it with lawyers. But did he ever have a sound engineer attempt to clean up the audio, if only to make sure that he was getting the transcript and interpretation correctly? (Audio, at the link)

Tears Don't Protect Against Murder

◼ The rivers of tears keep flowing, but tears don't protect against murder. Neither do peace treaties. - Sultan Knish

Tears don't protect against murder. They don't stop killers from killing. They don't prevent the authorities from looking the other way when the killings happen because there is something in it for them. They don't bring the terrorists to justice. They don't even ensure that the truth will be told, rather than the lie that rationalizes the terror.

Here is your state income tax bill if you made $40,000 in:

- Democrat-controlled California: $1,701.84
- Democrat-controlled New York: $2,950.56
- Republican-controlled South Dakota: $0.00

South Dakota Republican Party

Detroit in RUINS! (Crowder goes Ghetto)

◼ Ruins of Detroit Slideshow

#BostonMarathon Bombing Updates

◼ Boston Marathon bombing: Feds raid apartment, police seek rental van (+video) - CSM via Drudge

Federal authorities late Monday removed several bags from an apartment in a nearby suburb. Police investigating the Boston Marathon bombing have also issued an alert for a rental van and for a hooded man who left the area before the blasts.

HUNT ON FOR BOSTON BOMBERS...
Saudi man, 20, questioned at hospital...
Suburban apartment searched...
... Cops carry out 'several large bags'...
WHO IS THE MYSTERY MAN IN BLACK ON THE ROOF?
Bombs packed with ball bearings; 3 dead, 170+ wounded; 17 in critical...
'25, 30 people have at least one leg missing'...
Martin Richard, 8, among dead...
Elderly runner in viral photo finishes race...
HEROES: Kindness, humanity amid the carnage...
◼ Witnesses recount war zone at marathon... ***WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT***

'These runners just finished and now they don't have legs': Witnesses recount war zone at end of Boston Marathon as bombs left race course littered with limbs of 25-30 people
Unimaginable horror as victims with missing limbs are transported away
Surgeons battling wounds usually only seen in combat
Doctor who ran to the scene: 'It was like a war zone'
Massachusetts General Hospital: 'Several amputations' performed
Ten of the victims are feared to have lost limbs
Two brothers each lost a leg, from the knee down in the blast

◼ UM Coach: Bomb Sniffing Dogs, Spotters on Roofs Before Explosions 'They must have had some sort of threat called in' - local15tv

University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.

"They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15.

Stevenson said he saw law enforcement spotters on the roofs at the start of the race. He's been in plenty of marathons in Chicago, D.C., Chicago, London and other major metropolitan areas but has never seen that level of security before.

Axelrod: Obama Thinks Bombings Could Be Related to 'Tax Day'...



Blasts put world's cities on alert...
NYC deploys 1,000 cops to top landmarks...
UK police review London Marathon security...
MINISTER: Will not be 'blown off course'...
Kentucky Derby, Indy 500 to up security...
BARNEY FRANK: 'No tax cut would have helped us deal with this'...
FBI SEEKS PHOTOS, VIDEOS...
◼ UPDATE: No other bombs found - AP

President Barack Obama was careful not to use the words "terror" or "terrorism" as he spoke at the White House on Monday, but an administration official said the bombings were being treated as an act of terrorism....

Gov. Deval Patrick said contrary to earlier reports, no unexploded bombs were found. He said the only explosives were the ones that went off.

Five (six?) of seven Humboldt County entrants in Boston Marathon confirmed safe UPDATED

◼ What started out as a dream come true for up to seven Humboldt County runners participating in today's Boston Marathon turned into a nightmare after explosions rocked the finish line, killing at least three people and injuring more than 144 others in a horrific scene of broken glass and bloody streets. - Lorna Rodriguez and Kimberly Wear The Times-Standard

The Times-Standard was able to confirm by deadline that five of seven Humboldt County runners were safe, and that a sixth was listed by the marathon as having finished the race.

Fortuna runner Lanore Bergenske, 55, told the Times-Standard that she'd heard from fellow participant McKinleyville resident Tasha Souza, 43.

A posting on Bergenske's Facebook page indicated Weott runner Rachele Gundlach, 38, was fine. The husband of 49-year-old runner Kim Coelho, also from McKinleyville, told The Times-Standard she was OK.

KHUM spoke with Eureka resident and Ramone's owner Berit Meyer, 55, who said that she and husband Brian Ferguson were a half-mile from the finish line when the race slowed to a halt.

”Within a matter of a few seconds,” she told the Humboldt County radio station this afternoon, “I could tell something obviously was really wrong.”

The marathon listed McKinleyville resident Ben Davenport, 38, as finishing the race before the blast.

The Times-Standard was unable to confirm the status of Eureka runner Chris Hamer, 57, who was listed as an entrant by the marathon.

Times-Standard
Update: Chris Hamer is A-OK

In an email to the Times-Standard, the local attorney reports she qualified for the Boston Marathon but decided not to go because she couldn't find an affordable hotel room.
She said she's received more than 100 calls, texts and emails, and thanks everyone for their concern.
The T-S was unable to confirm her status last night when the paper went to print.

◼ Boston Marathon Explosion — Several Dead, Injured; Humboldters Appear to be OK - Lost Coast Outpost

◼ After the Marathon - Journal

Humboldt State University Professor Tasha Souza was stopped in her tracks by crowds fleeing explosions after finishing the Boston Marathon yesterday — a race she attended to honor a lost friend.

Souza was unharmed, but the day was already a poignant one for her, because she’d been running in honor of her friend Suzanne Seemann, who was killed by a car while jogging with friends from the Six Rivers Running Club in September.

“I’m physically OK,” Souza said, calling from Los Angeles while waiting for a flight home. “I went into the race a bit emotional.”

Officials found what they believe are 5 add'l undetonated explosive devices in Boston area.

◼ Deadly Blasts Rock Boston - Explosions Kill at Least Two, Injures More Than 110 as Bombs Wreak Carnage on Marathon Crowd - Wall St. Journal ◼ via Michelle Malkin on Twitter

Brigham and Women's Hospital said it was treating 26 victims, while Boston Medical Center said it received 20, Massachusetts General Hospital was treating 19 patients and Tufts Medical Center received nine.

The injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to amputations, the Associated Press reported. Many victims suffered lower leg injuries and shrapnel wounds. Some suffered ruptured eardrums

Boston Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation scrambled to figure out the cause of the blasts. Police said Monday evening they had no suspects in custody.

Police Commissioner Edward Davis called the bombs "powerful devices" but declined to describe them or say whether the number of casualties was expected to climb.

A Justice Department official said Attorney General Eric Holder directed that "the full resources" of the department—including agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—be deployed to investigate the incident. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), said that "if this is in fact a malicious attack, those responsible will be held accountable.''

◼ Terror attack strikes Boston Marathon, more than 130 injured; suspect ID'd - NY Post

◼ *Video* Obama vows 'full weight of justice' for those responsible for Boston bombing - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

CNN ANALYST: 'RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS' COULD BE BEHIND BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING

◼ Less than two hours after the horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen was already speculating that "right-wing extremists" could be behind the attack. He told CNN anchor Jake Tapper:
Then Bergen went on to offer up this "first" report:

Once the device -- if it a device -- is found; what kind of explosives were used. So for instance, if it was hydrogen peroxide, this is a signature of al Qaeda. If it was more conventional explosives, which are much harder to get hold of now -- that might be some other kind of right-wing extremist. … We've also seen, for instance, right-wing groups trying to attack the Martin Luther King parade in Oregon in 2010.

◼ SAUDI NATIONAL HELD In Connection With Boston Marathon Bombings …Update: Suspect Was Bleeding

Breaking: pair of explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon

◼ TWO EXPLOSIONS REPORTED AT BOSTON MARATHON, MULTIPLE INJURIES REPORTED - The Blaze

◼ Horrible: Explosions at Boston Marathon finish line; injuries reported [pics] - Twitchy

Two explosions near finish line... DEVELOPING... ◼ Via Drudge
COPS: 2 dead, 23 injured...
'People Missing Limbs'...
BLAST VIDEO...
AFTERMATH FOOTAGE...**WARNING: Graphic**
REPORT: Suspect apprehended...
Saudi national under guard at hospital...
Surveillance Video Shows Man With 2 Backpacks Near Scene Moments Before Blast...
REPORT: Other unexploded devices found...
LIVE STREAM...

WaPo's Vernon Loeb was running the marathon. Here's his report: washingtonpost.com/world/national…

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) April 15, 2013

UPDATE: JKF library incident appears related to a fire, and possibly not related to marathon explosions.

— Michelle Ray (@GaltsGirl) April 15, 2013

Tax Day. Where do your tax dollars go?

◼ Where Does Your Tax Dollar Go? - Kevin Glass/Townhall

◼ Morning Bell: Where Did Your Tax Dollar Go? - Heritage

Americans are waking up today to the worst “case of the Mondays” they’ll have all year: It’s Tax Day.

Most Americans dread Tax Day, and for good reasons. Beyond the huge tab Americans pay to the government, the tax code is so complex that it’s difficult to figure out what we owe to the IRS. This is a pain for taxpayers and a huge drain on the economy.

According to the federal Taxpayer Advocate in its 2012 report, Americans’ cost of complying with today’s complex tax code totaled $168 billion in 2010. That’s almost as large as the impact of the Obama tax hikes in fiscal year 2013, and twice the size of sequestration this year [see chart].

It takes taxpayers 6.1 billion hours—or 51 hours per household—to complete all the required filings. That’s more than six full eight-hour working days per household!

The compliance burden comes on top of the direct financial cost of $3.5 trillion in federal spending. In 2012, Washington collected $20,000 in taxes for every household in America. But Washington spent nearly $30,000 per household.

◼ link - David Harsanyi/ Human Events @davidharsanyi

◼ Triple your income? Pay 10 TIMES as much toward national defense and food stamps, but Obama tax-day 'receipt' website makes it nearly impossible to find out - Daily Mail

Examples provided for $25k-$80k earners, but not for wealthy taxpayers
White House won't comment on failure to show massive tax burden of the 'one percent'
Watchdog says administration is hiding entitlement spending to make the Defense budget look bigger

The power of Twitter: WaPo, Wall Street Journal finally show up at Gosnell trial

◼ As we reported, the reserved media seating at the Gosnell trial was empty last week. Nothing to see here, move along. - Twitchy

Thanks to >>> @jdmullane: WaPo, Wall Street Journal now in courtroom in Philly for #gosnell trial

— ★♥ Harriet Baldwin(@HarrietBaldwin) April 15, 2013

◼ Full Twitchy coverage of Kermit Gosnell

◼ Obama ignores Gosnell horrors with media’s aid: Pesky babies didn’t ‘just come out limp and dead’ - Twitchy

Hey, Obama you know what might save one life? Maybe you even just discussing the Kermit Gosnell situation. Not worth it, though, huh?

— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) April 11, 2013

.@theleadcnn @jonfavs If Obama's role as father has inspired his gun control advocacy,why is he then silent on Kermit Gosnell's infanticide?

— Will Antonin (@Will_Antonin) April 9, 2013

@edhenrytv Will you get the WH stance on Kermit Gosnell, since Obama voted against a law in IL senate to stop this type of action?

— Ridge (@jridged) April 11, 2013

Yes, he did. Four times.

President Obama, as a senator in Illinois, voted to allow babies born alive in abortion attempts to be treated like medical waste and tossed aside. He voted to allow them to be left to die. Alone. Gasping for their first and last breaths, before the newly born life was snuffed out forever.

That’s right. He wouldn’t even want a child’s life to be saved were he or she to survive the abortion attempt. He believes that babies who are born alive during an abortion attempt should legally be left to die. In his own words:

As I understand it, this puts the burden on the attending physician who has determined, since they were performing this procedure, that, in fact, this is a nonviable fetus; that if that fetus, or child — however way you want to describe it — is now outside the mother’s womb and the doctor continues to think that it’s nonviable but there’s, let’s say, movement or some indication that, in fact, they’re not just coming out limp and dead.

Well, hey, “however you want to describe it.” You know, the “thing” who is not just coming out limp and dead. Monstrous Gosnell would have had too much of a burden, you see, what with those pesky babies not cooperating and insisting on having the human will to live and the strong spirit to survive.

◼ Kermit Gosnell and Roe v. Wade: Something Evil This Way Came - Lori Ziganto/Red State 1/20/11

◼ EXCUSES FOR IGNORING THE GOSNELL TRIAL POUR FROM THE MEDIA - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

Now that the cast-iron embargo on the Kermit Gosnell abortion horror has rusted away, it’s time for the media to begin offering fanciful excuses for how they somehow failed to cover the trial of a man Terry Moran, anchor of ABC’s Nightline, called “probably the most successful serial killer in the history of the world.” But he didn’t say that on Nightline. He said it on Twitter. Moran’s network had not produced any original reporting on Gosnell at all. The topic of Nightline’s last installment before his Tweet was, “Hot Moms Incorporated: From Gisele to Gwyneth, new celebrity moms are losing the baby weight faster than ever.”

...Remember, we’re not talking about a lack of emphasis – we’re looking at absolute zero coverage from Big Media. And the example of Terry Moran illustrates that some media bigwigs were aware of the story and its importance, even as they refused to cover it....

The most laughable bit of Gosnell embargo spin is the feeble assertion by some left-wing media outfits that conservatives weren’t really talking about the Gosnell trial until the end of last week, either. That’s a knee-slapper for anyone who actually follows conservative media, but Jim Geraghty of National Review brutally slapped down a bizarre Washington Post story that tried to claim Geraghty’s magazine, and the Weekly Standard, didn’t cover the Gosnell trial much more than the Post did. Among other deficiencies, Geraghty noted that the Post performed a very selective Lexis-Nexis search that somehow missed a sizable number of items, they were apparently only searching the print editions of the two conservative magazines, and there are countless other sources to consider beyond those two publications – meant, presumably, to stand in as the conservative equivalent of the big liberal media networks. Beyond the longstanding interest of pro-lifers in this awful story, conservative media coverage of the Gosnell trial really caught fire after the first couple of days had gone by, and it became clear Big Media wasn’t going to cover its shocking revelations at all....

Do not allow apologists for the left-wing media to manufacture a narrative about this story escaping their notice. They knew all about it, and they keenly understood its significance. That’s why they didn’t report on it.

◼ "But, why wasn’t more written sooner?" - Althouse

...Come on. Add the obvious: The media perceive the Gosnell story as a threat to abortion rights.

By the way, why are we calling what he did "abortion"? Just as a matter of clarity in the language. The grand jury report says that his method of ridding women of their unwanted late-term pregnancies was to induce labor and deliver the child. That's not abortion. That's childbirth. We're not even in the gray area where a strange term like "partial-birth abortion" could be used. It was complete birth, followed by murder. Why don't abortion rights proponents come down hard on that distinction? He wasn't an abortionist (in most of these instances), but an obstetrician-murderer. If abortion rights proponents don't want to talk about that, I'd like to hear exactly why they have a problem.

◼ Abortionist's case raises troubling questions - Timothy P. Carney/Washington Examiner @TPCarney

...In his first U.S. Senate race, Obama used Carhart's procedure as a fundraising pitch. In a 2004 campaign mailing, Michelle Obama tried to rally the donor base by explaining how Republicans were trying to ban partial-birth abortion, "a legitimate medical procedure," as Michelle put it.

The most substantive difference between the partial-birth abortions on which Obama fundraised and Gosnell's abortions is this: Dr. Gosnell did the snipping outside of the mother's birth canal, while Dr. Carhart reaches his scissors inside the woman's vagina to snip the baby's spine.

This fact points us to the most likely reason the mainstream media ignored the story as long as possible: The Gosnell story has an inherent pro-life bias, because the Gosnell story leads us to discussing abortion procedures.

When you discuss the act of aborting -- even perfectly legal abortions -- you have to discuss the blood, the scalpels, the scissors. You might use terms like "dilation and extraction" or "dilation and curettage." Think through those terms ("curettage" is defined as "a surgical scraping or cleaning") and recall that what is being extracted or scraped has a beating heart.

Discussing Gosnell threatens to start a discussion on abortion procedures -- and that's not good for anyone in the abortion industry.

◼ White House: No Comment on Obama Opposing Anti-Infanticide Bill - Life News

The White House has no comment today on the Kermit Gosnell murder trial, but Obama spokesman Jay Carney also had no comment on the president’s record of failing to support a bill in the Illinois legislature that would prevent infanticides.

◼ New York Times Maintains Blackout on Philadelphia Abortionist Gosnell's Trial on Infanticide - Newsbusters

◼ White House: No comment on Gosnell, Obama’s vote against Born Alive Act - Joel Gehrke/Washington Examiner @joelmentum

“I would say that the president’s position on choice is very clear,” Carney said, echoing Bill Clinton’s “safe, legal, and rare” mantra.

In 2002, Obama voted against a Born Alive Infants Protection Act in Illinois, saying the law would undermine Roe vs Wade by banning abortions of a “a previable fetus,” as the Washington Post noted (the WaPo fact-checker pulled together some relevant comments made by Obama on the topic). The bill said that “A live child born as a result of an abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate protection under the law.”

In 2008, Obama said that he would have supported a federal bill protect infants born alive as a result of botched abortions.

“I have said repeatedly that I would have been completely in, fully in support of the federal bill that everybody supported — which was to say — that you should provide assistance to any infant that was born — even if it was as a consequence of an induced abortion,” he said.

The Washington Post points out that the federal law “happened to be an almost exact replica” of the state bill that he voted against.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center, in its fact-check, agreed. “Obama voted in committee against the 2003 state bill that was nearly identical to the federal act he says he would have supported,” APPC found. “Both contained identical clauses saying that nothing in the bills could be construed to affect legal rights of an unborn fetus, according to an undisputed summary written immediately after the committee’s 2003 mark-up session.”

MARCO RUBIO: SECOND AMENDMENT A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT, NOT A LAW

◼ On CBS's Face the Nation Sunday, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) said he opposes further gun laws because the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment refers to a right, not a law. - Awr Hawkins/Breitbart

Host Bob Schieffer said to Rubio: "You actually voted to filibuster the debate on guns [last week], will you now continue to filibuster as these various bills come up?"

Rubio responded:

We're on the bill now and I hope we can open the amendment process. For instance, I hope we can pass an amendment to that bill that says we're going to start prosecuting people who, illegally, are trying to buy guns and getting around the background check system. I hope we can have a debate about violence in America--about what's causing this. Everyone's focused on what people are using to commit the violence, I don't think there's nearly enough focus on the violence, which is the fundamental problem that we face.
Rubio went on to say that it's important "to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans to possess firearms via the Second Amendment, which is a constitutional right," not a law.

◼ Senator Rubio on Why Gun Control Laws Don't Control Criminals - IJ Review

Homeschool advocate obliterates MSNBC host over ‘collective’ view of children

◼ In the first part of an exclusive six-part interview with The Daily Caller’s Ginni Thomas, William Estrada — director of federal relations for the Home School Legal Defense Association — sharply criticized Melissa Harris-Perry for her recent comments in an MSNBC promotional segment regarding children and education. - Daily Caller

In the segment, Harris-Perry said:

“We have never invested as much in public education as we should have because we’ve always had kind of a private notion of children. Your kid is yours and totally your responsibility. We haven’t had a very collective notion of these are our children. So part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities. Once it’s everybody’s responsibility, and not just the household’s, then we start making better investments.”

Estrada, who advocates for the right of parents to decide how to educate their children, has since hit back.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “It doesn’t take a village to raise a child; it takes parents. Loving parents, in a home to raise a child.”

“This leftist ridiculous idea that children somehow belong to the state — I thought we defeated this back with socialism, back with fascism and other entities which said: ‘Children belong to the state, they will be trained by the state to be productive members of the state.’”

"My wife had 2 fetuses, 7 and 6 Weeks premature, now 26 and 22 years. What I want to know is, when can I call them sons?"

◼ GO, NICK SEARCY, GO! - The Other McCain

◼ Actor Nick Searcy slams pro-aborts: How can they feign outrage at Gosnell? Was he ‘too messy?’ - Twitchy

. @flake1101 My son was born in the second trimester. He averages 11 points and three steals a game now! Quite. A. Fetus!

— nick searcy (@yesnicksearcy) April 12, 2013

...why the media blackout of the trial of the Gosnell house of horrors? Where are the front page stories, New York Times? But, hey, some media outlets made sure to let us all know the babies who were born alive, according to testimony, and then killed were just “fetuses.” Move along!

“Justified” co-star Nick Searcy and his Twitter followers put the reprehensible “fetus” nonsense to rest.

.@lotustom The history of leftism is murder, oppression, torture, gulags, and the devaluation of human beings. It's boringly predictable.

— nick searcy (@yesnicksearcy) April 13, 2013

◼ Hey, why is ex-clinic director and Pa. Gov. candidate Rep. Allyson Schwartz silent on Gosnell trial? - Twitchy

As Twitchy reported, J.D. Mullane is the Bucks County Courier Times columnist who took the photo of the empty rows of media seating at the Kermit Gosnell trial. He also reported that a CNN journalist told him that a “small staff” was the reason a reporter couldn’t be sent to cover the horrifying Gosnell trial.

Now, he is doing the job that most journalists won’t do. He’s asking Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) her thoughts on Gosnell. You see, Ms. Schwartz helped found, and ran, the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center, a Planned Parenthood clinic, where abortions were performed. In Pennsylvania.

◼ All the news that’s fit to print? Meh! NYT Gosnell coverage in an incredible photo nutshell - Twitchy
◼ Nothing to see here: Media call born babies Gosnell accused of killing ‘fetuses’ - Twitchy

Former first couple George W. and Laura Bush have become grandparents to a “beautiful” baby girl.

◼ FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH BECOMES A GRANDFATHER: ‘OUR FAMILY IS ELATED’ - The Blaze

The former president’s daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, gave birth to her first child on Saturday night in New York City. The baby’s name is Margaret Laura “Mila” Hager, after her grandmothers....

“Laura and I are thrilled to announce the birth of our grandchild, Margaret Laura “Mila” Hager. Mila, daughter of Jenna and Henry Hager, is named for her grandmothers. She was born last night, April 13, at 8:43pm in New York City. We met our beautiful granddaughter today. Jenna and Mila are healthy. And our family is elated.”

This is a big month for the family.

The George W. Bush Presidential Center will be dedicated on April 25 on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

"I think it is really unfortunate that there has been so much focus and attention in the media and elsewhere on the subject of war, when what we really ought to be talking about is the possibility of peace. And I think there are those possibilities," Kerry earlier told a news conference in Tokyo...

◼ Kerry was in Japan for the final stop on an Asian tour aimed at solidifying support for curbing North Korea's nuclear program, and reassuring U.S. allies.... says U.S. ready to "reach out" to North Korea - Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday stressed the United States is willing to engage with North Korea as long as it takes steps to give up nuclear weapons.

He also vowed Washington would protect its Asian allies against any provocative acts by the North, but said it wants a peaceful solution to rising tensions in the region.

"We are prepared to reach out but we need (the) appropriate moment, appropriate circumstance," Kerry told a small group of reporters, adding that North Korea had to take steps toward giving up its nuclear programs.

"They have to take some actions. Now how many and how much I want to have a discussion with folks back in Washington (about)... but they have to take action," he added.

The North has threatened for weeks to attack the United States, South Korea and Japan since new U.N. sanctions were imposed in response to its latest nuclear arms test in February. Speculation has mounted of a new missile launch or nuclear test.

◼ North Korea's Kim Jong-un missing amid escalating threats against the US and South Korea - IB Times (warning, video autoplay)

◼ Secretary of State John Kerry flew to China on Saturday and sought to elicit China’s help in dealing with an increasingly recalcitrant nuclear armed North Korea by saying that American missile defenses could be cut back if the North abandoned its nuclear program. - NYT

In a news conference, Mr. Kerry suggested that the United States could remove some newly enhanced missile defenses in the region, though he did not specify which ones. Any eventual cutback would address Chinese concerns about the buildup of American weapons systems in the region.

Now media notice: Obamacare worsens CA physician shortage

◼ Among the many severe problems with Obamacare that a cheerleading media chose to ignore in the run-up to its March 2010 enactment, perhaps the most obvious was the fact that it would be impossible to sharply expand medical coverage in a thoughtful way in a nation where many states already had shortages of primary-care or “family” physicians. - Cal Watchdog

California is one of those states. California also has the nation’s oldest coterie of family doctors. Ergo, California was sure to be severely stressed by Obamacare. Now, 37 months after its passage, the state’s media is finally pointing this out. On Friday, the San Jose Mercury-News editorial board shared some grim truths:

“California doesn’t have enough primary care physicians. Forty-two of its 58 counties fall short of the federal government’s most basic standard. The state needs another 2,000 doctors, and the situation will get dramatically worse next year — even in Silicon Valley =– when 2-4 million Californians obtain health insurance under Obamacare and go looking for a doctor.

“The California Medical Association wants to build more medical schools and expand opportunities for young doctors. Good plan — but thinking it will solve the immediate problem is like expecting a Band-Aid to heal a bullet wound. Training a doctor takes a decade. That’s a long time for a patient to sit in a waiting room.”

Now the California media points out this stark, ugly truth, that a strained system is near-certain to become a dysfunctional one, where a shortage of doctors is likely to be addressed by pretending nurses are doctors?

Thanks, California media. Thanks so much.

The Kermit Gosnell Multiple Murder Trial: Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story

◼ Conor Friedersdorf and Megan McArdle write about this at The Atlantic and The Daily Beast, respectively; an excerpt from Friedersdorf’s item: - The Volokh Conspiracy

The grand jury report in the case of Kermit Gosnell, 72, is among the most horrifying I’ve read. “This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy — and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors,” it states. “The medical practice by which he carried out this business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels — and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths.” ...

Until Thursday, I wasn’t aware of this story. It has generated sparse coverage in the national media, and while it’s been mentioned in RSS feeds to which I subscribe, I skip past most news items. I still consume a tremendous amount of journalism. Yet had I been asked at a trivia night about the identity of Kermit Gosnell, I would’ve been stumped and helplessly guessed a green Muppet. Then I saw Kirsten Power’s USA Today column. She makes a powerful, persuasive case that the Gosnell trial ought to be getting a lot more attention in the national press than it is getting.

The media criticism angle interests me. But I agree that the story has been undercovered, and I happen to be a working journalist, so I’ll begin by telling the rest of the story for its own sake. Only then will I explain why I think it deserves more coverage than it has gotten, although it ought to be self-evident by the time I’m done distilling the grand jury’s allegations. Grand juries aren’t infallible. This version of events hasn’t been proven in a court of law. But journalists routinely treat accounts given by police, prosecutors and grand juries as at least plausible if not proven. Try to decide, as you hear the state’s side of the case, whether you think it is credible, and if so, whether the possibility that some or all this happened demands massive journalistic scrutiny....

◼ Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story - CONOR FRIEDERSDORF/The Atlantic

The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It is thoroughly newsworthy. (Please note: This post contains graphic descriptions and imagery.)

...Charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, Gosnell is now standing trial in a Philadelphia courtroom. An NBC affiliate's coverage includes testimony as grisly as you'd expect. "An unlicensed medical school graduate delivered graphic testimony about the chaos at a Philadelphia clinic where he helped perform late-term abortions," the channel reports. "Stephen Massof described how he snipped the spinal cords of babies, calling it, 'literally a beheading. It is separating the brain from the body.' He testified that at times, when women were given medicine to speed up their deliveries, 'it would rain fetuses. Fetuses and blood all over the place.'"

One former employee described hearing a baby screaming after it was delivered during an abortion procedure. "I can't describe it. It sounded like a little alien," she testified. Said the Philadelphia Inquirer in its coverage, "Prosecutors have cited the dozens of jars of severed baby feet as an example of Gosnell's idiosyncratic and illegal practice of providing abortions for cash to poor women pregnant longer than the 24-week cutoff for legal abortions in Pennsylvania."...

◼ Why I Didn't Write About Gosnell's Trial--And Why I Should Have - Megan McArdle/The Daily Beast

◼ Everything You Need To Know About Kermit Gosnell And The Abortion ‘House Of Horrors’ Trial - Mediaite

[Editor's note: This article contains highly disturbing, graphic images. Please proceed with caution.]

◼ [For photos of Gosnell's late-term aborted babies, shown in the Grand Jury Report, click on pages 85, 102, and 115 of the report. Please proceed with caution, as these photos are highly disturbing.] (PDF)

◼ Kermit Gosnell Abortion Clinic Not Inspected for 17 Years: Comparing Botched Abortions to Adam Lanza Gun Control - Maggie's Notebook

Not only did the state of Pennsylvania not inspect the clinic of heinous abortion ‘doctor’ Kermit Gosnell who routinely slashed the throats of aborted babies who refused to die, the state completely stopped inspecting all abortion clinics in 1993 until and unless a direct complaint was made against one of the clinics – oh but wait…there were complaints against Gosnell’s killing field, and the state ignored them. The Liberal media has been close to silent until the last few days about the Gosnell story. Is it possible to compare press, or the lack of it, on Gosnell and Newtown killer Adam Lanza and come away with clear evidence of the injustice which the media feeds us daily? ◼ Hit and Run Blog did.