ALL LIVES MATTER: Four men arrested in attack on Alabama teen who said ‘Blue lives matter’

Once more time:

My favorite part about the Obama era is all the racial healing.

— jon gabriel (@exjon) November 24, 2014

PODESTA PAL: We ‘Conspire to Produce an Unaware and Compliant Citizenry’

Mission accomplished?

KURT SCHLICHTER: Things are not all bad. They’re just mostly horrible.

But everything is not politics. Let’s be thankful for dogs. Dogs are still awesome. Cats – whatever. But dogs rule.

Here’s another good thing – our military. Yeah, people say it so often it almost becomes a cliché, but these men and women and, now, others, are out there doing their thing for us every day. And, frankly, we are showing ourselves unworthy. Yet there they are, and they sure as hell are not doing it for the money.

The flooding in Louisiana and the hurricane in the Southeast – those are bad things. But the way Americans helped their neighbors, without having to be organized or ordered around – that was something we can all be proud of.

Wine is a good thing. So is beer, except for boring, bitter craft beer that people insist is good in order to try and seem hip, but which makes them wish they had a crisp Dos Equis instead. It’s good that we will only have to endure pumpkin-infused stuff for three more weeks.

Smartphones are pretty awesome. Some of us crusties can remember back in the day before there were phones you carried around with you, even before the internet, back when we tied onions to our belts, which was the style at the time. Technology is awesome, even if it caused Twitter.

Fear the Walking Dead is off the air for a while, but Westworld is on. Those are both good things. Also, am I wrong or is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson the most charismatic guy in Hollywood? He’s just terrific – and I love that I don’t know (nor care) about his politics. I’m glad he’s around – watch Ballers and tell me he’s not a superstar.

Read the whole thing and share the love, Schlichter-style.

GOOD LORD: Houston 911 Operator Charged Over Hanging Up on Callers.

A former Houston 911 operator is facing criminal charges for hanging up on callers because “she did not want to talk to anyone,” according to Houston Police investigators.

Crenshanda Williams, 43, faces two misdemeanor charges of Interference with Emergency Telephone Call stemming from incidents in March.

According to charge documents filed with the Harris County Court, Williams worked for the Houston Emergency Center where managers determined that she was involved in thousands of “short calls” — emergency calls that last less than 20 seconds — between Oct. 2015 and March 2016.

In one case, Williams allegedly hung up on a man who called to report a robbery in progress March 12.

Why are Democrat-run cities such cesspits of abuse and neglect?

MADISON GESIOTTO: The selective moral outrage of the left.

They claim to be outraged by Mr. Trump’s words but not outraged by the words of Hillary Clinton’s field organizer, Wylie Mao, who was filmed bragging about being able to grab co-workers behinds without getting fired.

They claim to be outraged by Mr. Trump’s words but not outraged by former President Bill Clinton’s actions.

They claim to be outraged by Mr. Trump’s words but not outraged by the victim shaming of Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg on ‘The View.’

Yes, in case you missed it, Ms. Behar called former President Bill Clinton’s rape accusers “tramps” after Ms. Goldberg declared Hillary Clinton to be the real “victim” and “the person to whom dirty was done.”

Of course, this list of hypocrisies goes on, and the moral selectivity could not be more outrageous.

“Outrageous” or “standard operating procedure?”

BUT OF COURSE: UNESCO determines that Jews have no connection to the Temple Mount.

David Harsanyi’s reaction might be the best and most succinct.

the UN is a nest of totalitarians, barbarians and anti-semitic scum https://t.co/kL34q3RPCe

— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) October 13, 2016

EVEN KIDS PREFER THE STRONG HORSE: Al-Qaeda Makes Populist Pitch to Millennials.

Al-Qaeda is appealing to millennials with a cocktail of populism and Islam and directives to not admire grown “kids” in professional sports but “men… with their AK aimed at the enemy” — and to follow the latter into jihad.

The outreach was detailed in Al-Balagh, a recent magazine issued by al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, a successful chapter announced by core leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2014 that has conducted a spree of machete assassinations against individuals deemed to have insulted Islam. One of the group’s earlier victims was an Atlanta couple who were secular writers visiting Bangladesh; Avijit Roy was hacked to death, while his wife Rafida Bonya Ahmed was seriously injured.

The 53-page inaugural issue of the magazine was printed in English and Bengali. The editor’s note at the beginning first details and slams the “criminal demon-crazy nexus which is known as democracy.”

Read the whole thing.

TWITCHY: CNN reporter walks back speculation that flash flood of Trump assault allegations was coordinated.

Didn’t take long to whip Dylan Byers back into line.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK: Russia completes delivery of S-300 air defense missiles to Iran.

BLUE STATE BLUES: N.J. took $1.4B from your phone bill for new 911 system but never delivered.

Rather than using the money for 911, lawmakers and governors have instead raided it time and again to balance the budget, leaving critical upgrades to the state’s most important public safety system on hold.

An NJ Advance Media analysis found that of the $1.37 billion the state has collected in 911 fees since 2004, only 15 percent, about $211 million, has been used to help pay for the 911 system.

Investment in the upgrade, known as NextGen 911, has trickled to a halt.

From 2005 to 2008, records show the state spent about $42 million on it. Since then, it has spent $71,652. In 2014, the most recent year available, it put just $9,141 of the $121 million it collected toward the upgrade.

“There are lives that have been lost because of this,” said Dominic Villecco, vice president for the New Jersey Wireless Association. “These funds are there to help save people’s lives.”

Why are Democrat-run states such cesspits of waste and lies?

2016, MAN: Hillary Clinton and Lena Dunham Discuss Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Stuff’ in a Locker Room Fashion.

NEW YORK POST: Why Israel fears Obama’s last days.

Israel faces a unique window of danger from Nov. 9 to Jan. 20: What might President Obama do in his final days in office to slam the Jewish state?

Start with Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent flat refusal to promise a US veto on any upcoming anti-Israel resolution in the UN Security Council.

On Saturday, Haaretz reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Kerry he’s counting on Washington to stick to its policy of nixing anti-Israel resolutions. Kerry’s reply: The administration has yet to make a decision on the matter.

For Kerry to leave any doubt that America would shield Israel at the United Nations is bad enough. But concerns about what Team Obama might do go far beyond that.

Read the whole thing.

It’s also possible, likely even, that January 20 won’t mark the end of Obama’s mischief-making.

TOM BEVAN: Fear, Loathing and Turnout in Wisconsin.

Fear and loathing of the choice facing voters on Nov. 8 is one of the defining features of this election, and not just among swing voters. Nowhere is that more true than in Wisconsin, which stands alone as the only battleground state this year where Democrats and Republicans resoundingly rejected both current nominees in their party primaries earlier this year.
…
Wisconsin may be the birthplace of the Grand Old Party, but it hasn’t gone for a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan’s 49-state landslide win in 1984. George W. Bush nearly flipped the state red in 2000, losing to Al Gore by just 5,708 votes out of more than 2.5 million ballots cast. Bush almost did it again in 2004, losing to John Kerry by only 11,384 votes.

After those consecutive nail-biters, the state fell hard for Barack Obama in 2008, with Wisconsinites giving him a 14-point win, nearly double the margin by which he won election nationally. Ditto 2012, when the state gave Obama a seven-point victory while winning nationally by just less than four.

But things changed in Wisconsin in 2010, when a young, ambitious conservative Milwaukee County Executive named Scott Walker won the gubernatorial race.

If anyone knows how to work the GOP’s Wisconsin turnout machine, it’s Walker, who tweeted his nameless endorsement of Trump back in July.

CHANGE: Turkey Questions Historical Treaty Defining Regional Borders.

Тhe spat erupted after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the country and the region by surprise last month by calling into question the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which defined modern Turkey’s borders.

He declared Turkey had been blackmailed by foreign powers into giving up vast swaths of territory that were once part of the Ottoman Empire. Although Erdogan focused his criticism on the loss of Aegean islands to Greece, it is Turkey’s southern borders he had in mind, according to visiting Carnegie Europe scholar Sinan Ulgen.

“The message should be seen more of a signal in relation to Turkish polices towards the south, Syria and Iraq. I read it as a backdrop to a policy that tries to build domestic support for a more long-term presence, particularly in Syria, by pointing out, at allegedly past historical mistakes,” Ulgen said.

Years ago I was only joking when I wondered if we could con the Turks into taking back the Arab Middle East, but Erdogan might be serious.

A PROBLEM BOTH PARTIES HAVE BEEN HAPPY TO IGNORE: The 40 Year Nuclear Procurement Holiday.

The U.S. Navy has delayed the construction of the new Ohio replacement submarine beyond their original plans by four years, and increased the hull life to a record 41 years to accommodate the delay. Reducing the number of deployed nuclear-capable submarines from 12 to 10. As for the submarine-launched D-5 Trident missile, a required service life extension program is being planned due to their being no planned replacement.

The Minuteman III land based nuclear deterrent, first placed in its silos in 1970 is now 46 years old and would not be replaced until 2030 if approved, 60 years later and well beyond life expectancy. The U.S. Air Force had to execute a service life extension program or SLEP including both a GRP (guidance replacement program) and PRP (propulsion replacement program) starting in 1993 and completed in 2010, further delaying needed modernization.

The third leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, the replacement for the aging B-2 stealth bomber is still facing a budget battle and will still not fill the shortfall created by the cancellation of B-2 production at 21 planes even if the new B-21 comes online in 2025.

An awful lot of bills are past due.

QUESTION ASKED: Could absentee ballots spell trouble for Donald Trump in North Carolina?

Traditionally, Republicans have had a big advantage in absentee voting. Older, rural, and military voters are often more conservative and have favored this method over their Democratic counterparts, who historically enjoy a larger percentage of the early in-person vote.

So far this cycle, registered Republicans continue to hold an overall advantage in requested ballots but are well behind where they were four years ago at this time. On top of that, registered Democrats and independents have increased their participation in the absentee process compared to 2012, both in requested and returned ballots.

McCain lost North Carolina in the second-closest state of 2008, while Romney won there in 2012 by 92,004 votes out of about 4.4 million votes cast.

THERE THEY GO AGAIN: Scotland to publish independence referendum consultation bill next week.

Scotland will publish a fresh independence referendum Bill for consultation next week, part of a strategy to ensure that Scotland’s voice is heard in the negotiations to take Britain out of the European Union, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Thursday.

“There is no rational case for taking the UK out of the single market and there is no authority for it either,” she told delegates at her Scottish National Party conference.

She said it would be an act of “constitutional vandalism” to try to ignore Scotland’s parliamentary voice on the issue.

Politically, Britain without Scotland would be a lot like the U.S. without California, Illinois, and New York.

DEMOCRAT MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Obamacare ‘no longer affordable’ for many.

Gov. Mark Dayton’s criticism comes as his state is facing massive rate hikes and shrinking competition in its Obamacare insurance marketplace next year. Dayton’s comments also come almost a week after Donald Trump and Republicans seized on former president Bill Clinton’s remarks lamenting Obamacare’s affordability problems.

Dayton told reporters the law has “many good features to it” but needs help from Congress to make coverage more affordable, according to a transcript provided by his office. However, he said the law, which covers 20 million people, has “some serious blemishes and serious deficiencies.”

Premiums for individual plans in Minnesota will increase on average by 50 percent to 67 percent next year. Several insurers have pulled out of the state’s Obamacare marketplace since opening three years ago, when Minnesota boasted some of the lowest premiums in the country.

That means it’s working.

BEER — IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO? Colorado engineers use beer waste water to fuel eco-friendly battery.

HAVE YOU HUGGED A FRACKER TODAY? Even More OPEC Confusion: Unclear Who Cuts First, If Anyone, As Production Hits New Record High.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY — ONLY WITHOUT THE GOOD: Over at VodkaPundit, it’s time again for Wargaming the Electoral College.

MICHELLE MALKIN: Obama Lied. My Third Health Plan Just Died.

Like an estimated 22 million other Americans, I am a self-employed small-business owner who buys health insurance for my family directly on the individual market (as opposed to group insurance through a company or third party). Our most recent plan features a $6,000 deductible with a $1,000 monthly premium. It’s nosebleed expensive, but provides us access to specialists not curtailed by bureaucratic gatekeepers. This has been important for us because several members of my family have required specialized care for chronic illnesses.

Once again, however, I’ll soon be talking about our plan in the past tense. Choices for families like mine have evaporated in the era of Obamacare. In Colorado, UnitedHealthCare and Humana will cease selling individual plans next year. Rocky Mountain Health Plans is pulling out of the individual market in all but one county. Nearly 100,000 of my fellow Coloradans will be forced to find new insurance alternatives as open enrollment approaches on Nov. 1, according to the Denver Business Journal. As Anthem abandons PPOs, the cost of remaining individual market plans will soar an average of 20 percent.

That means it’s working.

IT’S ON: Clinton Opens 9-Point Lead in Ohio as Early Voting Starts.

Early voting, electronic voting, and voting-by-mail all ought to be anathema to a healthy republic.

Hawaiian Airlines Under Investigation For Weighing Passengers.

Fox News reports that the men say in their complaint that they were assigned to different seats on their flight out of Honolulu.

A Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman said that the flight was part of a survey period in which the airline weighed all passengers traveling traveling between Hawaii and the American Samoan capital of Pago Pago. She said that the airline has not implemented a general policy of weighing passengers.

Spokeswoman Alison Croyle said that the airline has conducted similar surveys on other routes, and all were conducted in accordance with FAA protocols. She said that seat assignments were changed to assure the proper weight distribution in the airplane.

If the Department of Transportation discovers a civil right to keep a plane’s load unbalanced, we might all be safer driving or taking a boat.

BEGUN THE DRONE WARS HAVE: ISIS targeting foreign troops with explosives-laden drones.

A video belonging to an al Qaeda offshoot, Jund al-Aqsa, purportedly shows a drone landing on Syrian military barracks. In another video, small explosives purportedly dropped by the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah target the Sunni militant group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front.

In the first reported instance of Western forces being targeted with a drone, the French government confirmed Wednesday that two of the country’s special operations troops were injured by an ISIS drone rigged with explosives in northern Iraq, where they were operating alongside Kurdish Peshmerga. Two of the Peshmerga fighters were killed in the attack.

A U.S. military official, who spoke anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the U.S. military is aware of the development. Commanders have warned troops to take cover if they see what they might have once dismissed as a surveillance drone, he said.

The “jayvee” keeps finding new ways to score.