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1.) The New York City mayoral race is not a joke (even if it looks like one) — Because he is not a moron, New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly has little good to say about the crop of degenerates and incompetents running to lead the greatest city in the world. TheDC’s Patrick Howley reports:
“New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly slammed the entire field of New York mayoral candidates for their lack of interest in counterterrorism efforts during an appearance Monday. ‘Over the past twelve years, the New York City Police Department has built a comprehensive counterterrorism program to do just that,’ Kelly told an audience at a breakfast for the Association for a Better New York and the Council on Foreign Relations. ‘It’s critically important that our efforts be sustained in the next administration. But where do the candidates stand on these issues? Surprisingly, we haven’t heard much.’ ‘The threat of terrorism is as great, if not greater, today than it was before the World Trade Center was destroyed for reasons that I’ll explain in a few moments. Yet I can tell you that none of the candidates has requested a briefing from the Police Department on this topic,’ said Kelly, whose job security is looking pretty weak as Bill de Blasio takes the lead among the mayoral candidates.”
To be fair, most of the candidates have bashed Kelly on the trail, but also to be fair, Kelly is probably more accomplished than all of the Democratic candidates combined.
2.) Obamacare lawsuits still exist — The author of a new inside account of the challenge to Obamacare, Josh Blackman, explains that there are still several lawsuits in the courts challenging Obamacare. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein reports:
“‘There are a few legal challenges remaining against Obamacare,’ he said. ‘One suit alleges that Obamacare does not permit the federal government to pay out subsidies to people enrolled in the health care exchanges in states that did not opt into the Medicaid expansion. If this suit is successful, it would halt the Obamacare exchanges in states that are not participating in the expansion. Another suit alleges that because the individual mandate was a tax (as rewritten by the Chief Justice), and because the Constitution requires that all taxes originate in the House, and Obamacare began in the Senate, the law is unconstitutional. If this suit is successful, the mandate would be unconstitutional. Though, a federal judge has already dismissed this suit and it is being appealed.'”
However, Blackman says, “Despite efforts to defund or stop Obamacare now, the time to stop this law was in 2008. Or 2010. Or 2012.” Read the full interview with Blackman about his book and about how the “unprecedented” challenge to Obamacare came to be.
2.) What will John Kerry say next! — Either the U.S. has an unbelievably ineffective plan for accomplishing something in Syria or John Kerry is an unbelievably poor spokesman. TheDC’s Neil Munro reports:
“Secretary of State John Kerry says the White House is planning an ‘unbelievably small’ strike against Syria’s regime to punish it for using chemical weapons against civilians in Damascus. That’s contrary to other reports from the Pentagon, where officers are reportedly planning a two or three-day campaign, complete with hundreds of strikes from ships and long-range bombers. ‘We will be able to hold Bashar Assad accountable without engaging in troops on the ground or any other prolonged effort — in a very limited, very targeted, very short-term effort, that degrades his capacity to deliver chemical weapons,’ he told an audience in London. ‘What we’re talking about doing [is] an unbelievably small, limited kind of effort,’ he said, similar to previous strikes ‘on many different occasions.'”
Kerry has compared Bashar al-Assad to Hitler. If Assad is Hitler, shouldn’t Kerry be advocating something greater than an “unbelievably small” operation?
4.) Michelle’s a no — What does it say about your ability to persuade that you can’t even persuade your wife? TheDC’s Neil Munro reports:
“President Barack Obama can’t convince his own wife that the United States should punish Syria’s dictator for poisoning more than 1,000 men, women and children. ‘If you ask Michelle, ‘Do we do we want to be involved in another war?’ The answer is no,’ he told a NBC interviewer Monday afternoon, just a few days after declaring that the nation’s security depended on a firm response to Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad’s alleged chemical weapon attack on a Damascus suburb last month.”
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — davidfrum: New Obama Syria plan: all the domestic political trauma of a major war; all the geostrategic impact of bombing an aspirin factory
6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Kim Yong Nam Sends Greetings to King of Swaziland”