#HillaryGotUsed
Grasping at anything that might gain her a vote or two in the minority community, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton rushed in to support three black University of Albany students, who claimed they were victims of a racially motivated attack on Jan. 30.
The three students said up to a dozen white students shouted racial slurs at them, then physically attacked them on a city bus near campus.
The incident caused an uproar at the school. Protests were held, school groups demanded the university address racial disparity and the social media hashtag #DefendBlackGirlsUAlbany was created.
Before the facts could be sorted out, Clinton breathlessly tweeted a link to the article and wrote, "There no excuse for racism and violence on a college campus."
However, the video recorded by the bus's cameras told the real story.
Instead of the white students attacking the women, a television station reported, one of the black women voiced a slur at a white student before striking her. The videos did not show any of the white students making racial comments.
Now, the three students are facing minor charges in city court over the incident, and Clinton has not mentioned the issue again.
Detainee didn't get proper hall pass
Secretary of State John Kerry did not make a very convincing case for the release of prisoners from the military containment unit at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last week.
When the former Massachusetts senator was shown during a Senate subcommittee hearing a photo of Ibrahim al Qosi, a former al-Qaida detainee who was released and rejoined the terrorist group, even appearing in some recruiting videos, he said, "Well, Senator, he's not supposed to be doing that."
Kerry, caught with the Obama administration's proverbial pants down at a time when the president is trying to make the case for closing the prison, attempted a further comeback.
"There are consequences for that," he said, "and there will be."
What he thinks Obama will do about an ex-detainee when the commander in chief won't even take action against Iran, which has repeatedly violated terms of an executive agreement signed with Western powers last year, is anybody's guess.
"Now that [al Qosi is] out," Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said, "I would hope we would end the policy of issuing terrorists to terrorist nations, where they can get out."
We're (not quite) pro-diversity
At California State, Los Angeles, diversity apparently means partisanship.
The school hosted a lecture by leftist activists Angela Davis and Tim Wise last week titled "Exposing Whiteness" and has hosted, among others, Dr. Cornel West, who discussed "Post Racialism." But conservative Ben Shapiro's scheduled appearance last week was canceled and the suggestion made he return as part of a group of speakers with differing viewpoints on diversity.
A diverse panel, according to President William Covino, who was writing to the host Young America's Foundation (YAF) chapter, would "better represent" the university's "dedication to the free exchange of ideas and the value of considering multiple viewpoints."
Chapter chairman Mark Kahanding said the move, which had twice been approved by the student budget board, was "caving into leftist demands, forsaking free speech."
Shapiro was having none of it, either, and planned to appear on campus as promised.
"The campus fascists have taken over," he told Breitbart News. "I pay taxes in the state of California; I'm paying for these whiny children to be indoctrinated by radical leftists. For CSULA to pretend that they're trying to provide balance isn't just stupid, it's insultingly stupid."
Some students had reportedly said the event posed a "threat to their lives" and could be "damaging to their mental health."
"Balance at CSULA only runs one way," Shapiro said. "This event obviously threatens the feelings of the precious snowflakes at the university. Tough."
Pot, meet kettle
An upcoming comedy festival in the New York City area wants to make a political statement, so it plans to intentionally discriminate against straight white men.
The Cinderblock Comedy Festival in Brooklyn in September said only women, non-whites and persons who identify as LGBT are allowed to apply early for a spot in the event for a price of $19.25. Straight white men have to wait until mid-March to sign up and will have to fork over $25.
Organizer Coree Spencer said the discriminatory discount is meant to correlate with the often - errantly - quoted statistic of women earning 77 percent of what men do. Originally, it was to apply to just women, she said, but then as she was "growing as a human being," she determined she wanted to be further discriminatory.
Planners said they also might discriminate in the ticket prices, but New York law, which prohibits discrimination based on race, sex and other factors in the provision of services, may change their minds.
Despite the above, Spencer said she hoped Cinderblock would be a diverse festival.