The Friday Filibuster: The one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about this week in politics.
Closing Numbers
55% of physicians who made a political contribution during the last election donated to Democrats
181 –the number of Clinton Foundation donors that also lobbied Hillary’s State Department
52% of Democrats view socialism favorably
15 –the number of “senior officials” Kim Jong Un reportedly executed this year
1,100 –the number of foreign donations the Clinton Foundation failed to disclose
70 years ago Dachau was liberated
.2% --the amount the US economy expanded in Q1
15,000—the estimated number of people who died in the Nepal earthquake
55% of millennial voters would vote for a Democrat in 2016 over 40% who’d vote for a Republican
Baltimore Riots
Rioting, looting, and all around mayhem struck Baltimore this week after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. What exactly happened to him was unclear all week, but on Friday the state attorney announced that after the administration’s investigation of the death, they are deeming it a homicide. But the damage has already been done—buildings were burned, police injured and targeted, reporters attacked, and stores looted. The White House called the rioters thugs, because, well, they are. The city’s councilman admitted that decades of bad policies caused the riots. This was AG Loretta Lynch’s first test.
The Clinton Scandal Continues
Author of the new book “Clinton Cash” did a series of interviews last week to discuss the troubling flow of funds to the Clinton camp and how it’s more than just a coincidence, but a trend. An official at the Sunlight Foundation said the foundation was essentially a slush fund. And the Boston Globe found even more evidence of undisclosed foreign cash going to Clinton groups. Even George Stephanopoulos can’t ignore this scandal.
This Week’s Absurdities
This week we saw boycotts against gay hoteliers for daring to dine with Ted Cruz (their apology was also not accepted), bureaucrats recommending a fine of $135,000 against a Christian-owned bakery for not baking a cake for a same sex wedding, people being offended over an ad featuring a woman in a bikini, another school pulling “American Sniper” from film lineup, and the Johns Hopkins University student government banning Chick-fil-A from campus—even though construction of one had not even been proposed.
Campaigns & Elections
Not much in the way of election news this week, but Bernie Sanders jumped in the presidential race and the GOP’s top donors have given more to Gov. Scott Walker so far than any other candidate/prospective candidate. For what it’s worth, however, Jeb Bush claims he set a fundraising record for the first 100 days of a White House bid.
In Other News
Thousands more of Lois Lerner’s “missing” emails have been found; DHS has a number of violent criminal aliens in custody, but they haven't been deported; an ISIS plot targeting the US embassy was thwarted by the Saudis; and not-so-surprisingly, Democrats oppose tough amendments to Iran legislation.
Graphics by Townhall Graphic Designer Feven Amenu.