"Poof" Goes The Peace Process 

Secretary of State John Kerry likes spending time on his yacht. For the sake of America's relationship with Israel, I hope Kerry strongly considers taking an extended vacation, perhaps a cruise to some remote Pacific island. The longer he stays on the job, the more damage he does.

While testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, Kerry laid the blame for the breakdown of the so-called "peace process" squarely at Israel's feet. The issue: Homes for Jews in Jerusalem. 

Kerry told the committee that everything fell apart when Israel approved the construction of 700 new housing units, "Poof, that was sort of the moment. We find ourselves where we are."

The Israeli government said it was "deeply disappointed" with Kerry's position. A spokesman for Prime Minister Netanyahu told the New York Times:
 

"Secretary Kerry knows that it was the Palestinians who said 'no' to continued direct talks with Israel in November; who said 'no' to his proposed framework for final status talks; who said 'no' to even discussing recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people; who said 'no' to a meeting with Kerry himself; and who said 'no' to an extension of the talks… the Palestinian claim that building in Jerusalem, Israel's capital, was a violation of the understandings is contrary to the facts."

Holder In The Hot Seat 

On the other side of Capitol Hill, sparks were flying in the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), a former federal judge, was questioning Attorney General Eric Holder about why the Justice Department is refusing to release information to Congress regarding certain trials involving Islamic terrorists. 

Referring to Holder's contempt citation for his refusal to release information on the disastrous gun running scheme Operation Fast and Furious, Gohmert said, "I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight."

Holder then appeared to threaten Rep. Gohmert, replying, "You don't want to go there, buddy. You don't want to go there, ok?"

Gohmert ripped into Holder for failing to this day to comply with the contempt charge. He reminded the attorney general that a Border Patrol agent is dead because of Operation Fast and Furious, and then added, "I don't need lectures from you about contempt."

But that wasn't all. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) told Holder he should be in prison: "If an American citizen had not complied with one of the Justice Department subpoenas, they would be in jail, not testifying." 

House Republicans Target Lerner For Contempt 

Two House committees are pressing the case against former IRS official Lois Lerner, who abused her authority by targeting Tea Party groups, Christian ministries and other conservative organizations for extra scrutiny and harassment. 

Today the House Ways and Means Committee voted to demand a formal criminal investigation by the Justice Department into Lerner's activities. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the committee wrote that it had uncovered evidence of "violations of one or more criminal statutes." 

Given the Justice Department's previous whitewash of the IRS scandal, this request is likely to go nowhere. But at least committee Republicans are doing what they can to call attention to the corruption at the IRS. 

In addition, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will vote tomorrow on a resolution finding Lerner in contempt of Congress. Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said, "Americans expect accountability and want Congress to do all it can... Ms. Lerner's involvement in wrongdoing and refusal to meet her legal obligations has left the Committee with no alternative but to consider a contempt finding."

By the way, these actions come as the Office of Special Counsel announced that it is investigating "commonplace" illegal campaigning by employees at the Dallas IRS office. Clearly, the culture of corruption extends beyond Lerner and deserves more thorough investigation. 

Obamacare: The Not-So Affordable Care Act 

Among the many broken promises of Obamacare was that it would lower costs and save you money. President Obama repeatedly said that his health care plan would save families $2,500 a year. Liberals even named the law the "Affordable Care Act."

We have reported before that premiums are going up, not down. In fact, one report found that premiums rose faster after Obamacare passed than they did in the eight years prior to its becoming law. 

Now there is more evidence that Obamacare is not-so affordable after all. A new report from Morgan Stanley finds that recent premium spikes are "largely due to changes under the [Affordable Care Act]." 

So Much For The "War On Women" 

Remember this story the next time you encounter a "tolerant" liberal who claims there is a conservative "war on women." 

Brandeis University has just withdrawn an honorary degree from Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a courageous woman who has battled Islamic intolerance against women -- forced marriages, genital mutilation and honor killings -- for much of her life. She fled Somalia and then Holland when radical Muslim immigrants there threatened to kill her for speaking out against Sharia law. 

Now intolerant leftists, led by the Muslim Student Association, are trying to silence her here in America. More than 80 Brandeis faculty members signed a letter to the university's president demanding that Ali's honorary degree be rescinded. 

As one professor explained, while they "recognize the harm of female genital cutting, forced marriages and honor killings," the decision to honor Ali "obscures the violence against women that happens among non-Muslims, including on our own campus." Really? I had no idea that violence against women was such a problem at Brandeis! 

I suspect most Americans are clueless about the horrors women face under Sharia law and very real war that radical Islam is waging against women. And because of an unholy alliance between leftists and Islamists, students at Brandeis will likely remain ignorant.