Yesterday, I learned that Hillary Clinton had described ISIS' barbarism towards Christians and other religious minorities as "genocide" while reading a post by NRO editor-at-large Kathryn Jean Lopez who said, "Thank you Hillary Clinton."

It is a significant development because until now the Obama Administration has been unwilling to use that word where it concerns ISIS treatment of Christians and other religious minorities

Over at the WaPo, Michelle Boorstein writes, "Hillary Clinton’s use of the word “genocide” to describe the Islamic State’s treatment of Christians could change her political profile among some voters — conservative Christians in particular."

I have just the read The Wall Street Journal's report detailing NSA's monitoring of (or more accurately spying on) Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concerning the Iran nuclear deal. The NSA was directed to do so by President Obama with approval of both Democrats and Republicans on the House & Senate Intelligence Committees. What Congress wasn't counting on was the NSA monitoring conversations between Israeli officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Allies, of course, spy on each other all the time. Indeed, it is widely believed that Israel spied on the nuclear negotiations with Iran. At the time, I made a point of saying that I hoped Israel had done exactly that. Of course, this would have been unnecessary had the Obama Administration seen fit to keep Israel in on the loop.

To the surprise of no one, George Pataki has withdrawn from the 2016 GOP race. 

When the former New York Governor entered the GOP race last May, I likened him to Jeb Bush only with the fraction of the money. Like Bush, many of Pataki's views are out of step with Republican voters. As with Bush, he last ran for office in 2002 and it showed. Pataki never ascended beyond the GOP undercard debate.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post, still in thrall to the labor theory of Congress’s value, declares, “The 112th Congress, you might remember, was the least productive in modern times.” That is to say, it passed fewer bills than other recent Congresses. But all is not lost!

After the first year of this 114th Congress, more bills have been enacted than in the 112th or 113th, according to data compiled by GovTrack.us. So far, the 114th is tracking more closely with the more-productive 110th and 111th.

So good news for those of you have been worrying that you didn’t have enough new laws to discover, understand, and obey. Bump’s article is full of charts and data, all organized around the theme that a good, “productive” Congress is one that produces bills.