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APRIL 1,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET:

KERRY STAYS – John Kerry will stay in Switzerland, at the Iran nuclear talks, for another day, although other foreign ministers have left town.  It is rumored that Kerry is getting bonus points at his hotel, and will soon be eligible for a free upgrade to a room with hot water.  As for the talks, it's pretty clear there won't be a major breakthrough.  Some of the diplomats are talking about a memorandum of understanding, or even a note from mother.

DISGRACE – From London's Daily Mail:  "In one of the biggest cheating scandals of its kind in the U.S., 11 former Atlanta public school educators were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their role in a scheme to inflate students' scores on standardized exams.  The defendants - including teachers, a principal and other administrators - were accused of falsifying test results to collect bonuses or keep their jobs in the 50,000-student Atlanta school system.   The educators fed answers to students or erased and changed the answers on tests after they were turned in to secure promotions or up to $5,000 each in bonuses, the court was told."  The level of corruption, incompetence and dishonesty in American education never ceases to amaze me.  A backlash is coming. 

ODD TIMING – From WaPo:  "Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was indicted on federal corruption charges Wednesday, accused of using the influence of his office to advance the business interests of a longtime friend and political supporter in exchange for luxury gifts, lavish vacations and more than $750,000 in campaign donations.?  Federal prosecutors laid out the charges in a 14-count indictment charging Menendez with using his office to help Salomon Melgen, a Florida-based eye doctor with whom Menendez had maintained a long personal and political friendship. Menendez intervened on Melgen’s behalf in at least two disputes, one with federal regulators over Medicare charges and the other involving a bid by Melgen to secure a port-security contract in the Dominican Republic, according to the indictment."  I make no judgment about guilt or innocence.   Menendez will get his day in court.  But the timing is very odd.  Menendez is Obama's most severe critic on Iran and the Mideast.  Suddenly, he's indicted.  Coincidence?  Hard for me to believe that considering the thug nature of this regime.

FARCE – Just as we're suspicious about the Menendez indictment, we're suspicious about this.  From The Politico:  "The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups.  Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerner’s refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014. The House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Lerner in May 2014, and Machen’s office has been reviewing the issue since then.  Lerner and other IRS officials, however, are still under investigation by the FBI for the tea party targeting matter — which is a separate probe entirely."  I dunno.  Mendendez, an Obama critic, is indicted.  Lerner, an Obama stooge, is cleared.  You think there's a message here?

April 1, 2015       Permalink

BOEHNER IN ISRAEL – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:  It isn't being given much publicity by the mainstreamers, but Speaker Boehner is in Israel, and sounding far more presidential than the guy in the White House.  From the Washington Post: 

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), in Israel visiting newly reelected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, said that despite "political disagreements from time to time, the bonds between our two nations are strong."

Speaking to the media with Netanyahu ahead of their meeting in Jerusalem, the two leaders sought to emphasize that amid threats to Israel and the United States in the Middle East, the relationship between the two countries is unwavering.

"One thing remains rock solid: our friendship, our alliance, our partnership," said Netanyahu. His office posted video of the remarks online.

Neither man mentioned the Obama administration's ongoing efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu has voiced opposition to such a deal. So have Boehner and many Republicans.  Negotiators were scrambling to try to reach an agreement Wednesday as they blew past a self-imposed Tuesday deadline.

COMMENT:  It is being reported that Obama may well meet in coming weeks with one of the Castro brothers at an international conference...but he won't meet, at least for now, with the prime minister of Israel, and he gives the back of his hand to allies like France and Canada. 

I can't wait for the end of this foul administration.  In the interim, it will be up to people like Speaker Boehner and other members of Congress to carry on a kind of shadow foreign policy, assuring our friends in the world, like Israel, Egypt and Jordan, that we're still friends and that Obama will not be in office much longer. 

April 1, 2015       Permalink

IDIOTS – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  One of the things I learned at The New York Times and in Hollywood is that people who reach "the big time" are often no better and no more talented than people stuck in the small time.  They may have simply had a break, or knew someone in high places. 

The Comedy Channel, a very hot, successful enterprise, has just announced the replacement for Jon Stewart, who is leaving.  You'd think that big-time TV would have a thorough vetting process to be sure there were no surprises lurking in the background of their choice.  You'd be wrong.  Now there's a big mess.  From Gateway Pundit: 

Trevor Noah, the Jew-bashing South African comic picked by Comedy Central to replace Jon Stewart as host of the leftist Daily Show, trashed Americans as stupid at an appearance in London three weeks ago, saying “most of them don’t know much about anything.”

Noah insulted his soon-to-be nightly audience at the March 13 Red Nose Day 2015 Comic Relief charity show during a riff on being a South African flying to the United States and being questioned about possible exposure to Ebola.

“…Flying in to America particularly has been the worst. You go through different lines, there’s extra checks. You know, especially if you come from what they consider a high risk Ebola region–which is apparently the whole continent—we’re all coughing on each other in one big hut.

“I don’t really blame them, ‘cause look, the truth is most Americans don’t know much about South Africa. So, well, they don’t know much about Africa as a whole, uh, most of them don’t know much about anything. But still…”

Last December, as reported by Newsbusters, Noah put down the United States during a guest spot on the Daily Show where he did the ‘hands up don’t shoot’ shtick.

"NOAH [HOLDING HIS HANDS UP]: No, no, seriously, I’ve been holding my arms like this since I got here. I never thought I’d be more afraid of police in America than in South Africa. It kind of makes me a little nostalgic for the old days back home. "

Noah is scheduled to start a month-long tour of America with a sold out seven show run at a club just outside Washington, D.C. starting April 9.

After hearing about his contempt for Americans, President Barack Obama will probably want to hang out with fellow progressive Noah like he did with the South Korean rapper PSY who sang of wanting to kill Americans.

COMMENT:  It probably won't matter to the Comedy Central audience, which tends to have an adolescent mentality, the kind Jon Stewart played to.  Television today is increasingly run by the children of the sixties generation.  That generation was bad enough.  Imagine what the kids are like. 

April 1, 2015       Permalink

POOR HILLARY; HAVE SYMPATHY, HAVE COMPASSION – AT 9:58 A.M. ET:   Finally, after months of scandal, Hillary Clinton is starting to slip in the polls.  If this continues, her nomination may well be in jeopardy, even though the Dems don't have a replacement who is known to more than 10 people.  From The Hill: 

Hillary Clinton’s email problems are taking a bite out of her approval ratings, raising the GOP’s confidence that she can be defeated in 2016.

A new poll released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University found Clinton trailing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the Sunshine State and enjoying only a 2 percentage point lead over Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

In February, she led both — with a 10-point lead on Rubio.

The same poll found Clinton ahead of the GOP field in the must-win state of Pennsylvania but with only a 1-point lead over Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). And her favorability rating in both states has plummeted, by 4 points in Florida and 6 points in the Keystone State.

Quinnipiac pollster Peter A. Brown attributed the figures to news stories about Clinton’s decision not to use a government email address while she served as secretary of State, saying it was “taking a toll” on her public image.

Republicans have seized on the controversy to tarnish the clear front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. On Tuesday, the GOP chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi asked Clinton for an interview before May 1 to discuss her use of a private email account at the State Department and reports that she wiped her private server clean.

COMMENT:  The fact is that the Clinton scandals will go on and on because some of the investigations are only in the early stages.  There could conceivably be legal action against Clinton.  There could even be indictments, or threatened indictments.

Of course, at one point the mainstream media will realize that their candidate could be defeated in 2016, and will generate an alternative "narrative" that will put her in a better light.  Or, it will trot out the old "sexism" charge if anyone dares question her.  It would be a repeat of the media's work on behalf of Barack Obama in 2008.  But it may not work this time.  Clinton is old news.  Obama was not. 

April 1, 2015       Permalink

IRAN LATEST – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  The Iran nuclear talks in Switzerland are in overtime, you know, just like your average labor negotiation.  (I guess we'll find out in the morning if the trains are running.)  Clearly there are obstacles.  We are talking about risking the lives of millions of people, and look at that farce.  From the Washington Post: 

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Negotiators scrambling to chart Iran’s nuclear future said Wednesday that several “key issues” remain unresolved, casting doubt on earlier, more optimistic predictions that an agreement was ready to be drafted.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said progress has been made but characterized it as “slow going.”

“I’m optimistic that we will make further progress this morning, but it does mean the Iranians being willing to meet us where there are still issues to deal with,” he told reporters. “Fingers crossed and we’ll hope to get there during the course of the day.”

That contrasted with remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after talks broke off in the overnight hours early Wednesday. He said an understanding had been reached on all the major sticking points.

“I think we have a broad framework of understanding, but there are still some key issues that have to be worked through,” he said. “Some of them are quite detailed and technical, so there is still quite a lot of work to do, but we are on it now and we’ll keep going at it.”

COMMENT:  The only way an agreement can be reached is for the United States to cave in, which we may well do.  It's been widely noted that Barack Obama wants an agreement more than the Iranians do, although they need it more.

Obama wants his legacy on the left, and his legacy within Islam. 

April 1,  2015     Permalink

MARCH 31,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

IRAN – As you know by now, the Iran nuclear talks have been extended by one day because, we are told (or sold) enough progress has been made to warrant the extension.  This is how the fate of millions of people is decided.  My guess is that they'll come up with some "understanding" that will allow more talks, and possibly ward off Congressional action.  Congress returns April 13th, and many members want to increase sanctions on Iran if a satisfactory deal is not reached by then.  Reports from inside the talks say that some items have been decided, but that the most important ones have not. 

ROTTEN APPLE – I'm a fan of Apple Computer, but not of its CEO, Tim Cook, who took over when Steve Jobs died.  Cook seems to be more interested in politics than in Macbooks.  This week he launched a vicious attack on the new Indiana religious freedom law because he thought it discriminated against gays.  But, as George Will pointed out on Fox News, Apple has been doing extensive business in Saudi Arabia, which sentences people to be lashed for being gay.  The hypocrisy flows.

PASSING – From Fox:  "Lt. Col. Robert Hite, one of the famed World War II 'Doolittle Tokyo Raiders,' died Sunday at 95.  Wallace Hite said his father died Sunday morning at a nursing facility in Nashville after battling Alzheimer's disease, according to The Associated Press.  'Today he decided to go home and be with his wife,' Wallace Hite said.  Hite was among 80 men aboard 16 B-25 bombers whose mission was to strike Japan in April 1942. While the attack inflicted only scattered damage, it was credited with boosting American morale while shaking Japan's confidence and prompting strategy shifts less than five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor."  There are now only two Doolittle Raiders left. 

NO SURPRISE – From the Politico:  "Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for MSNBC, along came the quarterly ratings reports.  In both daytime and prime time, MSNBC endured its lowest quarterly demo numbers in a decade, and its total viewership since the final quarter of 2007. Prime-time viewership was down 45 percent in the demo from the first quarter of 2014, while daytime viewership was down 39 percent in the demo. On Tuesday, while Fox News and CNN were boasting their own quarterly numbers -- Fox News remained dominant, CNN made major strides in the demo -- MSNBC chose to focus on the month of March instead, where it boasted gains in prime time and a victory for 'Morning Joe' over CNN's 'New Day.'  But things are still looking grim for MSNBC: Between the hours of 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, for instance, more people were watching Al Jazeera America than MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Thomas Roberts and 'The Cycle.'"  If MSNBC can't even beat Al Jazeera, maybe it's time to pack it in.

March 31, 2015       Permalink

COMMON SENSE – AT 11:08 A.M. ET:  Some reporters have it, and some don't.  Sharyl Attkisson, eased out of CBS, is one who does.  She's risked her career by demanding to report unpleasant truths, even about the liberal establishment.  And she has a common-sense take on Hillary Clinton's erasing the e-mails on her private server.  From Newsmax: 

There must have been "very, very bad or embarrassing" things on Hillary Clinton's personal email server that was wiped clean – including information on the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, says former CBC News investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson.

In an interview on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV on Monday, Attkisson said it was just "common sense" that the deleted data was likely worse than the firestorm created by its deletion.

"In my experience, there must've been some very, very bad or embarrassing things on there, because it appears as if she'd rather take the heat for the actions erasing the server at a time when she knew it was being sought by Congress and under Freedom of Information Act request, and probably lawsuits … than turn over what was really in them," she said.

"To me, this all points to Benghazi," Attkisson added. "There are things she didn't want to turn over and did not turn over – communications regarding the story that the administration most wants to go away, most wants to controversialize and most wants to say is a non-story. That's what it says."

Attkisson said Clinton also put herself in a position of being "in a terrible amount of trouble if you know that the material you have is being sought under a lawsuit or subpoena and you don't preserve it."

COMMENT:  Yup, common sense.  And Hillary might well be in legal trouble just as she's starting her presidential campaign.  I can just see her taking the oath of office wearing a striped shirt with a number on it.  For the Clintons, that's kind of par.

Stay tuned.  I think Trey Gowdy and his Benghazi investigative committee in the House may have some very interesting times for us ahead.   

March 31, 2015       Permalink  

CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES! – AT 10:44 A.M. ET:  It's wonderful, young people achieving their dreams.  Uh, well, maybe not exactly  But it's young people achieving something or other.  Let's hear it for the young graduates.  From Fox: 

The black-clad graduates listened intently as speakers inspired them to change the world, but instead of caps and gowns, they wore masks and fatigues, and in place of diplomas, they clutched AK-47s.

Photos tweeted out from the Islamic State in Syria in the last few days showed the terror group's latest “graduating class,” which included dozens of foreign fighters who came to Syria to join the Islamic caliphate. The graduation pictures capped 18 months of training in ideology and weaponry at a university in Deir Az-Zour, in northern Syria, and grads are now ready to advance to killing in the cause of radical Islam. Experts say ISIS has reasons for attaching the formal trappings of commencement exercises to the training of its fighters.

“There are two messages being sent by ISIS besides the obvious shock factor: First, their caliphate is an actual functioning and legitimate state. Second, this is long-term struggle,” said Ryan Mauro, national security analyst and adjunct professor of Homeland Security for the Clarion Project. “This is a way of saying that ISIS has succeeded (in creating a state) where Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists have failed.”

By promoting their special force in a series of propaganda photos, experts said ISIS is sending a message to potential recruits that it has created a professional, deadly and well-equipped force ready to protect its expanding Caliphate.

“The graduation photos send a message by ISIS that it has a military capacity ready to defend the Islamic Caliphate – a ‘government’ that has not lost control and will be able to defend its ‘territory,’ said Jasmine Opperman, the African-based analyst for the Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium.

COMMENT:  Oh, that's okay.  Who are we to question their culture?  In fact, I may well go online and find appropriate graduation gifts to recommend to you, our generous readers.

I think a quiality storage box for suicide belts would be nice, don't you?  I found a lovely one that could double as a carrying bag for hand grenades.  Buying is so much fun.

March 31, 2015        Permalink

IRAN RISING – AT 9:54 A.M. ET:  The CNN website is not my favorite place.  It's often a mess, with no intelligent route to navigation.  But now and then they come up with something good.  There's a piece running now showing how Iran has gained dramatically in the Mideast, with or without a nuclear weapon.  It's chilling:

Washington (CNN) Deal or no deal in the Iranian nuclear talks, Tehran is already behaving like it's made a killing.

Sure, U.S. and international sanctions inflicted staggering damage on Iran's economy, convincing the longtime American foe to join talks aimed at limiting its nuclear program. Those talks face an important Tuesday night deadline.

But it's not just Iran's nuclear aspirations that have everyone's attention -- though just the fact that Iranian officials are at the table with the world's most powerful countries has elevated Iran's international status.

Getting the bomb would greatly magnify its regional -- even global -- role, but Tehran is also making big moves in a tumultuous Great Game of Middle East geopolitics that is challenging U.S influence and prestige and chilling Washington's allies.

Right on.  Those allies are doubting Washington.  When you get doubted in power politics, you lose power by definition.  The allies start looking elsewhere.

As it engages on its nuclear program, Tehran has exploited the divisions of the Arab Spring and the power vacuum of America's downgraded involvement in the region. It has also taken advantage of the leeway the United States offered in prioritizing a nuclear deal over attempts to restrain Tehran's proxies that could risk breaking up the negotiations.

The result is that Iran -- often through militant groups it sponsors -- has become a key player in conflicts in neighboring states all the way to the edge of the Mediterranean.

Its drive for regional pre-eminence is becoming an increasing problem for the Obama administration as it contemplates selling a nuclear deal -- which is already drawing considerable skepticism -- to opponents in Congress and to anxious allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel, who are watching Iran's maneuvering up close.

COMMENT:  Hey, I guess hope 'n' change didn't work out so well.  No hope left after the worst kind of change. 

Now it is up to the Republican Party to make the case that we must change parties in the White House.  I watched Marco Rubio on TV yesterday, and was impressed once again with how clearly he makes that case.  We have a good bench.  Let's not blow the thing.

Politics is a contact sport.  The worst thing you can do is give your opponent an even break.  Incompetent candidates don't help us.  Focusing on narrow social issues, even when we're in the moral right, take attention away from the great, existential issues of our time.   

March 31, 2015      Permalink

DEADLINE – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  The Iran nuclear talks in Switzerland have only hours to go before tonight's deadline to come to a tentative agreement.  There's been so much lying, propaganda, and butt-covering in statements coming out of the talks, and from our own State Department, that it's difficult to know what's actually happening.  But the signs are not good.  This story, from AP, seems the most authoritative and best-reported.  One of the reporters on the story is Matt Lee, who has been superb in diplomatic reporters, and one of the few who actually challenges the Obama administration's absurdity:

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Wrapping up six days of marathon nuclear talks with mixed results, Iran and six world powers prepared Tuesday to issue a general statement agreeing to continue negotiations in a new phase aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord by the end of June, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The joint statement is to be accompanied by additional documents that outline more detailed understandings, allowing the sides to claim enough progress has been made thus far to merit a new round, the officials said.

One of the officials said the statement was general in part because differences between the sides remained ahead of a new phase of negotiations toward a comprehensive deal by late June. The second official said other documents will be more technical in nature and will also be made public later in the day.

Both demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the talks.

The documents were being finalized among the six countries negotiating with Iran, and the Iranian side had not yet signed off on them, said the first official.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who left Lausanne Monday, was heading back to the Swiss city, also indicating that an end to the talks was near. He departed on Monday but said he would return if a deal was imminent.

COMMENT:  We'll see, as we go through the day, if any of this actually happens.  The key point is that the Iranian side has not signed off on any texts.

It is being reported elsewhere that the real leaders in Iran will not permit any further concessions, to the extent that there have been any serious ones.

It's a bad moment.  We've been had and manipulated by Iran, and by the leftists in the Obama administration, led by the leftist-in-chief in the Oval Office.  What will the excuse be this time, if all we get is a general piece of paper?

March 31,  2015     Permalink