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APRIL 17,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

SICKENING – We'll have more on this, but many observers are utterly stunned by the reckless, dishonest, and disgraceful comments President Obama made at his Friday press conference.  He announced that he would be open to lifting all sanctions on Iran immediately, rather than after verification that Iran was complying with the nuclear agreement.  This contradicts his previous position and the position of virtually the entire West.  It knifes Israel in the back, something Obama loves doing, and hangs our Arab allies out to dry.  Field Marshal Obama explained that we might have to do something "creative" to make it easier for the Iranian government to sell the agreement at home.  That means we cave in one of the most critical demands we have made.  Obama said the real issue is how quickly sanctions could be put back if Iran cheated.  That is garbage.  He'd never verify that Iran cheated, and sanctions will never be put back because important Western interests will be making money in Iran.  I don't know how Obama lives with himself, but the film, "The Manchurian Candidate," might provide the answer. 

ARAB COMMENTATORS GO WHERE OURS FEAR TO TREAD – From CNS:  "Commentators on two different Arabic television programs claimed that President Barack Obama is pushing a nuclear deal with Iran because his father, Barack Obama Sr., was a Shiite Muslim, and President Obama apparently wants the Shia-run government of Iran to be victorious in the region.   The commentators made their remarks on the UK channel Al-Hiwar TV on March 25 and on 4Shbab TV in Saudi Arabia on April 10; the segments were recorded and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project (MEMRI).  'There is one thing we must not forget,' said Syrian writer Muhydin Lazikani on Hiwar TV. 'I am not peddling some theory, and I am not being racist. But Barack Hussein Obama is the son of a Shiite Kenyan father.'"  Hmm.  Only two forces in the world have grown stronger on Obama's watch – Communism, though Russia, and militant Islam.  As they say, check it out.

OUR GREAT NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS OVER – From Fox:  "A California college has apologized for its 'insensitivity' after serving Mexican food at an official school night party whose theme, 'Intergalactic,' included decorations featuring aliens from outer space.  In a letter addressed to its student body, Stevenson College - which is part of the University of California, Santa Cruz - said it received complaints from students and others within the university who were offended by the decision to serve Mexican food at the Sci-Fi party because of its perceived connection to the immigration debate.  The term 'illegal aliens' is sometimes used to describe people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border without documentation, but many Latinos and immigration advocates consider it pejorative."  Boy, is that a stretch.  Don't these students have anything better to do with their time?  There was nothing offensive about serving Mexican food, unless you wanted to imagine the offense.  Our college students are being brought up to be babies.

April 17, 2015       Permalink

THE STRANGE HANDLING OF AN ACCUSED DESERTER – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  There is now some evidence that the truth about Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was known at the highest levels.  From Fox: 

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his base in Afghanistan June 30, 2009, and by December of that same year, the president's principal military adviser, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, knew those details, according to three of Bergdahl's platoon mates who spoke to Fox News.

"I asked him (Mullen) if he knew about Bergdahl and that he deserted and he (Mullen) told me that he knew of the circumstances surrounding his walking off," former Sgt. Matt Vierkant told Fox,"(and) that they were developing leads and following leads, trying to do everything they could to get him back."

After pulling security duty for the chairman, who was doing a swing through Afghanistan in December 2009, Vierkant, along with Evan Buetow and Cody Full, said they met informally with Mullen and about eight other soldiers. After a pep talk about the mission, the three said Mullen asked the squad leaders and platoon leadership to take a break.

"He sat down with all the lower enlisted guys and the team leaders and basically he said, 'Hey, what do you want to know...You got any questions? He's like, I'm an open book. Let's just have a little question and answer session," Buetow explained.

"So Matt asked him, you know Bergdahl deserted, what's going on with that? And Admiral Mullen said, 'Yes, we know all the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl walking away from the OP (outpost,)and we're still working on getting him back, figuring out where he is and kind of figuring out that whole situation.’"

COMMENT:  Of course, that wasn't the later Obama line about Bergdahl.  He was a guy who served with honor, we were told. 

But if Mullen knew the truth, didn't Obama know?  And how much did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton know? 

And why all the lying?  While Congress is investigating Benghazi, it might also take a look at this case.  It must be doing wonders for military morale.

April 17, 2015       Permalink

THE PARTY OF THE PAST – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  Have you noticed the average age of Democratic leaders?  Wasn't this once the party of youth and vigor?  Byron York, in the Washington Examiner, explains what happened:

The average age of the Republican field is far below the Democrats, with every candidate younger than Clinton. The most senior is Jeb Bush, who will be 64 on Inauguration Day. Scott Walker will be 49; Marco Rubio will be 45; Ted Cruz, 46; Rand Paul, 54; Chris Christie, 54; Mike Huckabee, 61; Bobby Jindal, 45. Although Bush is in the older range, they're all in the career sweet spot to win the White House.

What accounts for the Democrats' dramatic change from the party of youth to the party of age?

"It's the snuffing out of young talent by the strength and size and sheer velocity of the inevitable nominee," says a well-connected Democratic strategist. "The Clintons took all the air out of the collective Democratic room. There are a lot of people who would be running who are much younger, but they've got their future in front of them, and they don't want the Clintons to ruin it, in this campaign or after this campaign. So they're waiting for a moment when there is enough oxygen to run."

"If Hillary Clinton weren't running, we'd have a field that looks like the Republican field — young and vibrant and diverse."

If there were no Clinton campaign, would Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who will be 50 on Inauguration Day, be exploring a run? Would Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who will be 56, be thinking about it? Would New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who will be 59, be preparing to run? They'd all be considering it.

If any of them ran today, however, they could find themselves unable to gain any traction at all in a Clinton-dominated primary race. That could make it more difficult for them to mount a credible run in the future.

COMMENT:  Once the party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.  Once the party of national-defense giants like Henry Jackson and Stuart Symington.  Look at it now. 

April 17, 2015       Permalink

NOTHING HAS CHANGED – AT 9:23 A.M. ET:  It is announced that nuclear negotiations with Iran will resume in Switzerland next week, with the aim of having a final, detailed agreement by June 30th.  In the meantime, Iran is showing its usual intentions, as Obama averts his eyes.  From Reuters:   

(Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it had a "constructive exchange" with Iran this week but there was no sign of a breakthrough on aspects of its nuclear program that the agency says Tehran has failed to fully address.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is investigating Iran's nuclear program in parallel to talks between Tehran and six world powers that aim to broker a deal by the end of June to scale down the program in exchange for sanctions relief.

In any final deal, the IAEA would play a major role in monitoring Iran's compliance.

The IAEA said in March it expected progress with Iran this month on outstanding issues related to the nature of neutron calculations and alleged experiments on explosives that could be used to develop an atomic device.

It said then it expected Iran to propose new measures to address other outstanding issues with the IAEA by mid-April.

The IAEA on Thursday issued a short statement saying it had technical talks with Iranian officials in Tehran on Wednesday, making no mention of major developments.

"The two sides ... had a constructive exchange on the two practical measures under discussion," it said. "The Agency and Iran will continue this dialogue and agreed to meet again in the near future."

COMMENT:  This is a preview of things to come.  The nuclear agreement with Iran will never work, at least not as intended.  Iran will put up a facade of cooperation, its powerful lobby in Washington, in conjunction with the hard left, will applaud, and eventually Tehran will have a nuclear weapon.

By then Obama will be secretary-general of the UN and John Kerry will be a retired elder statesman, nursing his Nobel Prize.  Obama used to say that Iran would never get a nuclear bomb.  Now he's simply saying that it will never get a nuclear bomb on his watch.  Quite a comedown.

Our children will be forced to deal with this.  Quite a legacy for our generation.

April 17, 2015       Permalink

MUST BE A CULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDING – AT 8:55 A.M. ET:  This is awful, but where is the outrage?  From AP:

ROME (AP) — Italy's migration crisis took on a deadly new twist Thursday as police in Sicily reported that Muslim migrants had thrown 12 Christians overboard during a recent crossing from Libya, and an aid group said another 41 were feared drowned in a separate incident.

Palermo police said they had detained 15 people suspected in the high seas assault, which they learned of while interviewing tearful survivors from Nigeria and Ghana who had arrived in Palermo Wednesday morning after being rescued at sea by the ship Ellensborg.

The 15 were accused of multiple homicide aggravated by religious hatred, police said in a statement.

The survivors said they had boarded a rubber boat April 14 on the Libyan coast with 105 passengers aboard, part of the wave of migrants taking advantage of calm seas and warm weather to make the risky crossing from Libya, where most smuggling operations originate.

During the crossing, the migrants from Nigeria and Ghana — believed to be Christians — were threatened with being abandoned at sea by some 15 other passengers from the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali and Guinea Bissau.

Eventually the threat was carried out and 12 were pushed overboard. The statement said the motive was that the victims "professed the Christian faith while the aggressors were Muslim."

The surviving Christians, the statement said, only managed to stay on board by forming a "human chain" to resist the assault.

COMMENT:  We wait for a statement from the usual suspects – the White House, the left wing of the Democratic Party, the National Council of Churches, and assorted liberal "intellectuals."  We'll be waiting a long time.

It should be noted that the victims were African Christians, people of color.  I wonder where their champions are.   I wonder if they have any champions in the corrupt "social movements" of the left. 

April 17,  2015     Permalink

APRIL 16,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

PREVIEW OF HER PRESIDENCY – From Weekly Standard:  "Iowans had their cellphones and cameras confiscated before getting to meet the Democratic presidential frontrunner, Hillary Rodham Clinton. 'On Thursday, Clinton´s motorcade left the SpringHill Suites for Main Street Cafe, where she met privately with party leaders for about an hour and a half,' reports KETV in Omaha.  'Pottawattamie County Democratic Chairwoman Linda Nelson said the meeting was so private that everyone invited was asked to hand over their cellphones and cameras before taking part.'"  I'm assuming they all swore allegiance to her.

MORE HILLARY, THE COMMON WOMAN – From London's Daily Mail:  "The Secret Service will have to drive Scooby One and Scooby Two back to Chappaqua without Hillary Clinton riding shotgun. Instead, she's flying coach and toting her own luggage.  A United Airlines regional jet carried her back to the East Coast on Thursday from the Omaha, Nebraska airport. Her flight was bound for Newark, New Jersey, the major airport most convenient to her spacious Chappaqua, New York home."  There were photos of Ms. Average rolling her luggage around the airport...but apparently not checking it.  Reporters noted that it was too big for the overhead bins.  I guess a little helper eventually took the bags.  She was met at Newark by a limo, right on the tarmac, pretty much like any other passenger.

ANOTHER FOR-THE-PEOPLE MSNBC STAR – From the Winston-Salem Journal:  "The Internal Revenue Service has placed a tax lien on Melissa Harris-Perry and her husband, James Perry, for about $70,000 in delinquent taxes, according to a notice filed in Forsyth County Hall of Justice earlier this month…
In an email Wednesday, Harris-Perry said she was unaware of the tax lien but knew about the debt. She said she and her husband paid $21,721 of the debt when they filed their taxes Wednesday. The remaining debt, $48,581, covers a tax period ending Dec. 31, 2013, according to the notice.  Harris-Perry said she and her husband had been working to pay off the debt but had to deal with a series of personal crises that caused the couple to pay off the debt a lot slower than expected."  Well, if you're on MSNBC you face a personal crisis every day.

IT'S ABOUT TIME – From Fox:  "FORT HOOD, Texas – Dozens of soldiers and surviving family members of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting are receiving additional Army pay that they felt was long overdue.  The announcement from Army Sec. John McHugh on Thursday comes a week after 36 Purple Hearts were awarded to victims and relatives of the deadliest shooting on a U.S. military base.  Thirteen people were killed in the attack and 31 others were injured.  McHugh said the Purple Heart recipients will receive extra hostile fire pay and other compensation."  It probably took this long because the propagandists around Obama tried to portray the incident as "workplace violence" rather than a terrorist attack on U.S. soldiers.

April 16, 2015       Permalink

NORTH KOREA AND IRAN – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:   There's the fantasy world of Barack Obama and his team of undergraduates, and then there's the real world.  From the great Bill Gertz at the Washington Free Beacon: 

North Korea supplied several shipments of missile components to Iran during recent nuclear talks and the transfers appear to violate United Nations sanctions on both countries, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

Since September more than two shipments of missile parts have been monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies as they transited from North Korea to Iran, said officials familiar with intelligence reports who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Details of the arms shipments were included in President Obama’s daily intelligence briefings and officials suggested information about the transfers was kept secret from the United Nations, which is in charge of monitoring sanctions violations.

Critics of the U.S.-led nuclear framework agreement reached in Switzerland earlier this month have said one major deficiency of the accord is its failure to address Iran’s missile program, considered a key nuclear delivery system for the Islamist regime.

CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani declined to comment on the missile component shipments, citing a policy of not discussing classified information.

But other officials said the transfers included goods covered by the Missile Technology Control Regime, a voluntary agreement among 34 nations that limits transfers of missiles and components of systems with ranges of greater than 186 miles.

One official said the transfers between North Korea and Iran included large diameter engines, which could be used for a future Iranian long-range missile system.

COMMENT:  I hope Congress takes this up, and quickly.  Obama outdistances even Neville Chamberlain in appeasement.  Indeed, I'm not even sure he sees Iran and North Korea as enemies.  And we have a year and a half of this administration. 

What is remarkable is the shamelessness of the Obama crowd.  But they see no cause for shame.  Indeed, they're quite proud of what they're doing.

April 16, 2015       Permalink

ISIS IN AMERICA – AT 9:48 A.M. ET:   This is absolutely chilling.  We cannot absolutely confirm it, but it should be taken very seriously.  From Fox: 

Islamic State fighters are operating training bases near the U.S. southern border and are being aided by violent drug cartels to smuggle terrorists into states like Texas, a report published Tuesday by a watchdog group claims.

The Judicial Watch report, which cited an unnamed Mexican Army officer and a Mexican police inspector, raises new fears that the fight with ISIS is closer to the U.S. than previously thought.

The report identified the locations of the two bases, and said one is as close as 8 miles from Texas in a town west of Juarez. Mexican authorities found possible evidence -- plans written in Arabic and Urdu -- last week in the town of "Anapra," the sources said. These sources told the watchdog that "coyotes" who work for drug cartels assist in smuggling terrorists between Fort Hancock, Texas, and other undisclosed locations.

The U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an inquiry from FoxNews.com to confirm the report. But the Mexican border has long been seen as a potential vulnerability.

FoxNews.com reported last summer that social media chatter shows ISIS is aware of the porous border, and are “expressing an increased interest” in crossing over to carry out a terrorist attack.

COMMENT:  Another great contribution to national security by Field Marshal Obama, who has shown no interest in the vulnerability of the border. 

April 16, 2015       Permalink

SLICK HILLY – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  Hillary is already changing her tune to block a challenge to her nomination from the militant left.  From the New York Post: 

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton wants the Supreme Court to rule gay marriage legal nationwide, her campaign said Wednesday, marking a shift from her previous state-by-state approach.

“Hillary Clinton supports marriage equality and hopes the Supreme Court will come down on the side of same-sex couples being guaranteed that constitutional right,” Adrienne Elrod, spokesperson for Hillary for America, told BuzzFeed News after a story questioning Clinton’s stance.

Now, 37 states allow marriage for gay couples, but the Supreme Court is poised to decide the issue when justices hear oral arguments this month on whether states can ban same-sex couples from marrying.

The campaign issued the position on Clinton’s second day campaigning in Iowa, where she greeted restaurant owners in Marshalltown and then held a discussion at a Norwalk fruit warehouse with small-business leaders.

During her tour, she also stopped at two coffee shops stacked with supporters her campaign had arranged.

Bret Nilles was among nine local Democratic activists who were dropped off at a Mount Vernon espresso shop to talk with the candidate.

“With her notoriety, I think it’s hard to find an organic event,” Nilles told The Post.

COMMENT:  Reports from her "campaign" are hardly raves.  Again, everything is a gimmick.  There's no "real" Hillary, at least not one that can be presented publicly.  But the mainstreamers present her as the ultimate celebrity, not one consumption of one sandwich to be missed. 

It will still be tough for Republicans, but we can win with the right candidate.  The field is growing, and it's substantive.

April 16, 2015       Permalink

WITH THE CLINTONS, THERE'S ALWAYS A GIMMICK – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  There has been concern that the Clinton family foundation has accepted large donations from some pretty foul foreign dictatorships.

So the Clintons have now gone into action to solve the problem...but notice the gimmick they're pulling.  From The Wall Street Journal:

The board of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation has decided to continue accepting donations from foreign governments, primarily from six countries, even though Hillary Clinton is running for president, a summary of the new policy to be released Thursday shows.

The rules would permit donations from Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the U.K.—countries that support or have supported Clinton Foundation programs on health, poverty and climate change, according to the summary.

But get this:

That means other nations would be prohibited from making large donations to the foundation. But those governments would be allowed to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative, a subsidiary of the foundation where companies, nonprofit groups and government officials work on solutions to global problems.

COMMENT:  Ah, come on, Clintons.  This is not up to your usual standards of deviousness, smoke-and-mirrors, and deception.  Bottom line, any woman-hating regime can still send a check.  They just have to make it out a bit differently.

Corrupt.

April 16,  2015     Permalink