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APRIL 21,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:28 P.M. ET: 

GREAT MOMENTS IN THE SECOND AMENDMENT – From The Smoking Gun:  "A Colorado man who has been 'fighting with his computer for the last several months' unloaded a volley of shots into his Dell tormentor, resulting in the death of the computer and him being cited for discharging a firearm, cops report.  According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, officers responding last night to a 911 call about shots fired discovered that a 'fed up' Lucas Hinch took his computer into a back alley and 'fired 8 shots into the computer with a handgun, effectively disabling it.'"  He should've gotten a Mac.  I've never heard of anyone shooting a Mac. 

SICKENING – From the Washington Times:  "Army ROTC cadets are complaining on message boards that they were pressured to walk in high heels on Monday for an Arizona State University campus event designed to raise awareness of sex' events in 2014, but now it appears as though ROTC candidates at ASU were faced with a volunteer event that became mandatory.  'Attendance is mandatory and if we miss it we get a negative counseling and a "does not support the battalion sharp/EO mission" on our CDT OER for getting the branch we want. So I just spent $16 on a pair of high heels that I have to spray paint red later on only to throw them in the trash after about 300 of us embarrass the U.S. Army tomorrow,' one anonymous cadet wrote on the social media sharing website Imgr, IJReview reported Monday."  This requires an investigation.  It's no secret that Obama planted some left wingers in the Pentagon at the start of his presidency.  They've clearly done the damage they dreamed of.

THUMBS DOWN ON GUMMINT – From WaPo:  "Buried in a massive Pew study on the public's feelings about data and open government is this amazing nugget: Just 23 percent trust the federal government to do the right thing 'at least most of the time.'  Twenty three percent! That's unpopularity-of-Congress territory. Journalist-trust territory! Donald Trump's approval ratings look down on those numbers!"  Why the surprise?  Americans are looking at the Obama administration, which can't even recommend a good school lunch.

FASCINATING – From The Politico:  "The New York Times, The Washington Post and Fox News have made exclusive agreements with a conservative author for early access to his opposition research on Hillary Clinton, a move that has confounded members of the Clinton campaign and some reporters, the On Media blog has confirmed.  'Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich' will debut on May 5. But the Times, the Post and Fox have already made arrangements with author Peter Schweizer to pursue some of the material included in his book, which seeks to draw connections between Clinton Foundation donations and speaking fees and Hillary Clinton's actions as secretary of state. Schweizer is the president of the Government Accountability Institute, a conservative research group, and previously served as an adviser to Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin."  Do I detect the possibility that the liberal New York Times and Washington Post may be getting disenchanted with Queen Hillary?

April 21, 2015       Permalink

UNBELIEVABLE – AT 8:45 A.M. ET:  And some people wonder why grown-ups doubt the word of the president of the United States.  Here's a good example of why.  From the great Eli Lake at Bloomberg: 

The Barack Obama administration has estimated for years that Iran was at most three months away from enriching enough nuclear fuel for an atomic bomb. But the administration only declassified this estimate at the beginning of the month, just in time for the White House to make the case for its Iran deal to Congress and the public.

Speaking to reporters and editors at our Washington bureau on Monday, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz acknowledged that the U.S. has assessed for several years that Iran has been two to three months away from producing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. When asked how long the administration has held this assessment, Moniz said: "Oh quite some time." He added: "They are now, they are right now spinning, I mean enriching with 9,400 centrifuges out of their roughly 19,000. Plus all the . . . . R&D work. If you put that together it's very, very little time to go forward. That's the 2-3 months."

Brian Hale, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, confirmed to me Monday that the two-to-three-month estimate for fissile material was declassified on April 1.

Here is the puzzling thing: When Obama began his second term in 2013, he sang a different tune. He emphasized that Iran was more than a year away from a nuclear bomb, without mentioning that his intelligence community believed it was only two to three months away from making enough fuel for one, long considered the most challenging task in building a weapon. Today Obama emphasizes that Iran is only two to three months away from acquiring enough fuel for a bomb, creating a sense of urgency for his Iran agreement.

Back in 2013, when Congress was weighing new sanctions on Iran and Obama was pushing for more diplomacy, his interest was in tamping down that sense of urgency. On the eve of a visit to Israel, Obama told Israel's Channel Two, "Right now, we think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close."

On Oct. 5 of that year, Obama contrasted the U.S. view of an Iranian breakout with that of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who at the time said Iran was only six months away from nuclear capability. Obama told the Associated Press, "Our assessment continues to be a year or more away. And in fact, actually, our estimate is probably more conservative than the estimates of Israeli intelligence services."

Ben Caspit, an Israeli journalist and columnist for Al-Monitor, reported last year that Israel's breakout estimate was also two to three months away.

COMMENT:  We are talking about nuclear weapons, weapons that can take out whole cities, or even whole countries if used in multiple.  And yet we've been lied to in order to make it more convenient for Obama to make his arguments. 

Remember the phony chant, "Bush lied, thousands died"?  Well, Obama clearly lied, and the mainstream media is hardly interested.  I guarantee you that Eli Lake, one of the best reporters around, will not get a Pulitzer Prize for this story.

April 21,  2015     Permalink

WEIRDLY OUT OF TOUCH – AT 8:24 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton, no matter what she says or does, seems weirdly out of touch with reality.  And she really thinks Republicans talk only about her.  Definite weirdness.  From The Politico: 

Keene, N.H. — Hillary Clinton on Monday attacked the crowded field of Republican presidential contenders for making her the focus of their campaigns.

In fact, there's never been a presidential field more committed to issues.  Hillary's ego is not as great as her bank account, but it's getting there.

“I think it’s worth noting that Republicans seem to be talking only about me,” she told reporters after her first roundtable in New Hampshire, which took place at a family-owned wooden toy company in Keene. “I don’t know what they’d talk about if I weren’t in the race.”

Yikes.  She's out of control.

Clinton arrived in New Hampshire Monday — she drove from her home in Chappaqua, New York — following a two-day gathering in the Granite State of 19 Republican presidential contenders who appeared to be workshopping their best shots. They spent the weekend blasting Clinton on everything from Benghazi to the State Department email scandal to the highly choreographed roundtables to her roadside lunch stop at Chipotle.

In contrast to the other side of the aisle, Clinton had the whole stage here to herself. During the event, she tried to present herself as above the political fray, while making a few subtle digs at the Republican field and veering into a couple of policy areas.

Yeah, she's really above the fray.  We've noticed that.  Just an elder stateswoman with a scandal a minute.

She swatted away attacks due to be published in a book out next month, “Clinton Cash: the Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich,” by Peter Schweizer. “[I’ll be] subjected to all kinds of distractions and attacks, and I’m ready for that. I know that that comes, unfortunately, with the territory,” she told reporters.

COMMENT:  No, Hillary, they don't write books like that about everybody.  They write books like that about you. 

Do you get the feeling that Hillary will soon have some competition from within her party?  Some of the revelations in the Schweizer book, if documented, can lead to serious legal problems.

April 21, 2015       Permalink

WELCOME – AT 8:17 A.M. ET:  Looks like we'll have another Republican presidential candidate.  From The Hill: 

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) has launched a political committee to assist in fundraising as he seeks to raise his national profile ahead of a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

Kasich and his allies filed paperwork with the IRS on Monday for a 527 nonprofit group called New Day for America. The group can raise unlimited funds to pay for travel and other expenses the Ohio governor incurs as he travels the country testing the presidential waters.

Former Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and former Ohio House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson (R) are among the group’s directors.

In recent weeks, Kasich has signaled he’s increasingly serious about running for president. He’s been traveling the country pushing for a balanced budget amendment.

Those efforts had been bankrolled by a PAC formed late last year, Balanced Budget Forever, which includes former operatives from Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.

COMMENT:  Kasich has been an effective governor and is an effective vote getter.  He should be welcomed to the campaign, if he decides to run.  It is not lost on political pundits that he could be very helpful in capturing Ohio, always a great prize in presidential politics.

Good candidate, good record.

The Republican field is very deep, and filled with talent.

April 21, 2015       Permalink

NAVY TO YEMEN – AT 8:08 A.M. ET:  Under the ultimate command of Grand Admiral Barack Obama, the U.S. Navy has dispatched the Theodore Roosevelt strike group to waters off Yemen.  Teddy Roosevelt said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."  Admiral Obama speaks loudly and carries a small stick, but he gets things confused.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a stepped-up response to Iranian backing of Shiite rebels in Yemen, the Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming toward the waters off Yemen to beef up security and join other American ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels.

The deployment comes after a U.N. Security Council resolution approved last week imposed an arms embargo on leaders of the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels. The resolution passed in a 14-0 vote with Russia abstaining.

Navy officials said Monday that the Roosevelt was moving through the Arabian Sea. A massive ship that carries F/A-18 fighter jets, the Roosevelt is seen more of a deterrent and show of force in the region.

The U.S. Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea in response to reports that a convoy of about eight Iranian ships is heading toward Yemen and possibly carrying arms for the Houthis. Navy officials said there are about nine U.S. warships in the region, including cruisers and destroyers carrying teams that can board and search other vessels.

COMMENT:   I really wonder how much America will do to intercept Iranian ships.  The nuclear talks with Iran resume this week, and Obama's main priority is nailing down an agreement, seemingly any agreement, to enhance his legacy, at least on the left. 

There are clearly going to be some tense weeks ahead, with the continuing collapse of Yemen and the the nuclear talks threatened by increasingly extreme Iranian demands. 

April 21,  2015     Permalink

APRIL 20,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 8:03 P.M. ET: 

PROFESSOR STROOCK – It once again gives me pleasure to recommend a military novel by Professor Will Stroock, one of our distinguished readers.  I highly commend "World War 1990 – Operation Arctic Storm," available at Amazon here.  The story involves a major world conflict fought in the northern tier, with combat in Alaska.  As usual with Stroock, you get an authoritatively written story, packed with action and real background on military forces.  The action is seen from a number of capitals and commanders.  Fast-paced reading.  I'm looking forward to Will's next, "World War 1990:  Operation Eastern Storm."

GOOD DECISION – The president of Israel is refusing to meet with Jimmy Carter when Carter comes to the region.  From the Jerusalem Post:  "President Reuven Rivlin has refused to meet with former US president Jimmy Carter during his upcoming visit to the region, due to his stances over recent years seen as 'anti-Israel.'  In recent years, Carter has become one of the most prominent critics of Israel, notably when during last summer's war with Hamas he denounced the IDF's Operation Protective Edge in Gaza as illegitimate."  Carter was the early version of Barack Obama.  It's about time someone stood up to him. 

WRECKAGE – One of the great sources of pride in New York City over the last 24 years has been the dramatic reduction in crime.  New York went from one of the most dangerous cities to one of the safest.  Now, thanks to Marxist Mayor Bill de Blasio, it is all in jeopardy.  From conservativetreehouse.com:  "No longer willing to play second fiddle to Chicago, New York has re-entered the race to sit atop the infamous list of most dangerous cities.  'NEW YORK, New York — Twenty people have been shot and one victim has died after shootings in NYC since Friday.'  While it is still too early to tell how successful Mayor De Blasio will be in his quest to retake the mantle from Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel, it appears his policies to remove law and order are unleashing the strongest villains amid his societal construct.  '[…] More than a dozen people were wounded Saturday night alone in NYC.  The rise in violence comes as Mayor de Blasio ends "stop and frisk" practices, others blame warmer weather.  According to CBS New York, Saturday’s shootings wounded eight people in the Bronx, three in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan.'"  I love those who blame warm weather.  Never blame the shooter.  No, sir.  They are just oppressed.  De Blasio, as noted in today's posts, wants to be president.

LET'S GET TOGETHER ON THIS – Vice President Joe Biden and Field Marshal Barack Obama might consider having a meeting, or at least an exchange of love letters, to get their stories on Iran straight.  From JTA:  "WASHINGTON (JTA) — An Iran nuclear deal will not include substantial sanctions relief at the front end, Vice President Joe Biden said.  'If at the front end they expect there to be total sanction relief or significant sanction relief, there will be no deal,' Biden said in an address in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday to a Democratic political action committee, Politico reported. 'This will be, "You have to earn it."  Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said that there will be no deal between Iran and the major powers unless there is immediate total sanctions relief."  Biden contradicted his boss, who strongly hinted Friday that there could be immediate relief.  Discuss, fellas.  Discuss.

April 20, 2015       Permalink

GOOD FOR HER! – AT 11:32 A.M. ET:  I love it when military families, especially those who have made enormous sacrifices, speak out.  Now a Gold Star mother is speaking out against Obama's highly political chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  And she's right.  From Fox: 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey responded to reports that Ramadi, Iraq is on the verge of an Islamic State today by describing Ramadi as “not symbolic in any way.” In an open letter, Debbie Lee, whose son Marc was the first Navy SEAL casualty in Ramadi, responded to his remarks today.

I am shaking and tears are flowing down my cheeks as I watch the news and listen to the insensitive, pain inflicting comments made by you in regards to the fall of Ramadi.

“The city itself is not symbolic in any way”? Oh, really? Are you willing to meet with me and with the families who have lost a son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandson, or teammate?

My son Marc Lee was the first Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life in Ramadi Iraq Aug 2, 2006. His blood is still in that soil and forever will be. Remember that was when so many of our loved ones were taken from us. You said that “it’s not been declared part of the caliphate on one hand or central to the future of Iraq.” My son and many others gave their future in Ramadi. Ramadi mattered to them. Many military analysts say that as goes Ramadi so goes Iraq.

What about the troops who sacrificed their limbs and whose lives will never be the same. Our brave warriors who left a piece of themselves in Ramadi. What about the troops who struggle with PTS/TBI who watched their teammates breath their last or carried their wounded bodies to be medevac’d out of Ramadi.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  There should be a national campaign to send this mother to Washington, along with others, to confront this phony, fraudulent administration, with its indifference to the American soldier.

Will Dempsey, a veddy political general, turn down her request to see him?

April 20, 2015       Permalink

THE REAL OBAMA – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 10:38 A.M. ET:  Andrew Malcolm summarizes the deceit and disaster that characterize the word "Obama."  Ever since the 2014 election he has completely flipped on major policies, becoming the left-wing ideologue we always knew he was.  From IBD: 

Remember the hundreds of thousands of new jobs certain to erupt by 2010 thanks to $1 trillion in extra Obama administration spending? Remember how President Obama vowed swift justice to the murderers of four helpless Americans in Benghazi? Remember how you can keep your doctor and health insurance under ObamaCare?

Remember how Obama promised to halt Iran's development of nuclear weapons because they would launch a nuclear arms race in the world's most volatile region and allow Iran to attempt its avowed erasure of Israel?

Well, folks, your favorite incumbent president is morphing again right before your disbelieving eyes. Here's what he said as recently as early March: "I reserve all options, and my policy here is not going to be one of containment. My policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons."

Now, here's Obama speaking to his favorite New York newspaper early this month: “I’ve been very clear that Iran will not get a nuclear weapon on my watch."

Whoa there, Buckaroos! In just one month we went from "prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons" period to no Iran nukes "on my watch."

If you're counting, like many Americans, we are currently 2,281 days into Obama's "watch." With 640 left to go.

COMMENT:   And remember when Obama assured us that he rejected gay marriage...when he was running for office?  Now his major political guru, David Axelrod, admits that Obama has always favored gay marriage.  In other words, he lied to us. 

The lies on Iran are ongoing.  Hard to keep up with them.  Obama has been saying that sanctions will only be lifted on Iran once we're assured that it's living up to any nuclear agreement.  As of Friday Obama has been saying that we're prepared to lift sanctions immediately under certain circumstances.  Next concession probably in the works.

April 20, 2015       Permalink

GOOD REPORTING – AT 9:43 A.M. ET:  The Republican field was in New Hampshire this weekend.  Byron York does a fine job in summing up what happened.  The New Hampshire primary is January 26th.  That's a bit more than nine months away.  The combat is starting.  From the Washington Examiner:   

1) Marco Rubio is clearly enjoying a moment. He is relaxed and funny in front of crowds, flying high after a well-received campaign announcement. In addition, Rubio appears to be winning growing support among some GOP establishment figures and opinion makers — the ones who worry about Jeb Bush's dynastic problem, fear Scott Walker is not ready for prime time, and have given up on Chris Christie.

And...

2) Scott Walker is steadier on his feet. The Wisconsin governor seemed a little wobbly for a time after his quick rise to GOP frontrunner following a similar Republican cattle call in Iowa in late January. Now Walker seems a little more comfortable, and his record of standing up to his state's powerful Democratic-dominated public-sector unions has huge appeal among Republicans.

And...

3) Chris Christie is poised to re-emerge after a number of early death pronouncements. There is a reason people liked the New Jersey governor before he became mired in the bridge scandal. Once a favorite of a lot of establishment GOP poobahs, Christie went down, down, down after problems at home and his decision (hesitation?) to hold off on campaigning while rivals got the jump on him. But Christie has an undeniable appeal to voters on the stump, and now that he is finally out on the stump, they're getting a chance to see it. Look for his stock to rise.

And...

4) Jeb Bush is a solid candidate running a solid campaign, but he is still stuck explaining why he is his own man and why another Bush should be running for president. Maybe he should just get on with it. Voters will work out the Bush issue in their own minds; Jeb's job is to make the best case why he would be the best president. It might not work — the Bush problem might be insurmountable, given Republican voters' intense yearning for something new — but Bush's best option could be to campaign as his own man without continually reminding voters that he is his own man.

And...

5) Ted Cruz is still Ted Cruz. A solid part of the Republican base likes him a lot, but it's unclear how he would grow beyond that group.

6) Rand Paul's appeal is as solid as ever, and his potential to transform himself into a general election candidate is as limited as ever.

And...

Carly Fiorina continues to intrigue Republican voters. They want to hear more, and if that appeal continues, there will be inevitably more attention to her record as a business executive. Then voters will see how she handles criticism.

She's the only woman in the race, and is extremely articulate.  Her problem:  A very controversial record as CEO of Hewlett-Packard.  She made enemies, and their knives will be out.  But watch her.

Rick Perry is embarking on a grand experiment to prove that a candidate who ran a disastrous race the last time can run a competitive one this time. It probably won't work, but he is a vastly improved candidate who would be taken very seriously if this were his first run for president.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece to get the full story.  It's very sad that Rick Perry ran last time and messed up so badly.  He's a good man with a fine record as Texas governor.  But I'm afraid his past failure might sink him prematurely.   But as Silvio Canto Jr. says, don't underestimate Rick Perry.

April 20, 2015       Permalink

OH, IS THIS JUICY – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  It was a big story just days ago:  The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign manager in 2000, refused to endorse her for president.  He said she hadn't yet laid out a progressive social program.

What was his motive?  Why did he volunteer, in effect, to take heat from the Clinton camp to hold back his endorsement?

As they say, the plot thickens.  We may have the answer from Fred Dicker, one of the best local political reporters around.  From the New York Post:

Despite repeated claims to the contrary, Mayor Bill de Blasio is positioning himself to be the leftist “progressive” alternative to Wall Street-friendly Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic candidate for president, a national party operative told The Post.

De Blasio’s hope, the operative said, is a “Draft de Blasio’’ movement will develop among progressive activists over the next several months that will lead to the mayor being able to defeat Clinton in the primary elections next year in much the same way leftist Sen. George McGovern successfully challenged the initially front-running establishment Democratic candidate, Sen. Edmund Muskie, more than 40 years ago.

Standing ready to back de Blasio against Clinton, said the operative, is the state’s small but influential Working Families Party, which has strong ties to de Blasio and is funded by some of the nation’s most powerful labor unions.

It is also very far left, very sympathetic to the red left.

Earlier this year, the New York-based WFP urged Massachusetts Senator and Wall Street-bashing “progressive’’ favorite Elizabeth Warren to challenge Clinton and run for president — but she has repeatedly said she won’t do so.

“With Warren saying she’s not running, de Blasio and his advisers are trying to position the mayor as the ‘draft’ candidate for the left in 2016. That’s why he refused to endorse Hillary last week,’’ contended the operative, who is involved in presidential politics.

COMMENT:  The story isn't shocking.  De Blasio represents the leftist fringe of the Democratic Party, the pro-Castro fringe.  He was active in supporting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and pointedly got married to his African-American wife in Cuba, to show support for the regime. 

De Blasio was elected mayor of New York City – a city that had elected the rational and effective Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg – in a year when voting participation was way down, and the Republican Party of New York did its usual thing, it nominated a nondescript candidate who had no real chance of winning. 

There are going to be fireworks ahead.  The far left is making its move, and I would not be shocked to learn that the White House is pulling the strings. 

Can Hillary be dethroned?  Yes.  Is it likely?  No.  But it wasn't likely in 1968 that the leftist insurgents would force a sitting president, Lyndon Johnson, out of the race.  It wasn't likely in 2008 that a nothing little senator from Illinois, a man with no record of accomplishment, could be elected president by skillful playing of the race card.

As Bette Davis said in All About Eve, "Fasten your seatbelts.  It's going to be a bumpy night."

April 20,  2015     Permalink