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APRIL 28, 2015

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

LIZZIE STILL AIN'T RUNNIN' – From The Hill: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has a message for people skeptical of her decision not to run for the White House in 2016: It won’t stop her from pursuing her message of economic populism.  'You think I’m not forcing a debate?” she responded to The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza, when he challenged her decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for president.  'Call me back in a year and ask me what type of debate we’re having,' she added.   'I’m doing the work I should be doing,' she told him later."  So warm and kind.  Warren is generally considered a poor, shrill campaigner, and maybe she realizes her act may not play so well outside Massachusetts.

AND HILLARY SPEAKS – From The Hill:  "Hillary Clinton called the protests and riots in Baltimore 'heartbreaking' during a speech at a campaign fundraiser in New York City.  'Baltimore is burning,' she said to donors to her presidential campaign.   'The tragic death of another young African-American man, the injuries to police officers, the burning of peoples’ homes and small businesses. We have to restore order and security. But then we have to take a hard look as to what we need to do to reform our system.'"  She's so profound, isn't she?  It's always the system at fault, or society at fault.  Individual criminals and their instigators are never at fault.  How convenient.

BERNIE IN – Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Dems, will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president later in the week.  Sanders identifies himself as a democratic socialist.  While I certainly don't share his politics, Sanders has always struck me as a man of personal integrity and commitment.  He will add some class to the Democratic nomination process, where it is much needed.

BALTIMORE DISGRACE – From AP:  "After a pair of postponements caused by rioting in Baltimore, the Orioles and Chicago White Sox will play Wednesday at Camden Yards in what is believed to be the first game without fans in major league baseball's 145-season history.  Because of the unsettled environment in Baltimore, where rioters burned a drug store and set police cars ablaze on Monday night, officials moved the game up five hours from its original 7:05 p.m. starting time and closed it to the public."  Maybe the rioters and looters who get caught should have their earnings subjected to a special tax for years to help pay for the economic damage they're doing.  

April 28, 2015       Permalink

BAD INVESTMENT ADVICE – AT 10:57 A.M. ET:  Whenever someone says "green energy," I advise friends to grab hold of their wallets and not let go.  And for good reason.  From Fox:   

It’s official, the Energy Department’s green energy loan program is actually expected to lose money despite media reports that such loans would net the government a profit.

The Government Accountability Office says the DOE’s oft-touted $28 billion loan program will cost taxpayers $2.21 billion over the lifetime of the loans. Not only that, the costs to taxpayers for green loans has risen about $500 million as “the result of loan guarantee defaults” from companies like Solyndra and Abound Solar.

The “credit subsidy cost of the loans and loan guarantees in its portfolio” is expected “to be $2.21 billion, including $807 million for loans that have defaulted,” GAO reports. “The fees DOE has collected have not been sufficient to cover all of its administrative expenses for the program” because the “fees on the current loan guarantees were too low to cover ongoing monitoring costs.”

This stands in sharp contrast to media reports from last year suggesting the DOE’s green loan program would net taxpayers $5 billion. Last year, the Washington Post’s Wonkblog ran with the headline, “Remember Solyndra? Those loans are making money.” The liberal news watchdog Media Matters exclaimed that “Solyndra Scandal-Mongering Hasn’t Stopped The Energy Dept’s Loan Program From Turning A Profit”

Such news stories came after a November 2014 DOE progress report saying it was on track to earn more than $5 billion in total interest payments. The DOE said it had earned $810 million in interest payments — outweighing the $780 million in estimated losses the loan program was expected to incur.

Of course, the DOE’s report did not include “credit subsidy costs” of the loans. When that’s taken into account, the DOE is projected to lose more than $2 billion.

COMMENT:  And where's the green energy?  I thought that by now the country would be running largely on spinach.  Or at least Green Giant peas.  We never get a break, do we?

Green energy, a noble goal, has proved to be far more complicated than we were told.  But you may be sure that a great deal of money, some of it the taxpayers', is changing hands in response to the green craze.  And I wonder how many campaign contributions are translated into "green energy loans" as thank-you's to heavy contributors.

April 28, 2015       Permalink

AND HE'S RIGHT – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:  The author of the new "Clinton Cash," which rips bare the Clintons' financial dealings, is under sustained attack from Clintonians.  He is fighting back, and he's correct.   From The Hill: 

The author of a controversial book that has sought to cast doubt on Hillary Clinton’s impartiality at the State Department, on Tuesday pushed back against criticism that Clinton Cash doesn’t include a “smoking gun” that directly proves the book’s allegations.

Peter Schweizer compared Clinton’s conduct to that of politicians in two high-profile corruption investigations—former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), who was convicted on corruption charges, and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who has been indicted on bribery charges.

“If you look at former governor of Virginia who was prosecuted, if you look at Sen. Menendez, there was no quid pro quo,” Schweizer said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.

“Yet, they were prosecuted because there were contribution or payments or gifts given to public officials with the perception or the belief that they were going to be given something in exchange,” he added.

Schweizer’s interview turned heated with pointed questions from “Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinski and former GOP Rep. Joe Scarborough (Fla.). Brzezinski accused Schweizer of timing the book around Clinton’s campaign kickoff, while Scarborough sided with Schweizer and said that there should be a further investigation into Clinton’s conduct.

Schweizer’s book argues that donations to the Clinton Foundation have influenced her conduct as secretary of State. He’s specifically targeted instances including the sale of mining interests to a Russian government agency and a change in policy on exporting nuclear technology to India.

But many Clinton allies have bashed the book as politically motivated and note that there’s never been direct evidence of any impropriety. Campaign spokesman Brian Fallon told The New York Times that accusations regarding the mining sale were “utterly baseless,” and the pro-Clinton rapid response group Correct the Record has released a number of fact sheets pushing back on the book’s claims.

COMMENT:  When standards are high, which they never are with the Clintons, the appearance of impropriety is considered very significant.  Throughout their careers the Clintons have regularly given that appearance of impropriety.  It is unlikely that we can absolutely prove illegal conduct, as they've become expert at covering their tracks.  But huge contributions to the Clinton Foundation (one was $31.1-million)
from elements that later got favorable treatment by the State Department raise major questions of propriety and national security.  And then, of course, we have Hillary's private server and the thousands of e-mails from that server that have been conveniently destroyed.

Hillary's defenders are becoming desperate.  An observer has to ask why one major political couple has been so consistently linked to apparently shady dealings.  It has gone on for years.  In this case the devil is not in the details.  It's in the way the Clintons live their lives, and the manner in which they've parlayed "public service" into a vast fortune.

We applaud the author.

April 28, 2015       Permalink

HORRIBLE – AT 9:23 A.M. ET:  We recall how two police officers in New York City were assassinated after Ferguson.  From the Washington Times: 

Law enforcement intelligence officials have put out a warning that someone has sent a text calling on people to kill “all white police officers” in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray while in Baltimore police custody, raising fears violence could spread nationally, according to safety memos obtained by The Washington Times.

Officers are being warned of possible ambushes and urged to change travel patterns and to tone down clothes or emblems that identify them as police.

The Baltimore police department separately put out a press release on Monday saying various gangs, including the Black Guerrilla Family, Bloods and Crips “have entered into a partnership to ‘take out’ law enforcement.”

A memo from the West Virginia Intelligence Fusion Center is more specific, saying the gangs’ targets are white officers. Its report quotes another memo from the Eastern Shore Information Center in Salisbury, Md.

“Law enforcement officers are reminded to remain vigilant when conducting traffic stops and in general contact with citizens,” says the West Virginia center, which monitors criminals.

The Eastern Shore center “officer safety bulletin” states that the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office received information from a citizen who received a text with a Chicago area code.

COMMENT:  We have anti-cop mayors in several cities, including New York.  The New York City Council is about to "de-criminalize" a number of offenses, despite the pleading of the police commissioner.

Welcome to the 1960s.  I hope that kids who've been taught that it was a glorious era of social protest are now seeing the reality.

April 28, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER GREAT PUBLIC SERVANT – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  We recall the revered mayor of New Orleans and governor of Louisiana during Katrina, and their zero performance; we reverently remember Mayor David Dinkins of New York, who ordered police to let rioters "vent" rather than confront them.  Why are we lucky enough to have such leaders?  Oh, and now we have another one in the firmament.  From Fox: 

“I wanted to give space to those who wished to destroy,” that is how Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake described her policy Saturday at a press conference. Her words, which effectively told police to stand down as those gathered to protest the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray smashed store windows, looted 7-Elevens and forced attendees at a Baltimore Oriole-Boston Red Sox baseball game to remain in the stadium because it wasn’t safe outside.

At a press conference on April 25 the mayor said, "“I made it very clear that I work with the police and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters were able to exercise their right to free speech. It’s a very delicate balancing act."

The major of Baltimore is a joke, and it's widely known.  Her concept of free speech makes Al Sharpton look like a pacifist.

The resulting violence escalated as flyers were distributed describing how the city was going to have a "purge" Monday styled after the movie of the same name where all laws were suspended for one night.

On Monday alone, seven police officers were injured with one reportedly "unresponsive." Looting is occurred in broad daylight with cars being torched and bottles, rocks and other large objects being hurled at officers at close range.

It all started on Saturday night when protests turned to violent riots in the area of the tourist heavy Inner Harbor area. Matt Boyle, a reporter for Breitbart News ended up being in the perimeter of the melee while going to attend a ballgame between the Boston Red Sox and the hometown Orioles. Boyle's live tweets of his observations of the mayhem described a dangerous, out-of-control situation that made him fear for his safety.

Boyle's later report described police standing passively by while a family trying to drive through the streets by Camden Yards found their car surrounded, windows smashed, passenger door pried open with the female passenger screaming in terror as the police observed. Fortunately, the attackers realized they were separated from the pack and chose to discontinue their assault without doing further harm.

COMMENT:   This is madness.  It is racial politics at its worst.  As the column goes on to say, this rioting may destroy Baltimore's growing tourist business, based on the development of the Inner Harbor.  How many jobs will be lost?  What race will lose the most?

April 28,  2015     Permalink

APRIL 27,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET:

SAD – From the New York Post:  "A Navy SEAL from Queens and another from Michigan died after a training accident in a swimming pool at a base in Virginia.  Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Seth Cody Lewis of Queens and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Brett Allen Marihugh of Livonia were found unresponsive Friday at the bottom of the Combat Swimming Training Facility at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story.  Lewis, 32, died Friday and Marihugh, 34, died Sunday, officials said."  A reminder that military service is inherently dangerous.  Even in peacetime we lose service people each year in training accidents and air crashes.  Their sacrifice must be respected.

DON'T GIVE UP – From Eli Lake at Bloomberg:  "The top ranking Republican in Congress privately acknowledged this weekend that his party doesn't have enough votes to overcome a veto of any resolution disapproving the nuclear-weapons deal President Barack Obama hopes to reach with Iran.  Speaking at an off-the-record event Saturday at the Republican Jewish Coalition's meeting in Las Vegas, House Speaker John Boehner told the audience that he didn't expect that more than two-thirds of Congress would vote to overturn a veto from Obama if Congress voted against a nuclear deal, according to four people who were inside the room for the private talk."   Pretty discouraging, but not something that should be said publicly.  All Boehner did was give the White House more of a free ride.  He surrendered before the fight even began.

OBAMA SOLID IN POLLS – It's hard to believe that Obama is actually doing reasonably well in the polls.  From the Washington Times:  "President Obama has reached Reagan-like levels of popularity in the twilight of his tenure, but analysts say his bounce can be attributed largely to the fact that he is fading into the political background as the next presidential race kicks into high gear and as Congress claims a surprising number of concrete legislative accomplishments.  Mr. Obama’s job approval rating stands at 46.4 percent, his highest mark in nearly two years, according to a recent Gallup survey. The figure puts him in the company of President Reagan, whose approval rating also hovered around 46 percent at the same point in his presidency.  Mr. Obama is far above President Bush, whose rating sunk to 35 percent during his 25th quarter in office. But Mr. Obama trails President Clinton, who held 64 percent approval ratings at this point in his term."  What are the American people thinking?  I guess that Obama is also helped by a kind of fanatical built-in constituency that will never abandon him. 

April 27, 2015     Permalink

WARNING ABOUT IRAN – AT 11:06 A.M. ET:  Published, surprisingly, in The New York Times.  Three people who know what they're writing about warn that the Iranians will not give up their ambitions simply because Barack Obama is smiling at them. 

Washington — The announcement last month of a preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran has led some to believe that Tehran will now enter the international system as a responsible actor. But such optimism ignores the fact that Iran’s current government still bears the imprint of a long imperial history and longstanding Persian regional ambitions.

Iran is a revolutionary power with hegemonic aspirations. In other words, it is a country seeking to assert its dominance in the region and it will not play by the rules. Yet, the Obama administration hopes a nuclear agreement will have a “transcendental effect” on Iran and convince it to abandon its imperial aspirations in return for a sense of normalcy.

And...

History offers few examples of bringing such powers into the international system. Revolutionary hegemonic powers combine the imperialist lust for “lebensraum” seen in Wilhelmine Germany with a religious or millennial worldview that rejects the principles of the classic international order.

In February 2013, Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader and the ultimate decision maker in areas of foreign and military policy, called the negotiations with the West a deceptive trick, proudly adding: “I am not a diplomat. I am a revolutionary.” Ayatollah Khamanei will blame Mr. Rouhani if the negotiations fail or move in a direction that he does not like. His legitimacy stems from the Iranian revolutionary project, and any compromise would be an admission that he does not believe in that narrative of world history.

Iran’s imperial ambitions are not new. Under the Safavids, the Shah and the mullahs alike, Tehran has vied for regional domination. Do not expect Iran to compromise its principles any time soon.

COMMENT:  Well worth reading, and well worth thinking about.  But does Obama really care?  He's done everything possible to advance Iran's interests.  But why?

April 27,  2015     Permalink

VIRGINIA WOBBLY FOR HILLARY – AT 10:24 A.M. ET:  A new poll in the critical purple state of Virginia shows the damage being done by the nonstop revelations about Hillary Clinton.  From the Washington Times: 

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida have separated themselves a bit from the rest of the 2016 GOP pack in the battleground state of Virginia, with Mr. Bush the only Republican to top former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in a head-to-head match-up as others inch closer to the Democratic frontrunner.

Mr. Bush sits atop the Republican field at 17 percent with Mr. Rubio at 16 percent, according to the poll released Monday by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

Next are New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at 10 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 7 percent apiece.

“The Republican field continues to be very fluid,” said Tom Kramer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy. “While there are no break-out candidates yet, we do see a sorting taking place, with Bush and Rubio emerging as top-tier candidates, and Christie, Paul, and Walker forming a solid second-tier.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was next at 6 percent.

Mr. Bush also leads Mrs. Clinton by 2 points, 48 percent to 46 percent, in a head-to-head match-up after trailing her by 5 points, 48 percent to 43 percent, in a February poll.

Mrs. Clinton leads several other GOP contenders, but the margins have narrowed considerably since February. She has faced questions over the private email system she used as secretary of state and questions over contributions to the Clinton Foundation as her presidential campaign geared up earlier this month.

COMMENT:  The name "Hillary" and the word "toast" are increasingly found in the same sentence.  But I'm not so sure.  The Clintons are powerful, and they preside over a party which has been very casual about corruption.  It is, after all, a party steeped in the legacy of big-city machines.

But the polls are another matter.  If they continue their path southward for Hillary, political reality may trump everything.  If that happens, get ready for a real mess.  I can't wait.

April 27, 2015        Permalink

THE FIRST SHOE DROPS – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:  Queen Hillary has said nothing about the current scandals, but her "people," the servants of the Court, are starting to react.  And there may be a bit of an acknowledgement that all the stuff that's come out about the Clintons may not be the product of the great right-wing conspiracy.  From Fox: 

The Clinton Foundation acknowledged Sunday that the nonprofit group “made mistakes” in IRS filings and defended its disclosure of controversial contributions from a Canadian financier, following days of intense public scrutiny about foundation finances.

“We made mistakes, as many organizations of our size do, but we are acting quickly to remedy them,” foundation executive Maura Pally wrote on the foundation website. “And [we] have taken steps to ensure they don't happen in the future.”

Ah, they have "taken steps."  People like this always "take steps."  And of course they "made mistakes," none of which would have been acknowledged had it not been for enterprising journalists who are digging up the corruption.

The donations were called into question last week by Peter Schweizer, author of the soon-to-be-released book “Clinton Cash.”

Schweizer found Canadian financier Frank Giustra gave $31.1 million to the foundation after a 2005 uranium-mine deal he made in Kazakhstan, with former President Clinton at his side. The deal eventually led to one that gave Russia access to U.S. uranium deposits.

An observer could logically conclude that $31.1 million is not a sum that one gives out of the goodness of his heart to a foundation that happens to be run by an influential political machine.

The concerns about the foundation’s contributions and finances are being raised as Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, makes a 2016 White House bid.

She also was secretary of state during other deals about which Schweizer has raised concerns.

COMMENT:  We have to ask what else will come out.  The Clintons are famously ambitious, with a history of pushing ethical boundaries well beyond their limits.  Why should we assume that we know everything already?

The standard Clinton technique is to play for time, hoping that the public forgets.  Many in the public do.  But Hillary has been a national figure for a quarter of a century.  I'm not sure she has any time left to enhance whatever is left of her public image.

April 27, 2015       Permalink

A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME – AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  Ukraine continues to smolder, while the West, once led by the United States, does little or nothing.  But now even the American military, weakened by Obama, is starting to request more powerful weapons in case the day of combat comes.  From Fox:

One of the last American combat units stationed in Europe is asking the government for bigger guns amid rising tensions over Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment is requesting that 81 of its 8-wheel-drive Stryker infantry carrier vehicles be equipped with 30-mm. automatic cannons -- double the caliber of the 12.7-mm. guns they already carry, the military news website Breaking Defense reports.

The House Armed Services committee is already setting aside money for the upgrade, which the Army approved Wednesday, according to a memo obtained by the website.

The upgraded cannons would give the Strykers added firepower against other light-armored vehicles.

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany, had been deployed to the Baltic States to deter aggression following Russia’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea region, Breaking Defense reports.

NATO's chief on Thursday reported a sizeable Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine that he said would enable pro-Moscow separatists to launch a new offensive with little warning.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has substantially stepped up supplies to the rebels, as well as providing them with advanced training and equipment like drones, despite a cease-fire.

Making an accusation of their own, Russian officials said U.S. military instructors were training Ukrainian national guardsmen in urban fighting techniques in the same eastern regions where Ukrainian forces and separatists have been fighting for the past year.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department rejected the Russian claim of U.S. trainers in eastern Ukraine, saying all the activity was in western Ukraine near the border with Poland.

COMMENT:  Putin, who sees himself as a kind of new czar, will not give up Russia's grand ambitions.  Does Obama understand this?  Does he care, or does he still have a soft spot in his heart for the old Soviet Union?  That question should be asked seriously by the mainstream media, but don't hold your breath.

April 27,  2015     Permalink