Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

AUGUST 2,  2014

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

NEW WEAPON – Hat tip to Banafsheh Zand.  From viralsoil.com:  "On Wednesday, about 200 South Koreans attached thousands of chocolate snacks to 50 giant balloons and released into North Korea after Pyongyang reportedly banned the coveted treats from the country earlier this month. The pies, which have become popular among hungry North Koreans, are considered as a symbol of capitalism and represent a cultural impact that might encourage an uprising.  'We will continue to send Choco Pie by balloons because it is still one of the most favorite foodstuffs in North Korea,' said Choo Sun-Hee, one of the organisers of Wednesday’s balloon launch."  I hear rumors that Michelle Obama has asked that more nutritious and lower-calorie snacks be sent in the future.

I LOVE IT – From The Hill:  "The partisan fight over the southern border crisis got feistier Friday night when House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and GOP Rep. Tom Marino (Pa.) got into a heated spat on the chamber floor.  Pelosi had just finished speaking, and Marino was next at the podium across the aisle, when the two exchanged words about who's at fault for the recent influx of child migrants at the southern border.  Marino suggested Pelosi should bear some of the blame because the Democrats never enacted immigration reform during her tenure as speaker. Breaking floor protocol, he addressed Pelosi directly and urged her to do her research on the subject.  'I did the research on it,' he said. 'You might want to try it. You might want to try it, Madam Leader.'  The remarks didn't sit well with Pelosi, who waited until Marino was finished speaking and then crossed the aisle to confront him directly."  Nothing really happened, though.  Heroic Democrats intervened and walked Nancy back to her side of the aisle.

UNDERWATER – "After years of bitter court battles with creditors, Argentina has defaulted on its debt, according to rating agency Standard & Poor's. After failing to come to an agreement with creditors from its previous default in 2001, the country missed necessary bond payments on July 31, triggering the default announcement....Argentina is not the only country that has struggled, or even failed, to pay its debt in recent years. It is hardly the only country with a severely impaired credit rating either. Alongside Argentina, Moody's currently lists 10 other countries with a rating of Caa1 or worse. A Caa1 rating is several notches below Ba1, which still carries substantial credit risk. Based on ratings from Moody's Investors Service, these are the 11 countries at risk of default.  The countries with the lowest credit ratings significantly differ from one another. They span the globe, ranging from Greece and Ukraine in Europe, to Pakistan in Asia, to Ecuador, Venezuela, and Belize in the Americas."

CORRECTION – In a recent "Short Takes" I incorrectly identified the popular climate site, wattsupwiththat.com, as British.  Reader Mark Leigh accurately notes that it's American.

August 2, 2014       Permalink

DR. CARSON OPERATES – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:  I must say that, for a guy with no political experience, Dr. Ben Carson is moving ahead with skill.  I still have my doubts that he can pull off a national campaign the first time around, but he might make a terrific vice-presidential candidate.  From the Washington Times: 

Ben Carson, the former neurosurgeon turned conservative sensation, is taking a major step toward a 2016 presidential bid by forming a political action committee and selecting the man who would run his campaign, The Washington Times has learned.

Emerging from two-days of meetings with supporters in Palm Beach, Fla., Dr. Carson told the Times on Friday morning he has selected Houston businessman Terry Giles to be his 2016 campaign chairman should he run and approved the formation of a PAC called One Nation.

“Now is the time to start all of the appropriate exploration and investigation, and put down the structure that is necessary,” Dr. Carson said in a phone interview.

The guy gets it.  You need a well-structured battle plan.

Asked about the likelihood he will run for president in 2016, Dr. Carson said: “I would say we are definitely a step or two closer than we were a year ago.”

He said the outcome of the 2014 elections in which Republicans are trying to seize control of the Senate would be a major factor, and that his new PAC would try to support candidates with similar viewpoints as his.

“Obviously we are very interested in what happens in November,” he said. “And if the people also continue to show strong desire for me to run, obviously that would be an important factor too.”

“In the meantime, we will focus our attention on helping those candidates who understand the change we need in our nation, and how to lead toward the healing our of nation,” he said.

Dr. Carson, a popular Washington Times columnist, huddled for two days with about two dozen prominent strategists, potential fund-raisers and supporters in Palm Beach to study all of the “ramifications of a run and make sure all of that is fully understood.”

Among those attending the private meetings were Mr. Giles, TV and radio personality Armstrong Williams, and political email and fund-raising strategist Mike Murray. During the strategy sessions, Dr. Carson asked Mr. Giles, a friend for over two deacdes, to serve as his campaign chairman if he runs.

COMMENT:  Hey, you never know.  Carson's big problem in the past has been his tendency to fall into gaffes.  But he also strikes me as a very disciplined man, a learner.  I haven't heard of any recent gaffes. 

He is African-American.  A Republican African-American candidate might well wreak havoc with the Democratic Party, which depends heavily on the "black vote" to win presidential elections. 

Just keep watching.  The 2016 race is getting interesting.  But as Carson says, much depends on what happens this November.

August 2, 2014       Permalink

PENTAGON WANTS MORE INVOLVEMENT IN UKRAINE – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  Remember Ukraine?  That's that place...  Well, remember the airliner shot down about 400 news cycles ago?  Yeah, that's the place.

We tend to forget crises that take longer to develop than it takes to melt a dish of Breyer's chocolate chip.   But the Pentagon sees Ukraine as urgent, and wants to send more American assets.  From The Hill: 

The Pentagon announced Friday that the U.S. wants to send troops to train Ukrainian forces next year as the country faces continued aggression from pro-Russia separatists.

According to the plan, which must be approved by Congress, soldiers stationed in Europe or from the California National Guard would train and equip four companies and one tactical headquarters of the Ukrainian national guard.

The effort would help "build their capacity for internal defense," said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby.

The training would take place inside Ukraine at an international peacekeeping and security center, he said.

"It's an area where we do multilateral exercises. It's an area that we're familiar with," said Kirby, though he did not specify how many troops would be going.

"Our intent is to use $19 million in Global Security [Contingency] Fund authority. That's what the authority's for," Kirby said, referring to a fund shared by the Defense and State departments for security and counterterrorism training programs.

The move comes as more Democrats and Republicans in Congress have increased calls for U.S. assistance to Ukrainian forces in the face of continuing support from Russia for Ukrainian separatists.

The U.S. and the European Union announced a new round of sanctions toward Russia this week and have focused on providing non-lethal support for the Ukrainian forces, such as packaged meals, sleeping mats, medical equipment, radios, helmets and other gear.

COMMENT:  Again, lack of leadership has resulted in a worsening of the situation in Ukraine.  Putin is determined, after absorbing Crimea, to increase Russian control over, at least, parts of Ukraine.  Our response has been too slow, too lethargic, too weak. 

Russia is trying to expand its empire once again.  If we nip this bad dream in the bud by helping former Soviet satellites to resist, we might get out of this whole, without firing a shot.  But it seems too little, too late.

True, Europe has increased its sanctions on Russia, but Europe is reluctant to do more.  It sees Russia as a rising power it doesn't want to overly antagonize, and it can no longer be sure of a strong America at its back.

August 2, 2014       Permalink

PATHETIC – AT 11:04 A.M. ET:  Rarely has an American president sounded so weak and directionless.  I think the last pathetic time was when Jimmy Carter delivered his famous "malaise" speech from the White House in the late 70s, saying that Americans were stuck in a great malaise, but never blaming himself.  He also wore a tie that was much too long.

Now Obama weighs in with his observation about American power.  From The Wire: 

America can't do it all.

That was the overarching message from a somber and occasionally weary-sounding President Barack Obama as he briefed reporters Friday on a cascade of global crises.

"Apparently, people have forgotten that America, as the most powerful country on earth, still does not control everything around the world," the president said in response to a question from veteran CBS reporter Bill Plante about whether the U.S. – and Obama himself – had lost influence in the world.

Topping the list of affronts to world peace on Friday was the deteriorating situation in the Middle East after a 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed "almost minutes," in Obama's words, after it began.

COMMENT:  No, Mr. President, America can't do it all.  No nation can.  But America can lead, and when it leads decisively, and sustains that lead, we seem to do pretty well. 

You, sir, refuse to lead, not that I'd necessarily want a leader with your regressive ideas.  You also are cutting American defense to the point that a study panel concluded just this week that we can no longer carry out our obligations. 

You are not a liberal, you are a leftist.  You oppose American leadership because you think America does ill in the world, not good.  Like most leftists, you never look at results, only ideology.  In a parliamentary system, you'd be ripe for removal. 

August 2,  2014     Permalink

AUGUST 1,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:31 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR HUMAN-RIGHTS NEWS – From the Washington Times:  "The United Nations slammed Israel for possibly committing war crimes in its fight against Hamas — and then backed that accusation by suggesting the Jewish nation ought to be sharing its Iron Dome defensive technology with the very terror group it’s fighting.  U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said to members of the media at an 'emergency' meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council that Israel was falling short in its duty to protect citizens in the Gaza Strip from getting killed by its rockets."  You know, that's not a bad idea.  Let's share our nuclear weapons with any country that asks for them, just to be fair.  This is why the UN's high commissioner for human rights isn't taken seriously...outside the UN.

FRANKEN IN TROUBLE? – One-time comedian and now Democratic U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota is running for re-election this year in a traditionally Democratic state.  But he may be running into trouble, thanks in part to the unpopularity of President Obama.  From National Journal: "The U.S Chamber of Commerce will be endorsing GOP businessman Mike McFadden in the Minnesota Senate race, the latest sign Republicans view Democratic Sen. Al Franken as increasingly vulnerable.  'I'm honored to have their endorsement. They know Minnesota is a state we can win,' McFadden said in an interview about the pending endorsement...The Minnesota Senate race is emerging as potentially competitive, despite receiving less attention than other battleground contests. This week, University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato moved the Franken race into the 'Leans Democratic' category, calling it a potential sleeper contest. Unlike other targeted Democratic senators in 2014, Franken has maintained a solidly liberal voting record, rarely breaking with President Obama on high-profile issues."  Franken only won by a whisker the first time around.

GOOD FOR HER! – From Fox:  "For Caroline Jansen, becoming the first mother to fly with the Air Force Thunderbirds is a 'dream come true,' more than two decades after seeing the flight demonstration team as a child.  Jensen, of River Falls, Wis., is the first female reserve officer to fly with the Thunderbirds, the aerobatic squadron of the U.S. Air Force. The daughter of a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam, Jensen has spent the last five years as a reservist and is now readying to perform with the elite unit this weekend in Oshkosh, the Journal Sentinel reports.  'For me, this is a dream come true,' the Air Force major told the Journal Sentinel. 'Who wouldn’t want to perform at Oshkosh? It’s kind of like playing at Carnegie Hall.'"  A true role model.  I hope many young girls show up to watch.

HOW RUSSIA SEES OBAMA – From London's Telegraph:  "One Russian leader has made it very clear what the Kremlin thinks of the US in a tweet mocking their president’s masculinity.  In a strange display of one upmanship, deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin posted a picture on his Twitter account of President Vladimir Putin petting a leopard next to one of Mr Obama holding a fluffy poodle, with the caption 'we have different values and allies.'  The post, which was meant as a dig at the US President’s unequal manly status, was retweeted more than 600 times in two hours." 

August 1, 2014       Permalink

SMART LADIES – AT 9:47 A.M. ET:  As we all know, the Republicans are waging a war on women.  Nancy Pelosi says so.  And each day we get reports of Republican anti-woman guerrillas storming women's soccer teams and breaking into single-sex schools.  Those Republicans will never learn.

Of course, it's a scam.  And in one state, at least, women are catching on to the "war on women," theme, and they don't buy it.  From the Washington Times: 

DENVER — The Democrats’ “war on women” strategy may resonate with liberals, but it’s losing ground with crucial female swing voters in Colorado, said a poll released this week.

A whopping 77 percent of women voters surveyed agree that they “clearly see through the so-called Democrat ‘War on Women’ messaging strategy,” according to Magellan Strategies in Louisville, Colorado.

The poll also found that 67 percent of those surveyed “do not fear a government bureaucrat taking birth control away from them, but what they fear are politicians using the issue of ‘access to birth control’ as a political tactic to scare them into voting a certain way.’”

The survey was conducted on behalf of the right-leaning Colorado Women’s Alliance, but those polled weren’t dedicated Republicans. The June 3-4 poll contacted 500 women identified as registered independents, Republican-leaning independents, and “soft” Republican voters.

CWA Executive Director Debbie Brown said the poll asked women “what is on their hearts and minds, and it is not women’s reproductive rights.”

“Women — working women, single moms, college students, grandmothers — are worried about the rising cost of living and the tremendous uncertainty in the job market,” said Ms. Brown in a statement. “Women are not single-issue voters. What real women want to talk about is the issues that touch their lives.”

COMMENT:  The "war on women" idea is genuinely ugly, and nothing more than a political ploy.  There is no war on women.  Except maybe the war on conservative women that we see on college campuses and in the national discussion of abortion.

August 1, 2014       Permalink

OUR CRUMBLING DEFENSES – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:  You'd think, given what's happening in the world, that America would be building her defenses.  Don't be silly.  We're doing exactly the opposite, and the warning lights are on.  From ace defense reporter Bill Gertz, at the Washington Free Beacon: 

The Obama administration’s four-year defense strategy lacks funding needed for fulfilling global military missions and the U.S. military faces “high risk” in the world unless changes are made, according to a bipartisan report by a congressionally backed panel of defense experts.

The report by the National Defense Panel, led by former Defense Secretary William Perry and retired Marine Corps Gen. John Abizaid, criticized the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review for outlining military responsibilities that cannot be met because of sharp defense funding cuts.

The report concluded that the capabilities called for in the QDR “clearly exceed the budget resources made available to the department.”

“This gap is disturbing if not dangerous in light of the fact that global threats and challenges are rising, including a troubling pattern of territorial assertiveness and regional intimidation on China’s part, [and] the recent aggression of Russia in Ukraine.”

Other threats include nuclear proliferation by North Korea and Iran, the ultra-violent Islamist insurgency in Iraq and civil war in Syria, along with growing unrest throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

“These are among the trends that mandate increased defense funding,” the report said.

Other trends that require growing military capabilities include the rapid expansion of lethal military technologies by states and non-state groups and the rise of military powers in Asia, along with demographic shifts and heated competition for scarce natural resources.

COMMENT:  Let's face it.  This president isn't all that interested.  And I must say, to be fair, that some Republicans are becoming part of the problem.  Traditionally the modern party of national defense, the current GOP has a growing isolationist wing, wary of intervention, pursuing an almost McGovernite view of the world – "Come home America." 

Isolationism never works.  It's one-sided.  We withdraw, but our enemies don't.  It's a short-term solution to a long-term problem, and a solution that leads to disaster.  Yes, of course, we should be cautious about intervention or involvement, choosing our causes carefully.  But if other nations get the idea that we're crawling back under our shell, they will start drifting toward our enemies, if only for self-preservation.

August 1,  2014     Permalink

A FAMILIAR NAME – AGAIN – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Americans know the name "Benghazi."  It's back in the news, and the news isn't good.  From the Washington Times:   

TRIPOLI, Libya — Fighting in Libya escalated Thursday as Islamic militias claimed to control the country’s second-largest city, Benghazi, while foreigners and U.N. workers continued their exodus in what increasingly is looking like a full-blown civil war.

The Islamic hard-liners’ announcement in Benghazi marked a defeat for the forces of renegade Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who for months has pursued a self-declared campaign to stamp out armed militant groups. Once firmly in control of the eastern port city, Gen. Hifter’s troops now appear to hold only the airport on Benghazi’s outskirts.

The militants who overran the city belong to a new umbrella group called the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries that includes Ansar al-Shariah, the al Qaeda-inspired group accused by the U.S. of leading the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on a diplomatic facility and CIA annex that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

“We are the only force on the ground in Benghazi,” a commander of one of the coalition’s factions told The Associated Press on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

COMMENT:  Another famous victory for Field Marshal Obama and Grand Admiral Kerry.  If we had a parliamentary system, Obama would be history by now.

August 1, 2014       Permalink

GAZA BULLETIN – AT 8:18 A.M. ET:  The planned 72-hour ceasefire that went into effect overnight has broken down.

Israel charges that a Hamas unit attacked Israeli troops who were clearing a tunnel, and that a suicide bomber among the Hamas personnel struck, killing two IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers and – this is very important – then abducted an Israeli lieutenant.   Abduction of a soldier has an electric effect in Israel and this act, if confirmed, will escalate the conflict, not ease it.  Also, the use of a suicide bomber has profound psychological effect both in Israel and the United States.  Recall that the 9-11 attacks that struck this country were suicide attacks.

This is really bad stuff.  There'd been a chance that the 72-hour ceasefire could be extended.  Now all hope is shattered, at least temporarily.

At the same time, peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian factions, scheduled to begin today in Cairo under Egyptian auspices, have apparently been canceled.

I don't know how this Humpty Dumpty gets put back together without the release of the Israeli soldier, which is highly unlikely.

It's hour by hour in Gaza.  Things are changing very rapidly. 

August 1, 2014       Permalink