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AUGUST 8,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:41 P.M. ET: 

HISPANICS RANK IMMIGRATION LOW – This will come as a surprise to some politicians.  From Breitbart:  "Immigration is only the 6th-most-important issue for Latino voters in California when casting a vote for a candidate for U.S. Senator or for U.S. Congress, according to a statewide survey conducted by Univision.   When registered Latino voters were asked to name their most important issues, the results, in order, were: education (21%), jobs (16%), government spending and the deficit (15%), social security (13%), "how what they do will affect my wallet" (10%), health care (9%), immigration (8%), and crime and personal safety (5%).  An overwhelming 86% of those surveyed support comprehensive immigration reform. However, a majority--53%--of registered Latino voters in California also answered that they believe that, “…we should require borders to be secured before providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants."  Furthermore, when asked, “Which of the following is your major concern or complaint about the Republican Party?” only ten percent of those surveyed named Republican opposition to immigration reform."  White liberals will now denounce Hispanics as not liberal enough.

GRIM IN IRAQ – From Fox:  "BAGHDAD – Hundreds of women from the Yazidi religious minority have been taken captive by Sunni militants with 'vicious plans,' an Iraqi official said Friday, further underscoring the dire plight of Iraq's minorities at the hands of the Islamic State group.  Kamil Amin, the spokesman for Iraq's Human Rights Ministry, said hundreds of Yazidi women below the age of 35 are being held in schools in Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. He said the ministry learned of the captives from their families."  Please note the silence of "women's rights" groups.  Unless something is done by a Western democracy, they're just not interested.  I just think that many of these groups, which are usually dominated by the militant left, have lost any credibility.

OUR LIMITED STRIKES – The United States did launch some air strikes today against limited targets in Iraq.  However, a growing number of experts and pseudo-experts are warning that these are pinpricks against ISIS, a powerful and skilled military force representing the worst of Islamic extremism.  Our planes were carrier-based, from the USS George H.W. Bush, which is our newest operational carrier.  The very newest is the USS Gerald Ford, the first ship of her class, which is under construction.  Commentators are wondering if Field Marshal Obama has a strategy here.  He says his first objective is to stop a genocide and protect American training cadres on the ground.  What then?  Do we withdraw our aircraft and let ISIS run all over Iraq?  There doesn't seem to be any long-term objective, which is what got us into trouble in Iraq in the first place.  Islamic extremists of all kinds are watching carefully, planning for our exit from Afghanistan.

August 8, 2014       Permalink 

LAMAR TRIUMPHS – AT 11:09 A.M. ET:  Veteran Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has defeated his Tea Party primary opponent and will have the Republican nomination when he runs for a new term in November.  From ABC:

Incumbent Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander won his primary tonight, defeating tea party challenger state Rep. Joe Carr in the Republican primary. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Alexander bested Carr 49.7 percent to 40.5 percent, according to the Associated Press. This was a tighter than expected final outcome. Self-funding candidate and Memphis radio station owner George Flinn came in with 5.2 percent and there were four other lesser-known challengers.

This race marked the tea party’s last best chance to beat an incumbent senator and with Alexander’s victory, it marks the end of months of trying, as well as millions of dollars spent, to oust a sitting senator by an insurgent intra-party challenger. They tried in Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, and earlier this week in Kansas, but came up short each time.

Despite the effort and dollars spent, this will be the first cycle since 2008 when no incumbent GOP senator has lost a re-nomination fight. Unlike many of those other races, this one didn’t get the support of several outside conservative groups like the Senate Conservatives Fund, which pledged to toss out incumbent senators in other races but were unsuccessful.

COMMENT:  Now the Tea Party should unite behind the Republican candidates, show that it is a team player, and that it wants to be an asset, not a spoiler.  It can come back to fight another day, but only if it doesn't damage Republicans in their fight against Democrats.

August 8, 2014       Permalink

THE INDISPENSABLE NATION – AT 10:46 A.M. ET:  Europe saw American strength with George W. Bush.  There was much whining, and complaining, especially from the fashionable European left.  One German politician compared Bush to Hitler.  In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair was called "Bush's poodle."   With Obama's election, Europe felt vindicated.  Here was Barack, come to save us.  Peaceful, culturally appropriate Barack.

So now they've seen Barack in office, and the rethinking has begun.  The Europeans and Brits look around and wonder who has their back.  This is American weakness, and, y'know, a strong America doesn't look so bad after all.  From Dan Hodges, a loyalist of the Labour Party, in London's Telegraph.  He gets in the usual leftist stuff, but the overall message is clear:   

God bless America. Following the announcement last night by Barack Obama that the United States is about to resume military operations in Iraq, it appears the Yazidi will not now be killed with their families. There is also hope that Iraq’s other minorities may face some form of protection from their persecutors.

It’s an announcement that won’t be welcomed by everyone. The old charges of US adventurism and imperialism will be trotted out. And with some historic justification. Iraq is after all the scene of the United States most catastrophic foreign policy misjudgement.

“It’s not the job of the US to act as the world’s policeman,” some people will cry. Again, with some legitimacy. Chile, Cuba, Panama, Vietnam, Iraq. The post-war Pax Americana casts a long shadow.
But if events of the past few months have shown us anything, it’s surely this. There is only one thing worse than the United States acting as the world’s policeman. And that’s the United States not acting as the world’s policeman.   

COMMENT:  And that's a lefty point of view, believe it or not.  The saner voices on the right probably came to that overall conclusion a long time ago.  

And, you may be sure, the left will return to its usual America-bashing before the end of next week.  The party line is always preserved.

The results of a strong America were clear to see when the Berlin Wall came down.  We're seeing the results of a weak America right now.

August 8, 2014       Permalink 

SOME TRUTH TELLIN' – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:   Newt Gingrich, who's still one of the smartest guys around, appeared on TV this morning to engage in the telling of the truth.   This is not always welcome in the mainstream media.  But here he is, from Mediaite, in our quote of the day:

This morning on New Day, Newt Gingrich came on to discuss Barack Obama‘s proposal to combat ISIS in Iraq — and, judging by his response, thinks that Obama isn’t recognizing that this is a problem of “radical Islam.”

“Nobody wants to tell the truth,” he complained. “The truth is this is a radical Islamist group. They say openly if you don’t convert, we’ll kill you. It turns out they actually mean it. There’s no complexity…The president couldn’t even honestly describe ISIS last night because it goes against his ideology.”

And, just to be clear, that ideology is that ISIS “has a very clear religious background, just as Hamas does, just as Boko Haram does. There’s a war against Christians across the region, and the fact is that we’ve got to be prepared to be honest about this,” he told CNN’s New Day.

“Nobody in the American State Department, nobody in the White House, not just Obama, but for three or four administrations, we’ve not had the courage to confront how bad this is, and it’s getting worse.”

COMMENT:  Newt is correct.   Too many people prefer not to see, and it extends beyond liberals.   The Bush family is well connected to Saudi Arabia.  It has been widely reported that the Clintons derive income from some of the Gulf states.

And of course our college-trained journalists are drunk on multiculturalism.  After all, who are we to question other cultures? 

We've not been well served.  As Newt says, the problem of radical Islam is getting worse.  And, still, too many won't speak the truth.

August 8, 2014       Permalink

A NEW REALITY – AT 9:04 A.M. ET:  A funny thing happened to President Obama on his way to a second Nobel Peace Prize.  He got back into Iraq.  Once again, the wisdom of the faculty lounge failed him.

Last night he announced humanitarian aid to trapped Christians in Iraq – finally noticing that there are trapped Christians in the world.  He also said there would be some air strikes, when needed, to protect American training personnel in Iraq and to protect, to some degree, Iraqis.  These actions come a year too late.  From CNN, just in: 

U.S. military aircraft have conducted a strike on ISIS artillery that had been used near Irbil, Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said Friday on Twitter.

President Barack Obama on Thursday gave authorization to launch "targeted airstrikes" if needed to protect U.S. interests from fighters with the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS.
The U.S. military could also use airstrikes to intervene in a humanitarian crisis that the Islamic State is inflicting on a religious minority.

The Islamic State moved closer to U.S. interests in Iraq's Kurdish region in the north this week, taking towns from the Kurdish fighting force, known as the Peshmerga.

Before the Islamic State's onslaught, the region had been the most stable in Iraq and a cooperative ally of the United States. U.S. military advisers and consular personnel are stationed in the Kurdish capital, Irbil.

COMMENT:  The administration announced there would be no U.S. troops on the ground, another blunder.  Why tell an enemy what you're not going to do?  But this administration puts politics first, and Obama was protecting his political base.

Obviously, we hope that some good comes of this.  There is terrible oppression of Christians in the Muslim world, but this is the first time Obama has chosen to notice.  The question is whether we will do enough to make a difference, or engage in tokenism, only to see our friends overrun in the end.

We go out of Iraq badly, under the direction of Field Marshal Obama.  This is what we've gotten.  The whole world is watching.

August 8,  2014     Permalink

AUGUST 7,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:55 P.M. ET: 

OBAMA MOVES ON IRAQ – Finally, a decision.  President Obama gave authorization tonight for air strikes in Iraq.  From The New York Times:  "President Obama said he had directed United States military forces to conduct targeted airstrikes on Islamic militants if they move to take Erbil, in northern Iraq, threatening the American citizens and military personnel there.  And he said that, at the request of the Iraqi government, he has authorized the military to help provide humanitarian assistance to Iraqi citizens, many of them religious minorities, who are trapped on a mountain."  Much too late, much too late.  I don't know if this will do any good.  The Islamist extremists (ISIS) are making enormous progress hour by hour.

CEASEFIRE DEADLINE – The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ends at 1 a.m. ET.  Israel has offered to extend it unconditionally, Hamas has thus far refused.  If the deadline comes with no agreed extension, look for Israel to announce that it will still honor the ceasefire and to say something like, "We will not be the ones to fire the first shot."  That will leave the ball in Hamas's court.  The question is whether Hamas will want to bear the stigma of renewing the war.  The key player is Egypt, which will put much heat on Hamas to extend.

FAILURE IN CHICAGO – From CNN:  "In yet another sign of the gravity of Chicago's violent crime problem, 40 Illinois State Police officers will soon hit the streets in beleaguered neighborhoods.  The officers represent an expansion of a partnership between Chicago Police and the Illinois State Police.   'Earlier this year I told (Chicago) Mayor (Rahm) Emanuel we would help in any way we could to combat violence in the city. When he requested assistance, I immediately agreed to help,' Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said in a press release announcing the move."  What an admission of failure.  New York didn't need state troopers to reduce its murder rate by 80%.  The problem lies in Chicago politics – the constant genuflecting before local "leaders" so they'll cooperate with some program.  Rudy Giuliani bypassed the black leaders and installed effective, modern policing.  That did the job.  And when Ray Kelly, New York's legendary police commissioner, appeared at black churches, he got standing ovations.  There are no ovations, standing or sitting, in Chicago.

OBAMA LOSING ON THE ISSUES – From Breitbart:  "Although you wouldn’t know it from the lack of media coverage, or even the AP's own write-up of the poll (which gives new meaning to the phrase "buried lead"), a new Associated Press-GfK poll offers nothing but harrowing news for Democrats and the media who love them.  Buried in the 'pox on both houses' rhetoric we're hearing from the media, what you will find in a little place I like to call Reality are the actual numbers, which show consequential movement toward the GOP on almost every issue voters are most concerned with.   On the question of who voters would rather see win control of Congress, since May, Democrats have lost a 6-point 31-37% advantage. Both parties are now tied at 33% -- a full 6 point shift towards the GOP in just 6 weeks..  Since May, on the issue of handling the economy, the public has moved 4 points towards the GOP: a 25-27% advantage has now grown to 30-24%. On the federal budget, the GOP is up a full 5 points, 28-23%. On healthcare, the GOP has cut the Democrats advantage from 8 to just 5 points, 27-32%."  Good progress, but we're still not home by any means.  These gains must be translated into actual votes on election day.

August 7, 2014       Permalink

RISING THREAT TO IRAQI CHRISTIANS – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  One of the world's oldest Christian communities is in growing jeopardy in Iraq.  Notice the world's interest.  From AFP, the French news agency: 

Jihadists seized Iraq's largest Christian town and surrounding areas Aug. 7, sending tens of thousands of panicked residents fleeing in what is being called a humanitarian disaster, officials and witnesses said.

The onslaught saw the Sunni extremist Islamic State (IS) extend its writ over northern Iraq and move within striking distance of autonomous Kurdistan, in one of the most dramatic developments of the two month-old conflict.

IS militants moved into Qaraqosh and other towns overnight after the withdrawal of Kurdish peshmerga troops, who are stretched thin across several fronts, residents said.

"Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh have been emptied of their original population and are now under the control of the militants," Joseph Thomas, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah, told AFP.

Entirely Christian Qaraqosh is lies between Mosul, the jihadists' main hub in Iraq, and Arbil, the Kurdish region's capital. It usually has a population of around 50,000.

Tal Kayf, the home of a significant Christian community as well as members of the Shabak Shiite minority, also emptied overnight. "Tal Kayf is now in the hands of the Islamic State. They faced no resistance and rolled in just after midnight," said Boutros Sargon, a resident who fled and was reached by phone in Arbil.

"I heard some gunshots last night and, when I looked outside, I saw a military convoy from the Islamic State... shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest)."

Pope Francis urged the international community to protect Iraq's Christians, who have emigrated en masse over the past decade as a result of successive waves of violence.

Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako, who heads Iraq's largest Christian denomination, said the overnight offensive had displaced 100,000 Christians.

"This is a humanitarian disaster. The churches are occupied, their crosses were taken down," he told AFP, adding that 1,500 manuscripts had been burnt.

COMMENT:  Where are the fraudulent leftists who, during American military action in that country, always whined loudly about the "peaceful people of Iraq"? 

The UN around?

Amnesty International?

What about MSNBC?

National Council of Churches?

America or Israel didn't do it, so therefore it ain't happenin'.

Sickening, really.

August 7, 2014       Permalink

NEW GAZA PLAN – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:  There is actually some thoughtful work going on to try to deal with the future of Gaza.  Looks like Israel is willing to participate.  The issue is the nutgroup known as Hamas, which is threatening to resume the war tomorrow.  From Times of Israel: 

Britain, France and Germany presented Israel Wednesday with a plan for the rehabilitation of Gaza, which calls for the Strip’s demilitarization but at the same time demands Israel ease the blockade of the coastal enclave.

The initiative was presented to National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen and senior Foreign Ministry officials, who, sources say, are inclined to work with the Europeans on its implementation.

In a two-page document, the three countries, known as E3, acknowledge Israel’s security concerns and support its goal of demilitarizing Gaza, but at the same time insist that to enable the Strip’s proper “rebuilding and stabilizing,” the restrictions placed on the free movement of people and goods need to be eased. The status quo as it existed prior to Operation Protective Edge is no longer tenable, the E3 argue.

The core of the proposal, which is written in vague terms, calls for the creation of an international mechanism that would better monitor goods entering and exiting Gaza. This mechanism would verify that materials such as iron and cement brought into the Strip not reach Hamas and other terrorist groups, which are thought likely to use them for military purposes.

On the other hand, the E3 paper also requires Israel to allow Gazans more freedom of movement and more access to the outside world so that they can revive their economy. It also calls for an internationally supervised mechanism to enable maritime trade and demands Gazans be given more than three miles of offshore fishing rights. (In March 2013, after rockets were fired at Sderot, Israel reduced the zone allowed for offshore fishing to three miles, after it had been raised to six as part of the 2012 ceasefire agreement following Operation Pillar of Defense.)

COMMENT:  I just have the sense that this proposal will make progress.  It's one of those "something for everyone" proposals that can get a serious negotiation going.

Obviously, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas must go along.  I'm sure Egypt has already been consulted.  It's the key Arab player.  The PA will probably buy in.  But then there's Hamas.  They've shown a great ability to commit suicide, but no other ability has been demonstrated.  Let us hope.

August 7, 2014        Permalink

IMMIGRATION TENSIONS – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Unless we come from Native American families, we all have immigrant histories.  Immigration into the United States has always had its controversial aspects, and, while some immigrants have been welcomed, others have been greeted with hostility.  We tend to forget that a wave of anti-Catholic sentiment greeted immigrants from Ireland and Italy in the 1800s, leading to anti-Catholic political movements.  It wasn't always a smooth trip.

Today the issue is the legality of immigration.  The earlier immigrants came under specific laws and rules.  Today we have the dilemma of dealing with immigrants coming across our southern border without going through our lawful procedures.  Americans are reacting, according to polls, with anger.  The whole situation is negative for the country.  From The Hill:   

A majority of people in the United States say undocumented immigrants threaten their way of life and even the economy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday.

Seventy percent said they believe these illegal immigrants threaten U.S. customs and beliefs. Eighty-six percent of Republicans hold that belief.

Nearly two-thirds said illegal immigrants are a burden on the nation’s economy, the poll found.

The survey found 45 percent said the number of immigrants entering the country legally should be reduced while 17 percent said more should be allowed to come. Thirty-eight percent said the current flow of legal immigration should remain the same.

More people in New England oppose illegal immigration compared to the rest of the country, the poll said. Nearly 80 percent of people in that region said undocumented immigrants threaten U.S. beliefs and customs.

The survey comes as the Obama administration mulls what President Obama could do to act unilaterally to change the immigration system since Congress has failed to agree on comprehensive reform.

COMMENT:  Obama is in dangerous territory on this one.  The key issue clearly is illegality, even though the poll also shows high (but not majority) opposition to the current level of legal immigration. 

If Obama, with a stroke of the pen, dismisses our immigration laws, he could face rising and bitter hostility from much of the public.

It's a sad story.  We have to feel for the children involved, many of whom are victims of their native countries.  And many illegals do come to better themselves, and work hard at it.  But the first priority of the president is the protection of this nation and its laws.  I think Obama could more effectively work with his opposition in Congress to come up with some humane compromise.

August 7, 2014       Permalink

JUST A REMINDER OF SOME VISITORS – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  It's them again, and we'd better take them seriously.  From ace defense reporter Bill Gertz at the Washington Free Beacon: 

Russian strategic nuclear bombers conducted at least 16 incursions into northwestern U.S. air defense identification zones over the past 10 days, an unusually sharp increase in aerial penetrations, according to U.S. defense officials.

The numerous flight encounters by Tu-95 Russian Bear H bombers prompted the scrambling of U.S. jet fighters on several occasions, and come amid heightened U.S.-Russia tensions over Ukraine.

Also, during one bomber incursion near Alaska, a Russian intelligence-gathering jet was detected along with the bombers.

“Over the past week, NORAD has visually identified Russian aircraft operating in and around the U.S. air defense identification zones,” said Maj. Beth Smith, spokeswoman for U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Smith called the Russian flights “a spike in activity” but sought to play down the threat, stating the flights were assessed as routine training missions and exercises.

The bomber flights took place mainly along the Alaskan air defense identification zone that covers the Aleutian Islands and the continental part of the state, and one incursion involved entry into Canada’s air defense zone, Smith said.

COMMENT:  They may be "training" missions, but when planes fly that close they're doing it because their country wants to send a message.  The message is, "We're back and we're powerful."  Anyone in Washington get that message?

August 7,  2014     Permalink