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AUGUST 2,  2015

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

MAYBE – From London's Daily Mail:  A political adviser of Joe Biden has revealed he is '90 percent in' when it comes for his decision to run against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Biden’s advisers told ABC News that 'his political team has been ramping up in recent days, entering what they call a more active phase', according to the program This Week.  'In camp Biden, there are discussions about fundraising and launching a political action committee, and while the vice president himself hasn't authorized any of these moves, one adviser tells ABC News he believes Biden is 90 percent in,' Cecilia Vega reported Sunday.  Yeah, I'll bet that Biden hasn't authorized any of these moves.  That's not the way the game is played.  He's authorized the moves, and the next logical step would be to seek Obama's blessing.  If Biden runs, my belief is that Obama will endorse him, effectively denying Clinton the nomination, which will give Obama no end of pleasure.

NEW YORK ON THE ROPES? – The city, under a radical mayor, may slip back into the bad old days of the 1970s.  From Fox 5:  As he prepares for a major police conference, Commissioner Bratton told it like it is about the rise in shootings in the city and he's warning that this disturbing trend must be put in check before it’s too late.  It was a weekend of gun violence that, sadly, no one believes it will be the last.  In East New York, 9 people were shot and wounded at a barbecue. And in the Bronx, 20 year-old Christian Garcia was shot and killed, and 2 others struck when a gunman opened fire in a children's playground.  Speaking on a radio show, Commissioner Bratton says it's not just a New York problem.  “Crime is on the rise all across the US” he said.  The NYPD’s latest statistics show a 10% increase in murders through July 27th, compared to the same period last year.  Bratton says there are two main reasons.  One of them is because criminals are feeling empowered. The other reason, is police feel like they're under attack.  Gee, you don't think the rhetoric coming out of the White House has something to do with this, do you?  Nah.  It's just a coincidence.  In fact, we have a president and a press that are nostalgic for the 1960s and 1970s.  The chickens are indeed coming home to roost. 

MEMPHIS LATEST – An arrest has been made in connection with the murder of a Memphis police officer.  From CNN:   Memphis police identified 29-year-old Tremaine Wilbourn as the suspect in a weekend shooting of an officer.  Wilbourn is at large and considered armed and dangerous, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong told reporters late Sunday.  "You can be assured that we will continue to pursue this suspect, and we will exhaust all means until he is in custody," he said.  Officer Sean Bolton, 33, was shot multiple times Saturday night. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition but later pronounced dead.  "Last night, we lost not only an officer, but a great man, a dedicated servant to our community, and a family member," said Armstrong.  The belief is that Officer Bolton interrupted some kind of drug activity.  The police director, Toney Armstrong, an African-American, strikes me as a terrific cop who stands behind his officers.  The suspect is also African-American and Armstrong made no excuses for him and didn't make with the usual stuff about "problems in the community."  Outstanding man.

August 2, 2015       Permalink  

ON THE EVE OF THE FIRST DEBATE – AT 12:52 P.M. ET:   The first Republican debate will be held Thursday night in Cleveland.  From The Hill:

Donald Trump has surged to the top of the 2016 GOP presidential field in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll with a double-digit increase in the past month.

Trump was the first choice of 19 percent of Republican primary voters in the new poll, released early Sunday.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker drew the support of 15 percent of GOP voters and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took 14 percent, all within the poll’s margin of error.

Bush stood atop the Republican field in a similar poll released in June. Trump had 1 percent in that survey.

Trump was also the second choice of 11 percent of respondents in the new poll, compared with 3 percent in June.

The latest poll of 252 Republican primary voters was conducted was July 26-30, following Trump’s controversial comments about Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) war record. It has a margin of error of 6.17 percentage points.

COMMENT:  One of the real surprises is how poorly Marco Rubio is doing, at least right now.  He is one of the most attractive, and electable, Republicans in the race.  I'm also annoyed that Carly Fiorina, possibly the most articulate of all the Republican candidates, cannot get traction in the polls.  She'd be a great choice for vice president, and slays them wherever she appears. 

One of the key questions for Thursday night is whether Donald Trump can actually sustain himself on a stage with experienced political contenders.  Is he a bubble or a serious threat?  I honestly don't think he'll get the nomination.  With his loose mouth he'll probably implode sometime down the line.  In New York he is widely regarded as an obnoxious blowhard.  But he takes the spotlight away from those more likely to win a general election.

Thursday's debate is made more intriguing by the turmoil in the Democratic Party.  Hillary, while still a strong favorite, is no longer seen as inevitable.  Republicans cannot really be sure who they'll face. 

August 2, 2015       Permalink

THE TRENDIES MARCH ON – AT 11:43 A.M. ET:   Obama is stuffing the last period of his pathetic presidency with as many goodies for the left as he can handle.  Now he handles "climate change," the latest passion of the tofu crowd.  From Fox: 

President Barack Obama will impose steeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants across the country than previously expected, senior administration officials said Sunday, in what the president called the most significant step the U.S. has ever taken to fight global warming.

The Obama administration is expected to finalize the rule at a White House event on Monday, a year after proposing unprecedented carbon dioxide limits. Obama, in a video posted on Facebook, said the limits were backed up by decades of data and facts showing that without tough action, the world will face more extreme weather and escalating health problems like asthma.

"Climate change is not a problem for another generation," Obama said. "Not anymore."

Initially, Obama had mandated a 30 percent nationwide cut in carbon dioxide emission by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The final version, which follows extensive consultations with environmental groups and the energy industry, will require a 32 percent cut instead, according to White House officials.

Opponents said they would sue the government immediately. The also planned to ask the courts to put the rule on hold while legal challenges play out.

The steeper version also gives states an additional two years to comply, officials said, yielding to complaints that the original deadline was too soon. The new deadline is set for 2022. States will also have until 2018 instead of 2017 to submit their plans for how they intend to meet their targets.

COMMENT:  Should we move toward cleaner, more efficient energy?  Yes, of course.  We always should.  But this is hardly the way to do it.  Obama's "plan" is based on shoddy "science," which gets more wobbly every year.  The more we learn about "climate science," the more we realize how uncertain it is.

And the replacements for current energy sources don't seem all that promising.  And their cost can drive electric bills into the, uh, atmosphere.  When people start getting those bills, they'll scream, but the Obama crowd will blame the utilities, not themselves. 

And what about other high-energy-using countries?  Will they comply with international demands to lower their production of greenhouse gases?  Are we kidding?  Next time China does something for the environment, let me know.  In Chinese.

August 2, 2015        Permalink

THE DANGER OF THE JOB – AT 10:54 A.M. ET:   A police officer making a routine traffic stop has been murdered in Memphis.  From CNN:

(CNN) A manhunt is underway for a suspect who fatally shot a police officer during a traffic stop in Tennessee, authorities said Sunday.

Memphis Police Officer Sean Bolton, 33, was shot multiple times Saturday night by a person who was in the car he pulled over, police said.

The assailant remains at large, Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said.

University cop indicted for murder in shooting of motorist Samuel DuBose

A civilian used the officer's radio to notify police about the shooting, she said.

Bolton, who joined the force in October 2010, was taken to hospital in critical condition. He later died.

This is the third time a Memphis police officer has been killed in the past four years, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said.

"It doesn't get any easier. This is a very difficult time, not only for me as director, but for all the officers you see standing behind me," he told reporters early Sunday morning.

"And (it's) a difficult time for our city as well. So I ask that you give us the respect that we need ... and the space that we need to grieve, and the time that we need to prepare to lay our brother to rest."

COMMENT:  Let's see if our "news" media gives the same coverage to this as it does to alleged (and sometimes real) cases of police excess.  I'm not holding my breath. 

August 2,  2015     Permalink

AUGUST 1,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:25 P.M. ET: 

OH COME ON! – TV producer Norman Lear, who produced some of the most liberal sitcoms on television, like "All in the Family," now says he's actually a social conservative.  And I'm a nuclear physicist who doubles as Batman.  But Norman's shows were well produced, and within the industry he was known, to put it mildly, as a fiscal conservative.  Tightwad would be a better word.

GOODBYE – From Entertainment Weekly:  The cast of Downton Abbey gathered in Beverly Hills on Saturday to say goodbye to TV critics in a poignant final-season press conference. With only two weeks of shooting left on the international hit, the cast revealed that some actors have already wrapped their roles, and the entire production has finished shooting at Highclere Castle — the real-life stand in for the Crawley family home.  A wonderful series, beautifully produced, evoking Britain of the early 1900s.  An example of the kind of thing that public television can do when it isn't off promoting someone's agenda.

THE DRONE PROBLEM – From CNN:  Two airplanes flying near one of the nation's busiest airports each came within 100 feet of a drone on Friday, according to audio from each flight's radio calls.  The first, JetBlue Flight 1843, reported spotting a drone at 2:24 p.m. while approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In the audio recording, the cockpit says that the drone passed just below the plane's nose when the jet was flying at an altitude of about 800 to 900 feet.  Then at about 5 p.m., Delta Flight 407 -- which had 154 people on board -- was preparing to land when the cockpit reported seeing a drone below its right wing.  Neither plane needed to take evasive action, according to the FAA.  Even though airliners are much, much larger than most drones, a drone hit could cripple a plane's control surfaces, located on the wings, stabilizers and rudder, and possibly send the plane out of control.  This is becoming a concerning issue.

WE SUPPORT IT – From Gateway Pundit:  A petition was posted at the ‘We the People’ site at the White House this week asking President Barack Obama to honor Navy officer Lt. Cmdr. Timothy White and others who used their personal firearms to return fire against the Islamist terrorist who attacked two military offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee last month. Five servicemen were shot and killed, one serviceman and one policeman were wounded by the terrorist, who was also killed. It has not been determined whose firearms killed the terrorist, Palestinian-American Muhammad Abdulazeez.  Pentagon rules forbid military personnel from possessing military-issued or personal firearms at recruiting centers. Lt. Cmdr. White admitted in an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press published Friday that he used a personal firearm to shoot at Abdulazeez.  The White House petition was posted on July 29 by “G.T.” of Sarasota, Florida, three days before Lt. Col Allen West (USA, Ret.) reported that the Navy was going to press charges against Lt. Cmdr. White. It has garnered over 7,600 e-signatures as of the writing of this article. The petition must reach 100,000 signers by August 28, 2015 to guarantee a response from the Obama administration.  White may well have violated rules, but this is a case that calls for prosecutorial discretion.  Waive prosecution, and change the rules so that service personnel who work in recruiting centers have the means to defend themselves. 

August 1,  2015     Permalink

MARINES COMING HOME AT LAST – AT 12:18 P.M. ET:  For some families, World War II is still not over.  From CBS: 

Rows of American flag-draped coffins rested on pavement cracked by the relentless heat of a tropical summer sun. For decades, the Marines inside the caskets had been deemed "unrecoverable," lost to time, history and the families who never forgot them.

On Saturday -- after 10 years of research and thanks to the determination of one man to uphold the military tradition of leaving no man behind -- the remains of nearly 40 Marines began their final journey home.

It's the end of a story that began more than 70 years ago on "one square mile of hell." That's how Marines who stormed the small, remote Pacific island chain of Tarawa on Nov. 20, 1943 described the atoll.

As the sun set that day on beaches ravaged by intense American aerial assaults, the men of the 2nd Marine Division went ashore in rubber boats and amphibious tractors, not expecting much resistance from the Japanese forces left defending the island.

It was a fatal mistake. The island was so heavily fortified with concrete bunkers that a Japanese commander boasted it would take a million men a hundred years to take it. Marines completed the job in just three days, but not without heavy losses.

More than 1,200 Marines died on Tarawa, and were hastily buried in makeshift graves as the war effort marched on. Hundreds are still buried there today in what is now the tiny Republic of Keera-Bass, under yards, trash pits, even pigsties.

COMMENT:  These are noble efforts, to bring these men home.  They remind us of the best of our traditions.  Some in the sixties generation tried to destroy these traditions, but they cannot be destroyed.

August 1, 2015       Permalink

A NEW GOP – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  The Republican Party is learning that it must reach out to minorities, and it is doing so.  From WaPo: 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Following President Obama’s reelection in 2012 — a win powered in part by historic black voter turnout — Republicans launched an aggressive outreach effort aimed at African American voters. Never again, they vowed, would they concede that sort of overwhelming demographic advantage to Democrats.

Now, heading into an election without Obama at the top of the ticket, many Republicans say they are positioned to make inroads with black voters.

That sense of opportunity was clear Friday when the party establishment’s favorite, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, addressed the annual meeting of the National Urban League in his home state. He spoke to the predominantly African American crowd about his record of helping blacks and his plans to do more. He touched on his removal of the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds, his gubernatorial record on diversity and how his education reforms helped black students.

“If we don’t create an education system that allows young people to reach [the rungs on the ladder of success], we’re setting them up for a lifetime of failure,” he said. “So you and I have to call this situation what it is: the worst inequality in America today, and the source of so many other inequalities.”

Bush, and his party, think that sort of pitch may resonate with black voters. Some Democrats worry they may be right.

COMMENT:  It will be difficult.  The Dems, in the person of Her Gracious Majesty, Hillary Clinton, are already pulling their scare tactics.  Hillary appeared before the same meeting of the Urban League and charged that Republicans are plotting to prevent blacks from voting.  It's a standard tactic, but it often works with frightened and uninformed people.  The Dems will also target other groups in their base, like Hispanics, with similar scare tactics. 

The Republican National Committee is now in good hands.  Its great test will come in next year's presidential election.  The White House is the prize.  There is no award for second place.

August 1, 2015        Permalink

NEW TERROR WARNING – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  Drones are becoming a major topic for anti-terror agencies.  From CBS: 

WASHINGTON -- CBS News has learned that the Department of Homeland Security has sent an intelligence assessment to police agencies across the country about drones being used as weapons in an attack.

The bulletin went out Friday and warned that unmanned aircraft systems or drones could be used in the U.S. to advance terrorist and criminal activities. Law enforcement sources say, "emerging adversary use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems present detection and disruption challenges."

According to federal officials, "The rising trend in UAS incidents within the National Airspace System will continue, as UAS gain wider appeal with recreational users and commercial applications."

The bulletin goes on to say, "while many of these encounters are not malicious in nature, they underscore potential security vulnerabilities... that could be used by adversaries to leverage UAS as part of an attack."

Currently, intelligence bulletins are released almost weekly as law enforcement responds to threats from ISIS sympathizers. But the release of a bulletin dedicated to the threat from UAS is unusual. The bulletin does not mention any specific upcoming events authorities are concerned about but points to the overall security challenges drones present.

COMMENT:  A serious warning.  The question is whether it will be taken seriously by anti-terror forces that are already overburdened.  Are there in place systems that can shoot down drones?  Can there ever be full protection when a drone can be launched from a road, or a clearing, a thousand feet from the target? 

Even an ordinary flying model airplane can carry a small explosive, suitable for taking out a vehicle.

Serious business.

August 1,  2015     Permalink