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AUGUST 15,  2015

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

FLAKE COMES THROUGH – Jeff Flake, the eccentric Republican senator from Arizona, who had favored negotiations with Iran, has just announced that he will vote against the Iran nuclear agreement.  This means that no Republicans in the Senate have come out for it, and none are expected to.  The Obamans had hoped for at least a show of bipartisanship on the issue, but the GOP isn't buying into the deal.  We don't know yet if there will be Republican unanimity in the House.  Some Republican members haven't yet announced their decision.

JOE GOES ROGUE – Joe Biden used words normally forbidden by the Obama administration at a memorial service for the servicemen killed in Chattanooga.  From AP:  CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee — Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday called the slaying of four Marines and a sailor at a Chattanooga reserve center the act of a “perverted jihadist.”  Biden’s comments came at a memorial to the five servicemen killed in a shooting rampage by Kuwait-born Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.  “These perverse ideologues, warped theocrats, they may be able to inspire a single lone wolf to commit a savage act, but they can never, never threaten who we are,” Biden said. “When this perverted jihadist struck, everyone responded.”  The vice president’s strong words contrast with the official comments of investigators who have not yet been able to determine a motive behind the attack. The FBI has said it has not been able to determine whether the 24-year-old Abdulazeez was “radicalized” before the July 16 attacks and has been treating him as a homegrown violent extremist.  Biden is showing some common sense in going off the reservation and calling things as they are.  Running for president?

CRIME?  WHAT CRIME? – From Newsbusters:   All you need to know about the Associated Press's interest in accurately reporting current developments in the investigations into 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's private email server is this: A search at its national site on "Hillary crime" (not in quotes) returns nothing.  Ken Thomas's coverage of the former Secretary of State's "forceful defense" last night in "a speech before influential Iowa Democrats" is all too typical: Mrs. Clinton gets to say that all of this is "partisan games" involving "playing politics." All I see is substance-free whining. "My opponents don't like me" is not a defense.   It's Hillary being Hillary, and the amen corner in the press being the press.  Hillary is in serious trouble, but, as we've said before here, if she's the nominee the media will get behind her – even if the inauguration is held in a jail cell.

A REAL QUEEN VERSUS A MAN WHO THINKS HE'S KING – From Townhall.com:   LONDON, United Kingdom – Today HM The Queen attended a memorial service in central London to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan in World War II. She was guest of honor despite the media having uncovered a plot to blow up the event and kill her.  Her attendance at St Martin-In-The-Field church was in sharp contrast to President Barack Obama, who did not appear to be commemorating American efforts to defeat the Japanese. Instead he chose to release a list of his favorite songs on the music website Spotify, a move that is likely be seen as disrespectful by veterans.  The President's Twitter account was silent for most of today, and he was reported to have been in Martha's Vineyard yesterday. At the same time, British Police were tightening security at the commemoration in London because of the terror threat from the Islamic State.  Elizabeth showed Barack how it's done, but Barack has no intention of doing it.  A little man in the White House.

August 15,  2015     Permalink

CAUGHT! – AT 12:48 P.M. ET:  The phoniness of liberalism, on full display.  From Pink News:

Liberal news outlet Huffington Post has defended its Arabic edition – claiming that openly homophobic columns “represent” people’s views.

The US news outlet has struck a decidedly gay-friendly tone in English, launching ‘HuffPost Gay Voices’ to focus on LGBT issues – but things are rather less open on its new Arabic offshoot, Huffington Post Arabia.

A number of openly homophobic columns were found on the site earlier this month – with one columnist naming the selfie as a symptom of “the diseases and the viruses of the Western world” seeping into Arabic culture, while another savaged the Egyptian government for allowing “a press conference for gays in the heart of Cairo”, referring to gay people using derogatory words.

In a new US edition editorial, HuffPost’s Washington chief Ryan Grim conceded that many find the comments “absurd” and “deeply offensive” – but added they “represent the views of a sizeable number” in the area, “and we gain nothing by suppressing it”.

The post says: “Liberals are appalled by homophobic and anti-modern blog posts and warn that the whole thing is a vehicle for the Muslim Brotherhood, and religious conservatives are hitting us from the other side.

“What all of the critics are missing, though, is just how vital it is today more than ever to give our full-throated support to press freedom and diversity in the Middle East.”

It continues: “Launching HuffPost Arabi presents a unique journalistic question: Mainstream opinion in the Middle East is in many ways different from that in the U.S. on some key social and foreign policy issues, so how does an Arab-focused but Western-affiliated outlet handle opinions that are common in the region but offensive back home?”

COMMENT:  Why is press freedom any less important in the United States?  What next?  Will Huff Post Arabia be publishing Holocaust denial pieces?  How about "death to America" pieces?  Maybe the "editors" simply see too much upside sales potential to maintain the taste standards they allegedly maintain here.

By the way, CNN is also notorious for covering a story one way for domestic viewers and another way for its "international" viewers, especially where the Mideast is concerned. 

August 15, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER ONE – AT 11:44 A.M. ET:  Another Democratic senator has announced his support of the horrible Iran nuclear deal, just as a veterans' group is starting to run ads opposing the agreement.  From USA Today: 

WASHINGTON — Sen. Sherrod Brown announced Friday he will support the Iran agreement, a multilateral deal aimed at preventing that country from getting a nuclear weapon.

The Ohio Democrat's decision is significant because it puts President Obama closer to thwarting GOP efforts to kill the agreement.

Brown said the deal, brokered by the United States and five other countries, is "the only viable option" to curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"I have studied the details, listened to Ohioans on all sides of this issue, and consulted with nuclear experts," Brown said in a statement Friday. "This deal is not about trusting the Iranian regime, but instead working with our allies on comprehensive, verifiable restrictions to block Iran's pathways to a nuclear bomb without precipitating another war in the Middle East."

Brown is the 20th Senate Democrat to publicly endorse the deal, which will keep Iran from producing enough material for an atomic weapon for at least 10 years.

COMMENT:  Brown is one of the most left-wing senators, and his comments simply reflect the White House talking points.  I'm guessing, judging by the shallowness of his remarks, that he gave the subject about ten minutes of thought. 

His announcement is important.  There is a "narrative" floating around that the Iran deal will fail in legislation passed in both the Senate and House, but that Obama will veto the legislation, thus allowing the deal to go through.  That is probably true in the House, but "iffy" in the Senate.  In the Senate the deal will never win a majority, but opponents must get 60 votes to head off a Democratic filibuster.  If they don't get the 60, the bill will fail and will never reach the president's desk.  Right now opponents only have about 55 votes, and I'm far from certain they'll reach 60.  If would mean peeling off Democratic senators.  Thus far the only Democrat to announce opposition is Chuck Schumer, although Bob Menendez of New Jersey will probably follow.  Other Democrats will be more difficult, and one Republican, flakey Jeff Flake of Arizona, may go with Obama.

August 15, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER GREAT AMERICAN FOREIGN-POLICY SUCCESS – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  With all the concern over Iran, we sometimes forget North Korea, one of the most dangerous countries in the world, and a country that broke an agreement to curtail its nuclear program.  From AFP: 

North Korea on Saturday threatened South Korea with "indiscriminate" military strikes unless it halts cross-border propaganda broadcasts, and issued fresh nuclear weapons warnings against the United States.

The threats came amid escalating military tensions on the Korean peninsula following a landmine attack South Korea blamed on the North and ahead of a major South Korea-US joint military exercise condemned by Pyongyang.

They also coincided with celebrations in both Koreas to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean peninsula's 1945 liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

The North Koreans were liberated from Japanese rule, only to have the Japanese replaced by the Soviets.

Initially there were hopes the anniversary might be an opportunity for some sort of inter-Korean rapprochement, but instead ties have spiralled downwards to the familiar accompaniment of angry rhetoric and mutual recrimination.

After three landmine blasts maimed two South Korean soldiers on border patrol, Seoul this week resumed high-decibel propaganda broadcasts across the heavily-militarised frontier, using batteries of loudspeakers that had lain silent for more than a decade.

Pyongyang rejected accusations that it was behind the mine incident as "absurd," and its frontline army border command on Saturday demanded the broadcasts be halted immediately.

Failure to do so would trigger "an all-out military action of justice to blow up all means for 'anti-North psychological warfare' in all areas along the front," the command said in a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency.

COMMENT:  We've heard this kind of rhetoric before, and it usually dies down.  But "usually" is not much of a guarantee.  The North Korean regime broke its nuclear treaty and now is a nuclear power.  It could easily miscalculate and launch an attack, plunging the United States into a bitter war. 

Its threats against the United States should be taken seriously.  We don't know what a desperate government, under intense pressure, might do with nuclear-tipped missiles.  Countries have launched wars just to rally their own populations.  Or, a country like North Korea, sensing American weakness, might attack us, believing we would not retaliate.

August 15,  2015     Permalink

AUGUST 14,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR HEALTH NEWS – From UPI:  PLYMOUTH, England, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Playing the block-stacking video game Tetris can ease cravings for food and drugs by about one-fifth, researchers found in a study of people in natural settings outside a laboratory.  Previous research had found that Tetris effectively reduced cravings in a lab setting. Most studies also were focused on food cravings, but researchers from Plymouth University and Queensland University of Technology found the method to be effective for smoking, alcohol, coffee, sex and sleeping, as well.  "We think the Tetris effect happens because craving involves imagining the experience of consuming a particular substance or indulging in a particular activity," said Dr. Jackie Andrade, a professor of psychology at Plymouth University, in a press release. "Playing a visually interesting game like Tetris occupies the mental processes that support that imagery -- it is hard to imagine something vividly and play Tetris at the same time."  I think they used to call that distraction.  Was this a government-funded study?

SUCH WARMTH – From Reuters:  HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's lead negotiator in talks with Washington told Reuters on Friday that the island's internal affairs would never be on the table and Havana would never move "one millimeter" to placate enemies in the United States.  "Decisions on internal matters are not negotiable and will never be put on the negotiating agenda in conversations with the United States," Josefina Vidal, director of U.S. affairs for the Cuban Foreign Ministry, said in an exclusive interview.  This is what happens when Washington flashes weakness.  This means Cuba will never discuss with us the treatment of its own people.  I doubt if Obama and Kerry really care.

JAPANESE NOTE V-J DAY – From AP:   Japanese and U.S. cities, together with the U.S. Navy, are holding a memorial service in Pearl Harbor to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.  Mayors and city council members from Honolulu and Nagaoka are coming together with the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander for Friday's event.  They plan to lay wreaths and float lanterns. Fireworks resembling white chrysanthemum flowers will be launched at the end of the ceremony. White chrysanthemums are often presented at memorial services in Japan.  Nagaoka is the hometown of the late Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the U.S. into the war in 1941. It is one of Honolulu's sister cities and is famous for fireworks. The city in Niigata prefecture was bombed by U.S. planes during the final stages of the war.  Japan has emerged as a major ally and vital democracy, thanks in part to the enlightened U.S. occupation of the nation after World War II.

YUCH – From Breitbart:   Friday, at the U.S. embassy in Cuba flag-raising ceremony celebrating the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said he felt “very much at home” in the country ruled by the authoritarian Castro regime.  Maybe he should visit the prisons where they keep the political prisoners and tell us how homey the atmosphere is.

August 14, 2015       Permalink

MILESTONE? – AT 10:57 A.M. ET:  As we mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, a victory over tyranny, we note that the United States will re-open its embassy in Havana today, a surrender to tyranny.  From Fox: 

Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday was to mark the historic re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana after a half-century-long freeze, amid lingering tensions between the two countries and deep concern among anti-Castro lawmakers in Washington.

"There will be hiccups along the way, but it's a start," Kerry acknowledged, speaking briefly to reporters en route to the ceremony.

Cuban-American lawmakers in Washington fumed over Friday's ceremony. As Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., blasted the administration's deals with Iran and Cuba in a New York speech, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., issued a scathing statement citing the continuing human rights problems on the island.

"This is a one-sided deal that is a win for the Cuban regime and a loss for the Cuban people," Menendez said. "The U.S. Embassy in Havana will be a hollow one. ... It will be diplomacy for show, not in practice. The United States' flag should only fly in Cuba when the island is free, when dissent is embraced, and when democracy is restored."

In a reminder of the rocky road ahead, Fidel Castro said in a newspaper column on the eve of the ceremony that the U.S. owes the island "numerous millions of dollars" for damages caused by the embargo. Americans, too, also want to resolve billions of dollars in half-century-old claims over property confiscated after the Cuban revolution.

COMMENT:  A typical Obama deal.  Human freedom meant nothing.

August 14, 2015       Permalink

DESPERATION – AT 10:12 A.M. ET:  I mean, how far down do you have to go?  From The Hill: 

Al Gore's supporters have started chatting with the former vice president about a potential 2016 presidential bid, BuzzFeed News reported Thursday, citing an unnamed senior Democrat.

“They’re figuring out if there’s a path financially and politically,” the Democrat told BuzzFeed, which noted Gore hasn't made any moves toward running. “It feels more real than it has in the past months.”

ABC's Rick Klein tweeted that a former Gore adviser confirmed that a "circle of his former aides are talking about" a potential 2016 bid though they are still in the very early part of the discussion.

Gore starting trending nationally on Twitter shortly after the reports emerged Thursday.

The former vice president to Bill Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee and won the popular vote during the 2000 election to George W. Bush, though he lost the election.

Gore has since focused mostly on environmental activism, with little to no signs he is interested in another White House bid.

COMMENT:  I have a great slogan:  "Elect Gore, pay $1,000 a month for utilities!"  Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?  I'll accept all compliments.

August 14, 2015       Permalink

REMEMBERING HISTORY – AT 9:48 A.M. ET:   World War II came to an end 70 years ago today, with the announcement of the surrender of Japan.  It became known as V-J Day, victory over Japan.

Thus ended the greatest conflict in history.  The United States was one of the major combatants in that war, and emerged as the most powerful nation in the world, the only country that could build and deliver an atomic bomb. 

And yet, within three years, General of the Army Omar Bradley complained that the U.S. Army couldn't fight its way out of a paper bag.  We had disarmed, we had stripped our military of most of its power just at the time when the Soviet Union was building its mighty force.  There were battles within the Pentagon that almost resulted in America abandoning its aircraft carriers.

When President Truman decided to intervene in June of 1950 to stop the Soviet-directed invasion of South Korea, we were pathetically unprepared.  The first ground units sent were parade divisions from the occupation force in Japan.  We didn't have enough ships.  Our frontline jet fighters were inferior to the Soviets' MIG-15, a condition that didn't change until we deployed the North American F-86 Sabrejet.  And the Soviets had already exploded their own atomic bomb.

Every period of American disarmament has ended disastrously.  We eventually prevailed in Korea, which is why there's a free South Korea today, but at substantial cost. 

We are disarming again (see the post just below), and there are worries that we are heading for another disaster.  As we commemorate V-J Day, let us recall the lessons of that era:  Weakness invites war, strength often prevents it.  An investment in a strong national defense is one of the best investments our nation can make.

August 14,  2015     Permalink 

OUR NATIONAL NON-DEFENSE – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:  There is genuine worry on the part of America's military leaders about the condition of our defense under Barack Obama, and it's being stated more and more openly.  From the Daily Beast: 

A series of classified exercises over the summer has raised concerns inside the Defense Department that its forces are not prepared for a sustained military campaign against Russia, two defense officials told The Daily Beast.

Many within the military believe that 15 years of counter terrorism warfare has left the ground troops ill prepared to maintain logistics or troops levels should Russia make an advance on NATO allies, the officials said.

Among the challenges the exercises revealed were that the number of precision-guided munitions available across the force were short of the war plans and it would be difficult to sustain a large troop presence.

“Could we probably beat the Russians today [in a sustained battle]? Sure, but it would take everything we had,” one defense official said. “What we are saying is that we are not as ready as we want to be.”

One classified “tabletop exercise” or “TTX”—a kind of in-office war game—“told us that the wars [in Iraq and Afghanistan] have depleted our sustainment capability,” a second defense official explained, using military jargon for the ability to maintain a fight. The exercise was led by the Department of Defense and involved several other federal agencies.

In recent months, the top officers of the military have begun to call Putin’s Russia an “existential threat” to the United States. The results of those exercises—and Russian-backed forces’ latest advance in Ukraine—didn’t exactly tamp down those fears.

COMMENT:  Not everyone agrees, of course, and not everyone cares.  I doubt if Obama's White House is terribly concerned about Russia, not when it can heap scorn on our allies.

But we do seem to be facing a situation that we've seen before in this country, a period of "the uncertain trumpet."  The reference is to the Biblical warning, "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"  When there is a lack of confidence in a nation's defense, the nation's preparedness and will to win decline.  And the end result isn't peace, but war, as enemies try to take advantage. 

Maxwell Taylor warned about this in 1960.  The warning is just as valid today.

August 14, 2015       Permalink