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AUGUST 27,  2015

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

EXCITING POLITICAL NEWS – Jeb Bush has mightily secured the endorsement of Eric Cantor.  You remember Eric Cantor, don't you?  He was the House majority leader and blew his chance to become speaker by inconveniently losing a 2014 primary battle for renomination to his congressional seat.  He fell into instant
obscurity. His endorsement of Bush will have an impact that I would estimate at about six hours.

MAJOR EDUCATIONAL NEWS – From The College Fix:   Classes to help transgender individuals alter their vocalization are slated to be offered this fall at the University of Connecticut.  The Transgender Voice and Communication Group offers “an opportunity to use new vocal and communication qualities in a safe and confidential environment” and includes “role playing” and other activities.  This semester’s group launches and runs through Nov. 30 at the public university, an online campus calendar and description states.
Look, I have no problem with people learning what they wish to learn.  But the image of trendiness and political correctness has become so strong at many American colleges that serious public scrutiny, leading to cuts in government aid, is sure to follow.

NOT THE PARTY OF TRUMAN OR KENNEDY – From Gateway Pundit:  Democrats’ election outreach efforts to veterans may need to start with a refresher course on what U.S. troops look like.  For starters, they don’t wear Polish military uniforms.  Until Thursday, the Democratic National Committee’s “Veterans and Military Families” website had as its only picture a shot from White House photographers during President Obama’s visit to Warsaw in 2011.  The president had been cropped out, but faces of four elderly veterans wearing European-style military uniforms were visible above several paragraphs asserting the party’s “commitment to America’s veterans.” The Polish military’s White Eagle insignia was clear on the headgear of two of the veterans.  While largely harmless, the error points to a common complaint among U.S. veterans groups about the lack of knowledge of many Americans about military life, tradition and challenges.  Not surprising that this happened.  When I was growing up, everyone knew a soldier or had at least one soldier in the family.  That is no longer the case.  Many Americans can go through life and never meet a member of the military.  The military is a distant institution, not part of our lives.  It's a terrible development, and does damage to the nation.

August 27,  2015     Permalink

THE SLEEPER ISSUE? – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:   It may be that the sleeper issue in 2016 is law-and-order.  From Ed Rogers at WaPo:

While the media are captivated by other things, a sleeper issue may be beginning to stir, and it may have a meaningful impact on the 2016 elections. That is, crime. As a Post editorial points out, we can’t be totally sure yet if the rises in crime rates this year are “the beginning of unsettling trends or mere blips.” But it is well documented that there has been a recent spike in crime. Murders in the District are up nearly 30 percent from last year. And Heather Mac Donald wrote an eye-opening article in May in the Wall Street Journal detailing “The New Nationwide Crime Wave” and examining the “Ferguson effect” on our country.

But after decades of decline in crime rates, why is this happening — if this is, as it seems, the start of a long-term trend? In Baltimore, the scene of riots this year after the death of Freddie Gray, robberies and homicides are up, partly due to “a sharp reduction in arrests . . . as the police union said many officers were afraid to do their jobs for fear of being prosecuted.” At least some of the increase in crime may be the result of the Black Lives Matter group — and their sympathizers — intimidating Democratic political leaders at the national, state and local levels into, essentially, becoming more lenient on crime. At the same time, the group and its message are demoralizing our nation’s police forces, who are now facing rules and restrictions that are sometimes inconsistent with the lessons learned and with the reality on the ground. The anti-police attitude that has become so pervasive is eroding the effectiveness of America’s police officers, and the crime statistics reflect that.

The Democrats clearly have not thought through the ramifications of giving Black Lives Matter and their apologists an open platform and demonizing law enforcement for doing its job. Part of this new message the Democrats are adopting is essentially a call to allow more criminals to roam free. What happens when the crime levels get worse? This could become a much bigger issue on the campaign trail, and it could put Democrats in a position where they are once again viewed as the party least sympathetic to law and order.

COMMENT:  New York City has its first Democratic mayor in two decades, and he is becoming intensely unpopular because he's seen as soft on crime.  The crime issue is a major opening for Republicans, if they know how to use it effectively.  Big if.

August 27, 2015       Permalink

SICKENING – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:   Is there any limit to the vulgarity of some of our politicians?  Some have used yesterday's tragedy in Virginia to push their "gun control" agenda, even though areas with the strictest gun controls are often the areas with the highest crime rates.  These politicians never miss an opportunity to advance themselves, even as others grieve.

Don't get me wrong.  As a responsible gun owner, I believe there are things that can be done to reduce gun violence.  The savage who murdered two journalists in Virginia yesterday had a history of deeply disturbing behavior.  Yet, he was able to buy a gun and pass a background check...probably because his mental-health status was not in the federal database.  And it appears that no one ever intervened to get him the help he probably needed.  Mental health must come to the fore in the gun debates. 

I should also note that, while much attention was given to the murderer's complaints about discrimination and his upset over the Charleston shootings, no attention was given to the fact that he attended San Francisco State University, one of the most radical schools in the United States.  I'd love to know what he was taught there. 

From the Washington Times: 

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that she felt “great heartache” over the shooting ambush that killed a TV news reporter and cameraman live on air in Virginia, pledging that as president she would fight for more gun-control laws.

“We have got to do something about gun violence in America — and I will take it on,” Mrs. Clinton said in an on-camera statement to reports while on campaign trail in Iowa.

In an emotional plea for more restrictive gun laws, Mrs. Clinton said that too many people know that the availability of firearms is a problem in the United States but avoid the subject because “it is hard.”

“It is a very political, difficult issue in America,” he said. “But I believe we are smart enough, we are compassionate enough to figure out how to balance the legitimate Second Amendment rights with preventive measures and control measures so that whatever motivated this murderer, who eventually took his own life — we will not see more deaths, needless, senseless deaths.”

COMMENT:  Please notice the lack of specifics.  Same old story.  A sound bite in place of thought.

August 27, 2015       Permalink

DEM DISASTER – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  More and more political writers are stressing the poor condition of the Democratic Party under Barack Obama.  In fact, the party's situation is disastrous, and has contributed to its lack of credible presidential candidates.  From the Washington Post: 

There are two reasons commonly cited for the fact that far fewer Democrats than Republicans are running for president in 2016. One is that Hillary Clinton was (and largely still is) considered a formidable candidate that, for most politicians, isn't worth the energy and money to try and defeat. The other is that the Democrats, after a few bad election cycles, have a very small political "bench" -- meaning that there aren't as many politically talented and successful candidates on the left as there might otherwise be.

Our Dan Balz made this point in the wake of last November's crushing Democratic defeat. Balz noted the scattered Democratic talent on Capitol Hill -- and then looked west. "The more serious problem for Democrats," he wrote, "is the drubbing they’ve taken in the states, the breeding ground for future national talent and for policy experimentation."

Balz pointed to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, showing that Republicans had unified control -- both chambers of the legislature and the governorship -- in nearly half of the 50 states.

There's another way to look at that. The NCSL's annual breakdown of the composition of each state's Senate and House or Assembly goes back to 2009, when President Obama was inaugurated. Since then, the ratio of Republicans to Democrats has tilted to the right in nearly every Senate and nearly every legislature...

...Overall, of the 98 state senates and houses/assemblies, the Republicans saw gains in 40 upper chambers and 45 lower ones. Meaning far fewer elected Democrats, and a smaller bench.

We can quantify that, too. According to the NCSL data, there were 4,082 Democrats in state senates and state houses in 2009. In 2015, there were 3,163 -- a decrease of 22.5 percent.

That's 900-plus fewer Democrats to move up the ladder.

COMMENT:  And let's not forget – in fact, we delightfully remember – that under Obama the Dems have lost the House and Senate.  If they lose the presidency next year, they will have lost pretty much everything, except some student governments in the Ivy League. 

August 27, 2015       Permalink

BIDEN GAINING – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  Reports from the Biden camp have it that the vice president is genuinely torn over whether to run for president.  He has wondered out loud whether he has the emotional commitment to a grueling campaign.  A new poll should give him encouragement, although, traditionally, he has not been a big numbers grabber.  From Bloomberg: 

Here's one more reason to continue speculating about whether Vice President Joe Biden will enter the presidential race: he polls better nationally against the leading three Republican candidates than Hillary Clinton, and has a higher favorability rating, too.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, if Biden was the democratic candidate, he would beat Donald Trump by eight points (48 - 40 percent), former Florida Governor Jeb Bush by six points (45 - 39) and Senator Marco Rubio by three points (44 - 41). Clinton only beats Trump by four points (45 - 41), Bush by two points (42 - 40) and Rubio by one point (44 - 43).

Eighty-three percent of Democrats view Biden favorably, compared to 76 percent and 54 percent who approve of Clinton and Vermont Senator Sanders, respectively. Among all registered voters, Biden has a 48 percent favorability rating, while Clinton came in at 39 percent and Sanders at 32 percent.

“Note to Biden: They like you, they really like you, or they like you more than the others,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a press release accompanying the poll. “If he is sitting on the fence, his scores in the matchups and his favorability ratings may compel him to say, ‘Let's do this.’”

The good news for Clinton is that she's still leading the race to become the Democratic nominee—45 percent of Democrats polled would choose Clinton as the party nominee, 22 percent would choose Sanders and 18 percent would choose Biden. No other Democrat polls above 1 percent.

COMMENT:  I'm not sure how much stake I'd put in August polls, but the numbers are interesting, primarily because they highlight Clinton's growing problems. 

Biden also has problems.  How does he respond when Republicans ask voters, "Do you really want a third term for Barack Obama?"  And what happens when he starts issuing forth his famous gaffes? 

Republicans are not yet unified behind a candidate.  If they choose wisely, their numbers will come up in competitive polls against Democrats.  If they choose poorly, they can manage to, as the saying goes, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

August 27,  2015     Permalink

AUGUST 26,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR BROADCAST NEWS – From Hollywood Reporter:  MSNBC is moving reverend and talk-show host Al Sharpton's PoliticsNation to Sundays, network president Phil Griffin said in a memo on Wednesday. Its last weekday airing will be on Sept. 4.  "After four terrific years – or as Reverend Sharpton said, 'a full first term' – PoliticsNation is ready for its next chapter. Beginning on Sunday, October 4, the show will move to Sunday mornings at 8:00 am," Griffin wrote.  The show has aired at 6 pm ET on weekdays and will now move from five days a week to one day a week.   It is sickening that this race baiter and clown is even taken seriously.  It is outrageous that he has his own show at all.  Clearly, the show has failed.  You don't go from five days a week to a single program at 8 a.m. Sunday because you're a hit.

TAKE THAT, IRAN AGREEMENT LOVERS – From WaPo:   A group of nearly 200 retired generals and admirals sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday urging lawmakers to reject the Iran nuclear agreement, which they say threatens national security.  The letter is the latest in a blizzard of missives petitioning Congress either to support or oppose the agreement with Iran, which would lift sanctions if Iran pared back its nuclear program. Letters have come from ad hoc groupings of rabbis, nuclear scientists, arms-control and nonproliferation experts — and now, retired senior military officers, many of whom have worked in the White House during various administrations dating to the 1980s.  The letter, addressed to Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate and the House, is a response to one sent last week by three dozen retired senior military officers who support the nuclear deal.  So let's see, the aye side had 36 retired senior officers supporting the Iran agreement, and the opponents of the deal come in with 200.  That's more than five to one against.  I'd say the right wins hands down.  It won't matter, though.  The deal will go through because Democrats are lining up to worship the greater glory of Barack.

OH, THIS LOOKS JUICY – From townhall.com:   Late last week rumors started swirling about an undercover investigation of Hillary Clinton's campaign being conducted by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas, an organization responsible for holding a number of government officials accountable for bad behavior. The Clinton camp was put on high alert, told to look for suspicious behavior and to be aware they may be under video surveillance.  We now know the rumors are true. O'Keefe has confirmed Project Veritas journalists have in fact conducted an undercover video investigation into Clinton's campaign and have plenty of footage to share.  The first video shows a paid campaign staffer telling a volunteer that they only want to register voters who will vote for Hillary, a Democrat, when the law requires voters be able to register regardless of their political affiliation or support for a certain candidate.   I see the vultures flying over Hillary's campaign.  Each one has been fed parts of her e-mails.  Yummy.

August 26,  2015     Permalink

OUR WONDERFUL NEW ALLY – AT 11:54 A.M. ET:  This story will undoubtedly stimulate many readers to rush to their phones to book vacation flights to Tehran.  From the Jerusalem Post: 

NEW YORK -- The people of Iran "lose sleep" over the prospect of Western culture permeating their society, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday in a message on Twitter.

Khamenei, who has cautiously endorsed the nuclear agreement, said that "Zionists and Americans’ enmity toward the Islamic Revolution" of 1979 "has not declined and our officials must not forget this fact."

"Tactics of hostility and detriment might have changed and been revised, but all authorities must beware of playing role in enemy’s plots," he said. "Under any circumstances," he continued, Iran's leadership must "take clear Revolutionary stances and frankly express Imam’s principles and Revolutionary positions against enemies."

Iran's leadership, including Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, have increased their use of Twitter in recent months to spread their positions on the nuclear issue. Twitter is formally blocked in Iran, but several journalists from Iran's state-run media are allowed accounts, and many Iranian citizens have found loopholes to secure access.

On July 13, Rouhani's Twitter account broke news that a nuclear deal had been reached one day before it was formally announced. Khamenei's account has increased its activity since the deal was signed.

"Economic woes won’t cause anxiety, but cultural problems agitate one to lose sleep over them," Khamenei said on Wednesday. "All countries pay attention to cultural products; so, if some products contradict principles and basics, they must be banned with no shame."

COMMENT:  This won't bother European businessmen a bit, and you be sure that some of our American colleagues will soon be in Tehran, toasting the revolution. 

As Lenin said, capitalists would sell the Soviet Union the rope with which it would hang the capitalists.  Same principle applies to Tehran.

August 26, 2015       Permalink

TERROR WARNING – AT 10:55 A.M. ET:  New York's former, and colorful, police commissioner, warns of new terror attacks in the United States in the wake of the thwarted attack aboard a French passenger train.  From Newsmax: 

The bloodbath that was narrowly averted on Amsterdam-to-Paris commuter train last week was just one of the growing number of terror attacks occurring globally — and more are on the way, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik says.

"This is going on worldwide.... We're seeing a constant increase of these types of events, whether it's here in the United States, whether it's in France or Spain or England," Kerik said Tuesday to J.D. Hayworth on "Newsmax Prime."

"ISIS, al-Qaida and all these radical extremist groups are using social media and the internet to recruit, to motivate, to inspire others, to do their dirty work. That's what we saw in this event.
"You're going to see much more like this to come and it's something we have to get used to. If anybody's surprised by it, they shouldn't be."

On Monday, French President Francois Hollande awarded France's highest honor to off-duty U.S. servicemen Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, their student friend Anthony Sadler, and Chris Norman, a British business consultant.

They tackled and tied up a 25-year-old Moroccan identified as Ayoub El Khazzani, who boarded the high-speed train wielding a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a Luger automatic pistol, ammunition, and a box-cutter. Authorities say the gunman had watched a jihadi video only minutes before.

"I don't think anybody really can grasp the amount of damage that could have been done had these three kids not been on that train and this guy jacked the first round into that gun and started shooting," Kerik said.

COMMENT:  We just had an attack in Chattanooga, but it didn't seem to bother Americans all that much.  I think it will take another mass-casualty event to wake us up, if even that will do it.  When these attacks in the U.S. do occur, much of the mainstream media goes into politically correct mode, telling us they really can't determine the motive of the shooter.  It's pathetic, and we go back to sleep.

August 26, 2015       Permalink

CLINTON, WORSE AND WORSE – AT 10:15 A.M. ET:  Can Hillary Clinton survive?  Can she avoid indictment?  Have we ever had to ask questions like that about a major presidential prospect?  From Fox: 

One of the emails that triggered the FBI probe into Hillary Clinton’s server contained classified intelligence from three different agencies, Fox News has learned – which could mean the State Department violated a President Obama-signed executive order by authorizing its release.

That 2009 order, EO 13526, lays out the rules for "classifying, safeguarding and declassifying national security information." It states that the authority to declassify rests with the intelligence agency that originated the information.

"Information shall be declassified or downgraded by … the official who authorized the original classification ... [or] the originator's current successor," the order says.

One of the two emails that sparked the FBI probe was an April 2011 email from Clinton confidante Huma Abedin that, Fox News has learned, contained intelligence from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which oversees aerial imagery, including satellites.

Despite this fact and despite the executive order, the State Department publicly released the email and its intelligence -- which was not theirs to declassify -- onto its website in May as part of the initial release of documents on the 2012 Benghazi attack.

Fox News is told that in late spring, all three agencies confirmed to the intelligence community inspector general that the intelligence was classified when it was sent four years ago by Abedin to Clinton's private account, and remains classified to this day.

Clinton’s campaign and the State Department have maintained that the email was not classified and have framed the issue as a difference of opinion.

"What you're seeing now is a disagreement between agencies saying, 'You know what, they should've.' And the other saying, 'No they shouldn't.' That has nothing to do with me," Clinton told reporters last week.

COMMENT:  It's such a sleazy situation.  Anyone in a position of authority knows that you always err on the side of protecting national security.  The Clintons have gone through life believing that they play by a different set of rules, that they're special, above the nation.  Obama has the same attitude.  We've seen the result.

August 26, 2015       Permalink

ET TU, CAMELOT? – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:  It seems that Caroline Kennedy, our ambassador to Japan, has been taking business administration lessons from Hillary Clinton.  From the Washington Times:

The State Department’s internal watchdog leveled biting criticism at the management style of U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy in a new audit on Tuesday, citing “confusion among staff” and “major management challenges” in key offices at the Tokyo embassy.

And in an echo of the email woes plaguing former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, the inspection by the department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) specifically faulted Ms. Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and President Obama’s personal pick for the job, and her aides for using “personal email accounts to send and receive messages containing official business.”

The 64-page audit, which included 65 recommendations to improve operations, identified a number of other shortcomings, including a focus by embassy analysts on daily reporting at the expense of developing contacts in the country; an uneven performance from diplomatic satellite offices; and hiring levels in the political, economic and consular sections that were “greater than [the] workload warrants.”

The inspectors noted that Ms. Kennedy’s celebrity and her popularity in Japan have put stress on embassy resources and public affairs operations. The post is considered one of the most prestigious in U.S. diplomatic ranks, with Japan ranking as America’s fourth-largest trading partner and the host to some 50,000 U.S. troops.

COMMENT:  We'll follow this.  Caroline Kennedy was made ambassador to Japan, with no prior experience that would qualify her – maybe she owned a point-and-shoot Nikon – after a failed political bid.  She'd wanted to be appointed to the U.S. Senate from New York to fill out the term of Hillary Clinton, when Clinton resigned to become secretary of state.  Instead, the governor at the time, David Patterson, appointed Kirsten Gillibrand, who has surged on to become a nonentity.  There is informed speculation that the Democratic Party didn't want another Kennedy in a position of power. 

I wonder if the inspector general's report is entirely legit, or is part of another attempt to keep Caroline in her place.  I also wonder if she'll be punished.

August 26,  2015     Permalink