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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

DECEMBER 22,  2014

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

ONCE A GREAT PAPER – From The Politico:  "The New York Times editorial board has called upon President Barack Obama to prosecute former Vice President Dick Cheney for the torture of terrorism suspects.  The sharply worded editorial, published Monday, comes amid an effort by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch to launch an investigation into U.S. torture practices. The two groups will submit a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor.  'The question everyone will want answered, of course, is: Who should be held accountable? That will depend on what an investigation finds, and as hard as it is to imagine Mr. Obama having the political courage to order a new investigation, it is harder to imagine a criminal probe of the actions of a former president,' the Times editorial board wrote."  The crazed editorial was spurred by the recent Senate report on the CIA, Which was written only by Democrats.  The leftists would love to see Cheney in the dock, just as they'd love to bring down American defense.  These are not liberals we're talking about.

THE NERVE OF THIS GUY – From the Washington Examiner:  "New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, on the defensive following the killing of two police officers in Brooklyn, accused the media Monday of stoking racial tensions rather than objectively covering 'peaceful protests.'  'What are you guys going to do? Are you going to keep dividing us?' de Blasio said when asked whether aggressive demonstrations contributed to shootings of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.  'The few who want conflict attempt that,' he told reporters in a press conference Monday afternoon. 'You guys enable that.'"  What nerve.  This guy ran against the police during his campaign.  He has made inflammatory statements.  He has embraced Al Sharpton.  He has a history of pro-Communist affiliations.  And he blames the press.  Apparently, it's not left-wing enough for him.

FUN FOR DRIVERS – From the Washington Examiner:  "National gasoline prices have fallen for 88 consecutive days, breaking a U.S. record, according to the AAA motor club.  A gallon of gas averaged $2.39 on Monday, the lowest level since May 2009. Gas prices have declined every day since Sept. 25, and motorists in only Alaska and Hawaii currently pay more than $3 per gallon.  Analysts have said the falling prices are acting as a stimulus for U.S. drivers, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration saying the average household will pocket an additional $550 next year.  Low pump prices are a reflection of global oversupply of oil — chiefly from surging U.S. production and a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries not to cut supply — along with sagging demand. While U.S. drivers have benefited, the tumbling oil prices have created worry for financial markets and could slow the growth of U.S. oil production."  I suspect prices will start to inch up soon, as OPEC squeezes production.  Enjoy the prices while you can.  And remember that Obama opposed every measure that made these lower prices possible.  Al Gore is selling gas at a higher price, but he autographs every gallon.

INTERNET NEWS – From CNN:  "(CNN) -- North Korea's Internet was back up Tuesday after a more than nine-hour outage, according to Dyn Research, a company that monitors Internet performance.  The disruption came amid an escalating war of words between the United States and North Korea over a massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures.  'Usually there are isolated blips, not continuous connectivity problems. I wouldn't be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently,' Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, said when the Internet was down."  I hope we did it. 

December 22,  2014     Permalink

CHILLING – A well-known German reporter has gotten inside ISISA, and has brought back a chilling report that is spreading over the internet.  We are facing a very determined enemy.   This is from the Logan Reporter, but I have seen it, in the last day, on many larger sites: 

THE first Western journalist in the world to be allowed extensive access to Isis territories in Syria and Iraq has returned from the region with a warning: the group is "much stronger and much more dangerous" than anyone in the West realises.

Jürgen Todenhöfer, 74, is a renowned German journalist and publicist who travelled through Turkey to Mosul, the largest city occupied by Isis, after months of negotiations with the group's leaders.

He plans to publish a summary of his "10 days in the Islamic State" on Monday, but in interviews with German-language media outlets has revealed his first impressions of what life is like under Isis.

Speaking to the website Der tz, Todenhöfer revealed that he actually stayed in the same hotel in Benghazi as James Foley, the US journalist who was beheaded on camera by Isis in August.

"Of course, I've seen the terrible, brutal video and it was one of my main concerns during the negotiations as to how I can avoid [the same fate]," he said.

Once within Isis territory, Todenhöfer said his strongest impression was "that Isis is much stronger than we think here".

He said it now has "dimensions larger than the UK", and is supported by "an almost ecstatic enthusiasm that I have never encountered in any other warzone".

"Each day, hundreds of willing fighters arrive from all over the world," he told tz. "For me it is incomprehensible."

COMMENT:  We'll look for further details from this reporter, but read this whole preliminary article now.  It's packed with information.  This is a very determined opponent.  We have a tendency to ridicule these new, ideologically based movements, just as we ridiculed Fidel Castro before he took power.  We do this at our peril.

December 22, 2014       Permalink

THE PRICE OF OUR WEAKNESS – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:  North Korea has scored a key victory over the United States in its successful hacking of the American branch of SONY, and its intimidation of SONY, leading to the studio's withdrawal of a comedy ridiculing the North's regime.  North Korea is feeling victorious, and acting that way.  From Fox: 

North Korea issued a new threat against the United States late Sunday and accused President Barack Obama of "recklessly" spreading rumors that Pyongyang is behind last month's devastating cyberattack on Sony Pictures.

The long statement from the powerful National Defense Commission warned of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole U.S. mainland, that cesspool of terrorism."

Such rhetoric is routine from North Korea's massive propaganda machine during times of high tension with Washington. But the statement also underscores Pyongyang's sensitivity at a movie whose plot focuses on the assassination of its leader Kim Jong Un, who is the beneficiary of a decades-long cult of personality built around his family dynasty.

The North Korean statement offered no details of a possible response, but warned that the country's 1.2 million-member army is ready to use all types of warfare against the U.S.

This is the result of years of appeasing North Korea, and pretending that we've had successful negotiations with the regime.

"Our toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole U.S. mainland ... by far surpassing the 'symmetric counteraction' declared by Obama," said the commission's Policy Department in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The latest threat came hours after President Obama confirmed that he was considering returning North Korea to the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. Obama, who previously promised in his year-end press conference on Friday to respond "proportionately" to the attack, has termed the breach as an act of "cybervandalism that was very costly, very expensive" as opposed to an act of war.

"We're going to review those through a process that's already in place," Obama told CNN's "State of the Union" in an interview broadcast Sunday. "I'll wait to review what the findings are."

COMMENT:  Yeah, let's wait, Barack.  Like you always wait.  Wait until the anger blows over, and then do almost nothing.  And when people like John McCain call for a more effective response, call them warmongers. 

Don't worry, Barack.  Hollywood will always support you in the end.

December 22, 2014       Permalink

A ONCE-GREAT ORGANIZATION – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  The NAACP Legal Defense Fund used to be a generally fine organization.  With some exceptions, its leaders were thoughtful lawyers who had no use for fashionable radicals.  The organization, working effectively, was at the heart of the civil rights movement. 

In recent decades, though, the Fund has come on hard times.  Poor leadership has been its major curse.  Its response to the murder of the two officers in New York shows how thoughtless the group has become.  From Breitbart: 

On December 20 the NAACP Legal Fund issued a press release saying the execution of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos show “the need for sensible gun control.”

I'm not kidding.  They actually led with that.

According to the release, we need also “need to thoughtfully address untreated mental illness.”

One thing the NAACP Legal Fund’s release said we don’t need to do is to “suggest a causal link between between these killings and the recent protests and activism focused on the serious issue of police violence against unarmed African Americans.” They suggest that pushing such a “causal link” may escalate “an already tense state through rumor and conjecture.”

That's absurd.  Of course there's a link.  The activism, and the raw nature of some of the chants we heard from radical marchers, inevitably had their impact on weak minds.  The murderer posted things on social media that clearly showed the effect of anti-cop hatred.

The NAACP does not mention that the attack on the officers took place in a state with some of the strictest gun control laws in the country–laws which were impotent against the criminal desires of the gunman.

COMMENT:  That is correct.  The NAACP is tired.  Like most tired liberals, its leaders fall back on the old discredited formulas.  No amount of gun control could have stopped this killer. 

Yes, he should have received proper mental help and, considering the fact that he had 19 arrests on his record, he probably should have been in prison.

In the end, though, this double murder was perpetrated by one man in a very highly charged atmosphere made worse by statements by the president, the attorney general, some black leaders, and the mayor of New York. 

December 22, 2014       Permalink

THE AFTERMATH – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:  I have no doubt that the liberal press will try to get the murder of two New York cops off the front page as quickly as possible.  Doesn't fit the party line. 

But this time I don't think it will work.  The shock has been too great, the possibility of more trouble also too great.  Already the alerts have gone out to police departments to be wary of copycat killers.  From Fox: 

Wear bulletproof vests. Avoid posting inflammatory statements on social media. Don't make arrests unless you have to. Don't patrol alone.

Those are some of the warnings police departments and unions around the country are giving to the rank-and-file after two NYPD officers were ambushed and shot in their patrol car in broad daylight Saturday afternoon.

The murders of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn heightened fears about the safety of law enforcement officials nationwide, though there is no evidence any threats are imminent. The gunman, 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, had vowed in an Instagram post to put "wings on pigs" as retaliation for the slayings of black men at the hands of white police.

Brinsley was black; the slain New York Police Department officers were Hispanic and Asian.

Investigators are trying to determine if Brinsley had taken part in any protests over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, whose names he invoked in his online threat, or simply latched onto the cause for the final act in a violent rampage. Protests erupted in recent weeks after grand juries declined to charge officers involved in Garner's death following a New York officer's apparent chokehold and Brown's fatal shooting in Ferguson, Mo.

After the officers' killings, a union-generated message at the 35,000-officer NYPD warned officers that they should respond to every radio call with two cars — "no matter what the opinion of the patrol supervisor" — and not make arrests "unless absolutely necessary." The president of the detectives union told members in a letter to work in threes when out on the street, wear bulletproof vests and keep aware of their surroundings.

Another directive warned officers in Newark, New Jersey, not to patrol alone and to avoid people looking for confrontations. At the same time, a memo from an NYPD chief asked officers to limit their comments "via all venues, including social media, to expressions of sorrow and condolence."

COMMENT:  What is clear is that Mayor de Blasio of New York is losing control of his own police department.  It is the price he pays for running a left-wing campaign against a department that has reduced the murder rate in New York by 80%.  Like most leftists, de Blasio is not interested in results, only the ideology by which those results are achieved.

December 22,  2014     Permalink

DECEMBER 21,  2014

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

OBAMA RISING? – The Gallup poll of presidential approval shows Obama rising to 47%.  He was at 41% in late October, just before the election.  It's hard to know whether this is an outlier, a normal fluctuation, or actual improvement.  Obama has been far more active in usual following the drubbing his party took at the polls last month.  The poll may simply reflect increased activity.  His disapproval declined to 49% from a recent 55%.  We'll have to see what other polls say in coming weeks.

GOOD DECISION – From Fox:  "A large sign outside a New Jersey elementary school that misspelled “December” appears to have cost the principal her $108,000 a year job.  The Bergen Record says the sign outside School 20 in Paterson also notified people of the date for “progress reepor” and contained a backward numeral 1.  City school board member Corey Teague circulated a photo of the error-filled signage and complained why nobody noticed for more than a week. December was spelled 'Dicember.'  'If this is how the administration takes care of signage, how can we expect the students to do better? We must be held to a higher standard,' he wrote in an email accompanying the photo.  Days after Teague brought up the sign, education officials announced that the principal, Antoinette Young, was being demoted and transferred to another school."  Good outcome.  Mr. Teague, who is African-American, will probably feel the heat from some "community" activists.  He is brave and did the right thing.

ABOUT TIME – From Fox:  "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is urging President Obama to demand that Cuba return convicted police-killer Joanne Chesimard before he proceeds with efforts to improve diplomatic relations with that country.  Chesimard was found guilty of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973 before escaping from prison and fleeing to Cuba. The 67-year-old Chesimard has since been provided safe haven by the Cuban government.  'Cuba’s provision of safe harbor to Chesimard by providing political asylum to a convicted cop killer … is an affront to every resident of our state, our country, and in particular, the men and women of the New Jersey State Police,' Christie wrote. 'I urge you to demand the immediate return of Chesimard before any further consideration of restoration of diplomatic relations with the Cuban government.'"  Good move by Chris, but it won't happen.  Obama's party is controlled by people who probably think Joanne Chesimard was a victim.

December 21, 2014       Permalink

IS THIS REAL? – AT 10:44 A.M. ET:  What's next, having an Iranian mullah serve as secretary of state?   The wisdom of Obama in action, from Fox: 

The Obama administration has asked China for help with curbing North Korea's ability to launch cyberattacks like the one federal officials say crippled Sony Pictures, according to a published report.

The New York Times reports that the White House requested help from Beijing in recent days, but the Chinese have not responded. However, a senior Obama administration official claimed to the Associated Press that the U.S. and China have shared information about the Sony attack. The official also says China agrees with the U.S. that destructive cyberattacks violate the norms of appropriate behavior in cyberspace. 

Oh, I'm sure they agree.  Really.

The United States has previously attempted to use China as a channel for influencing North Korean policy, particularly on matters such as nuclear tests, weapons launches, and relations with South Korea. However, successes have been rare and fleeting. In the specific case of the hack on Sony Pictures, The Times reports that Chinese cooperation would be the key to blocking North Korea's cyberwarfare capabilites, since virtually all of the country's telecommunications run though Chinese operated networks.

COMMENT:  I cannot wait to see what the Chinese do for us.  Maybe they'll write a letter, and, in exchange, Obama will give China the design for our latest fighter.

December 21, 2014       Permalink

WE GOT NOTHING – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:  Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said it best, after learning that President Obama had agreed to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.  Rubio, noting how little the United States got for granting this gift, called Obama one of the worst negotiators in presidential history.  Now Cuban boss Raul Castro piles on, making it clear that Cuba gave up virtually nothing for the historic coup.  From The Hill: 

Cuban president Raul Castro thanked President Obama for “a new chapter” in U.S.-Cuban relations on Saturday, but said the resumption of diplomatic relations would not mean abandoning communist governance.

“Every country has the inalienable right to choose its own political systems,” Castro said, according to the New York Times. “No one should believe that improving relations with the United States means Cuba renouncing its ideas.”

Its ideas?  If they're Cuban ideas, how about subjecting them to free elections.  Cuba is a dictatorship.  It's the dictators whose ideas count.

Castro said the island nation would begin undertaking gradual economic reforms to allow a system of “prosperous and sustainable communism” to take hold.

He also said that the rapprochement between the two countries was just beginning, saying of the sweeping changes to U.S. trade and travel policies that “the only way to advance is with mutual respect.”

I'd love to know what Castro's definition of "mutual" is.  Can there be doubts?

COMMENT:  We had all the cards in the negotiations leading to the change in our Cuba policy.  Cuba is a mess.  Its economy is collapsing.  Its people have no real freedoms.  The aid it was getting from Venezuela is being cut because the Venezuelan economy is similarly sick.  We could have made serious demands of the Castro brothers in exchange for recognition, but we did not.

I don't think Obama is one of the worst negotiators in presidential history.  I just think he sees negotiations as a means toward erasing American sins, as interpreted by the political left.  The president is a leftist, not a liberal or a moderate.  He is punishing his country, which he holds in low regard. 

December 21, 2014       Permalink

THE EXECUTION OF TWO NYPD COPS – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  The New York Times has not yet seen fit to comment on the execution of two New York Police Department officers at the hands of a crazed black fanatic with a long criminal record.  But the New York Post gets it right:

It’s come to this.

Two NYPD officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, doing nothing more than sitting innocently in their car — murdered in cold blood, in broad daylight.

Officials say it was revenge for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Hours earlier, the suspected gunman warned in an Instagram post, “I’m Putting Wings on Pigs Today.” His reasoning: “They Take 1 Of Ours. . . Let’s Take 2 of Theirs.”

Let’s stipulate upfront: The depraved, horrific actions of one crazed killer is not cause to revoke Americans’ 1st Amendment right to protest.

But words have consequences.

Clearly, the protesters — egged on by politicians and professional activists — have engaged in a warped campaign to fuel anger at cops. Even before Saturday’s slaying of these officers, some protesters had become violent and attacked cops.

“What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!” some chanted last week.
Now they’ve got their wish.

COMMENT:  I'd love to see how CNN, which has been whipping the anti-cop rhetoric, will handle this.  My experience has been that, after an incident like this, the leftist press does a couple of appropriate things, then tries to get rid of the story as quickly as possible.  Then, it simply returns to the original party line, as if nothing had happened.  Stand by.

It's a sad and angry day in New York.

December 21,  2014     Permalink