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DECEMBER 1,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

CHICAGO TOP COP OUT – From Fox:   Chicago’s top cop is out.  Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the news during a Tuesday afternoon news conference about Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, whom Emanuel hired shortly before his 2011 inauguration.  "I formally asked for Superintendent McCarthy's resignation," Emanuel said.  McCarthy, who came under fire following the release of a videotape showing a white cop shooting a black suspect 16 times, was “shell-shocked" after getting the news, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, citing sources. McCarthy and Emanuel reportedly met Monday night at City Hall and McCarthy was not fired. But Emanuel later made the decision that McCarthy had to go and phoned him to give him the news.  Trouble is, there is now a movement to force Emanuel to resign.  That would be a major blow to the national Democratic Party.  Emanuel was Barack Obama's first chief of staff in the White House.  His forced departure would vastly increase the power of militant minority groups in Democratic politics.

ANOTHER REVISED WEATHER PICTURE – From nola.com:   The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season ends quietly on Monday (Nov. 30), marking the second straight year with a below-average number of named storms. Credit a record-breaking warm-water El Nino in the Pacific and a variety of other climate conditions for the relatively inactive season, say climate scientists at Louisiana State University and Colorado State University.  The only threat to Gulf Coast communities was Tropical Storm Bill, a rain-producing storm that made landfall near Matagorda Island, Texas, on June 16 with top winds of 60 mph. Bill is blamed for four deaths and about $17.9 million in damages.  Seems to me that the climate-change crystal ball guys were saying, just a few years ago, that there would be a dramatic increase in major, violent storms because of global warming.  Will any climate-change prediction actually come true?

OBAMACARE RUMBLES – From The Hill:   The CEO of UnitedHealthCare on Tuesday said he regretted the decision to enter the ObamaCare marketplace last year, which the company says has resulted in millions of dollars in losses.  “It was for us a bad decision,” UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley said at an investor’s meeting in New York, according to Bloomberg Business.  UnitedHealth, the country’s largest insurer, announced last month that it would no longer advertise its ObamaCare plans over the next year and may pull out completely in 2016 — a move that sent shockwaves across the healthcare sector.  Hemsley’s remarks double down on his earlier warning that the ObamaCare exchanges remain weaker than expected after two years and that it will take far longer for insurers to profit from the millions of new enrollees.   Another brilliant bit of planning by Nancy Pelosi and her Obamacare army.  The whole thing has been so poorly executed.  And you may be sure that you and I will pick up the tab.

December 1,  2015     Permalink

AMERICANS TURN THUMBS DOWN ON GOVERNMENT – AT 8:45 A.M.  Why can't these peasants understand what our good friends in Washington do for them?  Obviously, they've been watching Fox News.  That's the answer!  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

Only one in five Americans—19 percent—say they trust the government always or most of the time, which is among the lowest levels recorded in the last 50 years, according to a report from Pew Research Center.

Additionally, 55 percent think that ordinary Americans could solve national problems better than elected officials and 74 percent say that politicians put their own interests ahead of the country.

“Negative views of elected officials are hardly a new phenomenon—for years, large majorities have faulted elected officials for losing touch with Americans and not caring about the views of average people.”

Large shares of both Democrats, 72 percent, and Republicans, 89 percent, say they can seldom trust the government.

“At a general level, the public finds the government frustrating and badly managed,” states Pew.

“Just 20 percent say the federal government runs its programs well, and 59 percent say it is in need of ‘very major reform,’ up 22 percentage points since 1997.”

COMMENT:  Another fine sendoff for Barack – his legacy is everything – Obama.  Clearly, poll results like that should help the GOP.  But, as we've said here before, Republicans have a long history of working hard to lose elections.  They seem to be at it already, but there's time to turn things around.

December 1, 2015         Permalink 

GET BIDEN READY, TELL HIM THERE'S AN ELECTION – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:   Hillary Clinton's e-mails continue to reveal a disturbing pattern.  How long can she survive this?  From Fox: 

The State Department’s latest release of Hillary Clinton documents brings the total number of Clinton emails known to contain classified material to nearly 1,000.

The department on Monday released its largest batch of emails yet, posting 7,800 pages of the former secretary of state’s communications.

The latest batch contains 328 emails deemed to have classified information. According to the State Department, that brings the total number with classified information to 999.

The emails in question were deemed classified before their release by the department – and the former secretary of state has said all along she never sent emails with material marked classified at the time.

But the large number of emails containing now-classified material further underscores how much sensitive information was crossing her private server, a situation her critics have described as a security risk.

Shortly after the release, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus released a statement saying, "With the number of emails containing classified information now numbering nearly one thousand, this latest court-ordered release underscores the degree to which Hillary Clinton jeopardized our national security and has tried to mislead the American people."

Her email practices are also the subject of a federal investigation.

COMMENT:  Bottom line, I don't think Hillary gives a hoot about national security.  She considers the laws of the United States beneath her, a view shared by her former boss, Field Marshal Obama.  For Hillary, it's all about Hillary, about ambition, about "me."

And the American people?  It's hard to know how much weight they'll give to the e-mail scandal in a general election.  Remember, the media will be on Hillary's side.  She is this year's Obama, the next hope of the hopeless sixties generation.

But Hillary must get the nomination first.  And the law may just catch up with her before that happens.

December 1, 2015       Permalink

FOLLOW THE MONEY – AT 8:05 A.M. ET:  The climate sweepstakes, er, I mean summit, is underway in Paris.  The mainstream media is painting it as Earth's last gasp, a final attempt to save civilization from 87 Octane.  Oh, there are some other guys there.  Need you ask who they are?  From the Washington Free Beacon:

A group of millionaires and billionaires that includes major investors in green energy are using the international climate talks kicking off this week to push for more government subsidies for the types of companies in which they are investing.

The Breakthrough Energy Coalition on Monday unveiled policy proposals demanding that governments step up their “investment” in green energy companies. The coalition’s founding members include a host of financiers with significant green energy portfolios.

At the same time, the group said it will be leveraging government support in its own investment work, which will target early-stage green energy companies.

Green energy is not sufficiently appealing to private investors at present, the coalition says. Therefore government must step in and provide extensive capital for firms working on wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies – the types of firms that Breakthrough will be backing.

The effort comes as world leaders gather for a United Nations conference on climate change, where the Obama administration is expected to push for greater government action to reduce U.S. and global carbon emissions.

COMMENT:  Did you read that quote?  Gee, I wonder why "green energy is not sufficiently appealing to private investors at present."  Could it be that much of the "breakthrough technology" actually holds very little promise?  Could it be that knowledgeable investors have serious doubts about the climate-change drumbeat?  Nah.  Couldn't be those things at all.  Barack wouldn't lie to us.

December 1,  2015     Permalink

NOVEMBER 30,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:40 P.M. ET: 

PROTECTING FANS – From Fox:  More guns are needed at NFL games to keep fans safe, according to the nation's largest police union -- which recently asked the league commissioner to let certain firearms owners pack heat on Sundays.  The National Fraternal Order of Police has asked the NFL to lift its ban on fans carrying guns at games, at least for retired and off-duty law enforcement officers who hold permits to carry concealed weapons. In a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell, FOP President Chuck Canterbury said armed cops are the best bet for stopping a terrorist attack inside a stadium.  “Today, I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to urge you to rescind this policy, which weakens the safety and security of NFL players, personnel and fans,” read the Nov. 20 letter, which was reported by BuckeyeFirearms.org. “The terrorist attacks and threats of attacks from organizations like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are selecting targets based on the amount of death and injury they can inflict -- mass murder and casualty events.  Sounds very reasonable to me, and a deterrent to terror and crime.  Of course, the officers would have to be carefully vetted, but that should be no problem. 

TRUE?  FROM THE TIMES OF ISRAEL –  US special forces are actively engaged in fighting against the Islamic State group in Iraq, according to Kurdish peshmerga fighters, despite official US policy that says its soldiers are only training and advising local militias, the Guardian reported on Monday.  Kurdish fighters showed the Guardian video clips in which Western-looking men were seen firing various weapons at IS militants in different firefights in northern Iraq.  “They fight and they even fight ahead of the peshmerga,” a Kurdish fighter named Karwan Hama Tata said. “They won’t allow anyone to take photos of them, but they take photos of everyone.”  The peshmerga fighters refused to allow the videos be published, the report said.  According to the Kurdish fighters, US special forces have been involved in the fighting for several months including in a battle on April 20 to retake Dawus al Aloka village. Attempts to retake the villages of Wastana and Saddam on June 11 and August 26 also saw US personnel in combat against the jihadists, although IS maintained control of the towns.  If true, Field Marshal Obama better go on TV and explain it.  Looks like the same kind of mission creep we experienced in Vietnam.  It may well be the right move, but it must be discussed with the American people.

HMMM – From CNN:  Washington (CNN) Hillary Clinton was joined by 13 of the 14 Democratic women of the U.S. Senate at a fundraiser that amounted to a Monday night pep rally for the candidate who could become the first female president.  The Washington event was an attempt by the front-runner's campaign to flex its establishment muscle as the first caucuses and primaries draw closer, but one Democratic leader was notably missing from the stage that hosted all the women: Sen. Elizabeth Warren.  Clinton never mentioned Warren's absence -- and ignored the questions when asked about it after the event, instead choosing to focus on her platform and the future of women in the Senate.  As the story goes on to say, Warren has yet to endorse Clinton.  Is she waiting for the results of the FBI probe into Clinton's tenure at the State Department?  That would be logical.  Has she been tipped some inside information about the probe?  That would be logical as well.  An awful lot of people don't want Hillary Clinton to be president,

November 30,  2015     Permalink

IS GERMANY NEXT? – AT 8:35 A.M. ET:   The flood of refugees into Germany is providing good fodder for local Islamist extremists.  A lesson for America in this?  From The Wall Street Journal:

BERLIN—The Paris attacks have raised fears of terrorists slipping into Europe by posing as refugees. But in Germany, the top migrant destination, security officials have another worry: Local extremists will recruit the newcomers to join the Islamist cause once they arrive.

German authorities warn that migrants seeking out Arabic-language mosques in search of the familiar are increasingly ending up at those attended by Islamist radicals. In interviews, security officials from Berlin to the southwest German state of Saarland said they have registered a sharp rise in the number of asylum-seekers attending mosques they believed attracted extremists.

Federal officials said they have counted more than 100 cases in which Islamists known to them have tried to establish contact with refugees. According to state and local agencies across the country, Islamists have offered migrants rides, food, shelter and translation help. In some cases, they have invited them to soccer games and grill parties, or brought them copies of the Quran and conservative Muslim clothing.

“They start by saying, ‘We will help you live your faith,’ ” said Torsten Voss, the head of the German domestic intelligence agency’s Hamburg branch. “The Islamist area comes later—that is, of course, their goal.”

Security officials across Germany describe the potential radicalization of migrants, still entering the country by the thousands every day, as a challenge that adds to Europe’s existing security threats. With Germany expecting to take in roughly one million asylum-seekers from the Middle East and elsewhere this year, authorities are scrambling to prevent new pockets of radicalism from forming.

COMMENT:  The Europeans are nuts.  This is an invasion, and they don't realize it.  These people aren't coming to Germany to become Germans.  We have seen that time and time again, and yet Europe, dominated by an adolescent left, refuses to understand.

There really won't be a Europe in about 50 years.  Many countries aren't even reproducing their populations.  They see immigration as a means to providing new laborers for factories.  Germany is in the worst shape of all.  Germany as we know it may simply cease to exist.  But for "sophisticates" it's merely a step toward integration and "multiculturalism."  But even Angela Merkel has said that multiculturalism has failed.  Trouble is, nobody is listening.

November 30, 2015        Permalink

INSECURITY – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  Security reviews in France following the recent attacks have revealed deep cracks, but at least there are signs that the flaws are being addressed.   From Townhall.com: 

The Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris has forced France to examine its security policies, including at the Charles de Gaulle Airport, where it was recently discovered that 57 employees who had access to airplanes and runways were on a terror watch list.

Now, the security passes of 86,000 workers at the Paris airport will be reviewed, according to a report by the Sunday Times of London.

Police carried out extensive searches of the airport under state-of-emergency powers after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed and 350 injured by Islamic State militants.

Belgium, where several of the Paris attackers had lived, also has pulled security badges from several airport workers after discovering that some had links to jihadis who had traveled to Syria.

Meanwhile, anxiety has been brewing about radicalism among bus, Metro and railroad workers.

Samy Amimour, who blew himself up in the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, managed to get a job as a bus driver while on a watch list.

The recent finding of Arabic graffiti on four planes at two French airports, including one that had “Allahu Akbar” written on a fuel tank hatch, has only increased security concerns. While the graffiti in and of itself is not harmful, it raises serious questions about who has access to restricted airport locations.

COMMENT:  We should be doing that kind of review here.  I'm afraid too many Americans believe that the oceans will save them.   There are ISIS sympathizers here, and you may be sure they're trying to infiltrate our most sensitive facilities.

November 30, 2015       Permalink

JOLTING – AT 8:05 A.M. ET:  The University of Chicago is canceling classes today because of a threat.  Obviously, the threat is a serious one.  From the Chicago Sun-Times: 

The University of Chicago has canceled all classes and activities on its Hyde Park campus Monday after the FBI alerted it to an online threat of gun violence, according to a campus statement.

University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer wrote that the university “will have an increased police and security presence on and around campus, including police personnel with visible weapons and other additional measures.”

“University security personnel are keeping in close contact with the FBI, which is continuing to investigate the threat,” Zimmer wrote.

Responding to a request for comment from the Chicago Sun-Times, FBI Special Agent John Hyde wrote in a statement: “Upon learning of a possible threat, we shared information with law enforcement and University officials, as is our practice. The decision to cancel classes was made by the University. Our investigation to determine the source of the online threat is ongoing.”

FBI counterterrorism officials alerted the school Sunday that “an unknown individual posted an online threat of gun violence against the University of Chicago, specifically mentioning ‘the campus quad’ on Monday morning at 10 a.m.,” according to the statement.

Zimmer wrote that the university canceled classes “based on the FBI’s assessment of this threat and recent tragic events at other campuses across the country.”

COMMENT:  This demonstrates that a key purpose of terrorism is terror, to instill fear and panic.  A major university can be shut down on the basis of a threat.  I suspect that this is the start of many such incidents. 

November 30,  2015     Permalink