Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

Our Angel's Corner archive is here.

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

DECEMBER 7,  2015

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

SOCIAL JUSTICE – We have here a major breakthrough in the fight for social justice, equality, and nice stuff.  From NRO:   A petition addressed to Adele, President Obama, and Billboard on Change.org demands that the singer (Adele) admit that she has “little talent” and is succeeding mainly because of her white privilege. “Adele sold over 3.38 million copies of her album ‘25′ and the media is praising her as if Adele’s success has everything to do with talent,” reads the petition, written by Rhianna Jones. “Rather, it’s her white privilege that has put her on top,” it declares. The petitioners also “demand that Adele donates her money to African-American causes such as #Blacklivesmatter.” It’s not clear why exactly the petition is also addressed to President Obama — perhaps Ms. Jones is outraged that the leader of the free world hasn’t pushed the less important issues like ISIS aside to deal with the more serious ones like a singer’s being white and successful at the same time. (I mean, would an executive order requiring Adele to admit she is only successful because she is white and give away her money to people who are not white in order to stay in the country really be too much to ask?)  You'd think there'd be some black leaders who understand the damage that immature, asinine stuff like this does to the image of their community.  But I suspect they're frightened of the little monsters they created.

LYNCH WALKS IT BACK – From The Politico:   Attorney General Loretta Lynch Monday appeared to recalibrate remarks she made last week that suggested the Justice Department could investigate speech deemed hostile towards Muslims.  "Of course, we prosecute deeds and not words," she said at a press conference Monday to announce an unrelated civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department.
Some conservatives criticized Lynch for her comments to a Muslim civil rights group, where she lamented "the ability of people to issue hateful speech of all types from the anonymity of a screen."   Speaking to a Muslim Advocates dinner in Arlington, Va., Lynch affirmed that "this is a country that is based upon free speech." However, she went on to suggest that the Justice Department would "take action" when such speech "edges towards violence, when we see the potential to lift...that mantle of anti-Muslim rhetoric."  First Amendment precedents generally protect speech, even hateful speech, from punishment unless the comments are intended to incite direct action against specific individuals or in a specific place.  Occasionally sanity prevails.  There is no huge anti-Muslim movement in America.  Hate crimes against Muslims are actually comparatively rare.

NEWS NOTE – From NBC:   Since October 10, ISIS and its sympathizers around the world have killed at least 525 people in six attacks in six countries outside its so-called caliphate.  American counterterrorism officials say that of the six attacks, three were directed by ISIS from its territory in Syria and Iraq and another two were so-called "announcement" attacks -- local ISIS elements revealing their existence in dramatic fashion.  The Junior Varsity is becoming more and more effective.  But Field Marshal Obama assures us that his strategy is just right.

December 7, 2015       Permalink

OPPOSITION WINS IN VENEZUELA – AT 8:24 A.M. ET:  The age of Chavez is fading in Venezuela.  For the second time in weeks – the first involving Argentina – a major Latin American country has rejected the left.  From Fox: 

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela's opposition won control of the National Assembly by a landslide, trouncing the ruling party and altering the balance of power after almost 17 years of socialist rule.

The opposition coalition won at least 99 seats in the incoming 167-seat legislature, electoral authorities announced after midnight Sunday. The ruling socialist party won 46 seats. The 19 remaining races remain up for grabs, but if enough are won by the opposition it could give the coalition a two-thirds supermajority needed to strongly challenge President Nicolas Maduro's grip on power.

The streets of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas broke out in shouts of joy, fireworks and car honks after National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena announced the partial results six hours after polls closed. In the plaza in wealthy eastern Caracas that was the epicenter of last year's bloody anti-government protests, a small group of opponents, some of them sipping champagne, burned red shirts that are the obligatory revolutionary attire.

Within seconds, Maduro recognized the opposition's win, saying that despite an adverse result Venezuela's democracy had triumphed. But he recalled the long history of U.S.-supported coups in Latin America in blaming the "circumstantial" loss on a conservative "counter revolution" trying to sabotage the oil-dependent economy and destabilize his rule,

"I can say today that the economic war has triumphed," Maduro, surrounded by his party's top leadership, said from the presidential palace.

Opposition leaders meanwhile spoke in strident terms, a prelude to what's likely to be a period of intense political fighting in a deeply polarized country mired in an economic crisis. Voter turnout was a stunning 74 percent, near levels normally seen in presidential voting, as Venezuelans punished Maduro's government for widespread shortages, a plunging currency and triple-digit inflation that has brought the economy to the edge of collapse.

COMMENT:  It's impossible to say if the anti-left trend in Latin America will continue.  When Obama "normalized" relations with the Castro government in Cuba, he asked for nothing in return, so there's been no letup in that dictatorial regime's grip on power. 

France also went to the right in regional elections yesterday, although runoffs will be necessary.

Our side has a superb chance to take the presidency next year, if the GOP can get its act together and actually nominate a candidate with a chance to win. 

Meanwhile, we can enjoy the win in Venezuela.  Old Hugo Chavez must be turning over in his socialist-provided grave.

December 7, 2015       Permalink

LOOK NORTH – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:  When we think of border security, we tend to look south.  But there are new concerns about our northern border, especially after the election of a leftish government in Canada.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The U.S.-Canada border is the likely path for terrorists to invade the country, according to top national security experts and Congress's most comprehensive review of America's 19,000 miles of coasts and land borders.

"The nexus between known or suspected terrorists in eastern Canada and the northern parts of the U.S. represent [sic] a significant national security threat," said a new report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, a conclusion reached as Canada decided to settle 25,000 Syrian refugees by March.

"The border is not secure," Sen. Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the committee, told Secrets. He included the southern border, where he said that drug cartels are teaming with "potentially Islamic terror organizations."

He raised concerns about the rushed refugee plans of new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "It is a concern with the new prime minister, Trudeau, opening up his border to refugees. They can come into America, so I would say that increases our risk," Johnson said.

COMMENT:  For years America had a wonderful friend in Canadian Prime Minister Steve Harper.  He was defeated for re-election, and his successor, Justin Trudeau, is a kid and a lightweight.  His father, the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was a bit on the anti-American side. 

We have reason for concern.  Getting into the U.S. from Canada is easy.  And escaping into Canada is just as easy.

December 7, 2015       Permalink

A BIT OF BOTHER – AT 8:05 A.M. ET:  Apparently those party poopers in the intelligence community have some bad news for Field Marshal Obama.  From the Daily Beast: 

A new U.S. intelligence report on ISIS, commissioned by the White House, predicts that the self-proclaimed Islamic State will spread worldwide and grow in numbers, unless it suffers a significant loss of territory on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria, U.S. officials told The Daily Beast.

The report stands in stark contrast to earlier White House assurances that ISIS had been "contained" in Iraq and Syria. And it is already spurring changes in how the U.S. grapples with ISIS, these officials said.

It’s also a tacit admission that coalition efforts so far – dropping thousands of bombs and deploying 3,500 U.S. troops as well as other coalition trainers -- have been outpaced by ISIS’s ability to expand and attract new followers, even as the yearlong coalition air campaign has helped local forces drive ISIS out of parts of Iraq and Syria.

The White House commissioned the intelligence report prior to last month's deadly strikes in Paris, and long before last week's terror attacks in San Bernardino, California, three senior U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to describe a confidential document and policy changes. It was also commissioned before Obama declared ISIS “contained” in Iraq and Syria — just a day before the Paris attacks — but it was delivered to the White House in the weeks afterward.

COMMENT:  I'd guess you can count on the fingers of one hand the senior people in the Pentagon who believe they have an effective commander-in-chief.  It may well be up to the next president to devise and implement an effective strategy, but by that time it may be too late.

December 7, 2015     Permalink

DECEMBER 6,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:05 P.M. ET: 

FRANCE VOTES – From BBC:  France's far-right National Front (FN) appears to have made big gains in the first round of regional elections, estimates show.  They put the FN ahead in at least six of 13 regions in mainland France.  The elections are the first electoral test since last month's Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed.  The centre-right Republicans party led by former President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to be in second place ahead of the governing Socialist Party.  A second round of voting will be held on 13 December.  The attacks have had their electoral effect.  FN is far right by European standards, but perhaps not as far right as European "intellectuals" like to think.  We're hoping, though, that Sarkozy's party rallies in the second round.  They're reasonably conservative without some of the rough ethnic edges of the FN.

VENEZUELA VOTES – From AFP:  Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelans voted Sunday in tense elections that could see the opposition seize legislative power from the socialist government and risk sparking violence in the oil-rich, cash-poor nation.   Hundreds of people turned out before dawn as voters fed up with soaring prices and food shortages cast their ballots to back the opposition, while others vowed to push on with the "revolution" of the left, in control since 1999.  Electoral commission deputy chief Sandra Oblitas said there was "very high turnout" as polls closed at 2230 GMT, with first results expected from 0230 GMT Monday at the earliest.  With the country of 30 million people suffering soaring inflation and poverty, a broad coalition of opposition parties is vying to gain control of the National Assembly for the first time in 16 years.  They want to force a change of course by anti-US leader Nicolas Maduro, criticized by international authorities for jailing his opponents and barring foreign observers from monitoring the vote.  The issue is whether the government will steal the election.  Barring foreign monitors is the first stage in that kind of effort.  (Late note:  Indications from Venezuela point in the direction of a win for the opposition.  But let us wait for the "official" count, which may or may not be honest.)

THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH – So President Obama addressed the nation on terrorism tonight.  As Johnny Carson used to ask, "Notice the difference?"  Yes, the president spoke with 7.1% more passion about terrorism than he has in the past.  We were overwhelmed with the heat.  And yes, he finally mentioned "terrorism" without uttering "workplace violence" in the same sentence.  Nor did he even blame BUSH (!!) or CHENEY (!!!!).  But he really didn't say anything significant either.  I was impressed with the comments of Michael Weiss of CNN, a real expert on terrorism, who noted that the president seemed constantly to imply that we were facing "new" or "evolving" threats, when in fact we're facing the same threats we faced during his first term, but which he never acknowledged with real seriousness.   So we'll just have to wait to see if there is any new sense of urgency, or just another speech down the road.  Meanwhile, Americans are justifiably anxious, and fearful that another shock awaits us.

December 6,  2015     Permalink

VENEZUELA VOTES – AT 11:32 A.M. ET:   One of the most underreported stories of the last year is the pushback against socialism in Latin America, the most recent case being the election of a free-enterprise government in Argentina.  Now Venezuela is going to the polls.  Will the trend continue?  From The Wall Street Journal:

CARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuelans began casting ballots Sunday in an election expected to give a frustrated opposition control of congress and the chance to roll back the power of a socialist government whose economic policies have led to long food lines and a collapsing currency.

Voters in pro-government districts nationwide were wakened before dawn by fireworks—a reminder by President Nicolás Maduro’s populist government that it was time to get to polling stations and cast ballots for the self-styled revolution of his predecessor and mentor, the late Hugo Chávez.

The election of the 167-member National Assembly is seen as a plebiscite on Mr. Maduro’s rule of a country that has the world’s highest rate of inflation, topping 200% year-to-year, and an economy the International Monetary Fund says will contract 10% this year.

Stringent currency controls, with only the state permitted to sell dollars, has resulted in shortages of everything from basic food items to shampoo to car parts, leading factories to drastically cut output and an overwhelming majority of Venezuelans to tell pollsters that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

In a barrio not far from the presidential palace in Caracas, voters like Norka Teresa Heredia reeled off complaints about the government, from rampant crime to corruption scandals to long food lines.

“We cannot find coffee, rice, sugar, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, spaghetti,” she said.

Standing nearby was Josefina Villalba, 75 years old, who said she also planned to vote for the opposition alliance known as MUD.

“We want Venezuela to be free from this yoke. It is not Communism, it is savagery. It is thievery. It is not the Venezuela we had before.”

A varied group of pollsters have said the opposition could win anywhere from a simple majority—84 seats or just a few more—to as many as 110.

COMMENT:  We'll report on the results.  Good luck to freedom.

December 6, 2015       Permalink

A NEW WARNING – AT 10:55 A.M. ET:  A warning from Europe about the technological capabilities of ISIS.  From the Jerusalem Post: 

The European Union should prepare for the possibility of a chemical or biological attack on its territory by Islamic State terrorists, a new report by the European Parliament warns.

According to the European Parliament research paper, first reported on by the Daily Mail, "European governments and EU institutions need to be on alert, and should consider publicly addressing the possibility of a terrorist attack using chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear materials."

The report warns that the group appears to have already manufactured rudimentary chemical warfare shells and used them to attack Kurds in Iraq and Syria on at least three occasions.

In addition, the paper cites multiple reports that Islamic State had several opportunities in recent years to gain access to non-conventional materials in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

The group also has the financial resources and proven success in recruiting skilled university graduates able to master the technical challenges of orchestrating a non-conventional attack in Europe, according to the report.

The report suggests that EU governments should begin to take precautions such as routinely equipping emergency crews with antidotes to a non-conventional attack and increasing security around key installations.

COMMENT:   If ISIS can do it there, they can do it here.  Are we ready?  Interested?  Or will party-line leftism block efforts to prepare the American people?  I personally know a thoughtful, peaceful, liberal gentleman who has already bought protective masks, simply based on his own knowledge of what is possible. 

This isn't scare talk, any more than warnings about German rearmament in the 1930s were scare talk.

December 6, 2015       Permalink

HE SPEAKS – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  President Obama addresses the nation from the Oval Office tonight on the subject of terrorism.  Aren't you excited?  Don't you have your recorder already set?  Aren't you telling members of your family, "Now we'll get the truth"?

No, I didn't think so.

As Clarice Feldman said at American Thinker, "We are led instead by a cowardly, ill-informed, blockhead who has done everything in his power to destroy national unity and power..."

I'm not expecting much tonight.  We've had seven years to figure out that our original concerns about this president were correct, even understated.  He is a leftist, not a liberal.  He doesn't much like his country.  He spent an inordinate amount of time with others who don't much like this country.  At each stage in his "career," odd things seemed to happen that propelled him forward, without much impetus from him.  He refused to release records that presidential candidates routinely release, like his academic records.  He was protected and advanced by a mainstream media that refused to examine him in any detail.  It got so bad that "Saturday Night Live" did a parody of the press, in 2008, sucking up to Obama.  His first "foreign-policy" act as president was to insult Britain, our closest ally, by sending back to London a bust of Winston Churchill that had rested in the Oval Office.

Tonight we will listen to this president tell us how he intends to fight terrorism, a subject in which he seems to have little interest.  I have no expectations of truth or wisdom.  I do have expectations of deceit and an attempt to blame the National Rifle Association for our woes. 

He has 13 months to go in office.  His attorney-general, Loretta Lynch, warned Americans last week that rhetoric that may approach calls to violence against Muslims will be prosecuted. (Who decides how to define that?)   This is the same attorney general who recently watched marchers charge down streets in American cities chanting about the police, "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon!"  Where were the prosecutions?

Fortunately, many Americans are waking up.  They know there will be more horrors like San Bernardino.  They have no reason to have any confidence in the national leaders who will respond to those horrors.

December 6,  2015     Permalink