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DECEMBER 15,  2015

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

TRUMP PLEDGES – No independent bid.  From The Hill:   Donald Trump says he won't run for president as a third-party candidate "no matter what" despite past flirtations with an independent bid.  Trump said he was "totally committed to the Republican party" during Tuesday night's GOP debate and repeated that vow in an interview immediately afterward.  "When they asked it, I did not hesitate. I decided to just say, 'Yes, I'm a Republican. I'm not going to be doing a third-party [campaign],' " he told CNN's Chris Cuomo.  I'm sure he realizes that an independent bid, if he loses the GOP nomination, would guarantee a Hillary victory.  I don't think Trump would want that villain status.

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – From The College Fix:   Saying that black women are “not hot” got a Colorado College student suspended for six months – appealed down from 21.  The sanction against Thaddeus Pryor was not the only action the school took against offensive comments posted Nov. 9 on the anonymous social-media app Yik Yak: His friend Lou Henriques was expelled.  Their jokes took place on a night where the Yik Yak conversation on campus was centered around the theme #BlackLivesMatter.  What started off as raising awareness quickly became “mud slinging,” Pryor told The College Fix in a phone interview. When someone wrote “#blackwomenmatter,” Pryor said he joined in, anonymously replying, “They matter, they’re just not hot.”  I don't know who's more childlike here, Pryor or the people who suspended him. 

MAJOR NUTRITION NEWS – From sfgate.com:   Meat-lovers, prepare to shove this in the face of all your vegetarian friends.  According to a new study from Carnegie Mellon, a vegetarian diet could be worse for the environment than a carnivorous one. Only pork chops can save the ozone now!  Fruits, vegetables, dairy and seafood have a more negative impact on the climate than meat, claims the study. The meat-less diet increases energy use by 38 percent, water use by 10 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by six percent.  "Eating lettuce is over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon," Paul Fischbeck, professor of social and decisions sciences and engineering and public policy, told Carnegie Mellon. "Lots of common vegetables require more resources per calorie than you would think. Eggplant, celery and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or chicken."  I feel completely vindicated, if a bit heavier.

THE DEBATE – I watched the debate, up to the point of severe boredom, at the Women's National Republican Club in Manhattan.  It's fun to watch among political friends, and to sense their reactions.  The debate itself was uneventful.  Once again, there were too many candidates.  Once again, the debate was too long.  Once again, it deteriorated into esoteric points, like the ethnic divisions in the Middle East.

Unless the herd is thinned, any future debates are useless.  Voters want to concentrate on a small number of contenders and make their choices.  I think all the candidates this time were respectable.  No one disgraced himself, but no one changed any minds.  Clearly, the leaders are Trump, Cruz, and Rubio, with Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina getting honorable mention.  I also might add that Jeb Bush is a fine man who was a distinguished governor, and I think he's gotten a bad rap throughout this campaign. 

The key question is still whether Trump's remarkable lead continues, or whether primary voters come to believe he's unelectable in a general election. 

December 15, 2015       Permalink

OH DEAR, ANOTHER CLERICAL ERROR – AT 5:08 P.M. ET:  More embarrassment for our queen-in-waiting.  From Fox:   

EXCLUSIVE: An intelligence community review has re-affirmed that two classified emails were indeed “top secret” when they hit Hillary Clinton’s unsecured personal server despite a challenge to that designation by the State Department, according to two sources familiar with the review.

The sources described the dispute over whether the two emails were classified at the highest level as a “settled matter.”

The agencies that owned and originated that intelligence – the CIA and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency or NGA – reviewed the emails to determine how they should be properly stored, as the State Department took issue with their highly classified nature. The subject matter of the messages is widely reported to be the movement of North Korean missiles and a drone strike. A top secret designation requires the highest level of security, and can include the use of an approved safe.

The sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record, told Fox News that while the emails were indeed “top secret” when they hit Clinton’s server, one of them remains “top secret” to this day -- and must be handled at the highest security level. The second email is still considered classified but at the lower “secret” level because more information is publicly available about the event.

The findings have been transmitted to the State Department, which continues to challenge the intelligence community’s conclusions about the classification of all the emails. But the department has no authority to change the classification since it did not originate the information.

COMMENT:  Poor Hillary.  Constantly harassed by the bad people.  When will they leave her alone?  I get the feeling that Obama might just hang her out to dry, and bring in Joe Biden to replace her.  The better to respect American law, you know.

The Clintons are the classic power couple who don't think rules apply to them. 

December 15, 2015       Permalink

DISGRACEFUL! – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  But expected.  The International Atomic Energy Agency has caved in to Iran, opening the door to billions in sanctions relief for one of the worst regimes in the world.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The board of the nuclear watchdog group agreed to close the file on Iran's past nuclear work on Tuesday, clearing the way for Tehran to receive billions in relief from international sanctions, according to news reports.

In truth, Iran stiffed the group and did not provide full information.  But who cares?  Let the good times roll!

The board's decision, according to diplomats quoted by Agence France-Presse, followed the recommendation of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano, who earlier on Tuesday said "the agency has no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009."

Amano is a good man who has vastly improved the agency.  But he's under substantial pressure by the Obama administration and European business interests to open Iran.  Never mind Iran's support for terror, its brutal regime, or its recent missile tests, in violation of Security Council resolutions.

"Nor has the agency found any credible indications of the diversion of nuclear material in connection with the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," he said.

"Significant progress has been made on the Iran nuclear issue, but now is not the time to relax. This issue has a long and complex history, and the legacy of mistrust between Iran and the international community must be overcome," he said. "Much work lies ahead of us. All parties must fully implement their commitments under the JCPOA. Considerable effort was required in order to reach this agreement. A similar and sustained effort will be required to implement it."

Amano said Iran must now complete its preparation to carry out its end of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the Iran deal is known. "Implementation day" will occur when the IAEA verifies that Iran has carried out the measures agreed to in Vienna between Tehran and six world powers.

COMMENT:  It's hilarious.  Iran hasn't even ratified the agreement, and apparently there are powerful forces in Iran who are opposed to it.  So no one is actually sure where we are.  And on this the future of the region may rest.

Another Obama triumph.

December 15, 2015       Permalink

WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 9:26 A.M. ET:   This is one of the best statements about the condition of Barack Obama that I've read.  Andrew Malcolm lays it on the line, with nothing held back.  It's a must read.  From IBD: 

President Obama took no media questions after his Monday Pentagon photo op on ISIS.
Smart move.

Because Obama's sad little PR offensive against terrorism these days raises more questions every time he tries to talk coherently. And it's taken and is taking a heavy toll on his already low job approval numbers. In the aftermath of Paris and San Bernardino's lax immigrant-vetting and his minimalist handling of terrorism and ISIS, now the nation's top concern, according to polls.

Obama is on a terrorism talking tear right now because he's about to disappear into the Hawaii sunshine for another half-month of vacation. Yes, Obama's get-away trips are very expensive by the standards of normal Americans. His weekend golf trips alone this year cost taxpayers almost $2 million, or $20,000 per hole.

But Obama looks tired. Or bored. Watch his body language and face in the C-SPAN video below. He's clearly mailing it in. Notice how in his recited remarks, written before the meeting they purport to describe, Obama says "with a great sense of urgency" with the least sense of urgency imaginable.
Or around the 3:10 mark how he zips through what was supposed to be an emphatic presidential threat, just to get it over with: "Their leaders cannot hide andournextmessagetothemissimple Youarenext."

No wonder America's enemies don't take this president seriously. They see energy, vigor and commitment in his yada-yada global-warming remarks. And then this blah-blah-blah on a real national security issue. And the country's top military brass become human props, forced to stand there mute as uniformed gravitas.

Worse, Obama's still got another photo op to act out during a visit to the Counter-Terrorism center this week. He's trying to calm us down because Americans see right through his ISIS is "contained," "we are on the offensive" "we're going after terrorists everywhere" malarkey.

Obama has always counted on swell rhetoric to mask his shallowness. But now he's reaping the rewards of a public trust seriously corroded by his serial lies on so many issues -- thousands of new jobs just around the corner, ObamaCare, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, IRS, VA reforms, Guantanamo terrorist recidivists, decimated al Qaida.

The untruths are legion, part of the political burden that Hillary Clinton, his partner in blame, must answer for next year.

COMMENT:  That certainly says it.  Obama is a greater disaster than even Jimmy Carter, who at least was shoved out of office after one term.  Now Obama is going for a third term, with the character of the president to be played by that great actress, Hillary Clinton.

December 15, 2015        Permalink

DEBATE NIGHT – TRUMP COMMANDS – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  As readers know, my enthusiasm for Donald Trump is limited.  Maybe it's because we know him in New York as a showman, not a statesman.  And he isn't helped by the vulgarity of his comments.

At the same time, Trump has tapped into an anger and discontent that much of the media has ignored, or, in some cases, didn't know was even there.  One of my legitimate gripes about the American press is that it doesn't really know its own country.  And it certainly doesn't like what it does know.

The Republican debate is tonight.  It promises to be exciting, and tense.  From The Hill:

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has increased his lead over GOP rivals to its largest margin yet in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released early Tuesday.

Trump sits at 38 percent among registered Republicans and GOP-leaning independents in the latest survey, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) at 15 percent, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) at 12 percent and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 12 percent.

All other candidates remain in the single digits, with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush taking 5 percent in the latest survey to round out the top five candidates.

Cruz has essentially doubled his support in the poll compared to last month, while Carson's support has been cut roughly in half. Trump has gained 6 points and Rubio has gained 1 point since mid-November.

National polls are viewed with less emphasis than those conducted in states where the first votes in the nominating process are cast starting in early February.

Cruz led Trump in Iowa in a Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll released over the weekend, and the dynamic between the two will be of major interest at the latest GOP debate Tuesday night.

Trump has maintained a solid lead in New Hampshire polls, though several rivals pushing for establishment support have shifted in polling position recently.

The latest ABC/Post survey finds Trump trailing Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head matchup, 53 to 40 percent among adults. It's a 6-point margin among registered voters, however.

COMMENT:  And among likely voters it's probably even closer.  The point is that there is no great yearning for Hillary.  A good Republican candidate could probably defeat her, even if she survives the FBI investigation into her e-mail records.

But finding that Republican candidate could be difficult.  The party has a long record of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. 

As for Trump, it's hard to determine if his support can translate into the 50% plus one of delegates to the national convention.  His negatives are also very high.  And opposition to him has yet to focus on one competitor.

December 15,  2015     Permalink

DECEMBER 14,  2015

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

NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE – From London's Daily Mail:   Hundreds of asylum-seekers entering Norway were discovered to have images of ‘executions’ and ‘severed heads’ on their mobile phones.  The revelation comes amid heightened fears that ISIS is exploiting the migrant crisis to smuggle fighters into Europe, following last month’s attacks in Paris.  Police admitted that the ‘explosion’ of refugees crossing into the country over the summer and in recent months meant that security checks were less thorough than required, and weren’t checking the background of those entering the country.  I'm sure the images were simply parts of medical-school instructional videos.  Don't you think?

PRIORITIES – From the Washington Examiner:   The White House on Monday began "staff-level" meetings and calls with religious leaders to discuss how they could help combat growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States.  Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, and Melissa Rogers, who leads the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, held a conference call with leaders of all religions from across the country.  "Spoke with 890+ religious leaders to thank them for speaking up for every American's right to be free from religious discrimination," Jarrett tweeted on Monday. That right apparently does not extend to the Little Sisters of the Poor and other Christian groups that were savagely harassed and ridiculed during the debates over Obamacare.  Nor does it extend to Jews, who, according to the FBI, are five times more likely than Muslims to be victims of hate crimes.  By all means, let us stand for equal treatment of all Americans, but let's actually mean it.

MAJOR DIETARY NEWS – From Ohio's Chronicle-Telegram:   OBERLIN — Some Oberlin College students have taken issue with the campus dining services at the college, saying dining services is improperly preparing dishes and labeling them as Asian.  Clover Linh Tran, a student at Oberlin and co-chair of the Vietnamese Student Association, called for a meeting with campus dining after noticing inaccuracies in several Asian dishes that confused students.  For example, a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich was being served, but used the wrong bread and had coleslaw on it rather than pickled vegetables. Another dish was called “tandoori,” an Indian dish usually served for the Hindu holiday of Diwali. However, the dish had beef in it, which many Hindus do not eat.  The sushi served on campus was also a concern, one that some students even considered to be disrespectful.  This better get resolved soon, before the anthropology students go on a hunger strike.

UNBELIEVABLE – From the Hill:   Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson decided against ending a secret U.S. policy that prohibits immigration officials from reviewing social media posts of foreigners applying for U.S. visas, according to a report by ABC News.  Johnson decided to keep the prohibition in place in early 2014 because he feared a civil liberties backlash and “bad public relations,” according to ABC.
“During that time period immigration officials were not allowed to use or review social media as part of the screening process,” John Cohen, a former acting undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security for intelligence and analysis, told ABC News.  One current and one former senior counterterrorism official confirmed Cohen’s account to ABC.  Wilful blindness.  More proof that this administration is run by doctrinaire leftists who place political correctness before the safety of Americans.

December 14, 2015       Permalink

BERGDAHL TO FACE COURT-MARTIAL – AT 4:23 P.M. ET:  Bowe Bergdahl, who is alleged to have deserted his unit in Afghanistan, will face a court-martial on that and other charges.  Of course, he is innocent until proved guilty, but the charges are very grave, and have clearly been vetted very carefully.   From ABC News:

Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl’s case has been referred to a general court martial, where he could face a life sentence if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy and he could face five years of prison time if convicted of desertion. On June 30, 2009, Bergdahl walked away from his unit’s remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban for the next five years until a controversial prisoner swap for five former Taliban officials held at Guantanamo.

"The U.S. Army Forces Command's Commanding General referred two charges today, Dec. 14, in the case of United States vs. Sgt. Robert B. Bergdahl to a General Court-Martial," the Army said in a statement.

"The two specific charges referred under the U.S. Armed Forces' Uniform Code of Military Justice are: (1) Article 85: 'Desertion with Intent to Shirk Important or Hazardous Duty;' and (2) Article 99: 'Misbehavior before the Enemy by Endangering the Safety of a Command, Unit or Place,'" the statement added.

Bergdahl's attorney, Eugene Fidell, said in a statement that Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, did not accept the recommendation from a pre-trial hearing that Bergdahl’s case should be referred to a special court martial that would have limited prison time for a conviction to a year. Instead, Abrams decided to refer Bergdahl’s case to a general court martial for which he could get five years if convicted of desertion and a life sentence if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy.

"The convening authority did not follow the advice of the hearing officer who heard the witnesses," said Fidell, noting he "had hoped the case would not go in this direction."

At a pre-trial hearing in September known as an Article 32 hearing, Major General Kenneth Dahl, who had conducted an exhaustive investigation of Bergdahl’s case testified that he felt Bergdahl should not face jail time if convicted. “I do not believe that there is a jail sentence at the end of this process," Dahl said. "I think it would be inappropriate.”

COMMENT:   Very intriguing.  From appearances, and I don't know the internal details, Gen. Abrams made his decision without interference from the Obama White House.  You'll recall that Field Marshal Obama made a big deal of getting Bergdahl released by the Taliban, even inviting Bergdahl's parents to the White House and displaying them before the public, wherein it became clear that Bergdahl's father was batso.

Let's stretch it a bit.  Is this an indication of things to come, like a hands-off policy involving the FBI probe of Hillary Clinton?   This is pure speculation, of course, but the White House could say, "We don't interfere with FBI investigations," and leave Hillary to her fate.  Just askin'.

December 14, 2015       Permalink

THE MARKET STARTS TO WORK – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  I've long agreed with the proposition that the college bubble will soon burst – that Americans will finally see that we send too many people to "college," that many colleges are glorified high schools or even adolescent sandboxes, and that "college" isn't, in many cases, worth the money spent on it.  Now we're starting to see some hard-knuckle economic calculations to back up the doubts.  From USA Today: 

College is certainly an investment, but it’s worth it — right?

Maybe not, according to new research from Goldman Sachs.

The company said in a research note published in early December that the average return on college is falling. In 2010, students could expect to break even within eight years of finishing school. Since then, that has increased to nine years. And if this trend continues, students who start college in 2030 without scholarships or grants, it said, may not see a return on investment until age 37.

Recent graduates can relate to the report. Mary Kate Baumann, a 2010 graduate of a private college in upstate New York who also graduated from journalism and business graduate programs at the University of Missouri this year, said, “My undergraduate education was over $200,000 in total and my first job paid only $28,000. That’s a large disparity.”

Goldman Sachs calculated the economic return on college education as the “total all-in cost of college (net of grants and scholarships) and the wages foregone during the 4 years of study versus the wage premium that undergraduate degree holders enjoy versus high school graduates over their working life.”

While the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported in October that the job market for grads has seen recent improvements, Goldman Sachs said wages still aren’t cutting it to make up for education costs.

Of course, many students still say college is money well spent.

COMMENT:  Traditionally, we've been told that the economic benefits of college are less important than the intellectual benefits.  You know the line – we "grow" in college.  Trouble is, many colleges, including "prestigious" ones, have deteriorated into bad jokes, wallowing in victimhood and political correctness.  I'm not sure one grows in that environment, but one can certainly shrink.

December 14, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER HILLARY DAY, ANOTHER SCANDAL – AT 9:12 A.M. ET:   Why do they torment her so?  What did this poor woman do to deserve such scrutiny?  She's a grandmother, an abused wife, a $200,000-a-speech common wage earner.   Are they trying to take the bread from her child's mouth?  From Fox: 

A conservative watchdog group will call for a federal investigation Monday into Hillary Clinton's actions toward a deep-sea mining company tied to her son-in-law, according to a published report.

According to Time magazine, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), plans to file a complaint with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics alleging that Clinton gave Neptune Minerals "special access to the State Department based upon the company’s relationships with Secretary Clinton’s family members and donors to the Clinton Foundation."

The complaint comes two weeks after emails released by the State Department show that Clinton, now the Democratic presidential front-runner, ordered a senior State Department official to look into the request from Marc Mezvinsky.

Mezvinsky, a partner in a New York hedge fund and the husband of Clinton's daughter Chelsea, had received an email in May 2012 from investor Harry Siklas asking if he could help set up contacts with Clinton or other State Department officials.

That August, Clinton relayed a copy of the investor's email to Mezvinsky to Thomas Nides, then a deputy secretary of state and now vice chairman at Morgan Stanley, a major New York financial services firm. "Could you have someone follow up on this request which was forwarded to me?" Clinton asked Nides. He replied: "I'll get on it."

COMMENT:  So she's family-oriented.  So what?  Really, at this point what difference does it make?  I say leave Hillary alone!  She has enough problems with the FBI.

December 14, 2015       Permalink

CRUZ BECOMES RESPECTABLE!! – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  You know when a Republican candidate for president is becoming respectable.  The New York Times viciously attacks him.  It is a badge of honor, to be worn proudly.  From Howard Kurtz at Fox:

Just as Ted Cruz has become a serious threat for the nomination, we learn that he faces a gigantic obstacle that could doom his campaign.

In the view of the New York Times, he has one helluva charm deficit.

The paper pulled out the stops in depicting the Texas senator as socially awkward and not very likable. As the Times put it, “now comes the hard part: making friends.”

Now personality is part of politics and undoubtedly fair game. And no one would accuse Cruz of being a warm and fuzzy guy. He has a combative public personality. He’s alienated some of his Republican colleagues with tough tactics, filibusters, a government shutdown and sometimes harsh rhetoric.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a more approachable side. And the Times story seems to me to vacuum up every available negative dust ball to paint a dark picture.

It begins with the choice of opening anecdote:

“Senator Ted Cruz had been at it for several minutes, offering handshakes and uneasy smiles, when he encountered an apparent holdout in the crowd.”

The haughty holdout? A 3-year-old boy, who didn’t respond to the senator’s questions about toy dinosaurs and fire trucks. As if that’s never happened to any other politician.

“The article began by mocking a shy little boy,” a Cruz adviser tells me. He described Cruz as “a great guy to hang out with, a night owl who likes to laugh and have fun. People don’t see that side of him. He’s actually a little nerdy.”

Cruz did say in a debate—dutifully noted by the Times—that “if you want someone to grab a beer with, I may not be that guy. But if you want someone to drive you home, I will get the job done and I will get you home.” The adviser acknowledged that this was a mistake.

I haven’t hung out with Cruz, but I’ve chatted with him enough to know that his political passion is leavened by an easy sense of humor.

COMMENT:  Ted, you've arrived.  The New York Times hates you.  We'll send you a plaque commemorating the achievement.

Cruz is not Mr. Popularity.  But he is Mr. Brilliant.  If he gets into a scrap with Hillary, he'll have her for lunch.

December 14,  2015     Permalink