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FEBRUARY 4,  2015

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

GREAT MOMENTS IN JOURNALISM – From Fox:  "NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday that he was not aboard a helicopter hit and forced down during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, recanting a claim that he and the network had repeated for years -- most recently on Friday night."  It wasn't a one-time error, exaggeration or misstatement.  It's gone on for years.  Pretty serious offense, it seems to me, and it will dog Williams forever.  The jokes are already starting.  Because a journalist's greatest weapon is his credibility, it might be wise for Williams to withdraw as anchor and become a "roving correspondent."  That's where they send you to the Himalayas and you roam and roam, and never come back.

THE WANTING OF WARREN – From The Hill:  "Susan Sarandon, Olivia Wilde and Edward Norton are among the more than 90 entertainers urging Sen. Elizabeth Warren to throw her hat in the 2016 presidential race.  The group — which also includes Mark Ruffalo, Natasha Lyonne, Julia Stiles, and “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon — penned an open letter this week to the Massachusetts Democrat, pushing her to make a White House bid."  Would someone please tell me who some of these people are? 

SCIENCE BULLETIN – From The Guardian, Britain's leading leftist paper: "Cockroaches may be ugly, they may be among the most loathed creatures on the planet but at least, scientists say, they have personality.  Researchers studying the behaviour of the insects have discovered that far from simply being a homogenous mass they have individual character traits.  The discovery is unlikely to change perceptions of them from skittering vermin to desirable beasts but it could go some way to explaining their evolutionary success."  I can't wait to talk to one.  I want to meet the cheerleader captain.

SETBACK – From Fox:  "A key Arab partner in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State stopped flying airstrike missions over Syria after a Jordanian pilot -- who was later killed -- was shot down in December, senior U.S. officials and diplomats from the region told Fox News.  The decision is a setback for the coalition, even as another member, Jordan, vows to ramp up airstrikes in the wake of its pilot being brutally executed by the Islamist terror group."  The ally who stopped is the UAE, which complained that American search-and-rescue units were not based close enough to the action to rescue any downed UAE pilots.

February 4, 2015       Permalink

CRAZY – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  We have plenty of coal.  If it can be made clean, why not use it?  Because it doesn't fit the Obama party line, that's why.  This is crazy stuff.  From The Hill: 

The Obama administration has shut down a Bush administration federal project aimed at demonstrating “clean coal” technology.

The $1.7 billion FutureGen 2.0 project was meant to build a coal-fired power plant in Illinois that captures carbon and pumps it underground.

Congress authorized $1.1 billion toward the project in 2009 as a continuation of a 2003 project Bush proposed.

“The U.S. Department of Energy has directed the suspension of FutureGen 2.0 project development activities,” Ken Humphreys, head of the public-private FutureGen Alliance developing the plant, said in a Tuesday statement.

“The DOE has concluded that there is insufficient time to complete the project before federal funding expires in September 2015. Despite the Alliance’s commitment to advancing carbon capture and storage technology and cleaner energy from coal, as well as our belief that there are solutions to address the impending deadline, the Alliance must comply with DOE’s directive.”

COMMENT:  Compare please to the billions the Obama administration invested in failed "green energy" projects.  Our supply of coal should make clean coal a priority.  But it doesn't fit the agenda of the people behind Obama.

February 4, 2015       Permalink

BRITISH CONSERVATIVE VIEW OF OBAMA – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  Okay, it's a conservative site, hardly unbiased, but this, From Breitbart London, is a gem, under the headline, "US President Barack Obama is leader of the free world."

Tough gig, but somebody has to do it. Trouble is, he seems utterly adrift when it comes to dealing with the day-to-day demands of such an onerous job description. Take Tuesday when he was asked for a reaction to ISIS releasing a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive.

Obama said: “You know, I just got word of the video that had been released. I don’t know the details on the confirmation. Should in fact this video be authentic, it’s just one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization. And I think we will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately defeated. It also indicates the degree to which whatever ideology they are operating off of, it’s bankrupt. We’re here to talk about how to make people healthier and make their lives better. And this organization appears only interested in death and destruction. Thank you very much, everybody.”

It could have been worse. Obama could have finished by saying: “Anyone for golf?” If he had, plenty of people would have believed him given his track record of profound disengagement from the problems that beset the world.

The clue to Obama’s dreamy bemusement lies in the words: “whatever ideology they are operating off of, it’s bankrupt.”

Go on Barack, take a quick stab at that ideology thing. Are they – Islamic State – really an ideological terrorist cover for Presbyterianism? Radical Quakers? Mormons, Jews, Hindus or pastafarians? Is that their political/religious orientation?

COMMENT:  Wonderfully stated.  We often get the best political quotes from the other side of the pond. 

February 4, 2015       Permalink

HOW WE ARE SEEN – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Osama bin Laden used to say that, in the Mideast, it's the strong horse that wins.  In fact, it's that way all over the world.  The world loves a winner, and hates a loser. 

Of course, the left-wing "sophisticates" express hatred for the United States when we use our power, but now that the world has seen six years of American weakness, the sophisticates don't seem quite so sophisticated.

How are we seen today in the Mideast, where most of the current action is?  Not well.  From Gatestone Institute: 

While the Egyptian government has been waging war on the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic radical groups, the U.S. Administration and some Europeans are continuing to hamper efforts to combat terrorism.

Many Egyptians and moderate Arabs and Muslims were shocked to hear that the U.S. State Department recently hosted a Muslim Brotherhood delegation. They were equally shocked when an EU court decided to remove Hamas from the bloc's list of terror groups.

The State Department's hosting of the Muslim Brotherhood leaders has outraged Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Sisi, who has been waging a relentless war against the organization over the past year.

One member of the delegation, Muslim Brotherhood judge Waleed Sharaby, posed for a picture while at Foggy Bottom, as he held up the organization's four-finger "Rabia" sign. (The gesture is named for Cairo's Rabia Square, where counter-demonstrations backing ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi -- who is from the Muslim Brotherhood -- took place in August 2013.)

"If the White House is out to offend some of its closest Arab allies and is intent on heightening their suspicions, it's succeeded," wrote Middle East expert Linda S. Heard. "If there's a plot, then it's unfolding," she added. "Just two days after the controversial visit, the Brotherhood called for a war against their fellow Egyptians."

A statement issued by the Muslim Brotherhood said, "It is incumbent upon everyone to be aware that we are in a process of a new phase, where we summon what is latent our strength, where we recall the meanings of jihad and prepare ourselves, our wives, our sons, our daughters, and whoever marched on our path to a long, uncompromising fight, and during this stage we ask for martyrdom."

COMMENT:   Read the rest of the piece.  It is frightening to think that Obama will be in office for two more years.  He is betraying our friends, appeasing our enemies.  And yet, questions about him, about who he really is, go unanswered.

February 4, 2015       Permalink 

THE NOTHING MAN – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  King Abdullah was in Washington when news came of the unspeakably cruel execution of the Jordanian pilot in ISIS custody.  He met with President Obama, then went to a meeting of Congressional leaders. 

And something remarkable happened.  It is reported from that Congressional meeting that President Obama was never mentioned.  Not by the members of Congress.  Not by Abdullah.

Normally, a world leader coming from a presidential conference would bring some kind of "greeting" from the president.  Normally, he would express thanks for the "great support" given by the president in a time of crisis.  We heard nothing.  And for good reason.  The king got nothing but Obama's limp hand.

Obama reacted to the brutal execution with the same passion of a man reacting to news that a letter was lost in the mail.   Yes, he said we'd "redouble" our efforts against ISIS, and eventually defeat them, but he made his comments as if he were reading a grocery list.  No passion.  No feeling.  No nothing. 

President Roosevelt, after Pearl Harbor, spoke of our "righteous might."  President Kennedy assured the world that we would "pay any price" in defense of freedom.  President Reagan demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall."  President Obama will "redouble our efforts," going from five percent of what is necessary to ten percent.

It is embarrassing.  And it is dangerous.  But there is silence among our "elite" journalists.  They have too much invested in the glorified town councilman who sits in the Oval Office.

February 4, 2015       Permalink

FEBRUARY 3,  2015

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

REVENGE – From Fox:  "Jordan said it had executed two prisoners early Wednesday after a new video surfaced on the Internet Tuesday showing ISIS burning alive a Jordanian pilot the terror group had held since December.  Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said that prisoners Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli were executed. Al-Rishawi has been on death row for her role in a triple hotel bombing in the Jordanian capital Amman in 2005 that killed dozens. Over the past week, Jordan had twice offered to swap her for the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh. However, officials have said his captors did not deliver proof he was still alive, and the swap never moved forward."

THE UN IS SHOCKED, SHOCKED – From AP:  "Beirut (AP) – The U.N.’s World Food Program says it is 'extremely concerned' about images circulating on social media showing Islamic State labels affixed to its food aid boxes in Syria.  It said in a statement Monday that it was still trying to verify the photos, but that they appear to have been taken in the northern Syrian village of Deir Hafer, which was last reached by the WFP on Aug. 5, when a convoy delivered 1,700 food rations, enough to feed 8,500 people for a month."  We're sure the UN is extremely concerned.  Just like it was extremely concerned about Hamas missiles stored in its facilities in Gaza.  Real concerned.

JERK – A perfect label for a particular sports journalist.  From Daily Caller:  "The Nation’s Dave Zirin (the same journalist who brought us the genius idea that not cheering for the Seattle Seahawks is racist) wrote a post-Super Bowl column attributing the Seattle Seahawks’ horrible decision to throw a pass on the one-yard line in the final seconds of the game to “the politics of race” and an anti-Marshawn Lynch conspiracy. The theory, as relayed by Zirin, is that Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll called a pass because he wanted the young, clean-cut quarterback Russell Wilson to be seen as the game-winner, not the renegade running back Marshawn Lynch. The only source for this theory is a disgruntled anonymous figure in the Seahawks locker room."  Tacky, just tacky.

AND WE LET THEM VOTE? – According to a new poll, 77% of 18-34-year-olds cannot name either senator from their own state.  I remember when the vote was given to 18-year-olds.  I thought it was a mistake, that we should go in the other direction and not let people vote for president until they were at least 25.  Actually, I'd prefer 55, but maybe that's a tad undemocratic.  How about 35?

February 3, 2015       Permalink

UKRAINE – AT 8:33 A.M. ET:   Ukraine is coming back into the news, a victim of fairly naked Russian aggression.  But Field Marshal Obama doesn't see it that way.  He just doesn't see it.  From the New York Post: 

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama touted his Ukraine strategy as a demonstration of “the power of American strength and diplomacy.” Word of this stirring success has yet to reach the Kremlin.

While President Obama praised his mastery, Russia’s troops and associated thugs were pressing ahead with the on-and-off invasion of Eastern Ukraine that has seized roughly another 200 square miles of territory the last few months.

The latest Russian offensive has dispensed with the pretense of supporting an indigenous uprising by ethnic Russians and become an even more naked land grab.

We believe in the power of 21st-century international norms. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes in the power of lies and brute force and implicitly asks, in the spirit of Joseph Stalin, “How many divisions do international norms have?”

And...

While Russia rolls its T-80 and T-72 tanks — with at least 1,000 Russian personnel in support — we have countered with night-vision goggles and first-aid kits.

A new report issued by Democratic foreign-policy experts decrying the lack of military aid to Ukraine notes that pro-Russian forces enjoy an advantage “in air superiority, intelligence, electronic warfare, command and control, artillery and rockets, supply and logistics, and sanctuary in Russia.”

Besides that, it’s a fair fight.

The Obama policy reflects the craven logic that says helping a victim defend itself from an aggressor is dangerously provocative.

COMMENT:  Two forces have gained strength during the Obama years – Islamic extremism and old-time Communism.  Hmm.  I wonder if it's a coincidence.

February 3, 2015       Permalink

WE ARE SAVED! – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton, moving toward a summer announcement of her candidacy for queen, is making a decision on where to place the royal headquarters.   My town has apparently been saved.  From The Hill: 

Hillary Clinton is focused on housing her 2016 campaign headquarters in New York City — potentially in Brooklyn, which has emerged as a leading contender.

Insiders say Clinton aides are looking at Brooklyn as a possible location, and that an office in White Plains, near the Clintons’s Chappaqua, N.Y., home, has been all but ruled out.

Urgent Agenda is done here, in White Plains.  I am relieved that we are to be spared the burden of Hillary's headquarters.  I mean, how many mink coats can you take in one day? 

For months, some in the Clinton universe thought that setting up the campaign in or around White Plains, a middle-class enclave with dozens of office parks, would be a good home for the former secretary of State’s second presidential campaign.

Well, I guess it would have been fun to zing her knowing she was only blocks away. 

But using Brooklyn for its headquarters could be a useful symbol for a campaign that hopes to win over young people and has already been attacked by Republicans as “old news.”

The borough is New York City’s most populous, and has had a renaissance over the last decade as many of its neighborhoods have been transformed. It is also one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the United States — another aspect Clinton’s team will want to highlight as it seeks to attract minority voters.

Have you heard that two-bedroom apartments in Brooklyn often go for $400,000 or more?  Yeah, real typical American town.

It would provide a stark contrast from the locale where Clinton based her 2008 presidential campaign: the Washington, D.C., suburb of Ballston, Va. Back then, Team Clinton was housed in a stodgy former Immigration and Naturalization Service building.

COMMENT:  No matter where she goes, she can't escape one place...Benghazi.

February 3, 2015       Permalink

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? – AT 7:58 A.M. ET:  The president has presented his budget.  There are no surprises.  Just get out your checkbooks.  From Fox: 

President Obama has packed more than 20 new tax increases into his proposed 2016 budget, which Republicans roundly blasted Monday as a tax-and-spend agenda that won't get their support.

Together, the tax increases total more than $2 trillion over the next decade. The president plans to use much of that to fund new middle-class tax cuts, as well as ambitious spending programs for highway construction, education benefits and more.

The biggest money-maker for the federal government would be a change allowing top earners to take tax deductions at the 28 percent rate, even if their income is taxed at the top 39.6 percent rate. This is projected to bring in $603.2 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.

In addition, top earners would see an increase in capital gains rates -- to 28 percent, up from the current 24.2 percent rate. The change would raise nearly $208 billion.

Some of the biggest tax hikes in the budget also include a 14 percent, one-time tax on previously untaxed foreign income (raising $268.1 billion); a 19 percent minimum tax on foreign income (raising $206 billion); and a fraction-of-a-percent fee on the 100 financial firms with assets of over $50 billion (raising $111.8 billion).

The budget plan, while gearing tax hikes toward the wealthy and tax benefits toward the middle class, wouldn't exclusively hit the top tier. It would also hit smokers of all kinds, who under the president's plan would see the per-pack tax rise from $1.01 to $1.95, bringing in an additional $95 billion in revenue.

In a message accompanying the massive budget books, Obama said his proposals are "practical, not partisan." But even before the books were delivered, Republicans found plenty to criticize.

"The president is advocating more spending, more taxes and more debt," said House Speaker John Boehner. "A proposal that never balances is not a serious plan for America's fiscal future."

Boehner and other GOP leaders said that the budget they produce this spring will achieve balance within 10 years, curb the explosive growth of government benefit programs and reform the loophole-cluttered tax code.

Of Obama's $4 trillion proposal, Boehner said: "Like the president's previous budgets, this plan never balances -- ever."

COMMENT:  I look forward to the GOP budget.  Obama's budget is unacceptable for reasons Mr. Boehner notes.  There are also hidden taxes that will neutralize the middle-class tax cuts that are promised.  And I don't think any tax should be raised unless we know exactly what it will be used for.  There is no attempt in this budget to address the scandal of failed or vastly overpriced federal programs.

February 3, 2015      Permalink

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – AT 7:40 A.M. ET:  The incompetence, the cynicism, the deception.  All rolled into one package.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

The State Department admitted on Monday that it misled reporters about a recent delegation of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and allies who were hosted for a meeting with officials at Foggy Bottom.

State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki claimed last week that the controversial delegation of key Brotherhood leaders and allies had been “organized and funded by Georgetown University.”

However, the university denied this is the case when reached by the Washington Free Beacon.

Psaki clarified her original comments made on Jan. 29 during a Monday meeting with reporters.

The meeting between the Brotherhood allies and the State Department sparked controversy in Washington and Cairo, where Egyptian government officials expressed anger at the Obama administration for hosting representatives of a group they consider to be terrorists.

The State Department meeting was attended by a deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor and other State Department officials.

While Psaki continued to defend the decision to host the Brotherhood allies at the State Department, she clarified that Georgetown actually had nothing to do with the delegation.

COMMENT:  Well, I guess it's good to get the facts straight.  But, bottom line, we have to wonder why our State Department would have a meeting with a group that is anti-American, anti-woman, and anti-Semitic.  Oh, wait, President Obama seems to have a soft spot for the Brotherhood.  Maybe that's the reason.

The government of Egypt is not a perfect government by any means, but it is one of the few that is taking on Islamic extremism, and actually calls it by its name.  Obama shows contempt for the Egyptian government, just as he shows contempt for the Israeli government.  But the Iranian government?  Hey, no big problem.  The Cuban government?  Even a smaller problem.

Do you think we're being had?

February 3,  2015     Permalink