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FEBRUARY 6,  2015

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIR – From the Washington Times:  "Friday (today) marks what would have been Ronald Reagan’s 104th birthday — not forgotten by those who continue to revere and appreciate what he stood for.  'Reagan continues to hold a tight grip on the American imagination and he is steadily moving into a place in history occupied by FDR, Lincoln and a few select others,' historian Craig Shirley tells Inside the Beltway.' ... Reagan is also remembered for his prowess on the world stage, and his willingness to deem the Soviet Union an 'evil empire' in a speech over three decades ago, The 40th president told his audience, 'If history teaches anything, it teaches that simple-minded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly. It means the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.'"  Compare please to our current president.

SNUBBIN' BIBI – The Obama administration continues its tradition of treating America's friends far worse than its enemies.  Obama is reported upset, maybe near tears, because Speaker Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress without getting a White House blessing first.  It's the way royalty thinks, you know.  So now Joe Biden's office says that the veep won't attend because of a long-planned trip abroad, even though they haven't bought the tickets and don't know where he's going.  Maybe Joe is studying travel magazines.  A cruise might be nice.  But the snub of Netanyahu is petty politics on the world stage.  If Obama were smart, which he ain't, he'd welcome Bibi and invite him to the White House, and look big.  But Obama never looks big, which is why he's increasingly ignored.

ISIS IN AMERICA – From The Hill:  "Federal prosecutors on Friday indicted six U.S. residents for allegedly providing assistance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).  The suspects are charged with conspiring to and providing material support to terrorists.  The Justice Department identified them as Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, his wife Sedina Unkic Hodzic, and Armin Harcevic from St. Louis County, Mo., Nihad Rosic of Utica, N.Y., Mediha Medy Salkicevic of Schiller Park, Ill., and Jasminka Ramic of Rockford, Ill.
Zijad Hodzic and Nihad Rosic are also charged with 'conspiring to kill or maim persons in a foreign country,' according to a statement from the Justice Department."  Don't worry about it.  Nothing to see, nothing to see.  Who are we to question someone else's culture?

CALL THE MOVING VAN – From The Hill:  "The president of NBC News says the company is weighing the 'best next steps' for 'Nightly News' anchor Brian Williams as it investigates his false claims that he came under enemy fire during an Iraq visit.  'This has been a difficult few days for all of us at NBC News,' Deborah Turness wrote in a memo to staff that was leaked on Twitter.  'Yesterday, Brian and I spoke to the Nightly News team. And this morning at the Editorial Exchange, we both addressed the wider group. Brian apologized once again, and specifically expressed how sorry he is for the impact this has had on all of you and on this proud organization,' she continued."  The only way Williams can honorably stay on is if he were exonerated or if there were mitigating circumstances.  I don't see either possibility right now.  Indeed, there are probes underway of some of his reporting from Hurricane Katrina.  I don't think this will have a pretty ending.

February 6, 2015       Permalink

NOT SO FAST, GUYS –  A new jobs report is out.  Looks pretty good...until you work the details.  From The New York Times, which treats any good economic news as if it were victory in World War II.

In a sign the economic momentum evident late last year has carried into 2015, the Labor Department said Friday that American employers added 257,000 jobs in January, as wage growth rebounded and more people joined the work force.

The Labor Department said on Friday that the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent, from 5.6 percent. But that was mostly because the portion of Americans in the work force rose slightly last month, a positive sign.

Over the course of 2014, the economy added about 250,000 jobs a month on average. But employers grew bolder in the final quarter of the year, creating an average of more than 290,000 jobs a month in October, November and December. Hiring in sectors like leisure and hospitality, retail, and professional and business services was especially robust.

In addition, the Labor Department on Friday revised the December gain to 329,000 jobs, from its initial estimate of 252,000.

And now for the other side:

Since the beginning of this year, some other economic indicators have been lackluster, including data last week that showed economic output grew at a slower-than-expected 2.6 percent rate in the fourth quarter of 2014.

On Thursday, new data revealed a big jump in the country’s trade deficit in December, as imports surged and exports fell. With the dollar's gaining strength and the euro and other currencies’ weakening, the trade balance may continue to weigh on the economy in 2015.

And there is this gem from Gallup, bringing us down to Earth.  From Gateway Pundit: 

Gallup CEO and Chairman Jim Clifton doubled-down on his comments earlier in the week on the misleading Obama unemployment rate.

Obama says the unemployment rate is 5.6% which is very misleading.

Clifton went on America’s Newsroom today to explain the misleading government numbers.

"The number of full-time jobs, and that’s what everybody wants, as a percent of the total population, is the lowest it’s ever been… The other thing that is very misleading about that number is the more people that drop out, the better the number gets. In the recession we lost 13 million jobs. Only 3 million have come back. You don’t see that in that number."

COMMENT:  If the economy were truly coming back, Americans would feel it.  They don't.  The employment picture is actually pretty bad, especially when you look at the quality of jobs and whether they're full- or part-time. 

But you may be sure the Obama media will tell us that the good times are rolling.  I guess they are, at Georgetown parties.

February 6, 2015       Permalink

SNUB – AT 9:09 AM. ET:   We pray for the day when we have a president who treats our enemies as badly as he treats our friends.  It will not happen with Obama, who has contempt for his own country and its values.

Several extraordinary things happened in the last few days to make our point.  King Abdullah of Jordan, who is emerging as a major figure in the Mideast, met with President Obama at the White House, after the video of the Jordanian pilot being burned alive was made public.  Abdullah then went to meet with Congressional leaders.  Reports from the meeting say that he never mentioned Obama once.

That is unheard of, absolutely unheard of.  Any leader meeting with the president of the United States would issue a statement like, "I just met with your president.  I want to thank him for his kind words and support in this hour of crisis."  Abdullah never spoke Obama's name.

Abdullah then went back to Jordan.  And who does he speak with by phone?  Bibi Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, despised by Barack Obama.  And, to boot, the transcript of the call is made public.  That is a signal to Field Marshal Obama that there are new alliances forming, that the field marshal's indifference and lack of zeal in supporting our traditional allies have been duly noted.  It is a stick in the eye to a president who was greeted as a demigod when he took office in 2009.  No more of that stuff.

And what did Obama do in the last day?  He went to the National Prayer Breakfast and lectured the audience on the deficiencies in Christianity.  Really smart move.

Can you believe all this is happening?

February 6, 2015       Permalink

AND FROM THE REAL WORLD – AT 8:55 A.M. ET:  A new warning this morning about Russian intentions, from a guy I've found very solid.  From Fox: 

NATO's former secretary-general has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could engineer a Ukraine-style intervention in one of the Baltic republics as the leaders of France and Germany flew to Moscow to make a last-ditch bid for peace in eastern Europe.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Britain's Daily Telegraph Thursday that Putin's goal was to reassert Russian dominance of Eastern Europe by testing, and ultimately fracturing the West's bedrock Cold War alliance.

"There is a high probability that he will intervene in the Baltics to test NATO's Article 5," Rasmussen said, referring to the section of NATO's charter mandating that other member states come to the defense of a fellow member under armed attack. "Putin knows that if he crosses the red line and attacks a NATO ally, he will be defeated. Let us be quite clear about that. But he is a specialist in hybrid warfare."

All three of the so-called Baltic republics -- Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania -- were part of the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. All three joined NATO in 2004. All three also have sizable minority populations of ethnic Russians. Rasmussen says his fear is that Moscow will generate a conflict under murky pretenses, In the case of Ukraine, the fall of the pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych prompted Russia's annexation of Crimea and a bloody civil war between Kiev's new pro-Western government and separatist rebels thought to be trained and equipped by Russia's military.

Article 5 has been invoked only once in NATO's 66-year history, by the U.S. after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It is not clear what would happen if a NATO member claimed Article 5 protection, but was turned down by the NATO council.

Rasmussen added that many of NATO's European member nations have slashed military spending to such an extent that they cannot defend themselves without U.S. help.

COMMENT:  I would take that warning very seriously.  Putin looks at the West and he sees only weakness and indecision.  Obama has become an international joke.  As Rasmussen noted, many European nations have hollow militaries.

Ukraine is in desperate crisis, but you'd never know it in Washington.

February 6,  2015     Permalink

FEBRUARY 5,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:48 P.M. ET: 

HE'S STILL THERE – Brian Williams is still with NBC.  His next project will be a video memoir of his time commanding Union troops during the Civil War.  It's a breathtaking eyewitness account.

WHY DOES HE OPEN HIS MOUTH? – Pastor Obama attended the National Prayer Breakfast today and lectured the flock on the past sins of Christianity.  Oh, by the way, he actually used the name "Christianity."  He didn't say the sins were committed by bad guys "in the name of a religion."  Oh, also, before I forget, he also said that sins like segregation and slavery were justified, in the name of "Christ."  He didn't say they were a perversion of Christ's teachings.  Now, Barack, repeat after me:  "Islamic extremism, Islamic terrorism, terrorism in the name of Mohammed."  Was that so difficult?

ANOTHER BRILLIANT DECISION – From the Washington Times:  "The Obama administration this year turned down a request from Jordan for Predator spy drones that would help it locate targets in the war against the Islamic State.  The refusal, disclosed by a House Armed Services Committee member, has gained attention since Jordan has emerged as a critical player in a U.S.-led coalition to destroy the Islamist terrorist group in the days after it released a video of its execution by fire of a captured Jordanian military pilot."  But you may be sure that the nuclear agreement with Iran, already shaping up to be a farce, will not address that country's development of long-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.  Obama is more concerned about Jordan having advanced weapons than he is about Iran.

February 5, 2015       Permalink

WE WEEP FOR MSNBC – AT 10:43 A.M. ET:   I cannot contain my sorrow at reports that MSNBC is suffering its worst ratings in ages.  From The Politico:   

MSNBC registered its lowest full-day rating in nearly a decade on Tuesday, a devastatingly low benchmark that shows just how severe the network's decline has become.

The liberal cable news network drew an average of 55,000 viewers in the all-important 25-to-54 year-old demo on Tuesday, its lowest full-day rating since July 2005, according to Nielsen ratings provided by an industry source. CNN had nearly three times as many viewers in the demo; Fox News nearly five times as many.

That low reflects a more general decline in recent years. In January, MSNBC's daytime ratings for January were down 20 percent in total and 37 percent in the demo when compared to the previous year. In primetime, total viewership was down 23 percent, while the demo dropped by 39 percent.

In October, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said the network was "experimenting" with new ways to regain momentum, spawning widespread speculation that he planned to make significant changes to the lineup. Ronan Farrow's show, which debuted last year and has received dismal ratings ever since, is one program that is widely believed to be up for removal. On Tuesday, it brought in just 11,000 viewers in the demo.

COMMENT:  Now NBC has a Brian Williams problem.  The once-great news division is a mess, and requires much more than tinkering.  It requires leadership, and we don't see much.

NBC might look at the Fox model.  No one denies that Fox's opinion shows are tilted to the right.  But its news reports are straightarrow, and its 6 p.m. report with Bret Baier features a balanced discussion with both liberals and conservatives.  Amazing how quality builds ratings.

February 5, 2015       Permalink

AIR STRIKES LATEST – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Jordan is carrying out its threat to attack ISIS.  From Fox: 

Jordanian fighter pilots carried out devastating sorties against ISIS early Thursday, making good on their king's vow of vengeance for the horrific burning death of a captured airman -- whose hometown the jets buzzed triumphantly after the mission.

Some "sophisticates" will call that theatrics.  Theatrics are important in war.  They build morale, just as our Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in early 1942 was launched to lift American morale.  It succeeded.

Reports from the Middle East said the latest strikes killed 55 members of ISIS, including a senior commander known as the “Prince of Nineveh.” Jordanian state-run media did not specify where the strikes took place. They came a day after King Abdullah stepped up his angry rhetoric at the terrorist army in neighboring Iraq and Syria following the horrific death of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who was burned alive in a cage in a shocking atrocity caught on a videotape released by Islamic State on Tuesday.

"The blood of martyr Muath al-Kaseasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," said King Abdullah in a statement released by the royal court on Wednesday. A day earlier, he told U.S. lawmakers in Washington, where he had been on a diplomatic mission when the video was released, that Jordan would fight Islamic State until it ran "out of fuel and bullets."

COMMENT:  Abdullah makes Obama look like a child.  Well, actually, he is a child, and darned proud of it. 

February 5, 2015       Permalink

DRAMATIC SPECULATION – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  That's all we can call it right now, but reports have been circulating since yesterday that King Abdullah of Jordan may fly into combat himself if Jordan escalates its military action against ISIS.  From London's Daily Mail: 

Jordan's King Abdullah, a trained pilot, could lead revenge airstrikes on Islamic State himself, it has been revealed.

The monarch may personally take part in bombing raids on extremist strongholds on Thursday, according to reports in Arabic-language newspapers.

It comes after the former general told members of Congress that he was ready to exact a blistering revenge against the ISIS terror army for the brutal execution of military pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh - and he quoted a Clint Eastwood movie character to make his point.

According to the Daily Caller, reports have emerged suggesting he could take part in airstrikes on ISIS targets today.

California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter told the Washington Examiner that the king quoted the scene where Eastwood's character announces his plan for retribution.

'Any man I see out there, I'm gonna kill him,' Eastwood's William Munny says in 'Unforgiven.'

'He said there is going to be retribution like ISIS hasn't seen,' Hunter said. 'He's angry. 'They're starting more sorties tomorrow than they've ever had. They're starting tomorrow. And he said, "The only problem we're going to have is running out of fuel and bullets".'

And get this, because it's important:

Hunter told the Examiner that no one in the king's meeting on Tuesday with members of the House Armed Services Committee made any mention of President Obama, who is seen by some anti-ISIS coalition partners as a weak and indecisive actor.

COMMENT:  Incredible.  Unbelievable.  A monarch meets with an American president and doesn't even mention him?  I have never seen this happen.  Normally a leader would meet with members of Congress and say something like, "I have just come from a meeting with the president.  I want to thank him for the friendship and support he has given us in this time of crisis." 

In all probability, Abdullah didn't get much friendship or support.  Maybe he realizes that Obama just doesn't care. 

February 5, 2015       Permalink

STUNNING – AT 8:42 A.M. ET:  Occasionally the UN does something valuable.  From AP:

BERLIN — The United Nations says the Islamic State group is systematically killing, torturing and raping children and families of minority groups in Iraq, and it is calling on government forces there to do more to protect them.

In a report issued Wednesday in Geneva, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said it has received reports of “several cases of mass executions of boys, as well as reports of beheadings, crucifixions of children and burying children alive.”

Iraq’s military has been struggling in its fight against Islamic State, and the government has pleaded repeatedly for more weapons and training.

COMMENT:  It is just awful, and the president of the United States has so little to say.  It is, in certain moral respects, the equivalent of Roosevelt's disgraceful indifference when the revered Polish diplomat, Jan Karski, told him of what came to be known as the Holocaust. 

One sense from press reports a certain revulsion toward Obama.  The question is, how far will it reach?  Will enough Americans become outraged, or be content if given a small tax cut?  The Democrats are counting on the latter.

Oh, another thing:  Where's Hillary?  Isn't she the one who's constantly talking about children's rights and women's rights?  I guess certain children and women just don't count.

February 5,  2015     Permalink