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JANUARY 7,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:58 P.M. ET: 

SICKENING – Basketball star Dennis Rodman is engaged in personal diplomacy with North Korea, with the full support of one-time civil rights important person Jesse Jackson.  But Rodman has difficulty with those who might question his mission to a dictator who starves his people and just murdered his uncle.  Rodman blew up during a recent TV interview.  From Newsmax:  "Former NBA star Dennis Rodman Tuesday angrily defended his decision to take a team of former NBA players to play basketball in North Korea, saying the reason was because he loved his friend, leader Kim Jong Un.  'It's a great idea for the world. And, people always turn down the things I do. And, it's weird,' Rodman told CNN's 'New Day' host Chris Cuomo. 'Why? I love my friend. I love my friend. This is my friend.'"  I guess there really isn't life after basketball.

GATES – Much buzz already on former Defense Secretary Bob Gates's new memoir, which minces no words.  He portrays the current president as an indifferent, cynical, contradictory commander-in-chief, whose decisions on war and peace were colored by domestic politics.  Other than that, Obama is another Napoleon.  The Gates book is filled with accusations and allegations.  It is hard to assess its impact, however, as books like this can often come off as self-righteous and self-serving.  Pundits are already buzzing about Gates's take on Hillary Clinton, whom Gates praises heavily in one place.  In another, though, he says that Clinton admitted that her stand on military strategy during the 2008 campaign was based on political need.  I'm shocked.

STUNNING – IT WAS COLD BEFORE! – From London's Daily Mail:  "Today's biting temperatures in New York City may be breaking records - but they've got nothing on the freezing winds that rattled through the city 80 years ago.  Black-and-white photographs capture New Yorkers huddling together for warmth during the city's coldest day on record - February 9, 1934, when it was 15 degrees below zero.  Other images taken throughout the last century reveal the untold hardships on the homeless, commuters and workers as they battled snow-covered streets and icy winds on winter days."  Yeah, there have been cold waves before, but you'd never know it according to some of the news coverage of the current snap.  And of course the global warmers put icing, so to speak, on the cake by claiming this is all due to the warmin' gods. 

A STORY WE LIKE – This will be a new feature at Urgent Agenda.  On no particular schedule we'll refer readers to optimistic stories that show that good things really do happen in the news, and often to good people.  Here, for example, is a story of a family brought back together by the chance encounter of a White House photographer and a troubled young man.  I think you'll like this too:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/01/06/nicholas-simmons-missing-man-reunited-with-family-after-ap-photograph/?intcmp=latestnews

January 7, 2014       Permalink

SIGN OF TROUBLE – AT 10:35 A.M. ET:  It seems the climate-change industry knows it's in trouble.  From Breitbart: 

It is unclear exactly why many climate change organizations are installing new executives, but it appears they are following the professional sports paradigm: When a team loses more than it wins, you can’t fire all the players, but you can fire the coach.

In the last decade the environmentalist have peddled harsh laws to install climate change strategies. However, many of these laws don’t pass, and new regulations fail to get traction. With global warming at a standstill for most of the last two decades and – much to Al Gore’s chagrin – plenty of ice still on the polar caps, more green groups are firing their CEO’s.

Next to go is Maggie Fox, president and CEO of the Al Gore-founded Climate Reality Project, who will be gone in the Spring. The group was previously called the Alliance for Climate Protection and was part of the unsuccessful environmental movement’s drive to enact cap-and-trade legislation in 2009-10.

Two other large U.S. environmental companies are giving the boot to their leaders. National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Larry Schweiger is leaving in May, and Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke is also parting ways with her group in 2014.

COMMENT:  Maybe a little less fanaticism and a little more cooperation with real problem solvers would help.  Environmentalism has become a rigid religion, and people are dropping away. 

January 7, 2014       Permalink

SIGN OF THE TIMES – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  Illinois, the president's home state, is a basket case.  While Republican-run states around it – Indiana and Wisconsin – are doing well, Illinois continues into the 21st century as a train wreck.  People don't feel safe, the state is getting poorer, jobs are being lost.  Otherwise, it's a great place and the Chicago machine is a wonderful institution.  From Breitbart:

On the heels of a federal court striking down Chicago's ban on gun sales, those seeking gun permits in Illinois flooded the State Police website over the weekend to begin the permitting process.

In fact, the amount of Illinois residents seeking a conceal carry permit already surpasses those who enrolled in Obamacare after the first two months of the launch of healthcare.gov. The Chicago Sun-Times reported 4,525 individuals signed up on Sunday alone for their firearms permits, when the State Police first opened the process to all concealed carry applicants.

Illinois State Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said that number is included in Sunday’s total of more than 11,000 people who have signed up because of an early application process that began December 18 and was open to only firearm instructors. Officials told the Sun-Times they expect 350,000 to 400,000 people (about 1,000 per day) will sign up for conceal carry firearm permits this year.

And...

Illinois State Police have up to 90 days to approve or reject applicants if their applications are completed and their fingerprints are submitted in an electronic format. Illinois became the last state to pass legislation allowing residents to carry concealed weapons. The five-year permits cost $150 for residents and $300 for non-residents.

In contrast, the number of Illinois residents going to healthcare.gov over a two-month period and enrolling in Obamacare is currently on a slower pace than those looking to become conceal carry permit holders. Only 7,043 Illinoisans were enrolled in Obamacare plans two months after the website's launch, the Chicago Tribune reported in December.

COMMENT:  So, more people want guns than want Obamacare.  I wonder why.

January 7, 2014       Permalink

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS – AT 9:18 A.M. ET:  Canada's Steve Harper is one of our favorite foreign leaders.  He's everything an American president should be.  Naturally, Obama has dissed him whenever possible.  Harper can diss back.  Cheers.  From The Hill: 

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said President Obama "punted" the decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

But Harper said he remains confident it will be built.

Harper commented on the $5.4 billion project during a conversation hosted by Vancouver Board of Trade chief executive Iain Black, the Calgary Herald reports.

Black began asking Harper about the pipeline, saying Obama had rejected it when Harper interjected.

"No, he's punted," Harper said of Obama on Monday. "He said 'maybe'"

"It's my hope that the administration will in due course see its way to take the appropriate decision, but that's obviously a political process in the United States," Harper said.

The controversial pipeline proposed by TransCanada would run from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada to refineries in the Gulf Coast

"The good news is that on both sides of the aisle, in both political parties, in both houses, and throughout the American economy and public, there is widespread support for the project," Harper said.

"I am confident that in due course the project will, in one way or another, proceed," he added.

Stakeholders are awaiting the State Department's highly anticipated final environmental impact statement of the pipeline, which has garnered some scrutiny. It is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

COMMENT:  Nothing like damning with faint praise.  Like other American allies, Canada has learned that Congress, not this president, has the wisdom in foreign policy.  While Harper gave the required lame defense of Obama, his feelings are clear.  Obama is the obstacle, not the catalyst. 

Canada will, in the end, always be with us.  There were some exceptions in the cases of recent left-wing prime ministers, starting with the awful Pierre Trudeau.  But Canada right now is lead by a truly great leader.  I only wish he had the same relationship with the American president that Ronald Reagan had with Brian Mulroney.

January 7, 2014       Permalink

HILLARY IN TROUBLE? – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  It wasn't many months ago when Washington journalists were preparing the coronation of Queen Hillary, blessed be she.  Times have changed.  From The Politico:

There’s no question that Hillary Clinton would make a formidable presidential candidate. She routinely polls as America’s most admired figure, and voters gave her high marks during her tenure as the country’s top diplomat. But Hillary Clinton has a potential problem. His name is Barack Obama.

Same problem the country has.

While she had to contend with “Clinton fatigue” in 2008, “Obama fatigue” is her potential stumbling block this time. Should dissatisfaction with the state of the nation and disapproval of Obama persist as 2016 approaches, the former secretary of state may well struggle to position herself as an agent of change.

For now, she is once again the early frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Public views of her are much like what they were as she looked ahead to her first presidential run. In fact, Clinton’s current Pew Research Center favorability rating is almost identical to what it was in 2005. The profile of her most enthusiastic fans resembles her initial constituency, before Obama emerged as a viable candidate. And when tested, she is the hands-down favorite to become the Democrats’ standard-bearer in 2016. For the moment, there’s simply no other contender in sight.

But at the same time, disillusionment with Obama could significantly undermine her current standing. The president’s approval numbers at the start of 2014 are in the low 40s in both the Gallup and Pew Research Center polls—10 points lower than in January 2013, and markedly lower than Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton’s ratings as they entered their eighth years in office. More ominously for Democrats, Obama’s personal image has slipped. Over the course of 2013, the percentage of the public viewing Obama as “able to get things done” fell from 57 percent to 43 percent, and those regarding him as “trustworthy” slipped from 59 percent to 50 percent.

And...

Potential problems notwithstanding, Clinton’s national image is quite strong, even though her ratings have dipped a bit since leaving Foggy Bottom. A 56 percent majority of respondents in an October Pew Research Center nationwide survey rated her favorably, somewhat lower than she tested in December 2012 (65 percent) near the end of her term as secretary of state.

COMMENT:  I think that's actually a fairly soft assessment of Hillary's problems.  A 56% approval rating for a potential president isn't very impressive, given the fact that the whole country knows her.  Where does she go from here?  Where is the upward potential?  Indeed, history shows us that potential presidents tend to decline in approval once they formally announce their candidacy and the other side starts to attack.

I would not be shocked if Hillary has competition for the nomination, nor would I be shocked if she ultimately decides not to run.

January 7,  2014     Permalink

JANUARY 6,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:45 P.M. ET: 

AWFUL – From The New York Post:  "An 8-year-old Afghan girl wearing a suicide vest has been detained by police in Afghanistan.  She was detained on Sunday night in Helmand province, as she tried to carry out an attack against border police wearing a suicide jacket, a spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry told the BBC."  Repeat after me:  President Obama says the war on terror is over.

JUSTICE:  From The New York Times:  "PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Pennsylvania woman to 10 years in prison for her part in a plan to murder a Swedish cartoonist whose images of the Prophet Muhammad offended Muslims.  The woman, Colleen R. LaRose, who used 'Jihad Jane' as an online alias, pleaded guilty to four charges, including conspiring to aid terrorists and to kill a person in a foreign country, after she plotted with jihadists she encountered on the Internet to kill the cartoonist, Lars Vilks.."  Repeat after me:  President Obama says the war on terror is over.

PROGRESS? – From AP:  "Panasonic unveiled a product Monday that combines two big tech trends — ultra HD and wearable devices— with a portable, camera that hooks onto your ear and records in ultra-high definition 4K video."  I can think of a million embarrassing uses.  The next trend will be a wearable defense lawyer. 

PRESENTED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE – From Fox:  "Monday, January 6, 2014, is what some psychological researchers call 'Blue Monday.'  Millions are returning to work after time off for the holidays and they're facing the facts -- the big price tag that came with all the gifts.  Others are worried about weather, or relationship trouble, or their New Year's resolutions.  'Blue Monday,' which is said to be the most miserable day of the year, was originally calculated to be at the end of the month.  But researchers analyzed tweets over the past few years and found that Monday, January 6, 2014 is the day the most people feel sad and guilty.

January 6,  2014     Permalink

THE NEED FOR WISDOM – AT 10:03 A.M. ET:   Douglas MacArthur, who could be both wise and unwise, once said something that seems regularly true.  All military disasters, he said, begin with two words:  "too late."  Now we are told that the United States is coming to the aid of Iraq, which is in danger of being lost, despite the sacrifices of thousands of Americans.  But it may be too late, just as it's been too late in Syria.  From The Politico: 

JERUSALEM — Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the United States will support Iraq’s fight against Al-Qaeda-linked forces that have overrun two cities, but won’t send in American troops.

Kerry said the militants are trying to destabilize the region and undermine a democratic process in Iraq, and that the U.S. is in contact with tribal leaders in Anbar province who are standing up to the terrorists.

But, he said, “this is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis. That is exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left Iraq, so we are not obviously contemplating returning. We are not contemplating putting boots on the ground. This is their fight. … We will help them in their fight, but this fight, in the end, they will have to win and I am confident they can.”

COMMENT:  That is an absolutely awful statement.  Why telegraph to an enemy what you will or will not do?

The rhetoric of course, is familiar – it is the rhetoric of the anti-war movement of the Vietnam era, the era that shaped John Kerry's thinking.   He hasn't had a thought since. 

He says that this a fight for the Iraqis.  "That," he says, "is exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left Iraq..."  It did?   The world decided that?  I guessed I was out sick that day.  The "world" doesn't decide anything.

We left Iraq badly.  We should have insisted on maintaining a stability force there, which could have been done had the president been interested.  Commitments like that have worked very well for the United States in a number of places – Korea, Japan and Germany being three.  But once we were out, Al Qaeda rose again.

It is probably too late, but we'll hope for the best.  Maybe we'll have a bit of luck.  With the crowd we have in power, we need it.

January 6, 2014        Permalink   

YOU MEAN, WE NEED MEN?  WELL, YEAH – AT 9:24 A.M. ET:  A new study by the University of Michigan – not exactly a conservative bastion – suggests the staggering possibility that men are of some value to society.  You might want to put a plain brown wrapper on this story before reading it in a public place.  You know, people are watching.  From the Deseret News: 

Youth violence shoots up when males are missing from the neighborhood, concluded researchers at the University of Michigan in a new study released last week.

The study centered on Flint, Mich., the former auto manufacturing center that is now one of the most impoverished and violent cities in the country. Researchers broke the city down by zip codes, comparing the number of males in the area to the number of assaults committed by young men.

The results were striking. Researchers found an enormous chunk of the difference between a neighborhood with lots of youth assaults and one with relatively fewer could be explained by “male scarcity.” While a difference of 3 to 5 percent would have been significant, Daniel Kruger of Michigan’s Public Health Department and one of the study’s authors, found that 36 percent of the difference was explained by lack of adult males in the neighborhood. Add one other mammoth variable — high school graduation rates — and you get 69 percent of the variation in assaults committed by young men.

In Flint, Kruger said, the absence of males can be traced to three factors: men who left to look for jobs; young men who have died in gang violence; and men who are incarcerated.

“When we don’t have men as positive role models, we get much higher rates of violence,” Kruger said.

It's a vicious circle, the authors say. When young men get caught up in crime, they are more likely to end up incarcerated, which results in fewer adult males in the community, which leads to more dysfunction.

COMMENT:  This is common sense, something too many Americans took leave of in the late 1960s.  Traditional values didn't become traditional because they failed.  They became traditional because they succeeded.

I am all for women's rights and opportunities.  Absolutely.  But being for equal rights does not mean neglecting the needs and aspirations of young men, and that often happens these days.  Unless the male-absence issue is solved in many communities, those communities will simply die, or become wards of the state.

But I doubt if too many fashion plates in journalism or the academic world are listening.

January 6,  2014     Permalink

MORE LEFTIST ANTICS – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:   As they say, you cannot make stuff like this up.  From Washington's Free Beacon: 

The representative of a human rights group headed by a designated al Qaeda terrorist was denied a visa by the State Department after being invited by congressional Democrats to discuss drone strikes.

Mohammad Al Ahmady, the Yemen director for Geneva-based NGO Al Karama, was expected to brief Reps. Alan Grayson (D., Fla.), Barbara Lee (D., Calif.), and Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.) the morning of the Nov. 19, according to press release from Grayson’s office.

Ahmady, who also serves as a top official in an al Qaeda-linked Yemeni political party, did not attend because of visa issues. The State Department said it could not comment on visa matters.

Several Al Karama officials have faced terrorism allegations. Al Karama’s founder and current president Abdul Rahman Naimi was designated as a terrorist and al Qaeda supporter by the U.S. Treasury Department in December, along with the group’s Yemen representative Abdulwahab Al-Humayqani. Al Karama’s legal director, Rachid Mesli, is currently wanted for terrorism charges in Algeria.

Schakowsky’s office referred questions to Grayson and Lee, saying the other offices led the briefing.

A spokesperson for Grayson said Ahmady did not actually attend the briefing and that the terrorist designation of Al Karama’s president was “not in place at the time of the briefing, so again, we had no reason to suspect any wrongdoing on the part of Mohammad [Al Ahmady].”

Lee’s office did not respond to request for comment.

COMMENT:  I'm not shocked by the identity of the Dems involved.  Barbara Lee, former head of the Congressional Black Caucus, is a fan of Fidel Castro.  Jan Schakowsky is on the left wing of her party.  Crazy Alan Grayson, who is educated well beyond his capacity, believes his degrees are a guarantee of wisdom.  They are not.

The question is whether the Democratic Party will express any disapproval of these three cavaliers.  I doubt it.

January 6, 2014       Permalink

END OF A CAMPAIGN – AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  Liz Cheney, whose decision to challenge an incumbent Republican senator in Wyoming was a serious blunder, is ending her campaign.  It's a wise move that will preserve her possibilities in future elections.  From CNN:

New York (CNN) -- Liz Cheney, whose upstart bid to unseat Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi sparked a round of warfare in the Republican Party and even within her own family, is dropping out of the Senate primary, she said in a prepared statement Monday morning.

"Serious health issues have recently arisen in our family, and under the circumstances, I have decided to discontinue my campaign," she said.

Cheney, the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, began telling associates of her decision over the weekend, CNN reported late Sunday night.

"Though this campaign stops today, my commitment to keep fighting with you and your families for the fundamental values that have made this nation and Wyoming great will never stop," she added.
Cheney's surprising decision to jump into the race, an announcement made in a YouTube video last summer, roiled Republican politics in the Wyoming, a state that Dick Cheney represented in Congress for five terms before moving up the Republican food chain in Washington.

Enzi was a low-key presence in Washington who was elected in 1996 and, with few blemishes, amassed a conservative voting record in the Senate. He expressed public annoyance at Cheney's decision to mount a primary challenge. A number of his Senate colleagues quickly rallied to his side and pledged support for his re-election bid.

There was little public polling of the race, but two partisan polls released last year showed Enzi with a wide lead, an assessment mostly shared by GOP insiders watching the race.

COMMENT:  Liz Cheney is a terrific woman, and she has a future.  But her campaign against a sitting, decent and easily re-electable senator was poorly considered and poorly run.

I have no idea what "serious health issues" she's talking about.  I think it's generally assumed that this is the polite public excuse.  The former vice president has serious health concerns, but they are hardly new.

We hope Liz remains active, and remains to fight another day.

January 6,  2014      Permalink