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JANUARY 20,  2015

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

POLLING – First polling responses to Obama's State of the Union speech are favorable.  The numbers are strong.  However, as Wolf Blitzer pointed out tonight, the viewing audience of a SOTU speech is usually weighted heavily toward followers of the president's party.  So we can assume that most viewers tonight were Democrats.  Still, the response was good.  The president promised goodies, without specifics.  I've noticed in the past that the impact of a SOTU speech doesn't last very long.  It'll be forgotten by the weekend.

FIRST IMPRESSION – I looked forward to Senator Joni Ernst's response to Obama, but frankly I was disappointed.  Ernst is supposed to be terrific, and the GOP has high hopes for her.  But her speaking style tonight was right out of the 1950s, with shopworn phrases like "this great country of ours."  Sentiment good, wording old fashioned.  I think Ernst will be a good, dogged senator, but she's got to sharpen her speaking style for a national audience. 

IN THE REAL WORLD – We are battling monsters.  From the New York Post:  "ISIS jihadists publicly executed 13 teenage boys for watching a soccer match.  The young fans were reportedly watching an Asian Cup match between Iraq and Jordan on TV last week when they were caught by the militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which ISIS, or the Islamic State, controls.  The group of teens was executed in public by a firing squad that used machine guns, according to Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, an activist group that exposes ISIS atrocities."   Obama appears to take ISIS seriously, but there also appears to be no coherent strategy for dealing with these madmen.

FURY – Mayor de Blasio's New York is even worse than Barack Obama's Washington.  From the New York Post:  "Relatives of 9/11 victims responded with fury to news that the city is in negotiations to suppress an NYPD report warning about the dangers of homegrown terrorism.  The Post exclusively reported Sunday that plaintiffs in a pending civil-rights suit have demanded the city take down the online report as a condition for settling their case, which accuses cops of illegally targeting them.  Retired NYPD Sgt. Al Regenhard, whose firefighter son, Christian, was killed at the World Trade Center, said removing the report from the city’s Web site would amount to the same sort of 'political correctness and pandering' that he says led to his son’s death.  Regenhard also noted the recent three-day terror spree in Paris."  Incredible.  Even after Paris the left wing refuses to change its rhetoric. 

January 20, 2015       Permalink

REAL CLASS – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  And another one thrown under the bus.  On the day of his State of the Union, Barack Obama once again shows his complete lack of class.  He allowed, or ordered, his chief of staff to take the blame for this country not having a prominent official at the anti-terror march in Paris.  From Fox:

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on Tuesday took the blame for the administration’s failure to send a high-level official to the rally against terrorism in Paris earlier this month.

“That rests on me. That’s my job,” McDonough said on NBC’s “Today.”

He reiterated that the administration regretted not sending a high-level representative, and lamented that the firestorm overshadowed progress they made in their intelligence partnerships with allies.

Until now, no single White House official had taken the blame for the absence.

The administration absorbed heavy bipartisan criticism after more than 40 world leaders attended the Paris rally, and the highest-level U.S. representative was the ambassador to France.

President Obama did not attend, and neither did Vice President Biden nor Secretary of State John Kerry. Attorney General Eric Holder was in Paris for meetings, but did not attend the rally.

COMMENT:  After the Bay of Pigs failure in 1961, President Kennedy was asked who was at fault.  His reply:  "I am the responsible officer of the government."  That's the way it's done.  You don't send your chief of staff out to take the rap.  Obama presumably reads the papers and watches something other than football on the TV.  He knew that anti-terror march would be huge.

January 20, 2015       Permalink

THE SPEECH – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  The president delivers his State of the Union speech tonight.  Aren't you excited?  Be sure to set your recorders so you can enjoy the speech over and over, as I know you'll want to do.  We're even thinking of having a study party this weekend.

Okay, you're not excited.  Neither am I.  But look on the positive side:  Two years from today a new president will be inaugurated. Well, yes, it could be Hillary Clinton – Barack Obama without the charm – but let's hope it's not.

Obama tonight well unleash the train wreck that will be his last two years in office.  He's making it very clear that he intends to do through executive action what he could not do through legitimate legislation.  He's stripping off the mask, held in place by The New York Times and similar institutions, that has hid the fact that he's a true leftist.  Tonight we will see presented programs that will buy votes for the Democratic Party.  Tonight we will not see an emphasis on the national security of the United States. 

The Obamans are buoyed by one new poll that has the president's approval at 50%.  But, as we pointed out last night, that poll appears to be an outlier.  Obama's approval is probably in the low 40s, which is what other surveys show.  One major poll last week showed him in the high 30s. 

Obama will be facing a Congress in which both houses are controlled by Republicans.  Any thoughtful political practitioner would reach out under those circumstances, trying to find common ground.  I doubt if this president will do anything of the kind.  It's the ideology that interests him, not the results.  And he is already auditioning for his post-presidential role.  I suspect he'd like to be secretary-general of the UN, a position that would fit him well – presiding over a heavily Islamicized, mostly useless organization, a role that will free him of any loyalty to the American people, whom he seems to dislike.

It should be an entertaining evening, but not an enlightening one.

There could be one delight – the response from newly elected Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa.  We are already being told by the pundit class that responders to State of the Union speeches often hurt themselves by performing poorly or looking small, in the shadow of the president.  That is true.  The role of responder is sometimes called a curse.  But Joni Ernst is a terrific speaker.  She's sharp and bright.  I'm looking forward to her breaking the curse.

January 20, 2015       Permalink 

AS NIGHT FOLLOWS DAY – AT 8:44 A.M. ET:  The Council on American Islamic Relations, not the warmest of groups, is joining the left-wing hatefest against "American Sniper."  Why, I'm just so surprised.  From Gateway Pundit: 

The Council on American Islamic Relations attacked former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the subject of the record-breaking film American Sniper, as a “hate-filled killer” in a post to the group’s account on Twitter.

“#AmericanSniper – The real American Sniper was a hate-filled killer. Why are simplistic patriots treating him as… http://fb.me/6ZQNC8G6y”

CAIR was listed by the Justice Department as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism funding case.

Last year CAIR was designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates. CAIR says they will appeal to be taken off UAE’s terrorist list.

The tweet by CAIR is based on the headline for an article published by the Guardian on January 6th that attacked Kyle and his supporters.

A review of several days of Tweets by CAIR shows the tweet calling Kyle a “hate-filled killer” to be the group’s only comment on American Sniper.

COMMENT:  The fact that CAIR picked up a headline in Britain's left-wing paper, the Guardian, demonstrates once again that militant Islam and the Western left are often on the same page.  They have the same common enemies – Western ideals, the United States, and Judeo-Christian beliefs. 

January 20, 2015       Permalink

RANSOM – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:  An incredible hostage drama is unfolding in the Mideast.  The potential victims are two Japanese hostages of ISIS.  The action is occurring as the prime minister of Japan is visiting the region.  From CNN:

(CNN) The militant group ISIS has threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless Tokyo hands over $200 million within 72 hours.

In a video posted online Tuesday, a masked man clad in black and holding a knife stands over two kneeling men in orange jumpsuits against the backdrop of a barren landscape.

The masked man links the threat against the two men's lives to Japan's support for the U.S.-led coalition that's fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

"Although you are more than 8,500 kilometers away from the Islamic State, you willingly volunteered to take part in this crusade," the man says, addressing his comments to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is currently visiting the Middle East.

The international community needs to "deal with terrorists without giving into them," Abe said at a news conference in Jerusalem after the release of the video. But he stopped short of explicitly ruling out the payment of a ransom or negotiations with the hostages' captors.

Abe, who is reorganizing his trip to deal with the hostage crisis, said he had ordered Japanese officials to do the utmost to try to save the two men. The Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said it was working to confirm the authenticity of the video.

COMMENT:  It should be noted that Japan has pledged $200-million to the crusade against ISIS.  However, that money is earmarked for humanitarian aid to refugees displaced by ISIS, not for military assistance.  It doesn't matter to ISIS.

We hope Japan stands firm.  We'll have to see how much domestic pressure is put on Abe to do business with the murderers.

January 20,  2015     Permalink

JANUARY 19,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:14 P.M. ET:

MAJOR CULTURAL NEWS – Headline from the Hollywood Reporter:  "'American Sniper's' Fake Baby Mocked by Critics, Moviegoers."  Yes, you got that right.  The left-wingers who hate "American Sniper" have now discovered that the movie uses a fake baby.  A mechanical baby.  This may be the end of the American film industry, its mask ripped off, its use of fake babies exposed to the world.  What do I tell the kids of America?

WEIRD POLL RESULTS – Dems are in ecstasy over a new Washington Post/ABC News poll showing Obama's approval rating hitting 50%, with disapproval at 44%.  But, as George Gobel used to say, wait a gosh-darned second.  The Fox News poll shows Obama with an approval of 42% and disapproval at 52%.  That seems more consistent with other polls.  The WaPo/ABC poll appears to be an outlier.  Obama gives his State of the Union speech tomorrow, and that may move the numbers a few points.

YOU MUST ALWAYS BE ON GUARD – From the Washington Examiner:  "An autistic student, previously expelled from his college for mistakenly hugging a stranger, has been reinstated.  Brian Ferguson, a 20-year-old with autism attending special-needs classes at Navarro College in Texas, had been expelled for sexual assault. But what he did that constitutes sexual assault will leave you scratching your head.  Ferguson is 6’5” and gives hugs to his friends with a kiss on the top of their head since he towers over them. A week ago, that got him expelled. The problem arose when Ferguson thought he saw a woman he recognized and gave her one of his trademark greetings — except that the woman was a stranger."  Gotta watch 'em.  Gotta watch 'em.  Kiss on the head?  Sounds like a life sentence to me.

THE PASSING SCENE – From Bleacher Buzz:  "Tony Verna, a television producer credited with bringing instant replay to live sports, died Sunday after a battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He was 81.  Verna's daughter, Tracy Soiseth, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. The longtime producer and director came up with the idea for instant replay during a CBS broadcast of the Army-Navy football game in 1963.  Per the AP, 'Verna developed a method to cue the tape to pinpoint the play he wanted to immediately air again.' Vernon used that technology to show Army quarterback Rollie Stichweh scoring a touchdown, prompting a warning from the announce team to the audience that what they were watching was not live.  The moment would forever change the way we consume televised sports."  One little technical advance, and look at the effect it had.  Reminds me of another technical advance, the seven-second delay, which made talk radio possible because a "live" conversation could be delayed seven seconds before actually going out on the air, allowing obscenities to be blocked.

January 19,  2015     Permalink

DON'T YOU LOVE SURPRISES?  – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:   Our wonderful president has delightfully surprised us so many times.  And now, even though we haven't earned it, we have another surprise coming.  Let's celebrate.  From The Washington Times: 

Those Americans who didn’t get health insurance last year could be in for a rude awakening when the IRS asks them to fork over their Obamacare penalty — and it could be a lot more than the $95 many of them may be expecting.

The Affordable Care Act requires those who didn’t have insurance last year and didn’t qualify for one of the exemptions to pay a tax penalty, which was widely cited as $95 the first year. But the $95 is actually a minimum, and middle- and upper-income families will actually end up paying 1 percent of their household income as their penalty.

TurboTax, an online tax service, estimated that the average penalty for lacking health insurance in 2014 will be $301.

“People would hear the $95, quit listening, and make an assumption that that was what their penalty was going to be,” said Chuck Lovelace, vice president of affordable care for Liberty Tax Service. “I think that a lot of people will be surprised when they get in there and find out that their penalty is [based] on their household income.”

The penalty is designed to prod Americans to buy insurance and the penalty for not having it is scheduled to rise considerably: to a $325 minimum or 2 percent of income in 2015, and to a $695 minimum or 2.5 percent of income in 2016.

COMMENT:  That is disgraceful.  Many young people are struggling, and won't be able to pay for either their insurance or the penalty. 

Obamacare was rigged to put the benefits up front and the costs in the rear, sucking people into believing this is some great advance.  It is not.  The middle class is being hit particularly hard.

January 19, 2015       Permalink

PANETTA ON TERROR – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  Former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is speaking out on the terror threat facing America.  Panetta is one of the last survivors of the old Democratic Party, one that favored a strong national defense.  That party is fading away, replaced by a leftist-oriented crowd that thinks Barack Obama is godlike.  He is not.  From The Hill:   

The world is currently facing a “much more aggressive form of terrorism," according to Leon Panetta.

The former Defense secretary and CIA director under President Obama said that the U.S. has beefed up its intelligence capabilities since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But he added that the thousands of foreign nationals in places like Syria and Iraq pose a “real threat” to Americans.

“I don’t think we can take anything for granted,” he said on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”

The most recent attacks in France and Canada, as well as arrests made in terrorist plots in Belgium and Greece, suggest to Panetta the world is entering “a new and perhaps more dangerous chapter in the war on terrorism.”

He said it is critical for the U.S. to work with European allies to share information and resources, so they can keep track of all individuals they fear could be plotting terror attacks.

At the same time, he argued that the attacks in Paris amounted to an “intelligence failure” for the French, given that the gunmen were on watch lists but authorities did not become aware of the planned attack in advance.

“I know that, in some ways, they were tracking them, but because of priorities or because of resources, obviously, they weren't aware that these attacks were going to be conducted,” he said.

COMMENT:  There is simply a point where sheer numbers can overwhelm even the best intelligence system.  Just because we have advanced methods doesn't mean that we can keep track of thousands of jihadists returning from foreign battlefields.  If only a small number evade our surveillance, they can produce devastating results.

Think ten years into the future, when jihadists, possibly supplied by Iran, have advanced weapons and explosives.  Think of what ten fanatics can do in a European or American city in 15 minutes.

January 19, 2015      Permalink

THE GOP RACE – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:   How do GOP voters see the possible presidential candidates?  From Politics Patrol: 

A new CBS poll shows 29 percent of Republicans would like to see Christie run for the Republican nomination for president. But 44 percent say no. CBS points out “Only former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s numbers are more underwater: 30 percent of Republicans say they’d like to see her run, but 59 percent disagree.”

Fifty-nine percent of Republicans would like to see Mitt Romney jump into the 2016 race, while 26 percent believe he should stay out.

“Fifty percent of Republicans would like to see former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on the campaign trail as well, while 27 percent disagree,” pollsters said. “If both Romney and Bush run, analysts expect them to wage a competitive battle for the allegiance of the Republican establishment.”

Numbers for some of the others often mentioned:

– Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: 40 percent of Republicans urge him to get in, and 29 percent say stay out.

– “Twenty-seven percent of Republicans would like Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to mount a bid, but 34 percent disagree. Twenty-six percent would like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to run, while 19 percent would not. Twenty-one percent want Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to run, while 25 percent want him to not run.”

– Gov. Rick Perry of Texas: 21 percent yes, 29 percent no.

– Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana: 14 percent yes, 20 percent no.

– Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin: 22 percent yes, 12 percent no.

COMMENT:  These are very early numbers, and they reflect limited knowledge of the candidates, and even limited name recognition.  But the poll does show that some candidates have an early advantage based on those factors alone, and that can translate into major contributions.

January 19, 2015       Permalink

IDIOTIC – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  What outrages me about some gun-control proponents is that so many of their proposals are idiotic, would have no practical effect, and seem to be made more to give themselves publicity than to save lives.

As I've written here many times, I'm a legitimate gun owner, but would be happy to see proposals to reduce gun violence that are effective and pass Constitutional muster.  (For example, I have always favored mandatory safety courses for gun owners.  I have also favored the inclusion of carefully vetted mental-health information in background checks.)

Now we have a new proposal that is a true zero.  From eagnews.org:

HARTFORD, Conn. – A Connecticut government commission created after the Sandy Hook school massacre will be proposing a “gun ban.”

The Morning Journal reports:

An advisory panel charged with looking at public safety in the wake of the deadly Newtown school shooting agreed Friday to include in its final report a recommendation to ban the sale and possession of any gun that can fire more than 10 rounds without reloading.

“Whether or not this law would stand the test of constitutionality is not for this commission to decide,” says former Hartford Police Chief Bernard Sullivan, a member of the panel.

“The commission has expressed very strongly that this is a statement that is needed regarding the lethality of weapons.”

The group wants to emphasize that there “needs to be more regulation of guns that can inflict mass casualties, even if it causes some inconvenience to recreational shooters.”

Members of the commission want to make it clear they hope to not just affect Connecticut gun control policy.

“We’re not writing proposed legislation, we’re writing end results, saying this is where we think you guys need to go,” says Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson, the commission’s chairman, according to the paper.

“We’re hoping that some of our recommendations will go far beyond the borders of the state of Connecticut.”

COMMENT:  Of what value is this?  A gun's magazine, which actually holds the bullets, can be swapped out in a few seconds.  And...many of the most heinous crimes are committed by assailants who are carrying more than one gun.

I wonder if the esteemed commission will propose one step that clearly would have an impact on possibly preventing and certainly limiting the damage from these horrendous shootings:  having trained people at schools who can handle an emergency, and publicizing their presence.  That may mean arming some willing and capable staff members.   We protect jewelry stores and banks that way, don't we?  Are children less valuable than watches?

January 19,  2015      Permalink