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JULY 11,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET:

MAJOR HUMAN-RIGHTS NEWS – From Breitbart:   On July 7 the Memphis City Council voted unanimously to exhume the body of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest from its 110 year resting place and move it to another location.  The body of Forrest’s wife will be exhumed as well. According to Local Memphis, the council voted to exhume Forrest’s remains from Health Sciences Park on Union Avenue. They plan to sell a statue of Forrest as well–they are thinking of “selling the statue to anyone who wants it.”  Forrest was the founder of the Klan, and therefore not a nice guy.  But this new anti-Confederacy hysteria has become absurd.  It will not improve the life of a single black child, and does not address the real problems holding that child back. 

BERNIE BURNED? – I was wondering when this would come up.  Bernie Sanders is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, but he isn't a Democrat.  From AP:  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — From his run for mayor of Burlington to numerous campaigns for Congress, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has for more than three decades eschewed traditional party labels in his pursuit of political office, winning election after election as an independent.  As he seeks the presidency as a Democrat, that unwillingness to be pigeonholed could be a liability in New Hampshire. To get on the ballot in the first-in-the-nation primary state, candidates must fill out paperwork that requires them to identify as a registered member of a political party.  "I don't know if it will be a problem," New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner said when asked whether Sanders' independent status could keep him off the ballot.  These days, when the president of the United States routinely ignores laws, why should New Hampshire be any different?  I have no doubt they'll find a way for Bernie to get around the law.

THE JOYS OF SOCIALISM – Movie stars used to rush to Venezuela to embrace the new order.  They must be having trouble getting air tickets these days.  From Reuters:  CARACAS (Reuters) - Origami-like boats made from Venezuela's rapidly depreciating bolivar bills sit on the cash register of a small fruit and vegetable store in Caracas.  Cashier Marisol Garcia makes the Bolivar boats to illustrate roaring inflation and the currency's tumble on the black market, where even the country's biggest bill is worth just 16 U.S. cents.  "People ask: 'What's that?' I say: 'Our reality,'" explains Garcia, 44, as she rapidly counts wads of notes customers hand her for bananas, coconut juice and mangos.  "We're sinking."  I anticipate that Barack Obama and his crowd will soon rush to embrace the dear, brotherly Venezuelan victims of Yanqui imperialism. 

July 11,  2015     Permalink

BACK TO THE SIXTIES – AT 12:22 P.M. ET:   I'm not so sure that most Americans think this is change they can believe in.  From the Washington Examiner: 

President Obama said Saturday he will use the power of the federal government to pressure communities to integrate low-income minorities into affluent areas.

Obama said his administration is implementing a new rule that will require communities to frequently review the racial and socio-economic makeup of local neighborhoods and regularly report the results to the federal government.

"Just a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that policies segregating minorities in poor neighborhoods, even unintentionally, are against the law," Obama said, referencing a ruling on the Fair Housing Act largely ignored by the media due to attention on the Obamacare and gay marriage rulings.

The Fair Housing Act was passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson to initiate his failed "Great Society," which sought to eliminate poverty through a series of government programs. Critics charge that its programs, which included housing projects in cities and welfare payments to single mothers, led to the destruction of the black family.

"In some cities, kids living just blocks apart lead incredibly different lives," said Obama in his weekly Saturday address. "They go to different schools, play in different parks, shop in different stores and walk down different streets."

"And often, the quality of those schools and the safety of those parks and streets are far from equal — which means those kids aren't getting an equal shot in life," he said.

COMMENT:  Standard leftist thinking, right out of the sixties.  Sure, we can do better in housing policies, but what Obama doesn't realize is that it's attitudes, social behavior, and social breakdown that are the problem, not skin color.  While there are still segregationists left in America, many communities are successfully mixed, but the success is based on common attitudes and standards.

If good communities (of whatever color) are compromised by newcomers who don't share the community's values, the people who built those good communities – again, regardless of race or background – will flee.  We see it all the time.

Obama has been on a radical march since the November election, the last time he had obligations to his party.  We can only imagine what the next year and a half will be like.

July 11, 2015         Permalink

I'M SHOCKED, SHOCKED – AT 11:58 A.M. ET:  My pills, please, my pills.  I have just learned that the Iranians are already cheating on their nuclear agreements.  I cannot believe that these fine souls, who make such nice rugs, would do something like this.  From Fox: 

While U.S.-led world powers hold talks with Iran in Vienna to curb Tehran’s illicit nuclear weapons program, the Islamic Republic’s spies have been seeking atomic and missile technology in neighboring Germany as recently as last month, according to German intelligence sources.

Iran’s illegal activities have continued since talks between Iran and the P5+1 - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as rotating member Germany - began with a Joint Plan of Action in 2013, according to German intelligence sources. The JPOA was intended to stop Iran’s work on a nuclear weapon until a comprehensive agreement is reached.

With a final agreement to restrict Iran’s nuclear program set for Monday, the intelligence data from Germany raises disturbing questions about the success of a deal.

”You would think that with the negotiations, [Iranian] activities would drop,” a source said. “Despite the talks to end Iran’s program, Iran did not make an about-turn.”

The startling revelations of Iran’s ongoing duplicity first appeared Friday on the website of The Weekly Standard.

Iran has a long history of illegally obtaining nuclear technology from within Germany and transporting it in ways that circumvent international sanctions. German companies have shown an eagerness to legally tap the Iranian market, though none are accused of abetting illegality in the latest efforts by Iran.

COMMENT:  None of this will bother Barack Obama.  He sees only his legacy, and how it will impress his true audiences – the American left, the Third World, and the Muslim world.  By the time Iran's nuclear program reaches fruition, Obama will be long out of the White House, possibly secretary-general of the UN, where he can finally shed his burdensome American identity. 

July 11, 2015        Permalink

MARCO IN SPANISH – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  We've said for some time here that Marco Rubio may have the best shot at actually winning next year's presidential election...if he can get the nomination.  He and Carly Fiorina, perhaps the most articulate candidate in the race, are lagging in the polls.

Now Marco is demonstrating one of his greatest assets – the ability to connect with the growing Hispanic population.  From ABC:

On the campaign trail this week, Marco Rubio chatted with a woman from San Salvador. Claudia Steele, who is now an American citizen and a voter, eagerly told him she would do everything she could to support his presidential bid. Rubio thanked her, and the two discussed politics and family — all in Spanish.

When Steele told Rubio she was the only Latina member of her local Republican organization, Rubio answered, smiling, "Hay que cambiar eso.” (Translation: “We need to change that.”)

But this wasn’t downtown Miami. It was a western suburb of Des Moines, Iowa.

While Republicans worry recent comments by Donald Trump comparing illegal immigrants to rapists and drug dealers may harm the party’s chances with Hispanic voters during the 2016 election cycle, the 44 year-old Senator from Florida was welcomed with open arms — quite literally — by the Spanish speakers who came to meet him over the course of his three-day swing in Iowa. According to 2003 U.S. Census bureau, just 5.5 percent of the population of the Hawkeye State identifies as Hispanic or Latino, but more than a few found Rubio this week.

Steele said she thinks it’s important Rubio speaks Spanish. "It helps him communicate and connect with the community," she said in an interview with ABC News. (Fellow GOP candidate Jeb Bush is also a fluent Spanish speaker).

COMMENT:  Republicans must reach out to Hispanic voters.  Many Hispanics are socially conservative and are true believers in the American dream.  Historically, though, Republicans have been incompetent at convincing minorities that their best interests lie with the GOP.  Rubio can change that, if he's given the chance.

July 11,  2015     Permalink

JULY 10,  2015

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

FBI OWNS UP – From Fox:  Charleston gunman Dylann Roof should never have been been able to buy the gun he used to kill nine worshippers at a church Bible study last month, the FBI director said Friday, citing a breakdown in the national background check system.  A loophole allowed the 21-year-old to buy the .45-caliber handgun with money given to him for his birthday despite a criminal record that included a recent drug possession charge, James Comey said.  "We are all sick this happened,” the FBI director told reporters. "We wish we could turn back time.”  The Bureau should be commended for coming forward with an admission, rather than covering up.  But it shows once again that a determined individual can get a gun, legally or illegally.  "Gun control" usually winds up meaning control of guns sold to law-abiding citizens.  The criminals don't recognize laws.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS – From London's Daily Mail:   The Earth could be headed for a 'mini ice age' researchers have warned.  A new study claims to have cracked predicting solar cycles - and says that between 2020 and 2030 solar cycles will cancel each other out.  This, they say, will lead to a phenomenon known as the 'Maunder minimum' - which has previously been known as a mini ice age when it hit between 1646 and 1715, even causing London's River Thames to freeze over.   Or, as Barack Obama calls it, "global warming."

WHO'LL BLINK – The New York Times is leaving Ted Cruz's new book, "A Time for Truth" off its bestseller list, claiming sales of the book are being artificially boosted by bulk sales, presumably by organizations loyal to Cruz.  But Cruz's publisher is fighting back.  From Buzzfeed:  Publishing giant HarperCollins is publicly pushing back against the New York Times’ claim that Ted Cruz’s new book, A Time For Truth, was disqualified from its bestseller list because sales were limited to “strategic bulk purchases.”  In a statement provided to BuzzFeed News, HarperCollins publicity director Tina Andreadis said the company looked into the matter and “found no evidence of bulk orders or sales through any retailer or organization.”  It is common practice for politicians to try to game the Times’s prestigious bestseller list by having their campaigns or political action committees buy up thousands of copies of their books. When Cruz’s book was left off the list this week despite outselling many of the entries that did make it, the paper’s spokesperson justified the omission by telling Politico they found an “overwhelming preponderance of evidence” that the sales numbers were being padded by bulk purchases.  Very interesting battle.  Other bestseller lists that also ban bulk sales are including Cruz.  HarperCollins is owned by News Corporation, which also owns Fox News.  Are they saying that the Times list is a bit of a fraud?  Kinda looks that way, doesn't it?  Stand by for more blood.

CRAZY MARTY – From The Hill:  Former Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Md.) on Friday defended "sanctuary cities," which limit cooperation with federal officials on deportations, and took a swipe at his Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton.  O'Malley said it was "lamentable" last week's seemingly random shooting death of a woman in San Francisco by a suspect deported five times had prompted "a rush to judgment and finger-pointing."  No, Marty.  What's lamentable is sanctuary cities.  This is what happens when a guy tries to run to the left of Hillary, but doesn't have Bernie Sanders's credibility.

July 10,  2015     Permalink

ANOTHER EXTENSION, ANOTHER SHOW – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  The Iran talks are being extended again.  What a farce!  They've been negotiating for years, and you'd think the basics of any agreement worth having would be clear by now.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Negotiators working on a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program have agreed to extend an interim agreement until Monday to give them more time to work, a senior State Department official said Friday.

An extension until Monday, July 13, was granted through a decision to extend the measures of the Joint Plan of Action through that date. The JPOA was agreed in late 2013, and provides a framework for the effort to reach a final agreement.

The original deadline for a final deal was June 30, but negotiators agreed to extend the JPOA deadline until July 7. That was pushed to Friday, and on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry said the talks would go past that deadline as well.

"We will not rush and we will not be rushed," Kerry said in Vienna.

COMMENT:  Congress will have 60 days to examine any agreement.  Expect Republicans to reject it, and Obama to veto the rejection.   The battle will be over whether the veto can be overturned. 

July 10, 2015       Permalink

LOWERING THE FLAG – AT 10:17 A.M. ET:   The Confederate flag has been lowered at the State House in South Carolina.  From The New York Times: 

Closing a chapter on a symbol of the Deep South and its history of resistance and racial animus, South Carolina on Friday lowered the Confederate battle flag from outside its State House, where it had flown for more than 50 years.

The flag came down amid heavy security at a Friday morning event that followed days of emotional debate in the Legislature and, on Thursday, the final approval of Gov. Nikki R. Haley, who had pledged that the symbol would be lowered “with dignity.”

Shielded across the decades by both Democrats and Republicans, the flag left its pole outside the State House only 23 days after nine black churchgoers were killed at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The flag, which flew above the State House before it was moved in 2000 to a spot next to the Confederate Soldier Monument, had long been a subject of deep disagreements and public protests. But it was the June 17 massacre at the church, which the authorities have described as a hate crime, that provoked Ms. Haley and scores of other elected officials in both parties to demand the battle flag’s removal.

COMMENT:  Okay, so the flag is down.  On balance, it's probably a good thing.  I can understand how an African-American could feel about that flag.

On the other hand, the lowering of the Confederate flag won't change the life of one black child.  And it won't save the life of any black child who gets in the way of a gangbanger with a gun.  The flag is pure symbolism.  Life on the street is real.  And, as usual, the black "leadership" is more interested in the symbols, like flags and black presidents.

July 10, 2015       Permalink

TRUMP SOARS – AT 9:54 A.M. ET:   It really can't be denied.  Donald Trump is making an impression, at least this week.  From The Hill:

Media coverage of Donald Trump's controverisal immigration remarks have lifted the GOP presidential candidate to the top of the Republican field, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll.

Trump was the preferred GOP nominee for president for 15 percent of respondents — 4 points ahead of former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.) and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), who were tied for second place.

Gov. Scott Walker (Wis.), Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) shared the third spot with 9 percent each.

In addition to being the first choice for the majority of likely voters who participated in the poll, Trump was also the primary second choice for those who preferred another candidate as their nominee.

12 percent of respondents said Trump was second in line for their vote, while only 7 percent picked either Bush or Paul as their safety candidate.

While Trump may be on top this week, registered Republican voters gave him a very weak chance of holding on to that spot in the long run.

The vast majority of respondents — 29 percent — said they believed Jeb Bush would ultimately claim the GOP presidential nomination. Only 7 percent said the same about Trump.

Unlike other polling companies, YouGov relies on a preselected pool of registered voters from which it pulls respondents at random.

COMMENT:  It's July, it's summer, and this is the political news we get.  It's very early.  I hope that the Trump boomlet dies down because I believe he's unelectable, even if often right.  The Dems, and their friends in the media, will do what they can to keep Trump going because they think he's a distraction who can only hurt the GOP, and they may well be correct.

When you start seeing candidates reaching 30 or 40 percent in the polls, then we'll talk seriously about numbers.  That's months away.

July 10,  2015     Permalink

OUR WONDERFUL IRANIAN PARTNERS IN PEACE – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  From combined press services: 

Millions of Iranians took part in anti-Israel and anti-US rallies across Iran on Friday, chanting “Down with America” and “Death to Israel” on Al-Quds Day, internationally observed annually on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan

The controversial holiday was proclaimed in 1979 by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as a religious duty for all Muslims to rally in solidarity against Israel and for the “liberation” of Jerusalem. Tehran says the occasion is meant to express support for Palestinians and emphasize the importance of Jerusalem for Muslims.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attended the protest on Friday but did not speak at the main rally in Tehran, which coincided with seemingly deadlocked nuclear talks between Iran and world powers led by the United States.

Large demonstrations were also held in Iraq and Lebanon.

Some protesters in Tehran burned Israeli and American flags. Posters showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi King Salman and US President Barack Obama in flames.

COMMENT:  Reports tell us that there's been a dramatic uptick in anti-Americanism in Tehran.  Even The New York Times noticed.  This comes at a crucial moment in the Iran nuclear talks, which seem to be stalling out.  The reports remind us that the Iranian regime, even if it reaches an agreement with the Western powers over its nuclear program, is intensely anti-American and will remain so, just as its terrorism will remain.

So why do we want a deal with Iran that will lift sanctions on that murderous crowd?

July 10,  2015     Permalink