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JUNE 1,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:12 P.M. ET: 

GONE – The last of Winston Churchill's children has died, putting an end to the original Churchill household.  From London's Telegraph:  "Lady Soames, the daughter of Winston Churchill, has died at the age of 91 - in what her son described as 'extraordinary timing' just days before the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.  Mary Soames was the youngest and last surviving child of the wartime prime minister and his wife Clementine. She died peacefully at home in west London on Saturday evening surrounded by her family, after a short illness."   An era is indeed coming to an end.

HILLARY'S ANGUISH – Oh, the decisions.  Hillary's new book, "Hard Choices," is about to come out to much fanfare, but now she faces another hard choice.  From showbiz411.com:   "The world waits for Hillary Clinton’s new book, 'Hard Choices,' on June 10th. I know I have it all queued up on amazon.com. But Clinton’s hardest choice may start at home: will she give her ghost writer a credit this time?  I wrote about a year ago that Edward 'Ted' Widmer, a long time Hillary associate, was actually writing 'Hard Choices.'  Widmer, 51, is a Harvard graduate who wrote for the Harvard Lampoon....Clinton caused an uproar with her bestseller, 'It Take a Village,' when she denied the ghost writer any identification at all. That book was written by Barbara Feinman, a Georgetown University professor. Feinman was paid $120,000 for seven months’ work. She eventually went public and complained about lack of credit.  So how did it work out? Widmer emailed me this afternoon: '…sorry, I don’t have the answer – I haven’t seen printed version…'"  Now I'd like to know who wrote at least one of Obama's books.  His two books have different writing styles.

ANOTHER NATIONAL NIGHTMARE – From Fox:  "The eggpocalypse may be nigh.  Health conscious Americans, reaching for egg-white everything from omelets to sandwiches, have put a serious strain on the egg supply chain.  While research shows that yolk isn’t as bad as many think, an increase in 'healthy' breakfast options has led an egg white shortage, reports the Financial Times.  Analysts say the fragile egg supply chain has been under pressure as fast-food restaurants race to add low-cholesterol egg sandwiches to menu boards. Recent fast food items include the McDonald’s Egg White Delight McMuffin, Dunkin’ Donuts’ Egg White Flatbread and Jack in the Box’s egg white breakfast sandwiches."  Please report any hoarders to the police.

June 1, 2014       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:06 A.M. ET:   It's an easy choice.  We've had our quibbles with former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York in recent years, but his commencement address at Harvard contained the most eloquent statement about free speech in universities that we've read.  Here, from Powerline: 

“There is an idea floating around college campuses – including here at Harvard – that scholars should be funded only if their work conforms to a particular view of justice. There’s a word for that idea: censorship. And it is just a modern-day form of McCarthyism. . .

“In the 2012 presidential race, according to Federal Election Commission data, 96 percent of all campaign contributions from Ivy League faculty and employees went to Barack Obama. Ninety-six percent. There was more disagreement among the old Soviet Politburo than there is among Ivy League donors.

“That statistic should give us pause – and I say that as someone who endorsed President Obama for reelection – because let me tell you, neither party has a monopoly on truth or God on its side.

“When 96 percent of Ivy League donors prefer one candidate to another, you have to wonder whether students are being exposed to the diversity of views that a great university should offer.

“Diversity of gender, ethnicity, and orientation is important. But a university cannot be great if its faculty is politically homogenous. In fact, the whole purpose of granting tenure to professors is to ensure that they feel free to conduct research on ideas that run afoul of university politics and societal norms.

“When tenure was created, it mostly protected liberals whose ideas ran up against conservative norms.

“Today, if tenure is going to continue to exist, it must also protect conservatives whose ideas run up against liberal norms. Otherwise, university research – and the professors who conduct it – will lose credibility.

“Great universities must not become predictably partisan. And a liberal arts education must not be an education in the art of liberalism.

“The role of universities is not to promote an ideology. It is to provide scholars and students with a neutral forum for researching and debating issues – without tipping the scales in one direction, or repressing unpopular views.

“Requiring scholars – and commencement speakers, for that matter – to conform to certain political standards undermines the whole purpose of a university.

“This spring, it has been disturbing to see a number of college commencement speakers withdraw – or have their invitations rescinded – after protests from students and – to me, shockingly – from senior faculty and administrators who should know better.

“It happened at Brandeis, Haverford, Rutgers, and Smith. Last year, it happened at Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins, I’m sorry to say.

“In each case, liberals silenced a voice – and denied an honorary degree – to individuals they deemed politically objectionable. That is an outrage and we must not let it continue.

“If a university thinks twice before inviting a commencement speaker because of his or her politics censorship and conformity – the mortal enemies of freedom – win out.

“And sadly, it is not just commencement season when speakers are censored.

“Last fall, when I was still in City Hall, our Police Commissioner was invited to deliver a lecture at another Ivy League institution – but he was unable to do so because students shouted him down.

“Isn’t the purpose of a university to stir discussion, not silence it? What were the students afraid of hearing? Why did administrators not step in to prevent the mob from silencing speech? And did anyone consider that it is morally and pedagogically wrong to deprive other students the chance to hear the speech?

COMMENT:  Very well said, and maybe there'll be some improvement.  But real improvement in the freedom quotient at our universities won't come until the last of the dry rot of the sixties generation passes from those halls.  I count the days.

June 1, 2014       Permalink

THE NATURE OF THE ENEMY – AT 10:24 A.M. ET:  Iran has executed another prisoner.  With all the talk about its new "moderate" regime, Iran is actually executing more people today than ever before.  And yet, the administration, eager to get a nuclear deal with Tehran, has little to say.  From AP:   

TEHRAN — Iran executed a prisoner linked to the opposition Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) group, on Sunday, the official IRNA news agency reported, despite a last-minute plea from Amnesty International, which said he had not been given a fair trial.

The report said Gholamreza Khosravi was sentenced to death in 2010 for providing photos of the country’s military facilities as well as financial aid to the MEK and for helping to recruit for the group, also known as the People’s Mujahedin of Iran.

IRNA said the death sentence was approved by the country’s Supreme Court after an appeal by Khosravi’s lawyer. It said the trial was held in a court in Tehran which deals with security-related charges, and that Khosravi’s lawyer was present. The report did not detail the method of execution, but death sentences in Iran are usually carried out by hanging.

State TV said Khosravi was executed after being convicted of “spying for foreigners.”

Khosravi was arrested in 2007, after having been previously detained from 1981 to 1986, IRNA said.

The MEK began fighting to overthrow the Islamic Republic shortly after the 1979 revolution that toppled a pro-Western monarchy.

The MEK was based in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein, who waged an eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s that left more than one million casualties on both sides.

Amnesty International on Saturday had urged Iran not to execute Khosravi, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for “enmity against God.”

“Yet again Iranian authorities are about to execute a man who did not even receive a fair trial in total disregard of both international law and the Iranian law,” said Hassiba Hadj Saharoui, Amnesty’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Amnesty said Iran executes more people than any other country except China, with at least 151 officially acknowledged death sentences since the start of the year. The rights group said its sources have reported another 180 executions in the same period.

COMMENT:  The Iranian government rules by fear.  We are supposed to trust that government in the nuclear talks now going on.  The lack of real international concern seems based more on commercial considerations than anything else.  Europe in particular would like to be back in business in Iran.  Obama has no interest in the human rights situation in the country, something he proved by his indifference in 2009, when the people of Iran were in open revolt.

June 1, 2014       Permalink

A GOOD DEAL? – AT 10:07 A.M. ET:  The big story this morning is the Taliban's release of the only known American POW in Afghanistan.  But the story is very, very complicated, and the joy at the release of the American is being countered by serious questions about what we gave up in exchange.  There are, sadly, also serious questions about the young man himself, something we write with great pain.  From The Weekly Standard: 

The Obama administration announced today that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has been held by the Taliban for several years, has been freed from his captors. Reading the stories of his newfound freedom it is impossible not to feel joy for Bergdahl and his family. NBC News reports that Bergdahl held up a sign once he was on board an American helicopter that read, “SF?” The operators quickly confirmed that they were in fact U.S. Special Forces: “Yes, we’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“On behalf of the American people, I was honored to call his parents to express our joy that they can expect his safe return, mindful of their courage and sacrifice throughout this ordeal,” President Obama said in a statement. The president rightly noted: “Sergeant Bergdahl's recovery is a reminder of America's unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield.”

Unfortunately, America is not the only party in this war that is committed to leaving no man behind. So are the Taliban and other al Qaeda-linked groups. But the president did not say who America exchanged for Bergdahl: five of the most dangerous Taliban commanders in U.S. custody.

The Taliban has long demanded that the “Gitmo 5” be released in order for peace talks to begin in earnest. The Obama administration has desperately sought to engage the Taliban as American forces are drawn down in Afghanistan, but those talks have gone nowhere to this point. At first, the administration set preconditions for the talks, including that the Taliban break its relationship with al Qaeda. When it became clear that this was a non-starter, the administration decided to make the Taliban’s desired break with al Qaeda a goal, and no longer a precondition, for its diplomacy.

COMMENT:  The endless Obama concessions.  Get a deal, get any deal.  There is an uproar in Congress this morning over the release, to the Arab, Muslim nation of Qatar, of those five Taliban commanders held in Guantanamo.  They are sworn killers of Americans.  We are assured that Qatar will hold them under restriction.  Yeah, right.  A Muslim nation, with justified fears that terror can be used against it at any time, is going to do the USA a big favor.  These men will be back in action.  If only two become killers again, who will pay the price? 

At the same time, there are disturbing questions being raised on two other fronts.  First, according to the New York Post, the released American POW may – we stress may – be a case of desertion, not the capture of an American soldier.  Apparently, he began making anti-American statements in the weeks before he went missing.  We emphasize that this has to be verified, but the story appears very well sourced. 

Second, Obama was required under law to inform Congress of the release of any Guantanamo prisoner, and failed to do so.  There will be an uproar over this, another example of an administration that holds itself above the law.

There's something not right here.

June 1,  2014     Permalink

MAY 31,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:46 P.M. ET: 

FASCINATING – From CNN:  "(CNN) – Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has won another straw poll, boosting his national profile and elevating his name among potential 2016 presidential contenders.  The firebrand freshman senator and tea party favorite was among a handful of 2016 hopefuls speaking at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this week.  Cruz finished in first place in the annual conference's presidential straw poll at 30.33%. Dr. Ben Carson, a Fox News commentator and conservative activist, finished in second with 29.38% while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, was third with 10.43%."  Cruz is brilliant, a bit uncontrolled, but he's learning.  He and Rand Paul are sometimes paired as "libertarians," but Cruz's foreign-policy views are better, more Reaganesque, than Paul's.  Dr. Ben Carson is rising in popularity.  He would be a fine vice-presidential candidate.

LAST U.S. POW RELEASED – From WaPo:  "Taliban fighters released the sole remaining American military hostage Saturday morning to a team of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan, who quickly hustled him onto a helicopter. Once airborne, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl scribbled the letter 'SF?' on a paper plate, seeking confirmation that he was with Special Operations forces. 'Yes!' one of the troops hollered back above the din of the aircraft’s blades, according to a defense official who described Bergdahl’s first moments of freedom. 'We’ve been looking for you for a long time.'"  This story is far from over.  It turns out that Bergdahl's release came only after the U.S., in secret negotiations with the Taliban, agreed to release five prisoners from Guantanamo.  Many in Congress are up in arms about the deal, fearing the five released fanatics pose a serious danger to Americans.  More on this in the next few days.

LOUISIANA HAYRIDE – Republicans, finally understanding they can only win elections by uniting behind a candidate, are moving toward selecting one to oppose vulnerable Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu in November.  From The Hill:  "The Louisiana Republican Party took the rare step of endorsing Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) out of several GOP candidates vying to unseat Sen. Mary Landrieu (D).  The state party announced it would be throwing its full support and resources behind the three-term lawmaker, as they geared up for a top GOP target in the midterm elections.  Roger Villere, head of the state GOP, noted Saturday that such an early endorsement is an 'extraordinary move' for the group. The last time the party decided to endorse a candidate when several Republicans were still in the running was when it backed then-Rep. Bobby Jindal ahead of his successful gubernatorial bid."  A good precedent.  Bobby is terrific.  Good luck to Bill Cassidy.  Landrieu hails from a respected Louisiana political family.  She's vulnerable, but she fights.

May 31,  2014     Permalink

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  You know, we have some very strange people teaching in our colleges and universities.  From Fox: 

Responding to charges a professor engaged in Mideast politics on the taxpayer dime, San Francisco State University officials offered bland reassurances that the school investigates "any allegations that a member of the University community misused state funds."

According to a California Public Records Act inquiry requested by the nonprofit group AMCHA Initiative, "Professor Rabab Abdulhadi received more than $7,000 from SFSU to fly to Jordan, the West Bank and Israel to meet with members of known terrorist organizations."

Abdulhadi did not respond to email and telephone requests for comments. In a recording, she said the trip was aimed at "collaborating with academic institutions, especially with academic institutions in Palestine."

Abdulhadi was scheduled to present a paper at a Jan. 11 - 14 Conference of the Center for American Studies and Research at the American University in Lebanon.

After receiving university approval to attend at the school's expense, Abdulhadi sent an email to the SFSU Risk Management Office advising that her "name was dropped from the Beirut conference."

Despite that change, she made the Mideast trip, along with SFSU ethnic studies professor Joanne Barker and Jaime Veve, who is Abdulhadi's husband.

COMMENT:  San Francisco State is one of the most leftist of American universities.  This report is not shocking.  I think it's unlikely any action will be taken against the "professor."

By the way, some people who've looked at the subject estimate that as many as 80% of the professors in American Mideast Studies departments get their financing from Sharia governments.  I doubt it students are told this.  The Saudis, in particular, have infiltrated American universities, especially in California.  Ah, multiculturalism.

May 31, 2014       Permalink

SENATE LATEST – AT 11:04 A.M. ET:   There's some new polling from Rasmussen that gives us grounds for guarded optimism about this fall's Senate races.  The races are critical because Republicans have a chance to retake the U.S. Senate. 

Kentucky Senate:   

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell now holds a seven-point lead over Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky’s U.S. Senate race following last week’s state party primaries.  McConnell earns 48% support to Grimes’ 41% in the latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Kentucky Voters. Five percent (5%) like some other candidate in the race, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)  The two were tied with 42% support each in late January in Rasmussen Reports’ first look at the then-hypothetical race.

Kentucky has been seen as one of the two states where Republicans can lose a Senate seat, the other being Georgia.  But Mitch McConnell took the danger seriously, and is working hard to build up his support.  His effort appears to be paying off.  I suspect he'll pull this out and may turn out to be Senate majority leader

Arkansas Senate: 

Republican challenger Tom Cotton still holds a narrow lead over incumbent Democrat Mark Pryor in Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide survey of Likely Arkansas Voters finds Cotton, a U.S. congressman, with 47% support to Pryor’s 43%. Four percent (4%) like some other candidate in the race, while six percent (6%) remain undecided.

Not in the bag by any means, but a better result than we've been seeing recently in Arkansas.  Tom Cotton is a superb guy, although he hasn't shown himself, thus far, to be a master of statewide campaigning.  But he learns every day.  I have confidence he can squeeze through, a pickup for Republicans.

In Georgia, where there is danger of retiring Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss being replaced by Democrat Michelle Nunn, Nunn still leads possible Republican contenders by a few points.  However, the GOP hasn't picked its candidate yet.  When that happens, and if the party can achieve reasonable unity, this can turn into a real horse race. 

Fortunately, the Republican National Committee has become more effective in the last few years, and is not content to lose like gentlemen.  The word "win" has actually entered their vocabulary.  Applause. 

May 31, 2014       Permalink

WHEN YOU'RE IN TROUBLE – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:  An old American saying has it that "patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels."  Add to that "climate change."  President Obama, now having accepted membership in the Church of the Global Warming, is going all in.  It's clear he's about to issue some drastic executive orders in the name of saving the planet.  This comes at a time when serious questions are being asked about the accuracy of much of the "climate change" information we're getting.  From Bloomberg: 

President Barack Obama said the curbs on carbon emissions to combat climate change that his administration plans to unveil next week will also help address a growing threat to the nation’s health.

“We don’t have to choose between the health of our economy and the health of our children,” he said in his weekly address, which was recorded yesterday at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington. “As president, and as a parent, I refuse to condemn our children to a planet that’s beyond fixing.”

The Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to announce a plan to limit carbon emissions from U.S. power plants on June 2. The two-tired regulation will seek reductions in greenhouse gases of as much as 25 percent over 15 years, according to people familiar with the proposal.

Obama’s address is part of an attempt by the White House to frame the coming debate over the new rules in personal terms, casting climate change as an issue that directly impacts Americans’ daily lives.

The costs of climate change, Obama said, “can be measured in lost lives and livelihoods, lost homes and businesses; and higher prices for food, insurance, and rebuilding.”

Obama recorded the address after meeting with children who are being treated at the hospital for asthma, which is aggravated by air pollution. As part of the campaign to build support for the rules, which are to be unveiled by the EPA, he plans to talk about the initiative during a conference call with the American Lung Association and other public health groups.

When in doubt in politics, trot out the children.  Whenever a politician says he's doing something "for the kids," hide your kids and get them out of town.

Among some recent stories is this, from the Daily Caller: 

This may come as a shocker to some, but scientists are not always right — especially when under intense public pressure for answers.

Researchers with the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) recently admitted to experienced zoologist and polar bear specialist Susan Crockford that the estimate given for the total number of polar bars in the Arctic was “simply a qualified guess given to satisfy public demand.”

Crockford has been critical of official polar bear population estimates because they fail to include five large subpopulations of polar bears.

And this, from WaPo: 

As of the start of this hurricane season, the span will be 3,142 days since the last U.S. major hurricane landfall. The previous longest span is about 2½ years shorter! While this is a relief for coastal residents and businesses, it inevitably increases complacency. The longer you go between events, the less likely you are to fully respect the next one and heed warnings.

And yet, this is what the weatherman-in-chief said yesterday, from The Hill:   

President Obama warned Friday that storms like Hurricane Sandy will become more frequent as climate change intensifies.

While being briefed by emergency response officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters, Obama urged the public to prepare now for this year's hurricane season.

"The changes we’re seeing in our climate means that, unfortunately, storms like Sandy could end up being more common and more devastating," Obama said.

COMMENT:  Confused?  You should be.  Wait 'til hundreds of billions are taken out of the American economy, based on a theory that is filled with contradictions.  But hey, who are we to question our betters, who went to the right schools and know the right people and invest in the right things?

May 31,  2014     Permalink