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MARCH 12,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET: 

THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST (LAUGH) – An organized group at Princeton University is demanding that the Ivy League school stop asking about the possible criminal background of applicants.  Look, I'm not making this up.  From Inside Higher Ed:  "Not only is asking the question unfair, the group argues, but it may limit an important kind of diversity on Princeton's campus.  'Individuals with past involvement with the justice system would bring distinct perspectives to Princeton,' the group says. 'Approximately one-quarter of U.S. adults have a criminal record. A lack of interaction with this stigmatized population fosters deep misunderstandings about the nature of the criminal justice system and those affected by it. We believe that by eliminating questions related to past involvement with the justice system, Princeton can open the door to increased diversity of experience and perspective among the student body without compromising its academic quality or moral character.'"  So they're charging $60,000 a year, and these kids want to dorm with convicted murderers to celebrate diversity.  Maybe we should raise the voting age to 30.

IMAGES – What has become clear in the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner is that a lot of bad information has been given out.  Malaysia should have called in first-class technical assistance from other countries in the first hours.  Now we learn that a Chinese satellite has picked up images of debris that may have come from the airliner.  We'll wait on more information.  But please also note how the possibility of terrorism is being played down even before we know a single fact about the disappearance.  Remember that Malaysia is a Muslim country, and terrorism is a sensitive issue.  Wouldn't want to get the brothers upset.

THE WISDOM OF WASHINGTON – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas is not known as the sharpest knife in the drawer.  In fact, she doesn't even make it into the drawer.  And she must have been absent the day that the Constitution was covered in high school.  From the Washington Free Beacon:  "Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Texas) declared the U.S. Constitution to be 400 years old Wednesday on the House floor, which would mean it was signed in 1614.  'Maybe I should offer a good thanks to the distinguished members of the majority, the Republicans, my chairman and others, for giving us an opportunity to have a deliberative constitutional discussion that reinforces the sanctity of this nation and how well it is that we have lasted some 400 years, operating under a constitution that clearly defines what is constitutional and what is not,' she said."
Hey, that's not so bad.  The guy in the White House got a job as a constitutional law instructor in a prestigious law school, having never argued a case in constitutional law.

I'M SHOCKED, SHOCKED – And I had to read it in London's Daily Mail:   "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told House Ways and Means Committee members on Wednesday that she expects health insurance rates to increase as the Affordable Care Act takes full effect.  'I think premiums are likely to go up,' she conceded under questioning, 'but go up at a slower pace' than they have already under Obamacare.  President Obama famously promised in 2008 and 2009 that his health insurance overhaul plan would lower the cost of health care for an average family by $2,500 per year."  And you can keep your bankruptcy plan if you like it.

March 12, 2014       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:  I believe that Charles Krauthammer and Fouad Ajami are the best commentators writing today.   I could also add Andrew Malcolm and Walter Russell Mead.  This, from Krauthammer, on Obama's foreign policy, from Breitbart:

On “The O’Reilly Factor” on Tuesday night, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer criticized President Barack Obama for his foreign policy but downplayed the effects of Obama’s interview with Zach Galifianakis in a Funny or Die video on Russian President Vladimir Putin of Obama.

“I think it’s a kind of arrogance,” Krauthammer said. “He thinks he has a good foreign policy. I think he is semi-delusional about the results of these five years. There is not a spot in the world you -- can go from Syria to Libya to Iran to China, to Russia to Ukraine where the United States is not worse off, less regarded, considered weak than it was five years ago. This is a completely failed foreign policy. And he seems radically unaware of that.”

COMMENT:  That nails it.  Even the liberal Washington Post, in a much-talked-about editorial, declared that Obama was delusional.  Krauthammer is a Harvard-trained board-certified psychiatrist.  He knows from delusional.

And yet, others would present an even darker argument, holding that this is what Obama intended – a weaker America, an America more in line with "progressive" thinking.

Whichever interpretation you prefer, we're in pretty bad shape, and we have three years more with a student-government president in the White House.

March 12, 2014        Permalink

RUSSIA AND IRAN, TOGETHER AGAIN – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:   The reset button that Obama and Hillary Clinton pushed with Russia is popping out again...every day.  And Iran is Russia's best buddy in the Mideast.  From Reuters: 

Iran and Russia have signed an agreement to build two more nuclear power plants in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr, Iranian Press TV reported on Wednesday.

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran officials and Russia's Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation negotiated and came to an agreement about the plants, said the spokesman for the AEOI.

Russia built the first reactor at Bushehr, Iran's sole nuclear power plant. The new facilities will be built next to the existing plant.

The agreement also includes the construction of two desalination plants.

In February, the Iranian ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei said that Russia could build a second reactor at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in exchange for Iranian oil.

Reuters reported Iran and Russia were negotiating to swap up to 500,000 barrels of oil per day for goods in the deal that would undermine Western efforts to maintain economic pressure on Tehran while global powers seek to curb its nuclear program.

COMMENT:  That last point is key.  The Iranians are out-negotiating us, with Russian help.  And yet the president does not seem to understand what is happening, or maybe just doesn't care. 

These events make it even more imperative that our side take control of the Senate in November.  The president conducts foreign policy, but the Senate has more influence over that policy than does the House.  And it also decides on treaties.

March 12, 2014       Permalink

FLORIDA 13TH – AT 8:59 A.M.ET:  An expansion of our "short take" from last night, reporting on the much-anticipated special election in a bellwether district of Florida.  Both parties poured tremendous effort and resources into this contest, and the GOP came out on top.  From Fox: 

Republican David Jolly narrowly defeated Democrat Alex Sink on Tuesday in a Tampa-area House race largely seen as a critical test for ObamaCare.

With nearly 100 percent of the vote counted, Jolly had 48.5 percent of the vote to Sink's 46.7 percent. Libertarian Lucas Overby had 4.8 percent.

The race to replace the late Rep. Bill Young was considered a tossup, and was cast as a political bellwether, and a testing ground for each party's messaging strategy -- which revolves in part around the Affordable Care Act.

Jolly's election night headquarters in Clearwater Beach erupted into loud cheers as it became clear he was the winner. In his victory speech, Jolly simultaneously struck a conciliatory tone and expressed gratitude for his mentor, Young, and Young's family. Jolly was introduced by former "Price is Right" game show host Bob Barker, via video. Young's two adult sons were also onstage with Jolly, and he embraced them at the end of his speech.

Jolly didn't mention the issue that dominated much of the campaign — the president's health care package — and instead said that Pinellas County must work together.

"This race is not about defending a broken agenda in Washington or advancing a broken agenda in Washington. This race is about serving the people in our own community," he said. "Let's dispense with the rancor and vitriol of the last five months."

Jolly thanked Sink and Overby and said it was "OK" that tens of thousands of others voted for his opponents.

"While this campaign at times seemed to be partisan, your next congressman is not partisan," he said.

COMMENT:  Some smart statements by Jolly, who will of course be ridiculed because of his name.  You can already see the headlines:  JOLLY NOT JOLLY OVER NEW BUDGET. 

I'm happy with the result, but I ask you to look at the numbers.  Jolly won by less than two points.  Why?  Because there was a third candidate, a so-called "libertarian" who had no chance of winning, but who siphoned off almost five percent of the vote.  I have to believe that almost all of those votes would have gone to the Republican, Jolly.  Even if that's an exaggeration, the absence of a third candidate would have meant a greater GOP victory.

We have to understand the potential for homewrecking that exists this year, with egotistical third-party candidates taking votes from our side.  Bill Clinton became president in 1992 in part because third-party guy Ross Perot siphoned votes from Bush 41. 

I do hope that the libertarians, and the "true" conservatives, will understand that you can't have everything, and that it's better to have a congressperson or senator who's with you 75% of the time, rather than one who's with you 10% of the time.  I don't want to see elections handed to liberals.

March 12, 2014       Permalink

YIKES! – AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  President Obama is suffering in the polls, just as we enter a midterm election campaign.  From The Wall Street Journal: 

President Barack Obama is struggling to overcome widespread pessimism about the economy and deep frustration with Washington, notching the lowest job-approval ratings of his presidency in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The results suggest Mr. Obama could weigh on fellow Democrats in midterm elections this fall, particularly in the conservative states that will play a large role in deciding whether his party retains its Senate majority.

Mr. Obama's job approval ticked down to 41% in March from 43% in January, marking a new low. Some 54% disapproved of the job he is doing, matching a previous high from December, when the botched rollout of his signature health law played prominently in the news. The latest survey also showed the lowest-ever approval in Journal/NBC polling for Mr. Obama's handling of foreign policy.

The findings come amid dissatisfaction with all elected leaders in Washington and low regard for the Republican Party. Roughly a quarter of those polled view the GOP positively, with 45% harboring negative views, weaker numbers than for the Democratic Party.

Still, the GOP leads slightly when the public is asked which party should control Congress.

While fortunes could change in the months before November, Mr. Obama's power to help his party's candidates appear limited, said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who directs the Journal/NBC poll with Democrat Fred Yang.

COMMENT:  We note the president's low standing in foreign policy.  Some commentators, and I believe they're correct, attribute this to one word:  Russia.  Other foreign policy issues deal with small states or unpopular ones, like Syria.  But Russia/Ukraine is a very big deal.  Russia is re-emerging as a world power, and we have a bitter history with Moscow.  The Ukraine confrontation is often described as the most serious foreign-policy crisis since the end of the Cold War, excluding the military crisis prompted by the 9-11 attacks.

With a wobbling economy, I don't see much upside for the president before the elections, but the Dems generally may be helped, as they've been helped before, by Republican blunders.  The Republican National Committee is working hard to do things better this time.  At least they recognize the problem.

March 12,  2014    Permalink 

MARCH 11,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:02 P.M. ET: 

BULLETIN – In a special congressional election in Florida's 13th CD, unknown Republican David Jolly has defeated much-better-known Democrat Alex Sink.  This was considered by virtually all professional politicians as a trend-indicating election.  The district was represented in Congress for 40 years by Bill Young, who recently passed away, thus the need for a special contest.  However, it went for Obama in both 2008 and 2012.  It was considered a "must-win" for the Democrats, if they were to have any chance of making gains in the House this November.  The election was fought largely over Obamacare.  If Dems go into full panic mode, there are reasons.

NOW THIS IS A CRUISE – From Fox:  "A group of passengers suing Carnival Corp. for damages after sailing on the ill-fated Carnival Triumph cruise ship that drifted at sea for days are asking the company to pay $5,000 a month for the rest of their lives for ongoing medical and mental problems.  The case stems from the February 2013 incident when a fire broke out in the ship's engine room during a four-day cruise, leaving the ship without engine power and most of its electricity, forcing passengers to endure human waste running down hallways, limited water supplies, noxious odors and extreme heat."  Well, they do deserve compensation for the nightmare, but $5,000 a month may be a bit much even for our courts.  Now, if they claimed they'd been forced to listen to Obama speeches during the ordeal...

THE WAY THINGS ARE – From Breitbart:  "Last week, CBS's popular law enforcement procedural show NCIS chose what is becoming an increasingly common way to establish that a character is the episode's bad guy by showing him in photos with Republicans.  During the March 4 episode titled, Dressed to Kill, we find that the bad guy du jour is a notorious private investigator named Nick Bodeen (Anthony Palermo). He was killed in the first few minutes of the episode but as viewers learn of his back-story the character is described as a scumbag. In fact, one recurring character called him a 'reprobate.'  So, how did NCIS writers drive home to viewers that this PI was a 'reprobate'? By showing him acting buddy-buddy in a photograph with President George W. Bush, of course. The obvious message is that if the bad guy is in a photo with a Republican, a tea partier, or conservative, why it's a cinch he's no good."  And that's really the way many of them think out there.  I've heard it with my own ears.

THE NEW ROMANCE – From CBS:  " A federal judge’s ruling last week that the Federal Aviation Administration has no jurisdiction over small drone aircraft means a Commerce Township florist will resume testing flower delivery by drone.  FlowerDeliveryExpress.com, the online unit of Wesley Berry Flowers, was testing drone delivery the weekend before Valentine’s Day, but was ordered to stop by the FAA.  But last week, federal administrative law judge Patrick Geraghty ruled that if he accepted the FAA’s argument for regulating drones, 'a flight in the air of a paper airplane or a toy balsa wood glider could subject the operator' to FAA penalties. The ruling applies to flights below 400 feet."  Soon all those liberal newspapers may want to deliver their product by drone.  It's the best argument for surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles that I can think of.

March 11,  2014     Permalink

SERIOUS NUMBERS – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  Wayne Allyn Root is one of the most creative political commentators around, although I certainly don't agree with all his political stands.  He is a member of the same Columbia class (1983) that allegedly produced Barack Obama, and Root has been relentless in trying to find the truth about Obama's time at that school.  It's especially hard, since no one remembers him.  Now Root examines the president's current poll numbers and finds them disastrous.  From Fox: 

Have you seen Obama’s poll numbers? They are among the lowest in history. As of today, Obama’s approval rating is at 38%. That’s just barely above Richard Nixon.

Keep in mind Obama has the support of about 35% to 40% of the American population that will NEVER abandon him, no matter what he does, no matter how bad the jobs numbers look, no matter how low the economy goes, no matter how much scandal and corruption is exposed, no matter how strong the facts are against him.

Nothing will ever change their minds. These are the “low information voters” of the Democratic Party.

So just think about that for a moment. Let those numbers sink in. If 35% to 40% of the population would support a Democrat for president if he ran from a prison cell … if 35% to 40% would support Obama no matter what he does, no matter how far America sinks under his leadership, how could Obama’s approval rating be at only 38%?

That means that among the rest of America, outside of loyal, lifelong, Kool-Aid drinking Democrats, Obama's ratings are nil. Among non-partisan voters, he is the lowest-rated president in history. No numbers like this have ever been recorded, if you filter out the crazies.

Obama's approval among “the Heartland of America” (non-partisan middle class Americans) is lower than Nixon.

Lower than George W. Bush.

Lower than Lyndon Johnson at the height of the Vietnam war.

Lower than Jimmy Carter at the height of the Iranian hostage crisis, with the added burden of an economy in misery and malaise.

I’m betting that outside of lifelong Democrats, Obama's ratings are in the unimaginable range of single digits.

Among the white middle class, I’m betting Obama’s ratings are in the single digits. Or lower.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's absolutely juicy.  Okay, it's a bit more entertaining than scholarly, but it is juicy.

March 11, 2014       Permalink

KEEPING UP WITH THE CHANGES – AT 9:41 A.M. ET:  We inform you that the great medical vision of Dr. Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. has once again been revised.  Only superior intellects could do this.  From Fox: 

The Obama administration says it's pulling the plug on proposed changes to the Medicare prescription program that ran into strong opposition on Capitol Hill.

Among other changes, the regulation proposed to remove three classes of drugs from a special protected list that guarantees seniors access to a wide selection of critical medications.

The three classes of drugs facing removal were antidepressants, antipsychotics and drugs that suppress the immune system to prevent rejection of a transplanted organ.

Oh, who needs those?  You wanna live forever?

The administration hoped to save a total of $729 million by 2019 with the change. But patient groups including the National Kidney Foundation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness pushed back hard.

Medicare administrator Marilyn Tavenner said Monday in a letter to Congress that the administration will not move forward with the changes.

COMMENT:  What strikes us is the cynicism and coldness.  The Obamans told us they wanted to improve the health-care system, save lives, improve the national health.  But these Medicare proposals were outrageous, denying vital drugs to senior citizens. 

Oh no, there are no death committees in Obamacare.  Sarah Palin is crazy.

No, she really isn't.

March 11, 2014       Permalink

THE SAME OLD CLINTONIAN STORY – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:   Where the word "scandal" appears, the word before it is often "Clinton."  As we wonder whether Hillary will actually run in 2016, we are reminded that stories may surface that could seriously damage her candidacy.  From the Washington Times: 

Despite Hillary Rodham Clinton’s promise that she had scrubbed illegal cash contributions from her 2008 presidential campaign, prosecutors revealed Monday that the mastermind of Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s “shadow campaign” also funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid Mrs. Clinton’s bid for the White House.

Jeffrey E. Thompson’s scheme included diverting more than $608,000 in illicit funds to a New York marketing executive, Troy White, who organized “street teams” to raise Mrs. Clinton’s visibility in urban areas during her Democratic primary battle against Barack Obama. Mr. White pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the case.

Prosecutors said that from February to May 2008, Thompson used two firms to disburse $608,750 in “excessive and unreported contributions to pay for campaign services in coordination with and in support of a federal political candidate for president of the United States and the federal and the candidate’s authorized committee.” That candidate was Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Obama, too, received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Thompson and his employees, although those donations apparently were legal.

U.S. Attorney Ron Machen said there was no indication that Mrs. Clinton was aware of the specific activities to aid her campaign.

COMMENT:   Oh really?  She didn't know?  Then why would we trust her with the U.S. Treasury? 

Deniability is one of the first rules of politics.  Shady activities must never be traceable to the candidate, or the president.  I have no proof that Hillary Clinton knew about any particular event, but scandal follows the Clintons.  I still want to know the sources of Bill Clinton's fabulous income, and whether those sources will influence a possible Hillary presidency.  I don't think my question will be answered.

March 11, 2014       Permalink 

HEY, THEY'RE WAKIN' UP – AT 8:47 A.M. ET:  We have actually detected an ability by some in Washington to add two and two, and come up with four.  Maybe there's something about the word "Ukraine" that did it.  From The Hill:

The Ukraine crisis is intensifying Washington’s debate over lifting tight restrictions on exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Europe’s reluctance to impose sanctions on Russia following its military takeover of Crimea is focusing attention on Europe’s dependency on Russian energy and giving ammo to those demanding fast approval of transatlantic sales of U.S. energy.

“This just gives them one more reason why the U.S. government should do it,” Ed Chow, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said, adding, “It adds a geo-political and foreign policy dimension to what has been up until now mostly a domestic debate.”

Ambassadors from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia wrote to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Saturday asking that Congress fast-track natural gas exports to Central and Eastern Europe.

“The presence of U.S. natural gas would be much welcome in Central and Eastern Europe, and Congressional action to expedite LNG exports to America’s allies would come at a critically important time for the region,” the ambassadors wrote.

That is absolutely stunning.  When is the last time you saw allies of the United States asking us to export some of our energy?   We have an international asset.  Let's use it.

They joined Boehner in criticizing U.S. rules that limit exports of natural gas to countries that lack a free-trade deal with the U.S. That excludes their countries, which are known as the Visegrad Group.

“With the current shale gas revolution in the United States, American companies are seeking to export gas, including to Europe. But the existing bureaucratic hurdles for the approval of the export licenses to non-FTA [free-trade agreement] countries like the Visegrad countries are a major hurdle,” they said.

But energy experts say the real problem for the U.S. isn’t a slow approval process. It’s that the U.S. doesn’t yet have the infrastructure to liquefy the natural gas for shipping overseas.

“The government hurdles are not the major barrier at this point,” said Richard Newell, professor of energy economics at Duke University. “The biggest barrier is the lack of existence of these liquefaction facilities. We already have six applications that have been approved, but only one of them is under construction.”

COMMENT:  Gee, I wonder who "approves" the applications.  Well, it's the federal government.  (Surprised?)  And I wonder how much opposition comes from self-appointed "environmentalists."

True, the subject is complicated.   We probably couldn't start exporting for about six years.  But having the capacity, and the will, would assure allies in Europe who have been treated contemptuously by the Obama administration that we can supply natural gas if the Russians cut them off.  Not a bad way to go.

I doubt if the administration will move, though.  The left wing of the Democratic Party is hardly enthusiastic about natural gas, and certainly unenthusiastic about annoying dear, brotherly Russia.

We get what we vote for.

March 11,  2014     Permalink