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(UPDATE – A so-so day yesterday, following some better days.  We hope to finish strong.)

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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

MARCH 23,  2015

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

AND HE DOESN'T EVEN PLAY ONE ON TV – From Reuters:  "(Reuters) - Whether it's the earnest Josiah Bartlet from 'The West Wing' or the manipulative Frank Underwood in 'House of Cards,' Americans prefer television presidents to their real-life POTUS, President Barack 'No Drama' Obama.  A Reuters-Ipsos poll taken this month found 54 percent of Americans held an unfavorable opinion of Obama, known for his cool and cautious presidential style, while 46 percent were favorable.  In contrast, asked to imagine that David Palmer of "24" was president, 89 percent of those who had seen the real-time Fox counterterrorism drama said they held a favorable rating of the decisive president played by Dennis Haysbert.  Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet of "The West Wing" - beloved by Democrats, including many who work in Obama's White House - was rated favorably by 82 percent of its NBC viewers."  Obama should go into TV acting.  It's the only thing that can save him.

OBAMA AND CLINTON MEET – The commander-in-chief and the emailer-in-chief met today.  From the White House spokesman:  "'As I noted in today’s briefing, President Obama and Secretary Clinton enjoy catching-up in person when their schedules permit,' he said. 'This afternoon they met privately for about an hour at the White House and discussed a range of topics.'"  Yeah, I'll bet they did.  Clinton is surely aware of the stories going around Washington that it's the Obama crowd itself that is trying to derail her presidential nomination.  Wonder if it came up.  Or did Hillary simply ask what the price would be for Barack's support, such as backing an Iran deal?  Just speculatin'.  But there will be a price.

MONEY MACHINE – From the Dallas Morning News:  "Texas GOP donors have lined up for a Jeb Bush political committee fundraiser in Dallas on Wednesday that will include a rare political appearance by his brother.  The invitation asks for donations or for attendees to raise up to $100,000 per couple.  The reception on behalf of the Right to Rise Super PAC will be held at the home of bank executive Gerald Ford and his wife Kelli."  Jeb is winning the money race, but his campaign is just not catching fire.  Many conservatives have doubts about him, and the Bush name is not particularly helpful in a country that seems to want new faces.

SMALL TIMERS – The White House and State Department took more verbal swings at Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today, continuing a campaign that looks increasingly childish and petty.  We're the only country doing it.  Meanwhile, in the world outside the sandbox, Yemen is falling apart, there is terror in Tunisia, and the war against ISIS is going poorly.  But that Bibi, he's got to be stopped!

March 23, 2015       Permalink

THE HOUSE WARNS OBAMA – AT 11:30 A.M. ET:   An overwhelming majority of House members has issued a warning to President Obama over Iran.  From The Hill: 

A letter to President Obama signed by 367 members of Congress warns that lawmakers must be satisfied that any Iranian nuclear agreement must "foreclose any pathway to a bomb" before they lift sanctions against Tehran.

The letter, which was drafted in early March but released on Monday, warns Obama that "permanent sanctions relief from congressionally-mandated sanctions would require new legislation" from Congress.

"Congress must be convinced that its terms foreclose any pathway to a bomb, and only then will Congress be able to consider permanent sanctions relief," reads the letter, led by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.).

The letter comes just before U.S. and international negotiators are due to reach a March 31 deadline for a framework agreement with Iran to roll back its nuclear program.

The letter also comes after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and 46 other senators sent a letter to Iran on March 9 warning it that Congress needed to have a role in approving any deal. White House officials blasted that letter, and have threatened to veto any legislation that comes before the talks are set to conclude on June 30.

Senators, however, appear poised to pounce on legislation after they return from recess, which runs between March 30 and April 10.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) announced on Friday he would schedule a committee vote April 14 on a bill that would allow Congress 60 days to review any deal before its implementation.

Although the House letter does not mention specific legislation, it said, "we are prepared to evaluate any agreement to determine its long-term impact on the United States and our allies."

COMMENT:  It's apparent that Congress, including many Democrats, is deadly serious about Iran.  We hope it stays that way.  It's also apparent that we have a breathtakingly incompetent and arrogant president who doesn't even understand the basics of working with Congress.  Shades of Jimmy Carter, who also considered himself lofty and above us all.  Didn't work out too well for Jimmy, once he encountered Ronald Reagan.

There are reports that the Obamans may try to get around Congress by taking any agreement directly to the UN Security Council for approval, and insisting that such approval would bind the United States.  Then watch the uproar from a good part of the public, as people realize that the national-defense policies of the United States have been turned over to Russia and China. 

Of course, much of this assumes that we'll have an agreement with Iran.  We're not there yet.

March 23, 2015       Permalink

PROGRESS? – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:   There have been a few signs of maturity in the mainstream media recently.  I don't know if it's a trend.  I'll be watching.  But we're always grateful for small blessings.  From Mediaite: 

New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan retracted her criticisms over the Times’s early Ferguson reporting Monday morning, calling her initial critique “substantially flawed.”

Sullivan’s retraction follows the Department of Justice’s report earlier this month essentially vindicating officer Darren Wilson’s side of the story in the shooting of Michael Brown. The report concluded that Brown did not have his hands raised when Wilson shot him, undercutting the subsequent “hands up, don’t shoot” slogan adopted by Ferguson protesters.

Sullivan’s is the second retraction, after Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart retracted his earlier columns on Ferguson last week.

In her initial piece last August, Sullivan had criticized the attempt at “false balance” — the attempt to present both sides when they are unequal — and the “dubious equivalency” of using anonymous quotes from the Ferguson Police Department alleging that Wilson had been scared of Brown just before the shooting. Sullivan, who has an axe to grind over the Times’ use of anonymous quotes, called the sourcing weak, with the anonymous quotes lifted from “ghosts.”

She retracted that Monday morning. “In retrospect, it’s clear to me that including that information wasn’t false balance. It was an effort to get both sides,” Sullivan wrote. She added:

I still believe, as I did then, that the description of the sourcing was confusing. But that’s a relatively minor issue, and understandable in the rush of breaking news. The main thing is that The Times did its job in describing what were indeed “conflicting reports,” and getting them on the record in whatever way was possible at the time. That served readers well.

COMMENT:  The false reports about "hands up, don't shoot" have burned the more thoughtful people in journalism, all three of them.    Maybe, just maybe, there will be more care in the future.

Last week an African-American student from the University of Virginia wound up bloody after a confrontation in Charlottesville with state alcohol-control agents.  The media have reported the story, showing the young man on the ground, and bloodied.  But there has been some care by most news outlets to stress that the facts have not yet been determined.  The governor of Virginia has asked for an investigation to see if the young man was abused.  The media should follow the investigation, and determine the facts, before presuming anything.

March 23, 2015       Permalink

CRAZIES AT WORK – AT 9:37 A.M. ET:  As the U.S. continues to negotiate a nuclear deal with the mullahs of Iran, Iran does its dirty work in the Mideast.   King of Diplomats John Kerry, and Field Marshal Barack Obama, pretend not to notice.  From Al Arabiya News:

An Iranian ship unloaded more than 180 tons of weapons and military equipment at a Houthi-controlled port in western Yemen, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Friday, quoting security sources.

The ship had docked at al-Saleef port northwest of the al-Hodeida province on Thursday, the sources said.

The Houthi militias reportedly closed the port and denied entrance to employees there. Al-Saleef port is considered the second most vital in Yemen.

The news follows last week’s economic partnership agreements between Iran and the Houthis, including a deal that promises a year’s worth of oil supply from Iran.

Iran has also agreed to provide Yemen with a 200 megawatt power plant, according to Yemeni news agency Saba.

Yemen is torn by a power struggle between the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in the north, and the internationally-recognized President Abedrabbu Mansorur Hadi, who has set up a rival seat in the south with the backing of Sunni-led Gulf Arab states.

The Shiite Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in September last year before tightening their grip and prompting President Hadi to submit his resignation. Their rise to power has deepened division in Yemen’s web of political and religious allegiances, and left the country increasingly cut of from the outside world.

COMMENT:  This morning Yemen is in flames.  The U.S. has pulled out its remaining troops.  Now Great Britain, which has a long history in the region, is doing the same.  Obama, last September, bragged that Yemen was a great success story.  Apparently, as Rick says in "Casablanca," he was misinformed. 

And we still continue to negotiate with Tehran, which is fanning the flames.  We used to have adults running the country.  Ah yes, I remember it well.

March 23, 2015       Permalink

CRUZIN' – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  Ted Cruz has become the first Republican to announce formally for president.  From NBC: 

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the first in for 2016.

"I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!" Cruz announced on Twitter early Monday. The conservative Republican famed for his staunch opposition to the president's signature health care law and his executive actions on immigration will announce the start of his campaign at an address at Liberty University in Virginia later in the day, making him the first presidential candidate to formally announce a White House run.

Can Cruz win the nomination?  Well, it would take a miracle.  He is young, brash, and brilliant.  He's in his first year in the Senate and has already burned many bridges.  To say he's an outsider is an understatement.  When the GOP establishment sees him coming, they lock the doors and load their rifles. 

But he is brilliant.  Alan Dershowitz, late of the Harvard Law School, has said that Cruz was one of the best students he ever had.  But brilliance alone is not enough.  I really don't think Cruz is exactly ready to take on the presidency.  But he will help shape the debate, and introduce himself to the nation.  He is more of a man of the future than the present.  I'm glad he's in it.  He will raise the level of the debate, as well as the heat. 

March 23,  2015     Permalink

MARCH 22,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:48 P.M. ET:

McCAIN BLASTS OBAMA – John McCain nails who Obama really is.  From Fox:  "Sen. John McCain said Sunday that President Obama is letting his personal issues with newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affect his decision-making and shared policy goals.  'It’s time that we work together with our Israeli friends and try to stem the tide of ISIS and Iranian movement throughout the region, which is threatening the very fabric of the region,' McCain, R-Ariz., said on CNN's 'State of the Union.'  During the interview, McCain called out Obama and told him: 'Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President.'  McCain went on to admonish the administration’s Middle East policies and said Obama’s priorities are 'so screwed up that it’s unbelievable.' He added that he was 'convinced' Obama was letting his personal feelings get in the way."  And that's a mild interpretation.  Obama, as we've said here before, is childlike, a glorified town councilman.  But he's also a soldier of the left, with contempt for America and a chilling respect for dictatorships. 

PROBLEM POLL – A new CNN/ORC poll is said to be bad news for Republicans, but isn't.   From Townhall.com:  "Email-gate may have dominated the headlines over the past few weeks, but evidently the scandal hasn’t trickled down to the grassroots level—at least not yet. And perhaps it never will. To wit, a newish CNN/ORC poll, which conducted head-to-head hypothetical matchups between Hillary Clinton and all the leading presumptive Republican hopefuls, is anything but positive news for the GOP. Though Jeb Bush (16 percent) leads the pack of Republicans, no candidate even comes close to defeating Hillary Clinton one-on-one (via Bill Kristol)."  Sorry, but a look at the poll's methodology paints a different picture.  It was taken among all adults, the least accurate respondent pool.  The next up in accuracy would be registered voters.  And the most accurate would be likely voters.  Surveys of likely voters almost always show the greatest Republican strength, as Republicans are more likely to vote.  Disregard the CNN/ORC poll.

MAJOR APOLOGY NEWS – From CNN:  "New Delhi, India (CNN)The North Korean ambassador in Bangladesh issued an apology after one of the embassy's diplomats was caught carrying 27 kilograms (59 pounds) of undeclared gold into the country's main airport in Dhaka, according to officials in Bangladesh.  North Korean officials could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, state media in the largely isolated communist country has not yet reported on the incident.  Kazi Muhammad Ziauddin, a top official in Bangladesh's customs agency, told CNN his officers discovered the gold on the afternoon of March 5th, after the diplomat arrived on a Singapore Airlines flight.  How do you hide 59 pounds of gold?  I'm relieved.  These people are more incompetent than I thought.

March 22, 2015       Permalink

DEPARTMENT OF MISEDUCATION – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  Another great moment when good kids aren't allowed to be good.  From WHDH: 

LEXINGTON, Mass. (WHDH) - A debate over a themed dance is sparking controversy at Lexington High School.

Students said the administration canceled an "American Pride" dance because it excluded other nationalities, despite the theme getting the most votes from the dance committee.

School officials defended their decision and added they are willing to tweak the theme in order for everyone to be included.

“Given the diverse demography of our community it was suggested by the advisers that the students come maybe national pride theme so they could represent their individual nationalities,” Assistant Superintendent Carol Pilarski said.

"People consider America to be a melting pot, so the fact that it was even considered offensive is what people are a little surprised about," said student Sneha Rao.

The "National Pride" dance was rescheduled for late April and students can wear red, white and blue if they choose to.

COMMENT:  We have pathetic educators because we have pathetic colleges and universities that turn them out.  Maybe the parents of Lexington, one of the great names in American history, will rise up and end this nonsense.

March 22, 2015        Permalink

A FURTHER REMINDER – AT 10:54 A.M. ET:   Our people are in constant danger from Islamism.  Oh, excuse me.  They're in constant danger from people who misuse Islam, but who really aren't Islamic, and, however misguided they are, we must still understand their frustrations, brought about my American imperialism and and pharmaceutical companies.  So there.  From The Washington Times: 

A group affiliated with the Islamic State published a list of addresses purportedly belonging to about 100 U.S. service members late Friday night, calling for their beheadings.

The self-identified “Islamic State Hacking Division” claimed to have obtained the information by hacking into military servers, databases and emails, The Blaze reported Saturday.

The online document contains names and photos along with some of the addresses.

“[W]e have decided to leak 100 addresses so that our brothers residing in America can deal with you,” the group warned, The Blaze reported.

“Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe,” the “Islamic State Hacking Division” added.

A spokesperson for the Department of Defense told the website that the U.S. military was investigating the matter but could not confirm that the list was authentic.

COMMENT:  Do not forget that a British soldier was executed on the streets of London.  Our service people are often in uniform, even when off base.  We should take this very seriously.  We had, in Little Rock, five or six years ago, the execution of a recruiting officer by an Islamist.  It's been forgotten, naturally.  But eternal vigilance must be practiced. 

March 22, 2015       Permalink

A REMINDER – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:  The temporary American president has been in full appeasement mode recently, groveling to the thugs who run Iran while bashing the re-elected prime minister of Israel.  It's a pathetic sight.  And this is the result.  From AP and AFP: 

Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei called for “Death to America” on Saturday, a day after President Barack Obama appealed to Iran to seize a “historic opportunity” for a nuclear deal and a better future, and as US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed substantial progress toward an accord.

Khamenei told a crowd in Tehran that Iran would not capitulate to Western demands. When the crowd started shouting, “Death to America,” the ayatollah responded: “Of course yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure.

“They insist on putting pressure on our dear people’s economy,” he said, referring to economic sanctions aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear program. “What is their goal? Their goal is to put the people against the system,” he said. “The politics of America is to create insecurity,” he added, referring both to US pressure on Iran and elsewhere in the region.

Khamenei’s comments contrasted with those of Iranian President Hassan Rohani, who said “achieving a deal is possible” by the March 31 target date for a preliminary accord.

Khamenei is the boss of bosses.  He decides.  Has Obama figured that out?

Kerry was more circumspect, as he spoke to reporters after six days of negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne. The talks, made “substantial progress,” he said, but “important gaps" remain.

COMMENT:  It would be better at this point if the talks collapsed.  Then we could clearly see the fantasy of a "moderate" Iran, spread by Obama, his Iranian-born guru, Valerie Jarrett, and journalistic front operators like Iranian-born Christiane Amanpour.  My fear is that Obama will collapse, make any concessions to get a piece of paper, than drag out his Neville Chamberlain umbrella and do a chorus of "Singin' in the Rain."

March 22,  2015     Permalink