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MARCH 31,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

IRAN – As you know by now, the Iran nuclear talks have been extended by one day because, we are told (or sold) enough progress has been made to warrant the extension.  This is how the fate of millions of people is decided.  My guess is that they'll come up with some "understanding" that will allow more talks, and possibly ward off Congressional action.  Congress returns April 13th, and many members want to increase sanctions on Iran if a satisfactory deal is not reached by then.  Reports from inside the talks say that some items have been decided, but that the most important ones have not. 

ROTTEN APPLE – I'm a fan of Apple Computer, but not of its CEO, Tim Cook, who took over when Steve Jobs died.  Cook seems to be more interested in politics than in Macbooks.  This week he launched a vicious attack on the new Indiana religious freedom law because he thought it discriminated against gays.  But, as George Will pointed out on Fox News, Apple has been doing extensive business in Saudi Arabia, which sentences people to be lashed for being gay.  The hypocrisy flows.

PASSING – From Fox:  "Lt. Col. Robert Hite, one of the famed World War II 'Doolittle Tokyo Raiders,' died Sunday at 95.  Wallace Hite said his father died Sunday morning at a nursing facility in Nashville after battling Alzheimer's disease, according to The Associated Press.  'Today he decided to go home and be with his wife,' Wallace Hite said.  Hite was among 80 men aboard 16 B-25 bombers whose mission was to strike Japan in April 1942. While the attack inflicted only scattered damage, it was credited with boosting American morale while shaking Japan's confidence and prompting strategy shifts less than five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor."  There are now only two Doolittle Raiders left. 

NO SURPRISE – From the Politico:  "Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for MSNBC, along came the quarterly ratings reports.  In both daytime and prime time, MSNBC endured its lowest quarterly demo numbers in a decade, and its total viewership since the final quarter of 2007. Prime-time viewership was down 45 percent in the demo from the first quarter of 2014, while daytime viewership was down 39 percent in the demo. On Tuesday, while Fox News and CNN were boasting their own quarterly numbers -- Fox News remained dominant, CNN made major strides in the demo -- MSNBC chose to focus on the month of March instead, where it boasted gains in prime time and a victory for 'Morning Joe' over CNN's 'New Day.'  But things are still looking grim for MSNBC: Between the hours of 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, for instance, more people were watching Al Jazeera America than MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Thomas Roberts and 'The Cycle.'"  If MSNBC can't even beat Al Jazeera, maybe it's time to pack it in.

March 31, 2015       Permalink

COMMON SENSE – AT 11:08 A.M. ET:  Some reporters have it, and some don't.  Sharyl Attkisson, eased out of CBS, is one who does.  She's risked her career by demanding to report unpleasant truths, even about the liberal establishment.  And she has a common-sense take on Hillary Clinton's erasing the e-mails on her private server.  From Newsmax: 

There must have been "very, very bad or embarrassing" things on Hillary Clinton's personal email server that was wiped clean – including information on the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, says former CBC News investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson.

In an interview on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV on Monday, Attkisson said it was just "common sense" that the deleted data was likely worse than the firestorm created by its deletion.

"In my experience, there must've been some very, very bad or embarrassing things on there, because it appears as if she'd rather take the heat for the actions erasing the server at a time when she knew it was being sought by Congress and under Freedom of Information Act request, and probably lawsuits … than turn over what was really in them," she said.

"To me, this all points to Benghazi," Attkisson added. "There are things she didn't want to turn over and did not turn over – communications regarding the story that the administration most wants to go away, most wants to controversialize and most wants to say is a non-story. That's what it says."

Attkisson said Clinton also put herself in a position of being "in a terrible amount of trouble if you know that the material you have is being sought under a lawsuit or subpoena and you don't preserve it."

COMMENT:  Yup, common sense.  And Hillary might well be in legal trouble just as she's starting her presidential campaign.  I can just see her taking the oath of office wearing a striped shirt with a number on it.  For the Clintons, that's kind of par.

Stay tuned.  I think Trey Gowdy and his Benghazi investigative committee in the House may have some very interesting times for us ahead.   

March 31, 2015       Permalink  

CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES! – AT 10:44 A.M. ET:  It's wonderful, young people achieving their dreams.  Uh, well, maybe not exactly  But it's young people achieving something or other.  Let's hear it for the young graduates.  From Fox: 

The black-clad graduates listened intently as speakers inspired them to change the world, but instead of caps and gowns, they wore masks and fatigues, and in place of diplomas, they clutched AK-47s.

Photos tweeted out from the Islamic State in Syria in the last few days showed the terror group's latest “graduating class,” which included dozens of foreign fighters who came to Syria to join the Islamic caliphate. The graduation pictures capped 18 months of training in ideology and weaponry at a university in Deir Az-Zour, in northern Syria, and grads are now ready to advance to killing in the cause of radical Islam. Experts say ISIS has reasons for attaching the formal trappings of commencement exercises to the training of its fighters.

“There are two messages being sent by ISIS besides the obvious shock factor: First, their caliphate is an actual functioning and legitimate state. Second, this is long-term struggle,” said Ryan Mauro, national security analyst and adjunct professor of Homeland Security for the Clarion Project. “This is a way of saying that ISIS has succeeded (in creating a state) where Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists have failed.”

By promoting their special force in a series of propaganda photos, experts said ISIS is sending a message to potential recruits that it has created a professional, deadly and well-equipped force ready to protect its expanding Caliphate.

“The graduation photos send a message by ISIS that it has a military capacity ready to defend the Islamic Caliphate – a ‘government’ that has not lost control and will be able to defend its ‘territory,’ said Jasmine Opperman, the African-based analyst for the Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium.

COMMENT:  Oh, that's okay.  Who are we to question their culture?  In fact, I may well go online and find appropriate graduation gifts to recommend to you, our generous readers.

I think a quiality storage box for suicide belts would be nice, don't you?  I found a lovely one that could double as a carrying bag for hand grenades.  Buying is so much fun.

March 31, 2015        Permalink

IRAN RISING – AT 9:54 A.M. ET:  The CNN website is not my favorite place.  It's often a mess, with no intelligent route to navigation.  But now and then they come up with something good.  There's a piece running now showing how Iran has gained dramatically in the Mideast, with or without a nuclear weapon.  It's chilling:

Washington (CNN) Deal or no deal in the Iranian nuclear talks, Tehran is already behaving like it's made a killing.

Sure, U.S. and international sanctions inflicted staggering damage on Iran's economy, convincing the longtime American foe to join talks aimed at limiting its nuclear program. Those talks face an important Tuesday night deadline.

But it's not just Iran's nuclear aspirations that have everyone's attention -- though just the fact that Iranian officials are at the table with the world's most powerful countries has elevated Iran's international status.

Getting the bomb would greatly magnify its regional -- even global -- role, but Tehran is also making big moves in a tumultuous Great Game of Middle East geopolitics that is challenging U.S influence and prestige and chilling Washington's allies.

Right on.  Those allies are doubting Washington.  When you get doubted in power politics, you lose power by definition.  The allies start looking elsewhere.

As it engages on its nuclear program, Tehran has exploited the divisions of the Arab Spring and the power vacuum of America's downgraded involvement in the region. It has also taken advantage of the leeway the United States offered in prioritizing a nuclear deal over attempts to restrain Tehran's proxies that could risk breaking up the negotiations.

The result is that Iran -- often through militant groups it sponsors -- has become a key player in conflicts in neighboring states all the way to the edge of the Mediterranean.

Its drive for regional pre-eminence is becoming an increasing problem for the Obama administration as it contemplates selling a nuclear deal -- which is already drawing considerable skepticism -- to opponents in Congress and to anxious allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel, who are watching Iran's maneuvering up close.

COMMENT:  Hey, I guess hope 'n' change didn't work out so well.  No hope left after the worst kind of change. 

Now it is up to the Republican Party to make the case that we must change parties in the White House.  I watched Marco Rubio on TV yesterday, and was impressed once again with how clearly he makes that case.  We have a good bench.  Let's not blow the thing.

Politics is a contact sport.  The worst thing you can do is give your opponent an even break.  Incompetent candidates don't help us.  Focusing on narrow social issues, even when we're in the moral right, take attention away from the great, existential issues of our time.   

March 31, 2015      Permalink

DEADLINE – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  The Iran nuclear talks in Switzerland have only hours to go before tonight's deadline to come to a tentative agreement.  There's been so much lying, propaganda, and butt-covering in statements coming out of the talks, and from our own State Department, that it's difficult to know what's actually happening.  But the signs are not good.  This story, from AP, seems the most authoritative and best-reported.  One of the reporters on the story is Matt Lee, who has been superb in diplomatic reporters, and one of the few who actually challenges the Obama administration's absurdity:

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Wrapping up six days of marathon nuclear talks with mixed results, Iran and six world powers prepared Tuesday to issue a general statement agreeing to continue negotiations in a new phase aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord by the end of June, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The joint statement is to be accompanied by additional documents that outline more detailed understandings, allowing the sides to claim enough progress has been made thus far to merit a new round, the officials said.

One of the officials said the statement was general in part because differences between the sides remained ahead of a new phase of negotiations toward a comprehensive deal by late June. The second official said other documents will be more technical in nature and will also be made public later in the day.

Both demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the talks.

The documents were being finalized among the six countries negotiating with Iran, and the Iranian side had not yet signed off on them, said the first official.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who left Lausanne Monday, was heading back to the Swiss city, also indicating that an end to the talks was near. He departed on Monday but said he would return if a deal was imminent.

COMMENT:  We'll see, as we go through the day, if any of this actually happens.  The key point is that the Iranian side has not signed off on any texts.

It is being reported elsewhere that the real leaders in Iran will not permit any further concessions, to the extent that there have been any serious ones.

It's a bad moment.  We've been had and manipulated by Iran, and by the leftists in the Obama administration, led by the leftist-in-chief in the Oval Office.  What will the excuse be this time, if all we get is a general piece of paper?

March 31,  2015     Permalink

MARCH 30,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

NOAH'S BARK – The Comedy Channel has picked Trevor Noah, a bi-racial South African "comedian" to replace Jon Stewart as host of "The Daily Show."  Noah has the fundamental qualifications – he's anti-American and anti-Israel.  I have no idea how funny he is or how long he will last.  I guess there weren't any comedians from the United States who were suitable for the slot.  I don't do things by race and gender, but this is one case where I agree with many who thought a woman should have been selected.  Breath of fresh air.  The whole multicultural thing is getting boring, as are left-wing comedians.

DOWN TO THE WIRE, MAYBE – The deadline for a nuclear deal is tomorrow, Tuesday, unless it gets extended, or they stop the clock, or go home, or watch "Downton Abbey."  Stories from the talks in Switzerland are all over the place, ranging from "They're close" to "Far apart."  Personally, I'm offended by the whole thing.  We're talking about issues that affect the very survival of millions of people, and the talks are being handled like a labor negotiation.  My great fear is that we'll cave in at the last minute.  I want to be proved wrong.

O CANADA – From Reuters:  "TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian legislators on Monday voted to back the government's plans to bomb Islamic State positions in Syria, a move that opposition parties say threatens to drag Canada into a long war.  The House of Commons approved the plan 142-129. The result was never in doubt, since the ruling Conservatives have a majority in the chamber.  The vote also approved the extension of Canada's six-month mission by a year to the end of March 2016.  Canada has around 70 special forces troops in northern Iraq and six Canadian jets are taking part in U.S.-led bombing attacks against Islamic State in Iraq."  Canada is always there for us, and look at the way Obama treated Canada over the Keystone Pipeline.  He gave our geographically closest ally the back of his hand, while appeasing Iran.  Some president.

TOUGH RECRUITING – From AP:  "ABINGTON, Pa. (AP) — Saying the military needs to do more to compete with corporate America for quality recruits, Defense Secretary Ash Carter opened the door Monday to relaxing some enlistment standards — particularly for high-tech or cybersecurity jobs.  Speaking to students at his former suburban Philadelphia high school, Carter said the military could ease age requirements and bring in older people who are mid-career, or provide student loan repayments to attract students who have finished college."  Obama accidentally appointed a solid secretary of defense, and these are good ideas.  We must be more creative about attracting our best to military service.

March 30,  2015     Permalink

THE UNFLATTERING COMPARISON – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton is being compared to Richard Nixon, and it isn't meant as a compliment.  From John Fund at The Wall Street Journal:

Ever since Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal broke earlier this month, comparisons between her secretive style and that of Richard Nixon, whom she ironically pursued as a young lawyer on the House impeachment committee, have been frequent. But with Friday’s revelation that she wiped her private e-mail server clean after her records were requested by the State Department last year, the comparisons are becoming more concrete. Washington wags note that even Nixon never destroyed the tapes, but Hillary has permanently erased her e-mails.

And...

Todd S. Purdum of Politico notes that Hillary Clinton “is in the midst of re-tooling herself and her staff for a 2016 campaign that will presumably introduce at least some version of a ‘New Hillary.’” Purdum highlights the obvious echoes of Richard Nixon, who created and presented a more humane “New Nixon” to American voters in 1968 as he tried to recover from his own humiliating loss of the presidency eight years earlier. “It was an exercise in media control and manipulation,” the historian Michael Genovese has written. But it worked. Convinced that Nixon was the most conservative candidate who could win in 1968, conservatives ranging from Barry Goldwater to Strom Thurmond to William F. Buckley endorsed him. Nixon himself cynically observed of his new conservative allies: “They don’t like me, but they tolerate me.”

And...

The Republican party and conservatives paid a stiff price for swallowing doubts about Nixon and elevating him to the presidency. There was enough evidence for them to be deeply concerned about how he would perform in office. There is certainly ample evidence for Democrats to worry about what a return of the Clintons to the White House could mean for their party.

But for all the private doubts about Hillary, in public it’s all happy talk from party leaders for now. Democratic strategist Steve McMahon appeared on Bloomberg News last week to claim Democrats were happy with the choice of Hillary Clinton. Host Mark Halperin quickly retorted, “Like the way Cuban voters are happy with their choices?”

Everybody on the panel laughed, but it rang hollow. Democrats are being presented with an inevitable nominee at the same time everyone seems afraid to raise legitimate doubts about her.

If Democrats ignore the warning signs about Hillary the way Republicans ignored the ones raised about Richard Nixon, they may well also owe history and their party a future accounting.

COMMENT:  Very perceptive.  Hillary and Dick, together again.  At least in spirit.  Read the whole piece.  John Fund is very good.

March 30, 2015       Permalink

INCIDENT AT NSA – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  There's been a shooting at the gate of the National Security Agency.  From CBS Baltimore: 

FORT MEADE, Md. (WJZ) — One person is dead and another injured after a shooting occurred near the gates of the the National Security Agency.

A federal law enforcement official tells CBS News that two women were in a vehicle that tried to ram the gate at NSA and Ft. Meade.

Video shows a police SUV that has damage and the women’s car. Police are not sure if the women fired.

One woman is dead and another was taken to Shock Trauma for treatment.

Cocaine and a weapon were found in or near the women’s car.

NSA Police are handling the investigation and details have yet to be confirmed by police. There is no active shooter on scene, police say, but they are investigating the shooting. Police are trying to determine the motive and so far there are no links to terrorism.

COMMENT:  We'll follow the story.  Motivation is everything in these cases.  We'll be looking for clear identifications on the alleged perps, and their backgrounds.

I'm sure MSNBC will report that the agency attacked the car.

March 30, 2015       Permalink

GETTING WORSE AND WORSE – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  The media should be commended for good reporting on the Germanwings crash in the French Alps last week.  Not to be commended is European aviation, which apparently maintains safety and medical standards that are below what they should be.

Indeed, The New York Times has just run a piece reporting that Germans are questioning their assumptions about German precision and quality following revelations about practices at Germanwings, which is owned by Lufthansa.

And now this, from The Times:   

DÜSSELDORF, Germany — The co-pilot of the Germanwings jetliner that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday had been treated for “suicidal tendencies” before receiving his pilot’s license, the office of the German prosecutor in Düsseldorf said Monday.

The co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had been treated by psychotherapists “over a long period of time,” the prosecutor’s office said, without providing precise dates. In follow-up visits to doctors since that time, the prosecutor said, “no signs of suicidal tendencies or outward aggression were documented.”

Mr. Lubitz’s medical records show no physical illnesses, the prosecutor said.

COMMENT:  It seems to me that no one treated for suicidal tendencies within a certain number of years of applying for pilot status should be allowed near the controls of an airliner. 

It's probable the airline knew nothing about the individual's prior psychiatric history.  That raises questions regarding the right of privacy versus the right of the public to be kept safe.  The public should win hands down.  This man took 150 people with him.  Yes, an applicant for pilot status can probably hide part of his medical history, but perhaps more robust medical and psychiatric exams by an airline itself would help solve this horrible problem.

March 30, 2015       Permalink

THE MESS – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 9:45 A.M. ET:  There is a building backlash against Obama's ridiculous Mideast policies, policies that reward our enemies and condemn our friends.  The American Interest is one of the best publications chronicling our times, and this quote on what is occurring pretty much tells the story: 

...even the President’s ideological fellow travelers can no longer mount a cogent defense of his Middle East policy. The MSM will still do all it can to avoid connecting the dots or drawing attention to the stark isolation in which the White House now finds itself as ally after ally drops away. It still doesn’t want to admit that the “smart diplomacy” crowd has been about as effective at making a foreign policy as the famous emperor’s smooth-talking tailors were at making a new suit of clothes. But it’s getting harder and harder to find anybody willing to gush about how snazzy the President looks in the sharp foreign policy outfit that he’s sporting around town. The shocked silence of the foreign policy establishment, the absence of any statements of support from European or Asian allies about our Middle East course, the evidence that the President and the “senior officials” whom he trusts continue to be blindsided by major developments they didn’t expect and haven’t provided for: all of this tells us that our Middle East policy is indeed in free fall.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  It's worth it.  We're now starting to get some backlash against Obama from parts of the mainstream media, although it's very limited.  The would-be Titanic captains at The New York Times continue to cling to the Obama myth.  Despite extensive coverage of the Mideast, CNN hasn't laid a glove on Obama himself.  And Christiane Amanpour, one of the worst journalists on television, regularly spouts her pro-Iranian nonsense. 

A Washington Post columnist today reported that Obama will continue his anti-Israel policies because he sees them as connected to his "legacy."  In my view, Obama wants to serve Islam and serve socialism.  That's clear from his background, but the press lords who put him in power will never admit it.

March 30,  2015     Permalink