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MAY 10,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:50 P.M. ET: 

MARCH OF MEDICINE – From London's Daily Mail:  "Night clubbers, beware. An Obamacare evangelist may be coming to a bar near you.  On a call outlining its strategy to get people to sign up for Obamacare over the summer, leading Obamacare advocacy group Enroll America said it will get more creative with its outreach tactics – including hitting up night clubs – now that only certain groups of people remain eligible to sign up for health coverage.  'If it's a health fair, we wanna have a table set up. If it's a long line at a night club, we want somebody walking up and down it, talking to folks while they're stuck there,' John Gilbert, National Field Director of Enroll America, told fellow Obamacare recruiters on the call.  The group will begin its new outreach operation in May."  If you're drunk when you sign up, do you still have to pay?

CHELSEA RISES – There seems to be more news about Chelsea these days than about Bill or Hillary.  From AP:  "Former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton are in Oxford, England, this weekend to attend the graduation ceremonies of their daughter, Chelsea.  Chelsea Clinton will receive her doctorate degree in international relations on Saturday from the prestigious British university. Her father was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford from 1968 to 1970."  International relations?  From a British university?  What did Chelsea take, Appeasement 201 or Anti-Americanism 304?  They're both popular, I hear.  Also, don't you have to spend some time at a university to get a doctorate?  I don't recall Chelsea spending any time overseas?  I'd love to have some details here.  Maybe she claimed she was home schooled by mama. 

THINK BIG – From Climate Depot:  "A solar panel array now adorns the roof of the White House and will produce an elephantine amount of solar power when the sun is actually shining: about 44 kilowatt hours of electricity a day.   If 44 kilowatts hours sounds like a lot of energy, it isn’t. The average home consumes about 30 kilowatt hours (kWh) of power each day. The average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,837 kWh according to the EIA for 2012 or 30 kWh per day average.
Slightly less than the 44 kilowatt hours per day that will be produced by the new solar panels adorning the White House. According to data from TradeWind Energy, one 100-watt light bulb running for 20 hours will use two kilowatt-hours of electricity (100 watts x 20 hours = 2,000 watt-hours = 2 kWh).  In other words, the White House installed enough solar panels to power twenty-two 100-watt light bulbs for 20 hours each day. And if you’ve ever been inside the White House, or seen it from a distance, you’ll notice it’s lit up like a klieg light."  I only trust solar power on my little Casio calculator.  Eight bucks.

May 10,  2014     Permalink

PROGRESS – AT 12:18 P.M. ET:  From what I can see, the Republican National Committee is making steady progress in improving the party's prospects on election day.  The party's procedures are being restructured to reduce friction, suppress chaos and allow good candidates to come forward and secure nominations without going through a 20-debate meat grinder.  From The New York Times: 

MEMPHIS — The Republican National Committee moved Friday to seize control of the presidential primary debates in 2016, another step in a coordinated effort by the party establishment to reshape the nominating process.

Committee members overwhelmingly passed a measure that would penalize any presidential candidate who participated in a debate not sanctioned by the national party, by limiting their participation in subsequent committee-sanctioned forums.

The move represents the party’s effort to reduce the number of debates and assert control over how they are staged.

In making the case for adopting the new rule, party officials repeatedly criticized the moderators and format of the 2012 primary debates, appealing to the suspicions that many Republican activists have about the mainstream news media. “The liberal media doesn’t deserve to be in the driver’s seat,” said the committee’s chairman, Reince Priebus, addressing committee members here at their spring meeting.

Such rhetoric makes taking over the debates easier to sell to the committee’s more conservative members. But what party leaders are principally concerned about is reducing the number of debates to avoid a repeat of the 2012 campaign when a series of insurgent candidates used the forums — 20 in all — to draw attention to their candidacies. Some party leaders say they believe that the number of debates pushed Mitt Romney to the right in a way that contributed to his loss to President Obama.

COMMENT:  The 2012 Republican primary race wore out the candidates before the general-election campaign even got started.  The new changes are good.  Priebus has been an excellent chairman, and understands that the name of the game is win, not just participate.

May 10, 2014        Permalink

SOCIAL TREND REPORT – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  I have no idea whether this means anything, but I thought it interesting enough to pass on.  From AP:   

WASHINGTON (AP) — Noah sailed past Jacob to become the most popular baby name for boys in 2013, ending Jacob's 14-year run at the top. Sophia was the most popular baby name for girls for the third straight year.

The Social Security Administration announced the most popular baby names Friday. Noah was followed by Liam, Jacob, Mason and William. Sophia was followed by Emma, Olivia, Isabella and Ava.

The rise of Noah and Liam highlights a trend toward more smooth-sounding baby names, said Laura Wattenberg, creator of Babynamewizard.com.

"You compare Jacob with all its hard, punchy consonants, versus Noah and Liam, you can really see where style is heading," Wattenberg said.

She also noted that the most popular baby names aren't nearly as popular as they used to be. For example, a little more than 18,000 babies born last year were named Noah. In 1950, when James was No. 1, there were more than 86,000 newborns with that name.

About 21,000 newborns were named Sophia last year. In 1950, more than 80,000 were named Linda, the top name for girls that year.

"In the past, most parents were picking from a pretty well-defined set of names," Wattenberg said. "Literally for hundreds of years, the English royal names dominated. You had John and Mary and James and Elizabeth."

"Today," she said, "we get names everywhere."

Jacob first rose to No. 1 in 1999. In the 45 years before that, Michael was king for all but one.

There has been a lot more variety among the girls. Mary dominated the first half of the 20th century. But in the past two decades, Emily, Emma, Isabella and Jessica have all spent time at the top.

COMMENT:   Hard to figure out where some of this popularity is coming from.  I mean, Sophia is a beautiful name.  Is there a famous Sophia out there?  And what about Ava?  There was, of course, the movie star Ava Gardner, but she passed on decades ago. 

I can understand why Linda was so popular in 1950, as there was a hit song, "Linda," in the late 40s.

Noah?  Al Gore must be pleased.  "You see," he's probably thinking, "they know the country will be flooded by global warming."  Let Al imagine.

May 10, 2014        Permalink

THE CONTINUING LIE – AT 10:03 A.M. ET:  As announced, Michelle Obama delivered the radio address from the White House this morning, the weekly address normally given by the president.  She devoted it to the missing Nigerian girls.  Good enough so far.

We wondered in this space last night whether Ms. Obama would use the term "Islamic terrorism."  We weren't surprised when our question was answered.  She didn't use it once.  No way.  No truthful identification of the perpetrators.  Yes, she described them as terrorists, but, incredibly, posed the issue as one of men against women:

Like millions of people across the globe, my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken over the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory in the middle of the night.
This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education — grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls.

On December 8, 1941, FDR began his war message to Congress with these words:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

In Obamaworld it would have read:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by a militaristic group.

It would have been like fighting World War II in Europe without mentioning the ideology of Nazism.

It would have been like fighting the Cold War without mentioning Communism.

Yes, later in her address Ms. Obama did mention the Taliban in Afghanistan, but, again, never linking it to radical Islam.  Radical Islam has been erased from the official vocabulary.  The people committing these horrors are just misguided folks.  Remember when the Obama administration, when it took office, tried to recast terrorist attacks as "man-caused disasters"?

And...oh yes...our secretary of state announced this week that the root cause of all this is poverty.  Naturally. That is fundamentalist left-wing theology.  Never mind that many Islamist leaders, and it is true in Nigeria, are highly educated, sometimes in the West. 

We are lied to.  And the American press shows no concern.

May 10,  2014     Permalink

MAY 9,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:26 P.M. ET:

THE NIGERIAN GIRLS – From London's Daily Mail:  "President Barack Obama is punting his administration's outrage over Nigerian terror group Boko Haram's violence to his wife Michelle, giving her the duty of delivering the White House's weekly radio address on Saturday."  Real hero, that Barack.  Of course, he's just following the standard leftist line on the missing girls – express outrage and do nothing.  I just checked the website of the National Organization for Women, which claims to have an interest in women's issues.  Not a word about the girls.  I guess they just don't count unless the masters of leftist politics give the big okay.  I'd love to see how many times Michelle uses the term "Islamic terrorism" in her radio address.  I'm not holding my breath.

OBAMA UP? – Gallup reports that President Obama's approval has just jumped to 47%.  I wonder if this is just polling noise, as almost everyone else has it about 41%.  We'll follow the polls to see if there's a trend toward the president, but I can't find any reason for one. 

NOW THAT'S A REALITY SHOW – From the New York Post:  "Honesty will take you a long way to making an impression on your first date.  But there are some things you probably should keep to yourself.
If only someone had mentioned that to Sefer Calinak, a 62-year-old man looking for a wife on a TV dating show in Turkey.  Calinak stunned the host and studio audience after revealing that he had murdered his first wife and later killed a lover with an ax during an argument, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reports.  He made the shocking revelation while appearing this week on Flash TV’s 'The Luck of The Draw,' adding he is now an 'honest person looking for a new wife.'"  And he wasn't thrown off the show.  But who are we to judge another culture?

HEALTH OR HARASSMENT? – From Bloomberg:  "The Obama administration began a process that may result in the first federal regulation of chemicals used in fracking, a drilling technique that has transformed energy production while eluding oversight sought by environmentalists.  After three years of delay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today it’s considering rules requiring oilfield service companies such as Halliburton (HAL) Co. to send it details on the health and safety of the chemicals used. The agency said it may decide to stop short of rules, and use incentives or voluntary steps."  We have to watch this closely.  If there are legitimate health and safety issues, they should be dealt with.  But EPA has a history of overreach and rough politics.  Fracking is an exciting, emerging technology that can massively help the campaign to make this country energy independent.  It must not be stopped by a political agenda.

May 9, 2014         Permalink

COMING TO THEIR SENSES? – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:  It's rare for liberal Democrats, but it might be happening.  Their initial temptation to boycott the new Benghhazi committee formed in the House may be giving way to the realization that a boycott gives them no voice. 

They may also realize that committee Chairman Trey Gowdy is one of the shrewdest Republicans in Congress, and can be deadly as a prosecutor.  From the Washington Examiner: 

A top Democratic House lawmaker and close ally of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wants Democrats to post only one member to the newly created Select Committee on Benghazi.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., sent a letter to Democrats who are meeting on Friday morning to discuss how to respond to the newly created committee, which is comprised of seven Republican seats and five Democratic seats.

DeLauro, who is co-chair of the Democratic Steering Policy Committee, which determines committee assignments, said Democrats should resist boycotting the panel, which “would leave our caucus with no voice to engage in committee proceedings.”

Instead, she suggested in the letter, Democrats should seat just one member of their party on the panel.

“Such a participant could maintain Democratic access to committee proceedings and material, question witnesses, monitor the House Majority's activities and provide a powerful voice to raise issues and make appropriate public comments,” DeLauro wrote.

The House voted to create the panel on Thursday. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is expected to name members on Friday. He has tapped Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., to serve as chair.

Republicans rejected a request by Democrats to make the committee bipartisan with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. Such a move would have given Democrats the power to block subpoenas and other actions taken by the panel, which aims to investigate the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

COMMENT:  Dems complain that the Benghazi committee is about politics, an attempt to damage Hillary Clinton before the 2016 presidential race.  That may well be part of the motivation, but so what?  Political motivation is appropriate in a democracy, where elections are about putting up the better candidate and making the better argument. 

Maybe the Dems will participate.  If not, it will look strange to many Americans, especially if Gowdy is in his best form.

May 9, 2014       Permalink

LATEST PRESIDENTIAL POLL – AT 9:23 A.M. ET:   The news here is not on the Republican side, which is unformed, but on the Dem side, where Hillary continues to lose steam as more and more comes out about her actual record.  From The Politico: 

Rand Paul and Jeb Bush are top dogs in a wide-open 2016 Republican presidential field, a new poll says.

The Kentucky senator and former Florida governor each received 13 percent of the vote among Republicans and independents that lean right, according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Tuesday. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, came in at 12 percent.

Bush has gained ground since early March, improving by 4 points, while Paul has dropped 3 points in that time.

Other notable marks include former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 10 percent, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 9 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 8 percent.

The poll comes as a potential Republican field might be forming with many contenders but lacking a clear front-runner.

I get the sense that this is about name recognition, and will continue to be so until next year, when the race really gets started.  I'd like to see some other names in the ring, like Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. 

The Dem side:

Democrats, on the other hand, have a familiar name out front — former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who came in with 64 percent of the vote among Democrats and left-leaning independents. Still, that mark is 6 points worse than in January, when she scored 70 percent of the vote in a CNN poll.

COMMENT:  She's still the overwhelming favorite, but declining numbers aren't helping her political image.  If she drops five more points she'll be in the 50s, which is not coronation territory.  Hillary is one of the best-known figures in the country.  Everyone knows her, but almost everything coming out about her is either negative or neutral.  There is no new positive news, nothing about any secret accomplishment.

At $200,000 a speech, Hillary won't elicit much sympathy.  The issue may not be whether she can win the Democratic nomination, but whether she can win a general election against a good, well-organized Republican candidate.  I'd imagine initial polls will show her ahead, but that those polls will narrow rather quickly.

Or, maybe, if her numbers continue to decline, Hillary will decide that grandmotherhood is better than another losing race.

May 9, 2014       Permalink

LOUISIANA SENATE RACE – AT 8:57 A.M. ET:   No race this year is more critical to GOP hopes of taking over the U.S. Senate than the one in Louisiana, pitting incumbent Mary Landrieu against an as-yet-unchosen contender.  Landrieu's numbers are dropping.  From The Hill:

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) posts her lowest level of support yet in a new poll of her tough reelection fight.

The survey, from Louisiana-based bipartisan pollster Southerm Media & Opinion Research, gives Landrieu just 36 percent support among likely voters to 35 percent support for Rep. Bill Cassidy (R). Retired Air Force colonel Rob Maness (R) takes 7 percent and state Rep. Paul Hollis (R) has 4 percent support. Seventeen percent are undecided.

It’s the lowest numbers she’s posted in any survey of the race yet, and it’s a drop of five points from SMOR’s last survey, conducted last November.

In Louisiana, all candidates appear on the ballot in November, regardless of party, and if no candidate tops 50 percent support the top two vote-getters head to a December runoff, an outcome expected this cycle.

Though SMOR has done work for candidates of both parties, their last survey of the race was reportedly financed by local GOP donor and businessman Lane Grigsby.

COMMENT:  Assuming the poll is generally accurate, Landrieu is clearly in trouble, but her position is not impossible.  She doesn't poll 50%, but neither does any of her GOP opponents.  Putting the polling numbers of all GOP contenders together yields 46%.  Undecideds usually break for the challenger, so, if the election and runoff were held now, a GOP candidate would probably squeeze by with a victory.

That's good news, but I wouldn't take it to the bank.  This is still a fight, and winnable with the right Republican.

May 9, 2014       Permalink

HOLLOW WORDS – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Increasingly, President Obama is not taken seriously.  Maybe it's because his words ring so hollow after five and a half years in office.  From the New York Post: 

President Obama said he wakes up thinking of the Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Islamist extremists and facing a life as sex slaves, and wishes he “could reach out and save those kids.”

“We only need to look at today’s headlines — the devastation of Syria, the murders and kidnappings in Nigeria, sectarian conflict, the tribal conflicts — to see that we have not yet extinguished man’s darkest impulses,” Obama said at a Los Angeles fund-raiser late Wednesday.

“I have this remarkable title right now — president of the United States,” Obama said. “And yet every day when I wake up, and I think about young girls in Nigeria or children caught up in the conflict in Syria . . . there are times in which I want to reach out and save those kids.”

COMMENT:  I'm sure we're all so moved.  This president has done all he can to weaken the United States, both militarily and morally.  His interest in the Nigerian schoolgirls apparently began when the story finally hit the headlines.  We now know that his administration refused to label the group holding the girls as a terrorist organization. 

This man is a fraud.  On the day of the Fort Hood terrorist massacre, he went to a government agency and engaged in some light banter before even mentioning the attack.  His administration then labeled it "workplace violence," trying to cover up the Islamist connection. 

I cannot take expression of Obama's concern seriously.

May 9,  2014     Permalink