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MAY 31,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:58 P.M. ET: 

SENATE MISSES DEADLINE – From Fox:  "The National Security Agency's ability to collect the phone records of millions of Americans in bulk expired late Sunday after the Senate failed to strike a deal before the midnight deadline.  However, that program, as well as several other post-9/11 counterterrorism measures, were likely to be revived in some form in the coming days after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. reluctantly embraced a House-passed bill that would extend the anti-terror provisions, while also remaking the bulk phone collections program."  You'd think this could have been done weeks ago.  No excuses on our side.  Republicans control the Senate.  I hope they get their act together and pass legislation in the next few days.

TALIBAN 5 STAYING PUT FOR NOW – From Fox:  "Qatar has agreed to temporarily extend travel bans on five senior Taliban leaders released last year from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a State Department official confirmed to Fox News Sunday.  The official said the ban would remain in place until diplomatic talks for a longer-term solution are completed. The restrictions had been due to expire on Monday under a May 2014 exchange for Bergdahl. U.S. officials said Friday the Obama administration was closing in on an agreement with Qatar to extend the restrictions for six months that could be announced this weekend. It was not immediately clear why that agreement had not been finalized."  Why did we ever agree to release these fanatics at all?  And they'll be restricted only another six months?  After that they're free to go back to the Taliban?  Are we mad?

THE LEFT ROARS – From Radio Iowa:  "The two Democrats who have formally emerged to challenge Hillary Clinton for their party’s 2016 presidential nomination visited Iowa this weekend. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders attracted overflow crowds in Ames and Davenport, then Sanders capped his three-day trip with a Saturday night stop in Kensett, where more than 300 people greeted him.  'People are extremely frustrated with status quo economics, the greed of the top one percent, establishment politics,' Sanders told reporters on his way into Kensett’s community center. '…People want a movement, to be part of a movement that takes on the billionaire class. Let me be as blunt as I can be: you have a handful of people in this country with enormous economic and political power who are getting it all.'"  Bernie won't be president, but I admire him for speaking his mind.  At least he has a consistent point of view, unlike the very flexible Ms. Hillary.  But the Democratic Party is being pushed further and further to the left, as if Obama were some kind of a moderate.  The left is where liberals go to die.

May 31, 2015       Permalink

PATRIOT DRAMA – AT 10:41 A.M. ET:  Unless the Senate acts, critical provisions of the Patriot Act will expire at midnight, leaving the United States blind in some important areas of electronic surveillance.  The House has already passed legislation renewing these provisions.  And even Field Marshal Obama is supporting the renewal.

But Senate approval is being held up, ironically, by a small group of Republicans led by Rand Paul.  From The Politico: 

It’s crunch time for Mitch McConnell and his Republican-controlled Senate.

The chamber will convene at 4 p.m. for a rare Sunday session in a last-ditch effort to keep provisions of the PATRIOT Act from lapsing at midnight — a herculean task complicated by the imminent deadline, a divided GOP and Rand Paul’s presidential aspirations.

Paul announced Saturday that he would not consent to any effort to speed up debate on a House-passed surveillance reform bill – which has wide support on Capitol Hill and is backed by President Barack Obama – nor any extensions of the current law. That would effectively force the controversial national security law, enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, to expire – at least temporarily.

“I am ready and willing to start the debate on how we fight terrorism without giving up our liberty,” the Kentucky senator and 2016 hopeful said in a statement on Saturday announcing his plans to block any movement on surveillance legislation. “Sometimes when the problem is big enough, you just have to start over.”

Paul’s aggressive approach is sure to frustrate fellow senators who are pushing for an overhaul of the controversial National Security Agency programs and believe that passage of an alternate NSA reform bill is inevitable.

And...

In his toughest remarks yet, Obama on Friday warned of the consequences of letting the surveillance part of the PATRIOT Act – as well as two other less controversial provisions – expire on Sunday after a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who has also repeatedly urged Congress against letting the provisions lapse.

“I don’t want us to be in a situation in which, for a certain period of time, those authorities go away, and suddenly we’re dark, and heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could’ve prevented a terrorist attack or could’ve apprehended someone who was engaged in dangerous activity but we didn’t do so simply because of inaction of the Senate,” Obama said.

COMMENT:  We call 'em as we see 'em at Urgent Agenda, and here we agree with the president.  There may be legitimate concerns about parts of the Patriot Act, but there are responsible, thoughtful ways of dealing with them.  Killing the entire act is not one of them.

Once again Rand Paul shows he cannot be trusted on matters of security and foreign policy, any more than his father could.  His approach is reckless and irresponsible.  I hope this stops his presidential ambitions cold.

May 31, 2015       Permalink

A NEW ALERT – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:   The prime minister of Singapore warns us that ISIS is spreading throughout southern Asia.  From Bloomberg: 

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has ramped up its activities in Southeast Asia so effectively that there is now an entire military unit of terrorists recruited from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, according to Singapore's prime minister.

“Southeast Asia is a key recruitment center for ISIS,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the Shangri-La Dialogue here in Singapore Friday. He noted that this included more than 500 Indonesians and dozens of Malaysians. “ISIS has so many Indonesian and Malaysia fighters that they form a unit by themselves -- the Katibah Nusantara -- Malay Archipelago Combat Unit,” he added.

Even in the small and tightly controlled city-state of Singapore, “a few” young men have gone to Syria to join the Islamic State ranks, and even more were intercepted trying to leave, Lee disclosed. He said the Singaporean authorities had recently arrested two students, one 17 and one 19, the latter of whom had planned to assassinate Singaporean government officials if he was unable to reach the Middle East.

“This is why Singapore takes terrorism, and in particular ISIS, very seriously,” Lee said. “The threat is no longer over there, it is over here.”

COMMENT:  Please note that ISIS recently boasted of having plans for South America as well.  Remember the old Marxist principle – "two steps forward, one step back."  ISIS seems to understand that idea.  It will suffer some defeats, but come back and win several victories elsewhere. 

We have no real strategy to defeat ISIS, except to blame its rise on George W. Bush, which is absurd.  Obama's heart is not in the fight.  A former, very senior, intelligence official told a meeting I attended several days ago that Obama is basically a Jeffersonian when it comes to foreign policy – he prefers to avoid foreign actions, and looks inward to domestic affairs.  That tendency may well grow if we have a violent summer in our big cities, violence his own administration has helped stir.  Obama may have to concentrate on that, allowing ISIS to continue to grow. 

And our children will pay the price.

May 31, 2015       Permalink 

OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Our college campuses have become sandboxes, places where children are kept as children.  Alan Dershowitz, late of the Harvard Law School, warns us about that development.  From the superb website of Gatestone Institute: 

The current code word being tossed around to protect political correctness from competition in the marketplace of ideas is "unsafe."

"I feel unsafe" has become the argument stopper on many university campuses. Efforts have been made to shut down controversial events or speakers, some of which have succeeded, at MIT, the University of Michigan, Northeastern University, Oxford, Hampshire College, Smith College, and other great universities, on the grounds that students would feel "unsafe." Students must, of course, be and feel physically safe in their dorms, classrooms, and campuses. That's what university and city police are for: to protect against physical assaults and threats. But no one on a university campus should be or feel safe or protected when it comes to the never-ending war of ideas.

An important role of the university is to challenge every idea, every truth, every sacred notion, even if challenge makes students (or faculty) feel intellectually uncomfortable, unsettled, or unsafe. There must be no safe spaces in the classroom or auditorium that protect members of the university community from dangerous, disturbing or even emotionally unsettling ideas.

COMMENT:  Dead on, from Dersh.  Please read the rest of the piece, and circulate it.  Free speech on many college campuses is in crisis, and the crisis will spread to the general society unless we stop the rot.

May 31,  2015     Permalink

MAY 30,  2015

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

MAJOR FASHION NEWS – From the New Zealand Herald:  "Bruce Jenner will model for Vanity Fair as a woman.  The former athlete is currently transitioning to a female and is set to undertake a photoshoot with world famous photographer Annie Leibovitz this summer to show off his new image.  The news - confirmed by gossip website TMZ - comes after it was revealed the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star has undergone surgery to make his face more feminine.  According to Radar Online, the 65-year-old star has had surgery 'to give Bruce's jawline and chin a softer look.'"  I'm so excited.  Much more important than the Iran nuclear talks.

MODERATE DEM IN REVOLT – From The Hill:  "Rep. John Delaney (Md.), a centrist House Democrat, on Friday warned that voices on the left have 'hijacked' his party’s message.  'With Washington already broken, the last thing we need is a left-wing version of the tea party,' Delaney wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published online Thursday evening. 'But I am worried about where some of the loudest voices in the room could take the Democratic Party.'  He said Democrats' 'party microphone has been hijacked by people more interested in scoring points than in solving problems.'"  Good to see Delaney speaking out.  Of course, this may end any plans he has for higher office.  The liberals insist on ideological conformity.

POOR HILLARY – From The New York Times:  "WASHINGTON — Over the last few months, Harold M. Ickes, a longtime ally of Hillary Rodham Clinton, has helped organize private meetings around the country with union leaders, Clinton backers and Democratic strategists. The pressing topic: Who will step up to be the Democrats’ megadonors in the 2016 presidential race?  Republican contenders have already secured hundreds of millions of dollars in commitments from a stable of billionaires, including a Wall Street hedge fund executive, a Las Vegas casino magnate, a Florida auto dealer, a Wyoming investor and, of course, the Kansas-born billionaires David H. and Charles G. Koch. But none of the biggest Democratic donors from past elections — for example, the Chicago investor Fred Eychaner, the climate-change activist Tom Steyer and the entertainment mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg — have committed to supporting Mrs. Clinton on nearly the same scale.  'No one has stepped forward as the savior,' said Matt Bennett, a longtime Democratic consultant in Washington."  Hillary might have to spend some of her own money. 

May 30, 2015       Permalink

O'MALLEY IN – NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE? – AT 11:32 A.M. ET:  The former mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland announced this morning for the Democratic nomination for president.  He is running to the left of Hillary Clinton.   From the Washington Times: 

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley officially announced his candidacy for the White House on Saturday, becoming the second Democratic challenger to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

“I declare that I am a candidate for president of the United States and I am running for you,” Mr. O'Malley announced from a park in Baltimore where he served as mayor before winning two terms as governor.

The 52-year-old vowed to rebuild the American dream saying it is currently “hanging by a thread.”

“For over 200 years we have been the architects of our own future and now we must build anew,” Mr. O'Malley said.

As President, Mr. O'Malley said he would focus on improving the economy by adding infrastructure and clean energy jobs and increasing the federal minimum wage. He added that American workers deserve the right to collectively bargain for better wages.

He also called for comprehensive immigration reform, saying “the enduring symbol of our nation is not the barbed wire fence, it is the Statue of Liberty.”

The announcement doesn’t come as a surprise, Mr. O'Malley has made several visits in recent months to early-voting Iowa, and plans to head there again after the Baltimore announcement, as well as New Hampshire.

Mr. O’Malley joins the Democratic primary race challenging former Secretary of State and likely nominee Hillary Clinton, and self-proclaimed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.).

During his announcement Mr. O'Malley took a jab at legacy candidates like Mrs. Clinton and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush saying, “the presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth.”

Mr. O'Malley, an old ally of former President Bill Clinton, was the second governor to endorse Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 campaign but he says Democrats deserve more choices in the 2016 primary.

COMMENT:  Hard to be impressed.  Sure, O'Malley is a likable guy, but he's way behind Hillary Clinton, with not much to offer.  As mayor, he presided over a dying city that has now exploded.  As governor, he couldn't get his chosen successor elected.  Maryland now has a Republican governor.

Besides, Dems looking for a left-wing alternative to the already left-wing Hillary will turn to Bernie Sanders, who's the genuine article – a committed and open socialist.  In fact, Bernie's numbers are moving up.  People like his honesty, even though his ideas are nutty.  At least Dems will know what they're getting. 

May 30, 2015        Permalink

NUKE TALKS STALLING – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  France is balking at more concessions to the Iranians.  The International Atomic Energy Agency says it's having difficulty getting accurate information from Iran on possible military uses for its atoms program.  The nuclear talks have a deadline a month from now.  There hasn't, apparently, been much progress.  And now John Kerry will do some personal negotiating of his own.  From AFP and AP:

Top US diplomat John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif began key nuclear talks in Geneva on Saturday ahead of a June 30 deadline to reach a historic deal.

Kerry and Zarif arrived simultaneously on the first floor of a leading Geneva hotel in opposite elevators and greeted each other with smiles and a handshake.

They chatted as they walked together along the corridor to the meeting room on the same floor.

Asked by a journalist, whether they expected to meet the nuclear negotiating deadline, Zarif smiled and said: “We will try.” Kerry did not respond.

After an interim accord hammered out in Geneva in November 2013, Washington and Tehran are grappling with the final details of the ground-breaking agreement that would see Iran curtail its nuclear ambitions in return for a lifting of crippling international sanctions.

World powers believe they have secured Iran’s acquiescence to a combination of nuclear restrictions that would fulfill their biggest goal: keeping Iran at least a year away from bomb-making capability for at least a decade. But they are less clear about how they’ll ensure Iran fully adheres to any agreement.

Various Iranian officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, have publicly vowed to limit access to or even block monitors from sensitive military sites and nuclear scientists suspected of previous involvement in covert nuclear weapons efforts.

The US says such access must be guaranteed or there will be no final deal. A report Friday by the UN nuclear agency declared work essentially stalled on its multiyear probe of Iran’s past activities.

COMMENT:  It just isn't working out.  The Iranian goal is clearly to have a weak deal with many holes in it, and a deal that will include the lifting of sanctions on Tehran.  I have the sense that they're calculating that's exactly what they'll get because Obama is so desperate for an agreement. 

I'm not sure they're right.  France can block a weak deal, and seems ready to do so.  So can Congress, if only by a symbolic vote.  There is bipartisan opposition to a deal that doesn't include sufficient safeguards.

The next month is crucial.  Waiting from the wings is Hillary Clinton, who will not be hurt by a bad deal in her quest for the Democratic nomination, the Democratic Party being what it is.  But she may well be hurt in the general election campaign, when adults are allowed to vote.

May 30, 2015       Permalink

CHINA FLEXES – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  China is building artificial islands in the South China Sea, in waters it claims.  Now we have detected artillery on one of those islands.  From Fox: 

U.S. surveillance images show China has positioned weaponry on at least one of the artificial islands it is developing in the South China Sea, officials say, apparently confirming suspicions that Beijing has been building up the area for military use.

A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News on Friday that China has put artillery pieces on its man-made islands.

The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, first reported that images taken about a month ago showed two Chinese motorized artillery pieces on one of the artificial reefs. Although the weaponry would not pose a threat to U.S. planes or ships, it could potentially reach neighboring islands, the officials told the paper.

“There is no military threat,” one official told the Journal. “But it is about symbolism.”

The Journal reported that in recent weeks the artillery has disappeared from view, though it was not clear how of why. U.S. officials said they believed the equipment had either been removed or purposely obscured by the Chinese.

The American officials said that the artillery, is within striking range of an island claimed by Vietnam, which that country's government has armed with various weaponry for some time.

COMMENT:  Ironically, John McCain, who suffered horribly as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War, is advocating that Washington equip the Vietnamese with defensive weapons.  How history turns.

China is becoming increasingly aggressive, and we are becoming increasingly passive.  But a new president is elected in a year and five months.  We have a chance to recover from this administration's pathetic foreign policy.  But will we seize it?

May 30,  2015     Permalink