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NOVEMBER 21,  2014

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

YIKES! – Oh, say it ain't so.  From the New York Post:  "Mayor de Blasio — not Hillary Rodham Clinton — will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2016.  That’s the jaw-dropping prediction being made by New York’s top Republican, state GOP Chairman Ed Cox, who, as son-in-law to former President Richard Nixon, knows a thing or two about national politics.  Cox, citing information provided by a prominent 'Democratic lobbyist,' told friends and associates in recent days that freshman Mayor de Blasio’s effort to promote himself as the leader of the 'urban progressive centers of the nation' is part of a well-oiled plan to prepare for a presidential run.  'It’s like Barack Obama; he was a brand-new freshman senator, and he ran for president and won. I think de Blasio is going to do it,' Cox said at a recent gathering, a source told The Post."
The mayor is a radical leftist.  He is pro-Castro.  He was pro-Sandinista.  He makes Lenin look like Ronald Reagan. 

PROGRESSIVES DON'T HEART HILLARY – A new poll informs Madam Clinton that her once-beloved "progressives" don't really want her.  From CNN:  "Washington (CNN) -- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- not Hillary Clinton -- is the top progressive choice for president in 2016, according to a new poll.
In fact, Clinton doesn't even make second place. Forty two percent of respondents favor Warren, and Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders also edges out Clinton with 24% compared to her 23%, according to results from the 2016 Presidential Pulse Poll commissioned by progressive grassroots organization Democracy for America.  These results come amid a groundswell of activism from the Democratic party's more liberal wing, which has called for a contested 2016 primary and has often questioned Clinton's financial ties to Wall Street."  That's the bad news.  The good news is that the "progressive wing" consists of a group of retired hippies and former psychiatric patients in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and parts of Seattle.

KERRY HANGS ON – From AP:  "VIENNA (AP) — US Secretary of State John Kerry canceled plans Friday to pull back from talks with Iran about the country’s nuclear program — a shift that suggested some hope of movement on the protracted negotiations.  Kerry is staying in Vienna to continue negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and others at the negotiating table, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said."  The deadline is Monday.  This story worries me.  I doubt if Iran is making any last-minute concessions.  The word isn't in their vocabulary.  But there has been a fear all along that the Obama crowd will cave in.  Anything for a signed piece of paper.  We'll be watching this weekend.

November 21,  2014     Permalink

U.S. PUTS IT ON THE LINE – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:   Monday is the deadline for completion of the nuclear talks with Iran.  Looks like it won't be met.  The U.S. is leaking its negotiating stance, probably to ward off criticism should the talks collapse entirely.  From The New York Times.

VIENNA — As six world powers and Iran race to meet a Monday deadline for an agreement that would constrain Iran’s nuclear program, the United States has staked out an ambitious goal for what an accord should accomplish.

American officials say the agreement should slow the Iranian nuclear program enough that it would take Iran at least a year to make enough material for a nuclear bomb if it decided to ignore the accord.

“Our goal is to shut off each pathway sufficient that we know we have a breakout time of a minimum of a year,” Secretary of State John Kerry said last month.

The logic behind the goal is clear: to give the United States and its allies the time to react diplomatically or with fresh economic sanctions, leaving the option of using military force as a last resort.

COMMENT:  Our goal stops short of eliminating Iran's ability to enrich uranium, which is the surest way of preventing Tehran from getting the bomb.  But even our reduced goal is not being accepted by the Iranians. 

I don't think the Iranians will cave.  I think we might, which is chilling enough.  We'll see what happens Monday.  The talks may be extended.

November 21, 2014       Permalink

ROCK BOTTOM – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  You know we're in trouble when Al Sharpton becomes a moral arbiter.  And he's passing judgment on Bill Cosby.  From the Washington Times:   

The Rev. Al Sharpton said Thursday that he does not think rape allegations against Bill Cosby are racially motivated and that the comedian must “answer to someone” instead of staying silent.

Yeah, just the way Rev. Al answered for the Tawana Brawley hoax.

Mr. Sharpton, who knows Mr. Cosby personally, told entertainment reporter Bill McCuddy, “He needs to talk to somebody. He needs to talk […] He has to answer to someone,” the New York Post reported Thursday.

The MSNBC host and activist added that he was “very disappointed” in Mr. Cosby, and that he would be happy to conduct an interview covering the resurfaced allegations.

Right.  Al will get his TV time out of this.

Mr. Sharpton has also made headlines this week. The New York Times reported Tuesday that he owes the federal government $4.5 million in taxes.

Must have been weak batteries in the calculator.

“A lot of people don’t like the fact that President Obama’s the president. A lot of people do not like the fact that Bill de Blasio won for mayor. And they certainly don’t like that I’m still here, and I ain’t going nowhere,” Mr. Sharpton said at a press conference in Harlem, Politico reported Thursday.

Mr. Sharpton said that he is in the process of negotiating with the government to obtain a lower penalty on his back taxes, but that the National Action Network could write a check immediately, if necessary, Politico reported.

COMMENT:  What a bunch.  But plenty of people are going to benefit from the rape allegations surrounding Bill Cosby.  Books will be written.  Money will be made.  And Al wants his share.

November 21, 2014       Permalink

SHE SPEAKS – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton, probably the most watched woman in America right now, has condescended to comment on Obama's immigration speech.  Well, sort of.  One senses that every word was weighed politically.  From The Hill: 

Hillary Clinton praised President Obama on Thursday night for moving forward on immigration after he announced his executive actions on the hot-button issue.

Clinton - the Democratic front-runner for the 2016 presidential race — took to Twitter to thank Obama, moments after his speech from the White House.

Read the fine print.

"Thanks to POTUS for taking action on immigration in the face of inaction," she tweeted. "Now let's turn to permanent bipartisan reform. #ImmigrationAction."

Clinton had remained silent on the issue in recent days. But her allies were privately signaling that the former secretary of State would support Obama's decision to take action after immigration reform failed to pass Congress.

As George Gobel used to say, "just a gosh-darned second."  Please notice that Slick Hilly isn't actually endorsing anything Obama said.  She's just praising him for "taking action."  She's then calling for "bipartisan reform."  In other words, she's cutting it down the middle. 

If she does run for president, some political observers say Clinton will benefit from Obama's executive actions because they will rally Hispanic voters at a time when Republicans have failed to draw them in.

COMMENT:  I wouldn't seal that one with a kiss.  Polls show that Hispanics are actually more cautious about immigration "reform" than we'd thought, with a sizable number opposed to amnesty.  Remember, the overwhelming number of Hispanics came to this country legally.

Hillary commented without really commenting.  Let's not get anyone angry.

November 21, 2014       Permalink

HE PROPOSES – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  President Obama made his immigration proposals public last night, and flies to Las Vegas today to sign the order putting them into practice.  Las Vegas must have some historical significance.  From The Hill: 

President Obama announced an expansive new set of executive actions in a prime-time address Thursday that the White House says will give legal status and work permits to 5 million illegal immigrants.

Obama hailed the moves as leading to a “more fair and more just” system in an address that lambasted Congress for not approving legislation and warned Republicans against triggering a government shutdown.

In a sharp rebuke to Republican critics, Obama challenged his political opposition to “pass a bill” if they did not like his actions, and argued his approach could not be dismissed as “amnesty.”
“Amnesty is the immigration system we have today – millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules, while politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes at election time,” Obama said.

Under the president’s plan, the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents could apply for work permits and deferred deportation. Obama is also expanding eligibility for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which offers protections to immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

The Department of Homeland Security will also narrow their focus to those illegal immigrants with criminal records, gang affiliations or ties to terrorism.

“If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law,” Obama said. “If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.”

The government will also expand the total number of high-tech visas that are available, as well as loosen restrictions so that more would-be entrepreneurs can travel to the United States.

The proposals have garnered passionate responses from Republican critics, who have blasted it as unconstitutional overreach.

But Obama said his actions were “not only lawful, they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican president and every single Democratic president for the past half century.”

He invoked former President George W. Bush, who said illegal immigrants were “a part of American life.”

And he said lawmakers shouldn’t let “a disagreement over a single issue be a deal-breaker on every issue.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), in a video released shortly before the president spoke, accused Obama of acting like an “emperor” and said he was spoiling an opportunity for lawmakers to reach across the aisle.

“Instead of working together to fix our broken immigration, the president says he's acting on his own. That's just not how our democracy works,” Boehner said.

COMMENT:  Republicans must proceed carefully here.  They must remember what happened to them when they impeached Bill Clinton.  Despite revulsion over Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, there was a backlash against Republicans for going too far. 

That can happen again.   We all realize that Obama's plan is just a first step, and it is carefully drawn to have the aura of fairness about it.  You know, keeping families together.  Republicans should respond with a comprehensive plan of their own, showing the American people that they're creative, determined to solve the problem, and Constitutional.  Republicans must not simply be the party of no.

November 21,  2014     Permalink

NOVEMBER 20,  2014

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

PATRONIZING – From Truth Revolt:  "President Obama’s announcement of his immigration executive order Thursday night is apparently for Latino ears only. Though the White House claims that they sent out 'feelers' to the major English-speaking networks, they didn’t bother sending an official request for coverage. Instead, only Latino networks Univision and Telemundo are airing the president’s 10-minute announcement.  As The Washington Post notes, the president’s 8 p.m. announcement comes at a particularly opportune time for reaching a 'captive audience of Hispanic television viewers': the 15th annual Latin Grammys, which airs on Univision starting at 7 p.m. Last year around 9.8 million viewers tuned into the awards ceremony. Univision is doing its part to make sure the president's message reaches its millions of viewers by temporarily postponing the show to broadcast Obama’s address."  The patronizing attitude is so blatant.  If I were Hispanic, I'd be outraged.

AND MAYBE CHE COULD BE VICE PRESIDENT – New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio is going bonkers, as expected.  From the New York Post:  "WASHINGTON — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that Hillary Clinton needs to run to the left on a message of economic populism to win the presidency in 2016.  It’s 'necessary' for Clinton to address the crisis of income inequality and de Blasio said he’d be 'honored' to help her or any Democrat brush up on messaging.  'I don’t think we’ve had the opportunity to hear from her on this new (post-recession) reality,' de Blasio said at a Politico breakfast in Washington.  The mayor called liberal icon Sen. Elizabeth Warren an 'indispensable' voice and said he’s 'hopeful' that Clinton could find hers."  Why don't I think that was a ringing endorsement?  Apparently, not many in the Dem party feel a "wanting of Hillary."  Hillary may get the picture before too long.

MARY SINKING – Things just get worse for Mary Landrieu in the runup to Louisiana's Senate primary runoff on December 6th.  From Rasmussen:  "Rasmussen Reports’ first survey of the Louisiana Senate runoff shows Republican challenger Bill Cassidy comfortably on his way to joining the new GOP Senate majority.  Cassidy posts a 15-point lead – 56% to 41%- over incumbent Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu among Likely Louisiana Voters in our latest statewide telephone survey. Just three percent (3%) are undecided. Landrieu edged Cassidy, a U.S. congressman, 42% to 41% on Election Day earlier this month, with eight candidates officially in the race. But under Louisiana’s so-called “jungle primary” rules, the contest will now be decided by a December 6 runoff because no candidate cleared the 50% mark."  Republicans will have a solid majority, and may be joined by some moderate Dems on some issues.  But overriding a presidential veto takes 67 votes in the Senate, and two thirds of the House, and I don't see that in the cards.

REMARKABLE – Using government funding, a company called IntegenX has developed a $250,000 machine that can analyze DNA and determine if there are any matches in the national database, and both in less than 90 minutes.  Not many years ago, this kind of work took months.  In most areas of the country it still takes days.  This could be a remarkable tool for law enforcement, as valuable for excluding suspects as for finding the right person.   I'll bet that, within 20 years, much cheaper versions of machines like this will be, like photo machines, in drugstores, and do the DNA matching in less than 15 minutes.  Wives could test DNA found in their bedrooms against their husbands'.  No match, big trouble.

November 20, 2014       Permalink

COUNTING THE HOURS – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  Oh yes, oh yes, we count the hours today, waiting for the president to unveil his immigration proposals.  Can you stand the excitement?

Already Bill Clinton is out there asserting that Obama clearly has the legal authority to do what he's doing.  Oh, Bill Clinton is a disbarred lawyer.  He undoubtedly is currying favor, the better to have Barack endorse Hillary if she decides to grant us another campaign.

Republicans are furious.  Obama has shown nothing but contempt for them and has not invited them to participate, in any serious way, in drawing up the White House plan.

In the end, the public will decide.  Polls show it is badly split on immigration, with large chunks favoring some kind of legalization, although not knowing exactly what that means.  The polling on the president's proposal will start tomorrow.  If the president cannot win over even a simple majority of Americans, he will be even crisper political toast than he is right now.

November 20, 2014       Permalink

MIKE NICHOLS DIES – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:  Mike Nichols, the legendary comedy star and film director, has died at 83. 

Many people thought of Nichols only as a director.  But in fact he became famous as part of the duo of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, two of the "new breed" of comedians who surfaced in the late fifties and early sixties, doing a new kind of intellectual social comedy.  They entered realms not touched by the older comedians, like the marketing of funerals and the pseudo-intellectualism of the new generation of college graduates.  Nichols went to the University of Chicago, but did not graduate.  As a student there in his generation, I followed his career.  He was in the same "class" of comedians and comedy writers as Mort Sahl and Shelley Berman, but not as rough or caustic as Lenny Bruce.  From AP, via The Washington Times: 

NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Nichols, the director of matchless versatility who brought fierce wit, caustic social commentary and wicked absurdity to such film, TV and stage hits as “The Graduate,” ”Angels in America” and “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” has died. He was 83.

The death was confirmed by ABC News President James Goldston on Thursday. Nichols died Wednesday evening. Goldston said the family was holding a small private service this week.

During a career spanning more than 50 years, Nichol, who was married to ABC’s Diane Sawyer, managed to be both an insider and outsider, an occasional White House guest and friend to countless celebrities who was as likely to satirize the elite as he was to mingle with them. A former stand-up performer who began his career in a groundbreaking comedy duo with Elaine May and whose work brought him an Academy Award, a Grammy and multiple Tony and Emmy honors, Nichols had a remarkable gift for mixing edgy humor and dusky drama.

COMMENT:  In recent years Nichols was overshadowed by a new, rather less talented generation, in my view.  But I cannot forget, as a college student, listening to the Nichols and May album, "Improvisations to Music," and laughing, and laughing.  For that alone, Mike Nichols should be remembered.

November 20, 2014       Permalink

IT AIN'T OVER – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  The election, that is.  There is still the Louisiana Senate runoff, and some House races are being recounted.  And then there's Arizona, where a particular House race holds special interest because we might be seeing the birth of Republican star.

She is Martha McSally, graduate of the Air Force Academy, the first woman in American history to fly a combat aircraft into enemy territory.  She also sued the United States Government when she was assigned to Saudi Arabia and forced to live as a Saudi woman, in other words, as a second-class citizen.  She won her case, and changed the rules governing the requirements imposed on American servicewomen who are posted to Muslim countries.  No more demeaning rules.

McSally ran as the Republican candidate in the district once represented by Gabby Giffords.  You'll recall that Giffords had to retire after being shot by some sicko.  Her assistant took over her seat.  Now, he and McSally are almost deadlocked as a recount of their contest looms.  From The Hill: 

Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) and Republican Martha McSally are both going about business as usual on Capitol Hill while gearing up for a recount back home that could stretch through the end of the lame-duck session.

The GOP hopeful, who leads by 161 votes, attended freshman orientation in Washington this week, optimistic that her advantage would hold. Meanwhile, Barber lost a legal challenge on Tuesday that might have been his best shot at closing the gap.

“Some of these cases of votes not getting counted make your hair stand on end,” a Barber ally told The Hill.

The Democrat’s campaign petitioned the Pima County Board of Supervisors to delay certifying election results to allow time for consideration of more than 130 provisional ballots the campaign says have been erroneously disqualified.

The Barber camp says the votes were rejected because, in some cases, the voters’ addresses weren’t on the voter rolls, the voter accidentally cast a ballot at the wrong polling place, the voter had recently moved, a signature didn’t match or an early mail-in ballot wasn’t received.

However, the McSally campaign argued that some of the ballots are missing critical requirements, like a poll worker’s signature, and only missing ballots can provoke a delay in certifying a canvass, and these were never missing.

The Board — comprised of three Democrats and two Republicans — ruled 4 to 1 against delaying certifying the results to allow for more time to verify the provisional ballots in question.

COMMENT:  Unless something truly odd happens, McSally will prevail.  Her story alone makes her a potentially major figure in politics.  We'll wait for official certification of her victory to discuss it further, though.

November 20, 2014       Permalink

LOOMING DEADLINE – AT 8:32 A.M. ET:  Monday is the deadline to complete negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.  It probably won't be met.  And isn't it interesting that some of the sharpest warnings about what Iran is up to are coming from, of all places, the UN?  From the Jerusalem Post: 

VIENNA - The head of the UN nuclear agency said on Thursday that Iran had again failed to provide explanations about suspected atomic bomb research, as a deadline looms for a comprehensive deal between Iran and six world powers to end the long-running controversy.

Iran is holding talks with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China in Vienna this week in a push to reach an agreement by Nov. 24.

The deal is intended to set limits on Iran's nuclear program in return for an end to international sanctions. As one of the conditions, Western officials say Iran must stop stonewalling the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 12-year-old investigation into allegations that Iran may have worked on designing an atomic bomb.

But IAEA director general Yukiya Amano made clear the agency was still far from satisfied.

"Iran has not provided any explanations that enable the agency to clarify the outstanding practical measures," he told a meeting of the UN agency's 35-nation board of governors.

COMMENT:  The real issue, of course, is what will Obama do?  While there are many around the world who are determined to stop Iran's nuclear program, there are others, especially in the European business sector, who can't wait to get back to business as usual.

But what will Obama do? 

The latest betting is that Monday's "deadline" will be extended, which will have the effect of letting Iran have more months to work toward a bomb.  In the meantime, under Obama's influence, some of the sanctions on Iran have already been reduced, even though Iran has done nothing.

Critical issue, not much sense of urgency.

November 20,  2014     Permalink