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TODAY WE BEGIN OUR PRACTICE OF PLACING THE FLAG STRIP BEFORE AND AFTER POSTS DEALING WITH THE ELECTION DURING THE LAST MONTH OR SO OF THE CAMPAIGN.

OCTOBER 2,  2014

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

DIDN'T TAKE LONG – From The Hill:  "Hillary Clinton peppered references of her newborn grandchild throughout a speech Thursday to a women's group in Miami.  The potential 2016 hopeful told the Commercial Real Estate Women Network Convention that a country with equal rights for women is 'the kind of country I want my granddaughter growing up in,' according to CNN.  The former first lady and secretary of state, who became a grandmother last week, has been emphasizing women's rights, including issues such as equal pay and paid family leave, as she rallies voters ahead of the midterm election.  In June, she tied the expected birth of her first grandchild to whether she will run for president in 2016."  You know the country will be in trouble when she teaches her granddaughter to use a teleprompter.

ILLINOIS WEIRDNESS – From Fox:  "Unlike some other Democrats whose jobs depend on the November elections, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is not dodging an association with President Obama.  Despite a tough election, Quinn is embracing both the president and first lady.  'They do us proud. They stand for progress. They stand for doing the right thing. I’m with the president all the way,' Quinn said.  The president attended a fundraiser for the governor on Thursday, before delivering a speech on the economy that was heavy on election-year rhetoric."  Look, it's Illinois.  I guess Quinn is going for a pre-need Presidential pardon.

CHINA EXPANDS ITS POWER – From the Washington Free Beacon:  "China’s military has conducted the first flight test of a new variant of one of its road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles in a sign that Beijing is increasing its strategic strike capability against the United States.  The test of a new DF-31B missile was conducted Sept. 25 from a missile test range in central China.  A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to provide details of the test.  'We continue to monitor China’s military modernization, including its missile tests,' Cynthia O. Smith, the spokeswoman, told the Washington Free Beacon."  Anyone in the Obama White House interested?

PANETTA'S REVENGE – Clearly the hot book right now is Leon Panetta's "Worthy Fights," which basically accuses Obama of dropping the ball in our withdrawal from Iraq.  Panetta served as both CIA director and secretary of defense under Obama.  He's one of the remaining grown-ups in the Democratic Party.  He's also associated with the Clinton administration, in which he served as Bill Clinton's chief of staff.  Question:  Is the book an attempt to help Hillary Clinton by being tough on Obama?  I don't know, but that's the initial effect.  I'm betting he'll sign on to Hillary's campaign.

October 2, 2014       Permalink

HMM, A HINT? – AT 10:44 A.M. ET:  Former President George W. Bush, who now rates higher in popularity than Obama, is pushing his brother, Jeb.  I doubt he'd be doing this without Jeb's tacit agreement.   From The Politico: 

Former President George W. Bush says he thinks his brother Jeb wants to be in the White House and added that he is pushing his younger sibling to run for president in 2016.

“I think he wants to be president,’” George Bush said on Fox News on Thursday. “I think [Jeb would] be a great president. He understands what it’s like to be president.”

Jeb Bush has cited his family as a major factor in whether he will seek the Republican nomination and said he plans to make a decision next year. George Bush said he thinks that Jeb has yet to make up his mind about running.

“[Jeb] and I had a conversation. I of course was pushing for him to run for president, he of course was saying, ‘I haven’t made up my mind,’” the former president said. “I truly don’t think he has, and plus I don’t think he liked it that his older brother was pushing him.”

He added, “He [Jeb] understands what it’s like to be president for not only the person running or serving, plus family. He’s seen his dad, he’s seen his brother. And so, he’s a very thoughtful man, and he’s weighing his options.”

Bush was interviewed live by “Fox and Friends” host Brian Kilmeade in Dallas, Texas, at the Las Colinas Country Club shortly before the second day of the Bush Center’s Fourth Annual Warrior Open golf tournament, which honors wounded soldiers.

COMMENT:  I'd love to hear from readers about whether you think Jeb should run, and whether you'd support him with any enthusiasm.  I'd certainly want to hear him make some speeches and answer reporters' questions before coming to my own conclusion.

There's the "dynasty" issue, of course.  He'd be the third presidential Bush.  But if Hillary runs, the dynasty issue is neutralized.  Fascinating situation.

October 2, 2014       Permalink

WONDERFULLY STATED – AT 8:53 A.M. ET:  Our attention ha been diverted by ISIS and by our domestic convulsions, but let us not forget that, even more important, we're in the homestretch of nuclear negotiations with Iran.  Obama is desperate for a deal.  There is hint after hint that he and John Kerry will cave in to get a signature on a piece of paper.  The spirit of Neville Chamberlain lives.  Obama may get his umbrella yet. 

David Frum, in the Atlantic, bluntly states what is happening.  This is the clearest narrative I've seen yet: 

You have to salute the rulers of Iran. They stand on the verge of scoring a stunning diplomatic triumph over the United States. Even more impressive: They did it all on bluff. Their adversaries possessed material advantages in terms of money, technology, military power, and more. But Iran’s rulers had clarity of purpose and the will to win. Without these qualities, the adversaries’ material advantages have seeped away.

A year ago, the rulers of Iran faced disaster. Their currency had lost three-quarters of its value, due in largest measure to the tough economic sanctions drafted by Senators Mark Kirk and Robert Menendez in 2011, and very reluctantly signed into law by President Obama at the beginning of 2012. Inflation was raging, unemployment was surging. Their most useful regional ally, the Syrian regime’s Bashar al-Assad, seemed doomed to destruction, attacked from within by a violent uprising and threatened from without by Obama’s commitment to intervene to stop Assad’s use of chemical weapons.

Today, the United States and Britain are coordinating bombing missions with Assad, not against him. Iran has obtained considerable sanctions relief. Its currency has strengthened, inflation has abated, and foreign trade and investment are reviving. The United States has progressively reduced its demands for nuclear limits on Iran. The New York Times reports that the Obama administration has retreated from the longstanding demand that Iran dismantle its nuclear centrifuges, instead merely calling for Tehran to disconnect them from each other. Iran’s nuclear-enrichment capacity would remain intact, and Iran could resume its progress toward a weapon at almost any time, at the price of only the delay necessary to reconnect the maze of tubing.

This most recent proposal marks the latest in a series of American climb-downs. Iranian negotiators have sniffed at each round of American concessions and insisted on more. As best as outsiders to the talks can tell, they have obtained them. On the present trajectory, any final agreement will leave Iran paused on the verge of nuclear-weapons capability—and this time, with the U.S. having signed away any non-military means of preventing Iran’s final drive to complete a bomb.

COMMENT:  An awful situation, and one likely to lose us more allies in the Mideast, who will distance themselves from the once-great power that is caving in.  Iran is riding the strong horse.  In the Mideast, that rider wins.

As far as Israel is concerned, Obama and Kerry don't care.  They have more contempt for American friends than respect.   Remember that there are only two great forces that have gained internationally during the Obama administration – militant Islam and international Communism.  Surprised?

October 2, 2014       Permalink

A CLOSELY WATCHED RACE – AT 8:24 A.M. ET:  The most closely watched gubernatorial race this year is in Wisconsin, where Republican Governor Scott Walker has every Democratic big gun turned on him.  Walker has saved Wisconsin from financial ruin, but upset the powers on the left by doing so.  The race has been neck-and-neck thus far, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel.  From The Politico: 

Gov. Scott Walker now leads by 5 points among likely voters in Wisconsin, according to a Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday, an 8-point swing in the Republican’s favor since August, when challenger Mary Burke led by 3 points.

Walker is ahead of Democrat Mary Burke 50 percent to 45 percent among likely voters, the first time this year that the race has been outside the margin of error in the closely-watched survey.

It is a reflection of a palpable feeling on the ground that the race has shifted in Walker’s direction since the summer. It is likely to stay tight because Wisconsin is so polarized, but the potential 2016 presidential contender has become a clear, if slight, favorite.

Walker is now ahead among independents by 13 points, 53 percent to 40 percent. He was up less than half that margin in the two previous surveys.

COMMENT:  It is still considered by most observers a tight race.  Wisconsin has a truly hard-core "progressive" constituency, in Milwaukee, and in the vast academic/political complex in Madison.  This will be a "get-out-the-vote" election. 

Walker's victory is critical.  He is one of the most powerful symbols of what good, results-based government can do in a state that was in trouble.  Walker, if he wins, will also emerge as a significant factor in the 2016 presidential sweeps.

October 2, 2014       Permalink

A GOP WAVE?  BARONE SAYS YES – AT 8:12 A.M. ET:  Polls shifted both ways during September, but Michael Barone now says that we may be looking at a Republican wave.  We caution that these judgments are always subject to change.  However, we like good news.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Republicans seem to be pulling away in the race to win a majority in the U.S. Senate. At least this week.

In mid-September, several polls seemed to be going the other way. The well-informed Washington Post analyst Chris Cillizza wrote that for the first time in this election cycle odds favored the Democrats keeping their majority.

Two weeks later he was singing another tune. Analysts at the Post, the New York Times and FiveThirtyEight, in addition to psephologists Charlie Cook, Stuart Rothenberg and Larry Sabato, all agreed.

What may have happened is this: Over the summer Democrats used their money advantage to savage Republican opponents. When spending got equalized in September, Republicans’ numbers rose.

So Republicans retain big leads to pick up three open seats in states carried by Mitt Romney —West Virginia, Montana and South Dakota. Republican nominees have moved ahead of three Democratic incumbents in Romney states (Alaska, Arkansas, and Louisiana) and in two target states carried by President Obama (Colorado and Iowa).

Only in North Carolina, which Romney narrowly carried, has the Republican not yet overtaken the incumbent Democrat Sen. Kay Hagan — and her edge is narrowing in the most recent polls.

And...

Early in the 2010 cycle, Barack Obama told an Arkansas House Democrat that he needn’t worry about voters because “you’ve got me.” Today all four Arkansas House seats are held by Republicans. Democratic Senate candidates in multiple states have been shunning Obama campaign appearances.

We’re watching a wave come in. We just can’t be sure how far it goes.

COMMENT:  We have to get through another four and a half weeks.  Then we must counter the excellent Democratic ground game on election day.  In the next month the Dems are going to run a major scare campaign, designed to get out their base.  In Colorado, incumbent Dem Senator Mark Udall is already running a scare campaign on abortion. 

But polls indicate that Republicans are more animated this year.  In a midterm, that's critical.

October 2,  2014     Permalink

OCTOBER 1,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET: 

OUT – The head of the Secret Service resigned, or was pushed out, today.  From WaPo:  "The resignation of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson and the launch of a top-to-bottom review of the agency Wednesday are an acknowledgment by President Obama of what he has long denied: that the force charged with protecting him is in deep turmoil and struggling to fulfill its sacred mission.  The 6,700-member agency, long an elite class of skilled professionals who prized their jobs, now suffers from diminished luster and historically high turnover rates. Officers in charge of protecting the White House say they have grown resentful at being belittled by their bosses and routinely forced to work on off-days. Some agents who have sworn to take a bullet for the president and his family have little faith in the wisdom or direction of their senior-most
leaders."  Other than that, it's a great agency.  First thing they ought to do is take the Secret Service out of the Department of Homeland Security and return it to the Treasury Department, where it was located for decades.  DHS is not known as competent or well organized.   

PURGE – From The New York Times:  "The New York Times plans to eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs, as well as a smaller number of positions from its editorial and business operations, offering buyouts and resorting to layoffs if enough people do not leave voluntarily, the newspaper announced on Wednesday.  Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the newspaper’s publisher, and Mark Thompson, its chief executive, said that in addition to the job cuts, NYT Opinion, a mobile app dedicated to opinion content, was shutting down because it was not attracting enough subscribers."  Do we get a chance to make nominations?

FRIGHTENING – From Fox:  "A man who says he went to the same mosque as the Oklahoma beheading suspect revealed shocking new information tonight on 'The Kelly File.'  The former mosque member, identified only as 'Noor,' discussed his experience at Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, which beheading suspect Alton Nolen attended.  'I observed the teachings of Islam […] to the public, the mosque will not promote terrorism or any kind of radical acts, but when they’re among friends and congregants only, they will promote the true teachings of Islam, which include the offer to non-Muslims – the choice, rather – that you must convert, live under Islamic rule or be fought against' he said."  Nothing to see, nothing to see.  Just a little cultural misunderstanding. 

ANOTHER DISSENT FILED – From CNS:  "The Earth’s temperature has 'plateaued' and there has been no global warming for at least the last 18 years, says Dr. John Christy, professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) at the University of Alabama/Huntsville.  'That’s basically a fact. There’s not much to comment on,' Christy said when CNSNews.com asked him to remark on the lack of global warming for nearly two decades as of October 1st."  Why is this heretic even allowed to speak?  Soon he'll be telling us there's voter fraud.  Or crime in cities.  Gotta stop these guys before they destroy the whole big-dollar grant schemes that fuel "global warming" hysteria. 

October 1, 2014       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 9:54 A.M. ET:  From historian Arthur Herman, on the sickening appeasement of Iran, and the rise of that rogue state.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Anyone wanting to take the moral temperature of the post-American world President Obama wants to create only had to drop by the United Nations last Thursday afternoon.

There he would have seen British prime minister David Cameron sitting down with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to ask — no, beg him to join the misbegotten coalition Obama has assembled against the Islamic State. Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry had already extended the invitation to Iran to join, and Iran had already refused. Now it was Cameron's turn.

He may think this will burnish his image as a master diplomat after convincing the Scots not to demand independence. Instead, he’s only opened one more sordid chapter in the most remarkable story of how Iran, a vicious rogue nation and state sponsor of terrorism — not to mention beacon of anti-Semitism — has become the rising dominant power in the region, and is now being blatantly courted as an ally by the West.

Remarkable is one word for it; obscene might be another. Whatever word you choose, the long-term implications of embracing Iran are nearly all bad for the region and for the United States.

COMMENT:  At the heart of the tragedy is one Barack Hussein Obama Jr. a leftist posing as a pragmatist, with the enthusiastic support of the American media.  A price will be paid.

October 1,  2014     Permalink

STATE OF OUR CULTURE – A TV station does a public service by asking young people in Memphis a very direct question, and getting a revealing answer.  From WREG: 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With Memphis seeing a rash of youth violence recently, WREG decided to ask young people what can stop it. Their answer…nothing.

Two men, who gave only nicknames, told WREG they thought of the Kroger mob attack as “fun.”

“The Kroger attack… That’s just what kids do, our generation, I mean,” one of the men said.

“Why do you think kids are kind of drawn to that violence?” WREG reporter Katie Rufener asked them.

“It’s fun,” one responded.

WREG showed Mayor A C Wharton part of the interview. He was disgusted by what he called a flippant attitude towards the violent attack.

“There’s absolutely no excuse,” he said. “I don’t care what he says or anybody, and I think 99 percent of Memphians feel that response is totally unacceptable.”

The young men told WREG they see the police as the biggest problem in Memphis. They even called them a “government gang.”

“To be honest the police make you want to do s***. I’m sorry for cussing, but the police make you want to do things, especially when you’re walking by and they bother you for no reason,” the men said. “Then when they’re not around, you feel like you should be rebellious.”

Wharton said that should not be happening.

“There’s a young man by the name of Toney Armstrong,” he said, speaking of the Memphis police director. “Call him up and say, ‘Look, this officer did this to me. This officer did that, disrespected me.’ There’s a way to deal with that.”

“Nobody cares about Jail,” the men said, laughing. “You go in, and you get out. If you don’t get out, you're in with people you know.”

COMMENT:  This is a function of education, culture, and awful local leadership.  It is an excuse machine.  It is destroying any progress in the black community.  It is true that there are black leaders, like Mayor Wharton, who are outraged by it.  But too many black leaders, and their manipulative white allies on the political left, go along with these attitudes because they represent "grievance." 

Black Americans, I believe, have a very substantial chance of going under, of ultimately becoming wards of the state, and permanently.  The tragedy is that too many influential Americans, especially "intellectuals," just don't care. 

October 1, 2014        Permalink

ASSAULT ON THE FOUNDING DOCUMENT – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  The Constitution is the heart of this nation.  It is a brilliant document, profound in its understanding of human nature.  It is not perfect, but allows for an amending process that is intentionally difficult to prevent the temptation to mob action.  But there are always those who want to wreck the Constitution because it doesn't give them the most important satisfaction in life – instant gratification.  From Paul Mirengoff at Powerline: 

Harry Reid is a determined radical, intent on limiting freedom, overturning American traditions, and remaking our institutions in the name of crushing the opposition and empowering the left. His attempt to amend the First Amendment to curb free speech is a natural extension of his obliteration of longstanding Senate rules that promote deliberation and minority input.

But Reid seems almost moderate by left-wing Democrat standards. Take Donna Brazile, vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee for voter registration and participation. For her, eviscerating the First Amendment is small potatoes; she wants to scrap the entire U.S. Constitution.

Brazile tweeted: “We need a new constitution.” This, she stated is “how we save American democracy from charlatans, loudmouths and the 1 percent.”

Brazile is no fire-brand outlier. As noted, she holds an important position in the Democratic Party. More than that, she’s a long-time, high-level Dem insider. In 2000, she managed Al Gore’s campaign. In 2011, she briefly served as interim chair of the DNC.

Democrats have viewed the Constitution as an anachronistic barrier to their agenda since the days of Woodrow Wilson who, before entering politics, consistently argued as much. These days, though, their contempt for our founding document is becoming increasingly manifest.

Why? For two reasons. First, the more radical the Democratic agenda, the greater the need to push back against the Constitution. Today’s agenda is more radical than it has ever been in my lifetime.

Second, because public regard for the Constitution probably isn’t what it once was, thanks to the way American History is taught, Democrats can be more open about how they view the founding document.

COMMENT:  We built a great nation under that Constitution, and maintained, even enlarged, our freedoms in most areas.  The system of checks and balances sometimes makes progress frustrating, but it forces us to do things more carefully, with greater deliberation. 

Some are outraged that the Senate is not purely democratic – each state, regardless of size, has two senators.  But the Senate is designed as a deliberative body, with six-year terms for senators.  I'll put our system up against anyone else's.  Perfect, no.  Brilliant, yes.

October 1, 2014        Permalink

HOW IS THE AIR CAMPAIGN GOING? – AT 8:55 A.M. ET:  There seems to be little real interest in the progress of our air campaign in Iraq and Syria.  You just don't hear it discussed by everyday Americans.  It's ongoing, but problems are emerging.  From Fox: 

U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are proceeding despite intelligence gaps that inhibit the Pentagon's ability to determine their effectiveness, according to a published report.

The Associated Press, citing current and former U.S. officials, reported Wednesday that the Defense Department is relying on satellites, drones and surveillance flights to pinpoint targets for airstrikes, as well as assess the damage afterward and determine whether civilians were killed. Officials say that system stands in sharp contrast to the networks of bases, spies and ground-based technology the U.S. had in place during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The U.S. military says airstrikes have been discriminating and effective in disrupting an Al Qaeda cell called the Khorasan Group and in halting the momentum of Islamic State militants. But independent analysts say the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, remains on the offensive in Iraq and Syria, where it still controls large sections. And according to witnesses, U.S. airstrikes have at times hit empty buildings that were long ago vacated by ISIS fighters.

The group has begun adapting to U.S. airstrikes by seeking to conceal itself, move at night and blend in with civilians, Pentagon officials say.

"They're a smart adversary," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, briefing reporters at the Pentagon this week.

Human rights groups also claim coalition airstrikes in both countries have killed as many as two dozen civilians. U.S. officials say they can't rule out civilian deaths but haven't confirmed any.

"We do take extreme caution and care in the conduct of these missions," Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon's press secretary, told reporters Tuesday. "But there's risk in any military operation. There's a special kind of risk when you do air operations."

In terms of tracking the movements of militants, U.S. intelligence coverage of Syria and Iraq is not as good as it was in Pakistan and Yemen at the height of covert CIA drone campaigns there, officials say.

COMMENT:  An air campaign is not enough.  To stop a ground force, which is what ISIS is, you need another ground force.  We haven't got one, at least we haven't got one in the combat areas, and the American people seem dead set against American troops being used.  Our Arab "allies" are either reluctant or incompetent.  We may be heading for a disaster, but Obama will blame it on someone else.

October 1,  2014     Permalink