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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

OCTOBER 6,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:40 P.M. ET: 

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – From the New York Post:  "A bored-to-death city teacher sent his wife a joke text Friday, playfully begging her to call in a bomb threat to save him from a monotonous meeting — but she misread the message and sent the cops to his East Harlem school.  The man, whose first name is Eric, had been sitting in a morning town-hall meeting at Renaissance Charter HS for Innovation, a fellow instructor told The Post.  Teachers typically run through the day’s events during such meetings. This one apparently wasn’t lively enough for Eric, who started text messaging his wife about his bad case of boredom.  'Call in a bomb threat,' he wrote, according to police sources.  His wife zeroed in on the B-word — overlooking the 'haha' he tacked on in the next message.  She called the cops, reporting a bomb threat at the school, which shares a building with three other 'haha.' She phoned the cops again to call it off — but it was too late."  No one was arrested once police concluded it was indeed a joke.

AT LEAST SOMEONE IS ON THE JOB – From the New York Daily News:  "A heavily-tattooed Mississippi mom busted for breaking into cars claimed she was hunting Islamic State terrorists, police said.  Lisa Carol Roche was allegedly caught burglarizing the vehicles stationed in the parking lot of East Central High School in Hurley on Friday.  The 41-year-old, whose children reportedly attend the school, is accused of pinching sunglasses and other personal items from the cars.  She was arrested and charged with commercial burglary of a vehicle.  During questioning, she bizarrely told cops she was, in fact, searching for jihadist fighters who she said could have been hiding in the cars."  It would have been cool had she found a jihadist.  I wonder if they would have arrested her.

TIN-EAR DISEASE STRIKES WHITE HOUSE AGAIN – The Obama White House honors the mosque that taught the Oklahoma City beheader.  From Breitbart:  "The White House has reportedly sent a top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official to the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City (ISGOC) to 'present a special thank you to the Muslim congregation' Oklahoma’s KFOR reports.  The beheader's mosque, the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, was founded by a sibling of a U.S.-designated Hamas terrorist, and in the past has welcomed an Imam who was a close confidant to al-Qaeda mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki.  David L. Myers, who serves as director of the DHS Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships, was tasked with presenting a personal message from President Barack Obama. It read,'Your service is a powerful example of the powerful roots of the Abrahamic faiths and how our communities can come together with shared peace with dignity and a sense of justice.'"  There are no words.

SHARYL STRIKES AGAIN – From Mediaite:  "Former CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson told Fox’s MediaBuzz Sunday morning that her former employer nixed a story of hers two years ago that anticipated much of what President Barack Obama is currently saying about ISIS.  Attkisson very publicly split with CBS News in the spring following a string of stories on Fast and Furious and Benghazi; on the way out she accused CBS of being too compliant with the Obama administration.  'Two years ago I was being told by military and intelligence officials some of the same things President Obama just said in the 60 Minutes interview, about how terrorists were using social media to exploit the vulnerabilities where these Arab Spring uprisings had happened and so on,' Attkisson said. 'I proposed a story at CBS that would look at the regionally impact of what was going on rather than the country-by-country crisis, to look at the big picture, because my sources were saying that these things were connected.'  'Aaaaaaaand what happened?' asked a curious Howard Kurtz.  'The CBS managers were not interested,' Attkisson said. 'I firmly believe had the White House put that on the front burner and suggested a story like that, or let us, I think we would [run with it].'"  The mainstream media at work.

October 6, 2014       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 10:29 A.M. ET:  Dems are turning on each other.   From the great John Fund at NRO Online: 

Democrats are still reeling from President Obama’s statement last week that “I’m not on the ballot this fall . . . but make no mistake, these policies are on the ballot — every single one of them.” Republican attack ads are already making hay with that invitation to send Obama a message in next month’s election.

A growing number of Democrats are already speaking as if the Obama administration is a spent force, with no agenda it can reasonably implement in its last two years. “It is safe to say that Obama has been a huge disappointment,” admitted Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers on the Hugh Hewitt radio show last week. “I really don’t think there’s any comparison between him and Bill Clinton. I don’t think we’re even talking about the same universe.”

Then there’s Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former aide to Al Gore when he created the National Performance Review of government agencies during the Clinton years. On Saturday, she explained to the Los Angeles Times her own theory for Obama’s failures:

"This administration has been disconnected from the government it’s supposed to be running. . . .

"They keep getting surprised by stuff. And the surprise is almost worse than anything else. It conveys the sense that the White House doesn’t know what its own government is doing. You can’t prevent all these problems from happening, but you can certainly get ahead of the curve on some of them. . . ."

COMMENT:  There was a time when many people wanted to cut Obama some slack because he was "the first."  This was especially true on the fashionable left.  It is still true for some.

But, increasingly, even Democrats are understanding that a president has to be president.  I mean, of the United States.  Not the world.  Or the student body.  or Martha's Vineyard.

I think many of us on our side fear what the next two years will be like.  Freed of any electoral obligations to his party, the famously disloyal Obama can go crazy, especially in foreign policy.  And he still will have the power to threaten any Democratic successor with political ruin if that candidate doesn't embrace the Obama agenda.

I believe we knew what we were getting in 2008.  We just hoped it wasn't so.  It is so.

October 6, 2014       Permalink

GUARDEDLY OPTIMISTIC PREDICTION – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:   Political prognosticator Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia, is predicting a good election night for Republicans next month, but he also flashes caution.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Senate Democrats are on the verge of losing control of the chamber, with the best scenario being a 50-50 split with Vice President Joe Biden on call to break tie votes, according to election analyst Larry Sabato.

In his latest report on the November midterm election, Sabato said that the Republicans have a good chance of winning control of the chamber, but the implosion of Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts and his muddling campaign has the GOP poised to “snatch defeat from the wide-open jaws of victory.”

“Right now, Democrats are behind the eight-ball,” he wrote in his weekly Crystal Ball published by the outfit he runs, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

“So many undecided contests are winnable for the GOP that the party would have to have a string of bad luck — combined with a truly exceptional Democratic get-out-the-vote program — to snatch defeat from the wide-open jaws of victory. Or Republicans would have to truly shoot themselves in the foot in at least one race, which has become a clear possibility over the last few weeks in Kansas,” he added.

In five straight polls, Roberts has been behind challenger independent Greg Orman.

But Sabato said there is encouraging news in other states.

“The Republicans are seeing some encouraging public polling in a couple of states President Obama won in 2012, suggesting their increasing potential for gains beyond the comfortable red-tinted territory where they are already positioned to make considerable inroads in November,” Sabato penned with co-analyst Kyle Kondik.

COMMENT:  That's pretty much the same message we're getting from the best of the analysts – predictions of Republican success unless there is a last-minute disruption, which can always happen.  Kansas is turning into agony.  And North Carolina, expected early to flip to the GOP, is holding firm for Democratic incumbent Senator Kay Hagan.

Nothing is in the bag.  But the bag looks reasonably welcoming at the moment.

October 6, 2014       Permalink

ARMY WARNS ITS PEOPLE – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  The U.S. Army is warning its people, including military families, against the threat of terrorism aimed specifically at them.  From Fox: 

An Army intelligence bulletin is warning U.S. military personnel to be vigilant after Islamic State militants called on supporters to scour social media for addresses of their family members – and to “show up [at their homes] and slaughter them."

The assessment, obtained by Fox News, came from the Army Threat Integration Center which issues early warnings of criminal and terrorist threats to Army posts worldwide.

The advisory warns military personnel and their families about the Islamic State, or ISIS, calling on supporters to target their homes.

While there is no independent intelligence to corroborate the ISIS threats, the bulletin recommends more than a dozen precautions to military personnel to protect their homes -- and their online profiles.

"Given the continued rhetoric being issued by ISIL's media services and supporters through various social media platforms the ARTIC is concerned of the possibility of an attack," the bulletin says. "Soldiers, Government Civilians and Family Members are reminded to be vigilant of their surroundings and report suspicious activities to their respective military or local law enforcement."

One section cites a jihadist tweet calling on lone offenders to use the "yellow pages" and social media to identify the addresses of military families, and to "show up [at their homes] and slaughter them."

A military source familiar with the four-page document said the warnings are taken seriously because increasing the costs of security is a deliberate and strategic goal for Al Qaeda senior leadership – though the Islamic State has split with Al Qaeda.

The Army said in a written statement that protection levels at installations “have not changed.”

COMMENT:  Well, maybe they should change.  This is something we should be worrying about every day.  Military families, especially families of deployed troops, are under enough strain.  Their security should be a key national priority.

October 6, 2014       Permalink

TERROR WARNING – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  From the new director of the FBI, James Comey, who strikes me as pretty much a straight shooter.  From The Hill: 

The head of the FBI said in an interview broadcast late Sunday that the U.S. is preparing for an imminent terrorist attack.

FBI Director James Comey said the Khorasan Group, an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, may still be working on a plan to hit the United States.

“Khorasan was working and may still be working on an effort to attack the United States or our allies, and looking to do it very, very soon,” he said on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”

“I can’t sit here and tell you whether it’s their plan is tomorrow or three weeks or three months from now,” he said.

“Given our visibility, we know they’re serious people, bent on destruction. And so we have to act as if it’s coming tomorrow.”

He said that terrorist networks in Syria are a product of “the metastasis of al Qaeda” with the two major groups, al Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“They are both vicious, sort of the inheritors of a lot of the mantle of al Qaeda and present different threats in a lot of ways,” Comey said.

COMMENT:  Bottom line:  At least he isn't giving us these stale White House assurances that we're safe, the terrorists are on the run, and Barack has saved us.

It's impossible, of course, for us independently to evaluate the accuracy of what Comey is saying.  But serious he is.

October 6,  2014     Permalink

OCTOBER 5,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

HUMBLE JOE – From Fox:  "Vice President Biden on Sunday issued his second apology of the weekend for remarks that offended allies that the U.S. needs in the fight to destroy the Islamic State.  Biden apologized by phone Sunday to Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, saying he never meant to imply that his country was supporting Al Qaeda fighters in Syria. Al Nahyan is also the deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates’ armed forces.  Biden made the remarks at a speech Thursday, suggesting U.S. allies including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had funded and armed extremist groups linked to Al Qaeda. The UAE was exasperated and requested a formal clarification... On Saturday, Biden apologized to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for also saying during the speech that the Turkish leader admitted his country made mistakes by allowing foreign fighters to cross into Syria."  The outrage here is that an American vice president has to apologize to a bigoted Islamist like Tayyip Erdogan.  But Obama once said that Erdogan was his closest friend in the Mideast, which tells you who Obama really is.

CRAZY IN SEATTLE – Seattle is now competing with San Francisco for the title of craziest major city in America.  From the Daily Caller:  "The school board in Seattle unanimously resolved on Wednesday to direct public schools across the city to celebrate 'Indigenous Peoples’ Day' instead of Columbus Day on the second Monday of each October.  That Monday — Oct. 13 this year — has been the federal holiday of Columbus Day since 1970. Columbus Day has been a federal holiday in some form in the United States since 1937.  The resolution declares that the Seattle school board 'recognizes the fact that Seattle is built upon the homelands and villages of the Indigenous Peoples of this region, without whom the building of the City would not have been possible,' as local Fox affiliate KCPQ notes.  Further, according to board members, Seattle’s taxpayer-funded schools have 'a responsibility to oppose the systematic racism towards Indigenous people in the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education and social crises.'"  One can honor both of course – indigenous peoples, previously called Native Americans, and the legacy of Christopher Columbus, a legacy of special importance to Italian Americans.  But only certain groups count in the People's Republic of Seattle.

GREAT STORY – from the New York Post:  "Legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s daughter Emily Hornor Ma was recently married in the Berkshires, but asked her father not to play at her wedding because she wanted him to 'just be a dad that night.'  She married RBC investment banker John Mistovich at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lenox, Mass., in front of 300 guests.  Instead of Yo-Yo, the Alex Donner Orchestra performed at the reception at a private home, and they played the 'Blue Danube Waltz' for the newlyweds’ first dance, then the father and bride danced to 'My Girl.'"  That's a daughter who has class and common sense. 

October 5, 2014       Permalink

A MESS – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:   It will be hard enough for the GOP to pick up the six seats needed for Senate control next month.  But losing seats obviously makes that climb even tougher.  And we certainly never expected to lose Kansas.  I'm afraid we might.  From The Hill: 

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) is facing a double-digit deficit with one month left in his campaign, according to a new poll from NBC News.

Roberts trails independent businessman Greg Orman by 48 percent to 38 percent in the poll, conducted by Marist College for NBC.

Those numbers are the worst Roberts has had in reputable public polling, though he's trailed in most other recent public and private polling.

The race has turned into a major headache for national Republicans, whose aim is to win Senate control. Roberts has been plagued by residency issues and has run a lackluster campaign, and top national GOP staff have been dispatched to try to help him right the ship.

Orman has not said which party he'll caucus with if he wins.

COMMENT:  The Democratic candidate dropped out.  Orman is playing coy about his plans, if elected, but there are indications he leans Democratic.  That would be a catastrophe for our side.

I can't see how Roberts, who is so well known in his state – in other words there's not much growth potential – can make up ten points by election day.  We could wind up with a tied Senate, which means essentially a Democratic Senate, as the vice president breaks the tie.  Joe Biden will be told he's a Democrat, and will vote accordingly.  What a heartbreaker that would be.

October 5, 2014      Permalink

INCREDIBLE – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  What is happening to the Western world?  From Gatestone Institute:   

The Dutch Ministry of Defense has advised its soldiers not wear their uniforms in public. Dutch vice Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher of the Labour Party emphasized that the proposal was merely advice.

The Dutch military, however, clearly ordered -- instead of advised -- its personnel to hide their military professions in public.

Dutch customs officials, whose uniforms could be mistaken as military, received the same advice.

The reason for this display of woefully misplaced 'conscientiousness' was a series of threats by the Dutch jihadist known as Muhajiri Shaam, a member of the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Jahbat-al Nusra.

Shaam tweeted: "So, now Dutch F-16's. Dutch people: your government just made you a target".

In a more elaborate threat, Shaam stated: "The West offered more than 90 million lives during the first and second World War for their self-glorified democracy. So the Ummah must be prepared to sacrifice even more lives for a righteous State which rules under the laws of Allah. The world has suffered the oppressive darkness of Western capitalism for long enough. It's time they get a taste of divine justice."

Shaam's warnings followed in the wake of Dutch support for the military campaign against the new so-called "Islamic State" [IS].

The Dutch government last week pledged six F-16 fighter jets, two spare F-16's, and a maximum of 130 military advisors to train forces opposing IS.

These threats are being taken very seriously. The Dutch government fears attacks on its military personnel; more specific threats against Dutch soldiers have now been voiced by Dutch jihadists.

COMMENT:  The fact is that these threats will be heard throughout Europe, where enthusiasm for war in the Mideast is minimal.  We remember that a British soldier was beheaded on a street in London.  Europeans now have the same worry, and many will capitulate.

This is what terrorism is about.  It terrorizes. 

October 5, 2014       Permalink

THE NUTS HAVE BIG PLANS – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  The Islamic State does not think small.  From the Jerusalem Post: 

The British newspaper The Sunday Times reported on Sunday morning that Islamic State is calling on its members to brace for war with Iran in order to take over its nuclear secrets. The newspaper cited a document believed to have been written by top Islamic State member Abdullah Ahmed al-Meshedani, a member of the group's highly secretive six-man war cabinet.

According to the Times' report, the so-called manifesto was uncovered when Iraqi forces raided a home of a senior official of the jihadist group.

The document is allegedly being looked into by western security personnel, who have so far deemed it authentic, according to the newspaper.

The jihadist organization plans to pay off Russia, the document states, exchanging its control of Anbar province's vast gas fields for information on Iran's nuclear program.

The commander behind the manifesto also wants Russia to denounce its support for Iran and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Times story is not the first report of the Islamic State's desire to obtain non-conventional weapons

In August, Foreign Policy reported that Islamic State was also trying to develop biological weapons. The report cited information found on a laptop computer seized from an IS operative.

COMMENT:  They think strategically, and that is part of our worry.  The Islamic State is a serious enterprise.  If it is not nipped in the bud, it can become a major political force.  If it seizes more oil resources, it can become an economic force as well.

October 5,  2014     Permalink