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OCTOBER 11,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:51 P.M. ET: 

SETBACK – The Senate race in Iowa, which showed GOP candidate Joni Ernst building up a lead, has apparently settled back into a dead heat.  From The Hill:  "Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) is in a virtual tie with Rep. Bruce Braley (D), inching ahead by 1 percentage point with less than three weeks remaining until Election Day.  Des Moines Register released the Iowa poll Saturday, showing Ernst at 47 percent and Braley on her heels at 46 percent among likely voters.  In a poll conducted by the newspaper last month, Ernst led Braley 44 percent to 38 percent."  Of course, this could just be the normal fluctuation within polling, but it must be a matter of concern to us.  Apparently, undecideds are breaking mostly for Braley, who's a weak candidate.  This is one the GOP would dearly love to win, as the winner will replace liberal senator Tom Harkin, who is retiring.

DEM BASE APATHETIC – From The Hill:  "The Democratic Party's worst fears about the midterm election look to be coming true.  Polling in recent weeks suggests turnout on Election Day could be very low, even by the standards of recent midterms. That’s bad news for Democrats because core groups in the liberal base are more likely to stay home than are people in the demographic segments that lean Republican.  A Gallup poll last week found that voters are less engaged in this year's midterms than they were in 2010 and 2006. Only 33 percent of respondents said they were giving at least 'some' thought to the upcoming midterms, compared to 46 percent in 2010 and 42 percent in 2006. Even more troubling for Democrats, Republicans held a 12-point advantage when those paying 'some' attention were broken down by party.  Historically, the core Democratic constituencies of young people, minorities and single women are more likely to skip voting in midterm elections. The current projections suggest that months of effort by the Democratic Party to engage those groups on issues such as the minimum wage and women's pay may have been in vain."  Yes, it's now being reported from a number of states that the "Republican war on women" theme, a favorite of liberals, is falling flat.  Too many women are in economic trouble to believe that Democrats truly care for them.

INCREDIBLE – From AP:  "BAGHDAD (AP) — On the western edge of Iraq's capital, Islamic State group militants battle government forces and exchange mortar fire, only adding to the sense of siege in Baghdad despite airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition.  Yet military experts say the Sunni militants of the Islamic State group, who now control a large territory along the border that Iraq and Syria share, won't be able to fight through both government forces and Shiite militias now massed around the capital.  It does, however, put them in a position to wreak havoc in Iraq's biggest city, with its suicide attacks and other assaults further eroding confidence in Iraq's nascent federal government and its troops, whose soldiers already fled the Islamic State group's initial lightning advance in June."  If Islamic State forces lay siege to Baghdad, even if they don't immediately take the city, the psychological damage to our side will be devastating.  What will Obama do then?  There apparently is no real strategy.  Of course, he could always solve the problem by going on another vacation.  Thanksgiving is coming up.  Christmas.  Wonderful times to get away.

October 11,  2014     Permalink 

TAKING IT SERIOUSLY – AT 8:25 A.M. ET:  Britain has a more serious internal security problem than we do, in part due to reckless immigration policies that are coming home to roost.  From The Times of Israel:

The British government is monitoring thousands of terror suspects in London, Mayor Boris Johnson told the Telegraph newspaper on Friday night, as the official terror threat in the UK remained at “severe” level.

“In London we’re very, very vigilant and very, very concerned,” Johnson said. “Every day — as you saw recently, we had to raise the threat level — every day the security services are involved in thousands of operations…there are probably in the low thousands of people that we are monitoring in London.”

In late August the UK’s terror threat risk level was raised to “severe,” meaning an attack was “highly likely”. It was the second highest level out of five possible categories and the highest since July 2011.

The increase has been tied to developments in Syria and Iraq, and Britain’s involvement in the fight against the Islamic State group there, which could encourage retaliatory attacks by British extremists.

It has been estimated that approximately 500 UK nationals have traveled to fight in the region, with the Telegraph reporting that about half have returned home for various reasons.

“London has a particular concern,” Johnson said, “because probably of the five or six hundred that are out there, we think a third, maybe more — maybe half — come from the London area."

COMMENT:  I've always said that there's a "great" Britain and a "not-so-great" Britain.  Boris Johnson, who has just done a book on Churchill, is part of "great" Britain.  The other part will, on Monday morning, dance the appeasement act by introducing into the House of Commons a bill calling for the recognition of "Palestine" as a nation, even though there are no agreed-upon borders.  It is the standard left-wing stuff.  The "Palestinians" are not called upon to do anything to gain this ridiculous recognition.  The bill will probably pass, given British politics, despite government opposition.  It will not be binding.  Britain once depended on Churchill and his allies.  Now it must depend on Boris Johnson and his allies. 

October 11, 2014       Permalink

BAD START – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:  Military experts are warning about this – the air campaign against ISIS just isn't working, and is unlikely to work without ground troops under our direct control.  From WaPo: 

REYHANLI, Turkey — The U.S.-led air war in Syria has gotten off to a rocky start, with even the Syrian rebel groups closest to the United States turning against it, U.S. ally Turkey refusing to contribute and the plight of a beleaguered Kurdish town exposing the limitations of the strategy.

U.S. officials caution that the strikes are just the beginning of a broader strategy that could take years to carry out. But the anger that the attacks have stirred risks undermining the effort, analysts and rebels say.

The main beneficiary of the strikes so far appears to be President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces have taken advantage of the shift in the military balance to step up attacks against the moderate rebels designated by President Obama as partners of the United States in the war against extremists.

The U.S. targets have included oil facilities, a granary and an electricity plant under Islamic State control. The damage to those facilities has caused shortages and price hikes across the rebel-held north that are harming ordinary Syrians more than the well-funded militants, residents and activists say.

COMMENT:  You just have the feeling that Obama isn't really interested.  He does the minimum to hold off public opinion, but there is no actual strategy here.  If we do not provide a clear result soon, allies will continue backing away.

October 11,  2014     Permalink

OBAMA CAN'T GET POLL TRACTION – AT 8:05 A.M. ET:  President Obama is at or near the lowest point of his presidency, in terms of major polls.  From Breitbart: 

Gallup's 3-day rolling poll found President Obama's job approval back at 39% Friday. His disapproval rating climbed to 56%, which puts the president 17 points underwater. This nearly matches Obama's lowest showing on this particular poll, which is 38% from early September of this year.

According to the Real Clear Politics poll of polls, the president currently sits at 42% approve, 53% disapprove.

The last poll from any polling firm to show the president's job approval above water was CBS News back in July of 2013.

COMMENT:  I think it highly unlikely that the president will show much improvement in approval numbers in the last two years of his term.  People have already formed their opinion about him, and that opinion is decidely negative.  What great triumph could he produce, when he hasn't produced any in his first six years?

October 11, 2014     Permalink

OCTOBER 10,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:53 P.M. ET: 

GRIMES DOWN? – Has Democratic Senate candidate Alison Undergone Grimes finished herself off in her race against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky?  From The Hill:  "'Meet the Press' host Chuck Todd said Friday that Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Alison Undergone Grimes 'disqualified herself' by refusing to say whether she voted to elect President Obama.  A full panel of pundits on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe,' including host Joe Scarborough, panned Grimes's dodge, which came during a Thursday sit-down with The Courier-Journal editorial board.  Asked directly three times about whether she voted for Obama, Grimes repeatedly refused to answer, declaring that Obama's not on the ballot this fall and defending the 'sanctity of the ballot box.'  'And Kentuckians expect her to cast a tough vote on anything? Is she ever gonna answer a tough question on anything?' Todd asked, incredulously, after viewing the clip.  'You wanna be a U.S. senator? If you can't find a way to stand behind your party's president ... you can disagree with him but you can't answer a basic question and you come across looking that ridiculous?'"  Let's hope the voters in Kentucky feel the same way.

MAJOR ENDORSEMENT – The Colorado Senate race is one of the hottest, with a good chance for a GOP pickup.  The state's leading newspaper just reversed the endorsement it gave Democrat Mark Udall six years ago, and endorsed the Republican.   In a race this close, an endorsement like this can have some clout.  From The Hill:  "The Denver Post is endorsing Republican Cory Gardner in his bid to unseat Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, in one of 2014’s key midterm races.  The Post, which had endorsed Udall in 2008, praised the senator personally but did not mince words on his political impact, saying that he 'is not perceived as a leader in Washington' and had attempted to 'frighten voters rather than inspire them with a hopeful vision.' 'It's time for a change,' the newspaper editorial board wrote."  The election is three weeks from Tuesday.  Control of the Senate is still in doubt.  Colorado is a must for our side.

SAY IT AIN'T SO – From the Washington Examiner:  "Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is emerging as the new leading candidate for attorney general.  The White House is poised to announce President Obama’s choice to replace the outgoing Eric Holder, who announced his resignation last month, according to the New York Times.  Perez, who has been the secretary of Labor since July 2013, is a former Justice Department civil rights official and son of Dominican immigrants.  People familiar with the administration’s planning say the announcement could come in the next few weeks. If true, his nomination will happen before this year’s 2014 midterm elections – something many on Capitol Hill didn’t think would happen."  Perez is one of the most extreme members of the administration, a hardened left winger.  We hope that Obama sobers up and rejects this crazy idea.

October 10, 2014       Permalink

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE – AT 8:45 A.M. ET:  From AP: 

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for risking their lives to fight for children's rights. The decision made Malala, a 17-year-old student and education activist, the youngest-ever Nobel winner.

The news set off celebrations on the streets of Mingora, the main town in Pakistan's volatile Swat valley, with residents greeting each other and distributing sweets. At the town's Khushal Public School, which is owned by Malala's father, students danced in celebration Friday, jumping up and down.

When she was a student there, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman two years ago for insisting that girls as well as boys have the right to an education. Surviving several operations with the help of British medical care, she continued both her activism and her studies.

Appropriately, Malala was at school in the central English city of Birmingham at the time of the Nobel announcement and was expected to make a statement later Friday.

Satyarthi, 60, has been at the forefront of a global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labor since 1980, when he gave up his career as an electrical engineer. The grassroots activist has led the rescue of tens of thousands of child slaves and developed a successful model for their education and rehabilitation. He has also survived several attempts on his life.

COMMENT:  I don't know much about Satyarthi, but Malala is a true heroine, although many "feminists" ignore her, as they ignore oppressed and threatened Muslim women generally.  Mustn't engage in "Islamophobia."  Mustn't suggest there's anything wrong with "other cultures."  Malala, who's bigger than all of them, is having her day.

October 10,  2014     Permalink 

VULGAR – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  Anyone watching CNN's coverage of the death of the Ebola patient in Dallas knows that the network has gone all in with charges that the passing of Thomas Duncan was due to racism – that he didn't get the same care that white victims of the disease have gotten.  It is absolutely disgraceful.  No evidence of racial bias has been presented at all.  Indeed, the hospital involved in Mr. Duncan's treatment has a multicultural history and treats patients of all backgrounds.  From Breitbart: 

Minutes after news broke of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield suggested racism might have contributed to the Ebola patient's death.

While talking with her guest about the possibility of a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital, Banfield said, "You cannot rule out the notion that he had no Social Security number when he went to the hospital, and had a strong, thick West African accent. And his partner even said he's from Liberia."

Banfield is referring to reports that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital sent Duncan home on September 20 with antibiotics.

Later in the segment, Banfield said that she didn’t believe "malice" had anything to with the hospital's actions, which completely contradicted what she suggested just a few minutes earlier.

Without a hint of evidence, CNN seems to have decided that the tragic death of Mr. Duncan and this unspeakably awful West African Ebola outbreak is gist for racial-hatred mill. While Texans and Americans worry about the possibility of an outbreak on our own shores, CNN doesn't seem to think that's a sexy enough story; so let's throw some unfounded racial speculation on the fire.
Banfield mentioned nothing about any reporting to back up her race baiting.

During CNN's Jeff Zucker-era, which is about 18 months old, this kind of irresponsible racial taunting has become the new standard at the failing leftwing cable news outlet. With no evidence, or even a completed investigation, CNN spent more than a week ginning up racial division in Ferguson, Missouri, over this past summer.

COMMENT:  That is correct.  CNN's ratings are below abysmal, despite the fact that the network employs some fine journalists.  But it has a history of reporting from the left, a history started by CNN's founder, Ted Turner, a major flake who burnished his left-wing credentials by marrying Jane Fonda.  CNN has never shaken that history.  Although it claims to be "the first name in news," and does a decent job with spot news, the overall premise of CNN is a liberal view of the world. 

If CNN would correct its bias, its ratings would be much higher.  As it is, it loses half its potential audience the minute it goes on the air.

October 10, 2014       Permalink

OH, THE PAIN, THE DUCKING – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:   Remember when Obama was respectable?  Remember when his holy name was spoken in hushed tones?  One Democratic Senate candidate remembers, and knows that things have changed.  From WaPo:

Alison Lundergan Grimes (D), who is trying to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) this fall, appeared before the Louisville Courier-Journal editorial board on Thursday to make her pitch for their endorsement. The life-long Democrat, whose father represented Kentucky for the party in the state House and who herself has been on the ballot in the state on the Democratic ticket, was asked a simple question. Did she vote for President Obama in 2008 and 2012?

And she didn't answer. Repeatedly.

In an interesting nod to the times, the interview was streamed live, meaning that it took no time at all for Republicans to clip the non-answer and put it online.

Obama is far more unpopular in Kentucky than he is in the rest of the country. Polling last month had his approval rating in the state at about 30 percent, the sort of numbers that wouldn't earn him a victory in the state if he were to run again, not that he won it in 2008 or 2012.

Grimes tries to pivot off of the board's question (for some reason!) by linking herself to Hillary Clinton. There's not a lot of good data on Clinton's approval in Kentucky, but at least the state voted for her husband twice. If you have to be a type of Democrat in Kentucky, be a "Clinton Democrat" as Grimes puts it.  Fine.

COMMENT:  This will hurt her.  Ducking the question as to whether you voted for your own party's presidential candidate does not look good. 

Polls show McConnell with a small lead.  I hope this makes it a comfortable lead.

October 10, 2014       Permalink

IRANIAN NUKES – AT 8:08 A.M. ET:  There was a huge blast this past week at an Iranian nuclear plant.  The smart money says it was espionage.  Other smart money says the episode proves the Iranian nuclear-weapons program is still live.  From Fox: 

The massive blast at an Iranian nuclear plant earlier this week remains shrouded in mystery, but it cleared up one thing, according to those who track the Islamic Republic: The nuclear weapons program Tehran has long denied is real.

The massive blast Sunday night rocked buildings more than 10 miles away, and before-and-after satellite images published by the Israel Defense Force showed startling destruction at a facility Iran has repeatedly barred international inspectors from entering.

“[The] images indicate that a complete section of structures was simply eliminated by an unexplained explosion,” IDF analyst Ronen Solomon said. “The explosion wiped several testing units off the face of the earth while inflicting collateral damage on adjacent buildings.”

Iran, which initially denied an explosion took place, was forced a day later to own up to a blast, via the IRNA official Iranian news agency. The report said two people had been killed as a result of a fire at the site. The true casualty figure may never be known.

Israel has long insisted that Iran’s charm offensive, successful in easing western sanctions, is a ruse to buy time while it pursues nuclear weapons.

“Don’t be fooled by Iran’s manipulative charm offensive,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 29. “It’s designed for one purpose and for one purpose only: to lift the sanctions and remove the obstacles to Iran’s path to the bomb.

COMMENT:  I'm guessing that this was an Israeli operation.  There will be pro forma denial, of course, but why else would the Israel Defense Forces be providing before-and-after images? 

It may have been a warning sent by the Israelis that any agreement with Iran reached by international negotiators is not binding on Israel.  

Western negotiators are working toward a nuclear deal with Iran right now.  Many grown-ups in the West are afraid that the deal may be another Obama cave-in.  The Israelis are the most worried of all.

October 10, 2014       Permalink