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SEPTEMBER 3,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET: 

TRAIN WRECK – Much buzz on the internet and on TV today about Field Marshal Obama's confused statements in Estonia about the Islamic State and the Ukraine.  No one knows what our foreign policy is.  I'm not so sure the field marshal cares.  I really don't think he has any desire to take on the IS or Russia.  I think he's the political Greta Garbo.  He wants to be alone.  And he is.

MADNESS – The saying goes that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.  Looks like they're heading in the same direction.  From the Jerusalem Post:  "Hamas's popularity has skyrocketed in the wake of Operation Protective Edge to the point where its deputy political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, would win the presidency of the Palestinian Authority if elections were held today, according to a new survey of West Bank and Gaza residents.  The poll, which was overseen by Dr. Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, indicates that Haniyeh would attract 61 percent support among prospective Palestinian voters, easily outpacing incumbent Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah (32 percent)."  This would be like the Germans in 1945 entrusting their future to Adolf Hitler.  All Hamas has brought to the Palestinians is death.  I think even many Arab nations are tired of Palestinian delusions. 

AMERICANS DOWN ON THE ECONOMY – From The Hill:  "People in the U.S. remain generally pessimistic about the state of the economy, according to new data from Gallup. The polling company said Tuesday that its economic confidence index remained at -16 in August, and has hovered within a three-point span for all of 2014.   Gallup's latest numbers underscore that the economy might not give Democrats the assistance that party leaders had hoped for this midterm year.  Democrats are much more likely to be bullish on the economy than Republicans or independents, Gallup found. Higher earners are also more confident than lower earners, a finding consistent with other consumer surveys."  People must see their own circumstances improve before they'll believe that the economy itself is improving.  Most people don't see it.

A SHOT IN ALASKA – There's a close Senate race in Alaska, with incumbent Dem Mark Begich holding his own in the polls.  But Begich just blundered badly, opening a chance for his Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan:  "Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is retracting a television ad that an Alaska family said was exploiting a tragedy for political purposes, according to KTVA in Anchorage.  The controversy began Friday when Begich published a TV spot which blamed his opponent, former state attorney general Dan Sullivan, for reducing the sentence of Jerry Active, a 25-year-old man accused of murdering an Anchorage couple and sexually assaulting their 2-year-old granddaughter on May 25, 2013.  In a rebuttal ad, Sullivan vehemently denied Begich’s accusation, pointing out that he was not attorney general in Jan. 2009 when Active committed a series of crimes for which he should have been sentenced to at least eight years in prison Instead, a state database search failed to find that Active had a previous felony which would have triggered the minimum sentence."  Some observers sense trouble in the Begich camp.  Sullivan is up in the latest poll by two points.

September 3, 2014        Permalink

HOMELAND INSECURITY – AT 10:24 A.M. ET:  On guard for America.  From the Daily Signal:

More than 6,000 foreign nationals in the United States on student visas have vanished after overstaying their time here, raising alarm at the Department of Homeland Security. The federal agency is now working to find them after losing track of their whereabouts.

I'm sure they're "working" to find them.  And they'll be working to find them ten years from now, too.

Officials at the federal agency told ABC News there are more than 58,000 students who overstayed their visas over the past year. Approximately 6,000 of those foreign nationals were referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for “follow-up,” as they’re of “heightened concern.”

“My greatest concern is that they could be doing anything,” Peter Edge, deputy associate director for Homeland Security Investigations, told ABC News. “Some of them could be here to do us harm.”

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the 9/11 Commission recommended Homeland Security impose tighter controls on the student visa program. The group determined Hani Hanjour, the hijacker who flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, was in the country on a student visa. Hanjour, however, never showed up for school.

Despite the commission’s recommendation 10 years ago, Edge said “we really have a lot more work to do” to fulfill it. ICE agents, he continued, are working to locate the 6,000 students.

Since the 9/11 terror attacks, 26 foreign nationals in the United States on student visas have been arrested on terrorism-related charges.

James Carafano, a leading authority on national security at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal that Homeland Security’s failure to keep track of foreign nationals in the country on student visas is “disheartening.”

COMMENT:  Pretty chilling, isn't it?  This country isn't wide open, but the security situation is worrying.  We saw what a couple of homegrown idiots could do to the Boston Marathon. 

September 3, 2014       Permalink

THE WEIRDNESS CONTINUES – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  President Obama has just made a speech to Estonian students.  And again, commentators are baffled.  What is he actually saying?  From the Washington Examiner: 

President Obama in a speech in Estonia on Wednesday sought to assure the Baltic nations that the U.S. military would come to their defense if Russia tries to extend its reach beyond eastern Ukraine.

“We will stand firm and united to meet the test of this moment,” Obama told Estonian students on the eve of a NATO summit in Wales.

“We will defend the territorial integrity of every single ally,” the president pledged. “An attack on one is an attack on all.”

Hey guy, that's part of the NATO treaty.  You're not telling me anything.

Obama and western allies at the NATO summit this week will attempt to unite behind a blueprint to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from stoking tensions in neighboring countries, following his repeated incursions in Ukraine.

The president touted the heightened American military presence in Europe and efforts to bolster the defense capabilities of NATO allies, saying that western nations were sending an unmistakable signal to Putin.

Unmistakable?  Really?  Then how come Putin just keeps on going.

“Make no mistake: Russia is paying a price,” Obama said Wednesday. “Russia’s actions in Ukraine are weakening Russia.

The Russian expert speaks.

"Justice will win because might does not make right," the president added.

Oh please.  Did he really say that?  Pop quiz tomorrow.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday announced a “lasting cease-fire” with Russia, but the Kremlin later denied such a development — and the Ukrainian president’s office retracted the original statement.

Still, Obama sought to allay Baltic fears over Russia’s actions.

“We’ll be here for Estonia,” Obama promised. “We’ll be here for Latvia. We’ll be here for Lithuania.”

COMMENT:  Would you listen to that language!  That's the way kids talk to each other.  Remember, these foreign nations are looking at an America that is cutting its defenses in the face of major military challenges around the world.  It is looking at an America whose president drew a line in the sand in Syria, and then erased it.  And Obama says, "We'll be here for you." 

Yeah, and the check is in the mail.

September 3, 2014       Permalink

TRULY GREAT BRITAIN – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  British Prime Minister David Cameron is on a roll.  His comments about Islamic terrorism, which he named without hesitation, put Field Marshal Obama to shame.  Now Cameron is taking on Vladimir Putin, and he's just as deadly with his words.  Again, our president looks like the head of a student government in a high school for troubled teens.  From the New York Post:   

WASHINGTON — British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned European leaders against repeating the historic World War II blunder of appeasement instead of resisting Russian belligerence in Ukraine.

Cameron invoked the sellout by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to Hitler at Munich while urging his counterparts at a closed-door meeting Saturday to stand firm against Russia’s meddling in Ukrainian territory, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said.

“We run the risk of repeating the mistakes made in Munich in 1938. We cannot know what will happen next,” Cameron was reported as saying in Brussels.

“This time we cannot meet Putin’s demands. He has already taken Crimea and we cannot allow him to take the whole country.”

Cameron’s visceral warning came as President Obama jetted to Estonia, where he will deliver a speech Wednesday intended to solidify the “steadfast” commitment of the United States to the Baltic states on Russia’s border, the White House said.

NATO obligations commit members to mutual defense, but Ukraine isn’t part of NATO.

Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the main mediator with Putin, was reported to be furious with the Russian leader, calling him “irrational and unpredictable.”

COMMENT:   No matter what Obama will say, he can't be trusted.  That is the general opinion of America's allies, and the sentiment surfaces all the time.   The question that so many are asking is whether Obama's bizarre behavior is based on indifference or on a contempt for our very civilization.  I'm leaning toward the latter.  I think what we're seeing now is the real Obama, and most Americans don't like it.

Cameron, by contrast, is positively Churchillian.

September 3, 2014       Permalink

WHAT IS THIS MAN SAYING? – AT 8:54 A.M. ET:  The president of the United States, and field marshal general colonel of the armed forces, has delivered unto us his wisdom about fighting ISIS.  I have no idea what he's talking about.  Maybe you can do better.  From Fox: 

President Obama sent seemingly conflicting signals Wednesday about his ultimate goal in the fight against the Islamic State, saying at a press conference in Europe that the aim is to "degrade and destroy" the terror group -- but moments later, claiming he wants to make it a "manageable problem."

The president spoke as lawmakers on Capitol Hill and others urge the White House and Pentagon to pursue a tough approach against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Those calls mounted after the group released another video showing the execution of an American journalist; the White House on Wednesday confirmed that video as authentic.

Speaking in Estonia during a visit to Europe, Obama at first took a hard line. He condemned the execution as "horrific" and "barbaric" and vowed "justice will be served."

After taking some heat for admitting last week that "we don't have a strategy yet" to address the militant group in Syria, Obama said they do have a regional strategy. Ultimately, he said, "our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy ISIL so it is no longer a threat not just to Iraq but also the region and to the United States."

Wait.  Stop the music.  How can you both degrade and destroy?  If you destroy, there's nothing left to degrade.  Does this guy even think about his fibs?

But later in the press conference, Obama returned to the topic and noticeably softened his tone.

He clarified that if the U.S. is joined by an international coalition, they can "continue to shrink ISIL's sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem."

Whaa?

The remarks are likely to sow confusion on Capitol Hill, and possibly among allies.

"Are we going to contain ISIS or are we going to crush ISIS? And the president has not answered that," Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told Fox News, reacting to the president's remarks.

COMMENT:  America has, very often, been lucky in its leadership during crises.  But I doubt if the names Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Truman, and Reagan will ever be found in the same sentence with Barack Obama.  We are in trouble.

September 3,  2014     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 2,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:01 P.M. ET:

IMMIGRATION REFORM DELAY – From The Hill:  "President Obama may not move on executive actions for immigration reform this summer, the White House conceded on Tuesday.  'It's hard for me to at least at this point draw any clear conclusions about what the president's timing will be,' White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. 'There is the chance that it could be before the end of the summer. There is the chance that it could be after the summer.'  The White House is thought to be considering a delay of the executive actions because of concerns from vulnerable Senate Democrats, many of whom have asked the president not to act before November’s midterms."  Yeah, get those Dems elected, then do something the American people oppose.  Truth in government.  Transparency.  Hope 'n' change.

ONE MORE CONCERN – From the Washington Free Beacon:  "Islamist militias in Libya took control of nearly a dozen commercial jetliners last month, and western intelligence agencies recently issued a warning that the jets could be used in terrorist attacks across North Africa.  Intelligence reports of the stolen jetliners were distributed within the U.S. government over the past two weeks and included a warning that one or more of the aircraft could be used in an attack later this month on the date marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, said U.S. officials familiar with the reports."  September 11th is a week from Thursday. 

THE HORROR – From AP AND OTHERS:  "An internet video released Tuesday night purports to show the beheading of US reporter Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria.  The radical Islamist group threatened to execute British national David Cawthorne Haines next unless its demands were met, Site Intel Group, reported. It was not immediately clear who Haines was. Officials with the British Foreign Office declined to immediately comment."  British Prime Minister Cameron has been especially tough on the Islamic State in public comments.  Retaliation was to be expected.  The issue will be whether Britain has the stomach to stand firm.  This story is still developing.

AND NOW PAKISTAN – From WaPo:  "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was clinging to power Monday as protesters stepped up their assault on government buildings while the capital was gripped with fear and confusion about whether the country’s powerful military will step in to defuse the tension.  As the demonstrations calling for the prime minister’s resignation enter their third week, Sharif is trying to navigate Pakistan’s worst political crisis in more than a decade. With the violence increasing, what started as a routine demonstration has morphed into concerns that the government of a nuclear-armed country could collapse."  And it's those nukes we worry about.  The Islamic State would love to borrow some.  We've been assured that Pakistan's nuclear stockpile is well secured.  We were also assured that the Japanese couldn't reach Pearl Harbor.

September 2, 2014       Permalink

ON THIS DAY – AT 10:15 A.M. ET:  Today marks the 69th anniversary of the end of World War II.  On September 2nd, 1945, Japan formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay, bringing to an end the most catastrophic war in history.

Ironically, yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II.  On September 1st, 1939, German forces invaded Poland. 

The American phase of the war started with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  The United States fought three years and almost nine months, contributing mightily to the defeat of Japan and Germany.   The war in the Pacific was largely an American war.  European nations fought approximately six years, if they were also involved in the Pacific.  Many Americans don't realize how much longer the Europeans fought than we did. 

We fought the Cold War that followed based on lessons learned from World War II, and from the pre-World War II decade.  Nations must take threats seriously.  They must respond when potential adversaries start to build their militaries.  "Power for peace" became a popular American slogan during the Cold War.  We meant it.  We understood that the appeasement of Japan and Germany before World War II contributed to making that war inevitable.  So did the pathetic state of our military. 

Today we're in danger of forgetting the lessons that carried us through the Cold War period.  We have a president who seems contemptuous of that wisdom.  Conservative British commentator James Delingpole says this, on Breitbart: 

All I do know, is this:  the times we are living in are definitely not the kind of times you'd want a weak, vacillating, ill-advised, culturally insecure, strategically illiterate, tactically incompetent President in the White House; nor when you'd want Britain in the hands of a government so blind to history that it is prepared to take the gamble of shredding its already shoestring armed forces by 20 per cent.

COMMENT:  I don't think Obama will change.  I believe he thinks he's Divinely inspired by himself.  As we noted earlier this morning, Britain does appear to be responding vigorously to new threats of terrorism.  Let's see if that country will now restore its defenses.  There is still a powerful welfare-state current in Britain, but the prime minister is making the right moves.

September 2, 2014       Permalink

THUMBS DOWN ON MITT – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:  There is clearly a boomlet for Mitt Romney, especially among members of the GOP establishment.  Not every Republican is enthusiastic.  From Marc A. Thiessen at WaPo: 

In the 1991 movie “Naked Gun 2 ½,” Police Lt. Frank Drebin drinks away his sorrows in a blues bar while sad music plays and the camera pans across a wall with pictures depicting the worst disasters in history: the Chicago fire . . . the Hindenburg . . . the Titanic . . . and Michael Dukakis.

If they did a remake today, they would replace Dukakis’s picture on the wall with one of another Massachusetts governor: Mitt Romney.

Talk of a Romney 2016 run is heating up. A USA Today poll shows Romney with a huge lead in Iowa, far ahead of 14 other potential GOP candidates. And after months of Shermanesque denials, Romney recently cracked the door open to another presidential bid, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt that “circumstances can change.”

To which I say: Nooooo!

Don’t get me wrong, I wish Mitt Romney were president right now. And apparently so do a majority of Americans. A recent poll found that if the 2012 election were held today, Romney would beat Obama by 53 percent to 44 percent. But those numbers more likely reflect buyer’s remorse with Barack Obama than a sudden longing for a Romney administration. Indeed, the very same poll showed Romney losing to Hillary Clinton by 55 percent to 44 percent — not exactly the result Republicans are looking for in 2016.

And...

Because he presented such a blank canvas, Romney allowed Obama to paint him as an unacceptable alternative. Indeed, he often took the brush in his own hands and did Obama’s job for him. Like when he told auto workers his wife “drives a couple of Cadillacs” . . . or described himself as “severely conservative” (something no actual conservative would say) . . . or declared that “corporations are people, my friend” . . . or offered to bet Texas Gov. Rick Perry “10 thousand bucks” . . . or said “I like being able to fire people” . . . or declared his immigration policy was “self-deportation” . . . or announced “I’m not concerned about the very poor” . . . or dismissed 47 percent of the country as a bunch of moochers “who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them.”

After this series of self-inflicted wounds, little wonder that only 35 percent of Americans said they believed that Romney cared about the poor, and just 38 percent said Romney “cares about people like me.” You can’t win an election when most Americans think you don’t care about them.

Why would Republicans want to relive that debacle? Mitt Romney is an utterly decent man who certainly would have been a much better president than Barack Obama. But he was given a golden opportunity to save the United States from a second Obama term and blew it.

Do Republicans really want to count on him to save the United States from Clinton’s first term?

COMMENT:  Those are very provocative and thoughtful points.  You play this political game to win.  There is no silver medal awarded.

Romney advocates say he already has high name recognition, presidential stature, a proved record of being right, and that he's a much better campaigner than in 2012.  I'd have to see him campaign to believe that last point, because it's critical.  No doubt he'd make a fine president.  But you've got to get there first, and I just hope we're not dealing with another Tom Dewey. 

I'm inclined to believe that the party needs new blood at the top.  But I'm willing to be convinced if Romney shows that he can take the fight to the enemy, and develop a little more fire in the belly.

September 2, 2014       Permalink

THE BRITS ARE SERIOUS – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, continues his campaign to make Britain the leader in fighting terrorism.  He puts Barack Obama to shame, although that is fairly easy to do.  From Newsmax: 

Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday proposed new laws that would give police the power to seize the passports of Britons suspected of having traveled abroad to fight with terrorist groups.

Speaking to Parliament, Cameron said his government is also working on plans to block such suspected British jihadi fighters from re-entering the U.K. The power to monitor such suspects who are already in Britain would also be strengthened.

“What we need is a targeted power to exclude British nationals from the United Kingdom,” the prime minister told lawmakers in London today. “We need to address any potential gap in our armory to keep our country safe.”

The plans to widen Britain's anti-terror laws, which are likely to be approved by parliament, are aimed at preventing attacks by Islamist militants returning from terror training in trouble spots in the Middle East.

Like other Western countries such as the U.S., France and Germany, Britain is worried that citizens who travel abroad to join terror groups could threaten their home country when they return.

Intelligence and security services suspect that around 500 Britons have gone to fight in Syria and potentially Iraq. Cameron has described the extremism posed by the Islamic State group as the biggest security threat of modern times — surpassing that of al-Qaida — and said it poses a direct threat to Europe.

Britain's Home Secretary already has the authority to withhold passports in some cases, but Cameron said more is needed to ensure police at border crossings could act in time when they spot a suspect.

COMMENT:  This comes at a moment when a new poll shows that 95% of BBC viewers think multiculturalism has failed.  Britain is waking up, and has a prime minister who is doing his part to hurry the waking.  Compare please to our First Golfer.

September 2, 2014       Permalink

LAWS, LAWS, EVERYWHERE LAWS – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  Democrat Mary Landrieu, running scared for re-election to the U.S. Senate from Louisiana, comes from a famous Louisiana political family.  But, uh, there seems to be a bit of bother about where she really lives, and whether she really qualifies for the Senate.  I have no idea how far this will go, but it's too juicy to ignore.  From Fox: 

Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, in a tough re-election bid, is facing mounting legal challenges to her residency status, including a lawsuit filed this weekend by a former Republican challenger.

The suit filed by GOP state Rep. Paul Hollis, who exited the Senate race in July, contends that Landrieu, a Democrat, cannot represent Louisiana because she lives full-time in Washington.

He argues that federal law says only "an inhabitant" of a state can be elected to the U.S. Senate to represent the state.

"Mary L. Landrieu is, in reality, a full-time permanent inhabitant of the District of Columbia. ... (B)y all measurable and legal standards, her actual domicile is her $2.5 million residence on Capitol Hill, the only home she owns," Hollis said in the lawsuit filed Friday in state district court in Baton Rouge...

...Landrieu is registered to vote in Louisiana, using the New Orleans address where her parents live. The house is owned by a trust in which the senator, her eight siblings and their parents share equally.

And...

Residency criticism in 2002 and 2008 failed to unseat Landrieu, whose family has strong New Orleans roots -- her brother Mitch is in his second term as mayor, a job once held by their father, Moon.

Whether Hollis or Maness’ arguments will result in any consequences for the 58-year-old Landrieu remains to be seen.

However, their efforts will likely help Republicans trying to portray Landrieu as a creature of Washington and connect her to fellow Democrat President Obama, who now has low approval ratings.

COMMENT:  Landrieu is tied in the polls with her main Republican opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy.   In order to win in November, a candidate in Louisiana must get 50% of the vote, or face a runoff.  There are several GOP challengers.  If Landrieu doesn't hit the 50% mark, she would go into a runoff against, presumably, Cassidy, who would then pick up the votes of the other Republicans who ran. 

We have a shot in Louisiana.

September 2,  2014     Permalink