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SEPTEMBER 5,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:03 P.M. ET:

JOBS REVERSAL – The six-month run of good job-creation numbers has come to an end.  The report for last month burst a big bubble.  From CNN:  "Yuck. The jobs market lost some steam in August, with only 142,000 jobs added last month.  The consensus forecast from economists surveyed by CNNMoney was for a jobs gain of 226,000 jobs.  The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 6.1%, down from 6.2% in July. That was in line with estimates, but it wasn't much for job seekers to celebrate.  This breaks a streak of six straight months with more than 200,000 jobs added."  We need 150,000 new jobs every month just to keep up with population growth.  So this report is grim.

WHERE ARE YOUR CHILDREN? – From the Washington Free Beacon:  "Cuba’s communist-led intelligence services are aggressively recruiting leftist American academics and university professors as spies and influence agents, according to an internal FBI report published this week.  Cuban intelligence services 'have perfected the work of placing agents, that includes aggressively targeting U.S. universities under the assumption that a percentage of students will eventually move on to positions within the U.S. government that can provide access to information of use to the [Cuban intelligence service],' the five-page unclassified FBI report says. It notes that the Cubans 'devote a significant amount of resources to targeting and exploiting U.S. academia.'"   I'm sure the Cuban service gets plenty of volunteers from "progressive" academics.

HORSE RACE – Many pundits had written off Scott Brown in his attempt to return to the Senate by taking on Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.  Not so fast.  From the Weekly Standard:  "Jeanne Shaheen, the Democratic senator from New Hampshire, leads her likely Republican challenger Scott Brown by just three points in a new poll commissioned by American Crossroads. The conservative super PAC's poll of likely New Hampshire voters was conducted at the end of August....This is the second poll in recent weeks to suggest a tightening contest between Shaheen and Brown. This comes after several months of a wider race, with Shaheen leading in some polls by double digits."  It's still uphill, but Brown is making it a horse race.  We can hope.

September 5, 2014       Permalink

JOAN – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  People have asked whether I knew Joan Rivers when I was a talent coordinator on The Tonight Show.

The short answer is no.  She was our guest host often during the time I was there, but had no real relationship with the regular staff.  We did our work, and passed it through her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, who controlled pretty much everything.  So we didn't get to know her.  At the same time, we had no particular problems with her either.  She was hilarious, exceedingly bright – a graduate of Barnard – and had struggled for years before Johnny Carson made her famous.

When she died yesterday she was properly recognized as a breakthrough talent, probably the first woman to compete with the comedians of the day in standup comedy.  Yes, of course, we'd had funny women – Lucille Ball and Gracie Allen come to mind, and, earlier, Carole Lombard.  but they were pre-Joan.  We had Carol Burnett, but she was mostly a superb sketch comedienne.  Joan Rivers was her own era.  She had her special identity, not linked to any partner or show, or character.  Yes, she was brassy and could be borderline vulgar.  Her jokes about other celebrities, throughout her career, could be cutting.  She was a chronic offender, but she stood her ground and passed the primary test of her trade – she made people laugh.  She also passed the second test – she could laugh at herself, giving her some of her best lines. 

She had ups and downs and committed some terrible errors, like accepting an offer to host a talk show opposite Johnny Carson, who had made her his permanent guest host.  He never forgave her, and the public sided with him. 

Many of the funny ladies of today owe their careers to Joan Rivers, the trailblazer.  Love her or reject her brand of humor, she left her mark.  She was unique.  She was patented.

September 5, 2014       Permalink 

STUNNING – AT 8:44 A.M. ET:   If proved true, this shows the enormity of the damage done by our profound sloppiness in keeping national secrets.  From ace defense reporter Rowan Scarborough at the Washington Times: 

A former top official at the National Security Agency says the Islamic State terrorist group has “clearly” capitalized on the voluminous leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and is exploiting the top-secret disclosures to evade U.S. intelligence.

Bottom line: Islamic State killers are harder to find because they know how to avoid detection.

Chris Inglis was the NSA’s deputy director during Mr. Snowden’s flood of documents to the news media last year. Mr. Snowden disclosed how the agency eavesdrops, including spying on Internet communications such as emails and on the Web’s ubiquitous social media.

Asked by The Washington Times if the Islamic State has studied Mr. Snowden’s documents and taken action, Mr. Inglis answered, “Clearly.”

The top-secret spill has proven ready-made for the Islamic State (also referred to as ISIL or ISIS). It relies heavily on Internet channels to communicate internally and to spread propaganda.

Mr. Snowden “went way beyond disclosing things that bore on privacy concerns,” said Mr. Inglis, who retired in January. “‘Sources and methods’ is what we say inside the intelligence community — the means and methods we use to hold our adversaries at risk, and ISIL is clearly one of those.

“Having disclosed all of those methods, or at least some degree of those methods, it would be impossible to imagine that, as intelligent as they are in the use of technology, in the employment of communications for their own purposes, it’s impossible to imagine that they wouldn’t understand how they might be at risk to intelligence services around the world, not the least of which is the U.S. And they necessarily do what they think is in their best interest to defend themselves,” he said.

COMMENT:  It has been very chic in some shallow circles, and we have many, to believe that Snowden is some kind of hero – a soldier in the battle for "privacy."   He is not a hero.  He is a turncoat.  And innocent people will die because of him. 

I don't think Snowden will ever return to the United States.  If he does, he should be tried for the gravest of crimes.  Or maybe he should just be put in a room with the parents of some dead American soldiers.

September 5, 2014       Permalink

WISDOM – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:24 A.M. ET:  Since September 11, 2001, several voices have been consistently wise and knowledgeable in commenting on current affairs and linking the present to the past.  One such voice is Victor Davis Hanson.  He provides our quote of the day, about the continuing value of blunt military deterrence.  From NRO: 

...disputes over honor or from fear do not always lead to war. Something else is needed — an absence of deterrence. Most aggressors take stupid risks in starting wars only when they feel there is little likelihood they will be stopped. Hitler thought no one would care whether he gobbled up Poland, after he easily ingested Czechoslovakia and Austria.

Saddam Hussein went into Kuwait believing the U.S. did not intervene in border disputes among Arab countries. Deterrence, alliances, and balances of power are not archaic concepts that “accidentally” triggered World War I, as we are sometimes told. They are the age-old tools of advising the more bellicose parties to calm down and get a grip.

What ends wars?

Not the League of Nations or the United Nations. Unfortunately, war is a sort of cruel laboratory experiment whose bloodletting determines which party, in fact, was the stronger all along. Once that fact is again recognized, peace usually follows.

And...

If deterrence and military readiness seem such a wise investment, why do democracies so often find themselves ill-prepared and bullied by aggressors who then are emboldened to start wars?

It is hard for democratic voters to give up a bit of affluence in peace to ensure that they do not lose it all in war. It is even harder for sophisticated liberal thinkers to admit that after centuries of civilized life, we still have no better way of preventing Neanderthal wars than by reminding Neanderthals that we have the far bigger club — and will use it if provoked.

COMMENT:  That is wisdom, but you may be sure that Victor Davis Hanson will never be invited to join an Ivy League faculty.  Such a disruptive, upsetting thinker.

The American people are now relearning lessons of the past, at least some of them are.  I wish we had a president who is among the students.

September 5, 2014       Permalink

FROM THE FRONT LINES – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  While Obama mumbles away the future of the United States, the guys on the front lines are frustrated.  They aren't allowed to do their jobs.  From Fox: 

America's GI "boots on the ground" in Iraq are so frustrated with the White House message about their mission against the Islamic State -- which Vice President Biden vowed Wednesday to chase "to the gates of Hell" -- that they're wondering how they'll accomplish the goal "when we can't even leave the front gate of our base."

Biden on Wednesday delivered what was probably the toughest statement to date from the administration, declaring, after another U.S. journalist was beheaded by the Islamic State, "we will follow them to the gates of Hell until they are brought to justice."

But his tough talk was at odds with a message delivered earlier in the day by President Obama, who said that while his administration's goal is to "destroy" ISIS -- it also is to "shrink" it to a "manageable problem."

Amid the mixed messages, a source in contact with special operators in Iraq told Fox News that "frustration and confusion reign" among Americans on the ground there.

The source relayed the complaint of an unnamed special operator: "Chase them to the Gates of Hell? How the (blank) are we going to do that when we can't even leave the front gate of our base!?"

COMMENT:  There's a cruelty in treating our soldiers like this.  In effect, we don't allow them to win.  They certainly won't be chasing anyone to the Gates of Hell.  Obama has no interest in it.  He'll beat the drums, make some expected statements, form a "coalition of the willing," and then do very little.  Oh, and he'll be sure to tell our enemies in advance exactly what we won't do, so they can plan accordingly.  That's his history.  That's his style.  He is not an American president.

September 5,  2014     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 4,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 7:42 P.M. ET: 

THE BOTTOM – President Obama has hit 38% approval in the Gallup Poll, tying the worst previous number in his presidency, hit in October of 2011.  However, please note that Obama bounced back from that previous low to win re-election.  However, he's now entering the last two years of his presidency, and recovery is more difficult.  The question is how his standing will affect Democratic candidates in November's midterm elections.

THE MARCH OF CIVILIZATION – From the New York Post:  "Check in married — check out single!
An upstate resort famous for its lavish weddings will ironically serve as the venue for 'Divorce Hotel' — a business that promises couples a painless split in an idyllic setting.  For a flat $5,000 fee, the divorcing parties are put up in separate rooms at Saratoga Springs’ Gideon Putnam Resort for a weekend and work with a mediator to finalize the details into a signed agreement.  'Practically, they are divorced after signing on Sunday,' founder Jim Halfens, who already runs similar projects in his native Netherlands, told The Post. 'After signing, all work is done and we send it to a judge who only puts a stamp on it to make it official.'"  I'd imagine divorce lawyers, a thriving industry in New York, might have something to say about this major cultural refinement.

JOHN'S SACRED MISSION – From White House Dossier:  "Secretary of State John Kerry today deployed logic to the effect of, God 'created the heavens and the earth' and therefore God wants him to stop global warming and especially to do this to help Muslim countries, which are particularly imperiled.  Now, you ask me, has Kerry gone bananas.   I really don’t know. I just hope Muslims and God appreciate everything he’s doing for them.  And if only ISIS could get this message. If only they could get themselves on the State Department press release list, they’d at least read what Kerry has to say, and how he wants to make the desert less hot for them."  There's the Nobel Peace Prize.

THE MARKET DECIDES – From the L.A. Times:  "Electric car sales are not charging the marketplace. A new study by online automotive research company Edmunds.com suggests the segment may have run out of gas.  Sales of electric drive vehicles are stuck at about 3.6% of all new car sales for 2014, Edmunds senior analyst Jessica Caldwell said.  That's below the 3.7% market share for 2013, and it's not likely to grow any before the end of the year.  And that's during an otherwise robust sales season. Total figures for August were higher than any time in the last decade.   Automakers sold about 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. in August, an increase of about 3% from August 2013, according to initial industry estimates released Wednesday.  'The whole automobile market has grown,' Caldwell said. 'We’re not seeing electric vehicles as part of that growth.'"  I suspect people feel that the extra cost just isn't worth it. 

September 4, 2014       Permalink

ANOTHER "WHOOPS" – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:   It was supposed to be a Republican shoo-in, the re-election of Pat Roberts to the U.S. Senate from Kansas, a solid Republican state. 

But there are doubts.  Roberts, an old-time member of the establishment, got rather comfortable in Washington and is encountering headwinds on his way back to the capital.  But until yesterday he was expected finally to prevail.  Now there's a problem.  His Dem opponent has dropped out, and an independent with greater popular support suddently looms large.  From Fox: 

The Democratic candidate in the race against Sen. Pat Roberts in Kansas ended his campaign Wednesday, leaving an independent candidate and a Libertarian candidate to face off against the three-term Republican incumbent.

Chad Taylor, a district attorney, informed the Kansas Secretary of State Wednesday that he is withdrawing from the race. Originally, his statement said "suspended," but the word was lined through and replaced with a handwritten "terminated."

Taylor issued a separate statement saying he made the decision after consulting with his staff, supporters and Democratic Party leaders. He did not give a reason.

Kansas.com reported Wednesday that Taylor's move could lead to broader support for the independent candidate in the race, Olathe businessman Greg Orman. There is also a Libertarian candidate, Randall Batson, of Wichita.

Roberts' executive campaign manager Leroy Towns called the move a "corrupt bargain" between Democratic leaders and Orman's campaign and said Orman's independent status is "a smoke screen."

Recent polling data from Real Clear Politics shows Roberts is favored to win the race in GOP-leaning Kansas.

However, a recent poll from Democrat-leaning Public Policy Polling showed Orman had a 43 percent to 33 percent lead over Roberts if the race was just between the two of them.

On the other hand, if all three candidates were in the race, 32 percent of voters picked Roberts, 25 percent picked Taylor and 23 percent picked Orman, according to a Public Policy Polling poll.

Orman had positioned himself as Roberts' most formidable opponent, and his fundraising was more robust than Taylor's. Orman issued a statement calling Taylor "a committed public servant."

Orman, the co-founder of a business capital and management services firm, ran for Roberts' seat in 2007 as a Democrat but dropped out early in 2008. He said he grew unhappy with both parties.

On Wednesday, Orman received the endorsement of Traditional Republicans for Common Sense, a group of former moderate GOP state legislators unhappy with the party's conservative leanings.

COMMENT:  Looks like some kind of a backroom deal.  If Orman is elected, he'd probably caucus with the Democrats, his old crowd, possibly denying Republicans control of the Senate. 

The Republican drive to take over the Senate is hitting some bumps, but there's still a good chance that it can succeed.  There are states where the Dem candidates have run into unexpected trouble as well, like Alaska, Montana, and Louisiana.  The real action in the campaign starts this week.  The election is in two months.

September 4, 2014       Permalink

NO WONDER BRITAIN IS SCARED – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:   This is stunning, and reflects the danger that Great Britain faces from Islamic extremists.  From London's Telegraph: 

More than 50,000 illegal immigrants told to leave the country have been granted a "de-facto amnesty" after officials admitted they have no idea where they are.

Mandie Campbell, director general of Immigration Enforcement at the Home Office, said that immigration enforcement officers are not even looking for the individuals because of limited resources.

MPs on the Public Accounts Committee described the lack of information about the immigrants as "scary" and "complacent".

The Home Office has hired Capita to track down migrants whose application to remain in Britain has been refused but their whereabouts were unknown.

Mrs Campbell said that 121,000 of them were tracked down but disclosed that they had lodged new cases to remain in Britain. However, it had no information about the location of 50,000 individuals.

COMMENT:  You're left speechless by this.  This is what happens in welfare states.  The political left runs things, and demands "sensitivity" to "the other."  The hell with the lives of citizens. 

It shows once again that when the left talks about "the people," it ain't us they're talkin' about.

I'd imagine Britain is in for a shocking surprise.

September 4, 2014       Permalink

DISGRACEFUL – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:  The Department of Justice is perhaps the most important federal agency.  Presumably, it symbolizes equality before the law, and pursuit of the truth.  Presumably.   Under Obama, the department has become a political arm of the administration.  Get this, from Fox: 

The Department of Justice will launch a civil rights investigation into the Ferguson (Mo.) Police Department after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by one of its white officers.

A government official briefed on the planned investigation told Fox News that the Justice Department's civil rights division would be in charge of the probe. The inquiry is referred to as a "pattern and practice" investigation and will focus on the department's policies, not possible individual wrongdoing.

The civil rights division is known for its radicalism.

The Justice Department is conducting a separate, narrower investigation into the August 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson. A grand jury is also considering whether to indict Wilson for the shooting, which which set off about two weeks of unrest in the streets of Ferguson and became a flashpoint in the national discussion of police treatment of minorities across the country. Two weeks ago, Attorney General Eric Holder visited the St. Louis suburb, where he met with investigators and Brown's parents and shared personal experiences of having himself been mistreated by the police.

Holder is expected to formally announce the investigation at a press conference Thursday. The investigation was first reported by The Washington Post. The Associated Press reported that Missouri officials were notified of the new investigation Wednesday.

COMMENT:  This is pure politics.  Holder is a racialist.  He is the same attorney general who dropped an open-and-shut case against the Black Panthers for voter intimidation.

This "investigation" is part of a pattern designed to energize the black vote in the coming election.  It's the "Ferguson outrage," akin to the "Republican war on women."  All the Democrats have left is racial, ethnic, and gender politics.  All else is gone.

Let's see if the mainstream media will ask any questions about the impropriety here.  If Ferguson didn't have political value, would Holder be investigating?

September 4, 2014       Permalink

WHY AM I SKEPTICAL? – AT 8:55 A.M. ET:  Obama and our allies are moving, really moving, I mean really, really moving.  The world is being saved.  Why am I not convinced?  From Fox: 

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron will use this week's NATO summit to press for a multi-national coalition to carry out military action against the Islamic State militant group, formerly known as ISIS.

The summit began Thursday in Wales with a session on Afghanistan, with the Islamic State threat looming over the discussion.

The two leaders, ahead of the session, began laying the groundwork for their Middle East mission in a joint op-ed published in Thursday's edition of The Times of London. In the piece, Obama and Cameron vowed that their leaders would "not be cowed" by the extremists who have beheaded two American journalists and threatened a British aid worker with the same fate in recent weeks.

"We will be more forthright in the defense of our values, not least because a world of greater freedom is a fundamental part of how we keep our people safe," the op-ed states.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that over the past day, Secretary of State John Kerry and other administration officials have reached out to leaders from Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Israel to discuss how to combat ISIS. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the discussions focused on what each country might contribute -- including weapons, humanitarian aid and other resources -- and noted that some nations already have.

COMMENT:  It's interesting that the Obama/Cameron op-ed was published in a British paper, not an American paper.  Probably tells us something – that the intellectual leadership of the anti-ISIS forces is coming from David Cameron.

But Cameron has few military resources.  The force that Margaret Thatcher sent to the Falklands a generation ago was larger than is the entire Royal Navy today.  Britain, basically a welfare state, continues to cut its defenses, even as its prime minister speaks with greater clarity than any other leader about the threats before us.

Will anything actually happen at the NATO summit?  I hope so, but doubt it.  Obama really doesn't have the interest.  But we can hope, and then hope that the November elections force some change on our drifting, weak administration.

September 4,  2014     Permalink