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SEPTEMBER 28,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:47 P.M. ET: 

CARNAGE – From CBS:  "MIAMI - A shooting sent terrified patrons scrambling from a Miami nightclub early Sunday and left 15 people wounded, including an 11-year-old child, authorities said.  When Miami police and rescue crews arrived at a club called The Spot around 1 a.m., they said they found chaos among the large throng of adults and teenagers gathered there. Rescuers found wounded people inside and outside the club, some too hurt to flee, Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said.  He told The Associated Press that the first emergency crews arriving on the scene were warned to use caution because there was still active shooting taking place in the area.'  At least one person was reported in critical condition but the extent of the other injuries wasn't immediately known.  Some people were running, 'people were screaming, people were saying they were shot,' Carroll said, adding others were yelling for help for friends who had been shot."  We eagerly await extensive coverage by CNN and the statements of "leaders."  Don't hold your breath.  Ain't gonna happen.

MORE WEEKEND CHEER – From the New York Daily News:  "A Canadian member of the loathed Islamic State claimed the group is plotting an attack on New York City — and will one day fly its flag over the White House.  Days before Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned of terrorist plots on subways in New York City and Paris, a video emerged showing an ISIS shill named Farah Shirdon widening the scope of the threat.   'God willing, we will make some attacks in New York soon,' he said in a video interview with Vice News last week. 'A lot of brothers are mobilizing there right now.'  He vowed that U.S.-based fighters are 'mobilizing for a brilliant attack.'"  This might simply be baloney, but I'd still take it seriously.  It demonstrates their dreams.  Some of those dreams were carried out on September 11, 2001.  That took 19 hijkackers.  It can happen again.

DEMS IMPLODE IN OHIO – From The New York Times:  "DAYTON, Ohio — With a wounded candidate at the top of their ticket, Democrats in Ohio have been forced to adopt a Plan B as they seek to avoid a disastrous shutout in elections for governor and other statewide offices.  'Voting from the bottom to the top: That is the way we need to roll this year,' said Nina Turner, a candidate for secretary of state.  Translation: Ignore the contest for governor and concentrate on the down-ballot races for the five other statewide offices, where Democrats are challenging Republican incumbents."  Look, I don't mean to gloat.  I'm a kindly fellow.  But I love to see liberals panic.  Forgive me.

September 28, 2014       Permalink

WELL, EXCUSE ME – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:   It appears that the Soviet, oops, I mean the Russian foreign minister is deeply offended at the concept of American exceptionalism.  Our apologies, our deep apologies...not.  From Fox: 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a blistering attack on the United States and its NATO allies on Saturday at the United Nations, accusing them of being unable to change their Cold War “genetic code” and demanding the U.S. drop its claims to “eternal uniqueness.”

"The U.S.-led Western alliance that portrays itself as a champion of democracy, rule of law and human rights within individual countries ... (is) rejecting the democratic principle of sovereign equality of states enshrined in the U.N. Charter and trying to decide for everyone what is good or evil," Lavrov said in remarks at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday in the latest example of deteriorating relations between Moscow and the West.

Lavrov's assault appeared to be an extension of the increasingly anti-Western stance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is riding a wave of popularity at home with his neo-nationalist rhetoric and policies.

"Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests," Lavrov said. "Military interference has become a norm - even despite the dismal outcome of all power operations that the U.S. has carried out over the recent years."

Lavrov’s list of alleged U.S. failures included the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan and the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s view that the crisis in Ukraine was the result of a coup d'etat in that country backed by the United States and the European Union for the purpose of pulling Kiev out of its "organic role as a binding link between" East and West, denying it the opportunity for "neutral and non-bloc status."

COMMENT:  So, among other things, Lavrov rejects our "eternal uniqueness."  I rather like our uniqueness and our exceptionalism.  Mr. Lavrov might note that one problem his country doesn't have is millions of people trying to get in.  Trying to get out is another question.  Lots of people in the West trace their origins to Russia.  I don't know too many people in Russia who trace their origins to Nebraska.

September 28, 2014       Permalink

LOUISIANA HAYRIDE – AT 10:36 A.M. ET:  Looks like the GOP has a good chance to pick up a Senate seat in Louisiana...but in the strangest way.  From The Hill:

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) leads her closest Republican challenger, Rep. Bill Cassidy (La.) by 3 points, according to a new poll, in a key Senate race that may be headed to a runoff.

A CNN/ORC poll released Sunday morning shows 43 percent support for Landrieu and 40 percent for Cassidy. Tea Party candidate Rob Maness was the choice of 9 percent of the respondents.

The telephone survey of 1,013 adults, conducted between Sept. 22 and 25, has a 3-percentage-point margin of error.

The Louisiana race would go to a runoff between the top two vote-getters if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in November.

Fifty percent of likely voters in the new survey said they would choose Cassidy in that runoff, compared with 47 percent who would pick Landrieu.

Landrieu and Maness each drew 48 percent support in a hypothetical runoff.

COMMENT:  It's pathetic for an incumbent to only poll at 43% of the vote.  But Republican hopes are being frustrated by that Tea Party candidate.  If he's polling at 9%, he should graciously drop out and let Cassidy win.  This is where amateurism shows its damage.

I suspect this will go to a runoff and that Cassidy will squeeze by.  That would be an important pickup for our side.

September 28, 2014       Permalink

PROGRESS IN IOWA – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  When this campaign started, not too many people thought a Republican had a real chance to capture a Senate seat from Iowa.  Times have changed.  From The Hill: 

A new poll from Des Moines Register finds Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) leading Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) by 6 percentage points.

Ernst edged Braley 44% percent to 38 percent among likely voters in a race that has been considered deadlocked for months.

With less than 40 days until the Nov. 4 election, Ernst is ahead nearly 4-1 with rural voters, and is up double digits with independents.

The race between Ernst and Braley is considered one of the most competitive in the country and pivotal in the GOP's drive to win the Senate majority.

They're running to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, who's retiring after 30 years in office.

The Iowa Poll of 546 likely voters in the 2014 general election was conducted Sept. 21-24 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

COMMENT:  Good progress, but let's not get overconfident.  I expect the Democrats to wage a major scare campaign in October, targeting voters who will be made to think that their benefits will be taken away if they vote Republican.  It's an old device and can work.  We have to run every race as if we're 20 points behind.

September 28,  2014     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 27,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:31 P.M. ET: 

VOCABULARY PROGRESS? – We'll see.  From Breitbart:   "MOORE, Oklahoma -- On Friday one woman was beheaded and another was brutally stabbed at their workplace, Vaughan Foods based in Moore, Oklahoma. The suspect is a man who had allegedly converted to radical Islam. The incident is being considered a 'terror event' by local police, Breitbart Texas has learned.   'It absolutely was a terror event,' Moore Police Department Public Affairs Officer Jeremy Lewis told Breitbart Texas. 'What is a terror event? Something that causes terror. This caused terror.'   He added that the suspect 'made a statement, absolutely...[he] brought terror to that business and now has everyone in a frenzy and did what we categorize terrorists as doing.'  Lewis said that if the federal government deems the crime to be a 'terrorist event,' the case and investigation would be taken over by the FBI. The feds will also take over if the case is categorized as a hate crime."  It was both a terrorist event and a hate crime, according to what we know, but I don't have much confidence that the federal government will act accordingly.  Don't be shocked if this is simply declared "workplace violence." 

DON'T TELL AL GORE – From Climate Depot:  "NOAA – 1695 Low Max Records Broken or Tied From Sept 11 to Sept 20. One record broken by 25.  Via: http://sunshinehours.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/noaa-1695-low-max-records-broken-or-tied-from-sept-11-to-sept-20-one-record-broken-by-2.  Wow.   A 'Low Max' means that the maximum temperatures for the day was the lowest it has ever been. This indicates daytime cooling."  This will be ignored by the mainstream media.  It's an inconvenient truth.

POOF! – From Reuters:  "ROCHESTER N.Y. (Reuters) - Watch out Harry Potter, you are not the only wizard with an invisibility cloak.  Scientists at the University of Rochester have discovered a way to hide large objects from sight using inexpensive and readily available lenses, a technology that seems to have sprung from the pages of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy series.  Cloaking is the process by which an object becomes hidden from view, while everything else around the cloaked object appears undisturbed."  The White House is trying to apply the process to President Obama's record.

September 27, 2014       Permalink 

PETRAEUS JOINS "GROUND TROOPS NEEDED" SIDE – AT 11:12 A.M. ET:  Retired General and CIA Director David Petraeus has added his voice to those cautioning that ground troops will be needed to defeat ISIS.  Field Marshal of the United States and Chicago Barack Obama has already ruled out ground troops.  From Newsmax: 

The U.S.-led fight against Islamic State will take years and will need ground forces to succeed, retired General David Petraeus said.

“We’re talking about years, many years in the case of Syria,” Petraeus said today in a presentation to business executives at a Tokyo hotel. “What we’re doing right now is disrupting. We are gradually chipping away at the strength” of Islamic State, he said, adding that gains could not be sustained without ground forces.

“I do believe the Iraqis can be the ground forces that can deal with this over time, but again it will be months and years, not days or weeks,” he added.

A U.S.-led coalition extended a campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State from Iraq to Syria this week after the group seized control of parts of both countries and killed two U.S. journalists and a British aid worker. Obama told the UN General Assembly in a speech this week that extremists targeted by the strikes understand only “the language of force.”

Petraeus, 61, who also served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2011 to 2012 and is now chairman of KKR Global Institute, an investment management firm, compared the situation to attempts to gain control over al-Qaeda forces in western Pakistan. He said it was necessary to avoid any let-up in airstrikes.

“We have seen this elsewhere,” he said. “You have to keep on disrupting. If you let up the pressure, then al-Qaeda senior leadership will come back.”

COMMENT:  Petraeus has said he has confidence in the ultimate abilities of the Iraqi ground forces, but that confidence is not widely shared.  He also cautioned against overestimating ISIS (or ISIL, depending on who you talk to), and that is probably good advice.  They are not supermen. 

If Iraqi ground forces don't measure up, then what?  This administration provides no answer.

But everyone agrees that this fight will go on for years, contradicting Field Marshal Obama's assurance that all wars must end.  There's no God-given requirement that they end.  If we sustain our interest, we'll be militarily involved in the Mideast through several more presidential administrations.

Please note that we've been in Korea for 64 years, and in Europe for about 70, depending on how you measure it.

September 27, 2014        Permalink

NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE – AT 10:34 A.M. ET:  The cover-up by the soooo politically corrrect authorities has already begun.  From Fox: 

FBI officials are investigating a beheading at an Oklahoma food distribution center after co-workers said the suspect tried to convert them to Islam after his own recent conversion.

The suspect, Alton Nolen, 30, was recently fired from Vaughan Foods in Moore prior to Thursday’s attack. Moore Police Department Sgt. Jeremy Lewis told KFOR that Nolen drove to the front of the business and struck a vehicle before walking inside. He then attacked Colleen Hufford, 54, stabbing her several times before severing her head. He also stabbed another woman, 43-year-old Traci Johnson, at the plant.

Lewis said Mark Vaughan, the company’s chief operating officer and a reserve county deputy, shot Nolen as he was stabbing Johnson, who remains hospitalized in stable condition Friday.

“He’s a hero in this situation,” Lewis told the station. “It could have gotten a lot worse.”

Nolen was apparently attacking employees at random, authorities said. The motive for the attack is unclear, but FBI officials confirmed to Fox News that they were assisting the Moore Police Department in investigating Nolen's background and whether his recent conversion to Islam was somehow linked to the crime.

The police department issued a statement saying, "After conducting interviews with Nolen's co-workers, information was obtained that he recently started trying to convert several employees to the Muslim religion. Due to the manner of death and the initial statements of co-workers and other initial information, the Moore Police Department requested the assistance of the FBI in conducting a background investigation on Nolan."

Initial reports say Nolen shouted Islamic oaths during the attack.  Sounds like Fort Hood, where an attack by a clearly identified Muslim extremist is still being described as "workplace violence," even by our own Defense Department.  When you don't want to name the enemy, how can you effectively fight him?

Saad Mohammad, a spokesman for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, told NewsOK.com that leaders of the society’s mosque are taking security precautions to protect Muslims who gather there from any potential retaliatory violence.

Mohammad said any anti-Muslim sentiments local residents might have could be heightened due to the beheadings and violence overseas by Islamic State militants.

“They have this ISIS thing on their minds and now this guy has brought it to America,” Mohammad told the website.

COMMENT:  Already the feds are downplaying the Islamic connection, although beheading isn't what we usually get in our pedestrian American murders.  The FBI seems to be playing deaf and dumb.

The feds take their lead from President Obama, who consistently plays down the threat from radical Islamists.  That's how we got to drag our feet in the Mideast, requiring the new strikes against ISIS. 

September 27, 2014       Permalink

ARKANSAS SENATE – AT 10:16 A.M. ET:  Every Senate race is critical.  Republicans have a chance to gain control of the U.S. Senate, but need six pickups to do so, assuming they hold all current Republican seats.  With Kansas incredibly slipping into the loss column as incumbent Republican Pat Roberts falls behind an independent, a gross gain of seven may be required.  And in Georgia, Republicans are not assured of holding on to the seat being vacated by Saxby Chambliss. 

There appears to be some tentative good news in Arkansas.  From Rasmussen:

Republican challenger Tom Cotton has pulled to his largest lead yet over Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor in Arkansas’ race for U.S. Senate.

Cotton now picks up 47% of the vote to Pryor’s 40% in the latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Arkansas Voters. Five percent (5%) like some other candidate in the race, while eight percent (8%) are undecided.

COMMENT:  Cotton has gained through ads suggesting that Pryor is a career politician and that his family has been on the public payroll too long. 

We are also seeing analyses pointing to the possibility that we won't know who controls the new Senate for weeks after the election.   Several states require a winner to have 50% of the vote or more.  If that doesn't happen on election day – and it may not when more than two candidates are running – a runoff must be held.  Look for that possibility in Georgia and in Louisiana.

September 27,  2014     Permalink