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AUGUST 29,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 3:10 P.M. ET: 

HOPE AND CHANGE IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL –  From WaPo:  As D.C. police stepped up deployment aimed at curbing violent crime, gunfire erupted on the city’s streets Friday night, killing two and wounding at least five others within a few hours.  The fatal shootings brought the number of homicides in the nation’s capital to 105, equaling last year’s total with four months still left in the year.  No comment yet from President Hope and Change.

TELL IT, JOE – From Newsbusters:   On Friday’s Morning Joe, Bloomberg Politics managing editor Mark Halperin strongly condemned Hillary Clinton’s decision to compare Republican politicians to terrorists over the issue of abortion.  Halperin did not mince words when he repudiated the Democratic frontrunner's language and argued that “[i]f a Republican did this the world would come to a halt.”  Co-host Joe Scarborough was just as harsh on Mrs. Clinton and called her comments “disgusting." The Morning Joe host suggested Clinton "wanted us to talk about this. She wanted to throw a bright shiny object out there. So they don't -- so they don't talk about the e-mail scandal.”  After Scarborough listed off the numerous atrocities terrorists like ISIS commit against women on a daily basis he maintained that Hillary’s comments expose the “sick radicalism” of the Democratic Party.  Sick indeed.  It is a leftist party based largely on group identity and political correctness.  Its foreign policy has weakened this nation to an extraordinarily dangerous level.

REALLY? – From London's left-wing Independent:   Climate scientists are predicting that 2015 will be the hottest year on record “by a mile”, with the increase in worldwide average temperatures dramatically undermining the idea that global warming has stopped – as some climate-change sceptics claim.  Even though there are still several months left in the year to gather temperature readings from around the world, climate researchers believe nothing short of a Krakatoa-sized volcanic eruption that cuts out sunlight for months on end can now stop last year’s record being beaten.  It is rare for climate experts to make such a bold prediction so soon in the year, but they believe that a surge in ocean temperatures in particular now makes it almost inevitable that 2015 will turn out to be the hottest year globally since instruments were first used to gather readings more than 130 years ago.  Ho hum.  Another prediction.  Other predictions for this very year have fallen flat.  Catastrophe is not upon us.  I still say we need a Challenger-type commission to investigate the claims and counter-claims.  I'd also like to know where the money is going for all this "research."  There are plenty of top-quality scientists who are not impressed.

August 29, 2015       Permalink

GOOD ADVICE FOR CONSERVATIVES – AT 11:55 A.M. ET:   It is time to stand up to the biased press, which has its finger on the scale in every election.  From John Hinderaker, at Powerline: 

There are several reasons why Donald Trump is popular with Republicans, even though he probably isn’t a Republican himself, and certainly is not a conservative. One of them is the way he stands up to left-wing media. This is a classic, from earlier today:

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said “CNN is terrible” after one of its reporters asked him about protesters outside his press conference in Norwood, MA on Friday.

After being asked about the protesters outside the event, Trump stated, “I don’t see many protesters. I see thousands of people, and there’s a few protesters. And I figured you’d ask that question because you know — no, that’s the way it is. CNN is terrible. CNN, you’re with CNN? Are you with CNN?”

After the reporter answered that they were, Trump continued, “You people do not cover us accurately at all. So they have a few protesters outside, and they have thousands of people, and the first question from CNN is about protesters.”

Exactly: don’t acquiesce in the liberals’ implicit claims of superiority. Push back, and name reporters for what they are–Democratic Party operatives. All other Republicans in the race should do the same.

COMMENT:  If our side speaks more loudly about press bias, some in the press may actually try to correct themselves, concerned about losing part of their audience.  I said "may."  I'd love to see it happen.

August 29, 2015       Permalink

GRIM FOR HILLARY – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  The Clinton camp tries to make light of the FBI investigation into Her Majesty's e-mails, but it's anything but a light investigation.  From Fox:

An FBI "A-team" is leading the "extremely serious" investigation into Hillary Clinton's server and the focus includes a provision of the law pertaining to "gathering, transmitting or losing defense information," an intelligence source told Fox News.

The section of the Espionage Act is known as 18 US Code 793.

A separate source, who also was not authorized to speak on the record, said the FBI will further determine whether Clinton should have known, based on the quality and detail of the material, that emails passing through her server contained classified information regardless of the markings. The campaign's standard defense and that of Clinton is that she "never sent nor received any email that was marked classified" at the time.

It is not clear how the FBI team's findings will impact the probe itself. But the details offer a window into what investigators are looking for -- as the Clinton campaign itself downplays the controversy.

The FBI offered no comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

A leading national security attorney, who recently defended former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling in a leak investigation, told Fox News that violating the Espionage Act provision in question is a felony and pointed to a particular sub-section.

"Under [sub-section] F, the documents relate to the national defense, meaning very closely held information," attorney Edward MacMahon Jr. explained. "Somebody in the government, with a clearance and need to know, then delivered the information to someone not entitled to receive it, or otherwise moved it from where it was supposed to be lawfully held."

Additional federal regulations, reviewed by Fox News, also bring fresh scrutiny to Clinton's defense.

The Code of Federal Regulations, or "CFR," states: "Any person who has knowledge that classified information has been or may have been lost, possibly compromised or disclosed to an unauthorized person(s) shall immediately report the circumstances to an official designated for this purpose."

A government legal source confirmed the regulations apply to all government employees holding a clearance, and the rules do not make the "send" or "receive" distinction.

COMMENT:  There is no guarantee that Clinton will be indicted.  If she is, it's all over for her.  If she isn't, she can probably survive, but a severe reprimand could drag her down considerably.  We wait for the outcome of the probe.

August 29, 2015       Permalink

HOUSTON COP LATEST – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  This is becoming a major national story, the execution of a police officer in Houston.  It is possible a suspect is in custody.  From KTRK:

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A person of interest is in custody after the deadly ambush of a Harris County sheriff's deputy, fatally gunned down without warning Friday night while filling up his patrol car at a northwest Harris County gas station.

We've learned the person of interest is inside the Harris County Sheriff's Office in east Houston and continues to be questioned. So far, no one has been charged.

Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, had just left an accident scene last night when he stopped by a gas station on Telge and West Road. As he was pumping gas, a man approached him from behind, said nothing and fired multiple shots. Once the deputy fell to the ground, authorities say the suspect fired more shots. Deputy Goforth was pronounced dead on the scene.

An intense manhunt covered Harris County for hours overnight. At about 2:30am, authorities converged on a home on Crystal Lake in Copperfield, led there by a tip. The focus of the investigation is on the red pickup truck in the home's driveway. The person of interest was taken into custody at what's said to be his mother's house. His identity has not been released.

The man's mother -- who didn't want to show her face or give her name -- told Eyewitness News her son is innocent. She said, "My son is innocent. I was in the house with him, so when that happened, my son was home."

COMMENT:  Please note that two officers were executed in New York City months ago, after Ferguson.  Law enforcement is under siege, but I don't see much interest by the politicized Justice Department in Washington.

August 29,  2015     Permalink

AUGUST 28,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET:

HORROR – From KTLA:  A Texas sheriff’s deputy died Friday after being shot multiple times from behind in an “unprovoked attack” while pumping gas into his vehicle while on duty.  The Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports that a deputy had been shot, the department tweeted around 8 p.m.  The department confirmed an hour later that the deputy, identified as Darren Goforth, had died.   Goforth was pumping gas when he was shot several times from behind, the department tweeted, adding that it was an “unprovoked attack.”  Goforth was a 10-year veteran, with a wife and two children.  This was an execution.  It will raise social tensions.  It comes just days after some radical blacks called for the execution of police officers, but we cannot now demonstrate a direct connection.  Let's see if the national news outlets give this murder the attention it deserves.  Police lives matter.

NO CLASS – From Fox:  WASHINGTON – Newly surfaced emails show the Clinton Foundation asked the State Department about proceeding with two presumably paid speeches for former President Bill Clinton in North Korea and the Republic of the Congo, despite each engagement’s ties to repressive regimes.  The emails, obtained by FoxNews.com, surfaced as part of a records request by the group Citizens United.  In both sets of 2012 emails between the foundation led by Bill Clinton and the department led by wife Hillary Clinton, the former president’s team acknowledged the invitations could raise concerns. But they asked the State Department, which screened all such speeches by the ex-president, anyway.  Why would a former president of the United States even consider speaking in such places?  Money.

DEMS AT WAR – From The Hill:  Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley thinks the Democratic Party’s decision to limit the number of primary debates is tantamount to rigging the nomination process.  “Four debates and only four debates — we are told, not asked — before voters in our earliest states make their decision,” the presidential candidate said at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Summer Meeting on Friday.  “This sort of rigged process has never been attempted before,” he added. “One debate in Iowa. That’s it. One debate in New Hampshire. That’s all we can afford.”  After O'Malley's speech wrapped up, observers noted palpable tension as he greeted DNC Chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  There are civil wars going on within each party, and that's common.  Both parties have, historically, had deep divisions.  Former President Teddy Roosevelt bolted his party to run for president again in 1912.   Southern Democrats walked out of the Democratic Party in 1948 to back Strom Thurmond, who ran as a third-party candidate.  Even some of FDR's Democratic allies balked at his running for a third term in 1940.  Parties are not automatically harmonious.

August 28,  2015     Permalink

WATCH THIS STORY CLOSELY – AT 10:34 A.M. ET:   It's hard to believe, but Democratic leaders in the Senate, apparently on order from the White House, may well try to filibuster the Iran nuclear agreement, making it impossible for the Senate to vote on it at all.  This is an outrage, a direct affront to democracy and the American people.   But let's move on, right?  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) A leading Republican critic of the Iran nuclear deal Tuesday blasted Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid for pushing to prevent a vote on a resolution that could kill the agreement.

"Harry Reid wants to deny the American people a voice entirely by blocking an up-or-down vote on this terrible deal," said Sen. Tom Cotton, a freshman from Arkansas. "He is obstructing because he is scared. He knows that a majority of Americans and senators oppose this dangerous deal, and that its only chance for survival is if he and the president ram it down the throats of the American people."

Cotton's tough-worded press statement came a day after Reid said he hoped to stop the resolution of disapproval procedurally from moving forward -- in other words, filibuster it and prevent a final vote by requiring 60 senators to vote to end debate.

"I said I felt cautiously optimistic that we would have enough votes to sustain the President's veto, and that seems pretty clear to me, but we'll see," Reid told reporters after an event with President Barack Obama Monday in Nevada, according to a transcript provided by Reid's staff. "As far as procedurally stopping this bill from moving forward, I hope -- I know it's a long shot -- but I hope that it can be done."

While overriding a veto would require Republican senators to get 13 Democrats to join them, the threshold for ending a filibuster to hold a vote is lower -- 60 votes instead of 67. That Democrats are eying preventing a vote, and not just sustaining a veto, points to increasing confidence that their party members won't break ranks.

COMMENT:  If a filibuster happens, it will be a dark moment.  But let's see if the GOP congressional establishment will fight, and bring real fire to that fight, or simply give in again.  And let's see if the news media will try to ignore, or at least minimize, the story, once again to enhance the greater glory of Barack.

August 28, 2015       Permalink

NO VOTER FRAUD, NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE – AT 10:07 A.M. ET:  An Illinois reader alerted us to this story, which pretty much destroys the idea that there's no voter fraud.   It's always been there, and it generally benefits Democrats in big cities.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

A public interest law firm is threatening to bring lawsuits against more than 100 counties across the United States that appear to have more registered voters than living residents.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), a law firm dedicated to election integrity based in Indiana, recently sent statutory notice letters to election officials in 141 counties putting them on notice of their discoveries. The group says if action is not taken to correct the questionable voter rolls, they will bring lawsuits against every single county on the list.

“Corrupted voter rolls provide the perfect environment for voter fraud,” said J. Christian Adams, president and general counsel of PILF. “Close elections tainted by voter fraud turned control of the United States Senate in 2009. Too much is at stake in 2016 to allow that to happen again.”

The statutory notice letters argue the counties are violating the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and urge them to correct the issue, claiming their voter rolls contain a substantially high amount of ineligible voters. The group used federally produced data to come to their conclusions.

“Voter rolls across America have been discovered that contain substantial numbers of ineligible voters, resulting in the possible disenfranchisement of legally eligible voters via ballot dilution that threatens to subvert the nation’s electoral process,” a sample letter sent to the counties reads.

“Based on our comparison of publicly available information published by the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal Election Assistance Commission, your county is failing to comply with Section 8 of the NVRA,” it continues. “Federal law requires election officials to conduct a reasonable effort to maintain voter registration lists free of dead voters, ineligible voters and voters who have moved away.”

“In short, your county has significantly more voters on the registration rolls than it has eligible live voters and is thus not reasonably maintaining the rolls.”

According to PILF, the 141 counties targeted for their suspicious voter rolls span across 21 states and include: Michigan (24 counties), Kentucky (18), Illinois (17), Indiana (11), Alabama (10), Colorado (10), Texas (9), Nebraska (7), New Mexico (5), South Dakota (5), Kansas (4), Mississippi (4), Louisiana (3), West Virginia (3), Georgia (2), Iowa (2), Montana (2), and North Carolina (2), as well as Arizona, Missouri, and New York (1 each).

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  It's worth it.  We can lose our democracy through corrupt voting practices.  We're still not really sure who won the 1960 presidential election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. 

The piece makes the point that the Obama Justice Department has no interest in enforcing voter integrity laws.  Gee, I wonder why.

August 28, 2015       Permalink

HILLARY, WE HARDLY KNEW YE – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:   Is the White House sending signals to its big-money donors?  From the Washington Examiner: 

Top donors to President Obama's two national campaigns are galvanizing around a potential run by Joe Biden, and those bundlers and givers have little crossover with donors supporting Hillary Clinton's presidential run, according to top fundraisers for the Draft Biden committee and other veteran strategists backing Biden.

Jon Cooper, an Obama bundler who is now the finance chairman of the Draft Biden Committee 2016 super PAC, says he's been inundated with phone calls and interest in the last few weeks and has assembled a national finance team of bundlers and donors from coast to coast.

"Based on the surge in support that we've seen, we fully expect to raise between $2.5 million and $3 million over the next few weeks," Cooper, a Long Island technology manufacturer, told the Washington Examiner. "That's going to provide the resources necessary to build the infrastructure that Vice President Biden will need to hit the ground running and finance a race."

More have committed to write checks if and when Biden decides to jump in.

Many of the donors are former Obama bundlers, Cooper said, although he acknowledged hearing from some that had previously committed to Clinton but are now changing their minds.

But, he argued, a Biden presidential campaign wouldn't have to rely on coaxing over more Clinton donors, noting that out of 820 top Obama donors, only 51 have committed to Clinton.

COMMENT:  As they say, follow the money.  This would not be possible without an approving wink from the White House.  Obama wants his dream – to be succeeded, not by the sinister Hillary, but by his friend, Joe.

The problem is that Joe, a much more decent man than Obama, is just as wrong on the issues.

August 28, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER WARNING, PROBABLY IGNORED – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:  We are getting constant warnings from military experts about the deteriorating state of our defenses.  Here is another, dealing with the critical issue of cybersecurity.  American defense today runs on computers.  A serious computer breach can have deadly consequences.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The United States is at risk of falling behind its enemies in the field of cybersecurity, military leaders said this week.

The comments come after an unclassified server of the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs was penetrated this month by a state-affiliated hacker believed to be Russian or Chinese. That incident, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Defense One, "is evidence that we're not doing as good as we need to do in job one in cyber, which is defending our own networks.

"Our military is empowered by and also dependent upon networks for its effective operations. So, we have to be good, and I would say we have to be better at network defense than we are now," Carter continued. He also said he was trying "to encourage interest in our nation and a back-and-forth of people" between the public and private sectors "so that our people have the benefit of getting to know the technology, the culture, and the business practices and so forth of the commercial sector, and we draw the commercial sector into the great mission of helping us protect the nation."

Speaking at a conference in Augusta, Ga., on Tuesday, Army Cyber Command chief Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon struck a similar note. "As far as we have come over the past decade, I still think we are near the beginning of what is truly possible," Cardon said. "However, the window to accomplishing our potential in a proactive manner is closing."

COMMENT:  This will fall on deaf ears at the White House and among those who run the Democratic Party in Congress.  Defense is out.  "Social justice" is in.  Except that you can't have social justice unless you have a secure nation.

August 28,  2015     Permalink