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DECEMBER 20,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:48 P.M. ET:

MADNESS – From Britain's Independent:   One third of all the fire brigade vehicles that would be called out if terrorists set off a “dirty bomb” are being scrapped to save money.  The decision – which has provoked protests because of the secrecy surrounding it – comes at a time when the Government has been warning of the danger of terrorists threats to the UK, after the 13 November attack on Paris. The Incident Response Units (IRUs), with their distinctive red colouring with yellow stripes, were introduced at a cost of £54m in 2004, when the government feared that terrorists would strike in revenge for the Iraq war.  Equipped to deal with a chemical, biological or nuclear attack, the vehicles are distributed around fire stations so that they would never have to travel far to an incident, though they do not belong to the fire brigade but to the Department of Communities and Local Government.  This is complete craziness.  But, if truth be told, Britain, despite some tough words from some prime ministers, has consistently reduced its defenses over the years, the better to pay for the welfare state.  Do not underestimate the pervasive power of the British left.

ISIS HAS PASSPORT POWER – From the Jerusalem Post:   BERLIN – Islamic State obtained tens of thousands of blank passports in Syrian, Libyan and Iraqi towns since 2014, according to Western intelligence agencies.  The Welt am Sonntag paper cited intelligence officials in its report Sunday on Islamic State selling “real fake documents” to raise money. The terrorist organization is offering passports for between $1,000 and $1,500 on the black market.  In addition to the blank passports, Islamic State seized machinery for the production of passports and personal identity papers.  Security officials are concerned that jihadists will use the passports to disguise themselves as refugees and infiltrate Europe, the paper reported.  Now why would anyone think that?  These are simply misunderstood people with a colorful point of view.

GAS PRICES PLUNGE – From Bloomberg:   Just as Americans start to hit the road for the holidays, the average price of gasoline at the pump has dropped below $2 a gallon for the first time in more than six years as global oil supply continues to surge.  The average pump price fell to $1.999 a gallon at about 4 p.m. New York time on Saturday, according to data from GasBuddy Organization, a price tracker based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. That compares with an average price of $2.11 a month ago and $2.44 one year ago.  Low oil prices tied to overproduction and to lower seasonal demand are “the main catalyst” for the decline, said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, in a phone interview.  Good news for consumers, but the caution signal must be sounded.  An oil price that is too low can stifle exploration, and roll back the progress we've made in oil production in the United States.  We're becoming energy independent, and we don't want that process to be frustrated by prices so low that the profit incentive disappears.

December 20, 2015       Permalink

LATEST POLL – AT 11:22 A.M. ET:  The latest CBS News/Battleground Tracker poll, as reported in The Hill, shows a split situation in the GOP primaries:

Donald Trump enjoys a comfortable lead in New Hampshire, according to a CBS News Battleground Tracker poll released Sunday morning that also shows Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) holding the top spot in Iowa.

Trump has 32 percent support in New Hampshire, followed by Cruz with 14 percent, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with 13 percent and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 11 percent.

Christie had just 5 percent support in the Granite State last month, CBS noted.

Cruz holds a 9-point lead over Trump in Iowa, 40 to 31 percent, pollsters found. Rubio holds third place with 12 percent. Evangelicals have boosted Cruz, the network said, as have former backers of Ben Carson, who has slipped to fourth place in Iowa with 6 percent.

Cruz easily tops Trump among respondents in Iowa who say “faith and religion” matters more than terrorism and the economy, CBS added.

Trump also holds a 15-point lead over Cruz in the early voting state of South Carolina, according to the poll.

COMMENT:  The fact is that neither Iowa nor New Hampshire has been particularly accurate predictors of the ultimate nomination winner.  The key question, it seems to me, is whether Trump can be sufficiently wounded in early primaries to freeze his position and allow others to climb.  Whether those others climb may well depend on low-ranking candidates dropping out and permitting a true race among four or so survivors, where voters can actually concentrate on individuals.

December 20, 2015       Permalink

MORE APPEASEMENT – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  President Obama continues his rush to "normalize" relations with Cuba, music to the ears of the Marxist left, but the people of Cuba are still held in a prison.  From the Latin American Herald Tribune:   

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the economic embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba in 1962 is “the legacy of a failed policy,” once again urging Congress to lift it on the first anniversary of the launching of a process of rapprochement and bilateral normalization of relations.

In a statement issued on the anniversary of the policy shift, Obama also reiterated that “change” in Cuba will not occur “overnight” and that full normalization of relations “will be a long journey.”

Obama emphasized the “important steps” that have been taken over the past year to normalize relations, including reestablishing diplomatic ties with the opening of embassies in Washington and Havana, facilitating more travel and trade with Cuba and “connecting more Americans and Cubans.”

In addition, thanks to the change in U.S. policy toward Cuba, Washington is “in a stronger position” to engage “the people and governments of our hemisphere,” Obama said.

That's nice, but we could have demanded more for the Cuban people in the face of their dictatorial government.  We did not.

“We continue to have differences with the Cuban government, but we raise those issues directly, and we will always stand for human rights and the universal values that we support around the globe,” the president added.

What values could those possibly be?  This man has done nothing to advance human rights.

On Dec. 17, 2014, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the start of an historic process to normalize bilateral relations after more than half a century of enmity.

Today, the two governments announced that they had reached an agreement to resume direct commercial flights between the two countries, and last week they said they had agreed to reestablish direct postal service via a pilot plan for transporting mail and packages.

COMMENT:  It's still the Castro regime.  The kind of people around Obama have no real problems with that regime, just as they are untroubled by Iran.  Most Americans think otherwise.

December 20, 2015        Permalink

HILLARY MESSES IT UP – AT 10:45 A.M. ET:  You just can't let her out of the house.  From The Hill: 

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton asserted that the U.S. is "finally where we need to be" in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — and she is getting pilloried by conservatives for saying so.

"We now finally are where we need to be. We have a strategy and a commitment to go after ISIS," the former secretary of State said in the Democratic presidential debate on Saturday night.

"And we finally have a U.N. Security Council resolution bringing the world together to go after a political transition in Syria," she added.

With most Americans disapproving of President Obama's handling of terrorism, Clinton risks appearing out of touch with her comments.

Republican Party operatives were quick to post the video of Clinton's statement on YouTube, and the remark also ignited a storm of protest from conservatives on social media.

COMMENT:  I feel her pain.  She's living in two worlds – the real world, where we're losing to ISIS on virtually every front, and Obama's world, where we're doing everything right.  She has to show the public that she's independent of the administration, but she must bow to Obama's fantasies to keep his support. 

What's a mother to do?

December 20,  2015     Permalink

DECEMBER 19,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

SOME HUMOR AT LAST – From Mediaite:  Presidential candidate John Kasich — whose campaign recently released several cinematic anti-Trump masterpieces on YouTube — Saturday unveiled a website promoting the fictional “Trump-Putin 2016” campaign, inviting voters to “make tyranny great again.”  The website, trump-putin2016.com launched several days after Vladimir Putin heaped praise on the Republican frontrunner; the Russian president told reporters Thursday that Donald Trump is “a very bright and talented person and the absolute leader of the presidential race.”  I love it.  It's time for some humor in the grim primary contests. 

MAJOR EDUCATIONAL CRISIS – From thecollegefix.com:   An adjunct at Rutgers University says that the school has “effectively canceled” his course on black feminism taught through the pop singer Beyoncé.  School officials say the course was merely moved over to the American studies program, but instructor Kevin Allred says he had to ask that program to pick it up — after the women’s studies department did not put it on the spring semester schedule.  Allred has taught “Politicizing Beyoncé” eleven times now. According to him, the course discusses “the thin line Beyoncé walks as a sex kitten-cum-girl power role model.”  The intellectual depth simply overwhelms me.  I'd have to take an introductory course just to get ready for "Politicizing Beyoncé."

HMM, A PLOT HERE? – From The Hill:   Former top Obama adviser David Axelrod is criticizing the Democratic National Committee's treatment of Sen. Bernie Sanders in the growing controversy over private voter data.  "W/out evidence that his hierarchy knew about data-poaching, harsh penalty v. @BernieSanders looks like @DNC is putting finger on the scale," David Axelrod tweeted Friday.  Pretty strong stuff, suggesting the Democratic National Committee is tilting things in favor of Hillary.  Would Axelrod put that out without Obama's approval?  I don't know, but it's an intriguing question.

GUN SALES SOAR...IN EUROPE – It is very hard to buy a firearm in most of Western Europe.  But still, gun sales are soaring, with customers willing to go through the background checks and paperwork to gain approval for a gun purchase.  Gun Sales are especially strong in Sweden, which some say is on the brink of chaos because the "enlightened" government in Stockholm admitted so many immigrants from the Mideast who do not share Swedish values.  It's clear from the gun sales report that many Europeans no longer trust their governments to protect them.  Sound familiar?

December 19,  2015     Permalink

SIGN OF THE TIMES – AT 12:44 P.M. ET:  From the Harvard Crimson:

As many students clamber to finish bibliographies and extend term papers onto that last page, some have had to add a new sentence to final assignments for the first time this fall.

During final exams, and on final papers and assignments, undergraduates have starting affirming their awareness of Harvard College’s first honor code, which went into effect this semester.

The Office of Undergraduate Education now requires students to sign statements affirming that they are aware of the new academic integrity policy on all seated final exams, according to Elisabeth L. Laskin, an assistant dean of undergraduate education. Attendance confirmation forms now require students to sign that declaration in accordance with the honor code.

The honor code and its attached student-faculty Honor Council, the new disciplinary board charged with enforcing the policy, made their debut this semester after years of extensive planning and a high-profile cheating scandal that originally involved more than 100 students in 2012. From the start of the semester, administrators and students have tried to publicize the policy, about which some undergraduates and faculty members have voiced skepticism. Student members of the Honor Council wore matching shirts at events, created a Facebook page for the group, and expanded outreach to dining halls, courses, and other events.

Laskin wrote in an email that administrators have asked that faculty notify students to include affirmations of integrity on final assignments. Administrators provided faculty with a sample statement—“I affirm my awareness of the standards of the Harvard College Honor Code”—but professors may modify the pledge, according to the honor code’s website.

COMMENT:  It's sad that it took a cheating scandal to help move Harvard to adopt an honor code, but Harvard did the right thing by establishing the code.  Honor codes, such as those used at the service academies, play an important role in teaching students what is expected of them by their school and by society.  The codes tend to be strict, and I don't think any have been contaminated by political correctness, although I can't say that with absolute certainty.

I also like the word "honor."  It's not considered a "cool" word among some of the young, but it is very cool indeed, and a word we need.

December 19, 2015       Permalink

WARNINGS ABOUT THE "GOOD WAR" – AT 11:34 A.M. ET:  Wasn't Afghanistan the "good war"?  Isn't that what Obama said when he first ran for president?  Iraq:  bad.  Afghanistan:  good.  Well, apparently it is good no more, and not worth much of Obama's attention.  There's a new player on the block.  From the Jerusalem Post: 

AFGHANISTAN - US Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned of the threat from Islamic State in Afghanistan during a surprise visit on Friday days after the Pentagon painted a grim picture of worsening security there.

Carter met troops at a US base near the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province, where about 600 US troops are stationed. Operating Base Fenty is a hub for training, logistics and counter-terrorism efforts across eastern Afghanistan.

Islamic State has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and in recent months mounted attacks on Afghan security forces in Nangarhar.

The group competes with the Taliban for territory and recruits, say US officials.

US Army General John Campbell, who leads international forces in Afghanistan, said Islamic State had coalesced over the last five or six months in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces and had been fighting the Taliban for several months.

He estimated there were between 1,000 and 3,000 members of Islamic State in Afghanistan and said its presence had forced the Taliban to re-direct some resources away from fighting Afghan security forces.

COMMENT:   We wish both the Taliban and ISIS could lose, but one will probably emerge victorious. 

We are even losing in the "good" war because we have a commander-in-chief who is indifferent.  The next president will have his (or her) hands full, while Obama goes off and becomes a citizen of the world.

December 19, 2015       Permalink

TRUMP DOMINATES NEW FOX POLL – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:  The new poll confirms what other polls have been telling us, that Trump's strength atop the GOP field of candidates continues, when the question involves the nomination.  The poll produces a very different result when dealing with the general election.  From Fox: 

Donald Trump, a candidate even Republicans once considered a side show, increases his lead yet again in the nomination race, according to the latest Fox News national poll.

The poll also finds Ted Cruz ticking up, Marco Rubio slipping, and Ben Carson dropping.

Trump hits a high of 39 percent among Republican primary voters, up from 28 percent a month ago. The increase comes mainly from men, white evangelical Christians, and voters without a college degree -- and at the expense of Carson.

However, the poll is not all good news for the Donald. Despite his increasing advantage in the primary, his support in the general election is down.

And...

Despite Trump’s strong showing among primary voters, other Republicans perform better when all registered voters are asked their preference in hypothetical general election ballot tests.

When matched against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Rubio has a two-point edge (45 percent vs. 43 percent), and Cruz and Clinton tie (45 percent). Carson is down by two.

Clinton now overtakes Trump: 49 percent vs. 38 percent. Her 11-point advantage is outside the poll’s three-point error margin. A month ago, Trump was up by 5 points (November 16-19).

COMMENT:  That is a warning for Republicans.  In recent years the GOP has suffered considerably by nominating unelectable candidates.  Will that now continue?  Obviously, this is only one poll, but what will Republican voters do if other polls show Trump unelectable against Clinton?  That may be the most important political question of 2016. 

December 19,  2015     Permalink