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JANUARY 21,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:41 P.M. ET:

FERGUSON DECISION – From The New York Times:  "WASHINGTON — Justice Department lawyers will recommend that no civil rights charges be brought against the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Mo., after an F.B.I. investigation found no evidence to support charges, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.  Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and his civil rights chief, Vanita Gupta, will have the final say on whether the Justice Department will close the case against the officer, Darren Wilson. But it would be unusual for them to overrule the prosecutors on the case, who are still working on a legal memo explaining their recommendation."  It a sad case all around, of course, but I'm glad for Officer Wilson.  What could they charge him with?  Protecting himself? 

BIT OF A FIB – The deceptions practiced by the Obama administration are truly astounding.  From Fox:  "The woman whose story of economic recovery was showcased by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address is a former Democratic campaign staffer and has been used by Obama for political events in the past.  Rebekah Erler has been presented by the White House as a woman who was discovered by the president after she wrote to him last March about her economic hardships. She was showcased in the speech as proof that middle class Americans are coming forward to say that Obama’s policies are working.  Unmentioned in the White House bio of Erler is that she is a former Democratic campaign operative, working as a field organizer for Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.)."  You'd think that this crowd would be smart enough to realize that the truth would come out.  I wonder if they care.

AT LEAST SHE GAVE AN HONEST OPINION – From the Weekly Standard:  "Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appeared to fall asleep during President Obama's lengthy State of the Union address.  The liberal Supreme Court justice is 81 years old."  Ronald Reagan used to fall asleep at Cabinet meetings, and explained that he knew he wasn't missing anything.  Apparently the justice felt the same way.

GOOD! – From the Daily Caller:  "Gasoline is cheap. So cheap that a gallon of gas costs 89 cents less than a gallon of sparkling water, and more than $1 less than a gallon of Pepsi, according to economist Mark Perry at the American Enterprise Institute.  'When gasoline is the cheapest liquid you buy (except maybe for some bottled water),'  Perry wrote on his blog, 'you know that gasoline is a real bargain at $2, just as it would be at $4!'"  It's very good news.  It was made possible by vastly increased American extraction of petroleum.  Obama is taking credit for cheap gasoline, but, in fact, he opposed virtually everything that was done to make it happen.

January 21, 2015       Permalink

REBUKE, AND DAMAGE CONTROL – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  Republican congressional leaders are making it plain that they expect to play a large role in foreign policy, especially Iran policy, despite Obama's threat to veto any expansion of sanctions on Tehran.

Legislation to increase sanctions should a nuclear deal not be reached with Iran is moving forward in both houses.  Republicans in the Senate are looking for enough Democratic support to override a threatened presidential veto.

And this morning Speaker Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress next month.  The speaker acted without the usual consultation with the White House and State Department.  Netanyahu has apparently accepted the invite.  From Fox:

House Speaker John Boehner announced Wednesday he is inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress next month about the threat from Iran, in a sharp rebuke to President Obama.

Such invitations typically are coordinated with the White House and State Department, but this one was not. The House speaker's office said Netanyahu will be invited to speak Feb. 11 before a joint session of Congress. The invitation comes as lawmakers weigh legislation, supported by Republicans and some Democrats, to tee up more sanctions against Iran in case negotiations fail to curtail the country's nuclear enrichment program.

Obama vowed Tuesday during his State of the Union address to veto any such legislation. But Boehner signaled he wants Netanyahu to explain the stakes of the debate.

There is now some diplomatic fixing going on, with the Israelis saying that the invitation came from both parties, which is unlikely.  The Israelis are also suggesting a meeting between Obama and Netanyahu, two men who don't get along.

Republicans are signaling that they will not yield to Obama, and I suspect this will be extended to other issues besides Iran.  Obama is already a bit of a lame duck, and he'll be very lame once the 2016 presidential campaign begins.  Lameness will be magnified when Obama's successor is nominated at a convention.  That's a year and a half from now.

With Yemen apparently falling to pro-Iranian elements, with terror increasing, Obama seems to be following a lonely road.

January 21, 2015       Permalink

NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:  We are about to enter negotiations with Cuba over Obama's opening to that country, an opening for which America received nothing in return.  And who shows up in Havana?  Russkies!  From AFP: 

Havana (AFP) - A Russian intelligence warship docked in Havana on Tuesday, a day before the start of historic US-Cuba talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations.

Tourists!  Tourists, I say.

There was nothing stealthy about the arrival of the Viktor Leonov CCB-175, which was moored to a pier in Old Havana where cruise ships often dock. But the visit was not officially announced by Cuban authorities.

US officials in Washington played down the presence of the Russian vessel, saying it was perfectly legal and not at all out of the ordinary.

"It's not unprecedented. It's not unusual. It's not alarming," a defense official told AFP.

Right.  So what if Havana and Moscow have renewed their military alliance?  Why should we care, when the cigars are so good?

The Vishnya or Meridian-class intelligence ship, which has a crew of around 200, went into service in the Black Sea in 1988 before it was transferred seven years later to the northern fleet, according to Russian media.

The vessel previously docked in Havana in February and March last year, staying there for a few days. Those visits were also unannounced.

The highest-level US delegation to visit Havana since 1980 arrives Wednesday for two days of talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic and immigration relations between the former Cold War foes.

COMMENT:  I hope our diplomats don't ask for a ride on the Russian ship.  But, the way things are, they just might.

January 21, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER FAMOUS VICTORY – AT 9:24 A.M. ET:  In his last State of the Union, a year ago, President Obama declared Yemen a great success story.  Score one for our side!  Uh, little problem.  Notice that the field marshal didn't mention Yemen last night.  There's a good reason.  The joint is fallin' apart.  From the Washington Times:   

Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is being held captive by rebels who have attacked his compound, just as the U.S. military has moved the USS Iwo Jima and the USS Fort McHenry into the Red Sea, in position to take aboard evacuees from the U.S. Embassy in Yemen if tensions and violence continue to escalate.

Various media have also reported that the presidential compound is under attack and Shiite Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, are holding the Yemeni president captive.

Yemen’s information minister, Nadia Sakkaf, wrote in a Twitter message that “Yemeni president is being attacked by armed militias that want to overthrow” the government, The Washington Post reported. She also said that political talks were continuing, but that the situation was violent.

Fox News Insider reported that the positioning of the warships comes as Houthi rebels sent shells into the presidential palace. Top military officials, meanwhile, warned that a coup has begun — and that one of the embassy’s vehicles had fielded fire.

Nobody was injured in that assault, and the embassy remains open — but officials are monitoring.

“[We are deeply concerned about the turn of events in Yemen over the last few days,” one State Department officials told ABC News. “[We are] continuing to closely monitor developments … and all adjust the embassy’s security posture response in accordance to the situation on the ground.”

COMMENT:  Don't tell the president.  It might upset his TV viewing.  Iran is close to a huge victory in Yemen, and we're loosening sanctions on Tehran at the same time.  How intelligent.

January 21, 2015       Permalink

OUR GREAT NATIONAL NIGHTMARE – AT 9:07 A.M. ET:  Amidst all the trivia of the State of the Union, international terrorism, and economic stress, comes a giant story that speaks to our national future.  From the Boston Globe: 

The Patriots used underinflated footballs on Sunday night.

The next question is how did it happen?

According to a National Football League letter about the investigation into the controversy that was shared with the Globe, the Patriots were informed that the league’s initial findings indicated that the game balls did not meet specifications. The league inspected each of the Patriots’ 12 game balls twice at halftime, using different pressure gauges, and found footballs that were not properly inflated.

According to ESPN, 11 of the 12 game balls were found to be underinflated by about 2 pounds each. The NFL specifications say they must be inflated to 12½ to 13½ pounds.

The investigation is still ongoing.

COMMENT:  This may be the end of American ideals as we know them.  As I understand it, inflation experts will be employed as commentators during the Super Bowl.  They will have inflation gauges at the ready.

Did you ever think you'd see the day?

January 21,  2015     Permalink

JANUARY 20,  2015

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

POLLING – First polling responses to Obama's State of the Union speech are favorable.  The numbers are strong.  However, as Wolf Blitzer pointed out tonight, the viewing audience of a SOTU speech is usually weighted heavily toward followers of the president's party.  So we can assume that most viewers tonight were Democrats.  Still, the response was good.  The president promised goodies, without specifics.  I've noticed in the past that the impact of a SOTU speech doesn't last very long.  It'll be forgotten by the weekend.

FIRST IMPRESSION – I looked forward to Senator Joni Ernst's response to Obama, but frankly I was disappointed.  Ernst is supposed to be terrific, and the GOP has high hopes for her.  But her speaking style tonight was right out of the 1950s, with shopworn phrases like "this great country of ours."  Sentiment good, wording old fashioned.  I think Ernst will be a good, dogged senator, but she's got to sharpen her speaking style for a national audience. 

IN THE REAL WORLD – We are battling monsters.  From the New York Post:  "ISIS jihadists publicly executed 13 teenage boys for watching a soccer match.  The young fans were reportedly watching an Asian Cup match between Iraq and Jordan on TV last week when they were caught by the militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which ISIS, or the Islamic State, controls.  The group of teens was executed in public by a firing squad that used machine guns, according to Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, an activist group that exposes ISIS atrocities."   Obama appears to take ISIS seriously, but there also appears to be no coherent strategy for dealing with these madmen.

FURY – Mayor de Blasio's New York is even worse than Barack Obama's Washington.  From the New York Post:  "Relatives of 9/11 victims responded with fury to news that the city is in negotiations to suppress an NYPD report warning about the dangers of homegrown terrorism.  The Post exclusively reported Sunday that plaintiffs in a pending civil-rights suit have demanded the city take down the online report as a condition for settling their case, which accuses cops of illegally targeting them.  Retired NYPD Sgt. Al Regenhard, whose firefighter son, Christian, was killed at the World Trade Center, said removing the report from the city’s Web site would amount to the same sort of 'political correctness and pandering' that he says led to his son’s death.  Regenhard also noted the recent three-day terror spree in Paris."  Incredible.  Even after Paris the left wing refuses to change its rhetoric. 

January 20, 2015       Permalink

REAL CLASS – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  And another one thrown under the bus.  On the day of his State of the Union, Barack Obama once again shows his complete lack of class.  He allowed, or ordered, his chief of staff to take the blame for this country not having a prominent official at the anti-terror march in Paris.  From Fox:

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on Tuesday took the blame for the administration’s failure to send a high-level official to the rally against terrorism in Paris earlier this month.

“That rests on me. That’s my job,” McDonough said on NBC’s “Today.”

He reiterated that the administration regretted not sending a high-level representative, and lamented that the firestorm overshadowed progress they made in their intelligence partnerships with allies.

Until now, no single White House official had taken the blame for the absence.

The administration absorbed heavy bipartisan criticism after more than 40 world leaders attended the Paris rally, and the highest-level U.S. representative was the ambassador to France.

President Obama did not attend, and neither did Vice President Biden nor Secretary of State John Kerry. Attorney General Eric Holder was in Paris for meetings, but did not attend the rally.

COMMENT:  After the Bay of Pigs failure in 1961, President Kennedy was asked who was at fault.  His reply:  "I am the responsible officer of the government."  That's the way it's done.  You don't send your chief of staff out to take the rap.  Obama presumably reads the papers and watches something other than football on the TV.  He knew that anti-terror march would be huge.

January 20, 2015       Permalink

THE SPEECH – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  The president delivers his State of the Union speech tonight.  Aren't you excited?  Be sure to set your recorders so you can enjoy the speech over and over, as I know you'll want to do.  We're even thinking of having a study party this weekend.

Okay, you're not excited.  Neither am I.  But look on the positive side:  Two years from today a new president will be inaugurated. Well, yes, it could be Hillary Clinton – Barack Obama without the charm – but let's hope it's not.

Obama tonight well unleash the train wreck that will be his last two years in office.  He's making it very clear that he intends to do through executive action what he could not do through legitimate legislation.  He's stripping off the mask, held in place by The New York Times and similar institutions, that has hid the fact that he's a true leftist.  Tonight we will see presented programs that will buy votes for the Democratic Party.  Tonight we will not see an emphasis on the national security of the United States. 

The Obamans are buoyed by one new poll that has the president's approval at 50%.  But, as we pointed out last night, that poll appears to be an outlier.  Obama's approval is probably in the low 40s, which is what other surveys show.  One major poll last week showed him in the high 30s. 

Obama will be facing a Congress in which both houses are controlled by Republicans.  Any thoughtful political practitioner would reach out under those circumstances, trying to find common ground.  I doubt if this president will do anything of the kind.  It's the ideology that interests him, not the results.  And he is already auditioning for his post-presidential role.  I suspect he'd like to be secretary-general of the UN, a position that would fit him well – presiding over a heavily Islamicized, mostly useless organization, a role that will free him of any loyalty to the American people, whom he seems to dislike.

It should be an entertaining evening, but not an enlightening one.

There could be one delight – the response from newly elected Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa.  We are already being told by the pundit class that responders to State of the Union speeches often hurt themselves by performing poorly or looking small, in the shadow of the president.  That is true.  The role of responder is sometimes called a curse.  But Joni Ernst is a terrific speaker.  She's sharp and bright.  I'm looking forward to her breaking the curse.

January 20, 2015       Permalink 

AS NIGHT FOLLOWS DAY – AT 8:44 A.M. ET:  The Council on American Islamic Relations, not the warmest of groups, is joining the left-wing hatefest against "American Sniper."  Why, I'm just so surprised.  From Gateway Pundit: 

The Council on American Islamic Relations attacked former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the subject of the record-breaking film American Sniper, as a “hate-filled killer” in a post to the group’s account on Twitter.

“#AmericanSniper – The real American Sniper was a hate-filled killer. Why are simplistic patriots treating him as… http://fb.me/6ZQNC8G6y”

CAIR was listed by the Justice Department as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism funding case.

Last year CAIR was designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates. CAIR says they will appeal to be taken off UAE’s terrorist list.

The tweet by CAIR is based on the headline for an article published by the Guardian on January 6th that attacked Kyle and his supporters.

A review of several days of Tweets by CAIR shows the tweet calling Kyle a “hate-filled killer” to be the group’s only comment on American Sniper.

COMMENT:  The fact that CAIR picked up a headline in Britain's left-wing paper, the Guardian, demonstrates once again that militant Islam and the Western left are often on the same page.  They have the same common enemies – Western ideals, the United States, and Judeo-Christian beliefs. 

January 20, 2015       Permalink

RANSOM – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:  An incredible hostage drama is unfolding in the Mideast.  The potential victims are two Japanese hostages of ISIS.  The action is occurring as the prime minister of Japan is visiting the region.  From CNN:

(CNN) The militant group ISIS has threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless Tokyo hands over $200 million within 72 hours.

In a video posted online Tuesday, a masked man clad in black and holding a knife stands over two kneeling men in orange jumpsuits against the backdrop of a barren landscape.

The masked man links the threat against the two men's lives to Japan's support for the U.S.-led coalition that's fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

"Although you are more than 8,500 kilometers away from the Islamic State, you willingly volunteered to take part in this crusade," the man says, addressing his comments to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is currently visiting the Middle East.

The international community needs to "deal with terrorists without giving into them," Abe said at a news conference in Jerusalem after the release of the video. But he stopped short of explicitly ruling out the payment of a ransom or negotiations with the hostages' captors.

Abe, who is reorganizing his trip to deal with the hostage crisis, said he had ordered Japanese officials to do the utmost to try to save the two men. The Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said it was working to confirm the authenticity of the video.

COMMENT:  It should be noted that Japan has pledged $200-million to the crusade against ISIS.  However, that money is earmarked for humanitarian aid to refugees displaced by ISIS, not for military assistance.  It doesn't matter to ISIS.

We hope Japan stands firm.  We'll have to see how much domestic pressure is put on Abe to do business with the murderers.

January 20,  2015     Permalink