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JULY 2,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET:

GOOD MOVE – From Fox:  Islamic teaching states that “paradise lies at the feet of your mother,” and a group of Western moms who lost their sons first to radicalization and then on the battlefields of the Middle East are trying to use the lesson to stop other young men from turning to terrorism.  Christianne Boudreau, a Canadian whose 22-year-old son Damien was killed last year while fighting with al-Nusrah, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, has joined forces with Daniel Koehler, director of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies (GIRDS), to form Mothers for Life. The organization functions as a support group for mothers whose children have become radicalized, as well as a podium to develop programs to counter ISIS’s slick recruitment propaganda.  Excellent move.  Of course, if some mothers tried it here they'd be called Islamophobic, and it's unlikely Obama would have them at the White House.

INEVITABLE – From CBS:  A Philadelphia attorney has opened what he says is the first LGBTQ divorce firm.  Philadelphia lawyer Conor Corcoran, who bills himself as the nation’s first gay divorce attorney, says he is ready to serve gays and lesbians who will need divorces following the Supreme Court’s ruling last week legalizing same-sex marriage across the country.  Corcoran says he celebrated the Supreme Court decision to have marriage equality throughout the United States, but he quickly realized it was unlikely all of the new marriages would end in bliss.  He says that is why he launched a new division entirely devoted to LGBT divorce.  Free enterprise entrepreneurship at work.  Must drive the left crazy.

WEBB IN – From CNN:  Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb announced Thursday that "after many months of thought, deliberation and discussion" he has decided to run for president of the United States.  In an over 2,000-word blog post, Webb writes that he decided to run because the United States needs "proven, experienced leadership that can be trusted to move us forward from a new President's first days in office."  Highlighting his experience as a senator, decorated soldier and and secretary of the navy under Ronald Reagan, Webb cast himself as someone willing to fight on issues he cares about, including criminal justice reform, education and economic fairness.  Webb becomes the fifth Democrat to join the primary contest. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and first lady, is the race's frontrunner, with every poll showing her up by wide margins. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is experiencing a recent jump in the polls and in excitement, while former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee have stagnated since announcing they would run.  Webb is an interesting man, but out of synch with the leftist majority in his party, and the leftists control the nominating process.  But it will be interesting to see whether a moderate Southerner gets any traction at all.

July 2, 2015       Permalink

WHAT WE ARE AGAINST – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  At the end of World War II, General Eisenhower had American troops marched through Nazi death camps.  He explained that, while they might not understand what they'd been fighting for, he wanted them to understand what they'd been fighting against.  This is what we're fighting against.  From Fox: 

The blood-soaked executioners of ISIS have spared neither women nor children since the jihadist army established its caliphate a year ago, putting an estimated 74 kids and even more women to death for such offenses as practicing “magic” and refusing to fast during Ramadan.

A total of 3,027 people have been executed by ISIS since it declared itself a state under strict Islamic law in Syria and Iraq last June, according to a new report by the UK-based group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Many of the charges against those executed are recorded as blasphemy and spying, but others include sorcery, sodomy, practicing as a Shia Muslim," the report states.

Just this week, two children whose ages were not known were crucified in the Mayadin, Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria after ISIS accused them of not properly fasting during Ramadan. The children’s bodies, put on public display on crossbars, each bore a sign explaining their violation during the holy month for Muslims that runs June 17 to July 17. With each execution justified by ISIS' medieval interpretation of the Koran, the group is attempting to portray itself as the true practitioners of Islam, say experts.

COMMENT:  Just once I would love to see one of these fraudulent "multiculturalists" in our colleges ask, "Who are we to question these cultural practices of others?"  Just once.

July 2, 2015       Permalink

CARLY RISING – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  We've advised here repeatedly to watch Carly Fiorina.  She has a kind of political magic.  It's beginning to show, and to work.  From the Los Angeles Times: 

When it was Carly Fiorina’s turn to take the stage at a presidential forum in Oklahoma City, Noah Wolff was thinking of heading outside for a break.

“I thought of all the people, why is she here?” said Wolff, 19, a Republican and political science major at the University of Oklahoma.

But as Fiorina started speaking, Wolff was captivated by her message. While other candidates in the convention hall spent their time spewing standard conservative talking points and criticizing the current Democratic administration, he said, Fiorina outlined solutions, such as how she would negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran.

Wolff stood with the crowd in several ovations for the GOP presidential hopeful.

Previously, the only thing he knew about Fiorina was that Hewlett-Packard had fired her. “Maybe that’s why I was so impressed, I came in with very low expectations, and she was just far and away the best speech,” he said.

Fiorina, who lost a U.S. Senate race in California in 2010 by 10 points, has never registered above 3% in the national presidential polls. But she is showing signs of momentum. She cracked the top 10 in a national survey for the first time last week, a requisite to win a spot in the first Republican primary debate in August.

In Denver on Saturday, she placed second in a conservative gathering’s straw poll — not an indicator of her likelihood of winning the GOP nomination, but a sign of the enthusiasm she is generating among grass-roots activists.

Fiorina also is consistently drawing rave reviews on the stump.

COMMENT:  I don't think she'll get the presidential nod, but you never know.  I do think she'd be a strong vice-presidential choice, and a potential president.  She's one of the most effective speakers I've ever heard, and she wins people over. 

She'd also neutralize the "first woman president" advantage that Hillary would have.

Keep watching her.

July 2, 2015       Permalink

OH, THE EMBARRASSMENT – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  Say this about Bernie Sanders, he is a very shrewd political operator.   He may be a socialist, but he understands the market.  He knows that big crowds draw press, and he knows where to go for the big crowds.  This is embarrassing to Queen Hillary, whose throne is getting wobbly.  From The Hill: 

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders drew 10,000 supporters, the largest crowd of his campaign thus far, according to reports.

"Tonight, we have more people at any meeting for a candidate of president of the United States than any other candidate,” Sanders told his fans at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wis., according to the Associated Press.

Sanders used the occasion to slam Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a likely Republican White House hopeful, for Walker’s battles against state labor unions.

"When you deny the right of workers to come together in collective bargaining, that's extremism," Sanders said. "When you tell a woman that she cannot control her own body, that's extremism."

Sanders continued beating his populist drum, to the delight of his supporters.

"The big money interests — Wall Street, corporate America, all of these guys — have so much power that no president can defeat them unless there is an organized grassroots movement making them an offer they can't refuse," he said.

Some in attendance took to social media to share images from the event.

COMMENT:  Okay, let's get to basics.  Yeah, 10,000 people is a very impressive number for a fringe candidate, but look at where the rally was held:  Madison.  That's the Berkeley of the Midwest.  If Fidel was run out of Cuba, he'd go to Madison.  Ditto Putin.  Ditto Stalin.  So the audience count was not all that shocking. 

Still, it's embarrassing for Hillary.  She was supposed to sail to the nomination, but the water is rising, and she is sinking.  No enthusiasm for her has surfaced at all, except among her staff and those contributors looking for ambassadorships.

July 2, 2015       Permalink

INCREDIBLE – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  I guess that one of the worst things you can be in the world today is a friend of the United States.  From Fox: 

The U.S. has reportedly blocked any attempts by Middle East allies to fly weapons to the Kurds fighting the Islamic State in Iraq.

The Telegraph reports that U.S. allies say President Obama and other Western leaders, including Britain’s David Cameron, aren’t showing leadership over the escalating ISIS crisis in Iraq, Syria and throughout the Middle East.

These allies are now willing to “go it alone” in giving heavy weaponry to the Kurds, even if it means defying Iraq and the U.S. who want all weapons to be funneled through Baghdad, according to the newspaper.

High level officials from Gulf and other states have told The Telegraph that plans to persuade Obama to arm the Kurds directly have failed. The Senate voted down an amendment for the U.S. to bypass Baghdad and send weapons to the Kurdish fighters.

The officials told the paper they are looking for ways to bypass U.S. permission to give the Kurdish fighters weapons.

“If the Americans and the West are not prepared to do anything serious about defeating ISIL, then we will have to find new ways of dealing with the threat,” a senior Arab government official told The Telegraph. “With ISIL making ground all the time we simply cannot afford to wait for Washington to wake up to the enormity of the threat we face.”

COMMENT:  We are at war with our friends and appeasing our enemies.  What a foreign policy for America.  It could have been designed in Moscow during the Cold War.  Whoops.  Mustn't say that.

Why not?

July 2,  2015     Permalink

JULY 1,  2015

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

MAJOR ART NEWS – From AP:  WASHINGTON — Want to take a picture inside the White House Blue Room? Well, it’s now OK to pull out your cellphone or camera and press “shoot.”  The White House on Wednesday ended a long-standing ban on tourists taking photos or using social media during public tours of the building. Michelle Obama made the announcement in a video posted on her Instagram account.
“If you’ve been on a White House tour, you may have seen this sign,” she says, holding up a placard that states “No Photos or Social Media Allowed.” “Well, not anymore,” she adds, and then dramatically rips the sign in half.  I am moved by the elegant manner in which this White House advances our artistic heritage.

KUWAIT ACTS ON TERROR – From AFP:  Kuwait's parliament, reacting to a suicide bombing last week that killed 26 people, adopted a law Wednesday requiring mandatory DNA testing on all the country's citizens and foreign residents.  The legislation, requested by the government to help security agencies make quicker arrests in criminal cases, calls on the interior ministry to establish a database on all 1.3 million citizens and 2.9 million foreign residents.  Under the law, people who refuse to give samples for the test face one year in jail and a fine of up to $33,000 (29,700 euros). Those who provide fake samples can be jailed for seven years.  Yes, yes, I know, there are privacy issues.  But having every citizen's DNA and fingerprints on record can have many, many positive benefits in law enforcement and even demographic research.  If privacy safeguards can be put in place, it is a good idea.

PHONINESS – From Newsday:   Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that his administration is reviewing the city's business relationships with billionaire developer Donald Trump, who is under sustained fire for his presidential campaign speech suggesting criminals were rife among Mexicans who enter the country.  "We are reviewing Trump contracts with the city. Donald Trump's remarks were disgusting and offensive..."  But the mayor breaks bread with the "Reverend" Al Sharpton, who described longtime white businessmen in Harlem as "white interlopers," among other rhetorical gems.  And the mayor is himself an admirer of Fidel Castro, who holds thousands of political prisoners.  I'm no fan of Trump, but he's a pussycat compared to the politically acceptable crowd on the left.

July 1, 2015       Permalink

OUR HILLARY, NOT INVITED – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  I am personally offended by the manner in which our former secretary of state was treated by the administration.  I mean, doesn't she deserve proper invitations?  It's upsetting.  From Reuters:   

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton struggled to fit into the government of President Barack Obama after being appointed Secretary of State in 2009, according to emails released by the State Department on Tuesday.

They showed Clinton turning up for meetings that had been canceled and worrying about how much time she had with her new boss, revealing growing pains in the relationship between her and former election rival Obama in the early months of her time as America's top diplomat.

In an email to two aides on June 8, 2009, Clinton was unsure if the White House had held a Cabinet meeting and whether she should attend.

"I heard on the radio that there is a Cabinet mtg this am. Is there? Can I go? If not, who are we sending?" Clinton wrote.

A State Department official wrote back that the government was holding a meeting, but not a full cabinet meeting that she needed to be at.

As Clinton sought to navigate her relationship with the Obama White House, she corresponded with several former aides and advisers to her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

They included Sidney Blumenthal, a former White House speech writer, Sandy Berger, the former National Security Adviser and Mark Penn, who served as a political adviser to both Bill Clinton and to Hillary Clinton's 2008 White House bid.

COMMENT:  She turned up for meetings that had been canceled?  She wasn't on the notification list?  Could she take a hint? 

We get the impression of a petty little administration, more a student government than a real one.

July 1, 2015       Permalink

IRAN UPDATE – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:   President Obama put a little spine in his latest comments about Iran, but how stiff that spine is we'll soon find out.  From the Washington Times: 

The Obama administration and its negotiating partners blew through Tuesday’s self-imposed deadline for a major nuclear accord with Iran — prolonging for at least another week some 20 months of exhausting and convoluted closed-door talks that have capped more than a decade of brinkmanship between Tehran and the West.

While most analysts say the deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief remains in reach, the last-minute extension triggered fresh speculation that Iran’s leaders may be dragging out the talks for as long as the U.S. and its negotiating partners will allow before ultimately scuttling a final accord.

President Obama insisted again Tuesday that he was not wedded to an agreement at any cost and threatened outright to “walk away” if Iran reneges on the parameters of an April interim agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, with the so-called P5+1 negotiating group that also comprises Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.

“There has been a lot of talk on the other side from the Iranian negotiators about whether, in fact, they can abide by some of the terms that came up in Lausanne,” Mr. Obama told reporters at a White House press conference with visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. “If they cannot, that’s going to be a problem because I’ve said from the start, I will walk away from the negotiations if, in fact, it’s a bad deal.”

COMMENT:  I can't see how it can be a good deal, given the publicly stated positions of the Iranian mullahs.   Obama would be wise to walk away temporarily, putting serious heat on Iran, rather than the mush we've seen up to now. 

This will be a critical week in the talks.  If they blow past July 9th, Congress will, under law, have a full 60 days to examine any agreement.  If agreement is reached before July 9th, Congress will have only 30 days.

July 1, 2015       Permalink

THE MONEY RACE – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:   Talk policy all we want, one of the biggest factors in electing a president is fundraising.  And Hillary, who is sagging in the polls, is going about it full blast.  From the Washington Times: 

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s tremendous lead in the hunt for the Democratic presidential nomination didn’t stop her from frantically scratching for donations ahead of the first fundraising deadline of the campaign Tuesday.

After all, she’s got something to prove.

Despite early attempts to tamp down expectations for a fundraising juggernaut, Team Clinton set an ambitious goal of filing a $1 billion war chest for the race, which would require pulling in more that $150 million per quarter and generating an equal level of enthusiasm to President Obama’s two White House runs.

Clinton bundlers set the bar lower, saying they expected the tally to be about $30 million for the first quarterly report since Mrs. Clinton launched her campaign in April.

An impressive fundraising haul for the quarter that ended at midnight Tuesday would help dispel rumblings about the party’s dissatisfaction with its all-but-inevitable nominee.

For her Democratic competition, it’s a chance to prove they can tap a base of support.

COMMENT:  I'm not so sure anything will dispel the rumblings.  I mean, there's now a Draft Biden movement, and Joe doesn't even know there's an election.   What Hillary really has to overcome is the fact that she's disliked.  How do you overcome that after being a national figure for 25 years?

July 1, 2015        Permalink

CUBA AND THE U.S., TOGETHER AGAIN – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  We are about to restore diplomatic relations, but precisely what are we, and the Cuban people, getting out of this?  From Reuters:

HAVANA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Cuba are set to announce the restoration of diplomatic relations on Wednesday, the result of a two-year courtship between former Cold War rivals who severed ties in 1961.

The chief of the U.S. interests section in Havana will report to Cuban foreign ministry around 9 a.m. (0900 ET) to deliver a letter from U.S. President Barack Obama to Cuban President Raul Castro.

Obama will then speak at 11 a.m. (1100 ET) from the White House's ceremonial Rose Garden. It was unknown whether Castro would reciprocate with comments of his own.

Following 18 months of secret negotiations brokered by Pope Francis and Canada, the two leaders announced separately but simultaneously last December that they planned to reopen embassies in each other's capitals and normalize relations.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected at a flag-raising ceremony in Havana later this month, when the so-called U.S. interests section will become a full embassy. Cuba's mission in Washington will undergo a similar upgrade.

The deal last December also included a prisoner swap and sought to relegate to history 56 years of recriminations that have predominated ever since Fidel Castro's rebels overthrew the U.S.-backed government of Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959.

Two years later, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower closed the U.S. embassy in Havana on Jan. 3, 1961, less than three weeks before President-elect John F. Kennedy was due to take office.

By April of that year, Kennedy would authorize the U.S.-organized invasion of Cuba by a force of Cuban exiles. The attack at the Bay of Pigs failed and reinforced Castro's standing at home and abroad.

In October 1962, Washington and Moscow nearly came to nuclear war over Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba.

COMMENT:  Some business interests are happy, and the American left, which has a soft spot for dictators who spout Marxism, is delirious.  But the Cuban people get nothing out of this agreement. 

We could have demanded much more from that great singing group, the Castro Brothers, but we didn't.  They need us far more than we need them.  For Obama, though, this is a great "progressive" moment.

July 1,  2015     Permalink