Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

JULY 13,  2015

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

WAITING – We're now told that an announcement of a nuclear deal with Iran is only hours away.  Trouble is, we've been told that for three days running.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, opposition to the assumed terms of the deal is already building in Congress.

GREAT ECONOMY – From the Washington Free Beacon:   The number of beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, has exceeded 45 million for 48 straight months, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).  In April 2015, the latest month from which data is available, there were 45,438,832 beneficiaries of the food stamp program.  Hardly a sign of economic recovery.

US WAR RESISTERS LESS WELCOM IN CANADA – From the AP:  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- When Army Sgt. Patrick Hart decided a decade ago that he would not serve in the war in Iraq, he expected to follow the same path as thousands of American war resisters during the Vietnam era and take refuge across the border.  But after five years of wrangling with the Canadian immigration system, he came back to the U.S. - and ended up in a military prison.  The country that once welcomed war resisters has developed a much different reputation during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan: Supporters say no U.S. soldier who has sought legal residence in Canada, either as a refugee or on humanitarian grounds, has been successful. Canada is currently run by an excellent conservative government headed by Prime Minister Steve Harper.  We hope Harper wins re-election this year.  It's a golden age in Canadian politics.  That could end, though, if the leftists regain power.

BRITISH NUTBAG – From Fox:   A British government worker who helped regulate the country’s anti-terror planning was fired after superiors learned of his Islamist sympathies, the Telegraph reported.  Abdullah al Andalusi said the brutal exploits of ISIS were “no different to the history of some Western armies” and supported the right of youths to venture to Syria to fight.  “If merely going to fight overseas is condemned as terrorism, shouldn’t the UK arrest British volunteers joining the Israeli Defense Force which kills civilians in Gaza in a war against the Gazan government?” al Andalusi wrote in a September 2014 article for the Muslim Debate Initiative, a group he co-founded.  He was fired, but how did someone with his background get hired in the first place?  I wouldn't be shocked if he found a job in the Obama administration.

July 13,  2015     Permalink

OBAMACARE WARNING! – AT 10:57 A.M. ET:  Remember when Sarah Palin warned that there were death panels in Obamacare?  Panels that would decide whether you lived or died.  She was laughed at, ridiculed.  But she may well have been right.  A new warning about death panels comes from Betsy McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York, and a recognized expert on health care.  From the New York Post: 

Look out, Grandma: Medicare said on Wednesday it wants to start paying for end-of-life counseling.
It’s being sold as “death with dignity,” but it’s more like dying for dollars. Seniors are nudged to forego life-sustaining procedures and hospital care to go into hospice. That enriches the booming hospice industry and also frees up dollars for the left’s favored social causes.

Why is the government meddling with how we cope with death? The Institute of Medicine doesn’t mince words. Scrimping on seniors will free up money “to fund highly targeted and carefully tailored social services for both children and adults.” Just like ObamaCare. Robbing Grandma to spread the wealth.

In 2009, President Obama said seniors are getting too many procedures and maybe they’re “better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller.” Obama’s health guru Ezekiel Emanuel argues the elderly should be a lower priority because “they have already had more life-years.”

It’s the perfect storm of ideology and industry greed, with hospice providers lobbying lawmakers to make end-of-life counseling the standard.

And not just once. Hospice advocates want to drill their morbid message into patients’ heads. “It has to be a series of recurring conversations over years,” an industry representative insists.

Imported from Europe, the hospice industry has boomed — and taken a sharp turn from nonprofit to aggressively for-profit. Revenues are up 500 percent since 2000, and the industry is flexing its muscle in state capitols and Washington, DC.

In 2010, industry lobbyists convinced New York lawmakers to compel all doctors to offer end-of-life counseling to patients with terminal illnesses. New York’s law imposes heavy fines, even jail time, on doctors who don’t.

The state’s physicians protested that some patients will break down at the mention of hospice and give up on life. Other doctors have patients who are religiously or culturally opposed. But the law prohibits exemptions.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  You'll be outraged about how the "new" system operates.  One of the great goals of modern medicine has been the extension of life.  Now we're told we may not be worth it, not in the eyes of the socialist state.

July 13, 2015       Permalink

A DEAL FOR GREECE, AT LEAST FOR NOW – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:   A major European financial crisis has been averted, we think.  The boys reached some kind of deal, which needs Greek parliamentary approval, and which may or may not work.

This is what happens when you deal with countries that give away a lot of free stuff and then can't pay for it.  Other nations in Europe are almost as bad off as Greece.  The trend lines in Western Europe go downward.  The continent seems to be fading away, losing influence, not reproducing its population, not paying enough for its own defense, and determined to keep the party going.  I suspect most of the world will soon regard Western Europe as a nuisance and a burden.  From Fox: 

Marathon talks between Greece and its European creditors ended with a new bailout agreement early Monday, at least temporarily averting the prospect of Athens exiting the single currency and subsequent global financial chaos.

European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted shortly before 9 a.m. local time Monday that the so-called EuroSummit had "unanimously reached agreement" on a financial aid program that included what Tusk called "serious reforms" and "financial support" for the beleaguered Athens government. At a news conference later Monday, Tusk jokingly referred to the deal as an "a-Greek-ment."

The deal calls for Greece, already reeling from harsh austerity measures, to cut back even further in exchange for more loans without which its financial system would surely collapse. It still requires approval from Greece's parliament by the end of Wednesday.

"We managed to avoid the most extreme measures," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said. "Greece will fight to return to growth and to reclaim its lost sovereignty."

COMMENT:  Ironically, Western Europe cheered when Barack Obama was elected, thinking it would mean a new day for European socialism, a rejection of the hated Bush.  But Obama shows nothing but contempt for Europe, and is now making it clear that his administration is about race and domestic equality.  Europeans have been shown the door.  The fashionable anti-Americanism has backfired.

July 13, 2015        Permalink

IRAN DEAL LATEST – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:   Once again they're telling us they're close on a nuclear deal with Iran, but with problems remaining.  The interim agreement expires tonight.  From AP:

VIENNA (AP) — Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran’s alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted at Iran nuclear talks on Monday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up a deal by midnight — the latest in a series of deadlines for the negotiations.

The diplomats said two other issues still needed final agreement — Iran’s demand for a lifting of a UN arms embargo and its insistence that any UN Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal. They demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the negotiations.

With a temporary deal set to expire at midnight Monday Vienna time (6 p.m. ET), diplomats said they hoped to complete and announce a final agreement before day’s end.

But they warned there was no guarantee, and some said the talks could stretch into Tuesday despite there being little appetite for what would be a fourth extension of the interim agreement since the current round began on June 27.

Grim-faced foreign ministers from the countries negotiating with Iran declined to answer questions about another possible extension as they gathered for a group meeting at the 19th Century palace that has been hosting the talks.

“No one is thinking of another extension,” Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for the Iranian delegation, said on Twitter. “Everyone working hard to get to yes today, but political will (is) still required.”

One of the diplomats said the delay posed by the disputes was unexpected, with negotiators expecting that they would be resolved by late Sunday.

COMMENT:  We are talking here about an agreement that could mean life or death for millions of people, and the "diplomats" are worried about a day or two.  I'm worried about civilization.

We are being told, but cannot confirm, that the United States under Barack Obama has already made major concessions.  Congressional leaders, as we've noted, are warning the White House that an agreement with Iran will have a hard time getting Congressional approval.

July 13, 2015       Permalink

GREAT SCOTT, HE'S IN – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president.  From the Washington Times:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday he is running for president in 2016, touting a combination of policy pursuits and electoral successes in his home state as a way to differentiate himself from a crowded Republican field.

“I’m running for president to fight and win for the American people,” he said in a video posted online Monday. “Without sacrificing our principles, we won three elections in four years in a blue state. We did it by leading. Now, we need to do the same thing for America.”

First elected in 2010, Mr. Walker, 47, survived a recall election in 2012 before winning again in 2014.

Mr. Walker, who has taken on public employee unions in Wisconsin, among other battles, also said that “we didn’t nibble around the edges,” but rather, “enacted big bold reforms” and “took power out of the hands of the big government special interests” and gave it to hardworking taxpayers.

In the Republican field, he said, “there are some who are good fighters. But they haven’t won those battles.”

“There are others who have won elections, but haven’t consistently taken on the big fights,” he said. “[We] showed you could do both.”

Mr. Walker is running at or near the top of early national public polling on the race for the 2016 GOP nomination, and has staked out early leads in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.

COMMENT:   I'm glad he finally announced.  Walker is a good man, but he's lost momentum amidst the huge Republican group of candidates.  He now must re-establish himself. 

He will face the usual onslaught from the press, which despises him.  After all, he's an effective Republican governor.  It's already begun, in a unique manner.  We've learned that Walker's two sons, and his wife, don't agree with him on some issues.  So, the mainstreamers have been seeking out, not the candidate, but his wife and sons.  Obviously, they want to make the family split the story, especially in regard to gay marriage.  I saw the sons interviewed this morning, and they handled the divisions deftly, showing respect for their father.  I don't think the liberal press will get very far with the "family split" game.

July 13,  2015     Permalink

JULY 12,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:31 P.M. ET: 

NO WHITE SMOKE YET – Although there were many predictions that a nuclear deal with Iran would be reached today, Sunday, it wasn't.  There is more negotiating planned.  At the same time, Republicans are warning that, based on their knowledge of what has been agreed to thus far, Obama and Kerry will have a hard time getting Congress to approve the anticipated pact.  Since we have not seen any drafts, it's hard to assess what has actually been achieved.  However, common sense tells us that if Iran were really negotiating in good faith, it would not have taken this long to come to any kind of agreement.

THE TRENDIES TRY TO KILL GENDER – From Newsbusters:  Friday’s Washington Post hyped a new trend in fashion on the front of the Style section. The headline was “His. Hers. Theirs. Whoever’s. In an increasingly genderless fashion industry, if the blouse fits, wear it.”  Fashion writer Robin Givhan championed designers who are asking “Why are clothes assigned a gender at all?” The story began:   Menswear designers are on a mission to eradicate it. Some are going full bore, wielding lace shirts and floppy, grandma blouses like cultural grenades. Others are taking a stealth approach, quietly chiseling away the boundaries between masculinity and femininity through non-traditional retail, models and silhouettes.
...And when New York hosts its first men’s fashion season in recent memory next week, one can only expect more of the same. The over-arching message: Gender is a mood, a metaphor, an anachronism.  And this story is ridiculous, immature, cartoonish.  I guess I must be out of it, but I haven't yet sensed a yearning on the part of men to dress like women, or vice versa.

NIKKI SPEAKS – Governor Nikki Haley's dignified handling of the lowering of the Confederate flag at the South Carolina state house has generated vice-presidential talk.  Haley is a conservative, and it's clear she's not about to trade her conservative values for temporary publicity.  From the Washington Times:   South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Sunday said the botched FBI background check that allowed the man accused of the massacre at a historic black church in Charleston to buy the handgun used in the attack is tragic but does not justify expanding such checks.  “We expect when the feds say they’re going to do something. We take them at their word that it is going to get done. The fact that it didn’t get done is terrible,” Mrs. Haley, a Republican, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”  “When we got the call from the FBI telling us what had happened, I was literally sick to my stomach,” she said, adding that she was told the problem was with the FBI and not state or local authorities.   I am not fanatically opposed to all proposals listed under the category of "gun control."  But I wish that the gun controllers would occasionally come up with ideas that work, don't interfere with legitimate Second Amendment rights, and are properly and professionally implemented.  Then we can talk. 

July 12, 2015       Permalink

THE COLLEGE RACKET – TRUTHS ARE STARTING TO BE TOLD – AT 12:15 P.M. ET:  Ever wonder what is driving the cost of college up to astronomical levels?  A new, serious, study has some answers that the political left will not enjoy.  From Fox: 

A new explosive study has found a direct link between expanded federal aid and rising tuition rates among the nation’s colleges and universities, re-energizing a debate over the escalating cost of post-secondary education for millions of Americans.

Critics say the findings prove a long-held theory that current aid policy is not helping, and may be actually hurting families who are struggling more than ever to afford college, and paying off a mountain of debt for the privilege.

“It’s a disturbing problem because when the government is trying to do something critical to educational success, trying to do something about the increasing wealth gap in this country, and then (schools) raise their prices and absorb it all – you’re just kicking the legs out of the government policy,” Erik Sherman, who writes about income disparity and education for Forbes, tells Foxnews.com, calling the situation a "tuition arms race."

The study, conducted by researchers for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, found that for every new dollar made available in federally subsidized student loans, schools – particularly expensive, private four-year institutions – rose their rates by 65 cents.

COMMENT:  This is not surprising.  Colleges are not the wise and virtuous places they claim to be.  They're political, sometimes corrupt, always looking for a fast buck.  Give them aid and they often squander it on this year's fashions, forcing new tuition hikes.

What if we, as a nation, cut off all aid to higher education outside the sciences?  Schools would then either have to raise tuition dramatically, driving students away, or cut their own expenses, which would be a public service.

Or, we could link federal aid to a school's endowment.  Let them spend some of their own cash for a change.  And let them examine if they really need that new department studying the literature of left-handed Pacific Islanders with trans tendencies.  You know what my answer is.

July 12, 2015      Permalink

HILLARY WOBBLES – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton is about to make a major economic speech.   Notice the excitement?  She probably wouldn't be making the speech if it weren't for the challenge thrown down by Bernie Sanders.  Hillary apparently thought she could coast to the coronation in a gold carriage, with the peasants blowing kisses at her.  Not too many kisses are being blown, and they are worried in the Clinton camp.  From Financial Times: 

Tactical blunders. A strained relationship with the media. An insurgent rival drawing enormous crowds.

For Hillary Clinton, the past few weeks of her 2016 presidential campaign have brought back uncomfortable memories of her failed bid in 2008.

Three months in to what should be one of the best funded, best organised campaigns in history, Mrs Clinton has been unable to draw a line under a series of controversies, or to generate the kind of grassroots enthusiasm that will be crucial to maintaining momentum in the gruelling months ahead.

As she prepares to outline her economic vision for the country in a high-profile address on Monday in New York, Mrs Clinton’s team is betting that a rollout of popular, middle-class friendly policies such as paid sick leave and universal prekindergarten provision will help to reset the debate.

But her rockier-than-expected start continues to unnerve some long-time allies and Democratic donors, who view the rise of rival Bernie Sanders, the 73-year-old self-proclaimed socialist who has galvanised progressives, as a symptom, rather than a cause, of so-called “Clinton fatigue.”

“We are worried about him, sure. He will be a serious force for the campaign, and I don’t think that will diminish,” Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton campaign’s communications director,” acknowledged this week.

COMMENT:  The reality is that Clinton inspires very little enthusiasm.  Even on the liberal left she is often seen as a devious operator who got rich by marketing her "public service," and who cannot really be trusted to tell the truth.  I think she'd even lie about what she had for lunch. 

She is also seen as too cozy with Wall Street.  She's been left-wing all her life, but the left sees her as not left enough. 

She has one thing left, her most powerful weapon:  gender.  In a party that divides people by groups, and that really has bought into the whole "race, gender, and ethnicity" line of elite colleges, she can claim it's her turn.  And the American people might just go along with her.

July 12, 2015       Permalink

WE'LL SEE – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:   We are being told that a nuclear deal with Iran is close.  Watch for the fine print and the asterisks.  From Fox: 

Negotiators at Iran’s nuclear talks are expected to reach a provisional agreement Sunday that would curb the country’s atomic program in return for sanctions relief, diplomats told The Associated Press, a day after Iran slammed the U.S.

The two diplomats – who are at the talks and demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly -- cautioned that final details of the pact were still being worked out Sunday afternoon and a formal agreement still awaits a review from the capitals of the seven nations at the talks. They said plans now are for the deal to be announced on Monday.

The agreement would cap nearly a decade of diplomacy, including the current round in Vienna that has run more than two weeks and blown through three deadlines.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry dropped warnings Sunday that the talks could go either way.

En route to Mass at Vienna's gothic St. Stephens Cathedral, Kerry said twice he was "hopeful" after a "very good meeting" Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had Muslim services Friday.

Kerry noted that "a few tough things" remain in the way of agreement but added: "We're getting to some real decisions."

A senior State Department official also said Sunday that the department will not speculate about the timing of anything during the talks and that key issues remain unresolved.

Iran and the U.S. have both threatened to walk away from the table unless the other side made concessions.

Iran’s state-run Press TV cited Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday as calling the U.S. an “excellent example of arrogance.” It reported that Khamenei told university students in Tehran to be “prepared to continue the struggle against arrogant powers.”

COMMENT:  There have been vicious anti-American demonstrations in Tehran, at the same time that we're negotiating a life-and-death agreement with the regime.  It's not madness, by the way.  It's Barack Obama's well-thought-out plan to weaken his own country and strengthen the Muslim Iranian regime.  It is so clear that this man is a hard leftist, but the media dare not mention it.

July 12,  2015     Permalink