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JULY 22,  2015

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

NEW YORKERS PROTEST – Against the Iran nuclear deal.  From CBS local:   NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Times Square Wednesday evening in protest over the recent landmark nuclear deal with Iran.  As CBS2’s Jessica Schneider reported, some 10 thousand are rallying in solidarity with signs and voices raised against the nuclear deal.  Protest organizers proclaim: “Washington is prepared to give Iran virtually all that it needs to get to the bomb. To release $150 billion to Iran will result in the expansion of worldwide terror.”  The rally was designed to put special pressure on New York Senator Charles Schumer, who's scheduled to take over as Senate minority leader upon the retirement of Harry Reid.  If Schumer is willing to defy a Democratic president and oppose the deal, he could probably bring other Democrats with him.  But it may cost him his new job.  Pro-Obama Democrats would retaliate.

RIDICULOUS – Under the guise of protecting women from sexual assault, many colleges and universities are turning women into children.  From The Fire:  According to Coastal Carolina University, sex is only consensual if both parties are completely sober and if consent is not only present, but also enthusiastic. This is a troubling standard that converts many ordinary, lawful sexual encounters into sexual assault, and it should frighten any student at CCU.  Enthusiastic?  How is this measured?  A very important cause – the fight against sexual assault, is being turned into a punchline by extremists who care little about women, but much more about their positions in "the movement."

COMMON SENSE – From The Daily Signal:  A self-described gay baker named Jesse Bartholomew has come out in defense of Christian bakers who decline to bake cakes for same-sex weddings.  In a video he posted on his Facebook page, he said “they don’t have to bake a cake for you.”  “I bake wedding cakes for a living and I cannot tell you how disgusted I am with my fellow gay and lesbian community, that they would stoop so low to force someone to bake a cake for them who simply doesn’t agree with them,” Bartholomew said.  He speaks common sense.  A belief in traditional marriage is not bigotry, a word thrown around loosely.   Forcing someone to write something, even an inscription on a wedding cake, is a profound step in a free society.  The gay movement would be much better off fighting real bigotry, and not forcing bakers or wedding photographers to participate in a ritual that they cannot religiously accept.

WEIRD MARTY – From Fox:  Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus ripped Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley for linking the rise of the Islamic State to climate change.  “Whether it’s the weak Obama-Clinton nuclear deal that paves the way for Iran to obtain an atomic bomb or Martin O’Malley’s absurd claim that climate change is responsible for ISIS, it’s abundantly clear no one in the Democratic Party has the foreign policy vision to keep America safe,” Priebus said in a statement.  The rebuke comes after a recent O’Malley interview with Bloomberg Television. When asked about terrorism, O’Malley said that climate change and a devastating drought were linked to Syria’s instability and ISIS’ rise.  O'Malley has become increasingly irrational.  It's important that we not allow him to do to America what he did to Maryland and Baltimore.

July 22, 2015       Permalink

HUH? – AT 11:08 A.M. ET:  Join me in getting your blood to boil when you read this, the latest action of the Obama regime.  From Fox: 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Tuesday said it will no longer require incoming U.S. citizens to pledge that they will "bear arms on behalf of the United States" or "perform noncombatant service" in the Armed Forces as part of the naturalization process.

Those lines are in the Oath of Allegiance that people recite as they become U.S. citizens. But USCIS said people "may" be able to exclude those phrases for reasons related to religion or if they have a conscientious objection.

USCIS said people with certain religious training or with a "deeply held moral or ethical code" may not have to say the phrases as they are naturalized.

The agency said people don't have to belong to a specific church or religion to use this exemption, and may attest to U.S. officials administering the oath that they have these beliefs.

COMMENT:  Sorry.  I don't buy.  Conscientious objection has traditionally been permitted in the United States, but only under strict circumstances.  And many conscientious objectors have volunteered for military service, even at risk of their own lives, if they were exempt from killing.  I respect that. 

But I don't respect exempting new citizens from a pledge of any military service.  Bearing "true faith and allegiance" requires a new citizen to be willing to defend his or her country.  This sounds more like a political gesture to exempt people based on their political beliefs.  Congress should step in and stop this move.

July 22,  2015     Permalink

THE RIGHT APPROACH – AT 10:16 A.M. ET:   Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron puts President Obama to shame in identifying and fighting extremism and terrorism.  He does not hesitate to connect it to radical Islam.  From Britain's Independent: 

The Prime Minister has vowed to tackle the "poison" of extremism in a speech laying down the Government's strategy for the next five years.

Speaking in Birmingham, David Cameron said Britain has to confront a lack of integration in some areas that leaves young people vulnerable to the supposed "glamour" of Isis propaganda.

He said a new Extremist Bill would target radicals influencing people on all sides, including Islamists and the far-right, to stop them being able to "groom young people and brainwash their minds".

And...in Cameron's own words:

"It begins – it must begin – by understanding the threat we face and why we face it. What we are fighting, in Islamist extremism, is an ideology. It is an extreme doctrine.

"And like any extreme doctrine, it is subversive. At its furthest end it seeks to destroy nation-states to invent its own barbaric realm. And it often backs violence to achieve this aim – mostly violence against fellow Muslims – who don’t subscribe to its sick worldview."

I'd love to hear those words from Obama. 

And...

When they say that these are wronged Muslims getting revenge on their Western wrongdoers, let’s remind them: from Kosovo to Somalia, countries like Britain have stepped in to save Muslim people from massacres – it’s groups like ISIL, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram that are the ones murdering Muslims.

Now others might say: it’s because terrorists are driven to their actions by poverty. But that ignores the fact that many of these terrorists have had the full advantages of prosperous families or a Western university education.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's worth it.  Cameron understands things that Obama does not...which is why it's imperative that we not only elect a Republican president next year, but also that we eliminate the structure of Obama's foreign- and defense policies.

July 22, 2015        Permalink

AMERICANS REJECT IRAN DEAL – AT 9:28 A.M. ET:   Americans aren't buying the Iran nuclear deal, according to a new Pew Research Center survey: 

More Americans disapprove than approve of the deal struck last week by the U.S., Iran and five other nations to limit Iran’s nuclear program: Among the 79% of Americans who have heard about the agreement, just 38% approve, while 48% disapprove (14% do not offer an opinion).

There is widespread skepticism about aspects of the agreement, particularly the Iranian leadership’s commitment to the terms of the deal: Most of those familiar with the agreement say they have not too much (35%) or no confidence at all (38%) that Iran’s leaders will uphold their side of the agreement. And while there is greater confidence in the U.S. and international agencies’ ability to monitor Iran’s compliance, 54% are not too (33%) or not at all (21%) confident, while a smaller share (45%) express at least a fair amount of confidence in their ability.

Views about the agreement’s effect on U.S.-Iranian relations also are split: Though a plurality (42%) of those who have heard about the deal say there will be little change, about as many think relations between the two nations will worsen (28%) as think they will improve (25%) as a result of the agreement.

COMMENT:  I suspect that approval numbers will drop even further as Congressional hearings expose more of the defects in the agreement.  Obama has been unconvincing, and Iran's continued spewing of anti-American vitriol will not help drive approval numbers up. 

If both houses of Congress vote the agreement down, Obama will veto their action.  Overriding that veto will be a long shot, but even basic Congressional disapproval of the pact, by a simple majority, would be a devastating comment on Obama's foreign policy.

July 22, 2015       Permalink

POLL – DEMS FALTERING – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  A new poll reveals potential trouble for Democrats in the upcoming presidential election, an election 16 months away.  From Quinnipiac: 

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is behind or on the wrong side of a too-close-to-call result in matchups with three leading Republican contenders, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Colorado, Iowa and Virginia, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today.

Perhaps the biggest loser, however, is Donald Trump, who has negative favorability ratings of almost 2-1 in each state, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. The Swing State Poll focuses on key states in the presidential election.

In several matchups in Iowa and Colorado, another Democratic contender, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, runs as well as, or better than Clinton against Rubio, Bush and Walker. Vice President Joseph Biden does not do as well.

Clinton gets markedly negative favorability ratings in each state, 35 - 56 percent in Colorado, 33 - 56 percent in Iowa and 41 - 50 percent in Virginia.

The worst favorability ratings for any Democrat or Republican in the presidential field belong to Trump: 31 - 58 percent in Colorado, 32 - 57 percent in Iowa and 32 - 61 percent in Virginia.

"Hillary Clinton's numbers have dropped among voters in the key swing states of Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. She has lost ground in the horserace and on key questions about her honesty and leadership," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "On being a strong leader, a key metric in presidential campaigns, she has dropped four to 10 points depending on the state and she is barely above 50 percent in each of the three states."

"Against three Republicans, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Secretary Clinton trails in six matchups and is on the down side of too-close-to call in three," Brown added.

"That's compared to the April 9 Quinnipiac University poll in which she was clearly ahead in five of the matchups and too-close-to-call in the other four. One other key takeaway is that Vice President Joseph Biden, who is considering a 2016 run, does better than Clinton on honesty and on caring about voter needs, always a key Democratic strong point."

COMMENT:  Hillary is sinking, but who do the Dems have to replace her if she sinks further?  Bernie?  Martin O'Malley?  Al Gore? 

The Democratic Party is actually in terrible shape.  Under Barack Obama it has lost control of both houses of Congress, most governorships, and most state legislatures.  If it loses the presidency next year, it will be in despair.  I can't wait!

July 22,  2015     Permalink

JULY 21,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:

MAJOR TRAVEL NEWS – From the Latin American Herald Tribune:  PORT-AU-PRINCE – Chelsea Clinton will visit Haiti on July 28-29 in the capacity of vice president of the Clinton Foundation, which is carrying out aid projects in the impoverished Caribbean nation.  Clinton, the foundation announced Tuesday in a statement, will travel to Haiti with foundation president Donna Shalala, and the pair will head a group comprised of philanthropists, businessmen and foundation donors who will visit the different aid and development projects being undertaken there.  The daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also scheduled to participate in a round table on the need to increase business opportunities for female teens and women, the Clinton Foundation said.  Since 2010, the foundation has collected $30 million for projects and is helping in Haiti’s recovery after the earthquake that devastated the country in that year, killing more than 200,000 people and injuring some 300,000.  Why doesn't anyone ever ask why Haiti is so impoverished?  Why is it constantly necessary to raise money for that country?  I suspect many in the chattering classes are afraid of the answers.  Not politically correct.

OBAMA GIVES IN TO A LITTLE AMERICANISM – From the Washington Post:   PITTSBURGH — President Obama, facing growing criticism from conservatives and some veterans, ordered all American flags on federal grounds to be lowered to half-staff for the remainder of the week to honor the five service members killed at a naval reserve center in Chattanooga, Tenn.  The move was announced Tuesday, five days after the shooting rampage and just minutes after Obama delivered a speech here at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in which he defended his Iran nuclear deal, called for more military spending, and criticized Republicans for relying too heavily on military force and threats instead of diplomacy.  Unbelievably cynical.  He called for more military spending?  The man has gutted our military.  Even some of his own appointees are warning about our military weakness. 

KASICH DECLARES – And nobody noticed.  Republican Governor John Kasich of Ohio officially entered the presidential race on Tuesday.  But there are already so many declared Republican candidates that Kasich essentially took a number and waited in line.  He's a good man, but I found his opening-gun statements a bit wanting.  The trouble with Kasich is that he often seems more interested in philosophical dissection of the issues than in being a leader.  You want to follow him, if only you knew precisely where he wants to go.  But he has a fine record as governor of Ohio, and he could eventually be a factor, which he currently is not.  He has to make enough of a splash in campaigning to get into the top tier.  It will not be easy.

YANKS IN PERIL – From Fox:  British Authorities charged two Muslim relatives on Tuesday with terror-related offenses, including plotting an attack against U.S. military personnel in the U.K.  The news comes less than a week since the deadly terror attack that killed five service members in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Junead Ahmed Khan, 24, is accused of trying to plan an attack sometime between May 10 and July 14, officials said. Khan and his uncle, 22-year-old Shazib Ahmed Khan, have also been charged with planning to travel to Syria to join ISIS, according to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service.  Nothing to see, nothing to see.  Just another family that's angry at Mitch McConnell.

July 21, 2015      Permalink

I GUESS SOME AMERICANS COUNT MORE THAN OTHERS – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:  The nation honors the five service members killed in Chattanooga.  The White House apparently didn't get the memo.  From Fox:

Congressional leaders ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol lowered to half-staff Tuesday morning to honor the five victims of last week's shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tenn. -- but no such order came from President Obama, as the White House flag continued to fly at full staff.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement that as Congress returned to session on Tuesday, the flags were lowered for the Navy sailor and four Marines killed.

"Last week, five brave service members were murdered in a terror attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Out of respect for their courageous service and sacrifice to our nation, flags at the U.S. Capitol are being lowered to half-staff," Boehner said in a statement.

The House will also observe a moment of silence Tuesday evening for the victims.

McConnell said, "[T]he U.S. Senate's thoughts are with their families and loved ones, and with all those who protect us here, and around the world."

The shooting occurred at two military facilities.

So far, the White House has not ordered its flags to be lowered. The White House has ordered flags lowered on several occasions in the past, including after the tragic mass shooting in December 2012 at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. The directive at the time ordered flags lowered, "As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Conn."

Asked about the matter on Monday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that Obama has offered his "sincere condolences to the families of those who were killed in this attack."

COMMENT:  There is, in this White House, a kind of mean-spiritedness. 

July 21, 2015       Permalink

OUR JOHN, SO UPSET – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:   One of the more absurd aspects of the Iran nuclear deal is the continued America-bashing by the Tehran regime.  You'd think there might be some
good will following the reaching of the agreement.  If anything, the hatred has escalated.

Even our secretary of state has noticed, and we learn that he is upset over the rhetoric coming out of Iran.  I do hope he's taking the proper medication.  We want our beloved secretary to feel positive and serene.  From Reuters: 

DUBAI, (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it was very disturbed by anti-U.S. hostility voiced by Iran's top leader after a nuclear deal, as both countries' top diplomats sought to calm opposition to the accord from political hardliners at home.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday vowing to defy American policies in the region despite a deal with world powers over Tehran's nuclear programme was "very troubling".

"I don't know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that's his policy," he said in the interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

"But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different. If it is the policy, it's very disturbing, it's very troubling," he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, told supporters on Saturday that U.S. policies in the region were "180 degrees" opposed to Iran's, in a Tehran speech punctuated by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".

COMMENT:  You know, Johnny, maybe it would have been a good idea to address Iranian foreign policy before you signed the paper.  Ya think?  We've just been taken by one of the most radical regimes in the world, and we've been taken by our "allies" as well.  They see this as a business deal with Iran. 

Let the good times roll...until the mushroom cloud forms.

July 21,  2015     Permalink

THE TRUMP THREAT – AT 9:29 A.M. ET:  Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has become a factor in next year's presidential election.  But what kind of factor?  The possible answer we're getting has chilling implications.

Trump is currently leading in the polls for the Republican nomination.  It is highly unlikely that he will be the nominee in the end, once Republicans see all the candidates and are told of Trump's history of supporting Democrats as well as Republicans.

Trump will probably slip, and someone else will win the nomination. 

Then what?  That's what's chilling.

Donald Trump has a monumental ego, and he has refused to rule out the possibility of running as an independent candidate for president, as Ross Perot did in 1992.  Perot took votes away from President George H.W. Bush, and handed the presidency to Bill Clinton, who received only 42% of the vote.  And that's what Republicans fear might happen this time.  Frank Luntz, the pollster and commentator, said last night that if Trump enters the general election campaign as an independent, it will be impossible for a Republican to win the election.  How does President Hillary sound to you?

So Trump must be dealt with.  Can an ego like that be convinced to drop out for the good of the country?  The answer to that question may well decide the next four or eight years of American history.  I wouldn't take this matter lightly.

July 21, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER ONE? – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  Governor John Kasich of Ohio is about to enter the presidential race.  From The Hill: 

John Kasich on Tuesday will enter the Republican race for the White House needing a burst of momentum to claim a spot in the first GOP debate, scheduled for Aug. 6 in the Ohio governor’s home state.

Kasich joins the fight with the respect of establishment Republicans and conservative media pundits, who have long seen him as a potential rival to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

But he’s little known nationally, and polls have him falling outside the GOP’s top 10 — which would keep him off the debate stage in Cleveland next month.

“His central problem is that he has all of Jeb’s weaknesses and lacks some of his strengths,” said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak.

To do well, Kasich needs to jumpstart his campaign with a successful launch from Ohio State University.

Kasich plans to pitch himself to primary voters as the only candidate in the field with experience on Capitol Hill, in the private sector and as governor. He’s putting most of his chips on a solid showing in New Hampshire, where he’ll be running in the same mainstream conservative lane as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Bush — who has so far outraised Kasich by about a 10-to-1 margin.

COMMENT:  The Republicans have an embarrassment of riches, and the embarrassment is getting greater.  There are simply too many candidates, and the field must be narrowed to give voters a coherent choice.

Kasich is a good man.  He belongs in the race.  Most of them do.  But the objective is to come out of the nominating process with the best possible candidate, and things look pretty muddled right now.

July 21,  2015     Permalink