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

JULY 27,  2015

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

CASH FOR JEB – From Bloomberg:   Behind a garden modeled on Monet's, Jeb Bush addressed a lawn-full of chief executives and hedge-fund managers at an East Hampton, New York, estate Saturday morning. While the candidate is no stranger to courting wealthy donors, this time was different: about half the attendees were Democrats.  "This guy sells well," said Kenneth Lipper, the money manager and registered Democrat who hosted the event, after Bush left. Virtually the only one who left without writing a check, Lipper said, was a buck deer that wandered past the group assembled on the wooded grounds.  Fascinating story.  Jeb is clearly positioning himself as the candidate who can cut across party lines and appeal to the great American middle...and to minorities.  That's fine, as long as he maintains a strong conservative position.  Reagan ran as a strong conservative, but had the ability to appeal to disenchanted Democrats, creating the Reagan Democrats.  Jeb, should he be the nominee, would have the same opportunity. 

DR. BEN ON CALL – From Breitbart:   Retired pediatric neurosurgeon and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson will be the featured speaker Tuesday at the Washington, D.C. #WomenBetrayed rally to defund Planned Parenthood.  To date, some 60 cities are confirmed as holding rallies – all of which have been coordinated by the nation’s largest organization of pro-life millennials, Students for Life of America (SFLA) and its partner organization Pro-Life Future. The rallies urge citizens across the nation to demand their states investigate, prosecute and defund Planned Parenthood.  The Washington, D.C. rally will be held on Capitol Hill.  I think Democrats are underestimating the power of the Planned Parenthood videos that have come to light.  Abortion, in particular late-term abortion. may well be the sleeper issue in next year's election.

MAJOR PARTYING NEWS – From PanAm Post:  Without knowing the crimes alleged against him, the general director of the Venezuelan Federation of Liquor Producers (Fevelif) was arrested on Friday, July 24. According to local media, Fray Roa could appear in court on Monday, July 27.  While there remains no stated justification for the arrest, Venezuelans haven’t failed to notice that it occurred right after Roa shared revelations with journalist Gabriela Frías on her television program Global Portfolio, broadcast on CNN en Español...“Fray Roa reported the emergency that the distillation sector in Venezuela is facing; now the SEBIN have taken him away. They did the same with a doctor. What does that solve?”...The industry representative complained about the lack of raw materials for the production of beer and malt in the country. Moreover, the businessman took the opportunity to announce a “zero-hour” (planned strike) to protest the critical situation Venezuelan liquor producers are facing.  Roa reported that the perilously low stocks of beer would only last until the first week of August, and explained that this is largely due to the non-payment of US$2.7 billion that the regime owes the brewing industry.  What a crisis.  What does a college fraternity in Caracas do?  I'm sure President Obama is readying aid.  Please send bottles of Bud to families in need.

July 27,  2015     Permalink

MORALE BOOSTER – AT 4:58 P.M. ET:  Yes, I know, the news is grim.  Things seem to be falling apart.   A pseudo-president sits in the White House.  The country appears to be failing as never before.

And yet...there are moments when we realize that there's a lot more to America than headlines written on the west side of Manhattan.  My wife and I went to West Point on Saturday to hear a concert by the United States Military Academy Band – our nation's oldest military band – and the alumni Glee Club.  It was a tremendous boost to the morale.  The performance was sharp.  The audience was respectful, and appreciated the patriotic tone.  The academy itself is inspiring, and its presence reminds us that there are men and women of character in our young generation who will always answer the call.  You might be interested in some photographs I took Saturday.  I'll be posting pictures from time to time as I visit more historic sites in America:

United States Military Academy Band and alumni Glee Club performing at Trophy Point Saturday night,
July 25, 2015.  In the background is Constitution Island (which is also featured on the daily masthead
of Urgent Agenda.)  There are still remains from forts on Constitution Island that defended West Point
during the Revolutionary War.  During that war West Point was a military installation only.  It became
the site of the United States Military Academy in 1802, during the administration of Thomas Jefferson.

The base of Battle Monument at Trophy Point, United States Military Academy, West Point.   The monument was designed
by the distinguished architect, Stanford White, and was dedicated in 1897 by veterans of the Civil War.  It memorializes
officers and soldiers of the Regular Army killed in that war.   The monument is surrounded by greened cannons placed
barrel down in the ground, symbolizing the desire that Americans never fire on each other again.

Jefferson Hall, a library building at the United States Military Academy, West Point.  It will surprise the political left
that West Point has a library.  It actually has several, which are well equipped and well attended.  West Point accepts
only 9% of applicants, making it one of the most competitive educational institutions in the nation.

July 27,  2015     Permalink

WHAA..?  QUOTE OF THE DAY – OBAMA WOWS THE HOMEBOYS – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  Look, I don't begrudge the president returning in triumph to his father's native country of Kenya, as he did last week.  After all, President Kennedy went to Ireland after taking office, and we cheered him.Irish-Americans were understandably proud. 

But our current president has a way of messing things up, and he came out with a quote in Kenya that even had the locals laughing.  This is what he said, while lecturing Kenyans on how they should behave: 

"Too often, here in Kenya -- as is true in other places -- corruption is tolerated because that’s how things have always been done.....There was a time in the United States where that was true, too. My hometown of Chicago was infamous for Al Capone and the Mob and organized crime corrupting law enforcement. But what happened was that over time people got fed up, and leaders stood up and they said, we're not going to play that game anymore..... Here in Kenya, it's time to change habits, and decisively break that cycle."

COMMENT:  Only Barack Obama would use Chicago as a symbol of governmental reform.  Well of course.  The Chicago machine produced...him.  And he's always been loyal.  Mayor Rahm Emanuel?  Perfection. 

And yes, Kenyans did laugh at his Chicago reference.  They know more than he thinks they do.

Obama lectured Kenyans on many things...their imperfect past, gay rights, and political corruption.  They must've loved it.  I mean, it isn't as if he's has actually succeeded, or anything like that.  And I really don't recall President Kennedy, on his trip to Ireland, saying, "Look, you really have to be more like me."

Only Obama.  Eighteen more months.

July 27, 2015       Permalink

SANE DEMS STARTING TO WORRY – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  There are actually some sane people left in the Democratic Party, although you won't find too many on the streets of New York City or Beverly Hills.  They're out there, though, in places with quaint names like Tennessee or South Carolina or Texas or Ohio.  I even have some names.

And many of these sane Democrats are starting to panic over their once-great party's march to the left.   They wonder how the party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy can remain truly national if it appeals to only a small segment of the population.  From The Politico:

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Centrist Democrats were wiped out in the 2014 elections and in their absence emerged a resurgent liberal movement, embodied most recently by the surprisingly competitive presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

But the suddenly ascendant left — its populist overtones becoming part of the mainstream Democratic pitch — is worrying Democrats who want to compete on Republican-leaning turf. The party lost every competitive gubernatorial and Senate race in the South last year. And Democrats didn’t fare much better in the heartland.

Now, as Bernie Sanders’s surge foreshadows a new burst of progressivism, moderate Democrats are looking to their counterparts in Washington with a plea: Don’t freeze us out.

“The national Democratic Party’s brand makes it challenging for Democrats in red states oftentimes and I hope that going forward, the leaders at the national level will be mindful of that and they will understand that they can’t govern the country without Democrats being able to win races in red states,” said Paul Davis, who narrowly failed to unseat Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback last year.

Davis and his ilk were partly victims of a historically dismal year for Democrats, who saw their gubernatorial ranks fall to 18. Their candidates were weighed down by perceptions that President Barack Obama was too liberal. Now, Democrats in red states are worried that the party’s shift toward an even more polarizing, populist tone could turn off the swing voters they need to mount a comeback in 2015 and 2016, when a handful of GOP-tilted states with Democratic governors are on the ballot.

“It’s important that the Democratic party be ‘big-tent,’” said Vincent Sheheen, who lost last year to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. “So if the result of that kind of rhetoric is an antagonism toward or a hostility toward the moderate elements of the Democratic Party then yeah, it’s big trouble and big problems.”

COMMENT:   Oh, those fools.  Don't they realize that liberal Democrats despise them and their culture?  The moderates are the "flyover people," the people who don't count, the people who never had a serving of tofu and can't identify fine wines.  Who needs them?  What do they do?  Make cars and grow food?

The Democratic Party's lurch to the left is bad for the party and bad for America.  The party has become a danger to our national defense and, indeed, our national existence.  Maybe, if they're defeated next year, the Dems will come to their senses.  But I really wonder about that.  Their amen corner in the national media love the idea of a true left-wing party, and they're egging the nuts on.

July 27, 2015       Permalink

THE IRAN DEAL – AT 8:55 A.M. ET:  Like a bad movie, you can't wait for it to end.  But it isn't ending.  The more we learn about it, the worse it gets.  Can you imagine the sequel?

The Wall Street Journal is doing some of the best reporting on the Iran deal.  This morning it has another devastating report:

An Obama administration assessment of the Iran nuclear deal provided to Congress has led a number of lawmakers to conclude the U.S. and world powers will never get to the bottom of the country’s alleged efforts to build an atomic weapon, and that Tehran won’t be pressed to fully explain its past.

In a report to Capitol Hill last week, the administration said it was unlikely Iran would admit to having pursued a covert nuclear weapons program, and that such an acknowledgment wasn’t critical to verifying Iranian commitments in the future.

Details of the report, which haven’t been previously disclosed, indicate the deal reached this month could go ahead even if United Nations inspectors never ascertain conclusively whether Iran pursued a nuclear weapons program—something Tehran has repeatedly denied.

The issue of Iran accounting for its alleged past work has emerged as a flash point in the debate between Congress and the White House over the July 14 agreement. Lawmakers initiated a two-month review of the accord last week, and many have demanded answers about Iran’s nuclear weapons history.

COMMENT:   You'll notice how the administration's line has changed.  When it went into these negotiations it promised all kinds of red lines – that we would know Iran's research past, that we would have "anytime anywhere" inspections, that sanctions could be "snapped back" if Iran violated the pact.

The final agreement respects none of those red lines.  We caved on everything.  We caved because Barack Obama doesn't really care if Iran gets nuclear weapons, as long as the Iranians get them on some other president's watch.   All he cares about is getting a legacy agreement that will impress the political left and the "international community," which is his real audience.  He is sometimes called the first "post-American" president.  That is correct.  I hope he's the last.

July 27,  2015     Permalink 

JULY 26,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:46 P.M. ET: 

OCCASIONALLY THE YOUNG DO SOMETHING INTELLIGENT – From the Jerusalem Post:   BERLIN -- A public row over stopping Iran’s nuclear program has caused the youth organization of the second largest opposition party in the Bundestag, The Greens, to criticize its leaders for ignoring Tehran’s threats to Israel’s existence, deteriorating Iranian human rights conditions, and their complicity in preserving Iran’s atomic program. In a public letter to senior Green MPs, youth group Grüne Jugend wrote that the “deal legitimizes an Iranian atomic program without addressing the human rights situation or that [Iran] retract questioning of Israel’s right to exist. It is for us incomprehensible that the Greens, in such a manner, withdraw criticism of the atomic deal.”  There have been disturbing currents in German public opinion recently.  This is refreshing. 

MAJOR ISSUE ADVANCES – From The Hill:   President Obama announced Saturday he is proposing a new ban on the sale of “virtually all ivory across state lines.”  In his first visit to Kenya as president, Obama told reporters that he is planning to crack down on ivory trafficking to protect the country’s wildlife from poachers.  The proposed rule would ban the sale of ivory from African elephants, which have long been targeted by poachers for the U.S. and Asian markets.  There will be some exemptions, as with previous U.S. rules on ivory. Antique items like musical instruments, furniture pieces and firearms that have small amounts of ivory can continue to be sold.  The U.S. remains the second-largest market for ivory, behind China, despite existing regulations.  I love elephants.  Elephants are friends of mine.  They are guests in my home often.  But I just find it odd that elephants would be a major presidential issue at this moment.  Lame ducks maybe.  But elephants?  Well, here's to the elephants and their survival.

JOB OPENINGS, COMRADES – From the College Fix:   New Jersey union activists are savaging Kean University because its China campus, run jointly with Wenzhou University, is advertising job openings that give preference to Chinese Communist Party members:  “Membership in the Chinese Communist Party is preferred” for the Specialist for Residence Life and Specialist for Student Conduct positions. These positions involve close, daily contact with students. For example, the Specialist for Student Conduct would, according to the job posting, manage the student code of conduct and violation process as well as “student profiles and archives.”...The listings also require applicants to complete an application form that asks them for their “political status” – a practice that “could be found illegal and discriminatory” in the United States, and which raises “serious concerns about the existence of academic freedom at Wenzhou,” the union said.  It said that Kean has informed the local American Federation of Teachers chapter on campus that it’s “actively planning” up to 30 staff layoffs on top of the 12 it cut four years ago.  I'm sure the Obama administration will have no problem with the Chinese employment standards.  After all, who are we to criticize another culture?

July 26, 2015       Permalink

HILLARY'S MESS – AT 12:18 P.M. ET:   Now the phrase "Clinton collapse" is entering the Democratic vocabulary.  From DCWhispers.com:  

Earlier, D.C. Whispers reported on federal investigators’ request to initiate a full CRIMINAL investigation into the Hillary Clinton email scandal due, at least in part, to Mrs. Clinton’s alleged and purposeful destruction of classified material she kept on a private email server. Apparently this development is but one of several now plaguing a Hillary Clinton campaign that has a candidate who often appears “lost, confused, tired, and angry.”

The term “Clinton Collapse” is apparently an increasingly common one these days for those whose job it is to continue insulating their candidate from media scrutiny and try and push Mrs. Clinton across the eventual finish line that is the Democratic Party nomination – no easy task given Clinton herself appears increasingly unstable, politically speaking.

…This past week saw campaign operatives trying to figure out how to break the news to candidate Clinton regarding her sudden drop in several battleground states that show her losing by wide margins to potential rivals like Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker. When that news was finally delivered, Hillary Clinton is said to have initially brushed it off.

Mere hours later she proceeded to lash out her handlers, and then went on to blame what she perceives to be “unfair media coverage.”

And...

A D.C. Whispers source had this to say regarding Mrs. Clinton’s view of the modern media:

“She doesn’t understand how it works. She still thinks the New York Times is the end-all, be-all regarding media coverage and because they (the Clinton Machine) pretty much control how the Times covers them, she feels she controls her own media destiny and when that doesn’t happen, it infuriates her. She gets very angry very quickly and it’s a particularly aggressive kind of nasty on her part.”

COMMENT:  Just the kind of person we want in the White House.  The problem is, what's the alternative?  The people trying to bring down Clinton aren't looking for a better president.  They're looking for a more left-wing president. 

There is talk of Biden getting in.  And increasing talk of John Kerry or Al Gore. 

There is still time to build that backyard shelter.

July 26, 2015       Permalink

SIGN OF MORE TROUBLE? – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:   One group Hillary is depending on for 2016 is college students.  They're young, they're uninformed, they're idealistic, they have an attention span of four seconds.  Perfect for Hillary.

Trouble is, they aren't showing much interest.  From Campus Reform: 

Emphasizing the importance of Millennial voters in upcoming elections, progressive activists spoke to a nearly empty auditorium at the College Democrats of America annual conference on Friday.

Despite offering a full day of activities, speakers like Julian Castro, and campaigning advice from top political operatives, the College Democrats of America were barely able to fill the first couple rows with young attendees.

The speakers emphasized the important role Millennial voters can play in the political process by getting out the vote, engaging fellow students on campus, and supporting the objectives of the Democratic Party. The conference began July 22 and will end this Saturday.

Donna Brazile, Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee and frequent television political commentator, began an unscheduled appearance by thanking “all those who work so hard to ensure that all of our young people, all of our College Democrats, are involved, active, and engaged in the national Democratic Party.”

Brazile encouraged the members of the sparse audience to seek public office while pointing to an empty chair on stage.

“I want you to start thinking about filling this seat,” said Brazile, who said she has been active in politics since childhood and looked forward to the contributions of the next generation.

“I didn’t come here with any talking points, I don’t have a speech, I don’t have a candidate yet, but I do have an empty chair,” said Brazile.

COMMENT:  Lots of empty chairs.  Is it possible that young people are actually starting to think?  That would be news.  And it would be news if a large number started considering Republican candidates.  And that is what the Republican Party must aim toward.  Compromise the youth vote and the 2016 election will be much easier to win.

July 26, 2015        Permalink

EXTRAORDINARY – AT 11:07 A.M. ET:  I'm generally not a fan of Ross Douthat, a "conservative" columnist at The New York Times.  Call him "conservatism lite."  The Times, under its current management, would not have a conservative in the spirit of William Safire today. 

And yet Douthat has written, and the Times to its credit has published, the most extraordinary essay on abortion that I've read in recent years.  It will cause trouble.  There will be people who want Douthat to be fired for upsetting their "Sundays in bed with The Times."  Must not upset the New York liberals.  From Douhat: 

IN an essay in his 1976 collection, “Mortal Lessons,” the physician Richard Selzer describes a strange suburban scene. People go outside in the morning in his neighborhood, after the garbage trucks have passed, and find “a foreignness upon the pavement,” a softness underfoot.

Looking down, Selzer first thinks he sees oversize baby birds, then rubber baby dolls, until the realization comes that the street is littered with the tiny, naked, all-too-human bodies of aborted fetuses.

Later, the local hospital director speaks to Selzer, trying to impose order on the grisly scene. It was an accident, of course: The tiny corpses were accidentally “mixed up with the other debris” instead of being incinerated or interred. “It is not an everyday occurrence. Once in a lifetime, he says.”

And Selzer tries to nod along: “Now you see. It is orderly. It is sensible. The world is not mad. This is still a civilized society…

“But just this once, you know it isn’t. You saw, and you know.”

And here is how Douthat ends:

But the reluctance to look closely doesn’t change the truth of what there is to see. Those were dead human beings on Richard Selzer’s street 40 years ago, and these are dead human beings being discussed on video today: Human beings that the nice, idealistic medical personnel at Planned Parenthood have spent their careers crushing, evacuating, and carving up for parts.

The pro-life sting was sweeping; there are reportedly 10 videos to go. You can turn away. But there will be plenty of chances to look, to see, to know.

COMMENT:  No matter where you stand on abortion, and we have both sides represented in our readership, this is required reading.  It may be the most important column you read this year, so please read it all.

July 26,  2015     Permalink