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

JUNE 1,  2015

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

ANCIENT HIT PARADE – From Fox:  "Archaeologists believe they have unearthed the oldest known music scene in Israeli history. The image is of a rite in a 'sacred marriage' ceremony for a Mesopotamian king and a goddess. Depicted on a 5,000-year-old cylinder seal impression, the image dates back to the Early Bronze age and illustrates a wedding banquet with music and dancing, the meeting between the king and the goddess, as well as their sexual union, according to a press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority."  No word on whether this was actually a same-sex marriage and whether a photographer was arrested for refusing to photograph it.

WELCOME TO THE RECOVERY – From AP:  "ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York state's food banks are asking state leaders for $16 million to address a worsening hunger problem.  Michael Berg, director of an organization that runs three food pantries in Ulster County, said Monday that requests for food have risen by about 20 percent each year for the last few years. Meanwhile, a coalition of 53 food pantries in the Albany area reports the highest demand in its 36-year history.  Susan Zimet, director of the Hunger Action Network, said the $16 million request is small considering the state has billions of dollars in uncommitted money to spend.  Zimet said most people in need of help are employed, but struggling to make ends meet."  This, in one of the most expensive, high-tax states in the country.  But New York "progressives" continue to block fracking, which would create an economic boom in some parts of the state.

YOU DON'T SAY – From The Hill:  "Sen. Rand Paul is inching away from comments where he accused his colleagues of secretly wanting a terrorist attack on the United States in order to undercut his efforts to dismantle a government surveillance program.  'Sometimes, in the heat of battle, hyperbole can get the better of anyone, and that may be the problem there,' the Kentucky Republican said Monday on Fox News's 'America's Newsroom.'  'The point I was trying to make is, I think people do use fear to try to get us to give up our liberty.'  The presidential candidate made the controversial comments about terrorist attacks during an unusual Sunday night Senate session aimed at reauthorizing three expiring measures of the Patriot Act. Paul successfully blocked those efforts, forcing the expiration of the NSA’s metadata program at midnight.  'People here in town think I’m making a huge mistake,' Paul said Sunday."  I wonder why they'd think that.  Our enemies certainly don't think it.

TAPPER ADVANCES – Jake Tapper, one of the best of the CNN crew, gets a promotion.  From The Politico:  "Jake Tapper will take over as host of CNN's 'State Of The Union' on June 14, he announced Monday.  Tapper, who was named host of the Sunday public affairs program in April, announced the news during a taping of Conan O'Brien's late-night show on TBS. He also tweeted a photograph of himself and O'Brien holding a sign that read 'June 14.'  Tapper joined CNN in 2013 from ABC News, where he occasionally filled in for George Stephanopoulos on ABC's Sunday program, 'This Week.' He replaces Candy Crowley, who served as host of 'SOTU' until late last year. Tapper will also continue to host his 4 p.m. weekday program, 'The Lead.'"  Crowley was a well-trained journalist, but biased toward the left, something that compromised her work.  I have a feeling ABC would love to have Tapper back, with Stephanopoulos's status rather wobbly following disclosures that he made contributions to the Clinton Foundation while an ABC journalist."

June 1, 2015       Permalink

GRAHAM IN – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:  Another Republican joins the race.  Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has officially announced for president.  From Fox: 

And then there were nine.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham added to the Republican Party's logistical challenges as he formally launched his 2016 presidential campaign -- becoming the ninth GOP primary candidate, with more than a half-dozen others still weighing a bid of their own.

South Carolina's senior senator made the announcement Monday in the small town of Central, where he grew up. The hawkish lawmaker made clear he will strive to make national security a centerpiece of his campaign, and the presidential race as a whole.

"I'm running for president of the United States," Graham said. "I want to be president to defeat the enemies that are trying to kill us -- not just penalize them or criticize them or contain them, but defeat them."

Graham slammed President Obama's policies for fighting terror, and said "radical Islam is running wild." He said the biggest threat remains Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Graham said he has more experience on national security than any candidate in the race.

He quipped, "That includes you, Hillary."

COMMENT:  I realize that Graham is not the favorite guy of some conservatives, but no one has done more for national defense.  He and John McCain are the most effective spokesmen for a strong defense in the U.S. Senate.  I think Graham will be a positive force in the race, reminding Republicans that the modern Republican Party, the party of Reagan, was built largely on the need to secure the nation.  Sadly, some Republicans are drifting from that principle, but it must be kept at the core of Republican ideals.

June 1, 2015       Permalink

EARLY IOWA POLLING – AT 10:54 A.M. ET:  Scott Walker continues his strong showing in Iowa polling.  At this stage in the race polling is more amusement than information, but it's fun.  From Bloomberg: 

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has expanded his early lead in Iowa, while former Florida Governor Jeb Bush continues to face headwinds and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida shows upside potential in the state that hosts the first 2016 presidential nomination balloting.

A new Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows more than a third of likely Republican caucus participants say they would never vote for Bush—one factor in a new index to assess candidate strength in such a crowded field. Forty-three percent view him favorably, compared to 45 percent who view him unfavorably.

Walker is backed by 17 percent as the state enters a busy summer of candidate visits, a planned straw poll, and campaigning at the Iowa State Fair. Tied for second are Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 10 percent, with Bush and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee next at 9 percent each.

They're followed at 6 percent by Rubio and 2012 Iowa caucuses winner Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania. With eight months to go before the 2016 caucuses, there's plenty of time for movement.

“Scott Walker’s momentum puts him solidly in first place,” said J. Ann Selzer, president of West Des Moines-based Selzer & Co., which conducted the poll. “For the time being, he’s doing the right things to make the right first impression.”

In the previous Iowa Poll, taken in January, Walker stood atop the field at 15 percent...

...The latest poll shows Rubio is the most popular second choice at 12 percent, an indication of potential strength. Among first-choice preferences, the junior senator from Florida doubled his showing since the Iowa Poll in January.

And...

When first and second choices are combined, those with the strongest showings after Walker and Rubio are Huckabee at 17 percent, Bush at 16 percent, and Carson and Paul at 15 percent.

COMMENT:  Watch Rubio.  He gains wherever he campaigns.  I don't know if Carly Fiorina is campaigning seriously in Iowa.  She also gains wherever she campaigns, but so far is not showing up strongly in polls.

Remember that the Iowa GOP base may not be reflective of the Republican Party generally, and certainly not of the overall electorate. 

We are one year and five months away from the election.

June 1, 2015       Permalink

AND THE BEAT GOES ON – AT 10:16 A.M. ET:   The collapse of Baltimore is ongoing.  This is a horrible tragedy, and the poor will suffer the greatest impact.  From Conservative Treehouse: 

With three men killed in eastside shootings on Sunday, Baltimore recorded its deadliest month in more than 40 years..

The 43 killings in May surpassed the 42 homicides the city saw in August 1990, and left Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake defending police and her administration.

Speaking at a morning ceremony to honor McKenzie Elliott, the 3-year-old killed by a stray bullet in August, Rawlings-Blake said it’s time to stop finger-pointing and assigning blame for the recent violence.

Of course, let's not assign blame.  I mean, why talk about responsibility?

The killing of African-Americans in Baltimore has to stop, she said, noting that 189 of the 208 killed last year were black men. For the city to improve, all homicides need to drop, she added.

“We have to do better,” the mayor said. “We have to want more.”

Thanks for the wisdom, Steph. 

City Councilman Brandon Scott, vice chair of the public safety committee, echoed that theme, saying it’s time for all Baltimoreans to have honest conversations about ways to stop the violence.

COMMENT:  Come on, there is no chance for an honest conversation because no one who wants to survive politically will point the finger at criminals or a corrupt leadership.  They'll probably start blaming the gun manufacturers, which is done routinely in the shooting gallery known as Chicago.

If the violence goes on, it will probably destroy Baltimore as a business and tourist center.  Then we'll have a new Detroit.  And we'll be told that only more federal funds will help.  And federal funds will be sent, and they won't help.

June 1, 2015       Permalink

SLEEP WELL TONIGHT – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:  And know that you're being well protected every time you travel.  From ABC News:

An internal investigation of the Transportation Security Administration revealed security failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, where undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through checkpoints in 95 percent of trials, ABC News has learned.

The series of tests were conducted by Homeland Security Red Teams who pose as passengers, setting out to beat the system.

According to officials briefed on the results of a recent Homeland Security Inspector General’s report, TSA agents failed 67 out of 70 tests, with Red Team members repeatedly able to get potential weapons through checkpoints.

In one test an undercover agent was stopped after setting off an alarm at a magnetometer, but TSA screeners failed to detect a fake explosive device that was taped to his back during a follow-on pat down.

Officials would not divulge the exact time period of the testing other than to say it concluded recently.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was apparently so frustrated by the findings he sought a detailed briefing on them last week at TSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, according to sources. U.S. officials insisted changes have already been made at airports to address vulnerabilities identified by the latest tests.

COMMENT:  How many years has it been since 9-11?  I believe this will be the 14th year, and we still can't get it right.

Do you think it may have something to do with the kind of people the TSA hires?  Maybe some questions about personnel practices are in order.

June 1,  2015     Permalink

MAY 31,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:58 P.M. ET: 

SENATE MISSES DEADLINE – From Fox:  "The National Security Agency's ability to collect the phone records of millions of Americans in bulk expired late Sunday after the Senate failed to strike a deal before the midnight deadline.  However, that program, as well as several other post-9/11 counterterrorism measures, were likely to be revived in some form in the coming days after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. reluctantly embraced a House-passed bill that would extend the anti-terror provisions, while also remaking the bulk phone collections program."  You'd think this could have been done weeks ago.  No excuses on our side.  Republicans control the Senate.  I hope they get their act together and pass legislation in the next few days.

TALIBAN 5 STAYING PUT FOR NOW – From Fox:  "Qatar has agreed to temporarily extend travel bans on five senior Taliban leaders released last year from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a State Department official confirmed to Fox News Sunday.  The official said the ban would remain in place until diplomatic talks for a longer-term solution are completed. The restrictions had been due to expire on Monday under a May 2014 exchange for Bergdahl. U.S. officials said Friday the Obama administration was closing in on an agreement with Qatar to extend the restrictions for six months that could be announced this weekend. It was not immediately clear why that agreement had not been finalized."  Why did we ever agree to release these fanatics at all?  And they'll be restricted only another six months?  After that they're free to go back to the Taliban?  Are we mad?

THE LEFT ROARS – From Radio Iowa:  "The two Democrats who have formally emerged to challenge Hillary Clinton for their party’s 2016 presidential nomination visited Iowa this weekend. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders attracted overflow crowds in Ames and Davenport, then Sanders capped his three-day trip with a Saturday night stop in Kensett, where more than 300 people greeted him.  'People are extremely frustrated with status quo economics, the greed of the top one percent, establishment politics,' Sanders told reporters on his way into Kensett’s community center. '…People want a movement, to be part of a movement that takes on the billionaire class. Let me be as blunt as I can be: you have a handful of people in this country with enormous economic and political power who are getting it all.'"  Bernie won't be president, but I admire him for speaking his mind.  At least he has a consistent point of view, unlike the very flexible Ms. Hillary.  But the Democratic Party is being pushed further and further to the left, as if Obama were some kind of a moderate.  The left is where liberals go to die.

May 31, 2015       Permalink

PATRIOT DRAMA – AT 10:41 A.M. ET:  Unless the Senate acts, critical provisions of the Patriot Act will expire at midnight, leaving the United States blind in some important areas of electronic surveillance.  The House has already passed legislation renewing these provisions.  And even Field Marshal Obama is supporting the renewal.

But Senate approval is being held up, ironically, by a small group of Republicans led by Rand Paul.  From The Politico: 

It’s crunch time for Mitch McConnell and his Republican-controlled Senate.

The chamber will convene at 4 p.m. for a rare Sunday session in a last-ditch effort to keep provisions of the PATRIOT Act from lapsing at midnight — a herculean task complicated by the imminent deadline, a divided GOP and Rand Paul’s presidential aspirations.

Paul announced Saturday that he would not consent to any effort to speed up debate on a House-passed surveillance reform bill – which has wide support on Capitol Hill and is backed by President Barack Obama – nor any extensions of the current law. That would effectively force the controversial national security law, enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, to expire – at least temporarily.

“I am ready and willing to start the debate on how we fight terrorism without giving up our liberty,” the Kentucky senator and 2016 hopeful said in a statement on Saturday announcing his plans to block any movement on surveillance legislation. “Sometimes when the problem is big enough, you just have to start over.”

Paul’s aggressive approach is sure to frustrate fellow senators who are pushing for an overhaul of the controversial National Security Agency programs and believe that passage of an alternate NSA reform bill is inevitable.

And...

In his toughest remarks yet, Obama on Friday warned of the consequences of letting the surveillance part of the PATRIOT Act – as well as two other less controversial provisions – expire on Sunday after a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who has also repeatedly urged Congress against letting the provisions lapse.

“I don’t want us to be in a situation in which, for a certain period of time, those authorities go away, and suddenly we’re dark, and heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could’ve prevented a terrorist attack or could’ve apprehended someone who was engaged in dangerous activity but we didn’t do so simply because of inaction of the Senate,” Obama said.

COMMENT:  We call 'em as we see 'em at Urgent Agenda, and here we agree with the president.  There may be legitimate concerns about parts of the Patriot Act, but there are responsible, thoughtful ways of dealing with them.  Killing the entire act is not one of them.

Once again Rand Paul shows he cannot be trusted on matters of security and foreign policy, any more than his father could.  His approach is reckless and irresponsible.  I hope this stops his presidential ambitions cold.

May 31, 2015       Permalink

A NEW ALERT – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:   The prime minister of Singapore warns us that ISIS is spreading throughout southern Asia.  From Bloomberg: 

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has ramped up its activities in Southeast Asia so effectively that there is now an entire military unit of terrorists recruited from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, according to Singapore's prime minister.

“Southeast Asia is a key recruitment center for ISIS,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the Shangri-La Dialogue here in Singapore Friday. He noted that this included more than 500 Indonesians and dozens of Malaysians. “ISIS has so many Indonesian and Malaysia fighters that they form a unit by themselves -- the Katibah Nusantara -- Malay Archipelago Combat Unit,” he added.

Even in the small and tightly controlled city-state of Singapore, “a few” young men have gone to Syria to join the Islamic State ranks, and even more were intercepted trying to leave, Lee disclosed. He said the Singaporean authorities had recently arrested two students, one 17 and one 19, the latter of whom had planned to assassinate Singaporean government officials if he was unable to reach the Middle East.

“This is why Singapore takes terrorism, and in particular ISIS, very seriously,” Lee said. “The threat is no longer over there, it is over here.”

COMMENT:  Please note that ISIS recently boasted of having plans for South America as well.  Remember the old Marxist principle – "two steps forward, one step back."  ISIS seems to understand that idea.  It will suffer some defeats, but come back and win several victories elsewhere. 

We have no real strategy to defeat ISIS, except to blame its rise on George W. Bush, which is absurd.  Obama's heart is not in the fight.  A former, very senior, intelligence official told a meeting I attended several days ago that Obama is basically a Jeffersonian when it comes to foreign policy – he prefers to avoid foreign actions, and looks inward to domestic affairs.  That tendency may well grow if we have a violent summer in our big cities, violence his own administration has helped stir.  Obama may have to concentrate on that, allowing ISIS to continue to grow. 

And our children will pay the price.

May 31, 2015       Permalink 

OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Our college campuses have become sandboxes, places where children are kept as children.  Alan Dershowitz, late of the Harvard Law School, warns us about that development.  From the superb website of Gatestone Institute: 

The current code word being tossed around to protect political correctness from competition in the marketplace of ideas is "unsafe."

"I feel unsafe" has become the argument stopper on many university campuses. Efforts have been made to shut down controversial events or speakers, some of which have succeeded, at MIT, the University of Michigan, Northeastern University, Oxford, Hampshire College, Smith College, and other great universities, on the grounds that students would feel "unsafe." Students must, of course, be and feel physically safe in their dorms, classrooms, and campuses. That's what university and city police are for: to protect against physical assaults and threats. But no one on a university campus should be or feel safe or protected when it comes to the never-ending war of ideas.

An important role of the university is to challenge every idea, every truth, every sacred notion, even if challenge makes students (or faculty) feel intellectually uncomfortable, unsettled, or unsafe. There must be no safe spaces in the classroom or auditorium that protect members of the university community from dangerous, disturbing or even emotionally unsettling ideas.

COMMENT:  Dead on, from Dersh.  Please read the rest of the piece, and circulate it.  Free speech on many college campuses is in crisis, and the crisis will spread to the general society unless we stop the rot.

May 31,  2015     Permalink