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MAY 6,  2015

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

WEIRD, MAN – From Fox:  "An aide to California Attorney General Kamala Harris has been arrested along with two others for allegedly operating an illegitimate 'police department' that traces its origins to the Knights Templar.  The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced that the three suspects were taken into custody last week on suspicion of impersonating police officers through their roles in the so-called Masonic Fraternal Police Department.  Among them is Brandon Kiel, 36, who has worked as deputy director of community affairs at the California Department of Justice -- which is led by Harris, also a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Kiel was arrested on suspicion of misusing his government ID."  Kamala Harris is considered the leading candidate to succeed the retiring Barbara Boxer.  I have no idea if this will hurt her.  It's California, after all. 

HILLARY LEADS IN THE RICH VOTE – From CNBC:  "Hillary Clinton is the favorite U.S. presidential candidate among millionaire voters and would win a head-to-head contest with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, according to the third CNBC Millionaire Survey conducted in March that was released today.  The survey, which polls 750 Americans with a net worth of $1 million or more, found that 53 percent of millionaires would vote for the Democratic ex-Secretary of State, compared with 47 percent for the GOP presidential hopeful, in a hypothetical general-election match-up. Clinton had the support of 91 percent of Democratic millionaires, 13 percent of Republican millionaires and 57 percent of Independent millionaires."  And she wants to be known as the candidate of the little people, the voiceless, the powerless.  You can start laughing.

DEAD HEAT IN THE MOTHER COUNTRY – From AFP:  "LONDON — The final polls released on the eve of Britain’s general election on Thursday showed main rivals Labour and the Conservatives locked in a dead heat.  Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party and the Labour party led by Ed Miliband have been neck-and-neck for much of the campaign.  The last survey data released before a ban on the publishing of opinion polls comes into force indicated that a flurry of last-minute campaigning to win over undecided voters had failed to sway the race one way or another.  Polls by YouGov, ICM and Survation all showed the two parties tied — on 34 percent, 35 percent and 31.4 percent respectively.  Three more surveys by TNS, Opinium and Comres all showed the Conservatives one point ahead — on 33 percent to Labour’s 32 percent; 35 percent to 34 percent; and 35 to 34 percent respectively."  We root for the conservatives.  A Labour victory will only encourage Obama.

May 6, 2015       Permalink

AN INTELLIGENCE MISS – AT 3:52 A.M. ET:  The attack in Texas was not predicted by our intelligence agencies.  We can never be sure that these agencies will get it right, which is why we must be prepared for attacks that succeed.  From PJ Media: 

As online chatter about a Muhammad cartoon contest began to escalate last week, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Joint Intelligence Bulletin last Thursday. The bulletin acknowledged the potential threat, but downplayed the possibility of any violence targeting the event.

The bulletin concluded that while the event could inspire violence abroad by contributing to terrorist messaging, it was “unlikely” that such violence would happen in the United States.

A copy of the FBI/DHS bulletin is provided exclusively by PJ Media below.

On Sunday night, two men – Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, roommates from Phoenix — did in fact show up at the event location in Garland, Texas, armed with semi-automatic weapons and body armor. Both were quickly killed in an exchange of gunfire before there was any direct threat to anyone inside the facility. One police officer was shot in the ankle — he was treated at the hospital and later released.

According to sources involved in the investigation into the terror attack and law enforcement preparations leading up to last Sunday’s event, there was virtually no online chatter about the cartoon contest until early last week.

The chatter began when news broke that two Muslim congressmen, Keith Ellison and Andre Carson, had appealed to Secretary of State John Kerry to deny entry into the U.S. for Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders.

Wilders was scheduled to be the featured speaker at Sunday’s cartoon contest.

One law enforcement source who was monitoring potential threats to the event told PJ Media the following:

[Ellison and Carson] clearly set things off. Nothing was being said until that news story came out, and then the usual suspects began to talk about it. By the time the weekend rolled around, there were clear and identifiable incitements calling for an attack on the event.

COMMENT:  Intelligence consists of gathering information and predicting the future.  If intelligence agencies were infallible, we'd depend upon them for virtually every insight we need.  They're not infallible.  They've been spectacularly wrong a number of times.  That is why it is foolish to accept assurances that Iran won't be able to cheat on any nuclear agreement because our intelligence agencies will be watching them. 

They'll be watching, but how much will they actually see?

May 6, 2015       Permalink

TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY – AT 3:14 A.M. ET:  ISIS is threatening America.  Some will laugh at their threats, just as some, before 1941, thought those funny little Japanese with thick glasses could never find Pearl Harbor.  From Gateway Pundit: 

ISIS released a new online threat today on JustPasteIt.

The terrorist group says they will murder Pamela Geller and kill anyone who shields her.

The terrorists also say they have 71 fighters in 15 different states and they 23 have signed up already for missions like the failed Sunday attack in Garland, Texas.

Via Sooper Mexican:

Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem

“The New Era”

To our brothers and sisters fighting for the Sake of Allah, we make dua for you and ask Allah to guide your bullets, terrify your enemies, and establish you in the Land. As our noble brother in the Phillipines said in his bayah, “This is the Golden Era, everyone who believes… is running for Shaheed”.

The attack by the Islamic State in America is only the beginning of our efforts to establish a wiliyah in the heart of our enemy. Our aim was the khanzeer Pamela Geller and to show her that we don’t care what land she hides in or what sky shields her; we will send all our Lions to achieve her slaughter. This will heal the hearts of our brothers and disperse the ones behind her. To those who protect her: this will be your only warning of housing this woman and her circus show. Everyone who houses her events, gives her a platform to spill her filth are legitimate targets. We have been watching closely who was present at this event and the shooter of our brothers. We knew that the target was protected. Our intention was to show how easy we give our lives for the Sake of Allah.

We have 71 trained soldiers in 15 different states ready at our word to attack any target we desire. Out of the 71 trained soldiers 23 have signed up for missions like Sunday, We are increasing in number bithnillah. Of the 15 states, 5 we will name… Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan. The disbelievers who shot our brothers think that you killed someone untrained, nay, they gave you their bodies in plain view because we were watching.

The next six months will be interesting, To our Amir Al Mu’mineen make dua for us and continue your reign, May Allah enoble your face.

May Allah send His peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhummad and all those who follow until the last Day.
–
Abu Ibrahim Al Ameriki

COMMENT:  I think that says it.  Remember that it took only 19 men to pull off 9-11. 

May 6, 2015        Permalink

HILLARY GOES NUTS – AT 3:03 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton has gone nuts on the immigration issue.  Maybe it would be better just to say that she's gone left.  Very left.  Like, left enough to make her more Hispanic than Marco Rubio, which may be the objective here.  From London's Daily Mail: 

Hillary Rodham Clinton threw down the immigration gauntlet on Tuesday and pledged that she would extend President Barack Obama's executive orders past their current boundaries if she were to succeed him in the White House.

'I will fight for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship,' she told a Las Vegas roundtable of illegal immigrant high school students, including one who said he was transgender and another who identified herself as a lesbian.

In addition to the 'DREAMers' Obama has protected from deportation – those brought to the U.S. as minors – Clinton said she wants the program extended to grant a legal amnesty to the parents as well.

'I want to do everything we can to defend the president's executive orders,' she said, adding separately that 'as president I would do everything possible under the law to go even further.'

'We should put into place a simple, straightforward and accessible way for parents of DREAMers ... to make their case,' Clinton added, 'and to be eligible for the same deferred action as their children.'

'But that's just the beginning.'

Clinton said no one on the Republican side of the 2016 presidential contest had a plan to put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

'When they talk about "legal status"' instead of 'citizenship,' she insisted, 'that is code for second-class status.'

COMMENT:  Clinton is being challenged within her party only from the left, and so leftward she goes.  Her position is becoming extreme.  She may have a hard time walking back some of her statements once she gets the nomination, but a friendly press will give her considerable help.  Look what that did for Obama.

May 6,  2015        Permalink

YIPPEE FOR CARLY! – AT 2:56 A.M. ET:  I like Carly Fiorina.  She's probably the gutsiest of all the GOP candidates for president.  And I love it when she talks back bluntly to the bullies in the journalism business, people like Katie Couric.  From NewsBusters:

Newly minted Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina went toe-to-toe with liberal journalist Katie Couric on Monday, sparring for 45 minutes on abortion, Hillary Clinton and qualifications for President. Yahoo correspondent Couric complained about Fiorina's criticism of Clinton: "You've had some unkind words for Hillary Clinton. You said that she was not trustworthy and she hasn't accomplished very much. I think people might think, 'Well, she was the senator from New York and she was the Secretary of State.'"

Couric chided, "How can you really make those claims?" This came after Couric had her own "unkind words" for Fiorina, reminding, "During your tenure at HP, the stock fell by more than 50 percent, which is a bigger drop than companies like IBM and Dell. And you were fired after five and a half years as CEO."

Fiorina put the two questions together and zinged:

FIORINA: Well, you see, Katie, in the world I come from, a title is just a title. I mean, you went through a whole bunch of things about me as CEO. You weren't impressed with my title. Why are we so impressed with political titles? Senator is a title. Secretary of State is a title. It's a completely legitimate question to say, "What has anyone accomplished with their title?" And the truth is, there are many in the political class who haven't accomplished a whole lot, despite their titles.

Couric quoted comedienne Cecily Strong as saying, "Carly Fiorina is considering running for President." Seems like a lot of work just to be a Fox News pundit." The Republican retorted, "Oh, Katie. Would you ask a male candidate that question?"

COMMENT:  Carly will probably not be at the top of the ticket.  She may make it as the V.P. candidate.  But whether she scores or not, she's showing Republican candidates that they don't have to take it from liberal bullies in the press.

I thought it was remarkable that Couric would bring up Carly's being fired.  Didn't Couric get pink slipped by CBS?  Doesn't she think people remember? 

Keep it up, Carly.  You may be the best man we've got.

May 6, 2015     Permalink

MAY 5,  2015

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

IS THIS PROPER? – New Attorney General Loretta Lynch has been on the job about a week, and already she's parroting the Obama party line.  From AP:  "BALTIMORE (AP) -- Attorney General Loretta Lynch pledged Tuesday to improve the city's police department after meeting with the family of a man who was fatally injured in police custody.  'We're here to hold your hands and provide support,' Lynch said in a meeting with faith and community leaders, including members of Congress.  The new attorney general met privately at the University of Baltimore with Freddie Gray's family, days after the state's attorney charged six police officers involved in Gray's arrest. Gray's injury in police custody and death a week later sparked protests and riots that prompted Maryland's governor to bring in the National Guard."  There is an appearance of impropriety, of taking sides in a legal case to which the Justice Department is not a party.  I don't see a similar visit to the family of a New York City police officer slain over the weekend.  Police throughout the country cannot fail to get the message.

THAT'S NICE OF HER – From London's Daily Mail:  "Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to testify this month on Capitol Hill about the terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and about her controversial practice of exclusively using a private email server while she was secretary of state.  Her lawyer David Kendall wrote to lawmakers Monday telling them she would agree to the request from a special panel investigating the September 2012 attacks that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.  But Kendall said Clinton would testify only for one session. 'Respectfully,' he wrote, 'there is no basis, logic, or precedent for such an unusual request.'  The committee chairman, GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, had requested that she appear twice – once for a hearing on Clinton's use of private emails and again later on Benghazi.  Kendall said Clinton would answer all lawmakers' questions during one session and it would not be necessary for her to appear twice.   'The secretary is fully prepared to stay for the duration of the committee’s questions on the day she appears,' he wrote. "  That's so nice of her.  The four Americans killed won't be appearing at all. 

OREGON IS THE NEW SAN FRANCISCO – From theweek.com:  "There is a place where vegans can go and never have to worry about running across something derived from an animal: The world's first vegan mini-mall in Portland, Oregon.  Portland has a long history of supporting vegetarians and vegans, the Los Angeles Times reports. In the late 1800s, Seventh-Day Adventists, who shun meat, flocked to the Rose City, and today it even has a vegan strip club, where animal-free food is served and the dancers aren't allowed to don fur, leather, silk, or pearls."  And we thought Iranian nuclear weapons are important.

TRAVEL NEWS – From sun-sentinel.com:  "For the first time in five decades, the U.S. is allowing ferry service between Florida and Cuba.  At least four companies said they were notified Tuesday of approvals by the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, the first since Washington imposed a trade embargo on Cuba.  Licensed were Havana Ferry Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Baja Ferries of Miami, United Caribbean Lines Florida of Greater Orlando and Airline Brokers Co. of Miami and Fort Lauderdale."  I can't wait to go and see that Cuban health system.  I understand from college professors that no one ever dies.

May 5, 2015       Permalink

HE'S BAAACK – AT 10:22 A.M. ET:  Uncle Joe is back in town, the town being Moscow.  Joe Stalin is enjoying a comeback, thanks to Vladimir Putin.  From AFP:

Since President Vladimir Putin took power in 2000, there has been a growing chorus of Russians who take a positive view of the Soviet tyrant's role in history.

Those attitudes have changed so dramatically on the back of a recent burst of patriotic fervour whipped up by state-controlled media that some analysts speak of a creeping rehabilitation of Stalin.

The palpable change in how Russians perceive the moustachioed despot has particularly come into stark focus in the run-up to Russia's celebrations of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

Banners featuring Stalin whose name is inseparably tied to the history of the 1941-1945 conflict known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War were spotted in Moscow and Magadan, a former transit point in a vast network of Stalinist labour camps.

A poster praising Stalin appeared in a Saint Petersburg high school last month, while Kremlin-backed military enthusiasts are preparing to open a museum dedicated to the Soviet dictator in a village west of Moscow.

In February, Russia unveiled a monument to the watershed 1945 "Big Three" Yalta summit that features Stalin along with US president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill, despite objections from Crimean Tatars, an ethnic group persecuted under his rule.

"Stalin's rehabilitation is being steadily implemented," Nikita Petrov, a historian at Memorial, Russia's most prominent rights organisation, told AFP.

"It's a sign of unlearnt history lessons, a reluctance to look at yourself and honestly admit that we took the wrong path and that our country committed a host of crimes against its own people and the people of neighbouring states."

He said officials, who are nostalgic for the superpower status of the USSR, have consciously been promoting Stalin as a tough leader who led the Soviet Union to victory in WWII and presided over the country's industrialisation.

Those sentiments are now shared by many everyday Russians.

COMMENT:  Stalin is a perfect symbol of the return of authoritarian Russia as a world power.  Putin is moving quickly and effectively.  The newest Russian jet fighter is reported to be the equivalent of ours.

We forget that the Soviet Union's collapse occurred a quarter of a century ago.  Moscow is coming back, and it is coming back to challenge us, despite Hillary's reset button.

May 5, 2015        Permalink

OBAMA'S IRAN PLAN – READ WITH BOTH EYES – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:  Why do I sense I'm hearing doubletalk?  From ace defense reporter Josh Rogin, at Bloomberg: 

Top Obama administration officials have released new details about how they would lift most sanctions against Iran. Those are unnerving some experts, who doubt the administration’s claims about the sanctions will hold up.

In speeches last week to a conference at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Vice President Joe Biden revealed new details about the end of most sanctions against Iran if a nuclear deal is reached. The officials also claimed that most of the sanctions, including multilateral sanctions, could be snapped back into place if Iran cheated, and they argued that giving Iran tens of billions of dollars in cash won’t dramatically increase Iran’s spending on terrorism and other nefarious activities.

COMMENT:  Is he serious?  Sanctions cannot work without international cooperation.  Once they're lifted, Western companies will benefit.  It will be very difficult to put those sanctions back in place if Iran cheats because jobs will be lost.  No leader wants to explain that to his or her people.

Lew spoke to a private meeting of Washington Institute members last Wednesday, after which Treasury posted his remarks. He said that President Obama planned to use his own authority to suspend sanctions against Iran’s oil, banking and trade sectors after Iran complied with the initial parts of the deal and that Congress wouldn’t actually be asked to lift sanctions during his presidency.

“Only after many years of compliance would we ask Congress to vote to terminate sanctions, and only Congress can terminate legislative sanctions,” he said.

Lew said this suspension, rather than a legislative repeal of sanctions, would allow the administration to quickly reinstate U.S. sanctions if Iran is caught cheating. He also said that United Nations sanctions would be able to snap back easily and no single nation would be able to stop that.

COMMENT:  That sounds like pie in the sky to me.  And the concept of "if Iran cheats" is phony at best.  Who verifies that?  Who announces it to Congress?  Where would we get the information?  Does anyone seriously believe that Obama would rush to Congress and inform the members that Iran is cheating?  The Iran deal is the crowning glory of his presidency.

I'm afraid Bibi was right when he told Congress that the deal under discussion would lead to an Iranian nuclear weapon.  But, by that time, Obama will be gone, and will probably be secretary-general of the UN.

May 5, 2015       Permalink

MIKE IN – AT 9:19 A.M. ET:  Mike Huckabee will announce today that he is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.  Don't underestimate his influence.  He's a skilled, popular figure with strong appeal to the evangelical base of the Republican Party.  From CNN:

(CNN) When Mike Huckabee makes his presidential announcement Tuesday, his pitch won't come from his multimillion-dollar beachfront home or the anchor desk where he spent years as a Fox News host.

Instead, Huckabee will cast himself as the hometown boy from Hope, Arkansas.

The setting just so happens to be the shared birthplace of Huckabee and former President Bill Clinton -- an ideal backdrop for Huckabee to draw a contrast with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. In fact, Huckabee's team is already framing their guy as the only Republican contender who has taken on the "Clinton machine" and won.

But first, Huckabee has to survive the Republican primary.

"As my dad likes to say, we're at a great advantage because we've been through this before, and we're at a great disadvantage because we've been through this before," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the prospective candidate's daughter and campaign manager in waiting. "He's going to have a bigger target on his back."

Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Southern Baptist minister, won over Iowa voters in 2008 with his folksy charm and expert grasp of retail politics. This time he'll face an even more crowded and well-funded GOP field. And after spending years bouncing from his home in Florida to New York City for his lucrative media gig, that everyman appeal could wind up being a tougher sell.

COMMENT:  I think that's a fair analysis.  We're seeing candidate after candidate join the GOP race.  Political experts know that the field must be narrowed quickly to three or four frontrunners because the public cannot follow more than that.  But if enough candidates put up a good fight, we might well see the nomination actually decided at the convention, a rarity in modern politics. 

Welcome, Mike.

May 5, 2015       Permalink

ISIS IN AMERICA – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  ISIS is claiming responsibility for an attack on a meeting two nights ago in Garland,  Texas.  Only the attackers were killed, but this is clearly ISIS staking its claim.  It is the first time the group has claimed "credit" for an attack in the United States.  From AFP: 

Garland (United States) (AFP) - The Islamic State group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for its first attack on US soil in which two gunmen were killed after opening fire at an event in Texas showcasing cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed.

"Two of the soldiers of the caliphate executed an attack on an art exhibit in Garland, Texas, and this exhibit was portraying negative pictures of the Prophet Mohammed," the jihadist group said.

"We tell America that what is coming will be even bigger and more bitter, and that you will see the soldiers of the Islamic State do terrible things," the group announced.

It marked the first time the extremist group, which has captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, claimed to have carried out an attack in the US.

Police said two men drove up to the conference centre Sunday in Garland, where the right-wing American Freedom Defense Initiative was organising the controversial cartoon contest, and began shooting at a security guard, who was wounded in the ankle.

Garland police officers then shot and killed both men.

According to US media reports, the two suspected jihadists were Elton Simpson, 31, and Nadir Soofi, 34, who shared an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona.

Simpson was being investigated by the FBI over alleged plans to travel to Somalia to wage holy war, court records show.

COMMENT:  Experts are cautioning that this could all be bluster by ISIS, but I'd take it very seriously.  It seems to me that every major threat made by a jihadist group has been carried out in some way. 

We did not take al Qaeda very seriously before 9-11.  We must learn from our errors.

May 5,  2015     Permalink