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NOVEMBER 8,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET:

OBAMA AND THE REAL PEOPLE – From the Washington Times:  President Obama’s relationship with blue-collar unions has hit an all-time low, with several powerful labor groups ripping into the administration — and the Democratic Party as a whole — for its rejection of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and its promotion of the highly controversial trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.  Mr. Obama’s decision to reject Keystone on environmental grounds, which he announced Friday after a review process that lasted nearly seven years, deeply angered the president’s traditional supporters in the labor movement.  In addition to unprecedented verbal criticism of Mr. Obama — including from the Laborers' International Union of North America, which branded the president “cowardly” and his actions “shameful” — other unions hinted that they may rethink their support for Democrats in 2016.   This could be a serious problem for Hillary – the return of the Reagan Democrats.  Or, it could provide stimulus for the emergence of an independent candidate.  The Democratic Party has been traditionally contemptuous of many of its own voters.  Some of the voters have noticed.

YA THINK? – They're experimenting again in LaLa Land, trying to show how humane the schools are.  Yeah, right.  Humane for whom?  From AP:   LOS ANGELES — Teachers in the nation's second largest school district say a new policy aimed at reducing suspensions is also having another effect: More unruly students in their classrooms.  Los Angeles Unified School District was the first to ban suspending students for defiance in California and began instituting restorative justice policies that emphasize counseling and conflict resolution.  Teachers now blame LA Unified for failing to provide the necessary staff and training to effectively implement those policies, the Los Angeles Times reports.  Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he agrees: While he supports the discipline policy pushed through by his predecessor, Cortines said the initiative has been poorly executed.  Crime is rising again because the liberals are in charge, and they yearn, with great passion, to return to the wonderful years of the 1960s.  Ah, for the golden days of mass riots and chaos in the schools.  Who could ask for anything more? 

A GOOD RETURN TO THE PAST – Sometimes we use the word "obsolete" too loosely.  There's a phenomenon going on in the music business – the return of vinyl records.  From NBC News:   The entertainment industry always loves a good comeback story, and music's latest resurgence is no exception. Despite an explosion in digital and streaming music — including Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and Tidal — consumers are spending more money on vinyl records, and more vinyl buyers are millennials.  In 2014, more than 13 million vinyl long-playing albums, or LPs for short, were sold in America. And the first half of 2015 is showing similar sales strength with more than 9 million LPs sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.  The association says the last time it has seen such high LP sales was a quarter century ago, in 1989. At that time, nearly 35 million LPs were sold. Then in 1990, compact disc sales took off, and vinyl sales fell by the wayside.  The current surge in LP sales is partly being driven by younger consumers. Industry researcher MusicWatch reports half of vinyl record buyers are under 25, and men are more likely to buy LPs than are women.  Great.  I'm an old audiophile, and I love vinyl.  There is nothing that sounds as good as a well-made vinyl record.  There is a warmth to the music, and a subtlety, that you can't yet get in digital.  And young people love the large record jackets, the jacket copy, and the art. 

November 8, 2015        Permalink

TRUMP DELIVERS – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  Love him or loathe him, Donald Trump does deliver.   He always says he gets the highest ratings, and he proved it last night with his appearance on "Saturday Night Live."  From Entertainment Weekly:

Trump is still bringing the bump.

With Donald Trump hosting, Saturday Night Live jumped to its biggest overnight rating since 2012.

According to NBC, SNL had a whopping 6.6 household rating on Saturday night, easily beating the season’s previous high: the 41st season premiere last month, hosted by Miley Cyrus and with a guest appearance by none other than … Hillary Clinton. In fact, Trump’s overnight rating was 47 percent higher than the Miley/Hillary episode.

The previous high was held by an episode that aired Jan. 7, 2012, hosted by Charles Barkley with musical guest Kelly Clarkson.

Saturday night marked the Republican presidential hopeful’s second time hosting the iconic late-night series. He previously acted as host in 2004 when Trump was still the host of NBC’s The Apprentice.

Trump was pretty confident he’d boost SNL’s numbers. “I get the best ratings,” he reportedly said when asked about the appearance.

The actual number of SNL viewers will be available later in the week. But for point of comparison, the season premiere delivered 6.3 million viewers, so Trump’s episode could be close to 10 million.

Trump, who continues to lead the GOP primary polls, previously fueled an August debate on Fox News Channel to a record 24 million viewers. A September debate on CNN drew an also impressive 23 million viewers.

COMMENT:  It may have just been audience curiosity, but Trump draws them in.  I still resist the idea of him as president – the coarseness of the man turns me off – but he has drawn a great deal of attention to the Republican contest.

November 8, 2015       Permalink

THE BEST MAN – AT 11:26 A.M. ET:  Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is the best man, the best person I should say, in the Obama Administration.   Given his quality, and independence, I have no idea how he got the job.  Maybe Obama had a rare intelligent day. 

Is Carter going rogue?  His comments are far more blunt than those of Field Marshal Obama or Grand Admiral Kerry.  They could easily be made by a Republican secretary of defense.  From Fox: 

Defense Chief Ash Carter on Saturday slammed Russia, saying it's endangering world order through its incursions in Ukraine and loose talk about nuclear weapons, and said the U.S. defense establishment is searching for ways to deter Russian aggression to protect U.S. allies.

Carter, speaking to the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, also expressed concern about China’s expanding influence and growing military might. National security experts and defense officials attended a gathering at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Carter said Russia is undertaking "challenging activities" at sea, in the air, in space and in cyberspace.

"Most disturbing, Moscow's nuclear saber-rattling raises questions about Russian leaders' commitment to strategic stability, their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution nuclear-age leaders showed with regard to the brandishing of nuclear weapons," he said.

His remarks were perhaps the strongest he has expressed about America's former Cold War foe.

"We do not seek a cold, let alone a hot, war with Russia," he said. "We do not seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake; the United States will defend our interests, our allies, the principled international order, and the positive future it affords us all."

COMMENT:  Recently, the White House took FBI Drector James Comey to task for daring to suggest that police officers around the country are reluctant to do their jobs fully because of anti-cop agitation in some communities.  Will Carter be next?  Will he be called to one of those White House meetings to "clarify" his views?  I wouldn't be surprised.

November 8, 2015       Permalink

NEAR CERTAINTY – AT 10:50 A.M. ET:  I have the sense that the Americans involved in investigating the presumed bombing of a Russian airliner over the Sinai are getting some pushback from the Obamans in the White House.  Mustn't upset the Muslim extremists, after all.  Obama himself said only it was only a "possibility" that the plane was bombed.  British Prime Minister Cameron was, as usual, far more assertive.  No one takes Obama very seriously any longer.  And the experts on our side are having their say.  From CNN:

(CNN) The United States appears to be increasingly confident that a terrorist bomb brought down the Russian passenger jet that broke apart over Egypt.

The growing belief was indicated by several senior U.S. officials in the intelligence, military and national security community who spoke to CNN on Saturday.

One official said it was "99.9% certain," another said it was "likely."

The remarks are stronger than those made by President Barack Obama Thursday when he said there was "a possibility" a bomb was on Metrojet Flight 9268, which disintegrated over the Sinai Peninsula October 31, killing all 224 people aboard.

The view also contrasts with the cautious stance taken by Egyptian officials, who are in charge of the main investigation into the air crash and insist that no conclusion has been reached yet.

"All the scenarios are out on the table," Ayman al-Muqaddam, the head of the investigation, told reporters Saturday. "We don't know what happened exactly."

COMMENT:  Even the Egyptians have moved on this.  At first they said it was definitiely a mechanical failure that brought the plane down.  But news leaks from France, which is heavily involved in the probe, say that the explosive sound heard in the last seconds of a normal flight was not that of a mechanical breakdown.

November 8,  2015     Permalink

NOVEMBER 7,  2015

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

AIRLINER LATEST – From London's Express:  BRITISH extremists were behind the bombing of a Russian jet over Egypt, intelligence experts believe.  They were overheard celebrating moments after the explosion that blew the plane apart, killing all 224 on board.  The jihadis were heard talking in Birmingham and London accents by spies at GCHQ in Cheltenham.  Trained in Syria and with an electronics background, it is believed they may have had a hand in building the bomb.  The success of the attack could inspire them to target British airports next, a former Special Branch officer warned last night.  GCHQ, the Government’s secret listening centre, picked up “chatter” from extremist groups in Egypt immediately after the Russian plane came down.  The regional accents suggest “a definite and strong link” between British extremists and the attack, according to intelligence sources.  We cannot confirm this, but it certainly is scary.

TRUMP ON SNL – Like many of you, I couldn't resist watching Trump on "Saturday Night Live."  He came off pretty well, humorous without being silly.  The show overall wasn't particularly good, except for the wonderful, and not terribly kind, impersonations of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.  But the parts with Trump neither hurt him nor helped him.  The real star actually was his daughter, Ivanka, who, in real life, is truly beautiful and brainy, and a great asset to the Trump organization.  I think this TV appearance will be forgotten quickly.  The debate this week on Fox Business is far more important.

HYPOCRISY DEFINED – From WaPo:  Two years ago, San Carlos Apache chairman Terry Rambler was at the White House, meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the “racially offensive” name of the Washington Redskins. Last week, Rambler was in blackface. On Sunday, the Arizona tribe leader posted a Facebook photo of himself dressed as Bob Marley for Halloween, complete with fake dreadlocks and blackface makeup. The picture has caused outrage, especially given Rambler’s own public protests against racism towards Native Americans.  This what happens when political correctness, and not common sense and responsibility, start to govern our affairs.  A lot of frauds and phonies start coming out of the woodwork.

November 7,  2015     Permalink

A MUST READ – AT 12:10 P.M. ET:  Have you ever noticed how hard Republicans work to lose elections?  Have you noticed that, whenever they score a victory, they rush to ruin the moment?  Some observers already note that the party is doing all that it can to win defeat in next year's presidential contest.

Charles Krauthammer, in a brilliant column, nails it.  It's a warning to Republicans.  From National Review:

Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral “massacre” (The Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government? Hillary Clinton is caught in e-mail flagrante and Benghazi mendacity and yet, with one Kevin McCarthy gaffe and a singularly ineffective 11-hour Benghazi hearing, Republicans render her sanitized.

And now their latest feat. They win a stunning victory over their perennial nemesis, the mainstream media — a slam-dunk rim-rattling exposure of the media bias they have been complaining about for a half-century — and within a week they so overplayed their hand as to dissipate whatever sympathetic advantage they gained.

The CNBC debate was a gift for the GOP, so unadorned a demonstration of liberal condescension, hostility, and arrogance that the rest of the media — their ideological cover exposed — were forced to denounce and ridicule their ham-handed colleagues. What happened then? Instead of quitting while they were ahead, the Republicans plunged into a week of meetings and statements, whining and complaining, bouncing around a series of demands, including control of the kind of questions that may or may not be asked at future debates.

Who’s the genius who thought up that one?

COMMENT:  Read the whole column.  It's worth it, a fine examination of the GOP's suicidal tendencies.

Hillary won't win the election next year.  The Republicans will lose it if their current amateurism continues.  Republican presidential candidates should be reminded that their opponent is Hillary Clinton, not other Republicans.

There used to be, in the Republican Party, the "Eleventh Commandment."  It read, "Thou shalt not speak ill of other Republicans."  Reagan used to quote it all the time because internecine warfare is an old Republican problem. 

The first caucuses and primaries start in February, only months from now.  I fear the GOP isn't ready. 

November 7, 2015       Permalink

OH DEAR, THEY'VE GOT IT IN WRITING – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  No matter how much the mainstream media tries to cover for her, Hillary Clinton's past keeps catching up.  From Fox: 

On January 22nd, 2009, Hillary Clinton signed a Non-Disclosure agreement, or NDA, where she agreed to protect highly classified information, and a failure to do so could result in criminal prosecution.

"I have been advised that any breach of this Agreement may result in my termination of my access to SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) and removal from a position of special confidence," the NDA reads.

"I have been advised that any authorized disclosure of SCI by me may constitute violations of United States criminal laws, including provisions of Sections 793, 794, 798 and 952, Title 18 United States Code..." These are provisions of the Espionage Act, and as Fox recently reported, 18 USC 793 subsection (f) is of special interest to the FBI investigation as it includes "gross negligence" in the handling of national defense information.

The NDA was first obtained through a federal lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, or CEI, which says on its website that it is a "...non-profit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty."

The NDA signed by Mrs. Clinton as Secretary of State is significant because the State Department has never publicly acknowledged that she signed documents, confirming she was "advised that the unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized retention, or negligent handling" of top secret material was a punishable offense.

The use of a private server for government business, on its face, is a clear violation of the NDA agreement.

COMMENT:  The idea that Clinton might be president is chilling.  She has no ethics.  She has no character.  She has no integrity.  She has no record of accomplishment.  Other than that, she's outstanding.

November 7, 2015        Permalink

OBAMACARE DEATH WATCH – AT 10:46 A.M. ET:  It's story after story these days, stories about the slow collapse of Obamacare.  The Obama "legacy" achievement isn't making it, in part because results have come nowhere near meeting projections and needs.  From Forbes:

Humana said it will discontinue several products offered on government-run exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, impacting about 100,000 individuals currently covered by the insurer’s plans across the country.

The move, disclosed this morning in the company’s third-quarter earnings report, comes due to higher-than expected medical costs from sick newly insured patients covered under the health law.

“Operating results for the company’s individual commercial medical business continue to be challenged primarily due to the volatility related to the start of the healthcare exchange program created under the Affordable Care Act as well as the morbidity of membership served under this relatively new program,” Humana said in a statement this morning.

The plans Humana will discontinue had “product designs which attracted a higher-utilizing member base than was assumed when the 2015 plan offerings were priced,” the company said but didn’t specify the kind of plans that will be pulled. “The transitory nature of the population served has also contributed to use of emergency room services and non-participating providers above priced-for levels.”

COMMENT:  Not to worry.  The leftists will soon announce that Obamacare is in trouble – they'll probably blame climate change – and that the solution is more government, not less.  The single-payer system, which makes the government the dictator of all things medical, is on the way.

November 7,  2015     Permalink