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NOVEMBER 10,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

THE DEBATE – The Republicans have just concluded another debate, this one hosted very capably, and sanely, by Fox Business News.  Bottom line:  The general consensus is that Rubio had another strong night, along with Cruz; that Kasich showed the most improvement; that Trump was off his game, and that Carson delivered his usual lower-than-low-key performance, which never seems to hurt or help him.  Pundits wondered whether Jeb Bush could break out and plug his sinking ship.  His performance was fine, but not strong enough to reverse the trend.  Carly, as always, was a sparkling debater, but her debating abilities have not recently helped her in the polls.  We'll see within a few days whether poll numbers were changed much by this debate.  We should also note that we're entering the holiday season, and the nation's attention will be turned to festivities.  The election campaigns will quiet down, but will be back with a roar after New Year's.

NOT GOOD – From The Times of Israel:   Iranian media is reporting that the government has stopped taking apart centrifuges in two uranium enrichment plants.  The reported cessation on Tuesday follows the issuing of a letter, drafted by 20 conservative lawmakers, complaining that the process of complying with the nuclear deal was too rushed, according to Reuters.  The nuclear deal, negotiated between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, lifts economic sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear program.  This is really not a done deal.  In fact, the Iranians have never formally ratified it.  We're just assuming that Tehran will hold up its part of the bargain, which I doubt.

MISSOURI STUDENTS STRIKE BACK – Not everyone at the University of Missouri is involved in the sometimes crazed "protests" that forced the president to resign.  From Breitbart:   One young female University of Missouri student, Jessie Sharon, is using her public Facebook page to express disappointment at recent on campus events.  Unlike the media, which was blocked and shouted down by the Social Justice Worriers at Mizzou, Sharon was able to speak her mind and have it shared by over 2,800 people for now.
"Today I learned that my university is run by its football team. Today I learned that the media cares more about creating a story than uncovering the truth. Today I learned that the right of a small group to protest is more important than the entire student body’s right to the education they pay for. Today I learned that one man is responsible for the heinous actions of a few campus racists. Today I learned that not supporting one group protesting racism makes you a racist, even though you support the fight against racism–just not that specific group. Today I am not proud to be a tiger."  Clearly, she’s not alone, given that even a good number of football players didn’t support their teammates boycott that led to the resignation of a university president. Unfortunately, those voices, much like Jessie’s – and the voices of who knows how many other students – just didn’t matter as much to the media.  I'd imagine many students feel the way Jessie does, but are afraid to speak out.

November 10, 2015        Permalink

FASCINATING, AND ENCOURAGING – AT 8:44 A.M. ET:   From what I see, the gist of this piece is correct.  There may be many more conservative voters out there than pollsters are picking up.  From The Week:

The United States isn't safe from problems with political polling, if the election results in countries such as Britain, Poland, and Israel are any indication. In the past year, polls across the world have vastly underestimated right-wing turnout, in part because those "who refuse to tell you what they're doing are disproportionately likely to vote Conservative," John Curtice, the president of the British Polling Council, says.

"The industry has a collective failure problem. It's now a mix of random-digit dialing — that is, telephone polls — and internet-based polls based on recruited panels," Curtice elaborated to The New York Times. As such, polls in Britain during the last election greatly underestimated how many seats the Conservative Party ended up winning, warranting a hard look by analysts afterward as to where their methods went wrong. Likewise, in Poland, a candidate who was never ahead in the major polls ended up winning the election.

And if that doesn't keep pollsters up at night, another sleeper group might: millennials. Because of their unreliable voting habits, "the uncertainty will be with the millennials” in 2016, longtime Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg says – Jeva Lange.

COMMENT:  The newly elected Republican and conservative governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin, wasn't even expected to win earlier this month.  Instead, he won strongly.  The polls underestimated conservative voters.

And please note that Republican debates are getting far larger audiences than Democratic debates. 

Have you met many people who have a yearning for Hillary?  The Washington Post just ran a piece saying she'll make gender the centerpiece of her campaign.  Outside Manhattan, Beverly Hills, the fashion plates of the liberal media, and selected, expensive colleges, who cares?

We can win next year...unless we try to lose.

November 10, 2015       Permalink 

CONCERN OVER U.S. AIRPORT SECURITY – AT 8:15 A.M. ET:  The belief, essentially a certainty according to some unnamed authorities, that the Russian airliner that crashed in the Sinai was brought down by a bomb, has brought new worry about the security of American airports.  From ABC:

As Egyptian authorities investigate whether an airport insider may have planted a bomb on the doomed Russian airliner, U.S. lawmakers and aviation officials are raising questions about security at American airports, where they say dozens of current airport employees are under scrutiny because of possible ties to or sympathies with extremist groups.

An aviation security official told ABC News that surveillance video at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport is being scrutinized for someone with access to the plane on the airport ramp. While no official determination has been made, U.S. and U.K. officials have said they believe it’s likely a bomb brought down the flight last Saturday, killing more than 200 people. An ISIS affiliate in Egypt claimed responsibility for the attack.

The possibility of an insider threat is also of concern to U.S. aviation officials. Just last week, questions were raised at a congressional hearing about shortcomings in U.S. airport screening, including questions regarding background checks of employees and employee access to secured areas of airports.

“It’s no secret that people interested in harming America are coming up with creative ways to circumvent the existing security measures,” House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at the hearing’s opening.

The Department of Homeland Security currently does not require 100 percent physical screening of workers with access to planes. In some major airports, workers only have to flash a badge to security screeners, don’t go through metal detectors as passengers do and their bags are not inspected. For pilots and crew, there are also special access lanes where luggage goes uninspected.

COMMENT:  Other than that, we're perfect.  And remember – tests of airport security by the government's own personnel have revealed disastrous flaws.  The great majority of test "bombs" get through airport screenings.  Imagine what a terrorist in a mechanics's uniform, with access to hangars and the tarmac, could do, and may be doing right now.

Whoever brought down the Russian airliner will try again.  And it may not take long.

November 10, 2015       Permalink

GOOD! – AT 8:06 A.M. ET:  More and more, we see people and institutions striking back against media irresponsibility.  A free press is one of the building blocks of a great democracy.  An irresponsible press can lead to its destruction.  The increasing left-wing bias in our press, the control of the media by graduates of the sixties generation, are producing a frightening situation wherein too many media institutions have become propaganda outlets rather than sources of information.  I'm glad to see that some are taking this condition seriously.  From Hollywood Reporter:

Rolling Stone was hit Monday with a defamation lawsuit for over $25 million from the University of Virginia fraternity where the magazine reported a young woman was raped in a story later discredited.

In the lawsuit complaint, as obtained by The Washington Post, the Virginia Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi alleges reputational damage (and death threats and harassment against members) due to the Nov. 2014 Rolling Stone story "A Rape on Campus" by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, who is named a defendant with Rolling Stone and publishers Wenner Media and Straight Arrow.

The story told of a University of Virginia freshman named "Jackie" who purportedly went to a "date function" at Phi Kappa Psi, where seven men brutally raped her in a bedroom.

Details quickly emerged challenging the accuracy of the story, leading the publication to commission a review from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism that found the publication had failed to conduct "basic, even routine journalistic practice" in reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking” to confirm Jackie’s story. Rolling Stone officially retracted the story in April, and managing editor Will Dana later left the publication.

The lawsuit Monday is not the first complaint filed over the story; UVA associate dean Nicole Eramo sued in May for $7.5 million, contending she was made the "chief villain" of the story for contact with Jackie she claims never happened, and UVA graduates and former Phi Kappa Psi members George Elias, Stephen Hadford and Ross Fowler sued in July.

But the lawsuit from the fraternity specifically contests the ways the story indicates the complicity of the fraternity organization, not just the members, in the alleged rape.

The complaint states wording like "Phi Kappa Psi gang-rape victims" and "gang-rape allegations against a fraternity" and quotes from the alleged rapists including "Don't you want to be a brother?" falsely implicate the organization in the rape, as did the story's illustration of the Phi Kappa Psi house and banner behind a woman covered in bloody handprints.

“In characterizing Jackie’s gang-rape as a Phi Kappa Psi initiation ritual, the Article associated the fraternity brand and reputation even more closely with gang-rape. The concept of gang-rape as initiation inexorably leads the reader to conclude that being a brother at Phi Kappa Psi means being a gang-rapist,” continues the complaint.

COMMENT:  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  If the press does not start improving itself, and showing more maturity, it may lose the very freedom it depends on.  No, the United States won't repeal the First Amendment, but that Amendment might be altered to permit the professionalization of journalism, with the equivalent of bar exams and professional disciplinary panels.  After all, if journalism is so important, why shouldn't it be required to live up to formal standards, and why shouldn't apprentice journalists be required to show that they actually have the body of skills and knowledge necessary to report the news?  Just a thought.

November 10, 2015       Permalink

NOVEMBER 9,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:15 P.M. ET: 

SPORTSMANSHIP – From Fox:   In a devastatingly critical report, a World Anti-Doping Agency panel accused Russia on Monday of complicity in widespread doping and cover-ups by track and field athletes during the 2012 London Olympics and other major events, and said they should all be banned from competition until the country cleans up its act.  WADA commission leader Dick Pound says Russia seems to have been running a "state-supported" doping program, adding, "I don't think there's any other possible conclusion."  The commission's report said the London Games were sabotaged because track's governing body and Russia's anti-doping authority didn't take doping seriously enough and allowed runners to compete who should not have.  I'm shocked, shocked, to find out that the Russians, even after Hillary Clinton reset our relations with them, would do something like this.  It must be a mistake.

THE FRENCH HAVE THEIR STANDARDS – From AFP:  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will be making state visits to Italy and France next week, becoming the first Iranian president to travel to Europe in a decade, the state news agency IRNA reported Monday...According to French media, a state dinner between Rouhani and President Francois Hollande to wrap up the visit was canceled following disagreement about the presence of alcohol during the planned meal. The French are notorious for consuming alcohol, generally wine, with their evening meals.  Iranian representatives asked for a halal menu, with food and drink according to Muslim dietary laws, which forbid alcohol, but were rebuffed by the French, who did not want to have to forgo their “traditions,” according to French radio outlet RTL.  A breakfast meeting was then suggested but scrapped by the Iranians who said it was “too cheap,” according to the report.  Every act of standing up to Iran counts.  I guess the French drew a wine line in the sand.

INCREDIBLE – From Fox:   A former San Francisco police chief and vocal supporter of a sanctuary cities policy is on a short list of candidates to become the new chief of the Border Patrol, according to sources.  As police chief, Heather Fong shielded illegal immigrants, including aliens who committed crimes, from deportation. In contrast, it is the job of the U.S. Border Patrol to catch and deport all illegal immigrants, including those with a criminal history.  "If they bring (a police chief) in for political purposes based on the sanctuary cities model, that politicizes the job and I think it completely undermines credibility and morale in the organization," House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News.  "If you have someone who is advocating for sanctuary cities, that's the opposite side. They welcome these illegal immigrants to stay in the country. And so I think it's at cross-purpose with the mission itself."  This would be like making Bill Clinton the head of the Girl Scouts. 

November 9, 2015     Permalink

MADNESS – AT 11:22 A.M. ET:  We're in a new era of racial agitation, much of it thoroughly misguided.  Young minority kids aren't being taught the things that will move them ahead.  They're being taught the things that will keep them where they are.  Get this, from the New York Post: 

In an online rant, a Bronx public school principal has likened standardized testing to slavery, redlining and crack cocaine in damaging the lives of minorities.

“Public school high-stakes standardized testing is a form of modern-day slavery, and it is designed to continue the proliferation of inequality,” Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School Principal Jamaal Bowman says in an Aug. 31 blog entry titled “The Tyranny of Standardized Testing.”

No, my friend.  Testing has been a means by which many groups have gotten a step up. 

“America was born of horror for black people and that horror continues today for brown and poor people as well. Slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, crack cocaine and now standardized testing were all sanctioned by the American government. All designed to destroy the mind, body and soul of black and brown people.”

Bowman blamed the US government for perpetuating a “legacy of oppression” — with the Obama administration adopting the Race to the Top program that prodded states to use student exam results to evaluate teachers and promote charter schools.

COMMENT:  So Obama isn't pro-black enough?  This is completely crazy, but it's the kind of logic that's spreading, much as it did in the 1960s.  You can only imagine the effect this has on minority students, who have to enter the real world thoroughly unprepared by so-called "educators."

November 9, 2015       Permalink

REPEAT AFTER ME:  "THERE'S NO BIAS IN THE PRESS" – AT 10:56 A.M. ET:   Only seven percent of journalists are Republicans.  Doesn't mean a thing, does it?  From the Washington Times:

A mere 7 percent of journalists identify as Republicans, and when they do give money to political campaigns they usually donate to Democrats, lending evidence to Republican presidential candidates’ claims that they are facing a hostile audience when they deal with the press.

As Republican candidates prepare for their fourth debate of the primary season Tuesday in Milwaukee, the people doing the questioning are increasingly in the spotlight, with their motives being questioned by the campaigns, voters and even by their fellow journalists.

And self-proclaimed Democratic journalists outnumber Republicans by 4-to-1, according to research by Lars Willnat and David Weaver, professors of journalism at Indiana University. They found 28 percent of journalists call themselves Democrats, while just 7 percent call themselves Republicans — though both numbers are down from the 1970s. Those identifying as independent have grown.

Among Washington correspondents, the ones who dominate national political coverage, it’s even more skewed, said Tim Groseclose, author of “Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind.” More than 90 percent of D.C. journalists vote Democratic, with an even higher number giving to Democrats or liberal-leaning political action committees, the author said.

COMMENT:  That's pretty much what I'd expect.  It's always been the case that Democrats dominated the class of working journalists.  In the 1930s, the overwhelming majority of newspapers were Republican on their editorial pages, reflecting the beliefs of the owners.  But the reporters were mostly Democrats, making it possible for FDR to get a good break on the news pages, even as he was lambasted in the editorials.

November 9, 2015       Permalink 

THE MEETING – AT 10:05 A.M. ET:  Big meeting today between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  The two can't stand each other, and I think Obama's devotion to the security of Israel is about as great as his devotion to other American allies.  They all feel the chill.

The advance word is that the two antagonists will try to get beyond their bitter disagreement over the Iran nuclear deal.  You may be sure that Hillary is putting heat on the White House not to get into another scrap with Israel, as she needs the support of the pro-Israel community, which isn't completely sold on her.  From WaPo: 

President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek to move beyond the nasty public clash over the Iran nuclear deal and restore a more transactional approach to the U.S.-Israeli relationship — including delicate conversations about possible expansion of military aid — when they meet in Washington on Monday.

Though they have sharply differing views on how to handle the current geopolitics of the Middle East and a history of sour relations, Obama and Netanyahu both are looking to set a course for the last year of the Obama presidency, which will also represent another critical period for Israeli security.

The leaders plan to discuss how to counter Iranian aid to Hezbollah and Hamas; the Russian and Iranian efforts to prop up Syrian President Bashar ­al-Assad; and steps that might demonstrate Netanyahu’s commitment to a two-state solution even in the absence of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

The most tangible piece of the agenda, however, is a 10-year memorandum of understanding on military cooperation between the two countries that would budget aid and lock in a plan for new weaponry to deal with what the administration agrees is a “dangerous neighborhood.”

The two leaders are being propelled by different forces. By reaffirming support for Israel’s security, Obama is seeking to reassure Democrats who reluctantly backed the Iran deal despite their strong support for Israel and misgivings about the nature of the Iranian regime.

COMMENT:  Ever since the Iran deal was finalized, Iran has been on its worst behavior, with regular verbal attacks on the United States.  Some Democrats, facing election next year, are already distancing themselves from a deal they voted for. 

Netanyahu, highly regarded as a spokesman for Israel, and for freedom generally, is also a less-than-stellar diplomat.  Obama, of course, is no diplomat at all.  This should be a very interesting meeting.  It's made more interesting by the fact that Netanyahu spent his early years in the United States, whereas Obama spent his early years in Indonesia. 

November 9, 2015       Permalink 

OBAMA THE POL – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  A remarkable edition of "Meet the Press" yesterday exploded the myth of an all-powerful Obama political machine.  From the Washington Free Beacon:

Meet The Press host Chuck Todd and his Sunday panelists outlined the Democratic Party’s heavy losses under the Obama administration, with guest Marc Caputo saying the idea of the “Obama political machine” was a “lie” that couldn’t win without him on a ballot.

Under Obama, Democrats have lost 13 Senate seats and 69 House seats in Congress, and the results are even more staggering on a local level. Democrats have lost 12 governorships, including Kentucky last week with the election of Matt Bevin, 30 state legislative chambers and more than 900 state legislative seats. That’s the worst showing for an incumbent president’s party since the Richard Nixon years, due to the taint of Watergate.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said the Democrats were getting “smoked” by Republicans strategically, although she appeared to bring it all back to gerrymandering without actually saying it.

“What’s happening is the Democratic Party is getting smoked strategically by the Republican Party,” Maddow said. “They invested heavily, particularly in advance of the 2010 cycle, in winning state legislative seats all across the country that nobody in the national press cared about. They flipped enough of them to flip enough legislatures to flip the congressional map that locks it in for a decade, and the Republicans are thinking that way. Democrats just aren’t.”

Politico reporter Marc Caputo said the idea of the Barack Obama political machine was nonsense.

“The Barack Obama political machine and oh, we’re big data? It’s a lie,” Caputo said. “The Obama political machine without Obama is no machine. They don’t win. That was a largely personality-based campaign in two different cycles.”

Also, Caputo said, Obama simply is not very popular.

COMMENT:  I hope they're right.  Republicans have done very well in state and district elections.  It's the presidency that is tough for them, and that's the greatest prize.  Obama has been elected twice.  Before that, Republican George W. Bush barely won the 2000 and 2004 elections.  Before that was the Democratic Clinton era.  The only time in recent history in which Republicans had a decisive grip on the White House was the age of Reagan. 

Right now, I don't see a Reagan-like candidate emerging.  Add to that the bold press bias that any Republican will face.  It won't be easy next year, but it can be done, if Republicans nominate a solid candidate and stop fighting with each other.

November 9,  2015    Permalink