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SEPTEMBER 6,  2015

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

POOR TASTE AWARD – From American Mirror:   An all-women’s choir called “Voices From the Heart” performed at Clinton’s Portsmouth, New Hampshire rally Saturday.  The group describes itself on its website: “Our powerful and eclectic songs range from African-American spirituals to Korean songs for unity, South African anti-apartheid songs to Macedonian love songs. The songs are powerful testaments to the triumph of the human spirit. Sung with the strength of 200 voices, the songs delight and inspire audiences,” The Blaze reports.  There, they serenaded the former Secretary of State with an old gospel tune, “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind on Jesus).” Except in this version, from the self-dubbed “woman’s alternative chorus,” “Jesus” is replaced with “Hillary.”  Nothing like a little tackiness.  Didn't anyone notice how inappropriate this was, and how insulting to African-Americans?  Guess not.

CLINTON SINKS EVEN MORE – From The Hill:  GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush leads Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton in Michigan, according to a new Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll.  Bush, a former Florida governor, is supported by 45 percent of Michigan voters, leading Clinton by 5 points. That’s an 8-point swing from June, when the same poll found Clinton leading Bush.  Meanwhile, the former secretary of State edges out GOP front-runner Donald Trump by 2 points in the poll, 44 percent to 42 percent.  Michigan has been a reliable state for Democrats in presidential elections, so the results are likely to raise eyebrows. No Republican presidential candidate has won Michigan since 1988.  Hillary just doesn't get any good news.  But don't be overconfident.  The 2016 election is 14 months away.

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – From Breitbart:   A record 1.7 million graduating seniors took the SAT test last year. With a highest possible score this year of 800 on each SAT section, according to the College Board, students scored a worst since 1999 math score of 511, worst since 1972 reading score of 495, and worst writing score since the section was added in 2005.  Government education spending as a percent of national gross domestic product on kindergarten through 12th grade jumped from about 2 percent in the 1950s to 3.9 percent in the 1970s. Spending hit 4 percent in the 2000s and popped up to 4.4 percent of GDP early in President Obama’s administration.  We'll soon be told by the politically correct crowd that the reason for the low scores is cultural bias.  And they'll be taken seriously.

September 6, 2015       Permalink

YIKES – AT 12:55 P.M. ET:  Hillary, we hardly knew ye.  And ye is really droppin' in them polls.  From NBC: 

Bernie Sanders has jumped out to a nine-point lead over front-runner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, and he's gained ground on her among Iowa voters in the Democratic presidential race, according to a pair of brand-new NBC News/Marist polls.

In New Hampshire, the Vermont senator gets the support of 41 percent of Democratic voters, Clinton gets 32 percent and Vice President Joe Biden gets 16 percent. No other Democratic candidate receives more than 1 percent.

Back in July's NBC/Marist poll, Clinton was ahead of Sanders in the Granite State by 10 points, 42 percent to 32 percent, with Biden at 12 percent.

Without Biden in the race, Sanders' lead over Clinton in the current survey increases to 11 points, 49 percent to 38 percent.

In Iowa, Clinton maintains her previous advantage over Sanders — but her lead has declined from 24 points in July (49 percent to 25 percent) to 11 points (38 percent to 27 percent); Biden sits at 20 percent. View the full New Hampshire poll here.

COMMENT:  I don't think Hillary is toast yet, but I do think she's warmed bread.  Apparently the Clinton camp is depending on Southern primaries, with their heavy black vote, to save her, and that could happen.  But enthusiasm for Hillary is clearly fading.

September 6, 2015       Permalink

FEAR OF A CASH-RICH IRAN – AT 11:16 A.M. ET:  This is directly related to the post just below.  Some major, retired military officers are warning that the inflow of cash to Iran, under the Iran nuclear deal, will result in a direct threat to us.  From The Hill: 

A group of retired military officials warn the United States will have a difficult time maintaining stability in the Middle East once the Iran nuclear deal goes into effect.

While the administration has sought to assure Gulf allies that the U.S. will maintain a robust military posture to counter a strengthened Iran, looming budget cuts could make the task difficult.

The Pentagon facing $500 billion in cuts through 2021 known under budget caps imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act, on top of $487 billion of already planned cuts.

The retired officials warn in a new report that the nuclear deal would allow Iran to gain billions of dollars in revenue from lifted sanctions and increased oil revenues, while the U.S. defense budget would remain constrained under budget cuts known as sequestration.

"As Iran bristles with more and newer arms, the United States will have fewer and older ones to counter them," says the report from Retired Marine Gen. James Conway, Retired Air Force Gen. A Charles Wald, Retired Navy Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, Retired Army Gen. Lou Wagner, Retired Vice Adm. John Bird, Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, and Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Lawrence Stutzriem.

Already, the former officials pointed out, the U.S. Navy won't be able to maintain a carrier presence for approximately two months this year due to reduced availability of carriers under sequestration.

COMMENT:  Most Americans are unaware of how weak this country has become under Field Marshal Obama.  The Democratic Party, now a leftist Obaman party, doesn't care.  And I must admit that the cynical Republican establishment doesn't seem to care much either. 

We have done this before in American history.  And we have paid a terrible price each time. 

Ironically, before World War II we were selling scrap iron to Japan, long after Japan was exposed as an anti-American, belligerent power.  That scrap iron was returned to us in the form of bullets. 

History doesn't repeat itself.  The psychology of history repeats itself.  We are seeing that right now.

September 6, 2015       Permalink

POWELL BAILS OUT HIS FRIEND – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  Colin Powell, the supposed Republican who has supported Barack Obama twice for president, now has done Obama another favor by endorsing the Iran nuclear deal, although his endorsement is lukewarm.  From International Business Times: 

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served under President George W. Bush, Sunday told host Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Iran nuclear agreement struck between the country and six world powers led by the United States is "a pretty good deal." Powell added that the accord would reduce the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon, arguing that critics of the deal who insist it will do the opposite, are "forgetting the reality that [Iranian leaders] have been on a superhighway, for the last 10 years, to create a nuclear weapon or a nuclear weapons program, with no speed limit."

During his appearance on the program, Powell also pushed back on skeptics who have questioned the ability of independent inspectors to verify that Iran is holding up its end of the deal. "With respect to the Iranians," Powell said, "don't trust, never trust, and always verify.

"And I think a very vigorous verification regime has been put into place," he added.

Oh please.  I lost confidence in Powell, a very political general, a long time ago.  True, a small number of retired flag and general officers endorse the deal, but a vastly greater number oppose it.  The national security of the United States has been greatly weakened under Obama, but General Powell has nothing to say about that.  He, too, apparently is loyal to the greater glory of Barack.

The deal affords the United Nations the ability to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities in exchange for relaxed sanctions on the country, which has struggled for years under the weight of the economic restrictions. A number of former inspectors have raised questions about the ability of the inspectors who would be responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear capabilities, saying they do not have the necessary expertise to point out machines or processes that could or would indicate Iran is militarizing its nuclear material. That point has been seized upon by opponents of the deal who argue that the accord would do nothing but put Tehran on the fast track to developing a nuclear weapon.

The deal has been strongly opposed by Israeli Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders in the Middle East. The U.S. Congress also appears largely opposed to the agreement, though President Barack Obama has secured the support of enough U.S. Senators to ensure a veto of resolutions to block the deal.

COMMENT:  This deal, by eliminating sanctions, helps to make Iran the most powerful nation in the region.  How this contributes to peace and security is beyond me. 

September 6,  2015     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 5,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

UNBELIEVABLE – From the Washington Times:   Democrats will try to mount a filibuster to block the Iran nuclear deal from even having to reach President Obama’s desk for a veto, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid signaled Saturday in a statement.  He and his party colleagues already have enough committed supporters that they would be able to sustain an Obama veto and allow the Iran deal to proceed, but a filibuster would be an even bigger coup, halting the issue earlier in the process and heading off a protracted — and potentially politically costly — veto fight.  This is sickening.  Are we still the United States of America?   Are we being told that the United States Senate will be blocked from voting on the most important foreign-policy initiative in recent years?  All for the greater glory of Barack?  I hope Republicans make this a huge campaign issue, but I'm afraid the establishment may just go along with it.

HER PRIVATE GOVERNMENT – From Fox:   Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday confirmed that she and her family personally paid a State Department staffer to maintain the private email server that Clinton used when she led the agency.  “We obviously paid for those services and did so because during a period of time we continued to need his technical assistance,” the former secretary of state told reporters after a campaign stop in Portsmouth, N.H.  I think it's so wonderful that our gracious queen paid out of her own pocket for her e-mail system.  I mean, she does own the government, doesn't she?  I think we should give her the White House.  It's only right after all she's been through.

OH, THEY DIDN'T MEAN IT – From Breitbart:  Pentagon officials said Thursday that five Chinese warships that appeared near Alaska during President Barack Obama’s visit this week passed through U.S. territorial waters–and hastened to defend China’s actions as being consistent with international law.  The rush to avoid an international crisis contrasts sharply with China’s own aggression any time the U.S. approaches Chinese waters or airspace, even where Chinese claims are dubious.  We must understand our Chinese friends.  Who are we to question their cultural traditions?  Seriously, it is obvious that Obama, a profoundly leftist man, is determined to weaken this country and its responses as much as possible during his remaining months in office.  We see his appeasement of Iran and Russia.  Now we're seeing it with China.  I wonder what he'll give the Chinese next.

September 5, 2015       Permalink

PLIGHT OF AMERICA'S WORKING WOMEN – AT 11:58 A.M. ET:   I didn't know this, but I think we should all be aware of it.  From the Washington Examiner:

The surge in the numbers of foreign-born women getting U.S. jobs at the expense of American-born women expanded in August, continuing an eight-year trend.

New Bureau of Labor Statistics info detailing August jobs shows that the number of U.S.-born women 16 and older with jobs declined by 90,000 and rose for foreign-born women by 141,000.

There are currently 59.258 million American-born working women compared to 10.028 million foreign-born working women.

Secrets last month reported that all job gains among women since the 2007 recession hit went to foreign-born women workers.

In December of 2007, 9.041 million foreign-born women workers were employed, for an increase of 1.128 million. In December of 2007, 59.322 million American-born women workers were employed, for a decrease of 161,000.

The total number of foreign workers employed in the U.S. stands at 24.914 million.

COMMENT:  Please note the deep interest of "women's" organizations in these numbers.  They're as interested in this as they are in the tragedy of Muslim women.  Whatever the left wants, they do.  Their interest in the real lives of women is secondary.  And yet, they're asked no challenging questions by news organizations.  American women matter.

September 5, 2015        Permalink

WAR ON POLICE?  YEAH, I'M AFRAID SO – AT 11:22 A.M. ET:   Americans are seeing it, and they don't like it.  From Andrew Malcolm at IBD: 

If you have a growing sense that there's a deadly war underway against the nation's police officers, you are not alone.

In fact, you're part of a substantial majority of American adults --of all races. And this disturbing concern is heightened by the slaying of officers in Texas and Illinois, among other recent incidents. This according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 likely voters.

The execution last weekend of a Houston sheriff's deputy while fueling his car came from behind and was followed by 15 additional shots fired into his body. As IBD's editorial notes, such lethal ambushes of officers are up this year.

Rasmussen found that fully 58% of voters believe there is a war on police these days, while 27% disagree and 15% simply can't decide.

But here's an interesting twist: Many might expect different views of this situation by various races. But not this time. White voters see the assault on law enforcement at a 60% rate. Blacks and other minorities say almost the same, 54% and 56% respectively.

The issue has been hot for 13 months since the self-defense shooting of a black Missouri teen by a white officer in Ferguson. The officer was exonerated, but not before charges of police brutality and demands for justice fed by outside agitators.

President Obama didn't help the situation by prejudging numerous cases, saying there was "no excuse" for police use of "excessive force," as if there had been some in Ferguson. He ordered a Justice Department investigation, which found nothing chargeable. Obama has spoken with noticeably less force about attacks on police.

It wasn't the first time the Democrat has waded into tense white-black police situations with an uninformed verbal swagger. Remember Obama's comments on the Trayvon Martin case? And the "beer summit" that Obama had to stage after he proclaimed that Cambridge, Mass. police acted "stupidly" by handcuffing a black professor at a reported crime scene?

"We have seen too many instances," the president of the United States has charged, "of what appears to be police officers interacting with individuals, primarily African-American, often poor, in ways that raise troubling questions."

In a June interview Obama said not that some people are racist or sometimes say racist things. No, the first black president who received more than 135 million votes from his countrymen of all colors in two national elections declared that racism inhabits the very DNA of Americans. You're welcome, sir.

COMMENT:   Yup, Obama sets the tone, and there is real fault in the White House.  President Roosevelt said that the presidency is primarily a place of moral leadership.  It can also be a place of sub-standard leadership, which is what we have now.

September 5, 2015       Permalink

HILLARY'S DESCENT – AT 11:05 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton continues her ride downward in the polls.  Where will this stop?  Oh, I weep for her.  From the Washington Times: 

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s favorability rating among Americans is close to its lowest in about two decades, according to Gallup.

Forty-one percent of U.S. adults said they have a favorable opinion of Mrs. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential front-runner, while 51 percent said they have an unfavorable view, according to polling from Aug. 19 to Sept. 1.

Gallup’s Andrew Dugan wrote that her current rating is arguably worse than her sub-40 percent ratings in 1992, when the American public was much less familiar with her.

“Her present rating is about as low as it was in March 2001, during her first few months in office as a U.S. senator from New York,” Mr. Dugan wrote. “Perhaps more importantly, it was also after controversial pardons that her husband, President Bill Clinton, granted at the end of his presidency, and after the Clintons took furnishings and other gifts that were White House property when they left.”

As secretary of state, which is largely seen as a nonpartisan position, Mrs. Clinton’s favorability rating never fell below 60 percent. But she has faced lingering questions on the campaign trail this year over the private email and server she set up while serving as the nation’s top diplomat.

Among Democrats, though, Mrs. Clinton had a favorable rating of 74 percent — significantly better than her next-closest 2016 Democratic rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who was at 46 percent. Mrs. Clinton’s favorability among Democrats held steady compared to July, while Mr. Sanders’ increased 7 points, from 39 percent.

COMMENT:  What these numbers say is that, barring some indictment, Hillary will probably get the nomination, even though enthusiasm for her may not be high, but will face a stiff fight to be elected, assuming Republicans get their act together and unite behind a terrific candidate.

September 5,  2015     Permalink