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SEPTEMBER 15,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 7:45 P.M. ET:

OH, OUR DEAR MUSLIM BROTHERS – From the Washington Times:  As Saudi Arabia faces mounting criticism for refusing to take in any of the millions of Syrians fleeing conflict in their homeland, it was revealed this weekend that the country has over 100,000 empty, air-conditioned tents that could house up to 3 million refugees.  The tents, located roughly 2,150 miles from Syria in the city of Mina, are only used a few days a year to house pilgrims on their way to Mecca for the hajj, the news station TeleSUR reported.  The huge tents are also fireproof and equipped with kitchen and bathroom facilities.  Such devotion to the brethren.  But don't despair.  The vast Saudi lobby in Washington, which spends tens of millions a year to tidy things up, will take care of the image questions.  And the moronic leftists in Europe will take care of the rest, absorbing millions of refugees, the better to destroy the hated Western civilization. 

WHAMMO! – From Fox:   On "Justice," Judge Jeanine Pirro tore into Hillary Clinton's "ever-changing," "schizophrenic" narrative surrounding her private email server.  Judge Jeanine pointed out that on Monday, Hillary said she has no intention of apologizing, only to say "I'm sorry" on Tuesday.  "And Thursday, you said again you were sorry for all the confusion that ensued. All the confusion that ensued? Who's confused? Are you saying we're confused? That we don't get it? Don't you dare throw that one on us! We're not confused," Judge Jeanine said. "The law is clear. And stop muddying the waters with your ever-changing narrative."  "And now, Hillary, you are under federal investigation for a myriad of potential crimes. Not the least of which - disclosure of classified information - could send you to prison for ten years. Hillary, a primer: You’ve got to keep your stories straight."  Well, someone finally said it.  Thank you, Judge Jeanine.

THE PEOPLE'S MAYOR – Yeah, right.  Socialist Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York certainly knows how to live the socialist life.  From the Washington Free Beacon:   Three trips to Europe for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have cost city taxpayers over $40,000, according to public records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.  De Blasio’s most recent excursion to Rome for a two-day meeting on climate change in July cost $17,731.42 for him and two aides, who stayed at a luxury hotel next to the Vatican, drank prosecco, and ate tiramisu on the taxpayer’s dime.  De Blasio did not meet Pope Francis, who hosted the event, though he said it was “fun even to be close to him.”  The Democratic mayor’s overnight flight on July 20 from JFK to Fiumicino cost $2,607.80, and his return less than two days later ran to $1,901.30.  De Blasio stayed at the Palazzo Cardinal Cesi, a palace hotel that dates back to the 1400s. Monica Klein, Michael Carey, and Penny Abeywardena, three city officials, also stayed with the mayor at the hotel.  Why is it that these leftists, whenever they get power, start living the very kind of life they've cursed? 

HE'S OKAY – From London's Telegraph:   Luxury carmaker BMW's new chief executive Harald Krueger fainted on stage at the Frankfurt auto show on Tuesday.  Mr Krueger, 49, collapsed as he was commenting on BMW's latest models during a news conference. Two men escorted him off stage.  A BMW spokesman said over the public address system: "I'm a bit lost for words."  It was the first appearance at a major auto show by Mr Krueger, who took the helm as CEO in May.  BMW later said: "Harald Krueger experienced a moment of dizziness. As a result, the press conference was cancelled in order that Mr Krueger could be examined by a doctor. Mr Krueger's health is stable and he is recovering well."  We don't know why he became the ultimate fainting machine.  Maybe he took a look at his own sticker prices.  He's apparently okay now.

September 15, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER FAMOUS OBAMA VICTORY – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  Before the Iran nuclear deal is even implemented, we are having more trouble from a nation with which we made a remarkably similar deal some years ago, only to see that nation scrap the deal at its convenience.  From London's Daily Mail: 

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has threatened the United States with nuclear armageddon after Pyongyang resumed production of atomic bomb fuel in its top secret laboratory.

The director of North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute said the country was ready to counter any US hostility with 'nuclear weapons any time'.

He said scientists had 'made innovations day by day' to 'guarantee the reliability of the nuclear deterrent... as required by the prevailing situation'.

He said: 'In the meantime, the US anachronistic hostile policy toward the DPRK that forced it to have access to the nuclear weapons has remained utterly unchanged and instead it has become all the more undisguised and vicious with the adoption of means openly seeking the downfall of the latter's social system.'

The chilling declaration comes comes a day after Pyongyang said it is ready to launch satellites aboard long-range rockets to mark a key national anniversary next month.

COMMENT:  Of course, they don't mean it.  Just words.  Just words.  And do you really believe those little Asian men with thick glasses can attack Pearl Harbor?  Don't make me laugh.

September 15, 2015       Permalink

OH YES, I REMEMBER IT WELL – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:   Hillary is in trouble, and now a new, ill-timed ad, presumably to attract women, is starting to backfire, as it brings back the wrong kind of memories.  From The American Mirror: 

Hillary Clinton believes victims of sexual assault have “a right to be believed.” Except, of course, if the accusations are made against her husband and could complicate her political aspirations.

In Clinton’s new web ad, titled “Hillary’s Message to Survivors of Sexual Assault,” the candidate claims:

I want to send a message to every survivor of sexual assault.

Don’t let anyone silence your voice. You have a right to be heard. You have a right to be believed. We’re with you.

But that’s a very different message Kathleen Willey received in 1993 when she accused Hillary’s husband, President Bill Clinton, of sexually assaulting her.

“She believed what happened for sure,” Willey tells The American Mirror. “She just chose to ignore the plight of all of his victims, thus enabling him to continue to abuse and rape women in the future.”

Willey adds, "She’s a money-hungry hypocritical witch who will do anything for money.

"She’s a lying pig. I CANNOT believe that she had the gall to make that commercial. How dare she? I hope she rots in hell."

COMMENT:  I don't think that was an endorsement.   Voters will be reminded of the Clinton history, a history of scandal and sordid behavior.  They will be asked, "Want to go back to those days?"

And Hillary is also flat wrong.  No one has an automatic right to be believed, no matter what the charge, no matter who he or she is.  In an ethical legal system, a charge must be proved in a court of law.  Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Hillary's much wiser predecessor in the U.S. Senate, said it best – you're entitled to your own set of opinions, but not your own set of facts.

It seems that every time Hillary opens her mouth these days, she gets into more trouble.

September 15, 2015       Permalink

TRUMP SLIPS AMONG EVANGELICALS – AT 8:54 A.M. ET:  This links well with the post just below.   From the Washington Times: 

Donald Trump is leading among evangelical Republican voters nationally, but those on the ground in Iowa, where religious conservatives play an outsize role in picking GOP presidential nominees, say they can’t see it lasting.

The rise of Ben Carson among evangelical voters underscores their tenuous support for the billionaire businessman, and lingering questions about Mr. Trump’s own faith, plus the usual rhythms of the political cycle, will likely reel him in, analysts said.

“As the season changes we get a bit more serious — it’s when people realize this caucus is coming up, and we’re going to have to go to the local precinct, stand up in front of a group and say who we support and why,” said Craig Robinson, editor in chief of the Iowa Republican. “As the race nears, social conservative voters will find their way back to their more natural harbors in terms of candidate selection.”

That appears to already be happening, with Mr. Carson narrowing the gap with Mr. Trump in Iowa. A Quinnipiac University Poll released on Friday found Mr. Carson easily winning over born-again evangelical voters, with support from 27 percent of those surveyed, compared with 20 percent for Mr. Trump. The poll echoes earlier results found by the most recent Bloomberg/Des Moines Register Poll, in which Mr. Carson beats Mr. Trump with Christian conservatives by a 7-point margin, with several poll respondents describing Mr. Carson as “a kind Christian whom they can trust.”

COMMENT:  As people start to focus on politics, after the summer and Labor Day, numbers will shift.  At least the Republican Party has a deep bench.  Look at the Democratic Party.  Don't you feel sorry for them?  Have you no compassion?  They are drowning 20 feet out.  I suggest we throw them a 15-foot rope and say we've met them more than halfway. 

September 15, 2015       Permalink

ASTOUNDING!  CARSON ROMPS – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  A new New York Times/CBS poll is showing what we have begun to sense, that the real story in the Republican race may not be Donald Trump, but Ben Carson.  Things are heating up, and they are exciting.  From The New York Times: 

The day before the second Republican debate, campaigns are honing their strategies, Twitter is looking at donations, and polls are rearranging the numbers and the leader board. As big names fall, and Donald J. Trump sees only a modest gain, Ben Carson no longer has to look ahead to see the front-runner: He can just look to his side.

Mr. Carson has amassed considerable new support from Republican primary and caucus voters and is now running nearly even with Mr. Trump as their pick for the party’s presidential nomination, according to a new New York Times/CBS News poll.

Far more than other Republican contenders, Mr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has capitalized on his outsider message — a mix of anti-establishment views, delivered in a calmer tone than Mr. Trump’s, and socially conservative positions — to draw voters away from rivals and leap ahead in the poll, which will be published on Tuesday. The proportion of Republican voters favoring Mr. Carson rose to 23 percent from 6 percent in the previous CBS News poll, which was taken just before the first televised Republican debate in early August. Over that same period, Mr. Trump made modest gains, to 27 percent from 24 percent.

Mr. Carson pulled at least some of his support from Republicans who are more typical political figures. Jeb Bush fell in the poll, to 6 percent, from 13 percent, and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin tumbled to 2 percent from 10 percent. No other candidates fell as much as those two, according to the poll. Mr. Carson drew more support from college graduates than Mr. Trump, while those without a college education were more likely to favor Mr. Trump.

Over all, 37 percent of Republican voters say their minds are made up about which candidate they will support as their party’s presidential nominee, while 63 percent say it is still too early to say. Slightly more than half of Mr. Trump’s backers say they have decided, while 46 percent said they could still switch candidates. Those who said they had made up their minds are twice as likely to support Mr. Trump over Mr. Carson. Women were less likely than men to support Mr. Trump and more likely than men to support Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

The only other significant gain was made by the third outsider in the Republican field, Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, who drew support from 4 percent of voters, compared with a trace amount in midsummer.

COMMENT:  That is one poll, and we have to be cautious.  But I'm sensing from what I'm seeing that it gives an accurate view of a very fluid situation.

The next debate is tomorrow night.  Eyes will be on Carson and Fiorina.  Carson, in his quiet way, is making progress.  Fiorina, with her brilliant debating style, may well take on Trump.  Must see television.

September 15,  2015     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 14,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:10 P.M. ET: 

TRUMP TRUMPS – Like him or not, the Donald packs 'em in.  From London's Daily Mail:   Donald Trump spoke for 90 minutes to a crowd estimated at 20,000 on Monday night in Dallas, railing against 'this sanctuary cities crap' and joking that after he presided over the demise of Obamacare, the insurance scheme's replacement might bear his name.  'We'll go with "DonaldCare",' he said near the end of what became the longest single campaign speech of any candidate vying for the presidency in 2016, after a man in a raucous and riled-up audience called out the imaginary name for an as-yet imaginary new national health care initiative.  The guy strikes a nerve, but I still believe his abrasiveness, while an asset in some circumstances, may not wear well over time.

DRIP DRIP DRIP – From WaPo:   COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hillary Rodham Clinton is suffering a rapid erosion of support among Democratic women — the voters long presumed to be the bedrock in her bid to become the nation’s first female president.  The numbers in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll are an alarm siren: Where 71 percent of Democratic-leaning female voters said in July that they expected to vote for Clinton, only 42 percent do now, a drop of 29 percentage points in eight weeks.  She must stop this dive within weeks, or probably forfeit the crown.  Hillary's greatest asset right now isn't herself, as herself is probably a liability.  It's that most Dems aren't that enthusiastic about the other possibilities.  But she's hit an iceberg and there probably aren't enough lifeboats left.

BERNIE STARTING DOWNWARD? – For an aging socialist, Bernie Sanders has proved remarkably adept during this campaign at avoiding the label "extremist."  But that may change.  Today he praised the election of ultra-leftist wingnut Jeremy Corbyn as head of Britain's Labour Party.  Corbyn is militantly anti-American.  And then this, from Daily Caller:  Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told a crowd at Liberty University Monday that America was founded on “racist principles” and that the country “took a huge step forward” in electing Barack Obama in 2008.  Oh, Bernie, we hardly knew ye.  Apparently Bernie wants to go right back to the rhetoric of the 1960s.  He's starting to sound like the far-out leftist he really is.  That won't bother the Democratic base, as long as the checks keep coming, but it will bother the rest of America. 

September 14, 2015       Permalink

GREAT GUY – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:  Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain is terrific.  He makes Obama look like a kid, which is an accurate depiction.  Cameron minces no words when it comes to describing the threats facing the West.  Obama minces everything.

A few days ago the British Labour Party began its suicide run by electing the most extreme leftist leader in its history.  And what did Cameron do?  Did he welcome the nut as a "colleague" in politics?  No.  He came down hard and told the truth.  From The Times of Israel: 

A little over 24 hours after far-left anti-Israel MP Jeremy Corbyn was elected as head of the main opposition Labour, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned Sunday warned that the party has become a security threat to the country.

“The Labour Party is now a threat to our national security, our economic security and your family’s security,” Cameron said in a tweet to his 1.17 million personal followers. A near-identical tweet was posted the day before by the Conservative Party Press Office, with the word “risk” replacing “threat.”

The British leader and his party had wasted no time in lashing out at Jeremy Corbyn, a fringe politician who in the past referred to Hamas and Hezbollah as “friends.”

Shortly after being crowned as new leader, Corbyn told the Solidarity With Refugees rally in London that he opposed British involvement in airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq and Syria, calling for “peaceful solutions” and describing bombing as the easy option, the Guardian reported.

COMMENT:  Right on.  The Republicans here have been much too polite toward Obama.  They can take a lesson from David Cameron.  The Democratic Party has become a threat to our national security.

September 14, 2015       Permalink

HILLARY IN CRISIS – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:  It's an overused word, but "crisis" is appropriate.  Her Majesty is in serious trouble.  Only months ago she was preparing for a coronation.  Now there's a serious chance of a political burial.  You wear different clothes for each.  From The Wall Street Journal: 

It’s that time in the Hillary Clinton presidential run when people are starting to point fingers.

After a rough summer that saw Mrs. Clinton lose large leads to rival Bernie Sanders in both Iowa and New Hampshire, some who are close to the campaign are questioning the strategic advice she’s getting and the messages she’s putting out, people familiar with the matter said.

But those who know Mrs. Clinton well say the problem isn’t the campaign team. It’s whether she listens when they disagree, tell her no, or advise her that she needs to do something that by temperament or instinct she doesn’t want to do, they say.

Mrs. Clinton assembled a seasoned and well-regarded team of advisers, many of whom helped guide Barack Obama in his campaigns and his presidency. But Mrs. Clinton isn’t a pliant figure behind closed doors, by some accounts. She has strong ideas about what she wants to say and do.

Mrs. Clinton has said – and it’s a point her aides have echoed – that this is her campaign. We can take that to mean she’s more fully in command than in the ’08 race. Yet there are moments in a campaign when a candidate can’t be her own strategist. A couple of episodes over the summer come to mind.

Last month she vacationed in the toniest of neighborhoods in the Hamptons. Some people close to the Clintons thought the location was a mistake. With Mr. Sanders gaining traction in the race partly by denouncing the super rich who vacation in such spots, they thought Mrs. Clinton should have chosen a more modest getaway. She stuck with the Hamptons.

Then there was the apology. After months spent defending her email practices, Mrs. Clinton gave an interview to ABC News last week that sounded more like a definitive apology than anything voters have heard to date. A New York Times story last week reported that Mrs. Clinton was slow to accept what friends and advisers had been telling her for months: That she needed to apologize.

COMMENT:  Bluntly stated, she's a terrible candidate.  She has a tin ear, and always seems to be conniving, rather than telling us what she believes.  She also lacks a record of real accomplishment.  She comes off as a ticket puncher, who's punched one ticket after the other but never has achieved much.

She's not making it, and not doing anything to improve her position.  But the alternatives in the Democratic Party are probably worse.

September 14, 2015       Permalink

AMERICANS REJECT OBAMA IRAN POLICY – AT 9:04 A.M. ET:   President Obama's "victory" in getting his Iran agreement through without Congress stopping it isn't seen as much of a victory by the American people.  From The Politico: 

President Barack Obama enjoyed a major policy win last week when Democrats managed to rally enough votes to stop Congress from blocking a nuclear agreement with Iran. A new poll shows many Americans aren’t joining the president in celebrating.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of America’s relationship with Iran, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released Sunday, and 49 percent said Congress should reject the deal. Most of those polled said they do not trust Iran to abide by the terms of the agreement: 37 percent said it was “extremely likely” that Iran would violate the deal and 23 percent said it was “very likely.”

COMMENT:  It took Iran exactly two days after the president's "victory" to announce that it had found new deposits of uranium within the country, giving it a longtime supply.  Gee, what a coincidence.

Even The New York Times conceded that Obama has plenty of work to do to implement the agreement successfully.  Our feeling here is that it may well collapse before we get very far. 

September 14, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER COP KILLED – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  This time in Kentucky.  From Fox:

DEVELOPING – Kentucky State Police have captured the suspected gunman who shot and killed a trooper late Sunday night, according to a county official's Facebook post.

"It's over. Suspect in custody. Wade," the post read. "Wade" refers to Lyon County Judge Executive Wade White.

A statement released early Monday said that Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder, 31, was pronounced dead at a Princeton, Ky., hospital after being shot multiple times. Ponder had been a state trooper since January of this year.

The statement said that Ponder was conducting a traffic stop on the westbound side of Interstate 24 in the western part of the state at about 10:20 p.m. local time. The statement said that the driver who was being stopped took off from the scene, with Ponder pursuing him for approximately nine miles.

At that point, according to the statement, the suspect's car abruptly stopped, causing Ponder to crash his car into the vehicle. Police say the driver, identified as 25-year-old Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, of Missouri, got out of the car and started shooting at Ponder, hitting him multiple times. Bullets also struck the hood and windshield of the police cruiser, authorities said.

Authorities say Johnson-Shanks fled the scene on foot and was considered armed and dangerous. He's described as a black man, standing approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing dark clothing.

COMMENT:  Police lives matter. 

September 14,  2015     Permalink