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SEPTEMBER 18,  2015

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

SAD – From the Chicago Sun-Times:  WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., completed his prison sentence on Friday, setting the stage for his wife, former Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th), to report to prison in 30 days.  Jackson, 50, has been finishing up his sentence on home confinement at his DuPont Circle residence here. When he arrived at home last June, he told the Sun-Times he was working on his memoir.  Jackson’s movements under home confinement were closely monitored and he wore a GPS device around his ankle.  Jackson’s official release date was this Sunday. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross said when a release date falls on a weekend, the inmate is let go the Friday before.  He could've been something, but he used campaign funds to buy personal luxuries.  His wife filed a false tax return.  We hope they can make a contribution to society.  They were not treated unfairly.

WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY? – From Breitbart:  Foreigners who want to become U.S. citizens don’t have to change their attitudes or beliefs, President Barack Obama said in a video aimed at convincing migrants to pursue American citizenship.  “It’s not about changing who you are, it’s about adding a new chapter to your journey… and to our journey as a nation of immigrants,” Obama narrates in his two-minute video urging almost 9 million resident migrants to sign up for citizenship so they can vote in 2016.  Obama’s deputies will award citizenship to 36,000 over the next few days.  But federal law — and reality — contradicts Obama’s progressive-style denial of Americans’ sophisticated, evolved and unique society, and contradicts his support for a chaotically diverse “nation of immigrants” devoid of any unique and shared loyalties and obligations.  Obama said he would fundamentally change America, and he meant it.  Citizenship used to mean something.  You came to America to become an American, not a half-and-half.  Obama's pitch is designed to put millions of immigrants on the voter rolls, in the belief that most will vote Democratic. 

OUR NEXT GENERATION – From The College Fix:  Victimhood has become a virtue in America’s shifting culture, scholars argue.  A journal article by two sociologists suggests the rise of microaggressions stems from a culture of victimhood that celebrates the aggrieved and perceives them as virtuous martyrs – most notably on college campuses.  Making matters worse, this perception is fostered by administrations that coddle and support such grandiose notions for self-serving purposes, including to exert control of students, the scholars argue.  “In the settings such as those that generate microaggression catalogs … where offenders are oppressors and victims are the oppressed, it also raises the moral status of the victims,” the scholars state in their article. “This only increases the incentive to publicize grievances, and it means aggrieved parties are especially likely to highlight their identity as victims, emphasizing their own suffering and innocence. Their adversaries are privileged and blameworthy, but they themselves are pitiable and blameless.”  The scholarly article, “Microaggression and Moral Cultures,” was written by sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning, professors at Cal State Los Angeles and The University of West Virginia, respectively.  I'd like to try victimhood.  Can anyone name a quality oppressor? 

September 18, 2015       Permalink

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – AT 1:20 P.M. ET:  We depend on the Census Bureau to be accurate, complete, and honest.  Lots of luck.  From the Washington Times:

Employees in the Census Bureau’s hiring office bilked the government out of $1.1 million in pay they never earned, broke government rules by hiring friends and tried to intimidate whistleblowers who ratted them out, according to a new inspector general’s report Thursday that said supervisors even “led” the misconduct.

The worst of the employees overcharged for at least 1,277 hours, collecting nearly $65,000 for time that wasn’t actually worked. Another better-paid employee charged for 890 hours not worked, collecting more than $85,000, and still another collected $74,488 for 478 hours never worked — at an hourly wage of more than $155.

All told, 40 employees in the office — more than half of the workers during the time examined by the Commerce Department Office of Inspector General — were found to have claimed bogus hours worked.

The Census Bureau has reacted forcefully, saying employees named in the report who have access to “sensitive” systems were put on immediate leave. The agency also vowed to use whatever legal means it can to try to get the money back from the dishonest employees.

COMMENT:  I wonder how they were chosen in the first place.  When more than half the employees in a section are corrupt, we have to assume that hiring procedures may have been influenced by factors other than excellence.

September 18, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER GIFT FROM OUR NEW IRANIAN FRIENDS – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:   Usually, when a country enters into an international agreement with an adversary, it tries to moderate its language to put on the appearance of "good faith."  Not Iran.  It doesn't even worry about appearances, especially when dealing with a weak American president.  From Britain's Sky News: 

Iran has released five senior al Qaeda operatives from detention and will soon allow them to leave the country, prompting fears they will join other terrorists in Syria planning attacks on the West.

According to intelligence sources, three of the five are members of al Qaeda's ruling committee, the Shura Council.

They were released in exchange for an Iranian diplomat kidnapped in Yemen earlier this year.

The move comes not long after the American-led coalition in Syria bombed and killed several members of an organisation known as the Khorasan Group - an al Qaeda network based in Syria but focusing on planning attacks in the West using operatives with foreign passports.

Among those killed was Mohsin al Fadhli, who had also been based in Iran and was released by Tehran.

Intelligence sources said that while the Shi'a theocracy of Iran and the Sunni extremist group al Qaeda were theoretical enemies, there has been an "understanding" that the two would avoid attacks on one another and focus on battling the "shared threat" of the West.

Among those released in exchange for the Iranian diplomat was Abu al Kheir al Masri - the former head of al Qaeda's "external relations" committee, who was once seen as a possible replacement for Osama bin Laden at the top of the organisation.

Alongside him was Saif al Adel - considered Number Three in the al Qaeda hierarchy, according to an intelligence report seen by Sky News.

COMMENT:  And yet the nuclear deal goes through without any protest to Iran about its bandit behavior.   And the "Death to America" chants continue every day.  I've never seen a deal quite like this.

September 18,  2015     Permalink

EUROPE COOLS ON REFUGEES – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:   For a short time Europe tried to put on a "humiliate America" show about how many refugees it was taking from the exploding Middle East.  Now the enthusiasm has cooled in the face of the obvious – that European publics aren't very enthusiastic about seeing their cultures changed on a dime.  From WaPo: 

ZAGREB, Croatia — European nations once friendly to refugees abruptly yanked their welcome mats Thursday, as Germany considered slashing its benefits and Croatia announced it was closing most of its road links with Serbia “until further notice.”

The German measures would overhaul asylum codes to stem the massive flow of migrants into Europe, scaling back the generous policies that have made Germany a beacon for desperate war refugees and economic migrants pouring out of the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

In a 128-page draft law produced by the German Interior Ministry and obtained by The Washington Post, the government would speed asylum procedures, cut cash benefits, hasten deportations and punish those with false claims and phony paperwork.

The tough new measures, the draft bill states, are needed to cope with the huge influx of refugees into Germany, where 800,000 asylum applications were expected this year in a country with a population of 81 million.

COMMENT:  The refugee influx into Europe is one of the biggest stories of our time, but we may not see its effect until refugee populations start to vote, and influence European policy.

And there will be more refugees.   Middle East countries are collapsing.  In Africa, many people are getting the migration feeling.  Most are legitimate seekers of a better life.  Others may be infiltrators who have the potential to do horrendous things.

And there is pressure on America to take more migrants, most of whom probably have little liking for "the American way of life." 

September 18, 2015       Permalink

WHAT WE SEE – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  The Republican debate was Wednesday night.  This is what we are seeing in response:

There have been very few useful polls to come out of the debate.  Some are online polls, which are voluntary and thus subject to manipulation by campaigns urging followers to get online and vote.  Others have been too narrow.  The most interesting poll, by Gravis, surveyed Republican voters who watched the debate.  (Click on "see more."): 

Washington, D.C., September 17, 2015 - One America News Network, “OAN”, a credible source for 24/7 national and international news, announces its national post-debate poll taken immediately after Wednesday night’s GOP Debate at the Ronald Reagan Library. Carly Fiorina jumps to first place at 22 percent, tied with Donald Trump. OAN’s previous national poll, conducted on September 3-4, showed the former HP top executive in seventh place with 2.7%. Marco Rubio lands in the third spot with 15 percent. The U.S. Senator from Florida ranked third in OAN’s early September poll with 12 percent, a three point gain for Rubio. Rounding out the top five are Dr. Ben Carson at 12 percent followed by Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush tied at 6 percent. Bush drops nearly half his early September support of 11.4 percent to a post-debate 6 percent.

Obviously, this is an immediate reaction to the debate, but it demonstrates the truth of what most pundits said – that Fiorina won the debate and is actively challenging Trump, but that Rubio also made impressive gains.

We'll be looking for other polls.

Also, what we saw yesterday was a remarkable number of stories about Carly Fiorina's record as CEO of Hewlett-Packard.  The stories were less than favorable.  It was not only Carly's statistical record that was reviewed, but her management style and personal approach.  She did not come off well.  However, it should be pointed out that 1) any new CEO coming in to save a company is going to leave many unhappy people, especially those who are fired or sidetracked, and 2) Fiorina's tenure at HP ended ten years ago. 

If Fiorina winds up on the ticket she will have to defend her record, but she does so very articulately.  Whether her defense can be convincing may be another story.  One thing is clear:  In terms of debating and being quick on her feet, she is the best Republican candidate.  In terms of articulating detailed policy positions, I'd put Rubio at the top.

It is very early.  A year from today we might look back on our observations and laugh, but I don't think so.  Two debates give us a pretty good picture of how candidates present themselves.

The biggest loser in the debates so far, and it's surprising, is Scott Walker, a man who's used to rough politics and who's always come out ahead.  But he's not translated his success as governor of Wisconsin into a convincing national run.  That might change, but Walker is running out of time to make his case. 

On Donald Trump:  The general feeling I've seen is that he didn't do himself any good in the debate, but didn't make any huge mistakes either, except for being Trump-like.  Voters like him because he presumably "tells it like it is."  Maybe so, but there's a growing belief that he also has to "tell us what he'd do."  The missing policies are starting to show.

September 18, 2015     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 17,  2015

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

SIGN OF THE TIMES – From Fox: A Texas Whataburger employee was fired Wednesday for refusing to serve two police officers in what the company is describing as an appalling incident.  Officers Michael Magovern and Cameron Beckham were working off-duty security at a construction site on I-35 early Wednesday morning when they decided to stop at the restaurant in Lewisville, FOX 26 reports.  Magovern said before he could even place his order, the man behind the counter told him “We don’t serve police officers.”  The two officers decided to leave and went and got food at Dairy Queen instead.  "We were appalled to hear of an employee refusing service to two officers, as we have proudly served first responders across our system for decades,” Whataburger said in a statement Wednesday. “As soon as we heard of this isolated incident, we began our own internal investigation overnight. The employee that refused service is no longer employed with Whataburger. We've also invited the officers back today so we can apologize in person and make this right."  We haven't seen any identification of the dismissed employee, who will probably now sue for wrongful termination.  There have been a number of similar incidents reported across the nation in recent months.  More hope and change.

I'M SO DISAPPOINTED – From Fox:   STAVANGER, Norway – In a break with Nobel tradition, the former secretary of the Nobel Peace Prize committee says the 2009 award to President Barack Obama failed to live up to the panel's expectations.  Geir Lundestad writes in a book to be released on Thursday that the committee had expected the prize to deliver a boost to Obama. Instead the award was met with fierce criticism in the U.S., where many argued Obama had not been president long enough to have an impact worthy of the Nobel.  "Even many of Obama's supporters believed that the prize was a mistake," Lundestad wrote in excerpts of the book read by The Associated Press. "In that sense the committee didn't achieve what it had hoped for."  The best thing the Nobel Peace Prize committee could do for peace would be to abolish itself.  The prize is a farce, having been given to Obama, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Yasser Arafat, and assorted other unworthies.  It was given to Mikhail Gorbachev, but not to Margaret Thatcher, Pope John II, or Ronald Reagan, who actually did create the conditions for peace.  The prize is a leftist prize given by minor Norwegian officials.

WHY CHINA? –  From Bloomberg:  A China Railway Group-led consortium and XpressWest Enterprises LLC will form a joint venture to build a high-speed railway linking Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the first Chinese-made bullet-train project in the U.S.  Remember when we used to build things without the help, thank you very much, of foreign dictatorships?

CUBA SI – From Latin American Herald Tribune:   WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged businessmen to pressure Congress to lift the Cuban embargo, emphasizing the “significant economic opportunities” created by the process of normalizing bilateral relations.  After delivering a speech at the Business Roundtable Headquarters in Washington at which he responded to several questions from the audience, Obama also said that the imminent visit of Pope Francis to Cuba will be “an opportunity” to broaden the “conversations” that are already occurring on the communist island.  The thousands of Cuban political prisoners could not be reached for comment.

September 17, 2015       Permalink

IRAN CLASH CONTINUES – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  With all the attention paid to last night's political debate, let us not forget that the uproar over the Iran deal continues.  There are new concerns being expressed by the grown-ups in Washington, and there are some left.  From IBD: 

Obama administration negotiators forgot something when they gave away the store to Iran. Tehran remains free to outsource its nuclear program to North Korea.

CIA Director John Brennan admits his agency will be watching to see if the terrorist state of Iran confounds the purpose of President Obama's nuclear pact by outsourcing its atomic weapons development to nuclear-armed North Korea, with which it has already collaborated, or cooperates with another power.

"I'm not saying that something is afoot at all," he told reporters Tuesday. "What I'm saying is that we need to be attuned to all of the potential pathways to acquiring different types of" nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction capabilities. Of cooperation on nuclear weapons and missiles, Brennan said the CIA is "not going to assume that's not going to happen."

But being attuned to the nuclear weapons programs of other countries is not something at which the CIA has ever been very good. Our intelligence spectacularly failed to see the Soviet Union's entry into the nuclear club in 1949. It thought Moscow then to be more than four years away from the bomb. Our spy chiefs were also surprised by Pakistan's detonation of an underground nuclear weapon in 1998.

With Iran getting $150 billion out of Obama's deal, there'll be plenty of cash available to pay someone else to do the dirty work that the agreement prohibits Tehran from doing. And it might not necessarily be Pyongyang.

COMMENT:  There is a serious rumble on the internet about the number of foreign diplomats who are watching the GOP debates carefully.   They're watching because they're seeing, before their very eyes, the current collapse of American foreign policy.  Despite all their routine grumbling about the United States, they know they want, and need, a strong America.

September 17, 2015       Permalink

CARLY – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Say this about Carly Fiorina:  She has more guts than any other candidate who took the stand last night.   She takes on the Dems directly on Planned Parenthood, an extraordinarily controversial issue, and she does not blink.   From The Hill: 

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina delivered an impassioned attack against Planned Parenthood on Wednesday, comparing the women’s health provider to the dangers of Iran.

“I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes,” she said of the 10 undercover videos that have been released by an anti-abortion group this summer.

“Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain. This is about the character of our nation, and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on this,” she said to roaring applause at CNN's Republican presidential debate in Simi Valley, Calif.

Fiorinia, the only woman on the stage, urged viewers to watch the footage that has been released. Several prominent Democrats, including President Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have said they have not watched the videos.

Planned Parenthood has come under attack this summer for a series of videos that has purposed to show officials discussing the sale and use of fetal tissue obtained from late-term and partial-birth abortions.

Several Republicans, including Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Ky.), both also presidential candidates, have said GOP leadership should risk shutting down the government in an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.

“If we allow Obama to veto this bill, shame on us,” she said.

COMMENT:  She's the best retail candidate we've got.  She certainly was the best vice presidential candidate on that stage last night.  And, with the possible exception of Marco Rubio, was the best prepared debater.

September 17, 2015       Permalink

DEBATE AFTERMATH – AT 8:29 A.M.  ET:  Early online polls show Donald Trump the overwhelming winner in last night's debate.  I don't believe those polls.  They're voluntary, and we don't know the extent of attempts by the Trump people to get their partisans to participate.

We have no "legitimate" polls thus far.

Commentary continues to stress these conclusions:  1) The person who had the best night was Carly Fiorina; 2) Marco Rubio dominated on foreign policy, his area of specialty; 3) Ben Carson disappointed most observers with an indifferent performance; 4) Jeb Bush woke up, but not enough to suppress doubts that he has the style and sparkle needed to push to the fore; 5) Chris Christie improved from the first debate, and was a serious contender; 6) Scott Walker continued to lose ground, and has become the biggest disappointment of the GOP field; 7) John Kasich, a capable and popular governor of the key state of Ohio, can't seem to break through with an approach that seems too vague and strangely lacking in fight; 8) Rand Paul had a respectable debate, but seems to not have the visceral appeal he needs to overcome serious doubts about his foreign-policy views, which are more Democratic than Republican; 9) Ted Cruz was intellectually brilliant, as always.  But he doesn't seem to be able to break out.

Most observers say that the "junior" debate, earlier in the evening, was won by Lindsey Graham, but I doubt if it matters at all.

One question that will soon arise is who will now drop out.  None of the participants in the "junior" debate appears to have any serious chance to advance.  However, I think it will take a third debate to trigger a mass exodus, which the party now needs to allow voters to concentrate on a manageable field.

Another question is whether primary voters are tiring of Trump.  He has his own constituency, as Ross Perot did early in the game in 1992.  Perot wound up running as an independent.  Trump has already pledged his support to the Republican candidate in 2016.

September 17,  2015     Permalink