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AUGUST 24,  2016

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

GREAT ADVANCE IN EDUCATION – FROM THE DAILY WIRE:   The State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton is now offering a course called “#StopWhitePeople2K16” as part of routine training for residential assistants.  The university’s residential assistant training schedule lists “#StopWhitePeople2016” on its roster, with the mission of giving RA’s an “overview of disabilities in Higher Education.”  The presenters of the course, Ciaran Slattery, Nicholas Pulakos, and Urenna Nwogwugwu, are all RA’s at the state-funded college, which boasts itself as New York’s highest-ranking public college. They state their purpose is to “help others take the next step in understanding diversity, privilege, and the society we function within,” presumably the “white” society they plan to bash at the event.  The three RA’s claim they will give “#StopWhitePeople2K16” course attendees the “tools” to respond to “uneducated people” with “‘good’ arguments.” You know, the people who preach mutual respect, equality under God, and constitutional freedoms. Those people.  And we the people are paying for this. 

A COMMERCIAL PASSING – FROM THE BOSTON GLOBE:    BANGOR, Maine (AP) — The closing of one of the last two Howard Johnson restaurants in a couple of weeks will mark the end of its fried clam strips, ice cream and other menu staples that nourished baby boomers and leave the once-proud restaurant chain teetering on the brink of extinction.  The slice of roadside Americana will no longer be served up in Bangor after Sept. 6.  For waitress Kathe Jewett, it’s the only job she’s held since starting work when the restaurant opened in 1966.  “It’s bittersweet, but it’s nothing to be sad about,” the 68-year-old Jewett insisted Tuesday during a break from serving customers. “I’ve been here for 50 years — and it’s time.”  The closing will leave only one Howard Johnson restaurant, in Lake George, New York.  Before falling on hard times, Howard Johnson took restaurant franchises to a new level. The orange-roofed eateries once numbered more than 800, with the New England-based restaurant chain predating the ubiquitous Howard Johnson hotels.  Terrific hot-fudge sundaes.  I remember. 

BROKEN PROMISE – FROM THE WEEKLY STANDARD:   "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor" was President Barack Obama's signature catchphrase he used to sell the Affordable Care Act to the American people. Now Obamacare's flagship website, healthcare.gov, no longer even addresses the issue.  Ironically, the section in question was the first public (if indirect) admission by the Obama administration that the president's promise was less than a "guarantee." As THE WEEKLY STANDARD first reported in July 2013, the website told consumers that they "may be able to keep your current doctor," in contrast to the president's unequivocal statement: "Here is a guarantee that I've made. If you have insurance that you like, then you will be able to keep that insurance. If you've got a doctor that you like, you will be able to keep your doctor."  The original website contained a section entitled "Can I keep my own doctor?", later revised to "How to keep your doctor."  Looks like the whole Obamacare program might collapse.  In that case the Dems will double down and demand, in effect, socialized medicine.  But they'll call it something else, like "Guaranteed immortality."

August 24,  2016     Permalink

A MUST READ – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  Occasionally a column comes along that is an absolute must read.  This one is by Thomas Sowell, the brilliant African-American economist who dares to take on the conventional "wisdom" that is choking his own community.  He now laments the reality that facts no longer matter in our discussion about law enforcement policies.  From Creators Syndicate: 

Amid the rioting in Milwaukee, there is also a clash between two leading lawmen there — Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and the city of Milwaukee's Chief of Police Edward Flynn. They have very different opinions about how law enforcement should be carried out.

Chief Edward Flynn expresses the view long prevalent among those who emphasize the social "root causes" of crime, such as income disparities and educational disparities, as well as the larger society's neglect of black communities.

Chief Flynn puts less emphasis on aggressive police action and more on community outreach and gun control.

Sheriff David Clarke represents an opposite tradition, in which the job of the police is to enforce the law, as forcefully as necessary, not to make excuses for law-breaking or to ease up on enforcing the law, in hopes that this will mollify rioters. Sheriff Clarke would also like to see law-abiding blacks be armed.

Differences of opinion on law enforcement are sharp and unmistakable — and have been for more than 50 years. However, as the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan used to say, "You're entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to your own facts."

Unfortunately, facts seem to play a remarkably small role in clashes over law enforcement policies. And that too has been true for more than 50 years.

In his memoirs, the Supreme Court's Chief Justice Earl Warren declared that "all of us must assume a share of the responsibility" for rising crime rates in the 1960s because "for decades we have swept under the rug" the slum conditions that breed crime.

But the hard fact is that the murder rate in the country as a whole was going down during those very decades when social problems in the slums were supposedly being neglected.

Homicide rates among black males went down by 18 percent in the 1940s and by 22 percent in the 1950s. It was in the 1960s, when the ideas of Chief Justice Warren and others triumphed, that this long decline in homicide rates among black males reversed and skyrocketed by 89 percent, wiping out all the progress of the previous 20 years.

COMMENT:  Please read the entire column.  As everything with Sowell, it is fact-based and superbly argued.  Sadly, as Sowell says, facts really don't matter much any longer.  They get in the way of leftist ideology.  You know what I mean – terrorism has nothing to do with radical Islam.  You accept that, don't you?

August 24, 2016       Permalink 

WHILE WE SLEEP – AT 9:49 A.M. ET:  It may come as a shock to our chattering classes that, while we indulge ourselves in dissecting every move and comment in our presidential campaigns, the rest of the world is attending to its own business.  In some cases, that business is planning our demise.  From Reuters: 

North Korea fired a submarine-launched missile on Wednesday that flew about 500 km (311 miles) towards Japan, a show of improving technological capability for the isolated country that has conducted a series of launches in defiance of UN sanctions.

Having the ability to fire a missile from a submarine could help North Korea evade a new anti-missile system planned for South Korea and pose a threat even if nuclear-armed North Korea's land-based arsenal was destroyed, experts said.

The ballistic missile was fired at around 5:30 a.m. (2030 GMT) from near the coastal city of Sinpo, where a submarine base is located, officials at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defence Ministry told Reuters.

The projectile reached Japan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) for the first time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a briefing, referring to an area of control designated by countries to help maintain air security.

The missile was fired at a high angle, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, an indication that its full range would be 1,000 km (620 miles) at an ordinary trajectory. The distance indicated the North's push to develop a submarine-launched missile system was paying off, officials and experts said.

North Korea's "SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) technology appears to have progressed," a South Korean military official told Reuters.

Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies said the test appeared to be a success.

COMMENT:  North Korea is a rogue state with a nuclear capacity.  Our negotiated "agreements" with the North Koreans are laughed at, and neither Field Marshal Obama nor Grand Admiral Kerry seem to care.

Eventually, both North Korea and Iran will have nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.  And our "diplomacy" will have enabled them.

Another Obama success story.

August 24, 2016       Permalink

IT WON'T GO AWAY – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Some pundits earlier in this year predicted that it wouldn't be the e-mail scandal that would threaten Hillary Clinton's election, it would be corruption involving the Clinton Foundation, something much more understandable to the average citizen.  I think they were right.  A devastating AP story is making the rounds, and it is jolting the Clinton campaign: 

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money — either personally or through companies or groups — to the Clinton Foundation. It's an extraordinary proportion indicating her possible ethics challenges if elected president.

At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.

Donors who were granted time with Clinton included an internationally known economist who asked for her help as the Bangladesh government pressured him to resign from a nonprofit bank he ran; a Wall Street executive who sought Clinton's help with a visa problem; and Estee Lauder executives who were listed as meeting with Clinton while her department worked with the firm's corporate charity to counter gender-based violence in South Africa.

The meetings between the Democratic presidential nominee and foundation donors do not appear to violate legal agreements Clinton and former president Bill Clinton signed before she joined the State Department in 2009. But the frequency of the overlaps shows the intermingling of access and donations, and fuels perceptions that giving the foundation money was a price of admission for face time with Clinton. Her calendars and emails released as recently as this week describe scores of contacts she and her top aides had with foundation donors.

The AP's findings represent the first systematic effort to calculate the scope of the intersecting interests of Clinton Foundation donors and people who met personally with Clinton or spoke to her by phone about their needs.

COMMENT:  Bottom line – the Clintons have made tens of millions of dollars since leaving official office.  But what product have they been selling?  Why would people and institutions even give vast sums to the Clinton Foundation or pay Hillary hundreds of thousands of dollars a speech?

The answer is clear:  They were buying access.  They were putting themselves at the head of the line.  They were buying people who had power, and who are intent on returning to the White House, with even more power. 

The whole mess violates any citizen's sense of fairness.  Yes, it's easy to understand.  The Trump people are on the case, demanding the appointment of a special prosecutor, something they'll never get from Obama's Justice Department., 

But is it enough to derail Hillary's march to the presidency?  Remember, the Clintons have survived every scandal they've faced.  And Hillary is opposed by a very flawed Republican presidential candidate.

August 24,  2016     Permalink

AUGUST 23,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 5:24 P.M. ET: 

OUR HILLARY BETRAYED AGAIN – FROM CNN:  Another former Secretary of State -- Condoleezza Rice -- has been drawn into the fray over who advised Hillary Clinton to use a private email server while she was America's top diplomat.  An aide to Rice told CNN that Rice has "no recollection" of a conversation between Hillary Clinton and Colin Powell that reportedly took place at a 2009 dinner party of former Secretaries of State, during which Powell allegedly recommended that Clinton use a private email account. The Daily Caller was first to report that Rice had commented on the issue.  Georgia Godfrey, Rice's chief of Staff at Stanford University where she teaches, also told the conservative news outlet that "Dr. Rice isn't doing any media right now. I can tell you, though, that she has no recollection of that conversation either."
I guess our Hillary just has a better memory than Powell or Rice.

LAND OF THE FREE? – FROM BREITBART:   West Virginia University (WVU) has told its 29,000 students that they are breaking federal law if they don’t agree to use the pronouns — including ‘he’ or ‘she,’ ‘zir’ or ‘hir’ etc. — preferred by each person who claims to be transgender.  That policy means if a biological man — for example, famous transgender athlete Bruce Jenner — says he “identifies” his gender as female, then all other students must refer to the man as a “she,” or else be treated as a law-breaker.  WVU says using the wrong pronouns is a crime because the United States departments of justice and of education insist that transgender people are protected by decades-old sexual discrimination law.  Are we intent on committing suicide as a free nation?  The left won't mind.  It coddles dictatorships anyway.  But what about the rest of us?

THE LAST TIME THEY SAW PARIS – FROM LONDON'S EXPRESS:   France facing multi-billion euro ‘INDUSTRIAL CRISIS’ as tourism numbers plummet...One million fewer visitors went to the French capital in the first six months of 2016 compared to the year before, sparked by terror and safety fears, as well as claims the chic city is dirty and blighted by striking workers...The Paris region tourist board also said there had been a 46.2 per cent decline in Japanese visitors, a 35 per cent decline in Russian visitors, a 19.6 per cent decline in Chinese visitors, and a 5.7 per cent decline in visitors from the US.  And we have a president who belittles the impact of terror. 

August 23, 2016       Permalink

I'M SURE THIS WILL ALL BE EXPLAINED IN A RESPECTFUL MANNER – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  A bit of an incident in Virginia has the feds concerned, but not about everyone in any particular group, mind you.  From Fox: 

Federal authorities are investigating a weekend stabbing in Virginia to see whether the attacker may have been trying to behead a victim and whether the attack was inspired by the Islamic State terror group.

Wasil Farooqui, 20, was charged with two counts of aggravated malicious wounding in the stabbing attack Saturday that left two people wounded.

The FBI confirmed to Fox News it is investigating the dual stabbing alongside the Roanoke County Police Department. A source familiar with the case also told Fox News the FBI is investigating the attack as a possible terrorism-related incident.

"The FBI is working with the Roanoke County Police Department following the incident that occurred on Saturday evening,” said Adam Lee, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division.

"While I cannot discuss details of the investigation at this time, I do want to reassure the community that we are working to determine the nature of the incident," Lee said.

According to ABC News, Farooqui had traveled to Turkey in the last year and may have tried to sneak into Syria to meet with ISIS militants.

Farooqui allegedly attacked a man and woman at an apartment complex in Roanoke, according to WDBJ-7. Both victims were seriously injured in the attack. Witnesses told authorities that Farooqi was yelling “Allah Akbar.”

Authorities believe that Farooqui may have been trying to behead the male victim, according to ABC News. Investigators said that there was no connection between Farooqui and the victims.

COMMENT:  Yeah.  He was yelling "Allah Akbar," and the authorities are wondering whether it was terror-related.  Like asking whether the Japanese planes above Pearl Harbor were flown  by tourists.

August 23, 2016       Permalink

HILLARY UP EIGHT, OR IS SHE? – AT 10:50 A.M. ET:  A new, major poll, shows Hillary Clinton up nationally by eight points.  I have my doubts.  From The Hill:   

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton holds an 8-point lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump, according to a new NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Online Tracking Poll.

Clinton is favored by 50 percent of registered voters, while Trump is backed by 42 percent, according to the poll.

Clinton held a similar 9-point lead in last week's poll.

The Democratic nominee has been consistently polling ahead of Trump in national polls since the Democratic National Convention last month.

In a four-way matchup, Clinton holds a 5-point lead over Trump, 43 percent to 38 percent. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson has 11 percent support in that matchup, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein has 5 percent.

Clinton has a significant lead over the Republican nominee among black voters, 87 percent to 8 percent. She also leads among Hispanic voters, 73 percent to 22 percent and with Asian-American voters, 66 percent to 23 percent.

The Democratic nominee trails Trump among white voters, 41 percent to 50 percent...

...The survey was conducted Aug. 15-21 among 17,459 adults who say they are registered to vote. The margin of error is 1.1 percent.

COMMENTS:  My concerns:  The poll was started August 15th, some eight days ago, before the full impact of Trump's newly unveiled approach, sounding more presidential and delivering scripted policy speeches, could be measured.

Also, the poll was taken among registered voters, not likely voters.  Polls of likelies usually show more Republican support, as Republicans are more likely to vote.

Finally, the poll's examination of a four-way matchup should have been explained in more detail.  From what I understand, there will be a four-way matchup in most states on election day, so that result is extremely significant.  Clinton only leads by five points in a four-way match, and, again, this is among registered voters only. 

I'm guessing, and it's only an informed guess, that Clinton's actual lead is in the three- to four-point region.  But polling in the upcoming two weeks should refine our understanding of where we are.

August 23, 2016       Permalink

HILLARY'S HEALTH – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:  There is much talk about Hillary Clinton's health.  It is entirely justified, as would be any concern about a candidate's health.  It is the people's business, and she did have a serious illness, or fall, or whatever it was, in December of 2012.

I recall wincing, during the 1956 presidential campaign, when I first heard Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson use the term, "the president's health."  President Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, but had apparently recovered well.  We really didn't talk about presidential health.  It wasn't accepted in traditional political discourse.  It was still, even by the press, considered a private matter.

Today we discuss it more openly, in part because we now know of serious, even devastating medical incidents in presidential history that had a direct impact on the leadership of the nation.  We would expect those incidents, if they'd occurred today, to be openly discussed.  Indeed, we have had, since 1967, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for actions to be taken in the event of presidential incapacitation.

Woodrow Wilson suffered an incapacitating stroke on October 2, 1919, in the midst of his second term.  The American people were never told the extent of his illness.  While he rallied somewhat, he never fully recovered, and left office a very sick man on March 4, 1921.  During his illness his wife, Edith, acted as what she called the "steward" of his presidency, sometimes signing his name to documents without asking his approval.

In 1944, as the presidential election approached, it was clear to the inner political circle in Washington that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was weakening.  The vice president, Henry A. Wallace, was perceived as too far to the left to succeed him, and so it was agreed that he would be replaced on the Democratic ticket.  He was, by Harry S. Truman, who became president on Mr. Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945. 

In 1960, we were never told that Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy had Addison's Disease, a serious but treatable illness that can have effects that might affect performance in office.

In 1972 the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, had to leave the national ticket when it was learned he'd had elecro-shock treatment for a mental condition.

We are still not sure, and probably never will be, whether President Reagan experienced the onset of Alzheimer's Disease during his second term.

So this is a matter of the public's business.  We were reassured by CNN, the Clinton News Network, this morning that stories about Hillary Clinton's health are "unfounded conspiracy theories."  I'm glad to be reassured, but they aren't conspiracy theories.  No one is talking about a plot or conspiracy.  They are talking about possible illness.

Candidates these days normally submit a doctor's statement informing us that the individual will live forever, and the lack of a heartbeat is temporary.  It's entirely inadequate.  What is needed is for presidential and vice-presidential candidates to undergo a full medical checkup by a neutral medical team.  It should be required.

August 23,  2016     Permalink