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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas last night.  We naturally talked about the week's
drama in that city.  It's here.

JULY 11,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET: 

PROMISE KEPT – FROM THE POLITICO:   Two House Committees on Monday asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Hillary Clinton perjured herself on the email controversy while testifying before Benghazi Committee investigators in October.  Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chafe (R-Utah) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) sent the referral to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, asking him to probe claims Clinton made during the hearing last fall that have proved false.   Chaffetz promised last week that he'd do this, and he's kept his word.  It's more trouble for Hillary, with a possible perjury charge resulting.  However, let's be realistic.  It's highly unlikely that Loretta Lynch's Justice Department will do anything that would hurt Hillary's election chances.

BAYH AND BAYH – FROM THE HILL:   Former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh’s decision to jump into the Indiana Senate race has upended the battle for the Senate majority in 2016 by expanding the map for Democrats.  The former senator’s impending decision to run for Senate, confirmed by a source familiar with the plan, comes after the party’s previous nominee, former Rep. Baron Hill, stepped aside Monday.  It’s the Democratic Party’s answer to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whose surprise announcement to run for reelection last month made him the instant favorite in a seat Democrats had hoped to flip.  Bayh’s move upends the strategy for a seat many saw as an easy win for the GOP.  Democrats need to gain four seats to retake the Senate majority in November if they retain the White House, and five if they do not.   Bayh comes from a famous political family.  He is popular, and one of the few sane Democrats around.  If elected, he becomes an instant presidential contender for 2020, should Hillary not be elected in November.  Problem is, the Democratic Party isn't looking for sane moderates.

DISGRACEFUL – FROM THE HILL:   Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) said Friday that if the Department of Justice had been investigating the Orlando nightclub shooter instead of her, the 49 people killed in the massacre there last month would still be alive.  Brown was charged with 24 counts of fraud late last week, after being accused of using a college scholarship fund as “a personal slush fund.”  “These are the same agents that was not able to do a thorough investigation of [shooter Omar Mateen], and we ended up with 50 people dead,” Brown said. Mateen was shot and killed by police at the scene of the Orlando nightclub attack, bringing the total death toll to 50.   Brown’s lawyer echoed those sentiments.  “Perhaps had it chosen to devote its resources more thoughtfully, 50 innocent people would be alive today,” Elizabeth White said, according to First Coast News.  Prosecutors allege that the Florida lawmaker and her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, used her office to solicit hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to the fake charity.  On Sunday, Brown seemed to draw parallels from her situation to the shootings of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling and the police officers in Dallas.  “Two black men were needlessly gunned down by police; five Dallas police officers were slain by a demented man, and on Friday I had to appear in federal court,” she wrote on her blog, as reported by BuzzFeed News. “I’m not the first black elected official to be persecuted and, sad to say, I won’t be the last.”   Easy winner of the Urgent Agenda bad-taste award for 2016.

July 11, 2016       Permalink

MAY DAY – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  Britain will shortly have a new prime minister, and she will be the second female prime minister in the nation's history.  From NBC: 

LONDON — Theresa May will become Britain's second female prime minister after her only challenger withdrew Monday from the race to lead the ruling Conservative party.

May had been competing with Andrea Leadsom to replace David Cameron as party leader after he announced he would quit after losing last month's Brexit referendum.

However, Leadsom announced Monday she was dropping out, leaving May unopposed and forcing the Conservatives to abandon their plans for a ballot of members.

May is now expected to take over from Cameron within days, becoming the country's second female PM and the first since Margaret Thatcher stood down in 1990.

It marked another turbulent day for British politics. At the exact moment that Leadsom withdrew from the contest, lawmakers in the opposition Labour Party launched an official challenge to their embattled leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Labour now faces a months-long leadership battle of the kind that the Conservatives have just avoided.

COMMENT:  Theresa May is tough on terrorism, which she defines as the main problem facing the West.  In terms of style she's in the Maggie Thatcher tradition.  She believes in Great Britain, not half-great Britain.  Churchill would have had her in his cabinet. 

July 11, 2016       Permalink

WELL, I'LL SAY – AT 10:12 A.M. ET:   New research on police violence against minorities contradicts some of the best-loved illusions of the political left.  This research wasn't done by conservatives.  From The New York Times: 

A new study confirms that black men and women are treated differently in the hands of law enforcement. They are more likely to be touched, handcuffed, pushed to the ground or pepper-sprayed by a police officer, even after accounting for how, where and when they encounter the police.

But when it comes to the most lethal form of force — police shootings — the study finds no racial bias.

“It is the most surprising result of my career,” said Roland G. Fryer Jr., the author of the study and a professor of economics at Harvard. The study examined more than a thousand shootings in 10 major police departments, in Texas, Florida and California.

The result contradicts the mental image of police shootings that many Americans hold in the wake of the killings (some captured on video) of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.; Laquan McDonald in Chicago; Tamir Rice in Cleveland; Walter Scott in South Carolina; Samuel DuBose in Cincinnati; Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La.; and Philando Castile in Minnesota...

...Mr. Fryer is the youngest African-American to receive tenure at Harvard and the first one to receive a John Bates Clark medal, a prize given to the most promising American economist under 40. He is not afraid of controversial questions. In previous work, he has paid students to read books; considered the possibility of genetic differences in intelligence; and shown that high-achieving black and Hispanic students have fewer friends.

COMMENT:  Fascinating stuff.  Read the whole thing.  Maybe we can get our undereducated president to read this research as well.   But leftist myths die hard, if they die at all.

July 11, 2016       Permalink

ROASTING HILLARY – AT 9:17 A.M. ET:  The American public is displeased over the FBI's decision in the Hillary Clinton case.  From ABC:

A majority of Americans disapproves of the FBI's recommendation not to charge Hillary Clinton with a crime over her handling of email while secretary of state, and a similar number in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll say the issue leaves them worried about how she'd handle her responsibilities as president if elected.

Most also say the email controversy won't affect their vote choice in the presidential election. But more say it leaves them less rather than more likely to support Clinton, 28 percent vs. 10 percent.

Reaction to the decision is highly political, with partisanship factoring heavily in people’s views. Yet Democrats don't back Clinton up on the issue nearly as much as Republicans criticize her, and independents side more with Republicans.

Overall, 56 percent disapprove of FBI Director James Comey's recommendation not to charge Clinton, while just 35 percent approve. Similarly, 57 percent say the incident makes them worried about how Clinton might act as president if she were elected, with most very worried about it. Just 39 percent feel the issue isn't related to how she'd perform as president.

COMMENT:  Obviously, this is not good for Hillary.  First, it shows that Americans actually engaged on this somewhat complex issue.  Some pundits assumed that they wouldn't be interested.  (I've noticed that underestimating voters is one of the biggest flaws in political commentary.)

Second, the issue simply emphasizes Hillary's already poor reputation for honesty and reliability. 

In any normal election year, Clinton could already be toast.  But Donald Trump is a highly problematical, equally controversial candidate, also widely seen as untrustworthy.  Wouldn't it be ironic if he helped elect his opponent in a year that should be easy for Republicans?

July 11,  2016     Permalink

JULY 10,  2016

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

SPEEDY GUYS, OR NEGLIGENT GUYS – FROM FOX:   Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Sunday that the sniper who shot and killed five Dallas police officers Thursday acted alone and does not appear connected to a known terror group.  “It was a single shooter, and we do not see any affiliation with a terror network like ISIS or Al Qaeda,” Johnson told “Fox News Sunday.”  Authorities have identified the shooter as Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old black Army veteran, purportedly angry about the two recent incidents -- in Minnesota and Louisiana -- in which police officers fatally shot and killed black men.  Johnson confirmed Sunday that the shooter said that he “wanted to kill white people.”  Amazing how they come to these conclusions so quickly.  Single shooter.  Acted alone.  Never knew anybody, even his mother.  Nothing to see, nothing to see.  I'd rather wait for a more detailed examination of this terrorist's past.  I don't trust the mouthpieces of the Obama administration.

MORE TROUBLE FOR HILLARY? – FROM FOX:   FBI Director James Comey is facing growing Republican calls to launch a perjury probe into whether Hillary Clinton lied under oath about her email use when she testified last year before the House Benghazi committee – even as the Justice Department closes the case on the former secretary of state’s private server. House Overnight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz first urged such a probe during Thursday’s hearing with Comey before his  committee. He wants the agency to investigate whether Clinton lied when she told lawmakers “there was nothing marked classified on my emails” – a claim Comey repeatedly contradicted this week.  Comey told Chaffetz a referral from Congress would be needed for an investigation.  “You’ll have one in the next few hours,” Chaffetz said.  When FoxNews.com contacted Chaffetz’s office on Friday, a referral had not yet been sent.  But Chaffetz is vowing to kick-start the process, and his Republican colleagues are voicing support.  It's about time the Republicans actually did something about this Hillary mess.  She cannot get away with what she's done.

FRIENDS? – FROM REUTERS:   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three countries have warned their citizens to stay on guard when visiting U.S. cities rocked by sometimes violent protests that erupted after a string of police shootings of black Americans...The U.S. embassy of Bahrain, a tiny Middle Eastern island nation, on Saturday urged citizens via twitter to "be cautious of protests or crowded areas occurring around the U.S."  Bahamas, a Caribbean nation where most people identify as being of African heritage, on Friday warned its people to be careful when visiting U.S. cities rocked by "shootings of young black males by police officers."  "In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate," Bahamas foreign ministry said in a travel advisory.  The United Arab Emirates urged its students and other citizens in the United States to also be careful, using similar language the U.S. State Department employs when warning Americans about countries that have fallen victim to attacks by extremists.  There will be some loss of tourist dollars because of the riots in America.  And who will get hurt most?  Minority workers.  I guess Black Lives Matter hasn't figured that out yet.

July 10, 2016       Permalink

FEARS ABOUT CLEVELAND – AT 12:53 P.M. ET:  The Republican convention begins in Cleveland a week from tomorrow.  Fears of violence are growing.  From McClatchy:

As the Republican National Convention approaches, several security experts, convention attendees and even the prospective protesters fear that Cleveland might erupt into violence reminiscent of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, where an estimated 10,000 protesters showed up to oppose the Vietnam War. Confrontations ensued between police and protesters that left hundreds injured and resulted in nearly 600 arrests.

“There’s a potential for that to happen,” said Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington research center. “There’s a lot of agitation on both sides.”

A turbulent political season fueled by the unpredictability of Trump supporters and opponents already has resulted in violent clashes at campaign events in San Jose and Burlingame, California, Chicago and Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Cleveland government and law enforcement officials insist they’re ready to host the 50,000 convention visitors, 15,000 media members and thousands of protesters expected to descend on the city and keep them safe. The city has sought to triple the size of its 1,600-member police force by recruiting officers from Ohio and other states.

Cleveland will be adequately staffed, Police Chief Calvin Williams wrote in an open letter on the department’s website and Facebook page Wednesday. “Our officers have trained with many partnering agencies at the local, state and federal level to ensure that the highest safety standards are maintained.”

The city’s municipal court is clearing jail space to process up to 1,000 people per day, Cleveland.com reported. Government officials increased Cleveland’s liability coverage from $10 million to $50 million to better protect it against damage from protests or other potentially violent acts.

“Given the climate nationally and internationally, the risk assessment was higher than it’s been for other conventions,” Cleveland Finance Director Sharon Dumas told The Associated Press last week.

COMMENT:  The governor is John Kasich, an opponent of Donald Trump.  I have no idea how that might figure into convention plans, but I thought I'd point it out.

I'm concerned.  Trump is a prime target of leftist demonstrators.   His convention will be a target.  The left is all fired up over policing.

There are definitely people out there who want to return to the 1960s.  They think it was a great era.  It was, if you had the intellectual maturity of a 12-year-old.  That's pretty much the level I see on the left today.

July 10, 2016       Permalink

ANOTHER PEACEFUL PROTEST – AT 11:34 A.M. ET:  I want to see journalism give us a detailed picture of the groups that become violent.  I want to know who they are, what their actual views are, their histories, and their goals.  Fat chance.  From Fox:   

More than 100 people were arrested and 21 police officers injured in Minnesota Saturday night when protests over recent police killings of black men morphed into rioting.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman detailed at a Sunday press conference what he called an “extreme incident” Saturday night that led to 102 arrests after protesters pelted police officers with rocks, rebar and incendiary devices, including Molotov cocktails. The injuries to officers were “significant, but none were life-threatening,” Coleman said.

The protests, which started with a march from the governor's mansion around 8 p.m., were among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philando Castile, a black man who was shot in a Minneapolis suburb by a police officer during a traffic stop, and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. Sterling, who was black, was shot after a scuffle with officers outside a convenience store.

The riots came just days after five Dallas police officers were murdered by Micah Johnson, who targeted white cops in a sniper attack last Thursday. Sterling's and Castile's families denounced the attack on the Dallas officers.

In Minnesota, police used smoke bombs to clear demonstrators blocking Interstate 94. About 200 protesters refused to leave the roadway just after midnight as police in riot gear began to move in on the crowd.

“We hope for the best and prepare for the worst and, unfortunately, last night the worst occurred,” St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said at a Sunday press conference. Axtell passed around to reporters a police badge that was bent from the impact of a rock as he said he was “disgusted” by the acts of some people and added, “we’re not going to tolerate it.”

“It’s the first time in my 28 years as a police officer that I have observed this level of violence toward our public servants,” Axtell said. “We’re hoping and praying that tonight is a better night.”

COMMENT:  I'm sure there are many people with legitimate concerns about law enforcement.  But there are always others who try to take over, and we're getting only a blurry picture of who those others are.

July 10, 2016       Permalink

A REMINDER – SOME PEOPLE HAVE ODD FAMILY VALUES – AT 11:22 A.M. ET:  The family business has apparently gone to the son.  From the Independent: 

The son of Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the US for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online by Al-Qaeda.

Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group's fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an organisation that tracks white supremacist and jihadi organisations online.

"We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression," Hamza said.

"As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam."

COMMENT:  A chip off the old mosque.  I would take the message seriously.  Al Qaeda and ISIS are in competition, and I wouldn't be surprised if the former pulls off another 9-11-style attack, just to shame the latter.

July 10,  2016     Permalink