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SEPTEMBER 14,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:50 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR REAL ESTATE NEWS – FROM LONDON'S DAILY MAIL:   Multimillionaires eat at fancier restaurants, drive expensive cars, and live in secluded mansions, but they have always had to gas up their cars with the common folk – until now.  The swanky New York suburb of Greenwich, Connecticut, is about to be one of the first cities in the world to play host to a new, high-end gas station and convenience chain.
According to The Greenwich Time, the Guess Corporation, a North Carolina-based conglomerate that initially amassed a fortune in the diamond trade and has since expanded to other industries, selected Greenwich due to its well-heeled residents.  The gas-station-and-convenience-store-for-the-rich, which will be called GP Club, is scheduled to begin operations within the next year, according to Greenwich Time.   Anyone wishing to earn the privilege of fueling their car at GP Club will have to have a household net worth of at least $50million...While that may seem steep, these ultra-rich patrons will likely get a bang for their buck, as these locations – which will be styled like four-story mansions - will also offer other amenities including a waterpark, a steakhouse, and a designer clothing boutique.  There is also a 'sleeping suite,' business and video-conferencing centers, meeting rooms, a salon, and a medical clinic.  This is all while you're gassing up your car?  Why do I feel this is a waste of time?

OTHERS ARE WATCHING YOU – FROM THE HILL:  The head of the FBI on Wednesday defended putting a piece of tape over his personal laptop's webcam, claiming the security step was a common sense one that most should take.  “There’s some sensible things you should be doing, and that’s one of them,” Director James Comey said during a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  “You go into any government office and we all have the little camera things that sit on top of the screen,” he added. “They all have a little lid that closes down on them.  “You do that so that people who don’t have authority don’t look at you. I think that’s a good thing.”  Comey was pilloried online earlier this year, after he revealed that he puts a piece of tap over his laptop camera to keep away prying eyes. The precaution is a common one among security advocates, given the relative ease of hacking laptop cameras.  Good common sense.  I wonder if Hillary will take his advice.   She's very careful about security, you know.

WELCOME TO THE RECOVERY – FROM BUSINESS INSIDER:   Moody's analysts say Sears and Kmart don't have enough money — or access to money — to stay in business.  In a note published Wednesday, the analysts downgraded Sears' liquidity rating, saying the company is bleeding cash and will have to continue to rely on outside funding or the sale of assets, such as real estate, to sustain operations.  "We recognize the risks associated with relying on these sources and continued shareholder support to finance its negative operating cash flow which is estimated by Moody's to be approximately $1.5 billion this year," the analysts wrote.  Kmart in particular is at risk of shutting down, according to Moody's.  "The ratings... reflect our view on the uncertainty of the viability of the Kmart franchise in particular given its meaningful market share erosion," the analysts wrote.  How sad, especially for Sears, one of the legendary names in American commerce.  I look out my window and see a Sears sign in the distance, and think of Craftsman tools.

September 14,  2016     Permalink

INCREDIBLE – THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF THE CLINTONS – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:   How many good people have been lured and compromised?  From the great Bill Gertz at the Washington Free Beacon: 

The U.S. intelligence community declined to conduct a required assessment of the damage to national security caused by former secretary of state Hillary Clinton sending and receiving secrets on a private email server.

“ODNI is not leading an [intelligence community]-wide damage assessment and is not aware of any individual IC element conducting such formal assessments,” Joel D. Melstad, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said.

The most sensitive classified information leaked and possibly obtained by foreign intelligence services included ultra-secret information on U.S. drone strikes, according to American intelligence officials.

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, agreed with security officials who argued against the need to carry out the damage assessment. Intelligence officials argued in internal discussions that since many details of the drone missile program targeting terrorists were disclosed in earlier leaks unrelated to Clinton’s use of a personal email server, gauging the damage done by her conduct would be difficult, and possibly unnecessary.

Melstad, the DNI spokesman, declined further comment when asked the reasons behind Clapper’s decision not to launch the damage assessment.

Other officials said Clapper’s decision appeared based on political considerations and was an effort to avoid embroiling American intelligence agencies in charges they were attempting to influence the outcome of Clinton’s bid for the White House.

COMMENT:  Politics?  In Washington?  I can't believe our gracious leaders would be involved in anything like that, can you? 

This is a major scandal, a serious compromising of national intelligence and security.  A special prosecutor should be selected and ordered to clean the whole thing up. 

Quite a comedown from those World War II posters warning, "Loose lips sink ships." 

September 14, 2016       Permalink

DEMS WORRIED SICK OVER SICK HILLARY – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:  She was never that popular among Democrats to start with, and her current illness, and the deceptions surrounding it, have increased antagonism toward her in the party.  How far will this go?  From Bloomberg:

Eight weeks from Election Day, Democrats are feeling queasy about Hillary Clinton's narrowing national and battleground-state lead over Donald Trump.

A race some had considered a layup for Clinton on Tuesday showed Trump within 2.5 points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. The Democratic presidential nominee's stumbles over the weekend—from a botched response to a health incident to having to partially disavow her comment slamming “half” of Trump's supporters—has heightened concerns.

“I'm totally afraid. Donald Trump definitely has the chance to win. It's really close. Closing here in Pennsylvania and Florida,” said Clinton Barnes of Philadelphia, who attended President Barack Obama's rally there Tuesday for Clinton. “It's all spooky.”

“Hillary's been her own worst enemy,” he said. “People think she's dishonest.”

After an incident Sunday when her campaign brushed off rumors that something was amiss until a video clip showed her dizzy and stumbling into a van after a Sept. 11 commemoration event, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said Clinton would help herself by being more transparent.

“My advice is be transparent about everything and get it out early, because you minimize the damage you'll do by getting it out early,” Rendell said in an interview. “Getting things out early is always the best policy, whether you're a candidate or whether you're in public office.”

Rendell said he was “guardedly optimistic” Clinton would still win the election.

The disclosure that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia was a quintessentially Clintonian stumble, with her instinct for secrecy proving more damaging than the facts of the situation. Her campaign later confirmed Friday's diagnosis and her top spokespeople acknowledged they shouldn't have kept reporters in the dark for so long after questions were raised about why she had to leave Sunday's memorial abruptly.

COMMENT:  The polls right now are going in Trump's direction, but we still have almost two months to go before the election.

Clinton says she'll be back campaigning tomorrow, but to what degree?

The big date is September 26th, only a week from Monday.  That is the night of the first debate.  There will be three debates, but, if Hillary performs badly, or appears confused, it will be devastating, and possibly fatal to her campaign. 

September 14, 2016       Permalink

TRUMP GAINS – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  He's now up five points in the Los Angeles Times tracker.  And...there's a spurt in GOP voter registration.  From AP: 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have gained ground on Democrats in registering voters in three battleground states and kept their razor-thin advantage in Iowa — encouraging news for Donald Trump eight weeks before Election Day.

Republicans added hundreds of thousands of voters to the rolls since 2012 in states including Florida and Arizona, and narrowed the gap in North Carolina, according to data compiled by The Associated Press. In Iowa, Republicans prevented Democrats from surpassing them, aided by a court ruling upholding a ban on voting by ex-felons, who often register as Democrats.

As Election Day approaches, voter registration drives are in full swing.

Hillary Clinton's campaign is staging registration rallies and appealing in particular to non-whites and young people, who are more likely to vote early — if they vote at all. Trump is relying mostly on a base of white voters, urging supporters to be vigilant for voter fraud and "rigging."

"The Clinton campaign cannot come close to our output," said Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee's chief strategist, in a campaign memorandum Monday.

The latest registration numbers aren't an assurance of new voters for Trump. Some changes reflect those who have died and been removed from the list, while others are inactive, not having voted in recent elections. In Florida, newly registered Hispanics are turning against the Republican nominee, stung by his anti-immigrant rhetoric. And Democrats historically have done well in signing up new voters in the final stretch.

COMMENT:  On balance, a gain for Trump in what is turning out to be a very close race.  Trump is also improving considerably as a candidate.

But the main question mark, at least this week, is Hillary Clinton's health.  She may well get through her current crisis, but one more "event" during the election campaign and she may suffer unrecoverable polling losses.  That's what has Democrats worried.

September 14,  2016     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 13,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET: 

GO AWAY ALREADY – FROM THE HILL:   President Obama on Tuesday said he does not always agree with Democrats, even as he laid out the case for why they should lead the country after his term ends.  “Look, I recognize I am the head of the Democratic Party and that necessarily makes me a partisan,” he said at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) fundraiser in New York City on Tuesday night.  “But I’m not actually someone who bleeds Democrats. I think back to 2008, and I meant what I said. I don’t think any party traditionally has a monopoly on what’s right.”  Suddenly he's becoming bipartisan.  Sure he is.  Obama never understood how to do things.  He should have studied Reagan, a committed conservative who had the skill to reach across the aisle.  Obama reaches for an ice-cream cone.

SHOWDOWN AT THE LEGAL CORRAL – FROM BEARING ARMS:   Film producer Katie Couric and her director Stephanie Soechtig edited their anti-gun documentary Under the Gun in order to make a gun rights group in Virginia look as if they couldn’t answer a simple question.  They’re now facing a $12 million defamation lawsuit, according to documents provided to Bearing Arms.  Second Amendment rights advocacy organization the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), along with two of its members, today filed a $12 million defamation lawsuit against Katie Couric, director Stephanie Soechtig, Atlas Films, and Studio 3 Partners LLC d/b/a Epix for false and defamatory footage featured in the 2016 documentary film Under the Gun. The film portrays a fictional exchange in which members of the VCDL appear silent, stumped, and avoiding eye contact for nearly nine seconds after Katie Couric asks a question about background checks. An unedited audio recording of the interview reveals that—contrary to the portrayal in the film—the VCDL members had immediately begun responding to Couric’s question.  There are other outrages as well.  I'm all for lawsuits like this when they're justified, and this one is compelling.  We should more often show that our side can use the courts as well as the liberals can.

DO WE NEED THIS? – FROM CBS LOCAL:   BENTONVILLE, Ark. (CBS) – In the future, shopping carts may push themselves.   Walmart is now working on a self-driving shopping cart that customers would be able to hail like an Uber – possibly through a smartphone app.  The retailer filed a patent for a cart that has a motor and video cameras.  The best part? It would also be able to return itself from customers’ cars to the store.  Must we?  Frankly, I find it almost romantic to go to a supermarket, grab a shopping cart, fight to free it from the one it's jammed into, and push it around the store with one wheel stuck in place.  It reminds me that I'm still the master of the cart.  Some progress isn't worth it.

September 13, 2016       Permalink

THAT GREAT IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL – AT 9:54 A.M. ET:   The deal has certainly improved Iran's behavior, hasn't it?  From Fox:

Iran threatened to shoot down two US Navy surveillance aircraft flying close to Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, the latest in a series of recent provocations between Iran and the US military in the region, three US defense officials with knowledge of the incident told Fox News.

On Sept. 10, a Navy P-8 Poseidon with a crew of nine and an EP-3 Eries with a crew of roughly 24, were flying a reconnaissance mission 13 miles off the coast of Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, according to officials.

Iran’s territorial waters—like all nations--extend 12 miles into the sea, according to international maritime law.

At some point during the flight, the Iranian military warned the two aircraft to change course or risk getting shot down.

The US military planes ignored the warning and continued flying in international airspace, although close to Iranian territory, the officials told Fox.

“We wanted to test the Iranian reaction,” one US official told Fox News when asked why the US jets were flying close to Iran.

“It’s one thing to tell someone to get off your lawn, but we weren’t on their lawn,” the official continued. “Anytime you threaten to shoot someone down, it’s not considered professional.”

COMMENT:  The Iranians have also practiced "swarm" attacks by small, armed boats near American naval vessels.  And recent statements by Iranian officials make reference to the American debacle at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in 1961, and claim that the waters around Iran are Iranian.

When you flash weakness, this is what happens.  And Obama has flashed weakness. 

September 13, 2016       Permalink

CHILLING – AT 9:27 A.M. ET:  As we fight our bizarre election campaign, the world is not stopping.  Terrorists are not stopping.  From Reuters: 

Authorities have reportedly uncovered the first all-female Islamic State cell in France after several suspects were detained over alleged plans to attack the Eiffel Tower.

The four-woman cell's purported leading member was arrested last week in connection to an explosives-laden car found near another Paris landmark - the Notre Dame cathedral.

The leading suspect, an alleged 29-year-old mother-of-three was named as Ornella Gilligman. She reportedly told French authorities that her jihadi cell had preferred to target the iconic Eiffel Tower, and not in fact the cathedral.

The other three members of France's purported first all-female ISIS cell were supposedly named as Ines Madani, 19, Sarah Hervouet, 23, and Amel Sakaou, 39. As of Sunday, authorities were still questioning the three.

On Friday, the Paris prosecutor announced that the three women were arrested after the car was found. He said they were directed by Islamic State militants in Syria and were completely committed to the cause.

COMMENT:  The "junior varsity," as Obama put it, strikes again.  And it will continue to strike.

ISIS is losing territory in Syria and Iraq.  That is good news.  But it is responding by increasing its international terrorism.  Most Americans, according to polls, expect an attack in the United States in the near future.  We hope they are wrong.  We fear they are right.

September 13, 2016       Permalink

BOUNCE – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  The Los Angeles Times tracking poll, which tracks some 3,000 eligible voters, is showing a sharp gain for Donald Trump.

If the election were held today, Trump would get 45.8% and Clinton 42.8%.  We should point out that "eligible voter" polls tend to tilt somewhat Democratic, whereas likely voter polls tilt somewhat Republican.  Republicans are more likely to vote.

The sharp gain occurred during the last few days, perhaps suggesting concern about Hillary Clinton's health and her failure to be fully transparent about it.

We are cautious about polls here.  This is one poll.  The first debate is on September 26th.  That will have a substantial impact on public opinion.

September 13,  2016     Permalink