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SEPTEMBER 22,  2016

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

ANY INTEREST AT CNN? – FROM FOX:   New shocking images from Venezuela reveal the extent of the country's austerity: lacking cribs, newborn babies are placed in cardboard boxes.  The photos were taken at the Domingo Guzman Lander hospital in Barcelona, in the north-eastern state of Anzoategui, and leaked by a doctor who asked to remained anonymous to avoid possible retributions. The doctor reached out to an opposition lawmaker, Manuel Ferreira, who posted them on his Twitter account for the world to see.  "The babies spent all night in the cardboard boxes until the pictures were made public,” Congressman Manuel Ferreira told Fox News Latino on Thursday morning. “After that they discharged the babies to avoid further exposure."   Remember when movie stars like Sean Penn and Danny Glover would rush down to Venezuela to grovel before Hugo Chavez?  Haven't seen those chaps recently.

TULSA COP CHARGED – FROM ABC LOCAL:   TULSA, Okla. -- Prosecutors charged a white Oklahoma police officer with first-degree manslaughter Thursday, less than a week after she killed an unarmed black man on a city street and just days after police released graphic videos, saying in court documents the officer "reacted unreasonably."  Tulsa officer Betty Shelby fatally shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16.  The affidavit filed with the charge says Shelby "reacted unreasonably by escalating the situation from a confrontation with Mr. Crutcher, who was not responding to verbal commands and was walking away from her with his hands held up, becoming emotionally involved to the point that she over reacted."  I don't know.  The investigation lasts less than a week?  This looks like another rush to judgment, as in Baltimore, where six officers were charged in the death of Freddie Gray.  All six were exonerated.    This incident may well be the result of poor training rather than a criminal act on the part of a cop. 

I LOVE IT – FROM THE COLLEGE FIX:   Following CNN contributor Sally Kohn’s comments that advocacy for free speech is “really just an excuse for attacking multiculturalism and other progressive attitudes,” the University of Michigan had planned a debate between her and conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.  But, according to Breitbart.com, UM had to cancel the event — because the ardent progressive Kohn’s fees were just too high:  According to emails seen by Breitbart, Kohn initially quoted a fee of $11,000, “plus incidentals, travel, lodging, etc”, but later reduced and then finally dropped the fee upon discovering that Yiannopoulos doesn’t charge for speaking events at colleges.  Kohn did however stipulate that in exchange for dropping her fee, she must be allowed to interview Milo for her new book. Still, Kohn’s travel and accommodation bills were too high for students to accommodate and as a result, the event has been cancelled. Milo is however touring college campuses across the country.  The bottom line is still the bottom line, even among "progressives."

September 22,  2016     Permalink

NEWEST POLLING – AT 8:50 A.M. ET:  Just in this morning from Rasmussen: 

With the first presidential debate coming on Monday, Donald Trump has moved to a five-point lead over Hillary Clinton, his biggest advantage since mid-July.

The latest Rasmussen Reports weekly White House Watch telephone and online survey finds Trump with 44% support among Likely U.S. Voters to Clinton’s 39%. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson earns eight percent (8%) of the vote, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein holds steady at two percent (2%). Three percent (3%) like some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are still undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Last week, the Republican nominee edged ahead of his Democratic rival 42% to 40% after trailing her by four points the week before. Trump’s total this week ties his highest ever level of support from two months ago.

Trump (76%) and Clinton (75%) earn comparable support from voters in their own party. Fourteen percent (14%) of Democrats prefer Trump, while 10% of Republicans join former President George H.W. Bush in supporting Clinton. But Trump has a commanding 45% to 27% lead this week among voters not affiliated with either major political party.

COMMENT:  It's that last number that's intriguing.  We stress that this is only one poll, and that a poll is a snapshot in time.  But if Trump is that far ahead among independents, it's a dramatic political achievement.

Monday night looks more and more like "High Noon."  I wish we had a Gary Cooper.

September 22, 2016       Permalink

WARNING FROM BRITAIN – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:  At least some people are taking the ISIS threat seriously.  From London's Daily Mail: 

MI6 is to recruit 1,000 new spies following a stark warning from its chief that the threat from Islamic State-style terrorism will last a 'professional lifetime'.

Alex Younger – known as 'C' – said IS-style terrorism posed a 'persistent threat', driven by the internet revolution and the breaking down of international barriers.

In a rare public appearance at a security conference in Washington DC, he said 'deep social economic and demographic drivers' meant there was little sign of the 'enduring' danger disappearing soon.

And he warned of the damage done by the theft and leaking of US and UK secrets by Edward Snowden.

His warning came as it emerged that MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, is to dramatically expand its staff with another 1,000 spies – a 40 per cent rise by 2020 to 3,500.

The expansion was reported by BBC Newsnight, which suggested the new staff were needed because technology, including the internet and facial-recognition techniques, had made it easier for the UK's enemies to identify intelligence officers.

COMMENT:  The British assessment sounds correct.  I would add that such factors as leftist bias in the press, corruption in educational institutions, and a general lack of traditional patriotism in Western democracies will add substantially to the burden felt by intelligence agencies.  Indeed, the presence of non-Islamic fifth columns in the decaying Western alliance may be the fatal blow, after all the decades of fight.

September 22, 2016       Permalink

TRUMP INCHES AHEAD – AT 8:08 A.M. ET:   Donald Trump is making progress in the battleground states, but the race is still very, very close.   From Fox: 

Donald Trump narrowly leads Hillary Clinton in the battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio.

That’s according to Fox News statewide likely voter polls conducted Sunday through Tuesday evenings.

Trump is helped by strong support from working-class white voters, while Clinton is hurt by a lackluster performance among younger voters and women.

In each state, Trump’s advantage is within the margin of sampling error. Here’s how the numbers breakdown state-by-state:

COMMENT:   On the other hand, Clinton has made a slight gain in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls.  She still leads in that survey and, narrowly, in electoral votes.

The bad news for Clinton is that Trump's rise has been fairly steady.  She hasn't had any important recent victories.  The good news for Clinton is that Trump has gotten a bit off-message in the last week, and his momentum is threatened. 

The first debate in Monday night.  The polls before then will be ancient history, and forgotten, by this time next week.  The home stretch begins October 8th, a month before the election.  October 8th is two weeks from Saturday.

September 22,  2016     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 21,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:16 P.M. ET: 

CHARLOTTE – FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES:   North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency in Charlotte on Wednesday night after violent new protests over the police shooting of a black man erupted in the heart of downtown, leaving one man shot and critically wounded.  The shooting Wednesday night occurred as protesters waded into the streets and began streaming toward downtown hotels as police in riot gear fired tear gas and attempted to block their progress.  The governor announced he has initiated efforts to deploy the National Guard and state troopers to help quell the violence, which has raged for the last two nights in Charlotte in response to the death of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott.  It's about time the governor acted.  By the way, we've now learned that Scott had an extensive criminal record, whereas the black officer who him had an exemplary record.  Guess that doesn't matter much in today's climate.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS USED ON US TROOPS – FROM AFP:   Washington (AFP) - A rocket fired by Islamic State jihadists at US forces in Iraq may have carried a chemical agent, a US defense official said Wednesday.  No one was injured in Tuesday's blast near an airfield by the northern town of Qayyarah and no one showed any immediate signs of exposure to the suspected mustard agent, the official said.  Several hundred US troops are working with Iraqi partners to strengthen the airfield ahead of a push on the IS stronghold of Mosul.  The defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an incoming round had exploded within the base perimeter during an "indirect fire" attack.  A small team of US troops later inspected the fragmented ordinance and found one bit with a suspicious, tar-like black oily substance that they tested in the field.  If true it's a military game changer.  If true, we'd also like to know how Islamic State forces got chemical weapons.  Gee, you don't think there were any left over in Iraq, do you?  Nah.

FRIENDLY FACES – FROM VANITY FAIR:   His presidency is winding down. A contentious election—fought largely over his record and legacy—is about to be decided. With that in mind, Barack Obama recently invited the presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to the White House for a long, personal, open-ended conversation. The meeting, arranged by Vanity Fair, took place in the president’s private dining room, just off the Oval Office.  I like some of Goodwin's work, but she is basically the Democratic Party's court historian, so the "open-ended" conversation isn't surprising.  I'm sure there'll be a book or a long article.  I might read a summary of it.  Keep it to a paragraph.

September 21, 2016       Permalink

NEW YORK'S NUTTY MAYOR – AT 12:07 P.M.  ET:  His city was just hit by a terrorist attack, but New York Mayor Bill de Blasio still proudly reminds us that he's a left-wing nut job.  From Polizette:

In the wake of a radical Islamic terrorist attack on New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio is telling citizens not to worry about the threat of jihadist violence and pushing for even more questionably vetted migrants to be resettled in the United States.

De Blasio and the mayors of London and Paris co-wrote an op-ed in which they said terrorism committed by refugees is “vanishingly rare.”

“Militant violence is vanishingly rare,” the trio wrote in The New York Times on the heels of three separate attacks in the United States.

The comments are not likely to go over well in a city on edge after the explosion. Police arrested Ahmad Khan Rahami after a shootout in New Jersey Monday. Authorities allege he is responsible for planting bombs in New York and near the site of a charity run in New Jersey.

Rahami is not a refugee — he is a naturalized citizen, having moved with his family to the United States from Afghanistan. Acquaintances say he returned from a trip to Pakistan a changed man, suddenly devout in his faith and wearing traditional Muslim robes, according to The New York Times.

COMMENT:  One would hope that the profound observations of His Honor would lead the people of New York to escort him out of City Hall in next year's mayoralty election.  But this is New York, so most voters will probably ask their psychiatrists who to support. 

September 21, 2016       Permalink

WELL...MAYBE – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:  The race is close.  Very, very close.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The latest vote projection from elections guru Nate Silver has Republican Donald Trump just six electoral votes short of winning and one point away from equaling Hillary Clinton's popular vote.

The newest Five Thirty Eight survey has Trump at 264 and Clinton at 272, two more than needed. It's the closest in recent weeks.

What's more, he has the popular vote within the margin of victory, Clinton 45.4 percent to Trump's 44.3 percent.

Silver is famous for making a prediction of victory and that's nearly close to, Clinton at 51.9 percent and Trump at 48 percent, his closest since the conventions.

The chart shows a huge gain for Trump, recovering from just a 3 percent chance of winning a month ago.

COMMENT:  Okay, but Trump has to keep it up.  In fact, some polls show him slipping a bit this week, or at least losing his momentum, after some unforced errors in rhetoric, and speculation that he's reverting to the "bad" Trump.

Monday's debate, as just about everyone has noted, will be utterly critical.  If Trump wins, or holds his own, he can be on his way against the unpopular Hillary Clinton.  But if he blows it, and he has that remarkable capacity to do so, his spectacular run can be over.

Hillary, a practiced debater, has to stand up and not faint. 

September 21, 2016       Permalink

ERUPTION, AGAIN – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:  And what effect will it have on the election?  From Fox: 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Authorities used tear gas to disperse protesters, officers were injured and a highway was shut down during protests in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the fatal shooting of a black man by police who said he was armed and posed a threat.

The protests broke out Tuesday after 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott was fatally shot by a black officer at an apartment complex on the city's northeast side. They continued into early Wednesday morning, when TV footage showed dozens of protesters on Interstate 85 apparently looting semi-trucks and setting their contents on fire on the highway.

Neither the North Carolina Highway Patrol nor Charlotte police could immediately be reached for comment. The North Carolina Department of Transportation website showed a portion of I-85 near UNC Charlotte was closed in both directions early Wednesday. The website said the closure was due to police activity.

Tuesday night, a larger group of demonstrators gathered near the scene of the shooting. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department tweeted that demonstrators were destroying marked police vehicles and that approximately 12 officers had been injured, including one who was hit in the face with a rock. Photos and TV video showed police firing tear gas to break up the crowd. Some officers were in riot gear.

COMMENT:  We don't know the facts.   The fact that the officer involved is black removes any racial motive, but that won't satisfy the crazies.  There is an expectation of more violence tonight.

There was also an officer-involved fatal shooting of a black man in Tulsa.  Even though the incident was videotaped, the facts are in dispute.  The officer involved is a white woman. 

CNN went berserk over these events this morning.  The Clinton News Network was in its liberal glory.  Emotional trauma was obvious.  I personally alerted a number of paramedics in case CNN staffers needed help. 

Why don't we just wait for the facts.

September 21,  2016     Permalink