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APRIL 27,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

REAL ESTATE NEWS – From Reuters:  "NEW YORK/SYDNEY (Reuters) - For the first time, the Chinese have become the biggest foreign buyers of apartments in Manhattan, real estate brokers estimate, taking the mantle from the Russians - whose activity has dropped off since the unrest in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions against Russia by the United States.  Wealthy Chinese are pouring money into real estate in New York and some other major cities around the world, including London and Sydney, as they seek safe havens for their cash and also establish a base for their children to get an education in the West."
The whole character of New York has changed in the last 25 years.  The once imaginative and creative city has turned into one big cash cow.  The dreamers are being driven out.  All that counts is how many bills you can stuff into a suitcase.  Lots of glitter, little substance.

ANYONE LISTENING? – From Reuters:  "DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, particularly Americans, who could then be exchanged for jailed jihadists including a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to attack the United Nations and other New York landmarks."  Remember, our fearless president has said that the war on terror is over.  Pay no attention to these threats.  Probably mistranslations.

MAINE POLL – From The Hill:  "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the clear winner in the Maine Republican Party's straw poll on Sunday.  The tea party senator, representing the libertarian wing of the party, came away with 176 of the 690 votes cast in Bangor, Maine, according to multiple reports. That was good enough to beat out his colleague Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who came in second place with 98, as well as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who received 70, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who pulled in 60 votes.
Neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a potential sleeper candidate for the GOP in 2016, pulled in 62 votes. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) got 57, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice each got fewer than 50 votes."  When the winner only gets 176 of 690 votes, I say the poll is meaningless.  These polls are really just for fun.  If there's any news, it's that Scott Walker came in so high – third place.  We've said that he's the sleeper candidate, and he appears to be awakening.

April 27, 2014        Permalink

THE IRAN ILLUSION – AT 3:48 A.M. ET:   There's all kinds of jumping around in Washington over the prospect of a permanent nuclear deal with Iran.  With the jumping comes the illusion that we can "normalize" relations with that country.  Kinda like the reset with Russia, which, as you've seen, has gone so well.  But Iran is a pretty hideous place.  From the Jerusalem Post: 

The world powers’ negotiation with Tehran over its nuclear military work has overshadowed the Islamic Republic’s deteriorating human rights situation and outbreaks of social protest. Just last week, Iranian men and women posted pictures on social media of themselves with shaved heads to promote solidarity with beaten political prisoners in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. Prison authorities conducted, according to Iranian diaspora and reform websites in the country, a massive assault on Evin’s Ward 350 – the section used to incarcerate political dissidents.

”More than 30 prisoners were injured and at least four inmates were taken to a hospital outside the jail because they were bleeding or sustained fractures,” according to the Iranian website Kaleme.

In response to the violence, Iranians launched a shaved head protest. “Activists both inside and outside the country are posting their photos on a Facebook page titled ‘With the Political Prisoners of Evin’s Section 350,’” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Wednesday.

Prompting the creative action was a photograph of human rights lawyer Abdolfatah Soltani that showed him last week with a shaved head. He was held in Ward 350 and reported to have been a victim of the assault.

The protesters are using the Persian hashtag “sarfaraz,” or “proud,” to spread their campaign, noted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that a “rare public protest” took place with roughly 150 people in front of President Hassan Rouhani’s office.

COMMENT:  What happens if these protests grow?  In 2009, when the Iranian people went into revolt, Barack Obama made his lack of support clear.  What happens if we're about to sign a nuclear agreement with Iran and the streets are filled with protesters?  My guess is that Obama, enthusiastically supported by European appeasers and business interests, will once again turn his back on the freedom fighters. 

What a legacy.

April 27, 2014       Permalink

OUR BLUNDERING POLICIES – AT 3:22 A.M. ET:  One of Obama's worst foreign-policy mistakes was not leaving behind a security force in Iraq, something we've had in South Korea for more than six decades.  A small American force could have added to stability and discouraged foreign adventurers.    Obama was warned that by taking every soldier out of Iraq, we left the country vulnerable.  He wasn't interested. 

Now we are taking at least some action to counter the rise of extremist violence in the country.  From Reuters: 

(Reuters) - The United States is quietly expanding the number of intelligence officers in Iraq and holding urgent meetings in Washington and Baghdad to find ways to counter growing violence by Islamic militants, U.S. government sources said.

A high-level Pentagon team is now in Iraq to assess possible assistance for Iraqi forces in their fight against radical jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a group reconstituted from an earlier incarnation of al Qaeda, said two current government officials and one former U.S. official familiar with the matter.

The powerful ISIL, which seeks to impose strict sharia law in the Sunni majority populated regions of Iraq, now boasts territorial influence stretching from Iraq's western Anbar province to northern Syria, operating in some areas close to Baghdad, say U.S. officials.

Senior U.S. policy officials, known as the "Deputies Committee," met in Washington this week to discuss possible responses to the deteriorating security outlook in Iraq, said a government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject matter.

COMMENT:  I almost want to ask, why bother?  We know that anything effective will be vetoed by Obama, who has messed up every policy he's pursued in the Mideast.  Does anyone in the region care what he says anymore?

April 27, 2014       Permalink

TALES OF THE IVY LEAGUE – AT 3:15 A.M. ET:  It gets worse and worse in America's "elite" colleges, which are busy preparing their students to be children.  From the Daily Caller: 

Another ridiculous politically-correct brouhaha has broken out at Dartmouth College, America’s most hopelessly and disturbingly fragile Ivy League school.

This time, the fracas is over a fundraiser for cardiac care that the Phi Delta Alpha fraternity and the Alpha Phi sorority had planned to jointly sponsor, reports Campus Reform.

Problems arose because a single student, junior Daniela Hernandez, was offended by the party’s theme of “Phiesta.”

As a result, the soiree, which was scheduled for Saturday, has been canceled by the presidents of the respective Greek organizations.

Had the party happened, it would have included a live band as well as virgin piña coladas and strawberry daiquiris. There would also have been burritos, chips and salsa, and guacamole.

The cash raised at the event would have gone to benefit cardiac treatments.

However, Hernandez’s deep offense about racial insensitivity was enough to call it off.

The self-proclaimed “Mexican-born, United-States-raised, first-generation woman of color” declared in an angry email that “there are various problematic structures and ideologies regarding a Cinco de Mayo-inspired event,” according to Campus Reform.

COMMENT:  Perhaps the "Mexican-born, United-States-raised, first-generation woman of color" should seek out some poor heart patients and apologize for the funds they won't receive as a result of her adolescent anger.

What is outrageous is that college "administrators" and "scholars" go right along with this nonsense, effectively turning their institutions of higher education into nursery schools.

April 27,  2014     Permalink

APRIL 26,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:31 P.M. ET: 

HONORABLE ACTION – From The New York Times:  "Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, the No. 2 official in the South Korean government, apologized and offered to resign on Sunday, as the country remained angry and saddened over the sinking of a ferry that left 302 people, a vast majority of them high school students, dead or missing.  The government has come under fire as early investigations revealed a slew of loopholes in safety measures and a lax regulatory enforcement that investigators said contributed to the sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry, the Sewol, 10 days ago."  We don't have the tradition of presidential resignations here, but we should.  Only one president, Nixon, has resigned, and then only to avoid impeachment.  We need a better way to ease presidents out when they are failing miserably, like now.

THROWING IN THE TOWEL? – Increasingly, Republicans seem prepared to accept that Obamacare is here to stay, although they vow to change it.  From the Spokane Spokesman-Review:  "With the news this week that more than 600,000 Washington residents have acquired new health care plans through the state exchange, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said it’s unlikely the Affordable Care Act will be repealed.  'We need to look at reforming the exchanges' the Eastern Washington Republican said Thursday.  The five-term congresswoman and chair of the House Republican Conference kicked off her re-election campaign this week with visits to Walla Walla, Colville and Spokane. She faces Democratic challenger Joe Pakootas.  McMorris Rodgers has been part of the Republican leadership in the House that has voted multiple times to repeal parts or all of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. GOP members have said the law is unworkable, will increase costs for some and force others into inadequate coverage or plans they don’t want."
It's the old story:  Once en entitlement is law, it's almost impossible to get rid of it.  But it's an awful plan, and Republicans had better come up with ways to alter it drastically or become irrelevant.

CHILLING – The attempts to politicize the American educational system from the political left, already largely successful, continue.  From CBS:  "SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A bill that passed the Assembly with unanimous bipartisan support Thursday encourages California schools to teach students about the racial significance of Barack Obama’s presidency.  The Assembly approved AB1912 with a 71-0 vote and no debate or discussion. It now heads to the state Senate.  The bill by Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, asks state education officials to include Obama’s election in history and social studies standards laying out what students are expected to learn.  High school history students already learn about recent presidents. But Holden says lessons about Obama also should focus on what his election meant for racial equality and civil rights."  I wonder if they'll also teach that African-Americans have largely lost ground under Obama.  I guess Republicans thought the measure harmless and voted for it, or were fearful not to.  Also, I wonder what's taught about Reagan.  I'm afraid to ask.

April 26, 2014       Permalink

THE FOURTH FIGHTING SANCTIONS DIVISION IS ON THE WAY! – AT 11:38 A.M. ET:   The Ukraine crisis escalates every day, with many Ukrainians fearing an outright invasion by Russia.  And the heroic West is responding.  With sanctions.  Watch our guys in action!  When the going gets tough, the tough impose sanctions.  From Reuters: 

BRUSSELS - Senior EU diplomats have agreed to hold emergency talks in Brussels on Monday to discuss the deterioration on the ground in Ukraine and extra sanctions on Russia, EU sources said on Saturday.

Three sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a meeting was expected to take place around midday on Monday.

A source really needs to keep his anonymity if he's revealing the time of another meeting.  That's hot stuff.

Leaders of the Group of Seven major economies agreed on Saturday at a meeting in South Korea to impose extra sanctions on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, where armed pro-Moscow separatists detained a group of international observers and accused them of being NATO spies.

COMMENT:  Sanctions on Russia are a joke.  They're never strong enough to make a dent because the European nations, especially Germany, depend on Russian trade.  And Obama, I think, has a kind of nostalgic view of the Kremlin.  Kerry is on record as saying the Soviets were never a threat to us.

So I'm not expecting anything other than an additional tap on the wrist.  Or, maybe Putin will be sent to bed without that promised pint of vanilla fudge. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine is a tinderbox.

April 26, 2014       Permalink

OH, THIS IS SO JUICY – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  The great William Jacobson, who runs both the College Insurrection and Legal Insurrection websites (both well worth reading) now discusses the prospect that Elizabeth Warren, and not Hillary Clinton, might be the 2016 Dem nominee.  This is good fun. 

Forget the current polling as between Hillary and Elizabeth Warren. It pits Hillary against someone who “isn’t running.”

For all my criticisms of Warren, and they are extensive, I am convinced that if she ran, she would crush Hillary, just as Obama did.

Warren, as did Obama, has a unique ability to demagogue the core Democratic narrative of victimhood in ways that would make Hillary blush. She is more cunning than Hillary, more popular with the base, would bring an excitement the contrived Ready-for-Hillary movement could only dream of. Democrats may be “ready” for Hillary, but they don’t really want her.

Face it, Democrats, in your heart of hearts, you want Elizabeth Warren to run. She is the next One you have been waiting for. You can imagine yourselves singing:

We’re gonna spread happiness
We’re gonna spread freedom
Obama’s Liz’s gonna change it
Obama’s Liz’s gonna lead ‘em

You need to convince yourselves to support Hillary, and you will if you have to, but you don’t really want to have to.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  I do believe that Jacobson is right.  The base of the Democratic Party, wallowing in victimhood as they set their video recorders for the next episode of "Downton Abbey," would really prefer Liz.  Even though she lied about being part Native American, they can pretend she really is.  I mean, it's her truth.  Who are we to question?

I don't think a Hillary run is a certainty.  Her numbers are dropping, the Republicans may actually back a winning candidate, and Hillary may decide she doesn't need the brutality of another race.  If she drops out, Liz won't even have to drop in.  They could draft her.  I could see Gloria Steinem getting up there at the convention, raising a fist in the air, and demanding "President Warren for life!!"  And the crowd cheers.

April 26, 2014        Permalink

TERRIFIC READING – AT 10:46 A.M. ET:  I sometimes run across a piece that becomes a "must read," and so I recommend it.  The Wall Street Journal has just run a detailed article debunking the myth that the world is "running out of" resources.  It's become a religious belief of the environmental movement, and it's just wrong.

I went to a speech by Larry Summers about three years ago in which he made the point that the world has never run out of anything.  As the author of the Journal piece, Matt Ridley, points out, the human race has something called "innovation," that acts as a counter to shortages.  The human race comes up with new ways to do things, or to make greater use of what we have. 

We have been warned repeatedly that we're running out of 1) petroleum, 2) water, 3) farmland, 4) food, 5) and probably TV shows.  But the fact is that it never really happens.  From Ridley's article: 

How many times have you heard that we humans are "using up" the world's resources, "running out" of oil, "reaching the limits" of the atmosphere's capacity to cope with pollution or "approaching the carrying capacity" of the land's ability to support a greater population? The assumption behind all such statements is that there is a fixed amount of stuff—metals, oil, clean air, land—and that we risk exhausting it through our consumption.

"We are using 50% more resources than the Earth can sustainably produce, and unless we change course, that number will grow fast—by 2030, even two planets will not be enough," says Jim Leape, director general of the World Wide Fund for Nature International (formerly the World Wildlife Fund).

But here's a peculiar feature of human history: We burst through such limits again and again. After all, as a Saudi oil minister once said, the Stone Age didn't end for lack of stone. Ecologists call this "niche construction"—that people (and indeed some other animals) can create new opportunities for themselves by making their habitats more productive in some way. Agriculture is the classic example of niche construction: We stopped relying on nature's bounty and substituted an artificial and much larger bounty.

Economists call the same phenomenon innovation.

COMMENT:  This is an important piece because it leads us to a rational discussion of "climate change," which has become part of the environmental religion.  We'll take care of this problem, too, if it is one.

Read the piece and save it.

April 26,  2014     Permalink