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AUGUST 24,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:46 P.M. ET: 

HE'S BAACK – From The Hill:  "President Obama boarded a plane back to Washington late Sunday after a two-week trip to Martha's Vineyard plagued by criticism from Republicans and some Democrats.   Republicans continuously criticized Obama during the trip for vacationing while events unfolded in Iraq and Ferguson, Missouri."  Now the idea is for Obama to roll up his sleeves and get down to work, planning his next vacation.  It's a burden, but I think he's up to it.

A WAY TO REDUCE CRIME? – From the Washington Times:  "Since Illinois started granting concealed carry permits this year, the number of robberies that have led to arrests in Chicago has declined 20 percent from last year, according to police department statistics. Reports of burglary and motor vehicle theft are down 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively. In the first quarter, the city’s homicide rate was at a 56-year low."  It's hard to assess cause-and-effect, but there are serious studies that point to a lowering of crime rates when the criminals don't know who is and who is not armed.  Sounds logical.

THE INSANITY GOES ON – From Breitbart:  "Local Winooski, Vermont restaurant Sneakers Bistro has removed a sign that read, 'Yield Sneakers Bacon,' citing opposition from a Muslim community member and safety concerns.  The sign was put up as part of a city program that allows businesses to post an advertisement in an area where they have helped maintain city flowerbeds. The sign that read 'Yield Sneakers Bacon”' was removed after a woman, identifying herself as a Muslim, posted in an online community forum, stating she was personally offended by the sign, according to a WPTZ News report. WPTZ wrote that the woman who complained online called the sign 'insensitive to those who do not consume pork.'"  It's those pork lovers again.  Always starting wars.

August 24, 2014       Permalink

A SENSE OF PROPORTION? – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:  We note first that President Obama never sent representatives to the funeral of Margaret Thatcher, one of the great British prime ministers.  But there will be reps at another funeral.  From CNN: 

CNN) -- The White House is sending three officials to Michael Brown's funeral Monday, including one who attended high school with his mother.

Brown,18, was fatally shot on August 9 by officer Darren Wilson while walking down the streets of Ferguson, Missouri.

His death sparked days of violent protests in the St. Louis suburb. In the past three days, things have calmed down, and the town is slowly coming back to life.

The officials attending the funeral are Broderick Johnson, who leads the White House's My Brother's Keeper Task Force. He'll be joined by Marlon Marshall, a St. Louis native who attended high school with Brown's mother, and Heather Foster. Both Marshall and Foster are part of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Brown will be eulogized at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis.

Two weeks after the shooting sparked violent protests, the mood turned more tranquil Saturday with smaller crowds and lots of music. Gone were police in riot gear glaring at defiant protesters. The tear gas, rubber bullets and Molotov cocktails were nowhere to be seen, either.

In their place were clusters of officers, hanging around businesses, chatting with one another.
Race has been at the forefront of the tensions; Brown was African-American and the officer who shot him is white.

St. Louis authorities released details of the racial and gender makeup of the grand jury, which started hearing testimony on Wednesday.

It comprises six white men, three white women, two black women and one black man, said Paul Fox, the administrator for the St. Louis County Circuit Court.

St. Louis County is 70% white and 24% black, according to last year's estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau.

COMMENT:  Look, if this sinking administration wants to send representatives to the funeral, fine.  But they should realize how many Americans will feel excluded, especially the families of other teenagers who have been killed who weren't politically useful. 

Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy.  It is disgraceful.  This man is low-life and a racial agitator.  But I guess the family wanted a celebrity preacher.  We in New York had our fill of this guy.  But Eric Holder apparently likes him.

August 24, 2014       Permalink

THE THREAT HERE – AT 7:30 A.M. ET:  Those who are awake in Washington are focusing on the threat the Islamic State poses to the United States.   Chilling stuff.  From The Hill: 

The rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is spurring calls for major changes to a visa program that allows for easy entry into the United States for people with Western passports.

Some lawmakers say the program, which allows citizens from 38 countries to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa, has created a major security weakness for groups such as ISIS to exploit.

House Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said Friday that as many as 12,000 members of ISIS have U.S. or European passports and could slip into America undetected.

“The biggest fear is that there are 10,000 to 12,000 foreign fighters that have joined ISIS and various estimates but many of them have Western passports,” Thornberry said on CNN.

“They're either American or they're Western European passports. So they can come here to the United States homeland without a visa. And they can bring … what they've learned about bomb making and about assassinations with them here at home.”

But lawmakers have mostly talked about expanding the program, not scaling it back.

The State Department currently allows participation in the visa waiver program to citizens from more than three dozen countries, the majority of which are in Europe.

Tourism groups have pushed to expand the visa waiver program to Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Israel, Panama, Poland, Romania and Uruguay.

That proposed expansion was included in a bipartisan bill that was introduced in Congress that known as the “Jobs Originated Through Launching Travel” (JOLT) Act (H.R. 1354).

The sponsors of the legislation in the House, Reps. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), said in an op-ed that was published by The Hill earlier this year that that the measure would boost “the number of high-spending international travelers to the United States without compromising national security.

“Each overseas visitor spends an average of nearly $4,500 per trip to the U.S., adding nearly $130 billion to the economy in 2012. One American job is created for every 33 international visitors—meaning over one million domestic jobs were supported by inbound travel in 2012,” the lawmakers wrote in February.

COMMENT:  This cries out for common sense.  There has got to be a way to modify a program that has positive aspects so that the negative aspects don't prevail.  I believe that some of these people who want the visa program expanded will understand the crisis we face, and agree to modifications, especially if they want to get re-elected.

August 24, 2014       Permalink

EXECUTIONER IDENTIFIED?  – AT 7:26 A.M. ET: – A number of media reports tell us that both the American and British governments are working hard to identify the executioner of American journalist James Foley, whose beheading was seen worldwide on videos.  The identification may have been made.  From the Sydney Morning Herald: 

British intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 have identified the man suspected of the horrific beheading of American journalist James Foley, according to UK media reports.

The hooded man with an English accent is believed to be 23-year-old Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, known to fellow Islamic State militants as Jihadi John.

The former rapper left his family home in an affluent west London suburb last year to fight in the civil war in Syria.

In early August he tweeted a photo of himself wearing military camouflage and a black hood, while holding a severed head in his left hand.

British SAS forces are hunting Mr Foley's killers, using a range of high-tech equipment to track him down and potentially free other hostages.

The Mail on Sunday is reporting that a "significant force" of SAS personnel has been deployed to northern Iraq over the past two days, joining local units fighting IS. They have fanned out into four-man teams, accompanying Iraqi and Kurdish troops in an effort to find British jihadis.

The Sunday Times reports that Bary is the key focus of the man hunt. He is one of the British jihadists former hostages referred to as the Beatles because of their British accents. The two others were called "George" and "Ringo".

And please note this:

Bary is the son of an Egyptian-born militant who is awaiting trail on terrorism in Manhattan, due to his alleged involvement in the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

COMMENT:  Oh, groan.  So right in the middle of all this we'll have a trial in Manhattan – near schools and businesses, of the father of a guy who allegedly kills people for the Islamic State.  Real nice.  Can't we have these trials on military bases, or in areas without civilian populations?  This just proves the folly, and arrogance, of Eric Holder, who has indicated that the execution of James Foley will be seen as a law-enforcement problem.

August 24,  2014     Permalink

AUGUST 23,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:16 P.M. ET:

SCARE – From Newsmax:  "As concern about the threat from the Islamic State (ISIS) on U.S. soil grows, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely says that he recently learned from a source that Arabic documents were found at the Texas border that could be linked to that group or al-Qaida.  Vallely told J.D. Hayworth on 'America's Forum' on Newsmax TV Friday that he learned about the documents 'from our intel team down on the border.'   He explained that 'one of our intel team members . . . reported that some documents were found on the Texas border this week in Arabic.'...Former CIA officer Bob Baer told CNN that he's been 'told with no uncertainty' that 'there are ISIS sleeper cells in this country.'"  Not to worry.  Eric Holder is on the case.

AN ALLY? – From London's Telegraph:  "Human Rights Watch reports that Saudi Arabia has beheaded 19 people since the beginning of August. Some confessions may have been gained under torture and one poor defendant was found guilty of sorcery. Yep, sorcery. That might sound archaic, but we are talking about a regime so very concerned about offending God that it has even banned certain names for being 'blasphemous.' Sandy, Linda and Elaine have been proscribed for cultural reasons (seriously)."  I've always been suspicious of women named Elaine.  I'm so glad Saudi Arabia is zeroing in on this (choke).

OBAMA ORDERS POLICE REVIEW – From Fox:  "President Obama has directed a review of federal programs and funding that allow state and local law-enforcement agencies to acquire surplus military equipment, a senior administration official said Saturday.  The review will include whether the programs are appropriate, if the agencies are getting enough training and guidance to use the equipment and whether the federal government is sufficiently auditing the use of the equipment.  The president hinted Monday that a review was likely in the aftermath of an unarmed Ferguson, Mo., teen being fatally shot by a police officer, which was followed by local law enforcement using military equipment to try to control the ensuing protests and riots."  This was inevitable.  If well done (unlikely), the review could be useful.  It will probably be politically correct.  Caution:  Some of this military equipment may be excessive, and in untrained hands.  But some of it might also be very useful in the event of a terrorist attack.

August 23, 2014       Permalink

CHINA ACTS UP – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:  We seen to be in trouble in so many places.  You don't think it's because Obama flashes weakness and cuts our defenses, do you?  Nah, real intellectuals never think that way.  We sophisticates know it's all because of Bush.  And Reagan.  And even Lincoln.  China is acting up.  From Fox: 

The intercept of a U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft over international waters by a Chinese fighter plane is a "deeply concerning provocation," the White House warned on Friday.

"We have communicated directly to the Chinese government our objection to this type of action," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told journalists traveling with the president on Martha's Vineyard.

According to the Pentagon, a Chinese jet came within 30 feet of the Navy P-8 Poseidon plane operating about 135 miles east of China's Hainan Island. It was roughly the same area where a Chinese jet collided with a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft in 2001, leading the U.S. to halt military relations with Beijing.

Rhodes said the incident, which occurred Tuesday, could similarly strain diplomatic relations.

"What we’ve encouraged is constructive military-to-military ties with China, and this type of action clearly violates the spirit of that engagement, and we’ve made our concerns known directly to Beijing," Rhodes said.

According to the Pentagon, the Chinese pilot conducted a barrel roll over the U.S. patrol aircraft.

"The message that they are apparently trying to send was, you know, they — resisting the flight of this patrol aircraft, which I remind you, as I said at the outset, was in international airspace," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday.

"The message we’re sending back to China is that’s unacceptable and unhelpful to the military relationship that we would like to have with them."

COMMENT:  Are they really serious about a military relationship with China?  What's next?  Interfaith services with the Islamic State?  Our whole mindset has got to change.  The Chinese are not our friends, they are our competitors, and it will be worse if we continue to weaken this country.

August 23, 2014       Permalink

SENATOR EXPANDS ON WARNING ABOUT ISLAMIC STATE – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma expands on the threat from the Islamic State.  I've always thought of Inhofe as a serious guy.  From Fox25:

It is a serious warning coming from Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe as he warns of the potential of another attack on American soil. The senator sat down with Fox 25 to talk about a variety of topics, but as ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the top issue was national security.

“We're in the most dangerous position we've ever been in as a nation,” Senator Inhofe told Fox 25's Phil Cross.

“ISIS, they are really bad terrorists, they're so bad even Al Qaida is afraid of them,” Inhofe said reflecting on the recent beheading of American journalist James Foley. Beyond the beheading, Inhofe said the current terror organizations are not going to stay contained to the Middle East. “They're crazy out there and they're rapidly developing a method of blowing up a major U.S. city and people just can't believe that's happening.”

Inhofe must have some chilling inside information because that last quote is stark.  Is there anything connecting the Islamic State to nuclear weapons?  That would be the only way actually to blow up a city. 

Inhofe blames policy decisions from the Obama administration and cuts in defense spending for putting the country in what he calls a dangerous situation.

“He's [President Obama] going to have to come up with something that we're going to do because they're holding another hostage in place and the problem is, the President says all these things and he never does them,” Inhofe said.

COMMENT:  Don't assume there'll be unanimity, or anything close.  The political left, the Democratic Party left, is hardly on board.  Some on the libertarian right are also reluctant.  Even Hitler's invasion of France in May of 1940 did not move public opinion in the United States enough to build support for intervention in Europe.  Indeed, that fall, when FDR ran for a third term, he pledged he would do everything possible to keep America out of war.

The Islamic State, which seems remarkably attuned to our internal politics, will be monitoring American public opinion carefully.  The president refuses to lead.  I fear that only a severe jolt, as severe as 9-11, will truly wake us up.

August 23, 2014       Permalink

WARNING FROM THE ISLAMIC STATE – AT 9:02 A.M. ET:  We're beginning to feel the chill.  Even some people on golf courses in Martha's Vineyard might someday feel it.  From CBS: 

CHICAGO (CBS) — Over the past six years, Chicago has become a top potential target for international terrorists, a top security expert said Friday, making the posting of a veiled threat by Islamic radicals on Twitter a higher cause for concern.

“Many terror organizations refer to Chicago as Obama Town,” said CBS 2 security expert Ross Rice, a former FBI agent in Chicago. Under President Obama, the U.S. took out Osama bin Laden, and used repeated drone strikes to weaken terror networks.

In the meantime, the U.S. government on Friday issued a security bulletin to all U.S. law enforcement in light of the overall threat posed by Islamic State, commonly known as ISIS or ISIL.
The ominous post on Twitter, purportedly from somebody connected with Islamic State, shows a photo of the Old Republic Building, 307 N. Michigan Ave., in Chicago and the White House.

The text reads:

#AmessagefromISIStoUS
We are in your state
We are in your cities
We are in your streets
You are our goals anywhere.

COMMENT:  We have lost so much time in the war on terror because, in 2008, the American people chose to elect a glorified town councilman to the presidency, and then re-elected him in 2012. 

The emergence of the Islamic State is only one reason why this midterm election, now barely two and a half months away, is so critical.

August 23,  2014     Permalink