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JANUARY 18,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:45 P.M.

TOUGH TIMES FOR COLLEGE GRADS – From The Wall Street Journal: "...the fraction of college grads between 22 and 27 who were working in jobs that don’t generally require a bachelor’s degree rose to 46% during the 1990-91 recession, fell significantly during the 1990s boom and was down to 34% by 2001. This “underemployment rate” rose sharply after the 2001 recession and rose further after the 2007-09 recession, the economists find. It stood at 44% in 2012.  Underemployment is most acute for those immediately out of college: 56% of 22-year-old college grads in 2009-2011 were working in jobs that didn’t require college degrees, substantially higher than in 1990 and in 2001. Historical data suggest many of them will find better jobs before they turn 30."  I hope they do, but the figures are depressing.  College is supposed to be the great gateway, but really isn't for millions of young people.

NEW ARMY RIFLE? – From the Washington Times:  "While at the nation’s largest gun show in Las Vegas, Nev., the SHOT Show, the U.S. Army is said to have purchased six 'smart' rifles after witnessing the product’s performance in the hands of novice shooters. Each rifle can cost up to $27,000, according to Military.com — but the rifle’s performance won them over.  A correspondent working for Military.com hit a target from roughly 1,000 yards away on his first shot. He reported that of 70 or so reporters and novice shooters who tried the rifle, only 'one or two' missed from the extended range."  Sounds like an intriguing weapon, but the Army had to go to a gun show to get it?  Isn't the manufacturer in the phone book?

FBI MISSION STATEMENT – From Foreign Policy:  "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has decided to revise a controversial fact sheet that declared its primary mission to be 'national security,' following criticism that the agency seemed to be moving away from its longstanding role as the nation's preeminent law enforcement agency.  The change emphasizes that stopping terrorism and battling more conventional domestic criminal activity are both 'primary functions' of the FBI."  Hmm.  I have no idea if this change is significant, but the Obama administration, and its hired hands, seem determined to de-emphasize the war on terror whenever they can.  Soon they'll be telling us that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.  In fact, national security has always been a major function of the FBI, and, in wartime, probably the primary function.  The Bureau's anti-sabotage work in World War II was often stellar.

January 18, 2014       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  Brought to us by the spirited (and yes, controversial) David Deming of the University of Oklahoma: 

It seems now that everyone is qualified to have an opinion on global warming. In a recent column, theology professor Susan Thistlethwaite explained that “frigid weather” was an “example of the kind of violent and abrupt climate change that results from global warming.” Sometimes, I just feel so stupid. I thought cold weather was attributable to the annual phenomenon known as “winter.” The good professor also claimed that cold weather in the United States is a punishment sent by God for “our sinful failure to take care of the Creation.”

If the current cooling trend continues for a few more years, the theory of global warming faces imminent extinction. It will then join a long list of other expired environmental doom-and-gloom predictions, including overpopulation, peak oil and nuclear winter.

COMMENT:  The official position of the Obama administration is that global warming constitutes a major crisis.  But the crisis part of "major crisis" never seems to occur.  Predictions have fallen apart.  Attempts to blame extreme weather on global warming have become laughable, especially when compared with actual statistics showing that many forms of extreme weather have actually diminished over time.

Yes, there is probably some global warming at some times.  And yes, I would imagine that greenhouse gases play some part.  Theoretically, almost everything that is let into the air does.  But the key question has always been amount.  How much global warming is there, actually?  How much does humankind contribute?  Enough to worry about?  Enough to justify the expenditure of trillions?  What would be the real result?

Until we get verifiable, proved answers, I'm not panicking.

January 18, 2014       Permalink

WHEN YOU'VE LOST CANADA... – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  The theme of the Obama foreign policy seem to be, "Treat our enemies well, and our friends badly."  Since Obama took office he has offended one ally after another – starting with Britain, then through France, Poland, the Czech Republic and Israel.   Just in recent weeks we've heard expressions of dismay at our policies from Saudi Arabia, and Japan, clearly aware of America's decline, is building its defenses once more.

And now, I guess, it's Canada's turn.  Obama has shown no interest in our closest neighbor, and the message has finally hit home.  The issue is the proposed Keystone Pipeline, from Canada to our Gulf Coast.  It's a no-brainer, except for the environmental religionists who have a lock grip on the Obama White House.  Thus approval for the pipeline has been delayed and delayed, and Secretary Kerry has openly said that he's in no hurry.  The Canadians are fed up.  From IBD:   

President Obama continues to drag out a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline. Meanwhile, the Canadians have been standing by while the administration dithers. Now they're tired of waiting.

"The time for Keystone is now," Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird said Thursday while speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Canada has reached the point where the uncertainty has become intolerable. Baird said Canada needs an answer right away, "even if it's not the right one," because his country "can't continue in this state of limbo."

If approved, the Keystone XL pipeline will transport crude from Alberta's oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries. It will merely be another pipeline in a web of many across the U.S. What, we wonder, is just one more?

But crude is not all Keystone will move. The pipeline will also put people to work.

The State Department, which is playing a major role in the Keystone decision, has found that "including direct, indirect and induced effects, the proposed project would potentially support approximately 42,100 average annual jobs across the United States over a one- to two-year construction period."

Over the long term — 15 years — Keystone will create 117,000 new U.S. jobs, says the Canadian Energy Research Institute.

Obama, however, has said the pipeline would create only "about 50 permanent jobs." So the president, it appears, is at odds over employment estimates with his own State Department, which is to determine if "the proposed pipeline would serve the national interest."

Is it a signal that he's going to reject the State Department's recommendation if it determines Keystone is indeed in the national interest?

What is clear is that the Obama White House, which has rejected the pipeline once, is afraid to make a decision.

COMMENT:  We've come to know Obama.  He probably believes Canada is just part of a colonialist commonwealth, and is of no importance.  Not like dear, brotherly Iran, which is just misunderstood.

And Obama isn't a liberal.  He's a leftist.  As a leftist, he's beholden to militant environmental groups.  As a leftist, he has contempt for oil companies.  As a leftist, he doesn't care about making America energy independent.  In fact, for a leftist, dependence on other nations is preferable because it will keep the "Yankee imperialists" in check.

It is ugly.  Keystone would help Canada and America.  Canada will probably end up selling the oil to China, and Obama will be relieved.

January 18, 2014       Permalink

WAS THIS IN THE SCRIPT? – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  Remember when we were sold Obamacare on the basis that 40 million Americans were uninsured, and would now be covered?  Seems like so long ago.  Well, we have Obamacare, and look at the result.  From Fox:

The majority of the more than 2 million Americans who signed up for health insurance under ObamaCare through the end of December were already enrolled in employer-sponsored plans or had previously bought their own coverage, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Early data from insurers, brokers and consultants suggest that the marketplaces are popular with consumers who were previously covered elsewhere, raising questions about a law intended to expand coverage to millions of healthy, uninsured Americans to help offset costs.

A survey by management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found that only 11 percent of consumers who purchased new coverage under ObamaCare were previously uninsured. The survey was based on a sampling of 4,563 consumers between November and January, according to The Wall Street Journal.

HealthMarkets Inc., an insurance agency that signed up about 7,500 people in exchange plans, reported that 65 of its enrollees had prior coverage, the report said. Fifteen percent of enrollees had their individual plans canceled, and 40 percent switched over from previous individual plans.

COMMENT:  We begin with the scam that we were sold, that 40 million Americans were uninsured.  Yes, it is true, there were outrages and injustices, and Obamacare, to be fair, does close some of the insurance loopholes – like requiring coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

However, no one was denied important medical care.  If they were, there would have been heartbreaking stories and bodies in the street.  The system needed improvement, but if you needed a lifesaving operation, there were programs that covered it.

Some years ago I attended a TV industry conference which was called to design a show that would encourage minorities to seek medical care.  At the conference was an officer of the Public Health Service who told me that the dirty little secret of the health-care system was that most people who didn't get care didn't want it, for one bad reason or another.  You'll notice that never came up in the debate over Obamacare.  It's too culturally sensitive.

Republicans now say they'll come up with a detailed alternative to Obamacare.  I look forward to it.

January 18,  2014    Permalink

JANUARY 17,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 8:44 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR SOCIAL NEWS – From the Daily Caller:  "One of former President Bill Clinton’s favorite restaurants has eliminated its Friday buffet due to Obamacare.  'We regret we had to make this decision but unfortunately we face new expenses as a result of the Healthcare reform and the Friday Buffet, though wonderful, was not profitable and required extra staff which we can no longer sustain' a notice at the Georgetown Italian restaurant’s website reads."  The restaurant is Filomena.  I wonder if Obama will order the EPA to shut it down.

MILESTONE – From The L.A. Times:  "In a historic step for Hollywood, Paramount Pictures has become the first major studio to stop releasing movies on film in the United States.  Paramount recently notified theater owners that the Will Ferrell comedy 'Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,' which opened in December, would be the last movie that would it would release on 35-millimeter film.  The studio’s Oscar-nominated film 'The Wolf of Wall Street' from director Martin Scorsese is the first major studio film that was released all digitally, according to theater industry executives who were briefed on the plans but not authorized to speak about them."  And eventually what's left of the feature-film industry may realize that it's what's on the film or disk that counts, not the raw materials.

WHY, HOW COOL! – From London's Daily Mail:  "The Sun's activity is at its lowest for 100 years, scientists have warned.  They say the conditions are eerily similar to those before the Maunder Minimum, a time in 1645 when a mini ice age hit, Freezing London's River Thames.  Researcher believe the solar lull could cause major changes, and say there is a 20% chance it could lead to 'major changes' in temperatures."  Al Gore will announce tomorrow that the Sun has been turned off by global warming.  Pass it on.

MORE ECONOMIC WORRIES – From Breitbart:  "The number of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) receiving food stamps zoomed from 1.7 million to 3.9 million between Fiscal Year 2007 and Fiscal Year 2010. In that same period, food stamp recipients in total grew from 26 million to nearly 40 million.  One reason for the catastrophic growth in the number of ABAWDs is Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus bill, which opened the door for states to waive the work provision required of ABAWDs. That work provision mandated that to continue receiving food stamps, after three months of being unemployed ABAWDs must work or perform some type of work activity 20 hours per week."  And just what does that tell you about social behavior?

January 17, 2014       Permalink

THE OBAMA MILITARY LEADERSHIP – AT 9:38 A.M. ET:  The Obama administration has fired a number of admirals and generals who apparently don't understand that a new world order is being envisioned at the Chicago White House.  This is what we're getting.  From the Washington Times: 

The Obama administration’s ballyhooed military “pivot” to Asia is running into some frank talk from the top U.S. commander in the Pacific.

Three years after the Pentagon said it was de-emphasizing Europe in favor of the Asia-Pacific region, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said this week that U.S. dominance has weakened in the shadow of a more aggressive China.

“Our historic dominance that most of us in this room have enjoyed is diminishing, no question,” Adm. Locklear, chief of U.S. Pacific Command, said Wednesday at a naval conference in Virginia.

Although Adm. Locklear said it is obvious that Chinese military power is growing, he suggested that it is unclear whether China will seek to be a hard adversary to the U.S. in the long term, so Washington should be working overtime on steering Beijing toward a cooperative security posture.

“China is going to rise, we all know that,” Adm. Locklear said, as reported by Defense News, which included several quotes from his speech at the annual Surface Navy Association meeting.

“[But] how are they behaving? That is really the question,” the admiral said, adding that the Pacific Command’s goal is for China “to be a net provider of security, not a net user of security.”

COMMENT:  Yessiree, let's make nice to China, hoping, as we're hoping with Iran, that it will turn around in the face of American weakness and Obama's "outreach," and become a good neighbor.  Just like Russia. 

The writer Max Boot, one of the good guys, argues that the pendulum will swing back the other way, and that America will become stronger again, and involved.  I do hope so, but I wonder how a nation so damaged by the Obamans can spring back in time to avoid permanent damage. 

January 17, 2014       Permalink

THE SOCHI THREAT – CONTINUED – AT 9:17 A.M. ET:  We began discussing this yesterday, the serious threat of terror facing the Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, which begin in three weeks.  More, from the great Bill Gertz at the Washington Times: 

U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies monitoring security at the Sochi Olympics say the southern Russian city faces a high risk of an Islamist terrorism attack. One message from a security analyst to those considering attending the Winter Games: Don’t go.

The Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 6-23 in Sochi, the port city on the western shore of the Black Sea and about 25 miles north of the Russian border with Georgia.

The Islamist threat, however, emanates from separatist terrorists based in the nearby North Caucasus region, which includes the ethnic enclave of Chechnya.

Two recent suicide bombings in the Russian city of Volgograd, about 400 miles north of Sochi, are being viewed as a “taste” of bad things to come in Sochi. The Dec. 29 blast at a rail station and the Dec. 30 explosion on a bus killed a total of 34 people and injured scores.

And...

Russia has mobilized tens of thousands of troops and security officials in an effort to secure the Games. Moscow has created a 1,500-mile security cordon around Sochi in a bid to prevent infiltration by terrorists.

But U.S. officials said the lack of infrastructure in Sochi, specifically roadways, has made the city vulnerable to a mass attack that could disrupt the Games.

Sochi’s 1,384 miles of roads are not interconnected, making detours difficult in the aftermath of a car bombing or even a vehicular accident.

And...

The 11 hospitals in the region all are on difficult-to-access routes.

The State Department issued a travel alert Friday warning Americans attending the games to “remain attentive” to threats.

COMMENT:  I wonder how you "remain attentive" to threats.  Do you scream if you see a guy next to you on a bus with a bulge under his jacket? 

The concern is justified.  For once I'm rooting for the Russian security guys.

January 17, 2014       Permalink

AND A MAJOR SENATE LOSS – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  Members of the Senate and House come and go, and most of them are not particularly missed when they leave.  But the Senate is about to lose one of its finest members.    From Fox: 

Sen. Tom Coburn, one of Washington’s leading and most fiscally conservative lawmakers, announced Thursday he would be stepping down at the end of the year.

The Republican from Oklahoma had previously announced he would not seek reelection but his latest comments have him leaving Congress two years sooner than he previously planned.

Coburn has been suffering from a recurrence of prostate cancer and hinted about his departure during an interview with reporters last week.

“Serving as Oklahoma’s senator has been, and continues to be, one of the great privileges and blessings of my life," said Coburn, 65. "But after much prayer and consideration, I have decided that I will leave my Senate seat at the end of this Congress."

Known as a conservative maverick during his three terms in the U.S. House in the 1990s, Coburn continued that role after being elected to the Senate in 2004. He is a fierce critic of what he described as excessive government spending, and has vocal about opposing the earmarking of special projects, which was highlighted in his annual “Wastebook” report.

And...

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell reacted to the news by describing Coburn as "one of the most intelligent, principled, and decent men in modern Senate history" in a statement.

"Tom is a legend in his own time, an extraordinary man and a deeply serious lawmaker who has made an immense difference to his country and to this body. We will miss him terribly when he leaves the Senate, and we will stand with him every step of the way as he wages this latest of many tough battles that he has fought, and won," the statement read.

COMMENT:  I applaud McConnell's statement.  Tom Coburn, a physician by training, is a principled, thoughtful conservative who brings intelligence, research and a keen mind to every issue he confronts.  I heard him speak about a year ago in New York, where we don't get too many speeches from Oklahoma senators.  He was superb.  I particularly was taken by the incisiveness of his comments about abortion.  Although he is pro-life, he argued that this was an issue that will be decided, not by court decisions or laws, but in the human heart.  He was right.  I wish we had more public servants on both sides of the aisle who understood, as Tom Coburn does, the limits of government.

January 17, 2014        Permalink

ED FOR THE COMMONWEALTH – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  Former Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie has formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from Virginia.  It will be tough, but we're for him.  From The Politico:

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie officially launched his Senate challenge to Virginia Sen. Mark Warner on Thursday, arguing that he’s the best choice to improve the state’s economy.

In a YouTube video announcement, Gillespie, who also served as a counselor to former President George W. Bush, said he’s running because “the American dream is being undermined by policies that move us away from constitutional principles of limited government and personal liberty.”

And...

Warner is a popular senator in a state that’s been trending blue on the presidential level and that elected Democrat Terry McAuliffe governor in November, and taking him on will be no easy task.

But a Gillespie aide told POLITICO Thursday morning that there’s a “big opportunity” to hit Warner on issues such as Obamacare and the stimulus package and on other instances in which the moderate senator voted with President Barack Obama — a strategy that was already apparent in Gillespie’s announcement video.

COMMENT:  Virginia has been seen as safe for Warner, a former governor who is regarded as a moderate Democrat.  And Warner can count on the California-style blind Democratic vote in northern Virginia, which has swung the state left.

But Gillespie is a shrewd political operator who is not the type to take on a race he doesn't think he can win.  He's the underdog, but I look forward to this being one of the most spirited races in the country.

Gillespie's first challenge:  Virginia Republicans pick their statewide candidates in a convention, not a primary.  The convention brings out the most rigid elements in the party.  If Gillespie is forced to dance to their tune, he may be DOA.  But I suspect he's already negotiated his path privately.

January 17,  2014     Permalink