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JANUARY 29,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:48 P.M. ET: 

MONSTER – It turns out that the snow "storm" that brought Atlanta to its knees totaled two inches of snow.  Reminds me of the time, early in my career, when I lived in Washington, D.C., and the city could be brought to a standstill by an inch.  The stories coming out of Atlanta and environs are truly horrible – with people trapped in cars for 15 hours and schoolkids forced to spend overnight in schools because they couldn't get home.  Please note, by the way, the absence of the name "Obama" in any of this.  Contrast please with the use of "Bush" in Hurricane Katrina.  You'd think FEMA could do something to ease the mess in the south, but that would mean giving Obama some responsibility, and one just doesn't do that.

PUTIN AND GOD – From the Washington Times:  "MOSCOW — At the height of the Cold War, it was common for American conservatives to label the officially atheist Soviet Union a 'godless nation.'  More than two decades on, history has come full circle, as the Kremlin and its allies in the Russian Orthodox Church hurl the same allegation at the West.  'Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values,' Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a recent keynote speech. 'Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.'  In his state of the nation address in mid-December, Mr. Putin also portrayed Russia as a staunch defender of 'traditional values' against what he depicted as the morally bankrupt West."  The nerve of Putin, the nerve.  Russia is a defender of thugs.

EDUCATION BULLETIN – From the College Fix:  "Rutgers University offers a course on pop sensation Beyoncé Knowles.  Called 'Politicizing Beyoncé,' the Department of Women and Gender Studies class aims to look at the singer as a 'social change agent,' according to a profile of the class on the university’s news website.  'This isn’t a course about Beyoncé’s political engagement or how many times she performed during President Obama’s inauguration weekend,' explained Kevin Allred, the doctoral student and lecturer who teaches the course, to the Rutgers news site. 'She certainly pushes boundaries. While other artists are simply releasing music, she’s creating a grand narrative around her life, her career, and her persona.'  The course will review the performer’s music and career 'as lenses to explore American race, gender, and sexual politics,' the article states..."  Get your checks in now.

WHO CARES WHO THEY GIVE IT TO? –  From AP:  "Two Norwegian lawmakers say they have jointly nominated former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.  Socialist lawmakers Baard Vegard Solhjell, a former environment minister, and Snorre Valen said Wednesday the public debate and policy changes 'in the wake of Snowden’s whistleblowing has contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order.'"  Yeah, right.  You can see peace breaking out all over as a result of Eddy Snowden.  I don't rate the Nobel Peace Prize as any higher than the toy you get from a box of Cracker Jacks.  At least the toy might have some use.

January 29, 2014       Permalink

WISDOM – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:09 AM ET:   This is a truly outstanding quote.  It comes from the Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, as quoted by the Jewish literary critic Leon Wieseltier in the New Republic.  Wieseltier was reflecting on the wilful shrinking of American power under Barack Obama: 

Not long ago I was looking for a certain passage in Niebuhr, and I came upon his observation that “there are two ways of denying our responsibilities to our fellowmen”: “seeking to dominate them by our power” and “seeking to withdraw from our responsibilities to them.” It was not the passage I was seeking, and as I kept scouring the marked-up books I bumped into the great man’s call to “widen the conception of interest,” so that “the sense of justice must prevent prudence from becoming too prudential in defining interest.” This is the Niebuhr that our ostentatiously reflective president forgot, or never knew. He is withdrawn and we have withdrawn. We are leavers. We leave to pivot, but we do not pivot. We respect others too much to help them: how would contempt differ? Our friends doubt us, our enemies play us. We stand for too little and we stand for too few. The post-American world is here: behold it and weep.

COMMENT:  Indeed, indeed. 

January 29, 2014        Permalink

SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:   It was Lindsey Graham, last night, who fundamentally said that the president of the United States doesn't live in the real world.  From Roll Call:

After praising President Barack Obama on immigration, South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham blasted the foreign policy portion of the State of the Union speech.

“The world is literally about to blow up,” Graham said, saying he completely disagrees with Obama on Iran policy.

Obama pledged to veto any additional sanctions legislation while negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program are ongoing.

“The world as I know was not remotely described by the president. Syria is a contagion,” Graham said.

“Explain to me what happens if the Syrian conflict goes on another year and Assad continues to win,” Graham said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “Iraq is disintegrating. The whole region is moving toward chaos, and we’re doing nothing. We’re talking about limiting drones?” said Graham, who brought “Duck Dynasty” co-star Korie Robertson to the speech as his guest.

“I hope he will leave a residual force in Afghanistan [so] they can do the job, because if he doesn’t, it will fall apart at a faster pace than Iraq,” Graham said, referring to keeping a support force past 2014.

COMMENT:  I know there are some Republicans who don't like Lindsey Graham.  But on defense and foreign policy he's been an enormous and knowledgeable asset.  And of course he's right.  Obama's world is a fantasy world cooked up on the left-wing couches of faculty lounges.  Americans, in some new polls, seem to agree, and yet they fear more military involvement in the Middle East.

That doesn't mean the world will actually blow up, though.  More concessions by the West, led by an indifferent United States, will prevent that.  But when the blowup does come, we will be that much weaker.  By that time Obama will be secretary-general of the U.N., distancing himself from his own country.

January 29, 2014       Permalink

AND IRAN ALSO RISES – AT 9:36 A.M. ET:  If anything, the nuclear deal with Iran, implemented just last week, is becoming more controversial.  A leading congresswoman provides a revealing picture of an agreement too disgraceful for some even to discuss.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

The full text of the recently inked Iranian nuclear deal is being kept in “a super secret location” shrouded in “a cone of silence,” according to House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) member Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.)

Lawmakers and experts alike criticized the White House for refusing to release publicly the full text of the deal, which temporary halts some of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in economic sanctions relief.

Ros-Lehtinen said on Tuesday during a HFAC hearing about the deal that even members of Congress must climb through hoops in order to view the deal.

“Why is it that members of Congress have to go to a super secret location, a cone of silence … to look at the deal?” Ros-Lehtinen asked a panel of nuclear experts.

Ros-Lehtinen described the secret document as “quite eye opening” and wondered why the Obama administration continues to keep it under lock and key.

“It’s a very easy to read document; one doesn’t have to be as expert,” she said, urging other members on the committee to examine the deal.

“If this is such a great deal and so good for peace and diplomacy in our time why is it held in secret?” Ros-Lehtinen asked. “If the administration is proud of it, I think they should highlight it.”

Nuclear expert Gregory Jones expressed concern that the administration “does not fully understand” the deal it signed.

“It does bother me” that the deal has been kept secret, said Jones, a senior researcher at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. “It appears to me the administration has negotiated an agreement it does not fully understand and I don’t understand how that can happen.”

“I don’t see how there’s going to be an agreement,” he said.

COMMENT:  By the way, isn't it the job of a free press to demand that the agreement be made public?  After all, The New York Times never seems to have a problem printing the national-security secrets of the United States?  Why is it so sanguine about a nuclear agreement being kept so inaccessible?  Because it was negotiated on behalf of Barack, come to save us, that's why.   The Times and its disciplines in journalism just don't care. 

And the Europeans, of course, are delighted by the agreement.  They are already lining up in Tehran for contracts, which is why all the talk about increasing sanctions should the further talks with Iran fall through is just that – talk.  The Europeans will never allow it.

January 29, 2014       Permalink

CHINA RISING – AT 9:18 A.M. ET:  Sorry I'm a little late this morning.  I'm still trying to find someone who remembers Obama's State of the Union speech.  No luck.  If you know someone, e-mail me. 

The president didn't devote much time to foreign policy, and for good reason.  Not many gold medals there.  Our own Department of Defense is worried that China, recently known for making iPods, may become more militarily powerful than in the United States during the next president's administration.  From the Washington Free Beacon:

China’s recent test of a new ultra-high speed strike vehicle highlights growing concerns that Chinese military advances will overtake those of the United States in as few as five years, a senior Pentagon official told Congress Tuesday.

Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing that he is concerned by large-scale cuts in U.S. defense spending that are undermining efforts to maintain U.S. military superiority.

“On hypersonics, this is a good example of an area of technology that is going to move forward whether we invest in it or not,” Kendall told a hearing on the United States shift toward Asia. “China is doing work in this area.”

The Pentagon is investing some resources in two forms of hypersonic arms: a ballistic missile boost glide vehicle and a jet powered, atmospheric cruise missile, he said.

Kendall said the threat of such hypersonic vehicles to the United States is that they are difficult for missile defenses to counter. The vehicles travel and maneuver while flying at speeds of up to Mach 10 or 7,680 miles an hour.

“The high speed of these systems makes it much more difficult for air defenses to engage,” he said.

Kendall, in testimony on the Obama administration’s so-called “pivot” to Asia, said the Chinese development of hypersonic strike weapons is an area of technology that is likely to outpace U.S. efforts in the future.

COMMENT:  Does the president care?  Do the "progressives" around him care?  Probably not.  They regard this kind of warning as "Cold War thinking," the kind of thinking they heard ridiculed every day during their years bathing in the Ivy League. 

We learned just last week that China is building its first aircraft carrier from the keel up.  It has a carrier, but it is a rebuild acquired from elsewhere.  If China develops a carrier force, it will project power much as we do.  Meanwhile, we're cutting our Navy. 

Some would say this is a failed administration.  In the eyes of the left, though, it has many successes to smile about, including the weakening of the United States.

January 29,  2014     Permalink

JANUARY 28,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:58 P.M. ET: 

SCRIMMAGE – From Fox:  "Calling the NCAA a dictatorship, Northwestern's quarterback and the United Steelworkers announced plans Tuesday to form the first labor union for college athletes -- the latest salvo in the bruising fight over whether amateur players should be paid.  Quarterback Kain Colter detailed the College Athletes Players Association at a news conference in Chicago, flanked by leaders of Steelworkers union that has agreed to pay legal bills for the effort. The NCAA and the Big Ten Conference both criticized the move and insisted that college athletes cannot be considered employees."  I think the NCAA and Big Ten probably have the better argument, but I'm glad to see them challenged.  The treatment of college athletes is an entirely proper issue, and long ignored by members of the media, who consider athletes beneath them.

SOCHI UPDATE – From CBS:  "DETROIT – As the Feb. 7 start date of the Winter Olympics draws closer, concerns about potential terrorist attacks targeting the event in Sochi, Russia, have not abated.  According to BBC, Whitehall officials (the British equivalent of White House officials) have called terrorist attacks before or during the Olympics 'very likely.'...While NHL players have expressed excitement about the experience of representing their country and competing against the world’s best, the league has not ruled out the possibility of keeping its players stateside.  'As of now, we do not doubt that all necessary steps are being taken by the Sochi Organizing Committee, the Russian government and the IOC to ensure the safety of the athletes and guests in Sochi,' NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press. 'Obviously, if something significant were to transpire between now and February 9 that causes us to question that conclusion, we will re-evaluate. I don’t expect that that will become necessary.'"  We watch the bulletins on Sochi.  We'll keep you informed

INCREDIBLE – From The Politico:  "Cancer-stricken Sen. Tom Coburn revealed Tuesday that his health insurance under Obamacare doesn’t cover his oncologist, but said he still is receiving excellent care.
'I’m doing well from a health standpoint, got great docs,' Coburn said on MSNBC’s 'Morning Joe' on Tuesday when asked about his health. 'Fortunately — even though my new coverage won’t cover my specialist — I’m going to have great care, and I have a great prognosis.'  The Oklahoma Republican’s spokesman confirmed to POLITICO that since the senator enrolled in his health insurance plan under Obamacare, his coverage has been reduced and he lost coverage for his cancer specialist. Coburn will continue to pay out of pocket and see his oncologist, his office said."  A fine man, Senator Coburn.  But what happens to people who can't afford to pay a specialist? 

SPEECH – The president delivered his State of the Union address earlier tonight.  I am trying to find someone who still remembers it, and will report back to you.  The president wore a nice suit.

January 28, 2014       Permalink

DID YOU KNOW? – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:   Some high-level Republicans have put forward a health-care plan to replace Obamacare.  You didn't know?  Well, maybe if you go to page 46 of your local liberal paper you'll find it there, near obituaries.  But it's a solid plan that deserves the attention it won't get.  From Fox: 

Seizing on the public's continued anxiety over the ObamaCare rollout, a trio of Republican senators on Monday unveiled a sweeping alternative proposal they say would gut the law's mandates and taxes while preserving consumer protections.

Sens. Orrin Hatch, of Utah; Tom Coburn, of Oklahoma; and Richard Burr, of North Carolina, announced their plan one day before President Obama delivers his State of the Union address. It is his first such address since the launch of the state and federal health care exchanges.

The GOP proposal, dubbed the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act, would repeal the president's marquee legislative achievement while instituting new reforms the senators say would give states and individuals more flexibility and purchasing power.

"Americans deserve a real alternative, and a way out," Coburn said.

Under the plan, insurances companies would not be able to impose lifetime limits on patients and would be required to allow dependent coverage up to the age of 26, as ObamaCare currently does. The Republican proposal would address the issue of pre-existing conditions by creating a new "continuous coverage" standard that would prevent any individual moving from one insurance plan to another from being denied on the basis of a pre-existing condition so long as that individual was continuously enrolled in a health plan.

The requirements on individuals to buy insurance, and on mid-sized and large businesses to provide it, would be repealed.

Senate aides describing the proposal acknowledged there's little chance of movement in the current Congress, where Democrats control the Senate and have resisted all Republican-led House attempts to repeal or chip away at ObamaCare. Still, the aides said they hope continued public dissatisfaction with the way the law is being implemented might shore up the efforts of Hatch, Coburn and Burr. A new Associated Press-GfK poll shows that while negative perceptions of the new exchanges have eased, 66 percent of Americans say the rollout is not going well.

"The American people have found out what is in ObamaCare -- broken promises in the form of increased health care costs, costly mandates and government bureaucracy," Burr, a North Carolina Republican, said in a statement. "We can lower costs and expand access to quality coverage and care by empowering individuals and their families to make their own health care decisions, rather than empowering the government to make those decisions for them."

And...

Their proposal calls for the targeted use of tax credits to help individuals buy health care. Employees who work for a small business with 100 or fewer employees would be able to receive a credit while those whose annual income is 300 percent of the federal poverty level could receive an age-adjusted refundable tax credit to buy health coverage. Small businesses would also be allowed to band together and purchase insurance, even across state lines.

COMMENT:  Republicans must do more than hold one press conference.  If they believe in this plan, it should become part of their national platform.  They should print the proposal, promote it wherever they can, ask for endorsements, start a major campaign.  Republicans have to learn to shout, not just discuss. 

Obviously, we'll need more details, and the plan will undoubtedly go through changes.  But make this into a big deal.  And, fellas, involve some women.  Three white guys sitting at a table is so 1856. 

A good, solid, attractive, Republican health plan could swing the 2014 midterm elections.  A little show biz wouldn't hurt.  Ronald Reagan once said he couldn't understand how anyone without acting training could be president.  Listen to him.

January 28, 2014       Permalink

WHAT?  YOU MEAN THERE'S CHEATING GOING ON? – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:  We make international agreements, then we tend to forget them, assuming they're working. 

Remember how we almost went to war against Syria last year after we discovered the regime had used chemical weapons?  War was avoided when the peace-loving Russians held Obama's hand and guided him to an agreement with the Syrians to end the crisis and end the Syrian chemical program.  All going well with Syria, ay?  Not so fast, buddy.  From The Times of Israel: 

Syria is accelerating its production of missiles and rockets, effectively circumventing international sanctions imposed on it, according to the authoritative Jane’s Defence Weekly.

The magazine, which deals with military and security matters, presented evidence that the regime has upgraded its weapons capacity with the assistance of countries including Iran, North Korea and Belarus.

Jane’s reported that the Syria Scientific Studies and Research Center is responsible for the production of chemical weapons in Syria and oversees most of the regime’s missile projects. Yet according to the magazine, officials in the international community, including the UN, Russia and the United States, do not supervise the operations of the research center and have not imposed specific sanctions on it.

Jane’s added that although Syria has begun the process of destroying its chemical weapons arsenal, the SSRC still possesses the requisite knowledge to produce a host of warheads containing deadly chemical elements, including sarin, VX and Yperite.

The report reveals that the Assad regime has gone back to producing missiles and medium- to long-range rockets at a rate similar to that prior to the start of the country’s brutal civil war in March 2011. The two main reasons for the regime’s enhanced weapons production are an increased need for missiles in order to combat opposing rebel forces, and Hezbollah’s desire to acquire rockets and missiles stationed on Syrian soil.

COMMENT:  Looks like they're having us for lunch...again.  And why not?  These rogue regimes have learned one of the classic lessons of international diplomacy – when your opponent is weak, exploit that weakness.  America, through the design of the most leftist administration in its history, is weak.  It is getting weaker.  Syria saw us cave in after we were preparing to strike.  Iran saw us cave in and sign a weak agreement on nuclear weapons with the Tehran government.  North Korea saw us constantly weak as we threatened dire consequences if that country developed an atomic bomb.  It went ahead and developed it.  Nothing happened to North Korea.

And our allies see us weak.  Some, in the Mideast, are starting to get cozy with Iran, as we deliver the big chill.

January 28, 2014       Permalink

THE GENERIC MEASURE – AT 9:17 A.M. ET:  As the president prepares to deliver his State of the Union message – by being sure the teleprompter is plugged in – a new poll shows Republicans with a slight advantage in this year's generic congressional ballot.  From Fox:

At the start of the midterm election year, Republican candidates hold a slim two-percentage point advantage when voters are asked about their preference for Congress.

Forty-three percent of voters would back the Republican in their House district if the election were held today, while 41 percent would vote for the Democratic candidate, according to the latest Fox News poll.

Click here to read the poll results.

The difference comes from independent voters, who lean toward the Republican candidate over the Democrat by 32-26 percent. Many independents, however, are undecided (28 percent) or would vote for a non-major party candidate (14 percent). Just one voter in five (20 percent) describes themselves as an independent in the poll.

Large majorities of Democrats (84 percent) and Republicans (84 percent) would support their party’s respective candidate.

Views on the generic party vote have shifted back-and-forth in recent months. In October, 45 percent of voters backed the Democratic candidate and 37 percent the Republican. In December it was tied at 43 percent each.

COMMENT:  Given the mess the country is in, and the fact that this is the sixth year of a failed Democratic presidency, you'd think Republicans would be further ahead.  The fact that they're not should serve as a warning.  We cannot win simply by depending on the other side to make mistakes.  We have to have a winning program of our own, carried by attractive candidates.

Also, the Democratic Party is now based on a group mentality that is very hard to break.   Many Democrats continue to support Obama not because he's actually helped the nation, but because of who he is.  They will support him to the bitter end.

And...we still have no reliable way to measure the impact of press bias, which is as present today as it was when the press massively aided Barack Obama in 2008. 

This should be an easy year for Republicans.  It will not be.  Get ready for a food fight.  And remember, Hillary waits in the wings, and her press claque will be circling around her, which means, among other things, advancing the interests of her party.

January 28, 2014       Permalink

THE NEW SPORTS NORMAL – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  This is the way we now must prepare for sports events, even in America.  From Fox:

NEW JERSEY (MYFOXNY.COM) - Super Bowl XLVIII has been declared a level one national security event. Part of that security is to examine every item that is being brought in for Sunday's big game.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents will work around the clock to X-ray every delivery truck and any other vehicle authorized to enter the MetLife Stadium complex for anything suspicious.

Agents will be looking for smugglers, narcotics, terror activity, and more potential threats.

Throughout Super Bowl week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will use HCV Mobile Scanning trucks to examine vehicles.

Inside the HCV mobile unit, agents will monitor computer screens to scan anything and everything commercial vehicles will bring in.

"We are xraying every piece of equipment, every cargo, every beverage, seat cushion, every piece of merchandise, food...everything that is going in the stadium has to be x-rayed before it goes in," Kevin McCabe, Chief of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency says.

The giant machine is what is called a "high energy" x-ray unit.

After the trucks are approved, they get a police escort to the loading docks over at the stadium.

The FBI also gave Fox 5 a behind-the-scenes tour of its joint operations and surveillance center in Newark.

"We are looking at all of the information and see if it has an effect on any event related to the Super Bowl," Aaron Ford, FBI special agent says.

COMMENT:  And Times Square is getting extra surveillance equipment as well.  Some security experts warn that a terror attack during a major event may not necessarily occur at or even near the event itself.  It may occur somewhere else, miles away, but designed to take TV coverage off the event.

Super Bowl this Sunday.  Olympics next week.  Cops very busy.

January 28,  2014     Permalink