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JANUARY 30,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:28 P.M. ET:

WELCOME TO NEW YORK, COMRADES – Leftist Mayor Bill de Blasio and his dancin' revolutionaries are already doing what leftists do best – moving toward mediocrity.  From the Washington Times:  "A popular gifted-student program at a New York City elementary school is getting the ax after school officials decided it lacked diversity.  PS 139 Principal Mary McDonald told parents in a letter Jan. 24 that Students of Academic Rigor, or SOAR, would no longer accept applications for incoming kindergartners, the New York Daily News reported.  'Our Kindergarten classes will be heterogeneously grouped to reflect the diversity of our student body and the community we live in,' Miss McDonald said in the letter posted on Flickr.com."  Instead of motivating minority students to meat SOAR's standards, the school will eliminate the standards.  What a gift to students.  Welcome to the People's Republic.

MSNBC BOWS – From Fox:  "MSNBC President Phil Griffin, faced with an uproar online, apologized to the Republican national chairman on Thursday for an 'outrageous and unacceptable' tweet by the network that accused conservatives of hostility toward biracial families.  Griffin, who acted hours after party chairman Reince Priebus vowed to keep Republicans off the cable channel, also said he has fired the staffer involved.  'We immediately acknowledged that it was offensive and wrong, apologized, and deleted it,' Griffin said in a statement. 'I personally apologize to Mr. Priebus and to everyone offended.'"  Seems that MSNBC has had to issue many, many apologies recently.  Maybe getting it right in the first place would ease the need.

LOUISIANA, U.S. SENATE – Republicans would love to knock off Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana this year.  They have a shot.  From Rasmussen:  "Incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu runs slightly behind Republican challenger Bill Cassidy in Rasmussen Reports’ first look at the 2014 U.S. Senate race in Louisiana.  A new statewide telephone survey of Likely Louisiana Voters finds Cassidy, a U.S. congressman, with 44% support to Landrieu’s 40%. Five percent (5%) like some other candidate in the race, while 11% are undecided."  Not in the bag yet.  Landrieu comes from a prominent political family, and has managed to pull out some tight victories.  Republicans can win this, with skilful campaigning and no gaffes.

WEREN'T THEY THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES? – From NRO:  "As the deadline for 2014 enrollment nears, Obamacare is growing increasingly unpopular, especially among the uninsured. A new Kaiser Family Foundation survey finds that about twice as many uninsured people have an unfavorable view of the health-care law than have a favorable one.  Among the uninsured, 47 percent view Obamacare in a negative light versus the 24 percent who view it favorably. That’s a change from 43 percent who viewed it unfavorably last month, and 36 percent who viewed it favorably. Overall, half of Americans view Obamacare unfavorably, while just over one-third have a positive take on the law. ?  More of the uninsured also said Obamacare made them worse off (39 percent) than improved their situation (26 percent), according to the poll."  What an embarrassment.

January 30, 2014       Permalink

SOCHI UPDATE – AT 10:36 A.M. ET:  The U.S. is worried about attacks on soft targets on the outskirts of the Sochi Olympics, which begin in eight days.  From USA Today:

WASHINGTON — A top U.S. counterterrorism official told a Senate panel Wednesday that he's concerned that terrorists may try to strike soft targets on the outskirts of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he was confident that Russian officials preparing for the 2014 Olympics are "very focused" and are "devoting substantial resources" to keeping the Games safe.

"The biggest issue from my perspective is not the Games themselves, the venues themselves," Olsen said. "There is extensive security at those locations — the sites of the events. The greater threat is to softer targets in the greater Sochi area, in the outskirts beyond Sochi, where there is a substantial potential for a terrorist attack.

And...

FBI Director James Comey, who testified at the same hearing, said cooperation between the FBI and Russian officials on security issues surrounding the Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23, has been "steadily improving" as the Games approach.

That's not what we hear from other sources.

"We have a good level of cooperation there," Comey said. "It can always improve. We are looking for ways to improve it as are they."

Meanwhile, in Russia, the Games organizing committee chief, Dmitry Chernyshenko, said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations, the Associated Press reports.

COMMENT:  We hope all goes well.  But I've never seen such apprehension over the Olympic Games.  Sochi was a terrible choice.

January 30, 2014       Permalink

IRAN FOR GROWN-UPS – AT 9:38 A.M. ET:   A new report presented to Congress presents a stark, disturbing picture of where Iran actually is with its advanced defense technology.  Tehran out-negotiated us with the interim nuclear deal, and is backing its negotiating skills with real firepower.  It is clearly seeking to become the dominant nation in the region, as we sleep.  From The Politico:

Iran’s ability to make missiles loaded with nuclear warheads now rests primarily on the “political will” of its leaders, rather than any technical constraints, according to an annual U.S. intelligence assessment presented on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

“Tehran has made technical progress in a number of areas — including uranium enrichment, nuclear reactors, and ballistic missiles — from which it could draw if it decided to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in written testimony submitted as he appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee. “These technical advancements strengthen our assessment that Iran has the scientific, technical, and industrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons. This makes the central issue its political will to do so.”

On that point, the U.S. Worldwide Threat Assessment suggests a lack of consensus at high levels of the Iranian government and notes that the interim agreement Iran reached to halt and roll back aspects of the program appears to be the product of uncertainty about whether the effort is worth the severe economic price the country has paid in economic sanctions, set to be eased somewhat under the six-month deal.

“Iran’s overarching strategic goals of enhancing its security, prestige, and regional influence have led it to pursue capabilities to meet its civilian goals and give it the ability to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons, if it chooses to do so,” the assessment says. “We judge that Iran is trying to balance conflicting objectives. It wants to improve its nuclear and missile capabilities while avoiding severe repercussions — such as a military strike or regime-threatening sanctions. We do not know if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons.”

COMMENT:  The fact that they can is the key.  It doesn't take long to bring a nuclear weapon online if the skill exists.  Our first test of a nuclear device occurred in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945.  The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, barely three weeks later. 

Having the technology itself gives Iran substantial prestige and deterrent power.  If our agreements allow the Iranians to have and develop this technology, while easing sanctions, Tehran can have its cake and eat it, too. 

And please note that we do not know everything that goes on in Iran.  There may well be secret bases and underground manufacturing.

January 30, 2014       Permalink

HILLARY ROMPS – 9:05 A.M. ET:  If the Dem nomination for president were awarded today, Hillary Clinton could have it on a silver platter, according to a new poll.  From WaPo: 

Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a commanding 6 to 1 lead over other Democrats heading into the 2016 presidential campaign, while the Republican field is deeply divided with no clear front-runner, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Clinton trounces her potential primary rivals with 73 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, reinforcing a narrative of inevitability around her nomination if she runs. Vice President Biden is second with 12 percent, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) is third with 8 percent.

Although Clinton’s favorability rating has fallen since she stepped down as secretary of state a year ago, she has broad Democratic support across ideological, gender, ethnic and class lines. Her lead is the largest recorded in an early primary matchup in at least 30 years of Post-ABC polling.

The race for the Republican nomination, in contrast, is wide open, with six prospective candidates registering 10 percent to 20 percent support. No candidate has broad backing from both tea party activists and mainline Republicans, signaling potential fissures when the GOP picks a standard-bearer in 2016.

COMMENT:  Obviously, it's very early.  Hillary might not run.  She might fall ill.  Something may come out about her that's devastating.  But, as of now, she's got the nod. 

We legitimately fear that a divided Republican Party, further hurt by the media thumb on the scale, will send Hillary to the White House, where she will do her usual mediocre job, to rapturous press reviews.  (She works hard, but I can't recall a single major success she's had in any job, including senator from New York and secretary of state.)  There are capable Republican governors out there, and some fine members of Congress, but no electoral stars. 

January 30, 2014       Permalink

A WARNING FOR US – AT 8:41 A.M ET:  There will be an election in Georgia in November to replace retiring Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss.  This should be an easy hold for Republicans, but that's not the way it's turning out.  A popular Democratic candidate is making strides while Republicans are fighting among themselves.  This could be a disaster in a year when the GOP hopes to take the Senate.  From The Hill:

Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn (D) has leads over four of her Republican rivals, according to a new poll conducted for the liberal group Americans United for Change.

Nunn is the daughter of former moderate Democratic Senator Sam Nunn.

Nunn leads Reps. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) and former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) by margins of one to four points.

The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, might skew a bit Democratic — there are equal numbers of self-identifying Democrats and Republicans in its survey in the Republican-leaning state. More Republican voters are undecided in the poll, as well.

But its results are the latest sign that Nunn has a real chance of winning the race to replace retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).

The poll was conducted for the group to show raising the minimum wage is a strong issue for Democrats, even in red states. It found 54 percent of voters supported raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour, while 37 percent opposed it.

COMMENT:  What Republicans need in Georgia, a state that has been moving slowly toward the Democratic column because of immigration, is a superb candidate.  It's the same old story.  The GOP may lose an easily winnable seat because candidate development has never been a Republican priority.

January 30,  2014     Permalink

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