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SECOND SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE – 2014 – LAST DAY!!

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JULY 13,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

CREEPINESS ALL AROUND – One of those stories where everybody is wrong.  From the Washington Times:  "The U.S. Department of Justice has sent a member of its Community Relations Service team to investigate a Nebraska parade float that criticized President Obama.  A Fourth of July parade float featured at the annual Independence Day parade in Norfolk sparked criticism when it depicted a zombie-like figure resembling Mr. Obama standing outside an outhouse, which was labeled the 'Obama Presidential Library.' The Nebraska Democratic Party called the float one of the 'worst shows of racism and disrespect for the office of the presidency that Nebraska has ever seen.'  The Omaha World-Herald reported Friday that the Department of Justice sent a CRS member who handles discrimination disputes to a Thursday meeting about the issue."  Obviously, some very bad taste.  But the Department of Justice?  Bad taste is not a crime, and local people know how to reprimand the perpetrators without the government getting involved.

MORE CREEPINESS – The New York Times is reporting that Germans see their victory in the World Cup of soccer today as symbolic of their influence and power on the world stage.  And only 35% of Germans in a recent poll say that the United States is trustworthy.  Let's calm down over there, or we may have to start showing "Patton" in German classrooms. 

GO AWAY, PLEASE – New York is making a major bid for the 2016 Democratic convention.  From the New York Post:  "He led the fight to build Barclays Center — and now Brooklyn’s biggest booster has been tapped to convince the Democratic National Committee to bring the 2016 presidential convention to the new home of the NBA’s Nets.  At Mayor de Blasio’s request, former Borough President Marty Markowitz is expected to meet with DNC honchos in Brooklyn Saturday to lead a PowerPoint presentation aimed at trying to convince them that the 18,000-seat arena is the perfect venue to host the convention, a de Blasio operative told The Post.  'The mayor’s bringing in the big guns,' said the source."  I think it's hilarious.  Here's a socialist mayor, the most left-wing in the city's history, trying to bring the Democratic convention to an arena named for a major international bank.  Somehow, it doesn't fit.  Oh wait.  Hillary might be nominated.  She gets $200,000 a speech.  Yeah, maybe it fits.  But all I see is traffic jams.

July 13, 2014       Permalink

CHANGING TIMES – AT 11:59 A.M. ET:  President Obama is coming under increasing criticism from fellow Democrats, especially over his handling of the border crisis.  There are also reports of substantial dissension within the Democratic Party over the flood of new illegal immigrants.  African Americans are especially dismayed, as they will surely lose jobs to these new immigrants, who will work at lower wages.  From The Hill:

Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) on Sunday said he believes President Obama should have visited the U.S.-Mexico border when he was in Texas last week.

“I wish he would have come to the border,” O’Rourke, whose district includes the border town of El Paso, said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

The freshman lawmaker said he wanted the president to visit McAllen, Texas, which has become operational hub in the crisis to deal with thousand of children who have crossed the border illegally.

O’Rourke called the site “ground zero” for dealing with the situation and a visit there would have allowed Obama to meet with border patrol and immigration officer trying to handle the crisis.

The president has come under harsh scrutiny from Republicans, and some Democrats, for visiting the state but not traveling to the holding facilities.

A visit "would have sent an important message to the rest of the country about seriously he views this situation,” according to O’Rourke.

COMMENT:  I'm awaiting the next presidential approval polls.  I'm guessing that they will show another decline for Obama, based on his abysmal performance down Mexico way.  Look for numbers below 40%, which is getting into desperate territory for any president.

The fact that Democrats now feel free to criticize Obama, who had been untouchable at one point, is politically significant.  It puts heat on Hillary Clinton, who served in the Obama administration.  Does she remain the loyal soldier, or start putting necessary distance between herself and the captain of a sinking ship.

July 13, 2014       Permalink

RICK – AT 11:36 A.M. ET:  Texas Governor Rick Perry is emerging.  The buzz about him, and his excellent performance last week in confronting President Obama over the immigration crisis, is increasing.  From ABC News: 

From the television airwaves to the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas Governor Rick Perry was everywhere this week, raising the question: Could Rick Perry make a comeback?

Perry, whose unforgettable “oops” moment derailed his presidential campaign in 2012, was front and center in the week’s most closely watched issue — how President Obama is handling the influx of unaccompanied minors streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Donning his new hipster glasses, the Texas governor was everywhere, from flying aboard Marine One with the president to riding a patrol boat on the Rio Grande, managing to insert himself in a controversial debate that could lend him some credibility should he decide to make another run for the White House in 2016.

Here’s a recap of Perry’s week in the spotlight:

Appearing on ABC News’ “This Week,” Perry blasted President Obama’s response to the thousands of unaccompanied minors and adults crossing the border.

“I don’t believe he particularly cares whether or not the border of the United States is secure,” Perry said in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz. “And that’s the reason there’s been this lack of effort, this lack of focus, this lack of resources.”

Perry said thanks, but no thanks, to the president’s invitation to greet him at the Austin airport when he traveled to Texas later in the week. President Obama drew criticism from Republicans for not making the time to go to the border while on a two-day fundraising trip in the Lone Star State. Instead of meeting him at the airport, Perry proposed a one-on-one in-depth meeting between the two to discuss border security.

“A quick handshake on the tarmac will not allow for a thoughtful discussion regarding the humanitarian and national security crises enveloping the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas,” Perry wrote.

COMMENT:  Perry performed well and looked good – active, engaged, intelligent.  It's the Rick Perry Texans know. 

However, the Rick Perry who tried to run for president in 2012 came off as foolish and uninformed, not ready for prime time.  That image will have to be fixed if he expects to be a contender in 2016.  I think it can be.  Perry is this country's longest serving governor, with a fine record.  He'll be brutalized by the press, which regards "Texas" and "conservative" as curse words.  But Perry might be the right man in the right place at the right time.  The flood across the border is a huge issue, and Americans are furious.  Perry is the man on the front line.

Let's see if there's a second act here.

July 13, 2014       Permalink

TROUBLE IN VIENNA – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  Only seven days remain to the current deadline for achieving a nuclear deal with Iran.  Things are not going well.  From The New York Times: 

VIENNA — A senior Obama administration official said Saturday that Iran continues to take “inadequate and unworkable” positions on the future of its nuclear program, and warned that the country would have to live with sharp limits on its ability to produce nuclear fuel for at least a decade, and perhaps longer.

The comments, made to reporters here just hours before Secretary of State John Kerry was scheduled to arrive with European foreign ministers, strongly suggested that a comprehensive deal would not be closed by a July 20 deadline.

Although the goal of the weekend negotiations is to try to push Iran to make political decisions that American officials say it has resisted, the Obama administration is refusing to discuss extending the talks — which is possible under a preliminary agreement reached late last year — for fear that would reduce the pressure to make progress over the next week.

The official, who is centrally involved in the negotiations, spoke to a large group of reporters on the standard diplomatic condition of anonymity. The official said that some progress had been made on several areas of the negotiations. While there were no specifics, European officials have said that major gaps have been closed on the future of a plutonium reactor under construction near the Iranian city of Arak, and on the fate of a deep underground nuclear-enrichment center that was discovered by Western intelligence agencies and that President Obama said four years ago needed to be closed.

But the central sticking point remains differing views on the future of Iran’s program.

In a speech in Iran five days ago, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, talked of a long-term plan for a tenfold increase in Iran’s nuclear enrichment capability, saying the country’s scientists have determined that would be the only way to satisfy Iran’s need for nuclear power. The comments worried American and European officials, because they suggested the religious leader was not preparing the Iranian people for cutbacks in the country’s existing number of centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium. It currently has about 10,000 enriching uranium, and another 9,000 set up but not in full operation.

COMMENT:  It's a fantasy to believe that Iran would give up its nuclear weapons program, which it even denies it has.  Iran is facing a weak America, and cynical European countries, like Germany, whose main interest is in business contracts with Tehran. 

I suspect the current negotiations will be extended past the deadline, possibly way past the deadline.  And every month that goes by means more progress by Iranian scientists and engineers.  They don't need to manufacture a weapon.  They need only to reach the point where they can "break out" quickly to make the bomb.  Remember – we tested our first nuclear device in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, and used an operational bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, only three weeks later. 

Obama has essentially taken the military option off the table in dealing with Iran's nuclear program.  That was a major strategic mistake.  It has given Iran breathing room, and Iran has taken it.

July 13,  2014     Permalink

JULY 12,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:58 P.M. ET: 

MORE EMBARRASSMENT – From wattsupwiththat.com:  "Antarctica continues to defy the global warming script, with a report from Meteo France, that June this year was the coldest Antarctic June ever recorded, at the French Antarctic Dumont d’Urville Station.  According to the press release, during June this year, the average temperature was -22.4c (-8.3F), 6.6c (11.9F) lower than normal. This is the coldest June ever recorded at the station, and almost the coldest monthly average ever – only September 1953 was colder, with a recorded average temperature of -23.5c (-10.3F).  June this year also broke the June daily minimum temperature record, with a new record low of -34.9c (-30.8F)."  The global warmers are investigating whether the French use a different numbers system.

FANATIC – From BBC – "Climate change is 'the biggest crisis our civilisation faces,' says former US Vice President Al Gore.  Mr Gore sat down with the BBC's Jon Donnison in Australia, where his organisation, The Climate Reality Project, was holding training sessions to educate future leaders in the fight against climate change.  Australia's conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott is viewed by many as a climate change sceptic and once described the science behind human-induced global warming as 'absolute crap.'"  No matter what developments continue to show, Gore pushes the party line.  This is now a religion, and enormous damage can result.  I fear that the "climate change" religionists will distort the face of science.  I am neither a denier nor a believer, but I am certainly a skeptic.  There are too many problems with the "science," too many predictions that have fallen apart.  But the demands increase for huge checks to be written.

SIGN OF THE TIMES – From Fox:  "New York police arrested two men for operating two small drones over the George Washington Bridge that nearly took out a police chopper on Monday.  The Aviation Unit helicopter was on patrol around 12:15 a.m. when it spotted one of the unmanned aircraft near the bridge. The drone continued to circle the bridge, forcing the chopper to swerve to avoid it.  Police said the drones, which were operated by remote control, came within 800 feet of the police chopper."   Well, it's a new day.  But I'd hate to see some great kids who build a remote-controlled model plane fall into the sights of the law. 

July 12, 2014     Permalink

THE BABE – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  We missed this, but yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Babe Ruth's debut in major-league baseball.  From Fox: 

George Herman “Babe” Ruth played his first Major League Baseball game 100 years ago Friday, marking the beginning of a legendary career and legacy that lasted decades.

One hundred years after Ruth took to the Fenway Park mound and tossed seven innings against the Cleveland Naps, he is still known to any Pee Wee league player trying to break in a glove today as simply, "The Babe."

Ruth, who was 19 and, according to one teammate, looked like a "big overgrown pea" at the start of the game, went on to play for 22 years, 15 of those with the New York Yankees. He amassed 714 home runs and 1,330 strikeouts.

He jokingly rationalized the strike percentage by saying, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."

One of his most memorable home runs came during the 1932 World Series at Chicago's Wrigley Field, when he appeared to point to the outfield stands to call his shot.

Ed Sherman, the author of "Babe Ruth's Called Shot: The Myth and Mystery of Baseball's Greatest Home Run," writes about whether Ruth was indeed predicting a homer, or pointing at players in the Cubs dugout who were apparently yelling things at him.

"Part of the beauty of the whole story is that we'll never have a definitive answer," Sherman told The Chicago Tribune. "But if you look at the video, there's something there. Was he pointing to center? Did he say, 'I'm going to hit a home run here and now'? I can tell you one thing: Ruth was challenged, and he responded to the challenge, and the World Series effectively ended right there. It just took the life out of the Cubs. They were done."

Ruth was known for his larger-than-life personality.

Jim Reisler, the author of "The Best Game Ever," wrote in The New York Times that Ruth could visit a "ballpark, a brothel and an orphanage in a single day," and pointed out that when he met President Warren Harding, he said, "Hot as hell, ain’t it Prez?"

Ruth did not resemble today's athletes who look like they live at the gym and sustain themselves on protein shakes. He looked like the affable uncle who just got up off the couch, but could hit the cover off a fastball.

COMMENT:  Ah yes, a real person.  How rare.  When, one season, he was paid $75,000, he was asked by a reporter how he could justify a salary higher than that of the president of the United States.  His answer:  "I had a better year than he did."

I'm old enough to remember the day in 1948 when Babe Ruth died.  We were sitting on the porch of our tiny house in Queens, New York, when the news came by radio.  A pall was cast over all of New York for days.  He'd only been 53.  Babe Ruth was, in our minds, larger than life, in part because we never saw him on a 12-inch television screen. 

In one of my assignments at The New York Times I had a desk right next to Sam Falk, the legendary Times photographer, who had covered Ruth extensively.  He confirmed the description in the story above.  Ruth was a bad boy, a legendary party animal, who'd party late into the night, despite an important game the next day.  He wasn't all that kind to adults, but he did in fact love kids.  He also loved women, a bit too much.  His womanizing caused his first wife to leave him, but he did hold on to his second, Claire, who died in 1976. 

Ruth had two adopted children – Dorothy, who died in 1989, and Julia, who is 97, and threw out the first ball this year at Wrigley Field in Chicago, in a game commemorating Babe's 1932 "called shot." 

July 12, 2014       Permalink

THIS CANNOT BE TRUE, AND MUST BE SUPPRESSED! – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:   Stories like this are dangerous to the accepted Obaman view.  Do your part!  Ridicule them.  Disparage them.  This is not happening.  From The Australian: 

If you are lucky enough to be reading this from the comfort of your blankets, it might be best to stay there, as Brisbane has hit its coldest temperatures in 103 years.

Not since July 28 1911 has Brisbane felt this cold, getting down to a brisk 2.6C at 6.41am.

That's 37 degrees Fahrenheit.

At 7am, it inched up to 3.3C.

Matt Bass, meteorologist from BOM, said the region was well below our average temperatures.

“If it felt cold, that’s because it was, breaking that record is pretty phenomenal for Brisbane,” Bass said.

“The average for this time of year is 12C (54F), so Brisbane was about 9C below average, it is pretty impressive really, to have the coldest morning in 103 years is a big record.”

The coldest place across the state was Oakey which got down to -6.1C (21F), which was the coldest temperature for the town since 2011.

COMMENT:  Al Gore, already reeling from reports that we're about to have a cold snap in parts of the United States, went into deep hysteria.  He was last seen running around Aspen shouting, "Lies, all lies!"

It seems to me, though, that so many of the predictions made by the global-warming religionists never seem to come true.  There are rushed explanations and justifications by "scientists," who assure us that anyone who disagrees with "climate science" must be a "flat Earther." 

What we need, as I have advocated many times, is a Challenger-type commission to investigate global warming and tell us what we know, what we don't know, and what we must know to justify the huge expenditures that the global warmers and Barack "it's really hot outside" Obama are demanding.

July 12, 2014       Permalink

DISGRACE – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  Reader Jacqueline Reckseit alerts us to the latest of the Obama administration's parade of outrages, the longest parade in town.   From Breitbart: 

MCALLEN, Texas—Illegal aliens are being allowed to fly on commercial airliners without valid identification, according to the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC). “The aliens who are getting released on their own recognizance are being allowed to board and travel commercial airliners by simply showing their Notice to Appear forms,” NBPC’s Local 2455 Spokesman, Hector Garza, told Breitbart Texas.

“This is not the CBP [Customs and Border Protection] or another federal agency renting or leasing an aircraft, these are the same planes that the American public uses for domestic travel,” said Garza. “This just adds insult to injury. Not only are we releasing unknown illegal aliens onto American streets, but we are allowing them to travel commercially using paperwork that could easily be reproduced or manipulated on any home computer. The Notice to Appear form has no photo, anyone can make one and manipulate one. They do not have any security features, no watermark, nothing. They are simply printed on standard copy paper based on the information the illegal alien says is the truth.”

Spokesman Garza continued, “We do not know who these people are, we often have to solely rely on who they say they are, where they say they came from, and the history they say they have. We know nothing about most of them, ICE releases them into the American public, and now they are boarding aircraft at will with a simple paper document that anyone can easily alter or reproduce themselves.”

COMMENT:  In other words, security for these essentially unknown individuals is lower than for an American grandmother, who couldn't get on an airliner without voter i.d.  How does it feel to be a second-class citizen in your own country?

It's been widely reported that, among the undocumented aliens coming across our southern border, are some from the Mideast.  How blind are we?

July 12,  2014     Permalink