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JULY 22,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:30 P.M. ET: 

VICTORY OR WORLD-CLASS BLUNDER?  The FAA has ordered all American-owned airlines to temporarily suspend passenger service to and from Israel after a Hamas rocket landed not far from Ben Gurion Airport.  At first this may seem like an enormous victory for Hamas, which has supposedly demonstrated its ability to disrupt a major airport.  But some aviation experts are saying it could wind up as a major Hamas blunder.  If Hamas rockets are seen as that dangerous, then Hamas will be seen exactly the way Israel wants it to be seen, as a threatening, deadly terrorist organization.  This week in particular, after the shootdown of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, people who attack airports or airliners are not exactly popular the world over.

BEN FOR PRESIDENT? – The Republican field may be growing.  From Breitbart:  "On Tuesday, Dr. Ben Carson said he is starting to think about running for the White House in 2016.  Carson, the retired brain surgeon, won a Western Conservative Summit straw poll this weekend in Colorado, and the Draft Ben Carson for President Committee has raised more than similar groups for Hillary Clinton and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) have.  'I certainly didn't give it much thought early on,' he said on Fox News before noting that 'there's just hundreds of people' who are 'so enthusiastic' every place he goes.   Carson mentioned that hundreds turned out for a book signing on Monday evening at Costco, and he said, of the enthusiastic response he receives, 'I can't simply ignore it.'"  My own sense is that Carson is an inspiring speaker with a great story to tell, but has never been tested in a serious political contest.  I'd want to see more proof that he's up to the challenge.  But the prospect of him in the race is exciting.

HILLARY IN HIDING? – From Jennifer Rubin at WaPo:  "Maggie Haberman of Politico confirms first that Hillary Clinton is entirely inaccessible to the media and second that none of those denied access thought it important to let the public know Clinton is hiding from questions. Haberman observed, 'What has been really striking about Hillary Clinton’s book tour is she has not taken a single question, that I know of from reporters who are attending.'  Well, who can blame Clinton from hiding, I suppose, given her declining popularity, the gaffe-filled book tour and the instability engulfing Europe and the Middle East?   She is ducking the press for now, but even that is problematic. Clinton’s reputation as overly cautious and hyper-controlled at some point becomes a lack of courage and conviction. What does she think we should do about Gaza? What does she think about the Iran interim agreement extension?"  I get the feeling from press reports that Clinton is truly rattled, that she expected a coronation, not almost hourly media mention of Elizabeth Warren.

DECISION IN GEORGIA – Businessman David Perdue will defeat veteran Congressman Jack Kingston for the Republican Senatorial nomination in Georgia, according to a CNN projection of the results of today's primary.  Perdue will face Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Democratic Senator Sam Nunn.  Georgia is only one of two states where Democrats think they have a chance of picking up a seat currently held by a Republican.  The other is Kentucky.  The Georgia seat is held by retiring Senator Saxby Chambliss. 

July 22, 2014      Permalink

IF YOU'VE LOST NANCY – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:   House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, estimated worth about $30-million, loves to give advice to the peasantry about how we should live our lives.  She has been hesitant up to now about giving advice to Barack (come to save us) Obama.  But even Queen Nancy is starting to get antsy over a president who, to quote one pundit, hasn't had an opinion on anything in six months.  From The Hill: 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday said President Obama should increase communication if people have the impression he is too aloof.

Pelosi, however, said she disagrees with the characterization that Obama is too removed or difficult to access emotionally.

"So while I disagree with the characterization, if that is the impression people have, then communication has to be stepped up," she said when asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe.”

She agrees with the characterization, or she wouldn't be saying that.

A number of Republicans have criticized Obama's response to recent crises — in particular his decision to go ahead with a fundraiser after the downing of a commercial airliner over Eastern Ukraine last week.

Pelosi cited President Abraham Lincoln, who said public sentiment is everything.

"I think [Obama] has a great deal to be proud of," Pelosi said. "Lincoln said public sentiment is everything. And actually Ronald Reagan used to quote that of Lincoln."

She's read Reagan?  I didn't think they allowed that in the Church of the Obama.

The minority leader pointed to a number of economic indicators and the implementation of the new healthcare law as things for which Obama should be proud.

When initially asked the question about Obama's temperament, Pelosi joked, "Do you want me to write a book or something to talk about that?"

During the interview, Pelosi also called on Congress to pass emergency funding requested to deal with the influx of unaccompanied children crossing the border.

"What we need to do is have the supplemental that gives us the resources to meet the humanitarian needs to do the border control, but also to have the judicial piece so that these children have representation and judges to hear their cases," she said.

That is her view of the entire crisis.  The more direct, and intelligent, Sonny Bono was once asked his view of illegal immigration.  His reply:  "It's illegal."  Good answer.

July 22, 2014       Permalink

WHEN YOU CREATE A POWER VACUUM, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  The Iraqi ambassador to the United States speaks with a rare degree of bluntness.  From The Hill:   

The Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. said Monday that if the U.S. does not provide military assistance to Iraq, the vacuum would be filled by “others.”

Ambassador Lukman Faily said Iran has offered “all the help literally to replace America,” but so far Iraq has refused.

“Our military, our army and everything else has been in partnered with United States. Why would we need to go to the Iranian?” Faily told an audience at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

“But as I said in my speech, a vacuum is being created. And it will be filled by whoever’s available on the ground. That is the reality of it.”

Faily said officials in Baghdad were beginning to doubt U.S. sincerity in wanting to help Iraq beat back the Sunni extremist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which has taken over large parts of northern and western Iraq.

Faily said the U.S. is using the prospect of air strikes and essential military assistance as an incentive for political reform, but without a show of meaningful U.S. support, the Iraqi government has little incentive to undertake the political reforms the U.S. wants, in a “chicken-and-egg” scenario.

“We have skeptics who argue that this is really a conscious U.S. strategy for doing very little, that Washington intention is to create preconditions that we probably cannot satisfied, and then move the goalpost, if necessary, to ensure that we do not satisfy them,” Faily said.

COMMENT:  At least it's straight talk.  We made the same mistake as we wound down our commitment to South Vietnam in 1975.  We essentially abandoned the people who'd worked with us.  Congress even turned down material aid that would have permitted the South Vietnamese to fight without our direct participation.  President Ford correctly called that an act of extreme dishonor. 

Iraq is difficult, and aid to Iraq is unpopular.  They don't necessarily love us.  But Americans spilled blood to keep Iraq out of the orbit of our enemies, and to give it a chance to become a democracy, and now Obama's indifference and short-term political thinking are throwing all the sacrifice away.

Iran will probably succeed in taking over.

July 22, 2014       Permalink

PORTRAIT OF OUR MILITARY – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  Where does our military come from?  IJ Review has a fine piece depicting how our military force is distributed among the states.  I think you'll find some surprises in this piece: 

While enlistment rates in the U.S. military vary by group, they also vary by state. Enlistment ranges from less than 3 per thousand in North Dakota to more than 7 per thousand in Florida and Maine.

North Dakota I get.  The economy is booming there, and enlistment rates are often related to the economy.  The high rate for Florida, a southern state with a high Hispanic population, is also understandable.  I don't see where Maine figures in.  Fine state, but why the highest enlistment rate?

According to the Defense Department, differences exist at the regional level as well. In 2013, 44% of all military recruits came from the South, despite it having only 36% of the country’s 18-24 year-old civilian population.

By contrast, the Northeast was the most underrepresented region of the country; only 14% of new enlistments came from this area, compared to 18% of its 18-24 year-old population.

I would have guessed the same thing about both regions.  What strikes me is how high is the percentage of 18-24 year-olds in the South, and how low in the Northeast.  Maybe too many of my fellow Northeasterners feel that having children is beneath them.  I mean, the Ivy League has its impact.

While the military says it isn’t concerned with the demographics of its recruits, is it fair to speculate as to which Americans volunteer to serve their country and why?

COMMENT:  Actually, you'd have to do a much more detailed survey to see what subgroups are represented.  You'd also have to look at economic incentives.

The South has always been overrepresented in the military.  The piece has maps that go into greater detail.  Fascinating stuff.  My own state of New York ranks poorly.  I think three New Yorkers tried to enlist last year, and all were rejected because of criminal records and Al Qaeda sympathies.

July 22,  2014     Permalink

ELIZABETH WARREN – AT 8:28 A.M. ET:  She seems to be the woman of the hour, or the half-hour.  I mean, things go quickly today.  She is speaking everywhere.  The left-wing fringers love her, and are ready to push Hillary over the side to have the real, genuine leftist as president.  Of course, they have one now, but they haven't noticed.  From Hot Air: 

When asked just how vulnerable former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to a challenge from her left, the Acela Corridor’s political class is quick to note that 2016 is not 2008.

They observe that the factors which made Clinton vulnerable to a challenge from then Sen. Barack Obama in 2008 simply do not exist today.

For example, those grounded political reporters say, the former secretary is wildly popular among Democrats. They cite polling data which shows the former secretary leading her most likely challenger – the sitting Vice President of the United States – often by more than 30 points.

Finally, they note that Clinton’s major vulnerability in 2008, her 2002-2003 support for the Iraq War, is no longer a major concern within the Democratic Party’s left-wing. Her recent apology for her vote in favor of that operation, they say, has buried any hard feelings which might persist.

While the polls do not yet bear this assumption out, it is fair to say that most in the press believe that only individual who could mount a credible challenge to Clinton from her left is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). The “reality-based community,” as it were, is however quick to note that even that scenario is highly unlikely.

This sentiment is best expressed by Slate’s Dave Weigel who recently performed an interview with the founder of campaign aimed at drafting Warren to run in 2016. He confessed that his questions for the founder of this group were “skeptical” in nature, which slightly undersold just how suspicious Weigel seemed to be of the effort to force the senior Massachusetts senator to run for the presidency.

While the political press is suspicious of the notion that Clinton is vulnerable to a challenge from Warren, a non-candidate who has said in no uncertain terms that she is not interested in mounting that challenge, the press is also not ignoring the obvious: the progressive wing of the party is not Ready for Hillary .

A CNN survey from June revealed that, while Clinton remains the favorite prospective 2016 candidate among Democrats, their enthusiasm for her candidacy is muted:

Forty-one percent of Democrats questioned said they’d be enthusiastic if Clinton wins the nomination, with 42% saying they’d be satisfied. One in 10 said they’d be dissatisfied, and 5% said they’d be upset.

The rest of the Beltway horserace watchers are also noticing that Warren commands a measure of enthusiasm on the left that Clinton never has.

COMMENT:  The Democratic Party became destabilized in the late 1960s.  It recovered somewhat under the leadership of Bill Clinton, who understood the need to make it a center-left, not a leftist, party.  It's now drifting again, in part because the party's titular leader, Barack Obama, has no interest in it, and has no problem with the political left.

Could a true leftist candidate like Warren be elected president?  Theoretically yes, because she's deceptive enough to run as a moderate and make it look genuine.  And she'll have the liberal media at her back.

But it really depends on who the Republicans nominate in 2016.  Warren is not a great campaigner, and her electoral experience is limited to Massachusetts, where a Democrat can be elected even if deceased.  I think Hillary would be the much tougher opponent.

July 22,  2014     Permalink

JULY 21,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:36 P.M. ET: 

OH SHUT UP! – Ron Paul is at it again, doing as much harm as he can to his son Rand's presidential prospects.  From National Journal:  "In the days after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the former House member has been quick to attack the West and President Obama for pointing any fingers in the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  'Just days after the tragic crash of a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, Western politicians and media joined together to gain the maximum propaganda value from the disaster. It had to be Russia; it had to be Putin, they said,' Ron Paul wrote in an editorial Sunday. 'President Obama held a press conference to claim—even before an investigation—that it was pro-Russian rebels in the region who were responsible. His ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, did the same at the U.N. Security Council—just one day after the crash!'  Paul's argument, which he first made in a Friday television appearance, was quickly picked up by the Kremlin-funded English language outlet Russia Today." Paul has always had a certain sympathy for America's enemies, as head of the Taliban wing of the Republican Party.  Of course, Joseph P. Kennedy, President Kennedy's father, had Nazi sympathies before World War II, but Jack knew how to keep dad under the couch pillows when Jack ran for president.  Rand, get pillows.  Thick ones.

CLINTON GETS THUMBS DOWN – The deterioration of Hillary Clinton's poll numbers continues, leading to a flood of speculation that someone else will be the Dem nominee in 2016.  From The Politico:  "A majority of voters are unimpressed with Hillary Clinton’s performance as secretary of state, according to a new POLITICO poll.  Just 14 percent described her time at State — she served four years ending in February 2013 — as 'excellent,' while another 28 percent defined it as 'good.' Another 21 percent called it 'fair' and 32 percent rated her performance 'poor.' Six percent weren’t sure or declined to answer. The survey of likely voters in states and districts with the most competitive House and Senate races was conducted this month as Clinton traveled around the country to promote her new memoir, 'Hard Choices,' and discuss her time at the nation’s top diplomat."  And Bill Clinton just said that Hillary needs more time to decide whether to run for president.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NOT WANTED – With the economy and many communities under strain, Americans are rejecting the idea of putting illegal immigrants right next door.  From Rasmussen:  "Most voters don’t want any of the young illegal immigrants who’ve recently arrived here housed in their state and say any legislation passed by Congress to deal with the problem should focus on sending them home as soon as possible.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 59% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the primary focus of any new immigration legislation passed by Congress should be to send the young illegal immigrants back home as quickly as possible. Just 27% say it should focus instead on making it easier for these illegal immigrants to remain in the United States. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided."  Democrats seem to think immigration is a winning issue for them.  The numbers say otherwise.  The Dems will probably push it too far by claiming that those opposed to the illegals are bigots and racists.  In fact, the great majority are opposed to illegal immigration and immigration chaos. 

TERROR WATCH – From Fox:  "A Norwegian citizen who trained with a master bomb maker in Yemen and recently was added to the State Department’s list of international terrorists has been linked to the increased security screening of flights coming to the U.S., according to congressional sources familiar with the intelligence.  Anders Dale was believed to be trained by the master bomb maker Ibrahim al Asiri, who was responsible for the underwear device that nearly brought down a jet over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, the sources said.  Since he's a top target of the U.S. drone campaign, al Asiri has trained other operatives to build the non-metallic bombs as a kind of backup insurance policy for Al Qaeda.  The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News that Al Qaeda's desire to bring down a U.S. commercial jet is greater now than it was before 9/11, and the terrorist group has the capability and potential to do so, especially with the growing number of Western recruits fighting alongside the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria known as the al Nusra front."  And the nuts will be further inspired by the takedown of the Malaysian airliner in the Ukraine just days ago.

July 21, 2014       Permalink

VLAD THE DEFIANT – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  Vladimir Putin is stiffing us on the airliner shoot-down tragedy.  Why not?  He knows that, in the end, Obama will probably back down, and so will many of the European countries, under pressure from local business interests.  From London's Daily Mail: 

Vladimir Putin has issued a defiant warning that the MH17 crash must not be used for 'selfish political ends' and urged separatists to allow international experts access to the crash site.

Wearing a dark suit and looking tired and drawn during a rare television address, the Russian president insisted 'all people' in Ukraine had a responsibility to the families of the 298 passengers and crew who died last week.

No, the people who fired the missile have the responsibility.

But he added: 'No-one has the right to use this tragedy for any kind of vested interest in the political sense. Such incidents should unite people rather than separate them.'

His comments came just hours after David Cameron issued a stark warning to Putin that his billionaire ‘cronies’ will have their assets frozen in London unless Russia co-operates with the investigation.

During his television address this morning, Putin said it is necessary for 'all people' involved in the current conflict in Ukraine take responsibility for their actions.

He said there was a duty to: 'improve their responsibility to their own people, and to the people of the countries whose representatives have been victims of this crash'.

Putin added, 'We need to do everything to ensure the security and safety of the observers and the experts working at the crash site.'

The comments came as Chancellor George Osborne said the UK was prepared to take an 'economic hit' in order to put pressure on Moscow over its involvement in the Ukraine crisis.

COMMENT:  Putin is still not taking any responsibility for the Russian weapon that apparently shot down the airliner.  I think he's hoping this incident will fade away, and I fear he may be right.

July 21, 2014       Permalink

HOW SAD – AT 9:58 A.M. ET:  We've noted this before, the end of Christianity in Iraq, but the picture is becoming more clear.  What a sad spectacle in a country we fought to liberate, and abandoned under Barack Hussein Obama Jr.  From Breitbart: 

ERBIL, Iraq - The last Christian reportedly left Iraq's second largest city of Mosul at 12:00pm on Saturday, ending over 6,000 years of Assyrian history in the city. Assyrians have lived in Mosul for over 6,000 years, converting to Christianity over 2,000 years ago. This all came to an end on Saturday, when the last Assyrian Christian left the city.

On Thursday, July 17th, the Islamic State (IS)-- formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)-- released a statement demanding the Christians in Mosul either to convert to Islam, paying the jizya (tax on non-Muslims), leave the city, or be killed. The threat was to be implemented on Saturday. It is being reported locally that by noon yesterday, every Christian had chosen to leave.

Here in Erbil, about an hour an half away from Mosul by car, I have spoken with families who were forced to flee. They describe how ISIS invaded their homes, taking whatever they wanted, and threatening to kill them. The estimates are that over 500,000 refugees have fled Mosul after Islamists took control on June 10th, and the few remaining Christians left yesterday.

One group of Christians I spoke with said that when ISIS first invaded Iraq, they portrayed themselves as armed humanitarians but then they quickly undercut that message by implementing strict Sharia law, such as making women wear the full burqa and banning all western clothing. Those Muslims who stayed behind are being forced to comply with the new puritanical laws and now they, too, are trying to leave the city.

One resident of Mosul I spoke with said, "It is like the Taliban in Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion." There, Al Qaeda created the safe-haven from which they launched the 2001 attacks of 9/11 against the United States.

Some Iraqi Christians had called on the international community to help create a protected zone in Ninevah Province so as to provide protection for all minorities around the city of Mosul and to provide protection from future attacks by IS. While the proposal for a new Ninevah Province has been submitted to the Iraqi Parliament, it was not finalized. Because of the inaction both inside Iraq and the failure of the international community to heed the threats against Christians, the majority of the refugees who have just fled Mosul remain in danger of being attacked once more by IS as it continues its jihadi blitzkrieg across Iraq and Syria.

Several people I have spoken to in Iraq reported that members of IS speak foreign languages and are not from Iraq only. One person said an IS member was speaking an Afghan language and wearing Afghani clothing. Another person said they heard dialects from Pakistan, Libya, and even English.

Everyone I have spoken with has expressed their frustration with the international community’s lack of response to the crisis facing the people of Iraq. They blamed the United States for creating the current situation and for leaving the country so quickly and so creating the vacuum for IS to exploit. Many also think that it was a serious mistake for the U.S. to “give Iraq to Iran,” allowing Tehran to have a major influence in the Iraqi Parliament.

COMMENT:  Note the lack of interest by "religious" groups in the West.  Many of these "religious" groups, especially the National Council of Churches, have become extensions of the political left.  They're religious in name only. 

We note also the lack of interest by the president of the United States, although I find that less than shocking.

July 21, 2014       Permalink

WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  Townhall.com has a terrific piece by John Hawkins defining what modern liberalism really is.  Please send it around to friends.  From townhall: 

1) Liberalism is college professors and documentary filmmakers accumulating vast fortunes in a capitalistic system by decrying the evils of capitalism.

2) Liberalism is claiming that the "border is secure" while saying we shouldn't deport anyone who illegally crosses the border.

3) Liberalism is "environmental activists" flying across the world to ride together in SUVs to posh environmental conferences where they call for everyone else to live like cavemen in order to save the planet.

4) Liberalism is spewing hatred and profanity at conservative women, calling for gun control that leaves women defenseless against rapists and murderers, and celebrating misogynistic pigs like Bill Clinton while accusing OTHER PEOPLE of being engaged in a "war on women."

5) Liberalism is people who say that asking for voter ID is racist while claiming that black Americans are too uniquely stupid and lazy to get an ID.

6) Liberalism is forcibly taking money you don't deserve from the people who earned it and calling THEM greedy for not wanting to give you even more.

7) Liberalism is saying that the government should confiscate guns from NRA members and kill them if they resist and then claiming that you have no idea why they think that they need guns to defend themselves.

8) Liberalism is people who sneer at displays of the American flag, tell the world America isn't exceptional, and criticize the country non-stop while getting offended if their patriotism is questioned.

9) Liberalism is calling for higher taxes while you cheat on your own taxes.

10) Liberalism is bitter, race-obsessed people who see EVERYTHING in racial terms, accusing OTHER PEOPLE of being racists.

COMMENT:  There are ten more.  Please read and send. 

It wasn't always this way.  Liberalism is an honorable creed, but the vocabulary has been twisted.  What we have today is not liberalism, but leftism.  The media, however, refuses to identify the change, for fear of being called McCarthyites.  And for fear that the honorary degrees will stop.

July 21, 2014       Permalink

RICK'S SECOND ACT – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  Governor Rick Perry of Texas is reportedly ready to send elements of the Texas National Guard to help secure the border.  From WaPo: 

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) reportedly plans to dispatch the Texas National Guard to the U.S. border with Mexico, according to news reports.

Perry will announce his plans Monday to mobilize some 1,000 guardsmen to the Rio Grande Valley to increase security at the border, according to the Monitor, a south Texas newspaper. The newspaper quoted a state senator and an internal memo it obtained from a state official’s office.

Perry spokesman Felix Browne told The Washington Post he would neither confirm nor deny the report, but said all details will be given at a news conference at 2 p.m. Central time Monday in Austin. It was unclear what mission the guard will have.

The news comes amid the continued surge of young immigrants, most of them from Central America, crossing the border and scattered protests in a few U.S. cities from those who don’t want them housed in their midst. Perry, a potential 2016 Republican presidential contender, spoke in Iowa and elsewhere in recent days, promising to take matters into his own hands if President Obama does not act.

Perry is among Republicans who have been calling the border situation Obama’s “Katrina,” a reference to the political beating taken by President George W. Bush after federal authorities botched the post-hurricane operation in New Orleans in 2005. It’s a clear signal Republicans will use the border crisis against any Democratic contender in 2016.

“If the federal government does not do its constitutional duty to secure the Southern border of the United States, the state of Texas will do it,” Perry said Sunday at a Republican barbecue in Iowa.

COMMENT:  Perry wants to be president, wants a second chance at running.  The illegal-immigration crisis is handmade for him.  Now he gets the chance to be the man of action, not simply the man of words.

We'll wait to see how well Perry handles this.  There are some legal issues involving questions of whether the National Guard, under state control, can patrol an international border.  I assume Perry has investigated these questions and will have answers.

Perry, sadly, destroyed himself during his 2012 run for the GOP presidential nomination.  He was not ready, he did not know the issues, and he forgot basic facts during debates.  But he still is the longest-serving governor, with a fine record.  The political world has its eyes on him.

July 21,  2014     Permalink