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JULY 14,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET:

IRAN – What becomes clear is that the U.S. violated virtually all of its red lines in reaching an agreement with Iran, an agreement whose purpose seems to be the greater glory of Barack.  The deal does not permit the kind of inspections originally promised, and does grant concessions that even Obama's own chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned about only last week.  Republicans are properly appalled.  Many Democrats probably are as well, but their party has changed, and going up against Obama is not considered a wise career move. 

CYNICAL – Some of the reactions to the Iran deal are remarkably cynical.  The most disgraceful – the foreign minister of Germany criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's rejection of the agreement.  Imagine, the foreign minister of the nation that committed the Holocaust is rapping Israeli concerns about a pact with a regime that denies the Holocaust, while preparing for another one.  German businessmen are salivating over new trade with Iran, and I guess money does talk.

MADNESS – From Reuters:   A nuclear deal clinched between Iran and six major world powers that caps more than a decade of negotiations has stoked talk of a joint Nobel Peace Prize for Tehran and Washington this year, despite the likelihood of strong objections from some quarters.  US President Barack Obama, who won the prize in 2009 for promoting nuclear non-proliferation, hailed the Iran deal on Tuesday as a step towards a "more hopeful world". But Israel pledged to try to halt an "historic surrender".  Awarding the prestigious award to Washington and Tehran would fit a pattern of nuclear-themed peace prizes in years ending in '5', commemorating the bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.  Giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Tehran is like giving the Girl Scout man-of-the-year award to Bill Cosby. But the prize has been so discredited in recent years that it really doesn't matter. 

TOUGH HILLARY? – It's probably just Hillary being devious, but reporters have noticed that her comments on Iran became tougher as the day wore on and more facts came out.  From AFP:  Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton vowed Tuesday that Iran will never be able to acquire atomic weapons if she is elected to the White House.  Clinton’s tough words came as critics in the US Congress, as well as skeptical US allies around the globe, criticized an agreement with Tehran as providing a path — albeit a somewhat delayed one — toward an eventual nuclear weapon.  “As president, I would use every tool in our arsenal to compel rigorous Iranian compliance,” Clinton said in a statement.  “The message to Iran should be loud and clear: We will never allow you to acquire a nuclear weapon; not just during the term of this agreement –- never.”  A former US secretary of state who oversaw the placement of some sanctions on Iran, Clinton said she is “still studying the details” of the plan, but gave it her qualified backing.  I have no idea what her statement means.  She has such a history of dishonesty that it's hard to take anything she says seriously. 

July 14, 2015       Permalink 

BATTLE BEGINS – AT 12:32 P.M. ET:  Republicans in Congress are already weighing in on the Iran deal, and they don't like it.  From Fox: 

Now, it's Congress' turn.

The announcement Tuesday of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran shifts the debate from the negotiating table in Vienna to the floors of Capitol Hill, where a rebellion already is brewing over elements of the deal that critics call a "historic capitulation."

President Obama, speaking early Tuesday morning from the White House, touted the agreement as a breakthrough that has "stopped the spread of nuclear weapons" in the region. The deal would curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for significant sanctions relief.

But Congress, under legislation approved earlier this year, has a say and will be able to approve or reject the terms after a 60-day review period.

With a potential veto showdown on the horizon, Obama faces a tough sales job, and his task is only compounded by the fact the vote could easily slip into September -- after the August recess, where wavering lawmakers could face pressure from voters and advocacy groups.

The president on Tuesday said he welcomes a "robust debate." At the least, he's sure to get it.

"This is a deal for a deal's sake," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a hawkish senator and 2016 presidential candidate, told Fox News, calling it a potential "death sentence for the state of Israel."

In the hours after the deal was announced, U.S. lawmakers listed several complaints. Contrary to Obama's claims, they say, the deal could trigger an arms race in the Middle East by legitimizing Iran's nuclear program, despite the restrictions it imposes.

Further, lawmakers are pointing to at least two provisions: One giving Iran leverage over its own nuclear site inspections, and another that could lift the U.N. arms and missile tech restrictions on Iran in the coming years.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., voiced concerns about both those provisions on Tuesday, and was joined by fellow Republicans.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., called the arms embargo provision a "historic capitulation."

COMMENT:  It is important that the Republicans get their message out quickly and clearly, and they must be prepared to counter the ugly comments that are sure to come – that they're "warmongers," that they oppose Obama because he's black, that they're Islamophobic.  This is going to be a very bitter battle because Obama's legacy is on the line.  Don't expect softballs, except in the questions that most mainstream journalists will lob at the administration.

July 14, 2015        Permalink

BULLETIN:  HILLARY GOES CAUTIOUS LEFT, SUPPORTS KEY PARTS OF IRAN DEAL – AT 10:42 A.M. ET:  I'm really not shocked.  Clinton is basically kowtowing to the left wing of the Democratic Party, and that requires at least lip service to Obama's sink-America foreign policy.  Of course, she helped put that policy into place.  From the Washington Examiner:

Hillary Clinton supports the "core elements" of the Iran nuclear deal, according to a House Democrat who listened to her talk privately to the Democratic caucus Tuesday morning.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., said Clinton told Democrats that she will meet with former officials to discuss the agreement before pledging her full support.

"She did say the core elements of the deal are worth supporting," Israel said after leaving the meeting early. "However, she's having conversations with former secretaries of State and Defense and she believes we have an obligation to review all of the details of the deal."

Israel said Clinton criticized former President George W. Bush's handling of Iran and said under his leadership the Islamic nation increased its nuclear program.

"She reminded the caucus that for eight years under George Bush, the Iranians built two nuclear facilities and they mastered the nuclear fuel cycle and enhanced the number of centrifuges spinning," Israel said. "And for those Republicans critical of current policies toward Iran, it may be hypocritical and not accurate."

COMMENT:  So let me figure this out.  She supports the core elements, but will tell us later whether she supports the deal.  And she's more hawkish than the GOP on Iran's nuclear program, even though she went along with Obama's appeasement of Iran while secretary of state.

Yeah, right.  Hillary at her best.  She'll go whichever way the wind will eventually blow.

July 14, 2015       Permalink

HE DISSENTS – AT 9:10 A.M. ET:  Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel has expressed his vigorous opposition to the deal with Iran just announced.  Israel has been briefed at every stage of the talks, and believes the agreement is a complete capitulation.  From the prime minister's office: 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued the following statement at his meeting with Netherlands Foreign Minister Bert Koenders:

"I will refer later to the details of the agreement, but before that, I would like to say here and now – when you are willing to make an agreement at any cost, this is the result.

From the initial reports we can already conclude that this agreement is an historic mistake for the world.

Far-reaching concessions have been made in all areas that were supposed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability. In addition, Iran will receive hundreds of billions of dollars with which it can fuel its terror machine and its expansion and aggression throughout the Middle East and across the globe.

One cannot prevent an agreement when the negotiators are willing to make more and more concessions to those who, even during the talks, keep chanting: 'Death to America.'

We knew very well that the desire to sign an agreement was stronger than anything, and therefore we did not commit to preventing an agreement.

We did commit to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and this commitment still stands.

I say to all the leaders in Israel, it is time to put petty politics aside and unite behind this most fateful issue to the future and security of the State of Israel."

COMMENT:  Whether you like Bibi or not, and there are positives and negatives, he always gets the fundamentals right.  He does not run from the truth.  I suspect that many Republican leaders will come to that same conclusion.  The issue is what the Democratic leaders in Congress will do.

July 14, 2015       Permalink

AGREEMENT REACHED – AT 8:56 A.M. ET:  The big news this morning is that the "world powers" have reached agreement with Iran on a nuclear deal.  I watched President Obama deliver a speech at 7a.m. ET describing the deal to the American people. 

It was typical Obama.  Smooth, slick, semi-eloquent, and probably deceptive.  There were no details on the deal itself, simply the claims, absurd, that the agreement met every one of America's standards.  We already know that it doesn't.  He thanked both parties in Congress for the sanctions that pressured Iran into the deal, never noting that he had opposed those sanctions.  He claimed that the deal will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, but even he had to admit that the deal has time limits.  At the end, after all the "statesmanlike" talk, he threatened to veto any Congressional action against the pact.  Nice guy.

At this writing we still don't have a text to examine.  The Devil most definitely will be in the details, and there'll be plenty of Devil.   We do know, for example, that the "inspections" provisions are a farce.  International inspectors would have to request permission to visit sites, and Iran would have 14 days to respond to the requests.  Not to inspect, but to respond to requests to inspect.  By the time any inspections took place, sites could easily be sanitized.

The deal is being "welcomed" by the usual suspects.  Most enthusiastic seem to be the Iranians themselves, who don't seem worried about it.  Next come the Germany business interests.  Germany has played a double game in the negotiations.  Its businessmen can't wait to export to Iran again.  Like the Germans of another era, they see nothing.  Nuclear weapons?  Where?

It's because of the commercial pressure that Obama's guarantee that sanctions could be put back in place if Iran cheats is so absurd.  No one will agree.  No one will sacrifice profits and jobs.  This deal is permanent.  There will be no "snap back" of sanctions.

July 14,  2015     Permalink

JULY 13,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

WAITING – We're now told that an announcement of a nuclear deal with Iran is only hours away.  Trouble is, we've been told that for three days running.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, opposition to the assumed terms of the deal is already building in Congress.

GREAT ECONOMY – From the Washington Free Beacon:   The number of beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, has exceeded 45 million for 48 straight months, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).  In April 2015, the latest month from which data is available, there were 45,438,832 beneficiaries of the food stamp program.  Hardly a sign of economic recovery.

US WAR RESISTERS LESS WELCOME IN CANADA – From the AP:  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- When Army Sgt. Patrick Hart decided a decade ago that he would not serve in the war in Iraq, he expected to follow the same path as thousands of American war resisters during the Vietnam era and take refuge across the border.  But after five years of wrangling with the Canadian immigration system, he came back to the U.S. - and ended up in a military prison.  The country that once welcomed war resisters has developed a much different reputation during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan: Supporters say no U.S. soldier who has sought legal residence in Canada, either as a refugee or on humanitarian grounds, has been successful. Canada is currently run by an excellent conservative government headed by Prime Minister Steve Harper.  We hope Harper wins re-election this year.  It's a golden age in Canadian politics.  That could end, though, if the leftists regain power.

BRITISH NUTBAG – From Fox:   A British government worker who helped regulate the country’s anti-terror planning was fired after superiors learned of his Islamist sympathies, the Telegraph reported.  Abdullah al Andalusi said the brutal exploits of ISIS were “no different to the history of some Western armies” and supported the right of youths to venture to Syria to fight.  “If merely going to fight overseas is condemned as terrorism, shouldn’t the UK arrest British volunteers joining the Israeli Defense Force which kills civilians in Gaza in a war against the Gazan government?” al Andalusi wrote in a September 2014 article for the Muslim Debate Initiative, a group he co-founded.  He was fired, but how did someone with his background get hired in the first place?  I wouldn't be shocked if he found a job in the Obama administration.

July 13,  2015     Permalink

OBAMACARE WARNING! – AT 10:57 A.M. ET:  Remember when Sarah Palin warned that there were death panels in Obamacare?  Panels that would decide whether you lived or died.  She was laughed at, ridiculed.  But she may well have been right.  A new warning about death panels comes from Betsy McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York, and a recognized expert on health care.  From the New York Post: 

Look out, Grandma: Medicare said on Wednesday it wants to start paying for end-of-life counseling.
It’s being sold as “death with dignity,” but it’s more like dying for dollars. Seniors are nudged to forego life-sustaining procedures and hospital care to go into hospice. That enriches the booming hospice industry and also frees up dollars for the left’s favored social causes.

Why is the government meddling with how we cope with death? The Institute of Medicine doesn’t mince words. Scrimping on seniors will free up money “to fund highly targeted and carefully tailored social services for both children and adults.” Just like ObamaCare. Robbing Grandma to spread the wealth.

In 2009, President Obama said seniors are getting too many procedures and maybe they’re “better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller.” Obama’s health guru Ezekiel Emanuel argues the elderly should be a lower priority because “they have already had more life-years.”

It’s the perfect storm of ideology and industry greed, with hospice providers lobbying lawmakers to make end-of-life counseling the standard.

And not just once. Hospice advocates want to drill their morbid message into patients’ heads. “It has to be a series of recurring conversations over years,” an industry representative insists.

Imported from Europe, the hospice industry has boomed — and taken a sharp turn from nonprofit to aggressively for-profit. Revenues are up 500 percent since 2000, and the industry is flexing its muscle in state capitols and Washington, DC.

In 2010, industry lobbyists convinced New York lawmakers to compel all doctors to offer end-of-life counseling to patients with terminal illnesses. New York’s law imposes heavy fines, even jail time, on doctors who don’t.

The state’s physicians protested that some patients will break down at the mention of hospice and give up on life. Other doctors have patients who are religiously or culturally opposed. But the law prohibits exemptions.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  You'll be outraged about how the "new" system operates.  One of the great goals of modern medicine has been the extension of life.  Now we're told we may not be worth it, not in the eyes of the socialist state.

July 13, 2015       Permalink

A DEAL FOR GREECE, AT LEAST FOR NOW – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:   A major European financial crisis has been averted, we think.  The boys reached some kind of deal, which needs Greek parliamentary approval, and which may or may not work.

This is what happens when you deal with countries that give away a lot of free stuff and then can't pay for it.  Other nations in Europe are almost as bad off as Greece.  The trend lines in Western Europe go downward.  The continent seems to be fading away, losing influence, not reproducing its population, not paying enough for its own defense, and determined to keep the party going.  I suspect most of the world will soon regard Western Europe as a nuisance and a burden.  From Fox: 

Marathon talks between Greece and its European creditors ended with a new bailout agreement early Monday, at least temporarily averting the prospect of Athens exiting the single currency and subsequent global financial chaos.

European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted shortly before 9 a.m. local time Monday that the so-called EuroSummit had "unanimously reached agreement" on a financial aid program that included what Tusk called "serious reforms" and "financial support" for the beleaguered Athens government. At a news conference later Monday, Tusk jokingly referred to the deal as an "a-Greek-ment."

The deal calls for Greece, already reeling from harsh austerity measures, to cut back even further in exchange for more loans without which its financial system would surely collapse. It still requires approval from Greece's parliament by the end of Wednesday.

"We managed to avoid the most extreme measures," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said. "Greece will fight to return to growth and to reclaim its lost sovereignty."

COMMENT:  Ironically, Western Europe cheered when Barack Obama was elected, thinking it would mean a new day for European socialism, a rejection of the hated Bush.  But Obama shows nothing but contempt for Europe, and is now making it clear that his administration is about race and domestic equality.  Europeans have been shown the door.  The fashionable anti-Americanism has backfired.

July 13, 2015        Permalink

IRAN DEAL LATEST – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:   Once again they're telling us they're close on a nuclear deal with Iran, but with problems remaining.  The interim agreement expires tonight.  From AP:

VIENNA (AP) — Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran’s alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted at Iran nuclear talks on Monday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up a deal by midnight — the latest in a series of deadlines for the negotiations.

The diplomats said two other issues still needed final agreement — Iran’s demand for a lifting of a UN arms embargo and its insistence that any UN Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal. They demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the negotiations.

With a temporary deal set to expire at midnight Monday Vienna time (6 p.m. ET), diplomats said they hoped to complete and announce a final agreement before day’s end.

But they warned there was no guarantee, and some said the talks could stretch into Tuesday despite there being little appetite for what would be a fourth extension of the interim agreement since the current round began on June 27.

Grim-faced foreign ministers from the countries negotiating with Iran declined to answer questions about another possible extension as they gathered for a group meeting at the 19th Century palace that has been hosting the talks.

“No one is thinking of another extension,” Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for the Iranian delegation, said on Twitter. “Everyone working hard to get to yes today, but political will (is) still required.”

One of the diplomats said the delay posed by the disputes was unexpected, with negotiators expecting that they would be resolved by late Sunday.

COMMENT:  We are talking here about an agreement that could mean life or death for millions of people, and the "diplomats" are worried about a day or two.  I'm worried about civilization.

We are being told, but cannot confirm, that the United States under Barack Obama has already made major concessions.  Congressional leaders, as we've noted, are warning the White House that an agreement with Iran will have a hard time getting Congressional approval.

July 13, 2015       Permalink

GREAT SCOTT, HE'S IN – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president.  From the Washington Times:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday he is running for president in 2016, touting a combination of policy pursuits and electoral successes in his home state as a way to differentiate himself from a crowded Republican field.

“I’m running for president to fight and win for the American people,” he said in a video posted online Monday. “Without sacrificing our principles, we won three elections in four years in a blue state. We did it by leading. Now, we need to do the same thing for America.”

First elected in 2010, Mr. Walker, 47, survived a recall election in 2012 before winning again in 2014.

Mr. Walker, who has taken on public employee unions in Wisconsin, among other battles, also said that “we didn’t nibble around the edges,” but rather, “enacted big bold reforms” and “took power out of the hands of the big government special interests” and gave it to hardworking taxpayers.

In the Republican field, he said, “there are some who are good fighters. But they haven’t won those battles.”

“There are others who have won elections, but haven’t consistently taken on the big fights,” he said. “[We] showed you could do both.”

Mr. Walker is running at or near the top of early national public polling on the race for the 2016 GOP nomination, and has staked out early leads in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.

COMMENT:   I'm glad he finally announced.  Walker is a good man, but he's lost momentum amidst the huge Republican group of candidates.  He now must re-establish himself. 

He will face the usual onslaught from the press, which despises him.  After all, he's an effective Republican governor.  It's already begun, in a unique manner.  We've learned that Walker's two sons, and his wife, don't agree with him on some issues.  So, the mainstreamers have been seeking out, not the candidate, but his wife and sons.  Obviously, they want to make the family split the story, especially in regard to gay marriage.  I saw the sons interviewed this morning, and they handled the divisions deftly, showing respect for their father.  I don't think the liberal press will get very far with the "family split" game.

July 13,  2015     Permalink