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Urgent Agenda records with sadness the passing of Linda Gordon, one of our original readers and subscribers, and a lively and thoughtful contributor to our Angel's Corner Forum. 

JULY 21,  2015

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

MAJOR TRAVEL NEWS – From the Latin American Herald Tribune:  PORT-AU-PRINCE – Chelsea Clinton will visit Haiti on July 28-29 in the capacity of vice president of the Clinton Foundation, which is carrying out aid projects in the impoverished Caribbean nation.  Clinton, the foundation announced Tuesday in a statement, will travel to Haiti with foundation president Donna Shalala, and the pair will head a group comprised of philanthropists, businessmen and foundation donors who will visit the different aid and development projects being undertaken there.  The daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also scheduled to participate in a round table on the need to increase business opportunities for female teens and women, the Clinton Foundation said.  Since 2010, the foundation has collected $30 million for projects and is helping in Haiti’s recovery after the earthquake that devastated the country in that year, killing more than 200,000 people and injuring some 300,000.  Why doesn't anyone ever ask why Haiti is so impoverished?  Why is it constantly necessary to raise money for that country?  I suspect many in the chattering classes are afraid of the answers.  Not politically correct.

OBAMA GIVES IN TO A LITTLE AMERICANISM – From the Washington Post:   PITTSBURGH — President Obama, facing growing criticism from conservatives and some veterans, ordered all American flags on federal grounds to be lowered to half-staff for the remainder of the week to honor the five service members killed at a naval reserve center in Chattanooga, Tenn.  The move was announced Tuesday, five days after the shooting rampage and just minutes after Obama delivered a speech here at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in which he defended his Iran nuclear deal, called for more military spending, and criticized Republicans for relying too heavily on military force and threats instead of diplomacy.  Unbelievably cynical.  He called for more military spending?  The man has gutted our military.  Even some of his own appointees are warning about our military weakness. 

KASICH DECLARES – And nobody noticed.  Republican Governor John Kasich of Ohio officially entered the presidential race on Tuesday.  But there are already so many declared Republican candidates that Kasich essentially took a number and waited in line.  He's a good man, but I found his opening-gun statements a bit wanting.  The trouble with Kasich is that he often seems more interested in philosophical dissection of the issues than in being a leader.  You want to follow him, if only you knew precisely where he wants to go.  But he has a fine record as governor of Ohio, and he could eventually be a factor, which he currently is not.  He has to make enough of a splash in campaigning to get into the top tier.  It will not be easy.

YANKS IN PERIL – From Fox:  British Authorities charged two Muslim relatives on Tuesday with terror-related offenses, including plotting an attack against U.S. military personnel in the U.K.  The news comes less than a week since the deadly terror attack that killed five service members in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Junead Ahmed Khan, 24, is accused of trying to plan an attack sometime between May 10 and July 14, officials said. Khan and his uncle, 22-year-old Shazib Ahmed Khan, have also been charged with planning to travel to Syria to join ISIS, according to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service.  Nothing to see, nothing to see.  Just another family that's angry at Mitch McConnell.

July 21, 2015      Permalink

I GUESS SOME AMERICANS COUNT MORE THAN OTHERS – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:  The nation honors the five service members killed in Chattanooga.  The White House apparently didn't get the memo.  From Fox:

Congressional leaders ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol lowered to half-staff Tuesday morning to honor the five victims of last week's shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tenn. -- but no such order came from President Obama, as the White House flag continued to fly at full staff.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement that as Congress returned to session on Tuesday, the flags were lowered for the Navy sailor and four Marines killed.

"Last week, five brave service members were murdered in a terror attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Out of respect for their courageous service and sacrifice to our nation, flags at the U.S. Capitol are being lowered to half-staff," Boehner said in a statement.

The House will also observe a moment of silence Tuesday evening for the victims.

McConnell said, "[T]he U.S. Senate's thoughts are with their families and loved ones, and with all those who protect us here, and around the world."

The shooting occurred at two military facilities.

So far, the White House has not ordered its flags to be lowered. The White House has ordered flags lowered on several occasions in the past, including after the tragic mass shooting in December 2012 at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. The directive at the time ordered flags lowered, "As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Conn."

Asked about the matter on Monday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that Obama has offered his "sincere condolences to the families of those who were killed in this attack."

COMMENT:  There is, in this White House, a kind of mean-spiritedness. 

July 21, 2015       Permalink

OUR JOHN, SO UPSET – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:   One of the more absurd aspects of the Iran nuclear deal is the continued America-bashing by the Tehran regime.  You'd think there might be some
good will following the reaching of the agreement.  If anything, the hatred has escalated.

Even our secretary of state has noticed, and we learn that he is upset over the rhetoric coming out of Iran.  I do hope he's taking the proper medication.  We want our beloved secretary to feel positive and serene.  From Reuters: 

DUBAI, (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it was very disturbed by anti-U.S. hostility voiced by Iran's top leader after a nuclear deal, as both countries' top diplomats sought to calm opposition to the accord from political hardliners at home.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday vowing to defy American policies in the region despite a deal with world powers over Tehran's nuclear programme was "very troubling".

"I don't know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that's his policy," he said in the interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

"But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different. If it is the policy, it's very disturbing, it's very troubling," he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, told supporters on Saturday that U.S. policies in the region were "180 degrees" opposed to Iran's, in a Tehran speech punctuated by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".

COMMENT:  You know, Johnny, maybe it would have been a good idea to address Iranian foreign policy before you signed the paper.  Ya think?  We've just been taken by one of the most radical regimes in the world, and we've been taken by our "allies" as well.  They see this as a business deal with Iran. 

Let the good times roll...until the mushroom cloud forms.

July 21,  2015     Permalink

THE TRUMP THREAT – AT 9:29 A.M. ET:  Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has become a factor in next year's presidential election.  But what kind of factor?  The possible answer we're getting has chilling implications.

Trump is currently leading in the polls for the Republican nomination.  It is highly unlikely that he will be the nominee in the end, once Republicans see all the candidates and are told of Trump's history of supporting Democrats as well as Republicans.

Trump will probably slip, and someone else will win the nomination. 

Then what?  That's what's chilling.

Donald Trump has a monumental ego, and he has refused to rule out the possibility of running as an independent candidate for president, as Ross Perot did in 1992.  Perot took votes away from President George H.W. Bush, and handed the presidency to Bill Clinton, who received only 42% of the vote.  And that's what Republicans fear might happen this time.  Frank Luntz, the pollster and commentator, said last night that if Trump enters the general election campaign as an independent, it will be impossible for a Republican to win the election.  How does President Hillary sound to you?

So Trump must be dealt with.  Can an ego like that be convinced to drop out for the good of the country?  The answer to that question may well decide the next four or eight years of American history.  I wouldn't take this matter lightly.

July 21, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER ONE? – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  Governor John Kasich of Ohio is about to enter the presidential race.  From The Hill: 

John Kasich on Tuesday will enter the Republican race for the White House needing a burst of momentum to claim a spot in the first GOP debate, scheduled for Aug. 6 in the Ohio governor’s home state.

Kasich joins the fight with the respect of establishment Republicans and conservative media pundits, who have long seen him as a potential rival to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

But he’s little known nationally, and polls have him falling outside the GOP’s top 10 — which would keep him off the debate stage in Cleveland next month.

“His central problem is that he has all of Jeb’s weaknesses and lacks some of his strengths,” said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak.

To do well, Kasich needs to jumpstart his campaign with a successful launch from Ohio State University.

Kasich plans to pitch himself to primary voters as the only candidate in the field with experience on Capitol Hill, in the private sector and as governor. He’s putting most of his chips on a solid showing in New Hampshire, where he’ll be running in the same mainstream conservative lane as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Bush — who has so far outraised Kasich by about a 10-to-1 margin.

COMMENT:  The Republicans have an embarrassment of riches, and the embarrassment is getting greater.  There are simply too many candidates, and the field must be narrowed to give voters a coherent choice.

Kasich is a good man.  He belongs in the race.  Most of them do.  But the objective is to come out of the nominating process with the best possible candidate, and things look pretty muddled right now.

July 21,  2015     Permalink

JULY 20,  2015

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

TRUMP TRUMPED? – From Fox:  Iowa's largest newspaper has called on Donald Trump to drop out of the 2016 presidential race amid the furor of the real estate magnate's weekend comments about Sen. John McCain's service during the Vietnam War.  At a conservative summit in Iowa Saturday, Trump, whom several polls had shown to be leading the Republican field, dismissed McCain's reputation as a war hero, saying of the Arizona Republican who was held for five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, "I like people who weren't captured."  In an opinion piece published late Monday, the Register said Trump's comments were "not merely offensive, they were disgraceful. So much so, in fact, that they threaten to derail not just his campaign, but the manner in which we choose our nominees for president."  Trump right now is actually gaining in support.  I hope this is temporary, and simply a factor of name recognition.  Trump's behavior is embarrassing, and it is distracting from serious discussion of the issues.

PROTECTING RECRUITERS – From Fox:  WASHINGTON – While safety concerns at military recruitment centers have been a long-standing issue, last week’s fatal shootings at two Tennessee installations underscore the deep risk recruiters face daily and the scramble at state and national levels to prevent a similar tragedy from taking place again.  The U.S. military on Monday confirmed to Fox News it directed recruiting centers across the country to step up security measures in the wake of the deadly rampage that claimed the lives of four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor.  At the same time, a handful of governors have taken steps to beef up security measures at National Guard recruitment centers.  Governors in six states – Florida, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas – ordered their Guardsmen to be armed.  It is utterly unacceptable that American soldiers, acting in their capacity as recruiters, are often sitting ducks, with little or no protection.  It would be nice if their commander-in-chief showed some interest in the matter.

US AND CUBA RE-ESTABLISH RELATIONS – From CNN:  Havana, Cuba (CNN) One bitter holdover of the Cold War slipped into the history books at 12:01 a.m. Monday, when the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations. For the first time since severing ties in 1961, they reopened embassies in each other's capitals.  Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla traveled to the Cuban Embassy in Washington to raise his country's flag, an event that Cuban government officials said would be broadcast live on the island's state-run TV.  A Cuban delegation of diplomats, artists and veterans of the revolution commemorated the breakthrough with about 500 guests and more than likely down a few celebratory mojitos and shots of Havana Club rum.  It's a farce.  It will not improve the life of one Cuban citizen.  Cuba is a dictatorship, its people enjoying no human rights to speak of.  Yet, we asked for nothing for them in return for diplomatic relations with the United States.  Human rights are no longer part of the American agenda, the result of our having a presidential administration that is leftist, and thus uninterested in the basics of human freedom.

July 20,  2015      Permalink

REAGAN VS. OBAMA – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:44 A.M. ET:   Jackson Diehl, in the Washington Post, performs a very useful journalistic service by comparing the diplomatic techniques of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. 

Is it fair to say that Obama’s handling of Iran is comparable to Reagan’s treatment of the Soviet Union?

A narrow answer is yes, in the sense Obama described: Reagan might well have concluded that a bargain postponing Iran’s emergence as a nuclear threshold state for 15 years was worthwhile regardless of the nature of the regime. Beyond that, however, Reagan’s answer to the Soviet threat was virtually the opposite of Obama’s for Iran. In that difference lies the strongest critique of the policy this president has pursued.

The conclusion?

...Obama’s Iran policy more closely resembles the realpolitik of Nixon with China, as The Post’s Charles Lane has pointed out. The rewards, if any, will come in Iranian cooperation in defeating the Islamic State, or in enabling political solutions — and an American exit — in Iraq and Syria. Even that is a long shot, according to most of the administration’s own experts, who expect Iranian aggression to escalate rather than diminish.

In the end, Obama’s policy could produce a very different legacy than that of Reagan. A generation later, the Gipper’s arms negotiations with Moscow look like a modest success — but his contribution to the collapse of Soviet communism was an epochal achievement. Obama may be able to point, 15 years from now, to an Iran that remains non-nuclear. But the most likely effect of his engagement policy is not the implosion of the Islamic republic, but its perpetuation.

COMMENT:  Read all the stuff that goes between those two quotes.  It really amounts to a devastating portrait of our egotistical, immature president.

Obama was taken soooo seriously when he came to office, the darling of the sixties liberals.  Reagan was laughed at by the same crowd. 

Only fools today laugh at Reagan.  Only fools today think Obama is a darling.

July 20, 2015       Permalink

IRAN AGREEMENT – THE IMPORTANT BASICS – AT 8:26 A.M. ET:   It takes a fine reporter, like Eli Lake of Bloomberg, to cut through the haze of the Iran agreement and get to the truth.  And the truth is that the West – what's left of it – made most of the serious concessions in talks leading to the Iran nuclear agreement.  It's a pathetic story.  From Bloomberg: 

Now that the President Barack Obama and his administration are selling the Iran nuclear deal, they say U.S. negotiators held a firm line against Iran's last-minute push for even more concessions. But if you compare the deal today with what was described in a White House fact sheet on the "framework" reached in April it shows that the West ceded a lot of ground to Iran in those final days in Vienna.

In a few cases, the White House line is partially true. Iran's leaders had publicly insisted that they would forbid international inspectors any access to military sites, and its negotiators tried to get an immediate lifting of a U.N. arms embargo on conventional weapons. In both cases, Iran compromised for the final deal. But more often it was the West that backed down, and in more significant ways.

For example, in April the White House touted that, "Iran has committed indefinitely to not conduct reprocessing or reprocessing research and development on spent nuclear fuel." Yet the new pact will allow Iran to reprocess such fuel after 15 years. The final agreement says Iran can begin production of efficient advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium in eight years. The April fact sheet strongly implied research into advanced centrifuges would be delayed for 10 years.

Senior administration officials in April said the nuclear agreement would allow inspectors "anytime, anywhere" access to suspected nuclear sites, but the new deal will give Iran 24 days' notice of any inspections, as well as a say in whether inspectors will be able to visit certain sites at all. The U.S. also agreed in the final days of talks to lift a U.N. conventional weapons embargo on Iran in five years, and to end sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program in eight, both issues on which the framework deal is silent.

More concerns arise from the "road map" that the International Atomic Energy Agency released Tuesday, on how it will resolve longstanding questions about the history of Iran's efforts to build a nuclear weapon. First, the description of how it plans to do so is dangerously vague. Equally important: Until May, the U.S. position was that Iran had to come clean about that history before there would be any sanctions relief. Now that issue has been shunted aside in terms of lifting sanctions.

While it's true that the April deal was only a framework, and that some changes should have been expected, all these concessions taken together represent a retreat by the U.S. team since the spring. "The fact sheet allowed just enough wiggle room to give the impression that nothing had been conceded in Lausanne," Valerie Lincy, the executive director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, told me. "But when I read the agreement, it's clear there are things that have been conceded in terms of the details on advanced centrifuges, reprocessing of plutonium and the inspections."

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's excellent, compelling, and demonstrates conclusively that what we're being told by the Obama administration is sheer nonsense.

July 20, 2015        Permalink

TRUE?  – AT 8:07 A.M. ET:  Dr. Ben Carson has become a favorite speaker among conservative Republicans.  I don't think he can get the presidential nomination, but might just pull out the vice-presidential nod, depending on circumstances.

He made some comments on where blacks stand politically that I thought were worth noting.  I don't know if he's accurate, but I hope he is.  From The Hill:

Ben Carson on Saturday said African-American voters are "waking up" to the possibility of supporting GOP candidates for office like himself.

"I think there's a lot of people who are waking up," the neurosurgeon-turned-presidential candidate said at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa.

"I met with a group of black pastors yesterday and people are waking up in droves," he continued. "I think they're realizing what's been happening here."

Carson said he converted to the Republican Party after growing up and going to school in Democratic strongholds during the Reagan administration.

"I started listening to Ronald Reagan … and I said he doesn't doesn't sound like that," he said, noting he had heard horror stories about conservatives during his entire upbringing.

Carson criticized President Obama for shrinking the size of the U.S. military in the face of terrorism threats in the Middle East.

"Our military is shrinking while our enemies are growing and metastasizing," he said. "It seems like we're trying to destroy ourselves. We've got to do better than that."

The Republican presidential hopeful said he would prepared to fight Islamic State in Syria and Iraq if successful in his bid to become commander-in-chief.

"We have radical Islamic jihadists who want to destroy us and they want to destroy our way of life," he said. "And their existence is a threat to us. We cannot be in that mindset that we made a mistake and we spent a bunch of money, so let's just get into our little cocoon. That's not going to work."

COMMENT:  I would love to see some serious polling in black America to determine actual attitudes, rather than the attitudes assigned to African-Americans by the media and their own self-appointed "leaders."

For example, we're told that blacks hate the police, feel "oppressed" by authority.  And yet, when New York City's former, and great, police commissioner, Ray Kelly, went to black churches to speak, he always got a standing ovation.  I wonder why.  I also wonder why the press is so uninterested in the answer.

July 20,  2015     Permalink