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JULY 31,  2015

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

THE START – Pundits are revving up for the first debate of the presidential campaign, on Thursday, in Cleveland, featuring the Republican contenders.  There are obviously too many Republican candidates for a real debate, but the contest will serve the same purpose as the preliminaries in the Miss America pageant – the narrowing of the field.  Advance speculation centers on whether Donald Trump will continue his gallop, or be taken down by the other, more experienced candidates.  Speculation also centers on the impact the debate will have on the Democratic field, especially with all the speculation that Joe Biden will be jumping in to replace the fading Hillary Clinton.  So this will be a crucial week.

MORE HELL FOR HILL – From WaPo:   State Department investigators concluded this year that Huma Abedin, one of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s closest aides, was overpaid by nearly $10,000 because of violations of rules governing vacation and sick leave during her tenure as an official in the department.  The finding — which Abedin has formally contested — emerged publicly Friday after Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) sent letters to Secretary of State John F. Kerry and others seeking more information about an investigation into possible “criminal” conduct by Abedin concerning her pay.  The letters also sought the status of an inquiry into whether Abedin had violated conflict-of-interest laws related to her special employment situation, which allowed her to work simultaneously for the State Department, the Clinton Foundation and a private firm with close ties to the Clintons.  Abedin is married to disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who sexual exploits on the internet got him escorted out of Congress.  She's also been reported to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.  She also is Hillary Clinton's closest aide.  The woman has no taste.

BALTIMORE HORROR – From AP:   BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore reached a grim milestone on Friday, three months after riots erupted in response to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody: With 45 homicides in July, the city has seen more bloodshed in a single month than it has in 43 years.  Police reported three deaths — two men shot Thursday and one on Friday. The men died at local hospitals.  With their deaths, this year's homicides reached 189, far outpacing the 119 killings by July's end in 2014. Nonfatal shootings have soared to 366, compared to 200 by the same date last year. July's total was the worst since the city recorded 45 killings in August 1972, according to The Baltimore Sun.  Well, look at the quality of the city's leadership, and its attitude toward the police.  How can you have effective control of crime when the criminals are treated better than the police officers?  And it's almost as bad in Chicago. 

THUMBS DOWN ON OBAMA – From the Washington Examiner:   It seems that Americans can add "no more Obamas" to the oft-heard calls for no more Bushes or Clintons, despite the president's belief that he would be a shoo-in for a third term.  Rasmussen Reports on Friday released a poll showing that just one third of likely U.S voters would keep President Obama in office if he ran again. Even among Democrats, only 57 percent would vote for him a third time.  Americans are wising up to their mistake.  Let's hope they don't make a similar mistake next year.

July 31, 2015       Permalink

MORE ON THE SINKING SHIP – AT 10:34 A.M.:   This story is making major rounds and is heavily quoted by others in the media.  It turns out that Hillary Clinton may have a major problem involving classified material sent from her private server while she was secretary of state.  If the story holds up, it's hard to see how she can sustain a presidential campaign.  From McClatchy:

The classified emails stored on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private server contained information from five U.S. intelligence agencies and included material related to the fatal 2012 Benghazi attacks, McClatchy has learned.

Of the five classified emails, the one known to be connected to Benghazi was among 296 emails made public in May by the State Department. Intelligence community officials have determined it was improperly released.

Revelations about the emails have put Clinton in the crosshairs of a broadening inquiry into whether she or her aides mishandled classified information when she used a private server set up at her New York home to conduct official State Department business.

While campaigning for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton has repeatedly denied she ever sent or received classified information. Two inspectors general have indicated that five emails they have reviewed were not marked classified at the time they were stored on her private server but that the contents were in fact “secret.”

The email issue, however, has distracted from Clinton’s campaign for days and already has hurt her in public opinion polls. Besieged with questions, she has found herself caught in a murky dispute between State Department and intelligence officials over whether emails on her server were classified.

“Even if Secretary Clinton or her aides didn’t run afoul of any criminal provisions, the fact that classified information was identified within the emails is exactly why use of private emails . . . is not supposed to be allowed,” said Bradley Moss, a Washington attorney who specializes in national security matters. “Both she and her team made a serious management mistake that no one should ever repeat.”

COMMENT:  It doesn't help that she's a somewhat unpopular figure who's already been involved in scandals.  It's a slow drip, but I sense the drip is getting faster.

July 31, 2015       Permalink

HILLARY'S DEMISE? –  AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  It's being talked about everywhere.  Hillary is in the toaster.  Barack Obama is making the settings.  Monica Crowley has written the best piece on this, for the Washington Times: 

Hillary Clinton is not going to be the Democratic nominee for president.

Yes, the conventional wisdom is that she is still the prohibitive favorite, armed with big money, big connections, and the Big Dog, Bill.

But the so-called “wisdom” is “conventional” for a reason.

As a result of endless sordid scandals and predictably Clintonian evasions, her poll numbers on everything from favorability to trustworthiness are in a nosedive. A battery of new polls in key swing states such as Colorado and Iowa show her losing to a number of GOP challengers.

She’s also taking incoming from the left, particularly from Vermont senator and socialist Bernie Sanders, who is scoring major crowds and an increasing percentage of the Democratic vote, indicating that the leftist base sees him as a viable option and not merely a vehicle to register discontent with Mrs. Clinton.

Polls this early in the cycle can be unreliable. But they do indicate a significant downward trend for her that must have her campaign at DEFCON 3.

None of this, however, is her most serious problem. Instead, it’s something much closer to home, much more insidious, much more dangerous than anything else.

It’s President Obama. And he just made his move.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  It's entirely logical and convincing.  Think Joe Biden.

July 31, 2015        Permalink

ANOTHER GREAT VICTORY FOR SPORT – AT 9:44 A.M. ET:  That great democracy, Communist China, has snagged another Olympics.  From CBS: 

KUALA LUMPUR -- The International Olympic Committee voted Friday to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital of Beijing.

Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, were the only two cities on the ballot when IOC members cast their votes Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The vote was delayed by technical problems involving the electronic voting system, which prompted officials to nix the first attempt and call for a second vote by paper ballot.

After the second vote, IOC President Thomas Bach said the host city had been elected, but he waited to make the announcement at a ceremony later in the day.

Winning the bid will make Beijing the first city to host both a winter and summer games.

Almaty had hoped to bring the games to Central Asia for the first time.

COMMENT:  I love the Olympics, but the international Olympic movement has always been shady, reflecting the corruption of the international system generally.  Couldn't they find a democratic nation in which to celebrate young athletes?  The Olympic movement has never cared much for such niceties.

We'll love the games and ignore the venue.

July 31,  2015     Permalink

JULY 30,  2015

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

PANIC IN THE FRONTRUNNER'S CAMP – We're seeing more and more stories about panic among the Clintonites.  Here's the latest, from Fox:   Aides close to Hillary Clinton are getting increasingly nervous that Vice President Joe Biden may throw his hat into the 2016 presidential race later this summer, Democratic sources told Fox News.  The sources said that that eyebrows were raised recently at Clinton’s headquarters in Brooklyn when Biden’s chief of staff at the White House, Steve Ricchetti, was spotted having breakfast recently with major Democratic donor Louis Susman, a Clinton friend who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Obama.  After the breakfast, sources said word spread quickly inside Clinton’s camp that Biden’s team appeared to be sounding out top fundraisers about whether the vice president can raise the necessary cash to compete with the Democratic front-runner at this late date.  The real question is whether Biden remembers there's an election.  But the reality is that the Dem establishment is looking for a candidate to replace Hillary if she sputters out.  And she is sputtering loudly.

THE WEAKENING OF AMERICA – From Fox:  The U.S. Navy will not have an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf this fall for the first time in years, President Obama's nominee to be the Navy's top officer told Capitol Hill lawmakers Thursday.  The gap in the Gulf -- expected to last two months -- would come at a time when the U.S. is not only launching sustained airstrikes against nearby Islamic State targets but trying to keep a check on Iranian aggression in the region.  Under questioning by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at his nomination hearing to be chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson acknowledged the Navy would pull the carrier and said this hurts U.S. capability in the region.  Even Obama's own picks are warning about American weakness, but the commander-in-brief doesn't seem to care.  In fact, weakening America's military resolve is part of his plan to give more power to the "third world" and the Muslim world, both of which he clearly favors.

TRUMP ROARING – I don't necessarily think this is a good thing, but Donald Trump's progress has simply been astounding.  If he shows staying power, the whole Republican race can be turned upside down.  From London's Daily Mail:   Billionaire Donald Trump is leaving the country on a high note, flying from New York to Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday night as a new poll gives him a commanding lead in the race for the 2016 U.S. Republican presidential nomination.  The Reuters/Ipsos poll found 25 per cent of GOP voters want to elect a President Trump, resulting in a double-digit advantage over his nearest rival Jeb Bush.  The former Florida governor trails with 12 per cent.  Trump told DailyMail.com during an interview on Wednesday morning that he planned to spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday attending the Women's British Open golf tournament at his Trump Turnberry Resort.   'For four years I've looked forward to going to this,' he said. 'You know, they pick 'em four or five years in advance. And now what happens? Hah!'  The GOP primary debates start next week in Cleveland, and voters will have a chance to see Trump on the same stage with other candidates.  His personality may not wear well.  We'll see, and keep an open mind.  What I'd also like to see is Democratic debates.  Talk about weirdsville.

YIKES – Hillary Clinton was asked about her greatest weakness.  This is what she said:  "How much time do we have.  I am impatient and I sometimes come across as impatient, which is not always attractive, and I'll get really frustrated with people who don't understand what I think it's going to take to make our country great tomorrow just like we were yesterday."  Apparently she doesn't think we're too hot today.  What's remarkable is her arrogance.  All these people who don't "understand" her.  It's a candidate's job to make herself understood.  Don't blame it on the voters.

July 30,  2015     Permalink

FOLLOW-UP – AT 10:55 A.M. ET:  The president of the University of New Hampshire has now responded to the story – which went viral – of a speech guide published on his campus.  He comes to the right conclusion.  From Reuters: 

MANCHESTER, N.H. (Reuters) - The president of the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday distanced himself from a campus language guide discouraging faculty and students from terms it warns could cause offense, including "American."

The university's "Bias-Free Language Guide" also advises against using the term "poor," instead recommending the phrase "person living at or below the poverty line," drew criticism from conservatives in the state who called it an example of political correctness run amok.

The problem with using the word "American," according to the guide, is that it "assumes the U.S. is the only country in North and South America." It suggests using "U.S. citizen or resident of the U.S." as alternatives.

Of course that's absurd.  The name of the country is The United States of America, and we are the only people who actually call ourselves Americans.  I've never heard a Venezuelan call herself an American, or a Canadian for that matter. 

The publication was created in 2013, according to a university official, but generated controversy earlier this week when several conservative websites decried it as a flagrant example of political correctness at American universities.

"Sounds like a starting point for wasting taxpayer money," wrote blogger Steve MacDonald on the conservative website Granite Grok. He referred to the guide as a "politically correct starter kit."

The university's president, Mark Huddleston, said on Wednesday that the guide was not school policy.

"I am troubled by many things in the language guide, especially the suggestion that the use of the term 'American' is misplaced or offensive," Huddleston said in a statement. "The only UNH policy on speech is that it is free and unfettered on our campuses. It is ironic that what was probably a well-meaning effort to be 'sensitive' proves offensive to many people, myself included."

COMMENT:  Good statement.  We don't need speech guides or speech codes.  The best speech code ever written is the First Amendment. 

July 30, 2015       Permalink

FORMER NATO HEAD REJECTS IRAN DEAL – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:   While the usual suspects, led by The New York Times, line up to support the Iran deal, more thoughtful voices are showing just how bad the deal is.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

Retired Admiral James Stavridis rejected key talking points used by the Obama administration to sell the Iran nuclear deal in an interview Wednesday.

Admiral Stavridis, who served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander and is now Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe the deal may not catch Iranian nuclear cheating if it occurs.

“I think the top [issue] is the verification regime, which is starting to roughly resemble Swiss cheese,” Stavridis said. “You can drive a truck through some of the holes. I am very concerned about that.”

Defenders of the deal, such as Secretary of State John Kerry, have insisted the deal’s verification measures are airtight.

Stavridis expressed concern over Iran’s side deal about inspections with the IAEA, which may allow Iran to take its own environmental samples from suspicious sites.

“We need to have access to it and understand it,” Stavridis said about the side deal. “Reportedly, it puts Iran in the position of actually procuring samples as opposed to having them taken by the IAEA.”

Stavridis said his biggest concern with the deal is its gift of hundreds of billions in economic activity and previously frozen assets to Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.

“The biggest problem here is the airdrop of $100 to $150 billion into their economy, which is only $350 billion to begin with,” Stavridis said. “That’s like the U.S. getting a $4 trillion insertion of capital. That’s the teeth of the alligator you just heard about.”

Under the nuclear deal, Iran would gain access to foreign businesses and key financial networks, which will generate the steady revenue necessary to revitalize Iran’s military and allies.

COMMENT:  And yet, proponents of the deal say it must be supported because it's the only deal we have, and better than nothing.  That reminds me of the old story about a guy who throws a 15-foot rope to a man who's drowning 20 feet out and shouts, "I'm meeting you more than halfway."

It's a terrible agreement.  It violates all the red lines that the administration itself publicized at the start of the talks.  It's about Obama's legacy, and little else. 

July 30, 2015       Permalink

SURVIVAL OF THE FIBBEST – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:   Nothing to see, nothing to see.  From Fox:

Donations to the Clinton Foundation by Swiss bank UBS increased tenfold after Hillary Clinton intervened to settle a dispute with the IRS early in her tenure as secretary of state, according to a published report.

According to the Wall Street Journal, total donations by UBS to the foundation grew from less than $60,000 at the end of 2008 to approximately $600,000 by the end of 2014. The Journal reports that the bank also lent $32 million through entrepreneurship and inner-city loan programs it launched in association with the foundation, while paying former President Bill Clinton $1.5 million to participate in a series of corporate question-and-answer sessions with UBS Chief Executive Bob McCann.

COMMENT:  Oh dear, oh dear.  I'm shocked that anyone would suggest that our gracious queen was engaged in anything improper.  How could a grandmother do such a thing?  Stop laughing. 

In fact, bottom line, I think Hillary is starting to look like toast.  Her numbers are fading, the party is turning on her, and, despite the fact that she's still the frontrunner for the Dem nomination for president, she suffers an enthusiasm gap that makes some Dems yearn for Michael Dukakis.

And we're just starting the campaign season.

July 30, 2015       Permalink

WEAK ECONOMIC GROWTH – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  The American economy rebounded a bit during the second quarter, but our overall economic growth is weak.  From the Washington Examiner: 

U.S. economic output accelerated to a 2.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter, slightly short of the expectations of government officials and investors who were hoping for a strong rebound from the economic contraction during the winter.

The gross domestic product number reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis was below the 2.9 percent seasonally-adjusted annualized growth rate expected by Wall Street.

It as a significant improvement, however, from the first quarter, which saw revised growth of 0.6 percent.

Before the revisions included in Thursday's release, the Bureau had estimated that the economy shrunk at a 0.2 percent rate in the beginning of the year.

COMMENT:  Not very impressive, especially as we head into a presidential election year.  And wage stagnation continues.  A story yesterday reported that Americans are starting to feel the pressure of increasing prices for everyday goods, especially food. 

July 30,  2015     Permalink