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JUNE 8,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:44 P.M. ET: 

WEIRD, MAN – From Mediaite:  "According to one U.S. official, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has declined to speak with his family by phone after five years in the captivity of Taliban forces.  The report, which came Sunday from Wall Street Journal, also quotes the unnamed official as saying that doctors at a U.S. military hospital in Germany are treating Bergdahl slowly due to the firestorm of controversy surrounding his name stateside."  This is getting stranger by the day.  A lot of hush-hush going on.

ANOTHER GENIUS HEARD FROM – From Fox:  "Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday the Taliban detainees released in a prison swap for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl could indeed return to terrorism but largely dismissed the argument that the deal will put U.S. troops further at risk.  Kerry told CNN’s 'State of the Union' the argument that troops in Afghanistan would be more at risk was 'baloney' now that the Taliban commanders have been released, particularly because the United States is winding down its military presence in that country.  'Our combat role in Afghanistan is over,' Kerry said. 'We’re going to have very few people in that kind of position.'"  Those "very few" must be thrilled to hear that.  Many years ago, Kerry said that the Soviet Union was no threat to the U.S. because half the lights were out at Moscow Airport.  A strategic thinker he is not.

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – From Fox:  "A Texas mom is angry over a school ban on sunscreen that she says led to her daughter getting a severe sunburn during a field trip.  The North East Independent School District has the restriction because it considers sunscreen toxic, and fears kids will eat it, parent Christy Riggs, of San Antonio, told Fox News.  'The reality is: Children don’t eat sunscreen and they’re not going to,' Riggs said."  Not unless Michelle Obama orders them to.

June 8,  2014     Permalink

LAUNCHING THE NATIONAL CONVENTIONS – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:  The parties are in the process of choosing the cities for the 2016 presidential nominating conventions.  Such excitement.  From Fox: 

Washington Democrats on Saturday announced the names the of U.S. cities that have submitted official bids to host their 2016 national convention -- Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Birmingham, Ala., and Columbus, Ohio.

We don't make predictions here, but my guess is that New York will get it, especially if Hillary runs.  Her husband was nominated in New York in 1992, and the new mayor of the city, Bill DeBlasio, is a Dem darling and a Clinton intimate.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the bids will be evaluated in the coming months by a committee advisory group and that a decision will be reached by late 2014 or early 2015.

“Hosting a party convention is a true honor, and we’re thrilled with all the fantastic options that we have going into the next cycle,” the Florida congresswoman said.

The Democratic and Republican national conventions are where delegates nominate their respective party’s presidential candidate.

Republicans have already released their list of host finalists for 2016 -- Cleveland, Dallas, Denver and Kansas City, Mo.

I'm guessing Dallas, maybe Kansas City. 

On Friday, New York City Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested to the DNC that his home district, Brooklyn, and its pro sports and entertainment facility, the Barclays Center, be the hub of the convention.

COMMENT:  The Barclays Center, as we've pointed out, is named for an international bank.  That may give some Dems heart attacks.  Besides, it's the ugliest sports arena I've ever seen.  I mean, it would win an ugly contest.  And the traffic is impossible. 

Most chic Dems probably want to have the convention in Indonesia, but that violates tradition.

June 8, 2014       Permalink

AFGHAN ELECTIONS – AT 10:55 A.M. ET:  As we prepare to leave Afghanistan, the country is going through elections that will be crucial to its future, and to its future relationship with the United States.  From Fox: 

The only election that might matter as much to America as the midterms this year is taking place next week, as Afghanistan chooses a new leader to guide the country after more than a decade of war.

For the first time since 2001, Afghans will be choosing a president whose name is not Karzai. The transition is an opportunity for the Afghan people to turn the page on a tenure fraught with corruption and mismanagement, and for America to move beyond an increasingly bitter and contentious relationship.

It also carries the risk that hard-fought gains could unravel in an instant -- observers were reminded of this Friday, when the leading presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah escaped an apparent assassination attempt when his convoy was bombed.

Those risks may have grown after the Obama administration freed five Taliban leaders from Guantanamo in exchange for captured American Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Sources close to Abdullah told Fox News the candidate is extremely concerned about the Taliban members' release.

Who will lead the war-torn country will be decided in a June 14 runoff between Abdullah and rival Ashraf Ghani. Aside from evident security challenges, another key question is whether the winner will survive the horse-trading and notorious political corruption to emerge a reformer, or send Afghanistan down a path to more of the same, or worse, civil war.

COMMENT:  The war is in Afghanistan is not ending, as Obama inaccurately claims.  (He made the same dishonest claim about Iraq.)  It is entering a new phase.  We'll watch this election closely to see if all our sacrifice will be protected, or will go down the drain.

June 8, 2014       Permalink

GROAN – AT 10:22 A.M. ET:  Some Democrats are absolutely self-destructing over the prisoner swap.  A circular firing squad.  From NRO:

Democratic strategist and former Clinton-campaign manager Donna Brazile said this morning that veterans accusing recently returned Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl of desertion are part of a “PR campaign by Republicans.”

After fellow panelist Ana Navarro noted that members of Bergdahl’s unit had consistently expressed concerns about the circumstances of his capture, Brazile said it was an effort to “muddy the waters” surrounding the prisoner deal.

Quickly criticized for the comment by her fellow panelists on CNN, she said that she’d never impugn the testimony of a veteran, but stood by her comments.

“That’s all they do . . . all they do is focus their vitriol, their rage, against this president,” Brazile said. “If the president this morning had scrambled eggs and bacon, they’d say that’s an unhealthy breakfast. If the president had cereal and fruit, they’d say that’s an unhealthy breakfast.”

In the early days after Bergdahl was released, a former Bush administration official, Richard Grenell, reportedly was involved to some extent in helping soldiers who’d served with the sergeant connect with the media.

COMMENT:  Brazile, who usually knows better, came awfully close to playing the race card.  Many Democrats are actually drifting away from Obama on the prisoner exchange, which has proved highly unpopular with the American people.  But there are some, like Donna Brazile, who are trying to turn Obama into a victim on this one.  It won't work.

June 8,  2014     Permalink

JUNE 7,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:49 P.M. ET: 

FIFTIES STAR GONE – Actress Mona Freeman, who was one of a pool of teenaged movie stars in the 1940s and 1950s, has died at 87.  It's hard to imagine it now, but Hollywood used to have a regular stable of female teenagers (or somewhat older girls playing teenagers), often seen in teen-oriented or family films.  Judy Garland, Natalie Wood, Carol Lynley, Mona Freeman, Deanna Durbin, and, of course Debbie Reynolds, starred in mostly "wholesome" movies of the era.  They don't do much stuff like that today, and the term "teen star" has largely disappeared.

VIRGINIA RACE ON – From AP:  "ROANOAKE, Va. (AP) -- Former presidential adviser and lobbyist Ed Gillespie won the Republican nomination at the state party convention Saturday and will face Democratic Sen. Mark Warner in the general election in November.  Gillespie won the nod at the Virginia Republican Convention in Roanoke to challenge Warner, a former Virginia governor and early favorite in the race. Gillespie is the former Republican National Committee chairman and a former adviser to President George W. Bush and Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. A onetime aide on Capitol Hill, Gillespie also has made millions as a corporate lobbyist."  Virginia is a purple state, and incumbent Warner is popular.  Uphill for Gillespie, but he knows the political game and we'll be rooting.

LOOKS RIDICULOUS – From Reuters:  "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry commemorated the 70th anniversary of D-Day at his mother's family estate in the French resort of Saint Briac-sur-Mer on Saturday, paying tribute to the American soldiers who died during the liberation of the town in 1944.  Kerry laid a wreath at a small monument overlooking the village harbor dedicated to three U.S. soldiers who were killed during the battle to liberate the village.  Later in a speech at the town hall, Kerry credited the courage and kindness of the people of Saint Briac, on the north coast of Brittany, for saving his family's heirlooms from the Nazis during the occupation."  Look, I guess there's nothing wrong with this, but for a guy seen as a wealthy, aloof snob, the "French estate" imagery isn't the best, especially on D-Day.

June 7, 2014       Permalink

SICKENING – AT 12:08 P.M. ET:  Only the best for graduates of Gitmo.  From Fox: 

Qatar – On a weekend night you can't escape the roar of race car engines along the coastal roads here in the Qatari capital. It must be a bit of a culture shock for the five Taliban detainees sprung from Guantanamo Bay last week in exchange for the freedom of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

There has been an outcry from critics of the prisoner swap, who worry that these men with blood on their hands are getting off far too easily. Qatar's citizens are the richest in the world, per capita, but only a minority of residents here are actually citizens and the Taliban five are not among them.

We do know their families are coming here to live with the former prisoners in some sort of residential compound.

Sources here say they are likely to live in "5 star villas" along with more than a few of their compatriots who are already living in the Qatari capital at the expense of this gas-rich Emirate.

Qataris have a different relationship with the Taliban than does the U.S.

Afghanistan is not their war. These men and their families are fellow Muslims. And Qatar sees the latest prisoner swap as a humanitarian gesture. That is pretty much all Doha is saying.

The terms of the former Guantanamo prisoners' existence here have not been publicly spelled out either. One source says they won't even be using the phone while here.

They are officially banned from fundraising and political organizing. It is not clear how much that can be monitored. Washington has said it is leaving the monitoring up to Doha. But some here say it is hard to believe the Americans won't be watching them, too.

At least one of the former captives, according to a relative, plans to return to the battlefield after his year of loose house arrest in Qatar is up. Former regional governor and military commander Noorullah Noori is also wanted by the U.N. for war crimes in connection with the massacre of Afghan shi'ites.

COMMENT:  What a wonderful deal we made, right?  If these guys return to battle, and kill Americans, I wonder how Obama, and his pals in the media, will explain it to those Americans' families.  Oh, Obama will be out of office by then, probably speaking out against his own country.  He'll have "moved on," the most revered rite on the political left.

June 7, 2014       Permalink

HILLARY'S STRATEGY – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:   Hillary Clinton is apparently engaged in a delicate balancing act.  She must keep the support of Barack Obama, yet distance herself from policies that may hurt her if she runs for president.  From the Times of Israel: 

In her book “Hard Choices,” a copy of which was purchased by The Associated Press, Clinton describes an administration split during the frantic days of Arab protests in 2011. She includes herself among an old guard of cautious realists such as Vice President Joe Biden, national security adviser Tom Donilon and Defense Secretary Robert Gates at odds with a younger generation of White House aides “swept up in the drama and idealism of the moment.”

“I was concerned that we not be seen as pushing a longtime partner out the door, leaving Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the region to an uncertain, dangerous future,” the former secretary of state recounts.

Clinton says reasons for maintaining close ties with Mubarak remained: the need to isolate Iran, keep the Suez Canal trade route open, protect Israel’s security and combat terrorism in a region where al-Qaeda was plotting new attacks.

For Clinton, highlighting the policy differences she had with Obama, however subtle, may prove crucial if she decides to run for president in 2016. Egypt is a particularly appealing example given the turbulent path it has taken since Mubarak stepped down amid violent street protests more than three years ago.

Since then, a Muslim Brotherhood-led government came to power only to be itself ousted in a military coup, the leader of which recently prevailed in an internationally criticized presidential election.

Clinton says she counseled caution. Obama wasn’t comfortable with the level of violence and some of his advisers were displeased when Clinton spoke publicly about the need for an “orderly transition,” rather than an immediate one, she writes.

When Mubarak, pushed by a Clinton-picked American mediator, former diplomat Frank Wisner, offered some concessions to the protesters, Obama told advisers: “That’s not going to cut it.”

When Wisner then attended a security conference in Europe and as a private citizen spoke favorably about Mubarak playing a future role in Egypt, Obama called Clinton to express his unhappiness with the mixed messages. “That’s a diplomatic way of saying he took me to the woodshed,” she writes.

COMMENT:  I have no way of knowing whether Clinton is sincere in these comments, although it's been widely reported that she's far more hawkish than Obama...one of the reasons for left-wing grumbling about her probable nomination.

The question is how far she can go in distancing herself from an administration in which she played a leading role.  Has she had a talk with Obama about this? 

She may have to appease Obama in some way, such as putting an Obama ally on the ticket with her – someone like Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. 

The fact is that Clinton has many problems in running for president.  Ask yourself, for example, what she will have to say to the Democratic National Convention in her speech accepting the nomination.  She'd be speaking to a group of leftist activists in the hall, but to a much more moderate audience at home. 

Maybe she'll decide it's not worth it.

June 7, 2014       Permalink

THE COMING END OF EUROPE – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  There is a new exodus out of the Middle East, and Europe is bearing the brunt.  From Breitbart: 

In the first four months of this year so many illegal immigrants crossed the Mediterranean and entered one of the EU member states that the number is already close to the 2013 total and is likely to rise as summer weather brings calmer seas, officials from the European Union’s border agency Frontex told the New York Times.

The total so far for 2014 is more than the equivalent period in 2011, the year of the Arab Spring, which eventually saw 140,000 make clandestine crossings into Europe. Officials said the number of people attempting the sea crossing from North Africa to Italy rose sharply during January to April, when 42,000 migrants were detected on these routes, with 25,650 of these crossing from Libya, according to a BBC report.

Combined with seven other less busy routes, the total figure for this year is probably now about 60,000.

This follows publication of Frontex’s annual report which showed that illegal border crossings increased sharply in 2013, rising to over 107,000 from 75,000 in 2012, with the greatest number of illegal migrants being Syrians, Eritreans and Afghans.

The number of Syrians detected at the borders of EU member states accounted for almost a quarter of all arrivals in 2013 and at 25,500 was almost three times the 2012 figure.

While Syrians and Egyptians departed for Italy primarily from Egypt in 2013, migrants from the Horn of Africa and West Africa departed mostly from Libya.

According to Frontex, to reach Italy, migrants from the Horn of Africa typically used a perilous route across the Sahara, travelling onward through Libya. In 2013, over 40,000 made this crossing, “38 per cent of all detections of irregular migration at EU level.”

This number will surge even more if Libya’s interior minister, Salah Mazek, carries out a threat he made earlier this month when he said his country could “facilitate” the crossing of the thousands of people waiting in Libya to cross to Europe.

COMMENT:  Europe is gradually becoming Islamicized, although saying that will probably get me labeled as Islamophobic.  But the degree to which Islamic interests will control European politics is growing by the day.  Muslims don't have to have a majority of a country's population to exercise effective control.  They just have to be the balance of power in a national election, and 20% of the vote could easily do that. 

Obama might rejoice, but eventually Europe's interests and ours will diverge, and diverge more.

June 7,  2014     Permalink