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OCTOBER 9,  2015

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

WE LIVE AND LEARN – From dailywire.com:   The administration at the University of Toronto was recently enlightened on why two separate washrooms are generally established for men and women sharing co-ed residencies.  The University is temporarily changing its policy on gender-neutral bathrooms after two separate incidents of "voyeurism" were reported on campus September 15 and 19. Male students within the University’s Whitney Hall student residence were caught holding their cellphones over female students’ shower stalls and filming them as they showered.  Melinda Scott, dean of students at the University of Toronto, told The Daily Wire that campus police had been contacted immediately and worked with residence staff to “support impacted students and ensure the safety of the Residences.”  I'm shocked, shocked, that anything like this could happen in a kind, compassionate university.  Choke.

HOLLYWOOD COURAGE – Those are not two words you usually see together.  This is a rare example, from dailywire.com:   TV legend Kelsey Grammer is under fire from pro-choice advocates for posing in a controversial T-shirt that likens abortion to victims of mass shootings.  The “Frasier” actor proudly posed for an Instagram photo Wednesday sporting a T-shirt gifted by the anti-abortion group, Abort73. Framed by an illustration of a firearm, the message on the shirt read, “Would it bother us more if they used guns?”  “Thank you for the tee @abort73!” his wife Kayte captioned the picture of her 60-year-old husband.  On its website, the group Abort 73, which professes to explain logically and empirically why abortion is “immoral and unjust," made clear that the T-shirt is not about gun control.  "It’s simply a response to the fact that when children are the victims of gun violence, the world is outraged," the statement reads. "When children are the victims of abortion violence, the world barely notices."  Very well put.  We need a thoughtful, hate-free discussion on abortion, its implications, and possible restrictions.   It's good in a democracy, no matter where you stand.

OH PLEASE! – From Breitbart:   Secretary of State John Kerry warns the world that more and more people will be fleeing the devastation caused by global warming. “It’s something new. We have climate refugees today,” he said during a town hall event about the oceans.  Fella, we've had climate refugees for thousands of years.  That's what Noah's Ark was about.  We also have part-time climate refugees today, called "snowbirds" in places like your state of Massachusetts – people who evacuate to Florida during bitter winters.  John, you ever read the papers?

October 9, 2015       Permalink

HEY, NO PROBLEM, IT'S OBAMA TIME – AT 10:02 A.M. ET:  Turns out that part of the Iran nuclear agreement may be illegal.  But in the age of Obama, is that an issue?  From Fox: 

Some senior U.S. officials involved in the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal have privately concluded that a key sanctions relief provision – a concession to Iran that will open the doors to tens of billions of dollars in U.S.-backed commerce with the Islamic regime – conflicts with existing federal statutes and cannot be implemented without violating those laws, Fox News has learned.

At issue is a passage tucked away in ancillary paperwork attached to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, as the Iran nuclear deal is formally known. Specifically, Section 5.1.2 of Annex II provides that in exchange for Iranian compliance with the terms of the deal, the U.S. “shall…license non-U.S. entities that are owned or controlled by a U.S. person to engage in activities with Iran that are consistent with this JCPOA.”

In short, this means that foreign subsidiaries of U.S. parent companies will, under certain conditions, be allowed to do business with Iran. The problem is that the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (ITRA), signed into law by President Obama in August 2012, was explicit in closing the so-called “foreign sub” loophole.

Indeed, ITRA also stipulated, in Section 218, that when it comes to doing business with Iran, foreign subsidiaries of U.S. parent firms shall in all cases be treated exactly the same as U.S. firms: namely, what is prohibited for U.S. parent firms has to be prohibited for foreign subsidiaries, and what is allowed for foreign subsidiaries has to be allowed for U.S. parent firms.

COMMENT:  There's more.  Read the whole thing.  This might not matter to a lawless president who shows utter contempt for the Constitution, but it might mean a great deal to the courts, the Congress, and the people.

October 9, 2015       Permalink

CRUZ ON DONALD – AT 9:44 A.M. ET:   Ted Cruz, who has the sharpest mind of any presidential contender,  says Donald Trump won't be the GOP nominee.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) Ted Cruz said Thursday that he did not think Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee, his harshest criticism yet of a candidate he has assiduously avoided even brushing with judgment.

Asked by WABC Radio's Rita Cosby whether he believed that "eventually, you could beat him, based on your principles," Cruz said he could.

"I think that's right. I think that, in time, I don't believe Donald is going to be the nominee and I think, in time, the lion's share of his supporters end up with us," Cruz said in an interview taped Thursday that will air in full on Sunday.

Cruz, a generally cautious candidate and public speaker, has made no bones about courting the supporters of Trump, who has won over many fans of the conservative right. He has repeatedly needled his opponents for hitting Trump -- wisdom he again shared in the interview Thursday -- but Cruz has treated Trump as a serious, viable candidate.

And he has long maintained that Trump's rise would benefit the Cruz campaign, saying that Trump has encouraged voters to use a certain set of criteria to evaluate candidates that is favorable to Cruz.

COMMENT:  I'm inclined to agree that Trump will falter, although his resilience continues to amaze me.  However, although he still leads in the GOP race, his negatives are extremely high.  If they continue high, the word "unelectable" will start to be used.

I don't think it will be Cruz either, but that's just an educated guess.  The GOP establishment despises him, and I don't think he has enough momentum behind him, at this stage in his career, to overcome that.

October 9, 2015       Permalink

COLLEGE SHOOTING – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Another college shooting, although it doesn't follow the usual pattern.  From ABC: 

A deadly shooting occurred on Northern Arizona University’s Flagstaff campus early this morning, and the suspected shooter is in custody, according to a university spokesperson.

One person died and three others were wounded in the shooting, the spokesperson said.

It's unclear what sparked the shooting, which took place near Mountain View Hall, a dormitory that houses most of the campus' students involved in Greek organizations.

Residents in Mountain View Hall were asked to stay indoors, according to an emergency alert sent by the university.

COMMENT:  Other reports say that a fraternity may have been involved.  This appears to be more a personal dispute than a planned campus shooting.

Obama will be in Oregon today to meet with families of last week's shooting, and will no doubt use the occasion to advance his agenda.  Let no tragedy go unused.  But each incident is different, and we should wait for facts about Arizona before coming to any conclusion.

October 9,  2015     Permalink

OCTOBER 8,  2015

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

CRUZ CRUISIN' – From The Hill:  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) brought in more than $12 million in the third fundraising quarter, a strong haul that will likely show him in good standing in the Republican presidential race.  Campaign aides Thursday night confirmed that haul, which was first reported by the Associated Press.
It brings the Texas Republican’s fundraising total to more than $26 million since he launched his bid — after bringing in $10 million in the second quarter and $4 million during the first quarter. Cruz launched his bid just one week before the end of quarter one.  He is fast emerging as the intellectual heavyweight of the conservative moment.  His debating skills are superb.  But he is loathed by the GOP establishment.  Watch him closely.  If he can escape establishment knives in the back, he can have a great future, and go all the way.

A BIT MUCH – From eagnews.org:   PUEBLO, Colo. – A female high-school student awaits a disciplinary hearing and could face expulsion for wearing a Halloween costume to school that prompted officials to lock down the building Wednesday.  An unnamed female student was spotted in the hallway at Pueblo County High School early yesterday morning wearing a gas mask and trench coat, and a classmate reported her to school officials, The Pueblo Chieftain reports.  The teen was hauled to the office where she was interrogated by the police, who also placed the school on lockdown for about an hour. The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, which was training near the school, also responded in full camouflage gear and a large armored vehicle to sweep the building for anything dangerous or suspicious. They found nothing, according to the news site.  I've always believed that Halloween costumes are a threat to national security.  I'm so glad that others agree.  I'd look closely at Donald Duck costumes as well.

AND THE HYPOCRISY FLOWS – From the Washington Times:   Senate Democrats gathered Thursday on the steps of the Capitol surrounded by about a dozen armed guards to announce a new push for tougher gun-control laws.  The officers from the U.S. Capitol Police, who carried sidearms, were in addition to the regular detail paroling the Capitol ground due to the large number of elected officials attending the event, according to an officer on the scene.  And, of course, being Democrats, they demand the best in armed protection.  But let's not allow the peasantry to have that same protection. 

October 8,  2015     Permalink 

THE ANNALS OF SCIENCE – AT 8:33 A.M. ET:  Science is about to bestow upon us the end of gym class.  From People: 

Exercising is about to get a whole lot easier.

According to research published in Cell Metabolism and Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, scientists are one step closer to developing "exercise pills."

Researchers at the University of Sydney studied four "untrained, healthy males following 10 minutes of high intensity exercise" to discover 1,000 molecular changes that take place in the body during exercise.

"While scientists have long suspected that exercise causes a complicated series of changes to human muscle, this is the first time we have been able to map exactly what happens," co-author of the paper Dr. Nolan Hoffman said in a statement. "This is a major breakthrough, as it allows scientists to use this information to design a drug that mimics the true beneficial changes caused by exercise."

Their research proves that unlike most drugs that target individual molecules, the exercise pill will have to target multiple molecules.

"Our research has provided the roadmap to figure this out," said the head of the study Professor David James.

COMMENT:  The educator, Robert Hutchins, once said that whenever he felt like exercising he went to bed until the feeling passed.  Looks like we'll be entering his world.

This might even help out the Chicago Cubs.

October 8,  2015     Permalink 

UNBELIEVABLE – AT 8:22 A.M. ET:   Where do Field Marshal Obama and Grand Admiral Kerry spin this as a victory?  Only in their heads.  From Reuters:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq may request Russian air strikes against Islamic State on its soil soon and wants Moscow to have a bigger role than the United States in the war against the militant group, the head of parliament's defense and security committee said on Wednesday.

“In the upcoming few days or weeks, I think Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch air strikes, and that depends on their success in Syria," Hakim al-Zamili, a leading Shi'ite politician, told Reuters in an interview.

The comments were the clearest signal yet that Baghdad intends to lean on Russia in the war on Islamic State after U.S.-led coalition airstrikes produced limited results.

Russian military action in Iraq would deepen U.S. fears that it is losing more strategic ground in the region as Russia weighs in behind President Bashar al-Assad with airstrikes in Syria and Iran holds deep sway in Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said he would welcome Russian airstrikes on Islamic State militants in Iraq and powerful Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias hope for a partnership with Russia to counter U.S. influence.

"We are seeking to see Russia have a bigger role in Iraq. ... Yes, definitely a bigger role than the Americans," Zamili said.

Shi'ite militias, long mistrustful of the United States, see Russia's intervention as an opportunity to turn the tables.

Russia's drive for more clout in the Middle East includes a new security and intelligence-sharing agreement with Iran, Iraq and Syria with a command center in Baghdad.

"We believe that this center will develop in the near future to be a joint operation command to lead the war against Daesh in Iraq," said Zamili, using a derogatory Arabic acronym for Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS or ISIL.

COMMENT:  Obama was warned repeatedly not to remove all American troops from Iraq, but to keep a stabilization force in that country.  His refusal to heed the warnings, from his top military advisers, and his own constant, callous denunciations of our military action in Iraq – which must've been loved by families who lost a soldier – have led directly to our essentially being invited out of the country we liberated.

Contrast that, please, with our staying the course in South Korea, through many difficult years.  The result is a vibrant, free, South Korea, an important American ally.

If someone had told me 40 years ago that an American president could do this much damage to his own country, I would have laughed.  I'm not laughing.  Maybe the term, "Manchurian candidate," isn't so far off.

October 8, 2015       Permalink

HILLARY THE INDEPENDENT? – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  Ever the schemer, Hillary Clinton is trying to distance herself from her former boss, the president, while still keeping in his good graces, and protect herself from attacks, right and left.  Nice try.  From Fox:

Hillary Clinton, despite having served a full term in the Obama Cabinet, is making an overt effort to distance herself from the president’s agenda as she tries to distinguish herself as a candidate -- and blunt attacks from both ends of the political spectrum.

The 2016 Democratic front-runner executed her most significant break yet from President Obama on Wednesday when she came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Obama has made the free-trade agreement a centerpiece of his second-term agenda, despite opposition from many on the left -- including labor unions and Clinton's top 2016 primary rival Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Clinton, after hedging for months, said in an interview with PBS on Wednesday there are too many "unanswered questions" about the deal, saying: "What I know about it as of today, I am not in favor."

She later said in a written statement that, "the bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don't believe this agreement has met it." Her position on the agreement also marks a striking reversal for the former secretary of state, who promoted the deal in dozens of appearances during Obama's first term in office.

That's where the hypocrisy comes in.  Has she just discovered problems with the deal?

Even before Wednesday's statement, Clinton was drawing differences with Obama on several fronts, notably on Syria.

"I am not running for my husband's third term or President Obama's third term," Clinton told voters in Davenport, Iowa Tuesday, repeating a common theme from her campaign speeches. "I'm running for my first term."

Last week, Clinton called for a no-fly zone over Syria, in direct contrast with the administration’s current policy.

COMMENT:  If she didn't have a reputation as a conniver, this would be standard politics.  There's a certain amount of weaving in an election campaign that we'll always have.  The difference between others and Hillary doing this is the difference between an ordinary guy looking over a bank, and John Dillinger looking over a bank.  You know that Johnny has something in mind.

October 8, 2015       Permalink

NOT SURPRISING – AT 8:04 A.M. ET:  The urban violence of the past year, and several mass killings, have produced a predictable result.  There is a certain folk wisdom in the people.  From the Washington Free Beacon:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation processed a record number of background checks in the month of September, indicating that gun sales were at an all time high for the month.

The FBI’s National Instant Background Check System processed 1,795,102 applications to buy a firearm in September. That represents a new record: 335,739 more checks than the previous September high set in 2012, or a 23 percent increase.

The number of checks done in a particular month is considered a reliable gauge of how many gun sales have occurred since background checks are required on all sales made through licensed firearms dealers. The actual number of sales is likely higher since multiple firearms can be sold to the same person by a dealer under a single background check. The numbers also do not account for sales between private parties that do not require a background check.

COMMENT:  Unlike the great political philosophers you see on the air, Americans understand the need for, and responsibility for, self-defense.  They do not buy into the argument that new laws, which may take years to have any effect, will solve the problem.  Protecting the family is more important than applauding the political class.

October 8,  2015     Permalink