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OCTOBER 13,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET: 

SUSAN RICE SPEAKS – So you may be sure it's nonsense.  From Breitbart:   In her most dramatic speech to date about climate change, National Security Advisor Susan Rice suggests climate change was partially responsible for the conflict in Syria and represents a looming threat to the entire world.  “In the years prior to civil war breaking out in Syria, that country also experienced its worst drought on record,” she said during a political speech at Stanford University. “Farming families moved en masse into urban centers, increasing political unrest and further priming the country for conflict.”  Uh, right.  It had nothing to do with her boss's erratic and weak policies.  And we're sure the Russians are now in Syria to fight "climate change."  Amazing what a little pollution can do.  Rice was also the official who told us that Benghazi was caused by a YouTube video.  She represents well the deceit of the Obama administration.

THE DEBATE – We note for the record that the Democrats had their first presidential debate tonight.  I spot-checked it, then watched the most important moments later in the roundup and examined a number of commentaries.  We'll have more in the morning.  Most pundits believe Hillary won, was poised and confident.  But as one observer noted, who did she win against?  Sanders, O'Malley, Chafee, Webb.  Webb, a moderate Democrat, was largely ignored by the leftist crowd and the leftist candidates, but was the only sane candidate and person of integrity on the stage.  At one time he would have been considered a mainstream Democrat.  Now he's considered a despised "moderate."  Most interesting reaction:  A Fox News focus group run by Frank Luntz, which believed that Sanders won, and was most believable.  Most interesting criticism from opponents of the Democratic Party:  The debate proved that the party has now gone far left, with no voice for moderates.  No word yet on audience size.

ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT IN EDUCATION:   From National Review:  An advisory council for Hillsborough Community College in Florida reportedly voted to stop saying the pledge of allegiance during a September meeting after a discussion about how it was making some people uncomfortable.  Local news affiliate WFLA reports that although members of the Institutional Advisory Council maintain that the reasoning behind the vote was to save time, the preliminary minutes reflect that there “was a heated discussion about ‘The Pledge of Allegiance and its appropriateness in an institution of higher learning which fosters academic freedom and structured dissent against authority.’”  “Some members expressed views that the Pledge made some people uncomfortable and that it violated their beliefs in academic freedom and the goals of the IAC,” the minutes stated, according to WFLA.  The council comprises students, faculty, and staff.  We have a legal tradition that no person is ever required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  We also have a cultural tradition that the Pledge is said at public meetings and school sessions.  People who feel "uncomfortable" need not participate.  People who feel "comfortable" should have the right to their own participation.  This is the left in action again.  Their belief in free speech seems to apply only to certain favored people and groups.

October 13,  2015     Permalink

FOX POLL – LATEST – AT 1:08 P.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton does not fare well, at all, in the newest Fox poll, out today.  But bear in mind that we're more than a year from the election.  Also, candidates are never as popular as they are on the day before they announce.  If Biden jumps in, the scrutiny begins, and he'll have to defend a long and very erratic record.  From Fox:   

Vice President Joe Biden trails Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, yet he looks more electable than the former secretary of state against top Republicans.

As Democrats prepare for their first debate Tuesday evening, the latest Fox News national poll finds little movement in the primary. Clinton remains the front-runner among Democratic primary voters (45 percent), with Bernie Sanders (25 percent) and Biden (19 percent) behind her by about 20 percentage points. That's almost identical to where things stood three weeks ago.

Lincoln Chafee, Larry Lessig, Martin O'Malley, and Jim Webb each receive 1 percent or less.

Biden, who has yet to announce his candidacy, was invited to participate in the debate if he were to make it official; Lessig was not invited.

In hypothetical 2016 matchups with top-tier Republicans, Clinton trails all the Republicans tested. She trails Ben Carson by 11 points and Donald Trump by 5 points. Jeb Bush has a 4-point edge over Clinton, while Carly Fiorina is up by 3 points.

Biden fares better. He leads Trump by 13 points and tops Bush by 5 points. Biden is preferred over both Fiorina and Carson by 4 points. And Biden narrowly bests Marco Rubio by 1 point.

COMMENT:  Americans won't truly be focused on the presidential race until next year, but they are clearly focused on Hillary Clinton's legal problems, which accounts for Clinton's nosedive in the polls.

Much too early to say much, except that this will be a very competitive presidential election.  Our side has a good chance.  There is no truly magnetic Democratic candidate.

October 13, 2015       Permalink

YA THINK? – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:  The mayor of Chicago, who thinks deep thoughts, has come to an exciting conclusion on the relationship between rising crime rates and harassment of police.  From the Chicago Tribune: 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday stood by his contention that Chicago police officers are becoming "fetal" out of concern they will get in trouble for actions during arrests, blaming officers second-guessing themselves in the wake of high-profile incidents for rising crime rates in Chicago and elsewhere.

Last week, the mayor was part of a meeting in Washington, D.C., with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and a group of mayors and police officials from across the nation to discuss a spike in homicides and other crime.

"We have allowed our Police Department to get fetal, and it is having a direct consequence. They have pulled back from the ability to interdict … they don't want to be a news story themselves, they don't want their career ended early, and it's having an impact," Emanuel said, according to the Washington Post.

On Monday, Emanuel pointed to that tentativeness as one of the causes of an increase in crime here this year. "What happened post-Baltimore, what happened post-Ferguson is having an impact," Emanuel said. "And I still believe recent events over the last year or 18 months have had an impact. And officers will tell you that. And I tried to speak up for the good officers that are doing community policing that make up the men and women of the Chicago Police Department."

Emanuel's decision to blame violent crime increases in part on the after-effects of the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody in Baltimore and the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., cases that led to rioting in those cites, comes as Chicago sees violence on the uptick.

COMMENT:  I must admit that Emanuel is showing some courage in speaking out like this, as he's likely to be attacked by the race industry and the hustlers.  Yes, of course there are some bad cops who deserve punishment when they use excessive force or break the law.  But the great majority of officers try to do an honest job, and they're understandably afraid of intervening, especially in inner-city communities, when they know that they can easily be accused of something they never did because someone wants to build a legal or political career. 

October 13, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER SHOE DROPS – AT 9:22 A.M. ET:  Ace investigative reporter Michael Isikoff is nailing Hillary Clinton over what may be the most damaging revelation yet to come out of her sloppily managed e-mails.  The gun is smoking.  And if this gun is smoking, what others are about to smoke?  From NRO: 

Investigative journalist Michael Isikoff reports that an e-mail Sidney Blumenthal sent Hillary Clinton while secretary of State revealed the name of a CIA operator, putting the spy’s life at risk. Appearing Monday on Morning Joe, Isikoff said the e-mail, which Clinton forwarded to one of her State Department colleagues, is “evidence of a commission of a federal crime by somebody,” though not necessarily Clinton.

“This is maybe the single most problematic e-mail exchange we’ve seen with Hillary Clinton yet of all the e-mails that have been raised,” Isikoff said. “What you have there is Blumenthal telling the secretary that somebody at the CIA gave the name of a sensitive human intelligence source to somebody who wasn’t at the CIA.”

"On its face, that is problematic. All we know at this point is that Secretary Clinton forwarded that e-mail to a colleague at the State Department,” Isikoff continued.

Former CIA counsel, John Rizzo, also appearing on Morning Joe, highlighted the severity of the security lapse: “That’s the holiest of holies inside CIA — the true identity of a secret source.”

COMMENT:  Very serious indeed.  And yet, note the lack of interest by our supposedly zealous media.  Remember that during the Bush 43 administration much hysteria was created by journalists when CIA employee Valerie Plame was "outed."  It became a huge story and a Hollywood movie.  The implication of the reporting was that the Bush people were retaliating against Plame by exposing her identity because her ambassador husband produced a report the Bushies didn't like.

It later turned out that the "outing" was done by someone else, and that the Bushies had nothing to do with it.  But who cares about facts?

Eventually the Benghazi committee in the House, or perhaps some other committee, will have to take a good look at this outrageous leak of a named source.  Will it matter?  Yes.  It's part of the drip, drip, drip, that can eventually drown the Clinton candidacy.

October 13, 2015       Permalink

FEEL THE EXCITEMENT – AT 8:43 A.M. ET:  The first Democratic debate is tonight, from the high-rolling city of Las Vegas.  Can you sense the national excitement?  The anticipation?  The wonder?  No, neither can I.

CNN, which is hosting the debate, has been promoting it to eternity.  I've never seen such self-serving promotion.  Hour after hour of "direct from Vegas" reports.  They're actually running a countdown clock on the screen indicating how many hours, minutes and seconds we have to go before the event.  Why, there's Hillary Clinton's makeup kit arriving.  Wait, I see Bernie Sanders's travel iron.  Let's hear what the iron has to say.   Lincoln and Douglas never had it so good.

There actually seems no great excitement at all.  Sure, we want to know how Hillary does, and we'll want to see just how softball the CNN softball questions will be.  There is some curiosity about how Sanders will take on Hillary.  The man is, after all, a committed socialist.  She may be a socialist, too, but uncommitted. 

There is substantial fear at CNN that the TV ratings for the debate will be underwhelming. 

And then there's a guy called Joe.  The man who didn't come to dinner.  Joe Biden, still decidin', will not be there.  And the question now is whether he's waiting too long to decide, whether his hour has passed.  One reporter noted that only six Dem debates are planned, and that the next five will be on weekends, when audiences will inevitably be smaller.  If Joe gets in, who will he be speaking to during those next five debates? 

The punditry tells us that Hillary had a good week last week.  A good week for Hillary is a week when she isn't charged with anything new.  She still has hanging over her multiple investigations that will drift into the election year.  She may even have to lawyer up. 

Well, I guess I'll have to watch.  It's a sacrifice I will make for our readers.  Frankly, I'd rather be seeing YouTube films of old Brooklyn Dodger baseball games, or reruns of Jack Webb in "Dragnet."   But there are times in life when we must inflict pain on ourselves.  I'll get out the Advil.

October 13,  2015     Permalink 

OCTOBER 12,  2015

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

ONE HAND CLAPPING – That's pretty much the reaction of Democrats to the possibility of a Joe Biden candidacy.  From Reuters:   Almost half of US Democrats want the vice president to enter the field and challenge front-runner Hillary Clinton, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll...The declared Democratic presidential candidates, including Clinton and US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, her closest rival, will take the stage Tuesday night in Las Vegas for the first party debate.  Biden will not be there, but 48 percent of Democrats surveyed in the Reuters poll wish he were a candidate, compared with 30 percent who said he should stay out. Independents were split on the question, with 36 percent saying Biden should stay in and an equal share believing otherwise.  Not exactly an electric reaction when less than half your party wants you even to run. 

LIBERALS SHOCKED – From beliefnet.com:   According to a study in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, which cites the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the United Nations International Study on Firearms Regulation, the more guns a nation has, the less criminal activity.  In other words, more firearms, less crime, concludes the virtually unpublicized research report by attorney Don B. Kates and Dr. Gary Mauser. But the key is firearms in the hands of private citizens.  “The study was overlooked when it first came out in 2007,” writes Michael Snyder, “but it was recently re-discovered and while the findings may not surprise some, the place where the study was undertaken is a bit surprising. The study came from the Harvard Journal of Law, that bastion of extreme, Ivy League liberalism.  I wonder if the people who wrote the report are still alive.

MORE MADNESS IN WASHINGTON – From the Washington Examiner:   The U.S. is moving forward with plans to remove its Patriot missile defense systems from Turkey despite recent escalations in the region, including Iran testing a new long-range ballistic missile over the weekend.  Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan announced on Sunday the successful test of the newest Iran-made long-range missile, dubbed the "Emad," or Pillar, that could likely reach Turkey. In addition, the Russians are playing a greater role in the Syrian civil war, raging along Turkey's border.  Despite that, the U.S. is continuing with plans made in August to remove all Patriot missile defense systems from Turkey, a defense official said Monday.  We could formally surrender to the Russians and avoid all these distractions, don't you think?

October 12, 2015       Permalink

THERE THEY GO AGAIN – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  The politically correct crowd comes out of the woodwork again today.  From AP: 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- More cities are recognizing Native Americans on Columbus Day this year as they revive a movement to change the name of the holiday to celebrate the history and contributions of indigenous cultures around the country.

As the U.S. observes Columbus Day on Monday, it will also be Indigenous Peoples Day in at least nine cities for the first time this year, including Albuquerque; Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Olympia, Washington.

Encouraged by city council votes in Minneapolis and Seattle last year, Native American activists made a push in dozens of cities in recent months to get local leaders to officially recognize the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples Day. Their success was mixed.

The campaigns say the federal holiday honoring Christopher Columbus -- and the parades and pageantry accompanying it -- overlook a painful history of colonialism, enslavement, discrimination and land grabs that followed the Italian explorer's 1492 arrival in the Americas. The indigenous holiday takes into account the history and contributions of Native Americans for a more accurate historical record, activists have argued.

Columbus Day supporters say the holiday celebrates centuries of cultural exchange between America and Europe, commemorates an iconic explorer and honors Italian-Americans, a group that has endured its own share of discrimination.

COMMENT:  Both sides make some reasonable points.  The problem with the anti-Columbus troops is that they seem to have a larger agenda – a disparagement of the United States generally.  It's perfectly fine to honor native Americans.  No problem there.  But the larger agenda comes from the far left, and it is a problem.  A big one.

October 12, 2015       Permalink

THE PERFORMER PERFORMS – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  Obama's appearance on "60 Minutes" last night was stunning.  First, Steve Kroft showed us he actually has a pulse, and asked tough, penetrating questions.  Maybe some in the press, having helped put Obambi in power, have decided not to go down with his sinking ship.

Second, Obama made a total fool of himself.  He couldn't answer a single foreign-policy question intelligently.  He is being exposed for what he is – a small-time Chicago precinct captain with a golden voice.  From Andrew Malcolm at IBD: 

Where to begin? In an interview broadcast Sunday night, President Obama claimed Russian President Putin's recent major military moves in Syria are a sign of weakness and present no challenge to the American leader.

Well, that's a relief, isn't it?

Because after annexing Crimea, fomenting armed rebellion in eastern Ukraine, ignoring Obama's ineffective economic sanctions, selling arms to Iran, moving troops and naval assets into Syria, delivering a diplomatic note ordering U.S. planes from Syrian skies, then bombing Assad regime opponents, all in defiance of the American leader, it sure did strike some as a pretty clear challenge.

In what became a rather contentious interview, after some previous softball sessions, "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft addressed Obama: "You said a year ago that the United States – America leads. We're the indispensable nation. Mr. Putin seems to be challenging that leadership."

"In what way?" responded the disingenuous Democrat, attempting to put his interrogator on the defensive.

In the interview taped Oct. 6, Kroft proceeded to detail the Russian moves against U.S. wishes. To which Obama responded, "So that's leading, Steve?"

Notice what Obama did there. He twisted Kroft's question to concern leading, which Kroft had not asked, and away from the real question of challenge, which Obama could not answer without seeming even dimmer. Later, Obama added:

“If you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in, in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then we’ve got a different definition of leadership."

Obama's responses fit perfectly with the widespread impression, especially after his long crafting of a hollow Iran nuclear deal, that Obama sees the world as he wants it to be, not as it really is.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's a gem.  When Obama ran for president, he became the dream of the sixties generation.  That dream has now turned into our nightmare.  Our children will pay the price.

October 12, 2015       Permalink

I LOVE IT – AT 9:17 A.M. ET:  Sadly, Great Britain has cut its defenses repeatedly, under pressure from the part of British politics that is not so great – the British left.  But, even so, the best of Britain retains that English pluck.  And now London is driving Vladimir Putin crazy, while Putin laughs at our own student government in Washington.  From the Express: 

VLADIMIR Putin's military officials are reportedly furious with Britain after RAF pilots were authorised to shoot down Moscow warplanes.

Outraged Russian officials asked UK ministers "to provide an official explanation" of reports that RAF Tornados operating over Iraq have been fitted with heat-seeking missiles designed for aerial combat.

The Russian ambassador in London, Alexander Yakovenko, said he had "urgently requested explanations" of the reports from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

He said: "These reports are worrying, as they refer to senior cabinet members. We have urgently requested explanations from the Foreign and Commonwealth office.

"The very premise of a potential conflict of UK and Russian combat aircraft over Iraq is incomprehensible."

COMMENT:  No, it's not incomprehensible.  British Prime Minister Cameron understands the danger of Russian expansion into the Middle East.  Our own president, who was brought up and nurtured by people heavily influenced by Marxism, just doesn't care.  Hey, we Yanks have to stop thinking of ourselves as special, right?

I wonder what Obama would say if there were a clash between British planes and Russian planes.  Would he take the side of our closest NATO ally, or would he go neutral.  I suspect he'd go neutral.  After all, this is the president who returned a bust of Winston Churchill to Britain at the start of his administration, an obvious snub. 

This is a president who should never have risen above the level of town councilman.

October 12, 2015       Permalink

THE RACE – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  The first Democratic debate is tomorrow night.  Aren't you excited?  I am curious to see what the ratings are.  Recall that the first Republican debate drew 24 million viewers, a record.  I think it's quite possible the Dems can fall considerably short of that, but I could be very wrong.  I mean, what's the attraction?  A corrupt older woman versus a Vermont socialist? 

In the meantime, CBS is out with the latest polling on the Republican side.  From The Hill:

Donald Trump maintains his spot atop the 2016 GOP presidential field, according to a new CBS News poll that shows outsider candidates drawing 63 percent of the vote.

The real-estate mogul garners 27 percent support in the poll, the same number he drew in the last edition of the poll one month ago.

Ben Carson continues to place second with 21 percent support, down 2 points since the last poll.

Carson is followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) with 9 percent support and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with 8 percent support. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush and former business executive Carly Fiorina tie for fifth place with 6 percent support each.

Trump, Carson, Cruz, and Fiorina – who are all running on an anti-establishment platform – combine for 63 percent of the vote.

Eighty-four percent of respondents say Trump has strong leadership qualities, compared to 72 percent who said the same of Carson, and 60 percent who thought Fiorina was a good leader.

However, Trump is also perceived to be the least honest candidate, with only 53 percent of voters saying they can trust the businessman, compared to 81 percent who say they trust Carson and 60 percent who trust Fiorina.

Trump is also the least favorable candidate in the field, with 53 percent of respondents in the survey saying they do not view him positively. Bush places second in that category, with a 48 percent unfavorable rating.

The poll sampled 419 Republican primary voters by telephone from Oct. 4 – 8. The margin of error is 5 percent.

COMMENT:  I'm struck by the small number in the sample.  Polling 419 people in a nation of 320 million doesn't tell me all that much.

This race is still shaking out.  The frontrunner only has 27 percent.  Some 73 percent aren't for him.

October 12,  2015     Permalink