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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

SEPTEMBER 29,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 4:40 P.M. ET:

PHONIES I – From Fox:  Despite Hillary Clinton's coming out against the Keystone XL pipeline, the Democratic presidential candidate appeared at a fundraiser Friday with major Democratic donors who are heavily invested in the oil and gas industry.  The event for Hillary was held at the $8.2 million home of hedge fund manager Cliff Robbins in Greenwich, Connecticut. Robbins is the founder and CEO of the Blue Harbour Group, a company that has invested a significant amount of money in the oil and gas sectors. Robbins and his wife Debbie have contributed nearly $200,000 to Democratic candidates over the past decade.  Hillary's hypocrisy doesn't shock me.  I'd be shocked if we saw honesty.

PHONIES II – From the Washington Times:   How would you like a free butler, maid, chef and chauffeur? Try that and the Department of Labor will sue you for violating the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act — unless you are Justice Sonia Sotomayor. That’s right. Since 2010, she has hired unpaid interns as her servants. No other justice does this.  Justice Sotomayor’s job description, posted on a Latino Facebook page and other places, tells us that applicants do not need a law degree, but “a driver’s license is a must” because the intern’s duties will include running “errands outside of the Courthouse.” The intern will prepare “lunch and snacks for the Justice,” photocopy, and answer the phone. The intern is responsible for his own living arrangements and transportation. She pays them nothing.  But don't you peasants see?  By freeing up Sonia's time, you help her to advance social justice?  Working for nothing is really good for you.  And for society.

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – From Daily Caller:   An outer suburb of Atlanta is the latest locale in America where some parents are expressing alarm because their middle school-aged children are learning about Islam but, the parents say, the school is pointedly ignoring Christianity.  Ryan Breece, a Christian father of three who has a sixth-grade daughter at Youth Middle School in Loganville, Ga., told local Fox affiliate WAGA-TV his daughter recently came home with a social studies assignment all about the core teachings of Islam.  According to Breece, the taxpayer-funded assignment meticulously instructs students about Islam but almost entirely ignores Christianity.  “We are seeing one page, five statements of Christian faith and we see five or 10 pages of Islamic faith,” the mad dad told WAGA-TV. “So we have no accountability to make sure that it’s equal.”  This requires a call to the thought police.  Obviously, we have an Islamophobe here.  Alert the president.  Alert Imam Kerry.  When will we ever learn?

THE KNIFE GOES IN – Michelle Obama appeared on Stephen Colbert's show.  From the Daily Beast:  Laura Bush had left her a letter, Colbert said. If we have a female president next, would Mrs. Obama leave her husband a letter?   Mrs. Obama said she would.  “I would say, ‘Follow your passion, just be you,’” she replied very safely.   “I think he does,” Colbert said, to roaring laughter from those imagining Bill Clinton’s famously philandering past.  “I think he would,” she replied, flashing a smile at Colbert and chuckling as he clenched his fist in a display of mock-virility.  “I mean that in the best possible way,” Colbert said hurriedly.  “I didn’t say… I’m just sitting here,” Mrs. Obama said, washing her hands of the germs of innuendo.  Yeah, right.  There are new reports, following old reports, of intense dislike between the Obamas and the Clintons.  The Obamas clearly don't want the Clintons back in the White House.  And if you can get in a dig on a talk show...

September 29, 2015       Permalink

ISIS HAS PLANS FOR US – AT 10:40 A.M. ET:   It is a frightening prospect.  From the Washington Times:    

Nuclear annihilation across the globe. This is what a German reporter who successfully embedded with the Islamic State says the terror group is planning. Jurgen Todenhofer released his findings in a book titled “Inside IS - Ten Days in the Islamic State,” reports the UK’s Daily Express.

“The terrorists plan on killing several hundred million people. The west is drastically underestimating the power of ISIS. ISIS intends to get its hands on nuclear weapons,” says Todenhofer, calling the group a “nuclear tsunami preparing the largest religious cleansing in history.”

“They now control land greater in size than the United Kingdom and are supported by an almost ecstatic enthusiasm the like of which I’ve never encountered before in a war zone. Every day hundreds of willing fighters from all over the world come. They are the most brutal and most dangerous enemy I have ever seen in my life. I don’t see anyone who has a real chance to stop them. Only Arabs can stop IS. I came back very pessimistic.”

With the ink not yet dry on the “Iran nuclear deal,” Middle Eastern states opposed to Persian domination of the region now are actively pursuing a nuclear weapons capability of their own. President Obama’s deal could literally mean an arms race that could lead to nuclear devastation as Saudi Arabia and others look to get the bomb as well to counter Iran. With more countries obtaining nukes, the greater the possibility terrorists could obtain a weapon, which could be used to attack Israel or the West.

COMMENT:  Every weapon in history that's been developed has eventually been used.  I find this story entirely credible.  A force like IS would consider it entirely logical to wipe out whole populations of the infidels.  Who could ask for anything more?

September 29, 2015       Permalink

MEDIA FAILS TRUST TEST – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  Trust in the media is tying all-time lows, according to Gallup.  Anyone surprised?

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Four in 10 Americans say they have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust and confidence in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly. This ties the historical lows on this measure set in 2014 and 2012. Prior to 2004, slight majorities of Americans said they trusted the mass media, such as newspapers, TV and radio.

Americans' confidence in the media has slowly eroded from a high of 55% in 1998 and 1999. Since 2007, the majority of Americans have had little or no trust in the mass media. Trust has typically dipped in election years, including 2004, 2008, 2012 and last year. However, 2015 is not a major election year.

This decline follows the same trajectory as Americans' confidence in many institutions and their declining trust in the federal government's ability to handle domestic and international problems over the same time period.

And...

For more than a decade, Republicans and independents have been significantly less likely than Democrats to trust the media. This pattern continues in the latest survey. In 2014, Gallup found that trust among Democrats fell to a 14-year low of 54%, and this figure is essentially unchanged at 55% this year. While more Democrats than Republicans continue to say they trust the media, the percentage of Republicans who report that they trust the mass media increased slightly this year, from 27% to 32%. This increase was offset, however, by a decrease in independents reporting trust, from 38% to 33%.

COMMENT:  You'd think media would want to do something about this, but I see little interest in trying.  If the ratings or sales are good, the product seems to take second, third, or fourth place.

It's clear that perceptions of media bias play a major role with Republicans and Independents.  Too many "journalists" aren't reporting the news, they're "making a difference."  The difference they make tilts left.

September 29, 2015       Permalink

PUTIN TRIUMPHANT – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  Benny Avni, one of the sharpest international-affairs writers around, says it bluntly in the New York Post.  There's a new big guy on the block, and it isn't the American president: 

The baton was officially transferred Monday to the world’s new sole superpower — and Vladimir Putin willingly picked it up.

President Obama (remember him?) embraced the ideals espoused by the United Nations’ founders 70 years ago: Diplomacy and “international order” will win over time, while might and force will lose.
Putin, too, appealed to UN laws (as he sees them), but he also used his speech to announce the formation of a “broad international coalition” to fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

“Similar to the anti-Hitler coalition, it could unite a broad range of forces” to fight “those who, just like the Nazis, sow evil and hatred of humankind,” he said.

And who’d lead this new coalition? Hint: Moscow has always celebrated the Allies’ World War II victory as a Russian-led fete.

Oh, and if anyone wondered which Syrian players the coalition would rely on as allies, Putin made it clear: “No one but President [Bashar al-]Assad’s armed forces and Kurd militia are fighting the Islamic State.”

That, of course, isn’t Obama’s view. America’s president said he opposed the “logic of supporting tyrants.” After all, Assad “drops barrel bombs on innocent children.”

But Putin has troops in Syria, is arming Assad to the teeth and signed a pact of anti-ISIS intelligence-sharing with Assad, Iran and the leaders of Iraq (the ones America fought to put in power).

And after meeting Obama for the first time in two years Monday, he spoke vaguely about future “joint air attacks on ISIS.” But no agreement on Assad was reached in the 90-minute meeting.

Meantime, if Obama has any realistic Syria plan of his own — beyond having Assad magically “transitioned” out of the country and simultaneously fighting ISIS — he failed to present it during his UN speech. Or any other time.

COMMENT:  What a pathetic defeat for the United States.  And yet, who really cares?  The Democrats will support anything Obama does, as they demonstrated in their sickening behavior regarding the Iran nuclear deal.  They put party ahead of country, for the greater glory of Barack.

And the Republicans?  They need an energy drink.  Maybe they'll get it delivered with the change of House leadership.  But they should be appalled, and shout their contempt during the 2016 election.  Will they?  Depends on who gets nominated. 

September 29, 2015       Permalink

A WARNING – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  Russia is now in Syria – to stay.  It is a vast setback by a United States led by a profoundly leftist president who doesn't care.  The views of a top American general.  From the Jerusalem Post: 

Russia is building advanced, long-range air defenses in its new air base on the Syrian coast, which could disrupt the military activities of the US and its allies in the sector, NATO's top commander, Gen. Philip Breedlove, warned on Monday, according to a report that appeared in the Breaking Defense website.

Breedlove is Commander of US European Command, and the 17th Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO Allied Command Operations. He spoke of a new Russian bubble of anti-access/area denial [or A2/Ad, as it is known in the Pentagon] in the eastern Mediterranean. This can be used to try and keep Western militaries out of the airspace over and near Syria.

"From where NATO’s top commander Gen. Philip Breedlove sits, the Russian forces flowing into Syria don’t look like counter-terrorists out to stop the Islamic State, which Vladimir Putin has said is his highest priority. They look like the first pieces of a layered 'anti-access/area denial' system that could complicate US and allied operations in Syria and well beyond," the Breaking Defense report said.

Breedlove spoke to the German Marshall Fund on Monday afternoon, and warned that anti-access/area denial is "a growing problem." In Syria, "we see these very capable air defense [systems] beginning to show up," the general cautioned, adding, "We’re a little worried about another A2/AD bubble being created in the Eastern Mediterranean. We see some very sophisticated air defenses going into these airfields. We see some very sophisticated air-to-air [fighter] aircraft going into these airfields.”

Two other such Russian "bubbles" already exist; In Kaliningrad, between Poland and Lithuania, where Russian missiles can reach "well into Polish airspace and could shut down NATO reinforcements," and in the Black Sea, where Russia's occupation of Crimea has resulted in the creation of a "very strong A2/AD capability," Breedlove said.

COMMENT:  We're assured by the Obama press that the president "confronted" Putin at the UN.  Aren't you proud?  That's like a championship boxer being confronted by a toddler.   Field Marshal Obama can confront all he wants.  He never does anything, and the credible use of force, the basis of all successful diplomacy, is absolutely missing.

Only two forces in the world have grown on Obama's watch – militant Islam and Communism.  Obama comes from a Muslim and Marxist background.  Gee, what a coincidence.  Anyone in the press interested?

September 29,  2015     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 28,  2015

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

REMEMBER THAT WAR? – From WaPo:   KABUL — Taliban insurgents fought their way into a major city in northern Afghanistan on Monday, driving back stunned security forces in a multi-pronged attack that also sent Afghan officials and U.N. personnel fleeing for safety.  The fall of Kunduz would be a huge blow to the Western-backed government in Kabul and would give Taliban insurgents a critical base of operations beyond their traditional strongholds in Afghanistan’s south. Afghan government leaders and the U.S.-led coalition here view the battle for Kunduz as a key test of the Afghan security forces in their continuing fight with the Taliban.  Someone nudge Field Marshal Obama and tell him about this.  Maybe draw some pictures.

OUR GREAT NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS OVER – From Mediaite:   Donald Trump‘s Fox News boycott is apparently over. The network announced tonight that Trump will appear on The O’Reilly Factor Tuesday night after he angrily declared he’s boycotting Fox News and won’t be doing any more shows.
That was five days ago.  Trump announced his boycott after various rants against Megyn Kelly, Bill O’Reilly, and Megyn Kelly again.  Fox News fired back quickly against Trump with a blistering statement that declared, “When coverage doesn’t go his way, he engages in personal attacks on our anchors and hosts, which has grown stale and tiresome. He doesn’t seem to grasp that candidates telling journalists what to ask is not how the media works in this country.”  But the day after, Fox announced Roger Ailes would meet with Trump, and now Mediaite has independently confirmed a New York Times report tonight about Trump’s appearance with O’Reilly tomorrow night.  I'm glad to see them make up.  Fox is correct.  Candidates don't get to make up their own interview questions.  Obama never had that concern during campaigns because no one bothered to ask him a tough question.

NUTTINESS – From Fox:  An online petition has gathered more than 1,300 signatures on behalf of a popular Virginia high school teacher who was kicked out of the classroom earlier this month for using a racial slur.  The petition claims history teacher Lynne Pierce, who is white, did nothing wrong when she uttered the “N-word” during a discussion with her students at Heritage High School in Newport News about racism, derogatory terms and the nickname of the Washington Redskins. Heritage is 90 percent black.  “She is a history teacher, she cannot be censored for teaching terms and beliefs that people had throughout history,” the petition says.  She was simply using the word as an example of ugly terms used against people.  I'm glad to see that 1,300 people are fighting back against political correctness.  This apparently is an outstanding teacher who's chosen to teach in a predominantly black school.

September 28,  2015     Permalink

WATER FOUND ON MARS, BUT NOT IN CALIFORNIA – AT 11:25 A.M. ET:   It's a major scientific discovery, although the EPA will probably move in to declare the water unsafe for drinking by the Mars community.  From The New York Times:

Despite its reputation as a forebodingly dusty, desolate and lifeless place, Mars seems to be a little bit wet even today.

Scientists reported on Monday definitive signs of liquid water on the surface of present-day Mars, a finding that will fuel speculation that life, if it ever arose there, could persist to now.

“This, I think, gives a focus of where we should look more closely,” said Alfred S. McEwen, a professor of planetary geology at the University of Arizona and the principal investigator of images from a high-resolution camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Dr. McEwen and other scientists identified waterlogged molecules — salts of a type known as perchlorates — in readings from orbit.

“That’s a direct detection of water in the form of hydration of salts,” Dr. McEwen said. “There pretty much has to have been liquid water recently present to produce the hydrated salt.”

By “recently,” Dr. McEwen said he meant “days, something of that order.”

COMMENT:  Maybe there are living things on Mars.  If so, Obama will invite them to emigrate to the United States, and get driver's licenses.

September 28, 2015       Permalink

OBAMA BLOWS IT AGAIN – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  So, Obama went to the UN today, and gave a kind of speech.  And he showed once more how awful he is.  Consider this, from CNBC:   

President Barack Obama called for a modern approach to the world's problems in his Monday address at the United Nations.

"I lead the strongest military that the world has ever known. And I will never hesitate to protect my country or our allies—unilaterally and by force—when necessary," he said. "But I stand before you today believing in my core that we, the nations of the world, cannot return to the old ways of conflict and coercion—we cannot look backwards."

While also referencing Syria and China, Obama focused much of his address on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

Criticizing Moscow's actions in the ongoing civil war in Ukraine, the U.S. president said the situation would be better for Russians and Ukrainians alike if Putin had pursued a peaceful strategy.

"Imagine if instead Russia had engaged in true diplomacy and worked with Ukraine and the international community to ensure its interests were protected—that would be better for Ukraine, but also better for Russia, and better for the World," Obama said, emphasizing that he had no wish to return to another Cold War.

COMMENT:  Whaa..?  Look, child, if you're going to make a threat, make the threat.  Or, as they say in diplomacy, if you say you're going to take Vienna, take Vienna.  Obama rattles the saber one second, then says, in effect, he didn't mean it.  He leads the most powerful military in history, he says, but we cannot return to the old ways of conflict.  In other words, he has no intention of using it. 

That has been the pattern of his presidency.  Talk tough, do nothing.  Talk tougher, do even less.  Look at the condition of the world.  Look at the Mideast.  When you show weakness, wars erupt.  When you create a vacuum, Russia...or ISIS...fills it.

The only thing of importance to report about this morning's address at the UN is that Christiane Amanpour, of CNN, has had a makeover.  Looks pretty good.  Unfortunately, they couldn't make over her brain. 

September 28, 2015       Permalink

THE CASE FOR BEN – AT 10:22 A.M. ET:  We don't endorse candidates here, but, clearly, Ben Carson is making a dramatic impact on the Republican race.  Roger L. Simon, in PJ Media, argues that the case for him is growing: 

Early as it is, recent polls are beginning to tell us something about the 2016 presidential election.
For one thing, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that Jeb Bush will be the Republican nominee. Not only is he a weak fifth (at 7%) in the just released NBC/WSJ poll, Republicans, as of now anyway, just don’t like him. In a new Fox News poll, he has a net favorability rating (like/dislike) among GOP voters of a measly one percent.

For comparison, favorability ratings for Trump are +12, Cruz +21, Fiorina +30, Rubio +35, and Carson an unprecedented +52. Almost everybody likes him. (I thought Republicans were supposed to be bigots.) Carson is also creeping up behind Trump over all, only one point behind in the aforementioned NBC/WSJ poll, 21-20. (Fiorina and Rubio are tied for third at 11.)

Perhaps more telling, in another just released poll of North Carolina voters by Elon University, in a hypothetical NC general election matchup we find Trump losing to Clinton by 7%, but Clinton herself losing to Carson by 11%. That’s a huge 18 percent swing! (I don’t think you’ll find Donald bragging about that one on Hannity.)

Something is clearly going on here, Mr. Jones. But what is it? First off, voters have liked Dr. Carson from the beginning for his life story and his authenticity. But lately he has shown more than that. His statement that he would not support a Muslim for president — and then giving his reasons, specifically that sharia law with its legislated misogyny and homophobia, not to mention immutable fusion of church and state, is in direct contradistinction to our Constitution — has highlighted issues for the electorate that no other candidate has thus far dared to raise, at least to the level that Carson has. And he has resonated with the public on the subject across party lines. (In one poll, 51% agreed with Carson and 28% disagreed.)

COMMENT:  Whether you agree or disagree, this is a column worth reading, and argues that Carson would demolish Hillary in a general election.  He's a quiet, thoughtful man, and people like him.

September 28, 2015       Permalink

WARNING TO JEB – AT 9:18 A.M. ET:  It's becoming clear that Jeb Bush is in serious trouble.  I've even seen the "D-word" used...dropout.  He cannot seem to get any traction, he is declining in polls, and even his loyalists are getting nervous.  From the Washington Post:

Jeb Bush is entering a critical phase of his Republican presidential campaign, with top donors warning that the former Florida governor needs to demonstrate growth in the polls over the next month or face serious defections among supporters.

The warnings, expressed by numerous senior GOP fund­raisers in recent days, come as Bush and an allied super PAC are in the early stages of an aggressive television ad campaign they say will help erase doubts about his viability.

But Bush continues to battle against a steady decline in the polls, sinking to fifth place at just 7 percent in a national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday and similarly languishing in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

The warnings from top donors come as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s exit from the race re­focused the battle within the GOP’s establishment wing as one between Bush and his former protege, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Right now, the momentum appears to be behind Rubio, who has jumped ahead of Bush in most polls. At least a third of the bundlers who signed up to raise money for Walker have switched their allegiance to Rubio, while a smaller number have gone with Bush, according to people familiar with the discussions...

...Party strategists said that Bush must find a way to recharge his campaign with a compelling message about his conservative governing record in Florida.

COMMENT:  I'm afraid it's true.  Jeb Bush is a good man.  He was a fine, conservative governor of Florida.  But he seems to be a running an indifferent campaign, and commits gaffes regularly.  He has the funds to stay in the race for months, but he's got to show some progress, and I can't see where that progress comes from.

September 28,  2015     Permalink