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JANUARY 3,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

THIS IS NUTS – From the L.A. Times:  Their fear: The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite will be trending on social media again.  The academy found itself on the defensive last year when white actors earned all 20 of the nominations in the lead and supporting categories. The topic came to define the Academy Awards so much that host Neil Patrick Harris opened the ceremony by quipping: "Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest. Sorry, brightest."  Yet there's a strong chance this year's acting awards will once again be heavily, perhaps exclusively, white, despite the efforts of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to diversify the organization.  In the four acting categories, only Idris Elba ("Beasts of No Nation") sits among the forecasted nominees at Gold Derby, a website compiling the predictions of two dozen Oscar pundits.  I've got an idea.  How about making excellent movies that the American people actually want to see?  Diversity will generally come along with that.  The issue in Hollywood isn't color.  It's survival.  The feature industry is becoming a sideshow.  Fix that first.

HE'S BAACK – Obama is back from still one more Hawaii vacation.  Notice the difference?  From AP:   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hawaiian vacation over, President Barack Obama says he is energized for his final year in office and ready to tackle unfinished business, turning immediate attention to the issue of gun violence.  Obama scheduled a meeting Monday with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss a three-month review of what steps he could take to help reduce gun violence. The president is expected to use executive action to strengthen background checks required for gun purchases..."I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us. That's because of what we've accomplished together over the past seven," Obama said his weekly radio and Internet address.  I hadn't noticed.  Please fill me in.

SHARP DONALD – As I've noted several times, and again earlier today, I don't favor him for president, but I've become increasingly impressed by his sharpness and his un-Republican ability to strike quickly and effectively.  From Breitbart:   On January 3 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump used a Facebook post to call out Hillary Clinton’s hypocrisy in telling the American people that guns “don’t keep you safe” while simultaneously surrounding herself with “heavily armed bodyguards.”  On December 19 Breitbart News reported that Clinton reacted to the surge in gun sales that followed the San Bernardino terror attack by saying, “Guns, in and of themselves…will not make Americans safer.” She then listed the number of gun-related deaths each year in a way that appeared to suggest guns actually make America less safe.  On January 3 Trump responded with: “Hillary said that guns don’t keep you safe. If she really believes that she should demand that her heavily armed bodyguards quickly disarm!”   It may not be the most intellectual or reasoned argument, but it sure gets attention.

January 3, 2016       Permalink

PRAY FOR BOTH OF THEM TO LOSE – AT 11:56 A.M. ET:   Lots of hot stuff between Mideast rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, those two great democracies.  From CNN: 

(CNN) Since Saudi Arabia executed 47 people in one day, exasperation has poured in from human rights activists and sectarian anger has spread in the Middle East -- over the death of one man.

Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr was a fervent dissident against the Sunni Muslim Saudi royal family and called for their deposal during the Arab spring uprisings in 2011.

He died on Saturday alongside 46 terrorism convicts. Later that night, in predominantly Shia Iran, Molotov cocktails smashed into the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Protesters shouted as it caught fire. Some went inside and ransacked offices.

Police donned riot gear and arrested 40 people. Embassy staff was not present during the fire attack.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned al-Nimr's execution in Saudi Arabia, and he also blasted the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and on a Saudi consulate in another Iranian city.

"In no way is this justifiable & foremost disrespects #Iran. All Iranian officials are fully committed to confront these illegal acts," he said in a tweet.

COMMENT:  Yeah, right.  An attack on a foreign embassy in Iran wouldn't happen without a wink and a nod from the Iranian government.  Our own embassy was attacked in 1979, and hostages taken.

Saudi Arabia, which has a huge lobby in Washington, is a crude monarchy with no human rights to speak of.  Iran is a growing regional power that is being courted by Field Marshal Obama, despite its sponsorship of terrorism and its regular cheating on agreements.  Our influence in the region has declined dramatically. 

I would not be shocked to see Russian influence increase, as Russia offers to "help settle things peacefully."  The new president in 2017 will have his or her hands full.

January 3, 2016      Permalink

TRUMP LAYS IT ON THE LINE – AT 11:38 A.M. ET:   As readers know, I'm not a fan of Donald Trump and don't think he should be president.  But I must admit one thing – the man openly says what millions are thinking, and he's not afraid to say them.  He stays constantly in the news, and usually is one of the top stories.  Give him credit:  He's made the usually staid Republican nomination contest exciting.  From The Hill: 

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is daring former president Bill Clinton to talk about women’s issues on behalf of his wife’s presidential campaign.

“I hope Bill Clinton starts talking about women’s issues so that voters can see what a hypocrite he is and how Hillary abused those women,” Trump said in a tweet Saturday, referring to sexual allegations made against the 42nd president.

I hope Bill Clinton starts talking about women's issues so that voters can see what a hypocrite he is and how Hillary abused those women!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2016

At least five women claim to have had consensual extramarital affairs with Clinton, while at least two women have accused him of sexual harassment, and one of rape.

Trump has used the former president as an avenue to attack his wife, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic primary front-runner.

After Hillary accused him of being a sexist, Trump said he “had no choice” but to bring up her husband’s past infidelities.

“She came out with the sexism which is so nonsense, but she’s playing that card, and then I hit her back, and I talked about her husband and the abuse of women and the tremendous abuse — no, it’s tremendous abuse, it’s tremendous abuse,” he said at a rally earlier this week.

COMMENT:  The guy is a great strategist.  He's compromised Hillary on the women's rights issue, and no one has been able to do that.

January 3, 2016       Permalink

I ONLY WISH IT WERE TRUE – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  Putin says we're a threat.  Is he serious?  Under Obama, we're not a threat to anyone.  From The Hill:

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the United States a threat to Russia's national security in a New Year's Eve official document.

Russia’s expanded role internationally has caused “counteraction from the USA and its allies, which are striving to retain their dominance in global affairs,” the document reads, according to Reuters.

The updated assessment, called "About the Strategy of National Security of Russian Federation," is the latest sign of the tension between Moscow and the West.

The previous version, from 2009, mentions neither the United States nor its NATO allies, according to Reuters.

Relations between Moscow and the West soured after the Russian forces annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. The West also accuses Russia of backing separatists in eastern Ukraine, which Russia denies.

More recently, Russia’s intervention in Syria has drawn rebuke from Western powers. Russia began launching airstrikes in September, saying it was fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). U.S. officials have said the strikes are instead bolstering Syrian President Bashar Assad and targeting Western-backed rebels.

The national security documents say Russia’s increased role in international conflicts brings it new threats.

“The strengthening of Russia happens against the background of new threats to the national security, which has complex and interrelated nature," the document says, according to Reuters.

With regard to Ukraine, the document says there is a divided society and military conflict because the United States and European Union supported an “anti-constitutional coup d'etat,” Reuters reported.

The document also cited as threats the expansions of both NATO and a U.S. network of military-biological laboratories in countries adjacent to Russia.

COMMENT:  Under Obama, we're no threat to Russia.  We're the thinnest of paper tigers.  This, in my view, is psychological warfare.  Putin is watching our reaction to Iran's violation of its international agreements.  Every time they violate, we back down.   Vladimir is playing the victim card, knowing that Obama is truly afraid of any conflict.  He'll watch as America backs down.  Some foreign policy we have.

January 3,  2016     Permalink

JANUARY 2,  2016

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

CRAZY – From townhall.com:   Last week, Hillary Clinton pledged to spend $2 billion a year to find a cure for Alzheimer’s by 2025 – an admirable effort, no doubt. At the time, an aide said the program would be paid in the form of tax reforms and other savings. On Tuesday, Clinton gave us some indication regarding what those “other savings” would look like.  At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, the former Secretary of State suggested that to invest more in medical research, we should redistribute our military expenditures..."You know, if we put the money into Alzheimer’s that we otherwise would put into some additional military asset, just think of the lives it would save,” Clinton said... And if we don't increase our already depleted military, Secretary Clinton, just think of all the lives that could lose.  But I guess liberals don't think that way.

AND SHE SHOULD HAVE – From the Washington Times:   A key Hillary Clinton adviser told her that she may have to consider resigning as secretary of state after President Obama was caught telling Russia’s president off-mic early in 2012 that he could make more concessions on missile defense after November’s U.S. elections.  In addition, Mark Penn told Mrs. Clinton that Mr. Obama’s not-so-secret words “may be about the stupidest thing ever said by a president in foreign policy.”  Mr. Penn’s advice was made public on New Year’s Eve as part of the court-ordered release of Mrs. Clinton’s emails from her time as America’s top diplomat, when she used a private email server rather than the offered state.gov account. This had the effect of rendering incomplete years of document searches under open-records and oversight laws.  Clinton didn't resign.  She liked the glamour too much.  She liked being Secretary Clinton.  In her world, that's what counts, not national security.

BABY SOUNDS – From Fox:   An app that can differentiate between a variety of crying sounds made by babies has been developed by Taiwanese researchers.  The Infant Cries Translator was developed at the National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin and can differentiate between four separate crying sounds by recording the sounds of babies and comparing them against a vast database.  Over a two year period researchers collected around 200,000 crying sounds from approximately 100 new-born babies, and uploaded them to an online database. Analysis of the frequency of individual screams among these helped researchers, led by Chang Chuan-yu and Dr Chen Si-da, distinguish subtle differences in acoustics.  This would be very useful in identifying students on America's college campuses.

January 2, 2016       Permalink

THIRTY DAYS – AT 11:56 A.M. ET:   Thirty days to the Iowa caucuses.  People will actually vote.  From The Hill:

Presidential candidates are in an all-out sprint in Iowa with the caucuses only 30 days away.

Campaigns are sharpening their attacks, doubling down on time and resources spent in the state, and placing their final bets on the ad buys and infrastructure they hope will bolster their get-out-the-vote efforts.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton holds a substantial lead in the polls, though Democrats are warning the front-runner against complacency. They point to the enthusiasm gap she faces against Bernie Sanders, who will be looking to marshal his substantial grassroots support in a state that sent Clinton’s 2008 hopes into a tailspin.

But most of the intrigue is on the Republican side, where 11 candidates are still vying for the party’s nomination. Political watchers are expecting a record GOP turnout at the caucuses, as well as a substantial winnowing of the field in the weeks that follow the Feb. 1 vote.

“Iowa doesn’t always define the race, but it can chop the field in half or at least thin the herd,” said Jamie Johnson, a long-time GOP operative in the state. “It will certainly separate the contenders from the pretenders and sling-shot some into New Hampshire while sending the rest home.”

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are presently jockeying atop the polls and are the consensus favorites among insiders in the state.

Cruz has been on a sharp upward trajectory, catching and in some polls passing Trump.

The Texas Republican senator has won the backing of some of the most influential conservatives in the state, including Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Christian leader Bob Vander Plaats, who has backed the last two caucus winners.

The state’s massive bloc of evangelical voters has been moving steadily into Cruz’s corner. He has raised tens of millions of dollars, impressed with his campaign organization, and will kick-off the new year with a six-day, 36-county “Cruzin’ to Caucus” bus tour across the state.

Still, one month is an eternity to carry a front-runner’s mark.

COMMENT:  I believe that Trump will eventually duke it out with one other candidate, either Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio.  But Rubio must start making more progress to keep himself in the top tier.  There is always an outside chance that Chris Christie or Jeb Bush could slip in, but that chance gets more outside every day.

If Trump gets the nomination, it's more than likely that an independent candidate will emerge, and it might be a serious candidacy.  If Cruz is the nominee, the establishment will dislike it, but will have to go along.  He's a sitting GOP senator.  A great deal of attention will now turn to "electability," and that's when Rubio can make his move.  He is widely seen as the most "electable" of the top-tier Republicans.

January 2, 2016       Permalink

BIG TROUBLE IN THE KINGDOM – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:   One gets the feeling that there is an increasing sense of desperation in Saudi Arabia.  Oil prices are plunging.  The kingdom's main non-Arab ally, the United States, is weakening.  Its enemy, Iran, is ascending.  Nations start to do crazy things.  From NBC:

The Middle East was braced for sectarian violence Saturday after Saudi Arabia said it had executed 47 prisoners, including a prominent Shia cleric responsible for anti-government protests.

There were warnings of a backlash against the ruling Al Saud family after Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was named on list of prisoners carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Al-Nimr was a central figure in protests that erupted in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring, and his execution may spark new unrest among the oil powerhouse's Shia minority.

Scores marched through Nimr's home district of Qatif shouting "down with the Al Saud" and, in the neighboring country of Bahrain, police fired tear gas at several dozen people who gathered to protest the news, The Associated Press reported.

Lebanon's Supreme Islamic Shi'ite Council called the execution a "grave mistake", and the Hezbollah group termed it an assassination. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, an establishment cleric in largely Shia rival Iran, said repercussions against the Sunni Saudi rulers would "wipe them from the pages of history".

Saudi Arabia carried out at least 157 executions in 2015, with beheadings reaching their highest level in the kingdom in two decades, according to several advocacy groups that monitor the death penalty worldwide.

COMMENT:  This could be real trouble, at a time when we don't need it.  If there's a military clash between the Saudis and the Iranians, it could lead to still one more major upheaval in the Mideast.  How long would it be before the Saudis, who have cash in the bank, acquire nuclear weapons?

January 2, 2016      Permalink

EVEN THE DEMS HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  Members of Congress, including some who supported the immoral nuclear deal with Iran, are starting to object to Obama's appeasement of that country, in light of Iran's miserable behavior.  From Fox: 

Leading lawmakers, including supporters of President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, rapped the White House for delaying fresh sanctions on Tehran over its missile program, warning that the move would embolden it to further destabilize the Middle East.

The abrupt reversal by the administration came as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani publicly ordered his military to dramatically scale up the country’s missile program if the sanctions went ahead.

Senior U.S. officials have told lawmakers the sanctions were delayed because of “evolving diplomatic work” between the White House and the Iranian government.

The administration had notified Congress on Wednesday that it would impose new financial penalties on nearly a dozen companies and individuals for their alleged role in developing Iran’s ballistic missile program, but pulled back later that day.

Top U.S. lawmakers, including White House allies, said they believed failing to respond to Tehran’s two recent ballistic missile tests would diminish the West’s ability to enforce the nuclear agreement reached between global powers and Tehran in July.

“I believe in the power of vigorous enforcement that pushes back on Iran’s bad behavior,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a supporter of the nuclear deal, said Friday. “If we don’t do that, we invite Iran to cheat.”

COMMENT:  Typical Obama/Kerry response.  As soon as the Iranians say "boo," the administration starts running for cover, and caves in. 

Some Democrats are obviously getting worried that their support for the Iran deal will cost them at the polls.  I also think they're beginning to prepare for the end of the age of Obama, and many might welcome it, now that Obama has become unpopular.

January 2,  2016     Permalink