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JANUARY 8,  2016

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

MAJOR ETHICS ADVANCE – From CNN:  A Missouri lawmaker introduced a bill Wednesday that would require lobbyists to report "sexual relations" with state legislators as a "gift" in their disclosures to the state ethics commission.  "We've already got a lobbyist gift reporting requirement and so that's how I worked it in there, by treating it as a definition of gift," Rep. Bart Korman, a Republican from High Hill, told CNN on Thursday. "I hope it deters any of that activity, but that if activity does occur, it's at least transparent."  Yes, I'm sure lobbyists will follow that law to the letter.  I feel cleaner already.

THE FANTASY CONTINUES – From PJ Media:   Secretary of State John Kerry marked the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo and Jewish market attacks in Paris without mentioning terrorism...."We honor the victims of this tragedy and share the sadness of their loss," Kerry said in a statement Thursday evening. "Their legacy endures as a challenge and inspiration to all of us. Charlie Hebdo continues to publish, and journalists around the world continue in their essential mission to tell the stories that people everywhere need to hear."  What a sincere, warm statement.  Choke.  It wasn't a "tragedy," it was a terrorist attack.  We saw the same illusions before World War II.

NOT MUCH OF A COP – From AFP:   BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The police chief of the German city of Cologne was suspended Friday for failing to stop mob violence at New Year’s Eve celebrations, as authorities said many suspects were asylum seekers.  Germany, unsettled by a record refugee and migrant influx, has reacted with shock to news that women had to run a frightful gauntlet of groping, insults and thefts in an aggressive and drunken crush of around 1,000 men, described by witnesses as mostly of Arab and North African appearance.  Cologne’s police chief Wolfgang Albers, 60, was suspended from active duty in order to “restore public confidence” in the police force, said Ralf Jaeger, interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state.  Can we suspend Barack Obama? 

ONLY IN NEW YORK – From CBS:   NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The New York Police Department will strengthen safeguards against illegal surveillance of Muslims in terrorism investigations and install a civilian representative on a committee that reviews the investigations under the terms of a settlement of two high-profile civil rights lawsuits, lawyers said Thursday.  The announcement of the deal formally ended litigation over accusations that the nation’s largest police department was illegally infiltrating mosques and spying on Muslims based on their religion.  This occurs at the same time that the NYPD is placing its officers on high alert, fearing attempted assassinations of cops by Islamic radicals.  So-called "civil rights" groups have not shown much interest in that.  There was an attempted murder of a police officer in Philadelphia Thursday night.  The alleged assailant claimed he was honoring ISIS and Islam. 

January 8, 2016       Permalink

BULLETIN:  PHILLY COP SHOOTER DID IT "FOR ISLAM" – AT 4:48 P.M. ET:  The man who attempted to murder a Philadelphia police officer last night claims he did it for Islam, and also claims that he's a follower of ISIS.  From ABC: 

A gunman who pledged allegiance to ISIS ambushed a Philadelphia police officer Thursday night, unleashing a hail of bullets at him "in the name of Islam," officials said.

The suspect, Edward Archer, 30, now in custody, "confessed to committing this cowardly act in the name of Islam," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said during a news conference. "According to him, he believed that the police defend laws that are contrary to the teachings of the Quran."

Philadelphia Police Captain James Clark said the suspect "stated that he pledges his allegiance to Islamic State, he follows Allah and that is the reason he was called upon to do this."

COMMENT:  Philadelphia's idiot new mayor immediately got on social media to declare that this had nothing to do with Islam.  It's well known that he went out of his way during the election campaign to court Muslim votes. 

Add this to San Bernardino.  There will be more.  The New York Police Department has just put its force on alert, warning about a possible similar attack in New York.

January 8, 2016       Permalink

ANOTHER HILLARY FAIL – AT 11:41 A.M. ET:  Please keep in mind that Hillary Clinton still may face criminal charges over her security lapses while secretary of state.  And her allies aren't doing her any good by antagonizing investigators.  From The Hill:

The State Department has been providing “inaccurate and incomplete” responses to requests for the emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a watchdog says in a new report released Thursday.

The 29-page inspector general’s (IG) report says the leadership of the State Department “has not played a meaningful role in overseeing or reviewing the quality” of the responses to requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

As a result, requests from organizations such as The Associated Press, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Judicial Watch have been mishandled in various ways, the IG said.

In one example, CREW asked for records in 2012 that would show the number of email accounts held by then-Secretary Clinton. While senior staff at the department regularly corresponded with her on her private account — and her chief of staff was made aware of the request — the State Department came back that there had been “no records responsive” to the query.

At other times, the IG said, media organizations have put in nearly identical requests for documents, only to receive different sets of records in response.

In 2015, Clinton’s use of a private email server emerged as a flashpoint in the presidential race, with Republicans using it to attack her candidacy.

COMMENT:  Provoking anger in people is not good.  Angry people get back at you.  Hillary should insist on full cooperation with investigating organizations and the press.  Otherwise she looks guilty...as usual.

January 8, 2016       Permalink

BUSH FADES – AT 10:27 A.M. ET:   Jeb Bush was a fine, respected, capable governor of Florida, and he is a decent man.   But he cannot gain traction as a presidential candidate.  I do think the "dynasty" issue, that both his father and brother were president, is playing a role here.  We don't do dynasty in America, as current members of the Roosevelt, Kennedy, Adams and Jefferson families will tell you.

Jeb is fading.  It's embarrassing.  From The Hill:

For the first time since he launched his presidential bid, Jeb Bush’s net favorability among Republicans is negative, according to a new Gallup survey released on Friday.

Once considered the GOP's front-runner, the former Florida governor’s plus-27 favorability rating in mid-July has now declined to a minus-1 less than a month before the Iowa caucuses.

While his favorable rating has declined from 54 percent to 44 percent in the six-month span, his unfavorable rating has ballooned from 27 to 45 percent.

Bush has been hit the hardest by a 39-point decline in support among Republican men, the poll found.

While conservative males once viewed Bush favorably by a plus-30 margin, the group now views him unfavorably by a minus-9 spread.

Bush’s minus-1 rating is also good for last place in the Republican primary field.

COMMENT:  Maybe it's time to withdraw graciously rather than be humiliated any further.  I hate to see this happen to a decent guy.  It is true that his campaign lacks focus, but I do think that the reaction to Bush has been somewhat unfair.

January 8, 2016       Permalink

OFFICER DOWN – AT 9:36 A.M. ET:  There was an attempted assassination of a police officer in Philadelphia.  From the New York Post:

PHILADELPHIA — A gunman ambushed a police officer as he sat in his marked cruiser at an intersection, striking him three times in the arm and fleeing before being apprehended, officials said Friday.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the suspect fired 13 shots that hit Officer Jessie Hartnett and his car late Thursday. He said the officer returned fire, hitting his assailant at least three times. Hartnett was in stable condition.

“This is absolutely one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen,” Ross said at a news conference early Friday. “This guy tried to execute the police officer. The police officer had no idea he was coming.”

He said the officer was in his cruiser in West Philadelphia when the shooter approached from the sidewalk and started firing into the driver’s-side window as he got closer and closer to the car.

The suspect ran away but was quickly apprehended by other officers, authorities said.

Ross, who was sworn in as commissioner Tuesday, said there was no apparent motive for the attack.

“Why someone would do something so absolutely evil is just beyond us,” Ross said. “It’s amazing he’s alive.”

COMMENT:  Gee, haven't you got any ideas, Commissioner Ross?  Any thoughts at all as to why someone would try to murder a police officer?

Maybe, Commissioner, you can turn for wisdom to Philadelphia's new mayor, your boss, a Democratic hack named Jim Kenney:  "Jim Kenney, in his first week as mayor of the nation’s fifth-largest city, said, 'There are just too many guns on the streets, and I think our national government needs to do something about that.'"

That's it.  There are just too many guns on the street.  Nothing to do with the hatred of police officers stirred up by the political left.  No relationship at all.  It's just the guns.

And pundits wonder why Americans are so outraged at the behavior of their public officials.

January 8,  2016     Permalink

JANUARY 7,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

WEBB MOVING – From the Washington Times:   As he ponders an independent run for the White House, former Sen. James Webb of Virginia has retained the services of Sam Jones, the national finance director for the past effort to draft Vice President Joseph R. Biden into the race.  Mr. Webb’s camp said it has given a thorough look at ballot access requirements for independent candidates.  “After weeks of study, including consultations with ballot experts and independent activists around the country, we have a handle on what it takes to give voters in every state a real choice,” said Webb spokesman Craig Crawford. “We are so pleased that Sam Jones is coming on board to help us examine what is now the decisive issue: How to pay for it.”  What's a ballot expert?  Is that a real job?  Is there a degree for it in the Ivy League?  Is the field sufficiently diverse?  I mean, these are the important things.  Don't underestimate a Webb independent challenge.  Even if he takes three percent of the vote, he can change the outcome of the election.

AND NOW FINLAND – From Breitbart:  Finnish police reported Thursday an unusually high level of sexual harassment in Helsinki on New Year’s Eve and said they had been tipped off about plans by groups of asylum seekers to sexually harass women.  Helsinki deputy police chief Ilkka Koskimaki told AFP: “There hasn’t been this kind of harassment on previous New Year’s Eves or other occasions for that matter… This is a completely new phenomenon in Helsinki.”  Security guards hired to patrol the city on New Year’s Eve told police there had been “widespread sexual harassment” at a central square where around 20,000 people had gathered for celebrations.  Note, once again, the silence of "women's" groups in the West.  When are they going to be exposed for what they are, front operators for the political left, with very little interest in the horrors inflicted on women?

MAJOR PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS – From Fox:   SAN FRANCISCO – A macaque monkey who took now-famous selfie photographs cannot be declared the copyright owner of the photos, a federal judge said Wednesday.  U.S. District Judge William Orrick said in a tentative ruling in federal court in San Francisco that "while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act."  The lawsuit filed last year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sought a court order allowing PETA to represent the monkey and let it administer all proceeds from the photos for the benefit of the monkey, which it identified as 6-year-old Naruto, and other crested macaques living in a reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.  You know I kind of sympathize with the monkey.  I've worked in Hollywood where non-human species routinely get royalties – snakes, pigs, sharks.  You get the idea.

January 7, 2016       Permalink

GETTING HOTTER – AT 10:30 A.M.  ET:   The clash between Saudi Arabia and Iran is escalating, in a region that's already a tinderbox.  Wow, this Obama foreign policy has really stabilized things.  From BBC: 

Iran has accused Saudi-led coalition warplanes of damaging its embassy and injuring staff in an air strike on Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

State media quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying planes had deliberately targeted the site.
But some later reports in Iran said missiles struck only in the vicinity of the embassy.

Residents and witnesses in Sanaa reported there was no damage to the main embassy building.

Sanaa residents reported dozens of air strikes on Thursday by the coalition, which is battling Houthi rebels.

Residents quoted by Reuters said missiles had struck 700m (2,300 feet) from the embassy, causing shrapnel and rocks to land near the building.

COMMENT:  The United States, incredibly, is tilting toward Iran in this crisis, and against its longtime ally, Saudi Arabia.  I have no love for Saudi Arabia, but this betrayal by Obama will be noted throughout the Mideast.  Apparently, the logic is that nothing must be allowed to interfere with the Iran nuclear deal, which is the centerpiece of Obama's so-called "legacy."  Some legacy.

January 7, 2016       Permalink

FRENCH TERROR SCARE – AT 9:58 A.M.  ET:   A knife-wielding terrorist was killed by Paris police today on the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.  From Fox:

A man who tried to attack a Paris police station with a knife was shot and killed Thursday as France marked the anniversary of the terror attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Police shot the unidentified man, who a police union official said was shouting "Allahu Akbar" as he tried to enter a police station in the northern portion of the city. Another police official said the man was carrying a butcher's knife.

A search of the man's body uncovered a sheet of paper with the Islamic State flag and a claim of responsibility from the terror group, a Paris prosecutor said, according to Reuters.

Alexis Mukenge, who saw the shooting from inside another building, told the network iTele that police told the man, "Stop. Move back." Mukenge said officers fired twice and the man immediately dropped to the ground.

The Goutte d'Or neighborhood in Paris' 18th arrondissement, a multi-ethnic district not far from the Gare du Nord train station, was locked down, as were two metro lines running through the area, though they later reopened.

Police cleared out hundreds of people who had gathered at a subway station and along nearby streets. Shops were ordered shuttered along neighboring streets, and shop owners hastily rolled down metal shutters.

COMMENT:  What strikes us is the utter relentlessness of ISIS.  It's one attack after another.   We know that the assault in San Bernardino was ISIS-related.  We can, I'm afraid, expect more.

We note that the French police were equipped with firearms today.  When the magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked last year, some police arrived on bicycles, unarmed.  Maybe lessons have been learned.

January 7, 2016       Permalink

THE BIDEN FACTOR – AT 9:35 A.M. ET:  Joe is back in the news, saying that he regrets not running for president, but that he made the right decision for his family.  I don't know.  Does this mean he's really running?  You decide.  From The Hill:

Vice President Biden said Wednesday he regrets not running for president in 2016, but stressed it was ultimately the right call.

“I regret it every day but it was the right decision for my family and for me and I plan on staying deeply involved,” he said in an interview with Hartford, Conn., NBC affiliate WVIT.

It’s one of the first times Biden has publicly conveyed remorse about not jumping into the race to succeed President Obama.  Biden agonized over the decision for months during the late summer and early fall following the death of his son, Beau, from brain cancer.

But after road testing his campaign message and holding dozens of meetings with advisers and family members, he chose not to run, saying it was too late to mount a viable campaign.

COMMENT:  Ah, Joe, it's never too late, especially if the frontrunner, a woman named Clinton, gets slammed by the FBI and possibly indicted.  Does Joe have some inside info on that?  He'd almost have to.  Why do I think he's waiting in the wings, ready to save the country if Hillary suddenly can't make it to the nearest microphone?  I swear that I am not, nor have I ever been, a conspiracy theorist.  But these statements of Joe's are pretty suggestive of an active political hunger.  Besides, there are some credible reports that the FBI probe into Hillary Clinton will wrap up within 60 days. 

January 7, 2016       Permalink

WATCH YOUR WALLET – AT 9:17 A.M. ET:  There are serious rumblings in the international financial markets, with China at the core of the unrest.  Will this be 2008 all over?  From Bloomberg:

Global markets shuddered as turmoil emanating from China spread around the world and billionaire George Soros warned of a crisis.

Chinese shares fell 7 percent within a half hour of opening, triggering a full-day trading halt, after the central bank cut the yuan’s reference rate by the most since August. Other equity markets tumbled, with European shares falling the most since September and U.S. futures indicating a lower open. Commodities weren’t spared as crude headed for its lowest settlement in 12 years. Haven assets gained, with Treasuries rising for a sixth day, the yen reaching a four-month high and gold surging.

“China has a major adjustment problem,” Soros said Thursday at an economic forum in Colombo, Sri Lanka. “I would say it amounts to a crisis. When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008.”

COMMENT:  Soros may be a revolting man (he is), but he knows his markets.  Things are rumbling.  Another collapse would have a profound impact on this country, and, by definition, the presidential campaign.  It might well elect Donald Trump, who people could see, correctly or not, as an economic fixer.

January 7,  2016     Permalink