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JANUARY 12,  2016

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

THE SPEECH – The president's final State of the Union was fairly routine.  No surprises.  No memorable phrases.  A fitting speech for a president who speaks well, but not brilliantly.  From Fox:  President Obama, with an eye on cementing his legacy and countering the narrative on the Republican campaign trail, used his final State of the Union address Tuesday night to defend his economic record – and, in stark language, downplay the threat from the Islamic State.  “Over-the-top claims that this is World War III just play into their hands,” the president said, arguing that ISIS fighters “do not threaten our national existence.”  The remarks on ISIS are sure to rile Republican critics who say the president’s strategy for confronting the group is inadequate – particularly just hours after ISIS was blamed for another deadly attack, this time in Istanbul.  Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the leading candidates for the GOP presidential nomination, tweeted afterward that the address was “less a State of the Union and more a state of denial.”  Cruz is right.  No one is seriously saying that we're in World War III with ISIS.  But Americans, acutely aware of the great lessons of the 20th century, are saying that we'd better nip this threat early or we'll surely face a larger war, and ISIS will have more powerful weapons, including weapons of mass destruction.  Why is that so hard for Obama to grasp?

THE OTHER SPEECH – The much more interesting speech was the Republican response to the president, given by Governor Nikki Haley of  South Carolina.  These responses to State of the Union speeches are hard, and hazardous.  The president has the glamour, the prestige, the House chamber, the fawning applause.  The responder has one TV camera and a chilly room, or maybe the family garage.  Haley did reasonably well.  Her TV makeup was inadequate, and the lighting harsh.  Her eyes sometimes looked welded open.  But she has a calming style and spoke sensibly, although you might not agree with her swipe at Donald Trump: 

From RedState:    Suffice it to say that Haley nailed the speech.  Which is interesting, because the speech was only incidentally about Barack Obama's State of the Union. Well, maybe a bit more than 'incidentally;' but this speech was primarily to let Donald Trump know that after Iowa and New Hampshire comes South Carolina. And that Nikki Haley has no intention whatsoever to make life easy for Donald Trump while he's down there..."Today, we live in a time of threats like few others in recent memory. During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation."
"In many parts of society today, whether in popular culture, academia, the media, or politics, there’s a tendency to falsely equate noise with results."  If Trump gets the nomination, Nikki won't be his V.P. choice.  But if someone else gets it, she'd be fine, and strong. 

SAILORS STILL HELD – From CNN:  Washington (CNN) Despite 10 American sailors being in Iranian custody, President Barack Obama stuck to his State of the Union script Tuesday night and made no mention of the incident, instead touting his nuclear deal with Tehran.  The sailor, in small boats, were captured just hours before the speech in waters near Iran.  The fact that Iran felt comfortable in holding them shows that it has no fear of Barack Obama.  The fact that Obama didn't mention them shows that Obama has no respect for his own sailors.

January 12, 2016       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – BRILLIANT – AT 9:42 A.M. ET:  The president will have an empty chair in the gallery tonight as he delivers his final State of the Union.  From Andrew Malcolm at IBD: 

You might think the empty seat sympathetically represents the recent victims of domestic terror, like the 14 innocents who perished in an ISIS-inspired attack last month in San Bernardino. Or maybe it's for the nation's dedicated first responders and police officers, like the one wounded the other day by an ISIS-inspired Muslim radical in Philadelphia.

Or perhaps the empty chair represents the 23 U.S. service members who've died fighting in Afghanistan in the bloody months since Obama proclaimed he had ended all combat there.
Or the 1,749 military deaths -- 74% of the total -- that have occurred in Afghanistan during Obama's half of that war.

But you'd be wrong to think any of that.

Obama has decided that tonight's empty seat represents the victims of American gun violence, which just happens to coincide with the Democrat's controversial series of "commonsense" executive gun-control actions.

Not against terrorist gun violence, you understand, because that would require Obama to explain where those murderous folks came from after proclaiming he had sent al-Qaida on the run and decimated the ranks of terrorist leaders.

And not by citing Chicago, the country's murder capital and Obama's adopted hometown, where 470 people fell to bullets in the 365 days of 2015. Because that would require Obama to call out Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his machine pol pal and ex-chief of staff.

COMMENT:   Superbly stated.  The real story tonight will be Obama's alternative universe, and the way he's been allowed to live in it by a compliant press. 

January 12, 2016       Permalink

AND A SHARP WARNING FROM FRANCE – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:   French experts are warning of horrendous terror attacks they believe are planned for this year.   From France 24: 

French anti-terrorism experts believe the two major attacks in Paris in 2015 were a “dress rehearsal” for more professional and better-organised terror attacks on a much larger scale in 2016.

The January 2015 attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo – which had angered many by publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2006 – was the first in three days of attacks that claimed a total of 17 lives.

On November 13, gunmen in Paris killed 130 people in a series of coordinated attacks, the deadliest assault on French soil since World War II.

As bad as the carnage was, many experts agree that with the number of attacks on a definite upward swing, the threat will get much worse in the coming year.

"Unfortunately, I think 2015 was nothing," an unnamed French senior counter-terrorism official told AFP last week. “We are moving towards a European 9/11: simultaneous attacks on the same day in several countries, several places. A very coordinated thing. We know the terrorists are working on this."

COMMENT:  We can't say we weren't warned.  There seems now to be a new attack of some kind every week.  And we have in the White House a president whose main concern is his legacy on the political left. 

If you see something, say something.  And vote in November.

January 12, 2016       Permalink

ANOTHER ONE, THIS TIME IN TURKEY – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  A terror attack in Istanbul.  From Fox: 

A 28-year-old Syrian national blew himself up in a popular tourist district of Istanbul Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 15 more, Turkish government officials said.

Turkey's Dogan news agency reported that at least six Germans, one Norwegian and one Peruvian were among the wounded, and Seoul's Foreign Ministry told reporters via text message that one South Korean had a finger injury. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry told Norway's news agency NTB that the Norwegian tourist was slightly hurt and was being treated in a local hospital.

Authorities in Germany and Denmark warned citizens visiting Turkey to avoid crowds outside tourist attractions in Istanbul. German officials said on a government website that further violent clashes and "terrorist attacks" are expected across Turkey. Germany also urged travelers to stay away from demonstrations and gatherings, particularly in large cities.

The explosion, which could be heard from several neighborhoods, was at a park that is home to a landmark obelisk, some 25 yards from the historic Blue Mosque.

Sultanahmet is Istanbul's main sightseeing area and includes the Topkapi Palace and the Haghia Sophia museum.

COMMENT:  Obama gives his not-anticipated State of the Union message tonight.  Let's see if he mentions this, or whether he regards it as a diversion from his legacy.

January 12,  2016     Permalink

JANUARY 11,  2016

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

ADVICE FOR THE DEVOTED JIHADIST – From Britain's Independent:   Militants fighting for Isis in Syria and Iraq have issued a chilling guide advising would-be jihadis living in the West on how to avoid security services while plotting Paris-style attacks.  The 58-page English-language manual, which has been published online, tells fanatics to trim their beards, wear Western-style aftershave and even pretend to be Christians by wearing cross necklaces in order to avoid arousing suspicion.  The document is titled ‘Safety and Security Guidelines for Lone Wolf Mujahideen’ and explains not only how militants can avoid having a plot thwarted by Western security officials, but also suggests potential targets to attack.   I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding.  This Islamophobia must stop.

THE ENEMY AMONG US – From the Washington Times – Sens. Ted Cruz and Jeff Sessions said Monday the number of people implicated in radical Islamic terrorist plots in the U.S. has jumped to 113, and they said it’s yet another reason to impose tighter immigration controls.  The senators have been trying to pry loose from the administration the immigration histories of those individuals, saying the public has a right to know how each of them entered the U.S. and what level of scrutiny they got.  The two also added 41 new names to their list Monday, including the two Iraqi refugees who were arrested last week on terrorism-related charges.  Good for Cruz and Sessions.  We have a right to know who is admitted to this country, especially in an age of terror.

HYPOCRISY IN SWEDEN, NOT THE FIRST TIME – From Bloomberg:   Swedish police have come under criticism for keeping quiet about alleged sexual assault incidents by young immigrant men over the past couple of years at a music festival in Stockholm.  The allegations came to light in a report over the weekend by newspaper Dagens Nyheter, citing internal police memos, and mirror similar incidents over the New Year’s holidays that have sparked investigations in Germany.  National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson vowed to investigate whether there had been a cover up.  “If what’s alleged is true, it’s serious from several vantage points,” he said in an interview with newspaper Expressen. “We could perhaps have prevented that girls had been molested if we had talked clearly about this. Secondly, it’s obviously not our role to take various political aspects into account.”  The bureaucratic language just flows.  Sweden is falling apart, the victim of its socialist madness.  But its leaders march around the world lecturing everyone else on human rights.  I wonder what Swedish women think about all this.

January 11, 2016       Permalink

AND NOW, MORE TROUBLE FOR HILLARY – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  I'm beginning to feel her pain.  I really am.  I must fight these pangs of sympathy, but I'm such a kind-hearted man.  Stop laughing.  From Fox: 

EXCLUSIVE: The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email as secretary of state has expanded to look at whether the possible “intersection” of Clinton Foundation work and State Department business may have violated public corruption laws, three intelligence sources not authorized to speak on the record told Fox News.

This track is in addition to the focus on classified material found on Clinton’s personal server.

"The agents are investigating the possible intersection of Clinton Foundation donations, the dispensation of State Department contracts and whether regular processes were followed," one source said.

The development follows press reports over the past year about the potential overlap of State Department and Clinton Foundation work, and questions over whether donors benefited from their contacts inside the administration.

The Clinton Foundation is a public charity, known as a 501(c)(3). It had grants and contributions in excess of $144 million in 2013, the most current available data.

Inside the FBI, pressure is growing to pursue the case.

One intelligence source told Fox News that FBI agents would be “screaming” if a prosecution is not pursued because “many previous public corruption cases have been made and successfully prosecuted with much less evidence than what is emerging in this investigation.”

COMMENT:  Hillary is not a good advertisement for the Yale Law School.  You'd think she'd have used some common sense, some good judgment.  On the other hand, she showed her judgment when she married Bill.

Not presidential material.

January 11, 2016       Permalink 

WHERE THE PARTIES STAND – AT 9:39 A.M. ET:   Dems are at an all-time low in the Gallup Poll, but the GOP doesn't fare much better.  From The Politico: 

The share of Americans identifying as Democrats dropped to a record low in 2015, according to the latest Gallup results published Monday, in the latest indication that Americans’ attachment to either political party is at or nearing historical lows.

Overall, 42 percent over the course of the past year identified as independents, a slight drop from the 43 percent who identified as such in 2014. While Democrats maintained a small advantage over Republicans — 29 percent to 26 percent — the Democratic share is at its lowest in Gallup history.

Prior to 2015, the lowest share of Americans identifying as members of the Democratic Party came in 2014, with 30 percent. Going back to 1988, 29 percent is the lowest overall share of self-identified Democrats since the polling institution began interviewing subjects via telephone instead of in person. According to its data from 1951 to 1987, however, there was never a year in which less than 37 percent identified themselves as Democrats, making the 29 percent the lowest in Gallup’s 65 years of asking the question.

Meanwhile, the share of self-identified Republicans is just 1 percentage point above its Gallup historical low of 25 percent in 2013, dating back to 1988. In its years of in-person interviews prior to 1988, Gallup had several years in which Republicans polled lower than 25 percent. Over roughly the past quarter-century, more Americans have consistently identified as Democrats, though Republicans have pulled even in four years — namely those associated with the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq (2002-2003) and the rise of the tea party (2010 and 2011).

COMMENT:  We should point out that Republicans, as a general political rule, are more likely to vote on election day, so the GOP may actually have a slight edge.  But neither party is deeply loved by the public.

January 11, 2016       Permalink

AND SHE HASN'T EVEN HIT THE ICEBERG YET – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton takes a dive in the polls.  From IBD: 

With just 21 days until the presidential primaries officially begin in Iowa, Hillary Clinton's support among Democrats nationally has taken a serious tumble, falling eight points to 43%, according to the latest IBD/TIPP Poll. Support for her chief rival, Bernie Sanders, climbed six points to 39%.
As a result, Clinton's lead over Sanders, which had been 18 points, is now just 4 points.

Other polls have shown the race tightening in Iowa, which holds its caucuses on Feb. 1, and New Hampshire, which has its primary eight days later. Two recent New Hampshire surveys have Sanders in the lead, and the latest NBC poll in Iowa has Sanders just three points behind Clinton.
But the IBD/TIPP Poll is the first to show the race significantly tightening nationwide.

Clinton, in response to her sagging poll numbers, has started to turn up the heat on Sanders, after all but ignoring the self-described socialist whose maverick campaign has been surprisingly resilient. CNN reported over the weekend that "a sense of anxiety is cascading through Hillary Clinton's campaign" over Sanders' gains.

COMMENT:  I have to believe that part of Hillary's slide has to do with Donald Trump calling her out on the subject of women's rights – recalling her own trashing of those women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual offenses.  I think that was a decisive moment, exposing Hillary as a fraud.

January 11,  2016     Permalink